XI.
1763.
Treachery of Pontiac.
The Morning of the Council.—Pontiac enters the Port.—Address and Courage of the Commandant.—The Plot defeated.—The Chiefs suffered to escape.—Indian Idea of Honor.—Pontiac again visits the Fort.—False Alarm.—Pontiac throws off the Mask.—Ferocity of his Warriors.—The Ottawas cross the River.—Fate of Davers and Robertson.—General Attack.—A Truce.—Major Campbell’s Embassy.—He is made Prisoner by Pontiac. 169
CHAPTER XII.
1763.
Pontiac at the Siege of Detroit.
The Christian Wyandots join Pontiac.—Peril of the Garrison.—Indian Courage—The English threatened with Famine.—Pontiac’s Council with the French.—His Speech.—He exacts Provision from the French.—He appoints Commissaries.—He issues Promissory Notes.—His Acuteness and Sagacity.—His Authority over his Followers.—His Magnanimity. 183
CHAPTER XIII.
1763.
Rout of Cuyler’s Detachment.—Fate of the Forest Garrisons.
Re-enforcement sent to Detroit.—Attack on the Schooner.—Relief at Hand.—Disappointment of the Garrison.—Escape of Prisoners.—Cuyler’s Defeat.—Indian Debauch.—Fate of the Captives.—Capture of Fort Sandusky.—Strength of the Besiegers.—Capture of Fort St. Joseph.—Capture of Fort Michillimackinac.—Capture of Fort Ouatanon.—Capture of Fort Miami.—Defence of Fort Presqu’ Isle.—Its Capture. 195
CHAPTER XIV.
1763.
The Indians continue to blockade Detroit.
Attack on the Armed Vessel.—News of the Treaty of Paris.—Pontiac summons the Garrison.—Council at the Ottawa Camp.—Disappointment of Pontiac.—He is joined by the Coureurs de Bois.—Sortie of the Garrison.—Death of Major Campbell.—Attack on Pontiac’s Camp.—Fire Rafts.—The Wyandots and Pottawattamies beg for Peace. 214
CHAPTER XV.
1763.
The Fight of Bloody Bridge.
Dalzell’s Detachment.—Dalzell reaches Detroit.—Stratagem of the Wyandots.—Night Attack on Pontiac’s Camp.—Indian Ambuscade.—Retreat of the English.—Terror of Dalzell’s Troops.—Death of Dalzell.—Defence of Campau’s House.—Grant conducts the Retreat.—Exultation of the Indians.—Defence of the Schooner Gladwyn. 226
CHAPTER XVI.
1763.
Michillimackinac.
The Voyager on the Lakes.—Michillimackinac in 1763.—Green Bay and Ste. Marie.—The Northern Wilderness.—Tribes of the Lakes.—Adventures of a Trader.—Speech of Minavavana.—Arrival of English Troops.—Disposition of the Indians.—The Ojibwa War-chief.—Ambassador from Pontiac.—Sinister Designs of the Ojibwas.—Warnings of Danger.—Wawatam.—Eve of the Massacre. 238
CHAPTER XVII.
1763.
The Massacre.
The King’s Birthday.—Heedlessness of the Garrison.—Indian Ball-play.—The Stratagem.—Slaughter of the Soldiers.—Escape of Alexander Henry.—His appalling Situation.—His Hiding-place discovered.—Survivors of the Massacre.—Plan of retaking the Fort.—Adventures of Henry.—Unexpected Behavior of the Ottawas.—They take Possession of the Fort.—Their Council with the Ojibwas.—Henry and his Fellow-prisoners.—He is rescued by Wawatam.—Cannibalism.—Panic among the Conquerors.—They retire to Mackinaw.—The Island of Mackinaw.—Indian Carouse.—Famine among the Indians.—They disperse to their Wintering Grounds.—Green Bay. The neighboring Tribes.—Gorell. His Address and Prudence.—He conciliates the Indians.—He abandons Green Bay.—The English driven from the Upper Lakes. 249
Chapter I. INTRODUCTORY.—INDIAN TRIBES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
The Indian is a true child of the forest and the desert. The wastes and solitudes of nature are his congenial home. His haughty mind is imbued with the spirit of the wilderness, and the light of civilization falls on him with a blighting power. His unruly pride and untamed freedom are in harmony with the lonely mountains, cataracts, and rivers among which he dwells; and primitive America, with her savage scenery and savage men, opens to the imagination a boundless world, unmatched in wild sublimity.
The Indians east of the Mississippi may be divided into several great families, each distinguished by a radical peculiarity of language. In their moral and intellectual, their social and political state, these various families exhibit strong shades of distinction; but, before pointing them out, I shall indicate a few prominent characteristics, which, faintly or distinctly, mark the whole in common.
All are alike a race of hunters, sustaining life wholly, or in part, by the fruits of the chase. Each family is split into tribes; and these tribes, by the exigencies of the hunter life, are again divided into sub-tribes, bands, or villages, often scattered far asunder, over a wide extent of wilderness. Unhappily for the strength and harmony of the Indian race, each tribe is prone to regard itself, not as the member of a great whole, but as a sovereign and independent nation, often arrogating to itself an importance superior to all the rest of mankind;[1] and the warrior whose petty horde might muster a few scores of half-starved fighting men, strikes his hand upon his heart, and exclaims, in all the pride of patriotism, “I am a Menomone.”
In an Indian community, each man is his own master. He abhors restraint, and owns no other authority than his own capricious will; and yet this wild notion of liberty is not inconsistent with certain gradations of rank and influence. Each tribe has its sachem, or civil chief, whose office is in a manner hereditary, and, among many, though by no means among all tribes, descends in the female line; so that the brother of the incumbent, or the son of his sister, and not his own son, is the rightful successor to his dignities.[2] If, however, in the opinion of the old men and subordinate chiefs, the heir should be disqualified for the exercise of the office by cowardice, incapacity, or any defect of character, they do not scruple to discard him, and elect another in his place, usually fixing their choice on one of his relatives. The office of the sachem is no enviable one. He has neither laws to administer nor power to enforce his commands. His counsellors are the inferior chiefs and principal men of the tribe; and he never sets himself in opposition to the popular will, which is the sovereign power of these savage democracies. His province is to advise, and not to dictate; but, should he be a man of energy, talent, and address, and especially should
