diff options
Diffstat (limited to '39253-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 39253-0.txt | 23489 |
1 files changed, 23489 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/39253-0.txt b/39253-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..50f3986 --- /dev/null +++ b/39253-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23489 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian +War after the Conquest of Canada, by Francis Parkman + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada + +Author: Francis Parkman + +Release Date: March 24, 2012 [EBook #39253] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Henry Gardiner and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + * * * * * + +Transcriber’s Note: The original publication has been replicated +faithfully except as shown in the TRANSCRIBER’S AMENDMENTS at the end of +the text. This etext presumes a mono-spaced font on the user’s device, +such as Courier New. Words in italics are indicated like _this_. But the +publisher also wanted to emphasize names in sentences already italicized, +so he printed them in the regular font which is indicated here with: _The +pirates then went to +Hispaniola+._ Obscured letters in the original +publication are indicated with {?}. Superscripts are indicated like this: +S^ta Maria. The FOOTNOTES: section is located near the end of the text. + +There are two volumes in this etext: VOL. I and VOL. II. + +Author: Francis Parkman (1823-1893). + + * * * * * + + + + + THE + + CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC + + AND THE + + INDIAN WAR + + AFTER + + THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. + + VOL. I. + + + TO + + JARED SPARKS, LL.D., + + PRESIDENT OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY, + + THESE VOLUMES ARE DEDICATED + + AS A TESTIMONIAL OF HIGH PERSONAL REGARD, + + AND A TRIBUTE OF RESPECT + + FOR HIS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES TO + + AMERICAN HISTORY. + + + + + Preface + + TO THE SIXTH EDITION. + + +I chose the subject of this book as affording better opportunities than +any other portion of American history for portraying forest life and the +Indian character; and I have never seen reason to change this opinion. In +the nineteen years that have passed since the first edition was published, +a considerable amount of additional material has come to light. This has +been carefully collected, and is incorporated in the present edition. The +most interesting portion of this new material has been supplied by the +Bouquet and Haldimand Papers, added some years ago to the manuscript +collections of the British Museum. Among them are several hundred letters +from officers engaged in the Pontiac war, some official, others personal +and familiar, affording very curious illustrations of the events of the +day and of the characters of those engaged in them. Among the facts which +they bring to light, some are sufficiently startling; as, for example, the +proposal of the Commander-in-Chief to infect the hostile tribes with the +small-pox, and that of a distinguished subordinate officer to take revenge +on the Indians by permitting an unrestricted sale of rum. + +The two volumes of the present edition have been made uniform with those +of the series “France and England in North America.” I hope to continue +that series to the period of the extinction of French power on this +continent. “The Conspiracy of Pontiac” will then form a sequel; and its +introductory chapters will be, in a certain sense, a summary of what has +preceded. This will involve some repetition in the beginning of the book, +but I have nevertheless thought it best to let it remain as originally +written. + +BOSTON, 16 September, 1870. + + + + + Preface + + TO THE FIRST EDITION. + + +The conquest of Canada was an event of momentous consequence 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 military despotism, 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 the French have +maintained their ground, the ruin of the Indian tribes might long have +been postponed; but the victory of Quebec was the signal of their swift +decline. Thenceforth they were destined to melt and vanish before the +advancing waves of Anglo-American power, which now rolled westward +unchecked and unopposed. They saw the danger, and, led by a great and +daring champion, struggled fiercely to avert it. The history of that +epoch, crowded as it is with scenes of tragic interest, with marvels of +suffering and vicissitude, of heroism and endurance, has been, as yet, +unwritten, buried in the archives of governments, or among the obscurer +records of private adventure. To rescue it from oblivion is the object of +the following work. It aims to portray the American forest and the +American Indian at the period when both received their final doom. + +It is evident that other study than that of the closet is indispensable to +success in such an attempt. Habits of early reading had greatly aided to +prepare me for the task; but necessary knowledge of a more practical kind +has been supplied by the indulgence 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 consisted of letters, journals, reports, and despatches, +scattered among numerous public offices, and private families, in Europe +and America. When brought together, they amounted to about three thousand +four hundred manuscript pages. Contemporary newspapers, magazines, and +pamphlets have also been examined, 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 principal events recorded in the narrative, +and gathered such local traditions as seemed worthy of confidence. + +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 important contributions have been obtained from the state paper +offices of London and Paris, from the archives of New York, Pennsylvania, +and other states, and from the manuscript collections of several +historical societies. The late William L. Stone, Esq., commenced an +elaborate biography of Sir William Johnson, 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 purposes of the following History. + +To President Sparks of Harvard University, General Whiting, U. S. A., +Brantz Mayer, Esq., of Baltimore, Francis J. Fisher, Esq., of +Philadelphia, and Rev. George E. Ellis, of Charlestown, I beg to return a +warm acknowledgment for counsel and assistance. Mr. Benjamin Perley Poore +and Mr. Henry Stevens procured copies of valuable documents from the +archives of Paris and London. Henry R. Schoolcraft, Esq., Dr. Elwyn, of +Philadelphia, Dr. O’Callaghan, of Albany, George H. Moore, Esq., of New +York, Lyman C. Draper, Esq., of Philadelphia, Judge Law, of Vincennes, and +many others, have kindly contributed materials to the work. Nor can I +withhold an expression of thanks to the aid so freely rendered in the dull +task of proof-reading and correction. + +The crude and promiscuous mass of materials presented an aspect by no +means inviting. The field of the history was uncultured and unreclaimed, +and the labor that awaited me was like that of the border settler, who, +before he builds his rugged dwelling, must fell the forest-trees, burn the +undergrowth, clear the ground, and hew the fallen trunks to due +proportion. + +Several obstacles have retarded the progress of the work. Of these, one of +the most considerable was the condition of my sight. For about three +years, the light of day was insupportable, and every attempt at reading or +writing completely debarred. Under these circumstances, the task of +sifting the materials and composing the work was begun and finished. The +papers were repeatedly read aloud by an amanuensis, copious notes and +extracts were made, and the narrative written down from my dictation. This +process, though extremely slow and laborious, was not without its +advantages; and I am well convinced that the authorities have been even +more minutely examined, more scrupulously collated, and more thoroughly +digested, 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 +applied, throughout the volume, to the British American colonists, as well +as to the people of the mother country. The necessity is somewhat to be +regretted, since, even at an early period, clear distinctions were visible +between the offshoot and the parent stock. + +BOSTON, August 1, 1851. + + + + + Contents of Vol. I. + + + CHAPTER I. + + INTRODUCTORY.——INDIAN TRIBES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. + + _General Characteristics.——Tribal Divisions.——Mode of Government.—— + Social Harmony.——The Totem.——Classification of Tribes.——The Iroquois.—— + Their Position and Character.——Their Political Organization.—— + Traditions of their Confederacy.——Their Myths and Legends.——Their + Eloquence and Sagacity.——Arts.——Agriculture.——Their Dwellings, + Villages, and Forts.——Their Winter Life.——The War Path.——Festivals and + Pastimes.——Pride of the Iroquois.——The Hurons or Wyandots.——Their + Customs and Character.——Their Dispersion.——The Neutral Nation. Its + Fate.——The Eries and Andastes.——Triumphs of the Confederacy.——The + Adoption of Prisoners.——The Tuscaroras.——Superiority of the Iroquois + Race.——The Algonquins.——The Lenni Lenape.——Their changing Fortunes.—— + The Shawanoes.——The Miamis and the Illinois.——The Ojibwas, + Pottawattamies, and Ottawas.——The Sacs and Foxes.——The Menomonies and + Knisteneaux.——Customs of the Northern Algonquins.——Their Summer and + Winter Life.——Legends of the Algonquins.——Religious Faith of the + Indians.——The Indian Character.——Its Inconsistencies.——Its Ruling + Passions.——Pride.——Hero-worship.——Coldness, Jealousy, Suspicion.—— + Self-control.——Intellectual Traits.——Inflexibility.——Generous + Qualities._ 15 + + + CHAPTER II. + + 1663-1763. + + FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN AMERICA. + + _Contrast of French and English Colonies.——Feudalism in Canada.—— + Priests and Monks.——Puritanism and Democracy in New England.——French + Life in Canada.——Military Strength of Canada.——Religious Zeal.—— + Missions.——The Jesuits.——Brebeuf and Lallemant.——Martyrdom of Jogues.—— + Results of the Missions.——French Explorers.——La Salle.——His Plan of + Discovery.——His Sufferings.——His Heroism.——He discovers the Mouth of + the Mississippi.——Louisiana.——France in the West.——Growth of English + Colonies.——Approaching Collision._ 46 + + + CHAPTER III. + + 1608-1763. + + THE FRENCH, THE ENGLISH, AND THE INDIANS. + + _Champlain defeats the Iroquois.——The Iroquois Wars.——Misery of + Canada.——Expedition of Frontenac.——Success of the French.——French + Influence in the West.——La Verandrye.——The English Fur-trade.—— + Protestant and Romish Missions.——The English and the Iroquois.——Policy + of the French.——The Frenchman in the Wigwam.——Coureurs des Bois.——The + White Savage.——The English Fur-trader.——William Penn and his + Eulogists.——The Indians and the Quakers.——Injustice of Penn’s + Successors.——The Walking Purchase.——Speech of Canassatego.——Removal of + the Delawares.——Intrusion of Settlers.——Success of French Intrigues.—— + Father Picquet.——Sir William Johnson.——Position of Parties._ 59 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + 1700-1755. + + COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. + + _The Puritan and the Canadian.——Fort Frederic.——Acadia.——The French on + the Ohio.——Mission of Washington.——Trent driven from the Ohio.——Death + of Jumonville.——Skirmish at the Great Meadows.——Alarm of the Indians.—— + Congress at Albany.——French and English Diplomacy.——Braddock and + Dieskau.——Naval Engagement.——The War in Europe and America.——Braddock + in Virginia.——March of his Army.——Beaujeu at Fort du Quesne.—— + Ambuscade at the Monongahela.——Rout of Braddock.——Its Consequences.—— + Acadia, Niagara, and Crown Point.——Battle of Lake George.——Prosecution + of the War.——Oswego.——Fort William Henry.——Storming of Ticonderoga.—— + State of Canada.——Plans for its Reduction.——Progress of the English + Arms.——Wolfe before Quebec.——Assault at Montmorenci.——Heroism of + Wolfe.——The Heights of Abraham.——Battle of Quebec.——Death of Wolfe.—— + Death of Montcalm.——Surrender of Quebec.——Fall of Canada._ 79 + + + CHAPTER V. + + 1755-1763. + + THE WILDERNESS AND ITS TENANTS AT THE CLOSE OF THE FRENCH WAR. + + _Sufferings of the Frontier.——Treaties with the Western Tribes.—— + Christian Frederic Post.——The Iroquois.——The remote Tribes.——The + Forest.——Indian Population.——Condition of the Tribes.——Onondaga.——The + Delawares and neighboring Tribes.——Their Habits and Condition.——The + Shawanoes, Miamis, Illinois, and Wyandots.——English Settlements.—— + Forest Thoroughfares.——Fur-traders.——Their Habits and Character.——The + Forest Traveller.——The French at the Illinois.——Military Life in the + Forest.——The Savage and the European.——Hunters and Trappers.—— + Civilization and Barbarism._ 111 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + 1760. + + THE ENGLISH TAKE POSSESSION OF THE WESTERN POSTS. + + _The victorious Armies at Montreal.——Major Robert Rogers.——His + Expedition up the Lakes.——His Meeting with Pontiac.——Ambitious Views + of Pontiac.——He befriends the English.——The English take Possession of + Detroit.——Of other French Posts.——British Power Predominant in the + West._ 124 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + 1760-1763. + + ANGER OF THE INDIANS.——THE CONSPIRACY. + + _Discontent of the Tribes.——Impolitic Course of the English.—— + Disorders of the Fur-trade.——Military Insolence.——Intrusion of + Settlers.——French Intrigue.——The Delaware Prophet.——An abortive Plot.—— + Pontiac’s Conspiracy.——Character of Pontiac.——Gloomy Prospects of the + Indian Race.——Designs of Pontiac.——His War Messengers.——Tribes engaged + in the Conspiracy.——Dissimulation of the Indians.——The War-belt among + the Miamis._ 131 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + 1763. + + INDIAN PREPARATION. + + _The Indians as a military People.——Their inefficient Organization.—— + Their insubordinate Spirit.——Their Improvidence.——Policy of the Indian + Leaders.——Difficulties of Forest Warfare.——Defenceless Condition of + the Colonies.——The Peace of Paris.——Royal Proclamation.——The + War-chief. His Fasts and Vigils.——The War-feast.——The War-dance.—— + Departure of the Warriors.——The Bursting of the Storm._ 145 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + 1763, April. + + THE COUNCIL AT THE RIVER ECORCES. + + _Pontiac musters his Warriors.——They assemble at the River Ecorces.—— + The Council.——Speech of Pontiac.——Allegory of the Delaware.——The + Council dissolves.——Calumet Dance at Detroit.——Plan to surprise the + Garrison._ 151 + + + CHAPTER X. + + 1763, May. + + DETROIT. + + _Strange Phenomenon.——Origin and History of Detroit.——Its Condition in + 1763.——Character of its Inhabitants.——French Life at Detroit.——The + Fort and Garrison.——Pontiac at Isle à la Pêche.——Suspicious Conduct of + the Indians.——Catharine, the Ojibwa Girl.——She reveals the Plot.—— + Precautions of the Commandant.——A Night of Anxiety._ 159 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + 1763. + + TREACHERY OF PONTIAC. + + _The Morning of the Council.——Pontiac enters the Port.——Address and + Courage of the Commandant.——The Plot defeated.——The Chiefs suffered to + escape.——Indian Idea of Honor.——Pontiac again visits the Fort.——False + Alarm.——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 + Pontiac._ 169 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + 1763. + + PONTIAC AT THE SIEGE OF DETROIT. + + _The Christian Wyandots join Pontiac.——Peril of the Garrison.——Indian + Courage——The English threatened with Famine.——Pontiac’s Council with + the French.——His Speech.——He exacts Provision from the French.——He + appoints Commissaries.——He issues Promissory Notes.——His Acuteness and + Sagacity.——His Authority over his Followers.——His Magnanimity._ 183 + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + 1763. + + ROUT OF CUYLER’S DETACHMENT.——FATE OF THE FOREST GARRISONS. + + _Re-enforcement sent to Detroit.——Attack on the Schooner.——Relief at + Hand.——Disappointment of the Garrison.——Escape of Prisoners.——Cuyler’s + Defeat.——Indian Debauch.——Fate of the Captives.——Capture of Fort + Sandusky.——Strength of the Besiegers.——Capture of Fort St. Joseph.—— + Capture of Fort Michillimackinac.——Capture of Fort Ouatanon.——Capture + of Fort Miami.——Defence of Fort Presqu’ Isle.——Its Capture._ 195 + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + 1763. + + THE INDIANS CONTINUE TO BLOCKADE DETROIT. + + _Attack on the Armed Vessel.——News of the Treaty of Paris.——Pontiac + summons the Garrison.——Council at the Ottawa Camp.——Disappointment of + Pontiac.——He is joined by the Coureurs de Bois.——Sortie of the + Garrison.——Death of Major Campbell.——Attack on Pontiac’s Camp.——Fire + Rafts.——The Wyandots and Pottawattamies beg for Peace._ 214 + + + CHAPTER XV. + + 1763. + + THE FIGHT OF BLOODY BRIDGE. + + _Dalzell’s Detachment.——Dalzell reaches Detroit.——Stratagem of the + Wyandots.——Night Attack on Pontiac’s Camp.——Indian Ambuscade.——Retreat + of the English.——Terror of Dalzell’s Troops.——Death of Dalzell.—— + Defence of Campau’s House.——Grant conducts the Retreat.——Exultation of + the Indians.——Defence of the Schooner Gladwyn._ 226 + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + 1763. + + MICHILLIMACKINAC. + + _The Voyager on the Lakes.——Michillimackinac in 1763.——Green Bay and + Ste. Marie.——The Northern Wilderness.——Tribes of the Lakes.—— + Adventures of a Trader.——Speech of Minavavana.——Arrival of English + Troops.——Disposition of the Indians.——The Ojibwa War-chief.—— + Ambassador from Pontiac.——Sinister Designs of the Ojibwas.——Warnings + of Danger.——Wawatam.——Eve of the Massacre._ 238 + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + 1763. + + THE MASSACRE. + + _The King’s Birthday.——Heedlessness of the Garrison.——Indian + Ball-play.——The Stratagem.——Slaughter of the Soldiers.——Escape of + Alexander Henry.——His appalling Situation.——His Hiding-place + discovered.——Survivors of the Massacre.——Plan of retaking the Fort.—— + Adventures of Henry.——Unexpected Behavior of the Ottawas.——They take + Possession of the Fort.——Their Council with the Ojibwas.——Henry and + his Fellow-prisoners.——He is rescued by Wawatam.——Cannibalism.——Panic + among the Conquerors.——They retire to Mackinaw.——The Island of + Mackinaw.——Indian Carouse.——Famine among the Indians.——They disperse + to their Wintering Grounds.——Green Bay. The neighboring Tribes.—— + Gorell. His Address and Prudence.——He conciliates the Indians.——He + abandons Green Bay.——The English driven from the Upper Lakes._ 249 + + + + + List of Illustrations. + + + Forts and Settlements in America, 1763 A. D. 12 + + Fort and Settlements of Detroit, A. D. 1763 161 + + + [Illustration: FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA, 1763 A. D.] + + + + + CHAPTER I. + + INTRODUCTORY.——INDIAN TRIBES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. + + +The Indian is a true child of the forest and the desert. The wastes and +solitudes of nature are his congenial home. His haughty mind is imbued +with the spirit of the wilderness, and the light of civilization falls on +him with a blighting power. His 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 sublimity. + +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 +various families exhibit strong shades of distinction; but, before +pointing them out, I shall indicate a few prominent characteristics, +which, faintly or distinctly, mark the whole in common. + +All are alike a race of hunters, 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 divided into +sub-tribes, bands, or villages, often scattered far asunder, over a wide +extent of wilderness. Unhappily for the strength and harmony of the Indian +race, each tribe is prone to regard itself, not as the member of a great +whole, but as a sovereign and independent nation, often arrogating to +itself an importance superior to all the rest of mankind;[1] 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 _Menomone_.” + +In an Indian community, each man is his own master. He abhors restraint, +and owns no other authority than his own capricious will; and yet this +wild notion of liberty is not inconsistent with certain gradations of rank +and influence. Each tribe has its sachem, or civil chief, whose office is +in a manner hereditary, 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 his dignities.[2] 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 him, and elect another in his place, usually fixing +their choice on one of his relatives. The office of the sachem is no +enviable one. He has neither laws to administer 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, should he be a man of energy, talent, and +address, and especially should he be supported 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 military 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. + +We 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 conspire +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 temperament of the race, tends strongly to +the promotion of harmony. Though he owns no law, the Indian is inflexible +in his adherence to ancient usages and customs; and the principle of +hero-worship, which belongs 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 elevated from his savage +state. + +A peculiar social institution exists among the Indians, very 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 language of the Algonquins, +these emblems are known by the name of _Totems_.[3] The members of the +same clan, being connected, or supposed to be so, by ties of kindred, more +or less remote, are prohibited from intermarriage. Thus Wolf cannot marry +Wolf; but he may, 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 him; and the wayfarer, 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 +privileges, highly prized as hereditary rights, sometimes reside in +particular clans; such as that of furnishing a sachem to the tribe, or of +performing 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.[4] The Mobilian +group embraces the motley confederacy of the Creeks, the crafty Choctaws, +and the stanch and warlike Chickasaws. Of these, and of the distinct +tribes dwelling in their vicinity, or within their limits, I shall only +observe that they offer, with many modifications, and under different +aspects, the same essential features which mark the Iroquois and the +Algonquins, the two great families of the north.[5] The latter, who were +the conspicuous actors in the events of the ensuing narrative, demand a +closer attention. + + + THE IROQUOIS FAMILY. + +Foremost in war, foremost in eloquence, foremost in 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 formed the dominant member.[6] They +extended their conquests and their depredations from Quebec to the +Carolinas, and from the western prairies to the forests of Maine.[7] On +the south, they forced tribute from the subjugated Delawares, and pierced +the mountain fastnesses of the Cherokees with incessant forays.[8] On the +north, they uprooted the ancient settlements of the Wyandots; on the west +they exterminated the Eries and the Andastes, 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 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 colony trembled on the brink of ruin. + +The Iroquois in some measure owed their triumphs to the position of their +country; for they dwelt within the present limits of the State of New +York, whence several great rivers and the inland oceans of the northern +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 their own inherent energies, wrought to the most effective +action under a political fabric well suited to the Indian life; in their +mental and moral organization; in their insatiable ambition and restless +ferocity. + +In their scheme of government, as in their social customs and religious +observances, the Iroquois displayed, in full symmetry and matured +strength, the same characteristics which in other tribes are found +distorted, withered, 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.[9] 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 matters involving the +whole confederacy required deliberation, 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 interest discussed with exemplary +harmony.[10] The order of debate was prescribed by time-honored customs; +and, in the fiercest heat of controversy, the assembly maintained its +self-control. + +But the main stay of Iroquois polity was the system of _totemship_. It was +this which gave the structure its elastic strength; and but for this, a +mere confederacy 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 probably 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 singular institution. Thus the five nations of +the confederacy were laced together by an eight-fold band; and to this +hour their slender remnants 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 +descent 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.[11] The Iroquois +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 council 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 exert so great an authority where there was nothing to enforce it +but the weight of moral power.[12] + +The origin of the Iroquois is lost in hopeless obscurity. That they came +from the west; that they came from the north; that they sprang from the +soil of New York, are the testimonies of three conflicting traditions, all +equally worthless as aids to historic inquiry.[13] It is at the era of +their confederacy——the event to which the five tribes owed all their +greatness 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. + +Taounyawatha, the God of the Waters——such is the belief of the +Iroquois——descended to the earth to instruct his favorite people in the +arts of savage life; and when he saw how they were tormented by giants, +monsters, and evil spirits, he urged the divided tribes, for the common +defence, to band themselves together in 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 confederation. 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 so +hideous, that 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 strewn +implements of incantation, and magic vessels formed of human skulls. +Recovering from their amazement, the warriors could perceive that in the +mystic words of the chant, which he still poured forth, were couched the +laws and principles of the destined confederacy. The tradition further +declares that the monster, being surrounded and captured, was presently +transformed to human shape, that he became a chief 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.[14] + +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 meaning of its own. The gloom is peopled +thick with phantoms; with monsters and prodigies, shapes of wild enormity, +yet offering, in the Teutonic 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 glaring 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 drive him back to his native deeps. The skeletons of men, +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-headed serpent coiled himself, of size so monstrous that the wretched +people were unable to ascend his scaly sides, and perished in multitudes +by his pestilential breath. Mortally wounded at length by the magic arrow +of a child, he rolled down the steep, sweeping 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, exhausted +with his agony, sank, and perished at the bottom. Under the Falls of +Niagara dwelt the Spirit of the Thunder, with his brood of giant sons; and +the Iroquois trembled in their 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 creations drew their birth, +displayed itself, at a later period, in that peculiar eloquence which the +wild democracy 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 irony of Garangula and +Sagoyewatha, and no less by the subtle policy, sagacious as it was +treacherous, which marked the dealings of the Iroquois with surrounding +tribes.[15] + +With all this mental superiority, the arts of life among them had not +emerged from their primitive rudeness; and their coarse pottery, their +spear and arrow heads of stone, were in no way superior to those of many +other tribes. Their agriculture deserves a higher praise. In 1696, the +invading army 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 Sullivan were filled with amazement at their abundant stores of +corn, beans, and squashes, and at the old 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 Nonville, in 1687, +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 pristine condition. +Along the banks of the Mohawk, among the hills and hollows of Onondaga, in +the forests of Oneida and Cayuga, on the romantic shores of Seneca Lake +and the rich borders of the Genesee, surrounded by waving maize fields, +and encircled from afar by the green margin of the forest, stood the +ancient strongholds of the confederacy. The clustering dwellings were +encompassed by palisades, in single, double, or triple rows, pierced with +loopholes, furnished with platforms within, for the convenience of the +defenders, with magazines of stones to hurl upon the heads of the enemy, +and with water conductors to extinguish any fire which might be kindled +from without.[16] + +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, firmly 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 families, whose +separate fires were built along the central space, while compartments on +each side, like the stalls of a stable, afforded some degree of privacy. +Here, rude couches were prepared, and bear and deer skins spread; while +above, the ripened ears of maize, suspended in rows, formed a golden +tapestry.[17] + +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 warrior, the +story-teller of the tribe, recounted to attentive ears the deeds of +ancient heroism, legends of spirits and monsters, or tales of witches and +vampires——superstitions 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 multiplying phases which +vary the routine of civilized existence, was one of sharp excitement and +sudden contrast. The chase, the warpath, the dance, the festival, the game +of hazard, the race of political ambition, all had their votaries. When +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 confederacy, a thousand +warlike hearts caught up the summons. With fasting and praying, and +consulting dreams and omens, with invoking the war-god, and dancing the +war-dance, the warriors sought to insure the triumph of their arms, and +then, their rites concluded, they began their stealthy progress through +the devious pathways of the forest. For days and weeks, in anxious +expectation, the villagers awaited the result. And now, as evening closed, +a shrill, wild cry, pealing from afar, over the darkening forest, +proclaimed the return of the victorious warriors. The village was alive +with sudden commotion, and snatching sticks and stones, knives and +hatchets, men, women, and children, yelling like fiends let loose, swarmed +out of the narrow portal, to visit upon the captives a foretaste of the +deadlier torments in store for them. The black arches of the forest glowed +with the fires of death, and with brandished torch and firebrand the +frenzied multitude closed around their victim. The pen shrinks to write, +the heart sickens to conceive, the fierceness of his agony, yet still, +amid the din of his tormentors, rose his clear voice of scorn and +defiance. The work was done, the blackened trunk was flung to the dogs, +and, with clamorous shouts and hootings, the murderers sought to drive +away the spirit of their victim.[18] + +The Iroquois reckoned these barbarities among their most exquisite +enjoyments, and yet they had other sources of pleasure, which made up in +frequency and in innocence what they lacked in intensity. Each passing +season had its feasts and dances, often mingling religion with social +pastime. The young had their frolics and merry-makings, and the old had +their no less frequent councils, where conversation and laughter +alternated with grave deliberations for the public weal. There were also +stated periods marked by the recurrence of momentous ceremonies, in which +the whole community took part——the mystic sacrifice of the dogs, the +orgies of the dream feast, and the loathsome festival of the exhumation of +the dead. Yet in the intervals of war and hunting, these resources would +often fail; and, while the women were toiling in the cornfields, the lazy +warriors beguiled the hours with smoking or sleeping, with gambling or +gallantry.[19] + +If we seek for a single trait preëminently characteristic of the Iroquois, +we shall find it in that boundless pride which impelled them to style +themselves, not inaptly as regards their own race, “the men surpassing all +others.”[20] “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 by the hands of children?” Their power kept pace +with their pride. Their war-parties roamed over half America, and their +name was a terror from the Atlantic to the Mississippi; but, when we ask +the numerical strength of the dreaded confederacy, when we discover that, +in the days of their greatest triumphs, their united cantons could not +have mustered four thousand warriors, we stand amazed at the folly and +dissension which left so vast a region the prey of a handful 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.[21] + +From this remarkable people, who with all the ferocity of their race +blended heroic virtues and marked endowments of intellect, I pass to other +members of the same great family, whose different fortunes may perhaps be +ascribed rather to the force of circumstance, than to any intrinsic +inferiority. + +The peninsula between the Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario was occupied by +two distinct peoples, speaking dialects of the Iroquois tongue. The Hurons +or Wyandots, including the tribe called by the French the Dionondadies, or +Tobacco Nation,[22] dwelt among the forests which bordered the eastern +shores of the fresh-water sea, to which they have left their name; while +the Neutral Nation, so called from their 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 among them, and from +their descriptions it is apparent that, in legends and superstitions, +manners and habits, religious observances and social customs, they 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.[23] Like the Five Nations, they were divided into tribes, and +cross-divided into totemic clans; and, as with them, the office of sachem +descended in the female line. The same crude materials of a political +fabric were to be found in both; but, unlike the Iroquois, the Wyandots +had not as yet wrought them into a system, and woven them into a +harmonious whole. + +Like the Five Nations, the Wyandots were in some measure an agricultural +people; they bartered the surplus products of their maize fields to +surrounding tribes, usually receiving fish in exchange; and this traffic +was so considerable, that the Jesuits styled their country the Granary of +the Algonquins.[24] + +Their prosperity was rudely broken by the hostilities of the Five Nations; +for though the conflicting parties were not ill matched in point of +numbers, yet the united counsels and ferocious energies of the confederacy +swept all before them. In the year 1649, in the depth of winter, their +warriors invaded the country of the Wyandots, stormed their largest +villages, and involved all within in indiscriminate slaughter.[25] The +survivors fled in panic terror, and the whole nation was broken and +dispersed. + +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 northward, +beyond Lake Superior, and sought an asylum among the wastes which bordered +on the north-eastern bands of the Dahcotah. Driven back by those fierce +bison-hunters, they next established themselves about the outlet of Lake +Superior, and the shores and islands in the northern parts of Lake Huron. +Thence, about the year 1680, they descended to Detroit, where they formed +a permanent settlement, and where, by their superior valor, capacity, and +address, they soon acquired an ascendency over the surrounding Algonquins. + +The ruin of the Neutral Nation followed close on that of the Wyandots, to +whom, according to Jesuit authority, they bore an exact resemblance in +character and manners.[26] The Senecas soon found means to pick a quarrel +with them; they were assailed by all the strength of the insatiable +confederacy, and within a few years their destruction as a nation was +complete. + +South of Lake Erie dwelt two members of the Iroquois family. The Andastes +built their fortified villages along the valley of the Lower Susquehanna; +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 their +names and the record of their destruction. The war with the Wyandots was +scarcely over, when the Five Nations turned their arms against their Erie +brethren. + +In the year 1655, using their canoes as scaling ladders, they stormed the +Erie stronghold, leaped down like tigers among the defenders, and +butchered them without mercy.[27] 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 Andastes 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.[28] + +Thus, within less than a quarter of a century, four nations, the most +brave and powerful of the North American savages, sank before the arms of +the confederates. Nor did their triumphs end here. Within the same short +space they subdued their southern neighbors the Lenape,[29] the leading +members of the Algonquin family, and expelled the Ottawas, a numerous +people of the same lineage, from the borders of the river which bears +their name. In the north, the west, and the south, their conquests +embraced every adjacent tribe; and meanwhile their war parties were +harassing the French of Canada with reiterated inroads, and yelling the +war-whoop under the walls of Quebec. + +They were the worst of conquerors. Inordinate pride, the lust of blood and +dominion, were the mainsprings of their warfare; and their victories were +strained with every excess of savage passion. That their triumphs must +have cost them dear; that, in spite of their cautious tactics, these +multiplied conflicts must have greatly abridged their strength, would +appear inevitable. Their losses were, in fact, considerable; but every +breach was repaired by means of a practice to which they, in common with +other tribes, constantly adhered. When their vengeance was glutted 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, +separating wives from husbands, and children from parents, and +distributing them among different villages, in order that old ties and +associations might be more completely broken up. This policy is said to +have been designated among them by a name which signifies “flesh cut into +pieces and scattered among the tribes.” + +In the years 1714-15, the confederacy received a great accession of +strength. Southwards, about the headwaters 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 +their own undistinguishing vengeance, involved them in a war with the +colonists, which resulted in their defeat and expulsion. 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. + +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 singular vitality and force, and +among them we must seek for the best type of the Indian character. Few +tribes could match them in prowess, constancy, moral energy, or +intellectual vigor. The Jesuits remarked that they were more intelligent, +yet less tractable, than other savages; and Charlevoix observes that, +though the Algonquins were 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.[30] Of this tribe, the Hurons +or Wyandots, 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 of an enemy when the fortunes of the fight were +adverse.[31] + +Besides these inherent qualities, the tribes of the Iroquois race derived +great advantages from their superior social organization. They were all, +more or less, tillers of the soil, and were thus enabled to concentrate a +more numerous population than the scattered tribes who live by the chase +alone. In their well-peopled and well-constructed villages, they dwelt +together the greater part of the year; and thence the religious rites and +social and political usages, which elsewhere existed only in the germ, +attained among them a full development. Yet these advantages 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.[32] + + + THE ALGONQUIN FAMILY. + +Except the detached nation of the Tuscaroras, and a few smaller tribes +adhering to them, the Iroquois family was 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 the east to the Mississippi and Lake Winnipeg on the +west. They were Algonquins who greeted Jacques Cartier, as his ships +ascended the St. Lawrence. The first British colonists found savages of +the same race hunting and fishing along the coasts and inlets of Virginia; +and it was the daughter of an Algonquin chief who interceded with her +father for the life of the adventurous Englishman. They were Algonquins +who, under Sassacus the Pequot, and Philip of Mount Hope, waged war +against the Puritans of New England; who dwelt at Penacook, 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 covenant 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 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 +Original 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 recognized the claim, and, at all solemn councils, +accorded to the ancestral tribe the title of Grandfather.[33] + +The first European colonists found the conical lodges of the Lenape +clustered in frequent groups about the waters of the Delaware and its +tributary streams, within the present limits of New Jersey, and Eastern +Pennsylvania. The nation was separated into three divisions, and three +sachems formed a triumvirate, who, with the council of old men, regulated +all its affairs.[34] 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 to 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.[35] Dwelling under the shadow 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 beyond the reach of their conquerors, +their native spirit began to revive, and they assumed a tone of defiance. +During the Old French War they resumed 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 conquerors; and a few years after, the Five Nations +confessed, at a public council, that the Lenape were no longer women, but +men.[36] 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 Iroquois +have been transformed into a race of formidable warriors. At the present +day, the small remnant settled beyond the Mississippi are among the +bravest marauders of the west. Their war-parties pierce the farthest wilds +of the Rocky Mountains; and the prairie traveller may sometimes meet the +Delaware warrior returning from a successful foray, a gaudy handkerchief +bound about his brows, his snake locks fluttering in the wind, and his +rifle resting across his saddle-bow, while the tarnished and begrimed +equipments of his half-wild horse bear witness that the rider has waylaid +and plundered some Mexican cavalier. + +Adjacent to the Lenape, and associated with them in some of the most +notable passages of their history, 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 they occupied the valley of the Ohio; +that, becoming embroiled with the Five Nations, they shared the defeat of +the Andastes, and about the year 1672 fled to escape destruction. Some +found an asylum in the country of the Lenape, where they lived tenants at +will of the Five Nations; others sought refuge in the Carolinas and +Florida, where, true to their native instincts, they soon came to blows +with the owners of the soil. Again, turning 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 were joined by such of +their brethren as had found refuge among the Lenape.[37] + +Of the tribes which, single and detached, or cohering in loose +confederacies, dwelt within the limits of Lower Canada, Acadia, and New +England, it is needless to speak; for they offered 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 Illinois, who dwelt in the neighborhood of the river to +which they have given their name, while portions of them extended beyond +the Mississippi. 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 particular, +suffered 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, during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, to a few +small villages.[38] 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-making, within the limits of their +villages. + +Turning his course northward, traversing Lakes Michigan and Superior, and +skirting the western margin 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 Crees or +Knisteneaux. + +The Ojibwas, with their kindred, the Pottawattamies, and their friends the +Ottawas,——the latter of whom were fugitives from the eastward, whence they +had fled from the wrath of the Iroquois,——were banded into a sort of +confederacy.[39] They were closely allied in blood, language, manners and +character. The Ojibwas, by far the most numerous of the three, occupied +the basin of Lake Superior, and extensive adjacent regions. In their +boundaries, the career of Iroquois conquest found at length a check. The +fugitive 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 wilderness with restless +wandering, now gorged to repletion, 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 horizon 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 unhallowed 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 drags 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. + +But when winter descends upon the north, sealing up the fountains, +fettering the streams, and turning the green-robed forests to shivering +nakedness, then, bearing 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, while the wind shrieks through the fir-trees like the gale +through the rigging of a frigate, and the narrow concave of the wigwam +sparkles with the frost-work of their congealed breath. In vain they beat +the magic drum, and call upon their guardian manitoes;——the wary moose +keeps aloof, the bear lies close in his hollow tree, and famine stares +them in the face. And now the hunter can fight no more against the nipping +cold and blinding sleet. Stiff and stark, with haggard cheek 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 away 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 houseless head.[40] + +I have thus passed in brief review the more prominent of the Algonquin +tribes; those whose struggles and sufferings 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 stability and intellectual vigor, they are +inferior to the former; though some of the most conspicuous offspring of +the wilderness, Metacom, Tecumseh, and Pontiac himself, owned 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 +philosophy 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, animated trees, and birds who spoke +with human tongue. They heard of malignant sorcerers dwelling among the +lonely islands of spell-bound lakes; of grisly _weendigoes_, and bloodless +_geebi_; of evil _manitoes_ lurking in the dens and fastnesses of the +woods; of pygmy champions, diminutive in stature but mighty in soul, who, +by the potency of charm and talisman, subdued the direst monsters of the +waste; and of heroes, who, not by downright force and open onset, but by +subtle strategy, tricks, or magic art, achieved marvellous triumphs over +the brute force of their assailants. Sometimes the tale will breathe a +different spirit, and tell of orphan children abandoned in the heart of a +hideous wilderness, beset with fiends and cannibals. Some enamored 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 cataract of Niagara, was a characteristic conception +of Iroquois imagination. The Algonquins held a simpler faith, and +maintained that the thunder was a bird who built his nest on the pinnacle +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 shivered to +atoms.[41] + +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, and +no priests to give distinctness and harmony to its rites and symbols. To +the Indian mind, all nature was instinct with deity. A spirit was embodied +in every mountain, lake, and cataract; every bird, beast, or reptile, +every tree, shrub, or grass-blade, was endued with mystic influence; yet +this untutored pantheism did not exclude the conception of certain +divinities, 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 one, almighty, self-existent Being, the Great +Spirit, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the belief was so vague and dubious +as scarcely to deserve the name. His perceptions of moral good and evil +were perplexed and shadowy; and the belief in a state of future reward and +punishment was by no means universal.[42] + +Of the Indian character, much has been written foolishly, and credulously +believed. By the rhapsodies of poets, the cant of sentimentalists, and the +extravagance of some who should have known better, a counterfeit image has +been tricked out, which might seek in vain for its likeness through every +corner of the habitable earth; an image bearing no more resemblance 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 mantle of his own inscrutable reserve, +have made the Indian warrior a wonder and a mystery. Yet to the eye of +rational observation there is nothing unintelligible 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 torments 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 +traveller. 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 unbridled 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 Rochefoucault might lay +bare matters of no less curious observation 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 temperament +is little exposed to those effeminate vices which are the bane of milder +races. With him revenge is an overpowering 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 existence. +Yet, in spite of this haughty independence, he is a devout +hero-worshipper; and high achievement 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 springing from the patriarchal element in +his social system, which, beyond all others, contributes union and harmony +to the erratic members of an Indian community. With him the love of glory +kindles into a burning passion; and to allay its cravings, he will dare +cold and famine, fire, tempest, torture, 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 passion 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-abandonment, 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 our barbaric ancestry. He is never jovial +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 form of pride, and fostered by rigorous discipline from +childhood upward. 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 wildfire +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 magpies, 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 maintains to the last his look of grim +defiance. + +His intellect is as peculiar as his moral organization. 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 observer of external nature, he no sooner +attempts to account for her phenomena than he involves himself in the most +ridiculous absurdities; and quite content with these puerilities, he has +not the least desire to push his inquiries further. His curiosity, +abundantly active within its own narrow circle, is dead to all things +else; and to attempt rousing 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 absence 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 can +rarely change the form without destruction of the substance. Races of +inferior energy have possessed a power of expansion and assimilation to +which he is a stranger; and it is this fixed and rigid quality which has +proved his ruin. He will not learn the arts of civilization, and he and +his forest must perish together. The stern, unchanging features of his +mind excite our admiration from their very immutability; 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 the germs of +heroic virtues mingled among his vices,——a hand bountiful to bestow as it +is rapacious to seize, and even in extremest famine, imparting its last +morsel to a fellow-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 burning with an unquenchable +thirst for greatness 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 +dramshops 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 tempestuous war have cast upon the picture their murky +shadows and lurid fires. + + + + + CHAPTER II. + + 1608-1763. + + 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, outcast and +neglected, but strong in native vigor and self-confiding courage, grew yet +more strong with conflict and with striving, and developed the rugged +proportions 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 Democracy; 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 popular rights and civil liberties. Born to obey, he lived in +contented submission, without the wish or the capacity for self-rule. +Power, centered in the heart of the system, left the masses inert. The +settlements along the margin of the St. Lawrence were like a camp, where +an army lay at rest, ready for the march or the battle, and where war and +adventure, not trade and tillage, seemed the chief aims of life. The lords +of the soil were petty nobles, for the most part soldiers, or the sons of +soldiers, proud and ostentatious, thriftless and poor; and the people were +their vassals. Over every cluster of small white houses glittered the +sacred emblem of the cross. The church, the convent, and the roadside +shrine were seen at every turn; and in the towns and villages, one met +each moment the black robe of the Jesuit, the gray garb of the Recollet, +and the formal habit of the Ursuline nun. The names of saints, St. Joseph, +St. Ignatius, St. Francis, were perpetuated in the capes, rivers, and +islands, the forts and villages of the land; and with every day, crowds +of simple worshippers knelt in adoration before the countless altars of +the Roman faith. + +If we search the world for the sharpest contrast to the spiritual and +temporal vassalage of Canada, we shall find it among her immediate +neighbors, the 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; calling 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 Canadian fell miserably +below his rival; but in all that pleases the eye and interests the +imagination, he far surpassed him. Buoyant and gay, like his ancestry of +France, he made the frozen wilderness ring with merriment, answered the +surly howling of the pine forest with peals of laughter, and warmed with +revelry the groaning ice of the St. Lawrence. Careless and thoughtless, he +lived happy in the midst of poverty, content if he could but gain the +means to fill his tobacco-pouch, and decorate the cap of his mistress with +a ribbon. The example of a beggared nobility, who, proud and penniless, +could only assert their rank by idleness and ostentation, was not lost +upon him. A rightful heir to French bravery and French restlessness, he +had an eager love of wandering and adventure; and this propensity found +ample scope 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; when their frail bark quivered among the milky +foam and black rocks of the rapid; and when, around their camp-fire, they +wasted half the night with jests and laughter,——then the Canadian was in +his element. His footsteps explored the farthest hiding-places of the +wilderness. 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 the +side of his dusky mistress, he watched the gambols of his hybrid +offspring, in happy oblivion of the partner whom he left unnumbered +leagues behind. + +The fur-trade engendered a peculiar class of restless 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 infected. 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.[43] +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 wilderness. Feebly rooted in the soil, she thrust +out branches which overshadowed half America; a magnificent object to the +eye, but one which the first whirlwind would prostrate in the dust. + +Such excursive enterprise was alien to the genius of the British colonies. +Daring activity was rife among them, but it did not aim at the founding of +military outposts and forest missions. By the force of energetic industry, +their population swelled with an unheard-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 counsel +and promptitude of action which are the soul of war. It was far otherwise +with 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 the cumbrous masses and +unwieldy strength of their antagonists, as the king-bird attacks the +eagle, or the sword-fish the whale. Between two such combatants the strife +must needs be a long one. + +Canada was a true child of the Church, baptized in infancy and faithful to +the last. Champlain, the founder of Quebec, a man of noble spirit, a +statesman and a soldier, was deeply imbued with fervid piety. “The saving +of a soul,” he would often say, “is worth more than the conquest of an +empire;”[44] and to forward the work of conversion, he brought with him +four Franciscan 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.[45] All +France was filled with the zeal of proselytism. 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.[46] In one convent, thirty nuns +offered themselves for the labors of the wilderness; and priests flocked +in crowds to the colony.[47] The powers of darkness took alarm; and when a +ship, freighted with the apostles of the faith, was tempest-tost upon her +voyage, the storm was ascribed to the malice of demons, trembling for the +safety of their ancient empire. + +The 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 power; and the ambition of Richelieu could not have devised a +more efficient enginery for the accomplishment 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 _fleur de lis_ were +planted side by side. + +Foremost among the envoys of the faith were the members of that mighty +order, who, in another hemisphere, 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 missions, to the exclusion of the Franciscans, early laborers in +the same barren field. Inspired with a self-devoting zeal to snatch souls +from perdition, and win new empires to the cross; casting from them every +hope of earthly pleasure or earthly aggrandizement, the Jesuit fathers +buried themselves in deserts, facing death with the courage of heroes, and +enduring torments with the constancy of martyrs. Their story is replete +with marvels——miracles of patient suffering and daring enterprise. They +were the pioneers of Northern America.[48] We see them among the frozen +forests of Acadia, struggling on snowshoes, with some wandering Algonquin +horde, or crouching in the 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 painted proselytes in the forests of the Hurons; or, bearing +his life in his hand, carries his sacred mission into the strongholds of +the Iroquois, like one who invades unarmed a den of angry tigers. Jesuit +explorers traced the St. Lawrence to its source, and said masses among the +solitudes 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 boundless ambition of France. + +The path of the missionary was a thorny and a bloody one; and a life of +weary apostleship was often crowned with a frightful martyrdom. Jean de +Brebeuf and Gabriel Lallemant preached the faith among the villages of the +Hurons, when their terror-stricken flock were overwhelmed by an irruption +of the Iroquois. 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 captive, and both were doomed to the fiery torture. +Brebeuf, a veteran soldier of the cross, met his fate with an undaunted +composure, which amazed his murderers. With unflinching 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 younger in years and gentle in +spirit, was enveloped in blazing savin-bark. Again and again the fire was +extinguished; again and again it was kindled afresh; and with such +fiendish ingenuity were his torments protracted, that he lingered for +seventeen hours before death came to his relief.[49] + +Isaac Jogues, taken captive by the Iroquois, was led from canton to +canton, and village to village, enduring fresh torments and indignities at +every stage of his progress.[50] 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 sufferings. 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. Patience and zeal were thrown away upon lethargic minds and +stubborn hearts. The reports of the Jesuits, it is true, display a copious +list of conversions; but the zealous fathers reckoned the number of +conversions by the number of baptisms; and, as Le Clercq observes, with no +less truth than candor, an Indian would 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 +in 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.[51] + +While the church was reaping but a scanty harvest, the labors of the +missionaries were fruitful of profit to the monarch of France. The Jesuit +led the van of French colonization; and at Detroit, Michillimackinac, St. +Mary’s, Green Bay, and other outposts of the west, the establishment of a +mission was the precursor of military occupancy. In other respects no +less, the labors of the wandering missionaries advanced the welfare of the +colony. Sagacious and keen of sight, with faculties stimulated by zeal and +sharpened by peril, they made faithful report of the temper and movements +of the distant tribes among whom they were distributed. The influence +which they often gained was exerted in behalf of the government under +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 themselves the +stanch and steadfast auxiliaries of the imperial power; and the Marquis du +Quesne observed of the missionary Picquet, that in his single person he +was worth ten regiments.[52] + +Among the English colonies, the pioneers of civilization 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 settlements. With Canada +it was far otherwise. There was no energy in the bulk of her people. The +court and the army supplied the mainsprings of her vital action, 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 +adventure, the ambition of new discovery, the hope of military +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 with 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[53] are invested with all the interest of +romance. + +Conspicuous in the annals of Canada stands the memorable name of Robert +Cavelier de La Salle, the man who, beyond all his compeers, contributed to +expand the boundary of French empire in the west. La Salle commanded at +Fort Frontenac, 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 Indians, and half-breeds, traders, voyageurs, +bush-rangers, and Franciscan monks, ruling his little empire with absolute +sway, enforcing respect by his energy, but offending 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 Marquette, 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 Frozen Ocean to Mexico. Ten years of +his early life had passed, it is said, in connection with the Jesuits, and +his strong mind had hardened to iron under the discipline of that +relentless school. To a sound judgment, 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 in person. Here he began a little fort of palisades, and was +the first military tenant of a spot destined to momentous consequence in +future wars. Two leagues above the cataract, on the eastern bank of the +river, he built the first vessel which ever explored the waters of the +upper lakes.[54] Her name was the Griffin, and her burden was forty-five +tons. On the seventh of August, 1679, 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 sat crouched +upon her prow. She bore on her course along the virgin waters of Lake +Erie, through the beautiful windings of the Detroit, and among the +restless billows of Lake Huron, where a furious tempest had well nigh +ingulphed her. La Salle pursued his voyage along Lake Michigan in birch +canoes, and after protracted suffering from famine and exposure reached +its southern extremity on the eighteenth of October.[55] + +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, +clamored, 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 wilderness 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 disastrous crisis, +La Salle embraced a resolution 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. He traversed +on foot more than a thousand miles of frozen forest, crossing rivers, +toiling through snow-drifts, wading ice-encumbered swamps, sustaining life +by the fruits of the chase, and threatened day and night by lurking +enemies. He gained his 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 vigor, 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 supplies of men, stores, +and ammunition, he again embarked for the Illinois. Rounding 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, mutinous, 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 his enterprise. He +succeeded. With his little flotilla of canoes, he left his fort, at the +outlet of Lake Ontario, and slowly retraced those interminable 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, crossed the rough portage to the waters of the Illinois, +followed its winding channel, and descended the turbid eddies of the +Mississippi, 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, 1682, with his +followers under arms, amid the firing of musketry, the chanting of the _Te +Deum_, and shouts of “Vive le roi,” La Salle took formal possession of the +vast valley of the Mississippi, in the name of Louis the Great, King of +France and Navarre.[56] + +The first stage of his enterprise was accomplished, but labors no less +arduous remained behind. Repairing 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 freighted with men and material +for the projected colony. But the folly and obstinacy of a jealous 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. La Salle landed with a +band of half-famished followers 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 traitor’s musket closed the +career of the iron-hearted discoverer. + +It was left with another to complete the enterprise on which he had staked +his life; and, in the year 1699, Lemoine d’Iberville planted the germ +whence sprang the colony of Louisiana.[57] + +Years passed on. In spite of a vicious plan of government, in spite of the +bursting of the memorable Mississippi bubble, the new colony grew in +wealth 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 intrench 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 great project was fast advancing towards +completion. The lakes and streams, the thoroughfares of the wilderness, +were seized and guarded by a series 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 controlled 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 Mississippi, by way of the rivers Wisconsin and Illinois; +while two posts on the Wabash, and one on the Maumee, made France the +mistress of the great trading highway from Lake Erie to the Ohio. At +Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and elsewhere in the Illinois, little French +settlements had sprung up; and as the canoe of the voyager descended the +Mississippi, he 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 +_habitans_ 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 dwellings, whose tenants lived under the protection of the +garrison, and obeyed the arbitrary will of the commandant; an authority +which, however, was seldom exerted in a despotic spirit. In these detached +settlements, there was no principle of increase. The character 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 +Galissonnière proposed to bring over ten thousand peasants from France, +and plant them in the valley of that beautiful river, and on the borders +of the lakes.[58] But while at Quebec, in the Castle of St. Louis, +soldiers and statesmen were revolving schemes like this, the slowly-moving +power of England bore on with silent progress from the east. Already the +British settlements were creeping along the valley of the Mohawk, and +ascending the eastern slopes of the Alleghanies. 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 mountains, Celeron de +Bienville was burying plates of lead, engraved with the arms 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. + + + + + CHAPTER III. + + 1608-1763. + + THE FRENCH, THE ENGLISH, AND THE INDIANS. + + +The French colonists of Canada held, from the beginning, 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; agriculture and commerce were the chief +sources of wealth to the British provinces. The Romish 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 colonists 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 emissaries of France were roaming the prairies with the +buffalo-hunting Pawnees, or lodging in the winter cabins of the Dahcotah; +and swarms of savages, whose uncouth names were strange to English ears, +descended yearly from the north, to bring their beaver and otter skins to +the market of Montreal. + +The position of Canada invited intercourse with the interior, and +eminently favored her schemes of commerce and policy. The river St. +Lawrence, and the chain of the great lakes, opened a vast extent of inland +navigation; while their tributary streams, interlocking with the branches +of the Mississippi, afforded ready access to that mighty river, and gave +the restless 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 +Ontario gave harborage to the five tribes of the Iroquois, 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,[59] Samuel de Champlain, impelled by his own adventurous spirit, +departed from the hamlet of Quebec to follow a war-party of Algonquins +against their hated enemy, the Iroquois. Ascending the Sorel, and passing +the rapids at Chambly, he embarked on the lake which bears his name, and +with two French attendants, steered southward, with his savage associates, +toward the rocky promontory of Ticonderoga. They moved with all the +precaution of Indian warfare, when, at length, as night was closing in, +they descried a band of the Iroquois in their large canoes of elm bark +approaching through the gloom. Wild yells from either side announced the +mutual discovery. The Iroquois hastened to the shore, and all night long +the forest resounded with their discordant war-songs and fierce whoops of +defiance. Day dawned, and the fight began. Bounding from tree to tree, the +Iroquois pressed forward to the 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 flash of his arquebuse, 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 Algonquins 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 their 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. The Indians of Canada, friends +and neighbors of the French, had long been 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 was fruitful of misery to the +youthful colony. The passes were beset by ambushed war-parties. The routes +between Quebec and Montreal were watched with tiger-like vigilance. +Bloodthirsty warriors prowled about the outskirts of the settlements. +Again and again the miserable people, driven within the palisades of their +forts, looked forth upon wasted harvests and blazing roofs. The Island of +Montreal was swept with fire 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 was the necessary result.[60] The name of the Iroquois +became a by-word of horror through the colony, and to the suffering +Canadians they seemed troops of incarnate fiends. Revolting rites and +monstrous superstitions were imputed to them; and, among the rest, it was +currently believed that they cherished the custom of immolating young +children, burning them, and drinking the ashes mixed with water to +increase their bravery.[61] Yet the wildest imaginations could scarcely +exceed the truth. At the attack of Montreal, they placed infants over the +embers, and forced the wretched mothers to turn the spit;[62] and those +who fell within their clutches endured torments too hideous for +description. Their ferocity was equalled only by their courage and +address. + +At intervals, the afflicted colony found respite from its sufferings; 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 their auspices a French colony was formed in +the very heart of the Iroquois country; but the settlers were soon forced +to a precipitate flight, and the war broke out afresh.[63] The French, on +their part, were not idle; they faced their assailants with characteristic +gallantry. Courcelles, Tracy, De la Barre, and De Nonville invaded by +turns, with various success, the forest haunts of the confederates; and at +length, in the year 1696, the veteran Count Frontenac marched upon their +cantons with all the force of Canada. Stemming the surges of La Chine, +gliding through the romantic channels of the Thousand Islands, and over +the glimmering surface of Lake Ontario, and trailing in long array up the +current of the Oswego, they disembarked on the margin of the Lake of +Onondaga; and, startling the woodland echoes with the clangor of their +trumpets, urged their march through the mazes of the forest. Never had +those solitudes beheld so strange a pageantry. The Indian 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 +forest-rangers 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 buck-skin, 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 +cuirass and head-piece, veterans of European wars. Plumed cavaliers were +there, who had followed the standards of Condé or Turenne, and who, even +in the depths of a wilderness, scorned to lay aside the martial foppery +which 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 the quenchless fire which, like a +furnace, burned hottest when its fuel was almost spent. Thus, beneath the +sepulchral arches of the forest, through tangled thickets, and over +prostrate trunks, the aged nobleman advanced to wreak his vengeance upon +empty wigwams and deserted maize-fields.[64] + +Even the fierce courage of the Iroquois began to quail before these +repeated attacks, while the gradual growth of the colony, and the arrival +of troops from France, at length convinced them that they could not +destroy Canada. With the opening of the eighteenth century, their rancor +showed signs of abating; and in the year 1726, by dint of skilful +intrigue, the French succeeded in establishing a permanent military post +at the important pass of Niagara, within the limits of the +confederacy.[65] Meanwhile, in spite of every obstacle, the power of +France had rapidly extended its boundaries in the west. French influence +diffused itself through a thousand channels, among distant tribes, +hostile, for the most part, to the domineering Iroquois. Forts, +mission-houses, and armed trading stations secured the principal passes. +Traders, and _coureurs de bois_ pushed their adventurous traffic into the +wildest deserts; and French guns and hatchets, French beads and cloth, +French tobacco and brandy, were known from where the stunted Esquimaux +burrowed in their snow caves, to where the Camanches scoured the plains of +the south with their banditti cavalry. Still this far-extended commerce +continued to advance westward. 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 hostility +defeated his enterprise, but not before he had struck far out into these +unknown wilds, and formed 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 period, France left her footsteps upon the dreary +wastes which even now have no other tenants than the Indian 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 Iroquois, they attempted to open a traffic with the Algonquin 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 seized and imprisoned by the French.[66] From +this time forward, the English fur-trade languished, until the year 1725, +when Governor Burnet, 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 savages soon congregated from +every side, to the unspeakable annoyance of the French.[67] Meanwhile, 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 +Pennsylvania began to cross the Alleghanies, and carry on a lucrative +traffic with the tribes of the Ohio. In 1749, La Jonquière, the Governor +of Canada, learned, to his great indignation, that several English traders +had reached Sandusky, and were exerting a bad influence upon the Indians +of that quarter;[68] and two years later, he caused four of the intruders +to be seized near the Ohio, and sent prisoners to Canada.[69] + +These early efforts of the English, considerable as they were, can ill +bear comparison with the vast extent of the French interior commerce. In +respect also to missionary enterprise, and the political influence +resulting from it, the French had every advantage over rivals whose zeal +for conversion was neither kindled by fanaticism nor fostered by an +ambitious government. Eliot labored within call of Boston, while the +heroic Brebeuf faced the ghastly perils of the western wilderness; and the +wanderings of Brainerd sink into insignificance compared with those of the +devoted Rasles. Yet, in judging the relative merits of the Romish and +Protestant missionaries, it must not be forgotten that while the former +contented themselves with sprinkling a few drops of water on the forehead +of the 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 consistent Indian +policy; and the measures of one government often clashed with those of +another. Even in the separate provinces, the popular nature of the +constitution 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 the English +alliance; and a proper treatment would have secured their firm and lasting +friendship. But, at the early periods of her history, the assembly of New +York was made up in great measure of narrow-minded men, more eager to +consult their own petty interests than to pursue any far-sighted scheme of +public welfare.[70] Other causes conspired to injure the British interest +in this quarter. The annual present sent from England to the Iroquois was +often embezzled by corrupt governors or their favorites.[71] 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 significant title of +“rum carriers.”[72] In short, through all the counsels of the province +Indian affairs were grossly and madly neglected.[73] + +With more or less emphasis, the same remark holds true of all the other +English colonies.[74] With those of France, it was far otherwise; and this +difference between the rival powers was naturally incident to their +different forms of government, and different conditions of development. +France labored with eager diligence to conciliate the Indians and win them +to espouse her cause. Her agents were busy in every village, studying the +language of the inmates, complying with their usages, flattering their +prejudices, caressing them, cajoling them, and whispering friendly +warnings in their ears against the wicked designs of the English. When a +party of Indian chiefs visited a French fort, they were greeted with the +firing of cannon and rolling of drums; they were regaled at the tables of +the officers, and bribed with medals and decorations, scarlet uniforms and +French flags. Far wiser than their rivals, the French never ruffled the +self-complacent dignity of their guests, never insulted their religious +notions, nor ridiculed their ancient customs. They met the savage half +way, and showed an abundant readiness to mould their own features after +his likeness.[75] Count Frontenac himself, plumed and painted like an +Indian chief, 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 Louvigny, French commandant at Michillimackinac, in 1695, tortured an +Iroquois ambassador to death, that he might break off a negotiation +between that people and the Wyandots.[76] Nor are these the only +well-attested instances of such execrable inhumanity. But if the French +were guilty of these cruelties against their Indian enemies, they were no +less guilty of unworthy compliance with the demands of their Indian +friends, in cases where Christianity and civilization would have dictated +a prompt refusal. Even 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 necessary to avoid giving +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.[77] Every crime against a Frenchman 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, 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 conciliating +assurance they sought to make good their 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 amalgamate with the forest tribes. “The +manners of the savages,” writes the Baron La Hontan, “are perfectly +agreeable to my palate;” and many a restless adventurer of high or low +degree might have echoed the words of the erratic soldier. At first, great +hopes were entertained that, by the mingling of French and Indians, 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 fur-trade engendered a peculiar class of men, known by the appropriate +name of bush-rangers, or _coureurs de bois_, half-civilized vagrants, +whose chief vocation was conducting the canoes of the traders 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 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 vermilion, 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 hunting, 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 conjuror; 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 his dreams. This class of men is not yet +extinct. In the cheerless 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 and impracticable barrier divided the +white man from the red. The English fur-traders, and the rude men in their +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 hostile 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 curses and threats. Thus the native population shrank back from +before the English, as from before an advancing pestilence; while, on the +other hand, in the very heart of Canada, Indian communities 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, consisting in part of +fugitives from the borders of the hated 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 the rest by +the peculiar character 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 philanthropy, and enlightened by liberal views of human +government and human rights, planted on the banks of the Delaware the +colony which, vivified by the principles it embodied, grew into the great +commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Penn’s treatment of the Indians was equally +prudent 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 benevolence +to urge the Quakers to deal kindly with their savage neighbors. They were +bound in common sense to propitiate them; since, by incurring their +resentment, they would involve themselves in the dilemma 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,——Penn, as he himself confesses, acted +on the prudent counsel of Compton, Bishop of London.[78] Nor is there any +truth in the representations of Raynal and other eulogists of the Quaker +legislator, who hold him up to the world as the only European who ever +acquired 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.[79] + +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. The position of the colony was a most fortunate one. Had the Quakers +planted their colony on the banks of the St. Lawrence, or among the +warlike tribes of New England, their shaking of hands and assurances of +tender regard would not long have availed to save them from the +visitations of the scalping-knife. But the Delawares, the people on whose +territory they had settled, were like themselves debarred the use of arms. +The Iroquois had conquered them, disarmed them, and forced them to adopt +the opprobrious name of _women_. The humble 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.[80] + +The sons of Penn, his successors in the proprietorship of the province, +did not evince the same kindly feeling towards the Indians which had +distinguished their father. Earnest to acquire new lands, they commenced +through their agents a series of unjust measures, which gradually +alienated the Indians, and, after a peace of seventy years, produced a +disastrous rupture. The Quaker population of the colony sympathized in the +kindness which its founder had cherished towards the benighted race. This +feeling was strengthened by years of friendly intercourse; and except +where private interest was concerned, the Quakers made good their +reiterated professions of attachment. Kindness to the Indian was the glory +of their sect. As years wore on, this feeling was wonderfully reënforced +by the influence of party spirit. The time arrived when, 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 measure, +repugnant alike to their pacific principles and to their love of the +Indians, was strenuously opposed by the Quakers. Their affection for the +injured race was now inflamed into a sort of benevolent 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 hundreds; 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 +Quaker, secure by their Philadelphia firesides, could not see the +necessity of waging even a defensive war against their favorite +people.[81] + +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 the fraudulent interpretation of Indian deeds of conveyance, 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 results, was +commenced in the year 1737, and was known by the name of the _walking +purchase_. An old, forgotten deed was raked out of the dust of the +previous century; a deed which was in itself of doubtful validity, and +which had been virtually cancelled by a 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-westerly +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 +northern 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 the Indians.[82] The land thus +obtained lay in the Forks of the Delaware, above Easton, and was then +occupied by a powerful branch of the Delawares, who, to their amazement, +now heard the summons to quit for ever 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 necessary; but a +Quaker legislature would never consent to fight, and especially to fight +against Indians. An expedient was hit upon, at once safe and effectual. +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 tall stature and imposing presence,[83] +looking with a grim countenance on his cowering auditors, 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’s[84] cause is very just. On the other hand, your cause is bad, and +you are bent to break the chain of friendship. 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 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, +considering 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.”[85] + +The unhappy Delawares dared not disobey. They left their ancient homes, +and removed, as they had been ordered, to the Susquehanna, where some +settled at Shamokin, and some at Wyoming.[86] 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.[87] +The evil continued to increase. Many families, chiefly German and Irish, +began to cross the Susquehanna and build their cabins along the valleys of +the Juniata and its tributary waters. The Delawares sent frequent +remonstrances 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 were made; but the +remedy proved ineffectual, and the discontent 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 Delaware tribe was 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. 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 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 machinery of conciliation to bear upon them. They turned +the opportunity to such good account, as not only to smooth away the +asperity of the ancient grudge, but also to rouse in the minds of their +former foes 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-parties against their enemies, the +Cherokees and Catawbas, who dwelt near the borders of Carolina and +Virginia; and in these forays the invaders often became so seriously +embroiled with the white settlers, that sharp frays took place, and an +open war seemed likely to ensue.[88] + +It was with great difficulty that the irritation caused by these untoward +accidents was allayed; and even then enough remained in the neglect of +governments, the insults of traders, and the haughty bearing of officials, +to disgust the proud confederates with their English allies. In the war of +1745, they yielded but cold and doubtful aid; and fears were entertained +of their final estrangement.[89] This result became still more imminent, +when, in the year 1749, the French priest Picquet established his mission +of La Présentation on the St. Lawrence, at the site of Ogdensburg.[90] +This pious father, like the martial churchmen of an earlier day, deemed it +no scandal to gird on earthly armor against the enemies of the faith. He +built a fort and founded a settlement; he mustered the Indians about him +from far and near, organized their governments, 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 Indian +hordes 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 the +side of France; and in this he succeeded so well, that, as a writer of +good authority declares, the number of their warriors within the circle of +his influence surpassed the whole remaining force of the confederacy.[91] + +Thoughtful men in the English colonies saw with anxiety the growing +defection of the Iroquois, 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 at 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 nineteen, where he assumed the charge of an extensive tract of +wild land in the province of New York, belonging to his uncle, Admiral Sir +Peter Warren. Settling in the valley of the Mohawk, he carried on a +prosperous traffic with the Indians; and while he rapidly rose to wealth, +he gained, at the same time, an extraordinary influence over the +neighboring Iroquois. As his resources increased, he built two mansions in +the valley, known respectively by the names of Johnson Castle and Johnson +Hall, the latter of which, a well-constructed building of wood and stone, +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 surrounded with cabins built for the reception of the +Indians, who often came in crowds to visit the proprietor, invading his +dwelling at all unseasonable hours, loitering in the doorways, spreading +their blankets in the passages, and infecting the air with the fumes of +stale tobacco. + +Johnson supplied the place of his former love by a young Dutch damsel, who +bore him several children; and, in justice to them, he married her upon +her death-bed. Soon afterwards he found another favorite in the person of +Molly Brant, sister of the celebrated 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 militia. + +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 he was +entitled to little credit, he was raised to the rank of baronet, and +rewarded with a gift of five thousand pounds from the king. About this +time, he was appointed superintendent of Indian affairs for the northern +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 ramparts 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 Highland tenantry, 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 1774, 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, eloquence, +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, and talking of improvements or the price of +beaver-skins; while 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 temper was genial; he encouraged rustic +sports, and was respected and beloved alike by whites and Indians. + +His good qualities, however, were alloyed with serious defects. His mind +was as coarse as it was vigorous; he was vain of his rank and influence, +and being 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 was never distinguished by an anxious solicitude for the +rights of others.[92] + +At the time of which we speak, his fortunes had not reached their zenith; +yet his influence was great; and during the war of 1745, when he held the +chief control of Indian affairs in New York, it was exercised in a manner +most beneficial to the province. After the peace of Aix la Chapelle, in +1748, finding his measures ill supported, he threw up his office in +disgust. Still his mere personal influence sufficed to embarrass the +intrigues of the busy priest at La Présentation; and a few years later, +when the public exigency demanded his utmost efforts, he resumed, under +better auspices, the official management of Indian affairs. + +And now, when the blindest could see that between the rival claimants to +the soil of America nothing was left but the arbitration of the sword, no +man friendly to the cause of England could observe without alarm 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 wholly +forgotten their ancient league with William Penn. The Miamis, too, in the +valley of the Ohio, had lately 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 exceptions, +the numerous tribes of the great lakes and the Mississippi, besides a host +of domiciliated savages in Canada itself, stood ready at the bidding of +France to grind their tomahawks and turn loose their ravenous war-parties; +while the British colonists had too much reason to fear that even those +tribes which seemed most friendly to their cause, and which formed the +sole barrier of their unprotected borders, might, at the first sound of +the war-whoop, be found in arms against them. + + + + + CHAPTER IV. + + 1700-1755. + + COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. + + +The people of the northern English colonies had learned to regard their +Canadian neighbors with the bitterest enmity. With them, the very name of +Canada called up horrible recollections and ghastly images: the midnight +massacre of Schenectady, and the desolation of many a New England hamlet; +blazing dwellings and reeking scalps; and children snatched from their +mothers’ arms, to be immured in convents and trained up in the +abominations of Popery. To the sons of the Puritans, their enemy was +doubly odious. They hated him as a Frenchman, and they hated him as a +Papist. Hitherto he had waged his murderous warfare 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, in the lonely +wilderness of Vermont, as by the warm glow of sunset he piled the spruce +boughs for his woodland bed, started as a deep, low sound struck faintly +on his ear, the evening gun of Fort Frederic, booming over lake and +forest. The erection of this fort, better known among the English as Crown +Point, was a piece of daring encroachment which justly kindled resentment +in the northern colonies. But it was not here that the immediate occasion +of a final rupture was to arise. By an article of the treaty of Utrecht, +confirmed by that of Aix la Chapelle, Acadia had been ceded to England; +but scarcely was the latter treaty signed, when debates sprang up touching +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.[93] Meantime, +the French and English forces in Acadia began to assume a belligerent +attitude, and indulge their ill blood in mutual aggression and +reprisal.[94] 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 their 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 danger so +doubtful and remote. There were those among them, however, who with +greater foresight had been quick to perceive the ambitious projects of the +rival nation; 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 settlements.[95] His proposal was coldly received, 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 1748, an association, +called the Ohio Company, was formed with the view of making settlements in +the region beyond the Alleghanies; and two years later, Gist, the +company’s surveyor, to the great disgust of the Indians, carried chain and +compass down the Ohio as far as the falls at Louisville.[96] But so +dilatory were the English, that before any effectual steps were taken, +their agile enemies 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.[97] 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 Virginian +militia. + +Washington departed on his mission, crossed the mountains, descended to +the bleak and leafless valley of the Ohio, and thence continued his +journey up the banks of the Alleghany until the fourth of December. 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 +reception,[98] and referred him to the commanding officer, whose +headquarters were at Le Bœuf, a fort which they had just built 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 appearance. To the message of Dinwiddie, 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 Washington, +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 Captain Trent, hastened across the mountains, and +began to build a fort at the confluence of the Monongahela 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 Bœuf and Venango.[99] The English were +ordered to evacuate the spot; and, being quite unable to resist, they +obeyed the summons, and withdrew in great discomfiture towards Virginia. +Meanwhile Washington, with another party of backwoodsmen, was advancing +from the borders; and, hearing 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 scouting party +under M. Jumonville, with the design, probably, 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.[100] Learning 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 assailed by nine hundred French and Indians, commanded by a +brother of the slain Jumonville. From eleven in the morning till eight at +night, the backwoodsmen, who were half famished from the failure of their +stores, maintained a stubborn defence, some fighting 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, leaving +the disputed territory in the hands of the French.[101] + +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, their 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.”[102] + +The French labored hard to conciliate them, plying them with gifts and +flatteries,[103] and proclaiming themselves their champions against the +English. At first, these arts seemed in vain, but their effect soon began +to declare itself; and this effect was greatly increased by a singular +piece of infatuation on the part of the proprietors of Pennsylvania. +During the summer of 1754, delegates of the several provinces met at +Albany, 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 forward; 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 crown.[104] A +council was also held with the Iroquois, and though they were found but +lukewarm in their attachment to the English, a treaty of friendship and +alliance was concluded with their deputies.[105] It would have been well +if the matter had ended here; but, with ill-timed rapacity, the +proprietary agents of Pennsylvania 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.[106] 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 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 +officer 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 fortunate. Two of their ships, the Lys and the +Alcide, became involved in the fogs of the banks of Newfoundland; 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 war?” +demanded the French commander. A broadside from the Englishman soon solved +his doubts, and after a stout resistance the French struck their +colors.[107] News of the capture caused great excitement in England, but +the conduct of the aggressors was generally approved; and under pretence +that the French had begun the war by 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.[108] The French, unable to retort in 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 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 exploits of Clive; the war which +controlled the destinies of America, and was first in the chain of events +which led on to her Revolution with all its vast and undeveloped +consequences. On the old battle-ground of Europe, the contest 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 suburbs, 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 +sublime 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 everywhere the axe of the pioneer must hew a path +for the bayonet of the soldier. + +Before the declaration of war, and before the breaking 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 once, and +repelling them, by one bold push, from all their encroachments.[109] A +provincial army was to advance upon Acadia, a second was to attack Crown +Point, and a third Niagara; while the two regiments which had lately +arrived in Virginia under General 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 British +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, arrogant, perverse, and a bigot to +military rules.[110] On his first arrival in Virginia, he called together +the governors 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 weeks in +training the raw backwoodsmen, who joined him, into such discipline as +they seemed capable of; in collecting horses and wagons, which could only +be had with the utmost difficulty; in railing at the contractors, who +scandalously cheated him; and in venting 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 difficulty was increased by the +needless 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.[111] 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 recross it a few miles lower down, +in order to gain 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 French at Fort du Quesne. Their dismay was great, and Contrecœur, +the commander, thought only of retreat; when Beaujeu, 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 Beaujeu 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 and near; Ojibwas and +Ottawas, Hurons and Caughnawagas, Abenakis and Delawares. Beaujeu called +the warriors together, flung a hatchet on the ground before them, and +invited them to follow him out to battle; but the boldest stood aghast at +the peril, and none would accept the challenge. A second interview took +place with no better success; but the Frenchman was resolved to carry his +point. “I am determined to go,” he exclaimed. “What, will you suffer your +father to go alone?”[112] His daring proved contagious. The warriors +hesitated no longer; and when, on the morning of the ninth of July, a +scout ran in with 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 yelling followers, braves bedaubed +themselves with war-paint, smeared themselves with 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 +multitude thronging about the gateway, where kegs of bullets and gunpowder +were broken open, that each might help himself at will.[113] Then band +after band hastened away towards the forest, followed and supported 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, whom the French called Athanase,[114] 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. Beaujeu well knew +the ground; and it was here that he had resolved to fight; but he and his +followers were well nigh too late; for as they neared the ravines, the +woods were resounding with the roll of the British drums. + +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 shallow current, and slowly +mounted the opposing bank.[115] Men were there whose names have become +historic: Gage, who, twenty 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 a higher fame,——George +Washington, 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 Monongahela. + +Several engineers and guides and six light horsemen led the way; a body of +grenadiers under Gage was close behind, and the army followed in such +order as the rough ground would permit, along a narrow road, twelve feet +wide, tunnelled through the dense and matted foliage. There were flanking +parties on either side, but no scouts to scour the woods in front, and +with an insane confidence Braddock pressed on to meet his fate. The van +had passed the low grounds that bordered the river, and were now ascending +a gently rising ground, where, on either hand, hidden by thick trees, by +tangled undergrowth and rank grasses, lay the two fatal ravines. Suddenly, +Gordon, an engineer in advance, saw the French and Indians bounding +forward through the forest and along the narrow track, Beaujeu leading +them on, dressed in a fringed hunting-shirt, and wearing a silver gorget +on his breast. He stopped, turned, and waved his hat, and his French +followers, crowding across the road, opened a murderous fire upon the head +of the British column, while, screeching their war-cries, the Indians +thronged into the ravines, or crouched behind rocks and trees on both +flanks of the advancing troops. The astonished grenadiers returned the +fire, and returned it with good effect; for a random 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 attack; and while he, +with the French and Canadians, made good the pass in front, the Indians +from their lurking places opened a deadly fire on the right and left. In a +few moments, all was confusion. The advance 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; though the lead flew like +a hailstorm, and the men went down 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 flesh between his life +and the shot of the ambushed marksmen. 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.[116] 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 furious menace to form in platoons, where +the fire of the 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 tumult calm and undaunted. Two horses were killed under him, +and four bullets pierced his clothes;[117] 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 suffered more severely +than the Virginians, who had displayed throughout a degree of courage and +steadiness 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.[118] + +The slaughter lasted three hours; when, at length, the survivors, as if +impelled by a general impulse, rushed tumultuously from the place of +carnage, and with dastardly precipitation fled across the Monongahela. The +enemy did not pursue beyond the river, flocking 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, provisions and +wagons were destroyed, and all fled together, eager to escape from the +shadows of those awful woods, whose horrors haunted their imagination. +They passed the defenceless settlements of the border, and hurried on to +Philadelphia, leaving the unhappy people to defend themselves as they +might against the tomahawk and scalping-knife. + +The calamities of this disgraceful rout did not cease with the loss of a +few hundred soldiers on the field of battle; for it brought upon the +provinces all the miseries of an Indian war. Those among the tribes who +had thus far stood neutral, wavering between the French and English, now +hesitated no longer. Many of them had been disgusted by the 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, murdering and +pillaging with ruthless fury, and turning the frontier of Pennsylvania and +Virginia into one wide scene of havoc 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 cruelty. 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, and transported to the British +provinces.[119] The expedition against Niagara was a total failure, for +the troops did not even reach their destination. The movement against +Crown Point met with no better success, as regards the main object of the +enterprise. Owing to the lateness of the season, and other causes, the +troops proceeded no farther than Lake George; but the attempt was marked +by a feat of arms, which, in that day of failures, was greeted, both in +England and America, as a signal victory. + +General Johnson, afterwards Sir William Johnson, had been charged with the +conduct of the Crown Point expedition; and his little army, a rude +assemblage of hunters and farmers from New York and New England, officers +and men alike ignorant of war, lay encamped at the southern extremity of +Lake George. Here, while they languidly pursued their preparations, their +active enemy anticipated them. Baron Dieskau, who, with a body of troops, +had reached Quebec in the squadron which sailed from Brest in the spring, +had intended to take forcible possession of the English fort of Oswego, +erected upon ground claimed by the French as a part of Canada. Learning +Johnson’s movements, he changed his plan, crossed Lake Champlain, made a +circuit by way of Wood Creek, and gained the rear of the English army, +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 resolution formed of detaching a thousand men to +reconnoitre. “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 hundred of his warriors. At sunrise, the party defiled +from the camp, and entering the forest disappeared from the eyes of their +comrades. + +Those who remained behind labored with all the energy of alarm to fortify +their unprotected camp. An hour elapsed, when from the distance was heard +a sudden explosion of musketry. The excited soldiers suspended their work +to listen. A rattling fire succeeded, 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. Marching through thick woods, by the narrow and +newly-cut road which led along the valley 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 regular troops, the result would have been +worse; but every man was a woodsman and a hunter. Some retired in bodies +along the road; while the greater part spread themselves through the +forest, opposing a wide front to the enemy, fighting stubbornly as they +retreated, and shooting 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, mingled 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 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 their +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’s detachment, the main body of the army had +covered the front of their camp with a breastwork,——if that name can be +applied to a row of logs,——behind which the marksmen lay flat on their +faces. This preparation was not yet complete, when the defeated troops +appeared issuing from the woods. Breathless and perturbed, they entered +the camp, and lay down with the rest; and the army waited the attack in a +frame of mind which boded ill for the result. Soon, at the edge of the +woods which bordered the open space in front, painted Indians were seen, +and bayonets glittered among the foliage, shining, in the homely +comparison of a New-England soldier, like a row of icicles on a January +morning. The French regulars marched in column to the edge of the +clearing, and formed in line, confronting the English at the distance of a +hundred and fifty yards. Their complete order, their white uniforms and +bristling 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 their enemies. Happily, Dieskau made no assault. The regulars +opened a distant fire of musketry, throwing volley after volley against +the English, while 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, the English were protected by the lake; but +on the three remaining sides, they were hedged in by the flash and smoke +of musketry. + +The fire of the French had little effect. The English recovered from their +first surprise, and every moment their confidence rose higher and their +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 +morasses 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, with a general +shout, the English broke from their camp, and rushed upon their enemies, +striking them down with the buts 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 slaughter would have +been great, had not the English general recalled the pursuers, and +suffered 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 made +so sudden and vigorous an attack, that the French, though far superior in +number, were totally routed and dispersed.[120] + +This memorable conflict has cast its dark associations over one of the +most beautiful spots in America. Near the scene of the evening fight, 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 succeeding 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 Abercrombie, who then +commanded in America, had at his disposal a force amounting to fifty +thousand men, of whom the greater part were provincials.[121] The +operations of the war embraced a wide extent of country, from Cape Breton +and Nova Scotia to the sources of the Ohio; but nowhere was the contest so +actively carried on as in the neighborhood of Lake George, the waters of +which, joined with those of Lake Champlain, formed the main avenue of +communication between Canada and the British provinces. Lake George is +more than thirty miles long, but of width so slight that it seems like +some broad and placid river, enclosed between ranges of lofty mountains; +now contracting into narrows, dotted with islands and shadowed by cliffs +and crags, now spreading into a clear and open expanse. It had long been +known to the French. The Jesuit Isaac Jogues, bound on a fatal mission to +the ferocious Mohawks, had reached its banks on the eve of Corpus Christi +Day, and named it Lac St. Sacrement. Its solitude was now rudely invaded. +Armies passed and repassed upon its tranquil bosom. At its northern point +the French planted their stronghold of Ticonderoga; at its southern stood +the English fort William Henry, while the mountains and waters between +were a scene of ceaseless ambuscades, surprises, and forest skirmishing. +Through summer and winter, the crack of rifles and the cries of men gave +no rest to their echoes; and at this day, on the field of many a forgotten +fight, are dug up rusty tomahawks, corroded bullets, and human bones, to +attest the struggles of the past. + +The earlier years of the war were unpropitious to the English, whose +commanders displayed no great degree of vigor or ability. In the summer of +1756, the French general Montcalm advanced upon Oswego, took it, and +levelled it to the ground. In August of the following year, he struck a +heavier blow. Passing Lake George with a force of eight thousand men, +including about two thousand Indians, gathered from the farthest parts of +Canada, he laid siege to Fort William Henry, close to the spot where +Dieskau had been defeated two years before. Planting his batteries against +it, he beat down its ramparts and dismounted its guns, until the garrison, +after a brave defence, were forced to capitulate. They marched out with +the honors 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 exaggerated accounts of the horrors +from which they had fled, and a general terror was spread through the +country. The inhabitants were mustered from all parts to repel the advance +of Montcalm; 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 different 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 Quesne, and, more fortunate +than his predecessor, Braddock, drove the French from that important +point. Another successful stroke was the destruction of Fort Frontenac, +which was taken by a provincial army under Colonel Bradstreet. These +achievements were counterbalanced by a great disaster. Lord Abercrombie, +with an army of sixteen thousand men, advanced to 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, the army landed, +and, driving in the French outposts, marched through the woods towards +Ticonderoga. 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. Advancing to the attack, they saw +before them a breastwork of uncommon height and thickness. The French army +were drawn up behind it, their heads alone visible, as 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 with their broadswords among the +branches, struggling to get at the enemy. In vain the English, with their +deep-toned shout, rushed on in heavy columns. A 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. The English fought four hours with determined +valor, but the position of the French was impregnable; and at length, +having lost two thousand of their number, the army 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 provinces; 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 reduction 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 military service, and the fields were left untilled. 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 was to be assailed on three +sides at once. Upon the west, General Prideaux was to attack Niagara; upon +the south, General Amherst was to advance upon Ticonderoga and Crown +Point; while upon the east, General Wolfe was to besiege Quebec; and each +of these armies, having accomplished its particular object, was directed +to push forward, if possible, until all three had united 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 Detroit, +Presqu’ Isle, Le Bœuf, and Venango, suddenly appeared before Niagara.[122] +Sir William Johnson was now in command of the English, Prideaux having +been killed by the bursting of a cohorn. Advancing in order of battle, he +met the French, charged, routed, and pursued them for five miles through +the woods. This success was soon followed by the surrender 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 this +position also, on the approach of the English 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 lateness of the season prevented +Amherst from carrying out the plan of advancing into Canada, and compelled +him to go into winter-quarters at Crown Point. The same cause had withheld +Prideaux’s army from descending the St. Lawrence. + +While the outposts of Canada were thus successfully 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 +immediately below Quebec, on the Island of Orleans.[123] From thence he +could discern, at a single glance, how arduous was the task before him. +Piles of lofty cliffs 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 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 unbroken 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 army of fourteen thousand men, under an able and renowned +commander, the Marquis of Montcalm. His front was covered by intrenchments +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 his rear. Opposite +Quebec rose the high promontory of Point Levi; and the St. Lawrence, +contracted to 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 majestic 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.[124] His kind and genial disposition seemed better fitted for the +quiet of domestic life than for the stern duties of military command; 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 soldiers, +and bore his slender frame through every hardship 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 and outposts. Wolfe would have crossed the Montmorenci 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 vigilance of his +adversaries. Thus baffled at every other point, he formed the bold design +of storming Montcalm’s position in front; and on the afternoon of the +thirty-first of July, a strong body of troops was embarked in boats, and, +covered by a furious cannonade from the English ships and batteries, +landed on the beach just above the mouth of the Montmorenci. The +grenadiers and Royal Americans were the first on shore, and their +ill-timed impetuosity proved the ruin of the plan. Without waiting to +receive their orders or form their ranks, they ran, pell-mell, across the +level ground, and with loud shouts began, each man for himself, to scale +the heights which rose in front, crested with intrenchments and bristling +with hostile arms. The French at the top threw volley after volley among +the hot-headed assailants. The slopes were soon covered with the fallen; +and at that instant a storm, which had long been threatening, burst with +sudden fury, drenched the combatants 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 re-embarked, troops of Indians +came whooping down the heights, and hovered about their rear, to murder +the stragglers and the wounded; while exulting cries of _Vive le roi_, +from the crowded summits, proclaimed the triumph of the enemy. + +With bitter agony of mind, Wolfe beheld the headlong folly of his men, and +saw more than four hundred of the flower of his army fall a useless +sacrifice.[125] 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 lying helpless in the +chamber of a Canadian house, where he had fixed his headquarters, that he +embraced the plan of the enterprise which robbed him of life, and gave him +immortal fame. + +This plan had been first proposed during the height of Wolfe’s illness, at +a council of his subordinate generals, Monkton, Townshend, and Murray. It +was resolved to divide the little army; and, while one portion 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 northern 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 audacity was the secret of its success. + +Early in September, a crowd of ships and transports, under Admiral Holmes, +passed the city under the hot fire of its batteries; while the troops +designed for the expedition, amounting to scarcely five thousand, marched +upward along the southern bank, beyond reach of the cannonade. All were +then embarked; and on the evening of the twelfth, Holmes’s 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 hundred soldiers, cast off from the vessels, and floated +downward, in perfect order, with the current of the ebb tide. To the +boundless joy of the army, 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 Montmorenci, 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.[126] He sat in the stern +of one of the boats, pale and weak, but borne up to a calm height of +resolution. Every order had been given, every arrangement made, and it +only remained to face the issue. The ebbing tide sufficed to bear the +boats along, and nothing broke the silence of the night but the gurgling +of the river, and the low voice of Wolfe, as he repeated 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 England. Perhaps, as +he uttered those strangely appropriate 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 tomorrow.”[127] + +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 Fraser’s Highlanders, from the +foremost boat. + +_“A quel régiment?”_ demanded the soldier. + +_“De la Reine!”_ promptly replied the Highland captain, who chanced to +know that the regiment so designated formed part of Bougainville’s +command. As boats were frequently passing down the river with supplies for +the garrison, and as a convoy from Bougainville was expected that very +night, the sentinel was deceived, and allowed the English to proceed. + +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 if all his +suspicions were aroused; but the skilful replies of the Highlander once +more saved the party from discovery.[128] + +They reached the landing-place in safety,——an indentation in the shore, +about a league above the city, and now bearing the name of Wolfe’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 above 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.”[129] + +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.[130] +Before 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.[131] The guard turned out, and +made a brief though brave resistance. In a moment, they were cut to +pieces, dispersed, or made prisoners; while men after men came swarming up +the height, and quickly formed upon the plains above. Meanwhile, the +vessels had dropped downward with the current, and anchored opposite the +landing-place. 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 forming in array of battle. Breathless messengers had 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. He, too, had had his struggles and his sorrows. The civil +power had thwarted him; famine, discontent, and disaffection 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 invaders from before the town; +when, on that disastrous morning, 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 ramparts 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 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 of the future, could they have +foreseen that the victory which 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, and +the British muskets blazed forth at once in one crashing explosion. Like a +ship at full career, arrested with sudden ruin on a sunken rock, the ranks +of Montcalm 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 white wreaths were scattered on the wind, a wretched +spectacle was disclosed; men and officers tumbled in heaps, battalions +resolved into a mob, order and obedience gone; and when the British +muskets were levelled for a second volley, the masses of the militia were +seen to cower and shrink with uncontrollable panic. For a few minutes, 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 dying 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. They broke into a run, and with unsparing +slaughter chased the flying multitude to the gates of Quebec. Foremost of +all, the light-footed Highlanders 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.[132] + +In the short action and pursuit, the French lost fifteen hundred men, +killed, wounded, and taken. Of the remainder, some escaped within the +city, and others fled across the St. Charles to rejoin their comrades who +had been left to guard the camp. The pursuers were recalled by sound of +trumpet; the broken ranks were formed afresh, and the English troops +withdrawn beyond reach of the cannon of Quebec. Bougainville, with his +corps, arrived from the upper country, and, hovering about their rear, +threatened an attack; but when he saw what greeting was prepared for him, +he abandoned his purpose and withdrew. Townshend and Murray, the only +general officers who remained unhurt, passed to the head of every regiment +in turn, and thanked the soldiers for the bravery they had shown; 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 grenadiers of +Louisburg, a bullet shattered his wrist; but he wrapped his handkerchief +about the wound, 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, Henderson, 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 companions rushing through fire and smoke. “See how they run,” one +of the officers exclaimed, as the French fled in confusion before the +levelled bayonets. “Who run?” demanded Wolfe, opening his eyes like a man +aroused from sleep. “The enemy, sir,” was the reply; “they give way +everywhere.” “Then,” said the dying general, “tell Colonel Burton to march +Webb’s regiment down to Charles River, to cut off their retreat from the +bridge. Now, God be praised, I will die in peace,” he murmured; and, +turning on his side, he calmly breathed his last.[133] + +Almost at the same moment fell his great adversary, Montcalm, as he +strove, with vain bravery, to rally his shattered ranks. Struck down with +a mortal wound, he was placed upon a litter and borne to the General +Hospital 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 bedside 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. My time is very short; therefore, pray leave me.” The officers +withdrew, and none remained in the chamber but his confessor and the +Bishop of Quebec. To the last, he expressed his contempt for his own +mutinous and half-famished troops, and his admiration for the disciplined +valor of his opponents.[134] He died before midnight, and was buried at +his own desire in a cavity of the earth formed 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 surrendered. On the +eighteenth of September, 1759, the rock-built citadel of Canada passed +forever from the hands of its ancient masters. + +The victory on the Plains of Abraham and the downfall of Quebec filled all +England with pride and exultation. From north to south, the land blazed +with illuminations, and resounded with the ringing of bells, the firing +of guns, and the shouts of the multitude. 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 delicacy, respected her lonely sorrow, +and forbore to obtrude the sound of their rejoicings upon her grief for +one who had been through life her pride and solace, and repaid her love +with a tender and constant devotion.[135] + +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 dominion 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 commanders turned all their energies. +Three armies were to enter Canada at three several points, and, conquering +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 thousand men; while +Colonel Haviland advanced by way of Lake Champlain and the River Sorel, +and General Murray ascended from Quebec, with a body of the veterans who +had fought on the Plains of Abraham. + +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 September, 1760, +the Marquis de Vaudreuil surrendered Canada, with all its dependencies, to +the British crown. + + + + + CHAPTER V. + + 1755-1763. + + 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, +Pennsylvania 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 +Delawares to lay down the hatchet, and partly to the persuasions of +several prominent men among the Quakers, who, by kind and friendly +treatment, had gained the confidence of the Indians.[136] By these means, +that portion 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 concluded. + +This treaty, however, did not embrace the Indians of the Ohio, who +comprised the most formidable part of the Delawares and Shawanoes, and who +still continued their murderous attacks. It was not till the summer of +1758, when General Forbes, with a considerable 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 English. 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 +them, and, by his upright dealings and plain good sense, had gained their +confidence and esteem. His devout and conscientious spirit, his fidelity +to what he deemed his duty, his imperturbable courage, his prudence and +his address, well fitted him for the critical mission. His journals, +written in a style of quaint simplicity, are full of lively details, and +afford a curious picture of forest life and character. He left +Philadelphia in July, attended by a party of friendly Indians, on whom he +relied for protection. Reaching the Ohio, he found himself beset with +perils from the jealousy and malevolence of the savage warriors, and the +machinations of the French, who would gladly have destroyed him.[137] 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 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.[138] + +While the friendship of these tribes was thus lost and regained, their +ancient tyrants, the Iroquois, remained in a state of very doubtful +attachment. At the outbreak of the war, they had shown, it is true, many +signs of friendship;[139] but the disasters of the first campaign had +given them a contemptible idea of British prowess. This impression was +deepened, when, in the following year, they saw Oswego 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.[140] But now a +new element was infused into the British counsels. The fortunes of the +conflict began to change. Du Quesne and Louisburg 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 carcass. Yet there is little doubt, that, had their sachems and +orators followed the dictates of their cooler judgment, they would not +have aided in destroying Canada; for they could see that in the colonies +of France lay the only barrier against the growing power and ambition 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 conclusion, they, in common with the Canadians, may be regarded 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 inaction, which was not long to continue. + +And now, before launching into the story of the 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, sweeping 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 alive with buffalo, broke the sameness of the woodland +scenery. Unnumbered rivers seamed the forest with their devious windings. +Vast lakes washed its boundaries, 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 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 +exhaustless 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 vacant 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 +numbers of the erratic bands who roamed this wilderness would be +impossible; 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 statement 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 hundred; while the +Ottawas, the Ojibwas, and other wandering tribes of the north, defy all +efforts at enumeration.[141] + +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 belongs: +Onondaga, the ancient capital of their confederacy, where their +council-fire had burned from immemorial time, was now no longer what it +had been in the days of its greatness, when Count Frontenac had mustered +all Canada to assail it. The thickly clustered dwellings, with their +triple rows of palisades, had vanished. A little stream, twisting along +the valley, choked up with logs and driftwood, and half hidden by woods +and thickets, some forty houses of bark, scattered 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.[142] Conspicuous among the other +structures, and distinguished only by its superior size, stood the great +council-house, whose 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 stockades which had once +protected them.[143] From their European neighbors the Iroquois had +borrowed many appliances 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 rude household utensils and implements of tillage; but +with all this, English whiskey had more than cancelled every benefit which +English civilization had conferred. + +High up the Susquehanna were seated the Nanticokes, 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 indolence; squaws labored in the cornfields, or brought fagots +from the forest, and shrivelled hags screamed from lodge to lodge. In each +village one large building stood prominent among the rest, devoted to +purposes of public meeting, dances, festivals, and the entertainment of +strangers. Thither the traveller would be conducted, seated on a +bear-skin, and plentifully regaled with hominy and venison. + +The Shawanoes had sixteen small villages 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 borders +of the Mississippi, and who, having lived for more than half a century in +close contact with the French, had become a corrupt and degenerate race. +The Wyandots of Sandusky and Detroit far surpassed the surrounding tribes +in energy of character and in social progress. Their log dwellings were +strong and commodious, their agriculture was very considerable, their name +stood high in war and policy, and they were regarded with deference by all +the adjacent Indians. 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 between 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 the 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 Scoharie, 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 little fortification called the Royal Blockhouse, and the waters of +the Oneida Lake spread before him. Crossing to its western extremity, and +passing under the wooden ramparts of Fort Brewerton, he would descend the +River Oswego to Oswego,[144] on the banks of Lake Ontario. Here the vast +navigation of the Great Lakes would be open before him, interrupted only +by the difficult portage at the Cataract of Niagara. + +The chief thoroughfare from the middle colonies to the Indian country was +from Philadelphia westward, across the Alleghanies, 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 merchandise was sometimes carried in wagons as far as the site of +Fort du Quesne, which the English rebuilt 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. More +commonly, however, the whole journey was performed by means of trains, +or, as they were called, brigades of pack-horses, which, leaving the +frontier settlements, climbed the shadowy heights of the Alleghanies, and +threaded the forests of the Ohio, diving through 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 their ordinary +equipment. The principal trader, the owner of the merchandise, would fix +his headquarters at some large Indian town, whence he would despatch his +subordinates to the surrounding villages, with a suitable supply of +blankets and red cloth, guns and hatchets, liquor, tobacco, paint, beads, +and hawks’ 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 +unknown, 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, embarrassed 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 side of some rivulet or spring; and, if the traveller was skilful +in the use of his rifle, a haunch of venison would often form his evening +meal. If it rained, a shed of elm or basswood bark was the ready work of +an hour, a pile of evergreen boughs formed a bed, and the saddle or the +knapsack a pillow. A party of Indian wayfarers would often be met +journeying through the forest, a chief, or a warrior, perhaps, with his +squaws 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 an ejaculation of gratitude; for nothing 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 Englishman 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 deeply +wooded banks, he would discern no trace of human habitation through all +this vast extent. The body of the Indian population lay to the northward, +about the waters of the tributary streams. It behooved the voyager to +observe a sleepless caution and a hawk-eyed vigilance. Sometimes his +anxious scrutiny would detect a faint blue smoke stealing 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 beneath the +overhanging bushes which skirted the shore; nor would the voyage be +resumed until darkness closed, when the little vessel would drift swiftly +and safely by the point of danger.[145] + +Within the nominal limits of the Illinois Indians, and towards the +southern extremity of the present state of Illinois, were those isolated +Canadian settlements, which had subsisted here since the latter part of +the preceding century. Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes were the centres +of this scattered population. From Vincennes 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 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 Miami, near the spot where Fort +Wayne was afterwards 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 important points. Most of these western posts were +transferred to the English, during the autumn of 1760; but the settlements +of the Illinois remained several years longer under French control. + +Eastward, on the waters of Lake Erie, and the Alleghany, stood three small +forts, Presqu’ Isle, Le Bœuf, 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 military hermits. Through the long, hot days of summer, +and the protracted cold of winter, time hung heavy on their hands. Their +resources of employment and recreation were few and meagre. They found +partners in their loneliness among the young beauties of the Indian camps. +They hunted and fished, shot at targets, 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 welcome, 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 surrounding forests were peopled with a race dark and subtle as their +own 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 ceaseless 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 rugged independence, +a self-sustaining energy, and powers of action and perception before +unthought of. The savage gains new means of comfort and support, cloth, +iron, and gunpowder; yet these apparent benefits have often proved but +instruments of ruin. They soon become necessities, and the unhappy hunter, +forgetting the weapons of his fathers, must thenceforth 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 English borders, and formed a connecting link +between barbarism and civilization, have been touched upon already. They +were a distinct, peculiar class, marked with striking contrasts of good +and evil. Many, though by no means all, were coarse, audacious, and +unscrupulous; yet, even in the worst, one might often have found a +vigorous growth of warlike virtues, an iron endurance, an undespairing +courage, a wondrous sagacity, and singular fertility of resource. In them +was renewed, with all its ancient energy, that wild and daring spirit, +that force and hardihood of mind, which marked our barbarous ancestors of +Germany and Norway. These sons of the wilderness still survive. We may +find them to this day, not in the valley of the Ohio, nor on the shores of +the lakes, but far westward on the desert range of the buffalo, and among +the solitudes of Oregon. Even now, while I write, some lonely trapper is +climbing the perilous defiles of the Rocky Mountains, his strong frame +cased in time-worn buck-skin, his rifle griped in his sinewy hand. Keenly +he peers from side to side, lest Blackfoot or Arapahoe should ambuscade +his path. The rough earth is his bed, a morsel of dried meat and a draught +of water are his food and drink, and death and danger his companions. No +anchorite could fare worse, no hero could dare more; yet his wild, hard +life has resistless charms; and, while he can wield a rifle, he will never +leave it. Go with him to the rendezvous, and he is a stoic no more. Here, +rioting among his comrades, his native appetites break loose in mad +excess, in deep carouse, and desperate gaming. Then follow close the +quarrel, 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 labyrinth. 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 yields 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 +by the stars, the wind, the streams, or the trees,——such are the arts +which the white man has learned from the red. Often, indeed, the 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. Seldom 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.[146] With us the name of the savage is a 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. + + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + 1760. + + THE ENGLISH TAKE POSSESSION OF THE WESTERN POSTS. + + +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. +Canada, 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 execution 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 commanded 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 warfare that the former +achieved many of those startling adventures and hair-breadth escapes which +have made his name familiar at every New-England fireside. Rogers’s +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 ground between the +hostile forts of Ticonderoga and William Henry. The deepest recesses of +these romantic 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 along the frozen surface of the +lake, and bivouacked at night among the snow-drifts. They intercepted +French messengers, encountered French scouting parties, and carried off +prisoners from under the very walls of Ticonderoga. Their hardships and +adventures, their marches and countermarches, their frequent skirmishes +and midwinter battles, had made them famous throughout America; and +though it was the fashion of the day to sneer at the efforts of provincial +troops, the name of Rogers’s Rangers was never mentioned but with honor. + +Their commander was a man tall and strong 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 unjust +charge of cowardice. His mind, naturally active, was by no means +uncultivated; and his books and unpublished 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 by a court-martial for a meditated act of treason, the +surrender of Fort Michillimackinac into the hands of the Spaniards, who +were at that time masters of Upper Louisiana.[147] Not long after, if we +may trust his own account, he passed over to the Barbary States, entered +the service of the Dey of Algiers, and fought two battles 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 openly espoused the British cause, and received a +colonel’s commission from the crown. His services, however, proved of +little consequence. In 1778, he was proscribed and banished, under the act +of New Hampshire, and the remainder of his life was passed in such +obscurity that it is difficult to determine when and where he died.[148] + +On the twelfth of September, 1760, Rogers, then at the height of his +reputation, received orders from Sir Jeffrey Amherst to ascend the lakes +with a detachment of rangers, and take possession, in the name of his +Britannic 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. Stemming the surges of +La Chine 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.[149] 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 them 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 +Presqu’ Isle, 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 autumn. On the seventh of November, they reached +the mouth of a river called by Rogers the Chogage. No body of troops under +the British flag had ever before penetrated so far. The day was dull and +rainy, and, resolving to rest until the weather should improve, Rogers +ordered his men to prepare their encampment in the neighboring forest. + +Soon after the arrival of the rangers, a party of Indian chiefs and +warriors entered the camp. They proclaimed themselves an embassy from +Pontiac, ruler of all that country, and directed, in his name, that the +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 distinctly on the page of history. He +greeted Rogers with the haughty demand, what was his business in that +country, and how he dared enter it without his permission. Rogers informed +him that the French were defeated, that Canada had surrendered, and that +he was on his way 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.[150] + +In the morning, Pontiac returned to the camp with his attendant chiefs, +and made his reply to Rogers’s speech of the previous day. He was willing, +he said, to live at peace with the English, and suffer them to remain in +his country as long as they treated him with due respect and deference. +The Indian chiefs and provincial officers smoked the calumet together, and +perfect harmony seemed established between them.[151] + +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 adherence. The American forest never produced a man more +shrewd, politic, and ambitious. Ignorant as he was of what was passing in +the world, he could clearly see 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 the English, 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 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 several days in +their encampment. During this time, Rogers had several interviews with +Pontiac, and was constrained to admire the native vigor of his intellect, +no less than the singular control which he exercised 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 Indians of Detroit 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, and the rangers +continued their progress towards Detroit, now within a short distance. + +In the mean time, Lieutenant Brehm had been sent forward with a letter to +Captain Belètre, the commandant at Detroit, informing him that Canada had +capitulated, that his garrison was included in the capitulation, and that +an English detachment was approaching to relieve it. The Frenchman, in +great wrath at the tidings, disregarded the message as an informal +communication, and resolved to keep a hostile 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 +unavailing, 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. Belètre 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 upwards 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 secluded and isolated settlement. Before them, on the +right side, they could see the village of the Wyandots, and on the left +the clustered lodges of the Pottawattamies; while, a little beyond, the +flag of France was flying for the last time above the bark roofs and +weather-beaten palisades of the little fortified town. + +The rangers landed on the opposite bank, and pitched their tents upon a +meadow, while two officers, with a small detachment, went across the river +to take possession of the place. In obedience to their summons, the French +garrison defiled upon the plain, and laid down their arms. The _fleur 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 +understand 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 display of power. The savage spectators conceived the loftiest idea +of English prowess, and were astonished at the forbearance of the +conquerors 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 farms 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 garrison of Michillimackinac. The storms and gathering ice of +Lake Huron forced him back without accomplishing his object; and +Michillimackinac, with the three remoter posts of St. Marie, Green Bay, +and St. Joseph, remained for a time in the hands of the French. During the +next season, however, a detachment of the 60th regiment, then called the +Royal 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 included in the capitulation of Montreal. + +The work of conquest was finished. The fertile wilderness beyond the +Alleghanies, over which France had claimed sovereignty,——that boundless +forest, 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, endeavored to enforce their claims to this +vast 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, appeared adequate 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. The lapse of two years sufficed to show how complete and fatal +was the mistake. + + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + 1760-1763. + + ANGER OF THE INDIANS.——THE CONSPIRACY. + + +The country was scarcely transferred to the English, 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 success of their efforts. Even the Delawares +and Shawanoes, the faithful allies of William Penn, had at length been +seduced by their blandishments; and the Iroquois, the ancient enemies of +Canada, had half forgotten their former hostility, and well-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. + +Under these circumstances, it behooved the English to use the utmost care +in their conduct towards the tribes. But even when the conflict with +France was impending, and the alliance with the Indians was of the last +importance, they had treated them with indifference and neglect. They were +not likely to adopt a different course now that their friendship seemed a +matter of no consequence. In truth, the intentions of the English were +soon apparent. In the zeal for retrenchment, which prevailed after the +close of hostilities, the presents which it had always been customary to +give the Indians, at stated intervals, were either withheld 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.[152] When the French had possession of the remote forts, they +were accustomed, with a wise liberality, to supply the surrounding Indians +with guns, ammunition, and clothing, 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 enough to produce general discontent. +But, unhappily, other grievances were superadded.[153] + +The English fur-trade had never been well regulated, 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, cursed, and plundered the Indians, +and outraged their families; offering, when compared with the French +traders, who were under better regulation, a most unfavorable example of +the character of their nation. + +The officers and soldiers of the garrisons did their full part in exciting +the general resentment. Formerly, when the warriors came to the forts, +they had been welcomed by the French with attention and respect. The +inconvenience which their presence occasioned had been disregarded, and +their peculiarities overlooked. But now they were received with cold looks +and harsh words from the officers, and with oaths, menaces, and sometimes +blows, from the reckless and brutal soldiers. When, after their +troublesome and intrusive fashion, they were lounging everywhere about the +fort, or lazily reclining in the shadow of the walls, they were met with +muttered ejaculations of impatience, or abrupt orders to be gone, +enforced, perhaps, by a touch from the butt of a sentinel’s musket. These +marks of contempt were unspeakably galling to their haughty spirit.[154] + +But what most contributed to the growing discontent 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 settlements; 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 fruitless. 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 spreading canker. The anger of the Delawares was abundantly +shared by their ancient conquerors, the Six Nations. The threatened +occupation of Wyoming by settlers from Connecticut gave great umbrage to +the confederacy.[155] The Senecas were more especially incensed at English +intrusion, since, from their position, they were farthest removed from the +soothing influence 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 +patented out without their consent. Some Christian Indians of the Oneida +tribe, in the simplicity of their hearts, sent an earnest petition to Sir +William Johnson, that the English forts within the limits of the Six +Nations might be removed, or, as the petition expresses it, _kicked out of +the way_.[156] + +The discontent of the Indians gave great satisfaction to the French, who +saw in it an assurance of safe and bloody vengeance on their conquerors. +Canada, 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 inflame 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, _habitans_, _coureurs de bois_, and all classes of this singular +population, accordingly dispersed themselves among the villages of the +Indians, 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 latter in its worst light, and spared neither +misrepresentation nor falsehood. 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 destroy the tribes of the Ohio valley.[157] These groundless 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 St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, to +drive out the intruders from the country of his red children. To these +fabrications was added the more substantial encouragement of arms, +ammunition, clothing, and provisions, which the French trading companies, +if not the officers of the crown, distributed with a liberal hand.[158] + +The fierce passions of the Indians, excited by their wrongs, real or +imagined, and exasperated by the representations of the French, were yet +farther wrought upon by influences of another kind. A prophet rose among +the Delawares. This man may serve as a counterpart to the famous Shawanoe +prophet, who figured so conspicuously in the Indian outbreak, under +Tecumseh, immediately before the war with England in 1812. Many other +parallel instances might be shown, as the great susceptibility of the +Indians to 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 +sufficiently frivolous and absurd, his disciples were to strengthen and +purify their natures, and make themselves 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 primitive 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 infested their territory. The prophet had many followers. +Indians came from far and near, and gathered together in large encampments +to listen to his exhortations. 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 equally troublesome, yet the requisition to abandon the +use of fire-arms was too inconvenient to be complied with.[159] + +With so many causes to irritate their restless and warlike spirit, it +could not be supposed that the Indians would long remain quiet. +Accordingly, in the summer of the year 1761, Captain Campbell, then +commanding at Detroit, received information that a deputation of Senecas +had come to the neighboring village of the Wyandots for the purpose of +instigating the latter to destroy him and his garrison.[160] On farther +inquiry, the plot proved to be general; and Niagara, Fort Pitt, and other +posts, were to share the fate of Detroit. Campbell 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 following summer, 1762, another similar design was +detected and suppressed. They proved to be the precursors of a tempest. +When, early in 1763, it was announced to the tribes that the King of +France had ceded all their country to the King of England, without even +asking their leave, a ferment of indignation at once became apparent +among them;[161] and, within a few weeks, a plot was matured, such 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 Indians +fondly believed, the English should all be driven into the sea, and the +country restored to its primitive owners. + +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 almost +simultaneous. The Delawares and Senecas were the most incensed, and +Kiashuta, a chief of the latter, was perhaps foremost to apply the torch; +but, if this was 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 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 Pottawattamies, 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 the sources of the Ohio to +those of the Mississippi, and, indeed, to the farthest boundaries of the +wide-spread Algonquin race, his name was known and respected. + +The fact that Pontiac was born the son of a chief would in no degree +account for the extent of his power; for, among Indians, many a chief’s +son sinks back into insignificance, while the offspring of a common +warrior may succeed to his place. Among all the wild tribes of the +continent, personal merit is indispensable to gaining or preserving +dignity. Courage, resolution, address, and eloquence are sure passports to +distinction. With all these Pontiac was pre-eminently endowed, and it was +chiefly to them, urged to their highest activity by a vehement ambition, +that he owed his greatness. He possessed a commanding energy and force of +mind, and in subtlety and craft could match the best of his wily race. +But, though capable of acts of 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. His faults were +the faults of his race; and they cannot eclipse his nobler qualities. His +memory is still cherished among the remnants of many Algonquin tribes, and +the celebrated Tecumseh adopted him for his model, proving himself no +unworthy imitator.[162] + +Pontiac was now about fifty years old. Until Major Rogers came into the +country, he had been, from motives probably both of interest and +inclination, a firm friend of the French. Not long before the French war +broke out, he had saved the garrison of Detroit from the imminent peril of +an attack from some of the discontented tribes of the north. During the +war, he had fought on the side of France. It is said that he commanded the +Ottawas at the memorable defeat of Braddock; and it is certain that he +was treated with much honor by the French officers, and received especial +marks of esteem from the Marquis of Montcalm.[163] + +We 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 treatment 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 Indian race, for never before +had they been exposed to such imminent and pressing danger. With the +downfall of Canada, the tribes had sunk at once from their position of +importance. Hitherto the two rival European nations had kept each other in +check upon the American continent, and the Indians had, in some measure, +held the balance 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 undisputed +ascendency, and the Indians, no longer important as allies, were treated +as mere barbarians, who might be trampled upon with impunity. Abandoned to +their own feeble resources and divided strength, they must fast recede, +and dwindle away before the steady progress of the colonial power. Already +their best hunting-grounds were invaded, and from the eastern ridges of +the Alleghanies they might see, from far and near, the smoke of the +settlers’ clearings, rising in tall columns from the dark-green bosom of +the forest. The doom of the race was sealed, and no human power could +avert it; but they, in their ignorance, believed otherwise, and vainly +thought that, by a desperate effort, they might yet uproot and overthrow +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 danger which threatened their race. +With them, the war was a mere outbreak of fury, and they turned against +their enemies with as little reason or forecast as a panther when he leaps +at the throat of the hunter. Goaded by wrongs and indignities, they struck +for revenge, and for relief from the evil of the moment. But the mind of +Pontiac could embrace 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 absurd idea that the Indians, by their unaided +strength, could drive the English into the sea. He adopted the only plan +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 +advancing to recover Canada, and that the French and their red brethren, +fighting side by side, would drive the English dogs back within their own +narrow limits. + +Revolving these thoughts, and remembering that his own ambitious views +might be advanced by the hostilities he meditated, Pontiac no longer +hesitated. Revenge, ambition, and patriotism wrought upon him alike, and +he resolved on war. At the close of the year 1762, he sent 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 +borders of the river Ottawa; and far southward towards the mouth of the +Mississippi.[164] Bearing with them the war-belt of wampum,[165] broad and +long, as the importance 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 appeared, the sachems and old men assembled, to hear the +words of the great Pontiac. Then the 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 everywhere with approval; the belt was accepted, +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 destroying the English garrison in its +neighborhood, and then, with a general rush, the whole were to turn +against the settlements of the frontier. + +The tribes, thus banded together against the English, comprised, with a +few unimportant exceptions, the whole Algonquin stock, to whom were united +the Wyandots, the Senecas, and several tribes of the lower Mississippi. +The Senecas were the only members of the Iroquois confederacy who joined +in the league, the rest being kept quiet by the influence of Sir William +Johnson, whose utmost exertions, however, were barely sufficient to allay +their irritation.[166] + +While thus on the very eve of an outbreak, the Indians concealed their +designs with the dissimulation of their race. The warriors still lounged +about the forts, with calm, impenetrable faces, begging, as usual, for +tobacco, gunpowder, and whiskey. Now and then, some slight intimation of +danger would startle the garrisons from their security. An English trader, +coming in from the Indian villages, would report that, from their manner +and behavior, he suspected them of brooding mischief; or some scoundrel +half-breed would 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, Ensign Holmes, +commanding at Fort Miami, was told by a friendly Indian that the warriors +in the neighboring village had lately received a war-belt, with a message +urging them to destroy him and his garrison, 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 occasions have often +done, confessed their fault with much apparent contrition, laid the blame +on a neighboring tribe, and professed eternal friendship to their +brethren, the English. Holmes writes 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 irritation among the +Indians, but that the affair will soon blow over, and that, in the +neighborhood of his own post, the savages were perfectly tranquil.[167] +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 various forts; but now +they seldom entered them, encamping at a little distance in the woods. +They were fast pushing their preparations for the meditated blow, and +waiting with stifled eagerness for the appointed hour. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + 1763. + + 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 formidable war into which they were about to +plunge. + +A people living chiefly by the chase, and therefore, of necessity, thinly +and widely scattered; divided into numerous tribes, held 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 by no compulsory law. Their province was to +advise, and not to command. Their influence, such as it was, is chiefly to +be ascribed to the principle 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 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 raise the hatchet. The war-chief, whose part it +was 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. When 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 uncommon reputation and ability, his +commands were disregarded, and his authority was a cipher. Among his +followers, every latent element of discord, pride, jealousy, and ancient +half-smothered feuds, were 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 enemy’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, render them utterly intolerant +of military discipline. Partly from their individual character, and partly +from this absence of subordination, spring results highly unfavorable to +continued and extended military operations. Indian warriors, when acting +in large masses, are to the last degree wayward, capricious, and unstable; +infirm of purpose as a mob of children, and devoid of providence and +foresight. To provide supplies 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, +detached parties, that the Indian warrior puts forth his energies, and +displays his admirable address, endurance, 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 gave 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 important position, there was, on the other hand, every +reason to apprehend wide-spread havoc, and a destructive war of detail. +That the war might be carried on with effect, it was the part of the +Indian leaders to work upon the passions of their people, and keep alive +their irritation; to whet their native appetite for blood and glory, and +cheer them on to the attack; to guard against all that might quench their +ardor, or cool their fierceness; to avoid pitched battles; never to fight +except under advantage; and to avail themselves of all the aid which craft +and treachery could afford. The very circumstances which unfitted the +Indians for continued and concentrated attack were, in another view, +highly advantageous, by preventing the enemy from assailing them with +vital effect. It was no easy task to penetrate tangled woods in search of +a foe, alert and active as a lynx, who would seldom stand and fight, whose +deadly shot and triumphant whoop were the first and often the last tokens +of his presence, and who, at the approach of a hostile force, would vanish +into the black recesses of forests and pine-swamps, only to renew his +attacks with unabated ardor. There were no forts to capture, no magazines +to destroy, and little property to seize upon. No 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 conquered Canada was broken up and +dissolved; the provincials were disbanded, and most of the regulars sent +home. A few fragments of regiments, miserably wasted by war and sickness, +had just arrived from the West Indies; and of these, several were already +ordered to England, to be disbanded. There remained barely troops enough +to furnish feeble garrisons for the various forts on the frontier and in +the Indian country.[168] At the head of this dilapidated army was Sir +Jeffrey Amherst, who had achieved the reduction of Canada, and clinched +the nail which Wolfe had driven. In some respects he was well fitted for +the emergency; but, on the other hand, he held the Indians in supreme +contempt, and his arbitrary treatment of them and total want of every +quality of conciliation where they were concerned, had had no little share +in exciting them to war. + +While the war was on the eve of breaking out, an event occurred which had +afterwards an important effect upon its progress,——the signing of the +treaty of peace at Paris, on the tenth of February, 1763. By this treaty +France resigned her claims to the territories east of the Mississippi, and +that great river now became the western boundary of the British colonial +possessions. In portioning out her new acquisitions into separate +governments, England left the valley of the Ohio and the adjacent regions +as an Indian domain, and by the proclamation of the seventh 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 the French could never repossess themselves of +Canada, and would have proved the futility of every hope which the Indians +entertained of assistance from that quarter, while, at the same time, the +royal proclamation would have tended to tranquillize their minds, by +removing the chief cause of irritation. But the remedy came too late, and +served only to inflame the evil. While the sovereigns of France, 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. + +Throughout the western wilderness, in a hundred camps and villages, were +celebrated the savage rites of war. Warriors, women, and children were +alike eager and excited; magicians consulted their oracles, and prepared +charms to insure success; while the war-chief, his body painted black from +head to foot, concealed himself in the solitude of rocks and caverns, or +the dark recesses of the forest. Here, fasting and praying, he calls day +and night upon the Great Spirit, consulting his dreams, to draw from them +auguries of good or evil; and if, perchance, a vision of the great +war-eagle seems to hover over him with expanded wings, he exults in the +full conviction of triumph. When a few days have elapsed, 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 Spirit is on their side, and that victory is certain. With +exulting cries they disperse to their wigwams, to array themselves in the +savage decorations 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, where they find him seated, no +longer covered with black, but adorned with the startling and fantastic +blazonry of the war-paint. Those who join in the feast pledge themselves, +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 by the +pangs of his long, unbroken fast, sits smoking his pipe with unmoved +countenance, and takes no part in the feast. + +Night has now closed in; and the rough clearing is illumined by the blaze +of fires and burning pine-knots, casting their deep red glare upon the +dusky boughs of the surrounding forest, and upon the wild multitude who, +fluttering with feathers and bedaubed with paint, have gathered for the +celebration of the war-dance. A painted post is driven into the ground, +and the crowd 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, chants his own exploits and those of his ancestors, +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 the head of the imaginary +victim. Warrior after warrior follows his example, until the whole +assembly, as if fired with sudden frenzy, rush together into the ring, +leaping, stamping, and whooping, brandishing knives and hatchets in the +fire-light, hacking and stabbing the air, and breaking at intervals 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 with 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 great distance from the village, and divest themselves +of their much-prized 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 Indian villages, and that he alone had escaped. +Next succeeded vague and uncertain rumors of forts attacked and garrisons +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 Pontiac +himself,——the siege of Detroit, and the capture of the interior posts and +garrisons. + + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + 1763. + + 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 messengers, 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 frail wigwams.[169] Here were idle warriors smoking and +laughing in groups, or beguiling the lazy hours with gambling, feasting, +or doubtful stories of their own martial exploits. Here were youthful +gallants, bedizened with all the foppery of beads, feathers, and hawks’ +bells, but held as yet in light esteem, since they had slain no enemy, and +taken no scalp. Here too were young damsels, radiant with bears’ oil, +ruddy with vermilion, and versed in all the arts of forest coquetry; +shrivelled hags, with limbs of wire, and the voices of screech-owls; and +troops 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 meeting, 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 Indians; and thus it happened, that +several days elapsed before the assembly was complete. In such a motley +concourse of barbarians, where different bands and different tribes were +mustered on one common camp ground, it would need all the art of a prudent +leader to prevent their dormant jealousies from starting into open strife. +No people are more prompt to quarrel, and none more prone, in the fierce +excitement of the 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 appeared, 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, calling the warriors, in a loud voice, to attend the meeting. + +In accordance with the summons, they issued 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; Ottawas, wrapped +close in their gaudy blankets; Wyandots, 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 ferocious passions hidden beneath that +immovable mask. Pipes with ornamented stems were lighted, and passed from +hand to hand. + +Then Pontiac rose, and walked forward into the midst of the council. +According to Canadian tradition, 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 that of a +man accustomed to sweep away all opposition by the force of his impetuous +will. His ordinary 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 character, and he stood doubtless before the council plumed and +painted in the full costume of war. + +Looking round upon his wild auditors he began to speak, with fierce +gesture, and a 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 abused the Indians; and +that one of them had struck a follower 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 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 vengeance on his enemies. +The Indians and their French brethren would fight once more side by side, +as they had always fought; they would strike the English 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. + +Having roused in his warlike listeners their native thirst for blood and +vengeance, he next addressed himself to their superstition, and told the +following tale. Its precise origin is not easy to determine. It is +possible that the Delaware prophet, mentioned in a former chapter, may +have had some part in it; or it might have been the offspring of Pontiac’s +heated imagination, 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 which his +lot was cast, and turning for relief to the mysterious Author of his +being. It is, at all events, a characteristic 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 inconsistencies, has undertaken no 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 recourse to fasting, dreaming, and magical incantations. By these +means it was revealed to him, that, by moving forward 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 out on his errand. For some time he journeyed on in high +hope and confidence. On the evening of the eighth day, he stopped by the +side of a brook at the edge of a meadow, where he began to make ready his +evening meal, when, looking up, he saw three large openings in the woods +before him, and three well-beaten paths which entered them. He was much +surprised; 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 second path, where the +same wonderful phenomenon again encountered him; and now, in terror and +bewilderment, yet still resolved to persevere, he took the last of the +three paths. On this he journeyed a whole day without interruption, when +at length, emerging from the 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 +woman arrayed in white, who arose as he looked upon her, and thus accosted +him: ‘How can you hope, encumbered as you are, to succeed in your design? +Go down to the foot of the mountain, throw away your gun, your ammunition, +your provisions, and your clothing; 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 wigwams +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 Spirit 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 you? My children, +you have forgotten 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, 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 understand the true mode of worshipping me,’” + +The Great Spirit next gave his hearer various precepts of morality and +religion, such as the prohibition to marry more than one wife; and a +warning against the practice of magic, which is worshipping 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 custom of his people; and he was directed to send copies +of it to all the Indian villages.[170] + +The adventurer now departed, and, returning to the earth, reported all the +wonders he had seen in the celestial regions. + +Such was the tale told by Pontiac to the council; and it is worthy of +notice, that not he alone, but many of the most notable men who have +arisen among the Indians, have been opponents of civilization, and stanch +advocates of primitive barbarism. Red Jacket and Tecumseh would gladly +have brought back their people to the rude simplicity of their original +condition. There is nothing progressive in the rigid, inflexible 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 that he would then summon +another council 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 +encampments 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 +framework of several hundred cabins, with fragments of broken utensils, +pieces of cloth, and scraps of hide, scattered over the trampled grass; +while the smouldering embers of numberless fires mingled their dark smoke +with the white mist which rose from the little river. + +Every spring, after the winter hunt was over, the Indians were accustomed +to return to their villages, or permanent 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 warriors began their dance, each recounting his own +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 was over, they all quietly withdrew, not a suspicion of +their designs having arisen in the minds of the English.[171] + +After a few days had elapsed, Pontiac’s messengers again passed among the +Indian cabins, calling the principal chiefs to another council, in the +Pottawattamie 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 pipe passed from +hand to hand. To prevent interruption, Pontiac had stationed young men as +sentinels, near the house. He once more addressed the chiefs; inciting +them to hostility against the English, and concluding by the proposal of +his plan for destroying Detroit. It was as follows: Pontiac would demand a +council with the commandant concerning matters of great importance; and on +this pretext he flattered himself that he and his principal chiefs would +gain ready admittance within the fort. They were all to carry weapons +concealed beneath 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. 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 unsuspecting +garrison. + + + + + CHAPTER X. + + 1763. + + DETROIT. + + +To the credulity of mankind each great calamity has its dire prognostics. +Signs 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 them and used them for writing.[172] A literary and +philosophical journal of the time 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 forebodings of impending evil +disturbed the breast of many a timorous matron. + +La Motte-Cadillac was the founder of Detroit. In the year 1701, he planted +the little military colony, which time has transformed into a thriving +American city.[173] At an earlier date, some feeble efforts had been made +to secure the possession of this important pass; and when La Hontan +visited the lakes, a small post, called Fort St. Joseph, was standing near +the present site of Fort Gratiot. The wandering Jesuits, too, made +frequent sojourns upon the borders 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 better 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 colony. At the close of the +French war, as Major Rogers tells us, the place contained twenty-five +hundred inhabitants.[174] 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 occupied by the city of +Detroit, and contained about a hundred houses, compactly pressed together, +and surrounded by a palisade. Both above and below the fort, the banks of +the stream were lined on both sides with small Canadian dwellings, +extending at various intervals for nearly eight miles. Each had its garden +and its orchard, and each was enclosed by a fence of rounded pickets. To +the soldier or the trader, fresh from the harsh scenery and ambushed +perils of the surrounding wilds, the secluded settlement was welcome 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 forgets 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 propensities found ample scope. Aloof from +the world, the simple colonists shared none of its pleasures and +excitements, 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 inhabitants made wine from the fruit of the wild grape, which +grew profusely in the woods, while the wealthier class procured a better +quality from Montreal, in exchange 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 when, in summer and autumn, the +traders and voyageurs, the _coureurs de bois_, and half-breeds, gathered +from the distant forests of the north-west, the whole settlement was alive +with dancing and feasting, drinking, gaming, and carousing. + +[Illustration: FORT AND SETTLEMENTS OF DETROIT, A. D. 1763.] + +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 always maintained the +best terms with 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 northern lakes roamed +many a lawless half-breed, the mongrel offspring of 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 British 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 blockhouse 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 _engagés_; but the latter, as well as the Canadian +inhabitants 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 on the bastions. + +Such was Detroit,——a place whose defences could have opposed no resistance +to a civilized enemy; and yet, far removed as it was from the hope of +speedy succor, it could only rely, in the terrible struggles that awaited +it, upon its own slight strength and feeble resources.[175] + +Standing on the water bastion of Detroit, a pleasant landscape spread +before the eye. 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 water; 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 broad scene of wild and rural +beauty. + +Pontiac, the Satan of this forest paradise, was accustomed 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.[176] “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, lounging, half-naked, +on a rush mat, or a bear-skin, like any ordinary warrior. We may fancy the +current of his thoughts, the turmoil of his uncurbed passions, as he +revolved the treacheries which, to his savage mind, seemed fair and +honorable. At one moment, his fierce heart would burn with the +anticipation of vengeance on the detested English; at another, he would +meditate how he best might turn the approaching 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 was about to play. He hourly flattered +himself with the futile hope of aid from France, and thought in his +ignorance that the British colonies must give way before the rush of his +savage warriors; when, in truth, all the combined 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 Ottawa +village, to obtain from the Indians a supply 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 attempted to borrow files and saws for a purpose +which they would not explain.[177] These circumstances excited the +suspicion of the experienced Canadians. Doubtless 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 interest 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 fearless temper, gave no heed to the friendly +advice.[178] + +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 wigwam. She had attracted the eye of Gladwyn. He had formed a +connection with her, and she had become 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, ornamented 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 +sentinel 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 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 of 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 the street will fall upon the +garrison. Every Englishman will be killed, but not the scalp of a single +Frenchman will be touched.[179] + +Such is the story told in 1768 to the traveller Carver at Detroit, and +preserved in local tradition, but not sustained 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. He 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 morning. 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 darkening 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 palisades of Detroit. The soldiers were still ignorant of the +danger; and the sentinels did not know why their numbers were doubled, or +why, with such unwonted vigilance, their officers repeatedly visited their +posts. Again and again Gladwyn mounted his wooden ramparts, 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, as 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 quavering yells, as the +warriors, around their distant camp-fires, danced the war-dance, in +preparation for the morrow’s work.[180] + + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + 1763. + + 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 cannon shot above the fort. Only two or +three warriors appeared in each, but all moved slowly, and seemed deeply +laden. In truth, they were full of savages, lying flat on their faces, +that their numbers might not excite the suspicion of the English.[181] + +At an early hour the open common behind the fort was thronged with squaws, +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 detected, their hostility was despised.[182] + +The whole garrison was ordered under arms. Sterling, and the other English +fur-traders, closed their storehouses and armed their men, and all in cool +confidence stood waiting the result. + +Meanwhile, Pontiac, who had crossed with the canoes from the eastern +shore, was approaching along the river road, at the head of his sixty +chiefs, all gravely marching in Indian file. A Canadian settler, named +Beaufait, had been that morning to the fort. He was now returning +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 +farther 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 emphatic gesture towards +the fort, indicated the purpose to which he meant to apply it.[183] + +At ten o’clock, the great war-chief, with his treacherous 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, black 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 rattlesnakes, +gave them an aspect grim, uncouth, and horrible. 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 that a deep +ejaculation half escaped from his breast. Well 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 glittering steel. The +swarthy _engagés_ 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 forward 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 building standing near the margin of the river. +On entering, they saw Gladwyn, 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. “Why,” +demanded Pontiac, “do I see so many of my father’s 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 +customary pause, Pontiac rose to speak. Holding in his hand the wampum +belt which was to have given the fatal signal, he addressed the +commandant, professing strong attachment to the English, and declaring, in +Indian phrase, that he had come to smoke the pipe of peace, and brighten +the chain of friendship. The officers watched him keenly as he uttered +these hollow words, fearing lest, though conscious that his designs were +suspected, he might still attempt to accomplish them. And once, it is +said, he raised the wampum belt as if about to give the signal of attack. +But at that instant Gladwyn signed slightly with his hand. The sudden +clash of arms sounded from the 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 seat, drew the chief’s blanket aside, exposed the hidden gun, and +sternly rebuked him for his treachery. But the commandant wished only to +prevent the consummation of the plot, without bringing on an open rupture. +His own letters affirm that he and his officers remained seated as before. +Pontiac, seeing his unruffled brow and his calm eye fixed steadfastly upon +him, knew not what to think, and soon 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 +towards 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 hands with their fathers the English. To this new piece +of treachery Gladwyn deigned no reply. The gates of the fort, which had +been closed during the conference, were again flung open, and the baffled +savages were suffered to depart, rejoiced, no doubt, to breathe once more +the free air of the open fields.[184] + +Gladwyn has been censured, and perhaps with justice, 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 arrest 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, the threatening clouds would soon blow over. + +Here, and elsewhere, the conduct of Pontiac is marked with the blackest +treachery; and one cannot but lament that a commanding and magnanimous +nature 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 Walter 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 +circumvent, no less than the valor that can subdue, an adversary. The +object of war, he argues, is to destroy the enemy. To accomplish this end, +all means are honorable; 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 them 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 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 cowardice or +ignorance. The latter supposition seemed the more probable; and he +resolved to visit the English 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, its bowl carved in stone, and +its stem adorned with feathers. Offering it to the commandant, he +addressed him and his officers 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 Captain Campbell, second in command, 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 announcing 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 ruin of the English.[185] + +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 common 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. He 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. +Thus 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 his followers, who, in great multitudes, lay flat upon the ground, +just beyond reach of gunshot. At his approach, they all leaped up and ran +off, “yelping,” in the words of an eye-witness, “like so many +devils.”[186] + +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 more, and the mournful scalp-yell told +the fate of the wretched inmates. Another large body ran, yelling, to the +river bank, and, leaping into their canoes, paddled with all speed to the +Isle au Cochon, where 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 following day, several +Canadians crossed over to the island to inter the body, which they +accomplished, as they thought, very effectually. Tradition, however, +relates, 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.[187] + +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 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 flocking out at the sound of his imperious voice. Pointing +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 followers and the English. The squaws labored with eager +alacrity to obey him. Provisions, utensils, weapons, and even the bark +covering to the lodges, were carried to the shore; and before evening 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 exploits, 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.[188] + +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 western side, just 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 witnessed.[189] + +During the evening, fresh tidings of disaster reached 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 +Robert Davers and Captain Robertson, had been waylaid and murdered by the +Indians, above Lake St. Clair.[190] The Canadian declared, moreover, that +Pontiac had just been joined by a formidable band of Ojibwas, from the Bay +of Saginaw.[191] 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 looked from the +loopholes, thinking to see their assailants 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 barns and fences, some skulked among bushes, and some lay flat in +hollows of the ground; while those who could find no shelter 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 gymnastics 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 vanished; +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 without effect. The Canadian _engagés_ +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 palisades +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 flames, upon which the disconcerted +savages broke away in a body, and ran off yelping, followed by a shout of +laughter from the soldiers.[192] + +For six hours, the attack was unabated; but as the day advanced, the +assailants grew weary of their futile efforts. Their fire slackened, their +clamors died 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 a sudden ebullition, +which would soon subside; and being, moreover, in great want of +provisions, 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 +commandant 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. + +Reaching the Indian Camp, the three ambassadors were received by Pontiac +with great apparent kindness. 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 purposes. 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 from the deep dissimulation which 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 Godefroy 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 which they are always rapaciously +eager. When, 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 especially desirous that Captain Campbell, +second in command, should visit their camp. This veteran officer, from his +just, upright, and manly character, had gained the confidence of the +Indians. To the Canadians the proposal seemed a natural one, and returning +to the fort, they laid it before the commandant. Gladwyn suspected +treachery, but Captain Campbell urgently asked permission to comply with +the request of Pontiac. He felt, he said, no fear of the Indians, 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. + +In the mean time, M. Gouin, anxious to learn what 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.[193] He hastened to despatch two messengers to warn them +of the peril. The party had scarcely left the gate when they were met by +these men, breathless with running; but the warning came too late. Once +embarked on the embassy, the officers would not be diverted from it; and +passing up the river road, they approached 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 multitude 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 howlings. 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 gauntlet[194]. Pontiac came forward, and his voice allayed the +tumult. He shook the officers by the hand, and, turning, led the way +through the camp. It was a confused assemblage of huts, chiefly of a +conical or half-spherical shape, and constructed 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, were 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. Pontiac paused before the entrance of a large lodge, and, +entering, pointed to several mats placed on the ground, at the side +opposite the opening. Here, obedient 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; while 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 seat +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, Captain Campbell, conscious, no doubt, of the +danger in which he was placed, resolved fully to ascertain his true +position, and, 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 +gray-haired soldier and his companion were betrayed into the hands of +their enemies. + +Many of the Indians were eager to kill the captives 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. Meloche, near +Parent’s Creek, where good quarters were assigned them, and as much +liberty allowed as was consistent with safe custody.[195] The peril of +their situation was diminished by the circumstance that two Indians, who, +several days before, had been detained at the fort for some slight +offence, still remained prisoners in the power of the commandant.[196] + +Late in the evening, La Butte, the interpreter, returned to the fort. His +face wore a sad and downcast look, which sufficiently expressed the +melancholy tidings that he brought. On hearing his account, some of the +officers suspected, though probably without ground, that he was privy to +the detention of the two ambassadors; and La Butte, feeling himself an +object of distrust, lingered about the streets, sullen and silent, like +the Indians among whom his rough life had been spent. + + + + + CHAPTER XII. + + 1763. + + PONTIAC AT THE SIEGE OF DETROIT. + + +On the morning after the detention of the officers, Pontiac crossed over, +with several of his chiefs, to the Wyandot village. A part of this tribe, +influenced by Father Pothier, their Jesuit priest, had refused to take up +arms against the English; but, being now threatened with destruction if +they should longer remain neutral, they were forced to join the rest. They +stipulated, however, that they should be allowed time to hear mass, before +dancing the war-dance.[197] To this condition Pontiac readily agreed, +“although,” observes the chronicler in the fulness of his horror and +detestation, “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 was said, than all the other Indians,——an +instance of the marked superiority 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 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 chance to expose his +person. On the eleventh of May, when these arrangements were complete, +several Canadians came early in the morning to the fort, to offer what +they called friendly advice. It was to the effect that the garrison should +at once abandon the place, as it would be stormed within an hour by +fifteen hundred Indians. Gladwyn refused, whereupon the Canadians +departed; and soon after some six hundred Indians began a brisk +fusillade, which they kept up till seven o’clock in the evening. A +Canadian then appeared, bearing a summons from Pontiac, demanding the +surrender of the fort, and promising that the English should go unmolested +on board their vessels, leaving all their arms and effects behind. Gladwyn +again gave a flat refusal.[198] + +On the evening of that day, the officers met to consider what course of +conduct the emergency required; and, as one of them writes, the commandant +was almost alone in the opinion that they ought still to defend the +place.[199] 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 provision 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 missiles. But the chief apprehensions of +the officers arose from their dread that the enemy 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 anxiety on this score was +relieved by a Canadian in 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, from that of a white +man; for he holds it to consist no less in a wary regard to his own life +than in the 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 +dearly purchased by the death of a single warrior. A war-chief attains the +summit of his renown when he can boast that he has brought home a score of +scalps without the loss of a man; and his reputation is wofully abridged +if the mournful wailings of the women mingle with the exulting yells of +the warriors. Yet, with all his subtlety and caution, the Indian is not a +coward, and, in his own way of fighting, often exhibits 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 victims. With cool deliberation he +deals the mortal thrust, 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, no man lay down to sleep, except in his +clothes, and with his weapons by his side.[200] Parties of volunteers +sallied, from time to time, to burn 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 fire. The two vessels in the river, sweeping the northern +and southern curtains of the works with their fire, deterred the Indians +from approaching those points, and gave material aid to the garrison. +Still, worming their way through the grass, sheltering themselves behind +every rising ground, the pertinacious 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 everywhere provided +against such an emergency, and these attempts proved abortive. The little +church, which stood near the palisade, was particularly 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 went farther, and begged the French inhabitants to teach +him the European method of attacking a fortified place by regular +approaches; 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, assuring 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 answer that he cared nothing for his threats.[201] The +attacks were now renewed with increased activity, and the assailants were +soon after inspired with fresh ardor by the arrival of a hundred and +twenty Ojibwa warriors from Grand River. Every man in the fort, officers, +soldiers, traders, and _engagés_, now slept upon the ramparts; even in +stormy weather none were allowed to withdraw to their quarters;[202] yet a +spirit of confidence and cheerfulness still prevailed among the weary +garrison. + +Meanwhile, great efforts were made to procure a supply 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, +compensation 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 +Indians long remaining ignorant of what was going forward.[203] + +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 families 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 characteristic recklessness. Unable to +endure it longer, the Canadians appointed a deputation of fifteen of the +eldest among them to wait upon Pontiac, and complain of his followers’ +conduct. The meeting took place at a Canadian house, probably that of M. +Meloche, where the great chief had made his headquarters, and where the +prisoners, Campbell and M’Dougal, were confined. + +When Pontiac saw the deputation approaching along the river road, he was +seized with an exceeding eagerness to know the purpose of their visit; for +having long desired to gain the Canadians as allies against the English, +and made several advances to that effect, he hoped that their 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. The 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 villages. The chiefs, soon arriving at his summons, entered the +apartment, where they seated themselves upon the floor, having first gone +through the necessary formality 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 corn, 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 riveted upon the ground, listening 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 allow any to be done you; but +among us there are many young men who, though strictly watched, find +opportunities of mischief. It is not to revenge myself alone that I make +war on the English. It is to revenge you, my Brothers. When the English +insulted 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 which 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 sakes; 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 you, +for our warriors are continually passing 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. Who then defended you? Was it not I and my young 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 driving +them away?[204] 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 ago. 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 should 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 you 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 which he has chronicled minute details without +interest or importance. He neglects, moreover, no opportunity of casting +ignominy and contempt upon the name of Pontiac. His mind is of so dull and +commonplace 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 +sustenance for his warriors; and, in doing this, he displayed a policy and +forecast scarcely paralleled in the history of his race. He first forbade +the commission of farther outrage.[205] 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.[206] The contributions thus levied were all +collected at the house of Meloche, near Parent’s Creek, whence they were +regularly issued, 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 wampum. He was continually intermeddling in the affairs of +the Indians, being anxious to be regarded as the leader or director among +them.[207] Of this man Pontiac evidently made a tool, employing him, +together with several others, to discharge, beneath his eye, the duties of +his novel commissariat. Anxious to avoid offending the French, yet unable +to make compensation for the provisions he had exacted, Pontiac had +recourse to a remarkable expedient, suggested, no doubt, by one of these +European assistants. 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.[208] In this, as in several other instances, he exhibits an +openness of mind and a power of adaptation 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 exhibited +an eager desire for knowledge. Rogers represents him as earnest to learn +the military art as practised among Europeans, and as inquiring curiously +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 +testimony 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 the most refined cunning and treachery natural to the +Indians, but as a person of extraordinary abilities. He says that he keeps +two secretaries, one to 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.”[209] + +Major Rogers, a man familiar with the Indians, and an acute judge of +mankind, speaks in the highest 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.”[210] + +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.[211] + +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 individual mind, and +that it was exercised over a people singularly impatient of restraint, we +may better appreciate the commanding energy that could hold control over +spirits so intractable. + +The glaring faults of Pontiac’s character have already appeared too +clearly. He 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 hero of this dark forest +tragedy. Some time after the period of which we have been speaking, Rogers +came 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 had always been suspicious that the English meant to poison them. +Those around the chief, endeavored to persuade him that the brandy was +drugged. Pontiac 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 had saved had no power to kill him. He +referred to his having prevented the Indians from attacking Rogers 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.[212] + +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 silver 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 truth,” he +said, “and I will show that I believe him.” He remained in the house +through the evening, and, at its close, wrapped himself in his blanket, +and lay down upon a bench, where he slept in full confidence till +morning.[213] + +Another anecdote, from the same source, will exhibit 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 complained of the theft to Pontiac, and +desired his protection. Being at that time ignorant of the intercourse +between Baby and the English, Pontiac hastened to the assistance of his +friend, and, arriving about nightfall at the house, walked to and fro +among the barns and enclosures. At a late hour, he distinguished the dark +forms of the plunderers stealing through the gloom. “Go back to your +village, you Wyandot dogs,” said the Ottawa chief; “if you tread again on +this man’s land, you shall die.” They slunk back abashed; and from that +time forward the Canadian’s property was safe. The Ottawas had no +political connection with the Wyandots, who speak a language radically +distinct. Over them he could claim no legitimate authority; yet his +powerful spirit forced respect and obedience from all who approached +him.[214] + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + 1763. + + ROUT OF CUYLER’S DETACHMENT.——FATE OF THE FOREST GARRISONS. + + +While perils were thickening around the garrison of Detroit, the British +commander-in-chief at New York remained ignorant of its danger. Indeed, an +unwonted quiet 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 ammunition for the +use of Detroit and the other western posts. The boats of this convoy were +now pursuing their course along the northern shore of Lake Erie; and +Gladwyn’s garrison, aware of their approach, awaited their arrival with an +anxiety which every day increased. + +Day after day passed on, and the red cross of St. George still floated +above Detroit. The keen-eyed watchfulness of the Indians had never abated; +and woe to the soldier who showed his head above the palisades, or exposed +his person before a loophole. Strong in his delusive hope of French +assistance, Pontiac had sent messengers to M. Neyon, commandant at the +Illinois, earnestly requesting that a force of regular troops might be +sent to his aid; and Gladwyn, on his side, had ordered one of the vessels +to Niagara, to hasten forward the expected convoy. The schooner set sail; +but on the next day, as she lay becalmed at the entrance of Lake Erie, a +multitude of canoes suddenly darted out upon her from the neighboring +shores. In the prow of the foremost the Indians had placed their prisoner, +Captain Campbell, 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. +Happily, at that moment a fresh breeze sprang up; the flapping sails +stretched to the wind, and the schooner bore prosperously on her course +towards Niagara, leaving the savage flotilla far behind.[215] + +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 morning of the thirtieth of May, when, at about nine o’clock, the +voice of the sentinel sounded from the south-east bastion; and loud +exclamations, in the direction of the river, roused Detroit from its +lethargy. Instantly the place was astir. Soldiers, traders, and +_habitants_, hurrying through the water-gate, thronged the canoe wharf and +the narrow strand without. The half-wild _coureurs de bois_, the tall and +sinewy provincials, and the stately British soldiers, stood crowded +together, their 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 rounding 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.[216] +The toils and dangers of the garrison were drawing to an end. With one +accord, they broke into three hearty cheers, again and again repeated, +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 detachment slain or made captive. Officers and men stood gazing in +mournful silence, when an incident occurred which caused them to forget +the general calamity in the absorbing interest of the moment. + +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, were compelled to act as rowers, guarded by several armed +savages, while many other Indians, for the sake of farther security, +followed the boats along the shore.[217] In the foremost, as it happened, +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 Niagara to hasten +up this very re-enforcement. 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 English, to his comrade to seize the savage and throw +him overboard. The man answered that he was not strong enough; on which +the steersman directed him to change places with him, as if fatigued with +rowing, a movement which would excite no suspicion on the part of their +guard. As the bold soldier stepped forward, 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 main 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 and sinking; and, as some relate, perished, grappled in +each other’s arms.[218] 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 them, and many +canoes paddled swiftly in pursuit. The men strained with desperate +strength. A fate inexpressibly 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 +hopeless, when the report of a cannon burst from the side of the vessel. +The ball flew close past the boat, beating the water in a line of foam, +and narrowly missing the foremost canoe. At this, the pursuers drew back +in dismay; and the Indians on shore, being farther saluted by a second +shot, ceased firing, and scattered 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.”[219] + +They related many particulars of the catastrophe which had befallen them +and their companions. Lieutenant Cuyler had left Fort Niagara as early as +the thirteenth of May, and embarked from Fort Schlosser, just above the +falls, with ninety-six men and a plentiful supply of provisions and +ammunition. Day after day he had coasted the northern shore of Lake Erie, +and seen neither friend nor foe amid those lonely forests and waters, +until, on the twenty-eighth of the month, he landed at Point Pelée, not +far from the mouth of the River Detroit. The boats were drawn on the +beach, and the party prepared to encamp. A man and a boy went to gather +firewood at a short distance from the spot, when 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 immediately formed his soldiers into a +semicircle before the boats. He had scarcely done so when the enemy opened +their fire. For an instant, there was a hot blaze of musketry on both +sides; then the Indians broke out of the woods in a body, and rushed +fiercely 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. Five +were set afloat, and pushed off from the shore, crowded with the terrified +soldiers. Cuyler, seeing himself, as he says, deserted by his men, waded +up to his neck in the lake, and climbed into one of the retreating 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 +recaptured without resistance; but the remaining two, in one of which was +Cuyler himself, made their escape.[220] They rowed all night, and landed +in the morning 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. Immediately leaving the spot, +he rowed along the south shore to Presqu’ Isle, from whence he proceeded +to Niagara and reported his loss to Major Wilkins, the commanding +officer.[221] + +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 fright and confusion of +Cuyler’s men, they had forgotten their usual caution, and rushed upon them +in the manner described. The ammunition, provisions, 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, throughout the night, +presented a scene of savage revelry and riot. The liquor was poured into +vessels of birch-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 water. While some sat apart, wailing and +moaning in maudlin drunkenness, others were maddened to the ferocity of +wild beasts. Dormant jealousies were awakened, old forgotten quarrels +kindled afresh, and, had not the squaws taken the precaution of hiding all +the weapons they could find 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 others 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 +drunkenness, came running directly towards the fort, boasting 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 proper 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 reports 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 they had heard. Naked corpses, gashed +with knives and scorched with fire, floated down on the pure waters of the +Detroit, whose fish came up to nibble at the clotted blood that clung to +their ghastly faces.[222] + +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 fluttering from the end of a pole. It was but too +clear that some new disaster had befallen; and in truth, before nightfall, +one La Brosse, a Canadian, came to the gate with the tidings that Fort +Sandusky had been taken, and all its garrison slain or made captive.[223] +This post had been attacked by the 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 been 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 with 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 happily 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 river, 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 consideration due to an Ottawa +warrior. + +Gladwyn soon received a letter from him, through one of the Canadian +inhabitants, giving a full account of the capture of Fort Sandusky. On +the sixteenth of May——such was the substance of the communication——Paully +was informed that seven Indians were waiting at the gate to speak with +him. As several of the number were well known to him, he ordered them, +without hesitation, to be admitted. Arriving at his quarters, two of the +treacherous visitors seated themselves on each side of the commandant, +while the rest were disposed in various parts of the room. The pipes were +lighted, and the conversation began, when an Indian, who stood in the +doorway, suddenly made a signal by raising his head. Upon this, the +astonished officer was instantly pounced upon and disarmed; while, at the +same moment, a confused noise of shrieks and yells, the firing of guns, +and the hurried tramp of feet, sounded from the area of the fort without. +It soon ceased, however, 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 conducted 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 captive saw the fort, lately under his command, bursting +on all sides into sheets of flame.[224] + +Soon after these tidings of the loss of Sandusky, Gladwyn’s garrison heard +the scarcely less unwelcome news that the strength of their besiegers had +been re-enforced 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 +Pottawattamies, under Ninivay; fifty were Wyandots, under Takee; two +hundred were Ojibwas, under Wasson; and added to these were a hundred and +seventy of the same tribe, under their chief, Sekahos.[225] As the +warriors brought their squaws and children with them, the whole number of +savages congregated about Detroit no doubt exceeded three thousand; and +the neighboring fields and meadows must have presented a picturesque and +stirring scene. + +The sleepless garrison, worn by fatigue and ill fare, and harassed by +constant petty attacks, were yet farther saddened by the news of disaster +which thickened from every quarter. Of all the small posts scattered at +intervals through the vast wilderness to the westward of Niagara and Fort +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 the +fifteenth of June, a number of Pottawattamies were seen approaching the +gate of the fort, bringing with them four English prisoners, who proved to +be Ensign Schlosser, lately commanding at St. Joseph’s, 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 unmeasured distance from any +abode of civilized man, the indefatigable Jesuits had labored more 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 +Father 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 French 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 enemies. They seem, however, to have apprehended +no danger, when, on the twenty-fifth of May, early in the morning, 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. Presently, a +chief, named Washashe, with three or four followers, came to his quarters, +as if to hold a friendly “talk;” and immediately after a Canadian came in +with intelligence that the fort was surrounded by Indians, who evidently +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 were also crowded with savages, very insolent +and disorderly. Calling upon his sergeant 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 Indians in the fort rushed to the gate, tomahawked the sentinel, and +opened a free passage to their comrades 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 conducted him to Detroit, where he was exchanged as we have +already seen.[226] + +Three days after these tidings reached Detroit, Father Jonois, a Jesuit +priest of the Ottawa mission near Michillimackinac, came to Pontiac’s +camp, together with the son of Minavavana, great chief of the Ojibwas, and +several other Indians. On the following morning, he appeared at the gate +of the fort, bringing a letter from Captain Etherington, commandant at +Michillimackinac. The commencement of the letter was as follows:—— + + + “Michillimackinac, 12 June, 1763. + + “Sir: + + “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 second 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 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 their squaws, whom they had previously 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, and took the rest of + the garrison prisoners, five of whom they have since killed. + + “They 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.” + +Captain Etherington next related some particulars of the massacre at +Michillimackinac, sufficiently startling, as will soon appear. He spoke in +high terms of the character and conduct of Father Jonois, and requested +that Gladwyn would send all the troops he could spare up Lake Huron, that +the post might be recaptured from the Indians, and garrisoned afresh. +Gladwyn, 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 voyage back to Michillimackinac.[227] 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 upon the Wabash, a little below the site of the present town of +La Fayette. Gladwyn received a letter from its commanding 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 compelled them to take up +the hatchet.[228] These excuses, so consolatory to the sufferers, might +probably have been founded in 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 insolence 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, +isolated in the wilderness, hundreds of miles, in some instances, from any +congenial associates, separated from every human being except the 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 with him, came to tell him that a squaw lay +dangerously ill in a wigwam near the fort, and urged him to come to her +relief. Having confidence in the girl, Holmes forgot his caution and +followed her out of the fort. Pitched at the edge of a meadow, hidden from +view by an intervening spur of the woodland, stood a great number 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 flashed from behind the +hut, and stretched him lifeless 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, and two other white men, made their appearance, and +summoned them to surrender; promising that, if they did so, their lives +should be spared, but that otherwise 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.[229] + +Had detachments of Rogers’s 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 soldiers of the 60th Regiment, though many of +them were of provincial birth, were not suited by habits and discipline +for this kind of service. + +The loss of Presqu’ Isle will close this catalogue 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 and prisoners, +which, of late, had grown mournfully familiar to their ears. Indians were +seen passing in numbers along the opposite bank of the river, leading +several English prisoners, who proved to be Ensign Christie, the +commanding officer at Presqu’ Isle, with those of his soldiers who +survived. + +On the third of June, Christie, then safely ensconced in the fort which he +commanded, had written as follows to his superior officer, Lieutenant +Gordon, at Venango: “This morning Lieutenant Cuyler of Queen’s Company of +Rangers came here, and gave me the following melancholy account of his +whole party being cut off by a large body of Indians at the mouth of the +Detroit River.” Here follows the story of Cuyler’s disaster, and Christie +closes as follows: “I have sent to Niagara a letter to the Major, desiring +some more ammunition and provisions, and have kept six men of Lieutenant +Cuyler’s, as I expect a visit from the hell-hounds. I have ordered +everybody here to move into the blockhouse, and shall be ready for them, +come when they will.” + +Fort Presqu’ Isle stood on the southern shore of Lake Erie, at the site of +the present town of Erie. It was an important post to be commanded by an +Ensign, for it controlled the communication between the lake and Fort +Pitt; but the blockhouse, to which Christie alludes, was supposed to make +it impregnable against Indians. This blockhouse, a very large and strong +one, stood at an angle of the fort, and was built of massive logs, with +the projecting upper story usual in such structures, by means of which a +vertical fire could be had upon the heads of assailants, through openings +in the projecting part of the floor, like the _machicoulis_ of a mediæval +castle. It had also a kind of bastion, from which one or more of its walls +could be covered by a flank fire. The roof was of shingles, and might +easily be set on fire; but at the top was a sentry-box or look-out, from +which water could be thrown. On one side was the lake, and on the other a +small stream which entered it. Unfortunately, the bank of this stream rose +in a high steep ridge within forty yards of the blockhouse, thus affording +a cover to assailants, while the bank of the lake offered them similar +advantages on another side. + +After his visit from Cuyler, Christie, whose garrison now consisted of +twenty-seven men, prepared for a stubborn defence. The doors of the +blockhouse, and the sentry-box at the top, were lined to make them +bullet-proof; the angles of the roof were covered with green turf as a +protection against fire-arrows, and gutters of bark were laid in such a +manner that streams of water could be sent to every part. His expectation +of a “visit from the hell-hounds” proved to be perfectly well founded. +About two hundred of them had left Detroit expressly for this object. At +early dawn on the fifteenth of June, they were first discovered stealthily +crossing the mouth of the little stream, where the bateaux were drawn up, +and crawling under cover of the banks of the lake and of the adjacent +saw-pits. When the sun rose, they showed themselves, and began their +customary yelling. Christie, with a very unnecessary reluctance to begin +the fray, ordered his men not to fire till the Indians had set the +example. The consequence was, that they were close to the blockhouse +before they received the fire of the garrison; and many of them sprang +into the ditch, whence, being well sheltered, they fired at the loopholes, +and amused themselves by throwing stones and handfuls of gravel, or, what +was more to the purpose, fire-balls of pitch. Some got into the fort and +sheltered themselves behind the bakery and other buildings, whence they +kept up a brisk fire; while others pulled down a small outhouse of plank, +of which they made a movable breastwork, and approached under cover of it +by pushing it before them. At the same time, great numbers of them lay +close behind the ridges by the stream, keeping up a rattling fire into +every loophole, and shooting burning arrows against the roof and sides of +the blockhouse. Some were extinguished with water, while many dropped out +harmless after burning a small hole. The Indians now rolled logs to the +top of the ridges, where they made three strong breastworks, from behind +which they could discharge their shot and throw their fireworks with +greater effect. Sometimes they would try to dart across the intervening +space and shelter themselves with their companions in the ditch, but all +who attempted it were killed or wounded. And now the hard-beset little +garrison could see them throwing up earth and stones behind the nearest +breastwork. Their implacable foes were undermining the blockhouse. There +was little time to reflect on this new danger; for another, more +imminent, soon threatened them. The barrels of water, always kept in the +building, were nearly emptied in extinguishing the frequent fires; and +though there was a well close at hand, in the parade ground, it was death +to approach it. The only resource was to dig a subterranean passage to it. +The floor was torn up; and while some of the men fired their heated +muskets from the loopholes, the rest labored stoutly at this cheerless +task. Before it was half finished, the roof was on fire again, and all the +water that remained was poured down to extinguish it. In a few moments, +the cry of fire was again 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. The garrison had had not a moment’s rest +since the sun rose. Darkness brought little relief, for guns flashed all +night from the Indian intrenchments. In the morning, however, there was a +respite. The Indians were ominously quiet, being employed, it seems, in +pushing their subterranean approaches, and preparing fresh means for +firing the blockhouse. In the afternoon the attack began again. They set +fire to the house of the commanding officer, which stood close at hand, +and which they had reached by means of their trenches. The pine logs +blazed fiercely, and the wind blew the flame against the bastion of the +blockhouse, which scorched, blackened, and at last took fire; but the +garrison had by this time dug a passage to the well, and, half stifled as +they were, they plied their water-buckets with such good will that the +fire was subdued, while the blazing house soon sank to a glowing pile of +embers. The men, who had behaved throughout with great spirit, were now, +in the words of their officer, “exhausted to the greatest extremity;” yet +they still kept up their forlorn defence, toiling and fighting without +pause within the wooden walls of their dim prison, where the close and +heated air was thick with the smoke of gunpowder. The firing on both sides +lasted through the rest of the day, and did not cease till midnight, at +which hour a voice was heard to call out, in French, from the enemy’s +intrenchments, warning the garrison that farther resistance 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 which, a man in 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 savages, 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 told them to wait +till morning for his answer. They assented, and suspended their fire. +Christie now asked his men, if we may believe the testimony of two of +them, “whether they chose to give up the blockhouse, or remain in it and +be burnt alive?” They replied that they would stay as long as they could +bear the heat, and then fight their way through.[230] A third witness, +Edward Smyth, apparently a corporal, testifies that all but two of them +were for holding out. He says that when his opinion was asked, he replied +that, having but one life to lose, he would be governed by the rest; but +that at the same time he reminded them of the recent treachery at Detroit, +and of the butchery at Fort William Henry, adding that, in his belief, +they themselves could expect no better usage. + +When morning came, Christie sent out two soldiers as if to treat with the +enemy, but, in reality, as he says, to learn the truth of what they had +told him respecting their preparations to burn the blockhouse. On reaching +the breastwork, the soldiers made a signal, by which their officer saw +that his worst fears were well founded. In pursuance of their orders, they +then demanded that two of the principal chiefs should meet with Christie +midway between the breastwork and the blockhouse. The chiefs appeared +accordingly; and Christie, going out, yielded up the blockhouse; 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 +and haggard, like men who had passed through a fiery ordeal, now issued +from their scorched and bullet-pierced stronghold. A scene of plunder +instantly began. Benjamin Gray, a Scotch soldier, who had just been +employed, on Christie’s order, in carrying presents to the Indians, seeing +the confusion, and hearing a scream from a sergeant’s wife, the only woman +in the garrison, sprang off into the woods and succeeded in making his way +to Fort Pitt with news of the disaster. It is needless to say that no +faith was kept with the rest, and they had good cause to be thankful that +they were not butchered on the spot. After being detained for some time in +the neighborhood, they were carried prisoners to Detroit, where Christie +soon after made his escape, and gained the fort in safety.[231] + +After Presqu’ Isle was taken, the neighboring posts of Le Bœuf and Venango +shared its fate; while 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 along the whole frontier. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + 1763. + + THE INDIANS CONTINUE TO BLOCKADE DETROIT. + + +We return once more to Detroit and its beleaguered garrison. On the +nineteenth of June, a rumor reached them that one of the vessels had been +seen near Turkey Island, some miles below the fort, but that, the wind +failing her, she had dropped down with the current, to wait a more +favorable opportunity. It may be remembered that this vessel had, several +weeks before, 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 in her, and +make the best of their way back to Detroit. They had done so, and now, as +we have seen, were almost within sight of the fort; but the critical part +of the undertaking yet remained. The river channel was in some places +narrow, and more than eight hundred Indians were on the alert to intercept +their passage. + +For several days, the officers at Detroit heard nothing farther of the +vessel, when, on the twenty-third, a great commotion was visible among the +Indians, large parties of whom were seen to pass along the outskirts of +the woods, behind the fort. The cause of these movements was unknown till +evening, when M. Baby came in with intelligence that the vessel was again +attempting to ascend the river, and that all the Indians had gone to +attack her. Upon this, two cannon were fired, that those on board might +know that the fort still held out. This done, all remained in much anxiety +awaiting the result. + +The schooner, late that afternoon, began to move slowly upward, with a +gentle breeze, between the main shore and the long-extended margin of +Fighting Island. About sixty men were crowded on board, of whom only ten +or twelve were visible on deck; the officer having ordered the rest to lie +hidden below, in hope that the Indians, encouraged by this apparent +weakness, might make an open attack. Just before reaching the narrowest +part of the channel, the wind died away, and the anchor was dropped. +Immediately above, and within gunshot of the vessel, the Indians had made +a breastwork of logs, carefully concealed by bushes, on the shore of +Turkey Island. Here they lay in force, waiting for the schooner to pass. +Ignorant of this, but still cautious 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 night. The +current gurgled with a monotonous sound around the bows of the schooner, +and on either hand the wooded shores 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. The blow of a hammer on the mast was to be the signal to fire. +The Indians, gliding stealthily over the water in their birch canoes, had, +by this time, approached within a few rods of their fancied prize, when +suddenly the dark side of the slumbering vessel burst into a blaze of +cannon and musketry, which illumined the night like a flash of lightning. +Grape- and musket-shot flew tearing among the canoes, destroying several +of them, killing fourteen Indians, wounding as many more, and driving the +rest in consternation to the shore.[232] Recovering from their surprise, +they began to fire upon the vessel from behind their breastwork; upon +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 provisions. She brought, also, the important tidings that +peace was at length concluded between France and England. The bloody and +momentous struggle of the French war, which had shaken North America since +the year 1755, had indeed been virtually closed by the victory on the +Plains of Abraham, and the junction of the three British armies at +Montreal. Yet up to this time, its embers had continued to burn, till at +length peace was completely established by formal treaty between the +hostile powers. France resigned her ambitious project of empire in +America, and ceded Canada and the region of the lakes to her successful +rival. By this treaty, the Canadians of Detroit were placed in a new +position. Hitherto they had been, as it were, prisoners on capitulation, +neutral spectators of the quarrel between 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. To many of +them the change 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 Gladwyn; +that the king of France would never abandon his children; and that a great +French army was even then ascending the St. Lawrence, while another was +approaching from the country of the Illinois.[233] This oft-repeated +falsehood was implicitly believed by the Indians, who continued firm in +the faith that their Great Father was about to awake from his sleep, and +wreak his vengeance 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 brought to +the obstinate defenders of Detroit. He exerted himself with fresh zeal to +gain possession of the place, and attempted to terrify Gladwyn into +submission. He sent a message, in which he strongly urged him to +surrender, adding, by way of stimulus, that eight hundred more Ojibwas +were every day expected, and that, on their arrival, all his influence +could not prevent them from taking the scalp of every Englishman in the +fort. To this friendly advice Gladwyn returned a brief and contemptuous +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 +purpose, he sent messages to the principal inhabitants, inviting them to +meet him in council. In the Ottawa 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 deputies, who soon convened, and took their seats in +a wide ring. One part was occupied by the Canadians, among whom were +several whose withered, leathery features proclaimed them the patriarchs +of the secluded little settlement. Opposite these sat the stern-visaged +Pontiac, with his chiefs on either hand, while the intervening portions of +the circle were filled by Canadians and Indians promiscuously mingled. +Standing on the outside, and looking over the heads of this more dignified +assemblage, was a motley throng of Indians and Canadians, half-breeds, +trappers, and 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 do their counterparts in civilized society. They were wrapped +in the gayest blankets, their necks adorned with beads, their cheeks +daubed with vermilion, and their ears hung with pendants. They stood +sedately looking on, with evident self-complacency, yet ashamed and afraid +to take their places among the aged chiefs and warriors of repute. + +All was silent, and several pipes were passing 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 suffer 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. This year the English +must all perish throughout Canada. The Master of Life commands it; and +you, who know him better than we, wish to oppose 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 content 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 provisions, 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 lift the hatchet with us; but if you +are English, then 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.”[234] + +One of the Canadians, having suspected the purpose of Pontiac, had brought +with him, 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 +children of the King of France, and he determined to keep up the old +delusion that a French army was on its way to win back Canada, and +chastise the English invaders. He began his speech in reply to Pontiac by +professing great love for the Indians, and a strong desire to aid them in +the war. “But, my brothers,” he added, holding out the articles of +capitulation, “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 quiet and obey the English until he comes, because he wishes to +punish his enemies himself. We dare not disobey him, for he would then be +angry with us. And you, my brothers, who speak of making war upon us if we +do not do as you wish, do you think you could escape his wrath, if you +should 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 at once. Tell us, my brothers, what can you reply to this?” + +Pontiac for a moment sat silent, mortified, and perplexed; but his +purpose was not destined to be wholly defeated. “Among the French,” says +the writer of the diary, “were many infamous characters, who, having no +property, cared nothing what became of them.” Those mentioned in these +opprobrious terms were a collection of trappers, voyageurs, 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, however, had thought proper to +adopt the style of dress and ornament peculiar to the red men, who were +their usual associates, and appeared among their comrades with paint +rubbed on their cheeks, and feathers dangling from their hair. Indeed, +they aimed to identify themselves with the Indians, a transformation by +which they gained nothing; for these renegade whites were held in light +esteem, both by those of their own color and the savages themselves. They +were for the most part a light and frivolous 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 voyageurs, and even a terror +to the _Bourgeois_[235] himself. 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 protracted to a late hour. It was dark before the assembly dissolved, +“so that,” as the chronicler observes, “these new Indians had no +opportunity of displaying their exploits that day.” They remained in the +Indian camp all night, being afraid of the reception they might meet among +their fellow-whites in the settlement. 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, according 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 before 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.[236] On the night +succeeding the feast, a party of the renegades, joined by about an equal +number of Indians, approached 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, headed by Lieutenant Hay, sallied to +dislodge them. This was effected without much difficulty. The Canadians +fled with such despatch, that all of them escaped unhurt, 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 +hate 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 savages, tore away the scalp, and shook it, with an exultant cry, +towards the fugitives.[237] This act, as afterwards appeared, excited +great rage among the Indians. + +Lieutenant Hay and his party, after their successful sally, had retired to +the fort; when, at about four o’clock in the afternoon, a man was seen +running towards it, closely pursued by Indians. On his arriving within +gunshot, they gave over the chase, and the fugitive came panting beneath +the stockade, where a wicket was flung open to receive him. He proved to +be the commandant of Sandusky, who, having, 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 Captain +Campbell was killed. This gentleman, 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 the English in +Detroit. It appeared 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 immediately blackened his face in sign of +revenge, called together a party of his followers, and repairing to the +house of Meloche, where Captain Campbell was kept prisoner, had seized +upon him, and bound him fast to a neighboring fence, where they shot him +to death with arrows. Others say that they tomahawked him on the spot; but +all agree that his body was mutilated in a barbarous manner. His heart is +said to have been eaten by his murderers, to make them courageous; 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. According to one authority, +Pontiac was privy to this act; but a second, equally credible, represents +him as ignorant of it, and declares that Wasson fled to Saginaw to escape +his fury; while a third affirms that the Ojibwas carried off Campbell by +force from before the eyes of the great chief.[238] The other captive, +M’Dougal, had previously escaped. + +The two armed schooners, anchored opposite the fort, were now become +objects of awe and aversion to the Indians. This is not to be wondered at, +for, besides aiding in the defence of the place, by sweeping two sides of +it with their fire, they often caused great terror and annoyance to the +besiegers. Several times they had left their anchorage, and, taking up a +convenient position, had battered the Indian camps and villages with no +little effect. Once in particular,——and this was the first attempt of the +kind,——Gladwyn 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 in +amazement, thinking that magic power alone could enable her thus to make +her way against wind and current.[239] 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 wildly among the forest-trees beyond. +All was terror and consternation. The startled warriors bounded away on +all sides; the squaws snatched up their children, and fled screaming; and, +with a general chorus of yells, the whole encampment scattered in such +haste, that little damage was done, except knocking to pieces their frail +cabins of bark.[240] + +This 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, formed of two boats, secured together +with a rope, and filled with pitch-pine, birch-bark, and other +combustibles, which, by good fortune, missed the vessel, and floated down +the stream without doing injury. 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 tracery +of ropes and spars, lighting up the old palisades and bastions of Detroit, +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 +vanished. The raft floated down, its flames crackling and glaring wide +through the night, until it was burnt to the water’s edge, and its last +hissing embers were quenched in the river. + +Though twice defeated, the Indians would not abandon their plan, but, soon +after this second failure, began another raft, of different construction +from the former, and so large that they thought it certain to take effect. +Gladwyn, on his part, provided boats which were moored by chains at some +distance above 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 useless. About this time, a party of Shawanoe +and Delaware Indians arrived at Detroit, and were received by the Wyandots +with a salute of musketry, which occasioned 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 flattering falsehood +that their Great Father, the King of France, was at that moment advancing +up the St. Lawrence 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 +submission to no man. + +It was now between two and three months since the siege began; and if one +is disposed to think slightingly 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 barbarism has been arrayed against +civilization, disorder against discipline, and ungoverned fury against +considerate valor, such has seldom failed to be the result. + +At the siege of Detroit, the Indians displayed a high degree of +comparative steadiness and perseverance; and their history cannot furnish +another instance of so large a force persisting so long in the attack of a +fortified place. Their good conduct may be ascribed to their deep rage +against the English, to their hope of speedy aid from the French, and to +the controlling spirit of Pontiac, which held them to their work. The +Indian is but ill qualified for such attempts, having too much caution for +an assault by storm, and too little patience for a blockade. The Wyandots +and Pottawattamies had shown, from the beginning, less zeal than the other +nations; and now, like children, they began to tire of the task they had +undertaken. A deputation of the Wyandots came to the fort, and begged for +peace, which was granted them; but when the Pottawattamies came on the +same errand, they insisted, as a preliminary, that some of their people, +who were detained prisoners by the English, should first be given up. +Gladwyn demanded, on his part, that the English captives known to be in +their village should be brought to the fort, and three of them were +accordingly produced. As these were but a small part of the whole, the +deputies were sharply rebuked for their duplicity, and told to go back for +the rest. They withdrew angry and mortified; but, on the following day, a +fresh deputation of chiefs made their appearance, bringing with them six +prisoners. Having repaired to the council-room, they were met by Gladwyn, +attended only by one or two officers. The Indians detained in the fort +were about to be given up, and a treaty concluded, when one of the +prisoners declared that there were several others still remaining in the +Pottawattamie village. Upon this, the conference was broken off, and the +deputies ordered instantly to depart. On being thus a second time +defeated, they were goaded to such a pitch of rage, that, as afterwards +became known, they formed 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 commandant observed an Ottawa among them, and, +resolving to seize him, called upon the guard without to assist in doing +so. A file of soldiers entered, and the chiefs, seeing it impossible to +execute their design, withdrew from the fort, with black and sullen brows. +A day or two afterwards, however, they returned with the rest of the +prisoners, on which peace was granted them, and their people set at +liberty.[241] + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + 1763. + + THE FIGHT OF BLOODY BRIDGE. + + +From the time when peace was concluded with the Wyandots and +Pottawattamies until the end of July, little worthy of notice took place +at Detroit. The fort was still watched closely by the Ottawas and Ojibwas, +who almost daily assailed it with petty attacks. In the mean time, unknown +to the garrison, a strong re-enforcement was coming to their aid. Captain +Dalzell had left Niagara with twenty-two barges, bearing two hundred and +eighty men, with several small cannon, and a fresh supply of provisions +and ammunition.[242] + +Coasting the south shore of Lake Erie, they soon reached Presqu’ Isle, +where they found the scorched and battered blockhouse captured a few weeks +before, and saw with surprise the mines and intrenchments made by the +Indians in assailing it.[243] Thence, proceeding on their voyage, they +reached Sandusky on the twenty-sixth of July; and here they marched inland +to the neighboring village of the Wyandots, 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. +Dalzell then steered northward for the mouth of the Detroit, which he +reached on the evening of the twenty-eighth, and cautiously ascended under +cover of night. “It was fortunate,” writes Gladwyn, “that they were not +discovered, in which case they must have been destroyed or taken, as the +Indians, being emboldened by their late successes, fight much better 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 +sunrise 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.[244] Still they +remained in suspense, fearing lest it might have met the fate of the +former detachment; but a salute from 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 between the villages of the Wyandots +and the Pottawattamies. About a fortnight before, as we have seen, these +capricious savages had made a treaty of peace, which they now saw fit to +break, opening a hot fire upon the boats from either bank.[245] It was +answered by swivels and musketry; but before the short engagement was +over, fifteen of the English were killed or wounded. This danger passed, +boat after boat came to shore, and landed its men amid the cheers of the +garrison. The detachment was composed of soldiers from the 55th and 80th +Regiments, with twenty independent rangers, commanded by Major Rogers; and +as the barracks in the place were too small to receive them, they were all +quartered upon the inhabitants. + +Scarcely were these arrangements made, when a great smoke was seen rising +from the Wyandot village across the river, and the inhabitants, apparently +in much consternation, were observed paddling down stream with their +household utensils, and even their dogs. It was supposed that they had +abandoned 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 ambush among the bushes, hoping to +lure some of the English within reach of their guns. None of them, +however, fell into the snare.[246] + +Captain 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 he had acted as aide-de-camp to Sir Jeffrey +Amherst. On the day of his arrival, he had a conference with Gladwyn, at +the quarters of the latter, and strongly insisted that the time was 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, was averse to the attempt; but Dalzell urged his +request so strenuously that the commandant yielded to his representations, +and gave a tardy consent.[247] + +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 thirtieth, orders were issued and preparations made +for the meditated attack. Through the inexcusable carelessness 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 the detachment, two hundred and fifty in +number, passed noiselessly out. They filed two deep along the road, while +two large bateaux, each bearing a swivel on the bow, rowed up the river +abreast of them. Lieutenant Brown led the advance guard 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 +river, with a margin of sand intervening, and on their left a succession +of Canadian houses, with barns, orchards, and cornfields, from whence the +clamorous barking of watch-dogs saluted them as they passed. The +inhabitants, roused from sleep, looked from the windows in astonishment +and alarm. 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 glimmering bayonets, +and how, long after the troops had passed, their heavy and measured tramp +sounded from afar, through the still night. Thus the English moved forward +to the attack, little thinking that, behind houses and enclosures, Indian +scouts watched every yard of their progress——little suspecting that +Pontiac, apprised by the Canadians of their plan, had broken up his camp, +and was coming against them with all his warriors, armed and painted 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 rough hollow, and entered +the Detroit amid a growth of rank grass and sedge. Only 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 abrupt ridges, +parallel to the stream. Along their summits were rude intrenchments made +by Pontiac to protect his camp, which had formerly occupied the ground +immediately beyond. Here, too, were many piles of firewood belonging to +the Canadians, besides strong picket fences, enclosing orchards and +gardens connected with the neighboring houses. Behind fences, wood-piles, +and intrenchments, crouched an unknown number of Indian warriors with +levelled guns. They lay silent as snakes, for now they could hear the +distant tramp of the approaching 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 wholly +unsuspicious of danger. The advance 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 party were shot down; the appalled survivors +shrank back aghast. The confusion reached even the main 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 +attack.[248] 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 oppose them. In vain the +furious soldiers sought their enemy behind fences and intrenchments. The +active savages had fled; yet still their guns flashed thick through the +gloom, and their war-cry rose with undiminished clamor. The English pushed +forward amid the pitchy darkness, quite ignorant of their way, and soon +became involved in a maze of outhouses and enclosures. At every pause they +made, the retiring enemy would gather to renew the attack, firing back +hotly upon the front and flanks. To advance farther would be useless, and +the only alternative was to withdraw and wait for daylight. Captain Grant, +with his company, recrossed the bridge, and took up his station on the +road. The rest followed, 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 +commenced amid a sharp fire from both sides; and before 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 it, found two Canadians within. These men told him +that the Indians were bent on cutting off the English from the fort, and +that they had gone in great numbers to occupy the houses which commanded +the road below.[249] 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 was +now in the van, and Dalzell 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 strong 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, they 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 +their ranks, they crowded upon one another in blind eagerness to escape +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 obscured by a thick fog, and little could be +seen of the Indians, except the incessant flashes of their guns amid the +mist, while hundreds of voices, mingled in one appalling yell, confused +the faculties of the men, and drowned the shout of command. The enemy had +taken possession of a house, from the windows 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 neighboring fences. He +charged them with his company, but fell, mortally wounded, in the +attempt.[250] They gave way, however; and now, the fire of the Indians +being much diminished, the retreat was resumed. No sooner had the men +faced about, than the savages came darting through the mist upon their +flank and rear, cutting down stragglers, and scalping the fallen. At a +little distance lay a sergeant of the 55th, helplessly wounded, raising +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 detachment pressed +on, greatly harassed by the pursuing 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 panic-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 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 barricade. Panting and +breathless, their faces moist with sweat and blackened with gunpowder, +they thrust their muskets through the openings, and fired out upon the +whooping assailants. At intervals, a bullet flew sharply whizzing through +a crevice, striking down a man, perchance, or rapping harmlessly 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 ball 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-stifled women below, the quavering war-whoops without, the shouts and +curses of the soldiers, mingled in a scene of clamorous confusion, and it +was long before the authority of Rogers could restore order.[251] + +In the mean time, Captain Grant, with his advanced 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 in from the rear, he +was enabled to re-enforce these detachments, until a complete line of +communication was established with the fort, and the retreat effectually +secured. Within an hour, the whole party had arrived, with the exception +of Rogers and his men, who were quite unable to come off, being besieged +in the house of Campau, by full two hundred Indians. 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 opposite 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 Rogers left the house at one door, when the enemy entered it +at another, to obtain the scalps from two or three corpses left behind. +Foremost 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 resumed his retreat as soon as Rogers had arrived, falling back from +house to house, joined in succession by the parties sent to garrison each. +The Indians, in great numbers, stood whooping and yelling, at a vain +distance, unable to make 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 combat, the detachment entered +once more within the sheltering palisades of Detroit. + +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 +exceed fifteen or twenty. At the beginning of the fight, their numbers +were probably much inferior to those of the English; but fresh parties +were continually joining them, until seven or eight hundred warriors must +have been present. + +The Ojibwas and Ottawas alone formed the ambuscade at the bridge, under +Pontiac’s command; for the Wyandots and Pottawattamies came later to the +scene of action, crossing the river in their canoes, or passing round +through the woods behind the fort, to take part in the fray.[252] + +In speaking of the fight of Bloody Bridge, an able writer in the Annual +Register for the year 1763 observes, with justice, that although in +European 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 these 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 miles, through the surrounding woods, to spread +tidings of the victory; and re-enforcements soon began to come in to swell +the force of Pontiac. “Fresh warriors,” writes Gladwyn, “arrive almost +every day, and I believe that I shall soon be besieged by upwards of a +thousand.” The English, on their part, were well prepared for resistance, +since the garrison now comprised more than three hundred effective men; +and no one entertained a doubt of their 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 achieved one of the most memorable +feats which the chronicles of that day can boast. + +The schooner Gladwyn, the smaller of the two armed vessels so often +mentioned, had been sent down to Niagara with letters and despatches. She +was now returning, having on board Horst, her master, Jacobs, her mate, +and a crew of ten men, all of whom were provincials, besides six Iroquois +Indians, supposed to be friendly to the English. On the night of the +third, she entered the River Detroit; and in the morning the six Indians +asked to be set on shore, a request which was foolishly granted. They +disappeared in the woods, and probably reported to Pontiac’s warriors the +small numbers of the crew. The vessel stood up the river until nightfall, +when, the wind failing, she was compelled 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 the stillness, from the +strange cry of the night-hawk, wheeling 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 could be discerned. +Meantime, three hundred and fifty Indians, in their birch canoes, glided +silently down with the current, and were close upon the vessel before they +were seen. There was only time to fire a single cannon-shot among them, +before they were beneath her bows, and clambering up her sides, holding +their knives clinched fast between their teeth. The crew gave them a close +fire of musketry, without any effect; then, flinging down their guns, they +seized the spears and hatchets with which they were all provided, and met +the assailants with such furious energy and courage, that in the space of +two or three minutes they had killed and wounded more than twice their own +number. But the Indians were only checked for a moment. The master of the +vessel was killed, several of the crew were disabled, and the assailants +were leaping over the bulwarks, when Jacobs, the mate, called out to blow +up the schooner. This desperate command saved her and her crew. Some +Wyandots, who had gained the deck, caught the meaning of his words, and +gave the alarm to their companions. Instantly every Indian leaped +overboard in a panic, and the whole were seen diving and swimming off in +all directions, to escape the threatened explosion. The schooner was +cleared of her assailants, who did not dare to renew the attack; and on +the following morning she sailed for the fort, which she reached without +molestation. Six of her crew escaped unhurt. Of the remainder, two were +killed, and four seriously wounded, while the Indians had seven men killed +upon the spot, and nearly twenty wounded, of whom eight were known to have +died within a few days after. As the action was very brief, the fierceness +of the struggle is sufficiently apparent from the loss on both sides. “The +appearance of the men,” says an eye-witness who saw them on their arrival, +“was enough to convince every one of their bravery; they being as bloody +as butchers, and their bayonets, spears, and cutlasses, blood to the +hilt.” The survivors of the crew were afterwards rewarded as their courage +deserved.[253] + +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 quarter of the wilderness yet more wild and remote. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + 1763. + + MICHILLIMACKINAC. + + +In the spring of the year 1763, before the war broke out, several English +traders went up to Michillimackinac, some adopting the old route of the +Ottawa, and others that of Detroit and the lakes. We will follow one of +the latter on his adventurous progress. Passing the fort and settlement of +Detroit, he soon enters Lake St. Clair, which seems like a broad basin +filled to overflowing, while, along its far distant verge, a faint line of +forest separates the water from the sky. He crosses the lake, and his +voyageurs next urge his canoe against the current of the great river +above. At length, Lake Huron opens before him, stretching its liquid +expanse, like an ocean, to the farthest horizon. 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 +Canadians labor well, and no accident occur, the trader approaches the end +of his voyage. Passing on his right the extensive Island of Bois Blanc, he +sees, nearly in front, the beautiful Mackinaw, rising, with its white +cliffs and green foliage, from the broad 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 voyageurs raise their +song and chorus. Doubling a point, he sees before him the red flag of +England swelling 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 palisades. Numerous houses, barracks, and other +buildings, form a smaller square within, and in the vacant space which +they enclose appear the red uniforms of British soldiers, the gray coats +of Canadians, and the gaudy Indian blankets, mingled in picturesque +confusion; while a multitude of squaws, with children of every hue, stroll +restlessly about the place. Such was Fort Michillimackinac in 1763.[254] +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 1671, 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 the terrors of the wilderness, could damp the +zeal of the undaunted missionary; and the restless ambition 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 +Michillimackinac, there were two other posts in this northern region, +Green Bay, and the Sault Ste. Marie. Both were founded at an early period, +and both presented 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. +Michillimackinac, much the largest of the three, contained thirty families +within the palisades of the fort, and about as many more without. Besides +its military value, it was important as a centre of the fur-trade; for it +was here that the traders engaged 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 intercourse was stopped between them.[255] + +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 narrative, were the domain of nature, a mighty hunting and fishing +ground, for the sustenance of a few wandering tribes. One might journey +among them for days, and even weeks together, without beholding a human +face. The Indians near Michillimackinac were the Ojibwas and Ottawas, the +former of whom claimed the eastern section of Michigan, and the latter the +western, their respective portions being separated by a line drawn +southward from the fort itself.[256] 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 Bay. 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 Catholics. They were all somewhat improved from their +original savage condition, living in log houses, and cultivating corn and +vegetables to such an extent as to supply the fort with provisions, +besides satisfying their own wants. The Ojibwas, on the other hand, were +not in the least degree removed from their primitive barbarism.[257] + +These two tribes, with most of the other neighboring 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 struggle. This feeling of +hostility was 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 +place, 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 by the +route of the Ottawa. On the way, he was several times warned to turn back, +and assured of death if he proceeded; and, at length, was compelled for +safety to assume the disguise of a Canadian voyageur. When his canoes, +laden with goods, reached the fort, he was very coldly received by its +inhabitants, who did all in their power to alarm and discourage him. Soon +after his arrival, he received the very unwelcome information, that a +large number of Ojibwas, from the neighboring villages, were coming, in +their canoes, to call upon him. Under ordinary circumstances, such a +visitation, though disagreeable enough, would excite neither anxiety nor +surprise; for the Indians, when in their villages, lead so monotonous an +existence, that they are ready to snatch at the least occasion of +excitement, and the prospect of a few trifling presents, and a few pipes +of tobacco, is often a sufficient inducement for a journey of several +days. But in the present instance there was serious cause of apprehension, +since Canadians and Frenchmen were alike hostile to the solitary trader. +The story could not be better told than in his own words. + +“At two o’clock in the afternoon, the Chippewas (Ojibwas) came to the +house, about sixty in number, and headed by Minavavana, their chief. They +walked in single file, each with his tomahawk in one hand and +scalping-knife in the other. Their bodies were naked from the waist +upward, except in a few examples, where blankets were thrown loosely over +the shoulders. Their faces were painted with charcoal, worked up with +grease, their bodies with white clay, in patterns of various fancies. Some +had feathers thrust through their noses, and their heads decorated with +the same. It is unnecessary to dwell on the sensations with which I beheld +the approach of this uncouth, if not frightful assemblage. + +“The chief entered first, and the rest followed without 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 either hand, and several Canadians behind me, he entered, +at the same time, into conversation with 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 pause, by which they were succeeded, Minavavana, taking a few strings +of wampum in his hand, began the following speech:—— + +“‘Englishman, 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 return, promised to be his children. This promise we +have kept. + +“‘Englishman, it is you that have made war with 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. + +“‘Englishman, we are informed that our father, the King of France, is old +and infirm; and that, being fatigued 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 +mountains, were left to us by our ancestors. They are 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 Spirit and Master of Life, has provided +food for us in these spacious lakes, and on these woody mountains. + +“‘Englishman, our father, the King of France, employed our young men to +make war upon your 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 the +nation by which they fell; the other, by _covering the bodies of the +dead_, and thus allaying the resentment 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; wherefore he and we are still at war; and, until he +does these things, we must consider that we have no other father 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 not molest you. You do not come armed, 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 +Chippewas. 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 ceremony ended, the chief +arose, and gave me his hand, in which he was followed by all the +rest.”[258] + +These tokens of friendship were suitably acknowledged by the trader, who +made a formal reply to Minavavana’s speech. To this succeeded a request +for whiskey on the part of the Indians, with which Henry unwillingly +complied; and, having distributed several small additional presents, he +beheld, 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 he calls them, the Chippewas, when a more formidable +invasion once more menaced him with destruction. Two hundred L’Arbre +Croche Ottawas came in a body 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 distribute their goods among the Indians, adding a worthless promise +to pay them in the spring, and 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, accordingly, arming about thirty +of their men with muskets, they barricaded themselves in the house +occupied by Henry, and kept strict watch all night. The Ottawas, however, +did not venture an attack. On the following day, the Canadians, with +pretended sympathy, 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 were, at that +moment, encamped within a few miles of it. Another night of watching and +anxiety succeeded; but at sunrise, the Ottawas launched their canoes and +departed, while, immediately after, the boats of the English detachment +were seen to approach the landing-place. Michillimackinac received a +strong garrison; and for a time, at least, the traders were safe. + +Time passed on, and the hostile feelings of the Indians towards the +English did not diminish. It necessarily follows, from the extremely loose +character of Indian government,——if indeed the name government be +applicable at all,——that the separate members of the same tribe have +little political connection, and are often united merely by the social tie +of totemship. Thus the Ottawas at L’Arbre Croche were quite independent of +those at Detroit. They had a chief of their own, who by no means +acknowledged the authority of Pontiac, though the high reputation of this +great warrior everywhere attached 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 Minavavana, +or, as the Canadians entitled him, by way of distinction, _Le Grand +Sauteur_, or the Great Ojibwa. He lived in the little village of Thunder +Bay, though his power was acknowledged by the Indians of the neighboring +islands. That his mind was of no common order is sufficiently evinced by +his speech to Henry; but he had not the commanding spirit of Pontiac. His +influence seems not to have extended beyond his own tribe. He could not, +or at least he did not, control the erratic forces of an Indian community, +and turn them into one broad current of steady and united energy. Hence, +in the events about to be described, the natural instability of the Indian +character was abundantly displayed. + +In the spring of the year 1763, Pontiac, in compassing his grand scheme of +hostility, sent, among the rest, to the Indians of Michillimackinac, +inviting them to aid him in the war. His messengers, bearing in their +hands the war-belt of black and purple wampum, appeared before the +assembled warriors, flung at their feet a hatchet painted red, and +delivered the speech with which they had been charged. The warlike +auditory answered with ejaculations of applause, and, taking up the +blood-red hatchet, 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 excitement and +emulation, and they resolved that peace should last no longer. Their +numbers were at this time more than doubled by several bands of their +wandering people, who had gathered at Michillimackinac from far and near, +attracted probably by 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.[259] Warning of the tempest that impended +had been clearly given; enough, had it been heeded, to have averted the +fatal disaster. Several of the Canadians least hostile to the English had +thrown out hints of approaching danger, and one of them had even told +Captain Etherington, 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 were 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 distrust the +Indians; but on communicating his suspicions to the commandant, the latter +treated them with total disregard. Henry accuses himself of sharing 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 +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, Wawatam had entered his house, and placing before him, on the +ground, a large present of furs and dried meat, delivered a speech to the +following effect: Early in life, he said, he had withdrawn, after the +ancient usage of his people, 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 +revealed to him that, in after years, he should meet a white man, who +should be to him a friend and brother. No sooner had he seen Henry, than +the irrepressible conviction rose up within him, that he was the man whom +the Great Spirit had indicated, and that the dream was now fulfilled. +Henry replied to the speech with suitable acknowledgments of gratitude, +made a present in his turn, smoked a pipe with Wawatam, and, as the +latter soon after 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 ceremony, and the dark figure of Wawatam 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 replying, sat down with a dejected air, and +expressed his surprise and regret at finding his brother still in the +fort. He said that he was going on the next day to the Sault Ste. Marie, +and that he wished Henry to go with him. He then asked if the English had +heard no bad news, and said that through the winter he himself had been +much disturbed by the singing of evil birds. Seeing that Henry gave little +attention to what he said, he at length went away with a sad and mournful +face. On the next morning he came again, together with his squaw, 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 themselves at the fort, were encamped in +the woods around it. To-morrow, he said, they are coming to ask for +whiskey, and would all get drunk, so that it would be dangerous to remain. +Wawatam let fall, in addition, various other hints, which, but for Henry’s +imperfect knowledge of the Algonquin language, could hardly have failed to +draw his attention. As it was, however, his friend’s words were spoken in +vain; and at length, after long and persevering efforts, he and his squaw +took their departure, but not, as Henry declares, before each had let fall +some tears. Among the Indian women, the practice of weeping and wailing is +universal upon all occasions of sorrowful emotion; and the kind-hearted +squaw, as she took down her husband’s lodge, and loaded his canoe for +departure, 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 bracelets, and other ornaments, with the +intention, as afterwards appeared, 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 XVII. + + 1763. + + 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.[260] 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 erected their +lodges in the vicinity. Early in the morning, 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 soon deserted by half its tenants. An outline +of Michillimackinac, as far as tradition has preserved its general +features, has already been given; and it is easy to conceive, with +sufficient accuracy, the appearance it must have presented on this +eventful morning. The houses and barracks were so ranged as to form a +quadrangle, enclosing an extensive area, upon which their doors all +opened, while behind rose the tall palisades, forming a large external +square. The picturesque Canadian houses, with their rude porticoes, and +projecting roofs of bark, sufficiently indicated the occupations of their +inhabitants; for birch canoes were lying near many of them, and +fishing-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 careless undress about +the area. + +Without the fort the scene was of a very different character. The gates +were wide open, and soldiers were collected in groups under the shadow of +the palisades, watching the Indian ball-play. 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 warriors were also among the spectators, intent, +apparently, on watching the game, but with thoughts, in fact, far +otherwise employed. + +The plain in front was covered by the ball-players. The game in which they +were engaged, called _baggattaway_ by the Ojibwas, is still, as it always +has been, a favorite with many Indian tribes. At either extremity 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 drive the ball +to that of its adversary. Hundreds of lithe and agile figures were leaping +and bounding upon 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 moment the whole were crowded together, a dense throng +of combatants, all struggling 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 adversaries, or hurling them to the +ground, they pursued the animating contest amid the laughter and applause +of the spectators. Suddenly, from the midst of the multitude, the ball +soared into the air, and, descending in a wide curve, fell 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 maddened 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 the hatchets, which the latter, with +this design, had concealed beneath 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 away from +the scene of massacre towards the woods.[261] Within the area of the fort, +the men were slaughtered without mercy. But here the task of description +may well be resigned to the pen of the trader, Henry. + +“I did not go myself to see the match which 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 remained 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 general +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 +particular, I witnessed 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, holding him in this manner, scalped him while yet living. + +“At length, disappointed in the hope of seeing resistance 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 seeking +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. + +“Between the yard door of my own house and that of M. Langlade,[262] my +next neighbor, there was only a low fence, over which I easily climbed. +At my entrance, I found the whole family at the windows, gazing at the +scene of blood before them. I addressed myself immediately to M. Langlade, +begging that he would put me into some place of safety until the heat of +the affair should be over; an act of charity by which he might, perhaps, +preserve me from the general massacre; but while I uttered my petition, M. +Langlade, who had looked for a moment at me, turned again to the window, +shrugging his shoulders, and intimating that he could do nothing for +me——_‘Que voudriez-vous que j’en ferais?_’ + +“This was a moment for despair; but the next a Pani[263] 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 that it led to the +garret, where I must go and conceal myself. I joyfully obeyed her +directions; and she, having 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 hope 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 beheld, in +shapes the foulest and most terrible, the ferocious triumphs of barbarian +conquerors. The dead were scalped and mangled; the dying were writhing and +shrieking 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 horror, 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 Indians no sooner +came in than they inquired whether or not any Englishmen were in the +house. M. Langlade replied, that ‘he could not say, he did not know 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. Langlade +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 might +examine for themselves, and would soon be satisfied 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 absence 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 of those vessels of birch-bark used in maple-sugar +making. + +“The door was unlocked and opening, and the Indians ascending the stairs, +before I had completely crept into a small opening which presented itself +at one end of the heap. An instant after, four Indians entered the room, +all armed with tomahawks, and all besmeared with blood, upon every part of +their bodies. + +“The die appeared to be cast. I could scarcely 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; and one of them +approached me so closely, that, at a particular moment had he put forth +his hand, he must have touched 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 window in the corner in which I was, must have +contributed. In a word, after taking several turns in the room, during +which they told M. Langlade how many they had killed, and how many scalps +they had taken, they returned downstairs; and I, with sensations not to be +expressed, heard the door, which was the barrier 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 I was awakened by a +second opening of the door. The person that now entered was M. Langlade’s +wife, who was much surprised at finding me, but advised me not to be +uneasy, observing that the Indians had killed most of the English, but +that she hoped I might myself escape. A shower of rain having begun to +fall, she had come to stop a hole in the roof. On her going away, I begged +her to send me a little water to drink, which she did. + +“As night was now advancing, I continued to lie on the bed, ruminating on +my condition, but unable to discover a resource from which I could hope +for life. A flight to Detroit had no probable chance of success. The +distance from Michillimackinac was four hundred miles; I was without +provisions, and the whole length of the road lay through Indian countries, +countries of an enemy in arms, where the first man whom I should meet +would kill me. To stay where I was, threatened nearly the same issue. As +before, fatigue of mind, and not tranquillity, suspended my cares, and +procured me farther sleep. + +“The respite which sleep afforded me during the night was put an end to by +the return of morning. I was again on the rack of apprehension. At +sunrise, 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. M. Langlade +appeared, from what followed, to be, by this time, acquainted with the +place of my retreat; of which, 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 deliver me up 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, 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 me 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 which I was menaced; and, +regarding every effort at concealment as vain, I rose from the bed, and +presented myself full in view to the Indians, who were entering the room. +They were all in a state of intoxication, and entirely naked, except 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 either 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, saying, ‘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 downstairs, and +there informing me that I was to be taken to his cabin, where, and indeed +everywhere else, the Indians were all mad with liquor, death again was +threatened, and not as possible only, but as certain. I mentioned my fears +on this subject to M. Langlade, begging him to represent the danger to my +master. M. Langlade, in this instance, did not withhold his compassion; +and Wenniway immediately consented that I should 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 knew +this man, who was largely in his debt, and some time before, on the +trader’s asking him for payment, the Indian had declared, in a significant +tone, that he would pay him soon. There seemed at present good ground to +suspect his intention; but, having no choice, Henry was 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 kill 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 in the +centre of the area, called upon him for protection. The chief ordered the +Indian to desist; but the latter, who was foaming at the mouth with rage, +still continued to pursue Henry, vainly striking at him with his knife. +Seeing the door of Langlade’s house wide open, the trader darted in, and +at length found himself in safety. He retired once more to his garret, and +lay down, feeling, as he declares, a sort of conviction that no Indian had +power to harm him. + +This confidence was somewhat shaken when, early in the night, he was +startled from sleep by the opening of the door. A light gleamed in upon +him, and he was summoned to descend. He did so, when, to his surprise and +joy, he found, in the room below, Captain Etherington, Lieutenant Leslie, +and Mr. Bostwick, a trader, together with Father Jonois, the Jesuit priest +from L’Arbre Croche. The Indians were bent on enjoying that night a grand +debauch upon the liquor they had seized; and the chiefs, well knowing the +extreme danger to which the prisoners would be exposed during these +revels, had conveyed them all into the fort, and placed them in charge of +the Canadians. + +Including officers, soldiers, and traders, they amounted to about twenty +men, being nearly all who had escaped the massacre. + +When Henry entered the room, he found his three companions in misfortune +engaged in anxious debate. These men had supped full of horrors; yet they +were almost on the point of risking a renewal of the bloodshed from which +they had just escaped. 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 hundred Canadians, principally voyageurs. To close the gates, and +set the Indians at defiance, seemed no very difficult matter. It might +have been attempted, but for the dissuasions of the Jesuit, who had acted +throughout the part of a true friend of humanity, and who now strongly +represented the probability that the Canadians would prove treacherous, +and the certainty that a failure would involve destruction to every +Englishman in the place. The idea was therefore abandoned, and Captain +Etherington, with his companions, that night shared Henry’s garret, where +they passed the time in condoling with each other on their common +misfortune. + +A party of Indians came to the house in the morning, and ordered Henry to +follow them out. The weather had changed, and a cold storm had set in. In +the dreary and forlorn area of the fort were a 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 imprisoned. They were released, and directed to +follow the party. The whole then proceeded together to the lake shore, +where they were to embark for the Isles du Castor. A chilling wind blew +strongly from the north-east, and the lake was covered with mists, and +tossing angrily. Henry stood shivering on the beach, with no other upper +garment than a shirt, drenched with the cold rain. He asked Langlade, who +was near him, for a blanket, which the latter refused unless security were +given for payment. Another Canadian proved more merciful, and Henry +received a covering from the weather. With his three companions, guarded +by seven Indians, he embarked in the canoe, the soldier being tied by his +neck to one of the cross-bars of the vessel. The thick mists and the +tempestuous weather compelled them to coast the shore, close beneath the +wet dripping forests. In this manner they had proceeded about eighteen +miles, and were approaching L’Arbre Croche, when an Ottawa Indian came out +of the woods, and called to them from the beach, inquiring the news, and +asking who were their prisoners. Some conversation followed, in the course +of which 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 +among the trees and bushes, rushed into the water, and seized upon the +canoe and prisoners. The astonished Ojibwas remonstrated in vain. The four +Englishmen 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 unexpected proceeding. They were jealous and angry that the Ojibwas +should have taken the fort without giving them an opportunity to share in +the plunder; and they now took this summary mode of asserting their +rights. + +The chiefs, however, shook Henry and his companions by the hand, +professing great good will, assuring 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 flotilla of canoes accompanied +them, bearing a great number of Ottawa warriors; and before the day was +over, the whole had arrived at the fort. At this time, the principal +Ojibwa encampment was near the woods, in full sight of the landing-place. +Its occupants, 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 conduct is not difficult to explain, when we take into consideration +the peculiarities of the Indian character. Pride and jealousy are always +strong and active elements in it. The Ottawas deemed themselves insulted +because the Ojibwas had undertaken an enterprise of such importance +without consulting them, or asking their assistance. It may be added, that +the Indians of L’Arbre Croche were somewhat less hostile to the English +than the neighboring tribes; for the great influence of the priest Jonois +seems always to have been exerted on the side of peace. + +The English prisoners looked upon the new-comers as champions and +protectors, and conceived hopes from their interference not destined to be +fully realized. On the morning after their arrival, the Ojibwa chiefs +invited the principal men of the Ottawas to hold a council with 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 the will of the Great Spirit, 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 throughout 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 common among Indians, in order that the auditors may +have time to ponder with due deliberation upon what they have heard. At +the next meeting, the 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, probably owing to +the influence of Father Jonois.[264] The priest went down to Detroit with +a letter from Captain Etherington, acquainting Major Gladwyn with the loss +of Michillimackinac, and entreating that a force might be sent +immediately to his aid. The letter, as we have seen, was safely delivered; +but Gladwyn was, of course, unable to render the required assistance. + +Though the Ottawas and Ojibwas had come to terms, they still looked on +each other with distrust, and it is said that the former never forgot the +slight that had been put upon them. The Ojibwas took the prisoners who had +been returned to them from the fort, and carried them to one of their +small villages, which stood near the shore, at no great distance 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 supported the lodge in the +centre. Henry and the other traders escaped this rigorous treatment. The +spacious lodge was soon filled with Indians, who came to look at their +captives, and gratify themselves by deriding and jeering at them. At the +head of the lodge sat the great war-chief Minavavana, side by side with +Henry’s master, Wenniway. 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, Wawatam, 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 with Wenniway 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 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——your brother——in the condition of a slave; a slave, +exposed every moment to insult, and to menaces of death? This case, as +you all know, 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 relation, 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 were fearful lest, on this very +account, I should reveal your secret. You requested, therefore, that I +would leave the fort, and even cross the lake. I did so; but I did it with +reluctance. I did it with reluctance, notwithstanding that you, +Minavavana, who had the command in this enterprise, gave me your promise +that you would protect my friend, delivering 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, Minavavana, best know whether or not, as it respects +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.”[265] + +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 countrymen, 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-feast——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 partook of it, though some of them, at least, did +so with repugnance. + +About a week had now elapsed since the massacre, and a revulsion of +feeling began to take place among the Indians. Up to this time all had +been triumph and exultation; but they now began to fear the consequences +of their conduct. Indefinite and absurd rumors of an approaching attack +from the English were afloat in the camp, and, in their growing +uneasiness, they thought it expedient to shift their position to some +point more capable of defence. Three 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 number. Strong gusts of wind came from the north, and +when the fleet of canoes was 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. Many voices were 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 Mackinaw, owing to its situation, its +beauty, and the fish which the surrounding water supplied, had long been +a favorite resort of Indians. It is about three miles wide. So clear are +the waters of Lake Huron, which wash its shores, that one may count the +pebbles at an incredible depth. The island is fenced round by white +limestone cliffs, 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——natural bridges, +caverns, or sharp pinnacles, which at this day are pointed 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.[266] + +The Indians landed at the margin of a little bay. Unlading their canoes, +and lifting them high and dry upon the beach, they began to erect their +lodges, and before night had completed the work. Messengers arrived on the +next day from Pontiac, informing them that he was besieging Detroit, and +urging them to come to his aid. But their warlike ardor had well-nigh +died out. A senseless alarm prevailed among them, and they now thought +more of securing their own safety than of injuring the enemy. A vigilant +watch was kept up all day, and the unusual precaution taken of placing +guards at night. Their fears, however, did not prevent them from seizing +two English trading canoes, which had come from Montreal by way of the +Ottawa. Among the booty found in them was a quantity of whiskey, and a +general debauch was the immediate result. As night closed in, the 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 +solitude 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 apprise him that he might return with safety to the +camp. + +Famine soon began 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 privation with that resignation +under inevitable suffering, which distinguishes the whole Indian race. +They were at length compelled to cross over to the north shore of Lake +Huron, where fish were more abundant; and here they remained until the end +of summer, when they gradually dispersed, each family repairing to its +winter hunting-grounds. Henry, painted and attired like an Indian, +followed his friend Wawatam, and spent a lonely winter among the frozen +forests, hunting the bear and moose for subsistence.[267] + +The posts of Green Bay and the Sault Ste. Marie did not share the fate of +Michillimackinac. During the preceding winter, Ste. Marie had been +partially destroyed by an accidental fire, and was therefore abandoned, +the garrison withdrawing to Michillimackinac, where many of them perished +in the massacre. The fort at Green Bay first received an English garrison +in the year 1761, at the same time with the other posts of this region. +The force consisted of seventeen men, of the 60th or Royal American +regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Gorell. 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 Menomonies lived at the +mouth of Fox River, close to the fort. The Winnebagoes had several +villages on the lake which bears their name, and the Sacs and Foxes were +established on the River Wisconsin, in a large village composed of houses +neatly built of logs and bark, and surrounded by fields of corn and +vegetables.[268] West of the Mississippi was the powerful nation of the +Dahcotah, whose strength was loosely estimated at thirty thousand fighting +men, and who, in the excess of their haughtiness, styled the surrounding +tribes their dogs and slaves.[269] The commandant of Green Bay was the +representative of the British government, in communication with all these +tribes. It devolved upon him to secure their friendship, and keep them at +peace; and he was also intrusted, in a great measure, with the power of +regulating the fur-trade among them. In the course of each season, parties +of Indians, from every quarter, would come to the fort, each expecting to +be received with speeches and presents. + +Gorell seems to have acquitted himself with great judgment and prudence. +On first arriving at the fort, he had found its defences decayed and +ruinous, the Canadian inhabitants unfriendly, and many of the Indians +disposed to hostility. His good conduct contributed to allay their +irritation, and he was particularly successful in conciliating his +immediate neighbors, the Menomonies. They had taken an active part in the +late war between France and England, and their spirits were humbled by the +losses they had sustained, as well as by recent ravages of the small-pox. +Gorell summoned them to a council, and delivered a speech, in which he +avoided wounding their pride, but at the same time assumed a tone of +firmness and decision, such as can alone command an Indian’s respect. He +told them that the King of England had heard of their ill conduct, but +that he was ready to forget all that had passed. If, however, they should +again give him cause of complaint, he would send an army, numerous as the +trees of the forest, and utterly destroy them. Flattering expressions of +confidence and esteem succeeded, and the whole was enforced by the +distribution of a few presents. The Menomonies replied by assurances of +friendship, more sincerely made and faithfully kept than could have been +expected. As Indians of the other tribes came from time to time to the +fort, they met with a similar reception; and, in his whole intercourse +with them, the constant aim of the commandant 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 brought to Gorell the +following letter from Captain Etherington:—— + + “Michillimackinac, June 11, 1763. + + “Dear Sir: + + “This place was taken by surprise, on the second instant, by the + Chippeways, [Ojibwas,] at which time Lieutenant Jamet and twenty + [fifteen] more were killed, and all the rest taken prisoners; + but our good friends, the Ottawas, have taken Lieutenant Lesley, + me, and eleven men, out of their hands, and have promised to + reinstate us again. You’ll therefore, on the receipt of this, + which I send by a canoe of Ottawas, set out with all your + garrison, and what English traders you have with you, and come + with the Indian who gives you this, who will conduct you safe to + me. You must 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 village, twenty miles from this.... I + must once more beg you’ll lose no time in coming to join me; at + the same time, be very careful, and always be on your guard. I + long much to see you, and am, dear sir, + + “Your most humble serv’t. + GEO. ETHERINGTON. + J. GORELL, + Royal Americans.” + +On receiving this letter, Gorell summoned the Menomonies to a council, +told them what the Ojibwas had done, and said that he and his soldiers +were 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 +English, though a few were inclined to prevent their departure, and even +to threaten hostility. At 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 the tribes of Green Bay would not follow their example, but, on +the contrary, would protect the English garrison. Unless they did so, the +Dahcotah would fall upon them, and take ample revenge. This auspicious +interference must, no doubt, be ascribed to the hatred with which the +Dahcotah had long regarded the Ojibwas. That the latter should espouse one +side of the quarrel, was abundant reason to the Dahcotah for adopting the +other. + +Some of the Green Bay Indians were also at enmity with the Ojibwas, and +all opposition to the departure of the English was now at an end. Indeed, +some of the more friendly offered to escort the garrison on its way; and +on the twenty-first of June, Gorell’s party embarked in several bateaux, +accompanied by ninety warriors in canoes. Approaching Isle du Castor, near +the mouth of Green Bay, an alarm was given that the Ojibwas were lying +there in ambush; on which the Menomonies raised the war-song, stripped +themselves, and prepared to do battle in behalf 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 Indians in holding councils. +Those from Green Bay requested the Ottawas to set their prisoners at +liberty, and they at length assented. A difficulty still remained, as the +Ojibwas had declared that they would prevent the English from passing down +to Montreal. Their chiefs were therefore summoned; and being at this time, +as we have seen, in a state of much alarm, they at length reluctantly +yielded the point. On the eighteenth of July, the English, escorted by a +fleet of Indian canoes, left L’Arbre Croche, and reaching, without +interruption, the portage of the River Ottawa, descended to Montreal, +where they all arrived in safety, on the thirteenth of August.[270] Except +the garrison of Detroit, not a British soldier now remained in the region +of the lakes. + + + + + END OF VOL. I. + + + + + THE + + CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC + + AND THE + + INDIAN WAR + + AFTER + + THE CONQUEST OF CANADA + + VOL. II. + + + + + Contents of Vol. II. + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + 1763. + + FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. + + _Extent of British Settlements in 1763._——_Forts and Military + Routes._——_Fort Pitt._——_The Pennsylvania Frontier._——_Alarms at Fort + Pitt._——_Escape of Calhoun._——_Slaughter of Traders._——_Fort Ligonier. + Fort Bedford._——_Situation of Fort Pitt._——_Indian Advice._——_Reply of + Ecuyer._——_News from Presqu’ Isle._——_Fate of Le Bœuf._——_Fate of + Venango._——_Danger of Fort Pitt._——_Council with the Delawares._—— + _Threats of the Commandant._——_General Attack._ 277 + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + 1763. + + THE WAR ON THE BORDERS. + + _Panic among the Settlers._——_Embarrassments of Amherst._——_Colonel + Bouquet._——_His Correspondence with the Commander-in-Chief._—— + _Proposal to infect the hostile Indians with Small-pox._——_Captain + Ourry._——_Lieutenant Blane._——_Frontier War._——_Alarm at Carlisle._—— + _Scouting Parties._——_Ambuscade on the Tuscarora._——_The Dying + Borderer._——_Scenes at Carlisle._ 296 + + + CHAPTER XX. + + 1763. + + THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN. + + _The Army of Bouquet._——_Dangers of his Enterprise._——_Fort Ligonier + relieved._——_Bouquet at Fort Bedford._——_March of his Troops._—— + _Unexpected Attack._——_The Night Encampment._——_The Fight resumed._—— + _Conflict of the second Day._——_Successful Stratagem._——_Rout of the + Indians._——_Bouquet reaches Fort Pitt._——_Effects of the Victory._ 315 + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + 1763. + + THE IROQUOIS.——AMBUSCADE OF THE DEVIL’S HOLE. + + _Congress of Iroquois._——_Effect of Johnson’s Influence._——_Incursions + into New York._——_False Alarm at Goshen._——_The Niagara Portage._—— + _The Convoy Attacked._——_Second Attack._——_Disaster on Lake Erie._ 327 + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + 1763. + + DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. + + _Virginian Backwoodsmen._——_Frontiers of Virginia._——_Population of + Pennsylvania._——_Distress of the Settlers._——_Attack on Greenbrier._—— + _A captive Amazon._——_Attack on a School-house._——_Sufferings of + Captives._——_The escaped Captive._——_Feeble Measures of Defence._—— + _John Elder._——_Virginian Militia._——_Courage of the Borderers._—— + _Encounter with a War-party._——_Armstrong’s Expedition._——_Slaughter + at Wyoming._——_Quaker Prejudice._——_Gage assumes the Command._—— + _Political Disputes._ 333 + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + + 1763. + + THE INDIANS RAISE THE SIEGE OF DETROIT. + + _The Besiegers ask for Peace._——_A Truce granted._——_Letter from Neyon + to Pontiac._——_Autumn at Detroit._——_Indians at their Wintering + Grounds._——_Iroquois War-parties._——_The War in the South._ 351 + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + 1763. + + THE PAXTON MEN. + + _Desperation of the Borderers._——_Effects of Indian Hostilities._—— + _The Conestoga Band._——_Paxton._——_Matthew Smith and his Companions._—— + _Massacre of the Conestogas._——_Further Designs of the Rioters._—— + _Remonstrance of Elder._——_Massacre in Lancaster Jail._——_State of + Public Opinion._——_Lazarus Stewart._——_The Moravian Converts._——_Their + Retreat to Philadelphia._——_Their Reception by the Mob._ 357 + + + CHAPTER XXV. + + 1764. + + THE RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. + + _Excitement of the Borderers._——_Their Designs._——_Alarm of the + Quakers._——_The Converts sent to New York._——_The Converts forced to + Return._——_Quakers and Presbyterians._——_Warlike Preparation._—— + _Excitement in the City._——_False Alarm._——_Paxton Men at + Germantown._——_Negotiations with the Rioters._——_Frontiersmen in + Philadelphia._——_Paper Warfare._——_Memorials of the Paxton Men._ 371 + + + CHAPTER XXVI. + + 1764. + + BRADSTREET’S ARMY ON THE LAKES. + + _Memorials on Indian Affairs._——_Character of Bradstreet._——_Departure + of the Army._——_Concourse of Indians at Niagara._——_Indian Oracle._—— + _Temper of the Indians._——_Insolence of the Delawares and Shawanoes._—— + _Treaty with the Senecas._——_Ottawas and Menomonies._——_Bradstreet + leaves Niagara._——_Henry’s Indian Battalion._——_Pretended Embassy._—— + _Presumption of Bradstreet._——_Indians of Sandusky._——_Bradstreet at + Detroit._——_Council with the Chiefs of Detroit._——_Terms of the + Treaty._——_Strange Conduct of Bradstreet._——_Michillimackinac + reoccupied._——_Embassy of Morris._——_Bradstreet at Sandusky._——_Return + of the Army._——_Results of the Expedition._ 387 + + + CHAPTER XXVII. + + 1764. + + BOUQUET FORCES THE DELAWARES AND SHAWANOES TO SUE FOR PEACE. + + _Renewal of Indian Ravages._——_David Owens, the White Savage._—— + _Advance of Bouquet._——_His Message to the Delawares._——_The March of + his Army._——_He reaches the Muskingum._——_Terror of the Enemy._—— + _Council with the Indians._——_Speech of the Delaware Orator._——_Reply + of Bouquet._——_Its Effect._——_The English Camp._——_Letter from + Bradstreet._——_Desperate Purpose of the Shawanoes._——_Peace Council._—— + _Delivery of English Prisoners._——_Situation of Captives among the + Indians._——_Their Reluctance to return to the Settlements._——_The + Forest Life._——_Return of the Expedition._ 418 + + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + + 1764. + + THE ILLINOIS. + + _Boundaries of the Illinois._——_The Missouri. The Mississippi._—— + _Plants and Animals of the Illinois._——_Its early Colonization._—— + _Creoles of the Illinois._——_Its Indian Population._ 452 + + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + 1763-1765. + + PONTIAC RALLIES THE WESTERN TRIBES. + + _Cession of French Territory in the West._——_St. Louis._——_St. Ange de + Bellerive._——_Designs of Pontiac._——_His French Allies._——_He visits + the Illinois._——_His great War-belt._——_Repulse of Loftus._——_The + English on the Mississippi._——_New Orleans in 1765._——_Pontiac’s + Embassy at New Orleans._ 462 + + + CHAPTER XXX. + + 1765. + + RUIN OF THE INDIAN CAUSE. + + _Mission of Croghan._——_Plunder of the Caravan._——_Exploits of the + Borderers._——_Congress at Fort Pitt._——_Fraser’s Discomfiture._—— + _Distress of the hostile Indians._——_Pontiac. His desperate + Position._——_Croghan’s Party attacked._——_Croghan at Ouatanon._——_His + Meeting with Pontiac._——_Pontiac offers Peace._——_Croghan reaches + Detroit._——_Conferences at Detroit._——_Peace Speech of Pontiac._—— + _Results of Croghan’s Mission._——_The English take Possession of the + Illinois._ 475 + + + CHAPTER XXXI. + + 1766-1769. + + DEATH OF PONTIAC. + + _Effects of the Peace._——_Pontiac repairs to Oswego._——_Congress at + Oswego._——_Speech of Sir William Johnson._——_Reply of Pontiac._—— + _Prospects of the Indian Race._——_Fresh Disturbances._——_Pontiac + visits St. Louis._——_The Village of Cahokia._——_Assassination of + Pontiac._——_Vengeance of his Followers._ 492 + + + APPENDIX. + + A.——THE IROQUOIS.——EXTENT OF THEIR CONQUESTS.——POLICY + PURSUED TOWARDS THEM BY THE FRENCH AND THE ENGLISH.——MEASURES + OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON. + + 1. Territory of the Iroquois. 503 + + 2. French and English Policy towards the Iroquois. Measures + of Sir William Johnson. 504 + + B.——CAUSES OF THE INDIAN WAR. + + 1. Views of Sir William Johnson. 507 + + 2. Tragedy of Ponteach. 509 + + C.——DETROIT AND MICHILLIMACKINAC. + + 1. The Siege of Detroit. 516 + + 2. Massacre of Michillimackinac. 525 + + D.——THE WAR ON THE BORDERS. + + The Battle of Bushy Run. 527 + + E.——THE PAXTON RIOTS. + + 1. Evidence against the Indians of Conestoga. 531 + + 2. Proceedings of the Rioters. 532 + + 3. Memorials of the Paxton Men. 543 + + F.——THE CAMPAIGN OF 1764. + + 1. Bouquet’s Expedition. 551 + + 2. Condition and Temper of the Western Indians. 553 + + INDEX. 557 + + + + + List of Illustrations. + + +A Map of the Country on the Ohio & Muskingum Rivers Shewing the Situation +of the Indian Towns with respect to the Army under the Command of Colonel +Bouquet By Tho.^{s} Hutchins Afs. Engineer. 419 + +A Plan of the several Villages in the Illinois Country, with Part of the +River Mississippi &c. 455 + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + 1763. + + FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. + + +We have followed the war to its farthest confines, and watched it in its +remotest operations; not because there is any thing especially worthy to +be chronicled in the capture of a backwoods 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 frontier that +the war raged with its most destructive violence. 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 were treacherously assailed, the tempest was +gathering which was soon to burst along the whole frontier. + +In 1763, the British settlements did not extend beyond the Alleghanies. 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 country +of the Six Nations, and 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 defended by +Forts Stanwix, Brewerton, Oswego, and two or three smaller posts. Near the +western extremity 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 portage beside the great +falls 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 +Bœuf, 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 Monongahela. 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 descended through a woody +valley of singular beauty; on the right, flowed the Alleghany, beneath +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 progress towards the Mississippi. The 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 his disastrous overthrow; and on the hill +behind the fort, Grant’s Highlanders and Lewis’s Virginians had been +surrounded and captured, though not without 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, destroyed by General Forbes. It was a strong +fortification, 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 chimneys, rolling up their black volumes of smoke. Where once +the bark canoe lay on the strand, 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, traversing the country in successive ridges; and +beyond these lay vast woods, extending to the Susquehanna. Eastward of +this river, cabins of settlers became more numerous, until, in the +neighborhood of Lancaster, the country assumed an appearance of prosperity +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 other, 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 journey of fifty-six miles, at the little post +of Ligonier, whence 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 settlements, he +would arrive at Carlisle, nearly a hundred miles farther east, a place +resembling Bedford in its general aspect, although of greater extent. +After leaving Fort Bedford, numerous houses of settlers were scattered +here and there among the valleys, on each side of the road from Fort Pitt, +so that the number of families beyond the Susquehanna amounted to several +hundreds, thinly distributed over a great space.[271] From Carlisle to +Harris’s 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 a 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.[272] Along these borders all had remained quiet, and nothing +occurred to excite alarm or uneasiness. Captain Simeon Ecuyer, a brave +Swiss officer, who commanded at Fort Pitt, had indeed received warnings of +danger. On the fourth of May, he wrote to Colonel Bouquet at Philadelphia: +“Major Gladwyn writes to tell me that I am surrounded by rascals. He +complains a great deal of the Delawares and Shawanoes. It is this +_canaille_ who stir up the rest to mischief.” At length, on the +twenty-seventh, at about dusk in the evening, a party of Indians was seen +descending 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, demanding, in exchange, bullets, hatchets, and +gunpowder; but their conduct was so peculiar as to excite the just +suspicion that they came either as spies or with some other insidious +design.[273] 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 garrison of danger; but he +returned almost immediately, having been twice fired at, and severely +wounded.[274] 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 him to depart, declaring that they did not +wish to see him killed before their eyes. The Ottawas and Ojibwas, 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 murdering 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 +treachery. 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.[275] “I +see,” writes Ecuyer to his colonel, “that the affair is general. I tremble +for our outposts. I believe, from what I hear, that I am surrounded by +Indians. I neglect nothing to give them a good reception; and I expect to +be attacked to-morrow morning. Please God I may be. I am passably well +prepared. Everybody is at work, and I do not sleep; but I tremble lest my +messenger should be cut off.” + +The intelligence concerning the fate of the traders in the Indian villages +proved but too true. They were slaughtered everywhere, 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 evening, 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.[276] It was 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 incredible sum.[277] + +The Moravian Loskiel relates that in the villages of the Hurons or +Wyandots, meaning probably 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 unsuspecting victims that the +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 their 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. In this case, they said, the +hostile Indians would refrain from injuring them, and they should be set +at liberty as soon as the danger was past. The traders fell into the +snare. They gave up their 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.[278] + +A curious incident, relating to this period, is given by the missionary +Heckewelder. Strange as the story may appear, it is in strict accordance +with Indian character 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 manuscript journals and correspondence of officers in +the Indian country. A trader named Chapman was made prisoner by the +Indians near Detroit. For some time, he was protected by the humane +interference of a Frenchman; but at length his captors resolved to burn +him alive. He was tied to the stake, and the fire was kindled. As the heat +grew intolerable, one of the Indians handed to him a bowl filled with +broth. The wretched man, scorching with fiery thirst, eagerly snatched the +vessel, and applied it to his lips; but the liquid was purposely 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, released +him from the stake, and set him at liberty.[279] Such is the superstitious +respect which the Indians entertain for every form of insanity. + +While the alarming incidents just mentioned were occurring at Fort Pitt, +the garrison of Fort Ligonier received yet more unequivocal tokens of +hostility; for one morning a volley of bullets was sent among them, with +no other effect, however, than killing a few horses. In the vicinity of +Fort Bedford, several men were killed; on which the inhabitants were +mustered and organized, and the garrison kept constantly on the alert. A +few of the best woodsmen were formed into a company, dressed and painted +like Indians. A party of the enemy suddenly appeared, whooping and +brandishing their tomahawks, at the skirts of the forest; on which these +counterfeit savages dashed upon them at full gallop, routing them in an +instant, and driving them far through the woods.[280] + +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.[281] The garrison consisted of three hundred and thirty +soldiers, traders, and backwoodsmen; and there were also in the fort about +one hundred women, and a still greater number of children, most of them +belonging to the families of settlers who were preparing to build their +cabins in the neighborhood.[282] “We are so crowded in the fort,” writes +Ecuyer to Colonel Bouquet, “that I fear disease; for, in spite of every +care, I cannot keep the place as clean as I should like. Besides, the +small-pox is among us; and I have therefore caused a hospital to be built +under the drawbridge, out of range of musket-shot.... I am determined to +hold my post, spare my men, and never expose them without necessity. This, +I think, is what you require of me.”[283] The desultory outrages with +which the war began, and which only served to put the garrison on their +guard, prove that among the neighboring Indians there was no chief of +sufficient power to curb their wayward temper, and force them to conform +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. These petty annoyances, far from +abating, continued for many successive days, and kept the garrison in a +state of restless alarm. It was 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 night at our +sentinels;” nor were these attacks confined to the night, for even during +the day no man willingly exposed his head above the rampart. The +surrounding woods were known to be full of prowling Indians, 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 farthest extremity of the cleared lands +behind the fort, driving 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 side at once, though at so great a +distance that only two men were killed. The garrison replied by a +discharge of howitzers, the shells of which, bursting in the midst of the +Indians, greatly amazed and disconcerted them. As it grew dark, their fire +slackened, though, throughout the night, the flash of guns was seen at +frequent 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 confidence, and took their stand at the outer edge of +the ditch, where one of them, a Delaware, named the Turtle’s Heart, +addressed the garrison as follows:—— + +“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 settlements, 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 wait 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, Captain Ecuyer made the following reply. The vein +of humor perceptible in it may serve to indicate that he was under no +great apprehension for the safety of his garrison:—— + +“My Brothers, we are very grateful for your kindness, though we are +convinced 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 dare +to attack it. We are very well off in this place, and we mean to stay +here. + +“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 +shortly arrive here, and that another army of three thousand is gone up +the lakes, to punish the Ottawas and Ojibwas. A third has gone to the +frontiers of Virginia, where they will be joined by your enemies, the +Cherokees and Catawbas, 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 Indians, lest they should escape from our vengeance.”[284] + +This politic invention of the three armies had an excellent effect, and so +startled the Indians, that, on the next day, most of them withdrew from +the neighborhood, 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 Gray, belonging to the garrison of Presqu’ +Isle, 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 +Detroit, that they had assailed it for three days, repeatedly setting it +on fire, and had at length undermined it so completely, that the garrison +was forced to capitulate, on condition of being allowed to retire in +safety to Fort Pitt. No 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 they fled, 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 place, and found, close to the ruined fort, the hair of several of the +men, which had been shorn off, as a preliminary step in the process of +painting and bedecking them like Indian warriors. From this it appears +that some of the unfortunate soldiers were adopted on the spot into the +tribes of their conquerors. In a previous chapter, a detailed account has +been given of the defence of Presqu’ Isle, and its capture. + +Gray informed Captain Ecuyer that, a few days before the attack on the +garrison, they had seen a schooner on the lake, approaching from the +westward. She had sent a boat to shore with the tidings that Detroit had +been beleaguered, for more than six weeks, by many hundred Indians, and +that a detachment of ninety-six men had been attacked near that place, of +whom only about thirty had escaped, the rest being either killed on the +spot or put to death by slow torture. The panic-stricken soldier, in his +flight from Presqu’ Isle, had passed the spots where lately had stood the +little forts of Le Bœuf and Venango. Both were burnt to the ground, and he +surmised that the whole of their wretched garrisons had fallen +victims.[285] 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 Bœuf, was seen approaching along the bank of the +Alleghany, followed by seven haggard and half-famished soldiers.[286] He +and his men told the following story:—— + +The available defences of Fort Le Bœuf consisted, at the time, of a single +ill-constructed blockhouse, occupied by the ensign, with two corporals and +eleven privates. They had only about twenty rounds of ammunition each; and +the powder, moreover, was in a damaged condition. At nine or ten o’clock, +on the morning of the eighteenth of June, a soldier told Price that he saw +Indians approaching from the direction of Presqu’ Isle. Price ran to the +door, and, looking out, saw one of his men, apparently much frightened, +shaking hands with five Indians. He held open the door till the man had +entered, the five Indians following close, after having, in obedience to a +sign from Price, left their weapons behind. They declared that they were +going to fight the Cherokees, and begged for powder and ball. This being +refused, they asked leave to sleep on the ground before the blockhouse. +Price assented, on which one of them went off, but very soon returned with +thirty more, who crowded before the window of the blockhouse, and begged +for a kettle to cook their food. Price tried to give them one through the +window, but the aperture proved too narrow, and they grew clamorous that +he should open the door again. This he refused. They then went to a +neighboring storehouse, pulled out some of the foundation stones, and got +into the cellar; whence, by knocking away one or two planks immediately +above the sill of the building, they could fire on the garrison in perfect +safety, being below the range of shot from the loopholes of the +blockhouse, which was not ten yards distant. Here they remained some +hours, making their preparations, while the garrison waited in suspense, +cooped up in their wooden citadel. Towards evening, they opened fire, and +shot such a number of burning arrows against the side and roof of the +blockhouse, that three times it was in flames. But the men worked +desperately, and each time the fire was extinguished. A fourth time the +alarm was given; and now the men on the roof came down in despair, crying +out that they could not extinguish it, and calling on their officer for +God’s sake to let them leave the building, or they should all be burnt +alive. Price behaved with great spirit. “We must fight as long as we can, +and then die together,” was his answer to the entreaties of his +disheartened men.[287] But he could not revive their drooping courage, and +meanwhile the fire spread beyond all hope of mastering it. They implored +him to let them go, and at length the brave young officer told them to +save themselves if they could. It was time, for they were suffocating in +their burning prison. There was a narrow window in the back of the +blockhouse, through which, with the help of axes, they all got out; and, +favored by the darkness,——for night had closed in,——escaped to the +neighboring pine-swamp, while the Indians, to make assurance doubly sure, +were still showering fire-arrows against the front of the blazing +building. As the fugitives groped their way, in pitchy darkness, through +the tangled intricacies of the swamp, they saw the sky behind them lurid +with flames, and heard the reports of the Indians’ guns, as these painted +demons were leaping and yelling in front of the flaming blockhouse, firing +into the loopholes, and exulting in the thought that their enemies were +suffering the agonies of death within. + +Presqu’ Isle was but fifteen miles distant; but, from the direction in +which his assailants had come, Price rightly judged that it had been +captured, and therefore resolved to make his way, if possible, to Venango, +and reinforce Lieutenant Gordon, who commanded there. A soldier named John +Dortinger, who had been sixteen months at Le Bœuf, thought that he could +guide the party, but lost the way in the darkness; so that, after +struggling all night through swamps and forests, they found themselves at +daybreak only two miles from their point of departure. Just before dawn, +several of the men became separated from the rest. Price and those with +him waited for some time, whistling, coughing, and making such other +signals as they dared, to attract their attention, but without success, +and they were forced to proceed without them. Their only provisions were +three biscuits to a man. They pushed on all day, and reached Venango at +one o’clock of the following night. Nothing remained but piles of +smouldering embers, among which lay the half-burned bodies of its hapless +garrison. They now continued their journey down the Alleghany. On the +third night their last biscuit was consumed, and they were half dead with +hunger and exhaustion before their eyes were gladdened at length by the +friendly walls of Fort Pitt. Of those who had straggled from the party, +all eventually appeared but two, who, spent with starvation, had been left +behind, and no doubt perished.[288] + +Not a man remained alive to tell the fate of Venango. An Indian, who was +present at its destruction, long afterwards described the scene to Sir +William Johnson. A large body of Senecas 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 +forced to write, from their dictation, a statement of the grievances +which had driven them to arms, and then tortured over a slow fire for +several successive nights, till he expired. This done, they burned the +place to the ground, and departed.[289] + +While Le Bœuf and Venango were thus assailed, Fort Ligonier was also +attacked by a large body of Indians, who fired upon it with great fury and +pertinacity, but were beaten off after a hard day’s fighting. Fort +Augusta, on the Susquehanna, was at the same time menaced; but the +garrison being strengthened by a timely re-enforcement, the Indians +abandoned their purpose. Carlisle, Bedford, and the small intermediate +posts, all experienced some effects of savage hostility;[290] while among +the settlers, whose houses were scattered throughout the adjacent valleys, +outrages were perpetrated, and sufferings endured, 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-proof, to protect the women and children; and, as the +interior buildings were all of wood, a rude fire-engine was constructed, +to extinguish any flames which might be kindled by the burning arrows of +the Indians. Several weeks, however, elapsed without any determined attack +from the enemy, who were engaged in their bloody work among the +settlements 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 intentions, +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 Indians was seen approaching +the gate, displaying a flag, which one of them had some time before +received as a present from the English commander. 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, who 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 fast the chain of friendship——that ancient +chain which our forefathers held with their brethren the English. You have +let your end of the chain fall to the ground, but ours is still fast +within our hands. Why do you complain that our young men have fired at +your soldiers, and killed your cattle and your horses? You yourselves are +the cause of this. You marched your armies into our country, and built +forts here, though we told you, again and again, that we wished 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, in a very great body, through your country, on our +way to strike the English at the forks of the Ohio. Grandfathers, you know +us to be a headstrong 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.’[291] + +“Brothers, you have heard the words of the Ottawas. 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 yourselves alone for what may +happen. Therefore we desire you to remove.” + +To the not wholly unreasonable statement of wrongs contained in this +speech, Captain Ecuyer replied, by urging the shallow pretence that the +forts were built for the purpose of supplying the Indians with clothes and +ammunition. He then absolutely refused to leave the place. “I have,” he +said, “warriors, provisions, 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 plundered our warriors and +traders; you have taken our horses and cattle; and at the same time you +tell us your hearts are good towards your brethren the English. How can I +have faith 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 appear 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.”[292] + +The chiefs departed, much displeased with their reception. Though nobody +in his senses could blame the course pursued by Captain Ecuyer, and though +the building of forts in the Indian country could not be charged as a +crime, except by the most overstrained casuistry, yet we cannot refrain +from sympathizing with the intolerable hardship to which the progress of +civilization subjected the unfortunate tenants of the wilderness, and +which goes far to extenuate the perfidy and cruelty that marked their +conduct throughout the whole course of the war. + +Disappointed of gaining a bloodless possession of the fort, the Indians +now, for the first time, began a general attack. On the night succeeding +the conference, they approached in great numbers, under cover of the +darkness, and completely surrounded it; many of them crawling under the +banks of the two rivers, 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 soldier +chanced to expose his head. At daybreak, a general fire was opened from +every side, and continued without intermission until night, and through +several succeeding days. No great harm was done, however. The soldiers lay +close behind their parapet of logs, watching the movements of their subtle +enemies, and paying back their shot with interest. The red uniforms of the +Royal Americans mingled with the gray homespun of the border riflemen, or +the fringed hunting-frocks of old Indian-fighters, wary and adroit as the +red-skinned warriors themselves. They liked the sport, and were eager to +sally from behind their defences, and bring their assailants to close +quarters; but Ecuyer was too wise to consent. He was among them, as well +pleased as they, directing, encouraging, and applauding them in his broken +English. An arrow flew over the rampart and wounded him in the leg; but, +it seems, with no other result than to extort a passing execration. The +Indians shot fire-arrows, too, from their burrows, but not one of them +took effect. The yelling at times was terrific, and the women and children +in the crowded barracks clung to each other in terror; but there was more +noise than execution, and the assailants suffered more than the assailed. +Three or four days after, Ecuyer wrote in French to his colonel, “They +were all well under cover, and so were we. They did us no harm: nobody +killed; seven wounded, and I myself slightly. Their attack lasted five +days and five nights. We are certain of having killed and wounded twenty +of them, without reckoning those we could not see. I let nobody fire till +he had marked his man; and not an Indian could show his nose without being +pricked with a bullet, for I have some good shots here.... Our men are +doing admirably, regulars and the rest. All that they ask is to go out and +fight. I am fortunate to have the honor of commanding such brave men. I +only wish the Indians had ventured an assault. They would have remembered +it to the thousandth generation!... I forgot to tell you that they threw +fire-arrows to burn our works, but they could not reach the buildings, nor +even the rampart. Only two arrows came into the fort, one of which had the +insolence to make free with my left leg.” + +This letter was written on the second of August. On the day before the +Indians had all decamped. An event, soon to be described, had put an end +to the attack, and relieved the tired garrison of their presence.[293] + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + 1763. + + THE WAR ON THE BORDERS. + + +Along the Western frontiers of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, +terror reigned supreme. The Indian scalping-parties were ranging +everywhere, laying waste the settlements, destroying the harvests, and +butchering men, women, and children, with ruthless fury. Many hundreds of +wretched fugitives flocked for refuge to Carlisle and the other towns of +the border, bringing tales of inconceivable horror. Strong parties of +armed men, who went out to reconnoitre 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.[294] + +While these scenes were enacted on the borders of Pennsylvania and the +more southern provinces, the settlers in the valley of the Mohawk, and +even along the Hudson, were menaced with destruction. Had not the Six +Nations been kept tranquil by the exertions of Sir William Johnson, the +most disastrous results must have ensued. The Senecas and a few of the +Cayugas were the only members of the confederacy who took part in the war. +Venango, as we have seen, was destroyed by a party of Senecas, who soon +after made a feeble attack upon Niagara. They blockaded it for a few days, +with no other effect than that of confining the garrison within the walls, +and, soon despairing of success, abandoned the attempt. + +In the mean time, Sir Jeffrey Amherst, the Commander-in-chief, was in a +position far from enviable. He had reaped laurels; but if he hoped to +enjoy them in peace, he was doomed to disappointment. A miserable war was +suddenly thrown on his hands, barren of honors and fruitful of troubles; +and this, too, at a time when he was almost bereft of resources. The +armies which had conquered Canada were, as we have seen, disbanded or sent +home, and nothing remained but a few fragments and skeletons of regiments +lately arrived from the West Indies, enfeebled by disease and hard +service. In one particular, however, he had reason to congratulate +himself,——the character of the officers who commanded under his orders in +Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. Colonel Henry Bouquet was a Swiss, +of the Canton of Berne, who had followed the trade of war from boyhood. He +had served first the King of Sardinia, and afterwards the republic of +Holland; and when the French war began in 1755, he accepted the commission +of lieutenant-colonel, in a regiment newly organized, under the direction +of the Duke of Cumberland, expressly for American service. The commissions +were to be given to foreigners as well as to Englishmen and provincials; +and the ranks were to be filled chiefly from the German emigrants in +Pennsylvania and other provinces.[295] The men and officers of this +regiment, known as the “Royal American,” had now, for more than six years, +been engaged in the rough and lonely service of the frontiers and forests; +and when the Indian war broke out, it was chiefly they, who, like military +hermits, held the detached outposts of the West. Bouquet, however, who was +at this time colonel of the first battalion, had his headquarters at +Philadelphia, where he was held in great esteem. His person was fine, and +his bearing composed and dignified; perhaps somewhat austere, for he is +said to have been more respected than loved by his officers. Nevertheless, +their letters to him are very far from indicating any want of cordial +relations. He was fond of the society of men of science, and wrote English +better than most British officers of the time. Here and there, however, a +passage in his letters suggests the inference, that the character of the +gallant mercenary was toned to his profession, and to the unideal epoch in +which he lived. Yet he was not the less an excellent soldier; +indefatigable, faithful, full of resource, and without those arrogant +prejudices which had impaired the efficiency of many good British +officers, in the recent war, and of which Sir Jeffrey Amherst was a +conspicuous example. He had acquired a practical knowledge of Indian +warfare; and it is said that, in the course of the hazardous partisan +service in which he was often engaged, when it was necessary to penetrate +dark defiles and narrow passes, he was sometimes known to advance before +his men, armed with a rifle, and acting the part of a scout.[296] + +Sir Jeffrey had long and persistently flattered himself that the Indian +uprising was but a temporary ebullition, which would soon subside. Bouquet +sent him, on the fourth of June, a copy of a letter from Captain +Ecuyer,[297] at Fort Pitt, reporting the disturbances in that quarter. On +the next day Bouquet wrote again, in a graver strain; and Amherst replied, +from New York, on the sixth: “I gave immediate orders for completing the +light infantry companies of the 17th, 42d, and 77th regiments. They are to +assemble without loss of time, and to encamp on Staten Island, under Major +Campbell, of the 42d.... Although I have thought proper to assemble this +force, which I judge more than sufficient to quell any disturbances the +whole Indian strength could raise, yet I am persuaded the alarm will end +in nothing more than a rash attempt of what the Senecas have been +threatening, and which we have heard of for some time past. As to their +cutting off defenceless families, or even some of the small posts, it is +certainly at all times in their power to effect such enterprises.... The +post of Fort Pitt, or any of the others commanded by officers, can +certainly never be in danger from such a wretched enemy.... I am only +sorry that when such outrages are committed, the guilty should escape; for +I am fully convinced the only true method of treating the savages is to +keep them in proper subjection, and punish, without exception, the +transgressors.... As I have no sort of dependence on the Assembly of +Pennsylvania, I have taken such measures as will fully enable me to +chastise any nation or tribe of Indians that dare to commit hostilities on +his Majesty’s subjects. I only wait to hear from you what farther steps +the savages have taken; for I still think it cannot be any thing general, +but the rash attempt of that turbulent tribe, the Senecas, who richly +deserve a severe chastisement from our hands, for their treacherous +behavior on many occasions.” + +On receiving this letter, Bouquet immediately wrote to Ecuyer at Fort +Pitt: “The General has taken the necessary measures to chastise those +infamous villains, and defers only to make them feel the weight of his +resentment till he is better informed of their intentions.” And having +thus briefly despatched the business in hand, he proceeds to touch on the +news of the day: “I give you joy of the success of our troops at the +Manilla, where Captain George Ourry hath acquired the two best things in +this world, glory and money. We hear of a great change in the ministry,” +etc.... “P. S. I have lent three pounds to the express. Please to stop it +for me. The General expects that Mr. Croghan will proceed directly to Fort +Pitt, when he will soon discover the causes of this sudden rupture and the +intentions of these rascals.” + +Scarcely had Bouquet sent off the express-rider with this letter, when +another came from Ecuyer with worse reports from the west. He forwarded it +to Amherst, who wrote on receiving it: “I find by the intelligence +enclosed in your letter that the affair of the Indians appears to be more +general than I had apprehended, although I believe nothing of what is +mentioned regarding the garrison of the Detroit being cut off. It is +extremely inconvenient at this time; ... but I cannot defer sending you a +reinforcement for the communication.” Accordingly he ordered two companies +of the 42d and 77th regiments to join Bouquet at Philadelphia. “If you +think it necessary,” he adds, “you will yourself proceed to Fort Pitt, +that you may be the better enabled to put in execution the requisite +orders for securing the communication and reducing the Indians to reason.” + +Amherst now bestirred himself to put such troops as he had into fighting +order. The 80th regiment, Hopkins’s company of Rangers, and a portion of +the Royal Americans, were disbanded, and the men drafted to complete other +broken corps. His plan was to push forward as many troops as possible to +Niagara by way of Oswego, and to Presqu’ Isle by way of Fort Pitt, and +thence to send them up the lakes to take vengeance on the offending +tribes. + +Bouquet, recognizing at length the peril of the small outlying posts, like +Venango and Le Bœuf, proposed to abandon them, and concentrate at Fort +Pitt and Presqu’ Isle; a movement which, could it have been executed in +time, would have saved both blood and trouble. But Amherst would not +consent. “I cannot think,” he writes, “of giving them up at this time, if +we can keep them, as such a step would give the Indians room to think +themselves more formidable than they really are; and it would be much +better we never attempted to take posts in what they call their country, +if, upon every alarm, we abandon them.... It remains at present for us to +take every precaution we can, by which we may put a stop, as soon as +possible, to their committing any farther mischief, and to bring them to a +proper subjection; for, without _that_, I never do expect that they will +be quiet and orderly, as every act of kindness and generosity to those +barbarians is looked upon as proceeding from our fears.” + +Bouquet next writes to report that, with the help of the two companies +sent him, he has taken steps which he hopes will secure the communication +to Fort Pitt and allay the fears of the country people, who are deserting +their homes in a panic, though the enemy has not yet appeared east of the +mountains. A few days later, on the twenty-third of June, Amherst writes, +boiling with indignation. He had heard from Gladwyn of the investment of +Detroit, and the murder of Sir Robert Davers and Lieutenant Robertson. +“The villains after this,” he says, “had the assurance to come with a +_Pipe of Peace_, desiring admittance into the fort.” He then commends the +conduct of Gladwyn, but pursues: “I only regret that when the chief of the +Ottawas and the other villains returned with the _Pipe of Peace_, they +were not instantly put to _death_.[298] I conclude Major Gladwyn was not +apprised of the murder of Sir Robert Davers, Lieutenant Robertson, etc., +at that time, or he certainly would have revenged their deaths by that +method; and, indeed, I cannot but wish that whenever we have any of the +savages in our power, who have in so treacherous a way committed any +barbarities on our people, a quick retaliation may be made without the +least exception or hesitation. I am determined,” he continues, “to take +every measure in my power, not only for securing and keeping entire +possession of the country, but for punishing those barbarians who have +thus perfidiously massacred his Majesty’s subjects. To effect this most +essential service, I intend to collect, agreeable to what I wrote you in +my last, all the force I can at Presqu’ Isle and Niagara, that I may push +them forwards as occasion may require. I have therefore ordered the +remains of the 42d and 77th regiments——the first consisting of two hundred +and fourteen men, including officers, and the latter of one hundred and +thirty-three, officers included——to march this evening or early to-morrow +morning, under the command of Major Campbell of the 42d, who has my orders +to send an officer before to acquaint you of his being on the march, and +to obey such further directions as he may receive from you.... You will +observe that I have now forwarded from hence every man that was here; for +the small remains of the 17th regiment are already on their march up the +Mohawk, and I have sent such of the 42d and 77th as were not able to +march, to Albany, to relieve the company of the 55th at present there, who +are to march immediately to Oswego.” + +Two days after, the twenty-fifth of June, he writes again to Bouquet: “All +the troops from hence that could be collected are sent you; so that should +the whole race of Indians take arms against us, I can do no more.”[299] + +On the same day, Bouquet, who was on his way to the frontier, wrote to +Amherst, from Lancaster: “I had this moment the honor of your Excellency’s +letter of the twenty-third instant, with the most welcome news of the +preservation of the Detroit from the infernal treachery of the vilest of +brutes. I regret sincerely the brave men they have so basely massacred, +but hope that we shall soon take an adequate revenge on the barbarians. +The reinforcement you have ordered this way, so considerable by the +additional number of officers, will fully enable me to crush the little +opposition they may dare to make along the road, and secure that part of +the country against all their future attempts, till you think proper to +order us to act in conjunction with the rest of your forces to extirpate +that vermin from a country they have forfeited, and, with it, all claim to +the rights of humanity.” + +Three days later the express-rider delivered the truculent letter, from +which the above is taken, to Amherst at New York. He replied: “Last night +I received your letter of the twenty-fifth, the contents of which please +me very much,——your sentiments agreeing exactly with my own regarding the +treatment the savages deserve from us ... I need only add that I wish to +hear of _no prisoners_, should any of the villains be met with in arms; +and whoever of those who were concerned in the murder of Sir Robert +Davers, Lieutenant Robertson, etc., or were at the attack of the +detachment going to the Detroit,[300] and that may be hereafter taken, +shall certainly be put to _death_.”[301] + +Bouquet was now busy on the frontier in preparations for pushing forward +to Fort Pitt with the troops sent him. After reaching the fort, with his +wagon-trains of ammunition and supplies, he was to proceed to Venango and +Le Bœuf, reinforce and provision them; and thence advance to Presqu’ Isle +to wait Amherst’s orders for the despatch of his troops westward to +Detroit, Michillimackinac, and the other distant garrisons, the fate of +which was still unknown. He was encamped near Carlisle when, on the third +of July, he heard what he styles the “fatal account of the loss of our +posts at Presqu’ Isle, Le Bœuf, and Venango.” He at once sent the news to +Amherst; who, though he persisted in his original plan of operations, +became at length convinced of the formidable nature of the Indian +outbreak, and felt bitterly the slenderness of his own resources. His +correspondence, nevertheless, breathes a certain thick-headed, blustering +arrogance, worthy of the successor of Braddock.[302] In his contempt for +the Indians, he finds fault with Captain Ecuyer at Fort Pitt for +condescending to fire cannon at them, and with Lieutenant Blane at Fort +Ligonier for burning some outhouses, under cover of which “so despicable +an enemy” were firing at his garrison. This despicable enemy had, however, +pushed him to such straits that he made, in a postscript to Bouquet, the +following detestable suggestion:—— + +“Could it not be contrived to send the _Small Pox_ among those disaffected +tribes of Indians? We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our +power to reduce them.” + + (Signed) J. A. + +Bouquet replied, also in postscript:—— + + “I will try to inoculate the ———— with some blankets that may + fall in their hands, and take care not to get the disease + myself. As it is a pity to expose good men against them, I wish + we could make use of the Spanish method, to hunt them with + English dogs, supported by rangers and some light horse, who + would, I think, effectually extirpate or remove that vermin.” + +Amherst rejoined: “You will do well to try to inoculate the Indians by +means of blankets, as well as to try every other method that can serve to +extirpate this execrable race. I should be very glad your scheme for +hunting them down by dogs could take effect, but England is at too great a +distance to think of that at present.” + + (Signed) J. A.[303] + +There is no direct evidence that Bouquet carried into effect the shameful +plan of infecting the Indians though, a few months after, the small-pox +was known to have made havoc among the tribes of the Ohio. Certain it is, +that he was perfectly capable of dealing with them by other means, worthy +of a man and a soldier; and it is equally certain, that in relations with +civilized men he was in a high degree honorable, humane, and kind. + +The scenes which daily met his eye might well have moved him to pity as +well as indignation. When he reached Carlisle, at the end of June, he +found every building in the fort, every house, barn, and hovel, in the +little town, crowded with the families of settlers, driven from their +homes by the terror of the tomahawk. Wives made widows, children made +orphans, wailed and moaned in anguish and despair. On the thirteenth of +July he wrote to Amherst: “The list of the people known to be killed +increases very fast every hour. The desolation of so many families, +reduced to the last extremity of want and misery; the despair of those who +have lost their parents, relations, and friends, with the cries of +distracted women and children, who fill the streets,——form a scene painful +to humanity, and impossible to describe.”[304] Rage alternated with grief. +A Mohican and a Cayuga Indian, both well known as friendly and peaceable, +came with their squaws and children to claim protection from the soldiers. +“It was with the utmost difficulty,” pursues Bouquet, “that I could +prevail with the enraged multitude not to massacre them. I don’t think +them very safe in the gaol. They ought to be removed to Philadelphia.” + +Bouquet, on his part, was full of anxieties. On the road from Carlisle to +Fort Pitt was a chain of four or five small forts, of which the most +advanced and the most exposed were Fort Bedford and Fort Ligonier; the +former commanded by Captain Lewis Ourry, and the latter by Lieutenant +Archibald Blane. These officers kept up a precarious correspondence with +him and each other, by means of express-riders, a service dangerous to the +last degree and soon to become impracticable. It was of the utmost +importance to hold these posts, which contained stores and munitions, the +capture of which by the Indians would have led to the worst consequences. +Ourry had no garrison worth the name; but at every Indian alarm the scared +inhabitants would desert their farms, and gather for shelter around his +fort, to disperse again when the alarm was over. + +On the third of June, he writes to Bouquet: “No less than ninety-three +families are now come in here for refuge, and more hourly arriving. I +expect ten more before night.” He adds that he had formed the men into two +militia companies. “My returns,” he pursues, “amount already to a hundred +and fifty-five men. My regulars are increased by expresses, etc., to three +corporals and nine privates; no despicable garrison!” + +On the seventh, he sent another letter.... “As to myself, I find I can +bear a good deal. Since the alarm I never lie down till about twelve, and +am walking about the fort between two and three in the morning, turning +out the guards and sending out patrols, before I suffer the gates to +remain open.... My greatest difficulty is to keep my militia from +straggling by twos and threes to their dear plantations, thereby exposing +themselves to be scalped, and weakening my garrison by such numbers +absenting themselves. They are still in good spirits, but they don’t know +all the bad news. I shall use all means to prevail on them to stay till +some troops come up. I long to see my Indian scouts come in with +intelligence; but I long more to hear the Grenadiers’ March, and see some +more red-coats.” + +Ten days later, the face of affairs had changed. “I am now, as I foresaw, +entirely deserted by the country people. No accident having happened here, +they have gradually left me to return to their plantations; so that my +whole force is reduced to twelve Royal Americans to guard the fort, and +seven Indian prisoners. I should be very glad to see some troops come to +my assistance. A fort with five bastions cannot be guarded, much less +defended, by a dozen men; but I hope God will protect us.” + +On the next day, he writes again: “This moment I return from the parade. +Some scalps taken up Dening’s Creek yesterday, and to-day some families +murdered and houses burnt, have restored me my militia.... Two or three +other families are missing, and the houses are seen in flames. The people +are all flocking in again.” + +Two days afterwards, he says that, while the countrymen were at drill on +the parade, three Indians attempted to seize two little girls, close to +the fort, but were driven off by a volley. “This,” he pursues, “has added +greatly to the panic of the people. With difficulty I can restrain them +from murdering the Indian prisoners.” And he concludes: “I can’t help +thinking that the enemy will collect, after cutting off the little posts +one after another, leaving Fort Pitt as too tough a morsel, and bend their +whole force upon the frontiers.” + +On the second of July, he describes an attack by about twenty Indians on a +party of mowers, several of whom were killed. “This accident,” he says, +“has thrown the people into a great consternation, but such is their +stupidity that they will do nothing right for their own preservation.” + +It was on the next day that he sent a mounted soldier to Bouquet with news +of the loss of Presqu’ Isle and its sister posts, which Blane, who had +received it from Fort Pitt, had contrived to send him; though he himself, +in his feeble little fort of Ligonier, buried in a sea of forests, hardly +dared hope to maintain himself. Bouquet was greatly moved at the tidings, +and his vexation betrayed him into injustice towards the defender of +Presqu’ Isle. “Humanity makes me hope that Christie is dead, as his +scandalous capitulation, for a post of that consequence and so impregnable +to savages, deserves the most severe punishment.”[305] He is equally +vehement in regard to Blane, who appears to have intimated, in writing to +Ourry, that he had himself had thoughts of capitulating, like Christie. “I +shivered when you hinted to me Lieutenant Bl————’s intentions. Death and +infamy would have been the reward he would expect, instead of the honor he +has obtained by his prudence, courage, and resolution.... This is a most +trying time.... You may be sure that all the expedition possible will be +used for the relief of the few remaining posts.”[306] + +As for Blane, the following extracts from his letters will show his +position; though, when his affairs were at the worst, nothing was heard +from him, as all his messengers were killed. On the fourth of June, he +writes: “Thursday last my garrison was attacked by a body of Indians, +about five in the morning; but as they only fired upon us from the skirts +of the woods, I contented myself with giving them three cheers, without +spending a single shot upon them. But as they still continued their +popping upon the side next the town, I sent the sergeant of the Royal +Americans, with a proper detachment, to fire the houses, which effectually +disappointed them in their plan.” + +On the seventeenth, he writes to Bouquet: “I hope soon to see yourself, +and live in daily hopes of a reinforcement.... Sunday last, a man +straggling out was killed by the Indians; and Monday night three of them +got under the n———— house, but were discovered. The darkness secured them +their retreat.... I believe the communication between Fort Pitt and this +is entirely cut off, having heard nothing from them since the thirtieth of +May, though two expresses have gone from Bedford by this post.” + +On the twenty-eighth, he explains that he has not been able to report for +some time, the road having been completely closed by the enemy. “On the +twenty-first,” he continues, “the Indians made a second attempt in a very +serious manner, for near two hours, but with the like success as the +first. They began with attempting to cut off the retreat of a small party +of fifteen men, who, from their impatience to come at four Indians who +showed themselves, in a great measure forced me to let them out. In the +evening, I think above a hundred lay in ambush by the side of the creek, +about four hundred yards from the fort; and, just as the party was +returning pretty near where they lay, they rushed out, when they +undoubtedly must have succeeded, had it not been for a deep morass which +intervened. Immediately after, they began their attack; and I dare say +they fired upwards of one thousand shot. Nobody received any damage. So +far, my good fortune in dangers still attends me.” + +And here one cannot but give a moment’s thought to those whose desperate +duty it was to be the bearers of this correspondence of the officers of +the forest outposts with their commander. They were usually soldiers, +sometimes backwoodsmen, and occasionally a friendly Indian, who, +disguising his attachment to the whites, could pass when others would +infallibly have perished. If white men, they were always mounted; and it +may well be supposed that their horses did not lag by the way. The +profound solitude; the silence, broken only by the moan of the wind, the +caw of the crow, or the cry of some prowling tenant of the waste; the +mystery of the verdant labyrinth, which the anxious wayfarer strained his +eyes in vain to penetrate; the consciousness that in every thicket, behind +every rock, might lurk a foe more fierce and subtle than the cougar or the +lynx; and the long hours of darkness, when, stretched on the cold ground, +his excited fancy roamed in nightmare visions of a horror but too real and +imminent,——such was the experience of many an unfortunate who never lived +to tell it. If the messenger was an Indian, his greatest danger was from +those who should have been his friends. Friendly Indians were told, +whenever they approached a fort, to make themselves known by carrying +green branches thrust into the muzzles of their guns; and an order was +issued that the token should be respected. This gave them tolerable +security as regarded soldiers, but not as regarded the enraged +backwoodsmen, who would shoot without distinction at any thing with a red +skin. + +To return to Bouquet, who lay encamped at Carlisle, urging on his +preparations, but met by obstacles at every step. Wagons and horses had +been promised, but promises were broken, and all was vexation and delay. +The province of Pennsylvania, from causes to be shown hereafter, would do +nothing to aid the troops who were defending it; and even the people of +the frontier, partly from the apathy and confusion of terror, and partly, +it seems, from dislike and jealousy of the regulars, were backward and +sluggish in co-operating with them. “I hope,” writes Bouquet to Sir +Jeffrey Amherst, “that we shall be able to save that infatuated people +from destruction, notwithstanding all their endeavors to defeat your +vigorous measures. I meet everywhere with the same backwardness, even +among the most exposed of the inhabitants, which makes every thing move on +heavily, and is disgusting to the last degree.” And again: “I find myself +utterly abandoned by the very people I am ordered to protect.... I have +borne very patiently the ill-usage of this province, having still hopes +that they will do something for us; and therefore have avoided to quarrel +with them.” + +While, vexed and exasperated, Bouquet labored at his thankless task, +remonstrated with provincial officials, or appealed to refractory farmers, +the terror of the country people increased every day. When on Sunday, the +third of July, Ourry’s express rode into Carlisle with the disastrous news +from Presqu’ Isle and the other outposts, he stopped for a moment in the +village street to water his horse. A crowd of countrymen were instantly +about him, besieging him with questions. He told his ill-omened story; and +added as, remounting, he rode towards Bouquet’s tent, “The Indians will be +here soon.” All was now excitement and consternation. Messengers hastened +out to spread the tidings; and every road and pathway 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 fearfully confirmed by the appearance of miserable wretches, +who, half frantic with grief and dismay, had fled from blazing dwellings +and slaughtered families. A party of the inhabitants armed themselves and +went out, to warn the living and bury the dead. Reaching Shearman’s +Valley, they found fields laid waste, stacked wheat on fire, and the +houses yet in flames; and they grew sick with horror at seeing a group of +hogs tearing and devouring the bodies of the dead.[307] As they advanced +up the valley, every thing betokened the recent presence of the enemy, +while columns of smoke, rising among the surrounding mountains, showed how +general was the work of destruction. + +On the preceding day, six men, assembled for reaping 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 among them, and then beat +down the survivors with the butts 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 who was rushing upon him, and, leaping through +an open window, made his escape. He fled through the forest to a +settlement at some distance, where he related his story. Upon this, twelve +young men volunteered to cross the mountain, and warn the inhabitants of +the neighboring Tuscarora valley. On entering it, they found that the +enemy had been there before them. Some of the houses were on fire, while +others were 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 five of +their number were shot down. Thirty warriors rose from their ambuscade, +and rushed upon them. 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 Indian tearing the boughs behind him, in +furious pursuit. He seized his powder-horn, poured the contents at random +down the 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 called his name. +Turning to the spot, he saw one of his comrades stretched helpless upon +the ground. This man had been mortally wounded at the first fire, but had +fled 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.”[308] Eliot, with several others of the party, escaped, and +finally reached Carlisle, where his story excited a spirit of +uncontrollable wrath and vengeance among the fierce backwoodsmen. Several +parties 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 several scalps.[309] + +The surrounding country was by this time completely abandoned by the +settlers, many of whom, not content with seeking refuge at Carlisle, +continued their flight to the eastward, and, headed by the clergyman of +that place, pushed on to Lancaster, and even to Philadelphia.[310] +Carlisle presented a most deplorable 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 encampments were men, women, and children, bereft at one stroke +of friends, of home, and the means of supporting life. Some stood aghast +and bewildered at the sudden and fatal blow; others were sunk in the +apathy of despair; others were weeping and moaning 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.[311] + + + + + CHAPTER XX. + + 1763. + + THE BATTLE OF BUSHY RUN. + + +The miserable multitude were soon threatened with famine, and gathered in +crowds around the tents of Bouquet, begging relief, which he had not the +heart to refuse. After a delay of eighteen days, the chief obstacles were +overcome. Wagons and draught animals had, little by little, been +collected, and provisions gathered among the settlements to the eastward. +At length all was ready, and Bouquet broke up his camp, and began his +march. The force under his command did not exceed five hundred men, of +whom the most effective were the Highlanders of the 42d regiment. The +remnant of the 77th, which was also with him, was so enfeebled by West +Indian exposures, that Amherst had at first pronounced it fit only for +garrison duty, and nothing but necessity had induced him to employ it on +this arduous service. As the heavy wagons of the convoy lumbered along the +street of Carlisle, guarded by the bare-legged Highlanders, in kilts and +plaids, the crowd gazed in anxious silence; for they knew that their all +was at stake on the issue of this dubious enterprise. There was little to +reassure them in the thin frames and haggard look of the worn-out +veterans; still less in the sight of sixty invalid soldiers, who, unable +to walk, were carried in wagons, to furnish a feeble reinforcement to the +small garrisons along the route.[312] The desponding rustics watched the +last gleam of the bayonets, the last flutter of the tartans, as the rear +files vanished in the woods; then returned to their hovels, prepared for +tidings of defeat, and ready, when they heard them, to abandon the +country, and fly beyond the Susquehanna. + +In truth, the adventure was no boy’s play. In that gloomy wilderness lay +the bones of Braddock and the hundreds that perished with him. The number +of the slain on that bloody day exceeded Bouquet’s whole force; while the +strength of the assailants was inferior to that of the swarms who now +infested the forests. Bouquet’s troops were, for the most part, as little +accustomed to the backwoods as those of Braddock; but their commander had +served seven years in America, and perfectly understood his work. He had +attempted to engage a body of frontiersmen to join him on the march; but +they preferred to remain for the defence of their families. He was +therefore forced to employ the Highlanders as flankers, to protect his +line of march and prevent surprise; but, singularly enough, these +mountaineers were sure to lose themselves in the woods, and therefore +proved useless.[313] For a few days, however, his progress would be +tolerably secure, at least from serious attack. His anxieties centred on +Fort Ligonier, and he resolved to hazard the attempt to throw a +reinforcement into it. Thirty of the best Highlanders were chosen, +furnished with guides, and ordered to push forward with the utmost speed, +avoiding the road, travelling by night on unfrequented paths, and lying +close by day. The attempt succeeded. After resting several days at +Bedford, where Ourry was expecting an attack, they again set out, found +Fort Ligonier beset by Indians, and received a volley as they made for the +gate; but entered safely, to the unspeakable relief of Blane and his +beleaguered men. + +Meanwhile, Bouquet’s little army crept on its slow way along the +Cumberland valley. Passing here and there a few scattered cabins, deserted +or burnt to the ground, they reached the hamlet of Shippensburg, somewhat +more than twenty miles from their point of departure. Here, as at +Carlisle, was gathered a starving multitude, who had fled from the knife +and the tomahawk.[314] Beyond lay a solitude whence every settler had +fled. They reached Fort Loudon, on the declivity of Cove Mountain, and +climbed the wood-encumbered defiles beyond. Far on their right stretched +the green ridges of the Tuscarora; and, in front, mountain beyond +mountain was piled against the sky. Over rocky heights and through deep +valleys, they reached at length Fort Littleton, a provincial post, in +which, with incredible perversity, the government of Pennsylvania had +refused to place a garrison.[315] Not far distant was the feeble little +port of the Juniata, empty like the other; for the two or three men who +held it had been withdrawn by Ourry.[316] On the twenty-fifth of July, +they reached Bedford, hemmed in by encircling mountains. It was the +frontier village and the centre of a scattered border population, the +whole of which was now clustered in terror in and around the fort; for the +neighboring woods were full of prowling savages. Ourry reported that for +several weeks nothing had been heard from the westward, every messenger +having been killed and the communication completely cut off. By the last +intelligence Fort Pitt had been surrounded by Indians, and daily +threatened with a general attack. + +At Bedford, Bouquet had the good fortune to engage thirty backwoodsmen to +accompany him.[317] He lay encamped three days to rest men and animals, +and then, leaving his invalids to garrison the fort, put out again into +the sea of savage verdure that stretched beyond. The troops and convoy +defiled along the road made by General Forbes in 1758, if the name of road +can be given to a rugged track, hewn out by axemen through forests and +swamps and up the steep acclivities of rugged mountains; shut in between +impervious walls of trunks, boughs, and matted thickets, and overarched by +a canopy of restless leaves. With difficulty and toil, the wagons dragged +slowly on, by hill and hollow, through brook and quagmire, over roots, +rocks, and stumps. Nature had formed the country for a war of ambuscades +and surprises, and no pains were spared to guard against them. A band of +backwoodsmen led the way, followed closely by the pioneers; the wagons and +the cattle were in the centre, guarded by the regulars; and a rear guard +of backwoodsmen closed the line of march. Frontier riflemen scoured the +woods far in front and on either flank, and made surprise impossible. Thus +they toiled heavily on till the main ridge of the Alleghanies, a mighty +wall of green, rose up before them; and they began their zigzag progress +up the woody heights amid the sweltering heats of July. The tongues of the +panting oxen hung lolling from their jaws; while the pine-trees, scorching +in the hot sun, diffused their resinous odors through the sultry air. At +length from the windy summit the Highland soldiers could gaze around upon +a boundless panorama of forest-covered mountains, wilder than their own +native hills. Descending from the Alleghanies, they entered upon a country +less rugged and formidable in itself, but beset with constantly increasing +dangers. On the second of August, they reached Fort Ligonier, about fifty +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 designs of the enemy, having +been completely blockaded for weeks. In this uncertainty, Bouquet resolved +to leave behind the oxen and wagons, which formed the most cumbrous part +of the convoy, in order to advance with greater celerity, 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 encamped at no great distance from +Ligonier. Within less than a day’s march in advance lay the dangerous +defiles of Turtle Creek, a stream flowing at the bottom of a deep hollow, +flanked by steep declivities, along the foot of which the road at that +time ran for some distance. Fearing that the enemy would lay an ambuscade +at this place, Bouquet resolved to march on the following day as far as a +small stream called Bushy Run; to rest here until night, and then, by a +forced 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 +hollows, covered with the tall, dense forest, which spread for countless +leagues around. By one o’clock, 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 with +renewed 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 intervening +forest, showed that the advance guard was hotly engaged. The two foremost +companies were at once ordered forward to support it; but, far from +abating, the fire grew so rapid and furious as to argue the presence of an +enemy at once numerous and resolute. At this, the convoy was halted, the +troops formed into line, and a general charge ordered. Bearing down +through the forest with fixed bayonets, they drove the yelping assailants +before them, 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 confused noise from the rear showed that the convoy was attacked. +It was necessary instantly to fall back for its support. Driving off the +assailants, the troops formed in a circle around the crowded and terrified +horses. Though they were new to the 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 +commander 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 vanished from sight, only to renew their attack with unabated +ferocity in another quarter. Such was their activity, that very few of +them were hurt; while the British, less expert in bush-fighting, suffered +severely. Thus the fight went on, without intermission, for seven hours, +until the forest grew dark with approaching night. Upon this, the Indians +gradually slackened their fire, and the exhausted 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, though 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, +Bouquet, doubtful of surviving the battle of the morrow, wrote to Sir +Jeffrey Amherst, in a few clear, concise words, an account of the day’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 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.” + +The condition of these unhappy men might well awaken sympathy. About sixty +soldiers, besides several officers, had been killed or disabled. A space +in the centre of the camp was prepared for the reception of the wounded, +and surrounded by a wall of flour-bags from the convoy, affording some +protection against the bullets which flew from all sides during the fight. +Here they lay upon the ground, enduring agonies of thirst, and waiting, +passive and helpless, the issue of the battle. Deprived of the animating +thought that their lives and safety depended on their own exertions; +surrounded by a wilderness, and by scenes to the horror of which no degree +of familiarity could render the imagination callous, they must have +endured mental sufferings, compared to which the pain of their wounds was +slight. In the probable event of defeat, a fate inexpressibly horrible +awaited them; while even victory would not ensure their safety, since any +great increase in their numbers would render it impossible for their +comrades to transport them. Nor was the condition of those who had +hitherto escaped an enviable one. Though they were about equal in number +to their assailants, yet the dexterity 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 nearly 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 dangerous to build fires within its precincts, to direct the aim +of the lurking marksmen. Surrounded by such terrors, the men snatched a +disturbed and broken sleep, recruiting their exhausted strength for the +renewed struggle of the morning. + +With the earliest dawn of day, and while the damp, cool forest was still +involved in twilight, there rose around the camp a general burst of those +horrible cries which form the ordinary prelude 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 previous day, they would rush up +with furious impetuosity, striving to break into the ring of troops. They +were repulsed at every point; but the British, though constantly +victorious, were beset with 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 when attacked, but vanish at the first +gleam of the levelled bayonet, only to appear again the moment the danger +was past. The troops, fatigued by the long march and equally long battle +of the previous day, were maddened by the torments of thirst, “more +intolerable,” says their commander, “than the enemy’s fire.” They were +fully conscious of the peril in which they stood, of wasting away by slow +degrees beneath the shot of assailants at once so daring, so cautious, and +so active, and upon whom it was impossible to inflict any decisive injury. +The Indians saw their distress, and pressed them closer and closer, +redoubling their yells and howlings; while some of them, sheltered behind +trees, assailed the troops, in bad English, with abuse and derision. + +Meanwhile the interior of the camp was a scene of confusion. The horses, +secured in a crowd near the wall of flour-bags which covered the wounded, +were often struck by the bullets, and wrought to the height 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 by the terrors of a scene in which they +could bear no active part, hid themselves among the bushes, and could +neither hear nor obey orders. + +It was now about ten o’clock. Oppressed with heat, fatigue, and thirst, +the distressed troops still maintained a weary and wavering defence, +encircling 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 commander was equal to the +emergency. In the midst of the confusion he conceived a masterly +stratagem. Could the Indians be brought together in a body, and made to +stand their ground when attacked, there could be little doubt of the +result; and, to effect this object, Bouquet determined to increase their +confidence, which had already 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 vacant +space, as if to cover the retreat of their comrades. These orders, given +at a favorable moment, were executed with great promptness. The thin line +of troops who took possession of the deserted part of the circle were, +from their small numbers, brought closer in towards the centre. The +Indians mistook these movements for a retreat. Confident that their time +was come, they leaped up on all sides, from behind the trees and bushes, +and, with infernal screeches, rushed headlong towards the spot, pouring in +a 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 aspect of affairs +was suddenly reversed. The two companies, who had apparently abandoned +their position, were in fact destined to begin 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, concealed them from the eyes of the +Indians. Making a short _détour_ through the woods, they came round upon +the flank of the furious assailants, and fired a close volley into the +midst of the crowd. Numbers were seen to fall; yet though completely +surprised, and utterly at a loss to understand the nature of the attack, +the Indians faced about with the greatest intrepidity, and 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 +charging ranks in a tumultuous throng. Orders had been given to two other +companies, occupying a contiguous part of the circle, to support the +attack whenever a favorable moment should occur; and they had therefore +advanced a little from their position, and lay close crouched in ambush. +The fugitives, pressed by the Highland bayonets, passed directly across +their front; upon which they rose, and poured among them a second volley, +no less destructive than the first. This completed the rout. The four +companies, uniting, drove the flying savages through the woods, giving +them no time to rally or reload their empty rifles, killing many, and +scattering the rest in hopeless confusion. + +While this took place at one part of the circle, the troops and the +savages had still maintained their respective positions at the other; but +when the latter perceived the total rout of their comrades, and saw the +troops advancing to assail them, they also lost heart, and fled. The +discordant outcries which had so long deafened the ears of the English +soon ceased altogether, and not a living Indian remained near the spot. +About sixty corpses lay scattered over the ground. Among them were found +those of several prominent chiefs, while the blood which stained the +leaves of the bushes showed that numbers had fled wounded from the field. +The soldiers took but one prisoner, whom they shot to death like a captive +wolf. The loss of the British in the two battles surpassed that of the +enemy, amounting to eight officers and one hundred and fifteen men.[318] + +Having been for some time detained by the necessity of making litters for +the wounded, and destroying the stores which 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 scarcely formed their camp, when +they were again fired upon by a body of Indians, who, however, were soon +repulsed. On the next day they resumed their progress towards Fort Pitt, +distant about twenty-five miles; and, though frequently annoyed on the +march by petty attacks, they reached their destination, on the tenth, +without serious loss. It was a joyful moment both to the troops and to the +garrison. The latter, it will be remembered, were left surrounded 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 nothing of them until the morning of the +tenth, when, shortly before the army appeared, they had passed the fort in +a body, raising the scalp-yell, and displaying their disgusting trophies +to the view of the English.[319] + +The battle of Bushy Run was one of the best contested actions ever fought +between white men and Indians. If there was any disparity of numbers, the +advantage was on the side of the troops; and 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, especially among those who knew the incalculable +difficulties of an Indian campaign. The Assembly of Pennsylvania passed a +vote expressing their sense of the merits of Bouquet, and of the service +he had rendered to the province. He soon after received the additional +honor of the formal thanks of the King.[320] + +In many an Indian village, the women cut away their hair, gashed their +limbs with knives, and uttered their dismal howlings of lamentation for +the fallen. Yet, though surprised and dispirited, the rage of the Indians +was too deep to be quenched, 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 settlers to encounter the enemy with a spirit which +would have been wanting, had Bouquet sustained a defeat. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + 1763. + + THE IROQUOIS.——AMBUSCADE OF 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 engaged +in the more pacific yet more important task of securing the friendship and +alliance of the Six Nations. After several preliminary conferences, he +sent runners throughout the whole confederacy to invite deputies of the +several tribes to meet him in council at Johnson Hall. The request was not +declined. From the banks of the Mohawk; from the Oneida, Cayuga, and +Tuscarora villages; from the valley of Onondaga, where, from immemorial +time, had burned the great council-fire of the confederacy,——came chiefs +and warriors, gathering to the place of meeting. The Senecas alone, the +warlike tenants of the Genesee valley, refused to attend; for they were +already in arms against the English. Besides the Iroquois, deputies came +from the tribes dwelling along the St. Lawrence, and within the settled +parts of Canada. + +The council opened on the seventh of September. Despite their fair words, +their attachment was doubtful; but Sir William Johnson, by a dexterous +mingling of reasoning, threats, and promises, allayed their discontent, +and banished the thoughts of war. They winced, however, when he informed +them that, during the next season, an English army must pass through their +country, on its way to punish the refractory 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 farther advantage than that of mere +neutrality. He accordingly urged the Iroquois to take up arms against the +hostile tribes, and concluded his final harangue with the following +figurative words: “I now deliver you a good English 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 off the bad links which +have sullied the chain of friendship.” + +These words were confirmed by the presentation of a black war-belt of +wampum, and the offer of a hatchet, which the Iroquois did not refuse to +accept. 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 abettors. Some months after the council, +several small parties actually took the field; and, being stimulated by +the prospect of reward, brought in a considerable number of scalps and +prisoners.[321] + +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 similar import to +the Delawares on the Susquehanna. “Cousins the Delawares,”——thus ran the +message,——“we have heard that many wild Indians in the West, who have +tails like bears, have let fall the chain of friendship, and taken up the +hatchet against our brethren the English. We desire you to hold fast the +chain, and shut your ears against their words.”[322] + +In spite of the friendly disposition to which the Iroquois had been +brought, the province of New York suffered not a little from the attacks +of the hostile tribes who ravaged the borders of Ulster, Orange, and +Albany counties, and threatened to destroy the upper settlements of the +Mohawk.[323] Sir William Johnson was the object of their especial enmity, +and he several times received intimations that he was about to be +attacked. He armed his tenantry, surrounded his seat of Johnson Hall with +a stockade, and garrisoned it with a party of soldiers, which Sir Jeffrey +Amherst had ordered thither for his protection. + +About this time, a singular incident occurred near the town of Goshen. +Four or five men went out among the hills to shoot partridges, and, +chancing to raise a large covey, they all fired their guns at nearly the +same moment. The timorous inhabitants, hearing the reports, supposed that +they came from an Indian war-party, and instantly fled in 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 their +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 abandoned, five hundred families having +left their habitations and fled.[324] Not long after this absurd affair, +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 traversed a +region whose sublime features have gained for it a world-wide renown. The +River 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 cliffs of appalling height and +steepness. 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 which form +the eastern wall of the ravine are broken by an abyss of awful 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 +declivity 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 the ear; and, far below, its headlong waters, careering in +foam, may be discerned through 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 +morning set out on their return, guarded by an escort of twenty-four +soldiers. They pursued their slow progress until they reached a point +where the road passed along the brink of the Devil’s Hole. The gulf yawned +on their left, while on their right the road was skirted by low densely +wooded hills. Suddenly they were greeted by the blaze and clatter of a +hundred rifles. 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-butt and tomahawk finished the bloody +work. All was over in a moment. Horses 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 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 slightly 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 concealed till the Indians +had left the place. Besides these two, the only survivor was Stedman, the +conductor of the convoy; who, being well mounted, and seeing the whole +party forced helpless 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 heard by a party of +soldiers, who occupied a small fortified camp near the lower landing. +Forming in haste, they advanced eagerly to the rescue. In anticipation 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 +precipitately, 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 with +merciless ferocity. A small remnant only escaped the massacre, and fled to +Fort Niagara with the 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 many 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 carried off, laden, doubtless, with the +plunder. The ambuscade of the Devil’s Hole has gained a traditionary +immortality, adding fearful interest to a scene whose native horrors need +no aid from the imagination.[325] + +The Seneca warriors, aided probably by some of the western Indians, were +the authors of this unexpected attack. Their hostility did not end here. +Several weeks afterwards, Major Wilkins, 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 current above the falls of Niagara, they +were assailed by a mere handful of Indians, thrown into confusion, 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 results 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 flotilla was forced back to Niagara.[326] + + + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + 1763. + + DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIERS. + + +The advancing frontiers of American civilization have always nurtured a +class of men of striking and peculiar character. The best examples of this +character have, perhaps, been found among the settlers of Western +Virginia, and the hardy progeny who have sprung from that generous stock. +The Virginian 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 leggins, which formed the appropriate costume of the forest ranger. +Concerning the business, 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 deserving of +admiration and praise. He looked upon himself and his compeers as models +of prowess and manhood, nay, of all that is elegant and polite; and the +forest gallant regarded with peculiar complacency his own half-savage +dress, his swaggering gait, and his backwoods jargon. He was wilful, +headstrong, and quarrelsome; frank, straightforward, and generous; brave +as the bravest, and utterly intolerant of arbitrary control. His +self-confidence mounted to audacity. Eminently capable of heroism, both in +action and endurance, he viewed every species of effeminacy with supreme +contempt; and, accustomed as he was to entire self-reliance, the mutual +dependence of conventional life excited his especial scorn. With all his +ignorance, he had a mind by nature quick, vigorous, and penetrating; and +his mode of life, while it developed the daring energy of his character, +wrought some of his faculties to a high degree of acuteness. Many of his +traits have been reproduced in his offspring. From him have sprung those +hardy men whose struggles and sufferings on the bloody ground of Kentucky +will always form a striking page in American history; and that band of +adventurers before whose headlong charge, in the valley of Chihuahua, +neither breastworks, nor batteries, nor fivefold odds could avail for a +moment. + +At the period of Pontiac’s war, the settlements of Virginia had extended +as far as the Alleghanies, and several small towns had already sprung up +beyond the Blue Ridge. The population of these beautiful valleys was, for +the most part, thin and scattered; and the progress of settlement had been +greatly retarded by Indian hostilities, which, during the early years of +the French war, had thrown these borders into total confusion. They had +contributed, however, to enhance the martial temper of the people, and +give a warlike aspect to the whole frontier. At intervals, small stockade +forts, containing houses and cabins, had been erected by the joint labor +of the inhabitants; and hither, on occasion of alarm, the settlers of the +neighborhood congregated for refuge, remaining in tolerable security till +the danger was past. Many of the inhabitants were engaged for a great part +of the year in hunting; an occupation upon which they entered with the +keenest relish.[327] Well versed in woodcraft, unsurpassed as marksmen, +and practised in all the wiles of Indian war, they would have formed, +under a more stringent organization, the best possible defence against a +savage enemy; but each man came and went at his own sovereign will, and +discipline and obedience were repugnant to all his habits. + +The frontiers of Maryland and Virginia closely resembled each other; but +those of Pennsylvania had 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, German, +Swiss, Welsh, and Dutch; Quakers, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Dunkers, +Mennonists, and Moravians. Nor is this catalogue by any means complete. +The Quakers, to whose peaceful temper the rough frontier offered no +attraction, were confined to the eastern parts of the province. Cumberland +County, which lies west of the Susquehanna, and may be said to have formed +the frontier, was then almost exclusively occupied by the Irish and their +descendants; who, however, were neither of the Roman faith nor of Celtic +origin, being emigrants from the colony of Scotch which forms a numerous +and thrifty population in the north of Ireland. In religious faith, they +were stanch and zealous Presbyterians. Long residence in the province had +modified their national character, and imparted 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 +Virginian was wholly free. They were, nevertheless, hot-headed and +turbulent, often setting law and authority at defiance. The counties east +of the Susquehanna supported a mixed population, among which was +conspicuous a swarm of German peasants; who had been inundating the +country for many years past, and who for the most part were dull and +ignorant boors, like some of their descendants. The Swiss and German +sectaries called Mennonists, who were numerous in Lancaster County, +professed, like the Quakers, principles of non-resistance, and refused to +bear arms.[328] + +It was upon this mingled population, that the storm of Indian war was now +descending with appalling 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 +revolting to explore, through all its details, this horrible monotony of +blood and havoc.[329] The country was filled with the wildest dismay. The +people of Virginia betook themselves to their forts for refuge. Those of +Pennsylvania, ill supplied with such asylums, fled by thousands, and +crowded in upon the older settlements. The ranging parties who visited the +scene of devastation beheld, among the 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 fast to the trees, +where they had perished in the fiery torture.[330] + +Among the numerous war-parties which were now ravaging the borders, none +was more destructive than a band, about sixty in number, which ascended +the Kenawha, 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 murdering them under +the mask of friendship, until they came to the little settlement of +Greenbrier, where nearly a hundred of the people were assembled at the +fortified house of Archibald Glendenning. Seeing two or three Indians +approach, whom they recognized as former acquaintances, they suffered them +to enter without 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 dangerous +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 assembled 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 lately received some slight accidental injury, asked one of the +warriors if he could cure the wound. He replied that he thought he could, +and, to make good his words, killed her with his tomahawk. This was the +signal for a scene of general butchery. A few persons made their escape; +the rest were killed or captured. Glendenning snatched up one of his +children, and rushed from the house, but was shot dead as he leaped the +fence. A negro woman gained a place of concealment, whither she was +followed 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 the wife of Glendenning, a woman of a most masculine 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 brandished over her head, nor the scalp of her +murdered husband, with which they struck her in the face, could silence +the undaunted virago. When the party began their retreat, bearing with +them a great quantity of plunder packed on the horses they had stolen, +Glendenning’s wife, with her infant child, was placed among a long train +of captives 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,[331] +slipped into the bushes and escaped. Being well acquainted with the woods, +she succeeded, before nightfall, in reaching the spot where the ruins of +her dwelling had not yet ceased to burn. Here she sought out the body of +her husband, and covered it with fence-rails, to protect it from the +wolves. When her task was complete, and when night closed around her, the +bold spirit which had hitherto borne her up suddenly gave way. The +recollection of the horrors she had witnessed, the presence of the dead, +the darkness, the solitude, and the gloom of the surrounding forest, +wrought upon her till her terror rose to ecstasy; and she remained until +daybreak, crouched among the bushes, haunted by the threatening apparition +of an armed man, who, to her heated imagination, seemed constantly +approaching to murder her.[332] + +Some time after the butchery at Glendenning’s house, an outrage was +perpetrated, unmatched, in its fiend-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, pushing open the door, he looked in. 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 deed was committed by three or four +warriors from a village near the Ohio; and it is but just to observe that, +when they returned home, their conduct was disapproved by some of the +tribe.[333] + +Page after page might be filled with records like these, for the letters +and journals of the day are replete with narratives no less tragical. +Districts were depopulated, and the progress of the country put back for +years. Those small and scattered settlements which formed the feeble van +of advancing civilization were involved in general destruction, and the +fate of one may stand for the fate of all. In many a woody valley of the +Alleghanies, the axe and firebrand 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 the +ground. From the clay-built chimneys the smoke 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 valley in +shadow. Before many hours elapsed, the night was lighted up with the glare +of blazing dwellings, and the forest rang with the shrieks of the murdered +inmates.[334] + +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 seldom be made in +the neighborhood of the settlements. 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 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 +stealthily into the woods. With noiseless celerity he pursues his flight +over the fallen trunks, through the dense undergrowth, and the thousand +pitfalls and impediments of the forest; now striking the rough, hard trunk +of a tree, now tripping among the insidious network of vines and brambles. +All is darkness around him, and through the black masses of foliage 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 +towards 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 blue 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 uncommon +with careless or inexperienced travellers in the woods. Almost in despair, +he leaves the ill-omened 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 impervious 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. High above them all shoots up the tall, gaunt stem of a blasted +pine-tree; and, in his eager longing for a view of the surrounding +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 reptiles. 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 fatigue and famine, he perishes in despair, a meagre banquet +for the wolves. + +Within two or three weeks after the war had broken out, the older towns +and settlements of Pennsylvania were crowded with refugees from the +deserted frontier, reduced, in many cases, to the extremity of +destitution.[335] 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 borders, had urged them to +take measures of defence.[336] But the provincial government of +Pennsylvania was more conducive to prosperity in time of peace than to +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 advocates and patrons, and their zeal +was greatly sharpened by opposition and political prejudice. They now +pretended that the accounts from the frontier were grossly exaggerated; +and, finding this ground untenable, they alleged, with better show of +reason, that the Indians were driven into hostility by the ill-treatment +of the proprietaries and their partisans. They recognized, however, the +necessity of defensive measures, and accordingly passed a bill for raising +and equipping a force of seven hundred men, to be composed of frontier +farmers, and to be kept in pay only during the time of harvest. They were +not to leave the settled parts of the province to engage in offensive +operations of any kind, nor even to perform garrison duty; their sole +object being to enable the people to gather in their crops unmolested. + +This force was divided into numerous small detached parties, who were +stationed here and there at farm-houses and hamlets on both sides of the +Susquehanna, 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 assigned to Lancaster County were placed under the command of a +clergyman, 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.[337] + +The feeble measures adopted by the Pennsylvania Assembly highly excited +the wrath of Sir Jeffrey Amherst, and he did not hesitate to give his +feelings an emphatic expression. “The conduct of the Pennsylvania +legislature,” 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 +praise. Unlike Pennsylvania, she had the advantage of an existing militia +law; and the House of Burgesses was neither embarrassed by scruples +against the shedding of blood, nor by any peculiar tenderness towards the +Indian race. The House, however, was not immediately summoned together; +and the governor and council, without waiting to consult the Burgesses, +called out a thousand of the militia, five hundred of whom were assigned +to the command of Colonel Stephen, and an equal number to that of Major +Lewis.[338] The presence of these men, most of whom were woodsmen and +hunters, restored 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 conjunction with the militia. Many severe actions +were fought, but it seldom happened that the Indians could stand their +ground against the border riflemen. 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 attack 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, provisions, articles of dress, and implements of +magic, in the hands of the victors. + +Meanwhile the frontier people of Pennsylvania, finding that they could +hope for little aid from government, bestirred themselves with admirable +spirit in their own defence. The march of Bouquet, and the victory 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 resolution, the people of the Great Cove, +and the adjacent valleys beyond Shippensburg, raised among themselves 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 native +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 discipline, and directed them to assume the +dress of warriors, and paint their faces red and black, so that, in +appearance, they were hardly distinguishable from the enemy.[339] 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 neighborhood were not again driven +from their homes. + +The attacks on the Pennsylvania frontier were known to proceed, in great +measure, from several Indian villages, situated high up the west branch of +the Susquehanna, and inhabited by a debauched rabble composed of various +tribes, of whom the most conspicuous were Delawares. To root out this nest +of banditti would 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 encountered fifty warriors, advancing +against the borders. The Indians had the first fire, and drove in the +vanguard 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 volunteers returned in triumph, though +without accomplishing the object of the expedition; for which, indeed, +their numbers were scarcely adequate.[340] + +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 effectual destruction of the +Susquehanna villages. Leaving 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 enemy. But the Indians had +vanished, abandoning their houses, their cornfields, their stolen horses +and cattle, and the accumulated spoil of the settlements. Leaving 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, +pursuing 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 signal. 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 Susquehanna, reaching Fort +Augusta in a wretched condition, fatigued, half famished, and quarrelling +among themselves.[341] + +Scarcely were they returned, when another expedition was set on foot, in +which a portion of them were persuaded to take part. During the previous +year, a body of settlers from Connecticut had possessed themselves of the +valley of Wyoming, on the east branch of the Susquehanna, in defiance of +the government of Pennsylvania, and to the great displeasure 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, composed chiefly of volunteers from +Lancaster County, set out from Harris’s 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, embalmed in the +poetic romance of Campbell, has made the name of Wyoming a household word. +The settlement was a pile of ashes and cinders, and the bodies of its +miserable inhabitants offered frightful proof of the cruelties inflicted +upon them.[342] 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 expanse of the valley below, the fugitives looked +back, and saw the smoke rolling up in volumes from their 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 principal +settlers, a man named Hopkins, was separated from the rest, and driven +into the woods. Finding himself closely pursued, he crept into the hollow +trunk of a fallen tree, while the Indians passed without observing him. +They soon returned to the spot, and ranged the surrounding woods like +hounds at fault; two of them approaching so near, that, as Hopkins +declared, he could hear 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.[343] + +Having buried the dead bodies of those who had fallen in the massacre, +Clayton and his party returned 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 seditious 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 +English; 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 Quakers, removed by their situation +from all fear of the tomahawk, securely vented their spite against the +borderers, and doggedly closed their ears to the truth.[344] Meanwhile, +the people of the frontier besieged the Assembly with petitions for +relief; but little heed was given to their complaints. + +Sir Jeffrey Amherst had recently resigned his office of +commander-in-chief; and General Gage, a man of less efficiency than his +predecessor, was appointed to succeed him. Immediately before his +departure for England, Amherst had reluctantly condescended to ask the +several provinces for troops to march against the Indians early in the +spring, and the first act of Gage was to confirm this requisition. New +York was called upon to furnish fourteen hundred men, and New Jersey six +hundred.[345] The demand was granted, on condition that the New England +provinces should also contribute a just proportion to the general defence. +This condition was complied with, and the troops were raised. + +Pennsylvania had been required to furnish a thousand men; but in this +quarter many difficulties intervened. The Assembly of the province, never +prompt to vote supplies for military purposes, was now embroiled in that +obstinate quarrel with the proprietors, which for years past had clogged +all the wheels of government. The proprietors insisted on certain +pretended rights, which the Assembly strenuously opposed; and the +governors, who represented the proprietary interest, were bound by +imperative instructions to assert these claims, in spite of all +opposition. On the present occasion, the chief point of dispute related to +the taxation of the proprietary estates; the governor, in conformity with +his instructions, demanding that they should be assessed at a lower rate +than other lands of equal value in the province. The Assembly stood their +ground, and refused to remove the obnoxious clauses in the supply bill. +Message after message passed between the House and the governor; mutual +recrimination ensued, and ill blood was engendered. The frontiers might +have been left to their misery but for certain events which, during the +winter, threw the whole province into disorder, and acted like magic on +the minds of the stubborn legislators. + +These events 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, repeopled during the interval of calm, were again +made desolate. Again the valleys were illumined by the flames of burning +houses, and families fled 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 +marauders, found the bodies of their victims lying in the forest, stripped +naked, and frozen to marble hardness. The distress, wrath, and terror of +the borderers produced results sufficiently remarkable to deserve a +separate examination. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + + 1763-1764. + + THE INDIANS RAISE THE SIEGE OF DETROIT. + + +I return to the long-forgotten garrison of Detroit, which was left still +beleaguered by an increasing multitude of savages, and disheartened by the +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 provisions. 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, with unexampled pertinacity, +had pressed the siege since the beginning of May; but at length their +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 ammunition 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.[346] They thought that by this means +they might retire unmolested to their wintering grounds, and renew the war +with good hope of success in the spring. + +Accordingly, on the twelfth of October, Wapocomoguth, great chief of the +Mississaugas, a branch of the Ojibwas, living within the present limits of +Upper Canada, came to the fort with a pipe of peace. He began his speech +to Major Gladwyn, 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 treaty of lasting peace and amity. He next declared that +he had been sent as deputy by the Pottawattamies, Ojibwas, and Wyandots, +who had instructed him to say that they sincerely repented of their bad +conduct, asked forgiveness, and humbly begged for peace. Gladwyn perfectly +understood the hollowness 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 +provisions while completely surrounded by hostile Indians. He therefore +replied, that, though he was not empowered 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 provisions among the Canadians; an attempt in which he succeeded +so well that the fort was soon furnished with a tolerable supply for the +winter. + +The Ottawas alone, animated by 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 thirty-first of October, an +unexpected 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 Indian 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 abandon hostilities which could lead to no good result.[347] +The emotions of Pontiac at receiving this message may be conceived. His +long-cherished hopes of assistance from the French were swept away at +once, and he saw himself and his people thrown back upon their own slender +resources. His cause was lost. At least, there was no present hope for him +but in dissimulation. True to his Indian nature, he would put on a mask of +peace, and bide his time. On the day after the arrival of the message from +Neyon, Gladwyn wrote as follows to Amherst: “This moment I received a +message from Pondiac, telling me that he should send to all the nations +concerned in the war to bury the hatchet; and he hopes your Excellency +will forget what has passed.”[348] + +Having soothed the English commander with these hollow overtures, Pontiac +withdrew with some of his chiefs to the Maumee, to stir up the Indians in +that quarter, and renew the war in the spring. + +About the middle of November, not many days after Pontiac’s departure, two +friendly Wyandot Indians 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 Gladwyn. The letter was from +Major Wilkins, and contained 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 men had perished, that all the stores and ammunition +had been destroyed, and the detachment forced to return to Niagara. This +intelligence had an effect 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 transformation. 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, voluptuous 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 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 assemblage 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 famishing 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 shelter. 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 subjected to every hardship, and endured all +with stubborn stoicism. Sometimes, during the frosty night, they were +gathered in groups about the flickering lodge-fire, listening to +traditions of their forefathers, and wild tales of magic and incantation. +Perhaps, before the season was past, some bloody 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. With 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 project; around it they had concentrated their +greatest force, and the failure of the attempt proved disastrous to their +cause. Upon the Six Nations, more especially, it produced a marked effect. +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.[349] Two hundred of them, accompanied by a few +provincials, left the Oneida country during the month of February, and +directed their course southward. They had been out but a few days, when +they found an encampment of forty Delawares, commanded by a formidable +chief, known as Captain Bull, who, with his warriors, was on his way to +attack the settlements. They surrounded the camp undiscovered, during the +night, and at dawn of day raised the war-whoop and rushed in. The +astonished Delawares had no time to snatch their arms. They were all made +prisoners, taken to Albany, and thence sent down to New York, where they +were conducted, under a strong guard, to the common jail; the mob crowding +round them as they passed, and admiring the sullen ferocity of their +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, inflicted by supposed friends, produced more effect upon the enemy +than greater reverses would have done, if encountered at the hands of the +English alone.[350] + +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 chastisement 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 +northern tribes would, under any circumstances, have prevented their +uniting with the latter. The contagion of the war reached them, however, +and they perpetrated numerous murders; while the neighboring nation of the +Creeks rose in open hostility, and committed formidable ravages. Towards +the north, the Indian tribes were compelled, by their position, to remain +tranquil, yet they showed many signs of uneasiness; and those of Nova +Scotia caused great alarm, by mustering in large bodies in the +neighborhood of Halifax. The excitement among them was temporary, and they +dispersed without attempting mischief. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + 1763. + + THE PAXTON MEN. + + +Along the thinly settled borders, two thousand persons had been killed, or +carried off, and nearly an equal number of families driven from their +homes.[351] The frontier people of Pennsylvania, goaded to desperation by +long-continued suffering, were divided between rage against the Indians, +and resentment against the Quakers, who had yielded them cold sympathy 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 backwoods 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 indifference on their +miseries, and lost no opportunity to extenuate and smooth away the +cruelties of their destroyers.[352] 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 white, and a +pagan better than a Presbyterian. The Pennsylvania borderers were, as we +have seen, chiefly the descendants of Presbyterian emigrants from the +north of Ireland. They had inherited some portion of their forefathers’ +sectarian zeal, which, while it did nothing to soften the barbarity of +their manners, served to inflame their animosity against the Quakers, and +added bitterness to their just complaints. It supplied, moreover, a +convenient sanction for the indulgence of their hatred and vengeance; for, +in the general turmoil of their passions, fanaticism too was awakened, and +they interpreted the command that Joshua should destroy the heathen[353] +into an injunction that they should exterminate 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 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 that unquenchable, indiscriminate hate, +which Indian outrages can awaken in those who have suffered them. 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.[354] Never was this +hatred more deep or more general than on the Pennsylvania frontier 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 Indians, +speaking the Iroquois tongue, 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 that 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 cluster of squalid cabins, and lived by beggary +and the sale of brooms, baskets, and wooden ladles, made by the women. The +men spent a small part of their time in hunting, and lounged away the rest +in idleness. In the immediate neighborhood, they were commonly regarded as +harmless vagabonds; but elsewhere a more unfavorable opinion was +entertained, and they were looked upon as secretly abetting the enemy, +acting as spies, giving shelter to scalping-parties, and even aiding them +in their depredations. That these 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 individuals.[355] The exasperated +frontiersmen were not in a mood to discriminate, and the innocent were +destined to share the fate of the guilty.[356] + +On the east bank of the Susquehanna, at some distance above Conestoga, +stood the little town of Paxton; 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 bitterness of the +recollection was enhanced by the sense of their own more recent +sufferings. Mention has before been made of John Elder, the Presbyterian +minister of this place; a man whose worth, good sense, and superior +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 pulpit of +his little church, he had often preached to an assembly of armed men, +while scouts and sentinels were stationed without, to give warning of the +enemy’s approach.[357] The men of Paxton, under the auspices of their +pastor, formed themselves 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 against 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 +neighborhood, had been traced to Conestoga. Smith’s resolution was taken +at once. He called five of his companions; and, having armed 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 discovery he withdrew, +and rejoined his associates. Believing themselves too weak for an attack, +the party returned to Paxton. Their blood was up, and they determined to +extirpate the Conestogas. Messengers went abroad through the neighborhood; +and, on the following day, about fifty armed and mounted men, chiefly from +the towns of Paxton and Donegal, assembled at the place agreed upon. Led +by Matthew Smith, they took the road to Conestoga, where they arrived a +little before daybreak, on the morning of the fourteenth. As they drew +near, they discerned the light of a fire in one of the cabins, gleaming +across the snow. Leaving their horses in the forest, they separated into +small parties, and advanced 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 rest, in accordance with +their vagrant habits, being scattered about the neighborhood. Thus baulked +of their complete vengeance, the murderers seized upon what little booty +they could find, set the cabins on fire, and departed at dawn of day.[358] + +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 demanded 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 farmhouses, 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, they remounted and rode off through the +snowstorm. A boy of the family, who had gone to look at the horses of the +visitors, came in and declared that he had seen 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.[359] +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. They buried the remains of the victims, which Barber +compared in appearance to half-burnt logs. While they were thus engaged, +the sheriff of Lancaster, with a party of men, arrived on the spot; and +the first care of the officer was to send through the neighborhood to +collect the Indians, fourteen in number, who had escaped the massacre. +This was soon accomplished. The unhappy 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 excitement, they 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 governor issued a proclamation denouncing the act, and +offering a reward for the discovery of the perpetrators. Undaunted by this +measure, and enraged that any of their victims should have escaped, the +Paxton 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 believe, +entertained no worse design than that of seizing the obnoxious Indian, +carrying him to Carlisle, and there putting him to death, in case he +should be identified as the murderer.[360] Most of his followers, 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 influence 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, on 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.[361] + +At about three o’clock in the afternoon, the rioters, 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 to the building, surrounded by high stone walls. Hearing 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. +Whatever 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 +moment more, the yard was filled with ruffians, shouting, cursing, and +firing upon the cowering wretches; holding the muzzles of their pieces, in +some instances, 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.[362] + +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 in broken exclamations, “Murder——the jail——the Paxton +Boys——the Indians.” + +The assembly broke up in disorder, and Shippen, 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.[363] +The sheriff and the coroner had 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.[364] A company of +Highland soldiers, on their way from Fort Pitt to Philadelphia, were +encamped near the town. Their commander, Captain Robertson, afterwards +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 +contrary, 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 exertions, 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 curiosity 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 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.[365] + +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, not 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 +dangerous to be tried. Nothing of the kind was attempted 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 judging 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 defiance, 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.[366] + +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. Several 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 hatchets 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 +doubted 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, descending 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 destroying the Moravian Indians was openly debated. Towards the end of +the summer, several outrages were committed upon the settlers in the +neighborhood, and the Moravian Indians were loudly accused of taking part +in them. These charges were never fully confuted; and, taking into view +the harsh treatment which the converts had always experienced from the +whites, it is highly probable that some of them were disposed to +sympathize with their heathen countrymen, who are known to have courted +their alliance. The Moravians had, however, excited in their converts a +high degree of religious enthusiasm; which, directed as it was by the +teachings of the missionaries, 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 Conestoga, a party of drunken +Rangers, fired by the general resentment against the Moravian Indians, +murdered 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 imminent 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 in a +moment, the ammunition of the men wet, and the plan defeated.[367] + +After so narrow an escape, it was apparent that flight was the only +resource. The terrified congregation of Wecquetank broke up on the +following day; and, under the charge of their missionary, Bernard Grube, +removed to the Moravian town of Nazareth, where it was hoped they might +remain in safety.[368] + +In the mean time, the charges against the Moravian 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 where it would be beyond their power +to do mischief.[369] The 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.[370] Their total number, +including the band from Wyalusing, which joined them after they reached +Philadelphia, was about a hundred and forty. At every village and hamlet +which they passed on their way, they were greeted with threats and curses; +nor did the temper of the people improve as they advanced, for, when they +came to Germantown, the mob could scarcely be restrained from attacking +them. On reaching Philadelphia, they were conducted, amidst the yells and +hootings of the rabble, to the barracks, which had been intended to +receive them; but the soldiers, who outdid the mob 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, +the persecuted exiles remained drawn up in the square before the barracks, +surrounded by a multitude who never ceased to abuse and threaten them; but +wherever 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 +aversion to their enemies, would spare no efforts in their behalf. 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 clamorous, that to their +missionaries they seemed like a flock of sheep in the midst of howling +wolves.[371] A body-guard of Quakers gathered around, protecting them +from the crowd, and speaking words of sympathy 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. + + + + + CHAPTER XXV. + + 1764. + + THE RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. + + +The Conestoga murders did not take place until some weeks after the +removal of the Moravian converts 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 under its +protection. It was soon but too apparent that this design was seriously +entertained by the people of the frontier. They had tasted blood, and they +craved more. It seemed to them intolerable, that, while their sufferings +were unheeded, and their wounded 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.”[372] In their +blind rage, they would not see that the Moravian Indians had been removed +to Philadelphia, in part, at least, with a view to the safety of the +borders. To their enmity against Indians was added a resentment, scarcely +less vehement, against the Quakers, whose sectarian principles they hated +and despised. They complained, too, of political grievances, alleging that +the five frontier counties were inadequately represented 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 taverns and other places of +resort, recounting their grievances, real or imaginary; relating +frightful stories of Indian atrocities, and launching fierce invectives +against the Quakers.[373] 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 failed of the intended effect, and the Assembly had +still turned a deaf ear to their entreaties for more effective aid.[374] +Appeals to sympathy had been thrown away, and they now resolved to try the +efficacy of their rifles. + +They mustered under their popular leaders, prominent among whom was +Matthew Smith, who had led the murderers at Conestoga; and, towards the +end of January, took the road to Philadelphia, in force variously +estimated at from five hundred to fifteen hundred 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 +share in it, must remain a matter 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 members 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 determined enemies, could not take arms +against them 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 +unpractised warriors. They pursued their march in high confidence, +applauded by the inhabitants, and hourly increasing in numbers. + +Startling rumors of the danger soon reached Philadelphia, spreading alarm +among the citizens. The 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 sectaries found themselves in a new and +embarrassing position, for hitherto they had been able to assert their +principles at no great risk to person or property. The appalling tempest, +which, during the French war, had desolated the rest of the province, had +been unfelt near Philadelphia; and while the inhabitants to the westward +had been slaughtered by hundreds, scarcely a Quaker had been hurt. Under +these circumstances, the aversion of the sect to warlike 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.[375] 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 exaggerated ideas which prevailed +among the ignorant and timorous respecting the size and strength of the +borderers, 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 horror-stricken to these +reports; the prevalence of which is somewhat surprising, when it is +considered that, at the present day, the district whence the dreaded +rioters came may be reached from Philadelphia within a few hours. + +Tidings of the massacre in Lancaster jail had arrived at Philadelphia on +the twenty-ninth of December, and with them came the rumor that numerous +armed mobs were already on their march to the city. 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. Boats were sent to Province Island, and +the Indians ordered to embark and proceed with all haste down the river; +but, the rumor proving groundless, a messenger was despatched to recall +the fugitives.[376] 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 country, Governor Penn sent to +General Gage an earnest request for a detachment of regulars to repel the +rioters;[377] and, in the interval, means to avert the threatened danger +were eagerly sought. A proposal was laid before the Assembly to embark the +Indians and send them to England;[378] 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 Superintendent, Sir William Johnson; a plan as +hastily executed as timidly conceived.[379] At midnight, on the fourth of +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 arrived 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 commissary, with great humanity, distributed +blankets among them. Before they could resume their progress, the city was +astir; and as they passed the suburbs, they were pelted and hooted at by +the mob. Captain Robertson’s Highlanders, who had just arrived from +Lancaster, were ordered to escort them. These soldiers, who had their own +reasons for hating Indians, 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 assumed a +tone of sympathy and kindness.[380] + +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 continued their journey towards Amboy, +where several small vessels had been provided to carry them to New York. +Arriving at Amboy, however, Apty, to his great surprise, received a letter +from Governor Colden of New York, forbidding him to bring the Indians +within the limits 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.[381] The charges of treachery against the +Moravian Indians, the burden their presence would occasion, and the danger +of popular disturbance, 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.[382] + +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 that province; and they +were compelled reluctantly to retrace their steps to Philadelphia. A +detachment of a hundred and seventy soldiers had arrived, sent by General +Gage in compliance 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; the 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 themselves, 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 providing 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 lukewarm 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 Quaker, greatly +increased by a charge, most uncharitably brought by the latter against the +whole Presbyterian sect, of conniving at and abetting the murders at +Conestoga and Lancaster. They regarded the Paxton men as victims of Quaker +neglect and injustice, and showed a strong disposition to palliate, or +excuse altogether, the violence of which they had been guilty. Many of +them, indeed, were secretly inclined to favor the designs of the advancing +rioters; hoping that by their means the public grievances would be +redressed, the Quaker faction put down, and the social and political +balance of the state restored.[383] + +Whatever may have been the sentiments of the Presbyterians and of the city +mob, the rest of the inhabitants bestirred themselves for defence with all +the alacrity of fright. The Quakers were especially conspicuous for their +zeal. Nothing more was heard of the duty of non-resistance. The city was +ransacked 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, whose energy and practical talents made his services +invaluable, was the moving spirit of the day; and under his auspices the +citizens were formed into military companies, six of which were of +infantry, one of artillery, and two of horse. Besides this force, several +thousands of the inhabitants, including many Quakers, held themselves +ready to appear in arms at a moment’s notice.[384] + +These 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 were called 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.[385] + +On the following day, Sunday, a barricade was thrown up across the great +square enclosed by the barracks; and eight cannon, to which four more were +afterwards added, were planted to sweep the adjacent streets. These pieces +were discharged, to convey to the rioters an idea of the reception +prepared for them; but whatever effect the explosion may have produced on +the ears for which it was intended, the new and appalling sounds struck +the Indians in the barracks with speechless terror.[386] While the city +assumed this martial attitude, its rulers thought proper to adopt the +safer though less glorious course of conciliation; and a deputation of +clergymen 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 quarters, and the city recovered something of +the ordinary 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 countless voices from +the street echoed the alarm. Immediately, in obedience to the previous +day’s orders, lighted candles were placed in every window, till the +streets seemed illuminated for a festival. The citizen soldiers, with more +zeal than order, mustered under their officers. The governor, dreading an +irruption of the mob, repaired to the house of Franklin; and the city was +filled with the jangling of bells, and the no less vehement clamor of +tongues. A great multitude gathered before the barracks, where it was +supposed the attack would be made; and among them was seen many a Quaker, +with musket in hand. Some of the more consistent of the sect, unwilling to +take arms with their 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 ferries 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.[387] +Scarcely were they gone, when a cry rose among the crowd before the +barracks, and a general exclamation was heard that the Paxton Boys were +coming. In fact, a band of horsemen was seen advancing up Second Street. +The people crowded to get out of the way; the troops fell into such order +as they could; 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 touch-hole 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.[388] + +The 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 reported that they had been too late; that the rioters had crossed +the river, and were already at 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 Germantown, instead of marching forward to +certain destruction. In the afternoon, many of the inhabitants gathered +courage, and went out to visit them. They found nothing very extraordinary +in the aspect of the 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.”[389] They received their visitors +with a courtesy which might doubtless be ascribed, in great measure, to +their knowledge of the warlike preparations within the city; and the +report made by the adventurers, on their return, greatly tended to allay +the general excitement. + +The alarm, however, was again raised on the following day; and the cry to +arms once more resounded through the city of peace. The citizen soldiers +mustered with exemplary despatch; but their ardor was quenched by a storm +of rain, which drove them all under shelter. A neighboring Quaker +meeting-house happened to be open, and a company of the volunteers betook +themselves in haste to this convenient asylum. Forthwith, the place was +bristling with bayonets; and the walls, which had listened so often to +angry denunciations against war, now echoed the clang of weapons,——an +unspeakable scandal to the elders of the sect, and an occasion of pitiless +satire to the Presbyterians.[390] + +This alarm proving groundless, like all the others, the governor 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 +peacefully. 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, who held that fire and steel were the only welcome that +should be accorded to such violators of the public peace, and audacious +blasphemers of the society of Friends.[391] The plan was nevertheless +sustained; and Franklin, with three other citizens of character and +influence, set out for Germantown. The rioters received them with marks +of respect; and, after a long conference, the leaders of the mob were so +far wrought upon as to give over their hostile designs, the futility of +which was now sufficiently apparent.[392] An assurance was given, on the +part of the government, that their complaints should have a hearing; and +safety was guarantied to those of their number who should enter the city +as their representatives and advocates. For this purpose, Matthew Smith +and James Gibson were appointed by the general voice; and two papers, a +“Declaration” and a “Remonstrance,” were drawn up, addressed to the +governor and Assembly. With this assurance that their cause should be +represented, the rioters signified their willingness to return home, glad +to escape so easily from 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 Paxton men, though falsely +represented as enemies of government, were in fact its friends, +entertaining 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 their +homes.[393] On the morrow, the good effect of the treaty was apparent in a +general reopening of schools, shops, and warehouses, and a return to the +usual activity of business, which had been wholly suspended for some days. +The security 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 +armed merchants and shopmen, who for once were fully bent on slaughter, +and resolved to put an end to the long-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 curiosity. 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 offered 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 engaged +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 punishment; 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 move homeward, leaving their +leaders, Smith and Gibson, to adjust their differences with the +government. Their departure gave great relief to the people of the +neighborhood, to whom they had, at times, conducted themselves after a +fashion somewhat uncivil and barbarous; uttering hideous outcries, in +imitation of the war-whoop; knocking down peaceable citizens, and +pretending to scalp them; thrusting their guns in at windows, and +committing unheard-of ravages among hen-roosts and hog-pens.[394] + +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.[395] 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 greater freedom and dexterity.[396] The +Quakers accused the Presbyterians of conniving at the act of murderers, +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 principles which denied +the aid of arms to suffering fellow-countrymen, but justified their use at +the first call 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. + +While 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.[397] Various grievances were +specified, for which redress was demanded. It was urged that those +counties where the Quaker interest prevailed sent to the Assembly 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 the 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 had “damped the spirits of many brave men.” Angry +invectives against the Quakers succeeded. To the “villany, infatuation, +and influence of a certain faction, that have got the political reins in +their hands, 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 making war. + +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 illegal 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 arms 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 became involved +in its inevitable 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 former chapter; and the consequent military +preparations, together with a threatened renewal of the war on the part of +the enemy, engrossed the minds of the frontier people, and caused the +excitements of the winter to be forgotten. 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 exposing 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 supply abundant food for +reflection. In the frontiersman, goaded by the madness of his misery to +deeds akin to those by which he suffered, and half believing that, in the +perpetration of these atrocities, 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 wretched countrymen; in the Presbyterian, +urged by party 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 application 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 sufferings 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 withdrew to the +banks of the Susquehanna, where, under the direction of the missionaries, +they once more formed a prosperous settlement.[398] + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI. + + 1764. + + BRADSTREET’S ARMY ON THE LAKES. + + +The campaign of 1763, a year of disaster to the English colonies, was +throughout of a defensive nature, and no important blow had been struck +against the enemy. With the opening of the following spring, preparations +were made to renew the war on a more decisive plan. Before the +commencement of hostilities, Sir William Johnson and his deputy, George +Croghan, severally addressed to the lords of trade memorials, setting +forth the character, temper, and resources of the Indian tribes, and +suggesting 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 general feeling of distrust and hatred +filled them all. They added that the neglect and injustice of the British +government, the outrages of ruffian borderers and debauched traders, and +the insolence of English soldiers, had aggravated this feeling, and given +double effect to the restless machinations of the defeated French; who, to +revenge themselves on their conquerors, were constantly stirring up the +Indians to war. A race so brave and tenacious of liberty, so wild and +erratic in their habits, dwelling in a country so savage and inaccessible, +could not be exterminated or reduced to subjection without an immoderate +expenditure of men, money, and time. The true policy of the British +government was therefore to conciliate; to soothe their jealous pride, +galled by injuries and insults; to gratify them by presents, and treat +them with a respect and attention to which their haughty spirit would not +fail to respond. We ought, they said, to make the Indians our friends; +and, by a just, consistent, and straightforward course, seek to gain their +esteem, and wean them from their partiality to the French. To remove 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 settlements; 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 little 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 expedient to make yet +another purchase.[399] + +This plan was afterwards carried into execution by the British government. +Founded as it is upon the supposition that the Indian tribes must +gradually dwindle and waste away, it might well have awakened the utmost +fears of that unhappy people. Yet none but an enthusiast or fanatic could +condemn it as iniquitous. To reclaim the Indians from their savage state +has again and again been attempted, and each attempt has failed. Their +intractable, unchanging character leaves no other alternative than their +gradual extinction, or the abandonment of the western world to eternal +barbarism; and of this and other similar plans, whether the offspring of +British or American legislation, it may alike be said that sentimental +philanthropy will find it easier to cavil at than to amend them. + +Now, turning from the Indians, let us observe the temper of those whose +present business it was to cudgel them into good behavior; that is to say, +the British officers, of high and low degree. They seem to have been in a +mood of universal discontent, not in the least surprising when one +considers that they were forced to wage, with crippled resources, an +arduous, profitless, and inglorious war; while perverse and jealous +legislatures added gall to their bitterness, and taxed their patience to +its utmost endurance. The impossible requirements of the +commander-in-chief were sometimes joined to their other vexations. Sir +Jeffrey Amherst, who had, as we have seen, but a slight opinion of +Indians, and possibly of everybody else except a British nobleman and a +British soldier, expected much of his officers; and was at times +unreasonable in his anticipations of a prompt “vengeance on the +barbarians.” Thus he had no sooner heard of the loss of Michillimackinac, +Miami, and other western outposts, than he sent orders to Gladwyn to +re-establish them at once. Gladwyn, who had scarcely force enough to +maintain himself at Detroit, thereupon writes to his friend Bouquet: “The +last I received from the General is of the second July, in which I am +ordered to establish the outposts immediately. At the time I received +these orders, I knew it was impossible to comply with any part of them: +the event shows I was right. I am heartily wearied of my command, and I +have signified the same to Colonel Amherst (Sir Jeffrey’s adjutant). I +hope I shall be relieved soon; if not, I intend to quit the service, for I +would not choose to be any longer exposed to the villany and treachery of +the settlement and Indians.” + +Two or three weeks before the above was written, George Croghan, Sir +William Johnson’s deputy, who had long lived on the frontier, and was as +well versed in Indian affairs as the commander-in-chief was ignorant of +them, wrote to Colonel Bouquet:——“Seven tribes in Canada have offered +their services to act with the King’s troops; but the General seems +determined to neither accept of Indians’ services, nor provincials’.... I +have resigned out of the service, and will start for England about the +beginning of December. Sir Jeffrey Amherst would not give his consent; so +I made my resignation in writing, and gave my reasons for so doing. Had I +continued, I could be of no more service than I have been these eighteen +months past; which was none at all, as no regard was had to any +intelligence I sent, no more than to my opinion.” Croghan, who could not +be spared, was induced, on Gage’s accession to the command, to withdraw +his resignation and retain his post. + +Next, we have a series of complaints from Lieutenant Blane of Fort +Ligonier; who congratulates Bouquet on his recent victory at Bushy Run, +and adds: “I have now to beg that I may not be left any longer in this +forlorn way, for I can assure you the fatigue I have gone through begins +to get the better of me. I must therefore beg that you will appoint me, by +the return of the convoy, a proper garrison.... My present situation is +fifty times worse than ever.” And again, on the seventeenth of September: +“I must beg leave to recommend to your particular attention the sick +soldiers here; as there is neither surgeon nor medicine, it would really +be charity to order them up. I must also beg leave to ask what you intend +to do with the poor starved militia, who have neither shirts, shoes, nor +any thing else. I am sorry you can do nothing for the poor inhabitants.... +I really get heartily tired of this post.” He endured it some two months +more, and then breaks out again on the twenty-fourth of November: “I +intend going home by the first opportunity, being pretty much tired of a +service that’s so little worth any man’s time; and the more so, as I +cannot but think I have been particularly unlucky in it.” + +Now follow the letters, written in French, of the gallant Swiss, Captain +Ecuyer, always lively and entertaining even in his discontent. He writes +to Bouquet from Bedford, on the thirteenth of November. Like other +officers on the frontier, he complains of the settlers, who, +notwithstanding their fear of the enemy, always did their best to shelter +deserters; and he gives a list of eighteen soldiers who had deserted +within five days:[400] “I have been twenty-two years in service, and I +never in my life saw any thing equal to it,——a gang of mutineers, bandits, +cut-throats, especially the grenadiers. I have been obliged, after all the +patience imaginable, to have two of them whipped on the spot, without +court-martial. One wanted to kill the sergeant and the other wanted to +kill me.... For God’s sake, let me go and raise cabbages. You can do it if +you will, and I shall thank you eternally for it. Don’t refuse, I beg you. +Besides, my health is not very good; and I don’t know if I can go up again +to Fort Pitt with this convoy.” + +Bouquet himself was no better satisfied than his correspondents. On the +twentieth of June, 1764, he wrote to Gage, Amherst’s successor: “I flatter +myself that you will do me the favor to have me relieved from this +command, the burden and fatigues of which I begin to feel my strength very +unequal to.” + +Gage knew better than to relieve him, and Bouquet was forced to resign +himself to another year of bush-fighting. The plan of the summer’s +campaign had been settled; and he was to be the most important, if not the +most conspicuous, actor in it. It had been resolved to march two armies +from different points into the heart of the Indian country. The first, +under Bouquet, was to advance from Fort Pitt into the midst of the +Delaware and Shawanoe settlements of the valley of the Ohio. The other, +under Colonel Bradstreet, was to pass up 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 Ontario with a +force of three thousand provincials, and captured Fort Frontenac, a +formidable 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, self-willed, vain, and eager for notoriety; qualities which +became sufficiently apparent before the end of the campaign.[401] + +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 of very +indifferent quality, looking, according to an officer of the expedition, +more like candidates for a hospital than like men fit for the arduous duty +before them. The rendezvous 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 Onondaga. 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 storm threw the flotilla into +confusion; and several days elapsed before the ramparts of Fort Niagara +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 army, whose strength, far +inferior to the original design, did not exceed twelve hundred men. + +A striking spectacle greeted them on their landing. Hundreds of Indian +cabins were clustered along the skirts of the forest, and a countless +multitude of savages, in all the picturesque variety of their barbaric +costume, were roaming over the fields, or lounging about the shores of the +lake. Towards the close of the previous winter, Sir William Johnson 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, clothing, 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 arms 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 dram 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. Marie, +when a canoe, filled with warriors, arrived, bringing the message of Sir +William Johnson. A council was called; and the principal messenger, +offering a belt of wampum, spoke as follows: “My friends and brothers, I +am come with 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 common 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 destroyed; for the English are on their march with +a great army, which will be joined by different nations of Indians. In a +word, before the fall of the leaf they will be at Michillimackinac, and +the Six Nations with them.” + +The Ojibwas had been debating whether they should 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 little 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 spacious wigwam, half lighted by the lurid glare of +fires, and waited, in suspense and awe, the issue of the invocation. The +medicine man, or magician, stripped almost naked, now entered the central +tabernacle, 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 suddenly 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 soldiers had as yet reached Niagara; but +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 obtained 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 as 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 acclamations; and, with cries of joy, many voices were heard to +exclaim, “I will go too! I will go too!”[402] + +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 flocking to the common centre of attraction. Such a +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.[403] Even 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 straggling soldiers were shot at in the +neighborhood, and it soon became apparent that the utmost precaution must +be taken to avert a rupture. The troops were kept always on their guard; +while the black muzzles of the cannon, thrust from the bastions of the +fort, struck a wholesome 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 Delawares and Shawanoes, however, against whom Bouquet, +with the army 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, and +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 insolent missive Johnson made no answer; and, indeed, those who sent +it were, at this very time, renewing the bloody work of the preceding year +along the borders of Pennsylvania 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 Delawares, 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 formidable warriors appeared at the English camp, bringing fourteen +prisoners, besides several deserters and runaway slaves. A peace was +concluded, on condition that they should never again attack the English, +and that they should cede to the British crown a strip of land, between +the Lakes Erie and Ontario, four miles in width, on both sides of the +River, or Strait, of Niagara.[404] A treaty was next made with a +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 around 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 formalities 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 Ottawas 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 garrison at Green 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, the storms ceased, the lake became smooth, and the whole +face of nature was changed.” + +They disowned all connection or privity with the designs 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 Michillimackinac, 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 similar 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 gathered 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 interest lay in the preservation of peace, +and concluded with a gift of food and clothing, and a permission, denied +to all the rest, to open a traffic with the traders, who had already begun +to assemble at the fort. “And now, my brother,” said a warrior, as the +council 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 are very thirsty.” This honest request was not refused. The liquor was +distributed, and a more copious supply promised for the future; upon which +the deputation departed, and repaired to their encampment, much pleased +with their reception.[405] + +Throughout these conferences, one point of policy was constantly adhered +to. No general council was held. Separate treaties were made, in order to +promote 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 Indians, 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 concourse was melting away, and the +tribes departing for their distant homes, it was thought that the danger +was past, and that the army might safely resume its progress. 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 enemy, who had always looked upon +them as friends and supporters. Of the Indian allies, the greater part +were Iroquois, and the remainder, about a hundred in number, Ojibwas and +Mississaugas; the former 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 +adventurous trader, “whose best hope it had lately been to live by their +forbearance.” His long-continued sufferings and dangers hardly deserved to +be rewarded by so great a misfortune as that of commanding 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 +off, 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 consequence, 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.[406] A large +number of Iroquois still followed the army, the strength of which, farther +increased by a re-enforcement of Highlanders, was now very considerable. + +The troops left Fort Schlosser on the eighth. Their 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 cataract. They coasted along the southern shore of Lake +Erie until the twelfth, when, in the neighborhood of Presqu’ Isle, 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.[407] Bradstreet knew, or ought to have known, the character of +the treacherous enemy with whom he had to deal. He knew that the Shawanoes +and Delawares 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 pretended overtures. Yet, in spite of the +suspicious character of the self-styled deputies, in spite of the sullen +wrath of his Indian allies, and the murmured dissent of his officers, he +listened to their proposals, and entered into a preliminary treaty. He +pledged himself to refrain from attacking the Delawares and Shawanoes, on +condition that within twenty-five days the deputies should again meet him +at Sandusky, in order to yield up their prisoners, and conclude a definite +treaty of peace.[408] 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 army until the season should be too far +advanced to prosecute the campaign. At this very moment, the Delaware and +Shawanoe war-parties were murdering and scalping along the frontiers; and +the work of havoc continued 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 hostile designs. He consummated his folly and presumption by +despatching a messenger to his superior officer, Colonel Bouquet, +informing him that the Delawares and Shawanoes had been reduced to +submission without his aid, and that he might withdraw his troops, as +there was no need of his advancing farther. Bouquet, astonished and +indignant, paid no attention to this communication, but pursued his march +as before.[409] + +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 severe censures of the commander-in-chief, who, +on hearing of the treaty, at once annulled it.[410] Bradstreet has been +accused of having exceeded his orders, in promising to conclude a +definite 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.[411] + +Having, as he thought, accomplished not only a great part of his own task, +but also the whole of that which had been assigned to Colonel Bouquet, +Bradstreet resumed his progress westward, and in a few days reached +Sandusky. He had been ordered to attack the Wyandots, Ottawas, and Miamis, +dwelling near this place; but at his approach, these Indians, hastening to +avert the danger, sent a deputation 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 Indians of Sandusky much delighted, and probably no +less surprised, at the success of their embassy. Before 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 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 into the forest in search of game, or +stroll too far beyond range of the cannon. Throughout the preceding +winter, they had been left in comparative quiet; but with the opening +spring the Indians had resumed their pertinacious hostilities; not, +however, with the same activity and vigor as during the preceding summer. +The messages of Sir William Johnson, and the tidings of Bradstreet’s +intended expedition, had had great effect upon their minds, and some of +them had begged abjectly for peace; but still the garrison were harassed +by frequent alarms, 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 which they had been banished so +long. The army had no sooner landed than the garrison was relieved, and +fresh troops substituted 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, 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, as we have seen, 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 of +September, with all the accompaniments of military display which could +inspire awe and respect among the assembled savages. The tribes, or rather +fragments of tribes, represented at this meeting, were the Ottawas, +Ojibwas, Pottawattamies, Miamis, Sacs, and Wyandots. The Indians of +Sandusky kept imperfectly the promise they had made, the Wyandots of that +place alone sending a full deputation; while the other tribes were merely +represented by the Ojibwa chief Wasson. 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 Bradstreet, “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 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 premeditated and +long-continued war, it was glaringly inadmissible, 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.[412] + +Bradstreet would grant peace only on condition that they should become +subjects of the King of England, and acknowledge that he held over their +country 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 smallest 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 happily not a savage present was able to comprehend it. +Subjection and sovereignty are ideas which never enter 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 harmless 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 concession beyond a mere +unmeaning change of forms and words. They promised, in future, to call the +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 submission +than any other Indians had ever before yielded; but the truth was soon +detected and exposed by those conversant with Indian affairs.[413] + +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 were strangers to the +Algonquin language, remained in ignorance of all that passed. The latter +were highly indignant, and refused to become parties to the treaty, or go +through the usual ceremony of shaking 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 unexplained 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 and enemies, were alike +incensed at this rude violation of the ancient pledge of faith, which, in +their eyes, was invested with something of a sacred character.[414] + +Having settled the affairs of Detroit, Bradstreet despatched Captain +Howard, with a strong detachment, to take possession of Michillimackinac, +which had remained unoccupied since its capture in the preceding summer. +Howard effected his object without resistance, and, at the same time, sent +parties of troops to reoccupy the deserted posts of Green Bay and Sault +Ste. Marie. Thus, after the interval of more than a year, the flag of +England was again displayed among the solitudes of the northern +wilderness.[415] + +While Bradstreet’s army lay encamped on the fields near Detroit, Captain +Morris, with a few Iroquois and Canadian attendants, was pursuing his +adventurous embassy to the country of the Illinois. Morris, who has left +us his portrait, prefixed to a little volume of prose and verse, was an +officer of literary tastes, whose round English face did not indicate any +especial degree of enterprise or resolution. He seems, however, to have +had both; for, on a hint from the General, he had offered himself for the +adventure, for which he was better fitted than most of his brother +officers, inasmuch as he spoke French. He was dining, on the eve of his +departure, in the tent of Bradstreet, when his host suddenly remarked, in +the bluff way habitual to him, that he had a French fellow, a prisoner, +whom he meant to hang; but that, if Morris would like him for an +interpreter, he might have him. The prisoner in question was the Canadian +Godefroy, who was presently led into the tent; and who, conscious of many +misdemeanors, thought that his hour was come, and fell on his knees to beg +his life. Bradstreet told him that he should be pardoned if he would +promise to “go with this gentleman, and take good care of him,” pointing +to his guest. Godefroy promised; and, to the best of his power, he kept +his word, for he imagined that Morris had saved his life. + +Morris set out on the following afternoon with Godefroy, another Canadian, +two servants, and a party of Indians, ascended the Maumee, and soon +approached the camp of Pontiac; who, as already mentioned, had withdrawn +to this river with his chosen warriors. The party disembarked from their +canoes; and an Ottawa chief, who had joined them, lent them three horses. +Morris and the Canadians mounted, and, preceded by their Indian +attendants, displaying an English flag, advanced in state towards the +camp, which was two leagues or more distant. As they drew near, they were +met by a rabble of several hundred Indians, called by Morris “Pontiac’s +army.” They surrounded him, beat his horse, and crowded between him and +his followers, apparently trying to separate them. At the outskirts of the +camp stood Pontiac himself, who met the ambassador with a scowling brow, +and refused to offer his hand. Here, too, stood a man, in the uniform of a +French officer, holding his gun with the butt resting on the ground, and +assuming an air of great importance; while two Pawnee slaves stood close +behind him. He proved to be a French drummer, calling himself St. Vincent, +one of those renegades of civilization to be found in almost every Indian +camp. He now took upon himself the office of a master of ceremonies; +desired Morris to dismount, and seated himself at his side on a bear-skin. +Godefroy took his place near them; and the throng of savages, circle +within circle, stood crowded around. “Presently,” says Morris, “came +Pontiac, and squatted himself, after his fashion, opposite to me.” He +opened the interview by observing that the English were liars, and +demanding of the ambassador if he had come to lie to them, like the rest. +“This Indian,” pursues Morris, “has a more extensive power than ever was +known among that people, for every chief used to command his own tribe; +but eighteen nations, by French intrigue, had been brought to unite and +choose this man for their commander.” + +Pontiac now produced a letter directed to himself, and sent from New +Orleans, though purporting to be written by the King of France. It +contained, according to Morris, the grossest calumnies that the most +ingenious malice could devise to incense the Indians against the English. +The old falsehood was not forgotten: “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.” Much excitement followed the reading of the letter, and Morris’s +situation became more than unpleasant; but St. Vincent befriended him, and +hurried him off to his wigwam to keep him out of harm’s way. + +On the next day there was a grand council. Morris made a speech, in which +he indiscreetly told the Indians that the King of France had given all the +country to the King of England. Luckily, his auditors received the +announcement with ridicule rather than anger. The chiefs, however, wished +to kill him; but Pontiac interposed, on the ground that the life of an +ambassador should be held sacred. “He made a speech,” says Morris, “which +does him honor, and shows that he was acquainted with the law of nations.” +He seemed in a mood more pacific than could have been expected, and said +privately to Godefroy: “I will lead the nations to war no more. Let them +be at peace if they choose; but I will never be a friend to the English. I +shall be a wanderer in the woods; and, if they come there to seek me, I +will shoot at them while I have an arrow left.” Morris thinks that he said +this in a fit of despair, and that, in fact, he was willing to come to +terms. + +The day following was an unlucky one. One of Morris’s Indians, a Mohawk +chief, ran off, having first stolen all he could lay hands on, and sold +the ambassador’s stack of rum, consisting of two barrels, to the Ottawas. +A scene of frenzy ensued. A young Indian ran up to Morris, and stabbed at +him savagely; but Godefroy caught the assassin’s hand, and saved his +patron’s life. Morris escaped from the camp, and lay hidden in a cornfield +till the howling and screeching subsided, and the Indians slept themselves +sober. When he returned, an Indian, called the Little Chief, gave him a +volume of Shakespeare,——the spoil of some slaughtered officer,——and then +begged for gunpowder. + +Having first gained Pontiac’s consent, Morris now resumed his journey to +the Illinois. The river was extremely low, and it was with much ado that +they pushed their canoe against the shallow current, or dragged it over +stones and sandbars. On the fifth day, they met an Indian mounted on a +handsome white horse, said to have belonged to General Braddock, and to +have been captured at the defeat of his army, nine years before. On the +morning of the seventh day, they 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 Kickapoos, 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. + +The party landed a little below the fort; and, while his followers were +making their way through the border of woods that skirted the river, +Morris remained in the canoe, solacing himself by reading _Antony and +Cleopatra_ in the volume he had so oddly obtained. 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 admit him into their +houses. Morris soon discovered that this unexpected rough treatment was +owing to the influence of a deputation of Delaware and Shawanoe chiefs, +who had recently arrived, bringing fourteen war-belts of wampum, and +exciting the Miamis to renew their hostilities against the common enemy. +Thus it was fully apparent that while the Delawares and Shawanoes were +sending one deputation to treat of peace with Bradstreet on Lake Erie, +they were sending another to rouse the tribes of the Illinois to +war.[416] From Fort Miami, 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. + +They had been aware of the approach of Morris, and had urged the Miamis to +put him to death when he arrived. Accordingly, he had not been long at the +fort when two warriors, with tomahawks in their hands, entered, seized him +by the arms, and dragged him towards the river. Godefroy stood by, pale +and motionless. “_Eh bien, vous m’abandonnez donc!_” said Morris. “_Non, +mon capitaine_,” the Canadian answered, “_je ne vous abandonnerai +jamais_;” and he followed, as the two savages dragged their captive into +the water. Morris thought that they meant to drown and scalp him, but soon +saw his mistake; for they led him through the stream, which was fordable, +and thence towards the Miami village. As they drew near, they stopped, and +began to strip him, but grew angry at the difficulty of the task; till, in +rage and despair, he tore off his clothes himself. They then bound his +arms behind him with his own sash, and drove him before them to the +village, where they made him sit on a bench. A whooping, screeching mob of +savages was instantly about him, and a hundred voices clamored together in +dispute as to what should be done with him. Godefroy stood by him with a +courageous fidelity that redeemed his past rascalities. He urged a nephew +of Pontiac, who was present, to speak for the prisoner. The young Indian +made a bold harangue to the crowd; and Godefroy added that, if Morris were +killed, the English would take revenge on those who were in their power at +Detroit. A Miami chief, called the Swan, now declared for the Englishman, +untied his arms, and gave him a pipe to smoke; whereupon another chief, +called the White Cat, snatched it from him, seized him, and bound him fast +by the neck to a post. Naked, helpless, and despairing, he saw the crowd +gathering around to torture him. “I had not the smallest hope of life,” he +says, “and I remember that I conceived myself as if going to plunge into a +gulf, vast, immeasurable; and that, a few moments after, the thought of +torture occasioned a sort of torpor and insensibility. I looked at +Godefroy, and, seeing him exceedingly distressed, I said what I could to +encourage him; but he desired me not to speak. I supposed it gave offence +to the savages; and therefore was silent; when Pacanne, chief of the Miami +nation, and just out of his minority, having mounted a horse and crossed +the river, rode up to me. When I heard him calling to those about me, and +felt his hand behind my neck, I thought he was going to strangle me, out +of pity; but he untied me, saying, as it was afterwards interpreted to me: +‘I give that man his life. If you want English meat, go to Detroit, or to +the lake, and you’ll find enough. What business have you with this man’s +flesh, who is come to speak with us?’ I fixed my eyes steadfastly on this +young man, and endeavored by looks to express my gratitude.” + +An Indian now offered him a pipe, and he was then pushed with abuse and +blows out of the village. He succeeded in crossing the river and regaining +the fort, after receiving a sharp cut of a switch from a mounted Indian +whom he met on the way. + +He found the Canadians in the fort disposed to befriend him. Godefroy and +the metamorphosed drummer, St. Vincent, were always on the watch to warn +him of danger; and one l’Esperance gave him an asylum in his garret. He +seems to have found some consolation in the compassion of two handsome +young squaws, sisters, he was told, of his deliverer, Pacanne; but the two +warriors who had stripped and bound him were constantly lurking about the +fort, watching an opportunity to kill him; and the 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 distant; yet, +with great resolution, he determined to persevere, and, if possible, +fulfil his mission. 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 message after +message, threatening his life, should he persist in his design; and word +was brought him that several of the Shawanoe deputies were returning to +the fort, expressly to kill him. Under these circumstances, it would have +been madness to persevere; and, abandoning his mission, he set out for +Detroit. The Indian attendants, whom he had brought from Sandusky, after +behaving with the utmost insolence, abandoned him in the woods; their +ringleader being a Christian Huron, of the Mission of Lorette, whom Morris +pronounces the greatest rascal he ever knew. With Godefroy and two or +three others who remained with him, he reached Detroit on the seventeenth +of September, half dead with famine and fatigue. He had expected to find +Bradstreet; but that agile commander had decamped, and returned to +Sandusky. Morris, too ill and exhausted to follow, sent him his journal, +together with a letter, in which he denounced the Delaware and Shawanoe +ambassadors, whom he regarded, and no doubt with justice, as the occasion +of his misfortunes. The following is his amiable conclusion:—— + +“The villains have nipped our fairest hopes in the bud. I tremble for you +at Sandusky; though I was greatly 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 +paid with treachery; and it is a more than ordinary pleasure to deceive +those who would deceive us.”[417] + +Bradstreet had retraced his course to Sandusky, to keep his engagement +with the Delaware and Shawanoe deputies, and await the fulfilment of +their worthless promise to surrender their prisoners, and conclude a +definitive treaty of peace. His hopes were defeated. The appointed time +expired, and not a chief was seen; though, a few days after, several +warriors came to the camp, with a promise that, if Bradstreet would remain +quiet, and refrain from attacking their villages, they would bring in the +prisoners in the course of the following week. Bradstreet 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 engagements 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 River Sandusky, and +the other by Cayahoga Creek. The water in the Sandusky was sunk low with +the drought, and the 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 difficulties 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 complained of his capricious, peremptory temper, his +harshness to his troops, and the unaccountable tenderness 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 two soldiers, who had gone out in the morning to catch +fish for his table, were inhumanly left behind;[418] the colonel remarking +that they might stay and be damned. Soon after leaving Sandusky, he saw +fit to encamp one evening on an open, exposed beach, on the south shore of +Lake Erie, though there was in the neighborhood a large river, “wherein,” +say his critics, “a thousand boats could lie with safety.” A storm came +on: half his boats were dashed to pieces; and six pieces of cannon, with +ammunition, provisions, arms, and baggage, were lost or abandoned. For +three days the tempest raged unceasingly; and, when the angry lake began +to resume its tranquillity, it was found that the remaining boats were +insufficient to convey the troops. A body of Indians, together with a +detachment of provincials, about a hundred and fifty in all, 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, +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, re-embarking on +Lake Ontario, proceeded towards Oswego.[419] 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 +re-establishment 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 abundant harvest of +future mischief.[420] 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 the +attachment of these powerful tribes were in no small degree counteracted +and neutralized.[421] + +While Bradstreet’s troops were advancing upon the lakes, or lying idle in +their camp at Sandusky, another expedition was in progress at the +southward, with abler conduct and a more auspicious result. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVII. + + 1764. + + BOUQUET FORCES THE DELAWARES AND SHAWANOES TO SUE FOR PEACE. + + +The work of ravage had begun afresh upon the borders. The Indians had +taken the precaution to remove all their settlements to the western 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 and children in safety, +they had flung themselves upon 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 governor of Pennsylvania had recourse to +a measure which the frontier inhabitants had long demanded, and issued a +proclamation, offering a high bounty for Indian scalps, whether of men or +women; a barbarous expedient, fruitful of butcheries and murders, but +incapable of producing any decisive result.[422] + +[Illustration: A MAP of the COUNTRY on the Ohio & Muskingum Rivers +_Shewing the Situation of the_ INDIAN TOWNS _with respect to the Army +under the Command of_ Colonel Bouquet _By Tho.^{s} Hutchins Afs. +Engineer_.] + +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, +accompanied by a young provincial recently taken prisoner on the Delaware, +and bringing five scalps. While living among the Indians, Owens had formed +a connection 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 desertion. One night, he had been encamped +on the Susquehanna, with four Shawanoe warriors, a boy of the same tribe, +his own wife and two children, and another Indian woman. The young +provincial, who came with him to the settlements, was also of the party. +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 provincial, 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 daylight among +the dead bodies of his children and comrades, undaunted by the awful +gloom and solitude 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.[423] + +Bouquet was now urging on his preparations for his march into the valley +of the Ohio. We have seen how, in the preceding summer, he had been +embarrassed by what he calls “the unnatural obstinacy of the government of +Pennsylvania.” “It disables us,” he had written to the equally indignant +Amherst, “from crushing the savages on this side of the lakes, and may +draw us into a lingering war, which might have been terminated by another +blow.... I see that the whole burden of this war will rest upon us; and +while the few regular troops you have left can keep the enemy at a +distance, the Provinces will let them fight it out without +interfering.”[424] + +Amherst, after vainly hoping that the Assembly of Pennsylvania would +“exert themselves like men,”[425] had, equally in vain, sent Colonel +James Robertson as a special messenger to the provincial commissioners. “I +found all my pleading vain,” the disappointed envoy had written, “and +believe Cicero’s would have been so. I never saw any men so determined in +the right as these people are in this absurdly wrong resolve.”[426] The +resolve in question related to the seven hundred men whom the Assembly had +voted to raise for protecting the gathering of the harvest, and whom the +commissioners stiffly refused to place at the disposition of the military +authorities. + +It is apparent in all this that, at an early period of the war, a change +had come over the spirit of the commander-in-chief, whose prejudices and +pride had revolted, at the outset, against the asking of provincial aid to +“chastise the savages,” but who had soon been brought to reason by his own +helplessness and the exigencies of the situation. In like manner, a +change, though at the eleventh hour, had now come over the spirit of the +Pennsylvania Assembly. The invasion of the Paxton borderers, during the +past winter, had scared the Quaker faction into their senses. Their old +quarrel with the governor and the proprietaries, their scruples about war, +and their affection for Indians, were all postponed to the necessity of +the hour. The Assembly voted to raise three hundred men to guard the +frontiers, and a thousand to join Bouquet. Their commissioners went +farther; for they promised to send to England for fifty couples of +bloodhounds, to hunt Indian scalping-parties.[427] + +In the preceding summer, half as many men would have sufficed; for, after +the battle of Bushy Run, Bouquet wrote to Amherst from Fort Pitt, that, +with a reinforcement of three hundred provincial rangers, he could destroy +all the Delaware towns, “and clear the country of that vermin between +this fort and Lake Erie;”[428] but he added, with some bitterness, that +the provinces would not even furnish escorts to convoys, so that his hands +were completely tied.[429] + +It was past midsummer before the thousand Pennsylvanians were ready to +move; so that the season for navigating the Ohio and its branches was +lost. As for Virginia and Maryland, they would do absolutely nothing. On +the fifth of August, Bouquet was at Carlisle, with his new levies and such +regulars as he had, chiefly the veterans of Bushy Run. Before the tenth, +two hundred of the Pennsylvanians had deserted, sheltered, as usual, by +the country people. His force, even with full ranks, was too small; and he +now took the responsibility of writing to Colonel Lewis, of the Virginia +militia, to send him two hundred volunteers, to take the place of the +deserters.[430] A body of Virginians accordingly joined him at Fort Pitt, +to his great satisfaction, for he set a high value on these backwoods +riflemen; but the responsibility he had assumed proved afterwards a source +of extreme annoyance to him. + +The little army soon reached Fort Loudon, then in a decayed and ruinous +condition, like all the wooden forts built during the French war. Here +Bouquet received the strange communication from Bradstreet, informing him +that he might return home with his troops, as a treaty had been concluded +with the Delawares and Shawanoes. Bouquet’s disgust found vent in a letter +to the commander-in-chief: “I received this moment advice from Colonel +Bradstreet.... The terms he gives them (the Indians) are such as fill me +with astonishment.... Had Colonel Bradstreet been as well informed as I +am of the horrid perfidies of the Delawares and Shawanese, whose parties +as late as the 22d instant killed six men ... he never could have +compromised the honor of the nation by such disgraceful conditions, and +that at a time when two armies, after long struggles, are in full motion +to penetrate into the heart of the enemy’s country. Permit me likewise +humbly to represent to your Excellency that I have not deserved the +affront laid upon me by this treaty of peace, concluded by a younger +officer, in the department where you have done me the honor to appoint me +to command, without referring the deputies of the savages to me at Fort +Pitt, but telling them that he shall send and prevent my proceeding +against them. I can therefore take no notice of his peace, but (_shall_) +proceed forthwith to the Ohio, where I shall wait till I receive your +orders.”[431] + +After waiting for more than a week for his wrath to cool, he wrote to +Bradstreet in terms which, though restrained and temperate, plainly showed +his indignation.[432] He had now reached Fort Bedford, where more +Pennsylvanians ran off, with their arms and horses, and where he vainly +waited the arrival of a large reinforcement of friendly Indians, who had +been promised by Sir William Johnson, but who never arrived. On reaching +Fort Ligonier, he had the satisfaction of forwarding two letters, which +the commander-in-chief had significantly sent through his hands, to +Bradstreet, containing a peremptory disavowal of the treaty.[433] +Continuing to advance, he passed in safety the scene of his desperate +fight of the last summer, and on the seventeenth of September 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.[434] + +The day before his arrival, ten Delaware chiefs and warriors appeared on +the farther bank of the river, pretending 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, on his arrival, released one of the three captives, and +sent him home with the following message to his people:—— + +“I have received an account, from Colonel Bradstreet, 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 proceeded 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 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.”[435] + +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 affirmed 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. + +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. +Encumbered with their camp equipage, with droves of cattle and sheep for +subsistence, and a long train of pack-horses laden with provisions, 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 +defiled along the margin of the Ohio, by its broad eddying current and the +bright landscape of its shores. Sometimes they descended 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 arching foliage and sparkling water. There were +intervals, 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 the forest traveller as an oasis to a wanderer in the desert, +form the precursors of the prairies; which, growing wider and more +frequent as one 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 objects of their march, the haunts of the +barbarian warriors, who had turned whole districts 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 below 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 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, 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 thought impregnable. They +knew, on the other hand, that Colonel 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 stubborn pride to beg for peace; +not alone with words, which cost nothing, and would have been worth +nothing, but by the delivery of prisoners, and the surrender of chiefs and +warriors as pledges of good faith. Bouquet had sent two soldiers from Fort +Pitt with letters to Colonel Bradstreet; but these men had been detained, +under specious pretexts, 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 +supply abundant grazing for the cattle and horses; while the terraces +above, shaded by forest-trees, offered a convenient site for an +encampment. Here he began 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 of the river, a little below the camp; and +thither a party of men was 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 +neighborhood, who would gladly break in upon them, could they hope that +the attack would succeed, it behooved the English to use every precaution. +A double guard was placed, and a stringent discipline enforced. + +In the morning, the little army moved in battle 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 +on the minds of the Indians, in whose eyes the sight of fifteen 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 +flashing in the sun; the fluttering tartans of the Highland regulars; the +bright red uniform of the Royal Americans; the darker garb and duller +trappings of the Pennsylvania troops, and the bands of Virginia +backwoodsmen, 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; Custaloga, chief of the +Delawares; and the head chief of the Shawanoes, whose name sets +orthography at defiance. As they approached, painted and plumed in all +their savage pomp, they looked neither to the right hand nor to the left, +not deigning, under the eyes of their enemy, to cast even a glance at the +military display around them. They seated themselves, with stern, +impassive looks, and an air of sullen dignity; while their sombre brows +betrayed the hatred still rankling in their hearts. After a few minutes +had been consumed in the indispensable 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 commander, 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 Spirit, that he may make us +strong, and not permit this chain to fall from our hands. + +“Brother, these words come from our hearts, and not from our lips. You +desire that we should deliver 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.”[436] + +In such figurative terms, not devoid of dignity, did the Indian orator sue +for peace to his detested enemies. 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 following 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, the weather had changed. The +valley of the Muskingum was filled with driving mist and rain, and the +meeting was 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 opening words gave an earnest of +what was to come; for Bouquet discarded the usual address of an Indian +harangue: fathers, brothers, or children,——terms which imply a relation of +friendship, or a desire to conciliate,——and adopted a sterner and more +distant form. + +“Sachems, war-chiefs, and warriors,[437] 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 amiss. You have drawn down our just +resentment 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 attacked Fort Pitt, which +was built by your consent; and you destroyed our outposts and garrisons, +whenever treachery could place them in your power. You assailed our +troops——the same who now stand 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 time, told the +surrounding 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 engagements 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 Ottawas, Ojibwas, and Wyandots, have begged for peace; +the Six Nations have leagued themselves with us; the great lakes and +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 greatest 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 behavior 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, married, or living +among you under any denomination or pretence whatsoever. And you are to +furnish these prisoners with clothing, provisions, 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 haughtiness, 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 enemies by +their own insatiable thirst for vengeance, they hastened, with all the +alacrity of terror, to fulfil 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 +decisive 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 regarded +as a central point with respect to the surrounding Indian villages. Here, +with the exception of the distant Shawanoe settlements, they were all +within reach of his hand, and he could readily chastise the first attempt +at deceit or evasion. The principal chiefs of each tribe had been forced +to accompany him as hostages.[438] + +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, hospitals, and works of defence, +rude sylvan cabins mingled with white tents, and the forest rearing its +sombre rampart around the whole. On one side of this singular encampment +was a range of buildings, designed to receive the expected prisoners; and +matrons, brought for this purpose with the army, were appointed to take +charge of the women and children among them. At the opposite side, a +canopy of branches, sustained on the upright trunks of young trees, formed +a rude council-hall, in keeping with the savage assembly for whose +reception it was designed. + +And now, issuing from the forest, came warriors, conducting troops of +prisoners, or leading captive children,——wild young barbarians, born +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 +Canadian officer, named Hertel, with a party of Caughnawaga Indians, +arrived with a letter from Colonel Bradstreet, dated at Sandusky. The +writer declared that he was unable to remain longer in the Indian country, +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 +involved 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 resistance, 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 Bradstreet 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 but few of the remainder, so that no small number were still +within their power. The conduct of Bradstreet in this matter was the more +disgraceful, since he had been encamped for weeks 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 by a +journey of many days, resolved to take upon himself the duty which his +brother officer had strangely neglected. He sent an embassy to Sandusky, +demanding 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 display. This was a fortunate step; for the Shawanoes of the +Scioto, who had been guilty of atrocious cruelties 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 bullets and gunpowder, and dealt +them out freely to the Indians. Bouquet’s messengers came in time to +prevent 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 a soldier had been killed in the woods, +and their tribe charged with the crime. On hearing this, their fear +revived, and with it their former purpose. Having collected their +prisoners in a meadow, they surrounded 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 all of their captives, for nearly a hundred +were left behind, because they belonged to warriors who had gone to the +Illinois to procure arms and ammunition from the French; and there is no +authority 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, at the same time +compelling them to deliver hostages for the future surrender of the +remaining prisoners. + +Band after band of captives had been daily arriving, until upwards of two +hundred were now collected 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, +Bouquet had maintained a stern and rigorous demeanor; repressing his +natural clemency and humanity, refusing all friendly intercourse with the +Indians, and telling them that he should treat them as enemies until they +had fully complied with all the required conditions. 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 can seldom comprehend +them; and to win over an Indian foe by kindness should only be attempted +by one who has already proved clearly that he is able and ready to subdue +him by force. + +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 for +ever 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 that +way; and we have both almost forgotten that such a path had ever been. I +now clear away all such 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.”[439] + +In this strain, the orator of each tribe, in turn, expressed the purpose +of his people to lay down their arms, and live for the future in +friendship with the English. Every deputation received a separate +audience, and the successive conferences were thus extended through +several days. To each and all, Bouquet made a similar reply, in words to +the following effect:—— + +“By your full compliance with the conditions which I imposed, you have +satisfied me of your sincerity, 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 +determine every thing in relation to trade. Two things, however, 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. Hostages were given, and chiefs +appointed for the embassy; 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 friendship, 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 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 concluding 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.”[440] + +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 which had been preserved among them for more +than half a century, with the scrupulous respect they are prone to exhibit +for such ancestral records. They were told that, since they had not +delivered all their prisoners, they could scarcely expect to meet the same +indulgence which had been extended to their brethren; but that, +nevertheless, in full belief of their sincerity, the English would grant +them peace, on condition of their promising to surrender 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 delivered up to +the commanding officer.[441] + +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 contrasted passions, more +worthy the pen of the dramatist than that 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 the Pennsylvania troops, and +among the Virginia riflemen, were the fathers, brothers, and husbands of +those whose rescue from captivity was a chief object of the march. +Ignorant what had befallen them, and doubtful whether they were yet among +the living, these men had joined the army, in the feverish hope of winning +them back to home and civilization. Perhaps those whom they sought had +perished by the slow 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 horde. There were instances in which whole families had been +carried off at once. The old, the sick, or the despairing, had been +tomahawked, 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 +succession——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 recognition; and, on the other, the misery of realized +fears, or the more intolerable pangs of doubts not yet resolved. Of all +the spectators of this tragic drama, few were obdurate enough to stand +unmoved. The roughest soldiers felt the contagious sympathy, and softened +into unwonted tenderness. + +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 sights +around them, the flash and glitter of arms, and the strange complexion of +the pale-faced warriors, they screamed and struggled lustily when +consigned to the hands of their relatives. There were young women, too, +who had become the partners of Indian husbands; and who now, with all +their hybrid offspring, 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 reluctance, and +several afterwards made their escape, eagerly hastening back to their +warrior husbands, and the toils and vicissitudes of an Indian wigwam.[442] + +Day after day brought renewals of these scenes, deepening in interest as +they drew towards their close. A few individual incidents have been +recorded. A young Virginian, robbed of his wife but a few months before, +had volunteered in the expedition with the faint hope of recovering her; +and, after long suspense, had recognized 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 former 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 lineaments of her child; but the girl, who had +almost forgotten her native tongue, returned no 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. Bouquet suggested an expedient which proves him a man of feeling and +perception. “Sing the song that you used to sing to her when a child.” The +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.[443] + +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 throbbing under a breastplate of ice. None +of the ordinary signs of emotion, neither tears, words, nor looks, +declared how greatly they were moved. It was by their kindness and +solicitude, by their attention 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.[444] 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, approaching 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. + +The Indian women, whom no idea of honor compels to wear an iron mask, were +far from emulating the frigid demeanor of their lords. All day they ran +wailing through the camp; and, when night came, the hills and woods +resounded with their dreary lamentations.[445] + +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 relatives, 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 ceremony, 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 same tenderness and +indulgence which they extend, in a remarkable degree, to their own +offspring; and such young women as will 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.[446] +The captive, unless he excites suspicion by his conduct, or exhibits +peculiar contumacy, 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, sometimes claims, it is true, a certain right of +property in him, to the exclusion of others; but this claim is soon +forgotten, and is seldom exercised to the inconvenience of the captive, +who has no other prison than the earth, the air, and the forest.[447] 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 +sorrow, sat sullen and scowling, angry that they were forced to abandon +the wild license of the forest for the irksome restraints of society.[448] +Thus to look back with a fond longing to inhospitable deserts, where 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 +malformation. Yet such has been the experience of many a sound and +healthful mind. To him who has once tasted the reckless independence, the +haughty self-reliance, the sense of irresponsible freedom, which the +forest life engenders, civilization thenceforth seems flat and stale. Its +pleasures are insipid, its pursuits wearisome, its conventionalities, +duties, and mutual dependence alike tedious and disgusting. The entrapped +wanderer grows fierce and restless, 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-confidence, 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.[449] + +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 few 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 pampered 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 inspiration amid these desert realms,——in the mountain, rearing +its savage head through clouds and sleet, or 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 setting 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 provincial 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 +earnest terms its sense of his services and personal merits, and conveying +its acknowledgments for the regard which he had constantly shown to the +civil rights of the inhabitants.[450] The Assembly of Virginia passed a +similar vote; and both houses concurred in recommending Bouquet to the +King for promotion. + +Nevertheless, his position was far from being an easy or a pleasant one. +It may be remembered that the desertion of his newly levied soldiers had +forced him to ask Colonel Lewis to raise for him one or two companies of +Virginian volunteers. Virginia, which had profited by the campaign, though +contributing nothing to it, refused to pay these troops; and its agents +tried to throw the burden upon Bouquet in person. The Assembly of +Pennsylvania, with a justice and a generosity which went far to redeem the +past, came to his relief and assumed the debt, though not till he had +suffered the most serious annoyance. Certain recent military regulations +contributed at the same time to increase his vexation and his +difficulties. He had asked in vain, the year before, to be relieved from +his command. He now asked again, and the request was granted; on which he +wrote to Gage: “The disgust I have conceived from the ill-nature and +ingratitude of those individuals (_the Virginian officials_) makes me +accept with great satisfaction your obliging offer to discharge me of this +department, in which I never desire to serve again, nor, indeed, to be +commanding officer in any other, since the new regulations you were +pleased to communicate to me; being sensible of my inability to carry on +the service upon the terms prescribed.”[451] + +He was preparing to return to Europe, when he received the announcement of +his promotion to the rank of Brigadier General. He was taken completely by +surprise; for he had supposed that the rigid prescriptions of the service +had closed the path of advancement against him, as a foreigner. “I had, +to-day,” he wrote to Gage, “the honor of your Excellency’s letter of the +fifteenth instant. The unexpected honor, which his Majesty has +condescended to confer upon me, fills my heart with the utmost gratitude. +Permit me, sir, to express my sincere acknowledgments of my great +obligation to you.... The flattering prospect of preferment, open to the +other foreign officers by the removal of that dreadful barrier, gives me +the highest satisfaction, being convinced that his Majesty has no subjects +more devoted to his service.”[452] + +Among the letters of congratulation which he received from officers +serving under him is the following, from Captain George Etherington, of +the first battalion of the Royal American regiment, who commanded at +Michillimackinac when it was captured:—— + + “Lancaster, Pa., 19 April, 1765. + + “Sir: + + “Though I almost despair of this reaching you before you sail + for Europe, yet I cannot deny myself the pleasure of giving you + joy on your promotion, and can with truth tell you that it gives + great joy to all the gentlemen of the battalion, for two + reasons: first, on your account; and, secondly, on our own, as + by that means we may hope for the pleasure of continuing under + your command. + + “You can hardly imagine how this place rings with the news of + your promotion, for the townsmen and boors (_i.e., German + farmers_) stop us in the streets to ask if it is true that the + King has made Colonel Bouquet a general; and, when they are told + it is true, they march off with great joy; so you see the old + proverb wrong for once, which says, he that prospers is envied; + for sure I am that all the people here are more pleased with the + news of your promotion than they would be if the government + would take off the stamp duty.... + + “GEO. ETHERINGTON. + + “BRIGADIER GENERAL HENRY BOUQUET.” + +“And,” concludes Dr. William Smith, 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 acquaintance, 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. Bouquet was +assigned to the command of the southern military department; and, within +three years after his return from the Muskingum, he was attacked with a +fever at Pensacola, which closed the career of a gallant soldier and a +generous man. + +The Delawares and Shawanoes, mindful of their engagement 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 +difficult task which yet remained to be accomplished,——that of taking +possession of the Illinois, and occupying its posts and settlements with +British troops.[453] + + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + + 1764. + + 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 Illinois 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——traversed the land with a watery network, impregnating the +warm soil with exuberant fecundity. From the eastward, the Ohio——La Belle +Rivière——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. Born among mountains, trackless even now, +except by the adventurous footstep of the trapper,——nurtured amid the +howling of beasts and the war-cries of savages, never silent in that +wilderness,——it holds its angry course through sun-scorched deserts, among +towers and palaces, the architecture of no human hand, among lodges of +barbarian hordes, and herds of bison blackening the prairie to the +horizon. Fierce, reckless, headstrong, exulting in its tumultuous force, +it plays a thousand freaks of wanton power; 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 disturbing power +prevails at length; and the united torrent 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 insnare 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. + +[Illustration: _A Plan of the several +Villages+ in the +Illinois +Country+, with Part of the +River Mississippi+ &c._] + +To these great rivers and their tributary streams the country of the +Illinois owed its wealth, its grassy prairies, and the stately woods that +flourished 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, 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 the rapids and quicksands, rolling +their huge bulk on the grass, rushing upon each other in hot encounter, +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 overhanging 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 Laocoön 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 primal curse. 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 water-snake basks by the margin, or winds his +checkered length of loathsome beauty across the sleepy surface. From +beneath the rotten carcass of some fallen tree, the moccason thrusts out +his broad flat head, ready to dart on the intruder. On the dry, +sun-scorched prairie, the rattlesnake, a more generous enemy, reposes 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.[454] But some intrusive footstep awakes him +from his slumbers. His neck is arched; the white fangs gleam in his +distended 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 dare to 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 accorded the scanty honors of an American +antiquity. The earliest settlement of Pennsylvania was made in 1681; the +first occupation 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 success on which he had staked his life +served only to entail fresh calamity, and an untimely death; and his best +reward is, that his name stands forth in history an imperishable monument +of heroic constancy. 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 remained, 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 domain, confronting death at every step, and well 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 beginning of the eighteenth century, +the black robe of the Jesuit was known in every village of the Illinois. +Defying the wiles of Satan and the malice of his emissaries, the Indian +sorcerers; exposed to the rage of the elements, 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 rapids and +sandbars; now scorched with heat on the sweltering prairie, and now +shivering houseless in the blasts of January. 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 worshippers sang praises to the Virgin, and knelt in +supplication before the shrine of St. Joseph.[455] + +Soldiers and fur-traders followed where these pioneers of the church had +led the way. Forts were built here and there throughout the country, and +the cabins of settlers clustered about the mission-houses. The new +colonists, emigrants from Canada or disbanded soldiers of French +regiments, bore a close resemblance to the settlers of Detroit, or the +primitive people of Acadia; whose simple life poetry has chosen as an +appropriate theme, but who, nevertheless, are best contemplated from a +distance. The Creole of the Illinois, contented, light-hearted, and +thriftless, by no means fulfilled the injunction to increase and multiply; +and the colony languished in 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 +hunting. 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 ignorant 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 Chartres, 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 patriarchal 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 understand +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.[456] + +The Creole is as unchanging in his nature and habits as the Indian +himself. Even at this day, 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 +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 encroaches 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 community, were treated rather as humble +friends than as slaves, did not exceed two thousand souls, distributed in +several small settlements. There were about eighty houses at Kaskaskia, +forty or fifty at Cahokia, 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 admixture of fur-traders,——reckless, +harebrained adventurers, who, happily for the peace of their relatives, +were absent on their wandering vocation during the greater part of the +year.[457] + +Swarms of vagabond Indians infested the settlements; and, to people of any +other character, they would have proved an intolerable annoyance. But the +easy-tempered Creoles made friends and comrades of them; ate, drank, +smoked, and often married with them. They were a debauched and drunken +rabble, the remnants of that branch of the Algonquin stock known among the +French as the Illinois, a people once numerous and powerful, but now +miserably enfeebled, and corrupted by foreign wars, domestic 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 eastward 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 settlement of the Miamis upon the River 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, they looked with wrath and abhorrence on +the threatened advent of the English. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + 1763-1765. + + PONTIAC RALLIES THE WESTERN TRIBES. + + +When, by the treaty of Paris, in 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, +destined 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, must necessarily elapse before the English could take possession; +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 country, loath to dwell +under the shadow of the British 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 +clapboarding 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 August, 1763; and, after toiling for three months +against the impetuous stream of the Mississippi, had reached the Illinois +in November, and selected the spot alluded to as the site of his first +establishment. To this he gave the name of St. Louis.[458] 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 realities which were to rise upon the vision of Pierre +Chouteau. Where, in his youth, he had climbed the woody bluff, and looked +abroad on prairies dotted 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 clang +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 panting steamboats, +flocking to the broad levee.[459] + +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; 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 hand, he had been advised of the cession to the +English, 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 Shawanoes, and from the Miamis, and plagued day and night by an +importunate mob of Illinois Indians, demanding 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 +situation 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 dictates of prudence. Accordingly, he cajoled them with +flatteries and promises, and from time to time distributed a few presents +to stay their importunity, still praying daily that the English might +appear and relieve him from his uneasy dilemma.[460] + +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 excitement. Pontiac was among them, +furious as a wild beast at bay. By the double campaign of 1764, his best +hopes had been crushed to the earth; but he stood unshaken amidst the +ruin, and still struggled with desperate energy to retrieve his broken +cause. On the side of the northern lakes, the movements 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 +Shawanoes, 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 +Illinois. 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.[461] + +He was not left to contend unaided. The fur-trading French, living at the +settlements on the Mississippi, scattered 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 +vocation, and were eager to bar them from the country. They lavished +abuse and calumny on the objects of their jealousy, and spared no +falsehood which ingenious 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, though +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, exhorting 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 incendiaries assumed the +uniform of French officers, and palmed themselves off upon their credulous +auditors as ambassadors from the king. Many of the principal traders +distributed among the warriors supplies 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.[462] + +Now that the insurrection in the east was quelled, and the Delawares and +Shawanoes were beaten into submission, 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 Mississippi, 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. + +In the spring, or early summer, he had come to the Illinois and visited +the commandant, Neyon, who was then still at his post. Neyon’s greeting +was inauspicious. He told his visitor that he hoped he had returned at +last to his senses. Pontiac laid before him a large belt of wampum. “My +Father,” he said, “I come to invite you and all your allies to go with me +to war against the English.” Neyon asked if he had not received his +message of the last autumn, in which he told him that the French and +English were thenceforth one people; but Pontiac persisted, and still +urged him to take up the hatchet. Neyon at length grew angry, kicked away +the wampum belt, and demanded if he could not hear what was said to him. +Thus repulsed, Pontiac asked for a keg of rum. Which being given him, he +caused to be carried to a neighboring Illinois village; and, with the help +of this potent auxiliary, made the assembled warriors join him in the +war-song.[463] + +It does not appear that, on this occasion, he had any farther success in +firing the hearts of the Illinois. He presently returned to his camp on +the Maumee, where, by a succession of ill-tidings, he learned the +humiliation of his allies, and the triumph of his enemies. Towards the +close of autumn, he again left the Maumee; and, followed by four hundred +warriors, journeyed westward, to visit in succession the different tribes, +and gain their co-operation in his plans of final defence. Crossing over +to the Wabash, he passed from village to village, among the Kickapoos, the +Piankishaws, and the three tribes of the Miamis, rousing them by his +imperious eloquence, and breathing into them his own fierce spirit 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 entered with no zest into the schemes of the Ottawa war-chief. +Pontiac had his own way of dealing with such spirits. “If you hesitate,” +he exclaimed, frowning on the cowering assembly, “I will consume 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. Having 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 Pontiac enter at the gate, with four hundred warriors at +his back. Arrived at the council-house, Pontiac addressed the commandant +in a tone of great courtesy: “Father, we have long wished to see you, to +shake hands with you, and, whilst smoking the calumet of peace, to recall +the battles in which we fought together against the misguided Indians and +the English dogs. I love the French, and I have come hither with my +warriors to avenge their wrongs.”[464] Then followed a demand for arms, +ammunition, 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 +symptoms of an approaching rupture began to alarm 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.[465] 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 embassy put out from the shore, +and whirled down the current like floating leaves in autumn. + +Soon after their departure, tidings came to Fort Chartres, 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 science; 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-mentioned tidings, interesting as they were, had +occupied no less time in their passage. Their import was as follows:—— + +Very early in the preceding 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 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 terrified; +the troops were discouraged, and a council of officers determined that to +advance was impossible. 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 appearance 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 governor called Heaven to witness his +innocence; and, in truth, there is not the smallest reason to believe him +guilty of such villany.[466] 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 an escort of +French soldiers to protect them. Loftus 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, had deserted to the French.[467] + +The futile attempt of Loftus to ascend the Mississippi was followed, a few +months after, by another equally abortive. Captain Pittman came to New +Orleans with the design of proceeding to the Illinois, 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 commotion, which made the passage too hazardous to be +attempted. Pittman bethought himself of assuming the disguise of a +Frenchman, joining a party of Creole traders, and thus reaching his +destination by stealth; but, weighing the risk of detection, he abandoned +this design also, and returned to Mobile.[468] 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-places of the +voyager. After the failure of Pittman, more than a year elapsed before an +English detachment could succeed in passing this great thoroughfare of the +wilderness, and running the gauntlet 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.[469] + +To return to our immediate theme. The ambassadors, whom Pontiac had sent +from Fort Chartres in the autumn of 1764, faithfully acquitted themselves +of their trust. They visited the Indian villages 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 embassies.[470] This +portion of their task accomplished, they repaired to New Orleans, and +demanded an audience of 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 squares of a chess-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.[471] + +When Pontiac’s ambassadors entered New Orleans, they found the town in a +state of confusion. It had long been known that the regions east of the +Mississippi had been surrendered to England; a cession from which, +however, New Orleans and its suburbs had been excepted by a special +provision. But it was only within a few weeks that the dismayed +inhabitants had learned that their mother country had transferred her +remaining American possessions to the crown of Spain, whose government and +people they cordially detested. With every day they might expect the +arrival of a Spanish 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 +inhabitants 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 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 successor, presided in his place, and received the savage +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.[472] 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 exclaimed, turning to the English officers, who +were present as on the preceding 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 French still retained their former love for the +Indians, that the English meant them no harm, and that, as all the world +were now at peace, it behooved 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.[473] + + + + + CHAPTER XXX. + + 1765. + + RUIN OF THE INDIAN CAUSE. + + +The repulse of Loftus, and rumors of the fierce temper of the Indians who +guarded the Mississippi, convinced the commander-in-chief that to reach +the Illinois by the southern route was an enterprise of no easy +accomplishment. Yet, at the same time, he felt the strong necessity of a +speedy military occupation 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 defeated rival. 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 among the tribes by way of propitiation.[474] The +mission was a critical one; but, so far as regarded the Indians, 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. Lieutenant Fraser, a young officer of education and +intelligence, was associated with him. He spoke French, and, in other +respects also, supplied qualifications in which his rugged colleague was +wanting. They 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 were +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 removed. There is reason to believe that Croghan had an interest +in these goods, and that, under pretence of giving presents, he meant to +open a clandestine trade.[475] The Paxton men, and their kindred spirits +of the border, saw the 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 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 the enterprise was a man whose name had +been connected with more praiseworthy exploits, James Smith, already +mentioned as leading a party of independent riflemen, for the defence of +the borders, 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, +carrying goods to the value of more than four thousand pounds; while +others, to the value of eleven thousand, were waiting transportation at +Fort Loudon. Advancing deeper among the mountains, they began to descend +the valley at the foot of Sidling Hill. The laden horses plodded knee-deep +in snow. The mountains towered above the wayfarers in gray desolation; and +the leafless forest, a mighty Æolian harp, howled dreary music to the wind +of March. Suddenly, from behind snow-beplastered trunks and shaggy bushes +of evergreen, uncouth apparitions started into view. Wild visages +protruded, grotesquely horrible with vermilion and ochre, white lead and +soot; stalwart limbs appeared, encased in buck-skin; and rusty rifles +thrust out their long muzzles. In front, and flank, and all around them, +white puffs 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. “Gentlemen,” demanded the +traders, in deprecating accents, “what would you have us do?” “Unpack 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 appropriated to +themselves such of the plunder as pleased them, made a bonfire of the +rest, and went on their way rejoicing. The discomfited traders repaired to +Fort Loudon, and laid their complaints before Lieutenant 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.[476] 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 arms. 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 plausible reason to justify any pranks +which it might please them to exhibit. By some means, they contrived to +waylay and capture a considerable number of the garrison, on which the +commandant condescended to send them a flag of truce, and offer an +exchange of prisoners. Their object thus accomplished, and their +imprisoned comrades restored to them, the borderers dispersed for the +present to their homes. Soon after, however, upon the occurrence of some +fresh difficulty, the commandant, afraid or unable to apprehend the +misdoers, endeavored to deprive them of the power of mischief by sending +soldiers to their houses and carrying off their rifles. His triumph was +short; for, as he rode out one afternoon, he fell into an ambuscade of +countrymen, who, dispensing with all forms of respect, seized the incensed +officer, and detained him in an uncomfortable captivity until the rifles +were restored. From this time forward, ruptures were repeatedly occurring +between the troops and the frontiersmen; and the Pennsylvania border +retained its turbulent character until the outbreak of the Revolutionary +War.[477] + +Whatever may have been Croghan’s real attitude in this affair, the border +robbers had wrought great injury to his mission; since 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 +rigor of the season and the great depth of the snow forced him to remain +several weeks. This cause alone would have served to detain him; but he +was yet farther retarded by the necessity 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 remaining prisoners, and +send deputies to treat of peace with Sir William Johnson; engagements +which, when Croghan arrived at the fort, were as yet unfulfilled, though, +as already mentioned, they were soon after complied with. + +Immediately on his arrival, he had despatched messengers inviting the +chiefs to a council; a summons which they obeyed with their usual +reluctance and delay, dropping in, band after band, with such tardiness +that a month was consumed before a sufficient number were 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 engagements, 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 nature, 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 instrumental in urging the tribes to +war by means of pretended or imaginary revelations from the Great +Spirit.[478] He now delivered a speech by no means remarkable for +eloquence, yet of most beneficial consequence; 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.[479] In spite of this auspicious declaration, and in spite of the +chastisement and humiliation of the previous autumn, Croghan was privately +informed that a large party among the Indians still 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 portion +were determined on a pacific attitude. + +These councils, and the previous delays, consumed so much time, that +Croghan became fearful that the tribes of the Illinois might, meanwhile, +commit themselves by some rash outbreak, which would increase the +difficulty of reconciliation. In view of this danger, his colleague, +Lieutenant Fraser, volunteered to proceed in advance, leaving Croghan to +follow when he had settled affairs at Fort Pitt. Fraser departed, +accordingly, with 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 current, Fraser floated +prosperously downwards for a thousand miles, and landed safely in the +country of the Illinois. Here he found the Indians in great destitution, +and in a frame of mind which would have inclined them to peace but for the +secret encouragement they received from the French. A change, however, +soon took place. Boats arrived from New Orleans, loaded with a great +quantity of goods, which the French, at that place, being about to abandon +it, had sent in haste to the Illinois. The traders’ shops at Kaskaskia +were suddenly filled again. The Indians were delighted; and the French, +with a view to a prompt market for their guns, hatchets, and gunpowder, +redoubled their incitements to war. Fraser found himself in a hornet’s +nest. His life was in great danger; but Pontiac, who was then at +Kaskaskia, several times interposed to save him. The French traders picked +a quarrel with him, and instigated the Indians to kill him; for it was +their interest that the war should go on. A party of them invited Pontiac +to dinner; plied him with whiskey; and, having made him drunk, incited him +to have Fraser and his servant seized. They were brought to the house +where the debauch was going on; and here, among a crowd of drunken +Indians, their lives hung by a hair. Fraser writes, “He (Pontiac) and his +men fought all night about us. They said we would get off next day if they +should not prevent our flight by killing us. This Pontiac would not do. +All night they did nothing else but sing the death song; but my servant +and I, with the help of an Indian who was sober, defended ourselves till +morning, when they thought proper to let us escape. When Pontiac was +sober, he made me an apology for his behavior; and told me it was owing to +bad counsel he had got that he had taken me; but that I need not fear +being taken in that manner for the future.”[480] + +Fraser’s situation was presently somewhat improved by a rumor that an +English detachment was about to descend the Ohio. The French traders, +before so busy with their falsehoods and calumnies, 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 subject. St. Ange, too, and the +other officers of the crown, confiding in the arrival of the English, +assumed 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.[481] + +Nevertheless, Fraser’s position was neither safe nor pleasant. He could +hear nothing of Croghan, and he was almost alone, having sent away all his +men; except his servant, to save them from being abused and beaten by the +Indians. He had discretionary orders to go down to Mobile and report to +the English commandant there; and of these he was but too glad to avail +himself. He descended the Mississippi in disguise, and safely reached New +Orleans.[482] + +Apparently, it was about this time that an incident took place, mentioned, +with evident satisfaction, in a letter of the French commandant, Aubry. +The English officers in the south, unable to send troops up the +Mississippi, 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 distribute among the Indians, to remove their prejudice +against the English and pave the way to reconciliation. Intelligence of +this movement reached the ears of Pontiac, who, though much pleased with +the approaching 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 warriors; and as La Garantais, the Frenchman, landed, he seized him +and his men, flogged them severely, robbed them of their cargo, and +distributed the goods with exemplary impartiality among his delighted +followers.[483] + +Notwithstanding this good fortune, Pontiac daily saw his followers +dropping off from their allegiance; for even the boldest had lost heart. +Had any thing been wanting to convince him of the hopelessness of his +cause, the report of his ambassadors returning from New Orleans would have +banished every doubt. No record of his interview with them remains; 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 mainspring of his enterprise, now rose clear and palpable +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 followers 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 +victorious garrison. He might, indeed, have found a partial 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 would be proffered, to smoke +the calumet with his triumphant enemies, and patiently await his hour of +vengeance.[484] + +The conferences at Fort Pitt concluded, Croghan left that place on the +fifteenth of May, and embarked on the Ohio, accompanied by several +Delaware and Shawanoe deputies, whom he had persuaded 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 warriors, 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 smoothly and prosperously, +until, on the eighth of June, he reached a spot a little below the mouth +of the Wabash. Here he landed with his party; when suddenly the hideous +war-whoop, the explosion of musketry, 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 Croghan were +Cherokees, their mortal enemies; excuses utterly without foundation, for +the Kickapoos had dogged the party for several days, and perfectly +understood its character.[485] + +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 ungoverned children fired +with the instincts of devils. In the present case, they 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 falsehoods 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 received him kindly, and sharply rebuked the Kickapoos, who, on their +part, seemed much ashamed and crestfallen. From Vincennes the English were +conducted, 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 Croghan 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 Indians being the only +tenants of the place. For several days, his time was engrossed with +receiving deputation 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 messenger 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 Ouatanon 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, inscrutable; and it behooved the +Englishman to be wary, in his dealings with them, since a breath might +kindle afresh the wildfire in their hearts. + +At a meeting of the chiefs and warriors, Pontiac offered the calumet and +belt of peace, and professed his concurrence with the chiefs of Ouatanon +in the friendly sentiments which they expressed towards the English. The +French, 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 drove 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 +Maumee, holding conferences at the several villages which he passed on his +way. On the seventeenth of August, he reached Detroit, where he found a +great gathering of Indians, Ottawas, Pottawattamies, and Ojibwas; some +encamped about the fort, and others along the banks of the River Rouge. +They obeyed his summons to a meeting with alacrity, partly from a desire +to win the good graces of a victorious enemy, and partly from the +importunate craving for liquor and presents, which 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 +conqueror. Their ill success, their fears of chastisement, 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 dispersing, and the sunshine of peace +once more returning; 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-hatchet, and sit quiet on their mats. Among those who +appeared to make or renew their submission was the Grand Sauteur, who had +led the massacre at Michillimackinac, and who, a few years 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; but, father, there are some among the white men worse than we are, +and they have told us lies, and deceived us. Therefore we hope you will +take pity on our women and children, and grant us peace.” A band of +Pottawattamies 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, 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 in 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 our 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 joyful; 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 following 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 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 sun 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 +sunsetting. + +“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 children may sit under, and +smoke in peace with their fathers. + +“Children, we have made a road from the sunrising to the sunsetting. I +desire that you will preserve 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 my peace with you before I came here, and now +deliver my pipe to be sent to Sir William Johnson, that he may know I 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.”[486] + +“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 his vices to be free from its destructive taint, concluded 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 Detroit, 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.[487] + +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 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, arrived at Fort Chartres just as the snows of early winter began to +whiten the naked forests.[488] The flag of France descended from the +rampart; and with the stern 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. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI. + + 1766-1769. + + 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 rife in their encampments, were exchanged for +comparative comfort and abundance. With many precautions, and in meagre +allowances, the traders had been permitted to throw their goods into the +Indian markets; and the starving hunters were no longer left, as many of +them had been, to gain precarious sustenance 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 several +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 draw down the +fresh vengeance of their destroyers. + +Spring returned, and Pontiac remembered the promise he had made to visit +Sir William Johnson at Oswego. He left his encampment on the Maumee, +accompanied by his chiefs, and by an Englishman 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.[489] + +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 +horizon-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 commerce; 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 tomahawk, and the arrowhead of +stone, turned up by the ploughshare——would become the wonder of +schoolboys, and the prized relics of the antiquary’s cabinet. 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 embarking, 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 Iroquois, whom he had invited 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 military 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 formalities, presenting his +auditors with a belt of wampum 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 assembly, each man present inhaling a whiff +of the sacred smoke. These tedious forms, together with a few speeches of +compliment, consumed the whole morning; for this savage people, on whose +supposed simplicity 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 friendship, for I +have now opened the door and cleared the road, that all nations may come +hither from the sunsetting. This 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 concern 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 unknown, and contrary to the laws and customs of +all nations. This would have drawn down our strongest resentment upon +those who were guilty of so heinous a crime, were 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 complaints, and to lay before me +such of them as they cannot redress.[490] 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 princes. 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 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 prosperous 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 words, of which the following +is a translation: + +“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 +westward, 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 promise 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 of the west. Father, this belt is to cover and strengthen our +chain of friendship, and to show you that, if any nation shall lift the +hatchet against our English 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 superintendent, expressing in all things a full compliance +with his wishes. The succeeding days of the conference 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 he +alleged, many of them had proceeded from the Senecas, and not from him; +adding that, when all 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 friendship; and the councils closed on the thirty-first, with a +bountiful distribution of presents to Pontiac and his followers[491]. + +Thus ended this memorable meeting, in which Pontiac sealed his submission +to the English, and renounced for ever 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 winds, and with +it vanished every rational scheme of resistance to English encroachment. +Nothing now remained but to stand 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 future 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 enemy, 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 succeeding 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 +threatening 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 beyond the limits of Pennsylvania, adding insult to +aggression, and sparing neither oaths, curses, nor any form of abuse and +maltreatment against the rightful owners of the soil.[492] The new +regulations of the fur-trade could not prevent disorders among the +reckless men engaged in it. This was particularly the case 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.[493] It is difficult to say how far Pontiac was involved in this +agitation. It is certain that some of the English traders regarded 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 +traditions are silent concerning him. It is not until April, 1769, that he +appears once more distinctly on the scene.[494] At about that time he came +to the Illinois, 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 acquaintance, +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 days of his protracted life, the latter +could vividly recall the circumstances of the interview. The savage chief +was arrayed in the full uniform of a French officer, which had been +presented to him 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 +cordially, 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 opposite 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 Chouteau 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 inmates, +and the woods which form the background of the picture, 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 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 met 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 dramshops. 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 warrant 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; and he now resolved +not to lose so favorable an opportunity to despatch him. With this view, +he gained the ear of a strolling Indian, belonging to the Kaskaskia tribe +of the Illinois, bribed him with a barrel of liquor, and promised him a +farther reward if he 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 howlings +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.[495] + +Thus basely perished this champion of a ruined race. But could his shade +have revisited the scene of murder, his savage spirit would have exulted +in the vengeance which overwhelmed the abettors 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, mustered 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 veins of the slaughtered heroes on the corpse of +Patroclus; and the remnant of the Illinois who survived the carnage +remained for ever after sunk in utter insignificance.[496] + +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. + + + + + _Appendix A._ + + THE IROQUOIS.——EXTENT OF THEIR CONQUESTS.——POLICY PURSUED + TOWARDS THEM BY THE FRENCH AND THE ENGLISH.——MEASURES OF SIR + WILLIAM JOHNSON. + + + 1. TERRITORY OF THE IROQUOIS. (Vol. I. p. 19.) + +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 + have in the last century subdued the Shawanese, Delawares, + 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 + prowess 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 residence, 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 + Virginia, thence to the head of Kentucky River, and down the + same to the Ohio 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 County,) and down the said River to the Island of + Montreal. However, these more distant claims being possessed by + many powerful nations, the Inhabitants have long begun to + render themselves 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. + + + 2. FRENCH AND ENGLISH POLICY TOWARDS THE IROQUOIS.——MEASURES + OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON. (Vol. I. pp. 74-78.) + +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, cultivated 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 repeated losses + discovering that the Six Nations were not to be subdued, but + that they could without much difficulty effect their purpose + (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 were made use of, and their unanimous indefatigable zeal + for securing the Indian interest, were so much superior to any + thing we had ever attempted, and to the 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 conceived 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 concerned. The + steps I had then taken alarmed the jealousy of the French; + rewards were offered for me, and I narrowly escaped + assassination on more than one occasion. The French increased + their munificence to the Indians, whose example not being at all + followed at New York, I resigned the management 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 + nature required. The Albany Commissioners (the men concerned in + the clandestine trade to Canada, and frequently upbraided for it + by the Indians) did then reassume their seats at that Board, and + by their conduct so exasperated 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 Minutes 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 afterwards 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 success. + However, indefatigable labor, and (I hope I may say without + vanity) personal interest, enabled me to exceed my own + expectations; and my conduct since, if fully and truly known, + would, I believe, testify that I have not been an unprofitable + servant. ’Twas 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 Indians 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 Commissions, accompanied with large sums of money, + they did not comply with the end proposed, but served with me; + and this had not only served them with severe complaints against + the English, as they were not afterwards all paid what had been + promised, but has established a spirit of pride and avarice, + which I have found it ever since impossible to subdue; whilst + our extensive connections since the reduction of Canada, with so + many powerful 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——Cadwallader Colden to the Earl of Halifax, December +22, 1763:—— + + 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 depending + 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 they were + protected by the English.... + + + + + _Appendix B._ + + CAUSES OF THE INDIAN WAR. + + +Extract from a Letter——Sir W. Johnson to the Board of Trade, November 13, +1763. (Chap. VII. Vol. I. p. 131.) + + ... The French, in order to reconcile them [the Indians] 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 possessed their frontiers in safety; and as + without these measures the Indians would never have suffered + 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 ceased on the Posts + being possessed by the English, and especially as it was not + thought prudent to indulge them with ammunition, 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 people killed upon + the communication of Fort Pitt, in the years 1759 and 1761, were + easily induced to join with the Western Nations, and the + Senecas, dissatisfied at many of our posts, jealous of our + designs, and displeased at our neglect and contempt of them, + 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 + communication 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 Shirley 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 commanding 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 to 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.... + + +PONTEACH: OR THE SAVAGES OF AMERICA. A Tragedy. London. Printed for + the Author; and Sold by J. Millan, opposite the Admiralty, + Whitehall. MDCCLXVI. + +The author of this tragedy was evidently a person well acquainted with +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 +causes which led to the Indian war. The rest of the play is of a different +character. The 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 Chekitan’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 at times no small insight into the workings of human +nature. + +The account of Indian wrongs and sufferings given in the first act accords +so nearly with that conveyed in contemporary letters and documents, that +two scenes from this part of the play are here given, with a few +omissions, which good taste demands. + + + ACT I. + + + SCENE I.——AN INDIAN TRADING HOUSE. + +_Enter_ M’DOLE _and_ MURPHEY, _Two Indian Traders, and their Servants_. + + _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 your Indian Commerce + And gladly would I learn the arts from you, + Who’re old, and practis’d in them many Years. + + _M’Dole._ That is the curst Misfortune 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 Estates, 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._ Well, 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 their Ignorance; + But the great Engine I employ is Rum, + More pow’rful made by certain 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; + 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. + + [_Enter a Number of Indians with Packs of Fur._ + + _1st 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? + + _1st 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._ Some say you Englishmen are sometimes Rogues; + You make poor Indians drunk, and then you cheat. + + _1st 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? + + _1st 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. + + [_Weighing 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 Rum._ + + _Murphey._ By Jove, you’ve gained more in a single Hour + Than ever I have done in Half a Year: + Curse on my Honesty! I might have been + A _little King_, 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 shoulder._ + + There’s Ninety Weight of Sterling Beaver for you, + Worth 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. + + _Murphey._ 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. + + [_Exeunt._ + + + SCENE II.——A DESART. + + _Enter_ ORSBOURN _and_ HONNYMAN, _Two English Hunters_. + + _Orsbourn._ 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. + + _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. + + _Orsbourn._ 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. + + _Orsbourn._ 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 do 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. + + _Orsbourn._ 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 we 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. + + _Orsbourn._ 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 favor our Design. + Are you well charged? + + _Honnyman._ I am. Take you the nearest, + And mind to fire exactly when I do. + + _Orsbourn._ A charming Chance! + + _Honnyman._ Hush, let them still come nearer. + + [_They shoot, and run to rifle the Indians._ + + They’re down, old Boy, a Brace of noble Bucks! + + _Orsbourn._ 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 Expense + For Lead and Powder; here’s a single Shot. + + _Orsbourn._ I swear, I have 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. + + _Orsbourn._ 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. + + _Orsbourn._ 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. + + _Orsbourn._ 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. + + _Orsbourn._ 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. + + _Orsbourn._ Then I’m content; my Scruples are removed. + And what I’ve done, my Conscience justifies. + But we must have these Guns and Hatchets alter’d, + 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 Wine, + Thus gaily spend what we’ve so slily won, + And Bless the first Inventor of a Gun. + + [_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 vigorous passages. + + + + + _Appendix C._ + + DETROIT AND MICHILLIMACKINAC. + + + 1. THE SIEGE 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 +fragments 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 +conjectured to have been the work of a French priest. The original is +written in bad French, and several important parts are defaced or torn +away. As a literary composition, it is quite worthless, being very diffuse +and encumbered 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 for 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, +vindictive, 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 and those of his nations were entitled to inhabit this portion of +the earth, where for sixty and odd years the French had domiciliated 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 undertaking, 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 Chippewa 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 +both 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 +corresponded 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 subsequently 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 +discover 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 +departing 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 acquainted 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 Michillimakinac, and to those of the Rivière à +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 English commander, and that they should have arms concealed under +their blankets. That the remainder of the village should follow them armed +with tomahawks, daggers, and knives, concealed under their blankets, and +should enter the Fort, and walk about in such a manner as not to excite +suspicion, 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 the Fort. 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 suspected 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 +defeated, 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 +themselves quiet. They obtained from that Officer bread and beer for +themselves, 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 +minuteness 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:—— + +“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 all +repaired to Turkey Island. The river at this place is very narrow. The +Indians commenced making intrenchments of trees, &c., on the beach, where +the vessel was to pass, whose arrival they awaited. About ten 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 immediately +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 cannon 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 wounded two +men. In the morning the vessel dropped down to the Lake for a more +favorable 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 25th. Nothing occurred this day. + +“Sunday, June 26th. Nothing 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 Commandant to +surrender the Fort, as in a few days he expected Kee-no-chameck, great +chief of the Chippewas, with eight hundred men of his nation; that he +(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 the +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 clapboarded 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 disposed 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. However fallacious such a story might appear, it had the effect +of rousing Pondiac from his inaction, and the Indians set about their raft +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 convey a sufficient idea of the character of the diary. + + + REMINISCENSES 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 1763. 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 +confidence 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 the armed vessels, and the attempts to set them on +fire by means of blazing rafts. + + + ST. AUBIN’S ACCOUNT. + +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 their guns, as related in the narrative. He remembers Pontiac +at his headquarters, 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 Dalzell stuck on the picket of a garden fence, +on the day after the battle of Bloody Bridge. His narrative is one of the +most copious and authentic of the series. + + + GOUIN’S ACCOUNT. + +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 several +occasions, he acted as mediator between them and the English; and when +Major Campbell was bent on visiting the camp of Pontiac, the elder Gouin +strenuously endeavored to prevent the attempt. Pontiac often 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 truth. It appears to have been composed partly from the +recollections of the younger Gouin, and partly from information derived +from his father. + + + MELOCHE’S ACCOUNT. + +Mad. 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 the 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 in the fort. + + + PARENT’S ACCOUNT. + +M. Parent was twenty-two years old when the war broke out. His +recollections of the siege are, however, less exact than those of some of +the former witnesses, though his narrative preserves several interesting +incidents. + + + 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 from hearsay, and largely embellished from imagination. +It has been made use of only in a few instances, where it is amply +supported by less questionable evidence. This account seems to 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 Pennsylvania +Gazette for 1763, where various letters written by officers at Detroit are +published. + + 2. THE MASSACRE OF 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. + + Michillimackinac, 12 June, 1763. + + Sir: + + Notwithstanding that I wrote you in my last, that all the + savages were arrived, and that every thing seemed in perfect + tranquillity, yet, on the 2d instant, the Chippewas, 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 + observing 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 rest rushed into the Fort, where they found + their squaws, whom they had previously planted there, with their + hatchets hid under their blankets, which they 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 they have since + killed. + + They 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 + Interpreter, came down to the place where Lieut. Lesley and 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 + Outaways, who came down on the first notice, and were very much + displeased 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, 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 Ottaways, have + declared 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 Convoys of Merchants from Montreal, La Baye, + St. Joseph, and the 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 + reinforcement, with provisions, &c., accompanied by some of your + savages, I believe the post might be re-established 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. + + I have been very much obliged to Messrs. Langlade and Farli, the + Interpreter, 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 + Outaways 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. ETHERINGTON. + + TO MAJOR GLADWYN. + + P. S. The Indians that are to carry the Priest to Detroit will + not undertake to land him at the Fort, but at some of the Indian + villages near it; so you must not take it amiss 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 after 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. ETHERINGTON. + + + + + _Appendix D._ + + THE WAR ON THE BORDERS. + + + THE BATTLE OF BUSHY 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 to it any important +facts. The first of these letters was written by Bouquet under the +apprehension 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. + + 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 Determined to Leave all the + Waggons with the Powder, and a Quantity of Stores and + Provisions, at Ligonier; And 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 + this 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 Companies of the + 42d Regiment, Who Drove the Enemy from their Ambuscade, and + pursued them a good Way. The Savages Returned to the Attack, and + 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 Savages Exerted themselves with Uncommon Resolution, they + were constantly Repulsed with 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. + + The 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 necessary to Give Your Excellency this Early + Information, that 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 + Received from Major Campbell, during this long Action; Nor + Express my Admiration of the Cool and Steady Behavior of the + Troops, Who Did not Fire a Shot, without Orders, 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. + + His Excellency SIR JEFFREY AMHERST. + + Camp at Bushy Run, 6th August, 1763. + + Sir: + + 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. + + In the Morning the Savages Surrounded our Camp, at the Distance + of about 500 Yards, and by Shouting and Yelping, quite Round + that Extensive 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 + Preceding Day, and Distressed to the Last Degree, by a Total + Want of Water, much more Intolerable than the Enemy’s Fire. + + Tied to 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 Obeying Orders. + + The Savages growing Every Moment more Audacious, it was thought + proper still to increase their Confidence; by that means, if + possible, to Entice 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 Right 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 Manœuvre + 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, the + Barbarians, mistaking these Motions for a Retreat, Hurried + Headlong on, and Advancing upon Us, with the most Daring + Intrepidity, Galled us Excessively 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 + Irresistible Shock of our Men, Who, Rushing in among them, + Killed many of them, and Put the Rest to 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, followed their Example and Fled. Our Brave Men + Disdained so much to 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 Molestation to this Camp. After the + Severe Correction We had given the Savages a few hours before, + 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 Dispersed 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 the 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 CONESTOGA. + (Chap. XXIV.) + +Abraham Newcomer, a Mennonist, by trade a Gunsmith, upon his affirmation, +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 before the +Chief Burgess, and upon her solemn oath, on the Holy Evangelists, said +that in the summer of 1761, Bill Soc came to her apartment, and threatened +her life, saying, “I kill you, all Lancaster can’t catch me,” 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 +Indians 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 learnt 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 +Indians at Fort Augusta, trading with the Indians, but, after the murder +of the old man, Bill Soc did not appear at that Garrison. + + JOHN HAMBRIGHT. + +Sworn and Subscribed the 28th of Feb., 1764, 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 +his 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 Jegrea, an Indian, because he would +not join the Conestogue Indians in destroying the English. 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 left, as Cotter told him when the murder was committed. + + ALEXANDER STEPHEN. + + THOMAS FOSTER, Justice. + +_Note._——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 +Conestogue 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.” + + MARY LE ROY. + + 2. PROCEEDINGS OF THE RIOTERS. (Chap. XXIV., XXV.) + +Deposition of Felix Donolly, keeper of Lancaster Jail. + +This deposition is imperfect, a part of the manuscript having been defaced +or torn away. The original, in the handwriting of Edward Shippen, the +chief magistrate of Lancaster, was a few years since in the possession of +Redmond Conyngham, Esq. + +The breaking open the door alarmed me; armed men broke in; they demanded +the strange Indian to be given up; they ran by me; the Indians guessed +their intention; they seized billets of wood from the pile; but the three +most active were shot; others came to their assistance; I was stupefied; +before I could shake off my surprise, the Indians were killed and their +murderers away. + +Q. You say, “Indians armed themselves with wood;” did those Indians attack +the rioters? + +A. They did. If they had not been shot, they would have killed the men who +entered, for they were the strongest. + +Q. Could the murder have been prevented by you? + +A. No: I nor no person here could have prevented it. + +Q. What number were the rioters? + +A. I should say fifty. + +Q. Did you know any of them? + +A. 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?) + +A. 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? + +A. I do not know. + +Q. Were the Indians killed all friends of this province? + +A. 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. + + Lancaster, ————, 1764. + + Honoured Sir: + + I furnish you with a full detail of all the particulars that + could be gathered of the unhappy transactions of the fourteenth + and twenty-seventh of December last, as painful for you to read + as me 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 Workhouse, thought it a place of + security. I am sorry the Indians were not removed to + Philadelphia, as recommended by us. It is too late to remedy. It + is much to be regretted that there are evil-minded persons among + us, who are trying to corrupt the minds of the people by idle + tales and horrible butcheries——are injuring the character of + many of our most respectable people. That printers should have + lent their aid astonishes me when they are employed by the + Assembly to print their laws. I can see no good in meeting their + falsehoods by counter 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, possessing your 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 the slanderous epistles? Resting on + the favor I have enjoyed of the Government; 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 SHIPPEN. + +Extract from a letter of the Rev. Mr. Elder to Governor Penn, December 27, +1763. + + 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 that 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 considered 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, published +at Philadelphia, 1764, by a partisan of the Quaker faction:—— + + O’Hara mounted on his Steed, + (Descendant of that self-same Ass, + That bore his Grandsire Hudibras,) + And from that same exalted Station, + Pronounced an hortory Oration: + 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 fill’d + With good old whiskey twice distill’d, + And having refresh’d his inward man, + Went on with his harangue 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, + 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 extirpate ’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 these wh’ infest our borders, + And perpetrate such cruel murders; + It is most likely, by King Harry, + That we should in the end miscarry. + I deem therefore 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. + + 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 divers 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 advantage 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 Col. 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 think, few concerned in these riots, & nothing intended by + some but to ease the province of part of its burden, and by + others, who had suffered greatly in the late war, the gratifying + a spirit of Revenge, yet the manner of the Quakers resenting + these things has been, I think, very injurious and impolitick. + The Presbyterians, who are the most numerous, I imagine, of any + denomination in the province, are enraged at their being charged + 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 satisfaction 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 promote his service. + What the numbers are of those going on the above-mentioned + Expedition, I can’t possibly learn, as I’m informed they are + collecting in all parts of the province; however, this much may + be depended on, that they have the good wishes of the country in + general, and that there are 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 promoter of these riots, yet it’s entirely false; he had + aided as much in opposition to these measures as he could with + any safety in his situation. Reports, 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 concerned + 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. + +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 Pennsylvania Register. I have, however, examined the +original, which is still preserved by a family in Philadelphia. The +extracts here given form but a small part of the entire letter. + + Before I proceed further it may not be amiss to inform thee that + a great number of the inhabitants here approved of killing the + Indians, and declared that they would not offer to oppose the + Paxtoneers, unless they attacked the citizens, that is to say, + themselves——for, if any judgment was to be formed from + countenances and behavior, those who depended upon them for + defence and protection, would have found their confidence + shockingly misplaced. + + The number of persons in arms that morning was about six + hundred, and as it was expected the insurgents would attempt to + cross at the middle or upper ferry, orders were sent to bring + the boats to this side, and to take away the ropes. Couriers + were now seen continually coming in, their horses all of a foam, + and people running with the greatest eagerness to ask them where + the enemy were, and what were their numbers. The answers to + these questions were various: sometimes they were at a distance, + then 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, which, 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 Second street! Such of the company as had + grounded their firelocks, flew to arms, and began to prime; the + artillery-men threw themselves into order, and the people ran to + get out of the way, for a troop of armed men, on horseback, + 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 discharged; for the + men that appeared proved to be a company of German 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. Joseph 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 + Banner of War displayed in that rostrum, from whence the art has + been so zealously declaimed against. Strange reverse of times, + James——. Nothing of any consequence passed during the remainder + of the day, except that Captain Coultas came into town at the + head of a troop, which he had just raised in his own + neighborhood. The 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 + conferred with the Chiefs of this illustrious——, and have + prevailed with them to suspend all hostility till such time as + they should receive an answer to their petition or manifesto, + which had been sent down the day before.... + + The weather now clearing, the City forces drew up near the Court + House where a speech was made to them, informing them that + matters had been misrepresented,——that the Paxtoneers were a set + of very worthy men (or something to that purpose) who labored + under great distress,——that Messrs. Smith, &c., were come (by + their own authority) as representatives, from several 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? The 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 engagement 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 the 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 Great + Numbers of armed Men, from the Frontiers, being on the several + Roads, and moving towards Philadelphia. As their designs were + unknown, and there were various Reports concerning them, it was + thought prudent to put the City in some Posture 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 Arms for + the Support of Government, and Maintenance of good Order. + + 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, where 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. + + The 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 the utmost + Alacrity, put themselves under Arms; but as the Truth was soon + known, they were again thanked by the Governor, and dismissed; + the Country People being really dispersed, and gone home + according to their Promise.——_Pennsylvania Gazette_, No. 1833. + +The following extract from a letter of Rev. John Ewing to Joseph Reed +affords a striking example of the excitement among the Presbyterians. (See +Life and Correspondence 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 + present, 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 supporting 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 supported, even in luxury, with the best that our + markets afforded, at the public expense, while they were left in + the utmost distress on the Frontiers, in want of the necessaries + of life. Ample promises were made to them that their grievances + should be redressed, upon which they immediately dispersed and + went home. These persons have been unjustly represented as + endeavoring to overturn Government, when nothing was more + distant from their minds. However this matter may be looked upon + in Britain, where you know very little of the matter, you may be + assured that ninety-nine in an hundred of the Province are + 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 justice those persons who + have cut off that nest of enemies that lived near Lancaster. + They never were subjects to his Majesty; were a free, + independent 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 alliance with us; they + entertained the French and Indian spies——gave intelligence 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 parties 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 with + us, and would soon be at war with us again (which accordingly + happened), and even went so 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 things 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 drawn 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, unless 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 yours, + &c. + + JOHN EWING. + + + 3. MEMORIALS OF THE PAXTON MEN. (Chap. XXV) + +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 +Counties of Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Berks, and Northampton, humbly +beg Leave to remonstrate and lay before you the 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 Subjects, who reside in the interior Counties of +Philadelphia, Chester, and Bucks, and therefore 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 +acknowledged Principles of common Justice and Equity, our five Counties +are restrained from electing more than ten 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 Assembly, +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 the Counties of Philadelphia, Chester, or +Bucks. This is manifestly to deprive British Subjects of their known +Privileges, to cast an eternal Reproach upon whole Counties, as if they +were unfit to serve their Country in the Quality of Jury-men, and to +contradict the well known Laws of the British Nation, in a Point whereon +Life, Liberty, and Security essentially depend; namely, that of being +tried by their Equals, in the Neighbourhood where their own, their +Accusers, and the Witnesses Character and Credit, with the Circumstances +of the Fact, are best known, and instead thereof putting their Lives in +the Hands of Strangers, who may as justly be suspected of Partiality to, +as the Frontier Counties can be of Prejudices against, Indians; and this +too, in favour 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 informed, to our great Surprise, that this Bill has +actually received the Assent of a Majority of the House; which we are +persuaded could not have been the Case, had our Frontier Counties been +equally represented in Assembly.——However, we hope that the Legislature of +this Province will never enact a Law of so dangerous a Tendency, or take +away from his Majesty’s good Subjects a Privilege so long esteemed sacred +by Englishmen. + +_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 the very Heart to +see such of our Frontier Inhabitants as have escaped Savage Fury, with the +Loss of their Parents, their Children, their Wives or Relatives, left +Destitute by the Public, and exposed to the most cruel Poverty and +Wretchedness, while upwards of an Hundred and Twenty of these Savages, who +are, with great Reason, suspected of being guilty of these horrid +Barbarities, under the Mask of Friendship, have procured themselves 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 maintained at the +public Expense.——Some of these Indians, now in the Barracks 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 Correspondence +with 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 Savages on our +murdered Brethren and Relatives, which are shocking to human Nature, and +must pierce every Heart, but that of the hardened Perpetrators 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 be 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 been willing +to cultivate and preserve Friendship with us, why did they not give Notice +of the War before it happened, as it is known to be the Result of long +Deliberations, and a preconcerted Combination 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 with 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 scalp and butcher us in the +Spring. + +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 +Correspondence 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 were 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 preserved 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 the Oath of Stinton’s Widow, to be the very Person that murdered 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 their +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 Removal 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 protect and +maintain them at the public Expence, while our suffering Brethren on the +Frontiers are almost destitute of the Necessaries of Life, and are +neglected by the Public, is sufficient to make us mad with Rage, and tempt +us to do what nothing but the most violent Necessity can vindicate.——We +humbly and earnestly pray therefore, that those Enemies of his Majesty may +be removed as soon as possible out of the Province. + +_Fourthly._ We humbly conceive 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 Enemies, 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 +committed in the Course of this and the last Indian War.——We therefore +pray that this Grievance be taken under Consideration, and remedied. + +_Fifthly._ We cannot help lamenting that no Provision has been hitherto +made, that such of our Frontier Inhabitants as have been wounded in +Defence 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 his +Majesty’s Colonies, gave Rewards for Indian Scalps, to encourage the +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 are 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 +permitted 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 +Representatives, openly loaded the Indians with Presents; and that F. P., +a Leader of the said Society, in Defiance of all Government, not only +abetted our 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 we 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. + +_Ninthly._ 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 Commanding +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 Number of the +Frontier Inhabitants, + + MATTHEW SMITH. + JAMES GIBSON. + +The Declaration of the injured Frontier Inhabitants, together with a brief +Sketch of Grievances the good Inhabitants of the Province labor under. + +Inasmuch as the Killing those Indians at Conestogoe Manor and Lancaster +has been, and may be, the Subject of much Conversation, and by invidious +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 severe 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 nothing +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, Fatigue 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 Indignation, 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 Grievances, 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 Lancaster, not only was the Blood of our many murdered Brethren tamely +covered, but our poor unhappy captivated Friends abandoned to Slavery +among the Savages, by concluding a Friendship with the Indians, and +allowing them a plenteous trade of all kinds of Commodities, without those +being restored, or any properly spirited Requisition made of them:——How +general Dissatisfaction those Measures gave, the Murmurs of all good +people (loud as they dare to utter them) to this Day declare. And had here +infatuated Steps of Conduct, and a manifest Partiality in Favour of +Indians, made a final Pause, happy had it been:——We perhaps had grieved in +Silence for our abandoned enslaved Brethren among the Heathen, but Matters +of a later Date are still more flagrant Reasons of Complaint.——When last +Summer his Majesty’s Forces, under the Command of Colonel Bouquet, 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 +Thing appeared more reasonable or necessary, as the Interest of the +Province lay so much at Stake, 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 Gratitude 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 +have 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 Susquehanna, 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 Assistance, obliged, as Tributaries to Savages, to Support +these 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 protect his Majesty’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 profuse 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 Habitations, 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 immediately employed, and sent to Fort +Augusta to take Care of him, and cure him, if possible.——To these may be +added, that though it was impossible 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 themselves, 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 considered, and which can be proved from the public Records of a +certain County, that some Time before Conrad Weiser died, some Indians +belonging 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 the 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 +bought; 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 the 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, that disagreeable Burden of supporting, in the very Heart of +the Province, at so great an Expence, between One and Two hundred Indians, +to the great Disquietude of the Majority of the good Inhabitants of this +Province, should awaken the Resentment of a People grossly abused, +unrighteously burdened, 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 as could be desired, and to which +Extremity alone compels.——God save the King. + + + + + _Appendix F._ + + CAMPAIGN OF 1764. + + + 1. BOUQUET’S EXPEDITION. + +Letter——General Gage to Lord Halifax, December 13, 1764. (Chap. XXVII.) + +The Perfidy of the Shawanese and Delawares, and their having broken the +ties, which even the Savage 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 +Delawares and some broken tribes of Mohikons, Wiandots, and Mingoes, to +bring in all their Prisoners, even to the Children born of White Women, +and to tie those who were grown as Savage as themselves 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 finding 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 the 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 our Parties would bring in near one +hundred more from the Shawanese Towns. These Conditions seem sufficient +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 +Tranquillity, 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: + +The Representatives of the Freemen of the Province of Pennsylvania, in +General Assembly met, being informed that you intend shortly to embark +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 +barbarous 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, and 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, unanimously 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 +England, with a kind and gracious Reception from his Majesty. + + Signed, by Order of the House, + JOSEPH FOX, Speaker. + + + 2. CONDITION AND TEMPER OF THE WESTERN 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 Niagara, in which number were fifteen 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 Chippewas. In the 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 Indians, 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 Delawares, as by Major Smallman’s account, and several +others, (then prisoners), transmitted me by Colonel Bouquet, 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 General 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 the Illinois, which the French as well +as Indians are interested in preventing. This Pontiac is not included in +the late Treaty at Detroit, and is 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 influenced to such a pitch, by the interested +French on the one side, and the influence 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 consider 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 tranquillity 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 +which our enemies have been and will always be supplied, is a matter I +have very much at heart, and what I think may be effected this winter by +land by Mr. Croghan, in case matters can be so far settled with the +Twightees, Shawanoes, and Pontiac, as to engage the latter, with some +chiefs of the before-mentioned nations, to accompany him with a garrison. +The expense attending 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 General 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 conditions as Indians will most probably +observe. + + + + + NOTE. + + +Of the accompanying maps, the first two were constructed for the +illustration of this work. The others are fac-similes from the surveys of +the engineer Thomas Hutchins. The original of the larger of these +fac-similes is prefixed to the _Account of Bouquet’s Expedition_. That of +the smaller will be found in Hutchins’s _Topographical Description of +Virginia_, etc. Both of these works are rare. + + + + + _Index._ + + + A. + + Abbadie. See _D’Abbadie_. + + _Abenakis_, some of them present at the battle of the Monongahela, + 88, 114. + + Abercrombie, General James, has a force of 50,000 men, 96; + fails in his attack on Ticonderoga, 98, 99. + + Acadia ceded to the English crown, 79; + disputes respecting its boundaries, _ib._; + reduced by Col. Monkton, 92; + the inhabitants transported, _ib._ + + Albany, meeting of colonial delegates there, 83; + a rendezvous for Indian traders, 117. + + _Algonquin_ family of Indians, found over a vast extent of territory, + 35; + their inferiority to the Iroquois, 40; + points of distinction, _ib._; + their legends, 40; + and religious belief, 41; + Algonquin life, 38, 39. + + Allegory uttered by Pontiac, 153-155. + + Ambuscade at the Devil’s Hole, 330; + a convoy lost there, 330; + another ambuscade, 331. + + Amherst, Sir Jeffrey, afterwards Lord Amherst, takes Louisburg, 98; + also Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 100; + captures Montreal, 110; + sends a force to take possession of the western posts, 126; + his contempt and careless treatment of the Indians, 138 _note_, + 147; + his letter to Major Gladwyn, 182 _note_; + his uncomfortable position, 297; + his inadequate comprehension of the Indian war, 298; + takes measures to reinforce the frontier garrisons, 299, 300; + hears of the murders near Detroit, 301; + determines on “quick retaliation,” 301; + wishes to hear of no prisoners, 302; + his blustering arrogance, 303 _note_; + proposes to infect the Indians with small-pox, 304; + his anger at the feeble conduct of the Pennsylvania Assembly, 344; + resigns his office as commander-in-chief, 346; + his ignorance of Indian affairs, 388. + + _Andastes_, swept away before the Iroquois, 32; + a remnant of them at Conestoga, 359 _note_. + + Armstrong, Colonel, his expedition against the Indians on the upper + Susquehanna, 346. + + _Atotarho_, name of the presiding sachem of the Iroquois: strange + legend concerning the first of the name, 23, 24. + + + B. + + Baby, a Canadian near Detroit, supplies food to the garrison, 186; + scene between him and Pontiac, 193; + befriends the garrison, 214. + + Ball-play, Indian, described, 250; + a prelude to the massacre at Michillimackinac, 250. + + Barbarity, Indian, shocking instances of, 28, 61, 175, 176, 180 + _note_, 201 _note_, 221, 252, 262, 290 _note_, 336, 337. + + Bartram, John, the botanist, quoted, 26, 27 _note_. + + Beaujeu, a French captain, leads a sortie of French and Indians + against Braddock’s army, 88; + wounded in the fray, 90. + + Bedford, Fort, repels an Indian attack, 283; + crowded with fugitives, 306; + reinforced, 317. + + Belètre, captain, commandant at Detroit, 128; + surrenders to Major Rogers, 129. + + Bird, Dr. Robert M., his story of “Nick of the Woods,” 358. + + _Blacksnake_, a Seneca warrior, 331 _note_. + + Blane, Lieutenant Archibald, commands at Fort Ligonier, 306; + successfully defends the fort against an attack of the Indians, + 308, 309; + vents his complaints of the service, 389. + + Bloody Bridge fight, 229 _et seq._; + great loss of the English, 234. + + Boscawen, Admiral Edward, captures a French squadron previous to a + declaration of war, 84; + and thus begins the war of 1755, 85; + the act condemned by English writers, 85 _note_. + + Bouquet, Colonel Henry, his history, 297; + his letter to Sir Jeffrey Amherst, 295; + an excellent officer, 298; + his correspondence with Amherst and others about the war, 299 _et + seq._; + his “truculent letter” to Amherst about extirpating the Indians, + 302; + hears of the destruction of the frontier garrisons, 302; + he will try to send the small-pox among the Indians, and proposes + to hunt them with English dogs, 304; + is displeased with the surrender of Presqu’ Isle, 308; + complains of the negligence of the people of Pennsylvania, 310; + his campaign against the Indians, 315 _et seq._; + difficulties and dangers of the march, 317; + attacked by the Indians at Bushy Run, 319; + his masterly stratagem, 322; + and complete success, 323. + See _Appendix_ D. + Arrives at Fort Pitt, 325; + his dissatisfaction with the service, 390; + severely blames the government of Pennsylvania, 422; + sets out from Carlisle on an expedition against the Delawares and + Shawanoes, 424; + is displeased with Colonel Bradstreet, 424; + arrives at Fort Pitt, 426; + sends a message to the Delawares, 426; + good effect of the message, 427; + difficulties of the march through the woods, 427; + the troops cross the Muskingum, 428; + their number and fine appearance, 430; + the commander holds a council with the Delawares, 430; + his speech to them, 432-434; + effect of the speech, 434; + his decisive tone, 434; + the Indians submit and give up their captives, 435, 436; + number of the captives, 437; + meeting of friends long separated, 441-443; + some touching incidents, 443; + the troops, having accomplished their work, return home, 448; + Bouquet made a brigadier general, 449; + his death, 450. + See _Appendix_ F. + + Braddock, General Edward, sails in command of a military force for + Virginia, 84; + his character, 86; + his duel with Gumley, 86 _note_; + his march through the wilderness, 87; + difficulties of the advance, _ib._; + the ambuscade, 89; + the battle, 90; + the utter defeat, 91; + Braddock’s insane behavior, 92; + his death, _ib._; + the terrible carnage, _ib._; + the disgraceful rout, _ib._; + the unhappy results, 92, 93. + + Bradstreet, Colonel John, captures Fort Frontenac, 78, 391; + his expedition against the north-western Indians, 392 _et seq._; + the troops leave Niagara and embark on Lake Erie, 399, 400; + he is shamefully duped by wily Indian foes, 401; + he is reprimanded by General Gage, 402 _note_; + arrives at Sandusky, 403; + his imbecility, 403; + reaches Detroit, 404; + returns to Sandusky, 413. + + Brebeuf, Jean de, a Jesuit missionary, his appalling fate, 51. + + Bushy Run, severe battle there with the Indians, 319 _et seq._; + the enemy repulsed, 323; + and totally routed, 323; + the losses on both sides, 324. + See _Appendix_ D. + + + C. + + Cadillac, La Motte, founds Detroit, 159. + + Cahokia on the Illinois, a French settlement, 57, 120, 459; + described, 499; + Pontiac killed there, 499, 500. + + Calhoun, a trader, betrayed by the Indians, but escapes, 280, 281. + + Campbell, Lieutenant George, killed with all his command at Niagara, + 332 _note_. + + Campbell, Captain, commands at Detroit, 137; + discovers an Indian plot, 137, 138; + second in command, 174; + treacherously detained in captivity by Pontiac, 179, 180; + exposed by Indians to the fire of English guns, 195; + cruelly murdered by the Indians, 221, 222. + + Canada, a child of the church, 49; + settled under religious impulses, 50; + characteristics of the population, 47, 160; + the fur-trade, 48; + the true interest of the colony neglected, _ib._; + Jesuit missionaries in, 50; + want of energy in the common people, 53, 57; + advantages for intercourse with the Indian tribes, 59; + the colony suffers from the hostility of the Iroquois, 61; + Canada an object of the bitterest hatred to the English colonies, + and why, 79; + surrendered to the English arms, 109; + Canadians excite the Indians to attack the English, 134, 135, 240. + + Canadians compared with the people of New England, 47-49; + their false representations of the English colonists, 141; + their character, 160; + unfriendly to the English after the conquest, 134, 135, 240. + + Cannibalism of the Indians, 262. + + Captives taken in war by the Indians, their treatment, 28, 61, 180 + _note_, 445-448, 466 _note_; + sometimes they prefer to remain with the Indians, 446. + + Carlisle, Pa., a frontier town in 1760, 279; + panic among the inhabitants, 311; + deplorable scenes there, 312; + many leave the place for Lancaster and Philadelphia, 313; + it becomes the outer settlement, 336 _note_. + + Carver, Capt. Jonathan, the traveller, 166; + his account of the conspiracy of Pontiac, 166 _note_, 167; + other statements made by him, 236, 237 _note_; + his description of Minavavana, the Ojibwa chief, 264, 265 _note_; + his account of the death of Pontiac, 500 _note_. + + _Cayugas_, one of the Five Nations, 20. + See _Iroquois_. + + Champlain, Samuel de, attacks the Iroquois, 60; + the baleful consequences, _ib._. + + _Cherokees_ attacked by the Iroquois, 74; + remain quiet during the Pontiac war, 356. + + _Chippewa_ Indians. See _Ojibwa nation_. + + Chouteau, Pierre, one of the first settlers of St. Louis, 463; + surprising changes witnessed by him, _ib._; + the author visits him, _ib._ _note_; + remembers seeing Pontiac, 463 _note_, 498. + + Christie, Ensign, defends the fort at Presqu’ Isle, 209-211; + surrenders, 212; + escapes and arrives at Detroit, 213; + a further account of the matter, 288 _note_. + + Church, Roman Catholic, its zeal for the conversion of the Indians, + 46. + + Clapham, Colonel, murdered by the Indians, 280 _note_. + + Colden, Governor of New York, refuses to have the Moravian Indian + converts brought within his province, 375. + + Colonies of France and England, their distinctive traits, 46, 59. + + Compton, Henry, bishop of London, advises William Penn to buy land of + the Indians, 69. + + Conestoga, a settlement of friendly Indians, 359; + their manner of life, 360; + suspected of hostile practices, _ib._; a massacre there, 361. + See _Appendix_ E. + + Conner, Henry, Indian interpreter, his statement respecting Pontiac’s + birth, 139 _note_; + his account of the disclosure of the plans of Pontiac, 164-166. + + Conference of Indians with Sir William Johnson at Niagara, 395; + they ask forgiveness, 398. + + Conspiracy of the Indians against the English after the French war, + 131; + its causes, 131; + the English neglect to cultivate their friendship, 133; + disorders of the English fur-trade, 133; + intrusion of settlers on the Indian lands, 133; + the arbitrary conduct of Sir Jeffrey Amherst, 147; + the discontent of the Indians artfully increased by the French, + 134; + Indian plot to destroy the English, 137; + a great crisis for the Indian race, 140; + the conspiracy discovered, 165, 166; + treachery of Pontiac, 169-174; + the war begins, 175; + attack on the fort at Detroit, 177, 178; + negotiation, 179; + comes to no good result, 180 _et seq._ + + Conyngham, Redmond, publishes an account of the massacre at + Conestoga, 361 _note_. + + Council of Indians summoned by Pontiac, 151 _et seq._; + appearance of Pontiac, 152; + his speech, 153 _et seq._; + council-house at Onondaga, 21 _note_, 26, 27. + + “_Coureurs de bois_,” or bush-rangers, 68, 160; + their degradation, _ib._; + and superstition, 68; + excite the Indians against the English, 135. + + _Creek_ nation hostile to the English, 356. + + Creoles along the Mississippi, their character and modes of life, + 459. + + Croghan, George, his representations to the Lords of Trade, 387; + they are disregarded, 389; + sent to negotiate with the western Indians, 475; + his convoy seized by the Paxton men, 476, 477; + at Fort Pitt he meets Indians in council, 480; + finds them undecided in their plans, 480; + descends the Ohio, 484; + is attacked by the Kickapoos, 485; + arrives at Vincennes, 485; + meets with Pontiac, who offers the calumet of peace, 486; + proceeds to Detroit, 487; + holds a council there with the Indians, 487-490; + his speech to the Ottawas, 488; + outdoes the Indians in the use of figurative language, 488, 489 + _note_; + his complete success, 490. + + Crown Point, a French fort erected there, 79; + plan for its reduction, 86; + the plan fails, 93; + another attempt, 99; + the fort evacuated, 100. + + Cumberland County, Pa., settled by the Scotch-Irish, 335. + + _Cusick_, a Tuscarora Indian, the historian of his tribe, 24, 25 + _notes_. + + Cuyler, Lieutenant, leaves Niagara with a reinforcement for Detroit, + 198; + is attacked by Indians, 199; + fate of his detachment, 200. + + + D. + + D’Abbadie, governor of the French, New Orleans, 472; + gives audience to the messengers of Pontiac, 473; + refuses aid, _ib._; dies, _ib._ + + _Dahcotah_, their estimated military strength, 265; + their hatred of the Ojibwas, 268; + their interference saves the English garrison at Green Bay, _ib._ + + Dalzel, Captain, leaves Niagara with a reinforcement for Detroit, + 226; + attacked by the Indians, 227; + arrives at Detroit, _ib._; + his night attack on the Indians, 228; + his great bravery, 231; + falls in the action, 232. + + Davers, Sir Robert, murdered by Indians, 176; + the transaction erroneously reported, 196. + + _Delaware_ tribe of Indians, a brave and generous people, 36; + called also Lenni Lenape, 35; + the parent stem of the Algonquin tribes, _ib._; + subjugated by the Iroquois, 19; + recover their independence, 36; + their treaty with William Perm, 36, 70; + oppressed by his descendants, proprietors of Pennsylvania, 71-74, + 84; + driven from their homes, 73; + some of them present at the battle of the Monongahela, 88; + in alliance with the French, 111; + attack the English settlements, 111; + their number estimated, 115; + where located in 1760, 116; + found at present beyond the Mississippi, 36; + incensed against the English, 134; + a Delaware prophet, his wide influence, 136; + the Delawares attack Fort Pitt, 284, 292; + attack a body of British troops at Bushy Run, 319; + are repulsed with great loss, 323; + moral effect of the affair, 326; + their hostile inroads in Pennsylvania, 345; + a party of them brought prisoners to Albany, 356; + their inveterate hostility, 410, 413; + their worthless promises, 414; + they sue for peace, 431-436. + + Detroit founded, 159; + description of, 159, 160, 163; + held by a French garrison, 52, 57, 100, 126, 128; + it capitulates to the English, 129, 130; + its population at that time, 159; + character of its inhabitants, 160; + the fortifications, _ib._; + the British garrison in 1760, 163; + plan of Pontiac to seize the fort, 165, 166; + the plot revealed, 166; + See _Appendix_ C. + Pontiac in Detroit, 169 _et seq._; + attack on the fort 170, 171; + distress of the garrison, 185; + Detroit alone of all the frontier posts escapes capture by the + Indians, 204; + the garrison reinforced, 216; + Gladwyn holds a council with the Canadians, 216, 217; + his speech to them, 217; + Indian attempt to burn an armed schooner, 223; + the garrison again reinforced, 227; their numbers, 234; + a supply of provisions collected, 351; + the Ojibwas and other tribes ask for peace, _ib._; + the siege of Detroit abandoned, 353; + moral effect of the failure, 355; + the garrison continue to be harassed by Indian hostility, 404; + arrival of Bradstreet with a large military force, _ib._; + he meets the Indians in council, 405; + his absurd demands, 406; + gives great offence to the Indians, 407. + + Devil’s Hole, near Niagara, described, 330; + a convoy attacked there by Indians, _ib._; + the fearful issue, 331. + + Dieskau, Louis Auguste, Baron, sails from Brest with troops for + Canada, 84; + his defeat at Lake George, 94-95; + wounded dangerously, but not mortally, 95, 96 _note_. + + Dinwiddie, Robert, Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, remonstrates + against French encroachment, 80. + + _Dionondadies_, or Tobacco Nation, 30. + + Dogs, proposal to hunt the Indians with them, 304; + the plan given in detail, 305 _note_. + + + E. + + Easton, Pa., peace there made with the Indians, 111. + + Ecuyer, Captain Simeon, commander at Fort Pitt, 279; + his letters to Colonel Bouquet quoted, 279, 280 _note_, 282, 284, + 293; + his answer to the proposal to surrender, 285; + his answer to a similar and subsequent demand, 292; + his precautions for the safety of the fort, 295 _note_; + his gallant conduct, 294; + his discontent at the service, 390. + + Elder, John, pastor at Paxton, Pa., his creditable military career, + 343; + his report to Governor Perm, 343 _note_; + his character, 360; + preaches to armed men, _ib._; + endeavors to divert the Paxton men from their murderous design, but + in vain, 363; + his letter to Colonel Burd, 365 _note_. + See _Appendix_ E. + + Eliot, Charles, brave action of his, 312. + + English colonies, their characteristics as contrasted with those of + France, 46, 47, 48, 59, 64; + neglect to cultivate the friendship of the Indians, 65, 131; + plan for a union of these colonies, 83; + its failure, and the reason why, 84; + English colonies, their exposure to Indian hostility, in 1760, 147; + how far they extended at that time, 277. + + English treatment of the Indians, 65, 131, 140, 147; + English parsimony towards them, 131. + See _Appendix_ B. + English fur-trade badly conducted, 133; + profligacy of the traders, _ib._; + treatment of the Indians by the soldiers in garrison, _ib._ + + _Eries_, Indian tribe, destroyed by the Iroquois, 32. + + Etherington, Captain George, commands at Michillimackinac, 246; + is warned of danger, _ib._; + his disregard of the warning, _ib._; + his extreme carelessness, 250; + the massacre of his men, 251; + he is taken by the Indians, 206, 251; + his letters quoted, 205, 266; + how he passed the night after the massacre, 256, 257; + his complimentary letter to Colonel Bouquet on his promotion, 450. + + + F. + + Fire, torture by, inflicted by Indians, 28, 51, 61, 201 _note_, + 290, 303 _note_. + + Fisher, Sergeant, murdered by the Indians, 175; + treatment of his body, _ib._ + + Forbes, General John, drives the French from Fort Du Quesne, 98, + 111, 113. + + Forest of the West, 114; + routes and modes of travel through it, 117-120; + the scattered Indian and French settlements, 115, 120; + the forest garrisons, 121; + hunters and trappers, 122. + + Fort Du Quesne, built by the French, 86; + Braddock’s approach to it, 87; + taken by General Forbes, 98, 113; + the fort destroyed and rebuilt, 278; + and the name changed to Fort Pitt, 118. + + Fort Le Bœuf, taken by the Indians after a gallant defence, 287, 288. + + Fort Ligonier, 279; + attacked by Indians, 283, 308, 309; + the fort is reinforced and holds out to the end, 316. + + Fort Miami taken by the Indians, 207. + + Fort Pitt, originally Fort Du Quesne, 118, 126; + its commanding position, 278; + built on the ruins of the old fort, 278; + two roads from it to the English settlements, 278; + exposed to danger from the Indians, 279, 285; + strength of the garrison, 284; + attacked by Indians, 285; + the Indians frightened and withdraw, 286; + the surrender of the fort twice demanded, 286, 292; + a vigorous attack by the Indians, 294; + the attack ineffectual, 295; + the fort reinforced and secured from further danger, 324, 325; + brief history of the siege by one of the garrison, 325 _note_. + + Franklin, Benjamin, his account of the murder of Indians in Lancaster + jail, 364 _note_; + his energetic conduct in providing for the defence of Philadelphia, + 377. + + Fraser, Lieutenant Alexander, accompanies Croghan in an embassy to + the Indians, 475; + visits the country of the Illinois, 481; + his account of that country, 459 _note_; + is ill-treated and his life in danger, 481; + Pontiac saves his life, 482; + descends the Mississippi and arrives at New Orleans, _ib._ + + French colonies, their distinctive characteristics, 46 _et seq._; + devotion to the Romish church, 47, 48; + engaged in the fur-trade, 48; + their lack of energy, 53; + have an extended military frontier, 48, 56; + French plan to exclude the Anglo-Saxon race from the valley of the + Mississippi, 56; + French expeditions against the Iroquois, 60-62; + French influence among the Indians widely extended, 63, 65; + instances of French inhumanity, 65, 66; + complaisance towards + the savages, 66; + French blood mingles largely with Indian, 67, 163; + the French in the Ohio valley, 74; + obtain an influence over the Iroquois, 74, 75; + and over the Indians on the Ohio, 82; + occupation of Fort Du Quesne, 87; + driven from all their possessions in North America, 109; + French settlements in the Illinois valley, 120; + French policy towards the Indians, 132 _note_. + See _Appendix_ B. + + Frontenac, Count, Governor of Canada, aids the enterprises of La + Salle, 55; + his expedition against the Iroquois, 61, 62; + cultivates the friendship of other Indians, 66; + burns alive an Iroquois prisoner, _ib._ + + Frontier of Virginia, 333; + of Pennsylvania, 334; + the frontiersman described, 333, 334. + + Frontiers of the English provinces, 277; + how guarded, 277; + ravaged by the Indians, 296; + sufferings of the settlers, 306; + difficulties of communication between the outposts and the settled + country, 309; + the frontiers desolated, 335 _et seq._; + consternation of the settlers, 336; + fearful scenes enacted, 337 _et seq._; + general distress, 342; + the number slain or captivated during four months, 357; + the frontier people make loud complaints of neglect, 357; + their resentment against the Quakers, _ib._; + their intense hatred of the Indians, 358. + See _Appendix_ E. + + Fur-trade as carried on from Canada, 48, 59, 63; + from the English colonies, 63, 68; + the _coureurs de bois_, renegades from civilization, 68; + fur-trade, mode of operation, 118; + equipment and character of the fur-trader, 119, 122; + difficulties, hardships, and dangers of the way, 119, 120; + the call for energy and courage, 121; + character and habits of the existing trapper and hunter in the far + west, 121, 122; + the white savage compared with the red, 121; + fur-trade as conducted by the English; its great faults, 133; + bad character of the English traders, 133; + French fur-traders inflame the resentment of the Indians, 134, 240. + + + G. + + Gage, General Thomas, present at Braddock’s defeat, 89; + receives a severe wound, 91; + his singular testimony concerning Pontiac, 191; + succeeds Amherst as commander-in-chief, 348; + sends a body of troops to Philadelphia, to protect it against the + Paxton rioters, 376. + + Galissonnière, Count, his plan of French colonization, 57. + + Gallatin, Albert, quoted, 18, 32, 33. + + Gates, General Horatio, present at Braddock’s defeat, 89; + severely wounded, 91. + + Gladwyn, Major, commands at Detroit, 143, 157; + the hostile plans of Pontiac disclosed to him, 165; + his precautions, 167; + scene between him and Pontiac, 170, 171; + his letters to General Amherst, 172 _note_, 187 _note_; + suffers Pontiac to escape, 171, 172, 174; + refuses to abandon the fort, 184; + Pontiac in vain endeavors to terrify him, 216; + Gladwyn holds a council with the Canadians, 217-220; + his speech to them, 217; + obtains a supply of provisions, 351; + proposes to exterminate the Indians by a free sale of RUM, 352, 353 + _note_. + + Gladwyn, schooner, on her return to Detroit from Niagara, is attacked + by Indians, 235, 236; + gallant defence by the crew, 235; + saved by a desperate expedient, 236. + + Glendenning, Archibald, killed by the Indians, 337; + masculine spirit of his wife, 338. + + Gnadenhutten, Pa., a Moravian missionary station, destroyed, 367. + + Goddard, an English fur-trader, 244. + + Godefroy, a Canadian, summons Fort Miami to surrender, 208; + goes to Illinois as interpreter to an English embassy, 408; + saves Morris’s life, 409; + stands firmly by his captain, 410-413. + + Gordon, Lieutenant, commander at Fort Venango, 289; + tortured to death by the Indians, 290; + roasted alive during several nights, 303 _note_. + + Gorell, Lieutenant J., extracts from his journal, 118; + commands at Green Bay, 265; + his important duties, _ib._; + his prudent conduct, 266; + his speech to the Menomonies, 266, 267; + embarks with his garrison, 268; + arrives at Montreal, 268. + + Goshen, N. Y., false alarm there; its singular cause, 329. + + Gouin, ————, a Canadian, cautions Gladwyn, 165; + endeavors the security of British officers, 179; + his account of transactions near Detroit, _Appendix_ C., 201 + _note_. + + Grant, Mrs. Anne, her erroneous account of the murder of Sir Robert + Davers, 196 _note_. + + Grant, Captain, in the disastrous affair at Bloody Bridge, 229, 230, + 233. + + Gray, Captain, falls in the fight at Bloody Bridge, 232. + + Gray, a soldier at Presqu’ Isle, 286; + escapes massacre, 287. + + Gray, Thomas, his “Elegy in a Country Church-Yard,” repeated by + Wolfe, the night before his death, 104. + + Green, Thomas, a trader, slain by the Indians, 281 _note_. + + Green Bay, a French settlement, 52, 57; + taken possession of by the English, 130; + its early history, 239; + an important post, 265; + abandoned by its commander, but its garrison preserved 267, 268. + + Greenbrier, Va., attack on, 337. + + “Griffin,” the first vessel built on the upper lakes, 54; + her voyage on Lakes Erie and Huron, _ib._ + + + H. + + Heckewelder, John, Moravian missionary, relates a curious story of + the superstitious regard of Indians for insane persons, 283. + + Hendrick, the Mohawk chief, slain at the battle of Lake George, 94. + + Henry, Alexander, pioneer of the English fur-trade in the extreme + North-west, 241; + his adventures, 241; + his interview with an Ojibwa chief, 241-243; + attacked by a party of Ottawas, 244; + an Ojibwa chief takes a liking to him, 246; + and warns him of danger, 247; + escapes the massacre at Michillimackinac, 252; + his account quoted, 251-255; + his extreme danger, 253; + his life spared, and the manner thereof, 252 _et seq._; + his further adventures, 256-258, 263; + painted and attired like an Indian, 264; + extract from Henry’s Travels, 395, 396; + he is delivered from captivity and brought safely to Niagara, 400. + + _Hodenosaunee_, the Indian name for the Five Nations, 19. + + Holmes, Ensign, commander of Fort Miami, discovers a plot of the + Indians against the English, 143; + the fort is taken, and he is killed by the Indians, 207. + + Hopkins, Mr., of Wyoming, escapes the massacre there, 347, 348. + + Howe, Lord, killed at Ticonderoga, 98. + + Hughes, John, of Lancaster, Pa., details of his plan to hunt the + Indians with dogs, 305 _note_. + + _Hurons_ or _Wyandots_, their population, 30; + had characteristics in common with the Iroquois, 31; + their utter ruin and dispersion, 32; + present at Braddock’s defeat, 88; + their population estimated, 115; + their energy, 117; + a conquered people, 114. + + + I. + + Iberville, Lemoine d’, founds the colony of Louisiana, 56. + + _Illinois_ nation of Indians, 37; + tribes of which that nation was composed, 501 _note_. + + Illinois River, the region described, 452 _et seq._; + its early colonization, 456-458; + character of the first settlers, 458; + the population, its numbers and location, 459; + the Indians of that country, 460, 461; + the English take possession of Fort Chartres, and of the Illinois + country, 471, 491. + + Insanity, persons laboring under it, superstitious regard of Indians + for, 283. + + Indian summer described, 353, 354. + + Indians, their general character, 15; + all live by the chase, _ib._; + their pride and self-consciousness, 15; + they cannot endure restraint, _ib._; + influence of the sachems, what, _ib._; + distinction between the civil and military authority, _ib._; + the Indian inflexibly adheres to ancient usages, 17; + division into clans, _ib._; + the _totems_, or symbols of the clans, _ib._; + peculiar character of the clan, _ib._; + its privileges, 18; + division of the Indian population into three great families, _ib._; + their dwellings and works of defence, 25; + their mode of life, 27; + their legendary lore, 40; + and religious belief, 41; + the unity of God unknown to them, 42; + the Indian character often mistaken, _ib._; + the Indian strangely self-contradictory, _ib._; + his character summed up, 43-45; + treatment of Indians by the French, 64-67; + by the English, 63; + by William Penn, 69; + by his sons, 71; + by the Quakers, 70, 71; + attitude of the Indian tribes towards the English in 1755, 78; + their alarm at the appearance of the French on the waters of the + Ohio, 82; + the French conciliate them, 83; + effect on them of Braddock’s defeat, 92; + attached to the French interest, 114; + estimate of the Indian population in 1760 in the present territory + of the United States, 115; + striking instance of Indian acuteness, 123 _note_; + their feelings at the surrender of Detroit, 129; + intense hatred of the English takes possession of the Indians, 131; + its manifestations, _ib._; + treatment of the Indians by the English, 131, 132 _note_, 141; + plot formed for the destruction of the English, 137, 138; + their imperfect preparation for the war, 145; + defects of their social system, _ib._; + without any central authority, _ib._; + their chiefs had no power but of advice and persuasion, 146; + Indians will not submit to restraint or discipline, _ib._; + they are capricious and unstable, _ib._; + often desert their leaders, 146; + they are formidable in small detached parties only, _ib._; + they are fond of war and ready to engage in it, _ib._; + they never fight but when sure to win, 147; + alert and active, crafty and treacherous, they cause wide-spread + havoc, but carefully avoid collision with a foe, _ib._; + Indians prone to quarrel, 151; + Indian council, 151 _et seq._; + war-dance, 176; + Indian attack on Detroit, 177 _et seq._; + idea of military honor, 184; + courage, 185; + sad effect of whiskey, 200; + Indians fight from ambush, 198; + Indian barbarity. + See _Barbarity, Indian_. + Indians attempt to destroy an armed schooner, 223; + their prolonged blockade of Detroit, 224; + a curious instance of Indian friendship, 246; + Indian ball-play, 250; + fearful massacre by Indians at Michillimackinac, 251 _et seq._; + cannibalism, 262; + revulsion of feeling, 262, 264; + Indian faithlessness, 147, 250, 281, 282; + Indians fight in ambuscade, 330, 344; + cannot stand before border riflemen, 344; + great conference of Indians at Niagara, 395 _et seq._; + veneration of Indians for the rattlesnake, 395 _note_; + to some white people Indian life has charms, 446; + Indians of the Illinois, 460; + council of Indians meet Sir William Johnson at Johnson Hall, 327; + again at Niagara, 395; + council at Detroit, 487-490; + Indians are pleased when white men adopt their figurative language, + 489 _note_. + + _Iroquois_, or Five Nations, afterwards Six Nations, 19; + the term often applied to the entire family of which they were a + part, _ib._; + their extended conquests, _ib._ + See _Appendix_ A. + Causes of their success, 20; + tribal organization, _ib._; + their manner of conducting public business, 21; + divided into eight clans, _ib._; + great power of this system, _ib._; + descent of the sachemship in the female line, 22; + extensive prevalence of this custom, _ib._ _note_; + origin of the Iroquois, 23; + Indian tradition concerning it, 23, 24; + their fantastic legends, 24, 25; + rude state of the arts among them, 25; + their agriculture, _ib._; + their fortifications and strongholds, _ib._; + their dwellings, 26; + their life of excitement, 27; + preparation for war, 28; + return from war, _ib._; + fiendish cruelty, _ib._; + their boundless pride, 29; + military strength, _ib._; + destroy the Hurons, 31; + and several other Indian nations, _ib._; + their cruel treatment of captives, 32; + their licentiousness, 33; + their god of thunder, 41; + attack made on them by Champlain, 60; + they become the irreconcilable foes of the French colonies, _ib._; + their attack on Montreal, 61; + their extreme ferocity, _ib._; + expedition of Frontenac against them, 61, 62; + their rancor abates, 62; + irritated against the English and why, 74; + influence over them gained by Sir William Johnson, 76. + See _Appendix_ A. + They assume to dispose of lands in Pennsylvania, 72, 83; + treaty of alliance with them, 84; + they induce the Delawares to make peace with the English, 111; + flock to the British standard, 114; + estimate of their numbers, 115; + what their approach to civilization, 116; + meet Sir William Johnson in council, and are restrained by him from + war against the English, 327; + the Senecas already at war with them, 137, 142, 290, 296, 327; + the Iroquois send a message to the Delawares, exhorting them to + bury the hatchet, 328; + a war-party of the Iroquois goes out to fight the Delawares, 356; + their success, _ib._ + + + J. + + Jacobs, mate of schooner Gladwyn, orders the vessel blown up, 235; + lost in a storm, 236 _note_. + + Jamet, Lieutenant, at Michillimackinac slain by the Indians, 251, + 266. + + Jenkins, Lieutenant Edward, taken prisoner by the Indians, 206; + his letter, 207 _note_. + + Jesuit missionaries in Canada, 50 _et seq._; + their religious zeal and enterprise, 51; + their sufferings, 52; + slender results, _ib._; + lead the van of French colonization, _ib._; + the firm auxiliaries of French power, _ib._ + + Jogues, Isaac, a Jesuit missionary, a captive among the Iroquois, + 51; + tortured by them, _ib._; + his death, _ib._ + + Johnson, Sir William, settles on the Mohawk River, 76; + trades with the Indians, _ib._; + acquires great influence over them, _ib._ + See _Appendix_ A. + Becomes a major-general and a baronet, 76; + repeatedly defeats the French, 77, 93-96, 100; + his death, 77; + his good and bad qualities, _ib._; + his noble figure, 493; + his estimate of the Indian population, 115; + his annoyance from Indians, 118 _note_; + his statement of the French policy toward the Indians and its + results, 132 _note_; + his letters quoted, 65 _note_, 328 _note_; + his influence keeps the Indians around him quiet, 296; + convokes a council of the Six Nations and persuades them not to + attack the English, 327; + arms his tenantry, 329; + their numbers, 328 _note_; + offers fifty dollars each for the heads of two noted Delaware + chiefs, 355; + sends messengers to the north-western tribes, 392; + meets a conference of Indians at Niagara, 395 _note_; + his interview with Pontiac at Oswego, 492 _et seq._; + his address, 494; + his indecision at the outbreak of the Revolution, 77; + his death, _ib._ + + Johnston, Captain, cut off with nearly all his men, 331, 332 _note_. + + Jonois, a Jesuit priest, 205; + commended for humanity, 206, 256, 257, 259; + visits Detroit, 205, 259. + + + K. + + Kaskaskia, a French settlement, 57, 120. + + Kickapoos attack George Croghan, 484, 485. + + + L. + + L’Arbre Croche, a settlement of the Ottawa Indians, 244, 258, 259, + 268. + + La Butte, interpreter to Major Gladwyn at Detroit, 171; + goes with a message to Pontiac, 178; + his fidelity suspected, 182; + Major Gladwyn confides in him, 187 _note_. + + Laclede, Pierre, the founder of St. Louis, 463. + + Lake George, called Lac St. Sacrement, 97; + battle of, 93-96; + the lake described, 97; + the scene of active warfare, _ib._ + + Lallemant, Gabriel, missionary among the Hurons, tortured with fire, + 51; + his lingering death, _ib._ + + Lancaster, Pa., jail, Indians lodged there for safety, 362; + the jail broken open and the Indians killed, 363, 364; + an account of the affair by Franklin, 364 _note_. + + Langlade, Charles, a resident at Mackinaw 251; + a witness of the massacre and careless about it, 252, 253; + kindness of his wife, 254; + he surrenders Mr. Henry to his pursuers, 255; + saves Henry’s life, 256; + his heartlessness, 257; + he and his father the first white settlers in Wisconsin, 251 + _note_. + + La Salle, Robert Cavelier de, his great design, 53; + his character, 54; + builds his first vessel on the upper lakes, _ib._; + his voyage on Lakes Erie and Michigan, _ib._; + penetrates the region of the Illinois, 55; + his difficulties and embarrassments, _ib._; + descends the Mississippi, _ib._; + reaches its mouth, and takes possession of the whole immense valley + for Louis XIV, 56; + ruin of his final expedition, _ib._; + his death, _ib._; + a further account of him, 456, 457. + + La Verandrye attempts to reach the Rocky Mountains, 63; + penetrates to the Assinniboin River, _ib._ + + Legends of the Iroquois, their monstrous character, 24, 25, 40; + of the Algonquins, 41, 42. + + _Lenni Lenape_, see _Delawares_. + + Leslie, Lieutenant, at Michillimackinac, 250; + taken by the Indians, 251, 268. + + Loftus, Major, his abortive attempt to ascend the Mississippi, 469, + 470. + + Loskiel, Moravian missionary, quoted, 282. + + Louisiana colonized, 56. + + + M. + + Macdonald, James, of Detroit, his account of the detention of two + British officers, 181 _note_; + his account of the death of Capt. Campbell, 222 _note_. + + McDougal, Lieutenant, of Detroit, visits the Indian camp and is + treacherously seized, 179; + the McDougal MSS. quoted, 189; + escapes, 222. + + McGregory, Major, attempts the fur-trade, but fails, 63. + + Meloche, at his house two British officers are confined, 181, 187; + further notice of the house, 230. + + _Menomonies_, their location, 265; + friends of the English in Pontiac’s war, 268. + + _Miami_ nation of Indians, 37; + friendly to the English, 78; + retained their ancient character, 117. + + Miami fort. See _Fort Miami_. + + Michillimackinac, a French settlement and fort, 52, 57; + taken possession of by the English, 130; + captured by the Indians, 205; + the approach to it described, 238; + description of the place itself, 239, 249, 263; + import of the name, 239; + tradition concerning the name, 263 _note_; + early history of the place, 239; + its population in 1763, _ib._; + Indian tribes in the vicinity, 240; + they join in the conspiracy of Pontiac, 245; + strength of the garrison at the time, 245; + warnings of danger, 246; + the evening before the massacre, 247; + the morning of the massacre, ball-play, 249; + the massacre, 251; + shocking scenes, 252; + followed by an Indian debauch, 256; + the Indians leave the place, 264. + See _Appendix_ C. + + Military honor, Indian idea of it, 146, 184. + + Minavavana, the great Ojibwa chief, called also the Grand Sauteur, + 241; + his interview with Alexander Henry, 241-243; + his character and influence, 245; + leads the attack on Michillimackinac, 259; + his speech to the Ottawas, _ib._; + releases Mr. Henry, 261; + description of him from Carver’s Travels, 264 _note_; + comes to Detroit to ask for peace, 487. + + Missionary labors among the Indians by the Jesuits, 50 _et seq._, + 64; + by the English, 64. + + _Mohawks_, attack the Penobscot Indians, 19 _note_. + + “Mohog all devil!” 19 _note_. + + Mongrel population, French and Indian, 68, 163. + + Monkton, General, reduces Acadia, 92; + commands under Wolfe in the expedition against Quebec, 103; + in command at Fort Pitt, 126. + + Monongahela River, passage of by Braddock’s army, 87, 89; + Battle of, 90-92. + + Montcalm (Louis Joseph de St. Véran), Marquis of, takes Oswego, 97; + captures Fort William Henry, _ib._; + repels the attack of General Abercrombie on Ticonderoga, 98, 99; + commands the army in opposition to Wolfe, 101; + his defeat and death, 109. + + Montour, Captain, makes a successful inroad upon the Indians, 356. + + Montreal, attack on it by the Iroquois, 61; + surrenders to the English forces, 110. + + Moravian missions in Pennsylvania, 367; + the converts involved in danger from both the French and the + English, _ib._; + murder of some of them, 368; + the mission broken up and the converts removed to Philadelphia, + 369; + sent thence to New York, 374, 375; + insulted by the mob, 369; + not allowed to enter New York or to stay in New Jersey, 375; + brought back to Philadelphia, 376; + remain there a whole year, 385. + + Morris, Captain, goes on an embassy to the Illinois country, 407; + his interview with Pontiac, 408; + holds a council with the Indians, 409; + encounters a band of savage warriors, 410; + he is a captive among the Indians, 411; + expects to be tortured, 412; + is released, _ib._; + abandons his mission and returns to Detroit, 413; + reference to his published journals, _ib._; + returns home, meeting with disaster on the way, 415, 416. + + + N. + + _Neutral Nation_, why so named, 30; + their destruction by the Iroquois, 31. + + New England, population contrasted with that of Canada, 47 _et + seq._; + their energy and patient industry, 48; + did not obtain Indian lands but by purchase, 70 _note_. + + New York, Province of, suffers from Indian hostilities, 328. + + Niagara, French fort there, 46, 57, 62; + attack on it by the English, 77; + failure of the attack, 92; + another attempt, 99; + the fort surrenders, 100; + great conference of Indians there, 395 _et seq._ + + + O. + + Ohio River, no Indians dwelt on its banks, 120. + + Ohio Company, formed, and for what purpose, 80. + + Ohio Valley, proposal to secure it for the English, 80; + French settlements there, 57; + further encroachments, 74, 80 _et seq._; + alarm of the Indians of that vicinity, 82; + Ohio Indians at war with the English, 111; + estimate of their numbers, 115; + the Ohio valley described as it was in 1760, 114 _et seq._; + its population, 114 _et seq._; + routes of travel, 117; + modes of travel, 117-120. + + _Ojibwa_ nation of Indians, 38; + check the career of Iroquois conquest, _ib._; + their modes of life, 39; + sufferings in winter, _ib._; + some of them present at the battle of the Monongahela, 88; + join Pontiac in his attack on the English, 177, 186; + notice of their village on Mackinaw, 240; + a party of them described, 241; + interview with Alexander Henry, 241-243; + their slaughter of the English garrison at Michillimackinac, 250 + _et seq._; + hated by the Dahcotahs, 267; + the Ojibwas ask for peace, 351; + they consult their oracle, 393; + the answer received, 394; + peace concluded, 399. + + _Oneidas_, a tribe united in confederacy with four others, 20. + See _Iroquois_. + + Onondaga, council-house at, 21 _note_; + description of it, 26, 27 _note_, 115. + + _Onondagas_, a tribe included in the Confederacy of the Five Nations, + 20. + See _Iroquois_. + + Oswego, an English fort there, 63; + taken by the French, 66, 97, 113. + + _Ottawas_, 38; + present at the battle of the Monongahela, 88; + led by Pontiac, _ib._; + their village near Detroit, 163; + their attack on Detroit, 177, 180; + notice of their village near Mackinaw, 240; + a party of them visit Mackinaw and threaten English fur-traders, + 244; + take English prisoners from the Ojibwas, 258; + a party of them take possession of Michillimackinac, 258; + collision with the Ojibwas, 258 _et seq._; + they incite the Delawares to war against the English, 285; + the Ottawas refuse to bury the hatchet, 352; + they meet Sir William Johnson at Niagara and make peace, 398; + at Detroit they meet George Croghan for a like purpose, 488. + + Ourry, Captain Lewis, commander at Fort Bedford, 306; + his slender force, 306, 307; + his correspondence with Col. Bouquet, _ib._ + + Owens, David, diabolically kills and scalps his own Indian wife and + several of her relations, 419, 422. + + + P. + + Paully, Ensign, a captive to the Indians, 202; + adopted as one of them, 203; + makes his escape, 221. + + Paxton, in Pennsylvania, character of its inhabitants, 359; + its worthy minister, John Elder, 360; + a party of men proceed from this place and murder six friendly + Indians, 360 _et seq._; + the survivors of the massacre lodged in Lancaster County jail, 362. + See _Appendix_ E. + The act causes great excitement, 365; + the deed justified from Scripture, 366; + the rioters march on Philadelphia to kill the Moravian converts, + 373; + alarm of the citizens, 374, 378; + measures for defence, 377; + treaty with the rioters, 381; + they withdraw, 382; + a party of them make prize of Croghan’s goods, 476, 477; + they escape punishment and set the government at defiance, 478. + + Pawnee woman saves the life of Alexander Henry, 252; + the Pawnee tribe, 252 _note_. + + Penn, William, his treatment of the Indians, 69; + pays twice for his lands, 70 _note_; + his sons pursue a contrary policy, 70. + + Pennsylvania, treatment of the Indians in, 69 _et seq._; + the “walking purchase,” 71; + shameful conduct of the proprietors, 72, 83; + Pennsylvania wasted by Indian war, 111; + extent of its settlements in 1760, 278; + the province refuses aid to its defenders, 310, 316; + distress of the inhabitants on its frontier, 313; + the frontier described, 334; + origin and character of the inhabitants, _ib._; + the frontier settlers betake themselves to flight before Indian + ravage, 336; + general distress, 342; + measures of defence opposed by the Quakers in the Assembly, 343; + warfare along the Susquehanna, 346 _et seq._; + contests of the Assembly with the proprietary governors, 349; + vigorous measures at length adopted, 376. + + Penobscot Indians attacked by the Mohawks, 19 _note_. + + Philadelphia, a place of outfit for the Indian trade, 118; + the Moravian converts removed thither, 369; + great alarm felt at the approach of the Paxton boys, 373; + the people called to arms, 377; + extreme excitement, 378; + treaty with the rioters, 381. + See _Appendix_ E. + + Picquet, a Jesuit missionary, 52; + engages in military enterprises, 75. + + Pittman, Captain, does not ascend the Mississippi, 470, 471. + + Pittsburgh (Fort Du Quesne) occupied by the English, 81; + by the French, 87; + its capture by General Forbes, 98. + + Pontiac, his origin, 139 _note_; + leads the Ottawas out in the attack on Braddock’s force, 88, 139; + his interview with Rogers, 127; + his haughty behavior, 128; + his character, 128, 164, 173; + submits to the English, 127, 128; + his extensive influence among the Indians, 138; + his commanding energy, 139; + a fierce, wily savage, 139, 164, 173; + his great qualities, 139, 192; + his enduring fame, 193; + in alliance with the French, 139; + sends ambassadors to excite the Indians over all the West, 141; + listens to the falsehoods of the Canadians, 141; + resolves on war with the English, _ib._; + the proposal accepted, 142; + he collects a multitude of Indians in a council, 151; + his appearance, 152; + his speech, 153 _et seq._; + allegory told by him, 153-155; + his plan for an attack on Detroit, 156, 157; + performs a calumet dance within its walls, 157; + Pontiac at home, 164; + his plan to seize Detroit, 165, 166; + the plot revealed, 166. See _Appendix_ C. + Pontiac admitted to the fort, 170, 174; + finds that his designs are known, 171; + his treachery, 172, 173; + scene between him and Gladwyn, 171, 172, 173; + Gladwyn permits him to escape, 172, 173; + Pontiac throws off the mask, 174; + the war begins, 175; + Pontiac enraged, 176; + the war-dance, _ib._; + attack on the fort, 177, 178; + his duplicity, 179; + detains two British officers, 181; + threatens to burn Gladwyn alive, 186; + visited by a deputation of Canadians, 187-190; + his speech to them, 188-190; + provides supplies of food for his followers, 190; + issues promissory notes for the payment, 191; + is desirous of learning war from Europeans, _ib._; + General Gage’s account of him, 191; + Major Rogers’s account, 192; + account of him by William Smith, 192 _note_; + his magnanimity illustrated by anecdotes, 193, 194; + number of his followers, 203; + tries to terrify Gladwyn into a surrender, 216; + sends messengers to the Indians of Mackinaw, 245, 263; + his long-cherished hopes of assistance from France come to an end, + 352; + his message to Gladwyn announcing this result, 352; + abandons the siege of Detroit, 353; + his interview with Captain Morris on the Maumee River, 408, 409; + his hopes crushed, but his spirit whole, 465; + goes to the Illinois country, _ib._; + is aided by the French settlers there, 466; + they deceive him with hopes of aid from France, 466; + Neyon, the French commandant, discourages him, 467; + rouses the tribes of the Illinois to war, 468; + sends messengers, with similar intent, to the Indians in Southern + Louisiana, 471; + and to New Orleans, 472; + they return without success, 474; + Pontiac saves the life of Lieutenant Fraser, 481; + seizes a cargo of English goods, 483; + his followers forsake him, and he finds that all is lost, 483; + offers the English envoy, Croghan, the calumet of peace, 486; + his speech to the Indian tribes assembled at Detroit, 489; + meets Sir William Johnson at Oswego, 493; + promises a full compliance with the English demands, 496; + still supposed to cherish thoughts of vengeance, 497; + visits St. Louis, 498; + appears in French uniform, _ib._; + his assassination at Cahokia, 499, 500; + buried near St. Louis, 500; + his death avenged, 501. + See _Appendix_ B. and C. + + Post, Christian Frederic, a Moravian missionary, visits the Ohio + Indians to detach them from the French interest, 112; + extracts from his journal, 112 _note_; + succeeds in his errand, 113. + + Pothier, a Jesuit priest, endeavors to restrain the Wyandots from + hostilities, 183. + + _Pottawattamies_, kindred of the Ojibwas, 38; + located near Detroit, 129, 163; + and near the head of Lake Michigan, 204. + + Presbyterians of Pennsylvania, their stiffness of character, 335; + hated by the Quakers, 366; + the Quakers hated by them, 377; + mutual recrimination, 384. + See _Appendix_ E. + + Presqu’ Isle, on Lake Erie, fortified by the French, 80, 121; + occupied by the English, 126; + taken by the Indians, 208; + a false report respecting the capture, 286. + + Price, Ensign George, commander at Fort Le Bœuf, 287; + his gallant but unavailing defence, 288, 289; + arrives at Fort Pitt, 287, 290. + + Prideaux, General, killed at Niagara, 100. + + Prophet, among the Delawares: his wide influence, 136; + excites the Indians to war, _ib._; + exhorts them to bury the hatchet, 480. + + + Q. + + Quakers of Pennsylvania: their treatment of the Indians, 69; + anticipated in their policy by the Puritans of New England, 70; + their love of the Indians runs to dangerous extremes, 71; + persuade the Indians to cease their hostilities, 111; + Quaker assemblymen oppose measures of defence, and justify the + Indians in their raids on the settlements, 343, 348; + their own security due to their remoteness from the scene of + danger, 348; + the Quakers alarmed at the approach of the Paxton men, 373; + their dilemma, 373; + they concur in measures for the defence of Philadelphia, 377; + and thus abandon their favorite principle. + + Quaker principles no security from the tomahawk, 348 _note_. + + Quebec, strongly fortified, 100; + surrenders to the English, 109. + + + R. + + Rangers, description of this species of force, 124; + their services, 124; + their reputation, _ib._; + a body of them under Rogers sent to take possession of the western + posts, 126. + + Rattlesnake superstitiously venerated by the Indians, 395 _note_, 456 + _note_. + + Robertson, Captain, murdered by Indians, 176. + + Rogers, Major Robert, commander of the Rangers, 124; + described, 124; + wanting in correct moral principle, 125; + tried for meditated treason, _ib._; + his miserable end, _ib._; + his published works, 125, 126 _note_. + See _Appendix_ B. + Sent to take possession of the Western posts, 126; + passes up Lakes Ontario and Erie, _ib._; + his interview with Pontiac, 127; + his statements respecting the detention of two British officers, + 181, 182 _note_; + his account of Pontiac, 192; + Rogers and Pontiac, 193; + comes to Detroit with a reinforcement, 227; + engaged in the fight at Bloody Bridge, 231, 232, 233. + + “Royal Americans,” a regiment so denominated, 298; + of what material composed, _ib._ + + Rum: a proposal to exterminate the Indians by the free sale of this + article, 353 _note_. + + + S. + + Sacs and Foxes, their location, 265; + defeated by the French near Detroit, 189 _note_; + a party of Sacs visit Michillimackinac, 249. + + Sandusky, fort, captured by the Indians, 203. + + Sault Ste. Marie, a military post, 239; + abandoned by the English, 265. + + Schlosser, Ensign, taken prisoner by Indians, 204, 205. + + School children, with their master, murdered and scalped by the + Indians, 338, 339. + + Schoolcraft, Henry R., quoted, 17, 22, 24, 164, 166. + + Scotch-Irish in Pennsylvania, 335; + their peculiarities, _ib._ + + Seneca Indians join in the plot against the English, 137, 142; + a party of them take and destroy Venango, 290, 296; + destroy a convoy at the Devil’s Hole, 331; + make peace with the English, 397. + See _Iroquois_. + + _Shawanoes_, scattered widely after their defeat by the Iroquois, + 37; + driven again from their homes, 74; + carry on hostilities against the English, 111; + their number estimated, 115; + their villages, 117; + Colonel Bouquet compels them to sue for peace, 436. + + Shippen, Edward, a magistrate of Lancaster, gives to Governor Bain an + account of the massacre in Lancaster jail, 364 _note_. + See _Appendix_ E. + + Shippensburg, Pa., crowded with fugitives from the frontiers, 316 + _note_. + + Small-pox, proposal to infect the Indians with it, 304, 305; + this disease found to exist among them, 304 _note_. + + Smith, James, commands a body of border riflemen, 345; + adopts the Indian costume and tactics, _ib._; + a further account of him, 345 _note_; + heads a predatory expedition of Paxton men, 476; + his narration of the affair, 478 _note_. + + Smith, Matthew, a leader among the Paxton men, 360; + conducts a party of men against the Indians at Conestoga, 361; + the massacre, 361; + Smith’s narration of the affair, 361 _note_; + he threatens to fire on his minister’s horse if not allowed to + pass, 363; + leads in the massacre of Indians in Lancaster jail, _ib._; + conducts an armed rabble to Philadelphia, with a purpose to kill + the Moravian Indians, 372; + proceeds to Germantown, and there halts, 379; + treaty with the rioters, 381. + See _Appendix_ E., pp. 543-547. + + Smith, William, of New York, his account of Pontiac, 192 _note_. + + Smollett’s history of England, quoted in reference to the “Royal + Americans,” 297 _note_. + + Solomons, an English fur-trader, 244. + + Spangenburg, a Moravian bishop, attends the great Iroquois council at + Onondaga, 21 _note_; + his account of it, _ib._ + + St. Ange de Bellerive, commander of the French fort Chartres, 464; + keeps the Indians quiet, _ib._; + has a visit from Pontiac, 468; + to whom he refuses aid, 468, 482. + + St. Aubin, a Canadian, 165; + his account of the siege of Detroit, _Appendix_ C. + + St. Ignace, mission of, 240. + + St. Joseph River, a French fort there, 54, 57; + taken possession of by the English, 130; + the fort captured by Indians, 204. + + St. Louis founded by Laclede, 463; + surprising changes there in the memory of the living, 463. + + St. Pierre, Legardeur de, French commandant on the waters of the + Ohio, 81. + + Stedman, conductor of a convoy, escapes from the Indians, 330. + + Stewart, Lazarus, a leader of the Paxton men, 362; + apprehended on a charge of murder, 366; + escapes to Wyoming, _ib._; + issues a “declaration,” _ib._; + the document quoted, 357 _note_; + favorable character of him given by Rev. John Elder, 365 _note_. + + Superstitious regard of Indians for insane persons illustrated by a + curious story, 283; + superstitious regard for rattlesnakes, 395 _note_, 456 _note_. + + Susquehanna River, its banks a scene of Indian warfare, 345 _et seq._ + + + T. + + Thunder, god of, 41. + + Ticonderoga, its position, 97; + repulse of the English there, 98, 99; + taken by General Amherst, 100. + + _Totems_, emblems of clans, 17, 18, 21; + their influence, 21. + + Tracy, a fur-trader, at Mackinaw, 251. + + Traders among the Indians, their bad character, 63; + many of them killed, 281, 282; + treacherous conduct of the Indians towards them, 283. + + Treacherous conduct of Indians, 146, 250, 281, 283, 288. + + Treatment of captives taken in war, 28, 61, 180 _note_. + + Treatment of Indians by the French, 64-67; + by the English, 64, 131, 132 _note_, 141; + by William Penn, 69; + by his sons, 70, 71; + by the Quakers, 69, 70; + by the New England people, 70. + + Treaty of 1763, its probable effect on the Indians had it been made + sooner, 147, 148. + + Trent, Captain, occupies the site of Pittsburg, 81; + obliged to leave it, 82. + + Tribute exacted by the Iroquois, what, 19 _note_. + + _Tuscaroras_, a later member of the _Iroquois_ confederacy, 20; + removal from North Carolina, 33. + + + U. + + Union of the colonies proposed, 83. + + Union of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, 452. + + + V. + + Venango, on the Alleghany River, 278; + destroyed by the Indians and the garrison slaughtered, 290; + the remains visible many years after, 291 _note_. + + Vincennes, a French settlement, 120, 278. + + Virginia troops, their good conduct at the time of Braddock’s defeat, + 91; + Virginia wasted by Indian war, 111; + character of the settlers of Western Virginia, 333; + extent of settlement, 334; + ravages of the Indians, 337, 338; + energetic measures taken to protect the settlers, 344. + + + W. + + “Walking Purchase,” the, a fraudulent transaction, 71; + its consequences, 72. + + Walpole, Horace, his low opinion of General Braddock, 86. + + Wampum, of what made, 141 _note_; + its uses, 142 _note_; + what the spurning of it denotes, 113 _note_; + used in making a treaty, 401 _note_; + black wampum and its use, 473. + + _Wapocomoguth_, an Ojibwa chief, visits Detroit with proposals of + peace, 351. + + War, Indian appetite for it, 146; + their mode of preparation for it, 27; + wars of the Iroquois with other Indians, 31-33; + with the French, 61, 62; + war of 1755, 84-110; + of the Indians of Ohio against the English, 111; + war-parties of Indians, how formed, 145; + Indian wars, how conducted, 146, 147; + preparation for war, how made, 148-150; + the war-feast, 149; + prognostics of the war, 159; + the war dance, 176; + the war instigated by Pontiac begins, 177; + end of the war, its distresses, 496. + + War of 1755, its beginning, 84; + its peculiar character, 85; + plan formed for 1755 by the English ministry, 86; + plan for 1759, 99. + + Washington, George, sent to remonstrate against French encroachment, + 80; + his interview with the French commandant on the waters of the Ohio, + 81; + surprises and captures a party of French on the Monongahela, 82; + sustains the attack of a superior force of French and Indians, + _ib._; + his calm behavior at the time of Braddock’s defeat, 89. + + _Wawatam_, an Ojibwa chief, his singular friendship for Alexander + Henry, 246; + warns Henry of danger, 247; + the warning disregarded, _ib._; + procures the release of Henry from those who had him in their + power, 260, 261; + again preserves the life of Henry, 264. + + Webb, General, his dastardly conduct, 113. + + Wilderness of the West described, 114; + its vastness, its small and scattered Indian population, 115; + estimate of the number, _ib._; + hunters and trappers, their character and habits, 122, 123. + + Wilkins, Major, commands at Niagara, 331; + conducts an expedition against the Indians, 332; + meets with disaster, _ib._; + the failure of the expedition announced at Detroit, 353. + + William Henry, Fort, its position, 97; + taken by Montcalm, 97; + massacre there, 66, 97. + + Williams, Colonel Ephraim, slain at the battle of Lake George, 94. + + Williamson, an English trader, procures the assassination of Pontiac, + 499, 500. + + _Winnebagoes_, their location, 265. + + Winston, Richard, trader at St. Joseph’s, his curious letter, 205 + _note_. + + Wisconsin, first white settlers in it, 252 _note_. + + Wolfe, General James, arrives before Quebec, 100; + his character, 101; + difficulties of his situation, 101, 102; + repeats Gray’s “Elegy,” 104; + occupies the Plains of Abraham, 106; + the battle, 107, 108; + death of Wolfe in the arms of victory, 109. + + Wyandots, or Hurons, where situated, 30; + their early prosperity, 31; + fiercely attacked and slaughtered by the Iroquois, 31; + a fugitive remnant left, 31, 38; + their energy of character, 33, 117; + their steadiness in fight, 33, 34; + their village near Detroit, 129, 163; + they join in the conspiracy of Pontiac, 142; + some of them do this under coercion, 183; + a body of them surprise Cuyler’s detachment, 200; + a party of them capture Fort Sandusky, 202. + + Wyoming Valley, settled from Connecticut, 347, 366; + massacre of the settlers, 347. + + + + + FOOTNOTES: + + +[Footnote 1: Many Indian tribes bear names which in their dialect signify +_men_, indicating that the character belongs, _par excellence_, to them. +Sometimes the word was used by itself, and sometimes an adjective was +joined with it, as _original men, men surpassing all others_.] + +[Footnote 2: The dread of female infidelity has been assigned, and with +probable truth, as the origin of this custom. The sons of a chief’s sister +must necessarily be his kindred; though his own reputed son may be, in +fact, the offspring of another.] + +[Footnote 3: Schoolcraft, _Oneota_, 172. + +The extraordinary figures intended to represent tortoises, deer, snakes, +and other animals, which are often seen appended to Indian treaties, are +the totems of the chiefs, who employ these devices of their respective +clans as their sign manual. The device of his clan is also sometimes +tattooed 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 former is +constantly employed to represent the local or political divisions of the +Indian race, hopeless confusion would arise from using it in a double +capacity.] + +[Footnote 4: For an ample view of these divisions, see the _Synopsis_ of +Mr. Gallatin, _Trans. Am. Ant. Soc._ II.] + +[Footnote 5: It appears from several passages in the writings of Adair, +Hawkins, and others, that the totem prevailed among the southern tribes. +In a conversation with the late Albert Gallatin, he informed me that he +was told by the chiefs of a Choctaw deputation, at Washington, that in +their tribe were eight totemic clans, divided into two classes, of four +each. It is very remarkable that the same number of clans, and the same +division into classes, were to be found among the Five Nations or +Iroquois.] + +[Footnote 6: A great difficulty in the study of Indian history arises from +a redundancy of names employed to designate the same tribe; yet this does +not prevent the same name from being often used to designate two or more +different tribes. The following are the chief of those which are applied +to the Iroquois by different writers, French, English, and German:—— + +Iroquois, Five, and afterwards Six Nations; Confederates, Hodenosaunee, +Aquanuscioni, Aggonnonshioni, Ongwe Honwe, Mengwe, Maquas, Mahaquase, +Massawomecs, Palenachendchiesktajeet. + +The name of Massawomecs has been applied to several tribes; and that of +Mingoes is often restricted to a colony of the Iroquois which established +itself near the Ohio.] + +[Footnote 7: François, a well-known Indian belonging to the remnant of the +Penobscots living at Old Town, in Maine, told me, in the summer 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, Mohogs, a tribe of +the Iroquois, who destroyed one of their villages, killed the men and +women, and roasted the small children on forked sticks, like apples, +before the fire. When he began to tell his story, François was engaged in +patching an old canoe, in preparation for a moose hunt; but soon growing +warm with his recital, he gave over his work, and at the conclusion +exclaimed with great wrath and earnestness, “Mohog all devil!”] + +[Footnote 8: The tribute exacted from the Delawares consisted of wampum, +or beads of shell, an article of inestimable value with the Indians. “Two +old men commonly go about, every year or two, to receive this tribute; and +I have often had opportunity to observe what anxiety the poor Indians were +under, while these two old men remained in that part of the country where +I was. An old Mohawk sachem, in a poor blanket and a dirty shirt, may be +seen issuing his orders with as arbitrary an authority as a Roman +dictator.”——Colden, _Hist. Five Nations_, 4.] + +[Footnote 9: The following are synonymous names, gathered from various +writers:—— + +Mohawks, Anies, Agniers, Agnierrhonons, Sankhicans, Canungas, Mauguawogs, +Ganeagaonoh. + +Oneidas, Oneotas, Onoyats, Anoyints, Onneiouts, Oneyyotecaronoh, +Onoiochrhonons. + +Onondagas, Onnontagues, Onondagaonohs. + +Cayugas, Caiyoquos, Goiogoens, Gweugwehonoh. + +Senecas, Sinnikes, Chennessies, Genesees, Chenandoanes, Tsonnontouans, +Jenontowanos, Nundawaronoh.] + +[Footnote 10: “In the year 1745, August Gottlieb Spangenburg, a bishop of +the United Brethren, spent several weeks in Onondaga, and frequently +attended the great council. The council-house was built of bark. On each +side six seats were placed, each containing six persons. No one was +admitted besides the members of the council, except a few, who were +particularly honored. If one rose to speak, all the rest sat in profound +silence, smoking their pipes. The speaker uttered his words in a singing +tone, always rising a few notes at the close of each sentence. Whatever +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 +applauding 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 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.] + +[Footnote 11: The descent of the sachemship in the female line was a +custom universally prevalent among the Five Nations, or Iroquois proper. +Since, among Indian tribes generally, the right of furnishing a sachem was +vested in some particular totemic clan, it results of course that the +descent of the sachemship must follow the descent of the totem; that is, +if the totemship descend in the female line, the sachemship must do the +same. This custom of descent in the female line prevailed not only among +the Iroquois proper, but also 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. 69_), +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 totemships, and consequently the chieftainships, descending in the +male line, after the analogy of civilized nations. For this information +concerning the northern Algonquins, I am indebted to Mr. Schoolcraft, +whose opportunities of observation among these tribes have surpassed those +of any other student of Indian customs and character.] + +[Footnote 12: An account of the political institutions of the Iroquois +will be found in Mr. Morgan’s series of letters, published 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 +prevailing 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 +arrangement and adjustment of already existing materials. + +Since the above chapter was written, Mr. Morgan has published an elaborate +and very able work on the institutions of the Iroquois. It forms an +invaluable addition to this department of knowledge.] + +[Footnote 13: Recorded by Heckewelder, Colden, and Schoolcraft. That the +Iroquois had long dwelt on the spot where they were first discovered by +the whites, is rendered probable by several circumstances. See Mr. +Squier’s work on the _Aboriginal Monuments of New York_.] + +[Footnote 14: This preposterous legend was first briefly related in the +pamphlet of Cusick, the Tuscarora, and after him by Mr. Schoolcraft, in +his _Notes_. The curious work of Cusick will again be referred to.] + +[Footnote 15: For traditions of the Iroquois see Schoolcraft, _Notes_, +Chap. IX. Cusick, _History of the Five Nations_, and Clark, _Hist. +Onondaga_, I. + +Cusick was an old Tuscarora Indian, who, being disabled by an accident +from active occupations, essayed to become the historian of his people, +and produced a small pamphlet, written in a language almost +unintelligible, and filled with a medley of traditions in which a few +grains of truth are inextricably mingled with a tangled mass of +absurdities. He relates the monstrous legends of his people with an air of +implicit faith, and traces the presiding sachems of the confederacy in +regular descent from the first Atotarho downwards. His work, which was +printed at the Tuscarora village, near Lewiston, in 1828, is illustrated +by several rude engravings representing the Stone Giants, the Flying +Heads, and other traditional monsters.] + +[Footnote 16: Lafitau, _Mœurs des Sauvages Ameriquains_, II. 4-10. + +Frontenac, in his expedition against the Onondagas, in 1696 (see Official +Journal, _Doc. Hist. New York_, I. 332), found one of their villages built +in an oblong form, with four bastions. The wall was formed of three rows +of palisades, those of the outer row being forty or fifty feet high. The +usual figure of the Iroquois villages was circular or oval, and in this +instance the bastions were no doubt the suggestion of some European +adviser.] + +[Footnote 17: Bartram gives the following account of the great +council-house at Onondaga, which he visited in 1743:—— + +“We alighted at the council-house, where the chiefs were already assembled +to receive us, which they did with a grave, cheerful complaisance, +according to their custom; they shew’d us where to lay our baggage, and +repose ourselves during our stay with them; which was in the 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 seventeen broad, +the common passage six feet wide, and the apartments on each side five +feet, raised a foot above the passage by a long sapling, hewed square, and +fitted with joists that go from it to the back of the house; on these +joists they lay large pieces of bark, and on extraordinary occasions +spread mats made of rushes: this favor we had; on these floors they set or +lye down, every one as he will; the apartments are divided from each other +by boards or bark, six or seven foot long, from the lower floor to the +upper, on which they put their lumber; when they have eaten their homony, +as they set in each apartment before the fire, they can put the bowl over +head, having not above five foot to reach; they set on the floor sometimes +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 aflatt, +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.] + +[Footnote 18: “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 greatt house, nott farr from +the sea, and the other trade onely, as they say, with a black people. This +day of them was burnt two women, and a man and a child killed with a +stone. Att night we heard a great noise as if y^{e} houses had all fallen +butt itt was only y^{e} inhabitants driving away y^{e} ghosts of y^{e} +murthered. + +‘The 18^{th} going to Canagorah, that day there were most cruelly burnt +four men, four women and one boy. The cruelty lasted aboutt seven hours. +When they were almost dead letting them loose to the mercy of y^{e} boys, +and taking the hearts of such as were dead to feast on’——Greenhalgh, +_Journal_, 1677.] + +[Footnote 19: For an account of the habits and customs of the Iroquois, +the following works, besides those already cited, may be referred to:—— + +Charlevoix, _Letters to the Duchess of Lesdiguières_; Champlain, _Voyages +de la Nouv. France_; Clark, _Hist. Onondaga_, I., and several volumes of +the Jesuit _Relations_, especially those of 1656-1657 and 1659-1660.] + +[Footnote 20: This is Colden’s translation of the word Ongwehonwe, one of +the names of the Iroquois.] + +[Footnote 21: La Hontan estimated the Iroquois at from five thousand to +seven thousand fighting men; but his means of information were very +imperfect, and the same may be said of several other French writers, who +have overrated the force of the confederacy. In 1677, the English sent one +Greenhalgh to ascertain their numbers. He visited all their towns and +villages, and reported their aggregate force at two thousand one hundred +and fifty fighting men. The report of Colonel Coursey, agent from +Virginia, at about the same period, closely corresponds with this +statement. Greenhalgh’s Journal will be found in Chalmers’s _Political +Annals_, and in the _Documentary History of New York_. Subsequent +estimates, up to the period of the Revolution, when their strength had +much declined, vary from twelve hundred to two thousand one hundred and +twenty. Most of these estimates are given by Clinton, in his _Discourse on +the Five Nations_, and several by Jefferson, in his _Notes on Virginia_.] + +[Footnote 22: Hurons, Wyandots, Yendots, Ouendaets, Quatogies. + +The Dionondadies are also designated by the following names: Tionontatez, +Petuneux——Nation of Tobacco.] + +[Footnote 23: See Sagard, _Hurons_, 115.] + +[Footnote 24: Bancroft, in his chapter on the Indians east of the +Mississippi, falls into a mistake when he says that no trade was carried +on by any of the tribes. For an account of the traffic between the Hurons +and Algonquins, see Mercier, _Relation des Hurons_, 1637, p. 171.] + +[Footnote 25: See “Jesuits in North America.”] + +[Footnote 26: According to Lallemant, the population of the Neutral Nation +amounted to at least twelve thousand; but the estimate is probably +exaggerated.——_Relation des Hurons_, 1641, p. 50.] + +[Footnote 27: The Iroquois traditions on this subject, as related to the +writer by a chief of the Cayugas, do not agree with the narratives of the +Jesuits. It is not certain that the Eries were of the Iroquois family. +There is some reason to believe them Algonquins, and possibly identical +with the Shawanoes.] + +[Footnote 28: Charlevoix, _Nouvelle France_, I. 443.] + +[Footnote 29: Gallatin places the final subjection of the Lenape at about +the year 1750——a printer’s error for 1650.——_Synopsis_, 48.] + +[Footnote 30: _Nouvelle France_, I. 196.] + +[Footnote 31: William Henry Harrison, _Discourse on the Aborigines of the +Ohio_. See _Ohio Hist. Trans. Part Second_, I. 257.] + +[Footnote 32: “Here y^{e} Indyans were very desirous to see us ride our +horses, w^{ch} wee did: they made great feasts and dancing, and invited us +y^{t} when all y^{e} maides were together, both wee and our Indyans might +choose such as lyked us to ly with.”——Greenhalgh, _Journal_.] + +[Footnote 33: The Lenape, on their part, call the other Algonquin tribes +Children, Grandchildren, Nephews, or Younger Brothers; but they confess +the superiority of the Wyandots and the Five Nations, by yielding them the +title of Uncles. They, in return, call the Lenape Nephews, or more +frequently Cousins.] + +[Footnote 34: Loskiel, Part I. 130.] + +[Footnote 35: The story told by the Lenape themselves, and recorded with +the utmost good faith by Loskiel and Heckewelder, that the Five Nations +had not conquered them, but, by a cunning artifice, had cheated them into +subjection, is wholly unworthy of credit. It is not to be believed that a +people so acute and suspicious could be the dupes of so palpable a trick; +and it is equally incredible that a high-spirited tribe could be induced, +by the most persuasive rhetoric, to assume the name of Women, which in +Indian eyes is the last confession of abject abasement.] + +[Footnote 36: Heckewelder, _Hist. Ind. Nat._ 53.] + +[Footnote 37: The evidence concerning the movements of the Shawanoes is +well summed up by Gallatin, _Synopsis_, 65. See also Drake, _Life of +Tecumseh_, 10.] + +[Footnote 38: Father Rasles, 1723, says that there were eleven. Marest, in +1712, found only three.] + +[Footnote 39: Morse, _Report, Appendix_, 141.] + +[Footnote 40: See Tanner, Long, and Henry. A comparison of Tanner with the +accounts of the Jesuit Le Jeune will show that Algonquin life in Lower +Canada, two hundred years ago, was essentially the same with Algonquin +life on the Upper Lakes within the last half century.] + +[Footnote 41: For Algonquin legends, see Schoolcraft, in _Algic +Researches_ and _Oneota_. Le Jeune early discovered 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 the +Sun,” recently found by Mr. Schoolcraft among the tribes of the Upper +Lakes. Compare _Relation_, 1637, p. 172, and _Oneota_, p. 75. The +coincidence affords a curious proof of the antiquity and wide diffusion of +some of these tales. + +The Dacotah, as well as the Algonquins, believe that the thunder is +produced by a bird. A beautiful 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 a monstrous giant, who had unfortunately swallowed a +quantity of snakes; and the latter falling to the earth, caused the +appearance of lightning. “Voilà une philosophie bien nouvelle!” exclaims +the astonished Jesuit.] + +[Footnote 42: Le Jeune, Schoolcraft, James, Jarvis, Charlevoix, Sagard, +Brébeuf, Mercier, Vimont, Lallemant, Lafitau, De Smet, &c.] + +[Footnote 43: Raynal. _Hist. Indies_, VII. 87 (Lond. 1783). + +Charlevoix, _Voyages, Letter_ X. + +The Swedish traveller Kalm gives an interesting account of manners in +Canada, about the middle of the eighteenth century. For the feudal tenure +as existing in Canada, see Bouchette, I. Chap. XIV (Lond. 1831), and +Garneau, _Hist. Canada_, Book III. Chap. III.] + +[Footnote 44: Charlevoix, _Nouv. France_, I. 197.] + +[Footnote 45: Charlevoix, I. 198.] + +[Footnote 46: A. D. 1635. _Relation des Hurons_, 1636, p. 2.] + +[Footnote 47: “Vivre en la Nouvelle France c’est à vray dire vivre dans le +sein de Dieu.” Such are the extravagant words of Le Jeune, in his report +of the year 1635.] + +[Footnote 48: See Jesuit _Relations_ and _Lettres Edifiantes_; also, +Charlevoix, _passim_; Garneau, _Hist. Canada_, Book IV. Chap. II.; and +Bancroft, _Hist. U. S._ Chap. XX.] + +[Footnote 49: Charlevoix, I. 292.] + +[Footnote 50: _Ibid._ 238-276.] + +[Footnote 51: For remarks on the futility of Jesuit missionary efforts, +see Halkett, _Historical Notes_, Chap. IV.] + +[Footnote 52: Picquet was a priest of St. Sulpice. For a sketch of his +life, see _Lett. Edif._ XIV.] + +[Footnote 53: For an account of Priber, see _Adair_, 240. I have seen +mention of this man in contemporary provincial newspapers, where he is +sometimes spoken of as a disguised Jesuit. He took up his residence among +the Cherokees about the year 1736, and labored to gain them over to the +French interest.] + +[Footnote 54: Sparks, _Life of La Salle_, 21.] + +[Footnote 55: Hennepin, _New Discovery_, 98 (Lond. 1698.)] + +[Footnote 56: _Procès Verbal_, in appendix to Sparks’s _La Salle_.] + +[Footnote 57: Du Pratz, _Hist. Louisiana_, 5. Charlevoix, II. 259.] + +[Footnote 58: Smith, _Hist. Canada_, I. 208.] + +[Footnote 59: Champlain, _Voyages_, 136 (Paris, 1632) Charlevoix, I, 142.] + +[Footnote 60: Vimont, Colden, Charlevoix, _passim_.] + +[Footnote 61: Vimont seems to believe the story——_Rel. de la N. F._ 1640, +195.] + +[Footnote 62: Charlevoix, I. 549.] + +[Footnote 63: A. D. 1654-1658.——_Doc. Hist. N. Y._ I. 47.] + +[Footnote 64: Official Papers of the Expedition.——_Doc. Hist. N. Y._ I. +323.] + +[Footnote 65: _Doc. Hist. N. Y._ I. 446.] + +[Footnote 66: La Hontan, _Voyages_, I. 74. Colden, _Memorial on the +Fur-Trade_.] + +[Footnote 67: _Doc. Hist. N. Y._ I. 444.] + +[Footnote 68: Smith, _Hist. Canada_, I. 214.] + +[Footnote 69: _Précis des Faits_, 89.] + +[Footnote 70: Smith, _Hist. N. Y. passim_.] + +[Footnote 71: _Rev. Military Operations, Mass. Hist. Coll. 1st Series_, +VII. 67.] + +[Footnote 72: Colden, _Hist. Five Nat._ 161.] + +[Footnote 73: _MS. Papers of Cadwallader Colden. MS. Papers of Sir William +Johnson._ + +“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.”——_MS. Letter——Johnson to the +Board of Trade, May 24, 1765._] + +[Footnote 74: “I apprehend it will clearly appear to you, that the +colonies had all along neglected to cultivate a proper understanding with +the Indians, and from a mistaken notion have greatly despised them, +without considering that it is in their power to lay waste and destroy the +frontiers. This opinion arose from our confidence in our scattered +numbers, and the parsimony of our people, who, from an error in politics, +would not expend five pounds to save twenty.”——_MS. Letter——Johnson to the +Board of Trade, November 13, 1763._] + +[Footnote 75: Adair, _Post’s Journals_. Croghan’s _Journal_, MSS. of Sir +W. Johnson, etc., etc.] + +[Footnote 76: La Hontan, I. 177. Potherie, _Hist. Am. Sept._ II. 298 +(Paris, 1722). + +These facts afford no ground for national reflections, when it is +recollected that while Iroquois prisoners were tortured in the wilds of +Canada, Elizabeth Gaunt was burned to death at Tyburn for yielding to the +dictates of compassion, and giving shelter to a political offender.] + +[Footnote 77: Le Jeune, _Rel. de la N. F._ 1636, 193.] + +[Footnote 78: “I have exactly followed the Bishop of London’s counsel, by +buying, and not taking away, the natives’ land.”——_Penn’s Letter to the +Ministry, Aug. 14, 1683._ See Chalmer’s _Polit. Ann._ 666.] + +[Footnote 79: “If any of the salvages pretend right of inheritance to all +or any part of the lands granted in our patent, we pray you endeavor to +purchase their tytle, that we may avoid the least scruple of +intrusion.”——_Instructions to Endicot_, 1629. See Hazard, _State Papers_, +I. 263. + +“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._ II. 98.] + +[Footnote 80: He paid twice for his lands; once to the Iroquois, who +claimed them by right of conquest, and once to their occupants, the +Delawares.] + +[Footnote 81: 1755-1763. The feelings of the Quakers at this time may be +gathered from the following sources: MS. _Account of the Rise and Progress +of the Friendly Association for gaining and preserving Peace with the +Indians by pacific Measures._ _Address of the Friendly Association to +Governor Denny._ See Proud, _Hist. Pa., appendix_. Haz., _Pa. Reg._ VIII. +273, 293, 323. But a much livelier picture of the prevailing excitement +will be found in a series of party pamphlets, published at Philadelphia in +the year 1764.] + +[Footnote 82: _Causes of the Alienation of the Delaware and Shawanoe +Indians from the British Interest_, 33, 68, (Lond. 1759). This work is a +pamphlet written by Charles Thompson, afterwards secretary of Congress, +and designed to explain the causes of the rupture which took place at the +outbreak of the French war. The text is supported by copious references to +treaties and documents. I have seen a copy in the possession of Francis +Fisher, Esq., of Philadelphia, containing marginal notes in the +handwriting of James Hamilton, who was twice governor of the province +under the proprietary instructions. In these notes, though he cavils at +several unimportant points of the relation, he suffers the essential +matter to pass unchallenged.] + +[Footnote 83: _Witham Marshe’s Journal._] + +[Footnote 84: Onas was the name given by the Indians to William Penn and +his successors.] + +[Footnote 85: _Minutes of Indian council held at Philadelphia_, 1742.] + +[Footnote 86: Chapman, _Hist. Wyoming_, 19.] + +[Footnote 87: _Colonial Records_, III. 340.] + +[Footnote 88: Letter of Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, Jan. 25, 1720. +See _Colonial Records of Pa._ III. 75.] + +[Footnote 89: _Minutes of Indian Council_, 1746.] + +[Footnote 90: _Doc. Hist. N. Y._ I. 423.] + +[Footnote 91: MS. Letter——_Colden to Lord Halifax_, no date.] + +[Footnote 92: Allen, _Am. Biog. Dict._ and authorities there referred to. +Campbell, _Annals of Tryon County, appendix_. Sabine, _Am. Loyalists_, +398. _Papers relating to Sir W. Johnson_. See _Doc. Hist. New York_, II. +_MS. Papers of Sir W. Johnson_, etc., etc.] + +[Footnote 93: Garneau, Book VIII. Chap. III.] + +[Footnote 94: Holmes, _Annals_, II. 183. _Mémoire contenant Le Précis des +Faits, Pièces Justificatives_, Part I.] + +[Footnote 95: Smollett, III. 370 (Edinburgh, 1805).] + +[Footnote 96: Sparks’s _Life and Writings of Washington_, II. 478. _Gist’s +Journal_.] + +[Footnote 97: _Olden Time_, II. 9, 10. This excellent antiquarian +publication contains documents relating to this period which are not to be +found elsewhere.] + +[Footnote 98: “He invited us to sup with them, and treated us with the +greatest complaisance. The wine, as they dosed 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 absolute 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 motions 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, sixty years 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 +thereto.”——Washington, _Journal_.] + +[Footnote 99: Sparks, _Life and Writings of Washington_, II. 6.] + +[Footnote 100: Sparks, II. 447. The conduct of Washington in this affair +is regarded by French writers as a stain on his memory.] + +[Footnote 101: For the French account of these operations, see _Mémoire +contenant le Précis 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 +army.] + +[Footnote 102: _First Journal_ of C. F. Post.] + +[Footnote 103: Letters of Robert Stobo, an English hostage at Fort du +Quesne. + +“Shamokin Daniel, who came with me, went over to the fort [du Quesne] by +himself, and counselled with the governor, who presented 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 Philadelphia, and never received a +farthing,’ and (directing himself to me) said, ‘The English are fools, and +so are you.’”——Post, _First Journal_. + +Washington, while at Fort Le Bœuf, was much annoyed by the conduct of the +French, who did their utmost to seduce his Indian escort by bribes and +promises.] + +[Footnote 104: Trumbull, _Hist. Conn._ II. 355. Holmes, _Annals_, II. +201.] + +[Footnote 105: At this council an Iroquois sachem upbraided the English, +with great boldness, for their neglect of the Indians, their invasion of +their lands, and their dilatory conduct with regard to the French, who, as +the speaker averred, had behaved like men and warriors.——_Minutes of +Conferences at Albany, 1754._] + +[Footnote 106: _Causes of the Alienation of the Delaware and Shawanoe +Indians from the British Interest_, 77.] + +[Footnote 107: Garneau, II. 551. _Gent. Mag._ XXV. 330.] + +[Footnote 108: Smollett, III. 436. + +“The French inveighed against the capture of their ships, before any +declaration of war, as flagrant acts of piracy; and some neutral powers of +Europe seemed to consider them in the same point of view. It was certainly +high time to check the insolence of the French by force of arms; and +surely this might have been as effectually and expeditiously exerted under +the usual sanction of a formal declaration, the omission of which exposed +the administration to the censure of our neighbors, and fixed the +imputation of fraud and freebooting on the beginning of the +war.”——Smollett, III. 481. See also Mahon, _Hist. England_, IV. 72.] + +[Footnote 109: Instructions of General Braddock. See _Précis des Faits_, +160, 168.] + +[Footnote 110: The following is Horace Walpole’s testimony, and writers of +better authority have expressed themselves, with less liveliness and +piquancy, to the same effect:—— + +“Braddock is a very Iroquois in disposition. He had a sister, who, having +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 profligacy, +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, who had good humor and wit (Braddock +had the latter), said, ‘Braddock, you are a poor dog! Here, take my purse. +If you kill me, you will be forced to run away, and then you will not have +a shilling to support you.’ Braddock refused the purse, insisted on the +duel, was disarmed, and would not even ask his life. However, with all his +brutality, he has lately been governor 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 Braddock may be gathered from his Writings, II. +77.] + +[Footnote 111: MS. _Diary of the Expedition_, in the British Museum.] + +[Footnote 112: Sparks’s _Life and Writings of Washington_, II. 473. I am +indebted to the kindness of President Sparks for copies of several French +manuscripts, which throw much light on the incidents of the battle. These +manuscripts are alluded to in the Life and Writings of Washington.] + +[Footnote 113: _Smith’s Narrative._ This interesting account has been +several times published. It may be found in Drake’s _Tragedies of the +Wilderness_.] + +[Footnote 114: “Went to Lorette, an Indian village about eight miles from +Quebec. Saw the Indians at mass, and heard them sing psalms tolerably +well——a dance. Got well acquainted with Athanase, who was commander of the +Indians who defeated General Braddock, in 1755——a very sensible +fellow.”——_MS. Journal of an English Gentleman on a Tour through Canada, +in 1765._] + +[Footnote 115: “My feelings were heightened by the warm and glowing +narration of that day’s events, by Dr. Walker, who was an eye-witness. He +pointed out the 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 re-echoed through +the hills. How brilliant the morning——how melancholy the +evening!”——_Letter of Judge Yeates, dated August, 1776._ See Haz., _Pa. +Reg._, VI. 104.] + +[Footnote 116: Letter——_Captain Orme, his aide-de-camp, to_ ————, July +18.] + +[Footnote 117: Sparks, I. 67.] + +[Footnote 118: “The Virginia troops showed a good deal of bravery, and +were nearly all killed; for I believe, out of three companies that were +there, scarcely thirty men are left alive. Captain Peyrouny, and all his +officers, down to a corporal, were killed. Captain Polson 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 them.”——_Writings of +Washington_, II. 87. + +The English themselves bore reluctant testimony to the good conduct of the +Virginians.——See Entick, _Hist. Late War_, 147.] + +[Footnote 119: Haliburton, _Hist. Nova Scotia_, I. Chap. IV.] + +[Footnote 120: Holmes, II. 210. Trumbull, _Hist. Conn._ II. 368. Dwight, +_Travels_, III. 361. Hoyt, _Indian Wars_, 279. Entick, _Hist. Late War_, +I. 153. _Review of Military Operations in North America._ Johnson’s +_Letter to the Provincial Governors_. Blodgett’s _Prospective View of the +Battle near Lake George_. + +Blodgett’s pamphlet is accompanied by a curious engraving, giving a bird’s +eye view of the battle, including the surprise of Williams’ detachment, +and the subsequent attack on the camp of Johnson. In the first half of the +engraving, the French army is represented lying in ambuscade in the form +of a horseshoe. Hendrick is conspicuous among the English, from being +mounted on horseback, while all the others are on foot. In the view of the +battle at the lake, the English are represented lying flat on their faces, +behind their breastwork, and busily firing at the French and Indians, who +are seen skulking among the woods and thickets. + +I am again indebted to President Sparks for the opportunity of examining +several curious manuscripts relating to the battle of Lake George. Among +them is Dieskau’s official account of the affair, and a curious paper, +also written by the defeated general, and containing the story of his +disaster, as related by himself in an imaginary conversation with his old +commander, Marshal Saxe, in the Elysian Fields. Several writers have +stated that Dieskau died of his wounds. This, however, was not the case. +He was carried prisoner to England, where he lived for several years, but +returned to France after the peace of 1763.] + +[Footnote 121: Holmes, II. 226.] + +[Footnote 122: _Annual Register_, 1759, p. 33.] + +[Footnote 123: Mante, _Hist. Late War_, 238.] + +[Footnote 124: “I have this day signified to Mr. Pitt that he may dispose +of my slight carcass as he pleases; and that I am ready for any +undertaking within the reach and compass of my skill and cunning. I am in +a very bad condition, both with the gravel and rheumatism; but I had much +rather die than decline any kind of service that offers: if I followed my +own taste, it would lead me into Germany; and if my poor talent was +consulted, they should place me to the cavalry, because 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——Wolfe to +William Rickson, Salisbury, December 1, 1758._] + +[Footnote 125: Knox, _Journals_, I. 358.] + +[Footnote 126: Entick, IV. III. + +In his letter to the Ministry, dated Sept. 2, Wolfe writes in these +desponding words:—— + +“By the nature of the river, the most formidable part of this armament is +deprived of the power of acting; 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 then the +courage of a handful of brave troops should be exerted only when 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 as I am +able) for the honor of his Majesty, and the interest of the nation; in +which I am sure of being well seconded by the admiral and by the generals: +happy if our efforts here can contribute to the success of his Majesty’s +arms in any other part of America.”] + +[Footnote 127: “This anecdote was related by the late celebrated John +Robison, Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh, +who, in his youth, was a midshipman in the British navy, and was in the +same boat with Wolfe. His son, my kinsman, Sir John Robison, communicated +it to me, and it has since been recorded in the Transactions of the Royal +Society of Edinburgh. + + ‘The paths of glory lead but to the grave’ + +is one of the lines which Wolfe must have recited as he strikingly +exemplified its application.”——Grahame, _Hist. U. S._ IV. 50. See also +_Playfair’s Works_, IV. 126.] + +[Footnote 128: Smollett, V. 56, _note_ (Edinburgh, 1805). Mante simply +mentions that the English were challenged by the sentinels, and escaped +discovery by replying in French.] + +[Footnote 129: This incident is mentioned in a manuscript 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.] + +[Footnote 130: Knox, _Journal_, II. 68, note.] + +[Footnote 131: Despatch of Admiral Saunders, Sept. 20, 1759.] + +[Footnote 132: Despatch of General Townshend, Sept. 20. Gardiner, _Memoirs +of the Siege of Quebec_, 28. _Journal of the Siege of Quebec, by a +Gentleman in an Eminent Station on the Spot_, 40. _Letter to a Right +Honorable Patriot on the Glorious Success of Quebec._ _Annual Register for +1759_, 40.] + +[Footnote 133: Knox, II. 78. Knox derived his information from the person +who supported Wolfe in his dying moments.] + +[Footnote 134: Knox, II. 77.] + +[Footnote 135: _Annual Register for 1759_, 43.] + +[Footnote 136: Gordon, _Hist. Penn._ 321. _Causes of the Alienation of the +Delaware and Shawanese Indians from the British Interest._ _MS. Johnson +Papers._] + +[Footnote 137: The following are extracts from his journals:—— + +“We set out from Kushkushkee 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 much disturbed at my coming, and +received me in a very rough manner. They surrounded me with drawn knives +in their hands, in such a manner 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 countenances they sought my death. Their faces +were quite distorted with rage, and they went so far as to say, I should +not live long; but some Indians, with whom I was formerly acquainted, +coming up and saluting me in a friendly manner, their behavior to me was +quickly changed.” ... “Some of my party desired me not to stir from the +fire, for that the French had offered a great reward for my scalp, and +that there were several parties out on that purpose. Accordingly I stuck +constantly as close to the fire as if I had been chained there.... + +“In the 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 +captains 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 their father, the French +king:—— + +“‘My children, come to me, and hear what I have to say. The English are +coming with an army to destroy 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 the string before one of the captains. After a little +conversation, the captain stood up, and said, ‘I have just heard something +of our brethren, the English, 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 English.’ He then +threw the string to the other fireplace, 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 bread 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 about 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.] + +[Footnote 138: _Minutes of Council at Easton, 1758._] + +[Footnote 139: _Account of Conferences between Major-General Sir W. +Johnson and the Chief Sachems and Warriors of the Six Nations_ (Lond. +1756).] + +[Footnote 140: MS. _Johnson Papers._] + +[Footnote 141: The estimates given by Croghan, Bouquet, and Hutchins, do +not quite accord with that of Johnson. But the discrepancy is no greater +than might have been expected from the difficulties of the case.] + +[Footnote 142: Bartram, _Observations_, 41.] + +[Footnote 143: 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.] + +[Footnote 144: MS. _Journal of Lieutenant Gorell_, 1763. Anonymous MS. +_Journal of a Tour to Niagara in 1765_. The following is an extract from +the latter:—— + +“July 2d. 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 the 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 smallness of their pay, I think the gentlemen discover +no common share of philosophy in keeping themselves from running mad. +Officers and soldiers, with their wives and children, legitimate and +illegitimate, make altogether a pretty compound oglio, which does not tend +towards showing military matrimony off to any great advantage.... + +“Monday, 14th. Went on horseback by the side of Wood Creek, 20 miles, to +the Royal Blockhouse, a kind of wooden castle, proof against any Indian +attacks. It is now abandoned by the troops, and a sutler lives there, who +keeps rum, milk, rackoons, etc., which, though none of the most elegant, +is comfortable to strangers passing that way. The Blockhouse is situated +on the east end of the Oneida Lake, and is surrounded by the Oneida +Indians, one of the Six Nations.”] + +[Footnote 145: Mitchell, _Contest in America_. Pouchot, _Guerre de +l’Amérique_. _Expedition against the Ohio Indians, appendix._ Hutchins, +_Topographical Description of Virginia_, etc. Pownall, _Topographical +Description of North America_. Evans, _Analysis of a Map of the Middle +British Colonies_. Beatty, _Journal of a Tour in America_. Smith, +_Narrative_. M’Cullough, _Narrative_. Jemmison, _Narrative_. Post, +_Journals_. Washington, _Journals_, 1753-1770. Gist, _Journal_, 1750. +Croghan, _Journal_, 1765, etc., etc.] + +[Footnote 146: A striking example of Indian acuteness once came under my +observation. Travelling in company with a Canadian named Raymond, and an +Ogillallah Indian, we came at nightfall to a small stream called +Chugwater, a branch of Laramie Creek. As we prepared to encamp, we +observed the ashes of a fire, the footprints of men and horses, and other +indications that a party had been upon the spot not many days before. +Having secured our horses for the night, Raymond and I sat down and +lighted our pipes, my companion, who had spent his whole life in the +Indian country, hazarding various conjectures as to the numbers and +character of our predecessors. Soon after, we were joined by the Indian, +who, meantime, had been prowling about the place. Raymond asked what +discovery he had made. He answered, that the party were friendly, and that +they consisted of eight men, both whites and Indians, several of whom he +named, affirming 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 us for three weeks, and could have had no other means +of knowledge than we ourselves.] + +[Footnote 147: MS. _Gage Papers_.] + +[Footnote 148: 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’s published works consist of the _Journals_ of his ranging service +and his _Concise Account of North America_, a small volume containing much +valuable information. Both appeared in London in 1765. 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 production, see Appendix, B. An engraved full-length portrait of +Rogers was published in London in 1776. He is represented as a tall, +strong man, dressed in the costume of a ranger, with a powder-horn slung +at his side, a gun resting in the hollow of his arm, and a countenance by +no means prepossessing. Behind him, at a little distance, stand his Indian +followers. + +The steep mountain called Rogers’ Slide, near the northern end of Lake +George, derives its name from the tradition that, during the French war, +being pursued by a party of Indians, he slid on snowshoes down its +precipitous front, for more than a thousand feet, to the frozen lake +below. On beholding the achievement, the Indians, as well they might, +believed him under the protection of the Great Spirit, and gave over the +chase. The story seems unfounded; yet it was not far from this mountain +that the rangers fought one of their most desperate winter battles, +against a force of many times their number.] + +[Footnote 149: Henry, _Travels and Adventures_, 9.] + +[Footnote 150: There can be no reasonable doubt, that the interview with +Pontiac, described by Rogers in his _Account of North America_, took place +on the occasion indicated in his _Journals_, under date of the 7th of +November. The Indians whom he afterwards met are stated to have been +Hurons.] + +[Footnote 151: Rogers, _Journals_, 214; _Account of North America_, 240, +243.] + +[Footnote 152: _MS. Johnson Papers._] + +[Footnote 153: Extract from a MS. letter——_Sir W. Johnson to Governor +Colden_, Dec. 24, 1763. + +“I shall not take upon me to point out the Originall Parsimony &c. to +w^{h} the first defection of the Indians can with justice & certainty be +attributed, but only observe, as I did in a former letter, that the +Indians (whose friendship was never cultivated by the English with that +attention, expense, & assiduity with w^{h} y^{e} French obtained their +favour) were for many years jealous of our growing power, were repeatedly +assured by the French (who were at y^{e} pains of having many proper +emissaries among them) that so soon as we became masters of this country, +we should immediately treat them with neglect, hem them in with Posts & +Forts, encroach upon their Lands, and finally destroy them. All w^{h} +after the reduction of Canada, seemed to appear too clearly to the +Indians, who thereby lost the great advantages resulting from the +possession w^{h} the French formerly had of Posts & Trade in their +Country, neither of which they could have ever enjoyed but for the notice +they took of the Indians, & the presents they bestowed so bountifully upon +them, w^{h} however expensive, they wisely foresaw was infinitely cheaper, +and much more effectual than the keeping of a large body of Regular +Troops, in their several Countrys, ... a Plan which has endeared their +memory to most of the Indian Nations, who would I fear generally go over +to them in case they ever got footing again in this Country, & who were +repeatedly exhorted, & encouraged by the French (from motives of Interest +& dislike w^{h} they will always possess) to fall upon us, by representing +that their liberties & Country were in y^{e} utmost danger.” In January, +1763, Colonel Bouquet, commanding in Pennsylvania, writes to General +Amherst, stating the discontent produced among the Indians by the +suppression of presents. The commander-in-chief replies, “As to +appropriating a particular sum to be laid out yearly to the warriors in +presents, &c., that I can by no means agree to; nor can I think it +necessary to give them any presents by way of _Bribes_, for if they do not +behave properly they are to be punished.” And again, in February, to the +same officer, “As you are thoroughly acquainted with my sentiments +regarding the treatment of the Indians in general, you will of course +order Cap. Ecuyer ... not to give those who are able to provide for their +families any encouragement to loiter away their time in idleness about the +Fort.”] + +[Footnote 154: Some of the principal causes of the war are exhibited with +spirit and truth in the old tragedy of _Ponteach_, written probably by +Major Rogers. The portion of the play referred to is given in Appendix, B. + +“The English treat us with much Disrespect, and we have the greatest +Reason to believe, by their Behavior, they intend to Cut us off entirely; +They have possessed themselves of our Country, it is now in our power to +Dispossess them and Recover it, if we will but Embrace the opportunity +before they have time to assemble together, and fortify themselves, there +is no time to be lost, let us Strike immediately.”——_Speech of a Seneca +chief to the Wyandots and Ottawas of Detroit, July, 1761._] + +[Footnote 155: _Minutes of Conference with the Six Nations at Hartford_, +1763, _MS. Letter——Hamilton to Amherst_, May 10, 1761.] + +[Footnote 156: “We are now left in Peace, and have nothing to do but to +plant our Corn, Hunt the wild Beasts, smoke our Pipes, and mind Religion. +But as these Forts, which are built among us, disturb our Peace, & are a +great hurt to Religion, because some of our Warriors are foolish, & some +of our Brother Soldiers don’t fear God, we therefore desire that these +Forts may be pull’d down, & kick’d out of the way.” + +At a conference at Philadelphia, in August, 1761, an Iroquois sachem said, +“We, your Brethren of the several Nations, are penned up like Hoggs. There +are Forts all around us, and therefore we are apprehensive that Death is +coming upon us.”] + +[Footnote 157: Croghan, _Journal_. See Hildreth, _Pioneer History_, 68. +Also Butler, _Hist. Kentucky_, Appendix.] + +[Footnote 158: Examination of Gershom Hicks, a spy. See _Pennsylvania +Gazette_, No. 1846. + +Many passages from contemporary letters and documents might be cited in +support of the above. The following extract from a letter of Lieut. Edward +Jenkins, commanding at Fort Ouatanon on the Wabash, to Major Gladwin +commanding at Detroit, is a good example. The date is 28 March, 1763. “The +Canadians here are eternally telling lies to the Indians.... One La Pointe +told the Indians a few days ago that we should all be prisoners in a short +time (showing when the corn was about a foot high), that there was a great +army to come from the Mississippi, and that they were to have a great +number of Indians with them; therefore advised them not to help us. That +they would soon take Detroit and these small posts, and then they would +take Quebec, Montreal, &c., and go into our country. This, I am informed, +they tell them from one end of the year to the other.” He adds that the +Indians will rather give six beaver-skins for a blanket to a Frenchman +than three to an Englishman.] + +[Footnote 159: _M’Cullough’s Narrative._ See _Incidents of Border Life_, +98. M’Cullough was a prisoner among the Delawares, at the time of the +prophet’s appearance.] + +[Footnote 160: MS. _Minutes of a Council held by Deputies of the Six +Nations, with the Wyandots, Ottawas, Ojibwas, and Pottawattamies, at the +Wyandot town, near Detroit, July 3, 1761._ + +Extract from a MS. Letter——_Captain Campbell, commanding at Detroit, to +Major Walters, commanding at Niagara._ + + “Detroit, June 17th. 1761, + two o’clock in the morning. + +“Sir: + +“I had the favor of Yours, with General Amherst’s Dispatches. + +“I have sent You an Express with a very Important piece of Intelligence I +have had the good fortune to Discover. I have been Lately alarmed with +Reports of the bad Designs of the Indian Nations against this place and +the English in General; I can now Inform You for certain it Comes from the +Six Nations; and that they have Sent Belts of Wampum & Deputys to all the +Nations, from Nova Scotia to the Illinois, to take up the hatchet against +the English, and have employed the Messagues to send Belts of Wampum to +the Northern Nations.... + +“Their project is as follows: the Six Nations——at least the Senecas——are +to Assemble at the head of French Creek, within five and twenty Leagues of +Presqu’ Isle, part of the Six Nations, the Delawares and Shanese, are to +Assemble on the Ohio, and all at the same time, about the latter End of +this Month, to surprise Niagara & Fort Pitt, and Cut off the Communication +Every where; I hope this will Come time Enough to put You on Your Guard +and to send to Oswego, and all the Posts on that communication, they +Expect to be Joined by the Nations that are Come from the North by +Toronto.”] + +[Footnote 161: Letter, _Geo. Croghan to Sir J. Amherst, Fort Pitt, April +30, 1763_, MS. Amherst replies characteristically, “Whatever idle notions +they may entertain in regard to the cessions made by the French Crown can +be of very little consequence.” + +Croghan, Sir William Johnson’s deputy, and a man of experience, had for +some time been anxious as to the results of the arrogant policy of +Amherst. On March 19th he wrote to Colonel Bouquet: “How they (_the +Indians_) may behave I can’t pretend to say, but I do not approve of +Gen^{l.} Amherst’s plan of distressing them too much, as in my opinion +they will not consider consequences if too much distrest, tho’ Sir Jeffrey +thinks they will.” + +Croghan urges the same views, with emphasis, in other letters; but Amherst +was deaf to all persuasion.] + +[Footnote 162: Drake, _Life of Tecumseh_, 138. + +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 northern +tribes, declared, on the faith of Indian tradition, that he was born among +the Ottawas of an Ojibwa mother, a circumstance which proved an advantage +to him by increasing his influence over both tribes. An Ojibwa Indian told +the writer that some portion of his power was to be ascribed to his being +a chief of the _Metai_, a magical association among the Indians of the +lakes, in which character he exerted an influence on the superstition of +his followers.] + +[Footnote 163: The venerable Pierre Chouteau, of St. Louis, remembered to +have seen Pontiac, a few days before his death, attired in the complete +uniform of a French officer, which had been given him by the Marquis of +Montcalm not long before the battle on the Plains of Abraham.] + +[Footnote 164: MS. Letter——_M. D’Abbadie to M. Neyon_, 1764.] + +[Footnote 165: Wampum was an article much in use among many tribes, not +only for ornament, but for the graver purposes of councils, treaties, and +embassies. In ancient times it consisted of small shells, or fragments of +shells, rudely perforated, and strung together; but more recently, it was +manufactured 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 colors, black, +purple, and white. When used for ornament, they were arranged fancifully +in necklaces, collars, and embroidery; but when employed for public +purposes, they were disposed in a great variety of patterns and devices, +which, to the minds of the Indians, had all the significance of +hieroglyphics. An Indian orator, at every clause of his speech, delivered +a belt or string of wampum, varying in size, according to the importance +of what he had said, and, by its figures and coloring, so arranged as to +perpetuate the remembrance of his words. These belts were carefully stored +up like written documents, and it was generally the office of some old man +to interpret their meaning. + +When a wampum belt 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 substitute for +wampum, since in their councils the Indians are in the habit of constantly +smoking, and tobacco is therefore taken as the emblem of deliberation. +With the tobacco or the belt of wampum, presents are not unfrequently sent +to conciliate the good will of the tribe whose alliance is sought. In the +summer of the year 1846, 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 of whose village the writer was an +inmate, impoverished himself 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 region.] + +[Footnote 166: MS. _Johnson Papers._] + +[Footnote 167: MS. _Speech of a Miami Chief to Ensign Holmes._ MS. +Letter——_Holmes to Gladwyn, March 16, 1763._ _Gladwyn to Amherst, March +21, 1763._ + +Extract from a MS. Letter——_Ensign Holmes commanding at Miamis, to Major +Gladwyn_:—— + + “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 be True; Whereon I Assembled all the Chiefs of this +Nation, & after a long and troublesome Spell with them, I Obtained the +Belt, with a Speech, as You will Receive Enclosed; This Affair is very +timely Stopt, and I hope the News of a Peace will put a Stop to any +further Troubles with these Indians, who are the Principal Ones of Setting +Mischief on Foot. I send you the Belt, with this Packet, which I hope You +will Forward to the General.”] + +[Footnote 168: Mante, 485.] + +[Footnote 169: _Pontiac_, MS. See Appendix, C.] + +[Footnote 170: _Pontiac_, MS.——_M’Dougal_, MSS. M’Dougal states that he +derived his information from an Indian. The author of the _Pontiac_ MS. +probably writes on the authority of Canadians, some of whom were present +at the council.] + +[Footnote 171: _Pontiac_, MS.] + +[Footnote 172: Carver, _Travels_, 153. _Gent. Mag._ XXXIV 408.] + +[Footnote 173: _Memorial of La Motte Cadillac._ See Schoolcraft, _Oneota_, +407.] + +[Footnote 174: A high estimate. Compare Rameau, _Colonie du Detroit_, 28.] + +[Footnote 175: Croghan, _Journal_. Rogers, _Account of North America_, +168. Various MS. Journals, Letters, and Plans have also been consulted. +The most remarkable of these is the _Plan Topographique du Detroit_, made +by or for General Collot, in 1796. It is accompanied by a drawing in +water-colors of the town as it appeared in that year. A fac-simile of this +drawing is in my possession. The regular fortification, which, within the +recollection of many now living, covered the ground in the rear of the old +town of Detroit, was erected at a date subsequent to the period of this +history.] + +[Footnote 176: Tradition, communicated to H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq., by +Henry Conner, formerly Indian interpreter at Detroit.] + +[Footnote 177: _St. Aubin’s Account_, MS. See Appendix, C.] + +[Footnote 178: _Gouin’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 179: Letter to the writer from H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq., +containing the traditional account from the lips of the interpreter, Henry +Conner. See, also, Carver, _Travels_, 155 (Lond. 1778). + +Carver’s account of the conspiracy and the siege is in several points +inexact, which throws a shade of doubt on this story. Tradition, however, +as related by the interpreter Conner, sustains him; with the addition that +Catharine was the mistress of Gladwyn, and a few other points, including a +very unromantic end of the heroine, who is said to have perished, by +falling, when drunk, into a kettle of boiling maple-sap. This was many +years after (see Appendix). Maxwell agrees in the main with Carver. There +is another tradition, that the plot was disclosed by an old squaw. A +third, current among the Ottawas, and sent to me in 1858 by Mr. Hosmer, of +Toledo, declares that a young squaw told the plot to the commanding +officer, but that he would not believe her, as she had a bad name, being a +“straggler among the private soldiers.” An Indian chief, pursues the same +story, afterwards warned the officer. The Pontiac MS. says that Gladwyn +was warned by an Ottawa warrior, though a woman was suspected by the +Indians of having betrayed the secret. Peltier says that a woman named +Catharine was accused of revealing the plot, and severely flogged by +Pontiac in consequence. There is another story, that a soldier named +Tucker, adopted by the Indians, was warned by his Indian sister. But the +most distinct and satisfactory evidence is the following, from a letter +written at Detroit on the twelfth of July, 1763, and signed James +Macdonald. It is among the _Haldimand Papers_ in the British Museum. There +is also an imperfect copy, found among the papers of Colonel John +Brodhead, in the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania: “About +six o’clock that afternoon [May 7], six of their warriors returned and +brought an old squaw prisoner, alleging that she had given us false +information against them. The major declared she had never given us any +kind of advice. They then insisted on naming the author of what he had +heard with regard to the Indians, which he declined to do, but told them +that it was one of themselves, whose name he promised never to reveal; +whereupon they went off, and carried the old woman prisoner with them. +When they arrived at their camp, Pontiac, their greatest chief, 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 repeated times, ‘Kill her! kill her!’” + +Thus it is clear that the story told by Carver must be taken with many +grains of allowance. The greater part of the evidence 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.] + +[Footnote 180: _Maxwell’s Account_, MS. See _Appendix_, C.] + +[Footnote 181: _Meloche’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 182: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1808.] + +[Footnote 183: This incident was related, by the son of Beaufait, to +General Cass. See Cass, _Discourse before the Michigan Historical +Society_, 30.] + +[Footnote 184: Carver, _Travels_, 159 (London, 1778). M’Kenney, _Tour to +the Lakes_, 130. Cass, _Discourse_, 32. _Penn. Gaz._ Nos. 1807, 1808. +_Pontiac_ MS. _M’Dougal_, MSS. _Gouin’s Account_, MS. _Meloche’s Account_, +MS. _St. Aubin’s Account_, MS. + +Extract from a MS. Letter——_Major Gladwyn to Sir J. Amherst_: + + “Detroit, May 14, 1763. + + “Sir: + +“On the First Instant, Pontiac, the Chief of the Ottawa Nation, came here +with about Fifty of his Men (forty, Pontiac MS.), and told me that 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 he 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 Three Hundred, and Armed with Knives, Tomyhawks, +and a great many with Guns 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 +after receiving some Trifling Presents, they went away to their Camp.”] + +[Footnote 185: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 186: MS. Letter——_Gladwyn to Amherst_, May 14. _Pontiac_ MS., +&c.] + +[Footnote 187: _St. Aubin’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 188: _Parent’s Account_, MS. _Meloche’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 189: _Gouin’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 190: _Penn. Gaz._ Nos. 1807, 1808. + +Extract from an anonymous letter——Detroit, July 9, 1763. + +“You have long ago heard of our pleasant Situation, but the Storm is blown +over. Was it not very agreeable 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 Britons, 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 surprised 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 Tobacco-Pouch!”] + +[Footnote 191: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 192: _Pontiac_ MS. _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1808. MS. Letter——_Gladwyn +to Amherst_, May 14, etc.] + +[Footnote 193: _Gouin’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 194: When a party returned with prisoners, the whole population +of the village turned out to receive them, armed with sticks, clubs, or +even deadlier weapons. The captive was ordered 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 +merciless 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 finger, or an eye. Sometimes the sufferer was made +to dance and sing, for the better 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 gauntlet, he instantly knocked down the +nearest warrior, snatched a club from his hands, and wielded it with such +good will that no one dared approach him, and he reached the goal scot +free, while his more timorous companion was nearly beaten to death.] + +[Footnote 195: _Meloche’s Account_, MS. _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1808. In a letter +of James MacDonald, Detroit, July 12, the circumstances of the detention +of the officers are related somewhat differently. Singularly enough, this +letter of MacDonald is identical with a report of the events of the siege +sent by Major Robert Rogers to Sir William Johnson, on the eighth of +August. Rogers, who was not an eye-witness, appears to have borrowed the +whole of his brother officer’s letter without acknowledgment.] + +[Footnote 196: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Sir J. Amherst to Major +Gladwyn._ + + “New York, 22nd June, 1763. + +“The Precautions you took when the Perfidious Villains came to Pay you a +Visit, were Indeed very wisely Concerted; And I Approve Entirely of the +Steps you have since taken for the Defence of the Place, which, I hope, +will have Enabled You to keep the Savages at Bay untill the Reinforcement, +which Major Wilkins Writes me he had sent you, Arrives with you. + +“I most sincerely Grieve for the Unfortunate Fate of Sir Robert Davers, +Lieut. Robertson, and the Rest of the Poor People, who have fallen into +the Hands of the Merciless Villains. I Trust you did not Know of the +Murder of those Gentlemen, when Pontiac came with a Pipe of Peace, for if +you had, you certainly would have put him, and Every Indian 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 prevailed on you to Allow +those Gentlemen to Entrust themselves 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 Gentlemen, 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——the utmost +Expedition will be used for Collecting such a Force as may be Sufficient +for bringing Ample Vengeance on the Treacherous and Bloody Villains who +have so Perfidiously Attacked their Benefactors.” MacDonald, and after +him, Rogers, says that, after the detention of the two officers, Pontiac +summoned the fort to surrender, threatening, in case of refusal, to put +all within to the torture. The anonymous author of the _Diary of the +Siege_ adds that he sent word to Gladwyn that he kept the officers out of +kindness, since, if they returned to the fort, he should be obliged to +boil them with the rest of the garrison, the kettle being already on the +fire.] + +[Footnote 197: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 198: MS. Letter——_James McDonald to_ ————, Detroit, July 12.] + +[Footnote 199: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1808.] + +[Footnote 200: MS. Letter from an officer at Detroit——no signature——July +31. + +Extract from a letter dated Detroit, July 6. + +“We have been besieged here two Months, by Six Hundred Indians. We have +been upon the Watch Night and Day, from the Commanding Officer to the +lowest soldier, from the 8th of May, and have not had our Cloaths off, nor +slept all Night since it began; and shall continue so till we have a +Reinforcement up. We then hope soon to give a good account of the Savages. +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 three or four Hundred of them, but we gave them so warm a +Reception that now they don’t care for coming to see us, tho’ they now and +then get behind a House or Garden, and fire at us about three or four +Hundred yards’ distance. The Day before Yesterday, we killed a Chief and +three others, and wounded some more; yesterday went up with our Sloop, and +battered their Cabins in such a Manner that they are glad to keep farther +off.”] + +[Footnote 201: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 202: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1808.] + +[Footnote 203: 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 +Informed, that many of the Inhabitants 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 Another Army would +come from the Illinois; 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 Believe me; Which, with a thousand other Lies, calculated to +Stir up Mischief, have Induced the Indians to take up Arms; And I dare say +it will Appear ere long, that One Half of the Settlement merit a Gibbet, +and the Other Half ought to be Decimated; Nevertheless, there is some +Honest Men among them, to whom I am Infinitely Obliged; I mean, Sir, +Monsieur Navarre, the two Babys, & my Interpreters, St. Martin & La +Bute.”] + +[Footnote 204: The annals of these remote and gloomy regions are involved +in such obscurity, that it is hard to discover the precise character of +the events to which Pontiac here refers. The only allusion to them, which +the writer has met with, is the following, inscribed on a tattered scrap +of soiled paper, found among the M’Dougal manuscripts:—— + +“Five miles below the mouth of Wolf River is the Great Death Ground. This +took its name from the circumstance, that some years before the Old French +War, a great battle was fought between the French troops, assisted by the +Menomonies and Ottaways on the one side, and the 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’Dougal, 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 copied by the writer.] + +[Footnote 205: _Peltier’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 206: _Gouin’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 207: Tradition related by M. Baby. The following is from the +_Diary of the Siege_: “Mr. St. Martin said ... that one Sibbold that came +here last winter with his Wife from the Illinois had told at Mr. +Cuellierry’s (Quilleriez) that they might expect a French Army in this +Spring, and that Report took rise from him. That the Day Capt. Campbell & +Lt. McDougal was detained by the Indians, _Mr. Cuellierry accepted of +their Offer of being made Commandant_, if this Place was taken, to which +he spoke to Mr. Cuellierry about and ask’d him if he knew what he was +doing, to which Mr. Cuellierry told him, I am almost distracted, they are +like so many Dogs about me, to which Mr. St. Martin made him no Answer.”] + +[Footnote 208: Rogers, _Account of North America_, 244. The anonymous +_Diary of the Siege_ says that they bore the figure of a “coon.”] + +[Footnote 209: MS. Letter——_Gage to Lord Halifax, April 16, 1764._ + +Extract from a MS. Letter——_William Smith, Jr._, to ————. + +“New York, 22d Nov. 1763. + +“’Tis an old saying that the Devil is easier raised than laid. Sir Jeffrey +has found it so, with these Indian Demons. They have cut his little Army +to Pieces, & almost if not entirely obstructed the Communication to the +Detroite, where the Enemy are grown very numerous; and from whence I fancy +you’ll soon hear, if any survive to relate them, very tragical Accounts. +The Besiegers are led on by an enterprising Fellow called Pondiac. He is a +Genius, for he possesses great Bravery, Art, & Oratory, & has had the +Address to get himself not only at the Head of his Conquerors, but elected +Generalissimo of all the confederate Forces now acting against us——Perhaps +he may deserve to be called the Mithridates of the West.”] + +[Footnote 210: Rogers, _North America_, 240.] + +[Footnote 211: _Gouin’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 212: Rogers, _North America_, 244.] + +[Footnote 213: Tradition related by M. François Baby.] + +[Footnote 214: Tradition related by M. François Baby, of Windsor, U. C., +the son of Pontiac’s friend, who lives opposite Detroit, upon nearly the +same site formerly occupied by his father’s house. Though Pontiac at this +time assumed the attitude of a protector of the Canadians, he had +previously, according to the anonymous _Diary of the Siege_, bullied them +exceedingly, compelling them to plough land for him, and do other work. +Once he forced them to carry him in a sedan chair from house to house, to +look for provisions.] + +[Footnote 215: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1807. MS. Letter——_Wilkins to Amherst_, +June 18. + +This incident may have suggested 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 schooner just before the attack +commenced, expecting a friendly reception. Sir Robert D————, the young +officer, was in Indian costume, and, wishing to surprise his friends, he +made no answer when hailed from the vessel, whereupon he was instantly +fired at and killed.——The story is without confirmation, in any +contemporary document, and, indeed, is impossible in itself. Sir Robert +Davers was killed, as before mentioned, near Lake St. Clair; but neither +in his character, nor in the mode of his death, did he at all resemble the +romantic adventurer whose fate is commemorated by Mrs. Grant.] + +[Footnote 216: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 217: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 218: Another witness, Gouin, affirms that the Indian freed +himself from the dying grasp of the soldier, and swam ashore.] + +[Footnote 219: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1807. _St. Aubin’s Account_, MS. +_Peltier’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 220: “Being abandoned by my men, I was Forced to Retreat in the +best manner I could. I was left with 6 men on the Beech, Endeavoring to +get off a Boat, which not being able to Effect, 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 manned, and the +Indians having manned two Boats, pursued and Brought back Three of the +Five, keeping a continual Fire from off the Shore, and from the two Boats +that followed us, about a Mile on the Lake; the Wind springing up fair, I +and the other Remaining Boat Hoisted sail and escaped.”——_Cuyler’s +Report_, MS.] + +[Footnote 221: _Cuyler’s Report_, MS. + +Extract from a MS. Letter——_Major Wilkins to Sir J. Amherst._ + +“Niagara, 6th June, 1763. + +“Just as I was sending off my Letter of Yesterday, Lieutenant Cuyler, of +the Queen’s Rangers, Arrived from his Intended Voyage to the Detroit. He +has been very Unfortunate, Having been Defeated by Indians within 30 miles +of the Detroit River; I observed that he was Wounded and Weak, and Desired +him to take the Surgeon’s Assistance and some Rest, and Recollect the +Particulars of the Affair, and let me have them in Writing, as perhaps 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 Happened by +way of Fort Pitt, as Ensign Christie, Commanding at Presqu’ Isle, writes +me he has sent an Express to Acquaint the Commanding Officer at that +Place, of Sanduskie’s being Destroyed, and of Lieut. Cuyler’s Defeat. + +“Some Indians of the Six Nations are now with me. They seem very Civil; +The Interpreter has just told them I was writing to Your Excellency for +Rum, and they are very glad.”] + +[Footnote 222: “The Indians, fearing that the other barges might escape as +the first had done, changed their plan of going to the camp. They landed +their prisoners, tied them, and conducted them by land to the Ottawas +village, and then crossed them to Pondiac’s camp, where they were all +butchered. As soon as the canoes reached the shore, the barbarians landed +their prisoners, one after the other, on the beach. They made them strip +themselves, and then sent arrows into different parts of their bodies. +These unfortunate men wished sometimes to throw themselves on the ground +to avoid the arrows; but they were beaten with sticks and forced to stand +up until they fell dead; after which those who had not fired fell upon +their bodies, cut them in pieces, cooked, and ate them. On others they +exercised different modes of torment by cutting their flesh with flints, +and piercing them with lances. They would then cut their feet and hands +off, and leave them weltering in their blood till they were dead. Others +were fastened to stakes, and children employed in burning them with a slow +fire. No kind of torment was left untried by these Indians. Some of the +bodies were left on shore; others were thrown into the river. Even the +women assisted their husbands in torturing their victims. They slitted +them with their knives, and mangled them in various ways. There were, +however, a few whose lives were saved, being adopted to serve as +slaves.”——_Pontiac_ MS. + +“The remaining barges proceeded up the river, and crossed to the house of +Mr. Meloche, where Pontiac and his Ottawas were encamped. The barges were +landed, and, the women having arranged themselves in two rows, with clubs +and sticks, the prisoners were taken out, one by one, and told to run the +gauntlet to Pontiac’s lodge. Of sixty-six persons who were brought to the +shore, sixty-four ran the gauntlet, and were all killed. One of the +remaining 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. He was thrown out of the +boat and killed with clubs. The other, when directed to run for the lodge, +suddenly fell upon his knees in the water, and having dipped his hand in +the water, he made the sign of the cross on his forehead and breast, and +darted out in the stream. An expert swimmer from the Indians followed him, +and, having overtaken him, seized him by the hair, and crying out, ‘You +seem to love water; you shall have enough of it,’ he stabbed the poor +fellow, who sunk to rise no more.”——_Gouin’s Account_, MS.] + +[Footnote 223: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 224: MS. Official Document——_Report of the Loss of the Posts in +the Indian Country_, enclosed in a letter from Major Gladwyn to Sir +Jeffrey Amherst, July 8, 1763.] + +[Footnote 225: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 226: _Loss of the Posts in the Indian Country_, MS. Compare +_Diary of the Siege_, 25. + +The following is from a curious letter of one Richard Winston, a trader at +St. Joseph’s, to his fellow-traders at Detroit, dated 19 June, 1763:—— + +“Gentlemen, I address myself to you all, not knowing who is alive or who +is dead. I have only to inform you that by the blessing of God and the +help of M. Louison Chevalie, I escaped being killed when the unfortunate +garrison was massacred, Mr. Hambough and me being hid in the house of the +said Chevalie for 4 days and nights. Mr. Hambough is brought by the +Savages to the Illinois, likewise Mr. Chim. Unfortunate me remains here +Captive with the Savages. I must say that I met with no bad usage; +however, I would that I was (with) some Christian or other. I am quite +naked, & Mr. Castacrow, who is indebted to Mr. Cole, would not give me one +inch to save me from death.”] + +[Footnote 227: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 228: + + “Ouatanon, June 1st, 1763. + + “Sir: + +“I have heard of your situation, which gives me great Pain; indeed, we are +not in much better, for this morning the Indians sent for me, to speak to +me, and Immediately bound me, when I got to their Cabbin, and I soon found +some of my Soldiers in the same Condition: They told me Detroit, Miamis, +and all them 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, surrender, otherwise they would put us all to Death, in case one +man was killed. They were to have fell on us and killed us all, last +night, but Mr. Maisongville and Lorain gave them wampum not to kill us, & +when they told the Interpreter that we were all to be killed, & he knowing +the condition of the Fort, beg’d of them to make us prisoners. They have +put us into French houses, & both Indians and French use us very well: All +these Nations say they are very sorry, but that they were obliged to do it +by the Other Nations. The Belt did not Arrive here ’till last night about +Eight o’Clock. Mr. Lorain can inform you of all. Just now Received the +News of St. Joseph’s being taken, Eleven men killed and three taken +Prisoners with the Officer: I have nothing more to say, but that I +sincerely wish you a speedy succour, and that we may be able to Revenge +ourselves on those that Deserve it. + +“I Remain, with my Sincerest wishes for your safety, + + “Your most humble servant, + EDW^{D} JENKINS. + +“N. B. We expect to set off in a day or two for the Illinois.” + +This expectation was not fulfilled, and Jenkins remained at Ouatanon. A +letter from him is before me, written from thence to Gladwyn on the 29th +July, in which he complains that the Canadians were secretly advising the +Indians to murder all the English in the West.] + +[Footnote 229: _Loss of the Posts_, MS. Compare _Diary of the Siege_, 22, +26. + +It appears by a deposition taken at Detroit on the 11th June, that +Godefroy, mentioned above, left Detroit with four other Canadians three or +four days after the siege began. Their professed object was to bring a +French officer from the Illinois to induce Pontiac to abandon his hostile +designs. At the mouth of the Maumee they met John Welsh, an English +trader, with two canoes, bound for Detroit. They seized him, and divided +his furs among themselves and a party of Indians who were with them. They +then proceeded to Fort Miami, and aided the Indians to capture it. Welsh +was afterwards carried to Detroit, where the Ottawas murdered him.] + +[Footnote 230: _Evidence of Benjamin Gray, soldier in the 1st Battalion of +the 60th Regiment, before a Court of Inquiry held at Fort Pitt, 12th Sept. +1763. Evidence of David Smart, soldier in the 60th Regiment, before a +Court of Inquiry held at Fort Pitt, 24th Dec., 1763, to take evidence +relative to the loss of Presqu’ Isle which did not appear when the last +court sat._] + +[Footnote 231: _Loss of the Posts_, MS. _Pontiac_ MS. _Report of Ensign +Christie_, MS. _Testimony of Edward Smyth_, MS. This last evidence was +taken by order of Colonel Bouquet, commanding the battalion of the Royal +American Regiment to which Christie belonged. Christie’s surrender had +been thought censurable both by General Amherst and by Bouquet. According +to Christie’s statements, it was unavoidable; but according to those of +Smyth, and also of the two soldiers, Gray and Smart, the situation, though +extremely critical, seems not to have been desperate. Smyth’s testimony +bears date 30 March, 1765, nearly two years after the event. Some +allowance is therefore to be made for lapses of memory. He places the +beginning of the attack on the twenty-first of June, instead of the +fifteenth,——an evident mistake. The _Diary of the Siege of Detroit_ says +that Christie did not make his escape, but was brought in and surrendered +by six Huron chiefs on the ninth of July. In a letter of Bouquet dated +June 18th, 1760, is enclosed a small plan of Presqu’ Isle.] + +[Footnote 232: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 233: MS. Letter——_Gladwyn to Amherst_, July 8.] + +[Footnote 234: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 235: This name is always applied, among the Canadians of the +North-west, to the conductor of a trading party, the commander in a +trading fort, or, indeed, to any person in a position of authority. + +Extract from a Letter——_Detroit, July 9, 1763 (Penn. Gaz. No. 1808)_. + +“Judge of the Conduct of the Canadians here, by the Behaviour of these few +Sacres Bougres, I have mentioned; I can assure you, with much Certainty, +that there are but very few in the Settlement who are not engaged with the +Indians in their damn’d Design; in short, Monsieur is at the Bottom of it; +we have not only convincing Proofs and Circumstances, but undeniable +Proofs of it. There are four or five sensible, honest 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 +they will be rewarded for their good Services; I hope also to see the +others exalted on High, to reap the Fruits of their Labours, as soon as +our Army arrives; the Discoveries we have made of their horrid villianies, +are almost incredible. But to return to the Terms of Capitulation: Pondiac +proposes that we should immediately give up the Garrison, lay down our +Arms, as the French, their Fathers, were obliged to do, leave the Cannon, +Magazines, Merchants’ Goods, and the two Vessels, and be escorted in +Battoes, by the Indians, to Niagara. The Major returned Answer, that the +General had not sent him there to deliver up the Fort to Indians, or +anybody else; and that he would defend it whilst he had a single man to +fight alongside of him. Upon this, Hostilities recommenced, since which +Time, being two months, the whole Garrison, Officers, Soldiers, Merchants, +and Servants, have been upon the Ramparts every Night, not one having +slept in a House, except the Sick and Wounded in the Hospital. + +“Our Fort is extremely large, considering our Numbers, the Stockade being +above 1000 Paces in Circumference; judge what a Figure we make on the +Works.” + +The writer of the above letter is much too sweeping and indiscriminate in +his denunciation of the French.] + +[Footnote 236: Croghan, _Journal_. See Butler, _Hist. Kentucky_, 463.] + +[Footnote 237: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 238: _Gouin’s Account_, MS. _St. Aubin’s Account_, MS. _Diary of +the Siege._ + +James MacDonald writes from Detroit on the 12th of July. “Half an hour +afterward the savages carried (the body of) the man they had lost before +Capt. Campbell, stripped him naked, and directly murthered him in a cruel +manner, which indeed gives me pain beyond expression, and I am sure cannot +miss but to affect sensibly all his acquaintances. Although he is now out +of the question, I must own I never had, nor never shall have, a Friend or +Acquaintance that I valued more than he. My present comfort is, that if +Charity, benevolence, innocence, and integrity are a sufficient +dispensation for all mankind, that entitles him to happiness in the world +to come.”] + +[Footnote 239: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1808.] + +[Footnote 240: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 241: Whatever may have been the case with the Pottawattamies, +there were indications from the first that the Wyandots were lukewarm or +even reluctant in taking part with Pontiac. As early as May 22, some of +them complained that he had forced them into the war. _Diary of the +Siege._ _Johnson_ MSS.] + +[Footnote 242: 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 Letter of the 6th Instant, which I have this +moment Received, with some Advices from Niagara, concerning the Motions of +the Indians that Way, they having attacked a Detachment under the Command +of Lieut. Cuyler of Hopkins’s Rangers, who were on their Route towards the +Detroit, and Obliged him to Return to Niagara, 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 +Reinforcements as can possibly be collected (having, at the same time, a +due Attention to the Safety of the Principal Forts), to Niagara, and to +proceed to the Detroit, if Necessary, and Judged Proper.”] + +[Footnote 243: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1811.] + +[Footnote 244: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 245: MS. Letter——_Major Rogers to ————_, Aug. 5.] + +[Footnote 246: _Pontiac_ MS.] + +[Footnote 247: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Major Gladwyn to Sir J. +Amherst._ + +“Detroit, Aug. 8th, 1763. + +“On the 31st, Captain Dalyell Requested, as a particular favor, that I +would give him the Command of a Party, in order to Attempt the Surprizal +of Pontiac’s Camp, under cover of the Night, to which I answered that I +was of opinion he was too much on his Guard to Effect it; he then said he +thought I had it in my power to give him a Stroke, and that if I did not +Attempt it now, he would Run off, and I should never have another +Opportunity; this induced me to give in to the Scheme, contrary to my +Judgement.”] + +[Footnote 248: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1811.] + +[Footnote 249: _Detail of the Action of the 31st of July._ See _Gent. +Mag._ XXXIII. 486.] + +[Footnote 250: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1811.] + +[Footnote 251: Many particulars of the fight at the house of Campau were +related to me, on the spot, by John R. Williams, Esq., of Detroit, a +connection of the Campau family.] + +[Footnote 252: MS. Letters——_MacDonald to Dr. Campbell_, Aug. 8. _Gage to +Lord Halifax_, Oct. 12. _Amherst to Lord Egremont_, Sept. 3. _Meloche’s +Account_, MS. _Gouin’s Account_, MS. _St. Aubin’s Account_, MS. _Peltier’s +Account_, MS. _Maxwell’s Account_, MS., etc. In the _Diary of the Siege_ +is the following, under date of August 1st: “Young Mr. Campo (Campau) +brought in the Body of poor Capt. Dalyel (Dalzell) about three o’clock +to-day, which was mangled in such a horrid Manner that it was shocking to +human nature; the Indians wip’d his Heart about the Faces of our +Prisoners.”] + +[Footnote 253: MS. Letter——_Gladwyn to Amherst_, Sept. 9. Carver, 164. +_Relation of the Gallant Defence of the Schooner near Detroit_, published +by order of General Amherst, in the New York papers. _Penn. Gaz._ No. +1816. MS. Letter——_Amherst to Lord Egremont_, Oct. 13. _St. Aubin’s +Account_, MS. _Peltier’s Account_, MS. _Relation of some Transactions at +the Detroit in Sept. and Oct. 1763_, MS. + +The Commander-in-chief ordered a medal to be struck and presented to each +of the men. Jacobs, the mate of the schooner, appears to have been as rash +as he was brave; for Captain Carver says, that several years after, when +in command of the same vessel, he was lost, with all his crew, in a storm +on Lake Erie, in consequence of having obstinately refused to take in +ballast enough. + +As this affair savors somewhat of the marvellous, the following evidence +is given touching the most remarkable features of the story. The document +was copied from the archives of London. + +Extract from “_A Relation of the Gallant Defence made by the Crew of the +Schooner on Lake Erie, when Attacked by a Large Body of Indians; as +Published by Order of Sir Jeffrey Amherst in the New York Papers._” + +“The Schooner Sailed from Niagara, 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 Service. She entered +the Detroit River, on the 3^{d} September; And on the 4^{th} in the +Morning, the Mohawks seemed very Desirous of being put on Shore, which the +Master, very Inconsiderately, agreed to. The Wind proved contrary all that +Day; and in the Evening, the Vessell being at Anchor, about Nine o’clock, +the Boatswain discovered a Number of Canoes coming down the River, with +about Three Hundred and Fifty Indians; Upon which the Bow Gun was +Immediately Fired; but before the other Guns could be brought to Bear, the +Enemy got under the Bow and Stern, in Spite of the Swivels & Small Arms, +and Attempted to Board the Vessell; Whereupon the Men Abandoned their +Small Arms, and took to their Spears, with which they were provided; And, +with Amazing Resolution and Bravery, 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 those that were Wounded, +when the Accounts came away. The Master and One Man were Killed, and four +Wounded, on Board the Schooner, and the other Six brought her Safe to the +Detroit.” + +It is somewhat singular that no mention is here made of the command to +blow up the vessel. The most explicit authorities on this point are +Carver, who obtained his account at Detroit, three years after the war, +and a letter published in the _Pennsylvania Gazette_, No. 1816. This +letter is dated at Detroit, five days after the attack. The circumstance +is also mentioned in several traditional accounts of the Canadians.] + +[Footnote 254: This description is drawn from traditional accounts aided +by a personal examination of the spot, where the stumps of the pickets and +the foundations of the houses may still be traced.] + +[Footnote 255: MS. _Journal of Lieutenant Gorell_, commanding at Green +Bay, 1761-63.] + +[Footnote 256: Carver, _Travels_, 29.] + +[Footnote 257: Many of these particulars are derived from memoranda +furnished by Henry R. Schoolcraft, Esq.] + +[Footnote 258: Henry, _Travels_, 45.] + +[Footnote 259: This appears from the letters of Captain Etherington. Henry +states the number at ninety. It is not unlikely that he meant to include +all the inhabitants of the fort, both soldiers and Canadians, in his +enumeration.] + +[Footnote 260: The above is Henry’s date. Etherington says, the second.] + +[Footnote 261: MS. Letter——_Etherington to Gladwyn, June 12._ See +Appendix, C.] + +[Footnote 262: CHARLES LANGLADE, who is praised by Etherington, though +spoken of in equivocal terms by Henry, was the son of a Frenchman of good +family and an Ottawa squaw. He was born at Mackinaw in 1724, and served +with great reputation as a partisan officer in the old French war. He and +his father, Augustin Langlade, were the first permanent settlers within +the present State of Wisconsin. He is said to have saved Etherington and +Leslie from the torture. See the _Recollections of Augustin Grignon_, his +grandson, in _Collections of the Hist. Soc. of Wisconsin_, III. 197.] + +[Footnote 263: This name is commonly written _Pawnee_. The tribe who bore +it lived west of the Mississippi. They were at war with many surrounding +nations, and, among the rest, with the Sacs and Foxes, who often brought +their prisoners to the French settlements for sale. It thus happened that +Pawnee slaves were to be found in the principal families of Detroit and +Michillimackinac.] + +[Footnote 264: MS. Letter——_Etherington to Gladwyn, June 28_.] + +[Footnote 265: Henry, _Travels_, 102. The authenticity of this very +interesting book has never been questioned. Henry was living at Montreal +as late as the year 1809. In 1797 he, with others, claimed, in virtue of +Indian grants, a large tract of land west of the River Cuyahoga, in the +present State of Ohio. A letter from him is extant, dated in April of that +year, in which he offers this land to the Connecticut Land Company, at +one-sixth of a dollar an acre.] + +[Footnote 266: Tradition, preserved by Henry Conner. See also Schoolcraft, +_Algic Researches_, II. 159. + +“Their tradition concerning the name of this little island is curious. +They say that Michapous, the chief of spirits, sojourned long in that +vicinity. They believed that a mountain on the border of the lake was the +place of his abode, and they called it by his name. It was here, say they, +that he first instructed man to fabricate nets for taking fish, and where +he has collected the greatest quantity of these finny inhabitants of the +waters. On the island he left spirits, named Imakinakos; and from these +aerial possessors it has received the appellation of Michillimakinac. + +“When the savages, in those quarters, make a feast of fish, they invoke +the spirits of the island, thank them for their bounty, and entreat them +to continue their protection to their families. They demand of them to +preserve their nets and canoes from the swelling and destructive billows, +when the lakes are agitated by storms. All who assist in the ceremony +lengthen their voices together, which is an act of gratitude. In the +observance of this duty of their religion, they were formerly very +punctual and scrupulous; but the French rallied them so much upon the +subject, that they became ashamed to practise it openly.”——Heriot, +_Travels in Canada_, 185.] + +[Footnote 267: The following description of Minavavana, or the Grand +Sauteur, who was the leader of the Ojibwas at the massacre of +Michillimackinac, is drawn from Carver’s _Travels_:—— + +“The first I accosted were Chipeways, inhabiting near the Ottowaw lakes; +who received me with great cordiality, and shook me by the hand, in token +of friendship. At some little distance behind these stood a chief +remarkably tall and well made, but of so stern an aspect that the most +undaunted person could not behold him without feeling some degree of +terror. He seemed to have passed the meridian 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 to have met +with the same reception I had done from the others; but, to my great +surprise, he withheld his hand, and looking fiercely at me, said, in the +Chipeway tongue, ‘_Cawin nishishin saganosh_,’ 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 Sautor, 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 +Michillimackinac, by a trader.”——Carver, 96.] + +[Footnote 268: Carver, _Travels_, 47.] + +[Footnote 269: Gorell, _Journal_, MS. The original manuscript is preserved +in the library of the Maryland Historical Society, to which it was +presented by Robert Gilmor, Esq.] + +[Footnote 270: Gorell, _Journal_, MS.] + +[Footnote 271: There was a cluster of log houses even around Fort +Ligonier, and a trader named Byerly had a station at Bushy Run.] + +[Footnote 272: The authorities for the foregoing topographical sketch are +drawn from the Pennsylvania _Historical Collections_, and the _Olden +Time_, an excellent antiquarian work, published at Pittsburg; together +with various maps, plans, and contemporary papers.] + +[Footnote 273: Gordon, _Hist. Pa._ 622. MS. Letter——_Ecuyer to Bouquet_, +29 May, 1763.] + +[Footnote 274: MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Amherst_, June 5. + +Extract from a letter——_Fort Pitt, May 31_ (_Penn. Gaz._ No. 1798). + +“We have most melancholy Accounts here——The Indians have broke out in +several Places, and murdered Colonel Clapham and his Family; also two of +our Soldiers at the Saw-mill, near the Fort, and two Scalps are taken from +each man. An Indian has brought a War-Belt to Tuscarora, and says Detroit +is invested; and that St. Dusky is cut off, and Ensign Pawley made +Prisoner——Levy’s Goods are stopt at Tuscarora by the Indians——Last Night +Eleven men were attacked at Beaver Creek, eight or nine of whom, it 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——_Ecuyer to Bouquet_. + +“Fort Pitt, 29th May, 1763. + +“Just as I had finished my Letter, Three men came in from Clapham’s, with +the Melancholy News, that Yesterday, at three O’clock in the Afternoon, +the Indians Murdered Clapham, and Every Body in his House: These three men +were out at work, & Escaped through the Woods. I Immediately Armed them, +and sent them to Assist our People at Bushy Run. The Indians have told +Byerly (at Bushy Run) to Leave his Place in Four Days, or he and his +Family would all be murdered: I am Uneasy for the little Posts——As for +this, I will answer for it.” + +The above is a contemporary translation. The original, which is before me, +is in French, like all Ecuyer’s letters to Bouquet.] + +[Footnote 275: _Copy of intelligence brought to Fort Pitt by Mr. Calhoun_, +MS.] + +[Footnote 276: M’Cullough gives the following account of the murder of +another of the traders, named Green:—— + +“About sunrise, _Mussoughwhese_ (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 scalping-knife, concealed under his +blanket, belted round his body. He informed _Kettoohhalend_ (for that was +my adopted brother’s name), that he came to kill Tom Green; but +_Kettoohhalend_ endeavoured to persuade him off it. They walked out +together, and Green followed them, endeavouring, as I suppose, to discover +the cause of the alarm the night before; in a short time they returned to +the house, and immediately went out again. Green asked me to bring him his +horse, as we heard the bell a short distance off; he then went after the +Indians again, and I went for the horse. As I was returning, I observed +them coming out of a house about two hundred yards from ours; +_Kettoohhalend_ 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 path. I instantly got off the horse, and held him by the +bridle,——_Kettoohhalend_ sunk his pipe tomahawk into his skull; +_Mussoughwhese_ stabbed him under the armpit with his scalping-knife; he +had shot him between the shoulders with his pistol. The squaws gathered +about him 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_ then came to me (where I was holding the +horse, as I had not moved from the spot where 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 Licks, where the rest of +the traders were, and murdered the whole of them, and divided their goods +amongst them, and likewise their horses.”] + +[Footnote 277: _Gent. Mag._ XXXIII. 413. The loss is here stated at the +greatly exaggerated amount of £500,000.] + +[Footnote 278: Loskiel, 99.] + +[Footnote 279: Heckewelder, _Hist. Ind. Nat._ 250.] + +[Footnote 280: _Pennsylvania Gazette_, No. 1799. I shall frequently refer +to the columns of this journal, which are filled with letters, and +extracts from letters, written at different parts of the frontier, and +containing very minute and authentic details of the events which daily +occurred.] + +[Footnote 281: Extract from a Letter——_Fort Pitt_, June 16, 1763 (_Penn. +Gaz._ No. 1801). + +“We have Alarms from, and Skirmishes with, the Indians every Day; but they +have done us little Harm as yet. Yesterday I was out with a Party of Men, +when we were fired upon, and one of the Serjeants was killed; but we beat +off the Indians, and brought the Man in with his Scalp on. Last Night the +Bullock Guard was fired upon, when one Cow was killed. We are obliged to +be on Duty Night and Day. The Indians have cut off above 100 of our +Traders in the Woods, besides all our little Posts. We have Plenty of +Provisions; and the Fort is in such a good Posture of Defence, that, with +God’s Assistance, we can defend it against 1000 Indians.”] + +[Footnote 282: MS. Letter——_Ecuyer to Bouquet_, June 5. _Ibid._ June 26.] + +[Footnote 283: MS. Letter——_Ecuyer to Bouquet_, June 16 (Translation).] + +[Footnote 284: MS. _Report of Alexander M’Kee, deputy agent for Indian +affairs at Fort Pitt._] + +[Footnote 285: MS. Letter——_Ecuyer to Bouquet_, June 26.] + +[Footnote 286: Extract from a Letter——_Fort Pitt_, June 26 (_Penn. Gaz._ +No. 1802). + +“This Morning, Ensign Price, of the Royal Americans, with Part of his +Garrison, arrived here, being separated from the rest in the night.——The +Enemy attacked his Post, and set it on Fire, and while they watched the +Door of the House, he got out on the other side, and the Indians continued +firing a long Time afterwards, imagining that the Garrison was in it, and +that they were consumed with the House.——He touched at Venango, found the +Fort burnt to the Ground, and saw one of our Expresses lying killed on the +Road. + +“Four o’clock in the Afternoon. Just now came in one of the Soldiers from +Presque Isle, who says, Mr. Christie fought two Days; that the Enemy Fifty +times set Fire to the Blockhouse, but that they as often put it out: That +they then undermined the House, and was ready to blow it up, when they +offered Mr. Christie Terms, who accepted them, viz., That he, and his +Garrison, was to be conducted to this Place.——The Soldier also says, he +suspected they intended to put them all to Death; and that on hearing a +Woman scream out, he supposed they were murdering her; upon which he and +another Soldier came immediately off, but knows nothing of the rest: That +the Vessel from Niagara was in Sight, but believes she had no Provisions, +as the Indian told them they had cut off Little Niagara, and destroyed 800 +Barrels: And that he thinks, by what he saw, Venango had capitulated.” + +The soldier here spoken of was no doubt Gray, who was mentioned above, +though his story is somewhat differently given in the letter of Captain +Ecuyer, just cited.] + +[Footnote 287: _Record of Court of Inquiry, Evidence of Corporal Fisher._ +The statement is supported by all the rest of the men examined.] + +[Footnote 288: On the 27th of June, Price wrote to Colonel Bouquet from +Fort Pitt, announcing his escape; and again on the 28th, giving an account +of the affair. Both letters are before me; but the most satisfactory +evidence is furnished by the record of the court of inquiry held at Fort +Pitt on the 12th of September, to ascertain the circumstances of the loss +of Presqu’ Isle and Le Bœuf. This embraces the testimony of most of the +survivors; namely, Ensign George Price, Corporals Jacob Fisher and John +Nash, and privates John Dogood, John Nigley, John Dortinger, and Uriah +Trunk. All the men bear witness to the resolution of their officer. One of +them declared that it was with the utmost difficulty that they could +persuade him to leave the blockhouse with them.] + +[Footnote 289: MS. _Johnson Papers._ Not many years since, some traces of +Fort Venango were yet visible. The following description of them is from +the _Historical Collections of Pennsylvania_:—— + +“Its ruins plainly indicate its destruction by fire. Burnt stone, melted +glass and iron, leave no doubt of this. All through the groundworks are to +be found great quantities of mouldering bones. Amongst the ruins, knives, +gun-barrels, locks, and musket-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 +well. The same tradition also adds, ‘And in that well there is a cannon,’ +but no examination has been made for it.”] + +[Footnote 290: Extract from a Letter——_Fort Bedford, June 30, 1763_ +(_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 the Garrison; and News is +brought in of two Men being killed.——Eight o’clock. Two Men are brought +in, alive, tomahawked and scalped more than Half the Head over——Our Parade +just now presents a Scene of bloody and savage Cruelty; three Men, two of +which are in the Bloom of Life, the other an old man, lying scalped (two +of them still alive) thereon: Any thing feigned in the most fabulous +Romance, cannot parallel the horrid Sight now before me; the Gashes the +poor People bear are most terrifying.——Ten o’clock. They are just +expired——One of them, after being tomahawked and scalped, ran a little +way, and got on a Loft in Mr. Croghan’s House, where he lay till found by +a Party of the Garrison.”] + +[Footnote 291: This is a common Indian metaphor. To destroy an enemy is, +in their phrase, to eat him.] + +[Footnote 292: MS. _Report of Conference with the Indians at Fort Pitt_, +July 26, 1763.] + +[Footnote 293: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Colonel Bouquet to Sir J. +Amherst_:—— + + “Fort Pitt, 11th Aug. 1763. + + “Sir: + +“We Arrived here Yesterday, without further Opposition than Scattered +Shots along the Road. + +“The Delawares, Shawnese, Wiandots, & Mingoes had closely Beset, and +Attacked this Fort from the 27th July, to the First Instant, when they +Quitted it to March against us. + +“The Boldness of those Savages is hardly Credible; they had taken Post +under the Banks of Both Rivers, Close to the Fort, where Digging Holes, +they kept an Incessant Fire, and threw Fire Arrows: They are good +Marksmen, and though our People were under Cover, they Killed one, & +Wounded seven.——Captain Ecuyer is Wounded in the Leg by an Arrow.——I Would +not Do Justice to that Officer, should I omit to Inform Your Excellency, +that, without Engineer, or any other Artificers than a few Ship Wrights, +he has Raised a Parapet of Logs round the Fort, above the Old One, which +having not been Finished, was too Low, and Enfiladed; he has Fraised the +Whole; Palisadoed the Inside of the Aria, Constructed a Fire Engine; and +in short, has taken all Precautions, which Art and Judgment could suggest +for the Preservation of this Post, open before on the three sides, which +had suffered by the Floods.”] + +[Footnote 294: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1805-1809.] + +[Footnote 295: “The next object of the immediate attention of Parliament +in this session was the raising of a new regiment of foot in North +America, for which purpose the sum of £81,178 16_s._ was voted. This +regiment, which was to consist of four battalions of 1000 men each, was +intended to be raised chiefly out of the Germans and Swiss, who, for many +years past, had annually transported themselves in great numbers to +British 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 English inhabitants of the place, so +that 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, accustomed to +the climate, it was judged that a regiment of good and faithful soldiers +might be raised out of them, particularly proper to oppose the French; but +to this end it was necessary to appoint some officers, especially +subalterns, who understood military discipline and could speak the German +language; and as a sufficient number of such could not be found among the +English officers, it was necessary to bring over and grant commissions to +several German and Swiss officers and engineers. But as this step, by the +Act of Settlement, could not be taken without the authority of Parliament, +an act was now passed for enabling his Majesty to grant commissions to a +certain number of foreign Protestants, who had served abroad as officers +or engineers, to act and rank as officers or engineers in America +only.”——Smollett, _England_, III. 475. + +The Royal American Regiment is now the 60th Rifles. Its ranks, at the time +of the Pontiac war, were filled by provincials of English as well as of +German descent.] + +[Footnote 296: There is a sketch of Bouquet’s life prefixed to the French +translation of the _Account of Bouquet’s Expedition_. See also the reprint +in the first volume of Clarke’s “Ohio Valley Historical Series.”] + +[Footnote 297: An extract from this letter, which is dated May 30, is +given on page 280.] + +[Footnote 298: The italics and capitals are Sir Jeffrey’s.] + +[Footnote 299: On the 29th of July following, the fragments of five more +regiments arrived from Havana, numbering in all 982 men and officers fit +for duty.——_Official Returns._] + +[Footnote 300: _i.e._, Cuyler’s detachment.] + +[Footnote 301: Amherst wrote again on the 16th of July: “My former orders +for putting such of the Indians as are or have been in arms against us, +and that fall in our power, to death, remain in full force; as the +barbarities they have committed on the late commanding officer at Venango” +(Gordon, whom they roasted alive during several nights) “and his +unfortunate garrison fully prove that no punishment we can inflict is +adequate to the crimes of those inhuman villains.”] + +[Footnote 302: The following is a characteristic example. He is writing to +Johnson, 27 Aug. 1763: “I shall only say that it Behoves the Whole Race of +Indians to Beware (for I Fear the best of them have in some Measure been +privy to, and Concerned in the Late Mischief) of Carrying Matters much +farther against the English, or Daring to form Conspiracys; as the +Consequence will most Certainly occasion Measures to be taken, that, in +the End, will put a most Effectual Stop to their Very Being.” + +The following is his view of the Indians, in a letter to Bouquet, 7 Aug. +1763:—— + +“I wish there was not an Indian Settlement within a thousand miles of our +Country, for they are only fit to live with the Inhabitants of the woods: +(i.e., _wild beasts_), being more allied to the _Brute_ than the _human_ +Creation.”] + +[Footnote 303: This correspondence is among the manuscripts of the British +Museum, _Bouquet and Haldimand Papers_, No. 21, 634. The first postscript +by Amherst is on a single leaf of foolscap, written at the top of the page +and addressed on the back,—— + + “On His Majesty’s Service. + To Colonel BOUQUET, + etc.” + + ------------------------- + “JEFF. AMHERST.” + ------------------------- + +The postscript seems to belong to a letter written on the first leaf of +the foolscap sheet, which is lost or destroyed. The other postscript by +Amherst has neither indorsement nor address, but that of Bouquet is +appended to a letter dated Carlisle, 13 July, 1763, and addressed to “His +Excellency, Sir Jeffrey Amherst.” It appears from a letter of Capt. Ecuyer +that the small-pox had lately broken out at Fort Pitt, which would have +favored the execution of the plan. We hear nothing more of it; but, in the +following spring, Gershom Hicks, who had been among the Indians, reported +at Fort Pitt that the small-pox had been raging for some time among them, +and that sixty or eighty Mingoes and Delawares, besides some Shawanoes, +had died of it. + +The suggestion of using dogs against the Indians did not originate with +Bouquet. Just before he wrote, he received a letter from one John Hughes, +dated Lancaster, July 11, in which an elaborate plan is laid down for +conquering the Indians with the help of canine allies. + +The following is the substance of the proposal, which is set forth under +eight distinct heads: 1st, Each soldier to have a dog, which he is to lead +on the march by a strap three feet long. 2d, All the dogs to be held fast +by the straps, except one or two on each flank and as many in advance, to +discover the enemy in ambush. 3d, When you are fired upon, let loose all +the dogs, which will rush at the concealed Indians, and force them in +self-defence to expose themselves and fire at their assailants, with so +little chance of hitting them, that, in the words of the letter, “if 1000 +Indians fired on 300 dogs, there would be at least 200 dogs left, besides +all the soldiers’ fires, which must put the Indians to flight very soon.” +4th, If you come to a swamp, thicket, or the like, “only turn loose 3 or 4 +dogs extraordinary, and you are immediately convinced what you have to +fear.” 5th, “No Indian can well conceal himself in a swamp or thicket as a +spy, for y^{r}. dogs will discover him, and may soon be learnt to destroy +him too.” 6th, “The leading the dogs makes them more fierce, and keeps +them from being tired in running after wild beasts or fighting one +another.” 7th, Expatiates on the advantages of having the leading-straps +short. 8th, “The greater the number of dogs, the more fierce they will be +by a great deal, and the more terrible to the Indians; and if, when you +get to Bedford, a few scouting parties were sent out with dogs, and one or +two Indians killed and the dogs put at them to tear them to pieces, you +would soon see the good effects of it; and I could almost venture my life +that 500 men with 500 dogs would be much more dreadful to 2000 Indians +than an army of some thousand of brave men in the regular way. + + “J^{N} HUGHES. + + “COLONEL BOUQUET.” + +Probably there is no man who ever had occasion to fight Indians in the +woods who would object to a dog as an ally.] + +[Footnote 304: This is the letter in which he accepts Amherst’s proposal +to infect the Indians. His just indignation at the atrocities which had +caused so much misery is his best apology.] + +[Footnote 305: The blockhouse at Presqu’ Isle had been built under the +direction of Bouquet. Being of wood, it was not fire-proof; and he urged +upon Amherst that it should be rebuilt of brick with a slate roof, thus +making it absolutely proof against Indians.] + +[Footnote 306: Bouquet had the strongest reasons for wishing that Fort +Ligonier should hold out. As the event showed, its capture would probably +have entailed the defeat and destruction of his entire command.] + +[Footnote 307: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1804.] + +[Footnote 308: Robison, _Narrative_. Robison was one of the party, and his +brother was mortally wounded at the first fire.] + +[Footnote 309: Extract from a Letter——_Carlisle_, July 13 (_Penn. Gaz._ +No. 1804)—— + +“Last Night Colonel Armstrong returned. He left the Party, who pursued +further, and found several dead, whom they buried in the best manner they +could, and are now all returned in.——From what appears, the Indians are +travelling from one Place to another, along the Valley, burning the Farms, +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 pretty authentic Account of the +Number slain, being Twenty-five, and four or five wounded.——The Colonel, +Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Alricks, are now on the Parade, endeavouring to raise +another Party, to go out and succour the Sheriff and his Party, consisting +of Fifty Men, which marched Yesterday, 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.”] + +[Footnote 310: Extract from a Letter——_Carlisle_, July 5 (_Haz. Pa. Reg._ +IV. 390):—— + +“Nothing could exceed the terror which prevailed from house to house, from +town to town. The road was near covered with women and children, flying to +Lancaster and Philadelphia. 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 Bouquet.”] + +[Footnote 311: 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, affording some fresh Object to awaken the +Compassion, alarm the Fears, or kindle into Resentment and Vengeance every +sensible Breast, while flying Families, obliged to abandon House and +Possession, to save their Lives by an hasty Escape; mourning Widows, +bewailing their Husbands surprised and massacred by savage Rage; tender +Parents, lamenting the Fruits of their own Bodies, cropt in the very Bloom +of Life by a barbarous Hand; with Relations and Acquaintances, pouring out +Sorrow for murdered Neighbours and Friends, present a varied Scene of +mingled Distress. + +“To-day a British Vengeance begins to rise in the Breasts of our Men.——One +of them that fell from among the 12, as he was just expiring, said to one +of his Fellows, Here, take my Gun, and kill the first Indian you see, and +all shall be well.”] + +[Footnote 312: _Account of Bouquet’s Expedition; Introduction_, vi.] + +[Footnote 313: “I cannot send a Highlander out of my sight without running +the risk of losing the man, which exposes me to surprise from the skulking +villains I have to deal with.”——MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Amherst_, 26 July, +1763.] + +[Footnote 314: “Our Accounts from the westward are as follows, viz.:—— + +“On the 25th of July there were in Shippensburg 1384 of our poor +distressed Back Inhabitants, viz. Men, 301; Women, 345; Children, 738; +Many of whom were obliged to lie in Barns, Stables, Cellars, and under old +leaky Sheds, the Dwelling-houses being all crowded.”——_Penn. Gaz._ No. +1806.] + +[Footnote 315: “The government of Pennsylvania having repeatedly refused +to garrison Fort Lyttleton (a provincial fort), even with the kind of +troops they have raised, I have stationed some inhabitants of the +neighborhood in it, with some provisions and ammunition, to prevent the +savages burning it.”——MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Amherst_, 26 July, 1763.] + +[Footnote 316: MS. Letter——_Ourry to Bouquet_, 20 June, 1763.] + +[Footnote 317: Extract from a _Letter of Bouquet to Amherst, Bedford_, +July 26th, 1763: + +“The troops & Convoy arrived here yesterday.... Three men have been +massacred near Shippensburg since we left, but we have not perceived yet +any of the Villains.... Having observed in our march that the Highlanders +lose themselves in the woods as soon as they go out of the road, and +cannot on that account be employed as Flankers, I have commissioned a +person here to procure me about thirty woodsmen to march with us.... This +is very irregular, but the circumstances render it so absolutely necessary +that I hope you will approve it.”] + +[Footnote 318: MS. Letters——_Bouquet to Amherst_, Aug. 5, 6. _Penn. Gaz._ +1809-1810. _Gent. Mag._ XXXIII. 487. _London Mag._ for 1763, 545. _Account +of Bouquet’s Expedition. Annual Register_ for 1763, 28. Mante, 493. + +The accounts of this action, published in the journals of the day, excited +much attention, from the wild and novel character of this species of +warfare. A well-written description of the battle, together with a journal +of Bouquet’s expedition of the succeeding year, was published in a thin +quarto, with illustrations from the pencil of West. The writer was Dr. +William Smith, of Philadelphia, and not, as has usually been thought, the +geographer Thomas Hutchins. See the reprint, _Clarke’s Historical Series_, +Vol. I. A French translation of the narrative was published at Amsterdam +in 1769. + +Extract from a Letter——_Fort Pitt_, August 12 (_Penn. Gaz._ No. 1810):—— + +“We formed a Circle round our Convoy and Wounded; upon which the Savages +collected themselves, and continued whooping and popping at us all the +Evening. Next Morning, having mustered all their Force, they began the +War-whoop, attacking us in Front, when the Colonel feigned a Retreat, +which encouraged the Indians to an eager Pursuit, while the Light Infantry +and Grenadiers rushed out on their Right and Left Flanks, attacking them +where they little expected it; by which Means a great Number of them were +killed; and among the rest, Keelyuskung, a Delaware Chief, who the Night +before, and that Morning, had been Blackguarding us in English: We lost +one Man in the Rear, on our March the Day after. + +“In other Letters from Fort Pitt, it is mentioned that, to a Man, they +were resolved to defend the Garrison (if the Troops had not arrived), as +long as any Ammunition, and Provision to support them, were left; and that +then they would have fought their Way through, or died in the Attempt, +rather than have been made Prisoners by such perfidious, cruel, and +Blood-thirsty Hell-hounds.” + +See Appendix, D.] + +[Footnote 319: Extract from a Letter——_Fort Pitt_, August 12 (_Penn. Gaz._ +No. 1810): + +“As you will probably have the Accounts of these Engagements from the +Gentlemen that were in them, I shall say no more than this, that it is the +general Opinion, the Troops behaved with the utmost Intrepidity, and the +Indians were never known to behave so fiercely. You may be sure the Sight +of the Troops was very agreeable to our poor Garrison, being penned up in +the Fort from the 27th of May to the 9th Instant, and the Barrack Rooms +crammed with Men, Women, and Children, tho’ providentially no other +Disorder ensued than the Small-pox.——From the 16th of June to the 28th of +July, we were pestered with the Enemy; sometimes with their Flags, +demanding Conferences; at other Times threatening, then soothing, and +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 coming +from the Lakes, &c., to destroy us. But, finding that neither had any +Effect on us, they mustered their whole force, in Number about 400, and +began a most furious Fire from all Quarters on the Fort, which they +continued for four Days, and great Part of the Nights, viz., from the 28th +of July to the last.——Our Commander was wounded by an Arrow in the Leg, +and no other Person, of any Note, hurt, tho’ the Balls were whistling very +thick about our Ears. Nine Rank and File wounded, 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 several of our loving Brethren, +notwithstanding 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 convinced 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 Inhabitants, if not well +defended.”] + +[Footnote 320: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Sir J. Amherst to Colonel +Bouquet_:—— + +“New York, 31st August, 1763. + +“The Disposition you made for the Reception of the Indians, the Second +Day, was indeed very wisely Concerted, and as happily Executed; I am +pleased with Every part of your Conduct on the Occasion, which being so +well seconded by the Officers and Soldiers under your Command, 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.”] + +[Footnote 321: MS. _Minutes of Conference with the Six Nations and others, +at Johnson Hall_, Sept. 1763. _Letters of Sir William Johnson._] + +[Footnote 322: MS. _Harrisburg Papers_.] + +[Footnote 323: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Sir W. Johnson to Sir J. +Amherst_:—— + +“Johnson Hall, July 8th, 1763. + +“I Cannot Conclude without Representing to Your Excellency the great Panic +and uneasiness into which the Inhabitants of these parts are cast, which I +have endeavored to Remove by every Method in my power, to prevent their +Abandoning their Settlements from their apprehensions of the Indians: As +they in General Confide much in my Residence, they are hitherto Prevented +from taking that hasty Measure, but should I be Obliged to retire (which I +hope will not be the case), not only my Own Tenants, who are upwards of +120 Families, but all the Rest would Immediately follow the Example, which +I am Determined against doing ’till the last Extremity, as I know it would +prove of general bad Consequence.”] + +[Footnote 324: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1809.] + +[Footnote 325: MS. Letter——_Amherst to Egremont_, October 13. Two +anonymous letters from officers at Fort Niagara, September 16 and 17. +_Life of Mary Jemison_, Appendix. MS. _Johnson Papers_. + +One of the actors in the tragedy, a Seneca warrior, named Blacksnake, 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 +English were forced over the precipice, his small eyes glittered like +those of the serpent whose name he bore. + +Extract from a Letter——_Niagara_, September 16 (_Penn. Gaz._ No. 1815): + +“On the first hearing of the Firing by the Convoy, Capt. Johnston, and +three Subalterns, marched with about 80 Men, mostly of Gage’s Light +Infantry, who were in a little Camp adjacent; they had scarce Time to form +when the Indians appeared at the above Pass; our People fired briskly upon +them, but was instantly surrounded, and the Captain who commanded mortally +wounded the first Fire; the 3 Subalterns also were soon after killed, on +which a general Confusion ensued. The Indians rushed in on all Sides and +cut about 60 or 70 Men in Pieces, including the Convoy: Ten of our Men are +all we can yet learn have made their Escape; they came here through the +Woods Yesterday. From many Circumstances, it is believed the Senecas have +a chief Hand in this Affair.” + +Extract from a Letter——_Niagara_, September 17 (_Penn. Gaz._ No. 1815): + +“Wednesday the 14th Inst. a large Body of Indians, some say 300, others 4 +or 500, came down upon the Carrying-Place, attacked the Waggon Escort, +which consisted of a Serjeant and 24 Men. This small Body immediately +became a Sacrifice, only two Waggoners escaped. Two Companies of Light +Infantry (the General’s and La Hunt’s), that were encamped at the Lower +Landing, hearing the Fire, instantly rushed out to their Relief, headed by +Lieuts. George Campbell, and Frazier, Lieutenant Rosco, of the Artillery, +and Lieutenant Deaton, of the Provincials; this Party had not marched +above a Mile and Half when they were attacked, surrounded, and almost +every Man cut to Pieces; the Officers were all killed, it is reported, on +the Enemy’s first Fire; the Savages rushed down upon them in three +Columns.”] + +[Footnote 326: MS. _Diary of an officer in Wilkins’s Expedition against +the Indians at Detroit_.] + +[Footnote 327: “I have often seen them get up early in the morning at this +season, walk hastily out, and look anxiously to the woods, and snuff the +autumnal winds with the 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 wag his tail, and, by +every blandishment in his power, express his readiness to accompany him to +the woods.”——Doddridge, _Notes on Western Va. and Pa._, 124. + +For a view of the state of the frontier, see also Kercheval, _Hist. of the +Valley of Virginia_; and Smyth, _Travels in America_.] + +[Footnote 328: For an account of the population of Pennsylvania, see +Rupp’s two histories of York and Lancaster, and of Lebanon and Berks +Counties. See also the _History of Cumberland County_, and the _Penn. +Hist. Coll._] + +[Footnote 329: “There are many Letters in Town, in which the Distresses of +the Frontier Inhabitants are set forth in a most moving and striking +Manner; but as these Letters are pretty much the same, and it would be +endless to insert the whole, the following is the Substance of some of +them, as near as we can recollect, viz.:—— + +“That the Indians had set Fire to Houses, Barns, Corn, Hay, and, in short, +to every Thing that was combustible, so that the whole Country seemed to +be in one general Blaze——That the Miseries and Distresses of the poor +People were really shocking to Humanity, and beyond the Power of Language +to describe——That Carlisle was become the Barrier, not a single Individual +being beyond it——That every Stable and Hovel in the Town was crowded with +miserable Refugees, who were reduced to a State of Beggary and Despair; +their Houses, Cattle and Harvest destroyed; and from a plentiful, +independent People, they were become real Objects of Charity and +Commiseration——That it was most dismal to see the Streets filled with +People, in whose Countenances might be discovered a Mixture of Grief, +Madness and Despair; and to hear, now and then, the Sighs and Groans of +Men, the disconsolate Lamentations of Women, and the Screams of Children, +who had lost their nearest and dearest Relatives: And that on both Sides +of the Susquehannah, for some Miles, the Woods were filled with poor +Families, and their Cattle, who make Fires, and live like the +Savages.”——_Penn. Gaz._ No. 1805. + +Extract from a MS. Letter, signature erased——_Staunton_, July 26:—— + +“Since the reduction of the Regiment, I have lived in the country, which +enables me to enform yr Ho^{nr} of some particulars, I think it is a duty +incumbent on me to do. I can assert that in eight years’ service, I never +knew such a general consternation as the late irruption of Indians has +occasioned. Should they make a second attempt, I am assured the country +will be laid desolate, which I attribute to the following reasons. The +sudden, great, and unexpected slaughter of the people; their being +destitute of arms and ammunition; the country Lieut. being at a distance +and not exerting himself, his orders are neglected; the most of the +militia officers being 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 they take; should it produce an insurrection, it may be attended +with the most serious consequences.”] + +[Footnote 330: “_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 brought this Letter from Winchester to +Loudoun County, and he informed me that he was employed as an Express from +Fort Cumberland to Winchester, which Place he left the 4^{th} Instant, and +that passing from the Fort to Winchester, he saw lying on the Road a +Woman, who had been just scalped, and was then in the Agonies 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 +apprehending the Indians were 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 authority of James Smith, a prominent leader +of the rangers.] + +[Footnote 331: Her absence was soon perceived, on which one of the Indians +remarked that he would bring the cow back to her calf, and, seizing the +child, forced it to scream violently. This proving ineffectual, he dashed +out its brains against a tree. This was related by one of the captives who +was taken to the Indian villages and afterwards redeemed.] + +[Footnote 332: Doddridge, _Notes_, 221. MS. _Narrative_, written by +Colonel Stuart from the relation of Glendenning’s wife.] + +[Footnote 333: Gordon, _Hist. Penn._ Appendix. Bard, _Narrative_. + +“Several small parties went on to different parts of the settlements: it +happened that three of them, whom I was well acquainted with, came from +the neighborhood 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 scalps; some of the old Indians were very much displeased at +them for killing so many children, especially _Neeppaugh-whese_, or Night +Walker, an old chief, or half king,——he ascribed it to cowardice, which +was the greatest affront he could offer them.”——M’Cullough, _Narrative_. + +Extract from an anonymous Letter——_Philadelphia_, August 30, 1764: + +“The Lad found alive in the School, and said to be since dead, is, I am +informed, yet alive, and in a likely Way to recover.”] + +[Footnote 334: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Thomas Cresap to Governor +Sharpe_:—— + + “Old Town, July 15th, 1763. + + “May it please y^{r} Excellency: + +“I take this opportunity in the height of confusion to acquaint you with +our unhappy and most wretched situation at this time, being in hourly +expectation of being massacred by our barbarous and inhuman enemy the +Indians, we having been three days successively attacked by them, viz. the +13th, 14th, and this instant.... I have enclosed a list of the desolate +men and women, and children who have fled to my house, which is enclosed +by a small stockade for safety, by which you see what a number of poor +souls, destitute of every necessary of life, are here penned up, and +likely to be butchered without immediate relief and assistance, and can +expect none, unless from the province to which they belong. I shall submit +to your wiser judgment the best and most effectual method for such relief, +and shall conclude with hoping we shall have it in time.” + +Extract from a Letter——_Frederick Town_, July 19, 1763 (_Penn. Gaz._ No. +1807):—— + +“Every Day, for some Time past, has offered the melancholy Scene of poor +distressed Families driving downwards, through this Town, with their +Effects, who have deserted their Plantations, for Fear of falling into the +cruel Hands of our Savage Enemies, now daily seen in the Woods. And never +was Panic more general or forcible 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 Incursions of both French and +Indians.”] + +[Footnote 335: Extract from a Letter——_Winchester, Virginia_, June 22d +(_Penn. Gaz._ No. 1801):—— + +“Last Night I reached this Place. I have been at Fort Cumberland several +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 within 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, that they had hardly any thing with them but their Children. And +what is still worse, I dare say there is not Money enough amongst the +whole Families to maintain a fifth Part of them till the Fall; and none of +the poor Creatures can get a Hovel to shelter them from the Weather, but +lie about scattered in the Woods.”] + +[Footnote 336: _Votes of Assembly_, V. 259.] + +[Footnote 337: Extract from a MS. Letter——_John Elder to Governor Penn_:—— + + “Paxton, 4th August, 1763. + + “Sir: + +“The service your Hon^{r} was pleased to appoint me to, I have performed +to the best of my power; tho’ not with success equal to my desires. +However, both companies will, I imagine, be complete in a few days: there +are now upwards of 30 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 +everywhere else in the back countries quite sunk and dispirited, so that +it’s to be feared that on any attack of the enemy, a considerable part of +the country will be evacuated, as all seem inclinable to seek safety +rather in flight than in opposing the Savage Foe.”] + +[Footnote 338: Sparks, _Writings of Washington_, II. 340.] + +[Footnote 339: _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 his adventures during several succeeding +years. In the war of the Revolution, he acted the part of a zealous +patriot. He lived until the year 1812, about which time, the western +Indians having broken out into hostility, he gave his country the benefit +of his ample experience, by publishing a treatise on the Indian mode of +warfare. In Kentucky, where he spent the latter part of his life, he was +much respected, and several times elected to the legislature. This +narrative may be found in Drake’s _Tragedies of the Wilderness_, and in +several other similar collections.] + +[Footnote 340: _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1811.] + +[Footnote 341: _Penn. Gaz._ Nos. 1816-1818. MS. Letter——_Graydon to Bird_, +October 12.] + +[Footnote 342: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Paxton_, October 23:—— + +“The woman was roasted, and had two hinges in her hands, supposed to be +put in red hot, and several of the men had awls thrust into their eyes, +and spears, arrows, pitchforks, etc., sticking in their bodies.”] + +[Footnote 343: MS. _Elder Papers_. Chapman, _Hist. Wyoming_, 70. Miner, +_Hist. Wyoming_, 56.] + +[Footnote 344: It has already been stated that the Quakers were confined +to the eastern parts of the province. That their security was owing to +their local situation, rather than to the kind feeling of the Indians +towards them, is shown by the fact, that, of the very few of their number +who lived in exposed positions, several were killed. One of them in +particular, John Fincher, seeing his house about to be attacked, went out +to meet the warriors, declared that he was a Quaker, and begged for mercy. +The Indians laughed, and struck him dead with a tomahawk.] + +[Footnote 345: MS. _Gage Papers_. + +Extract from a MS. Letter——_William Smith, Jr._, to ————: + +“New York, 22d 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 Indians +so great a mark of his Consideration, as to confess he could not defend +us, and to make a requisition of 1400 Provincials by the Spring——600 more +he demands from New Jersey. Our People refused all but a few for immediate +Defence, conceiving that all the Northern Colonies ought to contribute +equally, and upon an apprehension that he has called for too insufficient +an aid.... + +“Is not Gage to be pitied? The war will be a tedious one, nor can it be +glorious, even tho’ attended with Success. Instead of decisive Battles, +woodland skirmishes——instead of Colours and Cannon, our Trophies 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.”] + +[Footnote 346: MS. Letter——_Gage to Johnson_, Dec. 25, 1763. _Penn. Gaz._ +No. 1827.] + +[Footnote 347: MS. _Lettre de M. Neyon de la Vallière, à tous les nations +de la Belle Rivière et du Lac_, etc.] + +[Footnote 348: The following is Pontiac’s message to Gladwyn, written for +him by a Canadian: “Mon Frère,——La Parole que mon Père m’a envoyée, pour +faire la paix, je l’ai acceptée, tous nos jeunes gens ont enterré leurs +Casse-têtes. Je pense que tu oublieras les mauvaises choses qui sont +passées il y a longtemps; de même j’oublierai ce que tu peux m’avoir fait +pour ne penser que de bonnes, moi, les Saulteurs (_Ojibwas_), les Hurons, +nous devons t’aller parler quand tu nous demanderas. Fais moi la réponse. +Je t’envoyes ce conseil (_Q. collier?_) afin que tu le voyes. Si tu es +bien comme moi, tu me feras réponse. Je te souhaite le bonjour. + +(Signé) “PONDIAC.” + +Gladwyn’s answer is also in French. He says that he will communicate the +message to the General; and doubts not that if he, Pontiac, is true to his +words, all will be well. + +The following is from the letter in which Gladwyn announces the overtures +of peace to Amherst (Detroit, Nov. 1): “Yesterday M. Dequindre, a +volunteer, arrived with despatches from the Commandant of the Illinois, +copies of which I enclose you.... The Indians are pressing for peace.... I +don’t imagine there will be any danger of their breaking out again, +provided some examples are made of our good subjects, the French, who set +them on.... They have lost between 80 and 90 of their best warriors; but +if y^{r} Excellency still intends to punish them further for their +barbarities, _it may easily be done without any expense to the Crown, by +permitting a free sale of rum, which will destroy them more effectually +than fire and sword_.”] + +[Footnote 349: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Sir W. Johnson to_ ————: + +“For God’s Sake exert yourselves like Men whose Honour & every thing dear +to them is now at stake; the General has great 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 must 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, as it will make them more eager.”] + +[Footnote 350: MS. _Johnson Papers_.] + +[Footnote 351: 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 the 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 blockhouses in the country, and killing a number +of his Majesty’s troops and traders.”] + +[Footnote 352: 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 Inhabitants 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 without 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 +_Christian_.”] + +[Footnote 353: And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, +thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no +covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them.”——_Deuteronomy_, vii. 2.] + +[Footnote 354: So promising a theme has not escaped the notice of +novelists, and it has been adopted by Dr. Bird in his spirited story of +_Nick of the Woods_.] + +[Footnote 355: See Appendix, E.] + +[Footnote 356: For an account of the Conestoga Indians, see _Penn. Hist. +Coll._ 390. It is extremely probable, as shown by Mr. Shea, that they were +the remnant of the formidable people called Andastes, who spoke a dialect +of the Iroquois, but were deadly enemies of the Iroquois proper, or Five +Nations, by whom they were nearly destroyed about the year 1672.] + +[Footnote 357: On one occasion, a body of Indians approached Paxton on +Sunday, and sent forward one of their number, whom the English supposed to +be a friend, to reconnoitre. The spy reported that every man in the +church, including the preacher, had a rifle at his side; upon which the +enemy withdrew, and satisfied themselves 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 Harrisburg.] + +[Footnote 358: The above account of the massacre is chiefly drawn from the +narrative of Matthew Smith himself. This singular paper was published by +Mr. Redmond Conyngham, of Lancaster, in the _Lancaster Intelligencer_ for +1843. Mr. Conyngham states that he procured it from the son of Smith, for +whose information it had been written. The account is partially confirmed +by incidental allusions, in a letter written by another of the Paxton men, +and also published by Mr. Conyngham. This gentleman employed himself with +most unwearied diligence in collecting a voluminous mass of documents, +comprising, perhaps, every thing that could contribute to extenuate the +conduct of the Paxton men; and to these papers, as published from time to +time in the above-mentioned newspaper, reference will often be made.] + +[Footnote 359: _Haz. Pa. Reg._ IX. 114.] + +[Footnote 360: Papers published by Mr. Conyngham in the _Lancaster +Intelligencer_.] + +[Footnote 361: This anecdote was told to the writer by the son of Mr. +Elder, and is also related by Mr. Conyngham.] + +[Footnote 362: _Deposition of Felix Donolly_, keeper of Lancaster jail. +_Declaration of Lazarus Stewart_, published by Mr. Conyngham. Rupp, _Hist. +of York and Lancaster Counties_, 358. Heckewelder, _Narrative of Moravian +Missions_, 79. See Appendix, E. + +Soon after the massacre, Franklin published an account of it at +Philadelphia, which, being intended to strengthen the hands of government +by exciting a popular sentiment against the rioters, is more rhetorical +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 +innocence, declared their love to the English, and that, in their whole +lives, they had never done them injury; and in this posture they all +received the hatchet!” + +This is a pure embellishment of the fancy. The only persons present were +the jailer and the rioters themselves, who unite in testifying that the +Indians died with the stoicism which their race usually exhibit under such +circumstances; and indeed, so sudden was the act, that there was no time +for enacting the scene described by Franklin.] + +[Footnote 363: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Edward Shippen to Governor +Penn_:—— + + “Lancaster, 27th Dec., 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 Westward rode very fast +into Town, turned their Horses into Mr. Slough’s (an Innkeeper’s) yard, +and proceeded with the greatest precipitation to the Work-House, stove +open the door and killed all the Indians, and then took to their Horses +and rode off: all their business was done, & they were returning to their +Horses before I could get halfway down to the Work-House. The Sheriff and +Coroner however, and several others, got down as soon as the rioters, but +could not prevail with them to stop their hands. Some people say they +heard them declare they would proceed to the Province Island, & destroy +the Indians there.”] + +[Footnote 364: 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 +Inhabitants, & without putting it in the power of any one to take or +molest 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.”] + +[Footnote 365: Extract from a Letter——_Rev. Mr. Elder to Colonel Burd_:—— + + “Paxton, 1764. + +“Lazarus Stewart is still threatened by the Philadelphia party; he and his +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 Indians at Conestogue or at Lancaster, it +was not by his, or their hands. There is a great reason to believe that +much injustice has been done to all concerned. In the contrariness of +accounts, we must infer that much rests for support on the imagination or +interest of the witness. The characters of Stewart and his friends were +well established. Ruffians nor brutal they were not; humane, liberal and +moral, 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, committed by the +Indians at Tulpehocken, &c., when he can have the testimony of the Scouts +or Rangers, men whose services can never be sufficiently rewarded.”] + +[Footnote 366: Papers published by Mr. Conyngham. + +Extract from the _Declaration of Lazarus Stewart_:—— + +“What I have done was done for the 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 the post of danger, and now you ask my +life. Let me be 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 equitable 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.”] + +[Footnote 367: Loskiel, _Hist. Moravian Missions_, Part II. 211.] + +[Footnote 368: MS. Letter——_Bernard Grube to Governor Hamilton_, Oct. 13.] + +[Footnote 369: _Votes of Assembly_, V. 284.] + +[Footnote 370: Loskiel, _Hist. Moravian Missions_, Part II. 214. +Heckewelder, _Narrative of Missions_, 75.] + +[Footnote 371: Loskiel, Part II. 216.] + +[Footnote 372: _Remonstrance_ of the Frontier People to the Governor and +Assembly. See _Votes of Assembly_, V. 313. + +The “Declaration,” which accompanied the “Remonstrance,” contains the +following passage: “To protect and maintain these Indians at the public +expense, while our suffering brethren on the frontiers are almost +destitute of the necessaries of life, and are neglected by the public, is +sufficient to make us mad with rage, and tempt us to do what nothing but +the most violent necessity can vindicate.” + +See Appendix, E.] + +[Footnote 373: MS _Elder Papers_ + +The following verses are extracted from a poem, published at Philadelphia, +by a partisan of the Paxton men, entitled, + +“THE CLOVEN FOOT DISCOVERED + + “Go on, good Christians, never spare + To give your Indians Clothes to wear, + Send ’em good Beef, and Pork, and Bread, + Guns, Powder, Flints, and Store of Lead, + To Shoot your Neighbours through the Head, + Devoutly then, make Affirmation, + You’re Friends to George and British Nation, + Encourage ev’ry friendly Savage, + To murder, burn, destroy, and ravage, + Fathers and Mothers here maintain, + Whose Sons add Numbers to the slain, + Of Scotch and Irish let them kill + As many Thousands as they will, + That you may lord it o’er the Land, + And have the whole and sole command.”] + +[Footnote 374: This incident occurred during the French war, and is thus +described by a Quaker eye-witness: “Some of the dead bodies were brought +to Philadelphia in a wagon, in the time of the General Meeting of Friends +there in December, with intent to animate the people to unite in +preparations for war on the Indians. They were carried along the +streets——many people following——cursing the Indians, and also the Quakers, +because they would not join in war for their destruction. The sight of the +dead bodies, and the outcry of the people, were very afflicting and +shocking”——Watson, _Annals of Phil_ 449 (Phil 1830).] + +[Footnote 375: See Gordon, _Hist. Penn._ Chaps. XII.-XVIII.] + +[Footnote 376: Loskiel, Part II. 218.] + +[Footnote 377: MS. Letter——_Penn to Gage_, Dec. 31.] + +[Footnote 378: _Votes of Assembly_, V. 293.] + +[Footnote 379: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Governor Penn to Governor +Colden_:—— + + “Philadelphia, 5th January, 1764. + +“Satisfied of the advantages arising from this measure, I have sent them +thro’ Jersey and your Government to Sir W. Johnson, & desire you will +favour them with your protection and countenance, & give them the proper +passes for their journey to Sir William’s Seat. + +“I have recommended it, in the most pressing terms, to the Assembly, to +form a Bill that shall enable me to apprehend these seditious and +barbarous Murderers, & to quell the like insurrections for the future.”] + +[Footnote 380: Loskiel, Part II. 220. Heckewelder, _Narrative_, 81.] + +[Footnote 381: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Thomas Apty to Governor +Penn_:—— + + “Sir:—— + +“Agreeable to your Honour’s orders, I passed on through the Province of +New Jersey, in order to take the Indians under my care into New York; but +no sooner was I ready to move from Amboy with the Indians under my care, +than I was greatly surpriz’d & embarrass’d with express orders from the +Governor of New York sent to Amboy, strictly forbidding the bringing of +these poor Indians into his Province, & charging all his ferrymen not to +let them pass.”] + +[Footnote 382: _Letters to Governor Penn from General Gage, Governor +Franklin of New Jersey, and Governor Colden of New York._ See _Votes of +Assembly_, V. 300-302. The plan was afterwards revived, at the height of +the alarm caused by the march of the rioters on Philadelphia; and Penn +wrote to Johnson, on the seventh of February, begging an asylum for the +Indians. Johnson acquiesced, and wrote to Lieutenant-Governor Colden in +favor of the measure, which, however, was never carried into effect. +Johnson’s letters express much sympathy with the sufferers.] + +[Footnote 383: For indications of the state of feeling among the +Presbyterians, see the numerous partisan pamphlets of the day. See also +Appendix, E.] + +[Footnote 384: Gordon, _Hist. Penn._ 406. _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1833.] + +[Footnote 385: _Haz. Pa. Reg._ XII. 10.] + +[Footnote 386: Loskiel, Part II. 223.] + +[Footnote 387: _Historical Account of the Late Disturbances_, 4.] + +[Footnote 388: _Haz. Pa. Reg._ XII. 11. _Memoirs of a Life passed chiefly +in Pennsylvania_, 39. Heckewelder, _Narrative_, 85. Loskiel, Part II., +223. Sparks, _Writings of Franklin_, VII. 293. + +The best remaining account of these riots will be found under the first +authority cited above. It consists of a long letter, written in a very +animated strain, by a Quaker to his friend, containing a detailed account +of what passed in the city from the first alarm of the rioters to the +conclusion of the affair. The writer, though a Quaker, is free from the +prejudices of his sect, nor does he hesitate to notice the inconsistency +of his brethren appearing in arms. See Appendix, E. + +The scene before the barracks, and the narrow escape of the German +butchers, was made the subject of several poems and farces, written by +members of the Presbyterian faction, to turn their opponents into +ridicule; for which, indeed, the subject offered tempting facilities.] + +[Footnote 389: _Haz. Pa. Reg._ XII. 11.] + +[Footnote 390: _Haz. Pa. Reg._ XII. 12.] + +[Footnote 391: This statement is made in “The Quaker Unmasked,” and other +Presbyterian pamphlets of the day; and the Quakers, in their elaborate +replies to these publications, do not attempt to deny the fact.] + +[Footnote 392: Sparks, _Writings of Franklin_, VII. 293.] + +[Footnote 393: Barton, _Memoirs of Rittenhouse_, 148. Rupp, _Hist. York +and Lancaster Counties_, 362.] + +[Footnote 394: David Rittenhouse, in one of his letters, speaks with great +horror of the enormities committed by the Paxton Boys, and enumerates +various particulars of their conduct. See Barton, _Mem. of Rittenhouse_, +148.] + +[Footnote 395: “Whether the Paxton men were ‘more sinned against than +sinning,’ was a question which was agitated with so much ardor and +acrimony, that even the schoolboys became warmly engaged in the contest. +For my own part, though of the religious sect which had been long warring +with the Quakers, I was entirely on the side 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 +name was Davis, and he was really a kind, good-natured man; yet from the +dominion of his religious or political prejudices, he had been led to +apologize for, if not to approve of an outrage, which was a disgrace to a +civilized people. He had been among the riflemen on their coming into the +city, and, talking with them upon the subject of the Lancaster massacre, +and particularly of the killing of Will Sock, the most distinguished of +the victims, related with an air of approbation, this rodomontade of the +real or pretended murderer. ‘I,’ said he, ‘am the man who killed Will +Sock——this is the arm that stabbed him to the heart, and I glory in +it.’”——_Memoirs of a Life chiefly passed in Pennsylvania_, 40.] + +[Footnote 396: “Persons who were intimate now scarcely speak; or, if they +happen to meet and converse, presently get to quarrelling. 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 fragment +of the “Paxtoniad,” one of the poems of the day, is given in the Appendix. +Few of the party pamphlets are worth quoting, but the titles of some of +them will give an idea of their character: The Quaker Unmasked——A +Looking-Glass for Presbyterians——A Battle of Squirt——Plain Truth——Plain +Truth found to be Plain Falsehood——The Author of Plain Truth Stripped +Stark Naked——Clothes for a Stark Naked Author——The Squabble, a Pastoral +Eclogue——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 temper of the combatants: “But how came +you to give your piece the Title of Plain Truth; if you had called it +downright Lies, it would have agreed better with the Contents; the Title +therefore is a deception, and the contents manifestly false: in short, I +have carefully examined it, and find in it no less than 17 Positive Lies, +and 10 false Insinuations contained in 15 pages, Monstrous, and from what +has been said must conclude that when you wrote it, Truth was banished +entirely from you, and that you wrote it with a truly Pious Lying P————n +Spirit, which appears in almost every Line!” + +The peaceful society of Friends found among its ranks more than one such +champion as the ingenious writer of the above. Two collections of these +pamphlets have been examined, one preserved in the City Library of +Philadelphia, and the other in that of the New York Historical Society.] + +[Footnote 397: See Appendix, E.] + +[Footnote 398: Loskiel, Part II. 231.] + +[Footnote 399: MS. _Johnson Papers_.] + +[Footnote 400: “The three companies of Royal Americans were reduced when I +met them at Lancaster to 55 men, having lost 38 by desertion in my short +absence. I look upon Sir Jeffrey Amherst’s Orders forbidding me to +continue to discharge as usual the men whose time of service was expired, +and keeping us for seven years in the Woods,——as the occasion of this +unprecedented desertion. The encouragement given everywhere in this +Country to deserters, screened almost by every person, must in time ruin +the Army, unless the Laws against Harbourers are better enforced by the +American (_provincial_) government.”——_Bouquet to Gage_, 20 June, 1764.] + +[Footnote 401: In the correspondence of General Wolfe, recently published +in _Tait’s Magazine_, this distinguished officer speaks in high terms of +Bradstreet’s military character. His remarks, however, have reference +solely to the capture of Fort Frontenac; and he seems to have derived his +impressions from the public prints, as he had no personal knowledge of +Bradstreet. The view expressed above is derived from the letters of +Bradstreet himself, from the correspondence of General Gage and Sir +William Johnson, and from a MS. paper containing numerous details of his +conduct during the campaign of 1764, and drawn up by the officers who +served under him. + +This paper is in the possession of Mrs. W. L. Stone.] + +[Footnote 402: 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 founder 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 manner, treacherously killed him with a +hatchet; the mysterious visitant having assumed a visible and tangible +form, which exposed him to the incidents of mortality. During these +invocations, the lodge or tabernacle was always observed to shake +violently to and fro, in a manner so remarkable as exceedingly to perplex +the observers. The variety of discordant sounds, uttered by the medicine +man, need not surprise us more than those accurate imitations of the cries +of various animals, to which Indian hunters are accustomed to train their +strong and flexible voices.] + +[Footnote 403: MS. _Johnson Papers_. + +The following extract from Henry’s _Travels_ will exhibit the feelings +with which the Indians came to the conference at Niagara, besides +illustrating a curious feature of their superstitions. Many tribes, +including some widely differing in language and habits, regard the +rattlesnake with superstitious veneration; looking upon him either as a +manitou, or spirit, or as a creature endowed with 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 discover 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, inquired the +occasion, and, being informed, begged me to desist. At the same time, they +followed me to the spot, with their pipes and tobacco-pouches in their +hands. On returning, I found the snake still coiled. + +“The Indians, on their part, surrounded it, all addressing it by turns, +and calling it their _grandfather_, but yet keeping at some distance. +During 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 remaining coiled, and +receiving incense, for the space of half an hour, it stretched itself +along the ground, in visible good humor. Its length was between four and +five feet. Having remained outstretched for some time, at last it moved +slowly away, the Indians following it, and still addressing it by the +title of grandfather, beseeching it to take care of their families during +their absence, and to be pleased to open the heart of Sir William Johnson, +so that he might _show them charity_, and fill their canoe with rum. + +“One of the chiefs added a petition, that the snake would take no notice +of the insult which had been offered him by the Englishman, who would even +have put him to death, but for the interference of the Indians, to whom it +was hoped he would impute no part of the offence. They further requested, +that he would remain, and not return among the English; that is, go +eastward. + +“After the rattlesnake was gone, I learned that this was the first time +that an individual of the species had been seen so far to the northward +and westward of the River Des Français; a circumstance, moreover, from +which my companions were disposed to infer, that this _manito_ had come, +or been sent, on purpose to meet them; that his errand had been no other +than to stop them on their way; and that consequently it would be most +advisable to return to the point of departure. I was so fortunate, +however, as to prevail with them to embark; and at six o’clock in the +evening we again encamped. + +“Early the next morning we proceeded. We had a serene sky and very little +wind, and the Indians therefore determined on steering across the lake, to +an island which just appeared in the horizon; saving, by this course, a +distance of thirty miles, which would be lost in keeping the shore. At +nine o’clock A. M. we had a light breeze, to enjoy the benefit of which 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 swallowed up. From +prayers, the Indians proceeded now to sacrifices, both alike offered to +the god-rattlesnake, or _manito-kinibic_. 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 the +Indians the insult which he had received from myself, in the conception of +a design to put 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 speech, an Indian, who sat near me, observed, +that if we were drowned it would be for my fault alone, and that I ought +myself to be sacrificed, to appease the angry manito; nor was I without +apprehensions, that, in case of extremity, this would be my fate; but, +happily for me, the storm at length abated, and we reached the island +safely.”——Henry, _Travels_, 175.] + +[Footnote 404: _Articles of Peace concluded with the Senecas, at Fort +Niagara_, July 18, 1764, MS.] + +[Footnote 405: MS. _Johnson Papers._ MS. _Minutes of Conference with the +chiefs and warriors of the Ottawas and Menomonies at Fort Niagara_, July +20, 1764. The extracts given above are copied verbatim from the original +record.] + +[Footnote 406: Henry, _Travels_, 183.] + +[Footnote 407: Every article in a treaty must be confirmed by a belt of +wampum; otherwise it is void. Mante, the historian of the French war, +asserts that they brought four belts. But this is contradicted in +contemporary letters, including several of General Gage and Sir William +Johnson. Mante accompanied Bradstreet’s expedition with the rank of major; +and he is a zealous advocate of his commander, whom he seeks to defend, at +the expense both of Colonel Bouquet and General Gage.] + +[Footnote 408: _Preliminary Treaty between Colonel Bradstreet and the +Deputies of the Delawares and Shawanoes, concluded at L’Ance aux Feuilles, +on Lake Erie_, August 12, 1764, MS.] + +[Footnote 409: MS. Letter——_Gage to Bradstreet_, 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 +peace_, and you certainly know that no such power could with propriety be +lodged in any person but in Sir William Johnson, his majesty’s sole agent +and superintendent for Indian affairs.”] + +[Footnote 410: Extract from a MS. Letter——_Gage to Bradstreet_, Sept. 2:—— + +“I again repeat that 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 throats upon the +frontiers. With your letters of peace I received others, giving accounts +of murders, and these acts continue to this time. Had you only consulted +Colonel Bouquet, before you agreed upon any thing with them (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 dilemma you brought us into. You +concluded a peace with people who were daily murdering us.” + +MS. Letter——_Gage to Johnson_, Sept. 4:—— + +“You will have received my letter of the 2d inst., enclosing you the +unaccountable treaty betwixt Colonel Bradstreet and the Shawanese, +Delawares, &c. On consideration 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 wampum. You will know this better, but it +appears strange to me. They certainly came to watch the motions of the +troops.”] + +[Footnote 411: MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Gage_, Sept. 3.] + +[Footnote 412: MS. _Minutes of Conference between Colonel Bradstreet and +the Indians of Detroit_, Sept. 7, 1764. See, also, Mante, 517.] + +[Footnote 413: MS. Letter——_Johnson to the Board of Trade_, Oct. 30.] + +[Footnote 414: MS. _Remarks on the Conduct of Colonel Bradstreet_——found +among the _Johnson Papers_. + +See, also, an extract of a letter from Sandusky, published in several +newspapers of the day.] + +[Footnote 415: MS. _Report of Captain Howard_.] + +[Footnote 416: “About the end of next month,” said the deputies to the +Miamis, “we shall send you the war-hatchet.” “Doubtless,” remarks Morris, +“their design was to amuse General Bradstreet with fair language, to cut +off his army at Sandusky when least expected, and then to send the hatchet +to the nations.”] + +[Footnote 417: MS. Letter——_Morris to Bradstreet_, 18 Sept. 1764. + +The journal sent by Morris to Bradstreet is in the State Paper Office of +London. This journal, and the record of an examination of Morris’s Indian +and Canadian attendants, made in Bradstreet’s presence at Sandusky, were +the authorities on which the account in the first edition of this work was +based. Morris afterwards rewrote his journal, with many additions. +Returning to England after the war, he lost his property by speculations, +and resolved, for the sake of his children, to solicit a pension, on the +score of his embassy to the Illinois. With this view it was that the +journal was rewritten; but failing to find a suitable person to lay it +before the King, he resolved to print it, together with several original +poems and a translation of the fourth and fourteenth satires of Juvenal. +The book appeared in 1791, under the title of _Miscellanies in Prose and +Verse_. It is very scarce. I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. S. G. +Drake for the opportunity of examining it. + +The two journals and the evidence before Bradstreet’s court of inquiry +agree in essentials, but differ in some details. In this edition, I have +followed chiefly the printed journal, borrowing some additional facts from +the evidence taken before Bradstreet.] + +[Footnote 418: “8th. His going away, leaving at Sandusky Two Jersey +Soldiers, who were sent out by his Orders to Catch Fish for his Table & +Five Principal Inds. who were Hunting, notwithstanding several spoke to +him abt. it & begged to allow a Boat to stay an hour or two for them; his +Answer was, they might stay there & be damned, not a Boat should stay one +Minute for them.”——_Remarks on the Conduct_, etc., MS. + +Another article of these charges is as follows: “His harsh treatment at +Setting off to the Inds. and their officers & leaving some of them behind +at every encampment from his flighty and unsettled disposition, telling +them sometimes he intended encamping, on which some of the briskest Inds. +went to kill some Game, on their return found the Army moved on, so were +obliged to march along shore without any necessarys, and with difficulty +got to Detroit half starved. At other times on being asked by the Ind^{n} +officers (when the Boats were crowded) how they and y^{e} Inds. should get +along, His answer always verry ill natured, such as swim and be damned, or +let them stay and be damned, &c.; all which was understood by many & gave +great uneasiness.”] + +[Footnote 419: Mante, 535.] + +[Footnote 420: MS. Letter——_Johnson to the Board of Trade_, December 26.] + +[Footnote 421: The provincial officers, to whom the command of the Indian +allies was assigned, drew up a paper containing complaints against +Bradstreet, and particulars of his misconduct during the expedition. This +curious document, from which a few extracts have been given, was found +among the private papers of Sir William Johnson. + +A curious discovery, in probable connection with Bradstreet’s expedition, +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 the sands, or dug up on the adjacent shore, as well as an +English silver-hilted sword, several silver spoons, and a few old French +and English coins. A mound full of bones and skulls, apparently of +Europeans hastily buried, has also been found at the same place. The +probability is strong that these are the remains of Bradstreet’s disaster. +See a paper by Dr. J. P. Kirtland, in Whittlesey’s _History of Cleveland_, +105.] + +[Footnote 422: The following is an extract from the proclamation:—— + +“I do hereby declare and promise, that there shall be paid out of the +moneys lately granted for his Majesty’s use, to all and every person and +persons not in the pay of this province, the following several and +respective premiums and bounties for the prisoners and scalps of the enemy +Indians that shall be taken or killed within the bounds of this province, +as limited by the royal charter, or in pursuit 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 prisoner and delivered as aforesaid, the sum of one +hundred and thirty pieces of eight. For the scalp of every male Indian +enemy 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 instance +of New Mexico before its conquest by the Americans. The inhabitants of +that country, too timorous to defend themselves against the Apaches and +other tribes, who descended upon them in frequent forays from the +neighboring mountains, took into pay a band of foreigners, chiefly +American trappers, for whom the Apache lances had no such terrors, and, to +stimulate their exertions, proclaimed a bounty on scalps. The success of +the measure was judged admirable, until it was found that the unscrupulous +confederates were in the habit of shooting down any Indian, whether friend +or enemy, who came within range of their rifles, and that the government +had been paying rewards for the scalps of its own allies and dependants.] + +[Footnote 423: Gordon, _Hist. Penn._ 625. Robison, _Narrative_. + +Extract from a MS. Letter——_Sir W. Johnson to Governor Penn_:—— + + “Burnetsfield, June 18th, 1764. + +“David Owens was a Corporal in Capt. McClean’s Compy., and lay once in +Garrison at my House. He deserted several times, as I am informed, & went +to live among the Delaware & Shawanese, with whose language he was +acquainted. His Father having been long a trader amongst them. + +“The circumstances relating to his leaving the Indians have been told me +by several Indians. That he went out a hunting with his Indian Wife and +several of her relations, most of whom, with his Wife, he killed and +scalped as they slept. As he was always much attached to Indians, 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.”] + +[Footnote 424: MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Amherst_, 15 Sept. 1763.] + +[Footnote 425: “If the present situation of the poor families who have +abandoned their settlements, and the danger that the whole province is +threatened with, can have no effect in opening the hearts of your Assembly +to exert themselves _like men_, I am sure no arguments I could urge will +be regarded.”——_Amherst to Governor Hamilton_, 7 July, 1763. + +“The situation of this country is deplorable, and the infatuation of their +government in taking the most dilatory and ineffectual measures for their +protection, highly blamable. They have not paid the least regard to the +plan I proposed to them on my arrival here, and will lose this and York +counties if the savages push their attacks.”——_Bouquet to Amherst_, 13 +July, 1763.] + +[Footnote 426: MS. Letter——_Robertson to Amherst_, 19 July, 1763.] + +[Footnote 427: “They have at my recommendation agreed to send to Great +Britain for 50 Couples of Blood Hounds to be employed with Rangers on +horse back against Indian scalping-parties, which will I hope deter more +effectually the Savages from that sort of war than our troops can possibly +do.”——_Bouquet to Amherst_, 7 June, 1764.] + +[Footnote 428: MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Amherst_, 27 Aug. 1763.] + +[Footnote 429: MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Amherst_, 24 Oct. 1763. In this +letter, Bouquet enlarges, after a fashion which must have been singularly +unpalatable to his commander, on the danger of employing regulars alone in +forest warfare: “Without a certain number of woodsmen, I cannot think it +advisable to employ regulars in the Woods against Savages, as they cannot +procure any intelligence and are open to continual surprises, nor can they +pursue to any distance their enemy when they have routed them; and should +they have the misfortune to be defeated, the whole would be destroyed if +above one day’s march from a Fort. That is my opinion in wh. I hope to be +deceived.”] + +[Footnote 430: MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Gage_, 10 Aug. 1764.] + +[Footnote 431: MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Gage_, 27 Aug. 1764. He wrote to +Governor Penn, as follows:—— + + “Fort Loudon, 27 Aug. 1764. + + “Sir: + +“I have the honor to transmit to you a letter from Colonel Bradstreet, who +acquaints me that he has granted 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 confirm it, and that I shall not be a witness to a +transaction which would fix an indelible stain upon the Nation. + +“I therefore take no notice of that pretended peace, & proceed forthwith +on the expedition, fully determined to treat as enemies any Delawares or +Shawanese I shall find in my way, till I receive contrary orders from the +General.”] + +[Footnote 432: MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Bradstreet_, 5 Sept. 1764.] + +[Footnote 433: See p. 402, _note_.] + +[Footnote 434: Captain Grant, who had commanded during the spring at Fort +Pitt, had sent bad accounts of the disposition of the neighboring Indians; +but added, “At this Post we defy all the Savages in the Woods. I wish they +would dare appear before us.... Repairing Batteaux, ploughing, gardening, +making Fences, and fetching home fire Wood goes on constantly every day, +from sun rise to the setting of the same.”——_Grant to Bouquet_, 2 April, +1764. A small boy, captured with his mother the summer before, escaped to +the fort about this time, and reported that the Indians meant to plant +their corn and provide for their families, after which they would come to +the fort and burn it. The youthful informant also declared that none of +them had more than a pound of powder left. Soon after, a man named Hicks +appeared, professing to have escaped from the Indians, though he was +strongly suspected of being a renegade and a spy, and was therefore +cross-questioned severely. He confirmed what the boy had said as to the +want of ammunition among the Indians, and added that they had sent for a +supply to the French at the Illinois, but that the reception they received +from the commandant had not satisfied them. General Gage sent the +following not very judicial instructions with regard to Hicks: “He is a +great villain. I am glad he is secured. I must desire you will have him +tried by a General Court-Martial for a _Spy_. Let the proceedings of the +Court prove him a _Spy_ as strong as they can, and if he does turn out a +_spy_, he must be hanged.”——_Gage to Bouquet_, 14 May, 1764. The court, +however, could find no proof.] + +[Footnote 435: _Account of Bouquet’s Expedition_, 5.] + +[Footnote 436: This speech is taken from the official journals of Colonel +Bouquet, a copy of which is preserved in the archives of Pennsylvania, at +Harrisburg, engrossed, if the writer’s memory does not fail him, in one of +the volumes of the _Provincial Records_. The published narrative, which +has often been cited, is chiefly 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 have +recourse to the original journals, to supply some omission or obscurity in +the printed compilation.] + +[Footnote 437: The sachem is the civil chief, who directs the counsels of +the tribe, and governs in time of peace. His office, on certain +conditions, is hereditary; while the war-chief, or military leader, +acquires his authority solely by personal merit, and seldom transmits it +to his offspring. Sometimes the civil and military functions are +discharged by the same person, as in the instance of Pontiac himself. + +The speech of Bouquet, as given above, is taken, with some omission and +condensation, from the journals mentioned in the preceding note.] + +[Footnote 438: The following is from a letter of Bouquet dated _Camp near +Tuscarawas, 96 miles west of Fort Pitt_, 21st Oct. 1764: “They came +accordingly on the 15^{th} and met me here, to where I had moved the camp. +Time does not permit me to send you all the messages which have passed +since, and the conferences I have had with them, as we are going to march. +I shall for the present inform you that they have behaved with the utmost +submission, and have agreed to deliver into my hands all their prisoners, +who appear to be very numerous, on the 1^{st} of November; and, as I will +not leave any thing undone, they have not only consented that I should +march to their towns, but have given me four of their men to conduct the +Army. This is the only point hitherto settled with them. Their excessive +fear having nearly made them run away once more, that circumstance and the +Treaty of Colonel Bradstreet, of which they produce the original, added to +the total want of government among them, render the execution of my orders +very intricate.”] + +[Footnote 439: An Indian council, on solemn occasions, is always opened +with preliminary forms, sufficiently wearisome and tedious, but made +indispensable by immemorial custom; for this people are as much bound by +their conventional usages as the most artificial children of civilization. +The forms are varied to some extent, according to the imagination and +taste of the speaker; but in all essential respects they are closely +similar, throughout the tribes of Algonquin and Iroquois lineage. They run +somewhat as follows, each sentence being pronounced with great solemnity, +and confirmed by the delivery of a wampum belt: Brothers, with 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 wampum, +entailed no small expense, was never used except on the most important +occasions; and at the councils with Colonel Bouquet the angry warriors +seem wholly to have dispensed with it. + +An Indian orator is provided with a stock of metaphors, which he always +makes use of for the expression 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 is refreshed by the belts of wampum, which he +delivers after every clause in his harangue, as a pledge of the sincerity +and truth of his words. These belts are carefully preserved by the +bearers, 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 preserve. 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 wampum, see note, _ante_, p. 141, _note_. + +Though a good memory is an essential qualification of an Indian orator, it +would be unjust not to observe that striking outbursts of spontaneous +eloquence have sometimes proceeded from their lips.] + +[Footnote 440: The Shawanoe speaker, in expressing his intention of +disarming his enemy by laying aside his own designs of war, makes use of +an unusual metaphor. To _bury the hatchet_ is the figure in common use on +such occasions, but he adopts a form of speech which he regards as more +significant and emphatic,——that of throwing it up to the Great Spirit. +Unwilling to confess that he yields through fear of the enemy, he +professes 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, +anxious to express, in the strongest terms, the firmness of the peace +which had been concluded, had recourse 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.”] + +[Footnote 441: A party of the Virginia volunteers had been allowed by +Bouquet to go to the remoter Shawanoe towns, in the hope of rescuing +captive relatives. They returned to Fort Pitt at midwinter, bringing nine +prisoners, all children or old women. The whole party was frost-bitten, +and had endured the extremity of suffering on the way. They must have +perished but for a Shawanoe chief, named Benewisica, to whose care Bouquet +had confided them, and who remained with them both going and returning, +hunting for them to keep them from famishing.——_Capt. Murray to Bouquet_, +31 Jan. 1765. + +Besides the authorities before mentioned in relation to these +transactions, the correspondence of Bouquet with the commander-in-chief, +throughout the expedition, together with letters from some of the officers +who accompanied him, have been examined. For General Gage’s summary of the +results of the campaign, see Appendix, F.] + +[Footnote 442: _Penn. Hist. Coll._ 267. _Haz. Pa. Reg._ IV. 390. +M’Culloch, _Narrative_. M’Culloch was one of the prisoners surrendered to +Bouquet. His narrative first appeared in a pamphlet form, and has since +been republished in the _Incidents of Border Warfare_, and other similar +collections. 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 hostilities, 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.] + +[Footnote 443: _Ordinances of the Borough of Carlisle, Appendix._ _Penn. +Hist. Coll._ 267.] + +[Footnote 444: The author of _The Expedition against the Ohio Indians_ +speaks of the Indians “shedding torrents of tears.” This is either a +flourish of rhetoric, or is meant to apply solely to the squaws. A +warrior, who, under the circumstances, should have displayed such emotion, +would have been disgraced for ever.] + +[Footnote 445: The outcries of the squaws, on such occasions, would put to +shame an Irish death-howl. The writer was once attached to a large band of +Indians, who, being on the march, arrived, a little after nightfall, at a +spot where, 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 +the damned in the _Inferno_; while some of the chief mourners gashed their +bodies and limbs with knives, uttering meanwhile most piteous +lamentations. A few days later, returning to the same encampment after +darkness had closed in, a strange and startling effect was produced by the +prolonged wailings of several women, who were pacing the neighboring +hills, lamenting the death of a child, killed by the bite of a +rattlesnake.] + +[Footnote 446: This and what precedes is meant to apply only to tribes +east of the Mississippi. Some of the western and south-western tribes +treat prisoners merely as slaves, and habitually violate female captives.] + +[Footnote 447: The captives among the Shawanoes of the Scioto had most of +them been recently taken; and only a small part had gone through the +ceremony of adoption. Hence it was that the warriors, in their +desperation, formed the design of putting them to death, fearing that, in +the attack which they meditated, the captives would naturally take part +with their countrymen.] + +[Footnote 448: _Account of Bouquet’s Expedition_, 29.] + +[Footnote 449: Colden, after describing the Indian wars of 1699, 1700, +concludes in the following words:—— + +“I shall finish this Part by observing that notwithstanding the French +Commissioners took all the Pains possible to carry Home the French that +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 thought that +this was occasioned from the Hardships they had endured in their own +Country, under a tyrannical Government and a barren Soil. But this +certainly was not the Reason, for the English had as much Difficulty 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 Inhabitants of New York do. No +Arguments, no Intreaties, nor Tears of their Friends and Relations, could +persuade many of them to leave their new Indian Friends and Acquaintance. +Several of them that were by the Caressings 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 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 fond of the Indian Manner of Life as those that knew nothing of +a civilized Manner of living. What I now tell of Christian Prisoners among +Indians relates not only to what happened at the Conclusion of this War, +but has been found true on many other Occasions.”——Colden, 203.] + +[Footnote 450: See Appendix, F.] + +[Footnote 451: MS. Letter——_Bouquet to Gage_, 4 March, 1765.] + +[Footnote 452: _Ibid._, 17 April, 1765.] + +[Footnote 453: MS. _Johnson Papers_.] + +[Footnote 454: The superstitious veneration which the Indians entertain +for the rattlesnake has been before alluded to. The Cherokees christened +him by a name which, being interpreted, signifies _the bright old +inhabitant_, a title of affectionate admiration of which his less partial +acquaintance would hardly judge him worthy. + +“Between the heads of the northern branch of the Lower Cheerake River, and +the heads of that of Tuckaschchee, winding round in a long course by the +late Fort Loudon, and afterwards into the Mississippi, there is, both in +the nature and circumstances, a great phenomenon. Between two high +mountains, nearly covered with old mossy rocks, lofty cedars and pines, in +the valleys of which the beams of the sun reflect a powerful heat, there +are, as the natives affirm, some bright old inhabitants, or rattlesnakes, +of a more enormous size than is mentioned in history. They are so large +and unwieldy, that they take a circle almost as wide as their length, to +crawl round in their shortest orbit; but bountiful nature compensates the +heavy motion of their bodies; for, as they say, no living creature moves +within the reach of their sight, but they can draw it to them; which is +agreeable to what we observe through the whole system of animated beings. +Nature endues them with proper capacities to sustain life: as they cannot +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.] + +[Footnote 455: For an account of Jesuit labors in the Illinois, see the +letters of Father Marest, in _Lett. Edif._ IV.] + +[Footnote 456: The principal authorities for the above account of the +Illinois colony are Hutchins, _Topographical Description_, 37. Volney, +_View of the United States_, 370. Pitman, _Present State of the European +Settlements on the Mississippi_, _passim_. Law, _Address before the +Historical Society of Vincennes_, 14. Brown, _Hist. Illinois_, 208. +_Journal of Captain Harry Gordon_, in Appendix to Pownall’s _Topographical +Description_. Nicollet, _Report on the Hydrographical Basin of the +Mississippi_, 75.] + +[Footnote 457: Lieutenant Alexander Fraser visited the Illinois in 1765, +as we shall see hereafter. He met extreme ill-treatment, and naturally +takes a prejudiced view of the people. The following is from his MS. +account of the country:—— + +“The Illinois Indians are about 650 able to bear arms. Nothing can equal +their passion for drunkenness, but that of the French inhabitants, who are +for the greatest part drunk every day, while they can get drink to buy in +the Colony. They import more of this Article from New Orleans than they do +of any other, and they never fail to meet a speedy and good market for it. +They have a great many Negroes, who are obliged to labour very hard to +support their Masters in their extravagant debaucheries; any one who has +had any dealings with them must plainly see that they are for the most +part transported Convicts, or people who have fled for some crimes; those +who have not done it themselves are the offspring of such as those I just +mentioned, inheriting their Forefathers’ vices. They are cruel and +treacherous to each other, and consequently so to Strangers; they are +dishonest in every kind of business and lay themselves out to overreach +Strangers, which they often do by a low cunning, peculiar to themselves; +and their artful flatteries, with extravagant Entertainments (in which +they affect the greatest hospitality) generally favor their schemes.” + +Of the traders, he says, “They are in general most unconscious +(_unconscionable_) Rascals, whose interest it was to debauch from us such +Indians as they found well disposed towards us, and to foment and increace +the animosity of such as they found otherwise. To this we should alone +impute our late war with the Indians.” + +He sets down the number of white inhabitants at about seven hundred able +to bear arms, though he says that it is impossible to form a just +estimate, as they are continually going and coming to and from the Indian +nations.] + +[Footnote 458: Nicollet, _Historical Sketch of St. Louis_. See _Report on +the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi River_, 75.] + +[Footnote 459: 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 realize schemes still more bold and comprehensive; and +to every trader, trapper, and voyageur, from the frontier of the United +States to the Rocky Mountains, and from the British Possessions to the +borders of New Mexico, 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 dwellings +of the Mississippi Valley, with its broad eaves and light verandas, and +the surrounding negro houses filled with gay and contented inmates, was 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 +age, 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 the 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 recollection; and I am indebted to this +interesting interview for several particulars regarding the chief and his +coadjutors.] + +[Footnote 460: MS. Letter——_St. Ange to D’Abbadie_, Sept. 9.] + +[Footnote 461: By the following extract from an official paper, signed by +Captain Grant, and forwarded from Detroit, it appears that Pontiac still +retained, or professed to retain, his original designs against the +garrison of Detroit. The paper has no date, but was apparently written in +the autumn of 1764. By a note appended to it, we are told that the +Baptiste Campau referred to was one of those who had acted as Pontiac’s +secretaries during the summer of 1763:—— + +“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 Miamee +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 Cleff 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 Detroit, +but he can’t tell in whose hands it is.”] + +[Footnote 462: MS. _Gage Papers_. MS. _Johnson Papers_. Croghan, +_Journal_. Hildreth, _Pioneer History_, 68. _Examination of Gershom +Hicks_, see _Penn. Gaz._ No. 1846. + +Johnson’s letters to the Board of Trade, in the early part of 1765, +contain constant references to the sinister 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 +practices, as well as the traders. If we may judge, however, from the +correspondence of St. Ange and his subordinates, they may be acquitted of +the charge of any active interference in the matter. + +“Sept. 14. I had a private meeting with the Grand Sauteur, when he told me +he was well disposed for peace last fall, but was then sent for to the +Illinois, where he met with Pondiac; and that then their fathers, the +French, told them, if they would be strong, and keep the English out of +the possession of that country but this summer, that the King of France +would send over an army next spring, to assist his children, the +Indians.”——Croghan, _Journal_, 1765. + +The _Diary of the Siege of Detroit_, under date May 17, 1765, says that +Pontiac’s nephew came that day from the Illinois, with news that Pontiac +had caused six Englishmen and several disaffected Indians to be burned; +and that he had seven large war-belts to raise the western tribes for +another attack on Detroit, to be made in June of that year, without French +assistance.] + +[Footnote 463: _Diary of the Siege of Detroit_, under date June 9, 1764.] + +[Footnote 464: Nicollet, _Report on the Basin of the Upper Mississippi_, +81. M. Nicollet’s account is given on the authority of documents and oral +narratives derived from Chouteau, Menard, and other patriarchs of the +Illinois.] + +[Footnote 465: MS. Letter——_St. Ange to D’Abbadie_, Sept. 9.] + +[Footnote 466: D’Abbadie’s correspondence with St. Ange goes 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 he had made +in behalf of Major Loftus, aiding him to procure boats and guides, and +make other preparations for ascending the river. + +The correspondence alluded to forms part of a collection of papers +preserved in the archives of the Department of the Marine and Colonies at +Paris. These papers include the reports of various councils with the +Indian tribes of the Illinois, and the whole official correspondence of +the French officers in that region during the years 1763-5. They form the +principal authorities for this part of the narrative, and throw great +light on the character of the Indian war, from its commencement to its +close.] + +[Footnote 467: _London Mag._ XXXIII. 380. MS. _Detail de ce qui s’est +passé à La Louisiane à l’occasion de la prise de possession des +Illinois._] + +[Footnote 468: MS. _Correspondence of Pittman with M. D’Abbadie_, among +the Paris Documents.] + +[Footnote 469: MS. Letter——_Campbell to Gage_, Feb. 24, 1766.] + +[Footnote 470: By the correspondence between the French officers of Upper +and Lower Louisiana, it appears that Pontiac’s messengers, in several +instances, had arrived in the vicinity of New Orleans, whither they had +come, partly to beg for aid from the French, and partly to urge the +Indians of the adjacent country to bar the mouth of the Mississippi +against the English.] + +[Footnote 471: Pittman, _European Settlements on the Mississippi_, 10. The +author of this book is the officer mentioned in the text as having made an +unsuccessful attempt to reach the Illinois.] + +[Footnote 472: At all friendly meetings with Indians, it was customary for +the latter, when the other party had sustained any signal loss, to +commence by a formal speech of condolence, offering, at the same time, a +black belt of wampum, in token of mourning. This practice may be +particularly observed in the records of early councils with the Iroquois.] + +[Footnote 473: MS. _Report of Conference with the Shawanoe and Miami +delegates from Pontiac, held at New Orleans_, March, 1765. Paris +Documents.] + +[Footnote 474: MS. _Gage Papers._] + +[Footnote 475: “The country people appear greatly incensed at the attempt +they imagine has been made of opening a clandestine trade with the Savages +under cover of presents; and, if it is not indiscreet in me, I would beg +leave to ask whether Croghan had such extensive orders.”——_Bouquet to +Amherst_, 10 April, 1765, MS.] + +[Footnote 476: Before me is a curious letter from Grant, in which he +expatiates on his troubles in language which is far from giving a +flattering impression of the literary accomplishments of officers of the +42d Highlanders, at that time.] + +[Footnote 477: The account of the seizure of the Indian goods is derived +chiefly from the narrative of the ringleader, Smith, published in Drake’s +_Tragedies of the Wilderness_, and elsewhere. The correspondence of Gage +and Johnson is filled with allusions to this affair, and the subsequent +proceedings of the freebooters. Gage spares no invectives against what he +calls the licentious conduct of the frontier people. 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 that the author +received his education in the great city of Dublin. The following +melodious stanzas embody the chief action of the piece:—— + + “Astonished at the wild design, + Frontier inhabitants combin’d + With brave souls to stop their career; + Although some men apostatiz’d, + Who first the grand attempt advis’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 pomp and cavalcade, + Near Sidelong Hill, where in disguise + Some patriots did their train surprise, + And quick as lightning tumbled their loads, + And kindled them bonfires in the woods, + And mostly burnt their whole brigade.” + +The following is an extract from Johnson’s letter to the Board of Trade, +dated July 10, 1765:—— + +“I have great cause to think that Mr. Croghan will succeed in his +enterprise, 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 thereupon, as it may be productive of very serious +consequences. + +“The frontier inhabitants of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, after +having attacked and destroyed the goods which were going to Fort Pitt (as +in my last), did form themselves into parties, threatening to destroy all +Indians they met, or all white people who dealt with them. They likewise +marched to Fort Augusta, and from thence over the West branch of the +Susquehanna, beyond the Bounds of the last purchase made by the +Proprietaries, where they declare 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 Provinces I have mentioned, the people 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 informed. + +“Your Lordships may easily conceive what effects this will have upon the +Indians, who begin to be all acquainted therewith. I 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 their +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 Nations.”] + +[Footnote 478: See _ante_, Vol. I. p. 136.] + +[Footnote 479: MS. _Journal of the Transactions of George Croghan, Esq., +deputy agent for Indian affairs, with different tribes of Indians, at Fort +Pitt, from the 28th of February, 1765, to the 12th of May following._ In +this journal the prophet’s speech is given in full.] + +[Footnote 480: MS. Letter——_Fraser to Lieut. Col. Campbell_, 20 May, +1765.] + +[Footnote 481: _Harangue faitte à la nation Illinoise et au Chef Pondiak +par M. de St. Ange, Cap. Commandant au pais des Illinois pour S. M. T. C. +au sujet de la guerre que Les Indiens font aux Anglois._] + +[Footnote 482: MS. Letter——_Aubry to the Minister_, July, 1765. Aubry +makes himself merry with the fears of Fraser; who, however, had the best +grounds for his apprehensions, as is sufficiently clear from the above as +well as from the minutes of a council held by him with Pontiac and other +Indians at the Illinois, during the month of April. The minutes referred +to are among the Paris Documents. + +Pontiac’s first reception of Fraser was not auspicious, as appears from +the following. Extract from a Letter——_Fort Pitt_, July 24 (_Pa. Gaz. +Nos._ 1912, 1913):—— + +“Pondiac immediately collected all the Indians under his influence to the +Illinois, and ordered the French commanding officer there to deliver up +these Englishmen [Fraser and his party] to him, as he had prepared a large +kettle in which he was determined to boil them and all other Englishmen +that came that way.... Pondiac told the French that he had been informed +of Mr. Croghan’s coming that way to treat with the Indians, and that he +would keep his kettle boiling over a large fire to receive him likewise.” + +Pontiac soon after relented as we have seen. Another letter, dated New +Orleans, June 19, adds: “He [Fraser] says a Pondiac is a very clever +fellow, and had it not been for him, he would never have got away alive.”] + +[Footnote 483: MS. Letter——_Aubry to the Minister_, 10 July, 1765.] + +[Footnote 484: One of St. Ange’s letters to Aubry contains views of the +designs and motives of Pontiac similar to those expressed above.] + +[Footnote 485: A few days before, a boy belonging to Croghan’s party had +been lost, as was supposed, in the woods. It proved afterwards that he had +been seized by the Kickapoo warriors, and was still prisoner among them at +the time of the attack. They must have learned from him the true character +of Croghan and his companions.——_MS. Gage Papers._] + +[Footnote 486: _Journal of George Croghan, on his journey to the +Illinois_, 1765. This journal has been twice published——in the appendix to +Butler’s _History of Kentucky_, and in the _Pioneer History_ of 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 apt to indulge in such +a redundancy of metaphor. + +A language extremely deficient in words of general and abstract +signification renders the use of figures indispensable; and it is from +this cause, above all others, that the flowers of Indian rhetoric derive +their origin. In the work of Heckewelder will be found a list of numerous +figurative 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 +the invariable expression to denote evil tidings or bad advice. + +The Indians are much pleased when white men whom they respect adopt their +peculiar symbolical language,——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 themselves to their +custom of speaking, which delights them very much, seeing we succeed as +well as they.”] + +[Footnote 487: In a letter to Gage, without a date, but sent in the same +enclosure as his journal, Croghan gives his impression of Pontiac in the +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 between his Majesty’s subjects and them, and call it a +beaver war.”] + +[Footnote 488: MS. _Gage Papers._ M. Nicollet, in speaking of the arrival +of the British troops, says, “At this news Pontiac raved.” This is a +mistake. Pontiac’s reconciliation had already taken place, and he had +abandoned all thoughts of resistance.] + +[Footnote 489: MS. _Johnson Papers._] + +[Footnote 490: The Lords of Trade had recently adopted a new plan for the +management of Indian affairs, the principal feature of which was the +confinement of the traders to the military posts, where they would conduct +their traffic under the eye of proper officers, instead of ranging at +will, without supervision or control, among the Indian villages. It was +found extremely difficult to enforce this regulation.] + +[Footnote 491: MS. _Minutes of Proceedings at a Congress with Pontiac and +Chiefs of the Ottawas, Pottawattamies, Hurons, and Chippewais; begun at +Oswego, Tuesday_, July 23, 1766. + +A copy of this document is preserved in the office of the secretary of +state at Albany, among the papers procured in London by Mr. Brodhead.] + +[Footnote 492: “It seems,” writes Sir William Johnson to the lords of +trade, “as if the people were determined to bring on a new war, though +their own ruin may be the consequence.”] + +[Footnote 493: _Doc. Hist. N. Y._ II. 861-893, etc. MS. _Johnson Papers._ +MS. _Gage Papers._] + +[Footnote 494: 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 published during the month of August, +1769, several letters from the Indian country, in which Pontiac is +mentioned as having been killed during the preceding April. M. Chouteau +states that, to the best of his recollection, the chief was killed in +1768; but oral testimony is of little weight in regard to dates. The +evidence of the Gazettes appears conclusive.] + +[Footnote 495: 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 instigated by the love he +bore the English 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 assassin, is wholly repugnant to Indian character and +principles; while the gross charge, thrown out at random against an +English governor, might of itself cast discredit on the story. + +I have followed the account which I received from M. Pierre Chouteau, and +from M. P. L. Cerré, another old inhabitant of the Illinois, whose father +was 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 provincial journals of the day, to a certain extent, confirm +this story. We gather from them, that he was killed at the Illinois, by +one or more Kaskaskia Indians, during a drunken frolic, and in consequence +of his hostility 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 circumstantial narrative of Chouteau, supported as it is by +Cerré. An Ottawa tradition declares that Pontiac took a Kaskaskia wife, +with whom he had 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.] + +[Footnote 496: “This murder, which roused the vengeance of all the Indian +tribes friendly to Pontiac, brought about the successive wars, and almost +total extermination, of the Illinois nation.”——Nicollet, 82. + +“The Kaskaskias, Peorias, Cahokias, and Illonese are nearly all destroyed +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 Illonese +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 +accustomed 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 Cahokias,] by the Sauks and Foxes, in +revenge for the death of their chief, Pontiac, these 3 tribes were nearly +exterminated. Few of them now remain. About one hundred of the Peorias are +settled on Current River, W. of the Mississippi; of the Kaskaskias 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 Illinois, +believed to have been excited by the English to that action, had drawn +many of the Ottawas and other northern nations towards their country to +revenge his death.” + +“From Miami, Pontiac went to Fort Chartres on the Illinois. In a few +years, the English, who had possession 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 Peorias, 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 collected in the +winter, surrounded their village, and killed the whole, excepting 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 1775, is +preserved in Force’s _American Archives, 4th Series_, III. 1542. There was +another son, named Otussa, whose grave is on the Maumee. In a letter to +the writer, Mr. H. R. Schoolcraft says, “I knew _Atóka_, 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.”] + + * * * * * + + + + + TRANSCRIBER’S AMENDMENTS + + +Transcriber’s Note: The pages in this e-book have been renumbered, along +with any references to that page number. Blank pages have been deleted. On +pages that remain, some unnecessary page numbers may have been deleted +when they fall in the middle of lists. Illustrations may have been moved. +Footnotes (labeled FOOTNOTES:) have been moved to near the end. When a +particular speaker’s preference can be determined, we have rendered +consistent on a per-word-pair basis the hyphenation or spacing of such +pairs when repeated in the same grammatical context. Paragraph formatting +has been made consistent. The publisher’s inadvertent omissions of +important punctuation have been corrected. Two lists of illustrations have +been added. + +The following list indicates any additional changes. + + Page + 10 Pontiac at Isle à la Peche[Pêche].--Suspicious + 17 is also sometimes tattoed[tattooed] on the body + 26 the rich borders of the Genessee[Genesee], + 422 most of whom, with his Wife, be[he] killed and scalped + 518 and to those of the Rivière â[à] la Tranche + 557 Beaujeau[Beaujeu], a French captain, leads a sortie + 559 their character, 162[160]; + 560 Coureurs de bois,” or bush-rangers, 68, 162[160]; + 564 Indians, their general character, 13[15]; + 564 their pride and self-consciousness, 14[15]; + 569 scalps his own Indian wife and several of her relations, 421[419] + 571 the massacre in Lanscaster[Lancaster] jail + + * * * * * + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the +Indian War after the Conquest of , by Francis Parkman + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC *** + +***** This file should be named 39253-0.txt or 39253-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/2/5/39253/ + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Henry Gardiner and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |