84 The Winning of the West 



tities of guns, rifles, and gunlocks, besides vermilion 

 paint and tobacco. 14 McKee was careful to get from 

 the home authorities the best firearms he could, ex- 

 plaining that his red proteges preferred the long 

 to the short rifles, and considered the common trade 

 guns makeshifts, to be used only until they could 

 get better ones. 



The Indians made good use of the weapons thus 

 furnished them by the "neutral" British. A party 

 of Delawares and Shawnees, after a successful 

 skirmish with the Americans, brought to McKee 

 six of the scalps they had taken; and part of the 

 speech of presentation at the solemn council where 

 they were received by McKee, ran: "We had two 

 actions with [some of Wayne's troops who were 

 guarding convoys] in which a great many of our 

 enemies were killed. Part of their flesh we have 

 brought here with us to convince our friend of the 

 truth of their being now in great force on their 

 march against us; therefore, Father [addressing 

 McKee], we desire you to be strong and bid your 

 children make haste to our assistance as was prom- 

 ised by them." The speaker, a Delaware chief, 

 afterward handed the six scalps to a Huron chief, 

 that he might distribute them among the tribes. 

 McKee sent to the home authorities a full account 

 of this council, where he had assisted at the recep- 

 tion and distribution of the scalps the savages had 

 taken from the soldiers of a nation with which 

 the British still pretended to be at peace; and a 



14 Canadian Archives, Chew to Coffin, June 23, 1794. 



