THE GATHERING STORM
When Montreal capitulated, and the whole of Canada passed
into British hands, it was the duty of Sir Jeffery Amherst,
the commander-in-chief, to arrange for the defence of
the country that had been wrested from France. General
Gage was left in command at Montreal, Colonel Burton at
Three Rivers, and General Murray at Quebec. Amherst
himself departed for New York in October, and never again
visited Canada. Meanwhile provision had been made, though
quite inadequate, to garrison the long chain of forts
[Footnote: See the accompanying map. Except for these
forts or trading-posts, the entire region west of Montreal
was at this time practically an unbroken wilderness.
There were on the north shore of the St Lawrence a few
scattered settlements, on Ile Perrot and at Vaudreuil,
and on the south shore at the Cedars and Chateauguay;
but anything like continuity of settlement westward ceased
with the island of Montreal.] that had been established
by the French in the vaguely defined Indian territory to
the west. The fortunes of war had already given the
British command of the eastern end of this chain. Fort
Levis, on what is now Chimney Island, a few miles east
of Ogdensburg, had been captured. Fort Frontenac had been
destroyed by Bradstreet, and was left without a garrison.
British troops were in charge of Fort Oswego, which had
been built in 1759. Niagara, the strongest fort on the
Great Lakes, had been taken by Sir William Johnson. Near
it were two lesser forts, one at the foot of the rapids,
where Lewiston now stands, and the other, Fort Schlosser,
on the same side of the river, above the falls. Forts
Presqu'isle, Le Boeuf, and Venango, on the trade-route
between Lake Erie and Fort Pitt, and Fort Pitt itself,
were also occupied. But all west of Fort Pitt was to the
British unknown country. Sandusky, at the south-west end
of Lake Erie; Detroit, guarding the passage between Lakes
Erie and St Clair; Miami and Ouiatanon, on the trade-route
between Lake Erie and the Wabash; Michilimackinac, at
the entrance to Lake Michigan; Green Bay (La Baye), at
the southern end of Green Bay; St Joseph, on Lake Michigan;
Sault Ste Marie, at the entrance to Lake Superior--all
were still commanded by French officers, as they had been
under New France.
The task of raising the British flag over these forts
was entrusted to Major Robert Rogers of New England, who
commanded Rogers's Rangers, a famous body of
Indian-fighters. On September 13, 1760, with two hundred
Rangers in fifteen whale-boats, Rogers set out from
Montreal. On November 7 the contingent without mishap
reached a river named by Rogers the Chogage, evidently
the Cuyahoga, on the south shore of Lake Erie. Here the
troops landed, probably on the site of the present city
of Cleveland; and Rogers was visited by a party of Ottawa
Indians, whom he told of the conquest of Canada and of
the retirement of the French armies from the country. He
added that his force had been sent by the commander-in-chief
to take over for their father, the king of England, the
western posts still held by French soldiers. He then
offered them a peace-belt, which they accepted, and
requested them to go with him to Detroit to take part in
the capitulation and 'see the truth' of what he had said.
They promised to give him an answer next morning. The
calumet was smoked by the Indians and the officers in
turn; but a careful guard was kept, as Rogers was suspicious
of the Indians. In the morning, however, they returned
with a favourable reply, and the younger warriors of the
band agreed to accompany their new friends. Owing to
stormy weather nearly a week passed--the Indians keeping
the camp supplied with venison and turkey, for which
Rogers paid them liberally--before the party, on November
12, moved forward towards Detroit.
Detroit was at this time under the command of the Sieur
de Beletre, or Bellestre. This officer had been in charge
of the post since 1758 and had heard nothing of the
surrender of Montreal. Rogers, to pave the way; sent one
of his men in advance with a letter to Beletre notifying
him that the western posts now belonged to King George
and informing him that he was approaching with a letter
from the Marquis de Vaudreuil and a copy of the
capitulation. Beletre was irritated; the French armies
had been defeated and he was about to lose his post. He
at first refused to believe the tidings; and it appears
that he endeavoured to rouse the inhabitants and Indians
about Detroit to resist the approaching British, for on
November 20 several Wyandot sachems met the advancing
party and told Rogers that four hundred warriors were in
ambush at the entrance to the Detroit river to obstruct
his advance. The Wyandots wished to know the truth
regarding the conquest of Canada, and on being convinced
that it was no fabrication, they took their departure
'in good temper.' On the 23rd Indian messengers, among
whom was an Ottawa chief, [Footnote: In Rogers's journal
of this trip no mention is made of Pontiac's name. In _A
Concise Account of North America_, published in 1765,
with Rogers's name on the title-page, a detailed account
of a meeting with Pontiac at the Cuyahoga is given, but
this book seems to be of doubtful authenticity. It was,
however, accepted by Parkman.] arrived at the British
camp, at the western end of Lake Erie, reporting that
Beletre intended to fight and that he had arrested the
officer who bore Rogers's message. Beletre's chief reason
for doubting the truth of Rogers's statement appears to
have been that no French officers had accompanied the
British contingent from Montreal.
When the troops entered the Detroit river Rogers sent
Captain Donald Campbell to the fort with a copy of the
capitulation of Montreal and Vaudreuil's letter instructing
Beletre to hand over his fort to the British. These
documents were convincing, and Beletre [Footnote: Although
Beletre received Rogers and his men in no friendly spirit,
he seems soon to have become reconciled to British rule
for in 1763 he was appointed to the first Legislative
Council of Canada, and until the time of his death in
May 1793 he was a highly respected citizen of Quebec.]
consented, though with no good grace; and on November 29
Rogers formally took possession of Detroit. It was an
impressive ceremony. Some seven hundred Indians were
assembled in the vicinity of Fort Detroit, and, ever
ready to take sides with the winning party, appeared
about the stockade painted and plumed in honour of the
occasion. When the lilies of France were lowered and the
cross of St George was thrown to the breeze, the barbarous
horde uttered wild cries of delight. A new and rich people
had come to their hunting-grounds, and they had visions
of unlimited presents of clothing, ammunition, and rum.
After the fort was taken over the militia were called
together and disarmed and made to take the oath of
allegiance to the British king.
Captain Campbell was installed in command of the fort,
and Beletre and the other prisoners of war were sent to
Philadelphia. Two officers were dispatched with twenty
men to bring the French troops from Forts Miami and
Ouiatanon. A few soldiers were stationed at Fort Miami
to keep the officers at Detroit informed of any interesting
events in that neighbourhood. Provisions being scarce at
Detroit, Rogers sent the majority of his force to Niagara;
and on December 10 set out for Michilimackinac with an
officer and thirty-seven men. But he was driven back by
stormy weather and ice, and forced, for the present year,
to give up the attempt to garrison the posts on Lakes
Huron and Michigan. Leaving everything in peace at Detroit,
Rogers went to Fort Pitt, and for nine months the forts
in the country of the Ottawa Confederacy were to be left
to their own resources.
Meanwhile the Indians were getting into a state of unrest.
The presents, on which they depended so much for existence,
were not forthcoming, and rumours of trouble were in the
air. Senecas, Shawnees, and Delawares were sending
war-belts east and west and north and south. A plot was
on foot to seize Pitt, Niagara, and Detroit. Seneca
ambassadors had visited the Wyandots in the vicinity of
Detroit, urging them to fall on the garrison. After an
investigation, Captain Campbell reported to Amherst that
an Indian rising was imminent, and revealed a plot,
originated by the Senecas, which was identical with that
afterwards matured in 1763 and attributed to Pontiac's
initiative. Campbell warned the commandants of the other
forts of the danger; and the Indians, seeing that their
plans were discovered, assumed a peaceful attitude.
Still, the situation was critical; and, to allay the
hostility of the natives and gain their confidence,
Amherst dispatched Sir William Johnson to Detroit with
instructions 'to settle and establish a firm and lasting
treaty' between the British and the Ottawa Confederacy
and other nations inhabiting the Indian territory, to
regulate the fur trade at the posts, and to settle the
price of clothes and provisions. He was likewise to
collect information as exhaustive as possible regarding
the Indians, their manners and customs, and their abodes.
He was to find out whether the French had any shipping
on Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, what were the
best posts for trade, and the price paid by the French
for pelts. He was also to learn, if possible, how far
the boundaries of Canada extended towards the Mississippi,
and the number of French posts, settlements, and inhabitants
along that river.
Sir William left his home at Fort Johnson on the Mohawk
river early in July 1761. Scarcely had he begun his
journey when he was warned that it was dangerous to
proceed, as the nations in the west were unfriendly and
would surely fall upon his party. But Johnson was confident
that his presence among them would put a stop to 'any
such wicked design.' As he advanced up Lake Ontario the
alarming reports continued. The Senecas, who had already
stolen horses from the whites and taken prisoners, had
been sending ambassadors abroad, endeavouring to induce
the other nations to attack the British. Johnson learned,
too, that the Indians were being cheated in trade by
British traders; that at several posts they had been
roughly handled, very often without cause; that their
women were taken from them by violence; and that they
were hindered from hunting and fishing on their own
grounds near the posts, even what they did catch or kill
being taken from them. He heard, too, that Seneca and
Ottawa warriors had been murdered by whites near Forts
Pitt and Venango. At Niagara he was visited by Seneca
chiefs, who complained that one of their warriors had
been wounded near by and that four horses had been stolen
from them. Johnson evidently believed the story, for he
gave them 'two casks of rum, some paint and money to make
up their loss,' and they left him well satisfied. On Lake
Erie, stories of the hostility of the Indians multiplied.
They were ready to revolt; even before leaving Niagara,
Johnson had it on good authority that the Indians 'were
certainly determined to rise and fall on the English,'
and that 'several thousands of the Ottawas and other
nations' had agreed to join the dissatisfied member 'of
the Six Nations in this scheme or plot.' But Johnson kept
on his way, confident that he could allay dissatisfaction
and win all the nations to friendship.
When Sir William reached Detroit on September 3 he was
welcomed by musketry volleys from the Indians and by
cannon from the fort. His reputation as the great
superintendent of Indian Affairs, the friend of the red
man, had gone before him, and he was joyously received,
and at once given quarters in the house of the former
commandant of Detroit, Beletre. On the day following his
arrival the Wyandots and other Indians, with their priest,
Father Pierre Potier (called Pottie by Johnson), waited
on him. He treated them royally, and gave them pipes and
tobacco and a barbecue of a large ox roasted whole. He
found the French inhabitants most friendly, especially
Pierre Chesne, better known as La Butte, the interpreter
of the Wyandots, and St Martin, the interpreter of the
Ottawas. The ladies of the settlement called on him, and
were regaled 'with cakes, wine and cordial. He was
hospitably entertained by the officers and settlers, and
in return gave several balls, at which, it appears, he
danced with 'Mademoiselle Curie--a fine girl.' This
vivacious lady evidently made an impression on the
susceptible Irishman; for after the second ball--'there
never was so brilliant an affair' at Detroit before--he
records in his private diary: 'Promised to write
Mademoiselle Curie my sentiments.'
While at Niagara on his journey westward Johnson had been
joined by Major Henry Gladwyn, to whom Amherst had assigned
the duty of garrisoning the western forts and taking over
in person the command of Fort Detroit. Gladwyn had left
Niagara a day or two in advance of Johnson, but on the
way to his new command he had been seized with severe
fever and ague and totally incapacitated for duty. On
Johnson fell the task of making arrangements for the
still unoccupied posts. He did the work with his customary
promptitude and thoroughness, and by September 10 had
dispatched men of Gage's Light Infantry and of the Royal
Americans from Detroit for Michilimackinac, Green Bay,
and St Joseph.
The chiefs of the various tribes had flocked to Detroit
to confer with Sir William. He won them all by his honeyed
words and liberal distribution of presents; he was told
that his 'presents had made the sun and sky bright and
clear, the earth smooth and level, the roads all pleasant';
and they begged that he 'would continue in the same
friendly disposition towards them and they would be a
happy people.' His work completed, Johnson set out,
September 19, on his homeward journey, leaving behind
him the promise of peace in the Indian territory.
[Footnote: It is remarkable that Johnson in his private
diary or in his official correspondence makes no mention
of Pontiac. The Ottawa chief apparently played no
conspicuous part in the plots of 1761 and 1762.]
For the time being Johnson's visit to Detroit had a
salutary effect, and the year 1761 terminated with only
slight signs of unrest among the Indians; but in the
spring of 1762 the air was again heavy with threatening
storm. The Indians of the Ohio valley were once more
sending out their war-belts and bloody hatchets. In
several instances Englishmen were murdered and scalped
and horses were stolen. The Shawnees and Delawares held
British prisoners whom they refused to surrender. By
Amherst's orders presents were withheld. Until they
surrendered all prisoners and showed a proper spirit
towards the British he would suppress all gifts, in the
belief that 'a due observance of this alone will soon
produce more than can ever be expected from bribing them.'
The reply of the Shawnees and Delawares to his orders
was stealing horses and terrorizing traders. Sir William
Johnson and his assistant in office, George Croghan,
warned Amherst of the danger he was running in rousing
the hatred of the savages. Croghan in a letter to Bouquet
said: 'I do not approve of General Amherst's plan of
distressing them too much, as in my opinion they will
not consider consequences if too much distressed, tho'
Sir Jeffery thinks they will.' Although warnings were
pouring in upon him, Amherst was of the opinion that
there was 'no necessity for any more at the several posts
than are just enough to keep up the communication, there
being nothing to fear from the Indians in our present
circumstances.' To Sir William Johnson he wrote that it
was 'not in the power of the Indians to effect anything
of consequence.'
In the spring of 1763 the war-cloud was about to burst;
but in remote New York the commander-in-chief failed to
grasp the situation, and turned a deaf ear to those who
warned him that an Indian war with all its horrors was
inevitable. These vague rumours, as Amherst regarded
them, of an imminent general rising of the western tribes,
took more definite form as the spring advanced. Towards
the end of March Lieutenant Edward Jenkins, the commandant
of Fort Ouiatanon, learned that the French traders had
been telling the Indians that the British would 'all be
prisoners in a short time.' But what caused most alarm
was information from Fort Miami of a plot for the capture
of the forts and the slaughter of the garrisons. A war-belt
was received by the Indians residing near the fort, and
with it came the request that they should hold themselves
in readiness to attack the British. Robert Holmes, the
commandant of Fort Miami, managed to secure the 'bloody
belt' and sent it to Gladwyn, [Footnote: Gladwyn's illness
in 1761 proved so severe that he had to take a journey
to England to recuperate; but he was back in Detroit as
commandant in August 1762.] who in turn sent it to Amherst.
News had now reached the Ohio tribes of the Treaty of
Paris, but the terms of this treaty had only increased
their unrest. On April 30, 1763, Croghan wrote to Amherst
that the Indians were 'uneasy since so much of North
America was ceded to Great Britain,' holding that the
British had no right in their country. 'The Peace,' added
Croghan, 'and hearing so much of this country being given
up has thrown them into confusion and prevented them
bringing in their prisoners this spring as they promised.'
Amherst's reply was: 'Whatever idle notions they may
entertain in regard to the cessions made by the French
crown can be of very little consequence.' On April 20
Gladwyn, though slow to see danger, wrote to Amherst:
'They [the Indians] say we mean to make Slaves of them
by Taking so many posts in the country, and that they
had better attempt Something now to Recover their liberty
than wait till we are better established.' Even when word
that the Indians were actually on the war-path reached
Amherst, he still refused to believe it a serious matter,
and delayed making preparations to meet the situation.
It was, according to him, a 'rash attempt of that turbulent
tribe the Senecas'; and, again, he was 'persuaded this
alarm will end in nothing more than a rash attempt of
what the Senecas have been threatening.' Eight British
forts in the west were captured and the frontiers of the
colonies bathed in blood before he realized that 'the
affair of the Indians was more general than they
apprehended.'
The Indians were only waiting for a sudden, bold blow at
some one of the British posts, and on the instant they
would be on the war-path from the shores of Lake Superior
to the borders of the southernmost colonies of Great
Britain. The blow was soon to be struck. Pontiac's
war-belts had been sent broadcast, and the nations who
recognized him as over-chief were ready to follow him to
the slaughter. Detroit was the strongest position to the
west of Niagara; it contained an abundance of stores,
and would be a rich prize. As Pontiac yearly visited this
place during the trading season, he knew the locality
well and was familiar with the settlers, the majority of
whom were far from being friendly to the British. Against
Detroit he would lead the warriors, under the pretence
of winning back the country for the French.
In the spring of 1763, instead of going direct to his
usual camping-place, an island in Lake St Clair, Pontiac
pitched his wigwam on the bank of the river Ecorces, ten
miles south of Detroit, and here awaited the tribes whom
he had summoned to a council to be held 'on the 15th of
the moon'--the 27th of April. And at the appointed time
nearly five hundred warriors--Ottawas, Potawatomis,
Chippewas, and Wyandots--with their squaws and papooses,
had gathered at the meeting-place, petty tribal jealousies
and differences being laid aside in their common hatred
of 'the dogs dressed in red,' the British soldiers.
When the council assembled Pontiac addressed them with
fiery words. The Ottawa chief was at this time about
fifty years old. He was a man of average height, of darker
hue than is usual among Indians, lithe as a panther, his
muscles hardened by forest life and years of warfare
against Indian enemies and the British. Like the rush of
a mountain torrent the words fell from his lips. His
speech was one stream of denunciation of the British. In
trade they had cheated the Indians, robbing them of their
furs, overcharging them for the necessaries of life, and
heaping insults and blows upon the red men, who from the
French had known only kindness. The time had come to
strike. As he spoke he flashed a red and purple wampum
belt before the gaze of the excited braves. This, he
declared, he had received from their father the king of
France, who commanded his red children to fight the
British. Holding out the belt, he recounted with wild
words and vehement gestures the victories gained in the
past by the Indians over the British, and as he spoke
the blood of his listeners pulsed through their veins
with battle ardour. To their hatred and sense of being
wronged he had appealed, and he saw that every warrior
present was with him; but his strongest appeal was to
their superstition. In spite of the fact that French
missionaries had been among them for a century, they were
still pagan, and it was essential to the success of his
project that they should believe that the Master of Life
favoured their cause. He told them the story of a Wolf
(Delaware) Indian who had journeyed to heaven and talked
with the Master of Life, receiving instructions to tell
all the Indians that they were to 'drive out' and 'make
war upon' the 'dogs clothed in red who will do you nothing
but harm.' When he had finished, such chiefs as Ninevois
of the Chippewas and Takay of the Wyandots--'the bad
Hurons,' as the writer of the 'Pontiac Manuscript'
describes them to distinguish them from Father Potier's
flock--spoke in similar terms. Every warrior present
shouted his readiness to go to war, and before the council
broke up it was agreed that in four days Pontiac 'should
go to the fort with his young men for a peace dance' in
order to get information regarding the strength of the
place. The blow must be struck before the spring boats
arrived from the Niagara with supplies and additional
troops. The council at an end, the different tribes
scattered to their several summer villages, seemingly
peaceful Indians who had gathered together for trade.