and rewards
given to the best marksmen. To inspire emulation, the riflemen and the
infantry strove to excel, and the men soon attained to an accuracy that
gave them confidence in their own prowess. On the artillery the General
impressed the importance of that arm of the service. The dragoons he
taught to rely on the broadsword, as all important to victory. The
riflemen were made to see how much success must depend on their
coolness, quickness and accuracy; while the infantry were led to place
entire confidence in the bayonet, as the certain and irresistible weapon
before which the savages could not stand. The men were instructed to
charge in open order; each to rely on himself, and to prepare for a
personal contest with the enemy." The orders and admonitions of Wayne
fell not on deaf ears. The Legion of the United States became a thing of
life. In the battle at the Miami Rapids a soldier of the Legion met a
single warrior in the woods and they attacked each other, "the soldier
with his bayonet, the Indian with his tomahawk. Two days after, they
were found dead; the soldier with his bayonet in the body of the
Indian--the Indian with his tomahawk in the head of the soldier."

About the first of May, 1793, the army moved down the Ohio in boats and
encamped near Fort Washington, Cincinnati, at a place which was named
"Hobson's Choice." At this place the main body of the troops was halted
until about the seventh of October, to await the outcome of the repeated
attempts of the government to make peace with the Indian tribes.

The difficulties that beset the pathway of President Washington at the
opening of the year 1792, seemed insurmountable. On the one hand, the
people of the east regarded the westerners as the real aggressors in the
border conflicts, and were extremely loath to grant aid to the
government. The debates in Congress reflected their attitude. On the
other hand, the people of Kentucky regarded the efforts of the
government to secure to them the navigation of the Mississippi, as
procrastinating and futile. They even suspected the good faith of
Washington himself, but in this they erred, for negotiations were on
foot that finally secured to them the desired end. Moreover the failure
of Harmar and the disaster of St. Clair had filled the backwoodsmen with
misgivings and they had no faith in the regular army or its generals.
The extreme poverty of the government, the utter lack of support from
all sections, would