The soldier finally consented to go, taking one man and a squaw with him as his companions, instead of an armed escort, which he knew would be very dangerous to him. He started one afternoon and reached the Indian camp the next morning, without his approach being observed, until he was among the hostiles. The moment he displayed his flag, and said he was a messenger, he was met on all sides with shouts, "Kill him! Kill the spy!" He explained matters in their own language, and instead of slaying him, the redskins told him he was their prisoner. He then gave the rest of his message, telling about the letter of General Wayne, and warning them that if he was held longer than the next day, all the eight Indians in camp would be put to death at sunset.
This language had its effect. The visitor was set free after a few hours, and took back a message to General Wayne to the effect that if he would stay where he was for ten days, and would then send the same messenger to them, they would treat with him, but if he made any advance with his army, he would be attacked.
It should be said in this place that the only wise one among the Indian chiefs was Little Turtle. He opposed a battle with the American army. He reminded his associates that they had made many attempts to surprise the commander, but had not done so in a single instance; there were more "Long Knives" than had ever before entered their country, and they were led by their best general. In such circumstances, defeat at their hands was more than likely.
One of the chiefs replied to these wise words by taunting the Turtle with cowardice. The leader was enraged enough to brain the sachem, but he mastered his anger, and said nothing; it was decided that the battle should be given on the morrow and he was ready.
On his way to camp, the messenger met General Wayne and his army. That officer was so certain of the answer to his message that he decided not to wait any longer. He reached the Miami Rapids on August 18th, near the enemy's camp, and threw up fortifications. He was on the march again by the 20th, using all care against surprise. A few hours later, his advance scouts were fired upon, and Wayne formed his line of battle and advanced in three columns.
Little Turtle had posted his men with his usual skill, a rocky bank of the river being on the left, and had cut down a large number of trees in his front, so as to make the cavalry useless. The warriors were formed in three lines, within supporting distance of one another, with a front fully a mile and a half long.
It is not necessary to describe this historical battle, which was conducted with such skill by Wayne that in a brief time the whole force of hostiles were routed in headlong flight. They were shot down and pursued until they took refuge under the guns of Fort Maumee, a British post. When the commandant of this warned Wayne to cease slaying the warriors, the American replied that he would do as he saw fit, and, if the British officer was not pleased therewith, he might bring his garrison outside and he would serve them in the same way as the Indians.
Seven tribes were represented in this battle,—the Shawnoes, Miamis, Pottawatomies, Chippewas, Delawares, Ottawas and Senecas. One year later, the treaty of Greenville was signed, twelve tribes giving their written assent to its terms, which ceded twenty-five thousand square miles of territory to the United States in the present States of Indiana and Michigan, in addition to sixteen tracts, including lands and forts. The Indians who agreed to this cession were paid twenty thousand dollars in presents and promised an annual allowance of ten thousand dollars. The peace thus secured lasted, with slight interruption, until the breaking out of the war of 1812, some years after.
Among those who accepted the treaty of Greenville were Little Turtle and Tecumseh (of whom we shall learn presently). They never left any doubt of the sincerity of their pledge, though the Turtle, like Red Jacket and others, raised a good deal of enmity among his own people, because of the respect the whites showed him, and the self-evident fact that the sachem had more wisdom than any or all of their own chiefs. The Americans built him a comfortable home on Eel River, a few miles from Fort Wayne, and he made his home there. He showed such a preference for civilized life that our Indian agents were ordered to see that he never wanted for anything necessary to his comfort. He made several visits to Philadelphia, and to Washington, when the seat of the national government was removed to the latter city. In every case he received marked attention, and became a general favorite. The famous French traveler and scholar, Count Volney, sought out Little Turtle in Philadelphia, in 1797, and with the aid given him by the chief, formed a vocabulary of his language, copies of which are still well preserved.
Volney, who became quite fond of Little Turtle, asked him one day why he did not live in Philadelphia, instead of in his cabin on the Wabash. The chief replied: "I admit that on the whole you have the advantage over us, but here I am deaf and dumb. I do not talk your language; I can neither hear nor make myself heard. When I walk through the streets, I see every person in his shop employed at something. One makes shoes, another makes hats, a third sells cloth, and every one lives by his labor. I say to myself, 'Which of all these things can you do?' Not one. I can make a bow or an arrow, catch fish, kill game and go to war; but none of these is of any good here. To learn what is done here would require a long time. Old age comes on; I should be a piece of furniture useless to my nation, useless to the whites, and useless to myself; I must return to my own country."