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32X

U I S T O 11 Y

CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC,

or THB

AND THE WAR OF THE

NOSTH AMERICAN TRIBES

AGAENST TUE

ENGLISH COLONIES

AFTER THE

CONQUEST OF CANADA.

Bv FRANCIS PAKKMAX.

"D«c«se nobis torra. in qui TivamiM; in qua mommur, non potest.-

Tiictt. Ann. xiii. 6G.

rOCBTH EDITION, BEVISKD.

BOSTON:
LITTLE, BROWX, ,\yD COMPANY.

18G8.

• Entered, according to Act of Congress, m the year 18.51. by
Francis Pakkma.v, Jk.,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massacnusetts.

phPS

CribrlilK.': iTiiifd hy Jui.u Wil.on aiul Son.

LlZ^^

JARED SPARKS, LL. I).,

PRESrDENT or HARVARD tJNIVKRSITV

THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED

AS A TESTIMONIAL OF HIGH PLRSONAL REGARD.

AND A TRIBUTE OF RE.SPKCT

FOR HIS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES

TO AMERICAN HISTORY

PREFATORY NOTE

TO THE FOURTH EDITION.

Since the publication of this book, some achHtionnl
documents have come to light, bearing upon the
history of the Indian outbreak of ITOi]. The chief
among tliem is the " Diary of the Siege of Detroit,"
discovered a few years ago in London, and ])rinted
at Albany hi 1859. It is anonymous, but uudoubt-
cdly authentic. Though of interest as a confirmation
of other narratives, it contains little that was not
already known. The few new facts of value that
may be gleaned from it, together with such as could
be gathered from other sources, have been incorpo-
rated in the text and notes of the present edition.
A number of errors iu the preceding editions have
also been corrected.

Skitemhkh. 1867.

PREFACE.

The conquest of Canada was an event of moment-
ous conseciuence in American history. It changed
the political aspect of the continent, prepared a way
for the independence of the British colonies, rescued
the vast tracts of the interior from the rule of mili-
tary desi)otism, and gave them, eventually, to the
keeping of an ordered democracy. Yet to the red
natives of the soil its results were wholly disastrous.
Could tlie French have maintained their ground, the
ruin of the Indian tribes miglit long have been post-
poned ; but the victory of Quebec was the signal of
their swift decline. 'J'henceforth tliey were destined
to melt and vanish before the advancing waves of
Anglo-American power, which now rolled westward
unchecked and unoppo.st'd, They saw the danger,
and, led by a gi-eat ami during .champion, struogled
fiercely to avert it. The history of that epoch,
crowded as it is witli scenes of tragic interest, with
marvels of suffering and vicissitude, of heroism iind
endurance, has been, as yet, unwritten, buried in
tl)e an hives of governments, or among the obscurer

Vlll

PREFACE.

records of private adventure. To rescue it from ob-
livion is the object of the following work. It aims
to portray the American forest and the American In-
dian at the period when both received their final
doom.

It is evident tliat other study than that of the
closet is indispensable to success in such an attcmi)t.
Habits of early reading had greatly aided to pro
pare me for the task; but necessary knowledge of a
more practical kind has been supplied by tlie indul-
gence of a strong natural taste, which, at various
intervals, led me to the wild regions of the north
and west. Here, by the camp-fire, or in the canoe,
I gained familiar acquaintance with the men and
scenery of the wilderness. In 1846, I visited various
primitive tribes of the Rocky Mountains, and was,
for a time, domesticated in a village of the western
Dahcotah, on the high plains between Mount Laramie
and the range of the Medicine Bow.

The most troublesome part of the task was the
collection of the necessary documents. These con-
sisted of letters, journals, reports, and despatches,
scattered among numerous public offices, and private
families, in Europe and America. When brought to-
gether, they amounted to about three thousand four
hundred manuscript pages. Contemporary newspa-
pers, magazines, and pamphlets have also been ex-
amined, and careful search made for every book
which, directly or indirectly, might throw light upon
the subject. I have visited the sites of all the

PREFACE.

principal events recortled in the nainitivc, and gatli-
ered such local traditions as seemed worthy of con-
fidence.

I am indebted to the liberality of Hon. Lewis
Cass for a curious collection of papers relating to
the siege of Detroit by the Indians. Other impor-
tant contributions have been obtained from the state
pa[)er ofHces of London and Paris, from the archives
of New York, Pennsylvania, and other states, and
from tlie manuscript collections of several historical
societies. The late William L. Stone, Es([. com
menced an elaborate biography of Sir ^^'illiam John
son, which it is much to be lamented he did not
live to complete. By the kindness of Mrs. Stone, I
was permitted to copy from his extensive collection
of documents, such portions as would serve the pur-
poses of the following History.

To President Sparks of Harvard University, Gen-
eral Whiting, U. S. A., Brantz ISlayer, Esq. of Balti-
more, Francis J. Fisher, Esq. of Philadelphia, and
Rev. George E. F'ilis of Charlestown, I beg to return
a warm acknowledgmtnit for counsel and assistance.
Mr. Benjamin Perley Poore and Mr. Henry Stevens
procured copies of valuable documents from the ar-
chives of Paris and liondon. Henry 11. Schoolcraft,
Esq., Dr. F'.lwyn of Philadelphia, Dr. O'Callaghan of
Albany, George H. Moore, Esq. of New York, Ly-
man C. Draper, Esq. of Philadelphia, Judge Law of
A'incennes, and many others, have kindly contributed
materials to the work. Nor can I withhold an
B

PREFACE.

expression of thanks to the aid so freely rendered
in tlie dull task of proof-reading and correction.

The crude and promiscuous mass of materials pre-
sented an aspect by no means inviting. The field of
the history was uncultured and unreclaimed, and tlie
labor that awaited me was like that of tlie border
settler, who, before he builds his rugged dwelling,
must fell the forest-trees, bum the undergrowth, clear
the ground, and hew the fallen trunks to due pro-
portion.

Several obstacles have retarded the progress of the
work. Of these, one of tne most considerable was
the condition of my sight, seriously, though not per-
manently, impaired. For about three years, the light
of day was insupportable, and every attempt at read-
ing or writing completely debarred. Under these cir-
cumstances, the task of sifting the materials and
comi)osing the work was begun and finished. The
papers were repeatedly read aloud by an amanuensis,
copious notes and extracts were made, and the narra-
tive written down from my dictation. This process,
though extremely slow and laborious, was not with-
out its advantages ; and I am well convinced that the
authorities have been even more minutely examined,
more scrupulously collated, and more thoroughly di-
gested, than they would have been under ordinary
circumstances.

In order to escape the tedious circumlocution,
which, from the nature of the subject, could not
otherwise have been avoided, the name English is

rUKFACK.

ai.[)lioa, tliiou^rhout the voluiur, to the British Amcii-
ciiu colonists, us well as to the people of the mother
country. 'J'he necessity is somewhat to be re<,nette{|,
since, even ut an early period, clear distinctions were
visible between the ott'shoot and the parent stock.

Boston, Auorast I, 1851.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
Introductory. — Indian Tribes East of the Mississi

ppr.

Ceneral Chanictoristicg .

Tribal Divisions .

Mode of Govornmont

Social Ilannony .

The Totem . . . .

Classification of Tribes

The Iroquois . . . .

Their Position and Character

Their Political Orf^anization .

Traditions of their Confederacy

Their Myths and Lcrrends

Their Eloquence and Sajracity

Arts — Agriculture .

Tlieir Dwellings, Villages, and
Forts

Their Winter Life

The War Path

Festivals and Pastimes

Pride of the Iroquois

The Hurons or Wyandots .

The=,- Customs and Character .

Their Dispersion .

The Neutral Nation — Its Fate

The Eries and Andastes .

Triumphs of the Confederacy

The Adoption of Prisoners

r.voE
1
2

3
4
5

G
7
8
11
12
13
14

K)
18
18
19
20
21
21
22
22
23

I'AfiE

The Tuscaroras ... 24
Superiority of the Iroquois Race 24
The Algonquins ... 25
The Lenni Lenaj)e . . .26
Their changing Fortunes . 27
The Shawanoes . . .28
The Mianis and the Illinois 29
The Ojibwas, Pottawattamies,

and Ottawas ... 30
The Sacs and Foxes . . .30
The Menomonies and Kniste-

neaux .... 30
Customs of the Northern Al-

gohqnins . , . . gj
Their Summer and Winter Life 31
Legends of the Algompiins . ;j,3
Religious Faith of the Indians 34
The Indian Character . . 35
Its Inconsistencies . . HQ
Its Ruling Passions . . S6

Pride — Hero-worship . . 37
Coldness, Jealousy, Suspicion .37
Self-control .... ,38
Intellectual Traits . . .33
Inflexibility. ... 39
Generous Qualities . . .39

CHAPTER II.
France and England in America.

Contrast of French and Eng-
lish Colonies

Feudalism in Canada .
41 Priests and Monks .

42
42

XIV

CONTENTS.

Puritanism and Democracy in

New Entfland
French Life in Canada
Military Stron<(th of Canada .
Rcliflioiis Zoal .
Missions — TliP Jesuits .
Brebeuf and Lallemant
Miirtyrdoiii of Jojjuos
Rrsults of the Missions
French Explorers .

La Salln ....

His Plan of Discovery .

Ilis Sufferings — His Heroism

He discovers the Mouth of the

Mississippi

,54

4(i

Louisiana ....

France in the West .

.50

Growth of Entrlish Colonies .

.5(5

Approachinjf Collision .

CHAPTER III.

The French, the English, and the Indians.

Cliamplain defeats the Iroquois 51)
The Iro(]uois Wars . . (K)
Misery of Canada . . .01
Expedition of Frontenac . Gl
Success of the French . . ^53
French Influence in the West (53
La Verandrye .... (53
The En«rlish Fur-trade . (54
Protestant and Romish Missions (55
The Enfrlish and the Iroquois (55
Policy of the French . . (50
The Frenchman in the Wig-
wam . . . . G9
Coureurs des Bois . . .09

The Wliite Savajrc . . 70
The Enjrlish Fur-trader . . 71
William Penn and his Eulo-
gists 71

The Indians and the Quakers 72

Injustice of Pcnm's Successors 73

Tiie Walking Purciiase . . 75

Speech of Canassatego . 70

Removal of the Dtdawares . 77

Intrusion of Settlers . . 77

Success of French Intrigues . 78

Father Pic(iuet . . . 79

Sir William .Tohnson . . 80

Position of Parties . . 8Ji

CHAPTER IV.

Collision of the Rival Colonies.

The Puritan and tlio Canadian 85
Fort Frederic ... 85
Aciidia . . . . .8(5
Till' French on the Ohio . 80
Mission of Washington . . 87
Trent driven from the Ohio . 88
Death of Jumonville . . 89
Skirmish at the Great Mead-
ows 89

Alarm of the Indians . . 00

Congress at Albany . . 91

French and English Diplomacy 91

Rraddock and Dieskau . 92

Naval Engagement . . . 1»2

The War in lOurope and America 93

Rraddock in Virginia . . 94

March of his Army . . 9.5

Beuujeu at Fort du Quesnc . 96

•

• •

leroisrn

51
52

1 of tlio

•

5^1

• •

•

5(J

njoa .

5(J

•

CONTENTS.

A tnbusciulc at the Monongaliela IH)
Ruut of Brad dock . . ,100
Its Ci)iiHO(|uonco3 . . 102
Acadia, Niagara, and Crown

Point 102

Biitllo of Lako Goonro . lOJJ
I'rosociition of tlio War . . 107
()swL'<>-o — Fort Williiini Henry 109
StorniinjT of Ticondoroga . 110

State of Canada . . . HI
Plans for it8 Reduction . .112

Progress of tlie English An
Wolfe before Quebec .
Assault ut Montinorenci .
Heroism of Wolfe
The Heights of Abraham
Battle of Quebec
Death of Wolfe .
Death of Montcalm
Surr-'uder of Quebec,
Fall of Canada .

112
113
115
117

n!»

121
12:3
124
125
]2t>

•

• «

Eulo-

• •

ikers

essors

7.'5

• «

7(i

•

ues ,

•

71)

•

8,'i

CHAPTER V.

The Wilderness and its Tenants at the Close of the

French War.

Sufferings of the Frontier . 127
Treiities with the Western

Tribes .... 127
Christiiin Frederic Post . . 128
Tlie Iro(iuois . . . IJJQ
The remote Tribes . . . V,U
Tlie Forest .... 131
Indian Population . . . 132
Condition of the Tribes . L'j;}
Onondiiga .... i;«
Th(' Delawares and neighbor-
ing Tribes . . . , ];}4
Their Habits and Condition 134

The Shawanoes, Miamis, Illi-
nois, and Wyandots . . 134
English Settlements . . 135
Forest Thoroughfares . . 135
Fur-traders — Their Habits

and Cliiiracter . . . 13(5
The Forest Traveller . .137
The French at the Illinois . 13!>
Military Life in the Forest . 140
The Savage and the Euroi)ean 140
Hunters and Tr4])i)ers . .141
Civilization and Barbarism . 142

. 90

J»l

inacy Kl

1)2

. 92

lerica 93

. 94

; . 96

CHAPTER VI.
The English take Possession of the Western Posts,

The victorious Armies at Mon-
treal 144

Miijor Robert Rogers . . 144
His Expedition up the Lakes . 147
tils Meeting with Pontiae . 148
Ambitious Views of Pontiac . 149

He befriends the English . 149
Tlie English take Possession

of Detroit . . . 15 1

Of other French Posts . . 152
British Power Predominant m

the West . . . .152

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.

Anger of the Indians. — The Conspiract.

Discontent of the Tribes
Impolitic Course of the English
Disorders of tiie Pur-trade
Military Insolence
Intrusion of Settlers
French Intrigue .
The Delaware Prophet .
An abortive Plot .
Pontiac's Conspiracy
Character of Pontiac .

. 153

Gloomy Prospects of the Indian

1 154

Race

1(53

. 155

Designs of Pontiac

164

155

His War Messengers

165

. 15(5

Tribes engaged in tlie Con-

157

spiracy ....

166

. 158

Dissimulation of the Indians .

167

1(J0

The War-belt among tlic Mi-

. IGl

amis ....

167

161

CHAPTER VIII.

Indian Preparation.

The Indians as a military Peo-
ple 169

Their inefficient Organization 169
Their insubordinate Spirit . 170
Their Improvidence . . 171
Policy of the Indian Leaders . 171
Difficulties of Forest Warfare 172
Defenceless Condition of the
Colonies .... 172

The Peace of Paris . .173

Royal Proclamation . . 173
The War-chief. His Fasts and

Vigils .... 174
The War-feast. The War-
dance . . . . . 175
Departure of the Warriors . 175
Tiie Bursting of the Storm . 176

CHAPTER IX.

The Council at the River Ecorces.

Pontiac musters his Warriors . 177
They assemble at the River

Ecorces .... 177
The Council . . .178
Speech of Pontiac . . . 179

Allegory of the Delaware . 180

The Council dissolves . . 184

Calumet Dance at Detroit . 185

Plan to surprise tlie Garrison . 186

CONTENTS.

XVll

CHAPTER X.

J Indian

. 163

. 104

. 105

3 Con-

. 166
Hans . 107
he Mi-

. 107

Strang(> Phenomenon
Oriffin and History of Detroit
Its Condition in 17(;3
Character of it-s Inliabitants ,
French Life at Detroit .
The Fort and Garrison
Pontiac at Isle k la Pechc

Detroit.

187

188
188
18!)
180
UK)
11)1

Suspicious Conduct of the In-
dians .

• • •

Catharine, tlio Ojibwa Girl .
She reveals tlic Plot
Precautions of tlie Command-
ant .

• • •

A Night of Anxiety

192
193
194

194
195

CHAPTER XI.

Treachery of Pontiac.

. 173
. 173

3ts and
. 174

War-

. .175
irs . 175
rm . 176

3 . 180

. 184

t . 185

ison . 186

The Morninfr of the Council .
Pontiac enters tiio Fort
Address and Courage of the
Commandant

The Plot defeated . " . '

The Chiefs sufTered to escape .

Indian Idea of Honor .

Pontiac again visits the Fort

False Alarm

197
198

199
200
201
202
203
203

Pontiac throws off the Mask
Ferocity of his Warriors .
The Ottawas cross the River
Fate of Davers and Robertson
General Attack
A Truce

Major Campbell's Embassy
He is made Prisoner by Pon-
tiac

204
205
200
207
207
209
210

213

CHAPTER XII.
Pontiac at the Siege of Detroit,

The Christian Wyandots join

Pontiac .... 215
Peril of the Garrison . . o^;
Indian Counige . . , ojj
The English threatened with

Famine

Pontiac's Council with tlie

Frenc'

' • •

His Speech .

219

. 220
221

He exacts Provision from the
French

• • •

He ai)poiiits Commissaries ,
He issues Promissory Notes
His Acuteness and Sagacity
His Authority over his Fol-
lowers .
His Magnanimity

224
224
225
225

226
227

XVIU

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIII.

Rout of Cutler's Detachment. — Fate of the Forest Garrisons

ReeiifdrcGment sent to Detroit 229
Attack on tlie Schooner . 2150

Rcliof at Hand . . . 231
Disupijointmcnt of the Garrison 2.'{1
Escape of" Prisoners . . 2JJ2
Cuylcr's Defeat ... 234
Indian Debauch . . . 2Ji5
Fate of tiic Captives . . 236
Capture of Fort Sandusky . 238

Strength of the Besiegers . 239

Capture of Fort St. Joseph . 240
Capture of Fort Michiliiniack-

inac .... 242

Capture of Fort Ouatanon . 243

Capture of Fort Miami . 244

Defence of Fort Presqu'Isle . 246

Its Capture ... 249

CHAPTER XIV.

The Indians continue to Blockade Detroit.

Attack on the armed Vessel . 252
News of the Treaty of Paris 253
Pontiac summons tlie Garrison 255
Council at the Ottiwa Camp 255
Disappointment of Pontiac . 257
He is joined by the Coureurs
dcs Bois .... 258

Sortie of tlie Garrison
Death of Major Campbell
Attack on Pontiac's Camp .
Fire Rafts . . . .
The Wyandots and Pottaivat-
tamies beg for Peace

260
2(50
262
263

2(55

CHAPTER XV.

The Fight at Bloody Bridge.

"Dalzell's Detachment
Dalzell reaches Detroit
Stratagem of the Wyandots .
Night Attack on Pontiac's

Camp

Indian Ambuscade
Retreat of the English .

267

Terror of Dalzell's Troops

274

26!)

Death of Dalzell .

275

269

Defence of Campau's House

276

Grant conducts the Retreat

276

270

Exultation of the Indians .

278

271

Defence of the Schooner Glad-

273

wyn ....

279

■^

CONTENTS.

XIX

CHAPTER XVI.

7ARRisorrs

■s .

28n

l)ll

240

mack-

•

242

243

•

244

sle .

24(J

•

249

MiCHILLlMACKINAC.

The Vny.'ijror on tho Lakes
Micliilliinackinac in 17(53 .
Groen Uny and Sto. Marie
Tlio Nortliorn Wilderness .
Tribes ot" tlio Lakes
Adventures of a Trader .
Speech of Minavavana .
Arrival of English Troops .

. 282 Disposition of the Indians 291

283 The Ojibwa War-chief . 291

284 Ambassadors from Pontiac . 2!^2

284 Sinister Desirrns of the Ojibwas 292

285 Warnintrs of Danger . . 293
28(3 Wawatam . . , . 21>3
288 Eve of tl)C Massacre , . 295
290

CHAPTER XVII.

The Massacre.

200
1 . 2(J0
? . 202

. 263
.aivat-

. 2()5

974
275
270
270

278

279

The King's Birthday . . 09(5
Heedlessness of the Garrison 297
Indian Ball-play . . . 297
Tho Stratajrein . . . 298
Slanghtcr of tho Soldiers . 298

Escape of Alexander Henry 299
His appallintr Situation . . 301
His Hiding-place discovered 304
Survivors of the Massacre . 300
Plan of rctJiking the Fort . 306
Adventures of Henry . . 307
Unexpected Behavior of the

Ottjiwas . . . .308
They take Possession of the

*'o>-t 309

rhoir Council with the Ojibwas 309
Henry and his Fellow-prisoners 311

He is rescued by Wawatam . 31 1
Cannibalism . . . 3i;j

Panic among- the Conquerors . 314
They retire to Mackinaw . 314
The Island of Mackinaw . 314
Indian Carouse . , . 'JiQ
Famine among the Indians .310
They disperse to their Winter-
ing Grounds . . .317
Green Bay. The neighboring

Tribes .... 317
Gorell. His Address and Pru-
dence 318

He conciliates the Indians . 319
He abandons Green Bay . . 321
The English driven from the
Upper Lakes ... 329

CHAPTER XVIII.

Frontier Forts and Settlements.

Extent of British Settlements Forts and Military Routes . 324
'"^'^^^ • • . .323 Fort Pitt 334

The Pennsylvania Frontier .
Alarms nt Fort Pitt .
Escape of Calhoun
Slai]<(htor of Traders
Fort Ligon'-^r. Fort Bedford
Situation or' Fort Pitt
Indian Advice
Reply of Ecuyer . .

CONTENTS.

32G

News from Presqu'Isle .

. 335

327

Fate of Le Bceuf

336

328

Fate of Venango .

. a37

328

Danger of Fort Pitt .

338

331

Council with the Dekwares

. ,339

332

Threats of the Commandant

341

333

General Attack

. 342

334

CHAPTER XIX.

The War ox the Borders.

Panic among the Settlers . 344
Foeble Resources of the Eng-
lish '..... 345
Measures of Defence . . 346
Alarm at Carlisle . . . 347

Scouting Parties . . . 347
Ambuscade on the Tuscarora . 348
The dying Borderer . . 349
Scenes at Carlisle . . . 350

CHAPTER XX

The Battle of Bushy Run.

The Army of Bouquet . . 352

Dangers of his Enterprise . 353
His Character .... 354

Fort Ligonier relieved . . 356

Bonquet at Fort Bedford . , 356

March of his Troops . . 357

Unexpected Attack. . . 358

T'le Night Encampment . 360

The Fight resumed . . .362

Conflict of the second Day . 363

Successful Stratagem . . 364

Rout of the Indians . . 365

Bouquet reaches Fort Pitt . 367

Effects of the Victory . . 368

CHAPTER XXI.

The Iroquois. — Ambuscade of the Devil's Hole.

Congress of Iroquois . . 370
Effect of Johnson's Influence 371
Incursions into New York . 372
False Alarm at Goshen . 372

The Niagara Portage
The Convoy attacked
Second Attack
Disaster on Lake Erie

373
374
375
377

CONTENTS.

XXI

335
336
a37
338
339
341
342

. 347

irora . 348

. 349

. 350

CHAPTER XXII.
Desolation of tice Fiiontieus.

Jolin Kldnr ....

391

Vir>riiii;,n Militia .

. 392

Conranff of tlio Bonlorors .

393

Encounter with n War-party

. 3)14

Ariiistronrp'.s Kxpr-dition

3!t-i

Slau<r|itiM- at Wyominfj .

. 3!IG

Quaker Prrjudico

397

Gaije n-sanmos tho Command

. 398

Political Disputes

399

Virrrinian Backwoodnmon . n78

Frontiers of Virjrinia . . M7!>

I'opulation of Pennsylvania . ,'580

Distress of tho Settlers . 381

Attack on GrecMibrior . . 383

A captive Amazon . . 384

Attack on a School-houso . 385

Sulferinnfs of Captives. . 387

Tho escaped Captive . . 388

FeebJe Measures of Defence 390

CHAPTER XXIII.

The Indians raise the Siege of Detroit.

The Besiegers ask for Peace .401 Indians at their Winterina

A Truce granted. . . 403 Grounds . . %o5

Letter from Neyon to Pontiac . 403 Iroquois War-parties . 406

Autunm at Detroit . . 404 The War in the South . " 407

360
362
363
364
365
367
368

CHAPTER XXIV.

The Paxton Men.

Desperation of the Borderers ,
Effects of Indian Hostilities
The Conestoga Band
Paxton • . . . '
Matthew Smith and his Com-
panions ....
Massacre of the Conestoo-as

409
411
411
412

413
414

Further Designs of the Ilioters 416

Remonstrance of Elder

Massacre in Lancaster Jail

State of public Opinion

Lazarus Stewart

The Moravian Converts

Their Retreat to Philadelphia 424

Their Reception by the Mob 425

417
417
420
421
42J

CHAPTER XXV.
The Rioters march on Philadelfhia.

?re!rS"^'^'^°"^'"" '5' Alarm of the Quakers . 4'29

esigna . . . 428 The Converts sent to New York 430

xxu

CONTENTS.

The ('onverts forcnd to return 4!t

Quiikcrs and Presbyterians . 4fi!J

Warlike Preparation . . 4;U

Excit(!iiieiit in the City . . 4M5

False Ahirm . . . 43(5

Paxton Men at Gonnantown . 437
Nefjotiations witli the Rioters 4;J8
Frontiersmen in Pliiladelphia . 440
Paper Warfare . . .441
Memorials of the Paxton Men 44;i

CHAPTER XXVI.

Bradstreet's Armv on the Lakes.

Memorials on Indian Affairs . 44(5
Ciia meter of Bradstreet . 448
Departure of the Army . . 44!)
Concourse of Indians at Niagara 450
Indian Oracle .... 451
Temper of the Indians . 455

Insolence of the Delawares and

Shawaiioes .... 450
Treaty with the Senecas . 45(5
Ottuwas and Meiiomoiiies . 457
Bradstreet leaves Niaijrara . 459
Henry's Indian Battalion . . 4(50
Pretended Embassy . . 401

Pr(^siimi)ti()n of Bradstreet . 402
Indians of Sandusky . . 4(54
Bradstreet at Detroit . . 4(55
Council with the Chiefs of De-
troit 4(5G

Terms of the Treaty . . 407
Strange Conduct of Bradstreet 4(58
Michillimackinac reoccupied . 4(5l»
Embassy of Morris . . 4(59
Bradstreet at Sandusky . . 475
Return of the Army . . 47(5
Results of the Expedition . 477

CHAPTER XXVII.

B0U<iUET FORCES THE DeLAWARES AND ShAWANOES TO SUE FOR

Peace.

Renewal of Indian Ravages . 479
David Owens, the White Sav-
age 480

Advance of Bouquet . . 482
Ills Message to the Delawares 483
Th.' March of his Army . . 485
He reaches the Muskingum. 480
Terror of the Enemy . . 487
Cvuncil with the Indians . 488
Speech of the Delaware Orator 489
Rcplv of Bouquet . . 491

Its Effect .... 493

The English Camp . . . 494
Letter from Bradstreet . . 495
Desperate Purpose of the Shaw-

anoos 490

Peace Council . . . 493
Delivery of English Prisoners . 502
Situation of Captives among

the Indians .... 507
Their Reluctance to return to

the Settlements . . 508
The Forest Life . . . 508
Return of the Expedition . 511

111

CONTENTS

XXlll

miitown . 437
I) Iliotc-rs 438
adc'lphia . 440
. 441
xton Men 443

street . 402

. 4(>4

. 4li5
jfs of Do-

. 4GG

. 4G7

Jnulytroet 4()8

;cuj)ied . 4()!>

. 409
-y . . 475

. 47(5
ition . 477

CHAPTER XXVIII.
Thf. Ilmnois.

noiiiiiliirips of tlio Illinois . 513
'J'lic Missouri. Tin' Mississippi 513
I'liiiits 1111(1 AiiiiiiJils of the Illi-
nois 515

Its rnrly Coloniziition
Creoles of the IllinoiH
Its IiidiiiM Population

CHAPTER XXIX,

Po.NTIAC RALLIES THE WeHTERN TrIBES.

Cession of French Territory in

the West .... 5->2
St. Louis .... 5'23
St. Anjfo (Ic llellerivc . . 5">4
Desii^Tis of Pontiac . . 5'i(>
His French Allies . . . 5'>7
He visits the Illinois . . 529

517
51!t
5'^ I

His {jrcat War-holt . 5.'{()

Repulse of Loftus 5;{|

The Fntrlish on the Mississippi .'S.'J.'}
New Orleans in 17(i5 5;}4

Pontiac's Embassy at New Or
leans . . . 5.'3ei

) SUE FOB

. 494
. 495

(le Shaw-

. 49G
. 498
risoners. 502
among

. 507
•eturn to

. 508

30 . 51]

CHAPTER XXX.
Ruin of the Indian Cause.

Mission of Croghan . . 539
Plunder of the Caravan . 540
Exploits of the Borderers . 542
Congress at Fort Pitt . . 545
Fraser's Discomfiture . . 540
Distress of the hostile Indians 547
Pontiac. His desperate Po-
sition 549

Croghan's Party attacked . 550

Croghan at Ouatanon
His Meeting with Pontiac
Pontiac offers Peace
Croghan roaches Detroit
Conferences at Detroit
Peace Speech of Pontiac
Results of Croghan's Mission
The English take Possession
of the Illinois .

551
552

553
554
556
558

559

CHAPTER XXXI.

Death of Pontiac.

Effects of the Peace . . 560 Congress at Oswego 5C2

Pontiac repairs to Oswego . 500 Speechof Sir William Johnson 563

XXIV

CONTENTS.

Kt.'ply of I'oiitiiic . . .'kK'i

Prospf'ctH of tlio Iiulian lluce 5()<5

Kresh DiHtiirhiiiicos . . 5li7

Hontiac vwita St. Louia . . 5(i8

The Villa}rn of Ciihokin
ArisiiHsiiiiitioii of INnitiiio

509
571

Vcnireunco of his Followers 571

1 ■

APPENDIX.

\. — TlIK luOQUOIS. — EXTE.NT OK THEIR CoNQUF.STS. — PoMCY I'UR-
9UED TOWARDS THEM BY THE FUENtll AND THE EmILISH. iMeASI'RES

or Sir William Johnson.

1. Territory of the Iroquois ... .... 575

2. French and English Policy towards tlic Iroquois. Measures of

Sir William Johnon 57(?

B. — Causes of the Indian War.

1. Views of Sir William Johnson 579

2. Tragedy of Ponteach 581

C. — Detroit and Michillimackinao

1. The Siege of Detroit 588

2. Massacre of Michillimackinao 5*J6

D. — The War on the Borders.
The Battle of Bushy Run

598

E. — The Paxton Riots.

1. Evidence against the Indians of Conestoga .

2. Proceedings of the Rioters . . . ,

3. Memorials of the Paxton Men

60^

613

F. — The Campaign of 1764.

1. Bou(|uct's Expedition

2. Condition and Temper of the Western Indians

3. Journal of Captain Morris . . .

. 620

622

. 624

in 5(i9

10 . 571

uwers 571

HISTORY

OP TUB

PoMcr pun-
-Mkahi'uks

CONSriRACY OF PONTIAC.

. 575

iircs of

7(!

o/tt

CHAPTER I.

. 579
. 581

. 588
51K)

. 598

. 613

. 620

622

. 624

INTRODUCTORY. — INDIAN TRIBES EAST OF THE

MISSlSSil'PI.

The Indian is a true child of tlio forest and the
desert. The wastes and solitudes of nature are his
congenial home. Ilis hauirlity mind is inihued with
the spirit of the wilderness, and the light of civiliza-
tion falls on him with a blighting power. Ilis unruly
pride and untamed freedom are in harmony with the
lonely mountains, cataracts, and rivers among which
he dwells ; and primitive America, with her savage
scenery and savage men, opens to the imagination a
boundless world, unmatched in wild sublimitv.

The Indians east of the Mississippi may be divided
into several great families, each distinguished by a
radical peculiarity of language. In their moral and
intellectual, their social and political state, these va-
rious families exhibit strong shades of distniction ; but,
before pointing them out, I shall indicate a few promi-
nent characteristics, which, faintly or distinctly, mark
the whole in common.

1 A

INDIAN TRIBES.

fClIAP. I

All arc alike a race of himters, sustaining life wholly,
or in part, by the fruits of the chase. Each family is
split into tribes; and these tribes, by the exigencies
of the hunter life, are again dividecl uito sub-tribes,
bands, or villages, often scattered far asunder, over a
wide extent of wilderness. Unhai)pily for the strength
and harmony of the Indian race, each tribe is prone to
regard itself, not a** the member of a great whole, but
as a sovereign and independent nation, often arrogat-
ing to itself an importance superior to all the rest
of mankind ; ^ and the warrior whose petty horde might
muster a few scores of half-starved fighting men, strikes
his hand upon his heart, and exclaims, in all the pride
of patriotism, " I am a Menomo)ie.''

In an Indian community, each man is his own
master. He abhors restraint, and owns no other au-
thority than his o'.v^n capricious will ; and yet his wild
notion of liberty is not inconsistent with certain gra-
dations of rank and iniiuence. Each tribe has its
sachem, or civil chief, wliose office is in a manner he-
reditary, and, among many, though by no means among
all tribes, descends in the female line ; so that the
brother of the incumbent, or the son of his sister, and
not his own son, is the rightful successor to h'i digni-
ties.^ If, however, in the opinion of the old men and
subordinate chiefs, the heir should be disqualified for
the exercise of the office by cowardice, incapacity, or
any defect of character, they do not scruple to discard

' M;iny Indian tribes bear names
«|iicli in their dialect siirnify men,
indicatiii"): tliat tlic cliaracter belonjfs,
par excellence, to tliem. Somotimos
the word was used by itself, and
sometimes an adjective was joined
with it, as original men, men sur-
passing ail others.

' The dread of female infidelity
has been assigned, and with j)robable
trntli, as the origin of tliis custom.
The sons of a ciiief's sister Miust
necessarily bo his kindred ; tho.igii
his own reputed son may be, in fact,
the offspring of another.

i! Il

'■'%

fCiiAr. I.

ife whollv,

I family is
exigencies
sub-tribes,

ler, over a
le strength
is prone to
whole, but
in aiTogat-

II the rest
orde might
len, strikes
.1 the pride

3 his own
other au-
!t his wild
prtain gra-
je has its
lanner be-
ans among
that the
sister, and
h'j digni-
men and
alified for
pacity, or
to discard

lale infidelity
fvitli probable
tills custom,
sister Muist
Jroci ; tlio^igli
ly be, in fact.

CUAP. I.]

THEIR PECULLAJi CHARACTERISTICS.

him, and elect another in his place, usually fixing theu*
choice on one of his relatives. The office of the sa-
chem is no enviable one. lie has neither laws to ad-
minister nor power to enforce his commands. His
counsellors are the inferior chiefs and principal men
of the tribe ; and he never sets himself in opposition
to the popular will, which is the sovereign power of
these savage democracies. His province is to advise,
and not to dictate ; but, slioidd he be a man of energy,
talent, and address, and especially should he be sup-
ported by numerous relatives and friends, he may often
acquire no small measure of respect and power. A
clear distinction is drawn between the civil and mili-
tary authority, though both are often united in the
same person. The functions of war-chief may, for the
most part, be exercised by any one whose prowess and
reputation are sufficient to induce the young men to
follow him to battle ; and he may, whenever he thinks
proper, raise a band of volunteers, and go out against
the common enemy.

AVe might imagine that a society so loosely framed
would soon resolve itself into anarchy ; yet this is
not the case, and an Indian village is singularly free
from wranglings and petty strife. Several causes con-
spire to this result. The necessities of the hunter life,
preventing the accumulation of large communities,
make more stringent organization needless ; while a
species of self-control, inculcated from childhood upon
every individual, enforced by a sentiment of dignity and
manhood, and greatly aided by the peculiar tempera-
ment of the race, tends strongly to the promotion of
harmony. Though he owns no ]aw, the Indian is in-
flexible in his adherence to ancient usages and cus-
toms ; and the principle of hero-worship, which belongs

TOTEMSHIP.

[Chap, I.

to his nature, inspires him with deep respect for the
sages and captains of his tribe. The very rudeness of
his condition, and the absence of the passions which
wealth, luxury, and the other incidents of civilization
engender, are favorable to internal harmony; and to
the same cause must likewise be ascribed too many of
his virtues, which would quickly vanish, were he ele-
vated from his savage state.

A peculiar social mstitution exists among the In-
dians, highly curious in its character ; and though I
am not prepared to say that it may be traced through
all the tribes east of the Mississippi, yet its prevalence
is so general, and its influence on political relations
so important, as to claim especial attention. Indian
communities, independently of their local distribution
into tribes, bands, and villages, are composed of several
distinct clans. Each clan has its emblem, consisting
of the figure of some bird, beast, or reptile ; and each
is distinguished by the name of the animal which it
thus bears as its device ; as, for example, the clan of the
Wolf, the Deer, the Otter, or the Hawk. In the lan-
guage of the Algonquins, these emblems are known by
the name of Totems} The members of the same clan,
being connected, or supj)osed to be 5.0, by ties of kin-
dred, more or less remote, are prohibited from inter-
marriage. Thus Wolf cannot marry Wolf; but he

' Schoolcraft, Oneota, 179.

The extraordinary figfiires intend-
ed to represent tortoises, deer,
snakes, and other animals, which are
often seen appended to Indian trea-
ties, are the totems of tiie ciiiefs,
who employ these devices of their
respective clans as their sign manual.
The device of his clan is also some-
times tattoed on the body of the
warrior.

The word tribe might, perhaps,
have been employed with as much
propriety as that of clan, to indicate
the totemic division; but as the for-
mer is constantly employed to repre-
sent the local or political divisions
of the Indian race, hopeless confu-
sion would arise from using it in a
double capacity.

[Chap. I.

3ct for the
udeness of
Lons which
civilization
y; and to
30 many of
ere he ele-

ng the In-
1 though I
ed through
prevalence
il relations
m. Indian
distribution
i of several
, consisting
; and each
i\ which it
clan of the
En the Ian-
known by
same clan,
ties of kin-
from inter-
f; but he

night, perhaps,
with as much

an, to indicate
jut as the f'or-
oyed to repre-

itical divisions
)peless confii-
using it in a

Chap. L]

GESTERIC DIVISIONS.

mav, if he chooses, take a wife from the clan of Hawks,
or any other clan but his own. It follows that when
this prohibition is rigidly observed, no single clan can
live apart from the rest ; but the whole must be
mingled together, and in every family the husband
and wife must be of different clans.

To different totems attach different degrees of rank
and dignity ; and those of the Bear, the Tortoise, and
the Wolf are among the first in honor. Each man is
proud of his badge, jealously asserting its claims to
respect ; and the members of the same clan, though
they may, perhaps, speak different dialects, and dwell
far asunder, are yet bound together by the closest ties
of fraternity. If a man is killed, every member of the
clan feels called upon to avenge hun ; and the way-
farer, the hunter, or the warrior is sure of a cordial
welcome in the distant lodge of the clansman whose
face perhaps he has never seen. It may be added
that certain pri\ileges, highly piized as hereditary
rights, sometimes reside in particular clans ; such as
that of furnishing a sachem to the tribe, or of per-
forming certain religious ceremonies or magic rites.

The Indians east of the Mississippi may be divided
into three great families ; the Iroquois, the Algonquin,
and the Mobilian, each speaking a language of its own,
varied by numerous dialectic forms. To these families
must be added a few stragglers from the great western
race of the Dahcotah, besides several distinct tribes of
the south, each of which has been regarded as speaking
a tongue peculiar to itself^ The MobiUan group em-
braces the motley confederacy of the Creeks, the crafty
Choctaws, and the stanch and warlike Chickasaws. Of

' For an ample view of these divisions, see the Synopsis of Mr. Gal-
.atin, Trans. Am. Ant. Soc. II.

THE lEOQUOIS.

[Chap. I.

these, and of the distinct tribes dwelling in their vi-
cinity, or within their limits, I shall only obseiTe
that they offer, with many modifications, and under
different aspects, the same essential features which
mark the Iroquois and the Al<,onquins, the two great
families of the north. ^ The latter, who were the con-
spicuous actors in the events of the ensuing narrative,
demand a closer attention.

*<%

I 1 1>

THE IROQUOIS FAMILY.

Foremost in w^ar, foremost in eloquence, foremost m
their savage arts of policy, stood the fierce people called
by themselves the Hodenosaunee, and by the French
the Iroquois, a name which has since been applied to
the entire family of which they foraied the dominant
member.^ They extended their conquests and their
depredations from Quebec to the Carolinas, and from
the western prairies to the forests of Maine.^ On the

1 It appears from several passapfes
in the writings of Adair, Hawkins,
and others, that the totem prevailed
among the southern tribes. In a
conversation with the late Albert
Gallatin, ho informed me that he was
told by the chiefs of a Choctaw
deputation, at Washington, that in
tlieir tribe were eight totemic clans,
divided into two classes, of four each.
It is very remarkable tliat the same
number of clans, and the same di-
vision into classes, were to be found
among the Five Nations, or Iroquois.

- A great difficulty in the study
of Indian history arises from a redun-
dancy of names employed to designate
the same tribe ; yet this does not pre-
vent tiie same name from being often
used to designate two or more differ-
ent tribes. The following are the
chief of those which are applied to tlie

Iroquois by different writers, French,
English, and German: —

Iroquois, Five, and afterwards Six
Nations ; Confederates, Hodenosau-
nee, Aquanuscioni, Aggonnonshioni,
Ongwe Honwe, Mengwe, iVIaquas,
Mahaquase, Massawomecs, Palenach
endchiesktajeet.

The name of Massawomces has
been applied to several tribes; and
that of Mingoes is often restricted
to a colony of the Irocjuois which
established itself near the Ohio.

3 Fran(jois, a well-known Indian
belonging to the remnant of the Pe-
nobscots living at Old Town, in
Maine, told mo, in the sniiiiner of
1843, that a tradition was current,
among his people, of their being
attacked in ancient times by the
Mohawks, or, as he called them. Mo-
hogs, a tribe of the Iroquois, who de-

[Chap. I.

Chap. I.]

THE IROQUOIS.

1 their vi-
y obsei've
md under
res which
two great
3 the con-
narrative,

Dremost m
Dple called
le French
applied to

dominant
and their

and from
On the

iters, French,

lerwards Six
IJodenosiiu-
ronnonsliioni,
we, Maqiias,
;cs, Paleiuich

wninees has
tribes ; and
n restricted
[iiois which
le Oiiio.
lowii Indian
t of the Pe-
I Town, in
sniiiiner of
viis current,
their being'
nes by the
d them, Mo-
ois, who de-

south, they forced tribute from the subjugated Dela-
wares, and pierced the mountain fastnesses of the
Cherokees with incessant forays.' On the north, they
uprooted the ancient settlements of the Wyandots ; on
the west, they exterminated the Eries and the An-
dastes, and spread havoc and dismay among the tribes
of the Illinois ; and on the east, the Indians of New
England fled at the first peal of the Mohawk war-
cry. Nor was it the Indian race alone who quailed
before their ferocious valor. All Canada shook with
the desolating fury of their onset; the people fled to
the forts for refuge ; the blood-besmeared conquerors
roamed like wolves among the burning settlements,
and the youthful colony trembled on the brink of ruin.
The Iroquois in some measure owed their triumphs
to the position of their country ; for they dwelt with-
in the present limits of the state of New York, whence
several great rivers and the inland oceans of the north-
em lakes opened ready thoroughfares to their roving
warriors through all the adjacent wilderness. But the
true fountain of their success is to be sought in theu'
own inherent energies, wrought to the most effective
action under a political fabric well suited to the In-
dian life ; in their mental and moral organization ; m
their insatiable ambition and restless ferocity.

Btroyed one of their villages, killed
the men and women, and roasted
the small children on forked sticks,
like apples, before tJie fire. When
he be<ran to tell his story, Francois
was cngajjed in patching an old ca-
noe, in preparation for a moose hunt ;
but, soon growing warm with his re-
cital, he gave over his work, and at
the conclusion exclaimed with great
wrath and earnestness, "Mohog all
devil ! "

1 The tribute exacted from the
Oelawares consisted of wampum, or

beads of shell, an article of inesti-
mable value with the Indians. "Two
old men commonly go about, every
year or two, to receive this tribute ;
and I have often had o[)portuuity to
observe what anxiety the poor In-
dians were under, while these two
old men remained in that part of the
country where I was. An old Mo-
hawk sachem, in a poor blanket and
a dirty shirt, may be seen issuing his
orders with as arbitrary an authority
a.s a Roman dictator " — Golden, HIsf.
Five .WUiorui, 4.

THE IROQUOIS.

IChap. I.

In their scheme of government, as in their social cus-
toms and religious observances, the Iroquois displayed,
m full symmetry and matured strength, the same charac-
teristics which in other tribes are found distorted, with-
ered, decayed to the root, or, perhaps, faintly visible in
an imperfect germ. They consisted of five tribes or
nations, the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas,
the Cayugas, and the Senecas, to whom a sixth, the
Tuscaroras, was afterwards added. ^ To each of these
tribes belonged an organization of its own. Each had
several sachems, who, with the subordinate chiefs and
principal men, regulated all its internal affairs ; but,
when foreign powers were to be treated with, or mat-
ters involving the whole confederacy required delibera-
tion, all the sachems of the several tribes convened
in general assembly at the great council-house, in the
Valley of Onondaga. Here ambassadors were received,
alliances were adjusted, and all subjects of general in-
terest discu««cd with exemplary harmony.^ The order

' The following are synonymous
names, gathered from various wri-
ters : —

Mohawks, Anies, Agniers, Agni-
errhouons, Sankhicans, Canung:*^*,
Mauguawogs, Ganoagaonoh.

Oneidas, Oneotas, Onoyata, Ano-
yints, Onnoiouts, Oneyyotecaronoh,
Onoiochrhonons.

Onondagas, Onnontagues, Onon-
dagaoi'j ii.s.

C ■• . Caiyoquos, Goiogoens,

i.'-.".

(.inikes, Chennessies,
"i.i'ndoanes, Tsonnon-
Nundawaro-

.vanos.

noil.

" "In the year 1745, August Gott-
lieb Spangenburg, a bishop of the
United Bretliren, spent several weeks
in Onondaga, and frequently attend-
ed the great council. The council-
house was built of bark. On each

side six seats were placed, each con-
taining six persons. No one was
admitted besides the members of the
council, except a few, who were par-
ticularly honored. If one rose to
speak, all the rest sat in profound
silence, smoking their pipes. The
speaker uttered his words in a sing-
ing tone, always rising a few notes
at the close of each sentence. What-
ever was pleasing to the council was
confirmed by all with the word Nee, or
Yes. And, at the end of each speech,
the whole company joined in applaud-
ing the speaker by calling Hoho.
At noon, two men entered bearing a
large kettle filled with meat, upon a
pole across their shoulders, which
was first presented to the guests. A
large wooden ladle, as broad and
deep as a common bowl, hung with
a hook to the side of the kettle, with
which every one might at once help

IClIAP. I.

Chap. I.]

TOTEMSHIP.

social CUS-
displayed,
me charac-
•rtecl, with-
' visible in
' tribes or
)nondagas,
sixth, the
1 of these
Each had
chiefs and
airs ; but,
h, or mat-
1 delibera-
convened
ise, in the
e received,
general in-
The order

ed, each con-
Mo one was
embers of the
v\\o were par-
one rose to
in profound
pipes. The
rds in a sing-
a few notes
cnce. What-
3 council was
word Nee, or
each speech,
d in applaud-
alling Hoho.
ed bearing a
meat, upon a
Iders, which
c guests. A
broad and
fl, hung with
3 kettle, with
at once help

of debate was prescribed by time-honored customs;
and, in the fiercest heat of controversy, the assembly
maintained its iron self-control.

But the main stay of Iroquois polity was the sys-
tem of totemship. It was this which gave the structure
its elastic strength; and but for this, a mere confed-
eracy of jealous and warlike tribes must soon have
been rent asunder by shocks from without or discord
from within. At some early period, the Iroquois must
have formed an individual nation ; for the whole people,
irrespective of their separation into tribes, consisted
of eight totemic clans ; and the members of each clan,
to what nation soever they belonged, were mutually
bound to one another by those close ties of fraternity
which mark this smgular institution. Thus the five
nations of the confederacy were laced together by an
eight-fold band ; and to this hour their slender rem-
nants cling to one another with invincible tenacity.

It was no small security to the liberties of the
Iroquois — liberties which they valued beyond any
other possession — that by the Indian custom of de-
scent in the female line, which among them was more
rigidly adhered to than elsewhere, the office of the
sachem must pass, not to his son, but to his brother,
his sister's son, or some yet remoter kinsman. His
power was constantly deflected into the collateral
branches of his family ; and thus one of the strongest
temptations of ambition was cut off.^ The Iroquois

himself to as much as he could eat
When the guests had eaten their fill,
they begged the counsellors to do
the same. The whole was conducted
in a very decent and quiet manner.
Indeed, now and then, one or the other
would lie flat upon his back to rest
himself, and sometimes they would

stop, joke, and laugh heartily." —
Loskiel, Hist. Morav. Miss. 138.

1 The descent of the sachemship in
the female line was a custom univer-
sally prevalent among the Five Na-
tions, or Iroquois proper. Since,
among Indian tribes generally, the
right of furnishing a sachem waa

TIIE IROQITOIS.

[Chap. I.

had no laws; but they had ancient customs which
took the place of laws. Each man, or rather, each
clan, was the avenger of its own wrongs ; but the
manner of the retaliation was fixed by established
usage. The tribal sachems, and even the great coun-
cil at Onondaga, had no power to compel the execution
of their decrees ; yet they were looked up to with a
respect which the soldier's bayonet or the sheriff's
staff would never have commanded ; and it is highly
to the honor of the Indian character that they could
exact so great an authority where there was nothing
to enforce it but the weight of moral power.^

The origin of the Iroquois is lost in hopeless ob-
scurity. That they came from the west; that they
came from the north ; that they sprang from the soil

vested in some particular totemic
clan, it results of course that the
descent of the sachemship must fol-
low the descent of the totem ; that
is, if the totemship descend in the fe-
male line, the sachemship must do the
same. This custom of descent in
the female line prevailed not only
amon<j' the Iroquois proper, but nlso
among the Wyandots, and probably
among the Andastes and the Eries,
extinct members of the great Iroquois
family. Thus, among any of these
tribes, when a Wolf warrior married
a Hawk squaw, their children were
Hawks, and not Wolves. With the
Creeks of the south, according to the
observations of Hawkins, {Georgia
Hist. Coll. III. GO,) the rule was the
same ; but among the Algonquins,
on the contrary, or at least among
the northern branches of this family,
the reverse took place, the totem-
ships, and consequently the chieftain-
ships, descending in the male line,
after the analogy of civilized nations.
For this information concerning the
northern Algonquins I am indebted
to the courtesy of Mr. Schoolcraft,

whose opportunities of observation
among these tribes have surpassed
those of any other student of Indian
customs and character.

1 An account of the political insti-
tutions of the Iroquois will be found
in Mr. Morgan's series of letters, pub-
lished in the American Review for
1847. Valuable information may also
be obtained from Schoolcraft's Notes
on the Iroquois.

Mr. Morgan is of opinion that these
institutions were the result of "a
protracted effort of legislation." An
examination of the customs prevail-
ing among other Indian tribes makes
it probable that the elements of the
Iroquois polity existed among them
from an indefinite antiquity; and the
legislation of which Mr. Morgan
speaks could only involve the ar-
rangement and adjustment of already
existing materials.

Since the above chapter was writ-
ten, Mr. Morgan has published an
elaborate and very able work on the
institutions of the Iroquois. It forms
an invaluable addition to this depart-
ment of knowledge.

[Chap. I.

Chap. 1.1 TRADITIONS OF THEIR CONFEDERACY.

ns which
ler, each

but the
tablished
jat couii-
ixecution
with a

sheriff's

is highl)/

ley could

nothing
1

teless ob-

hat they

the soil

ohservation
a surpassed
lit of Indian

tiiitical insti-
ll be found
cttors, pub-
leview for
ion may also
raft's Notes

n that these
suit of "a
ition." An
IIS prevail-
ribes makes
lents of the
mong them
ty ; and tlie
Morgan
ve the ar-
t of already

r was writ-
iblished an
vork on the
It forms
this depart-

of New York, are the testimonies of three conflicting
traditions, all ecpially worthless as aids to historic
inquiry.' It is at the era of their confederacy — the
event to wliich the five tribes owed all their great-
ness and power, and to which we need 'assign no
remoter date than that of a century before the first
arrival of the Dutch in New York — that faint rays
of light begin to pierce the gloom, and the chaotic
traditions of the earlier epoch mould themselves into
forms more palpable and distinct.

Taounyawatlia, the God of the AVaters — such is the
belief of t^ Iroquois — descended to the earth to in-
struct h' voiite people in the arts of savage life;
and when he saAV how they were tormented by giants,
monsters, and evil spirits, he urged the divided tribes,
for the common defence, to band themselves together
m an everlasting league. While the injunction was
as yet unfulfilled, the sacred messenger was recalled
to the Great Spirit ; but, before his departure, he
promised that another should appear, empowered to
instruct the people in all that pertained to their con-
federation. And accordingly, as a band of ]Mohawk
warriors was threading the funereal labyrinth of an
ancient pine forest, they heard, amid its blackest
depths, a hoarse voice chanting in measured cadence ;
and, following the sound, they saw, seated among the
trees, a monster of so hideous an aspect, that, one and
all, they stood benumbed with terror. His features
were wild and frightful. He was encompassed by
hissing rattlesnakes, which. Medusa-like, hung writhing
from his head; and on the ground around him were

1 Recorded by Heckewelder, Col- by the whites, is rendered probable

den, and Sclnolcraft. That the Iro- by several circumstances. See Mr.

quois had long dwelt on the spot Squier's work on the Aboriginal

where they were first discovered Monuments of New York.

TIIE inOQUOIS.

[Chap. I.

>H I

strewn implements of incantation, and magic vessels
formed of human skulls. Recovering from their amaze-
ment, the warriors could perceive that m the mystic
words of the chant, which he still poured forth, were
couched the laws and principles of the destined con-
federacy. The tradition further declares that the mon-
ster, being surrounded and captured, was presently
transfonned to human shape, that he became a cliief
of transcendent wisdom and prowess, and to the day of
his death ruled the councils of the now united tribes.
To this hour, the presiding sachem of the council at
Onondaga inherits from him the honored name of
Atotarho.*

The traditional epoch which preceded the auspicious
event of the confederacy, though wrapped in clouds
and darkness, and defying historic scrutiny, has yet a
character and meaamg of its own. The gloom is
peopled thick with phantoms ; with monsters and prod-
igies, shapes of wild enonnity, yet offering, in the Teu-
tonic strength of their conception, the evidence of
a robustness of mind unparalleled among tribes of
a different lineage. In these evil days, the scattered
and divided Iroquois were beset with every form of
peril and disaster. Giants, cased in armor of stone,
descended on them from the mountains of the north.
Huge beasts trampled down their forests like fields
of grass. Human heads, with streaming hair and glar-
ing eyeballs, shot through the air like meteors, shedding
pestilence and death throughout the land. A great
horned serpent rose from Lake Ontario; and only the
thunder-bolts of the skies could stay his ravages, and

1 Thia preposterous legend was him by Mr. Schoolcraft, in his Notes,
first briefly related in the pamphlet The curious work of Cusick will
of Cusick, the Tuscarora, and after again be referred to.

[CUAP. I.

ic vessels
ir aniaze-
le mystic
n'tli, were
ined coii-
the mon-
preseiitly
3 a chief
lie day of
ed tribf's.
ouncil at
name of

Luspicious

in clouds

lias yet a

gloom is

xnd prod-

tlie Teu-

dence of

tribes of

scattered

form of

of stone,

le north.

ke fields

and giar-

shcdding

A graat

only the

ages, and

n his Notes.
Cusick will

CuAr. I.]

TIffilU MYTHS AND LEGENDS.

drive liim back to his native deeps. The; skeletons
of nuai, victims of some monster of the forest, were
seen swimming in the Lake of Teungktoo ; and around
the Seneca village on the Hill of Genundewah, a two-
lieaded serpent coiled himself, of size so monstrous
tliat the wretched people were unable to ascend his
scaly sides, and perished in multitudes by his pestilen-
tial breath. Mortally wounded at length by the magic
arr(nv of a child, he rolled down the steep, sweephig
away the forest with his writhings, and plunging into
the lake below, where he lashed the black waters till
they boiled with blood and foam, and at length, ex-
hausted with his agony, sunk, and perished at the
bottom. Under the Falls of Niagara dwelt the Spirit
of tlie Thunder, with his brood of giant sons; and
the Iroquois trembled in then* villages when, amid the
blackening shadows of the storm, they heard his deep
shout roll along the firmament.

The energy of fancy, whence these barbarous cre-
ations drew their birth, displayed itself, at a later
period, in that peculiar eloquence which the wild de-
mocracy of the Iroquois tended to call forth, and to
which the mountain and the forest, the torrent and
the storm, lent their stores of noble imagery. That
to this imaginative vigor was joined mental power
of a different stamp, is witnessed by the caustic ii'ony
of Garangula and Sagoyewatha, and no less by the
subtle policy, sagacious as it was treacherous, which
marked the dealings of the Iroquois with surround-
ing tribes.^

1 For traditions of the Iroquois see dian, who, being disabled by an acci-

Schoolcraft, Notes, Ciiap. IX. Cu- dent from active occupations, essayed

pick, History of the Five Nations, to become the historian of his people,

and Clark, Hist. Onondaga, I. and produced a small pamphlet, writ-

Cusick was an old Tuscarora In- ten in a language almost uninteHi-

TIIE IllOC^UOIS.

[CUAT. I.

With all this intellectual superiority, the arts of
life among them had not emerged from their primi-
tive rudeness; and their coarse pottery, their spear
and arrow heads of stone, were in no Avay superior to
those of many other trihes. 'J'heir agriculture deserves
a higher praise. In lGl)(i, the invading ai-rny of Count
Frontenac found the maize fields extending a league
and a half or two leagues from their villages ; and,
in 1779, the troops of General i^ullivan were filled
with amazement at their abundant stores of corn,
beans, and squashes, and at the ancient apple orchards
which grew around their settlements.

Their dwellings and works of defence were far
from contemptible, either in their dimensions or in
their structure ; and though by the several attacks of
the French, and especially by the invasion of De Non-
ville, in 1G87, and of Frontenac, nine years later, their
fortified towns were levelled to the earth, never again
to reappear ; yet, in the works of Champlain and other
early writers we find abundant evidence of their pris-
tine condition. Along the banks of the INIohawk,
among the hills and hollows of Onondaga, in the for-
ests of Oneida and Cayuga, on the romantic shores
of Seneca Lake and the rich borders of the Genesee,
surrounded by waving maize fields, and endrcled from
afar by the green margin of the forest, stood the
ancient strongholds of the confederacy. The clus-
tering dwellings were encompassed by palisades, ni

gible, and filled with a medley of
traditions in which a few grains of
triitii are inextricably mingled with
a tangled mass of absurdities. He
relates the monstrous legends of iiis
people with an air of implicit faith,
and traces the presiding sachems of
the confederacy in regular descent

from the first Atotarho downwards.
His Avork, which was printed at the
Tuscarora village, near Li'wiston, in
1828, is illustrated by several rude
engravings representmg the Stone
Giants, the Flying Heads, and other
traditional monsters.

[ClIAP. I.

: arts of
3ir primi-
leir spear
ipcrior to
'i deserves
of Count

a league
2;es ; aud,
ere filled

of corn,
I orchards

Avcrc far
Dus or in
Attacks of
■ Do Non-
Jiter, tlieli*
?ver again

and other
their pris-

^lohawk,
the for-

ic shores
Genesee,
led from

tood the

Hie clus-

Lsades, ui

downwards,
lilted at the
Li'wiston, in
several rude
T the Stone
ds, and other

CUAP. 11

TIIEIIl FORTS AND VILLAGES.

single, douhle, or triple rows, pi(?rced with loopholes,
furnished with platforms within, for the convenience
of the defenders, with magazines uf stones to hurl
upon the heads of the enemy, and with water con-
ductors to extinguish any fire which might be kindled
from without.^

The area which these defences enclosed was often
several acres in extent, and the dwellings, ranged in
order within, were sometimes more than a hundred
feet in length. Posts, fimdy driven into the ground,
with an intervening framework of poles, formed the
basis of the structure ; and its sides and arched roof
were closely covered with layers of elm bark. Each
of the larger dwellings contained several distinct fam-
ilies, whose separate fires were built along the central
space, wliile compartments on each side, like the stalls
of a stable, afforded some degree of ])rivacy. Here,
rude couches were prepared, and bear and deer skins
spread ; while above, the ripened ears of maize, sus-
pended in rows, formed a golden tapestry.^

1 Lafitau, McDurs des Sauvagcs
Ameriqnains, II. 4-10.

Fronteiiac, in his expedition against
the Oiion(higiis, in !()!)(], (see Of-
ficial Journal, Doc. Hist. New York,
I. ;W'i,) found one of their villages
built in an oblong form, with lour
bastions. The wall was formed of
throe rows of palisades, those of tiio
outer row being forty or filly feet
high. The usual figure of tlie Iro-
quois villages was circular or oval,
and in this instance the bastions were
no doubt the suggestion of some Eu-
ropean adviser.

'-^ Bartram gives the following ac-
count of the great council-house at
Onondaga, which he visited in 1743.

" We alighted at the council-house,
where the chiefs were already assem-
Dled to receive us, which tliey did

%vith a grave, chearful complaisance,
according to their custom ; they
shew'd us wlioro to lay our baggage,
and repose ourselves during our stay
with them ; which was in tiio two end
apartments of this large house. The
Indians that came with us were
placed over against us. This cabin
is about eighty feet long and seven-
teen broad, the common passage six
feet wide, and the apartments on
each side five feet, raised a foot above
the passage by a long sa|)liug, hewed
square, and fitted with joists tli.it go
from it to the back of the house ; on
these joists they lay large pieces of
bark, and on extraordinary occasions
sp-cad mats made of rusiies : this fa-
vor we had ; on these floors they set
or lye down, every one as he will ;
the apartments are divided from each

THE IROQUOIS.

[Chai'. I.

In the long evenings of midwinter, when in the
wilderness without the trees cracked with biting cold,
and the forest paths were clogged with snow, then,
around the lodge-fires of the Iroquois, warriors, squaws,
and restless naked children were clustered in social
groups, each dark face brightening in the fickle fire-
light, while, with jest and laugh, the pipe passed round
from hand to hand. Perhaps some shrivelled old war-
rior, the story-teller of the tribe, recounted to atten-
tive ears the deeds of ancient heroism, legends of spuits
and monsters, or tales of witches and vampires — super-
stitions not less rife among this all-believing race, than
among the nations of the transatlantic world.

The life of the Iroquois, though void of those mul-
tiplying phases which vary the routine of civilized
existence, was one of sharp excitement and sudden
contrast. The chase, the war-path, the dance, the
festival, the game of hazard, the race of political am-
bition, all had their votaries. Allien the assembled
sachems had resolved on war against some foreign
tribe, and when, from their great council-house of bark,
in the Valley of Onondaga, their messengers had gone
forth to invite the warriors to arms, then from east
to west, through the farthest bounds of the confed-
eracy, a thoi; .nd warlike hearts caught up the sum-

'■I

!l'i:l'

other by boards or bark, six or seven
foot long, from the lower floor to the
upper, on which they put their lum-
ber, when they have eaten their honi-
ony, as they set in each apartment
before the fire ; they can put the bowl
over head, havinty not above live foot
to reach ; they set on the floor some-
times at each end, but mostly at one ;
they have a shed to put their wood
into in the winter, or in the summer,
to set to converse or play, that has a
door to the south ; all the sides and

roof of the cabin are made of bark,
bound fast to poles set in the ground,
and bent round on the top, or set
artatt, for the roof, as we set our rafters ;
over each fireplace they leave a hole
to let out the smoke, which, in rainy
weather, they cover with a piece of
bark, and this they can easily reach
with a pole to push it on one side or
quite over the hole ; after this model
are most of their cabins built." —
Bartram, Observations, 40.

[Chai'. I.

len in the
Diting cold,
mow, then,
)rs, squaws,
d m social
fickle fire-
issed round
3d old war-
d to atten-
is of spirits
es — super-
<; race, than
•Id.

those mul-

of civilized

md sudden

dance, the

alitical am-

assembled

me foreign

ise of bark,

had gone

from east

he confed-

the sum-

made of bark,
in the ground,
10 top, or set
set our rafters;
jy leave a hole
liich, in rainy
til a piece of
n easily reach
on one side or
tier this model
)ins built." —
40.

Chap. I.]

THE WAll-rATK.

mons with glad alacrity. With ftistmg and prajing,
and consultmg dreams and omens ; mth invoking the
war-god, and dancuig the frantic war-dance, the war-
riors sought to insure the triumph of their arms;
and, these strange rites concluded, they began their
stealthy progress, full of confidence, through the dc^
vious pathways of the forest. For days and weeks, in
anxious expectation, the lillagers await the result.
And now, as evening closes, a shrill, wdd cry, pealmg
from afar, over the darkening forest, proclaims the re-
tmn of the victorious warriors. The village is alive
with sudden commotion; and snatching sticks and
stones, knives and hatchets, men, women, and chil-
dren, yelling like fiends let loose, swarm out of the
narrow portal, to visit upon the miserable captives a
ioretaste of the deadlier torments in store for them.
And now, the black arches of the forest glow with
the fires of death ; and with brandished torch and
firebrand the frenzied multitude close arowid their
victim. The pen shrinks to write, the heart sickens
to conceive, the fierceness of his agony ; yet still, amid
the dm of his tormentors, rises his clear voice of scorn
and defiance. The work is done ; the blackened trunk
is fiung to the dogs, and, with clamorous shouts and
hootings, the murderers seek to drive away the spirit
of their victim.^

I'he Iroquois reckoned these barbarities among their

1 "Being at this place the 17 of
June, there came fifty prisoners from
the south-westward. They were of
two nations, some whereof have few
guns; the other none at all. One
nation is about ten days' journey from
any Christians, and trade onely with
one groatt house, nott farr from the
sea, and the other trade only, as tliey
say, with a black people. Thia day

of them was burnt two women, and
a man and a child killed with a atone.
Att night we heard a great noyse .-is
if y houses had all fallen, butt itt
was only y" inhabitants driving away
y ghosts of y murthered.

"The 18"' going to Canagorah,
tliat day there were most cruelly
burnt four men, four women, and one
boy The cruelty lasted aboutt seven

ill

Wv\'

'|.:|l

1 ' r
111

THE IROQUOIS.

[Chap. I.

most exquisite enjoyments; and yet they had other
sources of pleasure, which made up in frequency and
in innocence all that they lacked in intensity. Each
passing season had its feasts and dances, often minglmg
religion with social pastime. The young had their
frolics and merry-maldngs ; and the old had their no
less frequent councils, where conversation and laugh-
ter alternated with grave deliberations for the pub-
lic weal. There were also stated periods marked by
the recurrence of momentous ceremonies, in which tho
whole community took part — the mystic sacrifice
of the dogs, the wild orgies of the dream feast, and
the loathsome festival of the exhumation of the dead.
Yet, in the intervals of war and hunting, these mul-
tifonn occupations would often fail; and, while the
women were toiling in the cornfields, the lazy warriors
vainly sought relief from the scanty resources of their
own minds, and beguiled the hours with smoking or
sleeping, with gambling or gallantry.^

If we seek for a single trait preeminently charac-
teristic of the Iroquois, we shall find it in that bound-
less pride which impelled them to style themselves,
not inaptly as regards their own race, " the men sur-
passing all others." ^ " Must I," exclaimed one of their
great warriors, as he fell wounded among a crowd of
Algonquins, — " must I, who have made the whole earth
tremble, now die bv the hands of children 1 " Their
power kept pace with their pride. Their war-parties

hours. When they were almost dead
letting them loose to the mercy of
•f^ boys, and takinjj the hearts of such
as were dead to feast on." — Green-
halgh, Journal, 1077.

1 For an account of tlie habits and
customs of the Iroquois, the follow-
ing works, besides those already
cited, may be referred to: —

Charlevoix, Letters to the Duchess
ofLosdijruieres; Cliamplain, Voyages
de la Nouv. France; Clark, Hist.
Onondaga, I., and several volumes
of the Jesuit Relations, especially
those of 1(350-7 and lOSO-'OO.

2 Tills is Coldon's translation of
tho word Ongwehonwe, one of tli6
names of the Iroquois.

-m

[Chap. I.

f had other
3quency and
isity. Each
en mingling
f had their
ad their no
and laugh-
Dr the pub-
marked by
n which tho
:ic sacrifice
n feast, and
af the dead.
, these mul-
l, while the
azy warriors
'ces of their
smoking or

fitly cliarao-

that bound-

themselves,

le men sur-

one of their

a crowd of

whole earth

] " Their

war-parties

Chap. I.]

THE HUKONS OR WYANDOTS.

to the Duchess

nplain, Voyajrca

Clnrk, Hist.

several volumes

ions, especially

l()5i)-'(i0.

transliition of
we, one of tlie

II
■w

roamed over half America, and theu* name was a terror
from the Atlantic to the Mississippi; but, when we
ask the numerical strength of the ckeaded confederacy,
when we discover that, in the days of their greatest
triumphs, their united cantons could not have mus-
tered four thousand warriors, we stand amazed at the
folly and dissension which left so vast a region the
jorey of a handfid of bold marauders. Of the cities
and villages now so thickly scattered over the lost
domain of the Iroquois, a single one might boast a
more numerous population than all the five united
tribes.'

From this remarkable people, who with all the fe-
rocity of their race blended heroic virtues and marked
endowments of intellect, I pass to other members of
the same great family, whose diflerent fortunes may
perliaps be ascribed rather to the force of circum-
stance, than to any intrinsic inferiority.

The peninsula between the Lakes Huron, Erie, and
Onicuiu A' as occupied by two distinct peoples, speak-
ing dialects of the Iroquois tongue. The Ilurons or
Wvandots, includinor the formidable bands called bv the
French the Dionondadies, or Tobacco Nation,^ dwelt

1 La Hontan estimated the Iro-
quois at from five thousand to seven
thnns;md fifrlitin^ men ; hut his inetins
of information were very imperfect,
ami tlie same may be said of several
other French writers, who have over-
rated the force of the confederacy. In
l()77,fhe Enirlish sent one Greenhaltifh
to ascertain tlieir numbers. He visited
all tlieir towns iind vilhiires, and re-
ported tijeir ajrnfreofate force at two
thousand one hundred and fit\y fiixht-
inir men. Tiie report of Colonel
Coursey, atrent from Virprinia, at
about the some period, closely cor-
responds with this statement. Green-
lalijh's Journal will be found in

Chalmers' Political Annals, and in
tlie Documentary History of New
York. Subse(iuent estimates, up to
the period of tiie revolution, when
their stnMifjth had much declined,
vary from twelve hundred to two
thousand one hundred and twenty.
Most of these estimates are piven by
Clinton, in his Discourse on tht; Five
Nations, and several by Jefferson, in
his Notes on Virginia.

- Hurons, Wyaixlots, Yendots,
Oupndaet.s, Quatoiries.

The Dionondudies are also de-
sijxnated by the foUowintj names:
Tionontatez, Petuneux — Nation of
Tobacco.

.•1

THE HURONS OR WYANDOTS.

[ClIAl-. I.

among the forests which bordered the eastern shores
of the fresh water sea, to which they have left theii*
name ; while the neutral nation, so called from theu*
neutrality in the war between the Hurons and the
Five Nations, inhabited the northern shores of Lake
Erie, and even extended their eastern flank across the
strait of Niagara.

The population of the Hurons has been variously
stated at from ten thousand to thirty thousand souls,
but probably did not exceed the former estimate. The
Franciscans and the Jesuits were early amonp^ them,
and from their copious descriptions it is apparent
that in legends and superstitions, manners and hab-
its, religious observances and social customs, this peo-
ple were closely assimilated to their brethren of the
Five Nations. Their capacious dwellings of bark,
and their palisaded forts, seemed copied after the same
model.' Like the Five Nations, they were divided into
tribes, and cross-divided into totemic clans ; and, as
with them, the oflice of sachem descended in the fe-
male line. The same crude materials of a political
fabric were to be found in both ; but, unlike the Iro-
quois, the Wyandots had not as yet wrought them
into a system, and woven them into an hannonious
whole.

Like the Five Nations, the Wyandots were in some
measure an agricultui-al people ; they bartered the sui-
plus products of their maize fields to surrounding tribes,
usually receiving fish in exchange ; and this traffic was
so considerable, that the Jesuits styled theii' countiy
the Granary of the Algonquins.^

1 See Sajrard, Hurons, 115. into a slight mistake when he says

2 Bancroft, in his chapter on the that no trade was carried on by any
Indians east of the Mississippi, falls of the tribes. For an account of the

[Chav. I.

stem shores
e left theii-
from their
ns and the
•es of Lake
: across the

in variously
isand souls,
mate. The
non^ them,
LS apparent
s and liab-
is, this peo-
hren of the
s of bark,
er the same
ii\dded into
and, as
in the fe-
a political
ce the Iro-
ught them
laiTOonious

re in some
ed the sur-
iing tribes,
traffic was
iii' countiy

* CUAP. I.]

THE NEUTRAL NATION.

Their prosperity was rudely broken by the rancorous
liostilities of the Five Nations; for though the con-
flicting parties were not ill matched in point of num-
bers, yet the united counsels and ferocious energies
of the confederacy swept all before them. In the
year 16 i9, in the depth of winter, then* warriors in-
vaded the country of the AVyandots, stormed their
largest villages, and involved all within in indiscrimi-
nate slaughter.^ The sur\"ivors fled in panic terror,
and the whole nation was dispersed and broken.

Some found refuge among the French of Canada,
where, at the village of Lorette, near Quebec, their
descendants still remain ; others were incorporated
with their conquerors ; while others again fled north-
ward, be}ond Lake Superior, and sought an asylum
among the desolate Avastes which bordered on the
north-eastern bands of the Dahcotah. Driven back by
those flerce bison hunters, they next established them-
selves about the outlet of Lake Superior, and the
shores and islands in the northern parts of Lake Hu-
ron. Thence, about the year IG^O, they descended to
Detroit, where they formed a permanent settlement, and
where, by their superior vahjr, capacity, and address,
tiiey soon acquired a marvellous ascendency over the
surrounding Algonquins.

The runi of the Neutral Nation followed close on
that of the Wyandots, to whom, according to Jesuit
authority, they bore an exact resemblance in charac-
ter and manners.^ The Senecas soon found means to
pick a quarrel with them ; they were assailed by all

when he says
ied on by any
account of tho

traffic between the Hurons and Al-
cronquins, see Mercier, Relation des
Hiirons, lCh^7, p. 171.

' (Charlevoix, Nouvelle France, I.

3 Accord innr to Lallemant, the pop-
•jlrjtit>n of the Neutral Nation amount-
ed to at least twelve thousand ; but the
estimate is probably exafigerated. —
lielaliott des Hurons, 1041, p. 50.

THE ANDASTER AND ERIES.

[Chap. I.

•t

II
I

!i "''

the strength of the insatiable confederacy, and within a
few years their destruction as a nation was complete.

South of Lake Erie dwelt two potent members of
the Ironuois family. The Andastes built their for-
tified villages along the valley of the Lower Sus-
quehanna; while the Erigas, or Eries, occupied the
borders of the lake which still retains their name.
Of these two nations little is known, for the Jesuits
had no missions among them, and few traces of them
survive beyond theiv nwr ^i and the record of their
destruction. The war with the AVyandots was scarcely
over, when the Fiv;^ NatiouR turned their fratricidal
arms against their Erie biethrcn.

In the year 1655, using their canoes as scaling
ladders, they stormed the Erie strongholds, leaped
down like tigers among the defenders, and butchered
them without mercy. ^ The greater part of the nation
was involved in the massacre, and the remnant was
incorporated with the conquerors, or with other tribes,
to which they fled for refuge. The ruin of the An-
dastes came next in turn ; but this brave people fought
for twenty years against their inexorable assailants,
and their destruction was not consummated until the
year 1672, when they shared the fate of the rest.^

Thus, within less than a quarter of a century, four
natiors, the most brave and powerful of the North
American savages, sank before the arms of the con-
federates. Nor did their triumphs end here. Within

1 An account of the rlestruction of on this subject, as related to the wri-

the lOries, drawn from tho.Tesuit wri-
ter.s, may he f()und in an interesting
lecture, delivered by O. H. Marshall,
Esq., and published in the Western
Literary Messnijrpr for May and
June, 184i>. Tlie Iroquois traditions

ter by a chief of the Cayugas, do not
agree with the narratives of the Jes-
uits.

2 Charlevoix, Nouvelle France, I.
443.

[Chap. I.

nd within a
s complete,
nembers of
their for-
liOwer Sus-
cupied the
;heir name,
the Jesuits
3es of them
rd of their
v'as scarcely
r fratricidal

as scaling
)lds, leaped
d butchered
' the nation

mnant was
)ther tribes,
of the An-
!ople fought
assailants,
d until the
the rest.^
entury, four

the North
3f the con-
i-e. Within

ated to the wn-
Cayugas, do not
ivea of the Jes-

mlle France, I.

Chaj- I.]

ADOPTION OF PRISONERS.

:■§

the same short space they subdued their southera
neighbors the Lenape,^ the leadmg members of the
Algonqidn fimuJy, and expelled the Ottawas, a nu-
merous people of the same lineage, from the borders
of the river which bears their name. In the noith,
tlie west, and the south, their conquests embraced every
adjacent tribe; and meanwhile their war parties were
harassing the French of Canada with reiterated in-
roads, and yelling the war-whoop under the very walls
of Quebec.

They were the worst of conquerors. Inordinate
pride, the lust of blood and dommion, were the main-
springs of theu* warfare ; and their victories were
stained with every excess of savage passion. That
theu' triumphs must have cost them dear ; that, in
spite of their cautious tactics, these multiplied con-
flicts must have greatly abridged their strength, would
appear inevitable. Their losses were, in fact, consid-
erable ; but every breach was repaired by means of a
practice which they, in common with other tribes, con-
stantly adhered to. When their vengeance was glut-
ted by the sacrifice of a sufficient number of captives,
they spared the lives of the remainder, and adopted
them as members of their confederated tribes, sepa-
rating wives from husbands, and children from parents,
and distributing them among different villages, in or-
der that old ties and associations might be more
completely broken up. This policy, as Schoolcraft
informs us, was designated among them by a name
which signifies "flesh cut into pieces and scattered
among the tribes."

In the years 17 14-' 15, the confederacy received a

1 Gallatin places the final subjection of the Lenapo at about the year
750. — Synopsis, 48

iKii I:

24:

IROQUOIS TIIIBES — TIIEIR CHARACTER. fCnAP. I

great accession of strength. Southwards, about the
head waters of the Rivers Neuse and Tar, and separated
from their kindred tribes by intervening Algonquin
communities, dwelt the Tuscaroras, a warlike people
belonging to the generic stock of the Iroquois. The
wrongs inflicted by white settlers, and th(nr own un-
distinguishing vengeance, involved them in a war with
the colonists, which resulted in their defeat and ex-
pulsion. They emigrated to the Five Nations, whose
allies they had been in former wars with southern
tribes, and who now gladly received them, admitting
them, as a sixth nation, into their confederacy, and
assigning to their sachems a seat in the council-house
at Onondaga.

It is a remark of Gallatin, that, in their career of
conquest, the Five Nations encountered more stubborn
resistance from the tribes of their own family, than
from those of a different lineage. In truth, all the
scions of this warlike stock seem endued with singu-
lar vitality and force, and among them we must seek
for the best type of the Indian character. Few tribes
could match them in prowess and constancy, in moral
energy and intellectual vigor. The Jesuits remarked
that they were more intelligent, yet less tractable, than
other savages ; and Charlevoix observes that, though
the Algonquins w^ere readily converted, they made but
fickle proselytes ; while the Hurons, though not easily
won over to the church, were far more faithful in
their adherence.^ Of this tribe, the Hurons or Wy-
andots, a candid and experienced observer declares,
that of all the Indians with whom he was conversant,
they alone held it disgraceful to turn from the face

1 Nouvelle France, I. 19G.

:er. rCnAP. I

, about the
11(1 separated
Algonquin
dike peo2)le
quois. The
oil' own un-
L a war with
eat and ex-
tions, whose
til southern
1, admitting
)dei'acy, and
omicil-house

ii' career of

)re stubborn

family, than

ith, all the

with singu-

must seek

Few tribes

y, in moral

s remarked

ctable, than

at, though

y made but

not easily

faithful m

>ns or Wy-

r declares,

conversant,

m the face

Chap. I.

TIIK .VLGONQUINS.

of an enemy when the fortunes of the fight were
adverse.'

Besides these inherent qualities, tlie tribes of the
Iro(iuois race derived great advantages from their su-
perior social organization. They were all, more or
less, tillers of the soil, and were thus enabled to con-
centrate a more numerous population than the sc;at-
tcrcd tribes who live bv the chase alone. In their
well-peopled and well-constructed, villages, th(>y dwelt
together the greater part of the year ; and thence the
religious rites and social and political usages, which
elsewhere existed only in tlie germ, attained among
them a full and perfect development. Yet these ad-
vantages were not without alloy, and the Jesuits were
not slow to remark that the stationary and thriving
Iroquois were more loose in their observance of social
ties, than the wandering and starving savages of the
north.^

THE ALGONQUIN FAMILY.

Except the detached nation of the Tuscaroras, and
a few smaller tribes adhering to them, the Iro(piois
family were confined to the region south of the Lakes
Erie and Ontario, and the peninsula east of Lake
Huron. They formed, as it were, an island in the
vast expanse of Algonquin population, extending from
Hudson's Bay on the north to the Carolinas on the
south ; from the Atlantic on tlie east to the Missis-
sii)]3i and Lake Winnipeg on the west. They were

1 William Henry Harrison, Dis- wee did : they made great feasts and
course on tlie Aborifjines of the Ohio. ' — '■ - -— ' ■----i • •
See Ohio Hist. Trans. Part Second,
I. 257.

2 " Here y" Indyans were very de- j..^,. ..„ .

sirous to see us ride our horses, w'" halgh. Journal.

dancinir, and invited us y' wlum all
y" inaides were toirotlier, botii woe
and our Indyans might choose such
as lyked us to ly with." — Green

il'i!

■■i: ■'''■

THE ALGONQUINS.

tCltAP. I

Algonquhis who greeted Jacc^ues Cartier, as his ships
ascended the St. Lawrence. The first British colonists
found savages of the same race limiting and fishmg
along the coasts and inlets of Virginia; and it was
the daugliter of an Algonquin chief who interceded
with her father for the life of the adventurous Eng-
lishman. They were Algonquins who, under Sassacus
the Pequot, and Philip of Mount Hope, waged deadly
war against the Puritans of New England ; who dwelt
at Pcnacook under the rule of the great magician,
Passaconaway, and trembled before the evil spirits of
the White Hills ; and who sang aves and told their
beads in the forest chapel of Father Rasles, by the
banks of the Kennebec. They were Algonquins who,
under the great tree at Kensington, made the cove-
nant of peace with William Penn ; and when French
Jesuits and fur-traders explored the Wabash and the
Ohio, they found their valleys tenanted by the same
far-extended race. At the present day, the traveller,
perchance, may find them pitching their bark lodges
along the beach at Mackinaw, spearing fish among
the boiling rapids of St. Mary's, or skimming the
waves of Lake Superior in their birch canoes.

Of all the members of the Algonquin family, those
called by the English the Delawares, by the French
the Loups, and by themselves Lenni Lenape, or Origi-
nal Men, hold the first claim to attention; for their
traditions declare them to be the parent stem whence
other Algonquin tribes have sprung. The latter rec-
ognized the claim, and at all solemn councils, accorded
to the ancestral tribe the title of Grandfather.^

1 The Lenape, on their part, call Brothers ; but they confess the supe-
the other Algonquin tribes Children, riority of the Wyandota and the Five
Grandchildren, Nephews, or Younger Nations, by yielding thera tlie title of

[ClIAP. I

Chap. I]

THE LENNI LENArE.

IS his ships
sh colonists
and fishmg
and it was
interceded
;urous Eng-
.cr Sassacus
aged deadly
: who dwelt
t magician,
lI spirits of
i told their
sles, by the
[iquins who,
le the cove-
^hen French
ish and the
>y the same
le traveller,
bark lodges
fish among
mming the
loes.

imily, those
the French
>e, or Origi-
l; for their
;em whence
latter rec-
s, accorded
her.^

Infess the sii pe-
lts and the Five
lem tlie title of

Tlie first European colonists found the conical
lodges of the TiCnape clustered in frequent groups
about the waters of the Delaware and its tributary
streams, within the present limits of New Jcrse; and
Eastern Pennsylvania. The nation was sepii rated into
three di\isions, and three sachems formed a trium-
virate, who, with the council of old m(3n, regulated
all its affairs.^ They were, in some small measure, an
agricultural people ; but fishing and the chase were
their chief dependence, and through a great part of
the year they were scattered abroad, among forests and
streams, in search of sustenance.

When William Penn held his far-famed council with
the sachems of the Lenape, he extended the hand of
brotherhood to a people as unwarlike in their habits
as his own pacific followers. This is by no means
to be ascribed to any inborn love of peace. The
Lenape were then in a state of degrading vassalage,
victims to the domineering power of the Five Nations,
who, that they might drain to the dregs the cup of
humiliation, had forced them to assume the name of
Women, and forego the use of arms.^ Dwelling un-
der the sliadow of the tyrannical confederacy, they
were long unable to wipe out the blot ; but at length,
pushed from their ancient seats by the encroachments
of white men, and removed westward, partially be-
yond the reach of their conquerors, tlieir native spirit

Uncles. They, in return, call the
Lenape Nephews, or more frequently
Cousins.

1 Loskiel, Part I. 130.

2 The story told by the Lenape
themselves, and recorded with the
utmost good faith by Loskiel and
Ueckewelder, that the Five Nations
had not conquered them, but, by a
cunning artitice, had cheated them

into subjection, is wholly unworthy of
credit. It is not to be believnd that
a people so acute and suspicious
could be the dupes of so palpable a
trick; and it is equally incredible
that a hin^h-spirited tribe could be; in-
duced, by the most persuasive rhet-
oric, to assume the name of Women,
which in Indian eyes is the last con-
fession of abject abasement

THE ALGONQUtNS.

IClIAl'. I

')(\ii^;m to revive, and they assumed a tone of unwonted
defiance. During tlie Old French War tliey resuni(>(l
the use of arms, and while the Five Nations fought
for the English, they espoused the cause of France.
At the opening of the revolution, they boldly asserted
their freedom from the yoke of their coiuiuerors ; and
a few years after, the Five Nations confessed, at a
public council, that the Lenape were no longt^r women,
but men.' Ever since that period, they have stood in
high repute for bravery, generosity, and all the savage
virtues; and the settlers of the frontier have often
found, to their cost, that the women of the Iroc^uois
have been transformed into a race of forniidal)le war-
riors. At the present day, the small remnant set-
tled beyond the Mississippi are among the bravest
marauders of the west. Their war-parties pierce the
farthest wilds of th(* Rocky ^Mountains ; and the prairie
traveller may sometimes meet the Delaware wjirrior
returning from a successful foray, a gaudy handker-
chief bound about his brows, his snake locks fluttering
in the wind, his rifle resting across his saddle-bow,
while the tarnished and begrimed equipments of his
half-wild horse bear witness that the unscrupulous
rider has waylaid and plundered some Mexican cavalier.
Adjacent to the Lenape, and associated with them
in some of the most momentous passages of their his-
tory, dwelt the Shawanoes, the Chaouanons of the
French, a tribe of bold, roving, and adventurous spirit.
Their eccentric wanderings, their sudden appearances
and disappearances, perplex the antiquary, and defy
research; but from various scattered notices, we may
gather that at an early period, thoy occupied the

1 Hecke welder, Hist. Ind. Nat 53.

[CUAl'. I

►f unwonted
loy rosunird
ions fought
of France,
dly asserted
uerors ; and
fessed, at a
iger women,
ivc stood in
, the savage
have often
lie Iro(iuois
iiidable war-
eninant set-
the bravest
i pierce the
d the prairie
vare warrior
dy handker-
ks fluttering
saddle-bow,
lents of his
nscrupulous
can cavalier,
wdth them
)f their bis-
ons of the
urous spirit,
appearances
y, and defy
es, we may
ccupied the

Chap. I]

THK MLVMIS — TlIK HXINOIS.

vall(>y of tlie Ohio ; that, becoming embroiled with tlie
Five Nations, they shared the def(>at of the Andastes,
and a) '"it the year 1()72 fled to escape destruction.
Some .x(l an asylum in the country of the I.enape,
wlien^ they lived tenants at will of the Five Nations;
othcn-s sought n^fuge in the Carolinas and Florida,
wliens true to their native instincts, they soon came
to blows with the owners of the soil. Again, tunung
northwards, they formed new settlements in the valley
of the Ohio, where they were now suffered to dwell
in peace, and where, at a later period, they Avere
joined by such of their brethren as had found refuge
among the Lenape.*

Of t^ tribes which, single and detached, or co-
hering oose confederacies, dwelt within the limits
of Lower Canada, Acadia, and New England, it is
needless to speak ; for they oftered no distinctive traits
demanding notice. Passing the country of the Lenape
and the Shawanoes, and descending the Ohio, the
traveller would have found its valley chiefly occupied
by two nations, the Miamis or Twightwees, on the
Wabash and its branches, and the Illinoic, who dwelt
in the neighborhood of the river to which they have
given their name. Though never subjugated, as were
the Lenape, both the Miamis and the Illinois were
reduced to the last extremity by the repeated attacks
of the Five Nations; and the Illinois, in particidar,
suftcred so much by these and other wars, that the
population of ten or twelve thousand, ascribed to
them by the early French writers, had dwindled, dui'-
ing the first quarter of the eighteenth century, to a

1 The evidence concerning the 65. See also Drake, Life of Tecum-
movements of the Shawanoes ia well aeh, 10.
summed up by Gallatin, Synopsis,

il'i

li i

iiin"

THE ALGONQUINS.

[Chap. I

few small villages.^ According to Marest, they were
a people sunk in sloth and licentiousness; but that
priestly father had suffered much at their hands, and
viewed them with a jaundiced eye. Their agriculture
was not contemptible; they had permanent dwellings
as well as portable lodges; and though wandering
through many months of the year among their broad
prairies and forests, there were seasons when their
whole population was gathered, with feastings and
merry-makings, within the limits of their villages.

Turning his course northward, traversing the Lakes
Michigan and Superior, and skii-ting the western mar-
gin of Lake Huron, the voyager would have found
the solitudes of the wild waste around him broken
by scattered lodges of the Ojibwas, Pottawattamies,
and Ottawas. About the bays and rivers west of
Lake Michigan, he would have seen the Sacs, the
Foxes, and the Menomonies; and penetrating the
frozen wilderness of the north, he would have been
welcomed by the rude hospitality of the wandering
Knisteneaux.

The Ojibwas, with their kindred, the Pottawatta-
mies, and their friends the Ottawas, — the latter of
whom were fugitives from the eastward, whence they
had fled from the wrath of the ' quois, — were banded
into a sort of confederacy.^ . blood and language,
in manners and character, they were closely allied.
The Ojibwas, by far the most numerous of the three,
occupied the basin of Lake Superior, and extensive
adjacent regions. In their boundaries the carcc^r of
Iroquois conquest found at length a check. The fu-

1 Father Rasles, 1723, says, that
there were eleven. Marest. in 1712,
found only three.

2 Morse, Report, Appendix, 141.

[Chap. I

Chap. I.]

THE OJIBWAS.

st, they were
iss ; but that
ir hands, and
ir agriculture
ent dwellmgs
;h wandermg
[J their broad
when their
X3astings and
r villages,
ng the Lakes
western mar-
have found
him broken
)ttawattamies,
.vers west of
the Sacs, the
trating the
d have been
lie wandering

: Pottawatta-
the latter of

whence thev
- were banded
nd language,
doscly allied.

of the three,
md extensive
he career of

ck. The fu-

;, Appendix, 141.

gitive Wyandots sought refuge in the Ojibwa hunting-
grounds; and tradition relates, that at the outlet of
Lake Superior, an Iroquois war-party once encountered
a disastrous repulse.

In their mode of life, they were far more rude than
the Iroquois, or even the southern Algonquin tribes.
The totemic system is found among them in its most
imperfect state. The original clans have become
broken into fragments, and indefinitely multiplied ;
and many of the ancient customs of the institution
are but loosely regarded. Agriculture is little known,
and, through summer and winter, they range the wil-
derness with restless wandering, now gorged to reple-
tion, and now perishing with want. In the calm
days of summer, the Ojibwa fisherman pushes out his
birch canoe upon the great inland ocean of the north ;
and, as he gazes down into the pellucid depths, he
seems like one balanced between earth and sky.
The watchful fish-hawk circles above his head; and
below, farther than his line will reach, he sees the
trout glide shadowy and silent over the glimmering
pebbles. The little islands on the verge of the hori-
zon seem now starting into spires, now melting from
the sight, now shaping themselves into a thousand
fantastic forms, with the strange mirage of the waters ;
and he fancies that the evil spirits of the lake lie
basking their serpent forms on those unliallowed
shores. Again, he explores the watery labyrinths
where the stream sweeps among pine-tufted islands, or
runs, black and deep, beneath the shadows of moss-
bearded firs ; or he lifts his canoe upon the sandy
beach, and, while his camp-fire crackles on the grass
plat, reclines beneath the trees, and smokes and laughs
away the sultry hours, in a lazy luxury of enjoyment.

THE AI.GONQUINS.

[Chap. 1

! il!

'! ilil',Hl

But when winter descends upon the north, sealing
up the fountams, fettering the streams, and turning
the green-robed forests to shivering nakedness, then,
beaiing their frail dwellings on their backs, the Ojibwa
family wander forth into the wilderness, cheered only,
on their dreary track, by the whistling of the north
wind, and the hungry howl of wolves. By the banks
of some frozen stream, women and children, men and
dogs, lie crouched together around the fire. They
spread their benumbed fingers over the embers, Avhile
the wind shrieks through the fir-trees like the gale
through the rigging of a frigate, and the narrow con-
cave of the wigwam sparkles with the frost-work of
their congealed breach. In vain they beat the magic
drum, and call upon their guardian manitoes; — tlie
wary moose keeps aloof, the bear lies close in his
hollow tree, and famine stares them in the face. And
now the hunter can tight no more against the nipping
cold and blinding sleet. Stiff and stark, with haggard
check and shrivelled lip, he lies among the snow drifts ;
till, with tooth and claw, the famished wildcat strives
in vain to pierce the frigid marble of his limbs. Such
harsh schooling is thrown aAvay on the incorrigible
mind of the northern Algonquin. He lives in misery,
as his fathers lived before him. Still, in the brief
hour of plenty he forgets the season of want ; and
still the sleet and the snow descend upon his house-
less liead.^

I have thus passed in brief review the more prom-
inent of the Algonquin tribes ; those whose struggles

1 Soe Tanner, hnng, and Henry. Lower Canada, two hundred years

A comparison of Tanner with the a^o, was essentially the siiino with

Bcconiit.-i of the .Tesnit Le .Teune Algonquin life on the Upper Lakoa

will show that Algonquin life in within the last half century.

[Chap. 1

Lorth, sealing
and turning
edness, then,
5, the Ojibwa
cheered only,
of the north
3y the banks
•en, men and
fire. They
ambers, while
ike the gale
narrow con-
I'ost-work of
it the magic
litoes ; — the
close in his
e face. And
the nipping
v'ith haggard
snow drifts;
dcat strives
imbs. Such
incorrigible
Ds in misery,
the brief
want ; and
his house-
more prom-
50 struggles

hunilrod years
the siiiiie with
Upper Lakes
entury.

Chap. I.]

THEIR LEGENDARY LORE.

and suffeiings form the theme of the ensuing History.
In speaking of the Iroquois, some of the distinctive
peculiarities of the Algonquins have already been
hinted at. It must be admitted that, in moral sta-
bility and intellectual vigor, they are inferior to the
former; though some of the most conspicuous off-

.ing of the wilderness, Metacom, Tecumseh, and
l^ontiac himself, boasted their blood and language.

The fireside stories of every primitive people are
faithful reflections of the form and coloring of the
national mind; and it is no proof of sound philoso-
phy to turn with contempt from the study of a fairy
tale. The legendary lore of the Iroquois, black as
the midnight forests, awful in its gloomy strength,
is but another manifestation of that spirit of mastery
which uprooted whole tribes from the earth, and
deluged the wilderness with blood. The traditionary
tales of the Algonquins wear a different aspect. The
credulous circle around an Ojibwa lodge-fire listened
to wild recitals of necromancy and witchcraft — men
transformed to beasts, and beasts transformed to men,
anhnated trees, and birds who spoke with human
tongue. They heard of malignant sorcerers dwelling
among the lonely islands of spell-bound lakes; of
grisly weendigocs, and bloodless geebi ; of e\il manitoes
lurking in the dens and fastnesses of the woods ; of
pygmy champions, diminutive in stature, but mighty in
soul, who, by the i)otcncy of charm and talisman, sub-
dued the direst monsters of the waste ; and of heroes,
who, not by downright force and open onset, but by
subtle strategy, by trick or magic art, achieved mar-
vellous triumphs over the brute force of their assail-
ants. Sometimes the tale will breathe a different
I spirit, and tell of orphan children abandoned in the
5

!l ii

I!|!

: i;-

!■■;

J:!

i;'
1 li;

1 !:i ■! I

\i 1:

1 I

ji
i I'

■

III:

■ i;

Iji!

lii

llELIGIOUS BELIEF OF THE INDIANS. [Chap. I.

heart of a hideous wilderness, beset with fiends and
cannibals. Some enamoured maiden, scornful of earthly
suitors, plights her troth to the graceful manito of
the grove ; or bright aerial beings, dwellers of the
sky, descend to tantalize the gaze of mortals with
evanescent forms of loveliness.

The mighty giant, the God of the Thunder, who
made his home among the caverns, beneath the cata-
ract of Niagara, was a conception which the deep
imagination of the Iroquois might fitly engender. The
Algonquins held a simpler faith, and maintained that
the thunder was a bird who built his nest on the pin-
nacle of towering mountains. Two daring boys once
scaled the height, and thrust sticks into the eyes of
the portentous nestlings ; which hereupon flashed forth
such wrathful scintillations, that the sticks were shiv-
ered to atoms.*

The religious belief of the Algonquins — and the
remark holds good, not of the Algonquins only, but
of all the hunting tribes of America — is a cloudy
bewilderment, where we seek in vain for system or
coherency. Among a primitive and savage people,
there were no poets to vivify its images, no priests to

1 For Algonquin lejjends, see
Schoolcraft, in Alnfic Researches
and Oneota. Le Jeune early dis-
covered these legends among the
tribes of his mission. Two centuries
ago, among the Algonquins of Lower
Canada, a tale was related to him,
which, in its principal incidents, is
identical with the story of the " Boy
who set a Snare for tiie Sun," recent-
ly found by Mr. Schoolcraft among
the tribes of the Upper Lakes. Com-
pare Relation, 1G37, p. 172, and One-
ota, p. 75. The coincidence affords
a curious proof of the antiquity and
wide diffusion of some of these tales.

The Dahcotah, as well as the Al-
gonquins, believe that the thunder
is produced by a bird. A beauti-
ful illustration of this idea will be
found in Mrs. Eastman's Legends of
the Sioux. An Indian propounded
to Le Jeune a doctrine of his own.
According to his theory, the thunder
is produced by the eructations of ii
monstrous giant, who had unfortu-
nately swallowed a quantity of snai<es ;
and the latter falling to the earth,
caused the appearance of lightning.
"Voila uno philosophie bien noii-
velle ! " exclaims the astonished Jes-
uit

■■_¥[

S. [Chap. I.

fiends and
ul of earthly
[ manito of
Hers of the
nortals with

lunder, who
Lth the cata-
!h the deep
;ender. The
ntamed that
t on the pin-
g boys once
the eyes of
flashed forth
Ls were shiv-

IS — and the
IS only, but
is a cloudy
r system or
vage people,
10 priests to

well as the Al-
lat the thunder
jird. A beauti-
lis idea will be
Jin's Legends of
lian propounded
rine of his own.
ory, the thunder
eructations of ii
ho had unfortu-
iiantity of snakes;
ng to the earth,
nee of lightning.
»phie bien noii-
3 astonished Jes-

CUAP. I.]

THJE INDIAN CHARACTER.

give distinctness and harmony to its rites and symbols.
To the Indian mmd, all natui-e was mstinct with
deity. A spuit was embodied in eveiy mountain, lake,
and cataract; every bird, beast, or reptile, every tree,
shrub, or grass-blade, was endued with mystic influ-
ence; yet this untutored pantheism did not exclude
the conception of certain di^inities, of incongruous and
ever-shifting attributes. The sun, too, was a god, and
the moon was a goddess. Conflicting powers of good

; and evil divided the universe ; but if, before the arrival
of Europeans, the Indian recognized the existence of
a one, almighty, self-existent Being, the Great Spirit,
the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the belief was so
vaoTie and dubious as scarcelv to deserve the name.
His perceptions of moral good and evil were perplexed
and shadowy ; and the belief in a state of future re-
ward and pmiishment was by no means of universal
prevalence.^

Of the Indian character, much has been written
foolishly, and credulously believed. By the rhapsodies

I of poets, the cant of sentimentalists, and the extrava-

-'""'■fi'--

1^ gance of some who should have known better, a
counterfeit unage has been tricked out, which might
seek in vain for its likeness through every corner of
the habitable earth ; an image bearing no more re-
semblance to its original than the monarch of the
tragedy and the hero of the epic poem bear to their
living prototypes in the palace and the camp. The
shadows of his wilderness home, and the darker mi':i-
tle of his own inscrutable reserve, have made the In-
dian warrior a wonder and a mystery. Yet to the

' Le Jeune, Schoolcraft, James, Mercier, Vimont, Lallemant, Lafitau,
Jarvis, Charlevoix, Sagard, Brebeuf, De Smet, etc-

\\m\\m\v
i I

'fliH I

pi
liii |i!|i

THE INDIAN CHARACTER.

[Chap. I.

eye of rational observation there is nothing unintel-
ligible in him. He is full, it is true, of contradiction.
He deems himself the centre of greatness and renown ;
his pride is proof against the fiercest tonnents of fire
and steel ; and yet the same man would beg for a
dram of whiskey, or pick up a crust of bread thrown
to him like a dog, from the tent door of the travel-
ler. At one moment, he is wary and cautious to the
verge of cowardice ; at the next, he abandons himself
to a very insanity of recklessness, and the habitual
self-restraint which throws an impenetrable veil over
emotion is joined to the wild, impetuous passions of
a madman or a beast.

Such inconsistencies, strange as they seem in our
eyes, when viewed under a novel aspect, are but the
ordinary incidents of humanity. The qualities of the
mind are not uniform in their action through all the
relations of life. With different men, and different
races of men, pride,' valor, prudence, have different
forms of manifestation, and where in one instance
they lie dormant, in another they are keenly awake.
The conjunction of greatness and littleness, meanness
and pride, is older than the days of the patriarchs ;
and such antiquated phenomena, displayed under a
new form in the unreflecting, undisciplined mind of
a savage, call for no special wonder, but should rather
be classed with the other enigmas of the fathomless
human heart. The dissecting knife of a Rochcfou-
cault might lay bare matters of no less curious obser-
vation in the breast of every man.

Nature has stamped the Indian with a hard and
stern physiognomy. Ambition, revenge, envy, jealousy.
are his ruling passions ; and his cold tempei;ament is
little exposed to those effeminate vices which are the

[Chap. I.

ing unintel-
ontradiction.
and renown ;
tients of fire
i beg for a
read thrown
■ the travel-
tioiis to the
ions hhnseli
he habitual
)le veil over
passions of

leem in our

are but the

ilities of the

)ugh all the

lid different

ve different

•ne instance

enly awake.

s, meanness

patriarchs ;

ed under a

ed mind of

ould rather

fathomless

Rochefou-

rious obser-

a hard and
vy, jealousy,
pei;ament is
ich are the

Chap. I.]

THE INDIAN l^HARACTER.

bane of milder races. With him revenge is an overpow-
ering instinct ; nay, more, it is a point of honor and
a duty. His pride sets all language at defiance. He
loathes the thought of coercion; and few of his race
have ever stooped to discharge a menial office. A wild
love of liberty, an utter intolerance of control, lie at
the basis of his character, and fire his whole ex-
istence. Yet, in spite of this haughty independence,
he is a devout hero-worshipper ; and high achieve-
ment in war or policy touches a chord -to which
his nature never fails to respond. He looks up with
admiring reverence to the sages and heroes of his
tribe ; and it is this principle, joined to the respect
for age, which springs from the patriarchal element
in his social system, which, beyond all others, con-
tributes union and hannony to the erratic members
of an Indian community. With him the love of glory
kindles into a burning passion ; and to allay its crav-
ings, he will dare cold and famine, fire, tempest, tor-
ture, and death itself

These generous traits are overcast by much that is
dark, cold, and sinister, by sleepless distrust, and
rankling jealousy. Treacherous himself, he is always
suspicious of treachery in others. Brave as he is, —
and few of mankind are braver, — he will vent his pas-
sion by a secret stab rather than an open blow. His
warfare is full of ambuscade and stratagem; and he
never rushes into battle with that joyous self-aban-
donment, with which the warriors of the Gothic races
flung themselves into the ranks of their enemies. In
his feasts and his drinking-bouts we find none of that
robust and full-toned mirth which reigned at the rude
carousals of oui* barbaric ancestry. He is never jovial

THE INDIAN CHARACTER.

[Chap. I.

■M 'W

in his cups, and maudlin sorrow or maniacal rage is
the sole result of his potations.

Over all emotion he throws the veil of an iron self-
control, originating in a peculiar forai of pride, and
fostered by rigorous discipline from childhood up-
ward. He is trained to conceal passion, and not to
subdue it. The inscrutable warrior is aptly imaged
by the hackneyed figure of a volcano covered with
snow ; and no man can say when or where the "^^ild-
fire will burst forth. This shallow self-mastery serves
to give dignity to public deliberation, and harmony to
social life. Wrangling and quarrel are strangers to
an Indian dwelling ; and while an assembly of the
ancient Gauls was garrulous as a convocation of mag-
pies, a Roman senate might have taken a lesson from
the grave solemnity of an Indian council. In the
midst of his family and friends, he hides affections,
by nature none of the most tender, under a mask of
icy coldness ; and in the torturing fires of his enemy,
the haughty sufferer mamtains to the last his look
of grim defiance.

His intellect is as peculiar as his moral organiza-
tion. Among all savages, the powers of perception
preponderate over those of reason and analysis ; but
this is more especially the case with the Indian. An
acute judge of character, at least of such parts of it
as his experience enables him to comprehend ; keen
to a proverb in all exercises of war and the chase,
he seldom traces effects to their causes, or follows out
actions to their remote results. Though a close ob-
server of external nature, he no sooner attem2:»ts to
account for her phenomena than he involves himself
in the most ridiculous absurdities ; and quite content

[Chap. I.

Chap. I]

THE INDIAN CHARACTER.

ical rage is

,n iron self-
pride, and
Idhood up-
and not to
ptly imaged
overed with
ce the w-ild-
Lstery serves
harmony to
strangers to
nbly of the
:ion of mag-
lesson from
cil. In the
s affections,
a mask of
' his enemy,
ist his look

organiza-

perception
alysis ; but
ndian. An

parts of it
lend ; keen

the chase,
follows out
a close ob-
attempts to
ves himself
lite content

with these puerilities, he has not the least desire to
pusli his incjuiries further. His curiosity, abundantly
active within its own narrow circle, is dead to all
things else ; and to attempt roushig it from its torpor
is but a bootless task. He seldom takes cognizance
of general or abstract ideas ; and his language has
scarcely the power to express them, except through
the medium of figures drawn from the external world,
and often highly picturesque and forcible. The ab-
sence of reflection makes him grossly improvident,
and unfits him for pursuing any complicated scheme
of war or policy.

Some races of men seem moulded in wax, soft and
melting, at once plastic and feeble. Some races, like
some metals, combine the greatest flexibility with the
greatest strength. But the Indian is hewn out of a
rock. You cannot change the form without destruc-
tion of the substance. Such, at least, has too often
proved the case. Races of inferior energy have pos-
sessed a power of expansion and assimilation to which
he is a stranger; and it is this fixed and rigid qual-
ity which has proved his ruin. He will not learn
the arts of civilization, and he and his forest must
perish together. The stem, unchanging features of
his mind excite our admiration, from their very im-
mutability; and we look with deep interest on the
fate of this irreclaimable son of the wilderness, the
child who will not be weaned from the breast of his
rugged mother. And our interest increases when we
discern in the unhappy wanderer, mingled among his
vices, the germs of heroic virtues — a hand bountiful
to bestow, as it is rapacious to seize, and, even in ex-
tremest famine, imparting its last morsel to a fellow-

Itiilil

THE INDIAN CHARACTER.

[Chap. 1.

sufferer; a heart which, strong in friendship as in
hate, thinks it not too much to lay down life for its
chosen comrade ; a soul true to its own idea of honor,
and bui-ning with an unquenchable thirst for great-
ness and renown.

The imprisoned lion in the showman's cage differs
not more widely from the lord of the desert, than the
beggarly frequenter of frontier garrisons and dram-
shops differs from the proud denizen of the woods.
It is in his native wilds alone that the Indian must
be seen and studied. Thus to depict him is the aim
of the ensuing History; and if, from the shades of
rock and forest, the savage features should look too
grimly forth, it is because the clouds of a tempestu-
ous war have east upon the picture then- murky
shadows and lurid fires.

nP'¥\
li iill

I Piliir!-!

it i

!'ih '■','''■' ,

i; I

[Chap. 1.

idship as in
n life for its
lea of honor,
*st for great-
cage differs
ert, than the
5 and dram-
' the woods.
Indian must
1 is the aim
le shades of
aid look too
a tempestu-
theii' murky

CHAPTER II.

FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN AMERICA.

The American colonies of France and England
grew up to maturity under widely different auspices.
Canada, the offspring of Church and State, nursed
from infancy in the lap of power, its puny strength
fed with artificial stimulants, its movements guided
by rule and discipline, its limbs trained to martial
exercise, languished, in spite of all, from the lack of
vital sap and energy. The colonies of England, out-
cast and neglected, but strong in native vigor and
self-confiding courage, grew yet more strong with con-
,, flict and with striving, and developed the rugged pro-
' ' portions and unwieldy strength of a youthful giant.

In the valley of the St. Lawrence, and along the
coasts of the Atlantic, adverse principles contended
for the mastery. Feudalism stood arrayed against De-
mocracy ; Popery against Protestantism ; the sword
against the ploughshare. The priest, the soldier, and
the noble, ruled in Canada. The ignorant, light-
hearted Canadian peasant knew nothing and cared
nothing about popidar rights and civil liberties. 13orn
: to obey, he lived in contented submission, without the
wish or the capacity for self-rule. Power, centred
y in the heart of the system, left the masses inert.
^ The settlements along the margin of the St. Lawrence
were like a far-extended camp, where an anny lay at

FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN AJklEUICA. [Chap. 11.

rest, ready for the march or the battle, and where
war and adventure, not trade and tiUage, seemed the
chief aims of life. The lords of the soil were noble*
men, for the most part soldiers, or the sons of sol-
diers, proud and ostentatious, thriftless and poor;
and the people were their vassals. Over every clus-
ter of small white houses glittered the sacred emblem
of the cross. The church, the convent, and the road-
side shrine were seen at every tuni ; and in the towns
and villages, one met each moment the black robe of
the Jesuit, the gray garb of the Recollet, and the
fonnal habit of the Ursuline nun. The names of
saints, St. Joseph, St. Ignatius, St. Francis, were jjer-
peuuated in the capes, rivers, and islands, the forts
and villages of felic land, and, with every day, crowds
of simple worshippers knelt in adoration before the
countless altars of the Roman faith.

If we :earch the world for the sharpest contrast to
the spiritual and temporal vassalage of Canada, we
shall find it among her immediate neighbors, the stern
Puritans of New England, where the spirit of non-
conformity was sublimed to a fiery essence, and where
the love of liberty and the hatred of power burned
with sevenfold heat. The English colonist, with
thoughtful brow and limbs hardened with toil; call-
ing no man master, yet bowing reverently to the law
which he himself had made; patient and laborious,
and seeking for the solid comforts rather than the
ornaments of life ; no lover of war, yet, if need were,
fighting with a stubborn, indomitable courage, and
then bending once more with steadfast energy to his
farm, or his merchandise, — such a man might well be
deemed the very pith and marrow of a commonwealth.

In every quality of efficiency and strength, the

\. [CUAP. U.

ClIAl'. II.]

THE FIIENCU CANADIANS.

, and where

seemed the
were nohk-
sons of sol-

and poor ;

every chis-
.;red enibk'in
lid the roud-
n the towns
ack robe of
kt, and the
e names of
[S, were j^er-
Is, the forts

day, crowds
1 before the

t contrast to
Canada, we
)rs, the stern
)irit of non-
and where
)wer burned
onist, with
toil ; call-
to the law
laborious,
than the
need were,
Durage, and
lergy to his
ight well be
mionwealth.
rength, the

Canadian fell miserably below his rival; but in all
that pleases the eye and interests the imagination, he
far surpassed hiin. Buoyant and gay, like his iuices-
try of France, he made the frozen A\ildernes8 ring
with merriment, answered the surly howling of the
pine; forest with peals of laugliter, and warmed with
revelry the groaning ice of the St. Lawrence. Care-
l<>ss and thoughtless, he lived happy hi the midst of
])overty, content if he could but gain tlie means to
fill his tobacco pouch, and decorate the cap of his
mistress with a painted ribbon. The example of a beg-
gared nobility, who, proud and penniless, could only
assert their rank by itUeness and ostentation, was not
lost ui)on him. A rightfid heir to French bra\'ery
and Irench restlessiu^ss, he had an eager love of wan-
dering and adventure ; and this proi)ensity found am-
ple sco})e in the service of the fur-trade, the engrossing
occupation and chief source of income to the colony.
When the priest of St. Ann's had shrived him of his
sins ; when, after the parting carousal, he embarked
with his comrades in the deep-laden canoe ; when
their oars kept time to the measured cadence of their
song, and the blue, sunny bosom of the Ottawa opened
before them , ' 1i.>n their frail bark quivered among
the i ill- foam and black rocks of the rapid ; and
wl around t1 ir camp-fire, they wasted half the

nij, with i<*sts and laughter, — then the Canadian was
in liis elei lent. His footsteps explored the farthest
hiding-places of the wilder' \ss. In the evening dance,
his red cap mingled with the scalp-locks and feathers
;. of the Indian braves ; or, stretched on a bear-skin by
I the side of his dusky mi hess, he watched the gam-
1 hols of his hybrid offspring, in happy oblivion of the
partner whom he left unnumbered leagues behmd.

i;;U

FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN AMERICA. [Ciiap. II.

^'m

iiill!

E H

The fur trade engendered a peculiar class of rest-
less bush-rangers, more akin to Indians than to white
men. Those who had once felt the fascinations of
the forest were unfitted ever after for a life of quiet
labor; and with this spirit the whole colony was in-
fected. From this cause, no less than from occasional
wars with the English, and repeated attacks of the
Iroquois, the agriculture of the country was sunk to
a low ebb ; while feudal exactions, a ruinous system
of monopoly, and the intermeddlings of arbitrary power,
cramped every branch of industry.^ Yet, by the zeal
of priests and the daring enterprise of soldiers and
explorers, Canada, though sapless and infirm, spread
forts and missions through all the western wilder-
ness. Feebly rooted in the soil, she thrust out branches
which overshadowed half America; a magnificent ob-
ject to the eye, but one which the first whirlwind
would prostrate in the dust.

Such excursive enterprise w^as alien to the genius
of the British colonies. Darina; activitv was rife amonff
them, but it did not aim at the founding of military
outposts and forest missions. By the force of ener-
getic industry, their population swelled with an un-
heard-of rapidity, their wealth increased in a yet greater
ratio, and their promise of future greatness opened
with every advancing year. But it was a greatness
rather of peace than of war. The free institutions,
the independence of authority, which were the source
of their increase, were adverse to that unity of coun-
sel and promptitude of action which are the soul of

1 Raynal, Hist. Indies, VII. 87, eighteenth century. For the feudal

(Lond. 1783.) tenure as existing in Canada, see

Charlevoix, Voyages, Letter X. Bouchette, I. Chap. XIV., (Lond.

Tlie Swedish traveller Kalin gives 1831,) and Garneau, Hist. Canada,

un interesting account of manners in Book III, Chap. III.
Canada, about the middle of the

[CUAP. II.

Chap. IL]

RELIGIOUS ZEAL OF CANADA.

ass of rest-
lan to white
dnations of
Afe of quiet
3ny was in-
n. occasional
acks of the
vvas sunk to
nous system
Ltrary power,
by the zeal
soldiers and
ifirm, spread
item wilder-
out branches
gnificent ob-
3t whirlwind

the genius
is rife among
y of military
)rce of ener-
with an un-
a yet greater
iiess opened
a greatness
institutions,
■e the source
ity of coun-
the soul of

war. It was far otherwise w^ith their military rival.
France had her Canadian forces well in hand. They
had but one will, and that was the will of a mistress.
Now here, now there, in sharp and rapid onset, they
could assail tlie cumbrous masses and unv/ieldy strength
of their antagonists, as the kuig-lnid attacks the eagle,
or the swordfish the whale. Between two such com-
batants the strife must needs be a long one.

Canada was a true child of the Church, baptized in
mfaucy and faithful to the last. Champlain, the found-
er of Quebec, a man of noble spirit, a statesman and
a soldic]*, was deeply imbued with fervid piety. " The
saving of a soul," he would often say, " is worth more
than the conquest of an empire ; " ^ and to forward the
work of conversion, he brought with him four Fran-
ciscan monks from France. At a later period, the
task of colonization would have been abandoned, but
for the hope of casting the pure light of the faith
over the gloomy wastes of heathendom.' All France
was filled with the zeal of prosclytism. Men and
women of exalted rank lent their countenance to the
holy work. From many an altar daily petitions were
offered for the well-being of the mission; and in the
Holy House of Mont Martre, a nun lay prostrate day
and night before the shrine, praying for the conversion
of Canada.^ In one convent, thirty nuns offered them-
selves for the labors of the wilderness ; and priests
flocked in crowds to the colony.'* The powers of
darkness took alann ; and when a ship, freighted with
the apostles of the faith, was fearfully tempest-tost

For the feudal

in Canada, see

XIV., (Lond.

Hist. Canada,

' Charlevoix, Nouv. France, 1. 197.
- Charlevoix, I. IDS.
'' A. I). Kiir). Relation des Hu-
rons, I('>.'}(), p. 2.

"Vivre en la Nouvelle France

c'est a vray dire vivro dans le soin
de Dieu." Such are the extravagant
words of Le Jeune, in his report of
the year IG35.

FRAXCE AND EXGL.VXD IN AMERICA. [(^"ai- II.

I ;i

!:j|H;

'Up:

! »

' '

upon her voyage, the storm was ascribed to the malice
of demons, trembling for the safety of their ancient
empire.

Tlie general enthusiasm was not without its fruits.
The Church could pay back with usury all that she
received of aid and encouragement from the temporal
])ower ; and the ambition of Louis XIII. could not
have devised a more efficient enginery for the accom-
plishment of its schemes, than that supplied by the
zeal of the devoted propagandists. The priest and the
soldier went hand in hand ; and the cross and the
Jfeur de lis were planted side by side.

Foremost among the envoys of the faith were the
members of that mighty order, who, in another hem-
isphere, had already done so much to turn back the
advancing tide of religious freedom, and strengthen
the arm of Rome. To the Jesuits was assigned, for
many years, the entire charge of the Canadian mis-
sions, to the exclusion of the Franciscans, early labor-
ers in the same barren iield. Inspired with a self-
devoting zeal to snatch souls from perdition, and win
new empires to the cross ; casting from them c>very
hope of earthly pleasure or earthly aggrandizement,
the Jesuit fathers buried themselves in deserts, facing-
death with the courage of heroes, and enduring tor-
ments with the constancy of martyrs. Their story is
replete with marvels — miracles of patient suti'ering
and daring enterprise. They were the pioneers of
Northern America.^ We see them among the frozen
forests of Acadia, struggling on snow-shoes, with sonit'
wandering Algonquin horde, or crouching in tiic

1 See Jesuit Relations and Lettres Chap. II. ; and Bancroft, Hist. U. S
Edifiiintes ; also, Charlevoix, passim ; Chap. XX.
Garneuu, Hist Canada, Book IV.

:A. [Chap II.

Ciur. n.j

JESUIT MISSIONARIES.

the malice
heir ancient

ut its fruits,
all that she
the temporal
I. could not
L' the accom-
plied by the
triest and the
•OSS and tlie

ith were the
mother hem-
irn back the
:1 strengthen
assigned, for
anadian mis-
early labor-
witli a self-
ion, and win
them every
andizement,
serts, fachig
luluring tor-
reir story is
nt sufi'ering
pioneers of
the frozen
s, with sonit-
■mg in tiic

iroft, Hist. U. s

■■..'V,

crowded hunting-lodge, half stifled in the smoky den,
and battling with troops of famished dogs for the
last morsel of sustenance. Again we see the black
robed priest wading among the white rapids of the
Ottawa, toiling with his savage comrades to drag
the canoe against the headlong water. Again, radiant
in the vestments of his priestly office, he administers
the sacramental bread to kneeling crowds of plumed
and ])ainted proselytes in the black forests of the
Hurons ; or, bearing his life in his hand, he carries
his sacred mission into the strong-holds of the Iro-
quois, like a man who invades unarmed a den of
angry tigers. Jesuit explorers traced the St. Law-
rence to its source, and said masses among the soli-
tudes of Lake Superior, where the boldest fur-trader
scarcely dared to follow. They planted missions at
St. Mary's and at Michillimackinac ; ^ and one of their
fraternity, the illustrious Marquette, discovered the
Mississippi, and opened a new theatre to the bound-
less ambition of France.^

The path of the missionary was a thorny and a
bloody one; and a life of weary apostleship was oftt v
crowned with a frightful martyrdom. Jean de Bre-
beuf and Gabriel Lallemant preached the faith among
the villages of the Hurons, when their terror-stricken
flock were overwhelmed by an irruption of the Iro-
quois.^ The missionaries might have fled ; but, true to
their sacred function, they remained behind to aid the
wounded and baptize the dying. Both were made cap-
tive, and both were doomed to the fiery torture. Bre-
beuf, a veteran soldier of the cross, met his flite with
an undaunted composure, which amazed his murderers.

» A. D. 1(568-1071.

2 A. D. 1073.

3 A. D. 1649.

FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN AMERICA. [Chap. II.

,„ li !

ilil I |l|

I I

I I :

iiijii:

I ;

mmm

I : ! I 11

Ui^

With unfliiiclimg constancy he endured torments
too horrible to be recorded, and died calmly as a
martyr of the early church, or a war-chief of the
Mohawks.

The slender frame of Lallemant, a man young in
years and gentle in spirit, was enveloped in blazing
savin-bark. Again and again the fire was extin-
guished; again and again it was kindled afresh; and
with such fiendish ingenuity were his torments pro-
tracted, that he lingered for seventeen hours before
death came to his relief.^

Isaac Jogues, taken captive by the Iroquois, was
led from canton to canton, and village to village, en-
during fresh toiments and indignities at every stage
of his progress.^ Men, women, and children vied with
each other in ingenious malignity. Redeemed, at
length, by the humane exertions of a Dutch officer,
he repaired to France, where his disfigured person
and mutilated hands told the story of his sufi*erings.
But the promptings of a sleepless conscience urged
him to return and complete the work he had begun;
to illumine the moral darkness upon which, during
the months of his disastrous captivity, he fondly
hoped that he had thrown some rays of light. Once
more he bent his footsteps towards the scene of his
living martyrdom, saddened with a deep presentiment
that he was advancing to his death. Nor were his
forebodings untrue. In a village of the Mohawks, the
blow of a tomahawk closed his mission and his life.^

Such intrepid self-devotion may well call forth our
highest admiration ; but when we seek for the results
of these toils and sacrifices, we shall seek in vain

1 Charlevoix, I. 292. 2 a. D. 1642.

3 Charlevoix, I. 238-276.

A. [CnAP.n. iHcHAP.II.]

JESUIT mSSIOXARIES.

i torments
almly as a
liief of the

1 young in
in blazing
was extin-
afrcsh; and
L'ments pro-
ours before

oquois, was
village, en-
every stage
3n vied witli
3deemed, at
Litch officer,
ired person
sufferings.
Hence urged
had begun;
lich, during
he fondly
. Once
cene of his
)resentiment
)r were his
ohawks, the
id his life.^
11 forth our
the results
ek in vain

X, I. 238-276.

tght

Patience and zeal were thrown away upon lethargic
minds and stubborn hearts. The reports of the Jes-
fuits, it is true, display a copious list of conversions;
but the zealous fathers reckoned the number of con-
t versions by the number of baptisms; and, as Le Clercq
obseiTes, with no less truth than candor, an Indian
Mvould be baptized ten times a day for a pint of
brandy or a pound of tobacco. Neither can more
flattering conclusions be drawn from the alacrity which
they showed to adorn their persons with crucifixes
and medals. The glitter of the trinkets pleased the
fancy of the warrior ; and, with the emblem of man's
salvation pendent from his neck, he was often at
heart as thorough a heathen as when he wore m its
place a necklace made of the dried forefingers of his
enemies. At the present day, with the exception of
a few insignificant bands of converted Indians in
Lower Canada, not a vestige of early Jesuit influence
can be found among the tribes. The seed was sown
upon a rock.^

While the church was reaping but a scanty harvest,
4 the labors of the missionaries were fruitfid of profit
J to the monarch of France. The Jesuit led the van
I of French colonization ; and at Detroit, Michillimack-
inac, St. Mary's, Green Bay, and other outposts of
the west, the establishment of a mission was the pre-
cursor of military occupancy. In other respects no
less, the labors of the wanderuio' missionaries advanced
% the welfare of the colony. Sagacious and keen of
I siijht, with faculties stimulated by zeal and sharpened
4 by peril, they made faithful report of the temi)er and
1 movements of the distant tribes among whom they

% 1 For remarks on the futility of Jesuit missionary efforts, see Halkett,
t. Historica. Notes, Chap. IV.

It e

iiiii'iiiiiiiiiiJiiiniM'
I

< i'i'i

lillli::

i! 'ii

111

III

■ I'll

I'll Wr'''

i|ii':l:i;: i^i!

ihi!

TRANCE AND ENGL^VND IN AMERICA. [Cuap. H

were distributed. The influence which they often
gained was exerted in behalf of the government un-
der whose auspices their missions were carried on;
and they strenuously labored to win over the tribes
to the French alliance, and alienate them from the
heretic English. In all things they approved them-
selves the stanch and steadfast au^iiliaries of the
imperial power ; and the Marquis du Qucsne observed
of the missionary Picquet, that in his single person
he was worth ten regiments.^

Among the English colonies, the pioneers of civili-
zation were for the most part rude, yet vigorous men,
impelled to enterprise by native restlessness, or lured
by the hope of gain. Their range was limited, and
seldom extended far beyond the outskirts of the set-
tlements. With Canada it was far otherwise. There
was no energy in tiie bulk of her people. The court
and the army supplied the main springs of her vital ac-
tion, and the hands which planted the lilies of France
in the heart of the wilderness had never guided the
ploughshare or wielded the spade. The love of adven-
ture, the ambition of new discovery, the hope of mili-
tary advancement, urged men of place and culture to
embark on bold and comprehensive enterprise. Many
a gallant gentleman, many a nobleman of France,
trod the black mould and oozy mosses of the forest
witli feet that had pressed the carpets of Versailles.
They whose youth had passed in camps and courts
grew gray among the wigwams of savages ; and the
lives of Castine, Joncaire, and Priber^ are invested
with all the interest of romance.

1 Picciuot was a priest of St. Sul- Adair, 240. I have seen mention of

pice. For a sketch of his life, see this man in contemporary provincial

Lett. Edif. XTV. newspapers, where ho is sometinu^s

8 For an account of Priber, see spoken of as a disguised Jesuit. He

A. [CuAP. II

they often
Brnment un-
earned on ;
r the tribes
jm from the
roved them-
.ries of the
sne observed
ingle person

ers of civiH-
igorous men,
ess, or lured
limited, and
3 of the set-
wise. There
. The court
her vital ac-
ies of France
r guided the
)ve of adven-
lope of mili-
d culture to
irise. Many
of France,
)f the forest
►f Versailles,
and courts
es; and the
are invested

seen mention of
porary provincial
he is sninetiinos
lised Jesuit. He

Chap. II.]

LA SALLE.

Conspicuous in the annals of Canada stands the
memorable name of Robert Cavalier de T.a Salle, the
man who, beyond all his compeers, contributed to
expand the boundary of French empire in the west.
La Salle connnanded at Fort Frontcnac, erected near
the outlet of Lake Ontario, on its northern shore,
and then forming the most advanced military outpost
of the colony. Here he dwelt among Lidians, and
half-breeds, traders, voyageurs, bush-rangers, and Fran-
ciscan monks. He ruled his little empire with ab-
solute sway, enforcing respect by his energy, but
oftending many by his rigor. Here he brooded upon
the grand design which had long engaged his thoughts.
He had resolved to complete the achievement of
Father Martpiette, to trace the unknown Mississippi
to its mouth, to plant the standard of his king in
the newly-discovered regions, and found colonies which
should make good the sovereignty of France from the
J'rozen Ocean to Mexico. Ten years of his early life
had passed in connection with the Jesuits, and his
strong mind had hardened to iron under the disci-
plme of that relentless school. To a sound judg-
ment, and a penetrating sagacity, he joined a boundless
enterprise and an adamantine constancy of purpose.
But his nature was stern and austere ; he was prone
to rule by fear rather than by love ; he took counsel
of no man, and chilled all who approached him by
his cold reserve.

At the close of the year 1678, his preparations were
complete, and he despatched his attendants to the
banks of the River Niagara, whither he soon followed
m person. Here he erected a little fort of palisades,

took up his residence among the labored to gain them over to the
Cherokees about the year ]73(J, and French interest.

FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN AMERICA. [Cuap. U

« I

iiir"'''"

,11: :i .

ill iliiiii:

iPlli:

and was the first military tenant of a spot destined to
momentous consequence in future wars. Two leagues
above the cataract, on the western bank of the river,
he built the first vessel which ever explored the
waters of the upper lakes.^ Her name was the .Grifhn,
and her burden was sixty tons. On the seventh of
August, 1()79, she began her adventurous voyage amid
the speechless wonder of the Indians, who stood
amazed, alike at the unwonted size of the wooden
canoe, at the flash and roar of the cannon from her
decks, and at the carved figure of a griffin, which,
with expanded wings, sat crouched upon her prow.
She bore on her course along the virgin waters of
Lake Eiie, through the beautiful windings of the
Detroit, and among the restless billows of Lake Hu-
ron, where a furious tempest had well nigh ingulfed
her. La Salle pursued his voyage along Lake Michi-
gan in birch canoes, and, after protracted suffering
from famine and exposure, reached its southern ex-
tremity on the eighteenth of October.^

He led his followers to the banks of the river now
called the St. Joseph. Here, again, he built a fort ;
and here, in after years, the Jesuits placed a mission
and the government a garrison. Thence he pushed
on into the unknown region of the Illinois ; and now
dangers and difficulties began to thicken about him.
Indians threatened hostility; his men lost heart, clam-
ored, grew mutinous, and repeatedly deserted ; and,
worse than all, nothing was heard of the vessel which
had been sent back to Canada for necessary supplies.
"Weeks wore on, and doubt ripened into certainty.
She had foundered among the storms of these wil-

1 Sparks, Life of La Salle, 21.

2 Hennepin, New Discovery, 98, (Lond. 1698.)

:a. [Cuap. u

Chap. II-l

LA SALLE.

t dcstiiied to
Two leagues
of the river,
jxplored the
s the .Griffin,
3 seventh of
voyage amid
who stood
the wooden
on from her
riffin, which,
[1 her prow,
in waters of
ings of the
)f Lake II u-
ligh ingulfed
Lake Michi-
;ed suffering
southern ex-

le river now
3uilt a fort;
d a mission

he pushed
s; and now

about him.
heart, clam-
erted ; and,
*^essel which
iry supplies,
certainty,
these wil-

■s

dcruess oceans; and her loss seemed to involve the
ruin of the enterprise, since it was vain to proceed
farther without the expected supplies. In this disas-
trous crisis, La Salle embraced a resolution eminently
characteristic of his intrepid temper. Leaving his men
in charge of a subordinate at a fort which he had
built on the River Illinois, he turned his face again
towards Canada. lie traversed on foot twelve hun-
dred miles of frozen forest, crossing rivers, toiling
through snow-drifts, wading ice-encumbered swamps,
sustaining life by the fruits of the chase, and threat-
ened day and night by lurking enemies. He gained
Ills destination, but it was only to encounter a fresh
storm of calamities. His enemies had been busy in
his absence; a malicious report had gone abroad that
he was dead ; his creditors had seized his property ;
and the stores on which he most relied had been
wrecked at sea, or lost among the rapids of the St.
Lawrence. Still he battled against adversity with his
wonted ^igor, and in Count Frontenac, the governor
of the province, — a spirit kindred to his own, — he
found a firm friend. Every difficulty gave way before
him ; and with fresh supi^lies of men, stores, and am-
munition, he again embarked for the Illinois. Round-
ing the vast circuit of the lakes, he reached the mouth
of the St. Joseph, and hastened with anxious speed
to the fort where he had left his followers. The
place was empty. Not a man remained. Terrified,
despondent, and embroiled in Indian wars, they had
fled to seek peace and safety, he knew not whither.
Once more the dauntless discoverer turned back
towards Canada. Once more he stood before Count
Frontenac, and once more bent all his resources and
all his credit to gain means for the prosecution of

ill

niiii'i

! I :

54:

FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN AMERICA. [Chap. II

his enterprise. He succeeded. With his little flotilla
of canoes, he left his fort, at the outlet of Lake On-
tario, aild slowly retraced those interminahle waters,
and lines of forest-bounded shore, which had grown
drearily familiar to his eyes. Fate at length seemed
tired of the conflict with so stubborn an adversary.
All went prosperously with the voyagers. They passed
the lakes in safety ; they crossed the rough portage to
the waters of the Illinois ; they followed its winding
channel, and descended the turbid eddies of the Mis-
sissippi, received with various welcome by the scattered
tribes who dwelt along its banks. Now the waters
grew bitter to the taste; now the trampling of the
surf was heard ; and now the broad ocean opened
upon their sight, and their goal was won. On the
ninth of April, 1()82, with his followers under arms,
amid the firing of musketry, the chanting of the Tc
Deum, and shouts of " Vive le roi," La Salle took
formal possession of the vast valley of the Missis-
sippi, in the name of Louis the Great, King of France
and Navarre.'

The first stage of his enterprise was accomplished,
but labors no less arduous remained behind. Repair-
ing to the court of France, he was welcomed with
richly merited favor, and soon set sail for the mouth
of the Mississippi, with a squadron of vessels amply
freighted with men and material for the projected
colony. But the folly and obstinacy of a worthless
naval commander blighted his fairest hopes. The
squadron missed the mouth of the river; and the
wreck of one of the vessels, and the desertion of the
commander, completed the ruin of the expedition.

1 Proems Verbal, in appendix to Sparks' La Salle.

[ClIAP. II.

Chap. U]

FRENCH POSTS IN THE WEST.

little flotilla
f Lake On-
able waters,

had grown
igth seemed
1 adversary.
They passed
ti portage to

its winding

of the :Mis-
the scattered
7 the waters
)ling of the
[^ean opened
on. On the

under arms,
ff of the Te
a Salle took
the Missis-
ig of France

lecomplished,
nd. Repair-
Icomed with
r the mouth
essels amply
he projected
a worthless
lopes. The
r ; and the
rtion of the
expedition.

Mle.

■2?

I,a Salle landed, with a band of half-famished follow-
ers, on the coast of Texas ; and while he was toiling
with untired energy for their relief, a few vindictive
miscreants conspired against him, and a shot from a
traitors musket closed the career of the ii'on-hearted
discoverer.

It was left with another to complete the enterprise
on wliich lie had staked his life; and, in the year
1()99, Lemoine dTbervillc planted the germ whence
sprang the colony of Louisiana.^

Years passed on. In spite of a vicious plan of
government, in spite of the bursting of the ever-mem-
orii])le Mississipi^i bubble, the new colony grew in
wenUh and strength. And now it remained for
France to unite the two extremities of her broad
American domain, to extend forts and settlements
across the fertile solitudes between the valley of the
St. Lawrence and the mouth of the Mississippi, and
intrencli herself among the forests which lie west of
the Alleghanies, before the swelling tide of British
colonization could overflow those mountain barriers.
At the middle of the eighteenth century, her mighty
project was fast advancing towards completion. The
great lakes and streams, the thorouglifares of the
wilderness, were seized and guarded by a scries of
posts distributed with admirable skill. A fort on the
strait of Niagara commanded the great entrance to
the whole interior country. Another at Detroit con-
trolled the passage from Lake Erie to the north.
Another at St. Mary's debarred all hostile access to
Lake Superior. Another at Michillimackinac secured
the mouth of Lake Michigan. A post at Green Bay,
and one at St. Joseph, guarded the two routes to the

^ Du Pratz, Hist. Louisiana, 5. Charlevoix, II. 259.

FRANCP] AND ENGLAND IN AMERICA. [Chap. II

|!, fM V, 'I

lii

Mississippi, by way of the Rivers Wisconsin and Il-
linois; while two posts on the Wabash, and one on
the Maumee, made France the mistress of the great
trading higliway from Lake Erie to the Ohio. At
Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and elsewhere in the Illinois,
little French settlements had sprnng up ; and as the
canoe of the voyager descended the Mississippi, ho
saw, at rare intervals, along its swampy margin, a few
small stockade forts, half buried amid the redundancy
of forest vegetation, until, as he approached Natchez,
the dwellings of the hahitans of Louisiana began to
appear.

The forest posts of France were not exclusively of
a military character. Adjacent to most of them, one
would have found a little cluster of Canadian dwell-
ings, whose tenants lived under the protection of the
garrison, and obeyed the arbitrary will of the com-
mandant; an authority which, however, was seldom
exerted in a despotic sj^irit. In these detached settle-
ments, there was no principle of increase. The charac-
ter of the people, and of the government which ruled
them, were alike unfavorable to it. Agriculture was
neglected for the more congenial pursuits of the fur-
trade, and the restless, roving Canadians, scattered
abroad on their wild vocation, allied themselves to
Indian women, and filled the woods with a mongrel
race of bush-rangers.

Thus far secure in the west, France next essayed
to gain foothold upon the sources of the Ohio, and,
about the year 1748, the sagacious Count Galissonnicrc
proposed to bring over ten thousand peasants from
France, and plant them in the valley of that beau-
tifid river, and on the borders of the lakes.* But

1 Smith, Hist. Canada, I. 208.

ICA. [Chap. II

onsin and II-
I, and one on

of the great
le Ohio. At

the Illinois,
s and as the
lississippi, he
margin, a few
le redundancy
)hed Natchez,
ana began to

3xclusively of
of them, one
naclian dwell-
tection of the
of the com-
, was seldom
Btached settle-
The charac-
t which ruled
^riculture was
ts of the fur-
ins, scattered
themselves to
th a mongrel

next essayed
16 Ohio, and,
Galissonnicrc
)easants from 'i
)f that beau-
lakes.^ But

Ciur. XL]

TUEIR A-PPROACIIINQ COLLISION.

.57

while at Quebec, in the Castle of St. Louis, sol-
cUer.s and stii^^esmen were revolving schemes like this,
tlie slowly-moving power of England bore on with
silent progress from the east. Already the British
sottleinents were creeping along the valley of the Mo-
liawk, and ascending the eastern slopes of the Alle-
^dianies. Forests crashing to the axe, dark spires of
smoke ascending from autumnal fires, were heralds of
the advancing host; and while, on one side of the
Alleghanies, Celeron de Bienville was burying plates
of lead, engraved with the anns .of France, the^ploughs
and axes of Virginian woodsmen were enforcing a surer
title on the other. The adverse powers were^'drawing
near. The hour of collision was at hand
8

.si
■0

<^liAPTER III.

TU^. FRENCH, THE ENGLISH, AND THE INDIANS.

I:'-

The French colonists of Canada held, from the
begmnmg, a peculiar intimacy of relation with the
Indian tribes. With the English colonists it was far
otherwise ; and the difference sprang from several
causes. The fur-trade was the life of Canada; agri-
culture and commerce were the chief fountains of
wealth to the British provinces. The llomish zealots
of Canada burned for the conversion of the heathen;
their heretic rivals were fired with no such ardor.
And finally, while the ambition of France grasped at
empire over the farthest deserts of the west, the
steady industry of the English colonist was contented
to cultivate and improve a narrow strip of seaboard.
Thus it happened that the farmer of Massachusetts
and the Virginian planter were conversant with only
a few bordering tribes, while the priests and emissa-
ries of France were roaming the prairies witli the
buffalo-hunting Pawnees, or lodging in the winter
cabms of the Dahcotah ; and swarms of savages, whose
uncouth names were strange to English ears, descended
yearly from the noith, to bring their beaver and otter
skins to the market of Montreal

The position of Canada invited intercourse with the
interior, and eminently favo]*ed her schemes of com-
merce and policy. The River St. Lawrence, and the

Chap. III.]

THE IROQUOIS — CIIAMPLAIN.

3 INDIANS.

eld, from tlie

tion with the

Lsts it was far
from several

Canada; agri-
fountains of

tomish zealots
the heathen;

) such ardor.

ce grasped at
he west, the
as contented
of seaboard.
Massachusetts
mt with only
and emissa-
ies with the
the winter
avagcs, whose
rs, descended
iver and otter

urse with the
nies of com-
ncc, and the

chain of the great lakes, opened a vast extent of in-
land navigation ; while their tributary streams, inter-
locking with the branches of the Mississippi, afforded
ready access to that mighty river, and gave the rest-
less voyager free range over half the continent. But
these advantages were well nigh neutralized. Nature
opened the way, but a watchful and terrible enemy
guarded the portal. The forests south of Lake On-
tario gave harborage to the five tribes of tlic Iro-
quois, implacable foes of Canada. They waylaid her
trading parties, routed her soldiers, murdered her
missionaries, and spread havoc and woe through all
her settlements.

It was an evil hour for Canada, when, on the
twenty-eighth of May, 1609,^ Samuel do Champlain,
iinp(4led by his own adventurous spirit, departed from
the liamlet of Quebec to follow a war-party of Al-
goiupiins against their hated enem}', the Iroquois.
Ascending the Sorel, and passing the rapids at Cham-
hh, he embarked on the lake which bears his name,
and, Avitli two French attendants, steered southward,
with his savage associates, toward the rocky promoii-
: tory of Ticonderoga. They moved with all the pre-
caution of Indian warfire ; when, at length, as night
was ch)sing in, they descried a band of the Iroquois
in their large canoes of elm bark approaching through
the gloom. AVild yells from either side announced
the mutual discovery. The Irocpiois hastened to the
shore, and all night long the forest resounded with
their discordant war-songs and fierce whoops (>f defi-
ance. Day dawned, and the fight began. Bounding
from tree to tree, the Iroquois pressed forward to the

1 Champlain, Voyageti, 130, (Pa^-is, 1632.) Charlevoix, T. M2,

THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS [Chap. III.

attack; but when Champlain advanced from among
the Algonquins, and stood full in sight before them,
with his strange attire, his shining breastplate, and
features unlike their own ; when they saw the Hash
of his arcjuebuse, and beheld two of their chiefs fall
dead, they could not contain their terror, but fled for
shelter into the depths of the wood. The Algonquin^
pursued, slaying many in the flight, and the victory
was complete.

Such was the first collision between the white men
and the Iroquois ; and Champlain flattered himself
that the latter had learned for the future to respect
the arms of France. He was fatally deceived. The
Iroquois recovered from theu' terrors, but they never
forgave the injury ; and yet it would be unjust to
charge upon Champlain the origin of the desolating
wars which were soon to scourge the colony. Tliu
Indians of Canada, friends and neighbors of the
French, had long Ijeen harassed by inroads of the
fierce confederates, and under any circumstances the
French must soon have become parties to the quarrel,

Whatever may have been its origin, the war wa>
fruitful of misery to the youthful colony. The passes
were beset by ambushed war-parties. The routes bo
tween Quebec and ^Montreal were watched with tigcn-
like vigilance. Bloodthirsty warriors prowled aboM'
the outskirts of the settlements. Again and again tin
miserable people, driven within the palisades of their
forts, looked forth upon wasted harvests and blazinj:
roofs. The Island of Montreal was swept with lire
and steel. The fur-trade was interrupted, since for
months together all communication was cut off with
the friendly tribes of the west. Agriculture" was
checked; the fields lay fallow, and frequent famine

lNS [Cuap. hi. Chap, m,] EXI'EDITION OF COUNT FRONTENAC.

from among
before tlicm,
jastplate, and
iaw the fiasli
3ir chiefs fall
, but fled for
e Algonquin^
:1 the victory

he white men
tered himself
ire to respect
eceived. The
ut they never
be unjust to
;he desohxting
colony. Tilt'
ibors of the
iroads of the
.mstances the
the quarrel,
the war wa^
The pass(s
he routes bo
ed with tigci-
rowled abuir
knd again tlu
5ades of their
and bhiziiig
|ept with tire
ted, since ior
cut off witli
Kculture wii'
[pient famine

was the necessary result.^ The name of the Iroquois
became a by-word of horror through the colony, and
to the suffering Canadians they seemed no better than
troo^is of incarnate fiends. Revolting rites and mon-
strous superstitions were imputed to them ; and, among
the rest, it was currently believed that they cherished
the custom of immolatin*'- young children, burning
them with fire, and <lrii,iving the ashes mixed with
water to increase their bravery.^ Yet the wildest
imaginations could scarcely excood the truth. ^Vt the
attack of Montreal, they placed infants over the em-
bers, and forced the wretched mothers to turn the
spit;^ and those who fell within their clutches endured
torments too hideous for 'ccription. Their ferocity
was equalled only by their courage and address.

At intervals, the afflicted colony found respite from
its sLiffei-ings ; and through the efforts of the Jesuits,
fair hopes began to rise of propitiating the terrible
foe. At one time, the influence of the priests availed
so far, that under theu* auspices a French colony
was formed in the very heart of the Iroquois country ;
but the settlers wfre soon forced to a precipitate
flight, and the war broke out afresh.'' The French,
on their part, were not idle : they faced their assail-
ants with ^^ ' "cteristic gallantry. Courcelles, Tracy,
De la BaiT A l)e Nonville invaded by turns, with
various success, the forest haunts of the confederates ;
and at length, in the year 1696, the veteran Count
l-rontenac marched upon their cantons with all the
force of ( 'anada. Stemming the surges of La Chine,
sweeping through the romantic channels of the Thou-

1 Vimont, Golden, Charlevoix, pas-

nm.

' Viinoiit seems to believe the
story. Rel. de la N. F. 1640, 11)5

3 Charlevoix, I. 549.

4 A. D. K354-1G58.
N. Y I 47

Doc. Hist

THE FRENCPI, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chap. UI.

sand Islands, and over the glimmering surface of Lake
Ontario, and, trailing in long array up the current of
the Oswego, they disembiaked on the margin of the
Lake of Onondaga, and, startling the woodland echoes
with the unwonted clangor of their trumpets, urged
their perilous march through the mazes of the for-
est. Never had those solitudes beheld so strange a
pageantry. The Lidian allies, naked to the waist and
horribly painted, adorned with streaming scalp-locks
and fluttering plumes, stole crouching among the
thickets, or peered with lynx-eyed vision through the
labyrinths of foliage. Scouts and foi^^st-rangcrs scoured
the woods in front and flank of the marching columns
— men trained among the hardships of the fur-trade,
thin, sinewy, and strong, arrayed in wild costume of
beaded moccason, scarlet leggin, and frock of buckskin,
fantastically garnished with many-colored embroidery
of porcupine. Then came the levies of the colony,
in gray capotes and gaudy sashes, and the trained
battalions from old France in burnished cuirass and
head-piece, veterans of Europeaii wars. Plumed cava-
liers were there, who had followed the standards of
Conde or Turenne, and who, even in the dc})ths of a
Avilderness, scorned to lay aside the martial foppery
v/hich bedecked the camp and court of Louis the
Magnificent. The stern commander was borne along
upon a litter in the midst, his locks bleached with years,
but his eye kindling with tlie quenchless lire ^\ iiicli.
like a furnace, burned hottest when its fuel was almost
spent. Thus, beneath the sepulchral arches of tlie for-
est, til rough tangled thickets, and over prostrate trunks,
the aged nobleman advjinced to wreak his vengeance
upon empty wigwams and deserted maize-fields.^

1 ( >fRcittl Ptipens of tiio Expedition. Doc. Hist, N. Y. I. 3'^.

s. [CiiAP. m.

Chap. HI.]

TRIUJH'IIS OF THE FRENCH.

ace of Lake
; current of
i-gin of the
land echoes
ipets, urged
of the for-

strange a
LC waist and
■ scalp-locks

among the
through the
ffcrs scoured
ing columns
tie fur-trade,

costume of
of buckskm,

embroidery

1 the colony,
he trained

cuirass and
luned cava-
andards of
depths of a
ial foppery
Louis the
)()rne along
with years,
hre Tvhicli,
was almost
s of tlie for-
:rate trunks,
vengeance
■fields.'

y. I. 'Vi3.

Even the fierce courage of the Iroquois began to
quail before these repeated attacks, while the grad-
ual growth of the colony, and the arrival of troops
from France, at length convinced them that they could
not destroy Canada. With tire opening of the eigh-
teenth century, their rancor showed signs of abating ;
and in the year 1726, by dint of skilful intrigue,
the French succeeded in erecting a permanent mili-
tary post at the important pass of Xiajjara, within
the limits of the confederacy.' Meanwliile, in spite
of every obstacle, the power of France had rapidly
extended its boundaries in the west. French influ-
ence diifused itself through a thousand channels, among
dist-^nt tribes, hostile, for the most part, to the dom-
ineering Irofpiois. Forts, mission-houses, and "anned
trading stations secured the principal passes. Traders,
and coureurs des hois pushed their adventurous traf-
fic into the wildest deserts ; and French guns and
hatchets, French beads and cloth, French tobacco and
brandy, were known from where the stunted Esqui-
maux burrowed in their snow caves, to where the
Camanches scoured the plains of the south with their
banditti cavalry. Still this far-extended commerce con-
thiued to advance w^estward. In 1738, La Verandrye
essayed to reach those mysterious mountains which,
as the Indians alleged, lay beyond the arid deserts
of the Missouri and the Saskatchawan. Indian hos-
tility defeated his enterprise, but not before he had
struck far out mto these unknown wilds, and fonned
a line of trading posts, one of which, Fort de la
Reine, was planted on the Assinniboin, a hundred
leagues beyond Lake Winnipeg.^ At that early pe-

1 Doc. Hist. N. Y. 1. 446

8 Garneau, IL 388.

THE rRI':iNCII, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS [Chap. HI

riod, France left her footsteps upon the dreary wastes
which even now have no other tenants than the In-
dian buffalo-hunter or the roving trapper.

The fur-trade of the English colonists opposed but
feeble rivalry to that of their hereditary foes. At an
early period, favored by the friendship of the Iro-
quois, they attempted to open a traffic with the Al-
gonquin tribes of the great lakes; and in the year
1687, Major McGregory ascended with a boat load of
goods to Lake Huron, where his appearance excited
great commotion, and where he was promptly seized
and imprisoned by a party of the French.^ From
this tinie forward, the English fur-trade languished,
until the year 1725, when Governor Bumet, of New
York, established a post on Lake Ontario, at the mouth
of the River Oswego, whither, lured by the cheapness
and excellence of the English goods, crowds of sav-
ages soon congregated from every side, to the un-
speakable annoyance of the French.^ Meanw^hile, a
considerable commerce was springing up with the
Cherokees and other tribes of the south ; and during
the first half of the century, the people of Pennsyl-
vania began to cross the Alleghanies, and carry on a
lucrative traffic with the tribeo of the Ohio. In 1749,
La Jonquiere, the governor of Canada, h^amed, to his
great indignation, that several English traders had
reached Sandusky, and were exerting a bad influence
upon the Indians of that quarter ; ^ and tvro years later,
he caused four of the intruders to be seized near the
Ohio, and sent prisoners to Canada."*

These early efforts of the English, considerable as

1 La Hontan, Voyajjes, I. 74. Col-
den, Memorial on the Fur-Trade.

2 Doc. Hist. N. Y. I. 444.

3 Smith, Hist. Canada, I. 214.

4 Precis des Faits, 89.

CHAr.ni.] THE ENGLISH AND THE IROQUOIS.

iiderable as

they were, can ill bear comparison with the vast ex-
tent of the French interior commerce. In respect
also to missionary enterprise, and the political influ-
ence resulting from it, the French had every advantage
over rivals whose zeal for conversion was neither kin-
dled by fanaticism nor fostered by an ambitious gov-
ernment. Eliot labored within call of Boston, while
the heroic Brebeuf faced the ghastly perils of the
western wilderness ; and the wanderings of Brainerd
suik into insignificance compared with those of the
devoted Easles. Yet, in judging the relative merits
of the Romish and Protestant missionaries, it must
not be forgotten that while the former contented them-
selves with sprinkling a few drops of water on the
forehead of the warlike proselyte, the latter sought
to wean him from his barbarism, and penetrate his
savage heart with the truths of Christianity.

In respect, also, to direct political influence, the
advantage was wholly on the side of France. The
English colonies, broken into separate governments,
were incapable of exercising a vigorous and consist-
ent Indian policy ; and the measures of one govern-
ment often clashed with those of another. Even in
the separate provinces, the popular nature of the con-
stitution and the quarrels of governors and assemblies
were unfavorable to efficient action ; and this was
more especially the case in the province of New York,
where the vicinity of the Iroquois rendered strenuous
yet prudent measures of the utmost importance. The
powerful confederates, hating the French with bitter
enmity, naturally inclined to tlie English alliance ;
and a proper treatment would have secured their Arm
and lasting friendship. But, at the early periods of
her history, the assembly of New York was made up
9 F»

!liiiiil'"|i;

THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chap. Ill

in great measure of narrow-minded men, more eager
to consult their own petty immediate interests than
to pursue any far-sighted scheme of public welfare.^
Other causes conspired to injure the British interest
in this quarter. The annual present sent from Eng-
land to the Iroquois was often embezzled by corrupt
governors or their favorites.^ The proud chiefs were
disgusted by the cold and haughty bearing of the
English officials, and a pernicious custom prevailed
of conducting Indian negotiations through the medium
of the fur-traders, a class of men held in contempt
by the Iroquois, and known among them by the sig-
nificant title of " rum-carriers." ^ In short, through
all the counsels of the province, Indian affairs were
grossly and madly neglected."*

With more or less emphasis, the same remark holds
true of all the other English colonies.^ With those
of France, it was far otherwise; and this difference
between the rival powers was naturally incident to
their different foims of government, and different
conditions of development. France labored with eager
dilioence to conciliate the Indians and win them to

1 Smith, Hist. N. Y., passim.

2 Rev. Military Operations, Mass.
Hist. Coll. Ist Series, VII. G7.

a Golden, Hist. Five Nat. 161.

4 MS. Papers of Cadwallader Col-
den. MS. Papers of Sir V^illiam
Johnson.

" We find the Indians, as far back
as the very confused manuscript rec-
ords in my possession, repeatedly
uphraidino^ this province for their
nej;fligence, their avarice, and their
want of assisting them at a time
when it was certainly in their power
to destroy the infant colony of Can-
ada, although supported by many
nations ; and tiiis is likewise con-
fessed by the writings of the man-

agers of these times." — MS. Letter
— Johnson to the Board of Trade,
May 24, 1765.

^ "I apprehend it vrill clearly ap-
pear to you, that the colonies hud
all along neglected v,o cultivate a
proper understanding with the In-
dians, and from a mistaken notion
have greatly despised them, without
considering that it is in their power
to lay waste and destroy the fron-
tiers. This opinion arose from our j
confidence in our scattered numbers,
and the parsimony of our people,
who, from an error in politics, would |
not expend five pounds to save twen-
ty." — MS. Letter — Johnson to tk |
Board of Trade, jYovcmber 13, 17r>3.

S. [ClIAP. Ill

Chap. III.]

POLICY OF THE FIIENCH.

more eager
erests than
lie welfare.^
tish interest
; from Eng-
by corrupt
chiefs were
ring of the
m prevailed
the medium
in contempt
I by the slg-
ort, through
affairs were

remark holds
With those
lis difference
incident to
Lud different
d with eager
win them to

osJ' — MS. Ldttr
Board of Trade,

it vrill clearly ap-
the colonies had
id v,o cultivate a
ing with the In-
mistaken notion
ed them, without
is in their power
destroy the fron-
n arose from out
cattered numbers,
Of' our peoplci I
in politics, wouIq
mds to save twen-
— Johnson to tk |
ovcmber 13, 17(33.

espouse her cause. Her agents were busy in every
village, studying the language of the inmates, com-
plying with their usages, flattering their prejudices,
caressing them, cajoling them, and whispering friendly
warnings in their cars against the wicked designs of
the English. When a party of Indian chiefs visited a
French fort, they were greeted with the firing of camion
and rolling of drums ; they were regaled at the tables
of the officers, and bribed with medals and decorations,
scarlet uniforms and French Hags. Far wiser tlian
their rivals, the French never ruffled the self-complacent
dignity of their guests, never insulted their religious
noti(ms, nor ridiculed their ancient customs. They met
the savage half way, and showed an abundant readiness
to mould their own features after his likeness.^ Count
Frontenac himself, plumed and painted like an Indian
cliief, danced the war-dance and yelled the war-song
at the camp-fires of his delighted allies. It would
have been well had the French been less exact in their
imitations, for at times they copied their model with
infamous fidelity, and fell into excesses scarcely credible
but for the concurrent testimony of their own writers.
Frontenac caused an Iroquois prisoner to be burnt
alive to strike terror into his countrymen ; and Lou-
vigny, French commandant a>: Michillimackinac, in
1695, tortured an Iroquois ambassador to death, that
he might break off a negotiation between that people
and the Wyandots.^ Nor are these the only well-
attested instances of such execrable inhumanity. But

1 Adair, Post's Journals, Croghan's
Journal, MSS. of Sir VV. Johnson,
etc., etc.

- La Hontan, I. 177. Potherie,
Hist. Am, Sept. II. 298, (Paris, 1722.)

These facts afford no ground for
national reflections when it is recol

lected that while Iroquois prisoners
were tortured in the wilds of Can-
ada, Elizabeth Gaunt was burned to
death at Tyburn for yielding to the
dictates of compassion, and giving
shelter to a political ofTcnder.

■I"!

•:' 3

m :

1 i!if„

wmm

I; ,. ii -J ■ J, iHiiu

TuE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chap. Ill

if the French were guilty of these cruelties against
their Indian enemies, they were no less guilty of un-
worthy compliance with the demands of their Indian
friends, in cases where Christianity and civilization
would have dictated a prompt refusal. Even the brave
Montcalm stained his bright name by abandoning the
hapless defenders of Oswego and William Henry to the
tender mercies of an Indian mob.

In general, however, the Indian policy of the French
cannot be charged with obsequiousness. Complaisance
was tempered with dignity. At an early period, they
discerned the peculiarities of the native character, and
clearly saw that, while, on the one hand, it was neces-
sary to avoid gi\'ing offence, it was not less necessary,
on the other, to assume a bold demeanor and a show
of power ; to caress with one hand, and grasp a drawn
sword with the other.' Every crime against a French-
man was promptly chastised by the sharp agency of
military law ; while among the English, the offender
could only be reached through the medium of the civil
courts, whose delays, uncertainties, and evasions excited
the wonder and provoked the contempt of the Indians.

It was by observance of the course indicated above
— a course highly judicious in a political point of
view, whatever it may have been to the eye of the mor-
alist — that the French were enabled to maintain
themselves in small detached posts, far aloof from the
parent colony, and environed by barbarous tribes, where
an English garrison would have been cut off in a
twelvemonth. They professed to hold these posts, not
in their own right, but purely through the grace and
condescension of the surrounding savages ; and by this

1 Le Jeune, Rel. de la N. F. 1636, 193.

NS. [Chap. Ill

Itics against

CUAP. Ill] AMALGAMATION OF FRENCH AND INDIANS.

conciliating assurance tliey sought to uiakc good tlicir
position, until, with their growing strength, conciliation
should no more be needed.

In its efforts to win the friendship and alliance of
the Indian tribes, the French government found every
advantage in the peculiar character of its subjects —
that pliant and plastic temper which forms so marked
a contrast to the stubborn spirit of the Englishman.
From the beginning, the French showed a tendency to
amuljifamate with the forest tribes. " The manners of the
savages," writes the Baron La Ilontan, " are perfectly
agreeable to my palate ; " and many a restless adven-
turer, of high or low degree, might have echoed the
words of the erratic soldier. At first, great hopes were
entertamcd that, by the mingling of French and In-
dians, the latter would be won over to civilization and
the church; but the effect was precisely the reverse;
for, as Charlevoix observes, the savages did not become
French, but the French became savages. Hundreds
betook themselves to the forest, never more to return.
These outflowings of French civilization were merged
in the waste of barbarism, as a river is lost in the sands
of the desert. The wandering Frenchman chose a wife
or a concubine among his Indian friends ; and, in a
few generations, scarcely a tribe of the west was free
from an infusion of Celtic blood. The French empire
in America could exhibit among its subjects every shade
of color from white to red, every gradation of culture
from the highest civilization of Paris to the rudest
barbarism of the wigwam.

The fui'-trade engendered a peculiar class of men,
known by the appropriate name of bush-rangers, or
coureurs des hois, half-civilized vagrants, whose chief
vocation was conducting the canoes of the traders

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THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chai. III.

m'"-

ill i:i.;

along the lakes and rivers of the interior: many
of them, however, shaking loose every tie of blood
and kindred, identified themselves with the Indians,
and sank into utter barbarism. In many a squalid
camp among the plains and forests of the west, the
traveller would have encountered men owning the
blood and speaking the language of France, yet, in
their wild and swarthy visages and barbarous costume,
seeming more akin to those with whom they had
cast their lot. The renegade of civilization caught
the habits and imbibed the prejudices of his chosen
associates. He loved to decorate his long hair with
eagle feathers, to make his face hideous with vermil-
ion, ochre, and soot, and to adorn his greasy hunting
frock with horse-hair fringes. His dwelling, if he
had one, was a wigwam. He lounged on a bear-skin
while his squaw boiled his venison and lighted his
pipe. In huntirT", in dancing, in singing, in taking
a scalp, he rivalled the genuine Indian. His mind
was tinctured with the superstitions of the forest.
He had faith in the magic drum of the conjurer;
he was not sure that a thunder cloud could not be
frightened away by whistling at it through the wing
bone of an eagle ; he carried the tail of a rattlesnake
in his bullet pouch by way of amulet ; and he placed
implicit trust in the prophetic truth of his dreams.
This class of men is not yet extinct. In the cheer-
less wilds beyond the northern lakes, or among the
mountain solitudes of the distant west, they may still
be found, unchanged in life and character since the
day when Louis the Great claimed sovereignty over
this desert empire.

The borders of the English colonies displayed no
such phenomena of mingling races ; for here a thorny

rs. [Chai. III.

Chap m.]

ENGLISH FUR-TRADEKS.

and impracticable barrier didded the white man from
the led. The English fur-traders, and the rude men
in then* employ, showed, it is true, an ample alacrity
to fling off the restraints of civilization ; but though
they became barbarians, they did not become Indians ;
and scorn on the one side, and hatred on the other,
still marked the intercourse of the nostile races.
With the settlers of the frontier it was much the
same. Rude, fierce, and contemptuous, they daily
encroached upon the hunting-grounds of the Indians,
and then paid them for the injury with abuse and
insult, curses and threats. Thus the native popula-
tion shrank back from before the English, as from
before an advancing pestilence ; while, on the other
hand, in the very heart of Canada, Indian communi-
ties sprang up, cherished by the government, and
favored by the easy-tempered people. At Lorette, at
Caughnawaga, at St. Francis, and elsewhere within
the province, large bands were gathered together, con-
sisting in part of fugitives from the borders of the
iiatcd English, and aiding, in time of war, to swell
the forces of the French in repeated forays against
the settlements of New York and New England.

There was one of the English provinces marked
out from among its brethren by the peculiar charac-
ter of its founders, and by the course of conduct
which was there pursued towards the Indian tribes.
"William Penn, his mind warmed with a broad philan-
tlnopy, and enlightened by liberal views of human
government and human rights, planted on the bunks
of the Delaware the colony which, livified by the
principles it embodied, grew, with a marvellous rapid-
ity, into the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Penn's treatment of the Indians was equally prudent

THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chap. HI

it\ K

i'^ll

[J til

■'■''\'
j J

; J:
i'

and humane, and its results were of high advantage to
the colony; but these results have been exaggerated,
and the treatment which produced them made the
theme of inordinate praise. It required no great be-
nevolence to urge the Quakers to deal kindly with
their savage neighbors. They were bound in common
sense to propitiate them ; since, by incurring their re-
sentment, they would involve themselves in the dilem-
ma of submitting their necks to the tomahawk, or
wielding the carnal weapon, in glaring defiance of
their pacific principles. In paying the Indians for
the lands which his colonists occupied, — a piece of
justice which has been greeted with a general clamor
of applause, — Pcnn, as he himself confesses, acted on
the prudent counsel of Compton, Bishop of London.'
Nor is there any truth in the representations of Riiy-
nal and other eulogists of the Quaker legislator, who
hold him up to the world as the only European who
ever acquired the Indian lands by purchase, instead
of seizing them by fraud or violence. The example
of purchase had been set fifty years before by the
Puritans of New England; and several of the other
colonies had more recently pursued the same just and
prudent course.^

With regard to the alleged results of the pacific
conduct of the Quakers, our admiration will diminish
on closely viewing the circumstances of the case.

1 "I have exactly followed the
Bishop of London's counsel, by buy-
ing, and not tnkin<r away, the natives'
land." — Penn's l/elter to the Ministry,
Aug. 14, 1083.— See Chalmers, Polit.
Ann. fiOG.

'■^ " If any of the salvages pretend
right of inheritance to all or any part
of the lands granted in our patent,
w«! pray you endeavor to purchase

their tytle, that we may avoid the
least scruple of intrusion." — Instruc-
tions to Endicot, l(i21). — See Hazard,
State Papers, I. 203.

" The inhabitants of New England
had never, except in the territory of
the Pequods, taken possession of a
foot of land without first obtaining a
title from the Indians." — Bancroft,
Hist. U. S. IL 98.

IS. [Chap. Ill

Chap. IH.]

TIIE QUAKERS AND THE INDIANS.

The position of the colony was a most fortunate one.
Had the Quakers planted their settlement on the
banks of the St. Lawrence, or among the warlike
tribes of New England, it may well be doubted whether
their shaking of hands and assurances of tender regard
would long have availed to save them from the visita-
tions of the scalping-knife. But the Delawarcs, the
people on whose territory their colony was planted,
were, like themselves, debarred the use of arms. The
Iroquois had conquered them, and reduced them to
abjec*: submission, wringing from them a yearly tribute,
disarming them, forcing them to adopt the opprobrious
name of women, and forego the right of war. The
humbled Delawares were but too happy to receive
the hand extended to them, and dwell in friendship
with their pacific neighbors; since to have lifted the
hatchet would have brought upon their heads the
vengeance of their conquerors, whose good will Penn
had taken pains to secure.'

The sons of Penn, his successors in the proprietor-
ship of the province, did not evince the same kindly
feeling towards the Indians which had distinguished
their father. Earnest to acquire new lands, they com-
menced, through their agents, a series of unjust meas-
ures, which gradually alienated the attachment of the
Indians, and, after a peace of seventy years, produced
a most disastrous rupture. The Quaker population
of the colony sympathized in the kindness which its
founder had cherished towards the beniglited race.
This feeling was strengthened by years of friendly
intercourse; and except where private interest was
concerned, the Quakers made good their reiterated

paid twice for his lands ; them by right of conquest, and once
the Iroquois, who claimed to their occupants, tlie Delawares.

10 G

1 He

once to

I'll

iriiiJ
•iii .11

iifii

IlliP

ii'.''^ f

!';:

!;.«:h:

THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDLVNS. [Chap. Ill

professions of attachment. Kindness to the Indian
was the glory of their sect. As years wore on, this
feeling was wonderfully reenforced by the influence
of party spirit. The time arrived \^'hen, alienated by
English encroachment on the one hand and French
seduction on the other, the Indians began to assume
a threatening attitude towards the province ; and
many voices urged the necessity of a resort to arms.
This measui'e, repugnant alike to their pacific princi-
ples and to their love of the Indians, was strenuously
opposed by the Quakers. Their affection for the in-
jured race was now inflamed into a sort of benevo-
lent fanaticism. The more rabid of the sect would
scarcely confess that an Indian could ever do wrong.
In their view, he was always sinned against, always
the innocent victim of injury and abuse ; and in the
days of the final rupture, when the woods were full
of furious war-parties, and the German and Irish
settlers on the frontier were butchered by hundr.ds,
when the western sky was darkened with the smoke
of burning settlements, and the wretched fugitives were
flying in crowds across the Susquehanna, a large party
among the Quakers, secure by their Philadelphia fire-
sides, could not see the necessity of waging even a
defensive war against their favorite people.^

The encroachments on the part of the proprietors,
which have been alluded to above, and which many
of the Quakers viewed with disapproval, consisted in

1 irS.'S-lTra. The feclinrrs of the
Quakers at this time may be ^fathered
from the following sources: MS. Ac-
count of the Rise and Progress of
the Friendly Association for gaining
and preserving Peace with the In-
dians by pacific Measures. Address
of the Friendly Association to Gov-

ernor Denny. See Proud, Hist. Pa.,
appendix. Ilaz., Pa. Reg. VIII. 27.1,
293, 323. But a much livelier pic-
ture of the prevailing excitement
will be found in a series of party
pamphlets, published at Philadelphia
in the year 1764.

Chap. III.]

IHE WaljCING rUUClIASE.

the fraudulent interpretation of Indian deeds of c m-
veyance, and in the granting out of lands without
any conveyance at all. The most notorious of these
transactions, and the one most lamentable in its re-
sults, was commenced in the year 1737, and known
by the name of the walking purchase. An old, for-
gotten deed was raked out of the dust of the previous
century, a deed which was in itself of doubtful va-
lidity, and which, moreover, had been virtually can-
celled by 1 subsequent agreement. On this rotten
title the proprietors laid claim to a valuable tract of
land on the right bank of the Delaware. Its western
boundary was to be defined by a line drawn from a
certain point on Neshaminey Creek, in a north-west-
erly direction, as far as a man could walk in a day
and a half. From the end of the walk, a line drawn
eastward to the River Delaware was to form the north-
ern limit of the purchase. The proprietors sought
out the most active men who could be heard of, and
put them in training for the walk ; at the same time
laying out a smooth road along the intended course,
that no obstructions might mar their speed. By this
means an incredible distance was accomplished within
the limited time. And now it only remained to adjust
the northern boundary. Instead of running the line
directly to the Delaware, according to the evident
meaning of the deed, the proprietors inclined it so
far to the north as to form an acute angle with the
river, and enclose many hundred thousand acres of
valuable land, which would otherwise have remained
in the hands of rhe Indians.^ The land thus in-

' Causes of the Alienation of the written by Charles Thompson, after-
Delaware and Shawanoe Indians from wards secretary of Congress, rind de-
tlie British Interest, 33, 68, (Lond. signed to explain tlie causes of the
1759.) This work is a pamphlet, rupture which took place at the out-

THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chap. UI

ini ;

famously obtained lay in the Forks of the Delaware,
above Easton, and was then occupied by a powerful
branch of the Delawares, who, to their unspeakable
amazement, now heard the summons to quit forever
their populous village and fields of half-grown maize.
In rage and distress they refused to obey, and the
proprietors were in a perplexing dilemma. Force was
necessaiy; but a Quaker legislature would never con-
sent to fight, and esiJecially to fight against Indians.
An expedient was hit upon, at once safe and eftect-
ual. The Iroquois were sent for. A deputation of
their chiefs appeared at Philadelphia, and having been
well bribed, and deceived by false accounts of the
transaction, they consented to remove the refractory
Delawares. The delinquents were summoned before
their conquerors, and the Iroquois orator, Canassatego,
a man of noble stature and imposing presence,^ look-
ing with a grim countenance on his cowering audi-
tors, addressed them in the following words: —

"You ought to be taken by the hair of the head
and shaken soundly till you recover your senses. You
don't know what you are doing. Our brother Onas'*'
cause is very just. On the other hand, your cause is
bad, and you are bent to break the chain of friend-
ship. How came you to take upon you to sell land
at all ? We conquered you ; we made women of you ;
you know you are women, and can no more sell land

Hilllii

ii'ii: ;

break of the French war. The text
is supported by copious references to
treaties and documents. I have seen
h copy in the possession of Francis
Fisher, Esq., of Philadelphia, con-
taining marginal notes in the hand-
writing of James Hamilton, who was
twice governor of the province under
the proprietary instructions. In theae

notes, though he cavils at several un-
important points of the relation, he
suffers the essential matter to pass
unchallenged.

1 VVitham Marshe's Journal.

2 Onus was the name given by the
Indians to William Penn and his
successors.

CuAP. ni.|

TYRANNY OF THE IROQUOIS.

than women. This land you claim is gone down your
throats; you have been furnished with clothes, meat,
and drink, by the goods paid you for it, and now you
want it again, like children as you are. What makes
you sell land in the dark? Did you ever tell us you
had sold this land? Did we ever receive any part,
even the value of a pipe-shank, from you for it ? We
charge you to remove instantly ; we don't give you
the liberty to think about it. You are women. Take
the advice of a wise man, and remove immediately.
You may return to the other side of Delaware, where
you came from; but we do not know whether, con-
sidering how you have demeaned yourselves, you will
be permitted to live there; or whether you have not
swallowed that land down your throats as well as the
land on this side. We therefore assign you two places
to go, either to Wyoming or Shamokin. We shall
then have you more under our eye, and shall see how
you behave. Don't deliberate, but take this belt of
wampum, and go at once."^

The unhappy Delawares dared not disobey this ar-
bitrary mandate. They left their ancient homes, and
removed, as they had been ordered, to the Susque-
hanna, where some settled at Shamokin, and some at
Wyoming.*^ From an early period, the Indians had
been annoyed by the unlicensed intrusion of settlers
upon their lands, and, in 1728, they had bitterly
complained of the wrong.^ The evil contmucd to in-
crease. Many families, chiefly Geniian and Irish, be-
gan to cross the Susquehanna and build their cabins
along the valleys of the Juniata and its tributary
waters. The Deiawares sent frequent remonstrances

^ Minutes of Indian council held
at Philadelphia, 1742.

2 Chapman, Hist Wyoming, 19.

3 Colonial Records, III. 340.

THE FKKNCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chap. Ill

i.Vt

'<• ii\"

''l:;ii

;!!■•'.

I;:ii

■'1(1;

from their new abodes, and the Iroquois themselves
made angry complaints, declaring that the lands of
the Juniata were theirs by right of conquest, and that
they had given them to their cousins, the Delawares,
for hunting-grounds. Some efforts at redress wore
made ; but the remedy proved ineffectual, and the dis-
content of the Indians increased with every year.
The Shawanoes, with many of the Delawares, removed
westward, where, for a time, they would be safe from
intrusion ; and by the middle of the century, the Del-
aware tribe were separated into two divisions, one of
which remained upon the Susquehanna, while the
other, in conjunction with the Shawanoes, dwelt on
the waters of the Alleghany and the ]Muskingum.

But now the French began to push their advanced
posts into the valley of the Ohio. Most unhappily
for the English interest, they found the irritated minds
of the Indians in a state which favored their efforts
at seduction, and held forth a flattering promise that
tribes so long faithful to the English might soon be
won over to espouse the cause of France.

While the English interests wore so inauspicious
an aspect in this quarter, their prospects were not
much better among the Iroquois. Since the peace
of Utrecht, in 1713, these powerful tribes had so far
forgotten their old malevolence against the French,
that the latter were enabled to bring all their ma-
chinery of conciliation to bear upon them. They
turned the opportunity to such good account as not
only to smooth away the asperity of their ancient foes,
but also to rouse in their minds a growing jealousy
against the English. Several accidental circumstances
did much to aggravate this feeling. The Iroquois
were in the habit of sending out frequent war-

Ciup. ni.i

FATHER nCQUET.

parties against their enemies, the Chcrokees and Cataw-
bas, who dwelt near the borders of Carolina and Vir-
ginia ; and in these forays the invaders often became so
seriously embroiled with the white settlers, that shai-p
frays took place, and an open war seemed likely to

ensue.

It was with great difficulty that the irritation of
tliese untoward accidents was allayed ; and even then
enough still remained in the neglect of governments,
tlie insults of traders, and the haughty bearing of offi-
cials, to disgust the proud confederates with their
English allies. In the war of 1745, they jielded but
cold and doubtful aid ; and fears were entertained of
their final estrangement.** This result became still
more imminent, when, in the year 1749, the French
priest Picquet established his mission of I^a Presenta-
tion on the St. Lawrence, at the site of Ogdcnsburg.*
This pious father, like the martial churchmen of an
earlier day, deemed it no scandal to gird on (v^rthly
armor against the enemies of the faith. lie built a
fort and founded a settlement ; he mustered the Indians
about him from far and near, organized their govern-
ments, and marshalled their war-parties. From the
crenelled walls of his mission-house the warlike apostle
could look forth upon a military colony of his own
creating, upon farms and clearings, white Canadian
cabins, and the bark lodges of many an Indian horde
which he had gathered under his protecting wing. A
chief object of the settlement was to form a barrier
against the English ; but the purpose dearest to the
missionary's heart was to gain over the Iroquois to

1 Letter of Governor Spots wood,
ofVirgiiiia, Jan. 25, 1720. See Col-
ODial Records of Pa. III. 75.

2 Minutes of Indian Council, 1746k

3 Doc. Hist. N. Y. I. 423.

!■!■ i

iSi-l.ii

ifl

• "■;mH

THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chap. Ill

the side of France ; and in this he succeeded so well,
that, as a writer of good authority declares, tlie num-
ber of their warriors within the circle of his iniiuence
surpassed the whole remauiing force of the con-
federacy.'

Thoughtful men in the English colonies saw with
anxiety the growing defection of the Iro(iuois, and
dreaded lest, in the event of a war with France, her
ancient foes might now be found her friends. But in
this ominous conjuncture, one strong influence was at
work to bind the confederates to their old alliance;
and this influence was wielded by a man so remarkable
in his character, and so conspicuous an actor in the
scenes of the ensuing history, as to demand f\t least
some passing notice.

About the year 1734, in consequence, it is said, of
the hapless issue of a love affair, William Johnson, a
young Irishman, came over to America at the age of
nmeteen, where he assumed the charge of an extensive
tract of wild land in the province of New York, be-
longing to his uncle. Admiral Sir Peter "Warren.
Settling in the valley of the ISIohawk, he carried on
a prosperous traffic with the Indians ; and whUe he
rapidly rose to wealth, he gained, at the same tinie, an
extraordinary influence over the neighboring Iroquois.
As his resources increased, he built two mansions
m the valley, known respectively by the names of
Johnson Castle and Johnson Hall, the latter of which,
a well-constructed buUding of wood and scone, is still
standing in the village of Johnstown. Johnson Castle
was situated at some distance higher up the river.
Both were fortified against attack, and the latter was

.,-,,,

1 MS. Letter — Golden to Lord Halifax, no date.

Chap IIIJ

8m WILLIAM JOUNSON.

surrounded with cabins built for the reception of the
Indians, who often came in crowds to visit the propri-
etor, invading his dwelling at all uns(!asonablc hours,
loitering in the doorways, spreading their blankets in
tlie passages, and infecting the air with the fumes of
stale tobacco.

Johnson supplied the place of his fomrior love by
a young Dutch damsel, who bore him several cliildren ;
and, in justice to the latter, he married her upon iier
death-bed. Soon afterwards he foimd another favorite
in the person of Molly Brant, sister of the celebratetl
Mohawk war-chief, whose black eyes and laughing
face caught his fancy, as, fluttering with ribbons, she
galloped past him at a muster of the Tryon county
miUtia.

Johnson's importance became so conspicuous, that
when the French war broke out in 1755, he was made
a major-general ; and soon after, the colonial troops
under his command gained the battle of Lake George
against the French forces of Baron Dieskau. For this
success, for which, however, the commander was entitled
to little credit, he was raised to the rank of baronet,
and rewarded with the gift of five thousand pounds
from the king. About this time, he was appointed
superintendent of Indian affairs for the nortliern tribes,
a station in which he did signal service to the country.
In 1759, when General Prideaux was killed by the
bursting of a cohorn in the trenches before Niagara,
Johnson succeeded to his command, routed the French
in another pitched battle, and soon raised the red cross
of England on the conquered rampart of the fort.
After the peace of 1763, he lived for many years at
Johnson Hall, constantly enriched by the increasing
value of his vast estate, and surrounded by a hardy
11

iii'i

IliB

■'!■! ::

THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chap, in

Highland tenariry, devoted to his interests; but when
the tempest which had long been brewing seemed at
length about to break, and signs of a speedy rupture
with the mother country thickened with every day, he
stood wavering in an agony of indecision, divided
between his loyalty to the sovereign who was the source
of all his honors, and his reluctance to become the
agent of a murderous Indian warfare against his
countrymen and friends. His final resolution was
never taken. In the summer of 177-4, he was attacked
with a sudden illness, and died within a few hours, in
the sixtieth year of his age, hurried to his grave by
mental distress, or, as many believed, by the act of his
own hand.

Nature had well fitted him for the position in which
his propitious stars had cast his lot. His person was
tall, erect, and strong; his features grave and manly.
His direct and upright dealings, his courage, elo-
quence, and address were sure passports to favor in
Indian eyes. He had a singular facility of adaptation.
In the camp, or at the council-board, in spite of his
defective education, he bore himself as became his
station ; but at home he was seen drinking flip and
smoking tobacco with the Dutch boors, his neighbors,
talking of improvements or the price of beaver-skins;
and in the Indian villages he would feast on dog's flesh,
dance with the warriors, and harangue his attentive
auditors with all the dignity of an Iroquois sachem.
His tenqier was genial ; he encouraged rustic sports,
and was respected and beloved alike by whites and
Indians.

His good qualities, however, were alloyed with seri-

His mind was as coarse as it was vigor-

ous defects.

ous ; he was vain of his rank and influence, and being

ANS. [CnAr.m«^^_jj^__^

POSITION OF PARTIES.

[quite free from any scruple of delicacy, he lost no
[opportunity of proclaiming them. His nature was
eager and ambitious ; and in pushing his own way, he
hvas never distinguished by an anxious solicitude for
[the rights of others.^

At the time of which we speak, his fortunes had not
[reached theh' zenith ; yet his influence was great, and
during the war of 1745, when he held the chief control
of Indian aflairs in New York, it was exercised in a
inanner most beneficial to the province. After the
peace of Aix la Chapelle, in 1748, finding his measures
ill supported, he threw up his ofiice in disgust. Still
his mere personal influence sufficed to embarrass the
intrigues of the busy priest at La Presentation; and a
few years later, when the public exigency demanded
his utmost effbrts, he resumed, under better auspices,
I the official management of Indian affairs.

And noAV, when the blindest could see that between

I the rival claimants to the soil of Amcnica nothing

[was left but the arbitration of the sword, no man

I friendly to the cause of England could observe without

; ahum how France had strengthened herself in Indian

alliances. The Iroquois, it is true, had not quite gone

over to her side, nor had the Delawares yet forgotten

their ancient league with William Penn. The Miamis

1:1 the valley of the Ohio had even taken umbrage at

the conduct of the French, and betrayed a leaning to

the side of England, while several tribes of the south

showed a similar disposition. But, with few and slight

i^xceptions, the numerous tribes of the Great Lakes and

' Alien, Am. Biofr. Diet., and au- Papers relating to Sir W. Johnson.

t'.iorities there referred to. Camp- See Doc. Hist. N. Y. II. MS. Papers

bell, Annals of Tryon County, ap- of Sir W. Johnson, etc., etc.
IKndii. Sabine, Am. Loyalists, 39S.

ii I

THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND INDIANS. [Chap. Ill

the Mississippi, besides a host of domiciliated savages
in Canada itself, stood ready at the bidding of Frame i
to grind their tomahawks and turn loose their ravcnoib
war-parties ; while the British colonists had too much
reason to fear that even those tribes who seemed most
friendly to their cause, and who formed the sole bar-
rier of their unprotected borders, might, at the first
sound of the war-whoop, be found in arms against
them.

:'i::iJ''::":

.NS. [Chap. Ill

CHAPTES IV.

arms against

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES.

The people of the northern English colonies had

j learned to regard their Canadian neiglibors with the

bitterest enmity. With them, the very name of Canada

called up horrible recollections and ghastly images;

I the midnight massacre of Schenectady, and the deso-

j lation of many a New En;jland hamlet ; blazing dwell-

[ ings and reeking scalps ; and children snatched from

their mothers' arms, to be immured in convents and

trained up in the heresies of Popery. To the sons

I of the Puritans, their enemy was doubly odious. They

I hated him as a Frenchman, and they hated him as a

Papist. Hitherto he had waged his murderous war-

jfare from a distance, wasting their settlements with

rapid onsets, fierce and transient as a summer storm;

but now, with enterprising audacity, he was intrenching

himself on their very borders. The English hunter,

I in the lonely wilderness of Vermont, as by the warm

I glow of sunset he piled the spruce boughs for his

woodland bed, started as a deep, low sound struck

•bluntly on his ear, the evening gun of Fort Frederic,

1 booming over lake and forest. The erection of this

fort, better known among the English as Crown Point,

vas a piece of daring encroachment which justly

kindled resentment in the northern colonies. But it

'>^as not here that the immediate occasion of a final

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

■I

■!'!i i

i:'!i:

rupture was to arise. By an article of the treaty of
Utrecht, confirmed by that of Aix la Chapelle, Aca-
dia had been ceded to England ; but scarcely was the
latter treaty signed, when debates sprang up toucli-
ing the limits of the ceded province. Commissioners
were named on either side to adjust the disputed
boundary; but the claims of the rival powers proved
utterly irreconcilable, and all negotiation was fruitless.'
Meantime, the French and English forces in Acadia
began to assume a belligerent attitude, and indulge
their ill blood in mutual aggression and reprisal.^
But while this game was played on the coasts of the
Atlantic, interests of far greater moment were at stake
in the west.

The people of the middle colonies, placed by theh
local position beyond reach of the French, had
heard with great composure of the sufferings of their
New England brethren, and felt little concern at a I
uanger so doubtful and remote. There were those
among them, however, who, with greater foresight, liad
been quick to perceive the ambitious projects of the I
French; and, as early as 1716, Spotswood, governor
of Virginia, had urged the expediency of securing
the valley of the Ohio by a series of forts and set-
tlements,^ His proposal was coldly listened to, and!
his plan fell to the ground. The time at length was
come when the danger was approaching too near to
be slighted longer. In 17-18, an association, called]
the Ohio Company, was formed, with the view of
making settlements in the region beyond the Alle-I

1 Garneau, Book VIII. Chap. III. 3 Smollett, III. 370, (Edinburgh,

2 Holmes, Annals, II. 183. Me- 1805.)
moire contenant Le Precis des Fails,
Pieces Justificatives, Part I.

lES. [Chap. IV

Chap. IV.]

MISSION OF WASHINGTON.

ghanies ; and two years later, Gist, the company's sur-
veyor, to the great disgust of the Indians, carried
chain and compass down the Ohio as far as the falls
at Louisville.' But so dilatory were the English, that
before any eftectual steps were taken, their agile ene-
mies appeared upon the scene.

In the spring of 1753, the middle provinces were
startled at the tidings that French troops had crossed
Lake Erie, fortified themselves at the point of Presqu'-
Isle, and pushed forward to the northern branches
of the Ohio.^ Upon this. Governor Dinwiddie, of
Virginia, resolved to despatch a message requiring
their removal from territories which he claimed as
belonging to the British crown ; and looking about
him for the person best qualified to act as messenger,
he made choice of George Washington, a young man
twenty-one years of age, adjutant general of the Vir-
ginian militia.

AVashington departed on his mission, crossed the
mountains, descended to the bleak and leafiess valley
of the Ohio, and thence continued his journey uj) the
banks of the Alleghany until the fourth of Decem-
ber. On that day he reached Venango, an Indian
town on the Alleghany, at the mouth of French Creek.
Here was the advanced post of the French, and here,
among the Indian log-cabins and huts of bark, he saw
their flag flying above the house of an English trader,
whom the military intruders had unceremoniously
ejected. They gave the young envoy a hospitable re-
ception,^ and referred him to the commanding ofiicer,

' Sparks, Life and Writings of tains documents relating to thi.s period

Washington, II. 478. Gist's Journal, which are not to be found elsewhere.

1750. 3 «« He invited us to sup with thern,

2 Olden Time, II. 9, 10. This ex- and treated us with the greatest com-

cellent antiquarian publication con- plaisance. The wine, as tliey dosed

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV.

if';!'

ill ^

whose head-quarters were at Le Boeuf, a fort which
they had just erected on French Creek, some distance
above Venango. Thither Washington repaired, and
on his arrival was received with stately courtesy by
the officer Legardeur de St. Pierre, whom he describes
as an elderly gentleman of very soldier-like appear-
ance. To the message of Dinwiddle, St. Pierre replied
that he would forward it to the governor general of
Canada; but that, in the mean time, his orders were
to hold possession of the country, and this he should
do to the best of his ability. With this answer Wash-
ington, through all the rigors of the midwinter forest,
retraced his steps, with one attendant, to the English
borders.

With the first opening of spring, a newly-raised
company of Virginian backwoodsmen, under Capto a
Trent, hastened across the mountains, and began to
build a fort at the confluence of the Monongahcla
and Alleghany, where Pittsburg now stands; when
suddenly they found themselves invested by a host
of French and Indians, who, with sixty bateaux
and three hundred canoes, had descended from Le
Bocuf and Venango.* The English were ordered to
evacuate the spot ; and, being quite unable to resist,
they obeyed the summons, and withdrew in great dis-
comfiture towards Virginia.

Meanwhile Washington,

themselves pretty plentifully with it,
soon banished the restraint which at
first appeared in their conversation,
and gave a license to their tongues
to reveal their sentiments more freely.
They told me, that it was their abso-
lute design to take possession of the
Ohio, and by G — d they would do it ;
for that, although they were sensible
the English could raise two men for
their one, yet they knew their mo-
tions were too slow and dilatory to

prevent any undertaking of theirs.
They pretend to have an undoubted
right to the river from a discovery
made by one La Salle, si.xty yeiirs
ago ; and the rise of this expedition
is, to prevent our settling on the river
or waters of it, as they heard of some
families moving out in order there-
to." — Washington, Journal.

I Sparks, Life and Writings of
Washington, U. (3.

Chap IV.]

DEATH OF JUMONVILLE.

fort which
ne distance
paired, and
courtesy by
tie describes
ike appear-
erre replied

general of
orders were
3 he should
swer Wash-
inter forest,

[onongahela

mds ; when

by a host

y bateaux

from Le

ordered to

e to resist,

1 great dis-

Vashington.

king of theirs,
e an undoubted
im a discovery
lie, sixty yesirs
this expedition
ling on the river
y heard of soine
in order there-
burr? oZ.

Writings of

with another party of backwoodsmen, was advancing
from the borders ; and hearmg of Trent's disaster, he
resolved to fortify himself on the Monongahela, and
hold his ground, if possible, until fresh troops could
arrive to support him. The French sent out a scout-
ing party under M. Jumonville, with the design, prob-
ably, of watching his movements ; but, on a dark and
stormy night, Washington surprised them, as they lay
lurking in a rocky glen not far from his camp, killed
the officer, and captured the whole detachment.^ Learn-
ing that the French, enraged by this reverse, were about
to attack him in great force, he thought it prudent to
fall back, and retired accordingly to a spot called the
Great Meadows, where he had before thrown up a
slight intrenchment. Here he found himself furiously
assailed by nine hundred French and Indians, com-
manded by a brother of the slain Jumonville. From
eleven in the morning till eight at night, the back-
woodsmen, who were half famished from the failure
of their stores, maintained a stubborn defence, some
figliting within the intrenchment, and some on the
plain without. In the evening, the French sounded a
parley, and offered terms. They were accepted, and on
the following day Washington and his men retired
across the mountains, and the disputed territory re-
mained in the hands of the French.^

While the rival nations were beginning to quarrel
for a prize which belonged to neither of them, the
unhappy Indians saw, with alarm and amazement, theix-

1 Sparks, 11. 447. The conduct
of Washington in this affair has been
misrepresented, but the passage re-
ferred to contains a full justification.

2 For the French account of these
operations, see Memoire contenant

Le Precis des Faits. This volume,
an official publication of the French
court, contains numerous documents,
among which are the papers of the
unfortunate Braddock, left on the
field of battle by his defeated anny

I'll-

III' I;,

lit

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

lands becoming a bone of contention between rapacious
strangers. The first appearance of the French on the
Ohio excited the wildest fears in the tribes of that
quarter, among whom were those who, disgusted by
the encroachments of the Pennsylvanians, had fled to
these remote retreats to escape the intrusions of the
white men. Scarcely was their fancied asylum gained,
when they saw themselves invaded by a host of armed
men from Canada. Thus placed between two fires,
they knew not which way to turn. There was no
union in their counsels, and they seemed like a mob
of bewildered children. Their native jealousy was
roused to its utmost pitch. Many of them thought
that the two white nations had conspired to destroy
them, and then divide their lands. " You and the
French," said one of them, a few years afterwards, to
an English emissary^ " are like the two edges of a pair
of shears, and we are the cloth which is cut to pieces
between them." ^

The French labored hard to conciliate tliem, plying
them with gifts and flatteries,^ and proclaiming them-
selves their champions against the English. At first,
these arts seemed in vain, but their efiect soon began
to declare itself; and tliis eflect was greatly increased
by a singular piece of infatuation on the part of the
proprietors of Pennsylvania. During the summer of

Imm

1 First Journal of C. F. Post.

2 Letters of Robert Stobo, an Eng-
lish hostage at Fort du Quesne.

"Shamokin Daniel, who came
with mo, went over to the fort
[du Quesne] by himself, and coun-
selled with the governor, who pre-
sented him with a laced coat and
hat, a blanket, shirts, ribbons, a new
gun, powder, lead, &c. When he
returned, he was quite changed, and

said, ' See here, you fools, what the
French have given me. I was in
Philadelpliia, and never received a
farthing;' and (directing himself to
me) said, 'The English are fools, and
so are you.' " — Post, First Joumnl.
Washington, while at Fort Le
BoBuf, was much annoyed by the
conduct of the French, who did
their utmost to seduce his Indian
escort by bribes and promises.

[Chap. IV

Chap. IV.J FRENCH AND ENGLISH DIPLOMACY.

L rapacious
Qch on the
es of that
;gusted by
lad fled to
ons of the
im gained,
;t of armed

two fires,
ire was no
like a mob
alousy was
;m thought

to destroy
lU and the
terwards, to
DS of a pair
it to pieces

hem, plying
ling them-
At first,
isoon began
.y increased
»art of the
summer of

I fools, what the

I me. I was in

Iver received a

ling himself to

\h are fools, and

First Jourmd.

at Fort Le

linoyed by the

pnch, who did

ice his Indian

promises.

17,34, delegates of the several provinces met at Albany,
in order to concert measures of defence in the war
which now seemed inevitable. It was at this meeting
that the memorable plan of a union of the colonies
was brought upon the carpet; a plan, the fate of
which was curious and significant, for the crown
rejected it as giving too much power to the people,
and the people as giving too much power to the
ciown.' A council was also held with the Iroquois,
and though they were found but lukewarm in their
attachment to tlie English, a treaty of friendship and
alliance was concluded with their deputies.^ It woidd
have been well if the matter had ended here; but,
with ill-timed rapacity, the proprietary agents of Penn-
sylvania took advantage of this great assemblage of
sachems to procure from them the grant of extensive
tracts, including the lands inhabited by the very tribes
whom the French were at that moment striving to
seduce.^ When they heard that, without their consent,
their conquerors and tyrants, the Iroquois, had sold the
soil from beneath their feet, their indignation was
extreme ; and, convinced that there was no limit to
English encroachment, many of them from that hour
became fast allies of the French.

The courts of London and Versailles still maintained
a diplomatic intercourse, both protesting their earnest
wish that their conflicting claims might be adjusted
by friendly negotiation ; but while each disclaimed the

1 Trumbull, Hist. Conn. II. 355.
Holmes, Annals, II. 201.

- At this council an Iroquois sa-
chem upbraided the English, with
great boldness, for their neglect of
the Indians, their invasion of their
'ands, and their dilatory conduct with

regard to the French, who, as the
speaker averred, had behaved like
men and warriors. — Minutes of Con-
ferences at Albany, 1754.

3 Causes of the Alienation of
the Delaware and Shawanoe Indiana
from the British Interest, 77.

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV.

HI''

:|!.; !:

;:!i

Ail

a, I' IT

intention of hostility, both were hastening to prepare
for war. Early in 1755, an English fleet sailed from
Cork, having on board two regiments destined for
Virginia, and commanded by General Braddock; and
soon after, a French fleet put to sea from the port of
Brest, freighted with munitions of war and a strong
body of troops under Baron Dieskau, an oflficer who
had distinguished himself in the campaigns of Marshal
Saxe. The English fleet gained its destination, and
landed its troops in safety. The French were less for-
tunate. Two of theh' ships, the Lys and the Alcidc,
became involved in the fogs of the banks of New-
foundland ; and when the weather cleared, they found
themselves under the guns of a superior British force,
belonging to the squadron of Admiral Boscawen, sent
out for the express purpose of intercepting them.
"Are we at peace or warV demanded the French
commander. A broadside from the Englishman soon
solved his doubts, and, after a stout resistance, the
French struck their colors.^ News of the capture
caused great excitement in England, but the conduct
of the aggressors was generally approved of; and
under pretence that the French had begun the war b}-
their alleged encroachments in America, orders were
issued for a general attack upon their marine. So
successful were the British cruisers, that, before the
end of the year, three hundred French vessels, and
nearly eight thousand sailors, were captured and
brought into port.^ The French, unable to retort in

* Garneau, II. 551. Gent Mag. acts of piracy ; and some neu-

XXV. 330. tral powers of Europe seemed to

2 Smollett, III. 436. consider them in the same point of

*' The French inveighed against view. It was certainly high time to

the capture of their ships, before check the insolence of the French

any declaration of war, as flagrant by force of arms; and surely this

'ail

Chap. IV.] THE WAK IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.

kind, raised an outcry of indignation, and Mirepoix,
their ambassador, withdrew from the court of London.

Thus began that memorable war which, kindling
among the wild forests of America, scattered its fires
over the kingdoms of Europe, and the sultry empire
of the Great Mogul; the war made glorious by the
heroic death of Wolfe, the victories of Frederic, and
the marvellous exploits of Clive ; the wa* which con-
trolled the destinies of America, and \>a.« first in the
chain of events which led on to her levolution, with
all its vast and undeveloped consequences. On the
old battle-ground of Europe, the struggle bore the
same familiar features of violence and horror which
had marked the strife of former generations — fields
ploughed by the cannon ball, and walls shattered by
the exploding mine, sacked towns and blazing sub-
urbs, the lamentations of women, and the license of
a maddened soldiery. But in America, war assumed
a new and striking aspect. A wilderness was its sub-
lime arena. Army met army under the shadows of
primeval woods ; their cannon resounded over wastes
unknown to civilized man. And before the hostile
powers could join in battle, endless forests must be
traversed, and morasses passed, and every where the
axe of the pioneer must hew a path for the bayonet
of the soldier.

Before the declaration of war, and before the break-
ing off of negotiations between the courts of France
and England, the English ministry formed the plan
of assailing the French in America on all sides at

mifrht have been as effectually and neighbors, and fixed the imputation

expeditiously exerted under the usual of fraud and freebooting on the be-

sanction of a formal declaration, the ginning of the war." — Smollett, III.

omission of which exposed the ad- 481. See also Mabon, Hist. Eng

ministration to the censure of our land, IV. 72.

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. IChap. IV,

i)i:'£i

:'i'i i:

once, and rei)elling them, by one bold push, from all
their encroachments.' A provincial ai-my was to ad-
vance upon Acadia, a second was to attack Crown
Point, and a third Niagara ; while the two regiments
which had lately arrived in Virginia under Genend
Braddock, aided by a strong body of provincials, were
to dislodge the French from their newly-built fort of
Du Quesne. To Braddock was assigned the chief
command of all the Ihitish forces in America ; and a
person worse fitted for the office could scarcely have
been found. His experience had been ample, and none
could doubt his courage ; but he was profligate, arro-
gant, perverse, and a bigot to military rules.*^ On his
first arrival in Virginia, he called together the gov-
ernors of the several provinces, in order to explain his
instructions and adjust the details of the projected
operations. These arrangements complete, Braddock
advanced to the borders of Virginia, and formed his
camp at Fort Cumberland, where he spent several

1':!li!i

111!

1 Instructions of Geneml Brad-
dock. See Precis des Fails, 100,
108.

2 The following is Horace Wal-
pole's testimony, and writers of bet-
ter authority have expressed thcin-
selves, with less liveliness and
piquancy, to the same effect : —

" Braddock is a very Iroquois in dis-
position. He had a sister, who, hav-
ing gamed away all her little fortune
at Bath, hanged herself with a truly
English deliberation, leaving only a
note upon the table with those lines,
*To die is landing on some silent
shore,' &c. When Braddock was
told of it, he only said, ' Poor Fanny !
I always thought she would play till
she would be forced to tuck herself
up: "

Here follows a curious anecdote
of Braddock's meanness and profli-

gacy,

which I omit. The next is

more to his credit. "He once had
a duel with Colonel Gumley, Lady
Bath's brother, who had been his
great friend. As they were going to
engage, Gumley, \v\w had good iiu
mor and wit, (Braddock had the lat-
ter,) said, ' Braddock, you are a poor
dog! Here, take my pin-se. If you
kill me, you will be ibto,;d to run
away, and then you will ;iv.it have a
shilling to support you.' Braddock
refused the purse, insisted on the
duel, was disarmed, and would not
even ask his life. However, v ith all
his brutality, he has lately boen gov-
ernor of Gibraltar, where he made
himself adored, and where scarce
any governor was endured before."
— Letters to Sir H. Mann, CCLXV.
CCLXVI.

Washington's opinion of Brad-
dock may be gathered from his
Writings, II. 77.

CUAP. IV.]

MAltCH OF BHADDOCK.

weeks in training the raw backwoodsmen, who joined
him, into such discipline as they seemed capable of;
in collecihig horses and wagons, which could only be
had with the utmost difficulty ; in railing at the con-
tractors, who scandalously cheated him ; and in vent-
ing his spleen by copious abuse of the country and
the people. All at length was ready, and early in
June, 1755, the army left civilization behind, and
struck into the broad wilderness as a squadron puts
out to sea.

It was no easy task to force their way over that
rugged ground, covered with an unbroken growth of
forest; and the diffic. ' y was increased by the need-
less load of baggage which encumbered their march.
The crash of falling trees resounded in the front,
where a hundred axemen labored, with ceaseless toil,
to hew a passage for the army.* The horses strained
their utmost strength to drag the ponderous wagons
over roots and stumps, through gullies and quagmires ;
and the regular troops were daunted by the depth
and gloom of the forest which hedged them in on
either hand, and closed its leafy arches above their
heads. So tedious was their progress, that, by the
advice of Washington, twelve hundred chosen men
moved on in advance with the lighter baggage and
artillery, leaving the rest of the army to follow, by
slower stages, with the heavy wagons. On the eighth
of July, the advanced body reached the Monongahela,
at a point not far distant from Fort du Quesne.
The rocky and impracticable ground on the eastern
side debarred their passage, and the general resolved
to cross the river in search of a smoother path, and

1 MS. Diary of the Expedition, in the British Museum.

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

recross it a few miles lower down, in order to gain f
the fort. The first passage was easily made, and the ;
troops moved, in glittering array, down the western
margin of the water, rejoicing that their goal was
well nigh reached, and the hour of their expected
triumph close at hand.

Scouts and Indian runners had brought the tidings
of Braddock's approach to the trench at Fort du
Quesne. Their dismay was great, and Contrecocur, the
commander, thought only of retreat ; when Beaujcu, a
captain in the garrison, made the bold proposal of
leading out a party of French and Indians to waylay
the English in the woods, and harass or interrupt
their march. The offer was accepted, and Bcaujeu
hastened to the Indian camps.

Around the fort and beneath the adjacent forest
were the bark lodges of savage hordes, whom the
French had mustered from far anf near ; Ojibwas and
Ottawas, Hurons and Caughnawagas, Abenakis and
Delawares. Beaujeu called the warriors together,
flung a hatchet on the ground before them, and in-
vited them to follow him out to battle; but the
boldest stood aghast at the peril, and none would ac-
cept the challenge. A second interview took place
with no better success; but the I'rcnchman was re-
solved to carry his pomt. " I am determined to go,"
he exclaimed. " AVhat, will you suffer your father to
go alone "? " ^ His daring spirit proved contagious.
The warriors hesitated no longer; and when, on the
morning of the ninth of Jidy, a scout ran in with

' Sparks, Life and Writings of scripts, which throw much ligcht on

Washington, II. 47.3. I am indebted the incidents of the battle. These

to the i<indness of President Sparks manuscripts are alluded to in the

for copies of several French manu- Life and Writings of Washington.

lES. [Chap. IV

Chai-. IV.J

THE AMBUSCADE.

the news that the English army was but a few miles
distant, the Indian camps were at once astir with the
turmoil of preparation. Chiefs harangued their yell-
ing followers, braves bedaubed themselves with war-
paint, smeared themselves wdth grease, hung feathers
in their scalp-locks, and whooped and stamped till
they had wrought themselves into a delirium of
valor.

That morning, James Smith, an English prisoner
recently captured on the frontier of Pennsylvania,
stood on the rampart, and saw the half-frenzied mul-
titude thronging about the gateway, where kegs of
bullets and gunpowder were broken open, that each
might help himself at wdll.' Then band after band
hastened away towards the forest, followed and sup-
ported by nearly two hundred and fifty French and
Canadians, commanded by Beaujeu. There were the
Ottawas, led on, it is said, by the remarkable man
whose name stands on the title-page of this history ;
there were the Hurons of Lorette under their chief,
wliom the French called Athanase,^ and many more,
all keen as hounds on the scent of blood. At about
nine miles from the fort, they reached a spot where
the narrow road descended to the river through deep
and gloomy woods, and where two ravines, concealed
by trees and bushes, seemed formed by nature for an
ambuscade. Here the warriors ensconced themselves,
and, levelling their guns over the edge, lay i.i fierce

' Smith's Narrative. This interest-
ing account has been several times
published. It may be found in Drake's
Trairedios of the Wilderness.

'•^ " Went to Lorette, an Indian vil-
latre about eight miles from Quebec.
Saw the Indians at mass, and heard
tliem sing psalms tol^irably well — a

dance. Got well acquainted with
Atlmnase, who was counnander of the
Indians who defeated General Brud-
dock, in 17.'5.5 — a very sensible fel-
low." — MS. Jounud of an English
Gentleman on a Tour th-oitgh Canada,
in 17G5.

COLLISION OF THE KIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

M'^'i^

expectation, listening to the advancing drums of the
English army.

It was past noon of a day brightened with the clear
sunlight of an American midsummer, when the forces
of Braddock began, for a second time, to cross the
Monongahela, at the fording-place, which to this day
bears the name of their ill-fated leader. The scarlet
columns of the British regulars complete in martial
appointment, the rude backwoodsmen with shouldered
rifles, the trains of artillery and the white-topped
wagons, moved on in long procession through the
broad and shallow current, and slowly mounted the
opposing bank.^ Men were there whose names have
become historic; Gage, who, twerity years later, saw
his routed battalions recoil in disorder from before
the breastwork on Bunker Hill; Gates, the future
conqueror of Burgoyne ; and one destined to far loftier
fame, George AVashington, a boy in years, a man in
calm thought and self-ruling wisdom.

With steady and well-ordered march, the troops
advanced into the great labyrinth of woods which
shadowed the eastern borders of the river. Rank
after rank vanished from sight. The forest swallowed
them up, and the silence of the wilderness sank down
once more on the shores and waters of the Monon-
gahela.

Several guides and six light horsemen led the way;
a body of grenadiers was close behind, and the army

' " My foelinprs were heightened
by the wurni anil glowing narration
of that day's events, by Dr. Walker,
who was an eye-witness. He pointed
out tiie ford where the army crossed
the Monongahela, (below Turtle
Creek, 800 yards.) A finer sight could
not have been beheld — the shining
barrels of the muskets, the excellent

order of the men, the cleanliness of
their appearance, the joy depicted on
every face at being so near Fort du
Quesne — the highest object of their
wishes. The music reechoed throiiirli
the hills. How brilliant the morn-
ing — how melancholy the eveninff ! "
— Letter of Judge Yeate3, dated. 'iuffust,
177»;. See Haz., Pa. Reg. VI. 104.

ES. [Chap. IV

ClIAP. IV.]

BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT.

I'ums of the

followed in such order as the rough ground would
pei-mit.^ Their road was tunnelled through the forest ;
yet, deaf alike to the voice of common sense and to
the counsel of his officers, Braddock had neglected to
tlnow out scouts in advance, and pressed forward
in blind security to meet his fate. Leaving behind
the low grounds which bordered on the river, the
van of the army was now ascending a gently-sloping
hill; and here, well hidden by the thick standing
columns of the forest, by mouldering prostrate trunks,
by matted undergrowth, and long rank grasses, lay
on either flank the two fatal ravines where the In-
dian allies of the French were crouched in breathless
ambuscade. No man saw the danger, when sudden-
ly a discordant cry arose in front, and a murderous
fiiG blazed in the teeth of the astonished grenadiers.
Instinctively as it were, the survivors returned the
voUeVj and returned it with good effect ; for a ran-
dom shot struck down the brave Beaujeu, and the
courage of the assailants was staggered by his fall.
Dumas, second in command, rallied them to the at-
tack; and while he, with the French and Canadians,
made good the pass in front, the Indians opened a
deadly fire on the right and left of the British col-
umns.- In a few moments, all was confusion. The
advanced guard fell back on the main body, and
every trace of subordination vanished. The fire soon
extended along the whole length of the army,
from front to rear. Scarce an enemy could be seen,
though the forest resounded with their yells ; though
every bush and tree was alive with incessant flashes ;

Ymlf-s, dated Jlvf^vi^^

I Plans of Bradclock's march, in the Library of Harvard College.
3 Sparks, II. 473

100

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

though the lead flew like a hailstorm, and with every
moment the men went doAvn by scores. The regular
troops seemed bereft of their senses. They huddled
together in the road like flocks of sheep; and happy
did he think himself who could wedge his way into the
midst of the crowd, and place a barrier of human flcsli
between his life and the shot of the ambushed mark!«-
men. Many were seen eagerly loading their muskets,
and then firing them into the air, or shooting their own
comrades, in the insanity of their terror. The officers,
for the most part, displayed a conspicuous gallantry;
but threats and commands were wasted alike on
the panic-stricken multitude. It is said that at the
outset Braddock showed signs of fear; but he soon
recovered his wonted intrepidity. Five horses were
shot under him, and five times he mounted afresh.'
He stormed and shouted, and, while the Virginians
were fighting to good purpose, each man behind a tree.
like the Indians themselves, he ordered them with fu-
rious menace to form in platoons, where the fire of tlie
enemy mowed them down like grass. At length, a
mortal shot silenced him, and two provincials bore
him off" the field. Washington rode through the tu-
mult calm and undaunted. Two horses Avere killed
under him, and four bullets pierced his clothes ; ^ but
his hour was not come, and he escaped without a
wound. Gates was shot through the body, and Gage
also was severely wounded. Of eighty-six officers,
only twenty-three remained unhurt; and of twelve
hundred soldiers who crossed the Monongahela, more
than seven hundred were killed and wounded. None

1 Letter — Captain Orme, his aide-de-camp, to , July 18,

2 Sparks, I. 67.

Chap. IV.] RESULTS OF BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT.

101

sufFored more severely than the Virgmians, who had
displayed throughout a degree of courage and steadi-
ness which put the cowardice of the regulars to
shame. The havoc among them was terrible, for of
their whole number scarcely one fifth left the field
alive. ^

The slaughter lasted three hours ; when, at length,
the survivors, as if unpelled by a general impulse,
rushed tumultuously from the place of carnage, and
with dastardly precipitation fied across the Monon-
giihela. The enemy did not pursue beyond the river,
Hocking back to the field to collect the plunder, and
gather a rich harvest of scalps. The routed troops
pursued their flight until they met the rear division of
the army under Colonel Dunbar; and even then their
senseless terrors did not abate. Dunbar's soldiers
caught the infection. Cannon, baggage, and wagons
were destroyed, and all fled together, eager to escape
from the shadows of those awful woods, whose hor-
rors haunted their imagination. They passed the de-
fenceless settlements of the border, and hurried on to
Philadelphia, lea^ing the unhappy people to defend
themselves as they might against the tomahawk and
scalping-knife.

The calamities of this disgraceful overthrow did not
cease with the loss of a few hundred soldiers on the

' " The Virginia troops sliowed a
gooil (leal of bravery, and were nearly
all killed ; for I believe, out of three
coinpiinies that were there, scarcely
thirty men are left alive. Captain
Poyrouny, and all his officers, down
to !i corporal; wore killed. Captain
Poison had nearly as hard a fate, for
only one of his was left. In short, the
dastardly behavior of those they call
regulars exposed all others, that were

inclined to do their duty, to almost
certain death ; and at last, in despite
of all the efforts of the officers to the
contrary, they ran, as sheep pursued
by dogs, and it was impossible to
rally tliem." — fVrttings of fFashing'
ton, II. 87.

The English themselves bore re-
luctant testimony to the good con-
duct of the Virginians. — See Entick,
Hist. Late War, 147.

;il !:

102

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Cnxp. IV.

IHii

field of battle ; for it entailed upon the provinces all
the miseries of an Indian war. Those among the
tribes who had thus far stood neutral, wavering be-
tween the French and English, now hesitated no
longer. Many of them had been disgusted by tlie
contemptuous behavior of Braddock. All had learned
to despise the courage of the English, and to regard
their own prowess with unbounded complacency. It
is not in Indian nature to stand quiet in the midst
of war ; and the defeat of Braddock was a signal for
the western savages to snatch their tomahawks and
assail the English settlements with one accord; to
murder and pillage with ruthless fury, and turn the
whole frontier of Pennsylvania and Virginia into one
wide scene of woe and desolation.

The three remaining expeditions which the British
ministry had planned for that year's campaign were
attended with various results. Acadia was quickly
reduced by the forces of Colonel Monkton ; but the
glories of this easy victory were tarnished by an act
of high-handed oppression. Seven thousand of the
unfortunate people, refusing to take the prescribed
oath of allegiance, were seized by the conquerors, torn
from their homes, placed on shipboard like cargoes
of negro slaves, nad transported to the British prov-
inces.^ The expedition against Niagara was a total
failure, for the troops did not even reach their des-
tination. The movement against Crown Point met
with no better success as regards the main object of
'l^r enterprise. Owing to the lateness of the season,
' ji other causes, the troops proceeded no farther than
' .e George ; but the attempt was marked by an

I Haliburton, Hist Nova Scotia, I. Chap. IV.

;S. [Chap. IV.

Cbap. IV.]

BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE.

103

achievement of arms, v^^hich, in that day of failui-es,
was greeted, both in England and America, as a signal
victory. '

General, afterwards Sir William Johnson had been
charge d with the conduct of the Crown Point expedi-
tion ; and his little army, a rude assemblage of hunters
and farmers from New York and New England, lay
encamped at the southern extremity of Lake George.
Here, while they languidly piu'sued their preparations,
their active enemy anticipated their designs. Baron
Dicskau, who, with a strong body of troops, had
reached Quebec in the scpiadron which sailed from
Brest in the spring, had intended to take forcible pos-
session of the fort of Oswego, erected upon ground
claimed by the French as part of Canada. Learning
Johnson's movements, he changed his plan, crossed
Lake Chami)lain, made a circuit by way of Wood
Cif^ek, and gained the rear of the English aimy, with
a force of about two thousand French and Indians.
At midnight, on the seventh of September, the tidings
reached Johnson that the army of the French baron
was but a few miles distant from his camp. A council
of war was called, and the strange resolution formed
of detaching a thousand men to meet the enemy. " If
they are to be killed," said Hendrick, the Mohawk
chief, " they are too many ; if they are to fight, they
are too few." His remonstrance was unheeded, and
the brave old savage, unable, from age and corpulence,
to fight on foot, mounted his horse, and joined the
English detachment with two himcked of his warriors.
At sunrise, the party defiled from the camp, and, enter-
ing the forest, disappeared from the eyes of their
comrades.

Those who remained behind labored with all the

iftllillit";"!

104

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES [Chap. IV.

IIS

P:-

energy of alarm to fortify their unprotected camp.
An hour elapsed, when from the distance was heard a
sudden explosion of musketiy. The excited soldiers
suspended theu* work to listen. A rattling fire suc-
ceeded, deadened among the woods, but growing louder
and nearer, till none could doubt that their comrades
had met the French, and were defeated.

This was indeed the case. Marcliing through thick
woods, by the narrow and newly-cut road which led
along the valley stretching southward from Lake
George, Williams, the English commander, had led his
men full into an ambuscade, where all Dieskau's army
lay in wait to receive them. From the woods on both
sides rose an appalling shout, followed by a storm of
bullets. Williams was soon shot down ; Hendrick
shared his fate ; many officers fell, and the road was
strewn with dead and wounded soldiers. The English
gave way at once. Had they been regidar troops, the
result would have been most fatal ; but every man was
a woodsman and a hunter. Some retired in bodies
along the road ; but the greater part spread themselves
through the forest, opposmg a wide front to the enemy,
and fighting stubbornly as they retreated. They shot
back at the French from behind every tree or bush that
could afford a cover. The Canadians and Indians
pressed them closely, darting, with shrill cries, from
tree to tree, while Dieskau's regulars, with steadier
advance, bore all before them. Far and wide through
the forest rang shout, and shriek, and Indian whoop,
nmigled with the deadly rattle of guns. Retreating
and pursuing, the combatants passed northward towards
the English camp, leaving the ground behind them
strewn with dead and dying.

A fresh detachment from the camp came in aid of

.^1

ES [Chap. IV.

Cuu'. IV.]

BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE.

105

the English, and the pursuit was checked. Yet the
retreating men were not the less rejoiced when they
could discern, between the brown columns of the
woods, the mountains and waters of Lake George,
with the white tents of theii' encampments on its
shore. The French followed no farther. The blast
of their trumpets was heard recalling their scattered
men for a final attack.

During the absence of Williams' detachment, the
main body of the anny had covered the front of their
camp with a breastwork, if that name can be applied
to a roAv of logs, bchhid which the marksmen lay flat
on their faces. This preparation was not yet complete,
when the defeated troops appeared issuing from the
woo^^^ Breathless and perturbed, they entered the
car and lay down with the rest. Full of dismal
forebodings, the army waited the attack. Soon, at the
edge of the woods which bordered the open space in
front, painted Indians were seen, and bayonets glittered
among the foliage, sliining, in the homely comparison
of a New England soldier, like a row of icicles on a
January moniing. The French rcgidars marched in
cohnnn to the edge of the clearing, and formed in line,
confrontmg the English at the distance? of a hundred
and fifty yards. Their com})lete order, their wliite
uniforms and bristlmg bayonets, were a new and
startling sight to the eyes of Johnson's rustic soldiers,
who raised but a feeble cheer in answer to the shouts
of theu' enemies. Happily, Dieskau made no assault.
The regulars opened a distant fire, throwing volley
after volley of musketry against the English, wliile the
Canadians and Indians, dispersing through the morasses
on each flank of the camp, fired sharply, under cover
of the trees and bushes. In the rear,
U

the English

li'; |f

lin^ i i .Kl; i.T

106

COLLISION OF THE RIV.VL COLONIES. [Chap. IV.

were protected by the lake ; but on tlu; tlircc remaining
sides, they were hedged in by the flash and smoke of
musketry.

The fire of tlie French had little effect. The Eng-
lish recovered from their first surprise, and every
moment their confidence rose higher and tlieir shouts
grew louder. Levelling their long hunting guns with
cool precision, they returned a fire which thinned the
ranks of the French, and galled them beyond endurance.
Two cannon were soon brought to bear upon the mo-
rasses which sheltered the Canadians and Indians ; and
though the pieces were served with little skill, the
assailants were so terrified by the crashing of the
balls among the trunks and branches, that they gave
way at once. Dieskau still persisted in the attack.
From noon until past four o'clock, the firing was
scarcely abated, when, at length, the French, who had
suffered extremely, showed signs of wavering. At
this, witli a general shout, the English broke from
their camp, and rushed upon their enemies, striking
them down with the huts of their guns, and driving
them through the woods like deer. Dieskau was
taken prisoner, dangerously wounded, and leaning for
support against the stump of a tree. The slaugh-
ter would have been great, had not the English gen-
eral recalled the pursuers, and suftered the French to
continue their flight unmolested. Fresh disasters still
awaited the fugitives ; for, as they approached the
scene of that morning's ambuscade, they were greeted
by a volley of musketry. Two companies of New
York and New Hampshire rangers, who had come
out from Fort Edward as a scouting party, had lain
in wait to receive them. Favored by the darkness of
the woods, — for night was now approaching, — they

IC(

]ti(

|vi

lES. [Chap. IV.

Chap. IV.]

PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

107

rec remaining
iiid smoke of

ct. The Eng.
5e, and evorv
I tlicir shouts
ing guns "with
li thinned tlie
)nd endurance,
upon the mo-
. Indians ; and
ttle skill, the
ishing of the
that they gave
in the attack,
he firing was
mch, who had
k^avering. At
1 broke from
jmies, striking
s, and driving
Dieskau was
d leaning for
The slaugh-
English gen-
he French to
disasters still
preached the
were greeted
nies of New
10 had come
irty, had lain
e darkness of
ching, — they

made so sudden and vigorous an attack, that the
French, though far superior in number, were totally
Irouted and dispersed.*

On this day, the British colonists of America, for
Ithe first time, encountered in battle the trained sol-
diers of Europe. That memorable conflict has cast
its dark associations over one of the most beautiful

spots

in America. Near the scene of the evening

iiglit, a pool, half overgrown by weeds and water lilies,
and darkened by the surrounding forest, is pointed out
to the tourist, and he is told that beneath its stagnant
waters lie the bones of three hundred Frenchmen,
[deep buried in mud and slime.

The war thus begun was prosecuted for five succeed-
|ing years with the full energy of both nations. The
[period was one of suffering and anxiety to the colonists,
[who, knowing the full extent of their danger, spared
[no exertion to avert it. In the year 1758, Lord Aber-
[crombie, who then commanded in America, had at his

' Holmes, II. 210. Trnmbiill, Hist.
Conn. II. 3(18. DwijTht, Travels, III.
3(il. Hoyi, Indian Wars, a7'J. En-
^|tick, Hist. Late War, I. 153. Re-
view of Military Operations in North
Aiiioricii. Johnson's Letter to the
Provincial Governors. Blodjjett's
Prospective View of the Battle near
Laki' (icorixe.

lilodtfctt's pamphlet is acconipa-
niod by a curious engravin^f, giving
a bird's eye view of the battle, in-
cluding tlie surprise of Williams'
dntdcliment, and the subsequent at-
tack on the camp of Johnson. In
tlie tirst half of the engraving, the
Frencii army is represented lying in
ambuscade in the form of a horse-
shoe. Hendrick is conspicuous among
tiie English, from being mounted on
horseback, while all the others are
on foot. In the view of the battle at
jUie lake, the Englisli are represented

lying flat on their faces, behind their
breastwork, and busily firing at the
J'rench and Indians, who are seen
skulking amonsr the woods and
thickets.

I am again indebted to President
Sparks for the opportunity of exam-
ining several curious manuscripts re-
lating to the battle of Lake George.
Among them is Dieskau's official ac-
count of the afTliir, and a curious
paper, also written by the defeated
general, and containing the story of
his disaster, as related by himsolf
in an imaginary conversation with
his old commander. Marshal Saxe,
in the Elysian Fields. Several wri-
ters have stated that Dieskau died of
his wounds. This, however, was
not the case. He was carried pris-
oner to England, where he lived for
several years, but returned to France
after tlie peace of 17G3.

108

COLLISION OF THE RIVAI. COLONIES. [Chap. IV

disposal a force amounting to fifty thousand men, of
wlioin the gHMiter part were provincials.' The opt'ia* |
tions of the war enihrac(>d a wide extent of couutrv.
from Cape Breton and Nova Scotia to the sources of
the Ohio ; but nowhere was tlie contest so activtlv
carried on as in the neif^liborhood of liake George, tin
waters of which, joined with those of Lake Cham[)l;iiii,
formed the main avenue of communication betwiriil
Canada and the Briti^'h provinces. Lake George; is
more than thirty miles long, but of width so bli<,'lu|
that it seems like some broad and placid river, cndoswl
between ranges of lofty mountains; now contracting; |
into narrows, thickly dotted with islands and sIukIowkI
by cliffs and precipices, and now spreading hito ai
clear and open cxi)anse. It had long been known tJ
the French. The Jesuit Isaac Jogues, bound on A
fatal mission to the ferocious Mohawks, had readud
its banks on the eve of Corpus Christi Day, aiiii
named it Lac St. Sacrcment. Its solitude was now
rud(>ly invaded. Armies passed and repassed upon its
tranquil bosom. At its northern point the Freiiclij
planted thc'iv stronghold of Ticoiideroga ; at its south-
ern stood the English fort William Henry, while tlifi
mountains and w^aters between were a scene of ceaseless
j.mbuscadcs, surprises, and forest skirmishing. Throiigli
summer and winter, the crack oi' rifles and the cikj|
of men gave no rest to their Cil'.oes, and at this day,
the field of many a forgotten fight, are dug up rusty I
tomahawks, corroded bullets, and human bones, to|
attest the struggles of the past.

The earlier years of the war were unpropitious to I
the English, whose commanders displayed no great I

1 Holmes, II. 22a

[ES. [Ciur.IvM CHAP.IV.I

OSWEGO — FORT WILLIAM IIENIIY.

109

hud roaclic'd

dc^M-cc of v\^ov or abilit). In the summer of 1750,
the French general ^lontculm tidviinccd upon Oswcjj^o,
took it, iind lovidh'd it to the f:!;r()und. In Au«^ust
of the followin«>; year, he struck a hc^ivier bh)w.
Passiujif Lake Cieorge with a force of eijjflit tliousand
men, indndin}^ about two thousand Indians, <j[atliered
from tlie farthest parts of Canada, he laid sie<;e to Fort
William Henry, close to the spot where Dieskau liad
been defeated two years before. Erecting liis batteries
agiiinst it, he beat down its rampjirts and dismounted
its gmis, until the garrison, after a brave defence;, were
forced to capituliite. They marched out with the hon-
ors of war ; but scarcely had they done so, when
Montcalm's Indians assailed them, cutting down and
scalping them without mercy. Those who escaped
came in to Fort Edward with exaggenited accounts
of the horrors from which they had fled, and a general
terror was spread through the country. The inhab-
itants were mustered from all parts to repel the ad-
vance of INIontcalm ; but the French general, satisfied
with what he had done, repassed Lake George, and
retired behind the walls of Ticonderoga.

In the year 1758, the war began to assume a differ-
ent aspect, for Pitt was at the head of the government.
Sir Jeffrey Amherst laid siege to the strong fortress
of Louisburg, and at length reduced it ; while in the
south, General Forbes marched against Fort du Qucsne,
and, more fortunate than his predecessor, Braddock,
drove the French from that important point. Another
successful stroke was the destruction of Fort Fron-
tcnac, which was taken by a provincial army under
Colonel Bradstreet. These achievements were coun-
terbalanced by a signal disaster. Lord Abercrombie,
with an army of sixteen thousand men, advanced to

110

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV,

the head of Lake George, the place made memorable
by Dieskau's defeat and the loss of Fort William
Henry. On a brilliant July morning, he embarked
his whole force for an attack on Ticonderoga. Many
of those present have recorded with admiration the
beauty of the spectacle, the lines of boats filled with
troops stretching far down the lake, the flashing of
oars, the glitter of weapons, and the music ringing
back from crags and rocks, or dying in mellowed
strains among the distant mountains. At night, tlie
army landed, and, driving in the French outposts.
marched through the woods towards Ticonderofi;;!.
One of their columns, losing its way in the forest, fell
in with a body of the retreating French ; and in the
conflict that ensued, Lord Howe, the favorite of the
army, was shot dead. On the eighth of July, they
prepared to storm the lines which Montcalm had drawn
across the peninsula in front of the fortress. Ad\aii-
cing to the attack, they saw before them a breastwork
of uncommon height and thickness. The French nriiiy
were drawn up behind it, their heads alone visible. a>
they levelled their muskets against the assailants, while.
for a hundred yards in front of the work, the ground
was covered with felled trees, with sharpened branches
pointing outward. The signal of assault was given
In vain the Highlanders, screaming with rage, hewed
"WJ'h their broadswords among the branches, struggling
to get at the enemy. In vain the English, with tluir
deep-toned shout, rushed on in heavy column?;. .\
tempest of musket balls met them, and Montcalm's
cannon swept the whole ground with terrible carnage.
A few officers and men forced their way through the
branches, passed the ditch, climbed the breastwork, and.
leaping among the enemy, were instantly bayonetted

[ES. [Chap. IV,

Chap. IV.|

STATE OF CANADA.

Ill

Yet, though the English fought four hours Tvith
determined valor, the position of the French was im-
pregnable ; and at length, having lost two thousand
of their number, the anny drew off, leaving many of
their dead scattered upon the field. A sudden panic
seized the defeated troops. They rushed in haste to
their boats, and, though no pursuit was attempted,
they did not regain their composure until Lake George
was between them and the enemy. The fatal lines
of Ticonderoga were not soon forgotten in the prov-
inces; and marbles in Westminster Abbey preserve
the memory of those who fell on that disastrous day.

This repulse, far from depressing the energies of
the British commanders, seemed to stimulate them to
new exertion ; and the campaign of the next year,
1759, had for its object the immediate and total re-
duction of Canada. This unhappy country was full
of misery and disorder. Peculation and every kind
of corruption prevailed among its civil and military
chiefs, a reckless licentiousness was increasing among
the people, and a general famine seemed impending,
for the population had of late years been drained
away for nrilitary service, and the fields were left un-
tilled. In spite of their sufferings, the Canadians,
strong in rooted antipathy to the English, and highly
excited by their priests, resolved on fighting to the
last. Prayers were offered up in the churches, masses
said, and penances enjoined, to avert the wrath of God
from the colony, while every thing was done for its
defence which the energies of a great and patriotic
leader could effect.^

By the plan of this summer's campaign, Canada

I Smith, Hist. Canada, I. Chap. VI.

112

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

1i ill
1)

III

was to be assailed on three sides at oii^e. Upon the
west, General Prideaux was to attack Niagara ; upon
the south, General Amherst was to advance upon
Ticonderoga and CroAvn Point; while upon the east,
General Wolfe was to besiege Quebec; and each of
these armies, having accomplished its particular ob-
ject, was directed to push forward, if possible, until
all three had united their forces in the heart of
Canada. In pursuance of the plan, General Prideaux
moved up Lake Ontario and invested Niagara. This
post was one of the greatest importance. Its capture
would cut off the French from the whole interior
country, and they therefore made every effort to raise
the siege. An army of seventeen hundred French
and Indians, collected at the distant garrisons of De-
troit, Presqu'Isle, Le Bocuf, and Venango, suddenly
appeared before Niagara.^ Sir William Johnson was
now in command of the English, Prideaux having
been killed by the bursting of a coliorn. Advancing
in order of battle, he met the French, charged, rout-
ed, and pursued them for five miles through the
woods. This success was soon followed by the sur-
render of the fort.

In the mean time. Sir Jeffrey Amherst had crossed
Lake George, and appeared before Ticonderoga; upon
which the French blew up their works, and retired
down Lake Champlain to Crown Point. Retreating
from tliis position also, on the approach of the Eng-
lish army, they collected all their forces, amounting
to little more than three thousand men, at Isle Aux
Noix, where they intrenched themselves, and prepared
to resist the farther progress of the invaders. The

* Annual Register, 1759, p. 33.

Chap. IV.]

WOLFE BEFORE QUEBEC.

113

ossible, until

lateness of the season prevented Amherst from carry-
ing out the plan of advancing into Canada, and com-
pelled him to go into winter-quarters at Crown Point.
The same cause had withheld Prideaux's araiy from
descending the St. Lawrence.

While the outposts of Canada were thus success-
fully attacked, a blow was struck at a more vital
part. Early in June, General Wolfe sailed up the
St. Lawrence with a force of eight thousand men, and
formed his camp immediat<3ly below the city, on the
Island of Orleans.^ From thence he could discern,
at a single glance, how arduous was the task before
him. Piles of lofty clifis rose with sheer ascent on
the northern border of the river; and from their
summits the boasted citadel of Canada looked down
in proud security, with its churches and convents of
stone, its ramparts, bastions, and batteries, while over
them all, from the very brink of the precipice, towered
the massive walls of the Castle of St. Louis. Above,
for many a league, the bank was guarded by an un-
broken range of steep acclivities. Below, the River
St. Charles, flowing into the St. Lawrence, washed
the base of the rocky promontory on which the city
stood. Lower yet lay an aimy of fourteen thousand
men, under an able and renowned commander, the
Marquis of Montcalm. His front was covered by in-
trenchments and batteries, which lined the bank of
the St. Lawrence ; his right wing rested on the city
and the St. Charles; his left on the cascade and deep
gulf of Montmorenci ; and thick forests extended along
Ills rear. Opposite Quebec rose the high promontory
of Point Levi; and the St. Lawrence, contracted to

^ Mante, Hist. Late War, 238.

114

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

!•: !l'

II-..-: : jl

mMzL:'J

less than a mile in width, flowed between, with deep
and powerful current. To a chief of less resolute
temper, it might well have seemed that art and nature
were in league to thwart his enterprise ; but a mind
like that of Wolfe could only have seen in this ma-
jestic combination of forest and cataract, mountain
and river, a fitting theatre for the great drama about
to be enacted there.

Yet nature did not seem to have formed the young
English general for the conduct of a doubtful and
almost desperate enterprise. His person was slight,
and his features by no means of a martial cast. His
feeble constitution had been undermined by years of
protracted and painful disease.' His kind and genia!
disposition seemed better fitted for the quiet of do-
mestic life, than for the stern duties of military com-
mand; but to these gentler traits he joined a high
enthusiasm, and an unconquerable spirit of daring
and endurance, which made him the idol of his sol-
diers, and bore his slender frame through every hard-
ship and exposure.

The work before him demanded all his courage,
How to invest the city, or even bring the army of
Montcalm to action, was a problem which might have
perplexed a Hannibal. A French fleet lay in the river
above, and the precipices along the northern bank
were guarded at every accessible point by sentinels

1 " I huvo this day signified to Mr.
Pitt that he may dispose of my slifjht
carcass as he pleases, and that I am
ready for any undertaking within the
reach and compass of my siiill and
cunning. I am in a very bad con-
dition, both with the gravel and rheu-
matism ; but I had much rather die
than decline any kind of service that
offers : if I followed my own tuate, it

would lead me into Germany ; and if
my poor talent was consulted, they
should place me to the cavalry, be-
cause nature has given me good eyes,
and a warmth of temper to follow the
first impressions. However, it is not
our part to choose, but to obey." —
Letter — fVolfe to William Richon,
Salisbury, December 1, 17.58.

ES. [Chap. IV

Chap. IV.l

ASSAULT AT MONTMORENCL

115

m, with deep
less resolute
,rt and nature
i but a mind
1 in this ma-
Lct, mountain
drama about

led the young
doubtful and
a was slight,
ial cast. Ills
I by years of
lid and genial
! quiet of do-
military com-
oined a high
rit of daring
ol of his sol-
1 every hard-

his courage,

the army of

1 might have

ly in the river

orthern bank

by sentinels

Germany ; and if
as consulted, they
to the cavalry, be-
iven me good eyes,
imper to follow the
However, it is not
, but to obey." —
William Richon,
1, 1758.

and outposts. Wolfe would have crossed the Mont-
morcnci by its upper ford, and attacked the French
army on its left and rear ; but the plan was thwarted
by the nature of the ground and the sleepless vigi-
lance of his adversaries. Thus baffled at every other
point, he formed the bold design of storming Mont-
calm's position in front ; and on the afternoon of the
thirty-first of July, a strong body of troops was em-
barked in boats, and, covered by a furious camion ade
from the English ships and batteries, landed on the
beach just above the mouth of the Montmorcnci.
The grenadiers and Iloyal Americans were the first
on shore, and their ill-timed impetuosity proved the
ruin of the plan. AYithout waiting to receive their
orders or form their ranks, they ran, pellmell, across
the level ground between, and with loud shouts be-
gan, each man for himself, to scale the heights which
rose in front, crested with intrenchments and bristling
wi<^h hostile arms. The French at the top threw
volley after volley among the hotheaded assailants.
The slopes were soon covered with the fallen ; and
at that instant a storm, which had long been threat-
ening, burst with sudden fury, drenched the combat-
ants on both sides with a deluge of rain, extinguished
for a moment the fire of the French, and at the same
time made the steeps so slippery that the grenadiers
fell repeatedly in their vain attempts to climb. Night
Was coming on with double darkness. The retreat
was sounded, and, as the English reembarked, troops
of Indians came whooping down the heights, and
hovered about their rear, to murder the stragglers
and the wounded ; while exulting shouts and cries of
Vive le roi, from the crowded summits, proclaimed
the triumph of the enemy.

116

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV,

HI'

iV.-

Wii

liii'li'

With bitter agony of mind, Wolfe beheld the head-
long folly of his men, and saw more than four hun-
dred of the flower of his army fall a useless sacri-
fice.* The anxieties of the siege had told severely
upon his slender constitution ; and not long after this
disaster, he felt the first symptoms of a fever, which
soon confined him to his couch. Still his mind never
wavered from its purpose; and it was while Ipng
helpless in the chamber of a Canadian house, where
he had fixed his head-quarters, that he embraced the
plan of that heroic enterprise which robbed him of
life, and gave him immortal fame.

The plan i ari en first proposed during the height
of Wolfe's illness, at a council of his subordinate
generals, Monkt ^i, "^ .^•nshend, and Murray. It was
resolved to divide the little army, and, while one por-
tion remained before Quebec to alarm the enemy by
false attacks, and distract their attention from the
scene of actual operation, the other was to pass above
the town, land under cover of darkness on the north-
ern shore, climb the guarded heights, gain the plains
above, and force Montcalm to quit his vantage-ground,
and perhaps to offer battle. The scheme was daring
even to rashness; but its singular audacity was the
secret of its success.

Early in September, a crowd of ships and trans-
ports, under Admiral Holmes, passed the city amidst
the hot firing of its batteries; while the troops de-
signed for the expedition, amounting to scarcely five
thousand, marched upward along the southern bank,
beyond reach of the cannonade. All were then cm-
barked; and on the evening of the twelfth. Holmes'

1 Knox, Journals, I. 358.

Chap. IV.]

HEROISM OF WOLFE.

117

fleet, with the troops on board, lay safe at anchor in
the river, several leagues above the town. These
operations had not failed to awaken the suspicions
of Montcalm; and he had detached M. Bougainville
to watch the movements of the English, and prevent
their landing on the northern shore.

The eventful night of the twelfth was clear and
calm, with no light but that of the stars. Within
two hours before daybreak, thirty boats, crowded with
sixteen huncked soldiers, cast off from the vessels,
and floated downward, in perfect order, with the cur-
rent of the ebb tide. To the boundless joy of the
anny, Wolfe's malady had abated, and he was able
to command in person. His ruined health, the gloomy
prospects of the siege, and the disaster at Montmo-
rcnci, had oppressed him with the deepest melancholy,
but never impaired for a moment the promptness of
his decisions, or the impetuous energy of his action.*
He sat in the stern of one of the boats, pale and
weak, but borne up to a calm height of resolu-
tion. Every order had been given, every arrangement
made, and it only remained to face the issue. The
ebbing tide suflficed to bear the boats along, and noth-
ing broke the sUence of the night but the gurgling

1 Entick, IV. 111.

In his Letter to the Ministry, dated
Sept. 2, Wolfe writes in these de-
sponding words : —

" By the nature of tlie river, the
most formidable part of this arma-
ment is deprived of the power of act-
ing ; yet we have almost the whole
force of Canada to oppose. In this
situation there is such a choice of
difficulties, that I own myself at a
loss how to determine. The affairs
of Great Britain I know require the
most vigorous measures, but tlien the

courage of a handful of brave troops
should be exerted only where there
is some hope of a favorable event.
However, you may be assured, that
the small part of the campaign which
remains shall be employed (as far aa
I am able) for the honor of his Majes-
ty, and the interest of the nation ; in
which I am sure of being well sec-
onded by the admiral and by the
generals: happy if our efforts here
can contribute to the success of hia
Majesty's arms in any other part of
America."

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

of the river and the low voice of Wolfe as he re-
peated to the officers about him the stanzas of Gray's
Elegy in a Country Churchyard, which had recently
appeared, and which he had just received from Eng-
land. Perhaps, as he uttered those strangely appropri-
ate words,

" The paths of glory lead but to the grave,"

the shadows of his own approaching fate stole with
mournful prophecy across his mind. " Gentlemen,"
he said, as he closed his recital, "I would rather
have written those lines than take Quebec to-morrow."'
As they approached the landing-place, the boats
edged closer in towards the northern shore, and the
woody precipices rose high on their left, like a wall
of undistinguished blackness.

Qui vive?" shouted a French sentinel, from out
the impervious gloom.

" La France ! " answered a captain of Eraser's
Highlanders, from the foremost boat.

"yl quel regiment?'' demanded the soldier.

" De la Heine ! " promptly replied the Highland
captain, who chanced to know that the corps so des-
ignated formed part of Bougainville's command. As
boats were frequently passing down the river with
supplies for the garrison, and as a convoy from Bou-
gainville was expected that very night, the sentinel
was deceived, and allowed the English to proceed

1 "This anecdote was related by
the late celebrated John Robison, Pro-
fessor of Natural Philosophy in the
University of Edinburgh, who, in his
youth, was a midshipman in the Brit-
ish navy, and was in the same boat
with Wolfe. His son, my kinsman,
Sir John Robison, communicated it
JO me, and it has since been recorded

in the Transactions of the Royal So-
ciety of Edinburgh.

' The paths of glory lead but to the grave '

is one of the lines which Wolfe must
have recited as he strikingly exem-
plified its application." — Grahaine,
Hist. U. S. IV. 50. See also Play-
fair's Works, IV. 126.

Chap. IV.]

THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM.

119

i-moiTow.

A few moments after, they were challenged again,
and this time they could discern the soldier running
close down to the water's edge, as ii* all his suspicions
were aroused ; but the skilful replies of the Highlander
once more saved the party from discovery.^

They reached the landing-place in safety — an in-
dentation in the shore, about a league above the city,
and now bearing the name of \yolfe's Cove. Here a
narrow path led up the face of the heights, and a
French guard was posted at the top to defend the
pass. By the force of the current, the foremost boats,
including that which carried Wolfe himself, were borne
a little below the spot. The general was one of the
first on shore. He looked upward at the rugged
heights which towered al)ove him in the gloom. " You
can try it," he coolly observed to an officer near him ;
"but I don't think you'll get up."^

At the point where the Highlanders landed, one of
their captains, Donald Macdonald, apparently the same
whose presence of mind had just saved the enterprise
from ruin, was climbing in advance of his men, when
he was challenged by a sentinel. He replied in
French, by declaring that he had been sent to relieve
the guard, and ordering the soldier to withdraw.' Be-
fore the latter was undeceived, a crowd of Highlanders
were close at hand, while the steeps below were
thronged with eager climbers, dragging themselves up
by trees, roots, and bushes."* The guard turned out,

1 Smollett, V. 56, note, (Edinburgh,
1805J Mante simply mentions that
the English were challenged by the
Bentinels, and escaped discovery by
replying in French.

'■* This incident is mentioned in a
aianuscript journal of the siege of

Quebec, by John Johnson, clerk and
quartermaster in the 58th regiment.
The journal is written with great
care, and abounds in curious details.

3 Knox, Journal, II. (38, note.

4 Despatch of Admiral Saunders,
Sept 20, 1759.

120

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

and made a brief though brave resistance. In a mo-
ment, they were cut to pieces, dispersed, or made pris-
oners ; while men after men came swarming up the
height, and quickly fonned upon the plains above.
Meanwhile, the vessels had dropped downward with
the current, and anchored opposite the landing-pliico,
The remaining troops were disembarked, and, with
the dawn of day, the whole were brought in safety
to the shore.

The sun rose, and, from the ramparts of Quebec, the
astonished people saw the Plains of Abraham glittering
with arms, and the dark-red lines of the English form-
ing in array of battle. Breathless messengers liad
borne the evil tidings to Montcalm, and far and near
his wide-extended camp resounded with the rolling of
alarm drums and the din of startled preparation. lie
too had had his struggles and his sorrows. The civil
power had thwarted him ; famine, discontent, and dis-
affection were rife among his soldiers ; and no small
portion of the Canadian militia had dispersed from
sheer starvation. In spite of all, he had trusted to
hold out till the winter frosts should drive the mvaders
from before the town ; when, on that disastrous morn-
ing, the news of their successful temerity fell like a
cannon shot upon his ear. Still he assumed a tone of
confidence. " They have got to the weak side of us at
last," he is reported to have said, " and we must crush
them with our numbers." With headlong haste, his
troops were pouring over the bridge of the St. Charles,
and gathering in heavy masses under the western ram-
parts of the town. Could numbers give assurance of
success, their triumph would have been secure ; for five
French battalions and the armed colonial peasantry
amounted in all to more than seven thousand five

Chap. IV.]

BATTLE OF QUEBEC.

121

hundred men. Full in sight before them stretched the
long, thin lines of the British forces — the half-wild
Highlanders, the steady soldiery of England, and the
hardy levies of the provinces — less than five thousand
in number, but all inured to battle, and strong in the
full assurance of success. Yet, could the chiefs of
that gallant army have pierced the secrets t f the future,
could they have foreseen that the victory whicli they
burned to achieve would have robbed England of her
proudest boast, that the conquest of Canada would
pave the way for the independence of America, their
swords would have dropped from their hands, and the
heroic fire have gone out within their hearts.

It was nine o'clock, and the adverse armies stood
motionless, each gazing on the other. The clouds hung
low, and, at intervals, warm light showers descended,
besprinkling both alike. The coppice and cornfields
in front of the British troops were filled with French
sharpshooters, who kept up a distant, spattering fire.
Here and there a soldier fell in the ranks, and the gap
was filled in silence.

At a little before ten, the British could see that
Montcalm was preparing to advance, and, in a few
moments, all his troops appeared in rapid motion.
They came on in three divisions, shouting after the
manner of their nation, and firing heavily as soon as
they came within range. In the British ranks, not a
trigger was pulled, not a soldier stirred; and their
ominous composure seemed to damp the spirits of the
assailants. It was not till the French were within
forty yards that the fatal word was given. At once,
from end to end of the British line, the muskets rose
to the level, as if with the sway of some great ma-
(;hine, and the whole blazed forth at once in one crash-
16 K

122

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Ciur. IV

wtiH'r-

ing explosion. Like a ship at f\ill career, arrested with
sudden ruin on a sunken rock, the columns of jSIoiit-
calm staggered, shivered, and broke before that wasting
storm of lead. The smoke, rolling along the field, for
a moment shut out the view ; but when the w hite
wreaths were scattered on the wind, a wretched spec-
tacle was disclosed; men and officers tumbled in
heaps, columns resolved into a mob, order and obedi-
ence gone ; and Avhen the British muskets were levelled
for a second volley, the masses were seen to cower Jiiid
shrink with uncontrollable panic. For a few mhiutes,
the French regulars stood their ground, returning a
sharp and not ineffectual fire. But now, echoing cheer
on cheer, redoubling volley on volley, trampling the
d) ing and the dead, and driving the fugitives in crowds,
the British troops advanced and swept the field before
them. The ardor of the men burst all restraint. Tliev
broke into a run, and with unsparing slaughter chased
the flying multitude to the very gates of Quebec.
Foremost of all, the light-footed Plighlanders dashed
along in furious pursuit, hewing down the Frenchmen
with their broadswords, and slaying many in the very
ditch of the fortifications. Never was victory more
quick or more decisive.*

In the short action and pursuit, the French lost fif-
teen hundred men, killed, wounded, and taken. Of the
remainder, some escaped within the city, and others
lied across the St. Charles to rejoin their comrades who

i 31

1 :!/-i;ii!ri-
\ iiii

' Despatch of General Townsliend, cesa of Quebec. Annual Regis-
Sept. 20. Gardiner, Memoirs of the ter for 1759, 40.
Siege of Quebec, 28. Journal of An eloquent account of the siogf
the Siege of Quebec, by a Gentle- and capture of Quebec will be found
man in an Eminent Station on the in Mr. Warburton's Conquest of
Spot, 40. Letter to a Right Hon- Canada,
oruble Patriot on ttie Glorious Sue-

Chap. IV.]

DEATH OF WOLFE.

123

Annual Regis-

had boon loft to guard the camp. Tlic pursuers were
rcrallcd by sound of trumpet ; tlic broken ranks were
foiinod afresh, and the English troops withdrawn be-
yond reach of the cannon of Quebec. Bougainville,
with his detachment, arrived from the up})er country,
and, hovering about their rear, threatened an attack ;
. when he saw what greeting was i)repared for him,
he abandoned his purpose and withdrew. Townshend
and Murray, the only general officers who remained
nnhurt, passed to the head of every regiment in turn,
and thanked the soldiers lor the braver} they had
sh()\\ u ; yet the triumph of the victors was mingled
with sadness as the tidings went from rank to rank
that Wolfe had fallen.

In the heat of the action, as he advanced at the
head of the gnniadiers of liOuisburg, a bullet shatiered
" ' wrist ; but he wrapped his handkerchief about the
nd, and showed no sign of pain. A moment more,
and a ball pierced his side. Still he pressed forward,
waving his sword and cheering his soldiers to the
attack, when a third shot lodged deep within his breast.
He paused, reeled, and, staggering to one side, fell to
the earth. Brown, a lieutenant of the grenadiers, Hen-
derson, a volunteer, an officer of artillery, and a private
soldier raised him together in their arms, and, bearing
him to the rear, laid him softly on the grass. They
asked if he would have a surgeon ; but he shook his
head, and answered that all was over with him. His
eyes closed with the torpor of approaching death, and
those around sustained his fainting form. Yet they
could not withhold their gaze from the wild turmoil
before them, and the charging ranks of their compan-
ions rushing through fire and smoke. " See how they
run," one of the officers exclaimed, as the French fled

! 1

mmr

W, r

,'■ ill

124

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV.

in confusion before the levelled bayonets. "AVlio
run "? " demanded Wolfe, opening his eyes like a man
aroused from sleep. "The enemy, sir," was the reply;
" they give way every where." " Then," said the dying
general, " tell Colonel Burton to march Webb's regi-
ment down to Charles River, to cut off* their retreat
from the bridge. Now, God be praised, I will die iu
peace," he murmured; and, turning on his side, he
calmly breathed his last.'

Almost at the same moment fell his great adversan,
Montcalm, as he strove, with useless bravery, to rally
his shattered ranks. Struck down with a mortal
wound, he was placed upon a litter and borne to the
General IIos})it;il on the banks of the St. Charles. The
surgeons told him that he could not recover. " I am
glad of it," was his calm reply. He then asked how long
he might survive, and was told that he had not many
hours remaining. "So much the better," he said; "I
am happy that I shall not live to see the surrender of
Quebec." Officers from the garrison came to his bed-
side to ask his orders and instructions. " I will give
no more orders," replied the defeated soldier ; " I have
much business that must be attended to, of greater
moment than your ruined garrison and this wretched
country. ISIy time is very short ; therefore, pray leave
me." The officers withdrew, and none remained in the
chamber but his co' ssor and the Bishop of Quebec,
To the last, he e .ressed his contempt for his own
mutinous and half-famished troops, and his admiiatiou
for the disciplined valor of his opponents." He died

'm.r

I Knox, II. 78. Knox derived his
information from the person who
supported- Wolfe in hife dying mo-
menta.

Knox, II. 77.

ES. [Chap. IV.

Chap. IV.]

SURRENDER OF QUEBEC.

125

before midnight, and was buried at his own desire in
a cavity of the earth fomied by the bursting of a
bombshell.

The victorious army encamped before Quebec, and
pushed their preparations for the siege with zealous
energy ; but before a single gun was brought to bear,
the white flag was hung out, and the garrison surren-
dered. On the eighteenth of September, 1759, the
rock-built citadel of Canada passed forever from the
hands of its ancient maSvOrs.

The victory on the Plains of Abraham and the down-
fall of Quebec filled all England with pride and exulta-
tion. From north to south, the whole land blazed
with illuminations, and resounded with the ringing of
bells, the firing of guns, and the shouts of the multi-
tude. In one village alone all was dark and silent
amid the general joy; for here dwelt the widowed
mother of Wolfe. The populace, with unwonted del-
icacy, respected her lonely sorroAV, and forbore to ob-
trude the sound of their rejoicings upon her grief
for one who had been through life her pride and sol-
ace, and repaid her love with a tender and constant
devotion.^

Canada, crippled and dismembered by the disasters
of this year's campaign, lay waiting, as it were, the
final stroke which was to extinguish her last remains
of life, and close the eventful story of French domin-
ion in America. Her limbs and her head were lopped
away, but life still fluttered at her heart. Quebec,
Niagara, Frontenac, and Crown Point had fallen ; but
Montreal and the adjacent country still held out, and
thither, with the opening season of 1760, the British

1 Annual Register for 1759, 43.

5 i.?

126

: i;''?'

Wvl'i'

COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [Chap. IV

commanders turned all their energies. Three armies
were to enter Canada at three several points, and, con-
quering as they advanced, converge towards Montreal
as a common centre. In accordance with this plan.
Sir Jeffrey Amherst embarked at Oswego, crossed Lake
Ontario, and descended the St. Lawrence with ten thou-
sand men ; while Colonel Haviland advanced by way
of Lake Champlain and the River Sorel, and General
Murray ascended from Quebec, with a body of "' vet-
erans who had fought on the Plains of AbraLv.m.

By a singular concurrence of fortune and skill, the
three armies reached the neighborhood of Montreal on
the same day. The feeble and disheartened garrison
could offer no resistance, and on the eighth of Septem-
ber, 1760, the Marquis de Vaudreuil surrendered Can-
ada, with all its dependencies, to the British crown

:i :

fr'

5S. [Chap. IV

CHAPTER V.

THE WILDERNESS AND ITS TENANTS AT THE CLOSE
OF THE FRENCH WAR.

"We have already seen how, after the defeat of
Braddock, the western tribes rose with one accord
against the English. Then, for the first time, Penn-
sylvania felt the scourge of Indian war; and her
neighbors, Maryland and Virginia, shared her misery.
Through the autumn of 1755, the storm raged with
devastating fury ; but the following year brought
some abatement of its violence. This may be ascribed
partly to the interference of the Iroquois, who, at the
instances of Sir William Johnson, urged the Dela-
wares to lay down the hatchet, and partly to the per-
suasions of several prominent men among the Quakers,
who, by kind and friendly treatment, had gained the
confidence of the Indians." By these means, that por-
tion of the Delawares and their kindred tribes who
dwelt upon the Susquehanna, were induced to send
a deputation of chiefs to Easton, in the summer of
1757, to meet the provincial delegates ; and here,
after much delay and difficulty, a treaty of peace was
f^oncluded.

This treatv. however, did not embrace the Indians
of the Ohio, who comprised the most formidable part

' Gordon,Hi8t. Penn. 321. Causes Shawanpae Indians from the British
»f the Alienation of tJie Delaware and Interest, MS. Johnson Papers.

3;'t' "'

:ll 'i

128

THE WILDERNESS AND ITS TENANTS. [Chap. V.

of the Delawares and Shawanoes, and who still con-
tinued their murderous attacks. It was not till the
summer of 1758, when General Forbes, with a consider-
able army, was advancing against Fort du Quesne, that
these exasperated savages could be brought to reason.
Well knowing that, should Forbes prove successful.
they might expect a summary chastisement for their
misdeeds, they began to waver in their attachment to
the French; and the latter, in the hour of peril,
found themselves threatened with desertion by allies
who had shown an ample alacrity in the season of
prosperity. This new tendency of the Ohio Indians
was fostered by a wise step on the part of the Eng-
lish. A man was found bold and hardy enough to
venture into the midst of their villages, bearing the
news of the treaty at Easton, and the approach of
Forbes, coupled with proposals of peace from the
governor of Pennsylvania.

This stout-hearted emissary was Christian Frederic
Post, a Moravian missionary, who had long lived with
the Indians, had twice married among tnem, and, by
his upright dealings and plain good sense, had gained
their confidence and esteem. His devout and consci-
entious spirit, his fidelity to what he deemed his duty.
his imperturbable courage, his prudence and his ad-
dress, well fitted him for the critical mission. His
journals, written in a style of quaint simplicity, are
full of lively details, and afford a minute and graphic
picture of forest life and character. He left Phila-
delphia in July, attended by a party of friendly In-
dians, on whom he relied for protection. Reaching
the Ohio, he found himself beset with incalculable
perils from the jealousy and malevolence of the sav-
age warriors, and the machinations of the French,

TS. [Chap. V.

Chap, v.] THE DELA WARES AND SHAWANOES.

129

who would gladly have destroyed him.^ Yet he found
friends wherever he went, and finally succeeded in
convincing the Indians that their true interest lay in
a strict neutrality. When, therefore, Forbes appeared
before Fort du Quesne, the French found themselves

ice from the

tian Frederic

1 The following are extracts from
his journals : —

"Wo set out from Kushkusiikee
for Sankonk ; my company consisted
of twenty-five horsemen and fifteen
foot. We arrived at Sankonk in the
afternoon. The people of the town
were iiiiich disturbed at my coming,
and received me in a very rough man-
ner. They surrounded me with drawn
knives in their hands, in such a man-
ner that I could hardly get along ;
running up against me with their
breasts open, as if they wanted some
pretence to kill me. I saw by their
countoiiancos they .sought my death.
Their faces wore (piite distorted with
rage, and they went so far as to say,
I should not live long ; but some In-
dians, with whom I was formerly ac-
quainted, coming up and saluting me
in a friendly manner, their behavior
to nic was quickly changed." ....
" Some of my party desired me not to
stir from the fire, for that the French
had off(?rpd a great reward for my
scalp, and that there were several par-
ties out on that purpose. Accordingly
I stuck constantly iis close to the fire
as if I hud been chained there

" In tlio afternoon, all the captains
gathered together in the middle town ;
they sent for us, and desired we should
give them information of our message.
Accordingly we did. We read the
message with great satisfaction to
them. It was a great pleasure both
to them and us. The number of cap-
tains and counsellors were sixteen.
In the evening, messengers arrived
from Fort Duquesne, with a string
of wampum from the commander;
upon which they all came together
in the house where we lodged. The
messengers delivered their string, with
these words from tlieir fatlier, the
French kins; : —

" ' My children, come to mo, and
hear what I have to say. The Eng-
lish are coming with an army to de-
stroy both you and me. I therefore
desire you immediately, my children,
to hasten with all the young men ; we
will drive the English and destroy
them. I, as a father, will tell you
always what is best.' He laid tlie
string before one of tJio captains.
After a little conversation, the captain
stood up, and said, ' I have just heard
something of our bretliren, the Eng-
lish, which pleaseth me much better.
I will not go. Give it to the others ;
maybe they will go.' The messenger
took up again the string, and said,
'He won't go; he has heard of the
English.' Then all cried out, 'Yes,
yes, we have heard from the Eng-
lish.' He then threw the string to
the otlier fire-place, where the other
captains were ; but they kicked it
from one to another, as if it was a
snake. Captain Peter took a stick,
and with it flung the string from one
end of the room to the other, and
said, 'Give it to the French captain,
and let him go with his young men ;
he boasted much of his fighting ; now
let us see his fighting. We have often
ventured our lives for him ; and had
hardly a loaf of broad when we came
to him ; and now he thinks we should
jump to serve him.' Then we saw
the French captain mortified to the
uttermost; he looked as pale as death.
The Indians discoursed and joked till
midnight; and the French captain
sent messengers at midnight to Fort
Duquesne."

The kicking aboi'l of the wampum
belt is the usual indication of contempt
for the message of which the belt is
the token. The uses of wampum will
be described hereafter.

130

THE Wn.DERNESS AND ITS TENANTS. ICnAp.Y,

?i:.V

m''^' i

abandoned to their own resources ; and, unable to hold
their ground, they retreated down the Ohio, leaving
the fort an easy conquest to the invaders. During
the autumn, the Ohio Indians sent their deputies to
Easton, where a great council was held, and a formal
peace concluded with the provinces.^

While the friendship of these tribes was thus lost
and regained, their ancient tyrants, the Iroquois, re-
mained in a state of loose and critical attachment,
At the outbreak of the war, they had shown, it is
true, many signs of friendship ; ^ but the disasters of
the first campaign had given them but a contemptible
idea of British prowess. This impression was deep-
ened, when, on the following year, they saw OsAvego
taken by the French, and the British general, Webb,
retreat with dastardly haste from an enemy who did
not dream of pursuing him. At this time, some of
the confederates actually took up the hatchet on the
side of France, and there was danger that the rest
might follow their example.^ But now a new element
was infused into the British counsels. The fortunes
of the conflict began to change. Du Quesne and Lou-
isburg were taken, and the Iroquois conceived a better
opinion of the British arms. Their friendship was no
longer a matter of doubt; and in 1760, when Amherst
was preparing to advance on Montreal, the warriors
flocked to his camp like vultures to the expected car-
cass. Yet there is little doubt, that, had their sachems
and orators followed the dictates of their cooler judg-
ment, they would not have aided in destroying Canada;
for they could see that in the colonies of France lav

94 I I

1 Minutes of Council at Easton, the Chief Sachems and Warriors of
1758. the Six Nations, (Lond. 175().)

2 Account of Conferences between 3 mg, Johnson Papers.
Major General Sir W. Johnson, ami

». J

rS. [Chap. V.

Chap. V.]

WESTERN TRIBES — THE FOREST.

131

the only barrier against the growing power and ambi
tion of the English provinces.

The Hurons of Lorette, the Abenakis, and other
domiciliated tribes of Canada ranged themselves on the
side of France throughout the war, and at its conclu-
sion, they, in common with the Canadians, may be re-
garded in the light of a conquered people.

The numerous tribes of the remote west had, with
few exceptions, played the part of active allies of the
French ; and warriors might be found on the farthest
shores of Lake Superior who garnished their war-dress
with the scalp-locks of murdered Englishmen. With
the conquest of Canada, these tribes subsided into a
state of passive inaction, which was not destined long
to continue.

And now, before launching into the story of that
sanguinary war, which forms our proper and immediate
theme, it will be well to survey the grand arena of the
strife, the goodly heritage which the wretched tribes
of the forest struggled to retrieve from the hands of
the spoiler.

One vast, continuous forest shadowed the fertile soil,
covering the land as the grass covers a garden lawn,
SAvecping over hill and hollow in endless undulation,
burying mountains in verdure, and mantling brooks
and rivers from the light of day. Green intervals
dotted with browsing deer, and broad plains blackened
with buffalo, broke the sameness of the woodland
scenery. Unnumbered rivers seamed the forest with
their devious windings. Vast lakes washed its bounda-
ries, where the Indian voyager, in his birch canoe, could
descry no land beyond the world of waters. Yet this
prolific wilderness, teeming with waste fertility, was but
a hunting-ground and a battle-field to a few fierce

ii
w

132

THE WILDERNESS AND ITS TENANTS. [Chap.

hordes of savages. Here and there, in some rich
meadow opened to the sun, the Indian squaws turned
the black mould with their rude implements of bone
or iron, and sowed their scanty stores of maize and
beans. Human labor drew no other tribute from that
inexhaustible soil.

So thin and scattered was the native population, that,
even in those parts which were thought well peopled,
one might sometimes journey for days together through
the twilight forest, and meet no human form. Broad
tracts were left in solitude. All Kentucky was a va-
cant waste, a mere skirmishing ground for the hostile
war-parties of the north and south. A great part of
Upper Canada, of Michigan, and of Illinois, besides
other portions of the west, were tenanted by wild
beasts alone. To form a close estimate of the num-
bers of the erratic bands who roamed this wilderness
woidd be a vain attempt ; but it may be affirmed that,
between the Mississippi on the west and the ocean on
the east, between the Ohio on the south and Lake
Superior on the north, the whole Indian population, at
the close of the French war, did not greatly exceed ten
thousand fighting men. Of these, following the state-
ment of Sir William Johnson, in 1763, the Iroquois
had nineteen hundred and fifty, the Delawares about
six hundred, the Shawanoes about three hundred, the
Wyandots about four hundred and fifty, and the Miami
tribes, with their neighbors the Kickapoos, eight hun-
dred ; while the Ottawas, the Ojibwas, and other wan-
dering tribes of the north, defy all eftbrts at enu-
meration.^

1 The estimates given by Cro- But the discrepancy is no greater
ghan, Bouquet, and Hutchina, do not than might have been expected from
quite accord with that of Johnson, the difficulties of the case.

Chap. V.]

NATIVE POPULATION.

133

A close survey of the condition of the tribes at this
period will detect some signs of improvement, but many
more of degeneracy and decay. To commence with
the Iroquois, for to them with justice the priority be-
longs: Onondaga, the ancient capital of their confed-
eracy, where their council-fire had burned from imme-
morial time, was now no longer what it had been in
the days of its greatness, wlien Count Frontenac had
mustered all Canada to assail it. The thickly-clustered
dwellings, with their triple rows of palisades, had van-
ished. A little scream, twisting along the valley,
choked up with logs and driftwood, and half hidden
by Avoods and thickets, some forty houses of bark, scat-
tered along its banks, amid rank grass, neglected clumps
of bushes, and ragged patches of corn and peas, — such
was Onondaga when Bartram saw it, and such, no
doubt, it remained at the time of which I write. ^ Con-
spicuous among the other structures, and distinguished
only by its superior size, stood the great council-house,
wliose bark walls had often sheltered the congregated
wisdom of the confederacy, and heard the highest
efforts of forest eloquence. The other villages of the
Iroquois resembled Onondaga ; for though several were
of larger size, yet none retained those defensive stock-
ades which had once protected them.^ From their Euro-
pean neighbors the Iroquois had borrowed many appli-
ances of comfort and subsistence. Horses, swine, and in
some instances cattle, were to be found among them.
Guns and gunpowder aided them in the chase. Knives,
hatchets, kettles, and hoes of iron had supplanted their

' Bartram, ObsRrvations, 41.

^ I am indebted to the kindness
of Rev. S. K. Lothrop for a copy of
the journal of Mr. Kirkland on his

missionary tour among the Iroquois
in 1765. The journal contains much
information respecting their manners
and condition at this period.

134

THE WILDERNESS AND ITS TENANTS. [CirAf. V.

i'-.'i

nide household utensils and implements of tillage;
but with all this, English whiskey had more than can-
celled every benefit which English civilization had
conferred.

High up the Susquehanna were seated the Xanti-
cokes, Conoys, and Mohicans, with a portion of the
Delawares. Detached bands of the western Iroquois
dwelt upon the head waters of the Alleghany, mingled
with their neighbors, the Delawares, who had several
villages upon this stream. The great body of the latter
nation, however, lived upon the Beaver Creeks and the
Muskingum, in numerous scattered towns and hamlets,
whose barbarous names it is useless to record. Squalid
log cabins and conical wigwams of bark were clustered
at random, or ranged to form rude streets and squares.
Starveling horses grazed on the neighboring meadows :
girls and children bathed and laughed in the adjacent
river; warriors smoked their pipes in haughty indo-
lence; squaws labored in the cornfields, or brouglit
fagots from the forest, and shrivelled hags screamed
from lodge to lodge. In each village one large build-
ing stood prominent among the rest, devoted to pur-
poses of public meeting, dances, festivals, and the
entertainment of strangers. Thither the traveller
would be conducted, seated on a bear-skin, and plenti-
fully regaled with hominy and venison.

The Shawanoes had fixed their abode upon the
Scioto and its branches. Farther towards the west,
on the waters of the Wabash and the Maumee, dwelt
the Miamis, who, less exposed, from their position, to
the poison of the whiskey keg, and the example of
debauched traders, retained their ancient character and
customs in greater purity than their eastern neighbors.
This cannot be said of the Illinois, who dwelt near the

CniP.V.I THOROUGHFARES OF THE FOREST.

135

borders of the Mississippi, and who, having li\cd for
more than half a century in close contact with the
French, had become a corrupt and dcigenerate race.
The "NA'yandots of Sandusky and Detroit far surpassed
the surrounding tribes in energy of character and
social progress. Their log dwellings were strong and
commodious, their agricultiu'e was very considerable,
their name stood high in war and policy, and by all
the adjacent Indians they were regarded with deference.
It is needless to pursue farther this catalogue of tribes,
since the position of each will appear hereafter as they
advance in turn upon the stage of action.

The English settlements lay like a narrow strip be-
tween the wilderness and the sea, and, as the sea had
its ports, so also the forest had its places of rendezvous
and outfit. Of these, by far the most important in the
northern provinces was the frontier city of Albany.
From thence it was that traders and soldiers, bound to
the country of the Iroquois, or the more distant wilds
of the interior, set out upon their arduous journey.
Embarking in a bateau or a canoe, rowed by those
hardy men who earned their livelihood in this service,
the traveller would ascend the Mohawk, passing the
old Dutch town of Schenectady, the two seats of Sir
William Johnson, Fort Hunter at the mouth of the
Schoharie, and Fort Herkimer at the German Flats,
until he reached Fort Stanwix at the head of the river
navigation. Then crossing over land to Wood Creek,
he would follow its tortuous course, overshadowed by
the dense forest on its banks, until he arrived at the
Uttle fortification called the Royal Blockhouse, and the
waters of the Oneida Lake spread before him. Cross-
mg to its western extremity, and passing under the
wooden ramparts of Fort Brewerton, he would descend

136

THE WILDERNKSS AND ITS TENANTS. [Cuvi-. V.

h^i^'ll) '■::. I

y!!|f

the River Oswego to Oswego,* on the banks of T.ake
Ontario. Here the vast navigation of the Great Lakes
wouhl be open before him, interrupted only by the
difficult portage at the Cataract of Niagara.

The chief thoroughfare from the middle colonics to
the Indian country was from Philadelphia westward,
across the AUeghanies, to the valley of the Ohio,
Peace was no sooner concluded with the hostile tribes.
than the adventurous fur-traders, careless of risk to life
and property, hastened over the mountains, each eager
to be foremost in the wilderness market. Their mer-
chandise was sometimes carried in wagons as far as
the site of Fort du Quc^sne, which the English rohuilt
after its capture, changing its name to Fort Pitt. From
this point the goods were packed on the backs of
horses, and thus distributed among the various Indian
villages. INIore commonly, however, the whole jouniey
was performed by means of trains, or, as they were

1 MS. Journal of Lieutenant Go-
rell, 17(i3. Anonymous MS. Journal
of a Tour to Niagara in 17(!.'>. The
following is an extract from the
latter : —

"July 2(1. Dined with Sir Wm.
at Johnson Hall. The office of
Superintendent very troublesome.
Sir Wm. continually plagued with
Indians about him — generally from
300 to 900 in number — spoil his
garden, and keep his house always
dirty. . . .

" 10th. Punted and rowed up the
Mohawk River against tiie stream,
which, on account of the rapidity of
the current, is very hard work for
the poor soldiers. Encamped on the
banks of the River, about 9 miles
from Harkimer's.

"The inconveniences attending a
married Subaltern strongly appear in
this tour. What with the sickness
of their wives, the squealing of their
children, and the smullness of their

pay, I think the gentlemen discover
no common share of philosopiiy in
keeping themselves from runiiin::
mad. Officers and soldiers, with
their wives and children, logitiiniite
and illegitimate, make altogether a
pretty compound oglio, which doos
not tend towards siiowing military
matrimony off to any great advan-
tage. . . .

" Monday, 14th. Went on horse-
back by the side of Wood Creek "JO
miles, to the Royal Blockhouse, a
kind of wooden castle, proof against
any Indian attacks. It is now 'ibnn-
doned by the troops, and
lives there, .who keeps i
rackoons, etc., which, th(j
of the most elegant, ia con,
to strangers passing that way
Blockhouse is situated on the east
end of the Oneida Lake, and is sur-
rounded by the Oneida Indians, one
of the Six Nations."

none

liable

The

TS. [Chap. V.

CuAP. v.]

THE FOllEST TIIAVELLER.

137

iiks of Tiako
Great Lakes
only by the
I.

B colonics to
ia westward,
■ the Oliio,
lostile tribes,
)f risk to lifi'
s, eacb eager
Tlieir mor-
ns as far as
iglisli rebuilt
t Pitt. From
lie backs of
irioiis Indian
diole jouraey
as they were

entlemen discover
of philosophy in

2s from rmiiiin;

id soldiers, with

lildrcn, le{,ntimiite
liiko altogether a
glio, which doos
showing tiiilitary
any great advaii-

Went on horse-
Wood Creek '^0
lal Blockhouse, a
ftle, proof ajraiiist
It is now liii:
|ps, and
ceeps r n

tch, tho, none
jit, is coiii..irtable
that way. Tlie
lated on the east
jake, and is sur-
leida Indians, one

called, brigades of packliorses, which, leaving the fron-
tier scttk'inents, climbed the shadowy heights of the
Allegbanies, and threaded the forests of the Ohio,
diving tbrough thickets, and wading over streams.
The men employed in this perilous calling were a
rough, bold, and intractable class, often as fierce and
truculent as the Indians themselves. A blanket coat,
or a frock of smoked deer-skin, a rifle on the shoulder,
and a knife and tomahawk in the belt, formed tlieir
ordinary eqiii})mcnt. The principal trader, the owner
of the merchandise, would fix his head-(piarters at some
large Indian town, whence he would despatch his subor-
dinates to the surrounding villages, with a suitable sup-
ply of blankets and red cloth, guns and hatchets, liquor,
tobacco, paint, beads, and hawk's bells. This wild traffic
was liable to every species of disorder ; and it is not to
be wondered at that, in a region where law was un-
known, the jealousies of rival traders should become
a fruitful source of broils, robberies, and murders.

In the backwoods, all land travelling was on foot, or
on horseback. It was no easy matter for a novice, em-
barrassed with his cumbrous gun, to urge his horse
through the thick trunks and undergrowth, or even to
ride at speed along the narrow Indian trails, where, at
every yard, the impending branches switched him across
the face. At night, the camp would be formed by the
^'^(]o of some rivulet or spring, and, if the traveller was
skilful in the use of his rifle, a haunch of venison
woul" often form his evening meal. If it rained, a
shed of elm or bass wood bark was the read}' work of an
hour, a pile of evergreen boughs formed a bed, and the
saddle or the ^napsack a pillow. A party of Indian
wayfarers would often be met journeying through the
forest, a chief, or a warrior, perhaps, with his squaws
18 L*

Jl'flJi'iji''

laiil; -^ 'i'

i]!j':,i'

:t4

H;;1

1 1'
J,"

alii

138

THE Wn.DERNESS AND ITS TENANTS. [Chap. Y,

and family. The Indians would usually make their
camp in the neighborhood of the white men ; and at
meal time the warrior would seldom fail to seat himself
by the traveller's fire, and gaze with solemn gravity at
the viands before him. If, when the repast was over,
a fragment of bread or a cup of coffee should be
handed to him, he would receive these highly-prized
rarities with a deep ejaculation of gratitude ; for noth-
ing is more remarkable in the character of this people
than the union of inordinate pride and a generous love
of glory with the mendicity of a beggar or a child.

He who wished to visit the remoter tribes of the
Mississippi valley — an attempt, however, which, until
several years after the conquest of Canada, no English-
man could have made without great risk of losing
his scalp — would find no easier course than to descend
the Ohio in a canoe or bateau. He might float for
more than eleven hundred miles down this liquid
highway of the wilderness, and except the deserted
cabins of Logstown, a little below Fort Pitt, the
remnant of a Shawanoe village at the mouth of the
Scioto, and an occasional hamlet or solitary wigwam
along the luxuriant banks, he would discern no trace
of human liabitancy through all this vast extent,
The body of the Indian population lay to the north-
ward, about the waters of the tributary streams. It
behoved the voyager to observe a sleepless caution
and hawk-eyed vigilance. Sometimes his anxious
scrutiny would detect a faint blue smoke stealini'
upward above the green bosom of the forest, and
betraying the encamping place of some lurking war-
party. Then the canoe would be drawn in haste be-
neath tlie overhanging bushes which skirted the shore;
nor would the voyage be resumed until darkness closed.

TS. [Chap. V

Chap. V.]

THE FOREST TRAVELLER.

139

renerous love

when the little vessel would drift swiftly and safely
past the point of danger.^

Within the nominal limits of the Illinois Indians,
and towards the southern extremity of the present
state of Illinois, were those isolated Canadian settle-
ments, which had subsisted here since the latter part
of the previous century. Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and
Vmcennes were the centres of this scattered popula-
tion, rrom Vincenncs one might paddle his canoe
northward up the Wabash, until he reached the little
wooden fort of Ouatanon. Thence a path through
the woods led to the banks of the Maumee. Two

I or three Canadians, or half breeds, of whom there were
numbers about the fort, would carry the canoe on their
shoulders, or, for a bottle of whiskey, a few Miami
Indians might be bribed to undertake the task. On
the Maumee, at the end of the path, stood Fort Mi-
ami, near the spot where Fort Wayne was after-
wards built. From this point one might descend the
Maumee to Lake Erie, and visit the neighboring fort
of Sandusky, or, if he chose, steer through the Strait
of Detroit, and explore the watery wastes of the
northern lakes, finding occasional harborage at the
little military posts which commanded their impor-
tant points. Most of these western posts were trans-

I feiTcd to the English, during the autumn of 17G0;
but the settlements of the Illinois remained several
years longer under French control.
Eastward, on the waters of Lake Erie and the Al-

' Mitchell, Contest in America.

Pnnchot, Guerre de I'Ainerique.

lliitchins, Expedition against the

Ohio Indians, appendix. Hutchins,

1 Topographical Description of Vir-

I pinitt, etc. Pounall, Topographical

1 1)e8cri|ition of North America. Ev-

1 ans, Analysis of a Map of the Mid-

dle British Colonies. Beatty, .Toiirnai
of a Tour in America. Smith, Nar-
rative. M'Ciillough, Narrative. Jem-
mison, Narrative. Post, .Tournals.
Washington, .Tournals, 1758- 1770.
Gist, Journal, 1750. Croghan, Jour-
nal, 17G5, etc., etc.

140

TIIE WILDERNESS AND ITS TENANTS. [Ciiap.V,

If'!'

leghany, stood three small forts, Presqu'Isle, Le Bocuf.
and Venango, which had passed into the hands of
the English soon after the capture of Fort du Quesne.
The feeble garrisons of all these western posts, exiled
from civilization, lived in the solitude of militarv her-
mits. Through the long, hot days of summer, and
the protracted cold of winter, time hung heavy on
their hands. Their resources of employment and rec-
reation were few and meagre. They found partners
in their loneliness among the young beauties of the
Indian camps. They hunted and fished, shot at tar-
gets, and played at games of chance; and when, by
good fortune, a traveller found his way among them,
he was greeted with a hearty and open-handed Avel-
come, and plied with eager questions touching the
great world from which they were banished men,
Yet, tedious as it was, their secluded life was seasoned
with stirring danger. The su.rounding forests Mere
peopled with a race dark and subtle as their o\n
sunless mazes. At any hour, those jealous tribes
might raise the war-cry. No human foresight could
predict the sallies of their fierce caprice, and in cease-
less watching lay the only safety.

When the European and the savage are brought
in contact, both are gainers, and both are losers. The
former loses the refinements of civilization, but he
gains, in the rough schooling of the wilderness, a proud
independence, a self-sustaining energy, and powers of
action and perception before unthought of The sav-
age gains new means of comfort and support, cloth,
iron, and gunpowder ; yet these apparent bcnefitj
have often proved but instruments of ruin. They
soon become necessities, and the unhappy hunter, for-
getting the weapons of his fathers, must thenceforth

rTS. [Chap. V,

Chap. V.]

HUNTERS AND TRAPPERS.

141

■handed wel-

and in cease-

depend on the white man for ease, happiness, and
life itself.

Those rude and hardy men, hunters and traders,
scouts and guides, who ranged the woods beyond the
EngUsh borders, and formed a connecting link be-
tween barbarism and civilization, have be'^n touched
upon already. They were a distinct, peculiar class,
marked with striking contrasts of good and evil.
I Many, though by no means all, were coarse, auda-
cious, and unscrupulous; yet, even in the worst, one
j might often have found a vigorous growth of warlike
i virtues, an iron endurance, an undespairing courage, a
wondrous sagacity, and singular fertility of resource,
iln them was renewed, with all its ancient energy,
that wild and daring spirit, that force and hardihood
iof mind, which marked our barbarous ancestors of
Geiinany and Norway. These sons of the wilderness
! still survive. We may find them to this day, not in
ithe valley of the Ohio, nor on the shores of the
j lakes, but far westward on the desert range of the
buffalo, and among the solitudes of Oregon. Even
I now, while I write, some lonely trapper is climbing
[the perilous defiles of the Kocky Mountains, his
I strong frame cased in time-wom L ; ^k-skin, his rifle
griped in his sinewy hand. Keenly he peers from
side to side, lest Blackfoot or Arapahoe should am-
buscade his path. The rough earth is liis bed, a mor-
sel of dried meat and a draught of water are his food
and drink, and death and danger his companions.
Xu anchorite could fare worse, no hero could dare
more; yet his wild, hard life ha^ resistless charms;
iiiid, while he can wield a rifle, he will never leave it.
Cio with him to the rendezvous, and he is a stoic no
I more. Here, rioting among his comrades, his native

lrs

142

THE WILDERNESS AND ITS TENANTS. [ChapV,

■■■'h i:

M
I'll

appetites break loose in mad excess, in deep carouse,
and desperate gaming. Then follow close the quancl,
the challenge, the fight, — two rusty rifles and fifty
yards of prairie.

The nursling of civilization, placed in the midst of
the forest, and abandoned to his own resources, is
helpless as an infant. There is no clew to the laby-
rinth. Bewildered and amazed, he circles round and
round in hopeless wanderings. Despair and famine
make him their prey, and unless the birds of heaven
minister to his wants, he dies in misery. Not so
the practised woodsman. To him, the forest is a
home. It yielus him food, shelter, and raiment, and
he threads its trackless depths with undeviating foot,
To lure the game, to circumvent the lurking foe, to
guide his course l>y the stars, the wind, the streams,
or the trees, — such are the arts which the wliite
man has learned from the red. Often, indeed, tlie
pupil has outstripped his master. He can hunt as
well ; he can fight better ; and yet there are niceties
of the woodsman's craft in which the white man
must yield the palm to his savage rival. Seldon!
can he boast, in equal measure, that subtlety of
sense, more akin to the instinct of brutes than to
human reason, which reads the signs of the forest as
the scholar reads the printed page, to which the
whistle of a bird can speak clearly as the tongue of
man, and the rustle of a leaf give knowledge of life
or death. ^ With us the name of the savage is a

U~ i:

1 A striking example of Indian
acutenesH once came under my obser-
vation. Travelling in company with
a Canadian named Raymond, and an
Ogillallah Indian, we came at night-
fall to a small stream called Chug-

water, a branch of Laramie Creek.
As we prepared to encamp, we ob-
served the ashes of a fire, the t'lwt-
prints of men and horees, and othfi
indications that a party had been
iijion the spot not many days before

rS. [Chap. V,

Ciup. V.|

THE EUROPEAN AND THE INDIAN.

143

if Laramie Creek.
encamp, wc ob-
if a fire, tiie foit-
horses, and otIiH
party hiid hm I
many days before.

byword of reproach. The Indian would look with
equal scorn on those, who, buried in useless lore, are
blind and deaf to the great world of nature.

Having secured our horses for the
niglit, Raymond and I sat down and
lig:hted our pipes, my companion, who
liad spent his whole life in the Indian
country, hazarding various conjec-
tures as to the numbers and charac-
ter of our predecessors. Soon after,
we were joined by the Indian, who,
meantime, had been prowling about
tlie place. Raymond asked what
discovery he had made. He nn-
Bwered, that the party were friendly,
and that they consisted of eight men,

both whites and Indians, several of
whom he named, atRrming that he
knew them well. To an inquiry how
he gained his information, he would
make no intelligible reply. On the
next day, reaching Fort Laramie, a
post of the American Fur Company,
we found that he was correct in every
particular — a circumstance the more
remarkable, as he had been with ua
for three weeks, and could have had
no other means of knowledge than
we ourselves.

¥&':

CHAPTER VI.

THE ENGLISH TAKE POSSESSION OP THE WESTERN

POSTS.

:''Vi ;*'■'■'"

fl'i'

iaiil'i:^

$r^:

The war was over. The plains around Montreal
were dotted with the white tents of three victorious
armies, and the work of conquest was complete. Can-
ada, with all her dependencies, had yielded to the
British crown ; but it still remained to carry into full
effect the terms of the surrender and take possession
of those western outposts, where the lilies of France
had not as yet descended from the flagstaff. The execu-
tion of this task, neither an easy nor a safe one, was
assigned to a provincial officer, Major Robert Rogers.

Rogers was a native of New Hampshire. He com-
manded a body of provincial rangers, and stood in high
repute as a partisan officer. Putnam and Stark were
his associates ; and it was in this woodland wai-ftiic
that the former achieved many of those startling adven-
tures and hair-breadth escapes which have made liis
name familiar at every New England fireside. Rogers'
Rangers, half hunters, half woodsmen, trained in a
discipline of their own, and armed, like Indians, with
hatchet, knife, and gun, were employed in a service of
peculiar hardship. Their chief theatre of action was
the mountainous region of Lake George, the debatable
grcand between the hostile forts of Ticonderoga and
Crown Point. The deepest re^cesses of these romantic

Chap. VI.]

ROGERS' RANGERS.

WESTERN

solitudes had heard the French and Indian yell, and
the answering shout of the hardy New England men.
In summer, they passed down the lake in whale boats
or canoes, or threaded the pathways of the woods in
single file, like the savages themselves. In winter, they
journeyed through the swamps on snowshoes, skated
alona: the frozen surface of the lake, and bivouacked
at night among the snow-drifts. They intercepted
French messengers, encountered French scouting par-
tics, and carried oiF prisoners from under the very walls
of Ticonderoga. Their hardships and adventures, thcii"
marches and countermarches, their frequent skirmishes
and midwinter battles, had made them famous through-
out America; and though it was the fashion of the
day to sneer at the efforts of provincial troops, the
name of Rogers' Rangers was never mentioned but
with honor.

Their commander was a man tall and vigorous in
person and rough in feature. He was versed in all the
arts of woodcraft, sagacious, prompt, and resolute, yet
so cautious withal that he sometimes incurred the un-
just charge of cowardice. His mind, naturally active,
was by no means uncultivated, and his books and un-
published letters bear witness that his style as a writer
was not contemptible. But his vain, restless, and
grasping spirit, and more than doubtful honesty, proved
the ruin of an enviable reputation. Six years after the
expedition of which I am about to speak, he was tried
I by a court-martial for a meditated act of treason, the
surrender of Fort Michillunackinac into the hands of
the Spaniards, who were at that time masters of Upper
Louisiana.^ Not long after, if we may trust his own

Ise romantic

' MS. Gage Papers.

146

THE ENGLISH IN THE WEST.

ICllAP. VI,

account, he passed over to the Baibary States, entered
the service of the Dey of Algiers, and fought two bat-
ties under his banners. At the opening of the war of
independence, he returned to his native country, where
he made professions of patriotism, but was strongly
suspected by many, including Washington himself, of
acting the part of a spy. In fact, he soon opcnlv
espoused the British cause, and received a colonels
commission from the crown. His senices, however,
proved of little consequence. In 1778, he was pro-
scribed and banished, under the act of New Hamp-
shire, and the remainder of his life was passed in such
obscurity that it is difficult to determine when and
where he died.^

On the twelfth of September, 1760, Rogers, then at

1 Sabine, American Loyalists, 576.
Sparks, Writings of Washington,
III. 208, 244, 439; IV. 128, 520,
524.

Although Rogers, especially where
his pecuniary interest was concerned,
was far from scrupulous, I have no
hesitation in following his account
of the expedition up the lakes. The
incidents of each day are minuted
down in a dry, unambitious style,
bearing the clear impress of truth.
Extracts from the orderly books and
other official papers are given, while
portions of the narrative, verified by
contemporary documents, may stand
as earnests for the truth of the whole.

Rogers' published works consist
of the Journals of his ranging ser-
vice and his Concise Account of JVorih
Jlmerka, a small volume containing
much valuable information. Both
appeared in London in 17(35. To
these may be added a curious drama,
called Ponteach, or the Savages of
America, which appears to have been
written, in part at least, by him. It
is very rare, and besides the copy in
my possession, I know of but one
other, which may be found in the

library of the British Museum. For
an account of this curious prodiiC'
tion, see Appendix, B. An engraved
full-length portrait of Rogers wm
published in London in 177(5. Heij
represented as a tall, strong man.
dressed in the costume of a rantrer,
with a powder-horn slung at his side,
a gun resting in the hollow of Ins
arm, and a countenance by no means
prepossessing. Behind him, at a lit-
tle distance, stand his Indian fol
lowers.

The steep mountain called Rojrers'
Slide, near the northern end of Lake |
George, derives its name from the
tradition that, during the Frencn
war, being pursued by a party of
Indians, he slid on snowshoes dowa I
its precipitous front, for more tliaiia I
thousand feet, to the frozen lake be
low. On beholding the achieve-
ment, the Indians, as well they inighl
believed him under the protection of
the Great Spirit, and gave over ttie |
chase. The story seems unfounded
yet it was not far from this mountain I
that the rangers fought one of their
most desperate winter battles, ajrainst |
a force of many times their number.

IChap. VL

Chap. VI.]

THE RANGERS ON THE LAKES.

147

tates, entered
ight two bat-
)f the war of
)untry, where
was strongly
a himself, of
soon openly
d a colonel's
ces, however,
he was pro-
New Hamp-
)assed m such
ne when and

ogers, then at

tish Museum. For

lis curious produc-

k, B. An engraved

lit of Rogers was

on in 177(). Heii

tall, strong imn,

)stuine of a ranirer,

rn slnnjr sit his side,

the hollow of hii

nance by no means

lehind him, at a lit-

id his Indian fol

itain called Rojrers'
irthern end of Lake
its name from tte
uring the Frencri
ed by a party of
n snowshoes dowi
nt, for more than a
the frozen lake b>;
ding the achieve-
as well they niigii'.
!r the protection of
and gave over the
seems unfounded;
from this rnountaiii
fought one of tlieit
nter battles, ajiainst [
imes their number.

the height of his reputation, received orders from Sir
Jeffrey Amh 'rst to ascend the lakes with a detachment
of rangers, and take possession, in the name of his Bri-
tannic Majesty, of Detroit, Michillimackinac, and other
western posts included in the late capitulation. He
left Montreal, on the following day, with two hundred
rangers, in fifteen whale boats. They passed the chapel
of St. Anne's, where Canadian voyageurs, bound for
the north-west, received absolution and paid their votive

offerings.

Stemming the surges of La Chi.xe and the

Cedars, they left behind them the straggling hamlet
which bore the latter name, and formed at that day the
western limit of Canadian settlement.' They gained
Lake Ontario, skirted its northern shore, amid rough
and boisterous weather, and crossing at its western
extremity, reached Fort Niagara on the first of October.
Carrying their boats over the portage, they launched
once more above the cataract, and slowly pursued their
voyage, while Rogers, with a few attendants, hastened
on in advance to Fort Pitt, to deliver despatches, with
which he was charged, to General Monkton. This
errand accomplished, he rejoined his command at
PresquTsle, about the end of the month, and the whole
proceeded together along the southern margin of Lake
Erie. The season was far advanced. The wind was
chill, the lake was stormy, and the woods on shore
were tinged with the fading hues of autiunn. On
the seventh of November they reached the mouth of
a river called by Rogers the Chogage. No body
of troops under the ]3ritish flag had ever before ad-
vanced so far. The day was dull and rainy, and resolv-
ing to rest until the weather should improve, Rogers

' Henry, Travels and Adventures, 9.

148

TIIE ENGLISH IN THE WEST.

[Chap. VI,

b .

M':

ordered his men to prepare their encampment in the
neighboring forest.

Soon after the arrival of the rangers, a party of In.
dian chiefs and warriors entered the camp. They pro
claimed themselves an embassy from Pontiac, ruler
of all that country, and directed, in his name, that tlie
English should advance no farther until they had had
an interview with the great chief, who was already
close at hand. In truth, before the day closed, Pontiac
himself appeared ; and it is here, for the first time, that
this remarkable man stands forth distmctly on the pa^e
of history. He greeted Rogers with the haughty de-
mand, what was his business in that country, and how
he dared enter it without his permission. Ilogers
informed him that the French were defeated, that
Canada had surrendered, and that he was on his May
to take possession of Detroit, and restore a general
peace to white men and Indians alike. Pontiac listened
with attention, but only replied that he should stand
in the path of the English until morning. Having
inquired if the strangers were in need of any thing
which his country could afford, he withdrew, with his
chiefs, at nightfall, to his own encampment ; while the
English, ill at ease, and suspecting treachery, stood well
on their guard throughout the night.^

In the morning, Pontiac returned to the camp with
his attendant chiefs, and made his reply to Rogers
speech of the previous day. He was willing, he said.
to live at peace with the English, and suffer them to
remain in his countiy as long as they treated him with
due respect and deference. The Indian chiefs and

' There can be no reasonable
doubt, that the interview with Pon-
tiai', described by Rogers in his
' ' Account of North America," took
place on the occasion indicated in

his "Journals," under date of tk
7th of November. The Indm^
whom he afterwards met are statdl
to have been Hurons.

Chap. VI.]

VIEWS OF PONTIAC.

149

provincial officers smoked the calumet together, and
perfect harmony seemed established between them.*

Up to this time, Pontiac had been, in word and deed,
the fast ally of the French ; but it is easy to discern
the motives that impelled him to renounce his old ad-
herence. The American forest never produced a man
more shrewd, politic, and ambitious. Ignorant as he
was of what was passing in the world, he coidd clearly
sec that the French power was on the wane, and he
knew his own interest too well to prop a falling cause.
By making friends of tlie Engiisli, he hoped to gain
powerful allies, who would aid his ambitious projects,
and give him an increased influence over the tribes ;
and he flattered himself that the new-comers would
treat him with the same studied respect which the
French had always observed. In this, and all his other
expectations of advantage from the English, he was
doomed to disappointment.

A cold storm of rain set in, and the rangers were
detained some days in their encampment. During this
time, Rogers had several interviews with Pontiac, and
was constrained to admire the native vigor of his in-
tellect, no less than the singular control which he exer-
cised over those around him.

On the twelfth of November, the detachment was
again in motion, and within a few days, they had
reached the western end of Lake Erie. Here they
heard that the Detroit Indians were in arms against
them, and that four hundred warriors lay in ambush at
the entrance of the river to cut them off. But the
powerful influence of Pontiac was exerted in behalf of
his new friends. The warriors abandoned their design,

Rogers, Journals, 214 Account of North America, 240, 943.

160

THE ENGLISH IN THE WEST

[Chap. Vl

11 i< in

Wt^ii

and the rangers continued their progress towards Do
troit, now within a short distance.

In the mean time, Ijicutcnant Brehm had been sent
forward witli a letter to Captain Beletre, the com.
mandant at Detroit, informing him that Canada h id
capitulated, tliat liis gariison v/as included in the ca-
pitulation, and that an English detachment was ap.
preaching to relieve it. The Frenchman, in great
wrath at the tidings, disregarded the message as an
infonnal communication, and resolved to keep a hos-
tile attitude to the last. He did his best to rouse
the fury of the Indians. Among other devices, he
displayed upon a pole, before the yelling multitude,
the effigy of a crow pecking a man's head, the crow-
representing himself, and the head, observes Rogers,
" being meant for my own." All his efforts were un-
availing, and his faithless allies showed unequivocal
symptoms of defection in the hour of need.

Rogers had now entered the mouth of the River
Detroit, whence he sent forward Captain Campbell
with a copy of the capitulation, and a letter from
the Marquis de Vaudreuil, directing that the place
should be given up, in accordance with the terms
agreed upon between him and General Amherst. Be-
letre was forced to yield, and with a very ill grace
declared himself and his garrison at the disposal of
the English commander.

The whale boats of the rangers moved slowly u\)-
wards between the low banks of the Detroit, until
at length the green uniformity of marsh and forest
was relieved by the Canadian houses, which began
to appear on either bank, the outskirts of the se-
cluded and isolated settlement. Before them, on the
right side, they could see the village of the Wyandots,

MitM J

CttAP. VI.J

THE IlANGEltS AT DETItOIT.

151

and on the left the clustered lodges of the Potta-
watUunies, while, a little beyond, the ilug of France

for the li

bark

time above tl
and weather-beaten palisades of the little fortified town.

The rangers landed on the opposite bank, and
pitched theii- tents upon a meadow, while two offt-
cers, with a small detachment, went across the river
to take possession of the place. In obedience to
their sunnnons, the French garrison defiled upon the
pliiiu, and laid down theii' arms. The Jieur de lis
was lowered from the flagstaff, and the cross of St.
George rose aloft in its place, while seven hundred
Indian warriors, lately the active allies of France,
greeted the sight with a burst of triumphant yells.
The Canadian militia were next called together and
disarmed. The Indians looked on with amazement
at their obsequious behavior, quite at a loss to un-
derstand why so many men should humble themselves
before so few. Nothing is more effective in gaining
the respect, or even attachment, of Indians than a dis-
play of power. The savage spectators conceived the
loftiest idea of English prowess, and were beyond
measure astonished at the forbearance of the conquer-
ors in not killing their vanquished enemies on the spot.

It was on the twenty-ninth of November, 1760,
that Detroit fell into the hands of the English. The
garrison were sent as prisoners down the lake, but
the Canadian inhabitants were allowed to retain their
flunis and houses, on condition of swearing allegiance
to the British crown. An officer was sent southward
to take possession of the forts Miami and Ouatanon,
which guarded the communication between Lake Erie
and the Ohio, while Rogers himself, with a small
party, proceeded northward to relieve the French gar-

H-:'' '■•

152

THE ENGLISH IN THE WEST.

[Chap. VI

rison of Michillimackinac. The storms and gathering
ice of Lake Huron forced him back without accom.
plishing his object, and Michillimackinac, with the
three remoter posts of St. Marie, Green Bay, and St,
Joseph, remained for the time in the hands of the
French. During the next season, however, a detaoL- J
ment of the 60th regiment, then called the lloyal
Americans, took possession of them ; and nothing now
remained within the power of the French, except the
few posts and settlements on the Mississippi and the
Wabash, not ir eluded in the capitulation of Montreal,
The work of conquest was consummated. The
fertile wilderness beyond the AUeghanies, over which
France had claimed sovereignty, — that boundless for-
est, with its tracery of interlacing streams, which, like
veins and arteries, gave it life and nourishment, — had
passed into the hands of her rival. It was by a few
insignificant forts, separated by oceans of fresh water
and uncounted leagues of forest, that the two great
European powers, France first, and now England, en-
deavored to enforce their claims to this vast and ^^ild
domain. There is something ludicrous in the disparity
between the importance of the possession and the
slenderness of the force employed to maintain it. A
region embracing so many thousand miles of surface
was consigned to the keeping of some five or six
hundred men. Yet the force, small as it was, ap
peared adec^uate to its object, for there seemed no
enemy to contend with. The hands of the French
were tied by the capitulation, and little apprehension
was felt from the red inhabitants of the woods. Tlie
lapse of two years was enough to show how complete
and fatal was the mistake.

CHAPTER VII.

ANGER OF THE INDIANS.— THE CONSPIRACY.

The country was scarcely transferred to the Eng-
lisli when smothered murmurs of discontent began
to be audible among the Indian tribes. From the
head of the Potomac to Lake Superior, and from
the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, in every wigwam
and hamlet of the forest, a deep-rooted hatred of the
English increased with rapid growth. Nor is this to be
wondered at. We have seen with what sagacious policy
the French had labored to ingratiate themselves with
the Indians ; and the slaughter of the Monongahela,
with the horrible devastation of the western frontier,
the outrages perpetrated at Oswego, and the massacre
at Fort William Henry, bore witness to the su-^cess
of their efforts. Even the Delawares and Shawanocs,
the faithful allies of William Penn, had at length
been seduced by their blandishments ; and the Iro-
qnois, the ancient enemies of Canada, had half for-
gotten their foimer hostility, and wx^ll nigh taken part
against the British colonists. The remote nations of
the west had also joined in the war, descending in
their canoes for hundreds of miles, to fight against
the enemies of France. All these tribes entertained
towards the English that rancorous enmity which an
Indian always feels against those to whom he has
been opposed in war.
20

M&i

154

ANGER OF THE INDIANS.

[Chap. VE

PF*:'f

^jf*H:-

Under these circumstances, it behoved the English
to use the utmost care in their conduct towards the
tribes. But even when the conflict with France Avas
impending, and the alliance with the Indians of the
last importance, they had treated them with indiffer-
ence and neglect. They were not likely to adopt a
different course now that their friendship seemed a mat-
ter of no consequence. In truth, the intentions of tlie
English were soon apparent. In the zeal for retrench-
ment, which prevailed after the close of hostilities,
the presents which it had always been customary to
give the Indians, at stated intervals, were either with-
held altogether, or doled out with a niggardly and
reluctant hand ; while, to make the matter worse, the
agents and officers of government often appropriated
the presents to themselves, and afterwards sold them
at an exorbitant price to the Indians.^ When the
French had possession of the remote forts, they were
accustomed, with a wise liberality, to supply the sur-
rounding Indians with guns, ammunition, and cloth-
ing, until the latter had forgotten the weapons and
garments of their forefathers, and depended on the
white men for support. The sudden withholding of
these supplies was, therefore, a grievous calamity,
Want, suffering, and death were the consequences
and this cause alone would have been enoucrh to
produce general discontent. But, unhappi] r ^ier
grievances were superadded."

lat
Mi

ru
otl
ch(

ra<
th
a

1 MS. Johnson Papors.

2 f'.xtract from a MS. letter — Sir
W. Johnson to Governor Colden,
Dec. 24, irU3.

" I shall not take upon me to point
out the Originall Parsimony &.c. to
w'' the first defection of the Indians
can with justice & certainty be at-

tributed, but only observe, as I did
in a tbrmer letter, that the Indians
(whose friendship was never culti-
vated by the English with that atten-
tion, expense, & assiduity witli w" v'
French obtained their favour, w.rc
for many years jealous of our irrowing
power, were repeatedly assured by

Chap. VU.] DISORDERS OF TIIE FUR-TRADE.

155

'i i-iS

The English fur-trade had never been well regu-
lated, and it was now in a worse condition than ever.
Many of the traders, and those in their employ, were
ruffians of the coarsest stamp, who vied with each
other in rapacity, violence, and profligacy. They
cheated, cui-sed, and plundered the Indians, and out-
raged their families ; offering, when compared with
the French traders, who were under better regulation,
a r >t unfavorable example of the character of their
luuion.

The officers and soldiers of the garrisons did their
full par^ in exciting the general resentment. For-
merly, wiien the warriors came to the forts, they had
been welcomed by the French with attention and
resp^"^ The inconvenience which their presence oc-
casioiicd had been disregarded, and their peculiarities
overlooked. But now they were received with cold
Icjoks and harsh words from the officers, and with
oaths, menaces, and sometimes blows, from the reck-

the French (who were at y" pains of
havinjT many proper emissaries among
themUhat so soon as we became mas-
ters 't' this country, we should imme-
diately treat them with neglect, hem
tiieiiiiii with Posts &, P^orts, encroach
upon tiieir Lands, and finally destroy
tliein, Al! w'' after the reduction of
('aivwia, ■^•■'^med to appear too clearly
to the Iniiians, who thereby lost the
<Trr>at iidviintages resulting from the
possession w'' the French formerly
hail oi' Posts »Si Trade in their Coun-
•ry, neither of which they could have
ever enjoyed but for the notice they
took (it' thf Indiuns. & the presents
they bestowed so bountifully upon
tlieiii, w however expensive, they
wisely foresaw was infinitely cheap-
er, and much more effectual than the
keeping of a large body of Regular
Troops, in their several Countrys

w'' however considerable could not
protect Trade, or cover Settlements,
but must remain cooped up in their
garrisons, or else be exposed to the
Ambuscades & surprises of an En-
emy over whom (from the nature &.
situation of their country) no im-
portant Advantage can be gained, —
from a sense of these Truths the
French chose the most reasonable &
most promising Plan, a Plan which
has endeared their niv.Mnory to most
of the Indian Nations, who would I
fear gtMiorally go ,ver to them in
case they ever ^ot footing again
ui this Country, & who were repeat-
edly exhorted, & encouraged by the
French (from motives of Interest &
dislike w*" they will always possess)
to fall upon us, by representing that
their liberties &- Country were in
y' utmost danger "

156

ANGER OF THE INDIANS.

rCnAP. VII

§i

less and brutal soldiers. When, after their trouble-
some and intrusive fashion, they were lounging every
where about the fort, or lazily reclining in the shadow
of the walls, they were met with muttered ejacula-
tions of impatience or abrupt orders to depart, enforced,
perhaps, by a touch from the but of a sentinel's
musket. These marks of contempt were unspeakably
galling to their haughty spirit.^

But what most contributed to the growing discon-
tent of the tribes was the intrusion of settlers upon
their lands, at all times a fruitful source of Indian
hostility. Its effects, it is true, could only be felt by
those whose country bordered upon the English set-
tlements ; but among these were the most powerful
and influential of the tribes. The Delawares and
Shawanoes, in particular, had by this time been roused
to the highest pitch of exasperation. Their best lands
had been invaded, and all remonstrance had been fruit-
less. They viewed with wrath and fear the steady
progress of the white man, whose settlements had
passed the Susquehanna, and were fast extending to
the Alleghanies, eating away the forest like a spread-
ing canker. The anger of the Delawares was abun-
dantly shared by their ancient conquerors, the Six
Nations. The threatened occupation of Wyoming by
settlers from Connecticut gave great umbrage to the

I Some of the principal causes of
the war are exhibited with spirit and
truth in the old tragedy of " ■ onte-
ach," written probably b Major
Rotjers. The portion of tiie play re-
ferred to is given in Appendix, B.

"The Eng'lish treat us with much
Disrespect, and we have the greatest
Reason to believe, by their Behavior,
tliey iniend to Cut us oft' entirely ;

They have possessed themselves oi
our Country, it is now in our power
to Dispossess them and Recover it,
if we will but Embrace the oppurtu-
nity before they have time to assem-
ble together, and fortif"_ them.sL'lve.s
there is no time to be lost, let us
Strike immediately." — Speech of «
Scntca thief to the jyi/nndots and Oi-
tawas of Detroit, July, 1761.

Chap. VII.] SINISTER MOVEMENTS OF THE FRENCH.

157

confederacy.^ The Senecas were more esjDccially
incensed at English intrusion, since, from their po-
sition, they were farthest removed from the soothing
tiifiiience of Sir William Johnson, and most exposed
to the seductions of the French, while the Mohawks,
another member of the confederacy, were justly
alarmed at seeing the better part of their lands pat-
ented out without their consent. Some Christian In-
dians of the Oneida tribe, in the simplicity of their
hearts, sent an earnest petition to Sir William John-
son, that the English forts within the limits of the
Six Nations might be removed, or, as the petition
expresses it, kicked out of the ivay^

The discontent of the Indians gave great satisfac-
tion to the French, who saw in it an assurance of
safe and bloody vengeance on their conquerors. Can-
ada, it is true, was gone beyond hope of recovery;
but they still might hope to revenge its loss. Interest,
moreover, as well as passion, prompted them to in-
flame the resentment of the Indians ; for most of
the inhabitants of the French settlements upon the
lakes and the Mississippi were engaged in the fur-
trade, and, fearing the English as formidable rivals,
they would gladly have seen them driven out of the
country. Traders, hahifaus, coureurs des bois, and all
other classes of this singular population, accordingly

' Minutes of Conference with the
iiiomselves oi ■ Six Nations at Hartford, 17().3, MS.
Letter — Iluinikon to Amherst, May
10, I7til.

- "We are now left in Peace, and
Imve nothinjr to do but to plant our
Corn. Hunt the wihi Beasts, smoke
our Pipo.s, and mind Reli<rion. But
a.s these Forts, which are built among
us, disturb our Peace, & are a preat
!mrt to RelijL^ion, because some of our
Warriors are foolish, & some of our

Brother Soldiers don't fear God, we
therefore desire that these Forts may
be puU'd down, &. kick'd out of the
way."

At a conference at Philadelphia,
in August, 17t)l, an Imtpiois s.ichem
said, " We, your Brethren of the sev-
en Nations, are penned up like iloggs.
There are Fort'' all around us, i u\.
therefore we are apprehensive tliat
Deatti is coming upon us."

> II. A ■ I il^-iipp^H^i

■ ^t-v^'^ycw^^eT"

158

ANGER OF THE INDIANS.

[CnAP. VII.

'•mk

dispersed themselves among the villages of the In-
dians, or held councils with them in the secret places
of the woods, urging them to take up arms against
the English. They exhibited the conduct of the lat-
ter in its worst light, and spared neither misrepresen-
tation nor fiUsehood. They told their excited hearers
that the English had formed a deliberate scheme to
root out the whole Indian race, and, with that design,
had already begun to hem them in with settlements
on the one hand, and a chain of forts on the other.
Among other atrocious plans for their destruction,
they had instigated the Cherokees to attack and de-
stroy the tribes of the Ohio valley.^ These groundk'ss
calumnies found ready belief The French declared.
in addition, that the King of France had of late years
fallen asleep; that, during his slumbers, the English
had seized upon Canada ; but that he was now awake
again, and that his armies were advancing up the 8t,
Lawrence and the Mississippi, to drive out the in-
truders from the country of their red children. To
these fabrications was added the more substantial en-
couragement of arms, ammunition, clothing, and pro-
visions, which the French trading companies, if not
the officers of the crown, distributed with a liberal
hand.-

Tlie fierce passions of the Indians, excited by their
wrongs, real or imagined, and exasperated by the
representations erf the French, were yet fiirther wrought
upon by influences of another kind. A prophet rose
among the Delawares. This man may serve as a coun-
terpart to the famous Shawanoe prophet, who figured

1 Crophan's Journal. See Hil- 2 Examination of Gorshom Hifks.
(Ireth, Pioneer History, (i8. Also a spy. See Pennsylvania Gazette,
Butler, Hist. Kentucky, Appendix. No. 1840.

Chap. VII.]

DELAWARE TROPIIET.

159

so conspicuously in the Indian outbreak under Te-
cumseh, immediately before the war with England in
1812. Many other parallel instances might be shown,
as tlie great susceptibility of the Indians to religious
and superstitious impressions renders the advent of a
prophet among them no very rare occurrence. In
the present instance, the inspired Delaware seems to
have been rather an enthusiast than an impostor; or
perhaps he combined both characters. The objects
of his mission were not wholly political. By means
of certain external observances, most of them suf-
ficiently frivolous and absurd, his disciples were to
strengthen and purify their natures, and make them-
selves acceptable to the Great Spirit, whose messenger
he proclaimed himself to be. He also enjoined them
to lay aside the weapons and clothing which they
received from the white men, and return to the primi-
tive life of their ancestors. By so doing, and by
strictly observing his other precepts, the tribes would
soon be restored to their ancient greatness and power,
and be enabled to drive out the white men who in-
fested their territory. The prophet had many follow-
ers. Indians came from far and near, and gathered
together in large encampments to listen to his exhor-
tations. His fame spread even to the nations of the
northern lakes ; but though his disciples followed most
of his injunctions, flinging away flint and steel, and
making copious use of emetics, with other observances
e(iually troublesome, yet the requisition to abandon
the use of fire-arms was too inconvenient to be com-
phed with.^

' M'Cullough's Narrative. Sep In- awares, at the time of the prophet's
cideiits of Border Life. 98. M'Cul- appearance
lougli was a prisoner among the Del-

'^^'"Iji? s:-

i-hUd!

'Mi

!.r.J

m ^ . •

m*^

i I

160

THE CONSPIRACY.

[Cnxr. VII.

With SO many causes to irritate their restless and
warUke spirit, it could not be supposed that the In-
dians would long remain quiet. Accordingly, in the
summer of the year 1761, Captain Campbell, then com-
manding at Detroit, received information that a depu-
tation of Senecas had come to the neighboring village
of the Wyandots for the purpose of instigating the
latter to destroy him and his garrison.^ On farther
inquiry, the plot proved to be general, and Niagara,
Fort Pitt, and other posts, were to share the fate of
Detroit. C'ampbell instantly despatched messengers to
Sir Jeffrey Amherst, and the commanding officers of
the different forts; and, by this timely discovery, the
conspiracy was nipped in the bud. During the fol-
lowing summer, 1762, another similar design was
detected and suppressed. They proved but the pre-
cursors of a tempest. Within two years after the
discovery of the first plot, a scheme was matured

1 MS. Minutes of a Council held
by Deputies of the Six Nations, with
the VV'yandots, Ottawas, Ojibwas,
and Pottawattamies, at the Wyandot
town, near Detroit, July 3, 17G1.

Extract from a MS. Letter — Cap-
tain Campbell, commanding at De-
troit, to Major Walters, commanding
at Niagara.

< "Detroit, Juno 17th, 1761,
( two o'clock in the morning.
"Sir:

" I had the favor of Yours, with
General Amlierst's Dispatches.

" I have sent You an Express with
a very Important piece of Intelli-
gence I have had the good fortune
to Discover. I have been Lately
alarmed with Rnports of the bad De-
signs of the Indian Nations against
this place and the English in Gen-
eral ; 1 can now Inform You for cer-
tain it Comes from the Six Nations ;

and that they have Sent Belts of
Wampum & Deputys to all the Na-
tions, from Nova Scotia to the Illi-
nois, to take up the Hatchet against
the English, and have Employed the
Messagues to send Belts of Wam-
pum to the Northern Nations

"Their project is as follows : the Six
Nations — at least the Senecas are to
Assemble at the hcitd of French
Creek,within five and twenty Lcajrues
of Presqu'Isle, part of the Six Na-
tions, the Dc'lawares & Shanese, are
to Assemble on the Ohio, and all at
the same tir.ie, about the latter End
of this Month, to surprise Niajffira
&L Fort Pitt, and Cut off the Coni-
muui^atioo Every wiiere ; I hijpeihis
will Come ti'-.ie S.migh to put You
on Your Guard and to send to Os-
wego, and all the Posts on that com-
munication, they Expect to be Joined
by the Nations that are Come from
the North by Toronto."

Chap. VII.]

PONTIAC.

161

jstless and
at the In-
jly, in the
then com-
at a dcpu-
mg villagL'
gating the
3n farther
L Niagara,
he fate of
ssengers to
officers of
jovery, the
ig the fol-
esign was
it the pre-
after the
s matured

3ent Bolts of
to all the Na-
,ia to the Illi-
atchet ajrainsl
Employed the
oils of Warn-

Nations

>llows : the Six

Senecaa are to

A of French

\icnty Leajriies

' the Six Na-

Shanese, are

lio, and all at

le latter End

r'cse Niagara

off the Com-

; I hijpeihis

1 to put You

send to Os-

on that com-

to be Joined

3 Come from

o-reater in extent, deeper and more comprehensive in
design — such a one as was never, before or since,
conceived or executed by a North American Indian.
It was determined to attack all the English forts upon
the same day ; then, having destroyed their garrisons,
to turn upon the defenceless frontier, and ravage and
lay waste the settlements, until, as many of the In-
dians fondly believed, the English should all be driven
into the sea, and the country restored to its primi-
tive OAvners.

It is difficult to determine which tribe was first to
raise the cry of war. There were many who might
have done so, for all the savages in the backwoods
were ripe for an outbreak, and the movement seemed
ahnost simultaneous. The Delawares and Senecas
were the most incensed, and Kiashuta, chief of the
latter, was perhaps foremost to apply the torch ; but,
if this were the case, he touched fire to materials
already on the point of igniting. It belonged to a
greater chief than he to give method and order to
what would else have been a wild burst of fury, and
to convert desultory attacks into a formidable and
protracted war. But for Pontiac, the whole might
have ended in a few troublesome inroads upon the
frontier, and a little whooping and yelling under the
walls of Fort Pitt.

Pontiac, as already mentioned, was principal chief
of the Ottawas. The Ottawas, Ojibwas, and Potta-
wattamies, had long been united in a loose kind of
confederacy, of which he was the virtual head. Over
those around him his authority was almost despotic,
and his power extended far beyond the limits of the
three united tribes. His influence was great among
all the nations of the Illinois country ; while, from
21 N*

'!;; i\

162

THE CONSPIRACY.

[Chap. VR

iwr

1 1< 'I'

the sources of the Ohio to those of the ^rississippi,
and, indeed, to the farthest boundaries of the Avidc.
spread Algonquin race, liis name was known and re-
spected.

The fact that Pontiac was born the son of a chiif
woukl in no degree .iccount for the extent of his
power ; for, among Indians, many a chief's son sinks
back into insignificance, while the oifspring of a com-
mon warrior may succeed to his place. Among all
the Avild tribes of the continent, personal merit is
indispensable to gaining or preserving dignity. Cour-
age, resolution, wisdom, address, and eloquence are
sure passports to distinction. With all these Pontiac
was preeminently endowed, and it was chiefly to tlieni,
urged to their highest activity by a vehement am-
bition, that he owed his greatness. His intellect
was strong and capacious. He possessed command-
ing energy and force of mind, and in subtlety ami
craft could match the best of his wily race. But,
though capable of acts of lofty magnanimity, he was a
thorough savage, with a wider range of intellect than
those around him, but sharing all their passions and
prejudices, their fierceness and treachery. Yet his
faults were the faults of his race ; and they cannot
eclipse his nobler qualities, the great powers and
heroic virtues of his mind. His memory is still cher-
ished among the remnants of many Algonquin tribes.
and the celebrated Tecumseh adopted him for his
model, proving himself no unworthy imitator.^

1 Drake, Life of Tecumseh, 188.

Several tribes, the Miamis, Sacs,
and others, have claimed connection
with the great chief; but it is certain
that he was, by adoption at least, an
Ottawa. Henry Conner, formerly

government interpreter for the north-
ern tribes, declared, on the fliith ol
Indian tradition, that he was born
among the Ottawas of an Ojibiva
mother, a circumstance which proved
an advantage to him by increasing

Chap. VII.] GLOOMY rUOSrECTS OF THE INDIANS.

1()3

Poiitiac was now about fifty years old. Until Ma-
jor Kogvrs came into the country, he had been, from
motives probably both of hiterest and inclinatiou, a
firm friend of the French. Not long before tlu; l*'reuch
war broke out, he had saved the garrison of Detroit
from tlie imminent peril of an attack from some of
the discontented tribt^s of the north. During the war,
he had fought on the side of France. It is said that
he coinmanded the Ottawas at the memorable defeat
of Ijriiddock ; but, at all events, he was treated with
miic'li honor by the French officers, and received espe-
cial marks of esteem from the ]Mar(|uis of Montcalm.*

AVe have seen how, when the tide of affairs changed,
the subtle and ambitious chief trimmed his bark to
the current, and gave the hand of friendship to the
English. That he was disappointed in their treat-
ment of him, and in all the hopes that he had formed
from their alliance, is sufficiently evident from one
of his speeches. A new light soon began to dawn
upon his untaught but powerful mind, and he saw
the altered posture of affairs under its true aspect.

It was a momentous and gloomy crisis for the In-
dian race, for never before had they been exposed to
such pressing and imminent danger. With the down-
fall of Canada, the Indian tribes had sunk at once
from their position of power and importance. Hith-
erto the two rival European nations had kept each
other in check upon the American continent, and the

his inflnen :o over both tribes. An
Ojibwa Indian told the writer that
suine portion ot' liis power was to be
ascribed to his beinjr a chief of tlie
Metal, a nuigical association anionir
the Indians of the lakes, in which
character he exerted an influence on
tlie superstition of his followers.

1 The venerable Pierre Chouteau,
of St. Louis, remembered to have
seen Pontiac, a few days before the
death of the latter, attired in the com-
plete uniform of a French officer,
which had been fjiven him by the
Maniuis of Montcalm not lonjr before
tlie battle on the Plains of Abraham.

IMAGE EVALUATION
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Sciences
Corporation

23 WEST MAINS. REET

WEBSTER, NY. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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164

THE CONSPIRACY.

[Chap. VII.

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Indian tribes had, in some measure, held the balancp
of power between them. To conciliate their good
will and gain their alliance, to avoid offending them
by injustice and encroachment, was the policy both
of the French and English. But now the face of
affairs was changed. The English had gained an un-
disputed ascendency, and the Indians, no longer im-
portant as allies, were treated as mere barbarians.
who might be trampled upon with impunity. Aban-
doned to their own feeble resources and dividtKl
strength, the tribes must fast recede, and dwindle
away before the steady progress of the colonial po^^el•.
Already their best hunting-grounds were invaded, and
from the eastern ridges of the Alleghanies they mijjfht
see, from far and near, the smoke of the settlers' clear-
ings, rising in tall columns from the dark-green bosom
of the forest. The doom of the race was sealed, and
no human power cc Id avert it; but they, in tlieii
ignorance, believed othenvise, and vainly thought that.
by a desperate effort, they might yet uproot and over-
throw the growing strength of their destroyers.

It would be idle to suppose that the great mass
of the Indians understood, in its full extent, the dan-
ger which threatened their race. With them, tlu
war was a mere outbreak of fury, and they turned
against their enemies \i^ith as little reason or fore-
cast as a panther when he leaps at the throat of
the hunter. Goaded by wrongs and indignities, they
struck for revenge, and relief from the evil of tlu
moment. But the mind of Pontiac could embraee a
wider and deeper view. The peril of the times was
unfolded in its full extent before him, and he resolved
to unite the tribes in one grand effort to avert it.
He did not, like many of his people, entertain the

Chap. \ U.]

DESIGNS OF PONTIAC.

165

absurd idea that the Indians, by their unaided strength,
could drive the English into the sea. He adopted
the only plan that was consistent with reason, that
of restoring the French ascendency in the west, and
once more opposing a check to British encroachment.
With views like these, he lent a greedy ear to the
plausible falsehoods of the Canadians, who assured
him that the armies of King Louis were already ad-
vancing to recover Canada, and that the French and
tlieir red brethren, fighting side by side, would drive
the English dogs back within their own narrow limits.
Revolving these thoughts, and remembering more-
over that his own ambitious views might be advanced
by the hostilities he meditated, Pontiac no longer hesi-
tated. Revenge, ambition, and patriotism, wrought
upon him alike, and he resolved on war. At the
close of the year 1762, he sent out ambassadors to
the different nations. They visited the country of
the Ohio and its tributaries, passed northward to the
region of the upper lakes, and the wild borders of
the River Ottawa; and far southward towards the
mouth of the Mississippi.' Bearing with them the
war-belt of wampum,^ broad and long, as the impor-

i MS. LeUer — M. D'Abbadie to
M. Neyon, 1704.

■^ Wampum was an article much
in use among many tribes, not only
for ornament, but for the graver pur-
poses of councils, treaties, and ein-
biissies. In ancient times, it consisted
of small shells, or fragments of shells,
rudely perforated, and strung togeth-
er ; but more recently, it was manu-
factured by the white men, from the
inner portions of certain marine and
fresh water shells. In shape, the
grains or beads resembled small
pieces of broken pipe-stem, and were
of various sizes and colots, black.

purple, and white. When used for
ornament, they were arranged fanci-
fully in necklaces, collars, and em-
broidery ; but when employed for
public purposes, they were disposed
in a great variety of patterns and de-
vices, which, to the minds of the In-
dians, had all the significance of
hieroglyphics. An Indian orator, at
every clause of his speech, delivered
a belt or string of wampum, varying
in siKe, according to the importance
of what he had said, and, by its fig-
ures and coloring, so arranged aa to
perpetuate the remembrance of his
words. These belts were carefully

166

THE CONSPIRACY.

[Chap. VIL

i !

tance of the message demanded; and the tomahawk
stained red, in token of war; they went from camp
to camp, and village to village. Wherever they ap.
pearcd, the sachems and old men assembled, to hear
the words of the great Pontiac. Then the head chief
of the embassy flung down the tomahawk on the
ground before them, and holding the war-belt in his
hand, delivered, with vehement gesture, word for word,
the speech with which he was charged. It was heard
every where with approbation ; the belt was accei)ted,
the hatchet snatched up, and the assembled chiefs
stood pledged to take part in the war. The blow
was to be struck at a certain time in the month of
May following, to be indicated by the changes of the
moon. The tribes were to rise together, each destroy-
ing the English garrison in its neighborhood, and
then, with a general rush, the whole were to turn
agahist the settlements of the frontier.

The tribes, thus banded together against the Eng-
lish, comprised, with a few unimportant exceptions, the
whole Algonquin stock, to whom were united the Wy-
andots, the Senecas, and several tribes of the lower
Mississi[)pi. The Senecas were the only members

stored up like written documents, and
it was generally the office of some
old man to niterpret their meaning.

When a waini)uin boit was sent to
summon the tribes to join in war, its
color was always red or black, while
the prevailing; color of a peace-belt
was white. Tobacco was sometimes
used on such occasions as a substi-
tute for wampum, since in their coun-
cils the Indians are in the habit of
constantly smokinjr, and tobacco is
therefore taken as the emblem of de-
liberation. With the tobacco or the
belt of wampum, presents are not un-
frequently sent to concilicto the good

will of the tribe whose alliance is
sougfht. In the summer of the year
184(J, when the western bands of the
Dahcotah were preparing to go in
concert against their enemies the
Crows, the chief who was at the head
of the design, and in whoso viilaire
the writer was an inmate, impov-
erished hiinjclf by sending most of
his horses as presents to the chiefs
of the surrounding villages. On this
occasion, tobacco was the token borne
by the messengers, as wampum is not
in use among the tribes of that re-
gion.

Chap VUl DISSIMULATION OF THE INDIANS.

167

of the Iroquois confederacy who joined in the league,
the rest being kept quiet by the influence of Sir
AVilliain Johnson, whose utmost exertions, however,
were barely sufficient to allay their irritation.'

While thus on the very eve of an outbreak, the
Indians concealed their design with the deep dissimu-
lation of their race. The warriors still lounged about
the forts, ^v'ith calm, impenetrable faces, begging as
heretofore for tobacco, gunpowder, and whiskey. Now
and tlicn, some slight intimation of danger would
startle the garrisons from their security, and an Eng-
lish trader, coming in from the Indian villages, would
report that, from their manner and behavior, he sus-
pected them of mischievous designs. Some scoundrel
half-breed woidd be heard boasting in his cups that
before next summer he would have English hair to
fringe his hunting-frock. On one occasion, the plot
was nearly discovered. Early in March, 1763, En-
sign Holmes, commanding at Fort Miami, was told
by a friendly Indian, that the warriors in the neigh-
boring village had lately received a war-belt, with a
message urging them to destroy him and his garri-
son, and that this they were preparing to do. Holmes
called the Indians together, and boldly charged them
with their design. They did as Indians on such oc-
casions have often done, confessed their fault with
much apparent contrition, laid the blame on a neigh-
boring tribe, and professed eternal friendship to their
brethren the English. Holmes Vrrites to report his
discovery to Major Gladwyn, who, in his turn, sends
the information to Sir Jeffrey Amherst, expressing his
opinion that there has been a general hiitation among

^ MS. Johnson Papers.

168

THE CONSPIRACY.

[Chap. VU

-if

the Indians, but that the affair will soon blow over,
and that, in the neighborhood of his own post, the
savages were perfectly tranquil.* Within cannon shot
of the deluded officer's palisades, was the village of
Pontiac himself, the arch enemy of the English, and
prime mover in the plot.

With the approach of spring, the Indians, coming
in from their wintering grounds, began to appear in
small parties about the different forts ; but now they
seldom entered them, encamping at a little distance
in the woods. They were fast pushing their prepara-
tions for the meditated blow, and waiting with stifled
eagerness for the appointed hour.

J MS. Speech of a Miami Chief
to Ensign Hohnes. MS. Letter —
Holmes to Gladwyn, March 16, 1703.
Gladwyn to Amherst, March 21, 1763.

Extract from a MS. Letter — En-
sign Holmes, commanding at Miamis,
to Major Gladwyn : —

S" Fort Miamis,
March 30th, 1763.

"Since my Last Letter to You,
wherein I Acquainted You of the
Bloody Belt being, in this Village, I
have made all the search I could about

it, and have found it out to bo Trae:
Whereon I Assembled all the Cliiefj
of this Nation, & after a loiiif and
troublesome Spell with them, I Ob-
tained the Belt, with a Speech, as Vou
will Receive Enclosed; This AL-r
is very timely Stopt, and I hope i.;
News of a Peace will put .i Stop to
any further Troubles with these In-
dians, who are the Principal Ones of
Setting Mischief on Foot I send
you the Belt, with this Packet, which
t hope You will Forward to the Gen-
eral."

:f"rr

CHAPTER VIII.

INDIAN PREPARATION.

I INTERRUPT the progress of the narrative to glance
for a moment at the Indians in their military capacity,
and observe how far they were qualified to prosecute
the foimidable war into which they were about to
plunge.

A people living chiefly by the chase, and there-
fore, of necessity, thinly scatterea over a great space,
divided into numerous tribes, hold together by no
strong principle of cohesion, and with no central
government to combine their strength, could act
with little efficiency against such an enemy as was
now opposed to them. Loose and disjointed as a
whole, the government even of individual tribes, and
of their smallest separate communities, was too feeble
to deserve the name. There were, it is true, chiefs
whose office was in a manner hereditary; but their
authority was wholly of a moral nature, and enforced
hy no compulsory law. Their province was to ad-
vise, and not to command. Their influence, such as
it was, is chiefly to be ascribed to the piinciple of
hero-worship, natural to the Indian character, and to
the reverence for age, which belongs to a state of
society where a patriarchal element largely prevails.
It was their office to declare war and make peace;
but when war was declared, they had no power to
22

170

INDIAN PREPARATION.

[CiAp. VIII

k'tm:

w 1

ffi ^ii

carry the declaration into effect. The warriors fought
if they chose to do so; but if, on the contrary, they
preferred to remain quiet, no man could force them
to lift tlie hatchet. The war-chief, whose i)art it wus
to lead them to battle, was a mere partisan, whom his
bravery and exploits had led to distinction. If he
thought proper, he sang his war-song and danced his
war-dance, and as many of the young men as were
disposed to follow him gathered around and enlisted
themselves under him. Over these volunteers he had
no legal authority, and they could desert him at any
moment, with no other penalty than disgrace, ^^'hen
several war-parties, of different bands or tribes, were
united in a common enterprise, their chiefs elected a
leader, who was nominally to command the whole ; but
unless this leader was a man of high distinction, and
endowed with great mental power, his commands were
disregarded, and his authority was a cipher. Among
his followers was every latent element of discord,
pride, jealousy, and ancient half-smothered feuds, ready
at any moment to break out, and tear the whole
asunder. His warriors would often desert in bodies;
and many an Indian army, before reaching the ene-
my's country, has been known to dwindle away until
it was reduced to a mere scalping party.

To twist a rope of sand would be as easy a task
as to form a permanent and effective army of such
materials. The wild love of freedom, and impatience
of all control, which mark the Indian race, ren-
der them utterly intolerant of military discipline.
Partly from their individual character, and partly
from this absence of subordination, spring results
highly unfavorable to the efficiency of continued and
extended military operation. Indian warriors, when

Chap.VUL] the INDIANS AS A MILITARY PEOPLE.

171

acting in large masses, are to the last degree way-
ward, capricious, and unstable ; infirm of purpose as
a mob of children, and devoid of providence and fore-
sight. To provide supi)lies for a campaign forms no
part of their system. Hence the blow must be struck
at once, or not struck at all ; and to postpone victory
is to insure defeat. It is when acting in small, de-
taclicd parties, that the Indian warrior puts forth his
energies, and displays his admirable address, endur-
ance, and intrepidity. It is then that he becomes
a truly formidable enemy. Fired with the hope of
winning scalps, he is stanch as a bloodhound. No
hardship can divert him from his purpose, and no
danger subdue his patient and cautious courage.

From their inveterate passion for war, the Indians
are always prompt enough to engage in it ; and on
the present occasion, the prevailing irritation afforded
ample assurance that they would not remain idle.
While there was little risk that they would capture
any strong and well-defended fort, or carry any im-
portant position, there was, on the other hand, every
reason to apprehend wide-spread havoc, and a destruc-
tive war of detail. That the war might be carried
on with vigor and effect, it was the part of the Indian
leaders to work upon the passions of their people,
and keep alive the feeling of irritation ; to whet their
native ai)petite for blood and glory, and cheer them
on to the attack ; to guard against all that might
quench their ardor, or abate their fierceness ; to avoid
pitched battles ; never to fight except under advan-
tage; and to avail themselves of all the aid which
[mr})rise, craft, and treachery could afford. The very
circnmstances which unfitted the Indians for contmued
and concentrated attack were, m another view, highly

172

INDIAN PTIEPARATION.

(Chap. VIU

•]•

jii

' ,!■

i I

■i I.,

advantageous, by preventing the enemy from assail-
ing them with vital eftect. It was no easy tusk to
penetrate tangh'd woods in search of a foe, alert and
active as a lynx, who would seldom stand and fij;lit,
whose deadly shot and triumphant whoop were the
first and often the last tokens of his presence, and
who, at the approach of a liostile force, would vmiish
into the black recesses of forests and pine swamps.
only to renew his attacks afresh with unabated ardor.
There were no forts to capture, no magazines to (k^
stroy, and little property to seize upon. No s[)(cks
of warfare could be more perilous and harassing in
its prosecution, or less satisfactory in its results.

The English colonies at this time were but ill
fitted to bear the brunt of the impending war. The
army which had comjuered Canada was now broken
up and dissolved ; the provincials were disbanded, and
most of the regulars sent home. A few fragiuLiit>
of regiments, miserably wasted by war and sickntss.
were just arrived from the West Indies ; and of these.
several were already ordered to England, to be (lis-
chicrged. There remained barely troops enougli to
furnish feeble garrisons for the various forts on the
frontier and in the Indian country.* At the head of
this dilapidated army was Sir Jeffrey Amherst, the
able and resolute soldier who had achieved the re-
duction of Canada. He was a man well fitted for
the emergency ; cautious, bold, active, far-sighted.
and endowed with a singular power of breathing
his own energy and zeal into those who served un-
der him. The com^nand coidd not have been in bet-
ter hands; and the results of the war, lamentable as

1 Mante, 485.

Chap. VlH-l

THE PEACE OF PARIS.

173

they wore, would have been much more diMistrous,
but for his promptness and vigor, and, above all, his
judicious selection of those to whom he confided the
exerution of his orders.

AVliile the war was on the eve of breaking out, an
event occurred which had afterwards an important
effect upon its progress — t^ie signing of the treaty
of peace at Paris, on the tenth of February, 1763."
By this treaty France resigned her claims to the ter-
ritories east of the Mississippi, and that great river
now became the west(MTi boundary of the British co-
lonial possessions. In portioning out her ucav acqui-
sitions into se])arate governments, England left the
valley of the Ohio and the adjacent regions as an
Indian domain, and by the proclamation of the sev-
enth of October following, the intrusion of settlers
upon these lands was strictly prohibited." Could these
just and necessary measures have been sooner adopted,
it is probable that the Indian war might have been
prevented, or, at all events, rendered less general and
violent, for the treaty would have made it apparent
that t!ie French could never repossess themselves of
Canada, and have proved the futility of every hope
which the Indians entertained of assistance from that
quarter, while, at the same time, the royal proclama-
tion would have greatly tended to tranquillize their
minds, by removing the chief cause of irritation. But
the remedy came too late. \A'hile the sovereigns of
Franco, England, and Spain, were signing the treaty
at Paris, countless Indian warriors in the American
forests were singing the war-song, and whetting their
scalping-knives.

1 Holmes, Annals, IT. 2.58,

2 See Proclamation, Gentleman's Magazine, XXXIII. 477.

174

INDIAN PREPARATION.

[Chap \Tn

Jti '

t Tliroughout the wcntcnn wildcmoss, in a hundnd
camps and villages, were celebrated the savage rites
of war. AVarriors, women, and children vere alike
eager and excited; magicians consulted their oracles.
and prepjired charms to insure success ; while the war-
chief, his body painted black from head to foot.
withdrawing from tin* people, concealed himself atnong
rocks and caverns, or in the dark nu-esses of the forest.
Here, fasting and praying, he calls day and iii^'ht
upon the Great Spirit, consulting his dreams, to draw
from them auguries of good or evil ; and if, pei-chance.
a vision of the great war-(vigle seems to hover over
him with ex[)anded wings, he exults in the full con-
viction of triumph. AVhen a few days have elai»sr(l.
he emerges from his retreat, and the people discover
him descending from the woods, and approaching their
camp, black as a demon of war, and shrunken with
fasting and vigil. They flock around and listen to
his wild harangue. He calls on them to avenge the
blood of their slaughtered relatives; he assures them
that the Great Si)irit is on their side, and that vic-
tory is certain. With exulting cries they disperse to
their wigwams, to array themselves in the savage dec-
orations of the war-dress. An old man now passes
through the camp, and invites the warriors to a feast
in the name of the chief. They gather from all
quarters to his wigwam, w'here they find him seated.
no longer covered with black, but adorned with the
startling and fantastic blazonry of the war-pamt,
Those who join in the feast pledge themsehes, by so
doing, to follow him against the enemy. The guests
seat themselves on the ground, in a circle around the
wigwam, and the flesh of dogs is placed in wooden
dishes before them, while the chief, though goaded

COAP VIII] THE WAU-FEAST— THE WAU-DANCE.

173

a f(ni!jt
om all
seated,
ith the
-pamt,
, by so
guests
nd the
'ooden
goaded

bv the pangs of his long, unbroken fust, sits smoking
his pipe with unmoved countenance, and takes no
part in the feast.

Night has now closed in, and the rough clearing
is ilhunined by the bhize of fires and burning jjine
knots, casting their deep red glare upon the dusky
bouglis of the tall surrounding pine-trees, and \i\Hm
tlie wild multitude who, fluttering with feathers jind
bedaubed with paint, have gathered for the celebra-
tion of the war-dance. A painted post is driven into
the ground, and the cro>nl form a wide circle around it.
The chief leaps into the vacant space, brandishing
his hatchet as if rushing upon an enemy, and, in a
loud, vehement tone, cLrnts his own exploits and
those of his anc^^^tors, enacting the deeds which he
describes, yelling the war-whoop, throwing himself
into all the postures of actual fight, striking the post
as if it were an enemy, and tearing the scalp from
tlie head of the imajjinarv victim. Warrior after war-
rior follows his example, until the whole assembly, as
if fired with sudden frenzy, rush together into the
ring, leaping, stamping, and whooi)ing, brandishing
knives and hatchets in the fire light, hacking and

stabbinff

th'

air, and working themselves into the

fury of battle, while at intervals they all bi-eak forth
into a burst of ferocious yells, which sounds for miles
away over the lonely, midnight forest.

In the morning, the warriors prepare to depart.
They leave the camp in single file, still decorated in
all their finery of paint, feathers, and scalp-locks ; and
as they enter the woods, the chief fires his gun, the
warrior behind follows his example, and the discharges
pass in slow succession from front to rear, the salute
concluding with a general whoop. They encamp at no

'^ t

]\i

ti)

176

INDIAN PREPARATION.

[Chap. VIIL

great distance from the village, and divest themselves
of their much-valued ornaments, which are carried
back by the women, who have followed them for this
purpose. The warriors pursue their journey, clad in
the rough attire of hard service, and move silently
and stealthily through the forest towards the hapless
garrison, or defenceless settlement, which they have
marked as their prey.

The woods were now filled with war-parties such
as this, and soon the first tokens of the approaching
tempest began to alarm the unhappy settlers of the
frontier. At first, some trader or hunter, weak and
emaciated, would come in from the forest, and relate
that his companions had been butchered in the In-
dian villages, and that he alone had escaped. Next
succeeded vague and uncertain rumors of forts at-
tacked and garrisjns slaughtered; and soon after, a
report gained ground that every post throughout the
Indian country had been taken, and every soldier
killed. Close upon these tidings came the enemy
himself. The Indian war-parties broke out of the
woods like gangs of wolves, murdering, burning, and
laying waste, while hundreds of terror-stricken families.
abandoning their homes, fled for refuge towards the
older settlements, and all was misery and ruin.

Passing over, for the present, this portion of the
war, we will penetrate at once into the heart of the
Indian country, and observe those passages of the
conflict which took place under the auspices of Pon-
tiac himself — the siege of Detroit, and the capture
of the interior posts and garrisons.

CHAPTER IX.

THE COUNCIL AT THE RIVER ECORCES

To begin the war was reserved by Pontiac as his own
peculiar privilege. With the first opening of spring
his preparations were complete. His light-footed mes-
sengers, with their wampum belts and gifts of tobacco,
visited many a lonely hunting camp in the gloom of
the northern woods, and called chiefs and warriors to
attend the general meeting. The appointed spot was
on the banks of the little River Ecorces, not far from
Detroit. Thither went Pontiac himself, with his squaws
and his children. Band after band came straggling in
from every side, until the meadow was thickly dotted
with their slender wigwams.^ Here were idle warriors
smoking and laughing in groups, or beguiling the lazy
hours with gambling, with feasting, or with doubtful
scones of their own martial exploits. Here were
yoi\thful gallants, bedizened with all the foppery of
beads, feathers, and hawk's bells, but held as yet in
hght esteem, since they had slain no enemy, and taken
no scalp. Here also were young damsels, radiant with
bears' oil, ruddy with vermilion, and versed in all the
arts of forest coquetry ; shrivelled hags, vdth limbs of
wire, and voices like those of sCreech-owls ; and troops

1 Pontiac MS. See Appendix, C.

178

THE COUNCIL.

[Chap. IX,

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of naked children, with small, black, mischievous eyes.
roaming along the outskirts of the woods.

The great Roman historian observes of the ancient
Germans, that when summoned to a public mectiiiff
they would lag behind the appointed time in order to
show their independence. The remark holds true, and
perhaps with greater emphasis, of the American In-
dians ; and thus it happened, that several days elapsed
before the assembly was complete. In such a motlcv
concourse of barbarians, where different bands and dif-
ferent tribes were mustered on one common cam pin?
ground, it would need all the art of a prudent leader
to prevent their donnant jealousies from starting into
open strife. No people are more prompt to quaiTel,
and none more prone, in the fierce excitement of tlie
present, to forget the purpose of the future ; yet,
through good fortune, or the wisdom of Pontiac, no
rupture occurred ; and at length the last loiterer ap-
peared, and farther delay was needless.

The council took place on the twenty-seventh of
April. On that morning, several old men, the heralds
of the camp, passed to and fro among the lodges, call-
ing the warriors, in a loud voice, to attend the meeting,

In accordance with the summons, they came issuini;
from their cabins — the tall, naked figures of the wild
Ojibwas, with quivers slung at their backs, and light
war-clubs resting in the hollow of their arms; Otti>
was, wrapped close in their gaudy blankets ; "NVyan-
dots, fluttering in painted shirts, their heads adorned
with feathers, and their leggins garnished with bells.
All were soon seated in a wide circle upon the grass,
row within row, a grave and silent assembly. Each
savage countenance seemed carved in wood, and none
could have detected the deep and fiery passions hidden

Chap. IX.]

SPEECH OF PONTIAC.

179

beneath tl at immovable exterior. Pipes with orna-
mented stems were lighted, and passed from hand to

hand.

Then Pontiac rose, and walked forward into the
midst of the council. According to Canadian tradi-
tion, he was not above the middle height, though his
muscular figure was cast in a mould of remarkable
symmetry and vigor. His complexion was darker than
is usual with his race, and his features, though by no
means regular, had a bold and stern expression, while
his habitual bearing was imperious and peremptory,
like tliat of a man accustomed to sweep away all oppo-
sition by the force of his impetuous will. His ordi-
nary attire was that of the primitive savage — a scanty
cincture girt about his loins, and his long, black hair
flowing loosely at his back ; but on occasions like this,
he was wont to appear as befitted his power and char-
acter, and he stood before the councU plumed and
pahited in the full costume of war.

Looking round upon his wild auditors, he began to
speak, with fierce gesture, and loud, impassioned voice ;
and at every pause, deep guttural ejaculations of assent
and approval responded to his words. He inveighed
against the arrogance, rapacity, and injustice of the
English, and contrasted them with the French, whom
they had driven from the soil. He declared that the
British commandant had treated him with neglect and
contempt ; that the soldiers of the garrison had foully
abused the Indians ; and tliat one of them had struck
a follow^er of his own. He represented the danger that
would arise from the supremacy of the English. They
had expelled the French, and now they only waited for
a pretext to turn upon the Indians and destroy them.
Then, holding out a broad belt of wampum, he told

180

THE COUNCIL.

[Chap. IX

fB*^l''

ii^V

M:i

•.<!«

Sr, ''::

the council that he had received it from their great
father the King of France, in token that he had heard
the voice of his red children ; that his sleep was at an
end ; and that his great war-canoes would soon sail up
the St. Lawrence, to win back Canada, and wreak ven-
geance on his enemies. The Indians and their French
brethren should fight once more side by side, as tlicv
had always fought ; they should strike the Englisli as
they had struck them many moons ago, when their
great army marched down the Monongahela, and they
had shot them from their ambush, like a flock of
pigeons in the woods.

Plaving roused in his warlike listeners their native
thirst for blood and vengeance, he next addressed him-
self to their superstition, and told the following tale.
Its precise origin is not easy to determine. It is pos-
sible that the Delaware prophet, mentioned in a former
chapter, may have had some part in it ; or it might
have been the oflspring of Pontiac's heated imagina-
tion, during his period of fasting and dreaming. That
he deliberately invented it for the sake of the effect it
would produce, is the least probable conclusion of all ;
for it evidently proceeds from the superstitious mind of
an Indian, brooding upon the evil days in whicii his
lot was cast, and turning for relief to the mysterious
Author of his being. It is, at all events, a characteris-
tic specimen of the Indian legendary tales, and, like
many of them, bears an allegoric significancy. Yet
he who endeavors to interpret an Indian allegory
through all its erratic windings and puerile inconsis-
tencies, has undertaken no easy or enviable task.

" A Delaware Indian," said Pontiac, " conceived an
eager desire to learn wisdom from the Master of Life;
but, being ignorant where to find him, he had recouise

Chap. IX.|

ALLEGORY OF THE DELAWARE.

181

to fiistiiig, dreaming, and magical incantations. By
these means it was revealed to him, that by moving for-
ward in a straight, undeviating course, he would reach
the abode of the Great Spirit. He told his purpose to
no one, and having provided the equipments of a
hunter, — gun, powder-horn, ammunition, and a kettle
for preparing his food, — he set forth on his errand.
For some time he journeyed on in high hope and confi-
dence. On the evening of the eighth day, ho stopped
by the side of a brook at the edge of a small praiiie,
where he began to make ready his evening meal, when,
looking up, he saw three large openings in tlie woods
on the opposite side of the meadow, and three well-
beaten paths which entered them. He was much sur-
prised ; but his wonder increased when, after it had
grown dark, the three paths were more clearly visible
than ever. Remembering the important object of his
journey, he could neither rest nor sleep ; and, leaving
his fire, he crossed the meadow, and entered the largest
of the three openings. He had advanced but a short
distance into the forest, when a bright flame sprang out
of the ground before him, and arrested his steps. In
great amazement, he turned back, and entered the sec-
ond path, where the same wonderful phenomenon again
encountered him ; and now, in terror and bewilderment,
yet still resolved to persevere, he pursued the last of
the three paths. On this he journeyed a whole day
without interruption, when at length, emerging from
tlie forest, he saw before him a vast mountain, of
dazzling whiteness. So precipitous was the ascent,
that the Indian thought it hopeless to go farther, and
looked around him in despair : at that moment, he saw,
seated at some distance above, the figure of a beautiful
woniua arrayed in white, who arose as he looked upon

iify

182

THE COUNCIL.

[Chap. Q.

her, and thus accosted him : ' How can you hope, en-
cumbered as you are, to succeed in your design ? Go
down to the foot of the mountain, thi'ow away your
gun, your ammunition, your provisions, and your cloth-
ing ; wash yourself in the stream which flows there,
and you will then be prepared to stand before the
Master of Life.' The Indian obeyed, and again began
to ascend among the rocks, while the woman, seeing
him still discouraged, laughed at his faintness of heart,
and told him that, if he wished for success, he must
climb by the aid of one hand and one foot only. After
great toil and suffering, he at length found himself at
the summit. The woman had disappeared, and he was
left alone. A rich and beautiful plain lay before him,
and at a little distance he saw three great villages, far
superior to the squalid dwellings of the Delawares.
As he approached the largest, and stood hesitating
whether he should enter, a man gorgeously attired
stepped forth, and, taking him by the hand, welcomed
him to the celestial abode. He then conducted him
into the presence of the Great Spirit, where the Indian
stood confounded at the unspeakable splendor which
surrounded him. The Great Spuit bade him be seated,
and thus addressed him : —

" ' I am the Maker of heaven and earth, the trees,
lakes, rivers, and all things else. I am the Maker of
mankind; and because I love you, you must do my
will. The land on which you live I have made for
you, and not for others. Why do you suffer the white
men to dwell among youl My children, you have for-
gotten the customs and traditions of your forefathers.
Why do you not clothe yourselves in skins, as they did,
and use the bows and arrows, and the stone-pointed
lances, which they used? You have bought guns,

CBiF. IX.]

ALLEGORY OF THE DELAY/ARE.

183

knives, kettles, and blankets from the white men,
until you can no longer do without them ; and what
is worse, you have drunk the poison fire-water, which
turns you into fools. Fling all these things away ;
live as your wise forefathers lived before you. And as
for these English, — these dogs dressed in red, who have
come to rob you of your hunting-grounds, and drive
away the game, — you must lift the hatchet against
them. Wipe them from the face of the earth, and then
you will win my favor back again, and once more be
happy and prosperous. The children of your great
father, the King of France, are not like the English.
Never forget that they are your brethren. They are
very dear to me, for they love the red men, and under-
stand the true mode of worshipping me.' "

The Great Spirit next instructed his hearer in va-
rious precepts of morality and religion, such as the
prohibition to marry more than one wife, and a warn-
ing against the practice of magic, which is worship-
ping the devil. A prayer, embodying the substance
of all that he had heard, was then presented to the
Delaware. It was cut in hieroglyphics upon a wooden
stick, after the lustom of his people, and he was
directed to seiad copies of it to all the Indian vil-
lages.^

The adventurer now departed, and, returning to the
earth, reported all the wonders he had seen in the
elestial regions.

Such was the tale told by Pontiac to the council;
and it is worthy of notice, that not he alone, but

1 Pontiac MS. — M'Dougal MSS. writes on the authority of Canadians,

M'Dougal states that he derived his some of whom were present at the

information from an Indian. The an- council,
thor of the Pontile MS. probably

184

THE COUNCIL.

[Chap. H

many of the greatest men who have arisen among the
Indians, have been opponents of civilization, and
stanch advocates of primitive barbarism, lied Jacket
and Tecumseh would gladly have brought back their
people to the wild simplicity of their original con-
dition. There is nothing progressive in the rigid, in-
flexible nature of an Indian. He will not open his
mind to the idea of improvement, and nearly every
change that has been forced upon him has been a
change for the worse.

Many other speeches were doubtless made in the
council, but no record of them has been preserved.
All present were eager to attack the British fort, and
Pontiac told them, in conclusion, that on the second
of May he would gain admittance with a party of his
warriors, on pretence of dancing the calumet dance
before the garrison; that they would take note of
the strength of the fortification ; and, this information
gained, he would summon another comicil to determine
the mode of attack.

The assembly now dissolved, and all the evening the
women were employed in loading the canoes, which
were drawn up on the bank of the stream. The en-
campments broke up at so early an hour, that when
the sun rose, the savage swarm had melted away ; the
secluded scene was restored to its wonted silence and
solitude, and nothing remained but the slender frame-
work of several hundred cabins, with fragments of
broken utensils, pieces of cloth, and scraps of hide,
scattered over the trampled grass, while the moulder-
ing embers of numberless flres mingled their dark
smoke with the white mist which rose from the Uttle
river.

Every spring, after the winter hunt was over, the

Chap. K.]

THE CALUMET DANCE.

185

Indians were accustomed to return to their villages,
or peraianent encampments, in the vicinity of Detroit ;
and, accordingly, after the council had broken up,
they made their appearance as usual about the fort.
On the first of May, Pontiac came to the gate with
forty men of the Ottawa tribe, and asked permission
to enter and dance the calumet dance, before the
officers of the garrison. After some hesitation, he was
admitted; and proceeding to the corner of the street,
where stood the house of the commandant, Major
Gladwyn, he and thirty of his Avarriors began their
dance, each recounting his own valiant exploits, and
boasting himself the bravest of mankind. The officers
and men gathered around them ; while, in the mean
time, the remaining ten of the Ottawas strolled about
the fort, observing every thing it contained. When
the dance ^vas over, they all quietly withdrew, not a
suspicion of their sinister design having arisen in the
minds of the English.^

After a few days had elapsed, Pontiac's messengers
again passed among the Indian cabins, calling the
principal chiefs to another council, in the Pottawatta-

mie village.

Here there was a large structure of

bark, erected for the public use on occasions like the
present. A hundred chiefs were seated around this
dusky council-house, the fire in the centre shedding
its fitful light upon their dark, naked forms, while
the sacred pipe passed from hand to hand. To
prevent interruption, Pontiac had stationed young
men, as sentinels, near the house. He once more ad-
dressed the chiefs, inciting them to hostility against
the English, and concluding by the proposal of his

1 Pontiac MS.

186

THE COUNCIL.

[Chap. IX.

plan for destroying Detroit. It was as follows: Pon-
tiac would demand a council with the commandant
concerning matters of great importance; and on this
pretext he flattered himself that he and his princi-
pal chiefs would gain ready admittance within the
fort. They were all to carry weapons concealed be-
neath their blankets. While in the act of addressing
the commandant in the council-room, Pontiac was to
make a certain signal, upon which the chiefs were to
raise the war-whoop, rush upon the officers present,
and strike them down. The other Indians, waiting
meanwhile at the gate, or loitering among the houses,
on hearing the yells and firing within the building,
were to assail the astonished and half-armed soldiers;
and thus Detroit would fall an easy prey.

In opening this plan of treachery, Pontiac spoke
rather as a counsellor than as a commander. Haughty
as he was, he had too much sagacity to wound the
pride of a body of men over whom he had no other
control than that derived from his personal character
and influence. No one was hardy enough to venture
opposition to the proposal of their great leader. His
plan was eagerly adopted. Deep, hoarse ejaculations
of applause echoed his speech; and, gathering their
blankets around them, the chiefs withdrew to their
respective villages, to prepare for the destruction of
the unhappy little garrison.

[Chap. U.

s: Pon.
nandant
on this

princh
bin the
lied be-
dressing

was to
were to
present,
waiting

houses,
milding,
soldiers ;

c spoke
laughty
und the
10 other
haracter

venture
His
ulations
ig their
their

tion of

CHAPTER X.

DETROIT.

To the credulity of mankind each great calamity
lias its dire prognostics. jiis and portents in the
heavens, the vision of an Indian bow, and the figure
of a scalp imprinted on the disk of the moon, warned
the New England Puritans of impending war. The
apparitions passed away, and Philip of Mount Hope
burst from the forest with his Narragansett warriors.
In October, 1762, thick clouds of inky blackness
gathered above the fort and settlement of Detroit.
The river darkened beneath the awful shadows, and
the forest was wrapped in double gloom. Drops of
rain began to fall, of strong, sulphurous odor, and so
deeply colored that the people, it is said, collected and
used them for the purpose of writing.^ A prominent
hterary and philosophical journal seeks to explain this
strange phenomenon on some principle of physical
science ; but the simple Canadians held a different
faith. Throughout the winter, the shower of black
rain was the foremost topic of their fireside talk ; and
dreary forebodings of evil disturbed the breast of
many a timorous matron.

La Motte Cadillac was the founder of Detroit. In

I Carver, Travels, 153. Gent. Mag. XXXIV. 40&

188

DETROIT.

[Chap. X

1. ,J

if I

ml
thb. -

the year 1701, he planted the little military colon v,
which time has transmuted into a thriving American
city.^ At an earlier date, some feeble efforts had been
made to secure the possession of this important })iiiss:
and when La Ilontan visited the lakes, a small post,
called Fort St. Joseph, was standing near the jncsent
site of Fort Gratiot. At about this time, the wander-
ing Jesuits made frequent sojourns upon the bord(>is of
the Detroit, and baptized the savage children whom
they found there.

Fort St. Joseph was abandoned in the year 1688,
The establishment of Cadillac was destined to a Letter
fate, and soon rose to distinguished importance among
the western outposts of Canada. Indeed, the site was
formed by nature for prosperity ; and a bad government
and a thriftless people could not prevent the increase
of the colon}'. At the close of the French war, as
Major Rogers tells us, the place con lined twenty-live
hundred inhabitants.^ The centre of the settlement
was the fortified town, currently called the Fort, to
distinguish it from the straggling dwellings along the
river banks. It stood on the western margin of the
river, covering a small part of the ground now oc-
cupied by the city of Detioit, and contained about a
hundred houses, compactly pressed t" gether, and sur-
rounded by a palisade. Both abo-ve and below the fort,
the banks of the stream were lined on both sides with
small Canadian dwellings, exte^nding at various inter-
vals for nearly eight miles. Facli had its garden and
its orchard, and each was enclosed by a fence ot
rounded pickets. To the soldier or the trader, fresh
from the harsh scenery and ambiislicd perils of the

' 1 Memorial of La Motte Cadillac. ' A hifih pstiinatf. Compare Ra-

See Schoolt'rart, Oneota, 407. mean, Colonic dc Detroit, 2S.

Chap. X.]

ITS ORIGIN AND HISTORY.

189

surrounding wilds, the secluded settlement was wel-
come as an oasis in the desert.

The Canadian is usually a happy man. Life sits
lightly upon him ; he laughs at its hardships, and soon
fcrgcts its sorrows. A lover of roving and adventure,
of the frolic and the dance, he is little troubled with
thoughts of the past or the future, and little plagued
with avarice or ambition. At Detroit, all his propen-
sities found ample scope. Aloof from the world, the
simple colonists shared none of its pleasures and ex-
citements, and were free from many of its cares. Nor
were luxuries wanting which civilization might have
envied them. The forests teemed with game, the
marshes with wild fowl, and the rivers with fish. The
apples and pears of the old Canadian orchards are
even to this day held in esteem. The poorer inhab-
itants made wine from the fruit of the wild grape,
which grew profusely in the woods, while the wealthier
class procured a better quality from INIontreal, in ex-
change for the canoe loads of furs which they sent
down with every year. Here, as elsewhere in Canada,
the long winter was a season of social enjoyment ; and
wlien, in summer and autumn, the traders and voy-
ageurs, the coureurs des hois^ and half-breeds, gathered
from the distant forests of the north-west, the whole
settlement was alive with frolic gaycty, with dancing
and feasting, drinking, gaming, and carousing.

Within the limits of the settlement were three large
Indian villages. On the western shore, a little below
the fort, were the lodges of the Pottawattamies ; nearly
opposite, on the eastern side, was the village of the
Wyandots ; and on the same side, five miles higher up,
Pontiac's band of Ottawas had fixed their abode. The
settlers had alwavs maintained the best terms with

190

DETROIT.

[Ciup. X

I i

their savage neighbors. In truth, there was much
congeniality between the red man and the Canadian.
Their harmony was seldom broken ; and among the
woods and wilds of the nortiiern lakes roamed manv
a lawless half-breed, the mongrel offspring of inter-
marriages between the colonists of Detroit and the
Indian squaws.

We have already seen how, in an evil hour for the
Canadians, a party of British troops took possession of
Detroit, towards the close of the year 1760. The Brit-
ish garrison, consisting partly of regulars and partly of
provincial rangers, was now quartered in a well-built
range of barracks within the town or fort. The latter.
as already mentioned, contained about a hundred small
houses. Its form was nearly square, and the palisade
which surrounded it was about twenty-five feet high.
At each corner was a wooden bastion, and a block-
house was erected over each gateway. The houses;
were small, chiefly built of wood, and roofed with bark
or a thatch of straw. The streets also were extremely
narrow, though a wide passage way, known as the
chemin du ronde, surrounded the town between the
houses and the palisade. Besides the barracks, the
only public buildings were a council-house and a rude
little church.

The garrison consisted of a hundred and twenty
soldiers, with about forty fur-traders and engagh;
but the latter, as well as the peaceful Canadian in-
habitants of the place, could little be trusted, in the
event of an Indian outbreak. Two small armed
schooners, the Beaver and the Gladwyn, lay anchored
in the stream, and several light pieces of artillery
were mounted in the bastions.

Such was Detroit — a place whose defences could

CnAP.X.l PONTIAC — HIS AJIBITION — HIS PATRIOTISM. 191

i;ui 111-
111 tlie
armed

have opposed no resistance to a civilized enemy; and
vet, situated as it was, far removed from the hope of
speedy succor, it could only rely, in the terrible strug-
gles that awaited it, upon its own slight strength and
feeble resources.^

Standing on the water bastion of Detroit, the land-
scape that presented itself might well remain impressed
through life upon the memory. The river, about half
a mile wide, almost washed the foot of the stockade ;
and either bank was lined with the white Canadian
cottages. The joyous sparkling of the bright blue
Avater ; the green luxuriance of the woods ; the white
dwellings, looking out from the foliage ; and in the
distance, the Indian wigwams curling their smoke
against the sky, — all were mingled in one great
scene of wild and rural beauty.

Pontiac, the Satan of this forest paradise, was ac-
customed to spend the early part of the summer upon
a small island at the opening of the Lake St. Clair,
hidden from view by the high woods that covered

the intervening Isle au Cochon.^

" The king and

lord of all this country," as Rogers calls him, lived
in no royal state. His cabin was a small, oven-shaped
structure of bark and rushes. Here he dwelt with
his squaws and children ; and here, doubtless, he might
often have been seen, carelessly reclining his naked
form on a rush mat, or a bear-skin, like any ordinary
warrior. We may fancy the current of his thoughts,
the uncurbed passions swelling in his powerful soul.

could

1 Crotrhan, Journal. Rogers, Ac-
count of North America, 168. Va-
rious MS. Journals, Letters, and
Pliuis have also been consulted. The
rejTuliir fortification, which, within the
recollection of many now living, cov-
ered the ground in the rear of the old

town of Detroit, was erected at a
date subsequent to the period of this
history.

2 Tradition, communicated to H.
R. Schoolcraft, Esq., by Henry Con-
ner, formerly Indian interpreter at
Detroit

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192

DETROIT.

[Chap. X

as he revolved the treacheries which, to his savage
mind, seemed fair and honorable. At one moment,
his fierce heart would bum with the anticipation of
vengeance on the detested English; at another, he
would meditate how he best might turn the approach-
ing tumults to the furtherance of his own ambitious
schemes. Yet we may believe that Pontiac was not
a stranger to the high emotion of the patriot hero.
the champion not merely of his nation's rights, but
of the very existence of his race. He did not
dream how desperate a game he w^as about to play.
He hourly flattered himself with the futile hope of
aid from France. In his ignorance, he thouglit that
the British colonies must give way before the rush
of his savage warriors; when, in truth, all the com-
bined tribes of the forest might have chafed in vain
rage against the rock-like strength of the Anglo-
Saxon.

Looking across an intervening arm of the river,
Pontiac could see on its eastern bank the numerous
lodges of his Ottawa tribesmen, half hidden among
the ragged growth of trees and bushes. On the
afternoon of the fifth of May, a Canadian woman.
the wife of St. Aubin, one of the principal settlers.
crossed over from the western side, and visited the
OttaAva village, to obtain from the Indians a sii})})!}
of maple sugar and venison. She was surprised at
finding several of the warriors engaged in filing off
the muzzles of their guns, so as to reduce them, stock
and all, to the length of about a yard. Returning
home in the evening, she mentioned what she had
seen to several of her neighbors. Upon this, one of
them, the blacksmith of the village, remarked that
many of the Indians had lately visited his shop, and

Chap. X.]

THE PLOT REVEALED.

193

attempted to borrow files and saws for a purpose which
they would not explain.^ These circumstances excited
the suspicion of the exj)erienced Canadians. Doubt-
less there were many in the settlement who might,
had they chosen, have revealed the plot ; but it is no
less certain that the more numerous and respectable
class in the little community had too deep an inter-
est in the preservation of peace to countenance the
designs of Pontiac. M. Gouin, an old and wealthy
settler, went to the commandant, and conjured him to
stand upon his guard ; but Gladwyn, a man of fear-
less temper, gave no heed to the friendly advice.^

In the Pottawattamie village, if there be truth in
tradition, lived an Ojibwa girl, who could boast a
larger share of beauty than is common in the wig-
wam. She had attracted the eye of Gladwyn. He
had formed a connection with her, and she had be-
come much attached to him. On the afternoon of
the sixth, Catharine — for so the officers called her —
came to the fort, and repaired to Gladwyn's quarters,
bringing with her a pair of elk-skin moccasons, orna-
mented with porcupine work, which he had requested
her to make. There was something unusual in her
look and manner. Her face was sad and downcast.
She said little, and soon left the room; but the sen-
tinel at the door saw her still lingering at the street
corner, though the hour for closing the gates was
nearly come. At length she attracted the notice of
Gladwyn himself; and calling her to him, he pressed
her to declare what was weighing upon her mind.
Still she remained for a long time silent, and it was

!'!

1 St. Aubin's Account, MS. See Appendix, C.

2 Gouin'a Account, MS.

25 a

194

DETROIT.

IChap. X

only after much urgency and many promises not to
betray her, that she revealed her momentous secret.

To-morrow, she said, Pontiac will come to the fort
with sixty of his chiefs. Each will be armed with
a gun, cut short, and hidden under his blanket,
Pontiac will demand to hold a council ; and after he
has delivered his speech, he will offer a peace-belt cf
wampum, holding it in a reversed position. This will
be the signal of attack. The chiefs will spring up
and fire upon the officers, and the Indians in tlu
street will fall upon the garrison. Every Englishman
will be killed, but not the scalp of a single French-
man will be touched.*

Such is the story told in 1768 to the traveller Carver
at Detroit, and preserved in local tradition, but not sus-

* Letter to the writer from H. R.
Schoolcraft, Es<j., containing the tra-
ditional account from the lips of the
interpreter, Henry Conner. See,
also, Carver, Travels, 155, (Lond.
1778.)

Carver's account of the conspiracy
and tl. siejie is in several points
inexact, which throws a shade of
doubt on this story. Tradition, how-
ever, as related by the interpreter
Conner, sustains him ; with the addi-
tion that Catharine was the mistress
of (iladwyn, and a few oth ,r points,
includin<f a very unromr^itic end of
the heroine, who is said to have per-
ished by falling, when drunk, into a
kettle of boiling maple-sap. This
was many years after, (see Appen-
di.x, 591.) Maxwell agrees in the
r«inin with Carver. There is an-

iicr tradition, that the plot was dis-
. . -(-.i by an old sfjuaw. A third,
> I. ,it among the Ottawas, and
■ A.' ii' me in 1858 by Mr. Hosmer,
edo, declares that a young
sq>i .v. iold the plot to the command-
ing officer, but that he would not
believe her, as she had a bad name,
being a "straggler among the pri-

vate soldiers." An Indian clilpf,
pursues the sanie story, aftcrwanls
warned the officer. Tho Pontiii'
MS. says that Gladwyn was warnd
by an Ottawa warrior, tlioiii:li a
woman was suspected by tho lii(lian>
of having betrayed the secret. IVl-
tier says that a woman named Catha-
rine was accused of revealinjj the
plot, and severely floggc'd by Pon-
tiac in consequence. There is an-
other story, that a soldier namwl
Tucker, adopted by the Indians, was
warned by his Indian sister, lint
the most distinct and satisfactury evi-
dence is the following, from a letter
written at Detroit on the twelfth ot
July, 1763. It was found aninni; tho
papers of Colonel John Brodheail,
and given by his grandson, Mr.
Charles Brodhead, in 1857, to thi'
Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
The latter part, with the signature.
is lost : " About six o'clock that after-
noon, [May 7,] six of their warriors
returned and brought an old s(iuaff
prisoner, alleging that she had given
us false information against theiii.
The major declared she had never
given us any kind of advice. The}

Chap. X.]

A NIGHT OF ANXIETY.

195

taiued by contemporary letters or diaries. What is
certain is, that Gladwyn received secret information, on
the night of the sixth of May, that an attempt would be
made on the morrow to capture the fort by treachery,
lie called some of his officers, and told them what
he had heard. The defences of the place were feeble
and extensive, and the garrison by far too weak to
repel a general assault. The force of the Indians at
this time is variously estimated at from six hundred
to two thousand ; and the commandant greatly feared
that some wild impulse might precipitate their plan,
and that they would storm the fort before the morn-
ing. Every preparation was made to meet the sudden
emergency. Half the garrison were ordered under
arms, and all the officers prepared to spend the night
upon the ramparts.

The day closed, and the hues of sunset faded. Only
a dusky redness lingered in the west, and the darken-
ing earth seemed her dull self again. Then night
descended, heavy and black, on the fierce Indians
and the sleepless English. From sunset till dawn,
an anxious watch was kept from the slender pali-
sades of Detroit. The soldiers were still ignorant

i-'M

then insisted on naming the author of
what lie had heard with reijard to
the Indians, which he declined to do,
but told them that it was one of
themselves, whose name he promised
never to reveal ; whereui)on they
went off, and carried the old woman
prisoner with them. When they
arrived at their camp, Pontiac, their
irreaiest chieii seized on the prisoner,
and gave her three strokes with a
stick on the head, which laid her flat
on the ground, and the whole nation
assembled round her, and called re-
peated times, ' Kill her I kill her ! ' "

The fragment of a journal of the
siege of Detroit, by RIajor Rogers,
recently brought to light, makes a
similar statement. Tl»us it is clear
that the story told by Carver must
be taken with many grains of allow-
ance. The greater part of the evi-
dence given above has been gathered
since the first edition of this book
was published. It has been thought
best to retain the original passage,
with the necessary qualifications. The
story is not without interest, and
those may believe it who will.

196

DETROIT.

[ClIAP. X

of the danger; and the sentinels did not know why
their numbers were doubled, or why, with such im.
wonted vigilance, their officers visited their posts.
Again and again Gladwyn mounted his wooden ram-
parts, and looked forth into the gloom. There seemed
nothing but repose and peace in the soft, moist air of
the warm spring evening, with the piping of frogs
along the river bank, just roused from their torpor
by the genial influence of May. But, at intervals, us
the night wind swept across the bastion, it bore sounds
of fearful portent to the ear, the sullen booming of
the Indian drum and the wild chorus of quavcriiijj
yells, as the warriors, around their distant camp-fires,
danced the war-dance, in preparation for the morrow's
work.^

* Maxwell's Account, MS. See Appendix, C.

CHAPTER XI.

TREACHERY OF PONTIAC.

The night passed without alarm. The sun rose
upon fresh fields and newly budding woods, and
scarcely had the morning mists dissolved, when the
garrison could see a fleet of birch canoes crossing the
river from the eastern shore, within range of can-
non shot above the fort. Only two or three warriors
appear; in each, but all moved slowly, and seemed
deeply .Lcden. In truth, they were full of savages,
lying flat on their faces, that their numbers might not
excite the suspicion of the English.^

At an early hour, the open common behind the fort
was thronged with squawks, children, and warriors,
some naked, and others fantastically arrayed in their
barbarous finery. All seemed restless and uneasy,
moving hither and thither, in apparent preparation for
a general game of ball. Many tall warriors, wrapped
in their blankets, were seen stalking towards the fort,
and casting malignant furtive glances upward at the
palisades. Then, with an air of assumed indifference,
they would move towards the gate. They were all
admitted ; for Gladwyn, who in this instance, at least,
showed some knowledge of Indian character, chose to
convince his crafty foe that, though their plot was de-
tected, their hostility was despised.^

,11

il-;

St'

1 Meloche's Account, MS.

8 Penn. Gaz. No. 1808.

198

TREACHERY OF TONTIAC.

[ClIAP. XI.

, I

>■!-

The whole garrison was ordered under aims. Ster-
ling, and the other English fur-traders, closed their
storehouses and aimed their men, and all in cool con-
fidence stood waiting the result.

Meanwhile, Pontiac, who had crossed with the canoes
from the eastern shore, was approaching along tl»^ river
road, at the head of his sixty chiefs, all gravely mareh-
ing in Indian file. A Canadian settler, named Reanfait.
had been that morning to the fort. He was now re-
turning homewards, and as he reached the bridge
which led over the stream then called Parent's Creek,
he saw the chiefs in the act of crossing from the fartlier
bank. He stood aside to give them room. As the last
Indian passed, Beaufait recognized him as an old friend
and associate. The savage greeted him with the usual
ejaculation, opened for an instant the folds of his
blanket, disclosed the hidden gun, and, with an em-
phatic gesture towards the fort, indicated the ferocious
purpose to which he meant to apply it.^

At ten o'clock, the great war-chief, with his treaeh-
erous followers, reached the fort, and the gateway was
thronged with their savage faces. All were wrapped
to the throat in colored blankets. Some were crested
with hawk, eagle, or raven plumes ; others had shaved
their heads, leaving only the fluttering scalp-lock on
the crown ; while others, again, wore their long, blaek
hair flowing loosely at their backs, or wildly hanging
about their brows like a lion's mane. Their bold
yet crafty features, their cheeks besmeared with ochre
and vermilion, white lead and soot, their keen, deep-
set eyes gleaming in their sockets, like those of rat-
tlesnakes, gave them an aspect grim, uncouth, and

^ This incident was related, by See Cass, Discourse before the Mich-
the son of Beaufait, to General Cass, igan Historical Society, 30.

horril
men,
stateli
As
that ;
cliest.
read t

Chap. XL]

THE PLOT DEFEATED.

199

liorrible. For the most part, they were tall, strong
men, and all had a gait and bearing of peculiar
stateliness.

As Pontiac entered, it is said that he started, and
tliat a (le<'j) ejaculation half escaped from his broad
chest. WvW might his stoicism fail, for at a glance he
read the ruin of his plot. On either hand, within the
gateway, stood ranks of soldiers and hedges of glitter-
ing steel. The swartliy, half-wild cmjagCs of the fur-
traders, armed to the teeth, stood in groups at the
street corners, and the measured tap of a drum fell
ominously on the ear. Soon regaining his composure,
Pontiac strode fonvard into the narrow street, and his
chiefs filed after him in silence, while the scared faces
of women and children looked out from the windows
as they passed. Their rigid muscles betrayed no sign
of emotion ; yet, looking closely, one might have seen
their small eyes glance from side to side with restless
scrutiny.

Traversing the entire width of the little town, they
reached the door of the council-house, a large build-
ing standing near the margin of the river. Entering,
tliev saw Gladwvn, with several of his officers, seated
in readiness to receive them, and the observant chiefs
did not fail to remark that every Englishman wore a
sword at his side, and a pair of pistols in his belt.
The conspirators eyed each other with uneasy glances.
" A^'hy," demanded Pontiac, " do I see so many of my
fathers young men standing in the street with their
guns \ " Gladwyn replied through his interpreter, La
Butte, that he had ordered the soldiers under arms for
the sake of exercise and discipline. With much delay
and many signs of distrust, the chiefs at length sat
down on the mats prepared for them; and after the

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200

TIIEACIIKUY OF PONTIAC.

[ClIAl', XI.

customary pause, Pontiac rose to speak. Holding,' in
his hand the wampum belt which was to liavc given
the fatal signal, he addressed the commandant, pro.
fessing strong attachment to the English, and declar-
ing, in Indian phrase, that he had come to smoke
the i)ipe of peace, and brighten the chain of friend.
ship. The officers watched him keenly as he uttend
these hollow words, fearing lest, though conscious tliat
his designs were suspected, he might still attempt tn
accomplish them. And once, it is said, he raised the
wampum belt as if about to give the signal of Jittack,
But at that instant, Gladwyn signed slightly with liiv
hand. The sudden clash of arms sounded from tlie
passage without, and a drum rolling the charge filled
the council-room with its stunning din. At this.
Pontiac stood like one confounded. Some writers
will have it, that Gladwyn, rising from his scat, divw
the chief's blanket aside, exposed the hidden gun.
and sternly rebuked him for his treachery. But
the commandant wished only to prevent the consum-
mation of the plot, without bringing on an open ruj)-
ture. His own letters aflfirm that he and his officers
remained seated as before. Pontiac, seeing his un-
ruflled brow and his calm eye fixed steadfastly upon
him, knew not what to think, and sr^ci sat down in
amazement and perplexity. Another pause ensued.
and Gladwyn commenced a brief reply. He assured
the chiefs that friendship and protection should be
extended tow^ards them as long as they continued to
deserve it, but threatened ample vengeance for the first
act of aggression. The council then broke up; but
before leaving the room, Pontiac told the officers that
he would return in a few days, with his squaws and
children, for he wished that they should all shake

hand
j)ier('
•jates
confi'
sava<f(
brciitl
(ilii
tice,
jjood

caugl

Chap. XI.] THE CHIEFS ALLOWED TO ESCAPE.

201

Iwnds with their fathers the English. To this new
i)ioce of treachery (ifhidwyn deigned no re[)ly. The
I'ates of the fort, which had been closed during the
(onfcrenre, were again flung open, and the baffled
savages were suffered to depart, rejou.'ed, no doubt, to
biratlio once more the free air of the open fields.'

(iladwyn has been censured, and perhaps with jus-
tice, for not detaining the chiefs as hostages for the
good conduct of their followers. An entrapped wolf
meets no quarter from the huntsman ; and a savage,
caught in his treachery, has no claim to forbearance.
Perhaps the commandant feared lest, should he ar-
rest the chiefs when gathered at a public council,
and guiltless as yet of open violence, the act might
be interpreted as cowardly and dishonorable. He
was ignorant, moreover, of the true nature of the
plot. In his view, the whole affair was one of those
impulsive outbreaks so common among Indians, and
he trusted that, could an immediate rupture be
averted, tlie threatening clouds would soon blow over.

Here, and elsewhere, the conduct of Pontiac is

1 Carver, Travels, 150, (London,
1778.) M'Kenney, Tour to the
LnkcH, VIO. Cass, Discourse, .'39.
Peiin. Gdz, Nos. 1807, 1808. Pon-
tine .MS. M'Donsral, xMSS. Gouin's
Account, MS. Moloche's Account,
MS. St. Aubin's Account, MS.

Extract from a MS. Letter — Ma-
jor Gladwyn to Sir J. Amherst.

" Detroit, May 14th 1763.
"Sir:

"On the First Instant, Pontiac,
the Chief of the Ottawa Nation,
came here with about Fifty of liis
Men, (forty, Pontiac MS.,) and told
me thtit in a few days, when the rest
of his Nation came in, he Intended
to Pay me a Formal Visit. The 7th
he came, but I was luckily Informed,

the Night before, that ho was coming
with an Intention to Surprize Us ;
Upon which I took such Precautions
that when they Entered the Fort,
(tho' they were, by the best Accounts,
about Throe Ilundrcd, and Armed
with Knives, Tomyhawks, and a
great many with (Juns cut short,
and hid under their Blankets,) they
were so much surprized to see our
Disposition, that they would scarcely
sit down to Council : However in
about Half an hour, after they saw
their Designs were Discovered, they
Sat Down, and Pontiac made a
speech which I Answered calmly,
without Intimating my suspicion of
their Intentions, and aiier receiving
some Trifling Presents, they went
a. my to their Camp."

iiii

202

TREACHERY OF PONTIAC.

[Chap. XI

marked with the blackest treachery ; and one cannot
but lament that a nature so brave, so commanding,
so magnanimous, should be stained with the odious
vice of cowards and traitors. He could govern, with
almost despotic sway, a race unruly as the winds.
In generous thought and deed, he rivalled the heroes
of ancient story, and craft and cunning might well
seem alien to a mind like his. Yet Pontiac was a
thorough savage, and in him stand forth, in strongest
light and shadow, the native faults and virtues of
the Indian race. All children, says Sir Waher
Scott, are naturally liars ; and truth and honor are
developments of later education. Barbarism is to
civilization what childhood is to maturity, and all
savages, whatever may be their country, their color.
or their lineage, are prone to treachery and deceit.
The barbarous ancestors of our own frank and manly
race are no less obnoxious to the charge than those
of the cat-like Bengalee ; for in this childhood of
society, brave men and cowards are treacherous alike,

The Indian differs widely from the European in
his notion of military virtue. In his view, artifice
is wisdom, and he honors the skill that can circum-
vent, no less than the valor that can subdue, an
adversary. The object of war, he argues, is to de-
stroy the enemy. To accomplish this end, all means
are .'.norable; and it is folly, not bravery, to incur
a needless risk. Had Pontiac ordered his followers
to storm the palisades of Detroit, not one of then
would have obeyed him. They might, indeed, after
their strange superstition, have reverenced him as a
madman; but, from that hour, his fame as a war-
chief would have sunk forever.

Balked in his treachery, the great chief withdrew

Chap. XL]

FALSE ALARM.

203

to his village, enraged and mortified, yet still resolved
to persevere. That Gladwyn had suffered him to
escape, was to his mind an ample proof either of cow-
ardice or ignorance. The latter supposition seemed
the more probable, and he resolved to visit the Eng-
lish once more, and convince them, if possible, that
their suspicions against him were unfounded. Early
on the following morning, he repaired to the fort with
three of his chiefs, bearing in his hand the sacred
calumet, or pipe of peace, the bowl carved in stone,
and the stem adorned with feathers. Offering it to
the commandant, he addressed him and his otficers to
the following effect: "My fathers, evil birds have
sung lies in your ear. We that stand before you
are friends of the English. We love them as our
brothers, and, to prove our love, we have come this
day to smoke the pipe of peace." At his departure,
he gave the pipe to Major Campbell, second in com-
mand, as a farther pledge of his sincerity.

That afternoon, the better to cover his designs,
Pontiac called the young men of all the tribes to a
game of ball, which took place, with great noise and
shouting, on the neighboring fields. At nightfall,
the garrison were startled by a burst of loud, shrill
yells. The drums beat to arms, and the troops were
ordered to their posts ; but the alarm was caused
only by the victors in the ball play, who were an-
nouncing their success by these discordant outcries.
Meanwhile, Pontiac was in the Pottawattamie village,
consulting with the chiefs of that tribe, and with the
Wyandots, by what means they might compass the
min of the English.^

itif

*:•!

1 Pontiac MS.

f. "1-

aitii

:.j.-

i J

Q!'*

204

TREACHERY OF PONTIAC.

[Chap. XI.

Early on the following morning, Monday, the ninth
of May, the French inhabitants went in procession
to the principal church of the settlement, which stood
near the river bank, about half a mile above the
fort. Having heard mass, they all returned before
eleven o'clock, without discovering any signs that
the Indians meditated an immediate act of hostility,
Scarcely, however, had they done so, when the com-
mon behind the fort was once more thronged with
Indians of all the four tribes ; and Pontiac, advancing
from among the multitude, approached the gate. It
was closed and barred against him. Pontiac shouted
to the sentinels, and demanded why he was refused
admittance. Gladwyn himself replied, that the great
chief might enter, if he chose, but that the crowd he
had brought with him must remain outside. Pontiac
rejoined, that he wished all his warriors to enjoy the
fragrance of the friendly calumet. Gladwyn' s answer
was more concise than courteous, and imported that
he would have none of his rabble in the fort. Thii<
repulsed, Pontiac threw off the mask which he had
worn so long. With a grin of hate and rage, he
turned abruptly from the gate, and strode towards \\\<
followers, who, in great multitudes, lay flat upon the
ground, just beyond reach of gunshot. At his ap-
proach, they all leaped up and ran off, " yelping," hi
the words of an eye-witness, "like so many devils.'

Looking out from the loopholes, the garrison could
see them running in a body towards the house of
an old English woman, who lived, with her family,
on a distant part of the common. They beat down
the doors, and rushed tumultuously in. A moment

* MS. Letter — Gladwyn to Amherst, May 14. Pontiac MS., etc.

chaf.xl] pontiac throws off the mask.

205

more, and the mournful scalp yell told the fate of
the wretched mmates. Another large body ran, with
loud yells, to the river bank, and, leaping into their
canoes, paddled with all speed to the Isle au Cochon.
Here dwelt an Englishman, named Fisher, formerly a
sergeant of the regulars.

They soon dragged him from the hiding-place
where he had sought refuge, murdered him on the
spot, took his scalp, and made great rejoicings over
this miserable trophy of brutal malice. On the fol-
lowing day, several Canadians crossed over to the
island to inter the body, which they accomplished, as
they thought, very effectually. Tradition, however, re-
lates, as undoubted truth, that when, a few days after,
some of the party returned to the spot, they beheld
the pale hands of the dead man thrust above the
ground, in an attitude of eager entreaty. Having
once more covered the refractory members with earth,
they departed, in great wonder and awe; but what
was their amazement, when, on returning a second
time, they saw the hands protruding as before. At
this, they repaired in horror to the priest, who
hastened to the spot, sprinkled the grave with holy
water, and performed over it the neglected rites of
burial. Thenceforth, says the tradition, the corpse
of the murdered soldier slept in peace. ^

Pontiac had borne no part in the wolfish deeds of
his followers. When he saw his plan defeated, he
turned towards the shore, and no man durst approach
him, for he was terrible in his rage. Pushing a
canoe from the bank, he urged it, with vigorous
strokes, against the current, towards the Ottawa

iti

ri-

' SL Aubin's Account, MS.

■

'Si .
1^ (( I

206

TREACHERY OF PONTIAC

rcHAP.xi

village, on the farther side. As he drew near, he
shouted to the inmates. None remained in the lodges
but women, children, and old men, who all came flock-
ing out at the sound of his imperious voice. Pointino
across the water, he ordered that all should prepare to
move the camp to the western shore, that the river
might no longer interpose a barrier between his fol-
lowers and the English, The squaws labored wi[\\
eager alacrity to obey him. Provision, utensils,
weapons, and even the bark covering to '^e lodges.
were carried to the shore; and before t ling all
was ready for embarkation. Meantime, the warriors
had come dropping in from their bloody work, until,
at nightfall, nearly all had returned. Then Pontiac,
hideous in his war-paint, leaped into the central area
of the village. Brandishing his tomahawk, and
stamping on the ground, he recounted his former ex-
ploits, and denounced vengeance on the English. The
Indians flocked about him. Warrior after warrior
caught the fierce contagion, and soon the ring was
filled with dancers, circling round and round with
frantic gesture, and startling the distant garrison with
unearthly yells.^

The war-dance over, the work of embarkation was
commenced, and long before morning the transfer
was complete. The whole Ottawa population crossed
the river, and pitched their wigwams on the west-
em side, lust above the mouth of the little stream
then known as Parent's Creek, but since named
Bloody Run, from the scenes of terror which it wit-
nessed.^

During the evening, fresh tidings of disaster reached

1 Parent's Account, MS. Meloche's Account, MS.
3 Gouin's Account, MS.

CUAP. XIJ

GENERAL ATTACK.

207

the fort. A Canadian, named Desnoyers, came down
the river in a birch canoe, and, landing at the water
gate, brought news that two English officers, Sir Rob-
ert Davers and Captain Robertson, had been waylaid
and murdered by the Indians, above Lake St. Clair.^
The Canadian declared, moreover, that Pontiac had
just been joined by a formidable band of Ojibwas,
from the Bay of Saginaw.^ These were a peculiarly
ferocious horde, and their wretched descendants still
retain the character.

Every Englishman in the fort, whether trader or
soldier, was now ordered under arms. No man lay
down to sleep, and Gladwyn himself walked the
ramparts throughout the night.

All was quiet till the approach of dawn. But as
the first dim redness tinged the east, and fields and
woods grew visible in the morning twilight, suddenly
the war-whoop rose on every side at once. As wolves
assail the wounded bison, howling their gathering
cries across the wintry prairie, so the fierce Indians,
pealing their terrific yells, came bounding naked to
the assault. The men hastened to their posts. And
truly it was time, for not the Ottawas alone, but the
whole barbarian swarm, Wyandots, Pottawattamies,
and Ojibwas, were upon them, and bullets rapped
hard and fast against the palisades. The soldiers

Yit]

I Penn. Gaz. Nos. 1807, 1808.

Extract from an anonymous letter
-Detroit, July 9, 17(53.

" You have long ago heard of our
pleasant Situation, but the Storm is
blown over. Was it not very agree-
able to hear every Day, of their
cutting, carving, boiling and eating
our Companions ? To see every Day
dead Bodies floating down the River,
mangled and disfigured ? But Brit-
ons, you know, never shrink; we

always appeared gay, to spite the
Rascals. They boiled and eat Sir
Robert Davers ; and we are informed
by Mr. Pauly, who escaped the other
Day from one of the Stations sur-
prised at the breaking out of the War,
and commanded by himself, that he
had seen an Indian have the Skin of
Captain Robertson's Arm for a To-
bacco-Pouch ! "
8 Pontiac MS.

( ¥i

ni.

I If

I !

208

TREACHERY OF PONTIAC.

[Chap. XL

looked from the loopholes, thinking to see their as-
sailants gathering for a rush against the feeble barrier.
But, though their clamors filled the air, and their
guns blazed thick and hot, yet very few were visible,
Some were ensconced behind bams and fences, some
skulked among bushes, and some lay fiat in hollows
of the ground ; while those who could find no shel-
ter were leaping about with the agility of monkeys.
to dodge the shot of the fort. Each had filled his
mouth with bullets, for the convenience of loading.
and each was charging and firing without suspending
these agile gvma?^ ^^^ics for a moment. There was one
low hill, at no great distance from the fort, behind
which countless black heads of Indians alternately
appeared and vai.isht'd, while, all along the ridge,
their guns emitted incessant white puffs of smoke.
Every loophole was a target for their bullets ; but
the fire was returned with steadiness, and not with-
out effect. The Canadian engages of the fur-traders
retorted the Indian war-whoops with outcries not less
discordant, while the British and provincials paid back
the clamor of the enemy with musket and rifle balls.
Within half gunshot of the palisade was a cluster
of outbuildings, behind which a host of Indians found
shelter. A cannon was brought to bear upon them,
loaded with red-hot spikes. They were soon wrapped
in fiames, upon which the disconcerted savages broke
away in a body, and ran off yelping, followed by a
shout of laughter from the soldiers.^

For six hours, the attack was unabated ; but as the
day advanced, the assailants grew weary of then:
futile efforts. Their fire slackened, their clamors died

1 Pontiac MS. Penn. Gaz. No. 1808. MS. Letter — Gladwyn to Am
herst, May 14, etc.

Chap. XI.]

A TRUCE.

209

away, and the garrison was left once more in peace,
though from time to time a solitary shot, or lonely
whoop, still showed the presence of some lingering
savage, loath to be balked of his revenge. Among
the garrison, only five men had been wounded, while
the cautious enemy had suffered but trifling loss.

Gladwyn was still convinced that the whole affair
was but a sudden ebullition, which woidd soon sub-
side ; and being, moreover, in great want of provision,
he resolved to open negotiations with the Indians,
under cover of which he might obtain the necessary
supplies. The interpreter. La Butte, who, like most
of his countrymen, might be said to hold a neutral
position between the English and the Indians, was
despatched to the camp of Pontiac to demand the
reasons of his conduct, and declare that the com-
mandant was ready to redress any real grievance of
which he might complain. Two old Canadians of
Detroit, Chapeton and Godefroy, earnest to forward
the negotiation, offered to accompany him. The
gates were opened for their departure, and many
other inhabitants of the place took this opportunity
of leaving it, alleging as their motive, that they did
not wish to see the approaching slaughter of the
English.

lleaching the Indian camp, the three ambassadors
were received by Pontiac with great apparent kind-
ness. La Butte delivered his message, and the two
Canadians labored to dissuade the chief, for his own
good and for theirs, from pursuing his hostile pur-
poses. Pontiac stood listening, armed with the true
impenetrability of an Indian. At every proposal, he
uttered an ejaculation of assent, partly from a strange
notion of courtesy peculiar to his race, and partly
27 a*

-M'

210

TREACHERY OF TONTIAC.

[Ciui-. XI.

!! A'

' f " ;•

-P

from the deep dissimulation Avliich seems native to
their blood. Yet with all this seeming acquiescence,
the heart of the savage was unmoved as a rock.
The Canadians were completely deceived. Leaving
Chapeton and Godcfroy to continue the conference
and push the fancied advantage, La Butte hastened
back to the fort. He reported the happy issue of
his mission, and added that peace might readily be
had by making the Indians a few presents, for
w^hich they are always rapaciously eager. AVhen.
however, he returned to the Indian camp, he found.
to his chagrin, that his companions had made no
progress in the negotiation. Though still professing
a strong desire for peace, Pontiac had evaded every
definite proposal. At La Butte's appearance, all the
chiefs withdrew to consult among themselves. They
returned after a short debate, and Pontiac declared
that, out of their earnest desire for firm and lasting
peace, they wished to hold council with their English
fathers themselves. With this view, they were ex-
pressly desirous that Major Campbell, second in com-
mand, should visit their camp. This veteran oificer.
from his just, upright, and manly character, had
gained the confidence of the Indians. To the Cana-
dians the proposal seemed a natural one, and return-
ing to the fort, they laid it before the commandant.
Gladwyn suspected treachery, but Major Campbell
urgently asked permission to comply with the request
of Pontiac. He felt, he said, no fear of the In-
dians, with whom he had always maintained the
most friendly terms. Gladwyn, with some hesitation,
acceded, and Campbell left the fort, accompanied by
a junior officer, Lieutenant M'Dougal, and attended
by La Butte and several other Canadians.

Cdap. XL]

EMBASSY OF MAJOR CAMPBELL.

211

111 the mean time, M. Goiiin, anxious to leani
wliat was passing, had entered the Indian camp, and,
moving from lodge to' lodge, soon saw and heard
enough to convince him that the two British officers
were advancing into the lion's jaws.' He hastened
to despatch two messengers to warn them of the
peril. The party had scarcely left the gate when
tliev were met by these men, breathless with run-
ning; but the warning came too late. Once em-
barked on the embassy, the officers would not be
diverted from it ; and passhig up the river road, they
a[)i)roached the little wooden bridge that led over
Parent's Creek. Crossing this bridge, and ascending
a rising ground beyond, they saw before them the
wide-spread camp of the Ottawas. A dark multi-
tude gathered along its outskirts, and no sooner did
they recognize the red uniform of the officers, than
they all raised at once a horrible outcry of whoops
and ho^^•lings. Indeed, they seemed disposed to give
the ambassadors the reception usually accorded to
captives taken in war ; for the women seized sticks,
stones, and clubs, and ran towards Campbell and his
companion, as if to make them pass the cruel ordeal
of running the gantlet." Pontiac came forward, and

1 Gouin's Account, MS.

■- Wlion a war party returned with
prisoners, the whole population of
the villiijre turned out to receive them,
armod with sticks, clubs, or even
dradlior weapons. The captive was
orderod to run to a given point,
usually some conspicuous lodge, or
a post driven into the ground, while
his tormentors, ranging themselves
in two rows, inflicted on him a mer-
ciless flagellation, which only ceased
when he had reached the goal. —
Among the Iroquois, prisoners were
led through the whole confederacy,
undergoing this martyrdom at every

village, and seldom escaping without
the loss of a hand, a tinger, or an
eye. Sometimes the sufferer was
made to dance and sing, for the bet-
ter entertainment of the crowd.

The story of General Stark is well
known. Being captured, in his youth,
by the Indians, and told to run the
gantlet, he instantly knocked down
the nearest warrior, snatched a club
from his hands, and wielded it with
such good will that no one dared ap-
proach him, and he reached the goal
scot free, while his more timoroua
companion was nearly beaten to
death.

#]4

f^r

212

TREACHERY OF PONTIAC.

[Chap. XJ

his voice allayed the tumult. He shook the officer^
by the hand, and, turning, led the way througli the
camp. It was a confused assemblage of huts, cliiotiv
of a conical or half-spherical shape, and constructs
of a slender framework covered with rush mats or
sheets of birch bark. Many of the graceful birch
canoes, used by the Indians of the upper lakes, wcic
lying here and there among paddles, fish-spears, and
blackened kettles slung above the embers of the
fires. The camp was full of lean, wolfish dogs, who,
roused by the clamor of their owners, kept up a
discordant baying as the strangers passed. Poutiaf
paused before the entrance of a large lodge, and. en-
tering, pointed to several mats placed on the ground,
at the side opposite the opening. Here, obcdicnit to
his signal, the two officers sat down. Instantly the
lodge was thronged with savages. Some, and these
were for the most part chiefs, or old men, seated
themselves on the ground before the strangers, whilr
the remaining space was filled by a dense crowd,
crouching or standing erect, and peering over each
other's shoulders. At their first entrance, Pontiac
had spoken a few words. A pause then ensued.
broken at length by Campbell, who from his f^eat
addressed the Indians in a short speech. It was
heard in perfect silence, and no reply was made.
For a full hour, the unfortunate officers saw before
them the same concourse of dark, inscrutable faces.
bending an unwavering gaze upon them. Some were
passing out, and others coming in to supply their
places, and indulge their curiosity by a sight of the
Englishmen. At length, Major Campbell, conscious.
no doubt, of the danger in which he was placed.
resolved fully to ascertain his true position, and,

Chip. XL]

CAMPBELL MADE TOISONER.

213

rising to his feet, declared his intention of returning
to the fort. Pontiac made a sign that he should
resume his seat. " My father," he said, " will sleep
to-night in the lodges of his red children." The
<:ray-haired soldier and his companion were betrayed
into the hands of their enemies.

Miuiy of the Indians were eager to kill the cap-
tives on the spot, but Pontiac would not carry his
treachery so far. He protected them from injury
and insult, and conducted them to the house of M.
Mcloclic, near Parent's Creek, where good quarters
were assignerl them, and as much liberty allowed as
was consistent with safe custody.* The peril of their
sitnation was diminished by the circumstance that
two Indians, who, several days before, had been de-
tained at the fort for some slight offence, still re-
mained prisoners in the power of the commandant.''

' Mf'lochp's Account, MS. Penn.
Gaz. Xo. l^Ot^.

•i Extnict fromaMS.Lr.'ttor— Sir
J. Amherst to Major Ghulwyn.

" Xcw York. 22nfl June, 17fi3.

" Tlu.' Prccautioas you took when
til" l'frfi(li(jiii> Villains came to Pay
you a Visit, wfro Inrlpod very wisely
C'oncorti'd ; And I Ap[»rovc f^ntirely
of the Stops you havn since taken
tor the Defence of the Place, which,
I hope, will have Knabled Voii to
keep the Savaw/s at Bay nntill the
Roinforceiiient, which Major Wil-
kins Writes me he had sent you, Ar-
rives witii you.

" I most sincerelv Grieve for the
I'nfortunati.' Vatf; of Sir Robert Da-
vers, Lieut. Robertjwjn. and the Rest
of the P(jor Peofde, who have fallen
into the Hands of the Merciless Vil-
laias. I Trust you did not Know of
the Murder of tJio«c Gentlemen,
when Pontiac came with a Pipe of

Peace, for if you had, you certainly
would have put him, and Every In-
dian in your Power, to Death. Such
Retaliation is the only Way of
Treating such Miscreants.

" I cannot but Approve of your
having Permitted Captain Campbell
and Lieut. MacDougal to go to the
Indians, as you had no other Method
to Procure Provisions, by which
means you may have been Enabled
to Preserve the Garrison ; for no
Other Inducement should have pre-
vailed on you to Allow those Gentle-
men to Entrust tliemselves with the
Savages. I am Nevertheless not
without my Fears for them, and were
it not that you have two Indians in
your Hands, in Lieu of those Gentle-
men, I should give them over for
Lost.

" I shall Add no more at present ;
Capt. Dalzell will Inform you of the
steps taken for Reinforcing you : and
you may be assured — flie utmost

'■'i

»'V:-

214

TUEACIIEUY OF PONTIAC.

ICltAK XI

Late in the evening, Tia Butte, the intci'iJictor,
returned to the fort. Ilis face wore a sad nnd
downcast look, which sufficiently expressed the nifl.
ancholy tidings that he brought. On hearing lijs
account, some of the officers suspected, though pro!).
ably without ground, that he was privy to the di.
tcntion of the two ambassadors ; and La l]\\[U\
feeling himself an object of distrust, lingered about
the streets, sullen and silent, like the Indians aniouL'
whom his rough life had been spent.

Expedition will be used for Collect-
ing such a Force as may be Suflicient
for brinjrinii Ample Vengeance on
the Treacherous and Bloody Villains
who have so Perfidiously Attacked
their Kenefactors." Rogers, in his
fragmentary Journal of the Siege of
Detroit, says that, after the detention
of the two officers, Pontiac sunnnoned
the fort to surrender, threatening, ii

case of refusal, to put all within to
the torture. The anonymous author
of the Diary of the Siege adds tlii:
he sent word to Gladwyn that lie
kept the officers out of kiii(lii('«<,
since, if they returned to the fiir',
he should be obliged to boil tluni
with the rest of the garrison, ik'
kettle being already on the fire,

CHAPTER XII.

PONTIAC AT THE SIEGE OF DETROIT.

On the morning after the detention of the officers,
Poiitiac Liossed over, with several of his cliiefs, to the
Wyandot vilhige. A part of this tribe, influenced by
Father Pothier, their Jesuit priest, had refused to take
up arms against the English ; but, being now threat-
ened with destruction if they should longer remain
ncut \ they were forced to join the rest. They
stii 'd, however, that they should be allowed time
to hear mass, before dancing the war-dance.* To this
condition Pontiac readily agreed, " although," observes
the chronicler in the fidness of his horror and detes-
tation, "he himself had no manner of worship, and
cared not for festivals or Sundays." These nominal
Christians of Father Pothier' s flock, together with
the other Wyandots, soon distinguished themselves in
the war; fighting better, it w^as said, then all the
other Indians — an instance of the marked superi-
ority of the Iroquois over the Algonquin stock.

Having secured these new allies, Pontiac prepared
to resume his operations with fresh vigor ; and to this
intent, he made an improved disposition of his forces.
Some of the Pottawattamies were ordered to lie in
wait along the river bank, below the fort; while

1 Pontiac MS.

216

PONTIAC AT DETROIT.

[Ciup, XII

1 *»•

'If ' it ^

others concealed themselves in the woods, in order to
intercept any Englishman who might approach by
land or water. Another band of the same tribe were
to conceal themselves in the neighborhood of the fort.
when no general attack was going forward, in order
to shoot down any soldier or trader who might cliauce
to expose his person. On the twelfth of May, when
these arrangements were complete, the Indians once
more surrounded the fort, firing upon it from morn-
ing till night.^

On the evening of that day, the officers met to
consider what course of conduct the emergency re-
quired; and, as one of them writes, the commandant
was almost alone in the opinion that they ought still
to defend the place.^ It seemed to the rest that the
only course remaining was to embark and sail for
Niagara. Their condition appeared desperate, for, on
the shortest allowance, they had scarcely pro\dsion
enough to sustain the garrison three weeks, within
which time there was little hope of succor. The
houses being, moreover, of wood, and chiefly thatched
with straw, might be set on fire with burning mis-
siles. But the chief apprehensions of the officers
arose from their dread that the enemv would make a
general onset, and cut or burn their way through the
pickets — a mode of attack to which resistance would
be unavailing. Their \xiety on this score was re-
lieved by a Canadian • the fort, who had spent half
his life among Indians, and who now assured the
commandant that every maxim of their warfare was
opposed to such a measure. Indeed, an Indian's idea
of military honor widely differs, as before observed,

* According to Rogers, this attack was on the 11th.
« Pen;^ Gaz. No. 1808.

CuAf. XII.]

PERIL OF THE GARRISON.

217

from that of a white man ; for he holds it to con-
sist no less in a wary regard to his own life than
in tlie courage and impetuosity with which he assails
his enemy. His constant aim is to gain advantages
without incurring loss. He sets an inestimable value
on the lives of his own party, and deems a victory
dcaiU purchased by the death of a single warrior. A
wai-cliief attains the summit of his renown when he
can boast that he has brought home a score of scalps
without the loss of a mm ; and his reputation is wo
fully abridged if the mournful wailings of the women
mingle with the exulting yells of the warriors. Yet,
with all his subtlety and caution, tlie Indian is not
a coward, and, in his own way of fighting, often
exliibits no ordinary courage. Stealing alone into the
heart of an enemy's country, he prowls around the
hostile village, watching every movement ; and when
night sets in, he enters a lodge, and calmly stirs the
decaying embers, that, by their light, he may select
his sleeping vi'^tims. With cool deliberation, dealing
tlie mortal thrust, he kills foe after foe, and tears
away scalp after scalp, until at length an alarm is
given; then, with a wild yell, he bounds out into
the darkness, and is gone.

Time passed on, and brought little change and no
relief to the harassed and endangered garrison. Day
after day the Indians continued their attacks, until
their war-cries and the rattle of their guns became
familiar sounds.

For many weeks, nc man lay down to sleep, except
in his clothes, and with his weapons by his side.'

1 MS. Letter from an officer at
Detroit — no signature — July 31.

Extract from a letter dated De-
troit, July G.

" We have been besiofjed here two
Months, by Six Uundrod Indinns.
We have been upon the Watch Nipfht
and Day, from tlie Commanding ( >ffi

'!•<

218

PONTLiVC AT DETROIT.

[Chap. XU.

'pi-

ml ■ i

1 1

Parties of volunteers sallied, from time to time, to
bum the outbuildings which gave shelter to the
enemy. They cut down orchard trees, and levelled
fences, until the ground about the fort was clear
and open, and the enemy had no cover left from
whence to tire. The two vessels in the river, s\veei>
ing the northern and southern curtains of the works
with their fire, deterred the Indians from approaching'
those points, and gave material aid to the garri"''^
Still, worming their way through the grass, she i-
ing themselves behind every rising ground, the per-
tinacious savages would crawl close to the palisade,
and shoot arrows, tipped with burning tow, upon the
roofs of the houses ; but cisterns and tanks of water
were every where provided against such an emer-
gency, and these attempts proved abortive. The little
church, which stood near the palisade, was particu-
larly exposed, and would probably have been set on
fire, had not the priest of the settlement threatened
Pontiac with the vengeance of the Great Spirit, should
he be guilty of such sacrilege. Pontiac, who was
filled with eagerness to get possession of the garrison,
neglected no expedient that his savage tactics could
supply. He even went farther, and begged the French
inhabitants to teach him the European method of
attacking a fortified place by regular aiDproaches ;

cer to the lowest soldier, from the
8th of Msiy, and have not had our
Clonths oft', nor slept all Ni^ht since
it betran; and shall continue so till
we Jiave a Reinforcement up. We
then hope soon to give a jjood Ac-
count of the Savajjes. Their Camp
lies about a Mile and a half from the
Fort ; and that's the nearest they
choose to come now. For the first
two or three Days we were attacked
by tliree or four Hundred of tliem,

but we gave them so warm a Recep-
tion that now they don't care for com
ing to see us, tho' they now and tlini
get behind a House or Garden, iiiiil
tire at us about three or four niiiuln li
yards' disttince. The Day lictitn'
Ye.storday, we killed a Chief ami
three others, and wounded soiiio
more ; yesterday went up witli our
Sloop, and battered their Cabiiirf in
such a Manner that they are glad tn
keep farther off."

Chap. XII.]

HE SUMMONS THE GARRISON.

219

but the rude Canadians knew as little of the matter
as he; or if, by chance, a few were better informed,
they wisely preferred to conceal their knowledge.
Soon after the first attack, the Ottawa chief had
sent in to Gladwyn a summons to surrender, assur-
ing him that if the place were at once given up, he
might embark on board the vessels, with all his men ;
but that, if he persisted in his defence, he would
treat him as Indians treat each other; that is, he
would burn him alive. To this Gladwyn made an-
swer that he cared nothing for his threats.^ The
attaeks were now renewed with increased activity, and
the assailants were soon after inspired with fresh ar-
dor by the arrival of a hundred and twenty Ojibwa
warriors from Grand Iliver. Everv man in the fort,
officers, soldiers, traders, and engages^ now slept upon
the ramparts ; even in stormy weather, none were
allowed to withdraw to their quarters ; ^ yet a spirit
of confidence and cheerfulness still prevailed among
the weary garrison.

Meanwhile, great eflTorts were made to procure a
sup[)lY of provisions. Every house was examined, and
all that could serve for food, even grease and tallow,
was collected and placed in the public storehouse,
com})ensation having first been made to the owners.
Notwithstanding these precautions, Detroit must have
been abandoned or destroyed, but for the assistance
of a few friendly Canadians, and especially of M. Baby,
a prominent habitant, who lived on the opposite side
of the river, and provided the garrison with cattle,
hogs, and other supplies. These, under cover of night, .
were carried from his farm to the fort in boats, the

i i

!:j

1 Pontiac MS

2 Penn. Gaz. No. 1808.

220

PONTIAC AT DETROIT.

[Ciivp. XII,

mil
W

if-'

I *

1 !

i r I

p'rl

Indians long remaining ignorant of what was going
forward.^

They, on their part, began to suffer from hunger.
Thinking to have taken Detroit at a single stroke,
they had neglected, with their usual improvidence, to
provide against the exigencies of a siege; and now,
in small parties, they would visit the Canadian fami-
lies along the river shore, passing from house to house.
demanding provisions, and threatening violence in
case of refusal. This was the more annoying, since
the food thus obtained was wasted with character-
istic recklessness. Unable to endure it longer, the
Canadians appointed a deputation of fifteen of the
eldest among them to wait upon Pontiac, and com-
plain of his followers' conduct. The meeting took
place at a Canadian house, probably that of M. Me-
lodic, where the great chief had made his head-quar-
ters, and where the prisoners, Campbell and M'Dougul,
were confined.

AVhen Pontiac saw the deputation approaching along
the river road, he was seized with an exceeding eager-
ness to know the purpose of their visit; for having
long desired to gain the Canadians as allies against

1 Extract from a MS. Letter —
Major Gladwyn to Sir J. Amherst.

" Detroit, July 8th, 1763.
" Since the Commencement of this
Extraordinary Affair, I have been In-
formed, that many of the Inliabitants
of this Place, seconded by some
French Traders from Montreal, have
made the Indians Believe that a
French Army & Fleet were in the
River St. Lawrence, and that Anoth-
er Army would come from the Illi-
nois ; And that when I Published the
cessation of Arms, they said it was a
mere Invention of Mine, purposely

Calculated to Keep the Indians Quiet,
as We were Affraid of them ; but
they were not such Fools as to Be-
lieve me ; Which, with a thousand
other Lies, calculated to Stir up Mis-
chiof, have Induced the Indiaus to
take up Arms ; And I dare say it will
Appear ere lou}?, that One lliilt' of
the Settlement merit a Gibbet, iuil
the Other Half ou<rht to be Deciiint-
ed ; Nevertheless, there is some I loii-
est Men amonw them, to whom I am
Infinitely Obliged ; I mean, Sir. .Mom-
sieur Navarre, the two Babys, & my
Interpreters, St. Martin & La i3iite/'

Chap. XII.J

HIS SPEECH TO THE FRENCH.

221

the English, and made several advances to that effect,
he hoped that then* present errand might relate to the
object next his heart. So strong was his curiosity,
that, forgetting the ordinary rule of Indian dignity
and decorum, he asked the business on which they
had come before they themselves had communicated
it. I'he Canadians replied, that they wished the chiefs
to be convened, for they were about to speak upon
a matter of much importance. Pontiac instantly
despatched messengers to the different camps and
viUages. The chiefs, soon arriving at his summons,
entered the apartment, where they sat down upon the
floor, having first gone through the necessary for-
mality of shaking hands with the Canadian deputies.
After a suitable pause, the eldest of the French rose,
and heavily complained of the outrages which they
had committed. " You pretend," he said, " to be friends
of the French, and yet you plunder us of our hogs
and cattle, you trample upon our fields of young
com, and when you enter our houses, you enter with
tomahawk raised. When your French father comes
from Montreal with his great army, he will hear of
what you have done, and, instead of shaking hands
with you as brethren, he will punish you as enemies."

Pontiac sat with his eyes rivetted upon the ground,
Hstening to every word that was spoken. When the
speaker had concluded, he returned the following
answer : —

" Brothers :
"We have never wished to do you harm, nor al-
low any to be done you ; but among us chere are
many young men who, though strictly watched, find
opportunities of mischief. It is not to revenge my-
self alone that I m?>e war on the English. It is to

)•{'

"iH

f . " 1'

TSld

III

222

PONTIAC AT DETROIT.

[Chap. XII,

revenge you, my brothers. When the English in-
sulted us, they insulted you also. I know that they
have taken away your arms, and made you sign a
paper which they have sent home to their country,
Therefore you are left defenceless ; and I mean now
to revenge your cause and my own together. I mean
to destroy the English, and leave not one upon our
lands. You do not know the reasons from wliich
I act. I have told you those only which concern
yourselves ; but you will learn all in time. You will
cease then to think me a fool. I know, my brothers,
that there are many among you who take part with
the English. I am sorry for it, for their own sake.s;
for when our father arrives, I shall point them out
to him, and they will see whether they or I have
most reason to be satisfied with the part we have
acted.

" I do not doubt, my brothers, that this war is very
troublesome to vou, for our warriors are continnallv
jDassiiig and repassing through your settlement. I am
sorry for it. Do not think that I approve of the
damage that is done by them ; and, as a proof of this,
remember the war with the Foxes, and the part which
I took in it. It is now seventeen years since the
Ojibwas of Michillimackinac, combined with the Sacs
and Foxes, came down to destroy you. ^Yho then
defended you 1 Was it not I and my younc men !
Mickinac, great chief of all these nations, said in
council, that he would carry to his village the head
of your commandant — that he would eat his heart
and drink his blood. Did I not take your part ^ Did
I not go to his camp, and say to him, that if he wished
to kill the French, he must first kill me and my
warriors] Did I not assist you in routing them and

Chai'. XII.]

HIS SPEECH TO THE FRENCH.

223

driving tliem away ] ' And now you think that I would
turn my arms against you ! No, my brothers ; I am
the same French Pontiac who assisted you seventeen
years aj^o. I am a Frenchman, and I wish to die a
Frenchman ; and I now repeat to you that you and
I are one — that it is for both our interests that I
slioukl be avenged. Let me alone. I do not ask you
for aid, for it is not in your power to give it. I
only ask provisions for myself and men. Yet, if
vou are inclined to assist me, I shall not refuse you.
It would please me, and you yourselves would be
sooner rid of your troubles ; for I promise you, that
as soon as the English are driven out, we will go
back to our villages, and there await the arrival of
our French father. You have heard what I have to
say ; remain at peace, and I will watch that no
harm shall be done to you, either by my men or by
the other Indians."

This speech is reported by a writer whose chief
characteristic is the scrupulous accuracy with Avhich
he has chronicled minute details without interest or

' Tlie annals of these remote and
dnoniy refjions arc involved in such
obscurity, tliat it is hard to discover
tho prpcisc character of the events
to which Pontiac here refers. The
only idhisiioii to them, wliicli tiie writer
hiis met with, is the following, in-
scribed on a tattered scrap of soiled
paper, found among the M'Dougal
mimiscripts ; —

" Five miles below the mouth of
Wolf River is the Great Death
Groiind. This took its name from
tJio circumstance, that some years
b"fnre tlie Old French War, a great
biittle was fought between the French
troops, assisted by the Menomonies
and OtUiways on the one side, and
tiic Sac and Fox Indians on the

other. The Sacs and Foxes were
nearly all cut off; and this proved the
cause of their eventual expulsion
from that country."

The M'Dougal manuscripts, above
referred to, belonged to a son of the
Lieutenant M'Dougal who was the
fellow-prisoner of Major Campbell.
On the death of the younger M'Dou-
gal, the papers, which were very
voluminous, and contained various
notes concerning the Indian war, and
the captivity of his father, came into
the possession of a family at the
town of St. Clair, in Michigan, who
permitted such of them as related to
the subjects in question to be coj)ied
by the ^vriter.

■^h

i"'

' '•W.i.

Iff

1.4 I

Hit '

1^ T

224

PONTIAC AT DETROIT.

[Chap. XII.

importance. He neglects, moreover, no ojiportuuity
of casting ignominy and contempt upon the name
of Pontiac. His mind is of so dull and common.
place an order as to exclude the supposition that he
himself is author of the words which he ascribes to
the Ottawa chief, and the speech may probably be
taken as a literal translation of the original.

As soon as the council broke up, Pontiac took
measures for bringing the disorders complained of to
a close, while, at the same time, he provided sus-
tenance for his warriors ; and, in doing this, he dis-
played a policy and forecast scarcely paralleled in
the history of his race. He first forbade the com-
mission of farther outrage.^ He next visited in turn
the families of the Canadians, and, inspecting the
property belonging to them, he assigned to each the
share of provisions which it must furnish for the
support of the Indians.^ The contributions thus
levied were all collected at the house of Melothe,
near Parent's Creek, whence they were regularly is-
sued, as the exigence required, to the savages of
the different camps. As the character and habits of
an Indian but ill qualify him to act the part of
commissary, Pontiac in this matter availed himself
of French assistance.

On the river bank, not far from the house of
Meloche, lived an old Canadian, named Quilleriez, a
man of exceeding vanity and self-conceit, and noted
in the settlement for the gayety of his attire. He
wore moccasons of the most elaborate pattern, and
a sash plentifully garnished with beads and wam-
pum. He was continually intermeddling in the

1 Peltier's Account, MS.

8 Gouin's Account, MS.

CuAi'. XILj

HE ISSUES niOMISSORY NOTES.

225

affairs of the Indians, being anxious to be regarded
as tlic leader or director among them.' Of this man
Pontiac evidently made a tool, employing him, to-
gether with several others, to discharge, beneath his
eve, the duties of his novel connnissariat. Anxious
to avoid oftending the French, yet unable to make
compensation for the provisions he had exacted, Pon-
tine had recourse to a remarkable expedient, sug-
gested, no doubt, by one of these Euro^jcan assist-
ants. He issued promissory notes, drawn upon birch
bark, and signed with the figure of an otter, the
totem to which he belonged ; and we are told by a
trustworthy authority, that they were all faithfully
redeemed.^ In this, as in several other instances, he
exhibits an openness of mind and a power of adap-
tation not a little extraordinary among a people
whose intellect will rarely leave the narrow and
deeply-cut channels in which it has run for ages,
who reject instruction, and adhere with rigid tenacity
to ancient ideas and usages. Pontiac always exhib-
ited an eager desire for knowledge, llogers repre-
sents him as earnest to learn the military art as
practised among Europeans, and as inquiring curi-
ously into the mode of making cloth, knives, and
the other articles of Indian trade. Of his keen and
subtle genius we have the following singular testi-
mony from the pen of General Gage : " From a
paragraph of M. D'Abbadie's letter, there is reason to
judge of Pontiac, not only as a savage possessed of
tlie most refined cunning and treachery natural to
the Indians, but as a person of extraordinary abil-
ities. He says that he keeps two secretaries, one to

^ Tradition related by M. Baby. the Siege says that they bore the fig-
' Rogers, Account of North Amer- ure of a " coon."
ica, 244. The anonymous Diary of

226

PONTIAC AT DETKOIT.

[Chap. XII

write for him, and the other to read the letters he
receives, and he manages them so as to keep each
of them ignorant of what is transacted by the
other." »

Major Rogers, a man familiar with the Indians,
and an acute judge of mankind, speaks in the liigh-
est terms of Pontiac's character and talents. '• He
puts on," he says, " an air of majesty and princely
grandeur, and is greatly honored and revered by his
subjects." ^

In the present instance, few durst infringe the
command he had given, that the property of the
Canadians should be respected ; indeed, it is said
that none of his followers would cross the cultivated
fields, but always followed the beaten paths ; in such
awe did they stand of his displeasure.^

Pontiac's position was very different from that of
an ordinary military leader. When we remember
that his authority, little sanctioned by law or usage.
was derived chiefly from the force of his own indi-
vidual mind, and that it was exercised over a people
singularly impatient of restraint, we may better ap-
preciate the commanding energy that could hold
control over spirits so intractable.

'jpTfrn

1 MS. Letter — Gage to Lord Hal-
ifax, April 1(), 17G4.

Extract from a MS. Letter — Wil-
liam Smith, Jr., to .

" New York, 22d Nov. 1763.
" 'Tis an old saying that the Devil
is easier raised than laid. Sir Jef-
frey has found it so, with these In-
dian Demons. They have cut his
little Army to Pieces, & almost if
not entirely obstructed the Commu-
nication to the Detroite, where the
Enemy are grown very numerous;
and from whtjnce I fancy you'll soon

hear, if any survive to relate them.
very tragical Accounts. The Be-
siegers are led on by an entcrprisinir
Fellow called Pondiac. He is a
Genius, for he possesses great Bra-
verj'. Art, &. Oratory, «fc has had the
Address to got liunself not only it
the Head of his Conquerors, but
elected Generalissimo of all tlie con-
federate Forces now acting against
us — Perhai)s he may deserve to be
called 'Jie Mithridatos of the West."

2 Rogers, North America, 240.

3 Gouin's Account MS.

Chap. XII]

TRAITS OF Ills CHARACTER.

227

The glaring faults of Pontiac's character have
already ap[)caif'd too clearly. lie was artful and
treacherous, bold, fierce, ambitious, and revengeful;
yet the following anecdotes will evince that noble
and generous thought was no stranger to the savage
liero of this dark forest tragedy. Some time after
the period of which we have been speaking, Rogers
caine up to Detroit with a detachment of troops,
and, on landing, sent a bottle of brandy, by a friendly
Indian, as a present to Pontiac. The Indians liad
ahvays been suspicious that the English meant to
j)()ison them. Those around the chief endeavored to
persuade him that the brandy was drugged. Pon-
tiac listened to what they said, and, as soon as they
had concluded, poured out a cup of the liquor, and
immediately drank it, saying that the man whose life
he liad saved had no power to kill him. He re-
ferred to his having prevented the Indians from
attacking Kogers and his party when on their way
to demand the surrender of Detroit. The story may
serve as a counterpart to the well-known anecdote
of Alexander the Great and his physician.'

Pontiac had been an old friend of Baby; and one
evening, at an early period of the siege, he entered
his house, and, seating himself by the fire, looked
for some time steadily at the embers. At length,
raising his head, he said he had heard that the
English had offered the Canadian a bushel of sil-
ver for the scalp of his friend. Baby declared that
the story was false, and protested that he would
never betray him. Pontiac for a moment keenly
studied his features. " My brother has spoken the

1 Rogers, North America, 244.

;. {J

228

rONTIAC AT DETROIT.

'4 ;

i i-

'I;

, i

li -

[Chap. XIL

truth," he said, " and I will show that I hclicw
him." He remained in the house through the even-
ing, and, at its close, wrapped hims(!lf in his hlankct,
and lay down upon a bench, where he slept in full
confidence till morning.'

Another anecdote, from the same source, will ex-
hibit the power which he exercised over the minds
of his followers. A few young Wyandots were in
the habit of coming, night after night, to the house
of Baby, to steal hogs and cattle. The latter com-
plained of the theft to Pontiac, and desired his protec-
tion. Being at that time ignorant of the intercourse
between Baby and the English, Pontiac hastened to
the assistance of his friend, and, arriving about night-
fall at the house, walked to artd fro among the bnrns
and enclosures. At a late hour, he distinguished the
dark forms of the plunderers stealing through the
gloom. " Go back to your village, you "VN'yaiidot
dogs," said the Ottawa chief; "if you tread agfiin on
this man's land, you shall die." They slunk back
abashed; and from that time forward, the Canadian^;
property was safe. The Ottawas had no political
connection with the Wyandots, who speak a lan-
guage radically distinct. Over them he could claim
no legitimate authority; yet his powerful spirit forced
respect and obedience from all who approached him."

* Tradition related by M. Fran-
gois Baby.

" Tnulition related by M. Fran-
cois Haby, of Windsor, U. C, the son
of I'oniiac's Iriend, who lives oj)i)o-
site Detroit, npon nearly the same
site i'ornierly oefU[)ied by his father's
house. Though I\)ntiae at this time
assumed tho attitude of a protector

of the Canadians, he had previous];
according to the anonymous autlu
of the Diary of the Siege, bulliia
them exceedingly, compelling tliem
to plough laiul f(jr him, and do iithiT
work. Once lie foived tlieiii to
carry him in a sedan chair from
house to house, to look for jtrovisions.

CHAPTER XIII.

ROUT OF CUYLER'S DETACHMENT. — FATE OF THE
FOREST GARRISONS.

While perils were thickciiiiig around the garrison
of Detroit, the British connuander-in-chief at New
York remained ignorant of their danger. Indeed,
an unwonted ([uiet had prevailed, of late, along the
borders and about the neighboring forts. With the
opening of spring, a strong detachment had been sent
up the lakes, with a supply of provisions and amnui-
uition for the use of Detroit and the other western
posts. The boats of this convoy were now pursu-
ing their course along the northern shore of Lake
Erie; and Gladwyn's garrison, aware of their ap-
proach, awaited their arrival with an anxiety which
every dav increased.

Day after day passed on, and the red cross of St.
George still Hoated above Detroit. The keen-eyed
uaU ii!\hie?>s of the Indians had never abated; and
voe to the soldier who showed his head above the
palisad , or exposed his person before a loophole,
trong in his delusive hope of French assistance, Pon-
tiac had sent messengers to M. Neyon, connnandant
at the Illinois, arnestly requesting that a force of
regular troops might be sent to his assistance ; and
Gladwyn, on his side, had ordered one of the \essels
to Niagara, to " asten forward the expected convoy.

230

ROUT OF CUTLER'S DETACHMENT. [Chap. XDI,

U! '

The schooner set sail ; but on the next day, as she
lay becalmed at the entrance of Lake Erie, a multi-
tilde of canoes suddenly darted out upon her from
the neighboring shores. In the prow of the foremost
the Indians had placed their prisoner, Major Camp-
bell, with the dastardly purpose of interposing him
as a screen between themselves and the fire of the
English. But the brave old man called out to the
crew to do their duty, without regard to him. Ha})-
pily, at that moment a fresh breeze sprang up ; the
flapping sails stretched to the wind, and the schoouer
bore prosperously on her course towards Niagara,
leaving the savage flotilla far behind.^

The fort, or rather town, of Detroit had, by this
time, lost its wonted vivacity and life. Its narrow
streets were gloomy and silent. Here and there
strolled a Canadian, in red cap and gaudy sash ; the
weary sentinel walked to and fro before the quarters
of the commandant ; an officer, perhaps, passed along
with rapid step and anxious face ; or an Indian girl,
the mate of some soldier or trader, moved silently by,
in her finery of beads and vermilion. Such an aspect
as this the town must have presented on the morn-
ing of the thirtieth of May, when, at about nine

1 Penn. Gaz. No. 1807. MS. Let-
ter — Wilkins to Amherst, June 18.

This incident mny have supj^ested
the story told by Mrs. Grant, in her
Memoirs of an American Lady. A
young British officer, of noble birth,
had been living for some time among
the Indians, and having encountered
many strange adventures, he was now
returning in a canoe with a party of
his late associates, — none of them, it
appears, were aware that hostilities
existed,— and approached the schoon-
er just before the attack commenced,
expecting a friendly reception. Sir

Robert D , the young officer, was

in Indian costume, and wishinjj to
surprise his friends, he made no an-
swer when hailed from the vessel,
whereupon he was instantly tired at
and killed.— The story is without con-
firmation 'n any contemporary docu-
ment, and, indeed, is impossililc in
itself. Sir Robert Davers was killrd,
as before mentioned, near Lake St.
Clair; but neither in his c!iaract'?r,
:»or in the mode of his death, did lie at
all resemble the romantic adventurer
whose fate is conmiemorated by Mrs.
Grant.

WBmmm.

Chap. XIIL]

RELIEF AT HAND.

231

o'clock, the voice of the sentinel sounded from the
south-east bastion, and loud exclamations, in the di-
rection of the river, roused Detroit from its lethargy,
histaiitly the place was astir. Soldiers, traders, and
habltans, hurrying through the water gate, thronged
the canoe wharf and the narrow strand without. The
half-Nvild coureurs des hois, the tall and sinewy pro-
vincials, and the stately British soldiers, stood crowded
togetlier, theh- uniforms soiled and worn, and their
faces haggard with unremitted watching. Yet all
alike wore an animated and joyous look. The long-
expected convoy was full in sight. On the farther
side of the river, at some distance below the fort, a
line of boats was rounduig the woody projection, then
called ■Montreal Point, their oars flashing in the sun,
and the red flag of England flying from the stern
of the foremost.^ The toils and dangers of the garri-
son were drawing to an end. With one accord, they
broke into three hearty cheers, again and again re-
peated, while a cannon, glancing from the bastion,
sent its loud voice of defiance to the enemy, and
welcome to approaching friends. But suddenly every
cheek grew pale with horror. Dark naked figures
were seen rising, with wild gesture, in the boats,
while, in place of the answering salute, the distant
yell of the war-whoop fell faintly on their ears. The
convoy was in the hands of the enemy. The boats
had all been taken, and the troops of the detaclimcnt
slain or made captive. Ofl^icers and men stood gazing
in mournful silence, when an incident occurred which
caused them to forget the general calamity in the ab-
sorbmg interest of the moment.

1 Pontiac ]VIS.

1. 1

W'JS

iM^

232

ROUT OF CUTLER'S DETACHMENT. [Chap. XIII.

Leaving the disappointed garrison, we will pass over
to the principal victims of this deplorable misfortune.
In each of the boats, of which there were eighteen,
two or more of the captured soldiers, deprived of
their weapons, Avere compelled to act as rowers, guard-
ed by several armed savages, while many other In-
dians, for the sake of farther security, followed the
boats along the shore. ^ In the foremost, as it hap-
f)ened, there were four soldiers and only three Indians.
The larger of the two vessels still lay anchored in
the stream, about a bow-.shot from the fort, while her
companion, as we have seen, had gone down to Ni-
agara to hasten up this very reenforcement. As the
boat came opposite this vessel, the soldier who acted
as steersman conceived a daring plan of escape. The
principal Indian sat immediately in front of another
of the soldiers. The steersman called, in Englisln
to his comrade to seize the savage and throw him
overboard. The man answered that he was not strong
enougli; on which the steersman directed him to
change j)luces with him, as if fatigued with rowino:.
a movement which would excite no suspicion on tlie
part of their guard. As the bold soldier stepped for-
ward, as if to take his companion's oar, he suddenly
seized the Indian by the hair, and griping with the
other hand the girdle at his waist, lifted him by nnun
force, and flung him into the river. The boat rocked
till the water surged over her gunwale. The Indian
held fast to his enemy's clothes, and, drawing himself
upward as he trailed alongside, stabbed him again
and again with his knife, and then dragged him
overboard. Both went down the swift current, rising

1 Pontine MS.

Chap. X

and si
in cac
leaped
pulled

Chap. XIII.]

ESCAPE OF PRISONERS.

233

and sinking; and, as some relate, perished, grappled
in cadi other's arms.^ The two remaining Indians
leaped out of the boat. The prisoners turned, and
pulled for the distant vessel, shouting aloud for aid.
The Indians on shore opened a heavy fire upon tliem,
and many canoes paddled swiftly in purs'nt. The
men strained with desperate strength. A fate inex-
pressibly horrible was the alternative. The bullets
hissed thickly around their heads ; one of them was
soon wounded, and the light birch canoes gained on
them with fearful rapidity. Escape seemed hope-
less, when the report of a cannon burst from the side
of the vessel. The ball fiew close past the boat, beat-
ing the water in a line of foam, and narrowly miss-
injT the foremost canoe. At this, the pursuers drew
back in dismay ; and the Indians on shore, being far-
ther saluted by a second shot, ceased firing, and scat-
tered among the bushes. The prisoners soon reached
the vessel, where they were greeted as men snatched
from the jaws of fate ; " a living monument," writes an
officer of the garrison, " that Fortune favors the brave.'' ~
They related many particulars of the catastrophe
which had befallen them and their companions.
Lieutenant Cuyler had left Fort INs. gara as early
as the thirteenth of May, and embarked from Fort
Sclilosser, just above the falls, with ninety-six men
tind a plentiful supply of provision and ammunition.
Day after day he had coasted along the northern
shore of Lake Erie, and had seen neither friend nor
foe amid those lonely forests and waters, when, on

' Another witness, Gouin, affirms 2 Ponn. Gaz. No. 1807. St. Au-

tliat the Tndiun freed himself from the bin's Account, MS. Peltier's Ac

dying grasp of the soldier, and swam count, MS.

aslioro.

30 T*

234

*1 i;'

^ 1

EOUT OF CUYLERS DETACHMENT. [Ciup.XlU

;.,

i i

the twenty-eighth of the month, he landed at Point
Pelee, not far from the mouth of the Eiver Detroit,
The boats were drawn on the beach, and the partv
prepared to encamp. A man and a boy went to
gather firewood at a short distance from the spot.
wlien an Indian leaped out of the woods, seized
the boy by the hair, and tomahawked him. The
man ran into camp with the alarm. Cuyler iinme.
diately formed his soldiers into a semicircle before
the boats. He had scarcely done so when the eiicniv
opened their fire. For an instant, there was a hot
blaze of musketry on both sides ; then the Indians
broke out of the ^^ jods in a body, and rushed fiercelv
upon the centre of the line, which gave way in every
part ; the men flinging down their guns, running in
a blind panic to the boats, and struggling with ill-
directed efforts to shove them into the water, live
were set afloat, and pushed off from the shore, crowd-
ed with the terrified soldiers. Cuyler, seeing himselt'
as he says, deserted by hiS men, waded up to his
neck in the lake, and climbed into one of the retreat-
ing boats. The Indians, on their part, pushing two
more afloat, went in pursuit of the fugitives, three
boat loads of whom allowed themselves to be recap-
tured without resistance; but the remaining two, in
one of which was Cuyler himself, made their escape,'
They rowed all night, and landed in the morniiis;

•h\

1 " Beinf? abandoned by my men, I
was Forced to Retreat in the best
manner I conld. 1 was left Avith (5 men
on the Beech, Endeavoring to get off
a Bout, wliich not being able to Ef-
fect, was Obliged to Run up to my
Neck, in the Lake, to get to a Boat
that had pushed off, without my
Knowledge. — When I was in the
Lake I saw Five Boats maimed, and

the Indians having mannod two
Boats, pursued and Brought back
Three of the Five, keej)iiig a. cm-
tinual Fire from off tlie Shore, and
from the two Boats that folluwcd us,
about a Mile on the Lake ; tlio Wind
springing up fair, I and tlic utliir
Remaining Boat Hoisted sail ami 1*
caped." — Cuyler''s Report, MS.

■mnHmHi

Chap. XIII.]

INDIAN DEBAUCH.

235

upon a small island. Between thirty and forty men,
some of whom were wounded, were crowded in these
two boats; the rest, about sixty in number, being
killed or taken. Cuyler now made for Sandusky,
which, on his arrival, he found burnt to the ground.
Liimediately leaving the spot, he rowed along the
south shore to Pres(]^u'Isle, from whence he proceeded
to Niagara, and reported his loss to Major Wilkins,
the commanding officer.^

The actors in this bold and well-executed stroke
were the Wyandots, who, for some days, had lain in
ambush at the mouth of the river, to intercept trading
boats or parties of troops. Seeing the extreme fright
and confusion of Cuylcr's men, they had forgotten
their usual caution, and rushed upon them in the
manner described. The ammunition, provision, and
other articles, taken in this attack, formed a valuable
prize; but, unfortunately, there was, among the rest,
a great quantity of whiskey. This the Indians seized,
and carried to their respective camps, which, through-
out the night, presented a scene of savage revelry
and riot. The liquor was poured into vessels of birch-

' Ciiylor's Report, MS.
Extract from a MS. Letter — Major
Wilkiiis to Sir J. Amherst.

" Niagara, Gth June, 1763.
"Just as I was sending off my
Letter of Yesterday, Lieutenant Cuy-
ler, of the Queen's Ranjrers, Arrived
from his Intended Voyafje to the De-
troit. Ik' has been very Unfortunate,
Havinjr boon Defeated by Indians
within :]() miles of the Detroit River;
I observed that he was Wounded and
Weak, and Desired him to take the
Surireoii's Assistance and some Rest,
and Recollect the ParticuUirs of the
.'Vrtiiir, and let me have them in
Writing, as oerhaps I should find it

Necessary to Transmit them to Your
Excellency, which I have now Done.

" It is probable Your Excellency
will have heard of what has Hap-
pened by way of Fort Pitt, as Ensij^n
Christie, Conunandin<r at Presqu'Isle,
writes me he htis sent an Express to
Acquaint the Coniinandinij: Otticer at
that Place, of Sanduskie's bein<T De-
stroyed, and of Lieut. Cuyler's De-
feat"

" Some Indians of the Six Nations
arc now witli mo. They seem very
Civil ; The Interpreter has just told
thcin I was writinj; to Your Excel-
lency for Ruin, and they are very
glad."

■"51

1 1

1 > J

1>.

2:36

ROUT OF CUTLER'S DETACHMENT. [Chap.XII!

I •(

bark, or any thing capable of containing it; and the
Indians, crowding around, scooped it up in their cups
and ladles, and quaffed the raw whiskey like ^vater,
While some sat apart, wailing and moaning in maud-
lin drunkenness, others were maddened to the ferocitv
of wild beasts. Dormant jealousies were awakencfl
old forgotten quarrels kindled afresh, and had not
the squaws taken the precaution of hiding all the
weapons they could iind before the debauch began.
much blood would, no doubt, have been spilt. As it
was, the savages were not entirely without means of
indulging their drunken rage. Many were wounded.
of whom two died in the morning ; and several oth-
ers had their noses bitten off — a singular mode of
revenge, much in vogue upon similar occasions, among
the Indians of the upper lakes. The English were
gainers by this scene of riot ; for late in the evening.
two Indians, in all the valor and vain-glory of drunk-
enness, came running directly towards the fort, boast-
ing their prowess in a loud voice; but being greeted
with two rifle bullets, they leaped into the air like a
pair of wounded bucks, and fell dead on their tracks,
It will not be proj^er to pass over in silence the
fate of the unfortunate men taken prisoners in this
affair. After night had set in, several Canadians
came to the fort, bringing vague and awful rc})oits
of the scenes that had been enacted at the Indian
camp. The soldiers gathered round them, and, frozen
with horror, listened to the appalling narrative. A
cloud of deep gloom sank down upon the garrison.
and none could help reflecting how thin and frail a
barrier protected them from a similar fate. On the
following day, and for several succeeding days, they
beheld frightful confirmation of the rumors the) had

Chap.XIILI

FATE OF TIIE CAPTIVES.

237

heard. Naked corpses, gashed with knives and
scorched with fire, floated down on the inwe waters
of the Detroit, whose fish came up to nibble at the
dotted blood that clung to their ghastly faces.'

Late one afternoon, at about this period of the
siege, the garrison were again greeted with the dismal
cry of death, and a line of naked warriors was seen
issuing from the woods, which, like a wall of foliage,
rose beyond the pastures in rear of the fort. Each
savage was painted black, and each bore a scalp

1 "The Indians, fearing tlwt tlio
other barsir's nii<;lit o.scaj)0 as the first
had (lone, clianyed their plan of going
to the camp. They landed their
prisoners, tied thoni, and conducted
[\mn by land to the Ottawas village,
and then crossed them to Pondiac's
camp, wlicre they were all hutchercd.
As soon as the canoes reached the
shore, the barbarians landed their
prisoiK^rs, one after tlie other, on tlio
bench. Tlioy made them strip thoi -
selves, and then sent arrows into dif-
ferent parts of their bodies. These
uiiforturiate men wished sometimes
ti) throw themselves on the ground to
avoid the arrows ; but they were beat-
en with sticks and forced to stand up
until they fell dead ; after which those
who had not tired fell upon their
!)i)(lies, cnt them in pieces, cooked,
and ate thorn. On others they exer-
cised ditferent modes of torment by
cmtinir their flesh with flints, and
piercinir tiicm with lances. They
"■i)uld then cut their feet and hands
off. iind leave them weltering in their
Mood till they were dead. Others
"•ore fastened to stakes, and chil-
dren einployod iii burning them with
!i slow tire. No kind of torment was
!"tr untried by these Indians. Some
nt the bodies w(>re left on shore ; oth-
ers were thrown into the river. Even
the women assisted their husbands in
torturinnr their victims. They slitted
tlicni with their knives, and mangled
them in various ways. There were,

however, a few whose lives were
saved, being adopted to serve as
slaves." — Pontine MS.

" The remaining barges pro-
ceeded up the river, and crossed to
the house of Mr. Meloche, where
Pontiac and his Ottawas were en-
camped. The barges were landed,
and, the women having arranged
themselves in two rows, with clubs
and sticks, tlie prisoners were taken
out, one by one, and told to run the
gantlet to Pontiac's lodge. Of sixty-
six persons who were brought to the
shore, sixty-four ran the gantlet, and
Avere all killed. One of the remain-
ing two, who had had his thigh
broken in the firing from the shore,
and who was tied to his seat and
compelled to row, had become by
this time so much exhausted that he
could not help himself. Ho was
thrown out of the boat and killed
with clubs. The other, when di-
rected to run for the lodge, suddenly
fell upon his knees in the water, and
having dijjped his haml in the water,
he made the sign of the cross on his
forehead and breast, and darted out
in the stream. An ex|)ert swinnner
from the Indians followed him, and,
having overtaken him, seized him by
the hair, and crying out, ' Y'ou seem
to love water ; you shall have enough
of it,' he stabbed the poor fellow,
who sunk to rise no more." — Gouiri'a
Account, MS.

1 „

!'■%

}[

'5 ^

Nil

), .

i S'

r- *
"iJ

238

FATE OF THE FOREST GARRISONS. [Ciup.XlII.

fluttering from the end of a pole. It was but
too clear that some new disaster had befallen ; and
in truth, before nightfall, one lia Brosse, a Canadian,
came to the gate with the tidings that Fort San-
dusky liad been taken, and all its garrison slain or
made captive.' I'liis post had been attacked by tlit
band of Wyandots living in its neighborhood, aided
by a detachment of their brethren from Detroit,
Among the few survivors of the slaughter was the
commanding officer, Ensign Paully, who had Ixm
brought prisoner to Detroit, bound hand and foot,
and solaced on the passage with the expectation of
being burnt alive. On landing near the camp of
Pontiac, he was surrounded by a crowd of Indians.
chiefly squaws and children, who pelted him Avitli
stones, sticks, and gravel, forcing him to dance and
sing, though by no means in a cheerful strain. A
worse infliction seemed in store for him, when hap-
pily an old woman, whose husband had lately died,
chose to adopt him in place of the deceased warrior.
Seeing no alternative but the stake, Paully accepted
the proposal ; and having been first plunged in the
riA'er, that the white blood might be washed from
his veins, he was conducted to the lodge of the
widow, and treated thenceforth with all the consider-
ation due to an Ottawa warrior,

Gladwyn soon received a letter from him, througli
one of the Canadian inhabitants, giving a lull ac-
count of the capture of Fort Sandusky. On the
sixteenth of INIay — such was the substance of the
communication — Paully was informed that seven In-
dians were waiting at the gate to speak with him.
As several of the number were well known to him,

1 Pontiac MS.

Ciur. XIII.]

FOTtT SANDUSKY.

239

he ordered them, without hesitation, to be admitted.
Arrived at his quarters, two of the treaeherous vis-
itors seated tlicmselves on each side of the command-
ant, while the rest were disposed in various parts
of the room. The pipes were lighted, and the c(m-
vcrsation began, when an Indian, who stood in the
doorway, suddenly made a signal by raising his head.
Tpon this, the astonished officer was instantly pounced
upon and disarmed ; while, at the same mom^^nt, a
confused noise of shrieks and yells, the firhig of
ffnns, and the hurried tramp of feet, sounded from
tho area of the fort without. It soon ceased, how-
ever, and Paully, led by his captors from the room,
saw the parade ground strown with the corpses of
his murdered garrison. At nightfall, he was con-
cUu'tod to the margin of the lake, where several
birch canoes lay in readiness ; and as, amid thick
darkness, the party pushed out from shore, the cap-
tive saw the fort, lately under his command, bursting
on all sides into sheets of flame.^

Soon after these tidings of the loss of Sandusky,
Gladwyn's garrison heard the scarcely less unwel-
come news that the strength of their besiegers had
been reenforced by two strong bands of Ojibwas,
Pontiac's forces in the vicinity of Detroit now
amounted, according to Canadian computation, to
about eight hundred and twenty warriors. Of these,
two hundred and fifty were Ottawas, commanded by
himself in person ; one hundred and fifty were Pot-
tawattamies, under Ninivay ; fifty were Wvandots,
under Takee ; two hundred were Ojibwas, under

>.' j

' MS. Official Document — Report Major Gla(bvj'n to Sir Jeffrey Am-
of the Loss of the Posts in the Indian herst, July 8, 1763.
Country, enclosed in a letter from

■I

J 1<

i* I

I ^

I,'

, (1

l^!J;ii,

k , i

p I,

-fill

I' I
it
'I

240

FATE OF THE FOHEST GARRISONS. [CiiArXui

Wasson ; and added to these were a hundn>(l and
seventy of the same tribe, under their chief, Sekalios,'
As the warriors brought tlieir sqiuiws and (liildicn
with tliem, the whole niunber of savages congr('<iat(d
about Detroit no doubt exceeded three thousand:
and the neighboring fiekls and meadows must liuvc
presented a pictiires(|ue and stirring scene.

The sleepless garrison, worn by fatigue and ill
fare, and harassed by constant petty attacks, wen
yet farther saddened by the news of disaster whidi
thickened from every quarter. Of all the small
posts scattered at wide intervals through the va>t
wilderness to the westward of Niagara and Ion
Pitt, it soon appeared that Detroit alone had been
able to sustain itself. For the rest, there was but
one unvaried tale of calamity and ruin. On tlic
fifteenth of June, a number of Pottawattamies wen
seen approaching the gate of the fort, bringing witli
them four English prisoners, who proved to be En-
sign Schlosser, lately commanding at St. Josq)lis.
together with three private soldiers. The Indians
wished to exchange them for several of their own
tribe, who had been for nearly two months prisoners
in the fort. After some delay, this was effected, and
the garrison then learned the unhappy fate of their
comrades at St. Joseph's. This post stood at the
mouth of the River St. Joseph's, near the head of
Lake Michigan, a spot which had long been the site
of a Roman Catholic mission. Here, among the
forests, swamps, and ocean-like waters, at an unmen^-
ured distance from any abode of civilized man, tlu
daring and indefatigable Jesuits had labored more

1 Pontiac MS.

Cmaf. XIII-l

FOUT ST. JOSEPH.

241

than half a century for the spiritual good of the
Pottawattamies, who lived in great numbers near the
margin of the lake. As early as the year 1712, as
I'atlier Marest informs us, the mission was in a
thriving state, and around it had gathered a little
colony of the forest-loving Canadians. Here, too,
the trench government had established a military
post, whose garrison, at the period of our narrative,
had been supplanted by Ensign Schlosser, with his
command of fourteen men, a mere handful, in the
heart of a wilderness swarming with insidious en-
emies. They seem, however, to have apprehended no
danger, when, on the twenty-fifth of May, early in
the moiTiing, the officer was informed that a large
party of the Pottawattamies of Detroit had come to
pay a visit to their relatives at St. Joseph's. Imme-
diately after, a Canadian came in with intelligence
that the fort was surrounded by Indians, Avho evi-
dently had hostile intentions. At this, Schlosser ran
out of the apartment, and crossing the parade, which
was full of Indians and Canadians, hastily entered
the barracks. These w^re also crowded with savages,
very insolent and disorderly. Calling upon his ser-
geant to get the men under arms, he hastened out
again to the parade, and endeavored to muster the
Canadians together ; but while busying himself with
these somewhat unwilling auxiliaries, he heard a wild
cry from within the barracks. Instantly all the In-
dians in the fort rushed to the gate, tomahawked
the sentinel, and opened a free passage to their com-
rades without. In less than two minutes, as the
officer declares, the fort was plundered, eleven men
were killed, and himself, with the three survivors,
made prisoners, and bound fast. They then con-
31 u

iiVi

242

FATE OF THE FOREST GARRISONS. [Ciiai. XIII.

ducted him to Detroit, where lie was exchanged, a,s
we have already seen.^

Three days after these tidings reached Detroit,
Father Jonois, a Jesuit priest of the Ottawa mission
near Michillimackinac, came to Pontiac's camp, to-
getlier Avith the son of Minavavana, great cliicf of
the Ojibwas, and several other Indians. On the fol.
lowing morning, he appeared at the gate of the fort.
bringing a letter from Captain Ethcrington, com-
mandant at Michillimackinac. The commencement
of the letter was as follows: —

! '

Sir

" Michillimackinac, 12 June, 17(i:].

" Notwithstanding what I wrote you in my last,
that all the savages were arrived, and that every
thing seemed in perfect tranquillity, yet on the fourth
instant, the Chippeways, who live in a plain near
this fort, assembled to play ball, as they had dom
almost every day since their arrival. They played
from morning till noon; then, throwing their ball
close to the gate, and observing Lieutenant Lesley
and me a few paces out of it, they came behind
us, seized and carried us into the woods.

" In the mean time, the rest rushed into the fort,
where they found theii* squaws, whom they had pre-
viously planted there, with their hatchets hid under
their blankets, which they took, and in an instant
killed Lieutenant Jamet, and fifteen rank and file
and a trader named Tracy. They wounded two. am!
took the rest of the garrison prisoners, five of whom
they have since killed.

* Loss of the Posts in the Indian Country, MS. Compare Diary of the
Siege, 25.

CoiP. XIII.l

FORT OUATANON.

243

"They made prisoners all the English traders, and
robbed them of every thing they ha^l; hut th(»y
offored no violence to the persons or property of
any of the Frenchmen."

Captain Ethcrington next related some particulars
of the massacre at Michillimackinac, sufficiently star-
tling, as will soon appc^ar. He spoke in high terms
of the character and conduct of Father Jonois, and
rpqiiested that Gladwyn would send all the troops
ho cortld spare up liake Huron, that the post might
be ieca})tured from the Indians, and garrisoned afresh,
(iliulwyn, being scarcely able to defend himself, could
do nothing for the relief of his brother officer, and
the Jesuit set out on his long and toilsome canoe voy-
age back to jSIichillimackinac' The loss of this place
was a very serious misfortune, for, next to Detroit,
it was the most important post on the upper lakes.

The next news which came in was that of the
loss of Ouatanon, a fort situated n])on the Wabash,
a little below the site of the present town of La
Fayette. Gladwyn received a letter from its com-
manding officer. Lieutenant Jenkins, informing him
that, on the first of June, he and several of his men
had been made prisoners by stratagem, on which the
rest of the garrison had surrendered. The Indians,
however, apologized for their conduct, declaring that
they acted contrary to their own inclinations, and
that the surrounding tribes had compelled them to
take up the hatchet." These excuses, so consolatory

\ Pontiac j\IS.

"Ouatanon, June 1st, 1763.

we are not in much better, for ihis
morning the Indians sent for me, to

'Sir: speak to me, and Immediately bound

" I have heard of your situation, me, when I gov to their Cabbin, and

i^'hich gives me great Pain ; indeed, I soon found seme of my Soldiers in

' 4

244

FATE OF THE FOREST GARRISONS. [Chap. Xin

,: ■!(

to the sufferers, might probably have been founded
m truth, for these savages were of a character less
ferocious than many of the others, and as they were
farther removed from the settlements, they had not
felt to an equal degree the effects of English inso-
lence and encroachment.

Close upon these tidings came the news that Fort
Miami was taken. This post, standing on the River
Maumee, was commanded by Ensign Holmes ; and
here I cannot but remark on the forlorn situation of
these officers, isolr:ed in the wilderness, hundreds of
miles, in some instances, from any congenial asso-
ciates, separated from every human being except tlie
rude soldiers under their command, and the white
or red savages who ranged the surrounding woods.
Holmes suspected the intention of the Indians, and
was therefore on his guard, when, on the twenty-
seventh of May, a young Indian girl, who lived witli
him, came to tell him that a squaw lay dangerously
ill in a wigwam near the fort, and urged hiui to
come to her relief. Having confidence in the girl.

the same Condition : Tlioy told mt
Detroit, MiamiH, and all thcin Posts
were cut off', and that it was a Folly
to make any Resistance, therefore
desired me to make the few Soldiers,
that were in the Fort, surreiider,
otherwise they would put us all to
Death, in case one man was killed.
They wore to have fell on us and
killed us all, last nijrht, but Mr. Mai-
songville and Lorain ffi\o them wam-
pum not to kill us, & when they told
the Int('rj)reter tiiat we were all to
be killed, & he knowinjr the condi-
tion of tlie Fort, bcfr'd of them to
make us prisoners. They have jjut
us into French houses, & both In-
dia .is and French use us very well :
All tiiese Nations say they arc very

sorry, but that they were obliged to
do it by the Other Nations. Tlie
Belt did not Arrive here 'till liu-t
ni^ht about Eij^ht o'Clock. ]\Ir. Lo-
rain can inform you of all. Jii:-t
now Received the News of St. .In-
seph's bein<j taken. Eleven men killoil
and three taken Prisoners with the
Officer : I hav(i nothinij more to say.
but that I sincerely wish you a
s])eedy succour, 'vnd that w(! may be
able to Revenjyt ourselves on those
that Deserve it.

"I Remain, wHh my Siiicerest
wishes for your safety,

" Your most humble servant,
" Edw" Je.nkins.

" N. B. We exjject to set off in ft
day or two for the Illinois."

liiiy,

mmm

CHAP.xm.]

FORT PRESQU'ISLE.

245

Holmes followed her out of the fort. Pitched at
the edge of a meadow, hidden from view by an in-
tervening spur of the woodland, stood a great num-
ber of Indian wigwams. When Holmes came in
sight of them, his treacherous conductress pointed
out that in which the sick woman lay. He walked
on without suspicion ; but, as he drew near, two guns
Hashed from behind the hut, and stretched him life-
less on the grass. The shots were heard at the fort,
and the sergeant rashly went out to learn the reason
of the firing. He was immediately taken prisoner,
amid exulting yells and whoopings. The soldiers in
the fort climbed upon the palisades, to look out,
when Godefroy, a Canadian, together with two other
white men, made his appearance, and summoned
them to surrender, promising that if they did so,
their lives should be spared, but that otlierwise they
would all be killed without mercy. The men, being
in great terror, and without a leader, soon threw open
the gate, and gave themselves up as prisoners.^

Had detachments of Rogers' Rangers garrisoned
these posts, or had they been held by such men as
the Rocky Mountain trappers of the present day,
wary, skilful, and almost ignorant of fear, some of
them might, perhaps, have been saved; but the sol-
diers of the 60th Regiment, though many of them
were of provincial birth, were not qualified by their
habits and discipline for this kind of service.

The loss of Presqu Isle will close this black cata-
logue of calamity. Rumors of it first reached Detroit
on the twentieth of June, and two days after, the
garrison heard those dismal cries, announcing scalps

r *

' Lo<g of the Posts, MS. Compare Diary of the Siege, 22, 26 ; aud
Ro^^ers, Journal of the Siege.

246

FATE OF THE FOREST GARRISONS. [Chap. XIII

and prisoners, which, of late, had grown mournfully
familiar to their ears. Indians were seen passing, iu
numbers, along the opposite bank of the river, lead-
ing several English prisoners, who proved to be En-
sign Christie, the commanding officer at Presqu'Isle,
with those of his soldiers who survived.

There had been hot fighting before Presqu'Isle
was taken. Could courage have saved it, it would
never have fallen. The fort stood near the site of
the present town of Erie, on the southern shore of
the lake which bears the same name. At one of its
angles was a large blockhouse, a species of structure
much used in the petty forest warfare of th'' day. It
was two stories in height, and solidly built of mas-
sive timber, the diameter of the upper story exceed-
ing that of the lower by several feet, so that, through
openings in the projecting floor of the former, the
defenders could shoot down upon the heads of an
enemy assailing the outer wall below. The roof, be-
ing covered with shingles, might easily be set on fire;
but to guard against this, there was an opening at
the summit, through which the garrison, partial!}
protected by a covering of plank, might pour down
water upon the flames. This blockhouse stood on a
projecting point of land, between the lake and a small
brook which entered it nearly at light angles. Un-
fortunately, the bank of the brook rose in a L '■■
steep ridge, within foi'ty yards of the blockhouse, tl.
affording a cover for assailants, while the bank of
the lake offered similar facilities on another side.

At early dawn on the fifteenth of June, thi^ gar-
rison of PrescpiTsle were first aware of the ericmy's
presence ; and wlien the sun rose, they saw themselves
surrounded by two hiuidred Indians, chiefly from the

Chap. XIII.]

FORT PRESQU'ISLE.

247

neighborhood of Detroit. At the first alarm, they
abandoned the main body of tiie fort, and betook
themselves to the blockhouse as a citadel. The In-
dians, crowding together in great numbers, under cover
of tlie rising ground, kept up a rattling fire, and not
only sent their bullets into every loophole and crevice,
but shot fire-arrows upon the roof, and threw balls
of burning pitch against the walls. Again and again
tlie bin 'ding took fire, and again and again the fiames
^\<'l•e extinguished. The Indians now rolled logs to
tlie top of the ridges, where they constructed three
strong brenst'ivorks, from behind which they could dis-
charge their shot and throw their fire-balls with still
srieater effect. Some of them tried to dart across the
intervening space, and shelter themselves in the ditch
wliif'h >; r ounded the fort; but all of these were
killed or wounded in the attempt. And now the de-
fenders coidd see the Indians throwing up eartli and
stones, l)ehind one of the breastworks. Their impla-
'iible foes were laboring to undermine the block-
house, a sure and insidious expedient, against which
there was no defence. There was little leisure to re-
flect on this new peril ; for another more imminent
and Inn-rible soon threatened them. The barrels of
water, always kept in the blockhouse, were nearly emp-
tied in e^^tinguishing the frequent fires ; and though
there was a well in the parade ground, yet to ap-
roach it would be certain death. The only resource
Ava.s to dig one in the blockhouse itself The fioor
was torn u]), and while some of the men fired their
heated muskets from the loopholes, to keep the ene-
my in check, the rest labored with desperate energy
at this toilsome and cheerless task. Before it was
half eom]>leted, the roof was again on fire, and all

I ''if'

^-11

1 '

ill.

'!. 1 ii

:.:.li-:«

248

FATE OF THE FOREST GARRISONS. [Chap. \ni

the water that remained was poured down to extin-
guish it. In a few moments, the cry of fire was once
more raised, when a soldier, at imminent risk of his
life, tore off the burning shingles, and averted the
danger.

By this time it was evening. From earliest day-
break, the little garrison had fought and toiled with-
out a moment's rest. Nor did the darkness bring
relief, for guns flashed all night long from the Indian
intrenchments. They seemed resolved to wear out
the obstinate defenders by fatigue ; and while some,
in their turn, were sleeping, the rest kept up the as-
saidt. Morning brought fresh dangers. The well
had been for some time complete ; and it was happy
that it was so, for by this time the enemy had pushed
their subterranean approaches as far as the house of
the commanding officer, which they immediately set
on fire. It stood on the parade, close to the block-
house; and, PS the pine logs blazed fiercely, the de-
fenders were nearly stifled by the heat. The outer
wall of the blockhouse scorched, blackened, and at
last burst into flame. Still the undespairing garrison
refused to yield. Passing up water from the well be-
low, they poured it down upon the fire, which at
length was happily subdued, while the blazing house
soon sank into a glowing heap of embers. The men
were now, to use the words of their officer, " exhaust kI
to the greatest extremity ; " yet they kept up their for-
lorn and desperate defence, toiling and fighting with-
out pause, within the -• joden walls of their dark
prison, where the close and heated atmosphere -vas
clogged with the smoke of gunpowdcjr. The fire
on both sides continued through the day, and did
not cease till midnigh t ; at which hour a voice was

. Ji

uhap. xm.]

FORT PRESQU'ISLE.

2^9

heard to call out, in French, from the enemy's m-
trencliments, warning the garrison that farther resist-
ance ■would be useless, since preparations were made
for setting the blockhouse on fire, above and below
at once. Christie demanded if there were any among
them who spoke English ; upon \\'hich, a man iu the
Indian dress came out from behind the breastwork.
He was a soldier, who, having been made prisoner early
in the French war, had since lived among the savuges,
and now espoused their cause, fighting with them
against his own countrymen. He said that if they
yielded, their lives should be spared, but if they fought
longer, they must all be burnt alive. Christie, resolv-
ing to hold out as long as a shadow of hope re-
mained, told them to wait till morning for his answer.
They assented, and suspended their fire ; and while
some of the garrison watched, the rest sank exhausted
into a deep sleep. When morning came, Christie sent
out two soldiers, as if to treat with the enemy, but,
in reality, to learn the truth of what they had said
respecting their preparations to burn the blockhouse.
On reaching the breastwork, the soldiers made a sig-
nal, by which their officer saw that his worst fears
were well founded. In pursuance of their orders,
tliey then demanded that two of the principal chiefs
should meet with Christie midwav between the breast-
work and the blockhouse. The chiefs appeared ac-
cordinp;ly, and Christie, going out, yielded up tlie
littk^ fortress which he had defended with such in-
domitable courage ; having first stipulated that the
lives of all the garrison should be spared, and that
they might retire unmolested to the nearest post.
The soldiers, pale, wild, and haggard, like men who
had ])assed through a fiery ordeal, now issued from

■■1 i I

.ill'

250

FATE OF THE FOREST GARRISONS. [Ciiap.XIU

the blockhouse, whose sides were pierced with bullets
and scorched with fire. In spite of the capitulation,
they were surrounded and seized, and, having been
detained for some time in the neighburhood, were
sent as prisoners to Detroit, where Ensign Christie
soon after made his escape, and gained the fort in
safety.*

After Presqu'Isle was taken, the neighboring little
posts of Le Bceuf and Venango shared its fate, uhile
farther southward, at the forks of the Ohio, a host
of Delaware and Shawanoe "warriors were gathering
around Fort Pitt, and blood and havoc reigned alonj;
the whole frontier.

' Loss oftlie Posts, MS. Pontiac sequent letter, however, ho says that

MS. Christie's Report, MS. Chris- the affair had been misrepresented

tie's conihiet was at first severely to him. Aeeordinii; to the Diary of

censured by Amlierst, who received tlie Siege of Detroit, Christie w;is

a perverted account of the capitula- brought in and surrendered by six

tion by way of Fort Pitt. In a sub- Huron chiefs, on the ninth of July.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE INDIANS CONTINUE TO BLOCKADE DETROIT.

Wi; return once more to Detroit and its beleaguered
ffarrison. On the nineteenth of June, a rumor reached
them that one of the vessels had been seen near Tur-
key Island, some miles below the fort, but that, the
wind fjiiling her, she had dropped down with the cur-
rent, to wait a more favorable opportunity. It may
be remembered that this vessel had, several weeks be-
fore, gone down Lake Erie to hasten the advance of
Cuyler's expected detachment. Passing these troops
on her way, she had held her course to Niagara ; and
here she had remained until the return of Cuyler, with
the remnant of his men, made known the catastrophe
that had befallen him. This officer, and the survivors
of his party, with a few other troops spared from the
garrison of Niagara, were ordered to embark on board
of her, and make the best of their way back to De-
troit. They had done so, and now, as we luive seen,
were almost within sight of the fort; but the critical
part of the undertaking yet remained. The river
fhanrel was in sume places narrow, and more than
eight hundred Indians were on the alert to intercept
their passage.

For several days, the officers at Detroit heard noth-
ing farther of the vessel, when, on the twenty-third,
a great commotion was \'isible among the Indians,

IX:

252

BLOCKADE OF DETROIT.

fCiLvr. XIV

large parties of whom were seen to pass along tin
outskirts of the woods, behind the fort. The cause
of these movements was unknown till evening, Miien
M. Baby came in with intelligence that the vosxl
was again attempting to ascend the river, and that
all the Indians had gone to attack her. Upon tliis.
two cannon were fired, that those on board miglit
know that the fort still held out. This done, all re-
mained in much anxiety awaiting the result.

The schooner, late that afternoon, began to move
slowly upward, with a gentle breeze, between tin
main shore and the long-extended margin of l-'iglit-
ing Island. About sixty men were crowded on bouid.
of whom only ten or twelve were visible on deck.
the officer having ordered the rest to lie liiddeii
below, in hopes that the Indians, encouraged l)y
this apparent weakness, might make an open attack.
Just before reaching the narrowest part of tlie
channel, the wind died away, and the anclior was
dropped. Immediately abo^-c, and within gunshot of
the vessel, the Indians had made a breastwork of
logs, carefully concealed by Ijushes, on the shore of
Turkey Island. Here they lay in force, waiting for
the schooner to pass. Ignorant of this, but still cau-
tious and wary, the crew kept a strict watch from the
moment the sun went down. Hours wore on, and
nothing had broken the deep repose of the niglit.
The curi-ent gurgled with a monotonous sound around
the bows of the schooner, and on either hand the
wooded sliores lay amid the obscurity, black and silent
as the grave. At length, the sentinel could discern.
in the distance, various moving objects upon the dark
surface of the water. The men were ordered up from
below, and all took their posts in perfect silence.

:j:;'i

Chap. XIV.l

ATTACK ON THI5 SCHOONER.

253

The blow of a hammer on tliu mast was to be the
signal to fire. The Indians, gliding stealthily over
tlic water in their bireh canoes, had, by this time,
a[)proii(hed within a few rods of their fancied prize,
when suddenly the dark side of the slundjering ves-
sel burst into a blaze of cannon and mnsketry, which
iUuniined the night like a flash of lightning. Grape
and musket shot flew tearing among the canoes, de-
stroying several of them, killing fonrteen Indians,
wounding as many more, and driving the rest in
consternation to the shore.' Recovering from their
surprise, they began to fire upon the vessel from
behind their breastwork; npon which she weighed
anchor, and dropped down once more beyond their
reach, into the broad river below. Several days
afterwards, she again attempted to ascend. This
time, she met with better success ; for, though the
Indians fired at her constantly from the shore, no
man was hurt, and at length she left behind her the
perilous channels of the islands. As she passed the
Wyandot village, she sent a shower of grape among
its yelping inhabitants, by which several were killed;
and then, furling her sails, lay peacefully at anchor
by the side of her companion vessel, abreast of the
fort.

The schooner brought to the garrison a much
needed supply of men, ammunition, and provision.
She brought, also, the interesting and important
tidings that peace was at length concluded between
France and England. The bloody and momentous
strtii2:gle of the French w-ar, which had shaken
Xorth America since the year 1755, had indeed been

1 Pontiac MS

it! ■ '1'

'JU-

■■) ft

254

BLOCKADE OF DETROIT.

[Chap. XIV

I ii

' t

r .*!■

■I 'l!
it if

virtually closed l)y the victory on the Plains of
Abruham, and the junction of the three Ihiti*;!!
armies at Montreal. Yet up to this time, its enibois
had continued to burn, till, Jit length, peace was com-
pletely established by formal treaty between the lios-
tile powers. France resigned her ambitious project of
empiie in America, and ceded Canada and the roffion
of the lakes to her successful rival. By this trciitv,
the Canadians of Detroit were placed in a new ])()si-
tion. Hitherto they had been, as it were, prisoners
on capitulation, neutral spectators of the quarrel be-
tween their British conquerors and the Indians ; but
now their allegiance was transferred from the crown
of France to that of Britain, and they were subjects
of the English king. 'J'o many of them, the cliaiigo
was extremely odious, for they cordially hated the
British. They went about among the settlers and
the Indians, declaring that the pretended news of
peace was only an invention of Major Ghuhvyn;
that the King of France would never abandon his
children ; and that a great French army was even
then ascending the St. Fawrence, while another was
approaching from the country of the Illinois.^ This
oft-repeated falsehood was implicitly believed by the
Indians, who continued firm in faith that their
great father was about to awake from his sleep.
and wreak his Aengeance upon the insolent English,
who had intruded on his domain.

Pontiac himself clung fast to this delusive hope;
yet he was greatly vexed at the safe arrival of
the vessel, and the assistance she had brouglit tn
the obstinate defenders of Detroit. He exerted

1 MS. Letter — Gladwyn to Amherst, July 8.

I' Hi

m ' \'■■^ f

li.

CflAf.XIV.] rONTIACS COUNf'IL WITH TILE FllKNCII. 255

himself with fresh zeal to gain possession of the
place, and attempted to terrify (iladwyn into sub-
mission. Ife sent a message, in which he strongly
urjicd him to surrender, adding, by way of stinndus,
tliat eight hundred more Ojibwas were every day
exmrted, and that, on their arrival, all his influence
couhl not prevent them from taking the scalp of
every Knglishman in the fort. To this friendly ad-
mv Glarhvyn returned a very brief and contemi)t-
uous answer.

Pontiac, having long been anxious to gain the
Canadians as auxiliaries in the war, now determined
on a final effort to effect his object. For this pur-
pose, he sent messages to the principal inhabitants,
inviting them to meet him in council. In the Ot-
tawa camp, there was a vacant spot, quite level,
and encircled by the huts of the Indians. Here
mats were spread for the reception of the dep-
uties, who soon convened, and took their scats in a
wide ring. One part was occupied by the Cana-
dians, among whom were several whose withered,
k^atliery features proclaimed them the patriarchs of
the secluded little settlement. Opposite these sat
the stem-visaged Pontiac, with his chiefs on either
liand, while the intervening portions of the circle
were fille<l by Canadians and Indians promiscuously
mingled. Standing on the outside, and looking over
tlie heads of this more dignified assemblage, was a
motley throng of Indians and Canadians, half breeds,
trapj)ers, ana voyageurs, in wild and picturesque,
though very dirty attire. Conspicuous among them
were numerous Indian dandies, a large class in
every aboriginal community, where they hold about
the same relative position as in civilized society.

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1.25 1.4

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. MS80

(716) 872-4503

2o6

BLOCKADE OF DETROIT.

[CH4P.XIV

They were wrapped in the gayest blankets, thoir
necks adorned with beads, their cheeks daubed with
vermiUon, and their ears hung with pendants. Thev
stood sedately looking on, with evident self-corn pla.
cency, yet ashamed and afraid to take their places
among the aged chiefs and warriors of repute.

All was silent, and several pipes were passins^
round from hand to hand, when Pontiac rose, and
threw down a war-belt at the feet of the Canadians,

"My brothers," he said, "how long will you suf-
fer this bad flesh to remain upon your lands ? I
have told you before, and I now tell you again, that
when I took up the hatchet, it was for your good.
Tlxis year, the English must all perish throughout
Canada. The Master of Life commands it, and you.
who know him better than we, wish to opiiose his
will. Until now I have said nothing on this matter.
I have not urged you to take part with us in the
war. It would have been enough had you been con-
tent to sit quiet on your mats, looking on, while we
were fighting for you. But you have not done so.
You call yourselves our friends, and yet you assist
the English with provision, and go about as spies
among our villages. This must not continue. You
must be either wholly French or wholly English.
If you are French, take up that war-belt, and hit
the hatchet with us ; but if you are English, tlun
we declare war upon you. My brothers, I know
this is a hard thing. We are all alike children of
our great father the King of France, and it is hard
to fight among brethren for the sake of dogs. But
there is no choice. Look upon the belt, and let us
hear your answer.'"

I Pontiac MS.

Chip. XI v.) PONTIACS COUNCIL WITH THE FRENCH. 257

good.

con-

(' we

Due so.

assist

spios

You
iglisli.
I

tlu'ii
kiio\v
'11 of

hard
But
let us

One of the Canadians, having suspected the pur-
pose of Pontiac, had brought with liim, not the
treaty of peace, but a copy of the capitulation of
Montreal with its dependencies, including Detroit.
Pride, or some other motive, restrained him from
confessing that the Canadians were no longer chil-
dren of the King of Frarce, and he determined to
keep up the old delusion that a French army was
on its wav to win back Canada, and chastise the
English invaders. He began his speech in rei)ly to
Pontiac by professing great love for the Indians,
(ind a strong desire to aid them in the war. "But,
my brothers," he added, holding out the articles of
ra})itulation, " you must first untie the knot with
which our great father, the king, has bound us. In
this paper, he tells all his Canadian children to sit
([uiet and obey the English until he comes, because
he wislics to punish his enemies himself \\'e dare
not disobey him, for he would then be angry with
us. And you, my brothers, who speak of making
wav upon us if we do not do as you wish, do you
tliink you could escape his wrath, if you shoidd
raise the hatchet against his French children? He
would treat you as enemies, and not as friends, and
you would have to fight both English and French
^t once. Tell us, my brothers, what can you reply
to tliis ? "

Pontiac for a moment sat silent, mortified, and
per])k^xed ; but his purpose was not destined to be
wholly defeated. " Among the French," says the
writer of the diary, " were many infamous charac-
ters, who, having no property, cared nothing what
became of them." Those mentioned in these oppro-
brious tenns were a collection of trappers, voy-

89 v»

258

BLOCKADE OF DETROIT.

[Chap. XIV

ageurs, and nondescript vagabonds of the forest, who
were seated with the council, or stood looking on,
variously attired in greasy shirts, Indian leggins, and
red woollen caps. Not a few among them, hoAvrver.
had thought proper to adopt the style of dress and
ornament peculiar to the red men, who were tlun
usual associates, and appeared among their com-
rades with paint rubbed on their checks, and fcatli-
ers dangling from their hair. Indeed, they aimed to
identify themselves with the Indians, a transforma-
tion by which they gained nothing; for these rene-
gade whites were held in light esteem, both by those
of their own color and the savages themseho,
They were for the most part a light and frivolo.is
crew, little to be relied on for energy or stability:
though among them were men of hard and ruffian
features, the ringleaders and bullies of the voy-
ageurs, and even a terror to the Bourgeois^ himself.

r-l

1 This namo is always applied,
anionf? the Canadians oi the north-
west, to the conductor of a trading
party, the commander in a tradinp
fort, or, indeed, to any person in a
position of authority.

Extract from a Letter — Detroit,
July <), 17(>}, (Penn- Gaz. No.
1808.)

" Judfje of the Conduct of the
Canadians here, hy the Behaviour of
these few Sac res Boujjres, I have
mentioned ; I can assure you, with
much Certainty, tliat there arc but
very few in the Settlement who are
not enj^iifjed with the hulians in their
damnM l)esipfn; in short. Monsieur
is at tlio Bottom of it ; we have not
only convincinjj Proofs and Circum-
Btances, but undeniable Proofs of it.
There are four or five sensible, hon-
est Frenchmen in the Place, who
have been of a great deal of Service
to us, in bringing us Intelligence
and Provisions, even at the Risque

of their own Lives : I hope tlioy will
be rewarded for their good Services;
I hope also to see the others e.xiilt il
on High, to reiip the Fruits of tin!-
Labours, as soon as our Army ar
rives ; the Discoveries we have iiind'
of their horrid villianies, are iilinov
incredible. But to return to tli'
Terms of Capitulation : Poiidiiic pn -
poses that we should iniiiio<liati'iv
give up the Garrison, Iny down mir
Arms, as the French, their Fathers
were obliged to do, leave the CiU.-
non. Magazines, Merchants' (i()0(l^
and the two Vessels, and bo escur
ed in Battoes, by the Indian.s, to N.-
agara. The Major returned Answer
that the General had not sent liiiii
there to deliver up the Fort to In-
dians, or any body else ; and that li''
would defend it whilst he had a
single man to figlit alongside of tnm.
Upon this. Hostilities recoinnmnceii.
since which Time, being two Month*.
the whole Garrison, Officers, Soldiers,

Chap. XIV.]

FEAST OF DOGS.

259

It was one of these who now took up the war-belt,
and declared that he and his comrades were ready to
raise the hatchet for Pontiac. The better class of
Canadians were shocked at this proceeding, and vainly
protested against it. Pontiac, on his part, was much
pleased at such an accession to his forces, and he
and his chiefs shook hands, in turn, with each of
their new auxiliaries. The council had been protract-
ed to a late hour. It was dark before the assem-
bly dissolved, " so that," as the chronicler observes,
"these new Indians had no opportunity of displaying
their exploits that day." They remained in the In-
dian camp all night, being afraid of the reception
they might meet among their fellow-whites in the set-
tlement. The whole of the following morning was
employed in giving them a feast of welcome. For
this entertainment a large number of dogs were killed,
and served up to the guests ; none of whom, accord-
hig to the Indian custom on such formal occasions,
were permitted to take their leave until they had
eaten the whole of the enormous portion placed be-
fore them.

Pontiac derived little advantage from his Canadian
allies, most of whom, fearing the resentment of the
English and the other inhabitants, fled, before the war
was over, to the country of the Illinois.' On the night
sueceeding the feast, a party of tlie renegades, joined
by about an equal number of Indians, approached

Merchants and Sen'ants, have been
upon tho Ramparts every Night, not
i)ii(> hiivinjj slept in a House, except
ihe Sicii and Wounded in the Hos-
pital.

" Our Fort is extremely large, con-
sidering our Numbers, the Stockade
beiiig above 1000 Piices in Circum-

ference ; judge what a Figure we
make on the Works."

The writer of the above letter ia
much too sweeping and indiscrim-
inate in his denunciation of the
P^rench.

' Croghan, Journal. See Butler,
Hist. Kentucky, 4G3.

260

BLOCKADE OF DETROIT.

[Chap. XIV

the fort, and intrenched themselves, in order to fire
upon the garrison. At daybreak, they were observed,
the gate was thrown open, and a file of men, headtd
by Lieutenant Hay, sallied to dislodge them. Tliis
was effected without much difficulty. The Canadiuns
fled with such despatch, that all of them escaped uu-
hurt, though two of the Indians were shot.

It happened that among the English was a soldier
who had been prisoner, for several years, among the
Delawares, and who, while he had learned to luitc
the whole race, at the same time had acquired many
of their habits and practices. He now ran forward.
and, kneeling on the body of one of the dead sav-
ages, tore away the scalp, and shook it, with an exult-
ing cry, towards the fugitives.^ This act, as afterwards
appeared, excited great rage among the Indians.

Lieutenant Hay and his party, after their success-
ful sally, had retired to the fort ; when, at about four
o'clock in the afternoon, a man was seen running to-
wards it, closely pursued by Indians. On his arriving
within gunshot distance, they gave over the chase,
and the fugitive came panting beneath the walls.
where a wicket was flung open to receive him. He
proved to be the commandant of Sandusky, who, hav-
ing, as before mentioned, been adopted by the Indians.
and married to an old squaw, now seized the first
opportunity of escaping from her embraces.

Through him, the garrison learned the unhappy
tidings that Major Campbell was killed. Tliis gen-
tleman, from his high personal character, no less than
his merit as an officer, was held in general esteem ; and
his fate excited a feeling of anger and grief among all

1 Pontiac MS.

Cbap. XIV.J

DEATH OF MAJOR CAMPBELL.

261

the English in Detroit. It appearec* that the Indian
killed and scalped, in the skirmish of that morning,
was nephew to Wasson, chief of the Ojibwas. On
hearing of his death, the enraged uncle had imme-
diately blackened his face in sign of revenge, called
together a party of his followers, and repairing to the
house of Meloche, where Major Campbell was kept
prisoner, had seized upon him, and bound him fast
to a neighboring i\mcc, where they shot him to death
witli arrows. Others say that they tomahawked him
oil the spot ; but all agree that his body was mutilat-
ed in a barbarous manner. His heart is said to have
been eaten by his murderers, to make them coura-
geous, a practice not uncommon among Indians, after
killing an enemy of acknowledged bravery. The
corpse was thrown into the river, and afterwards
brought to shore and buried by the Canadians. Ac-
cording to one authority, Pontiac was privy to this
act; but a second, e(]^ually credible, represents him as
ignorant of it, and declares that AVasson fled to Sagi-
naw to escape his fury ; while a third affirms that the
Ojibwas carried off Campbell by force from before the
eyes of the great chief.' The other captive, ^I'Dougal,
had ])reviously escaped.

The two armed schooners, anchored opposite the
fort, wore now become objects of awe and aversion
to the Indians. This is not t'» be wondered at, for,
besides aiding in the defence of the place, by sweep-
ing two sides of it with their fire, they often caused
great terror and annoyance to the besiegers. Several
limes they had left their anchorage, and, taking up a
convenient position, had battered the Indian camps

Gouin's Account, MS. St. Aubin's Account, MS. Diary of the Siege.

262

liLOCKADE OF DETROIT.

[Chap. XIV.

and villages with no little effect. Once in particular,
— and this was the first attempt of the kind, — Glad-
wyn himself, with several of his officers, had embarked
on board the smaller vessel, while a fresh breeze was
blowing from the north-west. The Indians, on the
banks, stood watching her as she tacked from shore
to shore, and pressed their hands against their mouths
ii amazement, thinking that magic power alone could
enable her thus to make her way against wind and
current.* Making a long reach from the opposite
shore, she came on directly towards the camp of
Pontiac, her sails swelling, her masts leaning over
till the black muzzles of her guns almost touched
the river. The Indians watched her in astonishment.
On she came, till their fierce hearts exulted in the
idea that she would run ashore within their clutches,
when suddenly a shout of command was heard on
board, her progress was arrested, she rose upright, and
her sails flapped and fluttered as if tearing loose from
their fastenings. Steadily she came round, broadside
to the shore; then, leaning once more to the wind,
bore away gallantly on the other tack. She did not
go far. The wondering spectators, quite at a loss to
understand her movements, soon heard the hoarse
rattling of her cable, as the anchor dragged it out,
and saw her furling her vast white wings. As they
looked unsuspectingly on, a puff of smoke was emitted
from her side; a loud report followed; then another
and another ; and the balls, rushing over their heads,
flew through the midst of their camp, and tore wUdly
among the thick forest-trees beyond. All was terror
and consternation. The startled warriors bounded away

1 Penn. Gaz. No. 1808.

Chap. XIV.]

FIRE RiVFTS.

263

on all sides; the squaws snatched up their children,
and ilcd screaming; and, with a general chorus of
veils, the whole encampment scattered in such haste,
that little damage was done, except knocking to pieces
their frail cabins of bark.'

Tliis attack was followed by others of a similar
kind; and now the Indians seemed resolved to turn
all their energies to the destruction of the vessel
which caused them such annoyance. On the night
of the tenth of July, they sent down a blazing raft,
foimed of two boats, secured together with a rope,
and filled with pitch pine, birch bark, and other com-
bustibles, which, hy good fortune, missed the vessel,
and floated dovvn the stream without doing mjury.
All was quiet throughout the following night; but
about two o'clock on the morning of the twelfth, the
sentinel on duty saw a glowing spark of fire on the
surface of the river, at some distance above. It grew
larger and brighter; it rose in a forked flame, and
at length burst forth into a broad conflagration. In
this instance, too, fortune favored the vessel ; for the
raft, which was larger than the former, passed down
between her and the fort, brightly gilding her tra-
cery of ropes and spars, lighting up the old palisades
and bastions of Detroit with the clearness of day,
disclosing the white Canadian farms and houses
along the shore, and revealing the dusky margin of
the forest behind. It showed, too, a dark group of
naked spectators, who stood on the bank to watch
the effect of their artifice, when a cannon flashed, a
loud report broke the stillness, and before the smoke
of the gun had risen, these curious observers had

I Pontiac MS.

■it-

264

BLOCKADE OF DETROIT.

[Chap. XIV

vanished. The raft floatrd down, its flames crackling
and glaring wide through the night, until it was
burnt to the water's edge, and its last hissing em-
bers were quenched in the river.

Though twice defeated, the Indians would not uban-
don their plan, but, soon after this second failure, Ih-
gan another raft, of different construction from the
former, and so large that they thought it certain to
take effect. Gladwyn, on his part, provided l)()ut«i
which were moored by ciiains at some distance iibovc
the vessels, and made other preparations of defence,
so effectual that the Indians, after working four days
upon the raft, gave over their undertaking as usek'ss.
About this time, a party of Shawanoe and Delawaie
Indians arrived at Detroit, and were received bv the
Wyandots with a salute of musketry, which occa-
sioned some alarm among the English, who knew
nothing of its cause. They reported the progress of
the war in the south and east ; and, a few days
after, an Abenaki, from Lower Canada, also made
his appearance, bringing to the Indians the fiatteriug
falsehood that their great father, the King of France,
was at that moment advancing up the St. Larrrcnce
with his army. It may here be observed, that the
name of father, given to the Kings of France and
England, was a mere title of courtesy or policy; for,
in his haughty independence, the Indian yields sub-
mission to no man.

It was now between two and three months since
the siege began ; and if one is disposed to think slight-
ingly of the warriors whose numbers could avail so
little against a handful of half-starved English and
provincials, he has only to recollect, that where bar-
barism has been arrayed against civilization, disorder

CHAr. XIV] CHANGING TEMPER OF THE INDIANS.

265

against discipline, and ungovernod fnry agjiinst con-
sidriiito valor, such has seldom failed to hv the result.
At the siejj^e of Detroit, the Indians displayed a
liigli defj^ree of coni])arative steadiness and i)ersev(»r-
ancc; and their history cannot furnish another in-
stance of so large a force persisting so long in the
attack of a fortiticnl place. Their good conduct may
be ascrihcd to their dov\) rage against the Knglish,
to their hope of speedy aid from the FnMicli, and
to the controlling spirit of Pontiac, which held them
to tlieir work. 'J'he Indian is hut ill qualified for
such attempts, having too much caution for an as-
sault by storm, and too little patience for a hlock-
adp. The Wyandots and Pottawattamies had shown,
from the beginning, less zeal than the oth(>r na-
tions ; and now, like children, they began to tire
of the task they had und(U'taken. A deputation of
the M'yandots cam(i to the fort, and begged for
peace, which was granted them ; but when the Pot-
tawattamies came on the same errand, they insisted,
as a [)reliminary, that some of tlK>ir peojde, who were
detained prisoners with the English, should first be
jjiven up, Gladwyn demanded, on his part, that the
Englisli captives known to be in their village sliould
be brought to the fort, and three of them were ac-
cordingly produced. As these were but a small part
of the whole, the deputies were sharply rebuked for
tlieir duplicity, and told to go back for tlie rest.
They withdrew angry and mortified; but, on the fol-
lowing day, a fresh deputation of chiefs made their
ajjpearance, bringing with them six prisoners. Hav-
ing repaired to the council-room, they were met by
Gladwyn, attended only by one or two officers. 'I'he
Indians detained in the fort were about to be given

' i

It'

266

BLOCKADE OF DKTnOIT.

fCiuf. XIV

up, and a treaty concludod, when one of the prison.
era declared that there were several others still k.
mainhig in the Pottawattamie village. Uium tlii>,
the conference was broken off, and the deputits
ordered instantly to depart. On being thus a scnmd
time defeated, they were goaded to such a pitdi of
rage, that, as afterwards became known, they foriiud
the desperate resolution of killing Gladwyn on the
spot, and then making their escape in the best way
they could; but, happily, at that moment the com-
mandant observed an Ottawa among them, and, re-
solving to seize him, called upon the guard witliout
to assist in doing so. A file of soldiers entered, and
the chiefs, seeing it impossible fo execute their de-
sign, withdrew from the fort, with black and sullen
brows. A day or two afterwards, however, tlioy re-
turned with the rest of the prisoners, on which
peace was granted them, and their people set at
liberty. ^

> Whatever may have been the Pontiac. As early as May 22. some

case with tlie Pot'tawattamies, thdre of thorn complained that he bad

were indications from the first that forced them into the war. Diary of

the Wyandots were lukewarm or the Siege. Johnson MS.
even reluctant in taking part with

CHAPTER XV.

THE FIGHT OF BLOODY BRIDGE.

From the time when peace was concluded with
the AA'yandots and Pottawattaniif's until ^le end of
July, little worthy of notice took ])lace ui Di^tioit.
The fort was still watched closely by the Ottav is
and Ojibwas, who almost daily assi»ileii it with ;)etty
attacks. In the mean time, unknown lo the gar-
' '>n, a strong reenforcement was coming to their
aid. Captain Dal/ell had left Xiagari with twenty-
two barges, bearing two hundred and eighty men,
with several small cannon, and a fresh supply of
provision and ammvmition.'

Coasting along the south shore of Lake Erie,
they soon reached Presqu'Isle, where they found the
scorched and battered blockhouse so gallantly de-
fended by Ensign Christie, and saw with suri)rise
the mines and intrenchments made by the Indians

• Extract from a MS. Letter —
Sir J. Amherst to Sir W. Johnson.
" New York, 16th June, 1763.
"Sir:

" I am to thank you for your Lct-
tpr of the ()th Instant, which I have
this moment Received, with some
Advices from Niagara, concerning
the Motions of the Indiana that Way,
they having attacked a Detachment
under the Command of Lieut. Cuy-
ler of Hopkins's Rangers, who were
on their Route towards the Detroit,

and Obliged him to Return to Ni-
agara, with (I am sorry to say) too
few of his Men.

" Upon this Intelligence, I have
thought it Necessary to Dispatch
Captain Dalyell, my Aid de Camp,
with Orders to Carry with him all
such Reinforcenicnts as can possibly
be collected, (having, at the si' me
time, a due Attention to the Safety
of the Principal Forts,) to Niagara,
and to proceed to the Detroit, if
Necessary, and Judged Proper."

2G8

THE FIGHT OF BLOODY BRIDGE.

[CiiAP. XV

'4 '

in assailing it.^ Thence, proceeding on their \oy.
age, they reached Sandusky on the twenty-sixth of
July; and here they marched inland to the nri<;h.
boring village of the Wyrndots, which they burnt
to the ground, at the same time destroying the corn.
which this tribe, more provident than most of the
others, had planted there in the spring. Dalzcll
then steered northward for the mouth of the De-
troit, which he reached on the evening of the
twenty-eighth, and cautiously ascended under cover
of night. "It was fortunate," writes GladwjTi, "that
they were not discovered, in which case they mm
have been destroyed or taken, as the Indians, bring
emboldened by their late successes, fight much bet-
ter than we could have expected."

On the morning of the twenty-ninth, the whole
country around Detroit was covered by a sea of fog.
the precursor of a hot and sultry day ; but at sun-
rise, its surface began to heave and toss, and, parting
at intervals, disclosed the dark and burnished surface
of the river; then lightly rolling, fold upon fold.
the mists melted rapidly away, the last remnant
clinging sluggishly along the margin of the forests
Now, for the first time, the garrison could discern
the approaching convoy.^ Still they remained in
suspense, fc;aring lest it might have met the fate of'
the former detachment ; but a salute fron. the fort
was answered by a swivel from the boats, and at
once all apprehension passed away. The convoy soon
reached a point in the river midway betAveen the
villages of the Wyandots and the Pottawattamies,
About a fortnight before, as we have seen, these

1 Per.n. Gaz. No. 1811.

2 Pontiac MS.

Chip. XV.]

DALZELL REACHES DETROIT.

269

capricious savages had made a treaty of peace,
which they now thought fit to break, opening a hot
fire upon the boats from either bank.^ It was an-
swered by swivels and musketry ; but before the
short engagement was over, iifteen of the English
were killed or wounded. This danger passed, boat
after boat came in to shore, and landed its men
amid the cheers of the garrison. The detachment
was composed of soldiers from the 55th and 80th
Reji;iments, with twenty independent rangers, com-
manded by Major Rogers ; and as the barracks in
die place were too small to receive them, they were
all quartered upon the inhabitants.

Scarcely were these ai-rangements made, when
a great smoke was seen rising from the Wyandot
nllage across the river, and the inhabitants, appar-
ently in much consternation, were observed paddling
down stream with their household utensils, and even
their dogs. It was supposed that they had aban-
doned and burned their huts ; but in truth, it was
only an artifice of these Indians, who had set fire
to some old canoes and other refuse piled in front
of their village, after which the warriors, having
concealed the women and children, returned and lay
in ainl)ush among the bushes, hoping to lure some
of the English within reach of their guns. None
of them, however, fell into the snare.^

Captiiin Dalzell was the same officer who was the
companion of Israel Putnam in some of the most
adventurous passages of that rough veteran's life ;
but more recently lie had acted as aide-de-camp to
f^ir Jeffrey Amherst. On the day of his arrival, he

1 MS. Letter — Major Rogers to . — , Aug. 5.
9 Pontiac MS.

270

THE FIGHT OF BLOODY BRIDGE.

[Chap. XV

:\li

had a conference with GladwjTi, at the quarters of
the latter, and strongly insisted that the time wa.?
come when an irrecoverable blow might be struck at
Pontiac. He requested permission to march out on
the following night, and attack the Indian camp,
Gladwyn, better acquainted with the position of
affairs, and perhaps more cautious by nature, Avas
averse to the attempt ; but DalzcU urged his request
so strenuously that the commandant yielded to his
rc>[)rcsentations, and gave a tardy consent.^

Pontiac had recently removed his camp from its
old position near the mouth of Parent's Creek, and
was now posted several miles above, behind a great
marsh, which protected the Indian huts from the
cannon of the vessel. On the afternoon of the thir-
tieth, orders were issued and preparations made for
the meditated attack. Through the inexcusable care-
lessness of some of the officers, the design became
known to a few Canadians, the bad result of which
will appear in the sequel.

About two o'clock on the morning of the thirty-
first of July, the gates were thrown open in silence.
and tlie detachment, two hundred and fiftv in num-
ber, passed noiselessly out. They filed two dcop
along the road, while two large bateaux, each bear-
ing a swivel on the bow, rowed up the river abreast
of them. Lieutenant Brown led the advanced guard

1 Extmct. from a MS. Letter —
Major Gladwyn to Sir .T. Amherst.

" Detroit, Aug. 8th, 1763.

"On the 31st, Captain Dalyell
Requested, as a particular favor, that
I would fjive him the Command of a
Party, in order to Attempt the Sur-
prizal of Pontiac's Camp, under cover
of tlie Night, to which I answered

that I wa.s of opinion he wa.s too
nmch on his Guard to Effect it: he
then said he thought I hud it in my
power to frivp him a Stroke, nml tliat
if I did not Attemj)t it now, h" Mdiilii
Run off, and I should never Invp
another Ofiportunity ; this indncod
me to give in to the Scheme, con-
trary to my Judgement."

mRS!

Chap. XV.]

PLAN OF A NIGHT ATTACK.

271

of twenty-five men ; the centre was commanded by
Captain Gray, and the rear by Captain Grant. The
night was still, close, and sultry, and the men
marched in light undress. On their right was the
dark and gleaming surface of the liver, with a mar-
gin of sand intervening, and on their left a succes-
sion of Canadian houses, with bams, orchards, and
cornfields, from whence the clamorous barking of
watch-dogs saluted them as they passed. The inhab-
itants, roused from sleep, looked from the windows
in astonishment and alann. An old man has told
the writer how, when a child, he climbed on the
roof of his father's house, to look down on the
ghmmeiing bayonets, and how', long after the troops
liad passed, their heavy and measured tramp sounded
from afar, through the still night. Thus the Eng-
hsh moved fonvard to the attack, little thinking that,
behind houses and enclosures, Indian scouts watched
every yard of their progress — little suspecting that
Pontine, apprised by the Canadians of their plan,
had broken up his camp, and was coming against
them with all his warriors, armed and decorated for
battle.

A mile and a half from the fort. Parent's Creek,
ever since that night called Bloody Run, descended
through a wild and roiu^h hollow, and entered the
Detroit amid a growth of rank grass and sedge.
Oiily a few rods from its mouth, the road crossed it
by a narrow wooden bridge, not existing at the
present day. Just beyond this bridge, the land rose
in al)rupt ridges, parallel to the stream. Along their
sunnnits were rude intrenchments made by Pontiac
to protect his camp, which had formerly occupied
the ground immediately beyond. Here, too, were

272

THE FIGHT OF BLOODY BRIDGE. [Cuap XV.

it'

jUj

many piles of firewood belonging to the Canadians,
besides strong picket fences, enclosing orchards and
gardens connected with the neighboring houses. Be-
hind fences, woci-piles, and intrenchnients, croiuhed
an unknown number of Indian warriors with lev-
elled guns. They lay silent as snakes, for now thcv
could hear the distant tramp of the approachini,'
column.

The sky was overcast, and the night exceedingly
dark. As the English drew near the dangerous
pass, they could discern the oft-mentioned house of
Meloche upon a rising ground to the left, while in
front the bridge was dimly visible, and the ridges
beyond it seemed like a wall of undistinguished
blackness. They pushed rapidly forward, not mIioUv
unsuspicious of danger. The advanced guard were
half way over the bridge, and the main body just
entering upon it, when a horrible burst of yells rose
in their front, and the Indian guns blazed forth in
a general discharge. Half the advanced part} were
shot down ; the appalled survivors shrank back
aghast. The confusion reached even the mahi body.
and the whole recoiled together ; but Dalzell raised
his clear voice above the din, advanced to the front.
rallied the men, and led them forward to the attaek,'
Again the Indians poured in their volley, and again
the English hesitated; but Dalzell shouted from the
van, and, in the madness of mingled rage and fear,
they charged at a run across the bridge and up the
heights beyond. Not an Indian was there to op-
pose them. In ''ain the furious soldiers sought their
enemy behind fences and intrenchnients. The active

1 Penn. Gaz. No. 1811.

CuAP. XV.J

RETREAT OF THE ENGLISH.

273

savages had fled; yet still their guns flashed thick
through the gloom, and their war-cry rose with un-
diminished clamor. The English pushed forward
amid the pitchy darkness, quite ignorant of their
way, and soon became involved in a maze of out-
liouscs and enclosures. At every pause they made,
the retiring enemy would gather to renew the attack,
tiring back hotly upon the front and flanks. To
advance farther would be useless, and the only alter-
native was to withdraw and wait for daylight. Cap-
tain Grant, with his company, recrossed the bridge,
and took up his station on the road. The rest fol-
lowed, a small party remaining to hold the enemy in
check while the dead and wounded were placed on
board the two bateaux, which had rowed up to
the bridge during the action. This task was com-
menced amid a sharp fire from both sides ; and be-
fore it was completed, heavy volleys were heard from
the rear, where Captain Grant was stationed. A
great force of Indians had fired upon him from the
house of Meloche and the neighboring orchards.
Grant pushed up the hill, and drove them from the
orchards at the point of the bayonet — drove them,
also, from the house, and, entering the latter, found
two Canadians within. These men told him that
the Indians were bent on cutting ofl^" the English
from tlie fort, and that they had gone in great num-
bers to occupy the houses which commanded tlie
road below.* It was now evident that instant retreat
was necessary ; and the command being issued to
that effect, the men fell back into marching order,
and slowly began their retrograde movement. Grant

' Detail of the Action of the 31st of July. See Gent. Mag. XXXlll. 48a

...ji

274

TIIE FIGHT OF BLOODY BRIDGE.

[Ciup. XV.

was now in the van, and DalzcU at the rear. Some
of the Indians followed, keeping up a scattering and
distant fire ; and from time to time the rear faced
about, to throw back a volley of musketry at the
pursuers. Having proceeded in this manner for half
a mile, they reached a point where, close upon the
right, were many barns and outhouses, with stroiii;
picket fences. Behind these, and in a newly-dug
cellar close at hand, lay concealed a great multitude
of Indians. They suffered the advanced party to
pass unmolested; but when the centre and rear came
opposite their ambuscade, tney raised a frightful yell,
and poured a volley among them. The men had
well nigh fallen into a panic. The river ran close
on their left, and the only avenue of escape lay
along the road in front. Breaking t\ jir ranks, tliey
crowded upon one another in blind eagerness to es-
cape the storm of bullets ; and but for the presence
of Dalzell, the retreat would have been turned into
a flight. "The enemy," writes an officer who was
in the fight, " marked him for his extraordinary
bravery ; " and he had already received two severe
wounds. Yet his exertions did not slacken for a
moment. Some of the soldiers he rebuked, some he
threatened, and some he beat with the flat of his
sword ; till at length order was partially restored,
and the fire of the enemy returned with effect,
Though it was near daybreak, the dawn was ob-
scured by thick fog, and little could be s en of the
Indians, except the incessant flashes of their guns
amid the mist, while hundreds of voices, mingled in
one appalling yell, confused the fiiculties of the men,
and drowned the shout of command. The enemy
had taken possession of a house, from the windows

Chap. XV.]

DEATH OF DALZELL.

275

of which they fired down upon the English. Major
Rogers, with some of his provincial rangers, burst
the door with an axe, rushed in, and expelled them.
Captain Gray was ordered to dislodge a large party
from behind some neighbonng fences. lie charged
tlieni with his company, but fell, mortally wounded,
in the attempt.' They gave way, however; and now,
the fire of the Indians being much diminished, the
retreat was resumed. Xo sooner had the men faced
iiboiit, than the savages came darting through the
mist upon their flank and rear, cutting down strag-
glers, and scali)ing the fallen. At a little distance
lay a sergeant of the 55th, helplessly wounded, rais-
ing himself on his hands, and gazing with a look
of despair after his retiring comrades. The sight
caught the eye of Dalzell. That gallant soldier, in
the true spirit of heroism, ran out, amid the firing,
to rescue the wounded man, when a shot struck
him, and he fell dead. Few observed his fate, and
none durst turn back to recover his body. The de-
tachment pressed on, greatly harassed by the pur-
suing Indians. Their loss would have been much
more severe, had not Major Rogers taken possession
of another house, which commanded the road, and
covered the retreat of the party.

He entered it with some of his own men, while
many i)anic-stricken regulars broke in after him, in
their eagerness to gain a temporary shelter. The
house was a large and strong one, and the women
of the neighborhood had crowded into the cellar for
refuge. While some of the soldiers looked in blind
terror for a place of concealment, others seized upon

Penn. Gaz. No. 1811.

276

THE FIGHT OF BLOODY EliroGE.

[Chap, XV.

a keg of whiskey in one of the rooms, and quaffed
the liquor with eager thirst, while others, again,
piled packs of furs, furniture, and all else within
their reach, against the windows, to serve as a bar-
ricade. Panting and breathless, their faces moist
with sweat and blackened with gunpowder, they
thrust their muskets through the openings, and tired
out upon the whooping assailants. At intervals, a
bullet tiew sharply whizzing through a crevice, strik-
ing down a man, perchance, or rapping harmk'sslv
against the partitions. Old Campau, the master of
the house, stood on a trap-door to prevent the
frightened ' soldiers from seeking shelter among the
women in the cellar. A bail grazed his gray head,
and buried itself in the wall, where a few years
since it might still have been seen. The screams of
the half-stificd women below, the quavering war-
whoops without, the shouts and curses of the sol-
diers, the groans and blaspheming of the wounded
men, mingled in a scene of clamorous confusion, and
it was long before the authority of Rogers could
restore order. ^

In the mean time. Captain Grant, with his ad-
vanced party, had moved forward about half a mile.
where he found some orchards and enclosures, by
means of which he could maintain himself until the
centre and rear should arrive. From this point he
detached all the men he could spare to occupy the
houses below; and as soldiers soon began to come m
from the rear, he was enabled to reenforce these de-
tachments, until a complete line of communication

1 Many particulars of the fight Williams, Esq. of Detroit, a con-
at the house of Campau were re- nection of the Campau familf*
lated to me, on tlie spot, by John R.

Chap. XV.] GRANT CONDUCTS THE RETREAT.

277

was established with the fort, and the retreat eftect-
ually secured. Within an hour, the whole party had
arrived, with the exception of Kogers and his men,
who were quite unable to come off, being besieged
in the house of Campau, by full two hundred In-
dians. The two armed bateaux had gone down to
the fort, laden with the dead and wounded. They
now returned, and, in obedience to an order from
Grant, proceeded up the river to a point ojjposite
Campau's house, where they opened a fire of swivels,
which swept the ground above and below it, and
completely scattered the assailants. Rogers and his
party now came out, and marched down* the road,
to unite themselves with Grant. The two bateaux
accompanied them closely, and, by a constant
fire, restrained the Indians from making an attack.
Scarcely had llogers left the house at one door,
when the enemy entered it at another, to obtain the
scalps from two or three corpses left behind. Fore-
most of them all, a withered old squaw rushed in,
with a shrill scream, and, slashing open one of the
dead bodies with her knife, scooped up the blood
between her hands, and quaffed it with a ferocious
ecstasy.

Grant resiuned his retreat as soon as Rogers had
arrived, falling back from house to house, and joined
in succession by the parties sent to garrison each.
The Indians, in great numbers, stood whooping and
yelling, at a vain distance, quite unable to nuike an
attack, so well did Grant choose his positions, and
so steadily and coolly conduct the retreat. About
eight o'clock, after six hours of marching and com-
bat, the detachment entered once more within the
sheltering palisades cf Detroit.

278

THE FIGHT OF BLOODY BRIDGE.

[CiiAp XV

In this action, the English lost fifty-nine men
killed and wounded. The loss of the Indians could
not be ascertained, but it certainly did not extctd
fifteen or twenty. At the beginning of the fi<rht,
their numbers were probably much inferior to those
of the English ; but fresh parties were continuallv
joining them, until seven or eight hundred waniuis
must have been present.

The Ojibwas and Ottawas only formed the am-
buscade at the bridge, under Pontiac's command; for
the Wyandots and Pottawattamies came later to the
scene of action, crossing the river in their caiioeo,
or passing round through the woods behind the fort,
to take part in the fray.^

In speaking of the fight of Bloody Bridge, uii
able writer in the Annual Register for the yeui
1763 observes, with justice, that although in Eu
ropean warfare it would be deemed a mere skirmish.
yet in a conflict with the American savages, it rises
to the importance of a pitched battle ; since tlicse
people, being thinly scattered over a great extent of
country, are accustomed to conduct their warfare by
detail, and never take the field in any great force.

The Indians were greatly elated by their success.
Runners were sent out for several hundred niiks,
through the surrounding woods, to spread tidings of
the victory; and reenforcements soon began to come
in to swell the force of Pontiac. " Fresh warriors,"
writes Gladwyn, " arrive almost every day, and 1
believe that I shall soon be besieged by upwards of

1 MS. Letters — M'Donald to Dr. count, MS. Gouin's Account, MS.

Campbell, Auw. 8. Gage to Lord St. Aubin's Account, MS. Peltier's

Halifax, Oct. 12. Amherst to Lord Account, MS. Maxwell's Account,

Egremont, Sept. 3 Meloche's Ac- MS., etc.

CuAP.XV] ATTACK ON THE SCHOONER GLADWYN.

279

a thousaiid." '^Flie English, on their part, were well
prepared for resistance, since the garrison now com-
prised more than three hundred effective men ; and
no one entertained a doubt of tlieir ultimate success
in defending the place. Day after day passed on ; a
few skirmishes took place, and a few men were
killed, but nothing worthy of notice occurred, until
the night of the fourth of September, at which time
was adiieved one of tlie most nemorable feats which
tlie clu'onicles of that day can boast.

Tlie schooner (iladwyn, the smaller of the two
arm(>d vessels so often mentioned, had been sent
(k)wn to Niagara with letters and despatches. She
was now returning, having on board Ilorst, her mas-
ter, Jacobs, her mate, and a crew of ten men, all
of wliom were provincials, besides six Iroquois In-
dians, supposed to be friendly to the English. On
the night of tlie third, she entered the Elver Detroit;
and in the morning the six Indians asked to be set
on shore, a request wliich was foolishly granted.
'I'hey disappeared in the woods, and probably re-
ported to Pontiac's warriors the small numbers of
the crew. The vessel stood up the river until night-
foil, wlien, the wind failing, she was comjielled to
anchor about nine miles below the fort. The men
on board watched with anxious vigilance; and as
night came on, they listened to every sound which
broke tlie stillness, from the strange cry of the night-
hawk, wheeling round and round above their heads,
to the bark of the fox from the woods on shore.
The night set in with darkness so complete, that at
the distance of a few rods nothing cuuld be dis-
cerned. Meantime, three hundred and fifty Indians,
in theu- buch canoes, glided silently down with the

280

THE FIGHT OF BLOODY BRIDGE. [Chap. XV

cuiTont, and wore close upon the vessel before thcv
were seen. There was only time to fire a sinfflc
cannon-shot amon^ them, before they were bcnratli
her bows, and chmiberinj; up lier sides, holdinfj tluir
knives clinched fast between their teeth. Tlie new
gave them a close fire of musketry, witliout ;im
effect; tlien, flinp^ing down their guns, they seized
the spears and hatchets witli which they wcr(> ;ill
provid(Hl, and met the assailants with such furidiw
energy and coiirfige, that in the space of two or
three minutes thev had killed and wound(Ml inoir
than twice their own number. lUit the Indians woif
only checked for a moment. The master of tlic ves-
sel was killed, several of the crew were disnl)le(l.
and the assailants were leaping over the buhvaiks.
when Jacobs, the mate, called out to blow up
the schooner. This desperate command savcMl her
and her crew. Some Wyandots, who had gainful the
deck, caught the meaning of his words, and fjave
the alarm to their companions. Instantly every In-
dian leaped overboard in a panic, and the Avhole
were seen diving and swimming off in all di-
rections, to escape the threatened explosion. The
schooner was cleared of her assailants, who did not
dare to renew the attack ; and on the followinn;
mon;ing she sailed for the fort, which she reached
without molestation. Six of her crew escaped un-
hurt. Of the remainder, two were killed, and four
seriously woimded, while the Indians had seven men
killed upon the spot, and nearly twenty wouiuled.
of whom eight were known to have died within a
few days after. As the whole action lasted but
a few minutes, the fierceness of the struggle is suffi-
ciently apparent from the loss on both sides. The

Chap. XV]

THE WAR IN THE NORTH.

281

survivors of the little crew were afterwards rewarded
as tlieir undaunted bravery deserved.'

And now, taking leave, for a time, of the? garrison
of Detroit, whose fortunes we have followed so long,
we will turn to observe the progress of events in a
quavt(>r of the wilderness yet more wild and remote.

1 MS. liCttor — Gliulwyn to Ain-
liprst, Sept. !). Ciirvcr, 1(»4. Rc-
latimi (if tlif vJriillant Dot'ciicc of tlio
ScliiioiifT iii'iir Detroit, published by
[)n\or of (iciionil Aiiihorst, in tbc
New York papPM. I'ciiii. (Jiiz. No.
|r<l(l. MS. Lettor — Amherst to
l.onl Hijn'iiioiit. Oct. Vi. St. Aii-
hin'H Accoc . MS. Peltier's Ac-
count, MS.

The comtnaiKlor-in-chief ordered a
iiicdiil to be Htriick and presented to
ciicli of the men. .lac^obs, tin; mate
of tin; schooner, appears to have
been as rash as ho was bravo ; for
Captain Carver says, that several
yt'iirs atlcr, when in command of the
same ves.sel, he was lost, with all his
crew, in a storm on Lake Erie, in
conHP(|U('nco of havin}^ obstinately
Mused to take in ballast enonffh.

As this allair savors somewhat of
the niarvellons, the following evi-
dence is ijiven touching the most re-
markul)lc features of tlie story. The
diicuMKMit was copied from the ar-
cliivcs of London.

Kxtnict from "A Relation of the
Galliint Defence made by the Crew
of tiic Scliooner on liake Erie, when
Attacked by a Large Body of In-
dians; as Published by Order of Sir
Ji'fferv Andierst in the New York
Papers."

"Tlio Schooner Sailed from Ni-
airara, loaded with Provisions, some
time in August last: Her Crew
consisted of the Master and Eleven
Men, with Six Mohawk Indians,
who were Intended for a particular
Sonice. She entered the Detroit
River, on the 3'' September; And on
llie 4"' in the Morning, ilie Mohawks

Hoemed very Desirous of i»eiiig put
on Shore, which the Master, very In-
ccmsiderately, agreed to. The Wind
proved contrary all that Day; and in
tlie Evening, the Vi-ssell being at
Anchor, about Nine o'Clnck, tlio
Hoat-swain <liscov<'red a Number of
('aiio(>s coming down the River,
with about Thret; Hundred and Fif>y
Indians; Upon which tht; How Gun
was Immediately p'ired ; hut before
the other (inns could be brought to
Hear, th(? Enemy got under the How
and Stern, in Spitt; of the Swivels
&. Small Arms, and Attem|»ted to
Hoard the Vessell ; Whereupon the
Men Abandoned th(;ir Small Arms,
and took to their Spears, with which
they wore provided ; And, with
Amazing Resolution and Hravery,
knocked the Savages in the Head;
Killed many ; and saved the Vessell.
. . It is certain Seven of the Savages
were Killed on the Spot, and Eight
had Died of tliose that wen; Wound-
ed, when the Aceounts came away.
The Master and One Man wero
Killed, and four Wounded, on Hoard
the Schooner, and the other Six
brought her Safe to the Detroit."

It is somewhat singular that no
mention is here made of the com-
mand to blow up the vessel. The
most explicit authorities on this
point are Carver, who ol)l,ained his
account at Detroit, tlirer> years after
the war, and a letter published in the
Pennsylvania Gazette, No. 181().
This letter is dated at Detroit, five
days after the attack. The circum-
stance is also mentioned in several
traditional accounts of the Canadians.

■\"

f^l

;' •

>','

''^'

•i'

CHAPTER XVT.

MICIITLLIMACKINAC.

In the spring of the year 17G3, before the war
broke out, several Eiiglisli traders went up to ]\Iich-
illimaokiiiac, some adopting the okl route of the Ot-
tawa, and others that of Detroit and the lakes.
We will follow one of the latter on liis adventurous
progress. Passing the fort and settlement of De-
troit, he soon enters Lake St. Clair, which seems
like a broad basin filled to overflowing, while, along
its far distant verge, - faint line of forest separates
the water from the Sivy. He crosses the lake, and
his voyageurs next urge his canoe against the eur-
rent of the great river above. At length. Lake Un-
ion opens before him, streteliing its liquid ex})anse,
like an ocean, to the farthest liorizon. His canoe
skirts the eastern shore of Michigan, where the
forest rises like a wall from the water's edge; and
as he advances northward, an endless line of stiff
and shaggy fir-trees, hung with long mosses, fringes
the shore with an aspect of monotonous desolation.
In the space of two or three weeks, if his Cana-
dians labor well, and no accident occur, the trader
approaches the end of his voyage. Passing on liis
riglit the extensive Island of Bois Blanc, he sees,
nearly in front, the beautiful Mackinaw, rising, ^vith
its white cliffs and green foliage, from the broad

Chap. XVI.]

MICIIILLIMACKINAC.

283

breast of the waters. He does not steer towards it,
for at that day the Indians were its only tenants,
but keeps along the main shore to the left, while his
voyagcurs raise their song and chorus. Doubling a
point, he sees before him the red flag of England
s\velling lazily in the wind, and the palisades and
wooden bastions of Fort Michillimackinac standing
close upon the margin of the lake. On the beach,
canoes are drawn up, and Canadians and Indians are
idly lounging. A little beyond the fort is a cluster
of the white Canadian houses, roofed with bark, and
protected by fences of strong round pickets.

The trader enters at the gate, and sees before him
an extensive square area, surrounded by high pali-
sades. Numerous houses, barracks, and other build-
ings form a smaller sc|uare within, and in the vacant
space whicli they enclose, appear the red uniforms
of Ihitish soldiers, the gray coats of Canadians, and
the gaudy Indian blankets, mingled in picturescj[ue
confusion, while a multitude of squaws, with chU-
dren of every hue, stroll restlessly about the place.
Such was Fort Michillimackinac in 1763.^ Its name,
which, in the Algonquin tongue, signifies the Great
Turtle, was first, from a fancied resemblance, applied
to the neighboring island, and thence to the fort.

Though buried in a wilderness, Michillimackinac
was still of no recent origin. As early as 107 1, the
Jesuits had established a mission near the place, and
a military force was not long in following ; for, under
the French dominion, the priest and the soldier went
hand in hand. Neither toil, nor suffering, nor all

1 This description is drawn from the stumps of tlie pickets and the
'raditional accourfc:!, aided by a per- foundations of tlie houses may still
nonal examination of the spot, where be traced.

■H

284

MICHILLIMACKINAC.

|Chai'. XVI

the terrors of the wilderness, could damp the zeal
of the undaunted missionary; and the restless am-
bition of France was always on the alert to seize
every point of vantage, and avail itself of every means
to gain ascendency over the forest tribes. Besides
Michilliniackinac, there were two other posts in tliis
nortliern region. Green Bay, and the Sault Ste. Marie.
Both were founded at an early period, and botli pre-
sented the same characteristic features, a mission-
house, a fort, and a cluster of Canadian dwellings.
They had been originally garrisoned by small parties
of militia, who, bringing their families with them.
settled on the spot, and were founders of these little
colonies. Michilliniackinac, much the largest of the
three, contained thirty families within the palisades
of the fort, and about as manv more without. Be-
sides its military value, it was important as a centre
of the fur-trade; for it was here that the traders en-
gaged their men, and sent out their goods in canoes.
under the charge of subordinates, to the more distant
regions of the Mississippi and the north-west.

During the greater part of the year, the garrison
and the settlers were completely isolated — cut off
from all connection with the world ; and, indeed, so
great was the distance, and so serious the perils.
which separated the three sister posts of the northern
lakes, that often, through the whole winter, all inter-
course was stopped between them.^

It is difficult for the imagination adequately to
conceive the extent of these fresh-water oceans, and
vast regions of forest, which, at the date of our nar-
rative, were the domain of nature, a mighty hunting

MS. Journal of Lieutenant Gorell, commanding at Green Bay, 17(j1-(>3.

Chap. XVI.]

THE NEIGHBORING TRIBES.

285

and fishing ground, for the sustenance of a few
waudcring tribes. One might journey among them
for days, and even weeks together, without behold-
ing a human face. The Indians near Michillimack-
inac were the Ojibwas and Ottawas, the former of
whom chumcd the eastern section of Michigan, and
the latter the western, their respective portions be-
ing separated by a line drawn southwaixl from the
fort itself^ The principal village of the Ojibwas
contained about a hundred warriors, and stood upon
the Island of Michillimackinac, now called Mackinaw.
There was another smaller village near the head of
Thunder Bav. The Ottawas, to the number of two
hundred and fifty warriors, lived at the settlement of
L'Arbre Croche, on the shores of Lake ]Michigan, some
distance west of the fort. This place was then the
seat of the old Jesuit mission of St. Ignace, originally
placed, by Father Marquette, on the northern side of
the straits. Many of the Ottawas were nominal Cath-
olics. 'J'hey were all somewhat improved from their
original savage condition, living in log houses, and
cultivating corn and vegetables to such an extent as
to sup[)ly the fort with provision, besides satisfying
their own wants. The Ojibwas, on the other hand,
were not in the least degree removed from their prim-
itive barbarism.^

These two tribes, with most of the other neighbor-
ing Indians, were strongly hostile to the English.
Many of their warriors had fought against them in
the late war, for France had summoned allies from
the farthest corners of the wilderness, to aid her in
her desperate struggle. This feeling of hostility was

' Carver, Travels, 29. derived from memoranda furnished

2 Many of these particulars are by Henry R. Schoolcraft, Esq.

286

MICHILLIMACKINAC.

[CuAP. XVI

excited to a higher pitch by the influence of the
Canadians, who disliked the English, not merely as
national enemies, but also as rivals in the fur-trade.
and were extremely jealous of their intrusion upon
the lakes. The following incidents, which occurred
in the autumn of the year 1761, will illustrate the
state of feeling which prevailed: —

At that time, although Michillimackinac had been
surrendered, and the French garrison removed, no
English troops had yet arrived to supply their phice,
and the Canadians were the only tenants of the fort,
An adventurous trader, Alexander Henry, who, with
one or two others, was the pioneer of the English
fur-trade in this region, came to Michillimackinac bv
the route of the Ottawa. On the wav, he was sev-
eral times Avarned to turn back, and assured of death
if he proceeded, and, at length, was compelled for
safety to assume the disguise of a Canadian voya-
geur. When his canoes, laden with goods, reached
the fort, he was very coldlv received bv its inbah-
itants, who did all in their power to alarm and dis-
courage him. Soon after his arrival, he received the
very unwelcome information, that a large number of
Ojibwas, from the neighboring villages, were coniiii"'.
in their canoes, to call upon liim. Under ordinary
circumstances, such a visitation, though disagreeable
enougli, would excite neither anxiety nor surpriise;
for the Indians, when in their villages, lead so mo-
notonous an existence, that they are r(>ady to siiateli
at the least occasion of excitement, and the prospcet
of a few trifling presents, and a few pipes of to-
bacco, is often a sufficient inducement for a jouniev
of several days. But in the present instance, there
was serious cause of apprehension, since Canadians

lii

Chap. XVT.]

ADVKNTITRES OF A TRADKR.

287

and Frenchmen were alike hostile to the solitary
trader. The story could not he better told than in
his own graphic and truthful words.

"At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Chippewas
(Ojibwas) came to the house, about sixty in num-
ber, and headed by Minavavana, their chief 'i'hey
walked in single file, each with his tomahawk in one
hand and scalping-knife in the other. Their bodies
wove naked from the waist upward, except in a few
examples, where blankets were thrown loosely over
the shoulders. Their faces were painted with char-
coal, worked up with grease, their bodies with white
clay, in patterns of various fimcies. Some had feath-
ers thrust through their noses, and their heads deco-
rated with the same. It is unnecessarv to dwell on
the sensations with wliich I beheld the approach of
this micouth, if not frightful assemblage.

" The chief entered first, and the rest followed with-
out noise. On receiving a sign from the former, the
latter seated themselves on the floor.

" Minavavana appeared to be about fifty years of
age. He was six feet in height, and had in his
countenance an indescribable mixture of good and
evil. Looking steadfastly at me, where I sat in
ceremony, with an interpreter on cither hand, and
several Canadians behind me, he entered, at the same
time, into conversation witli Campion, inquiring how
long it was since I left Montreal, and observing, that
the English, as it would seem, were brave men, and
not afraid of death, since they dared to come, as I
had done, fearlessly among their enemies.

"The Indians now gravely smoked their pipes,
while I inwardly endured the tortures of suspense.
At length, the pipes being finished, as well as a long

iik

!L I-

J't-

J,' A

288

MICIIILLIMACKINAC.

[Chap. XVL

pause, by which they were succeeded, Minavavana.
taking a few strings of wampum in his liand, began
the following speech: —

" ' Englisliman, it is to you that I speak, and I
demand your attention.

" ' Englishman, you know that the French king is
our father. He promised to be such ; and we, in re-
turn, promised to be his children. This promise mc
have kept.

" ' Englishman, it is you that have made war witli
this our father. You are his enemy ; and how, then.
could you have the boldness to venture among us.
his children'? You know that his enemies are ours.

" ' Englishmnn, we are infonued that our father.
the King of France, is old and infirm ; and that, be-
ing fixtigucd with making war upon your nation, he
is fallen asleep. During his sleep, you have taken
advantage of him, and possessed yourselves of Canada.
But his nap is almost at an end. I think I hear
him already stirring, and inquiring for his children.
the Indians ; and when he does awake, what must
become of you? He will destroy you utterly.

" ' Englishman, although you have conquered the
French, you have not yet conquered us. We are
not your slaves. These lakes, these woods and nioun-
tair^s, were left to us by our ancestors. They arc our
inheritance; and we will part with them to none.
Your nation supposes that we, like the white people,
cannot live without bread, and pork, and beef! But
you ought to know that He, the Great Sjiirit and
Master of Life, has provided food for us in these
spacious lakes, and on these woody mountams.

" ' Englishman, our father, the King of France,
employed our young men to make war upon your

Chap. XVI-l

SPEECH OF MINAVAVANA.

289

nation. In this warfare, many of them have been
killed; and it is our custom to retaliate until such
time as the spirits of the slain are satisfied. But the
spirits of the slain are to be satisfied in either of
two ways; the first is, by the spilling of the blood
of tlic nation by which they fell ; the other, by cover-
inn the bodies of the dead, and thus allaying the re-
sentment of their relations. This is done by making
presents.

'"Englishman, your king has never sent us any
presents, nor entered into any treaty with us ; where-
fore he and we are still at war ; and, until he does
these things, we must consider that we have no other
fatlier nor friend, among the white men, than the
King of France ; but for you, we have taken into
consideration that you have ventured your life among
us, in the expectation that we should nco molest
you. You do not come aimed, with an intention to
make war ; you come in peace, to trade with us, and
supply us with necessaries, of which we are in much
want. We shall regard you, therefore, as a brother;
and you may sleep tranquilly, without fear of the
Cliippewas. As a token of our friendship, we present
you this pipe to smoke.'

"As Minavavana uttered these words, an Indian
presented me with a pipe, which, after I had drawn
the smoke three times, was carried to the chief, and
after him to every person in the room. This cere-
mony ended, the chief arose, and gave me his hand,
ill which he was followed by all the rest." ^

These tokens of friendship were suitably acknowl-
edged by the trader, who made a formal reply to

Henry, Travels, 45.

290

MICIIILLIMACKINAC.

[Chap. XVI.

Minavavana's speech. To this siicceeclcd a rofinost
for whiskey on the part of the Indians, with Avliich
Henry unwillingly complied ; and, having distributrd
several small additional presents, he heheld, with
profound satisfaction, the departure of his guests.
Scarcely had he ceased to congratulate himself on
having thus got rid of the Ojibwas, or, as }\c calls
them, the Chippewas, when a more formidable inva-
sion once more menaced him with destruction. Two
hmidred I/Arbre Croclie Ottawas came in a bodv
to the fort, and summoned Henry, together with
Goddard and Solomons, two other traders, who had
just arrived, to meet them in council. Here they
informed their startled auditors that they must dis-
tribute their goods among the Indians, adding
worthless promise to pay them in the spring,
threatening force in case of a refusal. Being allowed
until the next morning to reflect on what they had
heard, the traders resolved on resistance, and, accord-
ingly, arming about thirty of their men with muskets.
they barricaded themselves in the house occupied hy
Henry, and kept strict watch all night. The Otta-
was, however, did not venture an attack. On the
following day, the Canadians, with pretended symi)a-
thy, strongly advised compliance with the demand;
but the three traders resolutely held out, and kept
possession of their stronghold till night, when, to
their surprise and joy, the news arrived that the
body of troops known to be on their way towards
the fort A\(HC, at that moment, encamped within a
few miles of it. Another night of watching and anx-
iety succeeded; but at sunrise, the Ottawas launched
their canoes and departed, while, immediately after,
the boats of the English detachment were seen to

CuAP. XVI.]

THE OJIBWA WAR-CHIEF.

291

a})pioach the landing-place. Michillimackinac re-
ceived a strong garrison, and for a time, at least,
tlic traders wove safe.

Time passed on, and the hostile feelings of the
Indians towards the English did not diminish. It
necessarily follows, from the extremely loose charac-
ter of Indian government, — if indeed the name gov-
ernment be applicable at all, — that the sei)arate
members of the same tribe have little political con-
nection, and are often united merely by the social
tic of totemship. Thus the Ottawas at L'Arbre
Cro^bc were quite independent of those at Detroit.
They bad a chief of their own, who by no mc^ans
tuknowledged the authority of Pontiac, though the
hii^h reputation of this great warrior every where
attacbed respect and influence to his name. The
same relations subsisted between the Ojibwas of
Michillimackinac and their more southern tribesmen ;
and the latter might declare war and make peace
without at all involving the former.

The name of the Ottawa chief at L'Arbre Croche
has not survived in history or tradition. The chief
of the Ojibwas, however, is still remembered by the
remnants of his people, and was the same whom
Henry calls Minava^■ana, or, as the Canadians en-
titkxl him, by way of distinction, Le Grand Saufeur,
or the Great Ojibwa. Pie lived in the little village
of Thunder Bay, though his power was acknowl-
edged by the Indians of the neighboring islands.
That his mind was of no common order is suffi-
eiently evinced by his speech to Ilcnry; but he had
not the commanding spirit of Pontiac. His influ-
ence seems not to have extended beyond his own
tribe. He could not, or, at least, he did not, control

292

MICHILLIMACKINAC.

[Chap. XVI

the erratic forces of an Indian community, and tuin
them into one broad current of steady and united
energy. Hence, in the events about to be descrilxd.
the natural instiil)ility of the Indian character ^va.^
abundiuitly disphiyed.

In the spring- of the year I'^GS, Pontiac, in com-
passing liis grand sclieme of hostility, sent, anioiiii
the rest, to the Indians of Michillimackinac, invitiiii,'
them to aid him in the war. His messengers, bear-
ing in their hands the war-belt of black and ])uipl('
wampum, appeared before the assembled warriors,
flung at their feet a hatchet painted red, and dvYw-
ered the speech with which ihey had been charficd.
The warlike auditory answered with deep ejaculations
of applause, and, taking up the blood-red hatclK^t.
pledged themselves to join in the contest. Before
the end of May, news reached the Ojibwas that
Pontiac had already struck the English at Detroit,
This wrought them up to a high pitch of excite-
ment and emulation, and they resolved that peaee
should last no longer. Their numbers were at tliis
time more than doubled, by several bands of their
wandering people, who had gathered at INIichilU-
mackinac, from far and near, attracted probably hy
rumors of impending war. Being, perhaps, jealous
of the Ottawas, or willing to gain all the glory and
plunder to themselves, they determined to attack the
fort, without communicating the design to their
neighbors of L'Arbre Croche.

At this time there were about thirty-five men,
with their officers, in garrison at Michillimackinac'

1 This appears from the letters of the inhabitants of the fort, both sol-
Captain Etherington. Henry states diers and Canadians, in his enumer
the number at ninety. It is not un- ation
likely that he meant to include all

Chip. XVI.]

WARNINGS OF DANGER.

293

Warniiif^ of the tempest that impended liad been
clearly given ; enough, had it been heeded, to have
averted the liital disaster. Several of th(> Cana-
dians least hostile to the English had thrown out
hints of approaehing danger, and one of them had
even told Captain Ktherington, the commandant, that
the Indians had formed a design to destroy, not
only his garrison, but all the English on the lakes.
With a folly, of which, at this period, there Avere
several parallel instances among the British officers
in America, Etherington not only turned a deaf ear
to what he heard, but threatened to send prisoner to
Detroit the next person who should disturb the fort
with such tidings. Henry, the trader, who was at
this time in the place, had also seen occasion to dis-
trnst the Indians ; but on conmuuiicating his sus-
piciuns to the commandant, the latter treated them
with total disregard. Henry accuses himself of
sliaring this officer's infatuation. That his person
was in danger, had been plainly intimated to him,
under the following curious circumstances : —

An Ojibwa chief, named Wawatam, had conceived
for him one of those strong friendly attachments
which often form so pleasing a feature in the Indian
character. It was about a year since Henry had
first met with this man. One morning, M'awatam
had entered his house, and placing before him, on
the groiuid, a large present of furs and dried meat,
deliAered a speech to the following effect: Early in
life, after the ancient usage of his people, he had
withdrawn to fast and pray in solitude, that he
might propitiate the Great Spirit, and learn the
future career marked out for him. In the course of
his dreams and visions on this occasion, it was

294

AUCIIILLIALVCKINAC.

[Chap. XVl

revealed to him that, in Jifter years, he should nuct
a \vhite man, who should be to him u friend and
brother. No soonfu' hud he seen Henry, than the
irr(>[)ressil)le eonvieticm rose up within him, that lu'
was the man whom the Great Spirit had indicutid,
and that the dreiJUi was now fuliilled. Henry re-
plied to the speech with suitable aeknowledj^incuts
of gratitude, made a present in his turn, smoked a
pipe with '^^^lwatam, and, as the latter soon aiter
left the fort, speedily forgot his Indian friend and
brother altogether. Many months had elapsed since
the occurrence of this very characteristic incident,
when, on the second of June, Henry's door was
pushed open without ceremonj', and the dark fig-
ure of "W'awatam glided silently in. He said that
he was just returned from his wintering ground.
Henry, at length recollecting him, inquired after the
success of his hunt; but the Indian, without reply-
ing, sat down with a dejected air, and expressed his
surprise and regret at iindhig his brother still in tlic
fort. He said that he was going on the next day
to the Sault Ste. Marie, and that he wished Ilenrv
to go with him. He then asked if the English had
heard no bad news, and said that through the win-
ter he himself had loen much disturbed by the
singing of evil birds. k::eeing that Henry gave littk'
attention to what he said, he at length went away
with a sad and mournful face. On the next morn-
ing, he came again, together with his sc^uaw, and,
offering the trader a present of dried meat, again
pressed him to go with him, in the afternoon, to the
Sault Ste. Marie. When Henry demanded his reason
for such urgency, he asked if his brother did not
know that many bad Indians, who had never shown

CuAr. XVI]

EVE OF THE MASSACRE.

295

tlirnist'lvTS at the fort, wvvv cncanipi'd in tlic woods
iiiou.:(l it. To-morrow, ho said, they aro coming to
iisk i'or whiskey, and would all get drunk, so that it
would he dangerous to remain, "^^'awatam h-t fall,
ill addition, various other hints, which, l)ut for
Ih'Uiy's imi)erfect knowledge of the Algou'iuin lan-
<ni;i^'C, could hardly have failed to draw his atten-
tion. As it was, however, his friend's words were
si)ukcu in vain ; and at length, after long and per-
severing efforts, he and his squaw took their de-
parture, but not, as Henry d(>clares, before each had
let ilill some tears. Among the Indian women, the
piactice of weeping and wailing is univ(u-sal upon
all occasions of sorrowful emotion; and the kind-
hearted squaw, as she took down her husband's
lodge, and loaded his canoe for dc^parture, did not
cease to sob and moan aloud.

On this same afternoon, Henry remembers that
the fort was full of Indians, moving about among
the soldiers with a great appearance of friendship.
Many of them came to his house, to purchase
knives and small hatchets, often asking to see silver
bracel(>ts, and other ornaments, with the intention,
as afterwards ai)peared, of learning their places of
deposit, in order the more easily to lay hand on
them at the moment of pillage. As the afternoon
drew to a close, the visitors quietly went away; and
many of the unhappy garrison saw for the last
time the sun go down behind the waters of Lake
Michigan.

CHAPTER X\U,

THE MASSACRE.

The following morning was warm and sultry. It
was the fourth of June, the birthday of King
George. The discipline of the garrison was relaxed,
and some license allowed to the soldiers. Encamped
in the woods, not far off, were a large number of
Ojibwas, lately arrived; while several bands of the
Sac Indians from the River Wisconsin had also erect-
ed their lodges in the vicinity. Early in the morn-
ing, many Ojibwas came to the fort. Inviting officers
and soldiers to come out and see a grand game of
ball, which was to be played between their nation
and the Sacs. In consequence, the place was sool
deserted by half its tenants. An outline of Michilli-
mackiaac, as far as tradition has preserved its gen-
eral features, has already been given ; and it is easy
to conceive, with sufficient accuracy, the appearance
it must have presented on this eventful moniin<]:.
The houses and barracks were so ranged as to form
a square, enclosing an extensive area, upon which
their doors all opened, while behind rose tlie tall
palisades, forming a large external fjquare. The pic-
turesque Canadian houses, with their rude porticoes,
and projecting roofs of bark, sufficiently indicated
the occupations of their inhabitants ; for bu'ch ca-
noes were lying near many of them, and fishing

Chap XVn.]

INDIAN BALL PLAY.

297

nets were stretched to dry in the sun. Women and
children were moving about the doors; knots of
Canadian voyageurs reclined on the ground, smoking
and conversing ; soldiers were lounging listlessly at
the doors and windows of the barracks, or strolling
in a careless undress about the area.

Without the fort, the scene was of a very differ-
ent character. The gates were wide open, and the
soldiers were collected in groups under the shadow
of the palisades, watching the Indian ball i)lay.
Most of them were without arms, and mingled
among them were a great number of Canadians,
while a multitude of Indian squaws, wrapped in
blankets, were conspicuous in the crowd.

Captain Etherington and Lieutenant Leslie stood
near the gate, the former indulging his inveterate
English propensity ; for, as Henry informs us, he
had promised the Ojibwas that he would bet on
their side against the Sacs. Indian chiefs and war-
riors were also among the spectators, intent, appar-
ently, on watching the game, but with thoughts, in
fact, far otherwise employed.

The plain in front was covered by the ball play-
ers. The game in which they were engaged, called
ha(jgattawaif by the Ojibwas, is still, as it always has
been, a favorite with many Indian tribes. At either
extr(>mity of the ground, a tall post was planted,
marking the stations of the rival parties. The object
of each was to defend its own post, and dii\e the
ball to that of its adversary. Hundreds of lithe
and agile figures were leaping and bounding ui)on
the plain. Each was nearly naked, his loose black
hair flying in the wind, and each bore in his hand
a bat of a form peculiar to this game. At one
38

298

THE MASSACRE.

[Chap. XVU.

Chap.

moment the whole were crowded togetlier, a densf;
throng of combatants, all strnggling for the ball;
at the next, they were scattered again, and running
over the ground like hounds in full cry. Each, in
his excitement, yelled and shouted at the height of
his voice. Rushing and striking, tripping their ad-
versaries, or hurling them to the ground, they pur-
sued the animating contest amid the laughter and
applause of the spectators. Suddenly, from the mid^t
of the multitude, the ball soared into the air, and,
descending in a Avide curve, iiW near the pickets of
the fort. This was no chance stroke. It was part of
a preconcerted stratagem to insure the surprise and
destruction of the garrison. As if in pursuit of the
ball, the players turned and came rushing, a mad-
dened and tumultuous throng, towards the gate. In
a moment they had reached it. The amazed English
had no time to think or act. The shrill cries of the
ball players were changed to the ferocious war-whoop.
The warriors snatched from the squaws tlie hatchets,
which the latter, with this design, had concealed be-
neath their blankets. Some of the Indians assailed
the spectators without, while others rushed into the
fort, and all was carnage and confusion. At the
outset, several strong hands had fastened their gripe
upon Etherington and Leslie, and led them auay
from the scene of massacre towards the woods.'
Within the area of the fort, the men were slaugh-
tered without mercy. But here the task of descrij)-
tion may well be resigned to the simple and manly
pen of the trader Henry.

"I did not go myself to see the match which

' MS. Letter — Etherington to Glad^vyn, June 12. See Appendix C.

Chap.XVII] escape OF ALEX.\.XDER HENRY.

299

was now to be played without the fort, because,
there being a canoe prepared to depart on the
following day for Montreal, I employed myself in
writing letters to my friends, and even when a fellow-
trader, Mr. Tracy, happened to call upon me, saying
that another canoe had just arrived from Detroit, and
proposing that I should go with him to the beach,
to inquire the news, it so happened that I still re-
mained to finish my letters ; promising to follow Mr.
Tracy in the course of a few minutes. Mr. Tracy
had not gone more than twenty paces from my door,
when I heard an Indian war-cry, and a noise of gen-
eral confusion.

'•Going instantly to my window, I saw a crowd
of Indians, within the fort, furiously cutting down
and scalping every Englishman they found: in par-
ticular, I Avitnessed the fate of Lieutenant Jamette.

"I had, in the room in which I was, a fowling-
piece, loaded with swan shot. This I immediately
seized, and held it for a few minutes, waiting to hear
the drum beat to arms. In this dreadful interval, I
saw several of my countrymen fall, and more than one
struggling between the knees of an Indian, who, hold-
ing him in this manner, scalped him while yet living.

"At length, disappointed in the hope of seeing re-
sistance made to the enemy, and sensible, of course,
that no effort of my own unassisted arm could avail
against four hundred Indians, I thought only of seek-
ing shelter amid the slaughter which was raging. I
observed many of the Canadian inhabitants of the
fort calmly looking on, neither opposing the Indians
nor suffering injury ; and from this circumstance, I
conceived a hope of finding security in their houses.

300

THE MASSACRE.

[Cnxp. XVII.

" Between the yard door of my own house and that
of M. Ijanghide,^ my next neighbor, there was onh- a
low fence, oNcr which I easily climbed. At mv en-
trance, I found the whole family at the wiudowN,
gazing at the scene of blood before them. 1 ad-
dressed myself immediately to M. Langlade, beggiinr
that he would put me into some place of safet\, un-
til the heat of the affair should be over; an act of
charity by which he might, perhaps, preserve me fioni
the general massacre ; but while I uttered my pe-
tition, M. Langlade, who had looked for a moment at
me, turned again to the window, shrugging his slioul-
ders, and intimating that he could do nothing for
me — '■Que voudriez-voiis que j'en ferais?'

" This was a moment for despair ; but the next a
Pani^ woman, a slave of M. Langlade's, beckoned me
to follow her. She brought me to a door, which she
opened, desiring me to enter, and telling me tliat it
led to the garret, where I must go and conceal my-
self I joyfully obeyed her directions ; and she, hav-
ing followed me up to the garret door, locked it after
me, and, with great presence of mind, took away
the key.

" This shelter obtained, if shelter I could lio})c to
find it, I was naturally anxious to know what might
still be passing without. Through an aperture, which
afforded me a view of the area of the fort, I bchekl,
in shapes the foulest and most terrible, the ferocious

' See note at eiul of (-hapter. Sacs and Foxes, who often broucflit

* This name is conniionly written their prisoners to the French scttlf-

Pdwiicf. 'VUr tril)t' who bore it Hved mcnts tor sale. It thus liappi'iied

west of the Mississippi. Tliey were that Pawnee shives were to be found

at war witii many surronndinji na- in the principal families of Detroit

tions, and, among the rest, with the and Michillinvackinac.

RHP^

CHAP.xvn.] ESCAPE or ^vlexander iienry.

301

tiiiimphs of barbarian conquerors. The dead were
scalped and mangled; the dying were writhing and
sliriekiiig under the unsatiated knife and tomahawk;
and from the bodies of some, ripped open, their
butchers were drinking the blood, scooped up in the
hollow of joined hands, and quaffed amid shouts of
rage and victory. I was shaken not only with hor-
ror, but with fear. The sufferings which I witnessed
I seemed on the point of experiencing. No long
time elapsed before, every one being destroyed who
could be found, there was a general cry of ' All is
finished.' At the same instant, I heard some of the
Indians enter the house where I was.

"The garret was separated from the room below
only by a layer of single boards, at once the flooring
of the one and the ceiling of the other. I could,
therefore, hear every thing that passed ; and the In-
dians no sooner came in than they inquired whether
or not any Englishmen were in the house. M. Lang-
lade replied, that ' he could not say, he did not
laiow of any,' answers in which he did not exceed
the truth ; for the Pani woman had not only hidden
me by stealth, but kept my secret and her own.
M. Lunglade was, therefore, as I presume, as far from
a wish to destroy me as he was careless about saving
me, when he added to these answers, that ' they
miglit examine for themselves, and would soon be sat-
isfied as to the object of their question.' Saying this,
he brought them to the garret door.

"The state of my mind will be imagined. Arrived
at the door, some delay was occasioned by the ab-
sence of the key ; and a few moments were thus
allowed me, in which to look around for a hiding-
place. In one corner of the garret was a heap

302

THE MASSACKE.

[Chap. XVJI

111:;..

of those vessels of birch bark used m maple sugar
making.

" The door was unlocked and opening, and the In.
dians ascending the stairs, before I had completely ciept
into a small opening which presented itself at one end
of the heap. An instant after, four Indians entered tlie
room, all armed with tomahawks, and all besnioaivd
with blood, upon every part of their bodies.

" The die appeared to be cast. I could scamlv
breathe ; but I thought the throbbing of my heart
occasioned a noise loud enough to betray me. The
Indians walked in every direction about the garret;
.11'.'' .ne of them approached me so closely, that, at a
particular moment, had he put forth his hand, he nubt
ha" ^ t( ' • 'led me. Still I remained undiscovered ; a
circumstance to which the dark color of my clothes.
and the want of light, in a room which had no win-
dow in the corner in which I was, must have contrib-
uted. In a word, after taking several turns in tlie
room, during which they told M. Langlade how many
they had killed, and how many scalps they had taken,
they returned down stairs, and I, with sensations not
to be expressed, heard the door, which was the har-
rier between me and my fate, locked for the second
time.

" There was a feather bed on the floor ; and on
this, exhausted as I was by the agitation of my mind.
I threw myself down and fell asleep. In this state
I remained till the dusk of the evening, when 1 was
awakened by a second opening of the door, 'llie
person that now entered was M. Langlade's wife, who
was much surprised at flnding me, but advised me
not to be uneasy, observing that the Indians liad
killed most of the English, but that she hoped I

Chap.XVII.1 escape of ALEXANDER HENRY.

303

might myself escape. A shower of rain having begun
to fall, she had come to stop a hole in tlic roof.
Oil her going away, I begged her to send me a little
watrr to drink, which she did.

"As night was now advancing, I continued to lie
on tlic bed, ruminating on my condition, but unable
to discover a resource from which I could lio[)e for
life. A flight to Detroit had no probable chance of
success. The distance from Micliillimackinac was
four liundred miles ; I was without provisions, and
the whole length of the road lay througli Indian
countries, countries of an enemy in arms, where the
first man whom I should meet would kill me. To
stay ^^llere I was, threatened nearly the same issue.
As before, fatigue of mind, and not tranquillity, sus-
pended my cares, and procured me farther sleep.

"The respite wliicli sleep afforded me during the
niglit was put an end to by the return of morning.
I was again on the rack of apprehension. At siui-
rise, I heard the family stirring ; and, presently after,
Indian voices, informing ]M. Langlade that they had
not found my hapless self among the dead, and they
supposed me to be somewhere concealed. ^I. Lang-
lade appeared, from what followed, to be, by this
time, acquainted witli the place of my retreat ; of
wliich, no doubt, he had been informed by his wife.
The poor woman, as soon as the Indians mentioned
me, declared to her husband, in the French tongue,
that he should no longer keep me in his house, but
dehver me iq) to my pursuers ; giving as a reason
for this measure, that, should the Indians discover
his instrumentality in my concealment, they might
revenge it on her children, and that it was better
that I should die than they. M. Langlade resisted,

304

THE MASSACRE.

[CiiAP. XVII.

at first, this sentence of his wife, but soon suffered
her to prevail, informing the Indians that he had
been told I was in his house ; that I had come there
without his knowledge, and that he would put nic
into their hands. This was no sooner expressed than
he began to ascend the stairs, the Indians following
upon his heels.

" I now resigned myself to the fate with wliieh I
was menaced; and regarding every effort at conceal-
ment as vain, I arose from the bed, and presented
myself full in view to the Indians, who were entering
the room. They were all in a state of intoxicutiun,
and entirely naked, excej)t about the middle. One
of them, named Wenniway, whom I had previously
known, and who was upwards of six feet in height,
had his entire face and body covered with charcoal
and grease, only that a white spot, of two inches in
diameter, encircled cither eye. This man, walking up
to me, seized me, with one hand, by the collar of
the coat, while in the other he held a large carving-
knife, as if to plunge it into my breast; his eyes,
meanwhile, were fixed steadfastly on mine. At length,
after some seconds of the most anxious suspense, he
dropped his arm, sapng, ' I won't kill you ! ' To this
he added, that he had been frequently engaged in wars
against the English, and had brought away many
scalps ; that, on a certain occasion, he had lost a
brother, whose name was Musinigon, and that I should
be called after him.

"A reprieve, upon any terms, placed me among
the living, and gave me back the sustaining voice
of hope ; but Wenniway ordered me down stairs,
and there informing me that I was to be taken to
his cabin, where, and indeed every where else, the

fffi

■'

Chap. XVIT] ESCAPE OF .zU,EX^VNDEB HENRY.

305

Indians were all mad with liquor, dcatli again was
threatened, and not as ])ossiblc only, but as certain.
I mentioned my fears on this subject to M. Lang-
lade, begging him to represent the danger to my
master. M. Langlade, in this mstance, did not
withhold his compassion, and Wenniway immediately
consented that I shoidd remain where I was, until
he found another opportunity to take me away."

Scarcely, however, had he been gone an hour,
when an Indian came to the house, and directed
Henry to follow him to the Ojibwa camp. Henry
kn(nv this man, who was largely in his debt, and
some time before, on the trader's asking him for pay-
ment, the Indian had declared, in a significant tone,
that he would pay him soon. There seemed at pres-
ent good ground to suspect his intention; but, having
no choice, Henry w'as obliged to follow him. The
Indian led the way out of the gate; but, instead of
going towards the camp, he moved with a quick
step in the direction of the bushes and sand-hills
behind the fort. At this, Henry's suspicions were
confirmed. He refused to proceed farther, and
plainly told his conductor that he believed he meant
to kdl him. The Indian coolly replied, that he was
quite right in thinking so, and at the same time,
seizing the prisoner by the arm, raised his knife to
strike him in the breast. Henry parried the blow,
flung the Indian from him, and ran for his life.
He gained the gate of the fort, his enemy close at
his heels, and, seeing Wenniway standing m the
centre of the area, called upon him for protection.
The chief ordered the Indian to desist; but the lat-
ter, who was foaming at the mouth with rage, still
continued to pursue Henry, vainly striking at him
39 z*

306

THE MASSACRE.

[Cnxr. XVir.

ft'' '';

^] '

.1.

I.'. 'I ■:'
1.5 ;i. r.

with his knife. Seeing the door of Lang^lade's ]inn<f
wide open, the trader darted in, and at lengtli found
himself in safety. He retired once more to his ^m:
ret, and lay down, f(H>ling, as he declares, a sort of
conviction that no Indian had power to harm liim,

This confidence was somewhat shaken wlien, rmlv
in the night, he was startled from sleep hy tlio
op(>ning of the door. A light gleamed in npon liim.
and he was summoned to descend. He did so, wlicn,
to his snrprise and joy, he found, in the room be-
low, Captain Etlierington, Lieutenant Leslie, and My.
Bostwick, a trader, together with Father Jonois, the
Jesuit priest from L'Arbre Croche. The Lidians
were bent on enjoying that night a grand debniuli
upon the liquor they had seized; and the cliiets,
well knowing the extreme danger to Mhich tlie pris-
oners would be exposed during these revels, liad
conveyed them all into the fort, and placed them in
charge of the Canadians.

Including officers, soldiers, and traders, tliey
amounted to about twenty men, this handful being
all that had escaped the massacre.

'NMk'u Henry entered the room, he found liis
three companions in misfortune engaged in earnest
debate. These men had supped full of horrors; yet
they were almost on the point of risking a reiiCAval
of the bloodshed from which they had just escape'!.
The temptation was a strong one. The fort was
this evening actually in the hands of the white men.
The Indians, with their ordinary recklessness and
improvidence, had neglected even to place a guard
within the palisades. They were now, one and all,
in their camp, mad with liquor, and the fort was
occupied by twenty Englishmen, and about three

( Mxr. XVII.]

ADVENTURES OF IIENUY.

307

liiiiulicd Caiiadiuus, priiicipiilly voyii^xMirs. To close
the gates, and s(>t tlic Iiuliaiis at dofiaiico, scorned no
very difficnlt matter. It might have been att(>nipted,
hut for the dissuasions of the Jesuit, who liad acted
tlii()ii<^hout the part of a true friend of humanity,
and Avlio now strongly rei)resented th(> probability
that the Canadians would prove treacherous, and the
(citiiiuty that a failure would involve destiiiction to
cvciy llnglishman in the [)lace. The idea was tlu^re-
fuic abandoned, and Captain Ethcrington, with his
companions, that night shared Henry's garret, where
tiicy passed the time in condoling with each other
on tlieir common misfortune.

A party of Indians came to the house in the
moniiiig, and ordered Henry to follow them out.
Tlic weather had changed, and a cold storm had set
in, In the dreary and forlorn area of the fort ^vere
II few of the Indian conquerors, though the main
body were still in their camp, not yet recovered from
the effects of their last night's carouse. Henry's
conductors led him to a house, where, in a room
almost dark, he saw two traders and a soldier im-
prisuned. They were released, and directed to follow
the party. The whole then proceeded together to
the lake shore, ^^'here they were to embark for the
Isles du Castor. A chillhig wind blew strongly
from the north-east, and the lake was covered "lutli
mists, and tossing angrily. Henry stood shivering
oil the beach, with no other upper garment than a
shirt, drenched with the cold rain. He asked Lang-
lade, who was near him, for a blanket, which the
latter, with cold-blooded inhumanity, refused to fur-
nish unless security was given for payment. Another
Canadian proved more merciful, and Henry received

308

THE MASSACRE.

[Ciur. XMl

11, fj

a covering from tlic wcathor. With his tiireo ro!n.
panions, guard(Hl by seven Indians, he emharked in
the canoe, the soldier being tied by his neck to one
of the cross-bars of the vessel. The thick mists
and the teni])estuous weather compelled them to
keep along the shore, close beneath the w 'ri]*.
phig for(>sts. In this manner they had p.wcocdcd
about eighteen miles, and were approaching L'Arbn
Croche, when an Ottawa Indian came out of ihc
woods, and called to them from the beach, in([uirin<;
the news, and asking who were their prisoiins.
Some conversation followed, in the course of wliidi
the canoe approached the shore, where the water
was very shallow. All at once, a loud yell was;
heard, and a hundred Ottawas, rising from amoiiw
the trees and bushes, rushed into the wat(>r, and
seized upon the canoe and prisoners. Thf ton-
ished Ojibwas remonstrated in vain. The foti. eng-
lishmen were taken from them, and led in safety to
the shore. Good will to the prisoners, however, had
by no means prompted the Ottawas to this very un-
expected proceeding. They were jealous and aiigiy
that the Ojibwas should have taken the fort without
giving them an opportunity to share in the plunder;
and they now chose this summary mode of asserting
their rights.

The chiefs, however, shook Henry and his com-
panions by the hand, professing great good will, as-
suring them, at the same time, that the Ojibwas
were carrying them to the Isles du Castor merely
to kill and eat them. The four prisoners, the sport
of so many changing fortunes, soon found themselves
embarked in an Ottawa canoe, and on their way
back to Michillimackinac. They were not alone. A

Chap. XVII.] QUAUKIXS OF THE CONQUEUOUvS.

309

flotilla of canoes accoini)unio(l tluun, bt-aring a great
iiimiber of Ottawa warriors ; and before the day was
over, the whole had Jirrived at the fort. At this
time, the prineipid Ojibwa eneampnient was near the
woods, in full sight of the landiiig-plaee. Its oeeu-
paiits, astonished at this singular movement on the
part of their rivals, stood looking on in silent
amazement, while the Ottawa warriors, well armed,
filed into the fort, and took possession of it.

This eonduet is not difficult to explain, when we
take into consideration the peculiarities of the In-
dian character. Pride and jealousy are al^^ays strong
and active elements in it. The Ottawas deemed
thnnselves grossly insulted because the Ojibwas had
undertaken an enterprise of such importance with-
out consulting them, or asking their assistance. It
mav be added, that the Indians of L'Arbre C/roclie
were somewhat less hostile to the English than the
neighboring tribes ; for the gr(>at influence of the
priest Jonois seems always to have been exerted on
the side of peace and friendship.

The Englisb prisoners looked upon the new comers
as champions and protectors, and conceived hopes
from their interference not destined to be fully real-
ized. On the morning after their arrival, the Ojibwa
chiefs invited tlie principal men of the Ottawas to
hold a council witli them in a building within the
fort. They placed upon the floor a valuable present
of goods, which were part of the plunder they had
taken ; and their great war-chief, Minavavana, who
had conducted the attack, rose and addressed the
Ottawas.

Their conduct, he said, had greatly surprised him.
They had betrayed the common cause, and opposed

310

THE MASSACRE.

[Chap. XVII

the will of the Great Sph'it, who had decreed that
every Englishman must die. Excepting them, all the
Indians had raised the hatchet. Pontiac had taken
Detroit, and every other fort had also been destroyed.
The English were meeting with destruction througli-
out the whole world, and the King of France was
awakened from his sleep. He exhorted them, in
conclusion, no longer to espouse the cause of the
English, but, like their brethren, to lift the hatchet
against them.

When Minavavana had concluded his speech, the
council adjourned until the next day; a custom com-
mon among Indians, in order that the auditors may
have time to ponder with due deliberation upon
what they have heard. At the next meeting, tlie
Ottawas expressed a readiness to concur with the
views of the Ojibwas. Thus the difference between
the two tribes was at length amicably adjusted.
The Ottawas returned to the Ojibwas some of the
prisoners whom they had taken from them, still,
however, retaining the officers and several of the
soldiers. These they soon after carried to L'Arbre
Croche, where they were treated with kindness, prob-
ably owing to the influence of Father Jonois.' The
priest went down to Detroit with a letter from Cap-
tain Etherington, acquainting Major Gladwyn with
the loss of jNIichillimackinac, and entreating that a
force ni t be sent immediateb^ to his aid. The
letter, l. . we have seen, was safely delivered; but
Gladw-yn was, of course, unable to render the re-
quired assistance.

Though the Ottawas and Ojibwas had come to

1 MS. Letter — Etherington to Gladwyn, June 28.

Chap.XVIL] treatment OF THE PRISONERS.

311

terms, they still looked on each other with distrust,
and it is said that the former never forgot the slight
tliat had been put upon tliein. The Ojibwas took
the prisoners who had been returned to them from
the fort, and carried them to one of their small vil-
lages, which stood near the shore, at no great dis-
tance to the south-east. Among the other lodges
was a large one, of the kind often seen in Indian
villages, erected for use on public occasions, such
as dances, feasts, or councils. It was now to serve
as a prison. The soldiers were bound together, two
and two, and farther secured by long ropes tied
round their necks, and fastened to the pole which
supi)orted the lodge in the centre. Henry and the
other traders escaped this rigorous treatment. The
spacious lodge was soon filled with Indians, vvho
came to look at their captives, and gratify them-
selves by deriding and jeering at them. At the
head of the lodge sat the great war-chief INIinava-
vana, side by side with Henry's master, "\Wuini\A'ay.
Things had remained for some time in this position,
•when Henry observed an Indian stooping to enter
at the low aperture which served for a door, and, to
his great joy, recognized his friend and brother, Wa-
watani, whom he had last seen on the day before
the massacre. Wawatam said nothing ; but, as he
passed the trader, he shook him by the hand, in
token of encouragement, and, proceeding to the head
of the lodge, sat down v\ith ^^ enniway and the
war-chief After he had smoked with them for a
while in silence, he rose and went out again. Very
soon he came back, followed by his squaw, who
brought in her hands a valuable present, which she

312

THE MASSACRE.

[Chap. XVE

laid at the feet of the two chiefs. Wawatam then
addressed them in the following speech : —

"Friends and relations, what is it that I shall
say? You know what I feel. You all have friends,
and brothers, and children, whom as yourselves you
love; and you, — what would you experience, did
you, like me, behold your dearest friend — vour
brother — in the condition of a slave ; a slave, ex-
posed every moment to insult, and to menaces of
death ] This case, as you all kr. /, is mine. See
there, [pointing to Henry,] my friend and brother
among slaves, — himself a slave !

"You all well know that, long before the war
began, I adopted him as my brother. From that
moment, he became one of my family, so that no
change of circumstances could break the cord which
fastened us together.

" He is my brother ; and because I am your rela-
tion, he is therefore your relation too ; and how,
being your relation, can he be your slave?

" On the day on which the war began, you wcve
fearful lest, on this very account, I should reveal
your secret. You requested, therefore, that I woidd
leave the fort, and even cross the lake. I did so;
but I did it with reluctance. I did it with reluc-
tance, notwithstanding that you, Minavavana, who
had the command in this enterprise, gave me }our
promise that you would protect my friend, deliv-
ering him from all danger, and giving him safely
to me.

"The performance of this promise I now claim.
I come not with empty hands to ask it. You, Min-
avavana, best know whether or not, as it respects

Chap. XVn.]

CANNIBALISM.

313

yourself, you have kept your word; but I bring
these goods to buy off every claim which any man
among you all may have on my brother as his
prisoner." ^

To this speech the war-chief returned a favorable
answer. Wawatam's request was acceded to, the
present was accepted, and the prisoner released. Henry
soon found himself in the lodge of his friend, where
furs were spread for him to lie upon, food and drink
brought for his refreshment, and every thing done to
promote his comfort that Indian hospitality could
suggest. As he lay in the lodge, on the day after
his release, he heard a loud noise from within the
prison-house, which stood close at hand, and, looking
through a crevice in the bark, he saw the dead bodies
of seven soldiers dragged out. It appeared that a
noted chief had just arrived from his wintering ground.
Having come too late to take part in the grand
achievement of his countrvmen, he was anxious to
manifest to all present his entire approval of what
had been done, and with this design he had entered
the lodge and despatched seven of the prisoners with
his knife.

The Indians are not habitual cannibals. After a
victory, however, it often happens that the bodies of
their enemies are consumed at a formal war-fea.st —
a superstitious rite, adapted, as they think, to increase
their courage and hardihood. Such a feast took place
on the present occasion, and most of the chiefs par-
took of it, though some of them, at least, did so with
repugnance.

1 Ilonry, Travels, 102. The strict Henry was livinpf at Montreal as

nuthoiiticity of tliis very interesting late as tlie year 1801).

Ixiok has never been questioned.

40 A A

314

THE MASSACRE.

[Chap. XVII

About a week had now elapsed since the massacre,
and a revulsion of feeling began to take place aniout;
the Indians. Up to this time all had been triumph
and exultation ; but they now began to fear the con-
sequences of their conduct. Indefinite and absurd
rumors of an approacliing attack from the English
were afloat in the camp, and, in their growing un-
easiness, they thought it expedient to shift their po-
sition to some point more capable of defence. Ilnec
hundred and fifty warriors, with their families and
household effects, embarked in canoes for the Island
of Michillimackinac, seven or eight miles distant,
Wawatam, with his friend Henry, was of the num-
ber. Strong gusts of wind came from tlie north.
and when the fleet of canoes were half way to the
island, it blew a gale, the waves pitching and tossing
with such violence, that the frail and heavy-laden
vessels were much endangered. jNIany voices ^^ere
raised in prayer to the Great Spirit, and a dog was
thrown into the lake, as a sacrifice to appease the
angry manitou of the waters. The canoes weathered
the storm, and soon drew near the island. Two
squaws, in the same canoe with Henry, raised their
voices in mournful wailing and lamentation. Late
events had made him sensible to every impression of
horror, and these dismal cries seemed ominous of some
new disaster, until he learned that they were called
forth by the recollection of dead relatives, whose
graves were visible upon a neighboring point of the
shore.

The Island of Michillimackinac, or Mackhiaw, ow-
ing to its situation, its beauty, and the fish which
the surrounding waters supplied, had long been a
favorite resort of Indians. It is about three miles

ii ■■: '
■I ,

CuAP. XVII.]

ISLAND OF MACKINAW.

315

wide. So clear are the waters of Lake Huron, which
wash its shores, that one may count the pebbles at
an incredible depth. The ishmd is fenced round by
white limestone cliifs, beautifully contrasting with the
green foliage that half covers them, and in the centre
the land rises in woody heights. The rock which
forms its foundation assumes fantastic shapes — natu-
nl bridges, caverns, or sharp pinnacles, which, at this
(.ay, are j)ointed out as the curiosities of the region.
In many of the caves have been found quantities of
human bones, as if, at some period, the island had
served as a grand depository for the dead ; yet of
these remains the present race of Indians can give
no account. Legends and superstitions attached a
mysterious celebrity to the place, and here it was
said the fairies of Indian tradition might often be
seen dancing upon the white rocks, or basking in
the moonlight.^

The Indians landed at the margin of a little bay.
Unladhig their canoes, and lifting them high and dry
U[)on the beach, they began to erect their lodges, and

1 Triidition, preserved by Henry
Conner, Kssq. See also Schoolcnit't,
Al!.nr Researches, II. 159.

"Their tradition concerninjr the
imnio of this little island is curious.
Th'T s;iy tli;it Michapous, the chief
of spirits, sojourned lonij in that vi-
cinity. They believed that a nionn-
t'lin ini the border of the hike was the
j)l;ic(' of his ahode, and they called
it by Ids nsune. It was lu^re, say
tlvy, that h(; first instructed man to
fibricato nets for takinjf fish, and
wliprn he has collected the irreatest
(]uantity of these tinny inhabitants of
the waters. On the' island ho left
spirits, named Imakinakos ; and fror.i
those aerial possessors it has re-
coived the appellation of Michili-
makinac.

" When the savajjes, in those quar-
ters, make a feast of hsh, they invoke
the spirits of the island, thank thoni
for their bounty, and entreat them to
continue their protection to tiieir fam-
ilies. They demand of them to pre-
serve their nets and canoes from
the swellinj^ and destructive billows,
MJienthe lakes are afritated by storms.
All wjio assist in the ceremony
leni,'thr'ii their voices tojfether, which
is an act of <rratitude. In the obser-
vance of this duty of their reli^-ion,
they were formerly very punctual and
scr-.pulous ; but the French rallied
uiem so much upon the subject, that
they became asljamed to practise it
openly." — Ileriot, Travels in Cana-
da, 185.

316

THE MASSACRE.

[Chap. XVII,

before night had completed the work. Messeiigoiij
arrived on the next day from Pontiac, informing thcin
that he was besieging Detroit, and urging thoiu t(j
come to his aid. But their warlike ardor had avcU
nigh died out. A senseless alarm prevailed among
them, and they now thought more of securing iIkmi
own safety than of injuring the enemy. A vigilunr
watch was kept up all day, and the unusual precau-
tion taken of placing guards at night. Their fears,
however, did not prevent them from seizing two Eng-
lish trading canoes, which had come from Montreal by
way of the Ottawa. Among the booty found in tlieni
was a quantity of whiskey, and a general dcbaucli
was the immediate result. As night closed in, tlie
dolorous chanting of drunken songs was heard from
within the lodges, the prelude of a scene of riot ; and
Wawatam, knowing that his friend Henry's life -would
be in danger, privately led him out of the camp to
a cavern in the hills, towards the interior of the
island. Here the trader spent the night, in a soli-
tude made doubly dreary by a sense of his forlorn
and perilous situation. On waking in the morning,
he found that he had been lying on human bones.
which covered the floor of the cave. The place had
anciently served as a charnel-house. Here he spent
another solitary night, before his friend came to ap-
prise him that he might return with safety to the
camp.

Famine soon began to be felt among the Indians.
who were sometimes without food for days together.
No complaints were heard ; but with faces blackened,
in sign of sorrow, they patiently endured the priva-
tion with that resignation, under inevitable suilering,
\>hich distinguishes the whole Indian race. They

Chap. XVII.]

GREEN BAY.

317

were at length compelled to cross over to the north
shore of Lake Huron, where fish were more abmidant,
and here they remained until the end of summer,
when they gradually dispersed, each family repair-
ing to its winter hunting-grounds. Henry, paint-
ed and attired like an Indian, followed his friend
Wawatam, and spent a lonely winter among the
frozen forests, hunting the bear and moose for sub-
sistence.'

The posts of Green Bay and the Sault Ste. Marie
did not share the fate of jNIichillimackinac. During
the preceding winter, Ste. Marie had been partially
destroyed by an accidental fire, and was therefore
abandoned, the garrison withdrawing to Michillimack-
inac, where many of them perished in the massacre.
The fort at Green Bay first received an English gar-
rison in the year 1761, at the same time with the
other posts of this region. The force consisted of
seventeen men, commanded by Lieutenant Gorell.

Indians.
)gcthcr.
ckened,
priva-
tiering,
They

1 The following description of Min-
avavain, or the Grand Sautnur, wlio
was the leader of the Ojibwas at
the inassiicre of Michilliiiiackinac, is
drawn from Cnrver's Travels : —

" Tlu? first I accosted were Chipe-
ways, inhibiting near the Ottowaw
lakos : wiio received ine with fjfreat
cordiality, and shook nie by the hand,
in token of friendsliip. At some lit-
tle distance beiiind those stood a
chief r.'iinrkably tall and well made,
bat of HO stern an aspect, that the
most uiulannted person could not be-
hold him without feelintr some dojjree
ot' terror. He seemed to have passed
the nieridiiin of life, and by the mode
in which he was painted and tatowed,
I discovered that he was of high
rank. However, I approached him
in a courteous manner, and expected
lo have met with the same reception

I had done from the others ; but, to
my great surprise, he withhold his
hand, and looking fiercely at me, said,
in the Chipeway tongue, ' Cawin
nishlshin sagatmsh,'' that is, ' The
English are no good.' As he had
his tomahawk in his hand, I expected
that this laconick sentence would
have been followed by a blow ; to
prevent which I drew a pistol from
my belt, and, holding it in a careless
position, passed close by him, to let
him see I was not afraid of him.
.... Since I came to England, I
have been informed, that the Grand
Siuitor, having rendered himself more
and more disgustful to the English
by his inveterate enmity towards
them, was at length stabbed in his
tent, as he encamped near Michilli-
mackinac, by a trader." — Carver, 9i).

AA*

318

THE MASSACRE.

[Chap. XVII

;.'

Though so few in number, their duties were of a
very important character. In the neighborhood of
Green Bay were numerous and powerful Indian
tribes. The ]\[(niomonies lived at the mouth of l-Ox
River, close to tlie fort, 'i'he Winnebagoes had scjvcial
villages on the lake which bears their name, and the
Sacs and Foxes were established on the River AVis-
consin, in a large village composed of houses ncatlv
built of logs and bark, and surrounded by fields of
corn and vegetables.' A\'ev;t of the Mississip[)i was
the powerful nation of the Dalicotah, whose strength
was loosely estimated at thirty thousand fighting men,
and who, in the excess of their haughtiness, st}hd
the surrounding tribes tUeir dogs and slaves.^ The
conmiandant of (ireen Bay was the representative of
the British government, in communication with all
these tribes. It devolved u[)()n him to secure their
friendship, and keep them at peace ; and he was also
intrusted, in a great measure, with the power of reg-
ulating the fur-trade among them. In the cours(> of
each season, partic>s of Indians, from every (piuiter,
would come to the fort, each expecting to be received
with speeches and presents.

Gorell seems to have ac(piitted himself with great
judgment and prudence. On first arriving at the
fort, he had found its defences decayed and ruinous,
the Canadian inhabitants unfriendlv, and manv of
the Indians disposed to hostility. His good conduet
contributed to allay their irritation, and he was par-
ticularly successful in conciliating his immediate neigh-
bors, the Menomonics. They had taken an active

' Carver, Travels, 47. library of the Maryland Historical

2 Gorell, .lonrnal, MS. The origi- Society, to whom it was preseiit(!(l by
nal manuscript is preserved in tlie Robert Gilmor, Esq.

Chap. XVII.] LETTKll FROM ETIIEIIINGTON.

319

part in the late war botwoon France and England,
and tlieir spirits were humbled by the losses they
had sustained, as well as by recent ravages of the
sninll-pox. Gorell summoned them to a council, and
(lpliv(M-ed a speech, in which he avoided wounding
tlu'ir pride, but at the same time assumed a tone of
firmness and dc^cision, such as can alone command
au Indian's respect. He told them that the King
of England had heard of their ill conduct, but that
\\v was ready to f(n"get all that had passed. If, how-
ovrr, they should again give him cause of complaint,
he would send an armv, numerous as the trees of
the forest, and utterly destroy them. Flattering ex-
pressions of confidence and esteem succeeded, and the
whole was enforced by the distribution of a few pres-
ents. The Menomonics replied by assurances of
friendship, more sincerely made and faithfully kept
tlian could have been expected. As Indians of the
other tribes came from time to time to the fort, they
met with a similar recejition, and, in his whole in-
tercourse with them, the constant aim of the com-
mandant was to gain their good will. The result
was most happy for himself and his garrison.

On the fifteenth of June, 1763, an Ottawa Indian
brouglit to Gorell the following letter from Captain
Etherington : —

" Michillimackinac, June 11, 1763.

"Dear Sir:

"This place was taken by surprise, on the fourth
instant, by the Chippeways, [Ojibw^as,] at which time
Lieutenant Jamet and twenty [fifteen] more were
Ivilled, and all the rest taken prisoners ; but Our good
friends, the Ottawas, have taken Lieutenant Lesley, me,

320

THE MASSACRE.

[Chap. XVIL

and cloven men, out of their hands, and have promisod
to reinstate us again. You'll therefore, on the rvm\)[
of this, which I send by a canoe of Ottawas, set out
with all your garrison, and what English trador.s you
have with you, and come with the Indian who gives
you this, who will conduct you safe to me. You
mui.t be sure to follow the instruction you receive
from the bearer of this, as you are by no means to
come to this post before you see me at the villag(\

twenty miles from this I must once more bog

you'll lose no time in coming to join me; at the
same time, be very careful, and always be on your
^uard. I long much to see you, and am, dear sir,

"Your most humble serv't.

"Geo. Etherington.

" J. GORF.LL,

" Royal Americans."

On receiving this letter, Gorell summoned the Me-
nomonies to a council, told them what the Ojibwas
had done, and said that he and his soldicr.s wcne
going to Michillimackinac to restore order, adding,

that during his absence he commended the fort to
their care. Great numbers of the Winnebagoes and
of the Sacs and Foxes afterwards arrived, and Gorell
addressed them in nearly the same words. Presents
were" given them, and it soon appeared that the
greater part were well disposed towards the Eng-
lish, though a few were inclined to prevent their de-
parture, and even to threaten hostility. iVt this
juncture, a fortunate incident occurred. A Dahcotah
chief arrived with a message from his people to
the following import: They had heard, he said, of
the bad conduct of the Ojibwas. They hoped that

Chap. XVII.J

GREEN BAY ABANDONED.

321

the tribes of Green Bay would not follow their exam-
ple, but, on the contrary, would protect the English
garrison. Unless they did so, the Dahcotuh would
fall upon them, and take ample revenge. This au-
spicious iuterference must, no doubt, be ascribed to
the liJitred with which the Dahcotah had long re-
garded the Ojibwas. That the latter should espouse
one side of the cpuirrel, was abundant reason to the
Dahcotah for adopting the other.

Some of the Green Bay Indians were also at en-
mity with the Ojibwas, and all opposition to the
depuiture of the English was now at an end. In-
deed, some of the more friendly offered to escort the
garrison on its way ; and on the twenty-first of June,
(jorells party embarked m several bateaux, accompa-
nied by ninety warriors in canoes. Approaching Isle
du Castor, near the mouth of Green Bay, an alarm
Avas given that the Ojibwas were lying there in am-
bush ; on which the Menomonies raised the war-song,
stri[)ped themselves, and prepared to do battle in be-
half of the English. The alarm, however, proved
false ; and, having crossed Lake Michigan in safety,
the party arrived at the village of L'Arbre Croche
on the thirtieth. The Ottawas came down to the
beach to salute them with a discharge of guns, and,
on landing, they were presented with the pipe of
peace. Captain Etherington and Lieutenant Leslie,
with eleven men, were in the village, detained as
prisoners, though treated with kindness. It was
thought that the Ottawas intended to disarm the
party of Gorell also ; but the latter gave out that he
would resist such an attempt, and his soldiers were
permitted to retain their weapons.

Several succeeding days were occupied by the
41

322

THE MASSACRE.

[Chap. XVII

:,-:i

i''

lii'

Y'lr ■'

Indians in holding councils. Those from Green Bav
requested the Ottawas to set their prisoners ut lib.
erty, and the latter, at length, assented. A difiicuUy
still remained, as the Ojibwas had deehued that tliev
would prevent the English from passing down tu
Montreal. Their chiefs were therefore sumnioiud;
and being at this time, as we have seen, in a stati;
of much alarm, they at length reluctantly yielded the
point. On the eighteenth of July, the English, es-
corted by a fleet of Indian canoes, left L'Arbre Crochc,
and reaching, without interruption, the portage of
the River Ottawa, descended to Montreal, where they
all arrived in safety, on the thirteenth day of Au-
gust.* Except the garrison of Detroit, not a British
soldier now remained in the region of the lakes.

1 Gorell, Journal, MS.

NoTK. — CiiAHLES Lanolade, who is praised by Etherinfrtim, tln)ii;.'!i
spoken of in tMiuivocal terms by Henry, was the son of a Froiichman ut'
good family and an Ottawa squaw. He was born at Mackinaw in 1 72 1, and
served with great reputation as a partisan oflieer in the old French war.
He and his father, Augustin Langlade, were the first permaniMit sittlors
within the ])resent State of Wisconsin. He is said to have saved Ktheriiiirton
and Leslie from the torture. See the Recollections of Augustin Grignon, his
grandson, iu Collections of the Hist. Soc. of Wisconsin, HI. 1*J7.

'lur. XVII

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-.Ik

CHAPTER, XVIII.

FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS.

We have followed the war to its farthest confines,
and watched it in its remotest operations ; not be-
cause there is any thing especially worthy to be
chronicled in the cajiture of a backAvoods fort, and
the slaughter of a few soldiers, but because these
acts exhibit some of the characteristic traits of the
actors. It was along the line of the British fron-
tier that the war raged with its most destructive vio-
lence. To destroy the garrisons, and then turn upon
the settlements, had been the original plan of the
Indians; and while Pontiac was pushing the siege
of Detroit, and the smaller interior posts Avere treach-
erously assailed, the tempest was gathering which
was soon to burst along the whole frontier.

In 1763, the Br ish settlements did not extend
beyond the Allegiianies. In the province of New
York, they reached no farther than the German
Flats, on the Mohawk. In Pennsylvania, the town
of Bedford might be regarded as the extreme verge
of the frontier, while the settlements of Virginia
extended to a corresponding distance. Through the
adjacent wilderness ran various lines of military
posts, to make good the communication from point
to point. One of the most important among these
passed through the countr)^ of the Six Nations, and

f324: FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [Chap. XVin.

guarded the route between the northern colonies
and Lake Ontario. This communication was formed
by the Hudson, the Mohawk, Wood Creek, the
Oneida Lake, and the River Oswego. It was de-
fended by Forts Stanwix, Brewcrton, Oswego, and
two or three smaller posts. Near the western ex-
tremity of Lake Ontario stood Fort Niagara, at the
mouth of the river whence it derived its name. It
was a strong and extensive work, guarding the
access to the whole interior country, both by way
of the Oswego communication just mentioned, and
by that of Canada and the St. Lawrence. From
Fort Niagara the route lay by a ])ortage past the
great tails to Presqu'Isle, on Lake Erie, where the
town of Erie now stands. Thence the traveller
could pass, by a short overland passage, to Fort Le
Bocuf, on a branch of the Alleghany ; thence, by
water, to Venango; and thence, down the Alleghany,
to Fort Pitt. This last-mentioned post stood on the
present site of Pittsburg — the point of land formed
by the confluence of the Alleghany and the Monon-
gahela. Its position was as captivating to the eye
of an artist as it was commanding in a military
point of view. On the left, the Monongahela de-
scended through a woody valley of singular bi>auty ;
on the right, flawed the Alleghany, ■»'.ieath steep
and lofty banks ; and both united, in front, to form
the broad Ohio, which, flanked by picturesque hills
and declivities, began at this point its interminable
progress towards the Mississippi. Tlije place already
had its historic associations, though, as yet, their
roughness was unmellowed by the lapse of time. It
was here that the French had erected Fort du
Quesne. Within a few miles, Braddock encountered

Chap. XVHL]

FORT PITT.

325

his disastrous overthrow; and on the hill behind
the fort, Grant's Highlanders and Lewis' Virginians
had been surrounded and captured, though not with-
out a stout resistance on the part of the latter.

Fort Pitt was built by General Stanwix, in the
year 1759, upon the ruins of Fort du Quesne, de-
stroyed by General Forbes. It was a strong fortifi-
cation, with ramparts of earth, faced with brick on
the side looking down the Ohio. Its walls have
long since been levelled to the ground, and over
their ruins have risen warehouses, and forges with
countless furnace chimneys, rolling up their black
volumes of smoke. "Where once the bark canoe
was tied to the bank, a throng of steamers now
lie moored along the crowded levee.

Fort Pitt stood far aloof in the forest, and one
might journey eastward full two hundred miles,
before the English settlements began to thicken.
Behind it lay a broken and woody tract ; then
succeeded the great barrier of the Alleghanies, trav-
ersing the country in successive ridges ; and beyond
these lay vast woods, extending to the Sustiuehanna.
Eastward of this river, cabins of settlers became
more numerous, until, in the neighborhood of Lan-
caster, the country assumed an appearance of pros-
perity and cultivation. Two roads led from Fort
Pitt to the settlements, one of which was cut by
General Braddock in his disastrous march across the
mountains, from Cumberland, in the year 1755.
The otlu^r, which was the more frequented, passed
by Carlisle and Bedford, and was made by General
Forbes, in 1758. Leaving the fort by this latter
route, the traveller would find himself, after a jour-
ney of fifty-six miles, at the little post of Ligonier,

^'^^A

* HI

■''! J 1 1

32G

rilONTIEll FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [Chap. XVni.

i 1

I,!

Iff
i

^vllcnce he would soon reach Fort Bedford, about
a hundred miles from Fort Pitt. It was nestled
among mountains, and surrounded by clearings and
log cabins. Passing several small posts and settle-
ments, he would arrive at Carlisle, nearly a hun-
dred miles farther cast, a place rcs(^mbling jjcd-
ford in its general aspect, although of greater ox-
tent. Numerous houses of settlers were scattered
here and there among the valleys on each side (jf
the road from Fort Pitt, so that the number of fam-
ilies beyond the Susquehanna amounted to several
hundreds, thinly distributed over a great space.
From Carlisle to Harris' Ferry, now Harrisburg, on
the Susquehanna, was but a short distance; and
from thence, the road led directly into the heart of
the settlements. The frontiers of Virginia bore u
general resemblance to those of Pennsylvania. It is
not necessary at present to indicate minutely the
position of their scattered settlements, and the small
posts intended to protect them.^ Along these bor-
ders all had remained quiet, and nothing occurred to
excite alarm or uneasiness, until the twenty-seventh
of May, when, at about dusk in the evening, a
party of Indians was seen from Fort Pitt, descend-
ing the banks of the Alleghany, with laden pack-
horses. They built fires, and encamped on the
shore till daybreak, when they all crossed over to
the fort, bringing with them a great quantity of
valuable furs. These they sold to the traders, de-
manding, in exchange, bullets, hatchets, and gun-

1 The authorities for the foregfoing cellent antiquarian work, publishod

topographical sketch are drawn from at Pittsburg; together with various

the Pennsylvania Historical Collec- maps, plans, and contemporary pa-

tions, and the Olden Time, an ex- pers.

ChaI'. XVIII.]

ALARMS AT FORT PITT.

327

powder; but their conduct was so peculiar as to
excite the just suspicion that they came either as
spies or witli some other insidious design,' Hardly
were they gone when tidings came in that Colonel
Clapham, with several persons, both men and women,
had been murdered and scalped near the fort; and it
was soon after discovered that the inhabitants of an
Indian town, a few miles up the Alleghany, had
totally abandoned their cabins, as if bent on some
plan of mischief On the next day, two soldiers
were shot within a mile of the fort. An express
was hastily sent to Venango, to warn the little gar-
rison of danger; but he returned almost immediately,
having been twice fired at, and severely wounded.-
A trader named Calhoun now came in from the
Indian village of Tuscaroras, with intelligence of a
yet more startling kind. At eleven o'clock on the
night of the twenty-seventh, a chief named Shingas,
with several of the principal warriors in the place,
had come to Calhoun's cabin, and earnestly begged

1 Gordon, Hist. Pa. (592.

• MS. Letter — Bouquet to Am-
herst, June 5.

Extract from a letter — Fort Pitt,
May :{1, (Penn. Gaz. No. 1798.)

" We have most melancholy Ac-
counts here — The Indians have
broke out in several Places, and
inurdorod Colonel Clapham and his
Fiunily ; also two of our Soldiers at
the Saw-inill, near the Fort, and two
Scalps are t;iken from eacli man.
.\n Indian has hrou^ht a War-Belt
to Tuscarora, and says Detroit is in-
vested : and that St. Dusky is cut
off. and lOnsifrn Pawley made Pris-
oner—Levy's Goods are stopt at
Tuscarora by the Indians — Last
Ni|rht eleven Men were attacked at
Beaver Creek, eipht or nine of whom,
•t is said, were killed — And Twenty-

five of Macrae's and Alison's Horses,
loaded with Skins, are all taken."

Extract from a MS. Letter —
Captain Ecuyer to Colonel Boucjuet.
" Fort Pitt, 20th May, 17()3.

" Just as I had finished my Letter,
Throe men came in from Clapham's,
with the Melancholy News, that
Yesterday, at three O'clock in the
Afternoon, the Indians Murdered
Clapliam, and Every Body in liis
House : These three men wore out
at Work, & Escaped throunrh the
Woods. I Immediately Armed them,
and sent th''m to Assist our People
at Bushy R\.n. The Indians have
told Bycrly (at Bushy Run) to Leave
his Place in Four Days, or he and
his Family would all bo murd(^red:
I am Uneasy for the little Posts —
As for this, I will answer for it."

^^1

328

FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [Chap. XVIII

5jy-:';

him to depart, declaring that they did not wisli to
see him killed before their eyes. The Ottawas and
PjibAvas, they said, had taken up the hatchet, and
captured Detroit, Sandusky, and all the forts of the
interior. The Delawares and Shawanoes of the Ohio
were following their example, and were murdciinf,'
all the traders among them. Calhoun and the
thirteen men in his employ lost no time in taking
their departure. The Indians forced them to leave
their guns behind, promising that they would give
them three warriors to guide them in safety to Fort
Pitt; but the whole proved a piece of characteristic
dissimulation and treacheiy. The three guides led
them into an ambuscade at the mouth of Beaver
Creek. A volley of balls showered upon them ;
eleven were killed on the spot, and Calhoun and
two others alone made their escape.^

The intelligence concerning the fate of the traders
in the Indian villages proved but too true. They
were slaughtered every where, without mercy, and
often under circumstances of the foulest barbarity.
A boy named M'Cullough, captured during the
French war, and at this time a prisoner among the
Indians, relates, in his published narrative, that he.
with a party of Indian children, went out, one even-
ing, to gaze with awe and wonder at the body of
a trader, which lay by the side of the path, mangled
with tomahawks, and stuck full of arrows." It was

1 Copy of intellipenco brought to
Fort Pitt by Mr. Calboun, MS.

2 M'Cullouirh jjivos the following
account of the murder of another of
the traders, named Green : —

" About sunrise, Mussoufrhwhese
(an Indian, my adopted brother's
nephew, known by the name of Ben

Dickson, among the white people^
came to our house ; he had a pistol
and a large seal ping-knife, conct'idcd
under his blanket, belted round his
body. He informed Kettoohhaknd,
(for that was my adopted t)rotlior's
name,) that he came to kill Tom
Green; but Ketioohhalend endeav

CiAP. XVIII.l

SLAUGHTER OF TRADERS.

;329

stated in the journals of the day, that more than a
hundred traders fell victims, and that the property
taken from them, or seized at the capture of the
interior posts, amounted to an incredihle sum.'

Tlie Moravian Loskiel relates that in tlie villages
of the Ilurons or Wyandots, meaning prohably those
of Sandusky, the traders were so numerous that the
Indians were afraid to attack them openly, and had
recourse to the following stratagem: They told their
unsus})ecting victims that tl'.; surrounding tribes had
risen in arms, and were soon coming that way, bent
on killing every Englishman they could find. The
"Wyandots averred that they would gladly protect
then' friends the white men ; but that it would be
impossible to do so, unless the latter would consent,
for the sake of appearances, to become their prisoners.

ourod to persuade him off it. They
wiilkcd out tofjether, and Green fol-
lowed tlioiu, ondeavourinir, as I sup-
pose, to discover the cause of the
ttliirni the nijiflit before ; in a sliort
time tlipy returned to the house, and
iiiiiiio(Hiitoly went out again. Green
asked me to brinj; him his horse, as
we heard the bell a short distance
otf; ho tlicn went after the Indians
airain, and I went for the horse. As
I was returning, I observed them
coiiiin(.r out of a house about two
hundred yards from ours ; Kettooh-
hnlend was foremost. Green in the
middle ; I took but slight notice of
them, until I heard the report of a
pistol ; I cast my eyes towards them,
and observed the smoke, and saw
Green standing on the side of the
path, with his hands across his
breast ; I thought it had been him
that shot; he stood a few minutes,
then fell on his face across the pat!..
I instiuitly got off the horse, and
hold him by the bridle, — Kettoohha-
knd suidv his pipe tomahawk into his
skull ; Mitssouffhtvhese stabbed him
'Jnder the armpit with his scalping-

knife ; ho had shot hun between the
shoulders with his pistol. The
squaws gathered about iiim and
stripped him naked, trailed him
down the bank, and plunged him
into the creek ; there was a freshet in
the creek at the time, which carried
him off. Mussoughwhese tiien came
to me, (where I was holding the
horse, as I had not moved from the
spot nliero I was when Green was
shot,) with the bloody knife in his
hand ; he told me that he was coming
to kill me next ; he reached out his
hand and took hold of the bridle,
telling me that that was his horse ; I
was glad to parley with him on the
terms, and delivered the horse to
him. All the Indians in the town
immediately collected together, and
started off to the Salt I^icks, where
the rest of the traders wore, and
murdered the whole of them, and
divided their goods amongst them,
and likewise their horses."

1 Gent. Mag. XXXIII. 418. The
loss is here stated at the greatly ex-
aggerated amount of £ 500,000.

BB*

330

FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [Ciup. XVIII.

In this case, they said, the hostile Indians would
refrain from injuring them, and tlicy shoukl be set
at liberty as soon as the danger was past. Tlic
traders fell into the snare. They gave up thoir
arms, and, the better to carry out the deception,
even consented to be bound ; but no sooner was
this accomplished, than their treacherous counsellors
murdered them all in cold blood.*

A curious incident, relating to this period, is given
by the missionary Hcckewelder. Strange as the
story may appear, it is in strict accordance with In-
dian chiu-acter and usage, and perhaps need not be
rejected as wholly void of truth. The name of the
person to whom it relates several times occurs in
the manuscrii)t journals and correspondence of offi-
cers in the Indian country. A trader named Chap-
man was made prisoner by the Indians near Detroit.
For some time, he was protected by the humane in-
terference of a Frenchman ; but at length his cap-
tors resolved to burn him alive. lie was tiixl to
the stake, and the fire was kindled. As the heat
grew intok^rable, one of the Indians handed to him
a bowl filled with broth. The wretched man, scorch-
ing with fiery thirst, eagerly snatched the vessel,
and applied it to his lips ; but the licpiid was pur-
posely made scalding hot. With a sudden burst of
rage, he flung back the bowl and its contents into
the face of the Indian. "He is mad! he is mad!"
shouted the crowd ; and though, the moment before,
they had been keenly anticipating the delight of
seeing him burn, they hastily put out the fire, re-
leased him from the stake, and set him at liberty.''

1 Loskiel, 99.

3 Heckewelder, Hist Ind. Nat. 250.

Chap. XVIIl.] lORT LIGONIEll— FORT niCDFOIlD.

331

Such is the superstitious respect which the Indiaus
cutertaiu for every form of iusauity.

A\'hile the ahirniing iucidcnts just mcutioued were
occurrhig at Fort Pitt, the garrison of l'\)rt Ligoiiier
RHcivcd yet more uuetpiivocal tokens of hostility ; for
one morning a voUey of bullets was sent among
them, with no other effect, however, than killing a
few horses. In the vicinity of Fort JJedford, several
iiu'U were killed ; on which the inhabitants W(n'e mus-
tt'iul and organized, and the garrison k(^))t constantly
on the alert. A few of the best woodsmen were
tbrnied into a company, dressed and painted like Tn-
(liiuis. A party of the enemy suddenly ai)peared,
whooping and brandishing their tomahawks, at the
skirts of the forest ; on which these counterfeit sav-
ages dashed upon them at full gallop, routing them in
an instant, and driving them far though the woods.'

At Fort Pitt every preparation was made for an
attack. The houses and cabins outside the rampart
were levelled to the ground, and every morning, at
an hour before dawn, the drum beat, and the troops
were ordered to their alarm posts.~ The garrison,
coninianded by Captain Ecuyer, consisted of three
liuudred and thirty soldiers, traders, and backwoods-

'li

7f ,

1 Ponnsylvnnia Gazotto, No. 17)10.
I slmll frc(iuent.ly rotor to tlio columns
nf this journul, which arc filled with
I'ltcrn, Mild extracts from letters, Avrit-
ton ;it different parts of the frontier,
mi\ containintj very minute and au-
thentic details of the events wliich
diiily occurred.

- Extract from a Letter — Fort
Pitt, June 10, 17(>3, (Penn. Gaz. No.

" We have Alarms from, and
Skirmisiics with, the Indians every
fiiiy; but they have done us little
Harm as yet Yesterday I was out

with a Party of Men, when wo were
fired upon, and one of the Serjeants
was killed; hut we heat oft" the In-
dians, and hroujiht th(! Man in with
his Scalp on. Last Nij^ht the Bul-
lock Guard was fired upon, when one
Cow was killed. We are obliired to
he on Duty Niirht and Day. Tiie
Indians have cut otf ahove 100 of
our Traders in the Woods, hesides
all our little Posts. We have Plenty
of Provisions ; and the Fort is in
such a jyood Posture of Defence, that,
with God's Assistance, we can defend
it against 1000 Indians."

MSSBSS

i- I J

I 1 :

^1 '

4 I

i J!>+ a-* 'I

332

FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [Ciiai'. XVIII

men, and thoro wore also in the fort about ono Imn.
drcd women, and a still greater number of eliildnn.
most of tbem belonging to the famili(>s of sctihis
who were preparing to build their cabins in tlic
neighborhood.^

The sudden and desultory outrages with whidi tlif
war began, and which only served to put the gnvrison
on tlieir guard, prove that among the neighboriiifr
Indians there was no chief of sufficient power to
curb their wayward temper, and force them to cod.
form to any preconcerted plan. The authors of the
mischief were unruly young warriors, fevered with
eagerness to win the first scalp, and setting at
defiance the authority of their elders. 1'hese petty
annoyances, far from abating, continued for many
successive days, and kept the garrison in a state of
restless alarm. It was highly dangerous to venture
outside the walls, and a few who attempted it were
shot and scalped by lurking Indians. " They have
the impudence," writes an officer, " to fire all ni<;lit
at our sentinels ; " nor were these attacks confin(Ml to
the night, for even during the day no man williiii^^ly
exposed his head above the rampart. The surrouiul-
ing woods were known to be full of prowling Indiiins,
whose number seemed daily increasing, though as
yet they had made no attempt at a general attack.
At length, on the afternoon of the twenty-second of
June, a party of them appeared at the fartliest ex-
tremity of the cleared lands behind the fort, diiving
off the horses which were grazing there, and killing
the cattle. No sooner was this accomplished than
a general fire was opened upon the fort from every

1 MS. Letter — Ecuyer to Bouquet, June 5.

CiAi'. XVIII.]

IXDLV^J ADVICE.

333

side at once, thougli ;it so great a distance tliat only
two men were killed. The garrison replied by a dis-
charge of howitzers, the shells of which, bursting in
the midst of the Indians, greatly amazed and dis-
concerted them. As it grew dark, tlieir fire slackened,
though, throughout tlie night, the Hash of guns was
seen at fre(|uent intervals, followed by the whooping
of the invisible assailants.

At nine o'clock on the following morning, several
Indians approached the fort with the utmost confi-
dence, and took tlieir stand close to the outside of
the ditcli, where one of them, a Delaware, named
the Turtle's Heart, addressed the garrison as fol-
lows : —

" My brothers, we that stand here are your friends ;
but we have bad news to tell you. Six great nations
of Indians have taken up the hatchet, and cut off all
the English garrisons, excepting yours. They are
now on their way to destroy you also.

"My brothers, we are your friends, and we wish
to save your lives. What we desire you to do is
this : You must leave this fort, with all your women
and children, and go down to the English settle-
ments, where you will be safe. There are many bad
Indians already here ; but we will protect you from
them. You must go at once, because if you w^ait
till the six great nations arrive here, you will all be
killed, and we can do nothing to protect you."

To this proposal, by which the Indians hoped to
gain a safe and easy possession of the fort, ('aptain
Ecuyer made the following reply. The vein of hu-
mor perceptible in it may serve to mdicate that he
was under no great apprehension for the safety of
his garrison.

334 FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [Chap. XVIII.

ill* t

(•i!

" My brothers, we are very grateful for your kind-
ness, though we are convmced that you must be
mistaken in what you have told us about the forts
being captured. As for ourselves, we have plenty of
provisions, and are able to keep the fort against all
the nations of Indians that may da -e ^o attack it.
We are very well off in this place, and we mean to
stay liere.

" My brothers, as you have shown yourselves such
true friends, we feel bound in gratitude to inform
you that an army of six thousand English will short-
ly arrive here, and that another army of three thou-
sand is gone up the lakes, to punish the Ottawas
and O jib was. A third has gone to the frontiers of
Virginia, where they will be joined by your enemies,
the Cherokees and C'atawbas, who are coming here
to destroy you. Therefore take pity on your women
and children, and get out of the way as soon as
possible. We have told you this in confidence, out
of our great solicitude lest any of you should be hurt ;
and we hope that you will not tell the other In-
dians, lest they should escape from our vengeance."^

This politic invention of the three armies had an
excellent etfect, and so startled the Indians, that, on
the next day, most of them withdrew from the neigh-
borhood, and went to meet a great body of warriors,
who were advancing from the westward to attack
the fort. On the afternoon of the twenty-sixth, a
soldier named Ciray, belonging to the garrison of
PresquTsle, came in with the report that, more than
a week before, that little post had been furiously
attacked by upwards of two hundred Indians from

1 MS. Report of Alexander M'Kee, deputy agent for Indian affairs at
Fort Pitt.

'I*

Ciup. XVIII.l

DISASTROUS TIDINGS.

335

Detroit, that they had assailed it for tliree days, re-
peatedly settmg it on iire, and had at length under-
mined it so completely, that the garrison was forced to
capitulate, on condition of being allowed to retire in
safety to Fort Pitt. Fo sooner, however, had they left
their shelter, than the Indians fell upon them, and,
as Gray declared, butchered them all, except himself
and one other man, who darted into the woods, and
escaped amid the confusion, hearing behind them, as
tliev tied, the screams of their murdered comrades.
This account proved erroneous, as the garrison were
carried by their captors in safety to Detroit. Some
time after this event. Captain Dalzell's detachment,
on their way to Detroit, stopped at the i)lace, and
found, close to the ruined fort, the hair of several of
tlie men, which had been shorn off, as a preliminary
step in the process of painting and bedecking them
like Indian warriors. From this it a[)pears that some
of the unfortunate soldiers were adopted on the si)ot
into the tribes of their conquerors. In a previous
(haptcr, a detailed account has been given of the
defence of Presqu Isle, and its final capture.

Gray informed Captain Ecuyer i'at, a few days
before the attack on the garrison, they had seen a
schooner on the lake, approaching from the west-
ward. She had sent a boat on shore with the tidings
that Detroit had been beleaguered, for more than six
weeks, by many hundred Indians, and that a detach-
ment of ninetv-six men had be(>n attacked near that
l)lace, of whom only about thirty had escaped, the
rest being either killed on the spot or put to death
hy slow torture. The panic-stricken soldier, in his
tiight from Presqu'Isle, had passed the spots where
lately had stood the little forts of Le Ba'uf and

: i

! 'Jar

336

FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. LChap. XVUI.

1 *

if 31

Venango. Both were burnt level with the ground,
and he surmised that the whole of their wretched
garrisons had fallen victims.^ The disaster proved
less fatal than his fears led him to suspect; for, on
the same day on which he arrived, Ensign Price, the
officer commanding at Le Bocuf, was seen apjiroach-
ing along the bank of the Alleghany, followed hv
seven haggard and half-famished soldiers.^ On the
evening of the eighteenth, a great multitude of ^n-
dians had surrounded his post, the available dot aces
of wliich, at that time, consisted of only one bloek-
housc. Showering bullets and fire-arrows against it.
they soon set it in flames ; and at midnight, in spite
of every effort, the whole upper part of the buildhig
was in a light blaze. The assailants now gatlierni
in a half circle before the entrance, eagerly exj er
ing the moment when the inmates, stifled amid Hanie
and smoke, should rush out upon certain death.

1 MS. Letter — Ecuyer to Bou-
quet, .Tunc 2(i.

~ FiXtntct from a Letter — Fort
Pitt, Juno 2(i, (Penn. Gaz. No. 1802.)

"Tliis Morninf>", I'jn.sijrn Price, of
the Royal Aniericnns, with Part of
his Garrison, arrived Jiere, beinjj scj)-
arated from the rest in the nijrht. —
The Enemy attacked liis Post, and
set it on Fire, and while they watched
the Door of the House, he jrot out
on the other side, and the Indians
continued firin<r a lonj? Time after-
wards, imiifrininjr that the Garrison
was in it, and tiiat they were con-
sumed with the House. — He touched
at Venan<«'o, found the Fort burnt to
the Ground, and snw one of our Ex-
presses lyinfj killed on the Road.

" Four o'clock in the Afternoon.
Just now came in one of thi" Soldiers
from Presque Isle, who says, Mr.
Christie foui>-ht two Days ; that the
Enemy Fifty tiiries set Fire to the
Blockhouse, but that they as often

put it out: That they thj*n unrlf^r-
mined tlie House, and was ready
to blow it up. when they offt^red Mr.
Christie Term.-, who accepted tliPin.
viz., That he. and his (jarrisoii. "n-
to he conducted to this Place. — Thr
Soldier also says, he suspect<-'u they
intended to put thpw. all tn Drath:
and that on heannira Woman scn'iiiii
out, he supposed tJiey were inunl* riuji
her; upon which he and another Sti-
dier came immediately off, but know*
nothinr i' -est • That the Vtwei

from IS.-. 'as m Siffht, but Ih'-

lieves sliv. .ul no Pro .sions, ;t< the
Indians tnld rheni they had oat off
Little Niufrara, and destroyed 800
Barrels ■, And that he thml^-. hy
what lie saw, Venanjro had cii|ntii-
lated."

Th'^ soldier here spoken of wa-
no doubt Gray, who was mentioned
above, thouffh his story is soinewhat
differently ffiven in the letter of Cap-
tain Ecuyer, just cited.

Chap. XVIII]

DESTRUCTION OF VENANGO.

337

But Price and his followers, with the energy of des-
peration, liewed >ai opening through the massive tim-
bers which formed the back wall of the blockhouse,
and escaped unperceived into the dark woods behind.
For some time, they continued to hear the reports
of the Indian guns, as these painted demons were
vtill leaping and yelling in front of the blazing
building, firing into the loopholes, and exulting in
the thought that their enemies were suffering the
agonies of death within. The fugitives pressed on-
ward through the whole of the next day, until, at
one o'clock of the succeeding night, tliey came to
the spot where Port Venango had stood. Xothing
lemained of it but piles of glowing embers, among
which lay the half-consumed bodies of its hapless
garrison. They continued theu* journey; but six of
the party soon gave out, and were left behind in
the woods, while the remamder were half dead with
fear, hunger, and exhaustion, before their eyes were
gladdened by the friendly walls of Fort Pitt.'

Not a man remained alive to tell the fate of Ve-
nango; and it was not until some time after that an
Indian, who was present at its destruction, described
tlie scene to Sir William Johnson. A large body of
Scnecas gained entrance under pretence of friendship,
then closed the gates, fell upon the garrison, and
butchered them all except the commanding officer,
Lieutenant Gordon, whom they tortured over a slow
tire for several successive nights, till he expired.
Tliis done, they burnt the place to the ground, and
departed.^

: H

• '5!

' MS. Letter — Price to Bouquet, j-ears since, some traces of Fort Ve-

Jimo '27. nango were yet visible. The follow-

■^ MS. Jolinson Papers. Not many ing dedcription of them is froin the

43 cc

338 FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [Chap. XVIII

"While Le Bocuf and Venango were thus assailed,
Fort Ligonier was also attacked by a large body of
Indians, who fired upon it with great fury and per-
tinacity, but were beaten off after a hard day's
fighting. Fort Augusta, on the Susquehanna, was
at the same time menaced ; but the j^arrison ])oinff
strengthened by a timely reenforcemcnt, the Indians
abandoned their purpose. Carlisle, Bedford, and the
small intermediate posts, all experienced some eftects
of savage hostility,^ while among the settlers, Avhose
houses were scattered throughout the adjacent val-
leys, outrages were perpetrated, and sufterings en-
dured, which defy all attempt at description.

At Fort Pitt, every preparation was made to repel
the attack which was hourly expected. A part of
the rampart, undermined by the spring floods, had
fallen into the ditch ; but, by dint of great labor, this
injury was repaired. A line of palisades was erected
along the ramparts, the barracks were made shot-

,'i

Historical Collections of Pennsylva-
nia: —

" Its ruins plainly indicate its de-
struction by fire. Burnt stone, melted
glass and iron, leave no doubt of
this. All through the groundworks
are to be found great quant'ties of
mouldering bones. Amongst the
ruins, knives, gun-barrols, locks, and
HiUsket-balls have been frequently
found, and still continue to be found.
About the centre of the area are seen
the ruins of the magazine, in which,
with what truth I cannot vouch, is
said to be a woll, The same tradi-
tion also a'l';s, 'And in tliat well
there is a L.umon;' but no oxaniina-
tion has been made for it."

' Extract from a Letter — Fort
Bedford, June 30, 17G3, (Penn. Gaz.
No. 1802.)

"This Morning a Party of the
Enemy attacked fifteen Persons, who

were mowing in Mr. Croghan's
Field, within a Mile of tlie Garrison :
and News is brought in of two Men
being killed. — Eight o'clock. Two
Men are brought in, alive, tnnia-
iiawked and scalped more tiiiin Half
the Head over — Our Piinule Jii.<t
now presents a Scene of bloo('y ami
savage Cruelty; three Men, tivo of
which are in the Bloom of Life, tlif
oth'.?r an old man, lying sc!ilj)Ct! (two
of them still alive) thereon: .*ny
thing i'ligucd in tlie most fabukms
Romance, cannot parallel tlio horri'1
Sight now before me; the (lashes
the j)oor People bear are most tnrri-
fying. — Ten o'clock. Tin ■> are ju?f
expired — One of them, after bpin?
tomahawked and scalped, ran a little
way, and got on a Loft in Mr. Cro-
ghan's House, where he lay till found
by a Party of the Garrison."

ij »

Chap. XVIIL]

DANGER OF FOIIT PITT.

339

proof, to protect the women and children ; and as
the interior buikhngs were all of \\ood, a rude fire
engine was constructed, to extinguish any flames
which might be kindled by the burning arrows of
the Indians, Several weeks, however, ela})sed with-
out any detemiined attack from the enemy, ^^llo
were engaged in their bloody M'ork among the settle-
ments and smaller posts. From the beginning of
July until towards its close, nothing occurred except
a series of petty and futile attacks, by which the
Indians abundantly exhibited their malicious inten-

r.-M

tions, without doing harm to the garrison.

During

the whole of this time, the communication with the
settlements was completely cut off, so that no letters
were written from the fort, or, at all events, none
reached their destination ; and we are therefore left
to depend upon a few meagre official reports, as our
only sources of information.

On the twenty-sixth of July, a small party of In-
dians was seen approaching the gate, displaying a
riag, which one of them had some time before re-
ceived as a present from the English connnander.
On the strength of this token, they were admitted,
and proved to be chiefs of distinction; among whom
were Shingas, Turtle's Heart, and others, wlio had
hitherto maintained an appearance of friendship.
Being admitted to a council, one of them addressed
Captain Ecuyer and his officers to the following
effect : —

" Brothers, what we are about to say comes from
our hearts, and not from our lips.

"Brothers, we wish to hold fist tlie chain of
friendship — that ancient chain which our forefathers
held with their brethren the English. You have

340

FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [Chap. XVIU

let your end of the chain fall to the ground, but
ours is still fast within our hands. AN hy do you
complain that our young men have fired at your
sokUers, and killed your cattle and your horses?
You yourselves are the cause of this. You marched
your annies into our country, and built forts here,
though we told you, again and again, that we wislied
you to remove. My brothers, this land is ours, and
not yours.

" My brothers, two days ago we received a great
belt of wampum from the Ottawas of Detroit, and
the message they sent us was in these words : —

" ' Grandfathers the Delawares, by this belt we
inform you that in a short time we intend to pass,
ill a very great body, through your country, on our
way to strike the English at the forks of the Oliio,
Grandfathers, you know us to be a heatUtroiig
people. We are determined to stop at nothing, and
as we expect to be very hungry, we will seize and
eat up every thing that comes in our way.' ^

" Brothers, you have heard the words of the Ot-
tawas. If you leave this place immediately, and go
home to your wives and children, no harm will
come of it; but if you stay, you must blame your-
selves alone for what may happen. Therefore wo
desire you to remove."

To the very just and reasonable statement of
wrongs contained in this speech, Captain Ecuycr re-
plied, by urging the shallow pretence that the forts
were built for the purpose of supplying the Indians
with clothes and ammunition. He then absolute!}
refused to leave the place. " I have," he said,

1 This is a comiuon Indian metaphor. To destroy an t^nemy is, in their
phrase, to eat him up.

CiiAP. XVIII.] THREATS OF THE COMMANDANT.

341

"warriors, provision, and ammunition, to defend it
three years against all the Indians in the woods; and
we shall never abandon it as long as a white man
lives in America. I despise the Ottawas, and am
very much surprised at our brothers the Delawares,
for proposing to us to leave this place and go home.
This is our home. You have attacked us without
reason or provocation ; you have murdered and plun-
dered our warriors and traders ; you have taken our
liorses and cattle ; and at the same time you tell
us your hearts are good towards your brethren the
English. How can I have fliith in you? Therefore,
now, brothers, I will advise you to go home to your
towns, and take care of your wives and children.
Moreover, I tell you that if any of you ap})ear
again about this fort, I will throw bombshells,
which will burst and blow you to atoms, and fire
cannon among you, loaded with a whole bag full of
bullets. Therefore take care, for I don't want to
hurt you." ^

The chiefs departed much displeased with their
reception. Though the course pursued by Captain
Eciiyer was a wise and justifiable one, and though
the huildinj^r of forts in the Indian countrv could
not in this instance be charged as a crime, except
by the most overstrained casuistry, yet we cannot
refrain from sympathizing with the intolerable hard-
ship to which the progress of civilization subjected
the unfortimate tenants of the wilderness, and which
goes far to exteniuite the perfidy and cruc^lty which
marked their conduct throughout the whole course
of the war.

1 MS. Report of Conference with the Indians at Fort Pitt, July 20, ]7<SJ.

CC*

342

FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [Chap. XVUI.

llfflMiJ'

LffijUi

Disappointed of gaining a bloodless possession of
the fort, the Indians now, for the first time, begun a
general attack. On the night succeeding the confer-
ence, they approached in great multitudes, under
cover of the darkness, and completely surrounded it;
many of them crawling beneath the banks of the
two rivers, which ran close to the rampart, and, with
incredible perseverance, digging, with their knives,
holes in which they were completely sheltered from
the fire of the fort. On one side, the whole bank
was lined with these burrows, from each of which
a bullet or an arrow was shot out whenever a sol-
dier chanced to expose his head. At daybreak, a
general fire was opened from every side, and contin-
ued without intermission until night, and through
several succeeding days. Meanwhile, the women and
children were pent up in the crowded barracks, terror-
stricken at the horrible din of the assailants, and
watching the fire-arrows as they came sailing over
the parapet, and lodging against the roofs and sides
of the buildings. In every instance, the fire they
kindled was extinguished. One of the garrison was
killed, and seven wounded. Among the latter was
Captain Ecuyer, who, freely exposing himself, re-
ceived an arrow in the leg. At length, an event
hereafter to be described put an end to the attack,
and drew off the assailants from the neighborhood
of the fort, to the unspeakable relief of the har-
assed soldiers, exhausted as they were by several
days of unintennitted vigilance.'

1 Extract from a MS. Letter — without further Opposition than Scat-
Colonel Bouquet to Sir J. Amherst. tered Shots along tlie Road,

" Fort Pitt, Uth Aug. 1763. " The Delawares, Shawnosn, Wi-

" Sir : andots, & Mingoes had closely Beset,

" We Arrived here Yesterday, and Attacked this Fort from tiio '-i/th

CoAP. XVIII.]

ATTACK ON FORT TITT.

343

Jnlv, to thn First Instnnt, whon thoy
Qiiittod it to Miircli apainst us.

"Tiin BoldnoHS of those Saviifjcs
IS hardly Crodihlo ; tlioy had tiikon
I'dSt undor the Banks of Both lliv-
ors. Close to the Fort, wiioro Dijrfifinfj
Hnjns, th<\v kept an Incessant Fire,
;iiul tlirt'w Fire Arrows: Tliey are
irmid Marksmen, and thon^jfh our
I'oopln ^vere tinder Cover, they Killed
niip, tfc Wourded seven. — Captain
Kcuyor is Wounded in the Lep hy
ail Arrow. — I Would not Do Justice
to that Officer, should I omit to In-
tbrra Your Excellency, Lliat, witliout

FiUgineer, or any other Artificers
than a few Ship Wrif^hts, he has
Raised p. Parapet of Lojjs round the
Fort, above the Old One, which hav-
ing not been Finished, was too Low,
and Enfiladed; He has Traised the
Whole ; Palisadoed the Inside of the
Aria, Constructed a Fire l''in<,'ine ;
nnd in short, has taken all Precau-
tions, which Art and Judi^ement
could suf^fTcst for the Preservation
of this Post, open before on the three
sides, which had Buffered by the
Floods."

}rj

CHAPTEK XIX.

THE WAR ON THE BORDERS

Along the western frontiers of Pennsylvania, Marv-
land, and Virginia, terror reigned supreme. The In-
dian scalping-parties were ranging every wlierc, lay-
ing waste the settlements, destroying the harvests,
and butchering men, women, and children, with ruth-
less fury. Many hundreds of wretched fugitives
flocked for refuge to Carlisle and the other Umm
of the border, bringing tales of inconceivable horror.
Strong parties of armed men, who went out to rec-
onnoitre the country, found every habitation reduced
to cinders, and the half-burned bodies of the inmates
lying among the smouldering ruins ; while here and
there was seen some miserable wretch, scalped and
tomahawked, but still alive and conscious. One
writing from the midst of these scenes declares that,
in his opinion, a thousand families were driven from
their homes ; that, on both sides of the Susquehanna,
the woods were filled with fugitives, without shelter
and without food ; and that, unless the havoc were
speedily checked, the western part of Pennsylvania
would be totally deserted, and Lancaster become the
frontier town.^

While these scenes were enacted on the borders

1 Penn. Gaz. Nos. 1805-1809.

CnAi'.XTX.] FEERLK KKSOITUCES OF THE ENGLISn. 845

of IVuiisjlvaniii and the more vsoiitlirni provinces,
the settl(M's in tin; valley of the ^loliawk. and even
along the ITndson, were menaced with destrnction.
Ihul not the Six Nations l)een kept truncpiil hy the
stnniuons exertions of Sir William Johnson, results
must have ensued too disastrous to contemplate.
The Senecas and a few of the Cuyngas wvw the
only memhers of the confederacy who took part m
the war. Venango, as we have seen, was destroyed
by a party of Senecas, who soon after mad(> a feehle
attack upon Niagara. 1'hey hlockaded it, for a few
days, with no other effect than that of confining the
garrison within the walls, and, soon despairing of
siifcoss, abandoned the attempt.

In the mean time, tidings of disaster on disaster
came in from the westward. The siege of Detroit,
and tlie capture of post after post, followed each
other in (piick succession, until it became known
that nine forts had fallen into the hands of the
enemy ; and Sir Jeffrey Amherst was forced to the
reluctant conclusion that the tribes had risen in a
general insurrection. The regions lately -sAon from
tlie French, with so much blood and treasure, were
suddenly snatched from the hands of the concpierors;
and this, too, at a time when, from the want of
troops, it was extremely difficult to retrieve the loss.
The few regiments lately arrived from the West In-
dies were so reduced that most of them nundxu-ed
less than a hundred feeble and sickly men. By
combining these fragments, and collecting from the
less important garrisons, and even from the hos[)itals,
every soldier capable of bearing a musket, a small
force was with difficulty brought together. All that
could immediately be done was to strengthen the posts
44

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Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y 14580

(716) 872-4503

'/.

346

THE WAR ON THE BORDERS.

[Chap. XIX

which still held out, resemng more active operations
for the future. A reenforcement was accordingly
thrown into Niagara, and a detachment, under C^).
tain Dalzeil, sent up to Detroit. The unfortunate
issue of this expedition, the sally in the night
against the camp of Pontiac, the surprise and de-
feat of the English, and the death of Dalzeil, have
been already described.

While these movements were made in the direction
of Detroit, it was equally necessary to send troops
to Fort Pitt, as that post, though its commander
had assured the Indians to the contrary, was but ill
supplied with provision. With the first news of
hostilities in that quarter, orders were therefore sent
to Colonel Bouquet, who commanded at Philadel-
phia, to assemble as large a force as possible, and
cross the AUeghanies with a convoy of provision
and ammunition. With eery effort, no more than
five hundred men could be collected for this service.
They consisted chiefly of Highlanders of the 42d
Regiment, which had suffered less than most of the
other corps, from West Indian exposure. Having
sent agents to the frontier to collect horses, wagons,
and supplies. Bouquet soon after followed with the
troops, and reached Carlisle about the first of July.
He found the whole country in a panic. Every
building in the fort, every house, barn, and hovel in
the little town, was crowded with the families of
settlers, driven from their homes by the terror of
the Indian tomahawk. None of the enemy, how-
ever, had yet appeared in the neighborhood, and
the people flattered themselves that their ra^'ages
would be confined to the other side of the moun-
tains. Whoever ventured to predict the contrary

Chap. XIX.]

ALARM AT CARLISLE.

347

drew upon himself the indignation of the whole
community. -.■•.■ k

On Sunday, the third of Jidy, an incident occurred
which redoubled the alann. A soldier, riding express
from Fort Pitt, galloped into the town, and alighted
to water his horse at the well in the centre of the
place. A crowd of countrymen were instantly about
him, eager to hear the news. " Presqu'Isle, Le Bccuf,
and Venango are taken, and the Indians will be here
soon." Such was the substance of the man's reply,
as, remounting in haste, he rode on to make his re-
port at the camp of Bouquet.* All was now con-
sternation and excitement. Messengers hastened out
to spread the tidings, and every road and path-
way leading into Carlisle was beset with the flying
settlers, flocking thither for refuge. Soon rumors
were heard that the Indians were come. Some of
the fugitives had seen the smoke of burning houses
rising from the valleys, and these reports were fearful-
ly confirmed by the appearance of miserable wretches,
who, half frantic with ^rief and dismay, had tied
from the sight of blazing dwellings and slaughtered
families. A party of the inhabitants armed them-
selves and went out, to warn the living and bury the
(lead. Ileaching Sheoiindn's Valley, they found fields
laid waste, stacked wheat on fire, and the houses yet
ill tiames, and they grew sick with horror, at seeing a
group of hogs tearing and devouring the bodies of the
dead.*^ As they advanced up the valley, every thing
betokened the recent presence of the enemy, while col-
umns of smoke, rising among the surrounding moun-
tains, showed how general was the work of destruction.

1 Penn. Hist Coll. 267

8 Penn. Gaz. 1804.

348

THE WAR ON THE BORDERS.

[Ckap. XIX,

On the previous day., six men, assembled for reap-
ing the harvest, had been seated at dinner at the
house of Campbell, a settler on the Juniata. Four
or five Indians suddenly burst the door, fired amonp
them, and then beat down tlie survivors with tlic
huts of their rifles. One young man leaped from
his seat, snatched a gun which stood in a corner,
discharged it into the breast of the warrior wlio was
rushing upon him, and, leaping through an open
window, made his escape. He fled through the forest
to a settlement ar some distance, where he related his
story. Upon this, twelve young men volunteered to
cross the mountain, and warn the inhabitants of tlie
neighboring Tuscarora valley. On entering it, tliey
found that the enemy had been there before them.
'Some of the houses were on fire, while others wore
still standing, with no tenants but the dead. Under
the shed of a farmer, the Indians had been feasting
on the flesh of the cattle they had killed, and the
meat had not yet grown cold. Pursuing their course,
the white men found the spot where several detached
parties of the enemy had united almost immediately
before, and they boldly resolved to follow, in order
to ascertain what direction the marauders had taken.
The trail led them up a deep and woody pass of
the Tuscarora. Here the yell of the war-whoop and
the din of fire-arms suddenly greeted them, and live
of their number were shot down. Thirty warriors
rose from their ambuscade, and rushed upon tliem.
They gave one discharge, scattered, and ran for their
lives. One of them, a boy named Charles Eliot, as
he fled, plunging through the thickets, heard an In-
dian tearing the boughs behind him, in furious pur-
suit. He seized his powder-horn, poured the contents

Chap. XIX.]

THE DYING EORDEIUiU.

349

at random down tlie muzzle of his gun, threw in a
bullet after them, without using the ramrod, and,
wheeling about, discharged the piece into the breast
of his pursuer. He saw the Indian shrink back
and roll over into the bushes. He continued his
flight; but a moment after, a voice earnestly called
his name. Turning to the spot, he* saw one of his
comrades stretched helpless upon the ground. This
man liad been mortally wounded at the first fire, but
had fied a few rods from the scene of blood, before
his strength gave out. Eliot approached him. " Take
my gun," said the dying frontiersman. "Whenever
you see an Indian, kill him with it, and then I shall
be satisfied." ^ Eliot, with several others of the party,
escaped, and finally reached Carlisle, where his story
excited a spirit of uncontrollable wrath and ven-
geance among the fierce backwoodsmen. Several par-
ties went out, and one of them, commanded by the
sheriff of the place, encountered a band of Indians,
routed them after a sharp fight, and brought in sev-
eral scalps.^

The surrounding country was by this time com-
pletely abandoned by the settlers, many of whom, not

• Robison, Nnrrative. Robison
was Olio of the party, and his brother
was mortally wounded at the first
lire.

- I'xtrnct from a Lotter — Carlisle,
July i:{, (Ponn. Gaz. No. 1804.)

"Ij:ist Ni}rht Colonel Armstrong'
r(>turiu'd. Ho left the Party, who
pursufd further, and found several
(lead, whom they buried in the best
nnnncr they could, and are now all
"oturiH'd in. — From what appears,
tlio Indians are travelling from one
Place to another, along the Valley,
burning the Fanns, and destroying
all the People they meet with. — This
Day gives an Account of six more

being killed in the Valley, so that,
since last Sunday Morning to this
Day, Twelve o'clock, we have a pret-
ty authentic Account of the Number
slain, being Twenty-five, and four or
five wounded. — The Colonel, Mr.
Wilson, and Mr. Alricks, arc now on
the Parade, endeavouring to raise
another Party, to go out and succour
the Sheriff and his Party, consisting
of Fitly Men, which marched Yester-
day, and hope they will be able to
send off immediately Twenty good
Men. — The People here, I assure
you, want nothing but a good Leader,
and a little Encouragement, to make
a very good Defence."

D D

350

THE WAR ON THE BORDERS.

[Chap. XIX

content with seeking refuge at Carlisle, continued
their flight to the eastward, and, headed by the cler-
gyman of that place, pushed on to Lancaster, and
even to Philadelphia.^ Carlisle presented a most de-
plorable spectacle. A multitude of the refugees, unable
to find shelter in the town, had encamped in the
woods or on the adjacent fields, erecting huts of
branches and bark, and living on such charity as
the slender means of the townspeople could supply.
Passing among them, one would have witnessed every
form of human misery. In these wretched encamp-
ments were men, women, and children, bereft at one
stroke of friends, of home, and the means of suj)-
porting life. Some stood aghast O'^.d bewildered at
the sudden and fatal blow ; others were sunk in the
apathy of despair; others were weeping and moan-
ing with irrepressible anguish. With not a few, the
craven passion of fear drowned all other emotion,
and day and night they were haunted with visions
of the bloody knife and the reeking scalp; while in
others, every faculty was absorbed by the burning
thirst for vengeance, and mortal hatred against the
whole Indian race.^

1 Extract from a Letter — Carlisle,
July 5, (Ilaz. Pa. Reg. IV. 390.)

" Nothing could exceed the terror
whicli prevailed from house to house,
from town to town. The road was
near covered with women and chil-
dren, flying to Lancaster and Phila-
delphia. The Rev. , Pastor

of the Episcopal Church, went at the
head of his congregation, to protect
and encourage them on the way. A
few retired to the Breast works for
safety. The alarm once given could
not be appeased. We have done all
that men can do to prevent disorder.
All our hopes are turned upon Bou-
quet."

2 Extract from a Letter — Carlisle.
July 12, (Penn. Gaz. No. 1804.)

" I embrace this first Leisure, since
Yesterday Morning, to transmit you
a brief Account of our present State
of Affairs here, which indeed is very
distressing; every Day, almost, uf-
fording some fresh Object to awaken
the Compassion, alarm the Feiirs, or
kindle into Resentment and Ven-
geance every sensible Breast, while
flying Families, obliged to abandon
House and Possession, to save their
Lives by an hasty Escape; mourn-
ing Widows, bewailing their Hus-
bands surprised and massacred by
savage Rage ; tender Parents, la-

CniP.XIX]

SCENES AT CARLISLE.

351

mentinp the Fruits of their own
Bodies, cropt in the very Bloom of
Life by a barbarous Hand ; with Re-
lations and AcquaintancoH, pouring
out Sorrow for murdered Neighbours
and Friends, present a varied Scene
of mingled Dutress.

"To-day a British Vengeance be-

S'ns to nse in tlie Breasts of our
en. — One of them that fell from
among the 12, as he was just expir-
ing, said to one of hia Fellows, Here,
take my Gun, and kill the first In-
dian you see, and all shall be welL"

CHAPTER XX.

THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN.

The miserable multitude were soon threatened with
famine, and gathered in crowds around the tents of
Bouquet, soliciting relief, which he was too humane
to refuse. In the mean time, the march of the little
army had been delayed beyond expectation, since, from
the terror and flight of the inhabitants, it was almost
impossible to collect upon the frontier the necessary
horses, wagons, and provision.^ Recourse was had to
the settlements farther eastward; and, after the lapse
of eighteen days, every obstacle being now overcome,
Bouquet broke up his camp, and set forth on his du-
bious enterprise. As the troops, with their heavy con-
voy, defiled through the street of Carlisle, the people
crowded to look on, not with the idle curiosity of
rustics, gazing on an unwonted military spectacle,
but with the anxious hearts of men whose all was at
stake on the issue of the expedition. The haggard
looks and thin frames of these worn-out veterans
filled them with blackest forebodings ; nor were these
diminished when they beheld sixty invalid soldiers,
who, unable to walk, were borne forward in wagons
to furnish a feeble reenforcement to the small garri-
sons along the route.^ The desponding spectators

i MS. Letter — Bouquet to Am- ^ Hutchins, Account of Bouquet's
herst,July3. expedition. Introduction, VI.

Chap. XX.]

DEPARTURE OF BOUQUET.

353

watched the last gleam of the bayonets, as the rear-
guard entered the woods, and then returned to their
hovels, prepared for tidings of defeat, and ready, on
the first news of the disaster, to desert the country
and Hy beyond the Susquehanna.

In truth, the adventure would have seemed des-
perate to any but the manliest heart. In front lay
a vast wilderness, terrible alike from its own stern
features and the ferocious enemy who daunted its
recesses. Among these forests lay tlie bones of Brad-
dock and the hundreds who fell with him. 'i'he
number of the slain on that bloody day exceeded
the whole force of Bouquet, while the strength of
the assailants was far inferior to that of the swarms
who now infested the woods. Except a few rangers,
whom Bouquet had gathered on the frontier, the
troops were utterly unused to the forest service; a
service, the terrors, hardships, and vicissitudes of
which seldom find a parallel in the warfare of civil-
ized nations. Fully appreciating the courage of
the frontiersmen, their excellence as marksmen, and
their knowledge of the woods. Bouquet had endeav-
ored to engage a body of them to accompany the
expedition ; but tliey preferred to remain for the im-
mediate defence of their families and friends, rather
than embark in a distant and doubtful adventure.
The results involved in the enterprise were altogether
disproportioned to the small numbers engaged in it;
and it was happy, not only for the troops, but also
for the colonies, that the officer in command pre-
sented, in every respect, a marked contrast to his
perverse and wrong-headed predecessor Braddock.

Henry Bouquet was by birth a Swiss, of the can-
ton of Berne. His military life began while he was

45 DD*

3o4

THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN.

ICh.p. XX.

yet a boy. He held a commission in the amiy of
the King of Sardinia; but when the war botwcru
France and England broke out, in 1755, he w.is en-
gaged in the service of the States of Holland. At
this time, a plan was formed, under the auspices of
the Duke of Cumberland, to organize a corps to sorvi
in the provinces, and to be called the Royal Ameri-
cans. The commissions were to be given to fonMgneiN.
as well as to Englishmen and provincials, whil(> the
ranks were to he filled chiefly from tlie (ierniiin
emigrants in Pennsylvania and other provinces.' Ijoh-
quet was induced to accej)t the commission of lieu-
tenant colonel in this regiment; and his services soon
proved of the utmost value, since his military talents
and personal cliaracter were alike fitted to command
respect and confidence. His person was fine, his
bearing composed and dignified. In tlie proviiicrs.
and especially in Pennsylvania, he was held in tlio

1 "The next object of the imme-
diate attention of Parliament in this
session was the raising of a new rejji-
nient of foot in North America ; for
which pvnpose, the sum of £81,178
Kis. was voted. This rejjimcnt,
which was to consist of four bat-
talions of 1000 men each, was in-
tended to bo raised chiedy out of the
Germans and Swiss, who, for many
years past, had annually transported
themsolvos in frrcat numbers to Hrit-
ish plantations in America, where
waste lands had been assigned them
upon the frontiers of the provinces ;
but, very injudiciously, no care had
been taken to intermix them with the
Englisii inhabiUmts of the place, so
tliat very few of them, even of those
who have been born there, have yet
learned to speak or understand the
English tongue. However, as they
were all zealous Protestants, and in
general strong, hardy men, accus-
tomed to tlie climate, it was judged

that a regiment of good and fiiitlifiil
soldiers might be raised out of tlifiii,
particularly proper to opposo tlh'
Freiicli ; but to this end it wiis \wcv<-
sary to ap|)oint some orticrrs, csiic-
cially subalterns, who uiKlorstoiiil
militiiry discipline and could spfjik thi
German language ; and as a sutVuicnt
number of such could not be t'oiiiul
among the Knglish officers, it un-
necessary to bring over and frriiir
commissions to several Gnniian mh I
Swiss officers and engineers. i?ii*
as this step, by the Act of Settle-
ment, could not be taken without tli''
authority of Parliament, an act wii>
now passed for enabling iiis inajcMy
to grant commissions to a cortiiiii
number of foreign Protestants, wlio
had served abroad as officers or en-
gineers, to act and rank ns officers or
engineers in America only." — Sinol-
let, Enfrlnnd, III. 475.

The Royal American Regiment is
now the GOth Rifles.

Chap. XX.]

BOUQUET — HIS CHARACTER.

355

highest esteem. He was a master of tlie English
language, writing in a style of great i)urity ; and
though enthnsiastic in the study of his ])rofession.
his tastes led him to frequent the soeiety of men
of .science and literature. As a soldier, he was
distinguished by great activity, an unshaken cour-
age, and an unfailing fertility of resource ; while
to these qualities he added a power of ada[)tation
which had been lamentably wanting in some of the
Knglish officers who preceded him.' lie had ac(piired
a j)ractical knowledge of Indian warfare, and it is
said that, in the course of the hazardous partisan
>(>ivice in which he was often tnigaged, when it was
necessary to penetrate dark defiles and narrow passes,
1r' was sometimes known to advance before his
men, armed with a rific, and acting the part of a
scout.

The route of the army lay along the beautiful
Cumberland Valley. Passing here and there a few
scattered cabins, deserted or burnt to the ground,
they reached the hamlet of Shippensburg, some-
what more than twenty miles from their point of
departure. Here, as at Carlisle, was congregated a
starving multitude, who had tied from the knife and
the tomahawk.^

By the last advices from the westward, it appeared
that Fort Ligonier, situated beyond the Alleghanies,
was in imminent danger of falling into the enemy's

1 Relation Historique dc I'Expi-
(iition contre les Indicns de I'Ohio.
Traduit de I'Anglois. Preface du
Traductour.

- "Our Accounts from the west-
"■ard lire as follows, viz. : —

" On the 25th of July there were
in Sliippensburgh 1384 of our poor

distressed Buck Inhabitants, viz.
Men, liOl ; Women, lUii ; Children,
7.'W ; Many of whom were nbliged
to lie in Barns, Stiibles, Cellai-s, and
under old leaky Sheds, the Dwilling-
houscs being all crowded." — Penn.
Gaz. No. 1806.

356

THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN.

iChAP. XX.

hands before the army could come up ; for its dc^
fences were slight, its garrison was feeble, and the
Indians had assailed it with repeated attacks. The
magazine which the place contained made it of sudi
importance that Bouquet resolved at all hu/ar(l^ to
send a party to its relief. Thirty of the best iiicn
were accordingly chosen, and ordered to push for.
ward with tlie utmost speed, by unfrequented nmtis
through the forests and over the mountains, carcfidlv
avoiding tlie road, which would doubtless be infested
by the enemy. The party set out on their criti(iil
errand, guided by frontier hunters, and obscrviii<r
a strict silence. Using every precaution, ynd ad-
vancing by forced marcles, day after day, they camo
in sight of the fort without being discovered. It
was beset by Indians, and, as the party made for
the gate, they were seen and fired upon ; but th( y
threw themselves into the place v.ithout the loss of
a man, and Ligonier was for the time secure.'

In the mean time, the army, advancing witli
slower progress, entered a country where as yet
scarcely an English settler had built liis cabin.
Reaching Fort Loudon, on the declivities of Co\('
Mountain, they ascended the wood-encumbered defiles
beyond. Far on their right stretched the green
ridges of the Tuscarora, while, in front, mountain
beyond mountain rose high against the horizon.
Climbing heights and descending into valleys, pass-
ing the two solitary posts of Littleton and the Ju-
niata, both abandoned by their garrisons, they came
in sight of Fort Bedford, hemmed in by encircling
mountains. Their arrival gave infinite relief to the

Hutchins, Account of Bouquet's Ebcpedition. Introduction, VI.

Chap. XX.]

MARCH OF BOUQUET.

357

garrison, who liail long been btleagucrcd and endan-
gered by a swarm of Indians, while many of the
settlers in the neighborhood had been killed, and
the rest driven for refuge into the fort. Captain
Ourry, the connnanding oflicer, reported that, for sev-
eral weeks, nothing had been heard from the west-
uiird, every messenger having been killed, and the
coininunication ecmipletely cut off. IJy the last in-
telligence. Fort Pitt had been surrounded by In-
dians, and daily threatened with a general attack.

Having remained encami)ed, for three days, on the
Holds neiir the fort, Bouquet resumed his march on
the twenty-eiglith of Jidy, and soon passed beyond
the furthest verge of civilized habitation. The whole
country lay buried in foliage. Except the rocks
wliich crowned the mountains, and the streams
which rippled along the valleys, the unbroken forest,
like a vast garment, invested the whole. The road
was channelled through its depths, whil(% on each
side, the brown trunks and tangled undergro\\th
formed a wall so dense as almost to bar the sight
Through a country thus formed by nature for am-
buscades, not a step was free from danger, and no
j)recaution was neglected to guard against surprise.
In advance of the marching column moved the pro-
vincial rangers, closely followed by the pioneers.
The wagons and cattle were in the centre, guarded
in front, tlank, and rear by the regulars, while a
rearguard of rangers closed the line of march.
Keen-eyed riflemen of the frontier, acting as scouts,
scoured the woods far in front and on either flank,
so that surprise was impossible. In this order the
little army toiled heavily on, over a road beset with
all the obstructions of the forest, until the main

358

THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN.

[Chap. XX

ridge of the Alleghanies, like a mighty wall of
green, rose up before chem, and they began their
zig/ag progress up the woody heights, amid the
sweltering heats of July. The tongues of the plant-
ing oxen hung lolling from their jaws, while the
pine-trees, scorching in the hot sun, diffused their
resinous odors through the sultry air. xVt length,
from the windy summit the Highland soldiers could
gaze around upon a boundless panorama of forest-
covered mountains, wild as their own native hills.
Descending from the xMleghanies, they entered upon
a country less rugged and formidable in itself, but
beset w4th constantly increasing dangers. On the
second of August, they reached Fort Ligonier, about
fiftv miles from Bedford, and a hundred and fifty
from Carlisle. The Indians who were about the
place vanished at their approach ; but the garrison
could furnish no intelligence of the motions and de-
signs of the enemy, having been completely block-
aded for weeks. In this uncertainty, Bouquet re-
solved to leave behind the oxen and wagons, which
formed the most cumbrous part of the convoy, since
this would enable him to advance with greater celer-
ity, and oppose a better resistance in case of attack.
Thus relieved, the army resumed its march on the
fourth, taking with them three hundred and fifty
pack horses and a few cattle, and at nightfall en-
camped at no great distance from Ligonier. A^'ithin
less than a day's march in advance lay the danger-
ous defiles of Turtle Creek, a stream flowing at the
bottom of a deep hollow, flanked by steep decliv-
ities, along the foot of w^hich the road at that time
ran for some distance. Fearing that the enemy
would lay an ambuscade at this place, Bouquet

Chap- XX.]

UNEXPECTED ATTACK.

359

ivoy, since

resolved to march on the following day as far as a
small streai^. called Bushy Run, to rest here until
night, and then, by a tbrced march, to cross Turtle
Creek under cover of the darkness.

On the morning of the fifth, the tents were struck
at an early hour, and the troops began their march
through a country broken with hills and deep hol-
lows, every where covered with the tall, dense forest,
which spread for countless leagues around. By one
odock, they had advanced seventeen miles, and the
guides assured them that they were within half a
mile of Bushy Run, their proposed resting-place.
The tired soldiers were pressing forward vvith re-
newed alacrity, when suddenly the report of rifles
from the front sent a thrill along the ranks; and, as
they listened, the firing thickened into a fierce, sharp
rattle, while shouts and whoops, deadened by the in-
tervening forest, showed that the advanced guard
was hotly engaged. The two foremost companies
were at once ordered forward to support it ; but
fur from abating, the fire grew so rapid and furious
as to argue the presence of an enemy at once nu-
merous and resolute. At this, the convoy was halted,
the troops formed into line, and a general charge
ordered. Bearing down through the forest with
Hxed bayonets, they drove the yelping assailants be-
fore tlijm, and swept the ground clear. But at the
very moment of success, a fresh burst of whoops
and firing was heard from either flank, while a con-
fused noise from the rear showed that the convoy
was attacked. It was necessary instantly to fall
back for its support. IJriving oft* the assailants, the
troops formed in a circle around the crowded and
terrified horses. Though they were new to the

360

THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN.

[Chap XX.

work, and though the numbers and movements of
the enemy, whose yelling resounded on every side,
were concealed by the thick forest, yet no man
lost his composure; and all displayed a steadiness
which nothing but implicit confidence in their com-
mander could have inspired. And now ensued a
combat of a nature most harassing and discouraging.
Again and again, now on this side and now on
that, a crowd of Indians rushed up, pouring in
a heavy fire, and striving, with furious outcries, to
break into the circle. A well-directed volley met
them, followed by a steady charge of the bayonet.
They never waited an instant to receive the attack.
but, leaping backwards from tree to tree, soon van-
ished from sight, only to renew their attack witli
unabated ferocity in another quarter. Such was
their activity that very few of them were liurt,
while the English, less expert in bush fighting, suf-
fered severely. Thus the fight went on, without in-
temiission, for seven hours, until the forest grew
dark with approaching night. Upon this, the In-
dians gradually slackened their fire, and the ex-
hausted soldiers found time to rest.

It was impossible to change their ground in the
enemy's presence, and the troops were obliged to
encamp upon the hill where the combat had taken
place, tliougli not a drop of water was to be found
there. Fearing a night attack. Bouquet stationed
numerous sentinels and outposts to guard against it,
while the men lay down upon their arms, preserving
the order they had maintained during the fight.
Having completed the necessary arrangements, l^ou-
quet, doubtful of sui-viving the battle of the morrow,
wrote to Sir Jeflfrey Amherst, in a few clear, concise

Chap. XX.] DISTRESS AND DANGER OF THE TROOPS. 361

words, an account of the clay's events. His letter
concludes as follows: "Whatever our fate may be, I
thought it necessary to give your excellency this
early information, that you may, at till events, take
such measures as you will think proper with the
provinces, for their own safety, and the effectual
relief of Fort Pitt ; as, in case of another engage-
ment, I fear insurmountable difficulties in protecting
and transporting our provisions, being already so
mudi weakened by tlie losses of this day, in men
and horses, besides the additional necessity of
carrying the wounded, whose situation is truly
deplorable."

The condition of these unhappy men might well
awaken sympathy. About sixty soldiers, besides sev-
eral officers, had been killed or disabled. A space
in the centre of the camp was prepared for the
recej)tion of the wounded, and surrounded by a wall
of floui-bags from the convoy, affording some pro-
tection against the bullets which flew from all
sides during the fight. Here they lay upon the
ground, enduring agonies of thirst, and waiting, pas-
sive and helpless, the issue of the battle. Deprived
of th(^ animating thought that their lives and safety
depended on their own exertions ; surrounded by a
wilderness, and by scones to the horror uf which
no degree of familiarity could render the imagina-
tion callous, they must have endured mental suffer-
ings, compared to which the pain of their wounds
Wiis slight. In the probable event of defeat, a fate
inexpressibly horrible awaited them ; while even vic-
tory would by no means insure their safety, since
any great increase in their numbers would render it
impossible for their comrades to transport them.

46 EE

362

THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN.

[Chap. XX.

Nor was the condition of those who had hitherto
escaped an en\dable one. Though they were about
equal in numbers to their assailants, yet the dex-
terity and alertness of the Indians, joined to the
nature of the country, gave all the advantages of a
greatly superior force. The enemy were, moreover,
exulting in the fullest confidence of success ; for it
was in these very forests that, eight years before,
they had well nigh destroyed twice their number of
the best British troops. Throughout the earlier part
of the night, they kept up a dropping fire upon the
camp, while, at short intervals, a wild whoop from
the thick surrounding gloom told with what fierce
eagerness they waited to glut their vengeance on the
morrow. The camp remained in darkness, for it
would have been highly dangerous to buii'l fires
within its precincts, which would have served to
direct the aim of the lurking marksmen. Sur-
rounded by such terrors, the men snatched a
disturbed and broken sleep, recruiting their ex-
hausted strength for the renewed struggle of the
morning.

With the earliest dawn of day, and while tlie
damp, cool forest was still involved in twiliglit,
there rose around the camp a general burst of
those horrible cries which fonn the ordinary prel-
ude of an Indian battle. Instantly, from every side
at once, the enemy opened their fire, approaching
under cover of the trees and bushes, and levelling
with a close and deadly aim. Often, as on the prc^
vious day, they would rush up with furious impet-
uosity, striving to break into the ring of troops.
They were repulsed at every point; but the Eng-
lish, though constantly victorious, were beset with

Chap. XX.]

CONFLICT OF THE SECOND DAY.

363

undiminished perils, while the violence of the enemy
seemed every moment on the increase. True to their
favorite tactics, they would never stand their ground
ulieii attacked, but vanish at the first gleam of the
levelled bayonet, only to appear again the moment
the danger was past. The trooi)s, fatigued by the
long march and equally long battle of the previous
day, were maddened by the torments of thirst, more
intolerable, savs their commander, than the fire of
the enemy. They were fully conscious of the peril
in which they stood, of wasting away by slow de-
grees beneath the shot of assailants at once so
daring, so cautious, and so active, and upon whom
it was impossible to inflict any dc^cisive injury. The
Indians saw their distress, and pressed them closer
and closer, redoubling their yells and bowlings,
while some of them, sheltered behind trees, as-
sailed the troops, in bad English, with abuse and
derision.

Meanwhile the mterior of the camp was a scene
of confusion. The horses, secured in a crowd near
the intrenchment which covered the wounded, were
often struck by the bullets, and wrought to the
lieiglit of terror by the mingled din of whoops.
shrieks, and firing. They would break away by
half scores at a time, burst through the ring of
troops and the outer circle of assailants, and scour
madly up and down the hill sides ; while many of
the drivers, overcome bv tlie terrors of a scene in
which they could bear no active part, hid tliem-
sohes among the bushes, and could neither hear
tior obey orders.

It was now about ten o'clock. Oppressed with
heat, fatigue, and thirst, the distressed troops still

364

TUE BATTLE OF BUSHY BUN.

[Chap. XX.

maintained a weary and wavering defence, encirclintr
the convoy in a yet unbroken ring. They were fast
falling in their ranks, and the strength and spirits
of the survivors had begun to flag. If the fortunes
of the day were to be retrieved, the effort must be
made at once ; and happily the mind of the com-
mander was equal to the emergency. In the midst
of the confusion he conceived a stratagem iilikc
novel and masterly. Could the Indians be brou^lit
together in a body, and made to stand their ground
when attacked, there could be little doubt of tlie
result; and to effect this object. Bouquet determined
to increase their confidence, which had alieady
mounted to an audacious pitch. Two companies of
infantry, forming a part of the ring which had been
exposed to the hottest fire, were ordered to fall back
into the interior of the camp, while the troops on
either hand joined their files across the vadnit
space, as if to cover the retreat of their conniuk^s.
These orders, given at a favorable moment, were
executed with great i)romptness. The thin line of
troops who took possession of the deserted j)art
of the circle, were, from their small numbers,
brought closer in toAvards the centre. The Indians
mistook these movements for a retreat. Confitlent
that their time was come, they leaped up on all
sides, from behind the trees and bushes, and, A\itli
infernal screeches, rushed headlong towards the spot,
pouring in a most heavy and galling fire. The
shock was too violent to be long endured. The men
struggled to maintain their posts, but the Indians
seemed on the point of breaking into the heart of
the camp, when the as])ect of affairs was suddenly
reversed. The two companies, who had apparently

Chap. XX.]

SUCCESSFUL STRATAGEM.

36o

abandoned their position, were in fact destined to
bc<j;in the attack ; and they now sallied out from
the circle at a point where a depression in the
ground, joined to the thick growth of trees, con-
cealed them from the eyes of the Indians. Making
a short detour through the woods, they came round
upon the flank of the furious assailants, and dis-
cliaigcd a deadly volley into their very midst. Num-
bors were seen to fall; yet though completely sur-
prised, and utterly at a loss to understand the
nature of the attack, the Indians faced about with
the greatest intrepidity, and boldly returned the fire.
But the Highlanders, with yells as wild as their
own, fell on them with the bayonet. The shock
was irresistible, and they fled before the cliarging
ranks in a tumultuous throng. Orders had been
given to two other companies, occupying a contig-
uous part of the circle, to support the attack when-
ever a favorable moment sliould occur; and they had
tbcrefore advanced a little from their position, and
lay close crouched in ambush. The fugitive multi-
tude, pressed by the Highland bayonets, passed
directly across their front, upon which they rose
and poured among them a second volley, no less
(bstructive than the former. This completed the
rout. The four companies, uniting, drove the flying
savaij:os through the woods, giving them no time to
rail or reload their empty rifles, killing many, and
scattcu'ing the rest in hopeless confusion.

M hile this took place at one part of the circle,
the troops and the savages had still maintained their
iCspcctive positions at the other ; but when the lat-
ter perceived the total rout of their comrades, and
saw the troops advancing to assail them, they also

EE'

366

THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN.

[Chap. XX.

lost heart, and fled. The discordant outcries uliidi
had so long deafened the ears of the English soon
ceased altogether, and not a living Indian remaiii(>(l
near the spot. About sixty corpses lay scattrrrd
over tha giound. Among them were found tlujsc of
several prominent chiefs, while the blood wliidi
stained the leaves of the bushes showed that imiii-
bers had fled severely wounded from the field. The
soldiers took but one prisoner, whom they sliot to
death like a captive wolf. The loss of the Kii<ilisli
hi the two battles surpassed that of the eiieniv,
amoTuiting to eight officers and one hundred and
fifteen men.'

Ilaviu"- been for some time detained bv the
necessity of making litters for the wounded, and

hi : i

1 MS. Lottcrs — Bouquet to Am-
horst, Au<r. 5, (>. Poiin. Gnz. 180i»-
1810. Gent. Map. XXXIII. 487.
Luiulon Miijr. for 17(1.'}, 545. Hutch-
ins, Account of Bouquet's Expedi-
tion. Animal Register for 17(^3, 28.
Mante, 4!t:}.

Tlie account=! of this action, pub-
lished in the journals of the day, ex-
cited much attention, from the wild
and novel character of this species
of wnrfare. A well-written descrij)-
tion of the battle, together with a
journal of Bouquet's expedition of
the succeeding year, was published
in a thin (piarto, with illustrations
from the ])encil of West. The
writer, Thomas Ilutchins, became
afterwards known as the author of
several geographical works relating
to the western territories of Amer-
ica. A French transla*^ 3n of his
narrative was published at Amster-
dam in 17(i!>.

Extract from a Letter — Fort Pitt,
August 1'2, (Penn. Gaz. No. 1810.)

" We formed a Circle round our
Convoy and Wounded ; upon which
tlie Savages collected themselves,
and continued whooping and popping

at us all the Evening. Next Morn-
ing, having mustered all their Force,
they began the War-whoop, attarkiiif.'
us in Front, wiien tlie Colonel t'ciyupd
a Retreat, which encouraged the In-
dians to an eager Pursuit, wiiilc the
Light Infantry and Grenadiers luslicd
out on their Right and Left Fl:iiiks,
..ctucking them wiiere they little ex-
pected it ; by which Means a irrrat
Number of them were killed : iind
among the rest, Keelyuskuiig, a Del-
aware Cliief, who the Night before,
and that Morning, had been JJlick-
guarding us in English: We lost
one Man in the Rear, on our March
the Day after.

" In other Letters from Fort I'ltt. it
is mentioned that, to a Man, they
were resolved to defend the Ciarrison
(if the Troops had not arrivcnl) as
long as any Ainmunition, and i'rovis-
ion to support them, were left ; imd
that then they wfiuld have fon|rhl
their Way through, or died in the
Attempt, rather than hai e been made
Prisoners by such pertidious, cruel,
and Blood-thirsty Hell-hounds."

See Appendix, D.

[Chap. XX.

Chap. XX.|

BOUQUET REACHES FOUT PITT.

3G7

ies ^v]lic'h

lisli soon

remained

sctittorcd

thoso of

k1 \\\\k]\

hilt nnni-

olcl. The

)• shot to

3 Eiitilisli

le enemy,

idred and

by the
ided, and

Next Morn-
11 tlicir l''(ir("<',
nop, jittiickinir
)luii<'l ti'iyiiod
red the fn-
iiit, wiiilc th(!
(Hers ruslii'd
jot't Fbuiks,
u'V little ex-
it iiH !1 iTlT'llt

killed : iind
uiiir, ji Del-
iirllt betiiro,
)('(Mi IJlai'k-
i: We lest
)n our March

Fort Pitt, it

Man, tliey
tho Ciiirrison

arriv(Ml) as
, and I'rovis-
re left ; iiiid
have fouarht

lied in the
e been made
dious, cruel,
ounds."

destroying the stores whieh the flight of most of
the horses made it impossible to transport, the army
moved on, in the afternoon, to Bushy Run. Here
they had scareely fonned their camp, whcni they were
again fired upon by a body of Indians, "vvho, however,
ucre soon repulsed. On the next day, they resumed
their progress towards Fort Pitt, distant about twenty-
five mihs, and though frequently annoyed on the
marrli by })etty attacks, they reached their destination,
on tiie t(>nth, without serious loss. It was a joyful
moment both to the troops and to the garrison.
The latter, it will be remembered, were left sur-
rounded and hotly pressed by the Indians, who had
beleaguered the place from the twenty-eighth of July
to the first of August, when, hearing of Bouquet's
approach, they had abandoned the siege, and marched
to attack him. From this time, the garrison had seen
notliing of them until the morning of the tenth,
when, shortly before the army appeared, tliey liad
passed the fort in a body, raising the scnl[)-yell, and
displaying their disgusting trophies to the view of

the Knglish.^

1 Extract from a Letter — Fort
Pitt, August r2, (Penn. Gaz. No.
1810.)

"As you will probably have the
Accounts of those Eugaircinents from
the dentlcmen that wore in them, I
shall say no more than this, that it
is the ironoral Opinion, tin? Troops
behaved with the utmost Intrepidity,
mid the Indians were never known to
behave sn fiercely. You may be sure
the Siirlit of the Troops was very
ritrroeable to our poor Garrison, being
penne<l up in the Fort from the 'i/th
of May to the 9th Instant, and the
Barrack Rooms crammed with Men,
Women, and Children, tho' provi-
Icntially no other Disorder ensued

than the Small-pox. — From the l(!th
of June to the tit^th of July, wo were
pestered with the Enemy ; soinetimcs
with their Flags, demanding Con-
forencos ; at other Times threat(Mi-
ing, then soothing, anil offering their
Cordial Advice, for us to evacuate the
Place; for that they, the Delawares,
tho' our dear Friends and Brothers,
could no longer protect us from the
Fury of Legions of other Nations,
that were coining from the Lakes,
&c., to destroy us. But, finding that
neither had any I'iffect on us, they
mustered their whole Force, in Num-
ber about 400, and began a most furi-
ous Fire from all Quarters on the Fort,
which they continued for four Days,

368

THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN.

[Ciui'. XX,

The battle of Bushy Run was one of the best con^
tested actions ever fought between white men uiul
Indians. If there were any disparity of nunibi'is, tlie
advantage was on the side of the troops, ami the
Indians had displayed throughout a fierceness and
intrepidity matched only by the steady valor with
which they were met. In the provinces, the victory
excited equal joy and admiration, more esiJcciuUv
among those who knew the incalculable difficulties
of an Indian campaign. The assembly of l\'uiis\l-
vania passed a vote expressing their high sense of
the merits of Bouquet, and of the important service
which he had rendered to the province. He soon
after received the additional honor of the formal
thanks of the king.^

In many an Indian village, the women cut away
their hair, gashed their limbs with knives, and ut-
tered their dismal bowlings of lamentation lor the
fallen. Yet, though surprised and dispirited, the rage

and groat Part of tho Ni-^hts, viz.,
from the 28th of July to the last. —
Our Commander was wounded by an
Arrow in the Leg, and no other Per-
son, of any Note, hurt, ttio' tlio Balls
were whistling very thick about our
Ears. Nine Rank and File wound-
ed, and one Hulings having his Leg
broke, was the whole of our Loss
during this hot Firing ; tho' we have
Reason to think that we killed sev-
eral of our loving Brethren, notwith-
standing their Alertness in skulking
behind the Banks of the Rivers, &c.
— These Gentry, seeing they could
not take the Fort, sheered off, and
we heard no more of them till the
Account of the above Engagements
came to hand, when we were con-
vinced that our good Brothers did us
this second Act of Friendship. —
What they intend next, God knows,

but am afraid they will disperse in
small Parties, among the Iiiliui)it)ints,
if not well dofonded."

1 Extract from a MS. Letter— Sir
J. Amherst to Colonel Boutiuot.

" New York, 31st August, 17f)3.

"The Disposition you iiiiule for
the Reception of the Indians, tiie
Second Day, was indeed very wisi^ly
Concerted, and as happily Executed;
I am pleased with Every part ot'yoiir
Conduct on the Occasion, whicli be-
ing so well seconded by tlie Officers
and Soldiers under your Comiii.'ind,
Enabled you not only to Protect
your Large Convoy, but to rout a
Body of Savages that would have
been very formidable against any
Troops, but such as you had with
you."

Cbap. XX.]

EFFECTS OF Tlli: VICTOIIY.

^G9

of the Indians was too deep to be qTicnched, even
by so signal a reverse, and their outrages upon the
frontier were resumed with unabated ferocity. Fort
Pitt, however, was effectually relieved, while the moral
effect of the victory enabled the frontier setth?rs to
encounter the enemy with a spirit which would have
been wanting, had Bouquet sustained a defeat.
47

CHAPTER XXI.

THE IROQUOIS. — AMBUSCADE OP THE DEVIL'S HOLE.

While Bouquet was fighting the battle of Bushy
Run, and Dalzell making his fatal sortie against
the camp of Pontiac, Sir William Johnson was en-
gaged in the more pacific, yet more important task
of securing the friendship and alliance of the Six
Nations. After several preliminary conferences, lie
sent runners throughout the whole confederacy to in-
vite deputies of the several tribes to meet liim in
council at Johnson Hall. The request was not de-
clined. From the banks of the Mohawk, from the
Oneida, Cayuga, and Tuscarora villages, from the val-
ley of Onondaga, where, from immemorial time, had
burned the great council-fire of the confederacy, came
chiefs and warriors, gathering to the place of meet-
ing. The Senecas alone, the warlike tenants of the
Genesee valley, refused to attend, for they were al-
ready in arms against the English. Besides the Iro-
quois, deputies came likewise from the tribes dwelling
along the St. Lawrence, and within the settled parts
of Canada.

The council opened on the seventh of September.
]3espite their fair words, their attachment was doubt-
ful ; but Sir William Johnson, by a dexterous mingling
of reasoning, threats, and promises, allayed their dis-
content, and banished the thoughts of war. They

Cmai'.XXI.J effect OF JOHNSON'S INFLUENCE.

371

L'S HOLE.

wini'od, howevor, when he informed them that, during
the next season, iin English army must puss through
tlu'ir eountry, on its way to punish the refraetory
tribes of the west. " Your foot is broad and heavy,"
said the speaker from Onondaga ; " take care that you
do not tread on us." Seeing the improved temper
of his auditory, Johnson was led to hope for some
fartlicr advantage tlian that of mere neutrality. lie
acconHngly urged the Iroquois to take up arms
afjiiiiist the hostile tribes, and concluded his final
iiaiiuigue with the followiuj? figurative words : " I
aow deliver you a good Enj.' jh axe, which I desire
you will give to the warriors of all your nations, with
directions to use it against these covenant-breakers,
by cutting oft* the bad links which have sullied the
chain of friendship."

Tliese words were confirmed by the presentation
of a black war-belt of wampum, and the ofter of a
hatcliet, which the Iroquois did not refuse to acce])t.
That they would take any very active and strenuous
part in the war, could not be expected ; yet their
bearing arms at all would prove of great advantage,
by discouraging the hostile Indians who had looked
upon the Iroquois as friends and abetters. Some
months after the council, several small parties actu-
ally took the field, and, being stimulated by the
prospect of reward, brouglit in a considerable num-
ber of scalps and prisoners.'

Upon the persuasion of Sir William Johnson, the
tribes of Canada were induced to send a message to
the western Indians, exhorting them to bury the
hatchet, while the Iroquois despatched an embassy of

' MS Minutes of Conferenc»> with the Six Nations and others, at John-
son Hall, Sept. 1 7t;3. Letters of Sir William Johnson.

372

THE IROQUOIS.

[CiiAi'. XXL

^:5 ■•)

liii^

Ktfm

^j^

similar import to the Delawares on the Susquehanna.
"Cousins the Delawares" — thus ran the messajxc —
" wc have heard that many wild Indians in the :vest,
who have tails like hears, have let fall the cliain of
friendship, and taken up the hatchet against our
brethren the English. We desire you to hold ihst
the cliain, and shut your ears against their words,"'
In spite of the friendly disposition to which tlie
Iroquois had been brought, the province of New-
York suffered not a little from the attacks of tlie
hostile tribes who ravaged the borders of Ulster,
Orange, and Albany counties, and threatened to de-
stroy the upper settlements of the ]Mohawk.'" Sir
AVilliam Johnson was the object of tlieir especial
enmity., and he several times reccivad intimations that
he was about to be attacked. He armed his tenant-
ry, surrounded his seat of Johnson Hall with a
stockade, and garrisoned it with a party ^f soldiers,
which Sir Jeffrey Amherst had ordered thither for
his protection. About this time, a singular incident
occurred near the town of Goshen. Four cr fi\e ni(>n
went out among the hills to sho&L partridges, and.
chancing to raise a large covey, they all fired tlieir
guns at nearly the same moment. The timorous in-
habitants, hearing the reports, concluded that they came

1 MS. Iljirrisbiirt; Papers.

2 Extract from a MS. Letter -
W. Jobnson to Sir J. Amherst.

•Sir

" Johnson Hall, July 8th, 1703.

" I Ciinnot Conclude without Rep-
rcscntinfj to Your Excellency the
great I'anic and uneasiness into
which the Inhabitants of these parts
are cast, which I iiave endeavored to
Remove by evt^y Method in my
power, to prevent tlieir Abandoning
tiieir Settlements from their appre-

hensions of the Indians: As thoy
in General Confide nnich in my \if^-
idence, they are hitherto I'rovcntcil
from taking tliat hasty Measure, but
should I be Obliged to retire (wliicii
I hope will not be the case) luit only
my Own Tenants, who are npwiinls (it
120 Families, but all the Rest uould
Immediately follow the Kxaniple,
which I am Deterniined against doiiij.'
'till the last Extremity, as I kni>» it
would prove of general bad Consn-
quence."

niAi'. XXI.]

FALSE ALARM AT GUSllKN.

373

n tilt' '.vest,
ic cliiuii of
igainst our
o hold fast
'ir words.'"'

which the
ce of New
acks of tlie

of Ulster,
cned to de-
•hawk." Sir
eir ospcciiil
nations that

his teuaiit-
lall with a

^f soldiers.

thither for
dar incident

cr fi\e men
bridges, and.
fired their
timorous in-
at thev eanic

ians: As they
uvich in my lic^-
herto rrovcntcd
sty Measure, but

to retire (wiiioli

Ciise) iiiit only

10 are upwiinlsnt

the Rest \wiiil(i
the Kxiiuiplf.
10(1 iitfaiiist iloiii).'
ity, as I know it
erul buii Coiiso-

from an Indian war-party, and instantly fled in ex-
treme dismay, spreading the alarm as they went.
The neighboring country was soon in a panic. The
farmers cut the harness of their horses, and, leaving
tlieir carts and ploughs behind, galloped for their
lives. Others, snatching up their children and their
most valuable property, made with all speed for New
England, not daring to pause until they had crossed
the Hudson. For several days the neighborhood was
ahandoiied, five iiundred families having left their
habitations and fled.' Not long after this absurd af-
fair, an event occurred of a widely different character.
Allusion has before been made to the carrying-
place of Niagara, which formed an essential link in
the chain of communication between the province of
New York and the interior country. Men and
military stores were conveyed in boats up the River
Niagara, as far as the present site of Lewiston.
Thence a portage road, several miles in length, passed
along the banks of the stream, and terminated at
Fort Schlosser, above the cataract. This road trav-
ersed a region whose sublime features have gained
for it a world-wide renown. The lliver Niagara, a
short distance below the cataract, assumes an aspect
scarcely less remarkable than that stupendous scene
itself Its channel is formed by a vast ravine, whose
sides, now bare and weather-stained, now shaggy with
forest-trees, rise in clifts of appalling height and steep-
ness. Along this chasm pour all the waters of the
lakes, heaving their furious surges with the power
of an ocean and the rage of a mountain torrent.
About three miles below the cataract, the precipices

1 Penn. Gaz. No. 1809.

iii>

U'.\

'■*;!'!

i k

III

.'lt>S

3T4

AMBUSCADE OF THE DHVII/y HOLE. [Ciiai. wi

which form the eastern wall of the ravine are broken
by an abyss of aAvful depth and blackness, bearing
at the present day the name of the Devil's Hole.
In its shallowest part, the precipice sinks sheer down
to the depth of eighty feet, where it meets a chaotic
mass of rocks, descending with an abrupt dcclivitv to
unseen depths below. "Within the cold and damp
recesses of the gulf, a host of forest-trees have rooted
themselves ; and, standing on the perilous brink, one
may look down upon the mingled foliage of ash,
poplar, and maple, while, above them all, the spruce
and fir shoot their sharp and rigid spires upward
into sunlight. The roar of the convulsed river swells
heavily on tlie car, and, far below, its headlong waters
may be discerned careering in foam past the openings
of the matted foliage.

On the thirteenth of September, a numerous train
of wagons and pack horses proceeded from the lower
landing to Fort Schlosser, and on the following morn-
ing set out on their return, guarded by an escort of
twenty-four soldiers. They pursued their slow prog-
ress until they reached a point where the road pass(>d
along the brink of the Devil's Hole. The gulf
yawned on their left, while on their right the road
was skirted by low and densely ^yooded hills. Sud-
denly they were greeted by the blaze and clatttn- of
a hundred rifies. Then followed the startled cries
of men, and the bounding of maddened horses. At
the next instant, a host of Indians broke screeching
from the woods, and rifle but and tomahawk finislud
the bloodv work. All was over in a moment. IIoiscs
leaped the precipice; men were driven shrieking into
the abyss ; teams and wagons went over, crashing to
atoms among the rocks below. Tradition relates that

CiiAr. XXI.]

THE CONVOY ATTACKED.

375

croiis tram

the drummer boy of the detachment was caught, in
his fall, among the branches of a tree, where he
hung suspended by his drum-strap. Being but slight-
ly injured, he disengaged himself, and, hiding in the
recesses of the gulf, finally escaped. One of the
teamsters also, who was wounded at the first fire,
contrived to crawl into the woods, where he lay con-
cealed till the Indians had left the place. Besides
these two, the only survivor was Stcdman, the con-
ductor of the convoy, who, being well mounted, and
seeing the whole party forced helplessly towards the
precipice, wheeled his horse, and resolutely spurred
through the crowd of Indians. One of them, it is
said, seized his bridle ; but he freed himself by a
dexterous use of his knife, and plunged into the
woods, untouched by the bullets which whistled about
his head. Flying at full speed through the forest,
he reached Fort Schlosser in safety.

The distant sound of the Indian rifles had been
lieard by a party of soldiers, who occupied a small
fortified camp near the lower landing. Forming in
liaste, they advanced eagerly to the rescue. In an-
ticipation of this movement, the Indians, who were
nearly five hundred in number, had separated into
two parties, one of which had stationed itself at the
Devil's Hole, to waylay the convoy, while the other
formed an ambuscade upon the road a mile nearer
the landing-place. The soldiers, marching preeip-
itatel}-, and huddled in a close body, were suddenly
assailed by a volley of rifles, which stretched half
their number dead upon the road. Then, rushing
from the forest, the Indians cut down the survivors
witli merciless ferocity. A small remnant only escaped
the massacre, and fled to Fort Niagara with the

■A-

'I ■; ;:

ii Ml i

.If ti

i '"IF II

r. si ;' '

376

AMBUSCADE OF TllE DEVIL'S HOLE. [Cuap. XXI,

tidings. Major Wilkins, who commanded at this
post, lost no time in marching to the spot, with
nearly the whole strength of his garrison. Not an
Indian was to be found. At the two places of
ambuscade, about seventy dead bodies were counted,
naked, scalpless, and so horribly mangled that main
of them could not be recognized. All the wagons
had been broken to pieces, and such of the horses
as were not driven over the precipice had been car-
ried off, laden, doubtless, with the plunder. The
ambuscade of the Devil's Hole has gained a tra-
ditionary immortality, adding fearful interest to a
scene whose native horrors need no aid from the
imagination.^

1 MS. Letter — Amherst to Egre-
mont, October 13. Two anonymous
letters from officers at Fort Niagara,
September 1(5 and 17. Life of Mary
Jemison. Appendix, MS. Johnson
Papers.

One of the actors in the tragedy, a
Seneca warrior, named Blacksnukc,
was living a few years since at a
very advanced age. He described
the scene with great animation to a
friend of the writer, and as he related
how the Englisli were forced over
the precipice, his small eyes glittered
like those of the serpent whose name
he bore.

Extract from a Letter — Niagara,
September !(!, (Penn. Gaz. No. 1815.)

" On the first Iionring of the Firing
by the Convoy, Capt. .Tohnston, and
three Subalterns, marched with about
80 Men, mostly of Gage's Light In-
fantry, who were in a little Camp ad-
jacent; they had scarce Time to form
when the Indians ajjpeared at the
above Pass ; our People fired briskly
upon them, but was instantly sur-
rounded, and the Captain who com-
manded mortally wounded the first
Fire ; the 3 Stibalterns also were soon
after killed, on which a general Con-

fusion ensued: The Indians nisiied
in on all Sides, and cut about (iO or
70 Men in Pieces, including the Con
voy : Ten of our Men are all we can
yet learn have made their Esoiipc:
they came here through the Woods
Yesterday. From many Circum-
stances, it is believed the Rencciiii
have a chief Hand in this Afl'nir."

Extract from a Letter — Xi;iunra,
September 17, (Penn. Guz. No. 1:^1").;

"Wednesday the 14th Inst, ii liiriro
Body of Indians, some say 300, oth-
ers 4 or .'iOO, came down upon ilic
Carrying-Place, attacked the Wai:-
gon Escort, which consisted of a
Serjeant and 24 Men. This smnll
Body immediately became a Sacri-
fice, only two Waggoners escapcil,
Two Companies of Light Intiuitry
(the General's and La Hunt's) that
were encamped at the Low or Land-
ing, hearing the Fire, instantly rushod
out to their Relief, headed by Liinit.s
George Campbell, and Frazier, Lieu-
tenant Rosco, of the Artillery, am
Lieutenant Deaton, of the Provin-
cials ; this Party had not marched
above a Mile and Half when they
were attacked, surrounded, and al-
most every Man cut to Pieces ; the

Chap. XXI.J

DISASTER ON LAKE ERIE.

377

Indians nishcd
;ut ahont GO of
liulintj the Con
I are all \vo can
tlioir Ksciipc:

Igh tllO Wddll;

many ("ircum-
il tlio Scnt'cas
this Afliiir."
Ltor — Niaii-iira,
Gaz. No. 1^1").,
th Inst, a larL^f
o say 1500, oth-
()\vn upon llic
uhI tlio W;i-
;onsistecl of a
n. This siiiai:
i;anio a Sacri-
oners cscapcil.
Lipht Iiitiuitry
a Hunt's) tiiat
Lower Land-
nstantly nishod
vded hy Lii'ut-^.
Frazier, Lieu-
Artillory, aii('
f the Proviii-
not nian-liPii
alf when theV
indod, and nl-
;o Pieces ; the

The Seneca warriors, aided probably by some of
the western Indians, were the authors of this unex-
pected attack. Their hostility did not end here.
Several weeks afterwards, Major AVilkins, with a
force of six hundred regulars, collected with great
effort throughout the provinces, was advancing to
the relief of Detroit. As the boats were slowly
forcing their way upwards against the swift cur-
rent above the Falls of Niagara, they were assailed
by a mere handful of Indians, thrown into con-
fusion, and driven back to Fort Schlosser with
serious loss. The next attempt was more fortunate,
the boats reaching Lake Erie without farther attack;
but the inauspicious opening of the expedition was
followed by residts yet more disastrous. As they
approached their destination, a violent storm overtook
them in the night. The frail bateaux, tossing upon
the merciless waves of Lake Erie, were overset,
driven ashore, and many of them dashed to pieces.
About seventy men perished, all the ammunition and
stores were destroyed, and the shattered Hotilla was
forced back to Niagara.^

Oificers were all killed, it is reported, ^ MS. Diary of an officer in Wil-

on the Enemy's first Fire ; the Sav- kins' expedition against the Indians

ages rushed down upon tliem in at Detroit.
tliree Colunms."

r •ill!

CHAPTER XXII.

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS.

^l i

i y

The advancing frontiers of American civilization
have always nurtured a class of men of striking and
peculiar character. The best examples of this cliar-
acter have, perhaps, been found among the settlers
of Western Virginia, and the hardy progeny who
have sprung from that generous stock. The Virgin-
ian frontiersman was, as occasion called, a farmer, a
hunter, and a warrior, by turns. The well-beloved
rifle was seldom out of his hand, and he never
deigned to lay aside the fringed frock, moccasons.
and Indian I'^ggins, which formed the appropriate
costume of the forest ranger. Concerning the busi-
ness, pleasures, and refinements of cultivated life, he
knew little, and cared nothing; and his manners
were usually rough and obtrusive to the last degree.
Aloof from mankind, he lived in a world of his
own, which, in his view, contained all that was de-
serving of admiration and praise. He looked u})on
himself and his compeers as models of pi-owcss and
manhood, nay, of all that is elegant and polite ; and
tb e^*^^ gallant regarded with peculiar compla-

' y .-i own half-savage dress, his swaggering
g. '. ' ' his backwoods jargon. He was wilful,
headstrong, and quarrelsome; frank, straightforward.
and generous; brave as the bravest, and utterly

Chap. XXII.] THE VIRGINIAN BACKWOODSMAN.

379

intolerant of arbitrary control. His self-confidence
mounted to audacity. Eminently capable of beroism,
both in action and endurance, be viewed every
species of effeminacy witb supreme contempt ; and,
accustomed as be was to entire self-reliance, tbe
mutual dependence of conventional life excited liis
especial scorn. AVitb all bis ignorance, be bad a
mind by nature quick, vigorous, and penetrating;
and bis mode of life, wbile it developed tlie daring
energy of bis cbaracter, wrougbt some of bis facul-
ties to a bigb degree of acuteness. Many of bis
traits have been reproduced in bis offspring. From
him bave sprung tbose bardy men wbosc struggles
and sufferings on tbe bloody ground of Kentucky
will ahvays form a striking page in American liis-
tory, and tbat band of adventurers before wbose
headlong cbarge, in tbe valley of Chibuabua, neitber
breastworks, nor batteries, nor fivefold odds could
avail for a moment.

At tbe period of Pontiac's war, tbe settlements of
Virginia bad extended as far as tbe Allegbanies, and
several small towns bad already s[)rung up be}ond
the Blue Ridge. Tbe population of tliese beautiful
valleys was, for tbe most part, tbin and scattered, and
the progress of settlement bad been greatly retarded
by Indian bostilities, wliicb, during tbe early years
of the French war, bad thrown these borders into
total confusion. They bad contributed, however,
to enhance the martial temper of tbe people, and
give a warlike aspect to the whole frontier. .Vt in-
tervals, small stockade forts, containing houses and
cabins, had been erected by tbe joint labor of the
inhabitants ; and hither, on occasion of alarm, tbe
settlers of tbe neighborhood congregated for refuge,

.380

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. [Chap. XXII

■§■'

remaining in tolerable security till the danger was
past. Many of the inhabitants were engaged for a
great j)art of the year in hunting, an occupation
upon which they entered with the keenest rolisli.'
Well versed in woodcraft, unsurpassed as marksinon,
and practised in all the wiles of Indian war, tli('\
would have formed, under a more stringent orgimiza-
tion, the best possible defence against a savage
enemy ; but each man came and went at his o^vll
sovereign will, and discipline and obedience were re-
pugnant to all his habits.

The frontiers of Maryland and Virginia closely
resembled each other, but those of Pennsylvania had
some peculiarities of their own. The population of
this province was of a most motley complexion,
being made up of members of various nations, and
numerous religious sects, English, Irish, Gernian,
Swiss, Welsh, and Dutch ; Quakers, Presbyterians,
Lutherans, Dunkers, Mennonists, and Moravians.
Nor is this catalogue by any means complete. Tlie
Quakers, to whose peaceful temper the rough fron-
tier offered no attraction, were confined to the east-
ern parts of the province. Cumberland county.
W'liich lies west of the Susquehanna, and may be
said to have formed the frontier, was then ahiiost
exclusively occupied by the Irish and their descend-
ants, who, however, were neither of the Roman faith,

1 " I have ofton seen them get up
early in tlie morning at this season,
walk hastily out, and look anxiously
to the woods, and snuff the autumnal
winds with tlie highest rapture, then
return into the house, and cast a quick
and attentive look at the rifle, which
was always suspended to a joist by a
couple of buck's horns, or little forks.
His hunting dog, understanding the

intentions of his master, would was;
his tail, and, by every blandishment
in his power, express his rcjuliiies!!
to accompany him to the woo(k."—
Doddridge, jVotes on H'eskni Vu. and
Pa. 124.

For a view of the state of the
frontier, see also Kercheval, Hist, of
the Valley of Virginia ; and Smytli,
Travels in America.

CiiAP. XXU.] CONSTERNATION OF THE SETTLERS.

381

!ior of Hibernian origin, being emigrants from the
colony of Scotch which forms a numerous and tlirift^
popuhition in the north of Ireland. In religious faith,
thc'V were stanch and zealous Presbyterians. Lontj
residence in the province had modified their national
cliaiacter, and imi)arted many of the peculiar traits
of the American backwoodsman ; yet the nature of
their religious tenets produced a certain rigidity of
temper and demeanor, from which the \ irginian was
wiiolly free. They were, nevertheless, hot-headed and
turbulent, often setting law and autliority at defiance.
The counties east of the Susquehanna su})ported a
mixed population, among which was conspicuous a
swarm of (Tr-vman peasants, who had been inun-
dating the mtry for many years past, and who for
the most part were dull and ignorant boors ; a char-
acter not wholly inapplicable to the great body of
tlieir descendants. The Swiss and German sectaries
called Mennonists, who were numerous in liancaster
county, professed, like the Quakers, principles of
non-resistance, and refused to bear arms.^

It Avas upon this mingled population that the
storm of Indian war was now descending with ap-
palling fury — a fury unparalleled through all past
and succeeding years. For hundreds of miles from
north to south, the country was wasted with fire
and steel. It would be a task alike useless and re-
volting to explore, through all its details, this horrible
monotony of . blood and havoc.^ The country was

' For an account of the population
of Pennsylvania, see Rupp's two his-
tories of York and Lancaster, and
of Lebanon and Berks counties.
See also the History of Cumberland
County, and the Pciin. Hist ColL

2 "There are many Letters in
Town, in which the Distresses of
the Frontier Inhabitants are set forth
in a most moving and striking Man-
ner ; but as these Letters are pretty
much the same, and it would be end-

382

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. [Chap. XXII

filled with the wildest dismay. The people of Vir.
cinia betook themselves to their forts for rcfu.re
15ut those of Pennsylvania, ill supplied with such
asylums, fled by thousands, and crowded in upon tlie
older settlements. 'J'he ranging parties who visited
the scene of devastation beheld, among tlie ruined
farms and plantations, sights of unspeakable horror,
and discovered, in the depths of the forest, the half-
consumed bodies of men and women, still bound fust
to the trees, where they had perished in the fiery
torture.^

II!

I '

fii

less to insert thn wliole, tho followinfj
is tlie Substiiiico of some of tlicm,
as near as we can recollect, viz. : —
" 'I'hat the Indians liiid set Fire to
Houses, Barns, Corn, Ilay, and, in
short, to every Tliinp that was com-
bustible, HO that the whole Country
S(!emod to he in one jjeneral Hliize —
Tiiiit the Miseries and Distresses of
the poor People were really shockinjj
to llumanity, and beyond the Power
of Ijaniifuaije to describe — That
Carlisle was become the Barrier, not
a sin<rle Individual beinp beyond it
— Tiiiit ev(!ry Stable nnd Hovel in
the Town was crowded with miser-
abb' Uefiifjees, who were reduced to
a State of Befr<rary and Despair ;
their Houses, Cattle and Harvest de-
stroyi'd ; and from a plentiful, inde-
pendent Peoj)le, they were become
real Objects of Charity and Commis-
eration — That it was most dismal
to see the Streets filled with People,
in whose (Countenances mijiht be dis-
covered a Mixture of Grief, Madness
and Despair ; and to hear, now and
then, the Sijrhs and Groans of Men,
the disconsolate Lamentations of
Women, and the Screams of Chil-
dren, who hiid lost their nearest and
dearest Relatives : And that on both
Sides of the Susqnehannah, for some
Miles, the Woods were filled with
poor P^imilies, and their Cattle, who
make Fires, and live like the Sav-
ages." — Penn. Gaz. No. 1805.

Extract from a MS. Letter, sijTna-
ture ((rased — Staunton, .July '^(i.

" Since the reduction of the Ucfrj.
ment, I have lived in the couiitrv,
which enables me to enform yr IId"'
of some particulars, I think it is a
duty incumbont on me to do. I c;\n
assert that in eifjht years' service. I
never knew such a general conster-
nation as the late irruj)tion of In-
dians has occasioned. Should llicv
make a second attempt, I am assurrd
the country will be laid desolntp.
which I attribute to the followinf^
reasons. The sudden, fifreat, and
unexpected .slaujrhter of the people;
tlieir being destitute of arms and
ammunition; the country Lieut. bcini,'
at a distance and not exerting him-
self, his orders are neglectt'd; tlio
most of tlie militia officers Ix'injj
unfit persons, or unwilling, not to
say afraid to meet an Enemy; too
busy with their harvest to run a risk
in "the field. The Inhabitants left
without protection, without a person
to stead them, have nothing to do
but fly, as the Indians are .saving
and caressing all the negroes tliey
take; should it produce an insurrec-
tion, it may be attended with the
most serious consctiuences."

J "To Col. Francis Lee, or, in his
Absence, to the next Commanding
Officer in Loudoun County." (Penn.
Gaz. No. 1805.)

"I examined the Express that

[Ciup. XXII

Chap. XXH.]

ATTACK ON GllEENBUIER.

383

t)lo of Vir.
i'oY rcfiiu^o.
with such
'^ upon tlic
vho visited
tlio ruined
ble honor,
t, tlie half.
bound fust
I the fiery

1. Lrtter, si^jna-
m, July 2i').

in of tllO Uprrj.

n tlio coiiiitrv,

'nforiii yr I Id'"'

I think it, is a

f! to do. I Clin

'oars' service, I

I'lioml constcr-

rn|)tioii lit' lii-

Slioiild tiicy

t, I am ii.ssuri'd

laid d(>s(ilMti\

the tbilduini,'

n,^ fj-reat, iiiul

of tlio pcoplo;

of arms niid

■y Lii'iit. bciiiff

oxortiiijr liini-

oj^lcctcd; tlio

itficors Ix'iiior

illin<r, not to

Hnomy; too

. to run a risk

habitants let't

lont a person

lothinff to do

s are saving

IK^nrrOPS tllCV

ail insurrcc-

od with the

■ics."

ec, or, in his

Comniaiiding

ity." (Pcnn.

Express that

Among the numerous war-parties which were now
ravaging the borders, none was more destructive than
II baud, about sixty in number, which ascended the
lu'iiiuvha, and pursued its desolating course among
the settlements about the sources of that river.
They passed valley after valley, sometimes attacking
the inhabitants by surprise, and sometimes murd(>ring
thera under the mask of friendship, until they came
to the little settlement of Greenbrier, where nearly
a liinidred of the people were assembled at the for-
tified house of Archibald Glcndenning. Seeing two
or three Indians approach, whom they recognized as
former acquaintances, they suffered them to enter
'vithout distrust; but the new-comers were soon
joined by others, until the entire party were gathered
in and around the buildings. Some suspicion was
now awakened, and, in order to propitiate the dan-
gerous guests, they were presented with the carcass
of an elk lately brought in by the hunters. They
immediately cut it up, and began to feast upon it.
The backwoodsmen, with their families, were as-
sembled in one large room; and finding themselves
mingled among the Indians, and embarrassed by the
presence of the women and children, they remained
indecisive and irresolute. Meanwhile, an old woman,
who sat in a corner of the room, and who had

brouglit this Letter from Winches-
ter to Loudoun County, and he in-
formed mc that ho was employed as
an Express from Fort Cumberland to
Winchester, which Place he left the
4"' Instant, and that passint^ from
the Fort to Winchester, he saw lying
on the Road a Woman, who had
been just scalped, and was then in
the Agfonies of Death, with her
Brains hanging over her Skull; his
Companions made a Proposal to

knock her on the Head, to put an
End to her Agony, but this Express
api)reliciiding tlie Indians wore near
at Hand, and not thinking it safe to
lose any Time, rode off, and left the
poor Woman in the Situation they
found her."

The circumstances referred to in
the text are mentioned in several
pamphlets of the day, on the author-
ity of James Smith, a prominent
leader of the rangers.

: ''-H

i k

.vi:

' I't'S

384

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. (Chap. XXII

lately received some sHj]rht accidental injury, askod
one of the warriors if he could cure tlie avouiuI.
He replied that he thought he could, and, to mako
good his words, killed her with his tomaliawk.
This was the signal for a scene of general butchcrv.
A few persons made their escape ; the rest were
killed or captured. Glendenning snatched up one
of his children, and rushed from the house, hut was
shot dead as he leaped the fence. A negro woman
gained a place of concealment, whither she was Ibl-
lowed by her screaming child; and, fearing lest the
cries of the boy should betray her, she turned and
killed him at a blow. Among the prisoners was tlio
wife of Glendenning, a woman of a most masculiiu'
spirit, who, far from being overpowered by what she
had seen, was excited to the extremity of rage.
charged her captors with treachery, cowardice, and
ingratitude, and assailed them with a tempest of
abuse. Neither the tomahawk, which they bran-
dished over her head, nor the scalp of her nundered
husband, with which they struck her in the face,
could silence the undaunted virago. When the i)aity
began their retreat, bearing with them a great cpian-
tity of plunder, packed on the ho/s'^s they liiid
stolen, Glendenning's wife, with her iiifont cliild,
was placed among a long train of cabtives, guarded
before and behind by the Indians. As they defiled
along a narrow path which led through a gap in
the mountains, she handed the child to the woman
behind her, and, leaving it to its fate,^ slipped into

1 Her absence was soon perceived, ineffectual, ho dashed out its brains

on which one of the Indians remarked against a tree. This was related by

that he would bring the. cow back to one of the captives wlio was taken

her calf, and, seizing the child, forced to the Indian villages and afterwards

it to scream violently. This proving redeemed.

CuAr. XXII.] ATTACK ON A SCHOOL-HOUSE.

385

nho was fol^

tlio bushes and escaped Being well acciuainted with
the woods, she succeeded, before nightfall, in riuich-
ing the s[)ot where the ruins of her dwelling had
not yet ceased to burn, ll'jre she sought out the
body of her husband, and covered it with fence rails,
to protect it from the wolves. When her task was
colli plete, and when night closed around her, the
bold spirit which had hitherto borne her u\) sud-
denly gave way. The recollection of the horrors
she had witnessed, the presence of the dead, the
(luikuess, the solitude, and the gloom of the sur-
loiinding forest, wrought upon her till her terror
rose to ecstasy, and she remained until daybreak,
crouched among the bushes, haunted by the threat-
ening apparition of an armed man, who, to her
heated imagination, seemed constantly approaching to
murder her.^

Some time after the butchery at Glcndenning's
house, an outrage was perpetrated, unmatched, in its
ticnd-like atrocity, through all the annals of the
war. In a solitary place, deep within the settled
limits of Pennsylvania, stood a small school-house,
one of those rude structures of logs which, to this
day, may be seen in some of the remote northern
districts of New England. A man chancing to pass
by was struck by the unwonted silence, and, push-
ing open the door, he looked within. In the centre
lay the master, scalped and lifeless, with a Bible
clasped in his hand, while around the room were
strewn the bodies of his pupils, nine in number,
miserably mangled, though one of them still retained
a spark of life. It was afterwards known that the

' Doddridge, Notes, 221. MS. from Jie relation, of Glendenning's
Narrative, written by Colonel Stuart wife.

386

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. [Chap. XXII,

deed was committed by three or four warriors from
a village near the Ohio ; and it is but just to ob-
serve that, when they returned home, their conduct
was disapproved by some of the tribe.^

Page after page might be filled with records like
these, for the letters and jouraals of the day are re-
plete with narratives no less tragical. Districts Mere
depopulated, and the progress of the country put
back for years. Those small and scattered settle-
ments which formed the feeble van of advancing civ-
ilization were involved in general destruction, and the
fate of one may stand for the fate of all. In munv
a woody valley of the Alleghanies, the axe and fire-
brand of the settlers had laid a wide space open to
the sun. Here and there, about the clearing, stood
rough dwellings of logs, surrounded by enclosures
and cornfields, while, farther out towards the verge
of the woods, the fallen trees still cumbered tlie
ground. From the clay-built chimneys the smok(}
rose in steady columns against the dark verge of
the forest ; and the afternoon sun, which brightened
the tops of the mountains, had already left the val-
ley in shadow. Before many hours elapsed, the

1 Gordon, Hist Penn. Appendix.
Bard, Narrative.

" Several si I'^U parties went on to
different parts • the settlements : it
happened that three of them, whom
I was well acquainted with, came
from the neighbourhood of where I
was taken from — they were young
fellows, perhaps none of them more
than twenty years of age, — they
came to a school-house, where they
murdered and scalped the master,
and all the scholars, except one, who
survived after he was scalped, a boy
about ten years old, and a full cousin
of mine I saw the Indians when

they returned home with the s( alps ;
some of the old Indians were very
much displeased at them for killing
so many children, especiiiily Xcep-
paugh-whese, or Night Wsilkrr, an
old thief, or half king, — he iiscriboil
it to cowardice, which was the <rront-
est affront he could offer tiiein,"—
M'Cullough, JVarrntive.

Extract from an anonymous Lot-
ter — Philadelphia, August ;)0, I7(i4.

"The Lad found alive in tho
School, and said to be since dead, is,
I am informed, yet alive, and in a
likely Way to recover."

CHAr. XXII.]

SUFFERINGS OF CAPTIVES.

387

night was lighted up with the glare of blazing
dwellings, and the forest rang with the shrieks of
the murdered inmates.^

Among the records of that day's sufferings and
disasters, none are more striking than the narratives
of those whose lives were spared that they might be
borne captive to the Indian villages. Exposed to the
extremity of hardship, they were urged forward with
the assurance of being tomahawked or burnt in case
their strength should fail them. Some made their
escape from the clutches of their tormentors ; but of
these not a few found reason to repent their success,
lost in a trackless wilderness, and perishing miserably
from hunger and exposure. Such attempts could
seklom be made in the neighborhood of the settle-
ments. It was only when the party had penetrated
deep into the forest that their vigilance began to
relax, and their captives were bound and guarded

i I

iM r

1 Extract from a MS. Letter —
Thomas Cresap to Governor Sliarpe.

" Old Town, July loth, 1763.

"May it please y' Excellency:

"I take this oppc-tnuity in the
hoijrht of confusion to accjuaint you
with our unhappy and most wretched
situitiun at this time, being in hourly
expectation of being massacred by
our barbarous and inhuman enemy
the Indians, we having been three
(lays successively attacked by them,
viz. tile 13th, I4tli, and this instant,"

" I have enclosed a list of the des-
olnte men and women, and children
who have fled to my house, which is
enclosed by a small stockade for safe-
ty, by which you see what a number
of poor souls, destitute of every neces-
sary of life, are here penned up, and
hkely to be butchered without im-
mediate relief and assistance, and can

expect none, unless from the province
to which they belong. I siiall sub-
mit to your wiser judgment the best
and most effectual method for such
relief, and shall conclude witli hoping
we shall have it in time."

Extract from a Letter — Frederick
Town, .Tuly li), 17(53, (Penn. Gaz.
No. 1807.)

" Every Day, for some Time past,
has offered the melancholy Scene
of poor distressed Families driving
downwards, throngli this Town, with
their Effects, who have deserted their
Plantations, for Fetir of falling into
the cruel Hands of our Savage Ene-
mies, now daily seen in the Woods.
And never was Panic more general
or forcil-le than that of the Back
Inhabitants, whose Terrors, at this
Time, exceed what followed on the
Defeat of General Braddock, when
the Frontiers lay open to the Incur-
sions of botli French and Indians."

388

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. [Chap. XXII

with less rigorous severity. Then, perhaps, when
encamped by the side of some mountain brook, and
when the warriors lay lost in sleep around their fire,
the prisoner would cut or burn asunder the cords
that bound his wrists and ankles, and glide stealthilv
into the woods. With noiseless celerity, he pursues
his flight over the fallen trunks, through the dense
undergrowth, and the thousand pitfalls and impedi-
ments of the forest ; now striking the rough, hard
trunk of a tree, now tripping among the insiJious
network of vines and brambles. All is darknts
around him, and through the black masses of foU-
age above he can catch but dubious and uncertain
glimpses of the dull sky. At length, he can hear
the gurgle of a neighboring brook, and, turning to-
wards it, he wades along its pebbly channel, fearing
lest the soft mould and rotten wood of the forest
might retain traces enough to direct the bloodhound
instinct of his pursuers. With the dawn of the misty
and cloudy morning, he is still pushing on his way,
when his attention is caught by the spectral figure
of an ancient birch-tree, which, with its white bark
hanging about it in tatters, seems wofully familiar
to his eye. Among the neighboring bushes, a bUie
smoke curls faintly upward, and, to his horror and
amazement, he recognizes the very fire from which
he had fled a few hours before, and the piles of
spruce boughs upon which the warriors had slept.
They have gone, however, and are ranging the forest.
in keen pursuit of the fugitive, who, in his blind
flight amid the darkness, had circled round to the
very point whence he set out ; a mistake not uncom-
mon with careless or inexperienced travellers in the
woods. Almost in despair, he leaves the ill-omened

Chap. XXII.]

THE ESCAPED CAPTIVE.

389

spot, and directs his course eastward with greater
care, the bark of the trees, rougher and thicker on
the northern side, furnishing a precarious clew for
his guidance. Around and above him nothing can
be seen but the same endless monotony of brown
trunks and green leaves, closing him in with an im-
pervious screen. He reaches the foot of a mountain,
and toils upwards against the rugged declivity ; but
when he stands on the summit, the view is still shut
out by impenetrable thickets. Pligh above them all
shoots up the tall, gaunt stem of a blasted pine-tree,
and, in his eager longing for a view of the surround-
ing objects, he strains every muscle to ascend. Dark,
wild, and lonely, the wilderness stretches around
him, half hidden in clouds, half open to the sight,
mountain and valley, crag and glistening stream; but
nowhere can he discern the trace of human hand
or any hope of rest and harborage. Before he can
look for relief, league upon league must be passed,
without food to sustain or weapon to defend him.
He descends the mountain, forcing his way through
the undergrowth of laurel bushes, while the clouds
sink lower, and a storm of sleet and rain descends
upon the waste. Through such scenes, and under
such exposures, he presses onward, sustaining life
with the aid of roots and berries or the flesh of rep-
tiles. Perhaps, in the last extremity, some party of
rangers find him, and bring him to a place of refuge ;
perhaps, by his own efforts, he reaches some frontier
post, where rough lodging and rough fare seem to
him unheard-of luxury ; or, perhaps, spent with fa-
tigue and famine, he perishes in despair, a meagre
banquet for the wolves.
Within two or three weeks after the war had

GQ*

390

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. LCiiap. XXIL

broken out, the older towns and settlements of Penn-
sylvania were crowded with refugees from the deserted
frontier, reduced, in many cases, to the extremity of
destitution.^ Sermons were preached in their behalf
at Philadelphia; the religious societies united for
their relief, and liberal contributions were added by
individuals. While private aid was thus generously
bestowed upon the sufferers, the government showed
no such promptness in arresting the public calamity.
Early in July, Governor Hamilton had convoked the
Assembly, and, representing the distress of the bor-
ders, had urged them to take measures of defence."
But the provincial government of Pennsylvania was
more conducive to prosperity in time of peace than
to prompt efficiency in time of war. The Quakers,
who held a majority in the Assembly, were, from
principle and practice, the reverse of warlike, and,
regarding the Indians with a blind partiality, were
reluctant to take measures against them. Proud, and
with some reason, of the justice and humanity which
had marked their conduct towards the Indian race,
they had learned to regard themselves as its advo-
cates and patrons, and their zeal was greatly sharpened
by opposition and political prejudice. They now pre-
tended that the accounts from the frontier were

1 Extract from a Letter — Win-
chester, Virgfinia, June 22d, (Penn.
Gaz. No. 1801.)

" Last Night I reached this Place.
I have been at Fort Cumberland sev-
eral Days, but the Indians having
killed nine People, and burnt several
Houses near Fort Bedford, made me
think it prudent to remove from those
Parts, from which, I suppose, near
500 Families have run away witliin
this week. — I assure you it was a
most melancholy Sight, to see such

Numbers of poor People, who had
abandoned their Settlements in such
Consternation and Hurry, tliat they
had hardly any thing with them but
their Chiidren. And wliat is still
worse, I dare say there is not Money
enough amongst the whole Families
to maintain a fifth Part of thoin till
the Fall ; and none of tlio poor Crea-
tures can get a Hovel to shelter them
from the Weather, but lie about
scattered in the Woods."
9 Votes of Assembly, V. 259.

Chap. XXII.] FEEBLE MEASURES OF DEFENCE.

391

grossly exaggerated ; and, finding this ground untena-
ble, they alleged, with better show of reason, that the
Indians were driven into hostility by the ill treat-
ment of the proprietaries and their partisans. They
recognized, however, the necessity of defensive meas-
ures, and accordingly passed a bill for raising and
equipping a force of seven hundred men, to be com-
posed of frontier farmers, and to be kept in pay only
(luring the time of harvest. They were not to leave
the settled parts of the province, to engage in offen-
sive operations of any kind, nor even to perform gar-
rison duty, their sole object being to enable the people
to gather in their crops unmolested.

This force was divided into numerous small de-
tached parties, who were stationed here and there, at
farm-houses and hamlets on both sides of the Sus-
quehanna, with orders to range the woods daily from
post to post, thus forming a feeble chain of defence
across the whole frontier. The two companies as-
signed to Lancaster county were placed under the
command of a clergyman, Mr. John Elder, pastor of
the Presbyterian church of Paxton, a man of worth
and education, and held in great respect upon the
borders. He discharged his military functions with
address and judgment, drawing a cordon of troops
across the front of the county, and preserving the
inhabitants free from attack for a considerable time.^

i) i

' Extract from a MS. Letter —
John Elder to Governor Penn.

" Paxton, 4th August, 17G3.
"Sir:

"The service your Hon' was
pleased to appoint me to, I have per-
formed to th(; best of my power ; tho'
not with success equal to my desires.

However, both companies will, I im-
agine, be complete in a few days:
there are now upwards of 80 men in
each, exclusive of officers, who are
now and have been employed since
their enlistment in such service as is
thought most safe and encouraging
to the Frontier inhabitants, who are
here and every where else in the

392

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. fCnAp, XXE

The feeble measures adopted by the Pennsylvania
Assembly highly excited the wrath of Sir Jeffrey Am-
herst, and he did not hesitate to give his feelings
an emphatic expression. "The conduct of the Penn-
sylvania bgislature," he writes, " is altogether so
infatuated and stupidly obstinate, that I want words
to express my indignation thereat ; but the colony of
Virginia, I hope, will have the honor of not only
driving the enemy from its own settlements, but that
of protecting those of its neighbors, who have not
spirit to defend themselves."

Virginia did, in truth, exhibit a vigor and activity
not unworthy of pnil-u. Unlike Pennsylvania, she
had the advantage of an existing militia law, and tlie
House of Burgesses, wu ; nciiher embarrassed by scru-
ples against the shedding of blood, nor by any pecu-
liar tenderness towards the Indian race. The house,
however, was not immediately summoned together, mid
the governor and council, without awaiting the delay
of such a measure, called out a thousand of the
militia, five hundred of whom were assigned to the
command of Colonel Stephen, and an equal numler
to that of Major Lewis. ^ The presence of these
men, most of whom were woodsmen and hunters, re-
stored order and confidence to the distracted borders,
and the inhabitants, before pent up in their forts, or
flying before the enemy, now took the field, in con-
junction with the militia. Many severe actions were
fought, but it seldom happened that the Indians
could stand their ground against the border riflemen.

hack countries quite sunk and dis- seek safety rather in flight than in

piritcd, SD that it's to bo feared that opposing the Savage Foe."

on any attack of the enemy, a con- - Sjjarks, Writings of Washing-

eiderable part of the country will be ton, II. 340.

evacuated, as all seem inclinable to

CflAP.XXILl COURAGE OF THE BORDERERS.

393

flijjht than in

The latter were uniformly victorious until the end
of the summer, when Captains Moffat and Phillips,
with sixty men, were lured into an ambuscade, and
routed, with the loss of half their number. A few
weeks after, they took an ample revenge. Learning
by their scouts that more than a hundred warriors
were encamped near Jackson's River, preparing to at-
tack the settlements, they advanced secretly to the
spot, and set upon them with such fury, that the
whole party broke away and fled, leaving weapons,
provision, articles of dress, and implements of magic,
in the hands of the victors.

Meanwhile the frontier people of Pennsylvania, find-
ing that they could hope for little aid from govern-
ment, bestirred themselves with admirable spirit in
their own defence. The march of Bouquet, and the
nctory of Bushy Run, caused a temporary lull in the
storm, thus enabling some of the bolder inhabitants,
who had fled to Shippensburg, Carlisle, and other
places of refuge, to return to their farms, where they
determined, if possible, to remain. With this reso-
lution, the people of the Great Cove, and the adjacent
valleys beyond Shippensburg, raised among them-
selves a small body of riflemen, which they placed
under the command of James Smith, a man whose
resolute and daring character, no less than the na-
tive vigor of his intellect, gave him great popularity
and influence with the borderers. Having been, for
several years, a prisoner among the Indians, he was
thoroughly acquainted with their mode of fighting.
He trained his men in the Indian tactics and disci-
pline, and directed them to assume the dress of Avar-
riors, and paint their faces red and black, so that,
in appearance, they were hardly distinguishable from
50

..n:!l?t

';Ji

ij!

394

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. [Ciivr. XXII

thp enemy.' Thus equipped, they scoured the woods
in front of the settlements, had various skirmishes
with the enemy, and discharged their difficult task
with such success that the inhabitants of the neigh-
borhood were not again driven from their hom(!s.

The attacks on the Pennsylvania frontier were
known to proceed, in great measure, from several
Indian villages, situated high up the west brunch
of the Susquehanna, and inhabited by a debauelicd
rabble composed of various tribes, of whom the most
conspicuous were Delawares. To root out this nest
of banditti v/oald be the most effectual means of
protecting the settlements, and a hundred and ten
men offered themselves for the enterprise. They
marched about the end of August ; but on their way
along the banks of the Susquehanna, they encoun-
tered fifty warriors, advancing against the borders,
The Indians had the first fire, and drove in the van-
guard of the white men. A hot fight ensued. The
warriors fought naked, painted black from head to
foot, so that, as they leaped among the trees, they
seemed to their opponents like demons of the forest.
They were driven back with heavy loss, and the vol-
unteers returned in triumph, though without accom-
plishing the object of the expedition, for which, in-
deed, their numbers were scarcely adequate.^

1 Petition of the Inhabitants of the
Great Cove. Smith, Narrative. This
is a highly interesting? account of the
writer's captivity among the Indians,
and Ids adventures during several
succeeding years. In the war of the
revolution, he acted the part of a zeal-
ous patriot. He lived until the year
1812, about which time the western
Indians having broken out into hos-
tility, he gave his country the benefit

of his ample experience, by publish-
ing a treatise on the Indian mode of
warfare. In Kentucky, wliore lie
spent the latter part of his life, lie wns
much respected, and several times
elected to the legislature. Tliii^ nar-
rative may be found in Drake's Tra<re-
dies of the Wilderness, and in several
otlier similar collections.
2 Penn. Gaz. No. J811.

Chap. XXII.]

ARMSTRONG'S EXPEDITION.

395

Within a few weeks after their return, Colonel
Armstrong, a veteran partisan of the French war,
raised three hundred men, the best in Cumberland
county, with a view to the eiFectual destruction of
the Susquehanna villages. I^eaving their rendezvous
at the crossings of the Juniata, about the first of
October, they arrived on the sixth at the Great
Island, high up the west branch. On or near this
island were situated the principal villages of the ene-
my. But the Indians had vanished, abandoning their
houses, their cornfields, their stolen horses and cattle,
and the accumulated spoil of the settlements. Leav-
ing a detachment to burn the towns and lay waste
the fields, Armstrong, with the main body of his men,
followed close on the trail of the fugitives, and, pur-
suing them through a rugged and difficult country,
soon arrived at another village, thirty miles above
the former. His scouts informed him that the place
was full of Indians, and his men, forming a circle
around it, rushed in upon the cabins at a given sig-
nal. The Indians were gone, having stolen away in
such haste that the hominy and bear s meat, prepared
for their meal, were found smoking upon their dishes
of birch bark. Having burned the place to the
ground, the party returned to the Great Island, and,
rejoining their companions, descended the Susque-
hanna, reaching Fort Augusta in a wretched con-
dition, fatigued, half famished, and quarrelling among
themselves.^

Scarcely were they returned, when another expe-
dition was set on foot, in which a portion of them

' Penn. Gaz. Nos. 1816-1818. MS. Letter — Graydon to Bird, Octo-

berl2

396

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. [Cuai-. XXU

Ij I

were persuaded to take part. During the previous
year, a body of settlers from Connectieut hud pos-
sessed tliemselves of the valley of Wyoming, on the
east branch of the Susquehanna, in defiance of the
government of Pennsylvania, and to the great dis;.
pleasure of the Indians. The object of the expedition
was to remove these settlers, and destroy their corn
and provisions, which might otherwise fall into the
hands of the enemy. The party, ccmposed chiefly of
volunteers from Lancaster county, set out from Har-
ris' Ferry, under the command of Major Clayton,
and reached Wyoming on the seventeenth of October.
They were too late. Two days before their arrival, a
massacre had been perpetrated, the fitting precursor
of that subsequent scene of blood which, embahiied
in the poetic romance of Campbell, has made the
name of Wyoming a household word. The settle-
ment was a pile of ashes and cinders, and the bodies
of its miserable inhabitants offered frightful proof of
the cruelties which, with diabolical ingenuit}, had
been inflicted upon them.' A large war-party had
fallen upon the place, killed and carried off more
than twenty of the people, and driven the rest, men,
women, and children, . in terror to the mountains.
Gaining a point which commanded the whole ex-
panse of the valley below, the fugitives looked back,
and saw the smoke rolling up in volumes from tlieir
burning homes, while the Indians could be discerned
roaming about in quest of plunder, or feasting in
groups upon the slaughtered cattle. One of the

1 Extract from a MS. Letter — posed to be put in red hot, and several

Paxton, October 23. of the men had awls thrust into their

" The woman was roasted, and eyes, and spears, arrows, pitchforits,

had two hinges in her hands, sup- etc., sticking in their bodies."

Cbap. XXII.]

QUAKER rREJUDICE.

397

principal settlers, a man named Hopkins, was se]^)-
arated fro-n the rest, and driven into the woods.
Finding himself closely pursued, he crept into the
huge, hollow trunk of a fallen tree, while the In-
dians passed without observing him. They soon re-
turned to the spot, and ranged the surrounding
woods like hounds at fault, two of them apjiroach-
ing so near, that, as Hopkins declared, he could
liear the bullets rattle in their pouches. The search
was unavailing; but the fugitive did not venture
from his place of concealment until extreme hunger
forced him to return to the ruined settlement in
search of food. The Indians had abandoned it
some time before, and, having found means to restore
his exhausted strength, he directed his course towards
the settlements of the Delaware, which he reached
after many days of wandering.'

Having buried the dead bodies of those who had
fallen in the massacre, Clayton and his party re-
turned to the settlements. The Quakers, who seemed
resolved that they would neither defend the people
of the frontier nor allow them to defend themselves,
vehemently inveighed against the several expeditions
up the Susquehanna, and denounced them as sedi-
tions and murderous. Urged by their blind prejudice
in favor of the Indians, they insisted that the bands
of the Upper Susquehanna were friendly to the Eng-
lish ; whereas, with the single exception of a few
Moravian converts near Wyoming, who had not been
molested by the whites, there could be no rational
doubt that these savages nourished a rancorous and
malignant hatred against the province. But the

1 MS. Elder Papers. Chapman, Hist Wyoming, 70. Miner, Hist Wy-
oming, 56

;i|

■

398

DKSOLATION OF TIIK FllONTIKRS. [Ciiai-. XXII

QusiktM's, rcniovrd by their situation from all fear of
the toinaluuvk, sociiroly vciiti'd their spite u^niinst
the borderers, and doggedly closed their ears to the
truth.' Meanwhile, the people of the frontier be.
sieg(>d the Assembly with petitions for relief; but
little heed was given to their complaints.

Sir Jeffrey Amherst had recently resigned his offiro
of command(u-in-chief, and General (iage, a man of
less efficiency than his vigorous and able predecessor,
was api)ointed to succeed him. Immediately before
his departure for England, Amherst had made i\
requisition upon the several provinces for troops to
march against the Indians early in the spring, and
the first act of Gage was to confirm this recpiisitioii.
New York was called upon to furnish fourteen hun-
dred men, and New Jersey six hundred' The
demand was granted, on condition that the New
England provinces should also contribute a just

• It has already boon stated that
the Quakers wore confined to tlie
eastern parts of the province. Tliat
their soiMirity "as owinjr to their
local situation, rather than to the
kind foolin<|; of tlie Indians towards
them, is sliown by the fact, that, of
tlie very few of tlieir number who
lived in exposed j)ositions, several
were killed. One of them in partic-
ular, Jolui Finchor, seeing his house
about to be attacked, wont out to
meet the warriors, declared that he
was a Quaker, and begged for mercy.
The Indians laughed, and struck him
dead witli a tomahawk.

2 MS. Gage Papers.

Extract from a MS. Letter —

William Smith, Jr., to .

"New York. 22iul Nov., 1763.

" Is not Mr. Amherst the happiest
of men to get out of this Trouble so
seasonably ? At last he was obliged
to submit, to give the despised In-

dians so great a mark of his Consid-
eration, as to confess he coiild not
defend us, and to make a ro(jiiisition
of 1400 Provincials by the S|)riiiir —
GOO more he demands from New Jer-
sey. Our People refused nl! but a
few for immediate Defence, con-
ceiving that all the Northern Colo-
nies ought to contribute e(iu-illy, ami
upon an apprehension that lio has
called for too insufficient an aid.

" Is not Gage to be pitied ? TIip
war will be a tedious one, nor can it
be glorious, even tho' attended witli
Success. Instead of decisive^ Uattlcn,
woodland skirmishes — in.-^tcad of
Colours and Cannon, our Tropliics
will be stinking scalps. — Heaven
preserve you, my Friend, from a War
conducted by a spirit of Murder
rather than of brave and generous
offence."

[Cm A I'. XX U

Chap. XXII]

POLITICAL DISPUTES.

399

all fear of
itc ugainst
cars to the
'r()nti(>r be-
relief; hut

d his otlicr
a iiiaii of
predecessor,
itely before
id made ii
r tro()[)s to
spring, and
requisition.
Lirteen hun-
i-td." The
t the New
ite a just

of his Consid-
ho could not
cc a reiiiiisition
the Sprinif —
"roin Ni>w ,h'r-
iscd all but a
Dcfpiico, con-
^Jorthcrii Colo-
ite PfiuuUy, and
»n that ho has
cnt an aid,

pitied ? The
ono, nor can it

attended with

lecisive Battles,

— instead of

our Trophies
lips, — Heaven
nd, from a War
rit of Murder

and generous

pi()[K)rtioii to tlie general defence. This condition was
complied with, and the troops were raised.

Pennsylvania had been required to furnisli a thou-
sand men ; but in this (juarter many difficulti(^s inter-
vtned. The Assembly of the province, never piompt
to vol pplics for military purpos(^s, was now em-
broiled in that obstinate quarrel with the propri-
etors, which for years past had cloggeil all the
wheels of government. The i)roi)rietors insisti^l on
crrtuin pretended rights, which the Assembly stren-
uously opposed ; and the governors, who reprc»s(Mited
the proprietary interest, were bound by imi)erativc
instructions to assert these claims, in spite of all
ojjposition. On the present occasion, the chief point
of dispute related to the taxation of the proprietary
estates, '^e governor, in conformity with his instruc-
tions, vnding that they should be assessed at a
lower rate than other lands of equal value in the
province. The Assembly stood their ground, and
rofused to remove the obnoxious clauses in the sup-
ply bill. INIessage after message passed between the
house and the governor; mutual recrimination en-
sued, and ill blood was engendered. At length, in
view of the miserable condition of the province, the
desperation of the frontier people, and the danger
of a general insurrection, the Assembly consented to
waive their rights, and passed the bill under protest,
voting fifty thousand pounds for the service of the
campaign.* The quarrel was so long protracted that
the bill did not receive the governor's assent until
the spring, and in the mean time the province had
become the scene of most singular disorders.

' Gordon, Hist. Penn. 414. Peirn. Gaz. No. 1840. Votes of Assembly

400

DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. [Cuap. XXli

These disturbances may be ascribed, in some degree,
to the renewed activity of the enemy, who, during a
great part of the autumn, had left the borders in
comparative quiet. As the winter closed in, their
attacks became more frequent, and districts, re-
peopled during the interval of calm, were again
made desolate. Again the valleys were illumined
by the flames of burning houses, and families Hed
shivering through the biting air of the winter night.
while the fires behind them shed a ruddy glow
upon the snow-covered mountains. The scouts,
who on snowshoes explored the track of the ma-
rauders, found the bodies of their victims lying in
the forest, stripped naked, and frozen to marble
hardness. The distress, wrath, and terror of t\ie
borderers produced results sufficiently remarkable to
deserve a separate examination.

ijf^^-

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE INDIANS RAISE THE SIEGE OF DETROIT.

I RETURN to the long-forgotten garrison of De-
troit, which was left still beleaguered by an increas-
ing multitude of savages, and disheartened by the
unhappy defeat of Captain Dalzell's detachment. The
schooner, so boldly defended by her crew, against
a force of more than twenty times their number,
brought to the fort a much needed supply of pro-
vision. It was not, however, adequate to the wants
of the garrison, and the whole were put upon the
shortest possible allowance.

It was now the end of September. The Indians,
witli unexampled pertinacity, had pressed the siege
since the beginning of May; but at length their un-
wonted constancy began to fail. The tidings had
reached them that Major Wilkins, with a strong
force, was on his way to Detroit. They feared the
consequences of an attack, especially as their am-
munition was almost exhausted; and by this time,
most of them were inclined to sue for peace, as the
easiest mode of gaining safety for themselves, and
at the same time lulling the English into security.^
They thought that by this means they might retire

' MS. Letter — Gage to Jolinson, Dec. 25, 1763. Penn. Gaz. No. 1827.
61 HH*

402

THE SIEGE OF DETROIT RAISED. [Chap. XXni

unmolested to their wintering grounds, and rencAv
the war with good hope of success in the spring.

Accordingly, on the twelfth of October, Wapocom-
oguth, great chief of the Mississaugas, a branch of
the Ojibwas, li^'ing within the present limits of
Upper Canada, came to the fort with a pipe of
peace. He began his speech to Major Gladwvn.
with the glaring falsehood that he and his people
had always been friends of the English. They were
now, he added, anxious to conclude a formal trcatv (_
of lasting peace and amity. He next declared tliat
he had been sent as deputy by the Pottawattamios,
Ojibwas, and Wyandots, who had instructed him to
say that they sincerely repented of their bad con-
duct, asked forgiveness, and humbly begged for
peace. Gladwya perfectly understood the hollowncss
of these professions, but the circumstances in which
he was placed made it expedient to listen to their
overtures. His garrison was threatened with famine.
and it was impossible to procure provision wliile
completely surrounded by hostile Indians, He there-
fore replied, that, though he was not empo-svcred to
grant peace, he would still consent to a truce. The
Mississauga deputy left the fort with this reply, and
Gladwyn immediately took advantage of this lull in
the storm to collect provision among the Cana-
dians; an attempt in which he succeeded so well
that the fort was soon furnished with a tolerable
supply for the ^^dnter.

The Ottawas alone, animated by the indomitable
spirit of Pontiac, had refused to ask for peace, and
still persisted in a course of petty hostilities. They
fired at intervals on the English foraging parties.
until, on the thirtieth of October, an unexpected

Chap. XXriL] LETTER FROM NEYON TO PONTIAC.

403

blow was given to the hopes of their great chief.
French messengers came to Detroit with a letter from
M. Neyon, commandant of Fort Chartres, the principal
post in the Illinois country. This letter was one of
those which, on demand of General Amherst, Neyon,
with a very bad grace, had sent to the different In-
dian tribes. It assured Pontiac that he could expect
no assistance from the French ; that they and the
English were now at peace, and regarded each other
as brothers, and that the Indians had better aban-
don hostilities which could lead to no good result.^
The emotions of Pontiac at receiving this message
may be conceived. His long-cherished hopes of as-
sistance from the French were swept away at once,
and he saw himself and his people thrown back
upon their own slender resources. In rage and mor-
tification, he left Detroit, and, with a number of his
chiefs, repaired to the Hiver Maumee, with the design
of stirring up the Indians in that quarter, and re-
newing hostilities in the spring.^

About the middle of November, not many days
after Pontiac's departure, two friendly Wyandot In-
dians from the ancient settlement at Lorette, near
Quebec, crossed the river, and asked admittance into
the fort. One of them then unslung his powder-
horn, and, taking out a false bottom, disclosed a
closely-folded letter, which he gave to Major Glad-
wyn. The letter was from Major Wilkins, and con-
tained the disastrous news that the detachment under
his command had been overtaken by a storm, that
many of the boats had been wrecked, that seventy

--*;

'MS. Lettrc de M. Ni'yon de ' Early in 1764, ho had a mootitnj
Valliere, a tons los nations de la with Neyon, who vainly urged him
Belle Riviere et du Lac, etc. to make peace.

404

THE SEEGE OF DETROIT RAISED. [CiiAP.XXni

men had perished, that all the stores and ammunition
had been destroyed, and the detachment forced to re-
turn to Niagara. This intelligence had an etfcct upon
the garrison which rendered the prospect of the cold
and cheerless winter yet more dreary and forlorn.

The summer had long since drawn to a close, and
the verdant landscape around Detroit had undergone
an ominous transfoimation. Touched by the first
October frosts, the forest glowed like a bed of
tulips ; and all along the river bank, the painted
foliage, brightened by the autumnal sun, reflected its
mingled colors upon the dark water below. The
western wind was fraught with life and exhilaration,
and in the clear, sharp air, the form of the fish-
hawk, sailing over the distant headland, seemed
almost within range of the sportsman's gun.

A week or two elapsed, and then succeeded that
gentler season which bears among us the name of
the Indian summer ; when a light haze rests upon
the morning landscape, and the many-colored woods
seem wrapped in the thin drapery of a veil ; when
the air is mild and calm as that of early June, and
at evening the sun goes down amid a warm, vohip-
tuous beauty, that may well outrival the softest tints
of Italy. But through all the still and breathless
afternoon, the leaves have fallen fast in the woods,
like flakes of snow, and every thing betokens that
the last melancholy change is at hand. And, in
truth, on the morrow the sky is overspread with
cold and stormy clouds, and a raw, piercing wind
blows angrily from the north-east. The shivering
sentinel quickens his step along the rampart, and
the half-naked Indian folds his tattered blanket close
around him. The shrivelled leaves are blown from

CHAP.XXm.] INDLiNS AT TIIEIli HUNTING-GROUNDS. 405

the trees, and soon the gusts are whistling and
howling amid gray, naked twigs and mossy branches.
Here and there, indeed, the beech-tree, as the wind
sweeps among its rigid boughs, shakes its pale as-
semblage of crisp and rustling leaves. The pines
and firs, with their rough tops of dark evergreen,
bend and moan in the wind, and the crow caws
sullenly, as, struggling against the gusts, he flaps
his black wings above the denuded woods.

The vicinity of Detroit was now almost abandoned
by its besiegers, who had scattered among the forests
to seek sustenance through the winter for themselves
and their families. Unlike the buffalo-hunting tribes
of the western plains, they could not at this season
remain together in large bodies. The comparative
scarcity of game forced them to separate into small
bands, or even into single families. Some steered
their canoes far northward, across Lake Huron, while
others turned westward, and struck into the great
wilderness of Michigan. Wandering among forests,
bleak, cheerless, and choked with snow, now famish-
ing with want, now cloyed with repletion, they
passed the dull, cold winter. The chase yielded
their only subsistence, and the slender lodges, borne
on the backs of the squaws, were their only cover-
ing. Encamped at intervals by the margin of some
frozen lake, surrounded by all that is most stern
and dreary in the aspects of nature, they were sub-
jected to every hardship, and endured all with stub-
born stoicism. Sometimes, during the frosty night,
they were gathered in groups about the flick-
ering lodge-fire, listening to traditions of their fore-
fathers, and wild tales of magic and incantation.
Perhaps, before the season was past, some bloody

^-i m

406

THE SIEGE OF DETROIT RAISED. [Chap. XXIIL

feud broke out among them; perhaps they were
assailed by their ancient enemies the Dahcotah ; or
perhaps some sinister omen or evil dream spread
more terror through the camp than the presence of
an actual danger would have awakened. AVith the
return of spring, the scattered parties once more
united, and moved towards Detroit, to indulge their
unforgotten hatred against the English.

Detroit had been the central point of the Indian
operations ; its capture had been their favorite pro-
ject; around it they had concentrated their greatest
force, and the failure of the attempt proved disas-
trous to their cause. Upon the Six Nations, more
especially, it produced a marked eifect. The friendly
tribes of this confederacy were confirmed in their
friendship, while the hostile Senecas began to lose
heart. Availing himself of this state of things, Sir
William Johnson, about the middle of the winter,
persuaded a number of Six Nation warriors, by dint
of gifts and promises, to go out against the enemy.
He stimulated their zeal by offering rewards of fifty
dollars for the heads of the two principal Delaware
chiefs.* Two himdred of them, accompanied by a
few provincials, left the Oneida country during the
month of February, and directed their course south-
ward. They had been out but a few days, when

1 Extract from a MS. Letter — Sir
W. Johnson to .

" For God's Sake exert yourselves
like Men whose Honotir & every
thing dear to them is now at stake ;
the General ha.s groat Expectations
from the success of your Party, &
indeed so have all People here, & I
hope they will not be mistaken, — in
Order to Encourage your party I will,
out of my own Pocket, pay to any

of the Party 50 Dollars for the Head
Men of the Delawares there, viz,
Onuperaquedra, and 50 Dollars more

for the Head of Long Coat, alias ,

in which case they nmst either bring
them alive or their whole Heads ; the
Money shall be paid to the Man
who takes or brings me them, or
their Heads, — this I would have you
tell to the Head men of the Party,
OS it will make them more eager."

Chap. XXIII.]

THE WAR IN THE SOUTH.

407

:he Indian
vorite pro-
nr greatest
oved disas-
tions, more
he friendly
i in tlieir
an to lose
things, Sir
the winter,
rs, by dint
the enemy.
ds of fifty
Delaware
nied by a
luring the
irse south-
lays, when

•s for the Head
■es there, viz.
Dollars more

!oat, alias ,

ist either bring
le Heads ; tlie
to the Man

me them, or
v^ould have you

of the Party,
lore eager."

they found an encampment of forty Delawares, com-
manded by a formidable chief, known as Captain
Bull, who, with his warriors, was on his way to attack
the settlements. They surrounded the camp undis-
covered, during the night, and at dawn of day raised
the war-whoop and rushed in. The astonished Dela-
wares had no time to snatch their arms. They were
ail made prisoners, taken to Albany, and thence sent
down to New York, where they were conducted, un-
der a strong guard, to the common jail, the mob
crowding round them as they passed, and admiring
tlic sullen ferocity of tlieir countenances. Not long
after this success. Captain Montour, with a party of
provincials and Six Nation warriors, destroyed the
town of Kanestio, and other hostile villages, on the
upper branches of the Susquehanna. This blow, in-
flicted by supposed friends, produced more effect upon
the enemy than greater reverses would have done, if
eucountered at the hands of the English alone.^

The calamities which overwhelmed the borders of
the middle provinces were not unfelt at the south.
It was happy for the people of the Carolinas that
the Cherokees, who had broken out against them
three years before, had at that time received a chas-
tisement which they could never forget, and from
which they had not yet begun to recover. They
were thus compelled to remain comparatively quiet,
while the ancient feud between them and the north-
ern tribes would, under any circumstances, have pre-
sented their uniting with the latter. The contagion
of the war reached them, however, and they per-
petrated numerous murders; while the neighboring

^ MS. Jobnaon Papers.

1. < mi

■m

i l:

408

THE SIEGE OF DETROIT RAISED. [Cuav. XXIII.

nation of the Creeks rose in open hostility, and com-
mitted formidable ravages. Towards the north, the
Indian tribes were compelled, by their position, to
remain tranquil, yet they showed many signs of un-
easiness ; and those of Nova Scotia caused great alarm,
by mustering in large bodies in the neighborhood of
Halifax. The excitement among them was tempo-
rary, and they dispersed without attempting mischief.

If ^'Mi

iti«

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE PAXTON MEN.

Along the thinly-settled borders, two thousand per-
sons had been killed, or carried off, and nearly an
equal number of families driven from their homes.'
The frontier people of Pennsylvania, goaded to des-
peration by long-continued suffering, were divided
between rage against the Indians, and resentment
against the Quakers, who had yielded them cold sym-
pathy and inefficient aid. The horror and fear, grief
and fury, with which these men looked upon the
mangled remains of friends and relatives, set language
at defiance. They were of a rude and hardy stamp,
hunters, scouts, rangers, Indian traders, and back-
woods farmers, who had grown up with arms in their
hands, and been trained under all the influences of
the warlike frontier. They fiercely complained that
they were interposed as a barrier between the rest
of the province and a ferocious enemy, and that they
were sacrificed to the safety of men who looked with

' Extract from a MS. Letter —
George Croghan to the Board of
Trade.

"They can with great ease enter
our colonies, and cut off our frontier
settlements, and thereby lay waste
a large tract of country, which indeed
they have effected in tiie space of
four months, in Virginia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, and the Jerseys, on

whose frontiers they have killed and
captivated not less than two thousand
of his majesty's subjects, and drove
some thousands to beggary and the
greatest distress, besides burning
to the ground nine forts or block-
houses in the country, and killing a
number of his majesty's troops and
traders."

410

THE PAXTON MEN.

[CiiAi-. XXIV.

indifFerence on their miseries, and lost no opportunity
to extenuate and smooth away the cruelties of their
destroyers.' They declared that the Quakers would
go farther to befriend a murdering Delaware than
to succor a fellow-countryman — that they loved red
blood better than whi<^c, and a pagan better than a
Presbyterian. The Pennsylvania borderers wore, as
we have seen, chiefly the descendants of Presbyterian
emigrants from the north of Ireland. They hud in-
herited some portion of their forefathers' sectarian
zeal, which, while it did nothing to soften the bar-
barity of their manners, served to inflame their ani-
mosity against the Quakers, and added bitterness to
their just complaints. It supplied, moreover, a con-
venient sanction for the indulgence of their hatred
and vengeance, for in the general turmoil of their
passions, fanaticism too was awakened, and they in-
terpreted the command that Joshua should destroy
the heathen^ into an injunction that they should ex-
terminate the Indians.

The prevailing excitement was not confined to the
vulgar. Even the clergy and the chief magistrates
shared it, and while they lamented the excess of the
popular resentment, they maintained that the general

i Extract from the Declaration of
Lazarus Stewart.

" Did we not brave the summer's
heat and the winter's cold, and the
savage tomahawk, while the Inhabit-
ants of Philadelphia, Philadelphia
county, Bucks, and Chester, 'ate,
drank, and were merry ' ?

" If a white man kill an Indian, it
is a murder far exceeding any crime
upon record ; he must not be tried in
the county where he lives, or where
the offence was committed, but in
Philadelphia, that he may be tried.

convicted, sentenced and hung with-
out delay. If an Indian kill a white
man, it was the act of an ignorant
Heathen, perhaps in liquor ; alas, poor
innocent ! he is sent to the friendly
Indians that he may be made a Chris-
tian"

2 "And when the Lord tliy God
shall deliver them before tlioe, thou
shalt smite them, and utterly destroy
them; thou shalt make no covenant
with them, nor show mercy unto
them." — Deuteronomy, vii. 2.

Chap. XXIV.] EFFECTS OF INDIAN HOSTILITIES.

411

complaints were founded in justice. Viewing all the
circumstances, it is not greatly to be wondered at
that some of the more violent class were inflamed
to the commission of atrocities which bear no very
favorable comparison with those of the Indians
themselves.

It is not easy for those living in the tranquillity
of polished life fully to conceive the depth and force
of tliat unquenchable, indiscriminate hate which In-
dian outrages can awaken in those who have suffered
thorn. The chronicles of the American borders are
filled with the deeds of men, who, having lost all by
the merciless tomahawk, have lived for vengeance
alone ; and such men will never cease to exist so long
as a hostile tribe remains within striking distance of
an American settlement.' Never was this hatred more
deep or more general than on the Pennsylvania fron-
tier at this period ; and never, perhaps, did so many
collateral causes unite to inflame it to madness. It
was not long in finding a vent.

Near the Susquehanna, and at no great distance
from the town of Lancaster, was a spot known as
the Manor of Conestoga, where a small band of In-
dians, chiefly of Iroquois blood, had been seated since
the first settlement of the province. William Penn
had visited and made a treaty with them, which had
been confirmed by several succeeding governors, so
tliat the band had always remained on terms of
friendship with the English. Yet, like other Indian
communities in the neighborhood of the whites, they
had dwindled in numbers and prosperity, until they
were reduced to twenty persons, who inhabited a

^ So promising a theme has not es- has been adopted by Dr. Bird in hia
caped the notice of novelists, and it spirited story of Nick of the Woods

■fc

412

THE TAXTON MKN.

I Chap. XXIV

:i ■'■\'.

cluster of squalid cabins, and lived by bejjjj^arj uiul
the sale of brooms, baskets, and wooden ladles, iniidc
by the women. The men spent a small part of tlifir
time in hunting, and lounged away the rest in idle-
ness. In the immediate neighborhood, they were com-
monly regarded as harmless vagabonds ; but elsewlu re,
a more unfavorable oi)inion was entertained, and Hk y
were looked upon as secretly abetting the enemy,
acting as spies, giving shelter to scalping-parties, and
even aiding them in their depredations. That tliese
suspicions were not wholly unfounded is shown by a
conclusive mass of evidence, though it is probable
that the treachery was confined to one or two in-
dividuals.' The exasperated frontiersmen were not
in a mood to discriminate, and the innocent were
destined to share the fate of the guilty.^

On the east bank of the Susquehanna, some dis-
tance above Conestoga, stood the little town of Pax-
ton, a place which, since the French war, had occupied
a position of extreme exposure. In the year 1755,
the Indians had burned it to the ground, killing many
of the inhabitants, and reducing the rest to poverty.
It had since been rebuilt, but its tenants were the
relatives of those who had perished, and the bitter-
ness of the recollection was enhanced by the sense
of their own more recent sufferings. Mention has be-
fore been made of John Elder, the Presbyterian minister
of this place, a man whose worth, good sense, and su-
perior education gave him the character of counsellor
and director throughout the neighborhood, and caused
him to be known and esteemed even in Philadelphia.
His position was a peculiar one. " From the rough

I See Appendix, E.

8 For an account of the Conestoga Indians, see Penn. Hist. Coll. 390.

?<!•;

Chap. XXI v.] MATTHEW SMITH AND IIIS COMPANIONS 413

pulpit of his little church, he had often preached to
an ass(>mbly of armed men, while scouts and senti-
nels were stationed without, to give warning of the
enemy's approach.' Tlie men of Paxton, under the
auspices of their pastor, formed tliemselves into a
body of rangers, who became noted for their zeal
and efficiency in defending the borders. One of their
principal leaders was Matthew Smith, a man who
had influence and popularity among his associates,
and was not without pretensions to education, while
he shared a full proportion of the general hatred
agiiinst Indians, and suspicion against the band of
Conestoga.

Towards the middle of December, a scout came
to the house of Smith, and reported that an Indian,
known to have committed depredations in the neigh-
borhood, had been traced to Conestoga. Smith's res-
olution was taken at once. He called five of his
companions, and, having arnied and mounted, they
set out for the Indian settlement. They reached it
early in the night, and Smith, leaving his horse in
charge of the others, crawled forward, rifle in hand,
to reconnoitre, when he saw, or fancied he saw, a
number of armed warriors in the cabins. Upon this
discovorv he withdrew, and rejoined his associates.
Believing themselves too weak for an attack, the

arty returied to Paxton. Their blood was up, and
they deteiiiiined to extirpate the Conestogas. Mes-

^ I 111 one occaRion, a borlv of In-
dians approached Paxton oi ■^unday,
and wont forward one of tlicir num-
ber, whom the Enj^lish supposed to
be a frii'iid, to reconnoitre. The
spy reported that every man in the
church, inchiding the pro fher, had
a rifle at his side; upon iiich the

enemy withdrew, and satisfied them-
selves with burning a few houses in
the neighborhood. The papers of
Mr. Elder were submitted to the
writer's examination by his son, an
aged and esteemed citizen of Ilar-
risburg.

II*

414

THE PAXTON MEN.

ICiiAP. XXIV

sengers went abroad through the neighborhood; and,
on the following day, about fifty armed and mounted
men, chiefly from the towns of Paxton and Don-
negal, assembled at the place agreed upon. I^cd by
Matthew Smith, they took the road to Concstoga,
where they arrived a little before daybreak, on the
morning of the fourteenth. As they drew near, they
discerned the li<]rlit of a fire in one of the cabins,
gleaming across the snow. Leaving their horses in
the forest, they separated into small parties, and ad-
vanced on several sides at once. Though they moved
with some caution, the sound of their footsteps or
their voices caught the ear of an Indian, and they
saw him issue from one of the cabins, and walk
forward in the direction of the noise. He came so
near that one of the men fancied that he recognized
him. " He is the one that killed my mother," he
exclaimed with an oath ; and, firing his rifle, brought
the Indian down. With a general shout, the furious
ruffians burst into the cabins, and shot, stabbed, and
hacked to death all whom they found there. It
happened that only six Indians were in the place,
the resi;, in accordance with their vagrant habits,
being scattered about the neighborhood. Thus
balked of their complete vengeance, the murderers
seized upon what little booty they could find, set
the cabins on fire, and departed at dawn of da}.'

1 The above account of the mas-
sacre is chiefly drawn from the nar-
rative of Matthew Smith himself.
This sinjjular paper was published
by Mr. Redmond Conyn^ham, of
Lancaster, in the Lancaster Intelli-
gencer for 1843. Mr. Conyngham
states that he procured it from the
eon of Smith, for whose inforuiation

it had been witten. The accoum
is partially coiifirmed by incidental
allusions, in n letter written by
anotlier of the Paxton mm, nml nlso
published by Mr. Conynjjhani. This
gentleman employed himself with
most unwearied diligence in collect-
ing a voluminous muss of docnnients,
comprising, perhaps, every thing that

Chap. XXIV.] MASSACRE OF THE CONESTOGAS.

415

The morning was cold and murky. Snow was
falling, and already lay deep upon the ground ; and.
as they urged their horses through the drifts, they
were met by one Thomas Wright, who, struck by
their appearance, stopped to converse with them.
They freely told him what they had done, and, on
his expressing surprise and horror, one of them de-
manded if he believed in the Bible, and if the
Scripture did not command that the heathen should
be destroyed.

They soon after separated, dispersing among the

farm-houses, to procure food for themselves and their

horses. Several rode to the house of Robert Barber,

a prominent settler in the neighborhood, who, seeing

the strangers stamping their feet and shaking the

snow from their blanket coats, invited them to enter,

and offered them refreshment. Having remained for

a short time seated before his fire, thev remounted

•
and rode off through the snow-storm. A boy of the

fiimily, who had gone to look at the horses of the
visitors, came in and declared that he had SQcn a
tomahawk, covered with blood, hanging from each
man's saddle, and that a small gun, belonging to one
of the Indian children, had been leaning against the
fence. ^ Barber at once guessed the truth, and, with
several of his neighbors, proceeded to the Indian
settlement, where they found the solid log cabins
still on fire. Thev buried the remains of the vie-
tims, ^vhich Barber compared in appearance to half-
burnt logs. AVhile they were thus engaged, the
sheriff of Lancaster, with a party of men, arrived

■^#i'

could contribute to extenuate the to time in the above-mentioned news-
conduct of the Paxton men; and to paper, reference will often be made
these papers, as published from time ^ Haz. Pa. Reg. IX. 1 14.

416

THE PAXTON MEN.

[Chap. XXIV

on the spot; and the first care of the officer was to
send through the neighborhood to collect the In-
dians, fourteen in number, who had escaped the
massacre. This was soon accomplished, and the un-
happy survivors, learning the fate of their friends
and relatives, were in great terror for their own
lives, and earnestly begged protection. They were
conducted to Lancaster, where, amid great excite-
ment, thoy were lodged in the county jail, a strong
stone building, which it was thought would afford
the surest refuge.

An express was despatched to Philadelphia with
news of the massacre, on hearing which, the gov-
ernor issued a proclamation, denouncing the act, and
offering a reward for the discovery of the perpetra-
tors. Undaunted by this measure, and enraged that
any of their \ictims should have escaped, the Pax-
.ton men determined to continue the work they had
begun. In this resolution they were confirmed by
the prevailing impression, that an Indian known to
have murdered the relatives of one of their number
was among those who had received the protection of
the magistrates at Lancaster. They sent forward a
spy to gain intelligence, and, on his return, once
more met at their rendezvous. On this occasion,
their nominal leader was Lazarus Stewart, who was
esteemed upon the borders as a brave and active
young man, and who, there is strong reason to be-
lieve, entertained no worse design than that of seiz-
ing the obnoxious Indian, carrying him to Carlisle,
and there putting him to death, in case he should
be identified as the murderer.^ Most of his followers,

Papers published by Mr. Conyngham in the Lancaster Intelligencer.

Chap.XXIV.] attack ON LANCASTER JAIL.

417

however, hardened amidst war and bloodshed, were
bent on indiscriminate slaughter ; a purpose which
they concealed from their more moderate associates.

Early on the twenty-seventh of December, the
party, about fifty in number, left Paxton on their
desperate errand. Elder had used all his influeuce to
divert them from their design ; and now, seeing them
depart, he mounted his horse, overtook them, and
addressed them with the most earnest remonstrance.
Finding his words unheeded, he drew up his horse
across the narrow road in front, and charged them,
ou his authority as their pastor, to return. Upon
this, Matthew Smith rode forward, and, pointing his
rifle at the breast of Elder's horse, threatened to fire
unless he drew him aside, and gave room to pass.
The clergyman was forced to comply, and the party
proceeded.'

At about three o'clock in the afternoon, the riot-
ers, armed with rifle, knife, and tomahawk, rode at
a gallop into Lancaster, turned their horses into the
yard of the public house, ran to the jail, burst open
the door, and rushed tumultuously in. The fourteen
Indians were in a small yard adjacent f~ the build-
ing, surrounded by high stone walls. Ixearing the
shouts of the mob, and startled by the apparition
of armed men in the doorway, two or three of them
snatched up billets of wood in self-defence. What-
ever may have been the purpose of the Paxton men,
this show of resistance banished every thought of
forbearance; and the foremost, rushing forward, fired
their rifles among the crowd of Indians. In a mo-
ment more, the yard was filled with ruffians, shout-

' This anecdote was told to the writer by the son of Mr. Elder, and is
»l8o related by Mr. Conyngham.

418

THE PAXTON MEN.

[CiiAP. XXIV.

n w : I

ing, cursing, and firing upon the cowering wretches,
holding the muzzles of their pieces, in some in-
stances, so near their victims' heads that the brains
were scattered by the explosion. The work was soon
finished. The bodies of men, women, and children,
mangled with outrageous brutality, lay scattered about
the yard, and the murderers were gone.*

When the first alarm was given, the magistrates
were in the church, attending the Christmas service,
which had been postponed on the twenty-fifth. The
door was flung open, and the voice of a man half
breathless was heard ii broken exclamations, " Mur-
der — the jail — the Paxton Boys — the Indians."

The assembly broke up in disorder, and Shij)-
pen, the principal magistrate, hastened towards the
scene of riot; but, before he could reach it, all was
finished, and the murderers were galloping in a body
from the town.^ The sheriff and the coroner had

1 Deposition of Felix DonoUy,
keeper of Lancaster jail. Declara-
tion of Lazarus Stewart, published
by Mr. Conyngham. Rupp, Hist, of
York and Lancaster Counties, 358.
Heckewelder, Nar. of Moravian Mis-
sions, 79. Sec Appendix, E.

Soon after the massacre, Franklin
published an account of it at Phila-
delphia, which, being intended to
strengthen the hands of govornment
by exciting a popular sentiment
against the rioters, ia more rhetor-
ical than accurate. The following
is his account of the consummation
of the act : —

" When the poor wretches saw
they had no protection nigh, nor
could possibly escape, they divided
into their little families, the children
clinging to the parents ; they fell on
their knees, protested their inno-
cence, declared their love to the
English, and that, in their whole

lives, they had never done them in-
jury ; and in this posture they all re-
ceived the hatchet ! "

This is a pure embellishment of
the fancy. The only persons pres-
ent were tlie jailer and the rioters
themselves, who unite in testit'yinj
that tbo Indians died with the un-
flincliiiig stoicism which their nice
usually exhibit under such circum-
stances ; and indeed, so sudden was
the act, that there was no time for
enacting the scene described by
Franklin.

2 Extract from a MS. Letter -
Edward Shippen to Governor Penn,

" Lancaster, 27th Der., 1763, P. M.

"Honoured Sir: —

"I am to acquaint your Honour
that between two and three of the
Clock this afternoon, upwards of a
hundred armed men from the We^t
ward rode very fast into Town.

[Chap. XXIV.

ig wretches,
n some in-
; the brains
rk was soon
nd children,
,ttered about

magistrates
tmas service,
y-fifth. The
El man half
ions, " ]Mur-
Indians."
, and Shij)-
towards the
ti it, all was
ig in a body
coroner had

^er done them in-
jsture they all re-

nibellishment of

y persons pres-
and the riotera
lito in testifying
ied with the uii-
which their race

or such circum-
d, so sudden was

was no time for
He described by

MS. Letter -
Governor Penn,

Oer., 1763, P. M.

int your Honour
ind three of tjie
n, upwards ot a
1 from the Wc^t
ast into Town.

Chap.XXIV.] massacre IN LANCASTER JAIL.

419

mingled among the rioters, aiding and abetting them,
as their enemies affirm, but, according to their own
statement, vainly risking their lives to restore order. ^
A company of Highland soldiers, on their way from
Fort Pitt to Philadelphia, were encamped near the
town. Their commander. Captain llobertson, after-
wards declared that he put himself in the way of
the magistrates, expecting that they would call upon
him to aid the civil authority; while, on the con-
trary, several of the inhabitants testify, that, when
they urged him to interfere, he replied, with an oath,
that his men had suffered enough from Indians
already, and should not stir hand or foot to save
them. Be this as it may, it seems certain that
neither soldiers nor magistrates, with their best exer-
tions, could have availed to prevent the massacre ;
for so well was the plan concerted, that, within ten
or twelve minutes after the alarm, the Indians were
dead, and the murderers mounted to depart.

The people crowded into the jail yard to gaze
upon the miserable spectacle ; and, when their curios-
ity was sated, the bodies were gathered together, and
buried not far from the town, where they reposed
three quarters of a century, until, at length, the bones

''i

turned their Horses into Mr. Slough's
(an Innkeeper's) yard, and proceeded
with tb.e greatest precipitation to the
Wol'k-House, stove open the door
and killed all the Indians, and then
took to their Horses and rode off: all
tlit'ir business was done, Si, they
wore returning to their Horses be-
fore I could get half way down to
the Work-House. The Sheriff and
Coroner however, and several others,
got down as soon as the rioters, but
I'liuM not prevail with them to stop
their hands. Some people say they
htard them declare they would pro-

ceed to the Province Island, & de-
stroy the Indians there."

1 Extract from a MS. Letter —
John Hay, the sheriff, to Governor
Penn.

" They in a body left the town
without offering any insults to the
Inhilbitants, &- without putting it in
the power of any one to take or mo-
lest any of them without danger of
life to the person attempting it ; of
which both myself and the Coroner,
by our opposition, were in great
danger."

'.m.

ki4

420

THE PAXTON MEN.

[Chap. XXIV

were disinterred in preparing the foundation for a
railroad.

The tidings of this massacre threw the country
into a ferment. Various opinions were expressed ; but,
in the border counties, even the most sober and
moderate regarded it, not as a wilful and deliberate
crime, but as the mistaken act of rash men, fevered
to desperation by wrongs and sufferings.*

When the news reached Philadelphia, a clamorous
outcry rose from the Quakers, who could find no words
to express their horror and detestation. They assailed,
not the rioters only, but the whole Presbyterian sect.
with a tempest of abuse, none the less virulent for
being vented in the name of philanthropy and religion.
The governor again issued a proclamation, offering
rewards for the detection and arrest of the murderers ;
but the latter, far from shrinking into concealment,
proclaimed their deed in the face of day, boasted the
achievement, and defended it by reason and Scripture.
So great was the excitement in the frontier counties,
and so deep the sympathy with the rioters, that to
arrest them would have required the employment of
a strong military force, an experiment far too dan-

1 Extract from a Letter — Rev. Mr.
Elder to Colonel Burd.

"Paxton, 1764.

"Lazarus Stewart is still threat-
ened by the Philadelphia party; he
and hia friends talk of leaving — if
they do, the province will lose some
of their truest friends, and that by
the faults of others, not their own ; for
if any cruelty was practised on the In-
dians at Conestogue or at Lancaster, it
was not by his, li their hands. There
B a great reason to believe that much
injustice has been done to all con-
cerned. In the contrariness of ac-

counts, we must infer that much rests
for support on the imagination, or in-
terest of the witness. The characters
of Stewart and his friends wore well
estJiblished. Ruffians nor brutal they
were not; humane, libornl and iiioral.
nay, religious. It is evidently not the
wish of the party to give Stewart a fair
hearing. All he desires, is to be put
on trial, at Lancaster, near the scenes
of the horrible butcheries, coniniitted
by the Indians at Tulpehocken, &.c,.
when he can have the testimony (if
the Scouts or Rangers, men whose
services can never be sufficiently re
warded."

[Chap. XXIV

ition for a

;he countvv
I'essecl ; but,
sober and
\ deliberate
Qcn, fevered

a clamorous

nd no words

hey assailed,

yterian sect.

virulent for

md religion.

ion, offering

3 murderers;

concealment,

boasted the

id Scripture.

ier counties,

ers, tliat to

iloyment of

ar too dan-

that mncli rests
najjination, or iii-
Tho characters
'riends wore woll
IS nor brutiil they
ibcral arid iiiorii!.
evidontly not thf
ive Stewart a tiiir
lires, is to be put
•, near the scenes
leries, comniitteil
^pehockcn, &c,.
the testimony ef
;ers, men whose
le sufficiently re

Chai'. XXIV.]

LAZARUS STEWART.

421

gerous to be tried. Nothing of the kind was attempt-
ed until nearly eight years afterwards, when Lazarus
Stewart was apprehended on the charge of murdering
the Indians of Conestoga. Learning that his trial
was to take place, not in the county where the act
was committed, but in Philadelphia, and thence judg-
ing that his condemnation was certain, he broke jail
and escaped. Having written a declaration to justify
his conduct, he called his old associates around him,
set the provincial government of Pennsylvania at de-
tiauce, and withdrew to Wyoming with his band.
Here he joined the settlers recently arrived from
Connecticut, and thenceforth played a conspicuous
part in the eventful history of that remarkable
spot.'

After the massacre at Conestoga, the excitement
in the frontier counties, far from subsiding, increased
in violence daily, and various circumstances conspired
to inflame it. The principal of these was the course
pursued by the provincial government towards the
Christian Indians attached to the Moravian missions.
Many years had elapsed since the Moravians began
the task of converting the Indians of Pennsylvania,
and their steadfast energy and regulated zeal had
been crowned with success. They had increased in
both temporal and spiritual prosperity, and several

1 "apers published by Mr. Conyng-
hani.

Extract from the Declaration of
Lazarus Stewart.

"What I have done, was done for
tlie security of hundreds of settlers
on the frontiers. The blood of a
thousand of my fellow-creatures called
for vengeance. As a Ranger, I sought
tlie post of danger, and now you ask

my life. Let me bo tried where
prejudice has not prejudged my case.
Let my brave Rangers, who have
stemmed the blast nobly, and never
flinched ; let them have an ecpiitable
trial ; they were my friends in the
hour of danger — to desert them now
were cowardice! What remains is
to leave our cause with our God, and
our guns."

'mil

■.^n

liAi

422

THE PAXTON MEN.

[Chap. XXIV

thriving settlements of their converts had sprung up
in the valley of the Lehigh, when the opening of the
French war, in 1755, involved them in unlooked-for
calamities. These unhappy neutrals, between the
French and Indians on the one side, and the English
on the other, excited the enmity of both, and while
from the west they were threatened by the hatcliets
of their own countrymen, they were menaced on the
east by the no less formidable vengeance of the white
settlers, who, in their distress and terror, never doubt-
ed that the Moravian converts were in league with
the enemy. The popular rage against them at length
grew so furious, that their destruction was resolved
upon. The settlers assembled and advanced against
the Moravian community of Gnadenhutten ; but the
French and Indians gained the first blow, and, de-
scending upon the doomed settlement, utterly destroyed
it. This disaster, deplorable as it was in itself, proved
the safety of the other Moravian settlements, by
making it fully apparent that their inhabitants were
not in league with the enemy. They were suffered
to remain unmolested for several years ; but with the
murders that ushered in Pontiac's war, in 1763, the
former suspicion revived, and the expediency of de-
stroying the Moravian Indians was openly debated.
Towards the end of the summer, several outrages
were committed upon the settlers in the neighbor-
hood, and the Moravian Indians were loudly accused
of taking part in them. These charges were never
fully confuted ; and, taking into view the harsh treat-
ment which the converts had always experienced from
the whites, it is highly probable that some of them
were disposed to sympathize with their heathen coun-
trymen, who are known to have courted their alii-

Chap. XXIV.] THE MORAVIAN CONVERTS.

422

ance. The MoraviaLS had, however, excited in their
converts a high degree of religious enthusiasm, which,
directed as it was by the teachings of the missiona-
ries, went farther than any thing else could have
done to soften their national prejudices, and wean
them from their warlike habits.

About three months before the massacre at Cones-
toga, a party of drunken rangers, fired by the general
resentment against the Moravian Indians, murdei^u
several of them, both men and women, whom they
found sleeping in a barn. Not long after, the same
party of rangers were, in their turn, surprised and
killed, some peaceful settlers of the neighborhood
sharing their fate. This act was at once ascribed,
justly or unjustly, to the vengeance of the converted
Indians, relatives of the murdered; and the frontier
people, who, like the Paxton men, were chiefly Scotch
and Irish Presbyterians, resolved that the objects of
their suspicion should live no longer. At this time,
the Moravian converts consisted of two communities,
those of Nain and Wecquetank, near the Lehigh, and
to these may be added a third, at Wyalusing, near
Wyoming. The latter, from its distant situation, was,
for the present, safe; but the two former were in im-
minent peril, and the inhabitants, in mortal terror for
their lives, stood day and night on the watch.

At length, about the tenth of October, a gang of
armed men approached Wecquetank, and encamped in
the woods, at no great distance. They intended to
make their attack under favor of the darkness ; but,
before evening, a storm, which to the missionaries
seemed providential, descended with such violence,
that the fires of the hostile camp were extinguished

>■ I !■' :

424

THE PAXTON MEN.

[CuAP. XXIV

in a moment, the ammunition of the men wet, and
the plan defeated.^

After 80 narrow an escape, it was apparent tliat
flight was the only resource. The terrified congrof,'a-
tion of Wecquetank broke up on the following day,
and, under the charge of their missionary, IJeinard
Grube, removed to the Moravian town of Nazareth,
where it was hoped they might remain in safet}.-

In the mean time, the charges against the jSIoravian
converts had been laid before the provincial Assembly,
and, to secure the safety of the frontier people, it was
judged expedient to disarm the suspected Indians,
and remove them to a part of the province wliere it
would be beyond their power to do mischief'' TIk;
motion was passed in the Assembly with little dissent,
the Quakers supporting it from regard to the safety
of the Indians, and their opponents from regard to
the safety of the whites. The order for removal
reached its destination on the sixth of November,
and the Indians, reluctantly yielding up their arms,
prepared for departure. When a sermon had been
preached before the united congregations, and a hymn
sung, in which all took part, the unfortunate exiles
set out on their forlorn pilgrimage; the aged, the
young, the sick, and the blind, borne in wagons, while
the rest journeyed on foot.^ Their total number, in-
cluding the band from Wyalusing, which joined
them after they reached Philadelphia, was about a
hundred and forty. At every village and hamlet

1 Loskiel, Hist. Moravian Mis- 3 Votes of Assembly, V. 284.
sions, Part II. 211. ^ Loskiel, Hist. Moravian Mis-

'■i MS. Letter — Bernard Grube to sions, Part II. 214. Hcckewelder,

Governor Hamilton, Oct. 13. Narrative of Missions, 75.

Chap.XXIV.] TIIE MORAVIAN CONVERTS.

425

which they passed on their way, they were greeted
with threats and curses; nor did the tenijK»r of the
people improve as they advanced, for, when th{>y came
to Gemiantown, the mob could scaicely be restrained
from attacking them. On reaching Philadelphia, they
were conducted, amidst the yells and hootiugs of the
rabble, to the barracks, which had been intciuU^d to
receive them; but the soldiers, who outdid tL"^ !nob
in their hatred of Indians, refused to admit them, and
set the orders of the governor at defiance. From ten
o'clock in the morning until three in the afternoon,
tiie persecuted exiles remained drawn up in the s(piare,
before the barracks, surrounded by a multitude who
never ceased to abuse and threaten them ; but wher-
ever the broad hat of a Quaker was seen in the
crowd, there they felt the assurance of a friend —
a friend, who, both out of love for them, and aver-
sion to their enemies, would spare no efforts in their
belialf The soldiers continued refractory, and the
Indians were at length ordered to proceed. As they
moved down the street, shrinking together in their
terror, the mob about them grew so angry and clam-
orous, that to their missionaries they seemed like
a flock of sheep in the midst of howling wolves.^ A
body-guard of Quakers gathered around, protecting
tliem from the crowd, and speaking words of sym-
pathy and encouragement. Thus they proceeded to
Province Island, below the city, where they were
lodged in waste buildings, prepared in haste for their
reception, and where the Quakers still attended them,
with every office of kindness and friendship.

1 Loskiel, Part II. 216.

',:h

;. ■(■

CHAPTER XXV.

THE RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA.

The Conestoga murders did not take place until
Bome weeks after the removal of the Moravian con-
verts to Philadelphia, and the rioters, as they rode,
flushed with success, out of Lancaster, after the
achievement of their exploit, were heard to boast
that they would soon visit the city and finish their
work, by killing the Indians whom it had taken un-
der its protection. It was soon but too apparent
that this design was seriously entertained by the peo-
ple of the frontier. They had tasted blood, and they
craved more. It seemed to them intolerable, that
while their suiferings were unheeded, and their wound-
ed and destitute friends uncared for, they should be
taxed to support those whom they regarded as authors
of their calamities, or, in their own angry words, " to
maintain them through the winter, that they may
scalp and butcher us in the spring."^ In their blind
rage, they would not see that the Moravian Indians

1 Remonstrance of the Frontier
People to the Governor and Assem-
bly. See Votes of Assembly, V. 313.

The " Declaration," which accom-
panied the " Remonstrance," contains
the following passajre : " To protect
and maintain these Indians at the
public expense, while our suffering

brethren on the frontiers are almost
destitute of the necessaries of lite,
and are neglected by the public, is
sufficient to make us mad with raijo,
and tempt us to do whnt nothing but
the most violent necessity can viii-
dicate."
See Appendix, E.

Caw. XXV.] EXCITEMENT OF THE BORDERERS.

42T

had been removed to Philadelphia, in i)art, at least,
with a view to the safety of the borders. To their
enmity against Indians was added a resentment,
siuiccly less vehement, against the Quakers, whose
sectarian principles they hated and despised. Tliey
romplained, too, of political grievances, alleging that
the iive frontier counties were inadequately repre-
sented in the Assembly, and that from thence arose
the undue influence of the Quakers in the councils
of the province.

The excited people soon began to assemble at tav-
erns and other places of resort, recounting their
grievances, real or imaginary, relating frightful stories
of Indian atrocities, and launching fierce invectives
agahist the Quakers.^ Political agitators harangued
them on their violated rights, self-constituted preachers
urged the duty of destroying the heathen, forgetting
that the Moravian Indians were Christians, and their
exasperated hearers were soon ripe for any rash
attempt. They resolved to assemble and march in
arms to Philadelphia. On a former occasion, they
had sent thither a wagon laden with the mangled
corpses of their friends and relatives, who had fallen
by Indian butchery ; but the hideous spectacle had
fuiled of the intended effect, and the Assembly had
still turned a deaf ear to their entreaties for more
effective aid.~ Appeals to sympathy had been thrown

•ili

i'l

1 MS. Elder Papers.

The following verses are extracted
from a poem, published at Philadel-
phia by a partisan of the Paxton men,

entitled

" 7'Ae Cloven Foot discovered.
" Go on, good ( 'hristian.s, never spare
To give your Indians Clothes to wear ;
^end 'cm jjood Ueef, nnd Pork, and Bread,
(iuns, I'owdcr, Flints, and Store of Lead,
To Shout your Neighbours through the Head ;

Devoutly then, make Affirmation,

Voii'ro Friends to (ieorgo and Dritish Nation;

Kncourago ev'ry friendly .Savage,

'J'o rmirdor, burn, destroy, and ravage ;

Tatlurs and Mothers lier'e maintain,

Whose Sons add .Niimhers to thf slain,

Of Scotch and Irish let them kill

As many Tlionsands as they will, .

Tliat you may lord it o'er the Land,

And have the whole anil sole command."

■2 This incident occurred during
the French war, and is thus described

428 THE RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. [Cuap. XXV

away, and tliey now resolved to try the efficacy of
their rifles.

They mustered under their popular leaders, promi-
nent among whom was Matthew Smith, who had kd
the murderers at Conestoga, and, towards the end of
January, took the road to Philadelphia, in force vu-
rious^ / estimated at from five hundred to fifteen
huxidred men. Their avowed purpose was to kill the
Moravian Indians ; but what vague designs they may
have entertained to change the government, and eject
the Quakers from a sV.are in it, must remain a mat-
ter of uncertainty. Feeble as they were in numbers,
their enterprise was not so hopeless as might at first
appear, for they counted on aid from the mob of the
city, while a numerous party, comprising the mem-
bers of the Presbyterian sect, were expected to give
them secret support, or, at least, to stand neutral in
the quarrel. The Quakers, who were their most de-
termined enemies, could not take arms against tbeni
without glaring violation of the principles which they
had so often and loudly professed; and even should
they thus fly in the face of conscience, the warlike
borderers would stand in little fear of such unprac-
tised warriors. They pursued their march in high
confidence, applauded by the inhabitants, and hourly
increasing in numbers.

Startling rumors of the danger soon reached Phil-
adelphia, spreading alarm among the citizens. The

by a Quaker eye-witness : " Some
of the dead bodies were brougfht to
Philadelphia in a wagon, in the time
of the (jeneral Meetinjif of Friends
there in December, with intent to
animate the people to unite in prep-
arations lor war on the Indians. They
were carried along the streets— many

people following — carsing the In-
dians, and aldo the Quikors, because
they would not join in «iir i'nr their
destruction. The sight of the dcni
bodies, and the outcry of the ppdpl'',
wero very afflicting and shockini'.
— Watson, .innals of Phil. 449
(Phil. 1830.)

CiiAi'. xxv.i

ALAKM OF THE QUAKERS.

429

Quakers, especially, had reason to fear, both for
themselves and for the Indians, of whom it was their
pride to be esteemed the champions. These pacific
si^rtaries found themselves in a new and embarrassing
position, for hitherto they had been able to assert
tii(^!r principles at no great risk to person or prop-
erty. The appalling tempest, which, during the
French war, had desolated the rest of the province,
had been unfelt near Philadelphia ; and while the in-
habitants to the westward had been slaughtered by
hundreds, scarcely a Quaker had been hurt. Under
these circumstances, the aversion of the sect to war-
like measures had been a fruitful source of difficulty.
It is true that, on several occasions, they had voted
supplies for the public defence ; but unwilling to
place on record such a testimony of inconsistency,
they had granted the money, not for the avowed
purpose of raising and arming soldiers, but under the
title of a gift to the crown. ^ They were now to be
deprived of even this poor subterfuge, and subjected
to the dilemma of suffering their friends to be slain
and themselves to be plundered, or openly appealing
to arms.

Their embarrassment was increased by the exagger-
ated ideas which prevailed among the ignorant and
timorous respecting the size and strength of the bor-
deici's, their ferocity of temper, and their wonderful
skill as marksmen. Quiet citizens, whose knowledge
was confined to the narrow limits of their firesides
and shops, listened horroi-strickcn to these reports,
the prevalence of which is somewhat surprising, when
it is considered that, at the present day, the district

t 1 : ;■

' I'-. .1 '!

1 See Gordon, Hist. Penn. Chaps. XII.-XVIII.

V 10

430 THE RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. [Chap. XXV

whence the dreaded rioters came may be reached fioni
Philadelphia A\-ithin a few hours.

Tidings of the massacre in Lancaster jail had ar-
rived at Philadelphia on the twenty-ninth of Decem-
ber, and with them came the rumor that numerous
armed mobs were already on their march to the citv.
Terror and confusion were universal ; and, as the
place was defenceless, no other expedient suggested
itself than the pitiful one of removing the objects of
popular resentment beyond reach of danger. Bouts
were sent to ProNince Island, and the Indians ordered
to embark and proceed with all haste down the river;
but, the rumor proving groundless, a messen*, ^r was
despatched to recall the fugitives.^ The assurance
that, for a time at least, the city was safe, restored
some measure of tranquillity ; but, as intelligence
of an alarming kind came in daily from the coun-
try. Governor Penn sent to General Gage an ear-
nest request for a detachment of regulars to repel
the rioters;^ and, in the interval, means to avert
the threatened danger were eagerly sought. A
proposal was l?id before the Assembly to embark
the Indians and send them to England ; ^ but the
scheme was judged inexpedient, and another, of equal
weakness, adopted in its place. It was determined
to send the refugees to New York, and place them
under the protection of the Indian superintenden
Sir AMlliam Johnson ; a plan as hastily executed as
timidly conceived.* At midnight, on the fourth of

1 Loskicl, Part II. 218, „„,., , , ,. .... ,..,

2 MS. Letter -Penn to Gage, "Phihaolphm, .5th January, 1, hi.

Dec. 81. "Satisfied of the a(lvuntajT(?8 aris-

3 "Votes of Assembly. V. 293. ing from this measure, I have srnt

4 Extract from a MS. Letter — them thro' Jersey and your (Jovorn-
Governor Penn to Governor Golden, ment to Sir W. Johnson, L Ji'sire

ti 'J

, [Chap. XXV

Chap. XXV.] THE CONVERTS SENT TO NEW YORK.

431

ached from B January, no measures having been taken to gain the

consent of either the government of New York or
Johnson himself, the Indians were ordered to leave
the island, and proceed to the city, where they ar-
rived a little before daybreak, passing in mournful
procession, thinly clad and shivering with cold,
through the silent streets. The Moravian Brethren
supplied them with food, and Fox, the commis-
sary, witi great humanity, distributed blankets
among them. Before they could resume their prog-
ress, the city was astir ; and as they passed the
suburbs, they wove pelted and hooted at by the
mob. Captain Robertson's Highlanders, who had
just arrived from Lancaster, were ordered to escort
them. These oldiers, who had their own reasons
for hating Incliins, treated them at first with no less
insolence and rudeness than the populace ; but at
length, overcome by the meekness and patience of
the sufferers, they changed their conduct, and as-
sumed a tone of sympathy and kindness.^

Thus escorted, the refugees pursued their dreary
progress through the country, greeted on all sides
by the threats and curses of the people. When
they reached Trenton, they were received by Apty,
the commissary at that place, under whose charge
they continuetL their journey towards Amboy, where
"evoral small vessels had been provided to carry
<"hem o New York. Arriving at Amboy, however,
Apty. to his great surprise, received a letter from

m the couii-

ii--i'

\i January, ITOl.

• fill will favour thfni with vnur pro-
tection and countonnnct;, & ^nvo them
thr propnr passes for their journey to
^ir William's Seat.

"I liavo recommended it, in the
most pressing terms, to the Assem-

bly, to form a Bill that shtill enable
mo to apprehend those seditious and
barbarous Murderers, & to quell the
like insurrections for tlie future."

1 Loskiel, Part II. 2^0. Ileckewel-
der, Nar. 81.

432 THE RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. [Chap. XXV

Governor Coltlcn of New York, forbidding him to
bring the Indians within the territories of that
province. A second letter, from General Gage to
Captain Robertson, conveyed orders to prevent their
advance; and a third, to the owners of the vessels,
threatened heavy penalties if they should bring the
Indians to the city.^ The charges of treachery
against the Moravian Indians, the burden their pres-
ence would occasion, and the danger of popular dis-
turbance, were the chief causes which induced the
government of New York to adopt this course ; a
course that might have been foreseen from the
beginning.^

Thus disappointed in their hopes of escape, the
hapless Indians remained several days lodged in the
barracks at Amboy, where they passed much of their
time in religious services. A message, however, soon
came from the Governor of New Jersey, requiring
them to leave fy-it province; and they were com-
pelled reluctantly to retrace their steps to Philadel-
phia. A detachment of a hundred and se\enty
soldiers had arrived, sent by General Gage, in com-

(1 'i

1, ' '■*''

1 Extrnct from a MS. Letter —
Thomas Apty to Governor Pemi.

" Sir : —

" Agreonblc to your Honour's or-
ders, I piisscd on tlirough the Prov-
ince of New Jersey, in order to take
tlie Indians under n)y care into New
York ; hut no sooner was I ready to
move from Amboy with the Indians
under my care, than T was jrreatly
snrpriz'd & embarassM with express
ord<^rs from the Governor of Nc'w
York st'iit to Amboy, strictly forbid-
ding the bringing of these poor In-
dians into his Province, &. charging
all his ferrymen not to let them pass."

* Letters to Governor Peim from
General Gage, Governor Franklin
of New Jersey, and Governor Cdl-
den of New York. See Votes of
Assembly, V. ;^ 00-3 02. The plan
was al'terwanls revived, at thi- lu'li'lir
of the alarm caused by the miuvh '
the rioters on Philadelphia; ami I'liiii
wv. ■,« to Johnson, on the seventh of
r.J)ruary, begLriiig an asylum t'o'/
the Indians. Jolmson ac([uiesi(l.
and wrote to Lieutenant-(iovenioi
Golden in favor of the lueasnn'.
which, however, was never cani'l
into etl'ect. Johnson's letters e.x-
press much sympathy with the suf-
ferers.

[Chap. XXV

g him to
J of that

Gage to

3vent their

he vessels,

bring the

treaeliery
their pres-
lopiilar dis-
[iduced the

course ; a

from the

escape,

the

dged in the
ich of their
iwever, soon
y, requiring
were corn-
to Philadcl-
nd se\enty
ge, in com-

j3rnor Penn from
Ivernor Franklin
\\ Governor I'll-

SOC VntOS lit'

;}02. The pl;ii>
,f(l, at tlu- Irmi:!"
|l)v tlu' in;uvli 't
i.lj.liia; amiri'iin
|i» the sevontli "t
an asylum tbv
lison ac'4iiii.'MX'l>
Vonaiit-(;ovenioi

,t' the moasnr!'.

.IS never car'-i^'il

Ion's letters ex-
ly with the suf-

CiiAi'. XXV.] QUAKERS AND PRESBYTERIANS.

433

pHance with the request of Governor Penn ; and
under the protection of these troops, the exiles
began their backward journey. On the twenty-
fourth of January, they reached Philadelphia, where
they were lodged at the barracks within the city,
tlie soldiers, forgetful of former prejudice, no longer
refusing them entrance.

The return of the Indians, banishing the hope of
repose with which the citizens had flattered them-
selves, and the tidings of danger coming in quick
succession from the country, made it apparent that
no time must be lost ; and the Assembly, laying
aside their scruples, unanimously passed a bill pro-
viding means for the public defence. The pacific
city displayed a scene of unwonted bustle. All who
held property, or regarded the public order, might,
it should seem, have felt a deep interest in the
issue ; yet a numerous and highly respectable class
stood idle spectators, or showed, at best, but a luke-
warm zeal. These were the Presbyterians, who had
naturally felt a strong sympathy with their suffering
brethren of the frontier. To this they added a deep
bitterness against the Quakers, greatly increased by
a charge, most uncharitably brought by the latter
an;aiiist the whole Presbyterian sect, of conniving at
and abetting the murders at Conestoga and Lan-
caster. They regarded the Paxton men as the vic-
tims of Quaker neglect and injustice, and sliowed a
strong disj)osition to palliate, or excuse altogether, the
violence of which they had been guilty. Many of
them, indeed, were secretly inclined to favor the de-
signs of the advancing rioters ; hoping that by their
'neans the public grievances would be redressed,

55 KK

il-M

f' Ihll

^^a

.-fs.—^^-

434 THE RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. [Chap. XXV

the Quaker faction put down, and the social and
political balance of the state restored.^

Whatever may have been the sentiments of tlie
Presbyterians, and of the city mob, the rest of tlie
inhabitants bestirred themselves for defence with all
the alacrity of fright. The Quakers were especiahv
conspicuous for their zeal. Nothing more was heard
of the duty of non-resistance. The city was ran-
sacked for arms, and the Assembly passed a vote,
extending the English riot act to the province, the
Quaker members heartily concurring in the measure.
Franklin, ^^•hose energy and practical talents made
his services invaluable, w^as the moving sjnrit of tlie
day ; and under his auspices, the citizens were
formcxl into military companies, six of which were
of infantry, one of artillery, and two of horse.
Besides this force, several thousands of the inhab-
itants, including many Quakers, held themselves
ready to appear in arms at a moment's notice."

Tliese preparations were yet incomplete, when, on
the fourth of February, couriers came in with the
announcement that the Paxton men, horse and foot.
were already within a short distance of the city.
Proclamation was made through the streets, and the
people callcx:! to arms. A mob of citizen soldiers
repaired in great excitement to the barracks, where
the Indians were lodged, under protection of the
handful of regulars. Here the crowd remained all
night, drenched with the rain, and in a dismal
condition.^

1 For indications of the state of 2 Gordon, Hist. Penn. 406. Pena

feeling among the Presbyterians, see Gaz. No. 1833.

the numerous partisan pamphlets of 3 Haz. Pa. Reg. XIL 10.
the day. See also Appendix, E.

CuAP.XXV.]

EXCITEMENT IN TUE CITY.

435

On the following clay, Sunday, a barricade was
tlnown lip across the great square enclosed by the
barracks, and eight cannon, to which four more
were afterwards added, were planted to SAveep the
adjacent streets. These pieces were discharged, to
convey to the rioters an idea of the reception pre-
par(>d for them ; but whatever efiect the explosion
may have produced on the cars for A\hich it was
intended, the new and appalling sounds struck the
Indians in the barracks with S])eechless terror.'
AMiile the city assumed this martial attitude, its
riders thouglit proper to adopt the safer, though less
glorious course of conciliation ; and a deputation of
clei">men was sent out to meet the rioters, and
pacify them by reason and Scripture. Towards night,
as all remained quiet, and nothing was heard from
the enemy, the turmoil began to subside, the citizen
soldiers dispersed, the regulars withdrew into quar-
ters, and the city recovered something of tlie ordi-
nary repose of a Sabbath evening.

Through the early part of the night, the quiet
was undisturbed ; but at about two o'clock in the
morning, the clang of bells and the rolling of drums
startled the people from their slumbers, and count-
loss voices from the street echoed the alarm. Im-
mediately, in obedience to the previous day's orders,
lighted candles were placed in every window, till
tlie streets seemed illuminated for a festival. The
citizen soldiers, with m(n-e zeal than regularitv, mus-
tcred under their officers. The governor, dreading
an irrii])tion of the mob, repaired to the house of
Franklin, and the city was tilled with the jangling
of bells, and the no less vehement clamor of

1 I^skiel, Part II. 223

II! , :i

^'.i'

M'ml

•r«

436 THE RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. [CiiAr. XXV

tongues. A great multitude gathered before the
barracks, where it was supposed the attack woukl
be made ; and among them was seen many a
Quaker, with musket in hand. Some of the more
rigid of the sect, unwilling to take arms with tluir
less scrupulous brethren, went into the barracks to
console and reassure the Indians ; who, however,
showed much more composure than their comforters,
and sat waiting the result with invincible calmness.
Several hours of suspense and excitement passed,
when it was recollected, that though the other fer-
ries of the Schuylkill had been secured, a crossing
place, known as the Swedes' Ford, had been left
open, and a party at once set out to correct this
unlucky oversight.' Scarcely were they gone, when
a cry rose among the crowd before the barracks,
and a general exclamation was heard that the Pax-
ton Boys were coming. In fact, a band of horse-
men was seen advancing up Second Street. The
people crowded to get out of the way; the troops
fell into order; a cannon was pointed full at the
horsemen, and the gunner was about to apply the
match, when a man ran out from the crowd, and
covered the touchhoie with his hat. The cry of a
false alarm was heard, and it was soon apparent to
all that the supposed Paxton Boys were a troop of
German butchers and carters, who had come to aid
in defence of the city, and had nearly paid dear for
their patriotic zeal.^

1 Historical Account of the Late Sparks, Writings of Franklin, VII.
Disturbances, 4. 293.

2 Ilaz. Pa, Reg. XII. 11. Me- The best remaining account of
moirs of a Life passed chiefly in these riots will be found under the
Pennsylvania, 39. Heckewelder, first authority cited above. It con-
Nar. 85. Loskiel, Part II. 223. sists of a long letter, written in a

Chap. XXV] TAXTON MP:N AT GERMANTOWN.

437

I'he tumult of this alarm was hardly over, when
a fresh commotion was raised by the return of the
men who had gone to secure the Swedes' Ford, and
who now reported that they had been too late; that
the rioters had crossed the river, and were already
lit Germantown. Those who had crossed proved to
be the van of the Paxton men, two hundred in
number, and commanded by Matthew Smith ; who,
learning what welcome was prepared for them,
thought it prudent to remain quietly at German-
town, instead of marching forward to certain de-
struction. In the afternoon, many of the inhabitants
gathered courage, and went out to visit them. They
found nothing very extraordinary in the aspect of
tlie rioters, who, in the words of a writer of the
day, were " a set of fellows in blanket coats and
moccasons, like our Indian traders or back country
wagoners, all armed with rifles and tomahawks, and
some with pistols stuck in their belts." ^ They re-
ceived their visitors with the courtesy which might
doubtless be ascribed in great measure to their
knowdedge of the warlike preparations within the
city ; and tlie report made by the adventurers, on
their return, greatly tended to allay the general
excitement.

The alarm, however, was again raised on the

■'"!

iiiil

,l.,

• Franklin, VH.

very animated strain, by a Quaker
to his friend, containing a detailed
account of what passed in the city
from tlie tirst alarm of the rioters to
the conclusion of the aifair. Tlie
writer, thoujtrh a Quaker, is free
from the prejudices of his sect, nor
does he hesitate to notice the incon-
sistency of his brethren appearing
in anns. See Appendix, E

The scene before the barracks,
and the narrow escape of the (ler-
nian butchers, was made the subject
of several poems and farces, written
by members of tlic Presbyterian
faction, to turn their opponents into
ridicule ; for which, indeed, tlie sub-
ject offered temptinj^ facilities.

1 llaz. Pa. Reg. XII. 11.

KK*

:,yM

iJAlLii

438 THE RIOTERS MARCH ON rHn.ADELI'HIA. [Ciiu. XXV

following day, and the cry to arms onro more
rcsonnded throuf^di the city of peace. The citizen
soldiers mustered with exemplary des^jatch; but their
ardor was quenched by a storm of rain, \\\\\r]\
drove them all under shelter. A neijj^hboring (Quaker
meeting-house hap})ened to be open, and a coiiipauv
of the volunteers betook themselves in haste to tiiis
convenient asylum. Forthwith, the [)lace was bris-
tling with bayonets, and the walls which had listened
so often to angry denunciations against ^\•dv now
echoed the clang of weapons — an unspeakable scan-
dal to the elders of the sect, and an occasion of
pitiless satire to the Presbyterians.'

This alarm proving groundless, like all the others,
the govcnnior and council proceeded to the execution
of a design which they had formed the day before.
They had resolved, in pursuance of their timid
policy, to open negotiations with the rioters, and
persuade them, if possible, to depart peacefuHy.
Many of the citizens protested against the plan, and
the soldiers volunteered to attack the Paxton men;
but none were so vehement as the Quakers, ^^•ho
held that fire and steel were tlie only welcome tliat
should be accorded to such violators of the public
peace, and audacious blasphemers of the society of
Friends." The plan was nevertheless sustained, and
Franklin, with three other citizens of character and
influence, set out for Germantown. The rioters re-
ceived them with marks of respect, and, after a long
conference, the leaders of the mob were so far

1 Ilaz. Pa. Rcof. XII. 12. the Quakers, in thoir elaborate rpplios

2 This statement is made in " The to those publications, do not attempt
Quaker Unmasked," and other Pros- to deny the fact.

Dyterian pamphlets of the day ; and

Chap. XXV.] TKEATY WITH THE lilUTKUS.

4139

Pi ':

wrouglit upon as to give over their hostile designs,
the futility of which was now sutlicicutly apijuicnt.'
All assumuce was given, on tlio part of the goxcrn-
nuut, that their eoniplaiiits should have a hearing,
iiud safety was guarantied to those of their uiuuber
who sliould enter the city as their re[)resentatives
iiiul advocates. For this purpose, Matthew Smith
and James Gibson were appointed by the popular
voice, and two ))a[)evs, Ji Declaration and a Remon-
stmnce, were draun up, addressed to the governor
and Assembly. AN'ith tliis assurance that their cause
r.huuld be represented, the rioters signitied their a\ ill-
inguess to rcjturn home, glad to escape so easily
fioiii an affair which had begun to threaten worse
consequences.

Towards evening, the commissioners, returning to
the city, reported the success of their negotiations.
Upon this, the citizen soldiers were convened in front
of the court house, and addressed by a member of the
council. He thanked them for their zeal, and assured
them there was no farther occasion for their services,
since the Paxtoii men, though falsely represented as
enemies of government, were in fact its fricmds, en-
tertaining no worse design than that of gaining relief
to their sufferings, without injury to the city or its
inhabitants. The people, ill satisfied with what they
heard, returned in no placid temper to tlieir homes."
On the morrow, the good effect of the treaty was a[)-
paient in a general opening of schools, shops, and
warehouses, and a return to the usual acti\ity of
business, wdiich had been wholly suspended for some

,!i>:

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' Sparks, Writings of Franklin, 148. Rnpp, Hist. York and Lancas-
VII. tilt;}. ter Countiea, 3(12

^ liiirton Memoirs of Rittenhouse,

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440 THE RIOTERS BfARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. |Cuap. XXV.

days. The bccurity was not of long duration. Before
noon, an uproar more tumultuous than ever, a cry
to arms, and a general exclamation that the Paxton
Boys had broken the treaty and were entering the
town, startled the indignant citizens. The streets
were filled in an instant with a rabble of aimed mer-
chants and shopmen, who for once were fully bent
on slaughter, and resolved to put a summary end to
the lo)ig-protracted evil. Quiet was again restored,
when it was found that the alarm was caused by
about thirty of the frontiersmen, who, with singular
audacity, were riding into the city on a visit of curi-
osity. As their deportment was inoffensive, it was
thought unwise to molest them. Several of these
visitors had openly boasted of the part they had
taken in the Conestoga murders, and a large reward
had been o.*^ red for their apprehension; yet such
was the state of factions in the city, and such the
dread of the frontiersmen, that no man dared lay
hand on the criminals. The party proceeded to the
barracks, where they requested to see the Indians*
declaring that they could point out several who had
been in the battle against Colonel Bouquet, or en-
gaged in other acts of open hostility. The request
was granted, but no discovery made. Upon this, it
was rumored abroad that the Quakers had removed
the guilty individuals to screen them from just pun-
ishment; an accusation which, for a time, excited
much ill blood between the rival factions.

The thirty frontiersmen withdrew from the city, and
soon followed the example of their companions, who
had begun to remove homeward, leaving their leaders,
Smith and Gibson, to adjust their differences with
the government. Their departure gave great relief

CnAP. XXV.J

PAPER WARFARE.

441

to the people of the neighborhood, to whom they had,
at times, conducted themselves after a fashion some-
what barbarous and uncivil, uttering hideous out-
cries, in imitation of the war-whoop ; knocking down
pciucablc citizens, and pretending to scalp them;
thrusthig their guns in at windows, and committing
unheard-of ravages among hen-roosts and hog-jiens.*

Though the city was now safe from all external
danger, contentions sprang up within its precincts,
which, though by no means as perilous, were not
less clamorous and angry than those menaced from
an irruption of the rioters.^ The rival factions turned
savagely upon each other, while the more philosophic
citizens stood laughing by, and ridiculed them both.
The Presbyterians grew furious, the Quakers dogged
and spiteful. Pamphlets, farces, dialogues, and poems
came forth in quick succession. These sometimes
exhibited a few traces of wit, and even of reasoning;
but abuse was the favorite weapon, and it is difficult
to say which of the combatants handled it with the

• David Rittenhouse, in one of his
letters, speaks with great horror of
the enorinit'oi; committed by the Pax-
ton Boys, and enumerates various
particulars of their conduct. See
Barton, Mem. of Rittenhouse, 148.

a "Whether the Paxton men were
'more simied against tluin sinning,'
was a question which was agitated
with so much ardor and acrimony, that
even the schoolboys became warmly
cnpiiipd in the contest. For my own
part, though of the religious sect
which h'ld been long warring with
the Q,u!iker8, I was entirely on the
Bide of humanity and public duty, (or
in this do I beg the question ?) and
perfectly recollect my indignation at
the sentiments of one of the ushers
who was on the opposite side. His

Ot)

name was Davis, and he was really a
kind, good-natured man; yet from
the dominion of his religious or polit-
ical prejudices, he had been led to
apologize for, if not to approve of an
outrage, which was a disgriice to a
civilized people. He had been iiinong
the riflemen on tlieir coming into
the city, and, talking with them upon
the subject of the LancaHter mas-
sacre, and particularly of the killing
of Will Sock, the most distinguished
of the victims, related with an ;iir of
approbation, this rodomontade of the
real or pretended murderer. ' I,' said
ho, 'am the man who killed Will
Sock — this i3 the arm that stabbed
him to the heart, and I glory in it.' "
— Memoirs of a Life chiefly passed in
Pennsylvania, 40.

442 THE RIOTEIIS MARCU ON rillLADELPHIA. [Chap. XXV

greater freedom and dexterity.* The Quakers accused
the Presbyterians of conniving at the act of murder-
ers, of perverting Scripture for their defence, and of
aiding the rioters with counsel and money, in their
audacious attempt against the public peace. The
Presbyterians, on their part, with about equal justice,
charged the Quakers with leaguing themselves with
the common enemy, and exciting them to war. They
held up to scorn those accommodating principk^s
which denied the aid of arms to suffering fellow-
countrymen, but justified their use at the first cull
of self-interest. The Quaker warrior, in his sober garb
of ostentatious simplicity, his prim person adorned
with military trappings, and his hands grasping a
musket which threatened more peril to himself than
to his enemy, was a subject of ridicule too tempting
to be overlooked.

1 " Persons Avho were intimate
now scarcely spoiik ; or if they hap-
pen to meet and converse, presently
get to quarrellinj;;. In short, harmony
and love seem to be banished from
amongst us."

The above is an extract from the
letter so often referred to. A fnig-
ment of the " Paxtoniad," one of the
poems of the day, is given in the Ap-
pendix. Few of the party pamphlets
are wortli quoting, and the titles of
3ome of them will give an idea of
their character: The Quaker Un-
masked — A Looking-Glass for Pres-
byterians — A Battle of Squirt —
Plain Truth — Plain Truth found to
be Plain Falsehood — The Author of
Plain Truth Stripped Stark Naked

— C'lothes for a Stark Naked Author

— Tlie Sciuabblo, a Pastoral Ec-
logue — etc., etc.

The pamphlet called Plain Truth
drew down the especial indignation
of the Quakers, and the following
extract from one of their replies to it

may serve as a fair specimen of the
tcpiper of the combatants: "But
Jiow came you to give your piece
the Title of Plain Truth, if you had
called it downright Lies, it would
have agreed better with tiic Con-
tents ; the Title therefore is a de-
ception, and the contents nuuiifestly
false : in short I have carefully exiiin-
ined it, and find in it no less thiin 17
Positive Lies, and 10 false Insinua-
tions contained in Kt Pages, Mon-
strous, and from what has beon said
must conclude that wlien you wrote
it. Truth was banished entirely from
you, and tliat you wrote it witli a

truly Pious Lying P n Spirit,

which appears in almost every Line 1 "
The peaceful society of Friends
found among its ranks more than one
such champion as the ingenious wri-
ter of the above. Two colloctions of
these pamphlets have been exuniined,
one preserved in the City Libniry of
Philadelphia, and the other in that of
the New York Historical Society.

Chap. XXV.] MEMORIALS OF THE PAXTON MEN.

443

Wliile this paper warfare was raging in the city,
the representatives of the frontiersmen, Smith and
Gibson, had laid before the Assembly the memorial,
entitled the Remonstrance ; and to this a second paper,
styled a Declaration, was soon afterwards added.*
Various grievances were specified, for which redress
was demanded. It was urged that those counties
where the Quaker interest prevailed sent to the Assem-
bly more than their due share of representatives.
The memorialists bitterly complained of a law, then
before the Assembly, by which those charged with
murdering Indians were to be brought to trial, not
in the district where the act was committed, but in
one of the three eastern counties. They represented
tlie Moravian converts as enemies in disguise, and
denounced the policy which yielded them protection
and support while the sick and wounded of the
frontiers were cruelly abandoned to their misery.
They begged that a suitable reward might be offered
for scalps, since the want of such encouragement
hud "damped the spirits of many brave men." An-
gry invectives against the Quakers succeeded. To
the "villany, infatuation, and influence of a certain
Hiction, that have got the political reins in their
liauds, and tamely tyrannize over the other good
subjects of the province," were to be ascribed, urged
the memorialists, the intolerable evils which afflicted
the people. The Quakers, they insisted, had held
private treaties with the Indians, encouraged them
to hostile acts, and excused their cruelties on the
charitable plea that this was their method of mak-
ing war. ,.,,

I See Appendix, E.

444 THE RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. [Chap. XXV ■ Cnir. XXV

The memorials were laid before a committee, who
recommended that a public conference should be held
with Smith and Gibson, to consider the grounds of
complaint. To this the governor, in view of the ille-
gal position assumed by the frontiersmen, would not
give his consent, an assertion of dignity that would
have done him more honor had he made it when the
rioters were in anns before the city, at which time
he had shown an abundant alacrity to negotiate. It
was intimated to Smith and Gibson that they might
leave Philadelphia; and the Assembly soon after be-
came involved ir its protracted quarrels with the
governor, relative to the granting of supplies for the
service of the ensuing campaign. The supply bill
passed, as mentioned in a fonner chapter; and the
consequent military preparations, tcg^ether with a
threatened renewal of the war on uie part of the
enemy, engrossed the minds of the frontier people,
and caused the excitements of the winter to be for-
gotten. No action on the two memorials was ever
taken by the Assembly, and the memorable Paxton
riots had no other definite result than that of ex-|
posing the weakness and distraction of the provincial
government, and demonstrating the folly and absurdity
of all principles of non-resistance.

Yet to the student of human nature these events I
supply abundant food for reflection. In the frontiers-
man, goaded, by the madness of his misery, to deeds
more horrible than those by which he suflered, and]
half believing that, in the perpetration of these atroci-
ties, he was but the minister of divine vengeance;!
in the Quaker, absorbed by one narrow philanthropy,]
and closing his ears to the outcries of his wretche
countrymen; in the Presbyterian, urged by party

Our. XXV.]

THE MORAVIAN CONVERTS.

445

spirit and sectarian zeal to countenance the crimes
of rioters and murderers, — in each and all of these
lies an embodied satire, which may find its applicar
tion in every age of the world, and every condition
of society.

The Moravian Indians, the occasion — and, at least,
as regards most of them, the innocent occasion — of
the tumult, remained for a full year in the barracks
of Philadelphia. There they endured frightful suffer-
ings from the small-pox, which destroyed more than a
third of their number. After the conclusion of peace,
they were permitted to depart, and, having thanked
the governor for his protection and care, they with-
drew to the banks of ^;he Susquehanna, where, imdei
the direction of the missionaries, they once more
formed a prosperous settlement.*

1 LosMei, Part H. 231

CHAPTER XXVI.

BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES.

The campaign of 1763, a year of disaster to the
English colonies, was throughout of a defensivi'
nature, and no important blow had been stiiuk
against the enemy. With the opening of the fol-
lowing spring, preparations were made to renew the
war on a more decisive plan. Before the commence-
ment of hostilities, Sir William Johnson and liis
deputy, George Croghan, each addressed to the loids
of trade a memorial, setting forth the cliaructer,
temper, and resources of the Indian tribes, and sug-
gesting the course of conduct which they judged it
expedient to pursue. They represented that, before
the conquest of Canada, all the tribes, jealous of
French encroachment, had looked to the English to
befriend and protect them, but that now one gen-
eral feeling of distrust and hatred filled them all.
They added that the neglect and injustice of the
British government, the outrages of ruffian borderer
and debauched traders, and the insolence of Eiiglij^li
soldiers, had aggravated this feeling, and given double j
effect to the restless machinations of the defeated!
French, who, to revenge themselves on their con-
querors, were constantly stirring up the Indians to I
war. A race so brave and tenacious of liberty, so
wild and erratic in their habits, dwelling in a

Chap. XXVI.] MEMORIALS ON INDIAN AITAIKS.

447

country so savage and inaccessible, could not be ex-
teiminated or reduced to subjection without an im-
moderate expenditure of men, money, and time.
The true policy of the British government ^^as
therefore to conciliate ; to soothe their jealous pride,
galled by injuries and insults ; to gratify them by
presents, and treat them v itli a respect and attention
to which their haughty spirit woidd not fail to
respond. We ought, they said, to make the Indians
our friends, and, by a just, consistent, and straight-
forward course, seek to gain their esteem, and wean
them from their partiality to the French. To re-
move the constant irritation which arose from the
intrusion of the white inhabitants on their territory,
Croghan urged the expediency of purchasing a large
tract of land to the westward of the English settle-
ments ; thus confining the tribes to remoter hunting-
grounds. For a moderate sum, the Indians would
part with as much land as might be required. A
Httle more, laid out in annual presents, would keep
them in good temper; and by judicious management,
all hostile collision might be prevented, till, by the
extension of the settlements, it should become expe-
dient to make yet another purchase.^

This plan was afterwards carried into execution
by the British government. Founded as it is upon
the supposition that the Indian tribes must grad-
ually dwindle and waste away, it might well have
awakened the utmost fears of that unhappy people.
Yet none but an enthusiast or fanatic could con-
demn it as iniquitous. To reclaim the Indians from
their savage state has again and again been attempted,

1 MS. Johnson Papers.

448

BUADSTREETS ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Cuap. XXVI

and each attempt has failed. Their intractable,
unchanging character leaves no other alternative
than their gradual extinction, or the abandonmint
of the western world to etenial barbarism ; and of
this and other similar plans, whether the oftspnng
of British or American legislation, it may alike bo
said that sentimental philanthropy will find it easier
to cavil at than to amend them.

Whatever may have been the merits of the scheme
proposed to the lords of trade, it was necessary,
before attempting its execution, to suppress the exist-
ing outbreak — to beat the Indians into submission,
and bind them by treaties as firm and stringent as
circumstances would admit. With this view, it was
resolved to march two armies, from different points,
into the heart of the Indian country. The command
of the first was given to Colonel Bouquet, with
orders to advance to Fort Pitt, and thence to pen-
etrate into the midst of the Delaware and Shawanoe
settlements. The other army, under Colonel Brad-
street, was to ascend the lakes, and force the tribes
of Detroit and the regions beyond to unconditional
submission. The name of Bradstreet was already
well known in America. At a dark and ill-omened
period of the French war, he had crossed Lake On-
tario with a force of three thousand provincials, and
captured Fort Frontenac, a fonnidable stronghold of
the French, commanding the outlet of the lake. He
had distinguished himself, moreover, by his gallant
conduct in a skirmish with the French and Indians
on the River Oswego. These exploits had gained
for him a reputation beyond his merits. He was a
man of more activity than judgment, perverse, self-
willed, vain, and eager for notoriety ; qualities which

CHAr. XXVI.] DEPARTURE OF BRAD8TREET.

449

became sufficiently apparent before the end of the
campaign.*

Several of the northern provinces furnished troops
for the expedition ; but these levies did not arrive
until after the appointed time, and, as the service
promised neither honor nor advantage, they were
drawn from the scum and refuse of tlie population,
looking more like candidates for a hospital than like
men fit for the arduous duty before them. The ren-
dezvous of the troops was at Albany, and thence
they took their departure about the end of June.
Adopting the usual military route to the westward,
they passed up the Mohawk, crossed the Oneida
Lake, and descended the swift current of the Os-.
wego. The boats and bateaux, crowded with men,
passed between the war-worn defences of Oswego,
which guarded the mouth of the river on either
hand, and, issuing forth upon Lake Ontario, steered
in long procession over its restless waters. A violent
storm threw the flotilla into confusion ; and several
days elapsed before the ramparts of Fort Niag-
ara rose in sight, breaking the tedious monotony of
the forest-covered shores. The troops landed beneath
its walls. The surrounding plains were soon dotted
with the white tents of the little anny, whose
strength, far inferior to the original design, did not
exceed twelve hundred men.

' In the correspondence of Gen-
eral Wolfe, recently published in
Tail's Magazine, this distinguished
officer speaks in high terms of Brad-
street's military character. His re-
marks, however, have reference solely
to the capture of Fort Frontenac ;
»nd he seems to have derived his
impressions from the public prints,
M he had no personal knowledge of
The view expressed

above is derived from the letters of
Bradstreet himself, from the corre-
spondence of General Gage and Sir
William Johnson, and from a MS.
paper containing numerous details
of his conduct during tljo campaign
of 1764, and drawn up by the officers
who served under him.

This paper is in the possession of
Mrs. W. L. Stone.

450

BRADSTREETS ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Cuai- XXVI

A striking spectacle greeted them on their land-
ing. Hundreds of Indian cabins were clustered
along the skirts of the forest, and a countless mul-
titude of savages, in all the picturesque variety of
their barbaric costume, weie roaming over the fields,
or loungmg about the shores of the lake. Towards
the close of the previous winter. Sir William John-
son had despatched Indian messengers to the tribes
far and near, warning them of the impending blow,
and urging all who were friendly to the English, or
disposed to make peace while there was yet time, to
meet him at Niagara, and listen to his words.
Throughout the winter, the sufferings of the Indians
, had been great and general. The suspension of the
fur-trade; the consequent want of ammunition, cloth-
ing, and other articles of necessity; the failure of
expected aid from the French ; and, above all, the
knowledge that some of their own people had taken
up anns for the English, combined to quench their
thirst for war. Johnson's messengers had therefore
been received with unexpected favor, and many had
complied with his invitation. Some came to protest
their friendship for the English; others hoped, by
an early submission, to atone for past misconduct.
Some came as spies; while others, again, were lured
by the hope of receiving presents, and especially a
draught of English milk, that is to say, a dmm of
whiskey.

The trader Alexander Henry, the same who so
narrowly escaped the massacre at Michillimackinac, ,
was with a party of Ojibwas at the Sault Ste.j
Marie, when a canoe, filled with warriors, arrived, |
bringing the message of Sir William Johnson, j^i
council was called, and the principal messenger,

Chap. XXVI.]

INDIAN ORACLE.

451

offering a belt of wampum, spoke as follows : " My
friends and brothers, I am come witli this belt from
our great father, Sir William Johnson. He desired
me to come to you, as his ambassador, and tell you
that he is making a great feast at Fort Niagara ;
that his kettles are all ready, and his fires lighted.
He invites you to partake of the feast, in connnon
with your friends, the Six Nations, who have all
made peace with the English. He advises you to
seize this opportunity of doing the same, as you
cannot otherwise fail of being destroy* ; for th<
English are on their march with a great army,
which will uc joined by diffennt nations of Indians,
lu I. vord, before the fall of the leaf they Avill be
at Michillimackinac, and the Six Nations with
tliem."

The Ojibwas had been debating whether they
shoidd go to Detroit, to the assistance of Pontiac,
who had just sent them a message to that effect ;
but the speech of Johnson's messenger turned the
current of their thoughts. Most of them were in
favor of accepting the invitation; but, distrusting
mere human wisdom in a crisis so important, they
resolved, before taking a decisive step, to invoke the
superior intelligence of the Great Turtle, the chief
of all the spirits. A huge wigwam was erected,
capable of containing the whole population of the
httle village. In the centre, a sort of tabernacle
was constructed by driving posts into the ground,
and closely covering them with hides. With the
arrival of night, the propitious time for consulting
their oracle, all the warriors assembled in the spa-
cious wigwam, half lighted by the lurid glaie of
fires, and waited, in suspense and awe, the issue of

452 BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. fCuAP. XXVI

the invocation. The medicine man, or magician,
stripped almost naked, now entered the central tab-
ernacle, which was barely large enough to receive
him, and carefully closed the aperture. At once the
whole structure began to shake with a violence
which threatened its demolition, and a confusion of
horrible sounds, shrieks, howls, yells, and moans of
anguish, mingled with articulate words, sounded in
hideous discord from within. This outrageous clamor,
which announced to the horror-stricken spectators
the presence of a host of evil spirits, ceased as sud-
denly as it had begun. A low, feeble sound, like
the whine of a young puppy, was next heard within
the recess ; upon which the warriors raised a cry of
joy, and hailed it as the voice of the Great Turtle
-the spirit who never lied. The magician soon
announced that the spirit was ready to answer any
question which might be proposed. On this, the
chief warrior stepped forward, and, having propitiated
the Great Turtle by a present of tobacco thrust
through a small hole in the tabernacle, inquired if
the English were in reality preparing to attack the
Indians, and if the troops were already come to
Niagara. Once more the tabernacle was violently
shaken, a loud yell was heard, and it was apparent
to all that the spirit was gone. A pause of anxious
expectation ensued, when, after the lapse of a quarter
of an hour, the weak, puppy-like voice of the Great
Turtle was again heard addressing the magician in
a language unknown to the auditors. When the
spirit ceased speaking, the magician interpreted his
words. During the short interval of his departure,
he had crossed Lake Huron, visited Niagara, and
descended the St. Lawrence to Montreal. Few

CuAP. XXVI.]

INDIAN ORACLE.

453

soldiers had as yet reached Niagara ; bat as he
flew down the St. Lawrence, he had seen the water
covered with boats, all filled with English warriors,
coming to make war on the Indians. Having ob-
tained this answer to his first question, the chief
ventured to propose another, and inquired if he and
his people, should they accept the invitation of Sir
William Johnson, would be well received at Niagara.
The answer was most satisfactory. " Sir William
Johnson," said the spirit, " will fill your canoes with
presents; with blankets, kettles, guns, gunpowder
and shot, and large barrels of rum, such us the
stoutest of the Indians will not be able to lift ; and
every man will return in safety to his family." This
grateful response produced a general outburst of ac-
clamations ; and with cries of joy, many voices were
heard to exclaim, " I will go too ! I will go too ! " '
They set out, accordingly, for Niagara ; and thither
also numerous bands of warriors were tending, urged
by similar messages, and encouraged, it may be, by
similar responses of their oracles. Crossing fresh-
water oceans in their birch canoes, and threading the
devious windings of solitary streams, they came flock-
ing to the common centre of attraction. Such a

> Henry, Travels and Adventures,
171.

The method of invoking the spirits,
described above, is a favorite species
of imposture among the medicine
men of most Algonquin tribes, and
had been observed and described a
century and a half before the period
of this history. Champlain, the found-
er of Canada, witnessed one of these
ceremonies ; and the Jesuit Le Jeune
gives an account of a sorcerer, who,
Having invoked a spirit in this man-
ner, treacherously killed him with a
latchet, the mysterious visitant hav-

ing assumed a visible and tangible
form, which exposed him to the inci-
dents of inortJility. During those in-
vocations, the lodge or tabernacle
was always observed to shake vio-
lently to and fro, in a manner so
remarkable as exceedingly to perplex
the observers. The variety of dis-
cordant sounds, uttered by the modi-
cine man, need not surprise us more
than those accurate imitations of the
cries of various animals, to which In-
dian hunters are accustomed to train
their strong and flexible voices.

454 BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Chap. XXVI.

concourse of savages has seldom been seen in America.
Menomonies, Ottawas, Ojibwas, Mississaugas, from the
north, Caughnawagas from Canada, even Wyandots
from Detroit, together with a host of Iroquois, were
congregated round Fort Niagara to the number of
more than two thousand warriors, many of whom had
brought with them their women and children.^ Even

1 MS. Johnson Papers.

The following extract from Henry's
Travels will exhibit the feelings with
which the Indians came to the con-
ference at Niagara, besides illus-
trating a curious feature of their
superstitions. Many tribes, including
some widely differing in Innguiigo
and habits, regard the rattlesnake
with superstitious veneration, looking
upon him either as a manitou, or
spirit, or as a creature endowed witli
mystic powers and attributes, giving
him an influence over the fortunes
of mankind. Henry accompanied
his Indian companions to Niagara,
and, on the way, he chanced to dis-
cover one of these snakes near their
encampment.

"The reptile was coiled, and its
head raised considerably above its
body. Had I advanced another step
before my discovery, I must have
trodden upon it.

" I no sooner saw the snake, than
I hastened to the canoe, in order to
procure my gun; but the Indians,
observing what I was doing, incpiired
the occasion, and, being informed,
begged me to desist. At the same
tiine, they followed me to the spot,
with their pipes and tobacco-pouches
in their hands. On returning, I found
the snake still coiled.

" Tlio Indians, on their part, sur-
rounded it, all addressing it by turns,
and calling it their grandfather, but
yet keeping at some distance. Dur-
ing this part of the ceremony, they
filled their pipes ; and now each blew
the smoke toward the snake, who, as
it appeared to me, really received it
with pleasure. In a word, after re-

maining coiled, and receiving in-
cense, for the space of half an iiour,
it stretched itself along the ground,
in visible good hun^or. Its lcni.nh
was between four and tive feet. Hav-
ing remained outstretched for some
time, at last it moved slowly away,
the Indians following it, and still ad-
dressing it by the title of grandfutlicr,
beseeching it to take care of tla-ir
families during their absence, and to
be pleased to open the heart of Sir
William Johnson, so that he niiglit
show them charity, and fill their canoe
witli rum.

"One of the chiefs added a pe-
tition, that the snake would tiikc no
notice of the insult which imd been
offered him by the Englishman, who
would even have put him to death,
but for the interference of tlic In-
dians, to whom it was hoped he would
impute no part of the offence. Tin y
further requested, tlmt he would re-
main, and not return among tlie Eng-
lish ; that is, go eastward.

" After the rattlesnake wns gone,
I learned that this was the first time
that an individual of the species had
been seen so far to the nortliw ard and
westward of the River Des Francai;;;
a circumstance, moreover, from which
my companions wore disposed to in-
fer, that this manito had come, or been
sent, on purpose to meet tlieiu; that
his errand had been no other than to
stop them on their way; and that
consequently it would be most ad-
visable to return to the point of de-
parture. I was so fortunate, how ever,
as to prevail with them to embark;
and at six o'clock in the evening we
again encamped.

Chap. XXVI.]

INDIANS AT NIAGARA.

455

the Sacs, the Foxes, and the Winnebagoes had sent
their deputies; and the Osages, a tribe beyond the
Mississippi, had their representative in this general
meeting.

Though the assembled multitude consisted, for the
most part, of the more pacific members of the tribes
represented, yet their friendly disposition was by no
means certain. Several struggling soldiers were shot
at in the neighborhood, and it soon became apparent
that the utmost precaution must be taken to avert
d rupture. The troops were kept always on their
guard, while the black muzzles of the cannon, thrust
forth from the bastions of the fort, struck a whole-
some awe into the savage throng below.

Although so many had attended the meeting, there
were still numerous tribes, and portions of tribes, who
maintained a rancorous, unwavering hostility. The

" Early the next morning we pro-
ceeded. We had a serene sky and
very Utile wind, and tlie Indians there-
fore determined on steering across
the lake, to an island which just ap-
peared in the horizon ; saving, by this
course, a distance of thirty miles,
wliich would be lost in keeping the
shore. At nine o'clock A. M. we had
a liffht breeze, to enjoy the benefit
of wliich we hoisted sail. Soon after,
the wind increased, and the Indians,
beginning to be alarmed, frequently
called on the rattlesnake to come to
their assistance. By degrees the
waves grew high; and at eleven
o'clock it blew a hurricane, and we
expected every moment to be swal-
lowed up. From prayers, the Indians
now proceeded to sacrifices, both
alike ofTored to the god-rattlesnake,
or mnnlto-ktnibic. One of the chiefs
took a dog, and after tying its fore
legs together, threw it overboard, at
the same time calling on the snake
to preserve us from Being drowned

and desiring him to satisfy his hunger
with the carcass of the dog. The
snake was unpropitious, and the wind
increased. Another chief sacrificed
another dog, with the addition of
some tobacco. In the prayer which
accompanied these gifts, he besought
the snake, as before, not to avenge
upon ♦^he Indians the insult which he
had rt jeived from myself, in the con-
ception of a design to pn* him to
death. He assured the snake that I
was absolutely an Englishman, and
of kin neither to him nor to them.

" At the conclusion of this spnech,
an Indian, who sat near me, obsivvr^d,
that if we were drowned it wouM be
for my fault alone, and that I outrht
myself to be sacrificed, to appc^ase
the angry manito ; nor was I without
apprehensions, that in case of ex-
tremity, this would be my fiite ; but,
happily for me, the storm at length
abated, and we reached the island
safely." — Henry, Travtls, 175.

.'J

456 BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Chap. XXVI

Delawares and Shawanoes, however, against whom
Bouquet, with the rrmy of the south, was then in
the act of advancing, sent a message to the effect,
that, though they had no fear of the English, though
they regarded them as old women, and held them in
contempt, yet, out of pity for their sufferings, they
were willing to treat of peace. To this haughty mis*
sive Johnson made no answer ; and, indeed, those wlio
sent it were, at this very time, renewing the bloody
work of the previous year along the borders of Penn-
sylvania and Virginia. The Senecas, that numerous
and warlike people, to whose savage enmity were to
be ascribed the massacre at the Devil's Hole, and
other disasters of the last summer, had recently made
a preliminary treaty with Sir William Johnson, and
at the same time pledged themselves to appear at
Niagara to ratify and complete it. They broke their
promise, and it soon became known that they had
leagued themselves with a large band of hostile Del-
awares, who had visited their country. Upon this, a
messenger was sent to them, threatening that, unless
they instantly came to Niagara, the English would
march upon them and burn their villages. The
menace had full effect, and a large body of these for-
midable warriors appeared at the English camp,
bringing fourteen prisoners, besides several deserters
and runaway slaves. A peace was concluded, on con-
dition that they should never again attack the Eng-
lish, and that they should cede to the British crown
a strip of land, between the Lakes Erie and Ontario,
four miles in width, on either side of the River, or
Strait, of Niagara.' A treaty was next made with a

' Articles of Peace concluded with the Senecas, at Fort Niagara, July
18. I7{M, MS.

Chap.xxvi.1 ottawas and menomonies.

457

deputation of Wyandots from Detroit, on condition
of the delivery of prisoners, and the preservation of
friendship for the future.

Councils were next held, in turn, with each of
the various tribes assembled round the fort, some of
whom craved forgiveness for the hostile acts they
had committed, and deprecated the vengeance of the
English; while others alleged their innocence, urged
their extreme wants and necessities, and begged that
English traders might once more be allowed to visit
them. The council-room in the fort was crowded
from morning till night ; and the wearisome formali-
ties of such occasions, the speeches made and replied
to, and the final shaking of hands, smoking of pipes,
and serving out of whiskey, engrossed the time of
the superintendent for many successive days.

Among the Indians present were a band of Otta-
was from Michillimackinac, and remoter settlements,
beyond Lake Michigan, and a band of Menomonies
from Green Bay. The former, it will be remembered,
had done good service to the English, by rescuing
the survivors of the garrison of Michillimackinac
from the clutches of the Ojibwas ; and the latter had
deserved no less at their hands, by the protection
they had extended to Lieutenant Gorell, and the gar-
rison at Greon Bay. Conscious of their merits, they
had come to Niagara in full confidence of a favorable
reception. Nor were they disappointed; for Johnson
met them with a cordial welcome, and greeted them
as friends and brothers. They, on their part, were
not wanting in expressions of pleasure ; and one of
their orators exclaimed, in the figurative language of
his people, "When our brother came to meet us,

d$ MM

if:!i!i

Bill's

458 BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Chap. XXVI.

the storms ceased, the lake became smooth, and the
whole face of nature was changed."

They disowned all connection or privity with the de-
signs of Pontiac. " Brother," said one of the Ottawa
chiefs, " you must not imagine I am acquainted with
the cause of the war. I only heard a little bird
whistle an account of it, and, on going to Michilli-
mackinac, I found your people killed; upon which I
sent our priest to inquire into the matter. On the
priest's return, he brought me no favorable account,
but a war-hatchet from Pontiac, which I scarcely
looked on, and immediately threw away."

Another of the Ottawas, a chief of the remoter
band of Lake Michigan, spoke to a simil r effect, as
follows : '* We are not of the same people as those
residing about Michillimackinac ; we only heard at a
distance that the enemy were killing your soldiers,
on which we covered our heads, and I resolved not
to suffer my people to engage in the war. I gath-
ered them together, and made them sit still. In the
spring, on uncovering my head, I perceived that they
had again begun a war, and that the sky was all
cloudy in that quarter."

The superintendent thanked them for their fidelity
to the English, reminded them that their true inter-
est lay in the preservation of peace, and concluded
with a gift of food and clothing, and a per' lission,
denied to all the rest, to open a traffic with the tra-
ders, who had already begun to assemble at the fort.
" And now, my brother," said a warrior, as the coun-
cil was about to break up, "we beg that you will
tell us where we can find some rum to comfort us,
for it is long since we have tasted any, and we arj

Chap. XXVI.]

HE LEAVES NIAGARA.

459

very thirsty." This honest request was not re-
fused. The liquor was distributed, and a more
copious supply promised for the future; upon which
the deputation departed, and repaired to their en-
campment, much pleased with their reception.^

Throughout these conferences, one point of policy
was constantly adhered to. No general council was
held. Separate treaties were made with each individ-
ual band, in order to promote their mutual jealousies
and rivalries, and discourage the feeling of union,
and of a common cause among the widely-scattered
tribes. Johnson at length completed his task, and,
on the sixth of August, set sail for Oswego. The
march of the army had hitherto been delayed by
rumors of hostile designs on the part of the In-
dians, who, it was said, had formed a scheme for
attacking Fort Niagara, as soon as the troops should
have left the ground. Now, however, when the con-
course was melting away, and the tribes departing
for their distant homes, it was thought that the
danger was past, arid that the army might safely
resume its progrcsi. They advanced, accordingly, to
Fort Schlosser, above the cataract, whither their
boats and bateaux had been sent before them, craned
up the rocks at Lewiston, and dragged by oxen over
the rough portage road. The troops had been joined
by three hundred friendly Indians, and an equal
number of Canadians. The appearance of the latter
in arms would, it was thought, have great effect on
the minds of the enem' , who had always looked

1 MS. Johnson Papers. MS.Min- 20, 1764. The extracts given above

Jtes of Conference with the chiefs are copied verbatim from the originaJ

and warriors of the Ottawas and record.
Menomoniea at Fort Niagara, July .

460 BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Chap. XXVI.

upon them as friends and supporters. Of the In-
dian allies, the greater part were Iroquois, and the
remainder, about a hundred in number, Ojibwas and
Mississaugas ; the fonner being the same who had
recently arrived from the Sault Ste. Marie, bringing
with them their prisoner, Alexander Henry. Henry
was easily persuaded to accompany the expedition,
and the command of the Ojibwas and Mississaugas
was assigned to him — "To me," writes the ad-
venturous trader, "whose best hope it had lately
been to live by their forbearance." His long-con
tinned sufferings and dangers hardly deserved to be
rewarded by so great a misfortune as that of com-
manding a body of Indian warriors; an evil from
which, however, he was soon to be relieved. The
army had hardly begun its march, when nearly all
his followers ran oif, judging it wiser to return
home with the arms and clothing given them for
the expedition than to make war against their own
countrymen and relatives. Fourteen warriors still
remained ; but on the following night, when the
army lay at Fort Schlosser, having contrived by
some means to obtain liquor, they created such a
commotion in the camp by yelling and firing their
guns as to excite the utmost indignation of the
commander. They received from him, in conse-
quence, a reproof so harsh and ill judged, that most
of them went home in disgust, and Henry found his
Indian battalion suddenly dwindled to four or five
vagabond hunters.^ A large number of Iroquois still
followed the army, the strength of which, farther
increased by a reenforcement of Highlanders, was
now very considerable.

» Henry, Travels, 183.

Chap. XXVI.l

PRETENDED EMBASSY.

461

The troops left Fort Schlosser on the eighth.
Theur boats and bateaux pushed out into the
Niagara, whose expanded waters reposed in a
serenity soon to be exchanged for the wild roar
and tumultuous struggle of the rapids and the cat-
aract. They coasted along the southern shore of
Lake Erie until the twelfth, when, in the neighbor-
hood of PresquTsle, they were overtaken by a
storm of rain, which forced them to drag their boats
on shore, and pitch their tents in the dripping
forest. Before the day closed, word was brought
that strange Indians were near the camp. They
soon made their appearance, proclaiming themselves
to be chiefs and deputies of the Delawares and
Shawanoes, empowered to beg for peace in the name
of their respective tribes. Various opinions were
entertained of the visitors. The Indian allies wished
to kill them, and many of the officers believed them
to be spies. There was no proof of their pretended
character of deputies, and for all that appeared to
the contrary, they might be a mere straggling party
of warriors. Their professions of an earnest desire
for peace were contradicted by the fact that they
brought with them but one small belt of wampum,
a pledge no less indispensable in a treaty with these
tribes than seals and signatures in a convention of
European sovereigns.^ Bradstreet knew, or ought to
have known, the character of the treacherous enemy
with whom he had to deal. He knew that the

' Eveiy article in a treaty must be
confirmed bjr a belt of wampum;
otherwise it is void. Mante, the his-
torian of the French war, asserts
that they brought four belts. But
this is contradicted in contemporary
etters, including several of General

Gage and Sir William Johnson.
Mante accompanied Bradstreet's ex-

E edition with the rank of major, and
e is a zealous advocate of his com-
mander, whom he seeks to defend, at
the expense both of Colonel Bouquet
and General Gage.

MM*

462

BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Chap. XXVI.

Shawanoes and Dclawares had shown, throughout
the war, a ferocious and relentless hostility; that
they had sent an insolent message to Niagara; and
finally, that in his own instructions he was enjoined
to deal sternly with them, and not be duped by pro-
tended overtures. Yet, in spite of the suspicious
character of the self-styled deputies, in spite of tlie
sullen wrath of his Indian allies and the murmured
dissent of his olfiicers, he listened to their proposals,
and entered into a preliminary treaty. He pledged
himself to refrain from attacking the Dclawares and
Shawanoes, on condition that within twenty-five diiys
the deputies should again meet him at Sandusky, in
order to yield up their prisoners, and conclude a
definitive treaty of peace.* It afterwards appeared —
and this, indeed, might have been suspected at the
time — that the sole object of the overtures was to
retard the action of the aniiy until the season
should be too far advanced to prosecute the cam-
paign. At this very moment, the Delaware and
Shawanoe war-parties were murdering and scalping
along the frontiers ; and the work of havoc con-
tinued for weeks, until it was checked at length by
the operations of Colonel Bouquet.

Bradstreet was not satisfied with the promise he
had made to abandon his own hostOe designs. He
consummated his. folly and presumption by despatch-
ing a messenger to his superior oflficer, Colonel Bou-
quet, informing him that the Dclawares and Shaw-
anoes had been reduced to submission without his
aid, and that he might withdraw his troops, as there

1 Preliminary treaty between concluded at L'Ance aux Feuillcs, on
Colonel Bradstreet and the deputies Lake Erie, August 12, 1764, MS.
of the Ddawares and Shawanoes,

Chap. XXVI.] GAGE CENSURES HIS CONDUCT.

463

was no need of his advancing farther. Bouquet,
astonished and indignant, paid no attention to this
communication, but pursued his march as before.* .

The course pursued by Bradstreet in this affair —
a course which can only be ascribed to the vain
ambition of finishing the war without the aid of
others — drew upon him the scv(u-c censures of the
commander-in-chief, who, on herring of the treaty,
at once annulled it.*^ Bradstreet has been accused
of having exceeded his orders in promising to con-
clude a definitive treaty with the Indians, a power
which was vested in Sir William Johnson alone ;
but as upon this point his instructions were not
explicit, he may be spared the full weight of this
additional charge.'

1 MS. Letter — Bouquet to Gage,
Sept 3.

2 Extract from a MS. Letter —
Gage to Bradstreet, Sept. 2.

"I again repeat tliat I annul and
disavow the peace you have made."

The following extracts will express
the opinions of Gage with respect to
this affair.

MS. Letter — Gage to Bradstreet,
Oct. 15.

"They have negotiated with you
on Lake Erie, and cut our tliroats
upon the frontiers. With your let-
ters of peace I received others, giv-
ing accounts of murders, and these
acts continue to this time. Had you
only consulted Colonel Bouquet, be-
fore you agreed upon any thing with
thern, (a deference he was certainly
entitled to, instead of an order to
stop his march,) you would have been
acquainted with the treachery of
those people, and not have suffered
yourself to be thus deceived, and
you would have saved both Colonel
Bouquet and myself from the dilem-
ma you brought us into. You con-
cluded a peace with people who were
laily murdering us."

MS. Letter — Gage to Johnson,
Sept. 4.

" You will have received my let-
ter of the 2d inst., enclosing you
the unaccountable treaty betwixt
Colonel Bradstreet and the Shawa-
nese, Delawares, &c. On considera-
tion of the treaty, it does not appear
to me that the ten Indians therein
mentioned were sent on an errand
of peace. If they had, would they
not have been at Niagara ? or would
the insolent and audacious message
have been sent there in the lieu of
offers of peace ? Would not they
have been better provided with
belts on such an occasion? They
give only one string of wam-
pum. You will know this better,
but it appears strange to me. They
certainly came to watch the motions
of the troops."

3 MS. Letter — Gagr^ to Brad-
street, Sept. 2.

Bradstreet's instructions directed
him to offer peace to such tribes as
should make their submission. " To
offer peace" writes Gage, "I think
can never be construed a power to
conclude and dictate the articles of

's4

'■: il

464 BBADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [CiiAr.XXVI.

Having, as he thought, accomplished not only a
great part of his own task, hut also the whole of
that which had been assigned to Colonel Bouquet,
Bradstrcet resumed his progress westward, and in a
few days reached Sandusky. He had been ordered
to attack the Wyandots, Ottawas, and Miamis, dwell-
ing near this place; but at his approach, these In-
dians, hastening to avert the danger, sent a deputa-
tion to meet him, promising that, if he would refrain
from attacking them, they would follow him to
Detroit, and there conclude a treaty. Bradstreet
thought proper to trust this slippery promise, though,
with little loss of time, he might have reduced them,
on the spot, to a much more effectual submission.
He now bent his course for Detroit, leaving the In-
dians of Sandusky much delighted, and probably no
less surprised, at the success of their embassy. Be-
fore his departure, however, he despatched Captain
Morris, with several Canadians and friendly Indians,
to the Illinois, in order to persuade the savages of
that region to treat of peace with the English.
The measure was in a high degree ill advised and
rash, promising but doubtful advantage, and exposing
the life of a valuable officer to imminent risk. The
sequel of Morris's adventure will soon appear.

The English boats now entered the mouth of the
Detroit, and on the twenty-sixth of August came
within sight of the fort and adjacent settlements.
The inhabitants of the Wyandot village on the
right, who, it will be remembered, had recently
made a treaty of peace at Niagara, ran down to the

peace, and you certainly know that William Johnson, his majesty's sole
no such power could with propriety agent and superintendent for Indian
be lodged in any person but in Sir idairs."

Ciur. XXVI.]

BRAD8TREET AT DETROIT.

465

shore, shouting, whooping, and firing their guns, — a
greeting more noisy than sincere, — while the cannon
of the garrison echoed salutation from the opposite
shore, and cheer on cheer, deep and heartfelt, pealed
welcome from the crowded ramparts.

"Well might Gladwyn's beleaguered soldiers rejoice
at the approaching succor. They had been beset for
more than fifteen months by their wily enemy, and
though there were times when not an Indian could
be seen, yet woe to the soldier who should wander
iuto the fon ' in search of game, or stroll too far
beyond range of the cannon. Throughout the pre-
ceding winter, they had been left in comparative
quiet; but with the opening spring, the Indians had
resumed their pertinacious hostilities; not, however,
witli the same activity and vigor as during the pre-
ceding summer. The messages of Sir William John-
son, and the tidings of Bradstreet's intended expedi-
tion, had had great effect upon their minds, and some
of them had begged abjectly for peace; but still the
garrison were harassed by frequent alanns, and days
and nights of watchfulness were their unvarying lot.
Cut off for months together from all communication
with their race, pent up in an irksome imprisonment,
ill supplied with provisions, and with clothing worn
threadbare, they hailed with delight the prospect of
a return to the world from wiiich they had been
banished so long. The army had no sooner landed
than the garrison was relieved, and fresh troops sub-
stituted in their place. Bradstreet's next care was to
inquire into the conduct of the Canadian inhabitants
of Detroit, and punish such of them as had given
aid to the Indians. A few only were found guilty,
59

466

BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Chap. XXVI

the more culpable having fled to the Illinois on the
approach of the army.

Pontiac too was gone. The great war-chief, his
vengeance unslaked, and his purpose unshaken, had
retired before an overwhelming force, and, with the
more resolute and warlike of his followers, with-
drawn to the banks of the Maumee, whence he sent
a haughty defiance to the English commander. The
Indian villages near Detroit were half emptied of
their inhabitants, many of whom still followed the
desperate fortunes of their indomitable leader.^ Those
who remained were, for the most part, brought by
famine and misery to a sincere desire for peace, and
readily obeyed the summons of Bradstreet to meet
him in council.

The council was held in the open air, on the
morning of the seventh : September, with all the
accompaniments of military display which could
inspire awe and respect among the assembled sav-
ages. The tribes, or rather fragments of tribes, rep-
resented at this meeting, were the Ottawas, Ojibwas,
Pottawattamies, Miamis, Sacs, and Wyandots. The
Indians of Sandusky kept imperfectly the promise
they had made, the Wya idots of that place alone
sending a full deputation, while the other tribes
were mercly represented by the Ojibwa chief Was-
son. This man, who was the principal chief of his
tribe, and the most prominent orator on the present
occasion, rose and opened the council.

" My brother," he said, addressing Bradsti\2et,

' Pontiac still repeated to his fol- and hang all Indians who made j
lowers the story of a French army peace. Diary of the Siege.
on its way to destroy tlie English

Chap. XXVI.]

TERMS OF THE TREATY.

467

"last year God forsook us. God has now opened
our eyes, and we desire to be heard. It is God's
will our hearts are altered. It was God's will you
had such fine weather to come to us. It is God's
will also there should be peace and tranquillity
over the face of the earth and of the waters."

Having delivered this eloquent exordium, Wasson
frankly confessed that the tribes which he represented
were all justly chargeable with the war, and now
deeply regretted their delinquency. It is common
with Indians, when accused of acts of violence, to lay
the blame upon the unbridled recklessness of their
young warriors; and this excuse is often perfectly
sound and valid ; but since, in the case of a premed-
itated and long-continued war, it was glaringly inad-
missible, they now reversed the usual course, and
made scapegoats of the old chiefs and warriors, who,
as they declared, had led the people astray by sinister
counsel and bad example.*

Bradstreet would grant peace only on condition
that they should become subjects of the King of Eng-
land, and acknowledge that he held over their coun-
try a sovereignty as ample and complete as over any
other part of his dominions. Nothing could be more
impolitic and absurd than this demand. The small-
est attempt at an invasion of their liberties has
always been regarded by the Indians with extreme
jealousy, and a prominent cause of the war had been
an undue assumption of authority on the part of the
English. This article of the treaty, could its purport
have been fully understood, might have kindled afresh
the quarrel which it sought to extinguish; but hap-

' MS. Minutes of Conference be- dians of Detroit, Sept. 7, 1764. See,
veen Colonel Bradstreet and the in- also, Mante, 517.

::lfl

i'il^l

468

BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Chap. XXVI

pily not a savage present was able to comprelicnd it.
Subjection and sovereignty are ideas which never en-
ter into the mind of an Indian, and therefore his
language has no words to express them. Most of
the western tribes, it is true, had been accustomed
to call themselves children of the King of France;
but the words were a mere compliment, conveying
no sense of any political relation whatever. Yet it
was solely by means of this hannless metaphor that
the condition in question could be explained to the
assembled chiefs. Thus interpreted, it met with a
ready assent, since, in their eyes, it involved no con-
cession beyond a mere unmeaning change of forms
and words. They promised, in future, to call tlie
English king father, instead of brother, unconscious
of any obligation which so trifling a change could
impose, and mentally reserving a full right to make
war on him or his people, whenever it should suit
their convenience. When Bradstreet returned from
his expedition, he boasted that he had reduced the
tribes of Detroit to terms of more complete submis-
sion than any other Indians had ever before yielded;
but the truth was soon detected and exposed by those
conversant with Indian affairs.^

At this council, Bradstreet was guilty of the bad
policy and bad taste of speaking through the medium
of a French interpreter ; so that most of his own
officers, as well as the Iroquois allies, who Avere
strangers to the Algonquin language, remained in
ignorance of all that passed. The latter were highly I
indignant, and refused to become parties to the
treaty, or go through the usual ceremony of shakiui,'

MS. Letter — Johnson to the Board of Trade, Oct. 30.

Chap. XXVI.]

EMBASSY OF MORRIS.

469

hands with the chiefs of Detroit, insisting that they
had not heard their speeches, and knew not whether
they were friends or enemies. In another particular,
also, Bradstreet gave great offence. From some un-
explained impulse or motive, he cut to pieces, with a
hatchet, a belt of wampum which was about to be
used in the council ; and all the Indians present,
both friends anii enemies, were alike incensed at this
rude violation of the ancient pledge of faith, which,
m their eyes, was invested with something of a sacred
character.'

Having settled the affairs of Detroit, Bradstreet
despatched Captain Howard, with a strong detach-
ment, to take possession of Michillimackinac, which
had remained unoccupied since its capture on the
previous summer. Howard effected his object with-
out resistance, and, at the same time, sent parties of
troops to reoccupy the deserted posts of • Green Bay
and Saul I Ste. Marie. Thus, after the interval of
more than a year, the flag of England was again
displayed among the solitudes of the northern wil-
derness.^

While Bradstreet's army lay encamped on the fields
near Detroit, Captain Morris, with a few Iroquois
and Canadian attendants, was pursuing his adventur-
ous embassy to the country of the Illinois. Ascend-
mg the Maumec in a canoe, he soon approached the
camp of Pontiac, who, as we have seen, had with-
drawn to the banks of this river, with his chosen
warriors. While yet at some distance, Morris and

' MS. Remarks on the Conduct of Sandusky, published in several news-
Colonel Bradstreet — found among papers of the day.
'ie Johnson Papers. 2 Mg. Report of Captain Howard

See, also, an extract of a letter from

470

BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Chap. XXVI

his party were met by about two hundred Indians,
who treated him with great violence and rudeness,
while they offered a friendly welcome to the Iroquois
and Canadians. Attended by this clamorous escort,
they all moved together towards the camp. At its
outskirts stood Pontiac himself. He met the am-
bassador with a scowling brow, and refused to offer
his hand. "The English are liars,*' was his first
fierce salutation. He then displayed a letter ad-
dressed to himself, and purporting to have been writ-
ten by the King of France, containing, as Morris
declares, the grossest calumnies which the most in-
genious malice could devise, to incense the Indians
against the English. The old falsehood was not for-
gotten. "Your French father," said the writer, "is
neither dead nor asleep; he is already on his way,
with sixty great ships, to revenge himself on the
English, and drive them out of America." The letter
was written by a French officer, or more probably a
French fur-trader, who, for his own profit, wished to
inflame the passions of the Indians, and thus bar the
way against English competitors. If Bradstreet, be-
fore leaving Sandusky, had forced the Indians of that
place to submission, he would have inspired such an
awe and respect among the tribes of the whole adja-
cent region, that Morris might have been assured of
safety and good treatment, even in the camp of Pon-
tiac. As it was, the knowledge that so many of their
relatives were in the power of the army at Detroit
restrained the Ottawa warriors from personal violence;
and, having plundered the whole party of every thing
except their arms, their clothing, and their canoe,
they suffered them to depart.

Leaving the unfriendly camp, they urged their way,

Chap. XXVI.l

EMBASSY OF MORRIS.

471

with poles and paddles, against the rippling current
of the Maumee, and on the morning of the seventh
day reached the neighborhood of Fort Miami. This
post, captured during the preceding year, had since
remained without a garrison; and its only tenants
were the Canadians, who had built their houses within
its palisades, and a few Indians, who thought fit to
make it their temporary abode. The meadows about
the fort were dotted with the lodges of the Kicka-
poos, a large band of whom had recently arrived;
but the great Miami village was on the opposite side
of the stream, screened from sight by the forest
which intervened.

Morris brought his canoe to land at a short dis-
tance below the fort, and while his attendants were
making their way through the belt of woods which
skirted the river, he himself remained behind to com-
plete some necessai-y arrangements. It was fortunate
that he did so, for his attendants had scarcely reached
the open meadow, which lay behind the woods, when
they were encountered by a mob of savages, armed
with spears, hatchets, and bows and arrows, and bent
on killing the Englishman. Being, for the moment,
unable to find him, the chiefs had time to address
the excited rabble, and persuade them to postpone
their intended vengeance. The ambassador, buffeted,
threatened, and insulted, was conducted to the fort,
where he was ordered to remain, though, at the same
time, the Canadian inhabitants were forbidden to ad-
mit him into their houses. Morris soon discovered
that this rough treatment was, in a great mcasurc,
owing to the influence of a deputation of Delaware
and Shawanoe chiefs, who had recently arrived, bring-
ing fourteen war-belts of wampum, and exciting the

472 BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Chap. XXVI

■

\\mm^¥

' ■■'«■. ■ ■ . .

»">;•

'■* ^^'

t-:

,21.. ^'^

Miamis to renew their hostilities against the common
enemy. Thus it was fully apparent that while the
Delawares and Shawanoes were sending one deputa-
tion to treat of peace with Bradstreet on Lake Erie,
they were sending another to rouse the tribes of the
Illinois to war. From Fort Miamis, the deputation
had proceeded westward, spreading the contagion
among all the tribes between the Mississippi and the
Ohio, declaring that they would never make peace
with the English, but would fight them as long as
the sun should shine, and calling on their brethren
of the Illinois to follow their example.

Morris had not remained long at the fort, when
two Miami warriors entered, who, seizing him by the
arms, and threatening him with a raised tomahawk,
forced him out of the gate, and led him to the
bank of the river. As they drew him into the water,
the conviction flashed across his mind that they in-
tended to drown him and then take his scalp; but
he soon saw his mistake, for they led him across the
stream, which at this season was fordable, and thence
towards the great Miami village. When they ap-
proached the lodges, they stopped and began to strip
him, "out grew angry at the difficulty of the task.
In rage and despair, he himself tore off his unifonn.
The warriors bound his arms behind him with his
own sash, and drove him- before them into the vil-
lage. Instantly, from all the lodges, the savages ran
out to receive their prisoner, clustering about him
like a swarm of angry bees, and uttering their dis-
cordant death-yells — sounds compared to which the
nocturnal bowlings of starved wolves are gentle and
melodious. The greater number were eager to kill
him; but there was a division of opinion, and a

Chap. XXVL]

EMBASSY OF MOIiRIS.

473

clamorous debate ensued. Two of his Canadian at-
tendants, Godefroy and St. Vincent, had followed
him to the village, and now ventured to interpose
with the chiefs in his behalf. Among the latter was
a nephew of Pontiac, a young man, who, though not
yet arrived at maturity, shared the bold spirit of his
heroic kinsman. He harangued the tumultuous crowd,
declaring that he would not see one of the English
put to death, when so many of his own relatives were
in their hands at Detroit. A Miami chief, named
the Swan, also took part with the prisoner, and cut
loose his bonds; but Morris had no sooner begun to
speak in his own behalf, than another chief, called
the White Cat, seized him, and bound him fast by
the neck to a post. Upon this, Pontiac's nephjw
rode up on horseback, severed the cord with his
hatchet, and released the unfortunate man. " I give
this Englishman his life," exclaimed the daring boy.
"If you want English meat, go to Detroit or to the
lake, and you will find enough of it. What business
have you with this man, who has come to speak with
usT' The current of feeling among the throng now
began to change ; and, having vented their hatred and
spite by a profusion of words and blows, they at
length thrust the ambassador with violence out of
the village. He succeeded in regaining the fort,
although, on the way, he was met by one of the In-
dian^, who beat his naked body with a stick.

He found the Canadian inhabitants of the fort dis-
posed to befriend him, as far as they could do so
without danger to themselves ; but his situation was
still extremely critical. The two warriors, who had
led him across the river, were constantly lurking
about, watching an opportunity to kill him ; and the

60 NN*

474

BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. fCnAP. XXVI

Kickapoos, whose lodges were pitched on the meadow,
sent him a message to the effect, that if the Miamis
did not put him to death, they themselves would do
so, whenever he should pass their camp. He was
still on the threshold of his journey, and his final
point of destination was several hundred miles dis-
tant; yet, with great resolution, he determined to
persevere, and, if possible, completely fulfil his mis-
sion. His Indian and Canadian attendants used
every means to dissuade him, and in the evening
held a council with the Miami chiefs, the result of
which was most discouraging. Morris received mes-
sage after message, threatening his life should he per-
sist in his design; and word was brought him that
several of the Shawanoe deputies were returning
the fort, expressly to kill him. Under these circum-
stances, it would have been madness to persevere ; and,
reluctantly abandoning his purpose, he retraced his
steps towards Detroit, where he arrived on the seven-
teenth of September, fully expecting to find Brad-
street still encamped in the neighborhood. But that
agile commander had returned to Sandusky, whither
Morris, completely exhausted by hardships and suf-
ferings, was unable to follow him. He hastened,
however, to send Bradstrcet the journal of his un-
fortunate embassy, accompanied by a letter, in which
he inveighed, in no very gentle terms, against the
authors of his misfortunes.^

1 MS. Letter — Morris to Brad-
street, Sept. 18.

" The villains have nipped our fair-
est hopes in the bud. I tremble for
}rou !it Sandusky ; though I was great-
y pleased to find you have one of the
vessels with you, and artillery. I wish
the chiefs were assembled on board

the vessel, and that she had a hole in
her bottom. Treachery should be oaid
with treachery ; and it is a more tlian
ordinary pleasure to deceive those who
would deceive us."

The above account of Morris's
adventures is drawn from the journal
which he sent to Bradstreet, and from

itiJLr. XXVI.]

INACTION OF BRADSTREET.

475

Bradstreet had retraced his course to Sandusky,
to keep his engagemcAt with the Delaware and
Shawanoe deputies, and await the fulfihnent of their
worthless promise to surrender their prisoners, and
conclude a definitive treaty of peace. His hopes
were destined to be defeated. The appointed time
expired, and not a chief was seen, though, a few days
after, several warriors came to the camp, with a prom-
ise that, if Bradstreet Avould remain quiet, and refrain
from attacking their villages, they would bring in the
prisoners in the course of the following week. Brad-
street accepted their excuses, and, having removed his
camp to the carrying-place of Sandusky, lay waiting
in patient expectation. It was here that he received,
for the first time, a communication from General
Gage, respecting the preliminary treaty, concluded
several weeks before. Gage condemned his conduct
in severe terms, and ordered him to break the en-
gagements he had made, and advance at once upon
the enemy, choosing for his first objects of attack
the Indians living upon the plains of the Scioto.
The fury of Bradstreet was great on receiving this
message, and it was not diminished when the journal
of Captain Morris was placed in his hands, fully
proving how signally he had been duped. He was
in no temper to obey the orders of the commander-
in-chief; and, to justify himself for his inaction, he
alleged the impossibility of reaching the Scioto plains
at that advanced season. Two routes thither were
open to his choice, one by the lliver Sandusky, and

the testimony of his Indian and Ca- lars not mentioned by Morris himself,

nadian attendants, given in Brad- The original journal is in the Lon-

street's presence, at his camp near don Archives. The other document

Sandusky. This testimony was re- was found among Sir W. Johnson's

:ordod, and contains various particu- papers, ^ee Appendix, F.

JJJ

476

BRADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. |Cuap.XXVI

the Other by the Cayahoga Creek. The water in tlic
Sandusky was sunk low with the drought, and tlie
carrying-place at the head of Cayahoga Creek was a
few miles longer than had been represented; yet the
army were ready for the attempt, and these difficul-
ties could not have deterred a vigorous commander.
Under cover of such excuses, Bradstreet remained
idle at Sandusky for several days, while sickness and
discontent were rife in his camp. The soldiers com-
plained of his capricious, peremptory temper, his
harshness to his troops, and the unaccountable ten-
derness with which he treated the Sandusky Indians,
some of whom had not yet made their submission,
while he enraged his Iroquois allies by his frequent
rebukes and curses.

At length, declaring that provisions were failing
and the season growing late, he resolved to return
home, and broke up his camp with such precipitancy
that several soldiers, who had gone out in the morn-
ing to procure game for his table, were inhumanly
left behind. The boats of the army had scarcely en-
tered Lake Erie, when a storm descended upon them,
destroying several, and throwing the whole into con-
fusion. For three days the tempest raged unceas-
ingly; and when the angry lake began to resume
its tranquillity, it was found that the remaining
boats were insufficient to convey the troops. A large
body of Indians, together with a detachment of pro-
vincials, were therefore ordered to make their way
to Niagara along the pathless borders of the lake.
They accordingly set out, and, after many days of
hardship, reached their destination; though such had
been their sufferings, from fatigue, cold, and hunger,
from wading swamps, swimming creeks and rivers,

Chap. XXVI-l RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION.

477

and pushing their way through tangled thickets, that
many of the provincials perished miserably in the
woods. On the fourth of November, seventeen days
after their departure from Sandusky, the main body
of the little army arrived in safety at Niagara, and
the whole, reembarking on Lake Ontario, proceeded
towards Oswego.* Fortune still seemed adverse; for
a second tempest arose, and one of the schooners,
crowded with troops, foundered in sight of Oswego,
though most of the men were saved. The route to
the settlements was now a short and easy one. On
their arrival, the regulars went into quarters, while
the troops levied for the campaign were sent home
to their respective provinces.

This expedition, ill conducted as it was, produced
some beneficial results. The Indians at Detroit had
been brought to reason, and for the present, at
least, would probably remain tranquil ; while the
reestablishment of the posts on the upper lakes
must necessarily have great effect upon the natives
of that region. At Sandusky, on the other hand,
the work had been but half done. The tribes of
that place felt no respect for the English, while
those to the southward and westward had been left
in a state of turbulence, which promised an abun-
dant harvest of future mischief^ In one particular,
at least, Bradstreet had occasioned serious detriment
to the English interest. The Iroquois allies, who
had joined his army, were disgusted by his treatment
of them, while they were roused to contempt by the
imbecility of his conduct towards the enemy ; and
thus the efforts of Sir William Johnson to secure

1 Mante, 535.

* MS. Letter — Johnson to tho Board of Trade, December 26.

478

BHADSTREET'S ARMY ON THE LAKES. [Cuap. XXVI.

the attachment of these powerful tribes were in no
small degree counteracted and neutralized.*

While Bradstreet's troops were advancing upon
the lakes, or lying idle in their camp at Sandu.sky,
another expedition was in progress at the southward,
with abler conduct and a more auspicious result.

' Tho provincial officers, to whom
the coaimand of the Indian allien waa
assignetl, drew up a paper oontainins
comnlainU against Bradstreet, and
particulars of his ntiseonduct during
the expedition. This curious do(;ii-
ment was found among the private
papers of Sir William Johnson.

A curious discovery, in probable
connection with Bradstreet's expedi-
tion, has lately been made public.
At McMahon's Beach, on Lake Erie,
eight or ten miles west of Cleveland,
a considerable number of bayonets,
bullets, musket-barrels, and fragments

of boats have from time to time been
washed by storms from tho sand.x, or
dug up on the adjacent slini(\ .-w
well as an English .silver-hilted sword,
several silver spoons, and a few old
French and English coins. A nioiind
full of bones and skulls, appari'iiily
of Europeans hastily buried, haf ;il<o
been found at the same place. The
probability is strong, that these arc
the remains of Bradstreet's disaster.
See a paper by Dr. J. P. Kirtlaiid,
in Whittlesey's History of Cleveland,
105.

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CHAPTER XXVII.

BOUQUET FORCES THE DELAWARES AND SHAWANOES
TO SUE FOR PEACE.

The scruples of the Quakers, and the dissensions
in the provinci?vl government, had so far protracted
the debates of the Pennsylvanian Assembly, that it
was late in the spring before supplies were granted
for the service of the ensuing summer. In the
mean time, the work of ravage had begun afresh
upon the borders. The Indians had taken the pre-
caution to remove all their settlements to the west-
em side of the River Muskingum, trusting that the
[impervious forests, with their unnumbered streams,
would prove a sufficient barrier against invasion.
Having thus, as they thought, placed their women
k nd childien in safely, ihey had liung themselves
jupon the settlements with all the rage and ferocity
of the previous season. So fierce and active were
the war-parties on the borders, that the English gov-
ernor of Pennsylvania had recourse to a measure
which the frontier inhabitants had long demanded,
and issued a proclamation, offering a high bounty for
hidian scalps, whether of men or women ; a bar-
barous expedient, fruitful of butcheries and murders,
I but incapable of producing any decisive result.^

' The following is an extract from that there shall be paid out of the

I the proclamation: — moneys lately granted for his majes-

"I do hereby declare and promise, ty's use, to all and every person and

i.L\i

M V ' II

\'^

480

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVII

Early in the season, a soldier named David Owens,
who, several years before, had deserted and joined
the Indians, came to one of the outposts, accom-
panied by a young provincial recently taken prisoner
on the Delaware, and bringing five scalps. AMiile
living among the Indians, Owens had formed a con-
nection with one of their women, who had borne
him several children. Growing tired, at length, of
the forest life, he had become anxious to return to
the settlements, but feared to do so without first
having made some atonement for his former deser-
tion. One night, he had been encamped on the Sus-
quehanna, with a party consisting of four Shawanoe
warriors, a boy of the same tribe, hiy own wife and
two children, and another Indian woman. The
young provmcial, who came with him to the settle-

persons not in the pay of this province,
the followii:qr several and respective
premiums ana bounties for the prison-
ers and scalps of the enemy Indians
that shall be taken or killed within
the bounds of this province, as lim-
ited by the royal charter, or in pur-
suit from within the said bounds ;
that is to say, for every male Indian
enemy above ten years old, who shall
be taken prisoner, and delivered at
any forts garrisoned by the troops
in the pay of this province, or at any
of the county towns, to the keeper
of the common jails there, the sum
of one hundred and fifty Spanish
dollars, or pieces of eight. For
every female Indian enemy, taken
prisoner and brought in as aforesaid,
and for every male Indian enemy of
ten years old or under, taken pris-
oner and delivered as aforesaid, the
sum of one hundred and thirty pieces
of eight. For the scalp of every
male Indian eifemy above the age of
ten years, produced as evidence of
their being killed, the sum of one
hundred and thirty-four pieces of
eight. And for the scalp of every

female Indian enemy above the age
of ten years, produced as evidence
of their being killed, the sum of fifty
pieces of eight."

The action of such measures has
recently been illustrated in the in-
stance of NeAv Mexico before its
conquest by the Americans. The
inhabitants of that country, too tim-
orous to defend themselves against
the Apaches and otlier tribes, who
descended upon them in froriiient
forays from the neighboring moun-
tains, took into pay a band of for-
eigners, chiefly American trappers,
for whom the Apache lances hud no
such terrors, and, to stimulate their
exertions, proclaimed a bounty on
scalps. The success of the meas-
ure was judged admirable, until it
was found that the unscrupulous con-
federates were in the habit of shoot
ing down any Indian, whether friend
or enemy, who came within range of
their rifles, and that the government
had been paying rewards for tlif
scalps of its own allies and depend-
ants.

Chap. XXVII.]

DAVID OWENS.

481

ments, was also present. In the middle of the
night, Owens arose, and, looking about him, saw, by
the dull glow of the camp-fire, that all were buried
in deep sleep. Cautiously awakening the young pro-
vincial, he told him to leave the place, and lie quiet,
at a little distance, until he should call him. He
next stealthily removed the weapons from beside the
sleeping savages, and concealed them in the woods,
reserving to himself two loaded rifles. Returning to
the camp, he knelt on the ground between two of
the yet unconscious warriors, and, pointing a rifle at
the head of each, touched the triggers, and shot both
dead at once. Startled by the reports, the survivors
sprang to their feet in bewildered terror. The two
remaining warriors bounded into the woods; but the
women and children, benumbed with fright, had no
power to escape, and one and all died shrieking
under the hatchet of the miscreant. His devilish
work complete, the wretch sat watching until day-
light among the dead bodies of his children and
comrades, undaunted by the awful gloom and soli-
tude of the darkened forest. In the morning, he
scalped his victims, with the exception of the two
children, and, followed by the young white man,
directed his steps towards the settlements, with the
bloody trophies of his atrocity. His desertion was
pardoned; he was employed as an interpreter, and
ordered to accompany the troops on the intended
expedition. His example is one of many in which
the worst acts of Indian ferocity have been thrown
into shade by the enormities of white barbarians.'

1 Gordon, Hist. Penn. 625. Rob- " Bumetsfield.'June 18th, 1764.

ison, Narrative. " David Owens was a Corporal ii<

Extract from a MS. Letter — Sir Capt McClean's Compy., and lay

W. Johnson to Governor Penn. once in Garrison at my House. He

;f ■{

^ite .

482

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVJI

Colonel Bouquet was now pushing his preparations
for the campaign with his utmost zeal; but August
arrived before the provincial troops were in read-
iness. On the fifth of that month, the whole force
v/as united at Carlisle, and consisted of five hundred
regulars, — most of whom had fought in the battle
of Bushy Run, of which that day was the anniver-
sary, — a thousand Pennsylvanians, and a small but
invaluable corps of Virginia riflemen. After remain-
ing for a few days at Carlisle, the troops advanced
to Fort Loudon, which they reached on the thir-
teen th. Here they were delayed for several weeks,
and here Bouquet received the strange communica-
tion f''>m '^clonel Bradstreet, in which the latter
informed him that he had made a preliminary treaty
with the Delawares and Shawanoes, and that all
operations against them might now be abandoned.
We have already seen that Bouquet disregarded this
message, thinking himself in no way called upon
to lay aside his plans against an enemy who was
suing for peace on one side, and butchering and
scalping on another.^ Continuing therefore to advance,

deserted several times, as I am in-
formed, &. went to live among the
Delawares & Shawanose, with whose
language he was acquainted. His
Father having been long a trader
amongst them.

"The circumstances relating to
his leaving the Indinns have been
told me by several Indians. That
he wont out a hunting with his In-
dian Wife and several of her rela-
tions, most of whom, with his Wife,
he killed and scalped as they slept.
As he was always much attached to
Indiana, I fancy he began to fear he
was unsafe amongst them, & killed
them rather to make his peace with
the English, than from any dislike
either to them or their principles."

1 Extract from a MS. Letter —
Colonel Bouquet to Governor Penn.

" Fort Loudon, 27th Aug. 1764.

"Sir:

"I have the honor to transmit to
you a letter from Colonel Bradstrcot,
who acquaints me that he has grant-
ed peace to all the Indians living
between Lake Erie and the Ohio;
but as no satisfaction is insisted
on, I hope the General will not con-
firm it, and that I shall not be a
witness to a transaction which would
fix an indelible stain upon the Na-
tion.

" I therefore take no notice of that
pretended peace, & proceed forth-
with on tlje expedition, fully deter-

Chap. XXVII.] HIS MESSAGE TO THE DELA WARES.

483

ansmit to
radstrecl,
ms gmnt-
ns living
le Ohio;
insisted
not con-
not be a
ch would
the Na-

le of that
led forth-
\\y deter-

he passed in safety the scene of his desperate fight
of the last summer, and on the seventeenth of Sep-
tember arrived at Fort Pitt, with no other loss than
that of a few men picked off from the flanks and
rear by lurking Indian marksmen.

Soon after his arrival, a party of Delaware chiefs
appeared on the farther bank of the river, pretend-
ing to be deputies sent by their nation to confer
with the English commander. Three of them, after
much hesitation, came over to the fort, where, being
closely questioned, and found unable to give any
good account of their mission, they were detained as
spies, while their companions, greatly disconcerted,
fled back to their villages. Bouquet released one of
the three captives, and sent him home with the fol-
lowing message to his people: —

" I have received an account, from Colonel Brad-
street, that your nations had begged for peace, which
he had consented to grant, upon assurance that you
had recalled all your warriors from our frontiers ;
and in consequence of this, I would not have pro-
ceeded against your towns, if I had not heard that,
in open violation of your engagements, you have
since murdered several of our people.

" I was therefore determined to have attacked
you, as a people whose promises can no more be
relied on. But I will put it once more in your
power to save yourselves and your families from
total destruction, by giving us satisfaction for the
hostilities committed against us. And first, you are
to leave the path open for my expresses from hence
to Detroit; and as I am now to send two men with

mined to treat as enemiea any Del- my way, till I receive contrary order*
awares or Shawanese I shall find in from the General."

.1 ) '

484

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVII

despatches to Colonel Bradstreet, who commands on
the lakes, I desire to know whether you will send
two of your people to bring them safe back with
an answer. And if they receive any injury either
in going or coming, or if the letters are taken from
them, I will immediately put the Indians now in
my power to death, and will show no mercy, for
the future, to any of your nations that shall fall into
my hands. I allow you ten days to have my letters
delivered at Detroit, and ten days to bring me back

an answer."^

The liberated spy faithfully discharged his mission,
and the firm, decisive tone of the message had a
profound effect upon the hostile warriors; clearly
indicating, as it did, with what manner of man they
had to deal. Many, who were before clamorous for
battle, were now ready to sue for peace, as the only
means to avert their ruin.

Before the army was ready to march,' two Iroquois
warriors came to the fort, pretending friendship, but
anxious, in reality, to retard the expedition until the
approaching winter should make it impossible to
proceed. They represented the numbers of the
enemy, and the extreme difficulty of penetrating so
rough a country, and affiimed that if the troops
remained quiet, the hostile tribes, who were already
collecting their prisoners, would soon arrive to make
their submission. Bouquet turned a deaf ear to
their advice, and sent them to inform the Delawares
and Shawanoes that he was on his way to chastise
them for their perfidy and cruelty, unless they
should save themselves by an ample and speedy
atonement.

1 Hutchins, Account of Bouquet's Expedition, 5.

Chap. XXVII.] THE MARCH OF HIS ARMY.

485

Early in October, the troops left Fort Pitt, and
began their westward march into a wilderness which
no army had ever before sought to penetrate. En-
cumbered with their camp equipage, with droves of
cattle and sheep for subsistence, and a long train
of pack horses laden with provision, their progress
was tedious and difficult, and seven or eight miles
were the ordinary measure of a day's march. The
woodsmen of Virginia, veteran hunters and Indian-
fighters, were thrown far out in front, and on either
flank, scouring the forest to detect any sign of a
lurking ambuscade. The pioneers toiled in the van,
hewing their way through woods and thickets, while
the army dragged its weary length behind them
through the forest, like a serpent creeping through
tall grass. The surrounding country, whenever a
casual opening in the matted foliage gave a glimpse
of its features, disclosed scenery of wild, primeval
beauty. Sometimes the army skirted the margin
of the Ohio, with its broad eddying current and the
bright landscape of its shores. Sometimes they de-
scended into the thickest gloom of the woods, damp,
still, and cool as the recesses of a cavern, where the
black soil oozed beneath the tread, where the rough
columns of the forest seemed to exude a clammy sweat,
and the slimy mosses were trickling with moisture,
while the carcasses of prostrate trees, green with the
decay of a century, sank into pulp at the lightest
pressure of the foot. More frequently, the forest was
of a fresher growth, and the restless leaves of young
maples and basswood shook down spots of sunlight
on the marching columns. Sometimes they waded
the clear current of a stream, with its vistas of arch-
ing foliage and sparkling water. There were intervals

oo*

486

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVII.

but these were rare, when, escaping for a moment
from the labyrinth of woods, they emerged into the
light of an open meadow, rich with herbage, and
girdled by a zone of forest, gladdened by the notes
of birds, and enlivened, it may be, by grazing herds
of deer. These spots, welcome to tlie forest travel-
ler as an oasis to a wanderer in the desert, form the
precursors of the prairies, which, growing wider and
more frequent as (ne advances westward, expand at
last into the boundless plains beyond the Mississippi.

On the tenth day. after leaving Fort Pitt, the army
reached the River Muskingum, and approached the
objecfs of their march, the homes and sanctuaries of
the barbarian warriors, who had turned whole dis-
tricts into desolation. Their progress had met no
interruption. A few skulking Indians had hovered
about them, but, alarmed by their numbers, feared
to venture an attack. The Indian cabins which they
passed on their way were deserted by their tenants,
who had joined their western brethren. When the
troops crossed the Muskingum, they saw, a little be-
low the fording-place, the abandoned wigwams of the
village of Tuscaroras, recently the abode of more
than a hundred families, who had fled in terror at
the approach of the invaders.

Bouquet was in the heart of the enemy's country.
Their villages, except some remoter settlements of
the Shawanoes, all lay within a few days' march, and
no other choice was left them than to sue for peace,
or risk the desperate chances of battle against a
commander who, a year before, with a third of his
present force, had signally routed them at the fight
of Bushy Run. The vigorous and active among them
might, it is true, escape by flight; but, in doing so,

Chap. XXVII.]

TERROR OF THE ENEMY.

487

they must abandon to the victors their dwellings, and
their secret hordes of corn. They were confounded at
the multitude of the invaders, exaggerated^ doubtless,
in the reports which reached their villages, and amazed
that an army should force its way so deep into the
forest fastnesses, which they had always deemed im-
pregnable. They knew, on the other hand, that Colo-
nel Bradstreet was still at Sandusky, in a position to
assail them in the rear. Thus pressed on both sides,
they saw that they must submit, and bend their stub-
born pride to beg for peace, not alone with words
which cost nothing, and would have been worth noth-
ing, but by the delivery of prisoners, and the surrender
of chiefs and warriors as hostages of good faith. Bou-
quet had sent two soldiers from Fort Pitt with letters
to Colonel Bradstreet; but these men, in defiance of
his threats, had been seized and detained by the
Delawares. They now appeared at his camp, sent
back by their captors, with a message to the effect
that within a few days the chiefs would arrive and
hold a conference with him.

Bouquet continued his march down the valley of
the Muskingum, until he reached a spot where the
broad meadows, which bordered the river, would sup-
ply abundant grazing for the cattle and horses, while
the terraces above, shaded by forest-trees, oiferod a
convenient site for encampment. Here he beg >; to
erect a small palisade work, as a depot for stores and
baggage. Before the task was complete, a deputation
of chiefs arrived, bringing word that their warriors
were encamped, in great numbers, about eight miles
from the spot, and desiring Bouquet to appoint the
time and place for a council. He ordered them to
meet him, on the next day, at a point near the margin

488

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Ciup. XXVIL

of the river, a little below the camp; and thither a
party of men were at once despatched, to erect a sort
of rustic arbor of saplings and the boughs of trees,
large enough to shelter the English officers and the
Indian chiefs. With a host of warriors in the neigh-
borhood, who would gladly break in upon in,
could they hope that the attack would succeed, it
behoved the English to use every precaution. A
double guard was placed, and a stringent discipline
enforced.

In the morning, the little army moved in batth*
order to the place of council. Here the principal
officers assumed their seats under the canopy of
branches, while the glittering array of the troops
was drawn out on the meadow in front, in such a
manner as to produce the most imposing effect ' the
minds of the Indians, in whose eyes the sighi fif-
teen hundred men under arms was a spectacle equally
new and astounding. The perfect order and silence
of the far-extended lines, the ridges of bayonets flash-
ing in the sun, the fluttering tartans of the Highland
regulars, the bright red uniforai of the Royal Ameri-
cans, the darker garb and duller trappings of the
Pennsylvania troops, and the bands of Virginia back-
woodsmen, who, in fringed hunting-frocks and Indian
moccasons, stood leaning carelessly on their rifles, —
all these combined to form a scene of military pomp
and power not soon to be forgotten.

At the appointed hour, the deputation appeared.
The most prominent among them were Kiashuta,
chief of the band of Senecas who had deserted their
ancient homes to form a colony on the Ohio; Cus-
taloga, chief of the Delawares ; and the head chief
af the Shawanoes, whose name sets orthography at

Chap. XXVII.] SrEECII OP THE DELAWARE ORATOR.

489

defiance. As they approached, painted and plumed in
all their savage pomp, they looked neither to the
right hand nor to the left, not deigninj^, under the
eyes of their enemy, to cast even a glance at the
military display around them. They seated them-
selves, with stem, impassive looks, and an air of
sullen dignity, while their black and sombre brows
betrayed the hatred still rankling in their hearts.
After a few minutes had been consumed in the in-
dispensable ceremony of smoking, Turtle Heart, a
chief of the Delawares, and orator of the deputation,
rose, bearing in his hand a bag containing the belts
of wampum. Addressing himself to the English com-
mander, he spoke as follows, delivering a belt for
every clause of his speech : —

" Brother, I speak in behalf of the three nations
whose chiefs are here present. With this belt I open
your ears and your hearts, that you may listen to
my words.

" Brother, this war was neither your fault nor
ours. It was the work of the nations who live to
the westward, and of our wild young men, who would
have killed us if we had resisted them. We now put
away all evil from our hearts, and we hope that your
mind and ours will once more be united together.

"Brother, it is the will of the Great Spirit that
there should be peace between us. We, on our side,
now take fast hold of the chain of friendship ; but, as
we cannot hold it alone, we desire that you will take
hold also, and we must look up to the Great 8i)irit,
that he may make us strong, and not permit this
chain to fall from our hands.

"Brother, these words come from our hearts, and
I not from our lips. You desire that we should deliver
62

490

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVII

up your flesh and blood now captive among us ; and,
to show you that we are sincere, we now return you
as many of them as we have at present been able to
bring. [Here he delivered eighteen white prisoners,
who had been brought by the deputation to the
council.] You shall receive the rest as soon as we
have time to collect them."^

In such figurative terms, not devoid of dignity, did
the Indian orator sue for peace to his detested ene-
mies. When he had concluded, the chiefs of every
tribe rose in succession, to express concurrence in
what he had said, each delivering a belt of wampum
and a bundle of small sticks, the latter designed to
indicate the number of English prisoners whom his
followers retained, and whom he pledged himself to
surrender. In an Indian council, when one of the
speakers has advanced a matter of weight and
urgency, the other party defers his reply to the
fillowing day, that due time may be allowed for
deliberation. Accordingly, in the present instance,
the council adjourned to the next morning, each
party retiring to its respective camp. But, when day
dawned, a change was apparent in the aspects of the
weather. The valley of the Muskingum was filled
with driving mist and rain, and the meeting was

1 This speec' taken from the
official journal Colonel Bouquet,
a copy of whi„. . is preserved in the
archives of Pennsylvania, at Har-
risburg, engrossed, if the writer's
memory does not fail him, in one of
the volumes of the Provincial Rec-
ords. The narrative of Hutchins,
which has often been cited, is chieHy
founded upon the authority of these
documents ; and the writer has used
his materials with great skill and

faithfulness, though occasionally it
has been found advisable to luive re-
course to tlie original journals, to
supply some omission or obscurity in
Hutchins' compilation. This writer's
personal familiarity with the Indian
country, and his acquaintance with
the actors in these scenes, have, how-
ever, given a life and chiinictcr to
his narrative, which is altoircthcr
wanting in the formal pages of an
official report.

XXVIl

1 ; and,
in

1
you

able to

Lsoners,

to the

as we

lity, did
ed cne-
if every
ence in

gned to
liom liis
[nself to
! of the
and
to the
wed for
instance,
each
len dav
; of the
filled

^ht

^g'

as
ing

was

isioniilly it

to Imvc re-

jourimls, to

l)bsciirity in

f his writer's

[tlie Indian

Itincc with

, hiive, how-

Buiructcr tn

altogether

liges of an

Chap. XXVIL]

REPLY OF BOUQUET.

491

in consequence postponed. On the third day, the
landscape brightened afresh, the troops marched once
more to the place of council, and the Indian chiefs
convened to hear the reply of their triumphant foe.
It was not of a kind to please them. The first
opening words gave an earnest of what was to come ;
for Bouquet discarded the usual address of an In-
dian harangue, fathers, brothers, or children, — terms
which imply a relation of friendship, or a desire
to conciliate, — and adopted a sterner and more dis-
tant form.

" Sachems, war-chiefs, and warriors,^ the excuses
you have offered are frivolous and unavailing, and
your conduct is without defence or apology. You
could not have acted as you pretend to have done
through fear of the western nations ; for, had you
stood faithful to us, you knew that we would have
protected you against their anger; and as for your
young men, it was your duty to punish them, if they
did aipiss. You have drawn down our just resent-
ment by your violence and perfidy. Last summer, in
cold blood, and in a time of profound peace, you
robbed and murdered the traders, who had come
among you at your own express desire. You at-
tacked Fort Pitt, which was built by your consent,
and you destroyed our outposts and garrisons, when-
ever treachery could place them in your power.
You assailed our troops — the same w^ho now stand

1 The sachem is the civil chief,
ifho directs the counsels of the tribe,
ind governs in time of peace. His
office, on certain conditions, is heredi-
tary, while the war-chief, or military
leader, acquires his authority solely
I by personal merit, and seldom trans-
mits it to hi.s ofTrfpring. fcJoinetimes

the civil and military functions are
discharged by the same person, as in
the instance of Pontine himself.

The speech of Bouquet, as given
above, is taken, with some omission
and condensation, from the journals
mentioned in tlie preceding note.

'l'

192

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chai*. XXVIl

before you — in the woods at Bushy Run ; and, when
we had routed and driven you off, you sent your
scalping-parties to the frontier, and murdered many
hundreds of our people. Last July, when the other
nations came to ask for peace, at Niagara, you not
only refused to attend, but sent an insolent message
instead, in which you expressed a pretended contempt
for the English, and, at the same tim cold the sur-
rounding nations that you would never lay down the
hatchet. Afterwards, when Colonel Bradstreet came
up Lake Erie, you sent a deputation of your chiefs,
and concluded a treaty with him; but your engage-
ments were no sooner made than broken; and from
that day • to this, you have scalped and butchered us
without ceasing. Nay, I am informed that, when you
heard that this army was penetrating the woods, you
mustered your warriors to attack us, and were only
deterred from doing so when you found how greatly
we outnumbered you. This is not the only instance
of your bad faith ; for, since the beginning of the last
war, you have made repeated treaties with us, and
promised to give up your prisoners ; but you have
never kept these engagements, nor any others. We
shall endure this no longer; and I am now come
among you to force you to make atonement for the
injuries you have done us. I have brought with me
the relatives of those you have murdered. They are
eager for vengeance, and nothing restrains them from
taking it but my assurance that this army shall not
leave your country until you have given them an
ample satisfaction.

" Your allies, the Ott^was, Ojibwas, and Wyan-
dots, have begged for peace; the Six Nations have
leagued themselves with us; the great lakes and

Chap.XXVIL] effect OF BOUQUET'S SPEECH

493

rivers around you are all in our possession, and your
friends the French are in subjection to us, and can
do no more to aid you. You are all in our power,
and if we choose we can exterminate you from the
earth ; but the English are a merciful and generous
people, averse to shed the blood even of their great-
est enemies; and if it were possible that you could
convince us that you sincerely repent of your past
perfidy, and that we could depend on your good be-
havior for the future, you might yet hope for mercy
and peace. If I find that you faithfully execute the
conditions which I shall prescribe, I will not treat
you with the severity you deserve.

"I give you twelve days from this date to deliver
into my hands all the prisoners in your possession,
without exception; Englishmen, Frenchmen, women,
and children ; whether adopted into your tribes, mar-
ried, or living among you under any denommation
or pretence whatsoever. And you are to furnish
these prisoners with clothing, provision, and horses,
to carry them to Fort Pitt. When you have fully
complied with these conditions, you shall then know
on what terms you may obtain the peace you sue
for."

This speech, with the stern voice and countenance
of the speaker, told with chilling effect upon the
awe-stricken hearers. It quelled their native haugh-
tiness, and sunk them to the depths of humiliation.
Their speeches in reply were dull and insipid, void
of that savage eloquence, which, springing from a
wild spirit of independence, has so often distinguished
the forest orators. Judging the temper of their ene-
Riies by their own insatiable thirst for vengeance,
they hastened, with all the alacrity of terror, to fulfil

494

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVtt

the prescribed conditions, and avert the threatened
ruin. They dispersed to their different villages, to
collect and bring in the prisoners; while Bouquet,
on his part, knowing that his best security for their
good faith was to keep up the alarm which his de-
cisive measures had created, determined to march yet
nearer to their settlements. Still following the course
of the Muskingum, he descended to a spot near its
confluence with its main branch, which might be re-
garded as a central point with respect to the sur-
rounding Indian villages. Here, with the exception
of the distant Shawanoe settlements, they were all
within reach of his hand, and he could readily chas-
tise the first attempt at deceit or evasion. The
principal chiefs of each tribe had been forced to
accompany him as hostages.

For the space of a day, hundreds of axes were
busy at their work. The trees were felled, the ground
cleared, and, with marvellous rapidity, a town sprang
up in the heart of the wilderness, martial in aspect
and rigorous in discipline; with storehouses, hospi-
tals, and works of defence, rude sylvan cabins min-
gled with white tents, and the forest rearing its
sombre rampart round the whole. On one side of
this singular encampment was a range of buildings,
designed to receive the expected prisoners ; and ma-
trons, brought for this purpose with the army, were
appointed to take charge of the women and children
among them. At the opposite end, a canopy of
branches, sustained on the upright trunks of young I
trees, formed a rude council-hall, in keeping with tlie
savage assembly for whose reception it was designed,

And now, issuing from the forest, came warriors,
conducting troops of prisoners, or leading captive I

p.XXVIL

Chap XXVII.] MESSAGE FROM BRADSTREET.

495

Batened
ges, to
ouquet,
31' their
his de-
irch yet
e course
near its
it be re-
the sur-
ixception
were all
ily chas-
n. The
breed to

,xes were
le ground
^n sprang
in aspect
3S, hospi-
ins min-
aring its
side of
ibuildings,
and ma-
my, were
children
anopy of
of young
with the
designed,
warriors,
captive f

children, — wild young barbarians, bom perhaps
among themselves, and scarcely to be distinguished
from their own. Yet, seeing the sullen reluctance
which the Indians soon betrayed in this ungrateful
task. Bouquet thought it expedient to stimulate their
efforts by sending detachments of soldiers to each
of the villages, still retaining the chiefs in pledge
for their safety. About this time, a party of friendly
Indians arrived with a letter from Colonel Brad-
street, dated at Sandusky. The writer declared that
he was unable to remain longer in the Indian coun-
try, and was on the point of retiring down Lake
Erie with his army; a movement which, at the least,
was of doubtful necessity, and which might have in-
volved the most disastrous consequences. Had the
tidings been received but a few days sooner, the
whole effect of Bouquet's measures would probably
have been destroyed, the Indians encouraged to re-
sistance, and the war brought to the arbitration of a
battle, which must needs have been a fierce and
bloody one. But, happily for both parties, Bouquet
now had his enemies firmly in his grasp, and the
boldest warrior dared not violate the truce.

The messengers who brought the letter of Brad-
I street brought also the tidings that peace was made
with the northern Indians, but stated, at the same
time, that these tribes had murdered many of their
captives, and given up few of the remainder, so that
no small number were still within their power. The
I conduct of Bradstreet in this Flatter was the more

sgraceful, since he had been encamped for weeks

I almost within gunshot of the Wyandot villages at

Sandusky, where most of the prisoners were detained.

Bouquet, on his part, though separated from this place

496

BOUQUET m THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XX Vn.

by a journey of many days, resolved to take upon him-
self the duty which his brother officer had strangely
neglected. He sent an embassy to Sandusky, de-
manding that the prisoners should be surrendered.
This measure was in a great degree successful. He
despatched messengers soon after to the principal
Shawanoe village, on the Scioto, distant about eighty
miles from his camp, to rouse the inhabitants to a
greater activity than they seemed inclined to dis-
play. This was a fortunate step, for the Shawanoes
of the Scioto, who had been guilty of atrocious cru-
elties during the war, had conceived the idea that
they were excluded from the general amnesty, and
marked out for destruction. This notion had been
propagated, and perhaps suggested, by the French
traders in their villages; and so thorough was the
conviction of the Shawanoes, that they came to the
desperate purpose of murdering their prisoners, and
marching, with all the warriors they could muster, to
attack the English. This plan was no sooner formed
than the French traders opened their stores of bul-
lets and gunpowder, and dealt them out freely to the
Indians. Bouquet's messengers came in time to pre-
vent the catastrophe, and relieve the terrors of the
Shawanoes, by the assurance that peace would be
granted to them on the same conditions as to the rest
Thus encouraged, they abandoned their design, and
set out with lighter hearts for the English camp.
bringing with them a portion of their prisoners,
When about half way on their journey, they were
met by an Indian runner, who told them that aj
soldier had been killed in the woods, and their tribe
charged with the crime. On hearing this, their fear
revi\ed, and with it their former purpose. Having!

CHAP.XXVnj SUBMISSION OF THE SHAWANOEfi.

497

him-

ngely

h de-

dered.

. He

ncipal

eighty

} to a

to dis-

vvanoes

as cru-

?a that

ty, and

,d been

French

kvas the

! to the

ers, and

uster, to
formed
of bul-

ly to the
to pre-
of the
ould be
jthe rest.
ign, and
Ih camp.
»risoners.
cy werel
that a I
leir tribe
Iheir fear
Having

collected their prisoners in a meadow, they sur-
rounded the miserable wretches, armed with guns,
war-clubs, and bows and arrows, and prepared to
put them to death. But another runner arrived
before the butchery began, and, assuring them that
what they had heard was false, prevailed on them
once more to proceed. They pursued their journey
without farther interruption, and, coming in safety
to the camp, delivered the prisoners whom they had
brought.

These by no means included the whole number
of their captives, for nearly a hundred were of ne-
cessity left behind, because they belonged to warriors
who had gone to the Illinois to procure aims and
ammunition from the French ; and there is do au-
thority in an Indian community powerful enough to
deprive the meanest warrior of his property, even in
circumstances of the greatest public exigency. This
was clearly understood by the English commander,
and he therefore received the submission of the
Shawanoes, though not without compelling them to
deliver hostages for the future surrender of the re-
maining prisoners.

Band after band of captives had been daily ar-
riving, until upwards of two hundred were now col-
lected in the camp ; including, as far as could be
ascertained, all who had been in the hands of the
Indians, excepting those belonging to the absent
warriors of the Shawanoes. Up to this time, Bou-
quet had maintained a stem and rigorous demeanor,
repressing the spirit of clemency and humanity
which eminently distinguished him, refusing all
friendly intercourse with the Indians, and telling
them that he should treat them as enemies until

498

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVII

they had fully complied with all the required condi-
tions. In this, he displayed his knowledge of their
character ; for, like all warlike savages, they are
extremely prone to interpret lenity and moderation
into timidity and indecision; and he who, from
good nature or mistaken philanthropy, is betrayed
into yielding a point which he has before insisted
on, may have deep cause to rue it. As their own
dealings with their enemies are not leavened with
such humanizing ingredients, they are seldom able
to comprehend them; and to win over an Indian
foe by kindness should only be attempted by one
who has already given indubitable proofs of power,
and established an unanswerable claim to respect
and obedience.

But now, when every condition was satisfied, such
inexorable rigor was no longer demanded ; and
having convoked the chiefs in the sylvan council-
house. Bouquet signified his willingness to receive
their offers of peace.

" Brother," began the Indian orator, " with this
belt of wampum I dispel the black cloud that has
hung so long over our heads, that the sunshine of
peace may once more descend to warm and gladden
us. I wipe the tears from your eyes, and condole
with you on the loss of your brethren who have
perished in this war. I gather their bones together,
and cover them deep in the earth, that the sight of
them may no longer bring sorrow to your hearts;
and I scatter dry leaves over the spot, that it may
depart forever from memory.

" The path of peace, which once ran between
your dwellings and mine, has of late been choked
with thorns and briers, so that no one could pass

Chap. XXVII.| SPEECH OF THE INDIAN ORATOR.

499

that way; and we have both almost forgotten that
such a path had ever been. I now clear away all
these obstructions, and make a broad, smooth road,
so that you and I may freely visit each other, as
our fathers used to do. I kindle a great council-
fire, whose smoke shall rise to heaven, in view of
all the nations, while you and I sit together and
smoke the peace-pipe at its blaze." *
In this strain, the orator of each tribe, in turn,

1 An Indian council, on solemn
occasiona, is always opened with
preliminary forms, sufficiently weari-
some and tedious, but made indis-
pensable by immemorial custom ; for
this people are as much bound by
their conventional usages as the
most artificial children of civiliza-
tion. The forms are varied to some
extent, according to the imagination
and taste of the speaker; but in all
essential respects tJiey are closely
similar, throughout the tribes of Al-
gonquin and Iroquois lineage. They
ruu somewhat as follows, each sen-
tence being pronounced with great
solemnity, and confirmed by the de-
livery of a wampum belt. Brothers,
witli this belt I open your ears that
you may hear — I remove grief and
sorrow from your hearts — I draw
from your feet the thorns which
have pierced them as you journeyed
thither — I clean the seats of the
council-house, that you may sit at
ease — I wash your head and body,
that your spirits may be refreshed —
I condole with you on the loss of
the friends who have died since we
last met — I wipe out any blood
which may have been spilt between
us. This ceremony, which, by the
delivery of so many belts of wam-
pum, entailed no small expense, was
never used except on the most im-
portant occasions ; and at the coun-
cils with Colonel Bouquet, the angry
warriors seem wholly to have dis-
pensed with it.

An Indian orator is provided with

a stock of metaphors, which he al-
ways makes use of for tlie expres-
sion of certain ideas. Thus, to
make war is to raise the hatchet ; to
make peace is to take hold of the
chain of friendship; to deliberate is
to kindle the council-fire; to cover
the bones of the dead is to make
reparation and gain forgiveness for
the act of killing them. A state of
war and disaster is typified by a
black cloud; a state of peace, by
bright sunshine, or by an open path
between the two nations.

The orator seldom speaks without
careful premeditation of what he is
about to say ; and his memory ia
refreshed by the belts of wnmpum,
which he Jeliverc -^fter every clause
in his harangue, as a pledge of the
sincerity and truth of his words.
These belts are carefully preserved
by the hearers, as a substitute for
written records ; a use for which
they are the better adapted, as they
are often worked with hieroglyphics
expressing the meaning they are
designed to preser\'e. Thus, at a
treaty of peace, the principal belt
often bears the figures of an Indian
and a white man holding a chain
between them.

For the nature and uses of wam-
pum, see note, ante, p. 1(55.

Though a good memory i' an es-
sential qualification of an Indian ora-
tor, it would be unjust not tc observe
that striking outbursts of spontaneous
eloquence have sometimes proceeded
from their lips.

500

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVH.

expressed the purpose of his people to lay down
their aims, and live, for the future, in friendship with
the English. Every deputation received a separate
audience, and the successive conferences were thus
exte'^ded through several days. To each and all,
Bouquet made a similar reply, in words to the fol-
lowing effect : —

" By your full compliance with the conditions
which I imposed, you have satisfied me of your sin-
cerity, and I now receive you once more as brethren
The king, my master, has commissioned me, not to
make treaties for him, but to fight his battles; and
though I now offer you peace, it is not in my power
to settle its precise terms and conditions. For this,
I refer you to Sir William Johnson, his majesty's
agent and superintendent for Indian affairs, who will
settle with you the articles of peace, and detennine
every thing in relation to trade. Two things, how-
ever, I shall insist on. And, first, you are to give
hostages, as security that you will preserve good
faith, and send, without delay, a deputation of your
chiefs to Sir William Johnson. In the next place,
these chiefs are to be fully empowered to treat in
behalf of your nation, and you will bind yourselves
to adhere strictly to every thing they shall agree
upon in your behalf."

These demands were readily complied with. Hos-
tages were given, and chiefs appointed for the em-
bassy; and now, for the first time. Bouquet, to the
great relief of the Indians, — for they doubted his
intentions, — extended to them the hand of friend-
ship, which he had so long withheld. A prominent
chief of the Delawares, too proud to sue for peace,
had refused to attend the council, on which Bouquet

Chap. XXVII.) THE SHAWANOES— THEIR HAUGHTINESS. 501

ordered him to be deposed, and a successor, of
a less obdurate spirit, installed in his place. The
Shawanoes were the last of the tribes admitted to a
hearing; and the demeanor of their orator clearly
evinced the haughty reluctance with which he
stooped to ask peace of his mortal enemies.

"When you came among us," such were his con-
cluding words, "you came with a hatchet raised to
strike us. We now take it from your hand, and
throw it up to the Great Spirit, that he may do
with it what shall seem good in his sight. We
hope that you, who are warriors, will take hold of
the chain of friendship which we now extend to
you. We, who are also warriors, will take hold as
you do, and we will think no more of war, in pity
for our women, children, and old men."*

On this occasion, the Shawanoe chiefs, expressing
a hope for a renewal of the friendship which in
former years had subsisted between their people and
the English, displayed the dilapidated parchments of
several treaties made between their ancestors and the
descendants of William Penn — documents, some of

1 The Shawanoe speaker, in ex-
pressing his intention of disamiing
his enemy by laying aside his own
designs of war, makes use of an un-
usual metaphor. To bury the hatch-
et is the figure in common use on
such occasions, but he adop*^^ a form
of speech which he regards as more
significant and emphatic, — that of
tiiroAving it up to the Great Spirit.
Unwilling to confess that he yields
through fear of the enemy, he pro-
fesses to wish for peace merely for
the sake of his women and children.

At the great council at Lancaster,
in 1762, a chief of the Oneidas,
inxioua to express, in the stxongest

terms, the firmness of the peace
which had been concluded, had re-
course to the following singular
figure : "In the country of the
Oneidas there is a great pine-tree,
so huge and old that half its
branches are dead with time. I tear
it up by the roots, and, looking down
into the hole, I see a dark stream of
water, flowing with a strong current,
deep under ground. Into this stream
I fling the hatchet, and the current
sweeps it away, no man knows
whither. Then I plant the tree
again where it stood before, and
thus this war will be ended for-

ever;

602

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVII.

which had been preserved among them for more
than half a century, with all tlie scrupulous rcsj)ect
they are prone to exhibit for such ancestral records.
They were told, that, since tlicy had not delivered
all their prisoners, they could scarcely expect to
meet the same indulgence which had been extended
to their brethren; but thcit, nevertheless, in full
belief of their sincerity, the English would grant
them peace, on condition of their promising to sur-
render the remaining captives early in the following
spring, and giving up six of their chiefs as hostages.
These conditions were agreed to; and it may be
added that, at the appointed time, all the prisoners
who had been left in their hands, to the number of
a hundred, were brought in to Fort Pitt, and deliv-
ered up to the commanding officer.^

From the hard formalities and rigid self-control of
an Indian council-house, where the struggles of fear,
rage, and hatred were deep buried beneath a surface
of iron immobility, we turn to scenes of a widely
different nature ; an exhibition of mingled and con-
trasted passions, more worthy the pen of the dram-
atist than of the historian, who, restricted to the
meagre outline of recorded authority, can reflect but
a feeble image of the truth. In the ranks of tlie
Pennsylvania troops, and among the ^^\n: uia rifle-
men, were the fathers, brothers, ai asbands <
those whose rescue from captivity wu i chief object
of the march. Ignorant what had befall- n them,
and doubtful whether they were yet among the

5 Besides the authorities before accompanied him have been exam-
mentioned in relation to these trans- ined. For General Gage's 8umin£.7
actions, several manuscript letters of the results of the campaign, see
from Bouquet and the officers who Appendix, F.

Chaf. XXVII.] SCENES AT TUB ENGLISH CAMP.

603

living, these men had joined the army, in the fever
ish hope of winning them back to home and civil-
ization. Perhaps those whom they sought had per-
ished by the elaborate torments of the stake ; perhaps
by the more merciful hatchet; or perhaps they still
dragged out a wretched life in the midst of a savage
hoi'de. There were instances in which whole fam-
ilies had been carried off at once. The old, the
sick, or the despairing, had been tomaliawked as
useless encumbrances, while the rest, pitilessly forced
asunder, were scattered through every quarter of the
wilderness. It was a strange and moving sight,
when troop after troop of prisoners arrived in suc-
cession — the meeting of husbands with wives, and
fathers with children, the reunion of broken families,
long separated in a disastrous captivity ; and on the
other hand, the agonies of those who learned tidings
of death and horror, or groaned under the torture
of protracted suspense. Women, frantic between
hope and fear, were rushing hither and thither, in
search of those whose tender limbs had, perhaps,
long since fattened the cubs of the she wolf; or
were pausing in an agony of doubt, before some
sunburnt young savage, who, startled at the haggard
apparition, shrank from his forgotten parent, and
clung to the tawny breast of his adopted mother.
Others were divided between delight and anguish :
on the one hand, the joy of an unexpected recogni-
tion; and on the other, the misery of realized fears,
or he more intolerable pangs of doubts not yet re-
solved. Of all the spectators of this tragic drama,
few were obdurate enough to stand unmoved. The
loneliest soldiers felt the contagious sympathy, and
sntiened into unwonted tenderness.

504

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVfl

Among the children brought in for surrender,
there were some, who, captured several years before,
as early, perhaps, as the French war, had lost every
recollection of friends and home. Terrified by the
novel sigh'js around them, by the flash and glitter
of arms, fi,nd, above all, by the strange complexion
of the pale-faced warriors, they screamed and struggled
lustily when consigned to the hands of their rela-
tives. There were yoimg women, too, who had
become the partners of Indian husbands, and now,
with all their hybrid ofiBpring, were led reluctantly
into the presence of fathers or brothers, whose
images were almost blotted from their memory.
They stood agitated and bewildered, the revival of
old affections, and the rush of dormant memories,
painfully contending with more recent attachments,
and the shame of their real or fancied disgrace;
while their Indian lords looked on, scarcely less
moved than they, yet hardening themselves with
savage stoicism, and standing in the midst of their
enemies, imperturbable as statues of bronze. These
women were compelled to return with their children
to the settlements ; yet they all did so with reluc-
tance, and several afterwards made their escape,
eagerly hastening back to their warrior husbands,
and the toils and vicissitudes of an Indian wigwam.^

1 Penn. Hist. Col. 267. Haz. Pa.
Reg. IV. 390. M'CuUoch, N .rra-
tive. M'CuUoch was one ot the
prisoners surrendered to Bouquet.
His narrative first appeared in a pam-
phlet form, and has since been repub-
lished in the Incidents of Border
Warfare, and other similar collec-
tions. The autobiography of Mary
Jemison, a woman captured by the
Senecas during the French war, and
twice married among them, contains

an instance of attachment to Indian
life similar to those mentioned
above. After the conclusion of hos
tilities, learning that she was to be
given up to the whites, in accordance
with a treaty, she escaped into the
woods with her half-breed children,
and remained hidden, in great dismay
and agitation, until the search was
over. She lived to an advanced age,
but never lost her attachment to the
Indian life.

Chap. XXVII.] SCENES AT THE ENGLISH CAMP.

505

Day after day brought fresh renewals of these
scenes, deepenmg in interest as they drew towards
their close. A few individual incidents have been
recorded and preserved. A young Virginian, robbed
of his wife but a few months before, had volun-
teered in the expedition with the faint hope of
recovering her, and, after long suspense, had recog-
nized her among a troop of prisoners, bearing in her
arms a child born during her captivity. But the
joy of the meeting was bitterly alloyed by the loss
of a foiiner child, not two years old, captured with
the mother, but soon taken from her, and carried,
she could not tell whither. Days passed on; they
could learn no tidings of its fate, and the mother,
harrowed with terrible imaginations, was almost driven
to despair, when, at length, she discovered her child
in the arms of an Indian warrior, and snatched it
with an irrepressible cry of transport.

When the army, on its homeward march, reached
the town of Carlisle, those who had been unable to
follow the expedition came thither in numbers, to
inquire for the friends they had lost. Among the
rest was an old woman, whose daughter had been
carried off nine years before. In the crowd of
female captives, she discovered one in whose wild
and swarthy features she discerned the altered linea-
ments of her child ; but the girl, who had almost
forgotten her native tongue, returned no answering
sign of recognition to her eager words, and the old
woman bitterly complained that the daughter, whom
she had so often sung to sleep on her knee, had
forgotten her in her old age. The humanity of
Bouquet suggested an expedient. " Sing the song
that you used to sing to her when a child." The
64 QQ

506

BOUQUET m THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVIl,

old woman obeyed, and a sudden start, a look of
bewilderment, and a passionate flood of tears, removed
every doubt, and restored the long-lost daughter to
her mother's arms.*

The tender affections by no means form a salient
feature in the Indian character. They hold them in
contempt, and scorn every manifestation of them;
yet, on this occasion, they would not be repressed,
and the human heart betrayed itself, though throb-
bing under a breastplate of ice. None of the ordi-
nary signs of emotion, neither tears, words, nor
looks, declared how greatly they were moved. It
was by their kindness and solicitude, by their atten-
tion to the wants of the captives, by their offers of
furs, garments, the choicest articles of food, and
every thing which in their eyes seemed luxury, that
they displayed their sorrow at parting from their
adopted relatives and friends.^ Some among them
went much farther, and asked permission to follow
the army on its homeward march, that they might
hunt for the captives, and supply them with better
food than the military stores could furnish. A
young Seneca warrior had become deeply enamoured
of a Virginian girl. At great risk of his life, he
accompanied the troops far within the limits of the
settlements, and, at every night's encampment, ap-
proaching the quarters of the captives as closely as
the sentinels would permit, he sat watching, with
patient vigilance, to catch a glimpse of his lost
mistress.

1 Ordinances of the Borough of meant to apply solely to the squtiws
CarVislef Jtppendtx. Penn. Hist. Coll. A warrior, who, under th'"- rircii :
267. stances, should have displayed such

2 Ilutchins speaks of the Indians emotion, would have been disgraced
" shedding torrents of tears." This forever.

is either a flourish of rhetoric, or ia

Chap.XXVIL] prisoners among the INDIANS.

507

The Indian women, whom no idea of honor com-
pels to wear an iron mask, were far from emulating
the frigid aspect of their lords. All day they ran
wailing through the camp; and, when night came,
the hills and woods resounded w'th their dreary lam-
entations.^

The word prisoner, as applied to captives taken by
the Indians, is a misnomer, and conveys a wholly
false impression of their situation and treatment.
When the vengeance of the conquerors is sated, when
they have shot, stabbed, burned, or beaten to death,
enough to satisfy the shades of their departed rela-
tives, they usually treat those who survive their wrath
with moderation and humanity, often adopting them
to supply the place of lost brothers, husbands, or
children, whose names are given to the successors
thus substituted in their place. By a formal cere-
mony, the white blood is washed from their veins,
and they are regarded thenceforth as members of the
tribe, faring equally with the rest in prosperity or
adversity, in famine or abundance. When children
are adopted in this manner by Indian women, they
nurture them with the si-r e tenderness and indul-
gence which they extend, in a remarkable degree, to
their own offspring; and such young women as will

' The outcries of the squaws, on
such occasions, would put to shame
an Irish death-howl. The writer wus
once attached to a large band of Ii-
dians, who, beinjf on the inarch, ar-
rived, a little after nightfall, at a spot
Inhere, not long before, a party of
their young men had been killed by
the enemy. The women instantly
raised a most astounding clamor,
some two hundred voices joining in
a discord as wild and dismal as the
shrieking of tlie damned in Dante's

Inferno ; while some of the chief
mourners gashed their bodies and
limbs with knives, uttering, mean-
while, most piteous lamentations. A
icvr days later, returning to the
same encampment after darkness had
closed in, a strange and startling ef-
fect was produced by tl»e prolonged
wailings of several women, who were
pacing the neighboring hills, lament-
ing the death of a child, killed by the
bite of a rattlesnake.

^'t;!

III

508

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVU.

not marry an Indian husband are treated with a
singular forbearance, in which superstition, natural
temperament, and a sense of right and justice may
all claim a share. The captive, unless he excites
suspicion by his conduct, or exhibits peculiar contu-
macy, is left with no other restraint than his own
free will. The warrior who captured him, or to whom
he was assigned in the division of the spoil, some-
times claims, it is true, a certain right of property
in him, to the exclusion of others ; but this claim is
soon fcrrjotten, and seldom exercised to the incon-
venience of the captive, who has no other prison than
the earth, the air, and the forest.^ Five hundred
miles of wilderness, beset with difficulty and danger,
are the sole bars to his escape, should he desire to
effect it; but, strange as it may appear, this wish is
apt to expire in his heart, and he often remains to
the end of his life a contented denizen of the woods.
Among the captives brought in for delivery were
some bound fast to prevent their escape; and many
others, who, amid the general tumult of joy and sor-
row, sat sullen and scowling, angry that they were
forced to abandon the wild license of the forest for
the irksome restraints of society.^ Thus, to look back
with a fond longing to inhospitable deserts, wliere
men, beasts, and Nature herself, seem arrayed in arms,
and where ease, security, and all that civilization
reckons among the goods of life, are alike cut off,
may appear to argue some strange perversity or moral

• The captives among the Shawa- death, fearing that, in the attack

noes of the Scioto had most of them which they meditated, the captives

been recently taken ; and only a would naturally take part with their

small part had gone through the countrymen,
ceremony of adoption. Hence it was 2 Hutchins, Account of Bouquet's

that the warriors, in their desperation, Expedition, 2l>.
formed the design of putting them to ,

Chap. XXVn.]

THE FOREST LIFE.

509

malformation. Yet such has been the experience of
many a sound and healthful mind. To him who
has once tasted the reckless independence, the haugh-
ty self-reliance, the sense of irresponsible freedom,
which the forest life engenders, civilization thence-
forth seems flat and stale. Its pleasures are insipid,
its pursuits wearisome, its conventionalities, duties,
and mutual dependence alike tedious and disgust-
ing. The entrapped wanderer grows fierce and rest-
less, and pants for breathing-room. His path, it
is true, was choked with difficulties, but his body
and soul were hardened to meet them; it was beset
with dangers, but these were the very spice of his
life, gladdening his heart with exulting self-confi-
dence, and sending the blood through his veins with
a livelier current. The wilderness, rough, harsh, and
inexorable, has charms more potent in their seductive
influence than all the lures of luxury and sloth.
And often he on whom it has cast its magic
finds no heart to dissolve the spell, and remains a
wanderer and an Ishmaelite to the hour of his
death. ^

^ Golden, after describing the In-
dian wars of 161)9, 1700, concludes
in the following words : —

•' I shall finish this Part by observ-
ing that notwithstanding the French
Commissioners took all the Pains
possible to carry Home the French
tint were Prisoners with the Five
Nations, and they had full Liberty
from the Indians, few of them could
be persuaded to return. It may be
tliought that this was occasioned from
tlie Hardships they had endured in
llieir own Country, under a tyranni-
cal Government and a barren Soil.
But this certainly was not the Rea-
son, for the English had as, much
Hifficulty to persuade the People that

had been taken Prisoners by the
French Indians to leave the Indian
Manner of living, though no People
enjoy more Liberty, and live in
greater Plenty than the common In-
habitants of New York do. No Ar-
guments, no Intreatics, nor Tears of
their Friends and Relations, could
persuade many of them to leave their
new Indian Friends and Acquaint-
ance. Several of them that were by
the Cnressings of their Relations
persuaded to come Home, in a little
Time grew tired of our Manner of
living, and ran away to the Indians,
and ended their Days with them.
On the other Hand, Indian Children
have been carefully educated among

QQ*

m'M
! i ii

(ill
11

■ ! '''■ ill'' ,",

■am

510

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVH.

There is a chord, in the breasts of most men, prompt
to answer loudly or faintly, as the case may be, to
such rude appeals. But there is influence of another
sort, strongest with minds of the finest texture, yet
sometimes holding a controlling power over those
who neither acknowledge nor suspect its workings.
There are fev/ so imbruted by vice, so perverted by
art and luxury, as to dwell in the closest presence
of Nature, deaf to her voice of melody and power,
untouched by the ennobling influences which mould
and penetrate the heart that has not hardened itself
against them. Into the spirit of such an one the
mountain wind breathes its own freshness, and the
midsummer tempest, as it rends the forest, pours its
own fierce energy. His thoughts flow with the
placid stream of the broad, deep river, or dance in
light with the sparkling current of the mountain
brook. No passing mood or fancy of his mind but
has its image and its echo in the wild world around
him. There is softness in the mellow air, the warm
sunshine, and the budding leaves of spring; and in
the forest flower, which, more delicate than the pam-
pered offspring of gardens, lifts its tender head
through the refuse and decay of the wilderness. But
it is the grand and heroic in the hearts of men
which finds its worthiest symbol and noblest inspira-
tion amid these desert realms, — in the mountain,
rearing its savage head through clouds and sleet, or

the English, clothed and taught ; yet,
I think, there is not one Instance that
any of these, after they had Liberty
to go among their own People, and
were come to Age, would remain
with the English, but returned to
their own Nations, and became as
'bnd of the Indian Manner of Life as

those that knew nothing of a civil-
ized Maimer of living. VVlrit I now
tell of Christian Prisoners aiiimvi- In-
dians relates not only to what hap-
pened at the Conclusion of this War,
but has been found true on many
other Occasions." — Golden, 20tl

Chap. XXVIL] RETURN OF THE EXPEDITION.

511

rivil-
I now
\w' In-
fit hap-
War,
many

basking its majestic strength in the radiance of the
sinking sun; in the interminable forest, the thunder
booming over its lonely waste, the whirlwind tearing
through its inmost depths, or the sun at length set-
ting in gorgeous majesty beyond its waves of verdure.
To the sick, the wearied, or the sated spirit, nature
opens a theatre of boundless life, and holds forth a
cup brimming with redundant pleasure. In the other
joys of existence, fear is balanced against hope, and
satiety against delight ; but here one may fearlessly
drink, gaining, with every draught, new vigor and a
heightened zest, and finding no dregs of bitterness
at the bottom.

Having accomplished its work, the army left the
Muskingum, and, retracing its former course, arrived
at Fort Pitt on the twenty-eighth of November.
The recovered captives were sent to their respective
homes in Pennsylvania or Virginia; and the provin-
cial troops disbanded, not without warm praises for
the hardihood and steadiness with which they had
met the difficulties of the campaign. The happy
issue of the expedition spread joy throughout the
country. At the next session of the Pennsylvania
Assembly, one of its first acts was to pass a vote of
thanks to Colonel Bouquet, expressing in the most
earnest terms their sense of his services and personal
merits, and conveying their acknowledgments for the
regard which he had constantly shown to the civil
rights of the inhabitants.^ The Assembly of Vir-
ginia passed a similar vote ; and both houses con-
curred in recommending Bouquet to the king for
promotion. Such recommendation proved superfluous,

* See Appendix, P

512

BOUQUET IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. [Chap. XXVn.

for, on the first news of his success, Bouquet had
been appointed to the rank of brigadier, and the
command of the southern department. "And," con-
cludes Hutchins, the chronicler of the campaign, "as
he is rendered as dear by his private virtues to
those who have the honor of his more intimate ac-
quaintance as he is by his military services to the
public, it is hoped he may long continue among us,
where his experienced abilities will enable him, and
his love of the English constitution entitle him, to
fill any future trust to which his majesty may be
pleased to call him." This hope was not destined
to fulfilment. Within three years after his return
from the Muskingum, he was attacked with a fever
at Pensacola, which closed, by a premature death,
the career of a gallant soldier and a generous man.
The Delawares and Shawanoes, mindful of their en-
gagement and of the hostages which they had given
to keep it, sent their deputies, within the appointed
time, to Sir William Johnson, who concluded a treaty
with them, stipulating, among the other terms, that
they should grant free passage through their country
to English troops and travellers; that they should
make full restitution for the goods taken from the
traders at the breaking out of the war ; and that
they should aid their triumphant enemies in the dif-
ficult task which yet remained to be accomplished
— that of taking possession of the Illinois, and oc-
cupying its posts and settlements with British troops.'

1 MS. Johnson Papers.

cvn.

had
the

con-
"as

s to

3 ac-
the

y us,

, and

II, to

Ly be

jtined

eturn
fever

death,

man.

3ir en-
given
)inted
treaty
that
)untry

Should

the

that

dif-

kished

id oc-

foops.'

Irl

,,,;-f.

caught

our fore

the moi

wastes o

nois was

the state

from the

rivers ro!

smaller g

ersed the

the wanr

eastward,

windings >

Mississipf

from its

miles awa

the same

trackless

footstep

ing of be

silent in i

through !

palaces, th

I lodges of

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE ILLINOIS.

We turn to a region of which, as yet, we have
caught but transient glimpses ; a region which to
our forefathers seemed remote and strange, as to us
the mountain strongholds of the Apaches, or the
wastes of farthest Oregon. The country of the Illi-
nois was chiefly embraced within the boundaries of
the state which now retains the name. Thitherward,
from the east, the west, and the north, three mighty
rivers rolled their tributary waters ; while countless
smaller streams — small only in comparison — trav
ersed the land with a watery network, impregnating
the warm soil with exuberant fecundity. From the
eastward, the Ohio — La Belle Riviere — pursued its
windings for more than a thousand miles. The
Mississippi descended from the distant north; while
from its fountains in the west, three thousand
miles away, the Missouri poured its torrent towards
the same common centre. Bom among mountains,
trackless even now, except by the adventurous
footstep of the trapper, — nurtured amid the howl-
ing of beasts and the war-cries of savages, never
silent in that wilderness, — it holds its angry course
through sun-scorched deserts, among towers aud
palaces, the architecture of no human hand, among
lodges of barbarian hordes, and herds of bison
65

r '

c ;

r"'ni'Vl

ffi

514

TIIK ILLINOIS.

[Chap. XXVIIL

blackening the prairie to the horizon. Fierce, reck-
less, headstrong, exulting in its tumultuous force,
it plays a thousand freaks of wanton pow.r; bearing
away forests from its shores, and planting them, with
roots uppermost, in its quicksands; sweeping off
islands, and rebuilding them; frothing and raging in
foam and whirlpool, and, again, gliding with dwindled
current along its sandy channel. At length, dark
with uncurbed fury, it pours its muddy tide into the
reluctant Mississippi. That majestic river, drawing
life from the pure fountains of the north, wandering
among emerald prairies and wood-crowned bluffs,
loses all its earlier charm with this unhallowed
union. At first, it shrinks as with repugnance, and
along the same channel the two streams flow side
by side, with unmingled waters. But the disturb-
ing power prevails at length ; and the united tor-
rent bears onward in its might, boiling up from
the bottom, whirling in many a vortex, flooding its
shores with a malign deluge fraught with pestilence
and fever, and burying forests in its depths, to in-
snare the heedless voyager. Mightiest among rivers,
it is the connecting link of adverse climates and
contrasted races ; and while at its northern source
the fur-clad Indian shivers in the cold, — where it
mingles with the ocean, the growth of the tropics
springs along its banks, and the panting negro cools
his limbs in its refreshing waters.

To these great rivers and their tributary streams
the country of the Illinois owed its wealth, its
grassy prairies, and the stately woods that flour
ished on its deep, rich soil. This prolific land
teemed with life. It was a hunter's paradise. Deer
grazed on its meadows. The elk trooped in herds,

Chap. XXVIII.]

THE ILLINOIS.

515

like squadrons of cavalry. In the still morning,
one might hear the clatter of their antlers for half
a mile over the dewy prairie. Countless bison
roamed the plains, filing in grave procession to
drink at the rivers, plunging and snorting among
tlie rapids and quicksands, rolling their huge bulk
on the grass, or rushing upon each other in hot en-
counter, like champions under shield. The wildcat
glared from the thicket ; the raccoon thrust his
furry countenance from the hollow tree, and the
opossum swung, head downwards, from the over-
hanging bough.

With the opening spring, when the forests are
budding into leaf, and the prairies gemmed with
flowers ; when a warm, faint haze rests upon the
landscape, — then heart and senses are inthralled
with luxurious beauty. The shrubs and wild fruit-
trees, flushed with pale red blossoms, and the small
clustering flowers of grape-vines, which choke the
gigantic trees with Laocoon writhings, fill the forest
with their rich perfume. A few days later, and a
cloud of verdure overshadows the land, while birds
innumerable sing beneath its canopy, and brighten
its shades with their glancing hues.

Yet this western paradise is not free from the
curse of Adam. The beneficent sun, which kindles
into life so many forms of loveliness and beauty,
fails not to engender venom and death from the rank
slime of pestilential swamp and marsh. In some
stagnant pool, buried in the jungle-like depths of
the forest, where the hot and lifeless water reeks
with exhalations, the v/ater-snake basks by the mar-
gin, or winds his checkered length of loathsome
beauty across the sleepy surface. From beneath

: I ';' ill

516

THE ILLINOIS.

[Chap. XXVIII,

the rotten carcass of some fallen tree, the moc-
cason thrusts out his broad flat head, ready to
dart on the intruder. On the dry, sun-scorched
prairie, the rattlesnake, a more generous er^my, re-
poses in his spiral coil. He scorns to shun the
eye of day, as if conscious of the honor accorded
to his name by the warlike race, who, jointly with
him, claim lordship over the land.^ But some intru-
sive footstep awakes him from his slumbers. His
neck is arched; the white fangs gleam in his dis-
tended jaws; his small eyes dart rays of unutterable
fierceness ; and his rattles, invisible with their quick
vibration, ring the sharp warning which no man
will rashly contemn.

The land thus prodigal of good and evil, so
remote from the sea, so primitive in its aspect, might
well be deemed an undiscovered region, ignorant of
European arts ; yet it may boast a colonization as
old as that of many a spot to which are a'^corded

1 The superstitious veneration
which the Indians entertain for the
rattlesnake has been before alluded
to. The Cherokces christened him
by a name which, being interpreted,
signifies the bright old inhabitants, a
title of affectionate admiration of
which his less partial acquaintance
would hardly judge him worthy.

" Between the heads of the north
ern branch of the Low er Cheerake
River, and the heads of that of Tuck-
RBchchee, winding round in a lon^^^
course by the late Fort Loudon, and
aflerwards into the Mississippi, there
is, both in the nature and circum-
stonces, a great phenomenon. Be-
tween two high mountains, nearly
covered witli old mossy rocks, lofty
cedars and pines, in the valleys of
which the beams of the sun reflect
>i powerful heat, there are, as the

natives affirm, some bright old inhab-
itants, or rattlesnakes, of a more
enormous size than is mentioned in
history. They are so large and un-
wieldy, that they take a circle almost
as wide as their length, to crawl
round in their shortest orbit; but
bountiful nature comprnsates the
heavy motion of tlieir bodies ; for,
as they say, no living creature mnvos
within the reach of their sight, but
they can draw it to them ; which is
i' greeable to what we observe throusrh
tue whole system of animated beings.
Nature endues them with proper ca-
pacities to sustain life : as tliey can-
not support themselves by their
speed or cunning, to spring from an
ambuscade, it is needful they should
have the bewitching craft of their
eyes and forked tongues." — Adair,
237.

Chap. XXVIII.] ITS EARLY COLONIZATION

517

the scanty honors of an American antiquity. The
earliest settlement of Pennsylvania was made in
1681 ; the first occupat'on of the Illinois took
place in the previous year. La Salle may be called
the father of the colony. That remarkable man
entered the country with a handful of followers,
bent on his grand scheme of Mississippi discovery.
A legion of enemies rose in his path ; but neither
delay, disappointment, sickness, famine, open force,
nor secret conspiracy, could bend his soul of iron.
Disasters accumulated upon him. He flung them
off, and still pressed forward to his object. His
victorious energy bore all before it, but the suc-
cess on which he had staked his life served only to
entail fresh calamity, and an untimely death; and
bis best reward is, that his name stands forth in
history an imperishable monument of heroic con-
stancy. When on his way to the Mississippi in the
year 1680, La Salle built a fort in the country of
the Illinois, and, on his return from the mouth of
the great river, some of his followers loriained, and
established themselves near the spot. Heroes of
another stamp took up the work which the daring
Norman had begun. Jesuit missionaries, among the
best and purest of their order, burning with zeal
for the salvation of souls, and the gaining of an
immortal crown, here toiled and suffered, with a
self-sacrificing devotion, which extorts a tribute of
admiration even from sectarian bigotry. While the
colder apostles of Protestantism labored upon the
outskirts of heathendom, these champions of the
cross, the forlorn hope of the army of Rome,
pierced to the heart of its dark and dreary do-
main, confronting death at every step, and well

.' ?

'•*:'&

518

THE ILLINOIS.

[Chap. XX VIII

repaid for all, could they but sprinkle a few drops
of water on the forehead of a dying child, or hang
a gilded crucifix round the neck of some warrior,
pleased with the glittering trinket. With the begin-
ning of the eighteenth century, the black robe of
the Jesuit was known in every village of the Illi-
nois. Defying the wiles of Satan and the malice of
his emissaries the Indian sorcerers, exposed to the
rage of the <ilements, and every casualty of forest
life, they followed their wandering proselytes to war
and to the chase ; now wading through morasses,
now dragging canoes over rariids and sand-bars ;
now scorched with heat on the sweltering prairie,
and now shivering houseless in the blasts of Jan-
uary. At Kaskaskia and Cahokia they established
missions, and built frail churches from the bark of
trees, fit emblems of their own transient and futile
labors. Morning and evening, the savage worship-
pers sang praises to the Virgin, and knelt in suppli-
cation before the shrine of St. Joseph.^

Soldiers and fur-traders followed where these
pioneers of the church had led the way. Forts
were built here and there throughout the csnuntry,
and the cabins of settlers clustered about tbte mis-
sion-houses. The new colonists, emigrants from
Canada or disbanded soldiers of F' >' regiments,
bore a close resemblance to the seti.( of Detroit,
or the primitive people of Acadia, whoise simple life
poetry has chosen as an appropriate theme. 11ie
Creole of the Illinois, contented, light-hearted, and
thriftless, by no means fulfilled ihe injunction to
increase and multiply, and the colony languished iu

I For an account of .Jesuit labors in the Illinois, see the letters of Father
Marest, in Lett. Edif. IV.

pr(

Chap. XXVIIL] CREOLES OF THE ILLINOIS.

519

spite of the fertile soil. The people labored long
enough to gain a bare subsistence for each passing
day, and spent the rest of their time in dancing
and merry-making, smoking, gossiping, and hunt-
ing. Their native gayety was irrepressible, and
they found means to stimulate it with wine made
from the fruit of the wild grape-vines. Thus they
passed their days, at peace with themselves, hand
and glove with their Indian neighbors, and igno-
rant of all the world beside. Money was scarcely
known among them. Skins and furs were the
prevailing currency, and in every village a great
portion of the land was held in common. The
military commandant, whose station was at Fort
Jhartres, on the Mississippi, ruled the colony with a
sway absolute as that of the Pacha of Egypt, and
judged civil and criminal cases without right of
appeal. Yet his power was exercised in a patri-
archal spirit, and he usually commanded the respect
and confidence of the people. Many years later,
when, after the War of the Revolution, the Illinois
came under the jurisdiction of the United States,
the perplexed inhabitants, totally at a loss to under-
stand the complicated machinery of republicanism,
begged to be delivered from the intolerable burden
of self-government, and to be once more subjected
to a military commandant.^

The Creole is as unchanginj^ in his nature and
habits as the Indian himself Even at this day.

' The principal authorities for the
above account of the Illinois colony,
arc Ilutchins, Topographical De-
scription, 87. Volney, View of. the
United SUites, 370. Pitman, Present
St;u»' of the European Settlements
ou the Mississippi, passim. Law,

Address before the Historical S(jci-
ety of Vincennes, 14. Brown, Hist,
Illinois, 208. Journal of Captair
Harry Gordon, in Appendix to Pow-
nail's Topographical Description
Nicollet, Report on the Hydrograph
ical Basin of the Mississippi, 75.

'1i

520

THE ILLINOIS.

IChap. xxvin.

one may see, along the banks of the Mississippi, the
same low-browed cottages, with their broad eaves
and picturesque verandas, which, a century ago, were
clustered around the mission-house at Kaskaskia;
and, entering, one finds the inmate the same kindly,
honest, lively, story-telling, and pipe-smoking being
that his ancestor was before him. Yet, with all
his genial traits, the rough world deals hardly with
him. He lives a mere drone in the busy hive
of an American population. The living tide en-
croaches on his rest, as the muddy torrent of the
great river chafes away the farm and homestead of
his fathers. Yet he contrives to be happy, though
looking back regretfully to the better days of old.

At the date of this history, the population of the
colony, exclusive of negroes, who, in that simple com-
munity, were treated rather as humble friends than
as slaves, did not exceed two thousand souls, distrib-
uted in several small settlements. There were about
eighty houses at Kaskaskia, forty or fifty at Ca-
hokia, a few at Vincennes and Fort Chartres, and
a few more scattered in small clusters upon the
various streams. The agricultural portion of the
colonists were, as we have described them, marked
with many weaknesses, and many amiable virtues;
but their morals were not improved by a large ad-
mixture of fur-traders, — reckless, huirbrained adven-
turers, who, h-^ppily for the peace of their relatives,
were absent ^n their wandering vocation during the
greater part of the year.

Swarms of vagabond Indians infested the settle
ments, and, to people of any other character, they
would have proved an intolerable annoyance. But
the easy-tempered Creoles mane friends and comvades

Chap. XXVm.] INDIANS OF THE ILLINOIS.

521

h all
with
hive

,-oe ad-

of them, ate, drank, smoked, and often married
with them. They were a debauched and drunken
rabble, the remnants of that branch of the Algon-
quin stock known among the French as the Illinois,
a people once numerous and powerful, but now mis-
erably enfeebled, and corrupted by foreign wars, do-
mestic dissensions, and their own licentious manners.
They comprised the broken fragments of five tribes
— the Kaskaskias, Cahokias, Peorias, Mitchigamias,
and Tamaronas. Some of their villages were in the
close vicinity of the Creole settlements. On a hot
summer morning, they might be seen lounging about
the trading-house, basking in the sun, begging for
a dram of whiskey, or chaffering with the hard-
featured trader for beads, tobacco, gunpowder, and
red paint.

About the Wabash and its branches, to the east-
ward of the Illinois, dwelt tribes of similar lineage,
but more warlike in character, and less corrupt in
manners. These were the Miamis, in their three
divisions, their near kindred, the Piankishaws, and a
portion of the Kickapoos. There was another settle-
ment of the Miamis upon the Eiver Maumee, still
farther to the east; and it was here that Bradstreet's
ambassador, Captain Morris, had met so rough a
welcome. The strength of these combined tribes was
very considerable ; and, one and all, thoy looked with
wrath and abhorrence on the threatened advent of
the English.

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CHAPTER XXIX.

PONTIAC RALLIES THE WESTERN TRIBES.

When, by the treaty of Paris, 1763, France ceded
to England her territories east of the Mississippi,
the Illinois was of course included in the cession.
Scarcely were the articles signed, when France, as
if eager to rob herself, at one stroke, of all her
western domain, threw away upon Spain the vast
and indefinite regions beyond the Mississippi, des-
tined at a later day to return to her hands, and
finally to swell the growing empire of the United
States. This transfer to Spain was for some time
kept secret; but orders were immediately sent to the
officers commanding at the French posts within the
territory ceded to England, to evacuate the country
whenever British troops should appear to occupy it.
These orders reached the Illinois towards the close
of 1763. Some time, however, was destined to
elapse before the English arrived to demand its sur-
render ; for the Indian war was then at its height,
and the country was protected from access by a
broad barrier of savage tribes, in the hottest ferment
of hostility.

The colonists, hating the English with a more
than national hatred, deeply imbittered by years of
disastrous war, received the news of the treaty with
disgust and execration. Many of them left the

q-'ll

Chap. XXIX.]

ST. LOUIS.

523

country, loath to dwell under the shadow of the Brit-
ish flag. Of these, some crossed the Mississippi to the
little hamlet of St. Genevieve, on the western bank;
others followed the commandant, Neyon de Villiers,
to New Orleans; while others, taking with them all
their possessions, even to the frames and clapboard-
ing of their houses, passed the river a little above
Cahokia, and established themselves at a beautiful
spot on the opposite shore, where a settlement was
just then on the point of commencement. Here a
line of richly-wooded bluffs rose with easy ascent
from the margin of the water, while from their
summits extended a wide plateau of fertile prairie,
bordered by a framework of forest. In the shadow
of the trees, which fringed the edge of the declivity,
stood a newly-built storehouse, with a few slight
cabins and works of defence, belonging to a company
of fur-traders. At their head was Pierre Laclede,
who had left New Orleans with his followers in Au-
gust, 1763, and, after toiling for three months against
the impetuous stream of the Mississippi, had reached
the Illinois in November, and selected the spot al-
luded to as the site of his first establishment. To
this he gave the name of St. Louis.* Side by side
with Laclede, in his adventurous enterprise, was a
young man, slight in person, but endowed with a
vigor and elasticity of frame which could resist heat
or cold, fatigue, hunger, or the wasting hand of time.
Not all the magic of a dream, nor the enchantments
of an Arabian tale, could outmatch the waking rt'ali-
lies destined to rise upon the vision of Pierre Chou-
teau. Where, in his youth, he had climbed the

J Nicollet, Historical Sketch of drographical Basin of the Upper Mia-
St. Louis. See Report on the Hy- sissippi River, 75.

KF-r!lSIIS!iit:|l|l>iH

,i f

'i'.

524

PONTIAC IN THE WEST.

[Chap. XXIX.

woody bluff, and looked abroad on prairies dotttxl
with bison, he saw, with the dim eye of his old
age, the land darkened for many a furlong with the
clustered roofs of the western metropolis. For the
silence of the wilderness, he heard the clung and
turmoil of human labor, the din of congregated
thousands; and where the great river rolled down
through the forest, in lonely grandeur, he saw the
waters lashed into foam beneath the prows of pant-
ing steamboats, flocking to the broad levee.'

In the summer of 1764, the military commandant,
Neyon, had abandoned the country in disgust, and
gone down to New Orleans, followed by many of the
inhabitants, a circumstance already mentioned. St.
Ange de Bellerive remained behind to succeed him.
St. Ange was a veteran Canadian officer, the same
who, more than forty years before, had escorted Father
Charlevoix through the country, and who is spoken
of with high commendation by the Jesuit traveller
and historian. He took command of about forty
men, the remnant of the garrison of Fort Chartres,

1 Laclede, the founder of St. Louis,
died before he had brought his grand
fur-trading enterprise to a conclusion ;
but his young assistant lived to real-
ize schemes still more bold and com-
prehensive ; and to every trader, trap-
per, and voyageur, from the frontier
of the United States to the Rocky
Mountains, and from the British Pos-
sessions to the borders of New Mexi-
co, the name of Pierre Chouteau is
familiar as his own. I visited this
venerable man in the spring of 1846,
at his country-seat, in a rural spot
surrounded by woods, within a few
miles of St. Louis. The building, in
the picturesque architecture peculiar
to the French dwelling;^ of the Mis-
sissippi Valley, with its broad eaves
and light verandas, and the surround-

ing negro houses, filled with gny and
contented inmates, were in singular
harmony with the character of the
patriarchal owner, who prided himself
on his fidelity to the old French
usages. Though in extreme old ajje,
he still retained the vivacity of his
nation. His memory, especially of
the events of his youth, was clear
and vivid ; and he delighted to look
back to the farthest extremity of tlie
long vista of his life, and recall the
acts and incidents of his earliest
years. Of Pontiac, whom he had
often seen, he had a clear recollec-
tion; and I am indebted to this in-
teresting interview for several par-
ticulars regarding the chief and hia
coadjutors.

Chap. XXIX.]

ST. ANGE DE BELLERIVE.

525

which, remote as it was, was then esteemed one of
the best constructed military works in America. Its
ramparts of stone, garnished with twenty cannon,
scowled across the encroaching Mississippi, destined,
before many years, to ingulf curtain and bastion in
its ravenous abyss.

St. Ange's position was by no means an enviable
one. He had a critical part to play. On the one
liand, he had been advised of the cession to the Eng-
lish, and ordered to yield up the country whenever
they should arrive to claim it. On the other, he was
beset by embassies from Pontiac, from the Shawa-
noes, and from the Miamis, and plagued day and
night by an importunate mob of Illinois Indians, de-
manding arms, ammunition, and assistance against
the common enemy. Perhaps, in his secret heart,
St. Ange would have rejoiced to see the scalps of
all the Englishmen in the backwoods fluttering in
the wind over the Illinois wigwams; but his situ-
ation forbade him to comply with the solicitations of
his intrusive petitioners, and it is to be hoped that
some sense of honor and humanity enforced the dic-
tates of prudence. Accordingly, he cajoled them with
flatteries and promises, and from time to time dis-
tributed a few presents to stay their importunity,
still praying daily that the English might appear and
relieve him from his uneasy dilemma.^

While Laclede was founding St. Louis, while the
discontented settlers of the Illinois were deserting
their homes, and while St. Ange was laboring to
pacify his Indian neighbors, all the tribes from the
Maumee to the Mississippi were in a turmoil of

1 MS. Letter — St. Ange to D'Abbadie, Sept 9.

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526

PONTIAC IN THE WEST.

[Chap. XXIX

excitement. Pontiac was among them, furious as a
wild beast at bay. By the double campaign of 17(U,
his best hopes had been crushed to the earth; but
he stood unshaken amidst the ruin, and still strug-
gled with desperate energy to retrieve his broken
cause. On the side of the northern lakes, the movc^
ments of Bradstreet had put down the insurrection
of the tribes, and wrested back the military posts
which cunning and treachery had placed within their
grasp. In the south, Bouquet had forced to abject
submission the warlike Delawares and Shawanocs, the
warriors on whose courage and obstinacy Pontiac had
grounded his strongest confidence. On every hand
defeat and disaster were closing around him. One
sanctuary alone remained, the country of the Illi-
nois. Here the flag of France still floated on the
banks of the Mississippi, and here no English foot
had dared to penetrate. He resolved to invoke all
his resources, and bend all his energies to defend
this last citadel.*

armies i

1 By the following extract from
an official paper, signed by Captain
Grant, and forwarded from Detroit,
it appears that Pontiac dtill retained,
or professed to retain, his original de-
signs against the garrison of Detroit.
The paper has no date, but was ap-
parently written in the autumn of
1764. By a note appended to it, we
are told that the Baptiste Campau re-
ferred to was one of those who had
acted as Pontiac's secretaries during
the summer of 17(33.

" On Tuesday last Mr. Jadeau told
me, in the presence of Col. Gladwin
& Lieut. Hay of the 6th Regiment,
that one Lesperance, a Frenchman,
on his way to the Illinois, he saw a
letter with the Ottawas, at the Mi-
amee River, he is sure wrote by one
Baptist Campau, (a deserter from the

settlement of Detroit,) & signed by
Pontiac, from the Illinois, setting forth
that there were five hundred English
coming to the Illinois, & that they,
the Ottawas, must have patience ; that
he, Pontiac, was not to return until
he had defeated the English, and
then he would come with an army
from the Illinois to take Detroit, which
he desired they might publish to all
the nations about. That powder &
ball was in as great plenty as water.
That the French Commissary La
Cleif had sold above forty thousand
weight of powder to the inhabitants,
that the English if they came there
might not have it

" There was another letter on the
subject sent to an inhabitant of De-
troit, but he can't tell in whose hands
it is."

Chap. XXIX.]

HIS FRENCH ALLIES

627

He wa8 not left to contend unaided. The fur-
trading French, living at the settlements on the
Mississippi, scottered about the forts of Ouatanon,
Vincennes, and Miami, or domesticated among the
Indians of the Rivers Illinois and Wabash, dreaded
the English as dangerous competitors in their voca-
tion, and were eager to bar them from the country.
They lavislicd abuse and calumny on the objects of
their jealousy, and spared no falsehood which in-
genious malice and self-interest could suggest. They
gave out that the English were bent on the ruin of
the tribes, and to that end were stirring them up to
mutual hostility. They insisted that, thougli the
armies of France had been delayed so long, they
were nevertheless on their way, and that the bayonets
of the white-coated warriors would soon glitter among
the forests of the Mississippi. Forged letters were
sent to Pontiac, signed by the King of France, ex-
horting him to stand his ground but a few weeks
longer, and all would then be well. To give the
better coloring to their falsehoods, some of these in-
cendiaries assumed the uniform of French officers,
and palmed themselves off upon their credulous au-
ditors as ambassadors from the king. Many of the
principal traders distributed among the warriors sup-
plies of arms and ammunition, in some instances
given gratuitously, and in others sold on credit, with
the understanding that payment should be made from
the plunder of the English.^

T'Vl

1 MS. Gage Papers. MS. Johnson naturalized among the Indians. In

Papers. Croghan, Journal. Hildreth, the autumn of 1764, he accompanied

Pioneer History, 68. Examination a war-party against the frontier, and

of Gershom Hicks, see Penn. Gaz. volunteered to come as a spy to Fort

No. 1846. Pitt, to ascertain the possibility of

Hicks was an English miscreant, taking scalps in the neighborhood.

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528

PONTIAC IN THE WEST.

ICiUF. XSJX

Now that the insurrection in the east was quelled,
and the Delawares and Shawanoes beaten into sub-
mission, it was thought that the English would lose
no time in taking full possession of the country,
which, by the peace of 1763, had been transferred
into their hands. Two principal routes would give
access to the Illinois. Troops might advance from
the south, up the great natural highway of the Mis-
sissippi, or they might descend from the east by way
of Fort Pitt and the Ohio. In either case, to meet
and repel them was the determined purpose of
Pontiac.

When we last took leave of him, he was on the
River Maumee, whither he had retired with his
chosen adherents, on the approach of Bradstreet's
anny, and where, by successive tidings, he learned
the humiliation of his allies, and the triumph of his
enemies. Towards the ^.lose of autumn, he left his
encampment, and, followed by four hundred warriors,

He was detected, seized, and exani-
ined, and the information he gave
proved authentic.

Johnson's letters to the Board of
Trade, in the early part of 1765, con-
tain constant references to the sinis-
ter conduct of the Illinois French.
The commander-in-chief is still more
bitter in his invectives, and seems to
think that French officers of the
crown were concerned in these prac-
tices, as well as the traders. If we
may judge, however, from the corre-
spondence of St. Ange and his subor-
dinates, they may be acquitted of the
charge of any active interference in
the matter.

*' Sept 14. I bad a private meet-
ing witn the Grand Sauteur, when he
told me he was well disposed for
peace last fall, but was then sent for

to the niinoia, where he met with
Fondiac ; and that then their fathers,
the French, told them, if they would
be strong, and keep the En<;lish out
of the possession of that country but
this summer, that the King of Franco
would send over an army next spring,
to assist his children, the Indians." —
Croghan, Journal, 1 765.

The Diary of the Siege of Detroit,
under date May 1 7, 1 765, says that
Pontiac'a nephew came that day
from the Illinois, with news that Pon-
tiac had caused six Endishmcn ami
several disaffected Indians to be
burned ; and that he had seven larpo
war-belts to raise the western tribes
for another attack on Detroit, to be
made in June of that vear, without
French assistance.

Chap. XXIX.1

HE VISITS THE ILLINOIS.

6?9

journeyed westward, to visit in succession the differ-
ent tribes, and gain their cooperation in his plans
of final defence. Crossing over to the Wabash, he
passed from village to village, among the Kickapoos,
the Fiankishaws, and the three tribes of the Miamis,
rousing them by his imperious eloquencft, and breath-
ing into them his own fierce spiiit of resistance.
Thence, by rapid marches through forests and over
prairies, he reached the banks of the Mississippi, and
summoned the four tribes of the Illinois to a general
meeting. But these degenerate savages, beaten by
the surrounding tribes for many a generation past,
had lost their warlike spirit, and, though abundantly
noisy and boastful, showed no zeal for fight, and en-
tered with no zest into the schemes of the Ottawa
v,ar-chie£ Pontiac had his own way of dealing with
such spirits. " If you hesitate," he exclaimed, frown-
ing on the cowering assembly, " I will consmne your
tribes as the fire consumes the dry grass on the
prairie." The doubts of the Illinois vanished like
the mist, and with marvellous alacrity they declared
their concurrence in the views of the orator. Hav-
ing secured these allies, such as they were, Pontiac
departed, and hastened to Fort Chartres. St. Ange,
so long tormented with embassy after embassy, and
mob after mob, thought that the crowning evil was
come at last, when he saw the arch-demon Pon-
tiac enter at the gate, with four hundred warriors
at his back. Arrived at the council-house, Pontiac
addressed the commandant in a tone of high cour-
tesy: "Father, we have long wished to see you, to
shake hands with you, and, whilst smoking the calu-
met of peace, to recall the battles in which we
fought together against the misguided Indians and
67 SB

1"!

530

PONTIAC m THE WEST.

[Chap XXIX

the English dogs. I love the French, and I have
come hither with my warriors to avenge their
wrongs."* Then followed a demand for aims, am-
munition, and troops, to act in concert with the
Indian warriors. St. Ange was forced to decline
rendering the expected aid; but he sweetened his
denial with soothing compliments, and added a few
gifts, to remove any lingering bitterness. Pontiac
would not be appeased. He angrily complained of
such lukewarm friendship, where he had looked for
ready sympathy and support. His warriors pitched
their lodges about the fort, and threatening symp-
toms of an approaching rupture began to alaim the
French.

In the mean time, Pontiac had caused his squaws
to construct a belt of wampum of extraordinary size,
six feet in length, and four inches wide. It was
wrought from end to end with the symbols of the
various tribes and villages, forty-seven in number,
still leagued together in his alliance.^ He consigned
it to an embassy of chosen warriors, directing them
to carry it down the Mississippi, displaying it, in
turn, at every Indian village along its banks, and
exhorting the inhabitants, in his name, to watch the
movements of the English, and repel any attempt
they might make to ascend the river. This done,
they were to repair to New Orleans, and demand
from the governor, M. D'Abbadie, the aid which
St. Ange had refused. The bark canoes of the

1 Nicollet, Report on the Basin of derived from Chouteau, Menard, and

the Upper Miasissippi, 81. M. Ni- other patriarchs of the Illinois,

collet's account is worthy of full con- » MS. Letter — St Ange to D*Ab«

fidence, being given on the authority badie, Sept 9.
of documcnta and oral narratives

Chap. XXIX.]

REPULSE OF LOFTUS.

531

embassy put out from the shore, and whirled down
the current like floating leaves in autumn.

Soon after their departure, tidings came to Fort
Chartre?!, which caused a joyous excitement among
the Indians, and relieved the French garrison from
any danger of an immediate rupture. In our own
day, the vast distance between the great city of
New Orleans and the populous state of Illinois has
dwindled into insignificance beneath the magic of
scienc*?; but at the date of this history, three or
four months were often consumed in the upward
passage, and the settlers of the lonely forest colony
were sometimes cut off from all communication with
the world for half a ,year together. The above-men-
tioned tidings, interesting as they were, had occupied
no less time in their passage. Their import was as
follows: —

Ver}' early in the previous spring, an English
officer. Major Loftus, having arrived at New Orleans
with four hundred regulars, had attempted to ascend
the Mississippi, to take possession of Fort Chartres
and its dependent posts. His troops were embarked
in large and heavy boats. Their progress was slow,
and they had reached a point not more than eighty
leagues above New Orleans, when, one morning, their
ears were greeted with the crack of rifles from the
thickets of the western shore ; and a soldier in the
foremost boat fell, with a mortal wound. The
troops, in dismay, sheered over towards the eastern
shore; but, when fairly within gunshot, a score of
rifles obscured the forest edge with smoke, and filled
the nearest boat with dead and wounded men. On
this, they steered for the middle of the river, where

532

PONTIAC IN THE WEST.

[Chap. XXEL

they remained for a time, exposed to a dropping fire
from either bank, too distant to take effect.

The river was high, and the shores so flooded,
that nothing but an Indian could hope to find
foothold in the miry labyrinth. Loftus was ter-
rifled ; the troops were discouraged, and a council
of officers determined that to advance was impos-
sible. Accordingly, with their best despatch, they
steered back for New Orleans, where they arrived
without farther accident, and where the French, in
great glee at their discomfiture, spared no ridicule at
their expense. They alleged, and with much ap})eui-
ance of truth, that the English had been repulsed
by no more than thirty warriors. Loftus charged
D'Abbadie with having occasioned his disaster by
stirring up the Indians to attack him. The gov-
ernor called Heaven to witness his innocence; and,
in truth, there is not the smallest reason to belic^ve
him guilty of such villany.* Loftus, who had not
yet recovered from his fears, conceived an idea that
the Indians below New Orleans were preparing an
ambuscade to attack him on his way back to his
station at Pensacola; and he petitioned D'Abbadie
to interfere in his behalf. The latter, with an ill-
dissembled sneer, offered to give him and his troops

^ D'Abbadie's correspondence with
St. Ange goo8 far to exonerate him ;
and there is a letter addressed to
him from General Gage, in which
the latter thanks him very cordially
for the efforts which he had made in
behalf of Major Loftus, aiding him
to procure boats and guides, and
make other preparations for ascend-
ing tho river.

The correspondence alluded to
forms part of a collection of papers

procured in the archives of the De-
partment of the Marine and Colonics
at Paris. These papers include the
reports of various councils with tlie
Indian tribes of the Illinois, and tlic
whole official correspondence of the
French officers in that region during
the years 1763-5. They form the
principal authorities for this port of
the narrative, and throw great light
on the character of the Indian war,
from its commencement to its close.

Chap. XXIX.] THE ENGLISH ON THE MISSISSIPPI

533

an escort of French soldiers to protect them. LoftU6
rejected the humiliating proposal, and declared that
he only wished for a French interpreter, to confer
with any Indians whom he might meet by the way
The interpreter was furnished, and Loftus returned
in safety to Pensacola, his detachment not a little
reduced by the few whom the Indians had shot,
and by numbers who, disgusted by his overbearing
treatment, nad deserted to the French.*

The futile attempt of Loftus to ascend the Missis-
sippi was followed, a few months after, by another
equally abortive. Captain Pittman came to New
Orleans with the design of proceeding to the Illi-
nois, but was deterred by the reports which reached
him concerning the temper of the Indians. The
latter, elated beyond measure by their success against
Loftus, and excited, moreover, by the messages and
war-belt of Pontiac, were in a state of angry com-
motion, which made the passage too imminently haz-
ardous to be attempted. Pittman bethought himself
of assuming the disguise of a Frenchman, joining a
party of Creole traders, and thus reaching his des-
tination by stealth ; but weighing the risk of detec-
tion, he abandoned this design also, and returned to
Mobile.'' Between the Illinois and the settlements
around New Orleans, the Mississippi extended its
enormous length through solitudes of marsh and
forest, broken here and there by a squalid Indian
village, or, at vast intervals, by one or two military
posts erected by the French, and forming the resting-

1 London Mag. XXXIII. 380. 9 MS. Correspondence of Pittman

MS. *' Detail de ce qui s'est passi with M. D'Abbadie, among the Parii

k La Louisiane k I'occasion de la DocumentB.
prise de possession des Dlinois.**

88*

534

PONTIAC IN THE WEST.

IChap. XXIX

places of the voyager. After the failure of Pittman,
more than a year elapsed before an English detach-
ment could succeed in passing this great thorough-
fare of the wilderness, and running the gantlet of
the savage tribes who guarded its shores. It was
not till the second of December, 1765, that Major
Farmar, at the head of a strong body of troops,
arrived, after an uninterrupted voyage, at Fort
Chartres, where the flag of his country had already
supplanted the standard of France.^

To return to our immediate theme. The ambas-
sadors, whom Pontiac had sent from Fort Chartres
in the autumn of 1764, faithfully acquitted them-
selves of their trust. They visited the Indian vil-
lages along the river banks, kindling the thirst for
blood and massacre in the breasts of the inmates.
They pushed their sanguinary mission even to the
farthest tribes of Southern Louisiana, to whom the
great name of Pontiac had long been known, and
of late made familiar by repeated messages and em-
bassies." This portion of their task accomplished,
they repaired to New Orleans, and demanded an
audience oi' the governor.

New Orleans was then a town of about seven
thousand white inhabitants, guarded from the river
floods by a levee extending for fifty miles along the
banks. The small brick houses, one story in height,
were arranged with geometrical symmetry, like the

» MS. Letter — Campbell to Gage,
Feb. 24, 1766.

8 By the correspondence between
the French officers of Upper and
Lower Loaisiana, it appears that
Pontiac's messengers, in several in-
stances, had arrived in the vicinity

of New Orleans, whither they had
come, partly to beg for aid froHi the
French, and partly to urge the In
dians of the adjacent country to bar
the mouth of the Mississippi against
the English.

Chat. XXIX.]

NBW ORLEANS m 1765.

535

squares of a cliess-board. Each house had its yard
and garden, and the town was enlivened with the
verdure of trees and grass. In front, a public
square, or parade-ground, opened upon the river,
enclosed on three sides by the dilapidated church of
St. Louis, a prison, a convent, government buildings,
and a range of barracks. The place was surrounded
by a defence of palisades strong enough to repel an
attack of Indians, or insurgent slaves.'

When Pontiac's ambassadors entered New Or-
leans, they found the town in a state of confu-
sion. It had long been known that the regions
east of the Mississippi had been surrendered to Eng-
land; a cession from which, however. New Orleans
and its suburbs had been excluded by a special pro-
vision. But it was only within a few weeks that
the dismayed inhabitants had learned that their
mother country had transferred her remaining Amer-
ican possessions to the crown of Spain, whose gov-
ernment and people they cordially detested. With
every day they might expect the arrival of a Span-
ish governor and garrison. The French officials,
whose hour was drawing to its close, were making
the best of their short-lived authority by every
species of corruption and peculation ; and the inhab-
itants were awaiting, in anger and repugnance, the
approaching change, which was to place over their
heads masters whom they hated. The governor,
D'Abbadie, an ardent soldier and a zealous patriot,
was so deeply chagrined at what he conceived to be
the disgrace of his country, that his feeble health

^ Pittman, Eu'/opean Settlements in the text as having made an un-
on the Missispippi, 10. The author successful attempt to reach the Illi-
of this hook is the officer mentioned nois.

536

PONTUC IN THE WEST.

[Chap. XXIX.

gave way, and he betrayed all the symptoms of a
rapid decline.

Haggard with illness, and bowed down with shame,
the dying governor received the Indian envoys in the
council-hall of the province, where he was never
again to assume his seat of office. Besides the
French officials in attendance, several English officers,
who chanced to be in the town, had been invited to
the meeting, with the view of soothing the jealousy
with which they regarded all intercourse between
the French and the Indians. A Shawanoe chief, the
orator of the embassy, displayed the great war-belt,
and opened the council. "These red dogs," he said,
alluding to the color of the British uniform, "have
crowded upon us more and more; and when we ask
them by what right they come, they tell us that
you, our French fathers, have given them our lands.
We know that they lie. These lands are neither
yours nor theirs, and no man shall give or sell them
without our consent. Fathers, we have always been
your faithful children, and we now have come to
ask that you will give us guns, powder, and lead, to
aid us in this war."

D'Abbadie replied in a feeble voice, endeavoring
to allay their vindictive jealousy of the English, and
promising to give them all that should be necessary
to supply their immediate wants. The council then
adjourned until the following day ; but, in the mean
time, the wasted strength of the governor gave way
beneath a renewed attack of his disorder, and before
the appointed hour arrived, he had breathed his last,
hurried to a premature death by the anguish of
mortified pride and patriotism. M. Aubry, his suc-
cessor, presided in his place, and received the savage

COAF. XXIX.1 PONTIAC'S EMBASSY AT NEW ORLEANS. 537

embassy. The orator, after the solemn custom of
his people, addressed him in a speech of condolence,
expressing his deep regret for D'Abbadie's untimely
fate.* A chief of the Miamis then rose to speak,
with a scowling brow, and words of bitterness and
reproach. ** Since we last sat on these seats, our
ears have heard strange words. When the English
told us that they had conquered you, we always
thought that they lied; but now we have learned
that they spoke the truth. We have learned that
you, whom we have loved and served so well, have
given the lands that we dwell upon to your enemies
and ours. We have learned that the English have
forbidden you to send traders to our villages to
supply our wants, and that you, whom we thought
so great and brave, have obeyed their commands like
women, leaving us to starve and die in misery. We
now tell you, once for all, that our lands are our
own ; and we tell you, moreover, that we can live
without your aid, and hunt, and fish, and fight, as
our fathers did before us. All that we ask of you
is this, that you give us back the guns, the powder,
the hatchets, and the knives which we have worn
out in fighting your battles. As for you," he ex-
claimed, turning to the English officers, who were
present as on the previous day, — "as for you, our
hearts burn with rage when we think of the ruin
you have brought on us." Aubry returned but a
weak answer to the cutting attack of the Indian
speaker. He assured the ambassadors that the

I At all friendly meetings with offering, at the same time, a black

Indians, it was customary for the belt of wampum, in token of moum-

latter, when the other party had sus- ing. This practice may be partic-

tained any signal loss, to commence ularly observed in the records of

by a formal speech of condolence, early councils with the Iroquois.

638

PONTIAC IN THE WEST.

[Chaf. XXIX

French still retained their former love for the In-
dians, that the English meant them no harm, and
that, as all the world were now at peace, it behoved
them also to take hold of the chain of friendship.
A few presents were then distributed, but with no
apparent effect. The features of the Indians still
retained their sullen scowl ; and on the morrow,
their canoes were ascending the Mississippi on their
homeward voyage.^

1 MS. Report of Conference with from Pontiac, held at New Orleans,
the Shawanoe and Miami delegates March. 1765. Paris Doctuncnts.

1 ',

'.■;'■?■••,;■* !• "t «

'>:■ ■ :■ >f • \:\. 'f

! t r-ji 'f \ ' ( 'f

i ' ■'», .r-'« • 'i • , ..5

CHAPTER XXX. '

"\ : RUIN OP THE INDIAN CAUSE.

■'t

The repulse of Loftus, and rumors of the fierce
temper of the Indians who guarded the Mississipvit
convinced the commander-in-chief that to reach the
IlUnois by the soutlicrii route was an enterprise of
no easy accompHshment. Yet, at the same time, he
felt the strong necessity of a speedy military occu-
pation of the country ; since, while the fleur de lis
floated over a single garrison in the ceded territory,
it would be impossible to disabuse the Indians of
the phantom hope of French assistance, to which
they clung with infatuated tenacity. The embers
of the Indian war would never be quenched until
England had enforced all her claims over her de-
feated ri"al. Gage determined to despatch a force
from the eastward, by way of Fort Pitt and the
Ohio; a route now laid open by the late success of
Bouquet, and the submission of the Delawares and
Shawanoes.

To prepare a way for the passage of the troops,
[Sir William Johnson's deputy, George Croghan, was
ordered to proceed in advance, to reason with the
Indians as far as they were capable of reasoning, to
soften their antipathy to the English, to expose the
falsehoods of the French, and to distribute presents

540

RUIN OF THE INDIAN CAUSE.

fCHAP. XXX

among the tribes by way of propitiation.* The mis-
sion was a critical one, but Croghan was well fitted
to discharge it. He had been for years a trader
among the western tribes, over whom he had gained
much influence by a certain vigor of character,
joined to a wary and sagacious policy, concealed
beneath a bluff demeanor. He and his assistant,
Lieutenant Fraser, with the men who were to attend
them, set out for Fort Pitt, in February, 1765; and
after traversing inhospitable mountains, and valleys
clogged with snow, reached their destination at
about the same time that Pontiac's ambassadors
werfi entering New Orleans, to hold their council
with the French.

A few days later, an incident occurred, which
afterwards, through the carousals of many a winter
evening, supplied an absorbing topic of anecdote and
boast to the braggadocio heroes of the border. A
train of pack horses, bearing the gifts which Croghan
was to bestow upon the Indians, followed him
towards Fort Pitt, a few days' journey in the rear
of his party. Under the same escort came several
companies of traders, who, believing that the long
suspended commerce with the Indians was about to
be reopened, were hastening to Fort Pitt with a great
quantity of goods, eager to throw them into the
market, the moment the prohibition should be re-
moved. The Paxton men, and their kindred spirits
of the border, saw this proceeding with sinister eyes.
In their view, the traders were about to make a
barter of the blood of the people; to place in the
hands of murdering savages the means of renewing

i MS. Gage Papers.

Chap.XXX] exploits OF THE BOBDERERS.

54i

the devastation to which the reeking frontier bore
frightful witness. Once possessed with this idea,
they troubled themselves with no more inquiries;
and, having tried remonstrances in vain, they adopted
a summary mode of doing themselves justice. At
the head of th^ enterprise was a man whose name
had been connected with more praiseworthy exploits,
James Smith, already mentioned as leading a party
of independent riflemei:, for the defence of the bor-
ders, during the bloody autumn of 1763. He now
mustered his old associates, made them resume their
Indian disguise, and led them to their work with
characteristic energy and address.

The government agents and traders were in the
act of passing the verge of the frontiers. Their
united trains amounted to seventy pack horses, carry-
ing goods to the value of more than fifteen thousand
pounds. Advancing deeper among the mountains,
they began to descend the valley at the foot of Si-
dling Hill. The laden horses plodded knee-deep in
snow. The mountains towered above the wayfarers
in gray desolation; and the leafless forest, a mighty
-^olian harp, howled dreary music to the wind
of March. Suddenly, from behind snow-beplastered
trunks, and shaggy bushes of evergreen, uncouth ap-
paritions started into view. Wild visages protruded,
grotesquely horrible with vermilion and ochre, white
lead and soot; stalwart limbs appeared, encased in
buckskin; and rusty rifles thrust out their lon^
muzzles. In front, and flank, and all around them,
white pufls of smoke " and sharp reports assailed
the bewildered senses of the travellers, who were
yet more confounded by the hum of bullets shot,
by unerring fingers within an inch of their ears.

542

RUIN OP THE INDIAN CAUSB. [Chap. XXX

"Gentlemen," demanded the traders, in deprecating
accents, "what would you have us do?" "Un-
pack your horses," roared a voice from the woods,
"pile your goods in the road, and be off." The
traders knew those with whom they had to deal.
Hastening to obey the mandate, they departed with
their utmost speed, happy that their scalps were
not numbered with the booty. The spoilers appro-
priated to themselves such of the plunder as pleased
them, made a bonfire of the rest, and went on tlieir
way rejoicing. The discomfited traders repaired to
Fort Loudon, and laid theii* complaints before Captain
Grant, the commandant, who, inflamed with wrath
and zealous for the cause of justice, despatched a
party of soldiers, seized several innocent persons,
and lodged them in the guard-house. In high
dudgeon at such an infraction of their liberties,
the borderers sent messengers through the country,
calling upon all good men to rise in ainns. Three
hundred obeyed the summons, and pitched their
camp on a hill opposite Fort Loudon; a rare muster
of desperadoes, yet observing a certain moderation in
their wildest acts, and never at a loss for a plausi-
ble reason to justify any pranks which it might
please them to exhibit. By some means, they con-
trived to waylay and capture a considerable number
of the garrison, on which the commandant conde-
scended to send them a flag of truce, and offer an
exchange of prisoners. Their object thus accom-
plished, and their imprisoned comrades restored to
them, the borderers dispersed for the present to theii
homes. Soon after, however, upon the occurrence of
some fresh difficulty, the commandant, afraid or un-
able to apprehend the misdoers, endeavored to deprive 1

chap.xxx.1 exploits of the borderers.

543

them of the power of mischief by sending soldiers
to their houses and carrying off their rifles. His tri-
umph was short ; for, as he rode out one afternoon,
he fell into an ambuscade of countrymen, who, dis-
pensing with all foi-ms of respect, seized the incensed
officer, and detained him in an uncomfortable cap-
tivity until the rifles were restored. From this time
forward, ruptures were repeatedly occurring between
the troops and the frontiersmen; and the Pennsyl-
vania border retained its turbulent character until
the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.*

^ The account of the seizure of the
Indian goods is derived chiefly from
tlie narrative of the ringleader, Smith,
published in Drake's Tragedies of
the Wilderness, and elsewhere. The
correspondence of Gage and John-
son is tilled with allusions to this af-
fair, and the subsequent proceedings
of the freebooters. Gage spares no
invectives against what he calls the
licentious conduct of the frontier peo-
ple. In the narrative is inserted a
ballad, or lyrical effusion, written by
some partisan of the frontier faction,
and evidently regarded by Smith as
a signal triumph of the poetic art.
He is careful to inform the reader
tiiet the author received his educa-
tion in the great city of Dublin. The
following melodious stanzas embody
the chiet action of the piece : —

" Astonished at the wild design,
Frontier inhabit.mts cunibin'd

With brave souls to stop their career ;
Although some men apostatu'd,
Who first the grand attempt ndvis'd,
The bold frontiers they bravely stood,
To act for their king and their country's good,

In Joint league, and strangers to fear.

■ On March the fifth, in sixty-five,
The Indian presents did arrive,

In long potnp nnd cavalcade,
Near Sidelong Hill, where in disguise
Slime patriots did their train surprise,
And quick as lightning tumbled their loads,
And kindled them bonfires in the woods.

And inootly burnt their whole brigdae."

The following ia an extract from

Johnson's letter to the Board, dated
July 10, ]7(»: —
" I h ive great cause to think that
Mr. Croghan will succeed in his en-
terprise, unless circumvented by the
artifices of the French, or through
the late licentious conduct of our own
people. Although His Excellency
General Gage has written to the
Ministry on that subject, yet I think
I should not be silent tliereupon, as
it may be productive of ver' serious
consequences.

" The frontier inhabitants of Penn-
sylvania, Maryland, and Virginia,
after having attacked and destroyed
the goods which were going to Fort
Pitt, (as in my last,) did form them-
selves into parties, threatening to
destroy all Indians they met, or all
white people who dealt with them.
They likewise ma: ^hed to Fort Au-
gusta, and from thence over the West
branch of the Susquehanna, beyond
the Bounds of the last purchase made
by the Proprietaries, whore they de-
clare they will form a settlement, in
defiance of Whites or Indians. They
afterwards attacked a small party of
His Majesty's troops upon the Road,
but were happily obliged to retire
with the loss of one or two men.
However, from their conduct and
threats since, there is reason to think
they will not stop here. Neither is
their licentiousness confined to the

544

RUIN OP THE INDIAN CAUSE.

[Chap. XXX

The plea of necessity, by which the border robbers
endeavored to excuse the plunder of the caravan, is
more plausible than valid, since the traders, with
their goods, would not have been allowed to leave
Fort Pitt until all difficulties with the Indians had
been fully adjusted. This act of lawless violence
wrought great injury to Croghan and his mission;
for the property of government had shared the fate
of that belonging to the traders, and the agency
most potent to gain the affections of an Indian
had been completely paralyzed in the destruction
of the presents. Croghan found means, however,
partially to repair his loss from the storehouse of
Fort Pitt, where the ligor of the season and the
great depth of the snow forced him to remain several
weeks. This cause alone would ha\s served to de-
tain him; but he was yet farther retarded by the
ixccessity of holding a meeting with the Delawares
and Shawanoes, along whose southern borders he
would be compelled to pass. An important object
of the proposed meeting was, to urge these tribes to
fulfil the promise they had made during the previous
autumn to Colonel Bouquet, to yield up their re-
maining prisoners, and send deputies to treat of
peace with Sir William Johnson ; engagements which,
when Croghan arrived at the fort, were as yet unful-

Provinces I have mentioned, the peo-
ple of Carolina having cut off a party,
coming down under a pass from Col.
Lewis, of the particulars of which
your Lordships have been doubtless
mformed.

" Your Lordships may easily con-
ceive what effects this will have upon
the Indians, who begin to be all ac-
quainted therewith. 1 wish it may not

have already gone too great a length
to receive a timely check, or prevent
the Indians' Resentment, who see
themselves attacked, threatened, and
tlieir property invaded, by a set of
ignorant, misled Rioters, who defy
Government itself, and this at a time
when we have just treated with some,
and are in treaty with other Na-
tions."

Chap. XXX.]

CONGRESS AT FORT PITT.

545

filled, though, as already mentioned, they were soon
after complied with.

Immediately on his arrival, he had despatched mes-
sengers inviting the chiefs to a council; a summons
which they obeyed with their usual reluctance and de-
lay, dropping in, band after band, with such tardiness
that a month was consumed before a sufficient num-
ber was assembled. Croghan then addressed them,
showing the advantages of peace, and the peril which
they would bring on their own heads by a renewal
of the war, and urging them to stand true to their en-
gagements, and send their deputies to Johnson as soon
as the melting of the snows should leave the forest
pathways open. Several replies, all of a pacific na-
ture, were made by the principal chiefs ; but the most
remarkable personage who appeared at the council
was the Delaware prophet mentioned in an early
portion of the narrative, as having been strongly in-
strumental in urging the tribes to war, by means of
pretended or imaginary revelations from the Great
Spirit.^ He now delivered a speech by no means re-
markable for eloquence, yet of most beneficial conse-
quence; for he intimated that the Great Spirit had
not only revoked his sanguinary mandates, but had
commanded the Indians to lay down the hatchet, and
smoke the pipe of peace.^ In spite of this auspicious
declaration, in spite ©f the chastisement and humilia-
tion of the previous autumn, Croghan was privately
informed that a large party among the Indians still

> See ante, p. 158.

2 MS. Journal of the Transactions of
George Croghan, Esq., deputy agent
^br Indian affairs, with different tribes

of Indians, at Fort Pitt, from the 28th
of February, 1765, to the I2th of
May following. In this journal the
prophet's speech is given in full.

rjirp ♦

546

RUIN OF THE INDIAN CAUSE.

[Chap. XXX.

remained balanced between their anger and their
fears, eager to take up the hatchet, yet dreading the
consequences which the act might bring. Under this
cloudy aspect of affairs, he was doubly gratified when
a party of Shawanoe warriors arrived, bringing with
them the prisoners, whom they had promised Colonel
Bouquet to surrender; and this faithful adherence to
their word, contrary alike to Croghan's expectations
and to the prophecies of those best versed in Indian
character, made it apparent that whatever might be
the sentiments of the turbulent among them, the
more influential rjortion were determined on a pacific
attitude.

These councils, and the previous delays, consumed
so much time, that Croghan became fearful that t> 3
tribes of the Illinois might, meanwhile, commit them-
selves by some rash outbreak, which would increase
the difficulty of reconciliation. In view of this dan-
ger, his assistant. Lieutenant Fraser, a young man
more bold than prudent, volunteered to go fonvard
in advance, leaving his principal to follow when he
had settled affairs at Fort Pitt. Croghan assented,
and Fraser departed mth a few attendants. The
rigor of the season had now begun to relent, and the
ice-locked Ohio was flinging off its wintry fetters.
Embarked in a birch canoe, and aided by the cur-
rent, Fraser floated prosperously downwards for a
thousand miles, and landed safely in the country of
the Illinois. Here he met such a reception as he
might have expected, very similar to that which, dur-
ing the autumn before. Captain Morris had encoun-
tered in the Miami village. In short, he found
himself in a nest of hornets, and In terror for his

Chap. XXX.] ALTERED CONDUCT OF THE FRENCH.

547

life. Abandoning the purposes of his mission, he
fled in disguise down the Mississippi, to seek refuge
among the French at New Orleans.*

Had Fraser's rash attempt been made but a few
weeks earlier, his blood would doubtless have paid
the forfeit; but, of late, a change had taken place
in the Illinois. A rumor was abroad that an Eng-
lish detachment was about to descend the Ohio, and
the report had magical effect. The French traders,
before so busy with their falsehoods and calumnies
against the English, now held their peace, dreading
the impending chastisement. They no longer gave
arms and ammunition to the Indians ; and when the
latter questioned them concerning the fabrication of
a French army advancing to the rescue, they treated
the story as unfounded, or sought to evade the sub-
ject. St. Ange, too, and the other officers of the
crown, confiding in the arrival of the English, as-
sumed a more decisive tone, refusing to give the
Indians presents, telling them that thenceforward
they must trust to the English for supplies, reproving
them for their designs against the latter, and advising
them to remain at peace.^ Indeed, the Indians were

ii!!f

1 MS. Letter — Aubrj' to the Min-
ister, July, 1765. Aubry makes him-
self merry with the fears of Fraser ;
who, however, had the best grounds
for his apprehensions, as is sufficient-
ly clear irorn the minutes of a council
held by him with Pontiac and other
Indians, at tlie Illinois, during the
month of April. The minutes referred
to are among the Paris Documents.

Extract from a Letter — Port Pitt,
July 24, (Pa. Gaz. Nos. 1912, 1913 :)—

" Pondiac immediately collected all
the Indians under his influence to the
Illinois, and ordered the French com-
manding officer there to deliver up
these Englishmen [Fraser and his
|>arty] to him, as he had prepared a

large kettle in which he was deter-
mined to boil them and all other Eng-
lishmen that came that way

Pondiac told the French that he had
been informed of Mr. Croghan's com-
ing that way to treat with the Indians,
and that he would keep his kettle
boiling over a large fire to receive
him likewise."

Pontiac seems soon afler to have
relented, for another letter, dated
New Orleans, June 19, adds, "He
[Fraser] says Pondiac is a very clever
fellow, and had it not been for him,
he would never have got away
alive."

2 " Harangue faitte k la nation Illi-
noise et au Chef Pondiak par M* de

548

RUIN OF THE INDIAN CAUSE. [Chap. XXX

in no condition to renew the war. The supplies ob-
tained from the French had been squandered after
their usual childish manner, and they were miserably
in want of food, arms, and clothing.^ It is true
that, about the time of Fraser's arrival, a most op-
portune, though inadequate, supply fell into their
hands, in the following manner: the English officers
in the south, unable to send troops up the Missis-
sippi, had employed a Frenchman, whom they had
secured in their interest, to ascend the river with a
boat load of goods, which he was directed to dis-
tribute among the Indians, to remove their prejudice
against the English, and pave the way to reconcilia-
tion. Intelligence of this movement reached the cars
of Pontiac, who, though much pleased with the ai>
proaching supplies, had no mind that they should be
devoted to serve the interests of his enemies. He
descended to the river bank with a body of his war-
riors, and as La Garantais, the Frenchman, landed,
he seized him and his men, flogged them severely,
robbed them of the'r cargo, and distributed the goods
with exemplary impartiality among his delighted fol-
lowers.** The supply fell far short of their exigen-
cies; and it is probable also that the cargo consisted
of whiskey, tobacco, paint, trinkets, and other articles,
useless in war.

Notwithstanding this good fortune, Pontiac daily
saw his followers dropping off from their allegiance;
for even the boldest had lost heart. Had any thing

St. Ange, Cap. Commandant au pais was written before the tidings of

des Illinois pour S. M. T. C. au sujet D'Abbadic's death had reached the

de la guerre que Les Indiens font aux Illinois.

Anglois, le 18 Avril, 1765." 2 MS. Letter— Aubry to the Min-

J MS. Letter — St Ange to D'Ab- ister, July 10, 1765.
badie, April 20, 1765. This letter

Chap. XXX.] PONTIAC — HIS DESPERATE POSITION.

549

been wanting to convince him of the hopelessness
of his cause, the report of his ambassadors return-
ing from New Orleans would have banished every
doubt. No record of his inteiTiew with them re-
mains; but it is easy to conceive with what chagrin
he must have learned that the officer of France first
in rank in all America had refused to aid him,
and urged the timid counsels of peace. The vanity
of those expectations, which had been the main-
spring of his enterprise, now rose clear and palpa-
ble before him ; and with rage and bitterness, he saw
the rotten foundation of his hopes sinking into dust,
and the whole structure of his plot crumbling in
ruins about him.

All was lost. His allies were falling off, his fol-
lowers deserting him. To hold out longer would be
destruction, and to fly was scarcely an easier task.
In the south lay the Cherokees, hereditary enemies
of his people. In the west were the Osages and
Missouries, treacherous and uncertain friends, and the
fierce and jealous Dahcotah. In the east the forests
would soon be filled with English traders, and beset
with English troops, while in the north his own
village of Detroit lay beneath the guns of the victo-
rious garrison. He might, indeed, have found a par-
tial refuge in the remoter wilderness of the upper
lakes ; but those dreary wastes would have doomed
him to a life of unambitious exile. His resolution
was taken. He determined to accept the peace
which he knew wolild be proffered, to smoke the
calumet with his triumphant enemies, and patiently
await his hour of vengeance.^

1 One of St. Ange's letters to Au- and motives ofPontiac similar to tlioss
Dry contains views of the designs expressed above.

nil

550

RUIN OF THE INDIAN CAUSE. [Cuap. XXX.

The conferences at Fort Pitt concluded, Croghan
left that place on the fifteenth of May, and em-
barked on the Ohio, accompanied by several Dela-
ware and Shawanoe deputies, whom he had per-
suaded those newly-reconciled tribes to send with him,
for the furtherance of his mission. At the mouth of
the Scioto, he was met by a band of Shawanoe war-
riors, who, in compliance with a message previously
sent to them, delivered into his hands seven intriguing
Frenchmen, who for some time past had lived in
their villages. Thence he pursued his voyage smooth-
ly and prosperously, until, on the eighth of June,
he reached a spot a little belovv the mouth of the
Wabash. Here he landed with his party : when sud-
denly the hideous war-whoop, the explosion of mus-
ketry, and the whistling of arrows greeted him from
the covert of the neighboring thickets. His men fell
thick about him. Three Indians and two white men
were shot dead on the spot; most of the remainder
were wounded ; and on the next instant the survivors
found themselves prisoners in the hands of eighty
yelling Kickapoos, who plundered them of all they
had. No sooner, however, was their prey fairly within
their clutches, than the cowardly assailants began to
apologize for what they had done, saying it was all
a mistake, and that the French had set them on by
telling them that the Indians who accompanied Cro-
ghan were Cherokees, their mortal enemies; excuses
utterly without foundation, for the Kickapoos had
dogged the party for several days, and perfectly un-
derstood its character.*

^ A few days before, a boy belong- proved afterwards that he had been
ing to Croghan's party had been lost, seized by the Kickapoo warriors, and
as was supposed, in the woods. It was still prisoner among them at the

Chap. XXX.]

CROQHAN AT OUATANON.

551

It is superfluous to inquire into the causes of this
attack. No man practically familiar with Indian
character need be told the impossibility of foreseeing
to what strange acts the wayward impulses of this
murder-loving race may prompt them. Unstable as
water, capricious as the winds, they seem in some of
their moods like uugoverned children tired with the
instincts of devils. In the present case. I hey knew
that they hated the English — knew that they wanted
scalps ; and thinking nothing of the consequences,
they seized the first opportunity to gratify their rabid
longing. This done, they thought it best to avert any
probable effects of their misconduct by such false-
hoods as might suggest themselves to their invention.

Still apologizing for what they had done, but by
no means suffering their prisoners to escape, they
proceeded up the Wabash, to the little French fort
and settlement of Vincennes, where, to his great joy,
Croghan found among the assembled Indians some
of his former friends and acquaintance. They re-
ceived him kindly, and sharply rebuked the Kicka-
poos, who, on their part, seemed much ashamed and
crestfallen. From Vincennes the English were con-
ducted, in a sort of honorable captivity, up the river
to Ouatanon, where they arrived on the twenty-
third, fifteen days after the attack, and where * Cro-
ghan was fortunate enough to find a great number
of his former Indian friends, who received him, to
appearance at least, with much cordiality. He took
up his quarters in the fort, where there was at this
time no garrison, a mob of French traders and Indian?

.• t

time of the attack. They must have of Croghan and his companions,
learned from him the true character — MS. Gage Papers.

mam

552

RmN OF THE INDIAN CAUSE. [Chap. XXX

being the only tenants of the place. For several
days, his time was engrossed with receiving deputa-
tion after deputation from the various tribes and
sub-tribes of the neighborhood, smoking pipes of
peace, making and hearing speeches, and shaking
hands with greasy warriors, who, one and all, were
strong in their professions of good will, promising
not only to regard the English as their friends, but
to aid them, if necessary, in taking possession of the
Illinois.

"While these amicable conferences were in progress,
a miscreant Frenchman came from the Mississippi
with a message from a chief of that region, urging
the Indians of Ouatanon to burn the Englishman
alive. Of this proposal the Indians signified their
strong disapprobation, and assured the startled envoy
that they would stand his friends — professions the
sincerity of which, happily for him, was confirmed
by the strong guaranty of their fears.

The next arrival was that of Maisonville, a mes-
senger from St. Ange, requesting Croghan to come
to Fort Chartres, to adjust affairs in that quarter.
The invitation was in accordance with Croghan's
designs, and he left the fort on the following day,
attended by Maisonville, and a concourse of the Oua-
tanon Indians, who, far from regarding him as their
prisoner, were now studious to show him every mark
of respect. He had advanced but a short distance
into the forest when he met Pontiac himself, who was
on his way to Ouatanon, followed by a numerous train
of chiefs and warriors. He gave his hand to the
English envoy, and both parties returned together to
the fort. Its narrow precincts were now crowded
with Indians, a perilous multitude, dark, malignant,

Chap. XXX]

PONTIAC OFFERS PEACE.

653

inscrutable; and it behoved the Englishman to be
wary in his dealings with them, since a breath
might kindle alresh the wildfire in their hearts.

At a meeting of the chiefs and warriors, Pontiac
offered the calumet and belt of peace, and profos.sed
his concurrence with the chiefs of Ouatanon in the
friendly sentiments which they expressed towards the
English. The Frer.ch, he added, had deceived him,
telling him and his people that the English meant
to enslave the Indians of the Illinois, and turn
loose upon them their enemies the Cherokees. It
was this which drt > him to arms; and now that he
knew the story to be false, he would no longer
stand in the path of the English. Yet they must
not imagine that, in taking possession of the French
forts, they gained any right to the country; for the
French had never bought the land, and lived upon
it by sufferance only.

As this meeting with Pontiac and the Illinois
chiefs made it needless for Croghan to advance
farther on his western journey, he now bent his
footsteps towards Detroit, and, followed by Pontiac
and many of the principal chiefs, crossed over to
Fort Miami, and thence descended the Maumec, hold-
ing conferences at the several villages which he
passed on his way. On the seventeenth of August,
he reached Detroit, where he found a great gather-
ing of Indians, Ottawas, Pottawattamies, and Ojib-
was ; some encampfed about the fort, and others
along the banks of the River Rouge. They obeyed
his summons to a meeting with ready alacrity,
partly from a desire to win the good graces of a
potent and victorious enemy, and partly from the
importunate craving for liquor and presents, which
70 uu

Hi llilll

554

RUm OF THE INDIAN CAUSE. [Chap. XXX.

never slumbers in an Indian breast. Numerous
meetings were held, and the old council-hall where
Pontiac had essayed his scheme of abortive treachery
was now crowded with repentant warriors, anxious,
by every form of submission, to appease the con-
queror. Their ill success, their fears of chastise-
ment, and the miseries they had endured from the
long suspension of the fur-trade, had banished from
their minds every thought of hostility. They were
glad, they said, that the dark clouds were now dis-
persing, and the sunshine of peace once more re-
turning ; and since all the nations to the sunrising
had taken their great father the King of England
by the hand, they also wished to do the same.
They now saw clearly that the French were indeed
conquered; and thenceforth they would listen no
more to the whistling of evil birds, but lay down
the war-hritchet, and sit quiet on thei mats. Among
those who appeared to make or renew their submis-
sion was the Grand Sauteur, the sanguinary chief
who had led the massacre at Michillimackinac, and
who, a few jears after, expiated his evil deeds by a
bloody death. He now pretended great regret for
what he had done. "We red people," he said, "are
a very jealous and foolish people; b"t, father, there
are some among the white men worse than we are,
and they have told us lies, and deceived us. There-
fore we hope you will take pity on our women and
children, and grant us peace." A band of Potta-
wattamies from St. Joseph's were also present, and,
after excusing themselves for their past conduct by
the stale plea of the uncontrollable temper of their
young men, their orator proceeded as follows: —
" We are no more than wild creatures to you,

Chap. XXX.]

CONFERENCES AT DETROIT.

555

by a
ret for
" are
there
ve are,
There-
en and
Potta-
t, and,
uct by
their

fathers, in understanding ; therefore we request you
to forgive the past follies of our young people, and
receive us for your children. Since you have thrown
down our former father on his back, we have been
wandering m the dark, like blind people. Now you
have dispersed all this darkness, which hung over
the heads of the several tribes, and have accepted
them for your children, we hope you will let us
partake with them the light, that oiu* women and
children may enjoy peace. We beg you to forget
all that is past. By this belt we remove all evil
thoughts from your hearts.

" Fathers, when we formerly came to visit our
fathers the French, they always sent us home joy-
ful; and we hope you, fathers, will have pity on
our women and young men, who are in great want
of necessaries, and not let us go home to our towns
ashamed."

On the twenty-seventh of August, Croghan held a
meeting with the Ottawas, and the other tribes of
Detroit and Sandusky ; when, adopting their own
figurative language, he addressed them in the follow-
ing speech, in which, as often happened when white
men borrowed the tongue of the forest orator, he
lavished a more unsparing profusion of imagery than
the Indians themselves : —

" Children, we are very glad to see so many of
you here present at your ancient council-fire, which
has been neglected • for some time past ; since then,
high winds have blown, and raised heavy clouds
over your country. I now, by this belt, rekindle
your ancient fire, and throw dry wood upon it, that
the blaze may ascend to heaven, so that all nations

IIIlL^

556

RUIN OF THE INDIAN CAUSE.

[Chap. XXX.

may see it, and know that you live in peace and
tranquillity with your fathers the English.

" By this belt I disperse all the black clouds from
over your heads, that the bun may shine clear on
your women and children, that those unborn may
enjoy the blessings of this general peace, now so
happily settled between your fathers the English
and you, and all your younger brethren to the sun-
setting.

"Children, by this belt I gather up all the bones
of your deceased friends, and bury them deep in
the ground, that the buds and sweet flowers of the
earth may grow over them, that we may not see
them any more.

"Children, with this belt I take the hatchet out
of your hands, and pluck up a large tree, and bury
it deep, so that it may never be found any more ;
and I plant the tree of peace, which all our chil-
dren may sit under, and smoke in peace with their
fathers.

" Children, we have made a road from the sun-
rising to the sunsetting. I desire that you will pre-
serve that road good and pleasant to travel upon,
that we may all share the blessings of this happy
union."

On the following day, Pontiac spoke in behalf of
the several nations assembled at the council.

" Father, we have all smoked out of this pipe of
peace. It is your children's pipe; and as the war is
all over, and the Great Spirit and Giver of Light,
who has made the earth and every thing therein,
has brought us all together this day for our mutual
good, I declare to all nations that I have settled

Chap. XXX.]

PEACE SPEECH OF PONTIAC.

557

my peace with you before I came here, and now
deliver my pipe to be sent to Sir William Johnson,
that he may know 1 have made peace, and taken
the King of England for my father, in presence of
all the nations now assembled; and whenever any
of those nations go to visit him, they may smoke
out of it with him in peace. Fathers, we are
obliged to you for lighting up our old council-fire
for us, and desiring us to return to it; but we are
now settled on the Miami River, not far from
hence : whenever you want us, you will find us
there." ^

" Our people," he added, " love liquor, and if we
dwelt near you in our old village of Detroit, our
warriors would be always drunk, and quarrels would
arise between us and you." Drunkenness was, in
truth, the bane of the whole unhappy race; but
Pontiac, too thoroughly an Indian in his virtues and

1 Journal of George Croghan, on
his journey to the Illinois, 1765.
This journal has been twice pub-
lished — in the appendix to Butler's
History of Kentucky, and in tlie
" Pioneer History " o'f Dr. Hildreth.
A manuscript copy also may be
found in the office of the secretary
of state at Albany. Dr. Hildreth
omits the speech of Croghan to the
Indians, which is given above as
affording a better example of the
forms of speech appropriate to an
Indian peace harangue, than the
genuine productions of the Indians
themselves, who are less tfpt to in-
dulge in such a redundancy of met-
aphor.

A language extremely deficient in
words of general and abstract signifi-
cation renders the use of figures
indispensable ; and it is from this
cause, above all others, that the flow-
ers of Indian rhetoric derive their
Drigin. In the work of Heckewelder

will be found a list of numerous fig-
urative expressions appropriate to
the various occasions of public and
private intercourse — forms which
are seldom departed from, and which
are often found identical among
tribes speaking languages radically
distinct. Thus, among both Iroquois
and Algonquins, the " whistling of
evil birds " is tlie invariable expres-
sion to denote evil tidings or bad
advice.

The Indians arc much pleased
when white men whom they respect
adopt their peculiar symbolicai lan-
guage — a circumstance of which the
Jesuit missionaries did not fail to
avail themselves. "These people,"
says Father Le Jeune, " being great
orators, and often using allegories
and metaphors, our fathers, in order
to attract them to God, adapt them-
selves to their custom of speaking,
which delights them very much, see-
ing we succeed as well as thev "

UU*

558

RUIN OP THE nroiAN CAUSE. [Chap. XXX

his vices to be free from its destructive taint, con-
cluded his speech with the common termination of
an Indian harangue, and desired that the rum barrel
might be opened, and his thirsty warriors allowed to
drink.

At the end of September, having brought these
protracted conferences to a close, Croghan left De-
troit, and departed for Niagara, whence, after a short
delay, he passed eastward, to report the results of
his mission to the commander-in-chief But before
leaving the Indian country, he exacted from Pontiac
a promise that in the spring he would descend to
Oswego, and, in behalf of the tribes lately banded
in his league, conclude a treaty of peace and amity
with Sir William Johnson.^

Croghan's efforts had been attended with signal
success. The tribes of the west, of late bristling in
defiance, and hot for fight, had craved forgiveness,
and proffered the peaceful calumet. The war was
over; the last flickerings of that wide conflagration
had died away; but the embers still glowed beneath
the ashes, and fuel and a breath alone were wanting
to rekindle those desolating fires.

In the mean time, a hundred Highlanders of the
42d Regiment, those veterans whose battle-cry had
echoed over the bloodiest fields of America, had left
Fort Pitt under command of Captain Sterling, and,
descending the Ohio, undeterred by the rigor of the

1 In a letter to Gage, without a
date, but sent in the same enclosure
as his journal, Croghan gives his im-
pression of Pontiac in me following
words ! —

"Pondiac is a shrewd, sensible
Indian, of few words, and commands
more respect among his own nation

than any Indian I ever saw could do
among his own tribe. He, and all
the principal men of those nations,
seem at present to be convinced that
the French had a view of interest in
stirring up the late differences be-
tween his majesty's subjects and
them, and call it a beaver war."

Chap. XXX.] THE ENGLISH AT THE ILLINOIS.

559

season, arrived at Fort Chartres just as the snows
of early winter began to whiten the naked forests.*
The flag of France descended from the rampart ;
and with the stem courtesies of war, St. Ange
yielded up his post, the citadel of the Illinois,
to its new masters. In that act was consummated
the double triumph of British power in America.
England had crushed her hereditary foe ; and France,
in her fall, had left to irretrievable ruin the savage
tribes to whom her policy and self-interest had lent
a transient support.

1 MS. Gage Papers. M. Nicol- mistake. Pontiac's reconciliation

let, in spealwig of the arrival of had already taken place, and he

the Eitish troops, says, *'At this had abandoned all thoughts of ro-

m^ f ontiac raved." This is a sistance.

i;)

CHAPTER XXXI.

DEATH OF PONTIAC.

The winter passed quietly away. Already the
Indians began to feel the blessings of returning
peace in the partial reopening of the fur-trade;
and the famine and nakedness, the misery and death,
which through the previous season had been life in
their encampments, were exchanged for comparative
comfort and abundance. With many precautions,
and in meagre allowances, the traders had been per-
mitted to throw their goods into the Indian market,
and the starving hunters were no longer left, as
many ot them had been, to gain precarious suste-
nance by the bow, the arrow, and the lance —
the half-forgotten weapons of their fathers. Some
troubles arose along the frontiers of Pennsylvania
and Virginia. The reckless borderers, in contempt
of common humanity and prudence,- murdered sev-
eral straggling Indians, and enraged others by abuse
and insult; but these outrages could not obliterate
the remembrance of recent chastisement, and for the
present, at least, the injured warriors forbore to
'■•HW down the fresh vengeance of their destroyers.

spring returned, and Pontiac remembered the
p >mise he had made to visit Sir William Johnson
at Oswego. He left his encampment on the Mauraee,
accompanied by his chiefs, and by an Englishman

Chap. XXXL]

PONTIAC AT OSWEGO.

561

named Crawford, a man of vigor and resolution, who
had been appointed, by the superintendent, to the
troublesome office of attending the Indian deputation,
and supplying their wants. ^

We may well imagine with what bitterness of
mood the defeated war-chief urged his canoe along
the margin of Lake Erie, and gazed upon the hori-
zon-bounded waters, and the lofty shores, green with
primeval verdure. Little could he have dreamed,
and little could the wisest of that day have imagined,
that, within the space of a single human life, that
lonely lake would be studded with the sails of com-
merce; that cities and villages would rise upon the
ruins of the forest; and that the poor mementoes of
his lost race — the wampum beads, the rusty toma-
hawk, and the arrowhead of stone, turned up by the
ploughshare — would become the wonder of school-
boys, and the prized relics of the antiquary's cab-
inet. Yet it needed no prophetic eye to foresee that,
sooner or later, the doom must come. The star of
his people's destiny was fading from the sky, and,
to a mind like his, the black and withering future
must have stood revealed in all its desolation.

The birchen flotilla gained the outlet of Lake
Erie, and, shooting downwards with the stream,
landed beneath the palisades of Fort Schlosser.
The chiefs passed the portage, and, once more em-
barking, pushed out upon Lake Ontario. Soon their
goal was reached, and the cannon boomed hollow
salutation from the batteries of Oswego.

Here they found Sir William Johnson waiting to
receive them, attended by the chief sachems of the

1 MS. Johnson Papen.

56^

DEATH OF PONTIAC.

rCHAP YTTT

Iroquois, whom he had mvited to the spot, that
their presence might give additional weight and
solemnity to the meeting. As there was no building
large enough to receive so numerous a concourse, a
canopy of green boughs was erected to shade the
assembly from the sun; and thither, on the twenty-
third of July, repaired the chiefs and warriors of
the several nations. Here stood the tall figure of
Sir William Johnson, surrounded by civil and mil-
itary officers, clerks, and interpreters, while before
him reclined the painted sachems of the Iroquois,
and the great Ottawa war-chief, with his dejected
followers.

Johnson opened the meeting with the usual for-
malities, presenting his auditors with a belt of wam-
pum to wipe the tears from their eyes, with another
to cover the bones of their relatives, another to
open their ears that they might hear, and another
to clear their throats that they might speak with
ease. Then, amid solemn silence, Pontiac's great
peace-pipe was lighted and passed round the assem-
bly, each man present inhalipg a whiff of the sacred
smoke. These tedious forms, together with a few
speeches of compliment, consumed the whole morn-
ing; for this savage people, on whose supposed sim-
plicity poets and rhetoricians have lavished their
praises, may challenge the world to outmatch their
bigoted adherence to usage and ceremonial.

On the following day, the council began in earnest,
and Sir William Johnson addressed Pontiac and his
attendant chiefs.

"Children, I bid you heartily welcome to this
place; and I trust that the Great Spirit will permit
us often to meet together in fiiehdship, for I have

Cbap.XXXL] speech OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON.

563

now opened the door and cleared the road, that all
nations may come hither from the sunsetting. Thii
belt of wampum confirms my words.

" Children, it gave me much pleasure to find that
you who are present behaved so well last year, and
treated in so friendly a manner Mr. Croghan, one
of my deputies, and that you expressed such con-
cern for the bad behavior of those, who, in order to
obstruct the good work of peace, assaulted and
wounded him, and killed some of his party, both
whites and Indians; a thing before imknown, and
contrary to the laws and customs of all nations.
This would have drawn down our strongest resent*
ment ^ pon those who were guilty of so heinous a
crim \^ere it not for the great lenity and kindness
of your English father, who does not delight in
punishing those who repent sincerely of their faults.

" Children, I have now, with the approbation of
General Gage, (your father's chief warrior in this
country,) invited you here in order to confirm and
strengthen your proceedings with Mr. Croghan last
year. I hope that you will remember all that then
passed, and I desire that you will often repeat it
to your young people, and keep it fresh in your
minds.

"Children, you begin already to see the fruits of
peace, from the number - of traders and plenty of
goods at all the garrisoned posts ; and our enjoying
the peaceable possession of the Illinois will be
found of great advantage to the Indians in that
country. You likewise see that proper officers, men
of honor and probity, are appointed to reside at the
posts, to prevent abuses in trade, to hear your com-
plaints, and to lay before me such of them as they

564

DEATH OF PONTIAC.

[Chap. XXXI.

cannot redress.* Interpreters are likewise sent for
the assistance of each of them; and smiths are sent
to the posts to repair your arms and implements.
All this, which is attended with a great expense, is
now done by the great king, your father, as a proof
of his regard; so that, casting from you all jealousy
and apprehension, you should now strive with each
other who should show the most gratitude to this
best of prince?. I do now, therefore, confirm the
assurances which I give you of his majesty's good
will, and do insist on your casting away all evil
thoughts, and shutting your ears against all flying
idle reports of bad people."

The rest of Johnson's speech was occupied in
explaining to his hearers the new arrangements for
the regulation of the fur-trade; in exhorting them
to forbear from retaliating the injuries they might
receive from reckless white men, who would meet
with due punishment from their own countrymen ;
and in urging them to deliver up to justice those
of their people who might be guilty of crimes
against the English. " Children," he concluded, " I
now, by this belt, turn your eyes to the sunrising,
where you will always find me your sincere friend.
From me you will always hear what is true and
good; and I charge you never more to listen to
those evil birds, who come, with lying tongues, to
lead you astray, and to make you break the solemn
engagements which you have entered into in presence

1 The lords of trade had recently
adopted a new plan for the manage-
ment of Indian affairs, the principal
feature of which was the confine-
ment of the traders to the military
posts, where they would conduct

their traffic under the eye of propei
officers, instead of ranging at will,
without supervision or control, among
the Indian villages. It was founa
extremely difficiUt to enforce this
regulation.

Chap. XXXI.] PONTIAC'S UEPLY TO JOHNSON.

565

of the Great Spirit, with the king your father and
the English people. Be strong, then, and keep fast
hold of the chain of friendship, that your children,
following your example, may live happy and prosper-
ous lives."

Pontiac made a brief reply, and promised to return
on the morrow an answer in full. The meeting then
broke up.

The council of the next day was opened by the
Wyandot chief, Teata, in a short and formal address ;
at the conclusion of which Pontiac himself arose,
and addressed the superintendent in the following
words: —

"Father, we thank the Great Spirit for giving us
so fine a day to meet upon such great affairs. I
speak in the name of all the nations to the west-
ward, of whom I am the master. It is the will of
the Great Spirit that we should meet here to-day;
and before him I now take you by the hand. I
call him to witness that I speak from my heart;
for since I took Colonel Croghan by the hand last
year, I have never let go my hold, for I see that the
Great Spirit will have us friends.

" Father, when our great father of France was in
this country, I held him fast by the hand. Now
that he is gone, I take you, my English father, by
the hand, in the name of all the nations, and prom-
ise to keep this covenant as long as I shall live."

Here he delivered a large belt of wampum.

" Father, when you address me, it is the same as
if you addressed all the nations or the west. Father,
this belt is to cover and strengthen our chain of
friendship, and to show you that, if any nation shall

566

DEATH OF PONTIAC.

[Chap. XXXI.

lift the hatchet against oiir Englisli brethren, we
shall be the first to feel it and resent it."

Pontiac next took up in succession the various
points touched upon in the speech of the superin-
tendent, expressing in all things a full compliance
with his wishes. The succeeding days of the confcu--
ence were occupied with matters of detail relating
chiefly to the fur-trade, all of which were adjusted
to the apparent satisfaction of the Indians, who, on
their part, made reiterated professions of friendship.
Pontiac promised to recall the war-belts which had
been sent to the north and west, though, as lie
alleged, many of them had proceeded from the Sene-
cas, and not from him, adding that, when aU were
gathered together, they would be more than a man
could carry. The Iroquois sachems then addressed
the western nations, exhorting them to stand true to
their engagements, and hold fast the chain of friend-
ship ; and the councils closed on the thirty-first, with
a bountiful distribution of presents to Pontiac and
his followers.*

Thus ended this memorable meeting, in which
Pontiac sealed his submission to the English, and
renounced forever the bold design by which he had
trusted to avert or retard the ruin of his race. His
hope of seeing the empire of France restored in
America was scattered to the wmds, and with it van-
ished every rational scheme of resistance to English
encroachment. Nothing now remained but to stand

1 MS. Minutes of Proceedings at a A copy of this document is pre-

Congress with Pontiac and Chiefs of served in the office of the secretary

the Ottawas, Pottawattamies, Hu- of state at Albany, among the papers

rons, and Chippewais ; begun at Os- procured in London by Mr. Brod-

wego, Tuesday, July 23, 1766. nead.

Chap. XXXI.]

FRESH DISTURBANCE^.

667

an idle spectator, while, in the north and in the
south, the tide of British power rolled westward in
resistless might; while the fragments of the rival
empire, which he would fain have set up as a barrier
against the flood, lay scattered a miserable wreck ;
and while the remnant of his people melted away or
fled for refuge to remoter deserts. For them the
prospects of the futuie were as clear as they were
calamitous. Destruction or civilization — between
these lay their choice, and few who knew them could
doubt which alternative they would embrace.

Pontiac, his canoe laden with the gifts of his en-
emy, steered homeward for the Maumee; and in this
vicinity he spent the following winter, pitching his
lodge in the forest with his wives and children, and
hunting like an ordinary warrior. With the suc-
ceeding spring, 1767, fresh murmurings of discontent
arose among the Indian tribes, from the lakes to the
Potomac, the first precursors of the disorders which,
a few years later, ripened into a brief but bloody
war along the borders of Virginia. These threaten-
ing symptoms might easily be traced to their source.
The incorrigible frontiersmen had again let loose
their murdering propensities; and a multitude of
squatters had built their cabins on Indian lands be-
yond the limits of Pennsylvania, adding insult to
aggression, and sparing neither oaths, curses, nor any
form of abuse and maltreatment agamst the rightful
owners of the soil.^ The new regulations of the fur-
trade could not prevent disorders among the reckless
men engaged in it. This was particularly the case

' "It seems," writes Sir William bring on a new war, though their
Johnson to the lords of trade, " os own ruin may be tlie consequence."
if the people were determined to

568

DEATH OF PONTIAC.

[Chap. XXXL

In the region of the Illinois, where the evil was
aggravated by the renewed intrigues of the French,
and especially of those who had fled from the English
side of the Mississippi, and made their abode around
the new settlement of St. Louis.' It is difficult to
say how far Pontiac was involved in this agitation.
It is certain that some of the English traders re-
garded him with jealousy and fear, as prime mover
of the whole, and eagerly watched an opportunity
to destroy him.

The discontent among the tribes did not diminish
with the lapse of time; yet for many months we
can discern no trace of Pontiac. Records and tra-
ditions are silent concerning him. It is not until
April, 1769, that he appears once more distinctly on
the scene.*^ At about that time he came to the Illi-
nois, with what design does not appear, though his
movements excited much uneasiness among the few
English in that quarter. Soon after his arrival, he
repaired to St. Louis, to visit his former acquaint-
ance, St. Ange, who was then in command at that
post, having offered his services to the Spaniards
after the cession of Louisiana. After leaving the
fort, Pontiac proceeded to the house of which young
Pierre Chouteau was an inmate ; and to the last
day^ )f his protracted life, the latter could vividly
recall the circumstances of the interview. The sav-
age chief was arrayed in the full uniform of a

1 Doc. Hist N. Y. IL 861-893, etc.
MS. Johnson Papers. MS. Gage
Papers.

2 Carver says that Pontiac was
killed in 1767. This may possibly
be a mere printer's error. In the
Maryland Gazette, and also in the
Pennsylvania Gazette, were, pub-
lished during the month of August,

1769, several letters from the Indian
country, in which Pontiac is men-
tioned as having been killed during
the preceding April. M. Chouteau
states that, to the best of his recol-
lection, the chief was killed in 1768;
but oral testimony is of little weight
in regard to dates. The evidence
of the Gazettes appears conclusive.

Chap. XXXI.]

OAHOKIA.

569

French officer, which had been presented to liim as
a special mark of respect and favor by the Marquis
of Montcalm, towards the close of the French war,
and which Pontiac never had the bad taste to wear,
except on occasions when he wished to appear with
unusual dignity. St. Ange, Chouteau, and the other
principal inhabitants of the infant settlement, whom
he visited in turn, all received him with cordial wel-
come, and did their best to entertain him and his
attendant chiefs. He remained at St. Louis for two
or three days, when, hearing that a large number
of Indians were assembled at Cahokia, on the oppo-
site side of the river, and that some drinking bout
or other social gathering was in progress, he told
St. Ange that he would cross over to see what was
going forward. St. Ange tried to dissuade him, and
urged the risk to which he would expose himself;
but Pontiac persisted, boasting that he was a match
for the English, and had no fear for his life. He
entered a canoe with some of his followers, and Chou-
teau never saw him again.

He who, at the present day, crosses from the city
of St. Louis to the opposite shore of the Mississippi,
and passes southward through a forest festooned with
grape-vines, and fragrant with the scent of flowers,
will soon emerge upon the ancient hamlet of Cahokia.
To one fresh from the busy suburbs of the American
city, the small French houses, scattered in picturesque
disorder, the light-hearted, thriftless look of their in-
mates, and the woods which form the background
of the pictui'e, seem like the remnants of an earlier
and simpler world. Strange changes have passed
around that spot. Forests have fallen, cities have
sprung up, and the lonely wilderness is thronged with
72 vv*

570

DEATH OF PONTIAC.

[Chap. XXXI.

human life. Nature herself has taken part in the
general transformation, and the Mississippi has made
a fearful inroad, robbing from the luckless Creoles a
mile of rich meadow and woodland. Yet, in the midst
of all, this relic of the lost empire of France has
preserved its essential features through the lapse of
a century, and offers at this day an aspect not widely
different from that which met the eye of Pontiac,
when he and his chiefs landed on its shore.

The place was full of Illinois Indians; such a
scene as in our own time may often be mei with
in some squalid settlement of the border, where the
vagabond guests, bedizened with dirty finery, tie their
small horses in rows along the fences, and stroll
idly among the houses, or lounge about the dram-
shops. A chief so renowned as Pontiac could not
remain long among the friendly Creoles of Cahokia
without being summoned to a feast; and at such
primitive entertainment the whiskey bottle would not
fail to play its part. This was in truth the case.
Pontiac drank deeply, and, when the carousal was
over, strode down the village street to the adjacent
woods, where he was heard to sing the medicine
songs, in whose magic power he trusted as the war-
rant of success in all his undertakings.

An English trader, named Williamson, was then
in the village. He had looked on the movements of
Pontiac with a jealousy probably not diminished by
the visit of the chief to the French at St. Louis;
iand he now resolved not to lose so favorable an op-
portunity to despatch him. With this view, he gained
the ear of a strolling Indian belonging to the Kas-
kaskia tribe of the Illinois, bribed him with a barrel
of liquor, and promised him a farther reward if he

Chap. XXXI.]

DEATH OF PONTIAC.

571

would kill the chief. The bargain was quickly made.
When Pontiac entered the forest, the assassin stole
close upon his track, and, watching his moment, glided
behind him, and buried a tomahawk in his brain.

The dead body was soon discovered, and startled
cries and wild bowlings announced the event. The
word was caught up from mouth to mouth, and the
place resounded with infernal yells. The warriors
snatched their weapons. The Illinois took part with
their guilty countryman, and the few followers of
Pontiac, driven from the village, fled to spread the
tidings and call the nations to revenge. Meanwhile
the murdered chief lay on the spot where he had
fallen, until St. Ange, mindful of former friendship,
sent to claim the body, and buried it with warlike
honors, near his fort of St. Louis.*

Thus basely perished this champion of a ruined
race. But could his shade have revisited the scene

I Carver, Travels, 166, says that
Pontiac was stabbed at a public
council in the Illinois, by " a faithful
Indian who was either commissioned
by one of the English governors, or in-
stigated by the love he bore the Eng-
lish nation." This account is without
sufficient confirmation. Carver, who
did not visit the Illinois, must have
drawn his information from hearsay.
The open manner of dealing with his
victim, which he ascribes to the as-
sassin, is wholly repugnant to IndiLi)
character and principles; while the
gross charge, thrown out at random
against an English goyernor, might
of itself cast discredit on the story.

I have followed the account which
I received from M. Pierre Chou
teau, and from M. P. L. Cerr6,
another old inhabitant of the Illinois,
whose father waa well acquainted
with Pontiac. The same account
may be found, concisely stated, in
Nicollet, p. 81. M. Nicollet states
that he derived his information both

from M. Chouteau and from the no
less respectable authority of the aged
Pierre Menard of Kaskaskia. The
notices of Pontiac's death in the pro-
vincial journals of the day, to a cer-
tain extent, confirm this story. We
gather from them, that he was killed
at the Illinois, by one or more Kas-
kaskia Indians, during a drunken
frolic, and in consequence of his hos-
tility to the English. One letter,
however, states on hearsay that he
was killed near Fort Chartres, and
Gouin's traditional account seems to
support the statement. On this point,
I have followed the distinct and cir-
cumstantial narrative of Chouteau,
supported as it is by Cerr^. An
Ottawa tradition declares that Ponti-
ac took a Kaskaskia wife, with whom
he bad a quarrel, and she persuaded
her two brothers to kill him.

I am indebted to the kindness of
my friend Mr. Lyman C. Draper for
valuable assistance in my inquiries
in relation to Pontiac's death.

572

DEATH OF PONTLA.C.

[Chap. XXXI.

of murder, his savage spirit woiild have exulted in
the vengeance which overwhelmed the abetters of the
crime. Whole tribes were rooted out to expiate it.
Chiefs and sachems, whose veins had thrilled with
his eloquence, young warriors, whose aspiring hearts
had caught the inspiration of his greatness, mus-
tered to revenge his fate, and from the north and
the east, their united bands descended on the villages
of the Illinois. Tradition has but faintly preserved
the memory of the event ; and its only annalists, men
who held the intestine feuds of the savage tribes in
no more account than the quarrels of panthers or
wildcats, have left but a meagre record. Yet enough
remains to tell us that over the grave of Pontiac
more blood was poured out in atonement than flowed
from the hecatombs of slaughtered heroes on the
corpse of Patroclus; and the remnant of the Illinois
who survived the carnage remained forever after sunk
in utter insignificance.^

' " This murder, which roused the
vengeance of all the Indian tribes
friendly to Pontiac, brought about the
successive wars, and almost total ex-
termination, of tiie Illinois nation." —
Nicollet, 82.

"The Kaskaskias, Peorias, Caho-
kias, and lUonese are nearly all de-
stroyed by the Sacs and Foxes, for
killing in cool blood, and in time of
peace, the Sac's chief, Pontiac." —
Mass. Hist. Coll. Second Series, II. 8.

The above extract exhibits the
usual confusion of Indian names, the
Kaskaskias, Peorias, and Cahokias
being component tribes of the Illo-
nese or Illinois nation. Pontiac is
called a chief of the Sacs. This,
with similar mistakes, may easily have
arisen from the fact that he was ac-
customed to assume authority over
the warriors of any tribe with whom
he chanced to be in contact.

Morse says, in his Report, 1822,
"In the war kindled against these
tribes, [Peorias, Kaskaskias, and Ca-
hokias,] by the Sauks and Foxes, in
revenge for the death of their chief,
Pontiac, these 3 tribes were nearly
exterminated. Few of them now re-
main. About one hundred of the
Peorias are settled on Current River,
W. of the Mississippi ; of the Kas-
kaskias 36 only remain in Illinois."
— Morse, 363.

General Gage, in his letter to Sir
William Johnson, dated July 10,
176-, says, " The death of Pontiac,
committed by an Indian of the Illi-
nois, believed to have been excited
by the English to that action, had
drawn many of the Ottawas and other
northern nations towards their coun-
try to revenge his death."

" From Miami, Pontiac went to
Fort Chartres on he Illinois. In a

Chap. XXXI.]

DEATH OF PONTIAC.

573

Neither mound nor tablet marked the burial-place
of Pontiac. For a mausoleum, a city has risen above
the forest hero; and the race whom he hated with
such burning rancor trample with unceasing footsteps
over his forgotten grave.

few years, the English, who had pos-
session of the fort, procured an Indian
of the Peoria [Kaskaskia] nation to
kill him. The news spread like
lightning through the country. The
Indians assembled in great numbers,
attacked and destroyed all the Peo-
rias, except about thirty families,
which were received into the fort.
These soon began to increase. They
removed to the Wabash, and were
about to settle, when the Indians col-
lected in the winter, surrounded their
village, and killed the whole, except-
ing a few children, who were saved
as prisoners. Old Mr. Gouin was
there at the time. He was a trader,

and, when the attack commenced,
was ordered by the Indians to shut
his house and not suffer a Peoria to
enter." — Gouin's Account, MS.

Pontiac left several children. A
speech of his son Shegenaba. in
1776, is preserved in Force's Ameri-
can Archives, 4th Series, III. 1642.
There was another son, named Otus-
sa, whose grave is on the Maumee.
In a letter to the writer, Mr. H. R.
Schoolcraft says, "I knew Atdka, a
descendant of Pontiac. He was the
chief of an Ottawa village on the
Maumee. A few years ago, he
agreed to remove, with his people, to
the west of the Mississippi."

THE I]
PURS
ENGL

Extract
Novembe

My Lords

In obec

am now tc

of the Coi

dued the

as Lakes

them the p

peace witl

Five Nati(

they wouh

alone they

have admit

have ever s

As origii

idence, som

with all th(

River, west

a Rock at tl

River St Li

in favor of t

Lawrence, a

In right
Ohio) along
thence to tli

APPENDIX A.

THE IROQUOIS. — EXTENT OF THEIR CONQUESTS. — POLICY
PURSUED TOWARDS THEM BY THE FRENCH AND THE
ENGLISH. — MEASURES OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON.

i. T&RllITORT OF TfiE IltOqUOIS. (p. 6.)

Extract from a Letter — Sir W. Johnson to the Board of Trade,
November 13, 1763.

My Lords :

In obedience to your Lordships' commands of the 5th of August last, I
am now to lay before you the claims of the Nations mentioned in the State
of the Confederacies. The Five Nations having in the last century sub-
dued the Shawanese, Dela wares, ,Twighties, and Western Indians, so far
as Lakes Michigan and Superior, received them into an alliance, allowed
them the possession of the lands they occupied, and have ever since been in
peace with the greatest part of them ; and such was the prowe&s of the
Five Nations' Confederacy, that had they been properly supported by us,
they would have long since put a period to the Colony of Canada, which
alone they were near effecting, in the year 1688. Since that time, they
have admitted the Tuscaroras from the Southward, beyond Oneida, and they
have ever since formed a part of that Confederacy.

As original proprietors, this Confederacy claim the country of their res-
idence, south of Lake Ontario to the great Ridge of the Blue Mountains,
with all the Western Part of the Province of New York towards Hudson
River, west of the Catskill, thence to Lake Champlain, and from Regioghne,
a Rock at the East side of said Lake, to Oswegatche or La Gallette, on the
River St. Lawrence, (having long since ceded their claim north of said line
in favor of the Canada Indians, as Hunting-ground,) thence up the River St.
Lawrence, and along the South side of Lake Ontario to Niagara.

In right of conquest, they claim all the country (comprehending the
Ohio) along the great Ridge of Blue Mountains at the back of VirgimA,
thence to the head of Kentucky River, and down the same to the Ohio

676

APPENDIX A.

above the Rifts, thence Northerly to the South end of Lake Michigan, then
along the Eastern shore of said lake to Michillimackinac, thence Easterly
across the North end of Lake Huron to the great Ottawa River, (including
the Chippewa or Mississagey Country,) and down the said River to the
Island of Montreal. However, these more disiant claims being possessed
by many powerful nations, the Inhabitants have long begun to render them-
selves independent, by the assistance of the French, and the great decrease
of the Six Nations ; but their claim to the Ohio, and thence to the Lakes,
is not in the least disputed by the Shawanese, Delawares, &c., who never
transacted any sales of land or other matters without their consent, and who
sent Deputies to the grand Council at Onondaga on all important occasions.

i. French and Enqlibr Policy towards the iRoqcois.-
OF Sir W1U.1AM Johnson, (pp. 65-83.)

•Measures

Extract from a Letter — Sir W. Johnson to the Board of Trade,
May 24, 1765.

The Indians of the Six Nations, after the arrival of the English, having
conceived a desire for many articles they introduced among them, and
thereby finding them of use to their necessities, or rather superfluities, cul-
tivated an acquaintance with them, and lived in tolerable friendship with
their Province for some time, to which they were rather inclined, for they
were strangers to bribery, and at enmity with the French, who had espoused
the cause of their enemies, supplied them with arms, and openly acted
against them. This enmity increased in proportion as the desire of the
French for subduing those people, who were a bar to their first projected
schemes. However, we find the Indians, as far back as the very confused
manuscript records in my possession, repeatedly upbraiding this province
for their negligence, their avarice, and their want of assisting them at a
time when it was certainly in their power to destroy the infant colony of
Canada, although supported by many nations ; and this is likewise confessed
by the writings of the managers of these times. The French, after re-
peated losses, discovering that the Six Nations were not to be subdued, but
that they could without much diflUculty efiect their purposes (which I have
good authority to show were . . . standing) by favors and kindness, on a
sudden, changed their conduct in the reign of Queen Anne, having first
brought over many of their people to settle in Canada ; and ever since, by
the most endearing kindnesses, and by a vast profusion of favors, have
secured them to their interest ; and, whilst they aggravated our frauds and
designs, they covered those committed by themselves under a load of gifts,
which obliterated the malpractices of . . . among them, and enabled
them to establish themselves wherever they pleased, without fomenting the
Indians* jealousy. The able agents they made use of, and their unanimooa

APPENDIX A.

577

indefatigable zeal for securing the Indian interest, were so much superior to
any thing we had ever attempted, and to tlie futile transactions of the . . .
and trading Commissioners of Albany, that the latter became universally
despised by the Indians, who daily withdrew from our interest, and con-
ceived the most disadvantageous sentiments of our integrity and abilities.
In this state of Indian affairs I was called to the management of these
people, as my situation and opinion that it might become one day of service
to the public, had induced me to cultivate a particular intimacy with these
people, to accommodate myself to their manners, and even to their dress on
many occasions. How I discharged this trust will best appear from the
transactions of the war commenced in 1744, in which I was busily con-
cerned. The steps I had then taken alarmed the jealousy of the French ;
rewards were offered for me, and I narrowly escaped assassination on moi-e
than one occasion. The French increased their munificence to the Indians,
whose example not being at all followed at New York, I resigned the man-
agement of affairs on the ensuing peace, as I did not choose to continue in
the name of an office which I was not empowered to discharge as its natnre
required. The Albany Commissioners (the men concerned in the clandes-
tine trade to Canada, and frequently upbraided for it by the Indians) did
then reassume their seats at that Board, and by their conduct so exasper-
ated the Indians that several chiefs went to New York, 1753, when, after a
severe speech to the Governor, Council, and Assembly, they broke the
covenant chain of friendship, and withdrew in a rage. The consequences
of which were then so much dreaded, that I was, by Governor, Council, and
House of Assembly, the two latter then my enemies, earnestly entreated to
effect a reconciliation with the Indians, as the only person equal to that
task, as will appear by the Minute^, of Council and resolves of the House.
A commission being made out for me, I proceeded to Onondaga, and
brought about the much wished for reconciliation, but declined having any
further to say of Indian affairs, although the Indians aflerwards refused to
meet the Governor and Commissioners till I was sent for. At the arrival of
General Braddock, I received his Commission with reluctance, at the same
time assuring him that affairs had been so ill conducted, and the Indians so
estranged from our interest, that I could not take upon me to hope for suc-
cess. However, indefatigable labor, and (I hope I may say without vanity)
personal interest, enabled me to exceed my own expectations ; and my con-
duct since, if fully and truly known, would, I believe, testify that I have not
been an unprofitable servant. 'Twos then that the Indians began to give
public sign of their avaricious dispositions. The French had long taught
them it; and the desire of some persons to carry a greater number of In-
dians into the field in 1755 than those who accompanied me, induced them
to employ any agent at a high salary, who had the least interest with the
Indians ; and to grant the latter Captains' and Lieutenants' Commissions, (of
which I have a number now by me,) with sterling pay, to induce them to
desert me, but to little purpose, for tho' many of them received the Commis-
sions, accompanied with large sums of money, they did not comply with

73 WW

578

APPENDIX A.

the end proposed, but served with me ; and this had not only served thera
with severe complaints against the En{;lish, as they were not afterwards all
paid what had been promised, but haa established a spirit of pride and av>
arice, which I have found it ever since impossible to subdue ; whilst our
extensive connections since the reduction of Canada, with so many power-
ful nations so long accustomed to partake largely of French bounty, has of
course increased the expense, and rendered it in no small degree necessary
for the preservation of our frontiers, outposts, and trade. . . .

Extract from a Letter -
December 22, 1763.

-Cadwallader Golden to the Earl of Halifax,

Before I proceed further, I think it proper to inform your Lordship of
the different state of the Policy of the Five Nations in different periods of
time. Before the peace of Utrecht, the Five Nations were at war with the
French in Canada, and with all the Indian Nations who were in friendship
with the French. This put the Five Nations under a necessity of depend-
ing on this province for a supply of every thing by which they could carry
on the war or defend themselves, and their behavior towards us was
accordingly.

After the peace of Utrecht, the French changed their measures. They
took every method in their power to gain the friendship of the Five Nations,
and succeeded so far with the Senecas, who are by far the most numerous,
and at the greatest distance from us, that they were entirely brought over
to the French interest. The French obtained the consent of the Senecas
to the building of the Fort at Niagara, situated in their country.

When the French had too evidently, before the last war, got the
ascendant among all the Indian Nations, we endeavored to make the Indians
jealous of the French power, that they were thereby in danger of becoming
slaves to the French, unless thev were protected bv the English. . . .

APPENDIX B.

CAUSES OF THE INDIAN WAR.

Extract from a Letter — Sir W. Johnson to the Board of Tradeii
November 13, 1763. (Chap. VII.)

. . . The French, in order to reconcile them [the Indiana] to their
encroachments, loaded them with favors, and employed the most intelligent
Agents of good influence, as well as artful Jesuits among the several
Western and other Nations, who, by degrees, prevailed on them to admit of
Forts, under the Notion of Trading houses, in their Country ; and knowing
that these posts could never be maintained contrary to the inclinations of the
Indians, they supplied them thereat with ammunition and other necessaries
in abundance, as also called them to frequent congresses, and dismissed them
with handsome presents, by which they enjoyed an extensive commerce,
obtained the assistance of these Indians, and possessod their frontiers in
safety ; and as without these measures the Indians would never have suf-
fered them in their Country, so they expect that whatever European power
possesses the same, they shall in some measure reap the like advantages.
Now, as these advantages cesised on the Posts being possessed by the
English, and especially as it was not thought prudent to indulge them
with anununition, they immediately concluded that we had designs against
their liberties, which opinion had been first instilled into them by the French,
and since promoted by Traders of that nation and others who retired among
them on the surrender of Canada, and are still there, as well as by Belts of
Wampum and other exhortations, which I am confidently assured have been
sent among them from the Illinois, Louisiana and even Canada for that
purpose. The Shawanese and Delawares about the Ohio, who were never
warmly attached to us since our neglects to defend them against the
encroachments of the French, and refusing to erect a post at the Ohio, or
assist them and the Six Nations with men or ammunition, when they
requested both of us, as well as irritated at the loss of several of their
oeople killed upon the communication to Fort Pitt, in the years 1759 and

680

APPENDIX B.

1761, were easily induced to join with the Western Nations, and the Sen-
ecas, dissatislied at many of our posts, jealous of our designs, and displeased
at our neglect and contempt of thorn, soon followed their example.

These are the causes the Indians themselves assign, and which certainly
occasioned the rupture between us, the consequence of which, in my opinion,
will be that the Indians (who do not regard the distance) will be supplied
with necessaries by the Wabache and several Rivers, which empty into the
Mississippi, which it is by no means in our power to prevent, and in return
the French will draw the valuable furs down that river to the advantage of
their Colony and the destruction of our Trade ; this will always induce the
French to foment differences between us and the Indians, and the prospects
many of them entertain, that they may hereafter become possessed of
Canada, will incline them still more to cultivate a good understanding with
the Indians, which, if ever attempted by the French, would, I am very
apprehensive, be attended with a general defection of them from our interest,
unless we are at great pains and expense to regain their friendship, and
thereby satisfy them that we have no designs to their prejudice.

The grand matter of concern to all the Six Nations (Mohawks excepted)
IS the occupying a chain of small Posts on the commui>ination thro' their
country to Lake Ontario, not to mention Fort Stanwix, exclusive of which
there were erected in 1759 Fort Schuyler on the Mohawk River, and the
Royal Blockhouse at the East end of Oneida Lake, in the Country of the
Oneidas Fort Brewerton and a Post at Oswego Falls in the Onondagas
Country ; in order to obtain permission for erecting these posts, they were
promised they should be demolished at the end of the war. General Shir-
ley also made them a like promise for the posts he erected ; and as
about these posts are their fishing and hunting places, where they complain,
that they are often obstructed by the troops and insulted, they request that
they may not be kept up, the war with the French being now over.

In 1760, Sir Jeffrey Amherst sent a speech to the Indians in writing,
which was to be communicated to the Nations about Fort Pitt, &c., by
General Monkton, then conmianding there, signifying his intentions to
satisfy and content all Indians for the ground occupied by the posts, as also
for any land about them, which might be found necessary for the use of the
garrisons ; but the same has not been performed, neither are the Indians in
the several countries at all pleased at our occupying them, which they look
upon as the first steps to enslave them and invade their properties.

And I beg leave to represent to your Lordships, that one very material
advantage resulting from a continuance of good treatment and some favors
lo the Indians, will be the security and toleration thereby given to the
Troops for cultivating lands about the garrisons, which the reduction of
their Rations renders absolutely necessary

AWKNDIX B.

581

Poittcach: or the Savaoei or America. A Tragedy. London.
Printed for the Author ; and Sold by J. Millan, opposite the Admiralty,
Whitehall. MDCCLXVI. (pp. 146-156.)

The author of this tragedy was evidently a person well acquainted
rith Indian affairs and Indian character. Various allusions contained in it,
as well as several peculiar forms of expression, indicate that Major Rogers
had a share in its composition. The first act exhibits in detail the cansofl
which led to the Indian war. The rest of the play is of a different character.
Tlie plot is sufficiently extravagant, and has little or no historical foundation.
Chekitan, the son of Ponteach, is in love with Monelia, the daughter of
Hendrick, Emperor of the Mohawks. Monelia is murdered by Chckitan's
brother Philip, partly out of revenge and jealousy, and partly in furtherance
of a scheme of policy. Chekitan kills Philip, and then dies by his own
hand, and Ponteach, whose warriors meanwhile have been defeated by the
English, overwhelmed by this accumulation of public and private calamities,
retires to the forests of the west to escape the memory of his griefs. The
style of the drama is superior to the plot, and the writer displays ni times no
small insight into the workings of human nature.
The account of Indian wrongs and sufferings given in the first act
'.cords so nearly with that conveyed in contemporary letters and documents,
viiat two scenes from this part of the play axe here given, with a few omis*
sions. which good taste demands.

ACT L
Scene I. — Air Indian Trading House.

Enter M'Dole and Mcrfhet, Tioo Indian Tradertf and their ServanU.

M^Dole. So, Murphey, you are come to try your Fortune
Among the Savages in this wild Desart ?

Murphey. Ay, any thing to get an honest Living,
Which, faith, I find it hard enough to do ;
Times are so dull, and Traders are so plenty.
That Gains are small, and Profits come but slow.

M*Dole. Are you experienced in this kind of Trade ?
Know you the Principles by which it prospers,
And how to make it lucrative and safe ?
If not, you're like a Ship without a Rudder,
That drives at random, and must surely sink.

Murphey. I'm unacquainted with yotu: Indian Commerce
And gladly would T learn the arts from you,
Who're old, and practis'd in them many Years.

WW*

582

APPENDIX B.

M*Dole.- That is the curst Mistbrtune of our Traders ;
A thousand Fools attempt to live this Way,
Who might as well turn Ministers of State.
But, as you are a Friend, I will inform you -./ ■
Of all the secret Arts by which we thrive,
Which if all practis'd, we might all grow rich.
Nor circumvent each other in our Gains.
What have you got to part with to the Indians ?

Murphey. I've Rum and Blankets, Wampum, Powder, Bells,
And such like Trifles as they're wont to prize.

M^Dole. 'Tis very well : your Articles are good :
But now the Thing's to make a Profit from them.
Worth all your Toil and Pains of coming hither.
Our fundamental Maxim then is this.
That it's no Crime to cheat and gull an Indian.

Murphey. How ! Not a Sin to cheat an Indian, say you ?
Are they not Men ? hav'nt they a Right to Justice
As well as we, though savage in their Manners ?

M^Dole. Ah ! If you boggle here, I say no more ;
This is the very Quintessence of Trade,
And ev'ry Hope of Gain depends upon it ;
None who neglect it ever did grow rich.
Or ever will, or can by Indian Commerce.
By this old Ogden built his stately House,
Purchased fistates, and grew a little King.
He, like an honest Man, bought all by weight,
And made the ign'rant Savages believe
That his Right Foot exactly weighed a Pound.
By this for many years he bought their Furs,
And died in Quiet like an honest Dealer.

Murphey. Wtll, I'll not stick at what is necessary ;
But his Devise is now grown old and stale.
Nor could I manage such a barefac'd Fraud.

M^Dole. A thousand Opportunities present
To take Advantage of ther Ignorance ;
But the great Engine I er / is Rum,
More pow'rful made by • ^in strength'ning Drugs.
This I distribute with a lib'ral Hand,
Urge them to drink till they grow mad and valiant ;
Which makes them think me generous and just,
And gives full Scope to practise all my Art
I then begin my Trade with water'd Rum ;
The cooling Draught well suits their scorching Throats.
Their Fur and Peltry come in quick Return :
My Scales are honest, but so well contriv'd, " "

That one small Slip will turn Three Pounds to One ;

APPENDIX B.

583

Which they, poor silly Souls ! ignorant of Weights ' ' , '

And Rules of Balancing, do not perceive. • •"

But here they come ; you'll see how I proceed. *' '^

Jack, is the Rum prepar'd as I commanded ? ' ■ '

Jack. Yes, Sir, all's ready when you please to call.

M^Dole. Bring here the Scales and Weights immediately ;
You see the Trick is easy and conceal'd. [Showing how to slip the Scale.

Murphey. By Jupiter, it's artfully contriv'd ;
And was I King, I swear I'd knight th' Inventor.
Tom, mind the Part that you will have to act

Tom. Ah, never fear ; I'll do as well as Jack.
But then, you know, an honest Servant's Pain deserves Reward.

Murphey. O ! I'll take care of that

[Enier a Number of Indians with Packs ofFva,

Xst Indian. So, what you trade with Indians here to-day ?

M^Dole. Yes, if my Goods will suit, and we agree.

2d Indian. Tis Rum we want ; we're tired, hot, and thirsty.

3d Indian. You, Mr. Englishman, have you got Rum ?

M^Dole. Jack, bring a Bottle, pour them each a Gill.

You know which Cask contains the Rum. The Rum ?

\st Indian. It's good strong Rum ; I feel it very soon.

M^Dole. Give me a Glass. Here's Honesty in Trade ; ♦
We English always drink before we deal.

2d Indian. Good way enough ; it makes one sharp and cunning.

M^Dole. Hand round another Gill. You're very welcome.

3d Indian. So?ne say you Englishmen are sometimes Rogues ;
You make poor Indians drunk, and then you cheat

Ist Indian. No, English good. The Frenchmen give no Rum.

2d Indian. I think it's best to trade with Englishmen.

M^Dole. What is your Price for Beaver Skins per Pound ?

\8t Indian. How much you ask per Quart for this strong Rum ?

M^Dole, Five Pounds of Beaver for One Quart of Rum.

1st Indian. Five Pounds ? Too much. Which is't you call Five Pound ?

M^Dole. This little Weight I cannot give you more.

1st Indian. Well, take 'em ; weigh 'em. Don't you cheat us now.

M^Dole. No ; He that cheats an Indian should be hanged.

[fVeighing the Packs.
There's Thirty Pounds precisely of the Whole ;
Five times Six is Thirty. Six Quarts of Rum.
Jack, measure it to them ; you know the Cask. *"

This Rum is sold. You draw it off the best

[Exeunt Indians to receive their RunL

Murphey. By Jove, you've gained more in a single Hour
Than ever I have done in Half a Year :

584

APPENDIX B.

Curse on my Honesty ! I might have been
A little IGng, and lived without Concern,
Had I but known the proper Arts to thrive.

M^Dole. Ay, there's the Way, my honest Friend, to live.

[Clapping his ahoulder.
There's Ninety Weight of Sterling Beaver for you,
Wortli all the Rum and Trinkets in my Store ;
And, would my Conscience let me do the Thing,
I might enhance my Price, and lessen theirs.
And raise my Profits to a higher Pitch.

Murphy. I can't but thank you for your kind Instructions,
As from them I expect to reap Advantage.
But should the Dogs detect me in the Fraud,
They are malicious, and would have Revenge.

M^Dole. Can't you avoid them ? Let their Vengeance light
On others Heads, no matter whose, if you
Are but Secure, and have the Gain in Hand ;
For they're indiff 'rent where they take Revenge,
Whether on him that cheated, or his Friend,
Or on a Stranger whom they never saw,
Perhaps an honest Peasant, who ne'er dreamt
Of Fraud or Villainy in all his Life ;
Such let them murder, if they will, a Score,
The Guilt is theirs, while we secure the Gain,
Nor shall we feel the bleeding Victim's Pain. [ExtunL

Scene II. — A Desart.

Enter Orsbourn and Honnthan, Two English Huntets.

Orshoum. Long have we toil'd, and rang'd the woods in vain;
No Game, nor Track, nor Sign of any Kind
Is to be seen ; I swear I am discourag'd
And weary'd out with this long fruitless Hunt.
No Life on Earth besides is half so hard,
So full of Disappointments, as a Hunter's :
Each Morn he wakes he views the destin'd Prey,
And counts the Profits of th' ensuing Day ;
Each Ev'ning at his curs'd ill Fortune pines,
And till next Day his Hope of Gain resigns.
By Jove, I'll from these Desarts hasten home,
And swear that never more I'll touch a Gun.

APPENDIX B.

585

Honnyman. These hateful Indians kidnap all the Game.
Curse their black Heads ! they fright the Deer and Bear,
And ev'ry Animal that haunts the Wood,
Or by their Witchcraft conjure them away.
No Englishman can get a single Shot,
While they go loaded home with Skins and Furs.
'Twere to be wish'd not one of them survived,
Thus to infest the World, and plague Mankind.
Curs'd Heathen Infidels ! mere savage Beasts !
They don't deserve to breathe in Christian Air,
And should be hunted down like other Brutes.

Orsboum. I only wish the Laws permitted us
To hunt the savage Herd where-e'er they're found ;
I'd never leave the Trade of Hunting then,
While one remain'd to tread and range the Wood.

Honnyman. Curse on the Law, I say, that makes it Death
To kill an Indian, more than to kill a Snake.
What if 'tis Peace ? these Dogs deserve no Mercy ;
They kill'd my Father and my eldest Brother,
Since which I hate their very Looks and Name.

Orsboum. And I, since they betray'd and kill'd my Uncle ;
Tho' these are not the same, 'twould ease my Heart
To cleave their painted Heads, and spill their Blood.
I abhor, detest, and hate them all.
And now cou'd eat an Indian's Heart with Pleasure.

Honnyman. I'd join you, and soop his savage Brains for Sauce ;
I lose all Patience when I think of them,
And, if you will, we'll quickly have amends
For our long Travel and successless Hunt,
And the sweet Pleasure of Revenge to boot.

Orsboum. What will you do ? Present, and pop one down ?

Honnyman. Yes, faith, the first we meet well fraught with Furs ;
Or if there's Two, and wft can make sure Work,
By Jove, we'll ease the Rascals of their Packs,
And send them empty home to their own Country.
But then observe, that what we do is secret.
Or the Hangman will come in for Snacks.

Orsboum. Trust me for that ; I'll join with all my Heart ;
Nor with a nicer Aim, or steadier Hand
Would shoot a Tyger than I would an Indian.
There is a Couple stalking now this way
With lusty Packs ; Heav'n favour our Design.
Are you well charged ?

Honnyman. I am. Take you the nearest,
\nd mind to fire exactly when I do.

586

APPENDIX B.

Orahoum. A charming Chance !

Homiyman. Hush, let them still come nearer.

[They shoot, and run to rifle the Indians.
They're down, old Boy, a Brace of noble Bucks !

Orsboum. Well tallow'd, faith, and noble Hides upon 'em.

[Taking up a Pack.
We might have hunted all the Season thro'
For Half this Game, and thought ourselves well paid.

Honnyman. By Jove, we might, and been at great Expence
For Lead and Powder ; here's a single Shot.

Orsboum. I swear I've got as much as I can carry.

Honnyman. And faith, I'm not behind ; this Pack is heavy.
But stop ; we must conceal the tawny Dogs,
Or their bloodthirsty Countrymen will find them.
And then we're bit. There'll be the Devil to pay ; ^ ;,

They'll murder us, and cheat the Hangman too.

Orsboum. Right. We'll prevent all Mischief of this Kind.
Where shall we hide their savage Carcases ?

Honnyman. There they will lie conceal'd and snug enough.

[They cover them.
But stay — perhaps ere long there'll be a War,
And then their Scalps will sell for ready Cash,
Two Hundred Crowns at least, and that's worth saving.

Orsboum. Well ! that is true ; no sooner said than done —

[Drawing his Knife,
I'll strip this Fellow's painted greasy Skull. [Strips off the Scalp.

Honnyman. Now let them sleep to Night without their Caps,

[Takes the other Scalp.
And pleasant Dreams attend their long Repose.

Orsboum. Their Guns and Hatchets now are lawful Prize,
For they'll not need them on their present Journey.

Honnyman. The Devil hates Arms, and dreads the Smell of Powder ;
He'll not allow such Instruments about him ;
They're free from training now, they're in his Clutches.

Orsboum. But, Honnyman, d'ye think this is not Murder ?
I vow I'm shocked a little to see them scalp'd,
And fear their Ghosts will haunt us in the Dark.

Honnyman. It's no more Murder than to crack a Louse,
That is, if you've the Wit to keep it private.

And as to Haunting, Indians have no Ghosts, -^

But as they live like Beasts, like Beasts they die.
I've killed a Dozen in this selfsame Way,
And never yet was troubled with their Spirits.

Orsboum. Then I'm content ; my Scruples are removed.
And what I've done, ray Conscience justifies.

APPENDIX B.

587

But we must have these Guns and Hatchets altered,
Or they'll detect th' Affair, and hang us both.

Honnyman. That's quickly done — Let us with Speed return,
And think no more of being hang'd or haunted ;
But turn our Fur to Gold, our Gold to V/ine,
Thus gaily spend what we've so slily won,
And bless the first Inventor of a Guii. [Exeunt.

The remaining scenes of this act exhibit the rudeness and insolence of
British officers and soldiers in their dealings with the Indians, and the
corruption of British government agents. Pontiac himself is introduced
and represented as indignantly complaining of the reception which he and
his warriors meet with. These scenes are overcharged with blasphemy
and ribaldry, and it is needless to preserve them here. The rest of the play
is written in better taste, and contains several passages of force and
eloquence.

APPENDIX C.

DETROIT AND MICHILLIMACKINAC.

1. The Sieoe of Detroit. (Chap. IX.-XV.)

The authorities consulted respecting the siege of Detroit consist of
numerous manuscript letters of officers in the fort, including the official
correspondence of the commanding officer ; of several journals and frag-
ments of journals; of extracts from contemporary newspapers; and of
traditions and recollections received from Indians or aged Canadians of
Detroit

The Pontiac Manuscript.

This curious diary was preserved in a Canadian family at Detroit, and
afterwards deposited with the Historical Society of Michigan. It is con-
jectured to have been the work of a French priest. The original is written
m bad French, and several important parts are defaced or torn away. As
a literary composition, it is quite worthless, being very diffuse and encum-
bered with dull and trivial details ; yet this very minuteness affords strong
internal evidence of its authenticity. Its general exactness with respect to
facts is fully proved by comparing it with contemporary documents. I am
indebted to General Cass for the copy in my possession, as well as foi' other
papers respecting the war in the neighborhood of Detroit.

The manuscript appears to have been elaborately written out from a
rough journal kept during the progress of the events which it describes. It
commences somewhat ambitiously, as follows : —

" Pondiac, great chief of all the Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pottawattamies,
and of all the nations of the lakes and rivers of the North, a man proud,
vmdictive, warlike, and easily offended, under pretence of some insult which
he thought he had received from Maj. Gladwin, Commander of the Fort,
conceived that, being great chief of all the Northern nations, only himself

APPENDIX C.

589

and those of his nations were entitled to inhabit this portion of the earth,
where for sixty and odd years the French had domicihated for the purpose
of trading, and where the English had governed during three years by right
of the conquest of Canada. The Chief and all his nation, whose bravery
consists in treachery, resolved within himself the entire destruction of the
English nation, and perhaps the Canadians. In order to succeed in his un-
dertaking, which he had not mentioned to any of his nation the Ottawas, he
engaged their aid by a speech, and they, naturally inclined to evil, did not
hesitate to obey him. But, as they found themselves too weak to undertake
the enterprise alone, their chief endeavored to draw to his party the Chip-
pewa nation by means of a council. This nation was governed by a chief
named Ninevois. This man, who acknowledged Pondiac as his chief, whose
mind was weak, and whose disposition cruel, listened to his advances, and
joined him with all his band. These two nations consisted together of
about four hundred men. This number did not appear to him sufficient. It
became necessary to bring into their interests the Hurons. This nation,
divided into two bands, was governed by two different chiefs of dissimilar
character, and nevertheless botli led by their spiritual father, a Jesuit. The
two chiefs of this last nation were named, one Takee, of a temper similar to
Pondiac's, and the other Teata, a man of cautious disposition and of perfect
prudence. This last was not easily won, and having no disposition to do
evil, he refused to listen to the deputies sent by Pondiac, and sent them back.
They therefore addressed themselves to the first mentioned of this nation,
by whom they were listened to, and from whom they received the war-belt,
with promise to join themselves to Pondiac and Ninevois, the Ottawas and
Chippewas chiefs. It was settled by means of wampum-belts, (a manner
of making themselves understood amongst distant savages,) that they should
hold a council on the 27th of April, when should be decided the day and
hour of the attack, and the precautions necessary to take in order that their
perfidy should not be discovered. The manner of counting used by the
Indians is by the moon ; and it was resolved, in the way I have mentioned,
that this council should be held on the 15th day of the moon, which cor-
responded with Wednesday the 27th of the month of April."

The writer next describes the council at the River Ecorces, and recounts
at full length the story of the Delaware Indian who visited the Great
Spirit. *' The Chiefs," he says, " listened to Pondiac as to an oracle, and
told him they were ready to do any thing he should require."

He relates with great minuteness how Pontiac, with his chosen warriors,
came to the fort on the 1st of May, to dance the calumet dance, and observe
the strength and disposition of the garrison, and describes the council sub-
sequently held at the Pottawattamie village, in order to adjust the plan of
attack.

" The day fixed upon having arrived, all the Ottawas, Pondiac at their
head, and the bad band of the Hurons, Takee at their head, met at the
Pottawattamie village, where the premeditated council was to be held.
Care was taken to send all the women out of the village, that they might not

690

APPENDIX C.

diflcover what was decided upon. Pondiac then ordered sentinels to be
placed around the village, to prevent any interruption to their council. These
precautions taken, each seated himself in the circle, according to his rank,
and Pondiac, as great chief of the league, thus addressed them : —

" It is important, my brothers, that we should exterminate from our land
this nation, whose only object is our death. You must be all sensible, as well
as myself, that we can no longer supply our wants in the way we were
accustomed to do with our Fathers the French. They sell us their goods
at double the price that the French made us pay, and yet their merchandise
is good for nothing ; for no sooner have we bought a blanket or other thing
to cover us than it is necessary to procure others against the time of depart-
ing for our wintering ground. Neither will they let us have them on credit,
as our brothers the French used to do. When I visit the English chief, and
inform him of the death of any of our comrades, instead of lamenting, as our
brothers the French used to do, they make game of us. If I ask him for
any thing for our sick, he refuses, and tells us he does not want us, from
which it is apparent he seeks our death. We must therefore, in return,
destroy them without delay; there is nothing to prevent us: there are
but few of them, and we shall easily overcome them, — why should we not
attack them ? Are we not men ? Have I not shown you the belts I
received from our Great Father the King of France ? He tells us to
strike, — why should we not listen to his words ? What do you fear ? The
time has arrived. Do you fear that our brothers the French, who are now
among us, will hinder us ? They are not accjuainted with our designs, and
if they did know them, could they prevent them ? You know, as well as
myself, that when the English came upon our lands, to drive from them our
father Bellestre, they took from the French all the guns that they have, so
that they have now no guns to defend themselves with. Therefore now is
the time : let us strike. Should there be any French to take their part, let
us strike them as we do the English. Remember what the Giver of Life
desired our brother the Delaware to do : this regards us as much as it does
them. I have sent belts and speeches to our friends the Chippeways of
Saginaw, and our brothers the Ottawas of Michillimacinac, and to those of
the Riviere k la Tranche, (Thames River,) inviting them to join us, and they
will not delay. In the mean time, let us strike. There is no longer any
time to lose, and when the English shall be defeated, we will stop the way,
so that no more shall return upon our lands.

♦' This discourse, which Pondiac delivered in a tone of much energy, had
upon the whole council all the effect which he could have expected, and
they all, with common accord, swore the entire destruction of the English
nation.

" At the breaking up of the council, it was decided that Pondiac, with sixty
chosen men, should go to the Fort to ask for a grand council from the Eng-
lish commander, and that they should have arms concealed under their
blankets. That the remainder of the village should follow them armed with
tomahawks, dagger^; and knives, concealed under their blankets, and should

APPENDIX C.

591

enter the Fort, and walk about in such a manner as not to excite Buspicion,
whilst the others held council with the Commander. The Ottawa women
were also to be furnished with short guns and other offensive weapons
concealed under their blankets. They were to go into the back streets in
tlie Fori. They were then to wait for the signal agreed upon, which was
the cry of death, which the Grand Chief was to give, on which they should
altogether strike upon the English, taking care not to hurt any of the French
inhabiting the Fort"

The author of the diary, unlike other contemporary writers, states that
the plot was disclosed to Gladwyn by a man of the Ottawa tribe, and not
by an Ojibwa girl. He says, however, that on the day after the failure of
the design, Pontiac sent to the Pottawattamie village in order to seize an
Ojibwa girl whom he suf pected of having betrayed him.

" Pondiac ordered four Indians to take her and bring her before him ;
these men, naturally inclined to disorder, were not long in obeying their
chief; they crossed the river immediately in front of their village, and passed
into the Fort naked, having nothing but their breech-clouts on and their
knives in their hands, and crying all the way that their plan had been de-
feated, which induced the French people of the Fort, who knew nothing of
the designs of the Indians, to suspect that some bad design was going
forward, either against themselves or the English. They arrived at the
Pottawattamie village, and in fact found the woman, who was far from
thinking of them ; nevertheless they seized her, and obliged her to march
before them, uttering cries of joy in the manner they do when they hold a
victim in their clutches on whom they are going to exercise their cruelty :
they made her enter the Fort, and took her before the Commandant, as if
to confront her with him, and asked him if it was not from her he had learnt
their design ; but they were no better satisfied than if they had kept them-
selves quiet. They obtained from that Officer bread and beer for them-
selves, and for her. They then led her to their chief in the village."

The diary leaves us in the dark as to the treatment which the girl
received ; but there is a tradition among the Canadians that Pontiac, with
his own hand, gave her a severe beating with a species of racket, such as the
Indians use in their ball-play. An old Indian told Henry Conner, formerly
United States interpreter at Detroit, that she survived her punishment, and
lived for many years ; but at length, contracting intemperate habits, she fell,
when intoxicated, into a kettle of boiling maple sap, and was so severely
scalded that she died in consequence.

The outbreak of hostilities, the attack on the fort, and the detention of
Campbell and McDougal are related at great length, and with all the minute-
ness of an eye-witness. The substance of the narrative is incorporated in
the body of the work. The diary is very long, detailing the incidents of
every passing day, from the 7th of May to the 31st of July. Here it breaks
off abruptly in the middle of a sentence, the remaining part having been
lost or torn away. The following extracts, taken at random, will serve to
indicate the general style and character of the journal : —

692

APPENDIX C.

" Saturday, June 4th. About 4 P. M. cries of death were heard from the
Indians. The cause was not known, but it was supposed they had obtained
some prize on the Lake.

*' Sunday, June 5th. The Indians fired a few shots upon the Fort to-day.
About 2 P. M. cries of death were again heard on the opposite side of the
River. A number of Indians were descried, part on foot and part mounted.
Others were taking up two trading boats, which they had taken on the lake
The vessel fired several shots at them, hoping they would abandon their
prey, but they reached Pondiac's camp uninjured." . . .

** About 7 P. M. news came that a number of Indians had gone down as
far as Turkey Island, opposite the small vessel which was anchored there,
but that, on seeing them, she had dropped down into the open Lake, to wait
for a fair wind to come up the river.

' ** Monday, June 20th. The Indians fired some shots upon the fort. About
4 P. M. news was brought that Presquisle and Beef River Forts, which had
been established by the French, and were now occupied by the English, had
been destroyed by the Indians." . . .

" Wednesday, June 22d. The Indians, whose whole attention was directed
to the vessel, did not trouble the Fort. In the course of the day, the news
of the taking of Presquisle was confirmed, as a great number of the Indians
were seen coming along the shore with prisoners. The Commandant was
among the number, and with him one woman : both were presented to the
Hurons. In the afternoon, the Commandant received news of the lading of
the vessel, and the number of men on board. The Indians again visited
the French for provisions.

" Thursday, June 23d. Very early in the morning, a great number of
Indians were seen passing behind the Fort : they joined those below, and
&11 repaired to Turkey Island. The river at this place is very narrow.
'J'he Indians commenced making intrenchments of trees, &c., on the beach,
where the vessel was to pass, whose arrival they awaited. About 10
of the preceding night, the wind coming aft, the vessel weighed anchor,
and came up the river. When opposite the Island the wind fell, and they
were obliged to throw the anchor ; as they knew they could not reach the
Fort without being attacked by the Indians, they kept a strict watch. In
order to deceive the Indians, the captain had hid in the hold sixty of his
men, suspecting that the Indians, seeing only about a dozen men on deck,
would try to take the vessel, which occurred as he expected. About 9 at
night they got in their canoes, and made for the vessel, intending to board
her. They were seen far off^ by one of the sentinels. The captain imme-
diately ordered up all his men in the greatest silence, and placed them
along the sides of the vessel, with their guns in their hands, loaded, with
orders to wait the signal for firing, which was the rap of a hammer on the
mast. The Indians were allowed to approach within less than gunshot,
when the signal was given, and a discharge of camion and small arms made
upon them. They retreated to their intrenchment with the loss of fourteen
killed and fourteen wounded ; from which they fired during the night, and

APPENDIX C.

593

wounded two men. In the morning, the vessel dropped down to the Lake
for a more favourable wind.

" Friday, June 24th. The Indians were occupied with the vessel. Two
Indians back of the Fort were pursued by twenty men, and escaped.
' " Saturday, June 2.5th. Nothing occurred this day.

" Sunday, June 26th. Notliing of consequence.

" Monday, June 27th. Mr. Gamelin, who was in the practice of visiting
Messrs. Campbell and McDougall, brought a letter to the Commandant
from Mr. Campbell, dictated by Pondiac, in which he requested the Com-
mandant to surrender the Fort, as in a few days he expected Kce-no-cha-
meck, great chief of the Chippewas, with eight hundred men of his nation ;
that ho (Pondiac) would not then be able to command them, and as soon
as they arrived, they would scalp all the English in the Fort The
Commandant only answered that he cared as little for him as he did for
them." . . .

"This evening, the Commandant was informed that the Ottawas and
Chippewas had undertaken another raft, which might be more worthy of
attention than the former ones : it was reported to be of pine boards, and
intended to be long enough to go across the river. By setting fire to every
part of it, it could not help, by its length, coming in contact with the vessel,
which by this means they expected would certainly take fire. Some firing
took place between the vessel and Indians, but without effect.

" Tuesday, July 19th. The Indians attempted to fire on the Fort, but
being discovered, they were soon made to retreat by a few shot.

" Wednesday, July 20th. Confirmation came to the Fort of the report of
tJie 18th, and that the Indians had been four days at work at their raft, and
that it would take eight more to finish it. The Commandant ordered that
two boats should be lined or claphoarded with oak plank, two inches thick,
and the same defence to be raised above the gunnels of the boats of two
feet high. A swivel was put on each of them, and placed in such a way
that they could be pointed in three different directions.

" Thursday, July 21st. The Indians were too busily occupied to pay any
attention to the Fort ; so earnest were they in the work of the raft that they
hardly allowed themselves time to eat. The Commandant farther availed
himself of the time allowed him before the premeditated attack to put every
thing in proper order to repulse it. He ordered that two strong graplins
should be provided for each of the barges, a strong iron chain of fifteen
feet was to be attached to the boat, and conducting a strong cable under
water, fastened to the graplins, and the boats were intended to be so dis-
posed as to cover the vessel by mooring them by the help of the above
preparations, above her. The inhabitants of the S. W. ridge, or hill, again
got a false alarm. It was said the Indians intended attacking them during
the night : they kept on their guard till morning.

" Friday, July 22d. An Abenakee Indian arrived this day, saying that he
came direct from Montreal, and gave out that a large fleet of French was on
its way to Canada, full of troops, to dispossess the English of the country.

75 XX*

594

AITENDIX C.

However fallacious such a story might appear, it had the effect of rousing
Pondiac from his inaction, and the Indians set about their rail with more
energy than ever. They had left off working at it since yesterday." . . .
It is needless to continue these extracts farther. Those already given
will convoy a sufficient idea of the character of the diary.

REMINISCENCES OF AGED CANADIANS.

About the year 1824, General Cass, with the design of writing a narrative
of the siege of Detroit by Pontiac, caused inquiry to be made among the
aged Canadian inhabitants, many of whom could distinctly remember the
events of 1703. The accounts received from them were committed to
paper, and were placed by General Cass, with great liberality, in the writer's
hands. They afford an interesting mass of evidence, as worthy of confi-
dence as evidence of the kind can be. With but one exception, — the
account of Maxwell, — they do not clash with the testimony of contemporary
documents. Much caution has, however, been observed in their use ; and
no essential statement has been made on their unsupported authority. The
most prominent of these accounts are those of Peltier, St. Aubin, Gouin,
Meloche, Parent, and Maxwell.

Peltier's Account.

M. Peltier was seventeen years old at the time of Pontiac's war. His
narrative, though one of the longest of the collection, is imperfect, since,
during a great part of the siege, he was absent from Detroit in search of
runaway horses, belonging to his father. His recollection of the earlier
part of the affair is, however, clear and minute. He relates, with apparent
credulity, the story of the hand of the murdered Fisher protruding from the
earth, as if in supplication for the neglected rites of burial. He remembers
that, soon after the failure of Pontiac's attempt to surprise the garrison, he
punished by a severe flogging a woman named Catharine, accused of having
betrayed the plot. He was at Detroit during the several attacks on tl.
armed vessels, and the attempts to set them on fire by means of blazing raib-

St. Aitbin's Accovkt.

St. Aubin was fifteen years old at the time of the siege. It was his
mother who crossed over to Pontiac's village shortly before the attempt on
the garrison, and discovered the Indians in the act of sawing off the muzzles
of tlieir guns, as related in the narrative. He remembers Pontiac at hia

APPENDIX C.

595

head-quartora, at the house of Meloche, where his commissaries served out
provision to the Indians. He himself was among those who conveyed
cattle across the river to the English at a time when they were threatened
with starvation. One of his most vivid recollections is that of seeing the
head of Captain DalzoU stuck on the picket of a garden fence, on the day
aflor the battle of Bloody Bridge. His narrative is one of the most copjous
and authentic of the series.

Gouin's Acconirr.

M. Gouin was but eleven years old at the time of the war. His father
was a prominent trader, and had great influence over the Indians. On sev-
eral occasions, he acted as mediator between them and the English, and
when Major Campbell was bent o^ visiting the camp of Pontiac, the elder
Gouia strenuously endeavored to prevent the attempt. Pontiac oflen came
to him for advice. His son bears emphatic testimony to the extraordinary
control which the chief exercised over his followers, and to the address
which he displayed in the management of his commissary department
This account contains many particulars not elsewhere mentioned, though
bearing all the appearance of trutli. It appears to have been composed
partly from the recollections of the younger Gouin, and partly from informa-
tion derived from his father.

Meloche's Account.

Mrs. Meloche lived, when a child, on the borders of the Detroit, between
the river and the camp of Pontiac. On one occasion, when the English
were cannonading the camp from their armed schooner in the river, a shot
struck her father's house, throwing down a part of the walls. After tl»e
death of Major Campbell, she picked up a pocket-book belonging to him,
which the Indians had left on the ground. It was full of papers, and she
carried it to the English io the fort

Parent's Account.

M. P: nt was twenty-two years old when the war broke out His recol-
lections ot' the siege are, however, less exact than those of some of the
ibrmer witnesses, though his narrative preserves several interesting in-
cidents.

Maxwell's Account.

Maxwell was an English provincial, and pretended to have been a soldier
under Gladwyn. His story belies the statement It has all the air of a
narrative made up fr u hearsay, and largely embellished from imagination.
It has been made use of only in a few instances, where it is amply

596

APPENDIX C.

Bupported by less questionable evidence. This account seems ti) have
been committed to paper by Maxwell himself, as the style is very rude
and illiterate.

The remaining manuscripts consulted with reference to the siege of
Detroit have been obtained from the State Paper Office of London, and
from a few private autograph collections. Some additional information has
been derived from the columns of the New York Mercury and the Pennsyl-
vpxiia Gazette for 1763, where variou/i letters written by officers at Detroit
ar«5 published.

2. The Massacre op Michillimackinac. (Chap. XVII.)

The following letter may be regarded with interest, as having been
written by the commander of the unfortunate garrison a few days after the
massacre. A copy of the original was procured from the State Paper
Office of London.

Sir:

Michillimackinac, 12 June, 1763

Notwithstanding what I wrote you in my last, that all the savages were
arrived, and that every thing seemed in perfect tranquility, yet, on the 2nd
instant, the Chippeways, who live in a plain near this fort, assembled to play
ball, as they had done almost every day since their arrival. They played
from morning till noon ; then throwing their ball close to the gate, and ob-
serving Lieut. Lesley and me a few paces out of it, they came behind us,
seized and carried us into the woods.

In the mean time the rost rushed into the Fort, where they found their
squaws, whom they had previously planted there, with their hatchets hid
under their blankets, which V>3y took, and in an instant killed Lieut. Jamet
and fifteen rank and file, and a trader named Tracy. They wounded two,
and took the rest of the Garrison prisoners, five [seven, Henry] of whom
tliey have since killed.

Tliey made prisoners all the English Traders, and robbed them of every
thing they had ; but they offered no violence to the persons or property of
any of the Frenchmen.

When that massacre was over, Messrs. Langlade and Farli, the Inter-
preter, came down to the place where Lieut. Lesley v d me were prisoners,
and on their giving themselves as security to return us when demanded,
they obtained leave for us to go to the Fort, under a guard of savages, which
gave time, by the assistance of the gentlemen above mentioned, to send for
the Cutaways, who came down on the first notice, and were very much dis-
pleased at what the Chippeways had done.

Since the arrival of the Outaways they have done every thing in their
power to serve us, and with what prisoners the Chippeways had given them,

APPENDIX C.

597

and what they have bought, I have now with me Lieut. Lesley and eleven
privates, and the other four of the Garrison, who are yet living, remain in
the hands of the Chippeways.

The Chippeways, who are superior in number to the Cutaways, have de-
clared in Council to them that if they do not remove us out of the Fort,
they will cut off all communication to this Post, by which means all the
Con/oys of Merchants from Montreal, La Baye, St Joseph, and tlie upper
posts, would perish. But if the news of your posts being attacked (which
they say was the reason why they took up the hatchet) be false, and you
can send up a strong reinfoi cement, with provisions, &c., accompanied by
some of ^onr savages, 1 believe the post might be reestablished again.

Since this affair happened, two canoes arrived from Montreal, which put
in my power to make a present to the Ottaway nation, who very well deserve
any thing that can be done for them.

T have been very much obliged to Messrs. Langlade and Farli, the Inter-
preter, as likewise to the Jesuit, for the many good offices they have done us
on this occasion. The Priest seems inclinable to go down to your post for
a day or two, which I am very glad of, as he is a very good man, and had a
great deal to say with the savages, hereabout, who will believe every thing
he tells them on his return, which I hope will be soon. The Cutaways say
they will take Lieut Lesley, me, and the Eleven men which I mentioned
before were in their hands, up to their village, and there keep us, till they
hear what is doing at your Post. They have sent this canot for that purpose.

I refer you to the Priest for the particulars of this melancholy affair, and
am. Dear Sir,

Yours very sincerely,

[Signed] Geo. Etherinoton.

To Major Gladwtn.

P. S. The Indians that are to carry the Priest to Detroit will not under-
take to land him at the Fort, but at some of the Indian villages near it ; so
you must not take it aihiss that he does not pay you the first visit And
once more I beg that nothing may stop your sending of him back, the next
day afler his arrival, if possible, as we shall be at a great loss for the want
of him, and I make no doubt that you will do all in your power to make
peace, as you see the situation we are in, and send up provision as soon as
possible, and Ammunition, as what we had was pillaged by the savages.

Adieu.

Geo. ETHERiNOTorr

APPENDIX D.

THE WAR ON THE BORDERS.

The Battle of Busht Run. (Chap. XX.)

The despatches written by Colonel Bouquet, immediately after the
two battles near Bushy Run, contain so full and clear an account of
those engagements, that the collateral authorities consulted have served
rather to decorate and enliven the narrative than to add *o it any important
facts. The first of these letters was written by Bouquet under the appre-
hension that he should not survive the expected conflict of the next day.
Both were forwarded to the commander-in-chief by the same express, within
a few days after the victory. The letters as here given were copied from
the originals in the London offices.

Camp at Edge Hill, 26 Miles from )
Fort Pitt, 5th August, 1763, S
Sir:

The Second Instant the Troops and Convoy Arrived at Ligonier, whence
I could obtain no Intelligence of the Enemy ; The Expresses Sent since
the beginning of July, having been Either killed, or Obliged to Return,
all the Passes being Occupied by the Enemy : In this uncertainty I Deter
mined to Leave all the Waggons with the Powder, and a Quantity of
Stores and Provisions, at Ligonier ; An.-', on the 4th proceeded with the
Troops, and about 350 Horses Loaded with Flour.

I Intended to have Halted to Day at Bushy Run, (a Mile beyond thiK
Camp,) and after having Refreshed the Men and Horses, to have Marched
in the Night over Turtle Creek, a very Dangerous Defile of Several Miles,
Commanded by High and Craggy Hills : But at one o'clock this Afternoon,
after a march of 17 Miles, the Savages suddenly Attacked our Advanced
Guard, which was immediately Supported by the two Light Infantry Com-
panies of the 42d Regiment, Who Drove the Enemy from their Ambuscade,
and pursued them a good Way. The Savages Returned to the Attack, and

APPENDIX D.

599

the Fire being Obstinate on our Front, and Extending along our Flanks,
We made a General Charge, with the whole Line, to Dislodge the Savages
from the Heights, in which attempt We succeeded without Obtaining by it
any Decisive Advantage ; for as soon as they were driven from One Post,
they Appeared on Another, 'till, by continual Reinforcements, they were at
last able to Surround Us, and attacked the Convoy Left in our Rear ; This
Obliged us to March Back to protect it ; The Action then became General,
and though we were attacked on Every Side, and the S; -ages Exerted
themselves with Uncommon Resolution, they were constantly Repulsed
witii Loss. — We also Suffered Considerably : Capt. Lieut. Graham, and
Lieut. James Mcintosh of the 42d, are Killed, and Capt. Graham Wounded.

Of the Royal Amer'n Regt., Lieut. Dow, who acted as A. D. Q. M. G. is
shot through the Body.

Of the 77th, Lieut. Donald Campbell, and Mr. Peebles, a Volunteer, are
Wounded.

Our Loss in Men, Including Rangers, and Drivers, Exceeds Sixty, Killed

or Wounded.

Tlie Action has Lasted from One O'Clock 'till Night, And We Expect to
Begin again at Day Break. Whatever Our Fate may be, I thought it neces-
sary to Give Your Excellency this Early Information, uiat You may, at all
Events, take such Measures as You will think proper with the Provinces,
for their own Safety, and the Effectual Relief of Fort Pitt, as in Case of
Another Engagement I Fear Insurmountable Difficulties in protecting and
Transporting our Provisions, being already so much Weakened by the
Losses of this Day, in Men and Horses ; besides the Additional Necessity
of Carrying the Wounded, Whose Situation is truly Deplorable.

I Cannot Sufficiently Acknowledge the Constant Assistance I have Re-
ceived from Major Campbell, during this long Action ; Nor Express my
Admiration of the C«ol and Steady Behavior of the Troops, Who Did not
Fire a Shot, without Order8,-and Drove the Enemy from their Posts with
Fixed Bayonets. — The Conduct of the Officers is much above my Praises.
I Have the
Honor to be, with great Respect,

Sir,

&ca.

Henry Bouquet.
Uis Excellency Sir Jeffrey Amherst.

Sir:

Camp at Pushy Run, 6th August, 1763.

I Had the Honor to Inform Your Excellency in my letter of Yesterday
of our first Engagement with the Savages.

We Took Post last Night on the Hill, where Our Convoy Halted, when
the Front was Attacked, (a commodious piece of Ground, and Just Spacious
Enough for our Purpose.) There We Encircled the Whole, and Covered
our Wounded with the Flour Bags.

600

APPENDIX D.

In the Morning the Savages Surrounded our Camp, at the Distance of
about 500 Yards, and by Shouting and Yelping, quite Round that Exten-
sive Circumference, thought to have Terrified Us, with their Numbers
They Attacked Us Early, and, under Favour of an Incessant Fire, made
Several Bold Efforts to Penetrate our Camp ; And tho' they Failed in the
Attempt, our Situation was not the Less Perplexing, having Experienced
that Brisk Attacks had Little Effect upon an Enemy, who always gave Way
when Pressed, & Appeared again Immediately ; Our Troops were besides
Extremely Fatigued with the Long March, and as long Action of the Pre-
ceding Day, and Distressed to the Last Degree, by a Total Want of Water,
much more Intolerable than the Enemy's Fire.

Tied lo our Convoy We could not Lose Sight of it, without Exposing it,
and our Wounded, to Fall a prey to the Savages, who Pressed upon Us on
Every Side ; and to Move it was Impracticable, having lost many horses,
and most of the Drivers, Stupified by Fear, hid themselves in the Bushes,
or were Incapable of Hearing or O'" eying Orders.

The Savages growing Every Moment more Audacious, it was thought
proper still to increase their Confidence ; by that means, if possible, to En-
tice them to Come Close upon Us, or to Stand their Ground when Attacked.
With this View two Companies of Light Infantry were Ordered within the
Circle, and the Troops on their Rigbt and Left opened their Files, and
Filled up the Space that it might seem they were intended to Cover the
Retreat ; The Third Light Infantry Company, and the Grenadiers of the
42d, were Ordered to Support the two First Companys. This Manoeuvre
Succeeded to Our Wish, for the Few Troops who Took possession of the
Ground lately Occupied by the two Light Infantry Companys being
Brought in Nearer to the Centre of the Circle, tne Barbarians, mistaking
these Motions for a Retreat, Hurried Headlong on, and Advancing upon
Us, with the most Daring Intrepidity, Galled us Hxcessively with their
Heavy Fire ; But at the very moment, that Certain of Success, they thought
themselves Masters of the Camp, Major Campbell, at the Head of the two
First Companys, Sallied out from a part of the Hill they Could not Observe,
and Fell upon their Right Flank ; They Resolutely Returned the Fire, but
could not Stand the Irre&istible Shock of our Men, Who, Rushing in among
them. Killed many of them, and Put the Rest U) Flight. The Orders sent
to the Other Two Companys were Delivered so timely by Captain Basset,
and Executed with such Celerity and Spirit, that the Routed Savages, who
happened to Run that Moment before their Front, Received their Full Fire,
when Uncovered by the Trees : The Four Companys Did not give them
time to Load a Second time, nor Even to Look behind them, but Pursued
them 'till they were Totally Dispersed. The Left of the Savages, which
had not been Attacked, were kept in Awe by the Remains of our Troops,
Posted on the Brow of the Hill, for that Purpose ; Nor Durst they Attempt
to Support, or Assist their Right, but being Witness to their Defeat, fol-
lowed their Example and Fled. Our Brave Men Disdained so much to

APPENDIX D.

601

Touch the Dead Body of a Vanquished Enemy, that Scarce a Scalp was
taken, Except by the Rangers, and Pack Horse Drivers.

The Woods being now Cleared and the Pursuit over, the Four Companys
took possession of a Hill in our Front ; and as soon as Litters could be
made for the Wounded, and the Flour and Every thing Destroyed, which,
for want of Horses, could not be Carried, We Marched without Moles-
tation to this Camp. After the Severe Correction We had given the
Savages a few hours befu' e, it was Natural to Suppose We should Enjoy
some Rest ; but We had hardly Fixed our Camp, when they Fired upon
Us again : This was very Provoking ! However, the Light Infantry Dis-
persed them, before they could Receive Orders for that purpose. — I Hope
We shall be no more Disturbed, for, if We have another Action, We shall
hardly be able to Carry our Wounded.

The Behavior of the Troops, on this Occasion, Speaks for itself so
Strongly, that for me to Attempt their Eulogium, would but Detract from
their merit.

I Have the Honor to be, most Respectfully,

Sir,
&ca.

Henry BouquET.

P. S. I Have the Honor to Enclose the Return of tlie Killed, Wounded,
and Missing in the two Engagements.

H. B.

His Excellency Sir Jeffrey Amherst.

APPENDIX E.

THE PAXTON RIOTS.

1. Evidence against the Indians of Conestooa. (p. 412.)

Abraham Newcomer, a Mennonist, by trade a Gunsmith, upon his affinna-
tion, declared that several times, within these few years, Bill Soc and
Indian John, two of the Conestogue Indians, threatened to scalp him for
refusing to mend their tomahawks, and swore they would as soon scalp
him as they would a dog. A few days before Bill Soc was killed, he
brought a tomahawk to be steeled. Bill said, " If you will not, I'll have it
mended to your sorrow," from which expression I apprehended danger.

Mrs. Thompson, of the borough of Lancaster, personally appeared be-
fore the Chief Burgess, and upon her solemn oath, on tlie Holy Evangelists,
said that in the summer of 17G1, Bill Soc came to her apartment, and threat-
ened her life, saying, " I kill you, all Lancaster can't catch rne," which filled
me with terror ; and this lady further said. Bill Soc added, " Lancaster is
mine, and I will have it yet."

Colonel John Hambright, gentleman, an eminent Brewer of the Borough
of Lancaster, personally appeared before Robert Thompson, Esq., a justice
for the county of Lancaster, and made oath on the Holy Evangelists, that,
in August, 1757, he, an officer, was sent for provision from Fort Augusta to
Fort Hunter, that on his way he rested at M'Kee's old place ; a Sentinel was
stationed behind a tree, to prevent surprise. The Sentry gave notice In-
dians were near ; the deponent crawled up the bank and discovered two
Indians ; one was Bill Soc, lately killed at Lancaster. He called Bill Soc
to come to him, but the Indians ran off. When the deponent came to Fort
Hunter, he lemit that an old man had been killed the day before ; Bill Soc
and his companion were believed to be the perpetrators of the murder. He,
the deponent, had frequently seen Bill Soc and some of the Conestogue

APPENDIX E.

603

Indiana at Fort Augusta, trading with the Indians, but, afler the murder of
the old man, Bill Soc did not appear at that Garrison.

John Hambriqht.
Sworn and Subscribed the 28th of Feb., 17fi4, before me,

Robert Thompson, Justice.

Charles Cunningham, of the county of Lancaster, personally appeared
before me, Thomas Foster, Esq., one of the Magistrates for said county, and
being qualified according to law, doth depose and say, that he, the deponent,
heard Joshua James, an Indian, say, that he never killed a white man in hia
life, but six dutchmen that he killed in the Minisinks.

Charles Cunningham.

Sworn to, and Subscribed before Thomas Foster, Justice.

Alexander Stephen, of the county of Lancaster, personally appeared
before Thomas Foster, Esq., one of the Magistrates, and being duly
qualified according to law, doth say, that Connayak Sally, an Indian
woman, told him that the Conestogue Indians had killed Jogrea, an Indian,
because he would not join the Conestogue Indians in destroying the Eng-
lish. James Cotter told the deponent that he was one of the three that
killed old William Hamilton, on Sherman's Creek, and also another man,
with seven of his family. James Cotter demanded of the deponent a canoe,
which the murderers had lefl, as Cotter told him when the murder was
committed.

Alexander Stephen.

Thomas Foster, Justice.

JVote. — Jegrea was a Warrior Chief, friendly to the Whites, and he
threatened the Conestogue Indians with his vengeance, if they harmed the
English. Cotter was one of the Indians, killed in Lancaster county, in 1763.

Anne Mary Le Roy, of Lancaster, appeared before the Chief Burgess,
and being sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, did depose and
say, that in the year 1755, when her Father, John Jacob Le Roy, and many
others, were murdered by the Indians, at Mahoney, she, her brother, and
some others were made prisoners, and taken to Kittanning ; that stranger
Indians visited them ; the French told them they were Conestogue Indians,
and that Isaac was the only Indian true to their interest ; and that the Cones-
togue Indians, with the exception of Isaac, were ready to lift the hatchet
when ordered by the French. She asked Bill Soc's mother whether she had
ever been at Kittanning ? she said " no, but her son, Bill Soc, had been
there often ; that he was good for nothing."

Mart Le Rot.

2. Proceedings of the Rioters. (Chap. XXIV. XXV.)

Deposition of Felix Donolly, keeper of Lancaster Jail. (p. 418.)

This deposition is imperfect, a part of the manuscript havmg been

604

APPENDIX E.

defaced or torn away. The original, in tlie handwriting of Edward Ship,
pen, the chief magistrate of Lancaster, was a few years since in the poasps-
sion of Redmond Conyngham, Esq.

The breaking open the door alarmed me ; armed men broke in ; tlicy
demanded the strange Indian to be given up ; they ran by me ; the Indiiina
guessed their intention ; thoy seized billets of wood from the pile ; but the
three most active were shot ; others came to their assistance ; I was stupi-
ficd ; before I could shake off my surprise, the Indians were killed and
their murderers away.

Q. You say, " Indians anned themselves with wood ; " did those Indians
attack the rioters ?

Jl. Tliey did. If they had not been shot, they would have killed the
men who entered, for they were the strongest.

Q. Could tiio murder have been prevented by you ?

wi. No : I nor no person here could have prevented it.

Q. What number were the rioters ?

w3. I should say fifty.

Q. Did you know any of them ?

t9. No ; they were strangers.

Q. Do you now know who was in command ?

A. I have been told, Lazarus Stewart of Donegal.

Q. If the Indians had not attempted resistance, would the men have
fled ? (fired ?)

w3. I couldn't tell ; I do not know.

Q. Do you think or believe that the rioters came with the intent to
murder ?

A. I heard them say, when they broke in, they wanted a strange
Indian.

Q. Was their object to murder him ?

A. From what I have heard since, I think they meant to carry him off;
that is my belief.

Q. What was their purpose ?
I do not know.

Were the Indians killed all friends of this province ?
I have been told they were not. I cannot tell of myself; I do not

know,

Donolly was suspected of a secret inclination in favor of the rioters. In
private conversation he endeavored to place their conduct in as favorable a
light as possible, and indeed such an intention is apparent in the above
deposition.

Letter from Edward Shippen to Governor Hamilton, (p. 420.)

Lancaster,

, 1764.

Honoured Sir :

I furnish you with a full detail of all the particulars that could be gath-
ered of the unhappy transactions of the fourteenth and twenty-seventh of

APPENDIX E.

605

December last, as painful for you to read as mo to write The Depositions
can only state the fact that the Indians were killed. Be assured the Borough
Authorities, when they placed the Indians in the Workliouse, tliought it a
place of security. I am sorry the Indians were not removed to Pliiladclphia,
as recommended by us. It is too late to remedy. It is much to bo regretted
that there are evil-minded persons among us, who are trying to corrupt the
minds of the people by idle tales and liorrible butclierics — are injuring tlie
cliiiructcr of many of our most respectable people. That printers should
have lent their aid astonishes me when they are employed by the Asscnjbly
to print their laws. I can see no good in meeting tlieir falsehoods by coun-
ter statements.

The Rev. Mr. Elder and Mr. Harris are determined to rely upon the
reputation they have so well established.

For myself, I can only say that, possessfng yonr confidence, and that of
the Proprietaries, with a quiet conscience, I regard not the malignant
pens of secret assailants — men who had not the courage to affix their
names. Is it not strange that a too ready belief was at first given to tlie
slanderous epistles ? Resting on the favor I have enjoyed of the Govern-
ment, on the confidence reposed in me, by you and the Proprietaries ; by
the esteem of my fellow-men in Lancaster, I silently remain passive.

Yours affectionately,

Edward Shipped.

Extract from a letter of tlie Rev. Mr. Elder to Governor Penn, Decem-
ber 27, 1763. (p. 417, etc.)

The storm which had been so long gathering, has at length exploded.
Had Government removed the Indians from Conestoga, which had frequently
been urged, without success, this painful catastrophe might have been
avoided. What could I do with men heated to madness. All thai I could
do, was done ; I expostulated ; but life and reason were set at defiance.
And yet the men, in private life, are virtuous and respectable ; not cruel,
but mild and merciful.

The time will arrive when each palliating circumstance will be calmly
weighed. This deed, magnified into the blackest of crimes, shall be con-
sidered one of those youthful ebullitions of wrath caused by momentary
excitement, to which human infirmity is subjected.

Extract from " The Paxtoniade," a poem in imitation of Hudibras, pub-
lished at Philadelphia, 1764, by a partisan of the Quaker faction.

O'Hara mounted on his Steed,
(Descendant of that self-same Asa,
That bore hia Grandsire Hudibras,)
And from that same exalted Station,
Pronounced an hortory Oration :

606

APPENDIX E.

For he was cunning as a Fox,
Had read o'er Calvin and Dan Nox ;
/ A man of most profound Discerning,

Well versed in P n Learning.

So after hemming thrice to clear

His Throat, and banish thoughts of fear,

And of the mob obtaining Silence,

He thus went on — " Dear Sirs, a while since

Ye know as how the Indian Rabble,

With practices unwarrantable.

Did come upon our quiet Borders,

And there commit most desperate murders ;

Did tomahawk, butcher, wound and cripple,

With cruel Rage, the Lord's own People ;

Did war most implacable wage

With God's own chosen heritage ;

Did from our Brethren take their lives.

And kill our Children, kine and wives.

Now, Sirs, I ween it is but right.

That we upon these Canaanites,

Without delay, should Vengeance take.

Both for our own, and the K — k's sake ;

Should totally destroy the heathen.

And never till we've killed 'em leave 'em;— ►

Destroy them quite frae out the Land ;

And for it we have God's Command.

We should do him a muckle Pleasure,

As ye in your Books may read at leisure."

He paused, as Orators are used.

And from his pocket quick produced

A friendly Vase well stor'd and fiU'd

With good old wiskey twice distill'd.

And having refresh'd his inward man,

Went on with his harrangue again.

" Is't not, my Brethren, a pretty Story

That we who are the Land's chief Glory,

Who are i' the number of God's elected.

Should slighted thus be and neglected ?

That we, who're the only Gospel Church,

Should thus be left here in the lurch ;

Whilst our most antichristian foes.

Whose trade is war and hardy blows,

(At least while some of the same Colour,

With those who've caused us all this Dolor,)

In Matchcoats warm and blankets drest.

Are by the Q, rs much caress'd,

APPENDIX E.

607

And live in peace by good warm fires,
And have the extent of their desires ?
Shall we put by such treatment base ?
By Nox, we wont ! " — And broke his Vase.
" Seeing then we've such good cause to hate 'em.
What I intend's to exterpate 'em ;
To suffer them no more to thrive,
And leave nor Root nor Branch alive ;
But would we madly leave our wives
And Children, and expose our lives •

In search of those wh' infest our borders,
And perpetrate such cruel fhurders ;
It is most likely, by King Harry,
That we should in the end miscarry.
' I deam thgrefore the wisest course is,

That those who've beasts should mount their horses,

And those who've none should march on foot,

With as much quickness as will suit,

To where those heathen, nothing fearful.

That we will on their front and rear fall.

Enjoy Sweet Otium in their Cotts,

And dwell securely in their Hutts. *

And as they've nothing to defend them.

We'll quickly to their own place send them ! "

The following letter from Rev. John Elder to Colonel Shippen, will serve
to exhibit the state of feeling among the frontier inhabitants, (pp. 426-428.)

Paxton, Feb. 1, 1764.
Dear Sir :

Since I sealed the .Governor's Letter, which you'll please to deliver to
him, I suspect, from the frequent meetings I hear the people have had in
diverse parts of the Frontier Counties, that an Expedition is immediately
designed against the Indians at Philadelphia. It's well known that I have
always used my utmost endeavors to discourage these proceedings ; but to
little purpose : the minds of the Inhabitants are so exasperated against a
particular set of men, deeply concerned in the government, for the singular
regards they have always shown to savages, and the heavy burden by their
means laid on the province in maintaining an expensive Trade and holding
Treaties from time to time with the savages, without any prospect of advan-
tage either to his Majesty or to the province, how beneficial soever it may
have been to individuals, that it's in vain, nay even unsafe for any one to
oppose their measures ; for were Ccl. Shippen here, tho' a gentleman highly
esteemed by the Frontier inhabitants, he would soon find it useless, if not
dangerous to act in opposition to an enraged multitude. At first there were
but, as I tliink, few concerned in these riots, & nothing intended by some

608

APPENDIX E.

but to ease thn province of part of its burden, and by others, who had suf-
fered greatly in the late war, the gratifying a spirit of Revenge, yet the
manner of the Quakers resenting tlieso things has been, I think, very inju-
rious and impolitick. The Presbyterians, who are the most nuiuorous, I im-
agine, of any denomination in the province, are enraged at their being dmrged
in bulk with these facts, under the name of Scotch-Irish, and other ill-
natured titles, and that the killing the Conestogoe Indians is compared to
the Irish Massacres, and reckoned the most barbarous of either, so that
things are grown to that pitch now that the country seems determined that
no Indian Treaties shall be held, or savages maintained at the expense of
the province, unless his Majesty's pleasure on these heads is well known ;
for I understood to my great satiifaction that amid our great confusions,
there are none, even of the most warm and furious tempers, but what are
warmly attached to his Majesty, and would cheerfully risk their lives to pro-
mote his service. What the numbers are of those gping on the above-men-
tioned Expedition, I can't possibly learn, as I'm informed they are collecting
in all parts of the province ; however, this much may bo depended on, that
they have the good wishes of the country in general, and that there arc few
but what are now either one way or other embarked in the affair, tho' some
particular persons, I'm informed, are grossly misrepresented in Philadelphia ;
even my neighbor, Mr. Harris, it's said, is looked on there as the chief pro-
moter of these riots, ypt it's entirely false ; he had aided as much in oppo-
sition to these measures as he could with any safety in his situation. Re-
ports, however groundless, are spread by designing men on purpose to
inflame matters, and enrage the parties against each other, and various
methods used to accomplish their pernicious ends. As I am deeply con-
cerned for the welfare of my country, I would do every thing in my power
to promote its interests. I thought proper to give you these few hints;
you'll please to make what use you think proper of them. I would heartily
wish that some effectual measures might be taken to heal these growing
evils, and this I judge may be yet done, and Col. Armstrong, who is now in
town, may be usefully employed for this purpose.

Sir,

I am, etc.,

John Elder.

Extracts from a Quaker letter on the Paxton riots, (p. 436.)

This letter is written with so much fidelity, and in so impartial a spirit
that it must always remain one of the best authorities in reference to these
singular events. Although in general very accurate, its testimony has in a
few instances been set aside in favor of the more direct evidence of eye-
witnesses. It was published by Hazard in the twelfth volume of his Pennsyl-
vania Register. I have, however, examined the original, which is still pro-
served by a family in Philadelphia. The extracts here given form but a
small part of the entire letter.

APPENDIX E.

609

Before I proceed further it may not be amias to inform thee that a greaX
number of the inhabitants hero approved of itiUing the Indiana, and declared
that they would not otTcr to oppose the Paxtonccrs, uuIohh tiicy attacked the
citizona, that ia to say, themselves — for, if any judgment waa to bo formed
from couiitenancea and behavior, those who depended upon them for defence
and protection, would have found their confidence shockinffly miaplaced.

The number of peraona in arma that morning waa about six hundred, and
as it waa expected the inaurgents would attempt to cross at the middle or
upper ferry, ordera wore sent to bring the boats to this side, and to take
awuy the ropea. Couriers were now aeen continually coining in, their horses
all of a foam, and people running with the greatest eagernesa to aak them
whore the enemy were, and what were their numbers. The answers to
these quostiona were varioua : sometimea they were at a distance, tiien near
at hand — sometimes they were a thousand strong, then five hundred, then
fifteen hundred ; in short, all was doubt and uncertainty.

About eleven o'clock it was recollected the boat at the Sweed's ford
was not secured, Avhich, in the present case, was of the utmost consequence,
for, as there was a considerable freshet in the Schuylkill, the securing that
boat would oblige them to march some distance up the river, and thereby
retard the execution of their scheme at least a day or two longer. Several
persons therefore set off immediately to get it performed ; but they had not
been gone long, before there was a general uproar — They are coming !
they are coming ! Where ? where ? Down Second street ! down Sec-
ond street ! Such of the company as had grounded their firelocks, flew to
arms, and began to prime ; the artillerymen threw tlicmselves into order, and
the people ran to get out of the way, for a troop of armed men, on horse-
back, appeared in reality coming down the street, and one of the artillery-
men was just going to apply the fatal match, when a person, perceiving the
mistake, clapped his hat upon the touch-hole of the piece he was going to
fire. Dreadful would have been the consequence, had the cannon dis-
charged; for the men that appeared proved to be a company of Geruian
butchers and porters,' under the command of Captain Hoffman. They had
just collected themselves, and being unsuspicious of danger, had neglected
to give notice of their coming ; — a false alarm was now called out, and all
became quiet again in a few minutes. . . .

The weather being now very wet, Capt. Francis, Capt. Wood, and Capt.
Mifflin, drew up their men under the market-house, which, not affording
shelter for any more, they occupied Friends' meeting-house, and Capt. Jo-
seph Wharton marched his company up stairs, into the monthly meeting
room, as I have been told — the rest were stationed below. It happened to
be the day appointed for holding of Youths' meeting, but never did the
Quaker youth assemble in such a military manner — never was the sound
of the drum heard before within those walls, nor ever till now was the Ban-
ner of War displayed in that rostrum, from whence the art has been so zeal-
ously declaimed against. Strange reverse of times, James — . Nothing of
any consequence passed during the remainder of the day, except that

610

APPENDIX E.

Captain Coultas came into town at the head of a troop, which he had just
raised in liis own neigliborhood. Tlie Captain was one of those who had been
marked out as victims by these devout conquerors, and word was sent to him
from Lancaster to make his peace with Heaven, for that he had but about
ten days to live.

In the evening our Negotiators came in from Germantown. They had
conterre(' with the Chiefs of this illustrious — , and have prevailed with
them to nspend all hostility till such time as they should receive an answer
t/' t.oir petition or manifesto, which had been sent down the day before.

• • • • •

The weather now clearing, the City forces drew up near the Court Pouse,
where a speech was made to tliem, informing them that matters had been
niisroprosented, — that the Paxt'^aeers were a set of very worthy men (or
somotliing to that purpose) who labored under great distress, — that Messrs.
Smith, &c., were come (by their own authority) as representatives, from sev-
eral counties, to lay their complaints before the Legislature, and that the
reason for their arming themselves was for fear of being molested or abused.
By whom ? Why, by the peaceable citizens of Philadelphia ! Ha ! ha ! ha !
Who can help laughing? Tlie harangue concluded with thanks for the
trouble and expense they had been at, (about nothing,) and each retired to
their several homes. The next day, when all was quiet, and nobody
dreamed of any further disturbance, we were alarmed again. The report
now was, that the Paxtoneers had broke the Treaty, and were just entering
the city. It is incredible to think with what alacrity the people flew to
arms ; in one quarter of an hour near a thousand of them were assembled,
with a determination to bring the affair to a conclusion immediately, and not
to suffer themselves to be harassed as they had been several days past. If
the whole body of the enemy had come in, as was expected, the engage-
ment would have been a bloody one, for the citizens were exasperated
almost to madness ; but happily those that appeared did not exceed thirty,
(the rest having gone homewards,) and as they behaved with decency, they
were suffered to pass without opposition. Thus tjie storm blew over, and
the Inhabitants dispersed themselves. ...

The Pennsylvania Gazette, usually a faithful chronicler of the events of
the day, preserves a discreet silence on the subject of the Paxton riots, and
contains no other notice of them than the following condensed statement : —

On Saturday last, the City was alarmed with the News of ^^reat Numbers
of armed Men, from the Frontiers, being on the several Roads, and moving
towards Philadelphia. As their designs were unknown, and there were va-
rious Reports concerning them, it was thought prudent to put the City in
some Posti^rc of Defence against any Outrages that might possibly be
intended. The Inhabitants being accordingly called upon by the Governor,
great numbers of them entered into an Association, and took Arras for the
Support of Government, and Maintenance of good Order

APPENDIX E.

611

Six Companies of Foot, one of Artillery, and two Troops of Horse, were
formed, and paraded, to which, it is said, some Thousands, who did not
appear, were prepared to join themselves, in case any attempt should be
made against the Town. The Barracks also, whe~e the Indians are lodged,
under Protection of the regular Troops, were put into a good Posture of
Defence ; several Works being thrown up about them, and eight Pieces of
Cannon planted there.

Tlie Insurgents, it seems, intended to rendezvous at Germantown ; but
the Precautions taken at the several Ferries over Schuylkill impeded their
Junction ; and those who assembled there, being made acquainted with the
Force raised to oppose them, listened to the reasonable Discourses and
Advice of some prudent Persons, who voluntarily went out to meet and
admonish them ; and of some Gentlemen sent by the Governor, to know the
Reasons of their Insurrection; and promised to return peaceably to their
Habitations, leaving only two of their Number to present a Petition to the
Governor and Assembly ; on which the Companies raised in Town were
thanked by the Governor on Tuesday Evening, and dismissed, and the City
restored to its former Quiet.

But on Wednesday Morning there was a fresh Alarm, occasioned by a
false Report, that Four Hundred of the same People were on their March to
Attack the Town. Immediately, on Beat of Drum, a much greater number
of the Inhabitants, with tlie utmost Alacrity, put themselves under Arms ;
but as the Truth was soon known, they were again thanked by the Gov-
ernor, and dismissed ; the Country People being really dispersed, and gone
home according to their Promise. — Pennsylvania Gazette, JVo. 1833.

The following extract from a letter of Rev. John Ewing to Joseph Reed,
affords a striking example of the excitement among the Presbyter. "ma.
(See Life and Cor. of Joseph Reed, I. 34.)

" Feb. — , 1764.

As to public affairs, our Province is greatly involved in intestine feuds, at
a time, when we should rather unite, one and all, to manage the affairs of
our several Governments, with prudence and discretion. A few designing
men, having engrossed too much power into their hands, are pushing matters
beyond all bounds. There are twenty-two Quakers in our Assembly, at pres-
ent, who, although they won't absolutely refuse to grant money for the King's
use, yet never fail to contrive matters in such a manner as to afford little or
no assistance to the poor, distressed Frontiers ; while our public money is
lavishly squandered away in pupporting a number of savages, who have been
murdering and scalping us for many years past. This has so enraged some
desperate young men, who had lost their nearest relations, by these very
Indians, to cut off about twenty Indians that lived near Lancaster, who had,
during the war, carried on a constant intercourse with our other enemies ;
and they came down to Germantown to inquire why Indians, known to be
enemies, were tiupported, even in luxury, with the best that our markets
afforded, at the public expense, while they were left in the utmost distress

612

APPENDIX E.

on the Frontiers, in want of the necessanes of life. Ample promises were
made to them that their grievances should be redressed, upon which they im-
mediately dispersed and went home. These persons have been unjustly rep-
resented as endeavoring to overturn Government, when nothing was more dis-
tant from their minds. However this matter may be looked upon in Britain,
where you knoM' very little of the matter, you may be assured that ninety-nine
in an hundred of the Province arc firmly persuaded, that they are maintaining
our enemies, while our friends back are suffering the greatest extremities,
neglected ; and that few, but Quakers, think that the Lancaster Indians have
suffered any thing but their just deserts. 'Tis not a little surprising to us
here, that orders should be sent from the Crown, to apprehend and bring to
•ustice those persons who have cut off tha! nest of enemies that lived near
Lancaster. They never were subjects to his Majesty ; were a free, inde-
pendent state, retaining all the powers of a free state ; sat in all our Treaties
with the Indians, as one of the tribes belonging to the Six Nations, in alli-
ance with us ; they entertained the French and Indian spies — gavi. 'ntelli-
gence to them of the defenceless state of our Province — furnished them
with Gazette every week, or fortnight — gave them intelligence of all the
dispositions of the Province army against them — were frequently with the
French and Indians at their forts and towns — supplied them with warlike
stores — joined with the strange Indians in their war-dances, and in the par-
ties that made incursions on our Frontiers — were ready to take up the
hatchet against the English openly, when the French requested it — actually
murdered and scalped some of the Frontier inhabitants — insolently boasted
of the murders they had committed, when they saw our blood was cooled,
after the last Treaty at Lancaster — confessed that they had been at war
witli us, and would soon be at war with us again, (which accordingly hap-
pened,) and even went sc far as to put one of their own warriors, Jegarie, to
death, because he refused to go to war with them against the English. All
these tilings were known through the Frontier inhabitants, and are since
proved upon oath. This occasioned them to be cut off by about forty or fifty
persons, collected from all the Frontier counties, though they are called by
the name of the little Township of Paxton, where, possibly, the smallest
part of them resided. And what surprises us more than all the accounts
we have from England, is, that our Assembly, in a petition they have draw,
up, to the King, for a change of Government, should represent this Province
in a state of uproar and riot, and when not a man in it has once resisted a
single officer of the Government, nor a single act of violence committed,
unk;ss you call the Lancaster affair such, although it was no more than
going to war with that tribe, as they had done before with others, without a
formal proclamation of war by the Government. I have not time, as you
may guess by this scrawl, to write more at this time, but only that I am

^°"'^' ^'^ JoHr» Ewmo.

APPENDIX E.

613

3. Memorials of the Paxton Men. (pp. 426-443.)

5. To the Honorable John Penn, Esq., Governor of the Province of
Pennsylvania, and of the Counties of New-Castle, Kent, and Sussex, upon
Delaware ; and to the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Province,
in General Assembly met.

We, Matthew Smith and James Gibson, in Behalf of ourselves and his
Majesty's faithful and loyal Subjects, the Inhabitants of the Frontier Coun-
ties of Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Berks, and Northampton, humbly beg

Le to remonstrate and lay before you tlie following Grievances, which

we submit to your Wisdom for Redress.

First. We apprehend that, as Freemen and English Subjects, we have an
indisputable Title to the same Privileges and Immunities with his Majesty's
other Subj rt. ^ho reside in the interior Counties of Philadelphia, Chester,
and Backs, and tlierefore ought not to be excluded from an equal Share
with them in the very important Privilege of Legislation; — nevertheless,
contrary to the Proprietor's Charter, and the ackno .vledged Principles of
comr ' .1 .!L ice and Equity, our five Counties are restrained from electing
more ^'i ; i en Representatives, viz., four for Lancaster, two for York, two
for Cumberland, one for Berks, and one for Northampton, while the three
Counties and City of Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks elect Twenty-six.
This we humbly conceive is oppressive, unequal and unjust, the Cause
of many of our Grievances, and an Infringement of our natural Privileges
of Freedom and Equality ; wherefore we humbly pray that we may be
no longer deprived of an equal Number with the three aforesaid Counties
to represent us in Assembly.

Secondly. We understand that a Bill is now before the House of As-
sembly, wherein it is provided, that such Persons as shall be charged with
killing any Indians in Lancaster County, shall not be tried in the County
where the Fact- was committed, but in tlie Counties of Philadelphia,
Chester, or Bucks. This is manifestly to deprive British Subjects of tlieir
known Prinleges, to cast an eternal Reproach upon wliole Counties, as if
they were unfit to serve their Country in the Quality of Jury-men, and to
contmdict the well known Laws of the British Nation, in a Point whereon
"jife, Liberty, and Security essentially depend ; namely, that of being tried
bv their EquuJs, in the Neighbourhood where their own, thf ir Accusers, and
the Witnesses Character and Credit, with the Circumstances of the Fact,
are best known, and in&tead thereof putting their Lives in the Hands of
Strangers, wlio may as justly be suspected of Partiality to, as the Frontier
Counties can be ot Prejudices against, Indians ; and this too, in P^uvour of
Indians only, against his Majesty's faithful and loyal Subjects : Besides, it
is well known, that the Design of it is to comprehend a Fact committed
before such a Law was thought of. And if such Practices were tolerated,
no Man could be secure in his most invaluable Interest, — We are also
infonned, to our great Surprise, that this Bill has actually received the

614

APPENDIX E.

Assent of a Majority of the House ; which we are persuaded could not
have been the Case, had our Frontier Coanties been equally represented in
Assembly. — However, we hope that the Legislature of this Province will
never enac* a Law of so dangerous a Tendency, or take away from his
Majesty's good Subjects a Privilege so long esteemed sacred by Eng-
lishmen.

Thirdly. During the late and present Indian War, the Frontiers of this
Province have been repeatedly attacked and ravaged by skulking Parties
of the Indians, who have, with the most Savage Cruelty, murdered Men,
Women, and Children, without Distinction, and have reduced near a
Thousand Families to the most extreme Distress. — It grieves us to tlie
very Heart to see such of our Frontier Inhabitants as have escapf i Savage
Fury, with the Loss of their Parents, their Children, their Wives or Rela-
tives, left Destitute by the Public, and exposed to the most cruel Poverty
and Wretchedness, while upwards of an Hundred and Twenty of tliese
Savages, who are, with great Reason, suspected of being guilty of these
horrid Barbarities, under the Mask of Friendship, have procured them-
selves to be taken under the Protection of the Government, with a View to
elude the Fury of the brave Relatives of the Murdered, and are now main-
tained at the public Expence. — Some of these Indians, now in the Ban-acks
of Philadelphia, are confessedly a Part of the Wyalusing Indians, which
Tribe is now at War with us ; and the others are the Moravian Indians,
who, living with us, under the Cloak of Friendship, carried on a Correspond-
ence witli our known Enemies on the Great Island. — We cannot but
observe, with Sorrow and Indignation, that some Persons in this Province
are at Pains to extenuate the barbarous Cruelties practised by these Sav-
ages on our murdered Brethren and Relatives, which are shocking to human
Nature, and must pierce every Heart, but that of the hardened Perpe-
trators or their Abettors. Nor is it less distressing to hear Others pleading,
that although the Wyalusing Tribe is at War with us, yet that Part of it
which is under the Protection of the Government, may be friendly to the
English, and innocent : — In what Nation under the Sun was it ever the
Custom, that when a neighbouring Nation took up Arms, not an Individual
should bo touched, but only the Persons that offered Hostilities ? — Who
ever proclaimed War with a Part of a Nation and not with the whole ? —
Had these Indians disapproved of the Perfidy of their Tribe, and be( ii
willing to cultivate and preserve Friendship with us, why did they not give
Notice of the War before it happened, a? it is known to be the Result of
long Deliberations, and a preconcerted ^ jinbination among them ? — Why
did they not leave their Tribe immediately, and come among us, before
there was Ground to suspect them, or War was actually waged Mith their
Tribe ? — No, they stayed amongst them, were privy to their Murders and
Ravages, until we had destroyed their Provisions, and when they could no
longer subsist at Home, they come not as Deserters, but as Friends, to be
maintained through the Winter, that they may be able to icalp anr] butcher
us in the Spring.

APPENDIX E.

615

And as to the Moravian Indians, there are strong Grounds at least to
suspect their Friendship, as it is known that they carried on a Correspond-
ence with our Enemies on the Great Island. — We killed three Indians
going from Bethlehem to the Great Island with Blankets, Ammunition, and
Provisions, which is an undeniable Proof that the Moravian Indians wore in
Confederacy with our open Enemies. And we cannot but be filled with
Indignation to hear this Action of ours painted in the most odious and
detestable Colours, as if we had inhumanly murdered our Guides, who pre-
served us from perishing in the Woods ; when we only killed three of our
known Enemies, who attempted to shoot us when we surprised them. —
And, besides all this, we understand that one of these very Indians is
proved, by tiie Oath of Stinton's Widow, to be the very Person that mur-
dered her Husband. — How then comes it to pass, that he alone, of all the
Moravian Indians, should join the Enemy to murder that family ? — Or can
it be supposed that any Enemy Indians, contrary to their known Custom of
making War, should penetrate into the Heart of a settled Country, to burn,
plunder, and murder the Inhabitants, and not molest any Houses in theii
Return, or ever be seen or heard of? — Or how can we account for it, that
no Ravages have been committed in Northampton County since the Re-
moval of the Moravian Indians, when the Great Cove has been struck
since ? — These Things put it beyond Doubt with us that the Indians now
at Philadelphia are his Majesty's perfidious Enemies, and therefore, to pro-
tect and maintain them at the public Expence, while our suffering Brethreu
on the Frontiers are almost destitute of the Necessaries of Life, and are
neglected by the Public, is sufficient to make us mad with Rago, and tempt
us to do what nothing but the most violent Necessity can \ indicate. — We
humbly and earnestly pray therefore, that those Enemies of his Majesty may
be removed as soon'as possible out of the Provmce.

Fourthly. We humbly conceiv e that it is contrary to the Maxims of good
Policy and extremely dangerous to our Frontiers, to suffer any Indians, of
what Tribe soever, to live within the inhabited Parts of this Province, while
we are engaged in an Indian War, as Experience has taught us that they
are all perfidious, and their Claim to Freedom and Independency, puts it in
their Power to act as Spies, to entertain and give Intelligence to our Ene-
mies, and to furnish them with Provisions and warlike Stores. — To this
fatal Intercourse between our pretended Friends and open Enemies, we
must ascribe the greatest Part of the Ravages and Murders that have been
couiniitt.ed in the Course of this and the last Indian War. — We therefore
pray that this Grievance be taken under Consideration, and remedied,

Fijlhlji. We cannot help lamenting that no Provision has boon hitherto
made, that such of our Frontier Inhabitiints as have been wounded in De-
fence of the Province, their Lives and Liberties may be taken Care of, and
cured of their Wounds, at the public Expence. — We therefore pray that
this Grievance may be redressed.

Sixthly. In the late Indian War this Province, with others of hia
Majesty's Colonies, gave Rewards for Indian Scalps, to encourage the

•It
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I n

III)'

!lii

616

APPENDIX E.

seeking them in their own Country, as the most likely Means of destroying
or reducing them to Reason ; but no such Encouragement has been given
in this War, which has damped the Spirits of many brave Men, who arc
willing to venture their Lives in Parties against the Enemy. — We therefore
pray that public Rewards may be proposed for Indian Scalps, which may
be adequate to the Dangers attending Enterprises of this Nature.

Seventhly. We daily lament that Numbers of our nearest and dearest
Relatives are still in Captivity among the savage Heathen, to be trained up
in all their Ignorance and Barbarity, or to be tortured to Death with all the
Contrivances of Indian Cruelty, for attempting to make their Escape from
Bondage. We see they pay no Regard to the many solemn Promises
which they have made to restore our Friends who are in Bondage amongst
them. — We therefore earnestly pray that no Trade may hereafter be per-
mitted to be carried on with them, until our Brethren and Relatives are
brought Home to us.

Eighthly. We complain that a certain Society of People in this Province
in the late Indian War, and at several Treaties held by the King's Repre-
sentatives, openly loaded the Indians with Presents ; and that F. P., a Leader
of the said Society, in Defiance of all Government, not only abetted o»r
Indian Enemies, but kept up a private Intelligence with them, and publickly
received from them a Belt of Wampum, as if he had been our Governor, or
authorized by the King to treat with his Enemies. — By this Means the
Indians have been taught to despise us as a weak and disunited People, and,
from this fatal Source have arose many of our Calamities under which Ave
groan. — We humbly pray, therefore, that this Grievance may be redressed,
and that no private Subject be hereafter permitted to treat with, or carry on
a Correspondence with our Enemies.

JVintMy. We cannot but observe with Sorrow, that Fort Augusta, which
has been very expensive to this Province, has afforded us but little Assistance
during this or the last War. The Men that were stationed at that Place
neither helped our distressed Inhabitants to save their Crops, nor did they
attack our Enemies in their Towns, or patrol on our Frontiers. — We
humbly request that proper Measures may be taken to make that Garrison
more serviceable to us in our Distress, if it can be done.

N. B. We are far from intending any Reflection against the Com-
manding Officer stationed at Augusta, as we presume his Conduct was
always directed by those from whom he received his Orders.

Signed on Behalf of ourselves, and by Appointment of a great Nun.L3r
of the Frontier Inhabitants,

Matthew Smith.
James Gibson.

APPENDIX E.

617

The Declaration of the injured Frontier Inhabitants, together with
a brief Sketch of Grievances the good Inhabitants of the Province laboi
under.

Inasmuch as the Killing those Indiana at Conestogoe Manor and Lancas-
ter has been, and may be, the Subject of much Conversation, and by invidi-
ous Representations of it, which some, we doubt not, will industriously
spread, many, unacquainted with the true State of Affairs, may be led to
pass a severer Censure on the Authors of those Facts, and any others of the
like Nature which may hereafter happen, than we are persuaded they would,
if Matters were duly understood and deliberated ; we think it therefore
proper thus openly to declare ourselves, and render some brief Hints of the
Reasons of our Conduct, which we must, and frankly do, confess notliing but
Necessity itself could induce us to, or justify us in, as it bears an Appearance
of flying in the Face of Authority, and is attended with much Labour, Fatigup
and Expence.

Ourselves then, to a Man, we profess to be loyal Subjects to the best of
Kings, our rightful Sovereign George the Third, firmly attached to his Royal
Person, Interest and Government, and of Consequence equally opposite to
the Enemies of his Throne and Dignity, whether openly avowed, or more
dangerously concealed under a Mask of falsely pretended Friendship, and
chearfully willing to offer our Substance and Lives in his Cause.

These Indians, known to be firmly connected in Friendship with our
openly avowed embittered Enemies, and some of whom have, by several
Oaths, been proved to be Murderers, and who, by their better Acquaintance
with the Situation and State of our Frontier, were more capable of doing us
Mischief, we saw," with Indignat'on, cherished and caressed as dearest
Friends •, — But this, alas ! is but a Part, a small Part, of that excessive
Regard manifested to Indians, beyond his Majesty's loyal Subjects, whereof
we complain, and which, together with various other Griov:inces, have not
only inflamed with Resentment the Breasts of a Number, and urged them
to the disagreeable Evidence of it, they have been constrained to give, but
have heavily displeased, by far, the greatest Part of the good Inhabitants
of this Province.

Should we here reflect to former Treaties, the exorbitant Presents, and
great Servility therein paid to Indians, have long been oppressive Grievances
we have groaned under ; and when at the last Indian Treaty held at Lan-
caster, not only was the Blood of our many murdered Brethren tairiely cov-
ered, but our poor unhappy captivated Friends abandoned to Slavery among
the Savages, by conclnding a Friendship with the Indians, and allowing
them a y;lenteous Trade of all kinds of Commodities, without those being
restored, or any properly spirited Requisition made of them : — How gen-
eral Dissatisfaction those Measures gave, th(; Murmurs of all good People
(loud an they dare to utter them) to this Day declare. And had here infatu-
ated Stops of Conduct, and a manifest Partiality in Favour of Indians, made

618

APPENDIX E.

a final Pause, happy had it been : — We perhaps had grrieved in Silence for
our abandoned enslaved Brethren among the Heathen, but Matters of a
later Date are still more flagrant Reasons of Coini)laint. — When last Sum-
mer his Majesty's Forces, under the Command of Colonel Boucjuet, marched
through this Province, and a Demand was made by his Excellency, General
Amherst, of Assistance, to escort Provisions, &c., to relieve that important
Post, Fort Pitt, yet not one Man was granted, although never any Tiling
appeared more reasonable or necessary, as the Interest of the Province lay
so much at Sta.ce, and the Standing of the Frontier Settlements, in any
Manner, evidently depended, under God, on the almost despaired of Success
of his Majesty's little Army, whose Valour the whole Frontiers with Grati-
tude acknowledge, as the happy Means of having saved from Ruin great
Part of the Province : — But when a Number of Indians, falsely pretended
Friends, and having among them some proved on Oath to havo been guilty
of Murder since this War begun ; when they, together with others, known
to be his Majesty's Enemies, and who had been in the Battle against Colonel
Bouquet, reduced to Distress by the Destruction of their Corn at the Great
Island, and up the East Branch of Susquelianna, pretend themselves Friends,
and desire a Subsistence, they are openly caressed, and the Public, that
could not be indulged the Liberty of contributing to his Majesty's Assist-
ance, obliged, as Tributaries to Savages, to Support tliese Villains, these
Enemies to our King and our Country ; nor only so, but the Hands that
were closely shut, nor would grant his Majesty's General a single Farthing
against a savage Foe, have been liberally opened, and the public Money
basely prostituted, to hire, at an exorbitant Rate, a mercenary Guard to pro-
tect his Ma; -^^ sty's worst of Enemies, those falsely pretended Indian Friends,
while, at the same Time, Hundreds of poor, distressed Families of his
Majesty's Subjects, obliged to abandon their Possessions, and fly for their
Lives at least, are left, except a small Relief at first, in the most distressing
Circumstances to starve neglected, save what the friendly Hand of private
Donations has contributed to their Support, wherein they who are most pro-
fuse towards Savages have carefully avoided having any Part. — When last
Summer the Troops raised for Defence of the Province were limited to
certain Bounds, nor suffered to attempt annoying our Enemies in their Hab-
itations, and a Number of brave Volunteers, equipped at their own Expence,
marched in September up the Susquehanna, met and defeated their Enemy,
with the Loss of some of their Number, and having others dangerously
wounded, not the least Thanks or Acknowledgment was made them from
the Legislature for the confessed Service they had done, nor any the least
Notice or Care taken of their Wounded ; whereas, when a Seneca Indian,
who, by the Information of many, as well as by his own Confession, had
been, through the last War, our inveterate Enemy, had got a Cut in his
Head last Summer in a Quarrel he had with his own Cousin, and it was
reported in Philadelphia that his Wound was dangerous, a Doctor was im-
mediately employed, and sent to Fort AugU'Jta to take Care of him, and
cure him, if possible. — To these may be added, that though it was impossible

APPENDIX E.

619

to obtain through the Summer, or even yet, any Premium for Indian Scalps,
or Encouragement to excite Volunteers to go forth against them, yet when
a few of them, known to be the Fast Friends of our Enemies, and some of
them Murderers tliemsclves, when these have been struck by a distressed,
bereft, injured Frontier, a liberal Reward is offered for apprehending the
Perpetrators of that horrible Crime of killing his Majesty's cloaked Enemies,
and their Conduct painted in the most atrocious Colors ; while the horrid
Ravages, cruel Murders, and most shocking Barbarities, committed by
Indians on his Majesty's Subjects, are covered over, and excused, under the
charitable Term of this being their Method of making War.

But to recount the many repeated Grievances whereof we might justly
complain, and Instances of a most violent Attachment to Indians, were
tedious beyond the Patience of a Job to endure ; nor can better be expected ;
nor need we be surprised at Indians Insolence and Villainy, when it is con-
sidered, and which can be proved from the public Records of a certain
County, that some Time before Conrad Weiser died, some Indians belong-
ing to the Great Island or Wyalousing, assured him that Israel Pemberton,
(an ancient Leader of 'that Faction which, for so long a Time, have found
Means to enslave tl'e Province to Indians,) together with others of the
Friends, had given them a Rod to scourge the white People that were settled
on the purchased Lands ; for that Onas had cheated them out of a great
Deal of Land, or had not given near sufficient Price for what he had bouglit ;
and that the Traders ought also to be scourged, for that they defrauded the
Indians, by selling Goods to them at too dear a Rate ; and that this Relation
is Matter of Fact, can easily be proved in the County of Berks. — Such is
our unhappy Situation, under the Villainy, Infatuation and Influence of a
certain Faction, that have got tlie political Reins in their Hands, and tamely
tyrannize over the -other good Subjects of the Province ! — And can it be
thought strange, that a Scene of such Treatment as this, and the now
adding, in this critical Juncture, to all our former Distresses, tliat disagree-
able Burden of supporting, in the very Heart of the Province, at so great
an Expence, between One and Two hundred Indians, to the great Disquie-
tude of the Majority of the good Inhabitants of this Province, should
awaken the Resentment of a People grossly abused, unrighteously bur-
dened, and made Dupes and Slaves to Indians ? — And must not all well-
disposed People entertain a charitable Sentiment of those who, at their own
great Expence and Trouble, have attempted, or shall attempt, rescuing a
laboring Land from a Weight so oppressive, unreasonable, and unjust ? — It
is this we design, it is this we are resolved to prosecute, though it is with
great Reluctance we are obliged to adopt a Measure not so agreeable aa
could be desired, and to which Extremity alone compels. — God save the
King.

APPENDIX F.

CAMPAIGN OF 1764.

1. BouquEx's Expedition. '

Letter — General Gage to Lord Halifax, December 13, 1764. (p. 502.)

The Perfidy of the Shawanese and Delawares, and their having broken
the ties, which even the Sayage Nations hold sacred amongst each other,
required vigorous measures to reduce them. We had experienced their
treachery so often, that I determined to make no peace with them, but in
the Heart of their Country, and upon such terms as should make it as
secure as it was possible. This conduct has produced all the good effects
which could be wished or expected from it. Those Indians have been
humbled and reduced to accept of Peace upon the terms prescribed to
them, in such a manner as will give reputation to His Majesty's Arms
amongst the several Nations. The Regular and Provincial Troops under
Colonel Bouquet, having been joined by a good body of Volunteers from
Virginia, and others from Maryland and Pennsylvania, marched from Fort
Pitt the Beginning of October, and got to Tuscaroras about the fifteenth.
The March of the Troops into their Country threw the Savages into the
greatest Consternation, as they had hoped their Woods would protect them,
and had boasted of the Security of their Situation from our Attacks. The
Indians hovered round the Troops during their March, but despairing of
success in an Action, had recourse to Negotiations. They were told that
they might have Peace, but every Prisoner in their possession must first be
delivered up. They brought in near twenty, and promised to deliver the
Rest ; but as their promises were not regarded, they engaged to deliver the
whole on the 1st of November, at the Forks of the Muskingham, about one
hundred and fifty miles from Fort Pitt, the Centre of the Delaware Towns,
and near to the most considerable settlement of the Shawanese. Colonel
Bouquet kept them in sight, and moved his Camp to that Place. He soon
obliged the DeJawares and some broken tribes of Mohikons, Wiandots, and

APPENDIX F.

621

Mingoea, to bring in all their Prisoners, even to the Children born of White
Women, and to tie those who were grown as Savage as Uiemsolves and
unwilling to leave them, and bring them bound to the Camp. They were
then told that they must appoint deputies to go to Sir William Johnson to
receive such terms as should be imposed upon them, which the Nations
should agree to ratify ; and, for the security of their performance of this,
and that no farther Hostilities should be committed, a number of their Chiefs
must remain in our hands. The above Nations subscribed to these terms ;
but the Shawanese were more obstinate, and were particularly averse to the
giving of Hostages. But tinding their obstinacy had no effect, and would
only tend to their destruction, the Troops having penetrated into the Heart
of their Country, they at length became sensible that there was no safety
but in Submission, and were obliged to stoop to the same Conditions as the
other nations. They immediately gave up forty Prisoners, and promised
the Rest should be sent to Fort Pitt in the Spring. This last not being
admitted, the immediate Restitution of all tlie Prisoners being the sine qua
non of peace, it was agreed, that parties should be sent from the Army into
their towns, to collect the Prisoners, and conduct them to Fort Pitt. They
delivered six of their principal Chiefs as hostages into our Hands, and
appointed their deputies to go to Sir William Johnson, in the same manner
as the Rest. The Number of Prisoners already delivered exceeds two
hundred, and it was expected that oar Parties would bring in near one
hundred more from the Shawanese Towns. These Conditions seem suf-
ficient Proofs of the Sincerity and Humiliation of those Nations, and in
justice to Colonel Bouquet, I must testify the Obligations I have to him,
and that nothing but the firm and steady conduct, which he observed in all
his Transactions with those treacherous Savages, would ever have brought
them to a serious Peace.

I must flatter myself, that the Country is restored to its former Tran-
quility, and that a general, and, it is hoped, lasting Peace is concluded with
all the Indian Nations who have taken up Arms against his Majesty.

I remain,

etc.,

Thomas Gage.

In Assembly, January 15, 1765, A. M.

To the Honourable Henry Bouquet, Esq., Commander in Chief of His
Majesty's Forces in the Southern Department of America.

The Address of the Representatives of the Freemen of the Province of
Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met.

Sir:

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APPENDIX F.

for England, and moved with a due Sense of the important Services you
have rendered to his Majesty, his Northern Colonies in general, and to this
Province in particular, during our late Wars with the French, and bi:rbarou8
Indians, in the remarkable Victory over the savage Enemy, united to oppose
you, near Bushy Run, in August, 1763, when on your March for the Relief
of Pittsburg, owing, under God, to your Intrepidity and superior Skill in
Command, together with the Bravery of your Officers and little Army ; as
also in your late March to the Country of the savage Nations, with the
Troops under your Direction ; thereby striking Terror through the numerous
Indian Tribes around you; laying a Foundation for a lasting as well as
honorable Peace, and rescuing, from savage Captivity, upwards of Two
Hundred of our Christian Brethren, Prisoners among them. These eminent
Services, auu your constant Attention to the Civil Rights of his Majesty's
Subjects in this Province, demand, Sir, the grateful Tribute of Thanks from
all good Men ; and therefore we, the Representatives of the Freemen of
Pennsylvania, unaniraously for ourselves, and in Behalf of all the People
of this Province, do return you our most sincere and hearty Thanks for
these your great Services, wishing you a safe and pleasant Voyage to Eng-
lard^ with a kixtd and gracious Reception from his Majesty.
Signed, by Order of the House,

Joseph Fox, Speaker.

3. Condition and Temper of the Wzstern Indians.

Extract from a Letter of Sir William Johnson to the Board of Trade,
1764, December 26.

Your Lordships will please to observe that for many months before the
march of Colonel Bradstreet's army, several of the Western Nations had
expressed a desire for peace, and had ceased to commit hostilities, that even
Pontiac inclined that way, but did not choose to venture his person by
coming into any of the posts. This was the state of affairs when I treated
with the Indians at Niagaiu, in which number were fifleen hundred of the
Western Nations, a number infinitely more considerable than those who
were twice treated with at Detroit, many of whom are the same people,
particularly the Hurons and Chippcwas. In tlie mean time it now appears,
from the very best authorities, and can be proved by the oath of several
respectable persons, prisoners at the Illinois and amongst the Indiann, as
also from the accounts of the Indians themselves, that not only many French
traders, but also French officers came amongst the Indians, as they said,
fully authorized to assure them that the French King was determined to
support them to the utmost, and not only invited them to the Illinois, where
they were plentifully supplied with ammunition and other necessaries, but
also sent several canoes at different times up the Illinois river, to the
Miamis, and others, as well as up the Ohio to the Shawanese and Dela wares,

APPENDIX F.

623

as by Major Smallman's account, and several others, (then prisoners,)
transmitted me by Colonel Bonqaet, and one of my officers who accompanied
him, will appear. That in an especial manner the French promoted the
interest of Pontiac, whose influence is now become so considerable, as Gen-
eral Gage observes in a late letter to me, that it extends even to the Mouth
of the Mississippi, and has been the principal occasion of our not as yet
gaining tlie Illinois, which the French as well as Indians are interested in
preventing. This Pontiac is not includeu ih the late Treaty at Detroit, and
.8 at the head of a great number of Indians privately supported by the
French, an officer of whom was about three months ago at the Miamis
Castle, at the Scioto Plains, Muskingum, and several other places. The
Western Indians, who it seems ridicule the whole expedition, will be influ-
enced to such a pitch, by the interested French on the one side, and the
mfluence of Pontiac on the other, that we have great reason to apprehend
a renewal of hostilities, or at least that they and the Twightees (Miamis)
will strenuously oppose our possessing the Illinois, which can never be
accomplished without their consent. And indeed it is not to be wondered that
they should be concerned at our occupying that country, when we con-
sider that the French (be their motive what it will) loaded them with favors,
and continue to do so, accompanied with all outward marks of esteem, and
an address peculiarly adapted to their manners, which infallibly gains upon
all Indians, who judge by extremes only, and with all their acquaintance with
us upon the frontiers, have never found any thing like it, but on the contrary,
harsh treatment, angry words, and in short any thing which can be thought of
to inspire them with a dislike to our manners and a jealousy of our views. I
have seen so much of these matters, and I am so well convinced of the utter
aversion that our people have for them in general, and of the imprudence
with which they constantly express it, that I absolutely despair of our seeing
tranquility established, until your Lordships' plan is fully settled, so as I
may have proper persons to reside at the Posts, whose business it shall be to
remove their prejudices, and whose interest it becomes to obtain their esteem
and friendship.

The importance of speedily possessing the Illinois, and thereby securing
a considerable branch of trade, as well as cutting off the channel by whu h
our enemies have been and will always be supplied, is a matter I have very
much at heart, and what I tliink may be effected this winter by land by Mr.
Croghan, in case matters can be so far settled with the Twightees, Shawa-
noes, and Pontiac, as to engage tlie latter, with some chiefs of the before-
mentioned nations, to accompany him with a garrison. The expense attend-
ing this will be large, but the end to be obtained is too considerable to be
neglected. I have accordingly recommended it to the consideration of Gen-
eral Gage, and shall, on the arrival of the Shawanoes, Delawares, &c., here,
do all in my power to pave the way for effecting it I shall also make such
a peace with them, as will be most for the credit and advantage of the
crown, and the security of the trade and frontiers, and tie them down to such
oonditions as Indians will most probably observe.

624

AFPENDDE F.

3. JooRNix or Caftaiit Morris.

While the first edition of this work was in press, I procured, through
the kindness of Mr. S. G. Drake, a copy of Morris' printed journal, which,
being extremely rare, had hitherto eluded my search. On comparing it
with the manuscript copy in my possession, I find that I have been I'id into
a few trifling mistakes, from the imperfect condition of the latter, and the
consequent necessity of relying upon the testimony of Morris' Indian and
Canadian attendants, which, though very circumstantial, is often indistinct
and incoherent.

Morris, who was an Englishman by birth, returned home after the war,
where, some years later, he became involved in speculations, which ruined
or greatly impaired his fortune. On this, he resolved, for the sake of his
children, to solicit a pension, on the score of his disastrous embassy to the
Illinois. With this view, he rewrote his official journal, with great care,
and much additional matter ; but failing to find a suitable person to lay it
before the king, he determined to print it, in connection with several original
poems, and a translation of the fourth and fourteenth satires of Juvenal.
The collection appeared in 1791, under the title of Miscellanies in Prose
and Verse. Morris appears to have been a person of strong literary tastes.
His portrait, prefixed to the little volume, exhibits a round English face,
and features more indicative of placid good humor than of the resolution
which must have characterized him.

The mistakes alluded to occur on page 473. Pontiac's nephew is there
represented as telling the Indians that he would not see the Englishman
killed, when so many of his own relatives were in the hands of the army at
Detroit This young chief, indeed, interfered strenuously in behalf of
Morris ; but the words in question were spoken, not by him, but by the
Canadian Godefroy. Pontiac's nephew is also erroneously supposed to be
the same with a chief whom Morris calls the Pacanne, and who released
Morris from the post to which he had been tied, and protected him from the
violence of the crowd. The words of his speech are correctly given.

The following extract is a favorable specimen of the style of the journal,
and conveys a lively picture of a French renegade, who afterwards became
one of Morris' attendants, and also of Pontiac himself. The scene occurred
soon after Morris' arrival at the Ottawa camp, where, as mentioned in the
text, he met with much ill usage, and was in danger of his life.

" They [the Indians] led me up to a person, who stood advanced before
two slaves, [prisoners of the Panis nation, taken in war and kept in slavery,]
who had arms, himself holding a fusee, with the but on the ground. By
his dress, and the air he assumed, he appeared to be a French officer: I
afterwards found that he was a native of old France, had been long in the
regular troops as a drummer, and that his war-name was St Vincent This
fine-dressed, half-French, half-Indian figure desired me to dismount ; a bear-
skin was spread on the ground, and St Vincent and I sat upon it, the whole

AITENDIX F.

625

Indian army, circle within circle, standmg round us. Godefroi sat at a
little distance from us ; and presently came Pondiac, and squatted himself,
after his fashion, opposite to me. This Indian has a more extensive power
tlmn ever was known among that people ; for every cliief used to command
his own tribe : but eighteen nations, by French intrigue, had been brought
to unite, and chuse this man for their commander, afler the English had
conquered Canada ; having been taught to believe that, aided by France,
they might make a vigorous push and drive us out of North America.'* ....
" Pondisu; said to my chief: 'If you have made peace with the English, we
have no business to make war on them. The war-belts came from you.'
He afterwards said to Godefroi : ' I wi! ' lead the nations to war no more ;
let 'em be at peace, if they chuse it ; but I myself will never be a friend to
the English. I shall now become a wanderer in the woods ; and if they
come to seek me there, while I have an arrow left;, I will shoot at
them.' ....

" He made a speech to the chiefs, who wanted to put me to death, which
does him honor ; and shews that he was acquainted with the law of nations .
* We must not,' said he, * kill ambassadors ; do we not send them to the
Flat-heads, our greatest enemies, and they to us ? Yet these are always
treated with hospitality.' "

79 AAA

NOTE.

More than half the documents intended for publication in the Appendix
have been omitted, from an unwillingness to increase the size of the
volume.

Of the accompanying maps, the first two were constructed for the illus-
triition of this work. The others are fac-similes from the surveys of the able
engineer Thomas Hutchins, the friend of Colonel Bouquet, and chronicler
of his expeditions into the Indian country. The original of the larger of
these fac-similes is prefixed to Hutchins' Account "f Bouquet's Expedition.
That of the smaller will be found in his Topogra,-^ jical Description of Vir-
ginia, etc. Both these works are rare.

INDEX.

dix
tlie

lua-
ible
;ler
■of
ion.

ru-

AcADiA, dispute concerning its bounda-
ries, 86. Outrage upon its people, 102.

Albany, 135.

Al{,'onquin family, the, its extent, 25.

Algonquins, Northern, the, their sum-
mer and winter life, .31, 405. Their
legendary law, 33.

Allegory of the Delaware Indian, 180.

Amalgamation of French and In-
dians, 69.

Amherst, Sir Jeffrey, captures Ticon-
deroga, 11". His character, 172. His
efforts for tlie prosecution of the
war, 345. Ilesigns his command,
398.

Anda8tes,.the, 22.

Armstrong, Colonel, his expedition up
the Susquehanna, 394.

Atotarho, tradition of, 11.

Aubry, his council with the Indians,
537.

Autumn at Detroit, 404

Backwoodsman of Virginia, his charac-
ter. 378.

Ball-play of the Indians at Michilli-
mackinac, 297.

Battle of Bushy Run, 359, 598. Of
Lake George, 103. Of the Mononga-
hela, 98. Of Quebec, 121.

Bedford, Fort, attacked by Indians, 331.
Beleaguered by Indians, 357.

Bloody Bridge, fight of, 272.

Borderer, the d} ing, 349.

Borders, the war on the, 344.

Bouquet, Colonel, ordered to relieve
Fort Pitt, 346. His army leaves
Carli.sle, 352. His life and charac-
ter, 353. March of his army, 357.
His victory at Bushy Run, 359. His
march into the Indian country, 1764,
482. Forces the Indians to ask peace,
487. His council on the Muskin-
gum, 488. He compels them to
surrender their prisoners, 494. Grants
peace to the Indians, 498. His pro-
motion, 511. His death, 512. His
expedition into the Inilian country,
1764, 620. Vote of thanks for his
services, 621.

Braddock, General, sails for America,
92. Marches against Fort du Quesno,
94. His defeat and death, 98, 100.

Bradstreet, Colonel, his character. 448.
His army on the lakes, 449. Deceived
by the Indians, 461. Treats with the
Indians at Detroit, 4(>6 Return of
his army, 476.

Brebeuf, his martyrdom, 47.

Bull, Captain, captured by the Iroquois,
407.

Bushy Run, battle of, 359, 598.

Cahokia, village of, 569.
Calhoun, his escape, 327.
Calumet dance at Detroit, 185.

628

INDEX.

Campbell, Major, his embassj to Pon-
tinc'fl camp, 210. Made prisoner by
PoiUiuc, 212. His death, 261.

Canada, its military eiticiency, 45. Its
religious zeal, 45. Attacked by the
Iroquois, 60. State of, in 1759, 111.
Con(|ucrcd by the English, 126.

Canadians, the, their character, 43.

Cannibalism of tl-e Indians at MicUilli-
mackinac, 313.

Captive, the escaped, 388.

Captives, sufferings of, 387.

Carlisle, alarm at, 347. Scenes at, 350.

Carousal of the Indians at Detroit, 235.

Catharine, she betrays the Indian plot,
193.

Champlain, his expedition against the
Iroquois, 59.

Chapman, his escape from torture, 330.

Character of the Indian, 35. Of the
French Canadian, 43. Of the Frcn<:h
Ravage, 70. OiT hunters and trap-
pers, 141. Of the Virginian back-
woodsman, 378. Of the Creole of
the Illinois. 518.

Chouteau, Pierre, 523, 568.

Christie, Ensign, his defence of Fresqu'-
Islc, 246.

Civilization and barbarism, 140.

Collision of French and English colo-
nics, 85.

Colonics, French and English, com-
pared, 41.

Conestoga, manor of, 411.

Conestoga Indians, massacred by the
Paxton men, 414, 417. Evidence
against, 604.

Conspiracy, Pontiac's, 161.

Council at the River Ecorces^ 177.

Courage of the Indians, its character, 217.

Coureurs des hois, 69.

Croghan, George, his mission to the
west, 539. His councils at Fort Pitt,
544. Attacked by Indians, 550. His
meeting with Pontiac, 552. His coun-
cils with Indians at Detroit, 553.
Result of his mission, 558.

Crown Point, 85.

Cuyler, Lieutenant, capture of his de-
tachment, 231, 233.

D'Abbudie, 535.

Dalzell, Captain, he sails for Detroit,
267. His arrival, 269. His sortie
from Detroit, 270. His death, 275.

Davers, Sir Robert, murdered near De-
troit, 207.

Delawarcs, the, their history and charac-
ter, 26. Forced to remove westward,
76. Their treaty with the English in
1757, 127.

Detroit, surrendered to Major Rogers,
150. Black Rain at, 187. Its origin
and history, 187. Its French popula-
tion, 189. Indians of its neighbor-
hood, 189. Its defences, its garrison,
190. Plot against its garrison de-
feated, 199. General attack upon it,
207. The Indians continue to block-
ade it, 251. Truce granted to the
Indians at, 402. Its garrison relieved
by Bradstreet, 465. Councils at,
1765, 5.53.

Devil's Hole, ambuscade at, 374.

Dieskau, Baron, sails from Brest, 92.

Dinwid'iie, Governor, sends Washing-
ton to the Ohio, 87.

Ecorces River, council at the, 177.

Ecuyer, Captain, his speeches to the In-
dian chiefs, 334, 340.

Elder, John, his efforts to defend tho
frontier, 391 . His position and charac-
ter, 412. He remonstrates with the
Paxton men, 417.

English, their impolitic course towards
the Indians, 154.

Fries, the, 22.

Etherington, Captain, his letter to Glad-
wyn, 242. Made prisoner by the In-
dians, 298. His letter to Gorell, 319

Feast of dogs, 259.

INDEX.

629

Fight of Bloody Bridge, 272.

Fire rafts, 263.

Fisher, murdered at Detroit, 205.

Forest traveller, the, 137.

Forest warfare, difficalties of, 171.

Fninklin, Bcnjamiti, his embassy to the
I'axton men, 438.

Fraser, Lieutenant, his missioa to the
Illinois, 546.

Frederic, Fort, 85.

French, English, and Indians, 58.

French, the, their increasing power in
the west, 63. Their intrigues among
the Indians, 157.

French posts in the west, 55.

ITrontenac, Count, his expedition against
the Iroquois, 61.

Frontier forts and settlements, 323.

Frontiers of Pennsylvania and Vir-
ginia, 379, 380.

Frontiers, desolation of, 381.

Frontiersmen of Pennsylvania, their
distress and desperation, 409. Their
turbulent conduct, 541.

Fur-trade, the, of the French and Eng-
lish, 63, 64. English, its disorders, 155.

Fur-traders, English, 71, 137.

Gage, General, assumes the command
in America, 398.

Gladwyn, Major, his address and resolu-
tion, 194, 199. His narrow escape, 266.

Glcndenning, Archibald, attack on his
house, 383.

Gorell, Lieutenant, his prudence and
address, 316. He abandons Green
Bay, 321.

Goshen, false alarm at, 372.

Grant, Captain, he conducts the retreat
of the English at Bloody Bridge, 277.

Green Bay, 284, 317.

Henry, Alexander, his adventures at
Michillimackinac, 286. Warned of
danger by Wawatam, 294. Ilis narrow
escape, 299. His adventures, 307.
His account of an Indian oracle, 451.
His Indian battalion, 460.

Holmes, Ensign, detects an Indian plot,
167. His death, 245.

Hurons, the, their character, 19. Con-
quered by the Iroquois, 21.

Illinois, the, nation of, 29. French set-
tlements at, 139. Its character and
products, 514. Its colonization, 517.
Its French population, 518. Neighbor-
ing Indians, 520. Its cession to the
English, 522. Occupied by the Eng-
lish, 559.

Hay, Lieutenant, sallies from Detroit,
860

Indian tribes, their general charactens-
tics, 2. Their generic divisions, 5.

Indians, their religious belief, 34. Their
character, 35. The policy of the
French and English towards, 65, 68.

Iroquois family, the, 6, 24.

Iroquois, the extent of their Conquests,
6, 575. Their government, 8. Tra-
ditions of their confederacy, 11.
Their myths and legends, 13. Their
intellectual powers, 13. Tlicir arts
and agriculture, 14. Their forts and
villages, 14. Their winter life, 16.
The war-path, 16. Their feasts,
dances, and religious ceremonies, 18
Their pride, 18. They conquer the
Hurons, 21. Their warlike triumphs,
22. Their adoption of prisoners, 23.
Attacked by Champlain, 59. Their
wars with Canada, 60. Attacked by
Count Frontenac, 61. Their tyranny,

77. Inclined to the French alliance,

78. Their conduct during the French
war, 130. Their council with Sir
William Johnson in 1763, 370. They
join the English in 1 763, 406. Pol icy
of the French and English towards
them, 576.

AAA *

630

INDEX.

Jacobs, hU dcsporate courage, 280.

JcnkiriR, Lieutenant, captured by the
Indians, 243.

Jesuits, tbe, in Canada, 46. Their mis-
sions in tlic Illinois, .517.

Joyncs. Iiis martyrdom, 48.

Joiinson, Sir William, his life and char-
nctcr, 80. His expedition against
Crown Point, 103. Captures Niagara,
112. His council with the Iroquois
in 1763. 370. Threatened with an
attack from Indians, 372. He per-
suades the Iroquois to join the Eng-
lish in 1763,406. His councils with
the Indians at Niagara, 4.56. His
council with Pontiac, 562. His meas-
ures to secure the friendship of the
Iroquois, 577.

Jonois, Father, arrives at Detroit, 242.
Befriends the English, 306. His em-
bassy to Detroit, 310.

Jumouvillc, death of, 89.

La Butte, sent to Pontiac's camp, 209.

Lake George, battle of, 103. Lake
George, 108.

Lallemant, his martyrdom, 47.

La Salle, his character, 51. Embarks
on his enterprise, 51. Discovers the
Mississippi, 54. His death, 55.

Le Ba'uf, Fort, captured by Indians, 336.

Lenni Lenape, the, their history and
character, 26.

Ligonier, Fort, attacked by Indians,
331, 3.'J8. Its garrison relieved, 355.

Loftus, Major, his repulse on the Mis-
sissippi, 531.

Louisiana, colony of, founded, 55.

Mackinaw, Island of, 314.
Massacre at Michillimackinac, 298.
M'Dougal, Lieutenant, his embassy to
Pontiac's camo. 210

Miamis, the, 29.

Miami, Fort, its capture, 244.

Micliillinmckinac, tidings from, 242
The trading routes thither, 282. Its
appearance in 1763, 283. Its origin
and history, 283. Indians in its neigh-
borhood, 285. Warnings of danger
to its garrison, 293. Massacre at,
298, 596. Reoccupied by the Eng-
lish, 469.

Military character of the Indians, 169.

Military life in tlie forest, 140.

Minavavana, his speech to Alexander
Henry, 288. His position and ciiar-
acter, 291. His speech to the Otta-
was, 309.

Missionaries, French and English, 65.

Mississippi and Missouri, tiic, 513.

Moiiawk, the, military posts upon, 135.

Monongahela, the, battle of, 98.

Montcalm, Manpus of, captures Os
wcgo and William Henry, 109. His
death, 124.

Montmorcnci, assault at, 115.

Moravians, their missions in Pennsyl-
vania, 421.

Moravian Indians, perilous situation of,
422. They retreat to Philadelphia,
424. Sent to New York, 431. Set-
tled on tlie Susquehanna, 445.

Morris, Captain, his embassy, 469.

Neutral Nation, the, 21.

New Orleans in 1765, 534.

Neyon, his letter to Pontiac, 408.

Niagara, Fort, attacked by the Senecas,
345.

Niagara, carrying place of, 373. Con-
course of Indions at, 1764,454. Coun-
cils held at, 1764, 456.

Ohio, the, Indians of, thoir alarm at
French and English encroachment,
90.

INDEX.

631

Ojibwns, the, 30.

Onoiulagn, its uppcurancc in 1743, 133.
Oswego, Fort, its capture, 109.
Ottnwiis, the, tlicir chaiactcr, 30. They

take possession of Michillimackinac,

309.
Ouatanon, Fort, its capture, 243.
Owens, David, his ferocity, 480.

Paris, peace of, 1 73. News of it reaches
Detroit, 253.

Pftully, Ensign, captured at Sandusky,
238. Escapes from the Indians, 260.

Paxton men, they massacre the Conns-
toga Indians, 414, 417. They pre-
pare to march on Piiihideli)lna, 427.
They reach Gcrmantown, 437. Me-
morials of, 613,617.

Paxton riots, the, 606, 612.

Paxton, town of, 412.

Peace of Paris, 173. News of it reaches
Detroit. 2.53.

Pennsylvania, founded, 71. Frontiers
of, 325. Condition of Frontiers of, in
1763, 380. Political dissensions in, 399.

Penn, William, 71.

Pic(iuet, Father, 79.

Pioneers, French and English, 50.

Pitt, Fort, its origin and position, 325.
Alarms at, 327. Indian deputation
It, 333. Preparations for its defence,
338. General attack upon it, 342.
Its garrison relieved, 367.

Fittman, Captain, attempts to ascend
the Missis.sip\)i, 533.

Philadelphia, alarm in, 433, 440.

Plot, Indian, defeated, 160.

Pontiac, his meeting with Rogers, 148.
His character and political course,
161, 165. His war messengers, 165.
His speech at the River Ecorces, 179.
His ambition and patriotism, 191.
His treachery at Detroit, 202. He de-
clares open war on the English, 204.
He summons the garrison of Detroit,
219. His speech to the French, 221.
His commissary department, 224. He

issues promissory notes, 225. His
magnanimity, 227. His power over
his followers, 226, 228. He endeavors
to gain the alliance of the French, 255.
His amimscadc at Bloody Bridge, 271.
Ho retires to the Maumec, 403. Ho
rallies the western tribes, 526. Ho
visits the Illinois, 529. His embassy
to New Orleans, 530, 536. He plun-
ders Ln Garuntais, 548. Ruin of his
hopes, 549. His meeting with Cro-
ghan, 552. His speech to Croghun,
556. Ilis departure for Oswego, 561.
His council with Sir William John-
son, 562. His speech, 565. His visit to
the Illinois, 1769. 568. His death. 571.
The vengeance of his followers, 572.

Pontiac Manuscript, the, 588.

Ponteach, a Tragedy, 581.

Post, Christian Frederic, his mission to
the Indians, 128.

Pottawattamies, the, 30.

PresquTsle, Fort, its attack and de-
fence, 245. Its capture, 249. Tidings
from, reach Fort Pitt, 334.

Prisoners, escaj)e of, at Detroit, 232.
Surrendered to Boucpiet, 495, .502.
Their situation in the Indian villages,
507.

Prophet, Delaware, the, 158. His8i>cech
to Croghan, 545.

Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, thoir
treatment of the Indians, 73.

Quakers, the, their conduct towards the
Indians, 72. Their reluctance to de-
clare war on the Indians. .390. Tiieir
blind partiality for Indians, 397. Their
disputes with the Presbyterians, 441.

Quebec, battle of, 121. Besieged by the
English, 113.

Rangers, Rogers', 144.
Reminiscences, of aged Canadians, «t
Detroit, 594.

632

INDEX.

Rogorg, Hobert, his life and character,
144. His expedition np the lakes,
146. His meeting with Pontiac, 148.
Ho defends the house of Campaa,
275.

Royal American Regiment, the, 354.

Sandusky, its capture, 238.

Bault Ste. Marie, 284, 317.

Scalps, reward offered for, 479.

Schlosser, Ensign, captured at St. Jo-
seph's, 240.

School-house, attack on, 385. '*

Schooner, attacks on, near Detroit, 230,
250, 279. Cannonades Pontiac's camp,
262. The Indians attempt to burn
het, 263.

Senecas, treaty with, 456.

Settlers, their intrusion upon Indian
lands, 156.

Shttwanoea, the, their history and char-
acter, 28. Their desperation, 496.

Smith, James, his band of riflemen, 393.
His predatory exploits, 541.

Smith, Matthew, and his companions,
413.

Spotswood, Governor, his plans to
thwart the French, 86.

St. Angu de Bellerive, 524.

St. Joseph's, Fort, captured, 240.

Stc. Marie, Sault, 284, 317.

St. Louis, foundation of, 523.

Stedman, escape of, 375.

Stewart, Lazarus, 416, 421.

Ticonderoga, storming of^ 110.
Totemship, 4.

Traders, slaughtered by the Indinni^

328.
Tra]>pcr8 and hunters, 141.
Trent, Captain, driven from the Ohio.

88.

Venango, Fort, captured by Indians,

337.
Virginia, frontiers of, their condition in

1763, 379. Her measures of defence,

392.
Virginian backwoodsman, his character,

378.

Walking purchase, the, 75.

War-oclt, the, among the Miamis, 167.

War-dance, the, 175.

War-feast, the, 174.

Washington, his mission to the Oliio,
87. At the Monongahola, 100.

Wawatam, his warning to Alexander
Henry, 294. He rescues Henry from
captivity, 311.

Western Indians, their condition and
temper, 622.

West, the, French posts in, 55.

Wilderness, the, its scenery, its popula-
tion, 131.

Wilkins, Major, ^vreck of his detach-
ment on Lake Erie, 377.

William Henry, Fort, its capture, 109

White savage, 70.

Wolfe, Greneral, lays siege to Quebec,
113. Scales the Heights of Abraham,
119. His death, 123.

Wyandots, the, their condition and char*
acter, 19. Conquered by the Iro-
quois, 21.

Wyandots of Detroit, they join Pontiao,
215.

Wyoming, massacre at, in 1763, 396.