ST. clair's campaign. 143 



authority to raise three additional regiments of foot, and a 

 squadron of horse, for three years, unless peace should be 

 sooner made with the Indians. A bill containing these provi- 

 sions, was introduced into the house of representatives, but it 

 met with great opposition there. It was objected that the na- 

 tion had not the money to carry on the war, upon such a scale ; 

 that while the British held the western posts, we were not 

 able to protect so large a frontier; that, by withdrawing from 

 the North Western Territory, and by making the Ohio river 

 the boundary ; and, by treating with the Indians, a peace 

 miffht be restored to this frontier. 



Such were some of the reasons, assigned by the opposition 

 to General Washington, in congress. They strove with all 

 their might, to defeat the bill, for the defence of the North Wes- 

 tern Territory. 



Those who supported the measure, urged the necessity of 

 self defence and self preservation ; they presented to congress, 

 a picture of the bleeding frontier — and they proved, that not 

 less than fifteen hundred Kentuckians, men, women and chil- 

 dren, who were peaceably, pursuing their avocations, had been, 

 either slain or carried into captivity by the enemy, within the, 

 then, last seven years; and it was not doubted, that the fron- 

 tier settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia, had suffered 

 quite as much, within the same period of time. The measures 

 of General Washington they said, had always been conciliato- 

 ry, towards the savages. It was shown, that Harmar offered 

 to treat with the savages in the villages of the Maumee river, 

 but the Indians, at first, refused to treat, and then, asked for 

 thirty days, to consider, on the subject, which was granted; 

 This was in the summer of 1790, and at the end of the thirty 

 days, the savages refused to give any answer, to the proposals 

 to treat. In that same thirty days, however, while Harmar, 

 forbore all hostilities, by the express orders of General Wash- 

 ington, to that effect, the Indians, in the meantime, had either 

 killed or captured one hundred and twenty persons on our fron- 

 tiers. Many of the prisoners had been roasted alive by a slow 

 fire. 



