Harmar yielded,
for the home authorities had dwelt much on the necessity of his
preventing friction between the regulars and the militia; and he had so
little control over the latter, that he was very anxious to keep them
good-humored. Moreover, the commissariat arrangements were poor. Under
such circumstances the keenest observers on the frontier foretold
failure from the start. [Footnote: Am. State Papers, Indian Affairs, i.
Jno. O'Fallan to the President, Lexington, Ky., Sept. 25, 1790.]
The March to the Miami.
For several days the army marched slowly forward. The regular officers
had endless difficulty with the pack horsemen, who allowed their charges
to stray or be stolen, and they strove to instruct the militia in the
rudiments of their duties, on the march, in camp, and in battle. A
fortnight's halting progress through the wilderness brought the army to
a small branch of the Miami of the Lakes. Here a horse patrol captured a
Maumee Indian, who informed his captors that the Indians knew of their
approach and were leaving their towns. On hearing this an effort was
made to hurry forward; but when the army reached the Miami towns, on
October 17th, they had been deserted.
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