St. Clair and Wayne 71 



alongside, in the woods, whither some of the hunted 

 creatures had turned at the last, to snatch one more 

 moment of life. Many had been dragged from under 

 the snow and devoured by wolves. The others lay 

 where they had fallen, showing as mounds through 

 the smooth white mantle that covered them. On the 

 battle-field itself the slain lay thick, scalped, and 

 striped of all their clothing which the conquerors 

 deemed worth taking. The bodies, blackened by 

 frost and exposure, could not be identified ; and they 

 were buried in a shallow trench in the frozen ground. 

 The volunteers then marched home. 



When the remnant of the defeated army reached 

 the banks of the Ohio, St. Clair sent his aid, Denny, 

 to carry the news to Philadelphia, at that time the 

 national capital. The river was swollen, there were 

 incessant snowstorms, and ice formed heavily, so 

 that it took twenty days of toil and cold before 

 Denny reached Wheeling and got horses. For ten 

 days more he rode over the bad winter roads, reach- 

 ing Philadelphia with the evil tidings on the evening 

 of December iQth. It was thus six weeks after the 

 defeat of the army before the news was brought to 

 the anxious Federal authorities. 



The young officer called first on the Secretary 

 of War ; but as soon as the Secretary realized the im- 

 portance of the information he had it conveyed to 

 the President. Washington was at dinner, with 

 some guests, and was called from the table to listen 

 to the tidings of ill fortune. He returned with 

 unmoved face, and at the dinner, and at the reception 



