mherstburg and who arrived
from different parts of the country there were some extraordinary
characters. He who most attracted my attention was a Shawnee
chief--brother of the Prophet, who for the last two years has
carried on, contrary to our remonstrance, an active war with
the United States. A more sagacious or a more gallant warrior
does not, I believe, exist. He was the admiration of every one
who addressed him.

Preparations were rapidly made for a movement against Detroit, and
on the morning of the next day, August 15, the British and Indians
marched towards Sandwich. Brock sent Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonell
and Captain Glegg to General Hull, under a flag of truce; demanding
the surrender of Detroit. Adroitly embodied in his dispatch were
the following words: 'You must be aware that the numerous bodies
of Indians who have attached themselves to my troops will be beyond
my control the moment the contest commences.' Hull replied that he
was prepared to meet any force at Brock's command; whereupon the
British batteries at Sandwich opened fire, which continued until
evening. Under cover of darkness Colonel Elliott and Tecumseh led
six hundred Indian warriors to the shore of the river on the night
of the 15th, where they silently launched their canoes and gained
the American side, prepared to protect the crossing of the main
army in the morning.

In the quiet early dawn 320 British regulars and 400 Canadian
militia were in readiness to embark; and, as sunrise coloured the
sky, a motley fleet pushed off from the Canadian shore. The war
vessel _Queen Charlotte_ and the batteries at Sandwich opened fire,
while the wooded shores re-echoed to the savage yells of 600 painted
braves. Brock stood erect in the foremost boat, which steered
towards Springwells, about four miles below Detroit, where Tecumseh
awaited his landing. Scarcely had Brock stepped ashore when a scout
rushed up with the news that a large body of American troops, who
had left the fort two days before for another attempt to reach the
army at the Raisin, were approaching from the rear, and were now
but a few miles distant. The attack must, therefore, be made at
once. The forces were rapidly formed in two columns, an advance
was sounded, and the allies pressed forward towards Fort Detroit.

That formidable stronghold bristled with cannon, which could be
trained on any part of the advancing army. Yet steadily forward
marched the British