Page:Messages and Letters of William Henry Harrison Vol. 1.djvu/66

28  greatest Scoundrels in the world—they are dayly in this town in considerable numbers and are frequently intoxicated to the number of thirty or forty at once—they then commit the greatest disorders—drawing their knives and stabing every one they meet with—breaking open the Houses of the Citizens killing their Hogs and cattle and breaking down their fences. But in all their frolicks they generally suffer most severely themselves they kill each other without mercy, some years ago as many as four were found dead in the morning—& altho these murders are actually committed in the streets of the town, yet no attempt to punish them has ever been made. This forbearance has made them astonishingly insolent & on a late occasion (within 8 weeks) when one of these rascals had killed without provocation two of the Citizens in one of the Traders Houses in this place, & it was found impossible to apprehend him alive, he was put to death. This peice of Justice so exasperated those of his tribe in the neighbourhood that they actually assembled in the borders of the town with a design to seize some favourable opportunity of doing mischief—the Militia were ordered out and their resentment has subsided.

Should you think proper to garrison Fort Knox with a small body of troops it will be the means of keeping the Indians under much better controle when they come here to trade—& would enable the civil Magistrates to punish those who violate the laws. Inded I do not think that a militaiy force is so necessary on any part of the fronteers as at this place—the inhabitants tho fully able to repulse them when aware of their designs are constantly in danger from their treachery. Five Hundred Warriers might introduce themselves into the settlement undiscovered by the White people—& after doing all the mischief in their power might make—their escape with as much facility. I do not indeed apprehend in the least that the neighbouring tribes have any inclination to make open war upon us—I fear only the effect of some sudden resentment arrising from their constant intercourse with the people of this town. In this intercourse causes of irritation are constantly produced twice within a few weeks an appeal was made to arms by both parties—one occasioned by some drunken Indians attempting to force a House in which one was killed and an other wounded. The other at the time when the two