Fortunately for the garrison and the people remaining near Fort Wayne, the Indian plan to attack the fort was discovered beforehand in much the same manner as Pontiac’s famous plan to capture Detroit had been revealed to the British at an earlier date in history. On the night of August 20, Metea, a Potawatomie chief, made his way under cover of darkness to the cabin of Antoine Bondie outside of the fort enclosure and there revealed to Bondie the plans of attack in order that Bondie and his Indian wife might escape death. Antoine Bondie, a French trader, was then about fifty years old and had lived with the Indians since he was twelve near the vicinity of Fort Wayne. Metea naturally thought that Bondie would join them and when the Frenchman did not decline the chief’s offer, he suspected nothing. However, Bondie accompanied by Charles Peltier, another French trader, went to Benjamin Stickney the following morning and informed the agent of the plot.[2] Stickney, who at a later date wrote his account of the siege, gave himself most of the credit for the turn the events then took.[3] At first, he relates, he was inclined to reject Bondie’s information as false, since a mistake in a matter of so much importance would have proved ruinous to his character and would have resulted in his disgraceful ejection from office. However, he informed Captain Rhea of the situation, and despite the fact that the Captain discredited Bondie’s story on the grounds that the latter was untrustworthy, Stickney determined to send an express to Harrison at Cincinnati and another to Captain Taylor at Terre Haute informing them of the state of affairs. Why Captain Rhea should have refused and Stickney should have hesitated to believe that an attack was imminent even though they knew of the massacre at Fort Dearborn is difficult to understand. It can be said in their defense that when Bondie revealed to them the plot of the red men, they had not yet heard of the surrender of Detroit; consequently, did not realize their position was so precarious. Lt. Curtis in his account of the siege of Fort Wayne states that many attempts were made to send messages through to Detroit, but that they all failed.[4] Earlier in the same day that Metea informed Bondie of the coming attack on Fort Wayne, Captain Rhea expressed the rather naive belief that the Potawatomies gathering about the fort intended to proceed to Piqua for a conference with the U. S. commissioners, and requested Governor Meigs of Ohio to send him instructions concerning the matter. At the same time Captain Rhea asked for information in regard to General Hull’s movements at Detroit, which indicated he knew nothing of the surrender.[5]