io6 The Winning of the West 



came across a family of Indians in a canoe by the 

 river bank. The white wood rangers were as ruth- 

 less as their red foes, sparing neither sex nor age; 

 and the scouts were cocking their rifles when Wells 

 recognized the Indians as being the family into 

 which he had been adopted and by which he had 

 been treated as a son and brother. Springing 

 forward he swore immediate death to the first man 

 who fired, and then told his companions who the 

 Indians were. The scouts at once dropped their 

 weapons, shook hands with the Miamis, and sent 

 them off unharmed. 



Wells' last scouting trip was made just before the 

 final battle of the campaign. As it was the eve of 

 the decisive struggle, Wayne was anxious to get 

 a prisoner. Wells went off with three companions 

 McClellan, a man named Mahaffy, and a man 

 named May. May, like Wells and Miller, had lived 

 long with the Indians, first as a prisoner, and after- 

 ward as an adopted member of their tribe, but had 

 finally made his escape. The four scouts succeeded 

 in capturing an Indian man and woman, whom 

 they bound securely. Instead of returning at once 

 with their captives, the champions, in sheer dare- 

 devil, ferocious love of adventure, determined, as 

 it was already nightfall, to leave the two bound 

 Indians where they could find them again, and go 

 into one of the Indian camps to do some killing. 

 The camp they selected was but a couple of miles 

 from the British fort. They were dressed and 

 painted like Indians, and spoke the Indian tongues; 



