Stark County, Ohio - Chapter 3 (1 of 2 so headed), 1881

Possession

AS has been noted, the French title rested on the di-scoveries of their missionaries and traders, ujiou the occupation of the country, and upon the construction of the treaties of Ry.swick, Utrecht and Aix la Chapelle. The Engli.sh claims to the same regiou were based on the fact of a jirior occupation of the correspondinj; coast, on an oj)posite construction of the .same treaties, and an alleiced 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 disrcg-arded by all European powers. The inquiry of an Indian 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 discovc'rics 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 itrovince of Carolina, by the Spaniards called Florida, and by the French called La Louisiane, a.s also the great and famous river Mescluicebe, or ilississippi, the five vast navigable lakes of fresh water, and the parts adjacent, together with an account of the commodities of the grpwth and pniduition of the said jirovince." The title of this wiirk exhibits very clearly the opinions of the Eniilish people respecting the West. As early as Idijd, 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 al'terward taken. This immense grant was conveyed in 1U38, 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 1()54 to 16(J4, explored .several branches of the Ohio and "Meschaccbe," as they spell the Mis.sissippi. 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 lliTti. Tliese, and others, arc 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 J<>nglish adventurers. Also, when Iberville was colonizing the lower part of Louisiana, these same persons vLsited the Chickasaws and stirred thcTii up against the French. It is also stated that La Salli' I'oiiikI that some one had been among the Natclicz tribes when he returned from the discovery of the outlet of the Mississippi, and excited them against him. There is, however, no good authority for the.sc statements, and they arc doubtless incorrect. There is also an account that in KJTS, several persons went from New England as far south as New Mexico, " one hundred and fifty leagues beyond the Mcschacebe," 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 '-F^nglish Turn." about 1701 1. 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 ftilly abandoned. Its revival dates from 1710 properly, though no immediate endeavor was made i'or many years after. That year, Alexander Spottswood was made Governor of Virginia. No sooner did he assume the functions of ruler, than, c;isting his eye over his dominion, lie saw the great West beyond the Alleghany Mountains unoccupied by the English, and rapidly filling with the French, who he olaserved 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 defeasive. Through his representation, the Virginia Assembly was induced to make an appropriation to defray the expense of an 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 rcturni'il to Williamsburg. There the Governor estaiilishrd the order of the '-Knights of the Golden llnrseshoe," presented his report to the Colonial As.sembly 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 Government, engrossed with other matters, neglected his advice. Forty years after, they rfiLicuibcred it, only to regret that it was so thoi 1 -1 1 1 1 . 'ssly 1 1 isregarded.

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 Guv. Sjiottswood. In 1748, Conrad Weiser, a German of J lercnljerg, who had acqviired in early life a knowledge of the JMohawk tongue by a residence among them, was sent ou an embassy to the Shawanees on the Ohio. He went as for as Log'.stown,a Shawanee village on the north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles beh.iw the site of Pittsburgh. Here he met the chiefs in counsel, and secured tlieir 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 any 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 conquerors of nearly all tribes from Lower Canada, to and beyond the Mississippi. They only exacted, however, a tribute from the conquered tribes, leaving them to manage their own internal affairs, and stiimlaliiig that to them alone did the right of cession lielong. Their 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 IMiami 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 IGSO, and caused wide-spread alarm among all the Western Indians. In ltiS4, 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 them- -selves 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 172G, 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 Jlajesty. to and for the use of the grantors and their heirs."*

If the Six Nations had a good claim to the Western 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 contested 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 IMaryland. The In- dians wore given goods and gold amounting to near a tluju.sand pounds sterling. They \vt>re also promised the protection of the English. Had this latter provision been faithfully carried out, much blood would have been saved in after yeai-s. The treaties with the 8ix Nations were the real basis of the claims of Great Britain to the We.st; claims that were only settled by war. The Shawanee Indians, on the Ohio, were also becoming hostile to the Engli.sh, and began to assume a threatening e.xterior. Peter Churtier, a half-breed, residing in Philadelphia, escaped Irom the authorities, tho.se by whom he was held ibr a violation of the laws, and joining the Shawanees, persuaded them to join the French. Soon after, in 174:5 or 17-14, he placed himself at the head of -100 of their warriors, and lay in wait on the Alleghany lliver for the provincial traders. He captured two, exhibited to them a captain's commission from the French, and seized their goods, worth .£1,()()(). 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 I'jnglish to be made in the West. The visit of Conrad ^Veiser'was successful, and Thomas Leo, with twelve other Mrginians, among whom were Lawrence and .\ugustine Washington, brothers of (Jeorge Washington, formed a company which they .styled the Ohio Company, and, in 1748, petitioned the King for a grant beyond the mountains. The raonarth ajiproved the petition and the government of A'irginia wa.s ordered to grant tlie Company r)0(),()()ll acres within the bounds of that colony beyond tlie Alleghanies, 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 Company accepted, and sent at once to Limdon for a cargo suitable for the Imlian trade. This was the beginning of Fnglisli Com])anies in the West; this one forming a prominent part in the history of Ohio, as will be seen hereafter. Others were also formed in Virginia, wh<ise object was the colonization of the West. One of those, the lioyal 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 20th of October, 1751. the Greenbriar Company received a grant of 100,000 acres.

To the.se encroachments, the French wen; by no moans blind. They saw plainly enough that if the English gained a foothold in the West, 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 conse(|uencos that would surely come, should the English succeed in their plans. The towns of the French in Illinois were producing large amounts of bread-stuffs and provisions which they sent to New Orleans. These provinces were becoming valualile, and must not be allowed to come under control of a rival power. In 1740, Louis Celeron was sent by the Governor with a party of soldiers to plant leaden plates, suitably inscribed, along the ()hio at the mouths of the principal streams. Two of these plates were afh^rward exhumed. One was .sent to the Maryland Historical Society, and the inscription* deciphered by De ^Vltt Clinton. On these plates was clearly stated the claims of France, as will be seen from the translation below.

F]ngland's claim, briefly and cloarlj' stated, read as follows: "That all lands, or countries westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea, between 48 and i54 degrees of North Latitu<lo, were expressly included in the grant of King James the First, to divers of his subjects, .so long time since as the year 1606, and aflerwards 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 Ma.ssachusetts Bay and Connecticut, were by their respective charters, made to extend to the said South Sea, so that not only the right to the sea coast, but to all the Inland countries from sea to sea, has at all times been asserted by the Crown of England."!

To make good their titles, both nations were now doing their utmost. Profe.s.sedly at peace, it only needed a torch ajiplied, as it were, to any point, to instantly precipitate hostilities. The French were to o.stal>liRli tranquillity in certain I i' , , i l - in these Cantons, have buried this plate at the cniitlii n .,i i]i Toraclakoin, this twenty-ninth of July, near the liivir ubio, oiherwiso 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 lioth sides, as far as the sonrcenof snid rivers; inasmuch as the preceding Kings of France have enjoyed it, and maintained it by thnir arms and by treaties; especially by those of Byswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle."

bu.'^ily fiiiragcd 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 establish and fortify their interests, and to conciliate the Indian tribes. The English, through the Ohio Company, sent out Christopher Gist in the fall of 175(1, to explore the regions west of the mountains. He was instructed 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 qualitied than he for such an undertaking. He visited Logstown, where he was jealously received, passed over to the Sluskingum River and Valley in Ohio, where he found a village of Wyandots, divided in sentiment. At this village he met Crogan, another e(jually 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 JMiami Valley, which they crossed, remarking in Crogan's journal of its great fertility. They made a rafl of logs on which they crossed the Great Miaini, visited Piqua, the chief town of the Pickawillanies, and here made treaties with the Weas and Piankeshaws. While here, a (k'liutation of the Ottawas visited the Jliami Confetleracy to induce them to unite with the French. They were repulsed through the influence of the English agents, the Jliamis sending Gist word that they would " stand like the mountains. " Crogan now returned and published an account of their wanderings. Gist followed the JMiami to its mouth, passed down the Oliio 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 JMingoes, 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 ^'irgiiiia. His journc}' was marvelous for the day. It was extremely hazardous, as he was part of the time among hostile tribes, who could have captured him and been well rewarded by the French Government. But Gist knew liow to act, and was successful.

While Gist wiis 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 actiim. The fort orstockade stood on the banks of Loriunii;'s Creek, abinit sixteen miles northwest of the present city of Sydney. It received the name Loramie from tlie 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 tlie Spanish country west of the Mississijipi, 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 Lorsmiie's Creek, and erecteil their trading-place, they gave it the name of I'ickawillany, 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 IMontour, who was an important factor af\;erwurd in the EnglLsh treaties with the Indians, wa.s with them, and by his influence did much to aid in securing tlie privilege. Thus was establLshed the first English trading-post in the Northwest Territory and in Ohio. It, however, enjoyed only a short duration. The French could not endui'c .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 refused, 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 fi-om Pennsylvania, as that commonwealth made the Miamis presents as condolence for their warriors that were slain.

Histoky Of Ohio

nations became more deeply interested in affairs in the West. The Enirlish were determined to secure additional title to the West, and, in 1752, sent Messre. Fry, Lomax and Patton as commissioners to Logstown to treat with the Indians, and confirm the Lancaster treat}'. 'J'hey met the Inilians on the Uth 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 linglish, as the French had already made war on the Twigtees ( at Pickawillany), and con.sented to the establishment of a fort and trading-post at the forks of the Ohio. Tiiis was not all tho Virginians wanted, however, and taking a.side Andrew Jlontour, now chief of the Six Nations, persuaded him to use his influence with the red men. By such means, they jvere induced to treat, and on the loth they all united in signing a deed, confirming the Lancaster treaty in its full extent, consenting to a.settlement.s()Uthwest of the Ohio, and covenanting that it .'ihonld not be disturbed by them. By such means was obtained the treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valle}'.

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 henee, in afler 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 (jist's residence west of Laurel Hill, not far from the Youghiogheny. Goods had come from ]M)gland for the Ohio Company, which were carried as far West a.s Will's Creek, where Cumberland now stimds ; and where the}' were taken by the Indians and traders.

On the other hand, the Frenih were gathering canncm and stores on Lake Eric, and, without treaties or deeds of land, were gaining the good will of the inimical tribes, and jireparing, when all was ready, to strike the blow. Their f'ortilicutions 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 eonimandini: that .section of country. These forts, it will be observed, were all in the limits of the Pennsylvania colony. The Governor informed the Assembly of their existence, who voted £(jl}0 to be used in purchasing ])rescuts for the Indians near the forts, and thereby hold their l'riend.ship. Virginia, also, took similar nieasures. Trent was sent, with guns and ammunition and presents, to the friendly tribes, and, while on his mission, learned of the platfts of lead planted by the French. In October, 1753, a treaty w;is eonsumiuated with representatives of the Iro(|Uois, Delawarcs, Shawanees, Twigtwees and Wyandots, by commissioners from Pennsylvania, one of whom was the philosopher Franklin. At the conferences held at this time, the Indians com])lained of the actions of the French in forcibly taking posscs-sion of the disputed country, and al.so bitterly denounced them for u.sing 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 fornothing but to gain the furs of the savage at as little expense as po.ssible.

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 iiK.losc the Engli.sh 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. .Dinwiddie determined to send an ambassador to the French posts, to ascertain their real intentions and to observe the amount and disposition of their forces. He.selected a young \'irginian, then in bis twenty-fii-st year, a surveyor by trade and one well qualified for the duty. That young man at^terward led the Ameiican Colonies in their .struggle for liberty. George Washington and one coiiqianion, Mr Gist, successfully made the trip, in the solitude of a severe winter, received a.ssurance from the French commandant that they would by no means abandon their outposts, and would not yield nnless coni- ])elled by force of arms. The commandant was exceedingly ])olite, but firm, and assured the young American that '- we claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the di.seovery of La Salle (in ItJOO) and will not give it up to the Engli.sh. Our orders are to make prisoners of every Englishman found tradimr in the Ohio \'allev. "

During Washington's absence steps were taken to fortify the point formed by the junction of the Monougahela and Alleghany ; and when, ou 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, ho knew the defense had begun. As soon as AV'ashington made his report. Gov. Diuwiddic wrote to the Board of Trade, stating that the French were building a tort at Venango, and that, in JIarch, 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 Pennsjdvania 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 the Six Nations, held by New York, neither of those provinces put forth any vigorous measiires until stirred to action by the invasions on the fi-ontiers, 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 arras 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; Washingtun was raised to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and made second under command of Joshua Fry. Ten cannon, lately from England, were forwarded fnmi 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 hunger 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 command, 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 Jlonongahela. 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' wai- 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; di.spclled 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 then in the present confines of Ohio, that only the pos.session 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 resume 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 AVest. Washington went on with his few militia to retake the post. Though he was successftil 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 peaceful solution of the question, were getting ready for the conflict. France went steadily on, thougli at one time England gave, in a measure, her consent to allow the French to retain all the country west of the Alleglianies and south of the lakes. Had this been done, what a diflerent 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 (_)hio. His ill-fated expedition resulted only in the total defeat of his army, and his own death.

Washington saved a romiiant of the army, and made his way back to the colonies. Tlie Kn- <rlish needed a leader. They next planned lour (-:ii)ipaii.'ii-;; one against Fort Du Quesne; one i-iiii-i Crown Point; one against Niagara, and oil.' auaiii>t the French settlements in Nova Scotia. Neiuly every one proved a failure. The English were defeated (m sea and on laud, all owing to the incapacity of Parliament, and the want of a suitable, vigorous hiader. 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 colonics. Though the French were not n^pulsed, tlioy and their red allies i'ound 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 i^itt 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 wa.s at hand. The key to the West mu.st be retaken, and to Gen. Forbes wa.s a.ssigned the duty. Preceding him, a trusty man was .sent to the Western Indians at the head-waters of the Ohio, and along the Monongahela and Alleghany, to sec if some compromise with them could not be made, and their aid secured. The French had been busy through their ti-aders inciting the Indians against the English. The lawless traders were another source of trouble. Caring nothing for either nation, they carried on a dLstr&ssing 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 ])revent its coming in such quantities by regulating the traders. * * * These wicked whiskj- sellers, when they have got the Indians in li((uor, make them sell the very clothes off their backs. If this practice be continued, we must be inevitably ruined. We mostcarnestly. therefore, beseech you to remedy it." They comjilained of the Frc^neh trad(!rs the same way. The\' were also beginning to see the animus of the whole conflict. Neither power cared as much for them as for their land, and flattered and bullied jjy turns as served their purpcjses 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. He was ami.ssionary, and though obliged to cross a couiiiiy 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, sufferings and doings, his own journal tells the story. lie left Philadelphia on the 1.5th of July, 1758, and on the 7th of August safely passed the French postal 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 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 fulfill their promises of aid to prevent them from btnug 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 ivsked again and again, and mournfully shook their heads when they thought of the future before them. " I'oiir heart is good," said they to Po.st. " Von speak sincerely ; but we know there is always a great number who wish to get rich ; they have enough ; look ! we do not want to be rich and t:ike away what others have. The white peojjle 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 hard.ships, reached the settlement uninjured early in September. His mission had more to do than at first is apparent, in the success of the Engli.sh. Had it not been for him, a second Braddock's defeat might have befiiUen Forbes, now on his way to subjugate Fort Du Quesne.

reached Raystown, whitlier Wasliiniiteu liaj been ordered with his troops. Sickness liad jirevented him from being here ah'eady. Two officers were sent out to reeonnoiter 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 -DO soldiers to bo in the fort, marched near it and made a feint to draw them out, and engage them in battle. He was greatly misinl'ormed as to the strength of the Frencli, and in the engagement that followed he was badly beaten - 270 of his men killed, 42 wounded, and several, including himself, taken prisoners. Tlie 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 liad 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 lliver. The next mcirning 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 Piiiladelphia January 17, 1759. On the 11th of 3Iarch, 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 ti-eaty of Easton. He was again instrumental in preventing a coalition of the Indians and the French. Indeed, to this obscure Jloravian missionary belongs, in a largo measure, the lionor 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 A'enango, 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 Port Massac. It was afterward named by many Fort Massacre, from the erroneous

The French, though dejirived of the 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 great scheme of Pitt - the complete reduction of Canada. Three expeditions were planned, by which Canada, already well nigh annihilated and suflering for food, was to be subjugated. C)n tlie 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 Aus Nois and entrenched themselves. The lateness of the season prevented further action, and Amherst went into winter quarters at Crown Point. Early in Juno, Wolfe appeared before Quebec with an army of 8,000 men. On the night of September 12, he silently ascended the river, climbed the heights of Abraliam, 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 effect of a mortal wound, though not till he had ordered their retreat cut off', 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, and 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 in Illinois, came up with 400 men and 200,000 pounds of flour. Cut oft' by the abandonment of Fort Du Quesne front the Ohio route, he ascended that river as far as the Wabash, thence to portage of Fort Miami, or Fort Wayne, down the Maunioe to Lake Eric, and on to Presquville, or Presque Isle, over the portage to Le Boeuf, and thence down French Creek to Fort Venango. He was chosen to lead the expedition for the relief of Niagara. Thej' 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, cut 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 everj-where. The colonics had done their fiiU share, and now learned their strength. That strength was needed now, ibr 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 passessicm remains in the West but a single redoubt, built in 1764 by Col. Bouquet, outside of the fort. Even this can hardly now be said to exist.

The fall of Quebec did not immediately produce the submi.ssion of Canada. M. de Levi, on whom the command devolved, retired with the French Army to Jlontreal. In the spring of 17t!0, he bosieged Queb(!c, but the arrival of an English fleet caused him to again retreat to Montreal.

Amherst 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 experieiuM'd some diflieulty in arriving at a satisfactory sittlcincnt. It was finally .settled bj' what is known in historjas 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 hold undisputed sway over the entire West as far as Jlississippi. It only remaineil for them to take po.ssession of the outposts. Major Robert Rogers was sent to take po.ssession of Detroit and establish a garrison tliere. lie was a partisan officer on the borders of New Hampshire, where he earned a name for braver}', but afterward tarnished it by trea.sonable acts. On his way to Detroit, on the 7th of November, 1760, he Wits 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. Thrt>ugh the influence of Pontiac, the army was saved from the Indians sent out by the French, and was allowed to proceed on its wa}'. Pontiac had iissured 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 aissurance from his Governor, Vaudreuil, that the country was indeed conquered. 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? disjilayed. The lateness of the season prevented i'nrther operations, but early the next spring, Mackinaw. Green Bay, Ste. Marie, St. Jo.seph and the t)uitenon surrounded, and nothing was left but the Illinois towns. These were secured as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made.

Thougli the English were now masters of the We.st, and had, while many of these events naiv rated 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 laud." 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 dii'ect it. That leader appeared.