Elsie's Journey on Inland Waters Page 5

  CHAPTER V.

  As they left the table and gathered upon deck on the evening of thenext day, the captain announced that they were nearing Mackinaw.

  "I am glad of that, papa," said Grace; "for we shall have a lovely viewof it by moonlight."

  "Are we going to stop there, sir?" asked Walter.

  "Not unless someone particularly desires it," returned the captain;"but we will pass slowly and quite near, so that we may all have a goodview of it. Ah! it can be seen in the distance now," he added, pointingit out.

  "And though the sun has set the moon will, as Gracie says, give us alovely view of it," remarked Violet.

  "Yes, she is nearly full," said the captain, glancing skyward, "whichwill help us to a more vivid conception of how things looked to Darmanwhen he set out for Fort St. Joseph, on the 16th of July, 1812."

  "I'm glad of that," said Lucilla. "I want to be able to imagine justhow things looked at that time."

  "Yes," said Grace, "but it is far more delightful to know that no waris going on now, and we are in no danger from either civilized orsavage foes."

  "It is indeed!" responded her father. "Peace is a great blessing; war adreadful scourge."

  "It is an Indian name the island bears, is it not, captain?" askedEvelyn.

  "Yes; and the meaning is the Great Turtle, alluding to its shape.Notice that as we approach, and see if you do not think the nameappropriate."

  "To the tongue of which of the Indian tribes does the name belong,sir?" asked Walter.

  "The Algonquin."

  "The harbor is considered a fine one, is it not?"

  "Yes; it is semicircular, 1 mile long; the strait is 40 miles long and4 miles wide; the island 7 miles in circumference. Now we are nearenough for a good view."

  "What makes it look so white, papa?" queried little Elsie.

  "It is limestone rock, my child," replied her father. "See the villagedown near the water and the fort on higher ground--the white cliffshalf covered with green foliage--beyond it the ruins of old FortHolmes."

  "The one the British took in that war you told about, papa?"

  "The very same," he said. "I believe you were not by when I pointed itout to the others on our former visit to the island."

  "No, sir; I think Neddie and I were asleep in our berths."

  "Yes, so you were," said her mother. "Ah, my dear," to her husband,"what a lovely sight it is by this witching light!"

  "Yes," he said. "I think we will visit it again one of these days, whenwe can spend more time in viewing the various interesting places--suchas the Arch Rock, a natural bridge almost as picturesque as the famousone in Virginia, the Rabbit's Peak, Giant's Causeway, and the Lover'sLeap. We are passing that last now; and I want you all to notice aprojecting crag at the other end of the island, called Robinson'sFolly. These are all famous places, and each has its legendary story."

  They steamed slowly past, greatly enjoying the moonlight view of theisland; then, as it faded from sight, the speed of the vessel wasincreased, and before the older ones had retired they had entered LakeHuron.

  The pleasant weather continued, and most of them spent the greaterpart of the following day upon the deck.

  "We will reach Detroit early this evening, I suppose, Brother Levis?"said Rosie, in a tone of enquiry.

  "Should nothing happen to prevent," was the pleasant-toned reply. "Andnow I wonder if my pupils can tell us most of the history of that city?"

  "Beginning with the war of 1812, I suppose, as we have already goneover the story of the doings of Pontiac?"

  "Yes; but first I shall give you a few facts concerning its settlement,growth, and so forth:

  "It is by far the oldest city in the western part of our country,and older than either Philadelphia or Baltimore on the seaboard. Itwas founded by the French in 1670, as an outpost for the prosecutionof the fur-trade; and as late as 1840 it still had less than 10,000inhabitants. It is on the west side of Detroit River, about 7 milesfrom Lake St. Clair and 18 from Lake Erie. Can you tell me the meaningof the name Detroit, Elsie, daughter?"

  "No, papa, you never taught me that," replied the little girl.

  "It is the French for strait," he said. "The strait or river connectingLakes St. Clair and Erie gave the name to the city."

  "At the time we are talking of--when General Hull was marching towardthe place--Detroit had only 160 houses and a population of about 800,most of them of French descent. It was a very small place consideringits age, for it was a trading-post as early as 1620, and established asa settlement as early as 1701, when a Jesuit missionary came there withone hundred men. So it was a very old town though so small; but sevenyears before there had been a fire that destroyed all the houses butone."

  "But there was a fort, was there not, papa?" asked Grace.

  "Yes," replied the captain; "on a hill back of the town, about 250yards from the river; built by the English after their conquest ofCanada more than 100 years ago. It covered about 2 acres of ground, wasquadrangular in shape, with bastions and barracks. It had embankmentsnearly 20 feet high, a deep, dry ditch, and was surrounded by a doublerow of pickets.

  "The town too was surrounded by strong pickets 14 feet high, withloopholes to shoot through. Those pickets had been erected as defencesagainst the Indians, and were still in good condition. There were inthem four strong gates on different streets."

  "Then the British couldn't get in to harm the folks, could they, papa?"asked Elsie.

  "They would be able to, when they had finished the fortifications theyhad begun to build on the opposite side of the river," replied thecaptain; "so General Hull decided that it would be best to cross atonce and drive them away.

  "It was not easy to find boats enough to take his twenty-two hundredmen across, but by great exertion he succeeded in getting enough tocarry four hundred at a time, but should the British see them crossingthey would in all probability attack that small number before theothers could cross to take part in the fight. So Hull resorted tostrategy. Toward the evening of the 11th all the boats were sent downthe river in full view of the British, while at the same time ColonelM'Arthur with his regiment marched away in the same direction. TheBritish were deceived and made ready to dispute their passage. Butafter dark troops and boats returned up the river past Detroit toBloody Bridge, a mile and a half above the town, and made arrangementsto cross the river there, which they did."

  "Why was it called by that dreadful name--Bloody Bridge, papa?" askedElsie.

  "Because the Indians in Pontiac's time attacked and killed somany--fifty-nine--of the English there. Do you not remember my tellingyou about it?"

  "Oh, yes, sir, when we went to Mackinaw before!" exclaimed the littlegirl.

  "At dawn the regular troops and the Ohio volunteers crossed over tothe Canadian side, and there hoisted the American flag," continued thecaptain.

  "But I shall not now go into all the details of the marching andfighting that followed--how Hull changed his orders and restrained hisbrave, patriotic officers and men from attacks upon the enemy whichthey were eager to make, until they were almost convinced that he waseither a traitor or a coward.

  "He was doubtless too old for the command which had been given him. Hehad done good service in the Revolutionary War, and no doubt was reallya patriot still, but he lacked energy, vigilance, and decision, and wastoo slow to take advantage of the necessities and mistakes of the foe;though he might have done much better but for the remissness of theSecretary of War and General Dearborn. His mistakes and dilatorinessbore very hard upon the brave fellows under him, who were burning withpatriotic zeal for the discomfiture of the foe, and he perceived that,though they obeyed orders, there was a mutinous spirit among themthat could scarcely be restrained. Therefore he called a council offield-officers, and by their advice it was agreed to march immediatelyupon Malden.

  "Orders were at once issued for all the needful preparations andreceived with universal joy by the little army of men longing to defendtheir country.

 
"But before these were completed, or the long summer day was quiteover, there came another order from the commanding general; an orderfor the army to recross the river to Detroit--abandoning Canada andits people to the vengeance of the British; leaving unprotected itsinhabitants, who, trusting Hull's promised protection, had refusedto take up arms for defence against the Americans. That order was inconsequence of news which had reached Hull that a considerable force ofBritish regulars, militia, and Indians were coming to attack the littlearmy in the rear."

  "Did our soldiers like to go back without fighting the British first,papa?" asked Elsie.

  "No, my child, not at all; but they were obedient soldiers, and didas they were ordered by their commander, though sullenly, feelingthemselves humiliated by being compelled to act like cowards. Duringthat night and the next morning they crossed the deep, dark river andencamped on the rolling plain back of Fort Detroit.

  "Not quite all of them, however. Major Denny, with 130 convalescents,and a corps of artillerists, under Lieutenant Anderson, were leftbehind in a strong house that had been stockaded and called FortGowris. Denny was ordered to defend the post to the last extremity,so long as attacked with only musketry, but to leave it if powerfulartillery should be brought against it.

  "Hull and his army were in need of supplies, which he knew were beingsent him under the command of Captain Brush, who had come as far as theRiver Raisin, but was detained there by the knowledge that a party ofIndians under Tecumseh, with perhaps some British regulars, had crossedthe Detroit from Malden and were lying near the mouth of the HuronRiver, twenty-five miles below Detroit, for the purpose of seizing themen, cattle, provisions, and mail that Captain Brush had in charge.

  "Brush had asked Hull to send him an escort. Hull at first flatlyrefused; but, after much persuasion on the part of his officers,despatched Major Van Horn with a detachment of two hundred men to joinBrush and help convoy the cattle, provisions, and mail. The majorobeyed promptly, but was not successful; being surprised by theIndians, who lay in ambush and attacked him by the way. The Americansfought gallantly, but lost seventeen killed and several wounded.

  "When the news reached the fort Hull was greatly disconcerted. Hisofficers urged him to send a larger force to the aid of Brush--as manyas five hundred; but he refused. 'I can spare only one hundred,' hesaid.

  "That, as the officers knew, would not be enough; so, though indignantand alarmed for the safety of Brush and the needed stores he wasbringing, they had to give up the hope of helping him for the present.

  "But Hull perceived that his troops were angry and felt mutinous, andit was then he called his officers together, and after consulting themgave the orders for preparations to march upon Malden; but, as wehave seen, before they could be carried out he changed his mind andordered the army to cross the river to Detroit. He now felt the needof securing the supplies under Brush and ordered Colonel Miller totake six hundred men, go to that officer's assistance, and escort himto Detroit. Before starting upon their perilous expedition the troopsparaded on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, and there Colonel Milleraddressed them as they stood in marching order. 'Soldiers,' he said,'we are going to meet the enemy, and to beat them. The reverse of the5th (that was Van Horn's) must be repaired. The blood of our brethren,spilled by the savages, must be avenged. I will lead you. You shallnot disgrace yourselves or me. Every man who shall leave the ranks orfall back without orders will be instantly put to death. I charge theofficers to execute this order.'

  "Then turning to the veteran Fourth Regiment of regulars, hesaid, 'My brave soldiers, you will add another victory to that ofTippecanoe--another laurel to that gained upon the Wabash last fall. Ifthere is now any man in the ranks of the detachment who fears to meetthe enemy, let him fall out and stay behind.'

  "He paused, and a loud huzza went up from the entire corps, and 'I'llnot stay! I'll not stay!' came from every lip.

  "Miller led them to the River Rouge that night, and they bivouackedon its southern shore, having crossed it in two scows. Early the nextmorning they took up their march again, Major Thompson Maxwell, withhis spies, leading the way; next a vanguard of forty men under CaptainSnelling of the Fourth Regulars, while the infantry marched in twocolumns, about two hundred yards apart, the cavalry keeping the roadin the centre in double file. The artillery followed, with flank guardsof riflemen at suitable distances. Marching in that order a line ofbattle could be formed almost instantly, but it was slow and toilsomework to move the cannon over the marshy ground along which their roadlay.

  "It was Sunday morning, the weather sultry, the sky overcast withclouds, not a leaf stirring on the trees; in the distance they couldsee a few fleet Indians hurrying along; but nothing of much consequenceoccurred until some time in the afternoon, when they were nearing theIndian village of Maguaga, fourteen miles below Detroit. But there aman named White, who had joined them as a new recruit, hurrying onahead of the rest, was shot from his horse near the cabin of an Indianchief called Walk-in-the-Water, by some Indians concealed behind it,and before the vanguard could reach the spot he was scalped.

  "There were oak woods near Maguaga, which Captain Snelling and hisregulars reached between three and four o'clock in the afternoon. Inthe meantime the flying savages the Americans had seen that morning,and who were the scouts of Major Muir, the commander of the Forty-firstBritish regiment, had carried to him, in his camp at Brownstown, thenews that the Americans, strong in numbers, were advancing upon them.There were in that camp 100 regulars, a good many Canadian militiamen,and between 200 and 300 Indians. Lossing mentions 4 chiefs of noteamong those--Tecumseh, Walk-in-the-Water, Split-log, and Lame-Hand.

  "These troops had been sent over from Fort Maiden by Proctor torepeat their doings of the 5th--when Van Horn was defeated--cut offcommunication between Detroit and Captain Brush at the Raisin, and getpossession of the stores he was bringing.

  "As soon as Muir and Tecumseh heard the news brought by the spies theybroke up their camp, hurried on to Maguaga, and formed an ambush inthe Oak Woods, where the trees and bushes were thick enough to concealthem. There they watched for the coming of the Americans and werejoined by a fresh detachment of troops sent by General Brock.

  "Snelling and his soldiers had just entered the clearing when therecame first a single shot, then the terrific yells of the scores ofsavages, followed by a terrible volley from the whole British line."

  "Oh, papa! then did our soldiers turn round and run back to theothers?" asked little Elsie.

  "No, my child, they stood their ground and returned the fire like thebrave men and patriots they were. Colonel Miller heard the sounds andhe and his men started on the double quick, came up, and formed inbattle order, and as they did so he waved his sword high over his head,crying in his clear, loud voice, 'Charge, boys! charge!' His order wasinstantly, gallantly, and effectually obeyed, Lossing tells us, whileat the same time a six-pounder poured in a storm of grapeshot thatharmed the foe not a little.

  "At the same time the Michigan and Ohio volunteers charged a body ofIndians at the left of the British and near the river, driving themback, and causing them to flee; and the whites in the ranks of theenemy, mistaking them for helpers of the Americans, fired upon themalso, and the Indians returned it. So that our foes were helping us byfighting among themselves, and the mistake created such confusion inthe British ranks that they wavered, broke, and fled, leaving Tecumsehand his Indians to bear the brunt of the fight.

  "Muir rallied his men, in a good position, but the sound of firing inthe woods on their left alarmed them again, so that they ran away, gotin their boats, and fled across the river to Malden with all possibleexpedition.

  "After a little more fighting the Indians too broke, and Miller orderedSloan to pursue them. But he seemed to hesitate, and Snelling rushingup to him gave him a peremptory order to dismount, sprang into thesaddle himself, and dashed away at the head of his troops, his redhair streaming in the wind, for he had lost his hat in the course ofthe fight. He pursued the flying foe f
or more than two miles; thenLieutenant-colonel Miller, realizing the danger of an ambuscade, andthat night was approaching, and the wounded needed attention, ordered asuspension of the chase."

  "Ah, that was a victory!" exclaimed Walter; "one that ought to haveencouraged Hull to defend Detroit; it seems it didn't, though."

  "Were there many killed in that battle, papa?" asked Grace.

  "Of the Americans 18 were killed and 57 wounded," replied the captain."The British, according to their account, lost 24 of their regulars,only 1 of whom was killed. They failed to mention how many of themilitia and Indians, but our troops found 40 of the Indians dead on thefield; how many of the militia, if any, I do not know.

  "Miller was anxious to follow up his advantage, to press on to theassistance of Captain Brush and the getting of his stores to Detroit;so sent a messenger to Hull to carry the news of his successful fightwith the enemy and ask for a supply of provisions.

  "In response Hull sent Colonel M'Arthur with 100 men and 600 rations,ordering him to go down the river in boats to the relief of Miller andhis men. M'Arthur, who seems to have been always ready and prompt,set out a little past two in the morning, in nine boats, and in thedarkness and rain passed the British vessels _Queen Charlotte_ and_Hunter_, and reached his destination in safety.

  "Then the wounded were at once carried to the boats to be taken toDetroit. But it was now daylight, and it was found impossible to passthe British vessels. Fortunately M'Arthur had foreseen that difficulty,and ordered wagons sent down, and now leaving the boats he had thewounded carried through the woods to the road, placed in the wagons,and so taken the rest of the way to their destination."

  "But what did he do with the boats, papa?" asked Elsie.

  "The British took them," replied her father. "Colonel Cass hadgone down and tried to secure them, but the enemy had already gotpossession.

  "Miller had been thrown from his horse during the fight, and was toomuch injured to press on immediately to the River Raisin. He sent amessenger to Hull, and Cass met him on his way. He knew that timewas precious, that Proctor would be likely to send a larger force toprevent our men from reaching Brush, and attack him himself. ThereforeCass wanted to take Miller's place and hurry on with the detachmentto Brush's assistance, so he sent a laconic despatch to General Hull:'Sir, Colonel Miller is sick; may I relieve him?--L. CASS.' No replycame, and he returned to Detroit, meeting on the way an expresstaking positive orders to Miller for him and his troops to return toheadquarters.

  "Miller and his men were only twenty-two miles from the Raisin, andwere sorely disappointed by this order, but obeyed it, leaving theircamp at noon on the day after the battle, and going slowly back toDetroit."

  "Oh, I do think that was too bad!" exclaimed Lucilla. "I don't think Icould have obeyed such a man as Hull."

  "It would have been even worse than rendering obedience to CaptainRaymond has sometimes proved, eh?" her father said, with a humorouslook and smile.

  "Oh, ten thousand times, papa, dear!" she answered earnestly. "Haven'tyou found out that for years it has been--almost always just a pleasureto me to obey you?"

  "It is long since I have felt at all doubtful of that, daughter," hereturned, in tender tones.