THE ATTACK ON FORT DETROIT
The information received about Benoit Vascal by Barringford and Dave
was scarcely satisfactory, and both walked back to Fort Detroit in a
thoughtful frame of mind.
"Shall we wait for the Frenchman to come back?" questioned the youth.
"I know o' nothin' else to do," answered the old frontiersman. "I
only trust he comes back soon. I must see him about them twins, ef I
possibly can. Sech a thing ain't to be dropped."
Besides the regular garrison at Fort Detroit there were a number of
trappers there, and among them several Sam Barringford had met. The
latter made the old frontiersman and Dave at home, and shared with the
newcomer a small house which they were occupying.
"The Injuns mean mischief," said one of the trappers, a fellow named
Cassaway. "We have got to be on our guard, or we'll be wiped out."
"I believe you," answered Dave, and told of some of the happenings
around Fort Cumberland.
What the Indians under Pontiac intended to do was partly revealed to
Major Gladwyn on the day following the return of Dave and Barringford
to the fort. The secret leaked out in the following manner:
Among the Ojibwas of that vicinity dwelt a fair Indian maiden known to
the English by the name of Catherine. She often visited the fort, and
tradition states that she fell in love with the commandant.
On the day mentioned, Catherine came to the stronghold with a pair of
elkskin moccasins which the major had commissioned her to make. Having
delivered the moccasins, the girl seemed loath to leave the stockade
and hung around until it came time to close the gates for the night.
"What is the matter, Catherine?" asked Major Gladwyn, coming up to her.
"It is getting late. Why do you not return to your home?"
At first the girl would not answer, but at last she said she had
something on her mind which she must tell.
"But the white master must not say that Catherine told him," she
whispered. "Catherine takes her life in her hands to speak of it."
"I'll protect you, Catherine, so have no fear," returned the major.
Thereupon the girl revealed her secret, which was to the effect that
on the following day Pontiac would visit the fort, bringing along sixty
of his best warriors. Each warrior would wear his long blanket and
under his blanket would carry a gun, the barrel filed off short.
"Pontiac will demand a council," she continued. "At the talk he will
start to deliver a belt of wampum. 'Twill be the signal for an attack.
The chiefs will fire at you and your officers, and the Indians in the
streets will fire at your soldiers."
"You are sure of this?" demanded the English commandant.
"As I am that the sun shines when the sky is fair," answered the Indian
maiden.
The major questioned the girl further, and was at last convinced that
she spoke the truth. Then he sent her away secretly, that she might not
be suspected of having revealed Pontiac's plot.
The news was soon circulated that the Indians were preparing to attack
the fort. Major Gladwyn called a meeting of his officers, and it was
decided to keep the fort under a strong guard all night. For this
purpose, half of the available men were called out, including some of
the trappers and traders. It was dark and stormy, and there was no
telling but that Pontiac might change his mind and bring on the attack
at once.
"How many Indians in this vicinity?" asked Dave of one of the hunters.
"Not less'n fifteen hundred," was the reply. "And more coming every
day."
"Then if a fight comes, we'll have a hot time of it."
"Reckon we will have," returned the hunter.
The night passed slowly, and for the most part, silently. Occasionally
from a great distance came the sound of the Indian drums, and fierce
yells, which told of war dances, and the "making of magic" on the part
of the so-styled magicians of the Lakes.
With the coming of morning the storm cleared away and the sun shone as
brightly as ever. The guards at the front of the fort announced that a
large number of birch-bark canoes were leaving from the other side of
the river and heading directly for Detroit.
"Only two or three Indians in each canoe," said Dave. "It's a wonder
they didn't fill up."
"The canoes ride deep enough," answered Barringford. "Maybe some o'
the redskins are hidden at the bottom," and in this surmise the old
frontiersman was correct. Each canoe carried ten to fifteen Indians.
It was not long after this that Pontiac himself appeared, marching
at the head of sixty Indian chiefs, all garbed in their blankets
and each carrying a hidden gun, loaded and ready for use. The red men
marched in regular Indian file, one by one, and their faces were set
and ferocious, for they were bent on destroying the entire garrison of
Fort Detroit. They were in their war-paint of ochre and vermillion,
with here and there a dab of white lead or soot, and had their heads
shaven and crowned with plumes.
It was not until ten o'clock that Pontiac presented himself at the
gateway of the fort, with his under chiefs behind him. On every hand
were the ordinary Indian warriors, all looking forward to the glories
of a general massacre.
Major Gladwyn had made his preparations with care, and every soldier,
officer, and English hunter or trapper was armed to the teeth. As
the Indian chiefs came in they had to pass between two long files of
troops, each man with a gun to which was attached a glittering bayonet.
Each officer carried his sword and in his belt two pistols. Every old
hunter carried his gun, and many had an extra weapon slung over the
shoulder, and each had his long hunting knife where it could be brought
into instant use.
[Illustration: As the Indian chiefs came in they had to pass between
two long files of soldiers.]
The council-house of the fort was a good-sized building located not far
from the water's edge. Here Major Gladwyn and his principal officers
met Pontiac and his chiefs and invited them to sit down on the mats put
out for them. Pontiac was much disconcerted by the show of strength
made by the English and scarcely knew how to proceed. He had expected
to find the garrison entirely unprepared for attack.
"Why do I find so many of the father's young men standing in the
streets with their guns?" asked the great Indian chief.
"I have ordered them out for the exercise," answered Major Gladwyn,
through his interpreter, a Frenchman named La Butte. "Also, I would do
honor to Pontiac," he added gravely.
At last the Indians sat down, concealing their guns as best they could.
There was a pause and all looked at Pontiac, who finally arose, with
his wampum speech-belt in his hands. The great chief began by stating
that the Indians wanted to be friends to the English, and that they had
come to smoke the pipe of peace, and to swear eternal friendship.
In the midst of his address Pontiac held up the speech-belt, as if to
give the signal for an attack. As he did this, Major Gladwyn made a
signal to an officer who stood outside the window of the council-house.
Instantly the drums sounded out, calling an alarm, and there followed a
clash of arms, which made some of the red men start in spite of their
efforts to maintain their composure. All realized that their plan to
surprise those at the fort had failed, and the under chiefs wondered
what Pontiac would do in the emergency.
Mad with mortification, Pontiac could do nothing, and had to listen to
Major Gladwyn's reply to his speech in silence. The commandant assured
the Indians of his friendship, and said the English intended to treat
them well so long as they behaved themselves, but that swift justice
would be dealt out to them if they proved in the leastwise treacherous.
Then the red men were allowed to depart, which they did silently and
sullenly.
"Reckon they didn't find us nappin' thet time," said Barringford, after
the meeting was over.
"Pontiac must be wild with rage," said Dave, and this was indeed the
case.
A day or two of anxiety passed, and the soldiers and trappers at
the fort were kept constantly on guard. The Indians, to deceive the
English, came out on the green close to the fort and played a game of
ball. In the meantime Pontiac went from tribe to tribe, calling upon
the Wyandottes, the Ottawas, the Ojibwas, and the Pottawattamies to
join in a general assault. War dances were held, and in their blind
rage the Indians ran out of their villages and murdered half a dozen
Englishmen and Frenchmen living at a distance from the fort. Then
Pontiac marched again to the stronghold, with some of his chiefs, but
found the gates shut against him.
"Why are not the gates open?" he demanded. "Pontiac comes to smoke the
pipe of peace."
"I shall not open the gates for such a rabble," answered Major Gladwyn.
"Go your way and leave us alone, or there may be trouble."
The failure to get into the fort angered Pontiac more than ever, and he
broke forth into a tirade of the English, and then stalked off. At once
his followers raised a hideous war-cry, and finding some English people
at a distance from the stronghold murdered them on the spot.
Major Gladwyn now saw that an attack was inevitable, and the soldiers
and hunters were told to be careful how they ventured outside of the
palisade.
"You must not dream of leaving this place for the present," he said to
Dave and Barringford. "To attempt to do so would be next to suicide."
"I shall stay," said Barringford. "An' ef there's any fightin' to be
did, Major, count me in."
"And count me in, too," added Dave, and said this so earnestly that the
commandant had to smile.
"All right, maybe we'll give you your fill of fighting," he replied,
grimly.
The first real attack on the fort came at daybreak. The Indians came
swarming in from all directions, and took up positions behind houses,
barns, and outbuildings near the fort, and also behind a small hill
to the rear of the stronghold. Each was heavily armed, and bullets
rattled like hailstones against the palisades. The Indians' targets
were the loopholes, and a few shots were made effective in spite of
the garrison's efforts to keep out of range. The regulars and Colonial
militia returned the fire smartly, and so did the hunters and trappers.
"Phew! but this is hot work!" ejaculated Dave, after the attack had
lasted over two hours. "Just listen to the bullets sing! They must have
a lot of ammunition to waste!"
"Jest see thet you don't try to stop one o' them bullets, lad,"
answered Barringford, gravely.
They had found two small loopholes near a corner of the fort, and from
these points of vantage were firing on the enemy with good effect. But
not far away, a large number of red men were secreted behind a set of
outbuildings and could not be reached.
"We'll give them some hot shot," ordered Major Gladwyn, and had a
cannon brought into proper range. After the cannon was loaded with
powder it was filled with red-hot spikes and touched off. The spikes
fell all around the buildings, setting them on fire, and then the
Indians had to retire from that neighborhoood, the English firing on
them as they ran.