Tecumseh gave his eloquence and energies to rallying the different tribes, after they had fallen away through the blundering of The Prophet. He visited them all again, and won not hundreds but thousands to his standard. With these, he entered the service of the British when war broke out between England and our country. Hardly a battle took place in the West, down to the death of the Shawanoe, in which he did not act a creditable part. His military ability was so notable that he was made a brigadier general, and, as has been said, there was no white officer of that rank who was his superior, if indeed any one was his equal. When asked one day to give an idea of the face of the country through which they were marching, he took a piece of elm bark, laid it on the ground, with a heavy stone on each corner to hold it flat, and with the point of his hunting knife, traced a map, which the English engineers declared could not be surpassed by any of their number. One day General Proctor was sitting on his horse calmly watching a number of Indians that were maltreating several American prisoners. Although claiming to be civilized and guided by the rules of honorable warfare, the commander smiled, as if the sight was as pleasing to him as to the dusky persecutors. In the midst of the cruel pastime the sound of a galloping horse was heard, and the animal was reined up on his haunches within a few feet of the general. At the same instant Tecumseh leaped from his back to the ground, grasped the principal tormentor by the throat, hurled him backward a dozen feet, struck another a blow that almost fractured his skull, and with his face flaming with passion, whipped out his hunting knife, and shouted that he would kill the first one who laid hands on another prisoner. Turning to General Proctor, he demanded with angry voice and flashing eyes: "What do you mean by permitting such things?" "Sir, your warriors cannot be restrained," was the reply. With burning scorn, Tecumseh said: "You are not fit to command; go home and put on petticoats!" Commodore Perry won his great victory over the British fleet on Lake Erie, September 10, 1813. Had he failed, it was the plan of the British army in the West to invade Ohio. If he won, General Harrison meant to invade Canada. As soon as he learned of the victory, told to him by Perry's message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours," he lost no time in invading Canada. He embarked at Sandusky Bay, September 27, and landed near Malden. Proctor retreated to Sandwich with the Americans closely pressing him. Instead of giving battle, the British commander kept up his retreat to the Thames. Tecumseh, with a large force of Indians, was with Proctor. He was angered over the cowardice of the British officer. The chief saw many good positions given up without a struggle, and did not hide his disgust. Going to the general he protested.