while they show conclusively, the excellence of the one, and utter futility of the other. Clarke moved with light troops, unencumbered by baggage, and neither halted to establish posts, nor to open roads. He marched so rapidly, that the enemy had no time to penetrate his designs, or anticipate his movements. The blow fell before they were aware of the point at which it was intended to strike-perhaps while they were yet ignorant that it was impending; and he retired before the dismay produced by his sudden approach had subsided, before the shock of the onset could recoil upon himself, or the scattered forces of the enemy could be rallied. St. Clair, at the head of an imposing force, was retarded by the very strength which was intended to render his expedition formidable, and the precautions used for the security of his army; while the enemy avoided his approach with facility, impeded his march, and retaliated his attacks. The fault was not in the leader, but in the plan of the campaign and the kind of troops employed. All that an able commander could effect with such a force, under the circumstances by which he was surrounded and overruled, was accomplished by General St. Clair. The brilliant talents of this brave soldier and veteran patriot, were exerted in vain in the wilderness. The wariness and perseverance of Indian warfare, created every day new obstacles and unforeseen dangers; the skill of the experienced leader was baffled, and undisciplined force prevailed over military science. The art of the tactician proved insufficient, when opposed to a countless multitude of wily savages,

protected by the labyrinths of the forest, and aided by the terrors of the climate. At a moment of fancied security, his troops were unexpectedly assailed upon all sides, by a numerous and well organized foe, who had long been hanging upon his flanks, and had become intimately acquainted with his strength, his order of encampment, and the distribution of his force who knew when to attack and where to strike. The officers acted with their accustomed intrepidity, but the men quickly became panic-struck, and a scene of dreadful confusion ensued; and after a short, though gallant resistance, our troops commenced a disorderly flight. The Indians pursued for about four miles, slaughtering all who fell into their hands, and filling the air with their yells of triumph, until their avidity for plunder called them back to the deserted camp, where the spoils of the vanquished troops were to be divided among the victors. flight of the dispersed and beaten soldiers, was continued to Fort Jefferson, a distance of thirty miles. The loss on this occasion was mournfully great; thirty-eight officers and nearly six hundred men were slain. A committee of the house of representatives in congress, appointed to investigate the causes of the failure of this expedition, in the most explicit terms, exculpated the commander-in-chief from all blame, and add their opinion, "that as his conduct in all the preparatory arrangements, was marked with peculiar ability and zeal, so his conduct during the action, furnished strong testimony of his coolness and intrepidity." Judge Marshall remarks, with his usual felicity of manner, "more satisfactory testi

The

mony in favor of St. Clair, is furnished by the circumstance, that he still retained the undiminished esteem and good opinion of the President.”

We shall only allude to the successful campaign of General Wayne. It is too well known to require more particular notice. By dint of rigid discipline, indefatigable exertion, and above all, a remarkable talent for Indian warfare, he redeemed the frontier settlements from destruction, and inflicted a heavy vengeance upon our tawny neighbors.

CHAPTER XVII.

SETTLEMENT OF OHIO.

We have devoted a considerable portion of this volume to the detail of the military adventures of the people of the west, because we have thought proper, in attempting to sketch the spirit of their history, to show the character of difficulties which they were obliged to encounter, as well as the gallant spirit with which those dangers were met and overcome. We shall not repeat, in relation to the newer states, the recital which has been given in reference to Kentucky. The history of the privations and hardships of the pioneer, is everywhere alike romantic and wonderful. The settler came to the wilderness with his family, erected his log cabin, and commenced the arduous labor of clearing away the forest. The obstacles which nature threw in his way, and which were inseparable from his condition, were, in themselves, sufficiently distressing, to have appalled the minds of men not gifted with more than an ordinary fortitude. They left behind them all the comforts of life. They brought but little furniture, but few farming implements, and no store of provisions; until their lands were cleared and brought into culture, and their domestic animals became productive, they depended for subsistence chiefly upon the game of the forest. They ate their fresh meat without salt, without vegetables, and in many instances without bread; and they slept in cabins, hastily erected, of

green logs, and in which they were exposed to much of the inclemency of the weather. To their other sufferings, that of sickness was often added; and they found themselves assailed, in situations where medical assistance could not be procured, by diseases of sudden development and fatal character.

While thus overburthened by toil and assailed by disaster, the settler found employment for all the energy of his character, and all the inventive powers of his mind; the savage was watching with malignant vigilance, to grasp every opportunity to harass the intruder into the hunting grounds of his fathers. Sometimes he contented himself with seizing the horses, or driving away the cattle of the emigrant; depriving the wretched family of the means of support, and reserving the consummation of his vengeance to a future occasion; sometimes with a subtle refinement of cruelty, the Indian warrior crept into a settlement by stealth, and created universal dismay, by stealing away a child, or robbing a family of the wife and mother; sometimes a father was the victim, and the widow and orphans were thrown upon the protection of the friends, who, on such occasions, were never deaf to the claims of the unfortunate; while as often, the yelling band surrounded the peaceful cabin, at the midnight hour, applied the firebrand to the slight fabric, and murdered the whole of its defenceless inmates. Retaliation followed; the backwoodsmen mounted their horses, appointed a leader, and followed the trail of the retreating marauders. the parties met, the conflict was fierce, and the catastrophe decisive; if the Indians escaped, the blow

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