394 The Winning of the West 



prompt to dog and waylay any party they thought 

 they could overcome. They took advantage of the 

 unwillingness of the Federal commander to harass 

 Indians who might be friendly; and plotted at ease 

 the destruction of the very troops who spent much 

 of the time in keeping intruders off their lands. In 

 the summer of 1788 they twice followed parties of 

 soldiers from the town, when they went down the 

 Wabash, and attacked them by surprise, from the 

 river-banks, as they sat in their boats. In one in 

 stance, the lieutenant in command got off with the 

 loss of but two or three men. In the other, of 

 the thirty-six soldiers who composed the party ten 

 were killed, eight wounded, and the greater part of 

 the provisions and goods they were conveying were 

 captured ; while the survivors, pushing down-stream, 

 ultimately made their way to the Illinois towns. 23 

 This last tragedy was avenged by a band of thirty 

 mounted riflemen from Kentucky, led by the noted 

 backwoods fighter Hardin. They had crossed the 

 Ohio on a retaliatory foray, many of their horses 

 having been stolen by the Indians. When near Vin- 

 cennes they happened to stumble on the war party 

 that had attacked the soldiers, slew ten, and scat 

 tered the others to the winds, capturing thirty 

 horses. 24 



The war bands who harried the settlements, or 

 lurked along the banks of the Ohio, bent on theft 



State Dept. MSS., No. 150, Vol. III. Lt. Spear to Har- 

 mar, June 2, 1788; Hamtranck to Harmar, Aug. 12, 1788. 



14 Draper MSS. Wm. Clark Papers. N. T. Dalton to W. 

 Clark, Vincennes, Aug. 23, 1788; also Denny, p. 528. 



