The author has sought to verify every statement that touches upon historical events. He has read or examined nearly all the books and pamphlets and many of the magazine articles formerly in the Astor and Lenox, now in the New York Public Library, dealing with Indian wars and customs. In numerous cases, narratives written by observers and participants have been available. He believes that all the border battles are described correctly, and the Indian songs, dances and customs are taken from the relations of witnesses. But the great mass of material dealing with the frontier furnishes another striking illustration of the old saying that truth is stranger than fiction. No Indian story has ever told of danger and escape more marvelous than those that happened hundreds of times. The Indian character, as revealed in numerous accounts, is also a complex and interesting study. The same Indian was capable of noble actions and of unparalleled cruelty. As a forest warrior he has never been excelled. In the woods, fighting according to his ancient methods, he was the equal alike of Frenchman, Englishman and American, and often their superior. Many of the Indian chiefs were great men. They had the minds of statesmen and generals, and they prolonged, for generations, a fight that was doomed, from the beginning. We lost more people in our Indian wars than in all the others combined, except the Civil War. More American soldiers fell at St. Clair's defeat by the Northwestern Indians than in any other battle we had ever fought until Bull Run. The British dead at Braddock's disaster in the American wilderness outnumbered the British dead at Trafalgar nearly two to one. So valiant a race has always appealed to youth, at least, as a fit subject of romance. The long struggle with the brave and wary red men bred a type of white foresters who became fully their equals in the craft and lore of the wilderness. Such as these stood as a shield between the infant settlements and the fierce tribes, and, in this class, the author has placed his heroes. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I PASSING FLEET 1 II THE SILVER BULLET 16 III THE HOT SPRING 30 IV THE SEVEN HERALDS 39 V THE WYANDOT COUNCIL 51 VI THE RUINED VILLAGE 63 VII THE TAKING OF HENRY 79 VIII THE NORTHWARD MARCH 96 IX AT DETROIT 109 X THE LETTER OF THE FOUR 126 XI THE CRY FROM THE FOREST 143 XII THE CANOE ON THE RIVER 157 XIII ON THE GREAT LAKE 173 XIV A TIMELY RESCUE 188 XV THE PAGES OF A BOOK 205 XVI THE RIVER FIGHT 226 XVII THE ROAD TO WAREVILLE 241 XVIII THE SHADOWY FIGURE 265 XIX A HERALD BY WATER 282 XX THE COUNTER-STROKE 316 XXI THE BATTLE OF PIQUA 336