100 - HISTORY OF OHIO. storm had for several days swept the forest, sifting down its encumbering snow. Their food was exhausted. Smith, in the fierce storm, had gone out several days but had returned without any game. The old chief, notwithstanding his helplessness, pain and hunger, never uttered a complaining or murmuring word. He would always greet Smith, on his return, with a smile, and endeavor to cheer him with agreeable conversation. The snow was so deep, with a slight crust, which broke beneath every footstep, that it was impossible for Smith, with his inexperience, to approach within gunshot of the deer. One evening he returned, after a two-days' hunt, faint, hungry and exhausted, having obtained actually nothing. For the same time Tecaughnetanego, and the lad Nungany, snow-bound in their lodge, had fasted. Starvation seemed near. Smith entered the wigwam greatly despondent. Without speaking a word he laid aside his gun and powder-horn, and sat down by the fire, quite in despair. The old chief then inquired, mildly and calmly, respecting his success. Smith replied : " We must all starve. The snow is so deep and the deer so wild that I cannot possibly get within gun-shot of them. And we are too far distant from any Indian settlement to obtain any food from them." The chief, who was himself almost starved, having taken no food for two days, after a few moments' silence, said : " Do you feel very hungry ? " " No," Smith replied. " The pangs of hunger are over. I feel dizzy, deathly sick, and am so weak that I can scarcely drag one foot after the other." The life of the whole party depended upon the strength Smith might retain. The chief, aware of this, and apprehensive that he might return without game"and nearly famished, had made what provision he could for the emergency. " My brother," said he very tenderly, " Nungany has hunted up some food for you." He then brought forward a small quantity of soup which had been prepared. It was made from the bones of a fox and a wildcat, which, having been picked clean a few days before, had been thrown away. These the chief had directed to be gathered, pounded and boiled into a sort of soup; and had laid the meagre HISTORY OF OHIO - 101 dish aside for Smith, in case he should return in a starving condition. Smith tasted of the food, and supposing it to be merely his share, and that the chief and the lad had enjoyed the same, devoured it with the voracity of a wolf. Tecaughnetanego sat in silence, until the last spoonful had been swallowed. He then handed Smith his pipe, and invited him to smoke. After he had finished the pipe, the venerable chief addressed him in the following remarkable speech : " My brother, I saw, when you first came in, that you had been unfortunate in hunting, and were ready to despair. I should have spoken at the time, and have said what I am now about to say ; but I have always observed that hungry people are not in a temper to listen to reason. You are now refreshed and can listen patiently to the words of your elder brother. I was once young like you ; but I now am old. I have seen sixty snows fall, and have often been in a worse condition, for want of food, than we now are in. Yet I have always been supplied, and that too at the very time when I was ready to despair. " Brother, you have been brought up among the whites, and have not had the same opportunities of seeing how wonderfully the Great Spirit provides food for his children in the woods. He sometimes lets them be in great want, to teach them that they are dependent upon him, and to remind them of their own weakness. But He never permits them absolutely to perish. Rest assured that your brother is telling you no lie. Be satisfied that the Great Spirit will do as I have told you. Go now and sleep soundly. Rise early in the morning and go out again to hunt. Be strong and diligent. Do your best and trust to the Great Spirit for the rest." This admirable speech, expressive of so devout and religious a spirit, coming from an untaught Indian, helpless in his infirmities, tortured with pain, and in danger of speedy death from starvation, remind us of the words of the apostle : " Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons ; but in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him." This spirit of the poor Indian may put to the blush many a white man, who, though instructed in all the wonderful revelations of Christianity, is living truly without God in the world. When 102 - HISTORY OF OHIO. we consider the circumstances under which this speech was made, and that, from the depth of the snow, there was no prospect of relief, it must be regarded as a remarkable exhibition of trust in God. Smith was very much impressed by the strong religious faith of the good old man; by his patience under suffering, and by his wonderful spirit of self-denial, which he soon found out, and which had induced him to starve himself that Smith might be fed. At daylight the next morning, after his frugal supper, and refreshing sleep, the young hunter was again, though breakfastless, wading through the snow, gun in hand, in search of game. He saw, in the distance, many deer; but the noise he made, by the breaking of the crust beneath his feet, alarmed them, and they fled. Noon came, and still he had taken nothing, and there was no prospect whatever of success. Despair began to envelop him in gloomiest folds. He thought Tecaughnetanego's trust in God must prove all a delusion. The spare meal he had taken, the night before, seemed only to whet his appetite, and thus increase the pangs of starvation. He became ravenous for food and almost insane. In a state of semi-delirium he turned his steps towards Pennsylvania, dreaming that he might find food there. Scarcely knowing what he did, he had wandered along about six miles, when he was almost entranced by the lowing of a herd of buffaloes directly in front of him. He had barely time to conceal himself, in a thicket, when a large number of those royal beasts of the prairie came along. They passed, in single file, but a few yards from his hiding-place. Selecting a fat heifer he fired. The bullet struck a vital point, and the animal fell dead. He immediately, with his flint, struck a fire, and cutting a few slices from the most fleshy and tender part, placed them to broil upon the coals. He could only wait until the savory viands were slightly warmed, and then he gorged himself with the raw beef. The food appeared to him the most delicious he had ever tasted. Having appeased his hunger his thoughts immediately turned to the starving chief and the boy. Well skilled in selecting the choicest parts for cooking, he cut off a large quantity of the best portions of the heifer, and, loading himself with them, commenced, with renewed strength, a hasty return to the camp. The remainder of the buffalo he secured against its being devoured by the wolves, HISTORY OF OHIO - 103 and marked the spot that he might return for the precious deposit. It was late at night when he again entered the wigwam. Tecaughnetanego received him with the same mild and placid greeting which had thus far ever distinguished him. Seeing that he was loaded down with game he thanked him more affectionately for the efforts he had made for their relief. The poor boy, who was the youngest son of the chief, fastened his eyes upon the beef with almost wolfish voracity. But instructed in that Indian etiquette which allows but little expression to one's feelings, he uttered not a word. His father directed him to hang on the kettle to boil some beef for them all. But Smith, seeing the famished condition of the child, said he would boil some beef for the chief and himself, while the boy could more expeditiously satiate his hunger by broiling some tender cuts upon the coals. The father nodded assent. The boy, who seemed to be under the most perfect discipline of obedience, sprang upon the meat like a famished wolf, and cutting off a slice with his knife, was unable to wait for it to be cooked, but began to demolish it raw. In the meantime some choice pieces were put into the kettle to boil Smith, supposing the chief to be at least as impatient as he was himself, after the meat had been boiling a few minutes undertook to take the kettle off the fire. But Tecaughnetanego, though he had fasted three full days, mildly said : " Let it remain until it is sufficiently cooked." He then told the child, who with the utmost voracity was devouring his food, that he must eat no more at present, but that after a little time he might sip some broth. The imperturbability of the aged chief, under these circumstances, was most extraordinary. He manifested not the slightest impatience. Mildly, but by no means boastfully, he reminded Smith of their conversation the night before, and of the remarkable manifestation which they had now experienced of God's interposition in their behalf. At length he judged that the beef had been sufficiently boiled, and desired that some might be brought to hini. He then devoured it with eagerness, which showed how intense his wants had become. Early the next morning Smith repaired to the spot where he had killed the buffalo, that he might convey the rest of the meat to the camp. He, of course, took his rifle with him, as he might chance to meet with more game. He had traversed the forest but 104 - HISTORY OF OHIO. a few miles, when he came across an immense elm tree, whose bark was much scratched, and looking up he saw, about forty feet from the ground, a large hole. It could not be doubted that a bear had selected the hollow in the tree for his winter quarters. With his tomahawk he cut down a tall sapling, so that it fell against the high branches of the elm, giving him access to the orifice. He then collected some rotten wood and dry moss, and climbing the sapling until it reached the hole, set it on fire and dropped it in. The broken and decayed wood in the interior was like tinder. The fire spread, filling the hollow with suffocating smoke. He soon heard the noise of the the aroused bear, coughing and sneezing, as he struggled on his way out. Smith immediately descended. to the ground, and as soon as the bear appeared, he put a bullet through his head. The grizzly monster fell dead, burying himself in the snow. Smith loaded himself with the two hind-quarters and hastened back to the camp with the precious burden and the joyous news. It required several toilsome journeys to convey the meat both of the bear and the buffalo to the camp. But the frost was an ample preservative of the meat, and they had now food in abundance for many days. April came with mild breezes and genial skies. The rheumatism of the aged chief had very much abated, so that he was able to walk a little and do some light work. But he was quite incapable of taking a journey on foot to his distant village. The three inmates of the cabin built a bark canoe, and placing all their effects in it commenced paddling down the Ollentangy River, one of the branches of the Sandusky. But there was a drouth about that time, and the water in the stream became so shallow that there was great danger of the destruction of their frail bark by the sharp rocks. The chief proposed that they should go ashore and pray to the Great Spirit to send some rain to raise the water. This was readily assented to, and the three landed. The chief, as he reverentially prepared to enter the august presence of the Great Spirit, subjected himself to a process of purification. He heated some stones very hot, bent over them a number of semi-circular hoops, and covered these over with a blanket, constructing something like what the soldiers call a shelter tent. Then, taking a kettle of water in his hand, he crept under the blankets, directing Smith HISTORY OF OHIO - 105 to tuck them down around so as entirely to exclude the external air. He then commenced singing, in plaintive tones, a hymn to the Great Spirit, as he poured the water on the hot stones. He was soon enveloped in an almost scalding mist, and thrown into a profuse perspiration. He continued thus for about twenty minutes. He then came out ceremonially purified. The fire at which he heated his stones was still burning. He now very solemnly offered the Great Spirit a burnt sacrifice of his most precious things. Tobacco was considered by the Indians of almost inestimable value. All that he had of this he took, and, as he cast it handful by handful into the fire, offered the following remarkable prayer : " O, Great Spirit! I thank thee that I have regained the use of my legs once more ; that I am now able to walk about and kill turkeys without feeling exquisite pain. Grant that my knees and my ankles may be perfectly well, that I may be able not only to walk, but to run and jump over logs as I did last Fall. Grant that on this voyage we may frequently kill bears as they may be crossing the Sandusky and the Scioto. Grant also that we may kill a few turkeys to stew with our bear's meat. " Grant that rain may come to raise the 011entangy a few feet, so that we may cross in safety down to the Scioto without splitting our canoe upon the rocks. And now, 0 Great Spirit, thou knowest how fond I am of tobacco; and though I do not know when I shall get any more, yet you see that I have freely given you all that I have for a burnt offering. And, therefore, I expect that thou wilt be merciful to me and hear all my petitions ; and I, thy servant, will thank thee and love thee for all thy gifts." This prayer was partly intoned and was accompanied by many, ritualistic observances which, to an uninitiated looker on, seemed very strange. Smith regarded this chief with great veneration. He has given unequivocal testimony to his integrity, his benevolence, his high moral worth in all respects, and to his strong reasoning powers. Smith witnessed his devotions with profound respect until he saw the chief making the great sacrifice of throwing all his precious tobacco into the fire. This seemed to him sc foolish that he could not refrain from smiling. The keen eye of the chief observed this irreverence, and he was much offended. 106 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Soon after he called his young companion to him and addressed him in the following words : " Brother, I have somewhat to say to you. When you were reading your books in our village, you know that I would not let the boys plague you or laugh at you, although we all thought it a foolish and idle occupation in a warrior. I respected your feelings then. But ,just now I saw you laughing at me. Brother, I do not believe that you look upon praying as a silly custom, for you sometimes pray yourself. Perhaps you think my mode of praying foolish. But if so would it not be more friendly to reason with me, and instruct me, than to sit on that log and laugh at an old man." Smith felt keenly the rebuke, and was grieved that he had wounded the feelings of one whom he so highly revered. He declared to the chief that he respected and loved him ; but that when he saw him throw the last of his tobacco into the fire, and recollected how fond he was of it, he could not help smiling a little. But he assured the chief that he should never again have occasion to complain of him on that account. He then endeavOred to explain to the chief the outlines of the Christian religion, dwelling particularly upon the atonement made upon the cross by the Son of God for the sins of man. The chief listened with great solemnity to this narrative. He then calmly replied : " It may be so. What you have said does not appear to me so absurd as the doctrine of the Romish priests which I have heard at Detroit. I am now, however, too old to change my religion. I shall, therefore, continue to worship God after the manner of my fathers. If it is not consistent with the honor of the Great Spirit to accept me in that way, I hope that he will receive me on such terms as are acceptable to him. It is my earnest and sincere desire to worship the Great Spirit, and to obey his wishes. And I hope that the Great Spirit will overlook such faults as arise from ignorance and weakness, not from willful neglect." A few days after this the rain came, and the voyagers, in their frail birch canoe, went on their way rejoicing. They found game in abundance. The devout chief, in these blessings, did not forget God the giver. " You see," said he to Smith, " that God has heard my prayers, and, by his direct interposition, has answered them. From this HISTORY OF OHIO - 107 I have a right to infer that my religion is not unacceptable to Him." In the Summer of 1759, Mr. Smith, after four years of captivity, if his adoption can be so called, accompanied Tecaughnetanego and Nungany, in a birch canoe, down the St. Lawrence to Montreal. Here he bade adieu to his kind friends and returned to his native country. CHAPTER VI. THE PONTIAC WAR. ORIGIN OF PONTIAC - ESTABLISHMENT OF DETROIT - LOVE OF THE INDIANS FOR THE FRENCH - MEETING OF MAJOR ROGERS AND PONTIAC - HAUGHTINESS OF THE CHIEF - ANECDOTE OF MR. HENRY - REMARKABLE SPEECH OF MINAVAVANA - THE ARROGANCE OF THE ENGLISH - FORESIGHT OF PONTIAC - THE CONSPIRACY- SAGACITY OF PONTIAC - EXECUTION OF THE PLOT THE MAUMEE FORT - THE FALL OF PRESQUE ISLE - CAPTURE OF MICHILIMACKINAC - THE ADVENTURES AT DETROIT. SOON AFTER the overthrow of the French arms in Canada, and while the English were taking, one after another, the French posts along the French lakes, there appeared, upon the stage of action, one of the most extraordinary men those times developed. This was a renowned Indian Chief, by the name of Pontiac. He was a member of the Ottawa tribe of Indians, who occupied the territory in the vicinity of Michilimackinac. He was alike remarkable for his majestic and graceful form, his commanding address, and his persuasive eloquence. His courage also excited the admiration of all the Indians, and gave him almost unlimited authority over them. The French settlement in Detroit was established in 1701. The Ottawas watched their encroachments with much solicitude. Three years after this the English, at Albany, succeeded in inducing a deputation of Ottawa chiefs to visit them. They represented to the chiefs, whose jealousy was already excited, that the French had formed a plan to subdue them, and to take the the entire possession of their country. The chiefs, on their return to Michilimackinac, summoned their warriors, made an attack upon Detroit, and endeavored to burn the town. After a pretty sharp battle the Indians were repulsed. HISTORY OF OHIO - 109 The French, however, by their conciliatory measures, soon won the confidence of these Indians. All the Indians in this region, ere long, became the warm friends of the French. A Chippiway chief, at one of their councils, soon after this reconciliation, said : " When the French arrived at these falls, they came and kissed us. They called us children, and we found them fathers. We lived like brethren in the same lodge." Thus influenced several hundred of the Indians were associated with the French in the defeat of Braddock. Pontiac probably led the Indian braves in this battle. In 1746 some of the northern tribes combined to attack Detroit. Pontiac hastened with his warriors to the rescue of the French. In November, 176o, a detachment of English soldiers, under Major Rogers, was on the march to take possession of the ports along the lakes, which the French had been compelled to evacuate. As he was pressing forward, on the route from Montreal to Detroit, an embassy of warriors, from the proud Pontiac, met him. In the name of their chief they informed him that Pontiac, in person, was not far distant, and that he would soon hold an interview with him. They therefore requested the Major, who had entered his territories, to arrest his march, until Pontiac should have an opportunity of seeing him with his own eyes. The delegation was also especially enjoined to inform Major Rogers, that Pontiac was king and lord of the country through which the English were marching. Though these haughty summons, coming from a savage, sounded strangely in the ears of a British officer, the Major, very considerately, drew up his troops and awaited the arrival of the Ottawa chieftain. Pontiac soon appeared, surrounded by a brilliant staff of plumed and painted warriors ; he towering above all the rest, and being manifestly the object of extraordinary homage. His first salutation was far from courteous, for, with a stern voice and a frown, he said : " What is your business in my country ? And how dare you enter it, without my permission ? Major Rogers, remembering that a soft answer turneth away wrath, replied : " I have no unfriendly designs against you or your people. My only object is to remove the French out of the country. They 110 - HISTORY OF OHIO. have ever been an obstacle in the way of peace and commerce between the English and the Indians." He then presented Pontiac with several belts of wampum. The chief received the gift with a stately bow, and said : " I shall stand in the path, through which you are walking, till morning." This was saying, very emphatically, in Indian phrase, that the English would not be permitted to advance any further, without the permission of Pontiac. Assuming an air of conscious superiority, the chief condescendingly inquired if Major Rogers or his army needed anything to make them comfortable for the night. " If so," said he, " my warriors will bring it to you." But Major Rogers was equal to the emergency. With dignity he replied, " Whatever provisions we may need we shall pay for." By order of the chief an ample supply of provisions was sent into the British camp. We doubt not that the bearers received as ample a remuneration. In the morning the chief, in the most imposing splendor of barbaric pomp, accompanied by his escort of warriors, again visited Major Rogers. He seemed a shade less austere and imperial in his bearing than the evening before. The Major, a representative of the crown of England, received him as an equal. Pontiac held in his hand a highly decorated pipe-of-peace. He lighted it, and, after taking a few whiffs, handed it to Major Rogers, saying: " I, with this calumet, offer friendship to the Englishman and his troops. They have my permission to pass through my dominions. I will protect them from being molested by my subjects, or by any other parties of Indians who may be inclined to hostility." This singular interview took place on the 7th of November, 1763, at the mouth of the Chogage River, many miles east of Detroit. Pontiac then, assuming the air of a protector of the helpless, and perhaps fully convinced that it was in his power, at any time, to crush the little band of Englishmen, who were traversing his realms, selected one hundred of his warriors and escorted the English, along the southern shores of Lake Erie, to Detroit. The Indians also assisted in driving a large number of fat cattle, which had been sent from Pittsburgh to Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, for the use of the army. Pontiac carried his precautions so far—and subsequent events showed the necessity for them—as to send messengers to all the Indian towns along the southern and western shores of the lake, informing the warriors that the English HISTORY OF OHIO - 111 were journeying under his special protection, and must not be molested. Major Rogers confesses that, at one time, while on this march, his detachment was saved from utter destruction by the intervention of Pontiac. An overpowering band of Indians had assembled near the mouth of the Detroit River, and the English would have fallen victims to their fury, but for the protection of the great chief. It is a fact, sustained by uncontradicted testimony, that the Indian tribes, without any known exception, regretted the overthrow of the French, and the domination of the English. Mr. Henry, an English gentleman, who published an account of his " Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories between the years 1760 and 1766," describes an incident which took place at the Island of La Cloche, in Lake Huron, in the Spring of 1761. He was very hospitably received and entertained, in a large village of Indians, on the island. At length they accidentally discovered, to their surprise, that he was an Englishman, they having previously supposed that he was a Frenchman. Instantly their whole demeanor toward him was changed. Very coolly they told him that, being an Englishman, he would certainly be killed by the Indians on his way to Michilimackinac, and, of course, be plundered of all his possessions. The Indians of La Cloche thought they might as well anticipate this event, and take their share of the pillage then. Mr. Henry was powerless. He could make no resistance. The Indians helped themselves to such of his effects as they chose, generously leaving the remainder for the assassins who were to meet him on the trail. Mr. Henry writes that this hostility, manifested by the Indians, was exclusively against him because he was an Englishman. He was so oppressed with the consciousness of this hatred of his nationality, and of the destruction which consequently awaited him, that he assumed the disguise of a Frenchman, and, under that protection, succeeded in reaching Michilimackinac in safety. Soon after Mr. Henry arrived at Michilimackinac, a large council of chiefs met at that post. They visited Mr. Henry as a stranger of distinction. The chief of this band of subordinate warrior chiefs, was a man of commanding stature, and of remarkably fine personal appearance and address, by the name of Min- 112 - HISTORY OF OHIO. avavana. With a retinue of sixty braves, all dressed in the highest style of barbaric decoration, he entered the room where Mr. Henry awaited him. With colored plumes and fringes, and glittering beads, and highly polished armor, they presented truly an impos ing aspect as, one by one, in single file, and in perfect silence,. they ranged themselves around the apartment. Then, at a signal from their chief, without a word being spoken,. they all took their seats upon the floor. Each one then drew out his pipe and began to smoke. Minavavana, then rising, fixed his eyes steadfastly upon Mr. Henry, and, in very deliberate tones, said : " You Englishmen must be very brave men. It is evident that you do not fear death, since you dare to come thus fearlessly among your enemies." Then, after a moment's pause, he made the following extraordinary speech, addressing every word to Mr. Henry : " Englishman ! It is to you I speak. I demand your attention. Englishman ! you know that the French king is our father. He promised to be such. We, in return, promised to be his children. This promise we have kept. Englishman ! you have made war against our father. You are his enemy. How then could you dare to venture among us, his children! You know that his enemies are our enemies. " Englishman ! Our father, the King of France, is aged and infirm. Being fatigued he fell asleep. While asleep, you took. advantage of him, and seized Canada. He will soon awake. I now hear him stirring, and inquiring for his children, the Indians. What will then become of you ? You will be utterly destroyed. " Englishman ! though you have conquered the French, you have not conquered us. We are not your slaves. These lakes, woods, mountains were left to us by our ancestors. We will not part with them. The Great Spirit has provided food for us in these broad lakes and upon these mountains. " Englishman ! Our father, the King of France, has employed one young man to make war upon your nation. In this war many of them have been killed. It is our custom to retaliate till the spirits of the slain are satisfied. There are but two ways of satisfying them. The first is by spilling the blood of the nation by which they fell. The second is by covering the bodies of the dead with presents, and thus allaying the resentment of their. relations. HISTORY OF OHIO - 113 " Englishman ! Your king has never sent us any presents. He and we are still at war. We have no other father or friend among the white men but the King of France. As for you, we have taken into consideration the fact that you have ventured your life among us, trusting that we would not molest you. You do not come armed to make war. You come in peace, to trade with us, and to supply us with necessaries which we need. We shall, therefore, regard you as a brother. You .may sleep tranquilly. As a token of friendship we present you with this pipe to smoke." Minavavana then rose and gave his hand to the Englishman. All his warriors did the same. The pipe was passed around, and the important ceremony was concluded. Unfortunately the English authorities ever assumed towards the Indians a haughty and overbearing demeanor. B. B. Thatcher writes, in his very interesting Life of Pontiac : " The English manifested but a slight disposition for national courtesy, or for individual intercourse, or for a beneficial commerce of any description. They neglected all those circumstances, which made the neighborhood of the French agreeable, and which might have made their own at least tolerable. The conduct of the French never gave rise to suspicion. That of the English never gave rest to it." Pontiac foresaw the inevitable extermination of his race unless immediate measures were taken to prevent it. The plan of operations he adopted developed extraordinary genius, courage and energy. He decided to unite all the Indian tribes of the North west to make a simultaneous attack upon all the English posts upon the shores of the Great Lakes, and on the banks of the rivers in the Great Valley. The English, throughout all these vast regions, were to be utterly exterminated. The posts were then but about twelve in number. But they were all at very important points, selected by skilled French engineers. 'These military and trading posts, of varied strength, were found at St. Joseph, Ouaitenon, Green Bay, Michilimackinac, Detroit, on the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers, at Niagara, Presque Isle, Le Boeuf, Verango and Pittsburgh. The surprise was to be simultaneous, at the same hour, along a line thousands of miles in extent. The English garrisons would thus be unable to help each other. And should one detachment 114 - HISTORY OF OHIO. of the English be successful it would not dishearten the rest. Some would certainly succeed. Should all be successful the war would be terminated at a blow, Pontiac would then again be the undisputed sovereign of the land, which had descended to him from his ancestors. Pontiac first revealed his plan to the warriors of his own peculiar tribe, the Ottawas. It seems that many other tribes recognized him as a sort of elected Emperor, with a limited power over their movements. Major Rogers says : " Pontiac had the largest Empire, and the greatest authority of any Indian chief that has appeared on the continent since our acquaintance with it." The great chief, having . assembled his.warriors, made a very effective speech to them. He exhibited a beautiful belt, which he said he had received from their beloved Father, the King of France, with the request that his children would drive his and their enemies, the English, out of their territory. In glowing terms he depicted the haughty and insulting bearing of the English officers, dwelling upon the fact that some of those officers had even dared to inflict the disgrace of blows upon Indian braves. " The Great Spirit," said this remarkable man, in conclusion, " has revealed to us the course which he would have us pursue. He tells us to abstain entirely from the use of intoxicating drinks, to abandon all articles of English manufacture, to arm ourselves with our own weapons, and to clothe ourselves with garments of our own make. ' Why,' said the Great Spirit indignantly, why do you suffer these dogs, in red clothing, to enter your country and take the land I have given you. Drive them from it. When you need my aid I will help you.' " The warriors received this speech with enthusiasm. As Pontiac opened to them his plan of the campaign, a general burst of acclaim testified to the eagerness of the warriors for the conflict. Agents were immediately dispatched to all the confederate tribes to enlist their services. Twenty powerful tribes were speedily and ardently enlisted in this alliance. The Ohio and Pennsylvania Delawares, and the renowned Six Nations of New York, were included in the number. All these arrangements were conducted with so much secrecy that the English had no suspicion of the storm which was brewing. " Peace reigned on the frontiers. The unsuspecting traders HISTORY OF OHIO - 115 journeyed from village to village. The soldiers in the forts shrunk from the sun of early summer, and dozed away the day. The frontier settler, singing in fancied security, sowed his crop, or watching the sun set through the girdled trees, mused upon one more peaceful harvest, and told his children of the horrors of the long war now, thank God, over. From the Alleghanies to the Mississippi the trees had leaved, and all was calm life and joy. But even then, through the gloomy forest, journeyed bands of sullen red men, like the gathering of dark clouds for a horrid tempest." * Inexorable time swept on, and, at length, the day and the hour arrived. Almost at the same moment the attack began in all these widely scattered posts. Everywhere the British traders were seized, and, in less than an hour, over one hundred were put to death. Nine of the English posts were immediately captured, and there was a general massacre of the inmates. Detachments of savages were assigned to the destruction of every village and farm-house. The genius of Pontiac had, with marvelous skill, arranged for the attack all along the frontiers of Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and what is now known as Ohio. The tidings of these awful massacres spread with great rapidity, and more than twenty thousand settlers fled in terror from their homes. The forts, which were captured, were generally taken by stratagem. The perfidious cunning of the Indians is deserving of record. They seemed to have adopted the ancient maxim, that fraud was as praiseworthy in war as courage. † There was quite an important post at the mouth of the Maumee River. An Indian woman came running into the fort, with piteous cries, and said that, at a very short distance from the fort, she found a man dying from an accidental wound, and with tears she entreated the commander to repair to his assistance. The humane officer, without the slightest suspicion of treachery, took a few men with him, and, following the guidance of the woman, hastened to bring the wounded man into the fort. They were waylaid, and, by one discharge of musketry, were all shot. The savages then rushed from various places of concealment into the fort, and very easily succeeded in cutting down the remainder of the garrison thus taken entirely by surprise. * The Great West, by Henry Howe. † "An virtus, an dolos, quir ab hoste requirat." 116 - HISTORY OF OHIO. At Presque Isle, on the southeastern shore of Lake Erie, three Indians appeared in gay attire and joyous spirits. They said that they were a part of a hunting party, whose canoes, laden with a very valuable stock of peltries, were in a little cove about a mile from the fort. The commandant, and quite a number of men, immediately set out to purchase the furs. Not long after they were gone, a hundred and fifty Indians came to the fort, each with a pack of furs upon his back. They said that the commandant had bought their furs and had employed them to bring them in. Nothing could be more natural than this. The stratagem succeeded perfectly. As soon as they were in the fort they threw off their packs, which had been so arranged as to hide their weapons, and with one simultaneous yell of the hideous war whoop, fell with tomahawk, scalping knife and rifles upon the astounded garrison. The Indians had sawed off their rifles that they might make them so short that they could be concealed under their flowing garments. Successful resistance was impossible. In almost less time than it has taken us to describe it, the work of death was completed. Those who had been led out of the fort were drawn into an ambush and shot. Michilimackinac was one of the most important positions on the frontier. " Nothing," says a modern writer, " can present a more picturesque and refreshing spectacle to the traveler, wearied with the lifeless monotony of a voyage through Lake Huron, than the first sight of the Island of Michilimackinac, which rises from the watery horizon in lofty bluffs, imprinting a rugged outline along the sky, and capped with a fortress on which the American flag is seen waving against the blue heavens." In the Indian language " Macinac " means turtle; " Michilimackinac " means great turtle. The Island was so named from its supposed resemblance to that animal. The old trading post of Michilimackinac stood upon the extreme southern point of the peninsula, about nine miles south of the island. The French under Father Marquette, with quite a large company of Huron Indians, visited the spot, and impressed with the admirable advantages of the location for prosecuting the fur trade, located themselves there and built a fort. It soon became one of the most important of the interior posts. Wonderful scenes were often witnessed there in the palmy days of the fur trade. There were sometimes seen collected there one 118 - HISTORY OF OHIO. or two thousand Indians. The waters would seem alive with birch canoes, as the gaily dressed Indian, with his squaw and papooses, paddled the frail skiff rapidly over the harbor. They came from all along the shores of the great lakes, and from the many streams which emptied into them The relations of the Indians with the French were more than friendly — they were almost affectionate. The French traders frequently married the daughters of the chiefs, and many of them became incorporated into their tribes. The post at Michilimackinac was the deposit of all goods employed in the northwestern fur trade. It was ever the point of departure, between the upper and lower countries, where the traders assembled on their voyages to and from Montreal. The fort, as it was called, consisted of an area of about two acres, enclosed in pickets of cedar wood. Three sides were thus fortified, while the fourth reached the water's edge, where it was open. There were about thirty comfortable log cabins within these pickets. These were occupied by about the same number of families. Two small brass cannon were mounted on bastions. The garrison consisted of about one hundred soldiers. Picturesque lodges of the Indians were scattered all around. A large number of the Chippewas and Sacs were to cooperate in the attack upon this station. The king's birthday, which was to be a season of general jollity, was the appointed occasion. As one of the festivities of the day a large number of the Indians were to engage in one of their favorite games of ball. Two posts were planted in the ground, just outside of the palisades, about half a mile from each other. Each party had its post. They all met in the center, with bats in their hands. The ball was placed upon the ground, and the game consisted in seeing to which post the ball could be driven. With a party of perhaps five hundred Indians on each side, driving the ball, with sinewy arms, over the wide extended plains, and all rushing after it in indescribable tumult, the game became exceedingly exciting. It was one of the most extraordinary of spectacles, as these Indians, plumed and painted, and in gala dresses, with shouts and laughter, pursued the ball as it was struck wildly, now in' this direction, and now in that. It was certain that the game would call out all the garrison and the families to witness it. So far as is now known not the slightest suspicion of treachery was entertained. HISTORY OF OHIO - 119 Nothing would be more natural than tnat, in the excitement of the game, the ball should be driven over the pickets. The Indians would, of course, rush after it pell mell. This would excite no alarm. Very adroitly the savages carried out their plan. The ball flew in all directions, pursued, with whoop and halloo, by nearly a thousand warriors. The game became intensely exciting, even to all the onlookers. At length, a well aimed blow threw the ball high over the palisades into the enclosure of the fort. With a simultaneous rush the Indians pursued it. Some clambered the pickets. Some rushed in at the open gateway. Some rushed round and entered by the open front which faced the water. Scarcely a moment elapsed ere there were nearly a thousand warriors within the enclosure. Mr. Henry, the English traveler, of whom we have previously spoken, has given a minute and very graphic account of the scenes which then ensued. He had not gone out of the fort to witness the game, as a canoe was just on the point of departure for Montreal, and he was busy writing letters to his friends. It will be remembered that the fort was simply a village of about thirty houses, surrounded by pickets. As Mr. Henry was engaged in writing he heard suddenly a great tumult, blended with loud outcries. Somewhat alarmed, he rose and went to the window. An awful sight met his eye. The fort was full of Indians, all well armed, having drawn their concealed weapons, and they were cutting down and scalping every Englishman within their reach. They seemed in a state of perfect frenzy, all uttering the shrill war whoop, or other hideous yells. The ground was already covered with many struggling in the agonies of death. He had in his chamber a fowling piece, loaded with swan-shot. Almost instinctively seizing this, he returned to the window, but it instantly occurred to him that the report of his gun would only.secure his own more immediate and certain destruction. He stood at the window in great terror, expecting every instant to hear the fort-drum beat to arms. While thus standing several of his countrymen were cut down. He saw more than one struggling between the knees of the savages, who thus held them, and scalped them while yet alive and shrieking. It is very remarkable that while this awful scene was transpiring there were several Frenchmen, Canadian villagers, looking 120 - HISTORY OF OHIO. composedly upon the slaughter. The vengeance of the Indians was directed to the English alone. They had no desire to expel the French. They prized their society and their commerce ; and it was their openly avowed wish to restore their father, the King of the French, to his supremacy in their dominions. Not a Frenchman was molested. And though the French took no part with the Indians, it can scarcely be doubted that their sympathies were with them. Mr. Henry, seeing that the fort was taken beyond all possibility of recapture, and that there was no apparent escape for his countrymen from the general massacre, conceived the hope that he might possibly find refuge in the house of some one of the Frenchmen. Monsieur Langlade lived in the next house to the one which he occupied. There was a low fence which separated the two back yards. Running out at the door, he climbed the fence, and rushing into the house he found the whole family looking out at the window upon the horrible spectacle before them. Mr. Henry, pallid with terror, entreated Monsieur Langlade to conceal him in his house till the massacre should be over. The Frenchman looked at him for a moment, and then, turning again to the window, shrugged his shoulders and said : " I can do nothing for you." There was in the room an Indian woman, one of the Pawnee tribe, who was a servant to Madame Langlade. She beckoned the Englishman to follow her, and led him to the garret, where she told him that he must conceal himself the best way he could. She left him, and locking the door, with much presence of mind took away the key. The garret of the cabin was dark, without any window. But there were large cracks between the boards of the wall, through which cracks Mr. Henry could obtain a full view of all that was taking place in the area of the fort. Here he beheld, with horror, the truly infernal deeds of the savages. There can be no fiend worse than man in his fury. The dead were scalped, and their bodies mutilated in every ferocious way which barbaric ingenuity could invent. Many were writhing and shrieking as the keen knife circled their heads, and their bloody scalps were torn off. " From the bodies of some, ripped open, their butchers were drinking the blood, scooped up in the hollow of joined hands, and quaffed amid shouts of rage and victory." HISTORY OF OHIO - 121 We have heard of " Godlike human nature." And the Psalmist says, " Thou didst create him but little lower than the angel." But surely man has fallen into terrible depths. And he must indeed be regenerated before he can be fit again to be restored to the society of his angel brothers. But a few moments passed before the massacre was completed. Not a living Englishman could be seen. The savages now commenced a search for those who might be concealed. Mr. Henry, from his hiding place, saw a gang of the savages entering M. Langlade's house. The floor of the garret consisted merely of a layer of loose boards. He could, therefore, see all that transpired, and hear all that was said in the room below. " Are there any Englishmen here ! " one of the savages inquired. " I cannot say, "Monsieur Langlade replied. " I do not know of any. You must search for yourselves and then you will be satisfied." This was true. Monsieur Langlade did not know but that Mr. Henry had left his house. The savages then came to the garret door. Sometime was lost in getting the key. Mr. Henry improved the fortunate moments in hiding in the midst of a heap of litter which chanced to be in one corner of the garret. He had but just completed his concealment, when four savages came clambering up the rickety stairs, their tomahawks literally dripping with blood. Mr. Henry felt that his last hour had certainly come. He was stifled for want of breath. It seemed to him that his heart beat loud enough to betray him. The Indians searched the dark garret in all directions. One of them came so near that Mr. Henry could have touched him with his hand. The Indians were all the time entertaining Mr. Langlade with a glowing and hilarious account of their great achievement. At last the savages returned down the stairs. Soon after this Madame Langlade, who did not know of his concealment, went into the garret for some purpose, and was surprised in finding him there. Her womanly nature was touched. She told him that all the English who could be found were killed, but that she hoped that he might escape. He was left in his concealment for the night. Upon descending the stairs she reflected that there was no possibility of the escape of Mr. Henry from Michilimackinac 122 - HISTORY OF OHIO. unseen by the numerous bands of savages who now held the post; and that if he should be found secreted in her house, she, her husband and her children would certainly fall victims to their vengeance. In the morning she informed Wenniway, a ferocious savage chief, that an Englishman was concealed in her garret. He was a man of gigantic stature and of brutal instincts. Immediately he came to the house, followed by half a dozen savages, all naked to the waist and intoxicated. With compressed lips the .chief entered the garret, seized Mr. Henry by the wrist, and brandishing a large knife, was just upon the point of plunging it into his heart, when a new impulse came over him. He had lost a brother in the war with the English. The idea struck him that, in accordance with. the Indian custom, he would adopt Mr. Henry in his stead. After a moment's pause, the knife gleaming in the air, he sheathed it, saying : " I will not kill you. I will adopt you." Thus Mr. Henry's life was saved, and he was subsequently ransomed. Seventy of the English, at the station, were slain. This included nearly all of English birth who were to be found at that remote post. Of these it is said that several were cooked and eaten in savage triumph. A very few, under varied circumstances, were saved as captives. These were eventually redeemed. Thus fell Michilimackinac, through Indian treachery and prowess. At Detroit there were some suspicions that Pontiac was endeavoring to form a combination of the Indian tribes against the English at these posts. It was also intimated that the French were encouraging him in this enterprise, hoping thus to regain their lost power. This is by no means improbable. Both parties did what they could to enlist the Indians under their banners. The following passage is found in a letter written from Detroit on the 19th of May, 1765 : " Pontiac is now raising the St. Joseph Indians, the Miamies, the Mascentins, the Ouittenons, the Pians and the Illinois, to come to this place the beginning of next month to make what effort they can against us. They are to be joined by some of the Northern Indians, as is reported. This, they say, is to be an undertaking of the Indians alone, as they are to have no assistance from the French. I make no doubt of their intention to perform what we have heard of. But I do not think that it will come to any head. HISTORY OF OHIO - 123 " I am well convinced that if Pontiac could be made to believe that he would be kindly received at this place, he would desist from any hostile measures against us. But it will be impossible to convince him of that while there are such a number of traitorous villians around him. You cannot imagine what most infamous lies they tell." In this last statement there is doubtless reference to the efforts which the French were supposed to be making to exasperate the Indians against the English. In Thatcher's Indian Biography we find the following account of the condition of Detroit at that time " The town is supposed to have been enclosed by a single row of pickets, forming nearly four sides of a square. There were block-houses at the corners and over the gates. An open space intervened between the houses and the pickets. This formed a. place of arms and encircled the village. The fortifications did not extend to the river ; but a gate opened in the direCtion of the stream, and not far from it, where, at the date in question, two armed vessels, fortunately for the inhabitants, happened to lie at. anchor. "The ordnance of the fort consisted of two six pounders, one three pounder, and three mortars. All of these were of an indifferent quality. The garrison numbered one hundred and thirty, including officers. There were also, in the village, something, like forty individuals who were habitually engaged in the fur-trade. The inadequate proportion of the force even to the size of the place may be inferred from the fact that the stockade,. which formed its periphery, was more than one thousand feet long." Detroit, next to Quebec and Montreal, was at that time the most important of all the stations which the British had captured from the French along the line of the great lakes. Not only an immense amount of goods were stored there for the widely extended fur trade, but it is said that, at times, there were more than two millions of dollars in coin at the station. Pontiac himself undertook to preside over the operations here. The 8th of May was the day appointed for the attack. In the meantime the most friendly intercourse was to be cultivated, and every effort was to be made to disarm suspicion. Pontiac, the imperial chief, was to present himself at the gate, with a retinue, HISTORY OF OHIO - 125 suitable to his rank, of three hundred warriors, and was to request a council with the commandant, Major Gladwin, in which they were to smoke the calumet of peace and treat of friendly matters. The commandant would, of course, attend in state, with all his prominent officers. The Indian warriors had sawed off their rifles, making them short, so that they could conceal them under their blankets. At a given signal, which was to be the presentation to the commandant of a wampum belt, in a peculiar way, the warriors were instantly to draw out their rifles, every one having his marked man, and shoot down the commandant and all his officers. Then, grasping their tomahawks, they were to fall upon the garrison in indiscriminate massacre. Some were to rush to the gates, throw them open, and admit a large number of the Indians waiting on the outside to take part in the slaughter. The plan was sagaciously formed. There can be no doubt but that it would have been successfully carried out but for a betrayal of the plot. Mr. Thatcher writes : " Carver states, and his account is substantially confirmed by tradition, as well as by other authorities, that an Indian woman betrayed the secret." She had been employed by the commandant to make him a pair of moccasins out of elk skin. She brought them to the fort on evening of the 7th of May. Pontiac had but a few hours before appeared at the fort, with his escort, and had solicited a council, to be held in the fort the next morning, the 8th. This request had been promptly granted. The Indian woman had been kindly treated by the commandant, and was very friendly in her feelings. Major Gladwin paid her generously for her work. He requested her to make him another pair, and furnished her with the skins. The woman took them, but seemed strangely embarrassed. She went to the door, hesitated, turned around to go back, as if her errand was not completed, then hesitated again, and at length slowly and thoughtfully went out. Still she loitered around the door, and appeared so strangely that a servant asked her what the trouble was, and what she wanted. To these inquiries she made no reply whatever. The Major was informed of her conduct, and ordered her to be called in. Kindly he questioned her. After much hesitation she said that she did not like to take away the elk skin because she could HISTORY OF OHIO - 127 never bring it back. This led to more serious and earnest inquiries. and gradually the woman divulged the whole plot. Pontiac had so deceived the community that the commandant was not at all disposed to credit the revelation. Still he deemed it prudant to be prepared for the defense. He called his officers before him, informed them of the alleged conspiracy, and requested that the garrison should be secretly placed in perfect order to repel the attack should one be made. All the traders and their dependents, within the fort, were to be put upon their guard, with strict injunctions that nothing should be done to intimate to the Indians that treachery on their part was suspected. Through the night the ramparts were very carefully watched. A strong body guard was ordered to be present at the council, with their muskets loaded and primed ready for instant action. They were placed in a position where, the signal being given, they could cut down the Indian warriors with a storm of deadly bullets. In the fort the night passed away tranquilly. But in the Indian camp, on the outside, there was great revelry, with dancing and shouting. In the morning the Indian warriors had a great carouse. They sang their war songs and danced their war dance with much enthusiasm. They then repaired to the fort, and were admitted without any hesitation. But the quick eye of Pontiac discerned that the garrison was under arms, that the guards were doubled, and that all the officers were armed with swords and pistols. As they passed along the little village, to the appointed place of council, he perceived unusual activity on the streets, and indications of a special movement among the troops. He inquired of the British commander what was the cause of this unusual movement. He was answered that it was necessary to keep the young men busy, in the performance of duty, lest they should lose their discipline, and beCome idle and ignorant. The council was soon convened. But Pontiac was evidently very uneasy. He had not at all expected to meet such preparations for defense ; and undoubtedly feared that the plot had been either fully or partially divulged. Still he assumed a bold imperial air. He made a genuine Indian speech, with impassioned words, and ever increasing vehemence of gesticulation. Just as he was on the point of presenting the belt to Major Gladwin, at a signal from the commandant, the drums at the door 128 - HISTORY OF OHIO. suddenly beat the charge. Instantly the soldiers leveled their muskets at the very breasts of the Indians, while all the officers drew their swords from their scabbards, presenting a very formidable array of glittering steel. The bravery of Pontiac no one has ever doubted. But this decisive proof that his treachery was discovered, and that his own life, and that of so many subordinate chiefs might, in an instant, be sacrificed, entirely disconcerted him. He trembled, and hesitated in delivering the belt. Major Gladwin, sword in hand, approached the chief, and drawing aside his blanket pointed to the shortened rifle, and reproaching him for his treachery, instead of instantly ordering all to be shot, with perhaps misjudged humanity, simply commanded them to leave the fort. Major Gladwin was honorable in the highest degree. He had promised the savages safety in coming and going. He was true to his pledge. Many would have thought that the clearly developed treachery of the savages deprived them of all right to this protection. Humiliated and sullen they retired. But the moment they were outside of the gates they gave a yell of rage and defiance, and impotently discharged a volley of bullets against the garrison. The Indians probably outnumbered the garrison ten to one, and were almost equally well armed. They could also speedily summon a very large addition tc their force. The situation of the little garrison was consequently still very precarious. Just outside of the fort there was an aged English woman, Mrs. Turnbell, residing with her two sons. The Indians murdered and scalped them all. At a little greater distance there was an English family, that of James Fisher, tilling a few acres around their lonely cabin. The savages murdered him, his wife, and four soldiers who, perhaps, had been stationed there for their protection. The children and servant maid were carried off into captivity. CHAPTER VII. SIEGE OF DETROIT. ASSAULT OF THE FORT - THE CONFERENCE - PROGRESS OF THE SIEGE-DISASTER TO THE BARGES-BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT - ESCAPE OF A BOAT - THE RE-ENFORCEMENT - DEFEAT OF THE CANOES- INDIAN FIRE RAFTS- TERROR AT THE FRONTIERS - ASSASSINATION OF MAJOR CAMPBELL - ARRIVAL OF RE-ENFORCEMENTS - SHREWDNESS OF PONTIAC - THE AMBUSH - PEACE - MOVEMENTS OF PONTIAC - EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS - ANECDOTES OF PONTIAC - ELOQUENT SPEECH - ASSASSINATION OF PONTIAC - GRANDEUR OF THE GREAT VALLEY -THE BEAUTIFUL RIVER. PONTIAC, HAVING been frustrated in his plan of taking Detroit by surprise, dispatched his runners, in all directions, to summon the warriors, of various tribes, to surround the fort, assail it with con stant vigilance, and thus starve the garrison into capitulation.. During the ninth, the warriors were rapidly assembling and taking: their positions. On Tuesday morning, the tenth of May, a general assault was undertaken, to try the strength of the fort. All the day long a hot fire was kept up on both sides. No bullets were thrown away. Every shot followed deliberate aim. On each side several were killed, and many more wounded. The savages were very careful to post themselves behind fences, trees, stumps, and particularly in, and behind several barns and other buildings, which were within musket shot of the palisades. The garrison heated some spikes red hot, and shooting them from their cannon, set fire to these buildings, and thus drove the savages from their shelter. The soldiers fired with such accuracy of aim, that soon the savages did not venture to approach within reach of their bullets. There was a low ridge, at a short distance, from whose summit the pickets could be overlooked. The savages crept up this hill,. 130 - HISTORY OF OHIO. and, lying flat upon the ground, endeavored to continue their fire. But if they raised their head in the slightest degree to take aim, they were very sure to be struck by the bullet of some sharpshooter. Finding that they accomplished very little in this way they gave up the plan. It was estimated that there were over a thousand savages surrounding the .extensive area of the fort. Should they make a simultaneous attack, from different points, the situation of the garrison would be hopeless. Neither were the inmates of the fort prepared for a protracted siege. They had but three weeks' provision, even when put upon the allowance of but one pound of bread and two ounces of pork for each man a day. Through the intervention of the French, whom the Indians manifested not the slightest disposition to harm, a truce and conference were proposed. Pontiac sent a delegation of five warriors into the fort, with the request that the commandant should send two of his officers to confer with Pontiac himself at his camp. He also, for some unknown reason, suggested that Major Campbell, whom he well knew, might be one of the commissioners. Lieutenant McDougall was appointed as the other. Several of the French accompanied the commissioners. Pontiac proposed the following fair, and, considering the desperate condition of the garrison, very liberal terms of capitulation : " Let the English troops lay down their arms as our fathers, the French, have been obliged to do. They must leave the cannon, the magazines, the merchant goods, and the two armed vessels. We will then escort the garrison in safety to their friends at Niagara." To this proposition Major Campbell promptly replied : " My commanding officer did not send me here to deriver up the fort to the Indians or to any one else. He will defend it so long as a single man is left to stand by his side." Hostilities were immediately recommenced. The savages pressed the siege with so much vigor that, for several weeks, " the whole garrison, officers, soldiers, merchants and servants were on the ramparts every night Not one of them slept in a house, excepting the sick and wounded in the hospital." The most vigorous efforts were made to replenish the stores of the starving garrison, but with only partial success. Three weeks after the commencement of the siege, on the 3oth of May, the HISTORY OF OHIO - 131 sentinel on duty, from his look-out, announced that a large fleet of boats was seen approaching from far down the river. It was not doubted that the boats contained a supply of provigions and reinforcements from Niagara. All hurried to the bastions to gaze upon the welcome spectacle. But Pontiac was a vigilant foe. His scouts had been stationed along the northern shores of Lake Erie to report immediately upon the appearance of any boats in the distant horizon. These sharp watchers discerned the distant squadron, and, by the swiftest runners, transmitted the intelligence to their chief. About sixty miles east from the mouth of the Detroit River, on the northern or Canada shore of Lake Erie, there is a remarkable cape called Point Pelee. Pontiac sagaciously surmised that the fleet of barges would draw up under the shelter of that cape for the night. Here he stationed a large party of warriors in ambush. These boats were not sufficiently large for the boatmen to sleep in them, or in them to cook their food. As Pontiac had imagined, the little fleet entered a sheltered cove on the cape, and the voyagers prepared for their night's encampment. The boats were carefully moored, and the weary boatmen, having built their fires, cooked and eaten their supper, and stationed their guard, fell asleep. No one apprehended danger at such a distance from Detroit. Just before the dawn of day these warriors crept from the ambush, and, more noiseless than the panther, in their moccasined tread, approached the spot where the English were soundly sleeping. A tremendous discharge of musketry was heard a storm of lead fell upon the sleepers, and apparently an innumerable company of savages came rushing from the darkness, making night hideous with their yells and their war whoops. Brandishing their tomahawks they fell upon the surprised boatmen with awful slaughter. One officer and about thirty men effected their escape. Being very near the beach they sprang into a boat and crossed the lake to the southern or Ohio shore. The others were all either killed or taken captive. The exultant savages formed all the barges in a line, and compelling their prisoners to navigate the boats, entered the mouth of the river and were ascending with their valuable booty of provisions and ammunition to Detroit. Four English boatmen were placed in each boat under a strong 132 - HISTORY OF OHIO. guard of Indians. The boats were kept close to the shore, along which marched a large detachment of warriors, rifle in hand, ready instantly to shoot down any one who should make the slightest attempt at escape. The poor creatures who were killed were scalped, and their bloody trophies of barbarian victory were borne along on poles as banners. It was this captured fleet of batteaux which the sentinel had descried ascending the river. Terrible was the disappointment of the starving garrison when they heard, from the boats in the distance, and from the escort on the shore, the exultant yells and the defiant war whoop, which told them that the boats, with all their precious cargoes, had fallen into the hands of their foes. When the line of boats was directly opposite the town, four soldiers, in one of the boats, choosing rather to die by the rifle than by torture, which they knew to be the fate for which they were reserved, resolved upon an utterly desperate attempt to escape. Suddenly they changed the course of the boat towards the western shore, where the armed vessels were at anchor. The river was here about three-quarters of a mile in width. With frantic shouts they called upon the crew to come to their help. The movement was so sudden, and so rapidly was the boat driven out into the stream, by the energies of despair, that the Indian guard leaped overboard and swam ashore. One of them dragged one of the soldiers with him, and both were drowned. The Indians in the other boats fired upon the fugitives, but did not dare to pursue them, in consequence of the cannonade with which they were assailed from the armed schooner. These heroic men soon reached the vessel. One only of the three was wounded. The Indians, alarmed by this escape, immediately landed all the boats, and transferred their cargoes to the shore. Then these human demons scalped and roasted their victims. The shrieks of the sufferers, under the dreadful torture, was borne across the water to the garrison, causing every bosom to burn with the desire for vengeance. A few days after these appalling events, an armed vessel was sent from Niagara with supplies, and with a reinforcement of about fifty troops on board. Early in the month of June the vessel entered the mouth of the river. A large detachment of Indians was sent down the river, from the siege of Detroit, to HISTORY OF OHIO - 133 intercept the vessel. In the darkness of the night they embarked in a fleet of canoes, and silently they descended the swift current of the stream. The wind having died away, the vessel dropped anchor near the head of a small island called Fighting Island. The captain of the vessel ordered his men to lie concealed, with guns loaded and mimed. The small cannon, also, which he had on board, was charged almost to the muzzle with grape shot. The Indians were suffered to approach close to the vessel, when the signal was given by the stroke of a hammer upon the mast, and the little vessel itself quivered with the explosion which ensued. It seemed suddenly to be converted into a volcano in violent eruption. The nearest canoes were almost blown out of the water. The men all took sure, though hasty aim, and scarcely a bullet failed of accomplishing its deadly mission. The slaughter of the Indians, crowded together in their frail canoes, must have been terrible. How great their loss was never known. The panic-stricken warriors paddled away with the utmost speed. The next morning the vessel dropped a little farther down the river, where she was detained six days for want of wind. On the thirteenth of June a fair breeze came in from the south, and on the thirteenth of the month the blessed relief reached the half-famished garrison in safety. There were now three armed vessels lying at anchor before the fort, in the broad and rapid river. Pontiac was anxious to destroy them. He was fully conscious that he could not capture them. With the skill of an European engineer he commenced building far up the river several immense fire rafts which, laden with combustibles, would be almost like solid islands on fire floating down against the vessels. Several such attempts were made, but they were thwarted by English energy and skill. The following extract from a letter dated Detroit, July 6, 1763, gives one a vivid idea of the condition of the English settlement and garrison during the siege. " 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, since the 8th of May. We have not had our clothes off, nor slept a night since the siege began. We shall continue so till we have a reinforcement. Then we hope to give a good account of the savages. Their camp lies about HISTORY OF OHIO - 135 a mile and a half from the fort. That is 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 they do not care for coming to see us, though they now and then get behind a barn or a house and fire at us at three or four hundred yards distance. Day before yesterday we killed a chief and three others, and wounded some more. Yesterday we went up with our sloop and battered their cabins in such a manner that they are glad to keep farther off." The next day, the 9th of July, another letter was written, from which we make the following extracts. It is composed in a peculiar style of forced mirth and irony : "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 and 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 ate Sir Robert Devers. And we are informed by Mr. Panly, who escaped the other day from one of the stations, which was surprised at the breaking out of the war, and which he commanded, that he had seen an Indian have the skin of Captain Robertson's arm for a tobacco pouch. "Three days ago a party of us went to demolish a breast-work which the Indians had made. We finished our work and were returning home. But the fort, espying a party of Indians following us as if they intended to attack us, we were ordered back, and making our dispositions, we advanced briskly. Our front was fired upon warmly, and we returned the fire for about five minutes. In the meantime Captain Hopkins, with about twenty men, filed off to the left; and about twenty French volunteers filed off to the right, and got between the Indians and their camp fires. " The savages immediately fled, and we returned, as was prudent ; for a sentry, whom I had placed, informed me that he saw a body of the Indians coming down from the woods. Our party, being but about eighty, was not able to cope with their united bands. In short, we beat them handsomely, and yet did not much hurt to them, for they ran extremely well. We only killed their leader and wounded three others. One of them fired at me 136 - HISTORY OF OHIO. at the distance of fifteen or twenty paces. But , I suppose my terrible visage made him tremble. I think I shot him." The leader who was killed was one of the prominent chiefs of the Ottawas. It is said that both of the English commissioners, Major Campbell and Major McDougall, were, it would seem perfidiously, detained by Pontiac. There may have been some explanation of this which has not been transmitted to us. A direct act of treachery of that kind was not in character with Pontiac. One of the Ottawa tribe, in revenge for the death of his chief, fell upon Major Campbell and murdered him. " The brutal assassin,' writes Mr. B, B. Thatcher, " fled to Saginaw, apprehensive of the vengeance of Pontiac. And it is but justice to the memory of that chieftain to say, that he was indignant at the atrocious act, and that he used every possible exertion to apprehend the murderer." On the 26th of June a detachment, of three hundred regular troops, arrived from Niagara. They came in strong, well-armed vessels, which the savages could not venture to attack from their frail birch canoes. Apprehensive that Pontiac; in view of such an accession of strength to the garrison, might immediately raise the siege, and escape with his warriors unpunished, arrangements were made to attack him that very night. But Pontiac proved himself decidedly a more able captain than the English leader. He immediately sent all the women and children away, apparently broke up his camp, and stationed his whole force of warriors in ambush upon the route which he knew the garrison must take to attack his camp. It is astonishing that the English, after all their past experience, could again be caught in such a trap. With singular infatuation they pressed heedlessly along in the darkness till they came to a bridge, which crossed quite a wide brook, which, since that time, has been not inappropriately called Bloody Run. Very high grass and dense thickets were on both sides of the sluggish stream. Here the warriors were concealed, every one with his rifle in hand, ready to take deadly aim at any who might be crossing the bridge. The thoughtless troops, two hundred in number, were crossing the bridge, hastening forward to catch the savages before they could have time to escape. Suddenly a volley of musketry was HISTORY OF OHIO - 137 poured in upon the troops. Nearly every bullet struck a man. Many were killed. Many more were wounded. The commandant was one of the first who fell. All were thrown into consternation. As the English turned, in disorderly retreat, the bullets of the foe pursued them. The unerring aim of the Indians may be inferred from the fact, that while seventy were killed outright, but forty were merely wounded. This was an extraordinary case. Generally in battle many are wounded to one who is killed. This engagement took place at night about a mile and a-half above the fort. This humiliating defeat aroused the English to more energetic action. An army of three thousand men was promptly raised, and sent to the relief of the ports on the lakes. Pontiac saw at once that he could not successfully compete with such a force. Too proud himself to negotiate for peace, he retired, far away, to Illinois. The chiefs of several of the coalesced tribes settled the terms with the English officers. The movements of Pontiac were still watched with much anxiety. It was greatly feared that his busy mind was active in organizing a new coalition among the remoter tribes. In a letter from Detroit, dated December 3, we find the following expressions of alarm: " We have been lately very busy in providing abundance of wheat, flour, Indian corn and peas, from the country. In this we have so far succeeded as not to be in danger of being starved out. 'Tis said that Pontiac and his tribe have gone to the Mississippi, but we do not believe it. The Wyandotts, of Sandusky, are much animated against us. They have been reinforced lately by many villains from all the nations concerned in the war." Shortly after this it was written : " About twelve days ago several scalping parties of the Pottawatamies came to the settlement. We now sleep in our clothes, expecting an alarm every night." Early in the Summer of 1764, General Bradstreet succeeded in convening an immense council of Indians at Niagara. Nearly two thousand Indians attended. They represented twenty-two tribes. This fact shows very clearly how vast were the operations which the mind of Pontiac had been controlling. The haughty chieftain, while he gave his consent that the tribes, in the vicinity of Detroit, should make peace with the English, by whom they were now overpowered, would assume no personal responsibility in the act. 138 - HISTORY OF OHIO. " When I make peace," he said, " it shall be such a one as wilt be useful to me, and to the King of Great Britain. But he has not as yet proposed his terms." It was very evident that, for many months, the movements of Pontiac caused great solicitude throughout all the extreme western frontier posts. " Mr. B. B. Thatcher, in his Life of Pontiac, writes : " It would appear that Pontiac was instigated by some of the French. It is believed that only individuals among them were guilty of the practice alleged. Those at Detroit conducted themselves amicably even during the war ; and some of them, as we have seen, vol-‘ unteered to fight against the Indians. Still where Pontiac now was, there would be the best possible opportunity of exerting a sinister influence over him, there being many Frenchmen among the Illinois, and they not of the most exemplary character in all cases. " On the whole it seems to us probable, that while the last mentioned combination was really an undertaking of his own, it might have been checked at any moment, and, perhaps, never would have been commenced, had not Pontiac been renewedly and repeatedly prejudiced, against the English interest, by the artifice of some of the French and, perhaps, some of the Indians. " However his principles in regard to that subject might remain unchanged, no abstract inducement, we think, would have urged him to. his present measures, under the circumstances to which he was now reduced. But, be that as it may, the principles themselves need not be doubted. Nor can we forbear admiring the energy of the man in pursuing the exemplification and vindication of them in practice. His exertions grew only the more daring as his prospects became the more desperate." It is difficult for us now to conceive of the terror which the coalition of Pontiac inspired. His allies were found as far north as Nova Scotia, as far south as Virginia, and on the west nearly to the banks of the Mississippi. The following brief extracts from letters, written from the several posts during the year 1763, show how extensive and deep was the alarm which was excited. From Fort Pitt, on the 31st of May, 1763, it was written : " There is most melancholy news here. The Indians have broken out in divers places, and murdered Colonel C and his family. An Indian has brought a war belt to Tusquerora, who HISTORY OF OHIO - 139 says that Detroit was invested and St. Dusky cut off. All Levy's goods were stopped at Tusquerora by the Indians. Last night eight or ten men were killed at Beaver Creek. We hear of scalping every hour. Messrs. Gray and Allison's horses, twenty-five, loaded with skins are all taken." A fortnight after this we read in a letter from the same post " We have destroyed the upper and lower towns. By tomorrow night we shall be in a good posture of defense. Every morning, an hour before day, the whole garrison are at their alarm posts. Ten days ago the Indians killed Patrick Dunn, and a mare. of Major Smallman's ; also two other men. Mr. Crawford is made prisoner, and his people are all murdered. Our small posts I am afraid are all gone." We have previously described the destruction at Point Pelee of the party sent from Niagara with reinforcements and supplies for the garrison at Detroit. In the following letter from Albany,. dated June 16, there is reference to this calamitous event : " You must have heard of the many murders committed on the English by different tribes of Indians, at different places. This makes many fear that the rupture is, or will become, general among the southern tribes. Lieutenant Cuyler, with a party of Green's Rangers, consisting of ninety-seven men, set out from Niagara with provisions for Detroit. Cuyler sent his servant to gather greens. The lad being gone so long, a party was sent for him, who found him scalped. He put his men in the best position for a sudden attack. The Indians fell upon them, and killed and took all but the Lieutenant and thirty of his men, who retreated back to Niagara, leaving near two hundred barrels of provisions, with the enemy." In a letter from Winchester, Virginia, June 22 we find the following statement : " Last night I reached this place. I have been at Fort Cumberland several days, but the Indians having-killed nine people there, made me think it prudent to remove from those parts, from which I suppose near five hundred families have run away within this week. It was a most melancho'ly sight to see such numbers of poor people, who had abandoned their settlements in such consternation and hurry that they had scarcely anything with them but their children." The next day we find the following, in a letter from Philadelphia : " By an express just now from Fort Pitt, we learn that the 140 - HISTORY OF OHIO Indians are continually about that place. Out of one hundred and twenty traders, but two or three escaped. It is now out of doubt that there is a general insurrection among all the Indians." A gentleman writes again from Philadelphia on the 27th of July : " I returned home last night. There has been a good deal said in the papers, but not more than is strictly true. Shippers-burg and Carlisle are now become our frontiers. None are living at their plantations but such as have their houses stockaded. Upwards of two hundred women and children are now living in Fort Loudoun, a spot not more than one hundred feet square. Great Briar and Jackson's River are depopulated. Upwards of three hundred persons have been killed or taken prisoners. Over a territory one hundred miles in breadth and three hundred in length not one family is to be found. By these means there are near twenty thousand people left destitute of their habitations." Nothing can show more conclusively than the foregoing extracts the wide-spread terror which pervaded the frontier community, and the genius of the man who could organize and control so vast a coalition of untutored savages. Every well authenticated anecdote of Pontiac exhibits him as a man of remarkable nobility of character, considering his origin and the influences by which he was surrounded. It will be remembered that the first detachment of British troops sent to take formal possession of the posts on the lakes conquered from the French were led by Major Rogers. Pontiac met the detachment and escorted it safely to Detroit. Major Rogers confesses that, but for his protection, he and his men would inevitably have been massacred. As a compliment for this protection, Major Rogers sent Pontiac a bottle of brandy, His counselors advised him not to taste it. `" It must be poisoned,' said they " and it is sent with a design to kill you." Pontiac laughed at their suspicions, saying, " He cannot take my life, for I have saved his.' Though the French had surrendered all their posts upon the lakes, there was still a station, under their control, among the powerful tribe of the Illinois Indians. To this station Pontiac, with quite an imposing retinue of his warriors had retired. The English, then at peace with France, sent Lieutenant Frazer, with a company of soldiers, to that station,— undoubtedly as a spy upon the movements of the chieftain. HISTORY OF OHIO - 141 Pontiac understood it in that light, and considered it an act of aggression. He, therefore, called upon the French Commandant to deliver his visitor into his hands. The officer attempted to pacify him. Pontiac replied : " You, the French, were the cause of my striking the English. This is your tomahawk which I hold in my hand." The Indians had by this time assembled in such large numbers as to be quite capable of taking the law into their own hands. Pontiac ordered all the English to be arrested at once. This was promptly done. The whole company was seized, with the exception of Frazer, who effected his escape to the protection of the French garrison. The exasperated savages threatened the death of all the prisoners unless their leader should be given up. The gallant Englishman, to save the lives of his comrades, came forward and surrendered himself. The Indians were eager to put them all to death. Even with civilized nations this is the penalty of spies in time of war. Pontiac protected them all, and held back the tomahawks of his warriors. But considering the state of excitement among the Indians, and the improbability of his restraining individual vengeance, he advised Lieutenant Frazer to leave the country. He could not, in safety, traverse the wilderness, which was filled with roving Indian bands. A batteaux was therefore provided for him, and he floated down the river safely to New Orleans. " Pontiac," said Lieutenant Frazer, " is a clever fellow. Had it not been for him, I should never have got away alive." We have but very scanty memorials of the eloquence of this extraordinary man. It is perhaps probable that he excelled in deeds rather than in words. We have, however, one of his speeches recorded, which he delivered in a conference with the French, at Detroit, on the 23d of May, 1763. He was endeavoring to persuade the French to unite their forces with his, in the coalition against the English. It will be perceived that his speech indicates a very strong and a very logical mind. He spoke as follows : " My brothers, I have no doubt but that this war is very troublesome to you. My warriors, who are continually passing through your settlements, frequently kill your cattle and injure your property. I am sorry for it. I hope that you do not think that I am pleased with this conduct of our young men. "As a proof of my friendship, recollect the war you had seven-: 142 - HISTORY OF OHIO. teen years ago, and the part I took in it. The northern nations combined to destroy you. Who defended you ? Was it not myself and my young men ? The chief, Mackinac, said, in council, that he would carry to his native village the head of your chief warrior, and that he would eat his heart and drink his blood. " Did I not then join you ? Did I not go to his camp, and say to, him, ' If you wish to kill the French, you must pass over my body, and the bodies of my young men?' Did I not take hold of the tomahawk with you, and aid you in fighting your battles with Mackinac, and in driving him home to his country ? Why do you think I would turn my arms against you ? Am I not the same French Pontiac who assisted you seventeen years ago ? I am a Frenchman, and I wish to die a Frenchman. " My brothers, I begin to see that, instead of assisting us in our war with the English, you are actually assisting them. I have -already told you, and I now tell you again, that when I undertook this war it was only your interest I sought, and that I knew what I was about. I yet know what I am about. This year they must all perish. The Master of Life so orders it. His will is known to us, and we must do as He says. And you, my brothers, who know Him better than we do, wish to oppose His will. " Until now, I have avoided urging you upon this subject, in the hope that, if you could not aid, you would not injure us. I did not wish to ask you to fight with us against the English. But I did not believe that you would take part with them. You will say that you are not with them. I know it ; but your conduct amounts to the same thing. You will tell them all we do and say. You carry our counsels and plans to them. Now, take your choice. You must be entirely French, like ourselves, or entirely English. If you are French, take this belt, for yourselves and your young men, and join us. If you are English, we declare war against you." In the year 1767 there was a large council of Indians held in Illinois to deliberate upon the posture of affairs. It is probable that the question was whether the war against the English should be renewed. An Indian of the Peoria tribe was present as a spy, to report the proceedings to the English. This Indian, at the close of a speech by Pontiac, plunged his knife into his heart, and the great chieftain fell dead upon the spot. Carver says that he committed the foul deed, " either commissioned by one of the HISTORY OF OHIO - 143 English governors, or instigated by the love he bore the English nation." The savage assassin fled. But the love of the Indians for their great chieftain was such that they avenged his death with the utmost severity of barbarian punishment. Four tribes—the Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatamies, Sacs and Foxes—made common cause with the friends of Pontiac to annihilate the tribe to which the murderer belonged. The Peoria tribe, and two others who joined them, were, it is said, utterly exterminated,—men, women and children. Mr. Thatcher, writing of this event, says : "There is little doubt that Pontiac continued firm in his original principles and purposes—that he endeavored to influence, and did influence, a large number of his countrymen—and that the Peoria savage, whether a personal enemy or spy, or, what is more probable, both, did assassinate him with the expectation, to say the least, of doing an acceptable service to some foreign party, and a lucrative one for himself. " We need not assert that he was commissioned by an English governor. Pontiac was an indefatigable and a powerful man, and a dangerous foe to the English. He was in a situation to make enemies among his countrymen, and the English were generally in a situation and disposition to avail themselves of that circumstance." The death of Pontiac terminated, for several years, all hostile ties between the English and the Indians. For eight years there was comparative peace on the frontiers; and this peace would doubtless have been continued but for the atrocities inflicted upon the Indians by vagabond white men. English traders, crossing the Alleghanies, spread rapidly through all the extensive Valley of the Ohio, both north and south of that river, exchanging their commodities for the peltries of the red men. Quite a mania for emigration rose on the east side of the mountains. The Valley of the Ohio Was described as a paradise in its genial clime, its fertility, and its wonderful beauty of hills and vales and crystal streams. It was said, and perhaps with truth, that there was no other river on the globe which surpassed the Ohio in all the elements of attractiveness for happy homes. The La Belle Riviere of the French, from its rise at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela at Pittsburgh, flows gently, in a southwesterly direction, through beautifully undulating hills 144 - HISTORY OF OHIO. and wide-spread lovely valleys, a distance of nine hundred miles to the Mississippi River. It is six hundred and forty miles, in an air-line from Pittsburgh to its mouth. There is certainly not a more luxuriant realm or a more genial clime upon the globe. At the present time this magnificent valley is divided into ten states, all of which are drained by the Ohio and its many tributaries. These states are Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. " The southern streams have freshets in them, one after another, so as scarcely ever to be all up at any one time. When the freshets in the southern branches have done pouring their increased waters into the Ohio, the northern ones begin to pour theirs into it, though, inasmuch as the streams in the State of Ohio all rise in about the same latitude, and on the same elevation, they often rise about the same time. The Alleghany and Monongahela branches rise in the Alleghany Mountains, among the snows and ices of that Alpine region, and these are the last to swell the Ohio. Those who dwell along the banks of this fine river, know, from the driftwood and other indications, what particular stream has produced the freshet. The Big Sandy sometimes brings down, from its sources in North Carolina, the reed-cane. The hemlock floats from the head-waters of the Alleghany. When this last river is up—and it is the last to rise—the rafts of pine-boards descend the Ohio covered with families removing into the Western. States. These bring along with them their all— their wives, children, horses, cattle, dogs, fowls, wagons, and household furniture of all sorts." * In the early history of the country, this broad, gentle, beautiful stream of crystal water, about eight hundred yards in average breadth, presented a most animating and joyous spectacle. Large and commodious flat-bottomed boats would float down the current in a bright June morning. Each boat would contain a single family, men, women and children, with all their animals and household furniture. A little cabin at one end of the boat furnished protection from the weather. It was the parlor, the bedroom, and the kitchen of the little emigrant household. Waterfowl of great variety sported upon the glassy surface of the stream. A great abundance of game was seen upon the shores, including the buffalo and elk. * History of Ohio by Caleb Atwater. HISTORY OF OHIO - 145 Sometimes a single raft of pine-boards, half an acre in extent, would contain a neat log hut, and present a very peculiar aspect of rural beauty, as horses, sheep, dogs and poultry, were blended with the family of the emigrant. There was no toil in this journey. Two oars, appropriately placed, very easily kept the raft in the center of the stream. With corn-meal, milk from the cow, and the abundance of game, with which the rifle supplied them, the larder of the emigrant was luxuriously stored. Not unfrequently, several of these rafts would join together; the aspect then would be beautiful, as the little floating village of six or seven families, with all the variety of live-stock, was gently borne down the windings of the stream. Reaching their destination, the rafts were broken up and the voyagers established themselves on the shore. These emigrants were generally a joyous, musical race. Not unfrequently, bugle blasts were heard reverberating among the green eminences which bordered the stream. Again the violin would give forth its merry notes, and groups would be gathered on. the level planks in the dance. The settler from his log-cabin on shore, would wave his hat, and shout a " God-speed " to the passers by. And even the Indian warriors, from their picturesque lodges, in the sheltered coves, would gaze silently, yet with friendly feelings, upon the novel scene. The emigrant brought almost to their doors, knives, and hatchets, and rifles, and many of the conveniences of civilized life, which the Indians could obtain in exchange for their peltries, their game, and their garments of softly dressed deer-skins. The Indians ever welcomed the French into their borders, for even the most humble among the French were. gentle and fraternal, and were disposed to incorporate themselves. with the tribes. The English might thus have found happy homes, with their brother, the red man, but for the atrocious conduct of desperate and bloody minded individuals, who, in the wilderness, were restrained by no law, and who remorselessly trampled all the rights of the Indians beneath their feet. CHAPTER VIII LORD DUNMORE'S WAR. THE OHIO LAND COMPANY - THE FRENCH AND INDIAN TREATY - EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS - SPEECH OF LAWANGQUA - INDIAN RECEPTION OF MR. CROGHAN - ENGLISH INJUSTICE - PURCHASE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON - CRESAP'S VILLANY - MURDERS BY GREATHOUSE - INDIAN REVENGE - PLAN OF LORD DUNMORE - ROUTE OF GENERAL LEWIS - THE HOCKING AND SCIOTO - LEWIS' FIGHT WITH THE INDIANS - ANCIENT POETRY - ROUTE OF LORD DUNMORE - HIS PREPARATIONS - SPEECH OF CORN PLANTER - LOGAN - TREATY OF LORD DUNMORE - DEATH OF LOGAN - ABILITY AND ELOQUENCE OF CORNSTALK - AUTHENTICITY OF LOGAN'S SPEECH. AS EARLY as the year 1748, nearly twenty years previous to the time of which we are now writing, several gentlemen of the Virginia Council, associated themselves with certain London merchants, and obtained from the crown, a grant, of half a million of acres of land, to be taken principally from the south side of the Ohio River, between the Monongahela and Kanawha Rivers. This organization was called, The Ohio Land Company, One of its principal objects was, to establish an English colony in the much coveted valley, which, it will be remembered, was then claimed by the French. The French, at that time, had between forty and fifty forts, missionary stations, and trading posts, in various parts of the valley. The English had not a single settlement there. The King of France, to render his claim to the region still more unquestionable, entered into a treaty with the Indians, by which they very cordially placed the whole country under his protection. It would seem that even then, the Indians feared the encroachments 01 the English. It must be confessed, that the English authorities, were not disposed to pay much respect to the claims of the Indians, to the vast realms over which they wandered in pursuit of game. HISTORY OF OHIO - 147 When, four months before the fall of Fort Duquesne, the English sent commissioners across the mountains to endeavor to detach them from the French, one of their orators said : " Why do you not fight your battles at home, or on the sea, instead of coming into our country to fight them ? The white people think we have no brains ; that they are many, and we a little handful. But remember where you hunt for a rattlesnake you cannot find it. But perhaps it will bite you before you see it. By the treaty of peace to which we have referred, after the fall of Pontiac, the Indians agreed to surrender all the prisoners whom they had taken from the English. These prisoners were dispersed far and wide, mainly along the villages which fringed the shores of the Muskingum, the Sciota, the Great and Little Miami, the Sandusky, and others of the lovely streams which were tributaries of the Ohio. The savages had taken many little boys and girls, and had incorporated them into their tribes. They had manifestly loved them sincerely, and cared for them tenderly. It was a custom of the Indians to adopt these little captives in the place of their own lost sons and daughters. It was often with deep emotion that they surrendered these objects of their affection. With sighs and tears, and broken ejaculations of grief, they often brought them to the office appointed to receive them. Many of the children, also, whose parents had been slain, whose homes were burned, and who had spent many years with their foster parents, having forgotten the relationships of their infant years, had formed such strong attachments for their new homes that they were very reluctant to be returned to the settlements of the pale faces. A Shawanese chief, Lawaugqua by name, was entrusted with a number of these captives to convey them to Fort Pitt. As he surrendered them to the officer he said : " Father, we have brought your flesh and blood to you. They have all been united to us by adoption. Though we now deliver them, we shall always look upon them as our relations, whenever the Great Spirit is pleased that we may visit them. We have taken as much care of them as if they were our own flesh and blood. They are now become unacquainted with your customs and manners, and, therefore, we request you to use them tenderly and kindly, which will induce them to live contentedly with you." After this touching address he then spoke of the desire of the 148 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Indians to live in peace with the English. " Father," he said, " we will now comply with everything you have asked of us. We assure you that we are sincere in everything we have said. Here is a belt with a figure of our father, the King of Great Britain, at one end, and the chief of our nation at the other. This represents them holding the chain of friendship. We hope that neither side will slip their hands from it so long as the sun and moon give light." This scene took place in May, 1765, after the overthrow of Pontiac's power, but several months before his assassination. A very important council was at this time held at Fort Pitt, to deliberate upon the various questions which would naturally arise under the new posture of affairs. An English gentleman, Mr. George Croghan, was present at this council as deputy commmissioner. When the council broke up he accompanied several Indian chiefs on a friendly visit to the tribes of Illinois. It will be remembered that among these tribes Pontiac had taken refuge, and that the English were very solicitous respecting the influence he might exert over them. In the report he made of this visit of observation, he testifies that he found these tribes greatly under the influence of the French, and strongly attached to them. The French had quite important settlements at Vincennes, Cahokia and Kaskaskia, from which they received their supplies. He could not be blind to the fact that the Indians loved the French, and hated the English. He says that they had imbibed from their Canadian friends, and the traders that constantly visited them, an intense hatred of his own countrymen ; that they were extremely reluctant to exchange the easy and friendly rule of the French, who called the red man brother, slept in his wigwam, married into his tribe, and who, through benignant missionaries, were teaching him the principles of the Christian religion; for what they deemed the haughty and imperious domination of the English, who treated them with but little respect, and manifested but slight regard for their rights. The Indians received Croghan with civility, but with no marks of friendship or confidence. He could not fail to see that he was not a welcome guest ; and he was deeply impressed with the conviction that the peace then existing would prove of but transient duration. A year after this, in the Spring of 1766, numerous families from the English colonies crossed the Alleghany mountains, and select- HISTORY OF OHIO - 149 ing for themselves the most fertile and attractive spots On the Monongahela River, erected their cabins and commenced clearing their lands. This they did without any purchase from the Indians, and without the slightest recognition that they had any title whatever to the country in which they had settled. It would seem that many of these settlers were unprincipled men, quite devoid of any sense of justice. They despised the Indians, treated them insolently, and if any of them ventured to remonstrate, replied only with menaces and insults. The Indians felt justly and deeply aggrieved. They perceived that thus the English would eventually rob them of all their lands without any remuneration. Neither the English government nor the Colonial governments approved of these measures. But they were powerless tc prevent the wanderings of these individual pioneers. The Indian agent entered his earnest protest against this injustice. They laughed at him. General Gage, Commander-in-Chief of the English forces in America, issued his proclamation denouncing such proceedings. They bade him defiance. Fearless alike of the authorities of their own country, and of the hostility of the Indians, they selected their lands wherever they pleased. In the Spring of 1768, Sir William Johnson, Indian Agent, succeeded in purchasing from the Iroquois Indians whatever right and title they possessed to any portion of the Great Valley south of the Ohio River. But there were many other tribes who claimed this magnificent territory, which was profusely stocked with game, as their common hunting-ground. Immediately after this George Washington, and three of the distinguished family of Lee, formed a large company called the Mississippi Company. An agent was sent to England to solicit a grant from the ministry of two million of acres. This enterprise however failed. Various other schemes of the same kind were undertaken, with more or less of success. All eyes were directed to this Canaan of the New World. In the meantime the flood of emigration was continually flowing across the Alleghanies and penetrating the luxuriant and blooming solitudes on each side of the Ohio. These emigrants, often traveling in quite large bands, were very rapidly possessing the whole country. As was to have been expected, this unhappy state of affairs, these very needless and unjust proceedings, soon led to conflict,