“I judge from what I saw that they have a force of fully three thousand men—British regulars, Canadian militia, and Indians.”
“Are they well supplied with heavy artillery?”
“I think they are, General. At any rate, they have some heavy pieces.”
“Is that all you were able to learn?”
“It is, General.”
“The enemy will be here in a few hours at the most,” Harrison remarked. “They mean to invest us—to storm us, if necessary. Their force is six times that of ours. But we must repulse them. To surrender means to lose all for which we have planned and fought—and to court death at the hands of the savages. If General Clay and his Kentuckians were only here——”
Then with fiery energy:
“But we must bestir ourselves. Captain, go and give the order that the gates be tightly closed at once—after a supply of water, sufficient to last several days, has been brought from the river.”
The captain saluted and withdrew. Turning to an orderly standing near the door, the commander said briskly: