The next day I took my rifle and shot in two the cord by which they
hoisted their flag, and prevented them from raising it again. We
continued firing until our ammunition was expended. Finding that we
could not take the fort, we returned home, having one Winnebago killed
and one wounded during the siege.

I have since learned that the trader who lived in the fort, wounded
the Winnebago while he was scalping the first man that was killed.
The Winnebago recovered, and is now living, and is very friendly
disposed towards the trader, believing him to be a great brave.

Soon after our return home, news reached us that a war was going to
take place between the British and the Americans.

Runners continued to arrive from different tribes, all confirming the
reports of the expected war. The British agent, Colonel Dixon, was
holding talks with, and making presents to the different tribes. I
had not made up my mind whether to join the British or remain neutral.
I had not discovered yet one good trait in the character of the
Americans who had come to the country. They made fair promises but
never fulfilled them, while the British made but few, and we could
always rely implicitly on their word.

One of our people having killed a Frenchman at Prairie du Chien, the
British took him prisoner and said they would shoot him next day. His
family were encamped a short distance below the mouth of the
Wisconsin. He begged for permission to go and see them that night, as
he was to die the next day. They permitted him to go after he had
promised them to return by sunrise the next morning.