The March to the Miami.

For several days the army marched slowly forward.  The regular officers had endless difficulty with the pack horsemen, who allowed their charges to stray or be stolen, and they strove to instruct the militia in the rudiments of their duties, on the march, in camp, and in battle.  A fortnight’s halting progress through the wilderness brought the army to a small branch of the Miami of the Lakes.  Here a horse patrol captured a Maumee Indian, who informed his captors that the Indians knew of their approach and were leaving their towns.  On hearing this an effort was made to hurry forward; but when the army reached the Miami towns, on October 17th, they had been deserted.  They stood at the junction of two branches of the Miami, the St. Mary and the St. Joseph, about one hundred and seventy miles from Fort Washington.  The troops had marched about ten miles a day.  The towns consisted of a couple of hundred wigwams, with some good log huts; and there were gardens, orchards, and immense fields of corn.  All these the soldiers destroyed, and the militia loaded themselves with plunder.

    Failure and Defeat of a Militia Expedition.

On the 18th Colonel Trotter was ordered out with three hundred men to spend a couple of days exploring the country, and finding out where the Indians were.  After marching a few miles, they came across two Indians.  Both were killed by the advanced horsemen.  All four of the field officers of the militia—­two colonels and two majors—­joined helter-skelter in the chase, leaving their troops for half an hour without a leader.  Apparently satisfied with this feat, Trotter marched home, having accomplished nothing.

    Defeat of a Small Detachment of Troops.

Much angered, Harmar gave the command to Hardin, who left the camp next morning with two hundred men, including thirty regulars.  But the militia had turned sulky.  They did not wish to go, and they began to desert and return to camp immediately after leaving it.  At least half of them had thus left him, when he stumbled on a body of about a hundred Indians.  The Indians advanced firing, and the militia fled with abject cowardice, many not even discharging their guns.  The thirty regulars stood to their work, and about ten of the militia stayed with them.  This small detachment fought bravely, and was cut to pieces, but six or seven men escaping.  Their captain, after valiant fighting, broke through the savages, and got into a swamp near by.  Here he hid, and returned to camp next day; he was so near the place of the fight that he had seen the victory dance of the Indians over their slain and mutilated foes.

    The Army Begins its Retreat.

This defeat took the heart out of the militia.  The army left the Miami towns, and moved back a couple of miles to the Shawnee town of Chilicothe.  A few Indians began to lurk about, stealing horses, and two of the militia captains determined to try to kill one of the thieves.  Accordingly, at nightfall, they hobbled a horse with a bell, near a hazel thicket in which they hid.  Soon an Indian stalked up to the horse, whereupon they killed him, and brought his head into camp, proclaiming that it should at least be worth the price of a wolf scalp.