The next morning Lucilla woke early--as was usual with her--and
presently joined her father upon the deck. He greeted her, as was his
custom, with a smile and a tender caress, asking if she were quite
well and had passed a comfortable night.
"Yes, papa," she said; "I slept as soundly as possible, and feel
perfectly well this morning; as I hope you do."
"I do, for I also enjoyed a good night's rest and sleep."
The yacht was moving, and Lucilla remarked it with some surprise.
"I thought we were lying at anchor," she said.
"So we were through the night," replied her father, "but now we are
travelling toward Fort Meigs--or perhaps I should rather say its
ruins."
"Oh, that will be an interesting spot to visit!" exclaimed Lucilla.
"Just where is it, papa?"
"On the Maumee River, opposite Maumee City, situated at the head of
river navigation, eight miles from Toledo."
"Wasn't it somewhere in that region that Wayne fought one or more of
his battles with the Indians?"
"Yes; he took possession of and fortified the place where St. Clair
was defeated, and called it Fort Recovery. That was in 1794. On the
30th of June he was attacked by about a thousand Indians with some
British soldiers and Canadian volunteers, who assailed the garrison
several times. Fifty-seven Americans were killed, wounded, and
missing; also 221 horses. The Indians said they lost more than in
their battle with St. Clair.
"A few weeks later Wayne was joined by Major-General Scott with 1600
mounted volunteers from Kentucky, and two days later he moved forward
with his whole force toward the Maumee. Remembering the sad fate of
St. Clair and his men, Wayne moved very cautiously; so slowly and
stealthily that the Indians called him the 'Black Snake.' He had
faithful, competent scouts and guides, and he moved by unfrequented
ways, with perplexing feints. Twenty-five miles beyond Fort Recovery
he built Fort Adams. Again he moved forward for four days, then
encamped on a beautiful plain at the confluence of the Maumee and
Auglaize rivers, on the site of the present town of Defiance; I
presume from the fort Wayne built there, and which he called Fort
Defiance. He found there a deserted Indian town with at least a
thousand acres of corn growing around it. Wayne was now in full
possession of power to subjugate and destroy the Indians, but,
unwilling to shed blood unnecessarily, he sent them a message with
kind words. 'Be no longer deceived or led astray by false promises and
language of bad white men at the foot of the rapids; they have neither
the power nor the inclination to protect you.'
"He offered them peace and tranquillity, and invited them to send
deputies to meet him in council without delay.
"But they rejected his overtures, and said in reply, 'Stay where you
are for ten days, and we will treat with you; but if you advance we
will give you battle.'
"Wayne was, however, too wise and wary to be deceived by them. He saw
that nothing but a severe blow would break the spirit of the tribes
and end the war, and, as Lossing says, he resolved to inflict it
mercilessly.
"On the 15th of August his legion moved forward, and on the 18th took
post at the head of the rapids, near the present town of Waterville,
where they established a magazine of supplies and baggage, protected
by military works, and named it Fort Deposit. There, on the 19th,
Wayne called a council of war and adopted a plan of march and battle
proposed by Lieutenant Harrison."
"Afterward general, papa?"
"Yes, nineteen years later he had become general-in-chief, and
performed gallant exploits in this same valley of the Maumee.
"The next morning after that council, at eight o'clock, Wayne advanced
according to that plan. They had gone forward about five miles when
the advance corps, under Major Price, was terribly smitten by heavy
volleys from the concealed foe and compelled to fall back. The enemy
was full 2000 strong--composed of Indians and Canadian volunteers,
and they were arranged in three lines within supporting distance of
each other.
"Wayne's legion was immediately formed in two lines, principally in a
dense wood on the borders of a wet prairie, where a large number of
trees had been prostrated by a tornado, which made the movements of
cavalry very difficult, besides affording a fine covert for the enemy.
But Wayne's troops fell upon them with fearful energy, soon making
them flee, like a herd of frightened deer, toward Fort Miami."
"The fort the British had built upon our ground without so much as
saying by your leave?"
"The very same. They reached it by a hasty flight of two miles through
the thick woods, leaving forty of their number dead on the way, by the
side of each of whom lay a musket and bayonet from British armories.
"Three days and three nights Wayne and his army remained below the
rapids, making such desolation as seemed necessary for the subjugation
of the hostile Indians and the treacherous Britains and Canadians; all
that in defiance of the threats of the commandant of Fort Miami,
though his guns were within view of the American tents. He--Colonel
McKee--was the chief instigator of the war with the Indians, with whom
he was carrying on a most lucrative trade, and he had there extensive
storehouses and dwellings. These our troops set fire to and destroyed,
as they did all the products of the fields and gardens."
"That seems a pity, papa, but I suppose it was necessary."
"Yes; as no doubt those British men well knew. Wayne's men sometimes
were within pistol-shot of Fort Miami, but its guns kept silence. The
commander did a good deal of scolding and threatening; Wayne coolly
defied him and retorted with vigor. But neither went any farther.
"Wayne and his troops remained there until the middle of September,
when they went to the head of the Maumee; and at the bend of the
river, just below the confluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's,
which form it, they built a strong fortification and called it Fort
Wayne. By the latter part of October it was finished and garrisoned
with infantry and artillery, under Colonel Hamtramck.
"The rest of the troops then left, some for Fort Washington, to be
discharged from the service, and others for Fort Greenville, where
Wayne made his headquarters for the winter. There the various tribes
with whom he had been at war came to him--by deputations--and agreed
upon preliminary terms of peace. They remembered that he had assured
them that the British had neither the power nor the inclination to
help them--and how that assurance had been verified by the silence of
the guns of Fort Miami.
"They promised to meet him in council early the next summer, and did
so. Early in June chiefs and sachems began to reach Fort Greenville,
and on the 16th of that month a grand council was opened there. Almost
1100 Indians were present, and the council continued until the 10th of
August. On the 3d of that month a satisfactory treaty was signed by
all parties. And by a special treaty between the United States and
Great Britain the western military posts were soon evacuated by the
British, and for fifteen years the most remote frontier settlements
were safe from any annoyance by the Indians."
"And that encouraged emigration to the Northwestern Territory, did it
not, papa?" asked Lucilla.
"Yes," he said, "and in consequence the country grew rapidly in
population of a hardy kind."
"Until the War of 1812."
"Yes; and it was in that war that Harrison did so much to distinguish
himself as a patriot and a brave and skilful officer."
"And it was then he built the Fort Meigs you are taking us to, papa?"
"Yes; at the Maumee Rapids in February, 1813. It was named for Return
Jonathan Meigs, who was then Governor of Ohio."
"Return Jonathan! what an odd name!"
"Yes, and there is an odd story connected with it. Years before the
Revolution a bright-eyed coquette was courted by Jonathan Meigs. On
one occasion he pressed his suit with great earnestness and asked for
a positive answer. She would not give it, but feigned coolness, and
he--growing discouraged--resolved to be trifled with no longer, so
bade her farewell forever. He took his departure, but had not gone far
down the lane when she ran after him and at the gate called out,
'Return Jonathan; return Jonathan!'
"He did go back to her; they afterward married, and were very happy
together; and when the first son was born they named him Return
Jonathan.
"He was born in 1740; was the heroic Colonel Meigs who did such
valiant service in the Revolutionary War, and was one of the early
settlers of Ohio, going there in 1788. His son Return Jonathan was
elected Governor of Ohio in 1810 and held that office until 1814.
"Harrison arrived at Fort Meigs on the 12th of April, 1813, and was
glad to find there 200 Pennsylvanians, patriotic men, who, though
anxious to go home to put in their spring seeds, assured him that they
would never leave him until he thought their services could be spared
without danger to the cause. He discharged them on the arrival of
three Kentucky companies.
"While on his way Harrison had been told of frequent appearances of
Indian scouts in the neighborhood of the rapids, and of little
skirmishes with what he supposed to be the advance of a more powerful
foe. That alarmed him, and he despatched a messenger to Governor
Shelby of Kentucky asking him to send to the Maumee the whole of the
3000 men who had been drafted in that State. He brought with him about
300 men in all, but was agreeably surprised to find, on his arrival,
that there were no signs of the enemy being near in great force.
"But that enemy was at that very time preparing to strike a
destructive blow at Fort Meigs. Tecumseh was even then at Fort Malden
with almost 1500 Indians. Proctor had fired his zeal and that of his
brother, who was called the Prophet, by promises of future success in
their schemes for confederating the tribes, and boasting of his ample
power to place Fort Meigs with its garrison and immense stores in the
hands of his Indian allies.
"Proctor was delighted with this response of the savages to his call,
and had fine visions of the victory he was going to gain, and the
glory and promotion it would bring him. He was more boastful than
ever, and treated the Americans at Detroit in a supercilious manner.
He ordered the Canadians to assemble at Sandwich on the 7th of April
and told them the campaign would be short, decisive, successful, and
profitable."
"How did he know!" exclaimed Lucilla scornfully.
"He did not," said her father; "events shortly following showed it to
have been but idle boasting. That boast was made on the 7th of April.
On the 23d his army and his savage allies embarked on a brig and
several smaller vessels, accompanied by two gunboats and some
artillery. On the 26th they were at the mouth of the Maumee, about
twelve miles below Fort Meigs, and two days later they landed on the
left bank of the river near old Fort Miami, and established their main
camp there.
"Captain Hamilton of the Ohio troops was reconnoitring down the river
with a small force on the 28th, when he discovered the enemy there in
force. They were first seen by Peter Navarre, one of Harrison's most
trusty scouts. Hamilton sent him in haste to Fort Meigs with the news,
and Harrison at once despatched him with three letters--one for
Governor Meigs at Urbana, one for Upper Sandusky, and one for Lower
Sandusky. Fort Meigs was quite strong--had intrenchments, pickets,
several blockhouses, and a good supply of field-pieces; but from the
account he had had of the character and strength of the enemy,
Harrison considered it in imminent peril. He knew that General Clay
was on his march with his Kentuckians, and immediately after
despatching Navarre with his letters, he sent Captain William Oliver,
the commissary of the fort, and a brave, judicious, and intelligent
officer, with a verbal message to Clay urging him to press forward by
forced marches.
"Oliver found General Clay at Defiance with 1200 Kentuckians. At St.
Mary's blockhouse Clay divided his brigade. He descended the St. Mary
himself with Colonel Boswell's corps, while Dudley went down the
Auglaize.
"The two divisions were to meet at Defiance. But before Dudley had
reached that point he heard of Harrison's perilous position at Fort
Meigs. A council of officers was called, and it was resolved to send
Harrison word that succor was at hand. It was a very dangerous errand
and required someone who was well acquainted with the country. Leslie
Combs, a brave, patriotic young man, whom Clay had commissioned
captain of a company of riflemen as spies or scouts, volunteered to
go.
"'When we reach Fort Defiance,' he said, 'if you will furnish me a
good canoe, I will carry your despatches to General Harrison, and
return with his orders. I shall only require four or five volunteers
from my own company.' His offer was joyfully accepted by Dudley. The
next morning, May 1, they reached Defiance, and as soon as a canoe
could be procured, Combs and his companions--Paxton, Johnson, and two
brothers named Walker--started on their perilous errand. They had with
them also a Shawnee warrior named Black Fish. He took the helm, the
other four the oars, while Combs was at the bow in charge of the
rifles and ammunition.
"As they pushed off from Fort Defiance there were cheers and sad
adieus, for few thought they would ever see them again. It was a
dangerous voyage; rain was falling fast and the night was intensely
dark. Combs was determined to reach Fort Meigs before daylight the
next morning. They passed the rapids in safety, but not till quite
late in the morning, and then heard heavy cannonading in the direction
of the fort. That told them that the siege had begun, which made an
attempt to reach the fort far more perilous than it would otherwise
have been.
"Combs had now a hard choice to make. It would be prudent to go back,
but would not seem courageous, while to stay where they were till the
next night, or to go on at once, seemed equally hazardous. But he was
very brave and soon came to a decision. 'We must go on, boys,' he
said; 'and if you expect the honor of taking coffee with General
Harrison this morning, you must work hard for it.'
"He knew the weakness of the garrison and feared it could not hold out
long. Therefore great was his joy when, on sweeping round Turkey
Point, at the last bend in the river, he saw the Stripes and Stars
waving over the beleaguered camp. His little company evinced their
delight by a suppressed shout. That was a sad mistake, for, suddenly,
a solitary Indian appeared in the edge of the woods, and in another
moment a large body of them could be seen in the gray shadows of the
forest, running eagerly to a point below to cut off Combs and his
party from the fort.
"He attempted to dart by them, when a volley of bullets wounded Paxton
and Johnson--the latter mortally. The fire was returned with effect,
then the Shawnee turned the prow to the opposite shore, and the
voyagers left the canoe and fled toward Defiance. They tried to take
Johnson and Paxton with them, but found it impossible, so were
compelled to leave them to become captives.
"At the end of two days and two nights Combs and Black Fish reached
Defiance, where they found Clay and his troops just arrived. The
Walkers were there also, having fled more swiftly than Combs and the
Indian had been able to because of their efforts to aid the flight of
the two wounded men. They had suffered terribly in their flight, and
for a time Combs was unable to take command of his company, but he
went down the river with the re-enforcements and took an active part
in the fight at Fort Meigs.
"But, ah, here come others of our party, and I must leave the rest of
my story to be told later in the day," added the captain, turning to
greet Violet and his younger children, who at that moment appeared
upon the deck.