thout hope against such odds, the British were outflanked,
Muir himself wounded, and an officer killed--the second British soldier
to fall in the war of 1812. The American loss was eighteen killed and
sixty-three wounded. Though the difference in arms and men was greatly
in favour of the Americans, the British were enabled to retreat to the
river, where they regained their boats. The American force, suffering
from greater casualties, did not attempt to follow them.

Apart from the inferior strength of the British, the chief cause of
their reverse at Maguagua was the blunder of some men of the 41st, who
fired upon a body of Tecumseh's Indians. In rushing from the woods the
redmen were mistaken for the enemy, and falling into a similar error
themselves, they returned with interest the fire of the British
soldiers. The disorder that followed created a panic. While Tecumseh
with his own Indians fought bravely, the seventy Lake Indians under
Caldwell suffered from "chill" and fled at the first shot. The most
encouraging of these facts, when told to the expedition, aroused in
Brock's followers a wild desire to meet Hull's army in battle.

Our hero's trip from Long Point was full of peril and hardship. The lake
shore in places was extremely rugged. Precipitous cliffs of red clay and
sun-baked sand rose two hundred feet from the boulder-strewn coast.
Scarcely a creek offered shelter. The weather was unusually stormy. A
heavy surf boomed on the shore. Flocks of water-fowl were driven before
the wind. The men were drenched by torrents of rain. Though thirty miles
in twenty-four hours was considered the maximum distance for rowing a
batteau, nothing could retard this strange armada or dampen the
confidence of the men in their resolute leader, who in an open boat led
the way. In this boat, which was "headquarters," were Brock and his two
aides. A lighted flambeau at the bow acted as a beacon during the night.
After five days of great vigilance and galley-slave work, the toilers
reached Amherstburg. Without the help of these hardy and resourceful men
of the Canadian militia this trip could not have been accomplished.

The conduct of these bold frontiersmen aroused Brock's admiration. His
own example had again acted as an inspiration. Shortly after leaving
Port Talbot, his batteau, pounding in the sea, ran upon a reef that
extended far from shore, and despite oars and pike-poles, remained fast.
In the height of the confusion "Master