soldier with clubbed rifle raised to strike, his head felt as if it were pierced with red-hot iron, and he went down from a heavy saber-cut. All knowledge ceased from this time until many moons afterward, when he found himself being nursed by the squaws of his friends, who had found him on the battle-field two or three days afterward. The squaws thought all were dead, but upon moving the bodies of Okemos and his cousin, signs of life appeared, and they were taken to a place of safety and finally restored to partial health. Okemos never afterward took part in war, this battle having satisfied him that “white man was a heap powerful."

Shortly after his recovery he solicited Col. Godfroy to intercede with Gen. Cass, and he and other chiefs made a treaty with the Americans, which was faithfully kept.

The next we hear of the old chieftain, he had settled with his tribe on the banks of the Shiawassee, near the place of his birth, where for many years, up to 1837-'8, he was engaged in the peaceful vocation of hunting, fishing and trading with the white man. About this time the small-pox broke out in his tribe, which, together with the influx of white settlers who destroyed their hunting-grounds, scattered their bands. The plaintive, scft notes of the wooing young hunter's flute, made of red alder, and the sound of the tom-tom at council fires and village feasts were heard no more along the banks of our inland streams. Okemos became a mendicant, and many a hearty meal has the old Indian received from his. friends among the whites. He was five feet four inches high, lithe, wiry, active, intelligent and possessed undoubted bravery; but in conversation he hesitated and mumbled his words. Previous to the breaking up of his band in 1837-'8, his usual dress consisted of a blanket coat with belt, steel pipe, hatchet, tomahawk and a heavy, long, English hunting-knife stuck in his belt in front, with a large bone handle prominent outside the sheath. He painted his cheeks and forehead with vermilion, wore a shawl around his head turban fashion, and leggins. He died at his wigwam a few miles from Lansing, and was buried Dec. 5, 1858, at Shimnicon, an Indian settlement in Ionia county. His coffin was extremely rude, and in it were placed a pipe, tobacco, hunting-knife, bird's wings, provisions, etc. An ambrotype picture was taken of this eminent Indian in 1857, and has ever since been in the possession of O. A. Jenison at Lansing, from whom we obtain the above account.

HULL'S SURRENDER.

Now we have to record an unexplained mystery, which no historian of Michigan can omit, namely, the surrender of Detroit to the British by Gen. Hull, when his forces were not in action and were far more powerful than the enemy. He was either a coward or a traitor, or both. The commander of the British forces, Gen. Brock, triumphantly took possession of the fort, left a small garrison under Col. Proctor, and returned to the seat of his government.

In 12 days he had moved with a small army 250 miles against the enemy, effected the surrender of a strong fort and well equipped army of 2,300 effective men, and one of the Territories of the United States. Hull and the regular troops were taken to Montreal, and the militia were sent to their homes.

In the capitulation Gen. Hull also surrendered Fort Dearborn at Chicago, commanding Capt. Heald of that place to evacuate and retreat to Fort Wayne. In obedience to this order the Captain started from the fort with his forces; but no sooner were they outside the walls than they were attacked by a large force of Indians, who took them prisoners and then proceeded to massacre them, killing 38 out of the 66 soldiers, even some of the women and children, two of the former and 12 of the latter. Capt. Wells, a white man who had been brought up among the Indians, but espoused the white man's cause, was killed in the massacre.

Jan. 3, 1814, Gen. Hull appeared before a court-martial at Albany, N. Y., where Gen. Dearborn was president. The accused made no objection to the constitution and jurisdiction of this court; its sessions were protracted and every facility was given the accused to make his defense. The three charges against him were treason, cowardice and neglect of duty. Hull was finally acquitted of the high crime of treason, but he was found guilty of the other charges and sentenced to be shot; but by reason of his services in the Revolution and his advanced age the court recommended him to the mercy of the President, who approved the finding of the court but remitted the execution of the sentence and dismissed Hull from the service. The accused wrote a long defense, in which he enumerates many things too tedious to relate here. Even before he was sent to Detroit he was rather opposed to the policy of the Government toward the British of Canada; and, besides, he had been kindly treated by British officers, who helped him across the frontier. Again, the general Government was unreasonably slow to inform the General of the declaration of war which had been made against Great Britain, and very slow to forward troops and supplies. Many things can be said on both sides; but historians generally approve the judgment of the court in his case, as well as of the executive clemency of the President.

PERRY'S VICTORY.

The lake communication of Michigan with the East, having been in the hands of the British since Hull's surrender, was cut off by Com. Perry, who obtained a signal naval victory over the British on Lake Erie Sept. 10, 1813. The Commodore built his fleet at Erie, Pa., under great disadvantages. The bar at the mouth of the harbor would not permit the vessels to pass out with their armament on board. For some time after the fleet was ready to sail, the British commodore continued to hover off the harbor, well knowing it must either remain there inactive or venture out with almost

a certainty of defeat. During this blockade, Com. Perry had no alternative but to ride at anchor at Erie; but early in September the enemy relaxed his vigilance and withdrew to the upper end of the lake. Perry then slipped out beyond the bar and fitted his vessels for action. The British fleet opposed to Com. Perry consisted of the ships "Detroit," carrying 19 guns; the "Queen Charlotte," 17 guns; the schooner "Lady Prevost," 13 guns; the brig "Hunter," ten guns; the sloop "Little Belt," three guns; and the schooner "Chippewa," one gun and two swivels; and this fleet was commanded by a veteran officer of tried skill and valor.

At sunrise, Sept. 10, while at anchor at Put-in-Bay, the Commodore espied the enemy toward the head of the lake, and he iminediately sailed up and commenced action. His flag vessel, the Lawrence, was engaged with the whole force of the enemy for nearly two hours before the wind permitted the other vessels to come in proper position to help. The crew of this vessel continued the fight until every one of them was either killed or wounded, all the rigging torn to pieces and every gun dismantled. Now comes the daring feat of the engagement which makes Perry a hero. He caused his boat to be lowered, in which he rowed to the Niagara amid the storm of shot and shell raging around him. This vessel he sailed through the enemy's fleet with a swelling breeze, pouring in her broadsides upon their ships and forcing them to surrender in rapid succession, until all were taken. The smaller vessels of his fleet helped in this action, among which was one commanded by the brave and faithful Capt. Elliott. This victory was one of the most decisive in all the annals of American history. It opened the lake to Gen. Wm. H. Harrison, who had been operating in Indiana and Ohio, and who now crossed with his ariny to Canada, where he had a short campaign, terminated by the battle of the Moravian towns, by which the enemy were driven from the northwestern frontier. A detachment of his army occupied Detroit Sept. 29, 1813, and Oct. 18 an armistice was concluded with the Indians, thus restoring tranquillity to the Territory of Michigan. Soon afterward Gen. Harrison left Gen. Cass in command at Detroit and moved with the main body of his army down to the Niagara frontier.

Perry's brilliant success gave to the Americans the uncontrolled command of the lake, and Sept. 23 their fleet landed 1,200 men near Malden. Col. Proctor, however, had previously evacuated that post, after setting fire to the fort and public storehouses. Com. Perry in the meantime passed up to Detroit with the "Ariel" to assist in the occupation of that town, while Capt. Elliott, with the "Lady Prevost," the "Scorpion," and the "Tigress," advanced into Lake St. Clair to intercept the enemy's stores. Thus Gen. Harrison, on his arrival at Detroit and Malden, found both places abandoned by the enemy, and was met by the Canadians asking for his protection. Tecumseh proposed to the British commander that they should hazard an engagement at Mal

den; but the latter foresaw that he should be exposed to the fire of the American fleet in that position, and therefore resolved to march to the Moravian towns upon the Thames, near St. Clair lake, above Detroit, and there try the chance of a battle. His force at this time consisted of about 900 regular troops, and 1,500 Indians commanded by Tecumseh. The American army amounted to about 2,700 men, of whom 120 were regulars, a considerable number of militia, about 30 Indians, and the remainder Kentucky riflemen, well mounted, and mainly young men, full of ardor, and burning with a desire to revenge the massacre of their friends and relatives at the River Raisin.

During the following winter there were no military movements, except an incursion into the interior of the upper province by Maj. Holmes, who was attacked near Stony creek, and maintained his ground with bravery.

CLOSE OF THE WAR.

The war with Great Britain was now (November, 1813) practically closed, so far as the Northwest was concerned, but the post at Mackinaw yet remained in the hands of the enemy, and active steps were taken to dispossess the English of this point and drive them wholly from the domain of the United States. The first effort to start an expedition failed; but in the summer of 1814 a wellequipped force of two sloops of war, several schooners and 750 land militia, under the command of Com. Sinclair and Lieut.-Col. Croghan, started for the north. Contrary, however, to the advice of experienced men, the commanders concluded to visit St. Joseph first, and the British at Mackinaw heard of their coming and prepared themselves. The consequence was a failure to take the place. Major Holmes was killed, and the Winnebago Indians, from Green Bay, allies of the British, actually cut out the heart and livers from the American slain and cooked and ate them! Com. Sinclair afterward made some arrangements to starve out the post, but his vessels were captured and the British then remained secure in the possession of the place until the treaty of peace the following winter.

The war with England formally closed on Dec. 24, 1814, when a treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. The 9th article of the treaty required the United States to put an end to hostilities with all tribes or nations of Indians with whom they had been at war; to restore to such tribes or nations respectively all the rights and possessions to which they were entitled in 1811, before the war, on condition that such Indians should agree to desist from all hostilities against the United States. But in February, just before the treaty was sanctioned by our Government, there were signs of Indians accumulating arms and ammunition, and a cautionary order was therefore issued to have all the white forces in readiness for an attack by the Indians; but the attack was not made. During