zation of spies and fought in the campaign of Wayne until the treaty of Greenville in 1795, which restored peace between the whites and the Indians, when Wells again rejoined his old friends and foster-father, Little Turtle. Captain Wells was chosen to escort the troops from Chicago to Fort Wayne at the time of the outbreak in 1812, and while living there with her uncle, Miss Wells met Captain Heald, and in 1812 Captain Heald was placed in command of the garrison at Chicago, at that time a remote outpost of the American frontier. The communication between the posts at Fort Wayne, Detroit, and Chicago was carried on over an Indian trail with a friendly savage as guide frequently. Opposite the fort which stood at the junction of the Chicago River with Lake Michigan and separated by the river stood the home of Mr. Kinsey. They were the first to have knowledge of the outbreak, which occurred on the night of the 7th of April, 1812. The commander of the fort, Captain Heald, received, on the 7th of August, dispatches from General Hull at Detroit, announcing the declaration of war between the United States and Great Britain. Captain Heald decided upon a plan of action which brought forth the greatest indignation and resentment from his officers and men. He had received orders to distribute all the supplies of United States property equally among the Indians in the neighborhood, and evacuate the post. The officers and men urged upon him the necessity to remain and fortify themselves as strongly as possible, hoping for aid from the other side of the peninsula, but Captain Heald announced that he was going to carry out what seemed to them a foolhardy decision on his part and distribute the property among the Indians and ask them to escort the garrison to Fort Wayne, with the promise of reward for the safe conduct of all, adding that he felt a profound confidence in the profession of friendship on the part of the Indians. This brought on a most unhappy condition of
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Part Taken by Women in American History