their trade, that of general merchandise, and they were forced to make an assignment of all of their property in May, 1783, to the creditors above named, (but not including Cuyler). When the loyalists had begun to leave the United States and pass over into the British possessions, Cuyler obtained the appointment of "inspector of refugee loyalists" and was sent up, or obtained permission to go up, to Detroit. He bore a letter of introduction from Haldimand to De Peyster, informing the latter that he (Cuyler) was there to transact private business and requesting De Peyster to afford him all the assistance in his power consistent with his duty as a commanding officer, to facilitate his business and expedite his return to his duty at Montreal. Cuyler made a demand on Graverat for payment of the amount due him, but the latter said he had no individual property from which to pay the claim and he could not justly pay it from the copartnership capital, until the copartnership debts were paid: and indeed he owned no property whatever, because he had assigned everything to his creditors about a month before this date. Cuyler laid the matter before the commandant, and on June 17th De Peyster summoned Graverat before him. There seems to have been no trial, nor any attempt to ascertain the validity of the claims presented. There were present at the meeting, besides De Peyster, Cuyler and Graverat, Alexander Macomb, William Edgar and John Askin, and possibly Jacob Harson (Graverat's father-in-law). A demand was made on Graverat for the payment of Cuyler's claim and when payment was refused, De Peyster declared, and confirmed the same with an oath of seeming resolution, that if the account was not settled and paid at once, he would send Graverat "down the country" on a vessel that was just ready to sail. Graverat was in real dread lest the threat should be carried into execution and that he would thus be ruined, and he put into Cuyler's hands what properties he then had and a draft on Visger, amounting in all to £4,154, 9s. 4d. Graverat entered a formal protest against this method of collecting debts. Ellice also felt that he and the other creditors of Graverat were injured by De Peyster's action and wrote to Haldimand regarding the affair. De Peyster wrote to Haldimand that he only followed out the orders contained in the latter's letter, to afford Cuyler all the assistance in his power. He did not deny acting as Graverat alleged, but said the threat to send Graverat "down the country" was only made after Graverat had submitted the entire matter to arbitrators and had refused to carry out the award. Haldimand did not interfere with the matter further and Cuyler took the property received from extortion.

CONDITION OF AFFAIRS AFTER PEACE

The long delay necessarily incident to their mode of navigation prevented Haldimand from knowing what was going on in New York. The war had been transferred from America to Paris, and there the final battles were fought, with Franklin, Jay, Adams and Laurens on one side and Oswald and the British Parliament on the other. Hostilities had ceased here between the whites, but much difficulty was met in attempting to keep the Indians quiet. The prisoners at Detroit, some four hundred in number, were anxious to be exchanged so as to return home, and ninety-two of them went to Montreal for that purpose, but De Peyster had no authority to permit any to return directly home, and those who did not wish to go to Montreal were forced to remain here. De Peyster wrote in June that nothing would be wanting on his part to stop the Indians from committing depredations on the frontier. He had received no

VIEW OF DETROIT IN 1796, FROM THE ORIGINAL PAINTING IN PARIS Brig "Gen. Gage" lying in river. Buildings shown were loca ted between Wayne and Griswold streets as now laid out

accounts concerning the peace other than the king's proclamation and an injunction to restrain the Indians, but he hoped soon to hear from England conclusively, "and then you and I may sit ourselves upon our mat, with the pleasing reflection of having redeemed many of the unfortunate from slavery and saved the lives of those who (if they have the least spark of gratitude) will hereafter bless us."

Nearly at the foot of Woodward Avenue was the workyard of the fort, called the "shipyard," which was under the control of the commandant, but was occupied and used for the purposes of the navy. In this place, also, it is probable that all the timber for the houses within the fortifications was prepared and the lumber squared. This shipyard was on that part of the cleared ground, unenclosed, called the King's Commons. A little to the east of this were several small tracts of land, containing about an arpent each, which had been occupied for many years, and which formed a border to the eastern side of the commons. This line of lots extended from the river to about Fort Street, as now located, and were of a uniform depth of 192 feet. At how early a period these lots were first occupied it is now impossible to ascertain. The entire series of lots would form a portion of what was later called the Brush Farm, if their original conveyance had not antedated the conveyance of the farm.

On the lot nearest the river a hut had been built and the occupation had been granted to one Pike, to oversee the timberyard, or shipyard, already mentioned. Pike misbehaved himself and was turned out of the hut by De Peyster, and Capt. Guillaume La Mothe was installed in his place on condition that he should "keep and eye on" the shipyard. On the next lot north of the one occupied by La Mothe, Alexander McKee obtained permission to settle. When the treaty of peace was a matter of time only, both La Mothe and McKee sought to obtain valid titles to the lots they occupied, and De Peyster requested Haldimand to make the necessary grants. Both men had served the British well and the small recompense asked for would have been a trifling reward for services rendered. De Peyster said that La Mothe had moved into the hut "which he, at his own expense, has converted in a snug little dwelling, and improved the inhospitable beach to a pretty little garden by bringing soil to it, all of which, however, was done at his own cost.'

McKee had applied for a grant of his lot in June, 1782, and his request was forwarded by De Peyster to Haldimand at that time, with an offer to pay him one hundred and fifty pounds for the lot, but Haldimand replied that he preferred to make a gift of the lot, and wrote: "I shall, as a mark of my approbation of Mr. McKee's conduct, possess him of it without the consideration proposed."

DIFFICULTIES WITH INDIANS

De Peyster was in a worse condition than ever with the Indians. The uncertainty of the preliminary articles of peace gave him uneasiness and he resolved "to evade answering impertinent questions." The Indians flocked into the village to request him to supply the wants of their women and children, who were almost naked; but the supplies had not come at the last of June. "Heavens," De Peyster wrote, "if goods do not arrive soon, what will become of me? I have lost several stone weight of flesh within these twenty days." The Indians complained that they were always ready to fight for the English, and now they said, "We are informed that instead of prosecuting the war, we are to give our lands to the enemy, which gives us great uneasiness; in en

deavoring to assist you it seems we have wrought our own ruin."

De Peyster could only thank them for their past services, inform them that peace had been declared, but that he did not know on what terms, and promised to give them whatever goods came up from below.

The commandant wrote on the last of June that the Indians came in from all quarters. "To avoid a too numerous council I invited four of each nation to meet me about the beginning of July, but it seems that whole villages had set out on their journey for that purpose before my strings could reach them; impatient to know what is to become of them and their lands and to request a supply of goods so long promised them." The Wabash Indians, he said, were very impertinent, "using expressions not proper to be committed to paper.'

On the 1st day of May, 1783, Congress requested the secretary of war to take the most effective measures to inform the Indians that preliminary articles of peace had been agreed upon and hostilities had ceased with Great Britain, and the secretary sent Maj. Ephraim Douglass to carry out the instructions of Congress. It was generally understood that as soon as peace was declared the posts of Detroit and Niagara would at once be surrendered to the United States, and consequently that any delegate from Congress might properly, at this time, go among the Indians for any peaceful purpose; but the English did not propose to surrender the posts at all, if they could help it, and certainly not now. British interests were not favorable to treaties of peace between the Indians and the Americans. Douglass proceeded westward as far as Sandusky without meeting the Indians in general council. At the invitation of Captain Pipe, an Indian chief, he accompanied him to Detroit, expecting there to meet several tribes of Indians in council, to whom he could explain his errand. A further invitation was extended to him by De Peyster, but De Peyster requested him not to enter into any negotiations with the Indians until after his arrival in Detroit.

FIRST AMERICAN REPRESENTATIVE ENTERS DETROIT

On the fourth of July, 1783, the first representative of the United States Government, in the person of Maj. Ephraim Douglass, entered Detroit. He was cordially received by Major De Peyster, but while the latter professed the strongest desire to bring about terms of peace between the new government and the Indians, he would not permit Douglass to address them nor to inform them that the boundary lines of the United States would include this district.

At the Indian council, held here on the sixth of July, there were present chiefs of eleven nations, extending as far south as the Wabash, the Chippewa, Ottawa, Wyandotte, Huron, Shawnee, Delaware, Kickapoo, Oweochtanoo, Miami, Pottawatomi, Pienkisha and Seneca. The Indians knew of the presence of Douglass and of his errand. They were greatly pleased that peace was declared and surrounded his lodging all day when he was at home and lined the streets to attend him when he was going abroad, "that they might have," he wrote, "an opportunity of seeing and saluting me, which they did not fail to do in their best manner, with every demonstration of joy." In the absence of instructions from higher authority, De Peyster refused to permit Douglass to negotiate with the Indians, and on the 7th at, the request of De Peyster, Douglass set out for Niagara, where he was accorded the same treatment as at Detroit and was compelled to return home without having accomplished anything of importance. Thus the Indians were left in almost total ignorance