Part 13
This speech was delivered in English, but interpreters attended, who repeated it to the different tribes in their respective languages, paragraph by paragraph, at the end of every one of which the Indians signified their satisfaction by a loud coarse exclamation of “Hoah! Hoah!” The speech ended, the chiefs were called forward, and their several heaps were shewn to them, and committed to their care. They received them with thanks; and beckoning to their warriors, a number of young men quickly started from the crowd, and in less than three minutes the presents were conveyed from the lawn, and laden on board the canoes, in waiting to convey them to the island and adjacent villages. The utmost regularity and propriety was manifested on this occasion in the behaviour of every Indian; there was not the smallest wrangling amongst them about their presents; nor was the least spark of jealousy observable in any one tribe about what the other had received; each one took up the heap allotted to it, and departed without speaking a word.
[Sidenote: PRESENTS.]
Besides the presents, such as I have described, others of a different nature again, namely, provisions, were dealt out this year amongst certain tribes of the Indians that were encamped on the island of Bois Blanc. These were some of the tribes that had been at war with the people of the United States, whose villages, fields of corn, and stores of provisions had been totally destroyed during the contest by General Wayne, and who having been thereby bereft of every means of support, had come, as soon as peace was concluded, to beg for subsistence from their good friends the British. “Our enemies,” said they, have destroyed our villages and stores of provisions; our women and children are left without food; do you then, who call yourselves our friends, shew us now that you really are so, and give them food to eat till the sun ripens our corn, and the great spirit gives another prosperous season for hunting.” Their request was at once complied with; a large storehouse was erected on the island, and filled with provisions at the expence of government for their use, and regularly twice a week, the clerks in the Indian department went over to distribute them. About three barrels of salted pork or beef, as many of flour, beans or peas, Indian corn, and about two carcases of fresh beef, were generally given out each time. These articles of provision the Indians received, not in the thankful manner in which they did the other presents, but seemingly as if they were due to them of right. One nation they think ought never to hesitate about giving relief to another in distress, provided it was not at enmity with it; and indeed, were their white brethren, the British, to be reduced by any calamity to a similar state of distress, the Indians would with the utmost cheerfulness share with them their provisions to the very last.
The presents delivered to the Indians, together with the salaries of the officers in the Indian department, are computed to cost the crown, as I before mentioned, about £.100,000 sterling, on an average, per annum. When we first gained possession of Canada, the expence of the presents was much greater, as the Indians were then more numerous, and as it was also found necessary to bestow upon them, individually, much larger presents than are now given, in order to overcome the violent prejudices against us which had been instilled into their minds by the French. These prejudices having happily been removed, and the utmost harmony having been established between them and the people on our frontiers, presents of a less value even than what are now distributed amongst them would perhaps be found sufficient to keep up that good understanding which now subsists between us; it could not, however, be deemed a very advisable measure to curtail them, as long as a possibility remained that the loss of their friendship might be incurred thereby: and, indeed, when we consider what a happy and numerous people the Indians were before Europeans intruded themselves into the territories allotted to them by nature; when we consider how many thousands have perished in battle, embroiled in our contests for power and dominion, and how many thousands more have perished by the use of the poisonous beverages which we have introduced amongst them; when we consider how many artificial wants have been raised in the minds of the few nations of them that yet remain, and how sadly the morals of these nations have been corrupted by their intercourse with the whites; when we consider, finally, that in the course of fifty years more no vestige even of these once virtuous and amiable people will probably be found in the whole of that extensive territory which lies between the Mississippi and the Atlantic, and was formerly inhabited solely by them; instead of wishing to lessen the value or the number of the few trifles that we find are acceptable to them in their present state, we ought rather to be desirous of contributing still more largely to their comfort and happiness.
[Sidenote: REMARKS.]
Acceptable presents are generally found very efficacious in conciliating the affections of any uncivilized nation: they have very great influence over the minds of the Indians; but to conciliate their affections to the utmost, presents alone are not sufficient; you must appear to have their interest at heart in every respect; you must associate with them; you must treat them as men that are your equals, and, in some measure, even adopt their native manners. It was by such steps as these that the French, when they had possession of Canada, gained their favour in such a very eminent manner, and acquired so wonderful an ascendency over them. The old Indians still say, that they never were so happy as when the French had possession of the country; and, indeed, it is a very remarkable fact, which I before mentioned, that the Indians, if they are sick, if they are hungry, if they want shelter from a storm, or the like, will always go to the houses of the old French settlers in preference to these of the British inhabitants. The necessity of treating the Indians with respect and attention is strongly inculcated on the minds of the English settlers, and they endeavour to act accordingly; but still they cannot banish wholly from their minds, as the French do, the idea that the Indians are an inferior race of people to them, to which circumstance is to be attributed the predilection of the Indians for the French rather than them; they all live together, however, on very amicable terms, and many of the English on the frontiers have indeed told me, that if they were but half as honest, and half as well conducted towards one another, as the Indians are towards them, the state of society in the country would be truly enviable.
On the frontiers of the United States little pains have hitherto been taken by the government, and no pains by the people, to gain the good will of the Indians; and the latter, indeed, instead of respecting the Indians as an independent neighbouring nation have in too many instances violated their rights as men in the most flagrant manner. The consequence has been, that the people on the frontiers have been involved in all the calamities that they could have suffered from an avengeful and cruel enemy. Nightly murders, robberies, massacres, and conflagrations have been common. They have hardly ventured to stir, at times, beyond the walls of their little habitations; and for whole nights together have they been kept on the watch, in arms, to resist the onset of the Indians. They have never dared to visit their neighbours unarmed, nor to proceed alone, in open day, on a journey of a few miles. The gazettes of the United States have daily teemed with the shocking accounts of the barbarities committed by the Indians, and volumes would scarcely suffice to tell the whole of the dreadful tales.
[Sidenote: REMARKS.]
It has been said by persons of the States, that the Indians were countenanced in committing these enormities by people on the British frontiers, and liberal abuse has been bestowed on the government for having aided, by distributing amongst them guns, tomahawks, and other hostile weapons. That the Indians were incited by presents, and other means, to act against the people of the colonies, during the American war, must be admitted; but that, after peace was concluded, the same line of conduct was pursued towards them, is an aspersion equally false and malicious. To the conduct of the people of the States themselves alone, and to no other cause, is unquestionably to be attributed the continuance of the warfare between them and the Indians, after the definitive treaty of peace was signed. Instead of then taking the opportunity to reconcile the Indians, as they might easily have done by presents, and by treating them with kindness, they still continued hostile towards them; they looked upon them, as indeed they still do, merely as wild beasts, that ought to be banished from the face of the earth; and actuated by that insatiable spirit of avarice, and that restless and dissatisfied turn of mind, which I have so frequently noticed, instead of keeping within their territories, where millions of acres remained unoccupied, but no part, however, of which could be had without being paid for, they crossed their boundary lines, and fixed themselves in the territory of the Indians, without ever previously gaining the consent of these people. The Indians, nice about their boundary line beyond any other nations, perhaps, in the world, that have such extensive dominions in proportion to their numbers, made no scruple to attack, to plunder, and even to murder these intruders, when a fit opportunity offered. The whites endeavoured to repel their attacks, and shot them with as much unconcern as they would either a wolf or a bear. In their expeditions against the white settlers, the Indians frequently were driven back with loss; but their ill success only urged them to return with redoubled fury, and their well-known revengeful disposition leading them on all occasions to seek blood for blood, they were not merely satisfied with murdering the whole families of the settlers who had wounded or killed their chiefs or warriors, but oftentimes, in order to appease the manes of their comrades, they crossed their boundary line in turn, and committed most dreadful depredations amongst the peaceable white inhabitants in the States, who were in no manner implicated in the ill conduct of the men who had encroached upon the Indian territories. Here also, if they happened to be repulsed, or to lose a friend, they returned to seek fresh revenge; and as it seldom happened that they did escape without loss, their excesses and barbarities, instead of diminishing, were becoming greater every year. The attention of the government was at last directed towards the melancholy situation of the settlers on the frontiers, and the result was, that congress determined that an army should be raised, at the expence of the States, to repel the foe.
An army was accordingly raised some time about the year 1790, which was put under the command of General St. Clair. It consisted of about fifteen hundred men; but these were not men that had been accustomed to contend against Indians, nor was the General, although an experienced officer, and well able to conduct an army against a regular force, at all qualified, as many persons had foreseen, and the event proved, to command on an expedition of such a nature as he was now about to be engaged in.
St. Clair advanced with his army into the Indian territory; occasional skirmishes took place, but the Indians still kept retreating before him, as if incapable of making any resistance against such a powerful force. Forgetful of the stratagems of the artful enemy he had to contend with, he boldly followed, till at last, having been drawn far into their territory, and to a spot suitable to their purpose, the Indians attacked him on all sides; his men were thrown into confusion; in vain he attempted to rally them. The Indians, emboldened by the disorder they saw in his ranks, came rushing down with their tomahawks and scalping knives. A dreadful havoc ensued. The greater part of the army was left dead on the fatal field; and of those that escaped the knife, the most were taken prisoners. All the cannon, ammunition, baggage, and horses of St. Clair’s army fell into the hands of the Indians on this occasion.
[Sidenote: INDIAN WARFARE.]
A great many young Canadians, and in particular many that were born of Indian women, fought on the side of the Indians in this action, a circumstance which confirmed the people of the States in the opinion they had previously formed, that the Indians were encouraged and abetted in their attacks upon them by the British. I can safely affirm, however, from having conversed with many of these young men who fought against St. Clair, that it was with the utmost secrecy they left their homes to join the Indians, fearful lest the government should censure their conduct; and that in espousing the quarrel of the Indians, they were actuated by a desire to assist a people whom they conceived to be injured, more than by an unextinguished spirit of resentment against men, whom they had formerly viewed in the light of rebels.
As the revenge of the Indians was completely glutted by this victory over St. Clair, it is not improbable, but that if pains had been taken immediately to negociate a peace with them, it might have been obtained on easy terms; and had the boundary line then determinately agreed upon been faithfully observed afterwards by the people of the States, there is great reason to imagine that the peace would have been a permanent one. As this, however, was a questionable measure, and the general opinion was, that a peace could be made on better terms if preceded by a victory on the part of the States, it was determined to raise another army. Liberal supplies for that purpose were granted by congress, and three thousand men were soon collected together.
Great pains were taken to enlist for this new army men from Kentucky, and other parts of the frontiers, who had been accustomed to the Indian mode of fighting; and a sufficient number of rifle-men from the frontier were collected, to form a very large regiment. The command of the new army was given to the late General Wayne. Upon being appointed to it, his first care was to introduce strict discipline amongst his troops; he afterwards kept the army in motion on the frontier, but he did not attempt to penetrate far into the Indian country, nor to take any offensive measures against the enemy for some time. This delay the General conceived would be attended with two great advantages; first, it would serve to banish from the minds of his men all recollection of the defeat of the late army; and secondly, it would afford him an opportunity of training perfectly to the Indian mode of fighting such of his men as were ignorant of it; for he saw no hopes of success but in fighting the Indians in their own way.
[Sidenote: INDIAN WARFARE.]
When the men were sufficiently trained he advanced, but it was with the utmost caution. He seldom proceeded farther than twelve miles in one day; the march was always ended by noon, and the afternoon was regularly employed in throwing up strong intrenchments round the camp, in order to secure the army from any sudden attack; and the spot that had been thus fortified on one day was never totally abandoned until a new encampment had been made on the ensuing one. Moreover, strong posts were established at the distance of forty miles, or thereabouts, from each other, in which guards were left, in order to ensure a safe retreat to the army in case it should not be successful. As he advanced, General Wayne sent detachments of his army to destroy all the Indian villages that were near him, and on these occasions the deepest stratagems were made use of. In some instances his men threw off their clothes, and by painting their bodies, disguised themselves so as to resemble Indians in every respect, then approaching as friends, they committed dreadful havoc. Skirmishes also frequently took place, on the march, with the Indians who hovered round the army. These terminated with various success, but mostly in favour of the Americans; as in their conduct, the knowledge and discipline of regular troops were combined with all the cunning and stratagem of their antagonists.
All this time the Indians kept retreating, as they had done formerly before St. Clair; and without being able to bring on a decisive engagement, General Wayne proceeded even to the Miami of the Lakes, so called in contra-distinction to another River Miami, which empties itself into the Ohio. Here it was that that curious correspondence in respect to Fort Miami took place, the substance of which was related in most of the English and American prints, and by which General Wayne exposed himself to the censure of many of his countrymen, and General, then Colonel Campbell, who commanded in the fort, gained the public thanks of the traders in London.
[Sidenote: INDIAN WARFARE.]
The Miami Fort, situated on the river of the same name, was built by the English in the year 1793, at which time there was some reason to imagine that the disputes existing between Great Britain and the United States would not have been quite so amicably settled, perhaps, as they have been; at least that doubtless must have been the opinion of government, otherwise they would not have given orders for the construction of a fort within the boundary line of the United States, a circumstance which could not fail to excite the indignation of the people thereof. General Wayne, it would appear, had received no positive orders from his government to make himself master of it: could he have gained possession of it, however, by a coup-de-main, without incurring any loss, he thought that it could not but have been deemed an acceptable piece of service by the public, from whom he should have received unbounded applause. Vanity was his ruling passion, and actuated by it on this occasion, he resolved to try what he could do to obtain possession of the fort. Colonel Campbell, however, by his spirited and manly answer to the summons that was sent him, to surrender the fort on account of its being situated within the boundary line of the States, soon convinced the American general that he was not to be shaken by his remonstrances or intimidated by his menaces, and that his two hundred men, who composed the garrison, had sufficient resolution to resist the attacks of his army of three thousand, whenever he thought proper to march against the fort. The main division of the American army, at this time, lay at the distance of about four miles from the fort; a small detachment from it, however, was concealed in the woods at a very little distance from the fort, to be ready at the call of General Wayne, who, strange to tell, when he found he was not likely to get possession of it in consequence of the summons he sent, was so imprudent, and departed so much from the dignity of the general and the character of the soldier, as to ride up to the fort, and to use the most gross and illiberal language to the British soldiers on duty in it. His object in doing so was, I should suppose, to provoke the garrison to fire upon him, in which case he would have had a pretext for storming the fort.
Owing to the great prudence, however, of Colonel Campbell, who had issued the strictest orders to his men and officers to remain silent, notwithistanding any insults that were offered to them, and not to attempt to fire, unless indeed an actual attack were made on the place, Wayne’s plan was frustrated, much bloodshed certainly saved, and a second war between Great Britain and America perhaps averted.
General Wayne gained no great personal honour by his conduct on this occasion; but the circumstance of his having appeared before the British fort in the manner he did operated strongly in his favour in respect to his proceedings against the Indians. These people had been taught to believe by the young Canadians that were amongst them, that if any part of the American army appeared before the fort, it would certainly be fired upon; for they had no idea that the Americans would have come in sight of it without taking offensive measures, in which case resistance would certainly have been made. When, therefore, it was heard that General Wayne had not been fired upon, the Indians complained grievously of their having been deceived, and were greatly disheartened on finding that they were to receive no assistance from the British. Their native courage, however, did not altogether forsake them; they resolved speedily to make a stand, and accordingly having chosen their ground, awaited the arrival of General Wayne, who followed them closely.
[Sidenote: PREPARATORY FAST.]
Preparatory to the day on which they expected a general engagement, the Indians, contrary to the usages of most nations, observe a strict fast; nor does this abstinence from all sorts of food diminish their exertions in the field, as from their early infancy they accustom themselves to fasting for long periods together. The day before General Wayne was expected, this ceremony was strictly attended to, and afterwards, having placed themselves in ambush in the woods, they waited for his arrival. He did not, however, come to the ground on the day that they had imagined, from the reports given them by their scouts of his motions, he would have done; but having reason to think he would come on the subsequent day, they did not move from their ambush. The second day passed over without his drawing nearer to them; but fully persuaded that he would come up with them on the next, they still lay concealed in the same place. The third day proved to be extremely rainy and tempestuous; and the scouts having brought word, that from the movements General Wayne had made there was no likelihood of his marching towards them that day, the Indians, now hungry after having fasted for three entire days, determined to rise from their ambush in order to take some refreshment. They accordingly did so, and having no suspicion of an attack, began to eat their food in security.
Before they began to eat, the Indians had divided themselves, I must observe, into three divisions, in order to march to another quarter, where they hoped to surprise the army of the States. In this situation, however, they were themselves surprised by General Wayne. He had received intelligence from his scouts, now equally cunning with those of the Indians, of their proceedings, and having made some motions as if he intended to move to another part of the country, in order to put them off their guard, he suddenly turned, and sent his light horse pouring down on them when they least expected it. The Indians were thrown into confusion, a circumstance which with them never fails to occasion a defeat; they made but a faint resistance, and then fled with precipitancy.
[Sidenote: AMERICAN GENERAL.]