h the hunters, and
so impressed them, that Lewis Dernor proposed that they should bind
themselves together for an indefinite period, (which was not intended
to be over a couple of years or so at the most,) to do their utmost to
check the monstrous outrages which were becoming so common along the
border. The four hunters mentioned were well known to each other, and
had the reputation of being the best riflemen and woodmen of any then
known. In addition to this, they were all unmarried, and without any
prospects of changing their condition; consequently they were at
perfect liberty to wander whither they pleased.

The proposition was considered, and received a unanimous and
enthusiastic response from all. The brothers Dernor, in their hunting
expeditions, had spent several nights in a cave along the Miami, which
they had discovered by accident, and which afforded them not only a
comfortable, but also a perfect concealment. It was agreed that this
should be their rendezvous, and in order that all might learn its
locality, and the manner of approach to it, the following night was
spent within it.

Now commences the history of the Riflemen of the Miami, as they were
christened by the settlers, to whom their exploits soon became known,
and as they were proud to acknowledge themselves. Instead of disbanding
at the end of two years, as was originally contemplated, this
confederation had an existence for over a dozen years. They
participated in Anthony Wayne's great battle with the Indians, in 1794,
where two of the members fell, and which concluded their history, as
the surviving members retired to private life, and were too old to
participate in the Tecumseh's war of 1812.

It would require a volume to detail the exploits of these Riflemen.
Unlike many other confederations that were formed about this period,
their only object was that of self-defense, and of offering protection
to the settlers who were constantly penetrating the Great West. No
innocent Indians ever suffered at their hands, and many was the one
they befriended and assisted in his extremity. But woe betide the
offender that fell into their hands. To the cruel they were unsparing;
to the merciless they showed no mercy. While their name was loved and
revered by the whites, it was feared and execrated by the savages. The
Shawnees were unusually active and vindictive at this time, and it was
with them that the most frequent encounters took place. The incident
de