HISTORY 
 
 BORDER WARS 
 
 TWO CENTURIES 
 
 EMBRACING A 
 
 NARRATIVE OF THE WARS WITH THE INDIANS 
 FROM 1750 TO 1874. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 COMPILED AND WRITTEN FROM THE MOST RELIABLE SOURCES, 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES RICHARD TUTTLE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN/ 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 PUBLISHED BY C. A. WALL & COMPANY, 
 
 105, 107 & 109 MADISON STREET. 
 1874. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the j-ear 1874, 
 
 By CHARLES R. TUTTLE, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
 
 # 
 
 A'i' 
 
 N^ 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This Volume is simply what its title page indi- 
 cates — a history of the Border Wars of the United 
 States from the fall of Canada, in 1759, to and 
 including the Indian troubles in the far West in 
 1874. The narrative opens with a brief history of 
 the Indian Nations east of the Mississippi, and a 
 short description of the outposts of both the Eng- 
 lish and French colonies as they appeared at the 
 close of the French war. Then follows, in consider- 
 able detail, an account of the Pontiac War, which in 
 its desolating march spread the horror of murder and 
 massacre from the Carolinas to the most northern 
 lake fort. From this desperate struggle the reader is 
 conducted through the tempests of Border Warfare 
 in its furious march across the Continent, from the 
 Alleghanies and the lakes to the dangerous lava-cave 
 ambuscades of the Modocs, in Arizona, and the wilds 
 of the Pacific slope. At the proper point the narra- 
 tive is interrupted to give place to a brief history of 
 the Indian tribes, and a description of the outposts 
 of civilization west of the Mississippi. 
 
 In the course of the history the reader is presented 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 with interesting and authentic sketches of the lives ol 
 Chiefs Pontiac, Brant, Tecumseh, Black Hawk, Cap- 
 tain Jack, and 'the great Indian warriors who have 
 figured conspicuously in Border Warfare in North 
 America ; the various treaties that have been made 
 and broken, the boundary lines that have been agreed 
 upon and invaded ; in short, all the events that have, 
 for the time, either prevented or promoted these 
 wars, are fully and truthfully represented, so that the 
 reader, after carefully perusing this Volume, will, in 
 the absence of any opinion expressed by the author, 
 be able to judge intelligently for himself of the merits 
 of the treatment which the native tribes have received 
 at the hands of the United States government. 
 
 The demand for this work cannot be questioned. 
 There is not a single person interested in the history 
 of the United States who has not felt the want of a 
 reliable History of the Wars between his country and 
 the Indians ; and it is with a view to supply this want 
 that this book is presented to the public. It has been 
 compiled and written from the most reliable sources, 
 and, it is confidently believed, w^ill be found complete, 
 authentic and interesting. The various books, publi- 
 cations and reports which have been consulted, and 
 to which the perfection of this Volume is largely 
 indebted, require something more than a passing 
 notice in this introduction. In compiling and writing 
 a volume such as the followino-, where most of the 
 
materials used have been, in some way, connected 
 with other books, it is impossible, in the course of the 
 narrative, to give proper credit to the authors con- 
 sulted ; and, in order that the reader may know to 
 what extent books heretofore published have contrib- 
 uted to the perfection of this work, I take this 
 opportunity of making the necessary explanation. 
 
 Mr. Francis Parkman deserves the first mention. 
 From his valuable works on the Indians and Indian 
 wars east of the Mississippi, has been gathered the 
 materials which make up the first part of this book, 
 and it is only necessary to make this reference to 
 establish the authenticity of my history of the Pontiac 
 war, for there is no more able, complete, or interesting 
 narrative of this terrible border war than that given 
 by Mr. Parkman, whose writings are justly regarded 
 as an ornament to American literature. 
 
 In that part of the narrative which gives an account 
 of Harmar's, St. Clair's and Harrison's campaigns 
 against the Indians, Including Tecumseh's war, I have 
 gathered much from the works of Messrs. James H. 
 Perkins and J. M. Peck — a volume originally com- 
 piled by the former and revised by the latter — 
 entitled "The Western Annals." I have frequently 
 given this volume credit in the course of the narra- 
 tive ; but, in addition, I wish to make this acknowl- 
 edgment here. 
 
 My account of the Black Hawk war is materially 
 dependent upon Mr. Upham's valuable little book 
 
which is entirely devoted to the Hfe of this wayward 
 chief. In this volume, the author takes occasion, and 
 I think, justly, to censure the acts of the United 
 States authorities for needlessly irritating the Sacs 
 to this bloody onset. 
 
 In the brief account of the Indian tribes west of 
 the Mississippi, which precedes my history of the 
 Indian wars in the same territory, Mr. Charles De 
 Wolf Brownell is the most valuable contributor. His 
 standard work, entitled the " Indian Races of North 
 and South America," has been freely consulted, and, 
 although the usual credit is given in the proper 
 places, I cannot fail to mention it here. 
 
 In my account of the adventures of Colonel John 
 C. Fremont, and Christopher Carson, I have freely 
 used the official reports of the former, the " Life and 
 Explorations of Fremont," and other volumes, but I 
 shall not undertake to enumerate all the official 
 reports and documents which have contributed to the 
 thrilling catalogue of wars and adventures west of 
 the Mississippi, which constitutes the last part of this 
 book. It will suffice to say that some five or six hun- 
 dred of these have been diligently consulted and 
 always with good results. 
 
 A description of the principal battles during the 
 conquest of Mexico, which has been thrown in to 
 relieve the general current of Indian warfare, is 
 largely dependent upon a neat little volume entitled 
 "The Mexican War and its Heroes." I have no 
 
PREFACE. 7 
 
 means of knowing the name of the author of this 
 volume, since it has not been attached to its pages. I 
 ought also to mention " The Life and Adventures of 
 Kit Carson," by Col. DeWitt C. Peters, which came 
 into my hands a few days before this volume was 
 given to the publishers. It is a deeply interesting, 
 strictly authentic work, that reflects scarcely less 
 honor upon the name of the famous mountaineer 
 than credit upon his biographer. Several important 
 passages in this work have their origin in the labors 
 of this author. The brief account of the Seminole 
 war, which closes this volume has been compiled and 
 written from Mr. Joshua R. Giddings' valuable book 
 entitled, " The Exiles of Florida," a neat little work 
 of surpassing interest. 
 
 I wish to claim for myself only the earnest labor 
 of a compiler, and in presenting this book to the 
 public, I do so in the belief that the materials have 
 been so arranged as to constitute the most complete 
 and satisfactory history of the wars with the Indians 
 of the United States and Territories that has yet 
 been written. 
 
 CHARLES R. TUTTLE. 
 Chicago, March, 1874. 
 
HISTORY OF 
 
 The Border Wars, 
 
 CHARTER I. 
 
 The Indian Tkibes of the Lake Region — General Character- 
 istics — Tribal Divisions — Mode of Government — Myths and 
 Legends — Their Eloquence and Sagacity — Dwellings, Vil- 
 lages AND Forts — The War Path — Festivals and Pastimes — 
 Religious Faith. 
 
 Before entering upon an account of the scenes and incidents 
 of the Border Wars of the Northwest, I will give the reader a 
 faint glimpse of the condition of the Indian tribes of the lake 
 region about the date at Mdiicli our narrative commences — 
 1700. The territory east of the Mississippi was occupied, 
 excepting where the whites had intruded tlieir colonial settle- 
 ments, by three great families, differing from each other by a 
 radical peculiarity of language. They were called the Iroquois, 
 Algonquin and Mobilian nations. The Mobilians embraced the 
 confederacy of the Greeks and the Choctaws, but as they took 
 no active part in the ensuing narrative, I will avoid any details 
 of their history. But the Iroquois and the Algonquin nations, 
 being conspicuously identified with the last great struggle of 
 the savages against civilization, demand a closer attention. 
 
 Foremost in eloquence, war and intellect stood the Iroquois. 
 To use their own words, they " were a mighty and warlike 
 (9) 
 
10 THE LIVES OF PO>"nAC A^"D TI':CUMSEH : 
 
 people," and they extended their conquests from Quebec to the 
 Caroh'nas, on the seaboard, and to the Mississippi on the west. 
 Everywhere in this broad country they established their name 
 and power, and, indeed, throughout the country they were the 
 terror alike of whites and Indians. In the south they had 
 conquered the Delawares, and were, at this time, forcing them 
 to a heavy tribute; in the north, they had completely subjected 
 the Wyandots, and prohibited them the use of arm's; in the 
 west they exterminated the Eries, and in the east •' a single 
 Mohawk war cry was sufficient to terrify all the Indians in 
 ^ew England.'" 
 
 But the Indians were not alone in terror of the Iroquois. 
 All Canada trembled beneath their infuriated onset. More 
 than once Champlain fled with his troops to the forts for 
 refuge, leaving his pursuing conquerers to destroy and plunder 
 the defenseless French settlements. Certainly the history of 
 such a powerful nation should not be slighted, yet to trace it 
 beyond the dark border of the discovery is beyond the power 
 of human penetration. 
 
 As we glance at them in 1700, we find their central govern- 
 ment located within the present limits of the state of iS'ew 
 York, where, in thfe Yalley of the Onondaga, the chiefs of the 
 several tribes of this great family held their civil and military 
 councils for many generations. The Iroquois nation consisted 
 of, first five, and, at a later period, six tribes, called the 
 Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, the Sen- 
 ecas and the Tuscaroras. These tribfes were bound together by 
 a loose confederacy, being, in a small measure, subject to a 
 general congress, but each tribe had its own organization, and 
 independent tribal government. Each tribe had several 
 sachems, who, with the subordinate chiefs and principal men, 
 regulated all its civil and military affairs; but when foreign 
 powers were to be consulted, or important treaties made, all 
 the sachems of the several tribes convened in general assembly 
 at the great council house — the Iroquois capitol — in the val- 
 ley of the Onondaga. Here the Congressmen of the Six 
 Illations were received, the great council fire kindled, treaties 
 made and difficulties settled. Here the simple Iroquois 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 11 
 
 sachem sat and listened to the eloquent speeches of the leadinir 
 chiefs, who spoke their honest sentiments in accordance witli 
 the most ancient usages of their nation. 
 
 When Jacques Cartier first visited the St. Lawrence he found 
 the savages of the Six Kations occupying the country along 
 the north bank of the river, and, as early as 1535, he discov- 
 ered a town of the Huron-Iroquois, consisting of about fifty 
 huts, near the present site of the city of Montreal. This vil- 
 lage was situated in the midst of large fields of Indian corn, 
 and must, even at this early day, have been a place of consid- 
 erable importance, or, to use tlie words of another, " the 
 metropolis of the neighboring country." 
 
 Mr. Stone, in his able writings on the Indians of the Six 
 Nations, gives the following description of this village: "It 
 was surrounded by palisades or trunks of trees set in a ti-iple 
 row. The outer and inner ranges of palisades inclined till 
 they met and crossed near the summit, while the upright row 
 between them, aided by transverse braces, gave to the whole 
 an abundant strength. Within were galleries for the defend- 
 ers, rude ladders to mount them, and magazines of stone to 
 throw down on the heads of the assailants. A single entrance 
 was secured with piles and stakes, and every precaution adopted 
 against sudden attack or seige. The town consisted of about 
 fifty oblong houses, each fifty feet in length by twelve or fif- 
 teen in breadth, built of wood and covered with bark. Each 
 house contained small chambers built round an open court in 
 the centre, in which many fires were kindled. Tlie inhabitants 
 were devoted to husbandry and fishing, and the lands in the 
 vicinity were well cultivated." 
 
 According to the history of Cartier's voyage, the Indians of 
 Hochelaga — now Montreal — were unusually civilized, for bar- 
 barians, and greatly in advance of their nation a century after- 
 wards; but in 1600 no trace of this village could be found. 
 
 According to their own traditions the people of the Six 
 Nations originally came from the north, but they date the 
 period of their migration a long number of centuries back. 
 Cusick, the Tuscarora author — and the only Indian who has 
 written upon the subject — dates the event more than five hun- 
 
12 TIIE LIVES OF PONIIAC AND TECUMSEII : 
 
 dred years before the discovery by Columbus, but his writings- 
 are not generally accepted. The tradition of the Senecas, the 
 fifth of the Six Nations, is that the original people of their 
 Nation broke forth from the earth, from the crest of a moun- 
 tain at the head of Canandaigua Lake. The mountain which 
 gave them bir'th is called Ge-nun-de-wah-gauh, or the great 
 hill, and for this reason the Senecas are sometimes called the 
 great hill people, and, I believe, this was their original title, 
 Tlie Ge-nun-de-wah-gauh has been held, by them, sacred as 
 being their birth-place. It was for many years the place of 
 holding the councils of this tribe, and was the hallowed place 
 of their religious services. 
 
 As with the Senecas so with all the tribes of the Six Nations. 
 They have no written history of their origin, nor can one now 
 be produced. 
 
 One of the principal supports to the confederacy of the Six 
 Nations, and one of the strongest ties which bound them 
 together was the system of toteinshij>. In the Six Nations 
 there were eight totemic clans. 
 
 The Iroquois believed that Taounyawatha, the God of Waters, 
 had descended to the earth to teach them the arts of savage 
 life. They claimed further that this God, seeing the evils by 
 which their various tribes were beset, urged them to form a 
 great confederacy for their common good and defence. But 
 before the people could be collected together this Messenger 
 took his flight, promising, however, that another should be 
 sent to instruct them in the principles of the proposed league. 
 "And accordingly," says the glowing pen of Francis Park- 
 man, " as a band of Mohawk warriors were threading the fu- 
 neral labyrinth of an ancient pine forest, tliey heard, amid its 
 blackest depths, a hoarse voice chanting in measured cadence; 
 and following the sound, they saw, seated among the trees, a 
 monster of so hideous an aspect that, one and all, they stood 
 benumbed with terror. His features were wild and frightful. 
 Be was encompassed by hissing rattlesnakes, which. Medusa- 
 like, hung writhing from his head; and on the ground, around 
 him were strewm implements of incantation, and magic vessels 
 formed of human skulls. Eecovering from their amazement, 
 
OR, THE P.OUDER WAR? OF I'AVO CENTURIIiS. 13 
 
 the warriors could perceive that in the mystic words of the 
 <ihant, which he still poured forth, were couched the laws and 
 principles of the destined confederacy. The tradition further 
 declares that the monster being surrounded and captured, was 
 presently transformed to human shape; that he became a chief 
 of transcendent wisdom and prowess, and to the day of his 
 death ruled the councils of the united tribes." The last of the 
 presiding sachems at the councils at Onondaga inherited from 
 him the honored name of Atotarho. Such, according to 
 [ndian tradition, is the origin of the great Iroquois confeder- 
 acy. But if the reader is shocked with this preposterous 
 legend, what must be said of their tradition regarding the 
 epoch which preceded the auspicious event of their union. In 
 these evil days, according to the same authority, the scattered 
 and divided Iroquois were beset with every form of peril and 
 disaster. Giants, cased in armor of stone, descended on them 
 from the mountains of the north. Huge beasts trampled 
 down their forests like fields of grass. Human heads, w^ith 
 streaming hair and glaring eyeballs, shot through the air like 
 meteors, shedding pestilence and death throughout the land. 
 The waters of Lake Ontario were troubled. From the bosom, 
 of the boisterous lake a horned serpent of mighty size rose up 
 almost to the clouds. The people fled from before his awful 
 presence, and would not have escaped his open jaws had not the 
 thunder bolts of the skies driven him down into his watery 
 home at the bottom of the lake. Around the infant Seneca vil- 
 lage on Mount Genundewahguah, already spoken of, a two- 
 headed serpent coiled himself, of size so monstrous that the per- 
 ishing people could not ascend his scaly sides, and perished in 
 multitudes. At length the monster was mortally wounded by 
 the magic arrow of a child, and, writhing in the agonies of 
 death, he uncoiled himself from the mountain home of the 
 Senecas, and rolled into the lake below, lashing its black waters 
 into a bloody foam, and allowing the few remaining wretclied 
 Indians to flee from the place of their long and disastrous con- 
 finement. The serpent sank to the bottom of the lake, and 
 disaj^peared forever. 
 
 According to the fancy of the Iroquois, the Spirit of Thun- 
 
14 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 der dwelt under the Falls of Niagara, and when, amid the 
 blackening shadows of the approaching storm, or the sharp, 
 quick flashes of the lightning, they heard his broad, deep voice 
 peal along the heavens, they " hid themselves from the face of 
 the angry Spirit." 
 
 These legends, although unworthy of much consideration, 
 are grand evidences of the superior intellectual powers of the 
 people of the Six Nations. It is true that their imaginations 
 were assisted by the dismal voice of the wind, the unfathoma- 
 ble darkness of the gathering thunder storm, or the low, deep 
 sound of the tossing lake waters; but, even in view of these 
 mysteries, their traditions, when compared with those of other 
 nations, grandly demonstrate the power and capacity of the 
 Iroquois mind. But with all their intellectual superiorit}', the 
 arts of life among them had made no advance from a barbarous 
 condition. Their implements of war, and other products of 
 their genius, were not very flattering to them. There was a 
 rough, unfinished appearance to everything artificial around 
 them. Their huts, pottery and the conveniences of life com- 
 bined to attest their untidy inactive genius. Although behind 
 their race in these things, they were largely in advance of it as 
 husbandmen. Their beautiful fields of Indian corn and squashes 
 and the ancient apple-orchards which grew around their settle- 
 ments, captivated the invading army of Count Frontenac 
 in 1696. 
 
 Their dwellings and M'orks of defense, although rough, were, 
 however, well adapted to their wants, and were good evidences 
 of their great industry. But these, which were scattered along 
 the St. Lawrence and around Lake Ontario, were leveled to the 
 ground, never to rise again, in 1687, by De Nonville, and, nine 
 years, later by Frontenac. 
 
 " Along the banks of the Mohawk, among the hills and hol- 
 lows of Onondaga, in the forests of Oneida and Cayuga, on the 
 romantic shores of Seneca Lake, and the rich borders of the 
 Genesee, surrounded by waiving maize fields, and encircled 
 from afar by the green margin of the forests, stood the ancient 
 strongholds of the confederacy." The little villages were sur- 
 rounded by palisades, and were otherwise well fortified with 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 15 
 
 ma2:azines of stones, and with water conductors, which were 
 efficiently used in the event of a lire. 
 
 In habits of social life the Iroquois were thoroughly savage. 
 During the long winter evenings, men, women and children 
 gathered near the log fires in their rude huts, and, while the 
 cold storm was beating the lonely forest wdthout, the story- 
 teller of the tribe recounted the history of his nation and deeds 
 of ancient heroism. The curious pipe was passed from hand 
 to hand, and, by the flickering firelight, each half-naked war- 
 rior, wrought up by the superstitious narratives of the talker, 
 seemed to pass the hours in pleasure. 
 
 The war path, the race of political ambition, and the chase, 
 all had their votaries among the people of the Six I^ations. 
 When their assembled sachems had resolved on war, and when, 
 from their ancient Council House a hundred light-footed mes- 
 seno-ers were sent to the distant tribes to call them to arms, in 
 tlie name of their great chief, then from Quebec to the Caro- 
 linas, and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, thousands of 
 warlike hearts caught up the invitation with glad enthusiasm. 
 By fasting and praying, by consulting dreams and omens, and 
 by ancient usages, the warriors sought to ensure victory for 
 their arms. When these singular performances had been con- 
 cluded, they began their secret progress towards the defenseless 
 white settlement. Soon followed the news of some bloody 
 massacre which, exaggerated in its flight from settlement to 
 settlement, was swiftly borne to the ears of the older New 
 England towns. While these places were filled with excite- 
 ment over the shocking tidings, the victorious warriors returned 
 to their villages with the unfortunate captives, to celebrate 
 their merciless triumphs. As they approach, the sound of the 
 M^ar-whoop is heard, and hundreds of saVage women and chil- 
 dren run out with sticks and stones to meet the company. 
 Their hideous yelping, warns the prisoners of increasing dan- 
 ger, but they have no power to turn back, and, resigning 
 themselves to an awful fate, they regard a pelting from these 
 foolish wretches, as necessary to prepare them for the tortures 
 that must follow. And now the black arches of the forest 
 grow blacker as the smoke, slowly curling upward from the 
 
16 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AKD TECUMSEH : 
 
 fires of deatli, forms itself in clouds above them. With lire- 
 brand and torch the excited multitude circle round their 
 agonizing victim, until the slow tortures have ended in death, 
 wlien the charred corpse is thrown to the dogs and the cruel 
 ceremony is ended by clamerous shouts to drive away the 
 spirit of the captive. Such were the most exquisite enjoy- 
 ments of the cruel Indians of the Six Nations. 
 
 Leaving this remarkable people, let us turn to the other 
 members of the same great family. The Algonquin people 
 occupied a large tract of territory surrounding the Six Nations. 
 It was the Indians of this family who first greeted Cartier, as 
 his little fleet ascended the St. Lawa-ance; it was Algonquins 
 who welcomed the pioneer settlers of Virginia. They were 
 Algonquins who, led on by Sassacus, Pequot and Phillip of 
 Mount Hope, harrassed the settlements of the New England 
 colonies; who under the great tree at Kensington, made the 
 covenant of peace with William Penn; and when French mis- 
 sionaries and fur-traders explored the Wabash and the Ohio, 
 they found " their valleys tenanted by the same far-extended 
 race." As civilization progressed, they were driven from these 
 eastern strongholds, until only a few remnants of their once 
 great and powerful nation were clustered around the Strait of 
 Mackinaw. 
 
 The Delawares were the most powerful tribe of the Algon- 
 quin family. According to their traditions, they were the 
 parent tribe from whence sprung all the other divisions of this 
 people. They were called Delawares, probably from the fact 
 that, when the European Colonists first visited that section of 
 country, their lodges were found thickly clustered along the 
 waters of the Delawai^e and its tributary streams. They were, 
 in a small measure, an agricultural people, although they mainly 
 dej^ended upon fishing and the chase as a means of subsistence. 
 As already mentioned, they had been subjected by the fierce 
 warriors of the Six Nations, and when the Quakers first came 
 among them, they offered but few evidences of military skill or 
 -courage. But as civilization pushed them westward, beyond 
 the reach and power of the Iroquois, they revived their war- 
 like spirits, and were soon found to be formidable enemies. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CICNTURIES. i J 
 
 Durine: the old French War, they had so far recovered from 
 the suppressed condition into which their enemies had forced 
 them, that they resnmed the use of arms, and while their 
 ancient conquerors espoused the cause of Canada, they became 
 the fast and fierce allies of the English. At the beginning of 
 the Eevolution, they publicly declared their emancipation from 
 Iroquois bondage, M^hich was acknowledged by the Councils of 
 the Six Nations; and ever since that period they have occu- 
 pied a high position among the Indian nations of North 
 America. Indeed, at a still later day, when the Iroquois peo- 
 ple had disappeared from the border battle-tields, the American 
 pioneer settlers found their most unconquerable enemies in 
 the Delaware Indians. " Their war parties,"' says an eminent 
 writer, "'pierced the fartherest wilds of the Rocky Mountains; 
 and the prairie traveler would often meet the Delaware war- 
 rior returning from a successful foray, a gaudy handkerchief 
 bound about his brow, his snake locks fluttering in the wind, his 
 rifle resting across his saddle-bow, while the tarnished and 
 begrimed equipments of his half-wild horse bore witness that 
 the unscrupulous rider had waylaid and plundered some unfor- 
 tunate trapper." 
 
 Next in order among the tribes of the Algonquin family 
 were the bold Shawanoes. At an early day they occupied the 
 Valley of the Ohio, but in 1672 they were defeated by the Six 
 Nations, and fled to escape destruction. Following the Ohio 
 down a little farther, the traveler would next come to the vil- 
 lages of the Miamis, and the Twightwees. Their huts were 
 clustered along the banks of the Wabash and its branches. 
 They were also living in terror of the Iroquois when Europeans 
 first came among them, but, as with the Delawares, they were 
 liberated by the progress of Colonial power. The Illinois Indi- 
 ans, who in the early days were located along the banks of the 
 river which was given their name, were also of the Algonquin 
 family, and, like their brothers, were sorely harrassed by the 
 Iroquois. At one time their numbers exceeded twelve thou- 
 sand, but so complete was the subjection and total their defeat, 
 which they received at the merciless hands of the Six Nations, 
 that they were reduced to a few small villages. The Illinois 
 2 
 
18 THE LH^ES OF PONTIAC AND TECDMSEH : 
 
 Indians were, perlia])s, the most licentious and slothful savages 
 of the Algonquin family. Having lost their prestige as a 
 warlike people, they sought to gratify their vicious natures by 
 the most extravagant indulgences. They spent a greater part 
 of the year in the pursuit of game with which the prairies of 
 their country abounded in great plenty, but there were seasons 
 when nearly all of them were gathered together at their prin- 
 cipal village, merry-making, feasting, and, when liquor could 
 be obtained, drinking to excess. 
 
 The Ojibwas, Pottawatomies, Ottawas, Sacs, Foxes, Men- 
 omonies and the Northern Knisteneaux were also members of 
 this great family. They were scattered throughout the lake 
 region in detached villages, and, in conimon with their kins- 
 men, had, at an earlier period, fled from the eastern country to 
 escape the fury of the Iroquois. The Ojibwas, Ottawas and 
 Pottawatomies were bound together by a sort of confederacy, 
 having for its object their common defense and mutual welfare. 
 The former tribe, which was the most numerous of any of this 
 confederacy, was located in the Lake Superior vicinity. They 
 were a barbaric, rude people, living in a loose and imperfect 
 state. Hunting and fishing were their favorite pursuits, and 
 agriculture was but slightly encouraged. They were, withal, 
 an improvident, recldess tribe. At one season they were feast- 
 ing, with an abundance on every hand, and at another they 
 were famishing. Yet, with all this uncertainty touching their 
 supplies, they never manifested a single prudent trait. 
 
 Thus I have hurriedly noticed the location and condition of 
 the Six Nations and Algonquin family of Indians, at the period 
 in which our narrative opens. The reader has, no doubt, 
 already observed that of these two distinct families, the 
 Iroquois were by far the most intellectual and elevated, never- 
 theless some of the greatest warriors and orators belonged to 
 the Algonquin nation. Even Pontiac and Teeumseh, the sub- 
 jects of this work, boasted its blood and language. A point 
 that has not failed to elicit attention, however, is that with the 
 advance of Colonial power, the prestige of the Six Nations 
 declined more rapidly than that of the tribes which they had 
 conquered. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF 'nVO CENIUKIES. 19 
 
 Before passing on to the opening events of the narrative, I 
 will stop to glance, for a moment, at the Wyandotts and the 
 Neutral Nation. These tribes, which originally belonged to 
 the Iroquois family, occupied the peninsula between Lakes 
 Huron, Erie and Ontario. The Wyandotts were a numerous 
 people, inheriting all the high qualities of their brethren of 
 the Six Nations. Their numbers at one time exceeded thirty 
 thousand. They were both an agricultural and commercial 
 nation. The products of their well cultivated corn-fields were 
 exchanged to a considerable extent, for the fish which had been 
 taken from the lakes and rivers by the surrounding tribes. 
 Being more provident than their neighbors, the Ojibwas, they 
 were generally well supplied with the necessaries, and not 
 unfrequently called upon, in times of want, by the latter, to 
 share their bounties with them. As a rule they responded 
 with a generosity that was truly commendable. 
 
 In 1649, during the long cold winter, when by their indus- 
 try and consequent prosperity, they were lending material 
 assistance to the half perishing tribes around them, they were 
 incessantly harrassed and finally defeated by a numerous band 
 of Iroquois warriors. These fierce Indians levelled all the 
 principal Wyandot villages to the ground, and slaughtered 
 men, women and children without mercy. The few conquered 
 savages who survived this onslaught, fled in terror, and the 
 whole tribe was dispersed and broken. Some of them fled to 
 Quebec and others escaped into the Ojibwa country; but in 1680 
 they again united, and formed a permanent settlement on the 
 Detroit Eiver. 
 
 The fate of the Neutral Nation was not unlike that of the 
 Wyandots. The Senecas, a powerful tribe of the Six Nations, 
 invaded their country and effected an easy conquest. Their 
 habits of life and general characteristics were very similar to 
 those of the Wyandots. 
 
 Thus we have seen that several powerful tribes of North 
 American Indians, during the last quarter of the seventeenth 
 century, sank before the ai-ms of the Six Nations. Their con- 
 quests extended to every adjacent tribe, and their bravest war- 
 riors were sorely harrassing the infant colony of New France. 
 
'20 THK LIVES (»K PONTIAO AND I'EOLIMSEH : 
 
 Like the Six Nations, the Algonquins liad their myths and 
 legends. Being less intellectual, however, they did not assume 
 that systematic type which characterized those of their enemies, 
 but they were full of interest and shadowy landmarks of tlieir 
 history. They had a faith more simple than that of the Iro- 
 quois regarding the God of Thunder, which is another proof 
 of their inferior intellectual scope. They believed that the 
 thunder was a bird who built his nest on the pinnacle of 
 towering mountains. 
 
 The religious faith of the Indian tribes already mentioned 
 was mixed and ambiguous. They beheld God in every part or 
 feature of his creation, and yet, I do not think that they 
 believed in a one Almighty Being, the Great Spirit, Lord of 
 Heaven and Earth, until the missionaries came among them; 
 but it cannot be said that with this important addition to their 
 faith, their religious worship was increased. I should rather 
 hold to the opinion that the highest intellectual state of the 
 Indian race, and the loftiest conception of their minds, and, as 
 a consequence, their most acceptable worship, date back beyond 
 the advent of European civilization and Christianity. All evi- 
 dence procurable on this subject points to this conclusion. The 
 Indians never could understand the religious faith of either 
 the Catholic or Protestant religion, and in every attempt to 
 embrace either, they added additional testimony pointing to 
 its utter inadaptability to their minds. The heart cannot 
 embrace a doctrine which the mind is unable to comprehend. 
 " Red Jacket," the Seneca chief and orator, at a later day set 
 forth, in a very able manner, the difficulties which the Indian 
 mind encountered in attempting to penetrate Christian doc- 
 trine, in the following words, which he addressed to a mission- 
 ary who had come to preach Christ and Him crucified to the 
 inhabitants of a Seneca village: 
 
 " Brother: Continue to listen. You say that you are sent to instruct 
 us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to His mind, and, if we do 
 not take hold of the religion which you white people teach, we shall be 
 unhappy hereafter. You say that you are right and we are lost. How do 
 you know this to be true ? We understand that your religion is written 
 in a book. If it was intended for us as well as you, why has not the 
 Great Spirit given to us, and not only to us, but why did He not give 
 
OK, THE liOKDKK WAI« oK TWo C1<:JSTUKIKS. 21 
 
 to our forefathers the knowledge of that book, with the means of under- 
 standing it rightly ? We only know what you tell us about it. How shall 
 we know when to believe, being so often deceived by the white people? 
 Yoia say that there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. 
 If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about 
 it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the same book? We do not 
 understand these things. We are told that your religion was given to your 
 forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have 
 a religion, which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down 
 tons — their children. We worship in that way. It teaches us to be 
 thankful for all the favors we receive ; to love each other and to be united. 
 We never quarrel about our religion. The Great Spirit has made us all, 
 but he has made a great difierence between his white and red children. 
 He has given us different complexions and different customs. To you he 
 has given the arts. To these he has not opened our eyes. We know these 
 things to be true. Since he has made so great a difference between us in 
 other things, why may we not conclude that he has given us a different 
 religion according to our understanding? The Great Spirit does right. 
 He knows what is best for his children. We are satisfied." 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 The English in the West — Pontiac Standing in their Wat — He 
 Consents to let them Occupy his Countby — The English take 
 Possession op Detkoit. 
 
 In this narrative of the Border Wars of the Northwest, 1 will 
 first direct the reader's attention to the events which occurred 
 immediately after the English relieved the western outposts of 
 Canada or New France. But this can be more acceptably done 
 by first pointing out some of the incidents connected with the 
 surrender of these forts by the French to their conquerors. 
 
 Canada had fallen. The long cherished hopes of the French 
 to establish a permanent branch of Empire in the New World 
 were now blighted, and their country, so recently full of prom- 
 ise and prosperity, was now humbled at the foot of the English 
 throne. The capitulation was completed, and it only remained 
 for the English to take possession of their conquests. Well 
 might the bravest soldier shrink from this hazardous task, for 
 many of the strongholds to be occupied were not only still in 
 the hands of the French, but surrounded by clouds of warlike 
 savages, eager to visit death and destruction upon the enemies 
 of the defeated colony. Indeed the Indians, who from the 
 beginning of the Old French War, had been the faithful allies 
 of the French, were already uniting against the "red coats." 
 They beheld the approaching ruin of their race, and resolved 
 on the foolish attempt of driving the English from the country. 
 
 The forts yet to be occupied were Detroit, Michilimackinac 
 and one or two others of less importance in the lake region. 
 It was on the 12th of September, 1760, that Major Eogers 
 received orders from Sir Jeffery Amherst to ascend the lakes 
 with a detachment of rangers, and take possession of these 
 
OR, THE BORDKK WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 23 
 
 posts in the name of his Britannic Majesty. Accordingly he 
 set out with two hundred soldiers in fifteen whale-boats, on the 
 day following, and, after a troublesome journey, beset by 
 storms and harassed by the severity of the weather, he reached 
 the eastern end of Lake Erie. Here he was met by the depu- 
 ties of the great Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas, and " lord and 
 ruler of all that country." The chiefs ordered Rogers to halt, 
 and commanded him to proceed no further until they had 
 received permission from their Ottawa leader. 
 
 At this point we will turn for a moment to glance at this 
 wonderful man. Pontiac was the son of an Ottawa chief, and 
 by his valorous deeds, matchless eloquence and great force of 
 character, had become exceedingly popular and influential 
 among all the tribes in the vicinity of the great lakes. The 
 Ottawas, Ojibwas and Pottawatomies were, at this time, united 
 under a confederacy of which he was both civil and military 
 leader; but his authority extended far beyond these tribes, and 
 was almost unbounded wherever his voice could be heard. He 
 did not owe his greatness to the fact that he was the son of a 
 chief, for among the Indians many a chief's son sinks into 
 insignificance among the common rabble of his tribe, while the 
 offspring of a common warrior may succeed to his place. Per- 
 sonal merit, alone can win the respect and obedience of the 
 Indians. In the eyes of his numerous followers, no other 
 person possessed more of this than Pontiac. Courage, resolu- 
 tion, wisdom and eloquence and good address had been the 
 principal passports to his fame and distinction. His intellect 
 was far-reaching, forcible and capacious. His energy and force 
 of character, his great subtlety and craftiness, conspired to 
 elicit the greatest admiration and respect from his wild and 
 reckless followers. 
 
 Although possessed of all these high qualities, Pontiac was 
 a thorough savage, and, as we shall see, capable of deeds of the 
 blackest treachery. He was now in his fiftieth year, and in the 
 prime of life. His mental and physical powders were unim- 
 paired, and he stood forth the giant of his tribe in both 
 intellect and endurance. In short, he was in every respect 
 qualified to lead his savage people into the bloody contest which 
 
24 THE LIVES OK PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 followed. When deeds of lofty magnanimity best suited his 
 purpose, Pontiac could respond from the generosity of his own 
 mature, while, from the same source, he could supply the foulest 
 stratagems. 
 
 During the long wars that had passed, he had been the con- 
 stant friend and ally of the French, and had led his warriors 
 to battle on many a hard-fought Held in the interests of this 
 people against the English. He commanded the Ottawa braves 
 at the memorable defeat of Braddock, and in this contest he 
 fully set forth his rare military skill and great craftiness. He 
 had served the French officers in various capacities, and espec- 
 ially did he render them valuable aid as a leader of Indian 
 warriors in the hour of their greatest peril. For these deeds 
 he had received many marks of esteem from Montcalm, the 
 brave commander of the French forces, who fell while defend- 
 ing Quebec in 1759. 
 
 Such was the man whose chiefs ^vere now standing in the 
 pathway of the English, at the eastern end of Lake Erie. 
 
 When the deputies had been assured by Eogers that their 
 command would be respected, they returned to Pontiac, who 
 soon after acconjpanied them on their return to the English 
 camp. He greeted Eogers with two haughty questions, which 
 were put in about the following language: "What is your 
 business in this country? How dare you come here without 
 my permission? " These stern demands had considerable effect 
 upon the Major, but he concealed his emotions as far as possi- 
 ble, and appeared to be undaunted. His reply to Pontiac was 
 that the French had been defeated, and that Canada had fallen 
 into the hands of the English, and that he was on his way to 
 take possession of Detroit, and restore a general peace. The 
 great chief listened with attention, but appeared to be dissat- 
 isfied. His only reply was that he would consider the matter 
 until morning, and then give them an answer. He ordered 
 the English to proceed no further without his consent, and 
 then withdrew with his chiefs to his own encampment. 
 
 A dark and gloomy night followed. The rangers had met 
 their enemies face to face, and now as the shades of night gath- 
 ered about them they began to suspect treachery. The night 
 
PONTIAC, THE OTTAWA CHIEFTAIN. 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURI1<XS. 25 
 
 was black and stormy, and the winds sang mournfnlly over the 
 restless bodies of the half perishing soldiers. The guard was 
 doubled in numbers, and instructed to give the alarm at the 
 first sight of danger; but Rogers was happily disappointed. 
 The night passed in perfect tranquility, except in the troubled 
 minds and hearts of the suffering rangers. 
 
 With the dawn of the following day the clouds thinned and 
 the weather became slightly improved. At an early hour 
 Pontiac and his chiefs returned. The chief replied to the words 
 of Rogers, saying that he was willing to live at peace with the 
 English, and would suffer them to remain in his country only 
 as long as they treated him with the respect and courtesy which 
 his official station demanded. The Indian chiefs and Provin- 
 cial officers then smoked the calumet together, and to the eye 
 of the spectator a perfect harmony seemed to be established 
 between them. But alas! it was doomed to a short existence. 
 It would have been well had the English treated this powerful 
 man with more respect; for by enraging him with insult, they 
 brought an avalanche of savage warriors upon their defenseless 
 settlements. 
 
 On the fifteenth of November the detachment reached the 
 western end of Lake Erie, and encamped at the mouth of the 
 Detroit river. Here they were informed that the Indians of 
 Detroit were in arms ready to give them battle, and that four 
 hundred warriors lay in ambush not more than half a mile dis- 
 tant. At this juncture Rogers turned to his new made friend 
 for assistance. He requested Pontiac to send forward a depu- 
 tation of his warriors to persuade the Indians to extend a 
 peaceful reception to the English. The great chief complied, 
 and, obedient to his word, the savages abandoned their designs. 
 This accomplished the rangers continued their course towards 
 Detroit. 
 
 The whale-boats passed slowl}^ up the river until the rangers 
 came within full view of the little fort and the Indian villages 
 around it. They could see the French flag waving in the breeze 
 over the ramparts of the fort, and, no doubt, they felt eager to 
 supply its place by the Cross of St. George. Rogers landed 
 his troops on the opposite side of the river, and pitched his 
 
26 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 tents upon the meadow. He then crossed the river with two 
 officers and a few soldiers, and summoned the French garrison 
 to surrender. In obedience '' the soldiers deliled upon the plain, 
 and laid down their arms." The English flag was now unfolded, 
 and in a few moments the British were in full possession of 
 Detroit. 
 
 The Indians, to the number of nearly two thousand, wit- 
 nessed this singular transfer with wonder and amazement. 
 Why so few Englishmen should thus quietly disarm so many 
 Frenchmen, was, to their savage minds, a question not easily 
 solved. To say the least, it was, in the Indian's way of viewing 
 it, a grand demonstration of English prowess. The surrender 
 had scarcely been completed when all the savages present sent 
 up a burst of triumphant yells, as if to declare that their sym- 
 pathies were already with the conquerors. 
 
 Rogers took possession of Detroit on the 29th day of 
 November, 1760. The French garrison was sent .down the 
 lake as prisoners, while the Canadian inhabitants were allowed 
 to enjoy peaceful possession of their farms and dwellings on 
 the condition of swearing allegiance to the British crown. 
 Forts Miami and Onatauon were next relieved, but Michili- 
 mackinac and the adjacent posts were so far distant that, owing 
 to the advanced season, they remained in the hands of the 
 French till the following spring, when a small detachment took 
 possession of them, and thus completed the work assigned to 
 Major Rogers. 
 
 The English were now in full possession of their conquests, 
 the Indians alone remaining to dispute their possessions. 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 The Wilderness and its Inhabitants at the Close op the French 
 War — Travel and Adventure — The Outposts op Civilization — 
 " The Highways of the Wilderness. 
 
 EvEET reader of American history will remember that, after 
 the defeat of Braddock, the western tribes of Indians rose 
 unanimously against the English. They had come to regard 
 the " red coats " as intruders, and, misguided by the French, 
 tliey believed the English had formed a design to drive them 
 from the country. And now that their enemies had possessed 
 themselves of Canada and the western outposts, the savage? 
 began to discern the approaching ruin of their race. It was 
 at this period that the frontier settlements of Pennsylvania 
 felt the scourge of Indian war. The onslaught extended into 
 Maryland and Virginia, and a wide- spread havoc desolated the 
 border settlements. During the whole summer and autumn 
 of 1755 the slaughter i-aged with increasing fury. The west- 
 ern forests appeared to be alive with infuriated warriors, and 
 day after day, and week after week, scalping parties sallied 
 forth from its pathless depths, murdering women and children 
 without mercy. The log cabin of the hard working pioneer 
 disappeared in smoke and flame, while the frightened inmates, 
 in attempting to escape the raging element, fell into the hands 
 of the blood-thirsty savages. Thus continued the awful work 
 of death and devastation, until, in 1T56, the Indians, under 
 various influences, laid down the hatchet. In the following 
 year a treaty of peace was concluded between these Indians 
 and the colonists, which also had a good result. This treaty, 
 however, did not embrace the Indians of the Ohio, who com- 
 prised many of the bravest Delaware and Shawanoe warriors. 
 and who still continued their murderous assaults until 1758j 
 (37) 
 
28 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND '1'ECUMSEH: 
 
 when, hearing of the advance of General Forbes, and seeing 
 that the French cause was utterly hopeless they accepted terms 
 of peace. The Six Nations, however, were still unfriendly. 
 At the outbreak of the war, they had manifested some signs 
 of friendship, but the disasters which had attended the first 
 campaign gave them a very poor idea of British prowess. 
 They became still more disgusted with the English, when, on 
 the following year, they beheld their defeat at Oswego. It is 
 said that many of them fought with the French in this battle. 
 But, fortunately, success favored the Enghsh in the succeeding 
 contests. Du Quesne and Louisburg were taken, and the fierce 
 Iroquois, seeing these achievements, went over to the side of 
 the conquerers, and from that day, fought in the interests of 
 the English. This was one of their greatest mistakes, for, 
 with the fall of Canada their doom was sealed. They no 
 longer held the balance of power between the rival colonies, 
 and, being lightly regarded as allies, they were left to their 
 own limited resources. The numerous tribes of the west, 
 however, arrayed themselves on the side of the French, and 
 fought in the interests of Canada through the whole war. At 
 its conclusion they retired into the forests, where they remained 
 inactive until called to battle by the voice of the mightiest of 
 warriors — Pontiac, the Ottawa chief. 
 
 And now, before entering upon an account of that terrible 
 contest, the Pontiac War, which makes the first part of our 
 narrative, it will be proper to glance at that vast country which 
 the Indians had resolved to wrest from the hands of their 
 enemies. " One vast, continuous forest," says Francis Park- 
 man, " shadowed the fertile soil, covering the land as tlie grass 
 covers the garden lawn, sweeping over hill and hollow, in end- 
 less undulation, burying mountains in verdure, and mantling 
 brooks and rivers from the light of day. Green intervals 
 dotted with browsing deer, and broad plains blackened with 
 bufialo, broke the sameness of the woodland scenery. Unnum- 
 bered rivers seamed the forest with their devious windings. 
 Vast lakes washed its boundaries, where the Indian voyager, 
 in his birch canoe, could descry no land beyond the world of 
 waters. Yet this prolific wilderness, teeming with waste fer- 
 
OR, THE BORDKK WARS OK TWO (;I<;N TIIRIES. 29 
 
 tility, was but a hunting ground and a battle Held to a few 
 fierce hordes of savages. Here and there, in some rich meadow 
 opened to the sun, the Indian squaws turned the black mould 
 with theii' rude implements of bone or iron, and sowed their 
 scanty stores of maize and beans. Human labor drew no 
 other tribute from that inexhaustable soil." 
 
 The population, consisting almost entirely of Indians, was 
 so thin and scattered that sometimes one might travel for 
 whole weeks without meeting a human form. Kentucky was 
 but a " skirmishing ground for the hostile tribes of the north 
 and south;" while in many parts of the lake region hundreds 
 of square miles were inhabited only by wild beasts. At the 
 close of the French War, the Indian population of the whole 
 northwest did not exceed thirty thousand. Out of this num- 
 ber there were not more than ten thousand fighting men. Yet 
 this army, when detached and scattered after the Indian cus- 
 toms of warfare, was all that the English could master. 
 
 The condition of the savages had changed, although, per- 
 haps, it was but little improved. Onondaga, the capital of the 
 Iroquois, where their council fires had been kindled from 
 time out of mind, was no longer a place of great importance. 
 The ancient council house of bark was still to be seen, but its 
 deserted appearance bespoke the fall of the Six l^ations. Their 
 other villages presented a similar spectacle. Everywhere cIa^- 
 ilization had worked evil for the savages. It was true that the 
 use of firearms aided them in the chase, but all the advantage 
 of the arts could not atone for the evils of rum. " High up 
 the Susquehanna were seated the ISTorthcokes, Conoys, and 
 Mohicans, with a portion of the Delawares. Detached bands 
 of the western Iroquois dwelt upon the headwaters of the 
 Alleghany, mingled with their neighbors, the Delawares, who 
 had several villages upon this stream. The great body of the 
 latter nation, however, lived upon the Beaver creeks and the 
 Muskingum in numerous scattered towns and hamlets." In 
 each village might have been seen one large building of better 
 style than the rest. This was devoted to festivals, dances, and 
 public meetings. 
 
 Along the Sciota were the lodges of the Shawanoes. To the 
 
30 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 westward, along the banks of the Wabash and the Maumee 
 dwelt the Mianias. The Illinois were scattered and degraded. 
 Having early met the French traders, they became addicted to 
 the habit of drinking, and soon sank from their native purity 
 into a wretched degeneracy. There was no tribe in the whole 
 lake region which adapted itself to the customs of civilization 
 with better results than the AVyandot family. At this time 
 their villages along the Detroit, and in the vicinity of San- 
 dusky, presented a clean and tidy appearance. They were 
 husbandmen of considerable industry, and their name ranked 
 high in war and policy. 
 
 The English settlements were scattered along the eastern 
 seaboard on a narrow strip of land bordered on the west by a 
 dense forest. At this' time Albany, N. Y., was, by far, the 
 largest frontier town. It was from this place that traders or 
 soldiers bound for the lake region, or the wilds of the great 
 west, set out on their hazardous journey. These hardy adven- 
 turers would embark in a canoe, ascend the Mohawk, pass the 
 old Dutch town of Schenectady, Fort Hunter and Fort Herki- 
 mer, finally reaching Fort Stanwix, at the head of the river 
 navigation. They would then pass overland to Wood creek, 
 carrying their canoes. Here they would embark, and by fol- 
 lowing its winding course, arrive at the Eoyal Blockhouse. At 
 this point they entered the waters of the Oneida. Crossing 
 its western extremity, and passing under the wooden ramparts 
 of Fort Brewerton, they would descend the river Oswego, to 
 the town of the same name, on the banks of Lake Ontario. 
 Here the vast navigation of the lakes would be open before 
 them. 
 
 The principal trail from the middle colonies to the Indian 
 country was from Philadelphia westward, mounting the 
 Alleghanies, and descending to the valley of the Ohio. As 
 soon as peace had been established, after the war between the 
 colonies, adventnrous fur traders hastened over the mountains, 
 hoping to become rich in the traffic of the wilderness markets, 
 and forgetting the dangers with which they were surrounding 
 themselves. These pioneer merchants would transport their 
 merchandise on the backs of horses, threading the forests and 
 
OU, THE BOKDEK WAKS OF TWO CKNTUKIES. 8L 
 
 fording streams for manj miles into tlie unknown wilderness 
 of the Indian country. They were a rough, bold, yet happy 
 set of men, and often as fierce and as fond of war and adven- 
 ture as the savages themselves. They wore but little dress. A 
 blanket coat, or a frock of smoked deer skin, a rifle on the 
 shoulder, and a knife and tomahawk in the belt, formed their 
 ordinary equipment. The principal trader, " the owner of the 
 merchandise, would fix his headquarters at some large Indian 
 town, whence he would dispatch his subordinates to the sur- 
 rounding villages, with a suitable supply of blankets and red 
 cloth, guns and hatchets, liquor, tobacco, paint, beads and 
 hawk's bills." This traffic was attended with every descrip- 
 tion of irregularity. Eivalism, robbery and murder were fre- 
 quent results; and, when it is considered that these adventurers 
 were in a country where neither law nor morals had any foot- 
 hold, such conduct will hardly be wondered at. 
 
 A visit to the more remote tribes of the Mississippi valley 
 was attended with still greater risk. No Englishman, how- 
 ever, attempted this hazardous journey without losing his 
 scalp, until several years after the conquest of Canada. The 
 traveler bound to this region generally descended the Ohio in 
 a canoe. " He might float," says Francis Parkman, " for more 
 than eleven hundred miles down this liquid highway of the 
 wilderness, and, except the deserted cabins of Logstown, a 
 little below Fort Pitt, the remnant of a Shawnoe village at 
 the mouth of the Sciota, and an occasional hamlet or solitary 
 wigwam along the luxuriant banks, he would discern no trace 
 of human habitancy through all this vast extent." The body 
 of the Indian population lay to the north on the tributaries of 
 this river, but scattering war parties were often to be encoun- 
 tered in this region. The ti-aveler needed to exercise the 
 greatest caution. If, perchance, he observed the blue smoke 
 curling above the green bosom of the forest, betraying the 
 camping ground of some ^ar party, his light canoe was drawn 
 into some liiding place on the bank of the river. When 
 darkness closed in, the adventurer would again embark and 
 float along in safety. 
 
 In the southern portion of the present state of Illinois we>e 
 
32 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH: 
 
 to be seen the old French outposts, Kaskaskia, Cahokia and 
 Vincennes. From the latter the traveler could paddle his 
 canoe up the Wabash until he reached the little village of 
 Ouatauon. From this point a trail led through the forest to 
 the Maumee, where stood Fort Miami. This is the spot where 
 Fort Wajnie was afterwards built. From this Fort the trav- 
 eler might descend the Maumee river to Lake Erie. Here he 
 would have Sandusky on the right, or, further north, through 
 the strait of Detroit, he would pass Fort Detroit, and enter 
 the watery wastes of the northern lakes. Farther east, beyond 
 the Alleghany, were Forts Presque Isle, Le Boeuf and 
 Venango. 
 
 I have thus briefly pointed out the western outposts of civil- 
 ization as they were to be found soon after the conquest of 
 Canada, or at the commencement of the Pontiac War. We 
 vsdll now glance at the Indians in their military capacity, and 
 Bee to what extent they were prepared to prosecute the war 
 into which they were about to plunge. 
 
CHAPTER lY. 
 
 The Indians Preparing for War — Pontiac and His Ambassadors 
 — The Council at the River Ecorces — Plan for the Reduction 
 OF Detroit — The Conspiracy. 
 
 Although the Indians of the Nortliwest were poorly qual- 
 ified to engage in a war with the English, they had good reasons 
 for commencing it. A defeat could not be much worse than 
 the insults to which they were every day subjected, and to stand 
 quietly by and see their best hunting grounds invaded by English 
 settlers, was not to be endured by Indian warriors who could 
 boast as brave and sagacious a leader as Pontiac. The French 
 missionaries and fur-traders who had formerly come among 
 them, gave but little cause for alarm. These adventurers were, 
 for the most part, satisfied with the proceeds of a traflic with 
 the savages, or with telling them the story of the Cross; but 
 it was not so with the English. He was essentially a husband- 
 man, and for half a league around his little hut he claimed 
 exclusive rights to the resources of the territory. When the 
 Indian invaded these limits, he was treated with a haughty 
 opposition, and ordered away. Thus the red men beheld the 
 rapidly approaching ruin of their race, and hastened to avert 
 it. Pontiac, whose penetrating mind could reach iartherest 
 into the annals of coming events, warned those around him 
 of the danger of allowing the English to make permanent set- 
 tlements in their country, and counseled the tribes to unite, in 
 one great eifort, against their common foe. He did not sup- 
 port the common idea which prevailed among the infuriated 
 Indians, of driving the English into the Atlantic ocean, for he 
 well knew their military skill and power; but being persuaded 
 by the French that the King of France M'as at that time 
 advancing up the St. Lawrence with a mighty army, lie resolved 
 3 (33) 
 
34 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 to lead his warriors to battle with a view to i-estoring the 
 French power in Canada, and to check the English in their 
 progress westward. 
 
 Resolved on this course, Pontiac, at the close of the year 
 1762, sent out deputies to all the tribes. " They visited the 
 country of the Ohio," says Parkman, " passed northward to the 
 region of the Upper Lakes, and the wild borders of the river 
 Ottawa, and far southward to the mouth of the Mississippi. 
 Bearing with them the belt of wampum, broad and long as the 
 importance of the message demanded, and the tomahawk 
 stained red in token of war, they went from camp to camp, 
 and village to village. Whei'ever they appeared the sachems 
 and old men assembled to hear the words of the great Pontiac. 
 Then the head chief of the embassy flung down the tomahawk 
 on the ground before them, and holding the war belt in his 
 hand, delivered with vehement gesture, word for word, the 
 speech with which he was charged." Everywhere the speech 
 was received with approval, the hatchet taken up, and the 
 auditors stood pledged, according to the Indian custom, to aid 
 in the projected war. 
 
 The onslaught was to begin in the folloAving month of May. 
 Each tribe was to surprise the garrison in his own immediate 
 neighborhood, slaughter the soldiers, and then with a united 
 effort all were to turn against the defenseless frontier settle- 
 ments. 
 
 The reader will here be anxious to know the names of those 
 nations who thus eagerly united under Pontiac against the 
 English. With a few unimportant exceptions, they comprised 
 the whole Algonquin family, the "Wyandots, the Senecas, and 
 several tribes of the lower Mississippi, Of the Six Nations, 
 the Senecas were the only nation who joined in the league. 
 The other five nations remained neutral, it is said, through the 
 iimely influence of Sir William Johnson. 
 
 Although on the very eve of an outbreak, the savages con- 
 cealed their design with impenetrable secrecy. They continued 
 to visit the various forts, and to solicit tobacco, amunition and 
 whisky in their usual manner. JSTow and then, enraged by 
 English insolence, they would threaten the officers with the 
 
OB, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 35 
 
 approaching slaughter, but beyond this, and with a single 
 exception, tlie great conspiracy was unknown to the English 
 until it burst forth in death and devastation. " On one occa- 
 sion," says the author from whom I have just quoted, " the 
 plot was nearly discovered. Early in March, 1763, Ensign 
 Holmes, commanding at Fort Miami, was told by a friendly 
 Indian, that the warriors in a neighboring village had lately 
 received a war belt, with a message urging them to destroy 
 him and his garrison, and that this they were preparing to do." 
 The commandant summoned the Indians together and openly 
 charged them with their design. They confessed to the truth- 
 fulness of the report, declared that the plot had originated 
 with a neighboring tribe, and promised to abandon it. Holmes 
 communicated information of this affair to Major Gladwyn of 
 Detroit, who regarded it merely in the light of an ordinary 
 Indian outbreak, and, believing that it would soon pass away, he 
 took no notice of it. With the approach of spring, the Indi- 
 ans, returning from the chase, began to congregate in small 
 parties around the different forts. They were unusually 
 reserved, seldom going into the forts, and encamping a short 
 distance from them, in the edges of the woods. They were 
 now rapidly preparing to strike the blow so long meditated by 
 Pontiac, and the hour of treachery and massacre was nio-h. 
 They were by no means prepared for a successful war on their 
 part, but, true to the Indian character, they loved the war-path, 
 and all were now anxious to enter upon it. " While there wap 
 little risk that they would capture any strong and well fortified 
 fort, or carry any important position, there was, on the other 
 hand, every reason to apprehend wide-spread havoc, and a 
 destructive w^ar of detail. That the war might be carried on 
 with vigor and effect, it was the part of the Indian leaders to 
 work upon the passions of their people, and keep alive the 
 feeling of irritation; to whet their native appetite for blood 
 and glory, and cheer them on to the attack; to guard against 
 all that might quench their ardor, or abate their fierceness; to 
 avoid pitched battles; never to fight except under advantage, 
 and to avail themselves of all aid which surprise, craft and 
 treachery could afford." The English colonies, at this time, 
 
36 THE LIVES OF PON'nAC AND TECDMSEH; 
 
 having just emerged from a long and costly war with Canada, 
 were not in a position to meet this Indian outbreak without 
 suffering largely from its consequences. Their little army was 
 disorganized, and there remained hardly troops enough to gar- 
 rison the feeble western outposts against which Pontiac's war 
 was now to be desperately waged. Sir William Johnson stood 
 at the head of this inadequate force. He was then ripe in mil- 
 itary renown, and, withal, well qualified for the task which 
 was thus unexpectedly thrust upon him. " The command," 
 says an able writer, " could not have been intrusted to better 
 hands, and the results of the war, lamentable as they were, 
 would have been much more disastrous but for his promptness 
 and vigor, and, above all, his judicious selection of those to 
 whom he conlided the execution of his orders." 
 
 At this period the western wilderness presented an interest- 
 ing scene. Everywhere Indians were preparing for the war. 
 The war dance was celebrated in a hundred villages, and chiefs 
 and warriors, painted and adorned, stood ready for the onset. 
 To begin the war, however, was reserved by Pontiac as his own 
 special privilege. In the spring of 1763, his great conspiracy 
 was mature, and he summoned the chiefs and warriors of all the 
 tribes in the newly formed league to a war council. The sachems 
 met on the banks of the Ecorces river, Detroit, near whither 
 Pontiac had gone to welcome them. Band after band of 
 painted warriors came struggling in until the forest was alive 
 with restless savs;'£;es, for nearly a mile up and down the little 
 stream. It \Jriib- irr^-^eed, an important event for the red man. 
 At frequent ini.» -/als during the year iast p*^S8ed, he had heard 
 the words of the great Ottawa f.hicfj as d«l'.vered by his depu- 
 ties. Now they had met thiE woridifji ,:caB face to face. He 
 who, through his diligent ambassadors had united all the tribes 
 of the Algonquin family under a confederacy, equal in demo- 
 cratic scope to that of the far-famed Six Nations, was now to 
 speak to many of his subjects for the first time. He was to tell 
 them, in true Indian eloquence, the story of their approaching 
 ruin; he was to uncover the selfish policy of the English, and 
 point to the only means by which they could revive their declin- 
 ing prowess ; he was to stand forth before his savage auditors 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTDRIKt;. 87 
 
 and verify, by matchless power of word and gesture, the thril- 
 ling story of his greatness, wliich had been passed from village 
 to village on the tongues of his light-footed messengers; he 
 was this day to prove himself the mightiest among a thousand 
 haughty, jealous savage warriors. Truly, the occasion was an 
 exciting one for the assembled tribes. All waited patiently to 
 hear the words of the famous Ottawa chief. 
 
 This council took place on the 27th of April, 1763. " On 
 that morning," says a reliable writer, " several old men, the 
 heralds of the camp, passed to and fro among the lodges, call- 
 ing the warriors in a loud voice to attend the meeting. In 
 accordance with the summons, they came issuing from their 
 cabins — the tall, naked figures of the wild Ojibwas, with quivers 
 slung at their backs, and light war clubs resting in the hollow 
 of their arms; Ottawas, wrapped close in their gaudy blankets; 
 Wyandots, fluttering in painted shirts, their heads adorned 
 with feathers and their leggins garnished with bells." All 
 were soon seated in a wide circle upon the grass, row within 
 row, a mighty and warlike assembly. Each savage countenance 
 wore an expression of gravity. Pipes, with ornamented stems, 
 were lighted and passed from hand to hand, until all had 
 " smoked together in harmony." 
 
 Then Pontiac came forth from his lodge, and walked forward 
 into the midst of the council. He was a man of medium 
 lieight, with a grandly proportioned muscular figure, and an 
 address well calculated to win the admiration and respect of 
 the savage heart. His complexion was rather dark for an 
 Indian, and his features wore a bold and stern expression, while 
 his bearing was imperious and peremptory. His only attire 
 was that of the primitive savage — a scanty cincture girt about 
 his loins, and his long, black hair flowing loosely at his back — 
 excepting the plumes and decorations of the war dress. " Look- 
 ing round upon his wild auditors," says Parkman, " he began to 
 speak, with fierce gesture and loud, impassioned voice; and at 
 every pause, deep gntteral ejaculations of assent and approval 
 responded to his words." 
 
 He gave a full and eloquent exposure of the English policy 
 towards the Indians ; spoke of the French in high terms, and 
 
6b THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 contrasted them with the " red coats." He recounted the 
 many insults which he and his followers had received at the 
 hands of the British commandant at Detroit, and ably set forth 
 the danger that would arise were the English allowed to con- 
 tinue their settlements in the West. He said that their 
 enemies had conquered Canada, and were now about to turn 
 upon the Indians and slaughter them without mercy. Already 
 their best hunting grounds had been invaded by their settlers, 
 and, if this was "continued, it would not be long before they 
 would be crowded from their homes altogether. Then he took up 
 a broad belt of wampum, saying that he had received it from his 
 great father, the King of France, in token that he had heard 
 the voice of his red children, and was on his way to aid them 
 in a war against the English, and to restore Canada to the 
 French. When he had fully wrought upon their savage minds 
 by setting forth all their grievances and complaints, and declar- 
 ing tliat a desperate war was the only means by which they 
 could be removed, he addressed himself to their superstitions, 
 by telling the following curious story : " A Delaware Indian 
 conceived an eager desire to learn wisdom from the Master of 
 Life; but, being ignorant where to find him, he had recourse 
 to fasting, dreaming and magical incantations. By these means 
 it was revealed to him that by moving forward in a straight, 
 undeviating course, he would reach the abode of the Great 
 Spirit. He told his pui-pose to no one, and having provided the 
 equipments of a hunter — gun, powdei'-horn, ammunition and 
 kettle for preparing his food — he set forth on his errand. For 
 some time he journeyed on in high hope and confidence. On 
 the evening of the eighth day, he stopped by the side of a 
 brook at the edge of a small prairie, where he begun to make 
 ready his evening meal, when, looking up, he saw three large 
 openings in the woods on the opposite side of the meadow, 
 and three well-beaten paths which entered them. He was 
 much surprised, but his wonder was increased when after it 
 had grown dark, the three paths were more clearly visible than 
 ever. Remembering the important object of his journey, he 
 could neither rest nor sleep, and, leaving his fire, he crossed 
 the meadow, and entered the largest of the three openings. He 
 
OK, THlu BORDER WARS OF TWO CEKTURIKS. 39 
 
 had advanced but a short distance into the forest, when a bright 
 flame sprang out of the ground before him and arrested his 
 steps. In great amazement he turned back, and entered the 
 second path, where the same wonderful phenomenon again 
 encountered him; and now in terror and bewilderment, yet 
 still resplved to persevere, he pursued the last of the three paths. 
 On this he journeyed a whole day without interruption, when 
 at length, emerging from the forest, he saw before him a vast 
 mountain of dazzling whiteness. So precipitous was the assent 
 that the Indian thought it hopeless to go further, and looked 
 around him in despair; at that moment he saw, seated at some 
 distance above, the figure of a beautiful woman arrayed in 
 A\hite, who arose as he looked upon her, and thus accosted him: 
 ' How can you hope, encumbered as you are, to succeed in your 
 design? Go down to the foot of the mountain, throw away 
 your gun, your ammunition, your provisions and your clothing; 
 wash yourself in the stream which flows there, and you will 
 then be prepared to stand before the Master of Life.' The 
 Indian obeyed, and again began to ascend among the rocks, 
 while the woman, seeing him still discouraged, laughed at his 
 faintness of heart, and told him that if he wished for success, 
 he must climb, by the aid of one hand and one foot only. 
 After great toil and suffering, he at length found himself at 
 the summit. The woman had disappeared, and he was left 
 alone. A rich and beautiful plain lay before him, and at a 
 little distance he saw three great villages, far superior to the 
 S(|ualid dwellings of the Delawares. As he approached the 
 largest, and stood hesitating wliether he should enter, a man, 
 gorgeously attired, stepped forth, and, taking him by the hand, 
 welcomed him to the celestial abode. He then conducted liim 
 into the presence of the Great Spirit, where the Indian stood 
 confounded at the unspeakable splendor which surrounded 
 him. The Great Spirit bade him be seated, and thus addressed 
 him: 'I am the Maker of heaven and earth, the trees, lakes, 
 rivers and all things else. I am the Maker of mankind, and 
 because I love you, you must do my will. The land on which 
 you live I have made for you, and not for others. Why do 
 you suflTer the white men to dwell among von ? My children, you 
 
40 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 have forgotten the customs and traditions of your forefathers. 
 Why do you not clothe yourselves in skins, as they did, and use 
 the bows and arrows, and the stone-pointed lances which they 
 used? You have bouglit guns, knives, kettles and blankets 
 from the white men, until you can no longer do without them ; 
 and what is worse, you have drunk the poison lire-water which 
 turns you into fools. Fling all these things away; live as 
 your wise forefathers lived "before you. And as for these Eng- 
 lish — these dogs dressed in red w^ho have come to rob you 
 of your hunting grounds, and drive away the game— you must 
 lift the hatchet against them. Wipe them from the face of 
 the earth, and then you will win my favor back again, and once 
 more be hapj^y and prosperous. The children of your great 
 father, the King of France, are not like the English. Never 
 forget that they are your brethren. They are very dear to me, 
 for they love the red men, and understand the true mode of 
 worshiping me.' 
 
 " Tlie Great Spirit then instructed the Delaware in matters 
 of religion, and bade him return to the earth and tell all that 
 he had seen and heard." 
 
 Such was the legend with which Pontiac closed his great war 
 speech. All present listened to him with great interest, and 
 at its close each warrior was eager to attack the British fort. 
 But the Ottawa chief counseled them to desist for the present. 
 He wished to establish order and method at the beginning, sO' 
 as to insure success to their arms. He told them that on the 
 second of the following month he would gain admittance to the 
 fort at Detroit, with a party of his warriors, on pretence of 
 dancing the calumet dance before the garrison; that they 
 would observe the strength of the place, and summon another 
 council immediately afterwards. 
 
 On the day appointed Pontiac, with about forty Ottawa war- 
 riors, appeared at the gate of the fort and asked admittance 
 for the purpose of dancing the calumet before the garrison. 
 A.t first Gladwyn refused, but, after considerable hesitation, he 
 gave his consent, and the Indians were admitted. They imme- 
 diately began the celebrated dance, and were soon surrounded 
 by the soldiers who were highly amused with their perform 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 41 
 
 auces. During the dance, some ten of the Indians who took 
 no part in it, walked leisurely through the fort, observing 
 everything it contained. At the conclusion of the dance, all 
 withdrew peaceably. 
 
 A few days after, a council was held in the Pottawatomie 
 village. Here there had been erected a large bark structure 
 for the purpose of public meetings, and in this more than a 
 hundred warriors seated themselves, and began to pass the 
 time-honored pipe from hand to hand. Pontiac soon appeared 
 in their midst. He addressed himself to the assembled chiefs, 
 urging them to take up arms against the English, and closed 
 by submitting the following plan for the reduction of Detroit: 
 " He would demand a council with the commandant concern- 
 ing matters of great importance, and on this pretext he flattered 
 himself that he and his principal chiefs would gain ready 
 admittance within the fort. They were all to can-y weapons 
 concealed beneath their blankets. While in the act of address- 
 ing the commandant in the council room, Pontiac was to make 
 a certain sign, upon which the chiefs were to raise the war- 
 whoop, rush upon the officers present, and strike them down. 
 The other Indians waiting meanwhile at the gate, or loitering 
 among the houses, on hearing the yells and firing within the 
 building, were to assail the astonished and half-armed soldiers, 
 and thus Detroit would fall an easy prey." The plan was 
 eagerly adopted. 
 
CHAPTEK Y. 
 
 A Glimpse at Fort Detboit in 1763 — The Conspiracy — Thb 
 Treachery op Pontiac — His Plot Revealed — The Savages 
 Baffled — Murder of English Settlers— The Siege Com- 
 menced — The Assault — Gladwtn Offers Peace — Pontiac 
 Refuses — Departure of Major Campbell to the Ottawa 
 Camp — His Warning. 
 
 At this point I will interruiDt the narrative, and look in, for 
 a moment, upon the little trading post of Detroit. This post, 
 originally called Fort Pontchartrain, was established by La 
 Matte Cadillac, in 1701. It continued to be a French trading 
 post of considerable importance until its transfer to the Eng- 
 lish, when, according to Maj. Eogers, it contained about twenty- 
 live hundred inhabitants. The dwelKngs in the settlement 
 extended for some distance up and down the western bank of 
 the river. In the centre stood the little fort, containing about 
 one hundred houses, and surrounded by a palisade. The settle- 
 ment, at this time, extended for nearly ten miles along the 
 river, and presented quite a tidy and comfortable appearance. 
 Each dwelling had its orchard and garden, and both were 
 enclosed together by a palisade of rounded pickets. Near the 
 fort were three large Indian villages. The Pottawatomies were 
 located a little below the fort on the same side of the river, and 
 nearly opposite, on what is now termed the " Canada side," 
 were the lodges of the Wyandots, and on the same side, at a 
 considerable distance up the river was the home of Pontiac and 
 his brave warriors. 
 
 At the time of which I write, 1763, this post was garrisoned 
 
 by British regulars and Provincial rangers. Its form was 
 
 almost square, and the palisade which surrounded it was about 
 
 twenty-five feet high. A block-house was erected over each 
 
 (42) 
 
OK, THE BOKDEK VVAKS OK 'lAVO CIEATUKIKS. 4;] 
 
 gateway. Besides the barracks, the only public buildings were 
 a council house and a little church. The garrison consisted of 
 about one hundred and twenty soldiers, with, perhaps, half as 
 many fur-traders. Two small armed schooners, the Beaver and 
 the Gladwyn, lay anchored in the stream, and several light 
 pieces of artillery were mounted in the bastions. Such was 
 Detroit in the spring of 1763, when Pontiac and his wild war- 
 riors formed a plot for its reduction. 
 
 " On the afternoon of the 6th of May," says Parkman, '^ a 
 Canadian woman crossed over to the w^estern side and visited 
 the Ottawa village to obtain from the Indians a supply of 
 maple sugar and venison. She was surprised at finding several 
 of the warriors engaged in filing off the muzzles of their guns, 
 so as to reduce them, stock and all, to the length of about one 
 yard." This woman reported what she had seen to the settlers 
 who, in turn, communicated the information to Major Gladwyn, 
 but he took no notice of it. 
 
 But according to tradition, the commandant received infor- 
 mation of 1»he design of Pontiac in another way. In the 
 Pottawatomie village dwelt an Ojibwa girl, called Catherine, 
 who was very beautiful. She had attracted Gladwyn's atten- 
 tion, and he had become very intimate with her. On the 
 afternoon of the sixth of May, she came to the fort, and visited 
 Gladwyn's quarters, bringing with her a pair of slippers which 
 he had requested her to make. She manifested something 
 unusual in her manner, and Gladwyn pressed her to tell him 
 the cause of it, and, after great reluctance, she unveiled the 
 terrible conspiracy. "To-morrow," she said, "Pontiac will 
 come to the fort with sixty of his chiefs. Each will be armed 
 with a gun, cut short, and hidden under his blanket. Pontiac 
 will demand to hold a council, and after he has delivered his 
 speech, he will offer a peace belt of wampum, holding it in a 
 reversed position. This will be the sign of attack. The chiefs 
 will spring up and fire upon the oflicers, and the Indians in the 
 street will fall upon the garrison. Every Englishman will be 
 killed, but not the scalp of a single Frenchman will be taken." 
 
 Whether this tradition be true or false, it is evident that the 
 British commandant received secret information on the evening 
 
44 THK LIVES OF PONTIAU AKD TECUMSEH : 
 
 of the sixth of May, that an attempt would be made on the 
 seventh to capture the fort and slaughter the garrison. He 
 summoned the officei'S to his room and told them what he had 
 heard. The garrison was immediately ordered under arms, 
 and all the officers prepared to spend the night upon the 
 ramparts. During the whole night an anxious watch was 
 maintained, but nothing disturbed the quiet of the little fort 
 save the wild Indian yells, as they were borne on the night 
 wind from the distant Ottawa camp-fires. 
 
 At an earlier hour than usual on the following morning, the 
 open space west of the fort was thronged with savages. They 
 had, to all appearances, assembled for a general game of ball. 
 "Warriors, men, women and children, adorned with all the gaudy 
 finery of paint, beads and feathers, moved restlessly to and fro 
 while the principal chiefs and warriors passed through the open 
 gates into the fort. Presently the garrison observed a number 
 of canoes crossing the river from the eastern shore. These 
 contained the great Ottawa leader and his sixty braves, although 
 to the eyes of the soldiers only three persons were visible in 
 each. They had concealed themselves by lying flat in the bot- 
 tom of the canoes, so as not to attract attention. 
 
 The garrison now prepared itself for the emergency. At 
 ten o'clock, Pontiac and his chiefs reached the fort, and 
 thronged the gateway with their painted forms. They were 
 admitted, for Gladwyn had resolved to teach them that he 
 despised their hostility. As they entered, ranks of armed 
 soldiers greeted them on either side, and everywhere they could 
 read the total ruin of their plot. As the warriors passed along 
 the narrow street towards the council house, the measured tap of 
 of the drum indicated that all was ready within the fort to receive 
 them. Eeaching the council house they found Major Gladwyn 
 and his officers awaiting their arrival. Here, too, Pontiac 
 found every one armed. After much reluctance, the warriors 
 seated themselves, and their leader demanded to know why so 
 many persons were standing in the street with their guns. 
 The commandant replied that he had ordered the soldiers under 
 arms for the purpose of exercise and discipline. 
 
 After the usual delay, Pontiac rose, and, holding in his hand 
 
OE, THE BORDER ,vAKS OF TWO C]<:NTUKII';S. 45 
 
 the wampum belt with wliich he was to have made the signal, 
 he addressed Gladwyn, declaring that they were still friendly 
 to the English, and that he had come with his chiefs to " smoke 
 the pipe of peace and brighten the chain of friendship." The 
 officers watched him with deep interest, for they feared that 
 although he knew his designs had been detected, he might still 
 attempt to accomplish them. It is said that at one time he 
 raised the belt for the purpose of giving the fatal signal, but at 
 that instant Gladwyn made a slight sign, whereupon a terrify- 
 ing clash of arms, and the drum rolling the charge, sounded 
 from the passage without. At this dreadful moment Pontiac 
 stood like one confounded. Seeing the utter ruin of his plot, he 
 sat down in despair. After the usual pause Gladwyn rose and 
 made a very brief reply. He told the chiefs that they should 
 be treated with friendship and protection as long as they 
 deserved it, and threatened ample vengeance for the first act of 
 aggression. The council then broke up, the gates of the fort 
 were thrown open, and the warriors allowed to depart. 
 
 Some writers have censured Gladwyn for not detaining the 
 warriors, and in this way prevented the terrible war which fol- 
 lowed, but as they had not, as yet, been guilty of open violence^ 
 the commandant feared that, should he ari*est them, the act 
 might be regarded as cowardly. On the other hand he was 
 ignoraTit as to the real nature of the plot. Regarding it as an 
 ordinary piece of Indian treachery, he supposed the whole affair 
 would soon pass away or be forgotten. 
 
 Pontiac, baffled in his wicked design, retired to his own 
 village. No doubt the great chief was deeply mortified. 
 Nevertheless he was determined to persevere. He first attempted 
 to convince the English that the reports of his plot, which had 
 been carried to their ears, were false. For this purpose he vis- 
 ited the fort with three of his chiefs, taking with him the sacred 
 calumet, or pipe of peace. Handing it to Major Gladwyn he 
 said : " My father, evil birds have sung lies in your ears. We 
 that stand before you are friends of the English. We love 
 them as our brothers, and, to prove our love, we have come 
 this day to smoke the pipe of peace." When the warriors left 
 the council room, Pontiac presented Capt. Campbell with this 
 
46 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 highly-prized pipe, no doubt hoping- to persuade the command 
 ant that he was sincere in his assurances of friendship. 
 
 This done, he withdrew to the Pottawatomie village and 
 summoned the chiefs to another council. Early on the follow- 
 ing morning, the ninth of May, the common behind the fort 
 was once more thronged Avith Indians, and Pontiac, advancing 
 from among the multitude, walked up to the gate of the fort 
 and demanded admission. The gate was barred against him. 
 The great chief wished to know why he could not enter, and 
 Gladwyn replied that as for as him (Pontiac) he might enter, 
 but the multitude he had brought with him must remain out- 
 side. Being again thwarted, the great chief turned from the 
 gate, and walked rapidly away, manifesting signs of anger. In 
 a few moments the garrison observed the warriors running, in 
 great numbers, towards the house of a poor old English woman, 
 who lived, with her famil}-, on the outskirts of the common. 
 It was now plain that the work of slaughter had begun. The 
 enraged warriors, reaching the wretched hut, beat in the doors, 
 and rushed in, as if eager to commence their bloody work. A 
 moment more and the shrill scalp yell told the story of the 
 first massacre of the Pontiac war. The flow of English blood 
 thus begun, increased day after day until the whole lake region 
 was stained with human gore. The threatening clouds grew 
 blacker. The anger of the Indians increased, and band after 
 band of wild, ferocious warriors roved east and west, north 
 and south, murdering every English man, woman and child 
 whom fate brought in their pathway. The pen refuses to 
 describe the scenes of horrifying massacre which followed. 
 Death, torture, adventure, hair-breadth escape, cannibalism, 
 treachery and untold suffering make up the heart- rending^ 
 catalogue. 
 
 Shocking as it may seem, it is my aim, in this narrative, to 
 present these revolting outbursts of indiscriminate slaughter, 
 each in their turn, as they appear in the long, dark annals of 
 border warfare. 
 
 The breath had scarcely left the bodies of this unfortunate 
 family, when the blood-thirsty warriors, with bleeding scalps 
 fluttering from their sides, rushed furiously towards the river. 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURI1«. 47 
 
 Here, leaping into their canoes, they pushed out into the stream 
 and paddled vigorously in the direction of Isle au Cochon, 
 where dwelt an Englishman by the name of Fisher. Having 
 already observed the danger of his situation, he hid himself, 
 ' and when the warriors reached the Island he w^as not to be 
 seen. They soon dragged him forth from his insecure abode, 
 murdered him on the spot, and, lifting his scalp, they sent up 
 a thousand triumphant yells, which were swaftly borne to the 
 ears of the terror-stricken garrison, upon the lake breeze. 
 
 Tradition relates a curious tale regarding the body of Fisher. 
 On the day after his murder several Frenchmen of Detroit 
 went over to the Island and buried the body. A few days 
 after one of the party returned to the spot, where he beheld the 
 death-cold hands of the dead man thrust above the ground in 
 an attitude of eager entreaty. Having once more buried the 
 corpse deep in the earth, he returned, filled with awe and won- 
 der. A few days after he returned, with several Canadians, 
 and found the hands of the murdered man protruding as 
 before. They now hastened, horror stricken, to the priest, and 
 related all that they had seen. The good father hastened to 
 the spot and sprinkled it with holy water, and performed over 
 it the neglected burial rites, and from thenceforth the body of 
 the murdered Englishman slept in peace. This tradition, I 
 believe, was preserved in the St. Aubin manuscript, and given 
 as undoubted truth. 
 
 It should be recorded that Pontiac bore no part in these 
 brutal murders. Seeing his plan to capture the fort defeated, 
 he strode oif from his warriors towards the river, in great 
 anger. So enraged was the great chief that even his bravest 
 followers dare not approach him. He embarked in his canoe, 
 and, with a few vigorous strokes of his paddle, he crossed the 
 river to his own village. As he neared the river's bank he 
 shouted to the inmates of the village, and all came quickly out 
 at the sound of his powerful voice. Pontiac pointed across the 
 river, and " ordered that all should prepare to move the camp 
 to the western shore, that the river might no longer interpose 
 a barrier between his followers and the English." All labored 
 diligently to obey him, and before evening everything was 
 
48 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 ready for embarkation. Meanwhile the warriors were arrivinj^ 
 from their bloody work of murder, until at nightfall, nearly all 
 had returned. 
 
 They now prepared for the war-dance. Poiitiac, like a mad- 
 dened lion, hideous with war paint, leaped into the centre of 
 the ring, and with thrilling gesture and thundering voice, 
 recounted his own martial exploits and denounced the Englisli. 
 He was soon joined by nearly a thousand wild followers, who, 
 l)y leaping and yelping, and cutting the air with their knives, 
 and relating their own deeds of bravery, declared themselves 
 ready to follow the great Ottawa war chief to battle against 
 the English. "When this grand demonstration was over, the 
 work of moving commenced, and when the morning dawned 
 the whole Ottawa village was snugly settled down on the 
 western bank of the Detroit river, just above Parent's Creek, 
 afterwards appropriately called Bloody Run, on account of the 
 terrible slaughter which it witnessed. 
 
 But the work of death and massacre, meanwhile, continued. 
 Two English officers, named Sir Robert Davers and Captain 
 Robertson, had been waylaid and murdered near lake St. Clair 
 and their scalps had been borne in triumph to the camp of the 
 Ottawa chief. With the news of this massacre, the garrison 
 also received information that Pontiac had been joined by an 
 immense war party of the Ojibwas, who had come from Sagi- 
 naw to assist in the reduction of Detroit. It was true, now, 
 that the war had really begun, and Gladwyn, for the first time, 
 realized his perilous situation. Every Englishman in the fort, 
 no matter whether trader or soldier, was ordered under arms. 
 Sleep was banished from every eye, and the nervous com- 
 mandant himself walked the ramparts throughout the entire 
 night. There was no sound of alarm until the dawn, when, 
 breaking forth from the surrounding forests, came an avalanche 
 of savage warriors, yelling the w^ar whoop, naked and j)ainted 
 for the fight. There was no time to spare, Ottawas, Ojibwas, 
 Pottawatomies, and Wyandots, all had united, and their 
 chances of success were a great source of terror to the hapless 
 garrison. The bullets rapped hard and fast against the palis- 
 ades, as the soldiers hastened to their posts. The attack was 
 
OK, TIJE BOBDKR WAKS dF TWO CKNTUKITOS. 49 
 
 kept up till noon, when the warriors, seeing the utter folly of 
 their effort, retired, leaving the garrison once more in peace. 
 During the assault five men were wounded in the fort, while 
 the cautious savages had almost entirely escaped injury, 
 although a steady fire was kept up by the soldiers. 
 
 Gladwyn hastened to take advantage of this temporary 
 cessation of hostilities. His garrison was in great want of 
 supplies, and he opened negotiations for a peace with Pontiac. 
 hoping to obtain necessaries under cover of it. For this pur- 
 pose he dispatched the interpreter. La Butte, and two Canadi- 
 ans, named Godfrey and Chapeton, to hold a council with 
 Pontiac. On reaching the camp the deputation was received 
 with great kindness by the Ottawa chief. La Butte informed 
 him that the British commandant was ready to redress any 
 real grievance of which he might complain. The two Cana- 
 dians labored hard to dissuade Pontiac from pursuing the war, 
 but to no purpose. He treated them with courtesy, but stood 
 as firm as a rock in his determination to prosecute the siege. 
 At length the cunning war-chief declared that he was in favor 
 of a lasting peace, and desired to hold a council with the Eng- 
 lishmen themselves, with a view to this end. To the Canadi- 
 ans, Pontiac's proposition appeared to be fair, and they returned 
 to the fort with information accordingly. At first Gladwyn 
 suspected treachery, but Major Campbell was of the opinion 
 that no danger need be apprehended, and urged the command- 
 ant to comply with the request. After considerable reluctance 
 Gladwyn complied, and Campbell left the fort, in company 
 with Lieut. McDougal and several Canadians, among whom 
 was the interpreter already mentioned. They had not gone 
 twenty yards from the fort when they were met by a French- 
 man, named Gouin, who informed them that they were advanc- 
 ing into the lion's jaws, but Campbell, once set out on his 
 mission, would not return. 
 4 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PoNTiAC's Treachery — Campbell and McDougal made Prisoners — 
 Scarcity op Provisions in the Fort — Perilous Situation op 
 THE Garrison — Continuation of the Siege — Pontiac Summons 
 THE Garrison to Surrender — Gladwyn Refuses — Complaints 
 of the French — Pontiac's Policy. 
 
 Campbell and liis compainions passed up the river road, 
 crossed tlie little bridge over Parent's Creek, and soon came in 
 full view of the Ottawa village. As soon as the Indians 
 observed their red coats on the summit of the little hill they 
 sent up a burst of triumphant yells, as if they expected soon 
 to shed more English blood, and there can be but little doubt 
 that the officers would have been scalped, had not Pontiac 
 stepped forward, and, by his imperious voice, commanded the 
 savages to remain quiet. The great chief advanced and took 
 Campbell by the hand and welcomed him; and then, turning 
 round, led the way to his lodge, followed by the officers and the 
 interpreter. The chief halted at the entrance of a large lodge, 
 and, pointing to some mats at the farther end, he signalled the 
 officers to enter. As soon as they had been seated the lodge 
 was thronged with warriors. Campbell and McDougal were 
 now in the hands of their enemies ; their lives depended alone 
 upon the generosity of Pontiac. All the savages present were 
 eager to kill them on the spot, but the Ottawa chief, perhaps, 
 remembered that when he and his warriors were in the hands 
 of the garrison, a few days previous, detected in their treach- 
 ery, they were treated in mercy, and protected from injury and 
 insult. The garrison waited, with much anxiety, the return of 
 the officers, until quite late in the evening, when the interpreter 
 returned to the fort w^ith the information that Campbell and 
 McDougal had both been made prisoners by Pontiac. 
 (50) 
 
OR, THE B0RJ:)ER WARS VP TWO CENTURIES. 51 
 
 The Ottawa chief, resolved on continuing the war, inaugu- 
 rated a regular system. Having secured the full co-operation 
 of the AVyandots, he made an improved disposition of his forces. 
 A detachment of the Pottawatomies were sent down the river 
 a short distance, where they were to surprise and capture any 
 reinforcements or supplies that might be advancing to the 
 relief of the fort; others was ordered to conceal themselves 
 in the woods in the rear of the fort, to prevent any advance 
 from that direction; another band were directed to conceal 
 themselves as near to the fort as possible, and to shoot do^vn 
 any soldier or Englishman who might expose himself when no 
 general attack was in progress. This work of detail and pre- 
 paration wafi continued until the twelfth of May, when the 
 warriors, under the immediate direction of Pontiac himself, 
 surrounded the fort and made another desperate assault, which 
 was continued, without intermission, from dawn till evening. 
 
 Leaving the events outside, let us look in upon the condition of 
 the little garrison. Their commander was now fully convinced 
 that a general Indian outbreak had begun, and, in the face of 
 the danger which presented itself on every hand, he was forced 
 to ask the advice of those around him. Therefore, on the 
 evening of the twelfth, all the officers in the fort met to con- 
 sider what course of action was best to adopt. It was a des- 
 perate moment. Only the darkness had forced the savages 
 from the attack, and with the dawn of the following day, the 
 assault would be resumed with increased vigor. Such, how- 
 ever, was the conviction of the weary garrison. 
 
 Major Gladwyn was a brave officer, well qualified for this 
 emergency. Should the fort be taken, every Englishman 
 within its palisade would be tomahawked; and, in the light of 
 the probable success of the Indians in their attempt to capture 
 the place, it would seem that there would be but one opinion 
 in this council — that of the expediency of embarking and 
 sailing for Niagara. Indeed, all, except the courageous Glad- 
 wyn, advised this course; but that officer, although half con- 
 vinced that the savages would succeed, was unwilling to desert 
 his post. 
 
 But there were other considerations of great importance, 
 
52 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 which, no doubt, had their weight in advising the garrison to 
 abandon the fort. Their provisions were nearly exhausted, 
 and, at the fartherest, would not last more than three weeks. 
 In this short space of time, since a multitude of infuriated 
 warriors had surrounded the place, there could be but little 
 hope of succor. The danger of their situation was also 
 increased from the fact that all the buildings within the fort 
 " being of wood, and chiefly thatched with straw," might be 
 set on fire at any moment, by burning missels. 
 
 Perhaps there was no consideration which rendered their sit- 
 uation so desperate as that the Indians would make a general 
 rush against the fort and burn or cut their way through the 
 palisades — a mode of attack which would be sure to accomplish 
 the reduction of the weak fortification. This manner of 
 attack was, however, foreign to every maxim of Indian war- 
 fare. 
 
 Eesolved to defend the fort while defence was possible, 
 Gladwyn made the best possible disposition of his little gar- 
 rison, and otherwise prepared to withstand the foe. Time 
 passed on. Day after day the warriors continued the siege, 
 and yet there were no signs of assistance for the hapless gar- 
 rison. The provisions rapidly decreased. For many long 
 days and nights no man attempted to sleep, except in his 
 clothes, with his weapons by his side. 
 
 When an opportunity presented itself, the soldiers ran out 
 and leveled the outhouses to the ground, and removed every- 
 thing that would serve as a shield or covering for the warriors. 
 This done the Indians could find no shelter, and, being unwill- 
 ing to expose themselves to the fire of the fort, they seldom 
 approached very near to it. The two vessels that lay in the 
 river guarded the north and south corners of the fort with their 
 fire, and thus considerably strengthened Gladw^m's position. 
 The Indians next attempted to set fire to the buildings within 
 the fort by shooting arrows tipped with burning tow, upon 
 their roofs, but the fort being well provided with water, their 
 efibrts were futile. 
 
 Pontiac next summoned the garrison to surrender. He said 
 the ofiicers and soldiers would be allowed to embark in their 
 
OB, TliE BORDER WARS OF TWO (!KNTDRIES. 53 
 
 vessels and depart uninjured, but in the event they refused to 
 comply, and the fort should be taken, they would all be slaught- 
 ered. Major Gladwyn's reply was short and decisive, and, it is 
 believed, convinced Pontiac that his British foe was still firm, 
 and determined to hold possession of the fort, " The attacks 
 were now resumed with increased activity, and the assailants 
 were soon after inspired by the arrival of a hundred and twenty 
 Ojibwa warriors from Grand River." In the fort, every effort 
 foi* its defense was put forth. The soldiers slept upon the ram- 
 parts, and a constant vigilance was maintained. 
 
 Meanwhile every possible effort was made to obtain a supply 
 of provisions for the garrison. At length negotiations were 
 opened with a Canadian named Baby, who, for ample consider- 
 ation, supplied the fort with cattle, hogs and such other 
 necessaries as he could command. These were carried from the 
 east side of the river, where M. Baby resided, to the fort, in 
 canoes, which crossed the river with their precious freight under 
 cover of the darkness. Being thus supplied with food, the 
 wearied garrison took new courage. 
 
 About this time the Indians, who had hoped to capture 
 Detroit by a single assault, were beginning to suffer for food. 
 They had rushed into the war with a recklessness character- 
 istic of their race, and were now sorely perplexed in their 
 endeavors to continue the siege. Want gradually compelled 
 them to apply to the Canadians for assistance, but this was 
 granted only in cases where threatened violence advised it. 
 Wlien this had become a source of trouble and annoyance to 
 the Canadian settlers, they appointed a deputation from among 
 their number, instructing them to visit the camp of Pontiacj 
 and lay their grievances before him. This they did, meeting 
 the Ottawa chief at the house where Capt. Campbell and Lieut. 
 McDougal were confined. Wlien the sachems of the various 
 tribes had been convened, one of the deputies rose and said: 
 " You pretend to be friends of the French, and yet you plun- 
 der us of our hogs and cattle. You trample upon our fields 
 of young corn, and when you enter our houses you enter with 
 tomahawk raised. When your Fi-ench father comes from Mon- 
 treal with his great army, he will hear of what you have done? 
 
54 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECCM8EH : 
 
 and, instead of shaking hands with you as brothers, he will 
 punish jou as enemies." 
 
 Pontiac replied in the following words: "We have never 
 wished to do you harm, nor allow any to be done you; but 
 among us there are many young men who, though strictly 
 watched, find opportunities of mischief. It is not to revenge 
 myself alone that I make w^ar on the English. It is to revenge 
 you, my brothers. When the English insulted us they insulted 
 you also. I know that they have taken away your arms, and 
 made you sign a paper which they have sent home to their 
 country. Therefore you are left defenseless ; and I mean now 
 to revenge your cause and my own together. I mean to destroy 
 the English, and leave not one upon our lands. You do not 
 know the reasons from which I act. I have told you those only 
 which concern yourselves; but you will learn all in time. You 
 will cease then to think me a fool. I know, my brothers, that 
 there are many among you who take part with the English. I 
 am sorry for it, for their own sakes ; for when our father arrives, 
 I shall point them out to him, and they will see whether they 
 or I have most reason to be satisfied with the part we have 
 acted. 
 
 "• I do not doubt, my brothers, that this war is very trouble- 
 some to you, for our warriors are continually passing and 
 repassing through your settlement. I am sorry for it. Do not 
 think that I approve of the damage that is done by them; and, 
 as a proof of this, remember the war with the Foxes, and the 
 part which I took in it. It is now seventeen years since the 
 Ojibwas, of Michilimackinac, combined with the Sacs and 
 Foxes, came down to destroy you. Who then defended you? 
 Was it not I and my young men? Mackinac, great chief of all 
 tliese nations said, in council, that he would carry to his village 
 the head of your commandant; that he would eat his heart 
 and drink his blood? Did I not take your part? Did I not 
 go to his camp, and say to him, that if he wished to kill the 
 French, he must first kill me and my warriors? Did I not 
 assist you in routing them and driving them aw^ay? And now 
 you think that I would turn my arms against you? No, my 
 brothers; I am the same French Pontiac who assisted you 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 55 
 
 seventeen years ago. I am a Frencliman and I wish to 
 die a Frencliman; and I now repeat to you that you and 
 I are one; that it is for both our interests that I should be 
 avenged. Let me alone; I do not ask you for aid, for it is not 
 in your power to give it. I only ask provisions for myself and 
 men. Yet, if you are inclined to assist me, I shall not refuse 
 you. It would please me, and you yourselves would b'e sooner 
 rid of your troubles; for I promise you that as soon as the 
 English are driven out, we will go back to our villages, and there 
 await the arrival of our French Father. You have heard what 
 I have to say; remain at peace and I will watch that no harm 
 shall be done to you, either by my men or by the other Indians." 
 Pontiac immediately took measures to prevent a continu- 
 ance of the outrages, of which the Canadians complained. He 
 also adopted a new policy in procuring supplies for his army. 
 He visited the Canadian inhabitants personally, and, after 
 inrpiiring into their financial conditions, informed each of 
 the amount he would be required to donate. Without a 
 single exception, the taxes so levied were paid to the Ottawp 
 chiefs collectors, and by them carried to the Ottawa village 
 at Parent's Creek. Pontiac, being compelled to repeat his 
 demands for provisions, and wishing not to oifend the Freiich, 
 adopted a singular mode of paying them. He issued prom- 
 issory notes, drawn upon birch bark, and signed with the 
 figure of the otter, the totem to which he belonged. It should 
 be mentioned here, to the credit of Pontiac, that these notes 
 were all faithfully redeemed. 
 
CHAPTEK YII. 
 
 The Siege op Detroit — Fate op Cutler's Detachment — Bravery 
 OP the Wyajstdots — Indian Carouse — Massacre and Murder — 
 Horrible Fate op the Western Outposts — Fall op Sandusky, 
 Fresque Isle, etc. — The Forests Growing Black with Indian 
 Warriors. 
 
 While Detroit was thus harassed and besieged, a strong 
 detachment was advancing up the lake with general supplies 
 for the western outposts. The garrison, being aware of its 
 approach, was filled with anxiety for its welfare. Time passed 
 on. Matters at Detroit continued to grow more alarming to 
 the garrison every day. The warriors renewed the attack daily, 
 and seemed to become more confident of success with every 
 assault. Pontiac had sent messengers to M. l!^eyon, command- 
 ant at the Illinois, earnestly requesting that a force of regular 
 troops be sent to his assistance. Gladwyn, on his part, had 
 ordered one of the vessels to proceed down the lake to meet 
 the approaching convoy. The schooner set sail, but was 
 becalmed at the entrance to Lake Erie, where she was com- 
 pelled to lay for some time. While in this unfortunate situation 
 a " multitude of canoes suddenly darted out upon her from the 
 neighboring shores." In the prow of the foremost canoe sat 
 Capt. Campbell, whom the Indians had placed there for the 
 purpose of securing themselves against the fire of the English. 
 But the resolute Captain called out to the crew to do their duty 
 without regard to him. At this moment a stiflF breeze swept 
 down the river, and the schooner sped on her course, leaving 
 the disappointed warriors far behind. 
 
 Matters continued at the fort without important change until 
 the thirtieth of May, when at an early hour the garrison espied 
 the long-expected convoy advancing slowly up the river. The 
 (56) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CEMTURIES. 57 
 
 garrison broke into three hearty cheers, for now, it would seem, 
 their suiFerings were at an end. A cannon " sent its loud voice 
 of defiance to the enemy and welcome to the approaching 
 friends." But alas! the joyous faces of the soldiers and offi- 
 cers grew deathly pale. Upon careful examination, the boats 
 were found to be full of savages. The convoy had fallen into 
 the hands of the enemy. The boats and supplies had been 
 taken, and the soldiers of the detachment slaughtered or made 
 captives. 
 
 Eighteen boats were now approaching, and in each were two 
 or more of the captured soldiers, acting as oarsmen, and guarded 
 by several armed savages. Hundreds of warriors were also 
 following the boats along the shore. In the foremost boat, it 
 60 happened that there were four soldiers and only three Indi- 
 ans. In the river, just opposite the fort, lay one of the British 
 schooners, already mentioned, her companion having gone 
 down the lake to hasten this very reinforcement. As the boat 
 came near to this vessel, one of the soldiers seized the largest 
 Indian and threw him overboard. The Indian held fast to his 
 enemy's clothes, and, drawing himself up, stabbed him several 
 times with his knife. The bleeding soldier gave way and was 
 dragged overboard by the Indian. They were both borne swiftly 
 down on the current of the river, and perished grappled in each 
 other's arms. The two remaining Indians leaped out of the 
 boat, and the prisoners seized the j^addles and pulled vigor- 
 ously towards the schooner. The savages on the shore fired 
 upon them, and several canoes were paddled swiftly in pursuit. 
 The soldiers were struggling for life. They called aloud for 
 aid, and strained every nerve to gain the vessel ; but their pur- 
 suers were gaining rapidly upon them. In another moment 
 one of the men was wounded. He dropped his paddle, falling 
 to the bottom of the boat. Their chances of escape were now 
 lessened, but they struggled on. As the savages were almost 
 upon them, the report of a cannon burst from the side of the 
 vessel, and the ball, passing close to the foremost canoe, cut the 
 water into a line of foam. Being thus greeted the savages 
 turned back in dismay. The prisoners soon reached the vessel^ 
 
58 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 and were greeted with rounds of hearty cheers. The other 
 boats passed slowly up the river towards the Ottawa village. 
 
 The soldiers who had thus escaped, now related the adven- 
 tures and BuiFerings of their detachment. The following is 
 their story, as told in the " History of the Conspiracy of Pon- 
 tiac:" Lieut. Cuyler had left Fort Niagara as early as the 
 thirteenth of May, and embarked from Fort Schlosser, just 
 above the falls, with ninety-six men and a plentiful supply of 
 provisions and ammunition. Day after day he had coasted 
 along the northern shore of Lake Erie, and had seen neither 
 friend nor foe amid those lonely forests and waters, when, on 
 the twenty-eighth of the month, he landed at Point Pelee, not 
 far from the mouth of the Piver Detroit. The boats were 
 drawn on the beach, and the party prepared to encamp. A 
 man and a boy went to gather firewood at a short distance from 
 the spot, when an Indian leaped out of the woods, seized the 
 boy by the hair and tomahaM^ked him. The man ran into 
 €amp with the alarm. Cuyler immediately formed his soldiers 
 into a semi-circle before the boats. He had scarcely done so 
 when the Indians opened their fire. For an instant there was 
 a hot blaze of musketry on both sides. Then the Indians broke 
 out of the woods in a body, and rushed fiercely upon the centre 
 of the line, which gave way in every part, the men flinging 
 down their guns, running in a blind panic to the boats, and 
 struggling with ill-directed efforts to shove them into the 
 water. Five were set afloat, and pushed oflf from the shore, 
 crowded with the terrified soldiers." 
 
 Lieut. Cuyler, being thus deserted by his men, waded up to 
 his neck in the- water and climbed into one of the retreating 
 boats. The savages pushed two more afloat, and went in pur- 
 suit of the soldiers, three boat loads of whom gave themselves 
 up without resistance; but the remaining two, in one of which 
 ivas Cuyler himself, made their escape. " They rowed all night 
 and landed in the morning upon a small island. Between 
 thirty and forty men, some of whom were wounded, were 
 crowded into these two boats; the rest, about sixty in number 
 being killed or taken. Cuyler now made for Sandusky, which, 
 on his arrival, he found burned to the ground. Immediately 
 
OB, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 51» 
 
 leaving tlie spot, he rowed along the south shore to Pres(|UL' 
 Isle, from whence he proceeded to Niagara and reported his 
 loss to Major Wilkins, the commanding ofhcer." 
 
 But let us return to Detroit and to the Indian villages in its 
 vicinity. The Indians who had thus interrupted the convoy 
 and slaughtered or captured the soldiers, were the Wyandots. 
 Among the supplies which they had captured was a large 
 quantity of liquor, which they seized and carried to their vil- 
 lages, which, throughout the following night, presented a beastly 
 scene of drunkenness. What shall we say of the fate of the 
 unfortunate soldiers taken prisoners in this affair? Tliey met 
 their death during the drunken carouse on that same night. 
 But it was more than death — more than torture. Thankful, 
 indeed, were the three escaped soldiers — even he who was suf- 
 fering from a severe wound — when, during that dark and 
 gloomy night, while secure within the desolate fort, the moans 
 of their dying comrades were borne to their ears on the breeze, 
 from the distant camp-fires of the Wyandots. Not one was 
 spared. No white man witnessed their fate; but, on the fol- 
 lowing day, as the mangled corpses floated down on the clear 
 waters of the Detroit, one after another, the horrified garrison 
 beheld awful evidences of savage cruelty. In the ghastly train 
 were many charred trunks, the result of the slow fires of death. 
 
 There was but little time to reflect on this horrible massacre, 
 for with the next day came the news of another — the fate of 
 the garrison of Sandusky. Thus it will be seen, while that 
 part of the work which Pontiac had intrusted to his warriors 
 in neighboring villages was going forward with intoxicating 
 success, he himself was, as yet, unable to capture Detroit, 
 although assisted by his bravest warriors. The massacre at 
 Sandusky was full of horror. Ensign Paully, commandant at 
 this fort, was informed, on a certain day, that several warriors 
 were waiting at the gate to speak with him. Most of them 
 being well known to him, he gave orders to admit them. The 
 Indians passed in, and, arriving at his quarters, they seized, 
 disarmed and bound him. The next moment he heard the 
 work of massacre without. Shrieks, yells, the firing of guns, 
 and the hurried tramp of feet fell ominously upon his ears, A 
 
60 THE UVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 moment more, and he was led forth by his captors " to behold 
 the parade ground strewn with the corpses of his murdered 
 garrison." With the approach of night he was taken to the 
 lake where several canoes lay in readiness. He was placed into 
 one of them under a strong guard, and the little fleet pushed 
 out upon the placid bosom of the waters. Looking back as 
 the canoes were paddled away, Paully beheld '' the fort lately 
 under his command, bursting on all sides into sheets of flame." 
 While a number of warriors thus bore their captive to the 
 lodge of Pontiac, a hundred warriors, adorned with the scalps 
 of the slaughtered garrison, rushed madly through the margin 
 of the woods, towards the same point. Thus every day the 
 great Ottawa chief was gratified 'with the return of a band of 
 his warriors loaded down with English scalps. On landing 
 near the camp of Pontiac, Paully was surrounded by a crowd of 
 savages, chiefly squaws and children, who pelted him with stones 
 and sticks, and set up a burst of wild yells of triumph. The 
 captive bore this with great fortitude, expecting the next act 
 in the drama would find him bound to the stake and sur- 
 rounded by the fuel of death, but he was happily disappointed. 
 An old woman, whose husband had lately died, decided to 
 adopt him in place of the dead warrior, which Paully gladly 
 agreed to. Having been plunged in the river for the purpose 
 of washing the white blood from his veins, he was conducted 
 to the lodge of his volunteer wife, and from that day treated 
 with all the respect due an Ottawa brave. It was through a 
 letter from him that Gladwyn received the particulars of this 
 horrible butchery. 
 
 Amid all this gloom that was thickening around Detroit, 
 and terrifying the hearts of the sleepless garrison, came the 
 news that Pontiac's forces had been reinforced by two very 
 strong bands of Ojibwa braves. The great chief now stood at 
 the head of a thousand warriors, consisting of Pottawatomies, 
 Wyandots and Ojibwas. This force was judiciously distributed 
 under chiefs Ninivay, Takee, Wasson and Lekahos. All the 
 warriors brought their families with them, and the number of 
 savages congregated in the vicinity of Detroit, probably, 
 exceeded four thousand. The siege of Detroit was continued 
 
OK, THE BORDER WAKS OF TWO CICNTUKIPX i')l 
 
 day after day, and the situation of the garrison was rendered 
 almost hopeless. With nearly every hour came the news of some 
 disaster. The provisions were almost gone, and the clouds of 
 infuriated warriors were growing blacker and blacker in the 
 vicinity of Pontiac's village. 
 
 On the fifteenth of June a number of Indians came to the 
 fort, bringing with them four English prisoners, who proved 
 to be the commandant of Fort St. Joseph, with three of his 
 garrison. After some delay these were exchanged for several 
 Indian prisoners who had been confined within the fort for 
 some time. Again Gladwyn listened to the terrible account 
 of massacre as brought to his ears by Ensign Schlosser, late 
 commandant at Fort St. Joseph. The story ran thus: His 
 post was situated at the mouth of the river St. Joseph, near 
 the head of Lake Michigan, a spot which, for many years, had 
 been the site of a Catholic mission. He had apprehended no 
 danger, but on the twenty-fifth of May, early in the morning, 
 he was informed that a large number of Pottawatomies had 
 come to pay a visit to the Indian village near the fort. Close 
 upon this intelligence he was informed that the savages were 
 preparing to attack the fort. At this the commandant ran out 
 of the fort, and crossing the parade, which was filled with 
 Indians and Canadians, hastily entered the barracks. These 
 were also filled with Indians, very insolent and disorderly. He 
 ordered the gai-rison under arms, but he had no sooner turned 
 away than he heard the terrifying scalp shriek, which notified 
 him that the slaughter had already begun. In less than ten 
 minutes the fort was plundered, eleven men were killed, and 
 the commandant and three survivors made prisoners, and 
 securely bound. The Indians then conducted the command- 
 ant to Detroit, where he was released as already explained. 
 
 Kext came the news of the massacre at Fort Michilimacki- 
 nac, located on the extreme northern point of the southern 
 peninsula of Michigan. This, of all the bloody narratives that 
 shocked the trembling garrison of Detroit, was, perhaps, by far 
 the most thrilling; but I will pass over it at present in order 
 to give place to other reports of the war which were daily 
 pouring in at Griadwyn's headquarters. In a succeeding chap- 
 
62 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 ter, the reader is conducted to the spot, and the awful tragedy 
 enacted before him. 
 
 Following this dreadful news came the report that Ouatanony 
 a small fort on the Wabash, had been captured and the garri- 
 son made jjrisoners. Following is the letter addressed to Major 
 Gladwvn by the commandant of this post, giving a full account 
 of its capture: 
 
 " OuATANON, June 1st, 1763. 
 "Sir:. I have heard of your situation, which gives me great pain; 
 indeed, we are not in mucli better, for this morning the Indians sent for 
 me to speak to me, and immediately bound me. When I got to their 
 cabin I found some of my soldiers in the same condition. They told me 
 Detroit, Miami, and all those posts were cut oif, and that it was a folly to 
 make any resistance. They therefore-desired me to make the few soldiers in 
 the fort surrender, otherwise they would put us all to death, in case one man 
 was killed. They were to have fell on us and killed us all last night, but 
 Mr. Maisongville and Lorain gave them wampum not to kill us, and when 
 they told the interpreter that we were all to be killed, and he, knowing 
 the condition of the fort, begged of them to make us prisoners. They 
 have put us into French houses, and both Indians and French use us 
 very well. All these nations say they are very sorry, but that they were 
 obliged to do it by the other nations. The belt did not arrive liere till last 
 night about eight o'clock. Mr. Lorain can inform you of all. I have just 
 received the news of St. Joseph's being taken. Eleven men were killed 
 and three taken prisoners with the officer. I have nothing more to say, 
 but that I sincerely wish you a speedy succor, and that we may be able to 
 revenge ourselves on those that deserve it. I remain, with my sincerest 
 wishes for your safety. 
 
 " Your most humble servant, Edw'd Jenkins." 
 
 This letter was written by Mr. Jenkins while in the custody 
 of the savages,- and just before his departure with them to the 
 Illinois. Gladwyn had scarcely time to read this letter before 
 the news of the loss of Fort Miami burst upon him. This post, 
 standing situated on the river Maumee, was under the com- 
 mand of Ensign Holmes. He suspected the treachery of the 
 Indians, and was consequently on his guard, when on the 
 twenty-seventh of May, a young Indian girl, with whom he 
 had maintained an intimacy for some time, came and told him 
 that a squaw, in a neighboring hut, lay dangerously ill, and 
 urged him to come to her relief. Being moved by the girl's 
 representations, he followed her out of the fort towards the 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 63 
 
 InJian village. He had not proceeded far when two guns 
 flashed from behind some shrubbery, and he fell lifeless on the 
 grass. The reports of the guns were heard in the fort, and the 
 sergeant ran out to ascertain the meaning of the shooting. He 
 was immediately taken prisoner, and surrounded by a score of 
 savages. The terrified soldiers of the garrison were now sum- 
 moned to surrender the fort, and the Indians having promised 
 to protect their lives, they readily complied. They were all 
 taken prisoners. 
 
 The tall of Presque Isle is next in order. News of this dis- 
 aster reached Gladwyn on the twentieth of June, and, two days 
 after a horde of savages passed by the fort with scalps flutter- 
 ing from their sides, on their way to the Ottawa village. They 
 were on their way to the great chief, to present him with the 
 scalps of the unfortunate soldiers of Presque Isle. This fort 
 was under the command of Ensign Christie, a brave and gal- 
 lant officer. Hostile Indians were discovered in the vicinity 
 of the fort on the flfteenth of June. As soon as the garrison 
 had been aware of the enemy's presence, they retired into 
 the blockhouse, abandoning the main body of the fort. But, 
 at this point, in order that the reader may better understand 
 the different phases of the attack, I will give a very brief 
 description of the fort. Presque Isle stood near to the site of 
 the present city of Erie, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. 
 At one of its angles was a large blockhouse two stories high, 
 and substantially built of massive timber, the dimensions of 
 the upper story exceeding that of the lower by several feet. 
 '^ The roof being covered with shingles, might easily be set on 
 fire; but to guard against this, there was an opening at the 
 summit, through which the garrison, partially protected by a 
 covering of plank, might pour down water upon the flames. 
 This blockhouse stood on a projecting point of land, between 
 the lake and a small brook which entered neai-ly at right angles. 
 Unfortunately, the bank of the brook rose in a high, steep 
 ridge, within forty yards of the blockhouse, thus aflbrding a 
 cover for assailants, while the bank of the lake oflered similar 
 facilities on another side." 
 
 The Indians who had now assailed the fort, crowded together 
 
64 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 in great numbers, under cover of the rising ground, and kept 
 up a brisk fire. Thej not only sent their bullets into everj 
 loop-bole and crevice, but shot fire-arrows upon the roof, and 
 threw balls of burning pitch against the wall. Several times 
 the building took fire, and as often the flames were extin- 
 guished. " The Indians now rolled logs to the top of the 
 ridges, where they constructed three strong breastworks, from 
 behind which they could discharge their shot and throw their 
 fire-balls with still greater efiect. Some of them tried to dart 
 across the intervening space, and shelter themselves in the 
 ditch which surrounded the fort, but all of these were killed 
 or wounded in the attempt. Bafiled in this efifort, the Indi- 
 ans began to throw up earth and stones, behind one of the 
 breastworks, for the purpose of undermining the blockhouse — 
 a plan that would be sure of success, and against which there 
 could be no resistance offered. But there was no time to reflect 
 on this new danger, for now, another more horrible threatened 
 them. The barrels of water which had been used for extin- 
 guishing the flames were now exhausted, and there was no way 
 to procure water without going out of the blockhouse, and this 
 could not be done without incurring certain death. The only 
 alternative was to dig a well within the blockhouse. The floor 
 was torn up and work commenced immediately. A few of the 
 soldiers stood at the loop-holes discharging their muskets to 
 keep the savages in check, while the others labored with des- 
 perate energy to procure water by sinking a well. Before any 
 signs of water made an appearance, the roof was again on fire, 
 and the last drop of water within the blockhouse was poured 
 down to extinguish it. In a moment more the cry of fire was 
 again raised, when a soldier, at the risk of his life, leaped upon 
 the roof, and tore away the burning shingles, and thus extin- 
 guished it. It was now evening. The little garrison had 
 fought hard all day and hoped that, as the darkness set in, they 
 would be temporarily relieved, but they were doomed to a sor- 
 rowful disappointment. The guns flashed all night long from 
 the Indian intrenchments. However, before the night passed, 
 the diggers had finished their well. This was an important 
 accomplishment, for, with the dawn of the following day, 
 
OK, THE BOBDEK WAKS OF TWO CENTUKIES. 65 
 
 flames burst forth from the deserted liouse of the command- 
 ant, which stood near to the blockhouse. The flames ascended 
 high and became hotter and hotter. The corner of tlie block- 
 house grew black, and, at length, burst into a sheet of flame. 
 With this a hundred Indian yells pealed forth in triumph, and 
 the naked warriors stood ready to tomahawk the wretched sol- 
 diers as fast as they were driven forth. But still the garrison 
 held out. Passing up water from the well which now held an 
 ample supply, they poured it down upon the flames, and soon 
 extinguished them. By this time the burning house, from 
 which the flre had caught, settled into smouldering embers, so 
 that nothing further was apprehended from tli^t source. 
 
 The soldiers were now quite exhausted, but still they con- 
 tinued their defense, " toiling and fighting without pause, where 
 the close and heated atmosphere was clogged with the smoke 
 of gunpowder." The contest was continued throughout the 
 second day and extended into midnight. It was a long and 
 hopeless struggle. At about twelve o'clock on the second 
 night, the garrison heard a voice call out in French from the 
 enemy's entrenchments, warning the garrison that further 
 resistance would be useless since full preparations had been 
 made for setting fire to the blockhouse, both above and below 
 at the same time. Christie, the commandant, then inquired 
 if there was any one among them who could speak English, 
 whereupon a man in Indian dress, appeared from behind the 
 breastworks, and said that if the garrison gave themselves up 
 their lives should be spared, but if they continued, they would 
 all be burned alive. Christie, having resolved to hold out as 
 long as a shadow of resistance could be maintained, told him 
 to persuade the Indians to wait tiU the following morning for 
 his answer. They assented, and suspended their fire, and 
 while some of the garrison watched, the rest sank exhausted 
 into a deep sleep. On the following morning the commandant 
 sent out two of his soldiers under pretext of treating with the 
 Indians, but, in truth, to learn the real situation. On reaching 
 the breastwork, the soldiers made a signal by wjiich Christie 
 knew that the representations of the Englishman were correct. 
 The soldiers told the chiefs that their commandant desired two 
 5 
 
QQ THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 of their principal men to meet him midway between the block- 
 house and the breastwork. They appeared as requested, and 
 Christie went out and delivered them formal possession of the 
 little fort, which he had so ably defended, on the conditions, 
 however, that he and his garrison should be allowed to depart 
 unmolested. Notwithstanding this stipulation, the fort was no 
 sooner surrendered, than the whole garrison were surrounded, 
 seized and made prisoners. They were sent as such to the 
 Ottawa village near Detroit, when Christie soon after made his 
 escape in safety to the fort. 
 
 The next to share this hon-ifying fate were the neighboring- 
 forts of Le Boeuf and Venango. These posts were poorly 
 garrisoned, and fell an easy prey to the savages in their vicinity. 
 But still farther south, around Fort Pitt, and along the whole 
 frontier, clouds of warriors were animating the forests with 
 their restless forms and hideous yells, preparing to burst forth 
 in an indiscriminate slaughter upon the English settlements. 
 In the course of the narrative these points will receive proper 
 attention. Leaving the the fort of Detroit and the camp of 
 Pontiac, for a little season, let us turn onr attention to Michil- 
 imackinac, and observe the events that were transpiring there. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Description of Fort Michilimackinac — The Indians in the 
 Vicinity — Preparations for the Massacre — The Warning — 
 Adventures of English Traders — The Night Before the 
 Slaughter. 
 
 Before giving an account of the terrible massacre at Fort 
 Michilimackinac, I will briefly run through a description of 
 that distant outpost. It was situated on the northern extrem- 
 ity of the southern peninsula of Michigan, standing upon the 
 margin of the lake at the eastern end of the Strait of Mackinaw. 
 A little beyond the fort was a cluster of white Canadian 
 houses, roofed with bark and protected by fences of strong, 
 round pickets. As one entered the gate of this fort he would 
 see beyond him an extensive square area, surrounded by high 
 palisades. Numerous houses, barracks, and other buildings 
 formed a smaller square within, and in the vacant space which 
 they inclosed, appeared the red uniforms of the British soldiers, 
 the gray coats of the Canadians and the gaudy Indian blankets, 
 mingled in confusion. Such was Fort Michilimackinac in 
 1763. Although buried in a dense wilderness, it was one of 
 the oldest outposts in the lake region. The Jesuits had estab- 
 lished a mission there as early as 1671, and in the following 
 year the French established a military post in the same place. 
 Besides this fort there were two others in the vicinity called 
 Green Bay and the Saut Ste. Marie. These were also founded 
 at an early day, and, although considerably smaller, were, in 
 general characteristics, similar to Michilimackinac. The latter 
 contained thirty families within the palisade enclosure, and 
 about as many more without. This post was important chiefly 
 for being the centre of the fur trade. During the greater part 
 of the year, the garrison and the settlers were completely iso- 
 (67) 
 
68 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 lated — cut off from all connection with the outer world; and, 
 indeed, the three posts last mentioned were so remote from 
 each other, and the journey from one to the other attended 
 with so many dangers, that often, through the whole winter all 
 intercourse between them was entirely cut off. The Indians 
 in this section were the Ojibwas and Ottawas, between whom 
 the territory was nearly equally divided. The principal village 
 of the Ojibwas contained over a hundred warriors, and was 
 located upon the picturesque Island of Mackinaw, which has, 
 in late years, become a favorite summer resort. The same 
 nation had another large settlement at Thunder Bay. The 
 largest northern village of their brethren, the Ottawas, was 
 situated at L'Arbre Croche, at the eastern end of the strait on 
 the margin of Lake Michigan. This place, at the period of 
 which I am writing, was the seat of the old Jesuit mission of 
 St. Ignace, originally established by the great and good Mar- 
 quette, on the northern side of the Straits. It is said of the 
 Ottawas that they had become partially civilized, while on the 
 other hand, their neighbors, the Ojibwas, " were not, in the 
 least degree, removed from their primitive barbarism." These 
 tribes, as also all of the neighboring Indians, were hostile 
 towards the English. Most of their warriors had fought on 
 the side of France in the late war, and now, being goaded to 
 fury by the indignant Canadians, they were ready to raise the 
 tomahawk against any Englishman who might venture within 
 their territory. At this period Fort Michilimackinac was in 
 the hands of the French settlers, the French garrison having 
 been withdrawn in accordance with the capitulation of Mon- 
 treal, and the^Euglish garrison having not yet arrived. I wiU 
 here cite an incident or two, illustrating the state of feeling 
 which prevailed among the Indians and French at this place 
 soon after the close of the war between the English and French 
 colonies. In the autumn of 1761, an Englishman named 
 Alexander Henry, in company with one or two others, came to 
 Michilimackinac for the purpose of trading with the Indians. 
 On the way these Englishmen were more than once warned to 
 turn back, and told that they they would meet certain death if 
 they pursued their journey. At length, to insure safety, Mr. 
 
OR, THE BORDEK WAKS OF TWO CENTUKIFS. 69 
 
 Henry assumed the disguise of a Canadian voyageur. At 
 length his canoes, laden with goods, reached the distant forest 
 fort, but he received a cold greeting from the French inhabit- 
 ants. They said everything they could calculated to alarm and 
 discourage him. Soon after his arrival, he was notified that a 
 band of Ojibwas were on their way from their village to pay 
 him a visit. But this did not disturb him. It was an Indian 
 custom to pay such visits to a new-comer with a view of receiv- 
 ing presents, and Henry believed that by distributing a few 
 articles among them, they would depart in peace. Following 
 is an account of the affair in Mr. Henry's own language: "At 
 two o'clock in the afternoon, the Ojibwas came to the house, 
 about sixty in number, and headed by Minavavana, their chief. 
 They walked in single file, each with his tomahawk in onp 
 hand and scalping knife in the other. Their bodies were naked 
 from the waist upward, except in a few examples, where blank- 
 ets were thrown loosely over their shoulders. Their faces were 
 painted with charcoal, worked up with grease; their bodies 
 with white clay, in patterns of various fancies. Some had 
 feathers thrust through their noses, and their heads decorated 
 with the same. It is unnecessary to dwell on the sensations 
 with which I beheld the approach of this uncouth, if not 
 frightful assemblage. The chief entered first and the rest fol- 
 lo^ved without noise. On receiving a sign from the former, 
 the latter seated themselves on the floor. Minavavana appeared 
 to be about fifty years of age. He was six feet in height, and 
 had in his countenance an indiscribable mixture of good and 
 evil. Looking steadfastly at me, where I sat in ceremony, witi^ 
 an interpreter on either hand, and several Canadians behind 
 me, he entered at the same time into conversation with 
 Campion, inquiring how long it was since I left Montreal, and 
 observing that the English, as it would seem, were brave men, 
 and not afraid of death, since they dared to come, as I had 
 done, fearlessly among their enemies. The Indians now 
 gravely smoked their pipes, while I inwardly endured the tor- 
 tures of suspense. At length the pipes being finished, as well 
 as a long pause, by which they were succeeded, Minavavana, 
 taking a few strings of wampum in his hand began the following 
 
70 THE LIVES OF POI^IAC AND TECUMSEHt 
 
 speech: ' Eiiglislmian, it is to you tliat I speak, and I demand 
 your attention. Englishman, you know the French King is 
 our father; he promised to be such, and we, in return, prom- 
 ised to be his children. This promise we have kept. 
 Englishman, it is you that have made war with this our 
 father. You are his enemy, and how, then, could you have 
 the boldness to venture among us his children. You know 
 that his enemies are ours. Englishman, we are informed that 
 our father, the King of France, is old and infirm, and that 
 being fatigued with making war upon your nation, he has 
 fallen asleep. During his sleep you have taken advantage of 
 him, and possessed yourselves of Canada. But his nap is 
 almost at an end. I think I hear him already stirring and 
 inquiring for his children, the Indians; and when he does 
 awake, what must become of you? He will destroy you 
 utterly. Englishman, although you have conquered the 
 French, you have not yet conquered us. We are not your 
 slaves. These lakes, these woods and these mountains were 
 letlb to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance, and we 
 will part with them to no one. Your nation supposes that we, 
 like the white people, cannot live without bread, and pork, and 
 beef; but you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and 
 Master of Life, has provided food for us in these spacious lakes 
 and on these woody mountains. Englishman, our father, the 
 King of France, employed our young men to make war upon 
 your nation. In this warfare many of them have been killed, 
 and it is our custom to retaliate until such time as the spirits 
 of the slain are satisfied. But the spirits of the slain are to 
 be satisfied in either of two ways. The first is by the spilling 
 of the blood of the nation by which they fell; the other by 
 covering the bodies of the dead, and thus allaying the resent- 
 ments of their relations. This is done by making presents. 
 Englishman, your king has never sent us any presents, nor 
 entered into any treaty with us; wherefore, he and we are still 
 at ^var, and until he does these things we must consider that 
 we have no other father nor friend among the white men than 
 the King of France. But for you, we have taken into consid- 
 eration, that you have ventured your life among us, in the 
 
OK, THK UOKDKK WARS oK TWO CENTUKII<>. 71 
 
 expectation that we should not molest jou. You do not come 
 armed, with any intentions to make war. You come in peact; 
 to trade with us, and to supply us with necessaries of which 
 we are in much want. We shall regard you, therefore, as a 
 brother, and you may sleep tranquilly without fear of the 
 Ojibwas. As a token of our friendship, we present you this 
 pipe to smoke.' As Minavavana uttered these words, an 
 Indian presented me with a pipe, which, after I had drawn the 
 smoke three times, was carried to the chief and after him to 
 every person in the room. This ceremony ended, the chief 
 arose and gave me his hand, in which he was followed by all 
 the rest." , 
 
 Mr. Henry made a suitabe reply, atW which the chief 
 requested him to distribute some whisky among his men, 
 which he did. After giving them a few presents, they departed 
 to the great joy of the Englishman. They had Imi-dly disap- 
 peared when Henry was summoned to meet two hundred 
 Ottaw;a braves, in council near the fort. They had also come 
 to pay him a visit. This time two other English traders — 
 Goddard and Solomons — were also invited to be present. Obe- 
 dient to the wishes of these new-comers, the Englishmen 
 repaired to the house where they had seated themselves. Here 
 they were informed tliat they must distribute their goods 
 among the Indians on credit, on the promise of receiving pay 
 in the following spring. The Ottawas threatened force in case 
 of refusal. Being permitted to reflect on this demand till the 
 following morning, the traders met together and resolved on 
 resistance, and, accordingly, arming about thirty of their men 
 with muskets, they barricaded themselves in the house occupied 
 by Henry, and kept strict watch throng] lout the night. The 
 Indians, however, did not disturb them. On tlie following 
 day, several Canadians came to Henry and advised him to give 
 up the goods, and saying that if he did not, both he and his 
 companions would receive no mercy. The Englishmen would 
 not listen to this advice. They kept possession of the house 
 and their goods until evening, when, to their happy surprise, 
 news came that a body of English troops were advancing to 
 take possession of the fort. Another night of anxiety 
 
72 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AJMD TECUMSEHI 
 
 but with the dawn of the following morning the Ottawas 
 departed. Immediately after the boats of the English detach- 
 ment were seen to approach the landing place. The fort was 
 now strongly garrisoned by British soldiers, and Henry and 
 his companions were, for a time, at least, protected in a peace- 
 ful prosecution of the fur trade. But with the lapse of a few 
 months the peril of their situation was without a parallel. 
 
 Time passed on, when in the spring of 1763, Pontiac's light- 
 footed messengers arrived at Michilimackinac. Bearing in 
 their hands the war-belt of black and purple wampum, they 
 appeared before the assembled warriors, flung at their feet a 
 hatchet painted red, and delivered the speech according to the 
 dictation of their Ottawa chief. The auditors, on every occa- 
 sion, took up the blood-red hatchet, and thus pledged themselves 
 to aid in the war. 
 
 Late in the month of May, news was received among the 
 Indians at Michilimacldmic, that Pontiac had already begun 
 the war, and, anxious to win glory for themselves, the Ojibwas 
 resolved to attack the British fort in their neighborhood with- 
 out inviting their brethren at L'Arbre Croche to aid them. 
 At this time the fort was garrisoned by about thirty-five sol- 
 diers besides the officers. They had been warned, time and 
 again, that the Indians were preparing to destroy them, but 
 Captain Etherington, the commandant, refused to listen to any 
 such reports. 
 
 Mr. Henry, who was in , the fort at this time, received warn- 
 ing of the approaching calamity in a curious way, and as his 
 adventures enter largely into that part of the narrative imme- 
 diately following, I will relate the circumstance here: An 
 Ojibwa chief, called Wawatam, had become strongly attached 
 to him. One morning he entered his house, and. placing 
 before Henry, on the floor, a large present of furs and dried 
 meat, delivered a speech to the following effect: Early in life, 
 according to the ancient usage of his people, he had retired to 
 fast and pray in solitude, that he might learn the future career 
 marked out for him. In his visions and dreams on this occa- 
 sion, it was revealed to him that, in after years, he should meet 
 a white man who should be to him a friend and brother. As 
 
OK, TUK B()1>M)KK WAffS OK TWO CKNTUKI I'X 78 
 
 soon as he had seen Henry, he Avas satisfied that he was the 
 man to whom the Great Spirit had reference, and that the 
 dream- was now fulfilled. Henry made an appropriate reply, 
 gave some slight presents in return, smoked a pipe with the 
 Indian, and, as Wawatam soon after left the fort, he soon for- 
 got him. But had he then known that this singular man was 
 to save him, in a near future, from a horrible death, he Mould 
 liave been less careless about returning his avowed friendship. 
 Many months had elapsed since the incident to which I have 
 just made reference, occurred, when on the second of June, 
 1703, Henry's door was opened vidthout ceremony, and the 
 dark figure of Wawatam appeared. After thinking carefully 
 for a few moments, Mr. Henry remembered him, invited him 
 to a seat, and inquired as to the success of his winter's hunt. 
 Without replying, Wawatam sat down, and manifested great 
 surprise at finding the Englishman still in the fort. He said 
 that on the day following, he w^as going to the Saut Ste. Marie, 
 and that he wanted Henry to go with him. He next inquired 
 if his friend had not heard bad news, and continued, that he 
 himself "had been much disturbed by the singing of evil birds." 
 Henry took but little notice of the Indian's warning, and 
 Wawatam departed with a sad countenance. On the following 
 morning Wawatam again returned, and pressed Henry to leave 
 the fort. " When Henry demanded his reason for such 
 urgency," says Parkman, "he asked if his brother did not 
 know that many bad Indians, who had never shown themselves 
 at the fort, were emcamped in the woods around it. To-mor- 
 row, he said, they are coming to ask for whisky, and would all 
 get drunk, so that it would be dangerous to remain." Wawa- 
 tam continued to advise Henry to leave the fort and accompany 
 him to the Saut, but to no purpose. The Indian, seeing that 
 he could not induce his friend to escape the danger which 
 threatened him, departed with tears in his eyes. On this same 
 afternoon, Henry says that the fort was filled with savages 
 moving about among the soldiers with many appearances of 
 friendship. Many of them came to his store to purchase 
 knives and hatchets. The squaws moved about within the 
 fort, asking to see silver bracelets and other ornaments, not for 
 
74 THK LIVES OK FONTIAC AND TECUMiSEH. 
 
 the purpose of purchasing them, but, as it afterward appeared, 
 of learning where they were kept, that they might the more 
 easily lay hands upon them when the slaughter began. Night 
 came on and the Indians retired to their lodges. The garrison 
 entered the barracks, and settled into a sound sleep, not know- 
 ing that on the morrow many of them would fall beneath the 
 tomahawk. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Massacre — The Game op Ball — Slaughter op the Garri- 
 son — Indians Drinking the Blood op Englishmen — Hair- 
 breadth Escape op an English Trader. 
 
 On the following morning, the fourth of June, many Ojib- 
 was came to the fort, inviting officers and soldiers to come out 
 and see a grand game of ball, which was to be played between 
 their nation and the Sacs. In a few moments the fort was 
 half deserted. The gates were left wide open, and the soldiers 
 were collected in groups under the shadow of the palisades 
 watching the Indians play ball. They were all without arms, 
 suspecting nothing. The game in which the Indians were 
 engaged was called haggattaway. " At either extremity of the 
 ground, a tall post was planted, marking the stations of the 
 rival parties. The object of each was to defend its own post, 
 and drive the ball to that of its adversary. Hundreds of lithe 
 and agile figures were leaping and bounding upon the plain. 
 Each was nearly naked, his loose black hair flying in the wind, 
 and each bore in his hand a bat of a form peculiar to this 
 game. At one moment the whole were crowded together, a 
 dense throng of combantants, all struggling for the ball; at 
 the next they were scattered again, and running over the 
 ground like hounds in full cry." The participants yelled and 
 shouted at the tops of their voices. Suddenly the ball soared 
 high from the midst of the multitude, and fell near the pickets 
 of the fort. " This was no chance stroke. It was part of a 
 preconcerted stratagem to insure the surprise and destruction 
 of the garrison. As if in pursuit of the ball, the players 
 rushed towards the gate of the fort, and yelling the war-whoop, 
 they snatched the hatchets which the squaws had concealed 
 under their blankets. Some of the Indians sprang upon the 
 (75) 
 
76 THE LIVES OF BJNTIAC AND TEClTMSEIi: 
 
 spectators without, while others rushed into the fort, and, in a 
 moment all was carnage and confusion. At the commence- 
 ment, Etherington and Leslie were seized and led away from 
 the scene of massacre." 
 
 Mr. Alexander Henry., from whom I. have just quoted, gives 
 the following account of the massacre and his adventures in 
 connection with it: " I did not go myself to see the match 
 which was now to be played without the fort, because there 
 being a canoe prepared to depart on the following day for Mon- 
 treal, I employed myself in writing letters to my friends; and, 
 even when a fellow-trader, Mr. Tracy, happened to call upon 
 me saying, that another canoe had just arrived from Detroit, 
 and proposing that I should go with him to the beach, it so 
 happened that I still remained to finish my letters, promising 
 to follow Mr. Tracy in the course of a few minutes. Mr. 
 Tracy had not gone more than twenty paces from my door, 
 when I heard an Indian war cry, and a noise of general con- 
 fusion. Going instantly to my window, I saw a crowd of 
 Indians within the fort furiously cutting down and scalp- 
 ing every Englishman they found ; in particular, I witnessed 
 the fate of Lieut. Jamette. I had in the room in which I was, 
 a fowling piece loaded with swan shot. This I immediately 
 seized and held it for a few minutes waiting to hear the drum 
 beat to arms. In this dreadful interval, I saw several of my 
 countrymen fall, and more than one strnggling between the 
 knees of an Indian who, holding him in this manner, scalped 
 him while yet living. At length disappointed in the hope of 
 seeing i-esistance made to the enemy, and sensible, of course, 
 that no effort of my ow^n unassisted arm could avail against 
 four hundred Indians, I thought only of seeking shelter amid 
 the slaughter which was raging. [ observed many of the 
 Canadian inhabitants of the fort calmly looking on, neither 
 opposing the Indians nor suffering injury, and from this cir- 
 cumstance I conceived a hope of finding security in their 
 houses. Between the yard door of my own house, and that of 
 Mr. Langlade, my next neighbor, there was only a low fence, 
 over which I easily climbed. At my entrance I found the 
 whole family at the windows, gazing at the scene of blood 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 77 
 
 before them. 1 addressed myself immediately to Mr. Lang- 
 lade, begging that he would put me into some place of safety 
 until the heat of the affair should be over, an act of charity by 
 which he might, perhaps, preserve n>e from the general massa- 
 cre. But while I nttered my petition, Mr. Langlade, who had 
 looked for a moment at me, turned again to the window, 
 shrugging his shoulders and intimating that he could do noth- 
 ing for me. This was a moment of despair, but the next a 
 Pani woman, a slave of Mr. Langlade's, beckoned me to follow 
 her. She brought me to a door, which she opened, desiring me 
 to enter, and telling me it led to the garret where I must go 
 and conceal myself. I joyfully obeyed her directions, and she, 
 having followed me up to the garret door, locked it after me, 
 and with great presence of mind took away the key. This 
 shelter obtained, if shelter I could hope to find it, I was natu- 
 rally anxious to know what might still be passing without 
 Through an aperture which afforded me a view of the area of 
 the fort, I beheld, in shapes, the foulest and most terrible, the 
 ferocious triumphs of barbarian conquerors. The dead were 
 scalped and mangled. The dying were writhing and shrieking 
 under the insatiate knife and tomahawk, and, from the bodies 
 of some, ripped open, their butchers were drinking the blood, 
 scooped up in the hollow of joined hands, and quaffed amid 
 shouts of rage and victory. I was shaken, not only with hor- 
 ror, but with fear. The suffering which I witnessed, I seemed 
 on the point of experiencing. No long time elapsed before 
 every one being destroyed who could be found, there was a 
 general cry of all is finished. At the same instant I heard 
 some of the Indians enter the house where I was. The garret 
 was separated from the room below, only by a layer of single 
 boards, at once the flooring of the one and the ceiling of the 
 other. I could, therefore, hear everything that passed, and 
 the Indians no sooner came in than they inquired whether or 
 not any Englishmen were in the house. Mr. Langlade replied 
 that he could not say. He did not know of any, answers in 
 which he did not exceed the truth, for the Pani woman had not 
 only hidden me by stealth, but kept my secret and her own. 
 Mr. Langlade was, therefore, I presume, as far from a ^vish to 
 
78 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 destroy me, as he was careless about saving me, wlien he added 
 to these answers, that they might examine for themselves, and 
 would soon be satisfied as to the object of their question. Say- 
 ing this he brought them to the garret door. The state of ray 
 mind will be imagined. Arrived at the door, some delay was 
 occasioned by the absence of the key, and a few moments 
 were thus allowed me, in which to look around for a hiding 
 place. In one corner of the garret was a heap of those vessels 
 of birch bark, used in maple sugar making. The door was 
 unlocked and opened, and the Indians, ascending the stairs 
 before I had completly crept into a small opening, which pre- 
 sented itself at one end of the heap. An instant after four 
 Indians entered the room, all armed with tomahawks, and all 
 besmeared with blood upon every part of their bodies. The 
 die appeared to be cast. I could scarcely breathe, but I thought 
 the throbbing of my heart occasioned noise loud enough to 
 betray me. The Indians walked in every direction about the 
 garret, and one of them approached me so closely that at a 
 particular moment, had he put forth his hand he must have 
 touched me. Still I remained undiscovered, a circumstance to 
 which the dark color of my clothes, and the want of light in 
 the room which had no window in the corner in which I was, 
 must have contributed. In a word, after taking several turns 
 in the room, during which they told Mr. Langlade how many 
 they had killed, and liow many scalps they had taken, they 
 returned down stairs, and I, with sensations not to be expressed, 
 heard the door, which was the barrier between me and my 
 fate, locked for the second time. There was a feather-bed on 
 the floor, and, on this, exhausted as I was, by the agitation of 
 my mind, I threw myself down and went to sleep. In this 
 state I remained till the dusk of the evening, when I was awak- 
 ened by the second opening of the door. The person that now 
 entered was Mr. Langlade's wife, who was much surprised at 
 finding me, but advised me not to be uneasy, observing that 
 the Indians had killed most of the English, but that she hoped 
 I might, myself, escape. A shower of rain having begun to 
 fall, she had come to stop a hole in the roof. On her going 
 away, I begged her to send me a little water to drink, which 
 
OK, THE BORDEK WAKS OF TWO CKMTUKIKS. 79 
 
 ghe did. As night was now advancing, I continued, to lie on 
 the bed, ruminating on mj condition, but unable to discover a 
 resource from which T could hope for life. A llight to Detroit 
 had no probable chance of success. The distance from Mich- 
 ilimackinac was four hundred miles, and I was without 
 provisions, and the whole length of the road lay throuo-h 
 Indian countries — countries of an enemy in arms, where the 
 iirst man whom I should meet would kill me. To stay where 
 I w^as threatened nearly the same issue. As before, fatigue of 
 mind, and not tranquility, suspended my cares and procured 
 me further sleep. The respite which sleep afforded me during 
 the night was put an end to by the return of morning. I was 
 again on the rack of apprehension. At sunrise I heard the 
 family stirring, and presently after, Indian voices, informing 
 Mr. Langlade that they had not found my hapless self among 
 the dead, and they supposed me to be somewhere concealed. 
 Mr. Langlade appeared, from what followed, to he, by this 
 time, acquainted with my place of retreat, of which, no doubt, 
 he had been informed by his wife. The poor woman, as soon 
 as the Indians mentioned me, declared to her husband in the 
 French tongue, that he should no longer keep me in his house, 
 but deliver me up to my pursuers, giving as a reason for this 
 measure that should the Indians discover his instrumentality 
 in my concealment, they might revenge it on her children, and 
 that it was better that I should die than they. Mr. Langlade 
 resisted at first, this sentence of his wife, but soon suffered her 
 to prevail, informing the Indians that he had been told that I 
 was in his house; that I had come there without his knowl- 
 edge, and that he would put me into their hands. This was no 
 sooner expressed than he began to ascend the stairs, the Indi- 
 ans following upon his heels. I now resigned myself to the 
 fate with which I was menaced; and regarding every effort at 
 concealment as vain, I arose from the bed, and presented 
 myself full in view to the Indians, who were entering the 
 room. They were all in a state of intoxication, and entirely 
 naked, except about the middle. One of them named Wen- 
 niway, whom I had previously known, and who w^as upwards 
 of six feet in height, had his entire face and body covered with 
 
80 THE UVE8 OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH : 
 
 charcoal and grease, only that a white spot, of two inches in 
 diameter, encircled each eye. This man, walking up to me, 
 seized me with one hand by the collar of the coat, wliile in the 
 other he held a large carving knife, as if to plunge it into my 
 breast; his eyes, meanwhile, were fixed steadfastly on mine. 
 At length, after some seconds of the most anxious suspense, 
 he dropped his arm, saying, 'I won't kill 3'ou!' To this he 
 added that he had been frequently engaged in wars against the 
 English, and had brought away many scalps; that on a certain 
 occasion, he had lost a brother, whose name was Musinigon, 
 and that I should be called after him. A reprieve upon any 
 terms placed me among the living, and gave me back the sus- 
 taining voice of hope; but Wenniway ordered me down stairs, 
 and there informed me that I was to be taken to his cabin, 
 where, and indeed everywhere else, the Indians were all mad 
 with liquor, death again was threatened, and not as possible 
 only, but as certain. I mentioned my fears on this subject to 
 Mr. Langlade, begging him to represent them to my master. 
 Mr. Langlade, in this instance, did not withhold his compas- 
 sion, and Wenniway immediately consented that I should 
 remain where I was, until he found another opportunity to 
 take meaway." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 ADVENTURES OP ENGLISH TRADERS AT MiCHILIMACKINAC — ThEY AR3 
 
 Rescifed by THE Ottawas — Treatment of the Prisoners — 
 Henry's Esc-\pe — Cannibalism — Reduction of all the Western 
 Outposts except Detroit. 
 
 Henry had not enjoyed an hour's peace when an Indian 
 came to the house where he was and ordered him to follow 
 him to the Ojibwa camp. Henry knew this man, and suspected 
 treachery, but there was no alternative. Following him through 
 the gate his suspicions were soon confirmed. The Indian, 
 iiietead of proceeding to the camp, turned in the direction of 
 the woods. At this Henry refused to follow, and openly charged 
 him with his design. The Indian acknowledged that his inten- 
 tion was to take his life, and at the same moment drew his 
 knife to strike the fatal blow. At this instant the trader stepped 
 aside, and escaping the stroke he ran for his life. Entering 
 the gate of the fort he observed Wenniway standing in the 
 centre of the area, and he called out to him for assistance. The 
 chief ordered the Indian to desist ; but the enraged savage 
 would not obey him, and continued the pursuit, striking at him 
 with his knife as they ran round and round the chief. Observ- 
 ing the door of Mr. Langlade's house open, Henry ran, escaped 
 through it, and once more found himself alone in his garret 
 prison. Early in the night, as he lay asleej) on his rude couch, 
 the door was opened, and he was ordered to descend. He did 
 so, when, to his great joy, he found in the room below, Capt. 
 Etherington, Lieut. Leslie and Mr. Bostwick, a trader, together 
 with Father Jonois, the Jesuit priest from L'Arbre Croehe. 
 
 The Indians being now about to enjoy a drunken carouse 
 upon the liquor they had seized, and the chiefs, fully aware of 
 the danger to which the prisoners would be exposed during 
 6 (81) 
 
»ii THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 these revels, had conveyed them all into the fort and placed 
 them in charge of the Canadians. " Including officers, soldiers 
 and traders, they amounted to about twenty, this handful being- 
 all that escaped the massacre." When Henry entered the room 
 he found his three companions discussing a very important 
 question. The Indians had already retired to their village, and 
 the fort was actually in the hands of the white people — twenty 
 Englishmen and about three hundred French Canadians. To 
 close the gates and take possession of the fort would be an easy 
 matter, and it would have been attempted had not the Jesuit 
 discouraged the plan. He j-epresented that perhaps the French 
 would prove treacherous, and that, should they fail in their 
 plans, every Englishman in the place would meet certain death. 
 The idea was therefore abandoned. The night passed in quiet, 
 and in the morning several warriors came to the house and 
 summoned Henry to follow them. He was led to a house in 
 which two traders and a soldier were imprisoned. These were 
 released and ordered to join the company. They were then 
 led to the lake shore, where they were to embark for the Isles 
 du Castor. " A chilling wind blew strongly from the north- 
 east, and the lake was covered with mists and tossing angrily. 
 Henry stood shivering on the beach, with no other upper gar- 
 ment than a shirt, drenched with the cold rain. He asked 
 Langlade, who was near him, for a blanket, which the latter 
 with cold-blooded inhumanity refused to furnish unless security 
 was given for payment. Another Canadian proved more mer- 
 ciful, and Henry received a covering from the weather. With 
 his three companions, guarded by seven Indians, he embarked 
 in the canoe, the soldier being tied by his neck to one of the 
 cross-bars of the vessel. The thick mists and the tempestuous 
 weather compelled them to keep along the shore, close beneath 
 the wet, dripping forests. In this manner they had proceeded 
 about eighteen miles, and were approaching L'Arbre Croche, 
 when an Ottawa Indian came out of the woods and called to 
 them from the beach, inquiring the news and asking who were 
 their prisoners. Some conversation followed, in the course of 
 which the canoe approached the shore where the water was 
 very shallow." At this juncture a loud yell was heard, and a 
 
OK, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CKNITIRIKS. 83 
 
 hundred Ottawas, rising from the shrubbery, rushed into the 
 water and seized upon the canoe and prisoners. The astonished 
 Ojibwas remonstrated, but to no purpose. The prisoners were 
 all taken from them, and conducted to the shore in safety. 
 This interference was the result of a jealousy which the Ottawas 
 entertained against their brethren, the Ojibwas, for entering 
 into the war without consulting them and giving them an 
 opportunity to share in the plunder. 
 
 The Ottawas now assured the rescued prisoners that the 
 Ojibwas were carrying them to the Isles du Castor merely to 
 kill and eat them. They were then placed in Ottawa canoes, 
 and were soon on their way back to the fort. They were accom- 
 panied by a large fleet of canoes and a strong band of Ottawa 
 warriors. Before the day was over all had arrived at Michili- 
 mackinac. Landing their canoes, the Ottawas marched, in 
 Indian file, into the fort, and took possession of it, while at a 
 short distance hundreds of Ojibwa warriors looked on in aston- 
 ishment. The night passed without any important event, but 
 on the following morning the Ojibwa chiefs invited the prin- 
 cipal men of the Ottawas to hold a council with them in a 
 building within the fort. A valuable present of goods wao 
 placed upon the floor, it being a part of the plunder they had 
 taken; and their great war chief, Minavavana, who had con- 
 ducted the massacre, rose and addressed the Ottawas. " Your 
 conduct," he said, "has greatly surprised me. You have 
 betrayed our common cause, and opposed the will of the Great 
 Spirit, who has decreed that every Englishman must die. 
 Kxcepting you, all the Indians have raised the hatchet. Pon- 
 tiac has taken Detroit, and every other fort has also been 
 destroyed. The English are meeting with destruction through- 
 out the whole world. The King of France has awakened from 
 his sleep." In conclusion he exhorted them no longer to 
 espouse the cause of the English, but, like their brethren, to 
 lift the hatchet against them. 
 
 According to the Indian custom, when the Ojibwa chief 
 concluded his speech, the council adjourned till the next day, 
 when it was again convened. At this meeting the Ottawas 
 expressed a willingness to settle the afi*air, which they did by 
 
84 THE LH^ES OF PONTIAO AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 dividing the prisoners and the plunder. The Ottawas retained 
 the officers and the sohHers while the traders were given up to 
 their conquerors. The prisoners taken by the Ottawas were 
 treated with kindness. 
 
 The prisoners that were given back to the Ojibwas were 
 taken by the latter to one of their villages in the vicinity of 
 Michilimackinac and imprisoned in the council house. They 
 were securely bound together and to the posts that supported 
 the lodge. ]^o sooner had the traders been thus confined than 
 the building was filled with savages who seemed to take great 
 delight in jeering the captives. At the head of the lodge sat 
 the great war chief of the Ojibwa nation, with Wenniway at 
 his side. Henry was among the prisoners. Turning round 
 he noticed Wawatara, his friend, entering at the door. This 
 was the same Indian who visited Henry on the day before the 
 massacre and endeavored to persuade him to leave the fort. 
 He now passed Henry, stopping only to shake him by the 
 hand, and took a seat beside Wenniway at the head of the 
 lodge. After he had smoked with them a while in silence he 
 rose and went out again, but soon returned, followed by his 
 squaw, who brought with her a valuable present, which she 
 laid at the feet of the two chiefs. Wawatam then addressed 
 them in the following language : " Friends and relations, 
 what is it that I shall say? You know what I feel. You all 
 have friends, and brothers, and children, whom as yourselves 
 you love; and you — what would you experience did you, like 
 me, behold your dearest friend — your brother — in the condi- 
 tion of a slave; a slave, exposed every moment to insult, and 
 to menaces of death? This case, as you all know, is mine. 
 See there, (pointing to Henry) my friend and my brother 
 among slaves — himself a slave! You all well know that, long 
 before the war began I adoj)ted him as my brother. From 
 that moment he became one of my family, so that no change 
 of circumstances could break the cord which fastened us 
 together. He is my brother, and because I am your relation 
 he is therefore your relation, too; and how, being your rela- 
 tion, can he be your slave? On the day on which the war 
 began, you were fearful lest, on this very account I should 
 
OE, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 85 
 
 reveal your secret. You requested, therefore, that I should 
 leave the fort, and even cross the lake. I did so, but I did it 
 with reluctance. I did it with reluctance, no twith stand in*^ 
 that jou, Minavavana, who had the command in this enter- 
 prise, gave me your promise that you would protect my friend, 
 delivering him from all danger, and giving him safely to me. 
 The performance of this promise I now claim. I come not 
 with empty hands to ask it. You, Minavavana, best know 
 whether or not, as it respects yourself, you have kept your 
 word; but I bring these goods to buy off every claim which 
 any man among you all may have on my brother as his 
 prisoner." 
 
 The great Ojibwa chief replied to this speech in a favorable 
 manner. His presents were accepted and Henry was released. 
 Wawatam conducted him to his lodge, which was only a few 
 paces distant, and there treated him as his brother. Here 
 Henry enjoyed once more peace of mind and a night's rest, 
 both of which he had been deprived of for several days. On 
 the following day, as he sat comfortably within Wawatam's 
 lodge, he heard a great noise in the prison-house, which stood 
 near by, and, raising up, he beheld the dead bodies of seven of 
 the prisoners dragged forth. They had been slain by a noted 
 chief, who had just returned from the winter's hunt. Having 
 come too late to take part in the grand achievement of his 
 tribesmen, he took this method of signifying his approval of 
 what had been done. W^ith this design he had entered the 
 prison-lodge and murdered seven of the soldiers with his knife. 
 
 Now came the scenes of canibalism. The Indians sought 
 to increase their bravery by feasting on the bodies of their 
 slain enemies. I shall not shock the reader with a description 
 of this sickening feast. It was conducted in the presence of 
 the few remaining prisoners, and must have been a painful 
 sight to them. 
 
 It was now about one week since the massacre occurred. 
 The Indians began to fear the approach of the English, and 
 determined to remove to some place where they would be able 
 to defend themselves against an attack. Accordingly three 
 hundred and fifty warriors, with their families and household 
 
86 THK LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECHMSEH : 
 
 effects, embarked in their canoes for tlie island of Mackinaw, 
 which thej reached in safety. Here they erected their lodges 
 and planted their little village. Henry and his friend Wawa- 
 tam were among the number. 
 
 The Ojibwas had no sooner settled down on this beautiful 
 island than they were visited by Pontiac's messengers, who 
 represented that the Ottawa chief was still besieging Detroit 
 and desired them to hasten to his assistance. The Indians 
 listened to the invitation but they would not accept it. 
 Already they were beginning to fear the consequences of their 
 onset against the garrison at Michilimackinac, and they were 
 now more anxious to secure a place of safety than to continue 
 the war. 
 
 The fort at Green Bay, and the Saut Ste. Marie, did not share 
 the fate of Michilimackinac. During the winter previous the 
 *atter fort had been partially destroyed by fire and was there- 
 fore abandoned, the garrison withdrawing to Michilimackinac 
 where most of them perished in the massacre. The fort at 
 Green Bay was first garrisoned in 1761. The force consisted 
 of seventeen men, commanded by Lieut. Garell. This ofiicer, 
 by his judicious policy, gained the friendship of all the Indians 
 in the vicinity of his fort. On the fifteenth of June, 1763, he 
 received the following letter from Captain Etherington, who 
 had lately commanded at Fort Michilimackinac, and was now 
 a prisoner at the Ottawa village of L'Arbre Croche : 
 
 "Michilimackinac, June 11, 1763. 
 
 "Deak Sir: — This place was taken by surprise on the fourth instant 
 by the Ojibwas, at which time Lieut. Jamet and twenty (fifteen) more were 
 killed and all the rest taken prisoners ; but our good friends, the Ottawas, 
 have taken Lieut. Lesley, me, and eleven men out of their hands, and have 
 promised to reinstate us again. You'll, therefore, on receipt of this, 
 which I send by a canoe of Ottawas, set out with all your garrison and 
 what English traders j'ou have with you, and come with the Indian who 
 gives you this, who will conduct you safe to me. You must be sure to 
 follow the instruction you receive from the bearer of this, as you are by 
 no means to come to this post before you see me at the village twenty 
 miles from this. I must once more beg you'll lose no time in coming to 
 join me; at the same time be very careful, and always be on your guard, 
 I long much to see you, and am, dear sir, your most humble servant. 
 
 "Geo. Etherington. 
 
 " J. GarelIi, Royal Americans." 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 87 
 
 Immediately on reeeiving this, Garell set out with his garri- 
 son, accompanied by ninety warriors in canoes. Garell's party 
 were in bateaux. Arriving at L'Arbre Croche, the Ottawas 
 came out to meet them and presented tliem with the pipe of 
 peace. Capt. Etlierington and Lieut. Leslie, and eleven men, 
 were detained in this village as prisoners, but were treated 
 with kindness. Several Indian councils were now held, after 
 which the Ottawas released their prisoners. > On the eighteenth 
 of July the English, escorted by a fleet of Indian canoes, left 
 L'Arbre Croche for Montreal, where they arrived in the follow- 
 ing August. Excepting the garrison of Detroit, not a British 
 soldier now remained in the region of the lakes. 
 
CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Continuation op the Siege op Detroit — Adventures op a 
 Schooner on the Detroit Riter — Depeat op the Indians — 
 Pontiac Appeals to the French por Assistance — Horrible 
 Death op Capt. Campbell — The Wyandots and Pottawatomies 
 Sue for Peace. 
 
 t 
 Let us once more return to the camp of Pontiac and the 
 garrison at Detroit. It will be remembered that some time 
 before the arrival of the news of the slaughter of Cuyler's 
 detachment, one of the vessels had left the fort, passed down 
 the river, and proceeded towards Niagara to hasten up this 
 same reinforcement. The schooner had passed Cuyler's 
 detachment, probably w^hile it was encamped near the mouth 
 of the Detroit river, and had sailed down to Niagara, where it 
 remained until the return of Cuyler, as already explained, to 
 report his loss. This officer, and the survivors of his party, 
 with a few other troops spared from the garrison of Niagara, 
 were now ordered to embark on board of this vessel, and make 
 their way to Detroit as soon as possible. They had done so, 
 and were now almost within sight of the fort. However, the 
 most dangerous part of the journey was yet to be performed. 
 In many places the channel of the river was narrow, and a 
 thousand infuriated warriors lay in ambush to interrupt her pass- 
 age. Several days passed and nothing further was heard of the 
 expected schooner. On the twenty-first, a great commotion 
 was noticed among the Indians, and soon after a Frenchman 
 came to the fort with the intelligence that the vessel was again 
 attempting to ascend the river, and that a thousand warriors 
 had gone down to capture her. Two cannon were immediately 
 discharged so that the distant schooner might know the fort 
 was still in the hands of the English. Not long after she 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF 'HVO (CENTURIES. 89^ 
 
 appeared, advancing slowly np the river. There were about 
 sixty men on board, but only a few of them were visible on 
 deck. They had been ordered below, in the ho])es that the 
 Indians, encouraged by this apparent weakness, might make an 
 open attack. Just before reaching the narrowest part of the 
 channel, the wind died away and the anchor was dropped. 
 "Just above, and within gun shot of the vessel, the Indians 
 had made a breastwork of logs, carefully concealed by bushes, 
 on the shore of Turkey Island." Behind this the Indians lay 
 in great numbers waiting for her to pass. The men on board 
 were not aware of this, but, expecting an attack, they kept a 
 constant lookout. Late in the night the sentinel gave the 
 the alarm. On the black surface of the water he saw, advanc- 
 ing, a lleet of Indian canoes, filled with savages. The men 
 below were called up, and every man stood at his post. Wlien 
 the Indians had approached within a few yards of the schooner, 
 a volley of cannon and musketry burst forth from her black 
 sides. Grape and musket shot flew tearing among the canoes, 
 destioying several of them, killing fourteen Indians, wounding 
 as many more, and driving the rest in confusion to the shore. 
 As soon as those who survived reached the shore, they began 
 to fire upon the schooner from behind their breastwork. The 
 vessel, thereupon, dropped down the river beyond their reach. 
 A few days after she again attempted to ascend the river. 
 This time she met with good success. There was a brisk w^ind, 
 and, although the fire from the savages was kept up constantly 
 from both shores, she reached the fort in safety. 
 
 This schooner brought the much needed supplies for the 
 garrison, and the important news that peace had been con- 
 cluded between France and England. The French settlers. 
 however, pretended to disbelieve the news, declaring that it was 
 manufactured by Major Gladwyn, and telling the Indians that 
 the King of France was then approaching up the St. Lawrence 
 with a mightj^ •cirnfy to destroy their enemies. The savages 
 fully believed these false representations, and remained firm in 
 their position. Pontiac was not at all pleased with the rein- 
 forcements which Gladwyn had received, and he now resolved 
 to terrify his British foe into submission. He once more sum- 
 
90 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 moned Gladwyn to surrender, declaring that eight hundred 
 Ojibwa warriors were now approaching to assist him, and rep- 
 resenting that, should the garrison hold out till their arrival, no 
 resistance which they could offer would prevent these braves 
 from taking the scalp of every Englishman within the fort. 
 Gladwyn replied in a decisive manner, assuring him that he 
 cared nothing for his threats. 
 
 Being thus thwarted, Pontiac summoned all the principal 
 French settlers to meet him in council. " In the Ottawa 
 camp," says Francis Parkman, " there was a vacant spot, quite 
 level, and encircled by the huts of the Indians. Here mats 
 were spread for the reception of the deputies, who soon con- 
 vened, and took their seats in a wide ring. One part was 
 occupied by the Canadians, among whom were several, whose 
 withered, leathery features proclaimed them the patriarchs of 
 the secluded little settlement. Opposite these sat the stern- 
 visaged Pontiac, with his chiefs on either hand, while the 
 intervening portions of the circle were filled by Canadians and 
 Indians promiscuously mingled. Standing on the outside, and 
 looking over the heads of this more dignified assemblage, was 
 a motley throng of Indians and Canadians, half-breeds, trap- 
 pers and voyageurs, in wild and picturesque, though very dirty, 
 attire. Conspicuous among them were the numerous Indian 
 dandies, a large class in every aboriginal community, where 
 they hold about the same relative positions as in civilized 
 society. They were wrapped in the gayest blankets, their 
 necks adorned with beads, their cheeks daubed with vermilion 
 iind their ears hung with pendants. They stood sedately look- 
 ing on, with evident self-complaisancy, yet ashamed and afraid 
 to take their places among the aged chiefs and warriors of 
 repute." Several pipes were passed round from hand to hand, 
 but, beyond this, all remained silent, until Pontiac rose and 
 threw down a war belt at the feet of the Canadians and deliv- 
 ered the following speech: 
 
 " My brothers, how long will you suffer this bad flesh to 
 remain upon your lands? I have told you before, and I now 
 tell you again, that when I took up the hatchet it was for your 
 good. This year the English must all perish throughout Can- 
 
OK, THE BOEDER WARS OF I'WO CENTURIES. 91 
 
 ada. The Master of Life commands it, and yon who know 
 Him better than we, wish to oppose His will. Until now I 
 have said nothing on this matter. I have not nrged you to 
 take part with us in the war. It would have been enough had 
 you been content to sit quiet on your mats looking on, while 
 we were fighting for you, but you have not done so. You call 
 yourselves our friends, and yet you assist the English with 
 provisions, and go about as spies among our villages. This 
 must not continue. You must be either wholly French or 
 wholly English. If you are French, take up that war belt and 
 lift the hatchet with us; but if you are English, then we 
 declare war upon you. My brothers, I know this is a hard 
 thing. We are all alike children of our great father, the King 
 of France, and it is hard to fight among brethren for the sake 
 of dogs, but there is no choice. Look upon the belt, and let us 
 hear your answer." 
 
 One of the Canadians, who had brought with him a copy of 
 the capitulation of Montreal, and who had determined not to 
 confess that they were no longer children of the French King, 
 but that he was then approaching with a vast army to win back 
 Canada, rose and replied to the Ottawa chief, confessing great 
 love for the Indians, and manifesting a desire to aid them in 
 the war. He concluded with these words: " But, my brothers, 
 you must first untie the knot with which our great father, the 
 king, has bound us. In this paper — the capitulation — he tells 
 all his Canadian children to set quiet and obey the English 
 until he comes, because he wishes to punish his enemies him- 
 self. We dare not disobey him, for he would then be angry 
 with us, and you, my brothers, who speak of making war upon 
 us, if we do not do as you wish, do you think you could escape 
 his wrath? If you should raise the hatchet against his French 
 children, he would treat you as enemies and not as friends, and 
 you would have to fight both English and French at once. Tell 
 us, by brothers, what can you reply to this?" 
 
 Tlie Frenchman then took his seat, and, for a time, Pontiac 
 Bat like one confounded, but he was not wholly disappointed. 
 From among the number of half-breeds and trappers present, 
 one stepped forth and snatched up the war belt, and declared 
 
92 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 that he and his companions were ready to raise the hatchet 
 against the English. Pontiac was much pleased with these 
 volunteers, and on the following day he made a great feast to 
 welcome them to the ranks of his army. For this entertain- 
 ment a large number of dogs were killed and served up to the 
 guests, "none of whom, according to the Indian custom on 
 such occasions, were permitted to take their leave until they 
 had eaten the whole of the enormous portion placed before 
 them." It is hardly necessary to say that Pontiac derived but 
 little benefit from these auxiliaries. On the night succeeding- 
 the feast, a party of these renegades, together with about an 
 equal number of Indians, approached the fort and entrenched 
 themselves, for the purpose of firing upon the garrison. At 
 daybreak they were observed by the garrison. The gates of the 
 fort were therefore thrown open and a small detachment of men 
 under the command of Lieut. Hay, inarched out and routed 
 them. The Canadians ran off with such rapidity that they 
 escaped injury, while among the Indians who made an attempt 
 to oppose the enem.y, two were shot. 
 
 No sooner had Lieut. Hay and his party returned to the fort, 
 when a white man was seen running towards it closely pursued 
 by the Indians. When he had come within gunshot of the 
 fort, the Indians gave way, and he reached it in safety. This 
 man proved to be the commandant of Sandusky, who — as I 
 have already mentioned — having been married to an old squaw, 
 had now made good his escape. He brought sad news to the 
 fort — the intelligence that Capt. Campbell had been killed. It 
 appears that one of the Indians killed by Lieut. Hay's detach- 
 ment, was a nephew to Wasson, chief of the Ojibwas. As 
 soon as he became aware of what had happened, Wasson black- 
 ened his face in token of revenge, and, gathering around him 
 a band of his followers, repaired to the house of Meloche, 
 where Campbell was kept a prisoner, and murdered him in the 
 most cruel manner. The other captive, McDougal, had escaped 
 some time before. 
 
 It was now about three months since the siege began. From 
 the beginning, the Wyandots and Pottawatomies were less 
 zealous in prosecuting the war than their brethren, the Otta- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 93 
 
 was and Ojibwas, " and now, like children, they began to tire 
 of the task they had undertaken." The Wyandots asked for 
 peace which the commandant granted them, but when the Pot- 
 tawatomies came on the same errand, Gladwyn demanded that 
 the English prisoners in their village should first be given up. 
 After considerable delay these savages yielded to his request, 
 and a peace was concluded. 
 
CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 Approach op Dalzell's Detachment — The Battle of Bloody RrrN — 
 Slaughter op the English — The Fatal Retreat — Adventures 
 op the Schooner Gladwyn — Bravery op her Crew — The 
 Indians Sue for Peace. 
 
 While events were thus passing in Detroit a strong rein- 
 forcement was advancing to their assistance. Capt. DalzeU 
 had left Niagara with twenty barges, bearing two hundred and 
 eighty men, with several small cannon and a large supply of 
 ammunition and provisions. This convoy was observed ad- 
 vancing up the Detroit river on the twenty-ninth of July; but 
 it no sooner reached a point midway between the villages of the 
 Wyandots and Pottawatomies than these Indians, although 
 bound by a treaty made less than two weeks previous to abstain 
 from the war, opened a hot lire upon the boats from either 
 bank. It was answered by a swivel from the barges, but in 
 the contest the English lost about twenty men, killed and 
 wounded. When the villages were passed the convoy landed 
 safely at the little dock near the fort. The detachment con- 
 sisted of soldiers from the fifty-fifth and eightieth regiments, 
 with twenty independent rangers under Major Rogers. 
 
 Captain Dalzell had rendered gallant service by the side of 
 Israel Putnam, but had more recently acted as aid-de-camp to 
 Sir Jeffery Amherst. On the day of his arrival he held a con- 
 ference with Major Gladwyn, urging the policy of going out 
 with a strong detachment and attacking the camp of Pontiae. 
 Gladwyn objected, but the oflicer pressed his plan so urgently 
 that the commandant at length gave a reluctant consent. 
 
 Pontiac's camp at this time was located several miles above 
 Parent's Creek, it having been removed to escape the fire from 
 the vessels in the river. On the evening of the thirtieth of 
 (94) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF 1-WO CENTURIES. 95 
 
 July orders were issued and preparations made for the attack ; 
 and about two o'clock on the following morning the detach- 
 ment, two hundred and fifty strong, passed out of the gates of 
 the fort. Through the carelessness of some of the garrison the 
 plan became known to the French, and was by them commu- 
 nicated to the Indians. Having thus received knowledge of 
 the aifair, the Indians were on their guard. The soldiers passed 
 up the river road, while two large bateaux rowed up the river 
 abreast of them.* Lieut. Brown led the advance guard of 
 twenty-five men; the center was commanded by Capt. Grey, 
 and the rear by Capt. G-rant. The night was warm, and the 
 soldiers marched in light attire. On their right lay the waters 
 of the Detroit, while on their left a succession of Canadian 
 houses, barns and orchards greeted them at every hundred 
 paces. As the soldiers passed along the dogs barked furiously 
 and the inhabitants, roused from sleep, looked from the win- 
 dows of their dwellings in astonishment. Thus the English 
 proceeded to the attack, little thinking that behind every barn 
 or in every corn-field Indian warriors lay in ambush, ready to 
 slaughter them when an opportunity was presented ; much less 
 did they suppose that Pontiac himself, having heard of their 
 intention, was at that moment advancing upon them at the 
 head of a thousand savages. 
 
 Parent's Creek, since that night called Bloody Pun, ran 
 through a wild hollow, and entered the Detroit about a mile 
 and a half above the fort. Only a few rods from its mouth the 
 road crossed it by a narrow wooden bridge. " Just beyond this 
 bridge the land rose in abrupt ridges, parallel to the stream. 
 Along their summits were rude intrenchments made by Pon- 
 tiac, to protect his camp, which had formerly occupied the 
 ground immediately beyond." In this place were huge piles 
 of wood, tall picket fences, and many other things that served 
 as a shelter to the Indians. Behind all were crouched countless 
 savages, with their muskets ready, for now they could hear the 
 steady tramp of the approaching enemy. The night was 
 exceedingly dark, and as the soldiers approached this dangerous 
 pass a horrible burst of yells rose in their front, and at that 
 
 * Parkman's " Conspiracy of Pontiac." 
 
^6 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH: 
 
 moment they were greeted with a volley of musketry. Fnlly 
 half of the advance party fell dead upon the spot, and the rest 
 fell back in disorder. In a few moments the main body of the 
 troops broke into confusion. But now the clear, shrill voice 
 of Dalzell broke upon the midnight air. He advanced to the 
 front, rallied the men, and led them forward to the attack. As 
 the troops returned to battle, another volley of musketry from 
 the Indians poured forth, and again the soldiers hesitated ; but 
 Dalzell shouted to them, and with this brave officer leading the 
 way, the detachment, " in the madness of mingled rage and 
 fear," made a desperate charge, crossing the bridge *at a brisk 
 run and mounting the heights beyond. Here the soldiers found 
 no one to oppose them. The savages had fled. Capt. Grant 
 with his company recrossed the bridge, and took a position in 
 the road. The main body of the troops followed, a small party 
 only remaining, to hold the savages in check while the dead 
 and dying were being placed on board the two bateaux, which 
 had come up to the bridge during the assault. Before this task 
 was completed the savages renewed the attack, and volleys of 
 musketry were also heard in the direction of Grant's position. 
 A large force of Indians had fired upon him from their secret 
 intrenchments. These had remained quiet during the action, 
 with a view to surprise the troops on their retreat. Grant pushed 
 forward and dislodged them at the point of the bayonet. 
 
 The English now received intelligence that the warriors had 
 formed a design to cut off their retreat, and for this purpose 
 had gone in great numbers to occupy the French houses which 
 commanded the road below. The order for the homeward march 
 was immediately given, and the soldiers fell into marching 
 order and moved forward. Grant now led the front, while 
 Dalzell brought up the rear. A few scattering Indians followed 
 them, discliarging their muskets and harrassing Dalzell's com- 
 mand at every turn. At intervals the rear party faced about 
 to throw back a volley of musketry at their pursuers. In this 
 way they proceeded for half a mile, when, reaching a point 
 opposite a thicket of orchards and pickets, the Indians rose 
 from their hiding places and poured a hot fire of musketry 
 among them. Again the soldiers broke into confusion, and, 
 
OR, THK BORDKR WAKS OF TWO CKNTUKIKS. 97 
 
 crowding upon each other, attempted to flee for their lives; but 
 the strong voice of Dalzell again rose above the din. He beat 
 the soldiers with the flat of his sword and threatened them its 
 edge. In this way he partially restored order, and charged 
 upon the Indians, dislodging them and putting them to flight. 
 A little farther on the Indians had taken possession of a 
 Canadian house, and as the soldiers advanced the savages flred 
 down upon them. Major Rodgers advanced with his provincial 
 rangers, broke in the door and expelled thera. Capt. Grey 
 now attempted to dislodge a party of savages from behind a 
 cluster of buildings, but fell, mortally wounded, in the attempt. 
 The savages, however, gave way, and the retreat was resumed; 
 but the Indians pursued them, shooting down the rear and 
 scalping the fallen. The soldiers hastened on towards the fort, 
 the rear now and then turning back to check their pursuers 
 with a discharge of musketry. At nearly every step one or 
 more fell dead or wounded. Dalzell observed at a httle dis- 
 tance, in the rear, a sergeant of the fifty -fifth regiment lying 
 upon the ground, helplessly wounded. The dying man raised 
 himself up upon his hands and looked after his retiring com- 
 rades in desperation. The sight was too much for Dalzell. In 
 the true spirit of heroism he ran out amidst the brisk fire of 
 the Indians, and, while attempting to assist the bleeding ser- 
 geant to his feet, a ball pierced his breast, and he fell dead upon 
 the body which he had risked his own life to rescue. With 
 this sad event the Indians rushed upon them, and had not Major 
 Rogers taken possession of a Canadian house and covered the 
 retreat with the fire of his rangers, the loss would hav*e been 
 much more severe. Rogers entered this house with his own 
 men, but was soon followed by many of the regulars, who ran 
 in to secure a temporary shelter. The house, which was owned 
 by Jacques Campau, was filled with the women of the neigh- 
 borhood, who had taken shelter in the cellar, garret, or where- 
 ever a room promised safety from the fire of the soldiers and 
 Indians. The soldiers who had now entered the house, tired 
 and warm, placed the furniture against the windows, and run- 
 ning their muskets through the openings, they opened an 
 effective fire upon their enemies; but this was sharply returned 
 7 
 
9S THE LIVKS OF PONTIAC AND TECUJIISEH: 
 
 by the savages. The bullets rapped hard and fast against tht 
 outer walls, and now and then one would fly sharply whizzing 
 through a crevice, striking down a man oi- harmlessly piercing 
 the partitions. 
 
 In the meantime Capt. Grant had moved forward and taken 
 up a position among the orchard trees where he maintained 
 himself until the centre and rear arrived. From this point 
 he detached all the men he could spare to occupy the soldiers 
 below. In this way he established a complete line of com- 
 munication with the fort, and the retreat was effectually 
 secured. In less than an hour the whole party, except Rogers 
 and his men, had arrived to Grant's new position. The pro- 
 vincials were unable to leave the house of Campau, being com- 
 pletely surrounded by the savages. The two armed bateaux, 
 which had now arrived at the fort, with the dead who fell at 
 the charge of Bloody Run, were ordered to proceed up the 
 river to a point opposite the house in which Rogers was 
 being besieged, and open lire upon the savages. This was 
 done with good effect, enabling Rogers and his men to leave 
 the house and continue their retreat. The bateaux followed 
 them down the river, protecting their rear from the fire of the 
 Indians. Rogers had no sooner left the house at one door 
 than the Indians entered it at another, for the purpose of 
 scalping the corpses of the dead soldiers. Foremost among 
 these was an old squaw, who rushed in, with a wild scream, 
 and slashing open one of the dead bodies with her knife, 
 scooped up the blood with her joined hands and drank it 
 down greedily. 
 
 About eight o'clock in the morning the detachment reached 
 the fort and entered once more within the palisades, but not 
 without losing fifty-nine men killed and wounded. The loss 
 of the Indians did not exceed twenty. 
 
 Pontiac was much gratified with his success in routing the 
 English, and messengers were sent out for hundreds of miles 
 around to announce their victory. Reinforcements soon began 
 to come in, and in a few days Pontiac's forces were nearly 
 doubled. The English, however, were now^ well prepared to 
 meet any force which the Indians might be able to muster. 
 
OR, THE B0RDE;K WARS OF TWO CKNTURIES. 99 
 
 The garrison could now boast of three himdred effective men, 
 and being well provided with provisions and ammunition, tliey 
 fought with hope and courage. Day after day passed on. 
 The beseigers continued the war, but nothing occurred of 
 great importance until the fouj:"th of September. On this day 
 the schooner Gladwyn, the smaller of the two vessels already 
 mentioned, which had been sent to Niagara with dispatches, 
 was returning up the Detroit river, having on board Capt, 
 Horst, Jacobs, the mate, and a crew of ten men and six 
 Iroquois Indians, believed to be friendly to the English. As 
 Boon as the schooner entered the river the Indians desired to 
 be placed on shore. This was granted them, and it is 
 believed they proceeded at once to report the approach of the 
 schooner and the weakness of the crew to Pontiac. On the 
 evening of the fourth she was becalmed in the river, about 
 nine miles below the fort. "The men on board," says Park- 
 man, " watched with anxious vigilance, and as night came on 
 they listened to every sound which broke the stillness, from 
 the strange cry of the night-hawk, wheeling round and round 
 above their heads, to the bark of the fox in the woods on 
 shore. The night set in with darkness so complete that at the 
 distance of a few rods nothing could be discerned. Mean- 
 while tnree hundred and fifty Indians, in their birch canoes, 
 glided silently dow^n with the current and were close upon the 
 vessel before they were seen. There was only time to fire a 
 single canon shot among them before they were beneath her 
 bows and clambering up her sides, holding their knives 
 clenched fast between their teeth. The crew gave them a close 
 fire of musketry without any efiect. Tlien flinging down their 
 guns, they seized their spears and hatchets, with which they 
 were all provided, and met the assailants with such furious 
 energy and courage, that within the space of two or three 
 minutes they had killed and wounded more than thrice their 
 own number. But the Indians were only checked for a 
 moment. The master of the vessel was killed, several of the 
 crew were disabled, and the assailants were leaping over the 
 bulwarks, when Jacobs, the mate, called out to blow up the 
 schooner. This desperate command saved her and her crew. 
 
100 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 Some Wyandots who had gained the deck, caught the meaning 
 of his words and gave the alarm to their companions. Instantly 
 every Indian leaped overboard in a panic and the whole were 
 seen diving and swimming off in all directions to escape the 
 threatened explosion. The schooner was cleared of her assail- 
 ants, who did not dare to renew the attack, and on the follow- 
 ing morning she sailed for the fort, which she reached without 
 molestation. Six of her crew escaped unhurt. Of the remain- 
 der, two were killed and four seriously wounded, while the 
 Indians had seven men killed upon the spot and nearly twenty 
 wounded, of whom eight were known to have died within a 
 few days after. As the whole action lasted but a few minutes, 
 the fierceness of the struggle is sufficiently apparent from the 
 loss on both sides. The survivors of the little crew were after- 
 wards rewarded as their undaunted bravery deserved." This 
 schooner brought to the fort a much needed supply of pro- 
 visions, for by this time their supplies had become short. It 
 was not, it will be seen, however, sufficient for the wants of the 
 garrison, and the whole were now put upon the shortest possi- 
 ble allowance. 
 
 September was now drawing to a close. The savages having 
 pressed the siege since the beginning of May, were now becom- 
 ing tired of their ill-success, and hearing that Major Wilkins 
 was now approaching with a large army to destroy them, as well 
 as becoming shaken in their faith regarding the advancing 
 army of the king of France, they sued for peace. 
 
 The different tribes around Detroit who now, weary of the 
 siege, came to the fort for peace, were by no means sincere in 
 their desires. Fearing the advance of the English from Niag- 
 ara, and knowing that with the approach of winter their 
 sufferings would be increased, and, their ammunition being 
 nearly spent, they had resolved to conclude a peace, retire to 
 their wintering grounds, and renew the war with increased 
 vigor in the spring. Accordingly, on the twelfth of October, 
 Wapocomoguth, great chief of the Mississaugas, a branch of 
 the Ojibwas, living east of the Detroit River, visited the fort, 
 bringing with him a pipe of peace. He declared to Gladwyn 
 that he and his people were fast friends of the English, and 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO (CENTURIES. 101 
 
 DOW desired to conclude a lasting peace with them. He fur- 
 ther added that he had been requested bj the Pottawatomies, 
 Ojibwas and Wjandots, to say that these tribes were now sorry 
 for taking part in the war; that they repented of their bad 
 conduct, and also sincerely desired to conclude a treaty of 
 peace, which they had resolved on, if made not to break. The 
 British commandant was now too well acquainted with the 
 Indian character, and more especially with the tricks of these 
 tribes, to believe these representations; but, the circumstances 
 in which he was placed made it necessary for him to adopt any 
 measure that would enable him to procure further supplies. 
 His garrison was on the eve of famine, and every attempt to 
 secure provisions while his fort was surrounded with hostile 
 Indians, had been attended with evil results. He replied, 
 therefore, that he was not empowered to grant peace, but he 
 would consent to a truce. The Ojibwa chief left the fort with 
 this message, and Gladwyn, favored with a lull in the storm, 
 hastened to collect provisions among the French settlers. He 
 met with many difficulties, as the Canadians were fearful lest, 
 should they be instrumental in supplying the garrison with 
 food, they would incur the wrath of the savages, and, perhaps, 
 perish under the tomahawk. But he succeeded in collecting a 
 a very good supply, sufficient to «5.e^.. cne ^.arrison through the 
 winter. 
 
 It should be remembered, h^^r-, ijh- the Ottawas had not yet 
 asked for peace. Goaded on by their great leader, Pontiac, 
 they would not humble themselves as their brethren had done, 
 but, continuing their hostile acts, tliey harrassed the fort con- 
 tinually. With the end of October, however, Pontiac received 
 a severe blow to liis energies. A French messenger came to 
 his camp with a letter from M. Neyon, commandant at Fort 
 Charters, the principal post in Illinois, The letter assured 
 Pontiac that all the stories which had been told him regarding 
 the approach of his French father, with a great army, were 
 false; that the French and the English were now at peace and 
 regarded each other as brothers, and that they had better aban- 
 don the siege. This letter broke the pride of the Ottawa 
 leader, and he departed from Detroit, accompanied by his prin- 
 
102 THE LIVES 0¥ PONTIAC A_ND TECUMSEH : 
 
 cipal chiefs. Descending the Detroit, he encamped on the 
 Maumee, when he began to stir up the tribes in that place, 
 with a view of renewing the war in the spring. 
 
 A few day's after Pontiac's departure, two friendly Wyan- 
 dot Indians came to the fort. One of them handed Major 
 Gladwyn a letter. It proved to be from ]\^ajor Wilkins, and 
 contained the disastrous news that his detachment had been 
 overtaken by a storm; that many of the boats had been wrecked, 
 and that seventy men had perished; that all the stores and 
 ammunition had been destroyed, and he, and the remnant 
 of his men had been forced to return to Niagara. This news 
 had a bad eifect upon the cheer of the garrison, but, delighted 
 at the departure of Pontiac, and with the temporary peace which 
 they were enjoying, they took courage, and looked forward to 
 the dreary winter, with hopeful hearts. 
 
 Detroit, and the territory for miles around was now almost 
 deserted. The besiegers had departed for the chase. Some 
 crossed Lake Huron to the north, others advanced far west- 
 ward into the wilds of Michigan, while, as already observed, 
 a large number went southward to the Maumee. 
 
 Detroit, as we have seen, had been the central point of 
 Indian operations. Around it they had concentrated their 
 greatest forces. Its capture had been their favorite project. 
 It was the only barrier which prevented them from carrying 
 out the original plan of uniting in one mighty onslaught 
 against the frontier settlements. With the failure of this 
 part of the work, the savages become discouraged, and, for the 
 time being, they retired from the siege. 
 
CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 Tbontier Settlements and Forts — Alarms at Fort Pitt — 
 Slaughter op Traders — Narrow Escape op a Garrison — 
 Destruction op Forts — The War Raging to the Highest 
 Pitch — Danger Thickening Around Fort Pitt. 
 
 While the clouds of Indians were blackening around Detroit, 
 a tempest was gathering which was soon to pour a torrent upon 
 the whole frontier. In 1763 the British settlements did not 
 extend beyond the AUeghanies. The German Flats on the 
 Mohawk might have been regarded as the extreme verge of the 
 frontier of the State of New York. The same could have 
 been said of the town of Bedford, in Pennsylvania, while the 
 settlements of Virginia extended to a corresponding distance. 
 Through the wilderness immediately west of these places, ran 
 chains of forts, for their protection. One of the most import- 
 ant of these passed through the country of the Six Nations, 
 and guarded the route between the northern colonies and Lake 
 Ontario. The route was by the way of the Hudson, the 
 Mohawk, Wood Creek, the Oneida Lake and the River Oswego, 
 •and was defended by Forts Stanwix, Brewertown, Oswego and 
 two or three smaller forts. Fort Niagara stood near the west- 
 ern end of Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the river from which 
 it derived its name. This was a strong and well supplied fort, 
 guarding, as it did, access to the whole interior country, both 
 by way of the route just mentioned, also by that of the St. 
 Lawrence. From Fort Niagara the trader would make the 
 portage past the great falls to Presque Isle, now the city of 
 Erie, Pennsylvania. Thence he would pass, by an overland 
 route, to Fort Le Boeuf, on a bi-anch of the Alleghany; thence 
 by water to Yenango, and thence down the Alleghany to Fort 
 Pitt. This last-mentioned place stood on the site of the present 
 (103) 
 
104 THE LIVES OF P<JiMTIAO AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 prosperous city of Pittsburgh. Before the forests had been 
 leveled to the earth, at the period of which I am writing, this 
 was a beautiful spot. Everywhere for miles around, the land- 
 scape was rich and captivating. On the right the waters of 
 the Alleghany, bordered by high, steep banks, flowed onward 
 towards the Mississippi. On the left, the winding Mononga- 
 hela came in and emptied its gurgling waters into the former, 
 or both united to form the broad Ohio. For a long distance 
 down this placid stream, on either side, the picturesque hills 
 and declivities presented a scene of rare beauty. The place, 
 too, had its historic associations. It was on this spot where 
 the French had erected Fort Duquesne. Near by the same 
 place, Braddock had been defeated, and on the hill, in the rear 
 of the fort, Grant's Highlanders and Lewis' Virginians had 
 been surrounded and captured after a long and desperate 
 resistance. 
 
 General Stanwix erected Fort Pitt in 1759, upon the ruins 
 of Fort Dnquesne, which General Forbes had destroyed. It is 
 needless to say that the walls of this strong fort have long 
 since been leveled to the ground, and that on its site has arisen 
 the populous city of Pittsburgh. But in 1763, Fort Pitt stood 
 alone in the dense forest, being over two hundred miles from 
 the frontier settlements of Pennsylvania. There were two 
 routes leading from this post to the settlements, one of which 
 had been cut out by General Braddock, in his disastrous march 
 in 1755 ; the other, and, perhaps, the one most frequented, was 
 by the way of Carlisle and Bedford, and was first traversed by 
 General Forbes in 1758. Leaving Fort Pitt by the Forbes 
 route, the traveler, after journeying fifty-six miles, would reach 
 the post of Ligonier, whence he would soon reach Fort Bed- 
 ford. This post was about one hundred miles from Fort 
 Pitt. It was nestled among the mountains, and surrounded 
 by several log cabins, the huts of the first pioneers. Contin- 
 uing on and passing several small posts, the traveler would 
 come to Carlisle, which was nearly one hundred miles further 
 east, a place resembling Fort Bedford in its surroundings. 
 From Carlisle, the traveler would proceed to Harris' Ferry, 
 
OK, THK BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 105 
 
 now Harrisbiii'g, on the Susquehanna. From the latter place 
 the route led directly into the settlements. 
 
 It would be a difficult matter to give any correct description 
 of the border settlements of Virginia and Pennsylvania at this 
 early day, or even the scattered forts that were intended to 
 protect them, nor, indeed, would the reader be deeply inter- 
 ested in it, could an accurate one be produced. There was 
 nothing in their character widely different from any other 
 border towns. 
 
 The inhabitants of these places had for some time enjoyed 
 peace with the neighboring tribes, but in May, 1763, news of 
 the Pontiac war reached them, and in the dusk of the evening 
 of the twenty-seventh of the same month, a party of Indians 
 were seen from Fort Pitt, descending the banks of the Alle- 
 ghany, with pack horses. They encamped on the bank of the 
 river till daybreak on the tw^enty-eighth, when they all crossed 
 over to the fort. They brought with them a great quantity of 
 valuable furs. These were exchanged for hatchets, muskets, 
 bullets and gunpowder. Their peculiar conduct excited sus- 
 picion, but they were permitted to depart. Not long after they 
 had gone, news was received at the fort that Col. Clapham, 
 with several others, had been murdered and scalped near the 
 fort. Soon after it was discovered that all the inhabitants of 
 an Indian village, not far up the river, had abandoned their 
 cabins. Following this came the intelligence that two soldiers 
 belonging to the garrison had been shot down near the fort. A 
 messenger was sent out to Venango to warn the garrison there of 
 danger, but he had not gone far when he was twice fired at and 
 severely wounded. He returned almost immediately and 
 reported the situation. The clouds now began to thicken 
 around Fort Pitt, as we have seen them around Detroit. A 
 trader named Calhoun, came in from the Tuscarora village 
 with the following account: "At eleven o'clock on the night 
 of the twenty-seventh, a chief and several of the principal 
 warriors of the Tuscarora village, had come to Calhoun's house, 
 and earnestly begged him to depart, declaring that they did 
 not wish to see him killed before their eyes. The Ottawas and 
 Ojibwas, they said, had taken up the hatchet, and captured 
 
106 THE LIVES OF PONTIAO AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 Detroit, Sandusky and all the forts of the interior. The Del- 
 awares and Shawanoes of the Ohio were following their example, 
 and were murdering all the traders among them. Calhoun 
 and the thirteen men in his employ lost no time in taking 
 their departure. The Indians forced them to leave their guns 
 behind, promising that they would give them " three warriors 
 to guide them in safety to Fort Pitt; but the whole proved a 
 piece of characteristic dissimulation and treachery. The three 
 guides led them into an ambuscade at the mouth of Beaver 
 Creek. A volley of balls showered among them; eleven men 
 were killed on the spot, and Calhoun and two others alone 
 made their escape." The reports which Calhoun had received 
 concerning the slaughter of English traders, was only too true. 
 They were scalped everywhere without mercy. A boy named 
 McCullough, who had been captured during the French War, 
 and who wha now a prisoner among the Indians, relates 
 in his published narrative, that he witnessed the killing 
 of a trader named Green, which was conducted in the most 
 cruel manner. Everywhere throughout the vast wilder- 
 ness, wherever an English trader had ventured, he was scalped, 
 and, in many instances, no white man survived to tell the hor- 
 rible news. Not less than a hundred were thus murdered and 
 scalped, along this frontier. Their goods were all plundered, 
 and the savages exulted in their bloody work. Among the 
 villages of the Hurons and Wyandots, the traders were so 
 numerous that that the Indians were afraid to attack them 
 openly. They, therefore, adopted the following ingenious 
 plan: "They told their unsuspecting victims that the sur- 
 rounding tribes had risen in arms, and were soon coming that 
 way, bent on killing every Englishman they could find. The 
 Wyandots averred that they would gladly protect their friends, 
 the white men, but that it would be impossible to do so, unless 
 the latter would consent, for the sake of appearances, to become 
 their prisoners. In this case, they said the hostile Indians 
 would refrain from injuring them, and they should be set at 
 liberty as soon as the danger was passed. The traders fell into 
 the snare. They gave up their arms, and, the better to carry 
 40ut the deception, even consented to be bound." No sooner 
 
OK, THE BORDKR WAKS *)F TWO CENTUKIKS. 107 
 
 had these crafty Indians thus secured the Englishmen, than 
 thej fell to and murdered them in cold blood. This was one 
 of the most cruel massacres in the whole catalogue. 
 
 Among the horrifying incidents that were now desolating 
 the border forests of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, 
 there were, now and then, scenes which were not altogether 
 void of romance. An Englishman by the name of ChajDman, 
 who lived near Detroit, was made prisoner. For some time he 
 was protected by the humane interference of a Frenchman. 
 At length, however, his captors resolved to burn him alive. 
 For this purpose tliey tied him to a stake, placed fuel around 
 him, and started the fire. When the ilames became unbearable, 
 they gave him a bowl of broth scalding hot. He snatched it, 
 and, in the rage of thirst, raised it to his lips and began to 
 drink. Bursting into a rage, he flung the bowl into the face 
 of the Indian. In a moment the crowd shouted, " He is mad I 
 He is mad!" and in another they unbound him, and set him at 
 liberty. Such was the superstitious respect which the Indians 
 entertained for every form of insanity. 
 
 While the war clouds were thus hovering over Fort Pitt, 
 the war cry burst forth at Fort Ligonier. This came in the 
 form of a volley of musketry, killing a number of the horses 
 belonging to the fort. In the neighborhood of Fort Bedford, 
 several men had been murdered, and many more had narrowly 
 escaped. At tliis place the inhabitants were mustered together 
 and organized for the purpose of assisting the garrison. A 
 number of woodsmen formed into a company, dressed and' 
 painted like savages; they decoyed several bands of warriors 
 within rifle shot of them, and soon became the terror of every 
 Indian in the neighborhood. 
 
 The commandant at Fort Pitt had made every preparation 
 to receive the enemy. All the buildings in the vicinity were 
 leveled to the ground, nothing being left to serve as a shelter 
 for the Indians. The garrison, which was commanded by Oapt. 
 Ecuyer, consisted of three hundred and thirty soldiers, traders 
 and backwoodsmen. There were also in the fort about one 
 hundred women and about one hundred and fifty children. 
 
 The outrages which were every day being committed around 
 
108 THE LIVES OP PONTIAO AND TECUMSEHI 
 
 these forts were for the most jDart the work of the " young men," 
 as they are called among the Indians. It would seem that 
 there was no chief among them of sufficient power to check 
 their reckless course. Had Pontiac been among them these 
 petty hostilities would have been concentrated into a well- 
 directed general attack. But now, as it was, it was highly 
 dangerous for the soldiers of the garrison .at Fort Pitt to ven- 
 ture outside of the gate, and the few who attempted it were 
 murdered and scalped by these savages. The surrounding 
 woods were now alive with prowling warriors, and their number 
 was daily increasing. 
 
 On the twenty-second of June a party of warriors appeared 
 upon the plain, at some distance behind the fort. They drove 
 oif the horses which were grazing there, and killed a number 
 of cattle. This done, they opened a brisk fire upon the fort, 
 from which two men were killed. The garrison replied by a 
 discharge of howitzers, from, which the Indians fled in confu- 
 sion. They soon appeared at another quarter, and re-opened 
 their fire, which they kept up steadily throughout the following 
 night. 
 
 About nine o'clock on the following morning several Indians 
 approached the fort and took up a position close to the intrench- 
 ment, when one of them, a Delaware, called Turtle's Heart, 
 addressed the garrison as follows : 
 
 " My brothers, — we that stand here are your friends; but we 
 have bad news to tell you. Six great nations of Indians have 
 taken up the hatchet and cut off all the English garrisons 
 excepting yours. They are now on their way to destroy you 
 also. My brothers, we are your friends, and we wish to save 
 your lives. "What we desire you to do is this : you must leave 
 this fort, with all your women and children, and go down to 
 the English settlements, where you will be safe. There are 
 many bad Indians already here, but we will protect you from 
 them. You must go at once, because if you wait till the six 
 great nations arrive here you will all be killed, and we can do 
 nothing to protect you." 
 
 The commandant, fully understanding their design, made 
 the following curious reply : " My brothers, we are very grate- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 109 
 
 ful for your kindness, though we are convinced that you must 
 be mistaken in what you have told us about the forts being 
 captured. As for ourselves we have plenty of provisions, and 
 are able to keep this fort against all the nations of Indians that 
 may dare to attack it. We are very well off in this place, and 
 we mean to stay here. My brothers, as you have shown your- 
 selves such true friends, we feel bound in gratitude to inform 
 you that an army of six thousand English will shortly arrive 
 here, and that another army of three thousand is gone up the 
 lakes to punish the Ottawas and the Ojibwas. A third is gone 
 to the frontier of Virginia, where they will be joined by your 
 enemies, the Cherokees and Catawbas, who are coming here to 
 destroy you; therefore, take pity on your women and children 
 and get out of the way as soon as possible. We have told you 
 this in confidence, out of our great solicitude, lest any of you 
 should be hurt, and we hope that you will not tell the other 
 Indians, lest they should escape from our vengeance." 
 
 The story of the three armies, which Capt. Ecuyer invented, 
 had a very good effect upon the Indians. They returned with 
 this story to a large band of warriors who were advancing 
 against the fort, and were the means of their abandoning their 
 purpose. On the twenty-sixth a soldier named Grey came in 
 with the sad story of the fall of Presque Isle. On his way to 
 the fort he passed the ruins of Le Boeuf and Yenango, During 
 the same day Ensign Price, the officer commanding at Le Boeuf, 
 was seen approaching, followed by seven of his half-starved 
 soldiers. He reached the fort in safety and reported his loss. 
 On the evening of the eighteenth a great multitude of Indians 
 had surrounded his post. His only available defense consisted 
 of one blockhouse. Showering bullets and fire-arrows against it, 
 they soon set it in flames ; and at midnight, in spite of every 
 efibrt, the upper part of the building burst into sheets of flame. 
 The Indians now gathered in a semi-circle before the enti'ance, 
 prepared to scalp the unfortunate garrison as fast as they should 
 be driven out by the flames. But the commandant and his 
 men with great efibrt hewed an opening through the back wall 
 of the blockhouse, and escaped into the woods. For some time 
 they could hear the reports of the Indian guns, " as these 
 
110 THE LIVKS OF PONTli.C AND 
 
 TKOTTMSKIl ! 
 
 painted demons were still leaping and yelling in front of the 
 blazing building, firing into the loopholes, and exulting in the 
 thought that their enemies were suffering in the agonies of 
 death within." The trembling garrison pressed onward 
 through the whole of the night and the following day, and at 
 one o'clock on the succeeding night they came to the spot wdiere 
 Fort Yenango had stood. x\ll that now remained were huge 
 piles of smouldering embers, among which were the charred 
 bodies of the unfortunate garrison. They continued their 
 journey; but six of the party, exhausted from hunger, gave 
 way. and were left behind. The rest barely reached Fort Pitt 
 alive. No man lived to tell the fate of the garrison of Yen- 
 ango, but some time after the destruction of that fort an Indian 
 who was present at the affair related the circumstances to Sir 
 William Johnson. The story was short, but full of horror. 
 " A. large body of Senecas gained an entrance under pretence 
 of friendship, then closed the gates, fell upon the garrison and 
 butchered them all except the commanding officer, Lieut. Gor- 
 don, whom they tortured over a slow fire for several successive 
 nights, till he expired. This done, they burnt the place to the 
 ground and departed." 
 
 While Forts Le Boeuf and Yenango were thus dispatched,. 
 Fort Ligonier was furiously assailed, but after a day's hard 
 fighting drove the savages away. Fort Augusta, on the Sus- 
 quehanna, was also besieged, but having received large rein- 
 forcements on the day previous were able to hold out. Forts 
 Bedford and Carlisle did not escape the war, but being on their 
 guard they survived the assaults. 
 
 But this desperate war of detail was by no means confined 
 to the military posts. All along the whole fronting of Yirginia, 
 Pennsylvania and New York, the slaughter raged with great 
 fury. No pen can ever tell all the suffering these unfortunate 
 settlers endured. 
 
 At Fort Pitt the preparations for the expected attack were 
 continuing. A line of strong palisades was erected along the 
 ramparts; the barracks were made shot-proof, to protect its 
 inmates. Preparations were also made for extinguishing any 
 fire that might be produced by burning missels from the 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CIENTHRIES. HI 
 
 enemj. Time passed on, but nothing of importance occurred. 
 On the twenty-sixth of July a small party of Indians approached 
 the fort, and were admitted. Among- the number were Chiefs 
 Shingas, Turtle's Heart, and others, who had hitherto appeared 
 to be friendly to the English. A council was held, at which 
 Shingas made the following speech: "Brothers, what we are 
 about to say comes from our hearts, and not from our lips. 
 Brothers, we wish to hold fast the chain of friendship — that 
 ancient chain which our forefathers held with their brethren, 
 the English. You have let your end of the chain fall to the 
 ground, but ours is still fast within our hands. Why do you 
 complain that our young men have fired at your soldiers and 
 killed your cattle and your horses ? You yourselves are the 
 cause of this. You marched your armies into our country and 
 built forts here, though we told you again and again that we 
 wished you to remove. My brothers, this land is ours, and not 
 yours. My brothers, two days ago we received a great belt of 
 wampum from the Ottawas of Detroit, and the message they 
 sent us was in these words : ' Grandfathers, the Delawares by 
 this belt inform you that in a short time we intend to pass in 
 a very great body through your country, on our way to strike 
 the English at the forts of the Ohio. Grandfathers, you know 
 us to be a headstrong people. We are determined to stop at 
 nothing, and as we expect to be very hungry we will seize and 
 eat up everything that comes in our way.' Brothers, you have 
 heard the words of the Ottawas. If you leave this place imme- 
 diately, and go home to your wives and children, no harm will 
 come of it; but if you stay you must blame yourselves alone 
 for what may happen. Therefore, we desire you to remove." 
 Capt. Ecuyer replied, saying the forts were built to supply 
 the Indians with necessaries. He refused to leave the place, 
 and closed his remarks as follows : " I have warriors, pro- 
 visions and ammunition to defend it three years against all the 
 Indians in the woods, and we shall never abandon it as long as 
 a white man lives in America. I despise the Ottawas, and am 
 very much surprised at our brothers the Delawares for pro- 
 posing to us to leave this place and go iiome. This is our 
 home. You have attacked us without reason or provocation. 
 
112 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 You have murdered and plundered our warriors and traders. 
 You have taken our horses and cattle, and at the same time you 
 tell us your hearts are good towards your brethren the English. 
 How can I have faith in you? Therefore now, brothers, I will 
 advise you to go home to your town, and take care of your 
 wives and children. Moreover, I tell you that if any of you 
 appear again about this fort I will throw bomb shells, which 
 will burst and blow you to atoms, and fire cannons among you, 
 loaded with a whole bagful of bullets ; therefore take care, for 
 I don't want to hur^, you." 
 
 The chief departed in wrath, and on the night of the follow- 
 ing day the Indians appeared before the fort in great numbers 
 and began a general attack. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The War on the Borders — The March of Death — The Terrified 
 Inhabitants Fleeing to the Older Towns — Bouquet's Ar:\it 
 AT Carlisle — Adventures op Volunteers — Burning Settlk- 
 MENTS — The Battle op Bushy Run — Distress and Danger op 
 the Troops — The Victory. 
 
 Leaving Fort Pitt for the present, let us turn to observe the 
 events that were transpiring in other quarters. All along the 
 western frontiers of Yirginia and Pennsylvania, slaughter and 
 suffering held full sway. Indian scalping parties were passing 
 to and fro through the country, murdering men, women and 
 children. It will be seen that nearly all the tribes east of the 
 Mississippi had now engaged in the war except the Six Nations, 
 and even the Senecas, the C^ayugas, and the Tascaroras, belong- 
 ing to this confederacy, took part in it. Had it not been for 
 the timely influence of Sir William Johnson, in quelling the 
 spirit of the other nations of the Iroquois confederacy, the 
 war would have been very much more disastrous. 
 
 News of the war now spread to the older eastern settlements 
 and created great alarm. It soon became known that nine 
 forts had fallen into the hands of the Indians. Sir Jeffery 
 Amherst now, for the first time, saw clearly that all the 
 western tribes had united against the Enghsh. He had but 
 few soldiers at his command, and those who could be mustered 
 were required to strengthen the garrisons that still held out. 
 A reinforcement was therefore sent to Niagara, and a detach- 
 ment under Capt. Dalzell was added to the garrison of Detroit, 
 as we have already seen. 
 
 Col. Bouquet, who commanded at Philadelphia, mustered a 
 force of five hundred men, and with a large supply of provis- 
 ions and ammunition, he set out for Fort Pitt. He reached 
 8 (113) 
 
114 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH : ♦ 
 
 Carlisle on the first of July, where he found the whole country 
 in a panic. Every shelter in the settlement was crowded with 
 the families of settlers who had fled from their homes to escape 
 the savages. No hostile Indians had yet appeared in this 
 neighborhood, but on Sunday, the third of July, a soldier came 
 riding into the town with the intelligence that Presque Isle, 
 Le Boeuf and Yenango had been taken, and that the warriors 
 were then advancing on Carlisle, This news threw the settle- 
 ment into consternation. The crowded houses and barns pre- 
 sented a scene of lively commotion. From every quarter the 
 settlers poured in until the country had been deserted for 
 miles in every direction. Soon the rumor was set on foot that 
 the Indians had come. Some of the fugitives had seen the 
 smoke of burning dwellings rising from the distant valleys, 
 others came breathlessly in from the very scene of massacre. 
 A party of the inhabitants went out to warn the living and 
 bury the dead. Arriving at Sherman's Valley they found 
 fields laid waste, stacks of wheat on fire, and the houses still 
 in flames, and they grew sick with horror at seeing a group of 
 hogs tearing and devouring the bodies of the dead. Every 
 where in this broad valley the work of destruction was com- 
 plete. They marched on and on, but as far as the eye could 
 see the smoke was curling upwards from the smouldering 
 ruins of settlers' houses. The Indians had made a clean sweep,, 
 and it was only now and then that one escaped to tell the 
 horrifying story of the massacre of his family. One came in 
 with the report that he and seven others were setting at the 
 table in a cabin of a settler on the Juniata. Four or five 
 Indians burst the door and fired among them, and then beat 
 down the survivors with the butt of their rifles. One of the 
 men leaped from his seat, snatched up a loaded gun that 
 chanced to be standing in the corner, and discharged its con- 
 tents into the breast of an Indian, and then leaping through a 
 window made good his escape. He fled through the forests 
 to a settlement, where he related the news, and immediately 
 twelve men volunteered to cross the mountains and warn the 
 settlers of the Tuscarora valley, but upon reaching it they 
 found that the enemy had been there before them. Many of 
 
OK, THE BOEDEE WAES OF TWO CENTUEIES. 115 
 
 the houses were still on fire, others were standing. Upon 
 entering these a ghastly scene was presented. The dead and 
 mangled bodies were strewn upon the floors, and the furniture 
 was stained with human blood. They turned away, filled with 
 horror. The adventurers came upon one house where tlio 
 Indians had held a feast only a few hours previous. A large 
 number of cattle had been killed, the meat roasted, and, after 
 they had eaten to their satisfaction, they had fled. Pursuing 
 their course, the white men soon came within a few rods of the 
 enemy. They here boldly resolved to overtake them and see, 
 if possible, what direction they were pursuing. Tlie trail led 
 them into a thicket, where, as soon as they had entered it, they 
 were surprised by a volley of musketry, and four of their 
 number were shot down. Thirty warriors rose from their 
 hiding places and rushed upon them. The white men returned 
 their fire and then fled in all directions, A boy named Charles 
 Eliot was among the number. As he ran, plunging through 
 the thickets, he heard his pursuers close behind. He seized 
 his powder horn and poured the contents into his gun, drop- 
 ping a bullet in after it without using a ramrod, and wheeling 
 about he discharged his gun into the breast of the Indian who 
 had now advanced to within three or four yards from him. 
 He then continued his flight, leaving the Indian in the agonies 
 of death, but at the next moment a faint voice earnestly called 
 out his name. Turning to the spot he beheld one of his com- 
 panions stretched helplessly on the ground. He had been 
 mortally wounded by the first shot from the Indians, but had 
 advanced thus far before his strength gave out. Eliot 
 approached him but could ofifer no assistance. The dying man 
 looked up into the face of his comrade, saying: " Here, Charley, 
 take my gun, whenever you see an Indian kill him with it, and 
 then I shall be satisfied." Eliot and several others of the party 
 escaped to the settlement. They reported w^hat they had seen 
 and experienced, which added another cloud of horror to the 
 desolating news that was hourly coming in from all points on 
 the frontier. Several other parties went out, and one of them, 
 commanded by the sheriff of the place, encountered a band of 
 Indians, defeated them, and brought away many scalps. 
 
\ 
 
 116 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC x\.ND TECUMSEH: 
 
 The settlers now became frantic with alarm, and many of 
 them left Carlisle and pushed rapidly towards Lancaster and 
 Philadelphia. "Carlisle," says a reliable author, "presented a 
 most deplorable spectacle. A multitude of refugees, unable 
 to find shelter in the town, had encamped in the woods or on 
 the adjacent fields, erecting huts of branches and bark, and 
 living on such charity as the slender means of the townspeople 
 could supply. Passing among them, one would have witnessed 
 every form of human misery. In these wretched encamp- 
 ments were men, women and children, bereft, in one stroke, of 
 friends, of home, and the means of supporting life. Some 
 stood aghast and bewildered at the sudden and fatal blow, 
 others were sunk into the apathy of despair, others were weep- 
 ing and mourning with irrepressible anguish." 
 
 The multitude were now threatened with famine, and crowds 
 of them flocked to the tents of Bouquet soliciting food, which 
 he gave them. 
 
 In the meantime, the march of the little army had been con- " 
 siderably delayed. This was owing to the fact that, the 
 necessary horses and wagons could not be procured, without 
 returning to the older towns. After a delay of eighteen days 
 Bouquet broke up his camp and marched towards Fort Pitt. 
 As the little army passed through Carlisle, the frightened 
 inhabitants crowded around them, and, no doubt, fervently 
 prayed for their success. Bouquet's march was truly a bold 
 adventure. In his front lay a vast wilderness, filled with fero- 
 cious warriors, who, from their secret shelters, would shoot 
 down his soldiers at every turn. The memories of former days 
 came up to weigh upon the stout heart of this gallant ofiicer. 
 He was about to march through a wild country upon whose 
 bosom slept the bones of Braddock and the hundreds of brave 
 soldiers who fell around him. The numbers of the latter far 
 exceeded Bouquet's whole force, while, on the other hand, there 
 were now a hundred warriors prowling the lonely woods to one 
 when Braddock penetrated them. With one or two exceptions, 
 the soldiers under Bouquet's command were wholly inexpe- 
 rienced in the perils of border warfare. To say the least, the 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 1]7 
 
 great end which he had set out to accomplish conld not, 
 apparently, be achieved with so small a force. 
 
 Let us, for a single moment, glance at this brave officer who 
 was now, in the eyes of all around him, leading his army into 
 the jaws of death. Henry Bouquet was a Swiss by birth. 
 His military career began when a boy. Previous to the war 
 between France and England, he held a commission under the 
 King of Sardinia, but when that struggle began, in 1755, he 
 was engaged in the service of the King of Holland. At this 
 time the Duke of Cumberland formed a plan to organize a 
 corps to serve in the provinces, and to be called the Royal 
 Americans. Bouquet accepted a position as Lieutenant Colonel 
 in this regiment, and his services soon proved of great value, 
 " His person was fine, his bearing composed and dignified." 
 Everywhere in the provinces, and more especially in Pennsyl- 
 vania, he was regarded with profound respect. He was a good 
 English scholar, and could write with ease, and in a style of 
 •great purity. As a soldier, he was active, courageous and 
 faithful. Withal, he had acquired a practical knowledge of 
 Indian warfare. Brave as a lion, he would often, when the 
 most dangerous passes were to be made, advance to the front 
 of his men, and, with no other guard than his musket, lead 
 the way like the boldest Indian warrior. 
 
 The army marched along the beautiful valley of the Cum- 
 berland. On every hand could be seen ruins, marking the 
 deeds of savage cruelty. At length they reached Shippens- 
 burg, about twenty miles from Carlisle. Here, as at the latter 
 place, were congregated a large number of pioneers, who had 
 fled in terror from the scene of blood and slaughter. 
 
 From the latest advices, it now appeared that Fort Ligonier 
 was about to fall into the hands of the Indians who were 
 besieging it, and Bouquet resolved to send a detachment to its 
 relief. For this purpose, thirty of the best men were selected, 
 and ordered to force their way over the desolate mountains. 
 , Accordingly the party set out. Marching day and night, they 
 at length came in sight of the hapless fort. It was surrounded 
 by savages who were firing upon it. The adventurers made a 
 
118 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 rush for the gate, and, although, hotly charged upon by the 
 Indians, entered it without losing a man. 
 
 But, meanwhile, the bulk of Bouquet's army moved slowly 
 on towards Fort Pitt. They had now entered a country where, 
 up to this time, no Englishman had ever ventured — the liome 
 of the fiercest warriors. " Far on their right stretched the 
 green ridges of the Tuscarora, while, in front, mountain beyond 
 mountain rose high against the horizon. Climbing heights, 
 and descending into the valleys, passing the two solitary posts 
 of Littleton and the Juniata, both abandoned by their garri- 
 sons, they came in sight of Fort Bedford, hemmed in by 
 encircling mountains." 
 
 Bouquet's arrival was a happy event for the tired and worn 
 garrison. They had long been besieged by a swarm of Indi- 
 ans. Around this post, the work of scalping and murdering 
 the settlers had been carried on until the forests rang with the 
 scalp yells of a thousand savages. All had been killed 
 who failed to escape within the gates of the little fort. The? 
 commandant, Capt. Ourry informed Bouquet that for several 
 weeks he had been unable to hear from the garrison at Fort 
 Pitt. The last accounts left it closely besieged by a thousand 
 warriors. Al1;er resting his men for three days at this post, 
 Bouquet continued his march, and was soon buried in the wil- 
 derness. The forest was dense, affording a good opportunity 
 for ambuscades. In the advance were the provincial rangers, 
 closely followed by the pioneers. The wagons and cattle were 
 in the centre, guarded in front, flank and rear by the regulars. 
 Tlie rear was guarded by another company of rangers. The 
 riflemen, acting as scouts, ranged through the woods far in 
 front and at either flank. In this order the courageous army 
 marched on; up, up the rugged side of the Alleghany Moun- 
 tains. It was in the middle of July, and the heat was intol- 
 erable, but they toiled on, crossing the mountains, and, at 
 length, reaching Fort Ligouier. At their advance the Indians 
 fled in disorder, and Bouquet marched quietly up to the fort. 
 
 At this place he left the cattle, and some of the heaviest 
 luggage, and resolved to make forced marches towards Fort 
 Pitt. Thus relieved, the army pursued its course. At no 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OE TWO CENTURIES. 119 
 
 great distance in their front were the dangerous passes of the 
 Turtle Creek. At this point Bouquet expected to encounter 
 the enemy, and he therefore pushed on towards Bushy Run, 
 hoping to cross Turtle Creek during the night. They toiled 
 on, weary and foot-sore. At length tlie tired army was within 
 half a mile of Bushy Run. Here they were to rest, preparatory 
 to making the forced march through the dangerous defiles of 
 Turtle Creek, but, when within a few rods of the coveted spot, 
 the report of rifles from the front surprised the army. Alas ! 
 they had met the enemy. As they listened the reports become 
 quicker, and now the fierce war-whoop resounded through the 
 woods. The advanced guard was hotly engaged. Two com- 
 panies were at once ordered to its support, but as the firing 
 increased, indicating that the enemy had appeared in a large 
 force, the army lialted, the troops formed in line, and a charge 
 was ordered. " Bearing down through the forest with fixed 
 bayonets, they drove their yelping assailants before them, and 
 swept the ground clear." But no sooner had this been done 
 than a volley of musketry poured in upon them from either 
 flank, and from the rear. Charging upon the enemy in the 
 rear, they routed the savages in that quarter, and immediately 
 surrounded their teams. In the distance, on every side they 
 could hear the whoopings of the savages, and at every moment 
 the report of their guns sounded out through the trees. Again 
 and again, now on this side and now on that, a crowd of Indi- 
 ans rushed up, pouring in a heavy fire, and striving with 
 ferocious outcries to break into the circle. At every attempt 
 a well directed charge met them, putting them to flight. Few 
 of the Indians were hurt, while the English sufi'ered severely 
 Thus the fight went on, without intermission, for several hours, 
 until the darkness of night gathered round them. jSTow the 
 Indians slackened their fire, withdrawing from the scene of 
 action. 
 
 The soldiers now encamped on the spot where the battle had 
 taken place. Numerous sentinels were stationed at a suitable 
 distance from the camp in every direction. 
 
 Bouquet now feeling confident that they would be attacked 
 on the following morning, and fearing that he would not sur- 
 
120 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 vive the battle, wrote a short letter to Sir Jeft'ery Amherst,, 
 giving an account of the day's events and closing as follows: 
 " Whatever our fate may be, I thought it necessary to give 
 your excellency this early information, that you may, at all 
 events, take such measures as you may think proper with the 
 provinces for their own safety and the effectual relief of Fort 
 Pitt, as, in case of another engagement, I fear insurmountable 
 difficulties in protecting and transporting our provisions, 
 being already so much weakened by the losses of this day in 
 men and horses, besides the additional necessity of carrying 
 the wounded, whose situation is truly deplorable." In this 
 action about sixty soldiers and several officers had been killed 
 or wounded. During the fight the wounded were brought 
 into an open space in the centre and surrounded by bags of 
 flour to ward off the bullets. In this situation they were com- 
 pelled to lay helpless, suffering the agonies of thirst, for there 
 was no water near at hand. Should their comrades be defeated, 
 a fate inexpressibly terrible would immediately follow. The 
 condition of those who still survived was but little better. 
 They were surrounded by a large number of savages, who were 
 leaping from tree to tree in the full hope of success. Eight 
 years before, in these very forests, they had destroyed nearly 
 twice their number of British soldiers. They were now thirst- 
 ing after the blood of Bouquet's army. 
 
 ISTo fires were built in the camp of the English ; nothing to 
 break the thick darkness that hovered over them. All was 
 still as the grave throughout the night, but with the dawn of 
 the following day a burst of Indian yells went up on every 
 side. In another instant they opened fire upon them. The 
 bullets now flew thick in every dii-ection and the soldiers fell 
 dead on every hand. Yolley after volley poured in until many 
 had perished. As on the previous day the Indians would rush 
 up, endeavoring to break the ring, but in every such attempt 
 they were driven back in disorder. The troops were now 
 suffering from thirst as well as from the deadly fire of the 
 enemy, while in the interior of the camp the scene was all con- 
 fusion. The horses became mad with terror as the bullets flew 
 among them. They would break away by scores, and leaping 
 
I OR, THE BOKD-PIR WARS OF TWO OENTUKIKS. 121 
 
 through the ring and passing the savages in their mad course, 
 they would soon disappear in the thickest of the woods. 
 
 At ten o'clock the ring which encircled the convoy began to 
 waver. The soldiers were falling fast. Bouquet looked on in 
 sadness for a moment, and then, conceiving a stratagem, he 
 brightened with hope. It was plain that if the Indians could 
 be brought together in a body and be made to stand their 
 ground that he would soon gain the day. To effect this he 
 resolved to increase their confidence. Two companies were 
 ordered to fall back into the interior of the camp, while the 
 troops on either hand joined across the vacant space, as if to 
 cover the retreat of their comrades. The orders were no sooner 
 obeyed than the Indians, seeing that the line had weakened, 
 leaped from behind the trees and rushed headlong to the assault. 
 The shock was unbearable. The men struggled to maintain the 
 line, but the Indians seemed on the point of breaking their 
 way through it, when the situation of affairs took a sudden 
 cjiange. The movement is described in a thrilling manner by 
 Mr. Parkman: 
 
 "The two companies who had apparently abandoned their 
 positions, were in fact destined to begin the attack, and they 
 now sallied out from the circle at a point where a depression 
 in the ground, joined to the thick growth of trees, concealed 
 them from the eyes of the Indians. Making a short detour 
 through the woods they came round upon the flank of the 
 furious assailants and discharged a deadly volley in their very 
 midst. Numbers were seen to fall; yet, though completely 
 sui"prised and utterly at a loss to understand the nature of the 
 attack, the Indians faced about with the greatest intrepidity 
 and boldly returned the fire; but the Highlanders, with yells 
 as wild as their own, fell on them with the bayonet. The shock 
 was irresistible and they fled before the charging ranks of this 
 tumultuous throng. Orders had been given to two other com- 
 panies occupying a contiguous part of the circle to support 
 the attack whenever a favorable moment should occur, and 
 they had, therefore, advanced a little from their position and 
 lay close, crouched in ambush. The fugitives, pressed by the 
 Highland bayonets, passed directly across their front, upon 
 
122 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH I 
 
 which they arose and poured among them a second volley no 
 less destructive than the former. This completed the rout. 
 The four companies uniting drove the flying savages through 
 the woods, giving them no time to rally or reload their empty 
 rifles, killing many and scattering the rest in hopeless con- 
 fusion." 
 
 In another part of the field both the soldiers and the In- 
 dians maintained their positions during this movement, but 
 when the Indians saw their comrades totally routed they lost 
 their courage and fled. In a few moments the whooping ceased 
 and the Indians had all disappeared, leaving behind many 
 dead. In both battles the English had lost eight oflBcers and 
 one hundred and fifteen men. 
 
 Owing to the loss of many of the horses, they were now 
 unable to transport all the stores. The surplus was destroyed, 
 and again the army, broken and haggard, moved on towards 
 Fort Pitt, which they reached on the tenth of August. The 
 fort, which had been closely besieged for nearly a month, was 
 now deserted and Bouquet entered it without opposition. 
 
CHAPTER Xy. 
 
 Disaster at the Devil's Hole — Fate of Wilkins' Detachment — 
 The Frontieks op Virginia and Pennsylvania — Slaughter of 
 the Settlements — Terrible Scenes and Incidents op Border 
 Warpare — Desolation — The Defenses. 
 
 Before leaving the provincial frontier and passing along 
 with the events of border warfare towards the far west, I must, 
 in order to perfect the narrative, mention briefly the events 
 that compelled the savages in all quarters east of the Missis- 
 sippi to sue for peace. While Dalzell was marching against 
 the strongholds of Pontiac, and Bouquet forcing a bloody way 
 to Fort Pitt, Sir William Johnson was laboring judiciously to 
 secure the friendship of the tribes of the Six Nations. For 
 this purpose he sent deputies to all the villages in the lake 
 region, and indeed in the whole northwest, to invite the war- 
 riors to meet him in council at jSTiagara. The council was 
 largely attended by the people of the Six Nations, and, although 
 with reluctance, the Indians promised friendship for themselves 
 and also to make war on those tribes who were still in arms 
 against the English. The tribes of Canada were induced to 
 send a deputation to the western Indians, requesting them to 
 lay down the hatchet. The Iroquois also sent deputies among 
 the Delawares for the same purpose. 
 
 Notwithstanding these conciliatory measures, the frontier 
 settlements of New York suflfered from the continued attacks 
 of the savages, for while one force was on foot to quell their 
 fury, another was actively engaged to irritate it against the 
 English. 
 
 On the fourteenth of September, 1763, a train of wagons 
 and pack-horses was proceeding on a return trip from Fort 
 Schlosser, whither they had gone with supplies. When they 
 (123) 
 
124 THE LIVES (IF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 reached a point opposite the Devil's Hole they were greeted by 
 a blaze of musketry. The horses leaped madly. On the left 
 of the train, far down the awful precipice, lay the black gulf, 
 while on its right the savages were leaping from tree to tree 
 towards them, yelping like bloodhounds. The twenty-four 
 soldiers who guarded the train beheld death on either side, 
 and prepared themselves to meet it. In a moment the awful 
 event was over. The horses plunged blindly into the abyss, 
 and the whole train fell, crushing upon the sharp rocks far 
 below. Only three escaped, among whom was Stedman, the 
 conductor of the train. Beholding the approaching fate of the 
 convoy, he wheeled his horse and bravely spurred through the 
 crowd of Indians. Flying through the forests at a high speed 
 he soon reached Fort Schlosser, where he reported his loss. At 
 no great distance were a party of soldiers, who had fortified a 
 camp near the landing place. These, hearing the report of 
 Indian rifles, and suspecting the real situation, hastened to the 
 relief of the convoy ; but the Indians, having prepared for 
 their approach, soon routed them with great slaughter. As 
 they rushed along a party of savages leaped from their ambus- 
 cade and poured a volley of musketry among them, shooting 
 down fully half their number. Pursuing them hotly, the 
 Indians picked them off, until only a few escaped. These fled 
 to Niagara with the terrible account of their adventures. 
 
 Major Wilkins, on hearing it, immediately marched his whole 
 garrison to the spot, but the Indians had gone. They gathered 
 the dead bodies of the scalpless soldiers together, to the number 
 of seventy, and beheld with inexpressible horror the awful 
 results of the ambuscade of the Devil's Hole. 
 
 The fury of the Senecas, who were the actors in this bold 
 attack, did not end with this. Not many days after, as Major 
 Wilkins was advancing to the relief of Detroit, on the river 
 above the great fails of Niagara, he was pounced upon by a 
 handful of these fierce warriors and driven back with disorder. 
 Eecovering from this shock, Major Wilkins again started for 
 Detroit, but this time he was overtaken by a severe storm. 
 Nearly all the bateaux were overset, over seventy men perished, 
 and the few surviving boats returned to Niagara. 
 
OR, THE BOKDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 125 
 
 The reader will now observe that all the frontier settlements 
 of the English colonies, and also those of Canada, were in a 
 deplorable condition. Everywhere the slaughter reigned with 
 unabated fury. Scarcely an hour passed in which the news of 
 some horrible massacre did not startle the inhabitants from 
 their security. Day and night the war whoop sounded along 
 the outskirts of the woods, and every moment a band of Indians 
 could be seen flying across some open space, with scalps flut- 
 tering from their loins. Everywhere the people now fled to 
 the forts for safety. The dwellings were deserted by their 
 owners, and burned to the ground by the Indians. But happy 
 were those who escaped. Hundreds and thousands received 
 no warning, and perished beneath the tomahawk. Tlie ranging 
 parties who visited the scenes of slaughter beheld, in shapes 
 too horrible for description, the half consumed bodies of men, 
 women and children, still securely bound to the trees where 
 they had prayed for death amid tiery tortures. 
 
 While strong bands of warriors were daily besieging the 
 forts and harrassing the garrisons of the western forests, smaller 
 but no less fierce war parties were skulking among the border 
 woods, leaping out upon the settlements whenever an oppor- 
 tunity was presented, and murdering every Englishman, woman 
 and child who came in their way. It was, perhaps, from the 
 latter source that most of the suffering came upon the settle- 
 ments. Among these bands there was none more destructive 
 than one, about sixty in number, which ascended the Ken- 
 awha and ravaged the settlements along the banks of that river. 
 From valley to valley they carried the bloody work, until every 
 English person in their course was scalped. Sometimes they 
 would take the unsuspecting families by surprise, but as often 
 they w^ould slaughter them under the guise of friendship. Thus 
 they continued their march imtil they reached the little town 
 cf Greenbrier, where all the inhabitants, having received warn- 
 ing of their approach, had fortified themselves into the house 
 of Archibald Glendenning. Nearly one hundred people were 
 now crowded into this house. The savages appeared, and at 
 first seemed to be friendly. Some of them were admitted to 
 the house while others gathered in clouds outside. In one 
 
126 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 corner of the house sat an old ladj who had recently received 
 a slight injury. She inquired of one of the warriors whether 
 or not he could cure her. He replied by plunging a knife into 
 the wound, killing her instantly. At this the work of slaugh- 
 ter began. Nearly all were killed and scalped on the spot. 
 The owner of the house snatched up one of his children and 
 rushed from the house, but meeting a bullet from one of the 
 savages on the outside, he fell dead in his tracks. A negro 
 woman leaped out of one of the windows and ran to a place 
 of concealment. She was followed by her screaming children, 
 and fearing lest they should betray her to the Indians, she 
 killed them on the spot. Such was the awful horror of the 
 moment ! 
 
 Among those taken prisoners at this affray was the wife of 
 Glendenning, the mistress of the house. She was a woman 
 of great fortitude, and far from allowing her fears from over- 
 coming her, she began to abuse her captors for acting as they 
 had. "Neither the tomahawk which they brandished over 
 her head, nor the scalp of her murdered husband, with which 
 they struck her in the face, could silence the undaunted virago." 
 
 When the massacre had been finished, the Indians captured 
 all the horses, and packing up the plunder, they started with a 
 large number of prisoners. Mrs. Glendenning and her infant 
 child was placed among the captives. As they marched along 
 through the thick woods, she handed her child to a woman 
 who was walking beside her, and leaving it to a terrible fate, 
 she escaped through the woods. Before nightfall she returned 
 to the spot from whence they had start;,ed and beheld the 
 smouldering embers of her house. She found the dead body 
 of her husband and buried it beneath fence rails to protect it 
 from the wolves. 
 
 Not long after this butchery, a man chanced to be passing 
 by a log school-house on the western frontier of Pennsylvania, 
 and being struck with its silence, he pushed open the door and 
 looked within. "In the center lay the master scalped and 
 lifeless, with a Bible clasped in his hands, while around the 
 room were strewn the bodies of his pupils, nine in number, 
 miserably mangled, though one of them still retained a spark 
 
OK, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 12T 
 
 of life." It was afterwards known that the horrible deed had 
 been committed by one of those bands of Indians. 
 
 Tims I might go on until the whole volume was filled with 
 horrors like these, but I must hasten to push the narrative 
 westward to a later day. It will suffice, therefore, to say that 
 every detail of the war upon the settlements was full of woe. 
 Everywhere the hand of the fierce Indian was felt; everywhere 
 the people fell back to the older cities for safety or perished 
 beneath the scalping knife. 
 
 One of the great features of the sufferings of this period 
 was endured by those who were taken prisoners and conducted 
 to the Indian villages. The torture which these unfortunate 
 persons endured will never be told. Indeed, at this late day, 
 it is better that these torments be passed over. Many of these 
 narratives are too full of horror to receive credence, while 
 most of them are of a character that cannot fail to shock the 
 reader beyond endurance. 
 
 As the news of increasing disaster, as well as flocks of refu- 
 gees, reached the eastern towns and cities, measures were taken 
 for the relief of the frontier. Private contributions were made 
 for the relief of the sufferers, and the several provincial gov- 
 ernments adopted such measures as the situation seemed to 
 require. In this matter, however, Pennsylvania was rather 
 slow. There was a majority of Quakers in the assembly, and 
 these singular persons were unwilling to believe that the out- 
 break of the Indians was not based upon good reasons. They 
 however passed a bill for " raising and equipping a force of 
 seven hundred men, to be composed of frontier farmers, and 
 to be kept in pay only during the time of harvest. They w^ere 
 not to leave the settled parts of the province to engage in 
 offensive operations of any kind, nor even to perform garrison 
 duty, their sole object being to enable the people to gather in 
 their crops unmolested." This force was distributed along 
 the whole frontier of Pennsylvania. Two companies assigned 
 to the defense of Lancaster county were placed under the com- 
 mand of a clergyman, Rev. John Elder, pastor of the Presby- 
 terian church of Paxton. He is said to have discharged hia 
 military duties in a highly satisfactory manner. 
 
128 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 The feeble measures adopted bj the assembly of Pennsyl- 
 vania called out loud disapproval both among the people of 
 that province and in the neighboring colonies. In Virginia 
 the Governor and council at once called out a thousand of the 
 militia, five hundred being placed under Colonel Stephens and 
 five hundred under Major Lewis. These forces marched against 
 the hostile tribes on the borders of Virginia and did good 
 service. They routed the savages at every point and restored 
 confidence among the settlers. 
 
 But with her feeble defenses Pennsylvania continued to 
 suffer. They now no longer waited for the action of their 
 government, but arming themselves, they organized for their 
 own defense. These new forces were directed against the 
 Susquehanna villages, and after great slaughter they were 
 destroyed. An expedition was now set on foot against the 
 settlers of Wyoming on the east branch of the Susquehanna. 
 The object of the expedition was to remove these settlers who 
 had come there contrary to the laws of Pennsylvania, and to 
 destroy their corn and provisions, which might otherwise fall 
 into the hands of the enemy. The party started from Harris' 
 Ferry under the command of Major Clayton, and reached 
 Wyoming on the seventeenth of October. They were too late. 
 The Indians had been there before them, and now the settle- 
 m.ent was reduced to ashes. The bodies of its unfortunate 
 inmates were brutally mutilated. Twenty had been killed or 
 captured. Having buried the dead bodies of those who had 
 perished in the massacre, Clayton returned with his party to 
 Pennsylvania, l^otwithstanding these evidences of danger, 
 and that petitions from the borders were daily arriving, the 
 Quakers remained firm in their inactive policy. 
 
 Sir Jefi^ery Amherst had now resigned his office of Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, and General Gage was appointed in his place. 
 
 Before Amherst sailed for Europe he had made a requisition 
 upon all the provinces for troops to march against the Indians 
 early in the spring of 1764, and as soon as Gage arrived he 
 confirmed this course. The requisition was complied with 
 and the troops were raised. 
 
CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 The Moravian Missions — Their Removal — Difficulties in Phil 
 ADELPHiA — Advance of the Paxton Men — Great Excitement — 
 The Quakers Volunteering to Enter the Army — The Diffi- 
 culty Settled. 
 
 In the autumn of 1763, the war had spread from the Caro- 
 linas ou the south to Kova Scotia on the north and east. 
 Everywhere in the intervening provinces their border settle- 
 ments were sorely harrassed. Over two thousand persons had 
 been killed, or carried off, and nearly that number of families 
 had been driven from their homes. On the borders of Penn- 
 sylvania, the settlers were now fighting the Indians on the one 
 hand and the Quakers on the other. They declared that the 
 latter would go farther to befriend a murdering Delaware than 
 to protect the borders. This feeling against the Quakers was 
 not confined to the low. The magistrates and the clergy were 
 its principal votaries. Tlie borderers in this section were now 
 placed between two fires, and they resolved on vent. The Pax- 
 ton men, who, as we have already seen, were commanded by a 
 clergymen, led the way in this work. The slaughter of the 
 Indians at the Manor of Canestoga, and the breaking of the 
 jail and murder of Indians at Lancaster, were among the atroc- 
 ities which these fierce borderers, now goaded to desperation, 
 openly committed. Mr. Elder, their leader, however, remon- 
 strated with them, but failed to dissuade them from their 
 design. The tidings of his massacre threw the country into 
 excitement. Few regarded it as a willful and deliberate 
 crime, while many looked upon it as the mistaken act of rash 
 men, fevered to desperation by wrongs and sufferings. Imme- 
 diately following these events, the war upon the borders 
 increased in violence, and the excitement, throughout the 
 9 (129) 
 
130 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 provinces, become deeper on account of the circumstance& 
 wliicli, in the course of these thrilling events, now took place. 
 One of the most important of these was the policy pursued by 
 the provincial government towards the Indians belonging to the 
 Moravian Missions. The reader no doubt remembers that, for 
 many years previous to these events, the Moravians had 
 labored with good success among the Indians of Pennsylvania^ 
 and had established several missions among them. These 
 missions had been infested during the war of 1755. During 
 this struggle, the mission at Gradenhutten was besieged by 
 both English, French and Indians, and totally destroyed. The 
 other missions were permitted to remain undisturbed until the 
 opening of the Pontiac War, when they soon became objects of 
 distrust to the English. Therefore, soon after the massacre at 
 Canestoga, a party of drunken rangers, fired by the general 
 distrust of the Moravian Indians, murdered several of them, 
 whom they found sheltered in a barn. Not long after this, 
 the same rangers were surprised and murdered by Indians, 
 supposed to be from the Moravian villages, Kain and Wecque- 
 tauk, near the Lehigh, and from Wyalusing, near Wyoming. 
 The two former were, however, the objects of the greatest 
 hatred. The borderers now resolved to destroy these missions. 
 Accordingly, on the tenth of October, 1763, a party of armed 
 men encamped near Wecquetauk; for the purpose of making 
 an attack under cover of darkness. Before night had set in, 
 a severe storm came on, wetting the ammunition and defeating 
 the plan. On the following day, the Christian Indians hear- 
 ing of the attempt of the previous evening, broke up and took 
 / their flight. 
 
 Meantime, charges against the Moravian converts, had been 
 laid before the Assembly of Pennsylvania. It was therefore 
 resolved to disarm these Indians, and to remove them to a point 
 where it would be impossible for them to commit further dep- 
 redations. The order reached them on the first of November, 
 and the Indians, yielding up their arms, prepared to depart. 
 Wlien assembled together for the march, their whole number 
 did not exceed one hundred and twenty. On reaching Phila- 
 delphia, and, indeed, throughout the whole march, they were 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 131 
 
 greeted with threatening mobs, whose fury it was difficult to 
 restrain. Here they were conducted to the barracks, which 
 had been intended to receive them, but the soldiers refused to 
 admit them, saying that they cared nothing for the order of 
 the Governor. All day the savages remained in front of the 
 barracks, surrounded by a multitude who continued to treat 
 them with abuse. As the soldiers could not be persuaded to 
 admit them, they took up their march for Province Island, 
 below the city. Here they occupied some waste buildings, and 
 received the friendship and attention of the Quakers. As they 
 marched through the city, the crowd followed them, hooting 
 at them from every corner, 
 
 The Paxton men now threatened that they would visit Phil- 
 adelphia and slaughter the Indians who had thus been placed 
 under government protection. Indeed, the threat was partially 
 can-ied out. Having increased their numbers, they resolvei 
 to march on Philadelphia. But this had not been done unti!) 
 every possible effort to elicit the protection of the government 
 had failed. On one occasion they sent a wagon load of the 
 scalped and mangled corpses of their friends and relations, who 
 had fallen at a recent Indian onset, but even the presence of 
 the awful spectacle failed to elicit decisive measures. They 
 now organized under Matthew Smith, and towards the last of 
 January took the road for Philadelphia, Their numbers 
 exceeded one thousand men, A part of their purpose was to 
 kill the Indians who had been placed on Province Island. 
 " They pursued their march in high confidence, applauded by 
 the inhabitants, and hourly increasing in numbers." 
 
 The news of this movement soon reached Philadelphia, and 
 the alarm spread among the Quakers like wild-fire. They sus- 
 pected the Indians to be the object of their mission, and, after 
 considerable parley, it was resolved to send them to New York, 
 where they could receive the protection of Sir William Johnson. 
 They were immediately removed, and escorted out of the city. 
 Arriving at Amboy, N. J., word was received that they would 
 not be permitted to enter the State of Kew York. A few 
 days after, the Governor of New Jersey ordered them to leave 
 that province. The distressed Indians therefore retraced their 
 
132 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECTTMSEH: 
 
 steps to Pliiladelphia, where they arrived on the twenty- 
 fourth of January. This time the soldiers permitted them to 
 enter the barracks. Escorting these Indians came a detach- 
 ment of a hundred and seventy soldiers, which had been sent 
 by Gen. Gage from New York in compliance with the request 
 of Gov. Penn. 
 
 The situation in Philadelphia was now full of danger. No 
 time could be lost. The Quakers in the Assembly concurred 
 in a measure looking towards the most decisive defense, and 
 everywhere in the once pacific city, the greatest excitement 
 prevailed. Franklin was the moving spirit, and " under his 
 auspices, the citizens were formed into military companies, six 
 of which were of infantry, one of artillery, and two of horse. 
 Besides this force, several thousands of the inhabita;nts, includ- 
 ing many Quakers, held themselves ready to appear in arms at 
 a moment's notice." 
 
 But these preparations had not been completed when news 
 came in that the Paxton men were advancing within a short 
 distance of the city. Arriving at Germantown, and hearing 
 of the preparations that had been made for their reception, 
 they concluded to advance no further. Meanwhile Philadelphia 
 was full of excitement. Cannon were placed before the bar- 
 racks, the soldiers called out, the citizens armed, and everything 
 made ready. At length a deputation, headed by Franklin, 
 went out and interviewed the Paxton boys. The result of this 
 conference was that Matthew Smith and James Gibson were 
 appointed on the part of the borderers to lay their grievances 
 before the Assembly. Pedress was promised, and the frontier- 
 men retired. The Indians i*emained secure within the garrison, 
 although before the end of the year more than one-third of 
 their numl)er died with small-pox. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Bradstreet's Expedition — The Council at Niagara — Peace 
 Treaties — Bradstreet at Detroit — Council with the Indians — 
 Peace Concluded — Canadians Punished — Michilimagkinac Gar- 
 risoned — Fate op Capt. Morris — Bradstreet Returns. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1764 it was resolved to send two 
 armies into the Indian country to " beat them into submis- 
 sion " and bind them as .firm as possible bj treaties. The 
 command of the first was entrusted to Col. Bouquet, who, as 
 we have seen, was now well acquainted with the mode of Indian 
 warfare. He received orders to advance to Fort Pitt, and from 
 tlience to penetrate the wilderness as far as the Delaware and 
 Shawanee villages and destroy them. The other army, which 
 Col. Bradstreet was to command, was to ascend the lakes and 
 force the tribes around Detroit into complete submission. 
 
 I shall not stop here to give any details as to how these 
 armies were raised or equipped, but enter at once into an 
 account of their fortunes and failures. The army under Brad- 
 street left Albany on the first of June and moved toward Nia- 
 gara over the usual route. Arriving at this place they found 
 the plains beyond thickly dotted with the wigwams of the 
 Indians. Not many months previous, in the autumn of 1763, 
 Sir William Johnson had sent his messengers to the tribes in 
 all parts of the Northwest, warning them that in the spring a 
 large army was coming to destroy them, and urging all who 
 desired peace to meet him at Niagara. The defeat and suffer- 
 ings of the Indians during the early part of the winter com- 
 bined to urge a hearty acceptance of his proposal, and many 
 warriors now set out for the council at Niagara. 
 
 Alexander Henry, of whose adventures at Michilimackinac 
 the reader has already been informed, was at the Saut Ste. 
 (133) 
 
134 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH: 
 
 Marie with a party of Ojibwas when a canoe filled with the 
 deputies of Sir William Johnson arrived. A council was held 
 at which one of the deputies delivered the following speech: 
 " My friends and brothers, I am come with this belt from our 
 great father, Sir William Johnson. He desired me to come to 
 you as his ambassador and tell you that he is making a great 
 feast at Fort Niagara; that his kettles are all ready and his 
 fires lighted. He invites you to partake of the feast in com- 
 mon with your friends the Six Nations, who have all made 
 peace with the English. He advises you to seize this oppor- 
 tunity of doing the same, as you cannot otherwise fail of being 
 destroyed, for the English are on their march with a great 
 army, which will be joined by different nations of Indians. In 
 a word, before the fall of the leaf they will be at Michilimack- 
 inac, and the Six Nations with them." 
 
 The Ojibwas had just received a message from Pontiac, at 
 Detroit, urging them to join him against that post, and now 
 the messenger from Sir William Johnson caused them to waver. 
 Many of them were in favor of accepting the last invitation 
 to go to Niagara; but, unwilling to depend upon their own 
 judgment in the matter, they sought to be guided by the 
 spirit of the Great Turtle, the chief of all the spirits. For 
 this purpose they erected a large wigwam, quite large enough 
 to accommodate all the inhabitants of the place. Within this, 
 in the centre, they built a sort of tabernacle, covering it with 
 hides. With the approach of night all the warriors gathered 
 into the wigwam and waited for the coming of the spirit. The 
 magician, stripped almost naked, now entered the little tent in 
 the centre. This was only large enough to receive him. At 
 once the curious demonstration began. The little tent began 
 to shake and a hideous voice sounded from Mdthin. This waa 
 supposed to be an evil spirit. Presently this ceased and a 
 whining cry was heard in its place. The warriors sent up a 
 cry of joy, declaring it to be the voice of the G-reat Turtle. It 
 being now declared that the spirit was ready to answer ques- 
 tions, the principal chief asked if it would be wise to accept 
 the invitation of Sir William Johnson. " Sir William John- 
 son," said the spirit, " will fill your canoes with presents, with 
 
OB, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIEvS. 135 
 
 blankets, kettles, guns, gunpowder and shot, and large barrels 
 of rum, such as the stoutest of the Indians will not be able to 
 lift, and every man will return in safety to his family." To 
 this the cry was sent up from the multitude, " I will go, I 
 will go! " 
 
 Accordingly they set out on their journey for Niagara, to 
 which point hundreds of savages were now traveling. Thus 
 they gathered in from all quarters until around Fort Kiagara 
 the assembly increased to at least four thousand Indians. 
 Among them were the Menomonies, Ottawas, Ojibwas, Mis- 
 sissaugas, Caughnawagas, Wyandots, Iroquois, Sacs, Foxes and 
 Osages. "With this large force of savages, many of whom were 
 by no means friendly, it was necessary to observe the greatest 
 caution to prevent a rupture. 
 
 Notwithstanding the tribes were fully represented, there 
 still remained many hostile Indians, who were already moving 
 towards the frontier settlements with uplifted hatchets. Among 
 these were the Dela wares and Shawanoes, against whom Bou- 
 quet was now marching. These were already moving against 
 the settlements on the borders of Pennsylvania and Virginia. 
 
 Before the council could proceed Johnson sent for the Senecas, 
 •who, it would seem, were not disposed to put in an appearance. 
 The messenger was told to inform them that unless they came 
 to Niagara immediately, a strong army would march against 
 them and destroy them utterly. This message had full eiFeet. 
 The Senecas sent a full deputation, accompanied by several 
 prisoners. The council now began, A treaty was made with 
 this nation in which they agreed never again to lift the hatchet 
 against the English. They also, by this treaty ceded a strip 
 of land between Lakes Ontario and Erie, bordering on the 
 Niagara river. A treaty was next made with the Wyandots, 
 from Detroit, They were to deliver up their prisoners, and 
 for the future continue peaceful. Councils were now held with 
 each tribe in turn and treaties made. This occupied several 
 days, during which the ground around Fort Niagara presented 
 a lively appearance. 
 
 During all this time Bradstreet's army had been detained at 
 Niagara, It was feared that some of the warriors would 
 
136 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 attack the fort, and that, should the troops leave, the vast 
 number of savages in the neighborhood might form a design 
 to slaughter the garrison. On the sixth of August, Johnson 
 departed for Oswego, and, soon after, the Indians disappear- 
 ing, Bradstreet proceeded on his way towards Detroit. About 
 three hundred Canadians and as many Indians accompanied 
 the army, in arms. It was believed that the Indians would be 
 discouraged at seeing the French on the side of the English. 
 
 Alexander Henry, who accompanied the Ojibwa deputies 
 from the Saut Ste. Marie, commanded the Indian forces. He 
 liad received the appointment on account of his extensive 
 acquaintance among the savages to whose country Bradstreet 
 was now marching. 
 
 Reaching Presque Isle, the command was met by a strag- 
 gling band of warriors, who styled themselves deputies from 
 the Delawares and Shawanoes. They said they had been sent 
 to sue for peace in the name of these nations. They were 
 suspected as spies by all but the commanding officer, who, not 
 only foolishly entered into a treaty witli them, but sent a mes- 
 seno-er to Bouquet, informing him that the Delawares and 
 Shawanoes had been reduced to submission without his assist- 
 ance, and that he might discontinue his march towards Fort 
 Pitt. Bouquet was indignant at this message, and took no 
 notice of it. Everywliere on the border slaughter reigned 
 almost undisputed. 
 
 Passing on to Sandusky, Bradstreet was met by a deputation 
 from the Wyandots, Ottawas and Miamis dwelling in that 
 neighborhood, and, although he had been instructed to destroy 
 their villages, he now entered into a treaty with these Indians, 
 promising not to injure them, on the conditions that they 
 would never again lift the hatchet against the English. At 
 this place Bradstreet dispatched Capt. Morris, with a few 
 friendly Canadians and Indians, to persuade the Indians in the 
 country of the Illinois to treat for peace with the English. 
 The fate of Morris' detachment will be seen in the course of 
 the narrative. 
 
 On the twenty-sixth of August, the army under Bradstreet's 
 command arrived at Detroit, where it received a most hearty 
 
OR, THE BOEDER W^RS OF TWiJ CICNTURIES. 137 
 
 welcome. At the earliest possible moment the garrison was 
 relieved, and fresh troops substituted in their place. The 
 Canadians who had aided Pontiac in the war were next tried, 
 found guilty, and punished. Manj of them, however, had tied 
 to Illinois, and thus escaped punishment. 
 
 Bradstreet next summoned the surrounding tribes to a 
 council, which was held in the open air, on the seventh of 
 September, and at which a general peace was concluded. He 
 next despatched Capt. Howard, with a strong detachment, to 
 take possession of Michilimackinac. Howard performed this 
 duty, meeting with no resistance whatever. He also sent 
 parties to garrison the posts at Green Bay and Saut Ste, Marie. 
 
 Let us now see what had become of Capt. Morris and his 
 expedition. Soon after leaving the army at Sandusky, he 
 arrived at the camp of Pontiac, on the Maumee. Here the 
 Ottawa chief plundered the expedition of everything except 
 their arms and clothing, and suffered them to depart. On 
 every hand Morris was treated with contempt, and being men- 
 aced with death should he attempt to continue his journey 
 towards Illinois, he set out for Detroit, hoping to find Brad- 
 street there. In this hope he was disappointed. Morris was 
 informed that his commander had gone down to Sandusky, 
 but he refused to follow him. 
 
 While at Sandusky, Bradstreet received a letter from Gen. 
 Gage, disapproving of the course he had taken, and ordering 
 him to march against the Indian village on the Scioto. This 
 intelligence, together with the news of Capt. Morris' failure 
 was too much for the temper of the commander. Kefusing ta 
 obey the orders of his superior officer, on the pretext that the 
 season was too far advanced, he returned home, with his- 
 broken and disheartened army. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Bouquet's Army in the Indian Country — He Subdues the Dela- 
 
 WARES AND ShAWANOES — SCENES AT THE ENGLISH CaMP — TwO 
 
 Hundred Prisoners Given up — Return op the Expedition. 
 
 Ttjening our attention once more to the borders of Pennsyl- 
 vania, we find Indian war-parties active in the work of deso- 
 lating the settlements. So desperate had the savages now 
 become that the English Governor of Pennsylvania issued a 
 proclamation offering a high bounty for Indian scalps, whether 
 of men or women. As might be supposed, this measure pro- 
 duced additional butcheries. Among these I will cite that 
 perpetrated by David Owens. Several years previous he had 
 deserted and joined the Indians. One day early in the spring 
 of 1T64 he came to the settlements, bringing with him a young 
 man recently taken prisoner by the Delawares. While living 
 among the Indians Owens had formed a connection with one 
 of their women, who had borne him several children. He now 
 resolved to return to the settlements, and to carry with him a 
 number of scalps. One night he had been encamped on the 
 Susquehanna with a party consisting of four Shawanoe warriors, 
 a boy of the same tribe, his own wife and two children, and 
 another Indian woman. The prisoner already mentioned was 
 also present. In the middle of the night Owens arose, and 
 finding all fast asleep he awakened the prisoner and told him 
 his intentions, requesting him to go out a little way and lie 
 quietly concealed until he had finished his bloody work. Owens 
 then removed the weapons from the sides of the savages, and 
 hid them in the woods. Eeturning he knelt on the ground 
 between two of the unconscious warriors, and pointing a rifle 
 at the head of each, touched the triggers and shot both dead 
 at once. The two surviving warriors sprang up and ran for 
 (138) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CEN'l'URIES. 139 
 
 their lives, while the women and children, benumbed with ter- 
 ror, had no power to escape, and one and all died, shrieking 
 beneath the tomahawk. Having completed the slaughter he 
 sat down among the dead and waited patiently for the dawn. 
 As soon as it was light he scalped the dead, excepting the two 
 children, and left for the settlements, which he reached in safety, 
 in company with the young man who had been held a prisoner 
 in the camp. 
 
 Bouquet was now on the march with his army. On the fifth 
 of August he reached Carlisle. His force consisted of five 
 hundred regulars, most of whom had fought with him at the 
 battle of Bushy Eun, a thousand Pennsylvanians, and a corps 
 of Virginia riflemen. The army now advanced to Fort Loudon, 
 where Bouquet received a letter from Bradstreet, informing 
 him that he could return with his army, as peace had already 
 been concluded with the Delawares and Shawanoes. As before 
 mentioned. Bouquet took no notice of the communication, but 
 pushed forward towards Fort Pitt, where he arrived on the sev- 
 enteenth of September. Immediately after his arrival a party 
 of Delawares appeared on the opposite bank of the river, pro- 
 fessing to be sent as deputies from their nation to treat of peace 
 with the English. After some hesitation three of them came 
 to the fort, where they were held as spies. The remainder fled 
 in haste to their villages. Bouquet, however, released one of 
 the captives and sent him home with a message as follows : 
 " I have received an account from Colonel Bradstreet that your 
 nations had begged for peace, which he had consented to grant 
 upon assurance that you had recalled all your warriors from 
 our frontiers, and in consequence of this I would not have 
 proceeded against your towns if I had not heard that in open 
 violation of your engagement you have since murdered several 
 of our people. I was therefore determined to have attacked 
 you, as a people whose promise can no more be relied on ; but 
 I will place it once more in your power to save yourselves and 
 your families from total destruction, by giving us satisfaction 
 for the hostilities committed against us. And first you are to 
 leave the path open for my expresses from hence to Detroit ; 
 and as I am now to send two men with dispatches to Col. Brad- 
 
1-iO THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECIIMSEH : 
 
 street, who commands on the lakes, I desire to know whether 
 you will send two of your people to bring them safe back with 
 an answer; and if they receive any injury, either in going or 
 coming, or if the letters are taken from them, I will immedi- 
 ately put the Indians now in my power to death, and will show 
 no mercy, for the future, to any of your nation that shall fall 
 into my hands. I will allow you ten days to have my letters 
 delivered at Detroit, and ten days to bring me back an answer." 
 
 This Indian repaired to his village and delivered the message 
 in good faith. The warriors w^ere singularly impressed with 
 its decisive tone, and they were now ready to sue for peace. 
 Soon after some Iroquois Indians appeared near the fort, and 
 endeavored to discourage Bouquet from penetrating the coun- 
 try any further. They represented the great numbers of the 
 savages, and the dangerous passes which he would have to 
 encounter; but to all Bouquet made but one reply — that he 
 was determined to move against them with his whole army 
 immediately. 
 
 Accordingly he set out early in October, and in ten days 
 reached the river Muskingum. As they passed along through 
 the lonely forests the Indian cabins were all deserted. But 
 now Bouquet was in the heart of the Indian country, and 
 within a few days' march of the strongest Indian villages. He 
 continued his march down the river until he came to a favorable 
 spot for encamping. Here he erected a small palisade work, 
 as a depot for the stores and baggage; but before the task was 
 half completed a deputation of chiefs arrivtjd, saying that the 
 warriors were encamped in great numbers about eight miles 
 distant. They desired Bouquet to appoint a *;ime and place 
 for holding a council. The colonel complied, telling them to 
 meet him on the next day, near the margin of the river, a little 
 below his camp. A rude tent was erected on the spot, to 
 accommodate the assembly. In the morning Bouquet moved 
 his little army in marching order to the spot. Soon after the 
 Indians arrived, and the great chiefs of the Delawares and 
 Shawanoes took seats upon mats prepared for them. Except- 
 ing Pontiac, these two men stood unequalled in the American 
 forests. A full deputation was present. When all had been 
 
OB, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 141 
 
 seated, and the formalities of smoking the pipe ended, Turtle 
 Heart, a chief of the Delawares, and the most noted orator 
 present, addressed the English commander as follows, deliver- 
 ing a belt of wampum at the end of every clause of his speech : 
 
 "Brother, I speak in behalf of the three nations whose 
 chiefs are here present. With this belt I open your ears and 
 your hearts, that you may listen to my words. 
 
 " Brother, this war was neither your fault nor ours ; it was 
 the work of the nations who live to the westward, and of our 
 wild young men, who would have killed us if we had resisted 
 them. We now put away all evil from our hearts, and we hope 
 that your mind and ours will once more be united together. 
 
 "Brother, it is the will of the Great Spirit that there should 
 be peace between us. We on our side now take fast hold of 
 the chain of friendship, but as we cannot hold it alone, we 
 desire that you will take hold also, and we must look up to the 
 Great Spirit ♦:hat he may make us strong and not permit this 
 chain to fall from our hands. 
 
 " Brother, these words come from our hearts and not from 
 our lips. You desire that we should deliver up your flesh and 
 blood now captives among us, and to show you that we are 
 sincere, we now return you as many of them as we have at 
 present been able to bring. [Here he delivered up eighteen 
 prisoners.] You shall receive the rest as soon as we have time 
 to collect them." 
 
 The council now adjourned till the following day, in accord- 
 ance with the Indian custom, but a heavy storm coming up, it 
 was postponed two days. On the third day, the weather being 
 fair, the army again moved down to the rude council-house. 
 Here all the warriors were assembled, and here, on this occa- 
 sion, Bouquet delivered his reply as follows: 
 
 " Sachems, war-chief, and warriors, the excuses you have 
 oft'ered are frivolous and unavailing, and your conduct is 
 without defense or apology. You could not have acted as you 
 pretend you have done, through fear of the western nations, 
 for, had you stood faithful to us you knew that we would have 
 protected you against their anger, and as for your young men 
 it was your duty to punish them if they did amiss. You have 
 
142 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TP:CUMSEH : 
 
 drawn down our just resentment by your violence and per- 
 fidity. Last summer, in cold blood, and in a time of profound 
 peace, you robbed and murdered the traders who had come 
 among you at your own express desire. You attacked Fort 
 Pitt, which was built by your consent, and you destroyed our 
 forts and garrisons whenever treachery could place them in 
 your power. You assailed our troops, the same who now stand 
 before you, in the woods at Bushy Run, and when we had 
 routed and driven you off, you sent your scalping parties to 
 the frontier and murdered many hundreds of our people. Last 
 July, when the other nations came to ask for peace at Niagara, 
 you not only refused to attend, but sent an insolent message 
 instead, in which you expressed a pretended contempt for the 
 English, and at the same time told the surrounding nations 
 that you would never lay down the hatchet. Afterwards, when 
 Colonel Bradstreet came up Lake Erie, you sent a deputation 
 of your chiefs and concluded a treaty with them, but your 
 engagements were no sooner made than broken, and from that 
 day to this you have scalped and butchered us without ceas- 
 ing. N^ay, I am informed that when you heard that this army 
 was penetrating the woods you mustered your warriors to 
 attack us, and were only deterred from doing so when you 
 found how greatly we outnumbered you. This is not the only 
 instance of your bad faith, for since the beginning of the last 
 war you have made repeated treaties with us and promised to 
 give up your prisoners, but you have never kept these engage- 
 ments nor any others. We shall endure this no longer, and I 
 am now come among you to force you to make atonement for 
 the injuries you have done us. I have brought with me the 
 relatives of those you have murdered. These are eager for 
 vengeance, and nothing restrains them from taking it, but my 
 assurance that this army shall not leave your country until 
 you have given them an ample satisfaction. Your allies, the 
 Ottawas, Ojibwas, and Wyandots, have begged for peace. 
 Tlie Six Nations have leagued themselves with us. The great 
 lakes and rivers around you are all in our possession, and your 
 friends, the French, are in subjection to us, and can do no 
 more to aid you. You are all in our power, and if we choose 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 143 
 
 we can exterminate you from the earth. But the English are a 
 merciful and generous people, averse to shed the blood even 
 of their greatest enemies, and if it were possible that you 
 could convince us that you sincerely repent of your pertidy, 
 and that we could depend upon your good behavior for the 
 future, you might yet hope for mercy and peace. If I find 
 that you faithfully execute the conditions which I shall pre- 
 scribe, I will not treat you with the severity you deserve. I 
 will give you twelve days from this date to deliver into my 
 hands all the prisoners in your possession, without exception, 
 Englishmen, Frenchmen, women and children, whether adopted 
 in your tribes, married or living among you under any denom- 
 ination or pretence whatever; and you are to furnish those 
 prisoners with clothing, provisions and horses to carry them 
 to Fort Pitt. When you have fully complied with these con- 
 ditions, you shall then know on what terms you may obtain 
 the peace you sue for." 
 
 This speech had the desired effect. The council broke up 
 and the Indians fully believing that they would all be destroyed 
 should they fail to comply with Bouquet's demands, hastened 
 to gather in the prisoners. Meanwhile Bouquet, wishing to 
 perpetuate the fear in which he had placed them, moved down 
 with his army in the midst of their villages, where he could 
 punish them whenever they deserved it. 
 
 The savages now departed to collect the prisoners, and in a 
 few days over two hundred had been delivered to Bouquet. 
 This was by no means all who had been captured, but it was 
 all that could be obtained within the time allowed. The 
 others had been carried into Illinois and were for the present 
 beyond their i-each. 
 
 It will not be proper to pass over these prisoners without 
 noticing their condition and the circumstances by which they 
 had been surrounded while in the hands of their captors. In 
 the ranks of Bouquet's army, were the fathers, brothers and 
 husbands of these unfortunate persons, for whose rescue they 
 had volunteered to march into the wilds of the Indian country. 
 " Ignorant of what had befallen them, and doubtful whether 
 they were yet among the living, these men had joined the 
 
144 THE LIVES OF I'ONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 army in the feverish hope of winning them back to home and 
 civilization." No doubt many whom they now sought had 
 perished by the elaborate torments of the stake or the hatchet, 
 while, on the other hand, many still lived among the savages. 
 In many instances whole families had been carried oif. In 
 such cases the old and the sick were tomahawked, while the 
 rest, divided among the warriors, were scattered among the 
 various tribes. It was, indeed, a thrilling sight, when troop 
 after troop of prisoners arrived at the camp of Bouquet. The 
 meeting of husbands with wives, fathers with children, brothers 
 with sisters, who had long been separated, was full of dramatic 
 situations. Some were groaning beneath agonies on hearing 
 of the horrible death of their relatives. Frantic women were 
 flying to and fro, amid the throng, in search of those whose 
 bodies, perhaps, had long since been thrown to the wolves; 
 others were pausing in an agony of doubt, unable to identify 
 their long lost children. Again, others were divided between 
 delight and anguish; joy of unexpected recognition, on the one 
 hand, and doubts not yet resolved, on the other. Not a single 
 spectator could look on unmoved. The scene was full of 
 impressive features. Among the children brought in were 
 those who had been captured several years before while infants. 
 These, of course, were unable to understand why they should 
 be placed into the hands of strangers, and were deeply terrified 
 at parting with their adopted mothers. But, sadder than all, 
 there were young women who had become the partners of 
 Indian husbands, and now, with their strange hybrid offspring, 
 were led reluctantly into the presence of fathers or brothers, 
 whose images they had forgotten. Agitated and bewildered, 
 they stood, paintully contending with passions that bound them 
 to theii- tawny lovers, and trying to overcome the shame of 
 their real or fancied disgrace. These women were compelled 
 to leave their sorrowing husbands, and, with their children, 
 return to the settlements. It is true, however, that they pro- 
 tested against it, and that afterwards several made their escape, 
 eagerly hastening back to their Indian husbands. 
 
 Perhaps the most touching scene of all was this. A young 
 Virginian, robbed of his wife but a few months before, had 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTUUIES. 145 
 
 volunteered in the expedition, with the faint hope of recovering 
 her, and, after long su.spense, had recognized her among a troop 
 of prisoners, bearing in her arms a child born during her cap- 
 tivity. The joy of their meeting was marred by the absence 
 of an older child who had been captured with her mother, but 
 soon taken from her. At length, however, the child was 
 brought to the camp in the arms of a warrior, and the mother, 
 recognizing it, sprang forward and snatched it in frantic 
 delight. 
 
 Wlien the army reached Carlisle on its return, hundreds 
 flocked hither to see, if among the prisoners, they might not 
 find some lost relative. Among these was an old woman, whose 
 daughter had been carried off nine years before. In the crowd 
 of female captives, she discovered one in whose countenance she 
 decerned the altered lineaments of her daughter; but the girl, 
 having almost lost her command of the English language, and 
 forgetting the looks of her mother, took no notice of her. At 
 this the old lady wept bitterly, saying that "the daughter 
 ■whom she had so often sung to sleep on her knee, had forgot- 
 ten her in her old age." Bouquet, hearing her complaint, 
 said: "Sing the song that you used to sing to her when a 
 child." The anxious old lady obeyed, and as her trembling 
 voice ran over the air, the tears rushed to the eyes of her 
 daughter, for she now recognized and remembered her mother's 
 voice. 
 
 Ha\ang finished its work. Bouquet's army returned to Fort 
 Pitt, and from thence to the settlements, where the prisoners 
 were distributed to their homes. Bouquet had fully accom- 
 plished the mission for which he had penetrated the forest, and 
 now he received the praise of everj^ good citizen in the prov- 
 inces. At the next session of the Pennsylvania Assembly, it 
 lost no time in voting the country's thanks to Col. Bouquet. 
 The Assembly of Virginia passed a similar vote, and both houses 
 concurred in recommending Bouquet to the King for promotion. 
 But the news of his success having reached the throne before 
 the intelligence of this just recognition, the King, without 
 provincial advice, had promoted him to the rank of Brigadier, 
 10 
 
146 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AKD TECUMSEH : 
 
 and the command of the Southern Department. Bouquet died 
 three years after. 
 
 One condition of the treaty which this gallant officer had 
 made with the Indians was that all the tribes were to send 
 deputies to Sir William Johnson, with whom they were to con- 
 clude a permanent treaty. Having given hostages for the 
 fulfillment of this engagement, they were up to their promise 
 and the nations were fully represented. In the treaty which 
 they now made with Sir AVilliam Johnson, it was stipulated 
 that they should all join the English army in its march into 
 Illinois, for the purpose of aiding the British in getting pos- 
 session of the forts in that country. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Groghan's Expedition — Mukder op Indians — Expedition against 
 THE Indians — Battle op Point Pleasant — Dunmore Retires 
 PROM THE West — Fort Erected at Boonsborough — Conspiracy 
 TO Unite the Indians. 
 
 After the peace which was concladed between the Indians 
 and Sir WilHam Johnson in 1764, CoL George Groffhan, a 
 commissioner under the latter, was sent to explore the country 
 adjacent to the Ohio river and to conciliate the Indians in that 
 quarter. Accompanied by the deputies of the Seneeas, Shaw- 
 anoes and Delawares, he left Fort Pitt on the fifteenth of May, 
 1765, and in two bateaux proceeded down the Ohio river. On 
 the fifth of June he reached the mouth of the Wabash, and 
 from this point he dispatched two Indian runners with letters 
 to Lord Frazer, a British ofiicer commanding at a post in Illi- 
 nois, and to M. St. Auge, the French commandant at Fort 
 Charters. On the eighth of the same month his party was 
 attacked by eighty Indian warriors. They killed two white 
 men and three Indians, wounded Col. Groghan and made him 
 and all the white men prisoners, and plundered them of aU 
 the valuables in their possession. After a perilous route, in 
 which Groghan visited many Indian villages, he made his way 
 to Niagara, reaching that fort in October. So matters stood 
 in the West in 1765. All beyond the AUeghanies, with the 
 exception of a few forts, was a wilderness, until the Wabash 
 was reached, where dwelt a few French, with some fellow coun- 
 trymen not far from them, upon the Illinois and Kaskaskia. 
 The Indians, a few years since, undisputed owners of the 
 prairies and broad vales, now held them by sufferance, having 
 been twice conquered by the arms of England. They, of 
 course, felt both hatred and fear; and, while they despaired of 
 (147) 
 
148 THE iJVES OF PONTIAC AKD techmseh: 
 
 holding their lands and looked forward to unknown evils, the 
 deepest and most abiding spirit of revenge was roused within 
 them. Thej had seen the British coming to take their hunt- 
 ing grounds upon the strength of a treaty they knew not of. 
 They had been forced to admit British troops into their 
 country; and, though now nominally protected from settlers, 
 the promised protection would be but an incentive to pas- 
 sion, in case it was not in good faith extended to them. 
 
 And it was not in good faith extended to them by either 
 individuals or governments. During the year that succeeded 
 the treaty of German Flats, settlers crossed the mountains and 
 took possession of lands in western Virginia and along the 
 Monongahela. The Indians, having received no pay for these 
 lands, murmured, and once more a border war was feared. 
 Gen. Gage, commander of the king's forces, issued orders for 
 the removal of the settlers, but they defied his power and 
 remained where they were. But not only did the frontier men 
 thus pass the line urged on, but Sir William Johnson himself 
 was even then meditating a step which would have produced, 
 had it been taken, a general Indian war. This was the forma- 
 tion of an independent colony south of the Ohio river. It 
 was the intention to purchase the lands from the Six Nations 
 and then to procure from the king a grant of as much territory 
 as the company would require. Other schemes were also on 
 foot for a similar purpose, which resulted in a good deal of 
 rivalry and speculation. Franklin, however, was in favor of 
 making large settlements in the West, and as the system 
 of managing the Indians by superintendents was then in bad 
 odor, it was thought changes should be made in this respect. 
 
 The discussion of the boundary line between the Indians 
 and the settlements now began to receive attention. Sir Wil- 
 liam Johnson was authorized to treat with the savages on this 
 subject, and, accordingly, he summoned them to meet him in 
 council at Fort Stanwix. The council was held in the following 
 October and was attended by representatives from New Jersey, 
 Virginia and Pennsylvania, by Sir William Johnson and his 
 deputies, by the agents of those traders who had suffered in 
 the war of 1763, and by deputies from all the Six Nations, 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTLIRI KS. 149 
 
 the Delawares and the Shawanoes. The hrst question that 
 came np was that of the boundary line which was to determine 
 the Indian lands of the "West from that time forward, and this 
 line the Indians claimed, upon the first of JSToveraber, should 
 begin on the Ohio, at the mouth of the Cherokee river; thence 
 up the Ohio and Alleghany to Kittaning; thence across to the 
 Susquehanna, etc., whereby the whole country south of the 
 Alleghany was ceded to the British. A deed for part of this 
 land was made in November to William Trent. The tract thus 
 conveyed lay between the Kanawha and Monongahela, and was 
 called Indiana. Two days afterwards a deed for the remaining 
 western lands was made to the king and the price agreed upon 
 paid down. 
 
 Other grants were also made and now the white man could 
 quiet his conscience when driving the native from his forest 
 home, and feel confident that an army would assist him, if 
 necessary. The work of settlement now began to revive, and 
 in a few years scattering colonies had been planted along the 
 Ohio and in Kentucky, as well as in Indiana. The savages 
 now became jealous at seeing their best hunting grounds 
 invaded, and notwithstanding the treaty at Fort Stanwix, they 
 were not disposed to give up the territory without a struggle. 
 "Widespread dissatisfaction prevailed among the Shawanoes and 
 Mingoes. This was fostered by tlie French traders, who still 
 came among them, and now a series of events followed well 
 calculated to renew the hostility of the Indians. Everywliere 
 emigration flowed in and the best grounds of the savages were 
 occupied. In addition to the murder of several single Indians 
 by the frontier men, in 1772, five families of the natives on 
 Little Kanawha were killed in revenge for the death of a white 
 family on Gauley river, although no evidence existed to prove 
 who committed the last named outrage. It would now seem 
 that the settlers were foremost in raising a quarrel. 
 
 In April news was received that the Shawanoes could no 
 longer be trusted, and when Capt. Michael Gresap, who was 
 now at "Wheeling speculating in lands, heard that three Cher- 
 okees had attacked a canoe in which were three white men, 
 killing one of them, he went out with a party, and attacked 
 
150 THE LIVES OF PONTIAO AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 a band of friendly Shawanoes, killing two of them, and throw- 
 ing their bodies into the river. This event occurred near 
 Wheeling, and was soon followed by other atrocities committed 
 by the same party. During the same day, hearing that there 
 was an encampment of savages at the mouth of the Captina, they 
 went down the river to the place, attacked them and killed 
 several. In this aflfair one of G-resap's party was severely 
 wounded. In a few days another massacre of Indians occur- 
 red about forty miles above Wheeling by a party of frontiermen 
 led on by Daniel Greathouse. In this affair twelve Indians 
 were killed and several wounded. 
 
 These outrages increased the fury of the savages against the 
 settlers, and it was now evident that a general war would fol- 
 low. The Virginia frontiermen deemed it advisable to assume 
 the offensive, as soon as it could be done, and, accordingly, 
 an army was gathered at Wheeling, which, in July, 1774, 
 under Colonel McDonald, descended the Ohio to the mouth of 
 Captina (Fish) Creek, when it was proposed to march against 
 the Indian town of Wappatomica, on the Muskingum. The 
 march was successfully accomplished, and the Indians having 
 been frustrated in an expected surprise of the invaders, sued 
 for peace, and gave five of their chiefs as hostages. Two of 
 these were afterwards set at liberty for the purpose of calling 
 the tribes together to ratify the treaty, and thus put an end to 
 the war. It was now ascertained that the Indians were merely 
 trying to gain time in which to prepare for a general outbreak, 
 and the Virginians, therefore, proceeded to destroy their vil- 
 lages and crops, and then retired to WilKamsburg, carrying with 
 them three of their chiefs as prisoners. But even these decis- 
 ive acts did not discourage the savages from pursuing their 
 designs. The Delawares, however, were anxious for peace. 
 Sir William Johnson sent out word to his iiock to remain quiet, 
 and even the Shawanoes were prevailed on by their great leader. 
 Cornstalk, to exercise their influence to prevent a war; indeed 
 they went so far as to protect some wandering traders from the 
 vengeance of the Mingoes, whose relatives had been slain at 
 Yellow Creek and Captina, and sent them with their property 
 
OR, THE BORDER WxVRS OF TWO CENTURIES. 151 
 
 safe to Fort Pitt, now Fort Duiiraore. But Logan,* who had 
 been turned by the murders on the Ohio from a friendly to a 
 deadly foe of the whites, came suddenly upon the Mononga- 
 hela settlements, and while the other Indians were hesitating 
 as to their course, took his thirteen scalps in retaliation for the 
 murder of his family and friends by the party under Gresap, 
 and returning home, expressed himself satisfied, and ready to 
 listen to the Long-Knives. But it was not, apparently, the 
 wish of Dunmore or Connolly to meet the friendly spirit of 
 the natives, and when, about the tenth of June, three of the 
 Shawanoes conducted the traders, who had been among them, 
 safely to Fort Pitt, Connolly, who had possessed himself of 
 this post and called it Fort Dunmore, had even the meanness 
 to attempt first to seize them, and when foiled in this by Col, 
 Croghan, his uncle, who had been alienated by his tyranny, he 
 sent men to watch, waylay and kill them; and one account 
 says that one of the three was slain. Indeed, the character 
 developed by this man, while commandant at Fort Dunmore, 
 was such as to excite universal detestation, and at last to draw 
 down upon Lord Dunmore the reproof of Lord Dartmouth. 
 He seized property, and imprisoned white men without warrant 
 or propriety; and, in many cases beside that just mentioned, 
 treated the natives with an utter disregard of justice. It is 
 not, then, surprising that Indian attacks occurred along the 
 frontiers from June to September; nor, on the other hand, 
 need we wonder that the Virginians became more and more 
 excited, and eager to repay the injuries received. 
 
 To put a stop to these devastations, two large bodies of troops 
 were gathering in Virginia; the one from the southern and 
 western part of the State, under General Andrew Lewis, met 
 at Camp Union, now Lewisburg, near the White Sulphur 
 Springs; the other from the northern and eastern counties, was 
 to be under the command of Dunmore himself, and, descend- 
 ing the Ohio from Fort Pitt, was to meet Lewis' army at the 
 mouth of the Great Kanawha. The force under Lewis, 
 amounting to eleven hundred men, commenced its march upon 
 the sixth of September, and upon the sixth of October reached 
 
 * Perkins' Narrative. 
 
152 thp: i.rvKS of pontiac and tecumseh: 
 
 the spot agreed iipon."^ As Lord Dunmore was not there, and 
 as other troops were to follow down the Kanawha under Col. 
 Christian, General Lewis dispatched runners towards Fort Pitt 
 to inform the Commander-in-Chief of his arrival, and pro- 
 ceeded to encamp at the point where the two rivers meet. 
 Here he remained until the ninth of October, when dispatches 
 from the Governor reached him, informing him that the plan 
 of the campaign was altered; that he (Dunraore) meant to 
 proceed directly against the Shawanoes towns of the Scioto, 
 and Lewis was ordered at once to cross the Ohio and meet the 
 otlier army before those towns. But on the very day when 
 this movement should have been executed, the Indians in force, 
 headed by the able and brave chief of the Shawanoes, Corn- 
 stalk, appeared before the. army of Yii-ginians, determined then 
 and there to avenge past wrongs and cripple vitally the power 
 of the invaders. Delawares, Iroquois, Wyandots and Shawa- 
 noes, under their most noted chiefs, among whom was Logan, 
 formed the army opposed to that of Lewis, and with both the 
 struggle of that day was one of life and death. Soon after 
 sunrise the presence of the savages was discovered; General 
 Lewis ordered out his brother, Colonel Charles Lewis, and 
 Colonel Fleming, to reconnoitre the ground where they had 
 been seen; this at once brought on the engagement. In a 
 short time Colonel Lewis was killed, and Colonel Fleming dis- 
 abled; the troops, thus left without commanders, wavered, but 
 Colonel Field with his regiment coming to the rescue, they 
 again stood firm; about noon Colonel Field was killed, £hid 
 Captain Evan Shelby (father of Isaac Shelby, Governor of Ken- 
 tucky in after time, and who was then Lieutenant in his 
 father's company,) took the command; and the battle still con- 
 tinued. It was now drawing toward evening, and yet the 
 contest raged without decided success for either party, when 
 General Lewis ordered a body of men to gain the flank of the 
 enemy by means of Crooked Creek, a small stream which ran 
 into the Kanawha about four hundred yards above its mouth. 
 This was successfully performed, and resulted in di-iving the 
 Indians across the Ohio. The Virginians lost in this battle 
 
 * Peck's Narrative. 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 153 
 
 seventy-five men killed, and one hundred and forty wonnded — 
 nearly one-fifth of their entire nnmber. Among the slain, 
 were Colonels Charles Lewis and Field, and Captains Buford, 
 Morrow, Wood, CundifF, Wilson and Robert McClanahan and 
 others. The loss of the enemy could not be fully ascertained. 
 Next morning. Colonel Christian explored the battle ground, 
 and found the dead bodies of thirty- three Indians. It is prob- 
 able that many others had been carried oS before the savages 
 were routed. 
 
 In the meantime Lord Dunmore had descended the river 
 from Fort Pitt, and was, at the time he sent word to Lewis of 
 his change of plans, at the mouth of the Hocking, where he 
 built a blockhouse, called Fort Gower, and remained until after 
 the battle at that point. Thence he marched to the Scioto, 
 while Lewis and the remains of the army under his command, 
 strengthened by the troops under Colonel Christian, pressed for- 
 ward to the same place, with the full hope of annihilating the 
 Indian towns, and punishing the inhabitants for all they had 
 done. However, before reaching the enemy's country. Dun- 
 more was visited by the chiefs asking for peace. He listened 
 to their requests, and, appointing a place where a council was 
 to be held, sent orders to Lewis to discontinue his march against 
 the Shawanoe towns. Lewis, however, saw fit to disobey these- 
 orders, and proceeded on. Dunmore now set out in person, 
 and, overtaking Lewis, compelled him to return. 
 
 Dunmore remained for some time at Camp Charlotte, upon 
 Sippo Creek, near Westfall, where he met Cornstalk, who, being 
 satisfied of the futility of any further struggle, was determined 
 to make peace and arranged with the governor the prelimi- 
 naries of a treaty. This action created great dissatisfaction in 
 Virginia, as it had been hoped that the army would strike an 
 efi'ectual blow.'^ It is believed, however, that the governor of 
 Yirginia, foresaw the contest between England and the colonies, 
 and desired to gain the friendship of these savages. When 
 Lord Dunmore retired from the West, he left one hundred 
 men at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, a few more at Fort 
 Pitt, and another corps at Wheeling, then called Fort Fincastle. 
 * Western Annals, p. 152. 
 
154 THE Ln^ES OF PONTIAO ANT) TECUMSEH: 
 
 These were dismissed as the prospect of war ceased. Lord 
 Dunmore agreed to return to Pittsburg in the spring, meet the 
 Indians and form a definite peace; but the commencement of 
 the revolt of the colonies prevented. 
 
 During " Dunmore's War," as these hostilities were called, 
 the militia was called out and Daniel Boone was appointed by 
 the Governor to the command of three garrisons on the frontier. 
 Peace being now concluded, Boone and his companions turned 
 their attention towards the purchase of lands. Several com- 
 panies were organized, and negotiations began with a view to 
 purchasing lands from the Indians. These companies, however, 
 failed to gain the support of the government, and their plans 
 were in a great measure thwarted. 
 
 From the day of the unpopular treaty at Camp Charlotte, 
 the western settlers had been apprehensive of another Indian 
 outbreak. The tribes were now every day being wrought up 
 to fury by agents of the English who reached their villages 
 through Canada. It was not long before all the inhabitants 
 of the Eastern colonies saw the dangers that were accumulating 
 from this source. Early in the spring of 1775 the Assembly 
 of Massachusetts wrote to a missionary among the Oneidas, 
 informing him that having heard that the English were trying 
 to attach the Six Nations to their interest, it had been thought 
 proper to ask the several tribes, through him, to stan'd neutral. 
 Steps were also taken to secure the co-operation, if possible, 
 of the Penobscot and Stockbridge Indians; the latter of whom 
 replied that though they could never understand what the 
 quarrel between the Provinces and old England was about, yet 
 they would stand by the Americans. They also offered to do 
 what they could towards winning the Iroquois over fi-om the 
 support of the English.* 
 
 But it is not within the scope of our narrative to set forth 
 the important part which the savages took in the war of the 
 Kevolution. Confining myself to the war on the borders — the 
 result, in almost every instance, of the encroachments and 
 insolence of English and American settlers — we will follow its 
 desolating train as it retreats before the power of civilization 
 
 * Stone's Works — Spark's Washington. 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTUmES. 155 
 
 beyond the Rocky Mountains and into the far "West. Yet, how- 
 ever, some of the most bloody struggles of the Indians against 
 the onset of civilization, of which we have next to treat, were, 
 in a great measure, consequent upon the war of the Revolution. 
 The savages had, to a great extent, been engaged on the side 
 of England, and in 1776 most of them were regarded by the 
 colonists as being engaged in the war. The nations nearest the 
 Americans, and, perhaps, interested in their behalf, found 
 themselves pressed upon and harrassed by the more distant 
 bands, and through the whole winter of 17T6-T, rumors were 
 flying along the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania of 
 approaching troubles. Nor were the people of New York less 
 fearful. Along the Mohawk and upper Susquehanna the set- 
 tlers were standing in constant dread.* However, the winter 
 and spring of 1777 passed without an outbreak. At length 
 the blow was struck. It was l)rought on by the murder of 
 Cornstalk, the leading chief of the Shawanoes, of the Scioto. 
 This truly great man, who was himself for peace, but who found 
 all his neighbors, and even those of his own tribe stirred up to 
 war by the agents of England, went over to the American fort 
 at Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great Kanawha in order 
 to discuss the situation with Capt. Arbuckle, the commandant. 
 This was in the beginning of the summer of 1777. The Amer- 
 icans, being aware that the Shawanoes had taken up arms for 
 England, decided to retain Cornstalk and Redhawk, a young 
 chief of note, who was with him, and make them hostages for 
 the good conduct of their people. The old warrior, accordingly, 
 after he had finished his stateiiient of the position he was in, 
 and the necessity under which he and his friends would be 
 of joining in with the popular voice of his people unless the 
 Americans would guarantee protection, found that in seeking 
 council and safety, he had walked into a snare and was secure 
 there. However he did not complain but waited the result 
 with great composure.f On the following day Ellinipsco, the 
 son of Cornstalk, came to the fort and was also made prisoner. 
 
 * Doddridge's Indian Wars — Stone's Works. 
 ^ Withers' Border Warfare. 
 
156 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 The three noted Indians now sat down cahnly and waited the 
 course of events. They had not been confined but three days 
 when two savages in the neighborhood, unknown to the whites, 
 sliot a white hunter towards evening. Instantly the friends 
 of the murdered man declared their intention of killing the 
 three chiefs within the fort. The commandant endeavored to 
 prevent them, but they were too furious to listen to his words, 
 and his own life was threatened. They rushed to the house 
 where the captives were confined. Cornstalk met them at the 
 entrance but fell pierced with seven bullets. His son and Eed- 
 hawk shared his fate. " From that hour," says Doddridge, 
 "peace was not to be hoped for." 
 
 Meanwhile throughout the scattered settlements of Ken- 
 tucky, Indian hostilities had been raging, but I have no space 
 for the details of these. At times the stations were assailed 
 by large bodies of savages, and again single settlers were 
 picked off by skulking warriors. The numbers of the settlers 
 became fewer and fewer, and from the older settlements little 
 or no aid came to the frontier stations, until Col. Bowman, in 
 August, 1777, came from Virginia with one hundred men. 
 This, as the reader will remember, was a period of great distress 
 throughout all the colonies, but of course none suffered more, 
 or evinced more courage and fortitude, than the settlers of the 
 West. On the other hand, these men bore an important burden 
 of the war for independence. What might have become of the 
 resistance of the colonies had England been allowed to pour 
 her troops upon the rear of the Americans, through Canada, 
 assisted as they would have been by all the Indian tribes? 'No 
 doubt the contest before the stations of Kentucky and Clark's 
 bold incursions into Illinois, and against Vincennes, had much 
 to do in deciding the fortunes of the great struggle. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 The Conquest op Illinois — Colonel George Rogers Clark — His 
 Expedition against the Posts in Illinois — A Bloodless Con- 
 quest — Singular Stratagem -Colonel Clark's Speech to thb 
 Indians — Interesting Incidents. 
 
 The pioneers of the west, althongh surrounded by those 
 dangers and difficulties in 1777, held fast to their purposes. In 
 the autumn of this year the settlers of Kentucky began to 
 organize, and George Rogers Clark, her chief spirit, he that 
 had represented her beyond the mountains the year before, was 
 meditating a trip to Williamsburg, for the purpose of urging 
 a bolder and more decided measure than any yet proposed. He 
 understood the whole game of the British.^ He saw that it 
 was through their possession of Detroit, Yincennes, Kaskaskia, 
 and the other western posts, which gave them easy and constant 
 access to the Indian tribes of the northwest, that the British 
 hoped to effect such a union of the wild men as would annihil- 
 ate the frontier fortresses. He knew that the Delawares were 
 divided in feeling, and the Shawanoes but imperfectly united 
 in favor of England ever since the murder of Cornstalk. He 
 was convinced that could the British in the northwest be 
 defeated and expelled, the natives might be easily awed or 
 bribed into neutrality ; and by spies sent for the purpose, and 
 who were absent from the twentieth of April till the twenty- 
 second of June, he had satisfied himself that an enterprise 
 against the Illinois settlements might easily succeed. 
 
 George Rogers Clark, whose portrait appears on another 
 page, was truly the founder of Kentucky, and the most emi- 
 nent of the early settlers of the west. He was born November 
 19th, 1752, in Albemarle county, Virginia, f In early Kfe he 
 
 * Western Annals. f Clark's Papers. 
 
 (157) 
 
158 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEHI 
 
 had been, like Washington, a surveyor, and more lately had 
 served in Dunmore's war. He first visited Kentucky in 1775,. 
 and held apparently at that time the rank of major. Returning 
 to Virginia in the autumn of 1775, he prepared to move per- 
 manently to the west in the following spring. Having done 
 this eai'ly in 1776, Clark, whose views reached much farther than 
 those of most of the pioneers, set himself seriously to consider 
 the condition and prospects of the young republic to which he 
 had attached his life and fortune. 
 
 As we have seen, he was now preparing to move against the 
 British posts in the west; and accordingly, on the first of Oc- 
 tober, 1777, he left Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and reached the 
 capital of Virginia on the fifth of i^ovember. Telling no one 
 of his purpose, he diligently watched the state of feeling among 
 those in power, waiting for the proper moment to present his 
 plan. Fortunately, before his arrival Burgoyne had surren- 
 dered, which animated the x\mericans witli new hope. On the 
 tenth of December Colonel Clark presented his scheme to 
 Patrick Henry, who was still governor. Henry received the 
 idea with favor. Already the necessity of securing possession 
 of the western outposts had been presented to Congress, and 
 many events that had taken place on the frontier combined to 
 urge the expediency of the plan. Clark having satisfied the 
 Virginia leaders of the feasibility of his plan, received, on the 
 second of January, 1778, two sets of instructions — the public 
 one authorizing him to enlist seven companies to go to Ken- 
 tucky, subject to his orders, and to serve for three months from 
 their arrival in the west ; the secret orders provided for the 
 expedition against Kaskaskia, the British post in Illinois.* 
 
 * "Virginia: Secret. In Council — Williamsburg, January 2, 1778. Lieut. Colonel 
 George R. Clark : You are to proceed, witli all convenient speed, to raise seven companies 
 of soldiers, to consist of fifty men each, officered in the usual manner, and armed most 
 properly for the enterprise, and with this force attack the British force at Kaskasky. 
 
 " It is conjectured that there are many pieces of cannon and military stores to consider- 
 able amount at that place, the taking and preservation of which would be a valuable 
 acq-iisition to the State. If you are so fortunate, therefore, as to succeed in your expedi- 
 tion, you will take every possible measure to secure the artillery and stores, and whatever 
 may advantage the State. 
 
 " For the transportation of the troops, provisions, etc., down the Ohio, you are to apply 
 to the commanding officer at Fort Pitt for boats; and during the whole transaction you 
 are to take especial care to keep the true destination of your force secret. Its success 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF 'nVO CENTURIES. 159 
 
 With these instructions and twelve hundred pounds in the 
 depreciated currency of the time, Colonel Clark started for 
 Fort Pitt. As the country was in need of all the soldiers that 
 could be mustered east of the Alleghanies, Clark therefore pro- 
 posed to raise his men in the neighborhood of Fort Pitt, while, 
 for the purpose of hurrying up the enlistments, Major "W. B. 
 Smith went to Holston, and other officers to other points. They 
 did not succeed, liowever, as they had hoped to. At Fort Pitt 
 Clark found the people unwilling to forsake their own homes, 
 which were in imminent danger, to defend Kentucky. At 
 length Clark, with three or four companies, which was all he 
 could raise, descended the Ohio, which he navigated as far as 
 the falls, where he took possession of and fortiiied Corn Island, 
 opposite the sight of the present city of Louisville. At this 
 place Colonel Bowman was to meet him with additional troops. 
 At this point he told his army their real mission. Having 
 waited until his arrangements were all completed, he departed 
 on the twenty-fourth of June, and descended the river. His 
 plan was to follow the Ohio down as far as Fort Massac, and 
 thence to go by land direct to Kaskaskia. But little baggage 
 
 depends upou this. Orders are therefore given to Captain Smith to secure the two men 
 from Kaskasky. Similar conduct will be proper in similar cases. 
 
 " It is earnestly desired that you show humanity to such British subjects and other per- 
 sons as fall in your hands. If the white inhabitants at that post and neighborhood will 
 give undoubted evidence of their attachment to this State (for it is certain they live within 
 its limits), by taking the test prescribed by law, and by every other way and means in their 
 power, let them be treated as fellow citizens, and their persons and property duly secured. 
 Assistance and protection against all enemies whatever shall be afforded them, and the 
 Commonwealth of Virginia is pledged to accomplish it. But if these people will not 
 accede to these reasonable demands, they must feel the miseries of war under the direc- 
 tion of that humanity that has hitherto distinguished Americans, and which it is expected 
 you will ever consider as the rule of your conduct, and from which you are in no instance 
 to depart. 
 
 " The corps you are to command are to receive the pay and allowance of militia, and to 
 act under the laws and regulations of this State now in force, as militia. The inhabitants 
 at this post will bo informed Iwyou, that in case they accede to the offers of becoming 
 citizens of this Commonwealth, a proper garrison will be maintained among them, and 
 every attention bestowed to render their commerce beneficial, the fairest prospects being 
 opened to the dominions of both France and Spain. 
 
 " It is in contemplation to establish a post near the mouth of the Ohio. Cannon will 
 be wanted to fortify it. Part of those at Kaskasky will be easily brought thither, or other- 
 wise secured, as circumstances will make necessary. 
 
 "You arc to apply to General Hand, at Pittsburgh, for powder and lead necessary for 
 this expedition. If he can't supply -it, the person who has tha>t which Captain Lynn 
 brought from New Orleans can. Lead was sent to Hampshire by my orders, and that may 
 be delivered you. Wishing you success, I am, sir, your humble servant, P. HENRY." 
 
160 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 was taken. He depended for success entirely upon surprise. 
 Should he fail, he intended to cross the Mississippi and escape 
 into the Spanish settlements. Before he commenced his march 
 he received two. pieces of information of which he made good 
 use at the proper time, by means of which he conquered the 
 west without bloodshed. One of these important items was 
 the alliance of France with the colonies. This at once made 
 the American side popular with the French and Indians of 
 Illinois and the lakes ; France having never lost her hold upon 
 her ancient subjects and allies, and England having never 
 secured their confidence. The other item was that the inhabit- 
 ants of Kaskaskia and other old towns had been led by the 
 British to believe that the " Long Knives " or Virginians were 
 the most fierce, cruel and blood-thirsty savages that ever scalped 
 a foe. With this impression on their minds Clark saw that 
 proper conduct would readily force them to submit from fear, 
 if surprised, and then to become friendly from gratitude when 
 treated with unexpected kindness. 
 
 After some time the party landed at Fort Massac, and 
 secured their boats in the mouth of a small creek. From this 
 point their route lay through a wilderness without a path a 
 distance of over one hundred miles. After a tedious journey 
 they approached, on the fourth of July, 1778, near the town, 
 and secreted themselves among the hills east of the Kaskaskia 
 river. Colonel Clark sent forward his spies to watch the pro- 
 ceedings of the people, and after dark put his troops in motion 
 and took possession of a house, where a family lived, about 
 three-quarters of a mile above the town. Here they found 
 boats and canoes. The troops were divided into three parties, 
 two of which were ordered to cross the river, while the other, 
 under the immediate command of Col. Clark, took possession 
 of the fort. Kaskaskia then contained about two hundred and 
 fifty houses. Persons who could speak the French language 
 were ordered to pass through the streets and make proclama- 
 tion, that all the inhabitants must keep within their houses, 
 under penalty of being shot down in the streets. The few 
 British otiicers, who had visited these French colonies since the 
 commencement of the rebellion of their Atlantic colonies, as 
 
GEN. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 161 
 
 thej termed the Eevolntion, had told the most exaggerated 
 stories about the brutality and ferocity of the " Long-Knives;" 
 that they would not only take the property of the people, but 
 would butcher, in a most horrible manner, men, women and 
 children ! The policy of these stories M'as to excite in the 
 minds of these simple-hearted French people the most fearful 
 apprehensions against the colonists, that they might be watch- 
 ful and be prepared for a determined resistance, should any 
 attempt be made on these remote posts. These stories were a 
 stimulus to the French traders to supply the Indians with 
 guns, ammunition and scalping-knives, to aid their depreda- 
 tions on the settlements of Kentucky.* 
 
 Clark had possessed himself of these facts, and respecting 
 them says: " I was determined to improve upon this, if I was 
 fortunate enough to get them into my possession ; as I con- 
 cieved the greater the shock I could give them at first, the 
 more sensibly they would feel my lenity, and become more 
 valuable friends." 
 
 Clark's plan was to produce a terrible panic in the town, and 
 then to capture it without bloodshed, and with his keen sagac- 
 ity, he accomplished it in a perfect manner. 
 
 The two parties having ei'ossed the river, entered the quiet 
 and unsuspecting village at both extremes, yelling in the most 
 furious manner, while those who made the proclamation in 
 French, ordered the people into their houses, on pain of 
 instant death. In a few moments all were screaming, " les 
 long Couteaux! les long CouteauxP^ — the long knives ! the 
 long knives ! 
 
 Not more than half an hour after the surprise of the town, 
 the inhabitants all surrendered and delivered up their arms to 
 their conqueror. No blood had been shed, yet the victory was 
 complete. M. Kocheblave; the governor of the place, was taken 
 in his chamber, but his public papers and documents were 
 either concealed or destroyed by his wife. Throughout the 
 whole of the following night the troops marched up and down 
 the streets, yelling and whooping after the Indian fashion. 
 This was a part of Colonel Clark's plan to terrify the inhabit- 
 * Peck's narrative. 
 11 
 
162 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 ants. Indeed, he took every possible measure to raise the 
 fears of the people. The town was in possession of an enemy 
 the inhabitants had been taught were the most ferocious and 
 brutal of all men, and of whom they entertained the most 
 horrible apprehensions, and all intercourse was strictly pro- 
 hibited between each other, and the conquerors. After five 
 days the troops were removed to the outskirts of the town, and 
 the citizens were permitted to walk in the streets. But finding 
 them engaged in conversation, one with another. Col. Clark 
 ordered some of the officers to be put in irons, without assign- 
 ing a single reason, or permitting a word of defense. This 
 singular display of despotic power in the conqueror, did not 
 spring from a cruel disposition, or a disregard to the principles 
 of liberty, but it was the course of policy he had marked out 
 to gain his object. 
 
 At length M. Gibault, the parish priest, got permission to 
 wait on Col. Clark. He was accompanied by several of the 
 elderly inhabitants of the place. When they came into the 
 presence of Clark and his soldiers, they were shocked at their 
 untidy personal appearance. Their clothes were dirty and 
 torn, their beards of four weeks' growth, and they looked as 
 frightful as native warriors. Finally, the priest, in a very 
 submissive tone and posture, remarked that the inhabitants 
 expected to be separated perhaps never to meet again, and they 
 begged through him, as a great favor from their conqueror, to 
 be permitted to assemble in the church, ofier up their prayers 
 to G-od for their souls, and take leave of each other! 
 
 Colonel Clark replied carelessly, saying that the Americans 
 did not trouble themselves about the religion of others, but 
 left every man to worship God as he pleased ; that they might 
 go to church if they pleased, but on no account must a single 
 person leave the town. Thus saying, the Colonel dismissed 
 them abruptly, hoping to raise their alarm to the highest pitch. 
 
 The priest and the Frenchmen hurried away and in a few 
 hours the whole population assembled in the church, where, as 
 for the last time, they mournfully chanted their prayers and 
 bid each other farewell, " never expecting to meet again in 
 this world." After the service, the priest and the old men of 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OK TWO (TCNTUHIES. 163 
 
 the town returned to the headquarters of the conqueror and 
 began to plead in behalf of their lives. Tliey were willing to 
 give up all their property, but asked for sufficient clothing for 
 their present requirements, and prayed that they might not 
 be separated from their families. 
 
 Clark having now fully accomplished his purpose, addressed 
 them the following reply: 
 
 " Who do you take me to be? Do you think we are sav- 
 ages — that we intend to massacre you all? Do you think 
 Americans will strip women and children, and take the bread 
 out of their mouths? My countrymen," said the gallant 
 Colonel, " never make war upon the innocent ! It was to 
 protect our own wives and children that we have penetrated 
 this wilderness, to subdue these British posts, from whence the 
 savages are supplied with arms and ammunition to murder us. 
 We do not war against Frenchmen. The King of France, your 
 former master, is our ally. His ships and soldiers are fighting 
 for the Americans. The French are our firm friends. Go, 
 and enjoy your religion and worship when you please. Retain 
 your property — and now please to inform all your citizens 
 for me that they are quite at liberty to conduct themselves 
 as usual, and dismiss all apprehensions of alarm. We are your 
 friends and come to deliver you from the British." 
 
 The reader will hardly be able to imagine the sudden revul- 
 sion of feeling which this reply produced. In a few moments 
 the news had been communicated to all within the town, and 
 now the bells rang out merrily. The people, headed by the 
 priest, again repaired to the little church, where the Te Dewm 
 was loudly sung. All now cheerfully acknowledged Col. Clark 
 as commandant of the country. 
 
 An expedition was next formed against Cahokia, and Major 
 Bowman, with his detachment mounted on French ponies, was 
 ordered to surprise that post. Several Kaskaskia gentlemen 
 ofiered their services to proceed ahead, notify the Cahokians 
 of the change of government, and prepare them to give the 
 Americans a cordial reception. The plan w-as entirely success- 
 ful, and the post was subjugated without the disaster of a 
 
164 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 battle. Indeed, there were not a dozen British soldiers in the 
 garrison. 
 
 These cnnning Virginians, in their talk with the towns- 
 people, represented that a large army was encamped at the 
 falls of the Ohio, which would soon subjugate all the British 
 posts in the West, and that Post Vincent would be invaded by a 
 detachment from that army. He soon learned from the French 
 that Abbott, the commandant of that post, had gone to Detroit 
 and that the defense of the place was left with the citize;is, 
 who were mostly French. M. Gibalt readily undertook the 
 task of bringing the inhabitants of that place over to the 
 Americans, which he accomplished without the aid of a mili- 
 tary force, and now the American flag was raised above the 
 fort, and Capt. Helm appointed to the command, much to the 
 disgust of the neighboring savages. 
 
 The three months term on which the soldiers had enlisted 
 now expired, but Col. Clark, determined not to leave the 
 country half conquered, opened a new enlistment. He also 
 issued commissions for French officers in the country to com- 
 mand a company of the inhabitants. 
 
 A garrison was next established at Cohokia, commanded by 
 Capt. Bowman, and another at Kaskaskia, commanded by 
 Capt. Williams. As we have seen Capt. Helm had been ap- 
 pointed to the command at Fort Vincent. Everywhere through- 
 out Illinois the French enlisted themselves warmly in the 
 support of the Americans. The French Governor, M. Eoche- 
 blave, was conducted to Virginia a prisoner of war. 
 
 Soon after the House of Burgesses of Virginia created the 
 county of Illinois* and appointed John Todd, Esq., then of 
 
 *The act contained the following provisions: "All the citizens of the Commonwealth 
 of Virginia, who are ah-eady settled, or shall hereafter settle, on the western side of the 
 Ohio, shall he included in a distinct county which shall he c&WeA IlUnois county; and 
 the Governor of this Commonwealth, with the advice of the Council, may appoint a 
 county Lieutenant, or Commander-in-Chief, in that county, during pleasure, who shall 
 appoint and commission so many deputy commandants, militia and officers, and com- 
 missaries, as he shall think proper, in the different districts, during pleasure, all of 
 whom, before they enter into office, shall take the oath of fidelity to this Common- 
 wealth, and the oath of office, according to the form of their own religion. And all 
 civil officers to which the inhabitants have been accustomed, necessary to the preserva- 
 tion of peace and the administration of justice, shall be chosen by a majority of 
 cittzens in their respective districts, to be convened for that purpose, by the county 
 Lieutenant or Commandant, or his deputy, and shall be commissioned by the said 
 county Lieutenant or Commander-in-Chief. " 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 165 
 
 Kentucky, lieutenant colonel and civil commandant. In No- 
 vember the Legislature passed a complimentary resolution to 
 Clark and his men for the valuable services rendered in subdu- 
 ing the British outposts. 
 
 After organizing a civil government and providing for an 
 election of magistrates by the people, Col. Clark directed his 
 attention to the subjugation of the Indian tribes. In this he 
 also displayed great ability. It has been said that no com- 
 mander ever subdued as many warlike tribes in so short a time 
 and at so little expense of life. His meetings with them began 
 at Cahokia in September, 1778, and his principles of action 
 are worthy of comment. He never loaded them with presents; 
 never manifested any fear of them, yet he always respected 
 their courage and ability. He always waited for them to make 
 the first advance of peace, and after they had concluded their 
 speeches and thrown away the bloody wampum sent them by 
 the English, Clark would coldly tell them that he would give 
 them an answer on the following day, but at the same time 
 cautioned them against shaking hands with the Americans, as 
 peace was not yet concluded. The next day the Indians would 
 come to hear the answer of the " Big Knife," as they called 
 Col. Clark, which they always found full of decision and 
 firmness. 
 
 The following is the speech he delivered to the tribes who 
 sued for peace at the Council of Cahokia: 
 
 " Men and Warriors : pay attention to my words. You informed me 
 yesterday, that the Great Spirit had brought us together, and that you hoped 
 that as he was good, it would be for good. I have also the same hope, and 
 expect that each party will strictly adhere to whatever may be agreed 
 upon, whether it shall be peace or war, and henceforward, prove ourselves 
 worthy of the attention of the Great Spirit. I am a man and a warrior, 
 not a counseller ; I carry war in my right hand, and in my left, peace. I 
 am sent by the Great Council of the Big Knife, and their friends, to take 
 possession of all the towns possessed by the English in this country, and 
 to watch the motions of tlie red people ; to bloody the paths of those who 
 attempt to stop the course of the river ; but to clear the roads for us to those 
 that desire to be in peace; that the women and children may walk in them 
 without meeting anything to strike their feet against. I am ordered to 
 call upon the Great Fire for warriors enough to darken the land, and that 
 the red people may hear no sound, but of birds who live on blood. I know 
 
166 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 there is a mist before your eyes ; I will dispel the clouds, that you may 
 clearly see the causes of the war between the Big Knife and the English; 
 then you may judge for yourselves, which party is in the right; and if 
 you are warriors, as you profess yourselves to be, prove it by adhering 
 faithfully to the party, which you shall believe to be entitled to your 
 friendship, and not show yourselves to be squaws. 
 
 " The Big Knife is very much like the red people, they don't know how 
 to make blankets, and powder, and cloth ; they buy these things from the 
 English, from whom they are sprung. They live by making corn, hunt^ 
 ing and trade, as you and your neighbors, the French, do. But the Big 
 Knife, daily getting more numerous, like the trees in the woods, the land 
 became poor, and the hunting scarce ; and having but little to trade with, 
 the women began to cry at seeing their children naked, and tried to learn 
 how to make clothes for themselves ; some made blankets for their hus- 
 bands and children ; and the men learned to make guns and powder. In 
 this way we did not want to buy so much from the English; they then got 
 mad with us, and sent strong garrisons through our country (as you see 
 they have done among you on the lakes, and among the French,) they 
 would not let our women spin, nor our men make powder, nor let us trade 
 with any body else. The English said, we should buy every thing from 
 them, and since we had got saucy, we should give two bucks for a blanket, 
 which we used to get for one ; we should do as they pleased, and they killed 
 some of our people, to make the rest fear them. This is the truth, and the 
 real cause of the war between the English and us ; which did not take place 
 iTor some time after this treatment. But our women become cold and hun- 
 gry, and continued to cry; our young men got lost for want of counsel to 
 put them in the right path. The whole land was dark, the old men held 
 down their heads for shame, because they could not see the sun, and thus 
 there was mourning for many years over the land. At last the Great 
 Spirit took pity on us, and kindled a great council fire, that never goes 
 out, at a place called Philadelphia; he then stuck down a post, and put a 
 war tomahawk by it, and went away. The sun immediately broke out, the 
 sky was blue again, and the old men held up their heads, and assembled 
 at the fire ; they took up the hatchet, sharpened it, and put it into the 
 hands of our young men, ordering them to strike the English as long as 
 they could find one on this side of the great waters. The young men 
 immediately struck the war post, and blood was shed ; in this way the war 
 began, and the English were driven from one place to another, until they 
 got weak, and then they hired you red people to fight for them. The 
 Great Spirit got angry at this, and caused your old Father, the French 
 King, and other great nations, to join the Big Knife, and fight with them 
 against all their enemies. So the English have become like a deer in the 
 woods ; and you may see that it is the Great Spirit that has caused your 
 waters to be troubled ; because you have fought for the people he was mad 
 with. If your women and children should now cry, you must blame 
 yourselves for it, and not the Big Knife. You can now judge who is in 
 the right ; I have already told you who I am ; here is a bloody belt, and a 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTUKIES. 167 
 
 white one, take which you please. Behave like men, and don't let your 
 being surrounded by the Big Knife, cause you to take up the one belt with 
 your hands, while your hearts take up the other. If you take the bloody 
 path, you shall leave the town in safety, and may go and join your friends, 
 the English ; we will then try like warriors, who can put the most stumb- 
 ling blocks in each other's way, and keep our clothes longest stained with 
 blood. If, on the other hand, you should take the path of peace, and be 
 received as brothers to the Big Knife, with their friends, the French, 
 should you then listen to bad birds, that may be flying through the land, 
 you will no longer deserve to be counted as men ; but as creatures with 
 two tongues, that ought to be destroyed without listening to anything you 
 might say. As I am convinced you never heard the truth before, I do not 
 wish you to answer before yon have taken time to counsel. We will, 
 therefore, part this evening, and when the Great Spirit shall bring us 
 together again, let us speak and think like men, with one heart and one 
 tongue." 
 
 This speech produced the desired effect, and, upon the fol- 
 lowing day, the " Red People," and the "Big Knives " united 
 in peace. It will be impossible, within the scope of this vol- 
 ume, to give a full account of all the interesting incidents 
 which surrounded the actions of Colonel Chirk in the A\^est. 
 Following is one, however, which I cannot omit: A party of 
 Indians, known as the Meadow Indians,* had come to attend 
 the council with their neighbors. These, by some means, were 
 induced to attempt the murder of the invaders, and tried to 
 obtain an opportunity to commit the crime proposed, by sur- 
 prising Clark and his officers in their quarters. In this plan 
 they failed, and their purpose was discovered by the sagacity 
 of the French in attendance; when this was done, Clark gave 
 them to the French to deal with as they pleased, but with a 
 hint that some of the leaders would be as well in irons. Thus 
 fettered and foiled, the chiefs were brought daily to the council 
 house, where he whom they proposed to kill, was engaged daily 
 in forming friendly relations with their red brethren. At 
 length, when by these means the futility of their project had 
 been sufficiently impressed upon them, the American com- 
 mander ordered their irons to be struck off, and in his quiet 
 way, full of scorn, said, "Everybody thinks you ought to die 
 for your treachery upon my life, amidst the sacred deliberations 
 
 * Peck's Narrative. 
 
168 THE I.IVES OF PONTIAC AND TECDMSEH: 
 
 of a council. I had determined to inflict death upon you for 
 your base attempt, and you yourselves must be sensible that 
 you have justly forfeited your lives; but on considering the 
 meanness of watching a bear and catching him asleep, I have 
 found out that you are not warriors, only old women, and toO' 
 mean to be killed by the Big Knife. But," continued he, " as 
 you ought to be punished for putting on breech cloths like men,, 
 they shall be taken away from you, plenty of provisions shall 
 be given for your journey home, as women don't know how to 
 hunt, and during your stay you shall be treated in every 
 respect as squaws." These few cutting words concluded, the 
 Colonel turned away to converse with others. The children 
 of the prairie, who had looked for anger, not contempt — pun- 
 ishment, not freedom — were unaccountably stirred by this 
 treatment. They took counsel together, and presently a chief 
 came forward with a belt and pipe of peace, which^ with proper 
 words, he laid upon the table. The interpreter stood ready to 
 translate the words of friendship, but, with curling lip,, the 
 American said he did not wish to hear them, and lifting a. 
 sword which lay before him, he shattered the offered pipe, withi 
 the cutting expression that " he did not treat with women." 
 The bewildered, overwhelmed Meadow Indians, next asked the 
 intercession of other red men, already admitted to friendship, 
 but the only reply was, " The Big Knife has made no war upon 
 these people ; they are of a kind that we shoot like wolves when 
 we meet them in' the woods, lest they eat the deer." All this 
 wrought more and more upon the offending tribe; again they 
 took counsel, and then two young men came forward, and, cov- 
 ering their heads with their blankets, sat down before the 
 impenetrable commander; then two chiefs arose, and stating 
 that these young warriors offered their lives as an atonement 
 for the misdoings of their relatives, again they presented the- 
 pipe of peace. Silence reigned in the assembly, while the fate 
 of the proffered victims hung in suspense; all watched the 
 countenance of the American leader, who could scarce master- 
 the emotion which the incident excited. Still, all sat noiseless,, 
 nothing heard but the deep breathing of those whose lives thus 
 hung by a thread. Presently, he upon whom all depended,, 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 169 
 
 arose, and, ajjproacbing the young men, he bade them be 
 uncovered and stand up. They sprang to their feet. *■' I am 
 glad to find," said Clark, warmly, " that there are men among 
 all nations. With you, who alone are fit to be chiefs of your 
 tribe, 1 am willing to treat; through you I am ready to grant 
 peace to your brothers; I take you by the hands as chiefs, 
 worthy of being such." Here again the fearless generosity, 
 the generous fearlessness of Clark, proved perfectly successful, 
 and while the tribe in question became the allies of America, 
 the fame of the occurrence, which spread far and wide through 
 the Northwest, made the name of the white negotiator every- 
 where respected. 
 
CHAPTEK XXI. 
 
 €oN(2UEST OF Illinois Continued — Bravery op George Rogers 
 (lark — Re-taking of Post Vincennes by Col. Hamilton — 
 Courage op Capt. Helm — Clark's Expedition against Hamil- 
 ton — Hamilton taken Prisoner — Results op Clark's Cam- 
 paign. 
 
 It was not long before Vincennes (Yincent) was recaptured 
 by Henry Hamilton, the British Lient.-Governor of Detroit. 
 He collected an army ot thirty regulars, fifty French volun- 
 teers, and four hundred Indians, and went down from Detroit, 
 to the "Wabash, and thence to Vincennes, where he appeared on 
 the fifteenth of December, 1778. The people did not attempt 
 to defend the place, as Capt. Helm and a man named Henry 
 were the only Americans in the post. Helm, however, placed 
 a cannon in the open gateway, and stood beside it with a 
 lighted match, and as Col. Hamilton's party approached within 
 hailing distance, the bold captain commanded them to halt, 
 whereupon the British commander stopped and summoned the 
 garrison to surrender. " No man shall enter here until I knoAv 
 the terms," said Helm. Seeing this firmness, Hamilton 
 replied: "Tou shall have the honors of war." The fort was 
 then surrendered, and the one officer and the one soldier 
 received due marks of respect for their bravery. Helm was 
 held in the fort as a prisoner, the French were disarmed, and, 
 bands of hostile Indians began to appear around the other 
 posts. Col. Clark's situation now became dangerous. He 
 ordered Major Bowman to evacuate the fort at Cahokia, and 
 join him at Kaskaskia. " I could see," says Clark, " but little 
 probability of keeping possession of the country, as my num- 
 ber of men was too small to stand a seige, and my situation 
 too remote to call for assistance. I made all the preparations 
 (170) 
 
OR, THE BOKDKK WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 
 
 171 
 
 I possibly could for the attack, and was necessitated to set lire 
 to some of the outhouses in the town to clear them out of the 
 way." At this time Clark was trying to conceive a plan for 
 capturing Col. Hamilton, and retaking Post Vincennes. He 
 engaged Col. Francis Vigo, then a wealthy resident of St. 
 Louis, to go to Yiucennes and investigate its strength. At 
 Clark's request this brave Spanish officer, with a single attend- 
 ant, started for Vincennes, but was captured at the Embarrass 
 by a party of Indians, who plundered him and brought him to 
 Col. Hamilton. Being a Spanish subject, Hamilton had no 
 power to hold him prisoner, but, set him at liberty only on the 
 condition that he would return direct to St. Louis. This Vigo 
 did, but remained only long enough to change his dress, when 
 he returned to Kasl^askia, and gave Col. Clark full information 
 of the condition of the British post at Vincennes, the pro- 
 jected movement of Hamilton, and the friendly feelings of the 
 French towards the Americans. From him Col. Clark learned 
 that a portion of the British troops were absent on marauding 
 parties with the Indians, that the garrison consisted of about 
 eighty regular soldiers, three brass field pieces, and some 
 swivels, and that Gov. Hamilton meditated the re-capture of 
 Kaskaskia early in the spring. Col. Clark determined on the 
 bold project of an expedition to Vincennes, of which he wrote 
 to Gov. Henry, and sent an express to Virginia. As a reason 
 for this hazardous project, Col. Clark urged the force and 
 designs of Hamilton, saying to Governor Henry in his letter, 
 " I knew if I did not take him he would take me." 
 
 A boat was prepared, carrying two four pounders, and four 
 swivels, and commanded by Capt. John Eogers, with forty-six 
 men, and provisions, was dispatched from Kaskaskia to the 
 Ohio, with orders to proceed up the Wabash as secretly as 
 possible to a place near the mouth of the Embarrass. Two 
 companies of men were raised from Cahokia, and Kaskaskia, 
 commanded by Captains McCarty and Charleville, which, with 
 the Americans, amounted to one hundred and seventy men. 
 The winter was exceedingly wet, and all the streams and low 
 land in that section of the country were overflowed, but not- 
 withstanding this, the fragment of an army, on the seventh of 
 
172 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH: 
 
 Februarj, 1779, commenced its march from Kaskaskia. Their 
 route lay through the prairies and points of timber east of the 
 Kaskaskia river — a northeasterly course, through Washington 
 and Marion counties, into Clay county, where the trail, notice- 
 able as late as 1830, crossed the route from St. Louis to Yin- 
 cennes. "This was one of the most dreary and fatiguing 
 expeditions of the Revolutionary War." After inexpressible 
 hardships, the little army reached the Little Wabash, the low 
 bottoms of which, for many miles, were covered with water 
 from three to four feet deep. On the thirteenth of February 
 they arrived at the mouth of " Muddy River," as it was then 
 called, where they made a canoe and ferried over their bag- 
 gage, which they placed on a scaifold on the opposite bank, to 
 keep it out of the water. Rains fell nearly every day, but the 
 weather was not extremely cold. Up to this point they had 
 borne their hardships with great fortitude, but now the spirits 
 of many began to flag. Among the party was an Irishman 
 who could sing many comic songs, and as the party were 
 wading in the water up to their waists, this curious fellow sat 
 upon his large drum, which readily floated him, and enter- 
 tained the half perishing troops with his comic musical talents. 
 On the eighteenth of the same month they heard the morning 
 gun of the fort, and on the evening of the same day they were 
 on the Great Wabash, below the mouth of the Embarrass. 
 This is the spot where, as we have seen, they were to meet tlie 
 boat with supplies. But now there were no signs of it, and 
 the troops were in the most exhausted, destitute and starving 
 condition. The river had overflowed its banks, all the low 
 ground was covered wdth water, and canoes could not be con- 
 structed to carry them over before the British garrison would 
 discover and capture the whole party. On the twentieth of 
 February they captured a boat from Post Yincennes, and from 
 the crew, whom they detained, they learned that the French 
 population were friendly to the Americans, and that no sus- 
 picion of the expedition had reached the British gari'ison. 
 
 The remainder of the march is so full of incident, and so 
 worthy of preservation, that I will permit Col. Clark to give 
 the narrative in his own peculiar language : 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CT^INTURIES. 173 
 
 "This last day's march * (February 21st,) through the water, 
 was far superior to any thing the Frenchmen had any idea of; 
 they were backward in speaking — said that the nearest land to 
 -us was a small league, called the sugar camp, on the bank of 
 the slough. A canoe was sent off and returned without finding 
 that we could pass, I went in her myself and sounded the 
 water; found it deep as to my neck. I returned with a design 
 to have the men transported on board the canoes to the sugar 
 camp, which I knew would spend the whole day and ensuing 
 night, as the vessels would pass slowly through the bushes. 
 The loss of so much time, to men half starved, was a matter 
 of consequence. I would have given now a great deal for a 
 day's provision, or for one of our horses. I returned but 
 slowly to the troops, giving myself time to think. On our 
 arrival all ran to hear what was the report. Every eye was 
 fixed on me. I unfortunately spoke in a serious manner to 
 one of the officers ; the whole were alarmed without knowing 
 what I said. I viewed their confusion for about one minute — 
 whispered to those near me to do as I did — immediately put 
 some water in my hand, poured on powder, blackened my 
 face, gave the war-whoop, marched into the water, without 
 saying a word. The party gazed, fell in, one after another, 
 without saying a word, like a fiock of sheep. I ordered those 
 near me to give a favorite song of theirs; it soon passed 
 through the line, and the whole went on cheerfully. I now 
 intended to have them transported across the deepest part of 
 the water, but when about waist deep, one of the men informed 
 me that he thought he felt a path. We examined and- found 
 it so, and concluded that it kept on the highest ground, which 
 it did, and by taking pains to follow it we got to the sugar 
 camp without the least difiiculty, where there was about half 
 an acre of dry ground, at least not under water, where we took 
 up our lodgings. The Frenchmen that we had taken on the 
 river appeared to be uneasy at our situation. They begged 
 that they might be permitted to go in the two canoes to town 
 in the night; they said they would bring from their own houses 
 provisions without the possibility of any person knowing it; 
 
 * Clark's Journal. 
 
174 THE LIVKS OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH I 
 
 that some of our men should go with them as a surety of their 
 good conduct — that it was impossible we could march fi-om 
 that place till the water fell, for the plain was too deep to 
 march. Some of the [officers?] believed that it might be done. 
 I would not suffer it. I nev^-er could well account for this piece 
 of obstinacy, and give satisfactory reasons to myself, or any 
 body else, why I denied a proposition apparently so easy to 
 execute, and of so much advantage; but something seemed to 
 tell me it should not be done, and it was not done. 
 
 " The most of the weather that we had on this march was 
 moist and warm, for the season. This was the coldest night 
 we had. The ice in the morning was from one-half to three- 
 quarters of an inch thick, near the shores, and in still water. 
 The morning was the finest we had on our march. A little 
 after sunrise I lectured the whole. What I said to them I forget, 
 but it may easily be imagined by a person that could possess 
 my affections for them at that time; I concluded by informing 
 them that passing the plain that was then in full view, and 
 reaching the opposite woods would put an end to their fatigue — 
 that in a few hours they would have a sight of their long 
 wished for object — and immediately stepped into the water 
 without waiting for any reply. A huzza took place. As we 
 generally marched through the water in a line, before the third 
 entered I halted and called to Major Bowman, ordered him to 
 fall in the rear with twenty-five men, and to put to death any 
 man who refused to march, as we wished to have no such per- 
 son among us. The whole gave a cry of approbation, and on 
 we went. This was the most trying of all the difiiculties we 
 had experienced. I generally kept fifteen or twenty of the 
 strongest men next myself, and judged from my own feelings 
 what must be that of others. Getting about the middle of the 
 plain, the water about mid-deep, I found myself sensibly failing; 
 and as there were no trees or bushes for the men to support 
 themselves by, I feared that many of the most weak would be 
 drowned. I ordered the canoes to make the land, discharge 
 their loading, and play backwards and forwards with all dili- 
 gence, and pick up the men; and to encourage the party, sent 
 some of the strongest men forward with orders, when they got 
 
OB, THK BOKDEK WAKS OK 'l-WO CENTURIES. 176 
 
 to a certain distance, to pass the word back that the water was 
 getting shallow; and when getting near the woods to cry out 
 'Land!' This stratagem had its desired effect. The men, 
 encouraged bj it, exerted themselves almost beyond their abil- 
 ities, the weak holding by the stronger. * * * The water 
 never got shallower, but continued deej^ening. Getting to the 
 woods where the men expected land, the water was up to my 
 shoulders; but gaining the woods was of great consequence; 
 all the low men and weakly, hung to the trees, and floated on 
 the old logs until they were taken ofi" by the canoes. The 
 strong and tall got ashore and built fires. Many would reach 
 the shore and fall with their bodies half in the water, not being 
 able to support themselves without it. 
 
 " This was a delightful dry spot of ground of about ten acres. 
 We soon found that fires answered no purpose; but that two 
 strong men taking a weaker one by the arms was the only 
 way to recover him; and, being a de 'ghtful day, it soon did. 
 But, fortunately, as if designed by Providence, a canoe of 
 Indian squaws and children were coming up to town, and took 
 through part of this plain as a nigh way. It was discovered 
 by our canoes as they were out after the men. They gave 
 chase and took the Indian canoe, on board of which was near 
 half a quarter of buffalo, some corn, tallow, kettles, etc. This 
 was a grand prize, and was invaluable. Broth was immediately 
 made and served out to the most weakly with great care; most 
 or the whole got a little; but a great many gave their part to 
 the weakly, jocosely saying sometliing cheering to their com- 
 rades. This little refreshment and fine weather, by the after- 
 noon, gave life to the whole. Crossing a narrow deep lake in 
 the canoes, and marching some distance, we came to a copse 
 of timber called the ' Warrior's Island.' We were now in full 
 view of the fort and town, not a shrub between us, at about 
 two miles distance. Every man now feasted his eyes and 
 forgot that he had suffered anything — saying that all that had 
 passed was owing to good policy, and nothing but what a man 
 could bear ; and that a soldier had no right to think, etc., 
 passing from one extreme to another, which is common in such 
 cases. It was now we had to display our abilities. The plain 
 
176 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEHt 
 
 between us and the town was not a perfect level. The sunken 
 grounds were covered with water full of ducks. We observed 
 several men out on horseback, shooting them, within half a 
 mile of us, and sent out as many of our active young French- 
 men to decoy and take one of these men prisoner, in such a 
 manner as not to alarm the others, which they did. The 
 information we got from this person was similar to that which 
 we got from those we took on the river, except that of the 
 British having that evening completed the wall of the fort, and 
 that there were a good many Indians in town. 
 
 "Our situation was now truly critical; no possibility of 
 retreating in case of defeat, and in full view of a town that 
 had at this time upwards of six hundred men in it, ti'oops, 
 inhabitants and Indians. The crew of the galley, though not 
 fifty men, would now have been a reinforcement of immense 
 magnitude to our little army, (if I may so call it,) but we 
 would not think of them. We were now in the situation that 
 I had labored to get ourselves in. The idea of being made 
 prisoner was foreign to almost every man, as they expected 
 nothing but torture from the savages if they fell into their 
 hands. Our fate was now to be determined, probably in a few 
 hours. We knew that nothing but the most daring conduct 
 would ensure success. I knew that a number of the inhabitants 
 wished us well, that many were lukewarm to the interest of 
 either, and I also learned that the Grand Chief, the Tobacco's 
 son, but a few days before openly declared in council with the 
 British, that he was a brother and a friend to the Big Knives. 
 These were favorable circumstances, and as there was but little 
 probability of our remaining until dark undiscovered, I deter- 
 mined to begin the career immediately, and wrote the follow- 
 ing placard to the inhabitants : 
 
 To THE Inhabitants of VmcENNES. — Gentlemen: Being now within 
 two miles of your village, with my army, determined to take your fort this 
 night, and not being willing to surprise you, I take this method to request 
 such of you as are true citizens and willing to enjoy the liberty I bring 
 you, to remain still in your houses, and those, if any there be, that are 
 friends to the king, will instantly repair to the fort and join the hair-buyer 
 General and fight like men. And if any such as do not go to the fort 
 shall be discovered afterwards, they may depend on severe punishment. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO (!I<:NTURIES. 17» 
 
 On the contrary, those who are true friends to liberty may dojnind on being 
 well treated, and I once more request tliem to keep out of the streets. For 
 ■every one I find in arms on my arrival I shall treat hini as an enemy. 
 
 (Signed) G. R. Clark. 
 
 This notice had the desired efl'ect. It inspired the friendly 
 inhabitants with coniidence and filled the enemy with terror. 
 On the same day about sunset the little army set off to attack 
 the fort. In order to convince Hamilton that the invaders 
 consisted of a large army, Col. Clark divided his men into 
 platoons, each displaying a different flag, and after marching 
 and counter-marching around some mounds within sight of 
 the fort, and making other demonstrations of numbers and 
 strength till dark, Lieut. Bayley, with fourteen men, was sent 
 to attack the fort. This party secured themselves within thirty 
 yards of the fort, defended by a bank and safe from the enemy's 
 fire, and as soon as a port hole was opened a dozen rifles were 
 directed to the aperture. One soldier fell dead, and the rest 
 could not be prevailed upon to stand to the guns. On the 
 morning of the twenty-fourth, Col. Clark sent a flag of truce 
 with the following letter to Col. Hamilton, while his men, for 
 the first time in six days, were provided with breakfast: 
 
 Sir: In order to save yourself from the impending storm that now 
 threatens you, I order you immediately to surrender j^ourself, with all your 
 garrison, stores, etc., etc. For if I am obliged to storm, you may depend 
 upon such treatment as is justly due to a, murderer. Beware of destroying 
 stores of any kind, or any papers or letters that are in your possession, or 
 hurting one house in town, for, by Heavens, if you do, there shall be no 
 mercy shown you. G. R. Clark. 
 
 To Gov. Hamilton. 
 
 Col. Hamilton replied as follows: 
 
 Gov. Hamilton begs leave to acquaint Col. Clark that he and his gar- 
 rison are not disposed to be awed into any action unworthy British 
 subjects. 
 
 The attack was renewed with great vigor, and soon after 
 Hamilton sent another message to the invader, as follows : 
 
 Gov. Hamilton proposes to Col. Clark a truce for three days, during 
 which time he promises that there shall be no defensive works carried on 
 12 
 
178 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND 'ITICUMSEH '. 
 
 in the garrison, on condition ttiat Col. Clark will observe, on his part, a 
 like cessation of offensive work : that is, he wishes to confer with Col. 
 Clark, as soon as can be, and promises that whatever may pass between 
 them two and anotlier person mutually agreed on to be present, shall 
 remain secret till matters be finished; as he wishes that whatever the 
 result of the conference may be, it may tend to the honor and credit of 
 each party. If Col. Clark makes a difficulty of coming into the fort, 
 Lieut. Gov. Hamilton will speak with him by the gate. 
 
 Hettry Hamilton. 
 
 This message was written on the 24th of February, 1779, 
 and manifested a feeling that Clark had expected. His reply 
 was: "Col. Clark's compliments to Gov. Hamilton, and begs 
 leave to say that he will not agree to any terms other than Mr. 
 Hamilton surrendering himself and garrison prisoners at dis- 
 cretion. If Mr, Hamilton wants to talk with Col. Clark, he 
 will meet him at the church with Capt. Helm." 
 
 A conference was held as proposed, when Clark would agree 
 only to a surrender, and threatened to massacre the leading 
 men ... the fort for supplying the Indians with the means of 
 annoyance and purchasing scalps, if his terms were not 
 accepted. In a few moments afterwards Col. Clark dictated 
 terms of sur . ader wliich were accepted.* On the twenty-fifth 
 of February Fort Sackville was surrendered to the American 
 troops and the garrison treated as prisoners of war. The stars 
 and stripes were unfolded above its battlements and thirteen 
 guns celebrated the victory. Seventy -nine prisoners and stores 
 to the amount of fifty thousand dollars were captured by this 
 bold enterprise, and the whole country along the Mississippi 
 and Wabash remained ever after in the peaceful possession of 
 
 * iBt. Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton agrees to deliver up to Co!. Clark Fort Sack- 
 ville, as it is at present, with its stores, etc. 
 
 '2d. The garrison are to deliver themselves as prisoners of war and march out with 
 their arms and accoutrements. 
 
 3d. The garrison to be delivered up to-morrow, at ten o'clock. 
 
 4th. Three days' time to he allowed the garrison to settle their accounts with the 
 inhabitants and traders. 
 
 5th. The otficers of the garrison to be allowed their necessary baggage, etc. 
 
 Signed at Post St. Vincennes, the 34th day of February, 1779; agreed to for the fol- 
 lowing reasons: Ist. Remoteness from succor; 2d. The state and quantity of provisions; 
 3d. The rmanimity of the officers and men in its expediency; 4th. The honorable tenna 
 allowed: and. lastly, the confidence in a generous enemy. 
 
 Henbt Hamilton, 
 Lieutenant-Governor and Superintendent, 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OP' TWO CENTURIES. 179 
 
 the Americans. In the short contest only one of the Americans 
 was wounded. Tlie British had one killed and six severely 
 wounded. Gov, Hamilton was sent prisoner to Virginia, 
 where he was confined in jail, fettered and alone, as a punish- 
 ment for his wicked policy of ofifering rewards for American 
 scalps, but as this punishment was not in accordance with the 
 terms of surrender, he was afterwards set at liberty. 
 
 Col. Clark returned to Kaskaskia, where he found his paper 
 money greatly depreciated, and where he was forced to pledge 
 his own credit to procure what he needed to an extent that 
 injured his financial prospects. 
 
 It is difiicult to estimate the true value of Clark's campaign 
 to American independence. "But for his small army of drip- 
 ping, but fearless Yirginians," says Mr. Peck, " the union of 
 aU the tribes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies, 
 might have been effected and the whole current of our history 
 changed. The conquest of Clark changed the face of affairs 
 in relation to the whole country north of the Ohio river, which, 
 in all probability, would have been the boundary between 
 Canada and the United States. This conquest was urged by 
 the American commissioners in negotiating the definite treaty 
 of 1793." 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Borders of Kentucky — Boone's Salt Expedition — His Captuhe — 
 His Defense op Boonsborough — Invasion of the Country op 
 THE Six Nations — Indian Troubles. 
 
 Let us now return and bring forward the events in the bor- 
 der settlements of Kentucky. The pioneers were now (1778) 
 suffering much from the want of salt, and the labor and risk 
 of bringing it over the mountains were too gi'eat. It was now 
 resolved by the settlers that thirty men, under the guidance 
 of Captain Daniel Boone, one of the earliest and most active 
 settlers of Kentucky, and the founder of Boonsborough, should 
 proceed to the " Lower Blue Licks,'' on Licking river, and 
 manufacture salt. The enterprise was commenced on New 
 Year's day, 1778.* Boone was to be guide, hunter and scout ; 
 the others were to cut wood and attend to the manufacturing 
 department. They succeeded well, and on the seventh of the 
 following month enough had been made to lead to the return 
 of three of the party to the stations with the precious com- 
 modity. While Boone was ranging the woods in the vicinity 
 of the salt works he was discovered and captured by a large 
 party of Shawanoes. Boone's companions were next captured, 
 and all were now taken to the Indian village on the Little 
 Miami, f It was no part of the plan of the Shawanoes, how- 
 ever, to retain these men in captivity, nor yet to scalp, slay or 
 eat them. Under the influence and rewards of Governor Ham- 
 ilton, the British commander in the northwest, the Indians had 
 taken up the business of speculating in human beings, both 
 dead and alive, and the Shawanoes meant to take Boone and 
 
 * Western Annals. 
 f Peck's Narrative. 
 
 (180) 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 181 
 
 his comrades to the Detroit market. On the tenth of March, 
 accordingly, eleven of the party, including Daniel-himself, were 
 dispatched for the north, and after twenty days of journeying 
 were presented to the English governor, who treated them, 
 Boone says, with great humanity. To Boone himself Hamil- 
 ton and several other gentlemen seem to have taken an especial 
 fancy, and oiFered large sums for his release, but the Shawanoes 
 would not part with him ; he must go home with them, they 
 said, and be one of them, and become a great chief. So the 
 pioneer found his very virtues becoming the cause of a pro- 
 longed captivity. In April the red men, witli their one white 
 captive, about to be converted into a genuine son of nature, 
 returned from the flats of Michigan to the rolling valleys of 
 the Miamis. And now the white blood was washed out of the 
 Kentucky ranger, and he was made a son in the family of Black- 
 fish, a Shawanoes chief, and was loved and caressed by father, 
 and mother, brothers and sisters, till he was . thoroughly sick 
 of them. But disgust he could not show, so he was kind and 
 affable, and knew how to allay any suspicions they might har- 
 bor lest he should run away. For some time the newly made 
 Indian, Boone, entered into the savage life with a pretended 
 relish. On the first of June he was returning with a party 
 of Indians to the village, and on arriving he found four hun- 
 dred and fifty of the choicest warriors of the west painted and 
 armed for battle. Upon inquiring he found that they had 
 formed a plan to destroy Boonsborough and capture the 
 inhabitants. Boone now secretly resolved to risk his life to 
 save the little borough he had founded. And although over 
 one hundred and fifty miles from this town, lie departed, on 
 the morning of the sixteenth of June, while all was quiet, and 
 vtdthout any breakfast, started on his long and dangerous 
 journey. He traveled at the rate of forty miles a day for four 
 successive days, and ate but one meal during the whole journey. 
 At last he reached the defenseless town, and with the alarmed 
 inhabitants at once commenced repairing the fortifications. 
 But the foe came not. In a few days another escaped captive 
 came in and informed Boone that the Indians were unsettled 
 
182 THE LIVES OF PONTIAO AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 in their plans, knowing not what to do since he had departed. 
 Thus his favorite town was saved, at least for the time being. 
 
 Boone, with a small party of the settlers, now penetrated the 
 forests to surprise an Indian village; but meeting a small party 
 of Indians he discovered that they were marching on Boonsbo- 
 rough in full force. He had scarcely time to return when the 
 enemy appeared. The Indians, to the number of four hundred 
 and forty, were commanded by Chief Blacklish, and the Cana- 
 dians, to the number of eleven, by Captain DuQuesne. The 
 advancing enemy displayed both the English and French flags. 
 The invaders demanded Boone to surrender in the name of His 
 Britannic Majesty, and promised a liberal treatment for the 
 prisoners. It was indeed a critical moment. Should they yield 
 there would be no mercy shown them ; but, on the other hand, 
 there was but little chance for a successful resistance. They 
 had no provisions, and their cattle were abroad in the woods. 
 Boone asked for two days to consider the matter, and his request 
 was granted. He now set about bringing the cattle to the fort, 
 which was soon accomplished. Being thus supplied with food, 
 he announced the determination of his garrison to fight. Cap- 
 tain DuQuesne was sorely grieved at this, for he had hoped to 
 take the place without bloodshed. He now resorted to treach- 
 ery. He offered to withdraw his troops if the garrison would 
 make a treaty. Boone suspected all was not right, and at first 
 he refused to yield ; but then he did not wish to starve in the 
 fort or have it taken by storm, and he thought,' as he remem- 
 bered Hamilton's kindness to him while in Detroit, that per- 
 haps he would be fairly treated by his representative, so he 
 agreed to treat. Boone and eight of his men now went out of 
 the fort, under cover of the guns of the fortifications, and opened 
 a council about sixty yards distant. Tlie treaty was made and 
 signed, and then the Indians, saying it was their custom for 
 two of them to shake hands with every white man when a treaty 
 was made, expressed a wish to press the palms of their new 
 allies. Boone and his friends must have looked doubtful at 
 this proposal, but it was safer to accede than to refuse and 
 be shot instantly, so they presented each his hand. As antici- 
 pated, the warriors seized them with rough and fierce eagerness. 
 
OK, THE BORDER WAES OF TWO CENTURIES. 183 
 
 The whites drew back, struggling. The treachery was appa- 
 rent. The rifle balls from the garrison struck down the fore- 
 most assailants of the little band; and, amid a fire from friends 
 and foes, Boone and his fellow deputies bounded back into the 
 station, with the exception of one man, unhurt. Now that the 
 treaty project had failed, the enemy opened a hot fire upon the 
 fortifications, which they continued ten days, though to no 
 purpose. On the twentieth of August the Indians were forced 
 unwillingly to retire, having lost thirty-seven of their number 
 and wasted a vast amount of powder and lead. • The garrison 
 picked up from the ground, after their departure, one hundred 
 and twenty-five pounds of their bullets. 
 
 Early in the summer of this year a fort was built upon the 
 banks of the Ohio, a little below Fort Pitt, called Fort Mcin- 
 tosh. From this point it was intended to operate in reducing 
 Detroit, where mischief was still brewing. Indeed the natives 
 were now more united than ever against the Americans. The 
 Senecas, Cayugas, Mingoes, Wyandots, Onondagas, Ottawas, 
 Ojibwas, Shawanoes and Delawares were all in the league. 
 Congress now, perhaps for the first time, fully saw the difiicul- 
 ties that were likely to arise from the native tribes. 
 
 In the north and west a new cause of trouble was arising. 
 Of the six tribes of the Iroquois, the Senecas, Mohawks, Cay- 
 ugas and Onondagas had been from the outset inclined to 
 Britain, thougli all of these but the Mohawks had now and 
 then tried to persuade the Americans to the contrary. During 
 the winter of 1778-9 the Onondagas, who had been for a while 
 nearly neutral, were suspected by the Americans of deception, 
 and this suspicion having become nearly knowledge, a band 
 was sent early in April to destroy their towns and take such 
 of them as could be taken prisoners. The work appointed was 
 done, and the villages and wealth of the poor savages were 
 annihilated. This sudden act of severity startled all. The 
 Oneidas, hitherto faithful to their neutrality, were alarmed lest 
 the next blow should fall on them, and it was only after a full 
 explanation that their fears were quieted. As for the Onon- 
 dagas, it was not to be hoped that they would sit down under 
 such treatment ; and we find, accordingly, that some hundred 
 
184 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 of their warriors were at once in the field, and from that time 
 forward a portion of their nation remained hostile to the 
 United Colonies.* 
 
 The x\mericans now determined to invade the country of the 
 Six Nations, which they did, defeating a large number of these 
 Indians at Newton. From this point they were driven from 
 vilhxge to village, and their whole country was laid waste. 
 Houses were burned, crops and orchards destroyed, and every 
 thing done to render the country uninhabitable that could be 
 thought of. Forty towns were burnt, and more than one hun- 
 dred and sixty thousand bushels of corn destroyed. This attack 
 was conducted by General Sullivan He effected a complete 
 conquest of the Indian country, but passed Niagara without 
 attacking it. 
 
 On the twenty-second of March, 1779, Washington wrote to 
 Colonel Daniel Brodhead, who had succeeded Mcintosh at Fort 
 Pitt, that an incursion into the country of the Six Nations was 
 in preparation, and that in connection therewdth it might be 
 advisable for a force to ascend the Alleghany to Kittaning, and 
 thence to Venango, and having fortified both points, to strike 
 the Mingoes and Munceys upon French Creek and elsewhere 
 in that neighborhood, and thus aid General Sullivan in the 
 great blow he was to give by his march up the Susquehanna. 
 Brodhead proceeded up the Alleghany, burned the towns of the 
 Indians and destroyed their crops. 
 
 The immediate result of this and other equally prompt and 
 severe measures was to bring the Delawares, Shawanoes, and 
 even the Wyandots, to Fort Pitt, on a treaty of peace. There 
 Brodhead met them on his return in September, and a long 
 conference was held to the satisfaction of both parties.f 
 
 During this summer an expedition was sent against the 
 Shawanoes of the Miami, but it failed to accomplish the end 
 originally designed, and the fierce Indians of this tribe were 
 unsubdued. 
 
 In the following year, 1780, Kentucky was invaded by a large 
 
 * Stone's Works. 
 •j- Western Annals. 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 185 
 
 force of Indians and Canadians, commanded by Colonel Byrd, 
 a British officer. To the number of six hundred, with two 
 field pieces, they marched up the valley of the Licking, and first 
 appeared before Ruddle's Station, on the twenty-second of June, 
 demanding an instant surrender. As the stockades were pow- 
 ei'less against cannon, the demand was complied with; but the 
 "invaders, for some reason, left the country immediately. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Expedition against Moravian Indians — The Massacre — Terrible 
 FATE OF Colonel Crawford — Attack op Bryant's Station — De- 
 feat OF THE Frontier Men. 
 
 Let us return once more to the villages of the Christian 
 Indians, commonly called the Moravians. In 1781 they suffered 
 from both Americans and from hostile Indians, and in conse- 
 quence were compelled to leave their home on the Muskingum 
 and go to Sandusky; but in February, 1782, they returned to 
 the number of about one hundred and fifty. This act revived 
 the hatred of the frontier men, who had now learned to sus- 
 pect them of treachery ; and Colonel Williamson in March 
 set out with a party of about one hundred men, without any 
 authority, and made a rapid march to the Muskingum. The 
 professed object was to capture and remove the Christian Del- 
 awares, and destroy their houses and fields. A number of peo- 
 ple were at work in their corn-fields when this hostile force 
 appeared, who ran to the village of Gnadenhutten. Several 
 men and one woman were killed. They were told it was the 
 intention to take them to Pittsburgh, where they would be 
 protected, and were directed to enter two houses and remain 
 for the night. The commander of the party then proposed to 
 leave it to his men to decide by vote their fate, and orders were 
 given that those who were for sparing their lives should step 
 out in front. Of some ninety men present only seventeen or 
 eighteen voted to spare their lives ! This sentence was then 
 announced to the people. They spent the night in prayer and 
 in singing hymns. In the morning the terrible slaughter com- 
 menced. No resistance was made. Guns, tomahawks and 
 hatchets were used. Two only escaped. One, a young man 
 (186) 
 
OK, THE BOKDKK WARS OF TWO CKNTUlilKS. 18* 
 
 about seventeen years of age, wounded, bleeding and scalped, 
 crept into the bushes and lived ; ano*-,her crawled under the 
 floor, where he lay until the blood of his murdered relations 
 poured in streams upon him * The buildings were set on fire, 
 and the bodies partially consumed. Colonel Williamson and 
 his men returned to receive the execrations of his countrymen. 
 Both the civil and military authorities of the State and nation 
 reprobated the direful deed. Forty men, twenty-two women, 
 and thirty-two children were thus destroyed. 
 
 It was in March, 1782, that this great murder was committed; 
 and another expedition was at once organized to invade the 
 towns of the Moravian Delawares and Wyandots, upon the 
 Sandusky. No Indian was to be spared ; friend or foe, every 
 red man was to die! The commander of the expedition was 
 Colonel William Crawford. His troops, numbering nearly five 
 hundred men, marched in June to the Sandusky, uninterrupted. 
 There they found the towns deserted, and the savages on the 
 alert. A battle ensued, and the whites were forced to retreat. 
 In their retreat many left the main body, and nearly all who 
 did so perished. Of Crawford's own fate we give the follow- 
 ing account by Dr. Knight : ' • 
 
 " Monday morning, the tenth of June, we were paraded to 
 march to Sandusky, about thirty-three miles distant. They 
 had eleven prisoners of us, and four scalps, the Indians being 
 seventeen in number. 
 
 " Colonel Crawford was very desirous to see a certain Simon 
 Girty, who lived with the Indians, and was on this account 
 permitted to go to town the same night, with two warriors to 
 guard him, having orders at the same time to pass by the place 
 where the colonel had turned out his horse, that they might, 
 if possible, find him. The rest of us were taken as far as the 
 old town, which was within eight miles of the new. 
 
 " Tuesday morning, the eleventh. Colonel Crawford was 
 brought out to us, on purpose to be marched with the other 
 prisoners. I asked the colonel if he had seen Mr. Girty. He 
 told me he had, and that Girty had promised to do everything 
 in his power for him, but that the Indians were very much 
 
 * Western Annals. 
 
188 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH: 
 
 enraged against the prisoners, particularly Captain Pipe, one 
 of the chiefs. He likewise told me that Girty had informed 
 him that his son-in-law. Colonel Harrison, and his nephew, 
 William Crawford, were made prisoners by the Shawanoes, but 
 had been pardoned. This Captain Pipe had come from the 
 town about an hour before Colonel Crawford, and had painted 
 all the prisoners' faces black. As he was painting me he told 
 me I should go to the Shawanoes towns and see my friends. 
 When the colonel arrived he painted him black also, told him 
 he was glad to see him, and that he would have him shaved 
 when he came to see his friends at the Wyandot town. When 
 we marched the colonel and I were kept back, between Pipe 
 and Wyngenim, the two Delaware chiefs ; the other nine pris- 
 oners were sent forward with another party of Indians. As 
 we went along we saw four of the prisoners lying by the path, 
 tomahawked and scalped ; some of them were at the distance 
 of half a mile from each other. When we arrived within half 
 a mile of the place where the colonel was executed we overtook 
 the live prisoners that remained alive. The Indians had caused 
 them to sit down on the ground, as they did also the colonel 
 and me, at some distance from them. I was there given in 
 charge to an Indian fellow, to be taken to the Shawanoes 
 towns. 
 
 "' In the place where we were made to sit down, there was 
 a number of squaws and boys, who fell on the five prisoners 
 and tomahawked them. There was a certain John McKinly 
 amongst the prisoners, formerly an officer in the 13th Vir- 
 ginia regiment, whose head an old squaw cut off, and the 
 Indians kicked it about upon the ground. The young Indian 
 fellows came often where the Colonel and I were, and dashed 
 the scalps in our faces. We were then conducted along 
 toward the place where the Colonel was afterwards executed; 
 when we came within about half a mile of it, Simon Girty 
 met us, with several Indians on horseback; he spoke to the 
 Colonel, but as I was about one hundred and fifty yards behind, 
 could not hear what passed between them. 
 
 "Almost every Indian we met, struck us either with sticks or 
 their fists. Girty waited till I was brought up, and asked, was 
 
OK, THK BORDER WARS OF TWO CKN'l'URIKt*. 189 
 
 that the Doctor? I told him yes, and went towards hini^ 
 reaching out my hand, but he bid me begone, and called me a 
 damned rascal, upon which the fellows who had me in charge 
 pulled me along. Girty rode up after me and told me I was to 
 go to the Shawanoe towns. 
 
 i" When we went to the fire the Colonel was stripped naked, 
 ordered to sit down by the fire, and then they beat him with 
 sticks and their fists. Presently after, I was treated in the 
 same manner. They then tied a rope to the foot of a post 
 about fifteen feet high, bound the Colonel's hands behind his 
 back and fastened the rope to the ligature between his wrists. 
 The rope was long enough for him to sit down or walk round 
 the post once or twice, and return the same way. The Colonel 
 then called to Girty, and asked if they intended to burn him? 
 Girty answered, yes. The Colonel said he would take it all 
 patiently. Upon this. Captain Pipe, a Delaware chief, made a 
 speech to the Indians, viz.: about thirty or forty men, and sixty 
 or seventy squaws and boys. 
 
 " When the speech was finished they all yelled a hideous and 
 hearty assent to what had been said. The Indian men then 
 took up their guns and shot powder into the Colonel's body, 
 from his feet as far up as his neck. I think that no less than 
 seventy loads were discharged upon his naked body. Tliey 
 then crowded about him, and to the best of my observation, 
 cut ofi" his ears; when the throng had dispersed a little, I saw 
 the blood running from both sides of his head in consequence 
 thereof. 
 
 " The fire was six or seven yards from the post to which 
 the Colonel was tied; it was made of small hickory poles, burnt 
 quite through in the middle, each end of the poles remaining 
 about six feet in length. Three or four Indians by turns 
 would take up, individually, one of these burning pieces of 
 wood and apply it to his naked body, already burnt black with 
 the powder. These tormentors presented themselves on every 
 side of him with the burning faggots and poles. Some of the 
 squaws took broad boards, upon w^hich they would carry a 
 quantity of burning coals and hot embers and throw on him, 
 
190 THE LIVES Cy PONTIAC ANT) TECUMSKH : 
 
 80 that in a short time he had nothing but coals of fire and hot 
 ashes to walk upon. 
 
 " In the midst of these extreme tortures, he called to Simon 
 Girty and begged of him to shoot him; but Girty making no 
 answer, he called to him again. Girty, then, by way of deris- 
 ion, told the Colonel that he had no gun, at the same time 
 turning about to an Indian who was behind him, laughed 
 heartily, and by all his gestures seemed delighted at the horrid 
 scene. 
 
 "Girty then came up to me and bade me prepare for death. 
 He said, however, that I was not to die at that place, but to 
 be burnt at the Shawanoe towns. He swore by G — d I need 
 not expect to escape death, but should suffer it in all its enor- 
 mities. « 
 
 " He then observed that some prisoners had given him to 
 understand, that if our people had him they would not hurt 
 him ; for his part, he said, he did not believe it, but desired ta 
 know my opinion of the matter, but being at the time in great 
 anguish and distress for the torments the Colonel was suffer- 
 ing before my eyes, as well as the expectation of undergoing 
 the same fate in two days, I made little or no answer. He 
 expressed a great deal of ill-will for Colonel Gibson, and said 
 he was one of his greatest enemies, and more to the same pur- 
 pose, to all which I paid very little attention. 
 
 " Colonel Crawford, at this period of his suffering, besought 
 the Almighty to have mercy on his soul, spoke very low, and 
 bore his torments with the most manly fortitude. He con- 
 tinued in all the extremities of pain for an hour and three- 
 quarters or two hours longer, as near as I could judge, when at 
 last, being almost exhausted, he lay down on his belly; they 
 then scalped him, and repeatedly threw the scalp in my face, 
 telling me " that was my great captain." An old squaw got a 
 board, took a parcel of coals and ashes and laid them on his 
 back and head, after he had been scalped ; he then raised him- 
 self upon his feet and began to walk round the post; they next 
 put a burning stick to him as usual, but he seemed more 
 insensible of pain than before. 
 
 " The Indian fellow who had me in charge, now took me away 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO OEKTURIES. 191 
 
 to Captain Pipe's house, about tliree-quarters of a mile from 
 the place of the Colonel's execution. I was bound all nighty 
 and thus prevented from seeing the last of the horrid spectacle. 
 Next morning, being June twelfth, the Indian untied me, 
 painted me black, and we set oif for the Shawanoe town, which 
 he told me was somewhat less than forty miles distant from 
 that place. We soon came to the spot where the Colonel had 
 been burnt, as it was partly in our way; I saw his bones lying 
 amongst the remains of the fire, almost burnt to ashes ; I sup- 
 pose after he was dead they laid his body on the fire. The 
 Indian told me that was my big Captain, and gave the scalp 
 halloo." 
 
 Such were some of the more important incidents of border 
 warfare in 1781-82. But still the fury of the Indians was by 
 no means spent. In the middle of August, 1782, the storm 
 burst around Bryant's Station. About six hundred Indians 
 appeared on the fifteenth and made a desperate effort to cap- 
 ture the fort. The garrison had heard, on the day previous, 
 of the defeat of a party of whites not far distant, and during 
 that night were busy in making preparations to march, with 
 daybreak, to the assistance of their neighbors. Mr. James H. 
 Peck, the compiler of the '' Western Annals." informs us that 
 all night long their preparations continued, and what little 
 sound the savages made as they approached, was unheard amid 
 the comparative tumult within. Day stole through the forest; 
 the woodsmen rose from their brief slumbers, took their arms, 
 and were on the point of opening their gates to march, when 
 the crack of rifles, mingled with yells and howls, told them in 
 an instant how narrowly they had escaped captivity or death. 
 Rushing to the loop-holes and crannies, they saw about a hun- 
 dred red men, firing and gesticulating in full view of the fort. 
 The young bloods, full of rage at Estill's sad defeat, wished 
 instantly to rush forth upon the attackers, but there was some- 
 thing in the manner of the Indians so peculiar, that the older 
 heads at once suspected a trick, and looked anxiously to the 
 opposite side of the fort, where they judged the main body of 
 the enemy were probably concealed. 'Nor were they deceived. 
 The savages were led by Simon Girty. This white savage had 
 
192 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 proposed, by an attack on one side of the station with a small 
 part of his force, to draw out the garrison, and then intended, 
 with the main body, to fall upon the other side, and secure the 
 fort; but his plan was defeated by the over-acting of his red 
 allies, and the sagacity of his opponents. These opponents, 
 however, had still a sad difficulty to encounter; the fort was 
 not supplied with water, and the spring was at some distance, 
 and in the immediate vicinity of the thicket in which it was 
 supposed the main force of the Indians lay concealed. The 
 danger of going or sending for water was plain, the absolute 
 necessity of having it was equally so ; and how it could be 
 procured, was a question which made many a head shake, many 
 a heart sink. At length a plan, equally sagacious and bold, 
 was hit upon, and carried into execution by as great an exer- 
 tion of womanly presence of mind as can, perhaps, be found 
 on record. If the savages were, as was supposed, concealed 
 near the spring, it was believed they would not show them- 
 selves until they had reason to believe their trick had succeeded, 
 and the garrison had left the fort on the other side. It was, 
 therefore, proposed to all the females to go with their buckets 
 to the spring, fill them, and return to the fort, before any sally 
 was made against the attacking party. The danger to which 
 they must be exposed was not to be concealed, but it was urged 
 upon them that this must be done, or all perish; and that if 
 they were steady, the Indians would not molest them ; and to 
 the honor of their sex, be it said, they went forth in a body, 
 and directly under five hundred rifles, tilled their buckets, and 
 returned in such a manner as not to suggest to the quick- 
 sighted savages that their presence in the thicket was suspected. 
 This done, a small number of the garrison were sent forth 
 against the attackers, with orders to multiply their numbers to 
 the ear by constant firing, while the main body of the whites 
 took their places to repel the anticipated rush of those in con- 
 cealment. The plan succeeded perfectly. The whole body of 
 Indians rushed from their ambuscade as they heard the firing 
 upon the opposite side of the fort, and were received by a fair, 
 well-directed discharge of all the rifles left within the station. 
 Astonished and horror-stricken, the assailants turned to the 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CKNTl'RIKS. 193 
 
 forest again as quickly as they had left it, having lost many of 
 their numbers. In the morning, as soon as the presence of the 
 Indians was ascertained, and before their numbers were sus- 
 pected, two messengers had broken through their line, bearing 
 to Lexington tidings of the siege of Bryant's Station, and 
 asking succor. Assistance came about two in the afternoon; 
 sixteen men l5eing mounted, and thirty or more on foot. The 
 savages expected their arrival, and prepared to destroy them, 
 but the horsemen, by rapid riding, and enveloped in dust, 
 reached the fort unharmed, and of the footmen, after an hour's 
 hard fighting, only two were killed and four wounded. The 
 Indian's courage rarely supports him through long-continued 
 •exertion; and Girty found his men so far disheartened by their 
 failures, that before night they talked of abandoning the siege. 
 After attempting to terrify the garrison into a surrender, they 
 retired into the woods in the hope that when furtlier assistance 
 arrived at Bryant's Station, a party would pursue them, and 
 fall into their ambuscades. In this hope they were not 
 ■ deceived. Boone and his party arrived at the Station on the 
 eighteenth, and immediately started after the enemy. The 
 trail was plain, and led them to the Lower Blue Licks, whei-e 
 the savages lay concealed in great numbers. Here they 
 attacked the Indians, but were routed with the loss of seventy- 
 seven men killed and taken prisoners, and twelve wounded. 
 The few who escaped the slaughter fled in terror to the settle- 
 ments. 
 
 13 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. * 
 
 The Northwest Territory — Sketch of Arthur St. Clair — Review 
 OF THE Treaties with the Indians — Indian Speeches. 
 
 Leaving the frontier settlements of the provinces, or now 
 the united colonies, we will pass on to notice the events that 
 transpired in the Korthwest Territory, which was erected under 
 the ordinance of 1787. It is proper to state here, liowever, 
 that in making this progress in the nan-ative we are obliged 
 to omit the details of many contests with the Indians in Ohio 
 and Kentucky, and the several treaties which resulted. But 
 these were of an ordinary character. Without any considerable 
 amount of bloodshed all the savages in these States were sub- 
 dued, the boundary lines of their country were determined and 
 a treaty of peace concluded. 
 
 In the month of July, 1788, Gen. Arthur St. Clair, who had 
 been appointed the first governor of the North-west Territory 
 by Congress, arrived at Marietta and put the machinery of the 
 new government in motion. He organized the government 
 under the first "grade" of the ordinance,"^ the government 
 
 * I give the ordinance in full as follpws, as it is the corner-stone of the Constitutions 
 of the Northwestern States, and is, therefore, worthy of preservation : 
 
 An Ordinanck for the Government op the Territory of the UNrTED States, 
 Northwest of the Ohio Eiver. — Be it ordained by the United States in Congress 
 assembled. That the said territory, for the purposes of temporary government, be one 
 dis'irict, subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as future circumstances may, 
 in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient. 
 
 Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid. That the estates, both of resident and non- 
 resident pro)n-ietors in said territory, dying intestate, shall descend to, and be distributed 
 among their children and the descendants of a deceased child, in equal parts; the 
 descendants of a deceased child, or grand child, to take the share of their deceased 
 parent in equal parts among them ; and where there shall be no children or descendants, 
 then in equal parts to the next of kin in equal degree; and, among collaterals, the 
 children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate shall have, in equal parts among 
 them, their deceased parents' share; and there shall, in no case, be a distinction between 
 kindred of the whole and half-blood; saving, in all cases, to the widow of the intestate, 
 her third part of the real estate for life, and one-third part of the personal estate; and 
 (194) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 195 
 
 consisting of a governor, secretary and three judges, who, con- 
 jointly, constituted the law-making power. Winthrop Sar- 
 gent was appointed secretary, and Samuel H. Parsons, James 
 H. Yernum and John Cleves Symraes judges. In September, 
 the governor and judges prepared and adopted a code of laws. 
 Arthur St. Clair was the first governor of the Northwest 
 Territory, and as his administration forms a conspicuous part 
 of the narrative, a brief sketch of his life, in this connection, 
 Mill not be out of place. His portrait also appears on another 
 page. He was a native of Scotland, from which country he 
 came to the British colonies of North America in 1755. He 
 
 this law, relative to descents and dower, shall reroain in full force until altered by the 
 Legislature of the district. And, nntil the governor and judges ehall adopt laws as 
 hereinafter mentioned, estates in the said territory may be devised or bequeathed by 
 wills in writing, signed and sealed by him or her, in whom the estate may be, (being of 
 full age,) and attested by three witnesses; and real estates maybe conveyed by lease 
 and release, or bargain and sale, signed, sealed'and delivered by the person, being of 
 full age, in whom the estate may be, and attested by two witnesses, provided such wills 
 be duly proved and such conveyances be acknowledged, or the execution thereof duly 
 proved, and be recorded within one year after, proper magistrates, courts and registers 
 shall be appointed for that purpose; and personal property may be transferred by deliv- 
 ery; saving, however, to the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of the 
 Kaskaskias, St. Vincents and the neighboring villages who have heretofore professed 
 themselves citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in force among them, 
 relative to the descent and conveyance of property. 
 
 Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That there shall he appointed, from time to 
 time, by Congress, a governor, whose commission shall continue in force for three years, 
 unless sooner revoked by Congress; he shall reside in the district and have a freehold 
 estate therein in one thousand acres of land, while in the exercise of his office. 
 
 There shall be appointed, from time to time, by Congress, a secretary, whose com- 
 mission shall continue in force for four years, unless sooner revoked; he shall reside in 
 the district and have a freehold estate therein in five hundred acres of land, while in the 
 exercise of his oflice; it shall be his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed 
 by the Legislature, and the public records of the district, and the proceedings of the 
 governor in his executive department, and transmit authentic copies of such acts and 
 proceedings, every six months, to the secretary of Congress. There shall also be 
 appointed a court to consist of three judges, any two of whom to form a court, who shall 
 have a common law jurisdiction and reside in the district, and have each therein a free- 
 hold estate in five hundred acres of land while in the exercise of their oflices; and their 
 commissions shall continue in force during good behavior. 
 
 The governor and judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and publish in the dis- 
 trict such laws of the original States, criminal and civil, as may be necessary and best 
 suited to the circumstances of the district, and report them to Congress from time to 
 time; which laws shall be in force in the district until the organization of the General 
 Assembly therein, unless disapproved of by Congress; but afterwards the Legislature 
 shall have authority to alter them as they shall think fit. 
 
 The governor, for the time being, shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, appoint 
 and commission all officers in the same below the rank of general oflicers; all general 
 officers shall be appointed and commissioned by Congress. 
 
 Previous to the organization of the General Assembly, the governor shall appoint 
 such magistrates and other civil ofiicers, in each county or township, as he shall find 
 
196 THE LIVES OF PONTIAO AND TECUMSEIi: 
 
 joined tlie Royal Americans or Sixtieth Regiment, and served 
 under Gen. Amherst at the taking of Louisbnrg in 1758. He 
 carried a standard at the storming and capture of Quebec, 
 under Gen. Wolfe, in 1759. Immediately after the j^eace of 
 1763, he settled in Ligonier Yalley, in Western Pennsylvania, 
 where he continued to reside until the Revolutionary war. 
 Being a firm friend of liberty and the rights of the colonies, 
 he received from Congress the commission of colonel, and 
 joined the American army with a regiment of seven hundred 
 and fifty men. Having been promoted to the rank of major 
 general, he was tried by a court martial, in 1778, for evacuat- 
 
 necessaiy for the preservation of the peace and good order in the same. After the Gen- 
 eral Assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil 
 officers shall be regulated and defined by the said assembly; but all magistrates and 
 other civil officers, not herein otherwise directed, shall, during the continuance of 
 this temporary government, be appointed by the governor. 
 
 For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or made shall have 
 force in all parts of the district, and for the execution of process, criminal and civil, 
 the governor shall make proper divisions thereof; and he shall proceed, from time to 
 time, as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the district in which the 
 ludmn titles shall have been extinguished, into counties and townships, subject, how- 
 erer, to such alterations as may thereafter be made by tlie Legislature. 
 
 So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants of full age in the district, 
 upon giving proof thereof to the governor, they shall receive authority, with time and 
 place, to elect representatives from their counties or townships to represent them in the 
 General Assembly: Provided, That for every live hundred free male inhabitants, there 
 shall be one representative, and so on progressively with the number of free male inhab- 
 itants, shall the right of representation increase, until the number of representatives 
 shall amount to twenty-five; after which the number and proportion of representatives 
 shall be regulated by the Legislature: Provided, That no person be eligible or qualified 
 to act as a representative unless he shall have been a citizen of one of the United States 
 three years and be a resident in the district, or unless he shall have resided in the district 
 three years; and, in either case, shall likewise hold in his own right, in fee simple, two 
 Hundred acres of land within the same: Provided, also. That a freehold in fifty acres 
 of land in the distriet, having been a citizen of one of the States, and being resident in 
 the district, or the like freehold and two years residence in the district, shall be neces- 
 sary to qualify a man as an elector of a representative. 
 
 The representatives thus elected shall serve for the term of two years ; and, in case of 
 the death of a representative or removal from office, the governor shall issue a writ to the 
 CO jnty or township for which he was a member, to elect another in his stead, to serve for 
 the residue of the term. 
 
 The General Assembly, or Legislature, shall consist of the Governor, Legislative 
 Council and a House of Representatives. The Legislative Council shall consist of five 
 members, to continue in office five years, unless sooner removed by Congress, any three 
 of whom to be a quorum; and the members of the Council shall be nominated and 
 appointed in the following manner, to wit: As soon as representatives shall be elected, 
 the governor shall appoint a time and place for them to meet together; and when met 
 they shall nominate ten persons, residents in the district, and each possessed of a free- 
 hold in five hundred acres of land, and return their names to Congress ; five of whom 
 Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as aforesaid; and whenever a vacancy 
 shall happen in the Council, by death or removal from office, the House of Representa- 
 
OR, THE BOKDEK WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 197 
 
 ing Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, and unanimously 
 acquitted with tlie highest honors. 
 
 He remained in the service until the peace. Mr. Peck, in 
 writing of this man, truthfully says: "He was rigid, some 
 thought arbitrary, in his government, and, therefore, unpop- 
 ular, but he was scrupulously honest — had no talent for 
 speculation, and died poor." 
 
 In a letter to a friend, St. Clair, in referring to himself, 
 remarks: " In the year 1786, I entered into the public service 
 in civil life, and was a member of Congress, and President of 
 that body, when it was determined to erect a government in 
 
 tives shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each vacancy, and return 
 their names to Congress, one of whom Congress shall appoint and commission for the 
 residue of the term. And every five years, four months at least before the expiration of 
 the time of service of the members of the Council, the paid House shall nominate ten 
 persons, qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to Congress, five of whom Con- 
 gress shall appoint and commission to serve as members of the Council five years, 
 unless sooner removed. And the governor. Legislative Council and House of Repre- 
 sentatives, shall have authority to make laws in all cases, for the good government of 
 the district, not repugnant to the principles and articles in this ordinance established 
 and declared. And all bills, having passed by a majority in *;lie House and by a majority 
 in the Council, shall be referred to the governor for his assent; but no bill, or legisla- 
 tive act whatever, shall be of any force without his assent. The governor shall have 
 power to convene, prorogue and dissolve the General Assembly, when, in his opinion, 
 it shall be expedient. 
 
 The governor, judges, legislative council, secretary, and such other oiHcere as 
 Congres.s shall appoint in the district, shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity and of 
 office; the governor before the President of Congress, and all other officers before the 
 JJovernor. As soon as a Legis]atu.re shall be formed in the district, the Council and 
 House assembled in one room, shall have authority, by joint ballot, to elect a delegate 
 to Congress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of debating, but not of 
 voting, during this temporary government. 
 
 And, after extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty, which 
 form the basis whereon these republics, their laws and constitutions are erected; to fix 
 and establish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions and governments, 
 which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory; to provide also for the 
 establishment of States, and permanent government therein, and for their admission to 
 a share in the federal councils on an equal footing with the original States, at as early 
 periods as may be consistent with the general interest : 
 
 It is hereby ordained and declared by the authority aforesaid. That the following arti- 
 cles shall be considered as articles of compact between the original States and the 
 people and States in said territory, and forever remain unalterable, unless by common 
 consent, to-wit: 
 
 Akt. 1. No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall 
 ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments, in the said 
 territory. 
 
 Art. 2. The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits 
 of the writ of habeas corpus, and of the trial by jury, of a proportionate representation 
 of the people in the Legislature; and of judicial proceedings accoi'dingto the course of 
 common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offenses, where the proof 
 shall be evident or the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate; and no cruel or 
 
198 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC xVND TEOUMSKli: 
 
 tlie country to the west, that had been ceded by Virginia to 
 the United States; and in the year 1788, the office of Governor 
 was in a great measure forced on me. The losses I had sus- 
 tained in the revolutionary war, from the depreciation of the 
 money and other canses, had been very great; and my friends 
 saw in this new government means that might be in my power 
 to compensate myself, and to provide handsomely for my 
 numerous family. They did not know how little I was qual- 
 ilied to avail myself of those advantages, if they had existed. 
 I had neither taste nor genius for speculation in land, neither 
 did I think it very consistent with the office." 
 
 unusual punishments shall be inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his liberty or 
 property, but by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land; and should the public 
 exigencies make it necessary, for the common preservation, to take any person's prop- 
 erty, or to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made for the same. 
 And, in the just preservation of rights and property, it is understoodanddeclared, that no 
 law ought ever to be made, or have force in said territory, that shall, in any manner what- 
 ever, interfere with or aiiect private contracts or engagements, bona fide, and without 
 fraud, previously formed. 
 
 Akt. 3. Religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good government and 
 the happiness of mankind, school« and the means of education shall forever be encour- 
 aged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands 
 and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and, in their prop- 
 erty, rights and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and 
 lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity, shall, 
 from time to time, be made for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for preserving 
 peacp and friendship with them. 
 
 Akt. 4. The said territory, and the States which may be formed therein, shall forever 
 renjaiil a part of this confederacy of the United States of America, subject to the Articles 
 of Confederation, and to such alterations therein as shall be constitutionally made; and 
 to all the acts and ordinances of the United States in Congress assembled, conformable 
 thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said territory shall be subject to pay a part 
 of the federal debts contracted, or to be contracted, and a proportional part of the expenses 
 of government, to be apportioned on them by Congress according to the same common rule 
 and measure bywhich apportionments thereof shall be made on the other States; and the 
 taxes, for paying their proportion, shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of 
 the Legislatures of the district or districts, or new States, as in the original States, within 
 the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled. The Legislatures of 
 those districts or new States, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil 
 by the United States in Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find 
 necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers.* No tax shall be 
 imposed on land, the property of the United States; and, in no ca.se, shall non-resident 
 proprietors be ta.xed higher than residents. The navigable waters leading into the Mis- 
 sissippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be common 
 highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of said territory as to the citizens 
 of the United States, and those of any other States that may be admitted into the Con- 
 federacy, without any tax, impost or duty therefor. 
 
 * Act of 23th February, 1811, provides the same in Louisiana; and, also, that lands 
 sold by Congress shall not be taxed for five years after sale; in Mississippi, by act of Ist 
 March, 1817, and so of all others. 
 
OK, TlIK BOKDKK WARS OF TWO (IKNTI? Fil lOS. 199 
 
 Witli bis a23poiiitinent, he received instructions to ascertain 
 the feelings of tlie Indian tribes in the Northwest, and, if pos- 
 sible, to win their friendship for the future. But St. Clair 
 found deadly foes instead of friends among the natives, and 
 was soon surrounded by many difficulties, growing out of a 
 prolonged war with them. 
 
 Before giving an account of these hostilities, it will be proper 
 to call the attention to some matters that took place several 
 years before. By this means, the reader will more clearly 
 understand the causes which led to this struggle. Unfortu- 
 nately for the Americans, the French had made no extensive 
 purchases fr(jm the Western Indians, so that the treaty of Paris 
 in 1763, transferred to England only small grants about the 
 various forts, Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, etc. Then, as we 
 have seen, followed Pontiac's war and defeat; next we have the 
 grant by the Iroquois at Fort Stanwix, in 1768, of the lands 
 south of the Ohio; following came Dunmore's war, which ter- 
 minated without any transfer of Indian territory to the whites, 
 
 Art. 5. There shall be t'ormed in the said territory, not less than three nor more than 
 five States; and the boundaries of the States, as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of 
 cession, and consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, to-wit: 
 The western State in the said territory, shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio 
 and Wabash rivers; a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post St. Vincent's due 
 north, to the territorial line between the United States and Canada; and by the said 
 territorial line, to the Lake of the Woodj and Mississippi. The middle State shall be 
 bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash from Post St. Vincent's, to the Ohio; by 
 the Ohio, by a direct line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami, to the 
 said territorial line. The eastern State shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct 
 line, the Ohio, Pennsjdvania and the said territorial line: Provided, however, and it is 
 further understood and declared, that the boundaries of these three States shall be sub- 
 ject so far to be altered, that if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have 
 authority to form one or two States in that part of the said territory which lies north of 
 an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. 
 And, whenever any of the said States shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, 
 such State shall be admitted, by its delegates, into the Congress of the United States on 
 an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever, and shall be at liberty 
 to form a permanent constitution and State government: Provided, the constitution 
 and government so to be formed, shall be republican, and in conformity to the principles 
 contained in these articles! and so far as it can be consistent with the general interest 
 of the confederacy, such admission shall be allowed at an earlier period, and when 
 there may be a less number of free inhabitants in the State than sixty thousand. 
 
 Art. 6. There shall be neither slavery or involuntary servitude in the said territoiy, 
 otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly 
 convicted: Provided, always. That any person escaping into the same, from whom 
 labor or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original States, such fugitive may be 
 lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service as 
 aforesaid. 
 
200 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEIi: 
 
 and, therefore, when at the close of the Eevolution, in 1783, 
 Great Britain made over her Western claims to the United 
 States, she made over nothing more than she had received 
 from France, excepting the title of the Six Nations, and the 
 Southern Indians to a portion of the territory south of the 
 Ohio. But this, however, was not the view that the Congress 
 of the United Colonies took of the affair. This body conceived 
 that it had, under the treaty with England, a full right to all 
 the lands thereby ceded, and regarding the Indian title as for- 
 feited by the hostilities of the Eevolution, proceeded not to^ 
 purchase lands from the savages, but to grant them peace, and 
 dictate their own terms as to the boundary lines of territory 
 allowed to the Indians. 
 
 In October, 1784,* the United States acquired in this way 
 whatever title the Iroquois possessed to the western country 
 both north and south of the Ohio, by the second treaty of Fort 
 Stanwix; a treaty openly and fairly made, but one the validity 
 of which many of the Iroquois always disputed. The ground 
 of their objection appears to have been that the treaty was 
 with a part only of the Indian nations, whereas the wish of the 
 natives was that every act of the States with them should be 
 as with a confederacy, embracing all the tribes bordering upon 
 the great lakes. It will be remembered that the instructions 
 given the Indian commissioners in October, 1783, provided for 
 one convention with all the tribes, and that this provision was 
 changed in the following March for one by which as many 
 separate conventions were to be had, if possible, as there were 
 separate tribes. In pursuance of this last plan the commis- 
 sioners, in October, 1784, refused to listen to the proposal 
 which is ^aid then to have been made for one general congress 
 of the northern tribes, and in opposition to Brant, Eed Jacket, 
 and other influential chiefs of the Iroquois, concluded the 
 treaty of Fort Stanwix. Then came the treaty of Fort Mcintosh, 
 in January, 1785, with the Wyandots, Delaware, Ojibwa and 
 Ottawa nations. The third treaty made by the United States 
 was with the Shawanoes, at Fort Finney, in January, 1786, 
 which, it will be remembered, the Wabash tribes refused to- 
 
 * Western Anuals. 
 
OB, THE BORDER WAKS OK TWO CEN'J UKIKS. 201 
 
 attend. The foiirtli and liftli, which were acts of confirmation, 
 were made at Fort Ilarniar, in 1789, one witli the Six Nations, 
 and the other with the Wyandots and their associates, namely, 
 the Delawares, Ottawas, Ojibwas, Pottawatomies and Sacs, 
 This hist treaty the confederated nations of the lake refused to 
 acknowledge as binding, and in their council, in 1793, they 
 explained the reasons in the following speech : 
 
 Brothers : A fjeneral council of all tlie Indian confederacy Avas held, as 
 you well know, in tlie fall of the year 1788, at this place ; and that general 
 council was invited by your commissioner, Governor St. Clair, to meet 
 him for the purpose of holding a treaty with regard to the lands men- 
 tioned by you to have been ceded by the treaties of Fort Stauwix and Fort 
 Mcintosh. 
 
 Brothers: We are in possession of the speeches and letters which 
 passed on that occasion between those deputed by the confederate Indians 
 and Governor St. Clair, the commissioner of the United States. These 
 papers prove that your said commissioner, in the beginning of the year 
 1789, after having been informed by the general council of the preceding 
 fall that no bargain or sale of any part of these Indian lands would be 
 considered as valid or binding unless agreed to by a general council, 
 nevertheless persisted in collecting together a few chiefs of two or three 
 nations only, and with them held a treaty jFor the cession of an immense 
 country, in which they were no more interested than as a branch of the 
 general confederacy, and who were in no manner authorized to make any 
 grant or cession whatever. 
 
 Brothers : How then was it possible for you to expect to enjoy peace 
 and quietly to hold these lands, when j^our commissioner was informed, 
 long before he held the treaty of Fort Harmar, that the consent of a general 
 council was absolutely necessary to convey any part of these lands to the 
 United States. 
 
 Massas, the Ojibwa chief, who signed the treaty at Fort 
 Harmar, was present at the council at Greenville, in 1795, and 
 declared that he did not fully understand the objects of the 
 compact he had signed, and that his people would not 
 acknowledge it The AVyandots, however, acknowledged even 
 the transfer on the Muskingum, and their chief, Tarke, con- 
 firmed it, in behalf of his nation in the following words at the 
 council at Greenville : 
 
 Brothers : You have proposed to us to build our good work on the treaty 
 of Muskingum; that treaty I have always considered us formed upon the 
 fairest principles. You took pity on us Indians ; you did not do as our 
 
202 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 fathers, the English, agreed you should. You might, by that agreement, 
 have taken all our lands, hut you pitied us and let us hold part. I alwaj^s 
 looked upon that treaty to be binding upon the United States and us 
 Indians. 
 
 The confederated nations, as a whole, did not sanction the 
 treaty at Fort Harmar, and in their council in 1778, they could 
 not agree concerning it. 
 
 Such were the relations between the Indians and the United 
 States in 1789. Territory had been conveyed by the Iroquois, 
 the Wyandots, the Delawares, and the Shawanoes, which conld 
 not be objected to, but the Ojibwas, Ottawas, Kickapoos, Weas, 
 Piankeshaws, Pottawatomies, Eel Kiver Indians, Kaskaskias, 
 and the Miamis, were not bound by any existing treaties to 
 yield their claims to the land north of the Ohio, and these 
 tribes wished the Ohio to be the perpetual western boundary 
 of civilization, and would not therefore sell an acre north of it. 
 So strong was their feeling in this determination that the more 
 reckless warriors of these nations could not be restrained from 
 warfare upon the invading Long Knives, and in this way the 
 many attacks upon the settlers of the west took place. In 
 Peck's compilation we find the following: "Washington 
 expressed doubts as to the justness of an offensive war upon 
 the tribes of the Wabash and Maumee; and had the treaty of 
 Fort Harmar been the sole ground whereon the United States 
 could have claimed of the Indians the Northwestern Territory, 
 it may be doubted whether right would have justified the steps 
 taken in 1790, '91, and '94 ; but the truth was, that before . 
 that treaty, the Iroquois, Delawares, Wyandots, and Shawanoes 
 liad yielded the south of Ohio, the ground on which they had 
 long dwelt; and neither the sale to Putnam and his associates, 
 nor that of Symmes, was intended to reach beyond the lands 
 ceded. Of this we have proof in the third article of the 
 ordinance of 1787, passed the day before the proposition to sell 
 to the Ohio" Company was for the first time debated; which 
 article declares that the lands of the Indians shall never be 
 taken from them without their consent. It appears to us, 
 therefore, that the United States were fully justified in taking 
 possession of the northwest shore of the Belle Kiviere, and that 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CEN'lURIES. 203 
 
 without refei'ence to tlie treaty at Fort Harniar, wliicli we will 
 allow to liave been, if the Indians spoke truly, (and they were 
 _not contradicted by the United States commissioners,) morally 
 worthless. But it also appears to us that in taking ojffensive 
 steps in 1T90, and 1791, the federal government acted unwisely, 
 and that it should then, at the outset, have done what it did in 
 1793, after St. Clair's terrible defeat — namely, it should have 
 sent commissioners of the highest character to the lake tribes, 
 and in the presence of the British, learnt their causes of com- 
 plaint and offered fair terms of compromise. That such a 
 step was \\dse and just, the government acknowledged by its 
 after action;* and surely none can question the position that it 
 was more likely to have been effective before the savages had 
 twice defeated the armies of the confederacy than afterward." 
 According to instructions, Grovernor St. Clair now sent a 
 deputy into the Indian country of the Miamies and Shawanoes, 
 but these Indians could not, for some reason, tell him the state 
 of their minds, being no doubt under English influence. They 
 requested thirty days in which to send an answer to Fort 
 Knox, (Vincennes) and gave the messenger but little reason to 
 believe their answer would be favorable to the speeches which 
 be had delivered to them. No sooner had the messenger 
 returned to Fort Knox than news came that all the Indians of 
 the Wabasli, with many tribes from the lake region, had united 
 against the Americans, and that an American captive had been 
 burned in the village of the Miamies only a few days after the 
 deputy from St. Clair had left. It was now evident that a new 
 t2-ouble was breaking, upon the frontier, and St. Clair hastened 
 to Fort AYashington (Cincinnati) to consult watli Gen. Harmar 
 in reference to another campaign into the Indian country of 
 the hostile tribes. 
 
 * The fair minded student cannot fail to admit of the truthfulness of 
 this comment. — Ed. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The English, the Indians and the Americans — Harmar's Expe- 
 dition — Harmar's Defeat— Measures for Subduing the Indians 
 — Proctor's Mission a Failure — Jealousy op the English. 
 
 Before giving an account of Harmar's campaign, which 
 now follows, the reader is invited to look in upon the opera- 
 tions of the English in their secret measures to keep up Indian 
 hostilities after the peace of 1783. As the narrative has shown, 
 most of the tribes of the Northwest adhered to England during 
 the Revolutionary contest, but when the war closed, Great 
 Britain made no provision for the savages of the Northwest, 
 but transferred them, territory and all, to the Americans. The 
 United States now began to make treaties of peace with the 
 Indians, ceding them tracts of their own lands, regarding the 
 country of the hostile tribes as conquered and forfeited. This 
 produced discontent, and led to the formation of the great 
 Indian confederacy under Brant.''^ 
 
 In order to accomplish the ends for which this league was 
 formed, it was necessary that the British should retain posses- 
 sion of the forts along the lakes. These would be required 
 both for the protection of supplies and for defense. On the 
 other hand, the British claimed that they had a right tq hold 
 these posts, as the Americans had broken the treaty of 1783. 
 Again, the trade with the Indians, even though England might 
 be at war with the United States, they regarded as perfectly 
 fair and just. " Having thus a sort of legal right to the posi- 
 tion they occupied, the British did, undoubtedly and purposely, 
 aid and abet the Indians hostile to the United States." In 
 1785, after the formation of his confederacy, Brant went to 
 Eno-land, and his arrival was thus announced in the London 
 
 * Stone's Life of Brant. 
 
 (204) 
 
OR, THE BOKDER WARS OF TWO Cn-:NTURIES. 205 
 
 papers : " This extraordinary personage is said to have pre- 
 sided at the late grand Congress of confederate chiefs of the 
 Indian nations in America, and to be by them appointed to 
 the conduct and chief command in the war which tliey now 
 meditate against the United States of America. He took his 
 departure for England immediately as that assembly broke up; 
 and it is conjectured that his embassy to the British Court is 
 of great importance. This country owes much to the services 
 of Colonel Brant during the late war in America. He was 
 educated at Philadelphia; is a very shrewd, intelligent person, 
 possesses great courage and abilities as a warrior, and is invio- 
 lably attached to the British nation." 
 
 Brant visited Lord Sidney, the Colonial Secretary, on the 
 fourth of January, 1T86, and boldly stated the trouble in 
 America. He closed his remarks with these words: "This 
 (meaning war,) we shall avoid to the utmost of our power, as 
 dearly as we love our lands. But should it, contrary to our 
 wishes, happen, we desire to know whether we are to be con- 
 sidered as His Majesty's faithful allies, and have that support 
 and countenance such as old and true friends expect." 
 
 The Colonial Minister answered him indefinitely, and when 
 the Mohawk chieftain returned, he could give but little assur- 
 ances, to his brethren, that in the event of war, they would 
 receive aid from England. On the other hand, John Johnson, 
 +he Indian Superintendent, wrote to him in these words: " Do 
 not suffer an idea to hold a place in your mind, that it will be 
 for your interest to sit still and see the Americans attempt the 
 posts. It is for your sakes chiefly, if not entirely, that we hold 
 them. If you become indifferent about them, they may per- 
 haps be given up; what security would you then have? You 
 would be left at the mercy of a people whose blood calls aloud 
 for revenge; whereas, by supporting them, you encourage us 
 to hold them, and encourage the new settlements, already con- 
 siderable, and every day increasing by numbers coming in, who 
 find they can't live in the States. Many thousands are pre- 
 paring to come in. This increase of His Majesty's subjects 
 will serve as a protection for you, should the subjects of the 
 States, by endeavoring to make furtlier encroachments on you, 
 
206 ^ THE LIVES OF P014TIAC AND TECUMSEII : 
 
 disturb your quiet." This letter was written in March, 1787, 
 and two months afterwards. Major Matthews, who had been 
 appointed to the command at Detroit by Lord Dorchester, 
 wrote to Brant, in the name of the governor, as follows: " Plis 
 Lordship was sorry that while the Indians were soliciting his 
 assistance in their preparations for war, some of the Six 
 JSTations had sent deputies to Albany to treat with tlie' Amer- 
 icans, who, it is said, have made a treaty with them, granting 
 permission to make roads for the purpose of coming to Niag- 
 ara; but that, notwithstanding these things, the Indians should 
 have their presents, as they are marks of the king's approba- 
 tion of their former conduct. In future his lordship wishes 
 them to act as is best for their interest; he cannot begin a war 
 with the Americans, because some of their people encroach 
 and make depredations upon parts of the Indian country; but 
 they must see it is his lordship's intention to defend the posts; 
 and that while these are preserved, the Indians must find great 
 security therefrom, and consequently the Americans greater 
 difficulty in taking possession of their lands; but should they 
 once become masters of the posts, they will surround the 
 Indians, and accomplish their purpose with little trouble. 
 From a consideration of all which, it therefore remains with 
 the Indians to decide what is most for their own interest, and 
 to let his lordship know their determination, that he may take 
 his measures accordingly ; but, whatever their resolution is, it 
 should be taken as by one and the same people, by which 
 means they will be respected and become strong; but if they 
 divide, and act one part against tlie other, they will become 
 weak, and help to destroy each other. This is a substance of 
 what his lordship desired me to tell you, and I request you 
 will give his sentiments that mature consideration which their 
 justice, generosity and desire to promote the weltare and 
 happiness of the Indians, must appear to all the woi-ld to 
 merit. 
 
 " In your letter to me, you seem apprehensive that the Eng- 
 lish are not very anxious about the defense of the posts. You 
 will soon be satisfied that they have nothing more at heart, 
 provided that it continues to be the wish of the Indians, and 
 
OR, THE BOKDER WAUS OF TWO OENTIRII-S. 207 
 
 that tliej remain tirin in doing their part of the business, by 
 preventing the Americans from coming into their country, 
 and consequently from marcliing to the posts. On the other 
 hand, if the Indians think it more for their interest that the 
 Americans should have possession of the posts, and be estab- 
 lished in their country, they ought to declare it, that the 
 English need no longer be put to the vast and unnecessary 
 expense and inconvenience of keeping posts, the chief object 
 of which is to protect their Indian allies, and the loyalists who 
 have suffered with them. It is well known that no encroach- 
 ments ever have or ever will be made by the English upon the 
 lands or property of the Indians in consequence of possessing 
 the posts; how far that will be the case if ever the Americans 
 get into them, may very easily be imagined, from their hostile 
 perseverance, even without that advantage, in driving the 
 Indians off their lands and taking possession of them." 
 
 Tins assurance from the British authorities and the delay of 
 Congress in answering the address of the confederated tribes, 
 led to the general council which was held in 1788. In this 
 assembly the Indians were divided, and Brant, who was 
 thoroughly English, for the time gave up his interest in the 
 efforts of Western tribes. From this day the Miamis were the 
 leaders among them. Thus I might go on through the wdiole 
 volume, giving evidences that the Indians w^ere excited to 
 hostility against the Americans by the English. But if the 
 English acted deceitfully, the Americans met the aggressors 
 unwisely. Had the proper persons been sent among the sav- 
 ages to teach them their real situation, a prolonged war would 
 have been averted ; but they did not choose to adopt this course. 
 St. Clair called upon Virginia for one thousand, and upon 
 Pennsylvania for five hundred militia. Of these three hun- 
 dred were to meet at Fort Steuben, (Jeffersonville) to aid the 
 troops from Fort Knox, (Vincennes) against the Indians of the 
 Wabash. Seven hundred were to gather at Fort Washington, 
 (Cincinnati) and five hundred just below Wheeling; the two 
 latter bodies being intended to march with the federal troops 
 
■208 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 from Fort "Washington, under Gen. Harmar, against the towns 
 at the junction of the St. Mary and St. Joseph.* 
 
 The troops were organized and moved forward in the follow- 
 ing order: The Kentuckians composed three battalions, under 
 Majors Hall, McMullen and Bay, with Lieut. Col. Trotter at 
 their head. The Pennsylvanians were formed into one battalion, 
 under Lieut. Col. Trnbley and Major Paul, the whole to be 
 commanded by Col. John Hardin, subject to the orders of Gen. 
 Harmar. This was the detachment sent against the Miami 
 villages when the main army was within thirty-five miles of 
 their forts. On the thirtieth of October, 1790, the General 
 moved out with the federal troops, formed into two small bat- 
 talions under the immediate command of Major Wyllys and 
 Major Doughty, together with Capt. Ferguson's company of 
 artillery, and three pieces of oi'dnance. On the third of Octo- 
 ber Gen. Harmar joined the advanced troops early in the 
 morning; the remaining part of the da_y was spent in forming 
 tlie line of march, the order of encampment and battle, and 
 explaining the same to the militia field officers. On the fourth, 
 the army took up tlie order of march. On the fifth, a rein- 
 forcement of horsemen and mounted infantry joined from 
 Kentucky. The dragoons were formed into two troops; the 
 mounted riflemen made a company, and this small battalion of 
 light troops was put under the command of Major Fontaine.f 
 
 On the fourteenth this party marched forward, and upon the 
 next day, about three o'clock, reached the villages, but they 
 were deserted. On the morning of the seventeenth the main 
 ai'my arrived and the work of destruction commenced ; by the 
 twenty-first, the chief town, five other villages, and nearly 
 twenty thousand bushels of corn in ears had been destroyed. 
 When Harmar reached the Maumee towns and found no enemy, 
 he thought of pushing forward to attack the Wea and other 
 Indian settlements upon the Wabash, but was prevented by 
 the loss both of pack horses and cavalry horses, which the 
 Indians seem to have stolen in quantities to suit themselves, 
 in consequence of the willful carelessness of the owners. The 
 Wabash plan being dropped, Col. Trotter was dispatched with 
 
 * American State Papers. f Western Annals. 
 
OR, THE J}ORDEB WARS OF TWO OENTURIKS. 209 
 
 three hundred men to scour the woods in search of an enemy 
 as the tracks of women and children had been seen near by. 
 
 Parties were sent out in different directions; but throuo-h 
 the utter want of discipline but little was accomplished, and 
 in one instance the militia was badly defeated. A few scatter- 
 ing Indians were killed, while on the other hand tlie invaders 
 lost heavily. The campaign was a complete failure, causing 
 much -suffering among the Indians, but in no degree subduing 
 them. Perhaps the most truthful report of this campaign was 
 given hj the Indians themselves to the English. It was this: 
 "There have been two engagements about the Miami towns 
 between the Americans and tlie Indians, in M-liich it is said 
 the former had about five hundred men killed, and that the 
 rest have retreated. The loss was ou\j fifteen or twenty on the 
 side of the Indians. The Shawanoes, the Miamis and the 
 Potto watomies were, I understand, the principal tribes who 
 were engaged, but I do not learn that any of the nations have 
 refused their alliance or assistance, and it is confidently reported 
 that they are now inarching against the frontiers on tlie Ohio." 
 Nor w^as the report of the invasion of the settlements on the 
 Ohio short of the truth. On the evening of the second of 
 January, 1791, the Indians surprised a new settlement at a 
 place on the Muskingum called Big Bottom. In this disaster 
 eleven men, one Avoman and two children were killed; three 
 M'ere taken prisoners and four others made their escape. 
 
 At this time the situation of the settlements north of the 
 Ohio was truly deplorable. At Marietta were about eighty 
 houses, in a distance of one mile, with scattering dwellings 
 about tliree miles up the Ohio. There were a set of mills at 
 Duck Creek, four miles distant, and another mill about two 
 miles up the Muskingum. " Twenty-two miles up this river," 
 says Rufus Putnam, writing to the President, " is a settlement 
 consisting of about twenty families; about two miles from 
 them on Wolf Creek, are five families and a set of mills. Down 
 the Ohio, and opposite the Little Kanawha, commences the 
 settlement called Belle Prairie, which extends down the river, 
 with little interruption, about twelve miles, and contains 
 between thirty and forty houses. Before tlie last disaster, we 
 14 
 
210 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC ANJ) TECUMSKIi: 
 
 had several other settlements, which are already broken up. I 
 have taken the liberty to inclose the proceedings of the Ohio 
 company and justices of the sessions on this occasion, and beg 
 leave, with the greatest deference, to observe, that unless the 
 government speedily send a body of troops for our protection^ 
 we are a ruined people. The removal of the women and 
 children, etc., will reduce many of the poorer sort to tlie great- 
 est straits; but if we add to this the destruction of their corn, 
 forage and cattle by the enemy, which is very probable to ensue, 
 I know of no way they can be supported ; but, if this should 
 not happen, where these people are to raise bread another year 
 is not easy to conjecture, and most of them have nothing left 
 to buy with. But my fears do not stop here; we are a people 
 so far detached from all others, in point of situation, that we 
 can hope for no timely relief, in case of emergency, from any 
 of our neighbors; and among the number that compose our 
 present military sti-ength, almost one-half are young men, 
 hired into the country, intending to settle by and by; these, 
 under present circumstances, will probably leave us soon, unless 
 prospects should iDrighten ; and, as to new settlers, we can expect 
 none in our present situation, so that, instead of increasing in 
 strength, we are likely to diminish daily; and, if we do not 
 fall a prey to the savages, we shall be so reduced and dis- 
 couraged as to give up the settlement, unless government 
 shall give us timely protection. It has been a mystery with 
 some why the troops have been withdrawn from this quarter 
 and collected at the Miami. That settlement is, I believe, 
 Mnthin three or four days' march of a very populous part of 
 Kentucky, fi-om whence, in a few days, they might be rein- 
 forced with several thousand men, whereas we are not within 
 two hundred miles of any settlement that can probably more 
 than protect themselves." 
 
 After the defeat Harmar marched to Fort Washington, and, 
 as we have seen, the tribes he expected to have conquered were 
 already upon the settlements with furious onslaught. " The 
 spirit thus manifested by the tribes which had just been 
 attacked," says Mr. Peck, " and the general feelings along the 
 frontier in relation to Harmar's expedition, made tlie United 
 
OR, THK BOKDEK WARS OF TWO CKNTUKIES. 211 
 
 States government sensible that their lirst step iu the conduct 
 of backwoods warfare had been a failure, and that prompt and 
 strong measures, calculated either to win or force a state of 
 peace, must be adopted." The plan which was resorted to 
 was as follows: 1st. To send a messenger to the Western 
 Indians with offers of peace, to be accompanied by some of 
 the Iroquois chieftains favorable to America. 2d. At the same 
 time to organize expeditions in the West, to strike the Wea, 
 Miami and Shawanoe towns, in case it should, be clear the peace 
 messenger would fail in his mission; and, 3d. To prepare a 
 grand and overwhelming force with which to take possession 
 of the country of the enemies and build forts in their midst. 
 Col. Thomas Proctor was the person selected to carry mes- 
 sages of peace. He received his commission on tlie twelfth 
 of March, 1791, and immediately left Philadelphia for the set- 
 tlement of Cornplanter, or Capt. O'Beel, the chief warrior of the 
 Senecas. This chief, Mdio was a iirm friend of Washington and 
 the Union, had promised to do all in his power to secure peace, 
 and now Proctor hoped to induce him to accompany him into 
 the west. He might have succeeded in this had not the British 
 commander at Niagara refused them a vessel to carry the 
 ambassadors up Lake Erie. Thwarted in this, Proctor's plan 
 was a failure. After Harman's campaign, tlie tribes of the 
 Northwest sent a deputation to Lord Dorchester to learn what 
 aid England would give in the contest that had now fairly 
 begun. Dorchester's reply was not definite, but indicated that 
 he was in favor of peace. It would now seem that the English 
 were anxious for peace, expecting it could be obtained while 
 they still held possession of the western outposts. Colonel 
 Gordon, the British commandant at Niagara, wrote a letter to 
 Brant, asking him to urge the western tribes into an honorable 
 peace, and Brant, in turn, wrote a letter to the agent among 
 the Miamies advising peace. Yet, with these views, Brant, 
 Gordon and other influential officers did but very little to pro- 
 mote peace; but the reasons were probably these: First, the 
 Mohawk chieftain, Brant, was offended at tlie favor shown to 
 Cornplanter, his greatest foe, by the Americans, and by their 
 attempt to divide the Iroquois, Secondly, tliere is no doubt 
 
212 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH: 
 
 but that the representatives of England in Canada w^ere oft'ended 
 at the entire disregard shown by tlie American government 
 of their influences over the savages of the Northwest. Those 
 tribes were closely connected with the British agents, and 
 under their control, and Lord Dorchester, Colonel Gordon and 
 Brant looked for an appeal to them as mediators in the quarrel 
 about to burst forth; or at any rate for an acceptance by the 
 Americans of their mediation, if asked by the Indians; an 
 acceptance of the kind given in 1793, after St. Clair's defeat, 
 and which was not, of course, dishonorable or degrading. 
 Tliirdly, both the Indians and English were puzzled and 
 excited by the seeming want of good faith on the part of the 
 States ; which, at the same moment almost, commissioned 
 Scott to war upon the Miami es. Proctor to treat of peace with 
 them, St. Clair to invade and take possession of their lands, 
 and Pickering to hold a council with their brethren for bury- 
 ing the fatal hatchet, and quenching the destructive brand. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Proctor'8 Pp:ace Mission — Its Failure — Orders for St. Clair's 
 Campaign — St. Clair Marches into the Indian Country — His 
 Defeat — Account of the Disaster. 
 
 But tlie Americans were also desirous to enlist Brant as a 
 peace-maker, and steps were taken' looking to this end, but 
 before he conld be approached he had departed for the west. 
 His mission was nnknown, although suspected to have been to 
 promote war. Measures were now taken to secure a council 
 of the Six ISTations, on the sixteenth of June, 1791, at the 
 Painted Post, near the junction of the Coshocton and Tioga 
 rivers. The object of this council was to secure the neutrality 
 of the Iroquois by presents and speeches. This plan partially 
 succeeded. The council closed on the fifteenth of July, and the 
 Indians returned satisfied.* 
 
 It had been calculated that Proctor would return from his 
 mission by the fifth of May, and report the result of his journey 
 at Fort Washington, and upon this calculation had been based 
 the second part of the plan for the campaign. Accordingly, on 
 the ninth of March, 1791, orders were issued to Brigadier 
 General Charles Scott, authorizing him, in conjunction with 
 Harry Innis, John Brown, Benjamin Logan, and Isaac Shelley, 
 to organize an expedition of mounted volunteers against the 
 nations upon the Wabash, to start upon May the tenth, unless 
 countermanded, which would take place in the event of Proc- 
 tor's success. These orders were obeyed, and the troops were 
 in readiness at the time appointed, but no intelligence of 
 Proctor having reached Fort Washington up to the twenty- 
 second of May, the detachment took up its line of march from 
 the Ohio. Col. John Hardin led the advance party. On the 
 
 * American State Papers, p. 181. 
 
 (213) 
 
214 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSKH: 
 
 first of June tlie towns of the enemy were discovered.* Gen. 
 Scott immediately detached John Hardin with sixty mounted 
 infantry, and a troop of liglit-horse under Capt. McCoy, to 
 attack the villages to the left, and moved on briskly with the 
 main body, in order of battle, towards the town, the smoke of 
 which was discernable. The guides were deceived with respect 
 to the situation of the town; for instead of standing at the 
 edge of the plain through which they marched, they found it 
 on the low ground bordering on the Wabash; on turning the 
 point of woods, one house was presented in their front. Capt. 
 Price was ordered io assault that with forty men. He executed 
 the command with great gallantry, and killed two warriors. 
 When Scott gained the summit of tlie eminence which over- 
 looks the villages on the banks of the Wabash, he discovered 
 the enemy in great confusion, endeavoring to make their 
 escape over the river in canoes. He instantly ordered Lieut. 
 Colonel-commandant Wilkinson to rush forward with the first 
 battalion. The order was executed with promptitude, and this 
 detachment gained the bank of the river just as the rear of the 
 enemy had embarked; and, regardless of a brisk fire kept up 
 from the Kickapoo town on the opposite bank, they, in a few 
 minutes, by a well directed fire from their rifles, destroyed all 
 the savages with which five canoes were crowded. To Scott's 
 great mortification the Wabash was many feet beyond fording 
 at this place; he therefore detached Col. Wilkinson to a ford 
 two miles above, wdiich the guides informed him was moi-e 
 practicable. Wilkinson moved the first battalion up to the 
 fording place but found it impassable and returned. Tlie 
 enemy still kept possession of Kickapoo town, but Scott deter- 
 mined to dislodge them, and for that purpose ordered Capt. 
 King and Logsdone's companies to march down the river 
 below the town, and cross, under the conduct of Major Barboe. 
 Several of tlie men swam the i-iver, and others passed in a 
 small canoe. This movement was unobserved; and the men 
 had taken post on the bank before they were discovered by 
 the enemy, who immediately abandoned the village. About 
 this time word was brought to Scott that Col. Hardin was 
 * Peck's Compilation 
 
OK, THE BOKDKK MAKS OF TWO CENTUKIES. 215 
 
 encuinbered with prisoners, and had discovered a stronger 
 vilhige further to his left than those Scott had observed, which 
 he was proceeding to attack. The General immediately 
 detached Captain Brown with his compan^^, to support tlie 
 Colonel; hut the distance being six miles, before the Captain 
 arrived the business was done, and Col. Hardin joined him a 
 little before sun-set, having killed six warriors and taken fiftv- 
 two prisoners. Captain Bull, the warrior who had discovered 
 the army in the morning, had gained the main town and given 
 the alarm a short time before the troops reached it, but the 
 other villages were not aware of their approach, and could, 
 therefore, make no retreat. The next morning Gen. Scott 
 detached three hundred and sixty men under Col. Wilkinson, 
 to destroy the important town of Tippecanoe, eighteen miles 
 from the camp on the Wabash. The detachment left at half- 
 past five in the evening, but returned at one o'clock on the 
 next day, having marched thirty-six miles in twelve hours and 
 destroyed the most important settlement of the enemy. 
 
 Although this expedition under Scott was successful. Gov- 
 ernor St. Clair determined to send another against the villages 
 of Eel river, and Wilkinson was appointed to the command. 
 He marched from Fort Washington on the first of August, 
 and reached the Wabash on the seventh, just above the mouth 
 of the river he was in search of. At this point he received 
 w^ord that the Indians on Eel River had been warned of his 
 approach, and were preparing for a flight. A general charge 
 was immediately ordered. The men, forcing their way over 
 every obstacle, plunged through the river and scaled the banks 
 beyond. The enemy was unable to make the smallest resist- 
 ance. Six warriors, two squaws and a child were killed, and 
 thirty-four prisoners were taken, and an unfortunate captive 
 released, with a loss on the side of the Americans of two men 
 killed and one wounded. Wilkinson encamped in the town that 
 night, and the next morning he cut up the corn, scarcely in the 
 milk, burnt the cabins, mounted the young warriors, squaws 
 and children, and leaving two infirm squaws and a child, with 
 a short talk, he commenced his march for the Kickapoo town 
 in the prairie. But this village was not reached. The horses' 
 
216 THE LIVES OF PO>fTIAC AMD TKCUMSKII : 
 
 were too sore, and the bogs too deep; but as General Wilkin- 
 son said, four hundred acres of corn were destroyed, and a 
 Kickapoo town given to the tlanies ; for which the General was 
 duly thanked by his country. Meantime, while Proctor was 
 attempting to hurry the slow-moving Iroquois, who told him 
 it took them a great while to think; and Wilkinson was flound- 
 ering up to his arm-pits in mud and water, among the 
 morasses of the Wabash ; the needful preparations were con- 
 stantly going forward for the great expedition of St. Clair, 
 which, by founding posts throughout the western country, 
 from the Ohio to Lake Erie, and especially at the head of the 
 Maumee, was to give the United States a sure means of control 
 over the savages.* 
 
 Governor St. Olair received full instructionsf tor tlie cam- 
 
 * Peck's Compilation. 
 
 t Ttie instructious to St. Clair for this campaign were communicated to him by Gen. 
 Knox, in the following language: The President of the United States having, by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed you a Major General in the ser- 
 vice of the United States, and of consequence invested you with the chief command of 
 the troops to be employed upon tlie frontiers during the ensuing campaign, it is proper 
 that you should be possessed of the views of the government respecting the objects of 
 your command. I am, therefore, authorized and commanded, by the President of the 
 United States, to deliver you the following instructions, in order to serve as the general 
 principles of your conduct. 
 
 But, it is only general principles which can be pointed out. In the execution of the 
 duties of your station, circumstances which cannot now be foreseen may arise to render 
 material deviations necessary. Such circumstances will require the exercise of your 
 talents. The government possesses the security of your character and mature experi- 
 ence, that your judgment will be proper on all occasions. You are well informed of the 
 unfavorable impressions which the issue of the last expedition has made on the public 
 mind, and you are also aware of the expectations which are formed of the success of the 
 ensuing campaign. 
 
 An Indian war, under any circumstances, is regarded by the great mass of the people 
 of the United States as an event which ought, if possible, to be avoided. It is consid- 
 ered that the sacrifice of blood and treasure in such a war exceed any advantages which 
 can possibly be reaped by it. The great policy, therefore, of the general government, is 
 to establish a just and liberal peace with all the Indian tribes within the limits and in 
 the vicinity of the territory of the United States. Your intimations to the hostile Indi- 
 ans, immediately after the late expedition, through the Wyandots and Delawares; the 
 arrangements with the Sonecas who were lately in this city, that part of the Six Nations 
 should repair to the said hostile Iddians, to influence them to pacific measures; together 
 with the recent mission of Colonel Proctor to them for the same purpose, will strongly 
 evince the desire of the general government to prevent the effusion of blood, and to 
 quiet all disturbances. And when you shall arrive upon the frontiers, if any other or 
 further measures to effect the same object should present, you will eagerly embrace 
 them, and the reasonable expenses thereof shall be defrayed by the public. But, if all 
 the lenient measures taken, or which may be taken, should fail to bring the hostile Indi- 
 ans to a just sense of their situation, it will be necessary that you should use such 
 coercive means as you shall possess, for that purpose. You are informed that, by an act 
 
BRANT, THE MOHAWK CHIEFTAIN 
 
 - XJi^'^- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO 0ENTURIE8. 217 
 
 paign, and proceeded at once to organize his army. At the 
 close of April, 1701, he was in Pittsburgh (Fort Pitt,) towards 
 which point troops from all quarters, horses, stores and ammu- 
 nition were going forward. 
 
 On the fifteenth of May, St. Clair reached Fort Washing- 
 ton, and at that time, the United States troops in the West 
 amounted to but two hundred and sixty -four non-commissioned 
 officers and privates lit for duty. On the fifteenth of July, 
 this number was more than doubled, as the first regiment, con- 
 ing two hundred and ninety-nine men, on that day reached 
 Fort Washington. General Butler, who had been appoin';ed 
 second in command, was employed through part of April and 
 
 of Congress, passed the second iust., another regiment is to be raised, and added to the 
 military establishment, and provision made for raising two thousand levies, for the term 
 of six months, for the service of the frontiers. It is contemplated that the mass of the 
 regulars and levies may be recruited and rendezvous at Fort Washington, by the tenth of 
 July. In this case, you will have assembled a force of three thousand eflectives at least, 
 besides leaving small garrisons on the Ohio, in order to perform your main expedition, 
 hereinafter mentioned. But, in the meantime, if the Indians refuse to listen to the 
 messengers of peace sent to them, it is most probable they will, unless prevented, spread 
 themselves along the line of frontiers, for the purpose of committing all the deprada- 
 tions in their power. In order to avoid bo calamitous an event. Brigadier General Charles 
 Scott, of Kentucky, has been authorized by me, on the part of the President of the United 
 States, to make an expedition against the Wea, or Ouiatenon towns, with mounted vol- 
 unteers, or militia from Kentucky, not exceeding the number of seven hundred and fifty, 
 officers included. You will perceive, by the instructions to Brigadier General Scott, that 
 it is confided to your discretion, whether there should be more than one of the said expe- 
 ditions of mounted volunteers ormilitia. Your nearer view of the objects to be effected, 
 by a second desultory expedition, will enable you to form abetter judgment than can at 
 present be formed at this distance. The propriety of a second operation would, in some 
 degree, depend on the alacrity and good composition of the troops of which the first may 
 have been formed; of its success; of the: probable effects a second similar blow would 
 have upon the Indians, with respect to its influencing them to peace; or, if they should 
 be still hostilely disposed, of preventing them from desolating the frontiers by their 
 parties. 
 
 You will observe, in the instructions to Brigadier General Scott, which are to serve as 
 a basis for the instructions of the commanders who may succeed him, that all captives 
 are to be treated with great humanity. It will be sound policy to attract the Indians by 
 kindness, after demonstrating to them our power to punish them, on all occasions. While 
 you are making such use of desultory operations as in your judgment the occasion may 
 require, you will proceed vigorously, in every operation in your power, for the purpose of 
 the main expedition ; and having assembled your force, and all things being in readiness, 
 if no decisive indications of peace should have been produced, either by the messenges, 
 or by the desultory operations, you will commence your march for the Miami village, in 
 order to establish a strong and permanent military post at that place. In your advance, 
 you will establish such posts of communication with Fort Washington, on the Ohio, as 
 you may judge proper. The post at the Miami village is intended for the purpose of 
 awing and curbing the Indians in that quarter, and as the only preventive of future hos- 
 tilities. It ought, therefore, to be rendered secure against all attempts andinsults of the 
 Indians. The garrison which should be stationed there ought not only to be sufficient 
 for the defense of the place, but always to aft'ord a detachment of five or six hundred 
 
218 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 May in obtaining recruits, but when obtained, there was no 
 money to pay tliem, nor to provide stores for them. In the 
 quartermaster's department, meantime, everything went on 
 slowly and badly; tents, pack-saddles, kettles, knapsacks and 
 cartridge boxes were all " deficient in quantity and quality." 
 Worse than this, the powder was poor or injured, the arms 
 and accoutrements out of repair, and not even proper tools 
 to mend them. And as the troops gathered at Fort 
 Washington, after wearisome detentions at Pittsburgh and 
 upon the river, a new source of troubles arose, in the habits 
 of intemperance indulged and acquired by the idlers. To 
 withdraw them from temptation, St. Clair was forced to 
 
 men either to chastise any of the Wabash, or other hostile Indians, or to secure any con- 
 voy of provisions. The establishment of such a post is considered as an important 
 object of the campaign, and is to take place in all events. In case of a previous treaty, 
 the Indians are to be conciliated upon this point, if possible; and it is presumed, good 
 arguments may be oilered, to induce their acquiescence. The situation, nature and con- 
 struction of the works you may direct, will depend upon your own judgment. Major 
 Ferguson, of the artillery, will be fully capable of the execution. He will be furnished 
 with three five and a half-inch howitzers, three six-pounders, and three three-pounders, 
 all brass, with a sufficient quantity of shot and shells, for the purpose of the expedition. 
 The appropriation of these pieces will depend upon your orders. 
 
 Having commenced your march, upou the main expedition, and the Indians continu- 
 ing hostile, you will use every possible exertion to make them feel the effects of your 
 superiority ; and after having arrived at the Miami village, and put your works in a defen- 
 sible state, you will seek the enemy with the whole of your remaining force, and endeavor, 
 by all possible means, to strike them with great severity. It will be left to your dis- 
 cretion whether to employ, if attainable, any Indians of the Sis Nations, and the 
 Chickasaws or other Southern nations. Most probably the employment of about fifty of 
 each, under the direction of some discreet and able chief, would be advantageous, but 
 these ought not to be assembled before the line of march is taken up, because they are 
 soon tired and will not be detained. The force contemplated for the garrisons of the 
 Miami village, and the communications, has been from a thousand to twelve hundred 
 non-commissioned officers and privates. This is mentioned as a general idea, to which 
 you will adhere, or from which you will deviate, as circumstances may require. The 
 garrison stationed at the Miami village, and its communications, must have in store at 
 least six months good salted meat, and flour in proportion. 
 
 It is hardly possible, if the Indians continue hostile, that you will be suffered quietly 
 to establish a postal the Miami village; conflicts, therefore, may be expected; and it is 
 to be presumed that disciplined valor will triumph over undisciplined Indians. In this 
 event it is probable that the Indians will sue for peace; if this should be the case, the 
 dignity of the United States will require that the terms should be liberal. In order to 
 avoid future wars, it might be proper to make the Wabash, thence over to the Miami, and 
 down the same to its mouth at Lake Erie, the boundary, excepting so far as the same 
 should relate to the Wyandots and Delawares, on the supposition of their continuing 
 faithful to the treaties. But, if they should join in the war against the United States, 
 and your army be victorious, the said tribes ought to be removed without the boundary 
 mentioned. You will also judge whether it would be proper to extend the boundary, 
 from the mouth of the River au Pause of the Wabash, in a due west line to the Missis- 
 sippi. Few Indians, besides the Kickapoos, would be affected by such aline; this ought 
 to be tenderly managed. The modification of the boundary must be confided to your die- 
 
OR, THE BOKDKR WAIiS OF TWO CKNTl'RIKS. 219 
 
 remove liis men, now numbering two thousand, to Ludlow's 
 Station, about six miles from the fort. Here the armj con- 
 tinued until the seventeenth of September, when, being two 
 thousand three hundred strong, exclusive of militia, it moved 
 forward to a point upon the Great Miami, where Fort Hamil- 
 ton was built, the first in the proposed chain of fortresses. 
 This being completed, the troops moved on fortj-fonr miles 
 farther, and on the twelfth of October, commenced Fort Jeffer- 
 son, about six miles south of the town of Greenville. On the 
 twenty-fourth, the toilsome march through the wilderness 
 began again. At this time the commander-in-chief, whose 
 duties through the summer had been very severe, was suffering 
 from an indisposition which was by turns in his stomach, lungs 
 and limbs; provisions were scarce, the roads wet and heavy, 
 the troops going with much difficulty, seven miles a day; the 
 militia deserting sixty at a time. Thus toiling along, the army, 
 rapidly lessening by desertion, sickness, and troops sent to 
 arrest deserters, on the third of November reached a stream 
 twelve yards wide, which St. Clair supposed to be the St. Maiy 
 of the Maumee, but which was in reality a branch of the 
 
 cretion, with this single observatiou, that the policy and interest of the United States 
 dictate their being at peace with the Indians. This is of more value than millions of 
 ■uncultivated acres, the right to which may be conceded by some, and disputed by others. 
 The establishment of a post at the Miami village will probably be regarded, by the British 
 olficers on the frontiers, as a circumstance of jealousy; it may, therefore, be necessary 
 that you should, at a proper time, make such intimations as may remove all such disposi- 
 tions. This intimation had better follow than precede the possession of the post, unless 
 circumstances dictate otherwise. As it is not the inclination or interest of the United 
 States to enter into a contest with Great Britain, every measure tending to any discussion 
 or altercation must be prevented. The delicate situation of atfairs may, therefore, render 
 it improper, at present, to make any naval arrangement upon Lake Erie. After you have 
 effected all the injury to the hostile Indians of which your force may be capable, and after 
 having established the posts and garrisons at the Miami villages and its communications, 
 and placing the same under the orders of an oflacer worthy of such high trust, you will 
 return to Fort Washington. 
 
 It is proper to observe, that certain jealousies have existed among the people of the 
 frontiers, relative to a supposed interference betw^een their interest, and those of the 
 marine States; that these jealousies are ill-founded, with respect to the present govern- 
 ment, is obvious. The United States embrace, with equal care, all i)arts of the Union ; 
 and, in the present case, are making expensive arrangements for the protection of the 
 frontiers, and partly in the modes, too, which appear to be highly favored by the Kentucky 
 people. 
 
 The high stations yon fill, ofcommanderof the troops, and Governor of the Western Ter- 
 ritory, will afford you frequent opportunities to impress the frontier citizens of the entire 
 good disposition of the general government towards them In all reasonable things, and 
 you will render acceptable service, by cordially embracing all such opportunities. 
 
220 THE LIVES OF PONTEAC AND TEOUMSEII I 
 
 Wabash. Upon the banks of this Stream St. Chiir, with his army,, 
 about fourteen hundred stron^^, encamped in two lines. The 
 right wing, composed of Butler's, Clark's and Patterson's battal- 
 ions, commanded by Major-General Butler, formed the first 
 line; and the left wing, consisting of Bedinger's and Gaither's 
 battalions, and the second regiment, commanded by Lieut.- 
 Col. Drake, formed the second line, with an interval between 
 them of about seventy yards, which was all the ground would 
 allow. The right flank was pretty well secured by the creek, a 
 steep bank, and Faulkner's corps and some of the cavalry cov- 
 ered the left flank. The militia were thrown over the creek, 
 and advanced about a quarter of a mile and encamped in the 
 same order. There w^ere a few Indians who appeared on the 
 opposite side of the creek, but fled with the utmost precipita- 
 tion, on the advance of the militia. 
 
 At this place, which St. Clair judged to be about fifteen 
 miles from the Miami village, he determined to throw up a 
 slight work for the protection of the knapsacks and the bag- 
 gage, and to move thence on to attack the enemy as soon as the 
 first regiment should come up. But in this he was disap- 
 pointed, for on the fourth, about half an hour before sunset 
 and when the men had just been dismissed from parade, an 
 attack was made upon the militia, which gave way in a short 
 time and rushed into camp through Major Butler's battalion, 
 the Indians following close at their heels. The fire, however, 
 of the front line checked them, but almost instantly a very 
 heavy attack begun upon that line, and in a few minutes it was 
 extended to the second line. The great weight of it was 
 directed against the centre of each, where the artillery was 
 placed and from which the men were repeatedly driven, with 
 great slaughter. Finding no great eff'ect from the fire of the 
 troops, and confusion beginning to spread from the great num- 
 ber of men who were falling in all quarters, St. Clair resolved 
 to see what could be done with the bayonet. Lieut.-Col. Drake 
 was accordingly ordered to make a charge with a part of the 
 second line and to turn the left flank of the enemy. This was 
 executed with great spirit. The Indians instantly gave way 
 and were driven back three or four hundred yards; but for 
 
OR, THE BOKDEK WARS OF TWO CENTUKIES. 221 
 
 want of a sufficient number of riflemen to pursue tliis advan- 
 tage, they soon returned, and the troops were obliged to fall 
 back in tlieir turn. At this moment they had entered the 
 camp bj the left flank, having pushed back the troops that 
 were posted there. Another charge was made here by the sec- 
 ond regiment, Butler's and Clark's battalions, with equal eflfect, 
 and it was repeated several times and always with success; but 
 in all of them many men were lost, and particularly the officers, 
 a loss altogether irreparable. In the last charge Major Butler 
 was dangerously wounded, and every officer of the second regi- 
 ment fell except three, one of whom, Mr. Greaton, was shot 
 througli the body. 
 
 The artillery being now silenced and all the officers killed, 
 except Capt. Foi'd, who was very badly wounded, and more 
 than half of the army fallen, being cut off from the road, it 
 became necessary to attempt the regaining of it and to make a 
 retreat, if possible. To this purpose the remains of the army 
 were formed as well as circumstances would admit towards the 
 right of the encampment, from which, by the way of the sec- 
 ond line, another charge was made upon the enemy, as if with 
 the design to turn their right flank, but in fact to gain the road. 
 This was effected, and as soon as it was open, the militia took 
 along it, followed by the troops, Major Clark, with his bat- 
 talion, covering the rear,* 
 
 The retreat, in those circumstances, was, as may be imagined, 
 a very precipitate one. It was, in fact, a flight. The camp and 
 the artillery were abandoned; but that was unavoidable, for 
 not a horse was left alive to have drawn it off, had it other- 
 wise been practicable. But the most disgraceful part of the 
 business is, that the greatest part of the men threw away their 
 arms and accoutrements, even after the pursuit, which con- 
 tinued about four miles, had ceased. St. Clair found the road 
 strewed with them for many miles, but was not able to remedy 
 it, for having had all his horses killed, and being mounted 
 upon one that could not be pricked out of a walk, he could 
 not get forward himself, and the orders he sent forward either 
 to halt the front, or to prevent the men from parting with 
 
 * St. Clair's report. 
 
222 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 tlieir arms, were unattended to. The flight continued to Fort 
 Jefferson, twentj-nine miles, wliich was reached a little after 
 sunset. The action began about half an hour before sunrise, 
 and the retreat was attempted at half an hour after nine o'clock. 
 Maj. Gen. Butler, Lieut. Col. Oldham, of the militia, Major 
 Ferguson, Major Hart and Major Clark were among the killed. 
 
 St. Clair, in giving the details of this disaster, closes with 
 these remarks: " I have nothing to lay to the charge of the 
 troops but their want of discipline, which, for the short time 
 they had been in the service, it was impossible they should 
 have acquired." He continues: "We were overpowered by 
 numbers; but it is no more than justice to observe that, though 
 composed of so many different species of troops, the utmost 
 harmony prevailed during the campaign." 
 
 In addition to the above brief account of St. Clair's defeat, 
 I give the following from the pen of Mr. Van Cleve, who was 
 in the Quartermastei- General's service on the occasion and 
 witnessed the disaster: 
 
 We were encamped just within the lines, on the right. The attack was 
 made on the Kentucky militia. Almost instantaneously the small rem- 
 nant of them that escaped broke through the line near us, and this line 
 gave way. Followed by a tremendous fire from the enemy, they passed 
 me. I threw my bridle over a stump, from which a tent pole had been 
 cut, and followed a short distance, when finding the troops had halted, I 
 returned and brought my horse a little farther. I was now between the 
 fires, and finding the troops giving way again, was obliged to leave him a 
 second time. As I quitted him he was shot down, and I felt rather glad 
 of it, as I concluded that now I should be at liberty to share in the engage- 
 ment. My inexperience prompted me to calculate on our forces being far 
 superior to any that the savages could assemble, and that we should soon 
 have the pleasure of driving them. Not more than five minutes had yet 
 elapsed, when a soldier near me had his arm swinging with a wound. I 
 requested his arms and accoutrements, as he was unable to use them, pro- 
 mising to return them to him, and commenced firing. The smoke was 
 settled down to about within three feet of the ground, but I generally put 
 one knee on the ground, and with a rest from behind a tree, waited the 
 appearance of an Indian's head from behind his cover, or for one to run 
 and change his position. Before I was convinced of my mistaken calcula- 
 tion, the battle was half over and I had become familiarized to the 
 scene. Hearing tlie firing at one time unusually brisk near the rear of 
 the left wing, I crossed the encampment. Two levy officers were just 
 ordering a charge. I had fired away my ammunition and some of tlie 
 
OK, THE BOKDKK WAK!« OF TWO (MONTl'RIKS. 22S- 
 
 bands of mj' musket had flown oil'. I i)ickcd up anotlirr and a cartrid<^e 
 box nearly full, and pushed forward with about thirly others. The In- 
 dians ran to the right, where there was a small ravine tilled with logs. I 
 bent my course after them, and on looking round I found I was with only 
 seven or eight men, the others having kept straight forward and halted 
 about thirty yards ofl'. We halted also, and being so near where the 
 savages lay concealed, the second fire from them left me standing alone. 
 My cover was a small sugar tree or beech, scarcely large enough to hide 
 me. I fired away all my ammunition ; I am uncertain whether with any 
 effect or not. I then looked for the party near me, and saw them retreat- 
 ing and half way back to the lines. I followed them, running my best, 
 and was soon in. By this time our artillery had been taken, I do not 
 know whether the first or second time, and our troops had just retaken it 
 and were charging the enemy across the creek in front, and some person 
 told me to look at an Indian running with one of our kegs of powder, but 
 I did not see him. There were about thirty of our men and officers lying 
 scalped around the pieces of artillery. It appeared that the Indians had 
 not been in a hurry, for their hair was all skinned oft". 
 
 Daniel Bonham, a young man raised by my uncle and brought up with 
 me, and whom I regarded as a brother, had by this time received a shot 
 through his hips and was unable to walk. I procured a horse and got him 
 on. My uncle had received a ball near his wrist that lodged near his 
 elbow. The ground w^as literally covered with dead and dying men, the 
 commander gave orders to take the way — perhaps they had been given 
 more explicitly. Happening to see my uncle, he told me that a retreat 
 had been ordered, and that I must do the best I could and take care of 
 myself. Bonham insisted that he had a better chance of escaping than I 
 had, and urged me to look to my own safety alone. I found the troops 
 pressing like a drove of bullocks to the right. I saw an officer whom I 
 took to be Lieut. Morgan, an aid to Gen. Butler, with six or eight men, 
 start on a run a little to the left of where I was. I immediately ran and 
 fell in with them. In a short distance we were so suddenly among the 
 Indians, who were not apprised of our object, that they opened to us, and 
 ran to the right and left without firing. I think about two hundred of our 
 men passed through them before they fired, except a chance shot. When 
 we had proceeded about two miles, most of those mounted had passed 
 me. A boy had been thrown or fell oft' a horse, and begged my assistance. 
 I ran, pulled him along about two miles further, until I had become 
 nearly exhausted. Of the last two horses in the rear, one carried two men 
 and the other three. I made an exertion and threw him on behind the 
 two men. The Indians followed but about half a mile further. The boy 
 was thrown off some time after, but escaped and got in safely. My friend 
 Bonham I did not see on the retreat, but understood he was thrown off 
 about this place, and lay on the left of the trace, where he was found in 
 the winter and was buried. I took the cramp violently in my thighs and 
 could scarcely walk until I got within a hundred yards of the rear, where- 
 the Indians were tomahawking the old and wounded men ; and I stopped 
 
224 THE LIVKS OF PON'HAC AND TECUMSEH ! 
 
 here to tie my pocket handkerchief round a wounded man's knee. I saw 
 the Indians close in pursuit at this time, and for a moment my spirit sunk 
 and I felt in despair for my safety. I considered whether I should leave 
 the road or whether I was capable of any further exertion. If I left the 
 road, the Indians were in plain sight and could easily overtake me. I 
 threw the shoes off my feet, and tlie coolness of the ground seemed to 
 revive me. I again began a trot and recollect that when a bend in the 
 road offered, and I got before half a dozen persons, I thought it would 
 occupy some time for the enemy to massacre them, before my turn would 
 come. By the time I had got to Stillwater, about eleven miles, I had 
 gained the centre of the flying troops, and, like them, came to a walk. I 
 fell in with Lieut. Shaumburg, who, I think, was the only officer of artil- 
 lery that got away unhurt, with Corporal Mott, and a woman who was 
 called red-headed Nance. The latter two were both crying. Mott was 
 lamenting the loss of a wife and Nance that of an infant child. Shaum- 
 burg was nearly exhausted and hung on Mott's arm. I carried his fusil 
 and accoutrements and led Nance; and in this sociable way we arrived at 
 Fort Jefferson a little after sunset. 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief had .ordered Col. Darke to press forward to 
 the convoj^s of provisions and hurry them on to the army. Major Truman, 
 Capt. Sedan and my uncle were setting forward with him. A number of 
 soldiers and pack-horsemen on foot and myself among them, joined them. 
 We came on a few miles, when all, overcome with fatigue, agreed to halt. 
 Darius Curtius Orcott, a pack-horse master, had stolen at Jefferson one 
 pocket full of flour and the other full of beef. One of the men had a 
 kettle, and one Jacob Fowler and myself groped about in the dark until 
 we found some water, where a tree had been l)lown out of root. We made 
 a kettle of soup, of which I got a small portion among the many. It was 
 then concluded, a« there was a bend in the road a few miles further on, 
 that the Indians might undertake to intercept us there, and we decamped 
 and traveled about four or five miles further. I had got a rifle and am- 
 munition at Jefferson from a wounded militia man, an old acquaintance, 
 to bring in. A sentinel was set and we lay down and slept, until the Gov- 
 ernor came up a few hours afterward. I think I never slept so profoundly. 
 I could hardly get awake after I was on my feet. On the day before the 
 defeat the ground was covered with snow. The flats were now filled with 
 water frozen over, the ice as thick as a knife blade. I was worn out with 
 fatigue, with my feet knocked to pieces against the roots in the night and 
 splashing through the ice without shoes. In the morning we got to a 
 camp of pack-horsemen, and amongst them I got a doughboy or water- 
 dumpling, and proceeded. We got within seven miles of Hamilton on 
 this day and arrived there soon on the morning of the sixth. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Results uf St. Clair's Defeat — The Americans, tke Enwtjsh, 
 AiSD THE Indians — Brant Intited to Philadelphia — Hormify- 
 iNG Scenes ok St. Clair's Battle Field — The Peace Makers — 
 Their Instructions — Americans desire Peace — The Init>aiss 
 FOR Wah. 
 
 Thus was the plan of establishing a chain of forts between 
 Cincinnati and the Miami xdllages overthrown by the defeat 
 of St. Clair. The savages again victorious, could neither be 
 expected to make terms or show mercy, and along the line of 
 the whole frontier the settlers were filled with anxiety, terror, 
 and despair. Out of St. Clair's army of fourteen hundred men, 
 eight hundred and ninety were killed and wounded. The 
 battle took place on the fourth of November, 1791, and on the 
 eighth of the same month the remains of the army reached 
 Fort Washington. The news of the defeat was at once com- 
 municated to Congress, and on tlie twenty-sixth of December 
 Gen, Knox laid before the President a plan for future opera- 
 tions. It provided for raising and equipping a large force, 
 and the immediate invasion of the Indian country, but Wash- 
 ington desired that before this army was organized every effort 
 should again be made to prevent bloodshed. Col. Pickering, 
 in his meeting with the Iroquois, of June and July, 1791, at 
 the Painted Post, had, among other things, proposed that 
 certain chiefs should, in the following January, go to Philadel- 
 phia, while ( 'ongress was in session, and " shake hands with 
 their newly adopted father." The importance of the proposed 
 visit became more evident after the news of St. Clair's defeat, 
 for now, the New York Indians were suspected. On the twen- 
 tieth of December, 1791, Gen. Knox wrote to a missionary 
 among the Iroquois, pressing through him the invitation given 
 15 (235) 
 
226 THE IJVKS (>V FONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 by the commissioner, and especially urging the presence of 
 Brant. To aid the proposed peace measures, a respectful and 
 kind message was sent to theSenecas on the seventh of January, 
 1792 ; while, to guard against surj^rise, means were adopted to 
 learn the purpose of a great council called at Buifalo Creek, 
 and also to' ascertain the intentions of the tribes on the Wabash 
 and Miami. While these events were taking place in the 
 north, Wilkinson, commanding at Cincinnati, was instructed 
 to send word to Major Hamtramck, at Vincennes, that the Gov- 
 ernment wished to secure the agency of the French colonists 
 and friendly Indians in quelling the war spirit. In February, 
 also, further friendly messages were sent to the Senecas, and 
 an invitation forwarded to Brant from the Secretary of War 
 himself asking him to come to Philadelphia. 
 
 In March iifty Iroquois chiefs reached the Quaker city and 
 met in council with the Americans, expressing friendly senti- 
 ments, and during April and May Capt. Trueman and others 
 were sent from the Ohio to tlie hostile tribes, bearing messages 
 of friendship. But before relating the unfortunate issue of 
 Truemau's expedition, I will notice the movements made by 
 Congress in reference to military preparations, which were to 
 be carried out in case the peace measures should fail. 
 
 St. Clair resigned his position as commander of the ]!!^orth- 
 western forces and Gen. Wayne was appointed in his place, and 
 in June, 1792, the latter moved westward to Pittsburgh, and 
 proceeded to organize the army which " was to be the ultimate 
 argument of the American with the Indian confederation." 
 
 Through the summer of 1792, the preparation of the soldiers 
 was steadily attended to; "train and discipline them for the 
 service they are meant for," said Washington, "and do not 
 spare powder and lead, so the men be made marksmen." In 
 December, 1792, the forces now recruited and trained, were 
 gathered at a point about twenty-two miles below Pitts- 
 burgh, on the Ohio, called Legionville; the army itself having 
 been denominated the Legion of the United States, divided 
 into four sub -legions, and provided with legionary and sub- 
 legionary officers. Meantime, at Fort Washington, Wilkinson 
 had succeeded St. Clair as commandant, and in January had 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO OKNTUKIES. 227 
 
 ordered an expedition to examine the iield of the late disastrous 
 conflict. 
 
 Tliis expedition reached the site of St. Clair's disastrous 
 battle on the first of February, and found one of the most 
 horrifying spectacles ever presented to human eyes. It was 
 evident, from what was found there, that the unfortunate 
 soldiers in St. Clair's army who fell into the enemy's hands 
 with life received the greatest torture — having their limbs torn 
 off. The women were treated with the most indecent cruelty, 
 having stakes as thick as a person's arm driven through their 
 bodies. 
 
 But while Wayne's army were gathering and target-shooting 
 near Pittsburgh, the jDeace measures of the United States were 
 pressed with great effort. In the first place, the Iroquois, 
 through their chiefs who visited Philadelphia, were induced to 
 act as peace-makers between the Americans and the hostile 
 Indians; and, as we have seen, Trueman received instructions 
 to repair to the Miami villages with friendly words. Follow- 
 ing is the speech with which he was charged, and which he 
 delivered to these hostile tribes : 
 
 Brothers: The President of the United States entertains the opinion 
 that the war wliicli exists is founded in error and mistalie on your part. 
 That you believe the United States want to deprive you of your lands, and 
 drive you out of the country. Be assured this is not so: on the contrary, 
 that we should be greatly gratified with the opportunity of imparting to 
 you all the blessings of civilized life; of teaching you to cultivate the 
 earth, and raise corn; to raise oxen, sheep, and other domestic animals; 
 to build comfortable houses, and to educate your children, so as ever to 
 dwell upon the land. 
 
 Brothers : The President of the United States requests you to take this 
 subject into your serious consideration, and to reflect how abundantly 
 more it will be for your interest to be at peace with the United States, and 
 to receive all the benefit thereof, than to continue a war which, however 
 flattering it may be to you for a moment, must, in the end, prove ruinous. 
 
 This desire cf peace has not arisen in consequence of the late defeat of 
 the troops under Major General St. Clair; because, in the beginning of the 
 last year a similar message was sent you by Col. Proctor, but who was 
 prevented from reaching you by some insurmountable difficulties. All 
 the Senecas at Buflalo Creek can witness for the truth of this assertion, as 
 he held, during the month of April last, long conferences with them, to 
 devise the means o<f getting to you in safety. 
 
228 THK LIVES OF PONTIAC AND 'H<;0UiVI8EH ". 
 
 War, at all times, is a dreadful evil to those who are engaged therein, 
 and more particularly so where a few people engage to act against so great 
 numbers as the people of the United States. 
 
 Brothers : Do not suffer the advantages you have gained to mislead 
 your judgment, and to influence you to continue the war; but reflect upon 
 the destructive consequences which must attend such a measure. 
 
 The President of the United States is highly desirous of seeing a number 
 of 3'our principal chiefs, and convincing you, in person, how much he 
 wishes to avoid the evils of war for your sake, and the sake of humanity. 
 Consult, therefore, upon the great object of peace; call in your parties, 
 and enjoin a cessation of all other depredations; and as many of the 
 principal chiefs as shall choose, repair to Philadelphia, the seat of the 
 general government, and there make a peace, founded upon the principles 
 of justice and humanity. Remember that no additional lands will be 
 required of you, or any other tribe, to those that have been ceded by 
 former treaties, particularly by the tribes who had a right to make the 
 treaty of Muskingum in the year 1789. 
 
 But if any of your tribes can prove that you have a fair right to any 
 lands comprehended by the said treaty, and have not been compensated 
 therefor, you shall receive full satisfaction upon that head. The chiefs 
 you send shall be safely escorted to this city, and shall be well fed and 
 provided with all things for their journey, and the faith of the United 
 States is hereby pledged to you for the true and liberal performance of 
 every thing herein contained and suggested, and all this is confirmed in 
 your manner by the great white belt hereunto attached. 
 
 But this was not all. The Americans were sincere in their 
 desires to conclude a permanent peace with the native tribes, 
 and, theretbre, Captain Hendrick, chief of the Stockbridge 
 Indians, was dispatched on the eighth of May, to present the 
 views of the President to the approaching council of the 
 Northwestern Confederacy. General JRufus Putman was also 
 instructed to go into the Indian country, in company with 
 John Hecke welder, and to do all in his power to secure peace 
 and a permanent treaty. Following are a few extracts from 
 the information and orders which he received, which, in addi- 
 tion to the speech of Col. Tfueman, go very far to prove that 
 Washington was disposed to treat with the savages on a liberal 
 basis : 
 
 The chiefs of the Five Nations of Indians, who were so long in this city, 
 lately, were astonished at the moderation of our claim of land, it being 
 very different from what they had been taught, by designing people, to 
 believe. 
 
OK, THK BOKDEK WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 2'29 
 
 It would seem that the Indians have been misled with respect to our 
 claims, by a certain map, published in Connecticut, wherein are laid out 
 ♦en new States, agreeably to a report of a committee of Congress. 
 
 The United States are desirous, in any treaty which shall be formed in 
 future, to avoid all causes of war, relative to boundaries, by fixing the same 
 in sucli a mauner as not to be mistaken by the meanest capacity. As the 
 basis, therefore, of your negotiation, you will, in the strongest and most 
 explicit terms, renounce, on the part of the United States, all claim to any 
 Indian land which shall not have been ceded by fair [treaties, made with 
 the Indian nations. 
 
 You may say — that we conceive the treaty of Fort Harmar to have been 
 formed by the tribes having a just right to make the same, and that it was 
 done with their full understanding and free consent. 
 
 That if, however,''the said tribes should judge the compensation to have 
 been inadequate to the object, or that any other tribes have a just claim, 
 in both cases they shall receive a liberal allowance, on their finally settling 
 all disputes upon the subject. 
 
 As the United States never made any treaties with the Wabash Indians, 
 although the said Indians have been repeatedly invited thereto, their 
 claims to the lands east and south of the said Wabash have not been 
 defined. 
 
 This circumstance will be a subject of your inquiry with the assembled 
 Indian tribes; and you may assure the parties concerned, that an equita- 
 ble boundarj' shall be arranged with them. 
 
 You will make it clearly understood, that we want not a foot of their 
 land, and that it is theirs, and theirs only; that they have the right to sell, 
 and the right to refuse to sell, and the United States will guarantee to them 
 tlie said just right. 
 
 Tliat it is not only the sincere desire of the United States to be at peace 
 with all the neighboring Indian tribes, but to protect them in their just 
 rights, agaiust lawless, violent white people. If such should commit any 
 injury on the person or property of a peaceable Indian, they will be 
 regarded equally as the enemies of the general government as the Indians, 
 and will be punished accordingly. 
 
 Your first great object, upon meeting the Indians, will be to convince 
 them that the United States require none of their lands. 
 
 The second, that we shall guaranty all that remain, and take the Indians 
 under our protection. 
 
 Thirdly; they must agree to the truce, and immediately to call in all 
 their war parties. It will be in vain to be negotiating with them while 
 they shall be murdering the frontier citizens. 
 
 Having happily eff'ected a truce, founded on the above assurances, it will 
 then be your primary endeavor to obtain from each of the hostile and 
 neigliboring tribes two of the most respectable chiefs, to repair to the seat 
 of government, and there conclude a treaty with the President of the 
 L-nited States, in which all causes of difference should be buried forever. 
 You will give the chiefs every assurance of personal protection, while 
 
230 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 on their journey to Philadelphia, and, should they insist upon it, hostages 
 of officers for the safe return of the chiefs, and, in case of their compli- 
 ance, you will take every precaution by the troops for the protection of the 
 said chiefs, which the nature of the case may require. 
 
 But if, after having used your utmost exertions, the chiefs should decline 
 the journey to Philadelphia, then you will agree with them on a plan for 
 a general treaty,* 
 
 As already mentioned, Brant, the Mohawk chieftain, had 
 been requested to visit Pliiladelphia and hold a conference with 
 "Washington. The English, on hearing this, did all in their 
 power to prevent him from complying with the request. Bat 
 this independent chief would not listen to their representations, 
 and on the twentieth of June appeared at the Federal Capital. 
 He remained there ten or twelve days, and was treated by all 
 with marked attention. 'Great pains were taken to give him 
 a correct understanding of affairs, but he left the American 
 Capital still an Englishman at heart. 
 
 Notwithstanding the liberal terms offered, and that different 
 peace-makers were sent into the Indian country, all proposi- 
 tions for peace were rejected in one form or another. The 
 recent victories which the savages had gained, and the favora- 
 ble representations of English agents, closed the ears of the 
 red men, and, no doubt, led them to murder the peace deputies 
 whose fate I now proceed to record. 
 
 * American State Papers, v. 234, 336. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Fate op the Peace-Makers — Great CornsrciL op the Madmee — 
 Propositions op Peace Rejected by the Indians — Watne 
 Marches into the Indian Country — The Skulls on St. Clair's 
 Battlefield — Fort Recovery Established. 
 
 The fate of those who were sent out to induce the ludians 
 to measures of peace, may be imagined. Freeman, who left 
 Fort Washington on the seventh of April; Trueman, who left 
 on the twentj-second of May, for the Maumee, and Col. Har- 
 din, who, on the same day, started for Sandusky, were all 
 murdered. Brant did not attend the Western Council, although 
 he had agreed to in Philadelphia. Hendricks gave his message 
 into the hands of Col. McKee, and kept away from the gath- 
 ering of the confederated nations, and of the three messengers, 
 Trueman, Hendricks and Putnam, Putnam alone reached his 
 destination. He formed a treaty with several of the Wabash 
 tribes, but, as it was not ratified by Congress, it proved of no 
 avail. 
 
 Indian councils were now in order — councils where Indians 
 met Indians, and where no white man intruded himself. 
 Probably the largest Indian council ever held was at the mouth 
 of the Eiver Auglaize, in 1792. It was assembled through 
 the influence of the Iroquois, but did not accomplish the de- 
 sired result. Besides, the New York, Western and Canadian 
 Indians, there were present twenty-seven other nations. At 
 this council the boundary line between the Americans and 
 Indians was fully discussed, and all agreed that it must not 
 extend north of the Ohio. However, nothing was fully resolved, 
 the council agreeing to assemble again in the following spring. 
 This meeting took place, and both the Americans and the 
 Indians were fully represented. The United States Commis- 
 (231) 
 
232 THE IJVES OF PONTIAC AND TECJUMSEH : 
 
 isioners laid before the savages a plan for the settlemeut of all 
 flifficulties, but it proved dissatisfactory. The speech which 
 was submitted by the Confederated Nations in reply to the 
 commissioners, and which put an end to all negqtiations, and 
 opened the way for another bloody contest, is of such import- 
 ance as to merit preservation in this volume. It was in these 
 words : 
 
 To the Commissioners of the United States. — Brothers : We have received 
 your speech, dated the thirty-first of last month, and it has been inter- 
 preted to all the different nations. We have been long in sending you an 
 answer because of the great importance of the subject. But we now 
 answer it fully, having given it all the consideration in our power. 
 
 Brothers: You tell us that after you had made peace with the King, our 
 father, about ten years ago, "it remained to make peace between the 
 United States and the Indian nations who had taken part with the King. 
 For this purpose commissioners were appointed, who sent messages to all 
 those Indian nations, inviting them to come and make peace," and after 
 reciting the periods at which you say treaties were held at Fort Stanwix, 
 Fort Mcintosh and Miami, all which treaties, according to your own 
 acknowledgment, were for the sole purpose of making peace, you then 
 say, " Brothers, the commissioners who conducted these treaties in behalf 
 of the United States sent the papers containing them to the general 
 council of the States, who, supposing them satisfactory to the nations 
 treated with, proceeded to dispose of the lands thereby ceded." 
 
 Brothers: This is telling us plainly what we always understood to be 
 the case, and it agrees with the declarations of those few who attended 
 those treaties, viz. : That they went to your commissioners to make peace ; 
 but, through fear, were oblige to sign any paper that was laid before them, 
 and it has since appeared that deeds of cession were signed by them, in- 
 stead of treaties of peace. 
 
 Brothers : You then say, " after some time it appears that a numbej;. of 
 people in your nations were dissatisfied with the treaties of Fort Mcintosh 
 and Miami; therefore, the council of the United States appointed Gov. 
 St. Clair their commissioner, with full power, for the purpose of removing 
 all causes of controversy, relating to trade, and settling boundaries, between 
 the Indian nations in the northern department and the United States. He 
 accordingly sent messages, inviting all the nations concerned to meet him 
 at a council fire he kindled at the Falls of the Muskingum. While he was 
 waiting for them some mischief happened at that place and the fire was 
 put out; so he kindled a council fire at Fort Harmar, where near six hun- 
 dred Indians of different nations attended. The Six Nations then renewed 
 and confirmed the treaty of Fort Stanwix, and the Wyandots and Dela. 
 wares renewed and confirmed the treaty of Fort Mcintosh ; some Ottawas, 
 Chippewas, Pottawatomies and Sacs were also parties to the treaty of Fort 
 
OK, THE BORDER WAKS OK IWO (JENTURIES. 23S 
 
 Harmar." Now, brothers, these are your words, and it is necessary for us 
 to make a short reply to them. 
 
 Brothers : A geueral council of all the Indian confederacy was held, as 
 you well know, in the fall of the year 1788, at this place, and that general 
 couticil was invited by your commissioner. Gov. St. Clair, to meet him for 
 the purpose of holding a treaty, with regard to the lands mentioned 
 by you to have been ceded by the treaties of Fort Stanwix and Fort 
 Mcintosh. 
 
 Brothers: We are in possession of the speeches and letters wliich passed 
 on that occasion between those deputed by the confederated Indians and 
 Gov. St. Clair, the commissioner of the United States. These papers prove 
 that your said commissioner, in the beginning of the year 1789, and after 
 having been informed by the general council of the preceding fall, that 
 no bargain or sale of any part of these Indian lands would be considered 
 as valid or binding unless agreed to by a general council, nevertheless 
 persisted in collecting together a few chiefs of two or three nations only, 
 and with them held a treaty for the cession of an immense country, in 
 which they were no more interested, than as a branch of the general con- 
 federacy, and who were in no manner authorized to make any grant or 
 concession whatever. 
 
 Brothers: How then was it possible for you to expect to enjoy peace, 
 and quietly to hold these lands, when your commissioner was informed, 
 long before he had the treaty of Fort Harmar, that the consent of a gen- 
 eral council was absolutely necessary to convey any part of these lands to 
 the United States. The part of these lands which the United States now 
 wish us to relinquish and which you say are settled, have been sold by the 
 United States since that time. 
 
 Brothers : You say " the United States wish to have confirmed all the 
 lands ceded to them by the treaty of Fort Harmar, and also a small tract 
 at the rapids of the Ohio, claimed by Gen. Clark, for the use of himself 
 and his warriors. And, in consideration thereof, the United States would 
 give such a large sum of money or goods as was never given, at any one 
 time, for any quantity of Indian lands, since the white people first set 
 their feet on this island. And, because these lands did every year furnish 
 you with skins and furs, with which you bought clothing and other neces- 
 saries, the United States will now furnish the like constant supplies. And, 
 therefore, besides the great sum to be delivered at once, tliey will every 
 year deliver you a large quantity of such goods as are best fitted to the 
 wants of yourselves, your women and children." 
 
 Brothers : Money to us is of no value, and to most of us unknown ; and,, 
 as no consideration whatever can induce us to sell the lands on which we 
 get sustenance for our women and children, we hope we may be allowed to 
 point out a mode by which your settlers may be easily removed, and peace 
 thereby obtained. 
 
 Brothers : We know that these settlers are poor, or they would never 
 have ventured to live in a country which has been in continual trouble 
 ever since they crossed the Ohio. Divide, therefore, this large sum of 
 
234 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 money, which you have otfered to us, among these people. Give to each, 
 also, a proportion of what you say you would give to us, annually, over 
 and above this very large sum of money ; and, as we are persuaded, they 
 would most readily accept of it in lieu of the land you sold them. If you 
 add, also, the great sums you must expend in raising and paying armies, 
 with a view to force us to yield you our country, you will certainly have 
 more than sufficient for the purpose of repaying these settlers for all their 
 labor and their improvements. 
 
 Brothers : You have talked to us about concessions. It appears strange 
 that you should expect any from us who have only been defending our 
 just rights against your invasions. We want peace. Kestore to us our 
 country and we shall be enemies no longer. 
 
 Brothers : You make one concession to us by offering us your money, 
 and another by having agreed to do us justice, after having long and 
 injuriously withheld it; we mean in the acknowledgment you now have 
 made, that the King of England never did, nor never had a right to give 
 you our country, by the treaty of peace. And you want to make this act 
 of common justice a great part of your concessions, and seem to expect 
 that, because you have at last acknowledged our independence, we should 
 for such a favor, surrender to you our country. 
 
 Brothers : You have talked, also, a great deal about pre-emption, and 
 your exclusive right to purchase Indian lands, as ceded to you by the 
 king at the treaty of peace. 
 
 Brothers: We never made any agreement with the king, nor with any 
 other nation, that we would give to either the exclusive right of purchasing 
 our lands; and we declare to you that w^e consider ourselves free to make 
 any bargain or cession of lands, whenever and to whomsoever we please. 
 If the white people, as you say, made a treaty that none of them but the 
 king should purchase of us, and that he has given that right to the United 
 States, it is an affair which concerns you and him, and not us; we have 
 never parted with such a power. 
 
 Brothers : At our general council, held at the Glaize last fall, we agreed 
 to meet commissioners from the United States, for the purpose of restoring 
 peace, provided they consented to acknowledge and confirm our boundary 
 line to be the Ohio, and we determined not to meet you, until you gave us 
 satisfacUon on that point; that is the reason we have never met. 
 
 We desire you to consider, brothers, that our only demand is the peace- 
 able possession of a small part of our once great country. Look back and 
 review the lands from whence we have been driven to this spot. We can 
 retreat no farther, because the country behind hardly affords food for its 
 inhabitants; and we have, therefore, resolved to leave our bones in this 
 small space to which we are now confined. 
 
 Brothers: We shall be persuaded that you mean to do us justice, if you 
 agree that the Ohio shall remain the boundary line between us. If you 
 will not consent thereto, our meeting will be altogether unnecessary. This 
 is the great point which we hoped would have been explained before you 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO OENTDRIES. 235 
 
 left your homes, as our messtige, last fall, was principally directed to 
 obtain that information. 
 
 Done in general council, at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, the thir- 
 teenth day of August, 1793. 
 
 Nations. 
 
 Wy;\jsT)ots, Miamis, Mohicans, 
 
 Seven Nations, Ottawas, Connots, 
 
 of Canada, Pottawatomies, Messasagoes, 
 
 Delawares, Senegas, Ojibwas, 
 
 Nantakokies, Shawanoes, Munsees. 
 
 Creeks, Cherokees, 
 
 This communication closed the attempts of the United 
 States to make peace. Wayne had pushed forward his prepa- 
 rations, but was still at " Hobson's choice," near Fort 
 Washington. On the fifth of October, 1793, he wrote to the 
 Secretary of War saying that he could not hope to have more 
 than two thousand six hundred regular troops, three hundred 
 and sixty mounted volunteers, and thirty-six guides and spies 
 to go with him into the country of the enemy. Yet he was 
 hopefid, and thought with this force he would conquer the 
 enemy. On the seventh of the same month, the leigon left 
 Cincinnati, and upon the thirteenth, without any accident, 
 encamped in a strong position. Here, upon the twenty -fourth 
 of October, he was joined by one thousand mounted Kentucky 
 volunteers under Gen, Scott, to whom he had written pressing 
 requests to hasten forward with all the men he could muster. 
 This request Scott hastened to comply with, and the Governor, 
 upon the twenty-eighth of September, had ordered, in addition, 
 a draft of militia. The Kentucky troops, however, were soon 
 dismissed again, until spring; but their march had not been in 
 vain, for they had seen enough of Wayne's army to give them 
 confidence in it and in him; and upon their return home, 
 spread that confidence abroad, so that the full number of vol- 
 unteers was easily procured in the spring.* 
 
 The troops had been attacked once previous to the twenty- 
 tliird of October, within seven miles of Fort St. Clair, and 
 Lieut. Lowery and Ensign Boyd, with thirteen others, were 
 killed. Although so little opposition had thus far been 
 
 * Western Annals. 
 
236 THK LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 encountered, General Wayne determined to stay where he 
 was, for the winter, and having seventy thousand rations on hand 
 in October, with the prospect of one hundred and twenty thou- 
 sand more, while the Indians were sure to be short of provisions, 
 he proceeded to fortify his position ; which he named Fort Green- 
 ville, and which was situated upon the spot now occupied by 
 the town of that name. This being done on the twenty-third 
 or twenty-fourth of December, a detachment was sent forward 
 to take possession of the held of St. Clair's defeat. They 
 arrived upon the spot upon Christmas day. " Six hundred 
 skulls," says one present, "' were gathered up and buried; when 
 we went to lay down in our tents at night, we had to scrape 
 the bones together and carry them out, to make our beds.* 
 Here they built Fort Recovery, which was properly garrisoned 
 and placed under the command of Capt. Alexander Gibson. 
 
 During the early months of 1794, Wayne was steadily 
 engaged in preparing everything for a sure blow when the time 
 came, and by means of Capt. Gibson and his various spies, 
 kept himself informed of the plans and movements of the sav- 
 ages. All his information showed the faith in British assistance 
 which still animated the doomed race of red men. 
 * American Pioneer. Western Annals. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 General Wayne'^^ Battle on the Banks of the Maumee — Posi- 
 tion OP THE American and Indian Forces — The Victory — New 
 Forts Erected — Destruction of Indian Dwellings — The Indi- 
 ans Sue for Peace — The Treaty op Greenville. 
 
 At Fort Recx)veky, on the thirtieth of June, 1794, the 
 advanced American post was assailed by Little Turtle, at the 
 head of fifteen hundred warriors. Such was their answer to 
 the messages of peace which the American government had 
 sent among them — and, although repelled, the assailants rallied 
 and returned to the charge, and kept up the attack through the 
 whole of the day. Among the Indians were a large number 
 of British,* who were aiding them, and who, it would seem, 
 expected to find the artillery captured from St, Clair on the 
 fourth of the previous November; but, fortunately, the Amer- 
 icans had already discovered them, and they were noM^ used in 
 defending Fort Recovery. 
 
 On the twenty-sixth of July, Scott with some sixteen hun- 
 dred mounted men from Kentucky, joined Wayne at Greenville, 
 and on the twenty-eighth the whole legion moved forward. 
 On the eighth of August, the army reached the Grand Glaize, 
 near the junction of the Maumee and Auglaize, and at once 
 proceeded to build Fort Defiance.f While engaged upon this 
 fort, Wayne received fuU information of the movements of the 
 Indians, and the aid they were to receive from the volunteers 
 of Detroit and elsewhere, and, after considering the situation 
 of aifairs, he determined to march forward and strike the blow 
 at once. But, however, before taking this step, he sent a special 
 
 * General Wayne's Report,. American State Papers. 
 
 f American Pioneer. Western Annals. 
 (237) 
 
238 THE Ln^ES OF PONTIAC ANT) TECUMSEH : 
 
 messeiuger to the hostile Indians, with the following last offer 
 
 of peace: 
 
 To the Delawares, Shawanoes, Miainis and Wyandots, and to each and every 
 of them, and to all other nations of Indians, northwest of the Ohio, whom 
 it may concern : 
 
 I, Anthony Wayne, Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Fed- 
 eral army now at Grand Glaize, and commissioner plenipotentiary of the 
 United States of America, for settling the terms upon which a permanent 
 and lasting peace shall be made with each and every of the hostile tribes, 
 or nations of Indians northwest of the Ohio, and of the said United States, 
 actuated by the purest principles of humanity, and urged by pity for the 
 errors into which bad and designing men have led you, from the head of 
 my army, now in possession of your abandoned villages and settlements, 
 do hereby once more extend the friendly hand of peace towards you, and 
 invite each and every of the hostile tribes of Indians to appoint deputies 
 to meet me and my army, without delay, between this place and Roche de 
 Bout, in order to settle the preliminaries of a lasting peace, which may 
 eventually and soon restore to you, the Delawares, Miamis, Shawanoes 
 and all other tribes and nations lately settled at this place, and on the 
 margins of the Miami and Auglaize rivers, your late grounds and posses- 
 sions, and to preserve you and your distressed and hapless women and 
 children from danger and famine, during the present fall and ensuing 
 winter. 
 
 The arm of the United States is strong and powerful, but they love mercy 
 and kindness more than war and desolation. 
 
 And to remove any doubts or apprehensions of danger to the persons of 
 the deputies whom you may appoint to meet this army, I hereby pledge 
 my sacred honor for their safety and return, and send Christopher Miller, 
 an adopted Shawanoe, and a Shawanoe warrior, whom I took prisoner two 
 days ago, as a flag, who will advance in their front to meet me. 
 
 Mr. Miller was taken prisoner by a party of my warriors, six moons 
 since, and can testify to you the kindness which I have shown to your 
 people, my prisoners, that is, five warriors and two women, who are now 
 all safe and well at Greenville. 
 
 But, should this invitation be disregarded, and my flag, Mr. Miller, be 
 detained or injured, I will immediately order all those prisoners to be put 
 to death, without distinction, and some of them are known to belong to 
 the first families of your nation. 
 
 Brothers : Be no longer deceived or led astray by the false promises and 
 language of the bad white men at the foot of the Rapids; they have 
 neither power nor inclination to protect you. No longer shut your eyes 
 to your true interest and happiness, nor your ears to this overture of peace. 
 But, in pity to your innocent women and children, come and prevent the 
 further effusion of your blood; let them experience the kindness and 
 friendship of the United States of America, and the invaluable blessings 
 of peace and tranquility. ANTHONY WAYNE. 
 
 Gkand Glaize, August 13th, 1794. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 239 
 
 But Wayne did not remain idle waiting for an answer, but 
 moved on with his troops, and on the sixteenth of August he 
 met his messengers returning with information that if the 
 Americans would wait ten days the Indians would decide for 
 peace or war. Wayne replied to this by marching rapidly 
 forward. 
 
 After advancing forty-one miles from Grand Glaize, and 
 being near the expected enemy, Wayne, on the eighteenth, 
 halted his array and began the erection of Fort Deposit, which 
 was intended as a protection to the baggage during the 
 expected battle. On the same day five of Wayne's spies, among 
 whom was May, the man who had been sent after Trueman, 
 and who had pretended to desert to the Indians, rode into the 
 very camp of the enemy; in attempting to retreat again. May's 
 horse fell and he was taken. The following day, the day before 
 the battle, he was tied to a tree and shot at as a target.* 
 
 On the twentieth Wayne's forces moved down the north 
 bank of the Maumee, the legion on its right, the flank covered 
 by the Maumee; one brigade of mounted volunteers on the 
 left, under Brigadier-General Todd, and the other in the rear 
 under Brigadier-General Barbee. A select battalion of n:ioanted 
 volunteers moved in front of the legion, commanded by Major 
 Price, who was directed to keep sufliciently advanced so as to 
 give timely notice for the troops to form in case of action. 
 Having advanced about five miles, Major Price's corps received 
 a very severe fire from the enemy, who were secreted in the 
 woods and high grass. After a short contest the advanced 
 guard retreated. The legion was immediately formed into 
 two lines in the midst of a close, thick woods, which extended 
 for a considerable distance on either hand. The ground was 
 covered with fallen timber, probably occasioned by a tornado, 
 which rendered it impracticable for the cavalry to act with 
 effect, and afibrded the enemy a favorable opportunity for 
 their peculiar mode of fighting. 
 
 Tlie savages were formed into three lines, within supporting 
 distance of each other, and extending nearly two miles at right 
 angles with the river. Wayne soon discovered, from tho 
 
 * American Pioneer — Western Annals. 
 
240 THE UVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSKH : 
 
 weight of the fire and extent of the Indian lines, that the 
 enemy were in full force in front, in possession of their favorite 
 ground, and endeavoring to turn his left flank. He therefore 
 gave orders for the second line to advance and support the 
 first, and directed Major-General Scott to gain and turn the 
 right flank of the savages with the whole of the mounted vol- 
 unteers, by a circuitous route. At the same time the General 
 ordered the front line to advance and charge with trailed arms 
 and rouse the Indians from their coverts at the point of the 
 bayonet, and when up to deliver a close and well directed tire 
 on their backs, followed by a brisk charge, so as not to give 
 them time to load again. 
 
 Wayne also ordered Captain Campbell, who commanded the 
 legionary cavalry, to turn the left flank of the enemy next to 
 the river. All these orders were obeyed with spirit and 
 promptness. Such was the effect of the charge by the first 
 line of infantry that the Indians and Canadian militia and 
 volunteers were driven from their strongholds before the 
 second line of the legion and the mounted volunteers could 
 get up to participate in the action. The enemy was driven, in 
 the course of one hour, more than two miles through the thick 
 woods already mentioned, by less than one-half their number. 
 From every account the Indians amounted to . two thousand 
 combatants. The troops actually engaged against them were 
 short of nine hundred. This horde of savages, with their 
 allies, abandoned themselves to flight, and dispersed with 
 terror and dismay, leaving Wayne's victorious army in full 
 and quiet possession of the field of battle. 
 
 In reporting the battle to the Secretary of War. Wayne says, 
 " the bravery and conduct of every oflicer belonging to the 
 army, from the Generals down to the ensigns, merit my highest 
 approbation." The loss in killed and wounded was much 
 heavier on the side of the enemy than in Wayne's army,* For 
 a considerable distance the woods were strewn with the dead 
 bodies of Indians and their white auxiliaries. The Americans 
 
 * The loss of the Americans in this action was thirty-three killed and 
 one hundred wounded, includintr twenty-one oflicers, of wliom only five 
 were killed. — Ed. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 241 
 
 remained three days and nights on the banks of the river 
 Manmee, in front of the field of battle, during which all the 
 houses and cornfields were consumed and destroyed for a long 
 distance both above and below Fort Miami, as well as within 
 pistol shot of the British garrison. 
 
 The army returned to Fort Defiance on the twenty-seventh, 
 laying waste in its return march the villages and cornfields 
 for about fifty miles on either side of the Maumee. Here 
 Wayne remained until the fourteenth of September, strength- 
 ening the works. On this date he marched for the Miami 
 villages at the junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary, to 
 build Fort Wayne, which was named by Col. Hamtramck, who 
 was placed in command of this post on the twenty-second of 
 October. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of October the legion began its return 
 march to Greenville, leaving the posts it had established well 
 fortified and strongly garrisoned. The British now, to a great 
 measure, withheld their support from the Indians, and the 
 latter soon began to sue for peace. On the twenty-eighth of 
 December, 1794, the chiefs of the Chippewas, (Ojibwas) Otta- 
 was, Sacs, Pottawatomies, and Miamis, came to Col. Ham- 
 tramck, the commandant at Fort Wayne, with peace messages, 
 and on the twenty-fourth of January, 1795, at Greenville, they 
 entered, together with the Delawares, Wyandots and Shawanoes, 
 into preliminary articles with the Commander-in-Chief. The 
 truth was, the red men had been entirely disappointed in the 
 conduct of their white allies after their defeat on the previous 
 August. Brant, in giving his feelings on this matter, said 
 that a fort had been built in their country under pretence of 
 giving refuge in case of necessity, but when that time came 
 the gates were shut against them as enemies. During the 
 winter, Wayne having entirely laid waste their fertile fields, 
 the poor savages were wholly dependent on the English, who 
 did not half supply them ; their cattle and dogs died, and they 
 were themselves nearly starved. Under these circumstances, 
 losing faith in the English, and at last impressed with a respect 
 for American power, the various tribes, by degrees, made up 
 their minds to ask for peace. During the winter and spring 
 16 
 
242 THK LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH t 
 
 they exchanged prisoners and prepared to meet Wayne at 
 Greenville, in June, for the purpose of forming a definite 
 treaty founded upon the preliminaries which had been estab- 
 lished on the previous January, of which mention has already 
 been made. 
 
 Accordingly, early in June, 1795, the representatives of the 
 Northwestern tribes began to gather at Greenville, and on the 
 sixteenth of that month General Wayne met in council the 
 Delawares, Ottawas, Pottawatomies, and Eel River Indians. 
 The council continued until the tenth of August. Soon after 
 the council opened other noted chiefs began to arrive. Among 
 these were Buckongehelas, Little Turtle, Tarke, Blue Jacket, 
 and Masass. They had all determined to make a permanent 
 peace with the "Thirteen Fire," and upon the thirtieth of July 
 the treaty was agreed upon, which was to bury the hatchet 
 forever. It was signed by all the nations present, and the 
 presents from the United States distributed forthwith. 
 
 This treaty which, perhaps, is the most important one ever 
 made between the red men of the forest and the Americans, 
 contained the following provisions:* 
 
 Art. 1. Hostilities were to cease. 
 
 Art. 2. All prisoners were to be restored. 
 
 Art. 3. The general boundary lines between the lands of the United 
 States and the lands of the said Indian tribes, shall be,i!;in at the mouth of 
 Cuyahoga river, and run thence up the same to the portage between that 
 and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; thence down that branch 
 to the crossing place above Fort Lawrence; thence westwardly, to a fork 
 of that branch of the Great Miami river, running into the Ohio, at or near 
 which fork stood Laramie's store, and where commences the portage 
 between the Miami of the Ohio and St. Mary's river, which is a branch of 
 the Miami which runs into Lake Erie; thence a westerly course, to Fort 
 Recovery, which stands on a branch of the Wabash ; thence southwesterly, 
 in a direct line to the Ohio, so as to intersect that river opposite the mouth 
 of Kentucky or Cuttawa river. And in consideration of the peace now 
 established ; of the goods formerly received from the United States ; of 
 those now to be delivered ; and of the yearly delivery of goods now stipu- 
 lated to be made hereafter; and to indemnify the United States for the 
 injuries and expenses they have sustained during the war; the said Indian 
 tribes do hereby cede and relinquish, forever, all their claims to the lands 
 lying eastwardly and southwardly of the general boundary line now 
 
 * -American State Papers. Western Annals. 
 
OR, Tlffi BOKOKR WARS OF TWO CKNTUIilK". 243 
 
 described ; and these lands, or any part of them, shall never hereafter be 
 made a cause or pretense, on the part of the said tribes, or any of them, 
 of war or injury to the United States, or any other people thereof 
 
 And for the same consideration, and as an evidence of the returning 
 friendship of the said Indian tribes, of their confidence in the United 
 States, and desire to provide for their accommodation, and for that conve- 
 nient intercourse which will be beneficial to both parties, the said Indian 
 tribes do also cede to the United States the following pieces of land, to-wit: 
 1. One piece of land six miles square, at or near Laramie's store, before 
 mentioned. 2. One piece, two miles square, at the head of the navigable 
 water or landing, on the St. Mary's river, near Girty's town. 3. One 
 piece, six miles square, at the head of the navigable waters of the Auglaize 
 river. 4. One piece, six miles square, at the confluence of the Auglaize 
 and Miami rivers, where Fort Defiance now stands. 5. One piece, six 
 miles square, at or near the confluence of the rivers St. Mary's and St. 
 Joseph's, where Fort Wayne now stands, or near it. 6. One piece, two 
 miles square, on the Wabash river, at the end of the portage from the 
 Miami of the lake, and about eight miles westward from Fort Wayne. 7. 
 One piece, six miles square, at the Ouatanon, or old Wea towns, on the 
 Wabash river. 8. One piece, twelve miles square, at the British fort on 
 the Miami of the lake, at the foot of the rapids. 9. One piece, six miles 
 square, at the mouth of the said river, where it empties into the lake. 10. 
 One piece, six miles square, upon Sanduskj^ lake, where a fort formerly 
 stood. 11 One piece, two miles square, at the lower rapids of Sandusky 
 river. 12. The post of Detroit, and all the lands to the north, the west 
 and south of it, of which the Indian title has been extinguished by gifts or 
 grants to the French or English governments ; and so much more land to 
 be annexed to the district of Detroit, as shall be comprehended between 
 the river Rasine on the south, and lake St. Clair on the north, and a line, 
 the general course whereof shall be six miles distant from the west end of 
 Lake Erie and Detroit river. 13. The post of Michilimackinac, and all 
 the land on the island on which that post stands, and the main land adja- 
 cent, of which the Indian title has been extinguished b}' gifts or grants to 
 the French or English governments; and a piece of land on the main to 
 the north of the island, to measure six miles, on Lake Huron, or the strait 
 between Lakes Huron and Michigan, and to extend three miles back from 
 the water on the lake or strait; and also, the Island de Bois Blanc, being 
 an extra and voluntary gift of the Chippewa nation. 14. One piece of 
 land, six miles square, at the mouth of Chicago river, emptying into the 
 southwest end of Lake Michigan, where a fort formerly stood. 15. One 
 piece, twelve miles square, at or near the mouth of the Illinois river, 
 emptying into the Mississippi. 16. One piece, six miles square, at the 
 old Peorias fort and village, near the south end of the Illinois lake, on 
 said Illinois river. And Avhenever the United States shall think proper to 
 survey and mark the boundaries of the lands hereby ceded to them, they 
 shall give timely notice thereof to the said tribes of Indians, that they may 
 
244 THE LTVKS OF PONTIAO AND TECUMSEH ! 
 
 appoint some of their wise chiefs to attend and see that the lines are run 
 according to the terms of this treaty. 
 
 And the said Indian tribes will allow to the people of the United States, 
 a free passage, by land and by water, as one and the other shall be found 
 convenient, through their country, along the chain of posts herein before 
 mentioned; that is to say: from the commencement of the portage afore- 
 said, at or near Laramie's store, thence along said portage, to the St. Mary's, 
 and down the same to Fort Wayne, and then down the Miami to Lake 
 Erie ; again, from the commencement of the portage, at or near Laramie's 
 store, along the portage, from thence to the river Auglaize, and down the 
 same to its junction with the Miami at Port Defiance; again, from the 
 commencement of the portage aforesaid, to Sandusky river, and down the 
 same to Sandusky bay, and Lake Erie, and from Sandusky to the post 
 which shall be taken at or near the foot of the rapids of the Miami of the 
 lake; and from thence to Detroit. Again, from the mouth of Chicago 
 river, to the commencement of the portage between that river and the Illi- 
 nois, and down the Illinois to the Mississippi ; also, from Fort Wayne, 
 along the portage aforesaid, which leads to the Wabash, and then down 
 the Wabash to the Ohio. And the said Indian tribes will also allow to the 
 people of the United States, the free use of the harbors and mouths of 
 rivers, along the lakes adjoining the Indian lands, for sheltering vessels 
 and boats, and liberty to land their cargoes when necessary for their 
 safety. 
 
 Art. 4. In consideration of the peace now established, and of the ces- 
 sions and relinquishments of lands, made in the preceding article, by the 
 said tribes of Indians, and to manifest the liberality of the United States, 
 as the great means of rendering this peace strong and perpetual, the United 
 States relinquish their claims to all other Indian lands, northward of the 
 river Ohio, eastward of the Mississippi, and westward and southward of 
 the Great Lakes, and the waters uniting them, according to the boundary 
 line agreed on by the United States and the King of Great Britain, in the 
 treaty of peace made between them in the year 1783. But from this relin- 
 quishment by the United States, the following tracts of land are explicitly 
 excepted: 1st. The tract of one hundred and fifty thousand acres, near 
 the rapids of the river Ohio, which has been assigned to General Clark, 
 for the use of himself and his warriors. 3d. The post at St. Vincennes, 
 on the river Wabash, and the lands adjacent, of which the Indian title has 
 been extinguished. 3d. The lands at all other places, in possession of the 
 French people, and other white settlers among them, of which the Indian 
 title has been extinguished, as mentioned in the 3d article ; and 4th. The 
 post of Fort Massac, towards the mouth of the Ohio. To which several 
 parcels of land, so excepted, the said tribes relinquish all the title and 
 claim, which they or any of them may have. 
 
 And, for the same consideration, and with the same views as above men- 
 tioned, the United States now deliver to the said Indian tribes, a quantity 
 of goods to the value of twenty thousand dollars, the receipt whereof they 
 do hereby acknowledge ; and henceforward, every year, forever, the United 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO 0P:NTURIE8. 245 
 
 States will deliver, at some convenient place, northward of tlie river Oliio, 
 like useful goods, suited to the circumstances of the Indians, of the value 
 of nine thousand five hundred dollars; reckoning that value at the first 
 cost of the goods in the city or place in the United States, where thej' shall be 
 procured. The tribes to which those goods are to be annually delivered, 
 and the proportions in which they are to be delivered, are the following: 
 
 1st. To the Wyandots, the amount of one thousand dollars. 2d. To the 
 Delawares, the amount of one thousand dollars. 3d. To the Shawanoes, 
 the amount of one thousand dollars. 4th. To the Miamis, the amount of 
 one thousand dollars, oth. To the OttawaS; the amount of one thousand 
 dollars. 6th. To the Chippewas, the amount of one thousand dollars. 
 7th. To the Pottawatomies, the amount of one thousand dollars. 8th. 
 And to the Kickapoo, Wea, Eel River, Piankeshaw and Kaskaskia tribes, 
 the amount of five hundred dollars each. 
 
 Provided, that if either of the said tribes shall hereafter, at an annua] 
 delivery of their share of the goods aforesaid, desire that a part of their 
 annuity should be furnished in domestic animals, implements of hus- 
 bandry, and other utensils, convenient for them, and in compensation to 
 useful artificers who may reside with or near them, and be employed for 
 their benefit, the same shall, at the subsequent annual deliveries, be fur- 
 nished accordingly. 
 
 Art. 5. To prevent any misunderstanding, about the Indian lands 
 relinquished by the United States, in the fourth article, it is now explicitly 
 declared, that the meaning of that relinquishment is this: the Indian 
 tribes who have a right to these lands, are quietly to enjoy them, hunting, 
 planting and dwelling thereon, so long as they please, without any moles- 
 tation from the United States ; but when those tribes, or any of them, shall 
 be disposed to sell their lands, or any part of them, they are to be sold 
 only to the United States; and until such sale, the United States will pro- 
 tect all the said Indian tribes, in the quiet enjoyment of their lands, 
 against all citizens of the United States, and against all other white per- 
 sons who intrude upon the same. And the said Indian tribes again 
 acknowledge themselves to be under the protection of the United States, 
 and no other power whatever. 
 
 Art. 6. The Indians or United States may remove and punish intruders 
 on Indian lands. 
 
 Art. 7. Indians may hunt within ceded lands. 
 
 Art. 8. Trade shall be opened in substance, as by provisions in treaty 
 of Fort Harmer. 
 
 Art. 9. All injuries shall be referred to law; not privately avenged; 
 and all hostile plans known to either, shall be revealed to the other party 
 
 Art. 10. All previous treaties annulled. 
 
 This treaty was signed by all the nations named in the fourth 
 article, and dated Angnst third, 1795. It was ratified by the 
 United States on the twenty-second of the following December, 
 
246 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 and thus the old Indian boundary wars of the west were put 
 to an end. 
 
 Wayne's victory having broken tlie Indian power, and the 
 treaty of Greenville binding them from further aggression, 
 the Island of Mackinaw, the fort of Detroit and the other 
 posts in the territory, occupied by British troops, were surren- 
 dered by the English to their proper owners * 
 
 * Tuttle's History of Michigan. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 The Indians Cede their Lantjs — Tecumseh and the Prophet — 
 The New Indian Confederacy— Its Objects — Curious Speech 
 OP the Prophet — The Approaching War — The Prophet De- 
 clares HIS Innocence. 
 
 From 1795 to 1804, we have but little border war to record. 
 Settlements in the west progressed rapidly, and in the latter 
 year events took place leading the way for another general 
 Indian war. During tlie month of August, 1804, a series of 
 treaties were made by Governor Harrison, at Vincennes, by 
 which the claims of several Indian tribes to large tracts of land 
 in Indiana and Illinois were relinquished to the United States. 
 The Delawares sold their claim to a large tract between the 
 Wabash and Ohio rivers, and Pionkeshaws gave up their title 
 to lands granted by the Kaskaskia Indians the preceding year. 
 In November of the same year, Governor Harrison negotiated 
 with the chiefs of the united nations of Sacs and Poxes for 
 their claim to the immense tract of country lying between the 
 Mississippi, Illinois, Fox river of Illinois, and Wisconsin rivers, 
 comprising about fifty millions of acres.* The consideration 
 given was the protection of the United States, and goods 
 ■delivered at the value of two thousand two hundred and thirty- 
 four dollars and fifty cents, and an annuity of one thousand 
 dollars, (six hundred dollars to the Sacs and four hundred to 
 the Foxes) forever. An article in this treaty provided, that as 
 long as the United States remained the owner of the land, " the 
 Indians belonging to the said tribes shall enjoy the privilege 
 ■of living and hunting " on the land. 
 
 On the fourth of July, 1805, the Wyandots and others at 
 Fort Industry, on the Maumee, ceded all their lands as far west 
 
 * Western Annals. 
 
 (247) 
 
248 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 as tlie western boundary of the Connecticut Reserve, and on the 
 twenty-iirst of August, of the same year, Governor Harrison, 
 at Yincennes, received from the Miamis a region containing 
 two million acres within what is now the state of Indiana, and 
 again, upon the thirteenth of December, at the same place, he 
 purchased of the Piankeshaws a tract eighty or ninety miles 
 wide, extending from the Wabash west to the cession by the 
 Kaskaskias, which was made in 1803. 
 
 At this time, excepting an occasional murder, the Indians 
 were conducting themselves in a peaceful manner. "But," 
 says Mr. Peck, "mischief was gathering." Tecumseh and his 
 brother, the prophet, and other leading men, had formed & 
 union of the tribes at a council at Greenville, by which it was 
 intended to prevent the whites from making further settle- 
 ments upon their lands. It appears that the efforts of Tecum- 
 seh and his brother were directed to accomplish two important 
 ends: First, the reformation of the Tribes, whose habits unfit- 
 ted them for intelligent effort; and second, such a union of the 
 tribes as would make the purchase of their lands by the United 
 States impossible, and give to the Indians a formidable strength 
 such as the civilized nations would be compelled to respect. 
 The objects were openly avowed and pursued with good suc- 
 cess. In the whole country bordering on the lakes, the power 
 of the Shawanoe prophet was felt, and the work of reforming 
 the Indians from habits of intoxication and civilization went 
 rapidly forward.* 
 
 It appears to have been Tecumseh's plan to effect a grand 
 union of all the tribes which maintained any intercourse with 
 the United States, and admit of no treaties or sales of lands 
 without the united consent of all the tribes. Such a con- 
 federation had never existed, and Tecumseh fully relied upon 
 the success of the plan. He was well educated, could read and 
 write, and had a confidential secretary and adviser, named 
 Billy Caldwell, a half-breed, who was afterwards head chief of 
 the Pottawatomies. 
 
 Time passed on, and in 1806 the conviction become stronger 
 that the northwestern tribes were preparing for war against 
 
 * Drake's Tecumseh — Peck's Compilation. 
 
TECUMSEH, THE SHAWANOE CHIEFTAIN. 
 
OR, thp: border wars of two centuries. 249 
 
 the United States. However, nothing of consequence took 
 place during this year, although Tecumseh and the prophet 
 labored on diligently, and with good success, to accomplish 
 their plans. On the twenty-seventh of January, 1807, Governor 
 Hull, of Michigan Territoiw, having been authorized by the 
 federal government to enter into a treaty with the JSTorthwes- 
 tern Indians for the lands on the eastern side of the peninsula 
 and for those west of the Connecticut Eeserve, as far as the 
 Auglaize, a council was held in Detroit, and a treaty made in 
 November with the Ottawas, Chippewas, Wyandots and Potta- 
 watomies, by which the country from the Mauraee to Saginaw 
 Bay, on the eastern side of Michigan, was transferred to the 
 United States. 
 
 In my history of the State of Michigan, published in 1873, 
 we find Tecumseh's plan set forth in these words: "These new 
 troubles were indeed nothing more than the Americans might 
 have expected. The Indians saw a new power encroaching 
 upon the inheritance that had been handed down to them from 
 their ancestors. It was not difficult, therefore, to unite them 
 in one last desperate effort to resist this usurping power. 
 Their titles had been only partially extinguished, and they 
 complained that where this had been done the treaties had 
 been unfairly conducted; that the Indians had been deceived; 
 that they were in a state of intoxication at the time they 
 signed away their lands, and that even under these circum- 
 stances, only a part of the tribes had given their consent." 
 
 It is believed that the dissatisfaction existing among the 
 Indians in the Northwest was increased by the repi-esentations 
 of England, who still held a bad feeling towards the Americans, 
 and the agents of the Northwest Fur Company, " who fore- 
 saw that if the Americans were permitted to occupy this 
 country they would be cut oif from a valuable portion of their 
 trade. The American pioneers of the lake region had no 
 doubt encroached upon the rights of the savages. The English 
 took advantage of these circumstances and did all in their 
 power to rouse the natives towards this war. As we have 
 seen, the prophet had already commenced his mission. He 
 
250 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 did all that artful superstition could do to excite the tribes 
 into a war against the Americans. 
 
 The principles of the league, wi^.h a few exceptions, were 
 similar to those of that grand confederacy, which was, as we 
 have observed in the first part of this narrative, formed by 
 Pontiac. Cj'ecumseh's plan was to surprise and capture Forts 
 Detroit, Wayne, Chicago, St. Louis, Vincennes and the adjacent 
 American posts, and to unite all the tribes east of the Missis- 
 sippi. As early as 1807 the Shawanoe chieftain and his brother 
 were actively engaged in sending their deputies, with large 
 presents and bloody war belts, to the most distant nations, to 
 persuade the*n to come into the league, " and when the comet 
 appeared in 1811, the prophet artfully turned it to account by 
 practicing on the superstitions of the savages." Early in 
 May, a special emissary was sent to the distant tribes of Lake 
 Superior, and a grand council being there assembled by the 
 deputy, " he told the Indians that he had been sent by the 
 messenger and representative of the Great Spirit, and that he 
 was commissioned to deliver to them a speech from the first 
 man whom God had created, said to be in the Shawanoes 
 country." He delivered the speech with which he was charged 
 in these words: " I am the father of the English, and of the 
 French, and of the Spaniards, and of the Indians. I created 
 the first man, who was the common father of all these people, 
 as well as of ourselves, and it is through him, whom I have 
 awakened from his long sleep, that I now address you. But 
 the Americans I did not make. They are not my children, 
 but the children of the evil spirit. They grew from the scum 
 of the great water when it was troubled by the evil spirit and 
 the froth was driven into the woods by a strong east wind. 
 But I hate them. My children, you must not speak of this 
 talk to the whites; it must be hidden from them, I am now 
 on the earth sent by the Great Spirit to instruct you that you 
 may be taught. The bearer of this must point out to you the 
 way to my wigwam. I could not come myself, L'Arbre Croche, 
 because this world is changed from what it was. It is broken 
 and leans down, and as it declines the Chippewas and all 
 beyond will fall off and die. Therefore, you must come to me 
 
OR, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIJis. 251 
 
 and be instructed. Those villages which do nut listen to this 
 talk will be cut off from the face of the earth." 
 
 Such were the measures adopted by the artful prophet to 
 induce the savages to" fall into the ranks of Tecumseh's army, 
 and they were in every respect successful. Thus did the cun- 
 ning Shawanoe chief carry his work forward. Before the month 
 of June, 1806, they had removed from Greenville to the banks 
 of the Tippecanoe, a tributary of the upper Wabash, where a 
 tract of land had been granted them by the Pottawatomies and 
 Kickapoos. In the following July the prophet sent a mes- 
 senger to Gen. Harrison, begging him not to believe the tale 
 told by his enemies and promising to visit him soon. In 
 August he repaired to Post Vincennes, and by his line talk 
 convinced the governor that he had no evil designs. 
 
 Mr. Brown, in speaking of Chief Tecumseh and his brother, 
 the prophet, in his History of Illinois, says : " Tecumseh 
 entered upon the great work he long contemplated in the year 
 1805 or 1806.. He was then about thirty-eight years of age. 
 To unite the several Indian tribes, many of which M^ere hostile 
 to, and had often been at war with each other, in this great and 
 important undertaking, prejudices were to be overcome, their 
 original manners and customs to be re-established, the use of 
 ardent spirits to be abandoned, and all intercourse with the 
 whites to be suspended. The task was herculean in its char- 
 acter and beset with difficulties on every side. Here was a 
 field for the display of the highest moral and intellectual powers. 
 He had already gained the reputation of a brave and sagacious 
 warrior, and a cool-headed, upright, wise and efficient coun- 
 sellor. He was neither a war nor a peace chief, and yet he 
 wielded the power and influence of both. The time having 
 now arrived for action, and knowing full well that to win 
 savage attention some bold and striking movement was neces- 
 sary, he imparted his plan to his brother, the prophet, who 
 adroitly and without a moment's delay, prepared himself for 
 the part he was appointed to play in this great drama of sav- 
 age life. Tecumseh well knew that excessive superstition was 
 everywhere a prominent trait in the Indian character, and, 
 therefore, with the skill of another Cromwell, brought supersti- 
 
252 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 tion to his aid. Suddenly, his brother began to dream dreams 
 and see visions ; he became afterward an inspired prophet, 
 favored with a divine commission from the Great Spirit — the 
 power of life and death was placed in his hands — he was 
 appointed agent for preserving the property and lands of the 
 Indians, and for restoring them to their original happy con- 
 dition. He thereupon commenced his sacred work. The public 
 mind was aroused, unbelief gradually gave way, credulity and 
 wild fanaticism began to spread its circles, widening and deep- 
 ening, until the fame of the prophet and the divine character 
 of his mission had reached the frozen shores of the lakes and 
 overran the broad plauis which stretched far beyond ' the great 
 Father of Waters.' Pilgrims from remote tribes sought with 
 fear and trembling the headquarters of the prophet and the 
 sage. Proselytes were multiplied and his followers increased 
 beyond all former example. Even Tecumseh became a believer, 
 and seizing upon the golden opportunity, he mingled with the 
 pilgrims, won them by his address, and on their return sent a 
 knowledge of his plan of concert and union to the most dis- 
 tant tribes. The bodily and mental labors of Tecumseh next 
 commenced. His life became one of ceaseless activity. He 
 traveled, he argued, he commanded. His persuasive voice was 
 one day listened to by the Wyandots, on the plains of San- 
 dusky; on the next his commands were issued on the banks of 
 the Wabash. He was anon seen paddling his canoe across the 
 Mississippi, then boldly confronting the Governor of Indiana 
 in the council house at Yincennes. Now carrying his banner 
 of union among the Creeks and Cherokees of the south, and 
 from thence to the cold and inhospitable regions of the north, 
 neither intoxicated by success nor discouraged by failure.") 
 
 It is not my purpose, in this narrative, to explain any of 
 those international disputes which led to the war of 1812. We 
 have only to deal with those events which induced the Indians 
 to join in that war against the Americans, and of these the 
 reader has already observed many. 
 
CIIAPTEE XXXI. 
 
 Tecumseh and the Prophet Uniting the Savages for War — 
 Trouble in the Council at Vincennes — Governor Harrison 
 Denounces Tecumseh and Orders Him to Leave the Village 
 — The Battle of Tippecanoe — Harrison's Victory. 
 
 Theoughout tlie year 1809, we find Tecumseh and the 
 prophet preparing themselves for the contest that was approach- 
 ing. Governor Harrison again suspected that the Indians 
 were preparing for another war, and he wrote to the Sec- 
 retary of War to that efiect, giving, also, his views of the 
 defenses of the frontier, and the course proper to be pursued 
 in case of a war with England. 
 
 In the latter part of the year 1809, the Governor of Indiana 
 made several treaties with the Delawares, Pottawatomies, 
 Miamis, Eel River Indians, Weas and Kickapoos, in which these 
 nations ceded certain lands upon the Wabash, but against all of 
 these Tecumseh entered a bitter protest in the following year, and 
 now it was plain to Governor Harrison that the Shawanoe 
 chieftain had formed a determination to unite all the Western 
 tribes in hostility to the United States, unless the government 
 of the latter should consent to relinquish all the lands bought 
 at the treaties of Fort Wayne, and, for the future, recognize 
 the principle that no purchases could be made unless from a 
 council representing all the tribes united as one nation. By 
 various acts, the feelings of Tecumseh became evident, and in 
 August, 1810, he met Governor Harrison in council at Vin- 
 cennes. The Governor had made arrangements for holding 
 the council on the portico of his own house, which had been 
 fitted up with seats for the occasion. Here, on the morning 
 -of the fifteenth of August, he awaited the arrival of the chief, 
 being attended by the Judges of the Supreme Court, some 
 
254 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECDMSEH : 
 
 officers of the army, a sergeant and twelve men from Fort 
 Knox, and a large number of citizens. At the appointed time 
 Tecumseh arrived, followed by forty of his principal warriors, 
 the others remaining outside of the village. When the chief 
 had approached within thirty or forty yards of the house, he 
 suddenly stopped, as if awaiting some further invitation from 
 tlie Governor. An interpreter was sent out to tell him to take 
 seats on the portico. To this Tecumseh ol>jected. He did not 
 think, he said, that the place was suitable for holding a council, 
 but preferred that they should repair to a neighboring grove. 
 The Governor said he had no objection to the grove, except that 
 there were no seats in it for their accommodation. Tecumseh 
 replied that that constituted no objection to the grove, " the 
 earth being the most suitable place for the Indians, who loved 
 to repose upon the bosom of their mother." Governor Harri- 
 son consented to remove to the grove, where the chiefs were 
 soon seated in order on the grass. 
 
 The council was. opened by Tecumseh, who stated at length 
 his objections to the treaty of Fort Wayne, made by Governor 
 Harrison in the previous year; and in the course of his speech, 
 boldly avowed the principles of his party to be, that of resist- 
 ance to every cession of land, unless made by all the tribes, 
 who, he contended, formed but one nation. He admitted that 
 he had threatened to kill the chiefs who signed the treaty of 
 Fort Wayne; and that it was his fixed determination not to 
 permit the village chiefs, in future, to manage their affairs, but 
 to place the power with which they had been heretofore invested, 
 in the hands of the war chiefs. The Americans, he said, had 
 driven the Indians from the sea coast, and would soon push 
 them into the lakes; and, while he disclaimed all intention of 
 making war upon the United States, he declared it to be his 
 unalterable resolution to take a stand, and resolutely oppose 
 the further intrusion of the whites upon the Indian lands. 
 He concluded, by making a brief but impassioned recital of 
 the various wrongs and aggressions inflicted by the white men 
 upon the Indians, from the commencement of the revolution- 
 ary war down to the period of that council; all of which was 
 
OR, THK HORDKK WAR8 OF TWO CKNTIKIES. 255 
 
 calculated to arouse and inilaine the minds of such of his fol- 
 lowers as were present.'^' 
 
 Governor Plarrison replied, and the interpreter at once be^^an 
 ex])laining the speech to the Shawanoe chieftain, who, becomino- 
 offended at some portion of it, sprang to his feet, interrupting- 
 the interpreter, and began to speak with great force. The 
 governor was completely astonished at this proceedino-, but 
 as he did not understand him, thought he was making some 
 explanation, and suffered his attention to be drawn towards 
 Wiimemac, a friendly Indian lying on the grass before him, 
 who was renewing the priming of his pistol, which he had kept 
 concealed from the other Indians, but in full view of the gov- 
 ernor. His attention, however, was again directed towards 
 Tecumseh, by hearing General Gibson, who was intimately 
 acquainted with the Shawanoe language, say to Lieut. Jennings, 
 " those fellows intend mischief; you had better bring up the 
 guard." At that moment the followers of Tecumseh seized 
 their tomahawks ancf war clubs, and sprang upon their feet, 
 their eyes turned upon the governor. As soon as he could dis- 
 engage himself from the arm chair in which he sat, he rose, 
 drew a small sword which he had by his side, and stood on the 
 defensive. Capt. G. R. Floyd, of the army, who stood near 
 him, drew a dirk, and the chief, Winnemac, cocked his pistol. 
 The citizens present were more numerous than the Indians, but 
 were unarmed; some of them procured clubs and brick-bats, 
 and also stood on the defensive. The Eev. Mr. Winans, of the 
 Methodist Church, ran to the governor's house, got a gun, and 
 posted himself at the door to defend the family. Durino- this 
 frightful scene, no one spoke, until the guard came running 
 up, and appeared to be in the act of firing. The governor 
 gave orders for them to halt, and then demanded of the inter- 
 preter an explanation of what had happened. He replied that 
 Tecumseh had interrupted him, declaring that all the governor 
 had said was false; and that he and the Seventeen Fires had 
 cheated and imposed on the Indians. 
 
 The governor then declared that Tecumseh ^vas a bad man, 
 and ordered him to leave the village at once, which, of course, 
 
 * American State Papers. 
 
256 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 terminated the council. It was now evident tliat the savages 
 were bent on war, and Harrison began to strengthen his posi- 
 tion, in expectation of it. He soon received reinforcements 
 and marched to the Wabash, where, about sixty miles above 
 Yincennes, he built " Fort Harrison." At this place one of 
 his sentinels was fired upon, and news received which plainly- 
 indicated that the Indians were preparing for battle. The 
 governor then determined to move directly upon Tippecanoe — 
 Tecumseh's headquarters — and upon the thirty-first of October, 
 he arrived near the mouth of the Vermilion Eiver, where he 
 built a blockhouse for the protection of his boats, and a place 
 of deposit for his heavy baggage. From tliis place he marched 
 directly into the prophet's town, where he was met by ambas- 
 sadors; he told them he had no hostile intentions, provided the 
 Indians were true to existing treaties, and made preparations 
 ^to encamp.* 
 
 The spot where the troops encamped was not altogether w^hat 
 could have been vashed, as it afforded* great facility to the 
 approach of savages. It was a piece of dry oak land, rising 
 about ten feet above the level of a marshy prairie in fi-ont 
 (towards the Indian town) and nearly twice that height above 
 a similar prairie in the rear, through which and near to this 
 bank, ran a small stream clothed with willows and brushwood. 
 Towards the left flank this bench of high land widened con- 
 siderably, but became gradually narrow in the opposite direction, 
 and at the distance of one hundred and fifty yards from the 
 right flank, terminated in an abrupt point. The two columns 
 of infantry occupied the front and rear of this ground, at the dis- 
 tance of about one hundred and fifty yards from each other on the 
 left, and something more than half that distance on the right 
 flank — these flanks were filled up, the first by two companies 
 of mounted riflemen, amounting to about one hundred and 
 twenty men, under the command of Maj.-Gen. Wells, of the 
 Kentucky militia, who served as a Major; the other by Spen- 
 cer's company of mounted riflemen, which amounted to eighty 
 men. The front line was composed of one battalion of United 
 
 * Dawson's Historical Narrative. American State Papers. Western 
 Annals. 
 
OK, TllK BOKDKK VVAKS OK TWO CKNTUKIKS. 2.>l 
 
 States infantry, under the command of Major Flojd, tianked 
 on the right by two companies of militia, and on the left by 
 one company. The rear line was composed of a battalion of 
 United States troops under the command of Clapt. Bean, acting 
 as Major, and four companies of militia infantry under Lieut.- 
 Col. Decker. The regular troops of this line joined the 
 mounted i-iflemen under General Wells, on the left flank, and 
 Col. Decker's battalion formed an angle with Spencer's com- 
 pany on the left. Two troops of dragoons, amounting, in the 
 aggregate, to about sixty men, were encamped in the rear 
 of the left flank, and Capt. Parke's troop, which was larger 
 than the other two, in the rear of the front line. 
 
 For a night attack the order of encampment was the order 
 of battle, and each man slept immediately opposite to his 
 post in the line. In the formation of the troops, single file or 
 Indian file was adopted, for the reason that in Indian warfare 
 there is but little shock to resist, one rank being quite as 
 cflfective as two; and, again, the extension of the lines is of 
 great importance. 
 
 At this place they remained until the seventh of November, 
 when about four o'clock in the morning, just after the governor 
 had risen, the left flank was attacked by the enemy. But a 
 signal gun was fired by the sentinels or by the guard in that 
 direction, which made no resistance, abandoning their posts 
 and fleeing into camp; and the first notice which the troops of 
 that flank had of the danger, was from the yells of the savages 
 within a short distance of the line. But even under these 
 circumstances, the men were not wanting in courage and dis- 
 cipline. Such of them as were awake, or were easily awakened, 
 seized their arms and took their stations; others which were 
 more tardy, had to contend with the enemy in the doors of 
 their tents. The storm first fell upon Capt. Barton's company 
 of the fourth United States regiment, and Capt. Geiger's com- 
 pany of mounted riflemen, which formed the left angle of the 
 rear line. The fire from the Indians was exceedingly severe, and 
 men in these companies suffered considerably before relief 
 could be brought to them. Some few Indians passed into the 
 encampment near the angle, and one or two penetrated to 
 17 
 
258 TIIK LIVKS OF I'ONTJAO AND ■I'ECUMSEH : 
 
 some distance before tliej were killed. All the other cotnpa- 
 iiies were formed for action before they were tired on. 
 
 The morning was dark and cloudy and the fires of the 
 Americans afforded only a partial light, which gave greater 
 advantage to the enemy than to the troops, and they were 
 therefore extinguished. As soon as the governor could mount 
 his horse he rode to the angle that was attacked, where he 
 found that Barton's company had suffered severely and the left 
 of Geiger's entirely broken. He immediately ordered Cook's 
 and Wentworth's companies to march up to the centre of the 
 rear line and form across the angle in support. His attention 
 was then attracted by a heavy fire ujDon the left of the front 
 line, where were stationed the small company of United States 
 riflemen and the companies of Bean, Snelling and Prescott, 
 As the General rode up he found Major Daviess forming the 
 dragoons in the rear of those companies, and having ascer- 
 tained that the heaviest fire proceeded from some trees about 
 fifteen or twenty paces in front of those companies, he directed 
 the Major to dislodge them with a part of the dragoons. Un- 
 fortunately the Major's gallantry caused him to undertake the 
 execution of the order with a smaller force than was required, 
 which enabled the enemy to avoid him in front and attack his 
 flanks. The Major was mortally wounded and the party driven 
 back. 
 
 The Indians were, however, immediately and gallantly dis- 
 lodged from their advantageous position by Capt. Snelling, at 
 the head of his company. In the course of a few minutes 
 after the commencement of the attack, the fire extended along 
 the left flank, the whole of the front, the right flank and part 
 of the rear line. Upon Spencer's mounted riflemen and the 
 right of Warwick's company, which was posted on the right 
 of the rear line, it was excessively severe. ( 'apt. Spencer and 
 his first and second lieutenants were killed, and Capt. Warwick 
 was mortally wounded, those companies, however, still bravely 
 maintained their posts, but Spencer had suffered so severely, 
 and having originall}^ too much ground to occupy, Harrison 
 reinforced them with Robb's company of riflemen, which had 
 been driven, or by mistake ordered i'rom their position on the 
 
OK, THE BORDEK WAKS OF IWX) CKNTMRIKS. 259 
 
 left flank, towards the centre of the camp, and iilled the vacancy 
 that had been occupied by Eobb with Prescott's company of 
 the Fourth United States regiment. The General's great object 
 was to keep the lines entire, to pi'event the enemy from break- 
 ing into the camp until daylight, which should enable him to 
 make a general and effectual charge. With this view he had 
 reinforced every part of the line that had suffered much, and 
 with the approach of morning he withdrew from the front line 
 Snelling's, Posey's and Scott's, and from the rear line Wilson's 
 companies, and drew them up upon the left flank, and at the 
 same time ordered Cook's and Bean's companies, the former 
 from the rear, and the latter from the front line, to reinforce 
 the right flank, forseeing that at these points the enemy would 
 make their last efforts. Major Wells, who commanded on the 
 left flank, took command of these companies and charged upon 
 the enemy, driving them at the point of the bayonet into the 
 marsh, where they could not be followed. Meanwhile Capt. 
 Cook and Lieut. Barabee marched their companies to the right 
 flank and formed them under the Are of the eneni}^, and being 
 then joined by the riflemen of that flank, chai'ged the enemy, 
 killing a number of Indians and putting the rest to a precipi- 
 tate flight.* 
 
 In this battle Gen. Harrison commanded only about seven 
 hundred efiicient men, while the Indians numbered nearly one 
 thousand warriors. The loss of the American army was thirty- 
 seven killed on the field, twenty-five mortally wounded and 
 one hundred and twenty-six wounded; that of the Indians 
 about forty killed on the spot, the number of wounded being 
 unknown. The battle of Tippecanoe was fought on the seventh 
 of, November, 1811. It was a decisive victory for the United 
 States, and for some time after the frontiers enjoyed peace. 
 
 * American State Papers. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 TEcruMSEn's Anger — He Joins the British — Hull's Inglorious 
 Campaign — Surrender of Detroit — Surrender op Mackinac — 
 Triumphs op the British — Hull's Incapacity. 
 
 WniLE the prophet was leading the confederated warriors 
 to battle against Harrison's army near Tippecanoe, Tecumseh 
 was absent among the Southern Indians for the purpose of 
 bringing them into the confederacy. On his return a few days 
 after Harrison's victory, he found, to his great dissatisfaction, 
 that many of his followers had dispersed; that his brother had 
 disgraced himself by his imprudence, and that his best hopes 
 were destroyed. He was very angry at his brother, seized him 
 by the hair, shook him violently and threatened to take his 
 life. By his imprudence in attacking the American army at 
 Tippecanoe the prophet had destroyed his own power and 
 ruined the projected confederacy. 
 
 Tecumsdi immediately sent word to Gov. Harrison that he 
 had returned from the south, and that he was ready to visit 
 the President as had been previously proposed. The Governor 
 gave him permission to proceed to Washington, but not as the 
 leader of a party of Indians, as he desired. The proud chief, 
 who had appeared at Yincennes in 1810 with a large party of 
 braves, had no desire to appear before his " Great Father," the 
 President, without his retinue. The proposed visit was de- 
 clined and the intercourse between Tecumseh and the Governor 
 terminated. In June, he sought an interview with the Indian 
 agent at Fort Wayne, disavowed any intention of making war 
 on the United States, and reproached Gen. Harrison for having 
 marched against his people during his absence. The agent 
 replied to ^his; Tecumseh listened with frigid indifference, and 
 after making a few general remarks with a haughty air, left 
 (260) 
 
OR, THE BOKDEB WARS OF TWO CENTUR1I<:S. 261 
 
 the council house and departed for Fort Maiden, in Upper 
 Canada, where he joined the British standard.* 
 
 During the winter of 1811-12 we find the Congreso of the 
 United States discussing the subject of war with Great Britain. 
 The reader is probably familiar with the causes which led to 
 this. Even as early as December, 1811, a proposition was 
 openly made to invade Canada in the following spring, before 
 the ice broke up, and in particular was urged the necessity of 
 such operations at the outset of the anticipated contest as 
 should wrest from the enemy the command of the upper lakes 
 and secure the neutrality or favor of the Indian tribes by the 
 conquest of Upper Canada. 
 
 Measures were also taken for the defense of the ISTorthwcst 
 frontier against Indian hostility, and which, in the event of a 
 rupture with Great Britain, would enable the United States to 
 obtain command of Lake Erie. These steps were, however, 
 by no means suitable to the attainment of this object. In 
 place of a naval force on Lake Erie, the importance of which 
 had been frequently urged, the government proposed to use 
 no other military means, and hoped, by the presence of two 
 thousand soldiers, to eflect the capture or destruction of the 
 British fleet. When, therefore. Gen. Hull, to whom the com- 
 mand of the army destined for the conquest of Canada had 
 been confided, commenced his march from Dayton, on the first 
 of June, it was with means which he himself regarded as 
 utterly inadequate to the object aimed at, a fact which suffi- 
 ciently explains his vascillating, nerveless conduct. Through 
 that whole month, he and his troops toiled on toward the 
 Maumee, busy with their roads, bridges and block-houses. On 
 the twenty-fourth, advices from the Secretary of War, dated on 
 the eighteenth, came to hand, but not a word contained in 
 them made it probable that the long expected war would be 
 immediately declared, although Col. McArthur at the same 
 time received word from Chillicothe warning him, on the 
 authority of Thomas Worthington, then Senator from Ohio, 
 that before the letter reached him, the declaration would have 
 been made public. This information McArthur laid before 
 
 * Brown's History of Illinois. 
 
ZiOZ THK LIVES OF PONTLtVC AJSI) TK(;UMSEH : 
 
 Gen. Hull; and when, upon reaching the Maumee, that com- 
 mander proposed to place his baggage, stores and sick on board 
 a vessel, and send them by water to Detroit, the backwoodsman 
 warned him of the danger, and refused to trust his own 
 property on board. Hull, however, treated the report of war 
 as the old story which had been current through all the spring, 
 and refused to believe it possible that the government would 
 not give him information at the earliest moment that the 
 measure was resolved on. He, accordingly, on the first of July, 
 embarked his disabled men and most of his goods on board 
 the Cuyahoga packet, suffering his aid-de-camp in his careless- 
 ness to send by her even his instructions and army-roll, and 
 then proceeded upon his way. The next day, July second, 
 a letter of the same date of that received upon the twenty- 
 fourth of June, reached him with the intelligence that war 
 had that day been declared. Before his astonishment was 
 over, word was brought of the capture of his packet off Maiden, 
 with all his official papers. The latter passed into the hands 
 of the foe, and thus informed them of his purposes and his 
 strength. However no effort was made by the British to 
 prevent the Americans from marching to Detroit, nor to inter- 
 fere with their passage across the river to Sandwich, where 
 they established themselves on the twelfth of July, preparatory 
 to attacking Maiden itself. " And here, at once," says Mr. 
 Peck, in the Western Annals, " the incapacity of Hull showed 
 itself. By his own confession he took every step under the 
 influence of two sets of fears; he dared not, on the one hand, 
 act boldly for fear that his incompetent force would be all 
 destroyed; while, on the other hand, he dared not refuse to 
 act for fear his militia, already uneasy, would desert him." 
 Thus embarrassed, he proclaimed freedom to the Americans, 
 holding out inducements to the British militia to desert, and 
 to the Indians to keep quiet. Satisfied with this he sat still at 
 Sandwich, endeavoring to pacify his bloodthirsty backwoods- 
 men, who seemed furious to attack Maiden. Meanwhile Col. 
 Cass and Col. Miller, by an attack upon the advanced parties 
 of the enemy, demonstrated the willingness and power of their 
 men to push their conquests if the chance were given, but 
 
OK, THE JiORDEK WARS OF TWO OKNTURIK>!. 263 
 
 Hull refused the opportunity, and when the appointed time 
 arrived that the army was to make the assault, Hull, for some 
 reason, returned with most of his army to Detroit, " having 
 effected nothing except the destruction of all confidence in 
 him on the part of the whole force under his control, officers 
 and privates." 
 
 By this time, Col. Proctor had reached Maiden, and perceiv- 
 ing at once the power which the position of that post gave him 
 over the supplies of the army of the United States, he com- 
 menced a series of operations, the object of which was to cut 
 off the communications of Hull with Ohio, and thus not 
 merely neutralize all active operations on his part, but starve 
 him into surrender or force him to detail his whole array in 
 order to keep open his way to the only point from which sup- 
 plies could reach him. A proper force on Lake Erie, or the 
 capture of Maiden, would have prevented this annoying and 
 fatal mode of warfare, but the imbecility of the government 
 and that of the General, combined to favor the plans of Proc- 
 tor.''^ He stopped the stores on their way to Detroit, at the 
 river Kaisin, and defeated the insufficient band of two hundred 
 men under Yan Horn, sent by Hull to escort them. Further 
 than this, he so far withstood a detachment of live hundred 
 under Col. Miller as to cause Hull to recall the remnant of that 
 victorious and gallant band, though it had completely routed 
 both Britisli and Indians. In this way Proctor held the 
 Americans in check until the arrival of Gen. Brock. This 
 officer reached Maiden on the thirteenth of August, and imme- 
 diately began operations for the conquest of Detroit. 
 
 On the fourteenth of August, while a party under Col, 
 McArthur was dispatched by Hull to open communication 
 with the river Eaisin, Gen. Brock appeared at Sandwich and 
 began to erect batteries to protect his further operations. 
 Hull would not permit any of his men to molest these batteries, 
 saying that if the enemy did not fire on him he would not on 
 them, and though, when summoned to surrender on the 
 fifteenth of August, he stoutly refused, yet, upon tlie sixteenth, 
 without striking a blow, he surrendered the town of Detroit 
 * See Hull's Defense — Western Annals. 
 
264 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 and territory of Michigan, together with fourteen hundred 
 men, longing for battle, to three hundred English soldiers, four 
 hundred Canadian militia, disguised in red coats, and a band 
 of Tecumseh's warriors* For this conduct he was accused 
 of treason and cowardice, and convicted of the latter. " Nor 
 can we doubt," says Mr, Peck, " the justice of the sentence. 
 However brave he may have been personally, he was as a com- 
 mander a coward; and moreover he was influenced, confessedly, 
 by his fears as a father, lest his daughter and her children 
 should fall into the hands of the Indians. In truth his 
 faculties seem to have been paralized by fear; fear that he 
 should fail ; fear that his troops would be unfair to him ; fear 
 that the savages would spare no one if opposed with vigor; 
 fear of some undefined horrid evil impending." 
 
 But the fall of Detroit was not the only misfortune of this 
 summer. On the seventeenth of July a British force, together 
 with Canadians and Indians, numbering in all, one thousand 
 and twenty, attacked the American garrison at Mackinac, and 
 the latter, amounting to but fifty-seven effective men, felt 
 unable to withstand so formidable a body, and to avoid the 
 constantly threatened Indian massacre, surrendered as prison- 
 ers of war, and were dismissed on parole. 
 
 * McAffee's Account — Hull's Trial — Western Annals. 
 
CHAPTEE XXXIII. 
 
 Chicago — Its Early Settlement — Its Condition in 1812 — Order 
 FOR Evacuation — Council with the Indians — Their Promises 
 AND their Treachery — The Massacre — Heroism op Women — 
 Accounts of Mrs. Helm and Others — Thrilling Incidents. 
 
 We next come to one of tlie saddest events in the whole- 
 narrative — the massacre of Chicago. A small trading post 
 had been established at Chicago in the jDeriod of French ex- 
 plorations, but no village formed; and it will be remembered 
 that at the treaty of Greenville, in 1795, the Pottawatomies, 
 Miamis and other nations agreed to relinquish their right to 
 a peace of land six miles square at the mouth of the Chicao-o 
 river, " where a fort formerly stood." 
 
 The United States erected a small fort upon the site of the 
 present city of Chicago in 1804, called Fort Dearborn. It 
 stood in the same place where the fort was erected in 1833, 
 but was of a different construction, having two block houses 
 on the southern side, and on the northern side, a sally port or 
 subterranean passage from the parade ground to the river. In 
 1812 the fort was garrisoned by Capt. Heald, commanding, 
 Lieut. Helm, Ensign Konan, Surgeon Voorhees and seventy- 
 five men, very few of whom were effective. 
 
 The Indians in the vicinity had always manifested a friend- 
 ship for the officers and soldiers of the garrison. However,.' 
 the principal chiefs and braves of the Pottawatomie nation- 
 visited Fort Maiden, on the Canada side, annually, received 
 presents to a large amount, and were in alliance with Great 
 Britain. Many Pottawatomies, Winnebagoes, Ottawas and 
 Shawanoes were in the battle of Tippecanoe, yet the principal 
 chiefs in the immediate vicinity were on amicable terms with 
 the Americans at this post. Besides those persons, attached to 
 
 (2(55) 
 
266 THK IA\& OF I'ONTIAC AND TEOUMSEH: 
 
 the garrison there was in tlie fort the family of Mr. Kinzie, 
 who had been engaged in the fur trade at that spot from 1804, 
 and a few Canadians, or engages, with their wives and children. 
 
 On the seventh 'of April, 1812, a band of hostile Winneba- 
 goes attacked JVIr. Lee's settlement, at a place called Hard- 
 scrabble, about four miles from Chicago, and massacred a Mr. 
 White, and a Frenchman in his employ. Two other men 
 escaped. For some days after this there were signs of hostile 
 Indians, and repeated alarms at the garrison, but the whole 
 passed off in quietness until all apprehension was dismissed. 
 On the seventh of the following August, "Winnemeg, or Catfish, 
 a friendly Pottawattomie chief, arrived at Chicago (Fort 
 Dearborn) bringing dispatches from Governor Hull, the 
 commander-in-chief in the Northwest. These dispatches 
 announced the declaration of war between the United States 
 and Great Britain; that General Hull, at the head of the army 
 in the Northwest, was on his way from Fort Wayne to Detroit, 
 and that the British had possessed themselves of Mackinac. 
 His orders to Captain Heald, were, "to evacuate the post, 
 if practicable, and, in that event, to distribute the property 
 belonging to the United States, in the fort, and in the factory 
 or agency, to the Indians in the neighborhood." * 
 
 Chief Winnemeg, after delivering his dispatches, repaired to 
 the house of Mr. Kinzie and stated to him that he was 
 acquainted with the purport of the communications he had 
 brought, and begged him to ascertain if it were the intention 
 of Captain Heald to evacuate the post. He advised strongly 
 that such a step should not be taken, since the garrison was 
 well supplied with ammunition, and with provisions for a six 
 month's siege. He added that it would be far better to remain 
 until a reinforcement could be sent to their assistance. If, 
 however, Capt. Heald should decide on leaving the post, it 
 should by all means be done immediately. The Pottawato- 
 mies, through whose country they must pass, being ignorant 
 of Winnemeg's mission, a forced march might be made before 
 the hostile Indians were prepared to interrupt them. 
 
 * Western Annals. 
 
OK, THE BOKDKK WARS OF TWO (^ENlliKlKS. 267 
 
 Capt. Heald was immediately informed of tliis advice. He 
 said that it was bis intention to evacuate the post, but that 
 inasmuch as he had received orders to distribute the United 
 States property, he would not leave until he had collected the 
 Indians in the neio^hborhood, and made a fair division of the 
 property among them. Winnemeg then urged the expediency 
 of marching out and leaving all things standing. Possibly, 
 he said, while the savages were engaged in apportioning the 
 spoils, the troops might effect their retreat unmolested. Mr. 
 Kinzie strongly supported this advice, but it did not meet the 
 approbation of the commanding officer. The order for evac- 
 uating the post was read on the following morning at parade. 
 For some reason, Capt. Heald relied on his own judgment in 
 this matter, and refused to hold a council with his officers. In 
 the course of the day, finding no council was called, the officers 
 waited upon Capt. Heald, wishing to be informed as to what 
 course he had determined to pursue. When they learned his 
 intention to leave the fort, they remonstrated with him, setting 
 forth the dangers that such a measure would incur upon the 
 garrison. It was highly improbable, they said, that the com- 
 mand would be permitted to pass through the country in safety 
 to Fort Wayne. For, although it had been said that some of 
 the chiefs had opposed an attack upon the post, planned the 
 preceding autumn, yet, it was well known that they had been 
 actuated in that matter by motives of private regard to one 
 family, and not to any general friendly feeling towards the 
 Americans; and that, at any rate, it was hardly to be expected 
 that these few individuals would be able to control the whole 
 tribe, who were thirstj'^ for blood. In the next place, their 
 march must necessarily be slow as their movements must be 
 accommodated to the helplessness of the women and children, 
 of whom there were many with the garrison ; that, of their 
 small force, some of the soldiers were superannuated and others 
 invalid ; therefore, since the course to be pursued was left dis- 
 cretional, their advice was to remain where they were, and 
 fortify themselves as strongly as possible. Succor from the 
 other side of the peninsula might arrive before they could be 
 attacked by the British from Mackinac, and even should there 
 
268 THE LIVES OF I'ONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 not, it were far better to fall into the hands of the latter, than 
 to become the victims of the savages, 
 
 Capt. Heald's reply was that a special order had been issued 
 by the War Department, that no post should be surrendered 
 without battle having been given ; and that his force was 
 totally inadequate to an engagement with the Indians. That 
 he should, unquestionably, be censured for remaining when 
 there appeared a prospect of a safe march through, and that 
 upon the whole, he deemed it expedient to assemble the 
 Indians, distribute the property among them, and then ask of 
 them an escort to Fort Wayne, with the promise of a consid- 
 erable reward upon their safe arrival — adding, that he had full 
 confidence in the friendly professions of the Indians, from 
 whom, as well as from the soldiers, the capture of Mackinac 
 had been kept a profound secret. 
 
 From this time the officers held themselves aloof, and spoke 
 but little upon the subject, though they considered the project 
 of Capt. Heald little short of madness. The dissatisfaction 
 among the soldiers hourly increased, until it reached a high 
 degree of insubordination. Upon one occasion, as Captain 
 Heald was conversing with Mr. Kinzie, upon the parade, he 
 said, '' I could not remain, even if I thought it best, for I have 
 bu<; a small store of provisions." ''Why, Captain," said a 
 soldier, who stood near, forgetting all etiquette, in the excite- 
 ment of the moment, "you have cattle enough to last the 
 troops six months." "But," replied Captain Heald, " I have 
 no salt to preserve the beef with." "Then jerk^ it," said the 
 man. " as the Indians do their venison." 
 
 The Indians now became daily more unruly. Entering the 
 fort in defiance of the sentinels, they made their way without 
 ceremony into the quarters of the officers. On one occasion, 
 an Indian took up a rifle and fired it in the parlor of the com- 
 manding officer, as an expression of defiance. Some were of 
 opinion, that it was intended, among the young men, as a 
 signal for an attack. The old chiefs passed backward and for- 
 
 * This is done by cutting the meat in thin slices, placing it upon a 
 scaffold and making a slow fire under it, which dries and smokes it at the 
 same time. 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 269 
 
 ward, among the assembled groups, with the appearance of the 
 most lively agitation, while the squaws rushed to and fro in 
 great excitement, and evidently prepared for some fearful 
 scene.* Any further manifestation of ill-feeling was, how- 
 ever, suppressed for the present, and Captain Heald, strange as 
 it may seem, continued to entertain a conviction of his having 
 created so amicable a disposition among the Indians, as would 
 insure the safety of the command, on their march to Fort 
 Wayne. 
 
 In the midst of this excitement, a messenger arrived among 
 the Indians from Tecumseh, with the news of the capture of 
 Mackinac, the defeat of Van Home, and the retreat of Gen. 
 Hull from Canada. He desired them to arm immediately, and 
 intimated that Hull would soon be compelled to surrender. 
 
 Matters continued in this state until the twelfth of August, 
 when a council was held with the Indians who had collected. 
 None of the military oflScers attended except Capt. Heald, 
 although requested by him to do so. They had been informed 
 that it was the intention of the young chiefs to massacre them 
 in council, and as soon as the commander left the fort, they 
 took command of the blockhouses, opened the port holes and. 
 pointed the loaded cannon so as to command the whole council. 
 This, probably, caused a postponement of their horrid designs. 
 
 At the council the captain informed the Indians of his 
 intentions to distribute, the next day, among them, all the 
 goods in the storehouses, with the ammunition and provisions. 
 He requested the Pottawatomies to furnish him an escort to 
 Fort Wayne, promising them a liberal reward upon their 
 arrival there, in addition to the liberal presents they were now 
 to receive. The Indians were profuse in their professions of 
 good- will and friendship, assented to all he proposed, and prom- 
 ised all that he desired. The result shows the true character 
 of the savages. " No act of kindness, nor offer of reward, 
 could assuage their thirst for blood." Mr. Kinzie, who well 
 understood the Indian character and their designs, waited on 
 the commander, in the hope of showing him his real situation. 
 He told him that the Indians had been secretly hostile to the 
 
 * Western Annals. 
 
270 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH : 
 
 Americans for a long time; that since the battle of Tippe- 
 canoe he had dispatched orders to all his traders to furnish no 
 ammunition to them, and pointed out the wretched policy of 
 Capt. Heald in furnishing the enemy with arms and ammuni- 
 tion to destroy the Americans. This argument opened Heald \s 
 eyes, and he resolved to destroy the ammunition and liquor. 
 On the thirteenth the goods were distributed, and the liquor 
 and ammunition destroyed. 
 
 Meanwhile, Capt. Wells was hastening forward from Fort 
 Wayne to aid the garrison at Chicago. He had heard of the 
 order of Gen. Hull to evacuate Fort Dearborn, and knowing 
 the hostile intentions of the Pottawatomies, he had made a 
 rapid march through the wilderness, to prevent, if possible, 
 the exposure of his sister, Mrs. Heald, the officers and garri- 
 son, to certain destruction. But he came too late! The 
 ammunition had been destroyed, and the provisions were in the 
 hands of the enemy. He, therefore, urged an immediate 
 departure, and, accordingly every preparation was made for 
 the march of the troops on the following morning. (3n the 
 day of Capt. Wells' arrival another council was held with the 
 savages, in which they expressed great dissatisfaction at the 
 destruction of the liquor and ammunition. " Murmurs and 
 threats were heard in every quarter." Among the chiefs and 
 braves were several who, although they partook of the feelings 
 of hostility to the Americans, yet retained a personal regard 
 for the troops and the white families in the place. They 
 exerted their utmost influence to allay the angry feelings of 
 the savage warriors, but to no purpose. Among those was 
 Black Partridge, a chief of some distinction. The evening 
 after the second council, he entered Heald's room and said: 
 " Father, I come to deliver up to you the medal I wear. It 
 was given me by the Americans, and I have long worn it in 
 token of mutual friendship. But our young men are resolved 
 to imbrue their hands in the blood of the whites. I cannot 
 restrain them, and I will not wear a token of peace while I am 
 compelled to act as an enemy." The ammunition that had 
 been reserved — twenty-five rounds to a man — was now distrib- 
 uted. The baggage wagons for the sick, the women and 
 
OK, THE BORDER M'AKS OF T\V<» CENTUKIES. 271 
 
 children were ready, and, " amidst the surrounding gloom, and 
 the expectation of a fatiguing march through the ^^■ilderness^ 
 or a disastrous issue on the morrow, the whole party, except 
 the watchful sentinels, retired for a little rest." At length the 
 fatal morning of the fifteenth of August arrived. The sun 
 rose in splendor above the placid bosom of Lake Michigan, the 
 air was balmy, and, excepting the distressing apprehensions of 
 the garrison and their families, the morning M'as delightful. 
 
 At an early hour Mr. Kinzie received a message from Tope- 
 neebe, a friendly chief of the St. Joseph's band, informing him 
 that the Pottawatomies, who had promised to be an escort to 
 the detachment, designed mischief Mr. Kinzie had placed his 
 family under the protection of some friendly Indians. This 
 party embarked in a boat, and consisted of Mrs. Kinzie, four 
 children, a clerk of Mr. Kinzie's, two servants and the boat- 
 men, with two Indians as protectors. This boat was intended 
 to pass along the southern shore of the lake to St. Joseph, 
 while Mr. Kinzie and his eldest son had agreed to accompany 
 (Japt. Heald and the troops, as he thought his influence over 
 the Indians would enable him to restrain the fury of the sav- 
 ages, as they were much attached to him and his family. 
 Topeneebe urged him and his son to accompany his family in 
 the boat, assuring him the hostile Indians would allow his 
 boat to pass in safety to St. Joseph's. The boat had but 
 reached the lake, when another messenger arrived from the 
 same chief to detain them where they were. 
 
 At nine o'clock the troops, with the baggage wagons, left 
 the fort '' with martial music and in military array." Capt. 
 Wells, at the head of his band of Miamis, led the advance, 
 with his face blackened after the manner of Indians; the troops 
 with the wagons, containing the women and children, the sick 
 and lame, followed, while, at a little distance behind, were the 
 Pottawatomies, about five hundred in number, who had pledged 
 their honor to escort them in safety to Fort Wayne. The party 
 took the road along the lake shore, and on reaching the point 
 where a range of sand hills commenced, the Pottawatomies 
 defiled on the right into the prairie, so as to bring the sand 
 hills between them and the Americans. Thev had marched 
 
272 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: ' 
 
 about a mile and a lialf from the fort, when Capt. Wells, who, 
 with his Miamis, was in advance, rode furiously back and 
 exclaimed: 
 
 " Thev are about to attack us; form instantly, and charge 
 upon them!" 
 
 But these words had scarcely been uttered, when a volly of 
 balls from Indian muskets, behind the sand-hills, poured upon 
 them. The troops were formed as quick as possible and 
 charged up the bank. One man, a veteran soldier of seventy, 
 fell as they mounted the bank. The battle became general. 
 The Miamis fled at the outset, though Capt. Wells did his 
 utmost to induce them to stand their ground. Their chief rode 
 up to the Pottawatomies, charged them with treachery, and, 
 brandishing his tomahawk, declared, " he would be the first to 
 head a party of Americans and punish them." He then 
 turned his horse and galloped after his companions over the 
 prairie.* The American troops charged upon the Indians in 
 a gallant manner, and " sold their lives dearly." Mrs, Helm, 
 wife of Lieut. Helm, was in the thickest of the action, and 
 behaved with singular presence of mind. Indeed every woman 
 present acted with great composure. Mrs. Helm, in giving an 
 account of the battle, or the massacre, said that the horses 
 pranced and bounded, and could hardly be restrained, as the 
 balls whistled around them. She drew off to one side and gazed 
 upon Lieut. Helm, her husband, who was as yet unharmed. 
 She says: "I felt that my hour was come and endeavored to 
 forget those I loved, and prepare myself for my approaching 
 fate. While I was thus engaged, the surgeon, Dr. Y., came 
 up; he was badly wounded. His horse had been shot under 
 him, and he had received a ball in his leg. Every muscle of 
 his countenance was quivering with the agony of terror. He 
 said to me, ' Do you think they will take our lives? I am badly 
 wounded, but I think not mortally. Perhaps we might pur- 
 chase our lives by promising them a large reward. Do you 
 think there is any chance?' 
 
 " ' Dr. Y.,' said I, ' do not let us waste the few moments that 
 yet remain to us in such vain hopes. Our fate is inevitable. 
 
 * Western Annals. 
 
OK, '['UK BOKDKR WAKS OF TWO CENTURIES. 273 
 
 In u few moments we must appear before tlie bar of God. Let 
 lis endeavor to make what preparation is yet in our power.' 
 *()li ! I cannot die !' exclaimed he; 'I am not fit to die — if I 
 had but a short time to prepare — death is awful !' I pointed 
 to ensign Ronan, who, though mortally wounded, and nearly 
 down, was still fighting with desperation upon one knee. 
 
 " *• Look at that man,' said I, ' at least he dies like a soldier!' 
 
 " ' Yes,' replied the unfortunate man, with a convulsive 
 gasp, 'but he has no terrors of tlie future — he is an unbe- 
 liever!' 
 
 "At this moment a young Indian raised his tomahawk at 
 me. By springing aside I avoided the blow which was aimed 
 at my skull, but which alighted on my shoulder. I seized him 
 around the neck, and, while exerting my utmost efi^brts to get 
 possession of his scalping-knife, which hung in a scabbard 
 over his breast, I was dragged from his grasp by another and 
 older Indian. 
 
 "The latter bore me, struggling and resisting, towards the 
 lake. Notwithstanding the rapidity with which I was hurried 
 along, I recognized, as I passed them, the lifeless remains of 
 the unfortunate surgeon. Some murderous tomahawk had 
 stretched him upon the very spot where I had last seen him. 
 
 " I was immediately plunged into the water, and held there 
 with a forcible hand, notwithstanding my i-esistance. I soon 
 perceived, however, that the object of ray captor was not to 
 drown me, as he held me firmly in such a position as to place 
 my head above the water. This reassured rae, and regarding 
 him attentively, I soon recognized, in spite of the paint, with 
 which he was disguised, The Black Partridge. 
 
 " When the firing had somewhat subsided, my preserver bore 
 me from the water and conducted me up the sand-banks. It 
 was a burning August morning, and walking through the 
 sand in my drenched condition, was inexpressibly painful and 
 fatiguing. I stopped and took off my shoes to free them from 
 the sand, with which they were nearly filled, when a squaw 
 seized and carried them off, and I was obliged to proceed 
 without them. When we had gained the prairie, I was met 
 by my father, who told me that my husband was safe, and but 
 18 
 
274 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSKH: 
 
 slightly wounded. They led me gently back toward the 
 Chicago river, along the southern bank of which was the Pot- 
 tawatomie encampment. At one time I was placed upon a 
 horse without a saddle, but soon finding the motion insup- 
 portable, I sprang off. Supported partly by my kind con- 
 ductor, and partly by another Indian, Pee-so-tum, who held 
 dangling in his hand the scalp of Capt. Wells, I dragged my 
 fainting steps to one of the wigwams, 
 
 "The wife of Wau-hee-nee-mah^ a chief from the Illinois 
 river, was standing near, and seeing my exhausted condition, 
 she seized a kettle, dipped up some water from a little stream 
 that flowed near, threw into it some maple sugar, and stirring 
 it up with her hand, gave it to me to drink. This act of kind- 
 ness, in the midst of so many atrocities, touched me most 
 sensibly, but ni}' attention was soon diverted to another object. 
 The fort had become a scene of plunder to such as remained 
 after the troops had marched out. The cattle had been shot 
 down as they ran at large and lay dead or dying around. 
 
 " As the noise of the firing grew gradually less, and the 
 stragglers from the victorious party dropped in, I received 
 confirmation of what my father had hurriedly communicated 
 in our renconter on the lake shore; namely, that the whites 
 had surrendered after the loss of about two-thirds their num- 
 ber. They had stipulated for the preservation of their lives, 
 and those of the remaining women and children, and for their 
 delivery at some of the British posts, unless ransomed by 
 traders in the Indian country. It appears that the wounded 
 prisoners were not considered as included in the stipulation, 
 and a horrible scene occurred upon their being brought into 
 camp. 
 
 " An old squaw, infuriated by the loss of friends, or excited 
 by the sanguinary scenes around her, seemed possessed by a 
 demoniac ferocity. She seized a stable fork and assaulted one 
 miserable victim who lay groaning and writhing in the agony 
 of his wounds, aggravated by -the scorching beams of the sun. 
 With a delicacy of feeling scarcely to have been expected 
 under such circumstances, Wau-bee-nee-mah stretched a mat 
 across two poles between me and this dreadful scene. I was 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 275 
 
 thus Spared, in some degree, a view of its horrors, although I 
 could not entirely close 'my ears to the cries of the sufferer. 
 The following night five more of the wounded prisoners were 
 tomahawked." 
 
 But why dwell upon this painful subject? Why describe 
 the butchery of the children, twelve of whom, placed together 
 on one baggage-wagon, fell beneath the merciless tomahawk 
 of one young savage? This atrocious act was committed after 
 the whites, twenty-seven in number, had surrendered. When 
 Capt. Wells beheld it he exclaimed; '' Is that their game? Then 
 I will kill too!" So saying, he turned his horse's head, and 
 started for the Indian camp near the fort, where had been left 
 their squaws and children. 
 
 Several Indians pursued him, firing at him as he galloped 
 along. He laid himself flat on the neck of his horse, loading 
 and firing in that position ; at length the balls of his pursuers 
 took effect, killing his horse and severely M'ounding himself. 
 At this moment he was met by Winnemeg and Wau-ban-see, 
 who endeavored to save him from the savages who had now 
 overtaken him; but as they supported him along, after having 
 disengaged him from his horse, he received his death-blow 
 from one of the party, (Pee-so-tum,) who stabbed him in the 
 back. 
 
 The heroic resolution of one of the soldier's wives deserves 
 to be recorded. She had, from the first, expressed a determi- 
 nation never to fall into the hands of the savages, believina: 
 that their prisoners were always subjected to tortures worse 
 than death. When, therefore, a party came up to her, to make 
 her prisoner, she fought with desperation, refusing to surrender, 
 although assured of safe treatment, and literally suffered herself 
 to be cut to pieces, rather than become their captive.* 
 
 The heart of Capt. Wells was taken out and cut into pieces, 
 and distributed among the tribes. His mutilated body was 
 not interred until " Billy Caldwell," Tecumseh's Secretary, 
 arrived and buried it. The head was entirely separated from 
 the body, and the latter was cut into several pieces. The fam- 
 ily of Mr. Kinzie had been taken from the boat to their home, 
 * Western Annals. 
 
276 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECDMSEH : 
 
 by friendly Indians, and there strictly guarded. Very soon a 
 hostile party of the Pottawatomies arrived from the Wabash, 
 and " it required all the skill and bravery of Black Partridge, 
 Waubansee, Billy Caldwell and other friendly Indians to pro- 
 tect them." Messengers had been sent by the Chicago Indians 
 to notify all hostile tribes of the intended evacuation of the 
 fort, and of their plan of attacking the troops. Wherever 
 these messages were delivered, the Indians wasted no time in 
 repairing to the scene of massacre, but most of them arrived 
 too late. These were infuriated at their disappointment, and 
 sought to glut their vengeance on the wounded and prisoners. 
 Mr. Kinzie and his family escaped through the protection of 
 the savages. Of the other prisoners, Capt. Heald and Mrs. 
 Heald were sent across the lake to St. Joseph's, the day after 
 the battle. Capt. Heald had received two wounds, and his wife 
 seven, the ball of one of which was cut from her arm by Mr. 
 Kinzie with a pen-knife, after the engagement. Mrs. Heald 
 was ransomed on the battle-field by a half-breed, for a mule 
 and ten bottles of whisky. Capt. Heald was taken prisoner by 
 an Indian from the Kankakee, who, seeing the wounded and 
 suffering condition of Mrs. Heald, generoulsy released his pris- 
 oner, that he might accompany his wife. But when this Indian 
 returned to his village on the Kankakee, he found that his gen- 
 erosity had excited so much dissatisfaction in his band that he 
 resolved to visit St. Josepli's and reclaim his prisoner. News 
 of his intention, having reached Topeneebe, Keepotah, Chan- 
 donnai and other friendly braves, they sent them in a bark 
 canoe, under the charge of Robinson, a half-breed, along the 
 eastern side of Lake Michigan, three hundred miles, to Mack- 
 inac, where they were delivered over to the commanding 
 officer. 
 
 Lieut. Helm was wounded in the action and taken prisoner; 
 and afterwards taken by some friendly Indians to the Au Sable, 
 and from thence to St. Louis, and liberated from captivity 
 through the agency of Thomas Forsyth. Mrs. Helm received 
 a slight wound in the ankle; had her horse shot from under 
 her; and, after passing through the agonizing scenes described, 
 went with the family of Mr. Kinzie to Detroit. The soldiers, 
 
OB, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 277 
 
 with their wives and children, were dispered among the differ- 
 ent villages of the Pottawatomies, upon the Illinois, Wabash, 
 Rock River and Milwaukee. The largest proportion were taken 
 to Detroit, and ransomed the following spring. Some, how- 
 ever, remained in captivity another year, and experienced more 
 kindness than was expected from an enem.}' so merciless.* 
 
 In addition to the accounts of the massacre of Fort Dear- 
 born, already given, I will affix the official report of Capt. 
 Heald, which differs in no essential particular from that already 
 
 " On the ninth of August, I received orders from Gen. Hull to evacuate 
 the post, and proceed with my command to Detroit, leaving it at my dis- 
 cretion to dispose of the public property as I thought proper. The 
 neighboring Indians got the information as early as I did, and came from 
 all quarters to receive the goods in the factory store, which they understood 
 were to be given to them. On the thirteenth, Capt. Wells, of Fort Wayne, 
 arrived with about thirty Miamis, for the purpose of escorting us in by the 
 request of Gen. Hull. On the fourteenth, I deliveredShe Indians all the 
 goods in the factory store, and a considerable quantity of provisions, 
 which we could not take away with us. 
 
 The surplus arms and ammunition, I thought proper to destroy, fearing 
 they would make bad use of it, if put in their possession. 
 
 I also destroyed all the liquor on hand, soon after they began to collect. 
 The collection was unusually large for that place, but they conducted with 
 the strictest propriety, till after I left the fort. 
 
 On the fifteenth, at nine o'clock a. m., we commenced our march — a part 
 of the Miamis were detached in front, the remainder in our rear as guards, 
 under the direction of Capt. Wells. The situation of the country ren- 
 dered it necessary for us to take the beach, with the lake on our left, and a 
 high bank on our right, at about one hundred yards distance. We pro- 
 ceeded about a mile and a half, when it was discovered the Indians were 
 prepared to attack us from behind the bank. 
 
 I immediately marched up the company to the top of the bank, when 
 the action commenced; after firing one round, recharged, and the Indians 
 gave way in front and joined those on our flanks. In about fifteen min- 
 utes, they got posssssion of all our horses, provision and baggage of every 
 description, and, finding the Miamis did not assist us, I drew otf the few 
 men I had left, and took possession of a small elevation in the open prairie 
 out of shot of the bank or any other cover. The Indians did not follow 
 me, but assembled in a body on the the top of the bank, and after some 
 consultation among themselves, made signs to me to approach them. I 
 
 * Peck's Compilation. 
 
278 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 advanced towards them alone, and was met by one of the Pottawatomie 
 chiefs called the Blackbird, with an interpreter. 
 
 After shaking hands, he requested me to surrender, promising to spare 
 the lives of all the prisoners. On a few moments' consideration, I con- 
 eluded it would be the most prudent to comply with his request, although 
 I did not put entire confidence in his promise. After delivering up our 
 arms, we were taken back to their encampment near the fort, and distrib- 
 uted among the different tribes. 
 
 The next morning they set fire to the fort, and left the place, taking the 
 prisoners wi*,h them. Their number of warriors was between four and 
 five hundred, mostly of the Pottawatomie nation, and their loss, from the 
 best information I could get, .was about fifteen. Our strength was fifty- 
 four regulars and twelve militia, out of which twenty-six regulars and all 
 the militia, -were killed in the action, with two women and twelve 
 children. 
 
 Ensign George Ronan and Doctor Isaac V. Van Voorhees, of my com- 
 pany, with Capt. Wells, of Fort Wayne, are, to my great sorrow, numbered 
 among the dead. Lieut. Lina T. Helm, with twenty-five non-commissioned 
 officers and privates, and eleven women and children, were prisoners when 
 we separated. 
 
 Mrs. Heald and iM^self were taken to the mouth of the river St. Joseph, 
 and being both badly wounded, were permitted to reside with Mr. Burnet, 
 an Indian trader. In a few days after our arrival there, the Indians all 
 went off to take Fort Wajme, and in their absence I engaged a Frenchman 
 to take us to Michilimackinac, by water, where I gave myself up as a 
 prisoner of war, with one of my sergeants. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Raising an Arm* to Conquer the English in the Northwest 
 Early Settlements in Illinois— Expedition under Governor 
 Edwards and Colonel Russell — Seige of Fort Harrison — 
 Captain Taylor's Defense— The Army under Harrison, Win- 
 chester and Tupper. 
 
 The defeat of General Ilnll, and the victories of English and 
 Indians in the Northwest produced the greatest excitement 
 among the people of the Western States, and especially in 
 Kentucky and Ohio. By the middle of August, 1812, the 
 whole Northwest, with the exception of Fort Wayne and Fort 
 Harrison, was in the possession of the British and the savages. 
 But one desire seemed to actuate the heart of every American 
 on the borders — "to wipe off the disgrace with which our 
 arms had been stained, and to roll back the desolation that 
 threatened the frontier of Ohio and territories beyond." 
 
 As we have seen. General Harrison had been appointed 
 Brigadier-General in the army of the United States. The all 
 absorbing theme was now the raising of another army to con- 
 quer the British and subdue the red men. The work immedi- 
 ately began. In the course of a few weeks Kentucky had 
 about seven thousand men in the field under Gen. Thos. Todd. 
 A large body of troops was also raised in the same State to 
 march against the Indians of Indiana and Illinois, under Gen. 
 Samuel Hopkins. Meanwhile Governor Edwards, of Illinois, 
 was active in raising men and making pi-eparations for an 
 expedition against the hostile Indians on the Illinois river. 
 Col. Wm. Russell engaged himself in raising a company of 
 rangers to cooperate with Governor Edwards. The place of 
 rendezvous was near the present town of Edwardsville, west 
 of Cahokia, and named "Camp Russell." The scattered set- 
 (279) 
 
280 THE LIVK8 OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH I 
 
 tlements of Illinois then extended no further north than Wood 
 river, near Alton. A line drawn from that point past Green- 
 ville and Mount Yernon to Shawneetown, would have enclosed 
 all the white population, except a few families on the Wabash, 
 adjacent to Yincennes. The concerted arrangement was, for 
 Gen. Hopkins, with about four thousand mounted riflemen, to 
 move up the Wabash to Fort Harrison, cross over to the Illinois 
 country, destroy all the Indian villages near the Wabash, march 
 across the prairies to the head waters of the Sangamon and 
 Yermilion rivers, form a junction with the Illinois rangers 
 under Governor Edwards and Ool. Russell, and sweep over all 
 the villages along the Illinois river.* 
 
 As soon as the troops under Gen. Hopkins entered the 
 prairies of Illinois they became disorderly, which defeated the 
 objects of the expedition. By constantly firing at the game 
 with ^\'hich they came in contact, they made the Indians aware 
 of their approach, and gaining a knowledge of the force of 
 their invaders, they left their villages in flight. The troops 
 under Governor Edwards and Col. Russell, however, accom- 
 plished more; they ascended the river to the village of the 
 Peorias and drove the savages into the swamps, killing many 
 and destroying their town. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of August of the same year, the Pot- 
 tawatomies, Ottawas, and other hostile Indians, made an attack 
 on Fort Wayne, which they continued until the sixteenth of 
 September, cutting o& all approach to the fort until relieved 
 by a strong force under Gen. Harrison. Early in September 
 a fierce attack was made on Fort Harrison, situated a short 
 distance above the site of the jjresent city of Terre Haute, and 
 which was commanded by Capt. Z. Taylor. Tecumseh's band 
 and many other hostile Indians appeared before the fort, having 
 first murdered two persons belonging to the post, whom they 
 found in the open fields. They set fire to one of the block- 
 houses, which was discovered about midnight, and which pro- 
 duced the greatest confusion among the garrison. Capt. Taylor 
 immediately directed the men to get the buckets, carry water 
 from the w^ell and extinguish the fire, but from some cause 
 * Peck's Compilation 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 281 
 
 the men were slow in executing the orders, and in spite of 
 every exertion they could make the flames ascended to the 
 roof. As this blockhouse adjoined the barracks that made 
 part of the fortifications, most of the men immediately gave 
 themselves up for lost, and the Captain had the greatest difii- 
 culty in getting his orders executed. Indeed, from the raging 
 of the Are, the yelling and howling of a thousand savages, the 
 cries of women and children in the fort, and the desponding 
 of so many men, his own feelings were unpleasant. The 
 situation became worse on account of the sickness which at the 
 time prevailed in the fort. Two of the strongest men of the 
 garrison, regarding resistance out of reason, jumped the pickets 
 and left. In this terrible moment Capt. Taylor conceived a 
 plan by which the fort and garrison were saved. He explained 
 to the men that by throwing oif a part of the roof that joined 
 the blockhouse that was on Are and keeping the end perfectly 
 wet, the whole row of buildings might be saved. In this way 
 the fire would leave only an opening of eighteen or twenty 
 feet for the entrance of the Indians after the house was con- 
 sumed, and that a temporary breastwork might be erected to 
 prevent their entering there. The men were taken with the 
 plan and went to work in a good spirit to execute it; mean- 
 while those unable for such arduous duty kept up a constant 
 fire from the other blockhouse and the two bastions. The men 
 who undertook the execution of the Captain's plan succeeded 
 by the loss of only one of their number. In a few moments 
 tlie roof was removed, and before the dawn of the following 
 morning a temporary breastwork had been erected over the 
 ashes of the blockhouse. During the whole of the siege but 
 two of the men were killed within the fort. Of those who 
 jumped the pickets, one was murdered in the most cruel man- 
 ner by the Indians, the other escaped to the fort with his arm 
 broken. The savages kept up a continual fire until about six 
 o'clock on the following morning, when it was returned with 
 such eflect that they were driven away. 
 
 The Indians drove up the horses that belonged to the settlers 
 of the post, and as they could not catch them they shot the 
 whole of them before the eves of the commandant, as also the 
 
282 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TECUMSEH: 
 
 hogs and cattle, amounting to over one hundred head. By the 
 burning of tlie blockhouse the garrison were deprived of all 
 their provisions and were compelled to live upon green corn 
 until relief came. 
 
 Meanwhile, extensive preparations were going on in Ohio, 
 Kentucky, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, to bring a large and 
 efficient army into service — a force that would compel the 
 British to retire, and subjugate the savages. Three points 
 needed defence, Fort Wayne and the Maumee, the Wabash, and 
 the Illinois river: the troops destined for the first point were 
 to be under the command of Gen. Winchester, a revolutionary 
 officer; those for the Wabash were to be under Harrison, whose 
 name since the battle of Tippecanoe was familiar everywhere; 
 while Governor Edwards, of the Illinois Territory, was to com- 
 mand the expedition up the river of the same name. Such 
 were the intentions of the Government, but the wishes of the 
 people frusti-ated them, and led, first, to the appointment of 
 Harrison to the command of the Kentucky volunteers, destined 
 to assist Hull's army^ and next to his elevation to the post of 
 commander-in-chief over all the forces of the west and north- 
 west, as already observed. Meantine Fort Wayne had been 
 relieved, and the line of the Maumee secured; so that when 
 Harrison found himself placed at the head of military aifairs 
 in the West, his main objects were, first, to drive the Indians 
 from the western side of the Detroit river; second, to take Mai- 
 den; and third, having thus secured his communications, to 
 recapture the Michigan Territory and its dependencies. To do 
 all this before winter, and thus be prepared to conquer Upper 
 Canada, Harrison proposed to take possession of the rapids of 
 the Maumee and there to concentrate his forces and his stores; 
 in moving upon this point he divided his troops into three col- 
 umns, the right to march from Wooster through Upper San- 
 dusky, the centre from Urbana, by Fort McArthur, on the head 
 of the Scioto, and the left from St. Mary's by the Auglaize 
 and Maumee, — all meeting of course at the Kapids. This plan, 
 however, failed; the troops of the left column, under Win- 
 chester,* worn out and starved, were found on the verge of 
 * Peck's compilation. 
 
OR, THE nORDEK WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 283 
 
 mutiny, and the mounted men of the centre, under Gen. Tup- 
 per, were unable to do anything, partly from their own want 
 of subordination, but still more from the shiftlessness of their 
 commander.'^' This condition of the troops, and the prevalence 
 of disease among them, together with the increasing difficulty 
 of transportation after the fall freshets, forced the commander 
 to the necessity of waiting until the winter had bridged the 
 streams and swamps with ice, and even when that had taken 
 place, he was doubtful as to the wisdom of an attempt to con- 
 quer without a naval force on Lake Erie. Thus it will bo seen 
 the year 1812 closed, leaving the British and Indians in posses- 
 sion of their conquests. Winchester, with the left wing of the 
 army, was on his way to tlie Eapids, his men enfeebled by 
 sickness, want of clothes and want of food; the right wing was 
 approaching Sandusky, and the centre resting at Fort Mc Arthur. 
 
 In December, however. Gen. Harrison dispatched a party of 
 six hundred against the Miami villages upon theMississineway, 
 a branch of the Wabash. This body, under the command of 
 Lieut.-Col. Campbell, destroyed several villages, and fought a 
 severe battle with the Indians, who were defeated; but the 
 severity of the weather, the large number of the wounded, the 
 scarcity of provisions, and the probability of being attacked by 
 Tecumseh at the head of six hundred warriors, induced Col. 
 Campbell to retreat immediately after the battle, without 
 destroying the principal towns of the enemy. 
 
 Winchester reached the Rapids with his troops on the tenth 
 of January, 1813. Harrison was still at Sandusky with the 
 right wing, and Tupper with the centre at Fort McArthnr. 
 
 * McAfee. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 The War of 1812 — Defeat at Frenchtown — Groghan's Heroic 
 Defense op Fort Stephekson — Defeat op the Americans — 
 Preparations for a New Campaign — Perry's Victory — Har- 
 rison's Triumph — The Indians Subdued — The English Defeated' 
 — Close op the "War. 
 
 Winchester was now besieged with messengers from French- 
 town, on the River Raisin, representing the danger to which 
 that place was exposed, and begging for protection. Agreea- 
 bly to these requests, Col. Lewis was dispatched with five 
 hundred men to the River Raisin, and soon after Col. Allen 
 followed with over one hundred more. This was in January, 
 1813. Marching along the frozen borders of the bay and lake,, 
 on the afternoon of the eighteenth, the detachment reached 
 and attacked the enemy who were posted in the village, and 
 after a severe contest defeated them. Having gained posses- 
 sion of the town. Col. Lewis wrote for reinforcements, and 
 prepared to defend the possession he had gained. And it wa& 
 evident that all his means of defense would be needed, as the 
 place was but eighteen miles from Maiden, where the whole 
 British force was collected under Proctor. Winchester, on the 
 nineteenth, having heard of the action of the previous day, 
 marched with two hundred and fifty men, which was the most 
 he dared detach from the Rapids, to the aid of the captor of 
 Frenchtown, which place he reached on the next evening. But 
 instead of placing his men in a secure position, and taking 
 measures to prevent the secret approach of the enemy, Win- 
 chester suffered the troops he had brought with him to remain 
 m the open ground, and took no efficient measures to protect 
 himself from surprise, although informed that an attack might 
 be expected at any moment. The consequence was that during 
 
OR, THE BOKDEK WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 285 
 
 the nio^ht of the twenty-first, the whole British force approacliecl 
 undiscovered, and erected a battery within three hundred yards 
 of the American camp. From this, before the troops were 
 fairly under arras in the morning, a discliarge of bombs, Oalls 
 and grape shot, " informed the devoted soldiers of Winchester, 
 of the folly of their commander, and in a moment more the 
 dreaded Indian yell sounded on every side." Lewis' troops 
 were, it would seem, on their guard, protected by the pickets 
 of a garden. Those under Winchester were in the open field, and 
 against them the main efibrt of the enemy was directed. In 
 a few moments Winchester's troops yielded, broke and fled, 
 under a fire which mowed them down like grass. Winchester 
 and Lewis were both taken prisoners, the latter having left his 
 security to aid his superior ofiicer. Upon Lewis' troops, 
 however, who fought from behind their slight defenses, no 
 impression could be made, and it was not until Winchester 
 sent them advice to surrender that they thought of doing so.* 
 This Proctor persuaded him to do, by telling him that the 
 Indians would massacre all the Americans should resistance be 
 continued longer. To this he added a promise of help and 
 protection to the wounded, and of a removal at the earliest 
 moment. It was only in consideration of the last promise that 
 Lewis' troops consented to yield, even when required by their 
 general, "But," says Mr. Peck, "the promise, even if given 
 in good faith, was not redeemed, and the horrors of the suc- 
 ceeding night and day will long be remembered." Of the 
 American army, which was nearly eight hundred strong, one- 
 third were killed in the battle and the massacre which followed, 
 and but thirty-three escaped. 
 
 As before mentioned. Gen. Harrison was at Sandusky when 
 Winchester reached the Eapids. On the night of the sixteenth 
 word came to him of the arrival of the left wing at that point, 
 and of its meditated movements. He at once proceeded with 
 all speed to Lower Sandusky, and on the morning of the eigh- 
 teenth, sent forward a battalion of troops to the support of 
 Winchester. On the nineteenth, he received farther intelli- 
 gence as to the proposed movement of Winchester, and, with 
 * Peek's Compilation. 
 
286 THE LIVES OF PONTIAO AND TECDMSEH : 
 
 additional troops, he immediatelj started for the falls, where he 
 arrived early on the morning of the twentieth. At this point 
 he joined the battalion, which had started before him. The 
 troops now moved forward to aid Winchester, but meeting a 
 few of the survivors of his disaster^ and learning of what had 
 taken place, they returned to the Eapids. At this place a con- 
 sultation took place, the result of which was a determination 
 to retreat yet farther in order to prevent the possibility of being 
 cut off from the convoys of stores and artillery upon their way 
 froin Sandusky. On the next morning, therefore, the block- 
 house, which had been built, was destroyed, together with the 
 provisions it contained, and the troops retired to Portage river, 
 eighteen miles in the rear of Winchester's position, there to- 
 await the guns and reinforcements which were daily expected, 
 but which, as it turned out, were detained by rains nntil the 
 thirtieth of January. Finding his array seventeen hundred 
 strong, Gen. Harrison, on the first of February, again advanced 
 to the Rapids, where he took up a new and stronger position, 
 at which point he ordered all the troops as rapidly as possible 
 to gather. He did this in the hope of being able before the 
 middle of the month to advance upon Maiden, but the long 
 continuance of warm and wet weather kept the roads in such 
 a condition that his troops were unable to join him, and the 
 project of advancing upon the ice was entirely frustrated; so 
 at length the winter campaign had to be abandoned, as the 
 autumnal one had been before. 
 
 So far the military measures for the recovery of the North- 
 west forts had proved a failure. The Americans had been 
 defeated at almost every turn, and hundreds of them had fallen 
 under the merciless tomahawk. Tecumseh and his warriors, 
 on the other hand, were full of hope. Victory had crowned 
 their efforts, and made them more valuable as British allies. 
 
 But while these discouraging events were taking place in the 
 Northwest, a series of events transpired at the National Cap- 
 ital, which was preparing the way for another campaign, which 
 was destined to victory. Gen. Armstrong had succeeded Dr. 
 Eustis in the War Department, and in October, 1812, he urged 
 upon the government the great necessity of obtaining the 
 
OE, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 287 
 
 command of the lakes. Naval operations were the basis of his 
 plan. Among the defensive operations of the spring and sum- 
 mer of 1813, that at Fort or Camp Meigs, the new post taken 
 bj Harrison * at the Kapids, and that at Lower Sandusky, 
 deserve to be especially noticed. It had been anitcipated that, 
 with the opening of spring, the British would attempt the 
 conquest of the position upon the Maumee, and measures had 
 been taken by the general to forward reinforcements, which 
 were detained, however, as usual by the spring freshets and the 
 bottomless roads. As had been expected, on the twenty-eighth 
 of April, the English forces began the investment of Harrison's 
 camp, and by the first of May had completed their batteries; 
 meantime, the Americans behind their tents had thrown up a 
 bank of earth twelve feet high, and upon a basis of twenty 
 feet, behind which the whole garrison withdrew the moment 
 that the gunners of the enemy were prepared to commence 
 operations. Upon this bank, the ammunition of His Majesty 
 was wasted in vain, and down to the fifth, nothing was effected 
 by either party. On that day. Gen. Clay, with twelve hundred 
 additional troops, came down the Maumee in flatboats, and, in 
 accordance with orders received from Harrison, detached eight 
 hundred men under Col. Dudley to attack the batteries upon 
 the left bank of the river, while, with the remainder of iiis 
 forces, he landed upon the southern shore, and after some loss 
 and delay, fought his way into camp. Dudley, on his part, 
 succeeded perfectly in capturing the batteries, but instead of 
 spiking the cannon, and then instantly returning to his boats, 
 he suffered his men to waste their time in skirmish with the 
 Indians, until Proctor was able to cut them off from their only 
 chance of retreat; taken by surprise, and in disorder, the 
 greater part of the detachment became an easy prey, only one 
 hundred and fifty of the eight hundred escaping captivity or 
 death. This sad result was partially, though but little allevi- 
 ated by the success of a sortie made from the fort by Col. 
 Miller, in which he captured and made useless the batteries 
 that had been erected south of the Maumee. The result of the 
 day's doings had been sad enough for the Americans, but still 
 * Mr. Peck's Compilation. 
 
288 THE LIVES OF PONTIAC AND TEOUMSEIi: 
 
 the British General saw in it nothing to encourage liira; his 
 cannon had done nothing, and were in fact no longer of value ; 
 his Indian allies found it " hard to fight people who lived like 
 groundhogs;" news of the American successes below had been 
 received, and additional troops were approaching from Ohio 
 and Kentucky. Proctor, weighing all things, determined to 
 retreat, and upon the ninth of May returned to Maiden. 
 
 The ship-building going forward at Erie had not, mean- 
 while, been unknown to, or disregarded by, the English, who 
 proposed all in good time to destroy the vessels upon which so 
 much depended, and to appropriate the stores of the Eepubli- 
 cans: "the ordnance and naval stores you require," said Sir 
 George Prevost to Gen. Proctor, " must be taken from the 
 enemy, whose resources on Lake Erie must become yours. I 
 am much mistaken, if you do not find Capt. Barclay disposed 
 to play that game." Capt. Barclay was an experienced, brave 
 and able seaman, and was waiting anxiously for a sufficient 
 body of troops to attack Erie. A sufficient force was promised 
 him, on the eighteenth of July, at which time the British fleet 
 went down the lake to reconnoitre, and, should a favorable 
 opportunity be presented, to make the proposed attempt upon 
 the Americans at Erie. No attack, however, was made. 
 About the same time. Proctor, with his soldiers and savages, 
 again surrounded Fort Meigs, but accomplished notliing. 
 Being unable to accomplish anything at this point, he moved 
 on to Sandusky, into the neighborhood of the commander-in- 
 chief. The principal stores of Harrison were at Sandusky, 
 while he himself was at Seneca. Major Groghan commanded 
 at Fort Stephenson or Lower Sandusky.* This latter post 
 being deemed indefensible against heavy cannon, and it being 
 known that Proctor was approaching with artillery, the Gen- 
 eral and a council of war, called by him, thought it best to 
 abandon it; but before this could be done, the appearance of 
 the enemy upon the thirty-first of July, 1813, made it impos- 
 sible. The commandant of this post was but twenty-one years 
 
 * I depend, in this portion of the narrative, very materially upon the 
 compilation of Mr. Peck, entitled the Western Annals. Published by Mr. 
 Albach at St. Louis, in 1851. — Ed. 
 
OK, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 289 
 
 of age, and the garrison consisted of but one hundred and fifty 
 soldiers. There was within the fort only one piece of cannon, 
 and the fortifications were deemed insecure. On the other 
 hand, the investing force, including Tecumseh and his warriors, 
 was over three thousand three hundred strong, with six pieces 
 of artillery. 
 
 Proctor at once demanded a surrender, and told Groghan 
 that unless he did so at once a general massacre would follow. 
 To this the daring young officer replied by saying, that '' the 
 Indians would have none left to massacre, if the British con- 
 quered, for every man of the garrison would have died at his 
 post." Proctor at once opened fire upon the fort, concentrat- 
 ing his aim upon the northwest angle of the fort. This led 
 Groghan to believe that the British intended to make a breach 
 there, and carry the works by assault; he, therefore, at once 
 proceeded to strengthen that point by bags of sand and flour, 
 while under cover of night he placed his single six pounder in 
 a position to rake the angle threatened, and then, having 
 charged his infant battery with sings, and hidden it from the 
 enemy, he waited the event. During the night of the first of 
 August, and till late in the evening of the second, the firing 
 continued upon the devoted northwest corner; then, under 
 cover of the smoke and gathering darkness, a column of three 
 hundred and fifty men approached unseen to within twenty 
 paces of the walls. The musketry opened upon them, but with 
 little effect. The ditch was gained, and in a moment filled 
 with men: at that instant, the masked cannon, only thirty feet 
 distant, and so directed as to sweep the ditch, was unmasked 
 and fired, killing at once twenty-seven of the assailants. The 
 eflPect was decisive, the column -recoiled, and the little fort was 
 saved with the loss of one man. On the next morning the 
 British and their allies, having the fear of Harrison before their 
 e;yes, were gone, leaving behind them in their haste, guns, 
 stores, and clothing. 
 
 ^ But now all were active, preparing for the attack on Maiden. 
 
 Kentucky sent her best men in vast numbers, under Governor 
 
 Shelby and Richard M. Johnson, and on the fourth of August 
 
 Perry got his vessels out of Erie into deep water. But of that 
 
 19 
 
290 THE LIVES OF FONTIAC AND TBCUMSEH : 
 
 contest we need say nothing, for Perry's victory bas become a 
 housebold word tbroughout America. 
 
 Meanwbile tbe American army bad received reinforcements, 
 and was only awaiting tlie expected victory of Commodore 
 Perry, to embark. On tbe twenty-seventb of September, it set 
 sail for tbe sbores of Canada, and in a few bours stood around 
 tbe ruins of tbe deserted and 'wasted Maiden, from which Proc- 
 tor bad retreated to Sandwich, intending to make bis way to 
 to the heart of Canada, by tbe valley of tbe Thames.* On 
 the twenty-ninth Harrison was at Sandwich, and McAr- 
 thur took possession of Detroit and the territory of Mich- 
 igan. At this point ('ol. Johnson's mounted rifle regiment, 
 which bad gone up the west side of tbe river, rejoined 
 the main army. On the second of October, tbe Americans 
 began their march in pursuit of Proctor, whom they overtook 
 upon the fifth. He had posted his army with its left resting 
 upon tbe river, while the right flank was defended by a marsh; 
 the ground between tbe ri\er and tbe marsh was divided length- 
 wise by a smaller swamp, so as to make two distinct fields in 
 which the troops were to opei-ate. The British were in two 
 lines, occupying the field between the river and small swamp; 
 the Indians extended from the small to tbe large morass, tbe 
 ground being suitable to their mode of warfare, and unfavora- 
 ble for cavalry. Harrison ordered Col. Johnson with bis 
 mounted men to charge, and try to break the regular troops, 
 by passing through their ranks and forming in their rear. In 
 arranging to do this, Johnson found tbe space between tbe 
 river and small swamp too narrow for all bis men to act in 
 with effect; so, dividing them, he gave the right band body 
 opposite tbe regulars in charge to bis brother James, while 
 crossing tbe swamp with the remainder, he himself led the way 
 against Tecumseh and his savage followers. The charge ot 
 James Johnson was perfectly successful. The Kentuckians 
 received the fire of the enemy, broke through their ranks, and 
 forming beyond them, " produced such a panic by the novelty 
 of the attack that the whole body of troops yielded at once." 
 On tbe left the Indians fought courageously, and the American 
 
 * McAfee, 324 to 328— Western Annals. 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 291 
 
 horsemen were forced to dismount ; but in a few moments 
 Tecumseh, the great Shawanoe chieftain, who, more than any 
 other man brought about this war, fell dead. He was pierced 
 by a bullet either from the Americans or from his own fol- 
 lowers who become enraged at his defeat. The exact source of 
 his death is a matter of dispute. The Indians were now discon- 
 certed. They soon gave up the contest, and now all was over 
 except the pursuit of Proctor, who had fled at the beginning 
 of the engagement. Such were the glorious victories of our 
 arms over the British and the Indians. Commodore Perry had 
 been triumphant on Lake Erie, and the scarcely less brave Har- 
 rison conquerer in the battle of the Thames. 
 
 This last contest practically closed the war in the Northwest. 
 Tecumseh having fallen, the Indians lost their power and pres- 
 tige, and the British having been thoroughly defeated, gave but 
 little trouble afterwards. 
 
 However, the Americans made one unsuccessful attempt to 
 invade Canada afterwards. They also failed in an expedition 
 against the British at Mackinac. Meanwhile, upon the twenty- 
 second of July, 1814, a treaty had been formed at Greenville, 
 under the direction of Gen. Harrison and Governor Cass, by 
 which the United States and the faithful Wyandots, Delawares, 
 Shawanoes, and Senecas, gave peace to the Miamis, "Weas, and 
 Eel river Indians, and to certain of the Pottawatomies, Otta- 
 was, and Kickapoos; and all the Indians engaged to aid the 
 Americans should the war with Great Britain continue. But 
 such, happily, was not to be the case, and on the twenty-fourth 
 of December, the treaty of Ghent was signed by the representa- 
 tives of England and the United States. 
 
CHAPTER XXXYI. 
 
 The Life and Times op Black Hawk — Black Hawk Distinguishes 
 Himself as a Warrior — Black Hawk Joins the British — The 
 Sacs Driven Beyond the Mississippi — Black Hawk Remon- 
 strates — Description of the Principal Sac Village at Rock 
 River. 
 
 We will now turn oar course westward to tlie more recent, 
 and perhaps the more interesting incidents of border warfare 
 in that direction. The life and times of Black Hawk will next 
 engage the reader's attention. One writer has truthfully said, 
 " Black Hawk may die, his name may be forgotten, and the 
 smoke of his wigwam be seen no more, but 'The Black Hawk 
 War' will long form a page of deep interest in the history 
 of this country." 
 
 Black Hawk, the Sac chieftain, was born at the principal 
 Sac village on Rock river, in the year 1767. As with many 
 other distinguished warriors, he was not a chief's son, but rose 
 to that station through his own ability. At the early age of 
 fifteen he distinguished himself by killing an enemy, and was 
 at once permitted to paint himself after the custom of the Sac 
 braves. At a later day he was also permitted to wear feathers 
 according to the ancient customs of his tribe. 
 
 As early as 1783, he united in an expedition against the 
 Osages, and had the high fortune to kill several of the enemy. 
 For this brave act he was now permitted, for the first time, to 
 join in the scalp dance. Subsequently he became tlie leader 
 of a small band of his own tribe, and again performed acts of 
 great valor. His band was soon increased, and presently he 
 found himself at the head of more than a hundred braves. 
 With this band he marched to an Osage village on the Mis- 
 souri, but finding it deserted, most of his followers became dis- 
 (292) 
 
OR, THE BOKDEK WARS OF TW<J CENTURIES. 293 
 
 coiiraged and returned home. Black Hawk, however, with only 
 half a dozen followers, pursued the enemy, and after several 
 day's march, succeeded in overtaking a small party and killing 
 one man and a boy. Securing their scalps, he returned home, 
 being greeted with additional respect. 
 
 In 17S6 he was again marching at the head of two hundred 
 braves into the country of the enemy. On this occasion he 
 met a party quite equal to his own in numbers, and a battle 
 took place in which he was victorious, having killed one 
 hundred and losing only nineteen. Nearly a score of the enemy 
 fell by his own hand. This successful event had a two-fold 
 result — that of keeping the Osages in check and winning glory 
 for Black Hawk. The Sacs, with this brave at their head, now 
 turned their attention to the Cherokees, who had committed 
 several depredations upon them. A battle was fought between 
 these tribes upon the Merrimack river, below St, Louis, in 
 which Black Hawk's father was killed, but the Cherokees were 
 defeated and compelled to retreat with a loss of twenty-eight 
 men, the Sacs losing but seven. So great was his success at 
 this battle that he was immediately promoted to the high 
 station of chief. 
 
 In the year 1800, "he made another excursion," says Mr. 
 Conclin, "against the Osages, at the head of about five hundred 
 Sacs and Foxes, and a hundred lowas, who had joined him as 
 allies. After a long march they reached and destroyed about 
 forty lodges of the enemy, killing many of their bravest war- 
 riors, five of whom were slain by the leader of the invading 
 army." In 1802, he waged a successful war against the 
 Chippewas, Kaskaskias and Osages, killing over one hundred 
 warriors. 
 
 In 1803, Black Hawk made a visit to St. Louis, to see his 
 "Spanish father." He was well received, but found many sad 
 faces because the United States were about to take possession 
 of their country. Soon after, Lieut. Pike visited the camp of 
 Black Hawk, made several presents, and delivered a speech to 
 the Sacs, telling them tliat their American father would treat 
 them well. He presented them with an American flag, which 
 was hoisted, and requested them to pull down the British flag 
 
294 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK: 
 
 and give him their British medals, promising to give them 
 others from their American father. This, however, Black Hawk 
 declined, saying that his people wished to have two fathers. 
 
 Soon after, the building of Fort Edwards near the head of 
 the Des Moines rapids, gave great uneasiness to the Sacs. They 
 sent a deputation to that point, which returned with unsatis- 
 factory reports. Black Hawk now placed himself at the head 
 of a strong force and marched to Fort Madison, which stood 
 on the west bank of the Mississippi, some distance down the 
 Des Moines. This fort was garrisoned with about fifty men. 
 Black Hawk's spies having ascertained that the soldiers 
 marched out of the fort every morning for exercise, he deter- 
 mined to conceal his party near the place and shoot them down. 
 On the morning of the proposed attack several soldiers defiled 
 out upon the plain, and three of their number was instantly 
 shot down. The Indians then opened fire upon the fort, but 
 being unable to accomplish anything in this way they returned 
 to their village. 
 
 Upon the opening of the war of 1812, the Sacs tendered their 
 services to the United States, but their offer was declined. 
 They had not been as liberally supplied with presents by the 
 Americans as they had anticipated, and in the meantime the 
 British agents had " artfully fomented their discontent, and 
 labored to win their confidence by the most liberal distribution 
 among them of goods and ardent spirits." Soon after the 
 declaration of war a British trader appeared among them with 
 two boats loaded with goods. The British flag was immedi- 
 ately hoisted, and the trader told Black Hawk that he had 
 been sent by Col. Dixon, who was then at Green Bay, with a 
 large quantity of goods, and who was desirous that the Sac 
 chieftain should raise a party of warriors and join him. Black 
 Hawk had but little difiiculty in raising two hundred braves. 
 At the head of this band he marched to Green Bay, where he 
 found Col. Dixon encamped with a large body of Indians from 
 various tribes, who had already been furnished with arms and 
 ammunition. 
 
 Dixon received Black Hawk with many marks of respect, 
 told him that the English were about to drive the Americans 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO (U<;NTUR1ES. 295 
 
 from their liunting ^rounds, and plaeiiif^ a medal about liis 
 neck he said, " vou are to command all the braves that will 
 leave here the day after to-morrow to join our braves neai- 
 Detroit." Arms, clothing, knives and tomahawks were now 
 distributed among Black Hawk's band, and at the appointed 
 time five hundred warriors left Green Bay on their march to 
 Detroit to join the British army. This was in August, 1812, 
 shortly after the massacre at Fort Dearborn. 
 
 Black Hawk was unsuccessful among the British, and being 
 tired with successive defeats he returned to his village on Bock 
 river, where, in all probability, he would have remained neu- 
 tral had it not been for the murder of his adopted son. Bv 
 this lawless act he was again roused to vengeance against the 
 Americans, and after remaining a few days at the village, and 
 raising a band of braves, prepared for offensive operations upon 
 the frontiers. The party, consisting of about thirty, descended 
 the Mississippi in canoes to the site of old Fort Madison, which 
 had been abandoned by the American troops and burned. Con- 
 tinuing their course they landed near Cap au Gis, where they 
 killed one of the United States rangers, but were finally dis- 
 persed by a detachment from Fort Howard. The Indians, 
 however, returned to the contest and a battle ensued between 
 Black Hawk's party and the troops of Fort Howard, under 
 Lieut. Drakeford of the United States Rangers. In this battle 
 the Americans lost ten killed and several wounded, the loss 
 being about equal on both sides. 
 
 Tn 1815, when the Indians along the Mississippi valley had 
 been notified of the peace between the United States and Eng- 
 land, they, for the most part, ceased hostilities; bnt Black Hawk 
 and his band, and some of the Pottawatomies, were not inclined 
 to live in peace. In the spring of 1816 they, in connection with 
 the British, captured the garrison at Prairie du Chien, and 
 attacked some boats that were ascending the Mississippi to that 
 point with troops and provisions. (.)ne of the boats was cap- 
 tured and several of the crew killed. The boats wei-e compelle<l 
 to return. In 1816, however. Black Hawk and his tribe con- 
 -cluded a peace with the Americans, by which the hatchet was 
 
296 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK: 
 
 buried ; and now, we hear but little of this wonderful Indian 
 until the hostilities which broke out in 1832. 
 
 Soon after this treaty the United States government built 
 Fort Armstrong, upon Eock Island, in the Mississippi river, 
 •md but a few miles from the Indian village where Black Hawk 
 t-esided. The Sac Indians were jealous of this movement, for 
 they loved to look upon Eock Island as one of their choicest 
 resorts. They had a traditionary belief that this island was 
 the favorite residence of a good spirit which dwelt in a cave in 
 the rocks on which Fort Armstrong was afterwards built. 
 This spirit had often been seen by the Indians, but after the 
 erection of the fort, alarmed by its noise and intrusion of the 
 white man, it spread its beautiful wings and departed. 
 
 In the autumn of 1818, Black Hawk and some of his band 
 went on a visit to their British father at Maiden, and received 
 many presents from him. A medel was given to Black Hawk 
 for his fidelity to the British, and he was requested to make 
 annual visits with his band, and receive such presents as had 
 been promised him by Col. Dixon in 1812. These visits were 
 regularly made down to 1830. In the latter year Black Hawk 
 and his party encamped at two rivers for the purpose of hunt- 
 ing, and while there was so badly treated by some white men,, 
 that his prejudices against th'e Americans were greatly revived. 
 
 In the ensuing summer the Americans urged the whole of 
 the Sacs and Foxes to remove to the west side of the Missis- 
 sippi. This policy was urged upon them by the agent at Fort 
 Armstrong. The principal Fox chief^ and several of the Sac 
 chiefs, among whom was Keokuk, assented to the removal. 
 The latter sent a message through the village informing the 
 Indians that it was the wish of their great father, the Presi- 
 dent, that they should all go to the west side of the Mississippi, 
 and he pointed out the Iowa river as a suitable place for their 
 new village. There was a party among the Sacs called the 
 ''British Band," who were bitterly opposed to a removal; and 
 they appealed to their old leader. Black Hawk, for his decision 
 on the qu(^stion. He claimed the ground on which their vil- 
 lage stood had never been sold, and that, therefore, the Ameri- 
 cans had no right to insist upon the measure. 
 
BLACKHAWK, THE SAC CHIEFTAIN. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 29T 
 
 Black Hawk was now becoming old, and he felt that his 
 power in the tribe was waning before the rising popularity of 
 Keokuk, his rival. He now resolved to place himself at the 
 head of a band, and, if possible, recover his influence. 
 
 However, during the following winter, while Black Hawk 
 and his party were absent on a hunting expedition, several 
 white families arrived at their village, destroyed some of their 
 lodges, and commenced making fences over their cornfields. 
 As soon as the old Sac chieftain heard of this movement, he 
 promptly returned to Eock Island, where he found his own 
 lodge occupied by the whites. He next went to Fort Arm- 
 strong and made complaint to the interpreter, the agent being 
 absent. He next visited the prophet, Wabokiesheik, or White 
 Cloud, whose opinions were held in much respect by the Sacs. 
 This distinguished man urged Black Hawk not to remove, but 
 to persuade Keokuk and his party to return to Eock river. 
 
 Black Hawk now returned to his hunting party, and in the 
 spring when the band returned to their village they found the 
 white settlers still there, in possession of their lodges and corn- 
 fields. About the same time Keokuk visited Rock river, and 
 did all in his power to persuade the remaining Sacs to accom- 
 pany him to the new village on the Iowa, but Black Hawk 
 said it would be an act of cowardice to yield up their village 
 and the graves of their fathers to strangers, who had no right 
 to the soil. Keokuk's influence was exerted in vain and he 
 returned to the' western village. 
 
 The settlers began to increase, and it would seem that the 
 Sac village on Bock river was the principal point of attrac- 
 tion. At this place the Sacs had had their principal village 
 for more than seventy years. Their women had broken the 
 surface of the surrounding prairies with their hoes and inclosed 
 with a kind of pole-fence many fields which were annually 
 cultivated by them in the raising of corn, beans and squashes. 
 They had also erected several hundred houses of various dimen- 
 sions, some probably one hundred feet in length by forty or 
 fifty feet broad, which were constructed of poles and forks, 
 arranged so as to form a kind of frame, which was then in- 
 closed with the bark of trees, which, being pealed ofi" and 
 
298 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK! 
 
 dried under a weight, for the purpose of keeping it expanded, 
 was afterwards confined to the walls and roof by means of 
 cords composed of the bark of other trees. This was, indeed, 
 a delightful spot. On the northwest rolled the majestic Mis- 
 sissippi, while the dark forests which clothed the island of 
 Eoek river, with its several rippling streams on the south coast, 
 formed a delightful contrast Mdiich was rendered still more 
 pleasing from the general declivity of the surrounding country 
 as it sinks gradually away to the shores of these rivers. This 
 ancient village literally became the graveyard of the Sac 
 nation. Scarcely an individual could be found in the whole 
 nation who had not deposited the remains of some relatives in 
 or near to this place. Thither the mother, with mournful and 
 melancholy step, annually repaired to pay a tribute of respect 
 to her departed offspring, while the weeping sisters and loud 
 lamenting widows joined the procession of grief, sometimes 
 in accordance with their own feelings, no doubt, but always in 
 pursuance of an established custom of their nation from time 
 immemorial. On these occasions they carefully cleared away 
 every spear of grass or other vegetable which they found 
 growing near the graves, and made such repairs as seemed 
 necessary. They also carried to the grave some kind of food 
 which they left for the spirit of the deceased, and before they 
 concluded these ceremonies they often, in a very melancholy 
 and lamenting mood, addressed the dead, inquiring how they 
 fared, and who, or whether any one performed for them the 
 kind offices of mother, sister or wife, together with many other 
 inquiries which a frantic imagination happened to suggest. 
 This being one of the most important religious duties, was 
 scrupulously observed by all the better class of this people.* 
 
 * Chronicle of North American Savages. 
 
CHAPTEK XXXVII. 
 
 DiPFicui'TiES Between Black Hawk and the Settlers at Rock 
 KivER — A Military Force Called out to Remove the Sac 
 Indians West op the Mississippi — Sketch op Keokuk — His 
 Bravery, Sagacity and Eloquence. 
 
 The settlers who establislied themselves at Kock river, in 
 violation of the laws of Congress, and the provisions of all 
 treaties, committed various aggressions upon the Indians, such 
 as destroying their corn, killing their domestic animals, and 
 whipping the women and children * They took with them as 
 articles of traffic, whisky and other liquors, and by distribut- 
 ing it among the savages, produced all the horrors of debauchery. 
 Black Hawk remonstrated against this, and, upon one occasion, 
 he, with two of his companions entered one of the houses 
 where the liquor was kept, rolled out a barrel of whisky, broke 
 in the head and emptied the contents upon the ground. Thus 
 matters continued for several years. The settlers were pushing 
 their claims in defiance of the rights of the Indians, and the 
 latter could obtain no redress. According to tlie treaty which 
 defined the rights and wrongs of this matter, " as long as the 
 lands wliich are now ceded to the United States remain their 
 property, the Indians belonging to said tribes shall enjoy the 
 privilege of living and hunting upon them." None of the 
 lands in the vicinity of Rock river were brought into market 
 by the United States until the year 1829. Previous to this 
 date, of course, the white settlers there were tresspassers of 
 the law and of justice. In the latter year, however, a tract of 
 land at the mouth of the Pock river, including the Sac village, 
 was sold. This was done with a view of removing the Sac 
 Indians to the west side of the Mississippi. Therefore, in the 
 
 * Life of Black Hawk. 
 
800 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK : 
 
 spring of 1830, wlien Black Hawk and his band returned from 
 the winter's hunt to occupy their lodges, and prepare for rais- 
 ing their crop of vegetables, thej found that their lands had 
 been purchased by the settlers. Black Hawk, greatly dis- 
 turbed by this change, applied to the Indian agent at that 
 place, wishing redress, but was informed that since the govern- 
 ment had sold his land he had no longer any right to it. The 
 chief still refused to cross the river, and in the course of that 
 season he visited Maiden, to talk with his British father on the 
 subject. He also called upon Governor Cass at Detroit on the 
 same subject. Both of these persons told him that if he 
 remained quietly upon their lands, the Americans would not 
 interfere with them. Consequently Black Hawk returned 
 home determined to keep possession of his old village. But it 
 was late in the fall when he arrived, his people had gone to the 
 hunting grounds, and he was not long in following them. 
 During this winter Keokuk exerted his best influence to induce 
 them to desert Black Plawk and follow him to the new village 
 on the Iowa, but without success. They were so firmly 
 attached to tlieir old chief, and to their ancient village that 
 they returned with him to it in the following spring of 1831. 
 The traders at Rock river now attempted to induce Black 
 Hawk and his band to leave by making him presents, and after 
 a long persuasion the old chief agreed to go, provided the 
 government would distribute six thousand dollars' worth of 
 goods among his people. This the government promptly 
 declined to do, and threatened to send an armed force to drive 
 him from the village if he and his people did not leave at once. 
 The squaws had planted their corn, and it was beginning to 
 grow, but the settlers, claiming that the Indians had no right 
 to the ground, plowed it up again. Matters had, at last, come 
 to a crisis. The old chief could stand it no longer, and he 
 notified every settler to leave the village at once. Meanwhile, 
 not satisfied with their encroachments upon the rights of the 
 savages, the settlers united in a memorial to the governor of 
 the Territory of Illinois, in which they declared that the Sac 
 Indians " had threatened to kill them ; that they had acted in 
 a most outraojeous manner; threw down their fences; turned 
 
OB, THE BORDKR WARS OF 'nVO OKNTURIKS. ?,i)] 
 
 horses into their cornfields; stole their potatoes, saying the 
 land was theirs, and that they had not sold it; leveled deadly 
 weapons at the citizens, and, on some occasions, hurt the citi- 
 zens, for attempting to prevent the destruction of their 
 property." 
 
 " One of these eight afflicted memorialists," says Mr. Conc- 
 lin, " swore the other seven to the truth of their statements, 
 and. with an earnest prayer for immediate relief, it was placed 
 before liis Excellency on the nineteenth of May." 
 
 But this was not the only complaint. Every day reports 
 were coming in to the governor's office representing the lawless 
 acts of "General Black Hawk" and his "British Band." 
 These representations had the desired eftect. A strong force 
 was sent against the Sac Indians, and they were driven in terror 
 to the west of the Mississippi. 
 
 Before passing on to the consequences of this measure, let 
 us glance, for a moment, at Keokuk, Black Hawk's rival, who 
 figures conspicuously in our narrative. He was a native Sac, 
 and was born near the Rock river village, about the year 1780. 
 Like Black Hawk, he was not a chief's son, but worked his way 
 to the distinguished position of chief by his own native force 
 of character, bravery and address. He began to manifest rare 
 qualities at a very early period of his life. While but a youth 
 he engaged in a battle against the Sionx. In the engagement 
 he encountered and killed a Sioux warrior, with his spear, while 
 on horseback; and, as tlie Sioux are distinguished for their 
 horsemanship, this feat was looked upon as marvelous. A 
 public feast was made in commemoration of it by his tribe, and 
 the youthful warrior was from that day ranked among the 
 greatest Sac braves. 
 
 During the war of 1812, and before Keokuk was old enough 
 to be admitted to the councils of his nation, the American 
 government, as we have already seen, sent an expedition against 
 the Peoria Indians. During the advance of this detachment, 
 a rumor reached the Sac village on Bock river, that the expe- 
 dition would also attack the Sacs. This news threw the whole 
 tribe into confusion. A council was immediately held, and all 
 agreed to abandon their village. As soon as Keokuk heard of 
 
302 THE IJVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK*. 
 
 this decision, he advanced to the door oi" the council house and 
 asked to be admitted. This being granted, he next demanded 
 permission to speak, which was also freely granted him. He 
 said that he had heard their decision with surprise and regret; 
 that he was opposed to a liight,until the strength of the enemy 
 could be ascertained. He said, " make me your leader! Let 
 your yoiing men follow me, and the pale faces shall be driven 
 back to their towns. Let the old men and the women, and all 
 who are afraid to meet the white man stay here, but let your 
 braves go to battle." The speech had a magic effect, and every 
 warrior present declared that he was ready to follow the gallant 
 Keokuk. He was chosen at once to lead them against the 
 enemy. Of course, it turned out that the rumor was without 
 foundation, and there was no enemy to battle with, but the 
 eloquence and bravery of Keokuk placed him very high in the 
 ranks of the Sac braves. 
 
 But it was not long before events transpired which gave him 
 an opportunity to display his warlike spirit. At one time 
 Keokuk was hunting with a party in the country which laid 
 between the Sac and Sioux villages. As is well known, these 
 tribes had been at war for many years. Unexpectedly a party 
 of Sioux came upon them, mounted and ready for battle. The 
 Sacs were also mounted, but the situation and numbers were 
 both in favor of the Sioux. Keokuk instantly formed his men 
 into a compact circle, ordered them to dismount, and take 
 shelter behind their horses. By this ingenious movement they 
 were enabled to screen themselves from the flying missiles 
 of the Sioux. It also placed them in a position by which they 
 could avail themselves of their superior skill as marksmen. 
 The battle was a long and liard one, but Keokuk was triumph- 
 ant, and routed the enemy with great loss. He had many 
 other opportunities of showing his military skill, and was 
 almost always successful. 
 
 Keokuk's eloquence and ability in civil matters were quite 
 equal to his military talents. Some of his speeches are splen- 
 did evidences of his sagacity. While Black Hawk led many 
 of the Sac braves against the Americans in the war of 1812, 
 Keokuk and a majority of them remained neutral, but in 
 
OK, THE BOKDEE WARS OF l^WO CENTURIES. 303 
 
 this he was exposed to great danger. He requested the agent 
 of tiie American government to send to his village, on the 
 west side of the Mississippi, a white man who understood the 
 Sac language, and who might bear witness to his sincerity and 
 faithfulness to the whites. Such a person was sent. The 
 excitement among his people, kindled by the power of Black 
 Hawk, every day increased, until Keokuk stood on a mine lia- 
 ble to be exploded by a single spark. He was in peril of being 
 slain as the friend of the Americans; but he remained calm 
 and unawed, ruling his turbulent little State with mildness and 
 firmness, but at the constant risk of his life. One day a new 
 emissary arrived from Black Hawk's party. Whisky was freely 
 introduced into the camp, and Keokuk saw that the crisis was 
 at hand. He warned the white man, who was his guest, of the 
 impending danger, and advised him to conceal himself A 
 scene of tumult followed. The emissary spoke of the blood 
 that had been shed; of their relations who had been driven 
 from their hunting grounds; of many insults and injuries 
 which had been boldly perpetrated by the Americans; hinted 
 at the ready vengeance that might be taken on an exposed fron- 
 tier; of defenseless cabins, and of rich booty. The braves began 
 to dance around the war pole, to paint and to give evidences of 
 a warlike character. Keokuk watched the impending storm^ 
 and prepared himself to take an important part in it. He 
 drank and listened, and apparently assented to all that was 
 said. At length his warriors called out to be led to battle, 
 and he was asked to lead them. He rose and spoke with that 
 power that had never failed him. He sympathized with their 
 wrongs, their thirst for vengeance, and won their confidence by 
 giving utterance to the passions by which they were moved^ 
 and echoing back their own thoughts with a master spirit. He 
 then considered the proposition to go to war, spoke of the 
 power of the whites, and the hopelessness of the contest. He 
 told them he was their chief ; that it was his duty to rule them 
 as a father at home, or to lead them to war if they determined 
 to go. But, in the proposed war, there was no middle course. 
 The power of the United States was such that unless they con- 
 quered that great nation, they must perish; that he would lead 
 
304 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK: 
 
 them instantly against the whites on one condition, and that 
 was, that tliey w^ould first put all their women and children to 
 death, and then resolve that, having crossed the Mississippi, 
 they would never i-eturn, but perish among the graves of their 
 fathers, rather than yield them to the white men. 
 
 This proposal, desperate as it was, presented the true issue, 
 and it calm'ed the spirits of the clamorous warriors, who now 
 regarded Keokuk as their ruler, and obeyed his counsel, 
 
 it will be seen that the Sacs were divided, part under Black 
 Hawk and part under Keokuk. This division created many 
 dissensions in the tribe, and at length led to the overthrow of 
 the latter, a young brave being elected to his place. Keokuk 
 received the change with a good grace, and took his place 
 among the common warriors without a word. But it was not 
 long before the incapacity of his successor manifested itself, 
 and Keokuk was again called upon to rule the councils of his 
 nation, and lead the warriors to battle. 
 
 In 1832, five Sacs, belonging to Keokuk's party, murdered a 
 settler in Illinois. One of the guilty party was his own 
 nephew, but he was immediately seized and delivered up to the 
 civil authorities, the other four having escaped. Some time 
 after the Americans demanded the other four prisoners, but 
 they could not be found. Keokuk called a council and stated 
 the matter at length, saying that something must be done to 
 appease the wrath of the President. An expedient was soon 
 offered. Four young warriors came forward and gave them- 
 selves up, manifesting a willingness to die for the crimes of 
 their brethren. These brave men were turned over to the 
 proper officers and imprisoned. Keokuk was present at their 
 trial, and testified that the prisoners were not guilty, but that 
 they had offered to die in order to satisfy the law. He said 
 that the real murderers had escaped. The prisoners were, of 
 course, set at liberty. 
 
 Some time after, Keokuk, Black Hawk and several Sac chiefs 
 made a visit to Washington and the principal cities of the 
 Eastern States, in which they were well received. In Boston 
 they created great excitement, which was caused by the war 
 dance on the common. In all the savage virtues, Keokuk was 
 a superior Indian, far in advance of Black Hawk. 
 
CHAPTEE XXXYIII. 
 
 Commencement of the Black Hawk War — The Sacs Violate their 
 Treaty — They are ordered to Return West of the Missis- 
 sippi — They Refuse — Pursued by American Troops — Black 
 Hawk and his Band Victorious — Desolation in the Border 
 Settlements of Illinois — Black Hawk Defeated — Starvation 
 among the Savages. 
 
 "We now have before us two men — Black Hawk and Keokuk. 
 A glance at their different virtues has enabled the reader to 
 judge somewhat of these Indians. Let us now notice, briefly, 
 the principal acts of their lives. 
 
 Black Hawk and his band had not been long in their new 
 village before difficulties began to arise which terminated in a 
 violation of the treaty which he had made subsequent to his 
 removal. They had been sent away from their homes too late 
 in the season to admit of planting corn and beans, and before 
 autumn was over they were suifering for provisions. It is not 
 surprising that in this condition they should attempt to steal 
 the corn which they had planted on the opposite side of the 
 river in the spring. Many events followed, trivial in their 
 character, but all well qualified to foster the hatred which 
 already existed between Black Hawk's band and the Americans. 
 In April, 1832, the whole party, under this chief, crossed over 
 the river, and in open violation of their treaty of the previous 
 year, ascended the Rock river to the territory of their friends, 
 the Winnebagoes, having been invited thither to raise corn. 
 Oeneral Atkinson, with a body of troops, was then at Fort 
 Armstrong, having been ordered by the government to that 
 point for the purpose of quelling a war which existed between 
 the Menominies and the Foxes. Black Hawk had not pro- 
 ceeded far up the river when he was overtaken by a messenger 
 20 (305) 
 
306 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK : 
 
 from Gen. Atkinson with an order for him and his party to 
 return and recross the Mississippi. This the chief refused to 
 obey, saying that the General had no right to issue such an 
 order. He declared that he was at peace with the Americans, 
 and that he was peaceably traveling towards the village of his 
 friends. They journeyed on, but were soon overtaken by 
 another messenger, who brought word that unless the Sacs 
 returned and recrossed the Mississippi at once, an armed force 
 would be sent to compel them. Black Hawk's reply was deci- 
 sive; he would not return. Arriving at the village to which 
 he was traveling, the Sac chief found that in case he should be 
 pursued by the troops at Fort Armstrong, he would be unable 
 to obtain anj^ assistance from these Indians, and he therefore 
 resolved, if overtaken, to return peaceably. He encamped at 
 Kish-wa-cokee and began preparations for a dog-feast, with 
 which to compliment the Pottawatomies. 
 
 Meanwhile the Illinois militia was ordered out and formed 
 a junction with the regular troops under Gen. Atkinson, at 
 Rock Island. From this point the militia, being for the most 
 part mounted, proceeded by land to Dixon's ferry, on Eock 
 river, about half way between the fort and Black Hawk's pres- 
 ent encampment. Gen. Atkinson, with three hundred militia 
 and three hundred regulars, ascended the river in boats to the 
 same point. " Major Stillman," says Mr. Conclin, " having 
 under his command a body of two hundred and seventy-five 
 mounted volunteers, obtained leave of Gen. Whitesides, then 
 in command of the Illinois militia at Dixon's ferry, to go out 
 on a scouting expedition. He proceeded up Rock river about 
 thirty miles, to Sycamore creek, which empties into that river 
 on the east side. This movement brought him within a few 
 miles of the camp of Black Hawk and a part of his braves 
 at the time when the old chief was engaged in getting up a 
 dog-feast in honor of his Pottawatomie visitors." 
 
 While engaged in this ancient ceremony, on the fourteenth 
 of May, Black Hawk received intelligence of the advance of a 
 large number of mounted volunteers, which were reported as 
 being about eight miles distant. " I immediately started," 
 says the old chief, " three young men with a white flag to meet 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CI':NTURIES. 307 
 
 them and conduct them to our camp, that we miglit liold a 
 council with them and descend Rock river again; and directed 
 them, in case the whites had encamped, to return, and I would 
 go and see them. After this party had started, I sent five 
 young men to see what might take place. The first party 
 went to the encampment of the whites and were taken prisoners. 
 The last party had not proceeded far before they saw twenty 
 men coming towards them in full gallop. They stopped, and 
 finding that the whites were coming so fast, in a warlike atti- 
 tude, they turned and retreated, but were pursued and over- 
 taken, and two of them killed. The others made their escape. 
 "When they came in with the news, I was preparing my flags 
 to meet the war chief. The alarm was given. Nearly all my 
 young men were absent, about ten miles off. I started with 
 what I had left, about forty, and had proceeded but a short 
 distance before we saw a part of the enemy approaching. 1 
 raised a yell, and said to my braves, ' some of our people have 
 been killed — wantonly and cruelly murdered ! we must avenge 
 their death!' In a little while we discovered the whole army 
 coming towards us in full gallop! We were now confident 
 that our first party had been killed. I immediately placed my 
 men in front of some bushes, that we might have the first fire, 
 when they approached close enough. They made a halt some 
 distance from us. I gave another yell, and ordered my brave 
 warriors to charge upon them, expecting that we would all be 
 killed! They did charge. Every man rushed and fired, and 
 the enemy retreated in the utmost confusion and consternation 
 before my little but brave band of warriors. After pursuing 
 the enemy for some distance, I found it useless to follow them, 
 as they rode so fast, and returned to my encampment with a 
 few of my braves, about twenty-five having gone in pursuit 
 of the enemy. I lighted my pipe and sat down to thank the 
 Great Spirit for what he had done. I had not been long 
 meditating when two of the three young men I had sent out 
 with the flag to meet the American war chief entered. My 
 astonishment was not greater than my joy to see them living 
 and well. I r&ifi^-. -j listened to their story, which was as 
 follows : 
 
308 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK! 
 
 " ' When we arrived near to the encampment of the whites a 
 nnmber of them rushed out to meet us, bringing their guns 
 with them. They took us in the camp, when an American 
 who spoke the Sac language a little, told us that his chief 
 wanted to know how we were, where we were going, where 
 our camp was, and where Black Hawk was. We told him that 
 we had come to see his chief; that our chief had directed ns 
 to conduct him to our camp, in case he had not encamped, and 
 in that event to tell him that he (Black Hawk) would come to 
 see him; he wished to hold a council with him, as he had 
 given up all intention of going to war. At the conclusion of 
 this talk a party of white men came in on horseback. We saw 
 by their countenances that something had happened. A gen- 
 eral tumult arose. They looked at us w^th indignation, talked 
 among themselves for a moment, when several cocked their 
 guns; in a second they fired at us in the ci-owd; our companion 
 fell dead. We rushed through the crowd and made our escape. 
 We remained in ambush but a short time before we heard 
 yelling like Indians running an enemy. In a little while we 
 saw some of the whites in full speed. One of them came near 
 us. I threw my tomahawk and struck him on the head, which 
 brought him to the ground. I ran to him and with his own 
 knife took off his scalp. I took his gun, mounted his horse, 
 and took my friend here behind me. We turned to follow our 
 braves, who were running the enemy, and had not gone far 
 before we overtook a white man whose horse had mired in a 
 swamp. My friend alighted and tomahawked the man, who 
 was apparently fast under his horse. He took his scalp, horse 
 and gun. By this time our party was some distance ahead. 
 We followed and saw several white men lying dead on the way. 
 After riding about six miles we met our party returning. We 
 asked them how many of our men had been killed. They 
 said none, after the Americans had retreated. We inquired 
 then how many whites had been killed. They replied they did 
 not know, but said we would soon ascertain, as we must scalp 
 them as we go back. On our return we found ten men beside 
 the two we had killed before we joined our friends. Seeing 
 that they did not yet recognize us, it being dark, we again 
 
OR, THE BORDEK WARS OF TWO CKN'riTRlES. 309 
 
 asked how many of our braves had been kilU'd. They said 
 five. We asked who they were. They replied that the first 
 party of three who went out to meet the American war chief 
 had all been taken prisoners and killed in the encampment, 
 and that out of a party of five who followed to see the meet- 
 ing of the first party and the whites, two had been killed. 
 We were now certain that they did not recognize us, nor did 
 we tell them who we were until we arrived at our camp. The 
 news of our death had reached it some time before, and all were 
 surprised to see us again.' " 
 
 "The precipitate flight of the troops under Major Stillman," 
 says Conclin, "has no justification." ISTo efibrt v^as made to 
 rally the troops, and all the baggage of the army, blankets, 
 saddle-bags, camp equipage and provisions fell into the hands 
 of the Indians. Black Hawk, finding that his peace flag had 
 been fired upon, and being intoxicated with his success, 
 determined on war. Indeed, with the provision and other 
 supplies which he had secured in this contest, he was not poorly 
 qualified for the undertaking. He assembled his braves and 
 began active preparations for a Ijorder war. He immediately 
 sent out spies to watch the movements of Gen. Atkinson, and 
 prepared to remove his women and children from the seat of 
 war further up the Eock river, where, as he thought, they 
 would be secure from the whites. In passing to this point he 
 was met by a band of Winnebagoes, who, having heard of his 
 victory, signified a willingness to join him. 
 
 But meanwhile the defeat of the troops spread consternation 
 throughout the settlements of Illinois. The Indian forces w^ere 
 greatly misrepresented, and everywhere Black Hawk and his 
 band were spoken of as bold and cunning warriors. Gen. 
 Atkinson at once fortified his camp at Dixon's Ferry, and the 
 Governor of the State issued a call for more mounted volun- 
 teers. The Secretary of War sent one thousand troops from 
 the East under Gen. Winfield Scott, who was to have the com- 
 mand of the campaign against the Black Hawk forces. 
 
 And now we come to the horrors of another border war in 
 which many frontier families were massacred or carried away 
 into captivity, torture and death. The catalogue begins with 
 
310 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK! 
 
 the Indian creek massacre. At this point a party of hostile 
 Pottawatomies, thirty in number, fell upon a little settlement 
 on Indian creek, one of the tributaries of Fox river, and mur- 
 dered fifteen men, women and children, taking two prisoners, 
 the Misses Hall, who were afterwards returned to their friends 
 by the Winnebagoes. 
 
 It was, indeed, a war of detail. A party of Indians stole 
 the horses belonging to Capt. Stephenson, who resided not far 
 from Galena. The captain pursued them with twelve men. A 
 battle or skirmish ensued, in which six Indians and three sol- 
 diers were killed. Soon after, a party of eleven Sacs killed five 
 white men at Stafford's farm. Vengeance followed; General 
 Dodge followed and overtook them in a swamp, when they 
 were all shot down and scalped. Three soldiers fell in the con- 
 test. On the twenty-fourth of June, 1832, the Indians made 
 an attack upon the fort at Buffalo Grove, not far from Dixon's 
 Ferry. The post was garrisoned by one hundred and fifty men, 
 commanded by Capt. Dement. In this contest many of the 
 soldiers and forty horses were killed. After accomplishing 
 this, and seeing that they could not take the fort, they com- 
 menced a retreat. They had not gone far when they were 
 overtaken by a detachment under Col. Posey. This is Black 
 Hawk's account of the contest which followed : '' We concealed 
 ourselves until they came near enough, and then commenced 
 yelling and firing, and made a rusli upon them. About this 
 time their chief (Posey,) with a party of men, rushed up to 
 the rescue of those we had fired upon. In a little while 
 they commenced retreating, and left their chief and a few 
 braves, who seemed willing and anxious to fight. They acted 
 like braves, but were forced to give way when I rushed upon 
 them with my braves. In a short time the chief returned with 
 a larger party. He seemed determined to fight and anxious 
 for battle. When he came near enough, I raised the yell, and 
 firing commenced from both sides. The chief, who is a small 
 man, addressed his warriors in a loud voice, but they soon 
 retreated, leaving him and a few braves on the battlefield. A 
 great number of my warriors pursued the retreating party and 
 killed a number of their braves as they ran. The chief and 
 
OK, THE BOKUER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 811 
 
 his braves were unwilling to leave the field; I ordered my 
 braves to rush upon them, and had the mortification of seeinj;- 
 two of my chiefs killed before the enemy retreated. This 
 young chief deserves great praise for his courage, but fortu- 
 nately for us, his army was not all composed of such brave 
 men." The numbers on both sides were about equal in this 
 engagement. On the fourth of July, the army under Gen. 
 Atkinson, consisting of four hundred regulars and over one 
 thousand mounted volunteers, arrived at the foot of Lake Cash- 
 conong. Two brigades of the volunteers, under Gen. Dodge, 
 pursued the Indians from this point, and overtook them on the 
 twenty-first of July, about sundown, on the banks of the Wis- 
 consin. An attack was made, resulting in the route of 
 the ■ Indians, with a heavy loss. One of the troops was 
 killed and eight wounded. " The exact loss of the Indians 
 in this engagement cannot be ascertained. One account," says 
 Mr. Conclin, '"places the number at sixteen." Black Hawk 
 says that he had but fifty warriors with him in this engage- 
 ment, the rest being engaged in assisting the women and 
 children in crossing the Wisconsin to an island, to protect 
 them from the fire of the whites. This was undoubtedly a 
 •mistake, as one of his own men gives the number engaged in 
 the battle at sixty or seventy. "A party of Black Hawk's 
 band, including many women and children, now attempted to 
 descend the Wisconsin upon rafts and in canoes, that they might 
 escape by recrossing the Mississippi." But in this attempt they 
 were overtaken and attacked by troops which had been sta- 
 tioned on the banks of the river. Many of the savages were 
 killed, some were taken prisoners, others escaped to the neigh- 
 boring woods, where they soon perished from hunger. Another 
 party, among whom was Black Hawk, having, it is said, aban- 
 doned all idea of continuing the war, and being unwilling to 
 trust themselves to a ca^^itulation, started across the country, 
 hoping to escape west of the Mississippi. In this route they 
 lost many of their people from starvation. Reaching the Mis- 
 sissippi, a number of tlie women and children undertook to 
 descend the river in canoes to Prairie du Chien. Many of 
 them were drowned in this attempt, and those who did reach 
 
312 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK t 
 
 their destination were found to be in a starving condition. 
 But let us turn to Black Hawk and his party. On the first of 
 August, while in the act of crossing the Mississippi, he was 
 attacked by the steamboat Warrior, with an armed force on 
 board. 
 
 In this engag ment the Indians lost twenty-three killed, and 
 a great many wounded, while on board the Warrior, not one of 
 the gallant little crew was killed, only one being slightly 
 wounded. On the following morning, the M'hole of General 
 Atkinson's army was upon them. The Warrior also assisted, 
 killing three by the first shot. In Atkinson's army nine were 
 killed and seventeen wounded. The Indians were, of course,, 
 cruelly put to flight. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 Black Hawk's Defeat — He and His Band are Driven into the 
 Mississippi — Terrible Indian Slaqghter — The War Ended — 
 Black Hawk Captured, and with other Chiefs Confined in" 
 Irons— He Visits Washington and the Eastern Cities — His 
 Reception. 
 
 Gen. Atkinson was not satisfied with his triumph upon the 
 Wisconsin, but pushed forward with his whole armj in pursuit 
 of the Indians, making forced marches over a rough, uneven 
 country. On the morning of the second of August, when 
 within ten miles of the Mississippi, it was ascertained that the 
 enemy was then on the bank of the river in their front, pre- 
 paring to embark, at a place called Bad Axe. Arrangements 
 were at once made for an attack. Gen. Dodge's squadron was 
 placed in front, followed by the infantry, and these by the 
 brigades of Henry, Alexander and Posey. They had proceeded 
 in this order for about five miles, when they discovered a small 
 party of Indians, and immediately fired upon them. This 
 band retreated to the main body on the bank of the river. In 
 order to prevent the Indians from escaping. Generals Alexan- 
 der and Posey were directed to form the right wing of the 
 array, and to march to the river above the Indian encampment, 
 and then to move down along the bank. Gen. Henry formed 
 the left wing, and the United States infantry and Gen. Dodge's 
 squadron occupied the centre. In this order the army descended 
 into the valley of the river, which was covered with weeds and 
 heavy brushwood. Gen. Henry was the first to discover the 
 enemy. He opened a heavy fire upon them, which was 
 returned. Gen. Dodge's troops and the United States infantry 
 joined him in the action, and the whole, with Gen. Henry's 
 men, rushed upon the savages, killing them without mercy. 
 Only a few of them escaped. 
 
 (313) 
 
314 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK : 
 
 Meanwhile, the brigades of Alexander and Posey, which 
 "were approaching along the river's bank, fell in with another 
 party of Indians, putting them to rout with great slaughter. 
 The Indians were driven to the edge of the river, where they 
 hoped to escape by swimming to the opposite side, but they 
 were shot in the water, until nearly all had perished. Among 
 the few who escaped was Black Hawk. 
 
 Generals Atkinson, Dodge and Posey, descended the Missis- 
 sippi to Prairie du Chien in the Warrior, and there awaited 
 the arrival of the mounted volunteers. The latter arrived on 
 the fourth. The few Indians who escaped in this battle, 
 reached the western side of the Mississippi, only to fall a prey 
 to the tomahawks of their enemies, the Sioux. The loss of 
 the Indians was about a hundred and fifty killed, thirty-nine 
 women and children taken prisoners. The American loss did 
 not exceed ten killed and fifteen wounded. 
 
 Soon after this fatal battle. Black Hawk and the prophet, 
 Wabokieshiek, who had escaped into the country of the Sioux, 
 were captured by two chiefs belonging to the Winnebagoes, and 
 delivered as prisoners to the Indian agent at Prairie du Chien. 
 The prisoners were all conducted to Fort Barracks, a few miles 
 below St. Louis. 
 
 Soon after. Gen. Scott arrived at Kock Island from the East, 
 and made some investigations into the causes which led to the 
 Black Hawk War, from which it was made to appear that the 
 whole contest might have been avoided. 
 
 On the twenty-first of September, Gen. Scott and Governor 
 Reynolds concluded a treaty with the Winnebagoes and the 
 Sacs and Foxes. For the faithful performance of the provisions 
 of this treaty on the part of the Indians, it was stipulated that 
 Black Hawk, his two sons, the prophet and six other chiefs of 
 the hostile band, should be retained as hostages during the 
 pleasure of the President. All the other prisoners were set at 
 lilierty. The hostages were confined in Fort Barracks, and 
 put in irons. 
 
 " We were now confined," says the old chief. Black Hawk, 
 " to the barracks, and forced to wear the ball and chain. This 
 was extremely mortifying and altogether useless. Was the 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 315 
 
 White Beaver (Gen. Atkinson) afraid that I would break out 
 of his' barracks and run away, or was he ordered to inflict this 
 punishment upon me? If I had taken him prisoner, upon tlie 
 field of battle, I would not have wounded his feelings so much 
 by such treatment, knowing that a bravo war chief would pre- 
 fer death to dishonor. But I do not blame the White Beaver 
 for the course he pursued. It is the custom among white 
 soldiers, and, I suppose, was a part of his duty. 
 
 "The time dragged heavily and gloomily along throughout 
 the winter, although the White Beaver did everything in his 
 power to render us comfortable. Having been accustomed, 
 throughout a long life, to roam through the forests, to come 
 and go at liberty, confinement under any such circumstances 
 could not be less than torture. 
 
 " AVe passed away the time making pipes, until spring, when 
 we were visited by the agent, trader and interpreter, from 
 Eock Island, Keokuk and several chiefs and braves of our 
 nation, and my wife and daughter. I was rejoiced to see the 
 two latter, and spent my time very agreeably with them and 
 my people, as long as they remained." 
 
 Keokuk made exertions to obtain the release of Black Hawk, 
 pledging himself to be responsible for his good conduct. But 
 while the rival chief was endeavoring to effect this, an oi-der 
 arrived from the Secretary of War to have the prisoners sent 
 to Washington City. Accordingly they set out, and reached 
 the l^ational Capital in the latter part of April, 1833. They 
 were immediately sent to Fortress Monroe, " there to remain 
 until the conduct of their nation was such as to justify their 
 being set at liberty." The chiefs were much dissatisfied with 
 this part of their reception, and remonstrated bitterly. The 
 prophet said: "We expected to return immediately to our 
 people. The war in which we have been involved was occa- 
 sioned by our attempting to raise provisions on our own lands, 
 or where we thought we had a right to do so. We have lost 
 many of our people, as well as the whites. Our tribes and 
 families are now exposed to the attacks of our enemies, the 
 Sioux and the Menominies. We hope, therefore, to be per- 
 mitted to return home to take care of them.' 
 
316 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK : 
 
 Black Hawk concluded his complaint by saying: "We did 
 not expect to conquer the whites. No ; they had too many 
 horses, too many men, I took up the hatchet, for my part, to- 
 revenge injuries which my people could no longer endure. 
 Had I borne them longer without striking, my people would 
 have said Black Hawk is a woman. He is too old to be a 
 chief. He is no Sac. These reflections caused me to raise the 
 war-whoop. I say no more of it; it is known to you. Keokuk 
 once was here, and when he wished to return to his home, you 
 were willing. Black Hawk expects that, like Keokuk, we shall 
 be permitted to return, too." The President assured them 
 that their women and children should be protected against their 
 enemies, and that as soon as he was satisfied that peace was 
 restored to the frontiers, he would set them at liberty. 
 
 It was on the twenty-sixth of April that the chiefs entered 
 Fortress Monroe, at Old Point Comfort, where they remained 
 until the fourth of June, when they were released. When 
 about to depart Black Hawk waited upon the commandant of 
 the fort and said: 
 
 " Brother, I have come on my own part and in behalf of 
 my companions to bid you farewell. Our great father has at 
 length been pleased to permit us to return to our hunting 
 grounds. We have buried the tomahawk, and the sound of 
 the rifle will hereafter only bring death to the deer and the 
 buflalo. Brother, you have treated the red men very kindly. 
 Your squaws have made them presents, and you have given 
 them plenty to eat and drink. The memory of your friend- 
 ship will remain until the Great Spirit says it is time for Black 
 Hawk to sing his death song. Brother, your houses are as 
 numerous as the leaves of the trees, and your young warriors 
 like the sand upon the shore of the big lake that rolls before 
 us. The red man hath but few houses and few warriors, but 
 the red man has a heart which throbs as warmly as the heart 
 of his white brother. The Great Spirit has given us our hunt- 
 ing grounds, and the skin of the deer which we kill there is 
 his favorite, for its color is white, and this is the emblem of 
 peace. This hunting dress and these feathers of the eagle are 
 white. Accept them, my brother. I have given one like this 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO Cr_NTURIES. 31Y 
 
 to the White Otter. Accept of it as a memorial of BLack Hawk. 
 AVhen he is far away this will serve to remind yoii of him. 
 May the Great Spirit bless you and yonr children. Farewell." 
 
 On the fifth of June Black Hawk and his five companions 
 left the Fortress under the charge of Major John Garland, of 
 the United States army. Before leaving the place they visited 
 Norfolk and the navy-yard at Gosport. They were taken on 
 board of some of the war ships, and Black Hawk expressed a 
 •desire to see the chiefs who commanded them. 
 
 At Norfolk they were greeted by crowds of citizens, who 
 tendered them a cordial reception. From the balcony of his 
 hotel the Prophet Wabakieshiek addressed them as follows: 
 
 " The Great Spirit sent us here, and now happily we are 
 about to return to our own Mississippi and to our own people. 
 It affords us much happiness to rejoin our friends and kindred. 
 "We would shake hands with all our white friends assembled 
 here. Should any of them go to our country, on the Missis- 
 sippi, we would take pleasure in returning their kindness to 
 us. We will go home with peaceable dispositions towards our 
 white brethren, and make our conduct hereafter more satisfac- 
 tory to them. We bid you all farewell, as it is the last time 
 we shall see each other." 
 
 Black Hawk also made a speech, after which the party left 
 for Baltimore. Here, as everywhere else in the East, they were 
 greeted by crowds of curious spectators. The President hap- 
 pened to be at Baltimore at the same time, and at an interview 
 with him he addressed the old chief as follows: 
 
 " When I saw you in Washington I told you that you had 
 behaved very badly in raising the tomahawk against the white 
 people and killing men, women and children upon the frontier. 
 Your conduct last year compelled me to send my warriors 
 against you, and your people were defeated with great loss, and 
 your men surrendered, to be kept until I should be satisfied 
 that you would not try to do any more injury. I told you I 
 would inquire whether your people wished you to return, and 
 whether, if you did return, there would be any danger to 
 the frontier. Gen, Clark and Gen. Atkinson, whom you know, 
 have informed me that Keokuk, your principal chief, and the 
 
318 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK! 
 
 rest of your people, are anxious you should return, and Keokuk 
 has asked me to send you back. Your chiefs have pledged 
 themselves for your good conduct and I have given directions 
 that you should be taken to your own country. 
 
 " Major Garland, who is with you, will conduct you through 
 some of our towns. You will see the strength of the white 
 people. You will see that our young men are as numerous as 
 the leaves in the woods. "What can you do against us? You 
 may kill a few women and children, but such a force will soon 
 be sent against you as would destroy your whole tribe. Let 
 the red men hunt and take care of their families ; but I hope 
 they will not again raise their hands against their white 
 brethren. We do not wish to injure you. We desire your 
 prosperit}" and improvement. But if you again plunge your 
 knives into the breasts of our people, I shall send a force which 
 will severely punish you for all your cruelties. When you go 
 back, listen to the counsels of Keokuk and the other friendly 
 chiefs. Bury the tomahawk and live in peace with the frontier, 
 and I pray the Great Spirit to give you a smooth path and a 
 fair sky to return." 
 
 Black Hawk and the prophet both replied to this speech, 
 promising not to go to war again. The captives were next 
 conducted to Philadelphia, where they arrived on the tenth of 
 June, and remained at Congress Hall until the fourteenth. 
 While in this city they were taken to see all the features of 
 interest, and before they left they had the pleasure of witness- 
 ing a grand military display in front of the quarters. Black 
 Hawk at once inquired whether or not these were the soldiers 
 who had conquered him and his warriors on the previous sum- 
 mer. In speaking of his war he said: 
 
 " My heart grew bitter against the whites and my hands 
 were strong. I dug up the tomahawk and led my warriors to 
 fight. I fought hard; I was no coward. Much blood was 
 shed. But the white men were mighty. They were as many 
 as the leaves in the forest. I and my people failed. I am 
 sorry the tomahawk was raised. I have been a prisoner. I 
 see the strength of the white men; they are many, very many. 
 The Indians are but few ; they are not cowards ; they are braves ; 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIFS. 219 
 
 but thej are few. Wliile the Great Spirit above keeps my 
 heart as it now is, I will be the white man's friend. I will 
 remain in peace. I will go to my people and speak good, of 
 the white man. I will tell them they are as the leaves of the 
 forest, very many, very strong, and that I will light no more 
 against them." 
 
 They were next taken to New York city, where, immediately 
 upon their arrival, they had the pleasure of witnessing a bal- 
 loon ascension at Castle Garden. Tliis novel sight greatly 
 pleased the red men, and one of them appealed to the prophet 
 to know if the air ship was " going to see the Great Spirit.'^ 
 When the crowd ascertained that Black Hawk was present, 
 the air was rent with shouts of welcome, and the press of the 
 multitude to see the strangers was so great that they could 
 not reach their lodgings until placed in carriages and com- 
 mitted to the care of the police. It was with much difficulty 
 that the}-^ reached the Exchange Hotel, which was immediately 
 surrounded by thousands who would not be dispersed until 
 " General Black Hawk " would show himself, which he did. 
 While in New York they were treated with many civilities. 
 They were conducted to all public places of interest, and were 
 much pleased with their visit. 
 
 The party was conducted to Albany, Buffalo, and thence to 
 Fort Armstrong, on Rock Island, where they arrived about 
 the middle of August. *' In passing by the site of the old 
 Sac village. Black Hawk was deeply affected, and expressed 
 much regret for the causes which compelled him to emigrate 
 beyond the Mississippi. The return of the prophet was also 
 attended with melancholy associations. His village, over which 
 he had long presided, was entirely broken up, his wigwam in 
 ashes, his family dispersed and he a suppliant for a home in 
 the village of some other chief" 
 
CHAPTEE XL. 
 
 Ceremonies of Liberating Black Hawk — Keokuk's Triumph — 
 Black Hawk's Anger — He will not Conform to the Councils 
 OF Keokuk — His Speech — He Departs to His Squaws — Inter- 
 esting Incidents at Rock Island. 
 
 Fort Armstrong had been chosen as the proper place for 
 the ceremonies of the liberation of Black Hawk and his party. 
 Its central position enabled the commander to assemble the 
 surrounding Indians at short notice, runners being sent out 
 for that purpose. The first to arrive were the friendly Keokuk 
 and his l3and. He ascended the Mississippi by water, and led 
 the van with two large canoes lashed side by side, handsomely 
 decorated, with a canopy erected over them, " beneath which 
 sat the chief and his three wives, with the American flag 
 waving over them. More than twenty canoes followed the 
 chieftain, each containing from four to eight of his warriors, 
 whose shouts and songs swept over the transparent waters of 
 the Mississippi and were echoed from shore to shore." The 
 little fleet passed slowly up the river, opposite the camp of the 
 captives, and landed on the west side of the river. At this 
 place Keokuk and his party spent several hours in arranging 
 their dress, painting and equipping themselves for the occa- 
 sion. Wlien this important duty had been completed they 
 crossed the river. Keaching the bank the great Keokuk turned 
 to his followers and said: "The Great Spirit has sent our 
 brother back; let us shake hands with him in friendship." 
 He then approached Black Hawk, followed by his warriors. 
 The old chief was seated in front of his temporary lodge, sur- 
 rounded by his followers, and appeared to be deeply affected 
 by the scene. Now the rivals met face to face — Keokuk in his 
 glory and Black Hawk in disgrace, fallen, forsaken! But tlie 
 (320) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIP:S. 321 
 
 proud ruler did not exult in his well-merited triumph. Ap- 
 proaching the old chief, Keokuk stretched forth his hand in 
 friendship, which Black Hawk grasped with a degree of cordi- 
 ality. Keokuk and his followers then took seats, which was 
 followed by a long silence. The pipe was lighted and passed 
 from hand to hand, followed by friendly sentiments expressed 
 by both parties. At length Keokuk arose and shook hands 
 with the fallen chief, saying, "We will return to-moi-row." 
 He then re-crossed the river to his own camp. 
 
 On the following day the grand council for the liberation 
 of the captives was held. "It presented," says Mr. Conclin, 
 ^' the novel spectacle of a chief, compelled by a third power, to 
 acknowledge the authority of a rival, and formally descend 
 from the rank v/hich he had long sustained among his people. 
 Fort Armstrong presented a commodious room for the cere- 
 monies of the day, and it was fitted up for the occasion. 
 About ten o'clock in the forenoon Keokuk and one hundred 
 followers re-crossed the river and proceeded in martial array 
 to the garrison. They were conducted into the council room 
 and shown the seats which they were to occupy. Keokuk was 
 seated with Pashepahow (the Stabber) on one side, Wapellar 
 (the Little Prince) on the other — the former a chief of the Sacs, 
 the latter of the Foxes. The remainder of his band took their 
 seats in the rear, and maintained throughout the ceremony 
 profound silence." 
 
 In a few minutes Black Hawk and his folloM^ers came into 
 the council. As they entered, Keokuk and the two chiefs by 
 his side rose and greeted them. The old chief and his associ- 
 ates were seated directly opposite Keokuk. Black Hawk was 
 accompanied by his son, Nasinewiskuk, and both appeared to 
 be displeased. They had, the day previous, offered great objec- 
 tions to the council, saying it was altogether unnecessary and 
 would be very painful to them, and it was now with the 
 greatest reluctance that they came into it. 
 
 For several minutes a profound silence reigned over the 
 
 assembly, at the end of which Major Garland rose and addressed 
 
 the council. He said he was pleased to see the Sacs and Foxes 
 
 greet Black Hawk with friendshij), and he believed that here- 
 
 21 
 
322 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK ! 
 
 after they would live in peace. At this point Major Garland 
 caused the speech delivered to Black Hawk at Baltimore by the 
 President to be again interpreted to him. This ended, Keokuk 
 rose, and after shaking hands with those around him, said: 
 
 " I have listened to the talk of our great father. It is true 
 we pledged our honor, with those of our young braves, for the 
 liberation of our friends. "We thought much of it; our coun- 
 cils were long; their wives and childred were in our thoughts; 
 when we talked of them our hearts were full. Their wives 
 and children came to see us, which made us feel like women; 
 but we were men. The words which we sent to our great 
 father were good; he spoke like the father of children. The 
 Great Spirit made his heart big in council. We received our 
 brothers in friendship; our hearts were good towards them. 
 They once listened to bad council; now their ears are closed. 
 I give my hand to them; when they shake it they shake the 
 hands of all! I will shake hands with them and then I am 
 done." 
 
 Major Garland again rose and said that the President, their 
 great father, would hereafter recognize Keokuk as the principal 
 chief of the Sac and Fox nations, and that he wished and 
 expected that Black Hawk would conform to his (rival's) 
 councils. All unfriendly feelings between them must be 
 buried, and the band of Black Hawk must be hereafter merged 
 in that of Keokuk. And just here I cannot resist from making 
 a single comment: Was it not enough that Black Hawk, whose 
 once powerful band of warriors had been shot down by Amer- 
 ican soldiers, had been left without any followers, that he had 
 suffered the shame of a long, and, in some respects, merciless 
 confinement? Why crush out the last spark of pride within 
 him? 
 
 On hearing the wt)rds of Major Garland, the old chief, who 
 had suffered his captivity and imprisonment with fortitude, 
 lost all control of himself and became deeply excited. The 
 great spirit which had borne him through the daring struggles 
 of his great war, and made his name terrible wherever it was 
 spoken, suddenly returned and burst forth with great violence. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 323 
 
 He leaped to his feet, tremblino; witli aiiorer, his eyes sparkling 
 with rage, and exclaimed: 
 
 "I am a man! an old man! I will not conform to the 
 councils of any one! I will act for myself ! None shall gov- 
 ern me! I am old; my hair is gray. I once gave councils to 
 my young men. Am I to conform to others? I shall soon go 
 to the Great Spirit, where I shall be at rest. What I said to 
 our great father, I say again. I will always listen to him. I 
 am done." 
 
 This speech created great excitement in the council, and the 
 interpreter was directed to explain to Black Haw^k that the Presi- 
 dent had only requested him to listen to the counsel of Keokuk. 
 But the old man was displeased and would make no reply. 
 Keokuk approached him and whispered, " Why do you speak 
 so before the white men; I will speak for you; you trembled. 
 You did not mean what you said." Keokuk then took his 
 place, and remarked to the council: "Our brother has again 
 come to us, has spoken, but he spoke in wrath. His tongue 
 was forked. He spoke not like a man — a Sac. He knew his 
 words were bad; he trembled like the oak whose roots have 
 been wasted away by many rains. He is old — what he said 
 let us forget. He says he did not mean it; he wishes it for- 
 gotten. I have spoken for him. What I have said are his own 
 words, not mine. Let us say he spoke in council to-day — that 
 his words were good. I have spoken." Several other speeches 
 were made, after which Major Garland rose and told Black 
 Hawk that he was at liberty to go where he pleased ; that the 
 people of the United States, as well as himself, were pleased 
 with the uniform good conduct of all the captives while among 
 them; that they were convinced their hearts were good, but 
 they had listened to bad councils. The Major, in conclusion, 
 said he hoped that peace and harmony would long exist 
 between them. 
 
 Black Hawk rose in reply, and made a short and appropriate 
 speech, asking the reporters to draw a line over the speech he 
 had made. He said he did not mean it. The council was then 
 broken up. 
 
 In the evening of the same day, Major Garland invited the 
 
324 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK : 
 
 principal chiefs to his own quarters, and, after treating them 
 to champagne, all indulged in speeches. Black Hawk, who 
 was the last one who spoke, said : 
 
 " I feel that I am an old man; once I could speak, but now 
 I have but little to say; to-day we met many of our brothers; 
 we were glad to see them. I have listened to what my broth- 
 ers have said; their hearts are good; they have been like Sacs 
 since I left them ; they have taken care of my wife and chil- 
 dren, who had no wigwam; I thank them for it; the Great 
 Spirit knows that I thank them. Before the sun gets behind 
 the hills to-morrow I shall see them; I want to see them. 
 When I left them I expected soon to return; I told our great 
 father when in "Washington, that I would listen to the councils of 
 Keokuk. I shall soon be far away. I shall have no village, no 
 band. I shalj live alone. What I said in council to-day I 
 wish forgotten. If it has been put on paper, I wish a mark 
 drawn over it; I did not mean it. I^ow we are alone, let us 
 say we will forget it. Say to our Great Father and Governor 
 Cass, that I will listen to them. Many years ago I met Gov- 
 ernor Cass in councils, far across the prairies, to the rising 
 sun. His councils were good; my ears were closed; I listened 
 to the Great Father across the waters. My father listened to 
 him whose band was large. My band was once large; now I 
 hav^e no band. I and my son and all the party, thank our 
 Great Father for what he has done. He is old; I am old; we 
 shall soon go to the Great Spirit, where we shall rest. He 
 sent us through his great villages. We saw many of the 
 white people, who treated us with kindness. We thank them; 
 we thank you and Mr. Sprague for coming with us. Your 
 road was long and crooked. We never saw so many white 
 men before. When you were with us, we felt as though we 
 had some friends among them. We felt safe; you knew them 
 all. When you come upon the Mississippi again, you shall 
 come to my wigwam. I have now none. On your road home, 
 you will ])ass where my village was once; no one lives there 
 now; all are gone. I give you my hand; we may never meet 
 again. I shall long remember you. The Great Spirit will be 
 with you and your wives and children. Before the sun rises I 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 325 
 
 shall go to my family ; my son will be here to see you before 
 we go. I will shake hands with mv brothers here, and then I 
 am done.'" 
 
 On the following morning Black Hawk crossed the river 
 and wasted no time in reaching his wife. The other Indians 
 also repaired to their yillages. 
 r' I affix to this chapter the^ following article, which appeared 
 141 the " Baltimore American," soon after Black Hawk's death. 
 The article was written by one acquainted with the circum- 
 stance. It gives an account of the death of Tecumseh, and 
 many interesting points in the life of the Sac chieftain : 
 
 "During a residence of several years in what is now the 
 Territory of Iowa, I had many opportunities of seeing and 
 conversing with this noted warrior, and often look back with 
 feelings of great pleasure to the many tokens of good will and 
 friendship that he has frequently bestowed upon men. His 
 lodge was always open to a stranger, and he was ever ready to 
 share that with him which he might most want, either his furs 
 and blankets for a couch, or his corn and venison for a repast. 
 He always spoke in terms of high regard of the whites, saying 
 that in war he fought like a brave man, but in peace he wished 
 to forget that his hand had ever been raised against them. 
 His career, as a warrior commenced at a very early age; when 
 he was but fourteen years old, his father, Pawheese, led a war 
 party against the Osages, in which expedition he accompanied 
 him. They succeeded in reaching the village of Osages, which 
 they attacked, and after a very severe encounter, they routed 
 their enemies and burnt their town. In this battle Black 
 Hawk's father was killed, but he revenged his death by killing 
 and scalping the Osage who had slain him. He was fond of 
 recounting his earlier exploits, and often boasted of his being 
 at the right hand of Tecumseh, when the latter was killed at 
 the battle of the Thames. His account of the death of this 
 distinguished warrior, was related to me by himself, during an 
 evening that I spent in his lodge some winters ago. In the 
 course of our talk, I asked him if he was with Tecumseh when 
 he was killed. He replied: 
 
 " ' I was, and I will now tell you all about it. Tecumseh, 
 
326 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KP:0KUK: 
 
 Sliaubinne and Caldwell, two Pottawatomie chiefs, and myself, 
 were seated on a log near our camp lire, filling onr pipes for a 
 smoke, on the morning of the battle, when word came from 
 the British general, that he wished to speak with Tecum seh. 
 He went immediately, and after staying some time rejoined as, 
 taking his seat without saying a word, when Caldwell, who 
 was one of his favorites, observed to him, 'my father, what 
 are we to do? Shall we tight the Americans?' 'Yes, my soi^? 
 replied Tecumseh, ' we shall go into their very stnoke — but you 
 are now wanted by the general. Go, my son, I never expect to 
 see you again.' Shortly after this (continued Black Hawk,) the 
 Indian spies came in, and gave word of the near approach of 
 the Americans. Tecumseh immediately posted his men in the 
 edge of a swamp, which flanked the British line, placing him- 
 self at their head. I was a little to his right, with a small 
 party of Sacs. It was not long before the Americans made 
 their appearance; they did not perceive us at first, hid as we 
 were by the undergrowth, but we soon let them know where 
 we were by pouring in one or two volleys as they were forming 
 into a line to oppose the British. They faltered a little, but 
 very soon we perceived a large body of horse (Col. Johnson's 
 regiment of mounted Kentuckians) preparing to charge upon 
 us in the swamp. They came bravely on, yet we never stirred 
 until they wore so close that we could see the flints of their 
 guns, when Tecumseh, springing to his feet, gave the Shaw- 
 anoe war cry, and discharged his rifle. This was the signal for 
 us to commence the fight; but it did not last long; the Amer- 
 icans answered the shout, returning our fire, and at the first 
 discharge of their guns, I saw Tecumseh stagger forwards over 
 a fallen tree near which he was standing, letting his rifle drop 
 to his feet. As soon as the Indians discovered he was killed, 
 a sudden fear came over them, and thinking that the Great 
 Spirit was displeased, they fought no longer, and were quickly 
 put to flight. That night we returned to bury our dead, and 
 search for the body of Tecumseh. He was found lying where 
 he had first fallen ; a bullet had struck him above the hip, and 
 his skull had been broken by the butt end of the gun of some 
 soldier, who had found him, perhaps, when life was not yet 
 
OK, THE BORDEK WARS UF TWO CENTURIt^. 327 
 
 quite gone. AVith the exception of these wounds, his body 
 was untouched; lying near him, however, was a large, fine 
 looking Pottawatomie, who had been killed, decked off in his 
 plumes and war paint, whom the Americans no doubt had 
 taken for Tecum seh; for he was scalped, and every particle of 
 skin fiayed from his body. Tecumseh himself, had no orna- 
 ments about his person save a British medal. Durino- the 
 night we buried our dead, and brought oiF the body of Tecum- 
 seh, although we were within sight of the fires of the American 
 camp.' 
 
 "This is somewhat different from the account which is com- 
 monly given of Tecumseh's death, yet I believe it to be true; 
 for after hearing Black Hawk relate it, I heard it corroborated 
 by one of the Pottawatomie chiefs, mentioned by him. I asked 
 him if he had ever fought against the whites after the death of 
 Tecumseh. He said not— that he returned home to his village 
 on the Mississippi, at the mouth of Rock river, and there he 
 remained until driven away by the whites, in the year 1832. 
 The wish to hold possession of this village, was the cause of 
 the war which he waged against the whites during that year. 
 He told me that he never wished to fight; that he was made 
 to do so; that the whites killed his warriors when they went 
 Avith a white flag to beg a parley, and that after this was done, 
 he thought they intended to kill him at all events, and there- 
 fore he would die like a warrior. 
 
 " In speaking of his defeat, he said it was what he expected; 
 that he did not mind it; but what hurt him more than any- 
 thing else, was our government degrading him in the eyes of 
 his own people, and setting another chief (Keokuk) over him. 
 This degradation he appeared to feel very sensibly, still he con- 
 tinued to possess all his native pride. One instance that came 
 under my observation, I recollect well, in which it was strongly 
 displayed. He happened to be in a small town in Iowa,' on 
 
 tlie same day in which a party of dragoons, under Capt. 
 
 arrived; and in paying a visit to a friend with whom he always 
 partook of a meal, whenever he stopped at the village, he met 
 with the captain, who had been invited to dine. Black Hawk 
 remained, also expecting the usual invitation to stay and eat 
 

 328 THE LIVES OF BLACK HAWK AND KEOKUK: 
 
 with them ; but when the dinner was ready, the host took him 
 aside, and told him the captain, or rather the white man's chief^ 
 was to dine with him that day, and he must wait tmtil they 
 had finished. The old chief's eye glistened with anger as he 
 answered him, raising the forefinger of one hand to his breast^ 
 to represent the ofiicer, ' I know the white man is a chief, but 
 /,' elevating the finger of the other hand far above his head,. 
 ' was a chief, and led my warriors to the fight long before his. 
 mother knew him. ITour 'meat — my dogs should not eat itP 
 Saying this, he gathered the folds of his blanket about him, 
 and stalked off", looking as proudly as if he still walked over 
 ground that he could call ' my oivn.'' \ 
 
 " Black Hawk possessed, to a great degree, one fine trait 
 which is not usual for us to concede to the Indian — kindness 
 and afifection for his wife. He never had but one, and with 
 her he lived for upwards of forty years; they had several chil- 
 dren, three of whom still survive, two sons and a daughter. 
 The eldest son is now one of the most promising young braves 
 of the nation, and bids fair to be one of its most noble men. 
 The daughter is still quite young, and is considered to be the- 
 most beautiful maiden belonging to her tribe. 
 
 " He has now departed on his long journey, to join those of 
 his people who have gone before him to the happy hunting 
 grounds, far beyond the setting sun. May the Great Spirit 
 grant him a clear sunshine, and a smooth path." 
 
 In addition to this, it will be proper to add that in Septem- 
 ber, 1838, while on his way to Kock Island to receive his 
 portion of the annual payment, he took a heavy cold, which 
 resulted in a fatal attack of bilious fever, which terminated his. 
 life on the third of October, after an illness of only a few days. 
 His wife, who was devotedly attached to him, mourned deeply 
 during his sickness. She said on the day before he died, " he 
 is getting old, be must die. Monotah calls him home." After 
 his death, he was dressed in the uniform presented to him by 
 the President while in Washington, and buried. " The grave 
 was six feet deep, and of the usual length, situated upon a little 
 eminence about fifty yards from his wigwam. The body was 
 placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, upon a 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 320 
 
 6eat, constructed for the purpose. On his left side, the cane, 
 given him by Henry Clay, was placed upright, with his right 
 hand resting upon it. Many of the old warrior's trophies were 
 placed in the grave, and some Indian garments, together with 
 
CHAPTER XLl. 
 
 Indian Tribes West of the Mississippi — The Mandans, their 
 Dwellings, Manners and Customs — Their Traditions of the 
 Flood — Their Singular Ceremonies — How they were De- 
 stroyed—Their Supposed Origin. 
 
 Having reached the proper point, I will now interrupt the 
 narrative to ^ive the reader a very brief history of the tribes 
 of Indians' which existed in that vast territory between the 
 Mississippi and the Pacific coast about the year 1800. But in 
 this undertaking I find myself surrounded with difiiculties of 
 a kind not encountered in the review of the tribes east of the 
 Mississippi at the beginning of this work, as the tribal divisions 
 of the Western Indians are, both in language and customs less 
 distinguishing than those of the former. Yet, avoiding the 
 finer details of difference, we shall have but little difficulty in 
 presenting the general characteristics of the various nations 
 of the great West. It will be difficult, however, to give any 
 boundaries of territory owned or occupied by these nations as, 
 either by their roving habits or by the results of conquest, they 
 were continually changing their abode. Along the borders of 
 the Missouri, and high up the western tributaries of the Mis- 
 sissippi, we find the various tribes belonging to the Sioux or 
 Dahcotah nation, called by the early explorers and travelers, 
 Naudowesses. These Indians lived principally by the chase, a 
 few only practicing any degree of husbandry. The tribal 
 divisions of this nation were as follows: the Waupeentowas, 
 the Tintons, the Afracootans, the Mawhaws, (called by some the 
 Omawhas,) and the Schians. These tribes, with a few ex(;ep- 
 tious, dwelt in the prairie country, near the borders of the St. 
 Peter. The Assinaboins, and several other tribes, were, by 
 some of the oldest writers, classed in the same nation. 
 
OR, THK BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIl^S. 831 
 
 Mr. Gallatin, an able M'riter ou these and other tribes, classes 
 them as follows: The Winnebagos, of Wisconsin ; the Sioux 
 proper, or Dahcotas, and the Assinaboins; the Minetari, and 
 tribes allied to them; and the Osages, and other kindred tribes. 
 The same writer, I believe, holds that the Minetari include the 
 Crows, and the Mandans. The latter, however, are a distinct 
 nation, and differ widely from all other Indians in America in 
 many important peculiarities. In 1832, we find the Mandans 
 situated in two villages on the left bank of the Missouri, about 
 two hundred miles below the mouth of the Yellowstone. At 
 this time their population did not exceed two or three thou- 
 sand. However, according to their best traditions, and as 
 evinced by the ruins of their former settlements they had, at 
 an earlier date, been a populous and powerful nation. In the 
 date above mentioned we find them in their principal town 
 upon the Missouri well fortified against the enemy. Within 
 the pickets the houses were exceedingly compact, leaving but 
 little room for the gaudy inhabitants to move to and fro. These 
 dwellings were partially sunk in the ground, the roofs being 
 made of earth and clay. On entering them one would be sur- 
 prised with their neatness, comfort and spacious dimensions. 
 "They were all of a circular form," says Mr. Catlin, "and are 
 from forty to sixty feet in diameter. Their foundations are 
 prepared by digging some two feet in the ground and forming 
 the floor of earth by leveling the requisite size for a lodge." 
 These singular dwellings were not devoid of comfort. " They 
 consisted," says Mr. Brown ell, "of 'a row of perpendicular 
 stakes or timbers six feet or thereabouts in height, supporting 
 long rafters for the roof. A hole was left in the center for air, 
 light, and the escape of the smoke." The rafters were first 
 covered by boughs, and lastly by earth. A small excavation in 
 the center of the hut served as a fire-place. The furniture was 
 not elegant, although comfortable. A rude bedstead was erec- 
 ted at one side, abundantly provided with buffalo skins, with 
 ornamented curtains, not of European manufacture, for they 
 did not import their goods, but of various skins of wild animals. 
 "This ari'angement of beds, and arms, etc.," says Mr. Catlin, 
 "combining the most vivid display and arrangement of colors, 
 
332 THE INDIAN TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI I 
 
 of furs, of trinkets, of barbed and glistening points and steely 
 of mysteries and hocus-pocus, together with the sombre and 
 smoked color of the roof and sides of the lodge; and the wild,^ 
 and rude, and red — the graceful (though uncivil) conversa- 
 tional, garrulous, story-telling, and happy, though ignorant 
 and untutored groups, that are smoking their pipes— wooing 
 their sweethearts, and embracing their little ones about their 
 peaceful and endeared fire-sides ; together with their pots and 
 kettles, spoons, and other culinary articles of their own manu- 
 facture, around them, present, altogether, one of the most 
 picturesque scenes to the eye of a stranger that can be possibly 
 seen, and far more wild and vivid than could ever be imagined.'^ 
 
 But if the interior was full of interesting scenes, we have 
 only to open another book to find that the exterior was also 
 replete with interest. Of this Mr. Brownell says: "In the 
 center of the village an open court was left for purposes of 
 recreation and for the performances of the national religious 
 ceremonies. Upon the rounded roofs of the domicils numerou& 
 busy or indolent groups were sitting or lounging in every 
 possible attitude, while in the central area some were exercising 
 their wild horses, or training and playing with their dogs. 
 Such a variety of brilliant and fanciful costumes, ormamented 
 M'ith plumes and porcupine quills, with the picturesque throng 
 of Indians and animals, the closely crowded village, the green 
 plain, the river, and the blue hills in the distance, formed a 
 happy subject for the artist. 
 
 But the attractions of a Mandan village were not all confined 
 within the narrow limits encompassed by the pickets. Out- 
 side, at a little distance, could be seen the scaffolds upon which 
 the dead were placed. The funeral rites of this nation were 
 very peculiar and not without interest. The body of the dead 
 person was wrapped in a buffalo skin, which included the arms 
 used by the deceased during his life, and the usual provision 
 of tobacco, flint and steel, knife and food. A slight scafibld 
 was arranged, high enough to be out of the reach of wild 
 beasts, and there the body was placed to decay in the open air. 
 " Day after day," continues Mr. Brownell, " those who had lost 
 friends would come out from the village to this strange ceme- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 338 
 
 terv to weep and bewail over their loss. Such genuine and 
 long-continued grief as was exhibited bj the alilicted relatives, 
 puts to shame the cold-heartedness of too many among the 
 cultivated and enlightened. When, after the lapse of years, 
 the scaffolds had fallen, and nothing was left but bleached and 
 mouldering bones, the remains were buried, with the excep- 
 tion of the skulls. These were placed in circles upon the 
 plain, with the faces turned inward, each resting upon a bunch 
 of wild sage; and in tlie center, upon two slight mounds, 
 ^ medicine-piles ' were erected, at the foot of which were the 
 heads and horns of a male and female buffalo. To these new 
 places of deposit, each of which contained not far from one 
 hundred skulls, do these people again resort to evince their 
 further affection for the dead — not in groans and lamentations, 
 however, for several years have cured the anguish, but fond 
 a,ffections and endearments are here renewed, and conversations 
 are here held and cherished with the dead." 
 
 Alone on that far distant river's bank, away from the 
 encroachments of civilization, the wife or mother would sit for 
 hours by the side of the skull of the loved and lost, addressing 
 it with the most affectionate and loving words, or perhaps 
 lying down and falling asleep with it in her embrace. 
 
 The Mandans were a hospitable race, friendly in their treat- 
 ment of each other, and mindful of the wants of travelers. 
 Tliey were for the most part a fine looking people, many of 
 their women being very handsome. With a few exceptions, 
 they were a clean, tidy people. They indulged in all the 
 elaboration of the war-paint and dress, and were exceedingly 
 proud of their appearance. 
 
 The custom of polygamy was universal among the Mandans 
 by all whose native vigor procured them rank. The girls were 
 usually sold at prices in proportion to their beauty by their 
 parents at a very early age, and as among the Eastern nations 
 of savages, their fate was a life of toil and hardship. Never- 
 theless, "amongst them respectable virtue was as highly 
 cherished and as inapproachable as in any society whatever." 
 The white traders and travelers who went among them, either 
 from policy or inclination, allied themselves to one or more of 
 
334 THE INDIAN TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI: 
 
 the principal chiefs by a temporary espousal of his daughter. 
 *' In many instances they indulged in a plurality." This was 
 a position greatly sought after by the daughters of the chiefs, 
 as it afibrded them a good opportunity for idleness and orna- 
 mentation. Gaines were largely practiced among the boys and 
 young men. An endless variety of dances, with vocal and 
 instrumental music, mingled with their recreations and reli- 
 gious cei'emonies. When game w&s scarce, or when the buffalo 
 herds had wandered far away from the vicinitv of their village, 
 these superstitious savages would perform the " buffalo dance" 
 in the central arena of their village. On this occasion every 
 man in the tribe wore a mask made from the skin of a buffalo's 
 head, including the horns. " When the wise men of the nation 
 determined upon their vocations to attack the buffalo herds," 
 says Brownell, " watchers were stationed upon the eminences 
 surrounding the villages and the dance commenced. With 
 extravagant actions and strange ejaculations the crowd per- 
 formed the prescribed maneuvers: As fast as those engaged 
 became weary they would signify it by crouching down, when 
 those without the circle would go through the pantomime of 
 severally shooting, flaying and dressing them, while new per- 
 formers took their place. Night and day the mad scene was 
 kept up, sometimes for weeks together, until the signal was 
 given of the approach of buffaloes, when all prepared with 
 joy and hilarity for a grand hunt, fully convinced that their 
 own exertions had secured the prize." A ceremony not less 
 ridiculous was performed in case of a drought, with a view to 
 producing a rain shower. 
 
 Their children were taught the principles of war from in- 
 fancy, and impressed with the idea that true dignity and glory 
 awaited him alone who could fringe his garments with the 
 scalps of his enemies. Among the Mandan warriors, even at 
 a recent date, were some of the boldest men of the forest; the 
 result, no doubt, in a great measure of their early training. 
 
 The religion of the Mandans was similar to that of most 
 of the Indian tribes already spoken off, yet many of their reli- 
 gious ceremonies are full of the most unique situations. The 
 grand four days' ceremony had three distinct objects: "a festi- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 835 
 
 val of thanksgiving for the escape of their ancesters from the 
 flood, of which they had a distinct tradition, strikingly com- 
 fortable to scriptural history;" the grand bull dance already 
 described, and to initiate the young men, by terrible trials and 
 tortures, into the order of warriors. 
 
 This ceremony was performed in the spring, as soon as the 
 willow trees on the bank of the river were in leaf, " for, accord- 
 ing to their tradition," says Catlin, " the twig that the bird 
 brought home was a willow bough and had full grown leaves 
 upon it, and the bird to which they allude is the mourning or 
 turtle-dove, which they took great pains to point out to me." 
 The first performances were, as I have said, in reference to the 
 deluge, and in commemoration of this ancient event a sort of 
 "curb or hogshead" stood in the centre of the village, in 
 memory of the "big canoe," in which the human race, includ- 
 ing the Indians, was saved from a watery grave. 
 
 The Indians were not informed as to what day the ceremo- 
 nies would take place; but on a fine morning the inhabitants 
 of the village would be all astir gazing earnestly at an ap- 
 proaching figure. This strange person would soon enter within 
 the inclosed space of the village, painted white and carrying a 
 large pipe in his hand. This visitor was saluted by the prin- 
 cipal men of the village as " Numohkmuchanah " (Noah). His 
 mission was to open the great lodge reserved exclusively for 
 the annual religious ceremonies. After performing this duty 
 and promising to return in the following spring, he took his 
 departure for his distant mountain home. 
 
 One of the most interesting features of these curious rites 
 was the ordeal which the young warriors had to pass in order 
 to qualify them for the duties of a brave. The candidates for 
 this torturous performance were obliged to abstain from eat- 
 ing any kind of food, drinking or sleeping for three days. 
 Then coming forward, the candidates allowed the flesh of their 
 breasts or backs to be pierced with rude two-edged knives, and 
 rough sticks thrust through the holes. The sticks were run 
 through the flesh to such a depth as to be capable of support- 
 ing much more than the weight of the body. Cords were 
 attached to these sticks, by which the sufferers were hoisted up 
 
336 THE INDIAN TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI: 
 
 a considerable distance from the gi'ound. Similar sticks Avere 
 then thrust through the flesh of their legs, to which heavy 
 weights were suspended, among which were buffalo heads. 
 Through all this the fortitude of the young Indian enabled liim 
 to bear the pain without flinching, but when in this horrible 
 position, with his flesh tearing by slow degrees in both his 
 arms and legs, a number of attendants commenced turning 
 him round and round with poles, the pain became unbeara- 
 ble and the sufferer would cry out in agony to the Great 
 Spirit for power to enable him to stand the torture. He was 
 permitted to hang in this position until entirely unconscious, 
 when he was taken down and the sticks taken from his arms. 
 He was then compelled to crawl off, dragging the weights after 
 him, as in no case were the sticks in his legs removed, being 
 left until they should be dragged out by the force of the weights. 
 He was next called upon to cut off one of his own fingers from 
 the left hand; but this was perhaps the lightest part of the 
 ceremony. " Within the court," says Mr. Brownell, " a new 
 trial awaited him, the last but most terrible of all. An active 
 man took his position on each side of the weak and mutilated 
 sufferer, and, passing a thong about his wrist, urged him for- 
 ward at the top of his speed in a circle around the arena. When, 
 faint and weary, he sank on the ground, the tormentors dragged 
 him furiously around the ring until the splints were torn out 
 by the weights attached, and he lay motionless and apparently 
 lifeless. If the splint should have been so deepiy inserted that 
 no force — even that of the weight of individuals in the crowd, 
 thrown uj^on the trailing skulls — could break the integu- 
 ments, nothing remained but to crawl off to the prairie and 
 wait until it should give way by suppuration. To draw the 
 skewer out would be unpardonable sacrilege. It is told of one 
 man that he suspended himself from the precipitous river bank 
 by two of these skewers, thrust through his arms, until, at the 
 end of several days, he dropped into the water and swam 
 ashore. Throughout the whole ordeal, the chiefs and sages of 
 the tribe critically observed the comparative fortitude and en- 
 durance of the candidates, and formed their conclusions there- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 837 
 
 upon as to wliich would be the worthiest to command in after 
 time." 
 
 The same author informs us that in the summer of 1838 the 
 small-pox was communicated to the Mandans from some in- 
 fected persons on board one of the steamers belonging to a 
 company of fur traders. So virulent was the disease, that in 
 a few weeks it swept off the whole tribe, except a few who fell 
 into the hands of their enemies, the Eicarees. One principal 
 reason for the excessive mortality is said to have been that 
 hostile bands of Indians had beset the village, and the inhabit- 
 ants were consequently unable to separate, or to place the 
 infected in an isolated position. The scene of death, lamenta- 
 tion and terror is said by those who witnessed it to have been 
 frightful in the extreme. Great numbers perished by leaping 
 into the river, in the paroxysm of fever, being too weak to 
 swim out. Those who died in the village lay in heaps upon 
 the floors of the huts. Of the few secured by the Ricarees, 
 who took possession of the depopulated village, nearly all were 
 said to have been killed during some subsequent hostilities, so 
 that now scarce a vestige of the tribe can be supposed to remain. 
 The Mandans were probably all congregated at their principal 
 village at the time of the great calamity; the other village was 
 situated two miles below, was a small settlement, and was used, 
 as we are led to infer, merely for a temporary summer resi- 
 dence for a few of the noted families. • 
 
 Mr. Catlin, in speaking of the destruction of this tribe by 
 the small-pox, says: "There is yet a melancholy part of the 
 tale to be told, relating to the ravages of this frightful disease 
 in that country on the same occasion, as it spread to other 
 contiguous tribes, the Minatarrees, the Knisteneaux, the Black- 
 feet, the Chayennes and the Crows, amongst whom twenty-five 
 thousand perished in the course of four or Ave months, which 
 most appalling facts I got from Major Pilcher, superintendent 
 of Indian affairs at St. Louis, from Mr. McKenzie and others." 
 22 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 Sketch of the Sioux Indians — How they Nursed their Infants 
 — Leaving their Old and Infirm to Die from Starvation — 
 The Peculiarities of the Red-Pipe Stone Quarry — Supersti- 
 tions of the Sioux Regarding the Pipe Stone — The Buffalo 
 Hunt. 
 
 The Sioux or Dacotas, were at one time the most widely 
 diffused tribe of Indians of the West. Their territory extended 
 far west to the country of the Blackfeet, and from the Missouri 
 in the south to the Upper Mississippi in the north. They sub- 
 sisted entirely by hunting and fishing, using, until a recent date, 
 the native weapons of their race. One of the most remarkable 
 traits in their character was the strength of maternal affection. 
 According to their custom, their infants were carried for the 
 first six or seven months of their existence, strapped firmly to 
 a board, the hands and feet only being left at liberty. A small 
 hoop was placed over their faces, so that in case they should 
 fall, no injury would be sustained. This contrivance, or rude 
 cradle, was almost always neatly ornamented w^ith fringe or 
 embroidery. The whole was suspended upon the back of the 
 mother by a strap, which passed around over her forehead. 
 After the child has reached this age it is loosened and nursed 
 in the folds of the mother's blanket or robe. If the infant 
 dies during the time that is allotted to it to be carried in this 
 cradle, it is buried, and the disconsolate mother fills the cradle 
 with black quills and feathers, in the parts which the child's 
 body had occupied, and in this way carries it around with her 
 wherever she goes for a year or more, with as much care as if 
 her infant were alive and in it; and she often lays or stands it 
 against the side of the wigwam, where she is all day engaged 
 with her needle-work, and chatting and talking to it as famil- 
 (338) 
 
OR, TME BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 339 
 
 iarly and affectionately as if it were her loved infant, instead 
 of its shell, that she was talking to. So lasting and so strong 
 is the affection of these women for the lost child, that it mat- 
 ters not how heavy or crnel their load, or how rugged the 
 route they have to pass over, they will faithfully carry this, 
 and carefully, from day to day, and even more strictly perform 
 their duties to it, than if the child were alive and in it. 
 
 One of the most cruel customs among the Sioux was that 
 of leaving their old and infirm to die alone, exposed and unat- 
 tended. The old sufferers not only assented to this proceeding, 
 but generally suggested it when conscious that they were no 
 longer able to support themselves. They were generally left with 
 a slight protection over them, with a little food by their side, to 
 die, or be devoured by the hungry wolves. It was in the 
 country of the Sioux at the southern extremity of the high 
 ridge, called the Coteau des Prairies, which lies between the 
 head waters of the St. Peter's and Missouri, that the far-famed 
 quarry of red pipe-stone was situated. Pipes made from this 
 stone were common among all the Western tribes. The stone 
 was obtained by digging to a depth of several feet in the prairie 
 at the foot of a precipitous wall of quartz rocks. The geolo- 
 gical formation of this spot presents a singular phenomenon, 
 and the pipe-stoile is of itself a singular material. It is said 
 to be harder than g}q)sum, and softer than carbonate of lime, 
 and is different from any other metal ever discovered by geolo- 
 gists. The component materials of this stone, according to 
 the analysis of Dr. Jacksou, of Boston, are as follows: " water, 
 8,4; silica, 48,2; alumina, 28.2; magnesia, 6.0; carbonate of 
 lime, 2.6; peroxide of iron,' 5.0; oxide of manganese, 0.6." 
 
 " The Indians," says Mr. Brownell, in his valuable book, 
 "use the stone only in the manufacture of pipes; to apply it 
 to any other use they esteem the most unheard-of sacrilege. 
 From the affinity of its color to that of their own skins, they 
 draw some fanciful legend of its formation, at the time of the 
 great deluge, out of the llesh of the perishing red men. They 
 esteem it one of the choicest gifts of the Great Spirit." 
 
 Tlie following extracts from the speeches of Sioux orators, 
 will give the reader a good idea of how highly, and in Mdiat 
 
340 THE INDIAN TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI: 
 
 light the savages appreciated this stone: " You see," said one 
 (holding a red pipe to the side of his naked arm,) " that this 
 pipe is a part of our flesh. The red men are a part of the red 
 stone." 
 
 Another says, " If the white men take away a piece of the 
 red pipe-stone, it is a hole made in our flesh, and the blood will 
 always run. We cannot stop the blood from running. The 
 Great Spirit has told us that the red stone is only to be used 
 for pipes, and through them we are to smoke to him." 
 
 We find another Sioux saying: " We love to go to the Pipe- 
 Stone, and get a piece for our pipes ; but we ask the Great Spirit 
 first. If the white men go to it, they will take it out, and not 
 fill up the holes again, and the Great Spirit will be oflended." 
 
 And still another: "My friends, listen to me! what I am 
 about to say will be truth, I bought a large piece of the pipe- 
 stone, and gave it to a jvhite man to make a pipe ; he was our 
 trader, and I wished him to have a good pipe. The next time 
 I went to his store, I was unhappy when I saw that stone made 
 into a dish! This is the way the white men would use the red 
 pipe-stone if they could get it. Such conduct would offend 
 the Great Spirit, and make a red man's heart sick." 
 
 Buffalo hunting was the principal occupation of the Sioux, 
 and in this pursuit they were not excelled by any other West- 
 ern tribe. They used horses, a wild breed extensively spread 
 over the Western country, the descendants of those originally 
 brought over by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century, and 
 were excellent horsemen. These animals were superior in 
 speed to any animals on the Western prairies. JS^umbers of 
 them were kept about the encampment of the Indians, hoppled, 
 so as to prevent their straying away. Upon the open prairie, 
 the buffalo were generally pursued on horseback, the Indians 
 being armed with the lance and bow and arrow. The Indian 
 would generally ride furiously on until he came within a few 
 feet of his prey, and then discharging his arrow with great 
 force into its side, would follow it with his lance, which gener- 
 ally proved fatal. This pursuit was not without danger, for 
 oftimes both horse and rider would fall a prey to the dangerous 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 341 
 
 animal. Yet such was the excitement of the savages while 
 in the chase, that they seemed to be regardless of all danger. 
 
 In the winter season the buffalo hunt was managed on a 
 different plan. They were generally driven from the high 
 ridges, where they had gathered to feed upon the herbage, into 
 the snow-covered prairies, where, floundering in the deep snow, 
 they were soon overtaken by the savages on their snow shoes, 
 and picked off by the arrow and lance. " When buffaloes are 
 plenty," says the author from whom I have just quoted, " and 
 the Indians have fair opportunity, the most astonishing and 
 wasteful slaughter ensues. Besides the ordinary methods of 
 destruction, the custom of driving immense herds over some 
 precipitous ledge, where those behind trample down and thrust 
 over the foremost, until hundreds and thousands are destroyed, 
 has been often described." 
 
 Some early writers have severely censured savage improvi- 
 dence in this regard, on the grounds that in a few years they 
 would be left without the means of subsistence. But we have 
 lived to see the Indians imprudently destroyed, long before 
 they had killed half the buffaloes of the Western prairies. 
 
CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 The Crows and the Blackpeet — Their Myths and their Wars — 
 Characteristics of these Tribes — Interesting Incidents. 
 
 We now come to notice the tribes upon the Yellowstone and 
 the head waters of the Missouri. Among the most noted of 
 these were the Crows and the Blackfeet, and their neighbors 
 and enemies, the Ojibwas, Knisteneaux, and Assinaboins. 
 In 1834, the numbers of the Blackfeet exceeded twenty thou- 
 sand, but the small-pox, in 1838, reduced their number to about 
 thirteen thousand. The Blackfeet, being farthest removed 
 from the influences of civilization, presented many fine speci- 
 mens of the Indian race. They were of manly proportions, 
 active, and capable of great endurance. Their dress was both 
 comfortable and ornamental, " bedecked with all the em- 
 broidery and fixings characteristic of savage finery." Their 
 dwellings, means of subsistence, customs, etc., were so nearly 
 like those tribes already mentioned that any particulars con- 
 cerning them in this place will be superfluous. There wei-e, 
 however, a few points of difl'erence which I shall not fail to 
 mention. Their lodges were generally made of buffalo skins, 
 supported by firm poles, which they brought from the distant 
 mountains. The skins were strongly stitched together, and 
 highly ornamented. The tents were easily moved by making 
 the poles into one bundle and the skins into another. 
 
 Among these very remote tribes might have been found at a 
 late day many of the ancient superstitous observances of their 
 race, retained with all their original solemnity. One of the 
 most singular of these, says Mr. Brownell, is the preparation 
 of the " medicine-bag," which every man carried with him 
 upon all occasions, as being intricately involved with his own 
 safety and success in war, hunting, or any of the occuptions 
 (342) 
 
OK, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CKNTUKIES. 3-13 
 
 of life. At about the age of puberty the Indian boy bethought 
 himself of taking the necessary steps for the preparation of this 
 mysterious amulet or charm. He retired to some solitary 
 spot, where he spent several days, lying upon the ground, 
 taking nothing to eat, and employing himself constantly in 
 praying to the Great Spirit. Becoming exhausted, he would 
 fall asleep, and of course dream very important and significant 
 dreams. He would then return home, and after gaining suffi- 
 cient strength, start out in pursuit of the bird or animal which 
 appeared most conspicuous in his dreams, not resting until he 
 had obtained a specimen. This done, he would return and 
 dress the skin, stuff it with moss, or some other light sub- 
 stance, after which he would ornament it with every description 
 of savage finery. This medicine-bag was considered invalu- 
 able, and was carried in every important undertaking. " These 
 curious appendages," says Mr, Catlin, " to the persons or ward- 
 robe of an Indian are sometimes made of the skin of an otter, 
 a beaver, a muskrat, a weasel, a raccoon, a pole-cat, a snake, a 
 frog, a toad, a bat, a mouse, a mole, a hawk, an eagle, a mag- 
 pie, or a sparrow; sometimes of the skin of an animal so large 
 as a wolf." 
 
 The Crows were inferior in numbers to the Blackfeet, but 
 with whom they were for many years at war. Physically they 
 are a fine race, being much taller than the Indians of surround- 
 ing tribes, and models of agility and strength. In their 
 primitive state they were an honest, trustworthy set of savages, 
 but in later days, when corrupted by the evils of civilization, 
 they became a lawless, thieving horde. As will be seen in tlie 
 course of our narrative, the Crows and Blackfeet were objects 
 of terror to the pioneer settlers, traders, and trappers of the 
 Far West. Mr. Brownell, in speaking of their personal appear- 
 ance, says that one distinguishing peculiarity of these Indians 
 was the extraordinary length of their hair, which was cherished 
 and cultivated as an ornament, until it swept the ground after 
 them. This profusion was to be seen in no tribe except the 
 Crows, although some of their neighbors endeavored to imitate 
 it by glueing an additional length to their natural hair. The 
 Crows spoke a different language from the Blackfeet. 
 
344 THE INDIAN TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI*. 
 
 "Tlie smaller Minitari tribes, between the month of the Yel- 
 lowstone and the site of the Mandan villages, and the extensive 
 nation of the Gros Ventres, inhabiting the eastern slope of the 
 Rocky Mountains, spoke the same language with the Crows, or 
 one very nearly allied to it. The Arapahoes, numbering some 
 three thousand, and dwelling about the sources of the Platte 
 and Arkansas rivers, belonged to the race of the Blackfeet." 
 
 The Arapahoes were for many years at war with the Flat- 
 head and other tribes still further westward. The descent of 
 these remote bands upon the plains in pursuit of .buffalo, was 
 deemed by the Blackfeet a signal infringement of their rights^ 
 and fierce battles often resulted from the conflicting claims of 
 the rival nations. 
 
 Along the Eocky Mountains and their western slopes, and 
 on the plains drained by the sources of the Columbia, were the 
 Nez-Perces, or Pierced-JSTose Indians, the Flatheads and the 
 Pends Orcilles, or Hanging Ears. These stragling tribes were 
 at continual war with nearly all the western tribes, and were, 
 more particularly enemies of the Blackfeet. At one time a 
 number of Blackfeet prisoners fell into the hands of the Flat- 
 heads, and although the latter were usually a kind, hospitable 
 race, they thrust upon their captives upon this occasion every 
 species of torture with a view to overcome the far-famed 
 courage and fortitude of the Blackfeet. But it was all in vain. 
 One exulted over his tormentors, vaunting his own deeds in 
 the following language: "My heart is strong. — You do not 
 hurt me. You can't hurt me. You are fools. You do not 
 know how to tortui-e. Try it again. I don't feel any pain 
 yet. We torture your relations a great deal better, because we 
 make them cry out loud, like little children. You are not 
 brave; you have small hearts, and you are always afraid to 
 fight." Then speaking to one of his captors, he said: "It was 
 by my arrow you lost your eye;" upon which the Flathead 
 darted at him, and with a knife, in a moment scooped out one 
 of his eyes; at the same time cutting the bridge of his nose 
 nearly in two. This did not stop him; with the remaining 
 eye he looked sternly at another, and said, "I killed your 
 brother, and I scalped your old fool of a father." The warrior 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 345 
 
 to whom this was addressed instantly sprung at him and 
 severed the scalp from his head.* 
 
 Some very interesting traits of the character of the Crow& 
 are exhibited in an adventure of a noted trapper — Mr. Eobert 
 Brownell, as given in Mr. Irving's book. This traveler was at 
 one time hospitably entertained by the celebrated Crow chief, 
 Arapooish, in whose care he had placed a large and valuable 
 package of furs. The greater part of his goods had been buried 
 in the ground for greater safety. These, however, were all 
 stolen, the number of beaver skins included being one hundred 
 and fifty. Upon hearing this, Arapooish immediately assembled 
 all the men of the village, and after making a speech, in which 
 he vehemently declaimed against their bad faith towards the 
 stranger, and declared that he would neither touch food nor 
 drink until the skins should all be returned. The Indians at 
 once acknowledged their guilt and returned the goods. 
 
 In a former chapter I have mentioned the strength of 
 maternal afl:ection among the Sioux. We now have numerous 
 anecdotes exemplifying the enduring and powerful attachment 
 between the sexes among the Far West tribes; but this was not 
 only among the Indians alone, but when they had intermarried 
 with whites. One of these instances is as follows: "Among 
 the free trappers in the Rocky Mountain band was a spirited 
 young Mexican, named Loretto, who, in the course of his wan- 
 derings, had ransomed a beautiful Blackfoot girl from a band 
 of Crows, by whom she had been captured. He made her his 
 wife, after the Indian style, and she had followed his fortunes 
 ever since with the most devoted affection." In Mr. Brownell's 
 work we find the same incident referred to in these words: 
 " The company one day fell in with a numerous party of Black- 
 feet warriors, and the preliminary steps were taken for a parley, 
 and for smoking the calumet, in token of peace. At this 
 moment, Loretto's Indian wife perceived her own brother 
 among the band. Leaving her infant with Loretto, she rushed 
 forward and threw herself upon her brother's neck, who clasped 
 his long-lost sister to his lieart with a warmth of affection but 
 little compatible with the reputed stoicism of the savage. 
 
 * Brownell's Indian Races. 
 
346 THE INDIAN TRrL!P:S WEST OF THE MSSISSIPPi: 
 
 " Meanwhile, Bridger, one of the trapper leaders, approaching 
 the Blackfeet, from the imprudent excess of caution, cocked his 
 rifle just as he came up with them. The Indian chief, w^io was 
 in the act of proffering a friendl}' salutation, heard the click 
 of the lock, and all his native fury and suspicion were instantly 
 aroused. He sprang upon Bridger, forced the muzzle of the 
 rifle into the ground, where it was discharged, knocked him 
 down, seized his horse, and rode off. A general, but disorderly 
 tight ensued, during which Loretto's wife was hurried away by 
 her relations. 
 
 "• The noble young Mexican saw her in their power, vainly 
 entreating permission to return, and, regardless of the danger 
 incurred, at once hastened to her side, and restored the child 
 to its mother. The Blackfeet braves admired his boldness, and 
 respected the confidence which he had reposed in them by 
 thus venturing in their midst, but they were deaf to all the 
 prayers of himself and his wife that they might remain 
 together. He was dismissed unharmed, but the woman and 
 child were detained. 
 
 !' Not many months afterwards the faithful Loretto procured 
 liis discharge from the company in whose service he was 
 enlisted, and followed his wife to her own country. A happy 
 reunion took place, and the loving pair took up their residence 
 at the trading-house among the Blackfeet, where the husband 
 served as interpreter between the Indians and white traders." 
 
CHAPTEE SLIV. 
 
 The Indian Tribes op the Far West — The Pierced-Noses — The 
 Wallawallas — The Flat-Heads— Peculiarities of this Tribe — 
 Their Canoes, etc. 
 
 Still west of the Blackfoot country and west of the Rocky 
 Mountains, lived the Pierced-Nose Indians, and liir down the 
 Kooskooske river dwelt the Flat-Heads, while upon the main 
 southern branch, the Lewis Fork of the Columbia or Snake 
 river, dwelt the Shoshonees or Snake Indians. 
 
 The Piereed-Nose Indians were a quiet, inoifensive people, 
 although when provoked to anger thej were bj no means want- 
 ing in courage or ability. They were exceedingly superstitious 
 and consequently perceptible to religious impressions. Their 
 patient reliance upon the Great Spirit, in times of want and 
 danger, would shame our civilized devotion. 
 
 In a time of great want a traveler named Capt. Bonneville 
 happened among them, and found them subsisting upon wild 
 rose buds, roots and other innutritions vegetable matters. At 
 this early day their weapon was the spear. With this they set 
 out on a certain day, on horseback, to obtain game. The whites 
 regarded the expedition as hopeless. They galloped away, how- 
 ever, in high confidence. The undertaking being successful, 
 the poor Indians freely shared the meats they had taken with 
 the strangers. Capt. Bonneville, in afterwards speaking of 
 these savages, says: " Simply to call these people religious, 
 would convey but a faint idea of the deep hue of piety and 
 devotion which pervades their whole conduct. Their honesty 
 is immaculate, and their purity of purpose and their observ- 
 ance of the rites of their religion, are most uniform and 
 remarkable. They are certainly more like a nation of saints 
 than a horde of savages." 
 
 (347) 
 
348 THE INDIAN TRIBES AVEST OF THE MlSSISSirPI : 
 
 The Pierced-Kose Indians were divided into two tribes, the 
 Tipper and the lower, the first of these is that to whicli allusion 
 has heretofore been made in connection with the Blackfeet. 
 The Indians of the lower tribe subsisted upon fish, and upon 
 deer, elk and other game of their own country. However, 
 they diflfered in nothing important from their brethren. 
 
 But farther to the westward, upon the banks of the Colum- 
 bia, we come to the Wallawallas, a tribe not unlike the Pierced- 
 Noses in general characteristics. They were, for savages, 
 exceedingly clean and decent. They had plenty of horses, and 
 lived chiefly by hunting; but like their neighbors, whom I 
 have just mentioned, they were constantly at war. The Shos- 
 lionees were their mortal enemies. The cause for their hostility 
 was that which produced nearly all wars between the Indians — 
 disputed territory. 
 
 But let us notice some of the strange peculiarities of the 
 Flat-Heads, who lived along the banks of the lower Columbia. 
 The horrible deformity of the skull, which constitutes their 
 chief peculiarity, is produced by pressure upon the forehead 
 of the infant while the bone is soft and pliable. The infant is 
 stretched upon its back, as already described in our account of 
 the Sioux, a bit of bark is then so secured about the head by 
 strings that it can be tightened at pleasure, creating a steady 
 pressure until the head is so flattened that " a straight line can 
 be drawn from the tip of the nose to the unnatural apex." The 
 operation occupies nearly a year. 
 
 It is said, however, that this extensive displacement of the 
 brain does not eflfect any noticeable change in the faculties of 
 the mind. " It is an unaccountable custom and is persisted in 
 as being an improvement upon nature." 
 
 Mr. Brownell informs us that, exclusive of the head, there 
 is little particularly noticeable about the personal appearance 
 of the Indians of the lower Columbia. The description given 
 of them, particularly of their women, is by no means attractive. 
 It would seem, from one of Mr. Catlin's illustrations, that a 
 singular custom, generally considered as peculiar to the Brazil- 
 ian Botocudos, is occasionally observable among them. He 
 
OE, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 349 
 
 gives a sketch of a woman whose under-lip is pierced, and the 
 aperture filled with a large wooden plug or button. 
 
 In building canoes they excelled nearly all other savages. 
 These were often fifty feet long, and would carry from eight to 
 ten thousand pounds weight, or from twenty to thirty persons. 
 They were cut out of a single trunk of a tree, which is gen- 
 erally white cedar, though the fir is sometimes used. Wlien 
 they embarked one Indian sat in the stern and steered with a 
 paddle; the others kneeled in pairs in the bottom of the canoe, 
 and, sitting on their heels, paddled over the gunwale next to 
 them. In this way they rode with perfect safety the highest 
 waves, and ventured without the least concern in seas where 
 other boats and seamen could not have lived an instant. They 
 sat quietly and paddled, with no other movement, except when 
 any large wave throwed the boat on her side, and to the eye of 
 the spectator she seemed lost ; the man to windward then 
 steadied her by throwing his body towards the upper side, and, 
 sinking his paddle deep into the waves, appeared to catch the 
 water and force it under the boat. 
 
 The Flat-Heads subsisted chiefly by fishing, in which they 
 were unusually expert. Their nets were made of silk grass, 
 or of the fibrous bark of white cedar, as were also the lines 
 used for angling. The hooks were procured from white traders, 
 but in earlier times were manufactured from bones by the 
 natives. 
 
 Their houses were exceedingly large, many being thirty feet 
 broad by one hundred long. Their household furniture was 
 rude and simple. Such were the Flat-Heads. 
 
CHAPTER XLY. 
 
 The Shoshonees— The Root-Diggers — Description of the Snakk 
 Indians — The Utahs and Apaches — The Nabajos and the 
 Moques. 
 
 We next come to the great nation of the Shoshonees, whose 
 various tribes were scattered over the bonndless wilderness from 
 Texas to tlie Columbia. " Their territory," says Mr. Brownell, 
 " was bounded on the north and west by that of their hered- 
 itary enemies, the Blackfeet and Crows, the tribes allied to the 
 great Dacotah or Sioux family, and the Indians removed west- 
 ward from the United States. 
 
 " Those who dwelt among the rugged and inhoF^itable regions 
 of the great Rocky Mountain chain, known as Shoshonees, or 
 Root-Diggers, were the most destitute and miserable portion 
 of all the Korth American tribes. They had no horses, and 
 nothing but the rudest native implements for securing game. 
 They were harmless, and exceedingly timid and shy, choosing 
 for their dwellings the most remote and unexplored retreats of 
 the mountains, wliither they fled in terror at the approach of 
 strangers, whether whites or Indians." " These forlorn beings," 
 says Irving, " forming a mere link between human nature and 
 the brute, have been looked down upon with pity and contempt 
 by the Creole trappers, who have given them the appellation 
 of ^lesdignes de pitie,'' or, the objects of pity." They appear 
 more worthy to be called the wild men of the mountains." 
 
 Although living in a climate wdiere they experienced great 
 severity of cold, these miserable people were very insufficiently 
 protected either by clothing or comfortable huts. Of a party 
 seen by Bonneville upon the plain below Powder River, that 
 traveler remarks: "They live without any further protection 
 from the inclemency of the season, than a sort of break- 
 (350) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 351 
 
 weather, about three feet high, composed of sage (or wormwood,) 
 and erected around them in the shape of a half-moon," This 
 material also furnishes them with fuel. Many were seen carry- 
 ing about with them a slow match, made of twisted bark. 
 "Whenever they wished to warm themselves, they would 
 gather together a little wormwood, apply the match and in an. 
 instant produce a cheering Maze."'" 
 
 They subsisted in a great degree upon roots and wild seeds. 
 However, they were ambitious enough to catch rabbits and 
 other small animals. Those who lived in the vicinity of streams 
 added to their supplies by fishing, and it was in this pursuit 
 that they evinced one provident trait — that of laying by a 
 store of dried fish for the winter. Yet, for the most part, they 
 were miserably provided with the necessaries of life. Mr. 
 Bonneville informs us that they were destitute of the neces- 
 sary covering to protect them from tlie weather, and seemed to 
 be in ignorance of any other propriety or advantage in the use 
 of clothing. One old dame, he says, had absolutely nothing 
 on her persoi^.but a thread around her neck, from which was 
 pendant a single bead. 
 
 Those Shoshonees who were distinct from the Root-Diggers, 
 were a free, bold race of hunters. Indeed, in this respect, they 
 were not inferior to the Sioux, Blackfeet or Crows. It is a 
 very difficult matter to give any satisfactory classification of 
 the several tribes belonging to this great nation. "The Sho- 
 shonees or Snakes," says Mr. Schoolcraft, " embrace all the ter- 
 ritory of the Great South Pass, between the Mississippi valley 
 and the waters of the Columbia, by which the land or caravan 
 communication with Oregon and California is now, or is des- 
 tined hereafter, to be maintained. * * Under the name of 
 Yampatick-ara, or Eoot-Eaters, and Bonacks, they occupy, with 
 the Utahs, the vast elevated basin of the Great Salt Lake, 
 extending south and west to the borders of New Mexico and 
 California. Information recently received denotes that the 
 language is spoken by bands in the gold mine region of the 
 Sacramento." The most noted branch of the whole family 
 was that of the Camanches, " who descended eastwardly into 
 
 * I^rovvnell's Indian Races. 
 
352 THE INDIAN TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI: 
 
 the Texan plains at nnknown periods of their history." 
 Analogy in language was all that attested the former unity of 
 this nation with the Shoshonees. The Camanches inhabited a 
 country where bisons and wild horses abounded, and their gen- 
 eral habits and mode of life were consequently very similar to 
 those of the Western Sioux and other races of the prairies. 
 As bold and skillful riders, they were said to have no equals, at 
 least in North America; some of their feats of horsemanship 
 appeared almost supernatural to a stranger. One of the most 
 singular of these is that of throwing the whole body upon one 
 side of the horse, so as to be entirely shielded from the missile 
 of an enemy, with the exception of the heel, by which they 
 still maintained their hold, and were enabled to regain their 
 seat in an instant.* The Camanches, when walking about, 
 were an awkward set of people, probably the result of constant 
 riding. The Camanches are essentially a warlike race, and the 
 whole history of the settlement and occupation of Texas is 
 replete with tales of their courage and prowess. 
 
 The wigwams of the Camanches consisted of tents of buffak> 
 skins, and were transported from place to place as necessity or 
 convenience demanded. The tribe adjoining these, the Pawnee 
 Picts, lived near the extreme head waters of the Red river, on 
 the borders of the Rocky Mountains; but these people were 
 entirely distinct from the Pawnees of the Platte river, and 
 were, in general characteristics, much like their friends, the 
 Camanches. They were, however, an agricultural race, and 
 raised large quantities of maize, beans, pumpkins and other 
 vegetables. 
 
 The Utahs and the Apaches inhabited the wilds of New 
 Mexico, but were not essentially different from the tribes 
 already mentioned. In the same country dwelt two very dis- 
 tinguished tribes, the Nabajos and Moques. In speaking of 
 the latter tribes in 1846, Mr. Charles Bent says they are " an 
 industrious, intelligent and warlike tribe of Indians, who cul- 
 tivate the soil, and raise sufficient grain and fruits of various 
 kinds for their own consumption. They are the owners of large 
 flocks and herds of cattle, sheep, horses, mules and asses. It is 
 * Brownell's Indian Races. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CliNTURIES. 353 
 
 estimated that the tribe possesses thirty thousand head of 
 horned cattle, five hundred thousand liead of sheep, and ten 
 tliousand head ot horses, mules and asses. -^ * They man- 
 ufacture excellent coarse blankets, and coarse woolen goods for 
 wearing apparel. * - - They have in their possession many 
 men, women and children, taken from the settlements of this 
 territory, whom they hold and treat as slaves. * * The 
 Moques are neighbors of the IS^abajos, and live in permanent 
 villages, cultivate grain and fruits, and raise all the varieties 
 of stock." 
 
 The :N"abajos numbered from se\-en to twelve thousand souls, 
 the Moques between two and three thousand. The two tribes 
 were for many years at war with each other, which, more than 
 any other agency reduced their numbers. It is said of these 
 tribes that the men were of the common stature, with light, 
 flaxen hair, light blue eyes, and that their skin was of the most 
 delicate whiteness. 
 
 It should be stated, in concluding this chapter, that it is 
 impossible to give any satisfactory classification of the Indian 
 tribes of the Far West. I have already mentioned all the 
 great nations that inhabited that extensive region, and attempted 
 to present some of the more prominent tribal divisions, but as 
 we proceed to the narrative of the wars between them and the 
 whites, the reader will meet with many new names, and will 
 no doubt wonder to what tribe they belong, or why they wen 
 not mentioned in this brief review of the Western Indians 
 As this occurs, I shall remember to mention to which of th 
 nations these new names belong. 
 23 
 
 vers 
 
CHAPTEE XLVI. 
 
 Colonel Fremont and Kit Carson — Kit Goes as Guide with Fre- 
 mont's Expedition — The Buffafo Hunt — Adventures in a 
 Prairie Dog -Village — Crossing the South Fork -- Immense 
 Buffalo Herds. 
 
 The flrst train of adventure and border warfare of the Far 
 West, which I have selected as proper to constitute tlie open- 
 ing chapters of the second part of this volume, is that which 
 surrounds the remarkable lives of Col. Fremont and Christo- 
 pher (Kit) Carson. In following the current of these adven- 
 turous lives I shall be obliged to pass over, fcr the present, 
 many important events, but in the course of the narrative we 
 shall return to bring these forward. 
 
 The reader will require no introduction to these men. The 
 name of the latter is already familiar throughout America, 
 while that of the former, who has rendered his country valua- 
 ble services, is not less treasured by the American people. 
 
 Kit Carson had spent sixteen years of his life in the w^ilds 
 of the West, among the fiercest Indian tribes, as hunter, 
 trapper, guide, or scout, or each in turn, and had returned to 
 feast his eyes once more upon the scenes of civilization. This 
 was in 1842. He visited his relatives in the frontier settle- 
 ments of Missouri, where he found the scenes of his boyhood 
 days vastly changed. On all sides the famous mountaineer 
 was greeted with new faces. The only relic of his childhood 
 was the old log-cabin where his father and mother had resided, 
 and its rude walls were already crumbling into decay. The 
 family had been scattered by death and ill-fortune, and the 
 brave hunter felt that he had no longer any endearments 
 among civilized people. Having satisfied his curiosity, he 
 turned his face once more towards his mountain home. He 
 (354) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 355 
 
 took passage upon a steamboat bound up the Missouri. On 
 this boat he fell in with Col. J. C. Fremont, who had left 
 Washington in May, agreeably to the order of Col. J. J. Abert, 
 chief of the corps of topographical engineers, to explore the 
 country between the frontiers of Missouri and the South Pass 
 in the Eocky Mountains. While on the steamer Kit Carson 
 was engaged as guide to Col. Fremont's company. The party 
 consisted of about twenty-one Creole and Canadian voyageurs; 
 Charles Preuss, Fremont's assistant; L. Maxwell, of Kaskas- 
 kia, as hunter, and, as I have already observed, Kit Carson, as 
 guide. In addition to these, Fremont was accompanied by 
 Henry Brant and Eandolph Benton, two respectalile young 
 men who attached themselves to the expedition for the de- 
 velopment of mind and body. 
 
 Upon their arrival in Kansas, preparations were made for a 
 long and dangerous journey, which was commenced on the 
 tenth of June, 1842. They pursued the trail of a party of 
 emigrants bound for the Columbia river. This train was only 
 about three weeks in their advance. The latter consisted of 
 men, women and children. There were sixty-four men and 
 sixteen or seventeen families. They had a considerable num- 
 ber of cattle. They were transporting their household furni- 
 ture in large, heavy wagons. There had been much sickness 
 among them, and they had lost several children. One of the 
 party, who had lost his child, and whose wife was very ill, had 
 left them about one hundred miles hence on the prairies, and 
 as a hunter, who had accompanied them, visited Fremont's 
 camp on the twenty-seventh of June. As this man was return- 
 ing to the States, Fremont availed himself of the opportunity 
 of writing letters to his friends. 
 
 The order observed in the march of Fremont's party was 
 about the same as that adopted by expeditions to the great 
 West in early times: The animals were turned out to graze at 
 daybreak every morning; six o'clock was the hour for break- 
 fast, and as soon as it was over the march was resumed. At 
 noon the party generally came to a halt for about two hours. 
 At sunset the order was given to encamp. The tents were 
 erected, the horses turned out to graze, and supper prepared. 
 
356 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON I 
 
 When darkness closed in the horses were picketed and a 
 mounted guard stationed around the carts, which were gen- 
 erally set up for a defense in case of an attack. 
 
 On the twenty-third of June the party had a specimen of 
 false alarms to which all such expeditions in these wild regions 
 were subject. As they proceeded along tlie valley, objects were 
 seen on the opposite hills, which disappeared before a glass 
 could be brought to bear upon them. A man who had been a 
 short distance in front came spurring back in great haste, 
 shouting, " Indians! Indians! " He had been near enough to 
 count them, according to his report, and had made out just 
 twenty-seven. Fremont at once halted ; the arms were ex- 
 amined and put in order, and the usual preparations made. At 
 this juncture the brave Kit Carson mounted one of the best 
 horses, crossed the river and galloped off over the prairie for 
 the purpose of gaining some intelligence respecting the enemy. 
 Of Kit's appearance in this brave adventure we have Colonel 
 Fremont's own words: "Mounted on a fine horse, without a 
 saddle, and scouring bareheaded over the prairies, Kit was one 
 of the finest pictures of a horseman I have ever seen. A short 
 time enabled him to discover that the Indian war party of 
 twenty-seven consisted of six elks, who had been gazing 
 curiously at our caravan as it passed by, and were now scam- 
 pering off at full speed. This was our first alarm, and its 
 excitement broke agreeably on the monotony of the day." 
 
 Proceeding along in this way the party was soon in the land 
 of the bufifalo, as will be seen by the following from Fremont's 
 own pen: 
 
 " A few miles brought us into the midst of the buffalo, swarm- 
 ing in immense numbers over the plains, where they had left 
 scarcely a blade of grass standing. Mr. Preuss, who was 
 sketching at a little distance in the rear, had at first noted them 
 as large groves of timber. In the sight of such a mass of life, 
 the traveler feels a strange emotion of grandeur. We had 
 heard from a distance a dull and confused murmuring, and, 
 when we came in view of their dark masses, there was not one 
 among us who did not feel his heart beat quicker. It was the 
 early part of the day, when the herds are feeding; and every- 
 
OB, THE bordp:k waks of two centuries. 357 
 
 where they were in motion. Here and there a huge old bull 
 was rolling in the grass, and clouds of dust rose in the air from 
 various parts of the bands, each the scene of some obstinate 
 fight. Indians and buffaloes make the poetry and life of the 
 prairie, and our camp was full of their exhilaration. In place 
 of the quiet monotony of the march, relieved only by the 
 cracking of the whip, and an " avance done! enfant de garceP^ 
 shouts and songs resounded from every part of the line, and 
 our evening camp was always the commencement of a feast, 
 which terminated only with our departure on the following 
 morning. At any time of the night might be seen pieces of 
 the most delicate and choicest meat, roasting en appolas^ on 
 sticks around the fire, and the guai-d were never without com- 
 pany. With pleasant weather and no enemy to fear, an 
 abundance of the most excellent meat, and no scarcity of bread 
 or tobacco, they were enjoying the oasis of a voyageur's life. 
 Three cows were killed to-day. Kit Carson had shot one, and 
 was continuing the chase in the midst of another herd, when 
 his horse fell headlong, but sprang up and joined the flying 
 band. Though considerably hurt, he had the good fortune to 
 break no bones; and Maxwell, who was mounted on a fleet 
 hunter, captured the runaway after a hard chase. He w^as on 
 the point of shooting him, to avoid the loss of his bridle (a 
 handsomely mounted Spanish one,) when he found that his 
 horse was able to come np with him. Animals are frequently 
 lost in this way; and it is necessary to keep close watch over 
 them, in the vicinity of the buffaloes, in the midst of which 
 they scour off to the plains, and are rarely retaken. One of 
 our mules took a sudden freak into his head, and joined a 
 neighboring band to-day. As we were not in a condition to 
 lose horses, I sent several men in pursuit, and remained in 
 camp, in the hope of recovering him ; but lost the afternoon to 
 no purpose, as we did not see him again. As we were riding 
 quietly along the bank, a grand herd of buffaloes, some seven 
 or eight hundred in number, came crowding up from the river, 
 wdiere they had been to drink, and commenced crossing the 
 plain slowly, eating as they went. The wind was favorable; 
 the coolness of the morning invited to exercise; the ground 
 
358 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON : 
 
 was apparently good, and the distance across the prairie (two 
 or three miles), gave ns a fine opportunity to charge them 
 before they could get among the river hills. It was too fine a 
 prospect for a chase to be lost; and, halting for a few moments, 
 the hunters were brought up and saddled, and Kit Carson, 
 Maxwell and I, started together. They were now somewhat 
 less than half a mile distant, and we rode easily along until 
 within about three hundred yards, when a sudden agitation, a 
 wavering in the band, and a galloping to and fro of some 
 which were scattered along the skirts, gave us the intimation 
 that we were discovered. We started together at a hard gallop 
 riding steadily abreast of each other, and here the interest of 
 the chase became so engrossingly intense, that we were sen- 
 sible to nothing else. We were now closing upon them rapidly, 
 and the front of the mass was already in rapid motion for the 
 hills, and in a few seconds the movement had communicated 
 itself to the whole herd. A crowd of bulls, as usual, brought 
 up the rear, and every now and then some of them faced about, 
 and then dashed on after the band a short distance, and turned 
 and looked again, as if more than half inclined to stand and 
 fight. In a few moments, however, during which we had been 
 quickening our pace, the rout was universal, and we were going 
 over the ground like a hurricane. When at about thirty yards, 
 we gave the usual shout (the hunter's jpas de charge,) and 
 broke into the herd. We entered on the side, the mass giving 
 way in every direction in their heedless course. Many of the 
 bulls, less active and less fleet than the cows, paying no atten- 
 tion to the ground, and occupied solely with the hunter, were 
 precipitated to the earth with great force, rolling over and over 
 with the violence of the shock, and hardly distinguishable in 
 the dust. We separated on entering, each singling out his 
 game. My horse was a trained hunter, famous in the West 
 under the name of Proveau, and, with his eyes flashing, and 
 the foam flying from his mouth, sprang on after the cow like a 
 tiger. In a few moments he brought me alongside of her, 
 and, rising in the stirrups, I fired at the distance of a yard, the 
 ball entering at the termination of the long hair, and passing 
 near the heart. She fell headlong at the report of the gun, 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 359 
 
 and, checking my horse, I looked around for my companions. 
 At a little distance, Kit was on the ground, engaged in tying 
 his horse to the horns of a cow which he was preparing to cut 
 up. Among the scattered bands, at some distance below, I 
 caught a glimpse of Maxwell; and while I was looking, a light 
 wreath of white smoke curled away from his gun, from which 
 I was too far to hear the report, ITearer, and between me and 
 the hills, towards which they were directing their course, was 
 the body of the herd, and, giving my horse the rein, we dashed 
 after them. A thick cloud of dust hung upon their rear, 
 which tilled my mouth and eyes, and nearly smothered me. 
 In the midst of this I could see nothing, and the buffaloes 
 were not distinguishable until within thirty feet. They 
 crowded together more densely still as I came upon them, and 
 rushed along in such a compact body, that I could not obtain 
 an entrance— the horse almost leaping upon tiiem. In a few 
 moments the mass divided to the right and left, the horns 
 clattering with a noise heard above everything else, and my 
 horse darted into the opening. Five or six bulls charged on us 
 as we dashed along the line, but were left far behind ; and, sing- 
 ling out a cow, I gave her my tire, but struck too high. She 
 gave a tremendous leap, and scoured on swifter than before. I 
 reined up my horse, and the band swept on like a torrent, and 
 left the place quiet and clear. Our chase had led us into dan- 
 gerous ground. A prairie-dog village, so thickly settled that 
 there were three or four holes in every twenty yards square, 
 occupied the whole bottom for nearly two miles in length. 
 Looking around, I saw only one of the hunters, nearly out of 
 sight, and the long dark line of our caravan crawling along, 
 three or four miles distant. After a march of twenty-four 
 miles, we encamped at nightfall, one mile and a half above the 
 lower end of Brady's Island." 
 
 In following these adventurers across the Eocky Mountains, 
 the general reader will, I have no doubt, be interested in notic- 
 ing some of the principal features of the wild countrj^ through 
 which they were traveling. On the second of July, the party 
 passed near the spot where the Oregon emigrants had encamped 
 only a few days before. A variety of household articles were. 
 
86(J ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON. 
 
 scattered about, and they had probably disburdened themselves 
 here of many things not absolutely necessary. On tJie same- 
 day Fremont left the usual road in the forenoon, and having 
 pushed several men ahead to reconnoitre, marched directly for 
 the mouth of the South Fork. On their arrival at this place^ 
 search was immediately made for the best fording place. At 
 this point the stream is divided into channels. The southern 
 is four hundred and fifty feet wide, being eighteen or twenty 
 inches deep in the main channel. With the exception of a 
 few dry bars, the bed of the river is generally quick-sands, in 
 which the carts began to sink rapidly unless kept constantly in 
 motion. The northern channel of the river, two thousand two 
 hundred and fifty feet wide, is deeper, having three or four feet 
 of water in the various small channels, with a bed of coarse 
 gravel. The whole width of the Nebraska, immediately below 
 the junction, was, in 1842, five thousand three hundred and 
 fifty feet, with an elevation above the sea of two thousand 
 seven hundred feet. 
 
 Crossing the river in safety, Fremont encamped. Here, as 
 this was to be a point in their homeward journey, he made a 
 cache * of a barrel of pork. On the following day they pro- 
 ceeded about twenty-five miles, and encamped at six o'clock in 
 the evening. Speaking of this night, Fremont says: "Our 
 fires were partially made of the hois de vache, the dry excre- 
 ment of the baflaloes, which, like that of the camel in the 
 Arabian deserts, furnishes to the traveler a very good substi- 
 tute for wood, burning like turf. Wolves in great numbers- 
 surrounded us during the night, crossing and recrossing from 
 the opposite herds to our camp, and howling and trotting about 
 in the river until morning." 
 
 As they were riding along on the afternoon of the following 
 day, clouds of dust in the ravines, among the hills to the right,, 
 suddenly attracted their attention, and, in a few moments, col- 
 umn after column of buffaloes came galloping down across 
 their course, making directly to the river. By the time the 
 leading herds had reached the water, the prairie was darkened 
 
 * Cache— A term used in the West for anything that is hidden in the. 
 ground. — Ed. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 361 
 
 witli the dense masses. Immediately before them, when the 
 hei'ds first c^me down into the valley, stretched an unbroken 
 line, the head of which was lost among the river hills on the 
 op])osite side, but still they poured down from the ridges on 
 Fremont's right. The sight was beyond description. Over 
 eleven thousand buffaloes were in view. " In a short time," 
 says Col. Fremont, " they surroimded us on every side, extend- 
 ing for several miles in the rear, and forward as far as the eye 
 could reach; leaving around us as we advanced, an open space 
 of only two or three hundred yards. This movement of the 
 buffaloes indicated to us the presence of Indians on the North 
 Fork." 
 
CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 Dj VISION OP Fremont's Party — Turilling Incidents of the Journey 
 TO Fort Laramie — Description of Fort Laramie — Frightful 
 Rumors of Indian Hostility — Fremont Determines to Con- 
 tinue — Kit Carson Resolves to Follow Him — Bravery and 
 Cowardice. 
 
 When the party arrived at the pLace where the road crossed 
 the North Fork they were divided, going in two different 
 directions. Fremont, accompanied hy Mr. Preuss and four men, 
 Maxwell, Bernier, Ayot and Lajeunesse, and three Cheyenne 
 Indians started out across the country along the South Branch 
 of the river, intending to ascend the river some two hundred 
 miles to St. Yrain's fort, and thence to reach the American 
 company's fort at the mouth of the Laramie. The remainder 
 of the party, which was left under the command of Clement 
 Lambert, was ordered to cross the North Fork, and at some 
 convenient place to make a cache of everything not absolutely 
 necessary to the further progress of the expedition. From this 
 point, using the most guarded precaution in their march 
 through the country, they were to proceed to the same point. 
 This division of the party was effected to enable Fremont to 
 make some observations on the South Branch. 
 
 Let us first follow Fremont's own party. During the first 
 day's journey nothing of interest occurred. About sunset 
 Maxwell shot a buffalo, and the little party encamped where a 
 little timber afforded them the means of making a fire. Hav- 
 ing placed the meat before the fire on roasting sticks, they 
 proceeded to unpack their bales in search of coffee and sugar, 
 :and flour for bread. With the exception of a little parched 
 ■coffee they found nothing, the cook having neglected to put it 
 up. Tired and hungry, with only tough meat, without salt, 
 (362) 
 
OK, THE B0RDP:R WARS OF TWO CKNTURIKS. 363 
 
 and a little bitter coffee, tliej sat down in silence to tlieir 
 miserable meal, a very disconsolate partj. The previous day's 
 feast was still fresh in their memories, and this was their first 
 brush with misfortune. Each man took his blanket and laid 
 himself down silently to sleep. 
 
 On the following day Mr. Preuss, owing to the disability of 
 liis horse, returned to the main party. Fremont and his com- 
 panions continued their journey in a southwesterly course up 
 the valley of the river. On the eighth of July, in the course 
 of the forenoon, they came suddenly on a place where the 
 ground was covered with horses' tracks, which had recently 
 been made, and indicated the immediate presence of Indians. 
 The buffalo, too, which the day before had been so numerous, 
 were nowhere in sight — another sure indication that there 
 were people near. Kiding on, they discovered the carcass of a 
 buffalo recently killed— perhaps the day before. They scanned 
 the horizon carefully with the glass, but no li\'ing object was 
 to be seen. For the next mile or two the ground was dotted 
 with buffalo carcasses, which showed that the Indians had 
 made a surround there, and were in considerable force. They 
 went on quickly and cautiously, keeping the river bottom, and 
 carefully avoiding the hills, but met with no interruption, and 
 began to grow careless again. They had already lost one of 
 their horses, and here Basil's mule showed symptoms of giving 
 out, and finally refused to advance, being what the Canadians 
 call restc. He therefore dismounted and drove her along before 
 him, but this w\as a very slow way of traveling. They had 
 inadvertently got about half a mile in advance, but the Chey- 
 ennes, who were generally a mile or two in the rear, remained 
 with him. There were some dark-looking objects among the 
 hills, about two miles to the left, here low and undulating, 
 which they had seen for a little time, and supposed to be 
 buffalo coming in to water; but, happening to look behind, 
 Maxwell saw the Cheyennes whipping up furiously, and 
 another glance at the dark objects showed them at once to be 
 Indians coming up at speed. Had they been well mounted 
 and disencumbered of instruments, they might have set them 
 at defiance; but as it was, they were fairly caught. It was too 
 
364 ADVENTURES OF FKEMONT ^\ND KIT CAKSON. 
 
 late to rejoin their friends, and tliey endeavored to gain a clump 
 of timber about lialf a mile ahead, bat the instruments and 
 the tir6d state of their horses did not allow them to go faster 
 than a steady canter, and the Indians were gaining on them 
 fast. At first they did not appear to be more than fifteen or 
 twenty in number, but group after group darted into view at 
 the top of the hills, until all the little eminences seemed in 
 motion, and, in a few minutes from the time they were first 
 discovered, two or three hundred, naked to the breech-cloth, 
 were sweeping across tlie prairie. In a few hundred yards 
 Fremont discovered that the timber he was endeavoring tO' 
 make was on the opposite side of the river, and before he could 
 reach the bank down came the Indians upon them. 
 
 Fremont pulled ofi^the cover from his gun and was about to 
 fire at the foremost rider, when Maxwell recognized the Indian,, 
 and called out, in the Indian language, "You're a fool! don't 
 you know me?" The sound of his own language seemed tO' 
 shock the savage, and swerving his horse a little, he passed the 
 whole party like an arrow.* As Fremont rode after him, he 
 wheeled and gave the Colonel his hand, striking his breast, and 
 exclaiming, " Arapaho!" They proved to be a village of that 
 nation, among whom Maxwell had resided as a trader a year or 
 two previously, and recognized him accordingly. Fremont 
 says: "We were soon in the midst of the band, answering, as 
 well as we could, a multitude of questions; of which the verj'- 
 first was, of what tribe were our Indian companions who were- 
 coming in the rear. They seemed disappointed to know that 
 they were Cheyennes, for they had fully anticipated a grand 
 dance around a Pawnee scalp that night." 
 
 The chief pointed out his village at a grove on the river, six 
 miles ahead, and then started with his band in pursuit of a 
 herd of buffalo on the opposite side of the Platte, which, as he 
 informed the whites, he intended to surround. In a few 
 moments more the women galloped up, astride on their horses,, 
 and half naked. They followed the men, to assist in cutting 
 up and carrying off" the meat. 
 
 As soon as the Indians had crossed the river they sejDarated 
 
 * Fremont's Report. 
 
'OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 305 
 
 into two parties. One body proceeded directly across the 
 prairie toward the hills, while the other went up tlie river, and 
 as soon as they had given the wind to the herd, the- chase com- 
 menced. The buffalo started for the hills, but were intercepted 
 and driven back toward the i-iver, broken and runnino- in 
 every direction. Fremont's party now halted to see the sport, 
 l)ut the clouds of dust soon covered the whole scene, prevent- 
 ing them from having any but an occasional view. It had, 
 says Fremont, a very singular appearance at a distance; espe- 
 cially when looking with a glass. The Indians were too far 
 •off for the Americans to hear tlie report of the guns or any 
 sound; and, at every instant through the clouds of dust which 
 the sun made luminous, they could see for a moment two or 
 three buffalo daslring along, and close behind them an Indian 
 with his spear, or other weapon, and instantly again they dis- 
 appeared. The apparent silence, and the dimly seen figures 
 flitting by with such rapidity, gave it a kind of dreamy effect 
 and seemed more like a picture than a scene of real life. It 
 had been a large herd, probably three or four hundred in num- 
 bers, but although Fremont watched closely, he says, " I did 
 not see one emerge from the fatal cloud where the work of 
 destruction was going on." 
 
 After remaining at this place about an hour, Fremont 
 resumed his journey in the direction of the Indian village. 
 Gradually, as they rode along, Indian after Indian came drop- 
 ping in laden with meat, and by the time they had approached 
 within view of the lodges the backward road was covered with 
 the returning horsemen. This was, indeed, a pleasant contrast 
 with the desert road they had been traveling. Many of the 
 Indians had joined company with the whites, and one of the 
 chiefs invited the party to his lodge. The village consisted of 
 about one hundred and twenty-five lodges, of which twenty 
 were Cheyennes; the latter located a little way from the Arapa- 
 hoes. Fremont's experience in this village was exceedingly 
 pleasant. The Indians treated him with choice pieces of meat 
 and asked some questions concerning the object of his expedi- 
 tion, which he freely answered. 
 
 On the morning of the ninth of July they caught tlie first 
 
366 ADVENTURES OE FEEMONT AND KIT CAKSON. 
 
 faint glimpse of the Rockj Mountains, and pursuing their course 
 they came to the camp of some four or five whites, who had 
 accompanied Captain Wyeth to the Cohimbia river and were 
 independent trappers. All had their squaws with them, and 
 Fremont sa3^s, " I was really surprised at the number of little 
 fat buffalo-fed boys that were tumbling about the camp, all 
 apparently of the same age, about three or four years old. 
 They were encamped on a rich bottom, covered with a profu- 
 sion of fine grass, and had a large number of fine-looking 
 horses and mules. We rested with them a few minutes, and in 
 about two miles arrived at Chabonard's camp, on an island in 
 the Platte." 
 
 After several days wearisome journeying Fremont's party^ 
 on the fifteenth of July came within view of Fort Laramie. 
 This was a large post, having the air of military construction. 
 It was situated on the left bank of the Platte on a rising 
 ground, some twenty feet above the water; and its lofty walls^ 
 whitewashed and picketed, with the large bastions at the angles, 
 gave it quite an imposing appearance to the approaching trav- 
 elers. "A cluster of lodges," says Fremont, "which the lan- 
 guage told us belonged to Sioux Indians, was pitched under 
 the walls, and, with the fine background of the Black hills and 
 the prominent peak of Laramie mountain, strongly drawn in 
 the clear light of the western sky, where the sun had already 
 set, the whole formed at the moment a strikingly beautiful pic- 
 ture. From the company at St. Louis I had letters for Mr. 
 Boudeau, the gentleman in charge of the post, by whom I was 
 received with great hospitality and an efficient kindness, which 
 was invaluable to me during my stay in the country. I found 
 our people encamped on the bank, a short distance above the 
 fort. AH were well; and, in the enjoyment of a bountiful sup- 
 per, which coffee and bread made luxui-ious to us, we soon for- 
 got the fatigues of the last ten days." 
 
 But it is not sufficient that we find this party whom we left 
 several weeks ago alive and well. Let us return and hurriedly 
 follow them through the varying fortunes of their journey. 
 
 On the sixth of July they crossed the plateau or highland 
 between the two forks, arriving at the north branch about 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF 'HVO CENTURIES. 'M'u 
 
 noon. They proceeded on their journey without interruption 
 until the eighth of July, when, about five o'clock in the eve- 
 ning the caravan made a sudden halt. " There was," says 
 Preuss, " a galloping in of scouts and horsemen from every 
 side — a hurrying to and fro in noisy confusion; rifles were taken 
 from their covers; bullet pouches were examined; in short, 
 there was the cry of ' Indians ! ' heard again. I had become 
 so much accustomed to these alarms that before I had time to 
 become excited, the new comers were ascertained to be whites." 
 It was a large party of traders and trappers, conducted hj 
 Mr. Bridger, a man well known to the history of western 
 adventure. On the fourteenth of July the party under Mr. 
 Preuss arrived at Fort Laramie, where, on the following day,. 
 as we have seen, tliey were joined by Colonel Fremont. 
 
 Fort Laramie was a quadrangular structure, built of clay, 
 after the fashion of the Mexicans. The walls were about fif- 
 teen feet high, surmounted with a wooden palisade and formed 
 a portion of ranges of houses, which entirely surrounded a 
 yard of about one hundred and thirty feet square. Every 
 apartment had its door and window, all of course opening on 
 the inside. There were two entrances, opposite each other and 
 midway of the wall, one of which was a large public entrance, 
 the other smaller and more private. Over the larger was a 
 square tower, with loopholes, and, like the rest of the work, 
 built of earth. At two of the angles, and diagonally opposite 
 each other, were large bastions, so arranged as to sweep the 
 four faces of the walls. 
 
 This post belonged to the American Fur Company, and at 
 this date, July sixteenth, 1842, was in charge of Mr. Boudeau. 
 Two of the company's clerks, Galpin and Kellogg, were with 
 him, and he had a garrison of sixteen men. As usual these 
 had found wives among the Indian squaws, and with the usual 
 accompanyment of children the place had quite a populous 
 appearance. It is hardly necessary to say that the establish- 
 ment of this post was for purposes of trade with the neigh- 
 boring tribes, who, in the course of a year, generally made 
 three or faur visits to the fort. 
 
 While at this post Col. Fremont learned the following cir- 
 
368 ADVENTURES OF FKEMONT AND KIT CARSON : 
 
 cnmstances, ^vhicli explain the condition of the country at this 
 time: For several years the Cheyeiines and Sioux had gra- 
 dually become more and more hostile to the whites, and in the 
 latter part of August, 1841, had had a rather severe engage- 
 ment with a party of sixty men, under the command of Mr. 
 Frapp, of St, Louis. The Indians lost eight or ten warriors, 
 and the whites had their leader and four men killed. This fight 
 took place on the w^aters of Snake river, and it was this party, 
 on their return under Mr. T3ridger, which had spread so much 
 alarm among Preuss' party. In the course of the spring, two 
 •other small parties had been cut off by the Sioux — one on their 
 return from the Crow nation, and the other among the Black 
 hills. The emigrants to Oregon and Mr. Bridger's party met 
 here a few days before Fremont's arrival. Division and mis- 
 understandings had grown up among them; they were already 
 somewhat disheartened by the fatigue of their long and weari- 
 some journey, and the feet of their cattle had become so much 
 worn as to be scarcely able to travel. In this situation they 
 were not likely to find encouragement in the hostile attitude 
 of the Indians, and the new and unexpected difiiculties which 
 sprang up before them. They were told that the country was 
 entirely swept of grass, and that few or no buffalo were to be 
 found on their line of i-oute, and, with their weakened animals, 
 it would be impossible for them to transport their heavy 
 wagons over the mountains. Under these circumstances, they 
 disposed of their wagons and cattle at the forts, selling them 
 at the prices they had paid in the States, and taking in exchange 
 coffee and sugar at one dollar a pound, and miserable w^orn-out 
 horses, which died before they reached the mountains. From 
 these and other reports it appeared that the country was swarm- 
 ing with scattered war parties. Great alarm prevailed among 
 Fremont's men in consequence. Kit Carson was, however, 
 true to his employer, yet he fully supported the opinion given 
 by Bridger of the dangerous state of the country, and openly 
 expressed his conviction that they could not escape without 
 some sharp encounters with the Indians. In addition to this, 
 he made his will, and among the circumstances which were 
 constantly occurring to increase their alarm, this was the most 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 369 
 
 unfortunate. Col. Fremont found that a number of his party 
 had become so much intimidated that they had requested to be 
 discharged. 
 
 Concerning the manner in which Fremont's party occupied 
 themselves while at 'this post, we have the following from the 
 Colonel's i^en : " So far as frequent interruption from the 
 Indians would allow, we occupied ourselves in making some 
 astronomical calculations, and bringing up the general map to 
 this stage of our journey; but the tent was generally occupied 
 by a succession of our ceremonious visitors. Some came for 
 presents, and others for information of our object in coming to 
 the country; now and then, one would dart up to the tent on 
 horseback, jerk off his trappings, and stand silently at the 
 door, holding his horse by the halter, signitying his desire to 
 trade. Occasionally a savage would stalk in with an invitation 
 to a feast of honor, a dog feast, and deliberately sit down and 
 wait quietly until 1 3vas ready to accompany him. I went to 
 one; the women and children were sitting outside the lodge, 
 and we took our seats on buffalo robes spread around. The 
 dog was in a large pot over the lire, in the middle of the lodge, 
 and immediately on our arrival was dished up in large wooden 
 bowls, one of which was handed to each. The flesh appeared 
 very glutinous, with something of the flavor and appearance 
 of mutton. Feeling something move behind me, I looked 
 round, and found that I had taken my seat among a litter of 
 fat young puppies. Had I been nice in such matters, the pre- 
 judices of civilization might have interfered with my tranquil- 
 ity; but, fortunately, I am not of delicate nerves, and con- 
 tinued quietly to empty my platter." 
 
 On the evening of the eighteenth of July, Col. Fremont 
 gathered his men around him and told them that he had de- 
 termined to proceed the following day on his journey. He 
 mentioned the reports that had been made, but said that in 
 view of their equipments he could not see suflicient reason for 
 returning; yet he was unwilling to take with him on a service 
 of certain danger men on whom he could not rely, and know- 
 ing that there were some in his party who were disposed to 
 cowardice and anxious to return, he asked all such to come 
 24 
 
370 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CAKSON! 
 
 forward at once and state their desire, and tliey would be dis- 
 charged with the amount due them for the time they had 
 served. To their honor, be it said, only one of their number 
 had the face to go forward and avail himself of the permission. 
 
CHAPTEK XLVIII. 
 
 Journey of Fremont's Expedition from Fort Laramie to Fremont's 
 Peak in the Rocky Mountains — Hardships op Colonel Fre- 
 mont—His Description op the Wild Scenery in the Rocky 
 Mountains — Fremont Thirteen Thousant) Feet Above the 
 Level of the Sea — The Return. 
 
 When Freimont was read}' to depart on tlie twenty-first of 
 July, he received a letter from Joseph Bessonette, at Fort 
 Platte, informing him that the chiefs in the neighborhood of the 
 fort had advised him to warn Colonel Fremont and his party 
 not to set out until the party of young men then out should 
 return. The latter party was represented as hostile to the 
 whites, and that they would be sure to fire upon them if they 
 were discovered. 
 
 After reading this note Colonel Fremont mentioned its pur- 
 port to his companions, after which one of the chiefs, the one 
 who bore the letter, rose and said: 
 
 " You have come among us at a bad time. Some of our 
 people have been killed, and our young men, who are gone to 
 the mountains, are eager to avenge the blood of their rela- 
 tions, which has been shed by the whites. Our young men are 
 bad, and, if they meet you, they will believe that you are car- 
 rying goods and ammunition to their enemies, and will fire 
 upon you. You have told us that this will make war. We 
 know that our great father has many soldiers and big guns, 
 and we are anxious to have our lives. We love the whites, and 
 are desirous of peace. Thinking of all these things, we have 
 determined to keep you here until our warriors return. We 
 are glad to see you among us. Our father is rich, and we 
 expected that you would have brought presents to us — horses, 
 and guns, and blankets. But we are glad to see you. We 
 (371) 
 
372 ADVENT LTRES OF FREM(JNT AND KIT CARSON : 
 
 look Upon jour coming as the light which goes before the sun; 
 for jou will tell our great father that you have seen us, and 
 that we are naked and poor, and have nothing to eat; and lie 
 will send us all these things." 
 
 The remarks of the savage appeared reasonable; but Fre- 
 mont believed that thej had in view only the object of detain- 
 ing him, and he resolved to give no heed to their warning. He 
 requested some of the Indians to accompany him, and after 
 much reluctance one consented. The party then mounted 
 their horses, and in a few hours they were far away among the 
 hills, the route leading over an interesting plateau between the 
 north fork of the Platte on the right and Laramie on the left. 
 The party consisted of those who had originally started out 
 with Fremont, except the man who was discharged at Fort 
 Laramie, with three others, Mr. Bissonetto, his wife, and the 
 Indian who had volunteered to accompany them. Continuing 
 their journey, they fortunately reached the South Pass of the 
 Eocky Mountains, without encountering a single hostile 
 Indian. 
 
 Fremont had now reached the field where it was expected 
 his labors would develop something of value to the country. 
 After making some observations, he prepared to ascend the 
 highest peak of the mountain. In speaking of the condition 
 of his party at this time, August twelfth, Fremont says: " The 
 spirits of the men had been much exhausted by the hardships 
 and privations to which they had been subjected. Our provis- 
 ions had well nigh all disappeared. Bread had been long out 
 of the question; and of all our stock, we had remaining two or 
 three pounds of coffee, and a small quantity of maccaroni, 
 which had been husbanded with great care for the mountain 
 expedition Ave were about to undertake. Our daily meal con- 
 sisted of dry buffalo meat, cooked in tallow; and, as we had 
 not dried this Math Indian skill, part of it was spoiled; and 
 what remained of good, was as hard as wood, having much the 
 taste and appearance of so many pieces of bark. Even of this, 
 our stock was rapidly diminishing in a camp which was capa- 
 ble of consuming two buffaloes in every twenty-four hours. 
 These animals had entirely disappeared; and it was not proba- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. ii'ib 
 
 ble tliat we should fall in witli them again until we returned 
 to the Sweet Water. Our arrangements for the ascent were 
 rapidly completed. We were in a hostile country, which ren- 
 dered the greatest vigilance and circumspection necessary. The 
 pass at the north end of the mountain was generally infested 
 by Blackfeet; and immediately opposite w^as one of their forts, 
 on the edge of a little thicket, two or three hundred feet from 
 our encampment. We were posted in a grove of beech, on the 
 margin of the lake, and a few hundred feet long, with a narrow 
 yrairillon on tiie inner side, bordered by the rocky ridge. In 
 the upper end of this grove we cleared a circular space about 
 forty feet in diameter, and, with the felled timber and inter- 
 woven branches, surrounded it with a breastwork five feet in 
 height. A gap was left for a gate on the inner side, by Avliich 
 the animals were to be driven in and secured, while the men 
 slept around the little work. It was half hidden by the foliage; 
 and, garrisoned by twelve resolute men, would have set at defi- 
 ance any band of savages which might chance to discover 
 them in the interval of our absence. Fifteen of the best 
 mules, with fourteen men, were selected for the mountain 
 party. Our provisions consisted of dried meat for two days, 
 with our little stock of coffee and some maccaroni. In addi- 
 tion to the barometer and a thermometer, I took with me a 
 sextant and spyglass, and we had of course our compasses. In 
 charge of the camp I left Bernier, one of my most trustworthy 
 men, who possessed the most determined courage. Early in 
 the morning, August twelfth, we left the camp, fifteen in num- 
 ber, well armed, of course, and mounted on ouY best mules. A 
 pack animal carried our provisions, with a coffee pot and kettle, 
 and three or four tin cups. Every man had a blanket strapped 
 over his saddle, to serve for his bed, and the instruments were 
 carried by turns on their backs. We entered directly on rough 
 and rocky ground; and, just after crossing the ridge, had the 
 good fortune to shoot an antelope. We heard the roar, and 
 had a glimpse of a waterfall as we rode along; and, crossing in 
 our way two fine streams, tributary to the Colorado, in about 
 two hours' ride we reached the top of the first row or range of 
 the mountains. Here, again, a view of the most romantic 
 
374 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON I 
 
 beauty met our eyes. It seemed as if, from tlie vast expanse 
 of uninteresting prairie we had passed over, Nature had col- 
 lected all her beauties together in one chosen place. We were 
 overlooking a deep valley, which was entirely occupied by 
 three lakes, and from the brink the surrounding ridges rose 
 precipitously five hundred and a thousand feet, covered with 
 the dark green of the balsam pine, relieved on the border of 
 the lake with the light foliage of the aspen. They all commu- 
 nicated with each other; and the green of the waters, common 
 to mountain lakes of great deptli, showed that it would be im- 
 possible to cross them. The surprise manifested by our guides 
 when these impassible obstacles suddenly barred our progress 
 proved that they were among the hidden treasures of the place, 
 unknown even to the wandering trappers of the region. 
 Descending the hill, we jDroceeded to make our way along the 
 margin to the southern extremity. A narrow strip of angular 
 fragments of rock sometimes afforded a rough pathway for our 
 mules, but generally we rode along the shelving side, occa- 
 sionally scrambling up, at a considerable risk of tumbling back 
 into the lake. The pines grew densely together, and the ground 
 was covered with the branches and trunks of trees. The air 
 was fragrant with the odor of the pines; and I realized this 
 delightful morning the pleasure of breathing that mountain 
 air which makes a constant theme of the hunter's praise, and 
 whicli now made us feel as if we had all been drinking some 
 exhilarating gas. The .depth of this unexplored forest was a 
 place to delight the heart of a botanist. There was a rich 
 undergrowth of plants, and numerous gay-colored flowers in 
 brilliant bloom." 
 
 - The region which the mountain expedition was now in, pre- 
 sented many wild and romantic features. The position was 
 very elevated, and in the valley below, and among the hills, 
 were a number of lakes at different levels, some t'wo or three 
 hundred feet above others with which they communicated by 
 foaming torrents. Even to this great height, the roar of the 
 cataracts came up, and the bold explorer could see them leaping 
 down in lines of snowy foam. On the thirteenth of August, 
 Fremont determined to ascend the most elevated peak. For 
 
OR, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 375 
 
 this purpose he left the animals, and continued on foot. The 
 peak appeared so near, that there was no doubt of their return- 
 ing before night; and a few men were left in charge of the 
 mules, with the provisions and blankets. Tliej took with 
 them nothing but their arms and instruments, and, as the day 
 had become warm, the greater part left their coats. They were 
 soon involved in the most ragged precipices, nearing the cen- 
 tral chain very slowly, and rising but little. The first ridge 
 hid a succession of others; and when, with great fatigue, and 
 difficulty, they had climbed up five hundred feet, it was but to 
 make an equal descent on the other side; all these intervening 
 places were filled with small deep lakes, which met the eye in 
 every direction, descending from one level to another, some- 
 times under bridges formed by huge fragments of granite, 
 beneath which was heard the roar of the water. These con- 
 stantly obstructed their path, forcing them to make long 
 detours; frequently obliged to retrace their steps, and fre- 
 quently falling among the rocks. Maxwell was precipitated 
 toward the face of a precipice, and saved himself fi-om going 
 over by throwing himself flat on the ground. They clambered 
 on, always expecting, with every ridge that they crossed, to 
 reach the foot of the peaks, and always disappointed, until 
 about four o'clock, when, pretty well worn out, they reached 
 the shore of a little lake, in which there was a rocky island. 
 They remained here a short time to rest, and continued on 
 around the lake, which had in some places a beach of white 
 sand, and in others was bound with rocks, over which the way 
 was difficult and dangerous, as the water from innumerable 
 springs made them very slippery. 
 
 By the time they had reached the further side of the lake, 
 they found themselves all exceedingly fatigned, and, much to 
 the satisfaction of the whole party, they encamped. The spot 
 they had chosen was a broad fiat rock, in some measure pro- 
 tected from the winds by the surrounding crags, and the trunks 
 of fallen pines afiibrded them good fires. 
 
 On the following day, Fremont informs us in his report, 
 that as they advanced, they heard " the roar of waters and of 
 
37(l ADVENTUKES OF FREIVIONT AND KIT CARSON : 
 
 a torrent, which we followed up a short distance, until it 
 expanded into a lake about one mile in length. 
 
 '' On the northern side of the lake was a bank of ice, or rather 
 of snow covered with a crust of ice. Carson had been our 
 guide into the mountains, and, agreeably to his advice, we left 
 this little valley, and took to the ridges again; which we found 
 extremely broken, and where we were again involved among 
 precipices. Here were ice lields ; among which we were all 
 dispersed, seeking each the best path to ascend the peak. Mr. 
 Preuss attempted to walk along the upper edge of one of these 
 fields, which sloped away at an angle of about twenty degrees; 
 but his feet slipped from under him-, and he went plunging 
 down the plani. A few hundred feet below, at the bottom,, 
 were some fragments of sharp rock, on which he landed; and 
 though he turned a couple of somersaults, fortunately received 
 no injury beyond a few bruises. Two of the men Clement 
 Lambert and Descoteaux, had been taken ill, and lay down on 
 the rocks a short distance below; and at this point I was 
 attacked with headache and giddiness, accompanied by vomit- 
 ing, as *on the day before. Finding myself unable to proceed, 
 I sent the barometer over to Mr. Preuss, who was in a gap two 
 or three hundred yards distant, desiring him to reach the peak, 
 if possible, and take an observation there. He found himself 
 unable to proceed further in that direction, and took an obser- 
 vation, where the barometer stood at 19.401; attached ther- 
 mometer 50°, in the gap. Carson, who had gone over to him, 
 succeeded in reaching one of the snowy summits of the main 
 ridge, whence he saw the peak towards which all our efforts had 
 been directed, towering eight or ten hundred feet into the air 
 above him. In the meantime, finding myself growing rather 
 worse than better, and doubtful how far my strength would 
 carry me, I sent Basil Lajeunesse, with four men, back to the 
 place where the mules had been left. We were now better 
 acquainted with the topography of the country, and I directed 
 him to bring back with him, if it were in any way possible, 
 four or five mules, with provisions and blankets. With me 
 were Maxwell and Ayer; and after we had remained nearly an 
 hour on the- rock, it became so unpleasantly cold, though the 
 
OR, THE BOKUER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 377 
 
 day was bright, that we set out on our return to the camp, at 
 which we all arrived safely, stras^gling in one after the other, 
 I continued ill during the afternoon, but became better towards 
 sundown, when my recovery was comjDleted by tlie appearance 
 of Basil and four men, all mounted. The men who had gone 
 with him had been too much fatigued to return, and were 
 relieved by those in charge of the horses; but in his powers of 
 endurance Basil resembled more a mountain goat than a man. 
 They brought blankets and provisions, and we enjoyed well our 
 dried meat and a cup of good coffee. ^Ye rolled ourselves up 
 in our blankets, and with our feet turned to a blazing tire, slept 
 soundly until morning." 
 
 On the morning of the fifteenth of August, after having 
 abandoned the idea of reaching the highest peak, and after Kit 
 Carson, with his party, had set out for the camp, the brave 
 leader made another attempt to gain the summit, and was this 
 time successful. The peak was found to be thirteen thousand 
 five hundred feet above the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 
 This lofty pinnacle has been appropriately called Fremont's 
 Peak. 
 
 As the brave Colonel stood upon this lofty mountain peak, 
 his view was full of the deepest interest. He says: " On one 
 side was Wind river valley, whc]-e were the heads of the Yellow- 
 stone branch of the Missouri; far to the north, we just could 
 discover the snowy heads of the Trois Tetons, where were the 
 sources of the Missouri and Columbia rivers; and at the 
 southern extremity of the ridge, the peaks were plainly visible, 
 among which were some of the springs of the JSTebraska and 
 Platte rivers. Around us,, the whole scene had' one main 
 striking feature, which was that of terrible convulsion. Par- 
 allel to its length, the ridge was split into chasms and fissures; 
 between which rose the thin lofty walls, terminated with 
 slender minarets and columns. According to the barometer, 
 the little^crest of the wall on which we stood was three thou- 
 sand five hundred and seventy feet above that place, and two 
 thousand seven hundred and eighty above the little lakes at 
 the bottom, immediately at our feet." 
 
 Having made all the observations necessary, the Colonel 
 
378 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON : 
 
 began the descent, having accomplished an object of huidable 
 ambition, and, indeed, bejond the strict order of his instruc- 
 tion. He had climbed to the loftiest peak of the Eocky 
 Mountains, and looked down upon the snow a thousand feet 
 below, and, standing where never human foot had stood before, 
 justly felt the exultation of first explorers.* 
 
 Of the descent he says: "We reached our deposite of pro- 
 visions at nightfall. Here was not the inn which awaits the 
 tired traveler on his return from Mont Blanc, or the orange 
 groves of South America, with their refreshing juices and soft 
 fragrant air; but we found our little cache of dried meat and 
 coffee undisturbed. Though the moon was bright, the road 
 was full of precipices, and the fatigue of the day had been 
 great. We therefore abandoned the idea of joining our friends, 
 and lay down on the rock, and, in spite of the cold, slept 
 soundly." 
 
 Fremont and his party reached the main camp on the even- 
 ing of the sixteenth, where they found all enjoying peace and 
 quiet, and, on the following morning, he gave the order for the 
 homeward march, which was received with joy. They trav- 
 eled on, hungry and foot sore, until the nineteentli, when 
 buffaloes again made their appearance, and in the evening, 
 when they halted, at the Sweet Water, roasted ribs made their 
 appearance around their fires, and, with them, good humor and 
 laughter and song were restored to the camp. After a long, and, 
 in some respects, pleasant journey, the expedition arrived at 
 Fort Laramie and thence to the settlements on the frontiers of 
 Missouri on the first of (3ctober, after an absence of six months, 
 * Fremont's Report. 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 Sketch of Kit Carson — His Eakly Adventures — His First Visit 
 TO THE Far West — He Distinguishes Himself as a Hunter, 
 Guide, and Scout — His i\j)VENTURES on the Sacramento — Mr. 
 Young's Trapping Party. 
 
 Leaving Col. Fremont among his friends in the settlements 
 of civilization, let us return to Fort Laramie, where Kit Carson 
 had been left, and follow the latter through some of the vary- 
 ing fortunes which characterized his life, from September, 18-1:2, 
 until he joined Fremont's second expedition, in 1843. 
 
 Carson had evidently won the highest esteem of Fremont, 
 and in the performance of the double duty of guide and hunter 
 for the expedition, he had rendered valuable service, M'hich 
 may be considered as fruitful to his employer's success. At this 
 point I will cai-ry the reader back a few years for the purpose 
 of glancing at some of the more important events in the early 
 life of this bold and sagacious mountaineer. Christopher 
 Carson was born in Kentucky, in 1809. When an infant, his 
 parents migrated to the frontier settlements of Missouri, where 
 they lived in a little log house which has been already men- 
 tioned in a previous chapter. At an early age he was appren- 
 ticed to a harness-maker, with whom he remained two years, 
 when, becoming enticed by the thrilling accounts of the wild 
 life in the West, he resolved to throw off the restraint of ci\'il- 
 ization and share in the sports of the buffalo hunt, with the 
 Indians, tra2:)pers, and mountaineers of " the unexplored 
 regions toward the setting sun." Joining an expedition in 
 1826, he was soon in the country of the j^rairies, where the 
 Indian chief held dominion. The route lay across the western 
 country to Santa Fe. Game was abundant, and the youthful 
 Kit had a good opportunity for testing his ability as a hunter. 
 (379) 
 
380 ADVENTURES OF FKEMOKT AND KIT CAKSON : 
 
 In the course of the journey one of the men was accidentally 
 shot through the arm, and amputation being necessary, Kit 
 Carson was called upon to perform the surgical operation, 
 which he executed with good success. In ]No\ ember the party 
 arrived at Santa Fe, having experienced nothing very remarka- 
 ble during the journey. Soon after their arrival, Carson left 
 his companions and visited Taos, a Mexican town in the terri- 
 tory of New Mexico. At this place he commenced the study 
 of the Spanish language under the instruction of Kin Cade. 
 In this undertaking he was quite successful. 
 
 At length poverty compelled him to attempt the return to 
 Missouri, which he had half accomplished when he fell in wdth 
 a westward bound expedition in which he was offered employ- 
 ment. This he gladly accepted, and at once began to retrace 
 his steps to Santa Fe. Fie had not been long at the latter place 
 before he again found himself out of employment and in great 
 want. At this critical moment he joined a party that was 
 going to El Paso. He completed the journey to this place, and 
 then returned to Taos, where he entered into the service of Mr. 
 Ewing Young, a trader and trapper, performing the duties of 
 master cook for the consideration of his board only. In this 
 way the persevering Kit supported himself until the spring 
 of 1828, when, saddened with ill-success, he again joined a 
 returning party, and set out for Missouri ; but, as on the trip 
 of the previous year, he met a party bound for Santa Fe, and 
 again engaged to turn his face M^estward, hoping, it is said, to 
 meet with an opportunity of going to the Kocky Mountains. 
 Arriving at Santa Fe, Kit obtained employment from Col. 
 Tromell, a well known trader, in the capacity of Spanish inter- 
 preter. With his new master he set out for Chihuahua, one 
 of the Mexican states. But, as we have seen, his hard fortunes 
 were continually changing. At the latter place he engaged as 
 teamster with Mr. Robert McKnight, in company with whom 
 he visited the copper mines near the Eio Gila. JSTotwithstand- 
 ing these vicissitudes, Carson had long since determined to 
 become a hunter and trapper, and was only awaiting an oppor- 
 tunity to join a party in this pursuit. 
 
 He remained at the copper mines but a short time, when he 
 
OR, TIIK BORDER WARS OF TWO OKNTURIKS. 3lS I 
 
 returned to Taos, where lie met a small party of trap])ers who . 
 had been defeated by a band of hostile Indians and driven to 
 this point. The party had been in the employ of Mr, Youiig, 
 with whom Kit had formerly worked, and that gentleman now 
 set about raising a party of forty men, consisting of Canadians, 
 Frenchmen and Americans. Among the latter, of course, we 
 find our hero. Mr. Young placed himself at the head of this 
 party, and started out with the intention of chastising the 
 Indians, and making all he could out of the expedition by 
 employing the men as trappers. It was on the twenty-ninth 
 of April that the party left Taos. They journeyed northward 
 about fifty miles for the purpose of leading the Mexicans to 
 believe that they were bound for the United States, but after 
 proceeding thus far they changed their course to the southwest 
 and passed through the wilds of the Navajoes, a ferocious 
 tribe of Indians, over whom, as we shall see in the course of our 
 narrative. Kit Carson at a later day achieved a decisive victory. 
 The reasons which led this party to deceive the Mexicans as to 
 their destination were that all such expeditions, before being 
 permitted to hunt on Mexican soil must procure the necessary 
 license, and as the latter could not be granted to American 
 citizens, the course pursued by Mr. Yoimg is obvious. 
 
 As they journeyed along the unexplored regions of this 
 country, they passed through Zuni, a Pueblo village, and thence 
 to the Salt river, one of the tributaries of the Eio Gila. On 
 the banks of this stream they discovered the band of Indians 
 who had routed the party already mentioned. The parties had 
 no sooner discovered each other than preparations for the 
 battle began on both sides. Mr. Young ordered most of his 
 men to lie in ambush, believing that the enemy were ignorant 
 of his strength. His plan was successful. 'No sooner had the 
 whites halted to prepare their ambuscade than the savages, 
 under the impression that the invaders were about to retreat, 
 made a rush upon them. When they had approached fully 
 within the trap which had been set for them, they were greeted 
 with a heavy cross-fire from Young's party. Fifteen warriors 
 fell dead upon the spot, and the rest fled in utter confusion. 
 This was the first Indian fight in which Kit Carson partici- 
 
382 ADVENTURES OF FKEMONT AND KIT CARSON: 
 
 pated, and it was well calculated to arouse his love for the 
 hunter's life. 
 
 The party proceeded in comparative peace to trap on Salt 
 river, until they reached the head waters of the San Francisco 
 river, when the expedition was divided. One party, in which 
 Kit Carson enlisted, set out for the valley of the Sacramento, 
 in California; the other started on the return trip. The former, 
 wliich was commanded by Mr. Young, consisted of twenty 
 persons. Before starting for this unexplored country they 
 spent several days in hunting, in order to lay in a store of 
 meat for the journey. They also provided themselves with two 
 large tanks of water, as, according to reports, there was none to 
 be found on their route. During the first four days of their 
 journey they found this to be true; but on the fifth day they 
 came to a delightful stream, where they rested. Leaving 
 this place they traveled on over a desert country for several 
 days, when at length they came in sight of the great canon of 
 the Colorado. While on the banks of this river they met a 
 band of Indians who inhabited that country, and from them 
 they purchased a horse, which they killed and served up to the 
 tired men. The half famished travelers regarded this feast as 
 a great blessing. 
 
 After a journey of many days, in which they met several 
 small bands of Indians, wlio gave them the most exciting 
 accounts of the wonders of the Sacramento valley, they reached 
 the mission of San Gabriel, where they found a priest, fifteen 
 or twenty Mexican soldiers and more than a thousand Indians. 
 We are informed that this little settlement owned eighty thou- 
 sand head of cattle, fine fields and extensive vineyards. At 
 this place Mr. Young exchanged four butcher knives for a fat 
 ox. Another day's march brought our adventurers to a Cath- 
 olic mission named San Fernando. After resting the party 
 several days at this mission, they started for the San Joaquim 
 river, where they hoped to meet the beaver; and in this hope 
 they were not disappointed. They succeeded in procuring a 
 fine lot of skins which Mr. Young sold at a neighboring post, 
 and with the proceeds he purchased a number of horses. These 
 had been in the camp but a short time when sixty of them 
 
OB, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 383 
 
 were stolen by the Indians. As soon as the robbery was dis- 
 covered Kit Carson was ordered to pursue the thieves with the 
 twelve remaining horses and as many men. He at once started 
 for the Sierra Nevada mountains, to which the trail of the 
 Indians led him. When he overtook the guilty party he found 
 them feasting upon horse flesh, several of the stolen animals 
 having been killed for that purpose. IS^ot being observed he 
 approached as near as possible without being discovered, and 
 arranging his men in order, the party of twelve charged upon 
 the Indians. Eight of the warriors were killed in their tracks, 
 the rest escaping in many directions. But the best part of 
 Carson's success was, he succeeded in recovering all the horses 
 except those which had been killed for the feast. 
 
 The party continued their hunting with good success until 
 September, when they commenced their homeward march. 
 After a long and tedious journey they reached the banks of the 
 Colorado, where they encamped for a little rest prepaiatory to 
 completing the journey. Here they were visited by five hun- 
 dred Indians, who, although professing friendship, were dis- 
 covered to be armed with weapons which they had concealed 
 under their robes. The whites were now, indeed, in a serious 
 situation; but at length Carson found a man who could speak 
 the Spanish language, and through hini he ordered the Indians 
 " to leave the camp. In the event of their not doing so imme- 
 diately, he and his friends would, without further parley, com- 
 mence hostilities, and would be sure each in killing his man, 
 although they might all, in the end, lose their own lives." 
 The Indians being now certain that in case they attacked the 
 party some of their own number would lose their lives, departed 
 at once, leaving the little band once more at peace. It is hardly 
 necessary to say that for this bold expedient Carson received 
 the thanks of his comrades. 
 
 After encountering several bands of hostile Indians and 
 taking from them many horses which they had stolen, Mr. 
 Young's party arrived at the copper mines, on the Gila, where 
 they concealed the large quantity of furs they had taken. 
 From this place the party went to Santa Fe, where they pur- 
 chased licenses to trade with the Indians who lived about the 
 
384 ADVENTURES OF FRKMONT AND KIT 0A1;S(^N: 
 
 copper mines. By tlie use of these papers thej secured their 
 furs, carried them to Santa Fe, and, under pretence of having 
 purchased them from the Indians, sold them without creating 
 the slightest suspicion. 
 
CHAPTEE L. 
 
 Sketch of Kit Carson Continued — Description op the Mountain 
 Parks — Pursuing Horse Thieves — Nine Hunters Defeat Fifty 
 Indian Warriors — Kit Carson Wounded — The Duel. 
 
 In the fall of 1830 we find Kit Carson connected with a 
 trapping party, wbicli began its operations on the Salmon 
 river. They remained at this place throughout the winter, 
 losing four of their men, who were killed by the Blackfeet Indi- 
 ans. In the spring they went to Snake Eiver, where they 
 continued trapping. This is one of the most delightful places 
 in the wilds of the Great West. Among the many attractions 
 are the Shoshonee Falls, which are said to excel the great cat- 
 aract of Niagara in many respects. From this place the party 
 journeyed to the South Park. 
 
 There are many of these parks in the Rocky Mountains, 
 being more particularly found in the great mountain centre of 
 Colorado. They are in many respects not unlike the great 
 parks of civilization; but in other particulars nature has 
 excelled art. They are beautiful beyond descrij)tion. Many 
 of them are small, suitable for small excursion parties, but 
 three or four of them are very large — equal in territory and 
 extent to the State of Massachusetts. These are the North 
 Park, Middle Park, South Park, and San Luis Park. Here, 
 upon the green, well-watered bosom of these delightful gar- 
 dens, the traveler will find a great abundance of deer, antelope, 
 and elk, and along the grassy borders of the running brooks 
 one may see plenty of otter and beaver. It was in these 
 delightful spots where Kit Carson spent a short season as a 
 hunter. 
 
 But Kit was a roving mortal, and as we have many iraport- 
 25 (385) 
 
386 ADVENTURES OF FKEMONT AND KIT CARSON". 
 
 ant scenes in border warfare yet to record, it will be impossible 
 to follow him in detail. 
 
 'Not many months after his visit to the beauties of the parks 
 we hear the report of his unerring rifle on the banks of 
 the Arkansas river. At this place he spent a comfort- 
 able winter with his companion hunters. In the month of 
 January, however, there was trouble in the camp. A party 
 of fifty Crow Indians " made an unfriendly visit to their camp 
 on one very dark night," and succeeded in stealing nine of 
 their horses.* The sun had not fully risen on the following 
 morning when the adventurous Kit was flying through the 
 forest, mounted on his favorite steed, followed by twelve of his 
 companions. They rode on hour after hour, and night set in 
 with no signs of the enemy. At length they held a council, 
 and resolved to encamp for the night, intending to pursue the 
 trail on the following morning. Selecting a tempting grove 
 not far in advance, they rode forward to rest for the night; but 
 they had not proceeded a hundred paces when wreaths of curl- 
 ing smoke broke upon their view. They were upon the enemy! 
 Halting, and scanning the distance, they observed that the 
 numbers of the Indians greatly exceeded their own. Being 
 still unobserved, they concluded to settle quietly down until 
 the darkness closed in, " Then," says Kit, " we wiU surprise 
 them." All agreed. But it was also decided to change their 
 situation. They desired to rush upon the enemy from the 
 direction in which the savages were traveling, and for this pur- 
 pose they took a circuitous route around the enemy's camp. 
 Approaching from the opposite direction, the bold frontiersmen 
 gained a little eminence, from which they had a full view of 
 the Indian camp. And now let us look in upon the savages 
 with them. The stolen horses were secured to some trees at a 
 little distance to one side, while in the camp, the savages, 
 decorated in the gaudy finery of their peculiar dress, were 
 dancing merrily in honor of their successful robljery. Every 
 one who is acquainted with the history of the Crow Indians 
 knows that they loved to steal horses second only to taking the 
 scalp of an enemy. The night was cold, and the mountaineers 
 stood a little way oflF, shivering from the weather, and half 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 38T 
 
 trembling with rage; but in the Indian camp large fires were 
 burning brightly, and around them the fifty horse thieves were 
 celebrating their crime. See them as they assume a hundred 
 difierent shapes, any one of which baffles all description ; and 
 now listen to the peals of merriment as they break forth on 
 the howling winds, mingling their strange sounds with the 
 voice of the tempest. The picture is one of wild extravagance, 
 but it is the glory of the true Indian. 
 
 Kit Carson probably looked first at the horses, and then at 
 the enemy. The former he must secure ; the latter he must 
 punish. But he was as cautious as he was brave, but he was 
 hrave! Although at the head of only twelve men, he was 
 aching to attack fifty Indian warriors, who had already erected 
 two temporary forts for their defense. The angry mountain- 
 eers drew back a little and counselled together. Each had 
 something to propose, to all of which our hero listened calmly. 
 "When they had finished, he said, " Let them have their fun 
 out. We must surprise them after they have fallen asleep." 
 This was readily agreed to, and, after hours of patient waiting, 
 the festivities ended, and the Indians rolled up in their blan- 
 kets, laid down, and were soon fast asleep. The first movement 
 was to secure the horses, which they effected without disturb- 
 ing the sleeping Indians. These were sent back in charge of 
 three men to where the other horses had been secured. The 
 other nine remained to punish fifty warriors, and they per- 
 formed their task well. 
 
 Before advancing toward the enemy a consultation was held, 
 in which all but three of the nine advocated a peaceful retreat. 
 They pleaded inequality of numbers, and other apparent 
 obstacles, but Kit was not to be persuaded, and the brave men 
 at last agreed to punish the thieves. As they advanced cau- 
 tiously to where the Indians were sleeping, ten or twelve of 
 them were aroused, and springing to their feet, they were 
 singled out, and in quick succession nine of them fell back 
 upon their blankets, each mountaineer having killed his man. 
 The Indians at once retreated within the strongest fort, and 
 opened a hot fire upon the invaders, but as the latter were 
 securely crouched behind trees, the savages accomplished noth- 
 
388 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON I 
 
 ing. At length thej became bold, and rushing out of the fort 
 they made a charge upon their enemies, but in this attempt 
 five more of their number fell. They again retreated, but in a 
 short time made another sortie, in which they lost as many 
 more, and succeeded in slightly wounding three whites. But 
 tlie savages pushed forward to the attack, and in a few moments 
 the mountaineers were compelled to retreat, from tree to tree. 
 They, however, availed themselves of every opportunity to 
 shoot down the enemy, and in a short time the number of the 
 Indians was reduced to about twice that of their own. By 
 this time the three men who had been sent back with the 
 horses came forward and assisted in the contest. Seeing this 
 reinforcement, which proved fatal to three of the savages (for 
 the new participants were not satisfied until each had shot 
 down a savage), the Indians retreated, leaving the brave hunters 
 in possession of the field. Being now satisfied with the pun- 
 ishment which they had administered to the savages, they 
 returned, reaching the main camp in safety. 
 
 We shall next see Kit Carson in council with the Indians, 
 In the winter of 1832-3 a party of trappers, among whom he 
 was chief, was encamped on the banks of the Big Snake river, 
 where they established winter quarters. On one dark night a 
 party of Blackfeet Indians succeeded in stealing eighteen of 
 the horses. On the following morning Carson pursued them 
 at the head of eleven men. After riding fifty miles he came 
 up with the thieves, when a few shots were exchanged, the sav- 
 ages sent out a man who said that the party desired to hold a 
 council with the whites; that they were not aware of having 
 stolen horses from them, believing that those which they had 
 in their possession had belonged to the Snake Indians. Car- 
 son consented, and both parties laid down their arms and 
 advanced. Speeches were now in order. The Blackfeet pre- 
 ceded the whites, but their speeches were meaningless. But it 
 was now Carson's turn to be heard, and he spoke to the point. 
 He said that they would not listen to propositions of peace 
 until their property was returned. The Indians did not intend 
 to return the property, and hearing the demand several times 
 repeated, they gave the hunters to understand that they would 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 389 
 
 not yield. They began to boast of their numbers and strength, 
 and seemed to be ready for the jfight. Carson now shouted " to 
 your arms! " and in a moment the hunters were leaping over 
 the uneven ground towards their rifles. The Indians were 
 doing the same with equal earnestness. The fight was renewed. 
 The bullets flew thick around the heads of the trappers, and in 
 a moment more Kit Carson fell upon the ground apparently 
 lifeless. His companions beheld this lamentable event, but 
 they dare not turn to his relief. The fight was too hot, and all 
 their attention was required in the direction of the enemy. At 
 length the firing ceased, and the hunters drew back retiring with 
 their fallen comrade to the camp, leaving the Indians in pos- 
 session of the horses. All were now anxious as to the fate of 
 the wounded leader. His wound bled profusely, and as the 
 blood gushed out it froze upon the wound. His sufiferings 
 were great, but after patient enduranee he recovered. A ball 
 from an Indian musket had pierced his left shoulder. 
 
 But let us return to the event in which Carson was wounded. 
 It was not enough that the trappers had killed several Indian 
 warriors and escaped with only one wounded, but on the fol- 
 lowing day it was resolved to send another expedition upon 
 their trail. This party consisted of thirty, but, after scouring 
 the woods for nearly a hundred miles they were compelled to 
 return without discovering the enemy. 
 
 We next find Carson in a duel. The trappers had congre- 
 gated at the summer quarters and were indulging in all kinds 
 of sport. Among their number was one Capt. Shunan, a 
 boasting fellow, who was continually picking a quarrel with all 
 who came in his way. He continued this to the disgust of tlie 
 whole, and was at length despised by nearly two-thirds of tlie 
 hunters. One day after having whipped two of his comrades 
 in a fist-tight, he happened in Carson's way, and, as with all, he 
 treated him in a manner of great discourtesy. He was proba- 
 bly not fully aware of the man's courage and ability, for in 
 general appearance Carson was not calculated to inspire one 
 with a high estimation of his physical powers. Shunan was a 
 very powerful man, and one of the roughest of the Itocky Moun- 
 tain trappers. 
 
390 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON : 
 
 As soon as the insulting words had been uttered, Kit Carson 
 stepped up to Shunan and said: "Shunan, before jou stands 
 the humblest specimen of an American citizen in this brave 
 band of trappers, among whom there are, to my certain knowl- 
 edge, men who could easily chastise you, but being peaceably 
 disposed, they keep away from you. At any rate. I assume 
 the responsibility of ordering you to discontinue your threats, 
 or I shall kill you." 
 
 Shunan made no reply, but wheeling around he strode off 
 towards his tent filled with rage, and fully resolved on revenge. 
 He spoke to no one, but his purpose was plain to the expe- 
 rienced mountaineers. Carson also turned away and walked 
 rapidly to his own tent. "A duel! " now broke out upon the 
 air from more than fifty voices, and all gathered round to see 
 the contest. In a moment all eyes were turned toward Carson 
 who was approaching on his matchless steed in full gallop, with 
 a single-barrel dragoon pistol in his right hand. Plunging 
 along on this broad prairie he was a most thrilling picture. 
 But he had not more than fully appeared before the attention 
 of the crowd was divided. Shunan was approaching on his 
 horse from the opposite direction with his rifle in his hand. 
 The brave mountaineers now rode rapidly towards each other, 
 and in a moment they were face to face. The report of Shu- 
 nan's rifle, closely followed that of Carson's pistol. Instantly 
 Shunan's rifle fell to the ground, his fore arm having been 
 shattered by a ball. The contents of his own weapon inflicted 
 a slight scalp wound upon Carson. Thus ended the duel. 
 
CHAPTER LI. 
 
 Sketch op Kit Carson Continued — His Adventures — He Again 
 Joins Fremont's Expedition — Description of Fremont's Second 
 Expedition — Its Adventures. 
 
 We will not attempt to follow Carson through all the details 
 of his life. It would be only repeating over and over what we 
 have already said; for, in the life of the mountaineer we have 
 only a series of hardships, interwoven with adventures, escape, 
 battle, victory and defeat. After Carson had endured sixteen 
 years of this life, he returned to Missouri, and, as we have seen, 
 joined Colonel Fremont in 1842, as guide to the expedition. 
 Of his adventures with Fremont, we have already had a full 
 account. Let us now notice ^the principal characteristics of 
 his life in the interim between Fremont's expeditions. 
 
 In February, 1843, his Indian wife having long since died, 
 Carson married a Mexican woman named Senora Jarimilla. 
 She was quite beautiful, and was admired by a large circle of 
 friends for her many virtues. By this wife Carson had three 
 children. 
 
 In the following spring he was engaged as guide and hunter 
 for a train of wagons, belonging to Bent's Fort. This train 
 was bound for the United States. When they had reached 
 Walnut Creek, Carson came upon the encampment of Captain 
 Cook, of tlie United States army. Cook was in command of 
 four companies of dragoons, and was acting as a guard to a 
 large train of wagons belonging to the governor of New Mex- 
 ico, and bound for that territory. The Mexicans had anticipated 
 an attack from a strong band of Texans, who were known to 
 be hostile to the former on account of difficulties which had 
 previpusly taken place. However, Capt. Cook's orders were to 
 a,ccompany the train only to the boundary line between the 
 (391) 
 
392 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND BIT CARSON: 
 
 United States and New Mexico, which, at this time, was at 
 the fording place of the Arkansas river. The Mexicans being 
 fearful lest they should be attacked bj the Texans, on their 
 own territory, engaged Kit Carson to return to 'New Mexico 
 with all dispatch, with a message to the governor, asking him 
 to send out an expedition to guard his train. Carson, in the 
 execution of this task, was compelled to encounter many hos- 
 tile Indians, but he managed to evade them and reached his 
 destination in safety. When Carson reached Taos, he learned 
 that a small detachment had already been sent in search of his 
 caravan, and that the governor himself, with a large force, was 
 about to follow. The first band encountered the Texans before 
 they came up with the train, and were all massacred but one. 
 It is said that ninety-nine Mexicans fell in this contest. The 
 survivor returned with all speed towards Taos, but came upon 
 the governor's expedition, after a few day's travel, to which he 
 reported the disaster. This news so alarmed the governor and 
 his men, that they at once returned, leaving the caravan, as 
 they thought, to the mercy of the furious Texans. 
 
 Carson having performed his duty well, returned to Bent's 
 Fort, where he learned that Capt. Cook had come upon the 
 hostile Texans in the United States Territory, and had dis- 
 armed them, Wliile at this place Carson learned that Colonel 
 Fremont had passed that post a few days before his arrival, on 
 a second expedition. The mountaineer wasted no time in pur- 
 suing his old companion. 
 
 Let us now go back to the commencement of Fremont's 
 journey. In pursuance of instructions from Col. J. J. Abert, 
 chief of the corps of Topographical Engineers, to connect his 
 former surveys of 1842 with those of Wilkes, on the coast of 
 the Pacific ocean, so as to give a connected survey of the 
 middle of the continent, Fremont proceeded to the Western 
 frontier early in the spring of 1843, arriving at the town of 
 Kansas, in Missouri, on the seventeenth of May, where he 
 remained about two weeks in making the necessary prepara- 
 tions. The party which he collected for the expedition; 
 consisted of Creoles, Canadian French and Americans, amount- 
 ing in all to thirty-nine men, among whom were several whO' 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 393 
 
 accompanied him on the former expedition. Mr. Thomas 
 Fitzpatrick, a famous mountaineer, was engaged as guide.. 
 Among the members of the party were two Delaware Indians^ 
 who had been Employed to accompany the expedition as 
 hunters. The famous Maxwell, who had been Fremont's 
 favorite hunter on the previous journey, was also engaged in 
 the same capacity for the present expedition. 
 
 The party was armed with Hall's carbines, which, witv 
 a brass twelve pound howitzer, had been furnished by the 
 United States government. Three men were detailed for the 
 management of this piece, under the charge of Louis Zindel, a 
 native of Germany, who had been nineteen years a non-commis- 
 sioned officer of artillery in the Prussian army, and regularly 
 instructed in the duties of his profession. The camp equipage 
 and provisions were transported in twelve carts, drawn each by 
 two mules; and a light covered wagon, mounted on good 
 springs, had been pro\aded for the safer carriage of the instru- 
 ments. 
 
 To make the exploration as useful as possible, Fremont 
 determined, in conformity to general instructions, to vary the 
 route to the Eocky Mountains from that followed in the year 
 1842. The route then was up the valley of the Great Platte 
 river to the South Pass, in north latitude 42° ; the route now 
 determined on was up the valley of the Kansas river, and to 
 the head of the Arkansas, and to some pass in the mountains, 
 if any could be found, at the sources of that river. By making 
 this deviation from the former route, the problem of a new 
 road to Oregon and California, in a climate more genial, might 
 be solved; and a better knowledge obtained of an important 
 river, and the country it drained, while the great object of the 
 expedition would find its point of commencement at the ter- 
 mination of the former, which was at that great gate in the 
 ridge of the Eocky Mountains called the South Pass, and on 
 the lofty peak of the mountain which overlooks it, deemed the 
 highest peak in the ridge, and from the opposite sides of which 
 four great rivers take their rise, and flow to the Pacific or the 
 Mississippi. Various obstacles delayed their departure until 
 the morning of the twenty-ninth of April, when they commenced 
 
394 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CAESON: 
 
 their long voyage; and at the close of a day, rendered disagree- 
 ably cold by incessant rain, encamped about four miles beyond 
 the frontier, on the verge of the great prairies. 
 
 Kesuming their journey on the thirty -first,* after the delay of 
 a dav to complete their equipment and furnish themselves with 
 some of the comforts of civilized life, they encamped in the even- 
 in o- at Elm Grove, in company with several emigrant wagons, 
 constituting a party which was proceeding to Upper California, 
 under the direction of Mr. J. B. Childs, of Missouri. The w^agons 
 were variously freighted with goods, furniture and farming 
 utensils, containing, among other things, an entire set of 
 machinery for a mill, which Mr. Childs designed erecting on 
 the Sacramento river. The expedition was joined at this 
 point by Mr. William Gilpin, of Missouri, who, intending this 
 year to visit the settlements in Oregon, was invited to accom- 
 pany Fremont. 
 
 Leaving the fording of the Kansas river, they pursued the 
 usual emigrant route to the mountains, along the southern side 
 of the Kansas. On the afternoon of the sixth of June, while 
 busily engaged in crossing a stream, the expedition was thrown 
 into confusion by the sudden arrival of Maxwell, who entered 
 the camp at full speed, at the head of a war party of Osages, 
 with gay red blankets, and heads sliaved to the scalp-lock. 
 They had run him a distance of about nine miles, from a creek 
 on which Fremont had encamped the day previous, and to 
 which Maxwell had returned in search of a run-away horse. 
 The Osages were, no doubt, ignorant of the strength of the 
 party, for they charged into the camp, and drove off a number 
 of the best horses. They were soon overtaken, and the animals 
 recovered. In speaking of the progress of the journey from 
 this point, Fremont says: " We had been gradually and regu- 
 larly ascending in our progress westward, and on the evening 
 of the fourteenth, when we encamped on a little creek in the 
 valley of the Republican, two hundred and sixty-five miles by 
 our traveling road from the mouth of the Kansas, we were at 
 an elevation of one thousand five hundred and twenty feet. 
 That part of the river where we were now encamped is called 
 by the Indians the Big Timber. Hitherto our route had been 
 
OR, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CJC.NTURII'S. 395 
 
 laborious and extremely slow, the unusnally wet spring and 
 constant rain having so saturated the whole country that it 
 was necessary to bridge every water course, and for days together 
 our usual march averaged only five or six miles. Finding that 
 at such a rate of travel it would be impossible to comply with 
 your instructions, I determined at this place to divide the party, 
 and, leaving Mr. Fitzpatrick vnth twenty-five men in charge 
 of the provisions and heavier baggage of the camp, to proceed 
 myself in advance, with a light party of fifteen men, taking 
 with me the howitzer and the light wagon which carried the 
 instruments." 
 
 Accordinglv, on the morning of the sixteenth of June, the 
 parties separated. On the nineteenth the advanced party 
 crossed the Pawnee road to the Arkansas, and after a little 
 travel came into the buffalo herds. Here, also, prairie dogs 
 were seen in great abundance. Their elevation was now 
 nineteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. On the 
 twenty-third of June this party explored one of the main 
 branches of the Republican river, to which they gave the name 
 of Prairie Dog Piver. Their route on the twenty-fifth lay over 
 high, smooth ridges, three thousand one hundred feet above the 
 sea, buffalo in great numbers absolutely covering the face of 
 the country. 
 
 They journeyed on until the first of July, when, traveling 
 along the valley of the south fork of the Platte, four thousand 
 feet above the level of the sea, they caught a glimpse of Long's 
 Peak and the neighboring mountains, which stood out into 
 the sky, grand, and luminously white, covered to their bases 
 with glittering snow. 
 
 On the evening of the third of July the expedition was 
 journeying along the partially overflowed bottoms of the Platte, 
 where their passage stirred up swarms of mosquitoes, and 
 where they came unexpectedly upon an Indian, who was 
 perched on a bluff", curiously watching the movements of Fre- 
 mont's caravan. He belonged to a village of the Sioux, who 
 had lost all their animals in the severity of the preceding 
 winter, and were now on their way up the Bijou fork to beg 
 horses from the Arapahoes, who were hunting buffalo at the 
 
396 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON: 
 
 head of that river. Several came into Fremont's camp at 
 noon, and, as they vs^ere hnngrj, as usual, they were provided 
 with buffalo meat, of which the hunters had brought an 
 abundant supply. 
 
 On the Fourth of July the party arrived at Bent's Fort, 
 where the proprietors had prepared a sumptuous feast in honor 
 of the day. At this place Fremont dispatched Maxwell to 
 Taos for the purpose of procuring mules and provisions, while 
 the expedition continued its course. On the seventh of July 
 Fremont reached the Arapaho villages, which he found 
 encamped in a beautiful bottom, and consisting of over one 
 hundred and sixty lodges. The village appeared extremely 
 populous, with a great number of children. The chiefs were 
 congregated together for the purpose of paying respect to the 
 strangers, which they did by throwing their arms around their 
 necks and embracing them. Fremont was able to make them 
 only a slight present, accounting for the poverty of the gift by 
 explaining that his goods had been left with the heavy wagons 
 in charge of Mr. Fitzpatrick, whom they knew by the name 
 of the Broken Hand. Though disappointed in obtaining the 
 presents which had been evidently expected, they behaved very 
 courteously, and, after a little conversation, Fremont left them, 
 and continued on up the river. They surprised a grizzly bear 
 sauntering along the river; which, raising himself upon his 
 hind legs, took a deliberate survey of the party, that did not 
 appear very satisfactory to him, and he scrambled into the river 
 and swam to the opposite side. ' 
 
 During the eighth of July, continuing up the Platte, they 
 could see, on their right, and apparently very near— but really 
 eight miles from them — and two or three thousand feet np the 
 valley in which they were traveling, the snow clad peaks of the 
 Rocky Mountains. 
 
 After spending many days in exploring that country, Fremont 
 returned to St. Train's Fort, reaching it on the twenty-third 
 of July. Here they met with Mr. Fitzpatrick's party, which 
 had been left in charge of the heavy wagons. He also met 
 Kit Carson at this place, who had brought with him ten good 
 mules and the necessary pack saddles. Mr. Fitzpatrick had 
 been at this place over a week, during which time his men had 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIKS. 397 
 
 Tbeen occupied in refitting the camp, and the repose had been 
 very beneficial to his animals, which were now in a tolerably 
 good condition. 
 
 Fremont, however, had been unable to obtain any certain 
 information in regard to the character of the passes in this 
 portion of the Eocky Mountain range. They had always been 
 represented as impracticable for carriages, and as extremely 
 dangerous. Of their course of operations in this emergency, 
 Fremont says: " Having determined to try the passage by a 
 pass through a spur of the mountains made by the Cdche-a- 
 la-Poudre river, which rises in the high bed of the mountains 
 around Long's Peak, I thought it advisable to avoid any encum- 
 brance which would occasion detention, and accordingly again 
 separated the party into two divisions — one of which, under 
 the command of Mr. Fitzpatrick, was directed to cross the 
 plains to the mouth of Laramie river, and, continuing thence 
 its route along the usual emigrant road, meet me at Fort Hall, 
 a post belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, and situated 
 on Snake river, as it is commonly called in the Oregon Terri- 
 tory, although better known to us as Lewis' fork of the 
 Columbia." 
 
 Carson was included in the party which Fremont commanded 
 in person. On the afternoon of the twenty-sixth of July, all 
 the arrangements had been completed, and the parties resumed 
 their respective routes. 
 
 Fremont's party proceeded westward, and finding the Cache- 
 a-la-Poudre on the morning of the twenty-eighth, entered the 
 Black Hills. Passing over a beautiful bottom in the afternoon, 
 they reached a place where the river was shut up in the hills; 
 and, ascending a ravine, made a laborious and very difficult 
 passage around a gap, striking the river again in the evening. 
 On the following day they were compelled, by the nature of 
 the ground, to cross the river eight or nine times, at difficult, 
 deep and rodcy fords, the stream running with great force, 
 swollen by the rains — a true mountain torrent, only forty or 
 fifty feet wide. It was a mountain valley of the narrowest 
 kind — almost a chasm ; and the scenery very wild and beauti- 
 ful. Towering mountains rose round about: their sides 
 
398 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON: 
 
 sometimes dark with forests of pine, and sometimes with 
 lofty precipices, washed by the river; while below, as if they 
 indemnified themselves in luxuriance for the scanty space, the 
 green river bottom was covered with a wilderness of flowers, 
 their tall spikes sometimes rising above the traveler's heads as 
 they rode among them. A profusion of blossoms, on a white 
 flowering vine, which was abundant along the river, contrasted 
 handsomely with the green foliage of the trees. The mountain 
 appeared to be composed of a greenish gray and red granite, 
 which in some places appeared to be in a state of decomposi- 
 tion, making a red soil. The stream was wooded with cotton- 
 wood, box elder and cherry, with current and serviceberry 
 bushes. After a somewhat laborious day, during which it had 
 rained incessantly, they encamped near the end of the pass at 
 the mouth of a small creek, in sight of the great Laramie 
 plains. It continued to rain heavily, and at evening the moun- 
 tains were hid in mists; but there was no lack of wood, and 
 the large fires which they made to dry their clothes were very 
 comfortable; and at night the hunters came in with a fine deer. 
 
 On the morning of the thirtieth, they crossed the Cache-a- 
 la-Poudre river for the last time, and entering a smooth 
 country, they traveled along a kind of vallon^ bounded on the 
 right by red buttes and precipices, while to the left a high 
 rolling country extended to a range of the Black Hills, beyond 
 wliicli rose the great mountains around Long's Peak. By the 
 great quantity of snow visible among them, it had probably 
 snowed heavily there the previous day, while it had rained on 
 them in the valley. 
 
 After long and tedious travel, the party reached the east 
 side of the Great Salt Lake, when Fremont proceeded to explore 
 its borders, and many of its islands. From this point the 
 party journeyed to Fort Hall, where they met with the party 
 under Fitzpatrick. After resting for a few days, the expedi- 
 tion was again divided, Fremont preceding Fitzpatrick with a 
 small detachment, and journeying in the direction of the 
 Columbia river. On reaching the river Dallas, the party halted, 
 and Fremont proceeded to Vancouver's Island, where he pur- 
 chased provisions necessary tor the immediate future. On his 
 
OR, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 39^ 
 
 return to the party, he found Fitzpatrick had arrived, and now 
 the whole expedition moved toward Klamath Lake, in Oregon. 
 After exploring this lake, and the country for several mile& 
 around, the expedition started for California, by the route of 
 the mountains. On reaching this range, it was found to be 
 covered with deep snow, and the brave adventurers suffered 
 indescribable hardships in crossing the range. Col. Fremont, 
 in speaking of their progress on the sixth of January, 1844, 
 says: 
 
 " Accompanied by Mr. Fitzpatrick, I sat out to-day with a 
 reconnoitering party, on snow shoes. We marched all in single 
 file, tramping tlie snow as heavily as we could. Crossing the 
 open basin, in a march of about ten miles we reached the top 
 of one of the peaks, to the left of the pass indicated by our 
 guide. Far below us, dimmed by the distance, was a large, 
 snowless valley, bounded on the western side, at the distance 
 of about a hundred miles, by a low range of mountains, which 
 Carson recognized with delight as the mountains bordering the 
 coast. ' There,' said he, ' is the little mountain — it is fifteen 
 years ago since I saw it; but I am just as sure as if I had seen 
 it yesterday,' Between us, then, and this low coast range, was 
 the valley of the Sacramento ; and no one who had not accom- 
 panied us through the incidents of our life for the last few 
 months could realize the delight with which at last we looked 
 down upon it. At the distance of apparently thirty miles 
 beyond us were distinguished spots of prairie; and a dark line, 
 which could be traced with the glass, was imagined to be the 
 course of the river; but we were evidently at a great height 
 above the valley, and between us and the plains extended miles 
 of snowy fields and broken ridges of pine-covered mountains. 
 It was late in the day when we turned towards the camp; and 
 it grew rapidly cold as it drew towards night. One of the men 
 became fatigued, and his feet began to freeze, and, building a 
 fire in the trunk of a dry old cedar, Mr. Fitzpatrick remained 
 with him until his clothes could be dried, and he was in a con- 
 dition to come on. After a day's march of twenty miles, we 
 straggled into camp, one after another, at nightfall; the greater 
 number excessively fatigued, only two of the party having 
 
400 
 
 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON: 
 
 ever traveled on snow shoes before. All our energies were now 
 directed to getting our animals across the snow; and it was 
 supposed that, after all the baggage had been drawn with the 
 sleighs over the trail we had made, it would be sufficiently 
 hard to bear our animals. At several places, between this 
 point and the ridge, we had discovered some grassy spots, 
 where the wind and sun had dispersed the snow from the sides 
 of the hills, and these were to form resting places to support 
 the animals for a night in their passage across. On our way 
 across, we had set on fire several broken stumps, and dried 
 trees, to melt holes in the snow for the camps. Its general 
 depth was five feet; but we passed over places where it was 
 twenty feet deep, as shown by the trees. With one party 
 drawing sleighs loaded with baggage, I advanced to-day about 
 four miles along the trail, and encamped at the first grassy 
 spot, where we expected to bring our horses. Mr. Fitzpatrick, 
 with another party, remained behind, to form an intermediate 
 station between us and the animals." 
 
 After great struggling, the party were, on the twentieth of 
 February, at the foot of the last range, having the valley of 
 the Sacramento before them. After a short rest, they took up 
 their line of march, and on the eiglith of March arrived at 
 Sutter's Fort, the famous spot where the first California gold 
 was afterwards discovered. This fort bore the name of its 
 proprietor, wdio received Fremont and his party with due hos- 
 pitality. 
 
 Capt. Sutter, who was a native of Missouri, reached California 
 in 1838, and formed the first settlement in the valley of the 
 Sacramento, on a large grant of land which he obtained from 
 the Mexican government. He had, at first, some trouble with 
 the Indians; but, by the occasional exercise of well-timed 
 authority, he succeeded in converting them into a j)eaceable 
 and industrious people. The ditches around his extensive 
 wheat fields; the making of the sun-dried bricks, of which his 
 fort was constructed; the plowing, harrowing and other agri- 
 cultural operations, were entirely the work of these Indians, for 
 which they jTceived a very moderate compensation — principally 
 in shirts, blankets a:id other articles of clothino^. In the same 
 
• OR, THE BORDKK WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 401 
 
 maimer, on application to the chief of a vilLage, he readilj 
 obtained as many boys and girls as he had any use for. There 
 were at this time a number of girls at the fort, in training for a 
 woolen factory; but they were now all busily engaged in con- 
 stantly watering the gardens, which the nnfavorable dryness of 
 the season rendered necessary. A few years before Fremont's 
 visit in 1844, the neighboring Russian establishment of Eoss, 
 being about to withdraw from the country, sold to Capt. Sutter 
 a large number of stock, with agricultural and other stores, 
 with a number of pieces of artillery and other munitions of 
 war; for these, a regular yearly payment was made in grain. 
 The fort was a quadrangular adobe structure, mounting twelve 
 pieces of artillery (two of them brass,) and capable of admit- 
 ting a garrison of a thousand men; this, in 1844, consisted of 
 forty Indians, in uniform — one of whom was always found on 
 duty at the gate. The whites in the employment of Capt. 
 Sutter, American, French and German, amounted, in this year, 
 perhaps, to thirty men. The inner wall was formed into 
 buildings comprising the common quarters, with blacksmith 
 and other workshops; the dwelling house, with a lai'ge distil- 
 lery house, and other buildings, occupied more the centre of 
 the area. 
 
 The fort was built upon a j)ond-like stream, at times a run- 
 ning creek, communicating with the Rio de los Americanos, 
 which enters the Sacramento about two miles below. The 
 latter is here a noble river, about three hundred yards broad, 
 ■deep and tranquil, wnth several fathoms of water in the channel, 
 and its banks continuously timbered. There were two vessels 
 belonging to Capt. Sutter at anchor near the landing — one a 
 large t^vo-masted lighter, and the other a schooner, which was 
 shortly to proceed on a voyage to Fort Yancouver for a cargo 
 of goods. 
 
 Before leaving Sutter's Fort, two of Fremont's party became 
 deranged, in consequence of their long fasting before reaching 
 this post. They had indulged their appetites too freely when 
 plentifully supplied, and thus brought on serious brain convul- 
 sions. From this, however, they afterwards recovered. 
 
 On the homeward route Fremont journeyed up the valley of 
 26 
 
402 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON : 
 
 the San Joaquin, crossing over the Sierra Nevada and coast- 
 range of mountains at a place where they meet, forming by 
 their connection a good pass. 
 
 Four comjpaneros joined their guide at this pass. Descend- 
 ing from the hills, the party reached a country of fine grass, 
 where the erodium cicutariuin finally disappeared, giving 
 place to an excellent quality of bunch grass. Passing b;y 
 some springs where there was a rich sward of grass among 
 groves of large black oak, they rode over a plain on which the 
 guide pointed out a spot where a refugee Christian Indian had 
 been killed by a party of soldiers which had unexpectedly 
 penetrated into the mountains. Crossing a low sierra, and 
 descending a hollow where a spring gushed out, they were 
 struck by the sudden appearance of yucca trees, which gave a 
 strange and southern character to the country, and suited well 
 with the dry and desert region they were approaching. Asso- 
 ciated with the idea of barren sands, their stiff and ungraceful 
 form makes them to the traveller the most repulsive tree in 
 the vegetable kingdom. Following the hollow, the party 
 shortly came upon a creek timbered with large black oak, 
 which yet had not put forth a leaf. There was a small rivulet 
 of running water, with good grass. 
 
 They continued a short distance down tlie creek, where the 
 guide informed them that the water would very soon disap- 
 pear, and turned directly to the southward along the foot of 
 the mountain; the trail on which they rode appearing to mark 
 the eastern limit of travel, where water and grass terminated. 
 Crossing a low spur, which bordered the creek, they descended 
 to a kind of plain among the lower spurs; the desert being in 
 full view on their left, apparently illimitable. A hot mist lay 
 over it through which it had a white and glistening appear- 
 ance; here and there a few dry looking huttes and isolated 
 black ridges rose suddenly upon it. " There," said the guide, 
 stretching out his hand towards it, " there are the great llanos^ 
 (plains;) there is neither water nor grass — nothing; every 
 animal that goes out upon them, dies." It was indeed dismal 
 to look upon, and hard to conceive so great a change in so 
 short a distance. One might travel the world over, without 
 
OR, THE BOKDER WARS OP' TWO CENTURIES. ^ 403 
 
 finding a valley more fresh and verdant — moi-e floral and 
 sj'lvan — more alive with birds and animals — more bounteously 
 watered — than that which they had left in the San Joaquin: 
 here, within a few miles ride, a vast desert plain spread before 
 them, from which the boldest traveler turned away in despair. 
 On the twenty-fourth of April the party was surprised by the 
 appearance in the camp of two Mexicans — a man and a boy. 
 The name of the man was Fuentes, and that of the boy, 
 Hernandez. They belonged to a party of six persons, the 
 remaining four being the wife of Fuentes, the father and 
 mother of Pablo, and Santiago Giacome, a resident of New 
 Mexico. With a cavalcade of about thirty horses, they had 
 come out from Puebla de los Angeles, near the coast, under 
 the guidance of Giacome, in advance of the great caravan, in 
 order to travel more at leisure, and obtain better grass. Having 
 advanced as far into the desert as was considered consistent 
 with their safety, they halted at the Archilette, one of the 
 customary camping grounds, about eighty miles from Fre- 
 mont's encampment, where there was a spring of good water, 
 with sulRcient grass ; and concluded to await there the arrival of 
 the great caravan. Several Indians were soon discovered lurking 
 about the camp, who, in a day or two after, came in, and, after 
 behaving in a veiy friendly manner, took their leave, without 
 awakening any suspicions. In a few days afterwards, suddenly 
 a party of about one hundred Indians appeared in sight, 
 advancing towards the camp. It was too late, or they seemed 
 not to have presence of mind to take proper measures of safety; 
 and the Indians charged down into their camp, shouting as 
 they advanced, and discharging flights of arrows. Pablo and 
 Fuentes were on horse guard at the time, and mounted, accord- 
 ing to the custom of the country. One of the principal objects 
 of the Indians was to get possession of the horses, and part of 
 them immediately surrounded the band; but, in obedience to 
 the shouts of Giacome, Fuentes drove the animals over and 
 through the assailants, in spite of their arrows; and, abandon- 
 ing the rest to their fate, carried them off at speed across the 
 plain. Knowing that they would be pursued by the Indians, 
 without making any halt except to shift their saddles to other 
 
404 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON. 
 
 horses, they drove thera on for about sixty miles, and on the 
 twenty -fourth of April left them at a watering place on the 
 trail, called Agua de Tomaso. Without giving themselves 
 any time for rest, they hurried on, hoping to meet the Spanish 
 caravan, when they discovered Fremont's camp. The Colonel 
 received them kindly, taking them into his own mess, and 
 promised them such aid as circumstances might put it in liis 
 power to give. 
 
 On the following day they left the river abruptly, and, tui-n- 
 ing to the north, regained in a few miles the main trail, and 
 continued their way across a lower ridge of the mountain, 
 thi-ough a miserable tract of sand and gravel. They crossed at 
 intervals the broad beds of dry gullies, where in the season of 
 rains and melting snows there would be brooks or rivulets; 
 and at one of these, where there was no indication of water, 
 were several freshly dug holes, in which there was water at the 
 depth of two feet. These holes had been dug by the wolves, 
 whose keen sense of smell had scented the water under the dry 
 sand. They were nice little wells, narrow, and dug straight 
 down, and the travelers got pleasant water out of them. 
 
 The country had now assumed the character of an elevated 
 and mountainous desert; its general features being black, rocky 
 ridges, bald, and destitute of timber, with sandy basins be- 
 tween. Where the sides of these ridges were washed by gullies, 
 the plains below were scattered with beds of large pebbles or 
 rolled stones, destructive to soft-footed animals. Through 
 these sandy basins sometimes struggled a scanty stream, or 
 occurred a hole of water, which furnished camping grounds 
 for travelers. Frequently in their journey across, snow was 
 visible on the surrounding mountains; but their waters rarely 
 reached the sandy plain below, where the party toiled along, 
 oppressed with thirst and the burning sun. But, throughout 
 this nakedness of sand and gravel, were many beautiful plants 
 and flowering shrubs, which occured in many new species. 
 This was a peculiarity of this desert. Even where no grass 
 would take root, the naked sand would bloom with some rich 
 and rare flower, which found its appropriate home in the arid 
 and barren spot. After traveling about twenty-five miles, 
 
OR, THE BORDKR WARS OF TWO OENTITRIKS. 405 
 
 they arrived at the Agiia de Tomaso — the spring where the 
 horses had been left; but, as they had expected, tliey were 
 gone. A brief examination of tlie ground convinced tliein that 
 they had been driven oft' by the Indians. Carson and Godey 
 vohmteered with the Mexican to pursue them; and, well 
 mounted, the three set oft^ on the trail. At this stopping place 
 thei-e were a few bushes and very little grass. Its water was 
 a pool; but near by was a spring, which had been dug out by 
 Indians or travelers. Its water was cool — a great refresh- 
 ment to Fremont under the burning sun. 
 
 In the evening Fuentes returned, his horse having failed; 
 but Carson and Godey had continued the pursuit. In the 
 afternoon of the next day, a war-whoop was heard, such as 
 Indians make when returning from a victorious enterpi-ise; 
 and soon Carson and Godey appeared driving before them a 
 band of horses, recognized by Fuentes to be part of those they 
 had lost. Two bloody scalps, dangling from the end of Godey 's 
 gun, announced that they had overtaken the Indians as well as 
 the horses. They informed Fremont, that after Fuentes left 
 them, from the failure of his h(.rse, they continued the "pursuit 
 alone, and towards nightfall entered the mountains, into 
 which the trail led. After sunset the moon gave light, and they 
 followed the trail by moonshine until late in the night, when 
 it entered a narrow deiile, and was difficult to follow. Afraid 
 of losing it in the darkness of the defile, they tied up their 
 horses, struck no lire, and lay down to sleep in silence and in 
 darkness. Here they lay from midnight till morning. At 
 daylight they resumed the pursuit and about sunrise discovered 
 the horses; and, immediately dismounting and tying up their 
 o%vn, they crept cautionsly to a rising ground which intervened, 
 from the crest of which they perceived the encampment of 
 four lodges close by. They proceeded quietly, and had got 
 within thirty or forty yards of their object, when a movement 
 among the horses discovered them to the Indians; giving the 
 war shout, they instantly charged into the camp, regardless of 
 the number which the foiu' lodges would imply. The Indians 
 received them with a flight of arrows shot from their long 
 bows, one of which passed through Godey's shirt collar, barely 
 
406 ADVENTURES OF FUEMONT AKD KIT CARSON : 
 
 missing the neck; the two men fired tlieir rifles upon a steady 
 aim, and rushed in. Two Indians were stretched on the 
 ground, fatally pierced w^ith bullets; the rest fled, except a lad 
 that was captured. The scalps of the fallen were instantly 
 stripped off; but in the process, one of them, who had two 
 balls through his body, sprung to his feet, tlie blood streaming 
 from his skinned head, and uttered a hideous howl. An old 
 squaw, possibly his mother, stopped and looked back from the 
 mountain side she was climbing, threatening and lamenting. 
 Tlie frightful spectacle appalled the stout hearts of Carson and 
 Godey; but they did what humanity required, and quickly 
 terminated the agonies of the gory savage. They were now 
 masters of the camp, which was a pretty little recess in the 
 mountain, with a fine spring, and apparently safe from all in- 
 vasion. Great preparations had been made to feast a large 
 party, for it was a very proper place for a rendezvous, and for 
 the celebration of such orgies as robbers of the desert w^ould 
 delight in. Several of the best horses had been killed, skinned, 
 and cut up; for the Indians living in mountains, and only 
 coming into the plains to rob and murder, make no other use 
 of horses than to eat them. Large earthen vessels were on the 
 fire, boiling and stewing the horse beef; and several baskets, 
 containing fifty or sixty pairs of moccasins, indicated the 
 presence, or expectation, of a considerable party. They released 
 the boy, who had given strong evidence of the stoicism, 
 or something else, of a savage character, in commencing his 
 breakfast upon a horse's head as soon as he found he was not 
 to be killed, but only tied as a prisoner. Their object accom- 
 plished, they gathered up all the surviving horses, fifteen in 
 number, returned upon their trail, and rejoined the camp in 
 the afternoon 'of the same day. They had rode about one 
 hundred miles in the pursuit and return, and all in thii'ty 
 hours. The time, place, object, and numbers, considered, this 
 expedition of Carson and Godey may be considered among the 
 boldest and most disinterested which the annals of western 
 adventure, so full of daring deeds, can present. Two men, in 
 a savage desert, pursue day and night an unknown body of 
 Indians into the defiles of an unknown mountain — attack 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENT[IRIES. 407 
 
 them on sight, without counting numbers — and defeat them 
 in an instant — and for what? To punish the robbers of the 
 desert, and to avenge the wrongs of Mexicans whom they did 
 not know.* 
 * Fremont's Journal. 
 
CHAPTER LIl. 
 
 Ajjventures of Fremont's Second Expedition, Concluded — Kit 
 Carson in New Mexico — Description op Taos and the Settle- 
 HENTs OF New Mexico— ^ Interesting Incidents of Smuggling — 
 The Fandango. 
 
 On the fifth ©f May, the expedition reached the JRio de los 
 Angeles, a branch of the Eio Virgen. The animals had become 
 so completely exhausted that it was necessary to remain at this 
 place a day for rest. Many days previous the route had led 
 through a desert country, where no water and but very little 
 grass could be procured. The camps had not been fairly pitched, 
 when Indians crowded numerously around, assuming a threat- 
 ening attitude, to such a degree as to compel the men to keep 
 their arms in hand constantly, to prevent the intruders from 
 taking possession of the camp, A strong band of these Indians 
 surrounded the horses, which, for tlie convenience of grass^ 
 were guarded a little above the camp, on the river. These 
 were at once driven in for protection. 
 
 Several times during the day the camp was insulted by 
 Indians, but peace being Fremont's object, he kept simply on 
 the defensive. Some of the Indians were on the bottoms, and 
 others haranguing him from the bluffs; and they were scat- 
 tered in every direction over the hills. Their language Ijeing 
 a dialect of the Utahs, with the aid of signs some of the 
 hunters could comprehend them, very well. They were bare- 
 footed, and nearly naked ; their hair gathered up into a knot 
 behind; and with his bow, each man carried a quiver with 
 thirty or forty arrows partially drawn out. Besides these, each 
 held in his hand two or three arrows for instant service. Their 
 ai-rows were barbed with a very clear translucent stone, a species 
 of opal, nearly as hard as the diamond; and, when shot from 
 (408) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 409 
 
 their long bows, were almost as effective as a gunshot. In 
 these Indians, Fremont was forcibly struck by an expression 
 of countenance resembling that in a beast of prey; and all 
 their actions were those of wild animals. Joined to the rest- 
 less motion of the eye, there was a want of mind — an al)sence 
 of thouglit — and an action wholly by impulse, strongly 
 expressed. 
 
 A man who appeared to be a chief, with two or three others, 
 forced himself into camp, carrying with him his arms, in spite 
 of Fremont's orders to the contrary. When shown the latter's 
 weapons, he bored his ear with his fingers, and said he could 
 not hear. " Why," said he, " there are none of you." 
 Counting the people around the camp, and including in the 
 number a mule which was being shod, he made out twenty- 
 two. " So many," said he showing the number, " and we— 
 we are a great many;" and he pointed to the hills and moun- 
 tains round about. " If you have your arms," said he, twanging 
 his bow, " we have these." Fremont had some difficulty in 
 restraining the people, particularly Carson, who felt an insult 
 of this kind as much as if it had been given by a more respon- 
 sible being. "Don't say that, old man," said he; "don't you 
 say that — your life's in danger" — speaking in good English; 
 " and probably the old man was nearer to his end than he will 
 be before he meets it."* 
 
 Several aninials had been necessarily left behind near the 
 camp of the previous night; and early in the morning, before 
 the Indians made their appearance, several men were sent to 
 
 uneasy 
 
 brins: them in. When Fremont was besfinnin^ to be 
 
 t3 
 
 at their absence, they returned with information that they had 
 been driven oft' from the trail by Indians; and, having followed 
 the tracks in a short distance, they found the animals cut up and 
 spread out upon bushes. In the evening the Colonel gave a 
 fatigued horse to some of the Indians for a feast; and the vil- 
 lage which carried him off refused to share with the others, 
 who made loud complaints from the rocks of the partial dis- 
 tribution. Many of these Indians had long sticks, hooked at 
 the end, wdiich they used in hauling out lizards, and other small 
 
 * Fremont's Report. 
 
410 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON: 
 
 animals, from their holes. During the day they occasionally 
 roasted and ate lizards at the fires of the expedition. These 
 belong to the people who are generally known under the name 
 of Diggers. 
 
 On the following morning, they left the Eio de los Angeles, 
 and continued their way through the same desolate and revolt- 
 ing country, where lizards were the only animal, and the tracks 
 of the lizard-eaters the principal sign of human beings. After 
 twenty miles' march through a road of hills and heavy sands, 
 they i;eached the most dreary river ever seen — a deep, rapid 
 stream, almost a torrent, passing swiftly by, and roaring against 
 obstructions. The stream was running towards the southwest, 
 and appeared to come from a snowy mountain in the north. 
 It proved to be the Eio Yirgen — a tributary to the Colorado. 
 For several days they continued their journey up the river, the 
 bottoms of which were thickly overgrown with various kinds 
 of brush; and the sandy soil was absolutely covered with tracks 
 of Diggers, who followed them stealthily, like a band of wolves. 
 
 On the following day as they journeyed on, one of the men 
 named Tabeau, left his post and rode back to the site of the 
 previous night's encampment, in search of a lame mule. The 
 man remained until suspicion of his fate was aroused, when Car- 
 son, with several men, well mounted, were sent back to ascertain 
 Tabeau's whereabouts. They went to the camping ground of 
 the previous night, but neither he nor the mule was there. 
 Searching down the river, they found the tracks of the mule, 
 evidently driven along by Indians, whose tracks were on each 
 side of those made by the animal. After going several miles, 
 they came to the mule itself, standing in some bushes, mortally 
 wounded in the side by an arrow, and left to die, that it might 
 be afterwards butchered for food. They also found, in another 
 place, as they were hunting about on the ground for Tabeau's 
 tracks, something that looked like a little puddle of blood, but 
 which the darkness prevented them from verifying. With these 
 details they returned to the camp. 
 
 The next morning, as soon as there was light enough to fol- 
 low tracks. Col. Fremont set out, with Mr. Fitzpatrick and 
 several men, in search of Tabeau. They went to the spot 
 
()R, THK BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 411 
 
 where the appearance of puddled blood had been seen ; and this 
 they saw at once, had been the place where he fell and died. 
 Blood upon the leaves, and beaten down bushes, showed that 
 he had got his wound about twenty paces from where he fell 
 and that he had struggled for his life. He had probably been 
 shot through the lungs by an arrow. From the place where 
 he lay and bled, it could be seen that he had been dragged to 
 the river bank, and thrown into it. No vestige of what had 
 belonged to him could be found, except a fragment of his 
 horse equipment. 
 
 From this point nothing of interest occurred, and they 
 reached the frontier settlements of Missouri on the sixth of 
 August, 1844. Fremont proceeded to Washington, while his 
 brave followers, for the most part, turned back into the wilds 
 of the great West, apparently unwilling to advance into civil- 
 ization. Among these was Carson, who proceeded to Taos, 
 where his wife and family anxiously awaited his arrival. 
 
 Let us now leave Fremont at Washington, enjoying the best 
 honors which an enlightened people can bestow upon a faithful 
 public servant, while we follow Carson and his adventures. 
 This, as will be seen, will soon lead us into Fremont's third 
 expedition. 
 
 It will not surprise the reader who has become acquainted 
 with Carson's changeable habits, to learn that early in the 
 spring of 1845, he decided to become a farmer. In this spec- 
 ulation he is said to have been joined by a Mr. Owens. For 
 the furtherance of this purpose, they purchased an extensive 
 tract of land on the Little Cameron river, and at once made 
 the necessary arrangements to improve it. The farm was 
 located about forty miles from Taos. They commenced opera- 
 tions by building some small huts, which served as dwellings 
 for themselves and their laborers. They succeeded in sowing 
 a considerable quantity of grain, and made other advance- 
 ments, which promised success for their efforts. 
 
 As we are soon to enter upon an account of the wars waged 
 in the conquest of New Mexico, it will be proper, at this place, 
 to glance at the general features of that territory. Perhaps 
 the town of Taos affords a fair sample of the markets or trad- 
 
412 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON: 
 
 ing posts of the coiintiy. It was located in tlie valley of Taos^ 
 and consisted of several villages scattered along the valley. 
 The principal of these was called Fernandez de Taos, and is 
 situated in the centre of tlie valley, on an elevated plat of 
 ground. The buildings in all the villages of New Mexico are 
 constructed of adobes, being one story high, with flat roofs. 
 The Mexicans have but very little regard for streets, building 
 their houses for the most part with great irregularity. In a 
 business point of view, there is only one centre to each village, 
 called the plaza. It is in this knot that all the stores are loca- 
 ted, and when business is pursuing its regular channels, this 
 part of the town is always densely thronged with Mexicans,. 
 Americans and Indians. 
 
 The houses are all whitewashed with lime, and present a very 
 white appearance, the village church being the largest and most 
 attractive. This, however, is a poor specimen of a church 
 building, wanting in beauty without and comfort within. 
 These are generally provided with poor bells, from which toll- 
 ing is produced by round hard stones in the hands of the 
 ringers. Their success in chiming does not flatter their skill 
 in music. The parde, or priest, is the person most respected 
 in a Mexican village; indeed, he is looked upon as sacred. 
 These are, for the most part, poorly educated, but, under the 
 present management, this objection is being rapidly removed. 
 
 There are nearly ten thousand people in the villages of the 
 Taos, many of whom are idlers. On the other hand, there are 
 many industrious farmers. Raising horses, cattle and sheep is 
 also carried on with very good success. Their commerce has 
 been largely increased under the United States government, 
 and the scenes of poverty and destitution which, unhappily, 
 characterized life in New Mexico under the old Mexican gov- 
 ernment, have been almost entirely removed. At the j)eriod 
 of which I am writing, previous to the war with Mexico, the 
 inhabitants of New Mexico wore only the scanty dress peculiar 
 to their own country, but in later years, when the goods of 
 American factories found their way to these towns without 
 being smuggled, these people readily threw away several styles 
 of their dress, and adopted that of the Americans in their 
 
OR, THE BORDKR WARS OF TWO CKNTURIKS. 413 
 
 places. Among these changes I might mention more particu- 
 hirly the dress of the female. From a state of absolute nudity, 
 they have been elevated, in some instances, to silks and satins. 
 
 Before New Mexico became a Territory of the United States, 
 the villages of the Taos, and other settlements in this Territory, 
 were the scenes of constant smuggling from the United States. 
 The Mexican custom officers were either bribed or deceived 
 constantly; every possible measure was adopted to cheat them, 
 and when this did not succeed, bribery was resorted to with 
 very good results for the traders. The duty on American 
 manufactures was enormous, and smuggling was carried on to 
 such an extent that it was quite impossible to conduct a legit- 
 imate trade. Commerce having reached this condition, very 
 few persons attempted to trade in the village of New Mexico, 
 who did not resolve on smuggling as the only source of large 
 profit. 
 
 It would be an easy matter to till a large volumne with 
 incidents of this kind of trade, many of which are exceedingly 
 interesting. A favorite plan of the smugglers was that of 
 carrying a large supply of goods to the boundary line and then 
 making a cache of them in the forest, advancing with a very 
 small portion on which they paid the regular duty witli a 
 tolerably good grace. Advancing into the settlements they 
 then began to trade with the inhabitants without arousing the 
 suspicion of the authorities. Whenever a favorable oppor- 
 tunity presented itself these merchants would replenish their 
 stores from the cache which they had made, and thus continue 
 to sell goods to the value of thousands of dollars, having paid 
 duty on perhaps the first five hundred dollar's worth. But 
 even this plan was attended with many difficulties. Oftimes 
 when the weary merchant was making the cache of his goods, 
 a keen eyed Indian, who had been following him for days, for 
 the purpose, lay concealed not fifty paces off in full view of 
 the operation. Then stealing quietly away he soon becomes 
 ^he leader of a select band. The cache is robbed, and when 
 our smuggler returns for a second supply he discovers that 
 while he has been cheating, the Indians have been stealing 
 
414 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON: 
 
 his goods. In the midst of his rage and disappointment he 
 could not fail to recognize the equity of the transaction. 
 
 But as with the Jndian when wronged or robbed, it soon 
 became the policy of these trades to seek revenge. They 
 were seldom caught twice in the same trap. A fatal snare 
 was set for the lurking thieves, and, in consequence, the caches 
 of the smugglers soon became a terror to them. By some 
 arrangement a large quantity of powder was embedded in the 
 earth just over the goods, so that when it was disturbed l)y one 
 unacquainted with this circumstance, it would explode. In 
 this way many an Indian had been sent up suddenly into the 
 air far above the surrounding trees, or blown into atoms by 
 the fatal magazine. 
 
 Some of the Indian Pueblos in New Mexico were also very 
 interesting to the traveler. Their houses were generally built 
 on top of each other, each a little smaller than the one below 
 it, until a sort of pyramid was formed. The inhabitants 
 entered their respective dwellings through the roofs by the aid 
 of ladders. 
 
 The farming utensils of the Mexicans were of the rudest 
 kind, many of them being curiosities of pioneer life, but these 
 are gradually giving away to the modern implements of 
 American manufacture. The pioneer plough of JSTew Mexico 
 consisted of one piece of timber with a certain bend. One end 
 was sharpened and on it was fastened a piece of iron rudely 
 imitating the plough shear. In ploughing, oxen were used, 
 yoked in the Egyptain style, to the horns. 
 
 The crops of corn and wheat in l^ew Mexico were generally 
 large, and it was principally upon these that the inhabitants 
 depended for support. In converting this grain into flour, 
 they generally used two large stones which were operated by 
 hand. Their diet was, for the most part, a kind of corn meal 
 gruel, wheat bread, and the usual vegetables. Apples, peaches, 
 plums and grapes were raised in ISTew Mexico in great abund- 
 ance. The celebrated El Paso wine was manufactured from 
 the latter. 
 
 The brief description of Toas, may be applied to Santa Fe, 
 and most of the other towns of New Mexico. The settle- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 415 
 
 ments were all similar, and the manners and customs of tlie 
 people about tlie same. The Mexicans were not a very chaste 
 or^•irtuous set of people, and it inavAvell be regretted that the 
 Americans who have gone among- them, have afforded them a 
 verj poor example in this respect, but their condition is now 
 being rapidly improved. Their greatest recreation and most 
 exquisite enjoyment consisted in dancing. These took the 
 place of the ball room in the more civilized states, only that the 
 Mexican dance was looked to as something more of a peculiarity 
 of their nation. During the winter season, the traveler will find 
 a dance in progress on every evening in a town or village in 
 New Mexico, to w'hich he is invariably invited. The music, in 
 which these people do not excel, consists in the violin and a 
 guitar, the players accompanying the music with their voices, 
 making up words to suit the uncertain measui'e of the air as 
 they proceed. The Mexican ladies ahvays display great care 
 and little good taste in preparing for the fandango. They put 
 on the most guady colored paint, but still appear untidy. 
 The men are always dressed plain and, seldom make any 
 attempt to appear in full dress. 
 
 Such was the country and such the people among wdiom 
 Kit Carson lived during the short interval between Colonel 
 Fremont's second and third expeditions. 
 
CHAPTEE LIII. 
 
 Colonel Fremont's Third Expedition — Peculiar Qualities of Kit 
 Carson — Fremont Attacked by the Mexicans — Fremont visits 
 Klamath Lake and the Lava Beds — Three op his party Killed 
 — The KEVENaE. 
 
 It was in 1845, that Col. Jolm C. Fremont set out on his 
 third expedition to the West, an account of whicli will be 
 found full of interest to the reader, since it leads us into the 
 Mexican war, and the conquest of California. At Bent's 
 Fort the party was joined by a very important person — one in 
 whom every man had the greatest confidence, and whose face 
 was like sunshine to every mountaineer — Kit Carson. He had 
 sold his farm, and, with his partner, Owens, had joined. Fre- 
 mont once more. The Colonel was glad to see him, for there 
 was always certain service, in connection with the expedition, 
 which Kit could execute a little better than any one else. That 
 service may be summed up in this way: Carson was a good 
 guide, being acquainted with nearly all the mountain passes. 
 He was not a bad interpreter, as he Could speak Spanish fluently, 
 and by the aid of signs, make himself understood to any tribe 
 from the lava beds of the Modocs, to the worm-eaters of Lower 
 California. In the hour of peril, when assaulted by hostile 
 Indians, the foremost foe always fell by a ball from his uner- 
 ring rifle; when privations and hardships were to be endured, 
 he was full of cheer, and his brave words and cojirageous deeds 
 were food to his weary, disconsolate companions; for bravery, 
 honesty and all the virtues that adorn the life of the true 
 adventurer, his was an example so brilliant as to attract all 
 towards it. Kit Carson was, then, in the eyes of Fremont, a 
 valuable companion. 
 
 But it must not happen in this narrative, as it too often does, 
 that the great virtues of one overshadow those of others around 
 (416) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TVVO CENTURIES. 417 
 
 him. There were many good, true, brave mountaineers in 
 Fremont's party whom the great explorer loved with equal 
 ardor. Among these were Maxwell, Fitzpatrick, Lajeunesse 
 and others — all mountaineers of high standing, compeers with 
 Carson, and worthy to be led by so brave a man as Colonel 
 Fremont. 
 
 Fremont's third expedition set out from Bent's Fort, pro- 
 ceeding up the Arkansas, thence to Ballo Salado, or Soda 
 Springs, thence to Piney river, thence to Wliite river. From 
 this point, crossing the mountains, they proceeded to Prevost's 
 Fork, which has become famous in history on account of the 
 massacre of Prevost's party upon its banks. The expedition 
 traveled from this point to Salt Lake, where Fremont spent 
 some time in exploring its islands. Leaving this place, they 
 crossed the great desert, touched at Sutter's Fort, and encamped 
 at San Jose. This long journey was attended with many 
 obstacles, several encounters with hostile Indians, loss of ani 
 mals, and many hardships which rendered the party nearlj 
 unfit for a continuance of the journey. 
 
 It was now determined to proceed to Monterey, in Califor 
 nia, for supplies. Accordingly thej' set out, and when withiii 
 a few miles of the town, they were surprised by meeting a 
 messenger with orders from General Castro, the Mexican com- 
 mander, to leave the territory at once or he would march his 
 army against them. Fremont gave the messenger to understand 
 that he would leave the territory when he had completed the 
 task assigned him by his government, but not sooner, and feU 
 back into a strong position, where he took some pains to for- 
 tify his camp. He was scarcely settled down in this position, 
 when he observed, in full view, the Mexican general advancing 
 at the head of several hundred troops. The mountaineers, 
 although seeing themselves many times outnumbered by the 
 advancing forces, were unshaken and remained firm. Gen. 
 Castro, having approached the party as near as his courage 
 would support him, halted and began his demonstrations, with 
 a view to frightening the intruders away. His cannon roared, 
 his cavalry galloped to and fro, his infantry maneuvered, but 
 to all this the Americans sent forth a haughty defiance, invit- 
 27 
 
418 ADVENTURES OF FREMONT AND KIT CARSON : 
 
 ing, bj their attitude, the advance of the cowardly Mexicans, 
 but to no purpose. 
 
 Remaining in this position three days, and being unable to 
 induce their enemies to fight, the Americans withdrew to 
 Lawson's Trading Post, by way of the Sacramento, where they 
 hoped to obtain the supplies which they had been disappointed 
 in receiving at Monterey. On reaching this post, they were 
 informed by the Americans in that place, that one thousand 
 Indians in the neighborhood had, at the request of the Mexi- 
 cans, banded together for the purpose of killing all the 
 American settlers in the place, A consultation was held, at 
 which it was resolved that Fremont's party and five men belong- 
 ing to the post, should immediately proceed to disperse the 
 savages. Accordingly, they set out, and in a few days discovered 
 the enemy. Without delay the party began the attack, and 
 for some time the Indians disputed the ground ably. At 
 length they began to waver, and with this the mountaineers 
 rushed upon them, strewing the ground for nearly a mile with 
 the dead bodies of the Indians. Having executed this import- 
 ant task, they returned to Lawson's Post. 
 
 Eeceiving the necessary supplies at this place, they started 
 for the Columbia river, passing in their route Mount Shatta,. 
 the snow-clad monument to the wonders of the Sacramento 
 valley, which lifts its towering summit fourteen thousand five 
 hundred feet above the sea. Passing this giant wonder, they 
 proceeded to Klamath Lake, and the lava beds, among the 
 homes of the fierce Modocs, whose treachery knows no bounds. 
 While encamped in this dangerous seclusion, Fremont was 
 visited by a messenger from Lieut. Gillespie, of the United 
 States army, informing him that w^ar was contemplated between 
 the United States and Mexico. On hearing this, Fremont and 
 his party at once set out to meet the Lieutenant, who was then 
 advancing through the country of the Ellamath Indians. After 
 a journey of some sixty miles, the parties met, to the great 
 joy of all concerned. The tents were pitched, and a social 
 time followed. Fremont sat down by the fire and busied him- 
 self reading the many letters which the Lieutenant had brought 
 him, and asking questions concerning the news from civiliza- 
 
OR, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 419 
 
 tion. All hands sat up until about one o'clock that night, 
 when, weary and toil-worn, they fell asleep with less caution 
 than had characterized their previous encampments. About 
 three o'clock in the morning, when all was quiet, Carson was 
 aroused by a noise which told him of the presence of Indians. 
 By the time he had secured his rifle and made the alarm, three 
 of the party had been slain, one, Mr. Lajeunesse, before referred 
 to, the other two, Delaware Indians. The savages were soon 
 routed, but the loss was irreparable. The dead were buried in 
 the forest where they fell, then far away from the haunts of 
 civilization. 
 
 It was now certain that a body of Indians was following 
 their trail with hostile intentions, and the next move was to 
 chastise them. Accordingly, on the following morning, when 
 the expedition moved forward, a party of fifteen remained in 
 ambush. It was not long before two Indian scouts came along 
 the fatal way. They both fell from the bullets of the moun- 
 taineers, and were scalped. Satisfied with this revenge, the 
 rear party soon overtook Fremont, when the whole expedition 
 marched forward towards California 
 
CHAPTEE LIV. 
 
 Fbemont as a Conqueror — The War in Northern California — 
 Heroism op the Mountaineers — Indian Hostilities — Fremont 
 AND his Followers Conquer Northern California— His Tri- 
 umphal Entry into Montery — California Saved from the 
 English. 
 
 In addition to the intelligence that war was contemplated 
 between the United States and Mexico,* Lieut. Gillespie 
 informed Fremont that it was the wish of the Government 
 that he should take a favorable position and watch affairs in 
 California (then a Mexican State). He was to use every 
 means to conciliate the feelings of the people in that territory, 
 " encourage a friendship with the United States and do all in 
 his power to prevent that country from passing into the hands 
 of the English." This information more than any other led 
 him to return to California. 
 
 Soon after the expendition set out on this march, Carson, 
 who had been sent ahead with ten men, came up with a 
 thousand Klamath warriors, among whom were the Indians 
 who had invaded their camp two days before, when their 
 beloved companion and the two Delaware Indians met their 
 death. Fremont had ordered Carson, on the first sight of the 
 Indians, to return to the main camp with the information, so 
 that the whole force might march against them, but Carson 
 was too eag^r for a fight to obey this instruction. With his 
 little band he at once fell upon the Indians, and after a fierce 
 conflict put the whole to flight. In this bold charge Carson's 
 
 * I find much conflicting testimony on the question of Fremont's infor- 
 mation, some writers liave it that Lieut. Gillespie informed him that war 
 had been declared, while others, — those who are probably correct — hold 
 that the intelligence comprehended only that hostilities were anticipated. 
 (420) 
 
OB, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 421 
 
 party killed several warriors and destroyed a very important 
 village. 
 
 Not long after, when Carson's detachment returned to the 
 main party and all were moving forward togetlier, a band of 
 hostile Indians was encountered, and in the conflict, the bold 
 mountaineer came very nearly losing his life, being saved from 
 the fatal arrow by the prompt and courageous interposition of 
 his leader. Colonel Fremont. 
 
 On arriving in Northern California, Fremont found the 
 country in a state of extreme alarm. As "sve have already seen, 
 General Castro was civil and military commander, and was 
 using his best efforts to provoke the native Californians to 
 enmity towards the Americans. At this period the entire 
 population of the territory, excluding the Indians, was not more 
 than ten thousand. About one-fifth of these were Americans, 
 or foreigners, as Castro called them. This commander had 
 issued a proclamation which aimed its wrath at the Americans, 
 requiring them to leave the country. It was soon discovered 
 that England was at the bottom of this measure, and that it 
 contemplated the transfer of California from the hands of 
 Spain to that of Great Britian, with the extermination of all 
 the American (United States) settlers. In order to insure suc- 
 cess for the undertaking, the Indian tribes were induced to 
 participate in the conspiracy. This soon resulted in burning 
 and destroying the crops and houses of the settlers from the 
 States. 
 
 It is not surprising then that when the brave Fremont 
 advanced along the valley of the Sacramento, men, women and 
 children, thronged around him with hands extended and 
 voices crying for protection. 
 
 The means by which the British were to set up their gov- 
 ernment in California are thus spoken of: A Catholic priest, 
 named Eugenie Macnamara, in 1845, while in the city of 
 Mexico, made application for a grant of land for the pur- 
 pose of establishing a colony in California. He asked for a 
 square league, containing four thousand four hundred and 
 twenty-eight acres to be given to each family, and that each 
 child of a colonist should have half a square league. The 
 
422 CONQUEST OF OALIFOKNIA ANl) NEW MEXICO.* 
 
 territory to be conveyed to liim was to be around San Fran- 
 cisco Bay, was to embrace three thonsand square leagues and 
 include the whole valley of the San Joaquin. He guaranteed 
 to establish his colony with a thousand families. In his 
 memorial to the President of Mexico, he says: 
 
 " I propose with the aid and approbation of your Excellency, 
 to place in Upper California, a colony of Irish Catholics. I 
 have a triple object in making this proposition. I wish in the 
 first place to advance the cause of Catholicism. In the second 
 to contribute to the happiness of my countrymen. Thirdly, I 
 desire to -put an obstacle in the way of further usurpation on 
 the part of an irreligious and anti-Catholic nation." 
 
 His plan was supported by the central government, and was 
 referred for a final decision, to the land holders and local 
 authorities of California, Conventions were now being held 
 to perfect the arrangement. Father Macnamara had landed, 
 from the British ship Juno, which lay at Santa Babara, and 
 indeed all things were ready for the consummation of the con- 
 spiracy. Had this been effected, California would have passed 
 into the hands of the English, and another bloody war would 
 have resulted. 
 
 Fremont's position is now clear to the reader. It was a 
 critical one. He was surrounded on either hand by thousands 
 of hostile Indians who had already commenced the work of . 
 destroying the crops and houses of the American settlers, and 
 massacreing the defenseless people. The reign of blood and 
 terror, such as we have seen on the borders of Pennsylvania 
 and Virginia in 1764, was now being repeated in Northern 
 California. Something must be done, and that quickly. 
 Fremont waited only to become fully aware of the situation — 
 a situation from which any but a truly brave man would have 
 turned away. And what would have been the result, had this 
 man shrank from the duty which now stood out before him? 
 The question has already been answered by many! The 
 American settlers with their wives and children would liave 
 met utter ruin, the Golden State would have passed into the 
 hands of a foreign power. In the face of all the dangers which 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 423 
 
 surrounded Fremont, lie drew his sword and declared himself 
 a defender. 
 
 He called his men together and laid before them the state 
 of the case. They were all eager for the war, and designated 
 Fremont as their leader. Many of the settlers joined Fre- 
 mont's party, and the Colonel soon fonnd himself at the head 
 of qnite a force — all men whose courage and endurance had 
 been tried. He marched against the Indians without delay, 
 leaving half a dozen men to defend the camp. In this expedi- 
 tion he broke up five villages. (Coming up with a strong 
 band of warriors during the first day's march, he found them 
 engaged in the war dance, in black paint and white feathers 
 preparatory to their meditated attack upon the settlers. A 
 charge was immediately made and the Indians dispersed 
 with a heavy loss. 
 
 This was a bold stroke — an achievement which none but 
 those fierce mountaineers could have effected. In a single day 
 they had utterly ruined the Indian combination, and half 
 defeated the conspiracy. After this victory, Fremont moved 
 his camp up to Butte's Post, a ranche located about fifty 
 miles above Sutter's Fort. On reaching this point Fremont 
 received information that General Castro had assembled four 
 hundred men at Santa Clara, and that he had sent an officer, 
 with a detachment, to Sonora, to procure horses for the cam- 
 paign. A small party was immediately sent out to intercept 
 this detachment. The work was faithfully executed, tne whole 
 train being captured. The prisoners were set at liberty, but the 
 horses were brought into camp. 
 
 By these vigorous movements, Castro's forces were all driven 
 from the country north of the Bay of San Francisco. " At 
 Sonoma," says Mr. Upham, " Gen. Vallijo, two Colonels and 
 ■other prisoners were taken. A squadron of eighty men under 
 Capt. De la Torre, remained for a short time on a peninsula, at 
 Sancelito, on the north of the bay, directly opposite Castro's 
 encampment on the east side, but he was pressed so hard that 
 he abandoned his horses, and escaped in launches across the bay 
 to Castro. Fremont found there a bark from the Eastern States, 
 commanded by a patriotic American, Wm. D. Phelps, of Lex- 
 
424 CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO: 
 
 ington, Mass., who, entering heartily into the business, let him 
 have his launch, into which he jumj^ed with twelve men, and 
 rowed over to San Francisco, about eiglit miles, where there 
 was a fort with a battery of guns, mostly brass field pieces, 
 which they spiked, employing for the purpose steel files, used 
 for sharpening knives, which Capt. Phelps happened to have 
 on board his bark." 
 
 Thus ended the conquest of JSTorthern California, and now 
 Fremont sent a message to Gen. Castro, saying that he could 
 not get his horses over the bay, but if he would wait for him 
 lie would pass around its head as quickly as j)ossible, and meet 
 liim at Santa Clara, and decide the contest for the country. As 
 lie proceeded to march around the bay, he reached Sonoma on 
 the Fourth of July, where, a large number of Americans hav- 
 ing congregated, the day was duly celebrated. On the following 
 day, Fremont, surrounded by his enthusiastic followers, declared 
 California independent. A flag for the free State was unfurled, 
 being white, with the figure of a grizzly bear in the centre. 
 
 On the following day, Fremont proceeded to fulfill his 
 engagement with Castro, and marched forward towards Santa 
 Clara, but when he reached Sutter's Fort, a message met him 
 from Commodore Slant, announcing the capture of Monterey. 
 Upon receiving this news, Fremont laid down his " bear flag," 
 and hoisted the Stars and Stripes. Thus California, through 
 con- \ge and prompt action, become an easy conquest, and was 
 aa .^u to the American Union. 
 
 Fremont proceeded, however, towards Castro's forces, but 
 the latter fled at his approach, and the Colonel marched in 
 triumph to Monterey. Of his entrance into that city we have 
 the following from the pen of an English author, Hon. Fred- 
 erick Walpole, who witnessed it: "During our stay in 
 Monterey, Capt. Fremont and his party arrived. They, natu- 
 rally excited curiosity. Here were true trappers, the class that 
 produced the heroes of Fenimore Cooper's best works. These men 
 had passed years in the wilds, living upon their own resources; 
 they were a curious set. A vast cloud of dust appeared first, and 
 thence, in long file, emerged this wildest wild party. Fremont 
 rode ahead, a spare, active-looking man, with such an eye! He 
 
OR, THE BORDER AVARS OF l-WO CENTURIES. 425 
 
 ■was dressed in a blouse and Icggins, and wore a felt hat. After 
 him came five Delaware Indians, who were his body guard, 
 and had been with him through all his wanderings; they had 
 charge of his baggage horses. The rest, many of them blacker 
 than the Indians, rode two and two, the rifle held by one hand 
 across the pummel of the saddle. Thirty-nine of them were 
 his regular men, the rest were loafers picked up lately; his 
 original band were principally backwoodsmen from the State 
 of Tennessee, and the banks of the upper waters of the Mis- 
 souri. He had one or two with him who enjoyed a high 
 reputation in the prairies. Kit Carson was as well known 
 there as the Duke is in Europe. The dress of these men was 
 principally a long, loose coat of deer skin, tied with thongs in 
 front; trowsers of the same, of their own manufacture, which, 
 when wet through, they took oif, scraped well inside with a 
 knife, and put on as soon as dry ; the saddles were of various 
 fashions, though these and a large drove of horses and a brass 
 field gun, were things they had picked up about California. 
 They were allowed no liquor, tea and sugar only; this, no 
 doubt, had much to do with their good conduct, and the disci- 
 pline, too, was very strict. They were marched up to an open 
 space on the hills near the town, under some large firs, and 
 there took up their quarters in messes of six or seven, in the 
 open air. The Indians lay beside their leader. One man, a 
 doctor, six feet six high, was an odd looking fellow. May I 
 never come under his hands. In justice to the Americans, I 
 must say they seemed to treat the natives well, and their author- 
 ity extended every protection to them." 
 
CHAPTER LV. 
 
 Insttrkection in Southekn California — Fremont Subdues the 
 Walla Wallas — The War in Southern California — Descrip- 
 tion OP Southern California — Pico Defeated — The Peace. 
 
 The course pursued by Colonel Fremont was of great value 
 to the United States. It caused Commodore Sloat to take 
 possession of Monterey on his arrival at that place, so that 
 when Sir George Seymour arrived with a British squadron, he 
 found the flag of the United States floating over the place. It 
 is evident, then, that California was saved from falling into the 
 hands of the British, by the great foresight and bravery of Col. 
 Fremont and his heroic followers. 
 
 Immediately after the conquest. Commodore Sloat sailed for 
 the United States, leaving Commodore Stockton, who had 
 arrived a few days before, in command. Fremont at once pro- 
 ceeded to Los Angeles, then the capital of California, where, 
 on his arrival, he discovered that Commodore Stockton had 
 arrived before him, and proclaimed American protection. 
 Castro had fled to Sonoma. From Stockton Fremont received 
 several appointments, in the government of California, first as 
 Major of the California battalion, afterwards military com- 
 mandant of California, and finally, governor and commander- 
 in-chief in that territory. 
 
 Early in September, 1846, an extensive insurrection broke 
 out in Southern California, and Fremont, having returned to 
 the valley of the Sacramento, imniediately set about raising a 
 battalion among the settlers, for the purpose of suppressing it. 
 At the same time the panic was increased by the report of an 
 Indian invasion from the north. One thousand Walla Walla 
 Indians were marching on Sutter's Fort. The whole country 
 "was now a scene of commotion, and every available force was 
 (426) 
 
OR, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO C1<;NTU,R1KS. 427 
 
 mustered to ineet tliis new danger. When the news of the 
 Indian outbreak reached Fremont, his battalion was ah-eady 
 seven hundred strong, but thinking that the story was greatly 
 exaggerated, he took only three men and started out to meet 
 the Walla Wallas. He soon came upon them, and although 
 they were not so numerous as had been rumored, they were 
 nevertheless in considerable force, and in a state of great anger. 
 He marched with his tliree men directly into their midst, but 
 they knew him, and instead of giving battle, they gathered 
 round him, and made their complaint. They had been robbed, 
 and, worse than all, one of their best young men had been 
 killed by the whites. Fremont listened to their tales of com- 
 plaint, and then promised them redress, on the condition that 
 they would follow his advice, which was, that they should 
 retire peaceably to their winter hunt, and meet him in the 
 spring. He further agreed to send with them one of his own 
 men, to hold the United States flag over them, and said that 
 whoever struck that flag struck him. This plan was success- 
 ful, and the war was averted. The Indians, after contributing 
 ten of their best warriors to Fremont's battalion, retired to the 
 winter hunt, returning in the spring to the place agreed upon, 
 where they were met by Fremont, who gave them horses for 
 pi-esents. 
 
 On the twelfth of October, Fi'emont arrived at San Fran- 
 cisco with his battalion. Here he embarked his command for 
 Santa Barbara, in the ship Sterling, but they had not been out 
 two days when they fell in with a vessel from which Fremont 
 learned that no horses could be had in the country to which he 
 was sailing, and he returned to Monterey for the purpose of 
 marching overland. While in the latter place, he received 
 intelligence that he had been appointed a Lieutenant-Colonel 
 of a rifle regiment in the army of the United States. 
 
 He dispatched a messenger to the Sacramento valley for the 
 purpose of obtaining more men and supplies, and prepared for 
 a long and tedious winter march. In the meantime the insur- 
 rection had assumed a formidable shape. A party of four 
 hundred American sailors and marines, on their journey from 
 San Pedro to Los Angeles, had been attacked, with the loss of 
 
4:28 CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO: 
 
 six men killed. They wero defeated by a strong band of Cali- 
 fornians. Los Angeles and Santa Barbara were in their hands. 
 The United States Consul had been taken prisoner. Captains 
 Burroughs and Foster, and Mr. Eames, were killed in a severe 
 skirmish, while escorting a lot of horses to Fremont's camp. 
 Of the latter, Fremont received information, and with a force 
 of four hundred mounted men and three pieces of artillery, 
 marched to meet them. A large drove of beef cattle brought 
 up the rear, to serve as provisions on the march. At San Juan 
 Fremont received reenforcemeuts in the way of a large body of 
 emigrants, who had recently crossed the country. One of 
 them, named Edwin Bryant, who, in 1849, published a work on 
 California, served as a First Lieutenant of one of the com- 
 panies, and afterwards became alcalde of San Francisco. He 
 speaks of the regiment in the following language: 
 
 " There were no plumes nodding over brazen helmets, nor 
 coats of broadcloth spangled with lace and buttons; a broad- 
 brimmed, low-crowned hat, a shirt of blue flannel or buckskin, 
 with pantaloons and moccasins of the same, all generally much 
 the worse for wear, and smeared with mud and dust, make up 
 the costume of the party, officers as well as men. A leathern 
 girdle surrounds the waist, from which are suspended a bowie, 
 and a hunter's knife, and sometimes a brace of pistols. These, 
 with the rifle and holster pistols, are the arms carried by offi- 
 cers and privates. A single bugle composes the -band. The 
 staff officers were: Lieut.-Col. John C. Fremont, com- 
 manding; A. H. Gillespie, Major; P. B. Beading, Paymaster; 
 Henry King, Commissary; J. R. Snyder, Quartermaster; Wm. 
 H. Bussell, Ordnance Officer; J. Talbot, Adjutant; and J. J. 
 Myers, Sergeant-Major." 
 
 In another place, speaking of Fremont's battalion, Mr. 
 Bryant says: "The men composing the California battalion 
 have been drawn from many sources, and are roughly clad and 
 weather-beaten in their exterior appearance, but I feel it but 
 justice to state my belief, that no military party ever passed 
 through an enemy's country and observed the same strict 
 regard for the rights of its population. I never heard of an 
 outrage or even a trespass being committed by one of the 
 
OK, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIIiS. 429 
 
 American volunteers during our entire march. Everj Amer- 
 ican appeared to understand perfectly the duty which he owed 
 to himself and others in this respect, and the deportment of 
 the battalion might be cited as a model for imitation." 
 
 After marching one hundred and fifty miles, this little army 
 surprised, in a dark niglit, San Louis Obispo, the seat of a dis- 
 trict commandant, and, without firing a gun, captured Don 
 Jesus Pico, the leader of the insurrection in that place. " Two 
 days afterwards," says Mr. Upham, in his valuable work on 
 the life of Fremont, " December sixteenth, Pico was tried by a 
 court martial and condemned to death for breaking his pai'ole. 
 The next day, about an hour before noon, at which time the 
 execution was to take place, a procession of females, headed by 
 a lad}-- of fine appearance, proceeded to the quarters of Colonel 
 Fremont, and with all the fervor natural to a mother, wife 
 and children and near relations, under such circumstances, 
 imj^lored for mercy, and prostrate and in tears, begged for the 
 life of the convict. Their supplication was granted. Pico, 
 who had borne himself with perfect coolness and firmness at 
 the trial, and had prepared to die with the solemn dignity of 
 a Spaniard, when brought in and informed of his pardon, flung 
 himself with unrestrained emotion before Colonel Fremont, 
 clasped his knees, swore eternal fidelity, and begged the priv- 
 ilege of fighting and dying for him." 
 
 Fremont has been censured for his clemency towards Pico, 
 but when it was considered that an act of mercy had sometimes 
 more to do with subduing the people of California, than the 
 shedding of blood, the course he pursued can hardly be ques- 
 tioned. 
 
 " On the twenty-seventh of December, the battalion entered, 
 without resistance, the town of Santa Barbara, where it 
 remained recruiting until the third of January, 1847." Sev- 
 eral days after, as they were pursuing their march, they were 
 met by two messengers, who brought the welcome intelligence 
 that Commodore Stockton had retaken Los Angeles, after a 
 long and victorious engagement with the insurgents. It was 
 now ascertained that the enemy's force was within a few miles 
 of Fremont's camp, which was confirmed by the sudden appear- 
 
430 CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO: 
 
 ance of two California officers, who visited Fremont to treat 
 for peace. After some consultation, articles were agreed upon 
 on the thirteenth of January, 1847, which stipulated that all 
 Californians should deliver up their arms, return in peace to 
 their homes, not engage in hostilities again during the war 
 with Mexico, and do all in their power to keep the country in 
 a state of peace. Californians or citizens of Mexico, were to 
 be permitted to leave the country, and none of them were to 
 be required to take the oath of allegiance to the United States 
 until a treaty of peace should be made between the United 
 States and Mexico. This was called the " capitulation of Cow- 
 enga." On the following day, Fremont reached Cindad de los 
 Angeles, having conquered California, and secured peace and 
 protection to the United States settlers in that territory. 
 
 We must now go back a few months to bring forward the 
 adventures of Gen. Kearney. After finishing the conquest of 
 California, which Fremont had so efiectually begun, Commo- 
 dore Stockton sentKit Carson, with fifteen men, to Washington, 
 D. C, with dispatches, giving full details of what had taken 
 place. Carson was, if possible, to complete the journey and 
 return in four months. He set out accordingly, and after 
 traveling eastward for about thirty days, he met Gen. Kearney, 
 on his way to California, " to conquer the Mexicans." Of 
 course he received information that he was too late to perform 
 that work, upon which he divided his command, and with a 
 portion of it continued towards California. Carson accom- 
 panied this detachment. 
 
 Gen. Kearney had no sooner reached the borders of Califor- 
 nia, than he was met by the enemy in full force; for, as the 
 reader will observe, the insurrectionary movement was then at 
 its height. AVhen within thirty miles of San Diego, he fought 
 two battles, in which he was partially defeated. Being sur- 
 rounded by the enemy, and reduced to a state of siege, he was 
 in great want of grass and water. In this extremity, as in all 
 others in which he found himself, Kit Carson came to the front 
 as a volunteer in a bold scheme for relief. In this he was 
 accompanied by one Beal and a Delaware Indian. Tiicy 
 started out, and, under cover of the night, crawled through the 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 431 
 
 enemy's lines. Having taken off their shoes to lessen the 
 noise consequent upon their progress, they unfortunately lost 
 them, and were compelled to continue their route barefooted. 
 After a cautious journey, they reached their destination, and 
 procured the necessaiy relief for Gen. Kearney, Avhich dis- 
 persed the enemy and led him in triumph to Los Angeles. 
 
 Here difficulties arose which terminated unhappily, Cali- 
 fornia and the Pacific slope liad been conquered, but who waa 
 to command. Commodore Stockton and Gen. Kearney were 
 both, according to their understandings of the instructions 
 they had received, appointed to the office; and when we con- 
 sider that this territory was so far from the seat of government, 
 it is not surprising that difficulties of this kind should have 
 occurred. For the most part, dispatches from Washington had 
 to be sent via Cape Horn, which sufficiently explains the neces- 
 sity of action on the part of these officers without definite 
 instructions. At all events we find Kearney and Stockton 
 disputing the right to command. For a time Gen. Kearney's 
 forces were so small that he was obliged to yield to Stockton, 
 but on receiving reenforcements, he entered upon full com- 
 mand, and seizing Col. Fremont, sent him under arrest to the 
 United States. He was afterwards tried for disobedience of 
 orders, and found guilty, but the development of subsequent 
 circumstances, proved that he acted to the best of his judg- 
 ment and in a patriotic manner. 
 
 For further particulars of the lives of Kit Carson and Col. 
 Fremont, the reader is referred to the appendix, in which I 
 have followed out all those circumstances that cannot well be 
 included in the current of the narrative. 
 
CHAPTER LYI. 
 
 General Kearney and Colonel Doniphan — The Conquest op New 
 Mexico — Battle of the Sacramento — CninuAnuA Taken — 
 Glorious Victory of the Missouri ans — Triumphal Entry into 
 THE Ancient Capital. 
 
 In following the adventures of Colonel Fremont and Kit 
 Carson tlirougli the mountains and over the broad prairies of 
 the great west, I have, I trust, accomjolished two ends — first, 
 in giving the reader a slight description of the outposts of civ- 
 ilization in the west in 1843-6, and of the i^hysical features of 
 the country, and second, in furnishing an account of the lives 
 and public services of two brave men. This part of the narra- 
 tive has led us into the Mexican war, and we have already seen 
 the Mexican power overthrown in California and the Pacific 
 slope. Let us now turn our attention to the events that were 
 transpiring in New Mexico, and in Mexico itself. The first -will 
 give us something of the lives of General Kearney, of whom 
 I have already spoken, and Colonel Doniphan ; and the second 
 a bright page in the history of Generals Scott and Taylor. 
 
 First then as to New Mexico. On the thirtith of June, 
 1846, by order of government, General Kearney marched 
 from Fort Leavenworth with sixteen hundred regulars, on an 
 expedition against Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. After 
 marching eight hundred and fifty miles in six weeks, he took 
 possession of the j^lace in the following August. Having 
 accomplished this he published a proclamation in which he 
 claimed that New Mexico belonged to the United States, and 
 called upon the inhabitants to submit in peace to the new 
 government. He then started for California, but we have 
 already seen the results of this expedition. When he was met 
 by Kit Carson he sent back the greater part of his force, 
 (432) 
 
OK, THl': B()KM)KR WARS OF TWO OlONTURIKS. 433 
 
 and, with a small troop harried on to join Commodore 
 Stockton, while Colonel Doniphan led the main body across 
 the mountains for the purpose of punishing tlie Indians who 
 had so long harrassed the people of New Mexico. The 
 Navahos, the principal hostile tribe in this affair were com- 
 pelled to ask for peace, which Colonel Doniphan granted them 
 only on the condition that they Avould desist from further 
 aggressions upon the people whom the Americans had just 
 conquered — a novel treaty indeed. This object accomplished 
 and impatient of inactivity, and without definite orders, they 
 turned eastward to "carve some new work for themselves." 
 Chihuahua now became an object of conquest. This was a 
 city of nearly thirty thousand souls, the seat of government of 
 the Mexican state of that name, and at one time the residence 
 of the Captains-General of the Internal Provinces under the 
 Vice-Eegal Government of new Spain. This was indeed a 
 perilous enterprise and a daring one for a thousand men to 
 undertake, but danger and hardships, in those days lent a charna 
 to any enterprise, and the adventurous march was resolved on, 
 and at once commenced. " First," said Hon. Thomas Benton 
 when addressing Colonel Doniphan's command on its return, 
 "the ominous desert was passed, its character vindicating its 
 title to its mournful appellation — an arid plain of ninety 
 miles strewn with the l:»ones of animals that had died pinched 
 by hunger and thirst — little hillocks of stone, and the solitary 
 cross, erected by pious hands, marking the spot where some 
 Christian had fallen victim to the savage, the robber, or the 
 desert itself — no water — no animal life — no sign of habita- 
 tion. There the Texan j)ioneers driven by the cruel Salazar, 
 had met their direst sufferings, unrelieved as in other parts of 
 the country, by the compassionate ministrations of the pitying 
 women. The desert was passed, and the place for crossing the 
 river apj^roached. * * * Tliere the enemy in superior 
 numbers, and confident in cavalry and artillery, undertook to 
 bar the way. Vain pretension! Their discovery, attack, and 
 route were about simultaneous operations. A few minutes 
 did the work! And in this way our Missouri volunteers of the 
 Chihuahua column spent their Christmas day of the year 1846." 
 28 
 
434 CONQUEST OF CALIFOKXIA AND NEW MEXICO: 
 
 This victory at the river Bracito opened the way to the 
 crossing of the river Del Norte and to admission into the 
 handsome little town of Paso Del Norte, " where a neat civili- 
 zation, a comfortable people, fields, orchards and vineyards, 
 and a hospitable reception, offered the rest and refreshment 
 which toils and dangers and victory had won." 
 
 Here they rested until the artillery reached them from Santa 
 Fe, when, in February, 1847, they moved forward and fought 
 the battle of the Sacramento, one of the military marvels of 
 that age, which cleared the route to Chihuahua. This state 
 was entered without further resistance. But let us look in 
 upon the battle just mentioned. 
 
 The force under Colonel Doniphan consisted of nine hundred 
 and twenty-four effective men, one hundred and seventeen offi- 
 cers and privates of the artillery, ninety-three of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Mitchel's escort, and the remainder, the first regiment 
 of Missouri mounted riflemen. They progressed in the direc- 
 tion of Chihuahua until the twenty-fifth of February, when 
 they were informed by the spies that the enemy, to the num- 
 ber of fffteen hundred men was at Inseneas, the country seat 
 of Governor Trias, about twenty-five miles in advance. On 
 the twenty-seventh the command arrived at Sans, and learned 
 that the enemy in great force had fortified the pass of the 
 Sacramento river, about fifteen miles in advance, and about 
 fifteen miles from the city which they had set out to conquer. 
 At sunrise on the last day of February they took up the line of 
 march and formed the whole train, consisting of three hundred 
 and fifteen trader's wagons, and the commissary and company 
 wagons, into four columns, thus shortening the line so as to 
 make it more easily protected. They placed the artillery and 
 all the command except the cavalry proper, consisting of two 
 hundred, in the intervals between the columns of wagons. 
 They thus fully concealed their force and its position by mask- 
 ing it with cavalry. When they arrived within three miles of 
 the enemy they made a reconnoisance of his position and the 
 appointment of his forces. This they easily accomplished. 
 They ascertained that the enemy had one battery of four guns, 
 two nine and two six pounders on the point of the mountain 
 
OR, THE BOKDEK WARS OF TWO CKNTURIR^S. 435 
 
 on their right, at a good elevation to sweep the plain, and at 
 a point where the mountain extended farthest into the plain. 
 On the left of Colonel Doniphan's command the enemy had 
 erected another battery on an elevation commanding the rotid, 
 with three entrenchments of two six pounders, and on the brow 
 of the crescent near the center, another of several heavy ram- 
 part pieces mounted on carriages; and on the Q-est of the hill 
 or ascent between the batteries and the right and left, the 
 enemy had twenty-seven redoubts dug and thrown up, extend- 
 ing at short intervals across the whole ground. In these their 
 infantry were placed and were entirely protected. Their 
 cavalry was drawn up in front of the redoubts in the intervals, 
 four deep, and in front of the redoubts two deep, so as to 
 mask them as far as possible. 
 
 "When Colonel Doniphan had arrived within one and a half 
 miles of the entrenchments along the main road, he advanced the 
 cavalry still farther, and suddenly diverged with the columns to 
 the right so as to gain the narrow part of the ascent on his 
 right, which the enemy discovered, and endeavored to prevent 
 by moving forward with one thousand cavalry and four pieces 
 of cannon in the rear, masked by them. Doniphan's move- 
 ments were so rapid that he gained the elevation with his 
 forces and the advance of the wagons in time to form before 
 the Mexicans arrived within reach of his guns. The enemy 
 halted, and the Americans advanced with the head column 
 to within twelve hundred yards of them, so as to let their 
 wagons attain the high lands and form as before. 
 
 The battle commenced by a brisk fire from the American 
 battery, which caused the enemy to unmask and return the 
 assault. Even at this distance the Americans killed fifteen 
 Mexicans, and wounded several more, suflering no loss them- 
 selves beyond two or tliree mules. The enemy slowly retreated 
 behind their works, and the Americans advanced so as to avoid 
 the batteries. After marching as far as they could without 
 going within range of their heavy battery, Capt. Weightman, 
 of the artillery, was ordered to charge with the two twelve 
 pound howitzers, to be supported by the cavalry under Capts. 
 Reid, Parsons and Hudson. They charged at full speed with the 
 
436 CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO! 
 
 howitzers, and were gallantly sustained by Capt. Reid, but by 
 some misunderstanding, the Colonel's order was not given to 
 the two companies, but Capt. Hudson anticipated the order, 
 and charged in time to give ample support to the howitzers. 
 Capt. Parsons, at the same moment, asked for permission for 
 his company to charge the redoubts on the left, which he did in 
 a gallant manaer. The remainder of the two battalions of the 
 first regiment were dismounted during the cavalry charge, and 
 following rapidly on foot, while Major Clarke advanced as fast 
 as possible with the remainder of the battery, they charged 
 the redoubts from right to left, with a brisk and deadly fire of 
 riflemen. Major Clarke opened a well directed fire on a col- 
 umn of cavalry which attempted to pass to the left, so as to 
 attack the wagons in the rear. It was forced to fall back, and 
 the American riflemen, with the cavalry and howitzers, cleared 
 the parapets after an obstinate resistance, and Doniphan's 
 forces advanced to the very brink of the enemy's redoubts, and 
 attacked the Mexicans with their sabres. When the redoubts 
 were cleared, and the batteries in the centre and on the left 
 were silenced, the main battery on the right still continued to 
 pour upon the invaders a constant and heavy fire, as it had 
 done during the heat of the engagement; but as the whole fate 
 of the battle depended upon carrying the redoubts and center 
 battery, the one on the right remained undisturbed, and the 
 enemy had concentrated there more than five hundred strong. 
 Of the progress from this poi^it, we have an account in Col. 
 Doniphan's own words: "Major Clarke commenced a heavy 
 fire upon it. Lieut.-Cols. Mitchell and Jackson, commanding 
 the first battalion, were ordered to remount and charge the 
 battery on the left, while Major Gilpin passed the second bat- 
 talion on foot up the rough ascent of the mountain on the 
 opposite side. The fire of our battery was so efi'ective as to 
 completely silence theirs, and the rapid advance of our column 
 put them to flight over the mountains in great confusion." 
 
 Thus ended the battle of the Sacramento. The force of the 
 enemy was twelve hundred cavalry from Durango and Chihua- 
 hua, with the Yera Cruz dragoons; twelve hundred infantry 
 from Chihuahua; three hundred artillerymen, and fourteen 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 437 
 
 hundred and twenty rancheros, badly armed with lassoes, 
 lances and maehetoes, or corn knives; ten pieces of artillery, 
 and six rampart pieces. Their forces were commanded by 
 Major-General Hendea, general of Durango, Chihuahua, Son- 
 ora and New Mexico; Brigadier-General Jostimani, Brigadier- 
 (lenei-al Gracia Conde; General Ugerte and Governor Tria, and 
 colonels and other officers without number. 
 
 The force under Col. Doniphan consisted of nine hundred 
 and twenty-four effective men; at least one hundred of whom 
 were engaged in holding horses and driving teams. The loss 
 of the Mexicans was their entire artillery, ten wagons, three 
 liundred killed and about the same number wounded, and forty 
 prisoners. The battlefield was literally covered with the dead 
 of the enemy. The loss of the invincible America'ns was one 
 killed, one mortally wounded and seven slightly w^ounded. 
 Language can form no tribute worthy the coolness, gallantry 
 and bravery of the officers and men in Colonel Doniphan's 
 command. 
 
 On the iirst day of March tliey took formal possession of the 
 capital of Chihuahua, in the name of the United States govern- 
 ment. Their entry to this city is thus spoken of by Hon. 
 Thomas Benton: "It had been entered once before by a 
 detachment of American troops, but under circumstances how 
 different ! In the year 1807, Lieut. Pike and his thirty brave 
 men, taken prisoners on the head of the Eio del ISTorte, had 
 been marched captives into Chihuahua; in the year 1847, Don- 
 iphan and his men entered it as conquerors. The paltry 
 triumph of a captain-general over a lieutenant, was effaced in 
 the triumphal entrance of a thousand Missourians into the grand 
 and ancient capital of all the Internal Provinces ! and old 
 men, still alive, could remark the grandeur of the American 
 spirit under both events^the proud and lofty bearing of the 
 captive thirty — the mildness and moderation of the conquer- 
 ing thousand." 
 
 Doniphan was not merely satisfied with conquering Chihua- 
 hua, but lie bound the enemy so as to protect the American 
 settlers in the place. Having accomplished this, the ancient 
 capital became, like Santa Fe, not the terminating point of a 
 
438 CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO. 
 
 long expedition, bnt the starting point of a new one. Says 
 Mr. Benton, from whom I have jnst quoted: "Gen. Ta.ylor 
 was some where — no one knew exactly where — but some seven 
 or eight hundred miles towards the other side of Mexico." 
 Doniphan had heard that Taylor had been defeated ; that Buena 
 Yista had not turned out well to him. He did not believe this 
 report, but he concluded to go and see. A volunteer party of 
 fourteen undertook to penetrate to Saltillo, and return with 
 information as to the truthfulness of the rumor. Amidst many 
 dangers they accomplished their mission. Then the whole 
 army marched forward, a vanguard of one hundred men, led 
 by Lieut.-Col. Mitchell, leading the way. Then followed the 
 main body commanded by Col. Doniphan. The wliole table 
 land of Mexico, in all its breadth from west to east, was to be 
 traversed. A numerous hostile population in towns — treach- 
 erous Camanches in the mountains — were to be encountered. 
 But even in the face of these difficulties, the Americans set out, 
 accomplishing a safe march, evading Mexican towns, and pun- 
 ishing Camanches. It was a novel march, for, meeting no 
 armed forces, the Americans acted merely as protectors to the 
 Mexicans, and delivered them from their Indian enemies. 
 
 In the month of May they arrived in Gen. Taylor's camp, 
 where they reported for duty. But that general being then 
 without an army, was compelled to decline their service, and 
 the famous Missourians returned to their native State. 
 
CHAPTEE LVII- 
 
 War Between the United States and Mexico — Genekal Taylor 
 Proceeds to Point Isabel with an Army — He is Ordered to 
 Leave the Country — He Refuses — His Danger at the River 
 Fort — The Battle of Palo Alto. 
 
 We now come to that desperate but glorious contest 
 between the United States and Mexico. It will be unnecessary 
 to dwell here upon the causes which led to this war. For the 
 most" part my readers are already acquainted with these. In 
 May, 1845, General Zachary Taylor, of whose heroic defense 
 of Fort EEarrison we have already read in our account of 
 Tecumseh's war, received a confidential letter from the Secre- 
 tary of War instructing him to place his troops at such a posi- 
 tion as would enable him to defend Texas in case that Terri- 
 tory should be invaded by Mexicans. This was immediately 
 after Texas had been erected into a Territory under the United 
 States government. As is well known this act displeased the 
 Mexicans. They looked upon it as a violation of the law of 
 nations, and as projected with a view to depriving them of a vast 
 portion of her territory. 
 
 In a subsequent letter the Secretary of War addressed 
 General Taylor in these words. "Should Mexico assemble a 
 large body of troops on the Rio Grande, and cross it with a 
 considerable force, such a movement must be regarded as an 
 invasion of the United States and the commencement of hostil- 
 ties. You will of course use all the authority which has been 
 or may be given yon to meet such a state of things. Texas 
 must be protected from hostile invasion, and for that purpose 
 you will of course employ, to the utmost extent, all the means 
 jou possess or can command." 
 
 In persuance of these instructions General Taylor took up 
 (439) 
 
440 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 his position at Corpus Cristi where he remained until the 
 eighth of March, 1846. On this date the American army 
 commenced its march for the Eio Grande, the siege train 
 being sent by water to Point Isabel, with ai- corps of engineers 
 and officers of ordnance, commanded by Major Monroe. A 
 body of Mexican troops w^re encountered at Arroya, Colorado, 
 but the American army was permitted to pass without being 
 attacked. The army liad not proceeded far, however, when 
 General Taylor was met by a deputation from Matamoras 
 which protested against his apparant invasion of that country. 
 The deputation carried a white flag, and, on approaching the 
 General, desired an interview with him. He informed the 
 Mexicans that he would halt at a suitable place on the road 
 and hold a conference with them. It was, however, he says, 
 found necessary, on account of the scarcity of water, to con- 
 tinue the march to Point Isabel, and when within some ten 
 miles of this place the deputation halted, declining to accom- 
 pany the army farther, and handed General Taylor a formal 
 protest from the prefect of the northern district of Tamanlip 
 as against the occupation of the country by American troops. 
 
 Proceeding forward the General soon discovered that the 
 buildings at Point Isabel were in flames. On observing this 
 he sent a messenger back to the deputaion, informing them 
 that he would answer the protest when opposite Matamoras. 
 Taylor looked upon the conflagration before his eyes as decided 
 evidence of hostility, and regarded the prefect in making the 
 protest as a tool of the military authorities at Matamoras. 
 
 The cavalry arrived in season to arrest the fire, which had 
 fortunately consumed but two or three buildings, but the port 
 captain who cotnmitted the act escaped before its arrival. 
 When General Taylor arrived at Point Isabel he found that 
 the inhabitants had fled to Matamoras. 
 
 He at once proceeded to erect a fort on the bank of the Kio 
 Grande, over which he unfurled the flag of the United States. 
 The position was well fortified, the fort being furnished with 
 six bastions and capable of containing two thousand men. On 
 the opposite side of the river the Mexicans erected batteries 
 and made redoubts. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OE TWO CENTURIES. 441 
 
 On the tenth of April Colonel Cross, while riding out for 
 exercise, was attacked by some lawless rancheroes, murdered 
 and stripped. Thus the first American blood was shed in the 
 Mexican war. On the following day General Ampudia 
 arrived in Matanioras, and without delay entered upon the 
 work of "compelling the American army to leave Texas." 
 We shall see how far he was successful. On the twelfth, in 
 writing to General Taylor he concludes as follows: "By 
 explicit and definite orders from my government, which 
 neither can, will, nor should receive new outrages, I require 
 you in all form and at latest in the peremptory term of twenty- 
 four hours, to break up your camp and retire to the other 
 bank of the ISTeuces river, while our governments are regulat- 
 ing the pending question in relation to Texas. If you insist 
 on remaining upon the soil of the department of Tamanlipas, 
 it will clearly result that arms, and arms alone, must decide 
 the question; and in that case I advise you that we accept the 
 war to which, with so much injustice on your part you 
 provoke us, and that, on our part, this war shall be conducted 
 conformably to the principles established by the most civilized 
 nations — trusting that on your part the same will be observed." 
 
 General Taylor replied to this communication, informino- 
 the enemy that he could not, according to his instructions, 
 withdraw from the territory. Soon after, he prevented the 
 ships that were advancing Avith supplies for the Mexican 
 army, from entering the river, and declared the Rio Grande 
 in a state of blockade. 
 
 On the twentieth, all intercourse between the armies was 
 broken off, and on both sides of the river preparations for the 
 war were going forward. Soon ' after, Taylor received infor- 
 mation that the Mexicans to the number of three thousand 
 had crossed the river and fortified a position so as to cut off 
 his retreat to Point Isabel, where he had stored his principle 
 supplies. A party of sixty men was sent out under Captain 
 Thornton to reconnoiter the position of the enemy, but falling 
 into an abuscade they were all made prisoners and sent to 
 Matamoras. The Mexicans had concealed themselves in great 
 numbers behind a chaparral hedge, and the reconnoitering 
 
442 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 party marched into their midst and were captured. Intoxi- 
 cated with this success the Mexicans crossed the river in great 
 numbers and completely surrounded General Taylor's posi- 
 tion. For three days the little army endured inexpressible 
 suspense, but on the fourth Captain Walker of the Texan 
 Eangers arrived, bringing the welcome news that all was still 
 safe at Point Isabel. He added to this information, however, 
 that the j^lace was in imminent danger. There was now no 
 time to spare. General Taylor at once decided to move with 
 the whole army to defend this point, w^hich he did, leaving 
 only a few soldiers to garrison the river fort. It was on the 
 first of May that the retreat was commenced. The move- 
 ment was celebrated in Matamoras by " the ringing of bells, 
 explosion of fire arms and every other manifestation of joy." 
 The river fort had been left under the command of Major 
 Brown, and General Arista, of the Mexican forces at once 
 commenced extensive operations for the destruction of the 
 garrison. On the third of May a battery opened upon the 
 fort and kept up a brisk fire for some time, but to no eifect. 
 However, on the morning of the fifth. Major Brown discovered 
 a battery in rear of the fort, which had been erected by the 
 Mexicans during the night. It opened a severe fire upon the 
 fort and was assisted by the guns in Matamoras. For three 
 days an incessant cannonade was kept up on both sides, during 
 which Major Brown Avas mortally wounded. The command 
 devolved upon Captain Plawkins wlio no sooner entered upon 
 his new station than he met a summons to surrender, which 
 he gallantly declined. The assailants renewed the attack with 
 vigor, but on the night of the eighth retired, to the great joy 
 of the wearied garrison. 
 
 Gen. Taylor had no sooner arrived at Point Isabel and 
 adjusted matters at that station, than he commenced the return 
 march. On the eighth he received information that the enemy 
 was stationed on the field of Palo Alto, not far in advance. 
 The hour for battle was now at hand, and the soldiers seemed 
 to realize that they were soon to test their bravery, and meas- 
 ure strength with the Mexicans. The forward march was 
 continued, and soon the Mexican army was in sight, in battle 
 
OR, THE I50KDKR WARS OF TWO CliNTURIES. 44)^ 
 
 array. The order of battle was formed in Taylor's army a? 
 follows: "The ri^ht wing, under Col. Twiggs, was composed 
 of the fifth infantry, under Col. Melntosli; Einggold's artil- 
 lery; third infantry, under Capt. Manis; two eighteen pounders, 
 under Lieut. Churchill; fourth infantry, under Major Allen; 
 two squadrons of dragoons under Capts. Kerr and May. The 
 left wing, under Col. Belknap, was formed of a battalion of 
 artillery, under Col. Childs; Duncan's light artillery, and tlie 
 eighth infantry, under Capt. Montgomery. 
 
 In this order the army marched forward to battle. When 
 within seven hundred yards of the Mexican force, its right 
 opened with a tremendous discharge pf artillery. "Then," 
 says an able writer, " Gen. Taylor was seen hurrying along his 
 van, deploying it into line, and exhorting the soldiers to be 
 firm. Order w^as given to return the fire, and immediately all 
 other sounds were drowned in the fearful roar of artillery. 
 Resigning the battle to this terrible engine, the infantry and 
 rifle corps leaned upon their pieces, and watched the opposing 
 columns as they swayed to and fro under the ccmstant fire. 
 At every discharge, whole ranks of the enemy were mowed 
 down, and scores of horses and horsemen flung into one undis- 
 tinguishable mass." 
 
 At length the Mexican infantry began to give way, and Gen, 
 Arista ordered a charge with the cavalry. " Pouring down in 
 two columns, the lancers came towards the American line, with 
 a grace and rapidity peculiar to the Mexicans. But before 
 they reached tjieir object, Ridgley and Ringgold opened the 
 artillery. At the first blast they staggered — again and again 
 with stern energy, the cannon broke forth; huge gaps opened 
 among the horsemen, and scores sunk down beneath the tramp 
 of their companions. Fear succeeded enthusiasm. Eveiy 
 exertion withered before the dreadful prospect around. They 
 turned and fled precipitately, leaving behind them at every 
 step victims to tlie iron storm that pursued them." The battle 
 now became general, and raged for some time with fearful 
 destruction. Suddenly, from the discharge of the cannon, the 
 grass of the prairie was ignited, which rolled up volumes of 
 smoke and for a while screened the army from view. The 
 
444 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 battle ceased, and both armies formed new lines. Two thou- 
 sand Mexicans attempted a flank movement, but a slight breeze 
 dispersed the smoke, and they were discovered. Capt. Duncan 
 gallantly led his troops against them, and arrested their prog- 
 ress. "The Mexican infantry retired to some neighboring 
 chaparral, but the lancers stood firm before a fire which cut 
 deep gaps into their solid masses." But now the infantry 
 again appeared, and moved slowly in the very face of the storm 
 from which they had previously fled. But their eflbrt was 
 productive only of their ruin. At every step they were mowed 
 down with frightfnl slaughter, and they were compelled to 
 retreat in confusion. The cavalry soon followed, for it had 
 been literally cut to pieces. As night closed in upon the bat- 
 tlefield of Palo Alto, six hundred Mexicans, dead and wounded, 
 lay upon the ground, while the loss of the Americans was but 
 nine killed and forty -four wounded. 
 
 On the following morning, the Mexicans were seen in the 
 distance retreating, and Gen. Taylor, expecting to encounter 
 them again during the day, advanced in battle order. His 
 army proceeded uninterrupted until about three o'clock in the 
 afternoon, when information was brought in that the Mexicans 
 were posted near the road in full force. The position which 
 they had taken was most admirably adapted to defensive action, 
 and, by the Mexicans was called Kesaca de la Palma. In this 
 sort of ditch, and amid the dense thicket on its banks, the 
 Mexicans were entrenched, with their artillery in such a posi- 
 tion as to sweep the road. 
 
CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 The Battle op Resaca de la Palma — A Desperate Struggle — 
 Bravery op the Mexicans — The Dead and Dying — Gen. Tay- 
 lor's Victory — Matamoras Taken^Uen. Taylor's Difficulties 
 — The Siege of Monterey — The Victory. 
 
 The BAiTLE of Eesaca de la Palma M'as opened by tlie artil- 
 lery. Eidgley pushed guns to within less than one hundred 
 yards of the Mexicans, and then sent a shower of iron hail 
 against the enemy. At the same time the infantry was coming 
 up, and in a few minutes the rifle corps lent valuable aid to the 
 artillery. And now the struggle was fierce and desperate. 
 The Mexicans seemed determined to conquer, and took no heed 
 to those who were falling thick and fast around them, but sent 
 volley after volley into the American ranks. At length, how- 
 ever, the enemy retreated to a place of security behind a 
 chaparral hedge, and the Americans pushed forward to com- 
 plete the victory by a charge, but the position was guarded 
 with artillery, and the men who stood by the batteries held out 
 with commendable energy. The effect upon the troops in Gen. 
 Taylor's army was shocking. In this extremity, the general 
 ordered Capt. May to charge them with his dragoons. '• May 
 shouted to his men, and the next instant they were dashing 
 headlong down the narrow road towards the cannon's mouth. 
 Pausing till Pidgley drew the enemy's fire, they again drove 
 on, and almost before the eye had time to trace their course, 
 they werCx within a few yards of the fatal guns. May's horse 
 was far ahead of his troops ; and as he turned to wave them on, 
 only the impetuous Inge was near him. Yet that squadron 
 was not faltering. Fast as their steaming steeds could fly, 
 they were hastening on, while the flinty ground rocked and 
 echoed beneath their tread. Suddenly a volley from the higher 
 (445) 
 
446 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 battery swept fearfully upon their column, crushing seven men 
 and eight horses to death. But the living paused not. One 
 leap, and May was upon the battery. His men followed, and 
 the Mexicans were driven back. But the heroic La Vega 
 rallied them to the charge, and once more seized their pieces. 
 Thus charge after charge was made until only the Mexican 
 general was left at the guns. Surrounded with piles of dead, 
 grim with powder and smoke, he rallied his troops to duty, 
 and faced his fierce enemies unmoved. In tlie act of discharff- 
 
 o 
 
 ing a piece. May ordered him to surrender, and finding further 
 resistance vain, he complied." But the struggle did not end 
 here. The battalion under Tampico, made a charge for the 
 purpose of retaking their artillery, and at the same time the 
 contest raged along the whole line. The Mexicans, from the 
 chaparral hedges, were pouring an effective fire upon the 
 Americans, and in the wild effort to rout the enemy from this 
 position, the artillery ceased. And now the brave soldiers 
 rushed forward to the charge. The fight became desperate, 
 and Americans and Mexicans were mixed in thrilling disorder. 
 The bayonet was freely used, and from this the enemy turned 
 slowly, and stubbornly awa3^ Gen. Arista's camp and head- 
 quarters had been taken, but the Tampico battalion still defied 
 the march of the Americans. The brave men in this force 
 held out until they were literally cut down. The standard- 
 bearer tore the flag from the staff*, and fled, but even this last 
 man was taken prisoner, and his flag carried away by the 
 victors. The retreat of the Mexicans now became genei-al, and 
 theartillery having advanced to the action, it opened upon the 
 fleeing ranks with shocking effect. 
 
 Six thousand Mexicans opposed seventeen hundred Ameri- 
 cans in this battle, yet after all, so brave and superior were our 
 men that the six thousand were completely routed, and every- 
 thing in their camp was captured. One thousand Mexicans 
 were killed, while the loss of the Americans did not exceed 
 one hundred. 
 
 But who shall describe the scene on this battlefield on the 
 night of the ninth? When darkness gathered over Kesaca do 
 la Palma, hundreds of wounded, dying, and dead, pale and stiff, 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO OENTUKIFS. 447 
 
 or howling in the agonies of mortality, lay upon the ground. 
 In the awful struggle and flight hundreds had been crushed 
 down beneath the feet of the confused artillery, and men wertj 
 writhing in a most horrible condition. J3ut such are the results 
 of war, and such were the results of General Taylor's second 
 victory over the Mexicans. 
 
 The American army now returned to the river fort, opposite 
 Matamoras, and thence to Point Isabel, where arrangements 
 were soon completed for an attack upon Matamoras. On the 
 eighteenth he summoned the city to surrender, and received for 
 an answer that he might enter Matamoras without opposition. 
 Gen. Taylor accordingly took possession of the city, and 
 appointed Col. Twiggs to the office of its Military Governor. 
 Gen. Arista, with his army, had retired on the previous night. 
 The small town of Barita, near the mouth of the Eio Grande, 
 was also occupied by the Americans. 
 
 But no sooner had Gen. Taylor achieved this victory than he 
 seemed to be visited by a series of troubles. Although he had 
 unfurled the flag of the United States on the left bank of the 
 Rio Grande, yet his forces and military stores were so small 
 that he was obliged to remain inactive during nearly the whole 
 summer. When re-enforcements were sent him, they were 
 entirely without means of transportation, and being inexperi- 
 enced volunteers, many of them were unfit for important duty. 
 During this inactivity of the Americans, the Mexicans were 
 recruiting their strength for another struggle. 
 
 Gen. Taylor was compelled to remain quiet until the fifth 
 of September, when, with a large army, he marched for the 
 interior. Previous to this date, however, the towns of Mier, 
 Camargo, Seralvo, and Eeynosa had been occupied by Ameri- 
 can troops. Taylor had not proceeded tar when he received 
 intelligence from Gen. Worth that large re-enforcements of the 
 enemy were daily arriving at Monterey, the capital city of the 
 northern division of Mexico. He therefore set out for that 
 place without delay, leaving Gen. Patterson in command on the 
 Rio Grande. Taylor's first aim was to join Worth at Seralvo. 
 He reached this place in due time, where he rested his army 
 
448 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 for several days. On the eighteenth, however, they were at 
 Walnut Springs, three miles from the capital. 
 
 At this time Monterey, the capital of Kew Leon, contained 
 about fifteen thousand inhabitants. Being situated near the 
 base of the grand mountain range called the Sierra Madre, par- 
 allel to which runs the Arroya San Juan, it possessed all the 
 advantages for a defensive warfare. In front, and to the right 
 of the town, a strong and extensive fortress known as the cita- 
 del, liad for some time been erected. It covered an area of 
 about three acres, the walls being of solid masonry, thick and 
 high, with bastions commanding all approaches from the north- 
 east, the north, and northwest. On the eastern side of the city 
 were several redoubts. Near the outskirts on the southwest of 
 the city were two large forts on the course of the Aroya San 
 Juan, and on the opposite side ot the river, and also on the Sal- 
 tillo road, the heights were crowned by two strong fortifications. 
 The latter was known as the Bishop's Palace. These well-con- 
 structed defenses were mounted with forty-two heavy cannon. 
 In the city itself were also many sources of defense. The stone 
 walls of the houses rose some distance above the roofs, thus 
 affording good parapets. Gen. Ampudia was at this time in 
 the city Math an army of eight thousand regular troops, and 
 over a thousand militia, with an abundant supply of arms and 
 ammunition. 
 
 Gen. Taylor established his camp at Walnut Springs, three 
 miles from Monterey, and determined to approach the city by 
 way of the Saltillo road. He ordered a close reconnoisance of 
 this route, which strengthened his determination, and he at 
 once sent a column forward to turn the works of the enemy in 
 that direction. Gen. Worth commanded the detachment sent 
 on this expedition, and marched on the twentieth. His move- 
 ment was soon discovered by the enemy. The following is his 
 own account of the contest which engaged the division under 
 him : 
 
 "My instructions were by 2, detour to the right, to endeavor 
 to find and reach the Saltillo road, effect a thorough reconnois- 
 sance of the approaches to the city from that direction, to cut 
 
OR, THE BORDEK WARS OK TWO CENTURIES. 44'J 
 
 off supplies and re-enforcements, and, if practicable, carry the 
 heights. 
 
 " Owing to the difficulties of the ground after leaving the 
 Marin, and before striking the Presquina Grande road, the 
 division had reached only six miles, in consequence of the delay- 
 in making the route practicable for artillery, which service was 
 performed by Capt. Sanders, at six o'clock p. m., and was halted 
 just without the range of a gun battery on the summit of an 
 isolated hill called Loma de Indejpendencia, midway on the 
 ascent of which was the Bishop's Palace. Thence a reconnois- 
 sance was made, under cover of detachments of Hay's Texans, 
 to the intersection of the Presquina Grande route, then in our 
 possession, with the Saltillo road. This examination resulted 
 in the conviction that the grounds in our front and on our left, 
 in advance, constituted at the same time the weak and the 
 strong points of the enemy's position, and entered mainly into 
 the defenses of the city — the weak point, because commanding 
 the only lines of retreat and of supply in the direction of Sal- 
 tillo, and controling that in the direction of Presquina Grande; 
 the strong point, because of the peculiarly defensive character 
 of the hills and gorges, and of the very careful and skillful man- 
 ner in which they had been fortified and guarded. It was also 
 clearly indicated that our further advance would be strenuously 
 resisted. 
 
 " On the morning of the twenty-first, the division was put 
 in motion, and with such formation as to present the readiest 
 order of battle, on any point of assault. At six the advance, 
 consisting of Hay's Texans, supported by the light compajiies, 
 first brigade, under Capt. C. F. Smith (both extended as the 
 valley widened or contracted), closely followed by Duncan's 
 light artillery and battallion, heads of columns, on turning an 
 angle of the mountain at a hacienda called San Jeronimo, 
 came upon a strong force of cavalry and infantry, mostly the 
 former. A conflict immediately ensued. The Texans received 
 the heavy charge of cavalry with their unerring rifles and usual 
 gallantry; the light companies opened a rapid and well-directed 
 fire; Duncan's battery was in action in one minute (promptly 
 supported by a section of Mackall's), delivering its fire over the 
 29 
 
450 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 heads of our men. Ere the close of the combat, which lasted 
 but fifteen minutes, the First brigade had formed to the front, 
 on the right and left, and delivered its fire. The Second brig- 
 ade was held in reserve, the ground not admitting of its 
 deployment. The enemy retired in disorder (leaving on the 
 ground one hundred killed and wounded; among the former, 
 Don Juan N. Najua, colonel of the permanent regiment of 
 lancers), upon the Saltillo road, and was closely pursued, until 
 we got possession of the gorge, where all the debouches from 
 Monterey unite, whereby the force just defeated, as also rein- 
 forcements and supplies from that direction, were excluded 
 from entering the city. At this important point the division 
 was halted, and attention directed to the mountain forts which 
 envelope the city on its western and southwestern faces. Soon 
 discovering, however, that our position brought us within 
 effective range of the batteries, the troops were advanced some 
 eight hundred yards farther on the Saltillo road. 
 
 "The examination thus far had manifested, besides the 
 imj)ortance of the positions, the impracticability of any effect- 
 ive operations against the city, until possessed of the exterior 
 forts and batteries. Independent, however, of ulterior objects, 
 the occupation of these heights became indispensible to the 
 rest (ration of our lines of communication with headquarters, 
 necessarily abandoned for the moment in order to secure the 
 gorges of the Saltillo road. At twelve m. a force was detached 
 under Capt. C. F. Smith, with orders to storm the batteries on 
 the crest of the nearest hill, called Federacion^ and after taking 
 that, to carry the fort called Soldada^ on the ridge of the same 
 height, retired about six hundred yards. The two effectually 
 guarded the slopes and roads in either valley, and consequently 
 the approaches to the city. This command consisted of four 
 ".ompanies of the artillery battalion, and Green's, McGowan's, 
 E. A. Gillespie's, Chandler's, Ballone's, and McOulloch's com- 
 panies of Texan riflemen, under Maj. Chevalier, acting in 
 co-operation — in all about three hundred effectives. It was 
 impossible to mask the movement of the storming party. On 
 approaching tlie base of the mountain, the guns of both batteries 
 opened a plunging tire, and numerous light troops were seen 
 
OE, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTUKIPJS. 451 
 
 descending and arranging themselves at favorable points on the 
 slopes. Perceiving the indications of determined resistance, 
 Capt. Miles was detached from the Seventh to support and co- 
 operate with the first party. 
 
 "In a short time the fire became general, the enemy gradu- 
 ally yielding and retiring up the rugged acclivity, and our 
 men as steadily pursuing. The appearance of heavy rein- 
 forcements on the summit, and the cardinal importance of the 
 operation demanding further support, the fifth under Major 
 Scott, and Blanchard's companies of volunteers were immedi- 
 ately detached, accompanied by Brigadier-General Smith, 
 who was instructed to take direction in that quarter. On 
 reaching the advance parties, General Smith discovered that 
 under fiivor of the ground, he could, by directing a portion 
 of the force to the right, and moving it obliquely up the hill, 
 carry the Soldada simultaneously with the Federacion. He 
 accordingly very judiciously pointed and accompanied the 
 fifth, seventh, and Blanchard's company in that direction. 
 Captain Smith's command having most gallantly carried the 
 first object of attack, promptly turned the captured gun — a 
 nine-pounder — upon the second, and moved on with his main 
 body to participate in the assault on Soldada, which was carried 
 in gallant style by the forces under Scott, Miles, Blanchard, 
 and Hays (who had been detached on special service, but who 
 returned in time to share with fifty of his men in the first 
 assault, and to take a prominent part in the second), the whole 
 directed by General Smith. 
 
 "At this point we secured another nine-pounder, and imme- 
 diately both pieces were brought to bear upon the Bishop's 
 Palace, situated upon and midway the southern slope of the 
 hill Independencia, a valley of only six hundred yards inter- 
 vening. We had now secured an important advantage, and 
 yet -but half the work was done. The possession of these 
 heights only made the more apparent the controlling import- 
 ance of those opposite, and the necessity of occupying the 
 palace. A violent storm ensued, and night closing in, opera- 
 tions for tlie day ceased. The troops had now been thirty-six 
 hours without food, and constantly tasked to the utmost physical 
 
452 CONQUEST or Mexico: 
 
 exertions. Such as could be permitted slept with arms in 
 hand, subjected to a pelting storm, and without cov^ering till 
 three a. m., when thej were aroused to carry the hill Inde- 
 pendencia. 
 
 " Lieut,-Col. Childs was assigned to lead the storming parties, 
 consisting of three companies, I and G (fourth), and A, (third 
 artillery battalion;) three companies eighth infantry, (A, B, 
 and D,) under Capt. Scriven, with two hundred Texan riflemen, 
 under Col. Hays and Lieut.-Col. Walker (captain of rifles), 
 acting in co-operation. The command moved at three, con- 
 ducted to its point of ascent by Capt. Sanders, military, and 
 Lieut. Meade, topographical engineers. Favored by the 
 weather, it reached by the dawn of day within about one 
 hundred yards of the crest, in which position, among the clefts 
 of rocks, a body of the enemy had been stationed the previous 
 evening in apparent anticipation of the attack. The enemy's 
 retreating fire was ineflfectual, and not returned until Col. 
 Child's and Hays' command had reached to within a few yards 
 of the summit, when a well-directed and destructive fire, fol- 
 lowed by the bayonet of the regulars and rush of the Texans, 
 placed us in possession of the work; the cannon having been 
 previously withdrawn, no impression could be made upon the 
 massive walls of the palace or its outworks, without artillery, 
 except at enormous sacrifice. 
 
 "Lieut. Rowland, of Duncan's battery, was ordered from 
 the main rank with a twelve-pound howitzer, an# in two 
 hours (aided by fifty men from the line, under Capt. Sanders, 
 military engineer, for the purpose of selecting the route least 
 diflacult) that enterprising and gallant oflicer had his guns in 
 position, having ascended an acclivity as rugged as steep, 
 between seven and eight hundred feet in two hours. A fire 
 was immediately opened from the howitzer, covered by the 
 epaulement of the captured battery, upon the palace and its 
 outworks, four hundred yards distant, and soon produced a visible 
 sensation. Meanwhile, to re-enforce the position, the fifth, 
 Major Scott and Blanchard's volunteers, had been passed from 
 the first heights, and reached the second in time to participate 
 in the operations against the palace. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 453 
 
 "After many affairs of light troops and several feints, a 
 heavy sortie was made, sustained by a strong corps of cavalry, 
 with desperate resolution, to repossess the heights. Such a 
 move had been anticipated and prepared for. Lieut.-Col. 
 Cliilds had advanced under cover, two companies of light 
 troops under the command of Capt. Vinton, acting major, and 
 judiciously drawn up the main body of his command, flanked 
 on the right by Hays, and left by Walker's Texans. The 
 enemy advanced boldly, was repulsed by one general discharge 
 from all arms, fled in confusion, closely pressed by Childs and 
 Hays, preceded by the light troops under Vinton; and while 
 they fled past, our troops entered the palace and fort. In a 
 few moments the unpretending flag of our union had replaced 
 the gaudy standard of Mexico. The captured guns — one six- 
 inch howitzer, one twelve, and two nine-pounder brass guns, 
 together with Duncan's and Mackali's fleld-batteries, which 
 came up at a gallop, were in full and effective play upon the 
 retiring and confused masses that filled the street (of which 
 we had the prolongation) leading to the nearest plaza, La 
 Capella, also crowded with troops. At this moment the 
 enemy's loss was heavy. The investment was now complete. 
 Except the forces necessary to hold the positions on Indepen- 
 dencia and serve the guns (shifted to points where the shot 
 could be made to reach the great phiza), the division was now 
 concentrated around the palace, and preparation made to 
 assault the city on the following day, or sooner, should the 
 general-iu-chief either so direct, or, before communication be 
 had, renew the assault from the opposite quarter. In the mean 
 time attention was directed to every provision our circum- 
 stances permitted, to alleviate the condition of our wounded 
 soldiers and officers; to the decent interment of the dead, not 
 omitting in either respect all that was due to those of the 
 enemy. 
 
 "About ten A. M., on the twenty-third, a heavy fire was 
 heard in the opposite quarter. Its magnitude and continu- 
 ance, as wc^ll as other circumstances, did not permit a doubt 
 that the general was conducting a main attack; and that his 
 orders for my co-operation (having to travel a circuit of some 
 
454 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 six miles) had miscarried or failed to reach me, by means of 
 the numerous cavalry of the enemy. Under these convictions, 
 the troops were instantly ordered to commence an operation, 
 which, if not otherwise directed, I had designed to execute in 
 part, under favor of the night. Two columns of attack were 
 organized, to move along the two principal streets, leading 
 from our position, in direction of the great plaza, composed 
 of light troops slightly extended, with orders to mask the 
 men whenever practicable, avoid those points swept by the 
 enemy's artillery, to press on to the first plaza, Capella, to get 
 hold of the ends of streets beyond, then enter the buildings, 
 and by means of picks and bars break through the longitu- 
 dinal section of the walls, work from house to house, and 
 ascending the roofs, to place themselves on the same breast- 
 height with the enemy. Light artillery by sections and pieces, 
 under Duncan, Koland, Mackall, Martin, Hays, Irons, Clarke, 
 and Curd, followed at suitable intervals, covered by reserves to 
 guard the pieces and the whole operation against the probable 
 enterprises of cavalry upon our left. This was effectually done 
 by seizing and commanding the head of every cross street. 
 The streets M^ere, at different and well-chosen points, barri- 
 caded by heavy masonry walls, with embrasures for one or 
 more guns, and in every instance well supported by cross bat- 
 teries. These arrangements of defense gave to our operations 
 at this moment a complicated character, demanding much care 
 and precaution; but the work went on steadily, simultane- 
 ously, and successfully. About the time our assault com- 
 menced, the fire ceased from our force in the opposite quarter. 
 Disengaged on the one side, the enemy was enaoled to shift 
 men and guns to our quarter, as was soon manifested by accu- 
 mulation of fire. At dark we had worked through the walls 
 and squares, and reached to within one block of the great 
 plaza, leaving a covered way in our rear — carried a large build- 
 ing which towered over the principal defenses, and during the 
 night and ensuing morning, crowned its roof with two howit- 
 zers and a six-pounder. All things were now prepared to 
 renew the assault at dawn of day, when a flag was sent out. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 455 
 
 asking a momeiitarj suspension of fire, which led to the eapi- 
 tnlation upon terms so honorable to our arms. 
 
 "As the columns of attack were moving from the palace 
 hill, Major Munroe, chief of artillery, reached me with a ten- 
 inch mortar, which was immediately advanced to the plaza, 
 chapel, put in position masked by the church wall, its bed 
 adjusted as rapidly as possible, and by sunset opened upon the 
 great square. At this period, our troops had worked to with- 
 in one square of the plaza; the exact position of our comrades, 
 on the opposite side, was not known, and the distance of the 
 position to be assailed by the bomb battery, but conjecturing 
 eight hundred yards was assumed, and the tuze and charge 
 regulated accordingly; the tirst shell fell a little short of tlie 
 point on which it was directed, and beside our troops; a slight 
 increase of the projecting charge gave exact results. The 
 whole service was managed by Major Munroe, most admira- 
 bly, and, combined with other operations, exercised a decided 
 influence upon the final results. Early on the morning of the 
 twenty-third, Major Brown's artillery battallion was des- 
 patched with a select command, and one section of Mackall's 
 battery, under Lieut. Irons, to occupy the stone mill and 
 adjacent grounds, constituting, one league in advance, .the 
 narrow gorge near St. Catarina. The major took possession, 
 repulsed the enemy's pickets, and was preparing his command 
 to resist any attack, when he received my orders to retrace his 
 steps, enter the city, and form the main reserve to the assault- 
 ing columns. He came up in good time and in good order, 
 and was at once under fire. 
 
 "On the twenty-fifth, in conformity to. the articles of capit- 
 ulation, the citadel was taken possession of by a command 
 consisting of two companies of each regiment, and one section 
 of each battery, second division. Gen. Smith was directed 
 to take command of this corps, and conduct the ceremony; 
 which duty he executed with delicacy to the unhappy and 
 humiliated foe. 
 
 Let us now read Gen. Taylor's account of his operations in 
 -co-operation with the division under Gen. Worth: 
 
 "Early on the morning of the twenty -first, I received a note 
 
456 COK QUEST OF MEXICX): 
 
 from Gen. Worth, written at half-past nine o'clock the night 
 before, suggesting what I had already intended, a strong diver- 
 sion against the center and left of the town, to favor his enter- 
 prise against the heights in the rear. The infantry and artil- 
 lery of the first division, and the field division of volunteers, 
 were ordered under arms, and took the direction of the city, 
 leaving one company of each regiment as a camp guard. The 
 second dragoons, under Lieut.-Col. May, and Col. Wood's reg- 
 iment of Texas mounted volunteers, under the immediate 
 direction of Gen. Henderson, were directed to the right to 
 support Gen. Worth, if necessary, and to make an impression, 
 if practicable, upon the upper quarter of the city. Upon 
 approaching the mortar battery, the first and third regiments 
 of infantry, and battalion of Baltimore and Washington vol- 
 unteers, with Capt. Bragg's field battery — the whole under 
 the command of Lieut.-Col. Garland — were directed towards 
 the lower part of the town, with orders to make a strong 
 demonstration, and carry one of the enemy's advanced works, 
 if it could be done without too heavy loss. Major Mansfield, 
 Engineers, and Capt. Williams and Lieut. Pope, Topographi- 
 cal Engineer, accompanied this column. Major Mansfield 
 being charged with its direction, and the designation of points 
 of attack. 
 
 " In the meantime, the mortar, served by Capt. Eamsay, of 
 the ordnance, and the howitzer battery under Capt. Webster, 
 first artillery, had opened their fire upon the citadel, which was 
 deliberately sustained, and answered from the work. Gen. 
 Butler's division had now taken up a position in the rear of 
 this battery, when the discharges of artillery, mingled finally 
 with a rapid fire of small arms, showed that Lieut.-Col. Gar- 
 land's command had become warmly engaged. I now deemed 
 it necessary to support this attack, and accordingly: ordered 
 the fourth infanti-y, and three regiment's of Gen. Butler's 
 division, to march at once, by the left flank, in the direction of 
 the advanced work at the lower extremity of the town, leaving 
 one regiment (first Kentucky) to cover the mortar and howit- 
 zer battery. By some mistake, two companies of the fourth 
 
OR, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 45T 
 
 infantry did not receive this order, and, consequently, did not 
 join the advance comj)anies nntil some time afterwards. 
 
 " Lieut.-Col. Garland's command had approached the town 
 in a direction to the right of the advanced work (No. 1,) at tlie 
 northeastern angle of the city, and the engineer officer, covered 
 by skirmishers, had succeeded in entering the suburbs and 
 gaining cover. Tlie remainder of this command now advanced 
 and entered the town under a heavy fire of artillery from the 
 citadel and the works on the left, and of musketry from the 
 houses and small works in front. A movement to tlie right 
 was attempted, with a view to gain the rear of No. 1, and cari-y 
 that work, but the troops were so much exposed to a fire which 
 they could not efiectually return, and had already sustained 
 such severe loss, j^articularly in officers, that it was deemed 
 best to withdraw them to a more secure position. Capt. 
 Backus, first infantry, however, with a portion of his own and 
 other companies, had gained the roof of a tannery, which 
 looked directly into the gorge of ISTo. 1, and from which he 
 poured a most destructive fire into that work and upon the 
 strong building in its rear. This fire happily coincided in 
 point of time with the advance of a portion of the volunteer 
 division upon No. 1, and contributed largely to tlie fall of that 
 strong and important work. 
 
 "The three regiments of the volunteer division, under the 
 immediate command of Major-Gen. Butler, had, in the mean- 
 time, advanced in the direction of No. 1. The leading brigade, 
 under Brig.-Gen. Quitman, continued its advance upon that 
 work, preceded by three companies of the fourth infantry, 
 while Gen. Butler, with the first Ohio regiment, entered the 
 town to the right. The companies of the fourth infantry had 
 advanced within short range of the work, when tliey were 
 received by a fire that almost in one moment struck down one- 
 third of the officers and men, and rendered it necessary to 
 retire and effect a conjunction with the two other companies 
 then advancing. Gen. Quitman's brigade, though suffering 
 most severely, particularly in the Tennessee regiment, con- 
 tinued its advance, and finally carried the work, in handsome 
 style, as well as the strong building in its rear. Five pieces 
 
458 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 of artillery, a considerable supply of ammunition, and thirty 
 prisoners, including three officers, fell into our hands. 
 
 "Major-Gen. Butler, with the first Ohio regiment, after 
 entering the edge of the town, discovered that nothing was to 
 be accomplished in his front, and at this point, yielding to the 
 suggestions of several officers, I ordered a retrograde move- 
 ment; but learning almost immediately from one of my staff 
 that the battery No. 1 was in our possession, the order was 
 countermanded, and I determined to hold the battery and 
 defenses already gained. Gen. Butler, with the first Ohio reg- 
 iment, then entered the town at a point further to the left, and 
 marched in the direction of the battery No. 2. While making 
 fin examination with a view to ascertain the possibility of car- 
 rying this second work by s^orm, the general was wounded and 
 soon after compelled to quit the field. As the strength of No. 
 :2, and the heavy musketry fire flanking the approach, rendered 
 it impossible to carry it without great loss, the first Ohio regi- 
 ment was withdrawn from the town. 
 
 '•Fragments of the various regiments engaged were now 
 under cover of the captured battery and some buildings in its 
 front, and on the riglit. The field battery of Capts. Bragg and 
 Hidgely was also partially covered by the battery. An inces- 
 sant fire was kept on this position from battery No. 2, and 
 other works on its right, and from the citadel on all our 
 approaches. Gen. Twiggs, though quite unwell, joined me at 
 this point, and was instrumental in causing the artillery cap- 
 tured from the enemy to be placed in battery, and served by 
 Capt. Eidgely, against No. 2, until the arrival of Capt. Wel^- 
 ster's howitzer battery, which took its place. In the meantime, 
 I directed such men as could be collected of the first, third and 
 fourth regiments and Baltimore battalion, to enter the town, 
 penetrate to the right, and carry the second battery if possible. 
 This command, under Lieut.-Col. Garland, advanced beyond 
 the bridge ' Purisima,' when, finding it impracticable to gain 
 the rear of the second battery, a portion of it sustained them- 
 selves for some time in that advanced position; but as no 
 permanent impression could be made at that point, and the 
 main object of the general operation had been effected, the 
 
OR, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTUKira. 459 
 
 command, including a section of Capt. Ridgely's battery, 
 which had joined it, was withdrawn to battery No. 1. During 
 the absence of this cohimn, a demonstration of cavah-y was 
 reported in the direction of the citadeL Capt. Bragg, who 
 was at hand, immediately galloped with his battery to a suita- 
 ble position, from which a few discharges efiectually dispersed 
 the enemy. Capt. Miller, first infantry, M^as dispatched with a 
 mixed command to suj^port the battery on this service. The 
 enemy's lancers had previously charged upon the Ohio and 
 a part of the Mississippi regiments, near some fields at a dis- 
 tance from the edge of the town, and had been repulsed with 
 considerable loss. A demonstration of cavalry on the opposite 
 side of the river was also disj)ersed in the course of the after- 
 noon by Capt. Eidgely's battery, and the squadrons returned 
 to the city. At the approach of evening all the troops that had 
 been engaged were ordered back to the camp, except Capt. 
 Eidgely's battery and the regular infantry of the first division, 
 who were detailed as a guard for the works during the night, 
 under command of Lieut.-Col. Garland. One battalion of the 
 first Kentucky regiment was ordered to re-enforce this com- 
 mand. Intrenching tools were procured, and additional 
 strength was given to the works, and protection to the men, 
 by working parties during the night, under the direction of 
 Lieut. Scarritt, Engineers. 
 
 " The main object proposed in the morning had been effected. 
 A powerful diversion had been made to favor the operations of 
 the second division, one of the enemy's advanced works had 
 been carried, and we now had a strong foothold in the town. 
 But this had not been accomplished without a very heavy loss, 
 embracing some of our most gallant and accomplished ofiicers. 
 Capt. Williams, Topographical Engineers; Lieuts. Terrett and 
 Dilwortli, first infantry ; Lieut. Woods, second infantry; Capts. 
 Morris and Field, Brevet Major Barbour, Lieuts. Irwin and 
 Hazlitt, third infantry; Lieut. Hoskins, fourth infantry; Lieut.- 
 Col. Watson, Baltimore battalion; Capt. Allen and Lieut. Put- 
 nam, Tennessee regiment, and Lieut. Hett, Ohio regiment, 
 were killed, or have since died of wounds received in this 
 engagement, while the number and rank of the ofiicers wounded 
 
460 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 gives additional proof of the obstinacy of the contest, and the 
 good conduct of our troops. Tlie number of killed and 
 wounded incident to the operations in the lower part of the 
 city on the twenty-first, is three hundred and ninety-four. 
 
 " Early in the morning of this day (twenty -first,) the advance 
 of the second division had encountered the enemy in force, and 
 after a brief, but sharp conflict, repulsed him with heavy loss. 
 Gen Worth then succeeded in gaining a position on the Sal- 
 tillo road, thus cutting off the enemy's line of communication. 
 From this position the two heights south of the Saltillo road 
 were carried in succession, and the guns taken in one of them 
 turned upon the Bishop's Palace. These important successes 
 were fortunately obtained with comparatively small loss: Capt. 
 McKavett, eighth infantry, being the only officer killed, 
 
 " The twenty-second of September passed without any active 
 operations in the lower part of the city. The citadel and other 
 works continued to fire at parties exposed to their range, and 
 at the work now occupied by our troops. The guard left in it 
 the preceding night, except Capt. Eidgely's company, was 
 relieved at mid-day by Gen. Quitman's brigade. Capt. Bragg's 
 battery was thrown under cover in front of the town, to repel 
 any demonstration of cavalry in that quarter. At dawn of 
 day the height above the Bishop's Palace was carried, and soon 
 after meridian the Palace itself was taken, and its guns turned 
 upon the fugitive garrison. The object for which the second 
 division was detached had thus beeri completely accomplished, 
 and I felt confident that with a strong force occupying the 
 road and heights in his rear, and a good position below the 
 city in our possession, the enemy could not possibly maintain 
 the town. 
 
 " During the night of the twenty-second the enemy evac- 
 uated nearly all his defenses in the lower part of the city. 
 This was reported to me early in the morning of the twenty- 
 third, by Gen. Quitman, who had already meditated an assault. 
 upon those works. I immediately sent instructions to that 
 officer, leaving it to his discretion to enter the city, covering 
 his men by the houses and walls, and advance carefully so far 
 as he might deem prudent. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 461 
 
 " After ordering the remainder of the troups as a reserve, 
 under tlie orders of Brig. -Gen. Twiggs, I repaired to the aban- 
 doned works, and discovered that a portion of Gen. Quitman's 
 brigade had entered the town, and were successfully forcing 
 their way towards the principal plaza. I then ordered up the 
 second regiment of Texas mounted volunteers, who entered 
 the city, dismounted, and, under the immediate orders of Gen. 
 Henderson, co-operated with Gen. Quitman's brigade. Capt. 
 Bragg's battery was also ordered up, supported by the third 
 infantry, and after firing for some time at the cathedral, a por- 
 tion of it was likewise thrown into the city. Our troops 
 advanced from house to house, and from square to square, until 
 they reached a street but one square in the rear of the princi- 
 pal plaza, in and near which the enemy's force was mainly 
 concentrated. This advance was conducted' vigorously, but 
 with due caution, and although destructive to the enemy, was 
 attended with but small loss on our part. Capt. Eiclgely, in 
 the meantime, had served a captured piece in battei-y No. 1 
 against the city, until the advance of our men rendered it 
 imprudent to fire in the direction of the Cathedral. I was 
 now satisfied that we could operate successfully in the city, and 
 that the enemy had retired from the lower portion of it to 
 make a stand behind his barricades. As Gen. Quitman's 
 brigade had been on duty the previous night, I determined to 
 withdraw the troops to the evacuated works, and concert with 
 Gen, Worth a combined attack upon the town. The troops 
 accordingly fell back deliberately, in good order, and resumed 
 their original positions. Gen. Quitman's brigade being relieved 
 after nightfall by that of Gen. Hamer. On my return to 
 camj), I met an officer with the intelligence that Gen. "Worth, 
 induced by the firing in the lower part of the city, was about 
 making an attack at the upper extremity, which had also been 
 evacuated by the enemy to a considerable distance. I regretted 
 that this information had not reached me before leaving the 
 city, but still deemed it inexpedient to change my orders, and 
 accordingly returned to camp. A note from Gen. Worth, 
 written at eleven o'clock p. m., informed me that he had 
 advanced to within a short distance of the principal plaza, and 
 
462 cx)NQrEST of mexico: 
 
 that the mortar (which had been sent to his division in the 
 morning) was doin^ good execution within effective range of 
 the enemy's position. 
 
 " Desiring to make no further attempt upon the city without 
 complete concert as to the hues and mode of approach, I 
 instructed that officer to suspend his advance until I could 
 have an interview with him on ^,he following morning, at his 
 headquarters. 
 
 " Early on the morning of the twenty-fourth I received, 
 through Col. Moreno, a communication from Gen. Ampudia, 
 proposing to evacuate the town; which, with the answer, were 
 forwarded with my first dispatch. I arranged with Col. Moreno 
 a cessation of fire until twelve o'clock, at which hour I would 
 receive the answer of the Mexican general at Gen. Worth's head- 
 quarters, to which I soon repaired. In the meantime. Gen. 
 Ampudia had signified to Gen. Worth his desire for a personal 
 interview with me, to which I acceded, and which finally 
 resulted in a capitulation, placing the town and the materials 
 of war, with certain exceptions, in our possession. A copy of 
 that capitulation was transmitted with my first dispatch. 
 
 "Upon occupying the city it was found to be of great 
 strength in itself, and to have its approaches carefully and 
 strongly fortified. The town and works were armed with forty- 
 two pieces of cannon, well supplied with ammunition, and 
 manned with a force of at least seven thousand troops of the 
 line, and from two to three thousand irregulars. The force 
 under my orders before Monterey, as exhibited by the accom- 
 panying return, was four hundred and twenty-five officers, and 
 six thousand two hundred and twenty men. Our artillery 
 consisted of one ten-inch mortar, two twenty-four pounder 
 howitzer's, and four light field batteries of four guns each — 
 the mortar being the only piece suitable to the operations of a 
 siege. 
 
 " Our loss is twelve officers and one hundred and eight men 
 killed; thirty-one officers and three hundred and thirty-seven 
 men wounded. That of the enemy is not known, bat is believed 
 considerably to exceed our own. 
 
 "I take pleasure in bringing to the notice of the govern- 
 
OE, THE BOEDKR WARS OF TWO CKNTURIES. 463 
 
 ment the good conduct of the troops, both regulars and 
 volunteers, which has been conspicuons throughout the opera- 
 tions. I am proud to bear testimony to their coolness and 
 constancy in battle, and the cheerfulness with which they have 
 submitted to exposure and privation. To the general officers 
 commanding divisions — Maj.-Gens. Butler and Henderson, and 
 Brig. Gens, Twiggs and Worth — I must express my obligations 
 for the efficient aid which they have rendered in their respective 
 commands." 
 
 The following sketch of a portion of the engagement, from 
 the pen of an officer in a Baltimore battalion, who participated 
 in the hottest of the fight, will give the reader some idea of 
 the sufferings endured, and gallantry evinced by many of the 
 companies: 
 
 " I saw Col. Watson shouting, but as to hearing a command, 
 that was an impossibility, owing to the deafening roar of the 
 cannon and musketry. I saw the head of our line changing 
 its direction, and 1 knew at once that the point of attack was 
 changed, and ran to the head of my company to intercept- the 
 head of the column. I reached it just as Col. Watson was 
 dismounting from his horse, which the next moment fell from 
 a shot. The colonel cried out to the men, ' Shelter yourselves, 
 men, the best way you can.' At tliis time, the battalion was 
 scattered over a space of about an acre, and the men were lying 
 down, the shot in most instances flying over our heads ; but 
 the guns were soon depressed and the shot began to take effect. 
 
 " I was lying close to CoL Watson, alongside of a hedge, 
 when he jumped up and cried out, ' Now is the time, boys, 
 follow me!' We were now in a street, or lane, with a few 
 houses on either side, and within a hundred yards of three bat- 
 teries which completely raked it, in addition to which, two 
 twelve-pound guns were planted in the castle on the right, and 
 completely enfiladed the whole distance we had to make. Add 
 to this the thousand musketeers on the house-tops, and in the 
 barricades at the head of the street up which we advanced, and 
 at every cross street, and you may form some idea of the deluge 
 of balls that poured upon us. (Bear in mind that the four 
 companies of regulars were now with us, the one intermingled 
 
-464 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 with the other.) Onward we went, men and liorses falling at 
 every step. Cheers, shrieks, groans and words of command 
 added to the din, whilst tlie roar of the guns was absolutely 
 deafening. 
 
 "■ We had advanced up the street under this awful and fatal 
 fire nearly two hundred yards, when we reached a cross street, 
 at the corner of which all those who had succeeded in getting 
 this far halted, as if by mutual consent. I was shaking Col. 
 Watson by the hand, while he was complimenting me, when a 
 shower of grape, round and canister shot came from the corner 
 above, ^ndjlve officers fell, and I know not how many privates. 
 Eacli man sought some place of apparent shelter. 
 
 " I sat down on the ground, with my back to the wall of a 
 house. On my left were two men torn nearly to pieces. One 
 of them was lying flat on his back, with his legs extending 
 farther in the street than mine. Crash came another shower 
 of grape, which tore one of his wounded legs off. He reared 
 up, shrieked, and fell back a corpse. I never moved, for I was 
 satisfied that one place was as safe as another. Directly oppo- 
 site to me was my Brevet Second-Lieutenant Aisquith ; on the 
 right hand corner was Lieut. Bowie, also of my company; and 
 close to me sat Col. Watson and Adjutant SchcEler. In a 
 few minutes I saw our color sergeant, old Hart, come past 
 with his right arm shattered, and in a few minutes there came 
 our battalion fiag, borne by one of the color guards— our glo- 
 rious stars and stripes — and note this, that it was the first 
 American flag in the city of Monterey, an honor which we 
 know belongs to our battalion. 
 
 " No man there ever thought for a moment that he would 
 get out alive, and most of them did not. The firing still con- 
 tinued without the slightest intermission, whilst we remained 
 at this memorable corner, which was perhaps for fifteen minutes. 
 When we were ordered to charge up the street, a slight hesi- 
 tation was manifested by both regulars and volunteers, but the 
 ■ofiicers sprang to the front in double file. We advanced, I 
 suppose, about fifty yards, when Col. Garland, of the army, 
 ordered us to retire. We still advanced, and he again ordered 
 us to retire, adding this time in good order. I now became 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 466 
 
 separated from Col. Watson, and never saw liini agaiTi. Jle 
 took the left hand side of the street and I the right hand, 
 and when I reached the open field where he had first ordered 
 US to lie down, I was joined by Lieut. Aisquith, who, to my 
 inquiry, answered that he had just left the colonel, and sup- 
 posed that he would soon be with us. Seeing no other officer 
 around me, 1 rallied the ba^.talion, and led them down to make 
 another attack upon the fort." 
 30 
 
CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 General Taylor at Monterey — Saltillo Taken — Gen. Santa 
 Anna — Victoria Taken — Scott Supercedes Taylor — The Bat- 
 tle OF BuENA Vista. 
 
 General Taylor now established his headquarters at Monte- 
 rey. He dispatched Gen. Worth with twelve hundred men and 
 eight pieces of artillery against Saltillo, of which he took pos- 
 session without the slightest opposition. Here he remained until 
 the middle of January, when he was ordered to proceed with 
 the regulars and volunteers of the army to join Gen. Scott at 
 Vera Cruz. 
 
 Brig.-Gen. Wool was sent against Parras with a detachment 
 of twenty -four hundred men. Meanwhile a revolution at the 
 capital of Mexico had placed Gen. Santa Anna at the head of 
 Mexican affairs. He did not accept the Presidential chair, but 
 placed himself at the head of the army, and commenced extrav- 
 agant preparations for raising and equipping a force sufficient 
 to arrest the progress of Gen. Taylor. The United States 
 government was alarmed at the appearance of his movements, 
 and ordered Taylor to terminate the armistice which had been 
 granted. Receiving this information, he marched a force to 
 Victoria, and entered that place without opposition. At this 
 time Maj.-Gen. Scott had been appointed to supercede Taylor 
 in the command of the army in Mexico, and finding his force 
 insufficient to attack Vera Cruz, the first object of his cam- 
 paign, he made a lieavy draft on Taylor's army. In obedience 
 to this demand nearly all the regular troops, comprising the 
 divisions of Gens. Worth and Patterson, the brigades of 
 Quintam and Twiggs, and all the other corps that could be 
 drawn from the Rio Grande, started out for Vera Cruz. Five 
 hundred regulars and four thousand newly arrived volunteers 
 (46G) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CKNTURIKS. 467 
 
 were all that remained with Gen. Taylor. As soon as the troops 
 departed to join Scott, Taylor retired to Monterey, where he 
 remained until informed that Gen. Santa Anna was approach- 
 ing. He then set out for Agua ISTueva, which is about twenty 
 miles south of Saltillo. At this point he remained until the 
 twenty-first of February, when, being informed that the Mexi- 
 cans were approaching in great force, he retired to " the defile 
 called Angostura, which faces the hacienda of Buena Vista." 
 
 In this strong position he posted his little army of five 
 thousand, and awaited the approach of twenty thousand Mex- 
 icans. On the twenty-second of February the Mexican army 
 blackened the distant hills, and Taylor's men beheld their 
 approach. " It was a glorious spectacle," says an able writer, 
 " and even those who had never faced an enemy felt their 
 bosoms bounding with courage and enthusiasm as the glitter- 
 ing masses of Santa Anna's cavalry poured down into the 
 plains below. All fear was flung to the winds; silently and 
 sternly that little band gathered around its leader and awaited 
 the fearful shock." 
 
 The American army was drawn up nearly at right angles to 
 the road, its chief force being on the east side. This force con- 
 stituted the left wing, and faced the south; a battery of light 
 artillery occupied the road, and the right wing rested on the 
 hill west of it. On the twenty-first a flag approached Gen. 
 Taylor's headquarters, and the latter was treated with the 
 following communication from Gen. Santa Anna: 
 
 " You are surrounded by twenty thousand men, and cannot, 
 in any human probability, avoid suffering a rout and being cut 
 to pieces with your troops; but as you deserve consideration 
 and particular esteem, I wish to save you from a catastrophe, 
 and for that purpose give you this notice in order that you 
 may surrender at discretion, under the assurance that you will 
 be treated with the consideration belonging to the Mexican 
 character; to which end you will be granted an hour's time to 
 make up your mind, to commence from the moment when my 
 flag of truce arrives in your camp." 
 
 Gen. Taylor refused to surrender, and the celebrated battle 
 
468 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 of Biiena Vista followed, the general's own account of which 
 is as follows: 
 
 " The information which reached me of the advance and 
 concentration of a heavy Mexican force in my front, liad 
 assumed such a probable form as to induce a special examina- 
 tion far beyond the reach of our pickets, to ascertain its 
 correctness. A small party of Texan spies, under Maj. Mc- 
 Culloch, dispatched to the hacienda of Encarnacion, thirty miles 
 from this, on the route to San Luis Potosi, had reported a cav- 
 alry force of unknown strength at that place. On the twentieth 
 of February a strong reconnoissance under Lieut.-Col. May was 
 dispatched to the hacienda of Heclionda, while Maj. McCul- 
 lough made another examination of Encarnacion. The result 
 of these expeditions left no doubt that the enemy was in large 
 force at Encarnacion, under the orders of Gen, Santa Anna, 
 and that he meditated a forward movement and attack upon 
 our position. 
 
 " As the camp at Agua Nueva could be turned on either 
 flank, and as the enemy's force was greatly superior to our own, 
 particularly in the arm of cavalry, I determined, after much 
 consideration, to take up a position about eleven miles in rear, 
 and there await the attack. The army broke up its camp and 
 marched at noon on the twenty-iirst, encamping at the new 
 position a little in front of the hacienda of Buena Vista. With 
 a small force I proceeded to Saltillo to make some necessary 
 arrangements for the defense of the town, leaving Brig. Gen. 
 "Wool in the immediate command of the troops. 
 
 " Before those arrangements w^ere completed, on the morning 
 of the twenty-second, I was advised that the enemy was in 
 sight, advancing. Upon reaching the ground it was found 
 that his cavalry advance was in our ft-ont, having marched 
 from Encarnacion, as we have since learned, at eleven o'clock 
 on the day previous, and driving in a mounted force left at 
 Agua Kueva to cover the removal of public stores. Our troops 
 were in position, occupying a line of remarkable strength. 
 The road at this point becomes a narrow defile, the valley on 
 its right being rendered quite impracticable for artillery by a 
 system of deep and impassible gullies, while on the left a sue- 
 
OR, THE BORDf:R WARS OF TWO OKNTURllCS. 469 
 
 ridges and precipitous ravines extend far 
 back toward the mountain which bounds the valley. The 
 features of the ground were such as nearly to paralyze the 
 artillery and cavalry of the enemy, while his infantry could not 
 derive all the advantages of its numerical superiority. In this 
 position we prepared to receive him. Capt. Washington's bat 
 tery (Fourth artillery) was posted to command the road, while 
 the First and Second Illinois regiments, under Cols. Hardin and 
 Bissell, each eight companies (to the latter of which was 
 attached Capt. Conner's company of Texas volunteers), and 
 the Second Kentucky, under Col. McKee, occupied the crests 
 of the ridges on the left and in the rear. The Arkansas and 
 Kentucky regiments of cavalry, commanded by Cols. Yell and 
 H. Marshall, occupied the extreme left near the base of the 
 mountain, while the Indiana brigade, under Brig.-Gen, Lane, 
 (composed of the Second and Third regiments, under Cols. 
 Bowles and Lane), the Mississippi riflemen, under Col. Davis, 
 the squadrons of the First and Second dragoons, under Capt. 
 Steen, and Lieut.-Col. May, and the light batteries of Captains 
 Sherman and Bragg, Third artillery, were held in reserve. 
 
 " At eleven o'clock I received from Gen. Santa Anna a sum- 
 mons to surrender at discretion, which, with a copy of my 
 reply, I have already transmitted. The enemy still forbore his 
 attack, evidently waiting for the arrival of his rear columns, 
 wdiich could be distinctly seen by our look-outs as they 
 approached the field. A demonstration made on his left 
 caused me to detach the second Kentucky regiment and a sec- 
 tion of artillery to our right, in which position they bivouacked 
 for the night. In the meantime, the Mexican light troops had 
 engaged ours on the extreme left (composed of parts of the 
 Kentucky and Arkansas cavalry dismounted, and a rifle battal- 
 ion from the Indiana brigade, under Major Gorman, the whole 
 commanded by Col. Marshall,) and kept up a sharp fire, climb- 
 ing the mountain side, and apparently endeavoring to gain our 
 fiank. Three pieces of Capt. Washington's battery had been 
 detached to the left, and were supported by the second Indiana 
 regiment. An occasional shell was thrown by the enemy into 
 this part of our line, but without effect. The skirmishing of 
 
470 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 the light troops was kept up with trifling loss on our part until 
 dark, when I became convinced that no serious attack would 
 be made before the morning, and returned, with the Missis- 
 sippi regiment and squadron of second dragoons, to Saltillo. 
 The troops bivouacked without fires, and laid upon their arms. 
 A body of cavalry, some fifteen hundred strong, had been vis- 
 ible all day in rear of the town, having entered the valley 
 through a narrow pass east of the city. This cavalry, com- 
 manded by Gen. Minon, had evidently been thrown in our rear 
 to break up and harass our retreat, and perhaps make some 
 attempt against the town if practicable. The city was occupied 
 by four excellent companies of Illinois volunteers, under Major 
 Warren of the first regiment. A field work, which commanded 
 most of the approaches, was garrisoned by Capt. Webster's 
 company, first artillery, and armed with two 24:-pound howit- 
 zers, while the train and headquarter camp was guarded by two 
 companies of Mississippi rifiemen, under Capt. Rogers, and a 
 field piece commanded by Capt. Shover, third artillery. Hav- 
 ing made these dispositions for the protection of the rear, I 
 proceeded on the morning of the twenty-third to Buena Vista, 
 ordering forward all the other available troops. The action 
 had commenced before my arrival on the field. 
 
 " During the evening and night of the twenty-second the 
 enemy had thrown a body of light troops on the mountain side, 
 with the purpose of outflanking our left; and it was here that 
 the action of the twenty-third commenced at an early hour. 
 Our riflemen, under Col. Marshall, who had been re-enforced by 
 three companies under Major Trail, second Illinois volunteers, 
 maintained their ground handsomely against a greatly supe- 
 rior force, holding themselves under cover, and using their 
 weapons with deadly effect. About eight o'clock a strong 
 demonstration was made against the center of our position, a 
 heavy column moving along the road. This force was soon 
 dispersed by a few rapid and well-directed shots from Capt. 
 Washington's battery. In the meantime the enemy was con- 
 centrating a large force of infantry and cavalry under cover of 
 the ridges, with the obvious intention of forcing our left, 
 which was posted on an extensive plateau. The second Indi- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WAfiS OF TWO CPINTURIK««. 471 
 
 ana and second Illinois regiments formed this part of our line, 
 the former covering three pieces of light arti'^ery, imaer the 
 orders of Capt. O'Brien — Brig.-Gen. Lane being in the imme- 
 diate command. In order to bring his men within effective 
 range, Gen. Lane ordered the artillery and second Indiana 
 regiment forward. The artillery advanced within musket 
 range of a heavy body of Mexican infantry, and was served 
 against it with great effect, but without being able to check its 
 advance. The infantry ordered to its support had fallen back 
 in disorder, being exposed, as well as the battery, not only to 
 a severe fire of small arms from the front, but also to a mur- 
 derolis cross-fire of grape and canister from a Mexican battery 
 on the left. Capt. O'Brien found it impossible to retain his 
 position without support, but was only able to withdraw two 
 of his pieces, all the horses and cannoneers of the third piece 
 being killed or disabled. The second Indiana regiment, which 
 had fallen back as stated, could not be rallied, and took no 
 farther part in the action, except a handful of men, who, under 
 its gallant colonel, Bowles, joined the Mississippi regiment, 
 and did good service, and those fugitives who, at a later period 
 in the day, assisted in defending the train and depot at Buena 
 Vista. This portion of our line having given way, and the 
 enemy appearing in overwhelming force against our left flank, 
 the light troops which had rendered such good service on the 
 mountain were compelled to withdraw, which they did, for the 
 most part, in good order. Many, however, were not rallied 
 until they reached the depot at Buena Vista, to the defense of 
 which they afterward contributed. 
 
 " Col. Bissell's regiment (second Illinois,) which had been 
 joined by a section of Capt. Sherman's battery, had become 
 completely outflanked, and was compelled to fall back, being 
 entirely unsupported. The enemy was now pouring masses of 
 infantry and cavalry along the base of the mountain on our 
 left, and was gaining our rear in great force. At this moment 
 I arrived upon the field. The Mississippi regiment had been 
 directed to the left before readying the position, and immedi- 
 ately came into action against the Mexican -infantry which had 
 turned our flank. The second Kentucky regiment and a sec- 
 
472 CONQUKST OF MEXICO: 
 
 tion of artillery under Oapt. Bragg, liad previously been 
 ordered from the right to re-enforce our left, and arrived at a 
 most opportune moment. That regiment, and a portion of the 
 first Illinois, under Col. Hardin, gallantly drove the enemy, 
 and recovered a portion of the ground we had lost. The bat- 
 teries of Capts. Sherman and Bragg were in a position on the 
 plateau, and did much execution, not only in front, but partic- 
 ularly upon the masses which had gained our rear. Discover- 
 ing that the enemy was heavily pressing upon the Mississippi 
 regiment, the third Indiana regiment, under Col. Lane, was 
 dispatched to strengthen that part of our line, which formed a 
 crotchet perpendicular to the first line of battle. At the-same 
 time Lieut, Kilburn, with a piece of Capt. Bragg's battery, 
 was directed to support the infantry there engaged. The 
 action was for a long time warmly sustained at that point — 
 the enemy making several efforts both with infantry and cav- 
 alry against our line, and being always repulsed with heavy 
 loss. I had placed all the regular cavalry and Capt. Pike's 
 squadron of Arkansas horse under the orders of Brevet Lieut- 
 Col. May, with directions to hold in check the enemy's column, 
 still advancing to the rear along the base of the mountain, 
 which was done in conjunction with the Kentucky and Arkan- 
 sas cavalry under Cols. Marshall and Yell. 
 
 " In the meantime our left, which was still strongly threat- 
 ened by a superior force, was farther strengthened by the 
 detachment of Capt. Bragg's and a portion of Ca23t. Sherman 's 
 batteries to that quarter. The concentration of artillery fire 
 upon the masses of the enemy along the base of the mountain, 
 and the determined resistance offered by the two regiments 
 opposed to them, had created confusion in their ranks, and 
 some of the corps attempted to effect a retreat upon the main 
 line of battle. The squadron of the first dragoons, under 
 Lieut. Rucker, was now ordered up the deep ravine which these 
 retreating corps were endeavoring to cross, in order to charge 
 and disperse them. The squadron proceeded to the point 
 indicated, but could not accomplish the object, being exposed 
 to a heavy tire from a battery established to cover the retreat 
 of those corps. While the squadron was detached on this 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 473 
 
 service, a large bodj of the enemy was observed to concentrate 
 on our extreme left, apparently with a view of making a 
 descent upon the hacienda of Buena Yista, where our train 
 and baggage were deposited. Lieut.-Col. May was ordered to 
 the support of that point, with two pieces of Capt. Sherman's 
 battery under Lieut. Eeynolds. In the meantime, the scat- 
 tered forces near the hacienda, composed in part of Majors 
 Trail and Gorman's commands, had been to some extent organ- 
 ized under the advice of Major Monroe, chief of artilleiw, with 
 the assistance of Major Morrison, volunteer staff, and were 
 posted to defend the position. Before our cavalry had reached 
 the hacienda, that of the enemy had made its attack; having 
 been handsomely met by the Kentucky and Arkansas cavalry 
 under Cols. Marshall and Yell. The Mexican column imme- 
 diately divided, one portion sweeping by the depot, where it 
 received a destructive lire from the force which had collected 
 there, and tlien gaining the mountain opposite, under a fire 
 from Lieut. Eeynolds' section, the remaining portion regaining 
 the base of the mountain on our left. In the charge at Buena 
 Yista, Col. Yell fell gallantly at the head of his regiment; we 
 also lost adjutant Vaughan, of the Kentucky cavahy — a young 
 officer of much promise. Lieut.-Col. May, who had been 
 rejoined by the squadron of the first dragoons and by portions 
 of the Arkansas and Indiana troops, under Lieut.-Col. Eoane 
 and Major Gorman, now approached the base of the mountain, 
 holding in check the right flank of the enemy, upon whose 
 masses, crowded in the narrow gorges and ravines, our artil- 
 lery was doing fearful execution. 
 
 " Tlie position of that portion of the Mexican army which 
 had gained our rear was now very critical, and it seemed 
 doubtful whether it could regain the main body. At this 
 moment I received from Gen. Santa Anna a message by a stafl* 
 officer, desiring to know what I wanted? I immediately des- 
 patched Brig.-Gen. "Wool to the Mexican general-in-chief, and 
 sent orders to cease firing. Upon reaching the Mexican lines 
 Gen. "Wool could not cause the enemy to cease their fire, and 
 accordingly returned without iiaving an interview. The 
 extreme right of the enemy continued its retreat along tlie 
 
474 CONQUEST OF MEXICO I 
 
 base of the mountain, and finally, in spite of all our efforts,, 
 effected a junction with the remainder of the army. 
 
 " During the day, the cavalry of Gen. Minon had ascended 
 the elevated plain above Saltillo, and occupied the road from 
 the city to the field of battle, where they intercepted several 
 of our men. Approaching the town, they were fired upon by 
 Capt. Webster from the redoubt occupied by his company,, 
 and then moved off towards the eastern side of the valley, and 
 obliquely towards Buena Vista. At this time, Capt. Shover 
 moved rapidly forward with his piece, supported by a miscel- 
 laneous command of mounted volunteers, and fired several 
 shots at the cavalry with great effect. They were driven into- 
 the ravines which lead to the lower valley, closely pursued by 
 Capt. Shover, who was farther supported by a piece of Capt.. 
 Webster's battery, under Lieut. Donaldson, which had 
 advanced from the redoubt, supported by Capt. Wheeler's 
 company of Illinois volunteers. The enemy made one or two 
 efforts to charge the artillery, but was finally driven back in a 
 confused mass, and did not again appear upon the plain. 
 
 " In the meantime, the firing had partially ceased upon the 
 principal field. The enemy seemed to confine his efforts to 
 the protection of his artillery, and I had left the plateau for a 
 moment, when I was recalled thither by a very heavy musketry 
 fire. On regaining that position, I discovered that our infantry 
 (Illinois and second Kentucky) had engaged a greatly superior 
 force of the enemy — evidently his reserve— and that they had 
 been overwhelmed by numbers. The moment was most criti- 
 cal. Capt. O'Brien, with two pieces, had sustained this 
 heavy charge to the last, and was finally obliged to leave his 
 guns on the field— his infantry support being entirely routed. 
 Capt. Bragg, who had just arrived from the left, was ordered 
 at once into battery. Without any infantry to support him, 
 and at the imminent risk of losing his guns, this ofiicer came 
 rapidly into action, the Mexican line being but a few yards 
 from the muzzle of his pieces. The first discharge of canister 
 caused the enemy to hesitate, the second and third drove him 
 back in disorder, and saved tlie day. The second Kentucky 
 regiment, which had advanced beyond supi3orting distance in 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 475 
 
 this affair, was driven back and closely pressed by the enemy's 
 cavalry. Taking a ravine which led in the direction of Capt. 
 Washington's battery, their pursuers became exposed to his 
 fire, which soon checked and drove them back with loss. In 
 the meantime the rest of our artillery had taken position on 
 the plateau, covered by the Mississippi and third Indiana 
 regiments, the former of which had reached the ground in 
 time to pour a fire into the right flank of the enemy, and thus 
 contribute to his repulse. In this last conflict we had the 
 misfortune to sustain a very heavy loss. Col. Hardin, first 
 Illinois, and Col. McKee and Lieut.-Col. Clay, second Ken- 
 tucky regiment, Ml at this time while gallantly leading their 
 commands. 
 
 " Ko farther attempt was made by the enemy to force our 
 position, and the approach of night gave an opportunity to 
 pay proper attention to the wounded, and also to refresh the 
 soldiers, who had been exhausted by incessant watchfulness 
 and combat. Though the night was severely cold, the troops 
 were compelled for the most to bivouac without fires, expect- 
 ing that morning would renew the conflict. During the night 
 the wounded were removed to Saltillo, and evei-y prepartion 
 made to receive the enemy, should he again attack our position. 
 Seven fresh companies were drawn from the town, and Brig.- 
 Gen. Marshall, with a re-enforcement of Kentucky cavalry and 
 four heavy guns, under Capt. Prentiss, first artillery, was near 
 at hand, when it was discovered that the enemy had abandoned 
 his position during the night. Our scouts soon ascertained 
 that he had fallen back upon Agua ITueva. The great dis- 
 parity of numbers, and the exhaustion of our troops, rendered 
 it inexpedient aijd hazardous to attempt pursuit. A stafiT 
 officer was dispatched to Gen. Santa Anna to negotiate an 
 exchange of prisoners, which was satisfactorily completed on 
 the following day. .Our own dead were collected and buried, 
 and the Mexican wounded, of which a large number had been 
 left upon the field, were removed to Saltillo, and rendered as 
 comfortable as circumstances would permit. 
 
 " On the evening of the twenty-sixth, a close reconnoissance 
 was made of the enemy's position, which was found to be 
 
476 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 occiij)ied only by a small body of cavalry, the infantry and 
 artillery having retreated in tlie direction of San Luis Potosi. 
 On the twenty-seventh, our troops resumed their former camp 
 at Agua ISTueva, the enemy's rear-guard evacuating the place 
 as we approached, leaving a considerable number of wounded. 
 It was my jjurpose to beat up his quarters at Encarnacion 
 early the next morning, but upon examination, the weak con- 
 dition of the cavalry horses rendered it unadvisable to attempt 
 so long a march without water, A command was finally des- 
 patched to Encarnacion, on the first of March, under Col. 
 Belknap. Some two hundred wounded, and about sixty Mexi- 
 can soldiers were found there, the army having passed on in 
 tlie direction of Matehuala, with greatly reduced numbers, and 
 suffering much from hunger. The dead and dying were 
 strewed upon the road, and crowded the buildings of the 
 hacienda. 
 
 " The American force engaged in the action of Buena Vista 
 is shown, by the accompanying field report, to have been three 
 hundred and thirty-four officers, and four thousand four 
 hundred and twenty-five men, exclusive of the small command 
 left in and near Saltillo. Of this number, two squadrons of 
 cavalry and three batteries of light artillery, making not more 
 than four hundred and fifty-three men, composed the only 
 force of regular troops. The strength of the Mexican army is 
 stated by Gen. Santa Anna, in his summons, to be twenty 
 thousand; and that estimate is confirmed by all the informa- 
 tion since obtained. Our loss is two hundred and seventy- 
 seven killed, four hundred and fifty-six wounded, and twenty- 
 three missing. Of the numerous wounded, many did not require 
 removal to the hospital, and it is hoped that a comparatively 
 small number will be permanently disabled. The Mexican loss 
 in killed and wounded may be fairly estimated at one thousand 
 five hundred, and will probably reach two thousand. At least 
 five hundred of their killed were left upon the field of battle. 
 We have no means of ascertaining the number of deserters 
 and dispersed men from their ranks, but it is known to be very 
 great." 
 
CHAPTEK LX. 
 
 Gen. Scott's Cajipaign — The Siege of Vera Cruz — Victory of 
 Cerro Gordo — Capture op Puebla — Advance on Mexico — 
 Battle of the Contreras — The Victory — Other Battles — 
 Battle of Churubusco — The Armistice. 
 
 Leavijmg Gen. Taylor at Monterey, to ^^'hicli place he marched 
 soon after the battle of Biiena Yista, let us turn our attention 
 to the campaign of Major-Gen. Winfield Scott, who was 
 advancing into Mexico from another quarter. After muster- 
 ing an army of nearly twelve thousand men, part of them 
 having been drawn from Gen. Taylor's force, he proceeded 
 against the city and castle of Vera Cruz, the first object of the 
 campaign. On the fifth of March, 1847, Gen. Scott's fleet 
 arrived in the port of Anton Lizardo, presenting a grand scene. 
 "The whole eastern horizon," says an eye witness, "looked 
 like a wall of canvass. The usually quiet harbor was soon 
 astir with the fleet, which presented a perfect wilderness of 
 spars and rigging. For five days the excitement raged; drums 
 were beating, bands of music playing," and everything told of 
 an approaching conflict. On the tenth, the ships of war were 
 got under way for Vera Cruz, and the army was transported 
 from the transports to them in surf-boats. The ships then 
 set sail for the city, and, in the passage, presented a beautiful 
 sight. " The tall ships of war sailing leisurely along under 
 their topsails, their decks thronged in every part with dense 
 masses of troops, whose bright muskets and bayonets were 
 flashing in the sunbeams; the gingling of spurs and sabres; 
 the bands of music playing; the hum of the multitude rising 
 up like the murmur of the distant ocean; the small steamers 
 plying about, their decks crowded with anxious spectators; 
 the long lines of surf-boats towing astern of the ships, ready 
 (477) 
 
478 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 to disembark tlie troops; all these tended to render the scene 
 one of the deepest interest." About three o'clock in the after- 
 noon, the army beheld in the distance, the time-worn walls 
 and battlements of Vera Cruz, and the stately old castle of San 
 Juan d'Ulloa, with their ponderous cannon, tier upon tier, 
 flashing in the yellow rays of the sun. 
 
 The scene of embarkation and the siege, is thus described by 
 an eye witness, whose language has been preserved in a neat 
 little work, entitled " The Mexican War and its Heroes:" " It 
 was a most beautiful, nay, a suhlmie sight, that embarkation. 
 I still retained my position in the fore-top, and was watching 
 €very movement with the most anxious interest; for it was 
 thought by many that the enemy would oppose the landing of 
 our troops. About four o'clock, tlie huge surf-boats, each capa- 
 ble of conveying one hundred men, were hauled to the gang- 
 ways of the different men-of-war, and quickly laden with their 
 ^ warlike fraughtage;' formed in a single line, nearly a mile in 
 length; and at a given signal, commenced slowly moving 
 toward the Mexican shore. It was a grand spectacle! On, on 
 went the long range of boats, loaded down to the gunwales 
 with brave men, the rays of the slowly-departing sun resting 
 upon their uniforms and bristling bayonets, and wrapping the 
 far inland and fantastic mountains of Mexico in robes of gold. 
 On they went; the measured stroke of the countless oars ming- 
 ling with the hoarse, dull roar of the trampling surf upon the 
 sandy beach, and the shriek of the myriads of sea-birds soar- 
 ing high in air, until the boats struck the shore, and quick as 
 thought our army began to land. At this instant, the Amer- 
 ican flag was planted, and unrolling its folds, floated proudly 
 out upon the evening breeze; the crews of the men-of-war 
 made the welkin ring with their fierce cheering; and a dozen 
 bands of music, at the same time, and as if actuated by one 
 impulse, struck up 
 
 ' 'Tis the star-spangled banner! O, long may it wave, 
 O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!' 
 
 " Early the next morning, the old grim castle of San Juan 
 d'Ulloa commenced trying the range of its heavy guns, throw- 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 479 
 
 ing Paixlian sliells at the armj, and continued it at intervals 
 for a week; but with the exception of an occasional skirmish 
 with a party of the enemy's lancers, they had all the fun to 
 themselves. In the meantime our forces went quietly on with 
 their preparations, stationing their pickets, planting their 
 heavy mortars, landing their horses, provisions and munitions 
 of war, constantly annoyed with a ceaseless fire from the 
 Mexican batteries, which our troops were as yet too busy to 
 return. 
 
 " On the twenty-fourth, Lieut. Oliver Hazard Perry, with a 
 zeal worthy of his illustrious father, ' the hero of Lake Erie,' 
 dismounted one of the waist guns of the ' Albany,' a sixty- 
 eight pounder, procured a number of volunteers who would 
 willingly have charged up to the muzzles of the Mexican can- 
 non with such a leader, and taking forty rounds of Paixhan 
 shells, proceeded on shore, where, after dragging his gun 
 through tlie sand for three miles, he arrived at a small fortifi- 
 cation, which the engineers had constructed of sand-bags for 
 him, and there planted his engine of destruction, in a situation 
 which commanded the whole city of Vera Cruz. Roused by 
 such a gallant example, guns from each of the other ships of 
 the squadron were disembarked and conveyed to the breast- 
 work, which was as yet concealed from the eyes of the Mexi- 
 cans by being in the rear of an almost impervious chaparral, 
 and in a short time a most formidable fortress was completed, 
 which was styled the N'aval Battery. 
 
 "At this period. Gen. Scott, having quietly made all his 
 arrangements, while a constant shower of shot and shell were 
 thrown at his army by the enemy, sent a flag of truce, with a 
 summons for the immediate surrender of the city of Vera 
 Cruz, and the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, and with a full 
 understanding that unless his demand was immediately com- 
 plied with, an attack would follow. As a matter of course, the 
 Mexicans, expecting aij assault, for which they were well pre- 
 pared, and not a bombardment, returned an indignant refusal, 
 and were told that at four o'clock p. m., they should hear farther 
 from us. In the meantime, the chaparral had been cut away, 
 disclosing the l^aval Battery to the gaze of the astonished 
 
480 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 Mexicans, and the mortars and heavy artillery, which had been 
 planted upon the hills overlooking the city, and were ready to 
 vomit forth their fires of death. Every person was now wait- 
 ing with trembling anxiety the commencement of the fray. 
 
 " About four o'clock p. m., while the crews of the squadron 
 were all at supper, a sudden and tremendous roar of artillery 
 on shore proclaimed that the battle had begun. The tea- 
 things were left to ' take care of themselves,' and pell-mell 
 tumbled sick and well up the ladders to the spar-deck. I fol- 
 lowed with the human tide, and soon found myself in the 
 fore-top of the ' Albany,' and looking around me a sublime 
 but terrific sight my elevated perch presented to the view. 
 Some two hundred sail of vessels were lying immediately 
 around us, their tops, cross-trees, yards, shrouds — everything 
 where a foothold could be obtained — crowded with human 
 beings, clustered like swarming bees in inid-summer on the 
 trees, all intently watching the battle. I turned my eyes on 
 shore. Jonathan had at last awakened from his slumber, and 
 had set to work in earnest. Bombshells were fiying like hail- 
 stones into Vera Cruz from every quarter; sulphurous flashes, 
 clouds of smoke and the dull boom of the heavy guns arose 
 from the walls of the city in return, while ever and anon a red 
 sheet of flame would leap from the great brass mortars on the 
 ramparts of the grim castle, followed by a report, which fairly 
 made the earth tremble. The large ships of the squadron 
 could not approach near enough to the shore to participate in 
 the attack upon the city, without exposing them to the fire of 
 the castle; but all the gunboats, small steamers and everything 
 that could be brought to bear upon the enemy, were sent in 
 and commenced blazing away; a steady stream of fire, like the 
 red glare of a volcano! This state of things continued until 
 sunset, when the small vessels were called ofl"; but the mortars 
 kept throwing shells into the devoted town the live-long night. 
 I was watching them until after midnight, and it was one of 
 the most striking displays that I ever beheld. 
 
 " A huge black cloud of smoke hung like a pall over the 
 American army, completely concealing it from view; thq Mex- 
 icans had ceased firing, in order to prevent our troops from 
 
OR, THE HOKDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 481 
 
 ■directing their guns by the flashes from the walls; but the 
 bombardiers had obtained the exact range before dark, and kept 
 thundering away, every shell falling directly into the doomed 
 city. Suddenly, a vivid, lightning-like flash would gleam for 
 an instant upon the black pall of smoke hanging over our lines, 
 and then as the roar of the great mortar came borne to our 
 -ears, the pondei-ous shell would be seen to dart upward like a 
 meteor, and after describing a semi-circle in the air, descend 
 with a loud crash upon the house-tops, or into the resounding 
 streets of the fated city. Then, after a brief but awful moment 
 of suspense, a lurid glare, illuminating for an instant the white 
 domes and grim fortresses of Yera Cruz, falling into ruins 
 with the shock, and the echoing crash that came borne to our 
 ears, told that the shell had exploded, and executed its terrible 
 mission ! 
 
 " Throughout the whole night these fearful missiles were 
 traveling into the city in one continued stream; but the enemy 
 did not return the fire. At daylight, however, the Mexicans 
 again opened their batteries upon our army, with the most 
 determined bravery. 
 
 "About eight o'clock a. m., the gallant Perry and his brave 
 associates, having finished the mounting of their guns, and 
 completed all their arrangements, opened with a tremendous 
 roar the Naval Battery upon the west side of the city, and 
 were immediately answered from four distinct batteries of the 
 enemy. The firm earth trembled beneath the discharge of 
 these 2:»onderous guns, and the shot flew like hail into the town, 
 and were returned with interest by the Mexicans. Their heavy 
 ,guns were served with wonderful precision ; and almost every 
 shot struck the little fort, burst open the sand-bags of which it 
 was constructed, and covered our brave ofiicers and men with 
 a cloud of dust. Many shot and shell were thrown directly 
 through the embi-asures; and to use the expressions of one of 
 our old tars who had been in several engagements, ' the red- 
 skins handled their long thirty-two's as if they had been rifles!' 
 Several of our men and one officer had fallen, but the remain- 
 der of the brave fellows kept blazing away; while the forts and 
 . ramparts of the city began to crumble to the earth. This 
 31 
 
482 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 state of tilings continued until the twenty-seventli ; the army 
 throwing a constant shower of bombs into the city, and the 
 Naval Battery (manned daily by fresh officers and men,) beat- 
 ing down the fortifications, and destroying everything within 
 its range, when a fiag of truce was sent out with an offer, 
 which was immediately accepted, of an unconditional surren- 
 der of the city of Yera Cruz and the castle of San Juan'^ 
 d'Ulloa." 
 
 The American army under Gen. Scott entered Vera Cruz in 
 triumph, where it remained about two wrecks, when the Gen- 
 eral marched his army for the Mexican Capital. On the 
 seventeenth of April he arrived at the pass of the Sierra Gorde, 
 where Gen. Santa Anna was posted with eleven thousand men. 
 Scott made preparations for attacking the enemy on the fol- 
 lowing day, planning an attack which has become famous for 
 its perfection and results. In his report of the engagement, 
 Gen. Scott says: "We are quite embarrassed with the results 
 of victory — prisoners of war, heavy ordnance, field batteries, 
 small arms, and accoutrements. About three thousand men 
 laid down their arms with the usual proportion of field and 
 company officers, besides five generals, several of them of great 
 distinction. Pinson, Jarerro, La Yega, Noriega, and Obando. 
 A sixth general, Yasquez, was killed in defending the battery 
 (tower) in the rear of the whole Mexican army, the capture of 
 which gave us those glorious results." The loss of the Amer- 
 icans in this terrible battle was light, while that of the Mexi- 
 cans was, as in most of their engagements with the United 
 States troops, very heavy. 
 
 /^ A detachment under Gen. Worth captured Puebla on the 
 fifteenth of May, where the army remained until the seventh 
 of August, when the whole army marched for the city of 
 Mexico. On the afternoon of the third day's march, a sudden 
 turn in the route revealed a scene that was well calculated to 
 excite the weary soldiers. The whole vast plain of Mexico 
 was before them. The coldness of the air, which was most 
 sensibly felt at this great elevation, their fatigue and da.nger 
 were forgotten, and their "eyes were the only sense that 
 thought of enjoyment." Mexico with its lofty steeples and 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO (JEN'I'UKIKS. 4SH 
 
 chequered domes, its bright reality, and its former fame, its 
 modern splendor and its ancient magnificence, was before them, 
 while around on everj^ side its thousand lakes seemed like 
 silver stars on a velvet mantle. Scott's army encamped that 
 night at the base of the mountains with the enemy's scouts 
 on every side. On the following day the army halted al 
 .i^yotta, only fifteen miles from Mexico. " We were separated," 
 says one who bore the fatigues of the march, "from the city 
 by the marshes which surround Lake Tezcuco, and by the lake 
 itself." The road from thio point was commanded by a steep 
 and loftly hill called El Pinnal, which had been strongly forti- 
 fied by Santa Anna. Batteries mounting over fifty guns in 
 all, had been placed on its sides, and a deep ditch, twenty-four 
 feet wide, and ten deep, filled with water, had been cut, con- 
 necting the ports already surrounded by marshes. On this 
 side Santa Anna had twenty-five thousand men against the 
 American force of a little over nine thousand. 
 
 On the twenty-second of August, the Amei-icans made a 
 reconnoisance of the work which was pronounced impractica- 
 ble, as the lives of half the troops would be sacrificed befoi-e 
 the ditch could be crossed. After a long search another road 
 was found, which led around on the left, but which was guarded 
 with five strong batteries at a point about five miles from the 
 city. All approach to the city seemed to be cut oif, but at 
 length, by means of his scouts. General Worth, who was 
 encamped about five miles distant found a path around the 
 left of Lake Chalco, which led to the western gate of the city, 
 and which had not yet been fortified. On the fourteenth the 
 army commenced its march by this route. On the nineteenth it 
 arrived at San Juan, Worth's division being considerably in 
 advance. When the Americans arrived at this place, they 
 received orders to sling their blankets across their shoulders, 
 put their knapsacks into their wagons, and to put two day's 
 bread and beef in tlieir haversacks. When this order came the 
 men knew that the work was at hand. The enemy was 
 reported to be in position as follows: Santa Anna with twenty 
 thousand men was at St. Augustine; Valencia with ten thous- 
 and was at an elevation called Contreros which commanded 
 
484 CONQUEST OF MEXICO'. 
 
 the road in that direction. It now became Scott's object to 
 drive Valencia from his position, and thus get in between 
 Santa Anna and the city. With a view to effecting this, Gen. 
 Worth was directed to keep Santa Anna in check, while a 
 portion of the army under Gen. Twiggs was to rout Yalencia. 
 The progress from this point is thus described by one who 
 participated :* 
 
 ^'" We left San Juan about one o'clock, not particularly desir- 
 ing a fight so late in the day, but still not shunning it in case 
 we could have a respectable chance. About two p. m., as w^e 
 had crawled to the top of a hill, whither we had been ourselves 
 pulling Magruder's battery and the mountain howitzers, we 
 suddenly espied Yalencia fortified on a hill about two hundred 
 yards off, and strongly re-enforced by a column which had just 
 come out of the city. We laid down close to avoid drawing 
 their fire, while the battery moved past at a full gallop. Just 
 then. Gen. Smith's manly voice rung out, ^Forward the rifles 
 — to support the lattery.'' On they went until we got about 
 eight hundred yards from the work, when the enemy opened 
 upon them with the long guns, which were afterwards found 
 to be sixteen and eight-inch howitzers. The ground was the 
 worst possible for artillery, covered with rocks large and small, 
 prickly -pear and cactus, intersected by ditches filled with water 
 and lined with maguey -plant, itself imper viable to cavalrj^, 
 and with patches of corn which concealed the enemy's skir- 
 mishers, while it impeded our own passage. The artillery 
 advanced but slowly under a most tremendous fire, which 
 greatly injured it before it could be got in range, and the 
 thickness of the undergrowth caused the skirmishers thrown 
 forward to lose their relative position, as well as the column. 
 About four, the battery got in position under a most murder- 
 ous fire of grape, canister, and round-shot. Here the superi- 
 ority of the enemy's pieces rendered our fire nugatory. We 
 could get but three pieces in battery, while they had twenty- 
 seven., all of them three times the calibre of ours. For two hours 
 our troops stood the storm of iron and lead they hailed upon 
 them, unmoved. At every discharge they laid flat down to 
 
 * The Mexican War and Its Heroes. 
 
OR, TFIE BORDER WARS OV TWO (IKN'I'II KI I*. 485 
 
 avoid the storm, and then s])ruiig up to serve the guns. At 
 the end of that time, two of the gnus were dismounted, and 
 we badly hurt: thirteen of the horses were killed and disabled, 
 and fifteen of the cannoniers killed and wounded. The regi- 
 ment was then recalled. The lancers had been rej)e]led in 
 three successive charges. The third infantry and tirst artillery 
 had also engaged and successfully repelled the enemy's skir- 
 mishers without losing either officers or men. The greatest 
 loss had been at the batteries. Officers looked gloomy for the 
 first day's light, but the brigade was formed, and Gen. Sniith 
 in person took command. All felt revived, and followed liim 
 with a yell, as, creeping low to avoid the grape, (which was 
 coming very fast,) we made a circuit in rear of the batteries; 
 and, passing off to the right, we were soon lost to view in the 
 chaparral and cactus. 
 
 " Passing over the path that we scrambled through, behold 
 us at almost six o'clock in the evening, tired, hungry, and sor- 
 rowful, emerging from the cliaparral and croosing the road 
 between it and Valencia. Here we found Cadwalader and his 
 brigade already formed, and discovered Riley's brigade skir- 
 mishing in rear of the enemy's works. Valencia was ignorant 
 of our approach, and we were as yet safe. In front of us was 
 Valencia, strongly entrenched on a hill-side and surrounded 
 by a regular field-work, concealed from us by an orchard in 
 our rear. Mendoza, with a column of six thousand, was in 
 the road, but thinking us to be friends. On our right was a 
 large range of hills whose continued crest was parallel to the 
 road, and in which were formed in line of battle five thousand 
 of the best Mexican cavalry. On our left we were separated 
 from our own forces by an almost impassible wilderness, and 
 it was now twilight. Even Smith looked round for help. 
 Suddenly a thousand vivas came across the hill-side like the 
 yells of prairie wolves in the dead of night, and the squadrons 
 on our right formed for charging. Smith is himself again! 
 ' B'ace to the rear!' 'Wait till yon see their red caps, and 
 then give it to them!" Furiously they came on a few yards, 
 then changed their minds, and, disgusted at our cool reception, 
 retired to their couclies. 
 
480 CONQUEST OF MEXICO : 
 
 '' On the edge of the road, between us and Valencia, a Mexican 
 hamlet spread out, with its mud huts, large orchards, deep-cut 
 roads, and a strong church; and through the centre of this 
 hamlet ran a path parallel to the main road, but concealed 
 from it; it is nearly a mile long. In this road Smith's and 
 Ei ley's brigade bivouacked. Shields, who came up in the 
 night, lay in the orchard, while Cadwalader was nearest the 
 enemy's works. As we were within range of their batteries, 
 which could eniilade the road in which we lay, we built a stone 
 breastwork at either end to conceal ourselves from their view 
 and grape. There we were, completely surrounded by the 
 enemy, cut olf from our communications, ignorant of the 
 ground, without artillery, w^eary, dispirited, and dejected. We 
 were a disheartened set. With Santa Anna and Salas's promise 
 of ' no quarter,' a force of four to one against us, and one- 
 half defeated already, no succour from Puebla, and no news 
 from Gen. Scott, all seemed dark. Suddenly the words came 
 whispered along, ' We stor7n at 'midnight.'' Now we are our- 
 selves again! But what a horrible night! There we lay, too 
 tired to eat, too w^et to sleep, in the middle of that muddy road, 
 officers and men side by side, with a heavy rain pouring down 
 upon us, the officers without blankets or overcoats (they had 
 lost them in coming across), and the men worn out with fatigue. 
 About midnight the rain was so heavy that the streams in the 
 road Ifooded us, and there we stood crowded together, drenched 
 and benumbed, waiting for daylight. 
 
 " At lialf-past three the welcome word ^fccll in ' was passed 
 down, and we commenced our march. The enemy's works were 
 on a hill-side, behind which rose other and slightly higher 
 hills, separated by deep ravines and gullies, and inter- 
 sected by streams. The whole face of the country was of stiff 
 clay, which rendered it almost impossible to advance. We 
 formed our line about a quarter of a mile from the enemy's 
 works, Riley's brigade on our right. At about four we started, 
 winding through a thick orchard which effectually concealed 
 us, even had it not been dark, debouching into a deep ravine 
 which ran within about live hundred yards of the work, and 
 wliich carried us directly in rear and out of sight of their bat- 
 
OR, TIIK BORDER WAIIS OF TWO ('ICNTfUIKS. 487 
 
 teries. At dawn of day we reached our place, after incredible 
 exertions, and got ready for our charge. The men threw otf 
 their wet blankets and looked to their pieces, while the ofHcers 
 got ready for a rush, and the first smile that lit up our faces 
 for twelve hours boded but little good for the Mexicans. On 
 the right, and opposite the right of their w^ork, was Eiley's 
 brigade of the Second and First infantry and Fourth artillery, 
 next the rifles, then the First artillery and Third infantry. In 
 rear of our left ^vae Cadwalader's brigade, as a support, with 
 Shield's brigade in the rear as a reserve — the whole division 
 under command of Gen. Smith, in the absence of Gen. Twiggs. 
 They had a smooth place to rush down on the enemy's work, 
 with the brow of the hill to keep under until the word was 
 given. 
 
 "At last, just at daylight, Gen. Smith, slowly walking up, 
 asked if all was ready. A look answered him. ' Men, for- 
 ward! ' And we did " forward.' Springing up at once, Eiley's 
 brigade opened, when the crack of a hundred rifles startled the 
 Mexicans from their astonishment, and they opened their fire. 
 Useless fire! /or we were so close that they overshot us, and 
 before they could turn their pieces on us w^e were on them. 
 Then sucb cheers arose as you never heard. The men rushed 
 forward like demons, yelling and firing the while. The carnage 
 was frightful, and, though they fired sharply, it was of no use. 
 The earthen parapet was cleared in an instant, and the blows 
 of the stocks could be plainly heard mingled with the yells and 
 o-roans around. Just before the charge was made, a large body 
 of lancers came winding up the road, looking most splendidly 
 in their brilliant uniforms. They never got to the work, but 
 turned and fled. In an instant all was one mass of confusion, 
 each trying to be foremost in the flight. The road was literally 
 blocked up, and, while many perished by their ow^n guns, it 
 was almost impossible to fire on the mass from the danger of 
 killino- our own men. Some fled up the ravine on the left, or 
 on the right, and many of these were slain by turning their 
 own o-uns on them. Towards the city the rifles and Second 
 infantry led ofl' the pursuit. Seeing that a large crowd of the 
 fugitives were jammed up in a pass in the road, some of our 
 
488 ^ CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 men ran through the cornfield, and by thns heading them off 
 and firing down upon them, about thirty men took over five 
 hundred prisoners, nearly a hundred of them officers. After 
 disarming the prisoners, as the pursuit had ceased, we went 
 back to the fort, where we found our troops in full possession^ 
 the rout complete. 
 
 " We found that the enemy's position was much stronger 
 than we had supposed, and their artillery much larger and 
 more abundant. Our own loss was small, which may be 
 accounted for by their perfect surprise at our charge, as to 
 them we appeared as if rising out of the earth, so unper- 
 ceived was our approach. Our loss was one officer killed, Capt. 
 Hanson, of the Seventh infantry, and Lieut. Van Buren, of the 
 rifles, shot through the leg, and about fifty men killed and 
 wounded. Their force consisted of eight thousand men, under 
 Yalencia, with a reserve, which had not yet arrived, under 
 Santa Anna. Their loss, as since ascertained, was as follows: 
 Killed, and buried since the fight, seven hundred and fifty; 
 wounded, one thousand; and fifteen hundred prisoners, exclu- 
 sive of officers, including four generals — Salas, Mendoza, Garcia, 
 and Gaudalupe — in addition to dozens of colonels, majors, 
 captains, etc. We captured, in all, on the hill twenty-two pieces 
 of cannon, including five eight-inch howitzers, two long eight- 
 eens, three long sixteens, and several of twelve and eight inches. 
 In addition were taken immense quantities of ammunition 
 and muskets; in fact, the way was strewd with muskets, esco- 
 pets, lances, and flags for miles. Large quantities of horses 
 and mules were also captured, though large numbers were 
 killed. 
 
 " Thus ended the glorious battle of Contreros, in which two 
 thousand men, under Gen. P. F. Smith, completely routed and 
 destroyed an army of eiglit tliousand men, under Gen. Valencia, 
 with Santa Anna and a force of twenty thousand men witJiin 
 five miles. Their army was so completely routed that not 
 fifteen hundred men rejoined Santa Anna and participated in the 
 second battle. Most people would have thought that a pretty 
 good day's work. Not so. We had only saved ourselves, not 
 conquered Mexico, and men's work was before us yet. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 4Si) 
 
 "At eight A. M. we fornied again, and Gen. Twiggs having 
 taken command, we started on the road to Mexico. We had 
 hardly marclied a mile before we were sharply fired npon from 
 both sides of the road, and onr right was deployed to drive tlie 
 enemy in. We soon found that we had caught up with the 
 retreating party, from the very brisk tiring in front, and we 
 drove them through the little town of San Angelo, where they 
 had been halting in force. About half a mile from this town 
 we entered the suburbs of another called San Katherina, when 
 a large party in the church-yard fired on the head of the col- 
 umn, and the balls came right among us. Our men kept 
 rushing on their rear and cutting them down, until a discharge 
 of grape-shot from a large piece in front drove them back to 
 the column. In this short space of time five men were killed, 
 ten taken prisoners, and a small color captured, which was 
 carried the rest of the day. 
 
 " Meanwhile Gen. Worth had made a demonstration on San 
 Antonio, where the enemy was fortified in a strong hacienda; 
 but they retired on his approach to Churubusco, where the 
 works were deemed impregnable. They consisted of a fortified 
 hacienda, which was surrounded by a high and thick wall on 
 all sides. Inside the wall w^as a stone building, the roof of 
 which was flat, and higher than the walls. Above all this was 
 a sto]ie church, still higher than the rest, and having a large 
 steeple. The wall was pierced with loop-holes, and so arranged 
 that there were two tiers of men firing at the same time. 
 They thus had four difi:erent ranges of men firing at once, and 
 four ranks were formed on each range, and placed at such a 
 height that they could not only overlook all the surrounding 
 country, but at the same time they had a plunging fire upon 
 us. Outside the hacienda, and completely commanding the 
 avenues of approach, was a field-work extending around two 
 sides of the fort, and protected by a deep, wet ditch, and armed 
 with seven large pieces. This hacienda is at the commence- 
 ment of the causeway leading to the western gate of the city, 
 and had to be passed before getting on the road. About three 
 hundred yards in rear of this work another field-work had been 
 built where a cross-road meets the causeway, at a point where 
 
490 CONQUEST OF MEXICO ; 
 
 it crosses a river, thus forming a bridge lieacl, or t^e de pont. 
 This was also very strong, and armed with three large pieces 
 of cannon. The works were snrronnded on every side by large 
 corn-fields, which were filled with the enemy's skirmishers, so 
 that it was difficult to make a reconnoissance. It was therefore 
 decided to make the attack immediately, as they were full of 
 men, and extended for nearly a mile on the road to the city, 
 completely covering the cause\\^ay. The attack commenced 
 about one f. m. General Twiggs' division attacked on the side 
 towards which they approached the fort; that is, opj)Osite the 
 city. Gen. Worth's attacked the bridge head, which he took 
 in about an hour and a half ; while Gens. Pillow and Quitman 
 were on the extreme left, between the causeway and Twiggs' 
 division. The rifles were on the left and in rear of the work, 
 entrusted by Gen. Scott with the task of charging it in case 
 Gen. Pierce gave way. The firing was most tremendous — in 
 fact, one continued roll while the combat lasted. The enemy, 
 from their elevated station, conld readily see our men, who were 
 unable to get a clear view from their position. Three of the 
 pieces were manned by ' the deserters,' a body of about one 
 hundred, who had deserted from the ranks of our army during 
 the war. They M^ere enrolled in two companies, commanded 
 by a deserter, and were better uniformed and disciplined than 
 the rest of the army. These men fought most desperately, 
 and are said not only to liave shot down several of our officers 
 whom they knew, but to have pulled dow^n the white flag of 
 surrender no less than three times. 
 
 " The battle raged most furiously for about three hours, when, 
 both sides having lost a great many, the enemy began to give 
 way. As soon as they commenced retreating, Kearney's squad- 
 ron passed through the tete de pont, and charging through the 
 retreating column, pursued them to the very gate of the city. 
 When our men got within about five hundred yards of the gate 
 they were opened upon with grape and canister, and several 
 officers wounded. The official returns give our loss in killed 
 and wounded at one thousand one hundred and fifty, besides 
 officers. The Mexican loss is five hundred killed in the second 
 battle, one thousand wounded, and eleven hundred prisoners, 
 
OR, 'iUK BORDER WARS OF TWO OENTi:RIES. 491 
 
 exclusive of officers. Three more generals were taken, araono; 
 them Gen. Eincon, and Anaya, the Provisional President; also 
 ten pieces of cannon, and an immense amonnt of ammuni- 
 tion and stores. Santa Anna, in his report, states his loss in 
 killed, wounded, and missing, at twelve thousand. He has 
 only eighteen thousand left out of thirty thousand, which he 
 gives as his force on the twentieth in both actions. 
 
 " Thus ended the battle of Churubusco, one of the most 
 furious and deadly, for its length, of any of the war. For rea- 
 sons which he deemed conclusive, Gen. Scott did not enter 
 the city that night, but encamped on the battle-field, about 
 four miles from the western gate of the city. The next day 
 a flag of truce came out, and propositions were made which 
 resulted in an armistice." 
 
CHAPTEK LXI. 
 
 Termination op the Armistice — The Battle of Molinos del Ret 
 — The Siege op the Capital — The City op Mexico Occupied — 
 The American Flag Floating from the Mexican National 
 Palace. 
 
 An armistice was concluded on the twenty-fourth of August 
 between Gen. Scott and President Santa Anna, with a view of 
 terminating the war and effecting a treaty of peace. JSTegotia- 
 tions at once commenced, but terminated on the seventh of 
 September, when both armies assumed hostile attitudes. On 
 the date last mentioned, a large body of Mexicans was discov- 
 ered hovering about Molinos del Rey, within a mile of the 
 American camp and Gen. Scott's headquarters. Gen. Worth 
 was at once ordered to attack the enemy at this point, and his 
 division being re-enforced, he moved forward to battle. The 
 position of the Mexicans was well taken. Their left rested 
 upon and occupied a group of strong stone buildings, called 
 El Molino del Rey, adjoining the grove at the foot of the hill 
 of Chapultepec, and directly under the guns of the castle which 
 crowned its rumrait. The right of his line rested upon 
 another stone building, called Casa Mata, situated at the foot 
 of the ridge that slopes gradually from the heights above the 
 village of Tacubaya to the plain below. Midway between these 
 buildings was the enemy's field battery, and his infantry 
 forces were disposed on either side to support it. " The early 
 dawn," says Worth, " was the moment appointed for the 
 attack, which was announced to the troops, by the opening of 
 Huger's guns on El Molinos del Eey, upon which they contin- 
 ued to play actively until this point of the enemy's line became 
 sensibly shaken, when the assaulting party, commanded by 
 Wright, and guided by that accomplished ofiicer, Capt. Mason^ 
 (492) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 493 
 
 of the engineers, assisted by Lieut. Foster, dashed gallantly 
 forward to the assault." 
 
 * Unshaken by the galling fire of musketry and canister 
 that was showered upon them, on they rushed, driving the 
 infantry and artillerymen at the point of the bayonet. The 
 enemy's field battery was taken, and his own guns were trailed 
 upon his retreating masses; before, however, they could be 
 discharged, perceiving that he had been dispossessed of this 
 strong position by comparatively a handful of men, he made a 
 desperate effort to regain it. Accordingly, his retiring forces 
 rallied and formed with this object. Aided by the infantry, 
 which covered the house-tops (within reach of which the bat- 
 tery had been moved during the night,) the enemy's whole line 
 opened upon the assaulting party a terrific fire of musketry, 
 wliich struck down eleven out oi fourteen ofiicers that com- 
 posed the command, and non-commissioned officers and men in 
 proportion; including among the ofiicers Brev.-Major Wright, 
 the commander; Capt. Mason and Lieut. Foster, engineers; all 
 severely wounded. This severe shock staggered for a moment 
 that gallant band. The light battalion, held to cover Iluger's 
 battery, under Capt. E. Kirb}^ Smith, and the right wing of 
 Cadwalader's brigade, were promptly ordered forward to sup- 
 port, which order was executed in the most gallant style; the 
 enemy was again i-outed, and this point of his line carried, and 
 fully possessed by our troops. In the meantime, Garland's 
 brigade, ably sustained by Capt. Drum's artillery, assaulted 
 the enemy's left, and, after an obstinate and very severe con- 
 test, drove him from this apj^arently impregnable position, 
 immediately under the guns of the castle of Chaj^ultepec. 
 Drum's section, and the battering guns under Capt. Huger, 
 advanced to the enemy's position, and the captured guns of the 
 enemy were now opened on his retreating forces, on which they 
 contimied to fire until beyond their reach. AVliile this work 
 was in progress of accomplishment by the center and right, the 
 troops on the left were not idle. Duncan's battery opened on 
 the right of the enemy's line, up to this time engaged; and 
 the second brigade, under Col. Mcintosh, was now ordered to 
 * Gen. Wortli's Report. 
 
494 CONQUEST OF MEXICO: 
 
 assault the extreme right of the enemy's line. The direction 
 of this brigade soon caused it to mask Duncan's battery, the 
 fire of which, for the moment, was discontinued; and the 
 brigade moved steadily on to the assault of Casa Mata, which, 
 instead of an ordinary field entrenchment, as was supposed, 
 proved to be a strong stone oitadel, surrounded with bastioned 
 entrenchments and impassable ditches — an old Spanish work, 
 recently repaired and enlarged. When within easy musket 
 range, the enemy opened a most deadly fire upon the advanc- 
 ing troops, which was kept up, without intermission, until the 
 gallant men reached the very slope of the parapet of the work 
 that surrounded the citadel.* By this time a large proportion 
 of the command was either killed or wounded, among whom 
 were the three senior ofiicers present, Brevet-Col. Mcintosh, 
 Brevet Lieut.-Col. Scott, of the fifth infantry, and Major ^ aite, 
 eighth infantry; the second killed, and the first and last des- 
 perately wounded. Still, the fire from the citadel was unabated. 
 In this crisis of the attack, the command was momentarily 
 thrown into disorder, and fell back on the left of Duncan's 
 battery, where they rallied. As the second brigade moved to 
 the assault, a very large cavalry and infantry force was discov- 
 ered approaching rapidly upon the left flank, to re-enforce the 
 enemy's right. As soon as Duncan's battery was masked, as 
 before mentioned, supported by Andrews's voltigeurs, of Cad- 
 walader's brigade, it moved promptly to the extreme left of the 
 line to check the threatened assault on this point. The ene- 
 my's cavalry came rapidly within canister range, when the 
 whole battery opened a most eftective fire, which soon broke 
 the squadrons and drove them back in disorder. During this 
 fire upon the enemy's cavalry, Major Sumner's command 
 moved to the front, and changed direction in admirable order, 
 under a most appalling fire from the Casa Mata. Tliis move- 
 ment enabled his command to cross the ravine immediately on 
 the left of Duncan's battery, where it remained, doing noble 
 service until the close of the action. At the very moment the 
 cavalry were driven beyond reach, the American troops drew 
 back from before the Casa Mata, and enabled the guns of Dun- 
 * Gen. Worth's Keport. 
 
OR, TIIK BORDER WARS OF TWO ('KNTUHIl'S. 495 
 
 can's battery to re-Oi^eu upon this position, wliicli, after a 
 short and well-directed tire, the enemy abanduiicd. The i^uns 
 of the battery were now turned upon the retreating columns, 
 and continued to play upon tbem until beyond reach. The 
 Mexicans were now driven from every point of the tield, and 
 their strong lines, which had certainly been defended well, were 
 in AYorth's possession. In fulfillment of the instructions of Gun. 
 Scott, the Casa Mata was blown up, and such of the ca])tured 
 ammunition as was useless to the Americans, as well as the 
 cannon-moulds found in £1 Molinos del Key, were destroyed. 
 After which, Worth's command, under the orders c)f the 
 general-in-chief, returned to quarters at Tacubaya, with three 
 of the enemy's four guns, as also a large quantity of small 
 arms, with gun and musket ammunition, and exceeding eight 
 hundred prisoners, including fifty-two commissioned officers. 
 *By the concurrent testimony of prisoners, the enemy's force 
 exceeded fourteen thousand men, commanded by Gen, Santa 
 Anna in person. His total loss, killed (including the second 
 and third in command, Gens. Valdarez and Leon), wounded, 
 and prisoners, amounted to three thousand, exclusive of some 
 two thousand who deserted after the rout. Worth's command, 
 re-enforced as before stated, only reached three thousand one 
 hundred men of all arms. The contest continued two hours, 
 and its severity was painfully attested hy the heavy loss of 
 American officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, 
 including in the first two classes some of the brightest orna- 
 ments of the service. 
 
 But why horrify the reader with all the bloody details of this 
 siege? A series of battles of forty-eight hour's continuance 
 followed Worth's triumph at Molinos del Eey, after which, on 
 the fourteenth of September, 1847, Gen, Scott's glorious army 
 hoisted the flag of the United States on the walls of the 
 jS'ational Palace of Mexico. Immediately on entering the 
 Palace, the following order was issued: 
 
 " The general-in-chief calls upon his brethren in arms to 
 return both in public and private worship, thanks and gratitude 
 to God for the signal triumphs which they have recently 
 
 * Gen. Worth's Report. 
 
496 CONQUEST OF MEXICO! 
 
 acliieved for their country. Beginnino- with the nineteenth of 
 August, this army has gallantly fought its way through the 
 fields and forts of Contreras, San Antonio, Churubusco, Molinos 
 del Rey, Cliapultepec and the gates of San Casone and Tacu- 
 baya or Belen, into the Capital of Mexico. W^hen the very 
 limited numbers who have performed these brilliant deeds shall 
 have become known, the world will be astonished and our own 
 countrymen filled with joy and admiration. But all is not yet 
 done. The enemy, though scattered and dismayed, has still 
 many fragments of his late army hovering about us, and, aided 
 by an exasperated population, he may again reunite in treble 
 our numbers, and fall upon us to advantage if we rest inactive 
 on the security of past victories." ^ * 
 
 Eetiring from the capital, Gen. Santa Anna collected several 
 fragments of his army, and laid siege to Puebla, which Avas 
 poorly garrisoned. The siege was prosecuted with considerable- 
 vigor for twenty-eight days, and nobly repulsed by the com- 
 mander. Col. Childs, who had been left to guard the place with 
 a feeble garri son. y And here, without following Gens. Scott 
 and Butler through all the war of detail that completed the 
 conquest of Mexico, or the military and diplomatic disputes 
 that finally terminated in a peace between that country and 
 the United States, we will return to the main current of our 
 narrative, from which I have so widely diverged — the wars with 
 the Indians. 
 
CHAPTEK LXII. 
 
 Wars with the Indians in New Mexico — The Massacre of the 
 White Family — Brutality of the Apaches — The Wars with 
 Utahs and iVp aches — The Settlements in New Mexico In- 
 vaded BY Hostile Indians — A Brilliant Company — Seven 
 Battles — Peace. 
 
 Let us now return to, 'New Mexico, which has become a 
 part of our own truly great nation. No sooner had the 
 United States forces occupied that territory than the neigh- 
 boring Indians raised the hatchet in defiance. The insolence 
 of the Mexican settlers had wrought hard upon their native 
 thirst for vengeance, and the presence of an American mili- 
 tary force irritated tlieir rage to fury. At this time, 1848-9, 
 Col. Beall was commanding the United States forces in New 
 Mexico, and had established his headquarters at Taos. The 
 Indians with whom he had to deal were, for the most part, 
 Apaches, wlio, among all the western tribes have given the 
 United States government tlie most trouble. They were 
 never to be trusted. In war they were treacherous, in peace 
 they were always finding cause for new quarrels. But 
 we must not suppose that these constant outbreaks were 
 always without a reason — a cause sometimes founded in 
 just comj^laint. The savages were not always to blame. 
 They were not responsible for their creation, and it is unrea- 
 sonable to suppose that they should have put themselves to 
 death, with a view to accommodating American pioneers — 
 or even to quietly submit to ha^'i'ig their best hunting 
 grounds taken from them without making a faint resistance. 
 The Indian had a right to make war upon the Americans; 
 his only wrong was in not conquering them — a wrong for 
 vhich his race has suffered total extermination. As a rule, 
 32 (497) 
 
498 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 the Indians, and more especially the western tribes, have been 
 held to a strict account for their depredations upon the whites. 
 No one should complain of this, not even the Indians them- 
 selves. Unhappily, on the contrary, those who have been 
 appointed over them in official position by the United States 
 government, have not been held to a strict account for their 
 depredations upon the savages. But the savages had no repre- 
 sentatives in Congress; they had orators, but no statesmen, 
 and the story of their wrongs will die with them, unless a 
 jealous nation shall perpetuate it in history. 
 
 The Apaches were an obstinate race of Indians. They were 
 brave, too, for the chief source of their ruin has been the 
 battle-field. Long before the United States troops entered 
 New Mexico, these fierce natives had been a terror to tlie 
 Spanish settlers there. Tliey had invaded the settlements from 
 every quarter, and it required every exertion of the Mexicans 
 to hold them in check. For ten long years the Apaches had 
 at frequent intervals, invaded the settlements of this interior 
 Mexican state with furious onset, spreading the terrors of massa- 
 cre throughout the peaceful villages. But now, in 1848, theii 
 progi-ess was barred by the arms of a superior foe. 
 
 No sooner had Col. Beall been appointed to the office alread^y 
 mentioned, than he became possessed of the conviction which 
 has ever invaded the breasts of United States officers on attain- 
 ing a similar position — that the only sure plan of making' 
 peace with the Indians was to exterminate them. With this 
 righteous determination he despatched a junior officer with a 
 strong force, with orders to pursue the Apaches, overtake 
 tliem, and punish them. The order was obeyed, and the expe- 
 dition started. This time, however, providence had defended 
 the savages. The snow was too deep for the pursuit, and the 
 gallant army returned to Taos. But Col. Beall was dissatisfied, 
 and after listening to the report of his subordinate officer he 
 replied: " that there was no such word as impracticability in 
 the soldiers vocabulary, and that nothing ought to be impossi- 
 ble for the first regiment of United States Dragoons to accom- 
 plish." Col. Beall took the detachment under his own imme- 
 diate command, and with the famous Kit Carson as guide, he 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO OENTUKIKS. 499 
 
 set out for the country of the Apaclies. It was a long and 
 fatiguing march, and required all the courage and persever- 
 ance of the men and animals, but the rugged mountains were 
 crossed, and fruitless days spent in the valley beyond in the 
 search for the enemy. At length, when signs of Indians were 
 no where to be found, the dragoons turned their faces home- 
 ward, but as they were slowly making a difficult mountain 
 pass, known as the Sangre de Ghristo, a village of the hostile 
 Indians suddenly appeared before them. A charge was 
 ordered, but the tired animals could make so little progress in 
 the deep snow that all the savages, except two old chiefs, made 
 their escape in safety. Col. Beall gave these men a severe 
 " talk " and dismissed them, after which his tired dragoons 
 were permitted to return to Taos. 
 
 It was not long before the military commander of New Mex- 
 ico received intelligence that his Apache enemies had committed 
 another wicked murder, the details of which are heartrending. 
 A Santa Fe merchant had been to the United States for the 
 purpose of purchasing a supply of goods. On his return the 
 train was escorted by a small force of men. The prairies and 
 mountains had been crossed in safety, and the caravan was 
 nearing Santa Fe, when Mr. White, thinking that all danger 
 had been passed, drove in advance with his private carriage, in 
 which he was accompanied by his wife and child. A few men 
 brought up the immediate rear as an escort. He had proceeded 
 but a few miles when he was attacked by a band of Apaches. 
 The Indians had concealed themselves in the rocks on either 
 side of the trail, and as the carriage neared their hiding places 
 they poured forth a volley upon the travelers with terrible 
 effect. Every man in the escort, including Mr. White, fell 
 pierced by Indian bullets. But Mrs. White and her child were 
 reserved for the horrors of cajDtivity. 
 
 As soon as the news of this disaster reached New Mexico, a 
 command was organized for the purpose of pursuing the Indi- 
 ans, and, if possible, rescuing Mrs. White. In due time this 
 party arrived at the place where the butchery had been con- 
 summated. Here were many evidences of Indian cruelty, but 
 the exasperated party did not wait long to examine these. 
 
500 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS. 
 
 Finding uue trail, thej pursued the savages for twelve days 
 before coming up with them. During the inarch they met 
 many evidences which convinced them that Mrs. White was 
 still living. At the camping grounds of the savages were 
 found several remnants of her dress, which appeared to have 
 been torn from her in a struggle with her captives. At length 
 the enemy was in full view. At this critical point the Amer- 
 icans stopped to hold a consultation as to the best mode of 
 attacking the savages. This was a fatal mistake, for had they 
 charged upon the enemy Mrs. White might have been rescued 
 alive. Yet there was little to be regretted. Her person was 
 so fearfully mutilated that she could not have long survived 
 the shock. The position of her body showed that a bullet had 
 pierced her heart while attempting to escape to her friends, 
 whom she had observed. Her child had fallen a prey to the 
 merciless tomahawk, many days before. 
 
 In this aifair the Americans succeeded in killing but three 
 warriors, wounding several others, and capturing the camp 
 equippage. On their return they were overtaken by a terrible 
 snow storm, from which one of their men perished. 
 
 But it will be impossible to mention all the outbreaks which 
 have characterized tlie border wars between the settlers of New 
 Mexico and the Apache Indians, in this volume. I have space 
 only to describe some of the more important battles of this 
 war. When Kit Carson was appointed to, the position of 
 Indian Agent at Taos, in New Mexico, the Apaches were at the 
 height of their discontent, and with every day came reports of 
 their lawless acts. The settlers in Northern New Mexico had 
 been driven from their homes, robbed and murdered, and the 
 savage invaders, gloating over their success, were fast becoming 
 bolder in their attacks. Lieut. Bell, of the Second Regiment 
 of United States dragoons, was now sent against these Indians, 
 After a short march he came upon them on the Red river, and 
 at once made an attack. At first the savages returned their 
 fire, but the soldiers made repeated charges, and penetrated 
 through and through the Indian ranks. They were compelled 
 to fall back and retreat. In this battle the Apaches lost many 
 warriors. Among the slain was their principal chief, whose 
 
OR, 'raE BORDER WARS OF TWO (;|i:N'I'URI KS. 5() I 
 
 death was a severe blow to tlie tribe. Tlie A tricric.unH lost two 
 soldiers killed, and several seriously wounded. 
 
 Not more than ten days after this battle news was received 
 at Taos that a strong band of Apache warriors was encamped 
 in the mountains, not twenty miles distant. This report was 
 soon confirmed by the hostile appearance of these Indians 
 among the settlements, which resulted in one of the most 
 thrilling battles ever fought by American soldiers against the 
 Apaches. It was as follows: Lieut. Davidson (now Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel of the Tenth United States cavalry), with a 
 command of sixty men belonging to the First regiment of 
 United States dragoons, started out to repulse the savao-e 
 invaders. He marched to the Embuda mountains^ where he 
 came upon the enemy. The Indians were prepared for the 
 assault, having taken a strong position. The strength of the 
 Apaches in this contest was two hundred and forty warriors, 
 and the advantages of their position seemed to defy approach. 
 After a consultation with his officers, Lieut. Davidson concluded 
 to make an attempt to draw the savages from their position b}' 
 proposing to hold a talk with them. This plan failed, and he 
 next resolved to hazard an attack. He ordered his men to 
 dismount, and leaving the horses in charge of a small guard, 
 the soldiers began the ascent of the mountain for the purpose 
 of reaching the stronghold of the enemy. They succeeded in 
 dislodging the savages, with the loss of five of their men 
 killed, notwithstanding they met with a desperate resistance; 
 but when the brave soldiers reached the top of the mountain, 
 they found, to their great disappointment, that instead of taking 
 to flight, the Indians were surrounding them. Lieut. Davidson 
 now faced his little command about and commenced the return 
 march, with a view of saving their horses. During this march 
 both soldiers and Indians fought with commendable courage. 
 The latter obstinately contested every inch of the ground, but 
 the former, after a severe struggle, secured the animals. How- 
 ever, the fight did not end here. The Indians became bolder 
 at seeing the weakness of the Americans, and, confident in the 
 superiority of their own numbers, they continued the pursuit 
 with great energy. Wlien the horses had been reached, the 
 
502 TKOUBLB WITH THE WESTERN INJIIANSI 
 
 soldiers faced about and threw back a volley at their pursuers, 
 but the Indians were so well secured behind trees that the balls 
 were spent in vain. At this point Lieut. Davidson ordered a 
 retreat. Seeing this the savages took new courage, and charged 
 down the mountain, yelling the war whoop, and rushing upon 
 the soldiers. The latter beat them off with their guns, but 
 the Indians pursued the retreating party with such boldness, 
 that, by the time they reached the road in the valley at the foot 
 of the mountain, twenty of their men had been killed, and 
 nearly all the survivors wounded. Thus two hundred and forty 
 Apaches had driven back sixty soldiers, killing one-third of 
 them, and wounding nearly every one who escaped death. 
 
 When the news of this disaster reached Taos, the inhabitants 
 became greatly excited. An expedition was immediately 
 formed for the purpose of bringing in the dead bodies of the 
 fallen soldiers, in which both Americans and Mexicans freely 
 volunteered. On reaching the field the dead were found, but 
 the bodies were horribly mutilated and stripped of all clothing. 
 
 No sooner had this expedition returned to Taos than a large 
 body of American troops were made ready to pursue and 
 punish the Apaches, who had gained a victory over Lieut. 
 Davidson's command. This expedition was commanded by 
 Ool. Cook, of the second regiment of United States dragoons. 
 Besides the regulars, Col. Cook employed for this expedition 
 some forty men selected from the Mexican and Pueblo Indians. 
 These were to be used as spies, on account of their familiarity 
 with Indian habits. They were commanded by James H. 
 Quinn, a well known and prominent citizen ot New Mexico. 
 
 Col. Cook's command inarched from Taos, ten miles north 
 to a stream known as Arroya Hondo, and thence to the Eio 
 del Norte. The fording of this river was attended with many 
 difiiculties, but was executed in a gallant manner by the 
 soldiers. On the opposite shore new difficulties were presented. 
 In their front rose a precipice at least six hundred feet in 
 height. Up the zigzag trail in this rocky bank, the soldiers 
 bent their course, and after a tedious effort they mounted the 
 summit and commenced their journey over a rough country, in 
 which they continued for six davs before the Indians were 
 
OK. TIIK BORDER WARS OF TWO CKNTURIKS. 508 
 
 overliauled. The band of Apaclies had been traveling 
 slowly, and their animals were, consequently, in good spirits, 
 while, on the contrary, the horses of the Americans were nearly 
 exhausted. Thus when their strength was most needed, it was 
 too far spent to be of much service. The Indians discovered 
 their pursuers in time to make their escape, not however, 
 without losing many of their warriors and most of their camp 
 equipage. Thus, after a long and wearisome march, the 
 soldiers were compelled to return, without rendering their 
 enemies the justice they so richly deserved. 
 
 Soon after, another expedition against the Apaches was 
 undertaken by Major Brooks, of the Third Eegiment of United 
 States dragoons. He had no difficulty in discovering the trail 
 of the enemy, but it soon led him into the country of the 
 Utahs, where it was crossed and re-crossed by the trails of the 
 Utahs until his guides could not tell the Apache from the 
 Utah trail. The result of this was that his command, after 
 being on the march fifteen days, was compelled to return with- 
 out accomplishing anything. 
 
 But these hostile Indians were not permitted to escape 
 without further punishment. Another expedition was made 
 ready and placed under the command of Major Carlton, of the 
 First Eegiment of United States dragoons. The march was 
 taken up, and in due time the trail was discovered which led 
 to the Indian encampment on "Fisher's Peak" in the Eaton 
 mountains. Climbing to the summit, they routed the Indians 
 with a heavy loss, capturing about forty horses and nearly all 
 their camp equipage. 
 
 But these details soon resulted in a formidable Indian war. 
 Outrages had been committed upon the Utahs, and this nation 
 waited only the distribution of their annuities before joining 
 the Apaches against the settlements. And now the forests of 
 New Mexico were filled with hostile savages, who were pre- 
 paring to rush upon the villages, painted for battle. Travelers 
 were waylaid and murdered, towns were attacked and the 
 inhabitants murdered or made captives. Thus matters con- 
 tinued until eveiy settlement in New Mexico was filled with 
 consternation. Terror seized the defenseless inhabitants, but 
 
504 TROUBLE WITH 'tHE WESTEKN INDIANS: 
 
 there was no way open for mercy in flight, for the isohited 
 towns of this territory were far away from a place of refuge. 
 Indian depredations were continued until nearly half the horses, 
 mules, cattle and sheep in the territory were captured by the 
 savages. 
 
 The Utahs, by whose strong, fierce warriors the Apaches had 
 been re-enforced, were led to battle by their renowned war 
 chief Blanco, who had become famous in all the west for great 
 bravery and skill in war. Being thus strengthened, the savages 
 set the United States forces at defiance. At Fort Massachu- 
 setts, in northern ]^ew Mexico, affairs soon became critical. 
 It was impossible to leave the fort without falling into the 
 merciless hands of the lurking savages, and the towns for 
 many miles around disappeai-ed in smoke and flame, while the 
 inhabitants either perished under the tomahawk, or were 
 made prisoners. At length the fort became an object of con- 
 quest, and the savages congregated in the neighboring forest 
 for the purpose of laying plans for the destruction of the little 
 garrison. Every precaution was taken by the troops to save 
 the fort. Breastworks were thrown up on the block house 
 attached to the fort, so that the soldiers could be well protected 
 in case of an attack. Sentinels wei-e posted in these, and the 
 the guards were doubled. Preparations were also made against 
 fire, and every step calculated to ensure safety was taken, and 
 it was well that these precautionary measures were taken, for 
 it was afterwards discovered that the savages remained in the 
 vicinity of the fort several days, waiting in vain for an oppor- 
 tunity to attack it. 
 
 It was not possible that this state of aflPairs should long con- 
 tinue without some opposition on the part of the United States 
 authorities in New Mexico. The Governor issued a proclama- 
 tion calling upon the people to volunteer for the purpose of 
 defending their lives and property, and of repelling the savages. 
 The call was promptly responded to, and in a few days six com- 
 panies, each containing eighty volunteers, were mounted and 
 equipped. The troops had the power to elect their own oflicers^ 
 by and with the advice and consent of the Governor. Each 
 man furnished himself with a horse, and was to receive thirty 
 
OR, TIIK BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 5()5 
 
 dollars per month from the government for his services. Mr. 
 Ceran St. Train, of Taos, was selected as the leader of the vol- 
 unteers, having the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel conferred upon 
 him by the Governor. His appointment was received by the 
 people with approval, for with such a force, and with so brave 
 and judicious a commander, they felt that they were to be 
 delivered from the constant and increasing hostilities of the 
 Indians. Early in February, 1855, Col. T. T. Fauntleroy 
 arrived at Taos from Fort Union, a post not very far distant, 
 in that Territory. By orders from the War Department, Col. 
 Fauntleroy had been appointed to the chief command of the 
 whole expedition. His command, when completed, consisted 
 of four companies of Mexican volunteers, two companies of 
 dragoons, one company of artillery, who were performing duty 
 as a rifle corps, and one company of spies. The other two 
 companies of volunteers were sent out to protect some of the 
 frontier towns from further Indian depredations. The artillery 
 company was not mounted, but succeeded in keeping up with 
 the horses when the mountains had been reached. 
 
 With Kit Carson as guide, the troops under Col. Fauntleroy 
 set out for Fort Massachusetts. Reaching this post, they w^asted 
 no time, bnt continued in the direction of the hostile Indians. 
 The march from Fort Massachusetts to the mountains by 
 the route of the great canon of the Eio Grande del Norte, was 
 attended with many hardships, which were not decreased by 
 its continuation to the Saquachi Pass, bordering the valley of 
 San Luis, At this point the main trail of the Indians was 
 discovered, and subsequently the Indians themselves. The 
 latter were in their war dress, about two hundred and fifty 
 strong, and on seeing the advance company of spies, arrayed 
 themselves in battle order to receive them. The spies pre- 
 tended to be arranging for an attack, when really they were only 
 holding the attention of the savages until the volunteers should 
 arrive. In the meantime the great war chief, Blanco, was seen 
 riding to and fro in front of his lines, giving orders, and appar- 
 ently in high hope of victory. When the main body had 
 advanced to the proper point, being still unobserved by the 
 savages they prepared for the charge. In a moment more the 
 
506 TROITBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 bugle sounded the command, and away dashed the enthusiastic 
 soldiers, eager for the battle. As they galloped in sight the 
 Indians saw the truth of their situation, and turned to liy, but 
 for many of them it was too late. In a few minutes the sol- 
 diers were among them, and the work of slaughter commenced. 
 The savages wasted no time to return the fire, but kept up the 
 flight, their ranks thinning by the steady tire of the volunteers 
 as they advanced along the valley. The running fight was con- 
 tinued for nearly eight miles, when the Indians who had not 
 fallen escaped to the mountains. On the following morning 
 the volunteers made preparations and started in pursuit of the 
 Indians, which they kept up for several days. Finally they 
 discovered the enemy, and after a hard fight they routed them 
 a second time, with severe loss. Having thus thoroughly pun- 
 ished these hostile Indians, the whole command returned to 
 Fort Massachusetts. In this campaign Col. Fauntleroy's little 
 army sufiered no loss beyond a few slightly wounded. The 
 Mexicans had shown themselves worthy so brave a commander, 
 and had executed his orders with a firmness and gallantry truly 
 •commendable. 
 
 The command remained at this post for several months, 
 recruiting their tired and weary animals, and preparing for a 
 new campaign. When the preparations had been completed, 
 the soldiers were divided into two parties, one under Col. St. 
 Yrain, and the other under Col. Fauntleroy. The latter com- 
 mander proceeded to the headwaters of the Arkansas, where he 
 came upon a fresh trail, which led directly to a large village of 
 Apaches and Utahs, which was discovered by the Americans, 
 whose presence was unobserved by the Indians. When the 
 command reached an eminence commanding a view of the vil- 
 lage, its occupants were engaged in a war and scalp dance, 
 making such hideous noises that they did not hear the sound 
 of the approaching soldiers. They were having a merry time, 
 not dreaming of danger, when a volley of rifle balls was poured 
 in upon them, striking down many of the foremost partici- 
 pants. The surprise was complete, and so benum])ed with fear 
 and consternation were the savages that they knew not which 
 way to turn for flight. Many of their bravest warriors were 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURII'S. 507 
 
 sliot down before tlie real danger was understood. Tlie sur- 
 vivers flew to the woods for refuge, leaving everything behind. 
 A few of the warriors, however, seized their rifles and returned 
 the Are of the soldiers, killing two, and severely wounding four 
 others. 
 
 In this contest our soldiers won a splendid victory for peace, 
 for the lesson, although severe, proved a lasting reminder to 
 those forgetful savages. In this aftair the Indians lost all their 
 proTisions, ammunition, horses, and camp equipage, besides 
 a large stock of valuable furs. It was the se\'erest blow the 
 Utahs and Apaches ever received at the hands of the United 
 States government, and was richly deserved. 
 
 Not satistied with this victory. Col. Fauntleroy pursued a 
 trail which led to a village in which the celebrated Blanco 
 resided. Coming upon this, the savages were routed with a 
 heavy loss of their best warriors; and so hotly were they pur- 
 sued that the brave Blanco came out upon a rock in the 
 mountain side and asked the white chief in the plain below to 
 grant him a " talk." He said his men were tired of war, and 
 were anxious to conclude a lasting peace with their wliite 
 brethren. In another moment a ball went whizzing by his 
 head, which had been discharged from a Mexican's rifle for the 
 purpose of dispatching him, but which had missed its object. 
 Blanco disappeared suddenly. After scouring the country for 
 many miles around, and severely chastising the Indians where- 
 ever they could be found. Col. Fauntleroy returned to Fort 
 Massachusetts, where, to his great satisfaction, he learned that 
 Col. St. Vrain, who had been sent out as before mentioned, 
 had also encountered several strong bands of Indians, and dis- 
 persed them all with a severe chastisement. 
 
 I ought, perhaps, at this point, to explain that the Fort 
 Massachusetts here referred to is not the one occupied at the 
 present time. The one spoken of here was abandoned some 
 years ago, and another bearing the same name was erected six 
 miles from the original site, on the river Trinchera. 
 
 Cols. Fauntleroy and St. Yrain had thus terminated a bril- 
 liant Indian campaign. The Utahs and Apaches had been 
 
508 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 engaged in seven battles, and had been routed as many times 
 with the loss of all their camp equipage and over five hundred 
 horses. Being thus defeated and punished on every hand, they 
 sued for peace, which was granted them in a grand council held 
 at Santa F6. 
 
CHAPTER LXIII. 
 
 "The Navajo Indians Join the Rebels — Their Hostile Attitude 
 
 — Carson Leads an Army against them — Ten Thousand Indi- 
 ans TAKEN Prisoners — Advocates of the New Reservation 
 Policy — The Military Division of the Missouri — Its Extent 
 
 — Condition of the Tribes in this Division in 1866. 
 
 In 1860, and, in fact, during the whole of the civil war in 
 the United States, Indian aflairs in Kew Mexico were unset- 
 tled. Many of the strongest bands became the allies of the 
 Texans, and invaded the settlements that were supposed to be 
 friendly to the Union, without mercy. Perhaps, among the 
 tribes which thus assumed a hostile attitude, the Navajo Indi- 
 ans were the most troublesome. Indeed, for more than ten 
 years they had defied the United States government, and now, 
 allied with the rebels, they were unusually bold and dangerous. 
 Their warriors numbered into the thousands, and were consid- 
 ered as formidable enemies. Soon after the War of the Rebel- 
 lion broke out, two thousand picked men were placed under 
 the command of Kit Carson, then Colonel of Yolunteers, and 
 ordered to march against these hostile Indians. Carson's com- 
 mand performed this service in a very satisfactory manner. 
 Driving the Indians into a narrow ravine, and disposing of his 
 forces so as to command every approach, Carson eflected the 
 surrender of ten thousand Indians, which is said to be the 
 largest single capture of Indians ever known. For this gallant 
 service Kit Carson was breveted with the rank of Brigadier- 
 General of Yolunteers. Soon after, the captured Indians were 
 placed on a reservation on one of the tributaries of the 
 Arkansas river, and, at a later day, under Gen. Sherman's 
 management, the same Indians were removed to a reservation 
 in their ovm country, where they still remain, though reduced 
 in numbers, and fallen from their primitive state. 
 (509) 
 
510 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS : 
 
 This splendid victory over the savages most hostile to tlie 
 people of Kew Mexico, put an end to the formidable Indian 
 wars in that territory, with one or two exceptions, which I have 
 yet to mention. 
 
 But with the termination of the war with the Sioux, a 
 change in the Indian policy was felt to be much needed, both 
 by the government and the people, as well as by the Indians 
 themselves. Many of my readers will remember the appeal 
 sent out by Bishop Whipple, of Minnesota, in which he said: 
 " There is not a man in America who ever gave an hour's calm 
 reflection to this subject, who does not know that our Indian 
 system is an organized system of robbery, and has been for 
 years a disgrace to the nation. It has left savage men without 
 governmental control; it has looked on unconcerned at every 
 crime against the law of God and man; it has fostered savage 
 life by wasting thousands of dollars in the purchase of paint, 
 beads, scalping-knives and tomahawks ; it has fostered a system 
 of trade which robbed the thrifty and virtuous to pay the 
 debts of the indolent and vicious; it has squandered the funds 
 for civilization and schools; it has connived at theft; it has 
 winked at murder; and at last, after dragging the savage down 
 to a brutishness unknown to his fathers, it has brought a har- 
 vest of blood to our own door." 
 
 This appeal met with a hearty support in all parts of the 
 United States, and led to the petition from the Episcopal 
 bishops and clergy of the Northern States to the President, in 
 which the following timely suggestions were set forth: 
 
 " First — That it is impolitic for our government to treat a 
 heathen community, living in our borders, as an independent 
 nation, but that they ought to be regarded as our wards. 
 
 " Second — That it is dangerous to ourselves and to them, to 
 leave these Indian tribes without a government, not subject to 
 our laws, and when every corrupt influence of the bordci 
 would inevitably foster a spirit of revenge leading to raurdei 
 and war. 
 
 " Third — That the solemn responsibility of the care of a 
 heathen race requires that the agents and servants of the govern- 
 
 men of eminent 
 
OR, THE BOItDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 511 
 
 fitness, and in no case should such offices be regarded as a 
 reward for political service. 
 
 " Fourth — That every feeling of honor and of justice 
 demands that the Indian funds which we hold for them as a 
 trust, shall be carefully expended under some well devised sys- 
 tem which will encourage their eiforts toward civilization. 
 
 " Fifth — That the present system of Indian trade is mis- 
 chievous and demoralizing, and ought to be so amended as to 
 protect the Indian and wholly to prevent the possibility of the 
 sale of the patrimony of the tribe to satisfy individual debts. 
 
 " Sixth — That it is believed that the history of our dealings 
 with the Indians has been marked by gross acts of injustice 
 and robbery, such as could not be prevented under cl'.e present 
 system of management, and that these wrongs have often 
 proved the prolific cause of war and bloodshed. 
 
 * * * ■^ ^' * " We feel that these results cannot be 
 secured without much careful thought, and, therefore, request 
 you to take such steps as may be necessary to appoint a com- 
 mission of men of high character, who have no political ends 
 to subserve, to whom may be referred this whole question, in 
 order that they may devise a more perfect system for the 
 administration of Indian affairs, which shall redress these 
 wrongs, preserve the honor of the government and call down 
 upon us the blessings of God." 
 
 In these sentiments the press of the country, for the most 
 part, heartily concurred, and during President Grant's first 
 term of office, the commission asked for in the foregoing peti- 
 tion, was appointed, but not until great evils had grown out of 
 the old policy, as we shall see. 
 
 We must now go back a few years and bring forward the 
 history of the wars between the United States and the Indians 
 in regular order. At the close of the war of the rebellion in 
 1865-6, the whole territory of the United States was divided 
 into five great military districts. The first of these to which 
 our attention is directed, and which has, for many years, been 
 the center of border warfares, is styled the Military Division 
 of the Missouri. This military division embraced, in 1866,. 
 the vast region from the Mississippi river to the Rocky Moun- 
 
512 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 tains, and from the south border of New Mexico to the British 
 line on tlie north. In speaking of the condition of this 
 imj^ortant and extensive tract of territory in 1866, Gen. W. T, 
 Siierraan said: " The land on the eastern border is fertile and 
 well adapted to settlement, but the western parts are a prairie, 
 with good grasses, but generally devoid of trees or minerals, 
 are subject to droughts, and are not inviting to settlers. Next 
 in order are the mountainous Territories of Montana, Utah, 
 Colorado and New Mexico, composed of high plateaus and 
 mountains, containing minerals of every kind, with forests of 
 timber and numerous valleys susceptible of high cultivation, 
 either by means of the ordinary rains, or the more certain sys- 
 tem of irrigation that has been begun within a comparatively 
 recent period, and has been pushed with an energy and success 
 that promises the best results. These new and mountain ter- 
 ritories present a most interesting feature in our future 
 ■development as a nation, and are, in my judgment, worthy the 
 liberal and fostering care of the general government. Between 
 these mountain territories and those of the river border lie the 
 great plains of America, which have been well mapped and 
 described by the hundreds of exj^lorers that have traversed 
 them from the time of the expeditions of Pike, and Lewis and 
 Clark, as early as 1803, until the present moment. These plains 
 can never be cultivated like Illinois, never be filled with inhab- 
 itants capable of self-government and self-defense as against 
 Indians and marauders, but at best can become a vast pasture- 
 field, open and free to all for the rearing of herds of horses, 
 mules, cattle and sheep. The mountain territories seem to be 
 more rapidly improving and assuming a condition of self-pro- 
 tection and defense, because the people can acquii*e fixed 
 habitations and their property is generally grouped in valleys 
 of some extent, or in localities of mines capable of sustaining 
 a people strong enough to guard themselves against the preda- 
 tory bands of nomadic Indians. Still, they occupy at this 
 time an isolated position, presenting a thinly settled frontier 
 in every direction, with a restless people branching out in 
 -search of a better place, or of better mines. To defend them 
 perfectly is an utter impossibility, and all we can do is to aid 
 
OR. THE BOKDKR WARS OF TWO OKNTUIilHi*. 51J5 
 
 the people in self-defense, until in time they can take care of 
 themselves, and to make the roads by which they travel or 
 bring their stores from the older parts of our country as safe as 
 the case admits of." 
 
 A review of the condition of the Indians in this military 
 division in 1806, will afford us a good starting point for an 
 account of the wars that followed. The wandering and war- 
 like Sioux, who inhabited the country from Minnesota to 
 Montana, and down as tar as the Arkansas, had, for the pre- 
 ^•ious ten years, been committing acts of hostility, that have 
 been jironounced as impossible to foresee or to prevent. In 
 like manner, the Arapahoes and Cheyennes, Iviowas, Camanches 
 and Apaches, Navajoes and Utalis, though supposed to have 
 been restricted to reservations, were, in 1866, unsettled, dissat- 
 isfied and beginning to assume a hostile attitude. 
 
 With this unpleasant condition of Indian affairs in the 
 military division of the Missouri, something must be done, 
 and General Sherman was called upon for his advice. He 
 proposed to restrict the Sioux north of the Platte, west of the 
 Missouri river and east of the route to Montana which leads 
 from Fort Laramie to Yirginia City, by way of Forts Eeno, 
 PhiHp, Kearney, Smith, etc. All Sioux found out of this 
 reservation, without a proper pass from the military authori- 
 ties, were to be duly punished. He further proposed to i-estrict 
 the Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Camanches, Kiowas, Apaches and 
 JS'avajoes south of the Arkansas and east of Fort Union. 
 
 It will be observed that Sherman's policy would leave to 
 settlers the exclusive use of the wide belt, east and west, 
 between the Platte and the Arkansas, in which lie the two 
 great railroads, and over which at that time, passed all the 
 travel to the mountain territories. The Indian wars of the 
 previous year had been of such a character as to require such 
 steps as General Sherman recommended, which led to the 
 hearty co-operation of the war department with his plan. 
 Yet after all, when we consider the causes of Indian hostility 
 at this period, a feeling of sympathy is awakened. And it is 
 unecessary to turn away from official reports to find good 
 grounds for this feeling. Gen. Pope, in reporting from Fort 
 33 
 
514 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS". 
 
 Union, New Mexico, in 1866, speaks of the condition of the 
 Indians in his department as follows: "The condition and 
 feeling of the Ute Indians are unsatisfactory, not to say alarm- 
 ing. In addition to other causes of trouble, the southern 
 bands of these Indians are suffering for food, many of them, 
 indeed, are in a starving condition. Venison has become very 
 scarce, and in the several attempts they have made to supply 
 their actual necessities by hunting buffalo on the plains, they have 
 been beaten in fight by their hereditary enemies, the Camanches, 
 Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, and driven back to the 
 mountains. The Indian department has refused to supply 
 them even with the scantiest food, and it is neither the busi- 
 ness of the military, nor, in fact, as matters stand, is it in their 
 power to supply these deficiencies. In this state of things, 
 the Utes are compelled either to starve to death or supply their 
 pressing wants by depredating upon the herds and flocks of 
 the nearest settlements. These depredations, although trifling 
 in the quantity of stock taken, occasion, of course, great dis- 
 satisfaction and uneasiness among the settlers, and have led to 
 various violent acts which will very soon culminate in open 
 and extensive hostilities, unless something is done to remedy 
 this deplorable condition of things. The Indians are anxious 
 to be at peace as they have always been, but ihej must kill a 
 few cattle and sheep now and then, or starve. For such acts 
 I can not consider them at war." 
 
 Here is a case, which has hundreds of parallel cases in the 
 history of the American aborigines, where the Indians, having 
 been deprived of their hunting grounds, brought upon them- 
 selves an avalanche of American bayonets for stealing the 
 cattle and sheep of the settlers to prevent starvation. While 
 at the same time the government refused to provide them the 
 means of subsistence. 
 
CHAPTER LXIV. 
 
 Indian Troubles in the Military Division op the Missouki in 
 1867 — The Horrible Massacre at Fort Phil. Kearney — Indian 
 Outbreaks in Montana — Outrage at Smoky Hill, and Along 
 THE Route to California — The Peace Commission Policy- 
 Inactivity OP THE Military. 
 
 About the close of the year 1866, a wagon train started 
 from Fort PhiL Kearney —one of the outposts established the 
 previous year to protect the wagon road leading from the North 
 Platte to the new mining territory of Montana— after timber 
 for the saw mill, and had proceeded but a short distance, with 
 an armed escort, when firing was heard, and the alarm given 
 that the train was attacked by Indians. 
 
 At this time Col. H. C. Carrington was commanding at 
 Fort Kearney, and he immediately sent out a detachment of 
 forty-nine men undei- the command of Capt. W. J. Fetterman, 
 with orders to overtake the train, escort it back to the fort in 
 safety, but not to pursue the enemy. Lieut. Grummond, with 
 twenty-seven men, of the Second cavalry, was afterwards dis- 
 patched to report to Capt. Fetterman, and reiterate the orders 
 he had already received. The detachment was joined by Capt. 
 Brown and two citizens, making, in all, three commissioned 
 officers, seventy-six enlisted men, and two citizens. This 
 detachment, instead of going to the threatened train, diverged 
 very considerably to the right, crossed Big Piney creek, and 
 passed over a high piece of ground that covered them from 
 view. 
 
 Soon after, sharp firing was heard from that direction, which 
 
 lasted about half an hour. Hearing this. Col. Carrington 
 
 dispatched Capt. Ten Eyck with a small detachment, with 
 
 orders to hasten to Fetterman's assistance. He at once set out, 
 
 (515) 
 
516 TKOITBLE WITH THE WESTKKN INDIANS: 
 
 but arrived too late to be of any service, except to obtain the 
 dead and mutilated bodies of the unfortunate detachment. 
 Every man in Fetterman's detachment was shot down, not one 
 escaping death. In the distance Capt. Ten Eyck observed 
 about two thousand Indians retreating in good order. He 
 collected the bodies of the dead and carried them back to the 
 fort, where they were properly buried. The wagon train 
 also returned to the post in safety, and the Indians disappeared. 
 
 Subsequent accounts from the Indians indicated that they 
 had expected to draw out and murder the whole garrison, but 
 their loss in the conflict with Capt. Fetterman was such that 
 they abangloned any further eftbrts. During the same winter 
 a strong detachment was sent against these Indians, but the 
 weather was so severe that the command was forced to return 
 without accomplishing anything. The Indians who perpe- 
 trated this bold massacre were the Sioux. 
 
 With the opening of the spring of ISfST, Indian aflairs in 
 the Military Division of the Missouri assumed an unpleasant 
 attitude. Large bands of hostile Sioux and Grows were pour- 
 ing down upon the settlements in the valley of the Gallatian, 
 and the inhabitants were fleeing for their lives. About the 
 same time, the Indians, both from the north and tlie south, 
 began a systematic attack upon the Platte route, while along 
 the Arkansas river route to ISTew Mexico, and the Smoky Hill 
 route to California, bands of Cheyennes, Kiowas, and Arapa- 
 hoes had boldly notified the commanding ofiicers of posts, and 
 stage-drivers, and agents, that as soon as the grass grew they 
 would insist on their withdrawal from these roads. These 
 Indians were also joined by strong bands of Ogalalla and 
 Brule Sioux, and were pushing preparations for general hos- 
 tilities, having already commenced the work by committing 
 several cold-blooded murders. 
 
 Gen. Hancock, with a small detachment, marched against 
 these Indians early in the spring of 1867, and after dispersing 
 them burnt the principal villages of the Cheyennes and Sioux 
 on the Pawnee Fork. But for the most part during the year 
 1867, only a defensive Indian war was prosecuted, in order to 
 co-operate with the new Peace Commission policy which had 
 
OK, TITE BORDER WARS OF TWO (JKNTrrRIIvS. 5I7 
 
 been commenced. Therefore, as no decisive blow wus (struck 
 against the hostile Indians tliat year, murders and massacres 
 were of frequent occurrence, and the settlers, from Montana to 
 New Mexico, and from the Mississippi to tiie Rocky Moun- 
 tains, were wrought up to a state of exceeding alarm. The 
 military authorities in the West, particularly Gen. Sherman, 
 were exasperated with the slow and uncertain movements of 
 the Commissioners, and with the constant outbreaks of the 
 Indians, which, for the most part, went unpunished. Kvcn 
 the bold band of hostile Sioux which had massacred tlie detach- 
 ment under Fetterman, were still roaming at large, committing 
 new depredations, and boasting of the scalps they had taken. 
 While at Smoky Hill, and all along the road to California, the 
 various bands of the Cheyennes, Kiowas and Arapahoes, joined 
 by the Ogalallas and Brule Sioux, were daily committing 
 depredations, such as horse stealing, murdering pioneer settlers, 
 and carrying women and children into a barbarous captivity. 
 And yet, in the face of all these outrages, the military were 
 held inactive, being ordered not to engage and punish the 
 Indians unless a formidable Indian war should be thrust upon 
 them. Thus it will be seen that however much good was des- 
 tined to come out of the policy of a Peace Commission, while 
 that Board was deliberating at St. Louis, trying to solve the 
 Indian question, thousands of hostile savages were invading 
 the settlements of the West from countless dii-ections, and 
 murdering the defenseless inhabitants, with but a defensive 
 opposition, which was incapable of extending itself to but few 
 of the settlements. 
 
CHAPTER LXT. 
 
 Wars with the Indians in the Military Drv ision of the Missouri — 
 Operations of the Peace Commission — Councils with the 
 Indians — Congress pails to Co-Operate — A Formidable Indian 
 War — Breakinc out op Hostilities — Murder, Massacre and 
 Horror — A Chapter op Outrages. 
 
 We will continue for the present to follow out the military 
 operations in the division of the Missouri, which, as I have 
 ah-eady observed, included that vast extent of territory between 
 the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, and the southern 
 boundary of New Mexico, and the northern boundary of Mon- 
 tana. At the time of which I write, 186T-8, the division was 
 under the command of Lieut.-Gen. Sherman, and was divided 
 into three departments, the Missouri, the Platte, and the 
 Dakota, commanded respectively by Gen. Sheridan, Augur, 
 and Terry. As stated in a previous chapter the military in 
 this whole division had been instructed to prosecute only a 
 defensive war, in order to oflPer all possible advantages to the 
 plans of the new Peace Commissioners. Indeed, the mov^e- 
 ments of the United States forces in this territory were subject 
 to the direction of that Board. The Commissioners, after 
 long and careful deliberation, had unanimously agreed to 
 remove all the Indians in Slierman's division, on reserva- 
 tions as far removed as possible from white settlements and 
 lines of travel, and that they should be maintained at the cost 
 of the United States until they could partially or wholly pro- 
 vide for themselves. The two principal reservations indicated 
 hy the commission were north of the State of Nebraska, and 
 west of the Missouri river, and south of the State of Kansas 
 and west of the Arkansas. This general plan was justified by 
 the facts existing at the time, and its wisdom has been 
 demonstrated by subsequent events. 
 (518) 
 
OK, THE BOEDER WAKS OF TWO CENTURIICS. 519 
 
 For the purpose of obtaining tlie consent of the Indians to 
 this plan, the peace commission, during the fall and winter of 
 1867, and the spring and summer of 1868, held councils with 
 all, or nearly all the tribes east of the Rocky Mountains, 
 making liberal provision for, and presents to all who came to 
 the appointed places of council, according to the forms and 
 ceremonies to M'hich they were long accustomed. Formal 
 written treaties were made with each separate tribe, signed 
 with due formality, and transmitted to the United States for 
 ratification. 
 
 It is believed by many that the bloody war which followed 
 in 1868 might have been avoided had the Congress of the 
 United States promptly co-operated with the peace commis- 
 sion, but for some reason this matter was overlooked. The 
 treaties with the Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas, Camanches, 
 Navajoes, and Crows were duly confirmed, but those with the 
 various tribes of the Sioux, Snakes, etc., were not acted upon. 
 But the worst blow of all was the failure of Congress to take 
 action upon the chief proposition of the commissioners, viz. : 
 that which related to the setting apart the two reservations 
 already spoken of, and providing governments therefor, which 
 was designed to precede any of the treaties, and which was the 
 vital principle of them all. It hardly admits of donbt that 
 this want of prompt action led, in a great measure, to the 
 formidable war with the Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Iviowas, and 
 Camanches in 1868. 
 
 This war took place in the department of the Missouri, 
 \s Inch was then under the immediate command of Gen. Sheri- 
 dan, being a part of the military division of the Missouri, 
 under the chief command of Lieut.-Gen. Sherman. The 
 hostilities of the Indians began with the opening of spring, 
 and although Gen. Sheridan did all in his power to promote 
 peace, the Kiowos, Camanches, Arapahoes and Cheyennes 
 continued their depredations without intermission. Their 
 promises were kept only while they were in council. And it 
 was impossible to place any reliance upon their engagements. 
 About the fourth of July the Kiowas and Camanches arrived 
 at Fort Larned, and demanded rations, making many threats 
 
520 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 of what they would do should they be refused. To prevent 
 an outbreak, Gen. Sheridan ordered rations to be issued ta 
 them, which, together with the presence of a large cavalry 
 force, kept them quiet. 
 
 Soon after, orders were issued to distribute the regular 
 annuities to the Cheyennes, withholding guns, pistols, and 
 ammunition. This incensed the Indians, Mdio told the agent 
 in a very insolent manner, while the teams were hauling the 
 goods to their camp, that he could haul them back again, as 
 they would have nothing unless they were given their fire 
 arms and ammunition. The agent sent for the wagons and 
 had them returned to Fort Larned. This took place in the 
 latter part of July, 1868. 
 
 Early in August, a mixed party of Cheyennes, Arapahoes- 
 and Sioux, organized a war expedition, and proceeded from 
 their camp on Pawnee creek, to the Saline valley settlements,. 
 north of Fort Ilarker. They were kindly received by the 
 farmers living on the outskirts of the settlements, and given 
 coffee, etc. After throwing the coffee into the faces of the 
 women serving it to them, because it was given to them in tin 
 cups, they commenced the robbery of the houses, and insulting 
 the women in a brutal manner. After committing countless 
 acts of crime among the settlers in the Saline valley, they 
 crossed over to the settlements on the Solomon, where they 
 were also kindly received and served with coffee, but where 
 they repeated the hostile and barbarous acts which they had 
 perpetrated in the former place. In the latter town they mur- 
 dered thirteen men and two women. At this point they 
 divided, a small party passing over to the Eepublican, where 
 ithey also murdered several of the settlers. The larger party 
 returned to the settlements of the Saline, where they again 
 commenced to murder peaceful settlers. Fortunately, however, 
 Col. Benteen, with his company of the seventh cavalry, which 
 had marched rapidly from Zarah, arrived, routed the Indians 
 and ran them about ten miles. 
 
 In speaking of this situation in our Indian history, Lieut.- 
 Gen. Sheridan, in his report, says: "Lieut. Beecher, who 
 was with his scouts on Walnut creek, hearing there was trouble 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO nCNTURira. 521 
 
 on the Solomon and Saline, but without knowing its nature, 
 dispatched Com stock and Grover to the camp of Turkey Leg, 
 on the Solomon, to be ready to explain, in case the white people 
 were at fault. They were ordered out of Turkey Leg camp, 
 and were followed by a party of seven Indians, professing 
 friendship; and while conversing with them were both shut 
 in the back — Com stock killed instantly, and Grover badly 
 wounded; but by lying on the ground, making a defense of 
 Comstock's body, he kept the Indians off, and made his escape 
 in the darkness of the night. From this time out, and almost 
 before information could be communicated by the Indian run- 
 ners, people were killed and scalped from the Cimarron river, 
 south of the Arkansas, to the Eepublican, and from the settle- 
 ments on the Solomon and Saline west of the Rocky Mountains; 
 stock run oiF, trains burned, and those accompanying them, in 
 some cases, thrown into the flames and consumed. The most 
 horrible barbarities were perpetrated on the dead bodies of 
 these victims of savage ferocity. There was no provocation 
 on the part of the white people during the whole summer, 
 although some of them had to abandon their ranches. Friendly 
 issues w^ere made at the military posts to the Indians visiting 
 them, and large issues made by the Indian department of 
 rations and goods." 
 
 As if to make matters worse, the Indian agent, after order- 
 ing the wagons containing the Cheyenne annuities back to 
 Fort Larned, immediately afterwards distributed them to these 
 Indians, with arms and ammunition. They had already been 
 insulted by the refusal to their demand for arms and ammuni- 
 tion a short time previous, and, goaded on by their principal 
 medicine man, they were soon in the front ranks of the most 
 hostile tribes. Lieut.-Gen. Sheridan, in closing his report, in 
 1868, says: " I am of the belief that these Indians require to 
 be soundly whipped and the ringleaders in the present trouble 
 hung, their ponies killed, and such destruction of their prop- 
 erty as will make them very poor. These Indians are now 
 rich in houses, stock and other property suitable for their com- 
 fort in their manner of life. From my best information, the 
 Cheyennes and Arapahoes will average from twenty to two 
 
522 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 hundred horses to a lodge of six persons. Most of this stock 
 has been accumulated in their periodical wars. Before wars 
 became a source of profit to them, they had to pack their dogs 
 in moving from place to place. Tliey are now so independent, 
 that whether we shall have our people murdered, our mail lines 
 and lines of communication interrupted, our soldiers living in 
 dug-outs from Hays to Denver, and from the mouth of the 
 Little Arkansas to Pueblo, and large expense periodically 
 incurred by the go^-ernment, without any adequate chastise- 
 ment, seems to depend on the mere whim of the savages." 
 
 It would be difficult to imagine the extent of alarm and 
 anxiety that was felt by the settlers in the broad extent of 
 country included in the Military Division of the Missouri, in 
 1868. Man}' exaggerated reports were on foot, but, for the 
 most part, the thrilling accounts borne on the tongues of run- 
 ners were only too true. G-en. Sheridan's headquarters at Fort 
 Hays was constantly besieged with startling reports, such as 
 these: 
 
 On the twenty-fifth of August, Acting Governor Hall, of 
 Colorado, reported by telegraph that over two hundred Indians 
 were devastating Southern Colorado. On the same day, the 
 same person telegraphed to Gen. Sheridan as follows: "The 
 Arapahoes are killing settlers, destroying ranclies in all direc- 
 tions. For God's sake give me authority to take soldiers from 
 Fort Reynolds. The people are arming and will not be 
 restrained." A few hours later and the same gentleman 
 reported that he was surrounded by hostile Indians. Stages 
 were stopped, stock was being taken, and the people were 
 organizing volunteer companies to avenge the atrocities com- 
 mitted. 
 
 But these were not all; for not an hour passed which did 
 not bring the news of some new disaster. Let us glance at the 
 authentic reports as they came to Gen. Sheridan's headquar- 
 ters at Fort Hays, between the twenty-eighth of August and 
 the twenty-first of October, 1868.* Mr. Powers (wood and hay 
 contractor) and party, were attacked by a body of Indians, 
 three of their number being killed, and all their stock driven ofl", 
 
 * Geu. Sheridan's Report, 18G8. 
 
OR, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO OKNTURfPS. 523 
 
 Mr. Stickiiey, station keeper at Kiowa Springs, traveling 
 with one man in a wagon, about dark, was attacked by fifteen 
 or twenty Indians, and the wagon and" five mules captured. 
 Mr. Stickney was wounded. The mules were wild and ran 
 away. Night coming on they made their escape. 
 
 The sergeant at Lake station reports two employees driven 
 in, and also station keeper and stock tender at Reed's Spring- 
 driven ofi" from station, and forty head of stock run ofi' from 
 Kiowa station. 
 
 Gen. Penrose, commanding Fort Lyon, reports on the twenty- 
 third, at mid-day, a band of Cheyennes at Bent's Fort, twenty 
 miies distant from Fort Lyon, drove off fifteen head of horses 
 and mules and four head of beef cattle. On the twenty-fourth 
 Indians chased the stage from the east back. He also states 
 from reports, that the Denver stage line, the Smoky Hill, and 
 between Forts Lyon and Dodge, are overrun by hostile Indians. 
 On the twenty-second of August a train of thirteen wagons, 
 belonging to Senor Don Ramirez, was attacked by seventy-five 
 or one hundred Indians, eighteen miles from the Arkansas 
 river, the oxen killed and the train destroyed, the men in 
 chai'ge, twelve in number, escaping to Fort Lyon in the dark- 
 ness of night. 
 
 Lieut. T. A. Riley, fifth infantry, reports that Indians ran 
 ofi" two hundred horses belonging to the Kansas Stage Com- 
 pany and the United States Express Company, and that the 
 stage line is interrupted. 
 
 J. H. Jones, agent of stage line, reports one woman and a 
 child killed and scalped, and thirty head of stock run ofl' by a 
 body of Indians west of Lake station. 
 
 A wagon guarded by tour men of the seventh cavalry was 
 attacked by a large body of Indians near Little Coon creek. 
 Three of the men were badly wounded. One of their number 
 bravely volunteered to go to Fort Dodge for aid, giving his 
 arms to his comrades, saying, "• Here, boys, you want them 
 more than I do." They were finally relieved by a party from 
 Fort Dodge under Lieut. Wallace, of the third infantry. 
 
 Brevet Lieut.-Col. J. G.Tilford, commanding Fort Reynolds, 
 reports four persons killed near Colorado City. He is in great 
 
524 TROUBLE WITH THE WECTEKN INDIANS: 
 
 need of cavalry to pursue hostile Indians. A large body of 
 Indians attacked the station at Hugo Springs, firing on the 
 guards and circling round, but were repulsed. 
 
 A body of Indians drove oif five head of stock from the 
 station at Hugo Springs, and then went off and burned Willow 
 Springs. The commanding ofiicer of Fort Reynolds urges, in 
 consequence of Indian depredations and outrages, that the 
 troops, and especially the cavalry at that post, be not reduced. 
 The settlers are clamorous and excited, and ask for arms and 
 ammunition, but he has none to give them. He believes that 
 if the troops were withdrawn the settlements would be 
 devastated. 
 
 The Hon. Schuyler Colfax telegraphs from Denver: " Hostile 
 Indians have been striking simultaneously at isolated settle- 
 ments of Colorado for a circuit of over two hundred miles. 
 Men, women, and children have been killed and scalped daily, 
 and hundreds of thousands of dollars of property stolen. 
 These atrocities have been mainly near the three great lines 
 of travel from this focal point. -^ * * The Territory has 
 no means to put volunteers in the field, and is literally defense- 
 less," and suggests that a strong cavalry force be sent there, 
 and that a supply of arms and ammunition be sent the terri- 
 torial authorities. 
 
 Col. H. C. Bankhead, commanding Fort Wallace, reports that 
 a body of Indians, twenty-five in number, killed and scalped 
 two citizens one and a half miles west of Sheridan. The same 
 party drove off between seventy and eighty head of mules from 
 Clark & Co.'s train at the hay camp on Turkey creek. 
 
 Maj. Douglas forwards the report of Lieut. D. W. Walling- 
 ford, seventh cavalry, sent out to assist a wood train of thirty- 
 five wagons, said to be attacked at Cimarron crossing, twenty- 
 eight miles west, and fifty men with it. He had been fighting 
 Indians for four days; had two men and two horses killed, and 
 seventy -five head of cattle run off, and a great many mules 
 wounded. Five and a half miles further west the remains of 
 a train of ten wagons that had been captured and burned were 
 found. Nothing but the iron work remained. There were 
 fifteen persons with it, supposed to have been killed, and their 
 
OR, TIIR BORDKIi \VAR3 OF TWO CKNTURIES. 525 
 
 todies burned with the .train, as the peculiar stench and lar<;je 
 quantity of bones found among the debris indicated. 
 
 Mr. C. W. M. Ruggles, of Sheridan, reports that tlie Indians 
 burned a ranch and killed its occupants six miles from Sheri- 
 dan, on the road to Wallace. The same ranch was also burned 
 two weeks before and had been rebuilt. 
 
 Gen. Penrose reports two men killed and one wounded of L 
 troop, seventh cavalry, in a fight with hostile Indians. 
 
 Capt. Butler, commanding Fort Wallace, reports the stage 
 fired into by Indians four miles east of Lake station. On the 
 first of September three men were killed by a band of Indians 
 four miles east of Eeed's Spring station. 
 
 Clark & Co., hay contractors, telegraph that they have lost 
 eighty-one head of stock, and will have to give up contract 
 unless protected. 
 
 Gen. Nichols, traveling to Fort Eeynolds, was attacked by 
 Indians, but they drew oft* when they saw the arms of the 
 guard. They then ran oft" the stock of Thompson and McGee, 
 opposite Bent's Old Fort, then made a raid on a house at Point 
 of Pocks, and ran off four head of stock. 
 
 Ellis station was burned and one citizen killed. Gen. Sully 
 reports two killed and one wounded of his command. 
 
 Col. Bankhead reports that a body of fifteen Indians fired 
 into the Mexican ranch, four miles east of Big Timbers station; 
 Acting Governor Hall, of Colorado, telegraphs : " Indians 
 more numerous and bold than ever before. It is impossible to 
 protect the families and property of the people and fight them 
 at the same time. We now find ourselves helpless, exposed 
 daily to assaults, accompanied by horrid butcheries." 
 
 Gen. Hazen reports attack on Fort Zarah by about one 
 hundred Indians, who were driven oft". They then attacked a 
 provision train, killed one teamster and secured the mules from 
 four teams; then attacked the ranch eight miles below, and 
 drove away all the stock. 
 
 Gen. Sully reports attack by Indians on a train between 
 Larned and Dodge. Three citizens were killed and three 
 wounded, and over fifty mules run off. 
 
 Maj. Douglas reports : " On Thursday Indians appeared 
 
526 TROTIBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 under cover of a thick fog, wounded a Mexican at Lime Kiln^ 
 three miles off; then attacked a train about ten miles down the 
 road, killed two men and wounded two; destroyed stores and 
 ran off stock." 
 
 Gen. Penrose reports three hundred Indians on Purgatory, 
 on the seventh instant. They killed one Mexican and ran off a 
 quantity of stock, 
 
 Brevet-Maj. E. A. Belger rejiorts a party of Indians near Ells- 
 worth City. They killed one man and several are missing. 
 
 Lieut. Kaiser, third infantry, reports that a party of Indians 
 surrounded and drove off six horses and two mules from citi- 
 zens near Zarah. 
 
 Gen. Penrose reports a train attacked by Indians at Sand 
 creek, who ran off the cattle and captured Mrs. Blinn and her 
 child. These Indians were led by Satanta, chief of the Kiowas. 
 
 Col. Eoyall reports attack by Indians on his camp on Prairie 
 Dog creek, killing one man, wounding one, and running off 
 twenty-six horses. 
 
 Col. Bankhead reports Col. Carpenter's command of tenth 
 cavalry attacked by four hundred Indians on Beaver creek. 
 Three men wounded and twg horses killed. 
 
CHAPTER LXVI. 
 
 Winter CampaiCtN of Lieut. -Gen. Sheridan in 18G8 — A Brilliant 
 Triumph over the Indians East of the Rocky Mountains — 
 Surrender of the Tribes — They are Placed on the Reserva- 
 tions — The Way Opened for the Labors of the Peace Com- 
 mission. 
 
 To MEET this hostile force of Indians that was now sweeping 
 all before them, Gen. Sheridan had but one thousand two hun- 
 dred cavalry, and about one thousand four hundred infantry, 
 and this force was distributed throughout JSTew Mexico, Indian 
 Territory, Kansas, Upper Arkansas and the State of Missouri 
 as garrisons to the different military posts. " With this small 
 force," says Gen. Sheridan, "for offensive operations, it was 
 impossible to accomplish a gi-eat deal in so extensive a country. 
 The Indian, mounted on his hardy pony, and familiar with 
 the country, was about as hard to find, so long as the grass 
 lasted, as the Alabama on the ocean." 
 
 With the accession to the ranks of the hostile Indians of 
 the Kiowas and Camanches, the Indian forces opposed to Gen. 
 Sheridan's command amounted to six thousand warriors. This 
 force being altogether too strong to be operated against suc- 
 cessfully with Sheridan's little army, he called upon the Gov- 
 ernor of Kansas for a regiment of one thousand two hundred 
 cavalry, which was promptly responded to. 
 
 Gen Sheridan, who had now assumed the duties of com- 
 mander-in-chief of the Military Division of the Missouri, in 
 place of Gen. Sherman, made preparations in the fall of 1868 
 for a winter campaign. This was a bold undertaking, but 
 through great effort proved abundantly successful and resulted 
 in subduing the most important Indian tribes. It is not 
 difficult to judge of the fruits of the peace commission had 
 (527) 
 
528 TKOUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS : 
 
 this campaign not been made. All attempts at effecting a 
 peace must have been futile. 
 
 In speaking of the condition of affairs which led to his 
 great winter campaign Lieut.-Gen. Sheridan says: 
 
 " The Indians, commencing about the tenth of August, had 
 distributed themselves in small parties along the w^estern line 
 of the settlements in Kansas, and the eastern line of settle- 
 ments in Colorado, and the lines of travel up Smoky Hill 
 river to Denver, and on the Arkansas river and Santa Fe 
 roads, driving in the settlers, stopping all commercial traffic, 
 murdering many defenseless persons in the most brutal man- 
 ner, and escaping from the troops sent against them by travel- 
 ing at night, or by the swiftness of their hardy grass-fed 
 ponies. This kind of work they expected to keep until the 
 approach of winter, when the inclemency of the Aveather would 
 give them ample security, and they could live on their 
 plunder, glory in the scalps taken and the debasement of the 
 poor unfortunate women whom they held as j^risoners. 
 
 " The experience of many years of this character of Indian 
 depredations, with security to themselves and families in the 
 winter, had made them very confident and bold; especially 
 was this true of the previous summer and winter. So boldly 
 had this system of murder and robbery been carried on, tliat 
 not less than eight hundred people had been murdered since 
 June, 1862 — men, women and children. To disabuse the 
 minds of the savages of this confident security, and to strike 
 them at a period at which they were the most if not entirely 
 helpless, became a necessity, and the general-in-chief then in 
 command of this division authorized a winter campaign, and 
 at or about the same time directed that the reservation set 
 apart for the Kiowas and Camanches at the Witchita Moun- 
 tains should be considered a j)lace of refuge, where, if the 
 savages would go and submit, they w^ould be exempt from the 
 operations of the troops. The authority for this winter cam- 
 paign was received October 9, 1868. At this time the opera- 
 tions of the Indians had been mostly transferred to the line 
 of the Arkansas river and Santa Fe road, owing to the opera- 
 tions of troops under Col. Forsyth, Gen. Bradley, and Gen. 
 
OR, THE B0RDP:R WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 529 
 
 Carr, north of the Smoky Hill river and on the Republican, 
 as well as to the near approach of winter, which caused the 
 savages to w^ork in the direction of their families, then sup- 
 posed to be on the headwaters of the Red river, immediately 
 south of the Antelope Hills." 
 
 Pre])arations were made and Sheridan's forces concentrated 
 at Camp Supply. From this point it was expected that the 
 main column w^onld strike the Indians either on the head- 
 waters of the Washita or still further south, on the Sweet 
 Water and other branches of the Red river. Gen. Sheridan 
 arrived at Camp Supply on the twenty-first of November, 
 where he found the troops under Gen. Sully engaged in the 
 construction of a block-house, wells, and store-house, for the 
 protection of the supplies. In speaking of the progress of 
 his campaign from this point, Lieut.-Gen. Sheridan says: 
 
 " A furious snow storm commenced on the same evening, 
 which continued during the night and next day, making the 
 situation very gloomy, especially on account of the non-arrival 
 of the Nineteenth Kansas, which I had expected would have 
 reached Camp Supply about the same time as myself. This 
 was a great disappointment to me, as I had expected to unite 
 this regiment with the Seventh Cavalry and launch them both 
 on the Indians, whom I still supposed to be just south of the 
 Antelope Hills. This disappointment was further increased 
 by the appearance of Indians on the distant hills as I came 
 down, just north of Bluff Creek, and the discovery of a large 
 fresh trail by Sully's command — traveling due north ; and I 
 thought the discovery of the troops would cause the Indians 
 south of Antelope Hills to take to Hight. I therefore, on the 
 second day after my arrival at Camp Supply, directed Gen, 
 Custer to move his regiment, storm or no storm, on the morn- 
 ing of the twenty-third of November. This order was 
 responded to with alacrity by the officers and men of the Sev- 
 enth Cavalry, and on the morning of the twenty-third the 
 regiment moved at daylight, although the snow continued to 
 fall with unabated fury. 
 
 " On the evening of the twenty-sixth. Gen. Custer struck 
 the trail of the war party before alluded to as having passed 
 34 
 
530 TROUBLE WITH TlIK WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 north, and wliieli had been seen by Sully's command, and some 
 of the same party had been seen by my escort, near Bluif 
 Creek. This war party was composed, as I afterward learned 
 from Indians, of Black Kettle's band of Cheyennes; also other 
 Cheyennes and Araj^ahoes. They had been north, killed the 
 mail cuiTi.Ts between Dodge and Larned, an old hunter at 
 Dodge, ;;ud two of my expressmen, wliom I had sent back 
 with letters from Bluff Creek to Dodge. As soon as Custer 
 struck the trail he corraled his wagons, left a small escort with 
 them, and followed the Indian trail, which was very fresh and 
 well marked in the deep snow, until it led into Black Kettle's 
 village. The next morning, before daylight, the Osage Indian 
 trailers discovered the village and stock of the Indians, and 
 notified Custer, who at once made the most admirable disposi- 
 tion of his command for the attack and capture of the village. 
 At dawn the attack was made, the village captured and burned, 
 eight hundred horses or ponies killed in accordance with my 
 positive orders, and one hundred and three warriors killed, 
 and fifty-three women and children captured. 
 
 " Wliile this work was going on, all the Indians, for a dis- 
 tance of fifteen miles down the Washita, collected and attacked 
 Custer. These Indians were Cheyennes, Camanches, Kiowas, 
 and Apaches; but were driven down the stream for a distance 
 of four or five miles, when, as night was approaching, Custer 
 withdrew and returned to a small train of provisions which he 
 liad directed to follow up his movements. Our loss at the 
 attack on the village was Capt. Louis M. Hamilton, and three 
 men killed, and three ofiicers and eleven men wounded; but, 
 unfortunately. Major Elliott, of the regiment, a very gallant 
 and promising young oflicer, seeing some of the young boys 
 escape, followed, with the sergeant-major and fifteen men, to 
 capture and bring them in; after capturing them, and while 
 on their way back to the regiment, they were surrounded and 
 killed. It occurred, I think, in this way: Elliott and his 
 party followed the boys shortly after the attack on the village, 
 taking a course due south and nearly at right angles to the 
 Washita river, which was here very small ; after traveling 
 south one mile and a half from the village, a very small branch 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CKNTU Kl MS. 5;^] 
 
 of the Washita was crossed, and an open prairie reached; on 
 this prairie the boys were captured and were being brought 
 back, when the party was attacked by Indians from below, 
 numbering from one tliousand to fifteen hundred; it fought 
 its way back toward the small creek before named until within 
 rifle range of the creek, when it was stopped by the Indians 
 having taken position in the bed of the creek, and picking off 
 the men, who had formed a little circle, around wliich their 
 dead and horribly mutilated bodies were found. No one, so 
 far as I could learn, of those back with the regiment, knew of 
 their having followed the Indian boys; no one heard the report 
 of their guns, and no one knew of their exact fate until they 
 were discovered, some two weeks afterward." 
 
 On the thirteenth of JSTovember, the Nineteenth Kansas 
 arrived at Camp Supply, after a long and tedious journey in 
 \vhich the regiment lost its way, being thereby delayed. The 
 blow that Custer had struck was a hard one and fell on the 
 guiltiest of all the bands — that of Black Kettle. It was this 
 band, says Gen. Sheridan, that, without provocation, had mas- 
 sacred the settlers on the Saline and Solomon, and perpetrated 
 crnelties too fiendish for recital. 
 
 But Gen. Sheridan was not satisfied with this victory, but 
 continued the pursuit of. the Indians until every hostile band 
 in his division surrendered themselves. In this work Gen. 
 Sheridan and the officers and soldiers under him rendered theii 
 country a service which we cannot commend too highly. 
 During the summer preceding his campaign, while the peace 
 commission was deliberating as to the best means of civiliz- 
 ing and christianizing the Cheyennes, Camanches, Kiowas, 
 Apaches, Arapahoes and Sioux, these Indians were committing 
 merciless depredations upon the settlements between the Mis- 
 sissippi and the Bocky Mountains with the full hope that the 
 severity of winter would protect them from just punishment; 
 but, as we have seen, they were disappointed in this hope. 
 Many of their warriors paid the penalty of their crimes by 
 their lives upon the battle-field, while the others were forced 
 to submission and compelled to retire to their reservations. 
 Thus, thi-ough the courage and foresight of Gen. Sheridan the 
 
532 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 Indians were thoroughly conquered and the way opened for 
 that long, and, in many respects, prosperous peace which has 
 followed. The Indians east of the Rocky Mountains have 
 given the government but little trouble since this campaign, the 
 Western settlements have been protected from a barbarous 
 invasion, women and children have been shielded from a fiend- 
 ish captivity, and the Indians themselves have fared much 
 better than when dependent upon depredations for the means 
 of subsistence. For this brilliant service Lieut.-Gen. P. II. 
 Sheridan has his reward in the respect and esteem in which 
 he is held by the whole people of the United States. 
 
CHAPTER LXVII. 
 
 Indian Troubles West of the Rocky Mountains — Hokrtble Mas- 
 sacre op Indians — Difficulties op Making War on the Savages 
 IN THE Wilds of the West — The Peace Commissioners in Ari- 
 zona AND California — Curious Speeches op Chiefs. 
 
 Let us now turn our attention to the wars with the Indians 
 west of the Rocky Mountains, and more particularly in Ari- 
 zona. Here, too, we find the good results of the labors of the 
 Peace Commissioners, but not without being preceded by the 
 evils consequent upon a change in the Indian policy. Perhaps 
 the new peace policy met with more opposition among the 
 white settlers west of the Rocky Mountains than in Sheridan's 
 military division, east of them. In the former country the 
 pioneers of civilization who had suifered all manner of hard- 
 ships and cruelties at the hands of the savages, seemed to look 
 upon them with a feeling of revenge. This revenge often 
 found vent in open hostilities, and sometimes in massacres that, 
 for cruelty, equalled the deeds of the Indians themselves. In 
 1871 a number of Apaches were murdered on their reservation 
 in Arizona, by whites, there being no cause for the outrage 
 beyond past hostilities. Lieut. R. E. Whiteman, of the United 
 States army, and commander at the post near which the mas- 
 sacre took place, gives a very good account of the affair in his 
 report: " Many of the men whose families had all been killed, 
 when I spoke to them and expressed sympathy for them, were 
 obliged to turn away, unable to speak, and too proud to show 
 their grief. The women whose children had been killed or 
 stolen were convulsed with grief, and looked to me appealingly, 
 as though I was their last hope on earth. Children who, two 
 days before, had been full of fun and frolic, kept at a distance, 
 expressing wondering horror. I did what I could; I fed them, 
 (533) 
 
534 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 and talked to them, and listened patiently to their accounts. I 
 sent horses into the mountains to bring in two badly- wounded 
 wouien, one shot through the left lung, and one with an arm 
 shattered. These were attended to, and are doing well, and 
 will recover. Their camp was surrounded and attacked at day- 
 break. So sudden and unexpected was it, that no one was 
 awake to give the alarm, and I found quite a number of women 
 shot while asleep beside their bundles of hay, which they had 
 collected to bring in on that morning. The wounded who 
 were unable to get away, had their brains beaten out with 
 clubs or stones, while some were shot full of arrows after having 
 been mortally wounded by gunshot. The bodies were all 
 stripped. Of the whole number buried, one was an old man 
 and one a well-grown boy — all the rest, women and chil 
 dren. Of the whole number killed and missing, about one 
 hundred and twenty-five, eight only were men. It has been 
 said that the men were not there; they were all there. On the 
 twenty-eighth, we counted one hundred and twenty-eight men, 
 a small number being absent for mescal, all of whom have 
 since been in. I have spent a good deal of time witli them, 
 since the affair, and have been astonished at their continued 
 unshaken faith in me, and their perfectly clear understanding 
 of their misfortune. They say: ' We know there a great many 
 white men and Mexicans who do not wish us to live at peace. 
 We know that the Papagos would not have come out after us 
 at this time unless they had been persuaded to do so.' Wliat 
 they do not understand is, while they are at peace, and are con- 
 scious of no wrong intent, that they should be murdered by 
 government arms in the hands of Papagos and Mexicans. 
 One of the chiefs said: ' I no longer want to live; my women 
 and children have been killed before my face, and I have been 
 unable to defend them. Most Indians in my place would take 
 a knife and cut his throat, but I v)ill live to show these people 
 that all they have done, and all they can do, shall not make me 
 break faith with you, so long as you will stand by us and defend 
 us, in a language we know nothing of, to a great governor we 
 never have, and never shall, see.' About their captives they 
 say: ' Oet them back for us; our little boys will grow up 
 
OK, TIIK BOUDKK WARS OF TWO (^KNITKIKS. 535 
 
 slaves, and our girls, as soon as they are large enough, will be 
 diseased prostitutes, to get money tor whoever owns them 
 Our women work hard, and are good women, and they and our 
 children have no diseases." ^' ''^' * ■■• •^" •• 
 
 The extract from Lieut. Whiteman's report will not be read 
 without feelings of pity for the savages who ^vel•e so shamefully 
 treated. Yet after all, they had visited a more cruel and l)ar- 
 barous torture, and a more wicked death, u|)on the unfortunate 
 whites who had from time to time fallen into their hands, and 
 although this fact does not justify the lawless course taken 
 in this massacre, it redcces, to some extent, the just indignation 
 against the perpetrators. 
 
 We have an additional account of this horrid atfair from the 
 pen of one of the post surgeons attached to Lieut. AVhitenuin's 
 command. He says: "Lieut. Whiteman ordered me to go to 
 the Indian camp to render medical assistance, and bring down 
 any wounded I might find. I took twelve men (mounted) and 
 a wagon, and proceeded without delay to the scene of the mur- 
 der. On my arrival I found that I should have but little use 
 for wagon or medicine; the work had been too thoroughly 
 done. The camp luxd been fired, and the dead bodies of some 
 twenty-one women and children were lying scattered over the 
 ground; those who had been wounded in the first instance had 
 their brains beaten out with stones. Two of the best looking 
 of the squaws were lying in such a position, and from the 
 appearance of the genital organs and of their wounds, there 
 can be no doubt that they were first ravished and then shot 
 dead. ]Srearly all of the dead were mutilated. One infant of 
 some ten months was shot twice, and one leg hacked nearly off. 
 While going over the ground we came upon a squaw who was 
 unhurt, but we were unable to get her to come in and talk, she 
 not feeling very sure of our good intentions. Finding nothing 
 further could be done, I returned to the post and reported the 
 state of affairs to Lieut. Whiteman, commanding post." 
 
 It will be impossible, in view of the space now left for the 
 completion of this volume, to enter into a narrative of all the 
 petty wars with the Indians on the Pacific slope. From the 
 earliest settlement of the country bv the Mexicans, and at a 
 
536 TROUBLE WITH 'mE VVESTBRN INDIANS: 
 
 little later period by the Americans, down to the Modoc war, 
 there was a continuous war with tlie Indian tribes, among the 
 most prominent of which were the Apaches, Klamaths, Modocs, 
 and other bands. In this country, which was so well adapted 
 to the Indian mode of fighting, it was almost impossible to 
 defeat the savages, no matter how strong the force commanded 
 against them. They could retreat to the mountain recesses, in 
 chasms, or among the dark passes in the lava beds, where 
 American troops found it impossible to follow. And if, by 
 dint of struggle and sacrifice, the summit was gained, or the 
 chasm penetrated, it only opened a field of new dangers, and 
 exposed them to the deadly fire of a barbarous enemy, which 
 could not be efiectually returned. 
 
 But the surging tide of such a war was kept up on the' 
 Pacific slope for many years. Long before Col. Fremont pene- 
 trated this country with his hardy mountaineers, the sharp 
 report of the unerring rifle was heard among the wastes, telling 
 of the death of some lurking savage, or unfortunate trapper. 
 Bands of hostile Indians, painted for the battle, ranged over 
 the deserts, on mountain summits, or among the deep recesses 
 of the wild, uneven country, watching the slow progress of 
 immigrant trains, and pouncing upon them as soon as a favora- 
 ble opportunity presented itself, murdering the men, plundering 
 the train, and carrying the women and children into a barbar- 
 ous captivity. The pen refuses to write of the horrors which 
 surrounded these captive women. Their sufferings were often 
 beyond description, and always replete with the most barbarous 
 acts. 
 
 But after many years of war between these Indians and the 
 whites, with victories first for civilization and then for barbar- 
 ity, the peace commission went among them to hold sacred 
 councils, and promote the reservation policy. The head chiefs 
 of tribes were invited to meet the disciples of peace, and, actu- 
 ated by the hope of receiving liberal presents and of deliverance 
 from the poverty and bondage into which a long and cruel war 
 had forced them, they came in great numbers to shake the 
 white chiefs by the hand, and tell the story of their wrongs. 
 
 The deliberations between the commissioners and the Indi- 
 
OR, THE BORDKK WAIIS OF TWO OKNTURIKS. 53T 
 
 ans were sometimes full of interest, and many of the ablest 
 speeches of the chiefs are worthy of preservation in this vol- 
 ume, as they will present to the world, to a great ,degree, the 
 condition of the Indians at the present day. Howlish-Wam- 
 po, head chief of the Caynse, after listening to the address of 
 the commissioner, replied in these words: " You talked with 
 a good heart when you told me that you believed in God. I 
 thought that was good; that is my heart, too, while I stand 
 upon this ground. What you have spoken this people have 
 heard; all understand what you have said. You came here to 
 ascertain what is our mind. This reservation is marked out 
 for us. We see it with our eyes, and our hearts, we all hold 
 it witli our bodies and with our souls. Right out here are my 
 father and mother, and brothers and sisters, and children, all 
 buried; I am guarding their graves. My friend, this reserva- 
 tion, this small piece of land, we look upon it as our mother — 
 as if slie were raising us. You come to ask me for my land. 
 It is like as if we, who are Indians, were to be sent away and 
 get lost. I look upon all sides. On the outside of the reser- 
 vation I see your houses; they have windows, they are good. 
 You are bringing up your children well. What is the reason 
 you white men who live near the reservation like my land, and 
 want to get it? You must not think so. My friends, you 
 must not talk too strong about getting my land. I like my 
 land, and will not let it go. You have been asking my heart 
 about the reservation. This is my heart." 
 
 Wenap-snoot, of the Umatillas, said : " Our red people 
 were brought up here, and some one had to teach them as they 
 grew. Those who were taught grew up well. I believe the 
 man who understands and follows the way he is taught, grows 
 up w^ell. I learned from the way in which I was brought up, 
 and I am going to have my children taught more, and they 
 will grow up better than I am. When my father and mother 
 died, I was left here. They gave me rules, and gave me their 
 lands to live upon. Tliey left me to take care of them after 
 they were buried. I was to watch over their graves. I do not 
 wish to part with my land. I have felt tired working on my 
 land, so tired that the sweat dropped off me on the ground. 
 
538 TEOUHLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS! 
 
 Where is all that Governor Stevens and Gen. Palmer said? I 
 am very fond of this land that is marked out for me, and the 
 rest of the Indians have no more room for their stock than 
 they need, and I do not know where I'd pnt them if I had to 
 confine myself to a small piece of ground; should I take only 
 a small piece of ground, and a white man sit down beside me, 
 I fear there would be trouble all the time." 
 
 A chief called William, spoke in these words: "God is 
 my Heavenly Father; you are my father from Washington. 
 If you look at our houses you will see they are very poor. I 
 tell you we are very poor; see the tools we work with (exhib- 
 iting a stone hammer and other Indian tools); it is with these 
 we have to build our houses; we use a stone for a hammer. 
 We are almost all dead, but we are glad to see you. One of 
 our employers treats us like dogs ; he uses us like slaves. I 
 tell you the truth, he struck an Indian on the face, and the 
 blood gushed out. You tell us to talk freely, and I do so. 
 The whites cheat us, and some of our agents cheat us. I speak 
 to you; I talk in the presence of the God who made us. I 
 talk to you as my father. I am glad to see you ; I came from 
 one of these tribes. I have no land now\ I am a poor old 
 man. God made me; the whites took our land. Here is my 
 country below this reservation; near it is the Tulalip. I want 
 a paper to keep any white men away when they come. They 
 scare the old men and want to kill us." 
 
 Billy Williamson spoke in council as follows: "Since Mr. 
 Meacham came, this summer, our eyes have been opened. Our 
 saw-mill is almost done, and we expect to have a grist-mill 
 sooH. Mr. Brunot comes from Washington, and I want to 
 know whether \vliat I said before, and that now, was put on 
 paper — did my words go to Washington ? Then the Indians 
 were all separated; now they are all here. If you go to see 
 their homes, you will find many things they made themselves. 
 They learned it from the whites outside. The men on the reser- 
 vation did not learn us. When the treaty was made we were 
 very poor. For fifteen years we have been talking about what 
 was needed. Do they know it at Washington? Some white 
 men say we will only get twenty acres. Where I came from I 
 
OR, 'TUK BOKDKK WAKS OF TWO CKNTURIES. 539 
 
 had not only twenty acres, but a hundred. Everybody knows 
 we are poor. I had a cow and a yoke of oxen long ago; that 
 is all I have now. I don't want to lie -to God. I don't think 1 
 am a very good man. I may tell a lie; 1 am an Indian. I 
 speak the truth. I don't drink. I don't do as Indians did in 
 old times; I have quit that. We can't do everything in a day. 
 If we get our land, we need cows and horses and plows and 
 wagons. Then we won't go outside; we will stay here. There 
 are a few' half-breeds here. I think nothing about that; they 
 have families here. I w^ant to know if money was sent here 
 for us. Now we are like white men. You know about God; 
 so do these Indians; I speak no bad words. White men and 
 Indians are all alike. Some Indians here have been shot and 
 whipped by white men for nothing. Two of our people are in 
 Salem penitentiary. We want to get them out; they did 
 nothing. White men gave them whisky and got them drunk, 
 and now they have got them into the penitentiary." 
 
 Such were the men and such the complaints which met the 
 members of the Peace Commission in the far West, but while 
 these speeches indicate the understanding of wrongs perpe- 
 trated upon themselves, they also show that these savages were 
 not ignorant of the crimes which they themselves had com- 
 mitted. Thus while their complaints beget sympathy on the 
 one hand, they elicit indignation on the other. 
 
CHAPTEE LXYIII. 
 
 History op the Modocs — Horribi^e Massacre op a Party op Immi- 
 grants—Ben Wright's Vengeance — Terrible Destruction of 
 THE Modocs prom Starvation — Canibalism — The Reservation 
 Troubles. 
 
 Perhaps no other portion of this narrative vt^ill be more 
 interesting to the general reader than that which now follows,, 
 giving a history of the Modoc Indians and their recent wars 
 against the whites. Their wild homes among the lava beds of 
 Arizona and Northern California, which have been rendered 
 famous by the thrilling sketches that have, from time to time, 
 appeared through the newspapers and periodicals of the United 
 States, have added not a little to the interest felt in these 
 peculiar savages. But above all else, the recent Modoc war 
 has given this tribe a world-wide notoriety. 
 
 The number of this people when in their primitive glory 
 and power, must have been many thousands. The remains of 
 their ancient villages, found along the shores of the lakes, the 
 streams, and the forest springs, go very far to establish the fact 
 of their former greatness. But this greatness has fallen! 
 Their power has passed away, and as a nation they are now 
 nearly extinct. Only three or four hundred of these brave 
 natives now live to tell us the singular traditions of the tril)e. 
 These will soon pass on to oblivion, in the dark, mysterious 
 way in which all the red men of the American forests ha^'e 
 been driven by civilization. 
 
 But there have been sources for the destruction of this peo- 
 ple other than that which civilization has produced. I refer 
 to the deadly conilicts which have been waged upon them by 
 the fierce Indians in the wilds of the neighboring forests, vague 
 accounts of which have come to us upon the current of their 
 (540) 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 541 
 
 strange traditions. But these were not more etfective of their 
 ruin tlian the wars which have taken phice between tliem and 
 tlie early settlers of Northern California and Southern Oregon. 
 They have ever been an obstinate, unconquerable race, merci- 
 less in war, full of treachery and possessed of the blackest 
 stratagem. Nor has the romantic country in which they built 
 their homes, failed in furnishing them every facility for the 
 prosecution of war after their treacherous designs. 
 
 As early as 1847 we find trains of Oregon immigration pass- 
 ing through their country. The road was a dangerous one, 
 winding through dark canons, and passing under precipitous 
 cliffs that afforded secure and impenetrable ambuscade. At 
 every opening through the craggy cliffs bands of mounted war- 
 riors were revealed, who seemed to be watching for a favorable 
 opportunity to capture and plunder the travelers. If, per- 
 chance, the train was weak, the warriors would rush upon it, 
 slaughter the immigrants and capture the supplies. Such out- 
 rages seem to have been, for many years, their chief occupa- 
 tion. 
 
 The first in this dark catalogue of which I have any well 
 authenticated information was in 1852. In this year a small 
 train, comprising only eighteen souls, men, women and children, 
 made an attempt to reach central Oregon, by the Rhett Lake 
 route. Leaving Pitt Eiver they journeyed for several days 
 without molestation, not having observed a single Indian. 
 Eeaching the eastern shore of Rhett Lake they encamped under 
 a bluff, now called "• Bloody Point." Here the weary travelers 
 rested — rested forever from earthly toils. They sat down 
 together and began to partake of some refreshments, under the 
 great rocks tliat hung in grandeur over them.; and scarcely had 
 they begun to congratulate each other upon the unexpected 
 quiet of the Indian country, when the air rung out with the 
 deafening yells of ferocious savages. In another instant count- 
 less painted Indians poured down from the rocks overhead. 
 But their bloody work was soon ended. Only one escaped to 
 tell the horrors of the massacre. 
 
 In reference to the revenge upon the Indians for this terri- 
 ble massacre, William M. Turner, in an able article in the 
 
542 TROrBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANA : 
 
 Ooerland Ifonthly, says: "The men of early times in tliese 
 mountains were brave and chivalrons men. In less than 
 twenty-four hours, a mounted force of miners, packers, and 
 prospectors — men who feared no living thing — were at the 
 scene of the massacre. The remains of the victims were found, 
 shockingly mutilated, lying in a pile with their broken wagons, 
 and half charred; but not a Indian could be found. It was 
 not until the next year that the Modocs were punished for this 
 cruel deed. An old mountaineer named Ben Wright — one of 
 those strange beings who imagine that they are born as instru- 
 ments for tlie fulfillment of the red man's destiny — organized 
 an independent company at Yreka, in 1853, and went into the 
 Modoc country. The Indians were wary, but Ben was patient 
 and enduring. Meeting with poor success, and accomplishing 
 nothing but protection for incoming emigrants, he improvised 
 an ' emigrant train ' with which to decoy the enemy from the 
 cover of the hills and ravines. Winding slowly among the 
 hills and through the sage-plains, Ben's canvass covered wagons 
 rolled quietly along, camping at the usual watering-places, and 
 apparently in a careless and unguarded way. Every wagon 
 was filled with armed men, anxious and willing to be attacked. 
 The ruse failed, however; for the keen-sighted Indians soon 
 perceived that there were no M^omen or children with the train, 
 and its careless movements were suspicious. After several 
 months of unsatisfactory skirmishing, Ben resolved on a change 
 of tactics. Surprising a small party of ModocS, instead of 
 scalping them, he took them to his camp, treated them kindly^ 
 and making them a sort of Peace Commission, sent them with 
 olive-branches, in the shape of calico and tobacco, back to their 
 people. E'egotiations for a general council to arrange a treaty 
 were opened. Others visited the white camp; and soon the 
 Modocs, who had but a faint appreciation of the tortuous ways 
 of white diplomacy, began to think that Ben was a very harm- 
 less and respectable gentleman. A spot on the north bank of 
 Lost Biver, a few hundred yards from the Natural Bridge, 
 was selected for the council. On the appointed day, fifty-one 
 Indians (about equal in number to Wright's company) 
 attended, and, as agreed upon by both parties, no weapons 
 
OR, THE BOIJDKK WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 543 
 
 were brought to the ground. A number of beeves liad been 
 killed, presents were distributed, and the day passed in mutiuil 
 professions of friendship ; when Wright — whose quick, restless 
 eye had been busy — quietly tilled his pipe, drew a match and 
 lit it. This was the pre-concerted signal. As the tirst little 
 curling wreath of smoke went up, tifty revolvers were drawn 
 from their places of concealment by Wright's men, who were 
 now scattered among their intended victims; a few moments 
 of rapid and deadly firing, and only two of tlie Modocs escaped 
 to warn their people! " 
 
 In giving a sketch of the history of the Modocs, the same 
 writer says: '' In 1864, when old Schonchin buried the hatchet 
 and agreed to war wnth the pale-faces no more, he said, mourn- 
 fully: 'Once my people were like the sands along yon shore. 
 Now I call to them, and only the wind answers. Four hun- 
 dred strong young men went with me to the war with the 
 whites; only eighty are left. We will be good, if the white 
 man will let us, and be his friends forever.' And this old 
 chief has kept his word — better, perhaps, than his conquerors 
 have theirs. The Modocs themselves offer a better reason for 
 the great decrease of their people. They say that, within the 
 memory of many of this generation, the tribe was overtaken by 
 a famine that swept off whole randies, and they speak of it as 
 if remembered like a fearful dream. As is usual with savages, 
 the chief labor of gathering supplies of all kinds, except those 
 procured by fishing and the chase, devolved upon the Modoc 
 women. Large quantities of kamas and wocas were already 
 harvested, but the ])redatory character of the surrounding tribes 
 made it dangerous to store their food in the villages; and it 
 was customary to cache it among the sage-brush and rocks, 
 which was done so cunningly that an enemy might walk over 
 the hiding-places without suspicion. Snow rarely fell in tliis 
 reo-ion sufiiciently deep to prevent access to i\\Q caches ; but 
 the Modocs tell of one winter when they were caught by a ter- 
 rible storm, that continued until the snow was more than seven 
 feet in depth over the whole country, and access to their win- 
 ter stores impossible. The Modocs, like all other Indians, 
 have no chroiiology ; they do not count the years, and only 
 
■544 TKOUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 reckon their changes by the seasons of summer and winter. 
 Remarkable events are remembered only as coincident with the 
 marked periods of life; and, judging from the probable age of 
 the survivors of that terrible famine, it must have occurred 
 •over forty years ago, long before any of the tribe had ever looked 
 upon the face of a white stranger. These wild people generally 
 regard such occurrences with superstitious horror; they rarely 
 •speak of the dead, and even long residence among the whites 
 •does not remove a superstition that forbids them to mention 
 even a dead relative by name. From those who have lived 
 .among the whites since early childhood, the particulars of this 
 season of suffering and desolation are obtained; and they say 
 that their parents who survived it still speak of that dreadful 
 winter in shuddering whispers. 
 
 ••' It seems that the young men of the tribe had returned, 
 late in the season, from a successful hunt, when a heavy snow- 
 storm set in; but these people — like children, in many 
 things — had no apprehension, as their present wants were 
 ■supplied. But the storm increased in fury and strength ; the 
 snow fell in blinding sheets, for days and days, till it had cov- 
 ■ered bush, and stunted tree, and plain, and rock, and mountain, 
 and every landmark was obliterated. The survivors tell of fran- 
 tic efforts to reach the caches: how strong men returned to their 
 villages, weak and weary with tramping through the yielding 
 snow, in search of the hidden stores. They tell how the little 
 brown faces of the children, pinched with hunger, drove the 
 men out again and again in search of food, only to return 
 •empty-handed and hopeless ; how everything that would sus- 
 tain life — deer and antelope skins, their favorite dogs — even 
 •the skins of wild fowl, used as bedding, were devoured: how, 
 when everything that could be used as food was gone, famine 
 made women out of strong, brave warriors, and a dreadful 
 stillness fell upon all the villages. They tell how death crept 
 into every house, till the living lay down beside the dead and 
 waited. After weeks of pinching hunger, and when in the 
 last extremity, an opportune accident saved the largest village 
 -on the south'-eastern extremity of Khett Lake from complete 
 extinction. A large band of antelopes, moving down from the 
 
OR, THE BOUDKR WARS OF TWO (JKNTURIES. 545 
 
 hills, probably in search of food, attempted to cross an arm of 
 the lake, onh' a short distance from the village, and were 
 caught in the breaking ice and drowned. Those who had suf- 
 ficient strength left, distributed antelope meat among the fami- 
 lies, and it was then that the shocking fact was discovered 
 that some of the starving people had been driven to canni- 
 balism. In one house, a woman was found with the half-eaten 
 foot of her husband concealed beneath her bed. When whole- 
 some food was given her, she went raving mad, and confessed 
 that she had killed him to save her life and the life of her lit- 
 tle one. The survivors tell how, when the spring came, and 
 the grass grew green again on the hills, this poor demented 
 creature was missing — decoyed away, perhaps, by some friend 
 of her husband, and murdered. Some of them, with that fond- 
 ness for the supernatural so strong among all savages, aver 
 that, even to this day, that woman's voice is heard in mourn- 
 ful lamentation, borne on the night-wind from the rugged 
 cliffs on the western shore of the lake, often and often; and 
 they tell of little piles of rock raised by unseen hands along 
 the western mountain — Indian signs of sorrow and mourning. 
 
 "All accounts agree that, at the opening of spring, it was 
 found that fully one-half of the people had perished, and that, 
 in many houses, there was not a single survivor. The details 
 of this fearful fainine are related so circumstantially by dif- 
 ferent narrators, that there can be but little doubt of their 
 correctness. But the Modoc nation, certainly once so numer- 
 ous, is easily counted now, and their days are numbered. The 
 spirit of the majority of the ti'ibe is broken; they are content 
 to be cooped up within the limits of their reservation, in a 
 country where once they were lords, and the suj)erior race 
 claims their former possessions by the right of might. They 
 are part and parcel of that problem — the red race, created by 
 the same power as we, for God's own purposes. Like the rest 
 of the red people they are destined to speedy extinction ; and 
 the last of the Modocs, powerful as they have been, will 
 probably be seen by the present generation of white men." 
 
 And now more particularly as to the Modoc war. In 1864, 
 a treaty was made with the Modocs, Snakes and Klamaths, by 
 35 
 
546 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 which it was agreed that these Indians would immediately 
 repair to a reservation set apart for them in the southern part 
 of Oregon. The Snakes and Klaniaths moved on to the 
 reservation conformably to the treaty, as also did a part of the 
 Modocs under Chief Schonchin. A strong band of these 
 Indians under Captain Jack remained at their old homes near 
 Clear Lake, about sixty miles from Klamath, without being 
 seriously disturbed until 1869. 
 
CHAPTER LXIX. 
 
 Quarrels Among the Indians on the Reservation — Departure of 
 Captain Jack and His Band for the Lava Beds — The I^roops 
 Pursue them in Vain — Fatau Attempts of the Peace Commis- 
 sion — Murder op the Commissioners — Execution op the 
 Modocs. 
 
 In the year 1869, Captain Jack's band was induced to go 
 onto the reservation, but these Indians had not been long in 
 their new quarters before the Klamaths picked a quarrel with 
 them wliich terminated in disaster. These quarrels on the 
 reservation were laid before the authorities at Washington, 
 whereupon orders were issued to have the Modocs removed 
 to another part of the reservation where they would not come 
 in contact with their enemies, the Klamaths; but, unfortu- 
 nately, this did not put an end to the hostilities on the reser- 
 vation, and soon after Captain Jack's band resolved to depart 
 for their old homes among the lava beds. 
 
 Soon after Superintendent Odeneal succeeded in holding a 
 council with Captain Jack's band, when they positively refused 
 to return to the reservation. Tlie military were now called 
 upon and Capt. Jackson, of the United States army, with 
 thirty men, was ordered to visit ''Jack's " headquarters with 
 instructions not to fight except in defending themselves 
 against injury. Capt. Jackson delivered his message to the 
 Modocs, and asked them to lay down their arms, but they 
 refused. One of the leaders, Scar-Faced Charley, raised his 
 gun, and with an oath said lie would kill one officer to begin 
 with. He tired at Lieut. Boutelle, who was in front of his 
 men, shooting four bullet holes through his coat-sleeve. This 
 led to a battle which lasted about two hours, when the Indians 
 escaped. Tljeir rage was now excited to the highest pitch, and 
 - (547) 
 
548 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 before the daj closed they murdered eleven citizens. Immedi- 
 ately after they retired to the celebrated lava beds, whence they 
 were pursued by a strong body of United States troops, but to 
 no purpose. Within the secure retreats of this wild country 
 they defied the strongest force of troops that could be inarched 
 against them, many times charging upon them from their 
 ambuscades with fatal results, shooting down soldiers, scalping 
 the fallen and then escaping within their chasm, hiding places. 
 
 After the troops had done all they could do, being still 
 unable to drive these fierce Indians from their strongholds, 
 they turned the matter over to the peace commissioners who 
 undertook to settle the difficulty. The commission appointed 
 to this duty consisted of Hon. A. B. Meacham, Chairman; 
 Hon. Jesse Applegate and Samuel Case, of Oregon. This 
 peace board commenced its negotiations on the twentieth of 
 February, and after holding several talks with the leaders of 
 Captain Jack's band they acknowledged their cause as hope- 
 less. At length a new commission was formed consisting of 
 Gen. E. E. S. Canby, the Kev. Dr. E. Thomas, a leading 
 Methodist divine of California, Mr. A. B. Meacham, Judge 
 Rosborough, of California, and Mr. Dyer, of Oregon. 
 
 Soon after, Gen. Canby telegraphed to Gen. Sherman his 
 opinion of Modoc affairs in which he said: "I think that a 
 system of gradual compulsion, with an exhil)ition of the force 
 that can be used against them, if the commission should again 
 fail, will satisfy them of the hopelessness of any further resis- 
 tance, and give the peace party sufficient strength to control 
 the whole band. Time is becoming of the greatest importance, 
 as the melting of the snow will soon enable them to live in 
 the mountains. This will greatly increase the difficulties we 
 have to contend with, as they will then break up into small 
 parties, and can more readily make their escape from their 
 present location.' 
 
 The new peace commission received the following instruc- 
 tions from Secretary Delano, of the Interior Department: 
 " The objects to be gained by this Commission are these: First, 
 to ascertain the causes which have led to the difficulties and 
 hostilities between the troops and the Indians; and, secondly, 
 
CAPTAIN JACK, THE MODOC CHIEFTAIN, 
 
OR, THE BOKDKK WARS OF TWO (M-INTIIKIKH. 549 
 
 to devise the most effective and judicious measures for prevent- 
 ing tlie continuance of their hostilities and for the restoration 
 of peace. It is the opinion of tlie Department, from the best 
 information in its possession, that it is advisable to remove the 
 Modoc Indians, with their consent, to some new reservation; 
 and it is believed that the coast reservation in Oregon, lying 
 between Cape Lookout on the north and Cape Perj)etua on 
 the south, and bounded on the east by the coast range of 
 mountains, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean, will be found 
 to furnish the best location for these Indians. The Commis- 
 sion will therefore be directed to make an amicable arrange- 
 ment for locating the Indians on some portion of this reserva- 
 tion, provided it is possible for it to do so, and provided tliat 
 said Commission is not of opinion, after fully investigating 
 the case, that some other jalace is better adapted to accomplish 
 the purpose of the Department; in either of which events the 
 Commission will, before finally concluding an arrangement 
 with the Indians, hold communication with the Commissioner 
 of Indian Affairs and receive further advice. 
 
 "The Commission will in no wise attempt to direct the 
 military authorities in reference to their movements. It will 
 be at liberty, however, to inform the commanding officer of 
 the wish of the Department, that no more force or violence be 
 used than in his opinion shall be deemed absolutely necessary 
 and proper, it being the desire of the Department in this, as 
 well as in all other cases of like character, to conduct its com- 
 munication's with the Indians in such a manner as to secure 
 peace and obtain their confidence, if possible, and their volun- 
 tary consent to a compliance with such regulations as may be 
 deemed necessary for their present and future welfare." 
 
 The new Commission succeeded in holding several " talks " 
 with Captain Jack and his leading men, but at all of these 
 they assumed a defiant attitude, appearing in several instances 
 with the scalps of their victims fastened to their belts. On 
 the evening of the tenth of April, 1873, Bogus Charley visited 
 the camp of the Commissioners, and informed them that Cap- 
 tain Jack and several others of the band would meet for a talk 
 at the spot near the lake, about three-quarters of a mile froin 
 the camD of the Commissioners, on the next day. Bogus 
 
550 THOUBI,E WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS: 
 
 Charley remained with the Commissioners all night, and early 
 on the following morning Boston Charley, also, visited the 
 camp, and stated that Captain Jack and the others were pre- 
 paring for the council. In a few hours after the peace party, 
 composed of Gen. Canby, A. B. Meacham, Dr. Thomas, Mi-. 
 Dyer, Riddle the interpreter, and his squaw, with Bogus 
 Charley and Boston Charley, went out to the place agreed upon, 
 where they met Captain Jack, John Schonchin, Black Jim, 
 Schack Nasty Jim, Ellen's Man and Hooker Jim. They had 
 no guns, but each was provided with pistols. 
 
 At the place selected, the party sat down in a circle, and Mr. 
 Meacham commenced the talk, and told them that the govern- 
 ment and people of the United States wanted to do them good. 
 He was folloM^ed by Gen. Canby and Dr. Thomas, who said 
 much that was calculated to pacify the Indians. When the 
 last speaker had iinished, John Schonchin began a reply, but 
 he had said but a few words, when, as if they were the signal 
 for the attack, the work of treachery began. A dozen shots 
 were tired in less than a minute, and the massacre completed. 
 The first shot was fired by Captain Jack himself, who shot and 
 killed Gen. Canl)y. Mr. Meacham was shot by Schonchin, and 
 Dr. Thomas by Boston Charley. Mr. Dyer barely escaped, 
 being fired at twice. Kiddle, tlie interpreter, and his squaw, 
 also escaped. 
 
 The troops immediately ruslied to the spot, wliere tliey 
 beheld the dead bodies of Gen. Canby and Dr. Thomas. Mr. 
 Meacham, who was badly wounded by a pistol shot over the 
 left eye, was taken back to the camp, where he received the 
 necessary medical treatment, but the troops pushed forward 
 after the murderers, but the latter reached their reti-eats in the 
 lava beds before they could be overtaken, and tlie soldiers were 
 forced to return without vengeance. 
 
 At this point the reader will naturally inquire as to the diffi- 
 culties wdiich prevented the pursuit of these guilty Indians. 
 To this I will answer that the retreats of these savages in the 
 lava beds were utterly inaccessible by troops. Only these cun- 
 ning Modocs knew the paths leading through the fearful chasms 
 in this mountainous country. A more definite description of 
 this wild and broken countrv is found in the report of Dr. J. 
 
OK, THK RORDEE WAES OF TWO CENTURIES. 551 
 
 S. Newbury, geologist, who visited it in 1849, with a surveying 
 expedition. He says: "The valley is bounded by walls of 
 more than one thousand feet in height, composed of dark, lava- 
 like trap or red scoria, the interval between them forming a 
 nearly level lava plain, a kind of congealed sea, of whicli the 
 surface was e^^erywhere roughened by waves, cooled while How- 
 ing; their crests black and ragged, the troughs containing a 
 little ash-like soil, which supported a tangled growth of sage 
 manzanita. At numerous points of this lava plain we passed 
 miniature volcanic vents or chimneys, which had evidently 
 been formed by the bursting out of steam or gases from below; 
 and, in more than one instance, we noticed subterranean gal- 
 leries or caverns having a diameter of fifteen or twenty feet, an 
 irregularly circular section, and extending indefinitely in either 
 direction. The chimneys to which I have referred probably 
 communicated with these passages. Near Wright Lake occurs 
 a conical mountain of trap rock, which rises to a height of 
 perhaps fifteen hundred feet from the plain on which it stands. 
 The south shore of this lake is bordered by a mountain range 
 of nearly equal altitude, which has here a course jjearly east 
 and west, curving round toward the north. Its western extrem- 
 ity terminates in bold headland on the shore of Ehett Lake, 
 and is connected by a low ridge with similar hills lying north 
 of these lakes. This connecting ridge forms the barrier 
 between Hhett and Wright Lakes, is composed exclusively of 
 trap, and bears on it a conical hill of blood-red scoria, which 
 has evidently, at no distant day, formed a volcanic vent. On 
 the eastern shore of the lake is a conical hill, considerably 
 removed from the cliffs referred to, but having apparently the 
 same structure. Following the boundary line with its initial 
 point on the twelfth mile, we reach the high divide of moun- 
 tains overlooking Goose Lake, wdiich, almost at our feet, bears 
 off some twenty miles to the north and south, with fertile bot- 
 tom lands on its east side. On the west side steep ridges put 
 down bluff to the water's edge. Still further, the country is 
 covered with juniper timber. In the distant horizon, Hhett 
 or Tule Lake is l)arely discernible. Much nearer to the south- 
 west is Wright or (Jlear Lake. To the southward the country 
 
552 TROUBLE WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS. 
 
 is streaked with sparse timber, and presents a more broken and 
 mountainous appearance. To the west southwest the great 
 Shasta Butte towers w^th its bi-capped -peak, whitened with 
 eternal snows. Passing west from Goose Lake, a measured 
 distance of forty-four miles, the country is timbered and cov- 
 ered with masses of broken and loose rocks, cut in various 
 directions by deep ravines, through which it would not be pos- 
 sible to operate with cavalry. The remains of many old Indian 
 fortifications are to be found in this district, in the erection 
 and location of which much skill and judgment would appear 
 to have been manifested. This region is well watered, and 
 there are also numerous small patches of meadows, a few acres 
 in extent, covered with luxuriant grass. Here large numbers 
 of deer abound, also brown and grizzly bears, and numbers of 
 'jackass rabbits.' In tlie lakes and streams are to be found an 
 abundance of fish." 
 
 In the following May, Boston Charley gave himself up and 
 volunteered to guide the troops to Captain Jack's stronghold. 
 This led to the capture of Captain Jack and his whole band, a 
 number of whom, while being transported in wagons to head- 
 quarters were murdered by Oregon volunteers. These Indians 
 were held as prisoners until July, when their trial took place, 
 which resulted in the conviction of Captain Jack, Schonchin, 
 Boston Charley, Hooker Jim, Broncho, alias One-Eyed Jim, and 
 Slotuck, who were sentenced to be hanged. The sentences were 
 approved by the President (with the exception of Broncho and 
 Slotuck, whose sentences were commuted to hard labor for life), 
 and the guilty parties were duly executed at Fort Klamath, on 
 the third of October, 1873. Thus ended the Modoc troubles. 
 A good deal has been said against the execution of these Indi- 
 ans by the clergy and religious press of the United States, but 
 time and experience have shown that had they been shot at the 
 first outbreak on the reservation, several valuable lives would 
 have been saved, and a needless expenditure avoided. Ko band 
 of Indians ever so richly merited extermination as the Modocs. 
 Their depradations and treachery have resulted in a loss to tlie 
 nation, in the untimely death of Gen. Canby and his associates, 
 which cannot soon be forgotten. 
 
CHAPTER LXX. 
 
 The Seminole War — Early Settlers of Florida and Georgia — 
 Indian and Negro Slavery — Difficulties Among the Creeks — 
 Sea Coffee's Band — Slaves Flee to Florida — Treaty with 
 the Creeks. 
 
 And now, in conclusion, let us notice briefly the principal 
 features of the Seminole war, which, among the dark annals 
 of Southern border warfare, is the only contest that deserves 
 particular mention. This will carry us back many years. 
 
 Florida was settled by the Spaniards, in 1558, who were the 
 first of the American colonists to engage in the African slave 
 trade. The Carolinas were settled about the year 1630, under 
 charters which embraced a great portion of the territory of 
 Florida. This boundary conflict between the Spanish settlers 
 in Florida and the colonists of the Carolinas soon led to open 
 hostilities. The Carolinians also held many slaves, among 
 whom were many Indians who resided in the vicinity. When 
 the boundaries of Florida and South Carolina had been estab- 
 lished, "*the colonists found themselves separated by the 
 territory now constituting the State of Georgia," which at this 
 early day was principally occupied by the Creek Indians. 
 
 The Indian slaves belonging to the Carolinians soon became 
 tired of the restraints of bondage, and escaped into the country 
 of the Creeks. Their example was soon followed by the Afri- 
 can slaves, who also fled into Georgia, and thence witli the 
 Indian fugitives to the Spanish State of Florida, where they 
 soon became a separate community, protected by Spanish laws. 
 In 1736 the numbers of this community were greatly increased 
 by the large desertions from the Carolinas, and many of them 
 were formed into companies, and relied on by the Floridians as 
 allies to aid in the defense of that Territory. Fostered by 
 
 * The Exiles of Florida. 
 
 (553) 
 
554 STKUOOLES WITH THE SEMINOLES: 
 
 recognition and protection from the Florida Spaniards, these 
 exiles soon increased in numbers and strength, and became 
 formidable enemies to their former masters. 
 
 In 1738, the Colonial Governor of South Carolina sent a 
 messenger to the Governor of St. Augustine, with a demand 
 for the return of the fugitive slaves in Florida, whicli was 
 promptly rejected. This was the commencement of a long 
 and bloody struggle between these colonies, which soon led to 
 the establishment of the colony of Georgia. It was thought 
 that this colony, being free, would afford the planters of Caro- 
 lina protection against the further escape of their slaves from 
 service. These exiles were called by the Creek Indians, 
 " Scminoles," the same name that was afterwards given to a 
 very strong band of their own nation. The name, in Indian, 
 signifies " Eunaways." 
 
 Georgia had not been established a decade when she became 
 a slave-holding colony, bringing the slaves of her planters, 
 both Africans and Indians, into the very neighborhood of the 
 exiles, who had long been free under Spanish laws. In 1750, 
 a difficulty arose among the Creek Indians, " which eventually 
 becoming irreconcilable, a chief named Sea Coffee, with a large 
 number of followers, left that tribe — at that time residing 
 within the present limits of Georgia and Alabama — and con- 
 tinuing their journey south, entered the Territory of Florida, 
 and, under the Spanish colony policy, were incorporated with 
 the Spanish population, entitled to lands wherever they could 
 find them unoccupied, and to the protection of Spanish laws." 
 From that day Sea Coffee and his numerous followers refused 
 to acknowledge Ci-eek authority, or be represented in Creek 
 councils. They elected their own chiefs, and in all respects 
 became a separate tribe, embracing the Michansukies, with 
 whom they united, " They settled in the vicinity of the exiles, 
 associated with them, and a mutual sympathy and respect 
 existing, some of their people intermarried, thereby strength- 
 ening the ties of friendshijD, and the Indians having fled from 
 oppression, and taken refuge under Spanish laws, were also 
 illed the Seminoles, c 
 
 * The Exiles of Florida. 
 
OR, 'IIIK IJOKDKU \VAK"S OK TWO CKNTUltlKS. 555 
 
 From the time that Georgia became a shive-hoklin<j^ colonj 
 to tlie commencement of the Revohitionary War, parties of 
 slaves in Georgia and in South Carolina were constantly leav 
 ing their masters and joining the Seminoles in Florida. This 
 practice was largely increased by the movements of a strong 
 faction in Georgia opposed to slavery, and led to tlie exercise 
 of the* greatest severity over, and suffering among, the slaves. 
 However, the Seminoles enjoyed their liberty among the Span 
 iards until after the War of the Revolution, many of them 
 becoming rich in flocks and herds. At the close of this war 
 the authorities of Georgia began negotiations with the Creeks 
 for the return of their fugitive slaves, which soon led to hos- 
 tilities, and a long series of complications between the Federal 
 government and the local government in Georgia. 
 
 On the first of August, 1790, President Washington, through 
 the Secretary of War, Gen. Knox, effected a treaty with the 
 Creeks, who were represented by all their chiefs and principal 
 men of their tribe in New York. The tiiird article of the 
 treaty stipulated that: "The Creek nation shall deliver, as soon 
 as practicable, to the commanding officer of the troops of the 
 United States stationed at Rock Landing, on the Oconee river, 
 all citizens of the United States, white inhabitants or negroes, 
 who are now prisoners in any part of said nation; and if any 
 such prisoners or negroes should not be so delivered, on or 
 before the first day of June ensuing, the Governor of Georgia 
 may empower three persons to repair to the said nation, in 
 order to claim and receive such prisoners and negroes." 
 Although the Seminoles were not represented in this council, 
 and were in no way parties to this treaty, the Creeks proceeded 
 to act for them, and to bind them to deliver their prisoners 
 and negroes, or themselves, up to their former persecutors. It 
 was a novel treaty for the fathers of our liberty to frame, and, 
 as we shall see, produced one of the most horrid border wars 
 that has ever been waged between the United States and the 
 Indians. 
 
CHAPTEE LXXI. 
 
 The Seminole War — Difficulties with the Creeks — Their Ina- 
 BiLiTY to Return the Fugitive Slaves — Complaints of The 
 Slaveholders of Georgia — The Georgians Invade Florida — 
 Their Defeat — Cruelty to Settlers — The Second Invasion — 
 More Suffering — British Interference and Occupation in 
 Georgia and Florida — The Fort of the Exiles — The Fort 
 Blown up — Great Destruction of Human Life — Commence- 
 MENT op the First Seminole War. 
 
 The Creeks soon found it impossible to keep the treaty 
 which they had made. The Seminoles, of course, refused to 
 recognize or be bound by it. Tliey claimed to be a separate, 
 independent tribe, and declared that the attempt of the Creeks 
 and the United States authorities to dictate what they should 
 do, or should not do, was an insult to their dignity, and worthy 
 only of their contempt. " The Creeks dared not attempt to 
 bring back the exiles by force, and the government of the 
 United States was unwilling to invade a Spanish colony for the 
 purpose of recapturing those who had escaped the bonds of 
 oppression and had become legally free." In 1792, when this 
 unpleasant state of affairs existed, an agent by the name of 
 Leagrone, was sent to Florida for the purpose of negotiating 
 with the Spanish authorities for the return of the fugitive 
 slaves. The same person had been agent to the Creeks, and he 
 well understood their views in regard to the treaty. On reach- 
 ing Florida, he found the authorities of that province entirely 
 opposed to the surrender of any subjects of the Spanish crown 
 to slavery. The Seminoles and the slaves who had become a 
 part of their community, were regarded as holding the same 
 rights which the white citizens of Florida held; but this was 
 not all. The representatives of the King of Spain in Florida 
 encouraged both the Seminoles and the exiles or fugitives to 
 (556) ■ 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CKNTURIKS. 557 
 
 refuse compliance witli the treaty. Nor were the Creeks united 
 ill support of the treaty. Those known as the " Lower Creeks," 
 or those residing on the southern border of Georgia, were lialf 
 inclined to join the Spaniards, and McGelllvray, their princi- 
 pal chief, was already raising his voice against the United 
 States. "This man," says Mr. Giddings, "exerted great 
 influence with the Indians. He was the son of an Indian 
 trader, a Scotchman, by a Creek woman, the daughter of a dis- 
 tinguished chief. He had received a good English education; 
 but his father had joined the English during the Kevolution, 
 and he, having been offended by leading men of Georgia, had 
 taken up his residence with the Indians, and became their prin- 
 cipal chief, in whom they reposed implicit confidence." 
 
 But the difficulty was not confined to the Indians and the 
 United States. The people of Georgia were dissatisfied with 
 the treaty, since it ceded some valuable portions of their land 
 to the Indians, and they were loud in their expressions of con- 
 tempt for the actions of the Federal government. The agent, 
 Leagrone, writing from Georgia to the Secretary of War, uses 
 these words: "To such lengths have matters gone, that they 
 (the Georgians) now consider the troops and servants of the 
 United States, who are placed among them, nearly as great 
 enemies as they do the Indians." 
 
 With this condition of afiairs, the Governor of Georgia 
 raised and equipped a military force, invaded the Creeks, 
 destroyed one of their principal villages, and killed several of 
 their warriors. But notwithstanding, the Creeks were unable 
 to return the fugitive slaves; and in 1794, President Washing- 
 ton, in a special message to Congress, announced the failure of 
 all efforts to maintain peace between the people of Georgia and 
 the Creek Indians. 
 
 It will be observed that the slaveholders of Georgia had 
 sustained considerable loss by the escape of their slaves to the 
 Seminole community in Florida; and now that the United 
 States government had failed to secure the return of these fugi- 
 tives by treaty. Congress was called upon to make an appropri- 
 ation out of the public treasury, to pacify these much-abused 
 slaveholders, but that body was already beginning to see the 
 
658 STRUGGLES WFIH TUP: SEMINOLES: 
 
 evils of slavery, and wisely refused to make the desired appro- 
 priation. 
 
 It would seem that the Semiiioles had taken the fugitive 
 slaves under their immediate protection, and being themselves, 
 at enmity with the Creeks, from whom they had separated, 
 they were firm in their determination to promote the liberty 
 which both they and their brothers, the exiles, were enjoying 
 under the Spanish laws. From this time until IS 11, the fugi- 
 tives remained secure with their friends the Seminoles in 
 Florida, although the people and government of Georgia exer- 
 cised constant effort to effect their return to bondage. In the 
 last mentioned year a law was passed by Congress, in secret 
 session, and approved by the President, for taking possession 
 of Florida. 
 
 But the movements of the federal government were too slow 
 to satisfy the Georgians. " In 1812," says Mr. Giddings, " the 
 Executive of Georgia, apparently entertaining the idea that his 
 State was competent to declare war and make peace, raised an 
 army, which, under the command of the Adjutant-General, 
 entered Florida with the avowed intention of exterminating 
 the Seminoles who had so long refused to surrender the exiles; 
 while the real object was the recapture and re-enslavement of 
 the refugees. The Creeks of the Lower Town, howevei-, took 
 sides with the Seminoles, in opposing this piratical foray of 
 slave-catchers. The army having penetrated a hundred miles 
 or more into Florida, found itself surrounded with hostile sav- 
 ages. Their supplies were cut off; the men, reduced almost to 
 a state of starvation, were compelled to retrace their steps, and, 
 with great loss, the survivors reached Georgia. But they 
 robbed those Spanish inhabitants who fell in their way, of all 
 their provisions, and left them to suffer for the want of food. 
 Nor were the Georgians satisfied witli taking such provisions 
 as were necessary to support life; they also took with them a 
 large number of slaves, owned by Spanish masters, with whom 
 they resided." 
 
 Not long after this the Legislature of Georgia, impatient 
 with the inactivity of the Federal government, passed an act 
 for raising a force " to reduce St. Augustine, and punish the 
 
OK, TIIK BOKDKK WARS OF TWO CKNTURIKS. 559 
 
 Indians." Another army of hunters, trappers, vagabonds and 
 men of desperate fortunes, was raised; numbering five liun- 
 dred, and Florida was again invaded. This expedition was 
 more successful than the first. Several small Seminole towns 
 were burned; corn-fields were destroyed, and large lierds of 
 cattle were* captured. However, none of the exiles were 
 captured. This state of warfare was continued until 1813, 
 when Georgia, being unable to obtain any of her fugitive 
 slaves, gave up the contest. These transactions in the South 
 excited very little attention at the National Capital, on account 
 of the deeper interest felt in the issues of the War of 1812, 
 which, as we have seen, was then raging. But if the Ameri- 
 can Congress failed to bestow proper attention upon the pend- 
 ing Seminole War, the British were not wanting in their regard 
 for its possible advantages. In 1814, a hostile fleet under 
 Lord Cochran, entered Chesapeake Bay. This British com- 
 mander issued a proclamation, inviting all persons, including 
 slaves, who desired to leave the United States, to go on board 
 his Britannic Majesty's ships of war. The proclamation 
 offered them homes in either of the British West India Islands. 
 This act created great alarm in Georgia and even in the 
 Carolinas. 
 
 About the same time two British sloops-of-war and a num- 
 ber of smaller vessels, suddenly appeared in Appalachicola Bay, 
 w^ien a body of British troops was landed under Lieut.-Col. 
 Nichols, with the avowed intention of protecting the exiles 
 and tlie Seminoles. This officer wasted no time in furnishing 
 them with arms and ammunition, which they gladly accepted, 
 and, at his call, fell into the ranks of his army in great num- 
 bers. In November, he built a strong fort on the east side of 
 the Appalachicola river, about thirty miles above its mouth. 
 This fort came into the hands of the Seminoles and fugitive 
 slaves in the spring of 1815, when the British withdrew from 
 the South, and was afterwards known as the "Negro Fort." 
 In the same year, a part of the American army under the 
 immediate command of Gen. Gaines, was sent to the Georgian 
 frontiers to maintain peace between the slaveholders and the 
 Indians, and the " Negro Fort," as well as the fugitives and 
 
560 STRUGGLES WITH THE SKMINOLES: 
 
 Seininoles who garrisoned it, soon became an object of con- 
 quest. On the sixteenth of May, 1816, Gen. Jackson wrote 
 Gen. Gaines, saying: "I have little doubt of the fact that 
 this fort has been established by some villains for the purpose 
 of rapine and plunder, and that it ought to be blown up 
 regardless of the ground on which it stands; and if your mind 
 should have the same conclusion, destroy it and return the 
 stolen negroes and property to their rightful owners." 
 
 The receipt of this order was all that Gen. Gaines waited for. 
 He immediately despatched Col. Clinch, of the regular troops, 
 and five hundred friendly Creeks, under their favorite chief 
 Mcintosh, with two pieces of artillery, to blow up the "Negro 
 Fort." A naval force was sent to co-operate with Col. Clinch, 
 and on the morning of the twenty-seventh of July, it anchored 
 in the river opposite the fort. The land force had approached 
 to within a few hundred yards of the fort three days before, 
 and erected a battery from which a heavy cannonade was con- 
 stantly kept up, and now, joined by the guns of the naval 
 re-enforcements shot and shells were poured in upon the poor 
 exiles — men, women and children, to the number of three hun- 
 dred — murdering them without mercy. There were also about 
 forty Seminole Indians in the fort. 
 
 In speaking of this siege, Mr. Giddings, in his valuable little 
 book, says: "Mothers and children now shrieked with terror, 
 as the roar of the cannon, the whistling of balls, the explosion 
 of shells, the war-whoops of the savages, the groans of the 
 wou7ided and dying, foretold the sad fate which awaited them. 
 The stout-hearted old men cheered and encouraged their friends, 
 declaring that death was to be j^referred to slavery. The 
 struggle, however, was not protracted. The cannon balls not 
 taking effect upon the embankments of earth, they prepared 
 their furnaces and commenced the iire of hot shot, directed at 
 the principal magazine. This mode proved more successful. 
 A ball, fully heated, reached the powder in the magazine. The 
 small size of the fort, and the great number of people in it, 
 rendered the explosion unusually fatal. Many were entirely 
 buried in the ruins, others were killed by falling timbers, while 
 many bodies were torn in pieces. Limbs were separated from 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 561 
 
 the bodies to wliicli tliey liad been attached, and death in all its 
 horrid forms was visible within the doomed fortress. Of three 
 hundred and thirty-four souls within the fort, two hundred and 
 seventy were instantly killed, while of the sixty who remained, 
 only three escaped without injury. Two of the survivors — one 
 negro and one Indian — were selected as supposed chiefs of the 
 allied forces within the fort. They were delivered over to the 
 Indians who accompanied Col. Clinch, and were massacred 
 within the fort, in presence of our troops; but no report or 
 record shows the extent of torture to which tliey were sub- 
 jected." Those who survived their wounds, were taken back 
 to Georgia and re-enslaved — a fate but little better than that 
 of those who had perished in the ruins of the fort. The prop- 
 erty captured by the military in this campaign, amounted in 
 value to over two hundred thousand dollars. 
 
CHAPTEE LXXII. 
 
 The First Seminole War — Massacre op Lieutenant Scott — 
 Jackson's Army Invades Florida, and Burns Seminole Towns — 
 Peace — Purchasing Slaves From Indians With Whisky — A 
 Movement to Remove the Seminoles West of the Mississippi — 
 Osceola, His Wife, Her Fate, and His Revenge — The Massa- 
 cre AT Fort King — Louis, the Guide — Terrible Massacre at 
 the Great Wahoo Swamp. 
 
 The massacre of exiles and Seminoles at the " Negro Fort " 
 led to the first formidable Seminole war, in which the surviving 
 fugitives joined. Early in the spring and summer of 1837, 
 Gen. Gaines's scouts brought in the intelligence that the Sem- 
 inoles and exiles were preparing for the contest, they having 
 purchased arms and ammunition from the Spanish and British 
 mei'chants, and being then undergoing the necessary drill. 
 Gen. Gaines also began active preparations. Thus matters 
 continued until November, when' a boat belonging to the 
 United States was ascending the Appalachicola river with sup- 
 plies for Fort Scott, " under the escort of a Lieutenant and 
 forty men, in company with a number of women and children." 
 As soon as the fugitives and Seminoles became aware of the 
 approach of the convoy, they raised a band of wai-riors for the 
 purpose of revenging the death of their relations who perished 
 at the fort-massacre. The party proceeded to the river, and 
 drawing this convoy into an ambuscade, massacred Lieut. Scott 
 and all his men but six, and all the children, and all the women 
 but one. The woman was carried to Suwanee a prisoner, and 
 the six soldiers escaped. Forgetting the fort-massacre, where 
 so many fugitives and Seminoles were needlessly destroyed by 
 the United States troops, the American government, press and 
 people, denounced the Massacre of Lieut. Scott's party as 
 wholly unprovoked. Gen. Gaines was now ordered to carry 
 (562) 
 
OR, T]IE BORDKK WAFiS OF 'HVO ("KNTU KIKf^. 563 
 
 an offensive war into Florida for the purpose of [)unisliiri<r the 
 Seminoles, and Gen. Jackson was sent to the field in person, 
 with power to call on the States of Tennessee and Georgia for 
 such militia as he might deem necessary for the due prosecu- 
 tion of the war. On entering the field he called on the State 
 of Tennessee for two thousand troops. He also organized a 
 very strong force of Georgia vohmteers. The Creek Indians, 
 under their favorite leader, Mcintosh, also joined Jackson's 
 force in large numbers. With this army he moved npon the 
 Negro and Seminole towns near Lake Mickasukie, defeating 
 the allied forces, burning about three hundred dwellings, and 
 capturing a considerable supply of provisions. 
 
 The American army, under Gen. Jackson, moved on to St. 
 Marks, a Spanish fort situated on the river of that name. 
 While Jackson was capturing this fort, the fugitives and Sem- 
 inoles concentrated at the " Old Town " of " Suwanee," where 
 they prepared to meet the Ameri(;ans in battle. In due time 
 Jackson approaclied, and after a severe battle, in which the 
 negroes lost many dead upon the field, the allied forces were 
 again defeated. The Americans entered the villages and 
 burned all the dwellings for several miles on either hand. 
 They also captured three hundred women and children, while 
 those belonging to the fugitive negroes had been prudently 
 removed beyond reach of the invading army. 
 
 After this battle Gen. Jackson, being unable to follow the 
 exiles and Seminoles into the Southern portions of Florida, 
 withdrew with his army to St. Mark's, where the trial and exe- 
 cution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister, which has been celebrated 
 in history, took place. Soon after this event Jackson declared 
 the war at an end, and withdrew from the field to his home in 
 Nashville. 
 
 Thus the fugitive negroes, although badly defeated in battle, 
 were still at liberty, and the vast expenditure of blood and 
 treasure on the part of the United States was unavailing in the 
 effort to re-enslave them. This led to many new desertions in 
 Georgia, and as a consequence of the latter, revived the dispo- 
 sition of the Georgian slave-masters to put an end to Spanish 
 rule in Florida. The purchase of Florida now became the all- 
 
664 STRUGGLES WITH THE SEMINOLES: 
 
 absorbing theme, and in Februry, 18 19^ a treaty was negotiated, 
 and in consideration of five millions of dollars, Florida was 
 transferred to the United States, and the Seminoles and fngi- 
 tive negroes were brought within the jurisdiction of the United 
 States. 
 
 The policy of removing the Seminoles west of the Missis- 
 sippi was now introduced, and every means adopted to effect 
 their removal. Meantime, slave-catching parties invaded Flor- 
 ida and carried off many of the fugitives into bondage. Not 
 long previous to the second Seminole war the practice of pur- 
 chasing these fugitives from their friends, the Seminoles, 
 was protected by the anthorities, which gave rise to inde- 
 scribable cruelties. The purchase was generally made with 
 whisky and false promises, and the cruelty with which the 
 betrayed negroes were treated, was truly shocking. This 
 state of things became so notoriously wicked that orders were 
 at length issued to suppress the practice. 
 
 Meanwhile the representatives of the United States govern- 
 ment had effected a treaty with the Seminoles, in which they 
 were made, through the influence of intoxicating liquors and 
 bribery, to consent to remove west of the Mississippi, and 
 before the treaty was ratified by the Senate, or approved by 
 the Seminole nation, the President issued an order to the mili- 
 tary for their immediate removal. As soon as the Seminole 
 chiefs recovered from the influences which had been brought 
 to bear upon them at the council, they denied having made 
 such a treaty, and refused to remove from the reservations 
 which had been assigned to them by former treaties. This led 
 to the second Seminole war. The number of fugitive negroes 
 in Florida at this time, including women and children, was 
 about twelve or fourteen hundred. 
 
 The Seminoles, who had previously maintained only a 
 defensive war, were now excited to fury, and cruel depredations 
 followed. " A young and gallant warrior," says Mr. Giddings, 
 " named Osceola, was the principal actor in one of these scenes. 
 He was the son of an Indian trader, a white man named 
 Powell. His mother was the daughter of a Seminole cliief. 
 He had recently married a woman said to have been beautiful. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OK TWO CiCNTH KI KS. 5()5 
 
 She was the daughter of a chief wlio liad married one of the 
 exiles; but as all colored people, by slave-holding laws, are said 
 to follow the condition of the mother, she was called an Afri- 
 can slave. Osceola was prond of his ancestry. He hated 
 slavery, and those who practiced the holding of slaves, with a 
 bitterness that is but little understood by those who liave never 
 witnessed its revolting crimes. He visited Fort King in com- 
 pany with his wife and a few friends, for the purpose of trading. 
 Mr. Thompson, the agent, was present, and while engaged in 
 business, the wife of Osceola was seized as a slave. Evidently 
 having negro blood in her veins, the law pronounced her a 
 slave; and as no other person could sliow title to her, the pirate 
 who had got possession of her body, was supposed, of course, 
 to be her owner. Osceola became frantic with rage, but was 
 instantly siezed and placed in irons, while his wife was hurried 
 aM-ay to slave-holding pollution. He remained six days in 
 irons, when, Gen. Thompson says, he became penitent, and 
 was released. From the moment when this outrage was com- 
 mitted, the Florida War commenced. Osceola swore vengeance 
 upon Thompson and those who assisted in the perpetration of 
 this indignity upon himself, as well as upon his wife, and upon 
 our common humanity. * * * Other Indians and exiles 
 were preparing for other important operations; but Osceola 
 seemed intent, his whole soul was absorbed, in devising some 
 plan by which he could safely reach Mr. Thompson, who was 
 the object of his vengeance. He, or some of his friends, kept 
 constant watch on the movements of Thompson, who was 
 unconscious of the danger to which he was exposed. Osceola, 
 steady to his purpose, refused to be diverted from his favorite 
 object. Thompson was at Fort King, and there were but few 
 troops to protect that fortress. But Indians seldom attempt 
 an escalade, and Osceola sought an opportunity to take it by 
 surprise. With some twenty followers he lay secreted near the 
 fort for days and weeks, determined to find some opportunity 
 to enter by the open gate when the troops should be off their 
 guard. On the twenty-eighth, in the afternoon, as he and 
 his followers lay near the road leading from the fort to the 
 house of the sutler, which was nearly a mile distant, they saw 
 
566 • STRUGGLES WITH THE SEMINOLES: 
 
 Mr. Thompson and a friend approaching. At a signal given 
 by Osceola, the Indians fired. Thompson fell, pierced by four- 
 teen bullets; Smith received about as many. The shrill war 
 whoop followed the sound of the rifles, and alarmed the people 
 at the fort. The Indians immediately scalped their victims, 
 and then hastened to the house, where Mr. Rogers, the sutler, 
 and two clerks were at dinner. These three persons were 
 immediately massacred and scalped. The Indians took as many 
 valuable goods as they could carry, and set fire to the build- 
 ing." Osceola and his companions escaped, quite satisfied 
 with the vengeance they had wrought, but still not compensated 
 for the enslavement of Osceola's wife. 
 
 At this point, I have to present to the reader the name of 
 Louis, that intelligent slave who became so conspicuous in this 
 contest. Major Dade had been ordered to march with his com- 
 mand to Fort King. The distance to be traveled was about 
 one hundred and thirty miles, through an unsettled forest, 
 " much diversified with swamps, lakes and hammocks." No 
 white person could be found who w'as able to guide the com- 
 mand over the route. On making inquiry for a suitable guide, 
 the attention of Major Dade was directed to Louis, the slave 
 of a respectable Spanish settler, who resided near Fort Brook. 
 Louis was recommended by his master as a faithful, trustworthy 
 man, and was engaged to guide the party over the dangerous 
 wastes. 
 
 Louis thought the matter over long and carefully. He did 
 not wish to betray his new master, yet he felt deep sympa- 
 thy for the exiles, and did not wish them to be re-enslaved, and 
 with that faith which has enabled many a slave to foresee his 
 freedom, he believed that the hour had come for him to strike 
 an important blow. He called some of his most trustworthy 
 friends together and informed them that Major Dade, with his 
 troops, would leave Fort Brook about the twenty-fifth of 
 December, for Fort King, and that he was to act as their guide; 
 that he would lead them by way of the Great Wahoo Swamp, 
 and ])ointed out the proper place for an attack. This informa- 
 tion was soon communicated to the exiles and the Seminoles, 
 and preparations were at once commenced among them for 
 
OK, THE BORDEK WARS OF TWO CKNTUKII'iS. oOT 
 
 meeting the troops at the point designated. Thither marched 
 a large force determined on striking a fatal hlow upon the 
 approaching soldiers. On the twenty-seventh of Deceml:»er, 
 Dade's command had reached a point within three miles of the 
 Great Wahoo Swamp, where the battle was to be fought. 
 
 Mr. Giddings gives a very pleasing account of this contest 
 in his noted little book on the " Exiles of Florida," in these 
 words: " At early dawn, the men were paraded, the roll called 
 and the order regulating the day's march given. They were 
 then dismissed for breakfast, and at eight o'clock resumed their 
 march, and proceeded on their way in the full expectation of 
 reaching their destination on the evening of that day. But 
 an insidious foe had been equally vigilant. They had left tlieir 
 island encampment, with the first light of the morning, and 
 each had taken his position along the trail in which the troops 
 were expected to march. Some thirty or forty yards dis- 
 tant each man was hidden behind a tree, which was to be his 
 fortress during the expected action. A few rods on the other 
 side of the trail, lay a pond of water, whose placid surface 
 reflected the glittering rays of the morning sun. All was 
 peaceful and quiet as the breath of summer. Unsuspicious of 
 the hidden death which beset their pathway, the troops entered 
 this defile, and passed along until their rear had come within 
 the range of the enemy's rifles, when, at a given signal, each 
 warrior fired while his victim was in full view and unpro- 
 tected. One-half of that ill-fated band, including the gallant 
 Bade, fell at the first fire. The remainder were thrown into 
 disorder. The officers endeavored to rally their men into line, 
 but their enemy was unseen, and ere they could return an 
 effective shot, a second discharge from the hidden foe, laid one- 
 half their remaining force prostrate in death. The survivors 
 retreated a short distance towards their encampment of the 
 previous night, and while most of the exiles and Indians were 
 engaged in scalping the dead and tomahawking those who were 
 disabled, they formed a hasty breastwork of logs for their 
 defense. They were, however, soon invested by the enemy, 
 and the few who had taken shelter behind their rude defenses, 
 were overcome and massacred by the exiles, who conversed 
 
568 STRUGGLES WITH THE SEMINOLES: 
 
 with them in English, and dispatched them. Only two indi- 
 viduals besides Louis the guide made their escape. Their 
 gallant commander, his officers and soldiers, whose hearts had 
 beat high with expectation in the morning, at evening lay pros- 
 trate in death; and as the sable victors relaxed from their 
 bloody work, they congratulated each other on having revenged 
 the death of those who, twenty years previously, had fallen at the 
 massacre of Blount's* Fort. The loss of the allied forces was 
 three killed and five wounded. After burying their own dead, 
 they retired to the island in the swamp, long before nightfall. To 
 this point they brought the spoils of victory, which were 
 deemed important for carrying on the war. Night had scarcely 
 closed around them, however, when Osceola and his followers 
 arrived from Fort King, bringing intelligence of the death of 
 Thompson and Lieut. Smith, together with the sutler and his 
 two clerks. There, too, was Louis, the guide to Dade's com- 
 mand. He was now free! He engaged in conversation with 
 his sable friends. Well knowing the time and place at which 
 the attack was to be made, he had professed a necessity for 
 stopping by the wayside before entering the defile, thus sepa-' 
 rating himself ft-om the troops and from danger. As soon as 
 the first fire showed him the precise position of his friends, he 
 joined them, and, swearing eternal hostility to all who enslaved 
 their fellow-men, lent his own eflfbrts in carrying forward the 
 work of death, until the last individual of that doomed regi- 
 ment sank beneath their tomahawks. The massacre of the 
 unfortunate Dade and his companions, and the murder of 
 Thompson and his friends at Fort King, occurred on the same 
 day, and constituted the opening scenes of the second Semi- 
 nole war." 
 
 * Previously spoken of as the " Negro Fort." 
 
CHAPTER LXXIII. 
 
 The Second Seminole War — The Battle of the Witiilacoochee — 
 Bravery of Osceola — The Seminoles and Negroes Defeated — 
 General Gaines's Fruitless Cajipaign — Osceola Attacks Micon 
 OPY — Heii-man's Gallant Defense — The Battle Between 
 Peakce and Osceola — Several Severe Battles — The Semi- 
 noles Hard to Conquer. 
 
 These massacres fully inaugurated the second Seminole war 
 Gen. Clinch, with two thousand regulars and four hundred 
 Florida volunteers, under Gen, Call, advanced into Florida, and 
 were met at the "Withlocoochee by one hundred and fifty 
 Seminoles and fifty exiles under Osceola and Halpatter- 
 Tustenuggee, where a deadly battle ensued on the thirtieth of 
 December. " As Osceola," says Giddings, " now, for the first 
 time, engaged in battle, he felt anxious to distinguisli himself 
 by his intrepidity. His voice was heard on every part of the 
 field, urging on his troops to deeds of daring. Undaunted by 
 the shrill war whoop and the constant report of Indian rifles, 
 and the whistling balls around him. Gen. Clinch charged his 
 enemy. The allies fell back, and he continually advanced until 
 he drove them from the thick hommock into the open forest. 
 The gallant general coolly passed along the lines during the 
 action, encouraging his men, and stimulating them to effort by 
 his presence and bravery. A ball passed through his cap, and 
 another through the sleeve of his coat, to which he paid no 
 attention, but continued to encourage his men." 
 
 But the exiles were not wanting in bravery. They fought 
 with desperation, and their aim was fatal. Eight of the reg- 
 ular troops were killed, and forty wounded, of whom more 
 than one-third died of their wounds. Several officers were also 
 wounded. The loss of the allied forces were two negroes and 
 (569) 
 
570 STRUGGLES WITH THE SEMINOLES: 
 
 one Indian killed, and three negroes and two Indians wounded. 
 The allies drew oiF, leaving Gen. Clinch in possession of the 
 field. 
 
 In January, 1836, Maj.-Gen. Scott was ordered to the field 
 as Commanding General of the array in Florida, with authority 
 to call on the Governors of South Carolina, Georgia, and Ala- 
 bama for necessary troops. Gen. Eustis, commanding at 
 Charleston, South Carolina, was directed to repair at once to 
 Florida with the forces stationed in that city and Savannah, 
 and with such volunteers as he might require. On the tenth 
 of January Gen. Gaines arrived in Florida from New 
 Orleans with a brigade of eleven hundred men ; and in a few 
 days, while attempting to cross the Witlilacoochee, encountered 
 the allied forces to a considerable number under " Ino," and 
 Osceola. Being driven from the river, and being unable to 
 retreat. Gen. Gaines dispatched a messenger to Gen. Clinch, 
 who was at Fort Drane, directing that officer as soon as pos- 
 pible to his relief with such troops as he could at the moment 
 bring with him, and retired with his forces into a pine barren 
 half a mile from the river, where he threw up a breastwork of 
 logs for the protection of his men, and awaited assistance. 
 The allies invested his camp for three days, when, seeing Gen. 
 Clinch's forces approaching, they dispersed and fled. 
 
 Osceola, after the massacre of Thompson and others at Fort 
 King, had become very influential among the Seminoles, and 
 his bravery in the several battles in which he had been engaged 
 added much to his good name among the allies. He had been 
 raised to the dignity of a chief, and " he now conceived and 
 executed one of the boldest movements ever made by savages 
 against a fortified post manned by regular troops." On the 
 ninth of June, with three hundred warriors, about one-quarter 
 of whom were negroes, he attacked the fort at Micanopy, 
 which was then defended by a garrison of soldiers equal in 
 numbers to his own force. The fort was under the command 
 of Major Ileilman. " The assault," says Mr. Giddings, " was 
 maintained with determined obstinacy for an hour and a half, 
 the assailants boldly facing the artillery which was brought to 
 
OR, THE BOKDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 571 
 
 bear upon them, aud when thej left the scene of action, they 
 carried away their dead and wounded." 
 
 A short time previous to this battle, Gen, Scott was with 
 drawn from the held and Gen. Jessup appointed to his place. 
 The latter had successfully effected the removal of the Creeks 
 from Georgia to their reservation in the West, and it was 
 hoped bj the government, that he would induce the Seniinoles 
 to remove there also. 
 
 On the twelfth of August, Major Pearce, being in command 
 at Micanopy, left that jilace with one piece of artillery and one 
 hundred and ten regular troops, for the purpose of attacking 
 the allies at Fort Drane. In due time he reached this post, 
 where he met Osceola with about one hundred followers, ready 
 to meet him and give him battle. After an engagement of an 
 hour and a quarter. Major Pearce was compelled to fall back, 
 and Osceola, being unwilling to pursue him, he retreated to 
 Micanopy with a loss of one killed and sixteen wounded. 
 
 "But the Indians and exiles," says Mr. Giddings, "now 
 found themselves almost daily threatened in their own fast- 
 nesses. Along the Withlacoochee were many small villages 
 and plantations occupied almost exclusively by exiles. Large 
 crops of corn and other vegetables had been raised there 
 during the season, and it was known that stores of provisions 
 were located u]3on various islands surrounded by the swamps 
 lying along that river, and in the great morass called the 
 ' Wahoo Swamp;' while it was equally known that many 
 families of the exiles were residing in that vicinity. It was 
 therefore deemed important to destroy those villages and 
 obtain the supplies which they contained. Gen. Armstrong, 
 with live hundred mounted men, while marching toward these 
 villages on the fourteenth of November, encountered a strong 
 force consisting of Indians and exiles. The conflict was 
 spirited. In forty minutes, eleven of Armstrong's men fell 
 before the deadly aim of the allies. He, however, drove them 
 from the field, but they took with them their dead and wounded. 
 This fact with savages is regarded the only test of success in 
 battle; they never acknowledge defeat while they hold posses- 
 sion of their dead and wounded. But the time drew near 
 
572 STRUGGLES WITH THE SEMINOLES: 
 
 when they were constrained to acknowledge a defeat. On the 
 eighteenth of November, a regiment of Tennesseeans, consist- 
 ing of about five hundred, encountered a body of the enemy 
 whose numbers are not given by any otiicer or historian 
 whom we have consulted. They were posted in a hommock. 
 The Tennesseeans were the assailing party. The battle con- 
 tinued more than two hours, when the allies fled, leaving upon 
 the field twenty-five Indians and Africans slain in battle; while 
 the loss of the assailants was still larger. Tliis was the best 
 contested battle which occurred during the campaign of 1836, 
 and the first in which the allies left their dead in possession of 
 our troops. This defeat appears to have tauglit the allies to be 
 cautious, and stimulated a desire to wipe out the impression 
 which their defeat was calculated to make upon the public 
 mind. Gen. Call having formed a junction with Maj. Pearce 
 of the regular service, with nearly three hundred regular 
 troops under his command, making in all more than one thou- 
 sand men, entered the Great Wahoo Swamp on the twenty- 
 first of November. Their intention was to obtain the provisions 
 supposed to be deposited in the villages situated upon the 
 islands in that extensive morass. But they were attacked soon 
 after entering the swamp. The fire at first was principally 
 concentrated upon the Creek Indians, the mercenary troops 
 employed by Gen. Jessup. Major Pearce hastened to their 
 relief. The fire then became general. The men were in a 
 swamp which was nearly covered with water, and much of it 
 with a thick underbrush. After maintaining the battle for a 
 time, the Indians fell back, crossed the river and formed 
 upon its bank, each man protected by a log or tree. The river 
 was turbid and appeared difiicult to pass. As our troops 
 approached it, the fire upon them was severe. Capt. Moniac, 
 of the Creek warriors, was killed while examining the stream 
 to ascertain if it could be forded. Others were wounded. The 
 allied force appeared determined to make their final stand upon 
 this stream. Behind them were their wives and children, their 
 provisions, their homes and firesides. Gen. Call and his troops 
 now obtained an opportunity of fighting the enemy; a privi- 
 lege which he had long sought, though he embraced it under 
 
OR, THE BOKDKK WAKS OF TWO CENTURIES. 573 
 
 disadvautageous circumstances. Our troops had great induce- 
 ments to advance, but the dangers corresponded with the 
 advantages to be gained. Gen. Call, however, concluded to 
 withdraw; and after sustaining a heavy loss he retreated and 
 left tlie allies in possession of the field. They very correctly, feel- 
 ing that their success depended greatly upon the position they 
 had taken, did not pursue Gen. Call, who, with his whole force, 
 retired to Yolusi to recruit. His loss was fifteen killed and 
 thirty wounded. It is certain that the allies manifested great 
 skill in selecting their place of attack, and the position for their 
 final stand. Tlieir success greatly encouraged them, and the 
 gallantry displayed by the exiles served to increase their infiu- 
 ence with the Indians. The Creek warriors had showTi 
 tliemselves very efiicient in this expedition, but they suflered 
 severely; and at no subsequent period did they maintain their 
 former character as warriors. They had been greatly stimu- 
 lated in this conflict with the expectation of capturing women 
 and children, whom they expected to seize and sell as slaves. 
 But so far as that object was concerned, their warriors who 
 fell in this battle died iugloriously, and the result discouraged 
 the survivors." 
 
CHAPTER LXXIV. 
 
 Conclusion of the Second Seminole War — Several Battles — 
 Gen. Jessup's Peace Policy — Hostilities Renewed — Slave- 
 Catching Parties — The Seminoles and Exiles persuaded to go 
 West — Efforts to Subject them to Creek Authority — Invaded 
 BY THE Creeks — Emigration of the Exiles to Mexico. 
 
 In December, 1836, Gen. Jessup entered the field in person. 
 He had eight thousand troops well provided with all materials 
 of war, which were, to a great extent, concentrated against the 
 villages of the exiles on the Withlacoochee. He directed a 
 battalion of mounted men, under Major Crawford, accom- 
 panied bj two battalions of Creek Indians, to make a sudden 
 descent upon them, but most of the settlers, being made aware 
 of the approach of this force, made their escape to the swamps. 
 Tlie troops, however, seized fifty-two women and children. 
 
 The next eflEbrt, liowever, %vas directed by the allies against 
 Fort Mellon, near Lake Monroe. The forces, two hundred and 
 fifty strong, were commanded by " Wild Cat " and Lauis. 
 The attack was made with great determination, and continued 
 for three hours, but the assailants were driven back by superior 
 numbers. They sustained no loss, however, while on the side 
 of the Americans, Capt. Mellon was killed and several others 
 mortally wounded. 
 
 Soon after the allies were defeated at Ahapopka Lake, when 
 chief Osuchee and three warriors and nine exiles were killed. 
 All of their women and children were taken prisoners. " *A11 
 the disposable forces under Gen. Jessup were now put into 
 active employ. With the main body of the army he pene 
 trated far into the Indian territory." At Tahopkaliga Lake 
 he captured seven hundred head of cattle, which afforded sub- 
 
 * Exiles of Florida. 
 
 (574) 
 
OR, THE BORDEK WARS OF TWO CKNTUKIE.«. 575 
 
 sistence for his army. Near the Cypress Swamp, the enemy 
 was attacked and all his horses and baggage captured, witli 
 twenty-five Indians and negroes, principally women and chil- 
 dren. On the day after the battle, one of the prisoners was 
 directed to return to the two principal chiefs, Abraham and 
 Alligator, with a message of peace, desiring them to meet the 
 commanding general in council. The chiefs complied, and 
 visiting the general's camp, arrangements were entered into 
 for holding a general council at Fort Dade, on the eighteenth 
 of February. 
 
 A successful excursion into the Indian country was also made 
 by Lieut.-Col. Henderson, with a strong force of mounted 
 men. He captured twenty-three negroes, young .and old ; over 
 a hundred ponies, with packs on about fifty of them; together 
 with all their clothes, blankets and other baggage. In this 
 expedition his loss was two men killed and five wounded. 
 
 Hoping to get the negro and Indian chiefs to assemble in 
 council, Gen. Jessnp now ordered a cessation of hostilities, 
 and on the sixth of March a few of their principal men assem- 
 bled at Fort Dade, among whom were Halatoochie and Jumper. 
 After much difiiculty a treaty M^as agreed upon, wherein it was 
 stipulated that the Seminoles would go west of the Mississippi 
 provided their allies, the fugitives, were allowed the same priv- 
 ilege and guaranteed the same protection. " *Abraham now 
 entered upon the work of inducing all his brethren, both Indi- 
 ans and negroes to go to the Western country, where they 
 could be free from persecutions. Those willing to emigrate 
 were to assemble within a district of ten miles square, marked 
 out for that purpose, near Tampa Bay. Many of the Indian 
 chiefs visited that station; spoke encouragingly of the pros- 
 pect; that the whole nation would emigrate at no distant day. 
 Even Osceola, the most inveterate of all the Seminole chiefs, 
 visited Fort Mellon, avowing his intention to emigrate; while 
 Abraham made report of a like feeling among the exiles. 
 Twenty-six vessels, employed to transport the emigrants to 
 New Orleans, were anchored in Tampa Bay. Hundreds of 
 Indians and negroes had reached the camp assigned to the 
 
 * Gidding's Narrative. 
 
576 STRUGGLES WITH THE SEMINOLES! 
 
 emigrants, near ' Fort Brooke.' Their names were duly reg- 
 istered; tliej drew their rations, and made every preparation 
 to go West. Gen. Jessup announced the war at an end, dis- 
 missed the militia and volunteers, and asked of the Department 
 leave to retire from active duty." 
 
 But no sooner had Gen. Jessup made this report, than new 
 difficulties began to arise, which soon resulted in renewing hos- 
 tilities. The slave interest was dissatisfied, and the people of 
 Georgia and Florida demanded the return of their lost slaves, 
 and seeing that the fugitives were not to be benefitted by the 
 treaty, the Seminoles withdrew from Tampa Bay, and the 
 exiles retired to their fastness. In renewing hostilities. Gen. 
 Jessup appears to have fully determined on carrying out the 
 designs of Gen. Jackson, in 1816, when he directed Gen. 
 Gaines to " destroy the fort and return the slaves to their 
 owners." From this time forward, says Mr. Giddings, he 
 lent his energies, and the power of the army, to the object of 
 capturing and returning slaves. He also changed his mode of 
 prosecuting the war, and adopted a series of forays for the 
 capture and enslavement of the exiles. In the previous year 
 he had entered into a contract witli the Creek Indians, by 
 which he stipulated to pay them a large pecuniary compensa- 
 tion, and to allow them to hold all the plunder (negroes) whom 
 they might capture, as jyrojperty. The same inducements were 
 held ou^ ,to the militia. The Choctaws and Delawares also 
 joined these slave-catching expeditions, while their more 
 enlightened brethren, the Cherokees, refused to engage in hos- 
 tilities towards the Seminoles, but offered to send a delegation 
 of their people among them to advise them to emigrate west of 
 the Mississippi. John Eoss, the half-breed, was at this time the 
 principal chief of the Cherokee nation. But it will be impos- 
 sible, with the limited space now left, to follow out this war of 
 detail, on the one hand, or the negotiations of peace on the 
 other. The war raged with fury until 1843, up to which time 
 more than five hundred persons were seized and enslaved. To 
 effect this, forty millions of dollars were supposed to have been 
 expended. " *Eighty thousand dollars were paid from the 
 
 * Giclding's Narrative. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 577 
 
 public treasury for the enslavement of each person, and the 
 lives of at least three white men were sacrificed to insure the 
 enslavement of each black man. The deterioration of our 
 national morality was beyond estimate, and the disgrace of our 
 nation and government are matters incapable of computation. 
 The suffering of the Indians and exiles, amidst such prolonged 
 persecution, such loss of life and property, we cannot estimate. 
 The friends and families who were separated, the number of 
 those who were made wretched for life, the broken hearts, we 
 will not attempt to enumerate. ISTearly one-half of the whole 
 number were consigned to the moral death of slavery, and 
 many to that physical death which was dreaded far less than 
 slavery. After wandering in the wilderness thrice forty years, 
 they fell under the oppression, the persecution, the power of a 
 mighty nation, which boasts of its justice, its honor and love 
 of liberty. We lament the sad fate of those who died in that 
 struggle; but with deeper anguish, and far keener mortifica- 
 tion, we deplore the unhappy lot of those who were doomed to 
 drag out a miserable existence, amidst chains and wretchedness, 
 surrounded by that moral darkness which hovers over the 
 enslaved portion of our fellow-beings in the Southern States. " 
 
 The i-esult of this war was, that the exiles, not re-enslaved 
 by capture, were removed to the Cherokee lands west of the 
 State of Arkansas. * " They had been removed from Florida 
 at great expense of blood and treasure, but they wer^ yet free 
 and the object of the administration had not been attained. 
 Conscious of the designs of the Creeks, the Seminoles and 
 exiles refused to trust themselves within Creek jurisdiction. 
 They were tenants at will of the Cherokees, whose hospitality 
 had furnished them ^vith a temporary home until the govern- 
 ment should fulfill its treaty stipulations, in furnishing them a 
 territory for their separate use." 
 
 In this situation the exiles became dissatisfied, and hostil- 
 ities being apprehended, a plan was set on foot to place them 
 under Creek authority on the Creek reservation. Tliis nation 
 had several years previously been removed to a reservation 
 west of the Mississippi. 
 
 * Giddincj's Narrative. 
 
578 STRUGGLES WITH THE SEMINOLES : 
 
 The Creeks and Seminoles had been separated for nearly a 
 century, and had lived under governments entirely independent 
 of each other. But this is not all. They had, during this 
 time, often been at war with each other, and the most deadly 
 feuds had been engendered, and still existed among them 
 " To unite them with the Creeks, and blot the name of ' Sem- 
 inole ' from the page of their future history, in order to involve 
 the exiles in slavery, had long been a cherished object with the 
 administration of our government. It was now fondly hoped 
 that that object would be accomplished without further diffi- 
 culty. But at no period had the Seminole Indians regarded 
 the exiles with greater favor than they did when remaining on 
 the territory assigned to the Creeks. Although many of them 
 had int^ermarried with the Seminoles, and half-breeds were now 
 common among the Indians ; yet most of the descendants of 
 the pioneers who fled from South Carolina and Georgia main- 
 tained their identity of character, living by themselves, and 
 maintaining the purity of the African race. They yet cher- 
 ished this love of their own kindred and color; and when they 
 removed on to the Creek lands, they settled in separate villages; 
 and the Seminole Indians appeared generally to coincide with 
 the exiles in the propriety of each maintaining their distinct- 
 ive character. During the summer and autumn both Indians 
 and exiles became residents within Creek jurisdiction; and 
 the Executive seemed to regard the trust held under the 
 assignment made at Indian Spring, twenty-four years pre- 
 viously, as now fulfilled. Eegarding the Creeks as holding the 
 'equitable or beneficial interest in the bodies of the exiles, under 
 the assignment from their owners to the United States, and 
 they being now brought under Creek jurisdiction, subject to 
 Creek laws, the Executive felt that his obligations were dis- 
 charged, and the whole matter left with the Creeks. This 
 opinion appears also to have been entertained by the Creek 
 Indians; for no sooner had the exiles and Seminoles located 
 themselves within Creek jurisdiction, than the exiles were 
 claimed as the legitimate slaves of the Creeks. To these 
 demands the exiles and Seminoles replied, that the President, 
 under the treaty of 1845, was bound to hear and determine all 
 
OR, THE BORDER WAF4S OF TWO CENTUKIKS. 570 
 
 questions arising between tliem. The demands were, tlicie- 
 fore, referred to the proper department for decision. But tin's 
 sitting in judgment upon the heaven-endowed right of man 
 to his liberty, seemed to involve more personal and moral 
 responsibility than was desirable for the Executive to assume, 
 and the claims remained undecided. The Creeks became impa- 
 tient at delay; they were a slaveholding people, as well as tlieir 
 more civilized but more infidel brethren, of the slave States. 
 The exiles, living in their own villages in the enjoyment of 
 perfect freedom, had already excited discontent among the 
 slaves of the Creek and Choctaw tribes, and those of Arkansas. 
 The Creeks appeared to feel that it had been far better for 
 them to have kept the exiles in Florida, than to bring them to 
 the Western country to live in freedom. Yet their claims 
 under the treaty of 1845, thus far, appeared to have been dis- 
 regarded by the President; they had been unable to obtain a 
 decision on them; and they now threatened violence for the 
 purpose of enslaving the exiles, unless their demands were 
 peacefully conceded. The exiles, yet confident that the gov- 
 ernment would fulfill its stipulations to protect them and their 
 property, repaired in a body to Fort Gibson, and demanded 
 protection of Gen. Arbuckle, the officer in command. He had 
 no doubt of the obligation of the United States to lend them 
 protection, according to the express language of the articles of 
 capitulation entered into with Gen. Jessep, in March, 1837. 
 He, therefore, directed the whole body of exiles to encamp 
 and remain upon the lands reserved by the United States, near 
 the fort, and under their exclusive jurisdiction, assuring them 
 that no Creek would dare to set foot upon that reservation with 
 intentions of violence towards any person. Accordingly the 
 exiles, who yet remained free, now encamped around Fort 
 Gibson, and were supported by rations dealt out from the 
 public stores. Soon as he could ascertain all the facts. Gen. 
 Arbuckle made report to the War Department relative to their 
 situation, and the claims which they made to protection under 
 the articles of capitulation, together with the rights which the 
 Creeks set up to re-enslave them. This state of circumstances 
 appears to have been unexpected by the Executive. Indeed, he 
 
580 STRUGGLES WITO THE SEmNOLES: 
 
 appears from the commencement to have underrated the diffi- 
 culties which beset the enslavement of a people who were 
 determined upon the enjoyment of freedom ; he seems to have 
 expected the negroes, when once placed within Creek jurisdic- 
 tion, would have yielded without further eifort. But he was 
 now placed in a position which constrained him either to repu- 
 diate the pledged faith of the nation, or to protect the exiles 
 tn their persons and property^ according to the solemn cove- 
 nants which Gen. Jessup had entered into with them. Yet the 
 President was disposed to make further efforts to avoid the 
 responsibility of deciding the question before him. Gen. Jes- 
 sup had entered into the articles of capitulation, and the 
 President appeared to think he was competent to give construc- 
 tion to them ; he therefore referred the subject to that officer, 
 stating the circumstances, and demanding of him the substance 
 of his undertaking in regard to the articles of capitulation 
 with the Exiles." 
 
 Gen. Jessup's reply was that his understanding of the treaty 
 was that the Seminoles were to be separate from and independ- 
 ent of the Creeks in every respect, and that the Seminole 
 negroes were to be protected from slavery. This explanation 
 prevented the Executive from handing the Seminoles over to 
 the Creeks, and, for a time, all remained quiet. The prospect 
 that the Seminole negroes were to enjoy j^eace in their new 
 country, seemed very bright, until an individual, a slave-dealer, 
 appeared among the Creeks, and offered to j)ay them one hun- 
 dred dollars for each exile they would seize and deliver to him, 
 he stipulating to take all risk of title. " This temptation," 
 says Mr. Giddings, " was too great for the integrity of the 
 Creeks, who were smarting under their disappointment, and 
 the defeat of their long cherished schemes, of re-enslaving the 
 exiles. Some two hundred Creek warriors collected together, 
 armed themselves, and, making a sudden descent upon the 
 exiles, seized such as they could lay their hands upon. The 
 men and most of the women and children fled ; but those who 
 had arms collected, and presenting themselves between their 
 brethren and the Creeks who were pursuing them, prepared to 
 defend themselves and friends. The Creeks, unwilling to 
 
OR, TIIE BORDER WARS OF TWO <!KNTUKIKS. 581 
 
 encounter the danger wliicli tlireatened them, ceased from fur- 
 ther pursuit, but, turning back, dragged their friglitciied 
 victims, who had been already captured, to tlie Creek villages, 
 and delivered them over to the slave-dealer, who paid them the 
 stipulated price. The Seminole agent, learning the outrage, 
 at once repaired to the nearest Judge in Arkansas, and obtained 
 a writ of haleas corpus. The exiles were brought before him 
 in obedience to the command of the writ, and a hearing was 
 had. The agent showed the action of Gen. Jessup; the sanc- 
 tion of the capitulation of March, 1837, by the Executive; the 
 opinion of the Attorney-General, and the action of the Presi- 
 dent, deciding the exiles to be free, and in all respects entitled 
 to their liberty. But the Judge decided that the Creeks had 
 obtained title by virtue of their contract with Gen. Jessup; 
 that neither Gen. Jessup nor the President, had power to eman- 
 cipate the exiles, even in time of war; and the Attorney- 
 General had misunderstood the law; that the title of the Creek 
 Indians was legal and perfect; and they, having sold them to 
 the claimant, his title must be good and perfect. No sooner 
 was the decision announced, than the manacled victims were 
 hurried from their friends and the scenes of such transcendent 
 crimes and guilt. They were placed on board a steamboat, 
 and carried to New Orleans. There they were sold to different 
 purchasers, taken to different estates, and mingling with the 
 tide of human victims who are septennially murdered upon 
 the cotton and sugar plantations of that State, they now rest 
 in their quiet graves, or perhaps have shared the more unhappy 
 fate of living and suffering tortures incomparably worse than 
 death." 
 
 ******^*a Tliere yet remained some hun- 
 dreds of exiles in that far-distant territory unsubdued, and 
 enjoying liberty. They had witnessed the duplicity, the treach- 
 ery of our government often repeated, towards themselves and 
 their friends — they had, most of them, been born in freedom 
 — they had grown to manhood, had become aged amidst per- 
 secutions, dangers and death — they had experienced the constant 
 and repeated violations of our national faith; its perfidy was 
 no longe'r disguised; if they remained, death or slavery would 
 
682 Sl'KUGOLES WITH THE SEMINOLES: 
 
 constitute their only alternative. One, and only one, mode of 
 avoiding such a fate remained — that was, to leave the territory, 
 the jurisdiction of the United States, and ilee beyond its 
 power and influence. Mexico was free/ No slave clanked his 
 chains under its government. Could they reach the Rio 
 Grande — could they place themselves safely on Mexican soil, 
 they might hope yet to be free. A council was held. Some 
 were connected with Seminoles of influence. Those who were 
 intimately connected with Indian families of influence, and 
 most of the half-breeds, feeling they could safely remain in the 
 Indian territory, preferred to stay with their friends and com- 
 panions. Of the precise number who thus continued in the 
 Indian country, we have no certain information; but some 
 three hundred are supposed to have determined on going to 
 Mexico, and perhaps from one to two hundred concluded to 
 remain with their connections in the Indian country. Abra- 
 ham had reached a mature age; had great experience, and 
 retained influence with his people. Louis Pacheco, of whom 
 we spoke in a former chapter, with his learning, his shrewd- 
 ness and tact, was still with them, and so were many able and 
 experienced warriors. Wild Cat, the most active and ener- 
 getic chief of the Seminole tribe, declared his unalterable 
 purpose to accompany the exiles; to assist them in their 
 journey, and defend them, if assailed. Other Seminoles vol- 
 unteered to go with them. Their arrangements were speedily 
 made. Such property as they had was collected together, and 
 packed for transportation. They owned a few Western ponies. 
 Their blankets, which constituted their beds, and some few 
 cooking utensils and agricultural implements, were placed upon 
 their ponies, or carried by the females and children; while the 
 warriors, carrying only their weapons and ammunition, marched, 
 unencumbered even by any unnecessary article of clothing, 
 prepared for battle at every step of their journey. After the 
 sun had gone down (Sept. 10),"their spies and patrols, who had 
 been sent out for that purpose, returned, and reported that all 
 was quiet; that no slave-hunters were to be seen. As the 
 darkness of the night was closing around them, they com- 
 menced their journey westwardly. Amid the gloom of the 
 
OR, THE BORDER WA1{S OE TWO CENTURIES. 583 
 
 evening, silent and sad tliey took leave of their Western homes, 
 and fled from the jurisdiction of a people who had centuries 
 previously kidnapped their ancestors in their native homes, 
 brought them to this country, enslaved them, and during many 
 generations had persecuted them. Many of their friends and 
 relatives had been murdered for their love of liberty by our 
 government; others had been doomed to suffer and languish 
 in slavery — a fate far more dreaded than death. At the period 
 of this exodus, their number was probably less than at the close 
 of the Ee volution. When the slaveholding Creeks learned 
 that the exiles had left, they collected together and sent a war 
 party in pursuit, for the purpose of capturing as many as they 
 could, in order to sell them to the slave-dealers from Louisian? 
 and Arkansas, who were then present among the Creeks, 
 encouraging them to make another piratical descent upon the 
 exiles for the capture of slaves. This war party came up with 
 the emigrants on the third day after leaving their homes. But 
 Wild Cat and Abraham, and their experienced warriors, were 
 not to be surprised. They were prepared and ready for the 
 conflict. With them it was death or victory. They boldly 
 faced their foes. Their wives and children were looking on 
 with emotions not to be described. With the coolness of des- 
 peration, they firmly resolved on dying, or on driving back the 
 slave-catching Creeks from the field of conflict. Their nerves 
 were steady, and their aim fatal. Their enemies soon learned 
 the danger and folly of attempting to capture armed men who 
 were fighting for freedom. They fied, leaving their dead upon 
 the field; which is always regarded by savages as dishonorable 
 defeat. The exiles resumed their journey, still maintaining 
 their warlike arrangement. Directing their course south- 
 westerly, they crossed the Eio Grande, and continuing nearly 
 in the same direction, they proceeded into Mexico, until they 
 reached the vicinity of the ancient but now deserted town of 
 Santa Eosa. In that beautiful climate, they found a rich, pro- 
 ductive soil. Here they halted, examined the country, and 
 finally determined to locate their new homes in this most 
 romantic portion of Mexico. Here they erected their cabins, 
 planted their gardens, commenced plantations, and resumed 
 
584 STRUGOLES WITH THE SEMINOLES: 
 
 their former habits of agricultural life. Tliere they yet remain. 
 Forcibly torn from their native land, oppressed, wronged and 
 degraded, they became voluntary exiles from South Carolina 
 and Georgia." 
 
 By the foregoing incomplete sketch of the Seminole war, 
 the reader has been able to understand some of the hardships 
 that befel the Indians of the South who attempted to shield 
 the negroes from slavery. It is useless to follow the fate of 
 the Seminoles farther. Their name was applied to both Indi- 
 ans and negroes, and, although in the Indian language it has a 
 distasteful significance, it has become justly celebrated in his- 
 tory and honored as belonging to a people whose gallant deeds 
 hastened emancipation. The Seminole negroes lied from a 
 tyrannical bondage, which they could no longer bear, hoping to 
 find freedom and protection under the Spanish laws. In this 
 they were actuated by one of the noblest impulses of human- 
 ity — a desire for liberty. The Seminole Indians fled into the 
 same country on account of their displeasure of their brothers, 
 the Creek Indians; and, through a wise providence, became 
 instrumental in protecting the fugitive negroes from re-en- 
 slavement. Such was the first war against slavery, and to the 
 honor of the savages, be it said, it was waged by that tribe ol 
 Indians known as the Seminoles. 
 
CHAPTEK LXXV. 
 
 The Indian Wars of the Southern States — Tribes, Etc. — Kino 
 ToNMOHicHi and His Queen — Bosomworth AND Mary — A Thril- 
 LING Incident — A General War— Gen. Jackson's Campaign — 
 Terrible Massacres — Hard Fought Battles— Complete Sub- 
 jugation OF the Indians — Bravery op the Celebrated Weath- 
 erford. 
 
 Que short and somewhat incomplete narrative of the Semi- 
 nole war, has created a demand for a brief account of the 
 Indian tribes and Indian wars of the Southern States, and for 
 our information in this regard we will again turn to Mr. 
 Brownell's "Indian Kaces of Korth and South America." 
 The Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasawas, Catawbas, 
 lichees, etc., were, by early English colonists, all held under a 
 common name — the Creeks. These tribes were pretty much 
 alike in all the general characteristics, and were affected by the 
 same political events and changes, and should, therefore, be 
 considered collectively. 
 
 The Catawbas dwelt between the Carolinas and the country 
 of the Cherokees, and had, in 1750, through intercourse with 
 the whites, become more degraded than other tribes of the 
 same nation. They were a numerous and warlike people when 
 South Carolina was first settled, numbering about fifteen hun- 
 dred warriors; but small-pox and the use of ardent spirits 
 reduced them to a few scattering bands. As mentioned in the 
 opening chapter of this volume, they were the ancient enemies 
 of the Six Nations, with whom they had waged long and sav- 
 ao-e wars. - One writer says of these Indians that, " by some- 
 fatality they were much addicted to excessive drinking, 
 and spirituous liquors distracted them so exceedingly, that 
 they would even eat live coals." The Upper Cherokees inhab- 
 ited the high and mountainous region of the Appalachian 
 (585) 
 
586 THE SOUTHERN INDIANS: 
 
 range, and that upon the upper portions of the Tennessee. 
 The lower tribe occupied the country around the head waters 
 of tlie Savannah and Chatahoochee, to the northward of the 
 Muscogees or Creeks proper. In the year 1735, they were 
 computed by old traders to number six thousand fighting men. 
 They had sixty-four populous towns. In 1738, nearly half of 
 them perished by small-pox. Like all the other untaught 
 nations of America, they were driven to perfect desperation by 
 the ravages of this disease. The cause to which they ascribed 
 it, and the strange remedies and enchantments used to stay its 
 progress, are alike remarkable. One course was to plunge the 
 patients into cold running water, the result of which operation 
 was speedily fatal. *A great many killed themselves; for, 
 being naturally proud, they are always peeping into their look- 
 ing-glasses — by which means, seeing themselves disfigured, 
 without hope of regaining their former beauty, some shot 
 "themselves, others cut their throats, some stabbed themselves 
 with knives, and others with sharp-pointed canes ; many threw 
 themselves with sullen madness into the fire, and there slowly 
 expired, as if they had been utterly divested of the native 
 power of feeling pain. One of them, when his friends had 
 restrained these frantic efforts, and deprived him of his weapons, 
 went out, and taking a thick and round hoe-helve, fixed one 
 end of it in the ground, and repeatedly threw himself on it till 
 he forced it down his throat! when he immediately expired. 
 ^ " These tribes were formerly continually at war with the Six 
 i^ations, at the North, and with the Muscogees at the South; 
 but previous to their war with the English colonies they had 
 been for some time comparatively at peace, and were in a thriv- 
 ing and prosperous condition. They were excellently well 
 supplied with horses, and were ' skillful jockies, and nice in 
 their choice.' The lower settlement of the Muscogees or 
 Creeks, was in the country watered by the Chatahoochee and 
 Flint; the upper Creeks dwelt about the head waters of the 
 Mobile and Alabama rivers. Their neighbors, on the west, 
 were the Choctaws and Chickasaws. The Creeks were a nation 
 
 * Adair's Narrative. 
 
 f Brownell's Indian ttaces. 
 
OR, THE BORDKR WARS OF TWO CENTUR1I<S. 587 
 
 formed by tlie union of a number of minor tribes with the 
 Muscogees, who constituted the nucleus of the combinations- 
 About the middle of the eighteenth century, they were com- 
 puted to number no less than three thousand five hundred men 
 capable of bearing arms. They had learned the necessity of 
 secluding those infected with the small-pox, so as to avoid the 
 spread of the contagion, and their general habits and usages 
 were such tliat they were fast increasing, instead of diminish- 
 ing, like all the surrounding tribes. While the Floridas were 
 in possession of Spain, the Creeks were surrounded by bellig- 
 erent powers, both native and European, and they appear to 
 have adopted a very shrewd and artful policy in their inter- 
 course with each. There was a French garrison in their 
 country; the English settlements lay to the north and east, and 
 those of the Spaniards to the south ;^ and the old sages of the 
 tribe being long informed by the opposite parties of the differ- 
 ent views and intrigues of those foreign powers, who paid 
 them annual tribute under the vague appellation of presents, 
 were become surprisingly crafty in every turn of low politics. 
 The French were very successful in their eftbrts to conciliate 
 the good-will of the Muscogees, and in alienating them from 
 the English. The country of the Choctaws extended from that 
 of the Muscogees to the Mississippi, reaching northward to 
 the boundaries of the Chickasaws; the lower towns on the 
 river were about two hundred miles north of New Orleans. 
 Adair gives these people a very bad character, as being treach- 
 erous, dishonest, ungrateful and unscrupulous; but he bears 
 witness to their admirable readiness of speech. They were 
 ^ ready-witted, and endued with a surprising flow of smooth, 
 artful language on every subject within the reach of their 
 ideas.' The strange custom of flattening the head, prevalent 
 among some other American tribes, obtained with the Choc- 
 taws. The operation was performed by the weight of a bag of 
 sand kept upon the foreheads of the infants before the skull 
 had hardened. This process not improbably aflected the powers 
 of the mind; at all events, Adair says: 'Their features and 
 mind exactly correspond together; for, except the intense love 
 * Brownell's Narrative. 
 
588 THE SOUTHERN INDIANS t 
 
 they bear to their native country, and their utter contempt of 
 any kind of danger in defense of it, I know no other virtue 
 they are possessed of; the general observation of the traders 
 among them is just, who affirm them to be divested of every 
 property of a human being, except shape and language.' The 
 French had acquired great influence over the Choctaws, as^ 
 indeed, over nearly every tribe in ITorth America with whom 
 they had maintained friendly intercourse. Adair enlarges upon 
 the artful policy with which they conciliated and bribed the 
 leaders and orators of the nation. Besides this, he says: 'the 
 masterly skill of the French enabled them to do more with 
 those savages, with trifles, than all our experienced managers 
 of Indian afiairs have been able to efiect by the great quanti- 
 ties of valuable goods they gave them with a very profuse 
 hand. The former bestowed their small favors with exquisite 
 wisdom; and their value was exceedingly enhanced by the 
 external kindly behavior and well-adapted smooth address of 
 the giver.' The nation of the Chickasaws, at the time of which 
 we are speaking, was settled near the sources of the Tombigbee, 
 a few miles eastward of the head waters of the Tallahache. 
 They numbered about four hundred and fifty warriors, but were 
 greatly reduced since their ancient emigration from the West. 
 They were said to have formerly constituted one family with 
 the Choctaws, and to have been able to bring one thousand men 
 into the field at the time of their removal. Due allowance 
 must of course be made for mistake and exaggeration in these 
 early traditions. The Chickasaws were ever inimical to the 
 French and friendly to the English colonists. It was by their 
 efforts that the neighboring tribe of the Natchez was stirred 
 up to attack the French settlements, in 1729. The French had,, 
 unadvisedly, imposed a species of tax upon the Natchez, 
 demanding a dressed buck-skin from each man of the tribe, 
 without rendering any return; but, as some of that people 
 afterwards reported to Adair, ' the warrior's hearts grew very 
 cross, and loved the deer-skins.' The Chickasaws were not 
 slow to foment a disturbance upon intelligence of this proceed- 
 ing, and sent messengers, with presents of pipes and tobacco, 
 to counsel an attack upon the exercisers of sueli tyranny. 
 
OK, THE BOEDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 589 
 
 Nothing SO strongly excites an Indian's indignation as any 
 attempt at taxation, and the Natchez were easily persuaded 
 that the French had resolved to crnsh and enslave them. It 
 took about a year to ripen the plot, as the Indians are ' slow in 
 their councils on things of great importance, though equally 
 close and intent' It was in the month of November (1729,) 
 that the Indians fell upon the French settlement. The com- 
 mandant had received some intimation of the intended attack 
 from a woman of the tribe, but did not place sufficient depend- 
 ence upon it to take any efficient steps for the protection of his 
 charge. The whole colony was massacred; men, women and 
 children, to the number of over seven hundred — Adair says 
 fifteen hundred — perished by the weapons of the savages. The 
 triumph of the Natchez was, however, but of short duration. 
 The French came upon them in the following summer with a 
 large army, consisting of two thousand of their own soldiers 
 and a great array of their Choctaw allies. The Natchez were 
 posted at a strong fort near a lake communicating with the 
 Bayou D'Argent, and received the assailants with great resolu- 
 tion and courage. They made a vigorous sally, as the enemy 
 approached, but were driven within their defenses, and bom- 
 barded with three mortars, which forced them to fly off different 
 ways. The Choctaws took many prisoners, some of whom 
 were tortured to death, and the rest shipped to the West Indies 
 as slaves." 
 
 The Natchez survivors fled for safety to the Chickasaws, 
 which resulted in a war between the French and that tribe, in 
 which the Indians were the conquerors. In one engagement, 
 says Adair, the French and their Indian allies had surrounded 
 the Chickasaw settlements in the night, with the exception of 
 one which stood at some distance from the rest, called Ama- 
 lahta. The besiegers beset every house, and killed all who 
 came out; but at the dawn of day, when they were capering 
 and using those flourishes that are peculiar to that volatile 
 nation, the other town drew round them, stark naked, and 
 painted all over red and black; thus they attacked them, killed 
 numbers on the spot, released their brethren, who joined them 
 like enraged lions. The Indians belonging to the French party 
 
590 THE SOUTHERN INDIANS: 
 
 lied, but the whites were all killed except two, an officer, and 
 a negro, who faithfully held his horse till he mounted, and then 
 ran along side of him. A couple of swift runners were sent 
 after them, who soon came up with them, and told them to 
 live and go home, and inform their people, that as the Chicka- 
 saw hogs had now a plenty of ngly French carcasses to feed 
 on till next year, they hoped then to have another visit from 
 them and their red friends; and that, as messengers, they 
 wished them safe home. 
 
 In 1733 when James Edward Oglethorpe commenced the 
 settlement of Georgia, the Creeks laid claim to the whole ter- 
 ritory southwest of the Savannah. Hoping to avoid a war 
 with these Indians he employed a half-breed woman named 
 Mary Musgrove, who could speak English, and by her influence 
 effected a conference with the chiefs of the Savannah Indians. 
 Tliis Mary had formerly married a white trader from Caro- 
 lina. She had great influence over her tribe, and afterwards 
 became a source of danger and annoyance to the English. 
 
 At the council which was held at the infant settlement of 
 Savannah in 1733, were fifty celebrated Creek chiefs, who were 
 presided over by their King, Tomochichi. The latter made an 
 eloquent speech. "A treaty," says Mr. Brownell, " was con- 
 cluded, subject to the ratification of the English crown, by 
 which the Indians were to consider themselves the subjects of 
 tne king, and to live in peace and friendship with his white 
 colonists. The lands lying between the Savannah and Alta- 
 maha, were made over to the English, with all the islands on 
 that coast, except St. Catharine's and two others, which were 
 reserved for the use of the Indians as bathing and fishing sta- 
 tions. A tract was also set apart for them to encamp upon 
 when they visited their white friends, a little above the Yama- 
 craw bluff, where Savannah now stands." 
 
 In 1734 Mr. Oglethorpe visited England, taking with him 
 Chief Tomochichi, his Queen, and several other Indians. 
 They were presented to the king, " and every pains was taken 
 to produce a strong impression upon their minds of the Eng- 
 lish power and magnificence." 
 
 Mr. Brownell, in his book, gives the following curious 
 
OR, TITE BORDER WARS OF TWO OENTURIES, 591 
 
 acoount: ''The year 1749 was memorable for a most audacious 
 attempt on the part of one Thomas Bosom worth to aggrandize 
 himself by attaining a supremacy over the Creeks. lie had 
 been formerly a chaplain in Oglethorpe's regiment, and had 
 married Mary Mnsgrove, his half-breed interpreter. In 
 December, 1747, this man fell in with a company of chiefs, 
 belonging to the nation, then on a visit to Frederica; and per- 
 suaded them to sign certain articles, acknowledging one of 
 their number, named Malatche Opiya Meco, as righftul king- 
 over the whole Creek nation. Bosomworth then procured 
 from Malatche a conveyance, for certain considerations — among 
 other things, a large quantity of ammunition and clothing — 
 of the islands formerly reserved by the Indians, to himself and 
 his wife Mary, their heirs and assigns, ' as long as the sun shall 
 shine, or the waters run in the rivers, forever.' This deed w^as 
 regularl}^ witnessed, proved before a justice of the peace, and 
 recorded in due form. Bosomworth made someeiforts to stock 
 and improve these islands, but, his ambition becoming aroused 
 by success in his first intrigue, he entered upon one much more 
 extensive. By his persuasions, his wife now made the extra- 
 ordinary claim that she was Malatche's elder sister, and enti- 
 tled to regal authority over the whole Creek territory. A 
 great meeting of the tribe was procured, and, whatever of 
 truth Mary's claims might be founded upon, she appears to 
 have succeeded in persuading large numbers of the Creeks to 
 espouse her cause, and acknowledge her as an independent 
 queen. Accompanied by a strong force of her adherents, she 
 proceeded incontinently to Savannah, sending emissaries before 
 ner to demand a surrender of all lands south of the Savannah 
 river, and to make known her intention of enforcing her claim 
 3y the entire destruction of the colony, should her demands 
 be resisted. The militia were called out by the president 
 and council, and the Indians were kept quiet by a display of 
 confidence and firmness, that matters might be fully discussed 
 by their leaders and the colonial authorities. 'Bosomworth,' 
 says McCall, ' in his canonical robes, with his queen by his 
 side, followed by the kings and chiefs, according to rank, 
 marched into town on the 20th of July, making a most for- 
 
592 THE SOUTHERN INDIANS: 
 
 midable appearance. The inhabitants were struck with terror 
 at the sight of tliis ferocious tribe of savages.' Lengthy dis- 
 cussions ensued, between Bosomworth and Mary on the one 
 hand, and the president and council on the other. The fickle 
 and impressible savages leaned alternately to either opinion 
 according as they were harangued by their new leaders, or list- 
 ened to the explanations of the other party. They were told 
 that Mary's claims to royal descent were entirely false; that 
 she was the daughter of a white man by a squaw of no note, 
 and that the mad ambition of her reprobate husband had led 
 to the whole movement. They expressed themselves convinced, 
 but no sooner had Mary obtained another opportunity to com- 
 municate with them, than she succeeded in inflaming and 
 bewildering their minds. It was found necessary to confine 
 her and her husband before the savages could be quietly dis- 
 persed. Before this was accomplished, the town was in a 
 situation of the most imminent danger, as the Indians vastly 
 outnumbered the whites; and a very slight matter might have 
 so roused their fury that the whole colony would have been 
 annihilated. Tlie intriguing chaplain had a brother, Adam 
 Bosomworth, agent for Indian affairs in Carolina, who after- 
 wards espoused his interests, so far as the claim to the islands 
 of St. Catharine, Ossabaw, and Sapelo was concerned. This 
 coadjutor visited the Creek nation, procured anew conveyance, 
 and prosecuted the claim before the courts of Great Britain. 
 The case proved almost as tedious and complex as that of the 
 celebrated Mohegan land question in Connecticut. Bosom- 
 worth and his wife obtained a decision in their favor, in 1759, 
 by virtue of which they took possession of St. Catharine's 
 island, and resided upon it the remainder of their lives. Ossa- 
 baw and Sapelo were decreed to be sold for the benefit of the 
 successful parties, but further litigation arose from the claims 
 of one Isaac Levy, to whom they had sold, as was asserted, a 
 moiety of that portion of the grant." 
 
 In the early border wars between the settlers of West Yir- 
 ginia and the Delaware Indians, the Southern Indians were 
 engaged on the side of the English, and upon the evacuation 
 of Fort Duquesne, numbers of these warriors, whose services 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CENTURIES. 693 
 
 were no longer required, set out upon their return home. As 
 they were passing through Virginia, they possessed themselves 
 of such horses as they found grazing in the woods. For this 
 act the German settlers fell upon them, and murdered and 
 scalped a considerable number. These outrages, and the intiu- 
 ence of the French, combined to stir up a war, and the Cherokees 
 determined upon immediate retaliation for the massaci"*es by 
 the Germans. A party, bound on this errand, after killing two 
 soldiers near Fort Loudon, spread themselves among the west- 
 ern settlements of I^orth Carolina, killing such of the whites 
 as fell in their power. " It was their first intention," says Mr. 
 Brownell, " to take scalps only equal in number to that of their 
 murdered kinsmen, but, once having their hand in, they could 
 not resist the temptation of going much farther." The same 
 author further informs us that " William H. L^'ttleton, Gover- 
 nor of South Carolina, set himself strenuously both to prepare 
 for the defense of the colonies, and to bring about an adjust- 
 ment of difficulties. At Fort St. George, on the Savannah, he 
 held a conference with six Cherokee chiefs, on the twenty-sixth 
 of December (1T59), and formed a treaty of peace, secured by 
 the delivery of thirty-two Indian hostages. These were placed 
 in close confinement in a small and miserable hut, and the 
 governor returned to Charleston. According to the^ ,nsual 
 course of events, the Cherokees denied the authority of the 
 chiefs who had concluded the above treaty, and hostilities broke 
 out afresh. The two most celebrated chiefs and leaders among 
 them, at this time, were old Attakullakulla, a promoter of peace, 
 and long the fast friend of the English, and Occonostota, a 
 noted war-chief. Capt. Coytmore, commandant at Fort St. 
 George, was an object of the bitterest hatred on the part of 
 the Indians, and a large body of them, led by Occonostota, 
 besieged the fort in February of 1760.* The place was too 
 strong to be taken by assault, but the Indian chief managed to 
 entice Coytmore out of the defenses into an ambush, where he 
 was shot dead, and Lieuts. Bell and Foster, who accompanied 
 him, were wounded. The hostages who were confined within 
 the works, shouted to encourage their friends without, and 
 * Brownell's Narrative. 
 
594 THE SOUTHERN INDIANS: 
 
 when an attempt was made to put them in irons, resisted man- 
 fully, stabbing one soldier, and wounding two others. Upon 
 this, a hole was cut in the roof over their heads, and the cow- 
 ardly garrison butchered them by shooting down from above. 
 This war now commenced in earnest, and Indian ravages 
 extended far and wide upon the frontier. Troops were ordered 
 from ]^ew York by Gen. Amherst, commander-in-chief of the 
 British forces in America; and the neigliboring colonies apj^ro- 
 priated liberal sums for tlie purpose of buying the aid of the 
 Creeks, Chickasaws and Catawbas. Col. Montgomery reached 
 Carolina in April (1760), and hastened, in command of the 
 regulars and provincials, to make an effective inroad upon the 
 hostile Indians. His progress through the lower Cherokee 
 country was marked by the entire destruction of the Indian 
 towns. The first place attacked, called Keowee, was sur- 
 rounded, and the men of the town were put to the sword. 
 Estatoe, containing two hundred houses, with great quantities 
 of provisions, was entirely destroyed; but the inhabitants 
 were saved by a timely flight. ' Every other settlement east of 
 the Blue Ridge,' says McCall, ' afterwards shared the same 
 fate.' The army made some stay at Fort Prince George, and 
 useless endeavors were put forth to bring about a pacification 
 with the upper portion of the Cherokees. In the month of 
 June the troops were again on their advance into the wilder- 
 ness of the interior. Kear the Indian town of Etchoe, the 
 native warriors prepared a most skillful ambuscade to check 
 the advancing forces. It was in a deep valley, through which 
 ran a muddy stream, with steep banks ; on either side of which 
 the way was completely choked with tangled brushwood. 
 Some hard fighting took place at this spot, in which twenty of 
 the whites were killed and seventy-six wounded. The loss on 
 the side of the Indians was much less, and, although driven 
 from the spot where the first stand was made, they intrenched 
 themselves a little farther on. Under these circumstances, 
 Montgomery determined to secure the safety of his troops, and 
 to provide for the requisite attention to his wounded men, hy 
 a retreat. He soon after sailed for IS'ew York, leaving four 
 companies of regulars, undei- Major Hamilton, for the protec- 
 
OK, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO OKNTtlKrKP. 596 
 
 tion of the frontier. The garrison at tlie isolated Fort h^udoi) 
 was now in a state of imminent peril. The provisions of the 
 place were nearly exhausted, and the redoubtable Oeconostota 
 was laying close siege to it with his fierce and em-aged warriors. 
 After suffering great extremes of privation, and experiencing 
 disappointment in all tlieir hopes of relief, the two hundred 
 men stationed at tliis place were obliged to capitulate, and trust 
 to the honor of their savage enemy. Capt, Steuart, an officer 
 greatly in favor with all the friendly Indians, arranged the 
 terms upon which the fort should be evacuated. The troops 
 were to be allowed a free and unmolested passage to Virginia, 
 or Fort Prince George, and a detachment of Indians was to 
 accompany them for the purpose of supplying provisions by 
 hunting. The p:arrison marched out on the seventh of Auijust 
 (1760.) Occonostota himself, with a number of other natives, 
 kept company with the whites, during the first day's march of 
 fifteen miles; but these all disappeared when they reached the 
 place of encampment, near an Indian town called Taliquo. On 
 the next morning, just before day (the time generally selected 
 by Indians for a surprise, as men sleep more soundly then than 
 at any other hour,) a large body of armed savages, in war- 
 paint, were seen by a sentinel, creeping through the bushes 
 and gathering about the camp. Hardly was the alarm given 
 when the attack was made; twenty-six of the feeble and half- 
 starved soldiers were killed outright, and the rest were pinioned 
 and marched back to the fort.* Capt. Steuart was among the 
 prisoners, but his evil fortune was alleviated by the stauncli 
 friendship of the benevolent Atakullakulla. This chief, as soon 
 as he heard of Steuart's situation, hastened to Fort Loudon, 
 and purchased him of the Indian who took him, giving him 
 his rifle, clothes and all that he could command by way of ran- 
 som ; he then took possession of Capt. Demere's house, where 
 he kept his prisoner as one of his family, and humanely shared 
 with him the little provisions his table afforded, until an oppor- 
 tunity should offer of rescuing him. A quantity of ammuni- 
 tion was discovered by the Indians, buried in the fort, and 
 Occonostota determined to proceed at once to lay siege to Fort 
 * Brownell's Narrative. 
 
596 THE SOUTHERN INDIANS: 
 
 Prince George. Capt. Steuart was informed that the assist- 
 ance of himself and his men would be required in the 
 management of the great guns, and that, furthermore, if the 
 garrison should refuse to capitulate, all the prisoners now in 
 the hands of the Indians should, one by one, be burned in 
 sight of the fort. Perceiving the diflficulty of his situation, 
 the captain begged his kind old proprietor to assist him in 
 effecting an escape, and AttakullakuUa readily lent his aid. 
 Upon pretense of taking his prisoner out for a hunt, he left 
 Fort Loudon, with his wife and brother, and two English sol- 
 diers, and took a direct course for the Virginia frontier. After 
 a most toilsome and dangerous march, they fell in with a party 
 of three hundred men, sent out for the relief of such of the 
 garrison at Fort Loudon as might have effected their escape. 
 Being now in safety, Capt. Steuart dismissed his Indian friends 
 with handsome rewards, to return and attend to the Avelfare of 
 his former fellow-prisoners. Such of them as had survived 
 were afterwards ransomed and delivered up at Fort Prince 
 George." 
 
 In 1762 a general agent and superintendent of Indian 
 affairs at the South was appointed in the person of Captain 
 John Steuart. Upon entering on the discharge of the duties 
 of his office Capt. Steuai-t assembled the chiefs of all the 
 Southern tribes in council and explained to them how the 
 French had been conquered, and that thenceforth they could 
 look only to the British for support and protection. He com- 
 mended those tribes who had fought in the English cause and 
 excused those who had allied themselves to the French. The 
 Southern Indians remained quiet from that time until 1811, 
 when the great Shawanoe Chief, Tecumseh * "in pursuance 
 of his bold and extensive plans for a universal association of 
 the Indians against the whites, made a tour among the south- 
 ern triljes. His eloquent appeals, and the overpowering 
 energy which distinguished this truly great man, proved suc- 
 cessful in the winning over to his views of no small num1:>er 
 of the Indian warriors, even among those who had long main- 
 tained a friendly intercourse witli the Americans and the gov- 
 
 * Browuell's narrative. 
 
OR, THE BORDER WARS OF TWO CKNTURII*. 597 
 
 ernment of the United States. At the time of the declaration 
 of war with England, (June 18th, 1812,) the whole western 
 border of the United States was in a position of tlie greatest 
 danger and insecurity. The machinations of Tecum seh and 
 the Prophet had roused an extensive flame of vindictive 
 ferocity throughout the Indian nations, while British agents, 
 it is said, were widely dispersed, and, by munificent promises 
 and artful persuasions, had still farther widened the breach 
 between the savages and their white countrymen. Frightful 
 scenes of depredation and murder called for a prompt and 
 decisive check. Many minor forays are recorded, but the 
 destruction of Fort Mimms in the Tensau settlement of Mis- 
 sissippi, in the summer of the year following, may be con- 
 sidered the first important part taken by the southern tribes 
 in the wars of this period." 
 
 I shall not, however, with the few pages that are now left, 
 undertake to give a complete account of the part taken by the 
 Southern Indians in the memorable war of 1812. A few of 
 the principal points must suffice. 
 
 Tecum sell's visit to his southern neighbors was not in vain. 
 Under his forcible teachings a confederacy was established over 
 which the celebrated Weatlierford gained nearly as much dis- 
 tinction as did the renowned Shawanoe in the North. Weath- 
 erford was, beyond question, * " possessed of noble and com- 
 manding qualities, but these were combined with cruelty, 
 avarice, and degrading vices. A party of about one thousand 
 warriors, led by this popular chief, fell upon the devoted Fort 
 Mimms, on the^ 30th of August, 1813. The post was garri- 
 soned by one hundred and sixty efficient soldiers; the rest of 
 its occupants, to the number of one hundred and fifteen, con- 
 sisted of old men, women and children. The forces M'ere 
 under the command of Major Beasly. No regular prepara- 
 rations had been made for the reception of so powerful an 
 enemy, and although the soldiers did their duty manfully, they 
 were overpowered, and all slain except seventeen. The women 
 and children having ensconced themselves in several block 
 
 * Brownell's Narrative. 
 
598 THE SOUTHERN INDIANS". 
 
 houses, met with a more terrible fate. Tlie savages set fire to 
 the buildings, and consumed them, together with theii 
 inmates." 
 
 The war in the South now became general and Gen. Jackson 
 took the field in person. Col. Coffee invaded the country of 
 the hostile Indians and, with a considerable force encountered 
 the enemy at Tallussahatchee Creek. The savages fought 
 boldly and desperately, but were defeated and driven into their 
 buildings, when one hundred and eighty-six of their number 
 perished in the struggle. Eighty-four women and children 
 were taken prisoners, and a number were killed during the 
 contest. This battle took place in November, 1813. Soon 
 after Jackson's army encountered the Indians at Talladega, 
 where after a most bloody contest, three hundred Indians were 
 left dead upon the field. Many more were killed while trying 
 to escape, and their total loss was nearly six hundred. The 
 Americans lost only fifteen killed and eighty wounded. 
 
 The war was continued until all the hostile nations of the 
 South were subdued and until the confederacy which Tecum- 
 seh instigated was well nigh broken up. The most noted 
 battles fought during the campaign were at Autossee, where 
 some two hundred were massacred, on the twenty-ninth of 
 November, and that of the Horse-shoe Bend in the Talla- 
 poosie. At this latter point the Indians fortified themselves 
 for a last desperate battle. Their number exceeded one thou- 
 sand. On the twenty-seventh of March, 1814, Gen. Jackson, 
 with a force three times the number of the enemy, commenced 
 operations against their fortification. " Gen. Coftee, with 
 most of the cavalry and Indian allies, was directed to sur- 
 round the bend, in order to cut off all retreat across the river. 
 The place was then carried by storm, under a heavy fire from 
 within. More than half the Indians were killed at the fort, 
 and an unknown number perished in tlieir endeavors to escape 
 by crossing the river, beset as it was by the assailants. Some 
 have asserted that probably not more than twenty ever reached 
 a place of safety. At a time when it was evident that the 
 fortune of the day was decided. Gen. Jackson sent a messenger, 
 with a flag of truce, to invite a surrender, but, from ignorance 
 
OR, THE lioHDKR WARS OK TWO (^KNTUKIKS. 599 
 
 or desperation, the savages Hred upon the bearer of the flag. 
 After tliis, no mercy was shown; until night put an end to tlie 
 work of destruction, they were shot or cut down wherever 
 they could be found, and even on tlie foHowing morning, a con- 
 siderable number were ferreted out from the 'caves and reeds,' 
 where they had sought concealment, and remorsely put to 
 death. Several hundred women and children were made cap- 
 tives. The loss of the attacking army, in this battle, was fifty- 
 five killed, and one hnndred and forty-six wounded." 
 
 On the following April the surviving tribes sued for peace, 
 and Gen. Jackson stipulated that before their proposals could 
 be entertained their celebrated Chief Weathersford inust be 
 delivered np for punishment. On hearing this the great chief, 
 seeing that his cause was hopeless, gave himself up to the 
 American commander. He said: " I am in your power. Do 
 with me as you please. I am a soldier. I have done the whites 
 all the harm I could. I have fought them, and fought them 
 bravely. If I had an army, I would yet fight. I W(:)uld con- 
 tend to the last; but I have done; my people are all gone. I 
 can only weep over the misfortunes of my nation." 
 
 He was told that he was at liberty to depart but that no 
 mercy would be shown him or his nation until they should 
 submit to whatever terms the whites should see fit to impose. 
 To this he replied, " Yon can safely address me in such terms 
 now. There was a time when I could have answered you. 
 There was a time when I had a choice. I have none now. I 
 have not even a hope. I could once animate my warriors to 
 battle, but I cannot animate the dead. My warriors can no 
 longer hear my voice. Their bones are at Talladega, Tallus- 
 shatchee, Emuckfaw, and Tohopeka. * * * * yon are a 
 brave man. I rely upon your generosity. You will exact no 
 terms of a conquered people but such as they should accede 
 to." This interesting incident closed the campaign. The 
 Indians retired to the reservations assigned to them, without a 
 murmur. They were subsequently removed west of the 
 Mississippi. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGK. 
 
 The Indian Tribes of the Lake Region — General Characteristics — Tri- 
 bal Divisions — Mode of Government — Myths and Legends — Their 
 Eloquence and Sagacity — Dwellings, Villages, and Forts — The 
 War Path — Festivals and Pastimes — Religious Faith 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The English in the West — Pontiac Standing in their Way — He Con- 
 sents to let them occupy his Country — The English take Possession 
 of Detroit 22 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Wilderness and its Inhabitants at the Close of the French War- 
 Travel and Adventure — The Outposts of Civilization — The High- 
 ways of the Wilderness - - - - - 27 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Indians Preparing for War— Pontiac and his Ambassadors— The 
 Council at the River Ecorces — Plan for the Reduction of Detroit — 
 The Conspiracy 33 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 A Glimpse at Fort Detroit in 1703- The Conspiracy— The Treachery 
 of Pontiac — His Plot Revealed — The Savages BaflBed — Murder of 
 English Settlers — The Siege Commenced — The Assault— Glad wyn 
 Offers Peace — Pontiac Refuses — Departure of Major Campbell to 
 the Ottawa Camp — His Warning - 42 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Pontiac's Treachery— Campbell and McDougal made Prisoners — 
 Scarcity of Provisions in the Fort — Perilous Situation of the Gar- 
 rison—Continuation of the Siege — Pontiac Summons the Garrison 
 to Surrender — Gladwyn Refuses — Complaints of the French — 
 
 Pontiac's Policy - ^ 
 
 (600) 
 
CONTENTS. 001 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Siege of Detroit — Fate of Cuyler's Detachment — Bravery of tlie 
 Wyandots — Indian Carouse — Massacre and Murder — Horrible 
 Fate of tlie Western Outposts — Fall of Sandusky, Presque Isle, 
 etc. — The Forests Growing Black with Indian Warriors 56 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Description of Fort Michilimackinac — The Indians in the Vici- 
 nity—Preparations for the Massacre — The Warning — Adventures 
 of English Traders — The Night Before the Slaughter 67 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Massacre — The Game of Ball — Slaughter of the Garrison — Indi- 
 ans Drinking the Blood of Englishmen — Hairbreadth Escape of an 
 English Trader 75- 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Adventures of English Traders at Michilimackinac — They are Res- 
 cued by the Ottawas — Treatment of the Prisoners — Henry's 
 Escape — Cannibalism — Reduction of all the Western Outposts 
 except Detroit 81 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Continuation of the Siege of Detroit — Adventures of a Schooner on 
 the Detroit River — Defeat of the Indians — Pontiac Appeals to the 
 French for Assistance — Horrible Death of Capt. Campbell — The 
 Wyandots and Pottawatomies Sue for Peace 88 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Approach of Dalzell's Detachment — The Battle of Bloody Run — 
 Slaughter of the English — The Fatal Retreat — Adventures of the 
 Schooner Gladwyn — Bravery of her Crew — The Indians Sue for 
 Peace - - 94 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Frontier Settlements and Forts — Alarms at Fort Pitt — Slaughter of 
 Traders — Narrow Escape of a Garrison — Destruction of Forts — 
 The War Raging to the Highest Pitch — Danger Thickening Around 
 Fort Pitt.. 1 ..: 103 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The War on the Borders— The March of Death — The Terrified 
 Inhabitants Fleeing to the Older Towns — Bouquet's Army at 
 Carlisle — Adventures of Volunteers — Burning Settlements — The 
 Battle of Bushy Run — Distress and Danger of the Troops- The 
 Victory US 
 
602 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Disaster at the Devil's Hole — Fate of Wilkins' Detachment — The 
 Frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania — Slaughter of the Settle- 
 ments — Terrible Scenes and Incidents of Border Warfare — Deso- 
 lation — The Defenses - - - 123 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Moravian Missions — Their Removal — Difficulties in Philadel- 
 phia — Advance of the Paxton Men — Great Excitement — The 
 Quakers Volunteering to Enter the Army — The Difficulty Settled.. 129 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Bradstreet's Expedition — The Council at Niagara — Peace Treaties — 
 Bradstreet at Detroit — Council with the Indians — Peace Con- 
 eluded — Canadians Punished — Michilimackinac Garrisoned — Fate 
 of Capt. Morris — Bradstreet Returns 133 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Bouquet's Army in the Indian Country — He Subdues the Delawares 
 and Shawanoes — Scenes at the English Camp — Two Hundred 
 Prisoners Given up — Return of the Expedition 138 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Groghan's Expedition — Murder of Indians — Expedition Against the 
 Indians — Battle of Point Pleasant — Dunmore Retires from the 
 •VyTest — Fort Erected at Boonsborough — Conspiracy to Unite the 
 Indians .- - 147 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 The Conquest of Illinois — Colonel George Rogers Clark- His Expe- 
 dition against the Posts in Illinois — A Bloodless Conquest — Singu- 
 lar Stratagem— Colonel Clark's Speech to the Indians — Interesting 
 Incidents l-^'^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Conquest of Illinois Continued — Bravery of George Rogers Clark — 
 Re-taking of Post Vincennes by Col. Hamilton — Courage of Capt. 
 Helm — Clark's Expedition against Hamilton — Hamilton taken 
 Prisoner — Results of Clark's Campaign 170 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Borders of Kentucky — Boone's Salt Expedition — His Capture — His 
 Defense of Boonsborough — Invasion of the Country of the Six 
 Nations — Indian Troubles - - IBO 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Expedition Against Moravian Indians — The Massacre — Terrible 
 Fate of Colonel Crawford — Attack of Bryant's Station — Defeat 
 of the Frontier Men - - 186 
 
CONTENTS. 603 
 
 CHAPTEK XXiy. 
 The Northwest Territory — Sketch of Arthur St. Clair — Review of tlie 
 Treaties with the Indians — Indian Speeches 194 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 The Englisli, tlie Indians, and the Americans — Harmar's Expedi- 
 tion — Harmar's Defeat — Measures for Subduing the Indians — 
 Proctor's Mission a Failure — Jealousy of the Englisli 204 
 
 CHAPTEPv XXVI. 
 Proctor's Peace Mission — Its Failure — Orders for St. Clair's Cam- 
 paign — St. Clair Marches into the Indian Country — His Defeat — 
 Account of the Disaster 213 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Results of St. Clair's Defeat — The Americans, the English, and the 
 Indians — Brant Invited to Philadelphia — Horrifying Scenes on 
 St. Clair's Battle Field — The Peace Makers — Their Instructions — 
 Americans Desire Peace — The Indians for War 225 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 Fate of the Peace-Makers — Great Council of the Maumee — Propo- 
 sitions of Peace Rejected by the Indians — Wayne Marches into 
 the Indian Country — The Skulls on St. Clair's Battlefield — Fort 
 Recovery Established 231 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 Gen. Wayne's Battle on the Banks of the Maumee — Position of the 
 American and Indian Forces — The Victory — New Forts Erected — 
 Destruction ot^ Indian Dwellings — The Indians Sue for Peace— The 
 Treaty of Greenville 237 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 The Indians Cede their Lands — Tecumseh and the Prophet — The 
 New Indian Confederacy — Its Objects — Curious Speech of the 
 Prophet — The Approaching War — The Prophet Declares his 
 Innocence 247 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Tecumseh and the Prophet Uniting the Savages for War — Trouble in 
 the Council at Vincennes — Governor Harrison Denounces Tecum- 
 seh and Orders him to Leave the Village — The Battle of Tippe- 
 canoe — Harrison's Victory 253 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 Tecumseh's Anger — He Joins the British — Hull's Inglorious Cam- 
 paign — Surrender of Detroit — Surrender of Mackinac — Triumph 
 of the British — Hull's Incapacity 260 
 
 L_ 
 
604 CONTENl-S. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 Chicago — Its Early Settlement — Its Condition in 1812 — Order for 
 Evacuation — Council with the Indians — Tlieir Promises and their 
 Treacliery — The Massacre — Heroism of Women — Account of Mrs. 
 Helm and Others — Thrilling Incidents 265- 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Raising an Array to Conquer the English in the Northwest — Early 
 Settlements in Illinois — Expedition under Governor Edwards and 
 Col. Russell — Siege of Fort Harrison — Capt. Taylor's Defense — 
 The Army under Harrison, Winchester and Tupper 279' 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 The War of 1812 — Defeat atFrenchtown — Groghan's Heroic Defense 
 of Fort Stephenson — Defeat of the Americans — Preparations for 
 a New Campaign — Perry's Victory — Harrison's Triumph — The 
 Indians Subdued — The English Defeated — Close of the War 284 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 The Life and Times of Black Hawk — Black Hawk Distinguishes 
 Himself as a Warrior — Black Hawk Joins the British — The Sacs 
 Driven Beyond the Mississippi — Black Hawk Remonstrates — 
 Description of the Principal Sac Village at Rock River 292' 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 Difficulties between Black Hawk and the Settlers at Rock River — A 
 Military Force Called out to Remove the Sac Indians West of the 
 Mississippi — Sketch of Keokuk — His Bravery, Sagacity and 
 Eloquence 299 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 Commencement of the Black Hawk War— The Sacs Violate their 
 Treaty — They are Ordered to Return West of the Mississippi — 
 They Refuse — Pursued by American Troops — Black Hawk and his 
 Band Victorious— Desolation in the Border Settlements of Illinois- 
 Black Hawk Defeated — Starvation among the Savages 305 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 Black Hawk's Defeat — He and His Band are Driven into the Missis- 
 sippi—Terrible Indian Slaughter — The War Ended — Black Hawk 
 Captured, and with other Chiefs Confined in Irons— He Visits 
 Washington and the Eastern Cities — His Reception 313 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 Ceremonies of Liberating Black Hawk — Keokuk's Triumph — Black 
 Hawk's Anger — He will not Conform to the Councils of Keokuk — 
 His Speech — He Departs to his Squaws — Interesting Incidents at 
 Rock Island - 320 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 606 
 
 CHAPTER XL I. 
 Indian Tribes West of tlie Mississippi — Tlie Mandans, '.lieir Dwelliligs, 
 Manners and Customs — Tlieir Traditions of the Flood — Tlieir 
 Singular Ceremonies — How they were Destroyed — Their Supposed 
 Ori^^in - - 330 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 :Sketch of the Sioux Indians — How they Nursed their Infants — 
 Leaving tlieir Old and Inlirm to Die from Starvation — The Pecu- 
 liarities of the Red -Pipe Stone Quarry — Superstitions of the Sioux 
 Regarding the Pipe Stone — The Buifalo Hunt 338 
 
 CHAPTER XLII I. 
 The Crows and the Blackfeet — Their Myths and their Wars — Char- 
 acteristics of these Tribes — Interesting Incidents 342 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 The Indian Tribes of *he Far West — The Pierced-Noses — The Walla- 
 wallas — The Flat-Heads — Peculiarities of this Tribe — Their 
 Canoes, etc - - - 347 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 The Shoshonees — The Root-Diggers — Description of the Snake 
 Indians — The Utahs and Apaches — The Navajos and the Moques. 350 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 ■Col. Fremont and Kit Carson — Kit Goes as Guide with Fremont's 
 Expedition — The Buflalo Hunt — Adventures in a Prairie Dog- 
 Village — Crossing the South Fork — Immense Buffalo Herds 354 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 Division of Fremont's Party — Thrilling Incidents of the Journey to 
 Fort Laramie — Description of Fort Laramie — Frightful Rumors 
 of Indian Hostili^}' — Fremont Determines to Continue — Kit Car- 
 son Resolves to Follow Him — Bravery and Cowardice 363 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 Journey of Fremont's Expedition from Fort Laramie to Fremont's 
 Peak, in the Rocky Mountains — Hardships of Col. Fremont — His 
 Description of the Wild Scenery in the Rocky Mountains — Fre- 
 mont Thirteen Thousand Feet Above the Level of the Sea — The 
 Return 871 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 'Sketch of Kit Carson — His Early Adventures — His First Visit to the 
 Far West — He Distinguishes Himself as a Hunter, Guide, and 
 Scout — Plis Adventures on the Sacramento — Mr. Young's Trap- 
 ping Party 379 
 
606 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 Sketch of Kit Carson Continued — Description of tlie Mountain 
 Parks — Pursuing Horse Tliieves — Nine Hunters Defeat Fifty 
 Indian Warriors — Kit Carson Wounded — Tlie Duel 385 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 Slietcli of Kit Carson Continued — His Adven*;ures — He Again Joins 
 Fremont's Expedition — Description of Fremont's Second Expedi- 
 tion — Its Adventures - -- 391 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 
 Adventures of Fremont's Second Expedition Concluded — Kit Carson 
 in New Mexico — Description of Taos and the Settlements of New 
 Mexico — Interesting Incidents of Smuggling — The Fandango 408 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 Col. Fremont's Third Expedition — Peculiar Qualities of Kit Carson — 
 Fremont Attacked by the Mexicans — Fremont Visits Klamath Lake 
 and the Lava Beds — Three of his Party Killed — The Revenge 416 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 Fremont as a Conqueror — The War in Northern California — Heroisn 
 of the Mountaineers — Indian Hostilities — Fremont and his Fol- 
 lowers Conquer Northern California — His Triumphal Entry into 
 Montery — California Saved from the English 420 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 Insurrection in Southern California — Fremont Subdues the Walla- 
 wallas- The War in Southern California — Description of Southern 
 California — Pico Defeated — The Peace 426 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. 
 Gen. Kearney and Col. Doniphan — The Conquest of New Mexico — 
 Battle of the Sacramento — Chihuahua Taken — Glorious Victory 
 of the Missourians — Triumphal Entry into the Ancient Capital. . 432 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. 
 War between the United States and Mexico — Gen. Taylor Proceeds 
 to Point Isabel with an Army — He is Ordered to Leave the Country 
 — He Refuses— His Danger at the River Fort — The Battle of Palo 
 Alto -- --- 439 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. 
 The Battle of Resaca de la Palma — A Desperate Struggle — Bravery 
 of the Mexicans — The Dead and Dying — Gen. Taylor's Victory — 
 Matamoras Taken — Gen. Taylor's Diflaculties — The Siege of 
 Monterey — The Victory 445 
 
CONTENTS. GOT 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 Gen. T.aylor at Monterey — Saltillo Taken — Gen. Santa Anna — 
 Victoria Taken — Scott Supercedes Taylor — The Battle of Buena 
 Vista 46G 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 Gen. Scott's Campaign — The Siege of Vera Cruz — Victory of Cerro 
 Gordo — Capture of Puebla — Advance on Mexico — Battle of the 
 Contieras — The Victory — Other Battles — Battle of Churubusco — 
 The Armistice 477 
 
 CHAPTER LXI. 
 Termination of the Armistice — The Battle of Molinos del Rey — The 
 Siege of the Capital — The City of Mexico Occupied — The Amer- 
 ican Flag Floating from the Mexican National Palace 492 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 Wars with the Indians in New Mexico — The Massacre of the White 
 Family — Brutality of the Apaches — The Wars with Utahs and 
 Apaches — The Settlement in New Mexico Invaded by Hostile 
 Indians — A Brilliant Company — Seven Battles — Peace 497 
 
 CHAPTER LXI 1 1. 
 The Navajo Indians Join the Rebels — Their Hostile Attitude — Car- 
 son Leads an Army against them — Ten Thousand Indians taken 
 Prisoners — Advocates of the New Reservation Policy — The Mili- 
 tary Division of the Missouri — Its Extent — Condition of the 
 Tribes in this Division in 1866.. 509 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV. 
 Indian Troubles in the Military Division of the Missouri in 1867 — 
 The Horrible Massacre at Fort Phil. Kearney — Indian Outbreaks 
 in Montana — Outrage at Smoky Hill and along the Route to Cali- 
 fornia — The Peace Commission Policy — Inactivity of the Military. 515 
 
 CHAPTER LXV. 
 Wars with the Indians in the Military Division of the Missouri — 
 Operations of the Peace Commission — Councils with the Indians — 
 Congress Fails to Co-Operate — A Formidable Indian War — Break- 
 ing out of Hostilities — Murder, Massacre and Horror — A Chapter 
 of Outrages 518 
 
 CHAPTER LXVI. 
 
 Winter Campaign of Lieut.-Gen. Sheridan in 1868 — A Brilliant 
 Triumph over the Indians East of the Rocky Mountains — Sur- 
 render of the Tribes — They are Placed on the Reservations — The 
 Way Opened for the Labors of tlie Peace Commission 527 
 
■*)0S CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER LXVII. 
 Indian Troubles West of the Rocky Mountains — Horrible Massacre 
 of Indians — Difficulties of Making War on the Savages in the 
 Wilds of the West — TI:3 Peace Commissioners in Arizona and 
 California — Curious Speeches of Chiefs 533 
 
 CHAPTER LXVIII. 
 
 History of the Modocs — Horrible Massacre of a Party of Immigrants 
 
 — Ben Wright's Vengeance — Terrible Destruction of the Modocs 
 from Starvation — Canibialism — The Reservation Troubles 540 
 
 CHAPTER LXIX. 
 Quarrels among the Indians on the Reservation — Departure of CapL 
 Jack and his band for the Lava Beds — The Troops Pursue them in 
 Vain — Fatal Attempts of the Peace Commission — Murder of the 
 Commissioners — Execution of the Modocs 547 
 
 CHAPTER LXX. 
 
 The Seminole War — Early Settlers of Florida and Georgia — Indian 
 and Negro Slavery — Difficulties among the Creeks — Sea Cofiee's 
 Band — Slaves Flee to Florida — Treaty with the Creeks 553 
 
 CHAPTER LXXI. 
 
 The Seminole War — Difficulties with the Creeks — Their Inability 
 to Return the Fugitive Slaves — Complaints of the Slaveholders of 
 Georgia — The Georgians Invade Florida — Their Defeat — Cruelty 
 to Settlers — The Second Invasion — More Suffering — British Inter- 
 ference and Occupation in Georgia and Florida — The Fort of the 
 Exiles — The Fort Blown Up — Great Destruction of Human Life — 
 Commencement of the First Seminole War 556 
 
 CHAPTER LXXII. 
 
 The First Seminole War — Massacre of Lieut. Scott — Jackson's Army 
 Invades Florida, and Burns Seminole Towns — Peace — Purchasing 
 Slaves from Indians with Whisky — A Movement to Remove the 
 Seminoles West of the Mississippi — Osceola, His Wife, Her Fate, 
 and His Revenge — The Massacre at Fort King — Louis, the Guide 
 
 — Terrible Massacre at the Great Wahoo Swamp 562 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIII. 
 
 The Second Seminole War — The Battle of the Withlacoochee- 
 Bravery of Osceola — The Seminoles and Negroes Defeated — Gen. 
 Gaines's Fruitless Campaign — Osceola Attacks Miconopy — Heil- 
 man's Gallant Defense — The Battle between Pearce and Osceola — 
 Several Severe Battles — The Seminoles Hard to Conquer 569 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIV. 
 Conclusion of the Second Seminole War — Several Battles — Gen. 
 Jessup's Peace Policy — Hostilities Renewed — Slave -Catching 
 Parties — The Seminoles and Exiles Persuaded to Go West — Efforts 
 to Subject them to Creek Authority — Invaded by the Creeks — 
 Emigration of the Exiles to Mexico - - - 574 
 
 CHAPTER LXXV. 
 The Indian Wars of the Southern States — Tribes, Etc. — King Ton- 
 mohichi and His Queen — Bosomworth and Mary — A Thrilling 
 Incident — A General War — Gen. Jackson's Campaign — Terrible 
 Massacres — Hard Fought Battles — Complete Subjugation of the 
 Indians — Bravery of the Celebrated Weatherford ' 585