St. Clair and Wayne 83 



"You have heard the great talk of our going to war 

 with the United States, and by the speech of your 

 Father just now delivered to you, you can not help 

 seeing there is a great prospect of it, I have there- 

 fore to recommend you to be all unanimous as 

 one man, and to call in all your people that may be 

 scattered about the Territories of the United States." 

 McKee, the British Indian agent among the North- 

 western tribes who were at war with the Ameri- 

 cans, reported with joy the rapid growth of war- 

 like spirit among the savages in consequence of 

 Dorchester's speech, and of the building of the Brit- 

 ish fort on the Miami. He wrote, "The face of the 

 Indian affairs in this country, I have the greatest 

 satisfaction in informing you, seems considerably 

 altered for the better. His Excellency Lord Dor- 

 chester's speech and the arrival here of speeches 

 from the Spaniards induce me to believe that a 

 very extensive union of the Indian Nations will be 

 the immediate consequence. The Lieutenant-Gov- 

 ernor has ordered a strong detachment of the 24th 

 Regt. to take post a mile & a half below this 

 place, this step has given great spirits to the In- 

 dians and impressed them with a hope of our ulti- 

 mately acting with them and affording a security 

 for their families, should the enemy penetrate to 

 their villages." 18 



Nor did the British confine their encouragement 

 to words. The Canadian authorities forwarded to 

 the Miami tribes, through the agent McKee, quan- 



13 Canadian Archives, McKee to Chew, May 8, 1794. 



