CHAPTER VII.
The _Dolphin_ reached Detroit that evening, did not stop, but slowlypassed the city, which extends six or seven miles along the river, thenon down the stream, the captain pointing out historical scenes, now onthis side now on that.
They were already on Lake Erie before the older ones retired for thenight, passed Put-In-Bay and discussed with interest Perry's victory ofSeptember 10, 1813, though, as all were familiar with the details ofthe famous contest and triumph for the little American navy, the storywas not repeated.
"How many islands are there in the group, papa?" Grace asked, as theyneared them; "and to which State do they belong?"
"There are ten," he said, "and they are a part of Ottawa township,Ohio. The group takes its name from the largest one, which containsabout two thousand acres. You can see there is a beautiful bay on thisnorth side: that is Put-In-Bay--it is what gives the name to the islandand is celebrated as the place where Captain Perry with his littleUnited States fleet on Lake Erie, in the last war with Great Britain,of which we have been talking so much in the last few days, waited forthe coming of her fleet, and whence he sailed out to meet and conquerit.
"It required great address and vigilance to make his little squadronready and get it into the lake, but spite of illness, head winds, andbeing narrowly watched by the foe, he got safely out upon the lake justas the British squadron hove in sight."
"Perry had difficulty in getting his vessels over the bar, had he not,sir?" asked Walter.
"Yes; it was done by the use of camels; a very difficult operation."
"Camels, papa?" exclaimed Grace, with a puzzled look.
"Yes, daughter; not the camels of the desert, however," returned thecaptain, giving her a slightly amused smile.
"Nautical camels are hollow cases of wood, made in two halves, so asto embrace the keel and lay hold of the hull of a ship on both sides.Those cases are first filled with water and sunk, in order to be fixedon. The water is then pumped out, and while that is being done thevessel gradually rises; and that process is continued till at length itpasses over the shoal."
"Perry must certainly have been a very persevering and energetic man,"remarked Mrs. Travilla.
"He certainly was all that and more," returned the captain; "a brave,patriotic, Christian man. It has been truly said that the courage withwhich the _Lawrence_ was defended has been hardly, if ever, surpassed;and that his real claim to fame rests less on his actual victory thanon the pluck, energy, and readiness to adapt himself to circumstances,which he showed in the preparation of the two brigs and getting themand the other vessels out in the lake, collecting sailors, etc. Butit is singular that the American public have always made so much moreof his victory over an inferior force, than of McDonough's on LakeChamplain, which was won against decided odds in vessels, men, andmetal."
"Oh, papa!" cried Lucilla, in a slightly reproachful tone, "you arereally the last person I should have expected to try to belittlePerry's hard-won victory."
"My child, I am not doing that," returned her father in gentle,reproving accents. "I would not have Perry's fame lessened, butMcDonough's increased."
"Excuse me, papa dear, I might have known that," she respondedpenitently.
"What is the name of that little island lying at the mouth of the bay,captain?" queried Evelyn.
"Gibraltar," he replied; "it is picturesque and rocky, and on it standsthe monument commemorating the victory and its heroes."
"I should like to visit the island one of these days," said Grace.
"I hope to give you that pleasure at some future time," her fathersaid; "but now it is growing so late in the season that we must hastenon our way if we would make even a flying visit to other and moreinteresting and important points. The islands are worth visiting; thescenery is lovely, and there is excellent boating, also fishing, in theclear, shallow waters of the bay and lake."
"All that sounds quite appetizing," said Violet. "I think we mightbe able to pass some days or weeks there very delightfully when nothurried for time."
"There are a great many fine grapes raised here, are there not?" askedEvelyn.
"Yes; grape growing and wine making are the principal industries; theclimate and soil being better suited to them than is any other in theUnion; or rather, I should say, on the Atlantic slope. Another item ofinterest is a cave of considerable dimensions."
"Papa," asked Grace, "how long did that battle of Lake Erie last?"
"Three hours and a quarter. It was a sanguinary fight, ending in asplendid victory for Perry, who was about twenty-seven years old, andhad never before borne part in a naval engagement."
"Yes, it was sanguinary; the carnage was terrible," said Mr. Dinsmore."What harrowing scenes there must have been!"
"Some comical ones, too," remarked Walter, with a chuckle. "I have readsomewhere that Perry's first lieutenant, Yarnall, came to him duringthe fight and told him that all the officers of the first division wereeither killed or wounded. I don't know that he mentioned himself amongthem, but it was very evident that he had been hurt, for his face wascovered with blood from a wound in his forehead, his nose dreadfullyswollen by a blow from a splinter, and there was another wound in hisneck."
"He must have been a brave and persevering fellow to go on fightingwith all those hurts," said Grace. "But what was it he wanted of Perry?"
"More men to help with his part of the fight; and Perry let him havethem. But soon he came back on the same errand, and that time Perryhad to refuse. 'You must make out by yourself; I have no more tofurnish you,' he said. And now he could not help smiling at Yarnall'sappearance, for in addition to his swelled nose and the blood on hisface he was covered with cattails from the hammock mattresses that hadbeen struck and torn by the enemy's balls; they were sticking all overhis face and gave him much the aspect of a great owl. When he wentbelow after the fight was over, even the wounded men had to laugh athis comical and hideous appearance."
"I remember reading of the narrow escape that fell to the lot of thesecond lieutenant," said Rosie, when Walter had finished his littleanecdote, "he was standing close beside Perry, fighting his division,when a grape-shot struck him in the breast, and he fell. Perry liftedhim up, and as there was no wound to be seen, told him to rally, for hecould not be hurt. He was only stunned into momentary unconsciousness,and when able to speak, said, pulling out the shot, which had lodged inhis waistcoat, 'No, sir! I'm not hurt, but this is my shot.'"
"Yes," said Captain Raymond, "more than one man was shot and killedwhile speaking to Perry. One was the captain of the gun whose tacklehad been shot away. Perry stepped nearer to him to see what was thematter. 'I can fire, sir,' the sailor said, and was in the very act ofdoing so when a twenty-four-pound shot struck him, passed through hisbody, and he fell dead at Perry's feet."
"But Perry escaped unwounded, though freely exposing himself to dangerwhen necessary for the performance of duty," remarked Grandma Elsie. "Ihave read that he said that he believed his wife's prayers had savedhim; I have no doubt that his mother's helped him, for I have readthat she was a Christian woman, and had brought him up in the fearof the Lord. His young brother too--only twelve years old--escapedwonderfully, shots passing through his clothes and hat, a hammock tornfrom its fastenings by a ball knocking him down, and yet no wound beingmade."
"Lieutenant John Brooks, a handsome young fellow, was another officershot while speaking to Perry," said Captain Raymond, "struck in thethigh by a cannon ball that drove him some distance. It was a terriblypainful wound, so that he shrieked with agony, and besought Perry toshoot him dead. Perry ordered him carried below, and while that wasbeing done a mulatto boy, his servant, rolled on the deck, crying outthat his master was killed. He had been acting as powder boy, and beingordered to return to his duty did so with the tears rolling down hischeeks all the time at the thought of his master's suffering!"
There was a moment of silence, broken by Grace.
"Oh, what a dreadful thing war is!" she sighed. "I hope we
will neverhave another. I think nothing could be worse."
"How about submission to despotism, Gracie?" asked Walter. "What sortof condition would this country be in now had not our ancestors wagedthose two wars with Great Britain?"
"Oh, yes! they were right on the side of America, dreadful as theywere," she acknowledged, "the choice being between fighting for freedomor enduring unbearable oppression."
"That is true," he said; "better death than slavery; and had we tamelysubmitted, instead of resisting as we did, we could never have becomethe strong, free people that we are."
"And we may well, even yet, thank God for Perry's victory," said thecaptain; "it led to the immediate evacuation of Detroit and the releaseof the whole of Michigan Territory from British sway, with all thehorrors of Indian atrocities, murder, scalping, and fire. Also itwiped away the disgrace of Hull's ignominious surrender of Detroit,strengthened the hands of the Government, and gave great encouragementto General Harrison and his brave and patriotic soldiers; indeed, toall who were fighting for our country on both land and sea. Harrisonhad completed his arrangements for invading Canada, and Perry's vesselswere used in carrying his army there. That is, the _Niagara_ and thelighter vessels of both squadrons.
"One of the measures Harrison had taken for raising the neededcomplement of troops had been a call upon Governor Shelby of Kentucky,for fifteen hundred men, accompanied by the generous offer to yieldthe chief command to him, Shelby to be the guiding head and Harrisonhimself the hand.
"Shelby was one of those who had battled for his country in the daysof the Revolution; one of the leaders of the militia who defeated thebanded Tories under Major Ferguson on King's Mountain, South Carolina,on the 7th of October, 1781. His valor was conspicuous on thatoccasion, and he had since been familiarly styled Old King's Mountain."
"A very old man in 1813, I suppose," said Grace.
"Sixty-three," replied her father. "In these days we would hardlyconsider a man of that age extremely old, though certainly not young.Young enough, however, for Harrison's invitation to rouse his martialspirit to such an extent that he resolved to lead, instead of sendinghis men against the enemies of his country. He called for mountedvolunteers to assemble at Newport, opposite Cincinnati, at the close ofJuly, promising to meet them there in person, lead them to the field ofbattle, and share with them the dangers and honors of the campaign.
"That call seemed to electrify the people of Kentucky. Young men andveterans vied with each other in enthusiasm, exchanging urgent callsto rally to the defence of their country, for Old King's Mountainwould certainly lead them to victory. Twice the required number of menflocked to his standard, and, including Colonel R. M. Johnson's troop,he led 3500 in the direction of Lake Erie.
"On the 12th of September he reached Upper Sandusky, from there hepushed forward with his staff, and on the way heard the glad tidings ofPerry's victory. He despatched a courier with the news to Major-GeneralHenry, whom he had left in command of his troops, bidding him hastenforward with them.
"They, and the whole country as well, were greatly inspirited, filledwith joy and exultation by the glad tidings; for that victory relievedthe whole region of the most gloomy forebodings of evil, leading,as it did, to the destruction of the Indian confederacy, which, inconjunction with the British military power, had been the cause of somuch awful suffering and loss to men, women, and children suffering byfire, sword, tomahawk, and scalping knife, and removing the stigma ofthe surrender of Detroit.
"That victory was one of the most important events of the war, openingthe way for Harrison's army to penetrate into Canada and to ourrepossession of the territory of Michigan. Also removing all doubts ofthe ability of the Americans to maintain the mastery of the great lakes.
"A poet of the time concluded an epic with these lines:
"'And though Britons may brag of their ruling the ocean, And that sort of thing, by the Lord I've a notion-- I'll bet all I'm worth, who takes it?--who takes? Though they're lords of the sea, we'll be lords of the lakes.'
"Well, to go on with my story, by the 16th the whole army of theNorthwest, except the troops garrisoning Fort Meigs and minor posts,were on the borders of Lake Erie. Shelby arrived there on the 14th,only a few minutes before a part of Perry's squadron came in, bringingthree hundred British prisoners. A few days later they were marched toChillicothe and Franklinton, escorted by a guard of Kentucky militia.
"And now Harrison made preparations to embark his army. Colonel Johnsonwas directed to remain at Fort Meigs with his mounted regiment tillthe expedition should sail, then march toward Detroit, keeping asnearly as possible abreast of the army on the transports, and GeneralM'Arthur, at that time in command of Fort Meigs, was directed toembark artillery, provisions, and stores from that post, and march theregulars there, with Clay's Kentuckians, to the Portage.
"It was on a delightful day, the 20th of September, that the armyembarked. On the 24th they rendezvoused on Put-in-Bay Island, and thenext day were on the Middle Sisters, five thousand men encamping on itssix or seven acres."
"A good many horses besides, I presume," remarked Walter.
"No," said the captain, "the Kentuckians left their horses on thepeninsula and were acting as infantry.
"On that day General Harrison and Perry sailed in the _Ariel_ toreconnoitre the enemy at Malden. They were entirely successful, andreturned at sunset. An order was issued that evening, giving directionsfor the embarking of the troop, stating the place and manner oflanding, the order of march, the attack upon the enemy, and otherparticulars.
"The order, signed by General E. P. Gaines, exhorted his brave troopsto remember that they were the sons of sires whose fame was immortal;that they were to fight for the rights of their insulted country, whiletheir opponents would combat for the unjust pretensions of a master.'Kentuckians,' he said, 'remember the River Raisin, but remember itonly while victory is suspended. The revenge of a soldier cannot besatisfied upon a fallen enemy.'
"It was on a lovely autumnal day, September 27, that the expeditionfinally set sail, in sixteen armed vessels and almost one hundredboats. They were all in motion at nine o'clock, going northward towardthe hostile shore, and then Harrison's stirring address was read to themen on each vessel. At its conclusion there went up a hearty shout for'Harrison and victory'; then all moved on silently into the DetroitRiver. Lossing tells us the spectacle was beautiful and sublime.
"The landing place selected by Harrison and Perry was Hartley's Point,opposite the lower end of Bois Blanc Island, and three or four milesbelow Maiden. A low, sandy beach stretched out in front of high sanddrifts, behind which the enemy were supposed to be lying in wait, andour troops landed in battle order--Kentucky volunteers on the right,regulars on the left, Ball's Legion and the friendly Indians in thecentre.
"But no enemy was there. The cowardly Proctor, in spite of theindignant remonstrances of Tecumseh, had fled northward with his armyand all he could take with him; leaving Fort Maiden, the storehouses,and navy buildings smoking ruins. Beside that, he had seized all thehorses of the people of the neighborhood to help him in his flight."
"The poor people! poor, abused creatures!" exclaimed Grace, adding,"and probably they were much frightened lest the Americans should treatthem still worse."
"If so, their fears were soon relieved," replied her father; "for asour troops drew near the town, Governor Shelby in advance, they weremet by a troop of modest, well-dressed women, who came to implore mercyand protection. The kind-hearted general soon calmed their fears.
"The army moved on and entered Malden with the band playing 'YankeeDoodle.' They learned that the enemy's rear guard had not been gone anhour, and Colonel Ball at once sent an officer and twenty men of hiscavalry after them to prevent the destruction of a bridge over theTarontee. They were just in time to save it, driving the incendiariesoff with a single volley.
"The next morning Harrison crossed it with all his army, excepting aregiment of riflemen left at Amherstburg. At two o'cl
ock on the 29ththey entered Sandwich, and the American flotilla reached Detroit,which, you will remember, is opposite, on the western side of the riverof the same name. The next day Colonel Johnson and his mounted regimentarrived there."
"Were not the British still in possession of Detroit, papa?" askedLucilla.
"No; M'Arthur, with seven hundred effective men, had crossed overshortly before and retaken the town, driving off a body of Indians whowere hovering about it. Also General Harrison had, to the great joy ofthe inhabitants, declared Proctor's proclamation of martial law nulland void, and the civil government of Michigan restored.
"On Johnson's arrival he received an order from Harrison to cross theriver at once with his troops, as he (Harrison) was resolved to push onafter the enemy as rapidly as possible. There were two roads, eitherof which might be taken in the pursuit--by land in the rear of theBritish, or by Lake Erie to Long Point, and thence across the country.Harrison called a council of his general officers to consider thequestion, and it was decided to take the land route.
"It was said that Proctor was encamped near Chatham on the Thames; sothat was the place for which the whole army of the Americans, exceptM'Arthur's brigade, left at Detroit, and Ball's and Cass', left atSandwich, marched on the morning of October 2.
"Two days before that Perry had learned that some small vesselscarrying the artillery and baggage of the British had gone up LakeSt. Clair toward the Thames. He sent some of his vessels in pursuit,followed them in the _Ariel_, accompanied by the _Caledonia_, and onthe day that Harrison left Sandwich the whole of the little squadronappeared off the mouth of the Thames with the provisions, baggage, andammunition wagons of the American army."
"Had he taken the enemy's vessels?" asked Evelyn.
"No," replied the captain; "they had too much the start of his, andescaped up the Thames. It is said that when the army reached the mouthof that river an eagle was seen hovering above it; and that Harrisonremarked to those about him that it was a presage of success, andPerry, who had landed and was with the general, added the informationthat an eagle was seen hovering over his little squadron on the morningof the 10th of September."
"The day when he fought his naval battle," remarked Grace. "Don't yousuppose, papa, this eagle may have been the very same?"
"I think it quite likely," was the reply.
"And it reminds me of the young gamecock that flew upon a gun-slideon the _Saratoga_, McDonough's flagship, early in the naval battle ofPlattsburg, clapped his wings and crowed so lustily and defiantly,"said Walter.
"And me of 'Old Abe,' the eagle present in so many battles of the CivilWar," said his sister Rose. "But please go on with your story of thebattle of the Thames."
"To go back to the morning of October 2, when Harrison and his troopsleft Sandwich," continued the captain. "We are told that they pushed onrapidly for 20 miles along the border of the lake, there came upon 7British deserters who told the general that Proctor, with 700 white menand 1200 Indians was encamped at Dolsen's farm, about 15 miles from themouth of the Thames, on its northern bank, and 56 miles from Detroitby water. This news roused the Americans to still greater exertions,and when they halted for a night's rest they had marched 25 miles fromSandwich, their starting point.
"The pursuit was renewed the next morning at dawn, and near the mouthof the Thames Johnson captured a lieutenant and eleven privates, whohad just begun to destroy a bridge over a small stream emptying intothat river. That made it evident to the Americans that Proctor hadheard they were in pursuit of him and they hastened on, hoping toovertake, fight, and defeat him. That night they encamped on Drake'sfarm, four miles below Dolsen's.
"As the troops moved on, Perry's vessels had passed up the riverto cover their movements when they should cross the Thames or itstributaries; but here there was a change in the character of the banks;below the river flowed on between prairies, its channel broad, itscurrent sluggish, but here the country became hilly, the stream narrowand rapid, the banks high and wooded, affording convenient places forIndian ambuscades, from whence shots could be fired down upon thepassing vessels below. So it was thought better not to take them anyhigher up the stream than Dolsen's, and Perry landed and offered hisservices to Harrison as volunteer aid; so joining the army in theexciting pursuit of the foe.
"The cowardly Proctor--much to the disgust of Tecumseh--fled up theThames 281/2 miles from Dolsen's to Chatham, where an impassable streamcalled M'Gregor's Creek empties into that river. On reaching the spothe said to Tecumseh, 'Here we will defeat Harrison or lay our bones.'
"Tecumseh was pleased with both the speech and the spot, and remarkedthat when he looked at these streams he would be reminded of theTippecanoe and the Wabash.
"Two bridges--one at the mouth of the creek and the other at a milla mile above, had been partially destroyed, and at each was a partyof Indians ready to dispute the passage of the Americans shouldthey attempt to cross or to make repairs; but Major Wood, with twosix-pounder cannon, and Colonel Johnson with his horsemen, soon sentthem flying after Proctor."
"Was anybody hurt in either fight, papa?" asked Grace.
"Yes; 2 men of Johnson's party were killed, and 6 or 7 wounded. TheIndians had a large number wounded and 13 killed. It was here that thechief Walk-in-the-Water with 60 warriors came to Harrison and offeredto join his army conditionally. But Harrison had no time to attend tohim, so told him if he left Tecumseh, he must keep out of the way ofthe American army."
"Did he do it, papa?" asked Elsie.
"Yes, he went back to the Detroit River."
"And did the Americans go on chasing the British, papa?"
"Yes, and the British retreating, destroying all they could on the way,firing houses and vessels containing military and naval stores as theywent, the Americans following, putting out the fires and saving houses,vessels, stores as far as possible.
"But they did not catch up to the British that night; they encamped andHarrison set a double guard; which was well, for at midnight Proctorand Tecumseh reconnoitred the camp, but did not venture to attack it.
"At dawn the Americans were again in motion, the mounted regiments infront, led by General Harrison and his staff, the Kentucky volunteersunder General Shelby following. It was not long before they hadcaptured two of the enemy's gunboats and several bateaux with armysupplies and ammunition, and some prisoners.
"It was only nine o'clock when they reached a place where the riverwas fordable by horses. Harrison decided to cross there and each ofthe mounted men took an infantryman on his horse behind him; otherscrossed in the bateaux, and by noon the whole American army was on thenorth side of the river."
"I should think they must have been tired," said little Elsie. "Didn'tthey stop to rest a while, papa?"
"No, indeed," replied her father, stroking her hair and smiling downinto the interested little face upturned to his, "they were much tooeager to catch and defeat their country's foes. They hastened onas rapidly as possible, passing on their way many evidences of therapidity of Proctor's retreat.
"It was two o'clock and they were eight miles from the crossing placewhen they came upon smouldering embers that showed where the enemy'srear guard had been but a short time before. By that they knew theywere not far behind the foe, and Colonel Johnson dashed forward tolearn their exact whereabouts.
"It was not long before he had captured a British wagoner who told himthat Proctor had halted only three hundred yards farther on. Johnson,with Major James Suggett and his spies, moved cautiously on, and foundthe British drawn up in battle order, waiting for the coming of theAmericans.
"He, Johnson, learned enough about their position to enable GeneralHarrison and a council of officers, held on horseback, to decideupon the best order for the attack. The American army now consistedof a little more than 3000 men--120 regulars of the 27th Regiment, 5brigades of Kentucky volunteers under Governor Shelby, and ColonelJohnson's regiment of mounted infantry.
"The foe had made choice of a good place to make a stand. On
one sidewas the Thames River, with high and precipitous bank, on the other amarsh running almost parallel with the river. Between the two, aboutthree hundred yards from the river, was a narrow swamp with a strip ofsolid ground between it and the large marsh. Almost the whole spacebetween the river and the marsh was covered with forest trees--oaks,beeches, and sugar maples, with very little undergrowth.
"The British regulars were formed in two lines between the river andthe small swamp; their artillery planted in the road near the bankof the stream. The Indians were posted between the two swamps, thosecommanded by Tecumseh in person on the isthmus or narrowest point.
"At first Harrison arranged for the horsemen to fall back and let theinfantry make the first attack, which would begin the battle; next thecavalry were to charge the British. But when all the preparations werecompleted Major Wood, who had been reconnoitring the enemy's position,informed Harrison that the British were drawn up in open order, and,though contrary to all precedent, the general immediately decided tochange his plan of attack. Instead of having the infantry fall upon theBritish front he ordered Johnson to charge their line with his mountedtroops.
"In explaining his motive for the change, in a report renderedafterward to the Secretary of War, he said: 'The American backwoods menride better in the woods than any other people. A musket or rifle is noimpediment, they being accustomed to carrying them on horseback fromtheir earliest youth. I was persuaded, too, that the enemy would bequite unprepared for the shock, and that they could not resist it.'
"The event speedily proved the wisdom of the decision. The general'sorders were promptly obeyed, then a bugle sounded, and the Americansmoved coolly forward, neither hesitating nor with undue haste, amonghuge trees, over fallen timber, and through the undergrowth, thoseimpediments in their path compelling them to move slowly.
"While they were still at some distance from the front line of theBritish regulars the latter opened upon them with a severe fire, whichcaused some confusion at the head of the column, the horses of someof them taking fright; and before order was restored there came secondvolley. Then with a tremendous shout the American cavalry boldly dashedupon the British line and broke it, scattering it in all directions.Then the second line, thirty paces in the rear, was treated in the sameway, and the horsemen wheeled right and left, pouring a destructivefire upon the rear of the confused and broken columns, so increasingtheir panic that they threw down their arms and surrendered as fast asthey could.
"Lossing tells us that in less than five minutes after the first shotwas fired the whole British force, more than eight hundred strong, weretotally vanquished, and most of them made prisoners; only about fiftymen and a single officer escaping."
"Ah, that was a victory to be proud of!" cried Lulu. "And what becameof the brave Proctor, papa?"
"He fled from the field as fast as his horses would carry him, takingwith him his personal staff, a few dragoons, and some mounted Indians.In the words of the old song
"'When Proctor saw lost was the day, He fled La Tranche's plain: A carriage bore the chief away, Who ne'er returned again.'
"He was hotly pursued by a part of Johnson's corps under Major Payne."
"I think I remember, though, that they did not succeed in catchinghim," remarked Rosie.
"No," said the captain; "ten of them continued the pursuit until dark,but could not overtake him."
"Ah, it seems he was better at running away than at fighting," saidWalter; "but if I remember right, he had to abandon his fine carriage."
"He did so; left the road and escaped by some bypath," replied CaptainRaymond. "So rapid and masterly was his retreat that within twenty-fourhours he was sixty-five miles distant from his starting point--thebattle ground."
"And the American officers and men got nothing for their long chase,papa?" Grace said enquiringly.
"A trifle more," returned the captain, with a slightly amused look:"Major Wood captured Proctor's carriage, sword, and valuable papers.There were some beautifully written letters from Proctor's wife, inwhich she addresses him as 'Dear Henry.'"
"'Dear Henry,' indeed!" cried Lucilla scornfully. "I could never lovesuch a coward. Nor--nor such a cruel wretch--delighting in seeing men,women, and children tortured by the savages, if he didn't take partin it with his own hands. But you haven't finished the story of thebattle, papa."
"No, not quite. General Henry, with his advancing columns, was hardlyin sight of the combatants before that part of the battle was over; butat the same time that one bugle sounded for that attack another washeard on the left. Colonel Johnson and his troops moved against theIndians almost at the same instant that the first battalion--under hisbrother James and Major Payne--attacked the British regulars. He haddivided his force and led them--the second battalion--across the littleswamp to attack the Indian left. They were in front of Shelby, witha company of infantry. Harrison had taken a position on the extremeright, near the bank of the river, where he could observe and directall the movements, and with him were Adjutant-General Butler, CommodorePerry, and General Cass.
"Tecumseh's savages reserved their fire till the Americans were withina few paces of them, then hurled upon them a deadly shower of bullets,wounding General Johnson very severely, and prostrating more than halfhis vanguard of forlorn hope. On this part of the field the undergrowthand the branches of the trees were too thick to allow mounted men todo much service with their rifles, therefore Johnson ordered them todismount and fight on foot at close quarters. They obeyed, and therewere many hand to hand fights, the Kentuckians as they fought raisingnow and again the fearful cry, 'Remember the River Raisin.'"
"What did they mean by that, papa?" asked Elsie.
"I will explain that at another time," he replied. "You may ask for thestory to-morrow. And now, to go on with this--for a while it seemeddoubtful which side would win; but General Shelby, perceiving it,ordered the regiment of Lieutenant-Colonel Donaldson to the supportof Johnson, and General King to press forward to the front with hisbrigade.
"The Indians had already recoiled from the shock of the Kentuckyriflemen, and now they fled; they were pursued and a scatteringrunning fight ended the battle. Proctor was running away as fast as hecould, like some hunted wild animal, and his savage allies scatteredthemselves through the forest behind the larger swamp."
"Tecumseh with the rest, papa?" asked Elsie.
"No, my child, Tecumseh was lying dead on the field of battle. But forhis loss it is likely the Indians would have continued the strugglefor some time longer."
"Who killed him, papa?" she asked.
"No one can say certainly," replied her father, "though probably itwas Johnson. Tradition and history tell us that Tecumseh had woundedColonel Johnson with a rifle bullet, and was springing forward totomahawk him, when Johnson drew a pistol from his belt and shot himthrough the heart. It is said that Johnson himself never eitheraffirmed or denied that his was the hand which slew Tecumseh. Probablyhe did not really know whether the Indian he had killed was the greatchieftain or some other. However, it is certain that he, Tecumseh,was slain in that battle,--as it seems he had predicted that he wouldbe,--and it is a question of little importance whose hand sped thebullet or struck the blow that ended his career."
There was a moment of silence, broken by Grandma Elsie's soft voice:
"'The moment was fearful: a mightier foe Had ne'er swung his battle axe o'er him; But hope nerved his arm for a desperate blow And Tecumseh fell prostrate before him. He fought in defence of his kindred and king With spirit most loving and loyal, And long shall the Indian warrior sing The deeds of Tecumseh the royal.'
"I presume you are right, captain, in thinking," she added, "thateven Johnson himself did not know whether the Indian he had shot wasTecumseh, but as you have just said, the question is of no historicalimportance. We do know, however, that Johnson behaved most gallantly inthe battle of the Thames and was sorely wounded in the hip, thigh, andhand; the last from the Indian whom
he shot. He was disabled and saidto his friend, Dr. Theobald, one of his staff, fighting near him, 'Iam severely wounded: where shall I go?' Theobald, saying, 'Follow me,'led him across the smaller swamp to the road and the stand of GovernorShelby's surgeon-general. Johnson was faint from the loss of blood, andhis horse, it would seem, was still more sorely wounded, for as hismaster was lifted from his back he fell dead."
"Oh, did the man die too, grandma?" asked little Elsie, with a look ofeager interest and concern.
"No, dear; they gave him water, dressed his wounds, and carried him onboard a vessel they had taken from the British. Captain Champlin, thecommander of the _Scorpion_, was there on it; he took the colonel downthe river in that vessel to his own, lying at Dolsen's, and from there,in her, to Detroit."
"Papa, did he get well and go back and fight some more?" asked Ned.
"No, my son; he went into Congress and served his country well there.But now it is high time for you and Elsie to go to your berths. Bid usall good-night; to-morrow you may ask as many questions as you please,and papa will answer them to the best of his ability."
Elsie's Journey on Inland Waters Page 7