were
immigrants, unaccustomed to savage warfare, and therefore they made no
effort to repel the attack, which could easily have been done by
resolute, well-armed veterans. The Indians crowded into the craft they
had captured, and paddled and rowed after the scows, whooping and
firing. They nearly overtook the last scow, whereupon its people shifted
to the second, and abandoned it. When further pressed the people shifted
into the headmost scow, cut holes in its sides so as to work all the
oars, and escaped down-stream, leaving the Indians to plunder the two
abandoned boats, which contained twenty-eight horses and fifteen hundred
pounds' worth of goods.

Pursuit of the War Party.

The Kentuckians of the neighborhood sent word to General Harmar, begging
him to break up this nest of plunderers. Accordingly he started after
them, with his regular troops. He was joined by a number of Kentucky
mounted riflemen, under the command of Col. Charles Scott, a rough
Indian fighter, and veteran of the Revolutionary War, who afterwards
became governor of the State. Scott had moved to Kentucky not long after
the close of the war with England; he had lost a son at the hands of the
savages, [Footnote: State Dept. MSS., No. 71, vol. ii., p. 563.] and he
delighted in war against them.

Harmar made a circuit and came down along the Scioto, hoping to surprise
the Indian camp; but he might as well have hoped to surprise a party of
timber wolves. His foes scattered and disappeared in the dense forest.
Nevertheless, coming across some moccasin tracks, Scott's horsemen
followed the trail, killed four Indians, and carried in the scalps to
Limestone. The chastisement proved of little avail. A month later five
immigrant boats, while moored to the bank a few miles from Limestone,
were rushed by the Indians at night; one boat was taken, all the
thirteen souls aboard being killed or captured.

Misadventures of Vigo.

Among the men who suffered about this time was the Italian Vigo; a fine,
manly, generous fellow, of whom St. Clair spoke as having put the United
States under heavy obligations, and as being "in truth the most
disinterested person" he had ever known. [Footnote: American State
Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., Sept. 19, 1790.] While taking his
trading boat up the Wabash, Vigo was attacked by an Indian war party,
three of his men were killed, and he was forced to drop down-stream.
Meeting another trading boat manned by Americans