1 BOOK II. prodigious scope which presented itself for both, the increase of wealth, the extent of settlement, the advance1763. ment of population, and the general diffusion of happiness, all united their influence to bring in a full tide of gladness. That high point of honor and magnificence, to which the nation had been elevated, the extension of her empire, the flow of the whole trade and wealth of Canada and of this great continent into her lap, whom they esteemed as a parent, and to whom they claimed the relation of children; the honors acquired in so glorious a war, with the advantages of a peace which gave such lustre to the crown, and aggrandizement to a prince whom they loved, were so many circumstances enlivening the joy, and increasing the satisfaction which so universally prevailed. The colonies gloried in their prince, and in their relation to Great Britain. They felt a high degree of satisfaction, and it was no small part of their pride that, with their fellow subjects of the mother country, they had shared in the labors and enterprises, and with them had mingled their blood in those battles and victories, on the continent and in the Indies, which had given such lustre to her arms, and enlargement to her empire. They were impressed with a grateful sense of the royal beneficence, and parliamentary goodness, in the grants which had been made for their assistance, in defraying the expenses of the war. They were entirely satisfied with the British government, and conceived themselves to be peculiarly happy in the protection and privileges which they enjoyed, as British subjects. This was the general feeling and happy state of the country, at the return of peace. The extension of settlements, the increase of cultivation, numbers, commerce, and wealth of the colonies, for about ten or twelve years after the pacification of Paris, were almost incredible. During the war, and this whole subsequent period, money was plenty, and suffered no depreciation. Provisions of every kind, especially pork and beef, were in the best demand. This called forth the utmost exertions of the husbandman, in the cultivation of his fields, and enabled him with facility to pay the taxes which the state of the country demanded. It was the policy of Connecticut, in this favorable period, to tax the people as highly as they could cheerfully bear, providing substantial funds, in short periods, for the payment of their whole debt. To assist them in supporting the war, the legislature called in all their outstanding debts. Contracts were made with the British commissary, annually, for several years. for provisions to the amount of four thousand pounds ster- Book II. ling. This was paid in money, or in bills of exchange. These contracts were principally for pork. At the same 1763. time, great quantities of fresh provisions were furnished the armies, in droves of fat cattle. The merchants had a safe and prosperous trade. Especially after the peace, an almost boundless scope of commerce and enterprise, was given to the colonists. In these favorable circumstances, with the return of thousands of her brave and industrious inhabitants, to the cultivation of their fields, and the various arts and labors of peace, the colony was soon able to exonerate itself from the debt contracted by the war. The other colonies, who adopted a different policy, and neglected to tax the people, in these favorable periods, were a long time burdened with a heavy tax. CHAPTER XXIII. The enemy Unexpected Indian war. The reasons of it. A Ta time when there seemed to be the fairest pros pect of a long and universal peace in America, the southern colonies were suddenly involved in a destructive Indian war. In 1761, a firm peace had been made with the Cherokees. Three of their chief men soon after visited Great-Britain, and there confirmed it with the British court. About the same time, Sir William Johnson made a tour among the Indian nations, to quiet the fears and jeal- Reasons of ousies which might have been occasioned by the conquest the Indian of Canada. These fears and jealousies, it seems, had been fomented by French emissaries, with much industry and success. The same year a conference had been held between several of the American governors and the six na-tions, with a view of ratifying former treaties, and of more entirely conciliating and fixing their friendship. At this conference, a warm dispute arose on account of certain Jands, of which a Delaware chief complained that certain war. BOOK II. English settlers had taken possession, in consequence of a fraudulent conveyance. Though this animosity appeared 1763. at that time to be in some measure stifled, and to subside, yet the Indians were by no means satisfied.* To this ground of dissatisfaction, there was an addition of many more. The French had ever paid a more flattering attention to the Indians than the English ever deigned to show them. Their conquests now made them haughty, and they treated these rude neighbours with less condescension and decorum, than had before been usual. And besides, contrary to the faith of treaties, settlements had been made beyond our just limits.† We had also drawn a line of forts round their best hunting grounds; and their suspicions were, that the English had concerted a plan for their total extirpation. These injuries and suspicions having roused the resentment of the Shawanese and Delaware Indians, they united with the other tribes along the Ohio; and having drawn the Indians about Detroit, and a considerable part of the clans on this side of the Mississippi, into their measures, they determined to make a sudden and general attack on the frontiers at the same time. That they might, at one blow, cut off both the inhabitants and all their means of subsistence, they resolved to begin their work of destruction at the time of harvest. Their plan was concerted with uncommon art and secrecy. They made their irruption so unexpectedly, so generally, and with such violence, that, before any relief could be obtained, great numbers of the inhabitants were masacred, their houses burned, and their laid waste crops ruined, with all the marks of horror and cruelty atand desert- tending an Indian war. In consequence of the general alarm and consternation, all the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, for twenty miles back into the country, with thousands of fine settlements, were abandoned to the enemy. The travelling merchants, who, under the security of a general peace, were trading in the Indian country, were murdered, and their effects plundered. These were estimated at several hundred thousand pounds. Frontiers ed.) But that which, in a military view, was considered as of much greater importance, was the capture of le Bœuf, Venango, and Presque Isle. These forts were advantageously situated, so as to command the heads of all the navigable rivers, southward of lake Erie, and were important to keep up the communication between fort Pitt and the lakes, and the posts north of them. The Indians made themselves * Rider's History of England, vol. xlviii, p. 64, 65, and vol. xlix. p. 33 The same, vol. 1. p. 45, 46. masters of these forts, rather by stratagem than by any Book II. power sufficient to have reduced them. They pretended to the soldiers, that they had cut off the other garrisons, 1763. boasted of the great numbers they had with them, and made them the most flattering promises of safety and good usage. When, by these arts, they had induced them to give up these posts, they commonly violated their promises, and killed or captivated them. By the same means they got possession of Michilimakinack. Flushed with these successes, they attempted to reduce fort Pitt, Detroit, and Niagara. Though the theatre of this Indian war was of vast extent, though the different nations were separated by immense tracts of country, yet in their operations they preserved an admirable degree of connection and concert. At the same time, they invested fort Pitt and Detroit, though at a great distance from each other. The commander in chief, apprised of the danger to which all the western posts were exposed, detached strong reinforcements to those garrisons. Captain Dalyell conducted the reinforcement dispatched to Detroit. After his arrival at the fort with his reinforcement, he imagined, from the intelligence given him, that he could surprise the enemy, and drive them entirely from that settlement. With this view, it was determined to make an attack on their camp, which lay at the distance of about three miles from the fort. Between two and three of the clock in the morning, captain Dalyell, with two hundred and seventy men, began his march with all possible secrecy and precaution, But the Indians were so vigilant and sharp sighted, that they discovered his party, lined the hedges, posted themselves behind houses, and took the most effectual measures to annoy and defeat him. Before he had reached their camp, he was saluted with a severe fire in his front. Instantly it commenced in his rear, and soon it became furi- Battle of ous and destructive on every side. The captain fell in the beginning of the action. The darkness of the night prevented a sight of the Indians, and the whole party were at once on the point of irreparable disorder and ruin. In this emergency, captain Grant, on whom the command devolved, saw that his only safety was in a speedy retreat. To effect this, he made a spirited charge upon the enemy: by this they were soon driven from the roads, and repulsed in every quarter. The English having thus extricated themselves, returned to the fort. But it was an unfortunate affair, in which seventy men were killed, and forty wounded, The Indians now finding the garrison to be numerous and well supplied, despairing of any further suc cess, soon withdrew, and gave them no more trouble. Detroit. BOOK II. 1763. Fort Pitt is besic ged. Attack on Meanwhile, fort Pitt was so closely surrounded on all sides, that all communication, even by private message, was cut off between that and the country. The Indians, in some measure, supplied their want of skill and cannon, by their incredible boldness and perseverance. Regardless of danger, and with a resolution which would have done honour to the best troops, they took post under the banks of the river, close to the fort, and burying themselves in holes, for several days together, poured in upon it an incessant storm of shot and fire arrows. Captain Ecuyer, who commanded the garrison, took every precaution which judgment or art could suggest, and defended himself with no less zeal and perseverance, than the enemy made their assault. General Amherst well knew the importance of this post, and had detached colonel Bouquet, a trusty officer, with a large quantity of provisions and military stores, under à strong escort, for its relief. When the colonel had advanced to the remotest part of the English settlements, he could not obtain the least intelligence of the state of the garrison, or of the numbers, position, or motions of the enemy. In these circumstances, he determined to prepare for the worst, and disengaged himself from all ammunition and provisions, which did not appear to be absolutely necessary. Having thus disencumbered himself, the army entered a rough and mountainous country. Before him lay a dangerous defile, called Turtle Creek, several miles in length. On both sides, it was encompassed with steep and craggy hills. After refreshing his troops, it was determined, if possible, to elude the observation of the enemy, and pass this defile in the night. Though the colonel had not been able to obtain the least intelligence of the enemy, yet this alert and keen sighted foe had discovered his party; and finding that a reinforcement was coming on, they immediately raised the siege of fort Pitt, and, taking the route by which they knew the army must pass, determined to surprise it the first favourable opportunity. While the English were making the necessary arrangecolonel ments for refreshment and repose, after a fatiguing march Bouquet, Aug. 5th. of seventeen miles that day, their advanced guard was suddenly and furiously attacked. This was so expeditiously and firmly supported, that the enemy were soon obliged to fly, and the English pursued them to a considerable distance. But that which, with another enemy, would have been considered as a defeat, and victory, in this case seemed only as an artful relaxation or amusement. So far were the enemy from abandoning the field, that the moment the |