In the fall of 1776 it became evident that a formidable Indian war was
impending. At Detroit great councils were held by all the northwestern
tribes, to whom the Six Nations sent the white belt of peace, that they
might cease their feuds and join against the Americans. The
later councils were summoned by Henry Hamilton, the British
lieutenant-governor of the northwestern region, whose head-quarters were
at Detroit. He was an ambitious, energetic, unscrupulous man, of bold
character, who wielded great influence over the Indians; and the conduct
of the war in the west, as well as the entire management of frontier
affairs, was intrusted to him by the British Government. [Footnote:
Haldimand MSS. Sir Guy Carleton to Hamilton, September 26, 1777.] He had
been ordered to enlist the Indians on the British side, and have them
ready to act against the Americans in the spring; [Footnote: _Do_.,
Carleton to Hamilton, October 6, 1776.] and accordingly he gathered the
tribes together. He himself took part in the war-talks, plying the
Indians with presents and fire-water no less than with speeches and
promises. The headmen of the different tribes, as they grew excited,
passed one another black, red or bloody, and tomahawk belts, as tokens
of the vengeance to be taken on their white foes. One Delaware chief
still held out for neutrality, announcing that if he had to side with
either set of combatants it would be with the "buckskins," or
backwoodsmen, and not with the red-coats; but the bulk of the warriors
sympathized with the Half King of the Wyandots when he said that the
Long Knives had for years interfered with the Indians' hunting, and that
now at last it was the Indians' turn to threaten revenge. [Footnote: "Am.
Archives," 1st Series, Vol. II., p. 517. There were several councils
held at Detroit during this fall, and it is difficult--and not very
important--to separate the incidents that occurred at each. Some took
place before Hamilton arrived, which, according to his "brief account,"
was November 9th. He asserts that he did not send out war parties until