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The first edition, limited 
 to eight hundred copies. 
 
Portrait Bust of Henry Hamilton, With His Wife 
 and Daughter. 
 
HENRY HAMILTON and 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 
 
 in the American Revolution 
 
 with 
 
 The UNPUBLISHED JOURNAL of 
 Lieut. Gov. HENRY HAMILTON 
 
 edited by 
 
 John D. Barnhart 
 
 R. E. BANTA, Crawfordsville, Indiana, 1951 
 
COPYRIGHT 1951. EY R. E. BANTA 
 
 PRINTED IN AN EDITION 
 
 LIMITED TO 
 
 aoo copies 
 
I 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 Hlt^ 
 
 To 
 JAMES ALTON JAMES 
 
AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
 
 Many persons and institutions by their help and advice place 
 the author under obligations which can be acknowledged with 
 pleasure but cannot be repaid. The Houghton Library of Harvard 
 University released the Henry Hamilton manuscripts for publi- 
 cation and William A. Jackson and staff were very helpful in 
 supplying photostats of and information about them. The Cax- 
 ton Club of Chicago had planned to publish the Hamilton Journal 
 but agreed to permit me to proceed when my interest became 
 evident. I am indebted to Herman D. Smith and John Merry- 
 weather in this change of plans. My visit to the Public Archives 
 of Canada was marked by the thoughtful, friendly, and efficient 
 service of its staff, particularly the Honorable Norman Fee, then 
 Acting Dominion Archivist, Miss N. Story of the Manuscript 
 Division, and A. J. H. Richardson of the Map Division. More 
 recently the Honorable William Kaye Lamb, Dominion Arch- 
 ivist, has made additional material available by means of micro- 
 film. Colton Storm, Assistant Director, and Margaret Larson, 
 Assistant Curator of Maps and Manuscripts, of the William L. 
 Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan, assisted me with the 
 manuscript and map collections in that library. Elleine H. Stones 
 and Milo M. Quaife of the Burton Historical Collection of the 
 Detroit Public Library were also very cooperative. The counsel 
 of Dr. Quaife has been deeply appreciated. Solon J. Buck, Chief 
 of the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress and C. H. 
 Minns of the British Museum made available material from their 
 respective institutions. Dr. Otto O. Fisher loaned me two Hamil- 
 ton Letters from his private collection. Carl and Erminie Voegelin 
 advised me in respect to Indian ceremonials. 
 
 R. Carlyle Buley and Laurens J. Mills, colleagues at Indiana 
 University, and R. E. Banta of Crawfordsville, Indiana, helped 
 to make my introduction more readable. Miss Elfrieda Lang of 
 the Indiana Magazine of History checked and typed my manu- 
 script. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter I Henry Hamilton's Early Life 7 
 
 Chapter II Superintendent of Indian Warfare . . . . 21 
 
 Chapter III Commander Against Clark 37 
 
 Chapter IV Ruler of Vincennes 52 
 
 Chapter V A Captive of George Rogers Clark . . . . 71 
 
 Chapter VI Prisoner in Virginia 79 
 
 Chapter VII Changes in Evaluation: Hamilton and Clark . 93 
 
 Detroit to Miamitown, Hamilton on the Maumee, 
 
 August 6 to October 27, 1778 102 
 
 The Upper Wabash, Miamitown to Ouiatenon, 
 
 October 28 to November 28, 1778 116 
 
 Ouiatenon to Vincennes, Hamilton Takes Vincennes, 
 
 November 29 to December 17, 1778 133 
 
 Hamilton at Vincennes, December 18, 1778, 
 
 to February 22, 1779 149 
 
 Clark Recaptures Vincennes, February 22 
 
 to March 5, 1779 177 
 
 A Prisoner of War, March 8 to June 16, 1779 .... 192 
 
 Sources of Information 206 
 
 Notes 215 
 
 Index . 236 
 
CHAPTER ONE 
 
 Henry Hamilton's Early Life 
 
 J[ he most dramatic and significant event of the American 
 Revolution in the West was the capture of Lieutenant-Governor 
 Henry Hamilton of Detroit by tough young George Rogers Clark 
 at Vincennes on February 24th, 1779. 
 
 The daring exploit which made Lieutenant-Governor Hamil- 
 ton the prisoner of Lieutenant Colonel Clark caught the fancy 
 of all America; the small number of the red-headed Virginian's 
 troops, the hardships they endured, the courage they exhibited, and 
 the completeness of their triumph have furnished inspiration for 
 novelists, painters, and sculptors, as well as historians. 
 
 Clark's campaign against the British on the Wabash has 
 been the subject of two or three successful novels and of dozens 
 of articles and monographs. His papers have been published by 
 the Illinois Historical Library under the editorship of James Alton 
 James, who is also the author of the best biography of Clark. 1 
 
 Quite naturally Americans, chiefly interested in their own 
 hero, have given only superficial study to the man they regard as 
 the villain of the piece. In this neglect of Hamilton — usually 
 
called the "Hair-Buyer General" — they have failed to utilize the 
 journal which Hamilton kept on his expedition from Detroit to 
 Vincennes, during his loss to Clark of the Old Post on the Wa- 
 bash, and as he was taken, a prisoner of the Colonials, from Vin- 
 cennes to Williamsburg, Virginia. Although the "Journal" con- 
 tains much information about Clark and the conditions which 
 contributed to his victory, it has until now remained unpublished. 
 
 When Clark endeavored to defend the infant settlements of 
 Kentucky from Indian raids by striking at the centers of British 
 control north and west of the Ohio River, he was trying to check 
 the bands of Indians and white leaders sent out by Lieutenant- 
 Governor Hamilton of Detroit. When Clark secured authority, 
 supplies, and money from Virginia, raised a small body of soldiers 
 in southwestern Pennsylvania, and moved down the Ohio River 
 to capture Kaskaskia on the Mississippi, July 4, 1778, it was Ham- 
 ilton who mobilized a little army of English regulars, French 
 volunteers, and Indian chiefs and warriors to oppose him. Com- 
 ing to Vincennes by way of the Maumee and Wabash rivers, he 
 was captured by Clark on February 24, 1779, and sent as a pris- 
 oner to Williamsburg, where he was confined until October, 1780. 
 
 Perhaps Hamilton's career, aside from his encounter with 
 Clark, can be reduced to a few simple facts. First, he was a de- 
 scendant of a noble Scottish family with a record of service in 
 government and in the army which dates back to the time of Mary 
 Queen of Scots. Secondly, he was an army man in the French and 
 Indian War, and, like many other servicemen away from home, 
 he was very observant of the women he saw. He was also an office- 
 holder, for he served first as lieutenant-governor of Detroit and 
 then of Quebec, and as governor of Bermuda and finally of 
 Dominica. He was an amateur artist who made sketches of beau- 
 tiful and striking scenes and of interesting men. In reporting to 
 his superior officials he penned important documents, some of 
 which are all but unknown. 
 
 If his family is traced back to the fifteenth century, a Sir 
 James Hamilton is found, who was the husband of Mary, a sister 
 of James III of Scotland and a great-great-aunt of Mary Queen of 
 Scots. Their grandson, another James Hamilton, was governor of 
 Scotland during the minority of Mary Queen of Scots. In his life- 
 
 8 
 
time and that of his sons, Claud and John, there was a possibility 
 that the Hamilton family might gain the throne. The youngest 
 son of Claud, Sir Frederick, became the first Baron Paisley and 
 governor of Ulster. The latter position took him to northern 
 Ireland, a change of family residence that resulted in Henry's being 
 born in Ireland a century later. A son of Frederick became a dis- 
 tinguished military officer in the forces of William III of England, 
 was raised to the king's privy council, and became Viscount Boyne 
 in the Irish peerage. 
 
 The father of Henry, who was the third son of Viscount 
 Boyne, was a member of the Irish Parliament and a collector of 
 the port of Cork. It is likely that Henry and his father were not 
 so vigorous and able men as their ancestors, but they must have 
 felt some satisfaction that they were descended from men who 
 were associated with William III of England, Gustavus Adolphus 
 of Sweden, and Mary Queen of Scots. 2 
 
 The educational opportunities offered to Henry were those 
 which might be expected in a family such as his. He wrote that 
 his mother encouraged him to read works of travel, history, and 
 literature; that a French teacher corrected his pronunciation; and 
 that he spent his vacations in learning to fence, draw, and dance. 
 He admitted, however, that his enjoyment of Latin and Greek was 
 gained through the reading of translations of Horace, Vergil, and 
 Ovid. In school he was often flogged, and, although he was frank 
 enough to say that he always deserved the punishment, he decided 
 to join the forces rather than submit to continued embarrassment. 
 
 His army life began at the age of twenty-one when he re- 
 ceived a commission as an ensign in the Fifteenth Regiment of 
 Foot. As a young officer he traveled over Ireland, Wales, and 
 England, and a little later in Canada and the American Colonies. 
 He managed to visit London where he saw King George II, George 
 Frederick Handel, and David Garrick; and shortly after the be- 
 ginning of the Seven Years' War he met James Wolfe whom he 
 recognized as a man of heroic qualities. 
 
 During his military career and in leisure moments while 
 holding political office in later years he utilized the knowledge of 
 drawing which he had acquired as a youth to sketch landscapes 
 and portraits, nearly forty of which have been preserved. Some 
 
were hurriedly done and others were left unfinished, but a few 
 show some merit. The time and care he expended in surrounding 
 them with elaborate borders indicate that he enjoyed making the 
 sketches. Among the best are eight small drawings of Indians, 
 two of which depict the subjects with refined features, but the 
 sketch of the Iroquois Chief Atcheek shows him with rough fea- 
 tures and unkempt hair. 3 
 
 In 1758, the third year of the conflict which Americans call 
 the French and Indian War, Hamilton was ordered to America, 
 where he served in Wolfe's command. His regiment trained at 
 Halifax and there his acquaintance with the American Indian be- 
 gan. The immediate goal of the English troops under Jeffery 
 Amherst was Louisburg, the French fortress on Cape Breton Island. 
 Hamilton's regiment participated in the landing, June 8, 1758, but 
 during the siege of the fort he was wounded in the hand and wit- 
 nessed the remainder of the contest as a spectator. He had be- 
 come, however, a soldier with experience in actual fighting. 
 
 His regiment returned to Halifax for the winter, but Hamil- 
 ton was permitted to visit the English Colonies to the southwest- 
 ward in search of a climate in which his hand would heal more 
 rapidly. The colonists impressed him as naive, simple, kindly, and 
 uncorrupted, but when he wrote his "Autobiography" after the 
 Revolution, he remarked that "this respectable innocence" was no 
 more, and that a corruption of manners had begun. The latter 
 judgment was probably colored by the treatment he received much 
 later in the prison at Williamsburg, Virginia, and is, therefore, no 
 more accurate than his early enthusiasm. When spring came he 
 sailed back to Halifax, whence his hero, James Wolfe, was to lead 
 the British soldiers in an attack on Quebec. 
 
 After a voyage up the St. Lawrence, which Hamilton enjoyed, 
 the fleet reached the Isle of Orleans in safety, and an initial land- 
 ing was made with little difficulty. When a violent storm failed 
 to destroy the British fleet, the French tried fireships, an ordeal 
 which, also, the English survived. Among the French, who re- 
 sisted the efforts of the invaders, were some Indians who committed 
 offenses which the British regarded as barbarities and atrocities. 
 Wolfe's demand that they cease was respected by the French 
 Governor, Marquis de Vaudreuil. Hamilton was with the troops 
 
 10 
 
that made the unsuccessful attack on Quebec near the Mont- 
 morency River. He was also a participant but was not in the thick 
 of the battle on the Heights of Abraham when the fate of North 
 America was decided and the two great leaders sealed the decision 
 with their lives. 4 
 
 Hamilton spent the winter with the English troops in the 
 town of Quebec, where he endured the severity of the harsh climate 
 and the hardships involved in the restoration of the city and the 
 procurement of food, fuel, clothing, and ammunition in the face 
 of opposition by an active enemy. In the spring the British forces 
 met the French at Saint Foy, April 28, 1760, and Hamilton was 
 taken prisoner. His captors had him put on a French coat because 
 of danger from the Indians who were fighting with them and 
 against the English. "Shortly after this we prisoners were marched 
 ostentatiously thro' the Indian encampment, where I saw not 
 without a very unpleasant feeling, the Savages employed some in 
 scraping and dressing Englishmens Scalps, others in whetting their 
 Knives and Tomahawks." Since he recorded this experience with 
 the Indians, he could not plead innocent of the knowledge that 
 their methods of fighting included the use of the tomahawk and 
 the scalping knife when he directed Indian warfare at Detroit 
 during the American Revolution. 
 
 The references in his "Autobiography" and "Journal" to 
 women he saw while in the army seem quite discreet, but they do 
 reveal him as a military man likely to sit about the campfire and 
 tell stories with his fellow officers. Wherever he went he had an 
 eye for the women and for dramatic encounters between the sexes, 
 and in his travels as a young officer about Ireland, Wales, England, 
 Canada, and the Colonies he wrote brief notes about them. At 
 Reading, England, he recorded, "Beautiful women there," and "an 
 engaging Partner." Later, as the troops left Wales, a "blooming 
 creature" set aside decorum, broke through the ranks, threw her 
 arms about her lover's neck, and in a passion of tears betrayed the 
 "blushing boldness of imperious love." He saw the seamy side of 
 military life, but like a good army man, he attributed it to the 
 sailors who, he wrote, washed their stockings in claret, offended 
 the purity of old women, and violated the laws of decorum with 
 young ones. 
 
 11 
 
After the capture of Louisburg he commented, "having been 
 introduced to some of the French ladies I made more progress in 
 the language in six weeks than I should have done under a Master 
 in as many Months. My time was not heavy on my hands, I 
 sketched Rocks & Trees & Ships, had some books & exercise 
 enough." 
 
 When he visited the Colonies, he traveled from Boston to 
 Providence, to New York and Philadelphia, and wrote about the 
 beauty of the American ladies. "At an assembly [in Boston] I 
 saw much beauty, and much decorum .... From Boston by land 
 to Providence Rhode Island — pleasant Country The women of 
 the lower class tall well shaped unconfined .... We passed to 
 Newport, . . . the mention of that place reminds me of . . . the 
 beauty of the women 
 
 When housed in a convent in Quebec after the city was in 
 the possession of the English, he marveled at the self-denial, gen- 
 erosity, firmness, obedience, and constancy of the Nuns, but he 
 also saved one of them from disgrace by dramatically destroying 
 the note of an indiscreet young officer. 5 
 
 While in Detroit and on his campaign to Vincennes, he col- 
 lected a few Indian stories which he wrote on the extra pages of 
 his "Journal." "An Indian woman who had passed a very danger- 
 ous rapid in a canoe, was found drunk lying in the bottom of it, 
 having drunk a whole bottle of Rum — being asked how she could 
 drink so much, she answered as well as she could find words, that 
 surely it was too much but that [she] had never expected to 
 escape with her life, & 'twould have been pity the rum should 
 have been lost." 6 
 
 One other may be repeated. "An Ottawa who was very fond 
 of another man's wife, who also had a passion for him, was one 
 day solliciting her strongly to gratify his desires, but she refused 
 him and ran away to hide herself. The Indian in a frantic fit of 
 amorous rage pursues her, and with his knife gives her a desperate 
 wound — He then painted himself with vermillion, and began to 
 sing his own Death Song thro' the Village, leading a horse by 
 the bridle that he valued very highly. After this ceremony he 
 shoots the horse and finally stabbed himself, presuming probably, 
 that since in this world he could not enjoy his Mistress, he would 
 
 12 
 
send her before him to the other, out of reach of her husband, 
 whither he meant to follow immediately not forgetting to make 
 his favorite horse one of the party." 7 
 
 Among his pencil sketches was one of the Falls of the Passaic 
 in New Jersey. In the corner of the picture he drew two small 
 figures, one an Indian woman struggling in the river to reach the 
 shore. Her husband, who had thrown her in, stood on the shore 
 with tomahawk raised and ready to strike. He had already cut off 
 one of her arms to prevent her reaching land. 
 
 The offices to which Hamilton was appointed indicate that 
 the British government regarded him as a capable public servant 
 in places that were of some importance. He was the lieutenant- 
 governor of Detroit from April 7, 1775 until he became a prisoner 
 of Virginia and the government named another in his place. After 
 his release from prison, he was appointed lieutenant-governor of 
 Quebec in 1782. When Governor Frederick Haldimand left 
 America, November 15, 1784, Hamilton became governor ad, 
 interim until his recall a year later. In Quebec he did not get along 
 well with Governor Haldimand and his recall was due to the re- 
 quest of that official. Recently his services have been more highly 
 evaluated than formerly, because he strove to bring about a greater 
 economic development of the province, particularly in transporta- 
 tion, and sided with the growing English elements in the popula- 
 tion rather than the French, who were still the more numerous 
 group. 8 Early in 1787 he became governor of Bermuda, a post 
 which he held until 1794 or 1795 and which was probably a more 
 important position than most Americans realize today. He also 
 served as governor of Dominica for a year or more before his 
 death in 1796. 
 
 Hamilton's experiences as lieutenant-governor of Detroit 
 were affected in a significant manner by two developments which 
 were beyond his power to control. They were the declining in- 
 terest of the British home administration in colonial matters and 
 the outbreak of the American Revolution. Although he was an 
 official in a distant post where most developments were relatively 
 insignificant, his activities illustrate the weakness of the adminis- 
 tration before and during the Revolution. Viewed from another 
 angle, the failure of Hamilton to overcome George Rogers Clark 
 
 13 
 
was not merely a personal defeat for Hamilton and a personal 
 victory for Clark, but in a larger sense it was a part of the greater 
 failure of the British as a colonizing power. 
 
 Following their acquisition of the French colonies the British 
 political leaders did not show much knowledge or appreciation 
 of America. The failure of their policies along the Atlantic coast 
 led to the American Revolution, their unrealistic procedure in the 
 West gave Pontiac his chance, and their declining enthusiasm for 
 colonial possessions led to a temporary abandonment of England's 
 great opportunity in the interior of North America. The Procla- 
 mation of 1763 came to be considered as fixing a fairly permanent 
 division of the continent between the colonists and the Indians, 
 petitions for authority to establish colonies in the interior were 
 rejected, Fort Chartres in the Illinois Country and Fort Pitt at the 
 head of the Ohio were abandoned, and General Thomas Gage 
 ordered the residents of Vincennes to evacuate the town. 9 
 
 The Quebec Act of June 22, 1774, which provided for the 
 provincial government in which Hamilton served as an official, 
 was in some respects a reversal of the previous trend. Intended 
 to pacify the French Canadians, it restored to them French civil 
 law and the right to worship according to the tenets of the Roman 
 Catholic church. In deference to their wishes they were to be 
 governed by a governor and a council rather than an elective as- 
 sembly which had been provided by the Proclamation of 1763. 
 The act was also intended to make unnecessary the creation of a 
 new interior province; it added to Quebec the territory between 
 the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Great Lakes, and placed it under 
 the governor of Canada, Guy Carleton. 10 
 
 This vast region, however, could not be left without officials, 
 and instructions issued to Governor Carleton on January 3, 1775, 
 provided for four lieutenant-governors, to be stationed at Detroit, 
 Vincennes on the lower Wabash, Kaskaskia on the east bank of 
 the Mississippi, and Michilimackinac at the juncture of lakes 
 Huron and Michigan. Edward Abbott was appointed to the post 
 at Vincennes. There he built Fort Sackville, but when he realized 
 the nature of his assignment and the limited financial support he 
 was to receive, he left the isolated village. He feared to meet the 
 Indians on their return from their winter hunt because under the 
 
 14 
 
unrealistic policy of the British he had not been supplied with 
 presents to give them as the French had done. The lieutenant- 
 governor appointed for the Illinois post did not even leave Eng- 
 land, and the last British officer at Kaskaskia appointed Phillippe 
 Francois Rastel, Sieur de Rocheblave, a Frenchman, to take charge. 
 Major Arent S. DePeyster, a New York Loyalist, was at Michili- 
 mackinac through 1774-1779, in command of a small garrison, 
 and Patrick Sinclair was the lieutenant-governor. At Detroit, in 
 addition to Hamilton, there was a commandant of the garrison, 
 Captain Richard B. Lernoult. These officials and their subordinate 
 officers were a mere corporal's guard, but they were expected to 
 hold the great interior of the continent for England. 11 
 
 At the time Hamilton was appointed it was expected that 
 other officials, including a judge, assessor, and a sheriff, were to 
 be assigned to Detroit. But the appointments were not made, and 
 some of his difficulties at Detroit were caused by the lack of a 
 regularly appointed judge. Furthermore, Hamilton lacked author- 
 ity over the troops in the garrison, a fact which occasioned a dis- 
 pute with the local commander and which affected his conduct of 
 Indian warfare and later his position at Vincennes. The disorders 
 and confusion caused by the Revolution were at least partially 
 responsible for these failures. 
 
 The Revolution was also responsible for the chief tasks which 
 Hamilton undertook as lieutenant-governor of Detroit — the direc- 
 tion of Indian warfare on the western frontiers and the command 
 of an expedition against George Rogers Clark. Hamilton's journey 
 to Detroit coincided with the beginning of military conflict, for 
 he was appointed lieutenant-governor on April 7, 1775, and the 
 battles of Lexington and Concord occurred on April 19. He ar- 
 rived at Detroit on November 9, and on November 12 Montreal 
 was captured by his old friend, Richard Montgomery, who had 
 become a leader in the rebel or patriot forces. 
 
 For a time Hamilton was with Governor Carleton at Montreal 
 when he was defending the city against the Americans. Hamil- 
 ton wrote of his experience and of Carleton's coolness: "At the 
 time General Carleton thought proper to send me up [to Detroit] , 
 the Rebels had entered Canada, and I crossed the Island of 
 Montreal in a Canadian dress, and got the fourth day in a wooden 
 
 15 
 
Canoe to Oswegatchy, unprovided with (I may say) every thing. 
 
 I was exceedingly struck by the unmoved temper and Firmness 
 of the General. Tho' deserted by the most ungrateful race under 
 the sun, tho' a General without Troops, and at the Eve of quitting 
 Montreal to give entrance to lawless Rebels, his mind appeared 
 unshaken, and he gave his orders for the Posts with apparent un- 
 concern, tho' most undoubtedly he was wrung to the soul." 12 
 
 Before the Lieutenant-Governor's major tasks could be under- 
 taken, there were minor ones to be performed. Since this was a 
 time of war, he must look after the defense of Detroit. As soon as 
 he arrived at his station, he began to repair the ships of the little 
 fleet that were required to bring supplies, ammunition, and pres- 
 ents for the Indians. These things were hard to obtain for Detroit 
 was dependent upon Quebec for commerce as well as for govern- 
 mental supervision. Hamilton also strengthened the fort and 
 blockhouses which he found in a dilapidated state. He described 
 this stronghold as "A stockade 1200 Paces in extent, fortified with 
 
 II Block houses and Batteries, [which] would require for its 
 defence a larger garrison than two Companies, but as there is at 
 present a Ditch with fraising nearly compleated on two sides of 
 the citadel, some men could be spared to the weaker parts. The 
 Stockades which are of cedar 15 feet high, are mostly new, and 
 the artificers among the Soldiery and Inhabitants are employed in 
 the construction of new Block houses and Batteries." 13 
 
 A picture of the little community which he governed was 
 penned by Hamilton in 1776. "The backwardness in the im- 
 provement of farming has probably been owing to the easy and 
 lazy method of procuring bare necessities in this Settlement — 
 Wood was at hand, the Inhabitants therefore neglected to raise 
 stone and burn lime which is to be had at their doors — The 
 straight [Detroit River] (which at the Town of Detroit is 1000 
 yards over) is so plentifully stocked with variety of fine fish that 
 a few hours amusement may furnish several families, yet not one 
 French family has got a seine — Hunting and fowling afford food 
 to numbers who are nearly as lazy as the Savages, who are rarely 
 prompted to the chace [sic\ till hunger pinches them. The soil 
 is so good that great crops are raised by careless & very ignorant 
 farmers, Wheat, Indian Corn, Barley, Oats, Pease, Buck Wheat 
 
 16 
 
yield a great increase .... As to the Climate, tis by far the most 
 agreable I have ever known .... 
 
 "The number of [white] Settlers ... is about 1500. They 
 build on the borders of the Straight, and occupy about 13 miles 
 in length on the North, and 8 on the South side — the houses are 
 all of Log or frame Work, shingled, the most have their orchard 
 adjoining, [and] the appearance of the Settlement is very smil- 
 ing .... Regulations for the trade with the Indians are either not 
 generally known, or not duly enforced . . . ." 14 
 
 The regulation of the fur trade with the Indians, always a 
 difficult undertaking, became more exacting during the war. 
 Hamilton wrote that in the Indian trade silver trinkets were 
 cheapened with copper. He accused a Jonas Schindler of selling 
 debased silver, but a jury acquitted him. Hamilton then ordered 
 him drummed out of town, but Schindler took refuge in the cita- 
 del and was protected by the officer in temporary command of the 
 troops. The officer was reported as saying there might be op- 
 pression in the town but not in the fort, and that he would report 
 the matter to some of the first men in England. The breach was 
 not repaired between Hamilton and the commandant before the 
 latter was replaced in September, 1111 P 
 
 Efforts to regulate the traders, which were at the bottom of 
 the Schindler difficulty, occasioned Hamilton additional trouble. 
 Garret Graverat, an Albany trader who settled in Detroit, was 
 compelled to give bail of £400 and promise that he would not 
 "correspond with, carry intelligence to, or supply any of his 
 Majesty's Enemies," or do "anything Determental [sic] to this 
 settlement in Particular, or against any of his Majesty's good sub- 
 jects, during the space of one year and one day . . . ," 16 On an- 
 other occasion Hamilton fined two men $200 each for sending 
 goods to Sandusky without a pass, and one of the traders made a 
 successful appeal to the Attorney General at Quebec. Hamilton, 
 however, wrote to Governor Frederick Haldimand, who succeeded 
 Carleton in 1778, "The necessity ... of obliging the traders to a 
 compliance of the regulations of this Post, agreeable to the Tenor 
 of Sir Guy Carleton's passports, obliges me (with all due defer- 
 ence and respect to Mr. Attorney General's opinion in writing) 
 to persist in this strict treatment of Traders who act against orders, 
 
 17 
 
as to my knowledge the Enemies of the Crown are supply'd or 
 have been from this place, proofs of which I am possess'd of." 17 
 
 The absence of a judge was also a serious matter, particularly 
 because Hamilton's commission as a conservator of the peace did 
 not arrive for two years. The only person with any judicial author- 
 ity was Philip Dejean, whose commission had not been renewed 
 as required by a recent law. Nevertheless when a murder was 
 committed, Hamilton brought the offender before Judge Dejean, 
 who sentenced him to death. Both Hamilton and Dejean were 
 seriously criticized for this procedure, but they were under the 
 necessity of acting in this manner or of freeing the criminal, for 
 he could not have been sent through the rebel lines at Montreal. 18 
 
 Another trial led to the hanging of a certain Jean Conten- 
 cinau for grand larceny. This time the offender was convicted by 
 a jury and the penalty was the one provided by law, but the legal 
 right of the judge was denied by Hamilton's critics. Apparently 
 the hangman was a Negro girl who was pardoned for her part 
 in the robbery in return for her services at the execution. 19 
 
 A grand jury in Montreal, after the city passed again into 
 British control, indicted Hamilton and Dejean for their irregular 
 proceedings in these trials. Before they were prosecuted, however, 
 the matter was referred to Lord George Germain, the Secretary 
 of State in charge of the colonies, and Governor Haldimand wrote, 
 "I am well convinced he acted with the best intentions for the 
 King's Service & the security of that part of the Provence com- 
 mitted to his immediate charge." Germain thought the indictment 
 was probably due to jealousy and ordered the proceedings to be 
 quashed if the chief justice felt that the criminals were guilty. The 
 indictment was set aside. 20 
 
 Clarence M. Burton, Milo M. Quaife, and James A. James 
 have seen in these events an explanation for Hamilton's expedition 
 to Vincennes. 21 They assume that he feared punishment for his 
 high-handed and tyrannical measures and was eager to reinstate 
 himself in favor by some kind of military success. There are sev- 
 eral reasons for not accepting this interpretation: his actions were 
 probably not more arbitrary than conditions required, his connec- 
 tions apparently assured him of fair treatment, and he may not 
 have learned of the indictment until after his departure from De- 
 
 18 
 
troit. From Ouiatenon, he wrote, December 4, 1778, to Haldi- 
 mand, 
 
 "A letter from Mr. Gray, the deputy sheriff at Montreal, 
 acquaints me that some legal process has been commenced against 
 Mr. Dejean for acting under my direction in regard to criminal 
 matters. I beg leave to recommend him to your Excellency's pro- 
 tection as a man who has created enemies by doing his duty, and 
 who has had the misfortune to fall from good circumstances into 
 indigence. 
 
 "I hope I shall alone be responsible for any malversation of 
 his, as he has only acted by my order, and I have reason to be 
 satisfied with his behavior as an honest man and loyal subject. 
 
 "Should any complaints against myself be lodged judicially, 
 I am perfectly at ease, persuaded your Excellency will allow me 
 to vindicate my conduct without encountering the Chicane of the 
 Law." 22 
 
 Finally, Hamilton does not seem to have been the type of man 
 who would run away from the consequences of his actions. This 
 is indicated by his refusal to accept parole in Virginia in 1779 
 under what he thought were unsatisfactory conditions, and by his 
 later conduct as lieutenant-governor of Quebec, where he refused 
 to follow the policies of Governor Haldimand. He probably made 
 mistakes while governing Detroit, but they were not serious 
 enough to support a charge of tyranny. 
 
 While lieutenant-governor of Detroit, Hamilton received 
 very little help from Governor Carleton, for the Americans inter- 
 rupted communications and Carleton was occupied with the de- 
 fense of the province. Later Carleton was angry with the British 
 home government for giving command of the expedition of 1777 
 to General John Burgoyne, and with Hamilton for a supposed 
 appeal made directly to Lord George Germain for the use of the 
 Indians against the frontier. He asked to be relieved of the gover- 
 norship, and at the time when Hamilton needed help and direction 
 in opposing Clark his new superior officer, Governor Haldimand, 
 had not been in office long enough to appreciate the situation or 
 to give Hamilton advice or leadership. 
 
 The British had not developed a system of communication 
 that would enable the different officials to co-operate effectively. 
 
 19 
 
One of Hamilton's fellow officers wrote a year after the loss of 
 Vincennes: "Mr. Hamilton's disaster proceeded from want of sys- 
 tem, uncertain information & want of attention in others as much 
 as from the precipitancy of the measures he took himself, and the 
 want of a regular district correspondence will ever produce such 
 ill effects." 23 The seriousness of this point appears more clearly 
 when it is realized that Clark carried the news of the Franco- 
 American Alliance to Kaskaskia in July, 1778, whereas Hamilton 
 seems not to have been informed of it until the following Febru- 
 ary. Without trying to clear Hamilton of errors during his 
 lieutenant-governorship, it is proper to note that the mistakes of 
 the British government were by no means confined to the Atlantic 
 coast. 
 
 20 
 
CHAPTER TWO 
 
 Superintendent 
 
 of Indian Warfare 
 
 H 
 
 amilton's reputation is so involved with the employ- 
 ment of Indians against the American frontiersmen during the 
 War for Independence that an understanding of that warfare is 
 essential to an evaluation of the man. But writers differ widely 
 upon this point. Theodore Roosevelt wrote that the Lieutenant- 
 Governor "merely carried out the orders of his superiors." George 
 Rogers Clark called him the "Hair-Buyer General"; and this atti- 
 tude has generally been followed by American writers with more 
 or less caution. James A. James wrote, "Although it cannot posi- 
 tively be proved that Governor Hamilton offered rewards for 
 scalps, Americans believed him guilty of this crime. That scalps 
 were paid for seems well established through the testimony of 
 prisoners and of spies, disguised as traders, who visited Detroit." 
 Clarence W. Alvord was more cautious when he stated: "Public 
 opinion among the Americans has always held Hamilton respon- 
 
 21 
 
sible, maintaining that he paid into the palms of the Indians 
 money promised for the scalps brought in. His name was exe- 
 crated by contemporaries and later by historians — without careful 
 and impartial investigation — and is held today in popular memory 
 with the stigma of the 'hair buyer.' " Milo Quaife, however, rejects 
 the idea that Hamilton purchased scalps and holds that he was a 
 mere subordinate: "The responsibility . . . rests squarely upon 
 the shoulders of the King and his Ministry in London." 24 A brief 
 examination of Hamilton's position and activity in this connection 
 may make possible a more adequate understanding of his role. 
 
 The employment of the aborigines by white men was almost 
 as old as the settlements of Europeans on the American continent. 
 White men seem first to have been involved in tribal wars, but 
 as the Europeans gained control they used the tribesmen in their 
 own wars. The coming of the white men changed the Indians' 
 life by making them dependent upon the whites and participants 
 in their wars. In a short period of time they passed from the stone 
 age into the age of steel and gunpowder. They were taught to 
 trade the furs of animals which they trapped for the goods of the 
 traders, to use steel knives and hatchets, to hunt and fight with 
 guns, and in times of war to substitute for their normal activity 
 the business of fighting. The latter came very easily, but it in- 
 volved them in further dependence upon the Europeans, for the 
 warriors and their families were in part or entirely subsisted by 
 the power for whom they fought. 25 They could scarcely refuse 
 to fight, for they needed weapons without which they could not 
 have remained independent of hostile tribes. The Wyandot told 
 George Croghan in 1759, "You . . . know very well that no Indian 
 Nation live now without being supported either by the English 
 or French, we cannot live as our Ancestors did before you came 
 into our Country . . . ," 26 
 
 Of the numerous occasions upon which the French employed 
 the natives, only a few need be mentioned. The destruction of 
 Pickawillany by Charles Langlade and his Indians in 1752 and 
 the barbarities practiced there restored the Miami to French con- 
 trol. At Braddock's defeat the tribesmen were numerous and their 
 role was an important one. At Oswego, at Fort William Henry, 
 and at Quebec, battles that influenced the fate of the continent, the 
 
 22 
 
warriors were present. Their usefulness, the difficulties of keeping 
 them under control, the methods by which they might be sub- 
 jected to discipline, and the inhumanities of which they were 
 guilty when restrictions failed, were all known. 
 
 The Iroquois carried a substantial burden for the British in 
 their wars against the French. It is probable that their losses in 
 King William's War were so great that their former strength was 
 not recovered. 
 
 The Indians had a vital interest in the outcome of the wars, 
 for the French posts, villages, and missions were less disturbing 
 to their way of living than the agricultural English settlements 
 in which the land was cleared and tilled and the fur-bearing ani- 
 mals largely eliminated. The loyalty of Canadian and Lake tribes 
 to the French was natural, while the position of the Iroquois as 
 middlemen between the English and western Indians partially 
 explains the attachment of the Six Nations to the English. 
 
 The British made a bad beginning with the western Indians 
 from 1760 to 1763, but Pontiac's uprising produced a change 
 in their treatment of the tribesmen. Thereafter the English took 
 the place of the French in both economic and political activities, 
 made no fundamental changes in the relations between the races, 
 and, by adopting the Proclamation of 1763, assumed the charac- 
 ter of protectors. The English colonists, on the contrary, continued 
 the agricultural nature of their settlements, which left no room 
 for the savages, and expanded beyond the Proclamation Line into 
 the Ohio Valley. 
 
 When the colonists revolted against the mother country, the 
 Lake Indians continued their attachment to the English in Canada. 
 This attachment was almost a necessity because the colonists were 
 unable to furnish trade goods. The lack of trade goods also tended 
 to bring the other western tribes over to the British, while the 
 leadership of Colonel Guy Johnson among the Six Nations kept 
 the Iroquois loyal to the king. The tribesmen were antagonized 
 also by the unfair methods of the land speculators and the danger 
 of ever eminent frontier encroachment. The purchase of land 
 by the Wabash Company was a potent argument which Hamilton 
 used to secure Indian support for the expedition to Vincennes. 27 
 Furthermore, the character of the lower type of frontiersmen did 
 
 23 
 
not help maintain good relations, for some were not far removed 
 from the primitive culture of the savages. They were undis- 
 ciplined, uneducated, unscrupulous, cruel, and capable of emotional 
 outbursts of hatred which caused them to strike friend as well as 
 foe. Sometimes they shot Indians as they would shoot turkeys. 
 They often uttered the war whoop, scalped their enemies, and 
 even excelled them in forest craft and the native method of fight- 
 ing. Between the tribesmen and the frontiersmen warfare was 
 likely to be a more or less continuous affair. Consequently the 
 Indians could hardly have been kept out of the Revolution unless 
 it had been a very short war, and unless both sides had vigorously 
 tried to keep them quiet. In September, 1776, Hamilton wrote 
 to Lord Dartmouth, Lord Privy Seal, 1775-1782, that he had held 
 a council with the Lake Indians in which he endeavored to keep 
 them peaceful and yet friendly to the king's government, but that 
 he expected to hear of several small parties falling on the scat- 
 tered settlers in the Ohio Valley. 28 
 
 Frontier warfare was not conducted by large armies with 
 quartermaster departments or in regular campaigns, but by small 
 forces which conducted raids into enemy country. Each man car- 
 ried his ammunition and at least a part of his food. The raid was 
 to be a surprise attack lasting only a few days, and the return 
 must be as swift as possible lest the raiders be surrounded in enemy 
 country by superior numbers. No quarter was given and none ex- 
 pected. Both Indians and frontiersmen in enemy country counted 
 heavily on the element of surprise; if this failed they retreated 
 quickly on the theory that it was better to live and fight another 
 day. Both waged total war, killing men, women, and children. 
 Both burned and destroyed villages, crops, and forts. The lives 
 of prisoners taken by the warriors might be reasonably safe if they 
 could keep pace and were not known to have been particularly 
 hostile to the Indians. The Indians often adopted prisoners into 
 their tribes and the violation of women was probably infrequent. 
 Prisoners who lagged and thus threatened the safety of the raiders 
 were dispatched by blows on their heads. Their scalps were taken, 
 for scalps gave proof of the success of the raid when the prisoners 
 could not be brought back. The permanent forts and villages of 
 the whites were both a protection and a handicap in this guerrilla 
 
 24 
 
warfare. The tribesmen frequently sacrificed their villages to their 
 own safety, but the whites stood and fought. 
 
 The employment of Indians during the American Revolution 
 was initiated in the eastern theater of war along the New England- 
 New York and Canadian frontier before it was undertaken in the 
 west. The first suggestion of an appeal to the aborigines seems 
 to have come from General Gage, who was then governor of 
 Massachusetts. He wrote, September 4, 1774, from Boston to 
 General Carleton, "As I must look forward to the worst, from the 
 apparent Disposition of the People here, I am to ask your opinion 
 whether a Body of Canadians & Indians, might be collected & 
 confided in for the Service of this Country, should matters come 
 to extremities . . . ." Carleton replied, "The Savages of this Prov- 
 ince, I hear are in a good Humor, a Canadian Battalion would be 
 a great motive, & go far to influence them, but you know what 
 sort of people they are." When hostilities began the following 
 spring, Gage requested Carleton to send a regiment with com- 
 panies of Canadians and Indians to Crown Point to make a diver- 
 sion. Carleton was not able to rouse either the Canadians or the 
 savages. 29 
 
 Colonel Guy Johnson, who succeeded Sir William Johnson 
 as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, came to Montreal, July 17, 
 1775, with 220 Indians, presumably Iroquois, and held a council 
 with the Canadian tribesmen. As many as 1,664 were present at 
 the council, where they were induced to aid the British, but Carle- 
 ton refused to permit them to leave Canada. When the American 
 invasion began, Johnson pressed for permission to use the In- 
 dians, alleging that he had instructions from Gage to that effect. 
 Carleton again refused, insisting that Canada was subject to his 
 orders. A small force of tribesmen stationed at St. John's, how- 
 ever, played a minor part in resisting the Americans. Even in the 
 face of the attack on Montreal, Carleton stood his ground and the 
 savages dispersed and went home dissatisfied. Johnson was prob- 
 ably correct in thinking that the invasion could have been defeated 
 with the aid of the Indians. 30 
 
 Lord Dartmouth, a member of the cabinet, who was charac- 
 terized as 'one who wears a coronet and prays," supported General 
 Gage. On July 5, 1775 he had ordered Johnson to keep the In- 
 
 25 
 
dians in "a state of affection and attachment to the King." On 
 July 24 he instructed Johnson to induce the Six Nations to take 
 up the hatchet and engage them against his Majesty's rebellious 
 subjects upon such a plan as might be suggested by General 
 Gage. 31 
 
 Though the first written evidence concerning the possible 
 employment of the Indians came from the British side, it was the 
 Americans who first used them. A few Stockbridge Indians were 
 among the Minute Men in Massachusetts by April 1, 1775. On 
 that date the colonial legislature urged the Mohawk "to join with 
 us" and "whet your hatchet" or "stand neuter." Other colonies and 
 colonial leaders were involved in trying to raise the tribesmen, 
 and both Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold were accom- 
 panied by small groups of savages. The Congress took a more 
 conservative view and endeavored at first to keep the Indians 
 neutral and out of the struggle. Painfully and slowly the members 
 came around to a different attitude and on January 27, 1776 re- 
 solved that the time had come for them to take sides. It thus 
 appears that both armies began the employment of the Indians 
 during the first year of the Revolution. 32 
 
 There was a difference, however, between their use in the 
 year 1775 and that of two years later. The Stockbridge Indians 
 who served as Minute Men in Massachusetts were somewhat civi- 
 lized and were enlisted in regular bodies of troops in which they 
 were outnumbered. Gage complained that they shot his sentries, 
 but aside from this fact and their excessive drinking they remained 
 under the discipline of regular soldiers. In general the tribesmen 
 in the British forces were used as scouts and messengers. In either 
 case they were opposed to armed soldiers and not to noncombat- 
 ants. 
 
 The milder type of warfare did not continue, for once the 
 aborigines were employed, the measures necessary to keep them 
 in control were neglected, and the Indians fought according to 
 their own custom, as they preferred. From time to time they broke 
 from disciplinary restrictions and barbarous slaughter occurred. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger and General John Burgoyne 
 were accompanied by Indians in 1777. The year following, the 
 massacres in the Wyoming and Cherry valleys were perpetrated. 
 
 26 
 
The old fears of what might happen were by then realities. 
 
 Hamilton, in the meantime, arrived at Detroit as the forces 
 of Richard Montgomery cut off his communications with Governor 
 Carleton. The latter, when besieged by the Americans, early in 
 1776 appealed to DePeyster at Michilimackinac to send him a 
 force of Indians. About one hundred forty Chippewa and Ottawa 
 under the experienced leadership of Charles Langlade reached 
 Montreal by July 19. But the emergency had passed and, after 
 distributing suitable presents and asking them to return a year 
 later, Carleton sent them home. 33 
 
 DePeyster and Hamilton were cautioned by the governor 
 to keep the tribes under control and ready to act whenever needed. 
 This was not an easy assignment, for the Virginians were also 
 attempting to influence them and the Spanish were not long in 
 trying to bring the tribes over to their side. Carleton wrote to 
 Hamilton that the necessity of economy did not apply to his keep- 
 ing the Indians loyal and requested each spring from 1776 to 1778 
 that groups of warriors be sent to Montreal. It is obvious that 
 Hamilton was not permitted to forget his duty as superintendent 
 of Indian Affairs. 34 
 
 The situation which existed in the Fall of 1776 was well 
 described by him in a long report to Lord Dartmouth. "The Vir- 
 ginians have been tampering with the Savages," he wrote, "and 
 have threatened frequently to attack the place, but hitherto have 
 not been able to succeed . . . ." In a council the Indians concluded 
 that the Virginians had imposed upon them by describing falsely 
 the cause of the dispute with the mother country, and Hamilton 
 destroyed the messages which the Virginians had sent to the 
 tribesmen. His report continued, "Hitherto I have restrained them 
 from acting, not having had an opportunity of receiving orders 
 from His Excellency General Carleton, but a letter from him dated 
 19th July 1776, informs me that he had sent back some Ottawas, 
 who had offered their Services desiring them to hold themselves 
 in readyness next Spring to cooperate with his Majesty's Forces. 
 In consequence of this; I have told the Savages assembled at this 
 Council, to content themselves, with watchfully observing the 
 Enemy's motions, that if the Virginians attacked them, I should 
 give notice to the whole confederacy, and that an attack on one 
 
 27 
 
nation should infallibly be followed by the united force of them 
 all to repel or as they term it strike the Virginians — They all ap- 
 pear perfectly satisfied, but I am not to rely on their assurances, for 
 as soon as the Council breaks up, I expect to hear of several small 
 parties falling on the scattered settlers on the Ohio, and Rivers 
 which fall into it — a deplorable sort of war, but which the arro- 
 gance, disloyalty, and imprudence of the Virginians had justly 
 drawn down upon them .... 
 
 "The Council is finished with the Indians at this place this 
 Evening, they are all well pleased, and in two days some Chiefs 
 and Warriors from the Ottawas, Chippewas, Wyandotts, and 
 Pouteowattamis, are to embark on board the Gage, to join the 
 six Nations at Niagara, under the orders of Lieutenant Col Cald- 
 well, and I am persuaded will act as he would have them — their 
 inclination is for War, but I hope the colonists will open their 
 eyes, before the clouds burst, that hang heavy over their heads." 35 
 
 Hamilton was engaged, therefore, during 1776 and the first 
 half of 1777 in restraining the savages and in keeping them in 
 control and readiness to act whenever their help should be wanted. 
 He hoped that the colonists would reconsider their rebellious 
 actions before the Indians should become involved in the struggle. 
 
 He was, however, accused of writing directly to the govern- 
 ment in England and suggesting the active employment of the 
 savages, contrary to the policy of Governor Carleton. Lord Ger- 
 main wrote on March 26, 1777 that Hamilton had suggested 
 "making a Diversion on the Frontiers of Virginia and Pennsyl- 
 vania by Parties of Indians conducted by proper Leaders . . . ." 36 
 He mentioned the report or letter covering August 29 to Septem- 
 ber 2, 1776, which has just been quoted at some length. That 
 letter, however, does not contain such a proposal, nor does any 
 other known letter which Hamilton wrote. It was not friendly 
 to Carleton's policy but that is the most that can be said. 
 
 Carleton wrote a stinging reply to the criticism contained in 
 Germain's letter, defended himself and showed resentment be- 
 cause General John Burgoyne was given command of the troops 
 for the campaign of 1777 in place of himself. In it he tartly ob- 
 served, "Your Lordship's letter No. 14 contains orders for Captain 
 Hamilton, Lt. Gov'r of Detroit, in consequence of his correspon- 
 
 28 
 
dence directly with your office . . . ." 37 Although Hamilton wrote 
 to Germain on occasion and may have written as Carleton charged, 
 the letter is not known to exist. Germain and Carleton were not 
 in agreement as to whom Hamilton wrote, and the latter does 
 not specifically state that Hamilton recommended the employment 
 of the Indians. 
 
 If Hamilton made such a suggestion, he must share responsi- 
 bility for introducing Indian warfare into the Revolution along 
 with General Gage, Guy Johnson, Lord Dartmouth, and Lord 
 Germain. In the absence of documentary evidence it seems more 
 reasonable to assume that he merely reported conditions to Lord 
 Dartmouth and that Germain decided to apply to the West the 
 policy already adopted in the East and attributed to Hamilton 
 more responsibility for the decision than he deserved. 
 
 The order from Germain was forwarded by Carleton and 
 was received by Hamilton on June 16, 1777. 38 The crucial part 
 read as follows: "It is the King's Command that you should direct 
 Lieut. Governor Hamilton to assemble as many of the Indians of 
 his District as he conveniently can, and placing proper persons at 
 their Head ... to conduct their Parties, and restrain them from 
 committing violence on the well affected and inoffensive Inhabi- 
 tants, employ them in making a Diversion and exciting an alarm 
 upon the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania." 39 
 
 The following day Hamilton opened a council with the 
 Ottawa, Huron, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Miami, Shawnee, and 
 Delaware tribes. All present drank the King's health. Belts from 
 the Six Nations to the tribes of the Western Confederacy, who 
 called upon them to support his Majesty, were exhibited and ex- 
 plained. The Lieutenant-Governor told of the great success of 
 British arms over the rebellious colonists, of the latter's threats 
 against the Indians, and of the Six Nations having taken up the 
 hatchet. On the second day he showed them "the Hatchet," "Sung 
 the War Song — as did Mr. Hay, Depu[t]y agent, the officers of 
 the Garrison, all the Nations present, & some of the French & 
 English." The chiefs and warriors declared on the third day that 
 they had all taken up the hatchet and that they would hold it 
 fast until desired to lay it down. On the fourth day Hamilton 
 described to them the methods they should use in making war 
 
 29 
 
and asked them to choose chiefs and warriors whom they would 
 send against the frontiers. The chosen ones reported to Hamilton 
 on the fifth day, and he in turn reminded them that "they were 
 men, & were desired to make war against men, and not against 
 women or Children, and to forbear to dip their hands in the 
 blood" of women and children. 
 
 On Sunday, June 26 the council did not meet, but Hamilton 
 issued a proclamation inviting Loyalists to join him in Detroit 
 where they would be cared for and given a grant of two hundred 
 acres of land. "The Priests . . . exhorted their parishoners to shew 
 their spirit and loyalty." Word was sent to the Wabash Indians 
 and to the commander at Michilimackinac of the action taken by 
 the council. The messenger to the Wabash was expected to turn 
 eastward and carry the word to General William Howe in Penn- 
 sylvania. The council was formally closed on Tuesday, June 28, 
 after presents were distributed and merchandise was set aside for 
 the dependents of the warriors. Four days were then spent in 
 attending the war feasts of the different tribes at which a hatchet 
 was presented to each nation and the war song repeated. Hamil- 
 ton reported that he expected to send a thousand warriors against 
 the frontiers within a month. Two weeks had been spent in these 
 ceremonies, which initiated Hamilton's direction of Indian war- 
 fare. 40 
 
 Hamilton was enthusiastic and too hopeful, but not unsuc- 
 cessful. A month later he reported to Lord Germain that fifteen 
 parties had left Detroit composed of 289 warriors with 30 white 
 officers. 41 The groups averaged 19 savages and 2 white officers. 
 Early in September he wrote to Germain that "eleven hundred 
 and fifty warriors are now dispersed over the Frontiers," and that 
 he had equipped seven hundred of them. One party had brought 
 in nine scalps and five prisoners. "They have behaved with un- 
 common humanity to the Prisoners, and have given them all up 
 either to Colol Butler or myself." 42 Not all the parties were suc- 
 cessful. A large war party consisting of fifty-seven Canadians and 
 seventy-five Indians to which were joined sixty Delaware left 
 Detroit in September, but as the campaign wore on only twelve 
 Indians and a few Canadians remained with the commander and 
 one of the officers was killed. 43 
 
 30 
 
The order to employ the Indians had given Hamilton some- 
 thing to do, but it seems to have been the cause of other difficulties. 
 Governor Carleton was angry and would not advise him or assume 
 any responsibility for his actions. Several soldiers of the garrison 
 applied to the Lieutenant-Governor for permission to go with the 
 Indian parties, but the commanding officer refused to permit them 
 to leave and Hamilton had no authority over the military. The 
 more whites there were in the Indian parties, the better the pros- 
 pects of keeping the warriors in control and of lessening their 
 cruelty. When he appealed to Carleton, the Governor replied, 
 "The conduct of the War has been taken entirely out of my hands, 
 and the management of it, upon your Frontier has been assigned 
 to you, as you have seen by a Letter from Lord George, a copy 
 of which I sent you; I can therefore only refer you to that." 44 
 
 Hamilton was not to be discouraged so early. The Spanish as 
 well as the colonists were treating with the Indians and, feeling 
 the need for decisive action, he suggested a combined attack upon 
 the Spanish with the aid of Lieutenant-Governor Abbott of Vin- 
 cennes and Rocheblave of the Illinois. The plan he sent to Carle- 
 ton called for an expedition to attack Fort Pitt by way of Presqu' 
 Isle, then to proceed down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, reduce 
 the Spanish settlements on the way, and finally attack New 
 Orleans. 45 Carleton gave Hamilton no encouragement; he in- 
 formed him that the troops were withdrawn from the Illinois to 
 save expense and that Rocheblave was employed only to send in- 
 formation. Abbott was lectured about the cost of his journey to 
 Vincennes and told not to incur any further expense. 46 
 
 Hamilton went to Quebec in September, 1777, with the hope 
 of seeing Carleton, of securing some understanding about his 
 military authority, and of obtaining further orders about the 
 Indians. 47 But Carleton, who was at St. John's defending the 
 border, suggested that Hamilton return to Detroit, sent Lernoult 
 back to the garrison at Detroit, and requested him to end the ani- 
 mosities with the Lieutenant-Governor. Apparently the soldiers 
 were not to be used with the Indians nor was Hamilton given 
 any authority over the garrison. 48 
 
 Hamilton returned to the idea of an attack on Fort Pitt when 
 he wrote in January, 1778 that prisoners reported the garrison to 
 
 31 
 
be weak, undisciplined, and ill-affected. 49 Again Carleton insisted 
 that responsibility had been taken from him but agreed to refer the 
 question to General Haldimand, who was expected soon to take 
 Carleton's place as governor of Canada. Haldimand wrote in 
 August, "I think no essential point would be gained by reducing 
 it [Fort Pitt]." 50 
 
 The earlier suggestion of Hamilton's to go down the Ohio 
 and Mississippi seems impractical, but the wisdom of the plan to 
 attack Fort Pitt could have been determined only by attempting 
 to execute it. The ministry, particularly Germain, was responsible 
 for leaving Hamilton without guidance. Had he been engaged in 
 a regular expedition, his energy and resources would have been 
 used in regular warfare rather than in Indian raids. Carleton, how- 
 ever would not act, Haldimand had not arrived, and when he did 
 come he failed to grasp the importance of the Forks of the Ohio. 
 Consequently when spring passed, Hamilton again stimulated the 
 Indians to harry the frontiers. 
 
 Early in 1778 a second appeal was made to the Loyalists to 
 come to Detroit or one of the other posts, and an escort of Indians 
 and white officers was promised. This proclamation was accom- 
 panied by a statement signed by eight persons who declared that 
 they had been well treated both on the way and after their 
 arrival in Detroit. 51 By the latter part of April, Hamilton wrote 
 to Carleton that a party of Kickapoo, Mascouten, and Wea, fifty 
 in number, had gone to war towards the Ohio; that one hundred 
 twenty-five Mingo, Shawnee, and Delaware came to Detroit and 
 accepted war belts; that forty Shawnee brought in four prisoners; 
 and that Charles Beaubien with eighty Shawnee had captured 
 Daniel Boone and twenty-six of his men. Only four of the last 
 group of prisoners were given to Hamilton; Boone and the others 
 were kept by the Indians. 52 In January he reported that seventy- 
 three prisoners and one hundred and twenty-nine scalps had been 
 brought to Detroit. 'The parties sent from hence have been in 
 general successfull, tho' the Indians have lost men enough to 
 sharpen their resentment." 53 
 
 In a council which was held from June 14 to 20 the Dela- 
 ware Indians were accused of aiding the Virginians, were told 
 that this was their last warning, and were urged to join the tribes 
 
 32 
 
who co-operated with the British. 54 On June 29, at a council held 
 with the Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascounten, a war party of Potawa- 
 tomi was cautioned to spare the aged, women, and children. The 
 tribes present agreed to go to war and to spare the children of the 
 enemy. 55 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor Abbott, who once offered to raise a 
 thousand warriors to use against the rebels protested to Carleton 
 against the employment of the savages. His words picture the 
 cruel aspects of this warfare, which crept into the raids in spite of 
 Hamilton's efforts to humanize the tribesmen. "Your Excellency 
 will plainly perceive the employing Indians on the Rebel frontiers 
 has been of great hurt to the cause, for many hundreds would have 
 put themselves under His Majesty's protection was there a possi- 
 bility; that not being the case, these poor unhappy people are 
 forced to take up arms against their Sovereign, or be pillaged & left 
 to starve; cruel alternative. This is too shocking a subject to dwell 
 upon. Your Excellency's known humanity will certainly put a 
 stop if possible to such proceedings, as it is not people in arms that 
 Indians will ever daringly attack; but the poor inoffensive families 
 who fly to the deserts to be out of trouble, and who are inhumanely 
 butchered sparing neither women or children. 
 
 "It may be said it is necessary to employ Indians to prevent 
 their serving our enemies, I will be bold to say, their keeping a 
 neutrality, will be equally (if not more) serviceable to us . . .; & 
 surely the presents they receive will prevent their acting against 
 us . . . ," 56 
 
 Whether Abbott's arguments that the cruelty of Indian war- 
 fare hurt the King's cause were true or not, it seems that in August, 
 1778 Hamilton was discouraged; he wrote to Germain that he 
 feared the management of the Indians would be taken from him 
 and that some of his authority would be transferred to the com- 
 mander of the garrison. Because he had received intimations of a 
 foreign war, he longed for the sympathetic guidance of his im- 
 mediate superior. 57 To Lieutenant-Governor Hector T. Cramahe 
 of Quebec he complained: "You may well imagine how earnestly 
 I look towards Canada for Intelligence, instructions & orders. 'Tis 
 true the Indians continue to act with good temper, unanimity & 
 success, but to say the truth, it is surprizing, considering the state of 
 
 33 
 
matters here, the coolness if not disaffection of numbers, the 
 reports of a French and Spanish War, that the Indians are left to 
 themselves, the few [Whites] I can possibly send out with them 
 being too inconsiderable to be mentioned .... My authority has 
 lately been so cramped, that it will shortly have very little force or 
 influence." 5 * To say that he was tired of his post and of the Indian 
 warfare he was waging would not be far from the truth. He had, 
 however, already heard that Clark was at the Illinois, but he had 
 not learned of Haldimand's arrival in Quebec, and did not know 
 what the Governor's ideas would be. 
 
 Perhaps the origin of Hamilton's reputation as a buyer of 
 scalps arose in part from the custom which the colonists had 
 formed of paying bounties for scalps, a usage which may not have 
 ceased with the colonial period. 59 Since the colonists had engaged 
 in the practice, it was easy for them to suspect others. There were 
 two contemporaries of Hamilton who accused him of it: one of 
 these, Daniel Sullivan, who was something of a spy, related what 
 a woman resident of Detroit told him, not something he saw 
 personally; the other, John Dodge, did not leave a reputation for 
 truthfulness or good character. A third, John Leith, did not state 
 that Hamilton purchased scalps although his editor assumed as 
 much. It would be unfortunate to convict a man on such testi- 
 mony. 60 
 
 What Hamilton did might have led an observer to conclude 
 that scalps were bought. War parties were equipped and sent 
 against the frontier. Such expeditions were dangerous and the 
 return of the parties was an occasion for rejoicing and celebration 
 and presents were generally distributed at these times. Prisoners 
 and scalps were turned over to the Lieutenant-Governor. He 
 claimed to have given special rewards to those who obeyed his 
 injunction to be humane and to bring in prisoners rather than 
 scalps. The general assumption has been that the presents were 
 given in exchange for the prisoners and scalps. Is it less realistic to 
 assume that the presents were given for the services of fighting 
 men and that the scalps and prisoners were indications of the ef- 
 fectiveness of the services? Hamilton's critics stated that he refused 
 to redeem prisoners, but he continually reported their reception. 
 
 Hamilton wrote a defense of his conduct of Indian warfare 
 
 34 
 
in which he insisted that he had induced the savages to follow 
 humane methods. He stated: 
 
 "On the 9th of November [1775] I arrived at Detroit, and 
 was almost immediately applyed to by the Indians for permission 
 to make war upon the frontiers. 
 
 "This I could not comply with, not having had orders for it, 
 but while I deterr'd the Indians from making war, I wrote to Fort 
 Pitt where the Rebels had a garrison cautioning them against suf- 
 fering their hunters to pass into the Indian Country, as it would 
 probably bring on a War with them. 
 
 "In the Month of June 1777 I received orders and in- 
 structions for employing the Indians, and appointing the proper 
 persons to act as interpreters for the different nations. 
 
 "No party was sent out without one or more white persons, 
 who had orders and instructions in writing to attend to the be- 
 haviour of the Indians, protect defenceless persons and prevent 
 any insult or barbarity being exercised on the Prisoners. 
 
 "Before any parties were sent out, I constantly addressed the 
 Indians pointing out to them the advantages which must in future 
 result to them, from sparing the lives of their prisoners, who when- 
 ever a peace should take place would testify to their humanity and 
 be successful mediators between the Americans and themselves. 
 The frequent conferences I had with these people, the personal 
 knowledge I had gained of their chiefs and principal speakers, and 
 the influence which the liberality of government gave me with 
 them, effected that change in their manner of carrying on an 
 Indian war, which was rather to be wished than expected. 
 
 "A bare assertion of this from a person who has been taxed 
 in a number of publications with the commission of the most 
 horrid cruelties, might justly be suspected of wanting truth for its 
 support, but the notoriety of the following circumstances may 
 acquit me to the Public and relieve me from the load of odium 
 that I have endured for a very long time, unable to assert and 
 evince my own innocence. 
 
 "The first party of Indians which I had sent on a scout 
 brought in seven prisoners, who were immediately delivered up to 
 me and had provision cloathing and lodging provided for them. 
 
 "Between the Month of June 1777, and the Month of Octo- 
 
 35 
 
ber 1778, one hundred and twenty nine persons were brought into 
 Detroit by the Indian parties not one of whom did or could com- 
 plain of the cruelty of the Indians or want of the tenderness and 
 generosity in their employers. 
 
 "A Major and thirty seven Americans with their arms fell 
 into the hands of a party of Indians, not one of whom was put to 
 death, and the very officer having escaped from them, had the 
 generosity to go to Williamsburgh at the time I was confined in a 
 dungeon there to remonstrate against the injustice and inhumanity 
 of the Governor and Council of Virginia." 61 
 
 There will probably always be individuals who believe that 
 Hamilton bought scalps and other individuals who believe that he 
 did not. The truth, however, probably lies in between these con- 
 tradictory views. He directed Indian warfare knowing what was 
 involved. He paid the Indians for their services and received 
 prisoners and scalps as a measure of the efficiency of their services. 
 He endeavored to persuade the warriors that they should fight in 
 a humane way, but the change which he thought he had brought 
 about was not observable by the Kentuckians. Indian warfare, 
 however, did not cease when Hamilton was captured. It grew 
 even worse. 
 
 36 
 
CHAPTER THREE 
 
 Commander Against Clark 
 
 T 
 
 he border war was interrupted by unexpected news. 
 Word of the arrival of George Rogers Clark in the Illinois flashed 
 like a bolt of lightning and reverberated back and forth between 
 the western posts of the British. On August 8, 1778, Hamilton 
 wrote hurriedly to Lord Germain in England and to Governor 
 Carleton in Quebec. 62 To Germain he related, 
 
 "My Lord — This very day an express is arrived . . . from 
 the Ilinois with the following account, which my duty requires 
 I should communicate as quickly as possible .... A party of the 
 Rebels, reported to amount to three hundred men, marched across 
 the country from near the mouth of the Ouabash to Kaskaskias and 
 surprised the place . . . seized Mr. de Rocheblave and put him in 
 irons. 
 
 "They exact an Oath of Allegiance to the Congress from the 
 inhabitants, who, by what I can learn, are too fickle and ready for 
 change .... 
 
 "The Rebels have sent a Detachment with an officer to 
 Cahokia to receive the submission of the inhabitants, and the 
 person who brought the account has no doubt but those of St. 
 
 37 
 
Vincennes are by this time summoned, as a French Priest named 
 Gibault had his horse ready saddled to proceed there from Cahokia, 
 with design to act as an agent for the Rebels." 
 
 Although not entirely accurate, the substance of the account 
 was true. DePeyster sent a similar report from Michilimackinac on 
 August 15. 63 A month later Louis Chevalier, a trader at St. Joseph, 
 wrote to DePeyster and to Hamilton, 64 and other information 
 came later to Hamilton as he moved on Vincennes. Obviously the 
 forests kept no secrets of this type, for messengers passed along the 
 rivers to Michilimackinac and Detroit and from these points to 
 Quebec and to England. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark had identified 
 himself from the beginning with the infant settlements of Ken- 
 tucky which Hamilton's Indians had begun to attack. Clark went 
 back to Virginia, where he secured public authorization of the 
 governor and council to raise an army to defend Kentucky and 
 secret instructions to attack the centers of British influence north 
 of the Ohio River. He raised a small army of one hundred fifty 
 men in the Redstone district of southwestern Pennsylvania and 
 passed down the Ohio to the Falls, where he built a fort and 
 stationed about twenty families who came with him. A company 
 of recruits from the Holston and another from the Kentucky 
 settlements joined him, but some of the former deserted when he 
 revealed that his secret instructions would take him far beyond 
 Kentucky. With one hundred and seventy-five men he "shot the 
 Falls" on June 26, 1778, and started for the Illinois Country. After 
 a march across southern Illinois he surprised and took Kaskaskia 
 on July 4. 
 
 Captain Joseph Bowman with thirty men received the sub- 
 mission of Cahokia; Dr. Jean Laffont and Father Pierre Gibault, 
 without military support, persuaded the residents of Vincennes to 
 swear allegiance to Virginia on July 20. Clark then turned his 
 attention to the Indians and soon made so many friends among 
 them that he threatened English control of tribes far from the 
 French villages. 65 These achievements were the source of the 
 news which interrupted Hamilton's activity at Detroit, surprised 
 the western officials of England, and led to Hamilton's expedition 
 to Vincennes. 
 
 38 
 
General Frederick Haldimand had not long been established 
 as governor of Quebec when Hamilton's letter reached him. The 
 exact wording of his reply is interesting, because writers have 
 repeatedly asserted that Hamilton left Detroit for Vincennes with- 
 out orders. Haldimand wrote, August 26: 
 
 "In the present circumstances of the affairs you relate, it 
 becomes highly necessary to employ every means which offers, if 
 not to retrieve the injury done, at least to stop its further progress, 
 in which, it is not, so much the expense itself, as the care to prevent 
 its being in vain and thrown away, which ought to be attended to. 
 The expediency of supporting the Ouabash Indians is very evident, 
 & I cannot therefore but approve of such steps as you shall find 
 necessary to take for this purpose: And I must observe that, from 
 the great expense to which Government has been put for the 
 Indians in general, it might be expected that some of them might 
 easily be induced to undertake expeditiously to clear all the 
 Illinois of these Invaders, and if the effort of the parties, which you 
 send out and have proposed to send out to the Ohio, were properly 
 directed, the retreat of the Rebels and especially the communica- 
 tion & intercourse which they want to establish by that river with 
 the French & Spaniards might be so disturbed, if not entirely cut 
 off, as to render that object of their expedition & attempts upon 
 this occasion entirely fruitless . . . ." 66 
 
 The very next day he wrote again, as though he had written 
 too hurriedly the day before: "I must . . . desire that you will 
 immediately and by the safest and most expeditious conveyance 
 acquaint me with your Idea of the practability of recovering the 
 possession of the Illinois and of the means which from a considera- 
 tion of what I have above suggested, you should advise to be 
 employed for that purpose with the probability of success." The 
 advice of DePeyster was also asked by Haldimand in a similar 
 letter. 67 
 
 A month later Haldimand wrote two letters to Germain. The 
 first of these, dated, October 24, described Hamilton's current 
 expedition to the headwaters of the Maumee River for the purpose 
 of dislodging the Rebels from the Illinois and characterized it as 
 necessary if the trade of that country was not to be lost. The 
 second letter, written the following day defended Hamilton from 
 
 39 
 
the charges made against him by the grand jury of Montreal be- 
 cause of his judicial action against civilians and explained why the 
 Lieutenant-Governor was forced to be somewhat irregular. 
 Neither letter indicated any dissatisfaction with Hamilton's 
 procedure. 68 
 
 In the light of these facts it can hardly be said that the 
 Lieutenant-Governor went on his expedition without the approval 
 of the Governor. So far as is known Hamilton had not described 
 his plans, but Haldimand had approved such steps as Hamilton 
 should find necessary; on the next day, however, apparently on 
 second thought, he asked Hamilton what the specific plans were. 
 
 When Hamilton received Haldimand's letter of August 26, 
 he assured the Governor "that every means in my power shall be 
 used to second your intentions with regard to the Indians of the 
 Ouabash & the Invaders at the Illinois, & Post Vincennes." He 
 stated that "no time was to be lost in supporting & encouraging" 
 the warriors and that for this reason he should set off in about 
 twelve days. He wrote to Michilimackinac and St. Joseph to ask 
 that the Indians about these posts should co-operate by making an 
 attack down the Illinois River. He sent Celoron to deliver belts to 
 the Wabash tribesmen and to destroy the effectiveness of the 
 cannon at Vincennes. 69 
 
 DePeyster at Michilimackinac showed a similar reaction to 
 the presence of the rebels in the Illinois. "If they are not routed 
 by some means . . . the whole Mississippi Trade is knocked up." 
 He wanted immediate orders and told Haldimand that his fort 
 could be maintained only by the good understanding of the 
 Indians. 70 
 
 Late in September an advance force left Detroit for Wolf 
 Rapids on the Maumee and the portage at the Miamis. They took 
 ten oxen and ten horses, three pairs of wheels and thirty-three 
 thousand pounds of provisions. In Detroit more provisions and 
 supplies were prepared and packed, militia companies were 
 organized, and boats were mended. Hamilton reported to Haldi- 
 mand that he expected to depart the first of October in order to 
 occupy a fort until reinforcements, light cannon, and an engineer 
 could be sent to him; but rains delayed his departure. On October 
 2 he assembled the Savages and sang the war song. 71 Just before 
 
 40 
 
the expedition started on October 7, Captain Henry Bird came 
 from Niagara with fifty additional soldiers for the garrison at 
 Detroit, and Captain Lernoult of Detroit permitted three officers 
 and thirty of the regulars to join Hamilton. 72 
 
 In addition to the regulars there were fourteen officers and 
 seventy-one rank and file in the volunteer militia, five officers and 
 thirty-five rank and file in Captain La Mothe's volunteer company, 
 three artillery men, and seventy Indian chiefs and picked warriors. 
 All told, Hamilton's little army amounted to 162 white men and 
 70 Indians. 73 Other Indians joined the force as it proceeded on 
 its way towards Vincennes. There were also fourteen officers of 
 the Indian Department. 
 
 The names of the officers of the volunteer militia and of the 
 Indian Department who accompanied the expedition reveal the 
 extent to which Hamilton placed himself in the hands of the 
 French. Among the three captains of the volunteer militia were 
 Guillaume La Mothe and Alexis Maisonville. The five lieutenants 
 were Jacob Schieffelin, Pierre St. Cosme, Medard Gamelin, and the 
 brothers Francois Joncaire and Chevalier Chabert. The interpreter 
 was Antoine Bellefeuille, the commissaires Charles Lovain and St. 
 Martin Adhemar, and the boatmaster Francois Maisonville. 
 Among the three captains of the Indian Department were Charles 
 Reaume and Isadore Chesne; two of the three lieutenants were 
 Francois (Sieur de la Picanier) and Pontchar train de Quindre; 
 the two armorers were Augustin Lefoi and Amable St. Cosme; and 
 the storekeeper was Nicholas Lasselle. The Maisonvilles had inter- 
 married with the Chaberts who, for two generations, furnished the 
 French agents among the Iroquois — a post which had not endeared 
 them to the English. Other members of the expedition had 
 relatives among the French at Vincennes and the Illinois. For the 
 Lieutenant-Governor to employ a considerable number of French 
 officers at Detroit, where he was in communication with stronger 
 forces of English soldiers, was understandable; but to undertake a 
 long and difficult journey into the wilderness, where he could be 
 reinforced only with great difficulty and after much delay, and in 
 this isolated situation to place so much dependence upon men who 
 had hardly forgotten their hostility to England cannot be con- 
 sidered an act of wisdom. 
 
 41 
 
The expedition got way from Detroit early in the afternoon 
 of October 7. In the center of the line was the gunboat in charge 
 of the artillery men, both in front and behind the boat was a 
 platoon of the regulars of the King's Regiment, next to each of 
 these platoons was a body of militia, and beyond the militia were 
 subdivisions of La Mothe's volunteers, while the advance and rear 
 guards were made up of Indians. The first night camp was at the 
 River Rouge. The next day, because of a high wind, the expedition 
 halted at Celoron Island at the mouth of the Detroit River; rain 
 and snow that night must have worried the leader lest winter halt 
 his progress. 
 
 About noon on the ninth the men left the island to cross the 
 western end of Lake Erie and at eleven that night put into shore 
 because of high winds and rain. They did not know that they had 
 almost reached the mouth of the Maumee but spent the night on 
 a low, swampy portion of the western shores of Lake Erie. The 
 following day they gained the mouth of the Maumee, and at the 
 Pointe aux Chenes (point of the oaks) they dried their clothes 
 and rested. On the eleventh the expedition reached the foot of 
 the rapids, and there the sloop "Archangel" brought them addi- 
 tional provisions. 
 
 The rapids of the Maumee begin where the village of Mau- 
 mee is now located and extend up stream some fourteen miles to 
 the village of Grand Rapids. The river falls a total of fifty-five 
 feet, and eight different rapids have been given distinctive names. 
 It took five days to pass this stretch of the Maumee and repair the 
 boats damaged by the rocks. On the first of these, October 12, the 
 expedition struggled up the rapids, and officers, men, and Indians 
 waded in the water in order to pull the boats up the river. The 
 artillery boat required thirty to fifty men to haul it against the 
 current and over the rapids. The next day Rocher de Bout was 
 passed, where the rock, twenty-five feet in height, extended out 
 into the river and where the depth of the water made the setting 
 poles useless. The men pulled the boats by holding on to pro- 
 jections of the rock, and a towline was used to advance the artillery 
 boat. When a point about three miles above this rapid was reached, 
 a halt was called to dry the powder and stores, repair the arms, 
 bake bread, and rest the men. 74 
 
 42 
 
The night of the thirteenth Hamilton attended a prewar 
 feast which was given by the Chippewa. It was presided over by a 
 "Master of the Feast," who opened the festivity with an address 
 to the "Master of life" and a prayer for the protection of the 
 "Lord of all" and the help of the inferior spirits of the rivers, 
 woods, and mountains. When the bear meat was consumed, the 
 "Master of the Feast" sang the war song and danced the war dance, 
 and all the company marked the measure by a deep expiration 
 coming from the bottom of the lungs, and with a correspondent 
 action of the body and head. Hamilton and various Indian chiefs 
 then followed the "Master" in dance and song. Finally, some of 
 the Indians bit into the bear's head, "saying 'twas the head of the 
 Great Knife, so they stile the Virginians," whom they in this 
 manner signified their intention of attacking. 
 
 There was plenty of activity in addition to the hard work of 
 ascending the river. While the expedition encamped at the foot 
 of the rapids, six Huron chiefs killed fifty turkeys in a short time. 
 Lieutenant Shroud (Shourd) accidentally shot himself in the leg 
 and was sent back to Detroit, where he soon died from the wound. 
 Additional supplies were brought up on the fourteenth, and the 
 Ottawa gave a feast, apparently repeating the ceremonies of the 
 night before. The following day and the morning of the next 
 were spent in talks with the Indians and in bringing provisions 
 from the foot of the rapids. 
 
 Neegik, an Ottawa whose name means "the otter," brought 
 to Hamilton a report about what had happened at Ouiatenon when 
 a force of Clark's men came there in order to capture or drive away 
 Jean Baptiste Celoron, the British agent. The latter was a son of 
 the famous Pierre Joseph Celoron de Blainville who led the French 
 expedition into the Ohio Valley in 1749. Since the younger 
 Celoron was very successful in holding the Indians to their friend- 
 ship with the British, Clark determined to try to remove him. He 
 sent Lieutenant John Bailey from the Illinois with a detachment 
 of men, who were joined at Vincennes by Captain Leonard Helm 
 with Vincennes militiamen and Indians, the entire force number- 
 ing about one hundred men. They arrived at Ouiatenon without 
 opposition and found a council in session between Chippewa and 
 local Indians. Celoron, who had heard of their approach, had fled. 
 
 43 
 
Hamilton did not forgive Celoron for this flight though it is 
 doubtful that the latter could have successfully opposed the rebel 
 force. Furthermore Clark's attack indicated Celoron's effectiveness 
 previous to his departure, but Hamilton regarded him as disloyal 
 and in the pay of the Virginians. Some idea of the arguments 
 by which the Americans hoped to win over the Indians can be 
 gained from Neegik's account in Hamilton's "Journal." 75 
 
 At dusk on the sixteenth, after the expenditure of much labor, 
 the expedition reached the head of the rapids and thereafter 
 traveled more speedily and easily. Three leagues were made before 
 breakfast on the seventeeth, two more before dinner, and three in 
 the afternoon, probably a distance of twenty-four miles. Breakfast 
 was eaten at "la prairie des Mascoutaignes," dinner at "les isles de 
 Miama"; the night's encampment was made between "Isle au 
 Serjeant" and "isle au plomb." The next morning before sunrise 
 Hamilton feasted with the Chippewa on a bear and three cubs. 
 
 By nightfall the British arrived at the mouth of the Auglaize 
 River, where there was an Ottawa village containing some forty 
 warriors. The Indians fired a salute as Hamilton arrived, and in 
 the morning he returned the recognition. Orders for clothing were 
 given the villagers which would be honored at Detroit. The war 
 song was repeated and fourteen warriors who promised to follow 
 Hamilton wherever he went joined the expedition. The Indians 
 chided him for "not pouring some rum on the grindstone," so he 
 opened two bottles of rum. 
 
 The soldiers and warriors took five days to pass from the 
 mouth of the Auglaize to the source of the Maumee. The place 
 of the night's camp on the nineteenth is not indicated in the 
 "Journal"; that of the next can be located with probability only; 
 Hamilton said they camped a league above the Mairais de l'Orme, 
 or the marsh of the elms. On the modern maps there is a creek 
 named Mary Delarme which empties into the Maumee near Cecil, 
 Ohio; as this name is probably a corruption of the early French 
 name, it is likely that Hamilton camped a few miles above Cecil. 76 
 
 On the twenty-first, he received word that General Lachlan 
 Mcintosh, the American commander at Fort Pitt, had advanced 
 towards Canada. In preparation for an attack upon Detroit the 
 
 44 
 
General built, in October, Fort Mcintosh at the mouth of Beaver 
 Creek in western Pennsylvania, and in the following month Fort 
 Laurens on the Tuscarawas River in present-day Ohio. 77 Hamil- 
 ton entered a memorandum in his "Journal" to send some am- 
 munition to the Shawnee in order that they might oppose the 
 rebels who followed Mcintosh. 
 
 On the night of October 21, the English expedition camped 
 near the place where the present Indiana-Ohio boundary crosses 
 the Maumee River. It spent the night of October 23 "en bas des 
 prairies," or at the foot of the prairies, not far from the site of 
 Fort Wayne. The distance to the Miami village was passed over 
 the next morning in time to fire salutes and to fight a mock battle 
 with blank powder. A council was held that afternoon. 
 
 The junction of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers was 
 occupied by the huts of French traders and two Indian villages. On 
 the eastern bank of the St. Joseph was the village of Kekionga, the 
 home of Pacane, the head chief of the Miami. On the west bank 
 was the village presided over by Petit Gris, another Miami chief. 
 Some traders were to be found in both villages but the main 
 concentration was at Kekionga. 78 
 
 Hamilton and his men had taken seventeen days, from 
 October 7 to 24, to make a journey which was usually made by 
 water in ten days or on horseback in four. This was good time 
 if the size of the boats and the amount of provisions are taken into 
 consideration. Lieutenant Henry DuVernet, who was a member of 
 the force that accompanied Hamilton, drew a map while the 
 journey was being made. On it he wrote a brief description of the 
 Maumee River and of the villages at the site of Fort Wayne. 
 
 Upon the completion of the journey described by DuVernet 
 and before proceeding down the Wabash, Hamilton found it 
 necessary to win the friendship of the Miami Indians who lived at 
 the headwaters of the Maumee and to send some of the men and 
 equipment to the portage to prepare the way for the transfer of 
 the boats and provisions. A celebration for the success thus far 
 achieved was held on October 25, when an ox was served to the 
 soldiers, a second to the Miami, and a third to the other Indians 
 who were present. Hamilton visited the chiefs of the Miami in 
 their village. Six batteaus with twenty thousand pounds of pro- 
 
 45 
 
visions were sent on to the carrying place in preparation for the 
 continuation of his journey. 
 
 On the following day a council in the open field was held at 
 which there were in attendance Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot, 
 Miami, and Shawnee. Hamilton smoked the pipes of the Kickapoo, 
 Mascouten, Wea, Shawnee, and Cherokee, and, addressing the 
 assembly, gave thanks to the "Master of life" for all favors, for 
 the prosperous journey, and the present happy meeting. The 
 various belts which told of the intentions of the different tribes to 
 assist Hamilton and to go to war against the Americans were 
 produced and explained. Hamilton again repeated the war song, 
 after which he was followed by the chiefs and warriors. He urged 
 the Shawnee to continue border warfare with their usual spirit. 
 That night he held a conference with Gros Loup, one of the three 
 important chiefs of the Miami, who agreed to go to Ouiatenon to 
 secure intelligence and report on the attitude of the Indians of that 
 vicinity. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh additional men and boats were for- 
 warded to the carrying place. Potawatomi Indians came from the 
 St. Joseph of Lake Michigan to see Hamilton and in the evening 
 the chiefs of the Lake Indians came to Hamilton's tent to discuss 
 the belt which the Chickasaw had sent to urge the northern 
 Indians to unite against the Virginians. 
 
 A report describing the progress of the expedition was dis- 
 patched the next day to Governor Haldimand, 79 and additional 
 men to help pass the boats overland to the headwaters of the 
 Wabash were sent to the portage. The Ottawa gave a feast to the 
 Miami at which Hamilton, the chiefs, and the warriors joined in 
 the war song. This night the commander went to the beginning 
 of the carrying place. He had overcome the difficulties of the 
 Maumee, had won the assistance of the Miami, and was now ready 
 to lead his men across to the Wabash. 
 
 The task of moving the boats and supplies for the expedition 
 from the Maumee to the Wabash was backbreaking and time- 
 consuming. The first part of this transfer required an overland 
 journey of nine miles, and the second part involved the use of 
 Little River from the end of the portage to the Wabash. Which 
 was the more difficult would be hard to say. Before Hamilton 
 
 46 
 
finished the councils with the Indians, his men had transported to 
 the Little River the supplies which were to accompany the 
 expedition. 
 
 "The gun boat was got on the Carriage with great difficulty," 
 Hamilton wrote on the twenty-ninth of October. It was for the 
 purpose of moving the boats from one river system to another 
 that oxen, horses, and wheels were brought along. Hamilton 
 walked across the portage, probably accompanying the gunboat, 
 which was the largest of his little flotilla. Jehu Hay, deputy 
 Indian agent and the major in the Detroit militia," 80 and Captain 
 Maisonville were in charge of forwarding the other boats; a group 
 of men was engaged in clearing the channel of the Little River; 
 while other men were ordered down the river in pirogues with the 
 six-pounder and ammunition. Still another group stood guard over 
 the provisions which were waiting to be shipped. 81 
 
 Hamilton seems to have been confused about the place where 
 the portage path began. He wrote that he went to 'pied froid" on 
 the other side of the St. Joseph River. He may have started from 
 the St. Joseph, but Pied Froid, or Cold Feet, was an Indian village 
 that was named after a former Miami chief and was located on 
 the east bank of the St. Marys River at the site of the old French 
 fort and opposite to the beginning of the most used portage path. 
 In wet weather the distance to the Little River where the portage 
 ended was about six miles west and south; in dry seasons like 
 1778 it was necessary to go farther in order to find deep water. 
 The land between the two rivers was reasonably level and 
 occasioned slight trouble. The "petite Riviere" was only wide 
 enough for one boat at a time and was obstructed with logs and 
 stumps. 
 
 Four miles below the point where navigation was resumed 
 beavers had built a dam. Since it backed up the water and aided 
 the boatmen, the Indians were said to respect the animals and to 
 protect them from trappers. When boats came to the dam it was 
 broken through, but the beavers restored it. Hamilton broke the 
 dam, filled the breach temporarily, and reopened it as his boats 
 required passage. Below the dam was a narrow part of the stream 
 which was nearly filled with logs and which he called the "chemin 
 couvert," or the "covered way," because the branches of the trees 
 
 47 
 
on both sides intermingled overhead; from the branches snakes 
 were reported to have fallen into the canoes. Still farther down, 
 the stream broadened into a swamp, "les Volets," the surface of 
 which was covered with water lilies. Beyond this marsh the Aboite 
 River came in from the north and the channel soon became larger, 
 but the troublesome places were not all passed. 
 
 Hamilton spent the night of October 30 near the beaver 
 dam, which he repaired to secure a larger supply of water for other 
 boats that were to come down the stream. Two days later he took 
 seven boats and three pirogues through the ' chemin couvert" and 
 the swampy "les Volets" to the mouth of the Aboite, where he 
 encamped. The distance was estimated as only ten miles but the 
 task was one which required much labor. 
 
 Both the Aboite and the Little rivers were dammed at their 
 junction to secure more water, the lack of which had stopped some 
 of the boats farther down the stream. At this place four days were 
 spent, during which Major Jehu Hay arrived with the remainder 
 of the boats. The water was released on the sixth of November 
 and Hay proceeded to the mouth of the "riviere a l'Anglais," 
 where another dam was constructed. This is the modern Langlois 
 Creek, which joins the Little River near Roanoke. There were rifts 
 and rapids below this point and the next day was spent in a vain 
 attempt to get the boats over them. Only one vessel made the 
 distance. The heavier ones required the help of twenty-two men to 
 move them and many were damaged in the attempt. That night 
 the men camped along the river wherever darkness came upon 
 them. The following day more men were brought to the task and 
 the boats were made lighter by unloading part of the supplies. 
 
 The forks of the Wabash where the modern city of Hunting- 
 ton is now located and where the Little River flows into the larger 
 stream, was reached on the ninth. Four days were required at this 
 point to repair the boats, to bring down the supplies that were 
 unloaded at the rapids, and to forward other supplies to the mouth 
 of the Salamonie River farther down stream. Hamilton recorded 
 that forty boats were repaired at this time. The forks of the 
 Wabash must have been a busy place from the tenth to the 
 thirteenth of November, 1778. 
 
 48 
 
Snow and rain failed to raise appreciably the level of the 
 river and the men had to work in the water as they moved forward 
 on the fourteenth even though the water froze on the poles by 
 which they pushed the boats. The place of the camp, which Hamil- 
 ton called the sloping maple, "l'Erable penchee," is not now 
 distinguishable. An additional day was required to bring all the 
 boats together. The expedition again moved forward on the 
 sixteenth and seventeenth, probably camping in the vicinity of the 
 present-day town of Lagro on the first of these nights and a short 
 distance above the mouth of the Mississinewa on the latter. 
 Another day brought the boats to the mouth of a little stream 
 which Hamilton called the Calumet. It entered the Wabash from 
 the north somewhere between the mouths of the Mississinewa and 
 Eel rivers. It was not far above the latter, because the Indians 
 from that locality came to see Hamilton. Another day, the 
 nineteenth, was devoted to repairing the boats and counseling with 
 the Indians. On the twentieth the expedition may have remained 
 stationary, but Hamilton went to the mouth of the Eel River, 
 where he visited the Miami at their village. Along the Eel above its 
 juncture with the Wabash was a group of villages of this tribe, 
 which formed an important center of Indian population. To the 
 west began the Wea territory, to the north were the Potawatomi, 
 and from here to the Maumee, Auglaize, and the Great Miami 
 rivers lived the Miami tribesmen. 
 
 Two days were required to pass the rapids of the Wabash 
 near the mouth of the Eel River, where some of the boats were 
 again partially unloaded in order to move them over rocky ledges. 
 In the evening of the twenty-second, large fires were built and 
 rations of rum were given to the men, for they as well as the boats 
 had suffered during the two days of arduous labors. Apparently 
 the Indians had not tired themselves so much, for they spent six 
 hours of the night in dancing the war dance and singing war songs. 
 The twenty-third was used in bringing down the provisions that 
 had been deposited on the shore and in repairing the damaged 
 boats. 
 
 That night the Indians sang to their "Nattes," or Budgets, as 
 Hamilton called them. They were "war bundles" which contained 
 charms, household gods, wolves' teeth, panthers' claws, eagles' 
 
 49 
 
talons, snake skins, and other similar items. They were carried by 
 a medicine man in advance of the war party toward the enemy. At 
 the time of this ceremony, when the campfires were lighted and 
 the warriors had finished eating, the medicine man stood before the 
 encampment and began his incantation to his bundle, which he 
 placed a few steps before him. At the full extent of his voice he 
 roared out his prayer in a tone between "melancholic and terrific." 
 "The various tunes in various languages bellowed aloud by these 
 Heralds of the night, the thickness of the Woods and darkness of 
 the Weather with the blaze of a great many large fires extending 
 along the Savage camp for a considerable length, the intervals of 
 silence from time to time broken by these horrible Songs, some- 
 times by a Chorus of Wolves in full cry after the Deer, formed a 
 very strange but striking medly." Several tribes were present and 
 the effect was heightened as the medicine men vied with each 
 other. These nights must have been highly interesting if not 
 terrifying to the Lieutenant-Governor, a native of the Old 
 World . 83 
 
 Hamilton's camp during these days and nights seems to have 
 remained above the mouth of the Eel River. On the twenty-fourth 
 he moved down the Wabash to the "petite rocher," a name which 
 may then have been applied to a small stream that joins the 
 Wabash a few miles below modern Logansport, to a rocky cliff 
 four miles from that city, or perhaps to both. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth the flotilla moved on down stream to an 
 island which Hamilton called the "pierced isle," about halfway 
 between modern Logansport and Lafayette. Another day brought 
 the men to the "Garlic Islands," perhaps near the site of Delphi, 
 and camp was made on the twenty-seventh a little above the 
 mouth of the Tippecanoe River. Coal mines were noted a short 
 distance above the camp on both sides of the river. The day's 
 journey was probably short, as ice in the river was giving the 
 expedition much trouble. Hamilton had reached another area in 
 which many Indian villages were located. These Indians had been 
 visited by agents of George Rogers Clark and some of them had 
 gone to see him. Hamilton assumed that they knew little of the 
 strength of the British, because they had been visited only by 
 French traders and renegade Englishmen. He, therefore, took 
 
 50 
 
unusual precautions to protect his camp from a possible surprise 
 attack at night. 
 
 He went to see White Head, a Wea chief, who told him that 
 the Wabash Land Company's purchase had displeased the Indians, 
 and who agreed to go and summon the chiefs who were out on the 
 hunting grounds. Hamilton also met an Indian princess, but she 
 was not the glamorous creature usually suggested by those words. 
 She was dark and hospitable but not neat. Hamilton avoided eat- 
 ing her shredded and smoked racoon flesh and soup made of 
 venison, beans, and maize, perhaps because he saw her wipe out 
 her greasy wooden spoon with her fingers. She was not offended, 
 however, but tossed into his boat a dozen raccoon heads. The 
 expedition went on to Ouiatenon where several days were taken 
 up in council with the tribesmen. Hamilton had successfully 
 completed another part of his journey, but new tasks and dangers 
 lay ahead. 
 
 51 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
CHAPTER FOUR 
 
 Ruler of Vincennes 
 
 w 
 
 hen Hamilton reached Ouiatenon he entered upon 
 another phase of his journey, for he was now beyond the more 
 immediate sphere of British influence. On the Wabash from this 
 post to its mouth there was at least the possibility, if not the reality, 
 of furs being sold to traders who would take them down the 
 Mississippi and thus of less dependence on the British; even the 
 traders at Ouiatenon who came from Detroit did not seem to 
 Hamilton to be deserving of trust. According to him, the officer 
 in charge had behaved suspiciously when Clark's men came to 
 that community and the Indians had accepted the American con- 
 quest without resistance. 
 
 Hamilton had to win the Wabash Indians — the Wea, the 
 Kickapoo, and the Piankashaw — or be prepared to fight his way 
 through them to Vincennes. He had also to gain the respect of the 
 French inhabitants or make them fear his power. His troubles thus 
 far had been largely the difficulties of transporting his supplies 
 and men over the rapids of the Maumee, the portage to the Little 
 River, and the shallow places of the upper Wabash. This type of 
 
 52 
 
problem disappeared at Ouiatenon, for from here to Vincennes the 
 channel was ample for his purpose. Only a prolonged cold spell 
 which would cover the river with ice would be likely to stop him. 
 Before meeting the greatest of his problems, the contest with Clark, 
 he had to solve the more immediate if lesser ones at Ouiatenon. 
 
 The village was protected by a stockade ten feet in height 
 which surrounded twelve cabins inhabited by Frenchmen and their 
 families. The stockade was flimsy and scarcely defensible against 
 small arms. "The French settlers," Hamilton wrote, "are few and 
 
 as inconsiderable as debauchery and idleness can make them " 84 
 
 He summoned them to meet him in the chapel, where he lectured 
 two of the traders who gave evasive answers to every question. 
 Major Hay formally administered to the inhabitants the oath of 
 fidelity to the British King, although Hamilton believed that the 
 character of the habitants did not insure obedience or encourage 
 morality among the Indians. He recorded in his "Journal," "In all 
 remote posts are to be found the most faithless and abandoned 
 among the Traders — Men of that stamp will naturally attempt to 
 push their fortune where they are least known." Hay, in addition 
 to administering the oath, raised St. George's Ensign on the flag- 
 pole before detachments of troops who presented arms and fired 
 three rounds from the six-pounder. Hamilton left orders that the 
 flag was to be raised on Sundays and holidays as a signal that His 
 Majesty had resumed his rights. 
 
 About the stockade there were approximately ninety Indian 
 cabins, which were inhabited by some nine hundred Ouiatenon 
 Indians and which constituted the chief village of this tribe. 
 Hamilton assembled the chiefs on December 1, told them about 
 the part being played in the Revolution by the Six Nations and 
 the Lake Indians, declared that the Wabash Company's land pur- 
 chase was contrary to the king's law, and burned a copy of the pur- 
 chase contract in their presence. 85 Methusaagai, a Chippewa chief, 
 gave them a belt from the Six Nations, who exhorted them to join 
 the other tribes against the Rebels, and another belt from the 
 women of the Lake Indians urging the wives of the Wabash 
 tribesmen to raise large crops so their warriors could take up the 
 ax for their father, the King of England. The Ouiatenon declared 
 their intention of joining the others in war and Little Face and 
 
 53 
 
twenty- two warriors joined the expedition. A feast was given that 
 evening for which two hogs were killed and at which "a due 
 proportion" of rum was served. 
 
 The next afternoon another feast was given, at which 
 Egushewai with two war belts and three death hammers in his 
 hands sang the war song. An Indian princess, perhaps the one 
 with whom Hamilton had refused to eat, was present at the council 
 wearing a French medal which he got from her in exchange for 
 brooches and bracelets. Soon she demanded the medal also, and 
 Hamilton felt constrained to return it in order to preserve good 
 relations. 
 
 On December 3 the Lieutenant-Governor went to a Kickapoo 
 village a few miles to the south and followed the same procedure 
 with the chiefs of this tribe. The council was opened by smoking 
 the calumets which the Kickapoo and the Shawnee had presented 
 to him in Detroit at a previous council. The Kickapoo were pleased 
 to see that he remembered to bring the pipes with him. They gave 
 a belt to the Chippewa as a peace offering to heal a previous 
 difference between the two tribes and to establish unity among the 
 Indians. They blamed Celoron for their defection to the 
 Virginians. The war song was repeated and a short sword was 
 given to a young chief. Hamilton was assured that in the spring 
 the Kickapoo would infest the Ohio like mosquitoes. A group of 
 traders arrived from Detroit, men whose names were not French, 
 and Hamilton ordered clothing from them for the old men, 
 women, and children, and arms for the warriors. That night at 
 eleven o'clock an eclipse of the moon occurred, and the Indians 
 fired their guns to frighten away the manitou who was eating the 
 moon. 
 
 Additional chiefs arrived on the fourth from their hunting 
 grounds, and Hamilton delayed his departure in order to confer 
 with them. A Ouiatenon chief named Le Forgeron, the Black- 
 smith, came and asked for a war belt. Quiquapouquaa, or Crooked 
 Legs, probably a Kickapoo, brought a Rebel flag which he had 
 accepted from the Virginians and which Hamilton stamped under 
 foot. He chided Quiquapouquaa for being so ready to desert the 
 English but forgave him, and congratulated the Indians that they 
 were now all united and hence would not have to meet any armed 
 
 54 
 
resistance before reaching Vincennes. 
 
 At last, on December 5, Hamilton felt that his tasks at 
 Ouiatenon were completed and that he could proceed down the 
 Wabash. The first day's advance was only nine miles, which 
 brought the expedition to Rattlesnake Hill, from which an ex- 
 tended view of the valley was obtained. The following day Hamil- 
 ton stopped at a hill called "La Rejouissance," where tradition 
 declared the French had first met the Indians of the river. On the 
 next day he reached a camping ground six miles below the mouth 
 of the Vermillion River, probably near the present town of New- 
 port but on the east bank of the Wabash. At the junction of the 
 Vermillion with the Wabash one of the chief villages of the 
 Kickapoo was located, but it was deserted because the Indians 
 were at their winter hunting grounds to the westward. 
 
 The journey of the next day, December 8, was also a short 
 one, some seven miles. The Indians asked to be permitted to camp 
 in advance of the soldiers in order to hold a special ceremony, 
 which took place on the opposite side of the river. They sang to 
 their gods in an uncouth and melancholy strain until a late hour. 
 They then crossed the river and passed through the encampment 
 of the expedition, singing the war song at each separate camp of 
 the tribes and of the military detachments. 
 
 Hamilton planned the advance on Vincennes. "The boats 
 should row in divisions abreast," a body of Indians was to recon- 
 noiter on each side of the river, and parties were to be sent ahead 
 to lie along the roads from Vincennes to the Falls of the Ohio 
 and Kaskaskia and along the Wabash below Vincennes to prevent 
 messengers escaping to warn Clark of Hamilton's approach. 
 
 On the ninth the flotilla advanced about twenty-four miles 
 and stopped on the Cherokee steeps, which were probably not far 
 from the present site of Terre Haute. During the day wild turkeys 
 flew over the river and the Indians fired on them. A glancing 
 bullet struck White Fish and put out one of his eyes. He accepted 
 the calamity as an accident and lamented that he had been 
 wounded by a friend and not in battle. His attitude was fortunate, 
 for White Fish was a Shawnee chief and the defection of that 
 tribe would have been serious. 
 
 Most of the tenth was used in council as the wind was too 
 
 55 
 
high for the smaller boats. The accident of the day before was 
 discussed, and the Indians forbidden to fire their guns while in 
 the boats. A guard was sent ahead to precede the expedition, the 
 women and children were to be kept in separate canoes some dis- 
 tance from the flotilla, singing at night was to be discontinued, 
 and all guns were to be examined and if necessary repaired by the 
 gunsmiths. Hamilton promised to notify the French inhabitants 
 that they could expect no favor if found in arms on the side of the 
 Rebels. Directions were also given concerning the movement of 
 the boats in case of attack. 
 
 The wintering ground of the Piankashaw was reached in the 
 afternoon of the eleventh, and Hamilton went ashore to greet 
 the old chief, the Black Fly. A short distance below his village, 
 camp was made, and a council was held near the close of day. 
 Hamilton assured the chief that he had nothing to fear from 
 either the British or the Indians who accompanied them. The 
 Black Fly wished success to the expedition and gave Hamilton a 
 calumet. Another chief said he would go to war and reported 
 that there were only two Rebel officers in Vincennes. 86 
 
 When, at noon on the twelfth, a raft was discovered on the 
 west side of the river, Hamilton feared that he was about to be 
 attacked. He ordered the Indians to the shore and the soldiers 
 to follow immediately. The latter were arranged in battle forma- 
 tion, with a guard to protect the boats. A trail was followed for 
 some distance, but no further discovery was made. Advanced 
 guards were sent out early the next day and, although a hunter 
 reported that he found the tracks of five horses, nothing more 
 was seen. The Indians persisted in singing at night in violation 
 of Hamilton's orders. One medicine man was described as sing- 
 ing to his war bundle in a very loud voice at the full strength of 
 his lungs and keeping time with his Indian rattle. "At certain 
 pauses he howled like a Wolf, snorted like a horse, or imitated 
 the cry of some wild beasts or bird . . . ." Hamilton also had to 
 overcome the superstition of the Indians about dreams, for on two 
 different nights an Indian dreamed about a terrible engagement, 
 in which all the English, twenty of the French, and some of the 
 savages were killed. These dreams might have caused the Indians 
 to turn back. 
 
 56 
 
On the fifteenth, four men who had been sent out from 
 Vincennes to reconnoiter were captured, and at night the Indians 
 held their last war dance. Information obtained from the prisoners 
 was used in planning the approach to Vincennes. Major Hay with 
 Captain La Mothe's company, Lieutenant DuVernet with part of 
 the regulars, and some of the chiefs were to reconnoiter the neigh- 
 borhood. They were to take possession of Vincennes if the report 
 of the prisoners proved to be true. Guards were to be posted to 
 prevent disorder, and liquor that might be found was to be stored 
 in order to prevent the savages from becoming intoxicated. When 
 Hay was ready to depart, all the young Indians rushed to their 
 canoes to accompany him, and Hamilton had considerable diffi- 
 culty in quieting them and making them understand that they 
 must obey orders. 
 
 When Hamilton and the main force approached Vincennes 
 the next day, December 17, he was surprised to see the boats of 
 Hay's detachments about a mile above town, and the American 
 flag flying over the fort. He immediately supposed that the fort 
 had been reinforced and that the French inhabitants intended to 
 aid in its defense. He landed his men, drew them up in battle 
 formation, and went up a hill to observe what was going on in 
 the village. He saw Hay's men and soon learned that the French 
 had deserted Captain Helm and were turning in their arms. 
 
 Hamilton then advanced to the fort with the regulars and 
 the six-pounder in the front. He summoned Captain Helm to sur- 
 render, and Helm asked what terms he might expect. The Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor replied that Helm's situation did not admit of 
 any other than being treated with humanity. Helm and three 
 other Virginians surrendered. Hamilton placed sentries to keep 
 the Indians out of the fort, but some got in through portholes for 
 the cannon, and others overcame the sentries and rushed in, caus- 
 ing much confusion. They seized thirty-two horses which were 
 in the fort and, in order to be rid of the savages, Hamilton opened 
 the gate and horses and riders hurried out. Sentries were placed 
 at Helm's door to protect his goods, but the Indians entered 
 through the windows. A barrel of rum, however, was kept from 
 them, and order was soon restored. The messenger whom Helm 
 had sent to Clark was captured by the party guarding the road to 
 
 57 
 
Kaskaskia. No further plundering occurred, not a shot was fired, 
 and the fort was securely in Hamilton's possession for the time 
 being. Hamilton quickly realized that much work was required 
 to make it a strong fortification. Captain Helm was given liberty 
 on parole after promising not to send intelligence to any Ameri- 
 cans. The long voyage from Detroit was complete, the difficulties 
 and dangers had been overcome. So far Hamilton had conducted 
 his enterprise successfully. 87 
 
 The natural setting of the little community, which he had 
 just taken from Captain Helm, made a favorable impression on 
 Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton. Extensive meadows supplied 
 sweet, strong hay and an abundance of pasture which made the 
 raising of cattle easy. The farmers did little to prepare the fields 
 and did not use manure, although ample supplies were available. 
 The sandy soil was light in weight, dark in color, and rich in pro- 
 ductive power. With a small amount of labor it yielded a variety 
 of crops in abundance. Maple sugar and many kinds of wood 
 could be secured in the nearby forests. Cool and wholesome water 
 repaid anyone industrious enough to dig a well. Cornfields were 
 not fenced because the cattle of the villagers were kept in a com- 
 mon inclosure of two thousand acres. Deer, bears, buffaloes, rac- 
 coons, turkeys, pheasants, and quail were plentiful. Buffalo meat, 
 as well as furs, was exported to New Orleans, where liquors and 
 other commodities were obtained. 
 
 Hamilton thought that the people of the village failed to 
 use the opportunities which nature had placed around them and 
 that the poverty of their lives contrasted with the rich natural 
 environment in which they lived. He considered them as lazy, 
 dissipated, dishonest, and worthless. To Governor Haldimand 
 he wrote: 'To ennumerate the Vices of the Inhabitants would be 
 to give a long catalogue, but [to] assert that they are not in pos- 
 session of a single virtue, is no more than truth, and justice 
 require . . . ." 88 The fact that the French had accepted the Vir- 
 ginians when approached only by a priest and a doctor without 
 a military force seemed to Hamilton an apostacy which he could 
 not forgive. He was not displeased when they did not support 
 Captain Helm but surrendered, because they were then confronted 
 by the superior British military force. Their eagerness to take 
 
 ,58 
 
an oath in which they admitted that they had forgotten their duty 
 to God and failed in their duty to man did not raise his estimation 
 of them, although they promised to become good and faithful 
 subjects of the King of England. When he began to perceive that 
 they were not observing this oath, his condemnation was unlimited. 
 To him such violations were treacherous and treasonable. Before 
 this last defection was evident to him, however, he referred to 
 them as drunken and thoughtless. He wrote in his "Journal" on 
 January 1, "I found that the attempts of the most reasonable 
 among them to encourage order, decency, or the education of 
 children, were frustrated, or ridiculed by the indolent vicious igno- 
 rant inhabitants." He called the community a refuge for debtors 
 and vagabonds from Canada who were lost to every principle of 
 probity and honor. 
 
 Hamilton's attitude towards the people reveals both his own 
 high standards and his lack of knowledge and experience. He did 
 not realize that the inactivity of the habitants was the result of 
 the ease with which they could secure the necessities of life and 
 the futility of accumulating surpluses which could not be sold. 
 There was little to be accomplished beyond obtaining the funda- 
 mentals. The people were in the hunter-farmer stage of civiliza- 
 tion and were too far from the markets of the world to engage in 
 much commerce. Since the acquisition of wealth was difficult, 
 they danced and sang, and prized enjoyment above riches. It was 
 easy to slip into drunkenness and immorality, and the Indian strain 
 in the population increased the superstitions of the people. Not 
 all their inadequacies, however, can be explained away and, when 
 allowance is made for these contributing factors, the inhabitants 
 appear as undependable, uneducated, and primitive people stranded 
 in the wilderness far from the sources of culture. Many of them 
 were neither very religious nor very devoted to high standards 
 of morality, but to deny them the "possession of a single virtue" 
 was rank injustice. 
 
 Very little was written by Hamilton about the houses or 
 buildings of Vincennes. The fort and the church must have been 
 the most important structures. The church could hardly have been 
 very large, and yet he called on the men of the community to 
 assemble in it to take the oath of allegiance to the king. More 
 
 59 
 
than two hundred and fifty took the oath, of whom the majority 
 were present the first day. Perhaps not all of these were able to 
 enter the church at one time. There were doubtless other buildings 
 in addition to the fort, church, and houses, for Hamilton men- 
 tioned two billiard tables which would require accommodations 
 of some kind. The houses were spaced about one hundred to two 
 hundred feet apart and some of them were very close to the fort. 
 The barns were apparently carelessly constructed, for he men- 
 tioned that they were rarely waterproof. 
 
 The capture of this little community by military force made 
 Hamilton the ruler of Vincennes. For the short time from Decem- 
 ber 17, 1778 to February 24, 1779 he was the arbiter of affairs 
 on the banks of the Wabash. The first important act of Hamilton 
 after taking possession was the decision not to lead his army to 
 the Illinois villages to attack Clark. The flooded condition of the 
 rivers, the insufficiency of his stock of provisions, the inadequacy 
 of Fort Sackville, and the need of a considerable force in Vin- 
 cennes to keep the Indians of the lower Wabash and the French 
 inhabitants loyal to the English decided him against making an 
 attack. 89 He might have added that the long and strenuous jour- 
 ney which he had just completed made necessary a rest for the 
 men and repairs to the equipment. Although one can scarcely 
 criticize him for his decision, it did delay the final contest with 
 Clark and it kept Hamilton in Vincennes for the next two months. 
 The behavior of the French inhabitants of Kaskaskia when they 
 thought Hamilton was about to attack their village indicated that 
 the conditions under which the two rivals would have met would 
 have been very different from what they were when the meeting 
 in Vincennes took place and that the advantages might not have 
 been all in favor of Clark. 90 
 
 Hamilton assumed that he had found a safe haven for the 
 winter, but dangerous influences were at work about him that 
 were to make his hithertofore successful expedition a failure. 
 Although he recognized these forces he did not grasp their true 
 significance; in fact his actions strengthened them. While waiting 
 for spring to come when he should assume the offensive, he 
 repaired Fort Sackville, but alienated the French inhabitants and 
 some of the leaders in his own expedition, and failed in his 
 
 60 
 
attempts to secure aid from the Indians of the lower Wabash 
 and from the tribes of the South. This delay not only enabled 
 Clark to take the offensive, it gave time for the unfavorable 
 influences to become effective. 
 
 Hamilton had not established good relations with Governor 
 Haldimand, who in turn did not give him the support which he 
 needed. The major fault was no doubt Hamilton's, but the Gover- 
 nor lacked comprehension of the situation in the interior in several 
 respects. The Lieutenant-Governor's hasty departure from Detroit 
 before Haldimand had time to realize what was intended or 
 needed, to give orders, or offer advice may have been the basis 
 of the misunderstanding that developed. At the beginning, how- 
 ever, Haldimand made some effort to help. Hamilton notified 
 DePeyster, the commander of the garrison at Michilimackinac, of 
 his intentions to attack Clark, and the Governor suggested that 
 DePeyster should aid as much as possible. Both letters reached 
 Michilimackinac late in October after the Indians had gone to 
 their wintering grounds. The band of Indians which had been 
 sent to Montreal under Captain Charles Langlade and Lieutenant 
 Charles Gautier had also returned and dispersed to their winter 
 homes. DePeyster wrote that it was too late to summon a large 
 enough force to attack the Illinois villages by way of the Illinois 
 River, particularly since he did not have provisions to feed the 
 families of the warriors during their absence, but that he could 
 do much better in the spring. 91 
 
 The commander at Michilimackinac criticized Hamilton and 
 wrote that the Lieutenant-Governor "had stole a march which 
 had he [DePeyster] been informed of he could greatly have 
 added to its consequence by sending all the Indians returned from 
 Montreal . . . ." 92 Hamilton, however, had written to DePeyster 
 as soon as he received permission from Haldimand to go, and fur- 
 thermore had all the Indians he wanted. Hamilton's problem was 
 not lack of men but means of transport for men and supplies. 
 Perhaps he was too eager to win the glory for himself and should 
 have asked DePeyster to arrange for a group to move in co-opera- 
 tion but by a different route to the Illinois. It was difficult, how- 
 ever, to arrange for co-operation when communication through 
 the wilderness was so slow. 
 
 61 
 
DePeyster tried, nevertheless, to rouse the Indians in spite 
 of the advanced season. He sent Langlade to the Courterrielles 
 and the Sauteaux between Grand River and the St. Joseph of the 
 Lake along the shore of Lake Michigan. Gautier was to go to St. 
 Joseph to ask Chevalier to assist in raising the Potawatomi. But 
 Hamilton was just arriving at the Miami town where Chevalier 
 met him with a small band of Potawatomi, and Langlade and 
 Gautier were detained by contrary winds. On their way they tried 
 unsuccessfully to raise the Ottawa, who declined because they had 
 not received previous notice. Gautier arrived at St. Joseph after 
 Hamilton had passed Ouiatenon. Langlade collected about eighty 
 Indians, but when they learned that Hamilton was so far ahead 
 they declined to go farther. Consequently, Langlade set out for 
 his post at Green Bay and Gautier for his post at the mouth of 
 the Wisconsin. 93 
 
 The failure of these efforts was not so significant as the 
 failure of the Canadian officials to attempt anything further. For 
 this Hamilton was in part responsible, but Haldimand also must 
 share in that responsibility. Hamilton wrote before leaving Detroit 
 that he intended to take and maintain a post until reinforcements 
 with light cannon and an engineer could join him. 94 From Ouia- 
 tenon he asked for intelligence about a reported European war 
 and for orders and instructions, and again stated his purpose and 
 explained his needs. From Vincennes he also wrote, saying that 
 "It will be a great satisfaction to me to have your Excellency's 
 orders, & as soon as possible to resign to the person you shall send 
 to command here, a power which must be maintained in Credit 
 only by a military force." 95 
 
 Haldimand's reaction to this last appeal has been preserved 
 in his "Remarks on Lieut. Gov. Hamilton's Letter 18th Dec'r, 
 1778." Some of the comments are petty, others are just criticisms 
 of Hamilton, and still others betray a lack of understanding on 
 the part of the Governor. All of them exhibit the impatience of 
 Haldimand. One of the most revealing was the following: "He 
 [Hamilton] mentions an reinforcement next spring from Detroit, 
 but does not mention what number he wants. Neither if he has 
 ordered said reinforcement or if the Commander in Chief is to 
 order." 96 Surely the Governor knew that Hamilton had no author- 
 
 62 
 
ity over any troops not already in Vincennes. Another remark 
 indicated that the Governor did not understand Hamilton's offer 
 "to resign to the person you shall send to command here." Evi- 
 dently Hamilton expected someone to be named lieutenant- 
 governor at Vincennes to take the place vacated by Abbot, but 
 Haldimand did not comprehend it. Hamilton, to be sure, should 
 have made his requests more specific, but Haldimand did nothing 
 to help him beyond the request to DePeyster which produced no 
 aid. Before the Governor wrote his "Remarks," however, Hamil- 
 ton had surrendered. How the British expected their officials in 
 the interior to succeed is not clear. 
 
 In contrast to his inability to secure help from British 
 officials in Canada was his industry in repairing Fort Sackville, 
 which Lieutenant-Governor Abbott had built in a rude form on 
 the river bank near the church, and which Hamilton found in a 
 poor condition for purposes of defense. He wrote to Haldimand, 
 "the Fort at this place [is] in no proper state to serve as a Garri- 
 son for the winter season, [and] requires all hands to make it 
 tenable .... As soon as coverings for the men, provisions and 
 stores are finished I design to alter its form to that of a triangle, 
 having a block house in each angle to project over the picketting 
 of the face of each half bastion." 97 Later, upon the advice of 
 Jehu Hay, he changed his mind; he left the fort a rectangle and 
 substituted two blockhouses for the salient angles that jutted out 
 from each side. The two blockhouses were to be made musket- 
 proof and a three-pounder was to be mounted in each. The other 
 two corners were to have loopholes, linings, and platforms, in 
 order that the defenders might fire on possible attackers from pro- 
 
 98 
 
 tective covering/ 
 
 Work on the fort proceeded with regularity and industry. 
 Ten days after Hamilton took possession of Vincennes a new 
 powder magazine was completed and put to use. On the next 
 day a guardhouse near the gate and a barrack for fifty men were 
 finished, and a well which was soon deep enough to strike water 
 was being dug. The carpenters were building a second barrack 
 and the inhabitants were squaring logs for the blockhouses early 
 in January. The frame of the new barrack was raised on the 
 fifteenth, and the structure was probably finished in little more 
 
 63 
 
than a week. The timber and scantling for the southeast block- 
 house were ready for raising by the end of the month, and within 
 three days one of the three-pounders was mounted in it. At least 
 two of the salient angles were removed, and the northwest block- 
 house was constructed somewhat more slowly than the first one. 
 Although another of the three-pounders was mounted in it, it was 
 not entirely completed when Clark made his attack. The palings 
 on the walls of the fort were not what they should have been, for 
 Clark's sharpshooters were able to fire between them and embar- 
 rass the defenders. 
 
 Hamilton was also very industrious in his dealings with the 
 Indians. Before he left Detroit, Charles Beaubien, the interpreter 
 who was stationed among the Miami, brought him speeches or 
 belts of wampum which had been addressed to the Miami from 
 the Chickasaw, the Piankashaw, and the Virginians. The Chicka- 
 saw message stated: "We have long desired to see you but the 
 Virginians have occupied us, & we know that they intend to go 
 to you. We pray you not to receive them .... If you would defend 
 yourselves we will help you ... we are not in the enjoyment of 
 an inch of ground for hunting, and if you give them your hand 
 you will be also like us ... . All the brown skins should act as 
 a single man . . . ." The Piankashaw sent word that they would 
 join with the Chickasaw and that they would already have struck 
 the Virginians, but they waited for the reply of the other Wabash 
 tribes. "It is our feeling that they [the Virginians] should be sent 
 home & not to let them pass." 
 
 The speech of the Virginians urged the Wabash Indians to 
 desert the British and join with the Virginians. Some of its state- 
 ments are interesting. 
 
 "My children! We wait for you with great impatience and 
 we invite you to come promptly for at the end of the other moon 
 we will set off to go to see your English Father who is at Detroit. 
 
 "Come now to look for what you want and you will find all 
 that is necessary for you. We are not doing like your father giving 
 you a little rum; with us it is as water, we make it ourselves. 
 
 ". . . we are numerous and . . . will make an end of your 
 father, who is at Detroit .... 
 
 "As for the Indians who are with him we regard them as 
 
 64 
 
nothing, we will sweep the roads with their bodies . . . ." 9 
 
 These speeches reflect Hamilton's problems with the tribes- 
 men as he came to Vincennes. The Lake Indians and the Shawnee 
 and Iroquois were attached to the British. The Wabash tribes 
 were wavering between the Virginians and the English, and the 
 Southern tribes were trying to unify all the Indians against the 
 Americans. Clark's invasion had made the need of unity greater. 
 Hamilton's "J ournal " f° r me two months he controlled Vin- 
 cennes contains more information about the Indians than about 
 all other business combined. Perhaps this indicates the relative 
 importance he placed upon their affairs. The tribes along the 
 lower Wabash showed little inclination to join in the war, and 
 even the presence of chiefs from the Great Lakes did not impress 
 them sufficiently. The lack of unity increased the urgency of the 
 effort to contact the Southern tribes, particularly the Cherokee 
 and the Chickasaw, and to bring them into the war against the 
 frontiers in the West. Hamilton thought that the Wabash tribes- 
 men could not hold out against such a show of unity. An Indian, 
 Kissingua, and a white man, Edward Hazle, were sent with belts 
 to the Cherokee and Chickasaw and with a letter to John Stuart, 
 the Superintendent of Indians of the Southern Department. The 
 latter was requested to employ the Indians against the Carolina 
 frontier, which probably meant the settlements in what is now 
 Tennessee. In a later report Hamilton wrote that he requested a 
 meeting between Southern and Northern Indians with a view to 
 a general invasion of the frontier. When he wrote to Stuart, he 
 was still confident of his own ability and may have felt that he 
 was not in need of Stuart's help north of the Ohio. The various 
 tribes were engaged in attempts to remove differences between 
 the Northern and Southern Indians in order that all might devote 
 their whole energy against the frontiersmen. A belt from the 
 Creek was brought by the Shawnee to be forwarded to the Lake 
 Indians expressing their friendship for all the tribes and their 
 hostility towards the Americans. 
 
 This activity seems not to have produced the desired results, 
 for the tribes did not join in unison nor did the Kickapoo and 
 Piankashaw take up the hatchet against the Americans. Kickapoo 
 chiefs attended some of the councils and a small number of war- 
 
 65 
 
riors went on one of the raids to Kaskaskia. Hamilton placed too 
 much importance on these facts, for he thought that this tribe 
 had joined in the war and that the other tribes would follow. 100 
 Piankashaw chiefs came to see him and to attend the councils, but 
 they did nothing more than talk about their friendship for the 
 British and their "brown-skin" allies and explain why they could 
 not go to war. The other chiefs expressed distrust of the promises 
 of the Piankashaw and frankly cautioned them about making 
 reckless statements. When Clark arrived on the scene, there was 
 no longer any doubt to whom the Piankashaw paid allegiance. 
 
 A party of Indians under a white officer was kept on the 
 Ohio to prevent communication between the Illinois and Ken- 
 tucky. The men on this duty were relieved by others and the task 
 seems to have been well performed. Parties were stationed on the 
 road to the Illinois, and prisoners were brought in from time to 
 time. The most eminent of these was Francis Vigo, whose name 
 was spelled by Hamilton as "Vigaud." He was captured on De- 
 cember 24 by Lieutenant De Quindre, Old Raccoon Wabangay, 
 Methusaagai's son and sixteen other Indians, who had been sent 
 out on the Kaskaskia road to intercept stragglers. On the follow- 
 ing day Hamilton examined him and was told that no discipline 
 or regularity was observed by the Americans in Kaskaskia, that 
 they were billeted upon the inhabitants, and that they were scat- 
 tered throughout the settlement. On the fourteenth of January 
 Hamilton gave a passport to "Vigaud the Piedmontese," whom 
 he described as a Spanish subject bound for "Paincourt." Vigo, 
 after returning to St. Louis, gave Clark valuable information about 
 conditions at Vincennes. Since he was so busy in Vincennes, the 
 direction of Indian warfare against the Pennsylvania- Virginia- 
 Kentucky frontiers seems to have passed to Hamilton's successor 
 at Detroit. 
 
 The management of the tribesmen was a difficult task, for 
 with them little things assumed great importance. On December 
 23 Hamilton wrote, "A dispute happend yesterday between the 
 Chippoweys and Ottawas." Hamilton had to be on guard always 
 against such incidents. At another time one of the chiefs, who 
 was under the influence of liquor, came into Hamilton's room, 
 requested more, and when Hamilton refused rose up in a fury 
 
 66 
 
and dashed his bottle to pieces. The Indian was testing Hamilton 
 to see if he could persuade the Lieutenant-Governor to give out 
 more liquor; and when the latter appeared unmoved, the chief 
 offered his hand in friendship and went away smiling. Probably 
 because of jealousy between the tribes an expedition against the 
 settlement at the Falls of the Ohio failed. Egushewai cautioned 
 Hamilton on one occasion against paying too much attention to 
 some tribes and neglecting others. Although Hamilton did not 
 bring the tribes of the lower Wabash into the war, he seems to 
 have been successful in managing the others. 101 
 
 In the latter part of January the chiefs and warriors who 
 came with Hamilton from Detroit, the Maumee, and the upper 
 Wabash Valley began to return to their families in time for the 
 spring planting. They promised to come back to Vincennes by 
 late spring or early summer, and some suggested sending other 
 groups to take their places in the meanwhile. If, however, they 
 had conspired to leave Hamilton just when he needed them most, 
 they could hardly have picked the time more accurately. Some 
 of the most loyal, nevertheless, remained with him and were 
 about Vincennes when Clark came; in fact Clark killed some of 
 them as they returned from a reconnoitering assignment. 
 
 The return of the Indians to their villages coincided with the 
 departure of many of the French who came down the Wabash 
 with Hamilton. At the end of December the three De Quindres 
 and the militia of Detroit requested permission to return home. 
 Hamilton tried to dissuade the De Quindres and expressed his 
 disappointment about the militia but felt that unwilling soldiers 
 were of little value and so granted their requests. A month later 
 other officers, including Lieutenants DuVernet, Beaubien, St. 
 Cosme, and Captain McLeod, asked to be permitted to leave. 
 Hamilton reduced his force during January from one hundred 
 seventy-two officers and men to ninety-six. By the time of Clark's 
 attack the number had declined to seventy-nine. Of these he 
 could depend upon few more than the thirty-three regulars. 102 
 
 Nor was Hamilton's management of the inhabitants of Vin- 
 cennes successful. Although he attributed this failure to the low 
 and dishonest character of the people, other factors must have 
 entered into the situation. It is likely that the inhabitants realized 
 
 67 
 
the contempt he had for them and reciprocated with a similar 
 feeling. After lecturing them about their defection and adminis- 
 tering an oath of allegiance, he organized the men into militia 
 companies. He required them to surrender their powder, but later 
 he had reason to think that they had concealed much of ky although 
 a diligent search was made and heavy fines threatened for dis- 
 obedience. He dismantled two billiard tables as sources of im- 
 morality and dissipation and took possession of all the spirituous 
 liquors, which he declared were better surety for their good 
 behavior and a more beloved hostage than wife or child. A 
 Canadian fur trader, who lost at gambling and signed notes as 
 though the debt had been contracted as a part of his business, 
 found that the Lieutenant-Governor wrote on his bill of goods 
 the true nature of the obligation in order to notify his employer 
 and prevent fraud. Hamilton called in the men who were militia 
 officers under Lieutenant-Governor Abbott and lectured them 
 again for their disloyalty. The inhabitants were required to help 
 in remodeling the fort and some who disobeyed orders were 
 punished by assignment of hard labor. Late in January thirty of 
 them were ordered to go with a group of officers to bring down 
 the stores which had been left at the Miamis. It is possible, how- 
 ever, that Hamilton's policy was irritating rather than strict or 
 harsh, for he pardoned every offender for every offense and granted 
 permission to every officer, soldier, and Indian who wanted to 
 return to his home. He may have been too lenient for his own 
 good. All these incidents are minor and do not seem serious 
 enough to account for the refusal of the French to remain loyal 
 to him. 
 
 This change in loyalty, which involved the French inhabi- 
 tants of Vincennes, the French volunteers in the Detroit militia, 
 and the Indians, was fatal to Hamilton's expedition. The cause 
 appears to have been the news of the Franco-American Alliance, 
 which Clark carried to the Illinois and which Father Peter Gibault 
 and Doctor Jean B. Laffont brought to the people of Vincennes. 
 When Hamilton was at Ouiatenon on his way to Vincennes, he 
 received a copy of the Quebec Gazette which told about a naval 
 engagement between France and England. On February 22, just 
 before Clark attacked Vincennes, the Lieutenant-Governor told 
 
 68 
 
the Indian chiefs that he had reason to believe that there was, or 
 shortly would be, a rupture between Great Britain and France, but 
 that he expected the Indians to treat the French as loyal subjects 
 of the English King. "They appeared a little struck at this news," 
 he wrote, "tho' 'tis probable they had had intimation of it from 
 the French, as I had heard of rejoycings having been made at the 
 Ilinois, & even at St. Vincennes on the accounts being received 
 of the Alliance of France with the Americans." Probably they 
 were "struck," not at the news but at the lateness of his informa- 
 tion, for the French and Indians must have known about it shortly 
 after Clark's arrival in the Illinois. Clark noted that when he 
 told the people of Kaskaskia that the King of France had joined 
 the Americans, the information "very apparently effected them." 
 When one realizes the persistent belief in the face of opposing 
 actuality that the French armies would return to the interior of 
 North America and dispossess the British, one can understand 
 that the news came as a confirmation to the French or the wishful 
 thinking they had engaged in since 1763. 103 
 
 As a result of these various actions and decisions, some appar- 
 ently rather insignificant, the stage was set for Hamilton's cap- 
 ture. The decision to remain in Vincennes for the winter, although 
 justifiable, was a surrender of the offensive. The fort was repaired 
 and strengthened, but it was still not suitable as a defensive 
 stronghold. The Lieutenant-Governor's hasty departure from De- 
 troit, the lateness of the season, the inactivity of the British officials, 
 and the early attack by Clark prevented any reinforcements from 
 Canada reaching Vincennes. Hamilton failed to win the support 
 of the Indians of the lower Wabash who were closest to Vincennes 
 and, therefore, potentially able to be of great assistance. His plans 
 to gain aid from the Southern Indians did not have time to develop. 
 He also failed to win the sympathy and help of the French inhabi- 
 tants of Vincennes, who contributed to Clark's conquest of the 
 community. This lack of sympathy was shared by the Detroit 
 militiamen and the volunteers, who were largely French and who 
 formed a considerable part of the force commanded by the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, and by the French officers in the Indian Depart- 
 ment who accompanied the expedition. Many of the Lake Indians 
 had also gone. Finally, news of the Franco-American Alliance 
 
 69 
 
was spread through the forests and convinced the French that 
 the long desired relief from British control was eminent. A bold, 
 determined, courageous, and clever leader, George Rogers Clark, 
 was approaching Vincennes to turn these forces into victory for 
 his native state of Virginia. 
 
 70 
 
CHAPTER FIVE 
 
 A Captive of 
 
 George Rogers Clark 
 
 E 
 
 iARLY in January, 1779, with a small party of guards 
 and 'gentlemen," Clark left Kaskaskia to go to Cahokia. About 
 three miles on the way one of Hamilton's parties of Indians and 
 white leaders lay in wait for him. As Clark drew near the place 
 of intended ambuscade, an accident to one of the "chairs," in which 
 the gentlemen were traveling, delayed the party. The advanced 
 group of Indians could not send word to the larger group a half- 
 mile distant without being discovered, and the former was too 
 small to make the attack alone. Clark thought that he was saved 
 by Hamilton's instructions not to harm him and that the smaller 
 group was not able to take him without running the risk of kill- 
 ing him. At a later date he told Hamilton that the attempt had 
 failed because of the treachery of Charles Beaubien and Hypolite 
 Baulon, French leaders of the Indians. 104 
 
 According to Clark the party which attempted the capture 
 
 71 
 
was composed of about forty Ottawa, but from Hamilton's "J our " 
 nal" it appears to have been a combination of various groups. 
 Egushewai with thirty Ottawa and Canadians had left Vincennes, 
 December 24, 1778, for the mouth of the Wabash, from which 
 he apparently went to Kaskaskia. On Christmas day Hamilton 
 sent Wyndeego and Eskibee, Potawatomi chiefs, with thirteen 
 Indians on a scout to Kaskaskia. Two days later five Kickapoo 
 also left for the same place and Wyndeego returned with a pris- 
 oner. The following day a war party of nineteen Ouiatenon, 
 commanded by Petite Face, asked permission to go to Kaskaskia 
 and to be accompanied by Charles Beaubien. That night Hamilton 
 gave to Beaubien a letter for Sieur Janis, and to Hypolite Baulon, 
 an interpreter for the Ouiatenon, who was also to go along, a 
 letter to Gabriel Cerre with a "placart" for the inhabitants of 
 Illinois. 105 Presumably one or more Piankashaw went with them, 
 for on the ninth of January a Piankashaw returned with a prisoner 
 who was carrying a letter to Captain Helm. It indicated that Clark 
 had been warned that a party was on its way to attack the Illinois 
 but that he did not yet know of Hamilton's presence in Vincennes. 
 Probably the various groups of Indians gathered together near 
 Kaskaskia. On January 22 Baulon and Egushewai returned to 
 Vincennes with the story of their failure to take Clark. It is not 
 clear whether there was disloyalty, mere disobedience, or too much 
 talk and lack of wisdom. Egushewai, however, was one of Hamil- 
 ton's most loyal Indian chiefs. 
 
 Shortly after reaching Prairie du Rocher, which was twelve 
 miles on the way from Kaskaskia to Cahokia, Clark was informed 
 that Hamilton's entire force was about to attack Kaskaskia. This 
 news, the first which Clark had received of Hamilton's arrival in 
 the Wabash Valley, had come from the loose talk of the French- 
 men who led the Indians. Clark had heard of Hamilton's leaving 
 Detroit but supposed he went to meet General Lachlan Mcintosh, 
 who built Forts Mcintosh and Laurens between Pittsburgh and 
 Detroit. After returning to Kaskaskia and making preparations 
 for its defense, Clark learned the true character of the force which 
 was seen near Kaskaskia, and he correctly concluded that Hamil- 
 ton was actually present in Vincennes. Knowing his danger, he 
 was able to make plans which enabled him to reverse the situa- 
 
 72 
 
tion. The man who in January was in danger of being captured, 
 in February became the captor and Hamilton the captive. 
 
 Finally, toward the end of January, Clark received reliable 
 and detailed information from Francis Vigo, who was captured 
 by another band of Hamilton's Indians, taken to Vincennes, and 
 then released. After returning to St. Louis, Vigo visited Clark 
 and told him that Hamilton was in Vincennes, that his Indians 
 were dispersed, and that he was attempting to secure the help of 
 the Southern Indians for an attack in the spring upon the Vir- 
 ginians in the Illinois villages. 
 
 Clark immediately decided that he must attack Hamilton 
 before he was ready to take the offensive. By attacking early, Clark 
 would catch Hamilton with his Indians scattered and with his 
 garrison reduced by the absence of the Detroit militia and the 
 officers of the Indian Department. If there should be delay, rein- 
 forcements might arrive from Detroit, and the Lake Indians might 
 be joined by the Southern tribes, which would give Hamilton a 
 large body of Indian warriors and chiefs and might enable him 
 to carry the war to Clark. 
 
 Clark prepared the "Willing," an armed row-galley, and 
 stocked her with supplies. She set out, February 5, to go down 
 the Mississippi and up the Ohio and Wabash rivers to Vincennes. 
 Forty men were on board. The next day with 172 men, about 
 half of whom were French volunteers, Clark left Kaskaskia to 
 proceed overland some 180 miles to the same destination. The 
 prairies were wet and the men were soon fatigued. Without tents 
 they camped on the soggy ground; in the valleys of the Little 
 Wabash, the Embarrass, and the Wabash rivers they literally 
 waded through floods. Game became scarce and for two days the 
 army was without food. The crossing of the Wabash and the 
 lowlands south of Vincennes nearly brought death from cold and 
 exhaustion to many. Clark's determination was never so much in 
 evidence as when his men reached Vincennes on February 22. 
 A more heroic march is not to be found in the Revolution. 106 
 
 As Clark and his men were approaching Vincennes, their 
 fires were discovered by Captain Maisonville and reported to Ham- 
 ilton, although it was not known at that time who had built 
 them. Captain La Mothe with two other officers and twenty men 
 
 73 
 
were sent to reconnoiter. The fort was made ready for defensive 
 operations. Ammunition was delivered to the two blockhouses, 
 scaffolding was set up in the two angles of the fort that were not 
 protected by the blockhouses, and the militia was called to arms. 
 Before these measures were complete and before Captain La 
 Mothe returned to the fort, Clark attacked. 
 
 The roll call was just over, when Hamilton was surprised 
 by the firing of small arms. He attributed this commotion to some 
 drunken frolic of the inhabitants, but when he went upon the 
 parade he heard the balls sing. He still could not conceive that 
 the disturbance was anything other than some drunken people 
 amusing themselves. The men had been ordered to stand by their 
 arms, but now they were sent to the blockhouses and the plat- 
 forms with orders not to fire until they could be certain of making 
 their shooting effective and thus be very saving of their ammuni- 
 tion. "It was now near dark and the fire increasing we were not 
 at a loss to conclude our opponents were those whose fires had 
 been discovered . . . ." 107 
 
 The surgeon managed to get in after the battle began and 
 brought word that the attack was being made by Colonel Clark, 
 who had just arrived from the Illinois with five hundred men. 
 Captain La Mothe, unable to get back to Fort Sackville, spent 
 the night hidden in a barn. Early the next morning he and his 
 men made a dash for the fort and successfully scaled the stockades. 
 
 The church and the houses of the village were so close to 
 the fort that they afforded protection to the attackers. Hamilton 
 made some use of his small cannons in the blockhouses to force 
 Clark's men farther from the fort. He thought of burning the 
 town but decided against it. 
 
 At eleven o'clock in the morning of February 23 he was 
 summoned to surrender by Clark, who threatened to treat him as 
 a murderer if he destroyed any supplies or burned any papers. 
 Hamilton refused "to be prevailed on by threats to act in a man- 
 ner unbecoming the character of British Subjects." The firing was 
 resumed. Before sending his reply to Clark, Hamilton assembled 
 his officers and read them both messages. They supported Hamil- 
 ton's proposed reply. He then assembled his men telling them it 
 was the determination of the officers, as well as his own to defend 
 
 74 
 
the King's colors to the last extremity. All the English declared 
 they would stand to the death for the honor of their country. 
 The French, however, hung their heads and said it was hard they 
 should be required to fight against their own friends and relations 
 who had joined the Americans. The disloyalty of the French 
 greatly weakened Hamilton's determination. He then and there 
 decided to accept honorable terms of surrender if he could get 
 them. 
 
 On this same day Clark and his men committed two brutal 
 deeds, which were described to Hamilton and by him recorded 
 in his "Journal." Francis Maisonville, who had acted as a guide 
 to the force that went out to look for Clark's army, did not re- 
 turn to the fort but remained in the village and was betrayed to 
 the Virginians. He was asked by Clark if he had been out with 
 Indians on raids, and when he gave an affirmative answer the 
 Colonel ordered one of his men to scalp him. A small part of 
 his scalp was actually taken, when one of his brothers who had 
 come with Clark from the Illinois interceded for him. Clark in 
 his "Memoir" placed the responsibility for this deed on two of 
 his men. 
 
 The second deed grew out of the return of a party of In- 
 dians which had been on a scout towards the Falls of the Ohio. 
 As the Indians approached the village they fired their guns as 
 was their custom, not knowing that the fort was besieged. While 
 they were unprepared they were attacked, one being killed, two 
 wounded, and five captured, according to Hamilton. Clark said 
 that six were captured, two scalped, and the rest wounded so 
 seriously that only one lived. The captured Indians were brought 
 before the fort and tomahawked in sight of the defenders in a 
 brutal exhibition. Hamilton believed that Clark personally killed 
 one of the Indians with a tomahawk, because he was still bloody 
 when he came to negotiate shortly after this event. Hamilton 
 described him as "still reeking from the human sacrifice in which 
 he acted as chief priest . . . ." 108 
 
 In the negotiation which followed, Clark threatened that 
 if Hamilton did not surrender "not a single man should be 
 spared." The Virginian had accurate information on the number 
 of men upon whom the Britisher could depend — about thirty- 
 
 75 
 
five. Hamilton refused to capitulate but finally said he would 
 surrender on honorable terms. At a later meeting terms were 
 arranged after an initial disagreement. 109 
 
 The fort was given over to the Virginians on the morning 
 of February 24, at ten o'clock. The traditional accounts of the 
 number of men surrendered hardly represent the situation ac- 
 curately. James A. James stated that Clark's forces was not one- 
 fourth of the combined force of the enemy and their allies. He 
 described the fort as having four blockhouses; Hamilton wrote 
 that there were but two. When the surrender occurred, the gar- 
 rison was said to contain seventy-nine men. Clark's men num- 
 bered one hundred seventy. James further stated, "Clark was 
 surprised to find that this fort . . . mounting twelve guns and 
 well stored with ammunition, with a garrison of trained soldiers, 
 had been given up so readily." Clark wrote, however, "on View- 
 ing the Inside of the Fort and stores I was at first astonish [ed] 
 at [it] being given up in the Manner it was but on weighing 
 every circumstance I found that it was prudent . . . ." no Hamil- 
 ton's order to be saving of the ammunition has already been 
 noted; certainly he would not have given such an order if his 
 supply were large. The fort was not completed and the regulars 
 on whom he could depend numbered thirty-three. Almost all 
 the remainder were Detroit volunteers who did not want to fight. 
 Seven of the garrison had been wounded, and six of these were 
 regulars. His Indians gave him no support at this time. Ham- 
 ilton surrendered a dependable garrison of approximately thirty- 
 three men and a few officers to Clark, who commanded one hun- 
 dred seventy and who had the support of the inhabitants of 
 Vincennes and the friendship of the Indians of the lower Wabash. 
 The surprising thing is not so much the surrender as the predica- 
 ment in which Hamilton had been caught. Why had he re- 
 mained at Vincennes after permitting the Detroit militia, many 
 of the officers of the Indian Department, and many of his loyal 
 Indians to return home? 
 
 In the afternoon of February 24 Clark asked Hamilton 
 what persons among the prisoners had been employed with the 
 Indian raiding parties. Hamilton said the men would speak for 
 themselves. After they identified themselves, Clark ordered them 
 
 76 
 
to be put in irons. Hamilton was shocked at this order, which 
 he regarded as a violation of the terms of surrender. He pro- 
 tested against it and reminded Clark that he had signed terms of 
 capitulation. When the Virginian persisted in his determination, 
 Hamilton, according to his "Journal," reminded him that by 
 such an act he renounced all pretensions to the character of an 
 officer or a gentleman. Hamilton also requested that he be put 
 in irons in place of his men, who merely acted under his orders. 
 Whether Clark carried out his order is not clear from the "Jour- 
 nal." The scalps of the Indians who had recently been killed 
 were hung near the doors of the tents in which Hamilton and 
 his fellow prisoners were housed. 
 
 Victor and prisoner became somewhat friendly during the 
 days following the surrender. Clark told the Lieutenant-Governor 
 that if his French leaders of the Indian party which attempted 
 to capture him, Charles Beaubien and Hypolite Baulon, had done 
 their duty they would have captured the Virginian and four of 
 his officers. This information seemed to Hamilton to explain 
 why these and other Frenchmen had been so eager to leave Vin- 
 cennes and return to Detroit. Hamilton in turn recorded his 
 judgment that Clark's march from Kaskaskia to Vincennes was 
 very extraordinary. 
 
 Clark stated in conversation that "he expected shortly to 
 see the whole race of Indians extirpated, that for his part he 
 would never spare Man woman or child of them on whom he 
 could lay his hands." Hamilton apparently remonstrated and 
 insisted that the Indians had "so far foregone their usual habits 
 as to have spared the lives of several of their captives . . . ." 
 Clark was referred to Henry the Armourer, who had been at 
 Detroit and had witnessed the treatment of prisoners. After hear- 
 ing Henry, Clark turned to Hamilton and said, according to the 
 "Journal," "Sir I find I have been mistaken in your character & 
 facts have been grosly misrepresented." 111 These conversations 
 were not recorded by Clark, but in his "Memoir" he wrote, "Al- 
 most every man had conceived a very favourable opinion of 
 Govr Hamilton (and I believed what affected myself made some 
 impression on the whole) I was happy to find that he never 
 
 77 
 
deviated while he stayed with us from that Dignity of Conduct 
 that became an officer in his situation." 112 
 
 Hamilton feared that some of the Rebels intended to shoot 
 him. On two occasions drunken men with arms came to his tent, 
 but each time someone was awake and nothing happened. He 
 complained to Clark, but did not learn of anyone being punished. 
 
 Hamilton was surprised when Captain Helm and his men 
 returned with the convoy of provisions from the Miamis. Be- 
 fore Clark came to Vincennes, Hamilton had sent men to return 
 with the supplies he had left at the carrying place. Clark learned 
 of this and sent Captain Helm to meet them. He took them 
 prisoners and now brought them and the supplies to Vincennes. 
 With them was Philip Dejean, the former Justice of the Peace 
 at Detroit, who brought a packet of letters for the Lieutenant- 
 Governor. Hamilton was angry because Dejean had not de- 
 stroyed the letters and because Clark did not permit him to have 
 any of his private possessions that were brought by the convoy, 
 not even "a glass of our own wines.' ' 
 
 Hamilton was anxious to leave Vincennes, "this detestable 
 place, where every object reminded me of the baseness treach- 
 ery or ingratitude of the inhabitants." He learned that some of 
 his own soldiers had made terms with Clark without asking his 
 permission. He managed to secure shoes and moccasins for the 
 long march but was unable to lay in provisions, and Clark fur- 
 nished enough for only ten days. He was informed that he was 
 to go by boat to the Falls of the Ohio and from there overland 
 along Boone's trace to Williamsburg. Just before leaving he was 
 permitted to read some of the terms of the Franco-American 
 Alliance, which had undoubtedly been one of the important fac- 
 tors in his defeat. 113 
 
 78 
 
CHAPTER SIX 
 
 Prisoner in Virginia 
 
 V_>lark gave an exaggerated account of the number of pris- 
 oners he secured when Fort Sackville surrendered. He said in 
 his letter to George Mason that he was uneasy because of the 
 number of captives and that he had "almost as many Prisoners 
 as . . . Men." In his "Memoir" he wrote that "the Number of 
 prisoners we had taken aded to those of the Garison was so con- 
 siderable when compared to our own numbers that we ware at 
 a loss how to dispose of them so as not to intefear with our fu- 
 ture operations." 114 Although Clark's position was not an easy 
 one, there seems to have been some overstatement in these re- 
 marks. The garrison contained seventy-nine officers and soldiers, 
 but only thirty-three were regulars and six of them were wounded. 
 There were eleven officers who had remained with Hamilton, 
 such as Major Hay, Captain La Mo the, Boatbuilder Maisonville, 
 Lieutenant Schieffelin, and Surgeon McBeth. The above-named 
 remained loyal to England, but other officers took an oath of 
 neutrality and were released by Clark. The Vincennes militia 
 and populace had gone over to Clark who had over two hundred 
 
 79 
 
of his own men after the arrival of the "Willing" and its crew. 
 He discharged the Volunteers of Detroit, who had discouraged 
 Hamilton by their unwillingness to fight. This left twenty-seven 
 officers and men, mostly regulars, who were sent by Clark to 
 Virginia. With them he also sent twenty-three guards. It does 
 not seem that he should have worried excessively about these 
 prisoners when he had one hundred seventy armed men to do 
 what he soon assigned to twenty- three. 115 
 
 The captives were given the large oak boat in which Ham- 
 ilton had transported the six-pounder from Detroit and which 
 had given them so much trouble at the different rapids. Fourteen 
 oars had been used in bringing the boat to Vincennes, but only 
 seven were allowed to ascend the Ohio. The twenty-three guards 
 were divided among four light boats. The provisions, which con- 
 sisted of flour, pork, and spirits, lasted only ten days. Obviously 
 the men were expected to live off the land by hunting and by 
 purchasing food from the Kentuckians. They were to go by 
 water down the Wabash and up the Ohio to the Falls of the Ohio. 
 From the Falls they were to march overland to Boone's Wilder- 
 ness Trace, which they were to follow to the Valley of Virginia. 
 They were then to take the road to Williamsburg by way of the 
 Roanoke Gap. Lieutenant John Rogers was to accompany them 
 to Williamsburg, but the guards were to go only as far as the 
 Falls, whence the local militia was to furnish an escort. 116 
 
 The journey began on March 8, after a sad farewell from 
 the wounded men, some of whom got to the river bank. The 
 Wabash, the current of which was very swift near Vincennes, 
 was flooded and when the prisoners reached the Ohio on the 
 third day they found it had backed up the waters of this tribu- 
 tary three miles from its mouth. The Ohio was eighteen feet 
 above its banks and driftwood in the trees indicated that it had 
 been as much as twelve feet higher. The third night was spent 
 in the boat because no land could be found. Four more days 
 brought the boat above the mouth of the Green River. That 
 night, also spent in the boat because dry ground was not avail- 
 able, apparently overtook them a short distance above the site 
 of present-day Evansville, Indiana. Hamilton estimated that they 
 rowed about thirty miles on the eighth day, but they could make 
 
 80 
 
only nine miles on the ninth. The provisions were exhausted on 
 the following day but hunters who were sent out were able to 
 bring back some buffalo meat. 
 
 Ten more days of rowing up stream produced observations 
 about "the large rafts of driftwood, brought down by this ex- 
 traordinary flood," and the improbability of the country's being 
 settled for many centuries. The monotony of the journey was 
 interrupted long enough for Hamilton, Major Hay, and Belle- 
 feuille to climb to the top of a cliff to see the ravages caused by 
 a hurricane. Captain William Harrod from the fort at the Falls 
 met them on March 29 and that night they encamped a short 
 distance above the mouth of Salt River. They were about twenty- 
 four miles below the Falls, which they reached the following day. 
 
 The hostile reception given these former enemies by the 
 people of this frontier community caused Hamilton to remember 
 that Clark had told him that their lives would be in danger when 
 they passed the frontier. The people had learned only the day 
 before that Hamilton had taken Vincennes and in turn had been 
 captured. He thought this was a result of the stoppage of com- 
 munication on the Ohio by his bands of Indians after he had 
 taken Vincennes. 
 
 Only two horses and a little bread and Indian corn could 
 be secured for the long overland journey which began at Louis- 
 ville. Hunters were expected to provide much of the food needed 
 by these travelers. The local militia furnished guards for the 
 prisoners as they passed from station to station. Each prisoner 
 was required to walk and to carry a pack which contained a bear- 
 skin and a blanket. Hamilton bore, in addition to his pack, a 
 small portmanteau of papers and a box which inclosed his "Jour- 
 nal." Thinking that he might be searched without warning, he 
 hid some important papers in an inner pocket of his waistcoat. 
 The distance traveled each day was increased from ten miles on 
 the first to thirty miles on the fifth. They came into a Shawnee 
 warpath on April 6, and were met by two horses sent from Har- 
 rodsburg to help them carry the baggage. The country impressed 
 the Lieutenant-Governor with its luxuriant verdure and the plenti- 
 ful springs of fine water. Harrodsburg was described by Hamilton 
 as a fort formed by about twenty houses which made an irregular 
 
 81 
 
square. In the inclosure was a copious spring which furnished 
 drinking water. 
 
 Hamilton saw for himself how the people of the Kentucky 
 villages had suffered from Indian warfare, which he had directed 
 before his expedition to Vincennes. The people of Harrodsburg 
 were living in hourly apprehension of attack, and he wrote that 
 "these poor inhabitants are worthy of pity." Their livestock was 
 brought into the fort every night and no one dared to leave the 
 inclosure unless armed. The mill had been rendered useless by 
 the Indians. The people regarded the Englishmen as little better 
 than the savages, and Hamilton admitted that their opinion was 
 very excusable considering how the English had been misrepre- 
 sented and how the people had suffered. He thought, however, 
 that the increase in population would soon enable the settlers to 
 set the savages at defiance. 
 
 From Harrodsburg the prisoners proceeded to Logan's Fort, 
 twenty miles distant. Colonel John Bowman was very generous 
 towards the prisoners, secured horses to assist them, and lent one 
 of his own to Hamilton. The women of the village were, how- 
 ever, particularly hostile to the Britishers, who were accosted by 
 them in pretty coarse terms. Captain Benjamin Logan and wife, 
 on the other hand, were very civil and hospitable. Hamilton was 
 not too much disturbed about his reception, for he noted in his 
 "Journal" the romantic situation of Logan's Fort among the 
 wooded hills with a stream of fine water flowing along the foot 
 of the hills and turning a small gristmill. 
 
 The next station through which the prisoners passed was 
 Whitley's Fort where some food was secured for the next part 
 of the journey. From here the party followed Skaggs Creek 
 which it forded some forty times. Here Hamilton saw the cane 
 for which Kentucky was famous. On April 21 he observed that 
 they began to cross the mountains, and horses and riders became 
 completely jaded. The next day they came to Rock Castle Creek, 
 which is a branch of the Cumberland River. Mountainous scen- 
 ery appealed to the Lieutenant-Governor, and he observed, "The 
 scene is beautifull, the trees being in high beauty, the water bright, 
 the weather clear, ... I could not but enjoy this romantic pros- 
 pect . . . ." From a dangerous enemy Hamilton had become, even 
 
 82 
 
as a prisoner, an admirer of Kentucky, evidence of the reality of 
 the beauty which entranced the "long hunters." 
 
 At this point Colonel Richard Calloway with the local militia 
 took charge of the prisoners and endeavored to make a show of 
 his military knowledge, which appeared ridiculous to Hamilton 
 who had served under Wolfe at Quebec. Calloway immediately 
 posted sentries and that night it rained. To Hamilton the pre- 
 cautions seemed unnecessary for not one of the prisoners "could 
 have made use of his liberty, without guides, provision and shoes 
 being found them." The road became exceedingly difficult as 
 the Englishmen passed over steep hills which the horses scrambled 
 up and slid down. 
 
 They came on March 24 to the Great War Path of the 
 Shawnee. Hamilton made note of the trees where the Indians 
 had raised the bark, carved figures and characters on the trunks 
 with their knives and tomahawks, and then rubbed vermillion 
 into the carving. By this method they left a record of their num- 
 bers, route, prisoners, and the number of persons they had killed. 
 The next day the party passed over the Cumberland, or Shawnee, 
 River, and on the twenty-sixth crossed Cumberland Mountain 
 and entered Powell's Valley. It is interesting to note that Ham- 
 ilton did not refer to Cumberland Gap. Perhaps a tired and 
 jaded stranger was so impressed with the difficulty of crossing 
 the mountain that he scarcely noticed the pass. 
 
 Although rain almost kept the marchers from building a 
 fire the night they spent in Powell's Valley, Hamilton described 
 the natural beauty of the region, the clover, the rising ground 
 ornamented by a variety of trees, evergreens, and shrubs, a fine 
 stream of water, Spring Cave, and a natural bridge. He made a 
 personal investigation of the cave and bridge. On the next day, 
 March 28, the party crossed Powell's Mountain and a day later 
 forded Clinch River, where some of the men narrowly escaped 
 drowning. Sleet and hail and a crooked, steep, and miry road 
 combined to make their journey very difficult. 
 
 On May 1 the weary prisoners passed through Moccasin 
 Gap into the Holston Valley, where the original Boone's Trace 
 began. They had finally left the wilderness behind and had 
 reached the settlements where the little Watauga community 
 
 83 
 
had been in existence less than a decade. There were wagon roads 
 and farms, but provisions were still scarce because this region 
 was subject to Cherokee raids from the south and from Shawnee 
 raids by way of the Kanawha Valley. The travelers were hos- 
 pitably received by a "Mr: Madison," who fed them well, con- 
 versed cheerfully with them, and enabled them to rest. He 
 furnished Hamilton with the opportunity to sleep on a bed and 
 between sheets, a luxury which he had not enjoyed for months. 
 The pretty, well-cropped farm, with a large garden and orchard 
 set off by lofty and rugged mountains, formed a pleasing con- 
 trast to the scenes along the Wilderness Road. The importance 
 which the Lieutenant-Governor attached to a good bed is indi- 
 cated by his entry for May 2, which contained only the infor- 
 mation that General Lewis furnished him and Major Hay with 
 beds. Breakfast was eaten the next morning with Colonel 
 Evan[?] Shelby, whose farm was in extraordinary good order 
 and condition. 117 It is an interesting point that Hamilton met 
 and was entertained by so many of the Revolutionary frontier 
 leaders on his way to prison. Their hospitable treatment of him 
 is also an indication of the soundness of their characters. 
 
 When night came the British were not so fortunate, and 
 Hamilton commented that "riches could not keep penury out 
 of doors" at the house in which he spent the night. Colonel 
 Arthur Campbell was their host on the succeeding two nights 
 and, although he was very civil, some of the prisoners "who were 
 pressed with hunger and fatigue broke out into very serious 
 language" because of the lack of attention to their needs. This 
 situation was caused in part by the difficulty of procuring provi- 
 sions in that part of the country. Campbell wrote at a later time 
 to Hamilton that his father had served Hamilton's grandfather 
 as steward and had saved Hamilton's father from drowning in 
 the Boyne. 118 
 
 Even in southwestern Virginia these Englishmen were re- 
 garded with horror "as being of kindred manner with the sav- 
 ages," but the leading citizens generally received them with 
 kindness. When they reached the New River, they were hos- 
 pitably entertained at the home of Colonel William Ingles. 119 
 Hamilton retold briefly in his "Journal" the story of the captivity 
 
 84 
 
of Mrs. Ingles by the Indians and of her remarkable escape, and 
 described her melancholy appearance. He also noted their at- 
 tractive daughter, who presided at the dinner table with ease, 
 grace, and simplicity. Again he observed the scenery, the beau- 
 tiful river, the wooded hills, and the improved and well-stocked 
 farm. Although the people frequently regarded him as a hated 
 enemy, he seemed to bear no resentment even for occasional 
 shabby treatment and he became an obvious admirer of the land. 
 
 The party soon reached the Roanoke River and after follow- 
 ing it some distance crossed the Blue Ridge just north of Roa- 
 noke. They forded Otter Creek and Otter River before they 
 came to the town of Bedford. The devastation of war had been 
 serious in this part of Virginia, for Hamilton wrote that Bedford 
 was nearly deserted and that a plentiful meal was difficult to 
 get. At Lynchburg, on the James River, two canoes were lashed 
 together to form a raft and the group then proceeded down the 
 river towards Richmond. 
 
 On May 20 Hamilton met a Brigadier Hamilton and a 
 Major Kirkman of the British army, who were very cordial and 
 polite to him. He was also recognized by a Captain Freeman who 
 had been taken prisoner when Burgoyne surrendered and who 
 had been aid-de-camp to Baron Friedrich Adolph Riedesel, the 
 commander of the Brunswick contingent of the German mer- 
 cenaries. Freeman took letters from the Lieutenant-Governor to 
 General Haldimand and to Major General William Phillips. 120 
 This was the first time that Hamilton had opportunity to send 
 word to the representatives of his government since his capture 
 at Vincennes. To the former he inclosed a copy of the capitula- 
 tion. After the pleasing experiences of meeting these military 
 leaders, he was disgusted at having to stay with a brutal and 
 exacting landlord for the night. 
 
 Another landlord, a Quaker, Thomas Pleasants, was de- 
 scribed by Hamilton as hospitable, humane, candid, liberal, gen- 
 erous, and sensible. He was very kind to the Englishmen al- 
 though his small house was already crowded with a large family 
 and his resources reduced by the payment of triple taxes, prob- 
 ably because of his refusal to participate in the war. Hamilton 
 hoped to stay with him for some time, but on the day after his 
 
 85 
 
arrival he was ordered to Chesterfield. 
 
 On the way, he was permitted to choose his own road and 
 consequently became lost. He reached Richmond at 1 A. M. the 
 next morning. The sentries would not permit him to enter the 
 town nor would they call the officer in charge at that time of 
 night. Consequently the Lieutenant-Governor spent the remain- 
 ing hours before morning on the ground. The people of Rich- 
 mond were not friendly to the prisoners, but were very curious 
 to see these men whom they regarded as more bloodthirsty than 
 Herod the Tetrarch. The prisoners were marched on to Chester- 
 field. 
 
 After two weeks of imprisonment under a jealous guard, an 
 officer arrived with a written order from Thomas Jefferson, Gov- 
 ernor of Virginia, for the removal of William La Mothe and 
 Henry Hamilton in irons to the jail at Williamsburg. The offi- 
 cer, according to the chief prisoner, acted with reluctance and 
 civility, but Hamilton complained about this treatment. The first 
 day's journey of thirty miles tired his patience and wearied his 
 body. He recalled the fatigues of the long journey from Vin- 
 cennes, from which he believed he had not fully recovered. He 
 noted that he had been poorly clothed and only half-fed. His 
 spirits were depressed when he remembered that he had been 
 menaced and reviled. The guard stopped on the way to remove 
 and to replace the rivets of his handcuffs which had irritated his 
 skin and caused his wrists to swell. When boils appeared on his 
 legs the next day, he was permitted to walk, but walking when 
 bothered with boils could not have been pleasant, and to make 
 matters worse rain increased the disagreeableness of the journey. 
 
 Hamilton and La Mothe arrived before the governor's palace 
 at Williamsburg about sundown on June 16, wet, jaded, and 
 dispirited. The officer went in to report to Governor Jefferson 
 and left the prisoners to be "a spectacle to a gazing crowd" of 
 curious persons. Hamilton expected to be treated civilly by the 
 leading official of the state, but after waiting a half-hour without 
 attention from the Governor, he flung himself from his horse 
 fatigued and mortified. He was soon taken, however, to the com- 
 mon jail, where his treatment was even more mortifying. 
 
 The very day during which Hamilton arrived in Williams- 
 
 86 
 
burg, the Council and Governor of Virginia considered the fate 
 of the prisoners, Hamilton, Dejean, and LaMothe. They found 
 officially that Hamilton had incited the Indians to perpetrate 
 their accustomed cruelties on the citizens of the states without 
 distinction of age, sex, or condition; that he had sent considerable 
 detachments of tribesmen against the frontier settlements and 
 had called a great council at the mouth of the Tennessee to plan 
 a further campaign; that he mistreated citizens of Virginia who 
 were carried to Detroit, especially John Dodge, who was loaded 
 with irons, thrown into a dungeon, deprived of heat in the dead 
 of winter, and harassed until near death; and that he gave "stand- 
 ing rewards for scalps, but offered none for prisoners." 121 The 
 long recital of the wrongs supposedly suffered by John Dodge 
 reveals the source of much of their information and a letter of 
 Dodge's, which has been preserved indicates the spirit of personal 
 revenge in which that information was given. He wrote from 
 Sandusky, July 13, 1779, "I am going to Williamsburg in a few 
 days to prosecute Hamilton & that rascal Dejean, Lamothe like- 
 wise . . . they will be all hanged without redemption." 122 
 
 The Council accused Dejean of being the willing and cor- 
 dial instrument of the Lieutenant-Governor and of increasing 
 rather than relaxing his severities. LaMothe was described as a 
 captain of Indian scalping parties. The British in general were 
 charged with mistreatment of prisoners in loathsome jails, dun- 
 geons, and prison ships; and with inadequate feeding of prison- 
 ers, until imprisonment and death often seemed synonymous. 
 Americans were declared, in contrast, to treat their prisoners 
 almost ideally, a statement which could not have been made 
 after the incarceration of Hamilton and his fellow officers. The 
 Council concluded its finding by declaring that justice to its fight- 
 ing men called for severe retaliation, measure for measure, and 
 that these officers who had distinguished themselves by their 
 cruel conduct in war were fit subjects on which to begin the 
 work of retaliation. They were, therefore, to be put in irons, 
 confined in the dungeon, debarred the use of pen, ink, and paper, 
 and excluded from all communication ("converse") except with 
 the jailer. 
 
 Accordingly Hamilton, LaMothe, and Dejean were put in 
 
 87 
 
the dungeon, ten feet square according to Hamilton, in which 
 were other prisoners, two of whom were counterfeiters and one 
 or more were deserters. They were denied the use of pen, ink, 
 and paper, except as the jailer might permit. As a result Hamil- 
 ton's "Journal" came to an end. Some of his papers which were 
 taken from him he thought would have proved his treatment 
 unjustified. He managed, however, to preserve his "Journal" and 
 copies of other useful papers. His handcuffs were exchanged for 
 fetters which weighed eighteen pounds. 
 
 The British authorities protested this treatment. Major 
 General Phillips wrote to Governor Jefferson and insisted that a 
 prisoner who surrendered by means of a capitulation was not to 
 be kept in close confinement. Jefferson appealed to General 
 George Washington about this point. In his letter he wrote that 
 he had "the highest idea of the sacredness of those Contracts 
 which take place between nation and nation at war, and would be 
 the last on earth who should do anything in violation of them." 123 
 Governor Haldimand of Canada also wrote protesting Hamilton's 
 confinement. Jefferson replied that Hamilton was confined as 
 a matter of national retaliation because of the ill usage of Amer- 
 ican prisoners by the British and because his own personal con- 
 duct in directing Indian warfare fully justified this imprisonment. 
 Jefferson insisted that prisoners of war were to be treated alike 
 unless in their surrender they were able to secure special terms 
 which exempted them from imprisonment or other punishment. 
 Since Hamilton's capitulation did not specify any conditions, 
 there was nothing in the fact that he capitulated to prevent his 
 imprisonment or to distinguish him from one who surrendered 
 without terms. 124 General Washington wrote to Jefferson, "I 
 have no doubt of the propriety of the proceedings against Gover- 
 nor Hamilton, Dejean and Lamothe. Their cruelties to our un- 
 happy people who have fallen into their hands and the measures 
 they have pursued to excite the savages to acts of the most wanton 
 barbarity, discriminate them from common prisoners, and most 
 fully authorize the treatment decreed in their case." 125 
 
 After a month's reflection and consultations with other offi- 
 cers, Washington again wrote to Jefferson suggesting that the 
 capitulation did exempt Hamilton from any uncommon severity. 
 
 88 
 
If Jefferson felt that it was necessary to continue Hamilton's im- 
 prisonment in order to satisfy the people, "it may be proper to 
 publish all the Cruelties he has committed or abetted . . . ." 
 Washington defended Jefferson's conduct, ' altho' the practice 
 of War may not justify all the measures that have been taken 
 against him . . . ," and cautiously suggested that he "be confined 
 to a Room." 126 
 
 After forty-five days of imprisonment Hamilton prevailed 
 upon the jailer to permit him to write a letter to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Virginia. His first letter was a vigorous protest 
 against his imprisonment without trial and conviction. The jailer 
 refused to accept this protest and Hamilton wrote a milder pro- 
 test about his fellow officers' being imprisoned for obeying his 
 orders and suggested that they be released and he alone confined. 
 This was not answered and one may wonder whether it was 
 delivered or destroyed by the jailer. 
 
 Major Hay and four other officers were brought about this 
 time from Chesterfield and thrown into the dungeon with Hamil- 
 ton. The ventilation was so poor that the surgeon, one of the new 
 arrivals, almost died of suffocation and asthma. The jailer re- 
 moved the doctor to his own room, and some of the prisoners 
 offered to remain in the cells part of the time so the English 
 officers could have use of the court. On various occasions the 
 other prisoners and even persons outside the jail endeavored to 
 alleviate the rigor of the treatment accorded the Englishmen. 
 Hamilton felt that the inmates of the jail were more humane 
 than Governor Jefferson and the members of the Council. 127 
 
 When Washington's letter of August 6 reached Virginia, 
 the Council, in Jefferson's absence, had the irons taken off the 
 prisoners. On October 1 they were offered a parole, which they 
 rejected. It required them to promise that they would not leave 
 such limits as should be prescribed for them, would not say any- 
 thing prejudicial to the United States, would not confer with 
 other prisoners except those consigned to the same quarters, or 
 send or receive intelligence but in the presence of an officer of 
 Virginia. Apparently their distrust of Virginians was by this 
 time so great that they assumed the parole was only intended to 
 trap them into violation and to justify further harsh treatment. 
 
 89 
 
Dejean and LaMothe, however, signed on October 11, and were 
 released from close confinement. Washington assured Jefferson 
 that the parole offered was similar to paroles used by the British 
 and that the refusal further justified close confinement of Ham- 
 ilton, which was continued. 128 
 
 The British Commissary of Prisoners added his protest to 
 that of Hamilton. He wrote to the American Commissary threat- 
 ening retaliation and stating that Virginians in the hands of the 
 British would not be exchanged until relief was granted to Ham- 
 ilton. At the request of Virginia officers in captivity an American 
 officer was permitted to come out from New York to entreat 
 indulgence for Hamilton, in order to save the Virginians from 
 similar treatment. One of the officers to suffer this treatment 
 was Captain Willing, who had been put in irons for a time. 
 Washington raised the question as to the expediency of relaxing 
 the present treatment of Hamilton. 129 
 
 The British threat angered Jefferson greatly. He wrote to 
 Washington, "We have too many of their subjects in our power 
 & too much iron to clothe them with & I will add too much 
 resolution to avail ourselves of both to fear their pretended re- 
 taliation." He stopped a group of privates who were ready to be 
 exchanged, but the Council did not order Hamilton to be placed 
 in irons again. Jefferson made preparations to retaliate, however, 
 to match whatever actions the British might take. 130 
 
 To Colonel George Mathews, the Virginia officer who 
 brought the letter from the British Commissary of Prisoners, 
 Jefferson explained carefully Virginia's conduct towards Ham- 
 ilton. He assured Mathews, "Their officers & soldiers in our hands 
 are pledges for your safety: we are determined to use them as 
 such. Iron will be retaliated by iron but a great multiplication 
 on distinguished objects: prison ships by prison ships, and like 
 for like in general." Colonel Mathews and even Governor Jef- 
 ferson, however, must have realized that the controversy over 
 Virginia's treatment of Hamilton did not make the lot of Vir- 
 ginians in the hands of the British any easier or shorten the time 
 of their imprisonment. Washington tried to calm Jefferson's 
 emotions by writing, "I would hope with your Excellency, that 
 there will be no necessity for a competition in cruelty with the 
 
 90 
 
enemy," and by telling Jefferson that Sir Henry Clinton had im- 
 proved the treatment accorded American prisoners. 131 
 
 During the winter Hamilton suffered from the cold since 
 there was no provision for fire, and he found it necessary to re- 
 main wrapped in his blanket day and night. On Christmas day 
 the jailer took the prisoners to an upper room which had a fire- 
 place but a window without glass. They stuffed a blanket in the 
 window and built a fire, but were returned to the dungeon at 
 night. In April, 1780 Lieutenant Schieffelin and DeRocheblave 
 escaped and eventually reached New York, and on June 1 Cap- 
 tain Maisonville evaded surveillance long enough to commit 
 suicide. 132 
 
 Throughout the year 1780 the British tried to secure the 
 release of Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton by offering a general 
 exchange, a partial exchange, or a trade of Hamilton for a Lieu- 
 tenant Colonel Charles Francois Dubuysson, an aid to General 
 Johann DeKalb who was wounded and taken prisoner at Camden 
 in August, 1780; but Virginia resisted all these efforts. This was 
 justified in the minds of Virginians in this manner: "The State 
 of Virginia, sensible of the dangerous influence which Governor 
 Hamilton holds over the Indians, have absolutely refused to ex- 
 change him on any terms, for the present . . . ," 133 
 
 Virginia did, however, relax her rigorous treatment of Gov- 
 ernor Hamilton, for on August 1, 1780 the English officers were 
 removed from the jail at Williamsburg and marched to Chester- 
 field, Hanover, or King William Court House. Hamilton, who 
 was taken to Chesterfield, wrote that his confinement was then 
 rendered very tolerable, that he and Major Hay were permitted 
 to walk about in the neighborhood of the jail, and that they were 
 well attended when suffering from a fever. 
 
 Hamilton's insistence that he would not sign a parole was 
 also finally overcome. Letters from friends in the British forces 
 were brought to him urging him to accept and telling him that 
 there was little hope of securing his exchange as long as he re- 
 fused to accept a parole. Perhaps his better treatment lessened 
 his suspicions of the Virginians. At any rate, on October 10, 1780 
 he signed a parole, and was soon permitted to go to New York, 
 where he was given new clothes and was among friends. Finally 
 
 91 
 
on March 4, 1781 he was exchanged and on June 21 he reached 
 England, more than two years after his surrender at Vincennes. 134 
 
 92 
 
CHAPTER SEVEN 
 
 Changes in Evaluation: 
 
 Hamilton and Clark 
 
 w, 
 
 hat changes are necessary in the previously accepted 
 account of the American Revolution in the West? Is Henry 
 Hamilton still the "Hair-buyer General"? Was Clark's victory a 
 personal achievement or was it the result of many favorable fac- 
 tors in addition to his admitted ability? What part did the French 
 inhabitants play in the failure of Hamilton's expedition? Were 
 the Indians mere bystanders? Was Clark's success an isolated 
 event or was it related significantly to developments in Canada 
 and even in England? Is there anything new to be learned about 
 Clark? 
 
 A study of the writings and the career of Hamilton reveals 
 that, although he was engaged in a cruel type of warfare for a 
 little more than a year, the evidence does not justify the historian 
 in calling him the "Hair-buyer." Since he was superintendent of 
 Indians as well as Lieutenant-Governor of Detroit, he was ex- 
 
 93 
 
pected to keep his tribesmen under the influence of the English 
 government. This was a particularly difficult task since Carleton 
 would not permit them to go to war, although they had their 
 own reasons for waging war against the frontiersmen and al- 
 though the Iroquois were already being employed by the British 
 against the Colonists. Consequently Hamilton's position became 
 increasingly irksome and he longed for a more active part in the 
 stirring events of the day. He may have recommended the em- 
 ployment of the Western Indians as Lord George Germain wrote, 
 but no letter containing such a suggestion has been found. Until 
 such a document is located, historians should not categorically 
 assert his responsibility for initiating warfare in the West. From 
 November 9, 1775, when he arrived in Detroit, until he received 
 Germain's order on June 16, 1777, he was engaged in keeping 
 the Indians at peace. This is his own statement, but unfriendly 
 writers have cited no contradictory evidence other than that he 
 resisted American efforts to win over the Indians. Unless he 
 wrote falsely, the raids on the Ohio Valley frontier in this period 
 cannot be attributed to him. The Indian attacks in 1776 and 
 1777 could have been caused by the encroachment of frontiers- 
 men on Indian lands, by the instigation of Guy Johnson, the Iro- 
 quois, or English leaders in the Eastern theater of war. The mur- 
 der of Chief Cornstalk in the autumn of 1777 caused the Shawnee 
 to join in the war against the frontier. 
 
 When the order to employ the Indians was sent to him, 
 Hamilton proceeded with energy. Parties of Indian warriors 
 under white leaders were thrown against the frontier settlements. 
 They carried copies of proclamations inviting loyalists to come 
 to Detroit and to serve the king. Hamilton urged the war parties 
 to fight against men in arms, not against defenseless men, women, 
 and children. His letters reveal that he knew he was engaged in 
 a cruel type of warfare and that twice as many scalps as prisoners 
 were being brought to Detroit. He insisted that he affected a 
 considerable change in the Indian method of waging war, but it 
 seems unlikely that he could have convinced the Kentuckians of 
 the truth of this allegation. There were instances of humane 
 treatment but they were outnumbered by deeds of cruelty. Had 
 he been permitted to use the soldiers of the garrison, the white 
 
 94 
 
leaders might have been able to maintain greater control over 
 the war parties. Had he been permitted to undertake an expedi- 
 tion to Fort Pitt, he would have been engaged in a more regular 
 type of war. 
 
 When all allowances are made in his favor, one must con- 
 clude that he was so eager to please his superiors in England that 
 he was callous to the inevitable barbarism of the warriors and 
 the cruel suffering inherent in their methods of warfare. This 
 conclusion is not based upon the exaggerated criticisms of his 
 enemies but on the statements in his own letters and the known 
 deeds of his warriors. 
 
 The responsibility of Hamilton for Indian raids did not 
 extend beyond the fall of 1778 or, at the most, the following 
 winter. When he embarked upon his expedition to Vincennes, 
 he was unable to continue the direction of Indian warfare except 
 as it was related to the expedition, the cloture of the Ohio, the 
 paths away from Vincennes, and the Illinois villages. He left 
 Detroit on October 7, 1778; he surrendered to Clark on February 
 24, 1779. Someone else was responsible for the direction of In- 
 dian warfare thereafter, and the worst of atrocities came in this 
 later period. Among them were such events as the expedition of 
 Captain Henry Bird, which took Ruddle's and Martin's stations 
 in Kentucky; the massacre of the Moravian Indians by the fron- 
 tiersmen; the burning of Colonel William Crawford at the stake; 
 and the massacre of Lochry's Creek. Surely the person or persons 
 accountable for these inhumanities deserve to share some of the 
 odium usually heaped upon Hamilton. 
 
 Finally, the charge that he bought scalps lacks proof. The 
 presents which he gave the Indians were for their services as 
 warriors rather than for scalps. He claimed that he repeatedly 
 urged that prisoners be brought to him alive, and the stories that 
 he refused to redeem prisoners appear to be false. The practical 
 difference between the two methods may not have been great, 
 and in either case it was a cruel and nasty business of which he 
 seems to have tired rather quickly and from which he sought 
 escape into more regular warfare. The expedition to Vincennes 
 may have been attractive to him in part because it offered such 
 an escape. 
 
 95 
 
Hamilton's record as a Lieutenant-Governor at Detroit and 
 later at Quebec does not appear particularly successful, but the 
 critics of his work seem not to have given proper attention to the 
 difficulties of his position. At Detroit he was expected to govern 
 the inhabitants and to keep the Indians under control. The peo- 
 ple were French Canadians, who were unreconciled to the British 
 conquest of their land. The post was surrounded by a vast wilder- 
 ness, the Indian inhabitants of which had not forgotten their 
 friendship for their former "Father," the King of France. The 
 fur traders were always an unruly lot as they plied their business 
 between the post and the forests of the Indians. Hamilton could 
 not, however, command the garrison at Detroit, and at first he 
 was not given judicial authority even though there were no judges 
 in the community. At the beginning he was cut off from Gover- 
 nor Carleton by the Americans at Montreal; and the disagreement 
 between Carleton and Germain led the Governor to refuse to 
 advise Hamilton in 1777, because he thought Hamilton had dealt 
 directly with Germain. Under these circumstances the charges 
 that the Lieutenant-Governor was oppressive and arbitrary in 
 keeping the traders and the inhabitants in control and loyal to 
 England are evidence that he was industrious in doing his duty. 
 His later administration of Quebec is not a part of this study, but 
 the criticisms of his work there may have originated largely in 
 his departure from the preference of his predecessor for the 
 French-Canadian inhabitants over the newly arrived English. 
 This change was a natural development resulting from Hamilton's 
 previous experiences with the French. It was also an inevitable 
 policy for the British if they were to induce Englishmen to settle 
 in numbers in Canada. 
 
 Whether or not Hamilton paid for scalps, his literary and 
 artistic remains give information of his better traits and of his 
 personal defects. He was a man of some education and culture, 
 a descendant of a noble Scottish family, a captain in the British 
 army in his younger days, a colonial official in positions of re- 
 sponsibility, an author of important reports, and an amateur artist. 
 It is not too much to say that he emerges as a brave, honest, 
 and honorable man. 
 
 But if his good qualities appear more clearly from this study 
 
 96 
 
of his career and writings, the same may be said of his faults. His 
 individual imperfections and their influence upon his failure are 
 now evident. He made decisions quickly without careful con- 
 sideration of the entire situation and may, therefore, be adjudged 
 impulsive. Although he was given very little guidance by su- 
 perior officials during 1777 and 1778 and although Clark created 
 a situation in the West which called for action, Hamilton did not 
 wait for advice or help from Governor Haldimand. He did not 
 give other officials much opportunity to assist, but hurried his 
 departure to attack the Virginian, fearful of the lateness of the 
 season and of the possibility that his superior might keep him in 
 his role of director of Indian warfare. 
 
 He exhibited much industry, perseverance, and managerial 
 ability on the journey to Vincennes and in repairing Fort Sack- 
 ville during the winter, but he showed little conception of his 
 actual position. He made little effort to secure assistance from 
 Canada or the Southern Indians. He permitted a number of the 
 officers of the Indian Department, the Detroit militia, and the 
 Indians to return home without having any means of filling the 
 vacancies in his ranks. He alienated many of the French inhabi- 
 tants of Vincennes, or at least failed to attract their loyalty and 
 aid. He was intolerant of their vices and their different customs. 
 To his impulsiveness must be added poor judgment as another 
 of his defects. 
 
 He was not an accomplished military man, although he had 
 gained some experience. He might have continued his expedition 
 from Vincennes to Kaskaskia and possibly have caught the un- 
 prepared Clark by surprise. Why he neglected to cover the spaces 
 between the pickets of the fort while he was making other repairs 
 will never be known. During the attack on Fort Sackville he 
 failed to take full advantage of his artillery and destroy the houses 
 that were protecting his attackers. He was humane, but his kind- 
 ness probably contributed to his defeat. 
 
 In addition to a revaluation of Hamilton's character and 
 career, Clark's victory can now be better related to the larger and 
 more general forces operating in the West. Although his strong 
 personal character and perseverance cannot be omitted from any 
 analysis of the situation, there were other factors of wider sig- 
 
 97 
 
nificance. The British government from 1763 had failed to show 
 much knowledge or appreciation of the West. The evacuation 
 of forts Chartres and Pitt, the order for the abandonment of Vin- 
 cennes, and the refusal to permit a new colony to be established 
 in the interior are evidence that the opportunity which came to 
 the British as a result of the Seven Years' War was not under- 
 stood. When Hamilton was not informed of the Franco- American 
 Alliance and when Haldimand wrote that no essential point would 
 be gained by the reduction of Fort Pitt, the government was run- 
 ning true to form. 
 
 Not only had the British failed to grasp the significance of 
 the interior, but the government had been particularly ineffective 
 in respect to the western posts. Abbott's short stay at Vincennes 
 was quite unimportant, and the Lieutenant-Governor for the 
 Illinois did not leave England. Hamilton's authority at Detroit 
 was not defined, and his relations with Carleton had been very 
 slight and lacking in helpfulness. The appointment of General 
 John Burgoyne to command the New York invasion of 1777 
 led Carleton to refuse to take responsibility for military activity 
 and to ask to be relieved of the governorship. Haldimand suc- 
 ceeded him just as the news reached Hamilton that Clark had 
 arrived in the Illinois. The new governor did not have time to 
 inform himself of affairs before he was confronted with Ham- 
 ilton's earlier request to attack Pittsburgh and his more immediate 
 and urgent plan to attack Clark. Haldimand did not seem to 
 comprehend the importance of either and failed to give Hamilton 
 any effective assistance with his expedition. 
 
 The extent to which Hamilton was dependent upon the 
 French has not been appreciated. The inhabitants of Detroit, the 
 militia, and the officers of the Indian Department were almost 
 entirely French. To them the British were conquerors. The 
 events of Pontiac's uprising indicate that they hoped for the re- 
 turn of the interior to the French King. There is no doubt that 
 the years following this uprising tended to convince them of the 
 futility of that hope. They accustomed themselves to British rule, 
 but the events of Hamilton's expedition prove that they accepted 
 the British only when their forces were irresistible. The inhabi- 
 tants of Vincennes and the Illinois villages were also French and 
 
 98 
 
were related to one another and to the people of Detroit. There 
 was a real community of interest between these villages. From 
 the beginning the people of Vincennes showed their preference 
 for Clark and their determination to be on the winning side. 
 French explorers, missionaries, traders, and officials had left in 
 the minds of their descendants a conception of the greatness of 
 the French King and a memory of the olden days when the 
 fleur-de-lis and the cross ruled the great wilderness — a memory 
 that was not obliterated by two decades of British rule. When 
 Hamilton undertook an expedition so far from reinforcements 
 with only thirty-three British regulars, he created a strong prob- 
 ability of defeat. 
 
 The Indian tribesmen scattered along America's inland seas 
 and rivers contrasted the easy camaraderie of the rollicking 
 coureur de bois and voyageurs with the brusque hauteur of the 
 British and made a contribution to Hamilton's failure that should 
 not be overlooked. The Indians of the upper Great Lakes had be- 
 come fairly attached to the British interests, especially those who 
 had one or more villages in the vicinity of Detroit. They included 
 the Ottawa, Huron, and Potawatomi, to which might be added 
 the Chippewa. The Shawnee began to join the Mingo in their 
 raids during 1777, and early the next year after the murder of 
 Chief Cornstalk they accepted the war belt. As Hamilton reached 
 the headwaters of the Maumee, he contacted the Miami, who 
 seemed willing enough to aid him. Few of the Wea accompanied 
 him, although they were not hostile. When he reached the Kicka- 
 poo and the Piankashaw, he found an attitude of neutrality, in- 
 difference, and, perhaps, concealed hostility. Vincennes was lo- 
 cated among the Piankashaw. All the Indians, regardless of tribe, 
 were dependent upon the white men for many things and were 
 generally to be found upon the winning side. They were accus- 
 tomed to do business with the traders, who were still French, and 
 with the officers of the Indian Department, who were also French. 
 Although some of the chiefs were obviously faithful to Hamilton 
 and others left no evidence of unfaithfulness, many of them were 
 absent when needed the most, while the Piankashaw turned 
 openly to Clark. The Indians, like the French inhabitants, fur- 
 nished a poor foundation for success. 
 
 99 
 
News of the Franco-American Alliance was, perhaps, the 
 chief of these general factors which gave Clark such a favorable 
 opportunity. Clark stated its effect upon the French of the Illinois 
 villages, and there is no reason to assume that the people of Vin- 
 cennes would regard it in any other manner. Hamilton admitted 
 he had heard of rejoicing even at Vincennes and that the Indians 
 were affected by the news. Some influence caused the French 
 officers of the Indian Department and the volunteer militia to 
 decide that they wanted to return to Detroit. Hamilton thought 
 they had been false to him and wanted to leave before he dis- 
 covered their defection. But what accounts for their defection if 
 it were not the alliance of their country with the nation repre- 
 sented by Clark? 
 
 Finally, do the writings of Hamilton change the picture 
 which scholars have drawn of Clark? The answer must be that 
 there are no startling disclosures to be proclaimed, but there are 
 little changes that should check some of the excessive adulation 
 of Clark. There is exaggeration in his account of his victory. He 
 did not capture almost as many prisoners as he had men in his 
 little army. He captured thirty-three British regulars and enough 
 others to bring the total garrison to seventy-nine. Many of the 
 Detroit volunteers and officers in the Indian Department were 
 unwilling to fight and were therefore a handicap rather than a 
 help. Seven of the garrison had been wounded. 
 
 There is evidence also of an element of vindictiveness, if not 
 of brutality, in Clark's character. He was responsible for the 
 killing of the Indians who were captured during the battle, and 
 it may be that he personally participated in the killing. The par- 
 tial scalping of Francis Maisonville, one of the French officers 
 in the Indian service, perhaps on Clark's order was another act 
 of unnecessary brutality. The threat during the negotiation that 
 not a man would be spared if Hamilton did not surrender may 
 be excused as a case of American bluff, but Clark did not behave 
 very kindly to the British after their surrender. Hamilton also 
 mentioned the command to put some of the British in irons, the 
 inattention to the protection of Hamilton and Hay while they 
 were prisoners, and the inadequate provisions for the prisoners 
 on their journey to Williamsburg. 
 
 100 
 
All together these minor facts lead to a larger conclusion 
 that Clark's victory was not by any means a miracle. Hamilton's 
 forces were greatly reduced, the French inhabitants of Vincennes 
 were against him, perhaps half of his garrison was unwilling to 
 fight, many of the Indians who came with him were undepend- 
 able, and, strange as it may seem, his own humanity was a dis- 
 advantage in contrast to Clark's willingness to use rigorous meth- 
 ods. The Franco-American Alliance was probably a significant 
 influence in winning the support of the French for Clark and in 
 alienating many of Hamilton's men and officers. 
 
 Clark's character and achievement remain, with the above 
 modifications, otherwise unchanged. His winning personality 
 which attracted most men to him and his knowledge of Indian 
 character which enabled him to bring the natives to his side even 
 though he lacked presents to entice them or military strength to 
 force them, are very evident. His boldness, courage, perseverance, 
 and energy receive further confirmation. His judgment was better 
 than Hamilton's even though he was a younger man. He pos- 
 sessed a higher sense of military methods and strategy than Ham- 
 ilton, who had greater military experience. Actually the revela- 
 tion of slight exaggerations in his account and of brutality in his 
 conduct tends not so much to lessen Clark's stature as to check 
 the tendency so obvious in American life to glorify the hero and 
 clothe him with halo and wings which obscure his reality. Among 
 American heroes Clark deserves to stand forth as a man's man, a 
 rugged, tough fighter who refused to be discouraged and who 
 drove himself and his men through to a significant victory. 
 
 101 
 
The JOURNAL of 
 HENRY HAMILTON 
 
 1778-1779 
 
 NOTE ON HAMILTON'S JOURNAL 
 
 In making the following transcription of Hamilton's Jour- 
 nal certain problems were met for which there did not seem to 
 be an entirely satisfactory solution. Hamilton was quite incon- 
 sistent in respect to capitalization, punctuation, French accents, 
 and paragraphing. A serious effort has been made to reproduce 
 the Journal as Hamilton wrote it, but in regard to these items it 
 is impossible to pretend to be exact. It is also quite possible that 
 a few words have been transcribed incorrectly for Hamilton's 
 writing is not always as legible as might be desired. It is believed 
 that the meaning of the Journal has been reproduced without 
 change. The division into chapters and the addition of chapter 
 headings are the work of the editor and are not in the original. 
 
 Detroit to Miamitown, 
 
 Hamilton on the Maumee, 
 
 August 6 to October 21, 1778. 
 
 August 6th. 1778. Mr. Francis Maisonville arrived at De- 
 troit from the Ilinois, with an account of the attack of Kaskaskias 
 by the Americans — The Officer who commanded the party had 
 made Monsieur de Rocheblave prisoner, had confined him in his 
 own house and laid him in irons — no opposition made by the in- 
 habitants — 
 
 8th. This intelligence was communicated to the command- 
 er 02 
 
ing officer at Niagara, (Lieut. Colonel Bolton) 135 by letters, one 
 sent by land by a Savage, who was but 9 Days going, another in 
 a batteau, by Lieutenant Chevalier Chabert — By these messen- 
 gers the letters for the Commander in chief at Quebec got safe 
 to Niagara — 
 
 9th. Monsieur de Celeron was dispatched with belts for the 
 Indians of the Miamis and Ouabache rivers; He had orders to have 
 the cannon at Fort Sackville spiked and the trunnions knock'd 
 off; (if possible) his instructions were given him in writing — 
 
 11th. Learned the arrival of His Excellency General Haldi- 
 mand at Quebec — 
 
 28th. Lieutenant Chevr. Chabert arrived from Niagara, and 
 his Brother Joncaire Chabert with 70 Wyndatts from a scout. 
 
 September 7 th. The Dunmore sailed for Niagara, with let- 
 ters and returns for the Commander in chief. 136 
 
 8th. receiv'd letters from His Excellency General Haldi- 
 mand. 137 
 
 15 th. Mr. Belief euille arrived with letters from His Excel- 
 lency. 138 
 
 16th. wrote to the commanding Officer at Michillimakinac 
 Major De Peyster, informing him of my design of going to the 
 Ilinois — 
 
 17th. wrote to General Haldimand Lt. Governor Cra- 
 mahe 139 & Colol. Bolton. 
 
 18th. wrote to Lieutt. Govr. Cramahe, Major Carleton, 140 
 Mr. Goddard (Inspector of Indian accompts at Montreal, & Baron 
 de Longueville. 141 
 
 20th. Major Hay review'd the 4 companies of militia on 
 the N. side of the river, and made his report. — Memorandum 
 Lieutt, Cassety of Captain J. Baptiste Campau's company did not 
 appear, nor did one man of the Company turn out volunteer. 
 
 22. Monsieur Hypolite des Ruisseaux acknowledged he had 
 had intimation of the design of the americans, before he left the 
 Ilinois which was the 9th. of June 142 
 
 This day Major Hay made his report of the 2 companies on 
 the S. side of the river. Memorandum. Lieutenant Marantete of 
 Captain Maisonville's company, of Militia, having declared aloud 
 when under arms, that he would not march, and having repeatedly 
 
 103 
 
absented himself from reviews was ordered to be reducd and to do 
 his Corvee as a private man. — 
 
 23. orderd for the Miamis 15. large pirogues, under Cap- 
 tain McLeod Lieutenant Charles Gouin, 143 and Mr. Nicholas 
 Lorrain storekeeper at the Miamis — the loading consisted of 
 26,800 lb of Flour, in bags — 24 firkins of butter, — 37 half bar- 
 rels of pork — 31 bales of dry goods, mark'd [with an arrow] — 
 2 pair of cartwheels shod, — 1 pair of cartwheels unshod — Total 
 weight 33,200 lb— 144 
 
 The Ottawas, Chippoweys, and Pouteouattamies were called 
 to council, who told me they would accompany me — The Hurons 
 w T ho were also to have come, were prevented by bad weather but 
 on the 24th. Dawatong or Sastaharitze and other Wyndatts came 
 and offer d their services, which were accepted. &c. 145 
 
 This day receiv'd the Volunteers from the several companies 
 of Militia in the settlement to be formed into two detachments, 
 under the name of volunteer chasseurs. — Being assembled on the 
 common the oath of allegiance was tenderd to them, and to all 
 the Officers and men of the militia and Indian department. I took 
 this opportunity of disarming the disaffected, made them hawle 
 the cannon from the Barracks to camp, appointed Officers to the 
 detachment of chasseurs — Afternoon attended at an Indian 
 feast — at 4 p m. the convoi of provision set off for the Miamis 
 under the direction of C. McLeod, &c. and an escort of 50 of the 
 Militia — 5 pairs of Bullocks ten horses with lastsaddles and geer 
 for the carrying place, with 7 of the Militia — 
 
 25 th. This day La Mothe's company with their arms & knap- 
 sacks at exercise, marched them to St. Bernards bridge, practiced 
 them in defending and attacking from bloody bridge to St. Ber- 
 nard's— 146 
 
 wrote a letter jointly with Captain Lernoult to Louison 
 Chevalier at St. Joseph's, requiring him to keep the Pouteouatta- 
 mies at that Village till they should hear I was arrived at the 
 Miamis — sent off the letter by Wyndeego chief of the P. of De- 
 troit. 147 
 
 prepared a present for the Shawanese with a speech to be 
 carried by Captain McKee, exhorting them to perseverance, and 
 desiring that some of their chiefs should meet me at the Miami — 
 
 104 
 
that the lake Indians were risen to accompany me &ca. 148 
 
 26th. Charles Baubin arrived with letters from the Miamis 
 Town, 149 he brought the talk of the Chickasaas to the Ouabache 
 Indians, 150 and a letter from Mons: de Celoron — 
 
 27th. Captn. McKee set off — Lieutt. La Piconiere de Quin- 
 dre with a Serjeant and 12 of the militia, the boatbuilder, master 
 carpenter, with tools & 20 horses with provisions, set off for the 
 carrying place 151 for the repairing the road, building a store- 
 house, & ca — 
 
 28 th. encamped the volunteer detachments on the com- 
 mon — 
 
 29th. met the 4 nations in council, read to them the speeches 
 of the Chickasaas, and Peankashaas and other Ouabash Indians, 
 also those of the Virginians to these last — They expressed them- 
 selves as I could wish — 
 
 30th. A strong party of Chippoweys of Massigaiash's band 
 came to offer their services, wrote a letter in Spanish to the officer 
 commanding at St. Genevieve on the W. side of the Mississipi 
 opposite Kaskaskias — 152 wrote to the Commr. in Chief enclosing 
 monthly return of Officers on the enterprize, speeches of the 
 Chichasaas — extract of a council held 24th. instt — copies of 
 letter and orders — 
 
 October 2. A return was this day given in of 13 batteaus 
 calked and fitted with oars & ca capable of carrying 39,300 Lbs, 
 and 17 pirogues and canoes to carry 33,700, Tot. 73,000 lbs 
 
 This afternoon an Indian feast on the common, all seem'd 
 in good temper and welldisposed — 
 
 enclosed to the commander in chief returns &ca. with the 
 dates as follow — Copy of orders, and extracts of letters contain- 
 ing orders, 30th. Sepr: — Speeches of the Chickasaas &ca 27th. 
 Do. Monthly return of the Garrison — 30th. Do. Extract of a 
 council — 24th. Do. Return of officers &ca. on the enterprize to 
 St. Vincennes 30th. Do. Copy of a letter to the Spanish Com- 
 mandant at St. Genevieve 30th Do. 153 
 
 5 th. This evening arrived Lieutt. Charles Gouin of the Mi- 
 litia and his brother Nicholas, in two days from Captn. M Leod in 
 the Miamis river, with advice that the rebels were advanced to 
 Ouiattanon, that they were joined by 200 French, that they had 
 
 105 
 
French and Spanish Flags, that they were expected to be im- 
 mediately at the Miamis, and that Monsieur de Celoron was to 
 be at Detroit on the 6th. — 
 
 6th. Tents struck before day — embarkd the 6 pounder, 
 and part of the stores — This morning at 7 o'clock, three Hurons 
 arrived with accounts which they said might be depended on, that 
 the Rebels in several detachmts. of 400 men each were advancing 
 by different routes to Detroit, that the advanced guard of 800 
 men preceded the main body — little credit given to this report, 
 such being frequent, however sent for the Indian chiefs, told them 
 the news with my opinion upon it — found them well disposed — 
 This Evening a reinforcement of 50 Regulars under the orders 
 of Captain Byrd — 154 from Niagara — 
 
 7 th Embarked at *4 past two p m. one single man of the 
 whole appeard in liquor (an Indian) — The disposition of the boats 
 which had orders to keep as close as possible to that one which 
 carried a distinguishing flag, was as follows — The Indians with 
 their Officers and interpreters were divided and formed the front 
 and rear divisions in their canoes — next to them followed the 
 subdivisions of La Mothe's company, one commanded by their 
 captain, in the rear of the 1st division of the Indians, the other 
 by his Lieutt. preceded the rear division of the Indians — The 
 Militia in two divisions were next to them on each flank — a 
 Plattoon of the Regulars of the Kings Regiment next to them 
 one on each flank — The Gun Boat[E] with the Artillery men 
 in the Center — 
 
 abcdEdcba 
 a a Indians b b Volunteers c c Militia d d Regulars E Gunboat 
 
 The Surgeon had orders to keep at or near the center. 
 
 On Tryal of the Gunboat she proved too weak, the seams 
 opening on the first discharge, none of the stores were damaged 
 the men leaping out immediately, and assistance given from on 
 shore, she was unloaded, and Lt. DuVernet had another very 
 expeditiously fitted for the purpose — we proceeded without delay 
 and encamped at Riviere rouge before Sunset — 155 A Guard 
 mounted, and Pickett warned — sentries posted &c — 
 
 8th. would have taken advantage of calm and Moonlight to 
 
 106 
 
have set off at 2 o'Clock in the morning, but the Indians demurrd 
 saying it was not their custom to travel in the night when they 
 went to War — set off at 7 in the morning — about 11 met 
 Lt. De Quindre (Fontiney) returnd from an attack of one of 
 the Forts on the Kentucke — 156 He agreed to proceed to Detroit, 
 and return with Lieutt. Showrd of the King's Regiment — The 
 wind rising and Lake Erie too rough, we put in at Isle Celoron, 157 
 it continued to blow hard with rain and snow the greater part of 
 of the night — This Evening old Raccoon and some Chippoweys 
 joined us — 158 
 
 9th. About noon the wind having shifted, we embarked — 
 at one met some more of De Quindre's men, who told us they left 
 Mr. de Celoron at Riviere aux roches — 159 soon after Mr. de 
 Celoron came up in a large Pirogue with some packs of Peltry, 
 he rose up and told me the Virginians were at the Miamis, I 
 answerd him, that I had heard so before — He then told me he 
 had had a conference with the Ouabache Indians which was in his 
 box, he rummaged a long time among his papers, & made as if 
 he would wish to find it, but I could not wait, so pushed on — 
 proceeded till 11 at night, very cloudy with rain, I began to be 
 very apprehensive at [as] the wind rose, and a heavy swell rolled 
 in, we were on a lee shore and it was extremely dark — I deter- 
 mined to put in shore as soon as the sternmost boats could come in 
 sight of a light which I carried in the headmost boat — my anxiety 
 for their safety increased every instant, at length I rowed in for 
 the Shore, and was happy to find it no worse than a swamp which 
 took us to the knees — all the boats got safe — 
 
 It may be asked why at that Season I should venture to cross 
 from the river's mouth, in hopes of reaching the Miamis river, 12 
 leagues distant, and set off so late as at noon, risquing the safety 
 of us all &ca. I answer, had we waited, contrary winds might have 
 entirely frustrated our design, as when the lake is once thoroughly 
 ruffled at this late season, it is not expected to calm shortly — 
 Traders have been known to be kept embayed by the ice from this 
 time for several weeks, till they were nearly starved — If we 
 succeeded in our push for the Miamis river, we were out of the 
 power of violent winds, and from that our course being S.W. we 
 were to expect milder weather, whereas delay might engage us in 
 
 107 
 
the Ice — in short no time was to be lost — 
 
 It blew so hard with violent rain we could scarcely make fire, 
 in the morning we found we had got within a mile of the Mouth 
 of the Miamis river — the point of the bay of Nanguisse. 160 two 
 Wyndatts joyned us here — 
 
 10th. At 9 this morning we left this dreary spot, and pro- 
 ceeded up the river to pointe aux chenes, 161 where we made fires 
 to dry ourselves and get our arms in order — Some Ottawas at 
 this place informd us Mr: de Celoron had been on both sides the 
 River at the Indian cabins, telling them that the Virginians were 
 arrived at the Miamis — about 11am. one Alexander Alais came 
 down the River with letters from Charles Baubin, who informs 
 me that he had (as I had order'd) sent to Riviere a l'Anguille 162 to 
 warn the Indians of that Village of my coming &c — no mention 
 of the Rebels — sent Alais to Detroit with these letters, and 
 acquainted the Commandant with the rascality of Monsieur de 
 Celoron — 
 
 Lieutt. Showrd 163 of the King's Regt 1 Sergn. 1 Corp 30 
 private arrived Vi past 4 in the afternoon — Lt. DuVernet got the 
 6 Pounder out of the boat, mounted and haled [hauled] up a steep 
 bank in 10 minutes — 
 
 11th. directed the detachment of the Kings to pitch their 
 tents in the Oaks something advanc'd — embarked about 7 
 o'Clock — Mahingan a young Ottawa chief (my namesake) tho' 
 sick said he would accompany us — 164 We encamped at the foot 
 of the rapids, a league below which we came up with Captain 
 Grant in the Sloop Archangel with 14 Tonns of provision on 
 board — 165 6 Hurons killed 50 Turkies in a short time, a good 
 omen of plenty for our march — strict orders against firing out 
 of the boats excepting the Indians — 
 
 12th. Lieutt. Showrd's piece going off accidentally as he was 
 getting out of his tent before Sunrise this morning, shattered his 
 leg — he was got into a boat as expeditiously as possible, & sent off 
 for Detroit — with the Surgeon and six men — gave the command 
 of the detachment, divided into two plattoons to Serjeants Parkin- 
 son and Chapman of the King's — Sharp frost last night — pro- 
 ceeded up the rapids with much labor, the boats being mostly 
 deep loaded the artillery boat in particular had from 30 to 40 men 
 
 108 
 
sometimes 50 to hale her against the current which passing swiftly 
 between slippery rocks, made it difficult for the men to keep their 
 footing — The Officers to a man shewed a good example in 
 sharing the fatigue, and the Indians with the utmost alacrity 
 assisted till the last boat was got over safely — one boat was turned 
 down the Stream but no damage was done — The Miamis River 
 which on the Maps appears very inconsiderable far surpasses any 
 river in the three Kingdoms — Vi an hour before Sunset we 
 encamped at the petit Rocher — 166 Letters from Capt. McLeod at 
 the Miamis, Lorrain & Baubin, all agreeing in the falsity of the 
 reports spread by Celoron — wrote to C. Lernoult — Sastaharitze 
 and 5 other Hurons joined us — 
 
 1 3th. One of the Militia tryed by a court martial for sleeping 
 on his post — Macutte Wassong 1 * 1 joined with some Chippo- 
 weys — Two hours before Sunset sent down the Commissary with 
 ten light batteaus to bring up the provision from the foot of the 
 rapids — 1 Sub 2 Serjeants 40 private — The light batteaus had 
 some difficulty in passing the Rocher de bout, l6% the current being 
 very strong & the depth such as to prevent setting, the men made 
 it out by laying hold on the rugged projections of the rock which 
 we kept close aboard — The Artillery boat drawing more water 
 was got up by a Towline made fast to a log and floated down — 
 the men hauled upon this and got her up with little damage — 
 took a view of this rapid — encamped at Mildrum's a league 
 above the rapid — 
 
 14th. a fine day sent the powder and stores to the opposite 
 side of the River to be aired — repaird arms &ca — baked 
 Bread — Twelve Cabins of Ottawas at this place — great abun- 
 dance of game — fine Timber — Savages kill a she bear and cub 
 as they were passing below rapide du loup — took a view here — 
 
 Last night invited to a feast by the Chippoweys, as to me it 
 appeard worth noting, I mention some particulars — Their 
 tents or booths are pitched on each side of the fire place in a 
 strait line, the fire made of long dry logs, extended about 15 Yards 
 in length — The Warriors only present, (their women not 
 appearing,) sat on skins on each side — The War Kettle on the 
 fire with the Flesh (which was Bear) cut into pieces of nearly 
 equal size — All their Arms tyed to a Stake with a War belt ( in 
 
 109 
 
token of Union) and painted with Vermillion — We enterd one 
 by one, and were shewn to our seats by a person appointed (the 
 Sir Clement of the assembly) — The Servant of the Warriors then 
 helped the guests to the choicest, that is with them the fattest pieces 
 of the Meat, without bread — This domestic serves every one of his 
 nation on a scout, if they are not too numerous when he has one 
 or two aids as occasion requires, it is his exclusive priviledge to 
 carry the war kettle, he cuts up the Provision, cooks it, and at 
 solemn feasts divides it, for in general the Kettle hangs over the 
 fire with soup and boullie, and every one helps himself as he is 
 prompted by hunger — The Office of Servant (or Mishinnawey) 
 is held honorable, as it requires strength, alacrity and wonderful 
 patience, a slavish cowardly fellow could not be promoted to this 
 dignity — by the way no reproachfull or angry expression falls 
 from any person when the servant makes a mistake or fails any 
 way in his duty, he is either calmly set to right by an old man, or 
 perhaps the young men may titter, for the most trifling thing is 
 matter of laugh to an Indian — let it be remarkd that there is no 
 such thing in use among them, nor even to be found in their 
 language as an oath or a curse — terms of reproach they have 
 few — Hog is most common — to call a Man Woman is highly 
 injurious, which they express by saying, You are only fit to wear a 
 Machicotte, or pettycoat— to spit in a man's face is the penulti- 
 mate indignity, to bite off his nose the ultimatum, but this usually 
 is done when liquor has possession of them and happens more 
 commonly among the soft sex than among the men — 
 
 To return to our feast; all being seated, and served, before a 
 morsel was touched, the Priest made a short address to the Master 
 of life, at the close of each division of his harangue all the Indians 
 joined in one solemn expression of assent. — The Priest then in 
 more particular terms addressd the Lord of all, imploring his 
 protection in their present undertaking and besought the inferior 
 spirits presiding over rivers, Woods, Mountains, to be propitious — 
 The deepest silence and most serious attention was observable 
 during the prayer, no such thing as laughing or whispering, so 
 common in our places of Worship — It was a clear star: light 
 night, and I was affected by the humble and reverential worship 
 of these poor ignorant but well meaning creatures — Prayers over 
 
 110 
 
they fell to with great keenness and very shortly the bones were 
 all that was left for even the Bear's skin, boiled first and then 
 broiled and cut into thongs had found its way down their 
 throats — The Master of the Feast then took up the Bear's head 
 by a Thong of bark and having given the War shout which 
 was ecchoed by all present, he sung his War song accompanied 
 by the dance as usual, all the company marking the measure by a 
 deep exspiration coming from the bottom of their lungs, with a 
 correspondent action of the Body and head, having made the 
 circuit of the fire he laid the head at my feet — I followed his 
 example carefully avoiding stepping over the fire, which is against 
 their rules — ('tis remarkable that when going to war, if an 
 Indian burns or otherways hurts himself he must not start or 
 complain, and if a spark of fire lights on him, he must quickly 
 pick it off without expressing pain-) some Chiefs followed, and 
 some took a bite of the head, saying 'twas the head of the Great 
 Knife, so they stile the Virginians — after these a young Ottawa 
 chief danced, and being of the Nation invited by the Chippoweys, 
 kept the head for himself — 
 
 This Evening (14th) Neegik 169 brother to Chamintawa 
 whom I had sent to the Miamis for intelligence, arrived — He told 
 me he had met the gros Loup, 170 (a Miamis Chief) who 
 acquainted him with what had passed at St. Vincennes in a con- 
 ference with the Rebels — On their arrival at that place they 
 pulled down the English Flag left there by Governor Abbott, 
 wrapp'd a stone in it, and threw it into the Ouabache — They 
 convened the Savages, and told them they did not come with any 
 bad design against them — They then presented them with two 
 belts, one red, the other green, telling them if they were disposed 
 for war, to take the first, if for peace the latter — 
 
 The old Tobacco, a Peankashaa chief, told the Americans 
 they did not speak to be understood, that he never saw an instance 
 or heard tell of such a thing, as at a conference to present good and 
 evil at one and the same time, therefore he kicked their belts from 
 him — A Young chief of the Pouteouattamies (the son of 
 Lagesse) 171 told them, that if he had not listend to the advice of 
 the old men of his nation, and considerd the situation of his wife 
 and children, he would before then have struck a tomahawk in 
 
 111 
 
some of their heads — The Rebels told the Indians they were 
 young and foolish or they would not speak in such terms — That 
 they designd to go to Detroit thro' the Indian country, that if they 
 found any fires, (Indian Villages) in their road, they should tread 
 them out, and if any barriers should be raised (forts built) to stop 
 the road, they should throw them down — That if any Indians 
 stood in the way they might chance to be wounded by the 
 splinters — That on their arrival at Detroit they should shut up 
 their father (Governor Hamilton) like a hog in a penn to fatten, 
 and then when he should be enclosed long enough & f attend they 
 would throw him into the river — That they should get a great 
 reinforcement from the falls of Ohio, and with their friends at 
 the Ilinois, they should make six hundred men, and pass to 
 Chicagou, where they would build a fort. The Indians said it was 
 not necessary for such brave men, who could with so much ease 
 tread out their fires, to wait for reinforcements, that they might be 
 assured, not a single Frenchman should accompany them to 
 Detroit — here ended Neegik's account of the Conference — 
 
 At half after 3 o'clock p m. arrived the 10 batteaus from the 
 foot of the rapids, with 20,000 lbs. weight of Provision — A Feast 
 this day with the Ottawas, on the bear they killed in the morning — 
 usual ceremonies — Macutte Wassong Priest. Some of the bat- 
 teaus were calked which were damaged coming up the rapids — 
 
 15th. A fall of Snow — had a talk with the Indians — 
 Wassanagnaa 172 and 3 other Pouteouattamies arrived from a scout 
 with the Shawanese — 
 
 16th. The calking our batteaus not being finished we were 
 delayd till Va after 11a m. — sent down 3 pirogues to the foot of 
 the rapids for the remainder of the provision, to be left at Wolf 
 rapid, till the light boats from the Miamis, should be sent to fetch 
 it up — Gave Agusheway 173 my own tent — proceeded up the 
 rapids with much labor, the last boats got to where we were to 
 encamp Vi an hour after Sunset — some of the powder, and fixed 
 ammunition got damaged — 
 
 17th. were embark'd at Sunrise, got 3 leagues before 
 breakfast, when we halted at la prairie des Mascoutainges — 174 2 
 leagues more to where we dined les isles de Maima — 3 leagues 
 after dinner, encamped between isle au Serjeant and isle au 
 
 112 
 
plomb — At 3 o'Clock p m. this day met Francois Maisonville with 
 Pacane & gros Loup, & Hibon (Miamis Chiefs) 175 Maisonville 
 told me he met Monsieur de Celoron, at Riviere a la roche, who 
 inform'd him the rebels were at the Miamis. Pacane told me the 
 Rebels honor me with the title of the Dog. that they mean to use 
 me as such — that I am to be hawled like a fish out of the water, 
 and to be sundryed — that the Ottawas at River grande glaize 
 longd to see us, as also the Miamis, — that the carrying place of 
 the Miamis was in good order — 
 
 18th. Before sunrise assisted at a feast with the Chippoweys 
 on a she Bear and 3 cubbs presented to them by Lieutt. Chabert. 
 embarkd a little after Sunrise, met 7 return pirogues with 2 Serjt. 
 and 32 of the Militia of Grosse pointe (at Detroit) who had taken 
 up the provision with Captain McLeod — Breakfasted below the 
 pays plats, dined above l'isle aux Aigles, encampd a little above 
 the mouth of Grande glaise river — 176 At this place are about 40 
 Warriors of the Ottawa nation. — 
 
 19th. The Savages having saluted us last night on our 
 arrival, we returned their compliment this morning with 3 rounds 
 from the 6 pounder — The inhabitants of this village assembled 
 this morning to the number of 60, as we could not conveniently 
 furnish them from the boats, gave them an order for cloathing to 
 be supplyed them at Detroit — 14 of their Warriors presenting 
 themselves to join us, I thanked them for their goodwill, and 
 taking off my Warbelt, joind it to that of their Chief, and sung 
 the War Song — They said they would follow me wherever I 
 went, tho' I had broke thro' an old custom, in not pouring some 
 rum on the Grindstone which was to sharpen the War Axe — I 
 owned myself in fault, & orderd two bottles of Rum — This with 
 the delay of issuing provision delay 'd us 'till ten o'Clock, when we 
 put off well satisfied with the disposition of our Ottawas — The 
 grande Glaize is a River larger than the Severn at Glocester, and 
 subject to sudden & violent floods — Night coming on we were 
 obliged to encamp a league and half below our destind station — 
 
 20th. encamped a league above the Marais de l'Orme, 177 
 being 7 leagues for this day's progress, the water swift we poled 
 the whole way — 
 
 21st. A Messenger arrived from the Rocher de bout with a 
 
 113 
 
letter from Captain McKee, informing me that nine hundred 
 Virginians had taken post at Kushaghking, 178 that the Shawanese 
 and some faithful Delawares, were preparing to oppose them, and 
 wanted ammunition for the purpose, That those 900 men were as 
 an advanc'd guard, to be followed by the remainder of the force 
 destined for the attack of Detroit — 
 
 This day advance 7 leagues, the stream for the most part 
 pretty strong — 
 
 22. Had struck tents and embarked at Sunrise — Memm. 
 to send powder and ball to the Shawanese from the Miamis Town. 
 To send a trusty Messenger to Ouiattonon for intelligence — To 
 concert with the chiefs about sending to the Ilinois by way of 
 Chicagou. 
 
 23. Lieutt. F. de Quindre, Mr: McBeth the Surgeon, and 
 Serjt. Sanscrainte joind from Detroit — We lay this night en bas 
 des prairies — 
 
 24th. Julien (nickname Charlotte) was sentenced to run the 
 Gauntlope for insolence to his Serjeant, Baron of La Mothe's 
 company — We proceeded about 8 o'clock, and put ashore at the 
 plain near the Miamis Village, 179 where the Young men of that 
 nation saluted as usual with several discharges of small arms, Our 
 Savages returnd the compliment, after which was a kind of mock 
 battle with blank powder — 7 rounds from the six pounder as a 
 salute to the Miamis — In the afternoon aired the damaged 
 powder — Assembled the chiefs of all the Nations present, in- 
 formd them of the cause of my coming, and thanked all present 
 for their cheerfull and quiet behaviour — told them they were to 
 have an Ox to each nation tomorrow, but no rum — 
 
 It appears by all accounts, Monsieur de Celoron had been six 
 or seven days at this place — Memm. to send Francois Maisonville 
 and a Pouteouattamie, to St. Joseph for Wyndeego — Charles 
 Baubin has 50 bushells of hulld corn, 150 in Ear & 2000 lb 
 Pork — The Miamis at this Village had been told by Celoron, that 
 the Rebels were at Ouiattonon, which alarm'd them so much, that 
 several hid their Stores in the woods — The Gros loup is my 
 authority — 
 
 25 th. Remain in Camp — order an Ox for the Soldiers, 
 another for the Miami, and one for the other Indians — sent off 
 
 114 
 
six Batteaus with 20,000 lb of Provision for the carrying place — 
 Lt. St. Cosme 1 Serjt. 17 Men — visited the Chiefs of the Miamis 
 in their Village — The Petit Gris, 180 and Gros Loup made me a 
 present of 3 large basketts of Young corn, dried pumpion, and 
 Kidney beans, saying that such coarse fare might serve for my 
 cattle if I could not eat it myself but that they thought I would not 
 scorn their present tho so inconsiderable as it was presented with 
 sincere goodwill — 
 
 26th. Met in council in the open field, the chiefs of the 
 Ottawas of Detroit, of the Glaise river, and of the Miamis, of the 
 Chippoweys, Wyndatts, Miamis, and some Shawanese — Having 
 smoaked in the pipes of the Quiquaboes, Ouiattonons, Mascouta- 
 inges, Shawanese and Cherakees, I addressd the whole present, 
 returning thanks to the master of life for all favors, our prosperous 
 journey hitherto, happy meeting &ca. 
 
 They were saluted with three rounds from the six pounder — 
 I then shewed them the piece of Wampum which had been 
 presented to me by the Ottawas, Chippoweys, and Pouteouattamies 
 (which those Nations had given me at Detroit) and called their 
 heart, desiring me to carry it with me where ever I should go — 
 This gave me an opportunity of thanking those Nations for having 
 risen and followed me so cheerfully — I then produced a road 
 belt, by which they were to understand, that I should proceed to 
 any part where the Rebels might be found, in order to dispossess 
 them, and that the road should be constantly kept clear of all 
 incumbrances — Turning to the Shawanese, desired them to 
 mention in their Villages, the good understanding that subsisted 
 among the Nations there present, exhorting them to act with their 
 usual spirit upon the Frontiers — The War Belts were then pro- 
 duced, when taking up my own and that of Major Hay, I sung the 
 War Song, in which I was followed by the Deputy agent, the 
 chiefs, and principal warriors of the different nations — Most of 
 them complained, diat I did not wet the Grindstone with Rum, and 
 that they had great difficulty in sharpening their father's Axe. The 
 council was closed with 4 rounds from the six lbr. as a salute from 
 the lake Indians to the River Indians — Memm. To send Lt. 
 DuVernet to the portage tomorrow, with the Powder boats and 
 Gun boat — 
 
 115 
 
Gave a medal to the Old La Toupee — At night had a con- 
 ference with the Gros loup, who promised to go before us to 
 Ouiattonon (markd on the map Great Ouiat) report the disposition 
 of the Indians there; & send intelligence if any was to be 
 procured — 
 
 27th. Lt. DuVernet and Scheffelin set off for the Portage 
 with 4 boats and an escort of 32 men — 
 
 Some Pouteouattamies from St. Joseph arrived with Louison 
 Chevalier, and the Old Chief Nanaquibe — The chiefs of the Lake 
 Indians came in the evening to my Tent and talked upon the belt 
 of the Chickasaas sent to the Shawanese and Delaweys, and by 
 them to the Miamis, which they produced, the purport of this belt 
 was to exhort them to unite for the purpose of repelling the 
 Virginians, and to invite the other nations to join them. They also 
 produced the String which the Virginians had sent to the Indians 
 on the Ouabache, informing them of their intention of going to 
 Detroit, and seizing me &ca. — It appears the Old Tobacco and his 
 son ( called the young Tobacco ) are strong with the Virginians — 
 The Grande Coete 181 (a Peankashaa chief) had declared he should 
 act in conformity with his elder Brothers, meaning the Quiquaboes 
 and Ouiattanons — The Spaniards advised the Indians not to credit 
 the Virginians on their assurances, as they are incapable from their 
 poverty to make good their promises — Egushewai told me the 
 Miamias were desirous of having an axe presented to them — I 
 agree to it — 
 
 The Upper Wabash, Miamitown to Ouiatenon, 
 October 28, to November 28, 1118. 
 
 28th. Wrote to General Haldimand — 182 C Lernoult — 
 Mr: Macomb — Sent off Captain La Mothe to the portage with 
 orders to assist with his men in passing the boats — 
 
 Had a conference with the Pouteouattamies of St. 
 Joseph — 183 Met the chiefs of the several nations assembled on 
 the plain, at a feast given by the Ottawas to the Miamis and other 
 Indians — prefaced a spirit of union — then addressed Nanaquibe 
 an old chief of the Pouteouattamies of St. Joseph, commended his 
 
 116 
 
zeal in coming so far at his advanced age to give an example to the 
 young men — having touched upon the impropriety of his wearing 
 a Medal of the French King while the King of G. Britain supplied 
 them with ammunition and all necessaries — having an English 
 Medal ready, I made the exchange — The War Song was then 
 sung first by myself, then by the Chiefs & principal warriors of the 
 different nations — The Sun was just setting when I took my leave, 
 and proceeded to pied froid, where the boats were ready for 
 transporting, on the other side of the river St. Joseph — 
 
 29th. The Gun boat was got on the Carriage with great 
 difficulty — Lorimier from the Shawanoe Towns — 184 directed 
 him to proceed to Detroit and take his orders from Captain 
 Lernoult — Left Major Hay and Captain Maisonville to forward 
 the boats over the portage, and walked to the further end of the 
 carrying place 3 leagues, where Captain Mc.Leod had a guard on 
 the Provisions &ca Orderd Off Lieutenants DuVernet and Schief- 
 felin with the six lbr. and fixed ammunition to go down the 
 Creek in Pirogues — 
 
 This creek is one of the sources of the Ouabache and takes 
 its rise in a level plain which is the heighth of land near the 
 Miamis Town — the creek is called petite riviere 185 Where the 
 pirogues were first launched it is only wide enough for one boat 
 and is much embarassd with logs and Stumps — about 4 miles be- 
 low is a Beaver dam, and to those animals the traders are indebted 
 for the conveniency of bringing their peltry by water from the 
 Indian posts on the waters of the Ouabache — The Indians are 
 sensible of the advantages they draw from the labors of the Beaver 
 at this place, and will not suffer them to be killed in this neighbour- 
 hood — On my return met Lt. DuVernet with 7 pirogues loaded, 
 orderd him to proceed and join Lt. St. Cosme who was below the 
 Dam with some men employed to clear the chemin couvert, 186 a 
 narrow part of the Creek, so narrow and embarrassd with logs 
 under water, and boughs over head that it required a great deal of 
 work to make it passable for our small craft — In Summer the trees 
 overarch the Creek, and as the snakes get into the branches it is 
 very disagreable to pass, as they frequently fall into the canoes — 
 
 30th. sent Lt. De Quindre with 7 pirogues loaded with 
 provision, & 14 men to follow Lt. DuVernet — In the evening 
 
 117 
 
went to the Dam which had been cut thro' to give a passage for 
 the pirogues, and by sinking a batteau in the gap and stopping the 
 water with sods and paddles raised the water — lay in the wood 
 this night — Wolves very numerous hereabout — 
 
 31st. returnd to the Camp at the portage — the water had 
 risen 7 inches since last evening — 
 
 November 1st. left the landing with 7 batteaus and 3 
 pirogues loaded with provision &ca and proceeded to the dam 
 which we opend, and yet found the water so scanty, that it was with 
 the greatest difficulty we passed the chemin couvert, the windings 
 are so short that our boats 32 feet long, reached sometimes from 
 point to point, we were yet worse off when we got to the end of 
 this narrow pass, coming to a swamp called les Volets, from the 
 water lilly which almost covers the surface of this fen — The bat- 
 teaus frequently rested on the mud and we labor'd hard to get thro', 
 being up to the knees in mud and entangled among the roots and 
 rotten stumps of trees — we at length got to the channel form'd 
 by the meeting of the petit riviere, and the riviere a boete — here 
 we encamp'd having got but 10 miles with great fatigue — 187 
 
 2d. Early in the morning sent off the Savages by land, and a 
 small party down the river to clear away the logs &ca — The rest 
 of the men were employed in damming the water of the two little 
 rivers to provide for our passage downwards — Lt. DuVernet who 
 had got some miles lower had wrote me word, that he could not 
 proceed for the shallowness of the water — we had had scarcely 
 any rain since leaving the Rocher de bout, and the frost having 
 now set in we had reason to apprehend such a drought as would 
 stop our progress — The advantage attending so much fair 
 weather was the carrying place being in tolerable condition, our 
 provision and ammunition being dry, and our men remarkably 
 healthy — 
 
 3d. Continued to work at the Dam — sent a light canoe to 
 the landing for workmen and Tools, which returnd at Vi past 12 
 at night — As I thought we might have occasion to return the 
 same way, and the water might fail, I had resolvd to make a sluice 
 at this dam — 
 
 4th. The Water was raised 3 feet — At eight o'Clock at 
 night Major Hay arrived with the remainder of the boats with 
 
 118 
 
provision &ca. Captain McKee joined us at the same time with 
 two Shawanese Chiefs, the white fish 188 ( ) and Wa we 
 
 ya pi yass in wa with a young warrior of the same nation ]a ni 
 thaa — 
 
 5 th. Mr. Nicholas Lowain being left at the Miamis Town 
 as commissary I wrote to him to permit the traders to come to 
 Ouiattanon with merchandize, as soon as he should hear of my 
 arrival there — Monsieur de Celoron excepted — 
 
 6th. Major Hay proceeded down the river the water being 
 let off, and made another dam a mile below riviere a 
 F Anglais— 189 
 
 7 th. We broke up this dam with the first dawn of day, and 
 proceeded to the pays plat, where the bed of the river being very 
 broad, with almost continued ledges of rock and large stones, we 
 found it very laborious and tedious to pass with our craft — The 
 men were in the water from ten o'Clock in the morning till after 
 Sunset, at which time only one batteau had got to the foot of the 
 Rifts — in this day's progress the most of our boats were greatly 
 damaged — The men were obliged to encamp as they could, 
 opposite to their boats, — all shewed the greatest cheerfullness 
 and alacrity, the officers having shared in the fatigue of the day — 
 some of the weightiest boats required 22 men to lift and draw 
 them at the same time — The lowest of the batteaus lay this night 
 at the petit rocher 190 a skreen of rock on the W. side of the river — 
 
 8th. Continued to work in the water to forward the boats — 
 sent to Lt. DuVernet for 7 light pirogues and 22 men to assist in 
 lightning the boats — Lt. DuVernet is encamped at the fork of 
 Ouabache 191 Pacane a Miami chief joined with 11 Warriors — 
 Thunder and rain from 2 o'Clock in the Morning till near night — 
 Wabaugay (The morning star) a young Chippowey chief, having 
 set off to reconnoitre towards Ouiattanon I sent Mr: Chene the 
 interpreter to recall him, at night a messenger from Lt. DuVernet 
 informed me the Indians had returnd — A quantity of our Flour 
 damaged by the leaking of the boats and the violent rain — 
 
 9th. set off from petit rocher — The men 5 hours in the 
 water haling the boats over the shoals and rocks for a league and 
 half — arrived at the forks of Ouabache at 3 o'clock p.m. and in 
 half an hour joined Lt. DuVernet at his encampment, set about 
 
 119 
 
calking and repairing the batteaus, which were much crazed by the 
 days journey — 
 
 10th. continued the repair of the boats, and airing the bales 
 which had got wet — The provision having been landed at petit 
 rocher to lighten the batteaus, sent up 5 men with eight pirogues 
 to fetch it down. The River begins to rise from the great fall of 
 rain — had a conference last night with the chiefs, and shewed 
 them the bad consequence of sending off a decouverte 192 at so great 
 a distance from an enemy — They allowed it and this day set their 
 young men the example of working along with the Soldiers, bring- 
 ing down the provision from petit rocher, some of them carrying 
 200 lb of flour on their shoulders — 
 
 1 lth. It began to snow — sent off 3 pirogues to petit rocher 
 to bring away the remainder of the provisions — Orderd Charles 
 Baubin (Interpreter for the Miamis) to acquaint them that their 
 encamping 5 leagues distant, was neither agreeable to me or the 
 other nations, and to desire their chiefs not to suffer any of their 
 young men to go ahead without orders — 
 
 12 th. Exercised the Cannon and small arms at Marks — The 
 arms in very good order — The Savages expressed great surprize 
 to see a mark of a foot square struck from the 61br. at about 300 
 yards distance — A conference with the chiefs this night on the 
 subject of our march — Our craft 40 in number repaired — 
 Orderd a pickett to mount in future of 1 Sub. 1 Serjt. 18 R. & F. 
 Last night C. McKee arrived from the Miamis with an account of 
 the Shawanese having attacked and defeated a party of Rebels who 
 had carried off some of their horses, and recover'd their cattle. 
 
 13th. was spent in repairing batteaus, sending down pro- 
 vision by land to Salamani River, 193 to lighten the boats, & 
 embarking provisions and stores in those which were repaired — 
 
 14th. Could not get off before 11 a.m. It had snowed hard 
 last night This morning it blows hard with smart frost. — The 
 water so low and the bed of the river so rocky we had great diffi- 
 culty to get the boats forward — 14000 weight had been for- 
 warded by land, yet in this severe weather when the water froze on 
 their poles at every dip, the men were obliged to get into the 
 water to assist in pushing the boats along, sometimes 20 to a 
 
 120 
 
boat — my own boat, one pirogue and the Carpenters canoe were 
 the only voitures that got down to VErable penchee (the sloping 
 maple) at dark, half frozen — 
 
 15 th. An hour before day unloaded my batteau and sent 
 the men off with her, to assist in bringing down the rest and to 
 point out the channel — The Carpenters were busy in clearing the 
 ground for encamping, and the guard that came by land with the 
 provision, making fires against their arrival — Last night the 
 Miamis Indians encamped 500 yards below us, and having 
 arranged themselves according to ancient custom, one of their 
 Chiefs called by the French (le petit gris, dappled fawn) in the 
 Miamis tongue Waspikingua or Necaquangai harrangued them 
 as follows — 
 
 Young men! We are now going to war, should any dispute 
 arise among you, or hasty words pass, recollect that your busyness 
 is War and let it pass unnoticed — War is sometimes necessary and 
 the consequence to many must be death — let us bear in mind that 
 some of us must fall, and the rest return in mourning, but that 
 thought must not deterr us from doing our duty — We must die, 
 when it is the will of the supreme being the master of life — We 
 are here mixed with the English, the French and several different 
 tribes of the brown skins, let us not take offence at any thing which 
 may be said, since we are unacquainted as well with their language 
 as their customs — however let no man even in joke use a 
 threatening gesture with his knife, or his War axe — These people 
 (the Christians) have not the same religion with us, We believe in 
 the Deities of the woods and rivers, as well as in the supreme lord, 
 they believe only in one sovereign being presiding over all — Our 
 method of making war is by surprize, Our father the Englishman 
 has another method, however let us act our part as men, we must 
 expect shot to fall as thick as drops of rain, but we are no more 
 than men, born to die — I exhort you all to diligence and activity, 
 let every one bear his share in all fatigues — God above looks 
 down upon us, and will punish the lazy, he that is slow in making 
 his fire shall suffer cold, he that is tardy in hunting must expect to 
 suffer hunger — The various nations have different customs, I 
 will not implore all their Deities, but pray for the protection of 
 those of our own Nation and ask of them victory for my followers, 
 
 121 
 
and that we may be allowed to revisit our Villages, our Wives and 
 our Children — 
 
 16th. At half past 11 a.m. left 1'Erable penchee having 
 taken in all our provision, and repaird our boats as well as 
 possible — 
 
 This morning the Indians having represented that it was 
 contrary to their customs to have the Nattes (Budgetts which 
 contain their Household Gods, relics, and such things as they use 
 in their divinations Medicines &ca) in their rear when going to 
 War, I found their superstition too strong to be combatted, and 
 accordingly orderd the Interpreters to tell them, they should on 
 all occasions fix their camp in their own manner, that is, advanced 
 toward the Enemy's country — 
 
 It is well known that these people seldom if ever, post sen- 
 tinels or keep watch at night, tho ever so essential to their 
 security — 
 
 Their camp is formed in this manner — Large fires are 
 kindled before which they lie in rows, on each side, with their feet 
 towards the fire — At their heads are placed their arms leaning 
 against a rock — In this position they go to sleep, and if any noise 
 is made or alarm given, the first who hears it touches his neigh- 
 bour, and the whole are presently roused, tho in silence, and take 
 to their arms without bustle or confusion — Should any one have 
 a dream which bodes something favorable, or the contrary he 
 relates it in the morning to his comrades, and their reliance on 
 omens is such, as frequently to defeat an enterprize — Sometimes 
 a man who is disposed to return from war, makes known a dream 
 which calls for him to quit his comrades, no one pretends to dis- 
 suade him, he takes his pack, and sets off perhaps accompanied by 
 some of his comrades, the Chief not pretending to interpose — The 
 following well known story shows their attention to, and religious 
 observance of Dreams — 
 
 A Mohawk Chief having observed at Sir William Johnson's 
 a very handsome fowling piece over the Chimney, took occasion to 
 tell S. W. that he had dreamed that he had made it a present to 
 him, Sir W. well acquainted with their customs, told the chief that 
 since he had had such a Dream, the fowling piece was at his 
 Service — some time after Sir William told the Chief he had 
 
 122 
 
dreamed that the Indian had made him a present of a certain tract 
 of land, The Indian at the same time that he promised Sir William 
 that he should be put in possession told him that he himself should 
 take care how he dreamed again — 
 
 The Indians from their infancy learn to imitate the cries and 
 call of Beasts and birds, and acquire such perfection as to deceive 
 not only one another, but the animals which they by this means 
 frequently make their prey, of this I have known instances — This 
 power of imitation is often used with success in War, which they 
 chiefly carry on by surprizes — On some occasions (as I have been 
 told) a Chief directs his Warriors to use such or such calls, and 
 these are repeated at intervals so that in extending their front to 
 surprize an enemy, none may stray too wide — They frequently 
 crawl a considerable distance, laying down branches and twigs 
 which are in their way, with the greatest care and patience — 
 sometimes they smear their bodies with clay or earth or different 
 colours, approaching to that of the trees, leaves or grass that they 
 are to pass thro' that they may lie undiscovered — Hunger and 
 thirst they support with admirable constancy, and continue in con- 
 strained postures and the most irksome situations, by which means 
 they frequently effect their purpose — I have no doubt of their 
 being able to fast three days and even longer, tho their precautions 
 are such, and their knowledge of roots and other vegetable eatables 
 such, that they are rarely put to great straights for hunger — even 
 in Swamps they find eatable and even wholesome food, they can- 
 not however prevail on themselves to eat snakes or frogs, tho both 
 be very nourishing and platable — The Indians support the 
 fatigues of rapid marches and will go a round trot of between four 
 and five miles an hour for a long summers day without halting for 
 refreshmt which gives them a vast advantage over the whites, even 
 the best Woodmen. 
 
 A Provision which they seldom are in want of is made of the 
 fat flank of Deer, dryed and lightly smoaked, this pounded small 
 with a certain proportion of Indian-corn-meal and maple sugar — 
 They commonly mix some of this with water, a small quantity is 
 sufficient thus hunger and thirst are satisfied together with very 
 little delay — 
 
 In the neighbourhood of the Sea, the Clam fish is dried in the 
 
 123 
 
shade and strung on a packthread which they wear over the 
 shoulder as a belt, and this being very nutritious food, I am told 
 three will support one of them for a day — Passed the pain de 
 sucre, or sugar loaf, 194 a rock on the river side about 100 feet high, 
 the only high land in view — Tis on the Eastern shore — We 
 encamped about a league below on the opposite shore — 
 
 17th. Rain all day, however we made seven leagues, and 
 encamped on the S.E. side of the River — 
 
 18th. Had hard work to pass several rapids — The men 
 were obliged to work in the water tho it was extremely cold — 
 passed the Mississinoui a pretty large river on the N. E. side — 195 
 encamped at (les arbres mataches) the painted trees — so called 
 from a number of Trees marked with Indian figures in Ver- 
 million — This place is about a league below the little riviere au 
 Calumet. 196 Having halted about noon to make a fire, a messenger 
 from the Miamis of Riviere a l'anguille 197 informed us, that the 
 people of his Village, waited impatiently for us, & were rejoyced 
 to hear of our coming. We heard also, that the Ouiattanon indians 
 were assembled on the hither side of Ouiat, 198 in expectation of our 
 arrival — 
 
 19th. Being a fair day, we employed in repairing some of 
 our batteaus — Met the Savages of Eel river (riviere a l'anguille) 
 and the Pouteouattamies of the river Thipicono 199 (This is the 
 name of a fish something resembling the white Bass, but larger) — 
 These last made a present to the Ottawas of several shrouds and 
 blanketts to cover the bones of an Ottawa, sometime ago killed 
 by them — 
 
 The speaker to whom a year before I had given a pipe Toma- 
 hawk coverd with silver wire, said that he was a man who loved 
 his wife and children, and who did not intermeddle for good or 
 bad, that he was well pleased to see us on our march against the 
 rebels, but that he had no decisive part to take — 
 
 I rose with intention to speak harshly to him, and remind 
 him of the promises he had made when at Detroit, but I contented 
 myself with returning thanks to those Nations who had left their 
 wives and children to follow me to war — That I did not come 
 thro their country with a design of inveigling men to war, that the 
 rivers and paths were the Kings highways, thro which I meant to 
 
 124 
 
pass to find out the Rebels — shewed them the roadbelt, and told 
 them that I had compassion on their women and children, which 
 was the reason I had come from so great a distance to drive in- 
 vaders off their lands, that on my arrival at Ouiattanon, I should 
 cancel the Piankashaa contract 200 That those men who joined me, 
 should receive arms ammunition &ca — 
 
 The Speaker said he was disposed to sit quiet, and wait to see 
 his old Father (meaning that he expected to see the French again 
 in possession of the country) — 
 
 I broke off the meeting abruptly, and told them I was going 
 to exercise my young men, and gave orders for the men to turn out 
 and fire ball at a mark, which they did, and shewed great dexterity 
 firing very quick and making excellent shots — The six pounder 
 was exercised also — 
 
 In the Evening Mr: Chesne the interpreter told me, that 
 several of the Miamis and Pouteouattamies of this district meant to 
 accompany us, And that the speaker himself said, he had only 
 spoken for himself That men were made to go to war, and that 
 the young men would not be prevented by what he had said in the 
 Morning — 
 
 Kinebec a maingong is the name of the Village of the Miamis 
 at this place which means Snake River, the Indians calling an Eeal 
 Kinebec as they do a snake likewise — 201 
 
 20th. It snowed almost all day and blew hard — Had a con- 
 ference with the Pouteouattamies of this settlement, who having 
 been reproved by the Ottawa chiefs for inconsistency, appeared 
 something better disposed — they had said the day before that 
 they were disposed to act as the other nations, but the Ottawas 
 remarkd they did not act agreably to their professions — 
 
 In the afternoon I went to the Village of the Miamis and had 
 a long discourse with them on the subject of our design — They 
 said their small numbers did not admit of sending off many 
 Warriors but they would shew their good disposition, and 
 immediately the chiefs named for War, ten of those present — The 
 Old Wolf was appointed their chief, He was one who had insulted 
 the Rebels at St. Vincennes — An old man of 70 called the lead 
 mine walked to the camp which was 4 miles and V2 distant within 
 20 minutes as soon as we had gone it tho' we ran two thirds of the 
 way — 
 
 125 
 
21st. We had a sharp Frost with high wind, and the diffi- 
 culty great in getting our boats along — 
 
 A point of land advances into the River which terminates by 
 a Bluff of rock — This had formerly been called by Travellers 
 Le Navire the Ship, but the last year a considerable part of it 
 having fallen into the river (as I suppose by an earthquake, tho 
 the Indians say 'twas by a stroke of lightning) It has lost its 
 likeness — Chrystals, petrifications of different soils, the coruna 
 ammonis particularly, are found in abundance, the rocks having 
 been lately rent in their fall discover many of them — I had not 
 time to gratify my curiosity fully at this place, but in walking thro' 
 the wood about 300 yards from the shore, and almost abreast of 
 the Ship — We discoverd a Rock in the form nearly of a Vessels 
 hull which tho rudely formd attracted our notice — on examining, 
 we found it to contain petrified shells &ca. and to be much of the 
 nature of the Rock formerly called the Ship — 202 
 
 The Savages and the foremost boats got down below the great 
 rapid 203 a league from the mouth of Eel river (riviere a l'anguille) , 
 the rest stoppd at different distances according to the difficulties 
 them \_sic\ had to encounter — It was three in the afternoon 
 before the headmost boats put in, and at night several remaind on 
 the rocks in the river, it being difficult from the number of different 
 channels to make choice of the right ones — This was a dreary 
 sight as the water was dayly growing colder and the cakes of 
 floating ice frequently cut the mens legs as they luggd at the boats 
 in the water — 
 
 2 2d Before the sun was up I went to the encampment 
 opposite the headmost boats It had frozen hard in the night, and 
 before the men could get at their boats they were obliged to break 
 the ice with poles and then drag in the water up to their knees — 
 Light Pirogues were sent from below to take out part of the 
 loading of the boats which were aground — The uppermost boats 
 discharged part of their loading which was carried by the men on 
 shore to the foot of the rapid, at 3 in the afternoon the greater 
 number of the boats were got down, and the work was continued 
 till near dark — Light boats had some of them made four trips to 
 the head of the rapid — In the evening large fires were made and 
 rum was given to the men who had sufferd great fatigue and 
 
 126 
 
hardship, the ice had greatly damaged some of our boats, a Pirogue 
 in particular was cut thro for the length of 3 feet by which some 
 casks of peas were damaged — 
 
 The several Tribes of Indians at night danced the war dance, 
 and sung war songs for near six hours without intermission — 
 
 The men being squanderd on the river in different little 
 camps we could not mount pickett guard — 
 
 23d. This day we had snow, yet we employed the time in 
 bringing down the Provisions &ca from above and repairing the 
 damage done to our boats by coming down the rapid — A Court 
 martial on one of the Grenadiers of the 8th. (for breeding a 
 disturbance) and one of La Mothe's Volunteers, Giles & Frichette 
 
 The Indian chiefs were assembled, when I communicated 
 my design of sending Major Hay to Ouiattonon with the Inter- 
 preters Chesne and Reaume, to compliment the nation and 
 acquaint them with our arrival in the Country — this they 
 approved — 
 
 Memm: to have Powder, Rum &ca. seized on the King's 
 account. 
 
 This night the Indians sung to their Nattes as the French call 
 them — These are Budgets which contain little figures of different 
 kinds, some as Amulets, some as household Gods, these when they 
 go to war they paint with vermillion — Their Priests who are 
 usually their doctors are provided with an apparatus very different 
 from our quacks, this is usually carryed in the budget and consists 
 of the heads, bones or skins of certain animals, preserved Birds in 
 the feather, Snakes skins, Bows and arrows contrived with springs 
 to bundle up with the other valuable effects, Wolves teeth Panthers 
 claws, Eagles talons &ca — The Juglers have these at hand for 
 whenever, by drenches steam baths or emetics they have procured 
 any relief from [for] one of their patients, they feign to have 
 drawn a Bears tooth or Birds claw out of the part affected which 
 when they produce to the sick man his imagination seldom fails 
 to take part with the Doctors skill and perfect the cure — 
 
 There are Juglers among them who pretend to swallow 
 arrows, eat fire and take down live birds — The Indians have I 
 am told a certain root which they chew while they perform their 
 fiery tryals, and that they can endure a great degree of heat while 
 
 127 
 
the virtue of these roots operates — When I shall have seen it 
 performed I may judge. 
 
 When the camp fires are lighted and when the Warriors have 
 finished their Meal, the Priests goes in the front of the encampment 
 and begins his incantation The Budget being a few paces before 
 him — at the full extent of his Voice he roars out his prayer or 
 adjuration, which is in a tone between melancholic and terrific — 
 The various tunes in various languages bellowed aloud by these 
 Heralds of the night, the thickness of the Woods and darkness of 
 the Weather with the blaze of a great many large fires extending 
 along the Savage camp for a considerable length, the intervals of 
 silence from time to time broken by these horrible Songs, some- 
 times by a Chorus of Wolves in full cry after the Deer, formd a 
 very strange but striking medley — Every nation has his Magus 
 chainting in the front of the Camp at one time, vying with each 
 other in strength of lungs, at these times they pretend that their 
 devotion procures them the sight of their Genius, and as their 
 fasts are sometimes very severe, I should not be surprized if an 
 empty stomach produced a light head and made visionaries of 
 them — 
 
 24th. Being a fine day we finished the repairing our boats — 
 
 Pacane (The nut) a Miamis chief came to my hut to speak on 
 the Subject of a Belt sent by the Chickasaas to the Shawanese and 
 other Nations — 
 
 A little after 12 at noon left our camp the water very cold and 
 greatly lowerd by the Frost — past Riviere a l'anguille which was 
 at this time very low, tho subject at time to violent floods — It is 
 about 150 yards wide at the mouth and some of us waded it quite 
 across — 
 
 The Indians on this river told me there is a prodigious plenty 
 of Eaels in this river which is the more probable as the Indians 
 call them by the same name with a snake (Kinebec) and never 
 eat of them — hower [however] as I told them and some of their 
 ladies, that a Village situated as theirs, ought to be more populous 
 then it was, and that Eel soupe was nearly equal to Viper broth, 
 they may possibly diminish the number of Eels to add to their 
 own — 
 
 Before Sunset we found the Ouabache frozen quite across 
 
 128 
 
we determined however to pass at this bar if possible before it 
 should be fortifyed by the addition of floating ice, with some labor 
 & by going out of our boats we effected a passage, and encampd 
 a small distance below a little after Sunset, having been 5 hours 
 without making a halt — The men very chearfull and not one 
 sick — encamped about a mile above the petit rocher — 204 
 
 25 th. This morning we found the rapids very shallow from 
 the frost The river about 200 yards across at the petit rocher, a 
 ledge of Rocks about 20 feet high, which having tumbled piece- 
 meal at different times has choaked the channel and left but a very 
 narrow pass for boats — The pilots must be very dextrous to pass 
 the channels, a great descent rendring the water very swift, and 
 sunken rocks lying scatterd, render the passing very difficult. 
 
 Notwithstanding every attention and the efforts of the men 
 several boats were stoppd here, those acquainted with the rapids 
 stood in the water and pointed out the way — fortunately tho it 
 froze hard there was but little wind — about 3 o'clock p.m. we 
 got to the pierced island — (Isle percee) — 205 a narrow passage 
 for boats is formd at this place either by the violence of the current 
 in great floods or by an earthquake, I rather imagine the former — 
 Its appearance has nothing romantic or striking, but the water 
 passes with the rapidity of a Millstream — This morning the 
 heavyest boats had been draggd with great labor, but here all the 
 boats were to be hauled over the shallows and these were in extent 
 half a mile at least below the pierced Island — 
 
 These inevitable retardements gave me some uneasy moments 
 as the advance of the season threatned us with a frost severe 
 enough to put an effectual stop to our progress — The drought 
 had been unusual and the frost had dryed up many of the small 
 streams — At our encampment some principal men of the 
 Ouiattonons (des considered) made their appearance — The 
 names of the men of this nation are surely the most whymsical of 
 any in the World La Morve (snot) la mauvaise panse (rot gut) 
 le grand Pin (Toledo) la mauvaise bouche (bad or rotten mouth) 
 la gaine (The sheath) — 
 
 The French traders give them the character of being thievish, 
 cruel, and cowardly — As I did not understand the Peankashaa 
 
 129 
 
(or Ouiattonon) language, I could not tell what Character these 
 Savages gave the Traders — 
 
 However the most reverend of these gentry told me he was 
 himself too old to go to war, besides that he was in mourning, but 
 he would send his Son and some young men, That he was not a 
 Chief, yet had some men at his disposal — Importance and Vanity 
 are of all climates, while I am writing, this man of consequence is 
 no talker, and my Ink freezes in my pen tho I am near enough to 
 a fire to scorch my shins — I found myself much in his predica- 
 ment as to importance so was very attentive to their great men — 
 
 At our last encampment I had remarkd fossils on the top of 
 the hill and here the soil very fertile, producing, Maple, nutwood, 
 & other forest trees, Oaks of a great size, Beach &ca. The long 
 grass which the men laid in the boats was not speary, but like 
 oatstraw — 
 
 26th. Had the boats loaded before sunrise — saluted our 
 Ouiattonon friends, who from an excess of politeness had nearly 
 fired in my face yesterday — 
 
 The frost being very severe, the wind high, and the water 
 very shallow, we had great difficulty to get along — The roughness 
 of the water prevented our finding the channel — The Men 
 sufferd much, many of them having their legs cut by the floating 
 ice, being obliged to work in the water to save the boats which 
 were also much injured — After getting V2 a mile we were obliged 
 to land, make fires, and recruit the men with a dram each 
 
 About 3 p m. we found the river completely barrd with ice, 
 and that of a considerable thickness — With the help of poles, 
 and by swaying in the batteaus, (Tho that we knew must open their 
 seams) we broke our Way for about 100 Yards and proceeded 
 about two miles, here again we had another barrier of strong ice 
 to break thro', in order to get into the Channel on the south side of 
 the Garlic Islands — 206 Half a mile below them we got into deep 
 water, and encampd on the South shore — The Indians who had 
 attempted to pass the ice in the Evening, had workd till they were 
 tired in vain — They encampd about a mile and half above us on 
 the North Shore — 
 
 The Woods where Beech are the chief timber are good for 
 encamping being free from undergrowth — perhaps the soil is 
 
 130 
 
peculiarly adapted to that tree, or its thick shade discourages the 
 brush from rising — but in many places on the banks of the 
 Ouabache, the Grape vines, raspberries, prickly ash, brambles and 
 thornvines are so thich that ones Flesh as well as their cloaths must 
 be torn to pieces in passing but a short way — 
 
 In the night a blast at S. W. cleared away the ice and softend 
 the air — 
 
 27 Set off early and had but little difficul ty — halted a little 
 above the coal mine, 207 to rest and warm the men — Some 
 Ouiattanons met us here and would have detained us, but they 
 were desired to follow to our camp, which was to be a little above 
 the mouth of the Thipicono, a River whose source is near that of 
 Ouabache and whose course is nearly parallel 1 with it — 
 
 About a mile before we arrived at our camp, we had to 
 force our way thro' thick floating ice, which choakd the river, soon 
 after our Arrival the Indians just mentioned arrived — 
 
 They said I must not be surprized that they had not under- 
 taken to drive out the rebels, as their women and children were too 
 much in their power, but that our arrival encouraged them to act, 
 and I might be assured they would do what I should require of 
 them — These men informed me the rebels were gone from St. 
 Vincennes to Kaskaskias — 
 
 The coal mine lies on each side of the river the N. side of 
 which is hilly the S. level — The abundance of fine timber will 
 for centuries render the opening this mine unnecessary — But so 
 great are the disadvantages attending the settling on the banks of 
 this river, notwithstanding the fertility of the soil, as will probably 
 deter any but Indian Traders from it and they must be the poorer 
 sort. Its vast distance from the sea, the scarcity of water for a part 
 of the Year, and the violent floods in the Spring and fall, the tur- 
 bulence of the Savages inhabiting these parts who are more fickle, 
 ignorant, and jealous than their neighbours. 
 
 The characters of most of the Europeans who have dealings 
 with them are not likely to improve the morals, or remove the 
 jealousies of the Indians, as in all remote posts are to be found the 
 most faithless and abandond among the Traders — Men of that 
 stamp will naturally attempt to push their fortune where they are 
 least known — 
 
 131 
 
These Indians as well as the Ilinois, and Misouri Tribes, 
 have been kept almost altogether in the dark with respect to the 
 power of the British Nation, few but contemptible Renegadoes 
 from the English having been seen among them, & the French 
 Traders from interest as well as a mortified pride, decrying as 
 much as possible every thing that was not French — every thing 
 of European fabric is by them called french, they carry this yet 
 farther by calling some kinds of Wild Ducks French ducks — 
 
 Orderd the mens arms to be set against horses in the Streets 
 and a walking Sentry at night in each Street of the camp, to give 
 notice of rain, and to take the alarm from the out Picketts — 
 
 28th. Stoppd at the cabin of the white head a chief of the 
 Ouittanon Indians, who expressd great pleasure at seeing me, told 
 me he had always encouraged those of his nation to wait my 
 arrival, that the Chiefs who were out at their hunting ground were 
 not very distant and could readyly be summoned, that he should 
 go down to our camp to hear what might pass in the assembly — 
 This Chief told me that the sale of Lands made by the Old Tobacco 
 (a Peankashaa) had much displeased all the Indians — That the 
 situation of their families had deterrd the Savages from taking an 
 active part against the rebels, but that our coming would be a great 
 encouragement to them — 
 
 The few Indians at this wintering ground had killed an amaz- 
 ing quantity of game — I was regaled by the princess if not in the 
 neatest, at least in the most hospitable manner, Some Raccoon's 
 flesh smoaked, and teized 208 so as to look like shreds of Oakum, 
 was taken out of a skin and served in a platter — The lady then 
 took some raccoons grease out of a bag with a wooden Miquain or 
 spoon, and with a hand of much the same color with the spoon, 
 scooped out what stuck in it — These good folk were much 
 chagrined that I could not stay till their soupe, of Venison 
 Beans, and Maize was ready, but as we set off, they threw a dozen 
 Head Raccoons into the boat — These peoples Cabins, and manner 
 of living is too nearly like that of other Indians to merit any 
 particular description — 
 
 we encamped a small mile above the Village of Ouiattanon 
 not very comfortably, as wood was scarce, and it had raind from 
 12 at noon 'till pretty far in the night. — 
 
 132 
 
Ouiatenon to Vincennes, 
 
 Hamilton Takes Vincennes, 
 
 November 29 to December 17, 1778. 
 
 29th. This Morning Major Hay who had been at the Village 
 to gain what intelligence he could of the proceedings of the rebeis, 
 returned — I find that they have had every countenance and 
 encouragement from the French traders — Le Gras has a com- 
 mission as Major signed by their commander, Bosseron a Captain's, 
 Baron an Adjutant's, Monbrun, and Perault Officers — 
 
 I am told there is no Fort at the falls of Ohio, but am still 
 in the belief there is, as the Shawanoe Chief so lately described to 
 me, the situation of the Tsland and the falls — 
 
 Some reports make the rebels 60 at Kaskasquias, 40 at 
 Cahokia others 280 in all — French reports variable as the 
 authors — 
 
 An officer of the name of Helm commands at St. Vincennes — 
 Colonel George Rogers Clarke at the Ilinois — Jean Baptiste 
 Chapoton a trader from Detroit had come last night to my tent and 
 was very coolly receiv'd, yet this morning he made his appearance 
 with his usual affronterie, I desired to see his pass dated 17th, Feby. 
 and askd him how he presumed to go to the Ilinois contrary to the 
 Oath and obligation of his passport — he answer'd that he and 
 Mr : Rapicault [Raimbault? ] having been in partnership, the state 
 of that person's affairs had engaged him to go — I asked him, how 
 he could excuse his not informing me of the arrival of the rebels 
 in the Country, since he was on the spot- He said Mr: Le Gras had 
 written, that his own writing was not legible, He thought he was at 
 liberty to go on any part of his Majesty's possessions, all futile, 
 impudent evasions, & received with the contempt they deserved — 
 
 The six pounder was fired frequently to draw in the Indians 
 from their hunting — 
 
 30th. The Men were exercised in firing at a Mark — Went 
 to the Fort which is formd of a double range of houses enclosed 
 with a Stockade 10 feet high, and very poorly defensive against 
 small arms. 209 The Indian Cabins of this settlement are about 90, 
 
 133 
 
the families may be estimated at 10 to a cabin — The French 
 inhabitants being summoned to meet me in the Chapel I lectured 
 Messrs: Chapoton and Raimbault — They were well provided 
 with evasive answers for every question I put to them — 
 
 The Outarde a Ouiattanon orator who had been in the 
 Summer at Detroit, came from his wintering and saluted me at 
 the fort, shortly after the Ottawas came in to dance — In the after- 
 noon Kissingua (a mixed Ottawa & Miamis) arrived with 10 
 Ouiattanons for war, said he had been looking out for us till his 
 eyes were sore, but that when he heard the report of a cannon in 
 the wood, he was certain his father was arrived, & he had hastend 
 to give him his hand — 21 ° fixed 10 o'Clock next morning for a 
 meeting of the Indians in Council. — The Indians in high spirits, 
 tho no liquor had been issued — 
 
 December 1st. Employed part of the day in drying damaged 
 provisions &ca Held a talk with all the chiefs in the Morning, 
 shewed the road-belt to the Ouiattanons, informd them of the 
 sentiments of the 6 nations and the conformity of the lake 
 Indians — 
 
 Spoke to them on the subject of the sale of lands privately 
 made by the Old Tobacco, and some of the Peankashaas, as a thing 
 transacted without the consent of parties concernd, as an irregular 
 proceeding unauthorized by the Crown whose sanction was neces- 
 sary in public acts of such a nature that the compensation was by no 
 means equivalent to what was stipulated by the Kings regulations, 
 which being the case I told them they could not be bound, I 
 therefore in presence of them all burnt the copy of the Contract 
 and cession of lands, telling them that when I should see The Old 
 Tobacco and his son, I should make them understand how im- 
 prudently they had acted with regard to their Brethren the River 
 Indians — 
 N.B. A Copy of this contract sent to Sir G. C. as well as to Ld. G G. 
 
 Methusaagai (a Chippowey Chief) gave them a belt from the 
 6 nations by which they were exhorted to join the other Indians in 
 acting against the Rebels, and to give credit to what they should 
 hear from the English, who befriended and supported them — 
 
 Methusaagai deliverd also a belt from the Women living 
 upon the lakes, addressed to the Wives of the River Indians, ex- 
 
 134 
 
horting them to work hard with their hoes, to raise corn for the 
 Warriors who should take up the Axe for their Father the King of 
 England — 
 
 The Ouiattonons declared themselves well pleased to have 
 the information the Chippowey chief had communicated, and that 
 they were disposed to follow the good example of their brethren — 
 That Quiquapouhquaa (crooked legs) an old Chief who had 
 received an English Medal from me at Detroit, had accepted a 
 flag from the Rebels, and that they were uneasy till he brought it 
 in to me — 211 In the Evening the War Chief (Petite face) with 
 22 Warriors were accommodated with blankets &ca — 212 
 
 As it was necessary to sharpen the War axe of their Gentry, 
 a feast of two hogs with a due proportion of what they call Milk 
 (Rum) was prepared, they acknowledged they had received an axe 
 at Detroit which had lain by till this time, but since they saw the 
 Indians from That Quarter determined to act, they would not be 
 behind them — 
 
 Godefroi Pittette and Raimbault French Inhabitants offerd 
 their services, this last promising to act so as to retrieve his 
 Character — 
 
 2d. Major Hay went to the Fort, swore the Inhabitants, and 
 hoisted the St. George's Ensign, which the Indians were informd 
 was to be understood as a guarantee of protection and security of 
 their lands — A party of a Serjeant and six rank and file from 
 each of the Detachments presented their Arms on the Flag being 
 hoisted and three rounds from the six pounder were fired — 
 
 One Magnian a Trader of this post, who had gone voluntarily 
 on this errand to some of the Chiefs in the neighbourhood, returnd 
 with an account that two of the Quiquaboe chiefs were on their 
 way, that they had hesitated but he had persuaded them to come. 
 
 A Feast about 2 p m. at the Ottawa encampment — After the 
 usual Oraison, Egushewai sung the war song having two war belts 
 and three Death hammers togather in his hand — — The men 
 were exercised in firing at marks — A chief of the Ouiattanon 
 Indians named La Natte (the budget) properly means a Mat) 
 left an Heiress who agreable to their customs, represented the 
 Family and wore a French medal, as she is married to a Chief who 
 had some influence and who wore an English Medal I wished to 
 
 135 
 
exchange her Medal for a large English one which I put about her 
 neck having taken off her own, at the same time giving her some 
 silver brooches and bracelets, but in a few minutes she appeared 
 dissatisfied, and all my arguments could not prevail with her to be 
 divorced from her old Medal — 213 However on my insisting that 
 she should keep the bracelets she resumed her good humor — 
 Mahinomba an Old Quiquaboe chief came in after Sunset from 
 his hunting ground 25 leagues distant, He had been at Detroit in 
 the Summer with 5 other old men — I told him that tho' contrary 
 to custom to speak on busyness after Sunset, I would break thro' 
 that custom and even put off my journey for a day, that he might 
 have an opportunity of conversing with the Chiefs of the other 
 nations — 
 
 3d. Met all the Chiefs, held much the same discourse as with 
 the Ouiattanon Indians — They said on the arrival of the 
 Virginians their War Chiefs had consulted Monsieur de Celoron on 
 the occasion, asking him how they should act, That they were told 
 they must hide the War belts they had received at Detroit — They 
 acknowledged they were afraid to take up the hatchet as their 
 families were exposed too much to the inroads of the Virginians — 
 
 The War Song was sung by a number of different chiefs, And 
 when I gave the War belt to the young Quiquaboe chief, I 
 presented him with a handsome couteau de chasse — 214 
 
 Those who spoke, delivrd themselves as I could have wished 
 and appeared highly pleased at the sight of their friends, as well 
 as with their speeches, and promised to follow their example — 
 
 They gave a belt to the Chippoweys to cover the bones of all 
 their deceased forefathers on both sides and a pipe or Calumet 
 to conciliate their good will — 
 
 This is a usual ceremony, that any disagreable impression of 
 former disputes or rupture may be effaced — 
 
 I had opened the assembly by smoaking out of the Calumets 
 presented me by the Shawanoes and Quiquaboes at Detroit with 
 which they seemed well pleased, saying they observed I did not 
 forget my Children and that all the Tribes on the Ouabache would 
 act to my wish — Some complained of age and infirmities which 
 would not allow them to follow me — One after the rest had 
 spoke, said Father! I have waited to the last, I have heard others 
 
 136 
 
speak for my part nothing ails me, my legs are stout and well able 
 to carry me as far as you will chuse to go — 
 
 The Quiquaboe Chief who was the principal speaker in the 
 Council said that on the approach of the Rebels to Ouiattanon they 
 were taught to think them so numerous that opposition would be 
 in vain, for which reason they had hid the Axe I had given them 
 at Detroit, (meaning the War belt) but that when they actually 
 arrived, and their number proved so inconsiderable, (there were 
 but 70 or 80) One of the Chiefs shewed them the Belt, and told 
 them that was prepared to strike them — 
 
 The same chief told me, the greater part of their people were 
 at this time dispersed at their hunting grounds, but that in the 
 Spring they would appear like Musquetoes and infest the Ohio, and 
 all the Rebel Frontier — 96 Cabins at this Village, computed at 
 10 souls per Cabin — Total 960- reckon a third part Warriors 
 320 — but more likely 2 Warriors to a cabin 192 Warrions in 
 all — 215 (Dawson, Wiggins, Thompson, Cottrel, DuBois, Traders, 
 and Serjeant Mr. Evers of La Mothe's arrived from Detroit. Orderd 
 Cloathing powder and the usual equipment for the old Men 
 women and children of the Quiquaboes, and Arms &ca for those 
 Warriors who were to accompany us — About 1 1 at night we had 
 an Eclipse of the Moon, the Savages as is usual with them fired 
 small arms almost the whole time it continued — The Tuette a 
 Chief Son in law of La Natte being asked about the Eclipse said he 
 had thought at first the camp was attackd but happning to look up 
 saw the occasion of it and fired as the rest — 
 
 4th. Prepared to take in as many of the Savages as our 
 batteaus could hold conveniently — A Ouiattanon Chief called le 
 Forgeron (the Blacksmith) asked for a War belt, which having 
 received he said, Why should not I go to War, I am old, I am too 
 lame to be able to run away, War is my vocation, I had rather after 
 my death have the flesh torn off the bones by wild beasts, than that 
 it should lye to rot idly in the ground, meaning he preferred Death 
 in the field of battle, to dying a natural death at home. 216 
 
 Being told that old Quiquapouhquaa was coming I deferrd 
 my Journey, and about Dusk he arrived when I went to speak to 
 him and his people — I told them that on the first news of the 
 arrival of the Rebels in that Country, I had proposed coming to 
 
 137 
 
dispossess them, that the Indians bordering on the Lakes had offerd 
 to accompany me to assist their brethren of the Ouabache, that the 
 Tribes of Indians which lay on my road had also joined me — That 
 I had reason to be surprized that he who had been at Detroit, 
 should so soon have forgot what I said to him there, since he and 
 his people had been received as my children — 
 
 That it had been told me he had acted very unwisely in 
 listening to the Rebels, and tho' it was late, I meant to enlighten 
 them and to undeceive them as to the notions they had been 
 possessd with, by ignorant or designing persons — That I would 
 hear his excuse before I would condemn his conduct — That the 
 Great King my master, was always ready to pardon those who 
 seeing their error returnd to their Duty — That tho my situation 
 was very humble, I endeavord to follow his example — 
 
 He answerd that on the arrival of the Virginians he was 
 taught to believe they were very numerous, that he was alarm'd 
 his people not being many in number, that he had acted incon- 
 siderately in taking those people by the hand, but that he saw and 
 was sorry for his error, that he respected his Father, and would 
 submit to whatever he should decree — That as a proof of his 
 sincerity he had brought the Rebel Flag, which he deliverd up — 
 
 I set my foot on it, told him I was pleased to hear him ac- 
 knowledge his fault, that on his arrival he had offerd me his 
 hand, that I now would give him mine, being rejoyced at this 
 showing a disposition which would entitle him to protection as 
 well as the rest of the Indian nations who acknowledged but one 
 Father — That they might all be assured that while they continued 
 to act as was required of them the King would supply their wants 
 and secure their possessions — that in testimony of this I would 
 leave a Flag at the Fort, which was shortly after hoisted with the 
 striped Rebel Flag beneath — smoaked in the Quiquaboe 
 Calumet — congratulated them on our not being likely to meet 
 any Indians in Arms, all being united in one cause — mentioned 
 the Peankashaa deed — orderd provision for the Chiefs party — 
 
 5 th. He returned early with two War Chiefs and ten 
 Warriors, presented me a pipe, saying that as last night I desired 
 they might not conceal any thing, they acknowledged having 
 
 138 
 
smoaked in a Virginian pipe, but had been induced to it by Evil 
 Councellors — 
 
 However since they had smoaked with me, they had forgot 
 the flavor of the Virginian Tobacco — The old man said he would 
 go to war himself to take care of his young men, begging I would 
 cover the bodies of such as should fall in the Field. — I answerd 
 them, that their candid confession had entirely effaced every bad 
 impression — That I considerd them as being really my children — 
 That those considerations ought to confirm them in their duty — 
 what they owed to the King who sent them all they wanted — The 
 advantage of cultivating the friendship of the other Nations — 
 lastly the preservation of their lands, by expelling the Rebels — 
 
 Quitted our camp about 11a m. — pitched about 9 miles 
 below under an Eminence called Rattlesnake hill — The Top of it 
 is flat and commands an extensive view of the Country with the 
 course of the Ouabache for a considerable distance winding thro' 
 a level Country Meadows and woodland pleasingly varied — a 
 little lower down on the opposite shore is a small river called 
 (riviere du petit Rocher) 
 
 6th It was very cold with a high wind, we encamped a little 
 above a rising ground called by the French la rejouissance, on 
 occasion of the first meeting of the French with the Indians of this 
 river, on which account there were great rejoycings on both sides — 
 
 7th. Passed the river and Village called Vermillion, and 
 encamped two leagues below it on the opposite side, all the Indians 
 of this Village absent on their Winter hunt — 217 The Shawanese 
 applyed to me for leave to proceed to St. Vincennes to make a 
 prisoner and get information to which I agreed — 
 
 8th. From 12 at Noon yesterday till late at Night it rained 
 very hard with a tempestuous wind, towards morning the wind 
 shifted and brought on snow with so keen an air that we were 
 obliged to make fires in our tents before we could pack them up — 
 
 The Chiefs came to me this morning and reminded me of my 
 promise to them at Detroit, that there should be attention paid to 
 their customs Scca In consequence they decided I should allow 
 them to decamp before us and pitch about 2 leagues distant, that 
 they had a ceremonial to go thro which would take them some 
 time, and they wished to be altogether for the purpose — I 
 
 139 
 
consented, — this with the badness of the weather, prevented our 
 getting away till one o'Clock afternoon — we encamped about 7 
 miles lower and opposite to the Indians — i e. on the opposite side 
 of the river — 
 
 I had in the morning told Egushewai, the intention of the 
 Shawanese desiring he would inform the rest of the chiefs, which 
 he did, in the Evening they crossed the river, came to my tent, and 
 requested that the Shawanese should be stopped — I urged every 
 thing in my power for their going but in vain and was at length 
 obliged to send to stop them — 
 
 The Savages employed themselves 'till a late hour, in their 
 ceremonies, they sung to their budget Gods in uncouth but 
 melancholy strains, then passed thro the encampment singing the 
 war song at each separate camp of their tribes and our detach- 
 ments — 
 
 As the breadth of the river now permitted, I this day orderd 
 the boats should row in divisions abreast — I conversed with the 
 chiefs on the method they should observe, on a nearer approach to 
 the Enemy, and found their ideas conformable to what I should 
 have adopted — A Body of Indians was to proceed on each side of 
 the River having parties advanced to reconnoitre who were to be 
 relieved occasionally — having mentioned to them the necessity of 
 acting with every precaution on our nearer approach to St. Vin- 
 cennes they approved, and further of the propriety of sending 
 parties at some distance from St. Vincennes, on the road to the 
 Falls of Ohio, and Kaskasquias, as well as below the Village on the 
 river to intercept intelligence — 
 
 9th. We rowed this day about 8 leagues tho the wind was 
 ahead — An order had been given at setting out against firing at 
 game from the Boats but did not mean to restrain the Indians, till 
 within a certain distance from the Enemy — The wild Turkies 
 which are in vast numbers on this river fly across in flights of 
 several scores togather, had drawn the fire of the Indians, and by 
 the glancing of a ball, the White Fish an old Shawanese chief had 
 his eye struck out — without emotion he said, this comes from a 
 friend, as lamenting that he should be wounded and not in 
 fighting— 
 
 We encamped at the Cherakee steeps, (les Ecors des Tetes 
 plattes) 218 
 
 140 
 
10th. The Weather cold and wind too high for the smaller 
 craft — The chiefs assembled at my tent and the petit Gris 
 (dappled faun) a Miamis chief spoke upon a white string of 
 Wampun, lamenting the accident which happened the day before 
 to the chief of the Shawanese, requesting them to consider it purely 
 as an accident — That we ought not to repine at anything which 
 happend by the permission of the great Spirit, — charged the chiefs 
 to recommend to their young men to be less giddy, that we were 
 now approaching an enemy, and it would become them to act with 
 circumspection and not be squanderd in the woods in pursuit of 
 game — To prevent their boats going too far ahead, and that they 
 ought to imitate the order and regularity of the whites — That if 
 they had listend to their fathers advice, this accident would not 
 have happend — I approved and supported what he said — Wa 
 ive ya pe yass in waa the young Shawanese chief thanked him for 
 his friendly condoleance — Then spoke on the necessity of sending 
 parties ahead and gave good reasons why the Shawanese should be 
 employed on that Service — 
 
 I spoke privately with Egushewai, approved of what the 
 young chief said at the same time assuring him I would not take 
 such a step if not agreable to the other nations — Jealousy among 
 the Indians very common tho' industriously concealed — They 
 determined to consult this night on the subject — I advised that 
 some of different nations should be sent togather as they would 
 then be a check each on the other — That it was requisite the 
 numbers of the enemy and their disposition should be discovered if 
 possible, and to be speedy in their determination — 
 
 The Indians properest for a busyness of the kind, as they can 
 go into a settlement with skins as for trade and not be suspected, 
 whereas a white man and a stranger would immediately be 
 stopped — Crooked legs related publickly all that passed with the 
 Virginians declaring that since I had enjoined him he would not 
 conceal any thing — He mentioned that his own son in law had 
 been at St. Vincennes and had attended at the meeting with the 
 Virginians, where he had informed them that the Ouiattanon and 
 Quiquaboe Chiefs would come down to hold a conference with 
 them, which however was false — That 'twas he who had 
 persuaded the Ouiattanon Indians to accept a flag from the rebels, 
 
 141 
 
that seeing the French settlers at St. Vincennes and Ouiattanon on 
 good terms with them, he was at a loss how to act as, at Detroit I 
 had told the Indians, if the Americans attempted an inroad into 
 their country, it was their busyness immediately to repel them — 
 That at a loss how to act they earnestly waited my arrival — 
 
 I spoke to the subject, pointing out the many contradictions 
 evident in the speeches and actions of the Virginians — 
 
 Quiquapouhquaa added, that as Monsieur de Celoron had 
 disappeared, they were without an adviser, and could not determine 
 how to act — 
 
 We got to our encamping ground an hour before Sunset — 
 
 The Chiefs being assembled at my tent, I acquainted them 
 with the orders of the day, and mentioned some particulars I was 
 desirous the Indians should attend to, as, having some light canoes 
 advanced some distance from the main body to communicate any 
 alarm — 
 
 That what women and Children they had should be kept out 
 of the way of danger in canoes apart — that they would from that 
 time desist from firing at Game — That they would cease singing 
 to their Gods at night — To examine the state of their arms and 
 give into the Gunsmiths any that wanted repair — that the 
 Shawanese and Quiquaboes were the properest to go on the 
 reconnoitring parties, to procure intelligence at St. Vincennes — 
 That on a nearer approach to the Enemy, I should instruct them 
 how to act, and should at the same time be ready to attend to their 
 proposals — 
 
 That I had left directions at Detroit for the care of the 
 families of those who had followed me — 
 
 That I should find means to inform the French inhabitants 
 they must expect no favor if found in arms on the side of the 
 Rebels — in such a case no distinction would be made. — 
 
 1 lth It had frozen very hard last night, much ice floating in 
 the River, apprehensive of the river being renderd impassable for 
 boats — 
 
 Read to the men the orders of yesterday respecting the 
 manner in which they must act, in case of an attack on the boats 
 from the land — set off about nine o'Clock in the morning, ar- 
 rived about 2 afternoon at the wintering ground of the Peanka- 
 
 142 
 
shaas — went ashore and saluted the old chief called la Mouche 
 noire, 219 (the black fly) — we were received with the beating of 
 a drum, and the usual ceremony of firing small arms on our 
 approach — They were told that we could not conveniently talk 
 with them at that time but as we should encamp but a little below 
 their Village I had something to say to them — Towards the 
 close of day about 20 of them came down — I repeated to them 
 nearly what I had said to the Ouiattanon Indians and further that 
 they had not any thing to apprehend from those Tribes that 
 accompanied me, as the procuring their tranquillity was chiefly 
 what had brought us thro' their country — smoaked in the 
 Calumet of the Quiquaboes — 
 
 The Black fly said they had expected us for two months past, 
 and were rejoyced at our arrival — That they were in a lamentable 
 condition, having on every side cause for apprehension, that they 
 could not forsee which should have the upperhand the Virginians 
 or we, but hoped we might, for should the Americans, the Indians 
 must be completely wretched — 
 
 That they had no cause to lament the English Government 
 having succeeded to the French, that I had given them courage by 
 my speech, and they hoped I should inspire their young men with 
 prudence — 
 
 They then presented me a Calumet, requesting that when- 
 ever I should smoak in it, I might think on them and have pity 
 of their women and children — 
 
 Another man with a cut nose (called la petite morve) said he 
 would follow me to war, that he and I should divide the prisoners 
 at St. Vincennes, as there but were two there, meaning that there 
 were but two rebel Officers — 
 
 We were encamped a little above a place called la Soupe, 
 from the boiling eddies in the river. 
 
 12th Had a talk with a young chief of the Peankashaas who 
 told me, he should not be surpsized if I had a bad impression of 
 their Nation as some of them listened to the Virginians, (hinting 
 at the old Tobacco and his Son) that those of his Village had not 
 acted a like part, that he meant to follow me by land having a 
 dependence on me but that the promises of the Virginians were 
 but as wind &ca 
 
 143 
 
I answerd him, that I wished him and his people to consider 
 the king of England as their father, that while they continued 
 faithfull they might depend on his protection — saluted them with 
 3 Guns — 
 
 About noon we discovered a raft on the West side of the 
 river with a fire kindled on it, the Indians immediately put ashore, 
 we followed, and the men were soon drawn up making three fronts 
 and leaving a reserve to guard the boats — The Indians followed 
 a Track for some distance but returned without making any thing 
 of it — we concluded it was some scout from the Enemy — 
 
 The usual guards and pickett were posted and we encamped 
 as it began to rain — 
 
 13th. Before day went to the encampment of the Savages, 
 and talkd with them about sending a party on each side of the 
 river to reconnoitre and a canoe ahead, they accordingly did so, P. 
 de Quindre and Pierrot Chesne accompanied them — They had 
 orders not to stop till they got low enough for our next 
 encampment — 
 
 It blew hard with some snow, we lay by, the Indians were 
 sent out to hunt, and the Carpenters made a new Axle tree for 
 the 6 poundr. 
 
 In the evening a Pouteouattamie returnd from hunting who 
 said he had discoverd the tracks of 5 horses — 
 
 The Officers of the picquet had orders to detach four men 
 from each flank who were to take a circuit in the Woods half an 
 hour before day as a kind of Patrole, to meet at the distance of 1/2 
 of a mile and return together to their pickett — 
 
 As I thought the Enemy would certainly endeavor to get a 
 knowledge of our numbers, and for that purpose would send a spy 
 to count our fires when we should quit our encampment I had 
 purposed leaving a party of Indians concealed near our camp in 
 hopes of making a prisoner, I had horse bells which they might 
 make use of to entice any hunters that might be abroad & 
 mentioned this to Chamintawa and Egushewai who approved it — 
 It was however neglected. 
 
 Kissingua went off in a mift taking a pirogue with him down 
 the river, I conceived he meant to get a prisoner or other ways 
 strike some stroke at St. Vincennes before our arrival. But on the 
 
 144 
 
14th we overtook him, and no notice being taken of him he 
 returned to camp — 
 
 Three old Miamis Indians, who had struck thro' the woods 
 from Terre haute, came to the river side and were taken in greatly 
 fatigued and very hungry having lost their way — 
 
 The advanced party did not make any discovery — 
 
 An Officer of the Indian department with a Serjeant and 7 
 men to go from the pickett guard at dawn of day to look for 
 Tracks and reconnoitre the ground — Hole pins to be muffled — 
 Went at night to the Indian fires, told the chiefs I was not 
 prompted by idle curiosity to pry into their ceremonies. That I 
 highly commended their praying to the great Spirit, that he 
 probably was pleased with their adoration, since among them all, 
 there was not one sick man — One of the chiefs thankd me for 
 my visit and said, who is there on earth that does not adore the 
 Master of life, the giver of all things, all who consider the various 
 productions of nature, must worship the supreme Lord — 
 
 The Priest at one of their camps stood at some distance from 
 their fire, with his face toward the Wood having his budget hung 
 upon two forked sticks, and in a very loud voice at the full extent 
 of his lungs sung a hymn having a Chichiquoe or Indian rattle in 
 his hand with which he kept time — at certain pauses he howled 
 like a Wolf, snorted like a horse, or imitated the cry of some wild 
 beast or bird — sometimes he utterd three distinct howls so loud 
 and at the same time so dismal, as might have made the Knight of 
 the fulling Mills tremble — 
 
 'Tis a rule with them not to pass before their Natte or 
 Budgett On encamping they are placed something advance and 
 towards the Enemy, in their water expeditions they are put in the 
 bow of the canoe which they turn with the stern to the shore, that 
 they may not irreverently step over their- Natte — It is a known 
 fact that a Chief ( I think of the Miamis ) going to war and having 
 charge of the Natte, finding that some one had profaned the 
 ground in front of the War budget immediately drew out a knife 
 and stabbed himself to the heart, such is their blind reverence to 
 their devoted relics and scraps — 
 
 The Indians as I have already mentioned, have great faith 
 in dreams — some had dreams that we were to meet the Rebels at 
 
 145 
 
Terre haute, the son of masgaiash, a Chippowey chief dreamed last 
 night that all the English with some few of the Savages were to 
 fall in action, that about 20 French were to be killed, and the 
 rest save themselves by flight — I mention dreams as it is necessary 
 to endeavor to find some method to quiet their superstition, rather 
 than mock or insult them — many managements are necessary 
 with them — I exhorted the Ouiattanon Indians to follow the 
 example of the lake Indians in showing humanity to their 
 prisoners — 
 
 15 th. Another Vision — A terrible engagement — all 
 smoke! to be attacked on both sides the river — the affair to begin 
 tomorrow about two o'Clock afternoon — sent off scouting parties 
 this morning by land, before Sunrise — 
 
 The Indians decline sending any of their people in canoes to 
 reconnoitre — much ice this morning in the river — A review of 
 arms — determine to send (if practicable) a party in canoes to 
 pass the post of St. Vincennes to intercept any craft that might be 
 sent down with intelligence About two o'Clock after- 
 noon the reconnoitring party returned with a Lieutt. Brouillett of 
 the Militia of St. Vincennes, 220 and three men, sent by the 
 Commandant of St. Vincennes (Captain Helm) to reconnoitre — 
 This Lieutenant had written instructions upon him at the time he 
 was taken, signed (as well as a Commission for serving as 
 Lieutenant in Bosseron's company) by Captain Helm, and at the 
 same time was found on him a Commission as Lieutt. of Militia 
 signed by Lieutt. Govr. Abbott — I should not certainly have 
 hesitated at the propriety of hanging this fellow on the first tree 
 but for two reasons — I was unwilling to whet the natural 
 propensity of the Indians for blood, and I wished to gain the 
 preverted Frenchman by Lenity — 
 
 The arms of the prisoners, I gave to the Indians who took 
 them — The men were sent to the Guard — At Night orderd the 
 Chiefs to assemble, acquainted them with what was proper they 
 should know of the intelligence given by the Prisoners — They 
 said they should dance for the last time and then acquaint me with 
 the result of a council they meant to hold — They got Major Hay's 
 warbelt and mine and danced till after midnight. 
 
 16th. Rain — however we set off and got to a place called 
 
 146 
 
la carrierre (the Quarry) a wintering ground of the Peankashaas — 
 This morning I consulted with the chiefs about sending scouting 
 parties to lay on the roads from St. Vincennes to the Ilinois, and to 
 the falls of Ohio, to intercept any intelligence of our arrival, I also 
 communicated my intention of sending off Major Hay with 
 Captain La Mothe's Company the Detachmt. of the Kings with Lt. 
 DuVernet and some of the Chiefs who should first reconnoitre the 
 place and if they should find the report of the Prisoners faithfull, 
 to take possession, and proper guards being posted, every step 
 might be taken to prevent disorder, and particularly to store the 
 liquor that the drunkenness of the Savages might be prevented — 
 
 Melioutonga, otherways Meligoua (in French la petite 
 Vielle) a Peankashaa, who tho' no chief is attended to by his Tribe 
 came with his brother and son, telling me candidly he had been at 
 St. Vincennes to procure from them what he wanted for his family, 
 but finding how little dependance there was on the promises of the 
 Virginians he had return'd of his fools errand that he plainly saw 
 a father in me, since tho I had come from so great a distance, I 
 had nevertheless kept something for my children — That to prove 
 his sincerity, he had brought me his heart (meaning his son) to go 
 to war with me — 
 
 On Major Hay's setting off, the young Indians fearing they 
 should not share in the busyness, got in a violent hurry into their 
 canoes with design to accompany him, some of the Chiefs with the 
 interpreters came in haste to inform me of it. I ran directly to the 
 waterside and with some difficulty pacyfyed them. In the evening 
 went to their camp and represented to the Chiefs, the absolute 
 necessity of their young men being obedient and attentive to 
 order — 
 
 Major Hay proceeded down the river, and lay in the 
 neighbourhood of the Fort, but overtook the scouting party who 
 had not gone so far as I had directed — however they were on 
 their guard and one of the Indians had discoverd our people, 
 coming under cover of the night and counterfeiting the call of a 
 wild Turkey — 
 
 17th. Snowed a good deal with a very cold wind, set off as 
 early as possible — On my approach to St. Vincennes was not a 
 little surprized to see at a landing place about a small mile above 
 
 147 
 
the fort, our boats with a small guard, and the Gunboat with the 
 flag, hawled on shore — 
 
 The American flag at the same time being displayed on the 
 Fort I now presumed that some reinforcements had come to the 
 Garrison and that the French inhabitants meant to assist in the 
 defense in conjunction with their new friends, it proved otherwise, 
 however I orderd the men ashore, drew them up with a double 
 front posted sentries, and went to an eminence to get a view of the 
 Fort. I presently discernd Major Hay with the men drawn up 
 at a small distance at the old Village of the Peankashaas, who sent 
 to me to inform me that the Inhabitants were bringing in their 
 arms, not designing to make any resistance — Seeing some of the 
 principal inhabitants and understanding from them that the Rebel 
 Officer was deserted by the French Volunteers who had engaged 
 to serve on the Congress pay, I proceeded to the fort with the 
 detachment of the King's regiment the 6 pr. in front, and sent to 
 summon the Officer — He desired to know who it was that 
 summond him, being informed and that I was at the Wickett, he 
 asked what terms he might expect — He was answerd, that his 
 situation did not admit of any other than his being treated with 
 humanity — On this the Wickett was set open, and my first care 
 was to place centrys at the Gate to prevent the Savages getting in, 
 but as there were ports for the small cannon, which had not been 
 secured within, two or three of the smoaked skins had got in, those 
 without seeing them overbore the Centries, not listening to the 
 Interpreters their chiefs, or me who did all in their power to 
 restrain them — A scene of confusion now followed for the 
 Savages first object was the securing some horses which had been 
 bought up at the Ilinois for Congress, and which had been kept up 
 in the Fort to the number of 32 — These Creatures were terrified 
 at the Tumult and scamperd round the Fort trampling and over- 
 setting all that came in their way, on the Gate being thrown open 
 they found their way out, and each had very shortly a rider — 
 Centries being immediately posted at Captain Helm's door, I hoped 
 to secure for him any furniture or goods he might have, but the 
 Savages hoping to find Plunder or Rum, went to the rear of the 
 house and presently got in at the Windows, — Captain Helm told 
 me there was a barrel of Rum in the house and he apprehended 
 
 148 
 
the consequences should the Savages get at it, a centinel was 
 immediately set who secured it, and the Savages having soon 
 satisfied their curiosity moved out, having first appropriated what- 
 ever they thot. worth carrying off — One of them going thro' a 
 dark passage fell into a Cellar and put out his shoulder, but the 
 Surgeon being at hand, it was almost presently reduced — The 
 scouting party which I had orderd to waylay the road to the Ilinois, 
 intercepted the Messenger who had been sent by C. Helm with 
 notice of our Arrival to Colol. Clarke at Kaskasquias — The 
 express was well mounted and had a guide, but fell into the snare 
 and was brought in with his letter, unhurt by the Savages — 
 
 Not a single shot was fired in the course of the day, nor did 
 the Savages commit any excess but in plundering the horses in 
 the Fort — Guards were mounted, and patroles orderd to pass 
 thro' the Village every hour to prevent accidents — 
 
 In this miserable picketted work called a fort, was found 
 scarce anything for defense, the want of a well was sufficient to 
 evince its being untenable — two Iron three pounders mounted 
 on truck carriages and two Swivels not mounted constituted its 
 whole defence, for there were not even platforms for small arms, 
 nor men to use them the Company of rascal volunteers 70 in 
 number having to a man deserted on our approach, and left 
 Captain Helm with only three Virginians for a Garrison — 
 
 I allowed him liberty on giving his parole, and assurance 
 that he would not by letter or otherways give any intelligence to 
 the Americans — 
 
 Hamilton at Vincennes, 
 December 18, 1778, to February 22, 1779. 
 
 18th. At 12 o'Clock at noon, the men were drawn out on the 
 Esplanade to fire three vollies, and twenty one rounds of the 6 lbr. 
 as a royal salute — I declared aloud the occasion, which was the 
 retaking possession (by His Majesty's subjects) of the territory 
 lately invaded by the Rebels, thanked the Officers who had honord 
 me thus far with their company — 
 
 The Church bell was then toll'd to assemble the inhabitants 
 
 149 
 
When I represented to them their misbehaviour after the Oath of 
 Allegiance they had taken, and the gratefull address they had 
 presented to Governor Abbott — told them I placed all this to 
 the account of a few persons, whose base example they had 
 followed, and whose misconduct should be remembered to them, 
 that I could not promise them protection till they recanted their 
 attachment to the Rebels, and that nothing but their future good 
 behaviour could efface the memory of their perfidious conduct — 
 
 Held a council with the Savages, explained to them what had 
 just passed — 
 
 In the Evening had an account from Mr. F. de Quindre that 
 some of the Rebels were expected from the Ilinois, he ofTerd to go 
 the west side of the river with some Indians to reconnoitre he 
 went, but it proved a groundless report. 
 
 About 12 at night the Corporal of the guard who had been 
 to patrole to the Batteaus, reported that the Indians had surprized 
 three Virginians on the West side of the river — this also proved 
 false— 
 
 About one o'Clock Captain Mc. Leod came along with J. 
 Hunot who said he was informed by a Shawanese Indian, that 400 
 men were on their march from the Ilinois, & would be at the 
 Village of St. Vincennes at Cock crowing — this also proved 
 false intelligence — 
 
 As I have since had reason to believe the inhabitants of the 
 Post were determined upon betraying me on the first opportunity, 
 I must suppose these reports were raised either with the view of 
 seeing what measures I should take in case of an attack, or by 
 repeating false information to make me inattentive to all alarms — 
 
 This day Montbrun who had acted as Adjutant to the Rebels 
 at this point came to me, and made a declaration that he had never 
 taken an oath of Allegiance to the Crown, that he had been 
 sollicited to take a commission from the Rebels, which he deliverd 
 into my hands — I assured him that if I found his declaration to 
 be true I would consider him accordingly — 
 
 19th. Met the inhabitants in the Church at noon — I in- 
 formed them of the cause of my assembling them, that as they had 
 brought in their arms when summoned, their lives had been spared, 
 but that they could not expect protection unless they adjured their 
 
 150 
 
attachment to the Rebels, and returnd to their Allegiance to their 
 rightful Sovereign, renewing their Oath, that I had drawn up a 
 form of an oath which should be read and explained to them that 
 they might not inconsiderately perjure themselves afresh — They 
 then pressed forward with great eagerness to take the Oath, but I 
 stoppd them and told them they must first hear and think upon 
 the tenor of it — The Oath was in French to the following 
 purport — 
 
 "We whose names are hereto subscribed declare and acknowledge 
 "having taken an oath of fidelity to the Congress, that in so doing 
 "we have forgot our duty to God and Man, we implore the pardon 
 "of God, and hope from the goodness of our lawfull Sovereign 
 "the King of Great Britain that he will accept our submission, 
 "and take us again under his protection as good and faithfull 
 
 subjects 
 "which we promise and swear before God and men we will 
 
 hereafter 
 "become, in Witness whereof we sign our respective names, or set 
 "our customary Mark, this 19th. day of December 1778 
 
 At Post St. Vincennes — 221 
 Two hundred and fifty men capable of bearing arms signed their 
 names to this oath, having first kissed a silver crucifix at the foot of 
 the Altar — such however was the conduct of these people after 
 this solemn act, that I have no reason to doubt their having 
 immediately after turned their thoughts to the accomplishment of 
 their treacherous designs — 
 
 This day two canoes arrived from below loaded with flour, 
 the men who brought them being questiond after some equivoca- 
 tion declared there were other small craft below at the distance of 
 12 leagues, upon which I orderd Lieutenant Schieffelin with a 
 Serjeant and eleven men to fall down the river a little after 
 Sunset to the mouth of the Riviere blanche to intercept them. 222 
 
 The following transaction (however trifling) may serve to 
 illustrate the character of Indians and their customs in war — 
 
 On the day of our arrival at the fort, a young Shawanese Wa 
 we ya pe yap in waa desired to see Captain Helm, which being 
 granted he layd his hand on his shoulder, or took him by the hand 
 saying, you are incapable of defending yourself, surrender yourself 
 
 151 
 
a prisoner to me — Just then Kissingua came up, and laying his 
 hand on the Prisoner's head, made the same claim — The Indians 
 consider that man as a prisoner, who is seized by the hair, so the 
 affair was pleaded in Council, when the Shawanese, not only gave 
 up his claim, but desired Kissingua might be reputed the captor, 
 and receive the belt usually given to redeem a prisoner, and which 
 I had at Detroit promised to give to the first who should make a 
 Prisoner, the value about 3^ Sterling — Kissingua's plea was short, 
 do we go to War for heads or hands? 
 
 When an Indian would save a prisoner, he throws his belt 
 over his Shoulder, which secures him effectually from all harm, 
 The person who gains a belt as Kissingua did is expected to sig- 
 nalize himself on the first occasion. — 
 
 20th. Some more of the inhabitants took the oath of fidelity 
 to His Majesty — 
 
 I met all the War and Village chiefs at a council in the Fort, 
 The Old Tobacco and his son were present — 
 
 Having addressd the chiefs, and returned them thanks for 
 their good behaviour from the time of their leaving Detroit, I 
 observ'd that when I lookd round, I saw but two strange faces, 
 that there were but two men in the council to whom I had not 
 held out my hand, that their imprudent conduct was the cause, and 
 that unles they alterd their sentiments I never should consider them 
 but as links broken off from the chain with which I had bound all 
 my children — I reproached them with their conduct in regard to 
 Lord Dunmore's grant, & told them how I had acted at Ouiat- 
 tanon — 223 
 
 Egushewai rose afterwards and advised them to open their 
 ears, and pay attention to what I said, as I spoke the sentiments of 
 all present, thankd me for endeavoring to bring them to their 
 understanding, told them that the lands in question reverted to its 
 former state and owners, expressed his thankfullness to the King, 
 for sending one among them who endeavored to unite them all in 
 one interest, and concluded by advising them not only to listen to, 
 but remember for a long time what they heard this day, took them 
 both by the hand, desiring them to be strong, & think upon what 
 ground they stood — 
 
 Necaquongai or the petit Gris exhorted them to think upon 
 
 152 
 
God above, and be wise — Pacane advised them to pay attention to 
 what had been said. Quoiquipinang told them that all the chiefs 
 present had no other sentiments on this subject than their father — 
 Dawatong desired them to swallow down the words they had just 
 heard, and keep them near their hearts — 
 
 The young Tobacco then rose up and said, I thank you all 
 for what I have this day heard, I have not lost a syllable, You are 
 yourselves to blame you chiefs, you have 'till now been afraid to 
 come thus far from your homes to encourage me, I was dismayed 
 being so inconsiderable as I am and without advice or support, I am 
 but a young man; When the Rebels came into the country I was 
 alarmed, what I have done was from a sense of my own weakness; 
 Why should I use many words, I am glad to join my hand with 
 yours, and to shew my father I am sincere I will put into his hands 
 what was given me by a King or great chief — 
 
 He then gave me some certificates of different dates, of his 
 good behaviour to the white people, signed by English French and 
 Spanish commanders at different posts. 
 
 1 told him I was well pleased at his proceeding, that I felt my 
 heart in its right place, since he gave me room to think his pro- 
 fessions were sincere &.ca — 
 
 Lieutenant Schieffelin returned, without any intelligence. In 
 the evening sent down Lieutenant Chabert and Mr. F. Maisonville 
 with 13 men to stop any craft that might pass the mouth of the 
 Ouabache with supplies to the rebel posts — 
 
 wrote to Monsieur de Rocheblave to inform him that I should 
 endeavor at effecting his exchange for Captain Helm — 
 
 21st. Nothing extraordinary. 
 
 2 2d. Called the Chiefs together to consult about sending off 
 scouting parties to the rivers mouth, to the falls of Ohio, and to 
 Kaskaskias — They said they would consider of it, and give me an 
 answer — This day made a small magazine in the fort coverd 
 with raw hides. 
 
 Seven Shawanese came in from their wintering ground on 
 white River, where was an encapment of 40 of them. 
 
 23 d. Sent for Wyndeego the Pouteouattamie Chief, and 
 proposed his going to the Ilinois with Belts &ca found him as 
 docile as I could wish. Spoke with Kissingua about his undertaking 
 
 153 
 
a Journey to the Natchez with letters for Mr. Stuart the agent for 
 Indian affairs, Belts for the Cherakees and Chickasaas, that Edward 
 Hazle should accompany him — 
 
 He told me that his design had been to return to the River 
 Glaize but that since I had cast my eyes on him, I should find I had 
 made a good choice, as he was not only a sensible man, but knew 
 the country, was afraid of nothing and was personally known to 
 Mr. Stuart — He then asked me what consideration he was to have, 
 I told him I should certainly pay him well, but had not time to 
 enter into particulars as I expected the Chiefs — 
 
 They came accordingly at 12 o'Clock — I first talkd with the 
 Ottawas, Chippoweys, and Pouteouattamies, showed them how 
 necessary it was to be well with the Shawanoes and Chickasaas, 
 that the Ouabache Indians would not be induced to act in concert, 
 unless they had some fear from an alliance which would in a 
 manner oblige them to take a part, that tho the Lake Indians had 
 come from so great a distance to drive the Virginians out of their 
 country, they had not shewn any disposition to take an active part, 
 that to keep up an union 'twas proper that all should join in the 
 present war — 
 
 I took this opportunity to make some presents to my Son 
 Mahingan the young Ottawa chief, who had followed me from 
 pointe aux Chesnes tho' very ill, and to Macutte Mung, another 
 young chief of the same nation — These two young people I had 
 had but an indifferent opinion of at setting out, but had behaved 
 remarkably well — 
 
 The other chiefs came in afterwards, I explained my views 
 to them in sending belts to the Ilinois Shawanese and Chickasaas, 
 which latter I wished should act so as to engage the attention of 
 the Virginians to the southward while we should make inroads 
 upon the frontiers on our side. 
 
 Egushewai who had taken notice that some of the Ouabache 
 Indians were hovering about while we were in Council, and he 
 thought might be jealous of our being so long together rose up, 
 saying, Father, you are wrong to make any secret of what we 
 should all be acquainted with, and if the River Indians should be 
 disgusted and go home, you must attribute it to their suspicious 
 temper, for my part I shall not go home 'till the Spring, but will 
 
 154 
 
go to the River's mouth tho the weather be very severe — 
 
 Several of the Indians came this day for provision and powder 
 being on their return to their respective Villages — 
 
 A dispute happend yesterday between the Chippoweys and 
 Ottawas, but had no issue — 
 
 24th. Sent off Lieutenant Schieffelin with 7 men in a 
 Pirogue at the same time Egushewai with some Ottawas, and 
 Canadians with Pierrot Chesne in all 30, to the river's mouth to 
 watch for rebel or other boats, In the Evening one la Tour who 
 had been on the Ohio, and was returning from his hunting was 
 sent to me by Lt. Shieffelin with the information that the Chera- 
 kees with some Ottawas, Shawanese and Delawares were assembled 
 at the mouth of the Cherakee river, 224 with design to intercept 
 any of the Rebel boats going down or coming up the Mississipi — 
 
 Sent off Lieutenant de Quindre, with the old Raccoon Wa- 
 bangay, and Methusaagay's son with 16 Indians, to lay upon the 
 road to Kaskaskias, to intercept any Straglers, they returnd at 6 in 
 the Evening, bringing in two prisoners one a Piedmontese named 
 Vigaud, 225 the other a Canadian trader one Renaud with letters 
 from the Ilinois which contained nothing material — 
 
 This day some Ouiattanon Indians came to me requesting 
 that they might be permitted to cut a lock of hair off the head 
 of one of the Virginian prisoners taken in the fort, to be placed 
 in the Reliquaire of their Natte or Budgett — being granted they 
 performed the ceremony with much gravity, and each present 
 shook the prisoner by the hand — 
 
 I made a present of a pound of Vermilion to a Warrior of 
 the Ouiattanon nation called great Eyes, which was highly ac- 
 ceptable — One of the speakers of the nation said to me, Father 
 you have judged well, that man and all his progenitors have been 
 eaters of men, when he goes to war, he rubs his mouth with Ver- 
 million that he may inspire those who see him with horror, you 
 could not have made him a greater present — Whether the meat 
 be green or stale, he can eat it — 
 
 I told them I endeavored all I could to give understanding 
 to my children, that those who heard me every day had learned 
 to abstain from cruel actions, that none but men with arms in 
 their hands were proper objects of the warrior's resentment, that 
 
 155 
 
to lose the name of Barbarians, they must cease to act as Wolves — 
 
 That when a peace should be made by order of the King, 
 those Children who should be spared in the course of the war, 
 would help to water the tree of peace and preserve its branches 
 unbroken. 
 
 25. Wyndeego a Pouteouattamie Chief with Eskibee 226 and 
 13 men set out up on a scout to Kaskasquias, taking with them 
 Letters to Janis and Cerre two of the principal inhabitants at that 
 place, written by Monsr. Monforton advising them to act steadily 
 in support of the English Government. 227 
 
 Methusaagai came in to my room and appeared to be a little 
 in liquor, after some time he asked for a bottle of rum producing 
 an empty one which he had under his blankett — I told him he 
 appeared to have got enough already, and that I would not give 
 him any more, upon which he rose up as in a fury, and dashed 
 his bottle to pieces — 
 
 I appeared perfectly unmoved, he sat down again and con- 
 tinued in sullen silence for a good while, then advancing towards 
 me offerd me his hand, which I receiving he shook mine very 
 heartily and went away smiling — I found afterwards that this 
 was meant as a tryal, he having taken it in his head that he was 
 slighted and some of the other chiefs, preferrd determined to be 
 resolved, & acted in that manner to see how I should behave, but 
 seeing that I took no offense but treated it merely as a drunken 
 freak he went away contented. 
 
 This day Kissingua and Hazle were sent off for the settle- 
 ment of the Natchez, the former with belts for the Chickasaas 
 & Cherakees, the latter with a letter for John Stuart Esqr. Super- 
 intendant of Indians for the Southern department, in which I gave 
 him an acount of the disposition of the Lake and River Indians, 
 and acquainting him that I should be ready in the Spring to make 
 an extensive impression upon the frontier, while he should em- 
 ploy the Southern Indians on the borders of the Carolinas — &ca. 
 
 These were two daring enterprizing fellows, but I was ap- 
 prehensive the Indian might in the course of so long a journey 
 conceive a Jealousy which might prove fatal to his companion. 
 
 Examined the prisoners brought in from Kaskasquias, found 
 from them that there was no discipline or regularity observed by 
 
 156 
 
the Americans, that they were billeted upon the inhabitants, and 
 squandered at large thro' the settlement — 
 
 26th. Two Delawares came in from the white river who 
 reported that a Chickasaa and a Delaware with two Ottawas 
 went lately to the Shawanese and Delawares, with belts from 
 the Chickasaas and Cherokees by which they desired them to for- 
 get former animosities, that they might act strenuously in concert 
 against the Rebels — that the Southern Indians were assembled 
 at the Chickasaa river, being invited by an Officer in the King's 
 service to oppose the rebels, and keep the Mississipy clear of their 
 boats &ca. — 228 That in three months they were to proceed to 
 Kaskasquias and St. Vincennes, turn out the Rebels and their 
 abettors — . They said further that the messengers were to have 
 returned in 30 days, but had been now absent 40 — that the 
 Kings troops had dispossessed the Rebels of some settlement they 
 had had possession of on the Mississipi — 
 
 I assembled all the chiefs, and related these circumstances 
 to them, as also the purport of Kissingua's errand. 
 
 27th. A party of 5 Quiquaboes went on a Scout towards 
 Kaskasquias. 
 
 The deaf man a Peankashaa chief with some of his nation, 
 presented me a string of white Wampum painted green, repre- 
 senting the river Ouabache, which should be always free from 
 all impediments for me and my children (meaning the Lake 
 Indians). Also a string of blue Wampum requesting me to have 
 pity upon their wives and Children, the usual way of begging 
 provisions, cloathing, powder &ca 
 
 Wyndeego returnd with a prisoner taken on the road to Kas- 
 kasquias but who could not give any information worth notice — 
 
 This day some of the inhabitants who had been absent at 
 their Buffaloe hunting when we arrived, took the oath of Al- 
 legiance to the number of 40. — 
 
 Two hundred and fifty Men, Inhabitants of the Post ap- 
 peared under Arms this day on the Parade — 
 
 The Powder was brought into the new magazine in the Fort, 
 as well what belonged to the King, as that of private persons, 
 which was only deliverd to those who went to hunt Buffaloe 
 for their winter provision — notwithstanding the most diligent 
 
 157 
 
search made, & a heavy fine laid upon any who should secret 
 Gunpowder, we afterwards found that they contrived to hide it 
 effectually and employ it when occasion offerrd — 
 
 28th. Finished a Barrack for 50 men — At work sinking 
 a Well. Completed a Guard house near the Gate. 
 
 A Warparty of Ouiattanons (the petite face at their head) 
 19 in number desired to go on a decouverte to Kaskasquias and 
 that Charles Baubin should go along with them — 
 
 Others came desiring leave to return to their own homes — 
 The Grand Sioux was of this number, who said he professed a 
 different religion from the rest, that he worshipp'd the malignant 
 Spirit (The God of War) that as he had not his Natte with him 
 he could not go against the enemy, for not having his Guardian 
 Manitou with him, he was apprehensive that the good and great 
 Spirit might take advantage of it, and destroy him — 
 
 At night gave Baubin a letter for Janis at Kaskasquias, and 
 Hypolite Baulon (interpreter to the Ouiattanons another for 
 Monsieur Cerre, with a placart addressed to the inhabitants of 
 the Ilinois — 
 
 The Commissary purchased by order, 30 carcasses of Buf- 
 faloe salted at 10 Sols the pound — 
 
 Three Messieurs De Quindre Lieutenants in the Indian de- 
 partment desired leave to return to Detroit, I told them that when 
 I engaged them to enter into the Service, I had wished to benefit 
 them as well as the King's service, but since they did not find 
 their account in it, they were at liberty to return, and that I would 
 furnish them with certificates for their pay — 
 
 As no cause of discontent had been given 'twas not till 
 some time after I had cause for accounting for this request — 
 
 Orderd a recencement of the inhabitants to be taken by 
 Messrs: Belief euille and Montbrun — 
 
 29th. The following returns were prepared to be sent to 
 the Commander in Chief — Of Effectives — Of the Militia of 
 St. Vincennes, Of Stores &ca found in the fort — A plan of the 
 fort — Copies, of Captain Helm's letter to Colonel Clark, of the 
 placart, and of the Oath tenderd to the Inhabitants of the post — 
 Prices of provisions — 229 &ca 
 
 Gave the de Quindres their certificates — 
 
 158 
 
30th. The Grande Coete (great Queue) principal Chief 
 of the Peankashaas arrived with 35 followers on horseback — 
 
 31st. Finding a dissatisfaction prevail among the Militia 
 from Detroit, which I could only attribute to the management of 
 some persons who should have acted a far different part, I de- 
 termined to gratify them by dismissing them which I did giving 
 them certificates for their pay to the 24th. January, and ten days 
 provision to last them to the Miamis — kept the arms of one 
 half, and allowed arms to the remainder for their security in 
 passing thro' the Indian Villages — Went this day to the little 
 river 230 to examine the state of a Sawmill, and a grist mill on 
 this stream — The former is so stationed as to be unserviceable 
 when the Ouabache rises as it did this winter, the latter is but 
 poorly secured against Land floods — 
 
 Took down two billiard tables in the Village — Sent off 
 the packett with letters for the Commander in Chief, 231 Govr: 
 Cramahe, Captain Lernoult & Mr: Macomb at Detroit. 
 
 I 779 January 1st. The Savages as is usual on the first day of 
 the year, came to make their compliment discharging their pieces 
 at the Gate of the Fort, I went out to give my hand to the Chiefs, 
 when Sastaharitze the Chief of the Wyndatts spoke for the rest, 
 wishing the great spirit might prosper all our undertakings [,] 
 saluted the King of England and his children, and having re- 
 ceived the accustomed present of some rum and Tobacco, went 
 away and behaved very quietly & soberly, not so the drunken 
 thoughtless inhabitants of the Village — 
 
 The Militia Officers came also in compliment, I told them 
 I hoped they would maintain order and subordination among the 
 inhabitants, that they should be supported in their Authority, and 
 disobedience punished with severity — 
 
 From their conversation I found that the attempts of the 
 most reasonable among them to encourage order, decency, or the 
 education of children, were frustrated, or ridiculed by the indolent 
 vicious ignorant inhabitants — It must be observed that diligence 
 and industry would speedily pay themselves in this Country, very 
 extensive meadows supply abundance of pasture for Cattle in 
 Summer, the hay is sweet and strong, and their Cattle could 
 
 159 
 
easyly be fodderd thro' the Winter, but the people are in general 
 too lazy to make sufficient provision — The soil is rich tho' light, 
 Tobacco, Maiz, wheat, millet, pease, Garden Stuff thrive well — 
 Sugar is made from the Maple, the woods are distant half a 
 league in some parts a league from the Village, and consist of 
 Oaks of different sorts, Nutwood, Beech of a great size, Elm, 
 Plane, Ash, Mulberry, Yellow wood, Locust, and Leatherwood, 
 the bark of which may be stripped at any time of year, and is 
 very usefull to the Indians and hunters, serving to secure their 
 temporary huts, tie their packs & various other purposes — The 
 soil is thin and sandy, but black & fertile, below this is gravel to 
 a considerable depth, so that Wells are readily sunk and the 
 water is cool and wholesome, without this circumstance the place 
 would not be habitable, as in Summer the river is very low, the 
 water hot & tastes fishy, the river abounding in fish, yet the in- 
 habitants dont take the trouble to catch them — 
 
 There are many fine salt springs in the neighbourhood, but 
 salt is sold at 4 pounds New York Currency the bushell, Maple 
 Sugar tho' to be made with little labour & no expense in the 
 Woods, 4 dollars the pound, the common clay tobacco pipes 6 
 dollars the dozen, other articles proportionably extravagant. Their 
 fields of corn are not enclosed, all their cattle being pennd in one 
 common enclosure of about 2000 Acres in extent — Most of the 
 farmers content themselves with harrowing over the old stubbles, 
 and sow their grain without any other precaution — the harrow 
 commonly used is in the form of a rake ten feet long with teeth 
 about 8 inches in length, this drawn by one horse — They use 
 no manure even for Tobacco, tho the quantity of filth about their 
 houses would furnish great abundance, 
 
 Their barns are rarely weather proof, being carelessly coverd 
 with bark, instead of shingles or thatch which are very easyly 
 procured — Venison and wildfowl are plentyfull and very good — 
 The Buffaloe is hunted at a good distance from the settlement, 
 having boned and salted the flesh in bulk, the hunters pour the 
 tallow over it, and thus convey it in their pirogues as far as to 
 N. Orleans where they exchange it for liquors, & other com- 
 modities. Deer, Bear, Turkies, Raccoons, Pheasants, Quails are 
 in sufficient numbers — 
 
 160 
 
floating Corn mills might easyly be employed as the current 
 of the river Ouabache is strong most part of the Year, in lieu of 
 these they use Horse Mills which are expensive and tedious — On 
 a little stream 2 miles to the eastward of the Village is a Grist 
 Mill, which one Car tier (almost the only industrious man among 
 them) has lately improved and repaired, after it had lain un- 
 employed for 5 years — The Sawmill is a good one — 
 
 2d. Some Miamis Indians returnd from a Scout, no. ex. 232 
 
 3d. A party of Quiquaboes returned with a sick man, had 
 left Baulon and Baubin at the little Ouabache — 
 
 The Detroit Militia set off this day homeward — wrote to 
 Monsieur Baby, by Labodie 
 
 4th. Sent for the Officers of the Militia who had receivd 
 commissions under Governor Abbott, which had been replaced 
 by others under the power of Congress — Among them came 
 Bosseron who had been Captain of the Volunteer Company 70 
 men designed as garrison in the fort, but who deserted Captain 
 Helm on our approach — This fellows commission was interlined 
 with the most indecent and scandalous scraps, of disloyalty &ca. 
 
 When I showed it to him, he acknowledged that it was 
 shamefull and inexcusable, and that he was heartyly sorry for it, 
 I told him that his sense of his fault was some reparation and 
 that I hoped he would make amends by good behavior for such 
 unmanly doings — The dissembling Villain went away in tears 
 which appeard to be the genuine effects of shame. 
 
 It is scarce to be wondered at, that the inhabitants of this 
 remote place, (a refuge for debtors and Vagabonds from Canada,) 
 should be lost to every principle of probity and honor, when they 
 were under the influence of so worthless a mortal as the Ecclesi- 
 astic Gibault — This man who was openly guilty of every kind 
 of immorality and licentiousness, had, some time after the Rebels 
 had taken possession of the Ilinois, assembled a number of the 
 Inhabitants of St. Vincennes, & told them, that the Americans 
 being now in possession of the Ilinois & Detroit taken, they would 
 be exposed to the resentment of the Americans if they quitted 
 the post without taking out proper papers, and taking an oath of 
 fidelity to the states — He then formally absolved them from 
 their allegiance to the King of Great Britain, and was the first 
 
 161 
 
to cry out Long live the Congress — In this he was followed by 
 all persons, the King's colour were delivered to the Priest, who 
 carryed them to Colonel Clarke then at Kaskasquias — 233 
 
 5 th. The Piankashaa chief Grande Coete came to me this 
 Morning to explain his situation — This man had been at De- 
 troit, and was very well treated, came away perfectly satisfy ed — 
 indeed his manner and behaviour entitled him to notice, With 
 very good sense and a very modest behaviour, he was perfectly 
 sober, never touching spirituous liquors, and more from com- 
 plaisance than liking tasting even wine — he had a manly open- 
 ness of Character & was highly esteemd by his own people — 
 This man told me that he had not listend to the Rebels from 
 inclination, but that having heard that Detroit was for a certainty 
 in their hands, he had no resource for ammunition etca. but from 
 the Americans — 
 
 //Had the French inhabitants chose to have set this man 
 right in that point, it was easily to be done, but probably they 
 were the first to impose on him — // 
 
 He said he had been at Ouiattanon with Captain Helm from 
 whence he should have proceeded to the Miamis to know the 
 truth of the report, but the Chiefs at Ouiattanon dissuaded 
 him — //This was probably the doings of Monsieur de Celo- 
 
 ron// Some Delawares came in from White River, and 
 
 confirmd the accounts formerly given of the assemblying at 
 Cherakee river 234 
 
 6th. A young Saqui came to ask for a War Axe, saying he 
 never went to war without doing something — He received one 
 and presented it to the Young Tobacco, who sharpend it for 
 him, that is he took it from him, sung the War song & danced, 
 then returned it. — 
 
 The Carpenters were employed in framing a Barrack 40 
 feet long by 18 — 6 men in digging the Well — The inhabitants 
 in squaring oak logs for the Blockhouses — 
 
 7th. The Well sunk to the level of the water. 
 
 8th. Nothing extraordinary — 
 
 9th. A young Peankashaa of Baubin's party, returnd with 
 a Prisoner, by the name Jean l'oignon who had been engaged 
 to bring letters from Kaskasquias — the prisoner was almost 
 
 162 
 
perished with cold — The Indian had swam across the Ouabache 
 with his Gun, leaving his Prisoner (who was not in a condition 
 to escape,) to make a fire for himself at Riviere aux embarras — 
 Charles Reaume and Grande Coete set off to bring the Prisoner, 
 and returnd with him at 2 o'Clock in the morning — This man 
 brought a letter from a Lieutenant Rogers to Captain Helm ac- 
 quainting him among other particulars, that an express had 
 arrived at Kaskasquias from Cahokia, with an account that 500 
 Indians with some English and French, were in their march to 
 the Ilinois — 
 
 //This account respected us who had come by the way of 
 the Miamis, and had probably been given as warning to the 
 Rebels to prepare for an attack// He added that only one boat 
 had arrived at Kaskasquias from New Orleans with Liquors — 
 that Powder was very scarce, not 1000 lb in the Settlement — That 
 when the French inhabitants talked of going over to the Spanish 
 side, if the Indians should come against the Fort, Colonel Clarke 
 threatened to burn the houses of any who should leave the 
 Settlement — That they had not any batteaus at Kaskasquias — 
 that tHe settlers at the Natchez had sent a present to Gibault the 
 Priest of a sword, with eight Dollars for the purchase of a string 
 wherewith to hang himself, that fifteen of the Americans had 
 deserted to the Natchez — 235 
 
 10th— Sent for the Chiefs, and acquainted them with the 
 Account given by the Prisoner — We all concluded that Major 
 De Peyster had sent a body of Indians to cooperate with us from 
 St. Josephs and Michillimakina, but that their number could not 
 exceed two hundred at the most — Lieutenant Schieffelin arrived 
 from his progress to the Ohio, in the course of which a Corporal 
 and six men of Captn. Lamothes Company deserted him — A 
 Canadian trader used to pass between the Post of St. Vincennes 
 and the Ilinois (Jean l'Ourse by name) was taken with a Pirogue 
 loaded with flour &ca. — 
 
 Egushewai parted from Lt. S. and proceeded on a Scout to 
 Kaskasquias, with 14 Ottawas and Chippoweys and 1 Delaware — 
 
 13 th. Snow. 
 
 14th. Gave passports to Guillaume le Comte, and Vigaud 
 the Piedmontese (Spanish subjects) the former bound to N. Or- 
 
 163 
 
leans, the latter to Paincourt a settlement and post on the Western 
 shore of the Mississipi nearly opposite to Kaskasquias — I gave 
 Le Comte a letter for the Governor of New Orleans, Don Ber- 
 nardo de Galvez, 236 brother to Don Miguel de Galvez the Spanish 
 Minister, and another for Captain Bloomer commanding at the 
 settlement of the Natchez — this last letter I did not expect to 
 be deliverd as addressed, and was designed by its contents to 
 keep the different parties who might become acquainted with 
 them, at their several posts — The former contained chiefly a 
 remonstrance to the Spanish Governor upon the permission 
 granted to the traders of New Orleans, to supply the Rebels at 
 their posts with ammunition &ca. also a warning to the Spanish 
 Officers, commanding at the several posts on the Mississipi, not 
 to give protection to the Rebels, otherways that they must abide 
 the consequences — 
 
 15 th. Raised the frame of the new Barrack — The young 
 Tobacco desired to know from me if it was true what he had 
 heard, that I only held him by the tips of the fingers only — 
 
 I told him 'twas the first I had heard of it, that my treatment 
 of him would not be regulated by what others said, but by his 
 own Behaviour, advising him to adhere strictly to the promise 
 he had made to the Chiefs in public, since if he proved insincere 
 he must be a lost man, abandoned by the Indians and cast off 
 by myself — 
 
 Vaudrie was the Interpreter, and inhabitant of St. Vincennes, 
 who told me he had not been qualifyed as Interpreter by Govr. 
 Abbott — 
 
 I promised him on his taking the requisite oaths, that he 
 should have the same pay as Isidore Chesne — 
 
 Mr: Elliott returnd from a Scout to the falls of Ohio, the 
 Indians who were with him thought they were discoverd, and 
 could not be prevailed on to proceed — 237 The young Chief of 
 the Shawanese however continued his march to the Shawanese 
 Towns, saying his giving information to his nation of what was 
 doing at St. Vincennes, was more material than his staying there — 
 
 16th. The Miamis came to acquaint me of their bad suc- 
 cess at the falls of Ohio, saying they had yielded the command to 
 the Shawanese, and that the Shawanese chief had told them I had 
 
 164 
 
only directed them to go to the falls to see if the roads were 
 clear (that is to report if the Enemy had any parties out) there- 
 fore he was averse from going in search of men to kill — that 
 he himself would pass on to the Shawanese Towns and inform 
 his people what had passed since he left them — 
 
 Young Tobacco came to take leave — 
 
 Three of the inhabitants (by name Boucher) who had been 
 refractory and refused to do their Corvee, and who therefore had 
 been kept to hard work in the Fort, were this day sent to their 
 homes having promised to behave better in future, and taking 
 the oath of Allegiance — 
 
 17th. Nothing extraordinary 
 
 18th. The Captains of Militia set up their Poles — The 
 Militia appeard under arms, being divided into three Companies 
 according to their Districts — 
 
 A new Union flag was hoisted, and a royal salute fired in 
 honor of her Majesty, our gracious Queen — 
 
 The Officers dined together in the Fort, and kept the festival 
 in the best manner possible — Taffia — 
 
 19th. The Wyandatts expressed their desire of returning — 
 I told them I should lay no restraint upon them, but thought they 
 would be in the right to wait the return of the parties which had 
 been sent out, and the arrival of the Delawares, who had the 
 speeches of the Chickasaas — 
 
 They expressed their desire that Mr: Reaume should go with 
 them, I said he was at his own disposal — he chose to stay 
 
 Sent off a small party of Ottawas and Chippoweys with pro- 
 vision and Tobacco to meet the parties from Kaskasquias, and 
 lend them assistance if wanted 
 
 20th. Pacane came to take leave with his young men, say- 
 ing he should return to me in the Spring by the way of the falls 
 of Ohio— 
 
 Wabangai and his brother also who were to go to the 
 Patte de Dinde, 25S and to return by the way of the falls by the 
 time the maple juice should have done running — 
 
 The old Tobacco came on a visit and said the Delawares 
 had told him that in the course of this moon, the Chaktaas Chick- 
 asaas, Cherakees, and Alibamas would come, part to St. Vin- 
 
 165 
 
cennes to take the Ouabache Indians by the hand 
 
 Some to go against the Rebels at the Ilinois, and some to 
 assist the Shawanese upon the frontier — 
 
 from him I learnt that the Piankashaas are but lately settled 
 in this neighbourhood, having formerly been a wandering na- 
 tion — that before their coming to the Southward they had been 
 stationed near the Patocas, commonly stiled Padoucas in the Maps 
 a nation inhabiting the country 700, or 800 Miles from the mouth 
 of the river Misouri to the N. W. 
 
 Mr: Elliott came to desire to leave to go to the Shawanese 
 Towns and from thence toward Fort Pitt, to procure intelligence, 
 as he had not succeeded in a former attempt — 
 
 Old Reaume a Miami of Eel river came to take leave, He 
 said, Father, we have followed you to this place, on our march, 
 God has been good to us, we have not lost a man either by the 
 enemy, or by sickness — We have eaten up a deal of your pro- 
 vision, we have wanted for nothing, should we return to our 
 villages as fat as you now see us, we should be ashamed to be 
 seen, but we mean to take a circuit on our return, as we may 
 possibly fall on the track of an enemy, by which means we may 
 be something thinner on our arrival — 
 
 Our Women and children could not have subsisted in the 
 Winter season unless some men had stayed to hunt for them, but 
 in the Summer they do not need their help, we shall therefore 
 on our return tell our men not to grow too fat, and we that go 
 off tomorrow mean to return also 
 
 You may expect to hear from us soon — 
 
 21st. Nothing extraordinary — 
 
 2 2d. Hypolite Baulon returned from Kaskasquias, and with 
 him the Ottawas and Chippoweys sent to meet Egushewai — He 
 reported that he had tenderd the papers I had sent by him, but 
 that they were not received — That Egushewai was near having 
 taken Colonel Clarke on his way to Cahokia — that a Delaware 
 of Egushewai's party having got into Kaskasquias, had been 
 closely questioned as to his errand, but had kept his council — 
 That the Rebels had known nothing of our arrival, till the ap- 
 pearance of the scouting parties at the Kaskasquias — 
 
 23d. Lieutenant DuVernet of the Artillery came to tell me 
 
 166 
 
he wished to return to Detroit — I asked his reason — He said 
 we were quite inactive at this place, that he had come to see 
 service, but since there was nothing to be done, he desired to 
 return — I told him 'twas true we had not done anything yet, 
 that he might well judge from our leaving Detroit so late as we 
 did, nothing could be undertaken till the Spring, and that his 
 return would have an odd appearance: however as the service 
 could draw little advantage from a person who was detaind 
 against his inclination, I should only represent to him that such 
 a step was not consistent with his voluntary offer of coming — 
 that the regulars whom I had put under his command must re- 
 main without an Officer with other arguments to turn him from 
 his design — in vain — 
 
 He said he was well pleased to be commanded by me, but 
 that he could not brook taking orders from others — I said he 
 should have reconciled that to himself, before he set out, that I 
 being but a militia man myself, he must conclude that those who 
 had command under me, must each be obeyed in his station — 
 He complained of Captain La Mothe having interfered in the 
 parade with his men, and seemed rather disposed to seek an ex- 
 cuse for his going away, than to listen to any reasons for his 
 stay — 
 
 24th. Egushewai and his party with Baubin, Isidore Chesne, 
 Pierre Chesne, Godefroi, Pillette from Kaskasquias — they had 
 nearly taken Colonel Clarke & 3 of his Officers — 
 
 25 th. The Hurons declared their intention of going home — 
 Egushewai said that on his leaving Detroit, he had likewise pur- 
 posed returning in the Spring, but that it was not yet Spring, that 
 he should remain yet a while with his father and see how matters 
 turned out — Others might do as they pleased — The Hurons 
 said that tho they designed to return, they did not for that let go 
 their father's hand, on the contrary they meant to acquaint their 
 nation of what had happened here, and to invite some of their 
 Warriors to come early in the Spring and join him — 
 
 The young Tobacco said he had some time ago endeavord 
 to unite all the brown skins in one interest, and had for that pur- 
 pose sent belts to several nations and to his Father But that 
 probably they had not been deliverd — He then showed a belt 
 
 167 
 
which I had sent to him from Detroit, asked if I knew it again 
 & recollected the purpose of it, which being told him, he gave 
 up the belt, but it was returned to him again with a promise that 
 while he acted up to his professions, he should be treated as well 
 
 as other Chiefs //This same belt however he had given up 
 
 to Captain Helm, and got back from him after we had got pos- 
 session of Post Vincennes — // 
 
 Methusaagai gave notice of his design of returning with all 
 his people, and asked for a medal for his son, and one for the Son 
 of Massigaiash — Seven Shawanese arrived from the Chickasaas, 
 having been 5 months passing from Village to Village with 
 belts — 
 
 26th — The Chiefs of the following nations assembled at 
 the fort this morning — Shawanese, Delawares, Wyandatts, Otta- 
 was Chippoweys, Miamis, Ouiattanons, Quiquaboes, and Peanka- 
 shaas — 239 
 
 Egushewai rose up, and in the usual stile addressed the su- 
 preme being, thanking him for granting us this opportunity of 
 assembling to speak our minds, expressed his good wishes to all 
 present, to His Majesty, the great Chief at Quebec, all His Ma- 
 jesty's Officers and Soldiers in the name of the chiefs present — 
 then directed his speech to the Shawanese and Delawares, in par- 
 ticular, desiring them to be strong & to hold their Father by the 
 hand as well as his Indian Children. 
 
 The master of life has no doubt taken compassion upon us 
 since he has allowed us to assemble as friends in this place, let 
 us then be sincere in our union, and act in concert for the defence 
 of our lands. We see our father was foremost to rise up, and 
 come thus far to frustrate the designs of the Virginians. 
 
 Brothers! You know there is a great tree under which we 
 were used to confer peaceably and speak our minds, this tree grows 
 at Detroit; let it be our study to keep that tree strait, that it may 
 not bend to one side or another — The branches of this tree ex- 
 tend to a great distance and rise to the clouds, who is there capable 
 of hurting even the bark of that tree? no one — 
 
 You may recollect that last spring some Chickasaas and 
 Cherakees came to Detroit to water that Tree, I therefore recom- 
 mend to you once more to be strong, & to defend your possessions, 
 
 168 
 
which your father is doing his best to preserve for us. 
 
 — The Shawanese Strangers then spoke — Father and you 
 our brethren listen to us! five Moons are now passed since we 
 left our Village to go to the Creek Country, from whence we are 
 just arrived — When we last went from this place the Officer 
 who commanded (Captn Helm) gave us a letter for the chief 
 of the Creeks, but as we feared it might contain something con- 
 trary to the wellfare of the Indians, we have brought it back un- 
 opend, & now put it into your hands — 
 
 //This letter contained an exhortation to the Creeks, to dis- 
 credit the reports of the English who always told them lies, to 
 require them to remain quiet, assuring them that the Ouabache 
 Indians had joined the Americans, and exulting the power and 
 credit of the Americans.// 
 
 We have brought a Peoria Woman who was a prisoner 
 among the Creeks, and whom they deliverd to me, that I might 
 bring her to her nation, but meeting Kissingua who told us he 
 was allied to the Peoria nation, and who asked her of us saying 
 he would deliver her to her friends, we gave her up to him — 
 
 There is a white man with him (Hazle) — 
 
 Kissingua desired us to tell his brethren of this river, to as- 
 semble any prisoners they may have among them belonging to 
 the Creeks, as he designed bringing on his return any of their 
 prisoners resident among the Creeks — 
 
 The Shawanese then produced a long white Belt from the 
 great chief of the Creeks, which he desired might be forwarded 
 to the Ouiattanons, and by them sent to the Lake Indians that 
 all the nations might be acquainted with the friendly intentions 
 of the Creeks towards them, and of their enmity to the Ameri- 
 cans — that this belt opend a road of communication between 
 them, which should always be kept clear, so as a child might walk 
 with safety — 
 
 He then deliverd a twist of Tobacco for the same Indians, 
 desiring they might smoke it, as the chief of the Creeks did, when 
 he thought on good things, & had compassion on the Women 
 and Children of his nation — 
 
 The Shawanese further said that the upper towns of the 
 Creeks had not taken up the hatchet against the Americans until 
 
 169 
 
the last Spring, but that at present they were all engaged, and had 
 made their way as far as to the Old Shawanese Villages, & had 
 destroyed several small forts — 
 
 That the English had eight Forts on, and near the coast — 
 that the Rebels had made an attempt on the greatest called the 
 Stone fort, but that the Indians had met them on their March 
 and repulsed them — That 800 of the inhabitants had come in 
 to beg protection from His Majesty's officers — That they were 
 in the utmost distress for want of cloathing, and at variance among 
 themselves — He added that the Southern Indians were never 
 so well supplyed as at present, owing to the care of Mr. Stewart 
 the Superintendant — 
 
 27th — The Chippoweys being about to return, I sent to 
 them to speak about a young man of the name of Williams, who 
 had been taken prisoner by them on our first coming to St. Vin- 
 cennes, and whom I was desirous of restoring to his friends, on 
 the earnest application of Captain Helm — having told them my 
 intention, Methusaagai said, Father! You ought not to think we 
 can refuse you any request, since you are always ready to grant us 
 what we ask — 'tis true, I had set my heart on taking this young 
 man home, and meant to have adopted him in the place of one 
 of my sons who died last year, but I shall give him up to you with 
 pleasure — I thanked him, saying I had a better opinion of his 
 regard for me, than to propose purchasing a favor of this kind, 
 but that since he made me a present with so good a grace, he 
 must accept something as a mark of my good will. — 240 On which 
 some armbands, and a medal for the son of Massigaiash as well 
 as for Methasaagai's son, and other silver works — 
 
 The old man said further, I am about to return to Detroit, 
 where I shall attend to what the Chief (Captain Lernoult) shall 
 say to me, unless he shall desire me to return to you next Spring 
 with a small number of Warriors, in which case I shall not listen 
 to him, as I am resolved to bring a large number — I have been 
 ashamed to bring with me so few as have accompanied me on 
 this occasion, it appears, as if I had stolen away from my Nation — 
 
 Egushewai and Chamintawa said they should remain with 
 their young men, and act as they should be required, that if any 
 warriors of their nation, or Chiefs, chose to act the same part they 
 
 170 
 
 
might, but Michimunduck was the only one they invited — 
 
 This day all the timber and scantling for one of the Block- 
 houses was finished and ready for raising — 
 
 The new barrack was clapboarded — A Corvee of 30 of the 
 inhabitants was orderd to go to the Miamis, under the direction 
 of the Commissary with ten Pirogues to bring down Provision — 
 
 Captain McLeod, Lieutt. St. Cosme, & Charles Baubien had 
 leave to return at their own requests — 
 
 28th Two Delawares, A Shawanese, and four Piankashaas, 
 went off to the salt lick above the falls of Ohio on a Scout — 
 
 The East Blockhouse was raised — 
 
 Eshkibee a Pouteouattamie chief, returnd from hunting he 
 had design'd to have crossed the Ohio to make a Prisoner, but the 
 Spring was not sufficiently advanced for him to bark a tree for 
 making a canoe, so he was obliged to give up any thought of it, 
 he said however, that as he had voluntarily come with me from 
 Detroit, he should not return 'till I did, that he had now made 
 himself acquainted with the Country and should shortly set off 
 again for the Ohio — 
 
 29th The different tribes of Savages met at the fort, when 
 the little face rose up, and expressed his satisfaction at the Mes- 
 sage deliverd by the Shawanese from the Creek Indians — The 
 Grande Coete then took me by the hand, saying that in so doing 
 he took all his brethren the Indians by the hand, as they were 
 now all united and had but one Father to look up to, he then 
 presented six strings of black and white wampum with a small 
 scalp, saying his brethren of different nations had often presented 
 him with the like, that he followed their example, having heartily 
 joined them, and presented me with that piece of dried meat, as 
 a proof — 
 
 He then presented a pipe of peace, in which all present 
 smoaked the Creek Tobacco, he said he was well pleased at finding 
 a road was now opened between them and the Ouiattanons, that 
 he should promote to the best of his power a firm alliance be- 
 tween the two nations, and act in concert with them — 
 
 The little face then gave the Creek belt to Nicaquongai say- 
 ing that he being of a nation who lived nearer to the Lake Indians 
 than himself, it was proper he should forward it to them — 
 
 171 
 
Nicaquongai made the same speech to the Ottawas and deliverd 
 the belt to them, desiring them to show it to their Allies — 241 
 
 I thanked them for their attention to the advice they received 
 from time to time, and applauded their unanimity — 
 
 Told them I should acquaint their father at Quebec of it, as 
 well as the six nations, and that Methusaagai should take the 
 speech of the Grande Coete with him to Detroit where it should 
 remain till my return — 
 
 30th A Chief of the Peoria nation arrived with six of his 
 followers, spoke highly in favor of the English, and professed his 
 regard for Captain Lord who had commanded at the Ilinois — 
 mentioned the distress of his people for cloathing & ca. — They 
 were well received and the Chief gave up a french Medal of L. 15. 
 in lieu of one on the G. 3d — 242 
 
 A three pounder mounted in the E. Blockhouse — The Chip- 
 poweys set out for their homes — 
 
 31st. Eshkibee presented himself with 10 warriors, & begg'd 
 to have three white persons with him as he meant to go on a 
 scouting party to the falls of Ohio — 
 
 Lt. Bondi of the Indian department, Raimbault and Dumai 
 were orderd to accompany them — 243 
 
 A Shawanese asked for Barblet Searsy This man had been 
 taken prisoner by the Indians and carried to Detroit where he 
 engaged with a Silver Smith & had a Dollar per day wages be- 
 sides his board & lodging — after some time he took the oath of 
 allegiance & enlisted with the Volunteers being an able active 
 man and a very good marksman — on this occasion he deserted 
 I shall have occasion to mention him hereafter — 
 
 Egushewai and Chamintawa offerd themselves to go to Kas- 
 kasquias on a scout, The Peoria chief was present, who declared 
 his intention to act in concert with his brethren being sensible 
 the English alone were able to provide for the Indians, as he saw 
 the Americans had not cloathing for themselves — 
 
 At 4 p.m. Mr. Adhamar the commissary of provisions, took 
 up ten pirogues & set off for the Miamis for the stores and pro- 
 visions which were lodged there — 
 
 Captain McLeod, Lts. DuVernet & St Cosme, and Mr. Jona- 
 than Schieffelin a Volunteer — 
 
 172 
 
The Wyndatts set out at the same time — 
 
 February 1st. The two Ottawa Chiefs Egushewai & Chamin- 
 tawa with the Peoria chief came with 10 Warriors, designing to 
 go to the falls of Ohio, & beggd to have Serjeants Robert and 
 Sanscrainte of Captain La Mothe's Company to go with them — 244 
 
 Eshkibee came soon after for his ammunition, & with him a 
 Squaa name Cataboe who insisted on having a gun and going to 
 War with them 
 
 Dawatong and Shayress the Wyndatts who set off so lately, 
 returned, saying they could not bear the thoughts of going home 
 without seeing the Enemy, and desired they might join the Miamis 
 who were going with the Ottawas — 
 
 A son of Pontiach the Ottawa chief, so remarkable among 
 the Indians for the authority courage and influence in the last 
 Indian war, was brought to me by Egushewai, with two other 
 Ottawas of those who live at white river, these latter joined the 
 party going to the falls of Ohio — 
 
 2d. Egushewai's party consisting of eight Ottawas, two Wyn- 
 datts, 2 Miamis and two Frenchmen, got their ammunition &ca. 
 
 3d. The Chiefs determined that Dawatong should remain at 
 St. Vincennes, & only Shayress go on the scouting party — 
 
 4th. Mr. Foucher a Canadian trader having lost at play last 
 night 12000 livres, and having given notes of hand on his Brother 
 and Co. at Montreal for the amount, as tho it had been employed 
 in the way of trade, I called in his bill for Indian goods, and it 
 was endorsed so as the Company could not be defrauded — A 
 letter was also written to his brother acquainting him with the 
 Transaction 
 
 A young Ottawa Squaa who had been sold for a slave by 
 her Brother to Joseph Andre a trader at St. Vincennes was pur- 
 chased to be restored to her Nation — 
 
 5 th. Egusheway, Nicaquongay, Dawatong and the petite 
 face came to inform me they designed to send two young men 
 express to the Miamis, with a message to the grande Coete and a 
 string of white wampum from the Ottawas to Ottawakie and the 
 Ottawas of the Miami's river, to shew the road to St. Vincennes, 
 telling them that Egusheway lookd towards them and imagined 
 they did the like towards him, that he did not mean to drag them, 
 
 173 
 
but left them to come if they thought proper — 
 
 6th. This day the Workmen began upon the Blockhouse to 
 be erected at the West Angle of the Fort 
 
 7 th. Captain McKee with the White fish set out for the 
 Shawanese towns, the former had letters for Detroit to be for- 
 warded from thence 
 
 The River Ouabache rose to a great heighth — 
 
 8th. Nothing extraordinary — 
 
 9th. The river swelled considerably 
 
 The little salient Angle in the N.E. side of the Fort taken 
 down, the Stockades made to range with that front, and lined — 
 
 10th. A Pirogue from the Ilinois arrived, which had been 
 50 days on the way — 
 
 Two Canoes with Delawares from the Ohio — Took down 
 the saillant angle in the S.E. face next the Church yard — 
 
 Two Canoes of Peankashaas came down from their winter- 
 ing ground 
 
 The river continues to rise considerably 
 
 11th. William Williams who had been purchased from the 
 Savages and was on his parole, deserted with Drury Bushe of C. 
 La Mothes 
 
 Serjeant Magnian with 8 Men were sent down the river to 
 take them — 
 
 Mr: F. Maisonville offered his service, and three Horsemen 
 were sent to seek for their traces on the opposite shore as we 
 judged they went off for Kaskasquias — 
 
 Leepahkia and Napikiteeta otherways the red Chief ( Peanka- 
 shaas) came to speak with me, expressed their thankfullness for 
 my coming, and for the transaction relative to the sale of their 
 lands — said they were not the only fools, that the French people 
 had been parties in the busyness 
 
 12th. Lieutenant Chabert, who had gone on horseback to 
 trace the Deserters, returnd not having been able to make any 
 discovery — reported the riviere aux embarras 245 overflowed, and 
 the low Country entirely drowned — 
 
 13th. The Ouabache continues to rise — 
 
 14th. Search made at Henry's the armourer's for the De- 
 serters, in vain 
 
 174 
 
15 th. Captain Maisonville set out for Detroit, having de- 
 sired leave — 
 
 The river continues rising — 
 
 Captain Helm told me a Virginian from the falls had de- 
 sired to speak with him, but that he had refused and sent him off 
 / /This might have been so, but I had afterwards reason for think- 
 ing this report was made, in part to make a shew of plain dealing, 
 but with more probability to draw attention to that Quarter from 
 which it since appeared nothing was to be apprehended — // 
 Captain Helm had been observed a little before William William's 
 desertion, to have taken him apart, and to have read a paper to 
 him, which with other circumstances, led us to think he had ad- 
 vised & directed his evasion / / 
 
 16th. Not to slight the above information, I sent off Isidore 
 Chesne and Charles Reaume on horseback, by the road to the 
 Falls to see if they could make out anything — 
 
 The White river rose very high, & from 250 Yards, its com- 
 mon breadth extended to a league — 
 
 The Ouabache also overflowed its banks, and many head of 
 Cattle were lost by the low land being drowned — 
 
 17th. Nothing extraordinary — 
 
 18th. The Ouabache was risen so high as to back the Water 
 of the little river, and prevent the Sawmill going — The river 
 opposite the Fort being sounded, the depth was found to be 30 
 feet which in summer was but 10 in the same place — 
 
 The Country people who had gone out to relieve their Cattle 
 exposed to the Violence of the flood in the meadows, brought 
 several in from different distances, some from 20 miles off in 
 their Pirogues — The Waters had risen the last year very high, 
 but not within a foot of the present depth, when near 400 head 
 of Cattle were lost — The South side of the river appears like a 
 lake for two leagues below the fort 
 
 The Weather is now so open that the Peach trees are in 
 bloom and the Apple trees are in bud — 
 
 The N. W. Blockhouse was set up — 
 
 19th. the River falls a little — 
 
 20th. the River has fallen a foot — 
 
 21st. Rain which keeps up the river 
 
 175 
 
The Ottawas, Wyndatts, Delawares, Miamis, Ouiattanons, 
 and Peankashaas assembled at the fort — Young Tobacco deliverd 
 a scalp to an old Delaware, saying it had been a custom with their 
 forefathers to make a division of any spoil to keep up a good 
 intelligence between nation and nation — He then made a solemn 
 address to the divine being, invoking his wrath, if what he said 
 was not true, he then declared the sincerity of his intentions in 
 taking his brethren by the hand, and declining any further inter- 
 course with or dependence upon the Virginians — 
 
 Egushewai then rose up, and advised him to be cautious of 
 what he advanced, and to remember well what promises he made 
 in presence of so many persons — For his own particular, he spoke 
 not only his own sentiments, but those of all the Lake Indians, 
 and with a tone of Authority raising his Voice, desired the Young 
 Tobacco might be cautious in future how he used his Tongue to 
 call the Virginian his father, not to speak from the lips outward, 
 but from the heart — 
 
 The manner in which this was deliverd, was considerd by 
 the Indians to convey a threat — 
 
 The Young Tobacco got up and said he was as yet but young 
 and ignorant, but that having been very ill in his younger days, 
 and on the point of dying, he had been baptized, and since that 
 time had had too great a reverence for the divine being to advance 
 a falsehood, persuaded that he should be punished by him on the 
 spot, \i he professed what was not true, and begg'd the Chiefs to 
 believe he was perfectly sincere — 
 
 Just as he had finished, a Messenger came to inform them 
 that the two Miamis and Huron, who set off the 3d. Instt. for the 
 falls had returned with the scalp of a man whose rifle they brought 
 in 
 
 I desired the Chiefs might assemble next day at the Fort, as 
 I had something to communicate worth their attention — 
 
 2 2d The Chiefs being assembled were told, that as I had 
 been used hitherto to communicate to them whatever might re- 
 gard them, I had now called them together to inform them, I had 
 reason to believe there was or shortly would be a rupture between 
 the Courts of Great Britain and France, but that as the war would 
 probably but little affect us who were so far inland, I required 
 
 176 
 
and expected they should behave to the French in this country, as 
 to brothers and fellow Subjects, since tho' they had for a while 
 taken part with the Rebels, they had on our arrival declared their 
 sorrow for their fault, and had called upon the divine Being to 
 witness their sincerity when they took a fresh oath to behave in 
 future as dutyfull and faithfull subjects — 
 
 The Chiefs said they had hitherto listend to my advice, and 
 they should continue so to do — They appeard a little struck at 
 this news, tho' 'tis probable they had had intimation of it from 
 the French, as I had heard of rejoycings having been made at the 
 Ilinois, & even at St. Vincennes on the accounts being received 
 of the Alliance of France with the Americans — 
 
 //On the 5th. of December last when at Ouiattanon, I re- 
 ceived a letter inclosing the Quebec Gazette of the 8th of October, 
 given a relation of the Engagement between Keppel & D'Orvil- 
 liers— // 246 
 
 This day the N.W. Blockhouse was completed, except the 
 hanging the Ports, which could not be done, the Ironwork not 
 being yet finished — A three pounder mounted in it. 
 
 Clark Recaptures Vincennes, 
 February 22 to March 5, 1119. 
 
 At 3 o'Clock p.m. Mr: Francois Maisonville returned from 
 the pursuit of the deserters, but could not overtake them or dis- 
 cover what route they had taken — 
 
 He reported that of 4 Virginians who were going down the 
 Ohio, two had escaped, the other two he had brought with their 
 papers, which not containing any thing essential were returned 
 with some paper money The Names of these two persons were 
 Lapsley and Shannon, the latter a provincial Captain — Mr: 
 Maisonville then took me aside and told me he had on his return 
 disco verd 14 fires on the East side of the Ouabache, about four 
 leagues below the fort, that he concluded they must be Virginians, 
 but durst not expose himself to being taken by going near enough 
 to count them — 
 
 I immediately orderd out Captain La Mothe with his Lieutt. 
 
 Ill 
 
Schieffelin Serjeant Baron with 14 Men of the Volunteers and six 
 men of the King's Regimen t f who turnd out volunteers to go and 
 reconnoitre where and who these people might be — Mr. Maison- 
 ville offered himself as a guide. [This last sentence is in the 
 margin.] 
 
 I made no doubt of their being enemies, so immediately or- 
 derd ammunition to be deliverd for the blockhouses, set up scaf- 
 folding for small arms in the N. and South angles of the fort, 
 orderd the Militia under arms, the absentees to be directly re- 
 ported — Captain Helm and the prisoners on parole into the 
 fort — Some Indian corn and Rum lately purchased were also 
 brought in — 
 
 Bosseron one of the Captains of Militia did not make his 
 appearance 'till J4 before Sunset when the Fort gate was shut — 
 He made many professions of Loyalty and sincerity — how much 
 to be depended on will appear shortly — 
 
 Roll calling was just over, when we were surprized by the 
 firing of small arms, this I attributed to some drunken frolic of 
 the inhabitants, but going upon the parade heard the balls sing, 
 still I could not conceive otherways than that some drunken peo- 
 ple were amusing themselves — 
 
 Shortly after Serjeant Chapman of the King's regiment was 
 reported to be mortally wounded, but it proved only a contusion, 
 a metal button having saved his life, a shot from a rifled piece 
 having struck him opposite the pit of the Stomach— The men 
 had been orderd before this to stand to their arms, they were now 
 sent to occupy the Blockhouses and platforms, with orders not to 
 fire till they could be at a certainty of doing it to purpose, and to 
 be very managing of their ammunition — 
 
 It was now near dark and the fire increasing we were not 
 at a loss to conclude our opponents were those whose fires had 
 been discovrd, in course as three sides of the fort were fired upon, 
 we despaired of our reconnoirting party being able to return to 
 us — The firing continued all night on both sides, but without 
 any effect from us the Enemy having the cover of the Church, the 
 Churchyard fence, Houses, Barns, all within muskett shot, we 
 dislodged those at the Church by a few discharges of a 3 lbr from 
 the Blockhouse, but had little chance of doing any execution 
 
 178 
 
against riflemen under cover — It was very practicable to have 
 burned the Village but there were too many reasons against it 
 which I shall take occasion to mention — 
 
 The situation of the fort had no one advantage but its 
 neighbourhood to the river — 
 
 Our Surgeon who had been in the Village when the firing 
 began finding the fort invested made a push for the gate & nar- 
 rowly escaped having several shot fired at him one of Which 
 went thro' his legging — He told us that when the first shots 
 were fired the Woman at whose house he was cried out, there is 
 Colonel Clarke is arrived from the Ilinois with 500 men — 
 
 We had 1 Serjt. one Matross & 2 men wounded which were 
 brought into the officers quarters, not being able to bear the cold 
 of the night for we were obliged to put out the fires in the huts, 
 as the light gave advantage to the riflemen who could see men 
 pass in the fort, & the picketting not being all lined we were 
 much exposed — We worked hard to remedy this defect with 
 what spare picketts and plank we had — 
 
 About 4 o'Clock in the morning the fire slackend, and a 
 little before Sunrise I lay down when some one came in and told 
 me they were scaling the Stockades, running out hastily and ex- 
 pecting to find the Enemy attempting to get over the stockades 
 was agreeably surprized to find Captain La Mothe's party had 
 made a fortunate push, and did actually get over with their arms 
 in their hands, tho the picketts were perpendicular and eleven 
 feet high — 
 
 The account given by them of what passed the preceding 
 night was, that the waters being out they were obliged to take a 
 circuit by the heights, lost their way and hearing Guns fired at 
 the fort returned and found it invested, that they concealed them- 
 selves in a large barn, where they could see the rebel patroles pass 
 within 20 yards of them, that one of La Mothe's men (jervais) 
 deserted them before they got to the barn, another (Roy) in the 
 night, that on perceiving the fire slacken towards day they had 
 waited till the coast was clear and then succeeded undiscoverd in 
 getting to the fort — 
 
 Mr: Maisonville who had gone to Montbrun's house (his 
 own Cousin's) to get intelligence, was betrayed by him and de- 
 
 179 
 
liverd up to Colonel Clarke, who the next morning treated him 
 as shall be mentioned in its place — 
 
 23 d. The firing recommenced on both sides after sunrise, 
 we cleared the houses next the fort by a few cannon shot from 
 the Blockhouses, but this did not prevent our having two men 
 Wounded thro the loopholes, and one walking across the parade — 
 This last was one of La Mothe's, and I could not find that those 
 of his company had acted with spirit from the first, on the con- 
 trary the men of the Kings regiment behaved with the greatest 
 alacrity, and even exposed themselves more than I wished — 
 
 At Eleven this morning one of the Captains of Militia of 
 St. Vincennes advanced towards the fort gate, with a flag of truce 
 and being admitted deliverd me a letter from Colonel Clarke 
 which was expressed in the following terms — 
 
 St. Vincennes Feby. 23d. 
 Sir 
 
 I expect you shall immediately surrender yourself 
 with your Garrison prisoners at discretion — If any of 
 the stores be destroyed or any letters or papers burned, 
 you may expect no mercy, for by Heavens you shall be 
 treated as a murtherer — 
 
 I am Sir your humble servant 
 Lt. Govr. Hamilton George Rogers Clarke — 
 
 The following answer was returnd — 
 Lieutenant Governor Hamilton acquaints Colonel 
 Clarke, that neither he or his garrison are to be pre- 
 vailed on by threats to act in a manner unbecoming 
 the character of British Subjects. 
 
 Fort Sackville 23d. Feby. 1779 247 
 
 Having called the Officers together I read them Colol Clarke's 
 letter, with the answer, and told them I was determined if they 
 and the Men were of my mind to hold out to the last, rather than 
 to trust to, or accept Colonel Clarkes proposition — 
 
 They all declared themselves willing to second me — 
 The men were then assembled on the Parade, when I read 
 the letter and answer in English and french, telling them it was 
 
 180 
 
the determination of the Officers, as well as my own to defend 
 the Kings colours to the last extremity rather than yield to such 
 ignominious terms — 
 
 The English to a man declared they would stand to the last 
 for the honor of their Country, and as they expressd it, would 
 stick to me as the shirt to my back — 
 
 Then they cried God Save King George, and gave three 
 Huzzas — 
 
 The French hung their heads, and their Serjeants first turned 
 round and mutterd with their men, some said it was hard they 
 should fight against their own Friends and relations who they 
 could see had joined the Americans and fired against the Fort — 
 
 This was indeed fact, for as I found afterwards Bosseron had 
 secreted powder with which he had supplyed Colonel Clarke on 
 his arrival, and made an offer of his services with 75 men of the 
 Militia of St. Vincennes — 248 
 
 Finding one half of my little Garrison thus indisposed, and 
 that with so small a number as were well affected it would be 
 absurd to think of holding out, that to retain the French was to 
 depend on traitors, and to turn them out must give additional 
 confidence to our Enemies. I determined from that moment to 
 accept honorable terms if I could procure them, I first consulted 
 with the Officers and then communicated to the English the neces- 
 sity of a surrender, assuring them at the same time that no con- 
 sideration whatever should induce me to accept any but honorable 
 terms — 
 
 They seemed very unwilling to listen to anything of the 
 Kind, but as it was obvious we were not in a condition to make 
 any essential resistance, that we were 600 miles distant from any 
 relief, that duty must fall too heavy on our small numbers now 
 reduced one half by the treachery or cowardice or both of our 
 Canadian volunteers, that we had already a fifth of our trusty 
 Englishmen wounded, and wretched accommodations for them, 
 they agreed to act as I judged best — 
 
 The men having had no rest the preceding night I divided 
 the Garrison into two watches, & sent one watch to rest — 
 
 In the meantime the following transactions passed in the 
 Village- 
 
Mr Francis Maisonville who I had mentioned was betrayed 
 to Colol. Clarke, being questioned by him if he had been out with 
 the Indians, answerd in the affirmative, upon which the Colonel 
 orderd him to be placed in a chair, and one of Clarkes men was 
 told to take off his scalp, which probably was meant only in 
 terrorism, however this poor man who had a great deal of firm- 
 ness told the Colol. he was at his mercy and he might do his 
 pleasure. 
 
 The executor of the Colonel's pleasure hesitating to act as he 
 was desired, was called to with an imprecation to do as he was 
 orderd, on which he raised two pieces of the Skin of the size of 
 a sixpence, just then one of his brothers who had come from the 
 Ilinois with Colol. Clarke steppd up and interceded for him on 
 which he was set at liberty — 
 
 About two in the afternoon the party of Indians which had 
 gone towards the falls of Ohio returnd, and advancing over the 
 common to the fort, seeing the English flag flying and not know- 
 ing that we were attacked, discharged their pieces — tis usual 
 with them to fire three vollies on their approach to a fort or a 
 town, as a salute, this is practiced also among themselves — 
 
 This party was in all but 15 or 16 men, of whom were the 
 two Serjeants of Volunteers — 
 
 Colol. Clarke being informed of their arrival, sent off 70 
 men to attack them, who fired on these people unprepared for 
 such a salute, killed one wounded two and made 5 of the rest 
 prisoners taking them to the Village — 
 
 On their arrival, they were placed in the street opposite the 
 Fort Gate, where these poor wreches were to be sacrificed — one 
 of them a young Indian about 18 Years of age the son of Pon- 
 tiach, was saved at the intercession of one Macarty a Captain of 
 Colol. Clarkes Banditti, who said he was formerly owed his life 
 to the Indian's father- 
 One of the others was tomahawked either by Clarke or one 
 of his Officers, the other three foreseeing their fate, began to sing 
 their Death song, and were butcherd in succession, tho at the 
 very time a flag of Truce was hanging out at the fort and the firing 
 had ceased on both sides — A young chief of the Ottawa nation 
 called Macutte Mong one of these last, having received the fatal 
 
 182 
 
stroke of a Tomahawk in the head, took it out and gave it again 
 into the hands of his executioner who repeated the Stroke a second 
 and third time, after which the miserable being, not entirely de- 
 prived of life was dragged to the river, and thrown in with the 
 rope about his neck where he ended his life and tortures — This 
 horrid scene was transacted in the open Street, and before the 
 door of a house where I afterward was quarterd, the master of 
 which related to me the above particulars — The Blood of the 
 victims was still visible for days afterwards, a testimony of the 
 courage and Humanity of Colonel Clarke — 
 
 When the prisoners were brought in, Bosseron the Villain 
 already mentioned, levelld his piece at Serjeant Sanscrainte, whose 
 father (who had come with Clarke from the Ilinois) at that in- 
 stant stepping up raised the muzzle and obtained his son's life 
 by applying to Colol. Clarke — 
 
 Serjeant Robert was saved by his sister's interceding — The 
 flag of truce had been hung out on the occasion of my sending a 
 messenger to Colol. Clarke that, I would treat with him about 
 the surrender of the Fort on honorable terms if he would come 
 to a parly, & that I would talk with him on the Subject in the 
 Fort, passing my word for his security — he sent word he would 
 talk with me on the parade — we were each to bring a person 
 to be present at our interview — 
 
 In consequence I met him on the parade outside the Fort, he 
 had just come from his Indian tryumph all bloody and sweating — 
 seated himself on the edge of one of the batteaus, that had some 
 rainwater in it, & while he washed his hands and face still reeking 
 from the human sacrifice in which he had acted as chief priest, he 
 told me with great exultation how he had been employed — The 
 Soldiers in the fort having some suspicion of treachery were got 
 into the Blockhouse next us with their pieces loaded and kept a 
 watchfull eye on us during our conversation — The Colonel pro- 
 ceeded to tell me that it was in vain to think of persisting in the 
 defence of the fort, that his cannon would be up in a few hours, 
 that he knew to a man who of my people I could depend upon, 
 with every other circumstance of my situation, and that if from a 
 spirit of obstinacy I perseverd while there was no prospect of re- 
 
 183 
 
lief, and should stand an assault, that not a single man should be 
 spared — 
 
 I replyed that tho my numbers were small I could depend 
 on them, he said he knew the reverse, that there were but 35 
 or 36 that were really staunch & that I could depend on, and 
 that 'twas folly to think of making a defence against such unequal 
 numbers — That if I surrenderd at discretion and trusted to his 
 generosity, I should have better treatment than if I articled for 
 terms. My answer was, Then Sir I shall abide the consequences, 
 for I never will take a step so disgracefull and unprecedented 
 while I have ammunition and provision — 
 
 You will (said he) be answerable for the lives lost by your 
 obstinacy — I said my men had declared they would die with 
 arms in their hands rather than surrender at discretion — The 
 officer who was with him said he wished we should come to some 
 composition rather than that blood should be spilt — I said that 
 I would accept such terms as should consist with my honor and 
 duty — that as I knew what I might pretend to, it would take 
 but little time to draw up articles — he said he would think 
 upon it and return in half an hour — he returned accordingly 
 with Captain Bowman one of his Officers, and I met him with 
 Major Hay — We resumed our conversation, he seemed as de- 
 termined as before, I then said further discourse was vain I 
 would return to the fort, and to prevent mistakes the firing 
 should not recommence, till an hour after our parting, that each 
 side might be prepared, I then gave him my hand saying we 
 might part as gentlemen tho not as friends — I had gone but a 
 little way when Hajor Hay and Captain Bowman called me 
 back, the subject was resumed, and Colonel Clarke agreed to 
 my sending terms which he should assent to or reject, according 
 as he should find their tenor — They were sent that same eve- 
 ning, C. Clarke made his answer, and I agreed to the conditions, 
 having first assembled the Officers and exposed to them the 
 necessity of the step — 
 
 The Men were next called together and I convinced them 
 that the King's service could not derive any advantage from our 
 holding out — some reasons already touched upon were given 
 them in which they acquiesced, some not mentioned in the capi- 
 
 184 
 
tulation I shall here take notice of. Viz! The Stockades had 
 originally been so ill set up, that a man might pass his closed fist 
 between several of them, which gave a great advantage to people 
 armed with rifles — The Fort was nearly surrounded by houses 
 or other buildings which as the inhabitants had renewed their 
 allegiance we could not consistently destroy — The N.E. Angle of 
 of the fort projected over the sandy bank of the river, & could 
 have been undermined by the assailants under cover — I knew 
 the enemy must shortly have their Cannon up, having heard the 
 report of one while in conference with Clarke, & tho' I knew he 
 could have but the three pounders which had belonged to Fort 
 Chartres, their coming up would have given him such a confi- 
 dence that we might be driven to accept any terms he might 
 exact — 
 
 The poltronnerie and treachery of our french Volunteers 
 who made half our number, with the certainty of the St. Vin- 
 cennes men having joined Colol. Clarke, and the miserable state 
 of our wounded men, all conspired to make me adopt the dis- 
 agreeable terms of capitulation which are refered to No. 
 
 Before the capitulation was signed I had consulted with 
 Major Hay on the practicability of getting off to the settlement 
 of the Natchez on the Mississipi, where we knew we had friends, 
 and where our number tho slender, would have been of some 
 service — we had in the fort two staunch pittyaugers in which 
 the salted Buffalo had been kept during the winter we had oars 
 and paddles sufficient, and thought it practicable to raise some 
 of the Stockades silently and launch the boats undiscoverd by the 
 Enemy, but the treachery of our inmates and the necessity of 
 leaving our wounded men behind made us relinquish this scheme 
 which at first view had flatter'd us with an appearance of faisa- 
 bility — 
 
 The greater part of the night I passed in sorting papers and 
 preparing for the disagreable ceremony of the coming day — 
 
 The mortification, disappointment and indignation I felt, 
 may possibly be conceived if all the considerations are taken to- 
 gether which suggested themselves in turn — Our views of prose- 
 cuting any design against the enemy totally overturned — The 
 being captives to an unprincipled motley Banditti, and the being 
 
 185 
 
betrayed and sacrificed by those very people who owed the preser- 
 vation of their lives and property to us, and who had so lately 
 at the foot of the altar called God to witness their sincerity and 
 loyalty — 
 
 24th — This morning Captain Helm came to me at 7 o'Clock 
 and gave me to understand that Colonel Clarke had been in- 
 formed that we had been hard at work all night in the Fort fixing 
 powder chests underground, that the 6 Pr. was to be loaded with 
 grape and planted opposite the Fort gate, that whenever the 
 enemy entered to take possession it was to be fired by a train, & 
 the chests were to be sprung by a match — I imputed this report 
 to the machinations of the french but assured him I was incapable 
 of so villainous a scheme — he said he had told C. Clarke as 
 much — 
 
 Another attempt of the inhabitants to induce the rebels to 
 treat us with the utmost severity and even cruelty was the follow- 
 ing — A paper was presented to Colonel Clarke in which it was 
 asserted that during our stay at St. Vincennes we had treated 
 them in the harshest and most unjust manner, but what was 
 judged could not fail of raising the fury and indignation of the 
 rebels to the highest pitch, was the infamous falsehood of this 
 paper with respect to William Williams the prisoner, who it was 
 declared had been stripped naked, dragged thro' the streets by 
 the hair & kicked & buffetted by the English Officers after which 
 he was tyed to a stake and threatned to be burned alive if he did 
 not consent to marry an Indian Woman — This paper was signed 
 by two of the principal inhabitants, with a view no doubt of stir- 
 ring up the rebels to a severe retaliation — 
 
 At ten o'Clock we marched out with fixed Bayonettes and 
 our Knapsacks, the terms of capitulation with other papers may 
 be seen at the end of this Diary 249 
 
 Tho one of the propositions made to Colol. Clarke before 
 he took possession, was that the stores should be deliverd up by 
 an inventory he neglected it — 
 
 The Colors were not hoisted this morning that we might 
 be spared the mortification of hawling them down but the Rebels 
 had them presently hoisted with their 13 Stripes over them — 
 
 Haec memiri, & victum frustra contendere Thyrsia — 
 
 186 
 
Immediately after the Americans had taken possession, they 
 fired a salute of 13 rounds from the 6 pounder in one of the 
 Blockhouses, but by some carelessness, a cask of cannon cart- 
 ridges took fire, and blew up Captains Bowman and Widdrington 
 of the Americans with two others of their men, and a Soldier 
 of the King's one of our additional gunners who tho scorched 
 and most of his skin blown from his face and arms and nearly 
 blinded was tolerably recovered before we left Post Vincennes, 
 being a very brave hardy fellow and suffering great torment 
 with uncommon fortitude — 25 ° 
 
 The force of the explosion displaced the log work an inch 
 & half tho' mortaised, and threw a frenchman over the wall into 
 the street — he fell at least 10 feet but lighting on his feet un- 
 hurt, he ran to his Officer & boasted of his alertness 
 
 Le Gras and Bosseron had the curiosity to come to the fort 
 to see as they said quelle countenance tiendrait Mons. le Gouver- 
 neur 251 These persons who had set an example to the wretches 
 of the place of perjury and treason, forgot that they were in- 
 debted to me for not only the preservation of their properties, but 
 of their lives — 
 
 In the afternoon Colonel Clarke and his Officers (so called) 
 being assembled in the little room in the fort, He asked of me 
 who were the persons under my orders who had been employed 
 with the Indians, I told him they were present & would answer 
 for themselves, which they having done, the Colol. orderd one 
 of his Officers to go for the smith & direct him to make irons 
 for them all, which should confine the neck hands and feet — 
 
 I was exceedingly shocked at this speech, and desired Colol. 
 C. to walk out of the room, when I desired him to explain what 
 I was to understand by the order he had just given — he said 
 he had taken a solemn resolution to make examples of all who 
 had acted with the Indians without exception — 
 
 I said whatever were his resolutions, he must remember 
 that he had just put his hand to a capitulation by which we were 
 or ought to be secured from any act of violence — 
 
 He said he had taken an oath & was fixed in his resolu- 
 tion — I replyed that if he was capable of acting in that manner, 
 he must renounce all pretentions to the character of an Officer 
 
 187 
 
or a gentleman — He smiled contemptuously, but I observed 
 that it was not a matter to trifle upon, that these Gentlemen had 
 done no other than their duty in obeying the orders I had given 
 them, that I stood responsible for their actions, and since my 
 situation had reduced me so low as to ask a favor of him, I must 
 request he would put me in irons rather than them — he paid 
 as little attention to this — I remarkd that his behaviour was 
 unaccountable, to act in such a manner and at the same time 
 permit me to carry a loaded pistol in my girdle — He broke of! 
 abruptly, & returning to his Company, orderd Mr. Chabert, 
 Reaume, La Mothe and Maisonville to be put prisoners — 
 
 This day the scalps of the poor murtherd Indians were hung 
 up just at our tent doors, pour nous encourager — 
 
 25 th This day one Raimbault 252 a young man who had 
 served as a volunteer with the Indians was brought into the fort 
 with a rope about his neck and his Judges were in the act of 
 hanging him, when some of the French from the Ilinois inter- 
 posed and he was taken down from the tree half strangled — 
 
 Each instance of substantial Justice gave me no pleasing 
 prospect of what we might expect further from such Picarros — 
 
 Colonel Clarke told me this day, that if Charles Baubin & 
 Hypolite Baulon (who accompanied the Indians on the scout 
 to Kaskasquias, & had carried my letters) had done their duty 
 that he with 4 of his Officers, should have been my orisoners 
 but that I had been betrayed — 253 //By this account, the reason 
 became sufficiently apparent why some of the gentry who went 
 off to Detroit, were so ingenious in framing excuses — // The 
 party of Indians had placed themselves in ambuscade, on the 
 road between Kaskasquias, & Cahokia & must effectually have 
 secured Colonel Clarke and his Officers — 
 
 Colol. Clarke told me allso some particulars of his march 
 which were very extraordinary — He had left the Ilinois when 
 the Waters were out & had marched for 15 days successively, his 
 people being exposed all that time to the inconveniencies of 
 marching thro a flooded Country — They set out without pro- 
 vision trusting entirely to the Buffaloe or other game they might 
 chance to fall in with on their route — The greater part «f his 
 people were half naked — His powder was all damaged uefore 
 
 188 
 
he arrived at St. Vincennes — a nights frost must have destroyed 
 his whole party — 
 
 Colonel Clarke's having succeeded under such circumstances 
 illustrates the following remark made by some author whose 
 name I do not recollect // "A Sanguine temper forsees few 
 difficulties and sometimes owes success to a fortunate rashness 
 which is esteemed by shortsighted people as taking Fortune in 
 the willing mood — tis true Fortune favors the bold, but the rash 
 have no pretensions to her favor — "// 
 
 As we sat together this Evening the Colonel giving a loose 
 to his military ardor said that he expected shortly to see the 
 whole race of Indians extirpated, that for his part he would 
 never spare Man woman or child of them on whom he could 
 lay his hands — I represented to him the Indians having so far 
 foregone their usual habits as to have saved the lives of several 
 of their captives and desired him to enquire of Henry the Ar- 
 mourer who had been at Detroit and been witness to the treat- 
 ment of Prisoners, which when the Colonel had done and 
 received such answers as were indeed consistent with truth, Clarke 
 turned to me and said Sir I find I have been mistaken in your 
 character & facts have been grosly misrepresented — On his 
 renewing his threats against the Indians, I warned him against 
 exasperating a people who were so capable of ravaging the fron- 
 tiers, & being renderd implacable by severities, at the same time 
 I quoted Mr: Gay, as authority for humanity being the proper 
 companion to true courage "Cowards are cruel, but the brave" 
 he appeard rather checkd "love mercy, and delight to save" and 
 mortifyed — 
 
 26th — Captain Helm was sent up the river with a detach- 
 ment to intercept the convoy from Miamis with provision &ca. 
 Le Gras and Bosseron oiferd their services and went, as did young 
 Chapoton, whose father was a Captain of Militia at Detroit — 
 
 Among Colonel Clarke's followers were, Charleville a young 
 man from the Ilinois whose father was one of the most consider- 
 able of the Inhabitants there — McCarty — Bowman brother to 
 Colol. Bowman at Harrodsburgh who lent me a horse for my 
 journey thro the Country, and went to Williamsburgh to repre- 
 sent to the Govr. and Council, the injustice and severity of their 
 
 189 
 
proceedings — Widdrington — Williams — these 5 were cap- 
 tains, Brown, Bayley, Giraud, Rogers, Lieutenants — Lavoine[,] 
 Montgomery, Chaplin Ensigns — Daniel Murray Commissary of 
 Stores, a fellow who haunted us after our surrender, & by flattery 
 and cunning attempted to get into our confidence — Kennedy, 
 commissary of provisions, a vagrant who plyed the prisoners with 
 liquor to get them to enlist with the rebels — Maisonville 
 brother to Alexis & Francois — Sills the son of the Innholder 
 at Trois rivieres — Two brothers of the name of Antayas — 
 
 The manage of the French inhabitants at the Ilinois as re- 
 lated to me by Colol. Clarke is not to be forgot — 
 
 On the first report of my arrival, they expected to be attacked 
 at Kaskasquias on which the young men went to Colonel Clarke 
 and offerd their service to bear arms, at the same time their 
 Fathers Uncles & told him they had sworn allegiance to the 
 English government at the time of the surrender of Canada & 
 could not consistently with their oath bear arms against the Eng- 
 lish, but that they should not act in any manner against the 
 Americans — Thus mediators were to intercede for their friends 
 and relations which ever side got the advantage — 
 
 I have reason to think that Lang — e and Gaut — r were 
 either false to their trust, or imposed on, from the accounts I had 
 afterwards from Monsr. de Li — ot, which I had no reason to dis- 
 believe — else a diversion from Michillimackinac might have 
 kept the Rebels at Caskaskias till reinforcements in the Spring 
 should have enabled me to have cleared the Country of them — 254 
 
 I applyed to Colol. Clarke several times for naming the day 
 of our departure that I might has \_sic\ biscuit baked for the 
 March in vain — 
 
 Two of his men acquainted some of the soldiers who in- 
 formd me of it, to be on my guard as there was a design of 
 shooting me thro' the head formed by some of the rebel gentry, 
 but I thought best not to appear to credit it, however twice in the 
 night I was alarmed by two drunken men who took their pieces 
 & were advancing to the tent where Major Hay and I slept in 
 the fort, but providentially one of us was awake each time and 
 alarmed the other — we complained of this to Colol. Clarke 
 who said he would make enquiry, but it did not appear any one 
 
 190 
 
was punished, tho our report was confirmed — 
 
 One of these men accompanied us when we were sent off, 
 but the poor creature was afterwards very inoffensive, and was 
 one of those sometime after wounded by a party of Indians who 
 killed William Moyres, Colol. Clarke's express, & carried some 
 of his comrades prisoners to Detroit — 255 
 
 March 5 th. The Party under Captain Helm returnd having 
 got possession of the convoi of Provisions from the Miamis — 
 
 To my great surprize I saw Mr. Philip Dejean who had 
 acted as Justice of peace at Detroit who was taken prisoner with 
 a packett of letters for me, 256 which he had not the presence of 
 mind to destroy tho the day before he had had information of 
 St. Vincennes being in the hands of the Rebels — with this con- 
 voy came cloathing and private Stores for myself and the other 
 officers, every article of which Colol. C. made prize of never 
 offering us the smallest part, not even asking us to drink a glass 
 of our own wines — 
 
 Before our setting off I found that some of the Soldiers and 
 even others of whom I had conceived a better opinion, had made 
 their terms with Colol. Clarke without saying anything to me, & 
 
 even did not come to take leave when we set off. CC. L. &ca 
 
 Joseph 1' Italien behaved better than most, tho' I had entertained 
 but an indifferent opinion of him whilst at Detroit 
 
 I was shown about this time those articles of the treaty of 
 alliance between France and America that the Congress thought 
 proper to have printed and dispersed, these were sent to C. Clarke 
 by the Governor of Virginia together with a commission author- 
 izing him to act as commanding officer of the Eastern Ilinois — 
 
 Colonel Clarke told me we were to go by water to the falls 
 of Ohio, and thence by land to Williamsburgh, that he should 
 send fifteen horses to the falls for our convenience — this how- 
 ever was forgot — We immediately procured what shoes & Mocas- 
 sins we could for our men, and as we were to have a troublesome 
 march thro the woods and over mountains, we disposed of several 
 things to the Colonel and his officers, expecting that our wounded 
 men and such as he chose should remain would be well treated 
 on this account, but we were not long of this way of thinking 
 for the provision allotted us for our Journey to the falls of Ohio 
 
 191 
 
was 10 days rations of Flour and salt pork, with 14 gallons of 
 Rum, for our whole party being 50 in the whole, 27 being the 
 number of the Garrison which Colol. Clarke sent off, and 23 the 
 number of our guard, including two Officers, Captain Williams 
 & Lt. Rogers, who both behaved very civilly all the way & as 
 
 kindly as they durst 257 
 
 I was very impatient to leave this detestable place, where 
 every object reminded me of the baseness treachery or ingratitude 
 of the inhabitants — 
 
 A Prisoner of War, 
 March 8 to June 16, 177% 
 
 8th. The Oak Boat in which we had brought a Brass six 
 with ammunition &c. was allotted to us, we had rowed her with 
 14 Oars, but they concluded such stout fellows as we, could row 
 her against the current of the Ohio with 7 — so at length on the 
 8th March we took leave of our poor fellow Soldiers who had 
 tears in their eyes some of the wounded got to the water side to 
 bid us farewell, and Colonel Clarke who generosity should not 
 pass unnoticed when he had seen our Pork and flour embarked, 
 and we were ready to push off asked us aloud if we wanted any- 
 thing — We fell down the stream and encamped three leagues 
 below white River, the current very swift — 
 
 9th. continued our route & encamped at l'hyvernement de 
 Bonepart, at this place the little attention of our guard was such 
 as to give some among us an idea of seizing their arms in the 
 night and getting down to the Natchez, but we were checked 
 by thinking what would be the fate of those we left behind — 
 
 10th. As we approached the Ohio we conceived that river 
 to be amazingly raised as the waters of the Ouabache were backed 
 for at least three miles before we reached the mouth — At half 
 past three in the afternoon we got into the Ohio, & rowed up 
 the stream 9 miles — By the driftwood lodged in the trees we 
 perceived the waters had been 12 feet higher than at present, tho' 
 now 18 feet above the steep banks of Ohio — There was no sight 
 of land, and as far as the sight could extend a violent current 
 swept thro' the wood, so night coming on we made our boat fast 
 
 192 
 
to a tree, and lay as well as we could contrive which was not very 
 conveniently as it rained most part of the night, and our Tar- 
 paulin was rather scanty — our bodies were miserably cramped 
 being so crowded, & one of our party lay in a blankett tyed in 
 form of a hammaque one end to a bough of a tree, the other to 
 the boats mast — 
 
 11, 12, 13th. rowed up against stream & encamped, tho 
 ill at our ease everything being wet and the ground little better 
 than a swamp 
 
 14th we set off and not having got terra firma we lay again 
 in our boat a little above green river — 258 
 
 15 th. fair wind, got about 30 miles against stream & en- 
 camped 
 
 16th. The current exceeding strong, we worked hard & 
 could make but 9 miles all day — encamped — 
 
 17th. Our work had made us so keen, & the weather being 
 still very cold it will not appear surprizing that this day our pro- 
 vision was entirely expended — Our Guardians sent out some 
 hunters to procure us Buffaloe, in which they succeeded — 
 
 18, 19, 20th. nothing remarkable happend — we were a 
 good deal impeded by the large rafts of driftwood, brought down 
 by this extraordinary flood which was occasiond by a general 
 thaw of the Snow in the upper country accompanyed with a heavy 
 rain — We are told that the banks of the Ohio are subject to 
 inundations from its conflux with the Mississipi to the distance 
 of 300 miles upwards, so that the settling of that country is not 
 likely to take place in many centuries — 
 
 21st. Rain— 22d. no. ex— 259 23d Snow, lay by— 24th. 
 passed the Islands — 
 
 25 th. contrary wind we could advance but 7 miles — 
 26th. nothing extra — 
 
 27th. I landed with Major Hay and Mr. Belief euille on 
 the east side of the river to get a view of the ravages occasioned 
 by a Whirlwind or Hurricane — We had some difficulty in scram- 
 bling to the top of the cliff, great craggs and large trees tumbled 
 together in confusion obliging us sometimes to creep and some- 
 times to climb — when we got to the top we saw the progress 
 of this vein of wind which was in a straight line across the River, 
 
 193 
 
and thro the wood which was mowed down at about 20 or 25 
 feet from the ground, the vista open'd being as regular as if laid 
 down by a line — 
 
 28th. rain — 
 
 29th. Captain Harrod the officer commanding the fort and 
 settlement at the falls came down in a boat of 18 oars, shortly 
 after which we encamped a little above salt River — 260 
 
 30th. We proceeded with our new guide to the falls — the 
 River at the falls may be about 800 yards across and divided in 
 the middle by an Island on which there had been a fort, which 
 was at that time deserted from the uncommon rise of the waters, 
 which the people here told us had been above 40 feet higher 
 than the usual level — 
 
 We were put into a log house, and received the compliments 
 of the people on our arrival, expressed by discharging their pieces 
 almost all day long, this joy of theirs at our capture made us 
 recollect what C.C. 261 had told us, that we should run the risq. 
 of our lives in passing the Frontier — 
 
 31st. We procured some bread for our ensuing march, for 
 the baking of which I was obliged to give the lady baker my 
 quilt — as to provision, our hunters were to find it on the route 
 if they could — 
 
 Two horses were all that we could get to hire so we pre- 
 pared to set off the next day, not in the best humor imaginable — 
 
 The people here had not got intelligence of our having 
 taken Fort Sackville, till the day before we were brought Prison- 
 ers to the falls, so well had the Indian parties scoured the 
 country — 
 
 April 1st. We set off from the falls about 11am. without 
 a single days provision furnished by our captors, two horses were 
 with difficulty procured for hire, so that we were obliged to carry 
 our packs, which indeed were not very heavy, A Bearskin and 
 blankett being the common burthen, / the Chief, had a small 
 portmanteau and a box of folio size {that is this folio) in which 
 I carried a few papers — Those of any moment (thinking I might 
 be searched unexpectedly) I had kept copies of, and carried in 
 an inner pockett of my waistcoat — we got some bread baked 
 & purchased a small quantity of Indian corn of the settlers at the 
 
 194 
 
falls — set off about 11 o'Clock a m. marched 10 miles — 
 
 2d. 12 miles — 3d. 15 miles — rain — a hilly road — ■ 
 4th. hilly road rain 20 miles. 
 
 5 th. Had a very fatiguing march, our guides lost themselves 
 and misled us. One of our hunters killed a she bear about 3 years 
 old, very fat, which was a great resource as we had not a morsel 
 of flesh among us all at setting out — This Creature must have 
 just quitted her winter habitation for tho so fat, she had nothing 
 in her Stomach, or intestines — We got 30 miles this day — 
 
 6th. We fell into the path of the Shawanese warriors, which 
 they use to go against the Cherakees — The country pleasant, 
 the verdure very luxuriant, passed some log houses which appeard 
 to have been lately deserted, the enclosures being in good repair — 
 A great relief to us was the frequency of plentyfull springs of 
 fine water breaking thro a limestone — Two horses were sent from 
 Harrodsburgh to assist in carrying the baggage — We reached 
 that place about dusk having marched 25 miles — It is called 
 a fort and consists of about 20 houses, forming an irregular 
 square with a very copious spring within its enclosure — 262 
 
 At the time of our arrival, they were in hourly apprehension 
 of attacks from the Savages, and no doubt these poor inhabitants 
 are worthy of pity — 
 
 Their cattle were brought into the fort every night Horses 
 as well as Cows — They dared not go for firewood or to plow 
 without their arms, yet in spight of this state of constant alarm a 
 considerable quantity of land had been cleared, and as their num- 
 bers are increasing fast, they will soon set the Savages at defiance, 
 being good marksmen and well practiced in the Woods — A 
 Water mill had been built on a branch of Salt river which runs 
 by the fort, but the frequent inroads of the Indians had renderd 
 it useless, and they subsisted by the use of 2 handmills — 
 
 On my taking a survey of this place, I recollected perfectly 
 the plan, of it given me by a Savage who had been there with a 
 party and had been on the point of being taken by a well laid 
 plan of the Officer at this post who knowing where the Savages 
 were, sent out two or three men with Scythes as if to mow, who 
 drew the attention of the Savages, while a Party sent by a circuit 
 into their rear thro the woods, unexpectedly fired on them killed 
 
 195 
 
some on the Spot & put the rest to shifting for themselves — 
 
 Our diet here was indian corn and milk for breakfast & 
 
 supper, Indian bread and Bears flesh for dinner, yet we were 
 healthy & strong 
 
 We were delayed here much against our will thinking we 
 held our lives by a very precarious tenure, for the people on our 
 first coming looked upon us as little better than savages, which 
 was very excusable considering how we had been represented, 
 and besides that they had sufferd very severely from the inroads 
 of those people — One Man in particular had last year lost his 
 son, and had had four score of his horses & mares carryed off, yet 
 this man was reconciled upon hearing a true state of facts, and 
 Colonel Bowman acted as a person above prejudice, by rendering 
 us every service in his power — 
 
 11th. William Moyres, Colonel Clarke's messenger with 
 letters to the Govr. of Virginia, was killed on the road from the 
 falls to this place the letters and prisoners as we supposed carried 
 off to Detroit— 263 
 
 17th. Colol. Bowman having sent to Logan's fort for horses, 
 they arrivd this day. He was so obliging as to let me have one 
 of his own — 264 
 
 19th. We set out for Logan's fort 20 miles distant, where 
 we arrived at 7 p m. tis an oblong square formed by the houses 
 making a double street, at the angles were stockaded bastions — 
 the situation is romantic, among wooded hills, a stream of fine 
 water passes at the foot of these hills which turns a small grist 
 mill — They had been frequently alarmed & harrassed by the 
 Indians, Captain Logan the person commanding here had had 
 his arm broken by a buckshot in a skirmish with them, & was not 
 yet recoverd — the people here were not exceedingly well dis- 
 posed to us, & we were accosted by the females especially in 
 pretty coarse terms — but the Captain and his wife, who had a 
 brother carryed off by the Indians were very civil and hospi- 
 table— 265 
 
 20th. We marched to Whitley's fort 7 miles distant where 
 we made a halt and where a small ox was purchased for our 
 subsistence, which with 3 bags of Indian corn, one of Indian meal 
 
 196 
 
and some dryed meat was to serve 50 of us for 14 days, in which 
 time we expected to reach some habitations — 266 
 
 This little post is often visited and much infested by the 
 Savages — 
 
 21st. Set forward on an Indian path, & forded Craggs creek 
 forty times — 267 the difficulty of marching thro' such a country as 
 this is not readily imagined by a European — The Canes grow 
 very close together to the heigh th of 25 feet and from the thick- 
 ness of a quill to that of ones wrist, as they are very strong and 
 supple the rider must be constantly on the watch to guard his 
 face from them as they fly back with great force, the leaves and 
 the young shoots are a fodder horses are exceedingly fond of and 
 are eternally turning to the right & left to take a bite — The 
 soil where they grow is rich and deep, so you plod thro in a nar- 
 row track like a Cowpath, while the musketoes are not idle — the 
 steep ascents & descents with rugged stony ways varied with 
 Swamps and clayey grounds completely jaded horses and riders — 
 we began to cross the blue Mountains this day — 
 
 2 2d. Very bad swampy road or way rather — at 10 a.m. 
 passed a small river called rock Castle branch which falls into 
 Cumberland river — 268 The scene is very beautifull the trees 
 being in high beauty, the water bright, the weather clear, so that 
 tho in no pleasant circumstances otherways I could not but enjoy 
 this romantic prospect of which I took a hasty sketch while our 
 poor fatigued packhorses were towed thro' the rapid stream by 
 their wearyed hungry leaders — we encamped about 7 p.m. 
 when we were joined by a Colonel Callaway 269 who took upon 
 him the charge of the prisoners and their escort hitherto com- 
 manded by Captn Harrod — The Colol. made new arrange- 
 ments, new dispositions, talked of Grand division manoevres, and 
 made a great display of military abilities, posting a number of 
 sentries, & fatiguing our poor Devils of frontiers [men] who 
 would willingly have trusted their prisoners in this desert, not 
 one of whom could have made use of his liberty, without Guides, 
 provision and shoes being found them — It rained all night, 
 which did not set our disciplinarian in a favorable light — 
 
 23d. St. Georges — We were very hearty in our wishes for 
 the honor and success of the Patrons countrymen, and tho the 
 
 197 
 
water was very good, did not exceed the bounds of moderation 
 in our potations — 
 
 The road was exceedingly difficult, lying over very steep 
 hills which from last nights rain were so slippery, our wretched 
 cattle had much ado to scramble up and slide down — 
 
 24th. forded stinking creek, and some others — at 4 p.m. 
 passed the great War path of the Shawanese, 270 which at this 
 place crosses a remarkable Buffaloe salt lick — several of the 
 trees here bear the marks of the exploits of the Savages, who have 
 certain figures and Characters by which they can express their 
 numbers, their route, what prisoners they have made, how many 
 killed &ca they commonly raise the bark & with their Toma- 
 hawks & knives carve first and then with vermillion color their 
 design — 
 
 25 Forded Cumberland or Shawanese river, which is about 
 200 yards over — 
 
 26th. passed Cumberland Mountain, enterd Powel's val- 
 ley — 271 Provision being expended we killed a Cow from a herd 
 probably left here by some Sellers, who were probably intercepted 
 on their March, & killed by the Indians 
 
 27th. Came to a very pretty halting place called the Spring 
 cave, otherways rocky bridge a curious romantic work of Nature — 
 A very copious Stream of fine water breaks out of the Ground in 
 a beauty full valley well cloathed with clover, skirted with rising 
 grounds ornamented with variety of timber trees, evergreens & 
 Shrubs — at about 150 yards from its source it passes under a 
 rocky ledge which serves for a bridge being about 60 feet wide 
 at top and coverd with trees — The road passes over the natural 
 Bridge, which is hollowed into several arched cavities, some of 
 a considerable dimension. This pretty stream and cheerfull scene 
 would have engaged me a considerable time but I had no allow- 
 ance and just took two slight sketches on Cards — 
 
 In the Evening we arrived fatigued & wet thro', and en- 
 camped near Chrisman Creek — it pourd rain so hard that we 
 could scarce make a fire — I went to see the cave from which 
 the Creek (as 'tis improperly called) issues, it is arched over 
 naturally and the coving is really very smooth and even, a tall 
 man may stand upright in it and walk about 70 yards, a breach 
 
 198 
 
in the top letting in light sufficient, I thought it singular enough 
 to take a view of it — 272 
 
 28th. Our horses straggled to a great distance among the 
 canes, and tho they were hoppled, and had Bells, we could not col- 
 lect them before 12 o'Clock — crossed Powell's Mountain — 273 
 halted at Scots improvement — 
 
 29th. Crossed the north branch of Clinch river, forded stock 
 creek 6 times, forded Clinch river with great difficulty, some of 
 the men were near being drownd, it fell sleet and hail with an 
 exceeding sharp wind — a very small canoe took over some of 
 us, after making a fire & getting well warmed we proceeded on 
 our march thro' cane brakes, the ways crooked steep & miry — I 
 felt the gout flying about me and as it would have been dreadfull 
 to have him fix while in such a country, I dismounted & walked 
 the whole day in Moccassins which dissipated the humor and 
 enabled me to keep up — 
 
 30th. Forded Moccassin and leather creeks several times 
 also the north branch of Holston river, 274 which being very rapid, 
 I did not chose to trust my horse and rather than attempt it had 
 a raft made & was ferryed over by two who could swim the raft 
 being only large enough for one — 
 
 May 1st. Pass Mocassin gap, a pass thro' the Mountains, 
 which afford some very bold and magnificent views — a little 
 fort called Andross, built in 1753 but now in ruins is situated 
 on the left hand as you come out of the Mountain near which 
 we fell into a Waggon road, & shortly after were accosted by 
 Mr: Maddison, A Gentleman of a liberal way of thinking, who 
 received us with genuine hospitality and gave us such a wellcome 
 as we could not have expected from one whose life and property 
 were in continual danger from the Indians who had made inroads 
 much farther into the country than his habitation — 
 
 The sight of a pretty cultivated farm, well cropped, with a 
 large garden orchard, & convenient buildings, set off by the lofty 
 & rugged Mountains we had just passed, formed a pleasing con- 
 trast to our late situation — the cheer full conversation of a very 
 agreeable old man, with a plentyfull meal, (what we had long 
 been strangers to) rest after our fatigues, and a very clean bed to 
 
 199 
 
conclude were real luxuries, to people who had not lain in sheets 
 for 7 months — 
 
 2d — Our kind host accompanyed us to General Lewis's, 
 where Major Hay and I were accommodated with beds — we had 
 stoppd at Major McBeans — 
 
 3d. We lay at a Major Bletsoe's farm, where we were told 
 the country people had designed to assemble & knock us on the 
 head — 275 Tho we considered this as only meant to prevent our 
 having any conversation with them, we thought it adviseable to 
 stay within — we breakfasted at Colonel Shelby's plantation, 
 where we were very frankly entertained — The Farm in extra- 
 ordinary good order and condition, we were shown a black Stal- 
 lion one of the first creatures of his sort I ever saw — at night 
 we slept at a Captain Thompsons, where riches could not keep 
 penury out of doors, we did not get our dinner till eleven at 
 night, and this made us see economy in no faverable light — 
 
 4th. Arrived at Washington court house — 
 
 5 th. & 6th. Halted at Colonel Arthur Campbell's where 
 we repaired ourselves with sleep — Our Host was very civil to 
 us, but from the difficulty of procuring Provisions in this part 
 of the Country, some of the prisoners who were pressed with 
 hunger and fatigue broke out into very injurious language, and 
 even threatned to be revenged at a future day for the little atten- 
 tion payd to their necessities — // some time after my arrival in 
 Virginia, I received a letter from C.C. in which he lamented my 
 having engaged in the Indian war, & mentioned his father having 
 been in my grandfathers family as Steward, and having saved 
 my father from drowning in the Boyne at the age of 13 years// — 
 
 7th. Set out from Colonel Campbells where Mr: Dejean 
 stayed, and lay at the plantation of Mr: Sayer — 
 
 8th. Passed Rail's fort, where the poor people saw us with 
 some horror, as being of kindred manners with the Savages — A 
 remarkable sized Stallion — forded Peeks creek and some others, 
 and in the Evening crossed over in a ferry the new river or great 
 Canhawa, and were kindly and hospitably received at the house 
 of Colonel Ingles — here we rested for an entire day — a beauty- 
 full Girl his daughter sat at the head of the table, and did the 
 honors with such an easy and gracefull simplicity as quite charmed 
 
 200 
 
us — the Scenery about this house was romantic to a degree the 
 river very beautyfull, the hills well wooded, the low grounds 
 well improved & well stocked, I thought his tecum toto con- 
 sumerer &ca — Mrs: Ingles had in her early years been carryed 
 off with another young Woman by the Savages, and tho carryed 
 away into the Shawanes country had made her escape with her 
 female friend, & wonderful to relate tho exposed to unspeakable 
 hardships, & having nothing to subsist on but wild fruits, found 
 her way back in safety, from a distance (if I remember right) 
 of 200 miles — however terror and distress had left so deep an 
 impression on her mind that she appeard absorbed in a deep 
 melancholy, and left the management of household concerns, & 
 the reception of Strangers to her lovely daughter. 
 
 10th. We entered into Botetourt County 
 
 11th. Crossed the Roanoak seven times. 
 
 12th. reached Mr: Howard's, where notwithstanding the 
 wretched estate of the Country the Mistress of the family in the 
 absence of her husband showed all the dispositions imaginable 
 to make her house agreeable to us — 
 
 13 th. forded great Otter Creek — crossed otter creek six 
 times, and Otter river once — The Peeks of Otter make their 
 appearance in various points of view, and terminated many of 
 our prospects very agreably — 276 A Gruff Landlord — 
 
 14th. Arrived at Bedford in the County of the same 
 name — a tolerably well built but now nearly a deserted Village, 
 the situation well chosen and healthy — We halted here the 15 th 
 but could scarcely keep our selves warm within doors, so ranged 
 about to keep ourselves warm — to get a plentyfull meal was 
 now a rarity, and what we were not to expect — Heard a coarse 
 German girl play on an instrument of one string, which she 
 managed tolerably — 
 
 16th We arrived at Lynches ferry on the head of James's 
 river, and set forward the day following on a raft composed of 
 two canoes lashed together, and lay at the plantation of a Colonel 
 Bosville on the North side of the river in Amherst County — 
 18th 19th proceeded — 
 
 20th Made a halt about breakfast time, to get some water 
 that of the river being very hot and distastefull, to our great sur- 
 
 201 
 
prize found Brigadier General Hamilton and Major Kirkman 
 of the convention army who received us with all imaginable cor- 
 diality and politeness — In the Evening reached the plantation 
 of a rich old Chuff a Colonel Lewis, who demanded or rather 
 exacted fourscore dollars for our scanty supper — While I was 
 walking in the garden I saw three Officers in British uniforms 
 ride by, and saluted them tho' little imagining I could know or 
 be known, but Captain Freeman aid de Camp to General Riedesel 
 knew me thro' the disguise of a slouched hat & very shabby 
 cloathing After some conversation he took his leave prom- 
 ising to see us in the morning before our departure — he was so 
 good, and very obligingly took charge of a letter for Genl. Haldi- 
 mand, and one for Major General Philips, enclosing a copy of 
 the capitulation, and giving him an account of our situation 
 
 21st reached Goochland Court house — a brutal Landlord, 
 exchanged for a civil one — 
 
 2 2d The Officers were orderd to Beaver Dam, the men 
 remained — We had been left without any guard excepting 
 Lieutenant Rogers from the time of our getting into Washington 
 County — At the house of Mr: Thos. Pleasants we were hospi- 
 table entertained, with all the humanity, candor and simplicity 
 of a sensible Quaker free from the ostentation of sanctity but 
 possessed of a liberal and generous spirit — Tho a number of 
 his family were crowded under one roof, there appeard as much 
 neatness in their persons and as much good humor in their man- 
 ner as if they had been perfectly at ease in their circumstances, 
 and not subjected to the odious tyranny of their new Masters, who 
 obliged them (at that time) to pay treble taxes — We expected 
 to have remained at the house allotted for us about one mile from 
 Mr: Pleasants, and as the time of our exchange was uncertain 
 we had some thoughts of employing ourselves in the Garden, 
 but on the 
 
 26th A Captain Upshaw, a curious Original, arrived with 
 an order for our removal to Chesterfield, and on the 28th having 
 taken a reluctant leave of our kind and sensible Quaker, we set 
 out for Richmond — 
 
 As I have a great propensity to strike out of the common 
 road, and dont always take the necessary precautions for getting 
 
 202 
 
into it again, I this day followed my inclination and having the 
 Surgeon with me we got into a bye road which we followed, and 
 not getting sight of people or dwellings for a long time, added 
 13 miles to our days march, & did not reach Richmond till one 
 o'Clock the next Morning — The out Sentries would not suffer 
 us to go into town, nor would they call to the guard so we lay 
 on the ground till the relief came — 
 
 31st Having passed our time disagreably at Richmond from 
 the prepossession of people against us, and the curiosity to see 
 how such a set of Infernals carryed themselves who had each 
 been more bloodthirsty than Herod the Tetrarch, we were 
 marched to Chesterfield, where we were kept under a jealous 
 guard — 
 
 June 15 th An Officer arrived who had a written order 
 signed by Govr. Jefferson for William La Mothe Captain of the 
 Volunteers of Detroit, and myself to be taken in irons and layd 
 in Goal [sic] at Williamsburgh — The Officer acquitted himself 
 of this commission with reluctance and behaved very civilly — 
 
 However we were mounted with some difficulty being hand- 
 cuff d, and I found a days journey of only 30 Miles tired my pa- 
 tience and wearyed my body exceedingly not having as yet re- 
 paired the uncommon fatigues of a March Route of 1200 miles 
 from Fort Sackville, most part of the time but half fed, ill 
 cloathed, menaced and reviled, but as Sancho says, This was spice 
 cake and gilt gingerbread to what was to come — We lay I can- 
 not say rested at James City Court house that night, we had 
 stopped at a Village on the way to have the rivetts of my hand- 
 cuffs taken out, and newly set, for riding had so swelled my wrists 
 that the rings chafed the skin too much and my conductor kindly 
 attended to my remonstrance — 
 
 The next day it raind, the road was bad, and my legs were 
 sore with several boils produced by heated blood at this hot 
 season — I was permitted to walk — at Chickahomoney ferry met 
 the Quarter Master of the 46th Regiment — 
 
 16th About Sunset reached Williamsburgh, wet jaded dis- 
 pirited, forming ideas of what sort of Judicial examination I was 
 to undergo — By the time we reached the Palace (as it is called) 
 the Governor's residence our escort of curious persons had be- 
 
 203 
 
come very numerous — The Officer went in to give account of 
 his mission, and we remained on Horseback before the door 
 expecting the civilities naturally to be looked for from a Man 
 the first in place in the Province — In half an hour not finding 
 our expectations answerd, I flung myself from my horse fatigued 
 and mortifyed to be left a spectacle to a gazing crowd — We 
 were however soon relieved from the painfull state of uncertainty 
 by the appearance of the Officer, who conducted us to the Com- 
 mon prison, distant a small mile, our attendants increasing every 
 step — At the Jail we were received by the Jailer, a character, 
 however beneath other peoples notice, which soon called our at- 
 tention, and which I shall touch upon elsewhere. 
 
 The opening and shutting doors and barrier, unbolting some 
 Cells, and giving directions in an authorotative voice perhaps were 
 designed to appall us poor Devils, and bring us to a due sense 
 of our situation — my reflections were by no means tranquill, but 
 curiosity with a large share of indignation rose to the surface in 
 turns — We traversed a small court 20 feet square, walled to 
 the heigh th of 30 feet — A Cell Door was opend when the first 
 object that presented itself to my sight by a dim twilight, was 
 Mr: Dejean — which of the parties was most surprized was 
 doubtfull, but which was most affected appeared to be the Jus- 
 tice, who burst into tears and exclamations on seeing us in such 
 a garb and condition — This poor man had as delicate a sense of 
 danger as either Sancho or Partridge, and now Gibbetts and 
 wheels presented themselves to his fancy in all their horrors — 
 The Jailer put us in, and having no further occasion for us went 
 his way — now had we had a hot supper to sit down to, some 
 good wine, liberty of speech and comfortable beds to lye down 
 on, and our handcuffs taken off, it would have been a consider- 
 able alleviation — 
 
 But I had better proceed to tell what we had, and it will 
 spare the time of particularizing the many things we had not — 
 We had for our domicile a place not ten feet square by actual 
 measurement, the only light admitted was thro' the grating of the 
 door which opend into the Court above mentioned, the light and 
 air are nearly excluded for the bars of this grating were from 
 three to four inches thick — 277 In one corner of this snug man- 
 
 204 
 
sion was fixed a kind of Throne which had been of use to such 
 miscreants as us for 60 years past, and in certain points of wind 
 renderd the air truly Mephytic — opposite the door and nearly 
 adjoining the throne was a little Skuttle 5 or 6 inches wide, thro 
 which our Victual was thrust to us — It is not necessary to de- 
 scribe the furniture, as such folk as were destined to be residents 
 here had no occasion for superfluities — The Jaylor had not been 
 long gone when I heard the noise of a flint and steel a match was 
 lighted, and by its light I espyed certain other persons who were 
 utter strangers to me, these worthy gentlemen when a candle 
 was lighted offerd me their services assuring me they were very 
 sorry to see persons of our station so hardly used — I must de- 
 scribe these persons as we shortly became acquainted — one was 
 Mr: Collins who had been a Drummer in the British Service, but 
 having deserted, no doubt for very prudential reasons, and finding 
 the provincial pay insufficient for the support of a man of pleasure, 
 had fallen upon a method of setting that matter right, by counter- 
 feiting the current money of the State — the second was Mr: 
 Speers who had been a Victualler in the borough of Southwark, 
 he had had his reasons for coming to America, and had an equal 
 right with Mr. Collins to imitating the manner of the engravers 
 employed by the Commonwealth for making what they called 
 limber dollars — Mr. Speers, he played on the fiddle, and perhaps 
 to his enlivening strains I owe that I am able to write these 
 Memoirs — A Sailor who did not like staying on board was a 
 third — they were all very fond of Mirth and Rum, the latter 
 greatly promoting the former so that in a short time three of six 
 that we were, betook themselves to dancing, but Mr. Steers \_sic\ 
 was not firm enough to play and dance long so he sat on the 
 throne, playing to the other Gentlemen, who may with propriety 
 be said to have danced reels — These good people however had 
 the charity to offer us some rum which we were not so unwise 
 as to refuse, so laying down in our wet cloaths on the boards we 
 passed the night as well as we could 
 
 THE END 
 
 205 
 
SOURCES OF INFORMATION 
 
 The Writings of Henry Hamilton. 
 
 No one has made a complete study of the writings of Henry Hamil- 
 ton, the extent and significance of which may surprise many. There are 
 probably two hundred letters and miscellaneous papers that are still in 
 existence, not more than one-third of which have been published. Most 
 of Hamilton's letters are in the "Official Correspondence ... of General 
 Frederick Haldimand . . ." in the British Museum. Other letters are 
 among the Gage Papers in the William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, 
 Michigan; among the George Germain Papers in the same library and in 
 the British Museum; in the Burton Collection, Public Library, Detroit, 
 Michigan; and in the possession of Dr. Otto Fisher of Detroit. The pub- 
 lished letters are to be found in the Michigan Pioneer Collections, IX and 
 X (Lansing, 1886 and 1908); the Wisconsin Historical Collections (31 
 vols., Madison, 1854-1931), and the Illinois Historical Collections, I 
 (Springfield, 1903). 
 
 Although little value either as historical documents or as works of 
 art can be assigned to some forty pictures, most of which were drawn by 
 Hamilton, they do reveal certain facets of his character which have re- 
 ceived very little attention. There are eight small sketches of Indians, 
 two of white men, twenty-eight landscapes, two miniatures, and a por- 
 trait of his wife and daughter. They bear witness that he was a family 
 man, a person who appreciated art and nature, and that he considered 
 some of the Indians as persons of character, individuality, and dignity. 
 The pictures and a few papers of slight value are with the "Journal" 
 and the "Autobiography" in the Houghton Library of Harvard University. 
 They were preserved by the family of one of Hamilton's brothers and 
 given to Harvard in 1902. 
 
 On four occasions he produced long narratives of his experiences. 
 The chief source of information about the British side of the conflict 
 with Clark has been "The Report by Lieutenant-Governor Henry Hamilton 
 on His Proceedings from November, 1776 to June, 1781." Written in 
 London for Governor Haldimand by July 6 of the latter year, it gives 
 briefly the important facts about the expedition to Vincennes and con- 
 tains information about Hamilton's imprisonment in Virginia which is 
 not in his longer "Journal." "The Report" is about one-fourth the length 
 of the "Journal," and lacks much interesting detail, but has been pub- 
 lished four times. It appeared in the Michigan Pioneer Collections, IX, 
 489-516; in the Historical Manuscripts Commission's Report on the Manu- 
 scripts of Mrs. Stopford-Sackville, of Dayton House, Northamptonshire 
 (2 vols., Hereford, England, 1910), II, 223-248; in James A. James (ed.), 
 George Rogers Clark Papers, 177 1-17 SI (Springfield, Illinois, 1912), 
 
 206 
 
174-207; and in Milo M. Quaife, The Capture of Old Vincennes (Indian- 
 apolis, Indiana, 1927), 172-220. Manuscript copies are in the Germain 
 Papers in the Clements Library and in the Haldimand Collection in the 
 British Museum. 
 
 Nearly a year later Hamilton prepared a briefer statement which 
 was a modest and dignified defense against charges of inhumanity. It was 
 entitled: "Narrative of the Case [of] Henry Hamilton who in 1775 was 
 appointed] Lt. Gov. & Superintendant at Detroit." Probably written 
 for Lord Shelburne in the hope of improving his chances for a new posi- 
 tion, it was dated London, April 9, 1782, and was followed by Shelburne's 
 recommendation that Hamilton be appointed Lieutenant-Governor of 
 Quebec. The original is in the Shelburne Papers in the Clements Library. 
 
 Four years before his death, Hamilton wrote an "Autobiography," 
 which describes his early life to the end of the Seven Years' War. It was 
 written in 1792 about events that had taken place from 1734 to 1762. 
 Although it contains one hundred and thirty pages of handwritten manu- 
 script, it is generally lacking in historical significance. The author had 
 lost some of his personal records, his memory of various events had faded, 
 and other accounts, which he sometimes cited, were superior to what 
 he was able to write. Although he participated in the siege of Quebec, 
 for instance, he did not add anything to the history of the battle. Ob- 
 viously, this document was the work of an elderly man and was the last 
 in point of time of his important writings. The manuscript is in the 
 Houghton Library at Harvard University. 
 
 More important than any of these documents is Hamilton's "Jour- 
 nal," a manuscript which he began when a messenger arrived at Detroit, 
 August 6, 1778, bringing word that the Americans had taken Kaskaskia, 
 a day by day record of his actions in which he wrote almost daily, and 
 which was discontinued only when he was imprisoned in the jail at 
 Williamsburg, Virginia, and deprived of pen and ink on June 16, 1779. 
 It contains one hundred and sixty-six large pages of manuscript in 
 Hamilton's handwriting and is a more detailed and a more significant 
 account of the same events which are found in the "Report" and the 
 "Narrative," in fact, these latter were prepared from the "Journal." It 
 seems to have been known to few historians, although it contains con- 
 siderable information about the Indians and their customs, the nature of 
 the country through which Hamilton led his little army from Detroit 
 to Vincennes, the difficulties of traveling by way of the Maumee- Wabash 
 route, the French in the interior of North America, the Wilderness Trace 
 through Kentucky, the characters of Clark and Hamilton, and the con- 
 flict between these two leaders. 
 
 The "Journal" in its present form does not seem to be the original, 
 for there are remarks in it which could not have been written on the 
 dates when the original entries were made. Generally, these additions are 
 easily identified; some of them were set off by marks resembling paren- 
 theses. In the British Museum are two other documents that have some 
 
 207 
 
bearing on this problem but which do not necessarily solve it. One is a 
 diary or journal in Hamilton's hand extending from August 6 to October 
 6, 1778. It differs from the complete journal only in being shorter. One 
 might conclude that it was a part of the original, but it may have been a 
 briefer form of the original which was prepared and sent with a full 
 report to the "commander-in-chief" just before the expedition left De- 
 troit. There is another account covering the journey from Vincennes to 
 Virginia called "dates of March." The original form was probably shorter 
 than the present, but longer than the "Report." By comparing the "Jour- 
 nal" with a series of his letters which he could not have revised, it appears 
 that the revision of the "Journal" was literary in purpose and honest in 
 character. He did not seek to conceal his mistakes or misrepresent the 
 past in his favor. He must have made the revision after his release from 
 the Williamsburg jail and the time he wrote the Autobiography. The 
 manuscript is in the Houghton Library, Harvard University. 
 
 Other Contemporary Documents 
 
 The most important collection of manuscripts connected with Henry 
 Hamilton is the Official Correspondence and Papers of General Frederick 
 Haldimand during his various Commands, 1758-1785 (British Museum, 
 Additional Manuscripts, Nos. 21,661-21,982). This vast collection con- 
 tains many letters to and from Hamilton that have not been published. 
 It also contains a very large number of letters of officials in Canada, the 
 American colonies, and England. The Canadian Archives, Ottawa, Canada, 
 contains carefully made transcripts of this important collection. These 
 transcripts were used in this study. They have been calendared in the 
 Reports on Canadian Archives, 1884 to 1889 (Ottawa, 1885-1890). 
 
 Three early letters of Hamilton have been preserved in the Thomas 
 Gage Papers, 180 volumes, 1754-1783, which are now housed in the 
 William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The collection con- 
 tains the correspondence and headquarters papers of Lieutenant General 
 Gage who was the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America, 
 1763-1775. 
 
 The George Germain Papers is another very significant collection 
 for this period. There are twenty-two volumes, which cover the years 
 1683-1785, in the William L. Clements Library. They are the military 
 and political correspondence of Lord George Germain who was Secretary 
 of State for the colonies from 1775 to 1782 and who was the official of 
 the home government in charge of affairs in Canada. Hamilton seems 
 to have been a friend of Germain and to have written directly to him on 
 occasion. Some of these papers were preserved in Dayton House, North- 
 amptonshire, England, and were calendared by the Historical Manuscripts 
 Commission in Report on the Manuscripts of Mrs. Stopford-Sackville, of 
 Dayton House, Northamptonshire. This report supersedes an earlier one. 
 
 208 
 
Mr. Clements acquired the portions of the collection of concern to 
 America and added other papers to them. There are two important let- 
 ters of Hamilton and the Report by . . . Hamilton on His Proceedings 
 . . . 1776-1781, which has already been described. See Randolph G. 
 Adams, The Papers of Lord George Germain (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 
 1928). 
 
 There is also a collection of Germain Papers in the British Museum 
 of which there are transcripts in the Library of Congress. They concern 
 the period, 1775-1782. The card index of the latter and some of the 
 letters were examined to see if Hamilton wrote to Germain recommend- 
 ing that he institute Indian warfare as Germain stated. 
 
 The Papers of Lord Shelburne are also in the Clements Library. 
 Several letters of Hamilton including the long one of April 9, 1782, in 
 which he defended himself against the charge of cruelty are among them. 
 There is also other material concerning the origin of the use of the Indians 
 in the Revolution. 
 
 In the state Auditor's Office, Indianapolis, Indiana, are the Records 
 Surveys of U. S. Lands, eight large manuscript volumes containing de- 
 scriptions of the land and maps showing each section of land in the 
 state as made by the original surveyors. Geographical features are shown 
 in considerable detail. 
 
 Jacob Schieffelin was the author of "Narrative of Gov. Henry 
 Hamilton, Loose Notes of the Proceedings and Suffering of Henry Ham- 
 ilton, Esq., Governor of Le Detroit with the Party that accompanied him 
 from that post to their imprisonment in Rebel Goal at Williamsburg, 
 Virginia," in The Magazine of American History, I (1877), 186-193. It 
 is a brief collateral account by a lieutenant of volunteers who was with 
 Hamilton from Detroit to Williamsburg and who confirms Hamilton's 
 judgment of John Dodge upon whose testimony Jefferson depended in 
 justifying the imprisonment of Hamilton. "Account brought in by Capt. 
 Chene from St. Vincennes received Ap 17 1779," in Illinois Historical 
 Collections, I, 424-426, is a brief collateral statement by one of Hamil- 
 ton's officers. 
 
 Maps. 
 
 A number of maps and atlases which were produced about the time 
 Hamilton directed his expedition to Vincennes were consulted. Only the 
 more important ones can be mentioned. The most significant is the 
 manuscript map which was produced by one of the officers who accom- 
 panied Hamilton. It is entitled: "Sketch of the River Miamis . . . taken 
 in the Month of Novr. 1778, H: Duvernet, 2d Lt. R. R. Ar." It has 
 been separated from other documents of the expedition and is preserved 
 in the map room of the Canadian Archives. It contains a brief statement 
 of the route from Detroit to the head of the Maumee. Thomas Hutchins, 
 A New Map of the Western Parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland 
 
 209 
 
and North Carolina . . . (London, 1778), represents the best knowledge 
 of the area, so far as map makers were concerned, at the time Hamilton 
 went to Vincennes. It does contain a number of errors. John Mitchell, 
 A Map of the British and French Dominions in North America, (Lon- 
 don, 1755) and Jean B. B. D'Anville, Canada, Louisiane, et Terres An- 
 gloises ([Paris], 1755), are maps that were made before Hamilton's 
 time, but which give some useful detail. Patrick McNiff's Plan of Settle- 
 ment of Detroit, 1796, reproduced from the Original Manuscript in the 
 Clements Library (Ann Arbor, 1946), and Aaron Arrowsmith, Map of 
 Northern United States and Canada (London, 1798, additions to 1802), 
 were produced after the Revolution but they contain some useful in- 
 formation. John Filson's famous map, drawn to accompany The Discov- 
 ery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucky, is useful in following 
 Hamilton across Kentucky on his way to Williamsburg, Virginia. The 
 Records Surveys of U. S. Land contain detailed maps of the area within 
 the state of Indiana. 
 
 Published Documents and Contemporaneous 
 Writings. 
 
 In editing the George Rogers Clark Papers, in volumes VIII and 
 XIX (1912 and 1926) of the Illinois State Historical Library Collections, 
 James A. James has published a most valuable collection of documents 
 related to the expeditions of Clark and Hamilton. Reuben G. Thwaites 
 and Louise P. Kellogg in The Revolution on the Upper Ohio, 1775- 
 1777 (Madison, Wisconsin, 1908), and Frontier Defense on the Upper 
 Ohio, 1777-1778 (Madison, Wisconsin, 1912), published much docu- 
 mentary material from the collection made by Lyman C Draper. Miss 
 Kellogg continued this publishing program after the death of Thwaites 
 and her Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, 1778-1779 (Madison, 
 Wisconsin, 1916), is also valuable in this connection. Reuben G. 
 Thwaites in the Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 (32 vols., Cleveland, 
 Ohio, 1904-1907), I, included the "Writings of George Croghan" and 
 the "Journal of Captain Thomas Morris," who passed along parts of the 
 route taken by Hamilton approximately fifteen years earlier. Documents 
 Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, edited by 
 E. B. O'Callaghan, et al (15 vols., Albany, New York, 1853-1887), con- 
 tains material on the origin of the use of the Indians in the Revolution. 
 An occasional letter and many footnotes in The John Askin Papers 
 (2 vols., Detroit, 1928, 1931), edited by Milo M. Quaife, were helpful 
 in identifying individuals to whom Hamilton referred in his Journal. 
 The treaty or contract by which the Wabash Land Company made its 
 purchase of land along the Wabash River is found in The Illinois -Wabash 
 Land Company Manuscript with an introduction by Clarence W. Alvord 
 (privately printed by Cyrus H. McCormick, 1915). Hamilton referred 
 
 210 
 
several times to this contract. The historical introduction in Milo M. 
 Quaife (ed.), The Capture of Old Vincennes, the Original Narratives 
 of George Rogers Clark and of His Opponent Gov. Henry Hamilton 
 (Indianapolis, Indiana, c. 1927), treats Hamilton with complete fair- 
 ness, but the documentary material may be found in James, George 
 Rogers Clark Papers. 
 
 Various documents of the Revolutionary era were published in 
 John Almon, The Remembrancer; or, impartial repository of Public 
 Events (17 vols., London, 1775-1784). Information about the govern- 
 ment of Canada under the Quebec Act may be found in Adam Shortt 
 and Arthur C. Doughty (eds.), Documents relating to the Constitutional 
 History of Canada, 1759-1791 (Ottawa, 1907). Artistic tendencies did 
 not seem to interfere with the direction of Indian warfare, for Hamilton 
 was interested in sketching landscapes and his successor at Detroit was 
 something of a poet. See Arent S. De Peyster, Miscellanies by an Officer 
 (Dumfries, Scotland, 1813, and New York, 1888). Hamilton's chief 
 traducers in regard to the purchase of scalps have left their accounts in 
 Consul W. Butterfield (ed.), A Short Biography of John Leith with a 
 brief account of his life among the Indians (Cincinnati, Ohio, 1883), 
 and [John Dodge], "A Narrative of the capture and treatment of John 
 Dodge, by the English, at Detroit," in Almon's Remembrancer . . . for 
 the Year 1779, pp. 73-81. The latter was also printed separately and 
 more recently reproduced in facsimile from the second edition of 1780 
 as Narrative of Mr John Dodge during his captivity at Detroit . . . 
 (Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1909). "George Croghan's Journal, April 3, 1759 
 to April [30], 1763," in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and 
 Biography (Philadelphia, 1877- ), LXXI (1947), 303-444, illustrates 
 the use of the Indians in the Seven Years' War. Various Indians who 
 accompanied Hamilton to Vincennes or who were met by him on the 
 expedition were identified by reference to the documents printed in the 
 American State Papers: Indian Affairs, and in Treaties between the 
 United States of America and the several Indian Tribes, from 1778 to 
 1837 (Washington, 1837). 
 
 Letters and documents illustrative of Hamilton's imprisonment in 
 Virginia were found in the following: John C. Fitzpatrick (ed.), The 
 Writings of Washington (39 vols., Washington, 1931-1934); Paul L. 
 Ford (ed.), The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (9 vols., New York, 
 1892-1898); William P. Palmer (ed.), Calendar of Virginia State Papers 
 . . . (11 vols., Richmond, Virginia, 1875-1893); Worthington C. Ford, 
 et al. (eds.), Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 ... (34 
 vols., Washington, 1904-1907); and Madame de Riedesel, Letters and 
 Memoirs relating to the War of American Independence (translated from 
 the original German, New York, 1827). 
 
 211 
 
Historical Accounts (Secondary) 
 
 The most scholarly and trustworthy of the lives of Clark is The Life 
 of George Rogers Clark (Chicago, c. 1928), by Professor James A. James 
 of Northwestern University. After editing the George Rogers Clark 
 Papers, he was eminently fitted to write this volume. He did not use 
 Hamilton's Journal and consequently was not entirely accurate in respect 
 to a few details. Although it is not quite fair to Hamilton, it is an excel- 
 lent piece of work. 
 
 Louise P. Kellogg, in addition to her editorial work, produced two 
 historical works of marked significance for anyone seeking to understand 
 the area and the times in which Hamilton served as Lieutenant-Governor 
 or Detroit: French Regime in Wisconsin and the Northwest (Madison, 
 Wisconsin, 1925), and The British Regime in Wisconsin and the North- 
 west (Madison, Wisconsin, 1935). Allen French, The First Year of the 
 American Revolution (Boston, 1934), is a scholarly and detailed account 
 which includes considerable information with adequate detachment on 
 the introduction of Indians in the Revolution. Justin Winsor (ed.), 
 Narrative and Critical History of America (8 vols., Boston, 1884-1889), 
 contains a bibliography on Indian warfare and an excellent article by 
 Andrew W. Davis entitled "The Indians and the Border Warfare of the 
 Revolution." William H. English, Conquest of the Country Northwest 
 of the River Ohio ... (2 vols., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1896), and Consul 
 W. Butterfield, History of George R. Clark's Conquest of the Illinois 
 and the Wabash Towns, 1778 and 1779 (Columbus, Ohio, 1904), are 
 earlier accounts that contain documentary material. 
 
 Special phases of the history of the region have been described in 
 the following works: Clarence W. Alvord, The Illinois Country, 1673- 
 1818, which is volume I of The Centennial History of Illinois (5 vols., 
 Chicago, 1917-1920); Clarence W. Alvord, The Mississippi Valley in 
 British Politics (2 vols., Cleveland, Ohio, 1917); Howard H. Peckham, 
 Pontiac and the Indian Uprising (Princeton, New Jersey, 1947); A. G. 
 Bradley, "Lord Dorchester," and Jean N. Mcllwraith, "Sir Frederick 
 Haldimand," in volume III of The Makers of Canada Series (London, 
 1926); Frank H. Severance, An Old Frontier of France (2 vols., New 
 York, 1917); Theodore Roosevelt, The Winning of the West (4 vols., 
 New York, 1900); Randolph C. Downes, Council Fires on the Upper 
 Ohio (Pittsburgh, 1940); Robert L. Kincaid, The Wilderness Road 
 (Indianapolis, Indiana, c. 1947); and Consul W. Butterfield, History of 
 the Girtys . . . (Cincinnati, Ohio, 1890). 
 
 Various local histories furnished information about persons or 
 places mentioned in Hamilton's Journal. The histories of Michigan and 
 Detroit reveal prejudice against Hamilton much of which was based on 
 inaccurate information. The following were consulted: James H. Lan- 
 man, History of Michigan (New York, 1839); James V. Campbell, 
 Outlines of the Political History of Michigan (Detroit, 1876); Silas 
 
 212 
 
Farmer, History of Detroit and Wayne County (2 vols., New York, 
 1890); Henry M. Utley, et at., Michigan as a Province, Territory and 
 State (4 vols., n.p., 1906); and Clarence M. Burton, The City of Detroit, 
 Michigan, 1701-1922 (5 vols., Detroit, 1922). Milo M. Quaife and 
 Sidney Glazer, Michigan, From Primitive Wilderness to Industrial Com- 
 monwealth (New York, 1948), embodies ripe historical scholarship and 
 fairness to Hamilton. Charles E. Slocum, History of the Maumee River 
 Basin (Defiance, Ohio, c. 1905), is a substantial piece of work. Charles 
 S. Van Tassel, Story of the Maumee Valley (4 vols., Chicago, 1929), was 
 also helpful. Elmore Barce, Land of the Miamis (Fowler, Indiana, 1922), 
 captured some of the early Indiana scenes. Jacob P. Dunn, Indiana and 
 Indianans (5 vols., Chicago, 1919), and Logan Esarey, History of Indiana 
 (2 vols., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1915, 1918), reflect considerable hostility 
 to Hamilton. 
 
 Biographical information was secured from the following: John B. 
 Burke, Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Bar- 
 onetage, and Knightage, Privy Council, and Order of Precedence (Lon- 
 don, 1938); Dictionary of National Biography (63 vols., New York, 
 1885-1900); and Lawrence J. Burpee, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ca- 
 nadian History, volume XII of The Makers of Canada Series (New York, 
 1926). Alfred L. Burt, The Old Province of Quebec (Minneapolis, 
 Minnesota, 1933), is an excellent piece of work which revises briefly 
 the traditional Canadian attitude towards Hamilton. 
 
 A few secondary articles by historians were useful in learning about 
 the problems which Hamilton confronted. Clarence W. Alvord, "Father 
 Pierre Gibault and the Submission of Post Vincennes, 1778," in the 
 American Historical Review, XIV (1908-1909), 544-557, presents docu- 
 mentary evidence on the work of Father Gibault. Andrew M. Davis, "The 
 Employment of Indian Auxiliaries in the American War," in the English 
 Historical Revieiv, II (1886), 709-728, is the best treatment of the sub- 
 ject. See also another article of his in Winsor, Narrative and Critical 
 History of America, VI, 605-647. Duncan Mc Arthur, "Constitutional 
 History, 1763-1840," in Adam Shortt and Arthur J. Doughty (eds.), 
 Canada and Its Provinces, IV, 421-488. Among the many articles written 
 by Milo M. Quaife, two may be mentioned: "A Narrative of Life on the 
 Old Frontier," in Wisconsin Historical Society Proceedings, 1914, and 
 "The Royal Navy of the Upper Lakes," in the Burton Historical Collec- 
 tion Leaflet, II, No. 5 (May, 1924). Nelson V. Russell also wrote two 
 useful articles, "The Indian Policy of Henry Hamilton: A Re-evaluation," 
 in the Canadian Historical Review, XI (1930), 20-37; and "The Govern- 
 mental Organization of Michigan, 1760-1787," in the Michigan History 
 Magazine, XXIII (1939), 93-104. 
 
 Historical Publications and Periodicals. 
 
 The historical periodicals and publications of the states of Michigan, 
 
 213 
 
Wisconsin, and Illinois contain a large amount of material on the Revo- 
 lution in the West. The Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections 
 (40 vols., Lansing, Michigan, 1874-1929), contain copies of letters found 
 in the Haldimand Collection and of other British official records con- 
 cerning Detroit. The Collections of the State Historical Society of Wis- 
 consin (31 vols., Madison, Wisconsin, 1854-1931), also contain similar 
 material particularly concerning the Wisconsin aspects of the period. 
 The Illinois Historical Collections (Springfield, Illinois, 1903- ), is an 
 important media for the publication of letters and documents concerning 
 Clark and Hamilton. The first and eighth volumes are the more important. 
 The American Historical Review, the English Historical Review, the 
 Canadian Historical Review, the Michigan History Magazine, and the 
 Burton Historical Collection Leaflet published material of importance 
 concerning Hamilton. 
 
 Bibliographical Aids 
 
 Handbook of Manuscripts in the Library of Congress (Washington, 
 1918); Wisconsin State Historical Society, Descriptive List of Manuscript 
 Collections of the Society (Madison, Wisconsin, 1906); Charles M. An- 
 drews and Frances J. Davenport (comps.), Guide to the Manuscript 
 Materials for the History of the United States to 1783, in the British 
 Museum, in Minor London Archives, and in the Libraries of Oxford and 
 Cambridge (Washington, 1908); Charles M. Andrews (comp.), Guide 
 to the Materials for American History, to 1783, in the Public Record 
 Office of Great Britain (2 vols., Washington, 1912, 1914); David W. 
 Parker, Guide to Materials in Canadian Archives (Washington, 1913); 
 David W. Parker, A Guide to the Documents in the Manuscript Room at 
 the Public Archives of Canada (Ottawa, 1914); and card catalogues of the 
 Canadian Archives, Ottawa; the William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, 
 Michigan; the Burton Collection, Detroit Public Library, Detroit, Michi- 
 gan; and A Catalog of Books Represented by the Library of Congress 
 Printed Cards Issued to July 31, 1942 (167 vols., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 
 1942-1946). 
 
 214 
 
NOTES 
 
 1 Alice of Old Vincennes (Indianapolis, Indiana, 1900) was a best 
 seller, and The Crossing ( New York, 1904 ) was also among the more 
 popular novels of its day. William H. English, Conquest of the 
 Country Northwest of the River Ohio ( 2 vols., Indianapolis, Indiana, 
 1896) may have furnished historical background for the novelists. 
 James A. James (ed.), George Rogers Clark Papers in the Illinois 
 State Historical Library Collections, VIII and XIX (2 vols., Spring- 
 field, Illinois, 1912 and 1926), and James A. James, The Life of 
 George Rogers Clark (Chicago, 1928), form the best study of Clark. 
 
 2 Dictionary of National Biography, XXIV (New York, 1890), 162- 
 166, 167-170, 141-144, 159-160, and John B. Burke, Genealogical 
 and Heraldric History of the Peerage . . . (London, 1938), 363-364. 
 
 3 Hamilton's drawings are in the Houghton Library of Harvard Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 4 Information about Hamilton's early life and military experience is 
 found in his Autobiography, a manuscript of 130 pages which is in 
 the Houghton Library of Harvard University. See also Orville J. 
 Jaebker, Henry Hamilton: Soldier and Lieutenant-Governor of De- 
 troit (M.A. Thesis, Indiana University, 1949). 
 
 5 Autobiography, 3, 6, 21, 34, 36-38, 93-94. 
 
 6 The Journal of Henry Hamilton, a manuscript of 166 pages, is in 
 the Houghton Library of Harvard University. It is published in this 
 volume for the first time. The stories are not included. For a dis- 
 cussion of its value see the bibliography of this volume. 
 
 7 Ibid. 
 
 8 Alfred L. Burt, The Old Province of Quebec (Toronto, 1933), 409- 
 411. 
 
 9 Clarence W. Alvord, The Mississippi Valley in British Politics (2 
 vols., Cleveland, 1917). 
 
 10 Adam Shortt and Arthur G. Doughty (eds.), Documents Relating 
 to the Constitutional History of Canada, 1759-1791 (Ottawa, 1907), 
 401-405. See also 419-433. Nelson V. Russell, "The Governmental 
 Organization of Michigan, 1760-1787," in Michigan History Maga- 
 zine (Lansing, Michigan, 1917- ), XXIII (1939), 93-104. Carleton 
 was governor of Canada, 1766-1778. 
 
 11 Abbott was a British artillery officer and the only lieutenant-governor 
 appointed by the English for Vincennes. He protested to Governor 
 Haldimand against the use of Indians against the frontiersmen. 
 See Michigan Pioneer Collections (40 vols., Lansing, 1874-1929), 
 IX (1908), 488-489. The Collections will hereafter be cited as 
 M P C. Rocheblave was a native of France who came to America 
 in 1750 and was captured by Clark. James, Clark Papers, I, 176. 
 
 215 
 
DePeyster was commandant at Michilimackinac, 1774-1779, and at 
 Detroit, 1779-1785. He was the author of Miscellanies by An Officer 
 (Dumfries, Scotland, 1813, and New York, 1888). Lernoult was in 
 command of the troops at Detroit while Hamilton was lieutenant- 
 governor. 
 
 12 Hamilton to Dartmouth, August 29 to September 2, 1776, in 
 M P C, X (1908), 267. 
 
 13 Ibid., 264-265. 
 
 14 Ibid., 266-267. 
 
 15 Carleton to Lieutenant Colonel Bolton, St. Johns, September 24, 
 1777, in J. Almon, The Remembrancer . . . for the Year 1778 (Lon- 
 don, 1778), 188-191. 
 
 16 James V. Campbell, Outlines of the Political History of Michigan 
 (Detroit, 1876), 165-166; Henry M. Utley, et al, Michigan as a 
 Province, Territory and State (4 vols., n.p., 1906), I, 325; and Silas 
 Farmer, History of Detroit and Wayne County (2 vols., New York, 
 1890), I, 173-174. 
 
 17 Hamilton to Haldimand, [Detroit, early in September, 1778], in 
 MP C, IX, 464-469- Haldimand was a native of Switzerland who 
 entered the British army in 1756 and who served with distinction 
 in several positions. He was governor and commander-in-chief in 
 Canada, 1778-1784. Jean N. Mcllwraith, Sir Frederick Haldimand 
 in The Makers of Canada Series, III (London, 1926). 
 
 18 Milo M. Quaife, The Death of Claude Charles Moran. This is a 
 manuscript which was loaned to me by the author. 
 
 19 James H. Lanman, History of Michigan (New York, 1839), 133-136, 
 gives the verdict and the sentence by Dejean. See also Campbell, 
 Political History of Michigan, 166-169. 
 
 20 Haldimand to Germain, Quebec, October 25, 1778, in Canadian 
 Archives, Q 15, 334-355. An extract of Germain's reply is in M P C, 
 X, 304. 
 
 21 Clarence M. Burton, The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922 (5 
 vols., Detroit, 1922), I, 195; and Quaife, The Death of Claude 
 Charles Moran. The evidence of Hamilton's supposed tyranny was 
 written by persons inflamed by the passions of war. The early his- 
 torians of Detroit were also ready to believe the worst of the British. 
 James, Life of Clark, 132 and n.2, repeats this point. 
 
 22 Hamilton to Haldimand, Ouiatenon, December 4, 1778, in Illinois 
 State Historical Library Collections (Springfield, Illinois, 1903- ), 
 I, 220-225. The Collections will hereafter be referred to as I H C. 
 
 23 Pat Sinclair to Brehm, Michilimackinac, February 15, 1780, in Wis- 
 consin Historical Collections (31 vols., Madison, Wisconsin, 1854- 
 1931), XI (1888), 144-146. The Collections will hereafter be re- 
 ferred to as W H C. 
 
 24 Theodore Roosevelt, The Winning of the West (4 vols., New York, 
 1900), II, 87; James, Clark Papers, I, 97; James, Life of Clark, 52; 
 
 216 
 
Clarence W. Alvord, The Illinois Country, 1673-1818, in The Cen- 
 tennial History of Illinois (5 vols., Chicago, 1917-1920), I, 313-314; 
 and Milo M. Quaife and Sidney Glazer, Michigan, From Primitive 
 Wilderness to Industrial Commonwealth (New York, 1948), 102- 
 105. 
 
 25 There is much information on Indian warfare in Louise P. Kellogg's 
 works. See her French Regime in Wisconsin and the Northwest 
 (Madison, Wisconsin, 1925), 84-85, 406-407, 414-422, 429-436, 
 et passim. 
 
 26 "George Croghan's Journal, April 3, 1759 to April [30], 1763," in 
 Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, LXXI (1947), 
 357. 
 
 27 Journal of Henry Hamilton, post, entry for November 28, 1778. 
 
 28 Hamilton to the Earl of Dartmouth, Detroit, August 29 to Septem- 
 ber 2, 1776, in M P C, X, 264-270. 
 
 29 Extract of a letter from General Gage to General Carleton, Boston, 
 September 4, 1774, in Germain Papers in Clements Library, Uni- 
 versity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Extract of General 
 Carleton's Answer to Gen. Gage, Quebec, September 20, 1774, in 
 ibid.; Extract of a letter from Gov. Carleton to the Earl of Dart- 
 mouth, June 7, 1775, in ibid. 
 
 30 Extracts from the Records of Indian Transactions under the Super- 
 intendency of Colonel Guy Johnson during the year 1775, in ibid. 
 
 31 Earl of Dartmouth to Colonel Guy Johnson, Whitehall, July 5, 1775, 
 and July 24, 1775, in E. B. O'Callaghan, et at., (eds.), Documents 
 Relative to the Colonial History of the State of Netv York (15 vols., 
 Albany, New York, 1853-1887), VIII (1857), 592, 596. 
 
 32 The subject of the employment of Indians has been repeatedly 
 studied. The better accounts include Andrew M. Davis, "The Em- 
 ployment of Indian Auxiliaries in the American War," in the English 
 Historical Review (London, 1886- ), II (1887), 709-728; and "The 
 Indians and the Border Warfare of the Revolution," in Justin Win- 
 sor (ed.), Narrative and Critical History of America (8 vols., Bos- 
 ton, 1884-1889), VI (1887), 605-647; Allen French, The First 
 Year of the American Revolution (Boston, 1934), passim; James, 
 Clark Papers, I, xiii-xl; Louise P. Kellogg, The British Regime in 
 Wisconsin and the Northwest (Madison, Wisconsin, 1935), 138- 
 150; and Nelson V. Russell, "The Indian Policy of Henry Hamilton: 
 A Re-evaluation," in The Canadian Historical Review (Toronto, 
 1920- ), XI (1930), 20-37. 
 
 33 Kellogg, British Regime, 135-136; [Carleton] to DePeyster, Mont- 
 real, July 19, 1776, and [Carleton] to Hamilton, Montreal, July 19, 
 1776, in MP C, X, 262-263. 
 
 34 "G. C" to Hamilton, October 6, 1776, in M P C, IX, 344, and Carle- 
 ton to Hamilton, Quebec, February 2, 1777, in ibid., 345-346. 
 
 35 Hamilton to Dartmouth, Detroit, August 29 to September 2, 1776, 
 
 217 
 
in M P C, X, 264-270. 
 
 36 Germain to Carleton, Whitehall, March 26, 1777, in M P C, IX, 
 346-348. The quotation follows the Canadian copy in Canadian 
 Archives, Q 15, 233-236. 
 
 37 Carleton to Germain, Quebec, May 20, 1777, in Canadian Archives, 
 Q 13, 111. 
 
 38 Hamilton to Carleton, June 16, 1777, in Canadian Archives, Q 14, 
 25-30. It also records the council with the Indians. 
 
 39 Germain to Carleton, Whitehall, March 26, 1777, in M P C, IX, 
 346-348. 
 
 40 "Extract from the Council held at . . . Detroit, 17th June 1777," in 
 Reuben G. Thwaites and Louise P. Kellogg (eds.), Frontier Defense 
 on the Upper Ohio, 1777-1778 (Madison, Wisconsin, 1912), 7-13. 
 See also Hamilton to [Carleton], Detroit, June 15, 1777, in M P C, 
 X, 277. 
 
 41 Hamilton to Germain, Detroit, July 27, 1777, in Canadian Archives, 
 Q 14, 72-73. 
 
 42 Hamilton to Germain, Detroit, September 5, 1777, in Canadian 
 Archives, Q 14, 225-228. 
 
 43 Hamilton to Carleton, n.p. and n.d., in M P C, IX, 440-442, and 
 Canadian Archives, B 122, 255-258. In the latter it is dated as 
 July, 1778, but since it relates events which occurred from September 
 to December, it must have referred to 1777. 
 
 44 Carleton to Hamilton, St. John's, September 26, 1777, in M P C, 
 IX, 351. 
 
 45 Hamilton to Carleton, Detroit, June 26, 1777, in Canadian Archives, 
 Q 14, 30-35, and Hamilton to Germain, Detroit, July 27, 1777, in 
 ibid., Q 14, 72-73. 
 
 46 Carleton to [Hamilton], Quebec, September 15, 1777, in M P C, 
 IX, 350; Abbott to Carleton, St. Vincennes, August 3, 1777, and 
 September 26, 1777, in Canadian Archives, Q 15, 96-97, and 98; 
 and Abbott to Germain, Detroit, April 3, 1778, in ibid., Q 15, 209- 
 210. Hamilton tactfully defended Abbott in his letter to Carleton 
 of June 16, 1777, in ibid., Q 14, 25-30. 
 
 47 Hamilton to Germain, Detroit, September 15, 1777, and accompany- 
 ing copies of some Memorandums and queries left in the hands of 
 John Pownal Esq. Secretary &c in the Month of April 1775 [with 
 additions to June 7, 1778], in Canadian Archives, Q 15, 211-214, 
 215-218. 
 
 48 Carleton to Hamilton, St. John's, September 26, 1777, in M P C, 
 
 IX, 351; Carleton to Bolton, St. John's, September 24, 1777, in ibid., 
 
 X, 280. 
 
 49 Hamilton to Carleton, [Detroit, January 15, 1778], in ibid., IX, 
 430-433. 
 
 50 Carleton to Hamilton, Montreal, March 14, 1778, in ibid., 351-352; 
 Haldimand to Hamilton, Quebec, August 6, 1778, in ibid., 399-402. 
 
 218 
 
51 Proclamation for safe conduct to Detroit, the Miamis, Sandusky, or 
 Post Vincennes, for all who wish the protection of Great Britain, 
 January 5, 1778. Original in National Archives, Washington, photo- 
 graphic copy in Burton Historical Collection in Detroit Public 
 Library. 
 
 52 Hamilton to Carleton, Detroit, April 25, 1778, in M P C, IX 433- 
 437. Boone reported ten were surrendered. See John Filson, The 
 Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucky . . . (New 
 York, 1793), 60-61. According to this account all prisoners except 
 Boone were surrendered to Hamilton. Beaubien was an interpreter 
 for the Miami. 
 
 53 Hamilton to Carleton, [Detroit, January 15, 1778], in M P C, IX, 
 430-433. 
 
 54 Minutes of the Council held at Detroit June 14-20, with the Chip- 
 pewa, Potawatomi, Delaware and other tribes, in ibid., 442-452. 
 
 55 Minutes of the Council held at Detroit, June 29, to July 3, 1778, 
 with Ouiatenon, Kickapoo, and Mascouten, in ibid., A^l-Att. 
 
 % Abbott to Carleton, Detroit, June 8, 1778, in ibid., 488-489. 
 
 57 Hamilton to Germain, Detroit, August 8, 1778, in Canadian Ar- 
 chives, Q 15, 230-232, erroneously given as sent to Carleton in 
 / H C, I, 330-331. 
 
 58 Hamilton to Cramahe, Detroit, August 12, 1778, in M P C, IX, 462. 
 See also his letter to Cramahe, Detroit, August 12, 1778, in ibid., 
 461-462. Cramahe was lieutenant-governor of Quebec, 1771-1782. 
 
 59 Cincinnati, Centinel of the North-Western Territory, May 17, 1794, 
 contains an offer by a committee of citizens of rewards for Indian 
 scalps. 
 
 60 Narrative of John Dodge During His Captivity at Detroit, Repro- 
 duced in facsimile from the second edition of 1780 (Cedar Rapids, 
 Iowa, 1909), also printed in J. Almon, The Remembrancer . . . 
 For the Year 1779 (London, 1779), 73-81; Consul W. Butterfield, 
 A Short Biography of John Leith with a brief account of his life 
 among the Indians (Cincinnati, Ohio, 1883); Thwaites and Kellogg, 
 Frontier Defense, 230-233; and Alvord, Illinois Country, 352. 
 
 61 Narrative of the Case [of] Henry Hamilton who in 1775 was ap- 
 pointed] Lt. Gov. & Superintendant at Detroit. This manuscript 
 is in the Shelburne Papers in the Clements Library, Ann Arbor, 
 Michigan. Hamilton dated the Narrative in London on April 9, 
 1782, and probably intended it as his defense against the charge of 
 cruelty. 
 
 62 The date of the letter to Germain is not certain for the copy in the 
 Canadian Archives is undated. Probably he started to write on the 
 sixth when the news arrived but did not send it until the eighth 
 when he dispatched a letter to Carleton that was dated. The letters 
 are much alike. The letter to Germain is in / H C, I, 330-331, where 
 it is given as though written to Carleton. The greeting, "My Lord," 
 
 219 
 
should have saved the editor from this error. The letters are in the 
 Canadian Archives as follows: Hamilton to Carleton, Detroit, Au- 
 gust 8, 1778, in B 121, 121, and B 122, 115, and Hamilton to Ger- 
 main, in Q 15, 230-232. 
 
 63 DePeyster to Haldimand, Michilimackinac, August 15, 1778, in 
 / H C, I, 334-335. See also DePeyster to Haldimand, Michilimack- 
 inac, August 31, 1778, in M P C, IX, 369-370. See Clarence W. 
 Alvord, "Father Pierre Gibault and the Submission of Post Vin- 
 cennes, 1778," in American Historical Review, XIV (1908-1909), 
 544-557. 
 
 64 Chevalier to DePeyster, St. Josephs, September 15, 1778, in M P C, 
 XIX (1911), 352, and Hamilton to Haldimand, [September 5, 
 1778], in ibid., IX, 464-473. Chevalier was an Indian agent at St. 
 Joseph during the British period. 
 
 65 The story of Clark's expedition has been ably related by James in 
 The Life of George Rogers Clark. Many of the documents from 
 which he constructed this account are published in James, Clark 
 Papers, I. 
 
 66 Haldimand to Hamilton, Montreal, August 26, 1778, in M P C, IX, 
 402-404. 
 
 67 Haldimand to Hamilton, Montreal, August 27, 1778, in ibid., 404; 
 and Haldimand to DePeyster, Montreal, August 30, 1778, in ibid., 
 353-354. 
 
 68 Haldimand to Germain, Quebec, October 24, 1778, and Haldimand 
 to Germain, Quebec, October 25, 1778, in Canadian Archives, Q 
 15, 283-291, and 336-339. The latter was printed in part in M P C, 
 X, 304. 
 
 69 Hamilton to Haldimand, Detroit, September 16, 1778, in M P C, 
 IX, 475-477. Jean Baptiste Celoron was one of the sons of Pierre 
 Joseph Celoron who was twice commander of Detroit and the leader 
 of the famous expedition down the Ohio. The younger Celoron 
 was stationed at Ouiatenon by Hamilton but left his post when at- 
 tacked by a force sent by Clark. For this Hamilton accused him of 
 treachery. See W H C, XI (1888), 178-181. 
 
 70 DePeyster to Haldimand, Michilimackinac, September 21, 1778, in 
 MP C, IX, 371-373. 
 
 71 Journal, September 23 and 24, 1778, and Hamilton to Haldimand, 
 Detroit, September 22, 1778, in M P C, IX, 477-482. The letter is 
 a day by day account, September 22 to October 3. 
 
 72 Hamilton to Haldimand, Detroit, October 7, 1778, in M P C, IX, 
 486-487. 
 
 73 For the regulars and the Indians see the letter cited ante note 72. 
 For the others see M P C, IX, 484. 
 
 74 In addition to the "Journal" see Hamilton to Haldimand, Rocher de 
 Bout, October 14, 1778, in M P C, X, 303-304, and E. Slocum, 
 
 220 
 
History of the Maumee River Basin (Defiance, Ohio, c. 1905), 
 457-459. 
 
 75 James, Clark Papers, I, 130; Hamilton's "Journal," October 14, 1778; 
 Hamilton to Haldimand, Camp at Petite Riviere, November 1, 1778, 
 in W H C, XI, 178-181, Hamilton to Haldimand, Rocher de Bout, 
 October 14, 1778, in M P C, X, 303-304. Helm was in command 
 at Vincennes. 
 
 76 There was a Mary Louisa Delorme, wife of William Monforton, 
 after whom the creek may have been named. See Milo M. Quaife 
 (ed.), The John Askin Papers (2 vols., Detroit, 1928, 1931), I, 107. 
 
 77 Randolph C. Downes, Council Fires on the Upper Ohio (Pittsburgh, 
 1940), 218. 
 
 78 Sketch of the River Miamis . . . taken in the month of Novr. 1778, 
 H: Duvernet, 2d Lt. R. R. Ar. See also Reuben G. Thwaites (ed.), 
 Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 (32 vols., Cleveland, 1904-1907), 
 I, 150. 
 
 79 Hamilton to Haldimand, Miamis Town, October 28, 1778, in I H C, 
 I, 359-360. 
 
 80 Hay was a native of Chester, Pennsylvania, who enlisted in the 60th 
 Royal or American Regiment and who was stationed at Detroit as 
 early as 1762. He became a lieutenant, a commissary, a deputy In- 
 dian agent, and a major in the Detroit militia. Reuben G. Thwaites 
 and Louise P. Kellogg, The Revolution on the Upper Ohio, 1775- 
 1777 (Madison, Wisconsin, 1908), 130, note 27. 
 
 81 The "Journal" is supplemented at this point by a letter, Hamilton 
 to Haldimand, Camp at Petite Riviere, November 1, 1778, in 
 W H C, XI, 178-181. 
 
 82 This point was somewhere in or near section 16, township 30N, 
 range HE of the second principal meridian. Records Surveys U. S. 
 Lands (8 vols.), VII, map 82. These manuscript records are in 
 the office of the Auditor, State of Indiana, Indianapolis. 
 
 83 "Journal," November 23, 1778. 
 
 84 Hamilton to Haldimand, Ouiatenon, December 4, 1778, in I H C, 
 I, 220-225, which supplements the "Journal" at this point. 
 
 85 This is a reference to the Wabash Land Company's purchase. See 
 American State Papers; Indian Affairs, I, 338-339 and The lllinois- 
 W abash Land Company Manuscript with an introduction by Clar- 
 ence W. Alvord (privately printed by Cyrus H. McCormick, 1915). 
 
 86 The Piankashaw under their chiefs the Old and Young Tobacco 
 claimed that they controlled the lower Wabash. Clark mentioned 
 the Young Tobacco several times. James, Clark Papers, I, 277, 281, 
 242, and 152-153. 
 
 87 Hamilton to Haldimand, St. Vincennes, December 18, 1778, in 
 / H C, I, 227-235. This letter describes events from December 15 
 to 30, 1778. 
 
 88 James, Clark Papers, I, 184. 
 
 » 
 221 
 
89 Hamilton to Haldimand, St. Vincennes, December 18, 1778, in 
 IHC,l, 227-235. 
 
 90 James, Clark Papers, I, 132-137. 
 
 91 DePeyster to Haldimand, Michilimackinac, October 24, 1778, in 
 MP C, IX, 374-376. 
 
 92 Mason Bolton to Haldimand, Niagara, November 13, 1778, in ibid., 
 XIX, 365-366. 
 
 93 DePeyster to Langlade and Gautier, Fort Michilimackinac, October 
 26, 1778, in ibid., VIII (1907), 466-467; DePeyster to Haldimand, 
 Michilimackinac, October 27, 1778, in ibid., IX, 376-377; and De- 
 Peyster to Haldimand, Michilimackinac, January 29, 1779, in ibid., 
 IX, 377-378. 
 
 94 Hamilton to Haldimand, Detroit, September 22, 1778, in ibid., IX, 
 477-478. 
 
 95 Hamilton to Haldimand, Ouiatenon, December 4, 1778, in I H C, 
 I, 220-225; Hamilton to Haldimand, St. Vincennes, December 18, 
 1778, in ibid., 227-235. 
 
 96 Ibid., 235-237. 
 
 97 Hamilton to Haldimand, St. Vincennes, December 18, 1778, in ibid., 
 227-235. See the plan of the fort before Hamilton repaired it in 
 Plan of Fort Sackville by Henry DuVernet, December 22, 1778, in 
 ibid., opposite p. 231. 
 
 98 Hamilton to Haldimand, St. Vincennes, January 24, 1779, in ibid., 
 389-393. 
 
 99 "Speeches brought to Detroit by Mr. Beaubein, Sept. 27th 1778," 
 in M P C, X, 297-298. 
 
 100 Hamilton to Haldimand, St. Vincennes, December 18, 1778, in 
 I H C,I, 227-235. 
 
 101 Substance of a Conference with the Indians, St. Vincennes, January 
 26, 1779, in ibid., 394-397; and Hamilton to Haldimand, St. Vin- 
 cennes, January 24, 1779, in ibid., 389-393. 
 
 102 Return of the Troops &ca under the command of Lieut. Governor 
 Hamilton at Poste Vincennes the 24th of December 1778: and Re- 
 turn of the State of his Majesty's Garrison of Fort Sackville 30th 
 January 1779, in Canadian Archives, B 122, 253, and 287-288. Nor- 
 man McLeod was a captain of the volunteer militia of Detroit which 
 accompanied Hamilton to Vincennes. 
 
 103 James, Clark Papers, I, 231, and Hamilton's "Journal," February 22, 
 1779. 
 
 104 "Journal," February 25, 1779; James, Clark Papers, I, 132-133, 265- 
 266. 
 
 105 "Journal," December 28, 1778. 
 
 106 James, Life of Clark, 136-142; James, Clark Papers, I, 138-141, 269- 
 280. 
 
 107 "Journal," February 22, 1779. 
 
 108 Ibid., February 23, 1779; for the number of Indians killed see John 
 
 222 
 
Rogers to Jonathan Clark, May 6, 1779, in James, Clark Papers, 
 I, 316. 
 
 109 The progress of the negotiations may be followed in Hamilton's 
 "Journal" and in Clark's "Letter to Mason," in James, Clark Papers, 
 I, 143-145. 
 
 110 James, Life of Clark, 143, 145; James, Clark Papers, I, 289. John 
 Rogers (see note 108) wrote that Clark had 130 men, but Clark, 
 who should have known gave the larger figure. James, Clark Papers, 
 I, 139, 269. 
 
 111 "Journal," February 25, 1779. 
 
 112 James, Clark Papers, I, 289. 
 
 113 "Journal," March 5, 1779- 
 
 114 James, Clark Papers, I, 146, and 290. 
 
 115 Ibid., 110-112; and "Journal," March 5, 1779. The various reports 
 do not agree, Major Hay listed thirty-three, and only twenty-six were 
 listed at the Falls. 
 
 116 "Journal," March 5 and 8, 1779; James, Clark Papers, I, 112-113. A 
 briefer account of the journey and imprisonment is found in [Lieu- 
 tenant Jacob Schieffelin], "Narrative of Gov. Henry Hamilton. 
 Loose Notes on the Proceedings and Sufferings of Henry Hamilton, 
 Esq., Governor of Le Detroit with the Party that accompanied him 
 from that Post to their Imprisonment in Rebel Goal at Williams- 
 burg, Virginia. From the Royal Gazette, July 15, 1780," in The 
 Magazine of American History (30 vols., New York, 1877-1893), 
 I, 186-193. 
 
 117 It is difficult to identify the individuals who entertained Hamilton 
 on his way to Virginia. Robert L. Kincaid, The Wilderness Road 
 (Indianapolis, Indiana, c. 1947), 143, 148, note 6, thinks that Cap- 
 tain Thomas Madison may have been the Madison who kept him 
 over night. General Lewis may have been General Aaron Lewis and 
 Colonel Shelby may have been Evan Shelby who was a colonel in 
 the Washington County Militia and who had been prominent in 
 Dunmore's War. 
 
 118 Colonel Arthur Campbell lived at Royal Oak about halfway between 
 Abingdon and Wytheville, Virginia. 
 
 119 Colonel William Ingles, who operated the ferry over New River, 
 was a famous frontiersman of the Valley. 
 
 120 Letters and Memoirs relating to the War of American Independence, 
 by Madame de Riedesel (translated from the original German, New 
 York, 1827). Major General William Phillips was also captured 
 with Burgoyne at Saratoga. 
 
 121 In Council June 16, 1779, attest J. Archibald Blair, C.C. (Williams- 
 burg, n.d.), in Canadian Archives, B 122, 355-360. 
 
 122 John Dodge to Philip Boyle, St. Duski [Sandusky], July 13, 1779, 
 in Canadian Archives, B 122, 368. 
 
 123 Jefferson to Washington, Williamsburg, Virginia, July 17, 1779, in 
 
 223 
 
Paul L. Ford (ed.), The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (9 vols., 
 New York, 1892-1898), II (1893), 246-248. 
 
 124 Jefferson to the Governor of Canada, Williamsburg, Virginia, July 
 
 22, 1779, in ibid., II, 248-256. The editor thought that Guy Carleton 
 was governor of Canada in 1779. The letter is also printed in the 
 Calendar of Virginia State Papers, I, 321-324, under the heading 
 "Gov: Jefferson to the Governor of Detroit." 
 
 125 Washington to Jefferson, Headquarters, New Windsor, July 10 
 1779, in John C Fitzpatrick (ed.), Writings of Washington (39 
 vols, Washington, 1931-1944), XV (1936), 401. 
 
 126 Washington to Jefferson, West Point, August 6, 1779, in ibid., XVI 
 (1937), 68-69. 
 
 127 James, Clark Papers, I, 198-201. 
 
 128 Jefferson to Washington, Williamsburg, October 1, 1779, in Ford, 
 Writings of Thomas Jefferson, II, 258-259; Jefferson to Washing- 
 ton, Williamsburg, October 2, 1779, in ibid., 259-260; Jefferson to 
 Washington, In Council, October 8, 1779, in ibid., 260-261; Philip 
 Dejean and Guillaume La Mothe to Colonel Innes, Williamsburg 
 Jail, October 11, 1779, on pages preceding Hamilton's Journal; and 
 Washington to Jefferson, Head Quarters, West Point, November 
 
 23, 1779, in Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, XVII (1937), 
 166-167. 
 
 129 Washington to Jefferson, Head Quarters, West Point, September 
 13, 1779, in Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, XVI, 272; Wash- 
 ington to Major General Robert Howe, Head Quarters, West Point, 
 September 22, 1779, in ibid., 319. 
 
 130 Jefferson to Washington, Williamsburg, October 2, 1779, in Ford, 
 Writings of Thomas Jefferson, II, 259-260. 
 
 131 Jefferson to Colonel George Mathews, In Council, October 8, 1779, 
 in ibid., 261-264; Washington to Jefferson, Head Quarters, West 
 Point, November 23, 1779, in Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, 
 XVII, 166-167. 
 
 132 James, Clark Papers, I, 203. 
 
 133 Numerous letters on this subject are printed in Fitzpatrick, Writings 
 of Washington, vols. XVII-XX. The quotation is from Washington 
 to Lieutenant Colonel Dubuysson, Head Quarters Precaness, October 
 10, 1780, in XX (1937), 144-145. Other letters are in Ford, 
 Writings of Thomas Jefferson, II. See also Journals of Congress, 
 XIV, 985. 
 
 134 James, Clark Papers, I, 203-207. A statement of Hamilton express- 
 ing his reasons for not signing the earlier paroles is found in the 
 back of his Journal. It was written in Chesterfield Jail and signed 
 September 27, 1780. The parole is printed in the Calendar of Vir- 
 ginia State Papers, I, 378. 
 
 135 Colonel Mason Bolton was in command at Niagara from whence 
 Iroquois Indians were sent to attack the Pennsylvania and Virginia 
 
 224 
 
frontiers during the Revolution. Fort Niagara gave protection to 
 the lake route to Detroit and the West and served as a forwarding 
 point for trade goods and supplies. The letters were probably those 
 of August 8 to Germain and Carleton. See ante note 62. 
 
 136 These papers are printed in M P C, IX, 464-473. The "Dunmore" 
 was a schooner built in 1772 for the small British fleet on the Great 
 Lakes. Milo M. Quaife, "The Royal Navy of the Upper Lakes," in 
 the Burton Historical Collection Leaflet, II, No. 5 (May, 1924), 
 49-64. 
 
 137 These letters were dated August 2, 6, and 10, 1778, M P C, IX, 398- 
 402. See Hamilton to Haldimand, September 9, 1778, in ibid., 473. 
 
 138 According to letters written at this time Antoine Belief euille came 
 on the eighth, and a Captain Betton brought the letters on the fif- 
 teenth. The letters which came on the fifteenth were Haldimand's 
 of August 26 and 27, which Hamilton interpreted as authorizing his 
 expedition. See ibid., 402-404, 473, 484, and 647-648. 
 
 139 The letter to Haldimand is in ibid., 475-477. It notified him of 
 Hamilton's intention of attacking Clark. The letter to Cramahe is 
 in ibid., 463-464. 
 
 140 Major Carleton was a nephew of the Governor. 
 
 141 This was probably Paul Joseph Le Moine, Chevalier de Longueuil, 
 who had been in command at Detroit for the French, 1743-1748 and 
 who was known as the fourth baron. 
 
 142 This is an interesting point! Did Clark have inside help in taking 
 Kaskaskia? Intimation of the design of the Americans before June 
 9 would indicate that someone expected him. 
 
 143 Charles Gouin was a lieutenant of the militia at Detroit. Ibid., 473. 
 Hamilton's "Journal" indicates that Gouin accompanied the expedi- 
 tion at least to the Miamis. 
 
 144 The number of boats and carts which were used on the expedition 
 are given in M P C, IX, 409. 
 
 145 The minutes of a council with these tribes on the twenty-fourth 
 are printed in ibid., 482-483. The four tribes mentioned had been 
 closely associated for many years and had lived at different places 
 along the shores of the upper lakes. Probably all of them had a vil- 
 lage or villages in the vicinity of Detroit. They had been friendly 
 with the French but after the uprising in 1763 they transferred their 
 allegiance to the English. They co-operated loyally with Hamilton 
 during his journey to Vincennes. He described Sastaharitze on the 
 next to the last page of his Journal, as the nominal prince of the 
 Huron or Wyandot Indians, as a well disposed man who was easily 
 led, given to liquor, and as not attended to in his Nation other than 
 as hereditary chief. He was about thirty-eight years of age. S. Bellin, 
 Le Petit Atlas, Recueil de Cartes et Plans des Quatre Parties du 
 Monde, Premier Volume Contenant VAmerique Septentrionale et 
 Les Isles Antilles (Paris, 1764), Map No. 12. 
 
 225 
 
146 Bloody Bridge was the bridge over Bloody Run, the scene of the 
 defeat of Captain James Dalyell during the Indian uprising of 1763. 
 Howard H. Peckham, Pontiac and the Indian Uprising (Princeton, 
 New Jersey, 1947), 201-209. St. Bernard's was probably the farm 
 of a well-known family north of the village on the Northeast Coast. 
 
 147 Wyndeego, possibly Windigo, a Potawatomi chief, was present at a 
 council in Detroit, June 14, 1778, before accompanying Hamilton 
 to Vincennes. His name was annexed to a grant of land as a Pota- 
 watomi chief on June 28, 1780, and Windigo, a Potawatomi chief, 
 attached his mark to the Treaty of Fort Harmar. M P C, IX, 442- 
 443; Quaife, John As kin Papers, I, 175; and Treaties between the 
 United States of America and the several Indian Tribes, from 1778 
 to 1837 (Washington, 1837), 23-28. 
 
 148 Alexander McKee was a native of Pennsylvania who remained loyal 
 to the King. He fled from Pittsburgh, March 28, 1778, with Simon 
 Girty and Matthew Elliott. At this time he was a captain in the 
 Indian Department. He led expeditions against the American fron- 
 tiers. M P C, IX, 470, and Consul W. Butterfield, History of the 
 Girty s (Cincinnati, Ohio, 1890), 43-53. The Shawnee were located 
 along the Scioto and Miami rivers from whence they raided the 
 Kentucky, Virginia, and Pennsylvania frontiers sometimes under 
 leaders appointed by Hamilton. They were a vigorous warlike tribe. 
 Hamilton's "Journal" reflects some of this warfare. 
 
 149 The letters referred to are printed in M P C, X, 297-298. One was 
 an appeal by the Virginians to help them against the British. 
 
 150 The Wabash Indians included the Piankashaw, Kickapoo, Wea, and 
 Miami tribes. The Piankashaw lived along the Wabash from Vin- 
 cennes to the mouth of the Vermillion River. The Kickapoo lived 
 at the mouth of the Vermillion and westward into Illinois. The Wea 
 were at Ouiatenon, while the Miami were along the upper Wabash. 
 These tribes were not as loyal to the British as were the Lake Indians. 
 
 151 The carrying place was the portage between the Maumee and Wabash 
 rivers. 
 
 152 Canadian Archives, B 121, 199-200. 
 
 153 Some of these items were printed in M P C, IX, 409, 482-485, and 
 X, 297-298. 
 
 154 Captain Henry Bird was an officer in the Eighth or King's Regiment. 
 He was active in the British service during the Revolution. He is 
 known as the leader of the expedition which captured Martin's and 
 Ruddell's stations in Kentucky in 1780. 
 
 155 Riviere Rouge, which flows into the Detroit River at the southern 
 edge of modern Detroit, is the river which Henry Ford has made 
 so well known. 
 
 156 This was the famous attack on Boonesborough, Kentucky. 
 
 157 Celoron Island, which was named after Pierre Joseph Celoron de 
 
 226 
 
Blainville, lies at the mouth of the Detroit River. See ante note 69 
 and Quaife and Glazer, Michigan, 79. 
 
 158 Old Raccoon, a chief of the Chippewa Indians, went on the Vin- 
 cennes expedition. On December 24, he was referred to as Wabangay. 
 
 159 Rock River flows into the western end of Lake Erie between River 
 Raisin and River Huron according to Patrick McNiff's Plan of Settle- 
 ment of Detroit, 1796, reproduced from the Original Manuscript in 
 the Clements Library ( Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1946 ) . 
 
 160 Bellin, Le Petit Atlas, I, map 6, locates Baye Dononquisse at the west- 
 ern end of Lake Erie just above the mouth of the Maumee River. 
 Jean B.B. d'Anville, Canada, Louisiane, et Terres Angloises ( [Paris], 
 1775), also gives this bay. The river which Hamilton called the 
 Miamis is the one now known as the Maumee. The Wyndatts were 
 Wyandot or Huron Indians. 
 
 16 1 McNiff's Plan of the Settlement of Detroit, 1796, gives Pointe au 
 Chene on the north side of the mouth of the Maumee where it flows 
 into Maumee Bay. 
 
 162 Riviere a L'Anguille is the Eel River of Indiana. See Hamilton's 
 entries for November 19, 21, and 24. 
 
 163 This name is not cJear. It seems to have been written poorly else- 
 where and has been transposed as Shourd, Shrowd, and Howe. 
 MP C, IX, 491, 493. 
 
 164 On the last page of Hamilton's Journal is a list of four Indians 
 "given to" Hamilton. "Mohingan, the Wolf" was given by the 
 Ottawa. In Hamilton's entry for December 23, there is this remark: 
 "My Son Mahingan the young Ottawa chief, who had followed me 
 from the pointe aux Chesnes tho' very ill . . . ." 
 
 165 Captain Alexander Grant was commander of the fleet on the Great 
 Lakes between Niagara and Michilmackinac. 
 
 166 Petit Rocher is not identified on contemporary maps. It may have 
 been another rocky point near Rocher de Bout. It seems likely that 
 Hamilton did not get as far as Rocher de Bout the first day's travel 
 up the rapids. 
 
 167 Macutte Wassong or Warsong was a Chippewa chief. Thomas Morris 
 referred to him as the great Chippewa chief. See Thwaites, Early 
 Western Travels, I, 303. 
 
 168 Rocher de Bout was a rocky point projecting into the Maumee River 
 above the site of General Anthony Wayne's victory of Fallen Tim- 
 bers in 1794. Milo Quaife, "A Narrative of Life on the Old Fron- 
 tier," in Wisconsin Historical Society Proceedings, 1914 (Madison, 
 1915), 215, note 6. 
 
 169 Neegik is not mentioned again in the Journal. Since he was a brother 
 of Chaminatawa, he must have been an Ottawa. His name may be 
 translated as The Otter. 
 
 170 Gros Loup was a Miami chief who was with Hamilton along the 
 upper Maumee, but who did not accompany him to Vincennes. 
 
 227 
 
171 There is a speech of Lagesse, which was made in 1792, in A S P, 
 Indian Affairs, I, 241, in which he claimed to be the "first and great 
 chief" of the Potawatomi. Major Hamtramck to Rufus Putnam, 
 August 9, 1792, refers to the son of this chief. Ibid., 241. 
 
 172 Wassanagnaa was one of the few Potawatomi chiefs mentioned by 
 Hamilton. Only Wyndeego, whose branch of the tribe lived along 
 the St. Joseph River near Lake Michigan, figured prominently in the 
 expedition. 
 
 173 Agusheway, sometimes Egushewai, was head chief of the Ottawa who 
 lived near Detroit. He was wounded at Fort Recovery in 1794, took 
 part in the battle of Fallen Timbers, and signed the Treaty of Green- 
 ville. ASP, Indian Affairs, I, 566; Treaties between the United 
 States . . . and the several Indian Tribes, 1778-1837, pp. 54-63; and 
 Thwaites and Kellogg, Frontier Defense, 10, n. 29. He was men- 
 tioned many times by Hamilton. 
 
 174 Prairie de Mascoutens is given by DuVernet, Sketch of the River 
 Miamis, as three leagues or approximately nine miles above Grand 
 Rapids. 
 
 175 Pacane, the Nut, was the head chief of the Miami. His village was 
 Kekionga on the St. Joseph River, at the site of Fort Wayne. He 
 was succeeded by Little Turtle and he in turn by Jean Baptiste 
 Richardville who was a nephew of Pacane. Thomas Morris referred 
 to him in 1764 as "king of the Miami nation" and as just out of his 
 minority. Thwaites, Early Western Travels, I, 316-317; Quaife, 
 "Narrative of Life on the Old Frontier," in W H S P, 1914, p. 223 
 and n. 30; Elmore Barce, The Land of the Miamis (Fowler, Indiana, 
 1922), 48 et passim. Hibon was not mentioned again in this Journal. 
 The Isles de Maima may be the "I. de Mama" of DuVernet's map. 
 If this is correct, Hamilton encamped the night before near the 
 Grand Rapid. 
 
 176 L'isle aux Aigles was about eight miles below the mouth of the 
 Grande Glaize, which we know as the Auglaize River, the principal 
 tributary of the Maumee, which flows into the latter at Defiance, 
 Ohio. The pays plat or the flat country was the twenty -five miles below 
 the mouth of the Auglaize. 
 
 177 See ante, n. 76. Le Marais de l'Orme, or the marsh of the elms, was 
 about one-third the distance between the mouth of the Auglaize and 
 the source of the Maumee, or between Defiance and Fort Wayne. 
 See DuVernet's map mentioned ante, note 78. 
 
 178 Kushaghking, Coshocton, or Goschachgunk was the chief town of 
 the Turtle clan of the Delaware Indians, 1775 to 1781. It was lo- 
 cated at the forks of the Muskingum and Tuscarawas rivers. Thwaites 
 and Kellogg, Revolution on the Upper Ohio, 46, n. 73. 
 
 179 See ante, 45. 
 
 180 The Petit Gris was a prominent Miami chief whose village was on 
 the west bank of the St. Joseph. Hamilton wrote on November 15 
 
 228 
 
that the French called him Le Petit Gris, the English the dappled 
 fawn, and the Miami Waspikingua or Necaquangai. See ASP, 
 Indian Affairs, I, 93-94, 565; and Quaife, "Narrative of Life on the 
 Old Frontier," in W H S P, 1914, p. 221, n. 30. Gros Loup was 
 another Miami chief. 
 
 181 The Great Couette agreed to a grant of land in 1775 as a Piankashaw 
 chief. ASP, Indian Affairs, I, 338-339. 
 
 182 Hamilton to Haldimand, Miamistown, October 28, 1778, in / H C, 
 I, 359-360. 
 
 183 These Potawatomi lived along the St. Joseph River of the Lake where 
 Louis Chevalier had his trading post. 
 
 184 The Shawnee towns were on the Great Miami and Scioto rivers. 
 Peter Lorimier or Laramie had a post on Loramie's Creek near the 
 start of the portage between the Great Miami and the St. Marys 
 River. He was an agent for the British. Thwaites and Kellogg, 
 Revolution on the Upper Ohio, 144, n. 49. 
 
 185 The Little River is sometimes called the Little Wabash. Hamilton 
 to Haldimand, Camp at Petite Riviere, November 1, 1778, in W H C, 
 XI, 178-181. 
 
 186 Chemin couvert means covered way. It was in the southwestern 
 corner of present Allen County, Indiana. 
 
 187 The riviere a boete is the modern Aboite. The early surveyors' maps 
 show a widening of the Little River in the southwestern corner of 
 Allen County and their notes indicate that the southern boundary of 
 section 26 was swampy. This was probably the location of the swamp 
 which Hamilton called "les Volets." He probably meant he had come 
 ten miles since leaving the western end of the portage. 
 
 188 On December 9, Hamilton referred to the White Fish as an old 
 Shawnee chief. He accompanied Hamilton to Vincennes. The space 
 within the parenthesis is blank. 
 
 189 Riviere a 1' Anglais is probably a form of Langlois, the name of an 
 early trader. Langlois Creek flows into Little River a short distance 
 below the mouth of the Aboite. 
 
 190 This was five or six miles east of the forks of the Wabash where 
 the Little River reaches bed rock. 
 
 191 The forks of the Wabash is the junction of the Little River and 
 the Wabash. 
 
 192 A reconnoitering party. 
 
 193 The Salamonie is the first important tributary of the Wabash River 
 below the forks. Thomas Hutchins, A New Map of the Western 
 Parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina . . . 
 (London, 1778), erroneously drew it as a northern tributary. Appar- 
 ently Hamilton encamped near the sloping maple or l'Erable penchee, 
 which may have been below the forks of the Wabash in section 14, 
 township 28 north, range 8 east, there are rapids in the Wabash 
 which Hamilton may have referred to at this point. 
 
 229 
 
194 This may have been Hanging Rock two miles from the present town 
 of Lagro. If this is true, he may have camped somewhere near the 
 site of Lagro on the night of November 16. The rock is nearly 80 
 feet high. 
 
 195 The Mississinewa River is the second important tributary of the 
 Wabash below the forks. Hamilton was in error when he wrote that 
 it was on the northeastern side. 
 
 196 Hutchins drew the Calumet River on his New Map (1778), as 
 flowing into the Wabash from the north between the Eel and the 
 Mississinewa. It is also shown on a manuscript map in the Clements 
 Library entitled: North America east of the Mississippi. The en- 
 campment for November 18-24 was near the mouth of Eel River 
 or present day Logansport. There were several Indian villages in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 197 Riviere a l'Anguille is the modern Eel River. 
 
 198 Ouiat is an abbreviation of Ouiatenon, one of the early French forts 
 and trading posts, around which the Wea, Ouiatenon, or Ouia 
 Indians were located. It was located approximately four miles south 
 of modern Lafayette, Indiana, on the west bank of the Wabash and 
 below the mouth of Tippecanoe River. See also Hamilton to Haldi- 
 mand, Ouiatenon, December 4,1778, in I H C, I, 220-225. 
 
 199 This is the modern Tippecanoe River. 
 
 200 The Piankashaw contract was the sale of two large tracts of land 
 along the Wabash River to the Wabash Land Company by the 
 Piankashaw Indians. 
 
 201 Jacob P. Dunn, Indiana and Indianans (5 vols., Chicago, 1919), I, 
 89, gives the name as Kenapacomaqua. Aaron Arrowsmith, Map of 
 Northern United States and Canada (London, 1798, additions to 
 1802), gives Eel Town or Kenapacomaqua or Languille of the French. 
 
 202 William Ball, president of the Cass County, Indiana, Historical So- 
 ciety, and Robert B. Whitsett of the L'Anguille Valley Historical 
 Society, Logansport, Indiana, have identified this bluff, of which 
 Hamilton made a sketch, as Rock Cliff at the east end of Cedar 
 Island upon which the Logansport Country Club has its club house. 
 
 203 The Wabash falls 20 feet in 4 miles from 3 miles above to 1 mile 
 below the mouth of Eel River. 
 
 204 Hutchins, A New Map (1778), shows a "Riv. de Petit Rocher" 
 flowing into the Wabash from the north a short distance below the 
 mouth of Eel River. The location corresponds roughly with Hamil- 
 ton's Petit Rocher. The surveyor's map shows a rocky ledge five 
 miles below the mouth of Eel. 
 
 205 Evidently this island was close to the Petit Rocher, but it is not 
 shown on the maps. Hamilton probably made little progress on the 
 twenty-fifth. 
 
 206 "The Isle of Garlic," or l'isle a Tail, is located approximately four 
 
 230 
 
miles above Delphi, Indiana, or some ten miles above the mouth of 
 Tippecanoe River. 
 
 207 Hutchins, A New Map (1778), locates a mine on the north bank 
 of the Wabash a few miles above the mouth of the Tippecanoe 
 River. Hamilton's ideas about the source of the Tippecanoe and the 
 settling of the country were quite erroneous. 
 
 208 The Indian princess was described by Hamilton in the entry for 
 December 2. "Teized" is a variation of tease, to tear apart. 
 
 209 Logan Esarey, History of Indiana from its Exploration to 1850 (In- 
 dianapolis, 1915), 34, stated that it was destroyed by the Indians 
 and that it was not rebuilt. He seems to have meant that it was 
 destroyed in 1763. 
 
 210 Kissingua was later sent from Vincennes on a mission to John Stuart, 
 the Indian agent of the southern department. 
 
 211 Quiquapouhquaa was probably a Kickapoo chief. He brought the 
 flag to Hamilton three days later, and went part of the way at least 
 to Vincennes. 
 
 212 Little Face was a Wea or Ouiatenon chief who accompanied Hamil- 
 ton to Vincennes. 
 
 213 LaNatte's son-in-law was Tuette who was mentioned in the entry for 
 December 3. Neither one was mentioned as having gone to Vin- 
 cennes. 
 
 214 This was a short sword. Quiquaboe should be understood as Kickapoo. 
 
 215 There was a Kickapoo village a short distance south of Ouiatenon. 
 
 216 Forgeron is not mentioned again so presumably he did not go to 
 Vincennes. 
 
 217 The Vermillion River flows into the Wabash from the northwest. 
 As the Kickapoo lived along its banks, this village was probably a 
 Kickapoo village. Hamilton must have camped on the east bank of 
 the Wabash nearly opposite to the present town of Newport, Indiana. 
 
 218 This is not far from the site of Terre Haute. 
 
 219 La Mouche Noire lived very near Vincennes, but was not mentioned 
 again. 
 
 220 Lieutenant Michel Brouilet was an officer of the Vincennes militia. 
 James, Clark Papers, I, 56, and 91. 
 
 221 This oath is given in Hamilton's "Report" to Governor Haldimand 
 in French and in somewhat different translation. See James, Clark 
 Papers, I, 183. 
 
 222 This is the modern White River. 
 
 223 This is another reference to the Wabash Land Company's purchase. 
 It is interesting to note that Hamilton knew of Lord Dunmore's con- 
 nection with it. 
 
 224 The modern Tennessee River was then sometimes called the Cherokee 
 River. 
 
 225 This is Francis Vigo. 
 
 226 Eskibee is mentioned as a Potawatomie chief on January 28, 1779. 
 
 231 
 
227 These men were Sieur Janis and Gabriel Cerre who had already made 
 peace with Clark. See James, Clark Papers, I, 47-49, 228-229, 235- 
 237, 361. 
 
 228 This was an attempt to overcome the traditional and long-standing 
 hostilities between the Shawnee and the Southern Indians. 
 
 229 From December 15 to 30, the "Journal" is supplemented by Hamilton 
 to Haldimand, St. Vincennes, December 18 [to 28], 1778, in / H C, 
 I, 227-235. The prices of provision are given in Canadian Archives, 
 B 122, 254, the plan of Fort Sackville on 251a, the return of the 
 troops on 253, and the placart on 233, but the census seems not to 
 have been preserved. 
 
 230 Little River must have been the little stream just north and east of 
 Vincennes. Hamilton said its distance from the village was two miles. 
 It is shown by Hutchins, A New Map . . . 1778. 
 
 231 See ante, note 229. 
 
 232 The abbreviations stand for "nothing extraordinary." 
 
 233 For Father Gibault see ante, note 63. 
 
 234 The Delaware received permission from the Miami and the Pianka- 
 shaw to settle between the Ohio and White rivers about 1770. 
 
 235 The extent of exaggeration in this report may be estimated after 
 reading Clark's account in James, Clark Papers, I, 132-133, 265-266. 
 
 236 Hamilton to His Excellency, Don Bernardo de Galvis, St. Vincennes, 
 January 13, 1779, in I H C, I, 377-378. 
 
 237 Matthew Elliott was a native of Ireland who came to Pennsylvania 
 at an early age. He entered the Indian trade and became very influ- 
 ential among the Shawnee. He was a captain in the British Indian 
 department after March 28, 1778, and was active against the Ameri- 
 can frontiers. See Thwaites and Kellogg, Frontier Defense, 249, 
 note 5. 
 
 238 Patte de Dinde, or Turkey Foot, was located on the Maumee River 
 about five miles above the Grand Rapids. See DuVernet's Sketch 
 of the Miamis River. 
 
 239 Substance of a Conference with the Indians, St. Vincennes, January 
 26, 1779, in I H C, I, 394-397. See also Hamilton to Haldimand, St. 
 Vincennes, January 24, 1779, in ibid., 389-393. 
 
 240 This William Williams was a brother of Captain John Williams of 
 Clark's expedition, who was not so kind to Hamilton's Indians. 
 Hamilton's kindness was misplaced in this instance. James, Clark 
 Papers, I, 323, 326, 354. See post February 11, 1779, for William 
 Williams' escape. 
 
 241 Nicaquongai was the Miami for Le Petit Gris, a prominent chief of 
 the Miami. See ante, note 180. 
 
 242 Captain Hugh Lord was commandant of the Illinois villages from 
 1772 to 1776. The abbreviations refer to Louis XV and George III. 
 
 243 Lieutenant Joseph Bondy was an officer of the Indian department 
 who accompanied Hamilton. See MP C, IX, 485. For Raimbault see 
 
 232 
 
post, note 252. 
 
 244 Jean Baptiste Romain dit Sanscrainte was probably the younger man 
 of that name. J. Robert was listed as belonging to La Mothe's 
 Volunteers. James, Clark Papers, I, 111. 
 
 245 The riviere aux embarras is the Embarrass River of Illinois which 
 empties into the Wabash a short distance below Vincennes. 
 
 246 This is a reference to the battle of Ushant, July 27, 1778, between 
 Admiral Augustus, Viscount Keppel and Admiral the Comte d'Orvil- 
 liers. See William L. Clowes, The Royal Navy (7 vols., London, 
 1897-1903), III (1898), 412-426. 
 
 247 These messages are given in "Journal of Joseph Bowman," in James, 
 Clark Papers, I, 160-161, but the wording varies considerably. See 
 also ibid., 165-166, 187, and 285. Hamilton does not mention his 
 request for a truce of three days. 
 
 248 See ibid., 281. 
 
 249 The terms are given on page 19 of the Journal. Since they differ 
 somewhat from the terms as stated by James, they are given in full. 
 
 "Proposals sent from Lieutt. Govr. Hamilton to Colonel Clarke 
 previous to the surrender of Fort Sackville February 24th 1779 — 
 Lieutenant Governor Hamilton engages to deliver up to Colonel 
 Clarke Fort Sackville as it is at present with all the stores, ammuni- 
 tion and provision, reserving only thirty six rounds of powder and 
 Ball per man, and a sufficiency of provision for the subsistence of 
 the garrison for their progress by land or water as shall hereafter 
 be agreed upon — 
 
 "The garrison are to deliver themselves up prisoners of war, and 
 to march out with their arms accoutrements and Knapsacks — 
 
 "A Guide, or guides to be furnished by Colonel Clarke, with a 
 safeguard to escort the garrison to its destination, as also horses for 
 the transport of provision, should the garrison march by land — 
 
 "The garrison not to be deliverd up, till a person employed by 
 Colonel Clarke, shall have received an account of stores & ca 
 
 "Three days to be allowed the garrison, from time of signing the 
 articles of capitulation, for providing shoes and other necessaries 
 for the journey (if by land) and for baking bread, as also for 
 settling accounts with the traders of the post 
 
 "Officers, or others of the garrison who have families, to be 
 allowed to return to their homes, on promise of not acting during 
 the present contest between Great Britain and America. 
 
 "Sick and wounded are recommended to the humanity and 
 generosity of Colonel Clarke, any charges incurred by them to be 
 discharged by Lieutt. Govr. Hamilton, who will leave a draft for 
 fifty pounds (New York Currency) for their use — 
 
 "Officers to take their private baggage — 
 
 Henry Hamilton 
 Signed at Fort Sackville" 
 
 233 
 
250 This is mentioned in Bowman's Journal in James, Clark Papers, I, 162. 
 
 251 What countenance the Governor maintains. 
 
 252 Raimbault was a trader who lived at Ouiatenon. He was apparently 
 trying to redeem his reputation with Hamilton when he was cap- 
 tured by some of Clark's men. See Hamilton's Journal for Novem- 
 ber 30, and December 1, 1778. 
 
 253 See ante, 11-12, 166-167. 
 
 254 The persons referred to were Charles Langlade and Charles Gautier. 
 See ante, 61-62. 
 
 255 James, Clark Papers, I, 305-306, 309-310. 
 
 256 See ante, 18-19. 
 
 257 These men were Captain William Williams and Lieutenant John 
 Rogers. 
 
 258 Green River flows into the Ohio from the south a short distance up- 
 stream from Evansville, Indiana. 
 
 259 These abbreviations seem to mean "nothing extraordinary." 
 
 260 This was Captain William Harrod who had been one of Clark's cap- 
 tains in the Illinois campaign. He was a brother of James Harrod. 
 He was at this time in command of the fort at the Falls of the Ohio. 
 See English, Conquest of the Country Northivest of the River Ohio, 
 I, 122-123, et passim. 
 
 261 C C probably refers to Colonel Clark. 
 
 262 Harrodsburg was the first village founded in the Kentucky Blue Grass 
 and one of the villages that had felt seriously Hamilton's war on the 
 American frontier. 
 
 263 This messenger was William Myers, Moires, or Moyers. See James, 
 Clark Papers, I, 305-306 and note, 309-310. 
 
 264 Colonel John Bowman was the county-lieutenant of the county of 
 Kentucky and a brother of two of Clark's men, Joseph and Isaac 
 Bowman. He was a resident of Harrodsburg. 
 
 265 Logan's Fort or station was one of the earliest settlements in the 
 Kentucky Blue Grass. The location on which it was established by 
 Colonel Benjamin Logan is today within the city of Stanford, Ken- 
 tucky. It was also called St. Asaph. Colonel Benjamin Logan resided 
 at St. Asaph or Logan's Fort. He was a leader in the warfare of the 
 day and later in the formation of the state of Kentucky. 
 
 266 William Whitley built a large brick house at an early date between 
 Logan's Fort and the Crab Orchard. This was called Whitley's Fort. 
 
 267 This stream was known as Skaags Creek, although Hamilton wrote 
 Craggs. It flowed into Rockcastle River near the Hazel Patch. 
 
 268 The crossing of Rockcastle River was near the Hazel Patch. 
 
 269 This was Colonel Richard Calloway, an early pioneer of Kentucky 
 who was killed by the Indians within a year of the time Hamilton 
 made this journey. 
 
 270 Stinking Creek flows into Cumberland River in the vicinity of Big 
 Flat Lick, to which Hamilton referred, and where Boone's Trace left 
 
 234 
 
the Warriors' Path. The two traces followed the same route from 
 Cumberland Gap northward to the far side of Cumberland River 
 at the lick. 
 
 271 When Hamilton passed Cumberland Mountain, he crossed Cumber- 
 land Gap into Powell Valley and proceeded northeastwardly along 
 Powell River. 
 
 272 These objects of natural beauty are in the vicinity of modern Jones- 
 ville, Virginia. Unfortunately these sketches seem to have been lost. 
 
 273 Powell Mountain is the watershed between Powell River and Clinch 
 River, both of which rise in southwestern Virginia and eventually 
 join their waters with the Holston and other streams to form the 
 Tennessee River. 
 
 274 Moccasin Gap brought the travelers through Clinch Mountain into 
 the valley of the North Fork of the Holston. Hamilton's terminology 
 seems a little confused at this point but he proceeded to the vicinity 
 of modern Bristol. 
 
 275 General Lewis may have been General Aaron Lewis and Major 
 Bletsoe was Major Anthony Bledsoe who lived near Sapling Grove 
 or the present Bristol. 
 
 276 Hamilton was now east of the Blue Ridge. 
 
 277 The restoration of Williamsburg offers the visitor the opportunity to 
 see the buildings of the colonial capital and the rooms of the jail to 
 which Hamilton referred. 
 
 235 
 
INDEX 
 
 Aboite River, 48, 118 
 
 Adhemar, St. Martin, 41, 172 
 
 Alvord, Clarence W., 21, 212-13 
 
 Abbott, Lieutenant-Governor Ed- 
 ward, 14, 31, 33, 63, 68, 98, 146, 
 150, 161, 164 
 
 Agushewai, see Egushewai 
 
 American Revolution in the 
 West, 7, 14, 21, 24, 25, 73, 93 
 
 Americans, 44, 46, 65, 66 y 102- 
 03, 111, 142-43, 161-63, 169, 187; 
 see also Rebels and Virginians 
 
 Andre, Joseph, 173 
 
 Arnold, Benedict, 26 
 
 Auglaize or Grande Glaize River, 
 44,49, 113 
 
 Bailey, Lieutenant John, 43 
 
 Baby, Monsieur, 161 
 
 Baron, Adjutant, Vincennes Mili- 
 tia, 133, 178 
 
 Baulon, Hypolite, interpreter to 
 the Wea, 71-72, 77, 158, 161, 166, 
 188 
 
 Beaubien, Charles, interpreter to 
 the Miami, 32, 64, 67, 71-72, 77, 
 105, 108-09, 114, 120, 158, 161-62, 
 167, 171, 188 
 
 Beaver dam, 117-18 
 
 Bedford, Virginia, 85, 201 
 
 Bellefeuille, Antoine, interpreter, 
 41, 81, 103, 158, 193 
 
 Bermuda, 8 
 
 Bird, Captain Henry, King's Regi- 
 ment, 41, 95, 106 
 
 Black Fly, Piankashaw chief, 56, 
 143 
 
 Bloody Bridge, 104 
 
 Bloomer, Captain, Natchez, 164 
 
 Blue Ridge Mountains, 85 
 
 boats, canoes, pirogues, 106-07, 
 112, 115-16, 118-22, 126-28, 130, 
 140, 150, 171, 174-75; artillery 
 boat, 106, 109, 115, 117, 119, 122, 
 
 148, 192; rebel boats, 155; see 
 "Willing" 
 
 Bolton, Lieutenant Colonel Ma- 
 son, commandant at Niagara, 103 
 
 Bondi, Lieutenant, Indian De- 
 partment, 172 
 
 Boone, Daniel, 32 
 
 Boone's Wilderness Trace, 78, 80, 
 83, 84, 194-99 
 
 Bosseron, Captain, Vincennes 
 Militia, 133, 146, 161, 178, 181, 
 183, 187, 189 
 
 Bowman, Colonel John, Harrods- 
 burg, Kentucky, 82, 189, 196 
 
 Bowman, Captain Joseph, with 
 Clark, 38, 184, 187, 189 
 
 British, see England or English 
 
 Brouillett, Lieutenant Michel, 
 Vincennes Militia, 146 
 
 Burgoyne, General John, 19, 26, 
 28, 85, 98 
 
 Burton, Clarence M., 18, 212 
 
 Bushe, Drury, 174 
 
 Cahokia, 37-38, 72, 163 
 
 Calloway, Colonel Richard, Ken- 
 tucky Militia, 83, 197 
 
 Campbell, Colonel Arthur, Vir- 
 ginia Militia, 84, 200 
 
 Canada, 15, 23, 25, 33, 96, 97 
 
 Canadians, see French- Americans 
 
 Carleton, Governor Guy, Canada, 
 14-15, 17, 19, 25, 27-29, 31-33, 37, 
 94, 96, 98, 134 
 
 Carleton, Major 103 
 
 Celoron, Jean Baptiste, 40, 43-44, 
 54, 103, 105, 107-09, 113-14, 119, 
 136, 142, 162 
 
 Celoron de Blainville, Pierre Jos- 
 eph, 43 
 
 Celoron Island, 42 
 
 Cerre, Gabriel, 72, 156, 158 
 
 Chabert, Lieutenant Francois Jon- 
 caire,4l, 103, 113, 153, 174, 188 
 
 236 
 
Chabert, Lieutenant Chevalier, 41, 
 103, 113, 153, 174, 188 
 
 Chamintawa, Ottawa chief, 111, 
 144, 170-73 
 
 Chapman, Serjeant, King's Regi- 
 ment, 178 
 
 Chapoton, Jean Baptiste, trader 
 at Ouiatenon, 133-34, 189 
 
 Cherokee Indians, 46, 65, 84, 115, 
 154, 156-57, 165, 168 
 
 Cherokee Steeps, 55, 140 
 
 Chesne, Captain Isadore, Indian 
 Department, 41, 119, 125, 164, 167, 
 175 
 
 Chesne, Pierrot, 144, 155, 167 
 
 Chesterfield, Virginia, 86, 89, 91, 
 203 
 
 Chevalier, Louis, trader at St. 
 Joseph, 38, 62, 104 
 
 Chicago, 114 
 
 Chickasaw Indians, 46, 64-65, 
 105, 116, 128, 154, 156-57, 165, 
 168 
 
 Chippewa Indians, 27-29, 43-44, 
 46, 54, 66, 99, 104-05, 109-11, 113, 
 115, 136, 154-55, 163, 165-66, 168, 
 170, 172; see also Wabaugay, Me- 
 thusaagai, Massigaiash, and Macutte 
 Wassong, Chippewa chiefs 
 
 Clark, Lieutenant Colonel George 
 Rogers, conquest of Illinois, 37-38; 
 expedition to Ouiatenon, 43-44, 52; 
 almost captured, 71-72, 166-67, 188; 
 march to Vincennes, 73-74, 77, 188- 
 89; capture of Vincennes, 73-76, 
 177-87; negotiations for surrender 
 of Hamilton, 180-81, 183-86, and 
 note 249; brutal deeds, 75-79, 181- 
 83, 187-88; character, 100-01; offi- 
 cers, 189-90; attitude towards Ham- 
 ilton, 77-78, 189; attitude towards 
 Indians, 189; significance of victory, 
 13-14, 93, 97-101; writings about, 
 7, 211; papers of, 7, 75, 77, 79, 210; 
 mentioned, 19-21, 34, 50, 57, 60, 
 
 64-70, 97, 133, 149, 158, 163, 189- 
 92, et passim 
 
 Clinch River, 83, 199 
 
 Clinton, Sir Henry, 91 
 
 coalmines, 50, 131 
 
 Cold Feet, Pied Froid, 47, 117 
 
 Contencinau, Jean, 18 
 
 Cornstalk, Shawnee chief, 99 
 
 Coshocton, Kushaghking, 114 
 
 Cramahe, Lieutenant-Governor 
 Hector T., Quebec, 33, 103, 159 
 
 covered way, chemin couvert, 47- 
 48, 117 
 
 Creek Indians, 65, 169-71 
 
 Croghan, George, 22 
 
 Cumberland Gap, 83, 198 
 
 Cumberland River, 82-83, 197-98 
 
 Dartmouth, Lord Privy Seal, 24- 
 25, 27, 29 
 
 Dawatong, see Sastaharitze 
 
 Dejean, Philip, 18-19, 78, 87-88, 
 90, 191, 200, 204 
 
 Delaware Indians, 29, 32, 114, 
 116, 157, 162-63, 165-66, 168, 171, 
 174, 176 
 
 DePeyster, Major Arent S., com- 
 mandant at Michilimackinac, 15, 
 27, 38-40, 61-63, 103, 163 
 
 De Quindre, Lieutenant Fontiney, 
 Indian Department, 107, 114, 117, 
 150, 155, 158 
 
 De Quindre, Lieutenant Francois, 
 Sieur de la Picanier, Indian Depart- 
 ment, 41, 66-67, 105, 114, 117, 150, 
 155, 158 
 
 De Quindre, Lieutenant Pont- 
 chartrain, Indian Department, 41, 
 67, 144, 158 
 
 Detroit, described, 16-19; start of 
 Hamilton's expedition, 102-06; 
 mentioned, 8, 14-15, 21, 27, 30-32, 
 35-36, 38-44, 52, 54, 64, 66-67, 73, 
 77-78, 80, 94-96, 98-99, 114-17, 
 124, 135-36, 139, 142, 152, 158, 
 162, 167-68, 170-72, 175, 188, 191, 
 196, et passim 
 
 237 
 
Detroit Militia and Volunteers, 
 73, 76, 80, 97, 100, 103-06, 159, 
 161, 181, 185 
 
 Detroit River, 42 
 
 Dodge, John, 34 
 
 Dominica, 8 
 
 Dubuysson, Colonel Charles Fran- 
 cois, American army, 91 
 
 Dumai, 172 
 
 DuVernet, Lieutenant Henry, 
 King's Regiment, 45, 57, 67, 106, 
 108, 115-19, 147, 166-67, 172 
 
 eclipse of the moon, 54, 137 
 
 Eel River, Riviere a l'anguille, 
 49-59, 108, 124, 126, 128; see also 
 Kinebec a maingong 
 
 Egushewai or Agushewai, Ottawa 
 chief, 54, 67, 72, 112-16, 135, 140- 
 41, 144, 152, 154-55, 166-68, 170- 
 73, 176 
 
 Elliott, Mathew, 164, 166 
 
 Embarrass River, 73, 163 
 
 England, colonial policy, govern- 
 ment, king, 13-15, 19-20, 23-25, 28- 
 31, 38, 41, 53, 59, 69, 79, 92, 98, 
 135, 138, 143-44, 151, 156, 159, 
 161, 168, 176, 181, et passim; see 
 also Quebec Act and names of vari- 
 ous officials 
 
 English Colonists, 10-12, 94 
 
 English flag, 53, 111, 135, 165 
 
 English influence, 8, 52, 94 
 
 Englishmen, 84-85 
 
 English troops, King's Regiment, 
 41-42, 67, 75-76, 100, 106, 147, 
 157, 178, 187 
 
 Erie, Lake, 42 
 
 Eskibee, Potawatomi chief, 72, 
 156, 171-73 
 
 Evansville, Indiana, 80 
 
 Falls of the Ohio, 38, 55, 67, 75, 
 80, 140, 153, 164-65, 171-73, 175- 
 76, 191, 194, 196 
 
 Forgeron, see Le Forgeron 
 
 Forks of the Wabash, 48, 119- 
 120 
 
 Fort Chartres, 14, 98 
 
 Fort Laurens, 45, 72 
 
 Fort Mcintosh, 45, 72 
 
 Fort Pitt or Pittsburgh, 14, 31-32, 
 35, 44, 95, 98, 166 
 
 Fort Sackville, 14, 60, 63-64, 69, 
 74-79, 97, 103, 147-48, 153, 157- 
 58, 165, 168, 175, 178-87, 194; 
 powder magazine, 157-58; barracks, 
 158, 162, 164, 171; well, 158, 162; 
 guardhouse, 158; blockhouses, 162, 
 171-72, 174-75, 178, 184-85, 187 
 
 Fort St. Joseph, 38 
 
 Fort Wayne, site of, 45; see also 
 Portage at the Miamis, Mimiastown 
 
 Fort William Henry, 22 
 
 fossils, 126, 130 
 
 Foucher, Canadian trader, 173 
 
 Franco -American Alliance, 20, 
 68-70, 78, 98, 100-01, 177, 191 
 
 French-Americans, Canadians or 
 habitants of French villages in in- 
 terior, 14, 41, 50, 52, 56-57, 60, 67- 
 70, 72-73, 75, 77, 93, 96-101, 132, 
 141, 148-51, 155, 157, 162-63, 173- 
 74, 177, 181, 190 
 
 French and Indian (Seven Years') 
 War, 10, 98 
 
 French King or government, 98- 
 99, 125, 176 
 
 Gage, General Thomas, 14, 25- 
 26,29 
 
 Galvez, Governor Don Bernardo, 
 of Louisiana, 164 
 
 Gamelin, Lieutenant Medard, De- 
 troit Militia, 41 
 
 Garlic Isles, 50, 130 
 
 Gautier, Lieutenant Charles, In- 
 dian Department, 61-62, 190 
 
 Germain, Lord George, Secretary 
 of State, 18-19, 28-33, 37, 39, 94, 
 96, 134 
 
 Gibault, Father Pierre, 38, 68, 
 161-63 
 
 Gouin, Lieutenant Charles, De- 
 troit Militia, 104-05 
 
 238 
 
Grant, Captain Alexander, Great 
 Lakes fleet, 108 
 
 Graverat, Garret, 17 
 
 Great Couette, Piankashaw chief, 
 116, 159, 162-63, 171-73 
 
 Great Miami River, 49 
 
 Great War Path of the Shawnee, 
 83 
 
 Green River, 80, 193 
 
 Gros Loup, Miami chief, 46, 111, 
 113-16 
 
 Haldimand, Governor Frederick, 
 of Canada, 17-19, 32, 34, 39-40, 46, 
 58, 61-63, 85, 88, 97-98, 103, 105, 
 116, 158-59, 168, 172, 202 
 
 Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor 
 Henry, early life and family, 7-13, 
 84; lieutenant-governor of Detroit, 
 
 7, 13-20, 21 ff., 96, 98; superintend- 
 ent of Indians, 21-36, 94-95; rela- 
 tions with Carleton, see Carleton, 
 Governor Guy; expedition to Vin- 
 cennes, 37-58, 14, 18, 23, 105, 163, 
 102-132; supplies, 104-05, 114-15, 
 118, 120-22; ruler of Vincennes, 58- 
 70, 149-77; loss of Vincennes, 73- 
 76, 177-92; prisoner, 76-92, 192- 
 205; negotiations for surrender, 74- 
 76, 180-81, 183-86, and note 249; 
 journey to Williamsburg, Virginia, 
 80-86, 191-204; lieutenant-gover- 
 nor of Quebec, 19; character, 96-97; 
 Journal of, 8, 81, 88, 102-205, 206- 
 
 08, 11, 44, 59, 72, 75, 77, 82, 84, 
 194; Autobiography, 10-11, 206-07; 
 Report by, 206-07; re-evaluation of, 
 93-101 
 
 Hanging Rock, pain de sucre, or 
 sugar loaf, 124 
 
 Harrod, Captain William, with 
 Clark, 81, 194, 197 
 
 Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 81-82, 
 195-96 
 
 Hay, Major Jehu, Detroit Militia, 
 Deputy Indian Agent, 29, 47-48, 
 53, 57, 63, 79, 81, 84, 89, 91, 103, 
 
 115, 117-19, 133, 135, 146-47, 184, 
 190, 193 
 
 Hazle, Edward, 154, 156, 169 
 
 Helm, Captain Leonard, with 
 Clark, 43, 57-58, 72, 78, 133, 146, 
 148-49, 151, 153, 158, 161-63, 168- 
 70, 175, 178, 186, 189 
 
 Henry the Armourer, 77, 174, 
 189 
 
 Hibon, Miami chief, 113 
 
 Holston River and Valley, 83, 
 199 
 
 Huntington, Indiana, 48 
 
 Huron or Wyandott Indians, 28- 
 29, 43, 46, 103-04, 106, 109, 115, 
 165, 167-68, 173, 176; see also Sas- 
 taharitze and Shayress, Huron chiefs 
 
 Illinois Country, 14-15, 31, 37- 
 41, 61, 66, 72, 95, 103, 114, 147, 
 153, 158, 163, 172, 174, 177 
 
 Illinois Indians, 154 
 
 Illinois River, 61 
 
 Indian Department, subject to 
 Hamilton, 73, 76, 97-100, 104, 145 
 
 Indians, belts or strings of wam- 
 pum, 54, 64-65, 113, 115-16, 125, 
 136-37, 141, 146, 153-54, 167-68, 
 171, 171-72; calumets or pipes, 54, 
 56, 115, 124, 136, 138-39, 143, 171; 
 council, 27-30, 32-33, 40, 46-47, 53- 
 56, 65, 105, 115-17, 120, 134, 137- 
 39, 141-43, 146, 152-54, 157, 163, 
 168, 171, 176; dreams, 56, 122-23, 
 145-46; feasts, 43, 45-46, 54, 104- 
 05, 109-14, 116, 135; medals, 117, 
 135; medicine men or priests, 50, 
 56, 127-28, 145; mock battle, 114; 
 nattes, budgets, or war bundles, 49- 
 50, 122, 145, 155, 158; part in 
 Clark's victory, 93, 99; princess, 51, 
 54, 132, 135-36; prisoners, 24, 32- 
 36, 66, 77, 94, 150-51, 155, 162- 
 63, 172, 189, 201; raids, 8, 24, 30, 
 32, 35, 66, 94-95; scalps, 11, 21-22, 
 24, 30, 32, 34-36, 75, 77, 94-96, 
 176, 188; religious ceremony, 55- 
 
 239 
 
56, 139-40, 145; speech, 121-22; 
 squaws, 169, 173; stories, 12-13; 
 war ax or hatchet, 26, 29, 134-36, 
 162; war dance, 49, 57, 127; war 
 parties or bands, 35-36, 66, 75, 76, 
 95, 158, 164-65, 172; war song, 29- 
 30, 40, 46, 49, 113, 115, 117, 136, 
 162; warfare 10, 22-36, 66, 82, 93- 
 94, 123-24, 155-56; winter hunting 
 grounds, 54-56; mentioned else- 
 where, 39, 42, 52, 60-61, 67-70, 73, 
 97, 118-19, 126, 130, 133, 144, 
 148-49, 159, 174, 195-97, et passim. 
 See also names of tribes and in- 
 dividual chiefs 
 
 Ingles, Colonel William, of Vir- 
 ginia, 84-85, 200-01 
 
 Iroquois Indians, Six Nations, 23, 
 26, 28-29, 53, 65, 94, 172 
 l'lsle aux Aigles, 113 
 Isle of the Miami, 44, 112 
 Isle au plomb, 44, 112-13 
 Isle of the serjeant, 44, 112 
 James, James Alton, George Rog- 
 ers Clark Papers, 7, 206-07, 210; 
 Life of George Rogers Clark, 7, 
 211; 18, 21 
 
 James River, 85, 201 
 Janis, Sieur, 72, 156, 158 
 Jefferson, Governor Thomas, of 
 Virginia, 86, 88-91, 189-90, 196, 
 203-04 
 
 Johnson, Colonel Guy, Superin- 
 tendent of Indian Affairs, 23, 25, 
 29,94 
 
 Johnson, Sir William, Superin- 
 tendent of Indian Affairs, 122 
 Kanawha River, 84, 200 
 Kaskaskia, 8, 14-15, 20, 37-38, 
 55, 66, 69, 71-72, 97, 102, 149, 
 153, 156-57, 162, 165-67, 190 
 
 Kaskaskia Road, 66, 140, 147, 
 149, 155, 157-58 
 Kekionga, 45 
 Kentuckians, 36, 80, 94, 195-98 
 
 Kentucky, 80-82, 195-98; defense 
 of, 8, 38, 66, 95 
 
 Kickapoo Indians, Quiquaboes, 
 32-33, 46, 52, 54, 65, 72, 115-16, 
 135-37, 142-43, 157, 161, 168; vil- 
 lage, 54-55, 99, 137. See also Qui- 
 quapouhquaa and Mahinomba, 
 Kickapoo chiefs 
 
 Kinebec a maingong, Snake or 
 Eel River, 125 
 
 King's Regiment, see English 
 troops 
 
 Kissingua, 144, 152-54, 156-57, 
 169 
 
 Lafayette, Indiana, 50 
 
 Laffont, Dr. Jean, 38, 68 
 
 Lake Indians, 53, 65, 73, 105, 
 115-16, 134, 138, 154, 156-57, 169, 
 171, 176 
 
 La Mothe, Captain William, Vol- 
 unteer Militia of Detroit, 41, 57, 
 73-74, 79, 86-88, 90, 116, 167, 177, 
 179, 188, 203 
 
 La Mothe's Volunteers, 41-42, 
 104, 106, 114, 147, 173, 178; de- 
 serters, 163 
 
 La Natte, Wea chief, 135, 137 
 
 Langlade, Charles, 22, 27, 61, 62, 
 190 
 
 Langlois Creek, riviere a l'Anglais, 
 48, 119 
 
 La Rejouissance (Hill), 55, 139 
 
 Lasselle, Nicholas, 41 
 
 le Comte, Guillaume, 163-64 
 
 Lefoi, Nicholas, 41 
 
 Le Forgeron, Wea chief, 54, 137 
 
 Le Gras, Major, rebel militia of 
 Vincennes, 133, 187, 189 
 
 Leith, John, 34 
 
 l'Oignon, Jean, 162-63 
 
 Lernoult, Captain Richard B., 
 commandant at Detroit, 15, 31, 41, 
 104, 109, 116-17, 159, 170 
 
 Lewis, General, 84, 200 
 
 Little Face, Petite Face, Wea 
 chief, 53, 72, 135, 158, 171, 173 
 
 240 
 
Little River, Petite Riviere, or 
 Little Wabash, 46-48, 52, 117 
 
 Little Wabash River of Illinois, 
 73, 161 
 
 Logan, Captain Benjamin, Ken- 
 tucky, 82, 196 
 
 Logan's Fort, Kentucky, 82, 196 
 
 Logansport, Indiana, 50 
 
 Longueville, Baron de, 103 
 
 Lorimier or Laramie, Peter, 117 
 
 Lorrain or Lowain, Nicholas, 
 storekeeper, Miamis, 104, 109, 119 
 
 Louisburg, Cape Breton, 10, 12 
 
 Louisville, Kentucky, 81 
 
 Lowain, see Lorrain 
 
 l'Ourse, Jean, trader, 163 
 
 Loyalists, 30, 32 
 
 Lynchburg, Virginia, 85 
 
 McBeth, surgeon, 74, 79, 114, 
 149, 179 
 
 Mcintosh, General Lachlan, 44, 
 72, 114 
 
 McKee, Captain Alexander, 104- 
 05, 114, 120, 174 
 
 McLeod, Captain Norman, Vol- 
 unteer Militia, 67, 104-05, 109, 113, 
 117, 150, 171-72 
 
 Macomb, 159 
 
 Macutte Mung, Ottawa chief, 
 154, 182-83 
 
 Macutte Wassong or Warsong, 
 Chippewa chief, 109, 112 
 
 Madison, Mr., 84, 199-200 
 
 Magnian, Serjeant, 174 
 
 Magnian, trader at Ouiatenon, 
 135 
 
 Mahingan, Ottawa chief, 108, 
 154 
 
 Mahinomba, Kikapoo chief, 136 
 
 Maisonville, Captain Alexis, Vol- 
 unteer Militia, 41, 47, 73, 91, 103, 
 117, 175, 188 
 
 Maisonville, Francis, boatbuilder, 
 41, 75, 79, 100, 102, 113-14, 153, 
 174, 177-80, 182 
 
 Mary Delarme Creek, Mairais de 
 l'Orme, 45 
 
 Mary Queen of Scots, 8-9 
 
 Massigaiash, Chippewa chief, 105 
 
 Mascouten Indians, 32-33, 46, 
 115 
 
 Mathews, Colonel George, 90 
 
 Maumee Rapids, 42-44, 52, 108- 
 12 
 
 Maumee River, River of the Mi- 
 amis, 8, 39-40, 42, 49, 67, 99, 102- 
 03, 105, 107, 109, 173 
 
 Melioutonga, a Piankashaw chief, 
 147 
 
 Methusaagai, Chippewa chief, 53, 
 134, 156, 168, 170, 172 
 
 Miami Indians, 29, 45, 46, 49, 99, 
 111, 113-119 121, 124, 125, 145, 
 161, 164, 168, 173, 176. See also 
 Hibon, Old Wolfe, Pacane, Gros 
 Loup, and Petit Gris, Miami chiefs 
 
 Miamis, Miami town, 102, 104- 
 05, 107, 114, 116, 119-20, 162, 171. 
 See also Kekionga, and Fort Wayne 
 
 Michilimackinac, 14-15, 27, 30, 
 38, 40, 61, 103, 163, 190 
 
 Mildrum's, 109 
 
 Mingo Indians, 32, 99 
 
 Mississinewa River, 49, 124 
 
 Mississippi River, 8, 31, 32, 52, 
 73, 155, 157, 164 
 
 Moccasin Gap, 83, 199 
 
 Montbrun, Adjutant, Vincennes 
 militia, 133, 150, 158 
 
 Monforton, 156 
 
 Montgomery, General Richard, 
 15, 26-27 
 
 Montreal, 15-16, 25, 27, 96 
 
 Moyres, William, (Meyers), 191, 
 196 
 
 Nanaquibe, Potawatomi chief, 116 
 
 Natchez, 156, 163, 164, 185, 192 
 
 Neegik, the Otter, Ottawa chief, 
 43-44, 111-12 
 
 New Orleans, 163-64 
 
 Newport, Indiana, 55 
 
 241 
 
New River, 84 
 
 New York City, 91 
 
 Niagara, 103 
 
 Oath of allegiance, 59, 150-51, 
 157-58 
 
 Ohio River and Valley, 8, 31-32, 
 38, 66, 73, 80, 94-95, 192, 193 
 
 Old Raccoon Wabangay, 66, 155 
 
 Old Reaume, 166 
 
 Old Tobacco, Piankashaw chief, 
 111, 132, 134, 143, 152, 165 
 
 Old Wolf, Miami chief, 125 
 
 Oswego, 22 
 
 Ottawa Indians, 27-29, 43-44, 46, 
 66, 72, 99, 104, 109, 111-13, 115- 
 16, 124-25, 135, 154-55, 163, 165- 
 66, 168, 172-73, 176. See also Cha- 
 mintawa, Egushewai, Mahingan, 
 Macutte Mung, and Neegik, Ottawa 
 chiefs 
 
 Ouiatenon, Great Ouiat, 19, 43, 
 51-55, 105-06, 114, 116, 119, 124- 
 25, 133-34, 137, 142, 152, 162, 177 
 
 Ouiatenon Indians, see Wea In- 
 dians 
 
 Pacane, Miami chief, 45, 113, 
 119, 128, 153, 165 
 
 Paincourt, see St. Louis 
 
 parole, 89-91 
 
 Pennsylvania, 8, 28-29, 38, 66 
 
 Peoria Indians, 172, 173 
 
 Perault, rebel militia officer, 133 
 
 Petit Gris, Dappled Fawn, Neca- 
 quanai, Miami chief, 45, 115, 121, 
 141, 152, 171-73 
 
 Phillips, Major General William, 
 85, 88, 202 
 
 Piankashaw Indians, 52, 56, 64' 
 66,72,99,105,111,116,143, 147- 
 48, 157, 159, 166, 168, 171, 174, 
 176. See also Old Tobacco, Young 
 Tobacco, Great Couette, and Meli- 
 outonga, Piankashaw chiefs 
 
 Pickawillany, 22 
 
 Pied Froid, see Cold Feet 
 
 Pierced Isle, 50, 129 
 
 Pittette, Godefroi, 135, 167 
 
 Pleasants, Thomas, 85, 202 
 
 Pontiac, 14, 23; son of, 173, 182 
 
 Portage at the Miamis, 40, 45-47, 
 52, 113, 115-18 
 
 Potawatomi Indians, 28-29, 33, 
 46, 49, 99, 104, 111-12, 114-16, 
 124-25, 154. See also Eskibee, Nana- 
 quibe, Wassanagnaa, and Wyn- 
 deego, Potawatomi chiefs 
 
 Powell's Mountain, 83, 199 
 
 Powell's Valley, 83, 198 
 
 Prairie du Rocher, 72 
 
 Prairie of the Mascoutens, 44, 
 112 
 
 Proclamation of 1763, 14, 23 
 
 Quaife, Milo M., 5, 18, 22, 207, 
 210,212-13 
 
 Quebec, 8, 11-12, 22, 31, 33-34, 
 38-39, 96 
 
 Quebec Act, 14 
 
 Quiquapouquaa, Kickapoo chief, 
 54, 135, 141-42 
 
 Raimbault or Rapicault, trader at 
 Ouiatenon, 133-35, 172, 188 
 
 rapids in the Wabash, near Roa- 
 noke, 48; near mouth of Eel River, 
 49, 126, 129; 52 
 
 Rattlesnake Hill, 55, 139 
 
 Reaume, Lieutenant Charles, In- 
 dian Department, 41, 163, 165, 175, 
 188 
 
 Rebel or American flag, 54, 57, 
 135, 138, 141, 148 
 
 Rebel officers, 56, 133 
 
 Rebels, 53, 56, 78, 108, 111-14, 
 125, 133, 135, 137-39, 141-42, 150- 
 51, 153, 157, 162, 164, 166, 170, 
 176, 186, 190-91; see also Ameri- 
 cans and Virginians 
 
 Renaud, prisoner, 155 
 
 Richmond, Virginia, 86, 202-03 
 
 Riedesel, Baron Friedrich Adolph, 
 85, 202 
 
 River Rouge, 42, 106 
 
 Roanoke Gap, 80 
 
 242 
 
Roanoke, Indiana, 48 
 
 Roanoke River, 85, 201 
 
 Robert, Serjeant J., Volunteer 
 Militia, 173, 183 
 
 Rocheblave, Sieur de, Phillippe 
 Francois Rastel, 15, 31, 37, 91, 102, 
 153 
 
 Rocher de Bout, 42, 109, 113 
 
 Rock Castle Creek, Kentucky, 82, 
 197 
 
 Rock River, Riviere aux roches, 
 107 
 
 Rogers, Lieutenant John, with 
 Clark, 80, 163, 192 
 
 Roosevelt, Theodore, 21 
 
 rum, 12, 44, 54, 57, 66-67, 113- 
 15, 135, 148, 156, 159, 178 
 
 St. Bernard's Bridge, 104 
 
 St. Cosme, Amable, armorer, 41 
 
 St. Cosme, Lieutenant Pierre, Vol- 
 unteer Militia, 41, 67, 117, 171-72 
 
 St. Joseph River of Lake Michi- 
 gan, 46, 62, 114, 163 
 
 St. Joseph River of the Maumee, 
 47 
 
 St. Lawrence River, 10 
 
 St. Leger, Lieutenant Colonel 
 Barry, 26 
 
 St. Louis, (Paincourt), 66, 73, 
 164 
 
 St. Mary's River, 47 
 
 Salamonie River, 48, 120 
 
 Sanscrainte, Serjeant Jean Bap- 
 tiste Romain, 114, 173, 183 
 
 scalps, see Indians, scalps 
 
 Schieffelin, Jonathan, 172 
 
 Schieffelin, Lieutenant Jacob, Vol- 
 unteer Militia, 41, 79, 91, 116-17, 
 153, 155, 163, 178 
 
 Schindler, Jonas, 17 
 
 Searsy, Barblet, 172 
 
 Shawnee Indians, 29, 32, 46, 54, 
 65, 84, 94, 99, 104, 112, 114-16, 
 119-20, 128, 136, 139-42, 153-54, 
 157, 164, 166, 168-69, 171, 195, 
 198; see also Cornstalk, White Fish, 
 
 Wa we ya pi yass in wa, Shawnee 
 chiefs 
 
 Shawnee River, see Cumberland 
 River 
 
 Shelby, Colonel Evan, 84, 200 
 Ship, The, Le Navire, 126 
 Showrd, Shourd, or Howe, Lieu- 
 tenant, King's Regiment, 108 
 Skaags Creek, Craggs, 82, 197 
 Southern Indians, 65, 156-57, 
 165-66, 170 
 Spanish, 27, 31, 116 
 Stockbridge Indians, 26 
 Stuart, John, Superintendent of 
 Indians, Southern Department, 65, 
 154, 156, 170 
 
 Sullivan, Daniel, 34 
 Tippecanoe River, 50, 124 
 trade and traders, 17-18, 52-54, 
 68, 96, 129-33, 164, 173 
 
 Turkey Foot, Patte de Dinde, 165 
 Valley of Virginia, 80 
 Vaudrie, interpreter at Vincennes, 
 164 
 Vermillion River, 55, 139 
 Vigo, Francis, 66, 73, 155, 163 
 Vincennes, St. Vincennes, or Old 
 Post, described, 58-60; church, 59- 
 60, 149-50; inhabitants, 159-62, 
 165; accepts Clark's agents, 111; 
 surrender to Hamilton, 148-49; cen- 
 sus, 158; surrender to Clark, 73-76, 
 177-87; mentioned, 7-8, 12, 14, 20, 
 31, 38-41, 43, 52-55, 57, 62, 67-70, 
 72-81, 95, 97-99, 133, 139-42, 144, 
 146, 157, 159-61, 163-64, 173, 177- 
 78, 192 
 
 Vincennes Militia, 79, 146, 149, 
 157-59, 161, 165, 178, 181 
 
 Virginia, 8, 28, 29, 36, 38, 66 y 
 70, 79, 80, 83-92, 198-205 
 
 Virginians 27-28, 32, 43-44, 46, 
 64-65, 90-91, 105, 107, 111, 114, 
 116, 136, 138, 141-43, 147, 149-50, 
 154, 168, 175-77, 199-205; see also 
 Rebels, and Americans 
 
 243 
 
les Volets, 48, 118 
 
 Wabaugay, Morning Star, Chip- 
 pewa chief, 119, 165 
 
 Wabash Indians, 39-40, 52, 64- 
 65, 105, 107, 115-16, 134, 138, 154, 
 156, 166; see also Miami, Wea, 
 Kickapoo, and Piankashaw Indians 
 
 Wabash Land Company, 23, 51, 
 53, 125, 134, 152 
 
 Wabash River, Ouabache, 8, 46- 
 60, 65, 67, 73, 80, 103, 119-48, 153, 
 161, 174-75, 192 
 
 Washington, General George, 88, 
 89, 90 
 
 Wassanagnaa, Potawatomi chief, 
 112 
 
 Watauga, 83 
 
 Wea or Ouiatenon Indians, 32- 
 33, 46, 49, 51-54, 99, 115-16, 124, 
 129, 132, 135, 141, 143, 155, 158, 
 168, 171, 176; see also Le Forgeron, 
 Little Face, and La Natte, White 
 
 Head, Wea chiefs 
 
 White Fish, Shawnee chief, 55, 
 119, 140, 174 
 
 White Head, a Wea chief, 51, 
 132 
 
 Whitley's Fort, Kentucky, 82, 
 196 
 
 Widdrington, Captain, with Clark, 
 187 
 
 Williams, William, 170, 174-75, 
 186, 192 
 
 Williamsburg, Virginia, 8, 78, 
 80, 86-91, 189, 191, 203-05 
 
 "Willing," 73, 80 
 
 Wolfe, General James, 9, 10, 83 
 
 Wyandott Indians, see Huron In- 
 dians 
 
 Wyndeego, Potawatomi chief, 72, 
 104, 114, 153, 156-57 
 
 Young Tobacco, Piankashaw chief, 
 116, 152-53, 162, 164-65, 167-68, 
 176 
 
 244 
 
W . UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA 
 
 Ibl 973 394H18B C001 
 
 m§ HENRY HAMILTON AND GEORGE ROGERS CLARK I 
 
 >1 I^l