Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/62

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��HISTORY OF OHIO.

��Pitt, aud thus secured it agaiu.st the assaults of the Tudians.

The campaign had been disastrous to the En- glish, but fatal to the plans of Pontiac. He could not capture Detroit, and he knew the great scheme must fail. The battle of Bushy Run and the relief of Fort Pitt closed the campaign, and all hope of co-operation was at an end. Circum- stances were combined against the confederacy, and it was fast falling to pieces. A proclamation was issued to the Indians, explaining to them the existing state of affairs, and showing to them the futility of their plans. Pontiac, however, would not give up. Again he renewed the siege of De- troit, and Gen. Gage, now in command of the army in the colonies, resolved to carry the war into their own country. Col. Bradstreet was or- dered to lead one army by way of the lakes, against the Northern Indians, while Col. Bouquet was sent against the Indians of the Ohio. Col. Bradstreet went on his way at the head of 1,200 men, but trusting too much to the natives and their promises, his expedition proved largely a fail- ure. He relieved Detroit in August, 1764, which had been confined in the garrison over fifteen months, aud dispersed the Indians that yet lay around the fort. But on his way back, he saw how the Indians had duped him, and that they were still plundering the settlements. His treaties were annulled by Gage, who ordered him to destroy their towns. The season was far advanced, his provisions were getting low, and he was obliged to return to Niagara chagrined and disappointed.

Col. Bou((uet knew well the character of the Indians, aud shaped his plans accordingly. He had an army of 1,500 men, 500 regulars and 1,000 Volunteers. They had had experience in fighting the savages, and could be depended on. At Fort Louden, he heard of Bradstreet's ill luck, and saw through the deception practiced by the Indians. He arrived at Fort Pitt the 17th of September, where he arrested a deputation of chiefs, who met him with the same promises that had deceived Bradstreet. He sent one of their number back, threatening to put to d(ath the chiefs unless they allowed his messengers to safely pass through their country to Detroit. The decisive tone of his words convinced them of the ftite that awaited them unless they complied. On the 3d of Octo- ber the army left Fort Pitt, marched down the river to and across the Tuscarawas, arriving in the vicinity of Fredrick Post's late mission on the 1 7th. There a conference was held with the assembled

��tribes. Bouquet sternly rebuked them for their faithlessness, and when told by the chiefs they could not restrain their young men, he as sternly told them they were responsible for their acts. He told them he would trust them no longer. If they delivered up all their prisoners within twelve days they might hope for peace, otherwise there would be no mercy shown them. They were completely humbled, and, separating hastily, gathered their captives. On the 25th, the army proceeded down to the Tuscarawas, to the junction with White Woman River, near the town of Coshoctdii, in Coshocton County, Ohio, and there made jirepa- rations for the reception of the captives. There they remained until the 18th of November; from day to day prisoners were brought in — men, women and children — and delivered to their friends. Many were the touching scenes enacted during this time. The separated husband and wife met, the latter often carrying a child born in captivity. Brothers and sisters, separated in youth, met ; lovers rushed into each other's arms ; children found their parents, mothers their sons, fathers their daughters, and neighbors those from whom they had been separated many years. Yet, there were many dis- tres^sing scenes. Some looked in vain for long-lost relatives and friends, that never should return. Others, that had been captured in their infancy, would not leave their savage friends, and when force was used some fled away. One mother looked in vain for a child she had lost years be- fore. Day by day, she anxiously watched, but no daughter's voice reached her ears. One, clad in savage attire, was brought before her. It could not be her daughter, she was grown. So was the maiden before her. " Can not you remember some mark?" asked Bouquet, whose sympathies were aroused in this case. "There is none," said the anxious and sorrowful mother. " Sing a song you sang over her cradle, she may remember," suggested the commander. One is sung by her mother. As the song of childhood floats out among the trees the maiden stops and listens, then approaches. Yes, she remembers. Mother and daughter are held in a close embrace, and the stern Bouquet wipes away a tear at the scene.

On the 18th, the army broke up its encamp- ment and started on its homeward march. Bouquet kept six principal Indians as hostages, and re- turned to the homes of the captives. The Indians kept their promises faithfully, and the next year representatives pf all the Western tribes met Sir William Johnson, at the German Flats, and made

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