The portage belonged to Tacumwah's family, but had recently been taken over by the brothers Alexander and Francis Maisonville, whom Richerville supported.
When the arguments turned to physical abuse, Tacumwah moved in with Beaubien, and he sided with her family in the court proceedings at Fort Detroit.
In one case, the Miami refused to go on a raid to Kentucky, so Beaubien recruited Shawnee under Chief Blackfish, who then captured Daniel Boone in the Siege of Boonesborough in 1778.
[6] Nevertheless, there is some evidence that Beaubien, while on a trip to Kaskaskia with the Wea, warned George Rogers Clark of an Ottawa plot to kill him.
Whatever his role with Clark, Beaubien retained his British office and was disliked by the Canadien residents and the new American settlers.