Having told the tale of his own doings, Pigeonswing next came to his
proposition for the mode of future proceeding. He proposed that the
family should get into the canoes that very night, and commence its
flight by going down the stream directly toward its foes! This
sounded strangely, but there did not seem to be any alternative. A
march across the peninsula would be too much for the females, and
there was the certainty that their trail would be found. It may seem
strange to those who are unacquainted with the American Indian, and
his habits, to imagine that, in so large an expanse, the signs of
the passage of so small a party might not escape detection; but such
was the case. To one unaccustomed to the vigilance and intelligence
of these savages, it must appear just as probable that the vessel
could be followed through the wastes of the ocean, by means of its
wake, as that the footprints should be so indelible as to furnish
signs that can be traced for days. Such, however, is the fact, and
no one understood it better than the Chippewa. He was also aware
that the country toward Ohio, whither the fugitives would naturally
direct their course, now that the English were in possession of
Detroit, must soon be a sort of battle-ground, to which most of the
warriors of that region would eagerly repair.
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