ch
striving to enlist one's services is a fair indication
that the possession of those services will give either
nation a distinct advantage. Brant did not lack vanity,
and on this occasion he was more than flattered. But, to
do justice to Brant, it must be admitted that all the
time he had been in favour of peace. He did not wish the
tribes to go madly into an unequal contest when there
was very slight hope of success, and yet he was strongly
of the opinion that his people must not bow too readily
to the avarice of the pale-face. The Ohio river should
be the dividing-line between the Indian territories in
the west and those of the republic, and by this they must
stand or fall.

The government of the United States at length concluded
that neither Brant nor the tribes would listen to its
terms and that war was inevitable. It determined to carry
the fight vigorously into the very strongholds of the
western tribes. General St Clair was chosen for this
purpose, and he was given a large force to deal with a
certain unrest which had developed in the country of the
Miamis. What the War Chief had feared was now about to
happen. His hatchet was dull and rusted, and he had grown
unused to the strain and hazard of the war-path. But
could he hold aloof? The 'Long Knives' were moving against
the lodges of his brethren in the west, and so he bent
his ear once more to hear the warrior's call.

St Clair set out from Fort Washington in September 1791
and proceeded in the direction of the Miami villages, to
the south-west of Lake Erie. As he advanced, he found
himself worried by bands of redskins who hung upon his
line of march. By November 3, however, he had come within
fifteen miles of the Indian villages. When he pitched
his camp, his army of militiamen and regulars numbered
about fourteen hundred men all told. The Indians were
also fairly numerous, and were under the guidance of
Little Turtle, a brave chief of the Miamis. Though drawn
from various nations, their hearts were knit together by
the peril which confronted them. Within their ranks were
a hundred and fifty stalwarts of the Mohawk tribe, as
well as a number of white men and half-breeds from Canada,
who had come to their assistance.

When the fight began the Mohawks were seen to do the
bidding of a tall and agile chieftain. Though Little
Turtle was the nominal leader, it is conceded that the
main antagonist whom St Clair had pitted against him in
this engagement w