He counselled his countrymen to think favorably of the proposals of
peace offered by General Wayne before giving them battle; saying,--"We
have beaten the enemy twice under separate commanders. We cannot expect
the same good fortune always to attend us. The Americans are now led by a
chief who never sleeps. The night and the day are alike to him; and during
all the time he has been marching on our villages, notwithstanding the
watchfulness of our young men, we have never been able to surprise him.
There is something that whispers to me,--_it would be prudent to listen to
his offers of peace_."
But this counsel was rejected by the Indians, who determined to give
battle to the Americans the next day. They fought in the vicinity of a
British fort, which Governor Simcoe of Canada had caused to be erected at
the foot of the rapids of the Miami emptying into the lakes, far within
the acknowledged territory of the United States.
The ground occupied by the Indians was well chosen, being a thick wood,
where were old fallen trees that marked the track of some ancient
hurricane, where the use of cavalry would be impracticable, a place suited
to afford them shelter and well adapted to their peculiar mode of warfare.
But the order of General Wayne to advance with trailed arms, and rouse the
Indians from their covert at the point of the bayonet, and when up deliver
a close and well directed fire on their backs, followed by a brisk charge,
so as not to give them time to load again; was executed so promptly, and
with so much effect that the Indians were driven in one hour more than two
miles, and soon dispersed in terror and dismay, leaving the ground in full
and quiet possession of the victorious army.
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