reft, and by giving too early an alarm afforded an opportunity to part of our people to efcape with their effects, Great numbers were, nevertheless, cut off, the crops ruined, and their houses burned with all that detail of favage cruelty, with which an Indian war is always carried on, and which it is always difgufting to relate.

On this incurfion, all the frontier country of Penfylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, was immediately deferted for twenty miles inwards, and thousands of hopeful fettlements, the labour of years, at once abandoned. All the itinerant merchants, who, on the fecurity of the general peace, traded in the Indian country, were murdered, and their effects, it is faid, to the value of fome hundred thousand pounds, plundered. All the great trading towns in America felt this blow.

What was of greater military importance, the forts, which the French had built to the fouthward of Lake Erie in very advantageous fituations, were taken. These were, Le Boeuf, Venango, and Prefqu'ifle. Though thefe forts were not in themselves very confiderable, the heads of all the navigable rivers, which run to the fouthward, are, in a good measure, commanded by them, and they alone preferved a communication between the places which we poffefied above the lakes, and our principal poft of Fort Pitt to the fouthward.

In making themfelves mafters of thefe forts, weak as they were, the Indians were obliged to make ufe of ftratagem. Whenever they attacked any of them, they perfuaded the garrifon that they had cut off

all the others; they intimidated. them with the number of Indians, which they faid were approaching; and upon a promife of fafety, which they commonly violated, perfuaded them to abandon their quarters. By fimilar artifices they fecured fome other forts, and particularly that of Michillimakinac, the remoteft of all our posts, and, as I take it, the only one which we poffeffed towards Lake Superior; that of St. Mary's having been confumed by an accidental fire. After their fuccefs in thefe inftances, there ftill remained three posts of confiderable ftrength, and important for their fituation, which it was neceffary that they fhould fubdue before they could expect any permanent advantage. These were Detroit, between the Lakes Huron and Erie; Niagara, between the Lakes Erie and Ontario; and Fort Pitt, which checked them on the Ohio. The Indians were fenfible, that but a few links of their chain were broken, whilst these fortreffes remained; and therefore, against them they reiterated all their attempts of force and policy.

Our commander in chief, fenfible of the danger to which all our new conquefts were expofed, by the fudden breaking out of this very alarming war, fent out detachments as early as poffible to ftrengthen thofe important forts. The detachment fent to Detroit, where it had been much wanting, arrived on the 29th of July. The officer who commanded this party, captain Dalyell, having received fome intelligence, upon which he thought he had reafon to depend, concerning the fituation of the Indian army which lay near that fort, perfuaded the commander that those

favages

favages might be easily furprised in their camp, and driven for ever from the fettlement.

An immediate attack was therefore determined upon the Indians, whofe quarters were about three miles from the fort. Capt.Dalyell commanded about 270 men in this attempt. They fet out between two and three in the morning with all the precautions poffible for fecrecy, for order in their march, and (whatis of no small weight in all campaigns in America) for preventing their wounded foldiers from falling into the hands of an inhuman enemy.

They were not far from the Indian camp, before unexpectedly they received a smart fire in their front. Inftantly after, it was renewed upon their rear. They were attacked upon all fides, and their commander fell early in the action. The darkness of the night hindered their feeing the enemy, and the whole party was on the point of falling into an irremediable confufion. The Indians had been early apprifed of their defign; had lined all their hedges, pofted themfelves in fome houfes, well fituated for diftrefling the English in their march, and had taken very proper measures, which they purfued with avery proper fpirit. Instead of furprifing the Indians, our troops were themselves furprifed, furrounded, and in the most imminent danger of a total defeat.

In this emergency, the fecond in command, captain Grant, faw that nothing left but aretreat. But in order to make this retreat with fuccefs, it was neceffary to make a live y attack upon the ene my's pofts. This was done with order and refolution. The Indians were driven from the roads, and at

length repulfed every where. The English extricated themselves from this difagreeable affair, and got back to the fort with a lofs of only feventy men killed, and about forty men wounded.

Such an engagement in an European war would be confidered as a fkirmish fcarce worthy of relation; but in America a great deal is often determined by fuch actions. We have fcarcely any other kind of engagements with favages. Neither their manner of fighting, nor the fcanty population of their country, will permit the Indians to bring large bodies into the field.

The ill fuccefs of this attempt checked all further offenfive operations on our fide. On the fide of the Indians, no attempts were made to take the fort, in confequence of the advantage they had obtained. Their unfitnefs for a fiege, the ftrength of the garrifon exceeding three hundred men, and the vigilance which their expofed fituation, and the artifices of the enemy had taught our people, had rendered fuch a defign in them altogether defperate.

The theatre of this Indian war is of an immenfe extent; yet the favages, though of fo many different nations, and disjointed by fuch immenfe tracts of impracticable country, preferved an uncommon degree of concert and connection in their operations. At the fame time that they attempted Detroit, at more than two hundredmiles diftance, they invefted Fort Pitt. It was originally called Du Quefne; and the reader will recollect that the building of this fort coft the French the greatest part of North America, as it gave the immediate occafion to the late war. The do

Eminion of the whole courfe of the Ohio depended upon it. It stands at the juncture of that great river with another called Monongahela, For fo much as regards fituation, Fort Pitt may be confidered as a place of fome ftrength. But the works had never been well finished, and they had suffered confiderably by an inundation from the rivers which cover it.

In this condition the Indians furrounded the fort, and cut off all communication from it, even by meffage. These barbarians had no cannon, and were ignorant of the method of attack by trenches, and the ufual forms of a regular approach. But they fupplied, in fome measure, their want of skill, by their incredible boldness and perfeverance. They hoped to reduce the garrifon by keeping it perpetually harraffed. If they failed in this method, they trusted to make themselves mafters of the place by famine. Regardlefs of danger, and with a refolution which would have done honour to any troops, they took poft under the banks of the rivers, close to the fort, and burying themfelves in holes for days together, they poured in an inceffant ftorm of mufquetry and fire-arrows.

Captain Ecuyer, who commanded there, though weak in men, without engines, and ill fupplied with every neceffary for fuftaining a fiege, took all the precautions which art and judgment could fuggeft for the repair of the place, and repulfing the enemy. His

men feconded his efforts with refolation. There was no trifling with the danger, when they were attacked by an enemy, whom it was fo difficult to refift, and, at the fame time, fo terrible to submit to,

General Amherst, in providing for the fafety of the remote garrifons, did not forget Fort Pitt. He knew that this place muft neceffarily be a principal object of the Indians. Its fituation fpoke its danger; and no exprefs from thence having been received for a long time, that danger appeared to be preffing. Without delay, therefore, he sent to its relief a large quantity of military ftores and provifions, protected by a powerful escort under the command of colonel Bouquet.

The colonel, when he had advanced to the remotest verge of our fettlements, could receive no fort of intelligence of the pofition or motions of the enemy. This is often a very embarraffing circumnance in the conduct of an Ame

rican campaign. The Indians had better intelligence; and no fooner were they informed of the march of the English reinforcement, than they broke up the fiege of Fort Pitt, and took the route which they knew our army was to march, refolving to take the first advan tageous opportunity of attacking them. In fo much uncertainty, colonel Bouquet determined very prudently to difengage himself of all the ammunition and provifion, except what he judged to be abfolutely neceffary. Being thus difburdened, the English army entered a rough and mountainous country. Before them lay a dangerous defile, called Turtle Creek, feveral miles in length, commanded the whole way by high and craggy hills. This defile, after refreshing the troops, they prepared to pafs in the night, and thereby elude, if poffible, the vigilance of fo alert

an enemy.

While

While the English troops were making the neceffary arrangements, about one in the after5th. of noon, after an harraffing Auguft. march of feventeen miles, and juft as they were preparing to relax from their fatigue, they were fuddenly attacked by the Indians on their advanced guard; which being speedily and firmly fupported, the enemy was beat off, and even pursued to a confiderable diftance. But the flight of these barbarians must often be confidered as a part of the engagement, (if we may ufe the expreffion) rather than a dereliction of the field. The moment the purfuit ended, they returned with renewed vigour to the attack. Several other parties, who had been in ambush in fome high grounds which lay along the flanks of the army, now started up at once, and falling with a refolution equal to that of their companions, galled our troops with a moft obftinate fire.

It was neceflary to make a general charge with the whole line to diflodge them from these heights. This charge fuccceded; but ftill the fuccefs produced no decifive advantage; for as foon as the favages were driven from one poft, they conftantly appeared on another, till by confcant reinforcements they were at length able to furround the whole detachment, and attack the convoy which had been left in

the rear!

haviour of the English troops, who were not thrown into the least confufion by the very difcouraging nature of this fervice, in the end prevailed; they repulfed the enemy, and drove them from all their pofts with fixed bayonets.

The engagement ended only with the day, having continued from one, without any intermiffion.

The ground, on which the action ended, was not altogether inconvenient for an encampment. The convoy and the wounded were in the middle, and the troops, difpofed in a circle, encompafled the whole. In this manner, and with little repofe, they passed an anxious night, obliged to the ftrictest vigilance by an enterprizing enemy who had furrounded them.

Those who have only experienced the severities and dangers of a campaign in Europe, can scarcely form an idea of what is to be done and endured in an American war. To act in a country cultivated and inhabited, where roads are made, magazines are established, and hofpitals provided; where there are good towns to retreat to in case of misfortune; or, at the worst, a generous enemy to yield to, from whom no confolation, but the honour of victory, can be wanting; this may be confidered as the exercise of a spirited and adventurous mind, rather than a rigid conteft where all is at ftake, and mutual deftruction the object: and as a

nor