Perry at once sent a message to headquarters to tell of his victory.
It was short and to the point. "We have met the enemy, and they
are ours," was all he said.
This great victory gave the Americans control of the Lakes and
made many of the British victories on land useless. Perry's fleet
was now used to land soldiers in Canada and General Proctor began
to retreat.
At this Tecumseh was disgusted. "You always told us," he said to
the British leader, "that you would never draw your foot off British
ground. But now, father, we see that you are drawing back. And we
are sorry to see our father doing so without seeing the enemy. We
must compare our father's conduct to a fat dog that carries its
tail erect till it is frightened, and then drops it between its
legs and runs away."
But General Proctor would not listen. He continued to run away. At
length, however, the Americans overtook him, he had to fight.
In Battle of the Thames, Oct. 5, 1813, the British were defeated
and brave Tecumseh was killed. It is not quite known when or by
whom he was killed. But when the Indians saw their leader was no
longer among them they had no more heart to fight. "Tecumseh fell
and we all ran," said one of his braves afterwards. Thus the power
of these Indians was broken for ever.
The war still went on, and it was fought not only in the North but
all along the coasts and in the South.
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