[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, _M[oe]urs 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 Lesdiguieres_; 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. "Voila une philosophie bien nouvelle!" exclaims

the astonished Jesuit.]

[Footnote 42: Le Jeune, Schoolcraft, James, Jarvis, Charlevoix, Sagard,

Brebeuf, 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 a 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: _Proces 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: _Precis 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. _Memoire contenant Le Precis des

Faits, Pieces 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 _Memoire

contenant le Precis des Faits_. This volume, an official publication of

the French court, contains numerous documents, among which are the papers

of the unfortunate Braddock, left on the field of battle by his defeated

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 B[oe]uf, 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 _Precis 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'Amerique_. _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. Francois Baby.]

[Footnote 214: Tradition related by M. Francois 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 L500,000.]

[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 B[oe]uf. 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.]