OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - HISTORY: Chapter 19 (Abbott, John S. C., 1875) *************************************************************************** OHGENWEB NOTICE: All distribution rights to this electronic data are reserved by the submitter. Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted material will require the permission of the copyright owner. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. *************************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Kay L. Mason keziah63@yahoo.com November 21, 1999 *************************************************************************** Chapter XIX The Battle and Its Results. An opportunity soon presented itself to test the fidelity of Christopher Miller. Captain Wells and his party set out on another scouting expedition. They took Christopher with them. They were all dressed as Indian warriors, painted in the highest style, and mounted on very fleet horses. Their tour again led them to the valley of the Auglaize. Here they met a single Indian, and called upon him to surrender. Though there were six against him, the valiant fellow refused. Hastily discharging his rifle at his foes and missing his mark, he turned and ran. It was in the midst of a dense forest, and the thick underbrush so retarded the speed of the horses, that the savage was fast gaining upon his pursuers. They did not fire upon him, for they were anxious to take him as a prisoner. Christopher Miller and McClellan dismounted and pursued. The latter, who had no equal as a runner, soon overtook him. The savage turned and fought like a tiger at bay. But Christopher soon came up, and they closed in upon him and made him their prisoner without inflicting any injury upon him. He turned out to be a Pottawatamie chief of great re- nown. He was considered by his tribe as unequaled in courage and prowess. They carried their captive back to Greenville. The part which Miller performed on this occasion established his reputation, and entire confidence was thence- forth reposed in him. Another adventure of these scouts is worthy of record. When General Wayne with his army was at the confluence of the Auglaize and the Maumee, building Fort Defiance, Captain Wells set out on another tour of reconnoisance. The party consisted of six - Captain Wells, the two Millers, McClellan, May and Mahaffy. They could all speak the Indian language, were familiar with Indian customs, and, when plumed, painted and dressed in Indian costume, no eye could detect any difference between them and ordinary Indian bands. They proceeded up the Maumee River, in a northerly direction, on the western banks, until they reached a small Indian village, directly opposite an important British post, called Fort Meigs. The station occupied nearly ten acres. It was well known that the British officers here were doing every- thing in their power to aid the Indians, supply them with arms and ammunition, and were instructing them in the art of war. This was on the 11th of August, only nine days before the great battle, for which each party was preparing. The little band rode boldly into the Indian village, assuming that they had just come from the English fort on the other side of the river. They chatted freely with the Indians as they trotted slowly along through the narrow street. It was supposed that they were warriors from some distant tribe, who had come to take part in the expected battle. After passing through the town, when at a short distance from it, they met an Indian man and woman, on horseback, returning from hunting. They took them both prisoners, and set out on their return to Fort Defiance. As they were pressing rapidly along, just after dark, they saw the gleam of camp-fires in the distance. Cautiously approaching, they came in sight of a large encampment of warriors, who were feasting and having a very merry time. It was a picturesque and exciting scene. The dark night, the glooms of the majestic forest, the crackle and blaze of the fires illuminating the region far around, the stalwart figures of the warriors in gorgeous barbaric adornment, the horses tethered at a distance - all these combined to present a spectacle which no one could look upon without emotion. These bold rangers, instead of stealing away from the peril, in the dark- ness, gagged and bound their prisoners at the distance of nearly half a mile from the warriors, and then deliberately rode into their camp, with their rifles lying across the pommels of their saddles. Assuming that they were Indian allies from another tribe, they made minute inquiries about the expected movements of General Wayne, and the measures which the Indians were about to adopt to meet him. The unsuspecting warriors were very cordial and communicative. At lenght one of the Indians, more sagacious than the rest, began to think that all was not right. In a low tone of voice he said to one near him, "These men are spies; they are brooding mischief." The quick ear of Captain Wells overheard the alarming words. Surrounded as the rangers were, by many to one, the re- petition of these words in a loud voice would have insured the immediate capture of every one of them, and their death by torture. Captain Wells gave a preconcerted signal. At that instant every ranger discharged his rifle, and six of the warriors dropped dead. But the bullets had not pierced their hearts ere every horse was spurred to his utmost speed, the riders bowing down, with their breasts on the horses' necks, that they might lessen the mark for the balls of the warriors. But the savages, accustomed to all surprised, were not bewildered. Seizing their rifles, with cool aim they fired. A bullet struck McClellan, and passed through beneath the shoulder-blade. Another ball broke Captain Wells' arm, and his rifle dropped to the ground. May's horse slipping upon a smooth rock, fell, and he was taken prisoner. The two Millers and Mahaffy escaped unharmed. These three, with the two wounded men, rode at full speed to the spot where their prisoners were bound, mounted them on horses, and continued their flight to Fort Defiance; a long ride of thirty miles. One of them was sent ahead to obtain surgical aid for Wells and McClellan, who were suffering great pain. General Wayne immediately dispatched a surgeon, with a company of dragoons, to escort them in. They reached the fort in safety, and in due time the wounded recovered. May had formerly lived among the Indians. They recognized him. One of the chiefs said to him in broken English: "We know you. You speak Indian language. You not content to live with us. To-morrow we take you to that tree. We will tie you up and make a mark upon your breast, and we will try what Indian can shoot nearest to it." The next day they bound him to a large burr oak at the edge of the clearing, near the British fort. Fifty bullets passed through his body, near the heart. Thus perished poor May. Fortunate indeed was he in escaping the horrors of Indian torture. On the 13th of August General Wayne, in accordance with the conciliatory and peaceful spirit urged upon him by Washington, sent the following message to the Indians. It was addressed to the Delawares, Shawanese, Miamis, Wyandots, and all other Indian nations north of the Ohio. "I, Anthony Wayne, Major General and Commander-in-chief of the Federal army, now at Grand Glaize, and Commissioner Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, for settling the terms on which a permanent and lasting peace shall be made with each and every of the hostile tribes or nations of Indians north- west of the Ohio, actuated by the purest principles of humanity, and urged the pity for the errors into which bad and designing men had led you, from the head of my army, now in possession of your abandoned villages, once more extend to you the friendly hand of peace. "I invite each and every of the hostile tribes of Indians, to appoint deputies to meet me and my army without delay, between this place and Roche de Boeuf, in order to settle the preliminaries of a lasting peace. This may eventually restore to you, and to all the tribes and nations settled on the margin of the Miami and Auglaise Rivers, your late grounds and possessions, and preserve you and your distressed women and children from danger and famine during the present Fall and ensuing Winter. "The arm of the United States is strong; but they love mercy and kindness more than war and desolation. To remove any doubts of danger to the deputies whom you may appoint, I hereby pledge my sacred honor for their safety and return. I send Christopher Miller, an adopted Shawnee, and a warrior, whom I took prisoner, as a flag, who will advance in their front to meet me. Mr. Miller was taken prisoner by my warriors six months ago. He can testify to you of the kindness which I have shown to your people, my prisoners, that is, five warriors and two women, who are now all safe and well at Greenville. "But should this invitation be disregarded, and should Mr. Miller be de- tained or injured, I will immediately order all of those prisoners to be put to death, without distinction. Some of them are known to belong to the first families of your nations. Brothers, be no longer deceived by the false promises of the bad white men at the foot of the Rapids. They have neither the power nor the inclination to protect you. No longer shut your eyes to your true interests, nor your ears to this peaceful overture. In pity for your innocent women and children, come and prevent the further effusion of blood. Let them experience the kindness and friendship of the United States, and the blessings of peace. "ANTHONY WAYNE" A council of the Indians was held. Little Turtle earnestly counseled peace. In a brief but energetic speech, he said: "We have beaten the enemy twice under separate commanders. We can not expect the same good fortune always to attend us. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. The night and day are alike to him. During all the time the he has been marching upon our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulnes of our young men, we have never been able to surprise him. Think well of it. There is something whispers me it would be prudent to listen to his offers of peace." A renowned Indian warrior, Blue Jacket, was commander-in-chief of the Indian forces. He was strongly in favor of war, and silenced Little Turtle by accusing him of cowardice. At the close of the council, the chiefs returned the following answer: "If General Wayne had already put his army on the march, and met his messenger on his return at the distance of but a few miles Fort Meigs. As Miller delivered the answer, he stated that the Indians were all dressed and painted for war; that war parties were continually coming in, and were received with great enthusiasm; and that it was his opinion that the message was merely a ruse by which the Indians hoped to gain a little more time to muster their forces. The Indians left their encampment, which, from the encouragement they had received from the British officers, they supposed to be safe under the protection of the guns of the fort, and crossed the river to meet their foes. At six o'clock on the morning of the twentieth of August, General Wayne advanced from Fort Deposit, or Roche de Boeuf, as the station was also called, and took position a few miles further down the river on a long ridge called Presque Isle. We give General Wayne's official report of battle which ensued: "It is with infinite pleasure that I announce to you the brilliant success of the Federal army under my command, in a general action with the combined forces of the hostile Indians and a considerable number of the volunteers and militia of Detroit, on the twentieth of August, 1794, on the banks of the Maumee, in the vicinity of the British fort and garrison at the foot of the Rapids. "The army advanced to Roche de Boeuf, on the fifteenth. On the nineteenth, we were employed in making a temporary post for the reception of our stores and baggage, and in reconnoitering the position of the enemy, who were en- camped behind a thick, bushy wood in the rear of the forts. "At eight o'clock in the morning of the twentieth, the army again advanced in columns agreeably to the standing order of the march. The legion was on the right - with its right flank covered by the Maumee. One brigade of mounted volunteers was on the left, under Brigadier General Todd, and the other in the rear, under Brigadier General Barbee. A select battalion of mounted volunteers moved in front of the legion, commanded by Major Price. He was directed to keep sufficiently advanced to give timely notice for the troops to form, in case of action - it being as yet uncertain whether the Indians would decide for peace or war. "After advancing about five miles, Major Price's corps received so severe a fire from the enemy, who were secreted in the woods and high grass, as to compel them to retreat. The legion was immediately formed in two lines, principally in a close, thick wood which extended for miles on our left, and for a very considerable distance in front. The ground was covered with old fallen timber, probably occasioned by a tornado, which rendered it impracti- cable for the cavalry to act with effect, and which afforded the enemy the most favorable covert for their mode of warfare. "The savages were formed in three lines within supporting distance of each other, and extending for nearly two miles, at right angles with the river. I soon discovered from the weight of their fire and extent of their lines, that the enemy were in full force in front, in possession of their favorite ground, and that they were endeavoring to turn our left flank. I therefore gave orders for the second line to advance to support the first. I also directed Major General Scott to gain and turn the right flank of the savages by a circuitous route, with the whole of the mounted volunteers. "At the same time, I ordered the front line to advance and charge with trailed armsn, and rouse the Indians were up and flying, they were to deliver a close and well-directed fire upon their backs. This was to be followed by a brisk charge, so as not to give them time to load again, or to form their lines. I also ordered Captain Campbell, who commanded the legionary cavalry, to turn the left flank of the enemy next the river, which afforded a favorable field for that corps to act in. "All these orders were obeyed with spirit and promptitude. But such was the impetuosity of the charge, by the first line of infantry, that the Indians, and Canadian militia and volunteers, were driven from all their coverts in so short a time that although every possible exertion was used by the officers of the second line of the legion, and by Generals Scott, Wood and Barbee, of the mounted volunteers, to gain their proper positions, only a part of each could get up in season to participate in the action. The enemy were driven, in the course of one hour, more than two miles through the thick woods, by less than one-half of their number. "From every account, the enemy amounted to two thousand combatants. The troops actually engaged against them were short of nine hundred. This horde of savages, with their allies, abandoned themselves to flight, and dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving our victorious army in full and quiet possession of the field of battle, which terminated under the influence of the guns of the British garrison." The battle, though very decisive in the victory over the savages, was too short to be very sanguinary. The loss of the Americans was thirty-three killed and one hundred wounded. The Indian loss was much more severe; but just what it amounted to could never be ascertained, as they made great exertions to remove their dead and wounded. Still, the woods were strewed for a long dis- tance with the bodies of the dead. Among them were found many of their white auxillaries, armed with British muskets and bayonets. The victorious American army encamped for three days on the banks of the Maumee, within sight of the fort. This fort, erected by the British, for the protection and encouragement of the Indians, was clearly within the limits of the territory which had been ceded to the United States by the British Government, in the Treaty of Paris. If the region belonged to the United States, the British had no right to construct a fort there. If it belonged to Great Britain, the Americans had no right to fight a battle there. Still neither party wished to renew the war which had so recently terminated. Major Campbell, the commander of the fort, sent a letter to General Wayne, asking him what he meant by bringing his army within reach of the guns of a fort garrisoned by the troops of the King of Great Britain. General Wayne, with spirit, replied, that Major Campbell would find the most satisfactory answer to his question in the brilliant action which had just been fought against a horde of savages in the vicinity of his fort; and that he should pay no respect to a British fort, which was only established since the commencement of the present war between the United States and the Indians. Major Campbell replied: "Although your letter of yesterday's date fully authorizes me to act of hostility against the army of the United States, in this neighborhood, under your command, yet, anxious to prevent that dreadful decision, which perhaps is not intended by either of those insults which you have offered to the British flag, flying at this fort, by approaching it within pistol-shot of my works, not only singly, but in numbers, with arms in their hands. "But should you, after this, continue to approach my post in the threatening manner you are this moment doing, my indispensible duty to my king and country, and the honor of my profession, will oblige me to have recourse to those measures which thousands of either nation any hereafter have cause to regret, and which, I solemny appeal to God, I have used my utmost endeavors to arrest." To this General Wayne replied that Major Campbell was committing an act of hostility against the United States by building a fort within the acknow- ledged limits of the States. "This," said he, "is an act of the highest aggression. Hence it becomes my duty to demand, in the name of the President of the United States, that you immediately desist from any further act of hostility or aggression, by forbearing to fortify, and by withdrawing the troops, artillery and stores under your direction, forthwith, and removing to the nearest post occupied by his Britannic Majesty's troops, at the peace of 1783." Campbell replied, "I cannot enter into any discussion of the right or impropriety of my occupying my present position. That must be left to the ambassadors of our different nations. I certainly will not abandon this post, at the summons of any power whatever, until I receive orders from those I have the honor to serve under, or the fortune of war should oblige me. I must still adhere to the purport of my letter this morning to deny that your army, or individuals belonging to it, will not approach within reach of my cannon, without expecting the consequences attending it. Let me add that I am much deceived if his Majesty the King of Great Britain had not a post on this river at, and prior to the period you mention." General Wayne had received private instructions from President Washington that, should he find himself in sufficient force to capture the British fort, he was to do so, and drive the garrison out of the country. He accordingly carefully inspected the works. They had an armament of ten pieces of artillery, and were garrisoned by four hundred and fifty men. It was therefore decided that the attempt to storm the fort would result in great slaughter, and probably in a failure. After the defeat, the officers of the fort did not venture to open its gates to receive the fugitive savages. This would have been, indeed, a declaration of war against the United States. As the British had encouraged the Indians, in every possible way, before the battle, they were greatly disgusted by this unexpected treatment. One of their celebrated chiefs - Buchongahelas, of whom we have before spoken - who had fled down the river, beyond the fort, assembled his tribe in a little fleet of canoes, to ascend the stream and enter into a treaty of peace with the victors. As they were approaching the fort, the officer of the day hailed Buckongohelas, and said that Major Campbell wished to speak to him. "In that case," said the proud chieftain, "let him come to me." "That he will never do," was the reply; "and he will not allow you to pass the fort unless you comply with his wishes." "What shall prevent my passing?" the chieftain responded. "Those guns," answered the orderly, as he pointed to the artillery which could sweep the stream with grapeshot. "I fear not your cannon," the chief replied. "After suffering the Americans to insult your flad, without daring to fire upon them, you must not expect to frighten Buckongahelas." The canoes pushed on, and passed the fort unmolested. A white man, Jonathan Alder, who was at that time living with the Indians, an adopted member of one of the tribes, gives the following account of the battle as seen from the Indian side of the field. "We remained near Fort Defiance about two weeks, until we heard of the approach of Wayne. We then packed up our goods, and started for the old English fort, at the Maumee Rapids. Here we prepared ourselves for battle, and sent the women and children down about three miles below the fort. As I did not wish to fight, they sent me to Sandusky to inform some Wyandots there of the great battle that was about to take place. I remained at Sandusky until the battle was over. The Indians did not wait more than three or four days, be- fore Wayne made his appearance at the head of a long prairie on the river. "The Indians are curious about fighting. They will not eat just before going into battle. They say that if a man is shot through the body, when his bowels are empty, there is not so much danger as when they are full. So they started the first morning without eating anything, and, moving up to the end of the prairie, ranged themselves, in order of battle, at the edge of the timber. There they waited all day, without any food, and at night returned and partook of their suppers. "The second morning they again placed themselves in the same position, and again returned at night and supped. By this time they had begun to get weak from eating only once a day, and concluded that they would eat breakfast before they again started. So the next morning they began to cook and eat. Some were eating, and others, who had finished, had moved forward to their stations, when Wayne's army was seen approaching. As soon as they were within gunshot, the Indians began firing upon them. But Wayne, making no halt, rushed on. Only a small part of the Indians being on the ground, they were obliged to give back, and finding Wayne too strong for them, endeavored to retreat. Those who were on the way heard the noise and sprung to their assistance. So some were running from, and others to, the field of battle, which created great confusion. In the mean time General Wayne's light horse had gone entirely around, and came in upon their rear, blowing their horns, and closing in upon them. The Indians now found that they were completely surrounded. All that could, made their escape, and the balance were killed, which as no small number. The main body of the Indians were back nearly two miles from the battle ground. Wayne had taken them by surprise, and made such slaughter among them, that they were entirely discouraged, and made the best of their way to their respective homes. General Harrison, subsequently President of the United States, was aid to General Wayne in this campaign. The following letter from him, addressed to Honorable Thomas Chilton, in February, 1834, is too important to be omitted: "That the northwestern and Indian war was a continuation of the revolutionary contest, is susceptible of proof. The Indians, in that quarter, had been engaged in the first seven years of the war as the allies of Great Britain, and they had no inclination to continue it after the peace of 1783. It is to British influence that their subsequent hostilities are to be attributed. The agents of that government never ceased to stimulate their emnity against the government of the United States, and to represent the peace which had been made as a temporary truce, at the expiration of which their great father would unite with them in the war, and drive the Long Knives from the land they had so unjustly usurped from his red children. This was the cause of the detention of the posts of Detroit, Mackinaw and Niagara, so long after the treaty of 1783. "The bare suggestion of a wish, by the British authorities, would have been sufficient to induce the Indians to accept the terms proposed by the American Commissioners. At any rate, the withholding the supplies with which the Indians had been previously furnished, would have left no other alternative but to make peace. From that period, however, the war was no longer carried on in disguise. Acts of open hostility were committed. In June, 1794, the Indians assembled at the Miami of the Lake, and were completely equipped out of the king's store. From the fort, a large and regularly fortified work which had been built there the preceding Spring, for the purpose of supporting the operations of the Indians against the army of General Wayne. "Nor was the assistance limited to the supply of provisions and munitions of war. On the advance of the Indians, they were attended by a captain of the British army, a sergeant, and six "matrosses", provided with fixed ammunition, suited to the caliber of two field pieces, which had been taken from General St. Clair, and deposited in a creek near the scene of his defeat, in 1791. "Thus attended, they appeared before Fort Recovery, the advanced post of our army, on the 4th of July, 1794, and having defeated a large detachment of our troops, encamped under its walls, and would probably have succeeded in taking the fort, if covered and removed. In this action, Captain Hartshorn, of the first sub-legion, was wounded by the Indians, and afterwards killed in a struggle with Captain McKee, of the British army. "Upon the advance of the American army in the following month, the British Fort at the Rapids was again the point of rendezvous for the Indians. There the deficiencies in arms, ammunition and equipments, were again supplied, and there they were fed with regular rations from the king's stores, consisting of flour and Irish beef, until the arrival of General Wayne with his army, on the twentieth of August. In the general action of that day there were two militia companies from Amherstburg and Detroit. The captain of the cutter, who was also clerk of the court in that place, was among the killed, and one of his privates taken prisoner. "These unequivocal acts of hostility, on the part of Great Britain did not pass unnoticed by our Government, and, although anxious to avoid a general war, the President determined that the aggression on our territory, by the erection of a fortress so far within our acknowledged limits, required some decisive measure. Authority was therefore given to General Wayne to dispossess the intruders, if, in his opinion, it was necessary to the success of his operations against the Indians. Although the qualifications of this order, in its literal sense, might be opposed to its execution, after the entire defeat of the Indians, the daring violation of neutrality, which was professed by the supply of food, arms and ammuntion to the enemy, on the very morning of the action, afforded, in the opinion of General Wayne, a sufficient justification for its being carried into effect. "As accurate examination, however, of the defenses of the fort, made by the general at great personal hazard, showed but too clearly that our small howitzers, which had been transported on the backs of horses, our only artillery, could make no impression upon its massive earthen parapet, while the deep fosse and frazing by which it was surrounded afforded no prospect of the success of an escalade, but at the expense of valuable lives which the occasion did not seem to call for. From my situation as aid-de-camp to the general-in-chief, I mention these things from personal knowledge. If, then, the relation which I have given is correct, it must be admitted that the war of the Revolution continued in the western country until the peace of Greenville, in 1795." Colonel English was commandant at Detroit during the campaign of general Wayne. Colonel McKee was Superintendent of the Indians under the King of Great Britian. In one of McKee's letters to English, just before the battle, dated "Rapids, August 13, 1794," he writes: "Sir: I was honored last night with your letter of the 11th, and am extremely glad to find you making such excursions to supply the Indians with provisions. Scouts are sent up to view the situation of Wayne's army; and we now muster one thousand Indians. All the lake Indians, from Saginaw downwards, should not lose one moment in joining their brethern, as every accession of strength is an addition to their spirits." The Indians utterly disheartened by their great defeat, and considering themselves very dishonorably treated by the British officers, who had spurred them on to the battle, and then had abandoned them, were eager for peace. One of their distinguished chiefs, Blue Jacket, was associated with Little Turtle in the battle. He had, indeed, the chief control. In Drake's Life of Tecumseh, he writes: "In the month of October following this defeat, Blue Jacket concurred in the expediency of suing for peace. At the head of a deputation of chiefs, he was about to bear a flag to General Wayne, then at Greenville, when the mission was arrested by foreign influence. Governor Simcoe, Colonel McKee, and the Mohawk Chief, Brandt, having in charge one hundred and fifty Mohawks and Messassagoes, arrived at the Rapids of the Maumee, and invited the chiefs of the combined army to meet them at the mouth of the Detroit River, on the 10th of October. To this Blue Jacket assented, for the purpose of hearing what the British officers had to propose. Governor Simcoe urged the Indians to retain their hostile attitude towards the United States. In referring to the encroachments of the people of this country on the Indian lands, he said: "Children, I am still of the opinion that the Ohio is your right and title. I have given orders to the Commandant of Fort Miami to fire on the Americans whenever they make their appearance again. I will go down to Quebec and lay your grievances before the great man. From there they will be forwarded to the king, your father. Next Spring you will know the result of everything, what you and I will do." "He urged the Indians to obtain a cessation of hostilities until the following Spring, when the English would be ready to attack the Americans, and, by driving them back across the Ohio, restore their lands to the Indians. These councils delayed the conclusion of peace until the following Summer. Blue Jacket was present at the treaty of Greenville, and conducted himself with moderation and dignity." It was the special object of General Wayne to inflict such terrible chastisement upon the Indians as would compel them to bury the tomahawk, and not to dare to take it up again. He therefore sent out his cavalry and laid utterly waste the whole Valley of the Maumee, for a distance of fifty miles. The women and children fled in terror into the woods. Every village was laid in ashes. The orchards were cut down; the harvests of corn, potatoes and other vegetables, with which the rich fields luxuriantly abounded, were destroyed. Nothing was left. Cold Winter was approaching, and the homeless families, men, women and children, were doomed to hopeless destitution, misery and death. No imagination can probably exaggerate the woes which ensued. Such is war. "War," exclaimed Napoleon in anguish, as he witnessed its horrors, "is the science of barbarians." "War," says General Sherman, "is cruelty. You cannot refine it." The army returned by easy marches, while laying waste the adjacent country, to Fort Defiance. It reached this point on the 27th of August, and remained there until the 12th of September. Then leaving a strong garrison in the works, the main army took up its march for what were called the Miami Villages, at the confluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Rivers. On the 17th of September the army reached the Miami villages, forty-seven miles southwest of Fort Defiance. Here another stockade was erected, which was called Fort Wayne. Leaving a garrison here, the rest of the army set out on their march for Greenville, which post they reached on the 20th of November, where they went into winter quarters. The campaign fully accomplished its intended object. The Indians were thoroughly humbled and subdued. Their houses were destroyed, their country ravaged, their supplies consumed. They no longer cherished any hope of being able to check the advance of the white men. In this state of extreme suffering, they were so anxious for peace that they were ready to accept such terms as the conqueror might dictate. Early in January, 1795, movements were made for an assembling of a general council of the Indian tribes of the Northwest, to enter into a treaty of peace and friendship. Accordingly, in July, a council of chiefs and warriors from twelve of the tribes east of the Mississippi River was convened in the vicinity of Fort Greenville. Negotiations continued for six weeks. On the 3d of August the treaty was signed. General Wayne, acting as commissioner plenipotentiary, signed in behalf of the United States. The following tribes were represented: the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanese, Ottawas, Chippewas, Potawatamies, Miamis, Eel Rivers, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshas and Kaskaskias. The boundary line between the Indian lands and those of the United States was then fixed as follows: Beginning at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, where it enters Lake Erie, it ran up to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum. Crossing the portage, it followed down the Tuscarawas to Fort Laurens, an important military station about half a mile below the present town of Bolivar. From that point it ran directly west to Loramie's Creek, a tributary of the Great Miami. Thence it followed a line almost due west of Fort Recovery, which point was very near the present eastern boundary of Indiana. It then ran in a southerly direction to the Ohio, to strike that stream near the mouth of the Kentucky River, which the Indians called Cuttawa. The United States, however, reserved within the limits of the lands thus retained by the Indians, six miles square at what was called Loramie's Store, on Loramie's Creek; two miles square at the head of boat navigation on the St. Mary's River, a tributary of the Wabash; six miles square at Fort De- fiance, situated at the confluence of the Auglaise and Maumee Rivers; twelve miles square at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, where the British had constructed Fort Miami; six miles square at the mouth of the Maumee, where it enters Lake Erie; six miles square on Sandusky Bay, where a fort formerly stood, and two miles square at the lower rapids of the Sandusky River. In the annals of those days we meet with frequent mention on Loramie's Store. A Frenchman had established a trading post at the mouth of Loramie's Creek, about sixteen miles northwest of the present town of Sidney. It was an important station, as here commenced the portage between the waters of the Miami, flowing into the Ohio, and those of the St. Mary, which, through the Maumee, entered Lake Erie. There is something wonderful in the power which the French had to endear themselves to the Indians. They seem always to have been on even affectionate terms with them. The Indians, as a general rule, welcomed them to all parts of their country. The most tender and lasting friendship sprang up between them. Colonel Johnson writes - "I have often seen the Indians burst into tears when speaking of the time when their French father had dominion over them; and their attachment to this day remains unabated." It is an undeniable fact, that while British gold purchased the reluctant alliance of the Indians, French friendliness won their cordial and loving support. Amidst all the horrors of savage warfare, Loramie was as secure, with his goods, in his lonely station in the wilderness, surrounded by savages, as if he had been on the boulevards of Paris. He had great influence with the Indians. When General Clarke, from Kentucky, invaded and laid desolate the Miami valley, he plundered and burnt Loramie's store. The Frenchman had a large stock of goods, and many valuable furs which he had purchased of the Indians. General Clarke, who was greatly in want of money, ordered them all to be sold at auction. An amusing story is told of one Burke, an Irishman. He was considered but half witted, and was the butt of the army. Strolling through the store he found about two hundred dollars in coin, tied up in a bag. He secreted it, by cutting a hole in a dilapidated saddle. At the auction no one bid for the saddle, it being deemed utterly worthless. It was struck off to Burke for a trifling sum, amidst roars of laughter! Burke began examining the saddle, and drew forth, as if he had but just then found it, the bag of money. Shaking it in the eyes of the men, he exclaimed triumphantly, "An' it is not so bad a bargain after all." Loramie, thus plundered, and with his trading post laid in ashes, emigrated with a colony of Shawanese Indians to the Spanish territories west of the Mississippi. They settled at the junction of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, where most of the rest of the nation eventually joined them. General Wayne did not receive, during his lifetime, the honors to which he was entitled for the services he had rendered his country. Had he failed in his campaign, all the southern Indians, from the Savannah River to the Mississippi, would undoubtedly have combined with the northwestern tribes, and scenes of devastation, woe and death would have ensued which even the imagination can scarcely exaggerate. At the close of the year 1796, General Wayne, returning from Detroit to the Eastern States, was taken sick in a humble log cabin at Presque Isle, on the shores of Lake Erie, now Erie, Pennsylvania. At that time it was but a little hamlet in the depths of the wilderness. Here, after a short illness, he died, and at his request was buried under the flag staff of the fort. Subsequently his son removed his remains to Radnor Churchyard, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. We have no means of knowing what preparation General Wayne deemed it necessary to make for his transference to the spirit land. "There is no death; what seems such is transition. This life, of mortal breath, Is but the suburb of that life elysian Whose portals we call death."