St. Clair and Wayne 119 



chiefs, and had then seen that policy abandoned and 

 even disavowed. In fact he suffered the usual fate 

 of those who are chosen to do some piece of work 

 which unscrupulous men in power wish to have 

 done, but wish also to avoid the responsibility of 

 doing. He foretold evil results from the policy adopt- 

 ed, a policy under which, as he put it, "the dis- 

 tressed situation of the poor Indians who have long 

 fought for us and bled farely for us [is] no bar to 

 a Peaceable accomodation with America and . . . 

 they [are] left to shift for themselves." 52 That a 

 sentence of this kind could be truthfully written by 

 one British official to another was a sufficiently bit- 

 ing comment on the conduct of the British Govern- 

 ment. 



The battle of the Fallen Timbers opened the eyes 

 of the Indians to more facts than one. They saw 

 that they could not stand against the Americans un- 

 assisted. Furthermore, they saw that though the 

 British would urge them to fight, and would secretly 

 aid them, yet that in the last resort the King's troops 

 would not come to their help by proceeding to actual 

 war. All their leaders recognized that it was time 

 to make peace. The Americans found an active ally 

 in the French Canadian, Antoine Lasselle, whom 

 they had captured in the battle. He worked hard 

 to bring about a peace, inducing the Canadian trad- 

 ers to come over to the American side, and making 

 every effort to get the Indians to agree to terms. 

 Being a thrifty soul, he drove a good trade with the 



M Canadian Archives, McKee to Chew, March 27, 1795. 



