The Little Turtle observes, he never heard of any cession made at that place [Fort Wayne] to the French. I have traced the lines of two forts at that point ... and it is ever an established rule, among the Europeans, to reserve as much ground around their forts, as their cannon can command.[14] Wayne could not grant Little Turtle’s request for joint-control of the Maumee-Wabash portage since the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 guaranteed to everyone free use of all important portages (Article V). Wayne proved himself an economist and shrewd diplomat by arguing before the other assembled tribes that the tolls garnered by the Miamis actually were passed off to all the Indians in the form of higher prices for the traders goods. At length, Little Turtle, speaking for four tribes besides the Miamis, expressed himself as satisfied with the treaty, and being the last to sign it, promised he would be the last to break it.[15] This he never did, as he spent the last seventeen years of his life at peace with the Americans. In a farewell address to the conference, Little Turtle asked that the United States government appoint Captain William Wells as resident interpreter at Fort Wayne. William Wells, frontier scout and pioneer, was one of the most romantic and mysterious figures in the early history of the Northwest. A biography or even a sketch of his life has never been written, although his story is intimately connected with that of Fort Wayne and the Indiana Territory. Between 1794 and 1812, when he was killed, Captain Wells was decidedly the most interesting white person in the history of Fort Wayne. Little is known about him personally, except that which we can obtain from letters written by him or those concerning him. A member of prominent Kentucky family and the brother of Colonel Samuel Wells of Louisville, William Wells had been kidnapped by a band of Miamis when he was twelve year old. Taken to Miamitown, he was adopted by the tribe of Little Turtle and was raised by the Indians, as was the custom of that time. It is not surprising, consequently, that the Frenchman, Count Volney described Wells as “tall and muscular, quick in movement, and having the complexion of an Indian.”[16] It is surprising, however, that Wells, having little or no education, in later life showed in his letters a knowledge of the English language and clarity of thought far superior to his white associates on the frontier.