Delaware County, Ohio - Chapter 3 (1 of 2 so headed), 1880

Possession

AS has been noted, the French title rested on the discoveries of' their missionaries and traders, upon the occupation of the country, and upon the construction of the treaties of Ryswick, Utrecht and Aix la Chapelle. The English claims to the same region were based on the ^ct of a prior occupation of the corresponding coast, on an opposite construction of the same treaties, and an alleged cession of the rights of the Indians. The rights acquired by discovery were conventional, and in equity were good only between European powers, and could not affect the rights of the natives, but this distinction was disregarded by all European powers. The inquiry of an In,dian chief embodies the whole controversy: " Where are the Indian lands, since the French claim all on the north side of the Ohio and the English all on the south side of it?"

The English charters expressly granted to all the original colonies the country westward to the South Sea, and the claims thus set up in the West, though held in abeyance, were never relinquished. The primary distinction between the two nations governed their actions in the New World, and led finally to the supremacy of the English. They were fixed agricultural communities. The French were mere trading-posts. Though the French were the prime movers in the exploration of the West, the English made discoveries during their occupation, however, mainly by their traders, who penetrated the Western wilderness by way of the Ohio River, entering it from the two streams which uniting form that river. Daniel Coxie, in 1722, published, in London, "A description of. the English province of Carolina, by the Spaniards called Florida, and by the French called La Louisiane, as also the great and famous river Meschacebe, or Mississippi, the five vast navigable lakes of fresh water, and the parts adjacent, together with an account of the commodities of the growth and production of the said province." The title, of this work exhibits very clearly the opinions of the English people respecting the West. As early as 1630, Charles I granted to Sir Robert Heath " All that part of America lying between thirtyone and thirty-six degrees north latitude, from sea to sea," out of which the limits of Carolina were afterward taken. This immense grant was conveyed in 1638,' to the Earl of Arundel, and afterward came into the possession of Dr. Daniel Coxie. In the prosecution of this claim, it appeared that Col. Wood, of Virginia, from to 1664, explored several branches of the Ohio and " Meschacebe," as they spell the Mississippi. A Mr. Needham, who was employed by Col. Wood, kept a journal of the exploration. There is also the account of some one who had explored the Mississippi to the Yellow, or Missouri River, before 1676. These, and others, are said to have been there when La Salle explored the outlet of the Great River, as he found tools among the natives which were of European manufacture They had been brought here by English adventurers. Also, when Iberville was colonizing the lower part of Louisiana, these same persons visited the Chickasaws' and stirred them up against the French. It is also stated that La Salle found that some one had been among the Natchez tribes when he returned from the discovery of th^ outlet of the Mississippi, and excited them against him. There" is, however, no good authority for these statements, and they are doubtless incorrect. There is also an account that in 1678, several persons went from New England as far south as New Mexico, " one hundred and fifty leagues beyond the Meschacebe," the narrative reads, and on their return wrote an account of the expedition. This, also, cannot be traced to good authority. The only accurate account of the English reaching the West was when Bienville met the British vessel at the "English Turn," about 1700. A few of their traders may have been in the valley west of the Alleghany Mountains before 1700, though no reliable accounts are now found to confirm these suppositions. Still, from the earliest occupation of the Atlantic Coast by the English, they claimed the country, and, though the policy of its occupation rested for a time, it was never ftiUy abandoned. Its revival dates from 1710 properly, though no immediate endeavor was made for many years after. That year, Alexander Spottswood was made Grovernor of Virginia. No sooner did he assume the functions of ruler, than, casting his eye over his dominion, he saw the great West beyond the Alleghany Mountains unoccupied by the English, and rapidly filling with the French, who he observed were gradually confining the English to the Atlantic Coast. His prophetic eye saw at a glance the animus of the whole scheme, and he determined to act promptly on the defensive. Through his representation, the Virginia Assembly was induced to make an appropriation to defray the expense of a'n exploration of the mountains, and see if a suitable pass could not then be found where they could be crossed. The Governor led the expedition in person. The pass was discovered, a route marked out for future emigrants, and the party returned to Williamsburg. There the Governor established the order of the "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe," presented his report to the Colonial Assembly and one to his King. In each report, he exposed with great boldness the scheme' of the French, and advised the building of a chain of forts across to the Ohio, and the formation of settlements to counteract them. The British Go^rnment, engrossed with other matters, neglected his advice. Forty years after, they remembered it, only to regret that it was so thoughtlessly disregarded.

Individuals, however, profited by his advice. By 1730, traders began in earnest to cross the mountains and gather from the Indians the stores beyond. They now began to adopt a system, and abandoned the heretofore renegade habits of those who had superseded them, many of whom never returned to the Atlantic Coast. In 1742, John Howard descended the Ohio in a skin canoe, and, on the Mississippi was taken prisoner by the French. His captivity did not in the least deter others from coming. Indeed, the date of his voyage was the commencement of a vigorous trade with the Indians by the English, who crossed the Alleghanies by the route discovered by Gov. Spottswood. In 1748, Conrad Weiser, a German of Herenberg, who had acquired in early life a knowledge of the Mohawk tongue by a residence among them, was sent on an embassy to the Shawanees on the Ohio. He went as far as Logstown, a Shawanee village on the north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles below the site of Pittsburgh. Here he met the chiefs in counsel, and secured their promise of aid against the French. '

Five Nations - the Iroquois. This powerful confederation claimed the jurisdiction over an immense extent of country. Their policy differed considerably from other Indian tribes. They were the only confederation which attempted apy form of government in America. They were often termed the " Six Nations," as the entrance of another tribe into the confederacy made that number. They were the cqnquerors of nearly all tribes from Lower Canada, to and beyond the Mississippi. They only exacted, however, a tribute ft-om the conquered tribes, leaving them to manage their own internal affairs, and stipulating that to them alone did the right of cession belong. T^^eir country, under these claims, embraced all of America north of the Cherokee Nation, in Virginia; all Kentucky, and all the Northwest, save a district in Ohio and Indiana, and a small section in Southwestern Illinois, claimed by the Miami Confederacy. The Iroquois, or Six Nations, were the terror of all other tribes. It was they who devastated the Illinois country about Rock Fort in 1680, and caused wide-spread alarm among all the Western Indians. In 1684, Lord Howard, Governor of Virginia, held a treaty with the Iroquois at Albany, when, at the request of Col. Duncan, of New York, they placed themselves under the protection of the English. They made a deed of sale then, by treaty, to the British Government, of a vast tract of country south and east of the Illinois River, and extending into Canada. In 1726, another deed was drawn up and signed by the chiefs of the national confederacy by which their lands were conveyed in trust to England, " to , be protected and defended by His Majesty, to and for the use of the grantors and their heirs."*

If the Six Nations had a good claim to the West^ ern country, there is but little doubt but England was justified in defending their country against the French, as, by the treaty of Utrecht, they had agreed not to invade the lands of, Britain's Indian allies. This claim was vigorously congested by France, as that country claimed the Iroquois had no lawful jurisdiction over the West. In all the disputes, the interests of the contending nations was, however, the paramount consideration. The rights of the Indians were little regarded.

The British also purchased land by the treaty of Lancaster, in 1744, wherein they agreed to pay the Six Nations for land settled unlawfully in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland. The In- dians were given goods and gold amounting to near a tiiousand pounds sterling. They were also promised the protection of the English. Had this latter provision been faithfully carried out, much blood would have been saved in after years. The treaties with the Six Nations were the real basis of the claims of Great Britain to ihe West ; claims that were only settled by war. The Shawanee Indians, on the Ohio, were also becoming hostile to the English, and began to assume a threatening exterior. Peter Chartiez, a half-breed, residing in Philadelphia, escaped from the authorities, those by whom he was held for a violation of the laws, and joining the Shawanees, persuaded them to join the French. Soon after, in 1743 or 1744, he placed himself at the head of 400 of their warriors, and lay in wait on the Alleghany River for the provincial traders. He captured two, exhibited to them a^ captain's commission from the French, and seized their goods, worth £1,600. The Indians, after this, emboldened by the aid given them by the French, became more and more hostile, and Weiser was again sent across the mountains in 1748, with presents to conciliate them and sound them on their feelings for the rival nations, and also to see what they thought of a settlement of the English to be made in the W^t. The visit of Conrad Weiser was successful, and Thomas Lee, with twelve other Virginians, among whom were Lawrence and Augustine Washington, brothers of George Washington, formed a company which they styled the Ohio Company, and, in 1748, petitioned the King for a grant beyond the mountains. The monarch .approved the petition and the government of Virginia was ordered to grant the Company 500,000 acres within the bounds of that colony beyond the AUeghanies, 200,000 of which were to be located at once. This provision was to hold good for ten years, free of quit rent, provided the Company would settle 100 families within seven years, and build a fort sufficient for their protection. These terms the Copipany accepted, and sent at once to London for a cargo suitable for the Indian trade. This was the beginning of EngKsh Companies in the West; this one forming a prominent part in the history of Ohio, as will be seen hereafter. Others were also formed in V^irginia, whose object was the colonization of the West. One of these, the Loyal Company, received, on the 12th of June, 1749, a grant of 800,000 acres, from the line of Canada on the north and west, and on the 29th of October, 1751, the Greenbriar Company received a grant of 100,000 acres.

To these encroachments, the French were by no means blind. They saw plainly enough that if the English gained a foothold in the Wdst, they would inevitably endeavor to obtain the country, and one day the issue could only be decided by war. Vaudreuil, the French Governor, had long anxiously watched the coming struggle. In 1774, he wrote home representing the consequences that would surely come, should the English succeed in their plans. The towns of the French in Illinois were producing large amounts of bread-stufi's and provisions which they sent to New Orleans. These provinces were becoming valuable, and must not bo allowed to come under control of a rival power. In 1749, Louis Celeron was sent by the Governor with a party of soldiers to plant leaden plates, suitably inscribed, along the Ohio at the mouths of the principal streams. Two of these plates were afterward exhumed. One was sent to the Maryland Historical Society, and the inscription* deciphered by De Witt Clinton. On these plates was clearly stated the claims of France, a% will be seen from the translation below.

England's claim, briefly and clearly stated, read as follows: "That all lands, or countries westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea, between 48 and H4 degrees of North Latitude, were expressly included in the grant of King James th^ First, to divers of his subjects, so long time since as the year 1606, and afterwards confirmed in the year 1620 ; and under this grant, the colony of Virginia claims extent so far west as the South Sea, and the ancient colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut, were by their respective charters, made to extend to the said South Sea, so that not only the right to the s^a coast, but to all the Inland countries from sea to sea, has at all times been asserted by the Crown of England. "f

To make good their titles, both nations were now doing their utmost. Professedly at peace, it only needed a' torch applied, as it were, to any point, to instantly precipitate hostilities. The French were

* The following is the translation of the inscription of the plate found at Venango : " In the year 1749, reign of Louis XV, King of France, we, Celeron, commandant of a detacbment by Monsieur the Marquis of Glallisoniere, Commander-in-chief of New France, to establish tranquillity in certain Indian villages in these Cantons, have buried this plate at the confluence of the Toraclakoin, this twenty-ninth of July, near the River Ohio, otherwise Beautiful River, as a monument of renewal of possession which we have taken of the said river, and all its tributaries; and of all the land on both sides, as far as the sources of said rivetB; inasmuch as the preceding Kings of France have enjoyed it, and maintained it by their arms and by treaties ; especially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle."

Histoey Of. Ohio

busily engaged erecting forts from the southern shores of Lake Erie to the Ohio, and on down in the Illinois Valley'; up at Detroit, and at all its posts, preparations were constantly going on for the crisis, now sure to come. The issue between the two governments was now fully made up. It admitted of no compromise but the' sword. To that, however, neither power desired an immediate appeal, and both sought rather to estabUsh and fortify their interests, and to conciliate the Indian tribes. The English, through the Ohio Company, sent out Christopher Gist in thefall of 1750, to explore the regions west of the mountains. He was instructad to examine the passes, trace the courses of the rivers, mark the falls, seek for valuable lands, observe the strength, and to conciliate the friendship of the Indian tribes. He was well fitted for such an enterprise. Hardy, sagacious, bold, an adept in Indian character, a hunter by occupation, no man was better qualified than he for such an undertaking. He visited Logstown, where he was jealously received, parsed over to the Muskingum River and Valley in Ohio, where he found a village of Wyandots, divided 'in sentiment. At this village he met Crogan, another equally famous frontiersman, who had been sent out by Pennsylvania. Together they held a council with the chiefs, and received assurance of 'the friendship of the tribe. This done, they passed to the Shawnee towns on the Scioto, received their assurances of friendship, and went on to the Miami Valley, which they crossed, ' remarking in Crogan's journal of its great fertility. They made a raft of logs on which they crossed the Great Miami, visited Piqua, the chief town of the Pickawillanies, and here made treaties with the Weas and Piankeshaws. While here, a deputation of the Ottawas visited the Miami Confederacy to induce them to unite with the French. -They were repulsed through the influence of the English agents, the Miamis sending Gist word that they would " stand like the mountains. " Crogan now returned and published an account of their wanderings. Gist followed the Miami to its mouth, passed down the Ohio till within fifteen miles of the falls; then returned by way of the Kentucky River, over the highlands of Kentucky to Virginia, arriving in May, 1751. He had visited the Mingoes, Delawares, Wyandots, Shawanees and Miamis, proposed a union among these tribes, and appointed a grand council to meet at Logstown to form an alliance among themselves and with Virginia. His journey was marvelous for the day. It was extremely hazardous, as he

W£is part of the time among hostile tribes, who could have captured him and been well rewarded by the French Government. But Gist knew how to act, and was successftil.

"While Gist was doing this, some English traders established themselves at a place in what is now known as Shelby County, Ohio, and opened a store for the purpose of trading with the Indians. This was clearly in the limits of the West, claimed by the French, and at once aroused them to action. The fort or stockade stood on the banks of Loramie's Creek, about sixteen miles northwest of the present city of Sydney. It received the name Loramie from the creek by the French, which received its name in turn from the French trader of that name, who had a trading-post on this creek. Loramie had fled to the Spanish country west of the Mississippi, and for many years was a trader there ; his store being at the junction of the Kansas and Missouri, near the present city of Kansas City, Mo. When the English traders came to Loramie's Creek, and erected their trading-place, they gave it the name of Pickawillany, from the tribe of Indians there. The Miami confederacy granted them this privilege as the result of the presents brought by Crogan and Gist. It is also asserted that Andrew Montour, a half-breed, son of a Seneca chief and the famous Catharine Montour, who was an important factor afterward in the English treaties with the Indians, was with them, and by his influence did much to aid in securing the privilejie. Thus was established the first EngUsh trading-post in the Northwest Territory and in Ohio. It, however, enjoyed only a short duration. The French could not endure so clear an invasion of their country, and gathering a force of Ottawas and Chippewas, now their allies, they attacked the stockade in June, 1752. At first they demanded of the Miamis the surrender of the fort, as they were the real cause of its location, having granted the English the privilege. The Miamis not only reused, but aided the British in the defense. In the battle that ensued, fourteen of the Miamis were slain, and all the traders captured. One account says they were burned, another, and probably the correct one, states that they were taken to Canada as prisoners of war. It is probable the traders were from Pennsylvania, as that commonwealth made the Miamis presents as condolence for their warriors that were slain.

Histoey Of Ohio

nations became more deeply interested in aifairs in the West. The English were determined to secure additional title to the West, and, in 1752, sent Messrs. Fry, Lomax and Patton as commissioners to Logstown to treat with the Indians, and confirm the Lancaster treaty. They met the Indians on the 9th of June, stated their desires, and on the 11th received their answer. At first, the savages were not inclined to recognize the Lancaster treaty, but agreed to aid the English, as the French had already made war on the Twigtees (at Picka^ willany), and consented to the establishment of a fort and trading-post at the forks of the Ohio. This was not all the Virginians wanted, however, and taking aside Andrew Montour, now chief of the Six Nations, persuaded him to use his influence with the red men. By such means, they were induced to treat, and on the 13th they all united in signing a deed, confirming the Lancaster treaty in its full extent, consenting to a settlement southwest of the Ohio, and covenanting that it should not be disturbed by them. By such means was obtained the treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley.

All this time, the home governments were endeavoring to out-maneuver each other with regard to the lands in the West, though there the outlook only betokened war. The French understood better than the English how to manage the Indians, and succeeded in attaching them firmly to their cause. The English, were not honest in their actions with them, and hence, in after years, the massacres that followed.

At the close of 1752, Gist was at work, in conformity with the Lancaster and Logstown treaties, laying out a fort and town on Chartier's Creek, about ten miles below the fork. Eleven families had crossed the mountains to settle at Grist's residence west of Laurel Hill, not far from the Youghiogheny. Groods had come from England for the Ohio Company, which were carried as far West as Will's Creek, where Cumberland now stands ; , and where tl^^y were taken by the Indians and traders.

On the other hand, the French were gathering cannon and stores on Lake Erie, and, without treaties or deeds of land, were gaining the good will of the inimical tribes, and preparing, when all was ready, to strike the blow. Their fortifications consisted of a chain of forts from Lake Erie to the Ohio; on the border. One was at Presque Isle, on the site of Erie ; one on French Creek, on the site of Waterford, Penn.; one at the mouth of French Creek, in Venango County, Penn.; while opposite it was another, effectually commanding that section of country. These forts, it will be observed, were all in the limits of the Pennsylvania colony. The Grovernor informed the Assembly of their existence, who voted £600 to be used in purchasing presents for the Indians near the forts, and thereby hold their friendship. Virginia, also, took similar measures. Trent was sent, with guns and ammunition and presents, to the friendly tribes, and, while on his mission, learned of the plates of lead planted by the French. In October, 1753, a treaty was consummated with representatives of the Iroquois, Delawares, Shawanees, Twigtwees and Wyandots, by commissioners from Pennsylvania, one of whom was the philosopher Franklin. At the conferences held at this time, the Indians complained of the actions of the French in forcibly taking possession of the disputed country, and also bitterly denounced them for using rum to intoxicate the red men, when they desired to gain any advantage. Not long after, they had similar grounds of complaint against the English, whose lawless traders cared for nothing but to gain the furs of the savage at as little expense as possible.

The encroachments of the French on what was regarded as English territory, created intense feeling in the colonies, especially in Virginia. The purpose of the French to inclose the English on the Atlantic Coast, and thus prevent their extension over the mountains, became more and more apparent, and it was thought that this was the opening of a scheme already planned" by the French Court to reduce all North America under the dominion of France. Gov. Dinwiddle determined to send an ambassador to the French posts, to ascertain their real intentions and to observe the amount a,nd disposition of their forces. He selected a young Virginian, then in his twenty-first year, a surveyor by trade and one well qualified for the duty. That young man afterward led the American, Colonies in their struggle for liberty. George Washington and one companion, Mr Gist, successftiUy made the trip, in the solitude of a severe winter, received assurance from the French commandant that they would by no means abandon their outposts, and would not yield unless compelled by force of arms. The commandant was exceedingly polite, but firm, and assured the young American that " we claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discovery of La Salle (in 1699) and will not give it up to the English. Our orders are to make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Ohio Valley."

During Washington's absence steps were taken to fortify the point formed by the junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany ; and when, on his return, he met seventeen horses loaded with materials and stores for a fort at the forks of the Ohio, and, soon after, some families going out to settle, he knew the defense had begun. As soon as Washington made his report, Grov. Dinwiddle wrote to the Board of Trade, stating that the French were building a fort at Venango, and that, in March, twelve or fifteen hundred men would be ready to descend the river with their Indian allies, for which purpose three hundred canoes had been collected ; and that Logstown was to be made headquarters, while forts were to be built in other places. He sent expresses to the Governors of Pennsylvania and New York, apprising them of the nature of affairs, and calling upon them for assistance. He also raised two companies, one of which was raised by Washington, the other by Trent. The one under Trent was to be raised on the frontiers, and was, as soon as possible, to repair to the Fork and erect there a fort, begun by the Ohio Company. Owing to various conflicting opinions between the Governor of Pennsylvania and his Assembly, and the conference with theSix Nations, held by New York, neither of those provinces put forth any vigorous measures until stirred to action by the invasions on the frontiers, and until directed by the Earl of Holderness, Secretary of State.

The fort at Venango was finished by the French in April, 1754. All along the creek resounded the clang of arms and the preparations for war. New York and Pennsylvania, though inactive, and debating whether the French really had invaded English territory or not, sent aid to the Old Dominion, now all alive to the conquest. The two companieshadbeen increased to six; Washington Was raised to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and made second under command of Joshua Fry. Ten cannon, lately from England, were forwarded from Alexandria ; wagons were got ready to carry westward provisions and stores through the heavy spring roads; and everywhere men were enlisting under the King's promise of two hundred thousand acres of land to those who would go. They were gathering along Will's Creek and far beyond, while Trent, who had come for more men and supplies, left a little band of forty-one men, working away in hutiger and want at the Fork, to which both nations were looking with anxious eyes. Though no enemy was near, and only a few Indian scouts were seen, keen eyes had observed the low fortifications at the Fork. Swift feet had borne the news of it up the valley, and though Ensign Ward, left in comman,d, felt himself secure, on the 17 th of April he saw a sight that made his heart sick. Sixty batteaux and three hundred canoes were coming down the Alleghany. The commandant sent him a summons, which evaded no words in its meaning. It was useless to contend, that evening he supped with his conqueror ; the next day he was bowed out by the polite Frenchman, and with his men and tools marched up the Monongahela. The first birds of spring were filling the air with their song ; the rivers rolled' by, swollen by April showers and melting snows ; all nature was putting on her robes of green ; and the fortress, which the English had so earnestly strived to obtain and fortify, was now in the hands of the French. Fort Du Quesne arose on the incomplete fortifications. The seven years' war that followed not only affected America, but spread to all quarters of the world. The war made England a great imperial power ; drove the French from Asia and America; dispelled the brilliant and extended scheme of Louis and his voluptuous empire.

The active field of operations was in the Canadas principally, and along the western borders of Pennsylvania. There were so few people ihen in the present confines of Ohio, that only the possession of the country, in common with all the West, could be the animus of the conflict. It so much concerned this part of the New World, that a brief resum6 of the war will be necessary to fully understand its history.

The fall of the post at the fork of the Ohio, Fort Du Quesne, gave the French control of the West. Washington went on with his few militia to retake the post. Though he was successful at first, he was in the end defeated, and surrendered, being allowed to return with all his munitions of war. The two governments, though trying to come to a peacefiil solution of the question, were getting ready for the conflict. France went steadily on, though at one time England gave, in a measure, her consent to allow the French to retain all the country west of the Alleghanies and gjputh of the lakes. Had this been done, what a different future would have been in America ! Other destinies were at work, however, and the plan fell stillborn.

England sent Gen. Braddock and a fine force of men, who marched directly toward the post on the Ohio. His ill-fated expedition resulted only in the total defeat of his army, and his own death.

Washington saved a remnant nf the army, and made his way back to the colonies. The English needed a leader. They next planned four campaigns; one against Fort Du Quesne; one against Crown Point; one against Niagara, and one against the French settlements in Nova Scotia. Nearly every one proved a failure. The English were defeated on sea and on land, all owing to the incapacity of Parliament, and the want of a suit^ able, vigorous leader. The settlements on the frontiers, now exposed to a cruel foe, prepared to defend themselves, and already the signs of a government of their own, able to defend itself, began to appear. They received aid from the colonies. Though the French were not repulsed, they and their red allies found they could not murder with impunity. Self-preservation was a stronger incentive in conflict than aggrandizement, and the cruelty of the Indians found avengers.

The great Pitt became Prime Minister June 29, 1757. The leader of the English now appeared. The British began to regain their losses on sea and land, and for them a brighter day was at hand. The key to the West must be retaken, and to G-en. Forbes was assigned the duty. Preceding him, a trusty man was sent to the Western Indians at' the head-waters of the Ohio, and along tte Monongahela and Alleghany, to see if some compromise with them could not be made, and their aid secured. The French had been busy through their traders inciting the Indians against the English. The lawless traders were another source of trouble. Caring nothing for either nation, they carried on a distressing traffic in direct violation of the laws, continually engendering ill-feeling among the natives. "Your traders," said one of them, "bring scarce anything but rum and flour. They bring little powder and lead, or other valuable goods. The rum ruins us. We beg you would prevent its coming in such quantities by regulating the traders. * * * These wicked whisky sellers, when they have got the Indians in liquor, make them sell the very clothes off their backs. If this practice be continued, we must be inevitably ruined. We mosteamestly, therefore, beseech ^^ou to remedy it." They complained of the French traders the same way. They were also beginning to see the animus of the whole conflict. Neither power cared as much for them as for theit land, and flattened and bullied by turns as served their purposes best.

The man selected to go upon this undertaking was Christian Frederic Post, a Moravian, who had lived among the Indians seventeen years, and married into one of their tribes. H(' \va«< a missionary, and though obliged to cross a C(,Lin ry whose every stream had been dyed by blood, and every hillside rung with the death-yell, and grown red with the light of burning huts, he went willingly on his way. Of his journey, sufibrings and doings, his own journal tells the story. He left Philadelphia on the 15th of July, 1758, and on the 7th of August safely passed the French post at Venango, went on to Big Beaver Creek, where he held a conference with the chiefs of the Indians gathered there. It was decided that a great conference should be held opposite Fort Du Quesne, where there were Indians of eight nations. "We will bear you in our bosoms," said the natives, when Post expressed a fear that that he might be delivered over to the French, and royally they fulfilled their promises. At the conference, it was made clear to Post that all the Western Indians were wavering in their allegiance to the French, owing largely to the failure of that nation to fiilfill their promises of aid to prevent them from being.deprived of their land by the Six Nations, and through that confederacy, by the English. The Indians complained bitterly, moreover, of the disposition of the whites in over-running and claiming their lands. "Why did you not fight your battles at home or on the sea, instead of coming into our country to fight them?" they asked again and again, and mournfully shook their heads when they thought of the future before them. " Your heart is good," said they to Post. " You speak sincerely; but We know there is always a great number who Y^ish to get rich ; they have enough ; look ! we do not want to be rich and take away what others have. The white people think we have no brains in our heads ; that they are big, and we are a handful ; but remember when you hunt for a rattlesnake, you cannot always find it, and perhaps it will turn and bite you before you see it."* When the war of Pontiac came, and all the West was desolated, this saying might have been justly remembered. After concluding a peace. Post set out for Philadelphia, and after incredible hardships, reached the settlement uninjured early in September. His mission had more to do than at first is apparent, in the success <of the English. Had it not been for him, a second Braddock's defeat might have befallen Forbes, now on his way to subjugate Fort Du Quesne.

reached Raystown, whither Washington had been ordered with his troops. Sickness had prevented him from being here already, . Two officers were sent out to reconnoiter the fort, who returned and gave a very good account of its condition. Gen. Forbes desired to know more of it, and sent out Maj . Grant, with 800 men, to gain more complete knowledge. Maj. Grant, supposing not more than 200 soldiers to be in the fort, marched near it and made a feint to draw them out, and engage them in battle. He was greatly misin.'()rmed as to the strength of the French, and in the engagement that followed he was badly beaten - 270 of his men killed, 42 wounded, and several, including himself, taken prisoners. The French, elated with their ' victory, attacked the main army, but were repulsed and obliged to retreat to the fort. The army continued on its march. On the 24th of November they reached Turtle Creek, where a council of war was held, and where Gen. Forbes, who had been so ill as to be carried on a litter from the start, declared, with a mighty oath, he would sleep that night in the fort, or in a worse place. The Indians had, however, carried the news to the French that the English were as plenty as the trees of the woods, and in their fright they set fire to the fort in the night and left up and down the Ohio River. The next morning the English, who had heard the explosion of the magazine, and seen the light of the burning walls, marched in and took peaceable possession. A small fortification was thrown up on the bank, and^ in honor of the great English statesman, it was called Fort Pitt. Col. Hugh Mercer was left in command, and the main body of the army marched back to the settlements. It reached Philadelphia January 17, 1759. On the 11th of March, Gen. Forbes died, and was buried in the chancel of Christ's Church, in that city.

Post was now sent on a mission to the Six Nations, with a report of the treaty of Easton. He was again instrumental in preventing a coalition of the Indians and the French. Indeed, to this obscure Moravian missionary belongs, in a large measure, the honor of the capture of Fort Du Quesne, for by his influence had the Indians been restrained from attacking the army on its march.

The garrison, on leaving the fort, went up and down the Ohio, part to Presque Isle by land, part to Fort Venango, while some of them went on down the Ohio nearly to the Mississippi, and there, in what is now Massac County, 111., erected a fort, called by them Fort Massac. It was afterward named by many Fort Massacr6, from the erroneous

The French, though deprived of tjie key to the West, went on preparing stores and ammunition, expecting to retake the fort in the spring'. Before they could do this, however, other places demanded their attention.

The success of the campaign of 1758 opened the way for the consummation of the gfeat scheme of Pitt - the complete reduction of Canada. Three expeditions were planned, by which Canada, already well nigh annihilated and sufiiering for food, was to be subjugated. On the west, Prideaux was to attack Niagara ; in the center, Amherst was to advance on Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; on the east, Wolfe was to besiege Quebec. All these points gained, the three armies were to be united in the center of the province,

Amherst appeared before Ticonderoga July 22. The French blew up their works, and retired to Crown Point, Driven from there, they retreated to Isle Aux Nois and entrenched themselves. The lateness of the season prevented further action, and Amherst went into winter quarters at Crown Point. Early in June, Wolfe appeared before Quebec with an army of 8,000 men. On the night of September 12, he silently asceiided the river, climbed 1;he heights of Abraham, a spot considered impregnable by the French, and on the summit formed his army of 5,000 men. Montcalm, the French commander, was compelled to give battle. The British columns, flushed with success, charged his half-formed lines, and dispersed them,

"They fly! they fly!" heard Wolfe, just as he expired from the efiect of a mortal wound, though not till he had -6rdered their retreat cut ofi', and exclaimed, "Now, God be praised, I die happy." Montcalm, on hearing from the surgeon that death would come in a few hours, said, " I am glad of it. I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." At five the next morning he died happy.

Prideaux moved up Lake Ontario, and on the 6th of July invested Niagara. Its capture would 'cut off the French from the west, arid every endeavor was made to hold it. Troops, destined to take the small garrison at Fort Pitt, were held to assist in raising the siege of Niagara. M. de Aubry, commandant inTEllinois, came up with 400 men and 200,000 pounds of flour. Cut ofi' by the abandonment of Fort Du Quesne from the Ohio route, he ascended that river as far as the Wabash, thence to portage of Fort Miami, or Fort Wayne, down the Maumee to Lake Erie, and on to Presquville, or Presque Isle, over the portage to Le Boeuf, and thence down French Creek to Port Venango. He was chosen to lead the expedition for the relief of Niagara. They were pursued by Sir William Johnson, successor to Prideaux, who had lost his life by the bursting of a cannon, and were obliged to flee. The next day Niagara, out off from succor, surrendered.

All America rang with exultation. Towns were bright with illuminations ; the hillsides shone with bonfires. From press, from pulpit, from platform, and from speakers' desks, went up one glad song of rejoicing. England was victorious everywhere. The colonies had done their full share, and now learned their strength. That strength was needed now, for ere long a different conflict raged on the soil of America - a conflict ending in the birth of a new nation.

The English sent Gen. Stanwix to fortify Fort Pitt, still looked upon as one of the principal fortresses in the West. He erected a good fortification there, which remained under British control fifteen years. Now nothing of the fort is left. No memorial of the British possession remains in the West but a single rgdoubt, built in 1764 by Col. Bouquet, outside of the fort. Even this can hardly nbw be said to exist.

The fall of Quebec did not immediately produce the submission of Canada. M. de Levi, on whom the command devolved, retired with the French Army to Montreal. In the spring of 1760, he besieged Quebec, but the arrival of an English fleet caused him to again retreat to Montreal.

Amhferst ,and Johnson, meanwhile, effected a. union of their forces, the magnitude of whose armies convinced the French that resistance would be useless, and on the 8th of September, M. de Vaudreuil, the Governor of Canada-, surrendered Montreal, Quebec, Detroit, Mackinaw and all other posts in Canada, to the English commander-inchief, Amherst, on condition that the French inhabitants should, during the war, be "protected in the full and free exercise of their religion, and the full enjoyment of their civil rights, leaving their future destinies to be decided by the treaty of peace."

Though peace was concluded in the New World, on the continent the Powers experienced some difficulty in arriving at a satisfactory settlement. It was finally settled by what is known in history as the "family compact." France and Spain saw in the conquest the growing power of England, and saw, also, that its' continuance only extended that power. Negotiations were re-opened, and on the 3d of November, 1762, preliminaries were agreed to and signed, and afterward ratified in Paris, in February, 1763. By the terms of the compact, Spain ceded to Great Britian East and West Florida. To compensate Spain, France ceded to her by a secret article, all Louisiana west of the Mississippi.

The French and Indian war was now over. Canada and all its dependencies were now in possession of the English, who held undisputed sway over the entire West as far as Mississippi. It only remained for them to take possession of the outposts. Major Robert Rogers was sent to take possession of Detroit and establish a garrison there. He was a partisan officer on the borders of New Hampshire, where he earned a name for bravery, but afterward tarnished it by treasonable acts. On his way to Detroit, on the 7th of November, 1760, he was met by the renowned chief, Pontiac, who authoritatively commanded him to pause and explain his acts. Rogers replied by explaining the conquest of Canada, and that he was acting under orders from his King. Through the influence of Pontiac, the army was saved from the Indians sent out by the French, and was allowed to proceed on its way. Pontiac had assured his protection as long as the English treated him with due deference. Beletre, the commandant at Detroit, refused to surrender to the English commander, until he had received positive assurance from his Governor, Vaudreuil, that the country was indeed conqueifed. On the 29th of September, the colors of France gave way to the ensign of Great Britain amid the shouts of the soldiery and the astonishment of the Indians, whose savage natures could not understand how such a simple act declared one nation victors of another, and who wondered at the forbearance displayed. The lateness of the season prevented further operations, but early tjie next spring, Mackinaw, Green Bay, Ste. Marie, St. Joseph and the Ouitenon surrounded, and nothing was left but the Ilhnois towns. These were secured as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made.

Though the English were now masters of the West, and had, while many of these events narrated were transpiring, extended their settlements beyond the Alleghanies, they were by no means secure in their possession. The woods and prairies were full of Indians, who, finding the English like the French, caring more for gain than the welfare of the natives, began to exhibit impatience and resentment as they saw their lands gradually taken from them. The English policy differed very materially from the French. The French made the Indian, in a measure, independent and taught him a desire for European goods. They also affiliated easily with them, and became thereby strongly endeared to the savage. The French were a merry, easy-going race, fond of gayety and delighting in adventure. The English were harsh, stern, and made no advances to gain the friendship of the savage. They wanted land to cultivate and drove away the Indian's game, and forced him farther west. "Where shall we go?" said the Indian, despondently; "you drive us farther and farther west; by and by you will want all the land." And the Anglo-Saxon went sturdily on, paying no heed to the complaints. The French traders incited the Indian to resent the encroachment. " The English will annihilate you and take all your land," said they. " Their father, the King of France, had been asleep, now he had awakened and was coming with a great army to reclaim Canada, that had been stolen from him while he slept." Discontent under such circumstances was but natural. Soon all the tribes, from the mountains to the Mississippi, were united in a plot. It was discovered in 1761, and arrested.. The next summer, another was detected and arrested. The officers, and all the people, failed to realize the danger. The rattlesnake, though not found, was 'ready to strike. It is only an Indian discontent, thought the people, and they went on preparing to occupy the country. They were mistaken - ^the crisis only needed a leader to direct it. That leader appeared.