have forgotten the customs and traditions of your forefathers. Why do you not clothe yourselves in skins, as they did, and use the bows and arrows, and the stone-pointed lances which they used? You have bought guns, knives, kettles and blankets from the white men, until you can no longer do without them; and what is worse, you have drunk the poison fire-water which turns you into fools. Fling all these things away; live as your wise forefathers lived before you. And as for these English these dogs dressed in red who have come to rob you of your hunting grounds, and drive away the game-you must lift the hatchet against them. Wipe them from the face of the earth, and then you will win my favor back again, and once more be happy and prosperous. The children of your great father, the King of France, are not like the English. Never forget that they are your brethren. They are very dear to me, for they love the red men, and understand the true mode of worshiping me.'

"The Great Spirit then instructed the Delaware in matters of religion, and bade him return to the earth and tell all that he had seen and heard."

Such was the legend with which Pontiac closed his great war speech. All present listened to him with great interest, and at its close each warrior was eager to attack the British fort. But the Ottawa chief counseled them to desist for the present. He wished to establish order and method at the beginning, so as to insure success to their arms. He told them that on the second of the following month he would gain admittance to the fort at Detroit, with a party of his warriors, on pretence of dancing the calumet dance before the garrison; that they would observe the strength of the place, and summon another council immediately afterwards.

On the day appointed Pontiac, with about forty Ottawa warriors, appeared at the gate of the fort and asked admittance for the purpose of dancing the calumet before the garrison. At first Gladwyn refused, but, after considerable hesitation, he gave his consent, and the Indians were admitted. They immediately began the celebrated dance, and were soon surrounded by the soldiers who were highly amused with their perform

ances. During the dance, some ten of the Indians who took no part in it, walked leisurely through the fort, observing everything it contained. At the conclusion of the dance, all withdrew peaceably.

A few days after, a council was held in the Pottawatomie village. Here there had been erected a large bark structure for the purpose of public meetings, and in this more than a hundred warriors seated themselves, and began to pass the time-honored pipe from hand to hand. Pontiac soon appeared in their midst. He addressed himself to the assembled chiefs, urging them to take up arms against the English, and closed by submitting the following plan for the reduction of Detroit: "He would demand a council with the commandant concerning matters of great importance, and on this pretext he flattered himself that he and his principal chiefs would gain ready admittance within the fort. They were all to carry weapons concealed beneath their blankets. While in the act of addressing the commandant in the council room, Pontiac was to make a certain sign, upon which the chiefs were to raise the warwhoop, rush upon the officers present, and strike them down. The other Indians waiting meanwhile at the gate, or loitering among the houses, on hearing the yells and firing within the building, were to assail the astonished and half-armed soldiers, and thus Detroit would fall an easy prey." The plan was eagerly adopted.

CHAPTER V.

A GLIMPSE AT FORT DETROIT IN 1763- THE CONSPIRACY- THE TREACHERY OF PONTIAC-HIS PLOT REVEALED-THE SAVAGES BAFFLED-MURDER OF ENGLISH SETTLERS-THE SIEGE COMMENCED THE ASSAULT GLADWYN OFFERS PEACE PONTIAC REFUSES DEPARTURE OF MAJOR CAMPBELL TO THE OTTAWA CAMP HIS WARNING.

AT THIS point I will interrupt the narrative, and look in, for a moment, upon the little trading post of Detroit. This post, originally called Fort Pontchartrain, was established by La Matte Cadillac, in 1701. It continued to be a French trading post of considerable importance until its transfer to the English, when, according to Maj. Rogers, it contained about twentyfive hundred inhabitants. The dwellings in the settlement extended for some distance up and down the western bank of the river. In the centre stood the little fort, containing about one hundred houses, and surrounded by a palisade. The settlement, at this time, extended for nearly ten miles along the river, and presented quite a tidy and comfortable appearance. Each dwelling had its orchard and garden, and both were enclosed together by a palisade of rounded pickets. Near the fort were three large Indian villages. The Pottawatomies were located a little below the fort on the same side of the river, and nearly opposite, on what is now termed the "Canada side," were the lodges of the Wyandots, and on the same side, at a considerable distance up the river was the home of Pontiac and his brave warriors.

At the time of which I write, 1763, this post was garrisoned by British regulars and Provincial rangers. Its form was almost square, and the palisade which surrounded it was about twenty-five feet high. A block-house was erected over each

gateway. Besides the barracks, the only public buildings were a council house and a little church. The garrison consisted of about one hundred and twenty soldiers, with, perhaps, half as many fur-traders. Two small armed schooners, the Beaver and the Gladwyn, lay anchored in the stream, and several light pieces of artillery were mounted in the bastions. Such was Detroit in the spring of 1763, when Pontiac and his wild warriors formed a plot for its reduction.

"On the afternoon of the 5th of May," says Parkman, "a Canadian woman crossed over to the western side and visited the Ottawa village to obtain from the Indians a supply of maple sugar and venison. She was surprised at finding several of the warriors engaged in filing off the muzzles of their guns, so as to reduce them, stock and all, to the length of about one yard." This woman reported what she had seen to the settlers who, in turn, communicated the information to Major Gladwyn, but he took no notice of it.

But according to tradition, the commandant received information of the design of Pontiac in another way. In the Pottawatomie village dwelt an Ojibwa girl, called Catherine, who was very beautiful. She had attracted Gladwyn's attention, and he had become very intimate with her. On the afternoon of the sixth of May, she came to the fort, and visited Gladwyn's quarters, bringing with her a pair of slippers which he had requested her to make. She manifested something unusual in her manner, and Gladwyn pressed her to tell him the cause of it, and, after great reluctance, she unveiled the terrible conspiracy. "To-morrow," she said, "Pontiac will come to the fort with sixty of his chiefs. Each will be armed with a gun, cut short, and hidden under his blanket. Pontiac will demand to hold a council, and after he has delivered his speech, he will offer a peace belt of wampum, holding it in a reversed position. This will be the sign of attack. The chiefs will spring up and fire upon the officers, and the Indians in the street will fall upon the garrison. Every Englishman will be killed, but not the scalp of a single Frenchman will be taken."

Whether this tradition be true or false, it is evident that the British commandant received secret information on the evening

of the sixth of May, that an attempt would be made on the seventh to capture the fort and slaughter the garrison. He summoned the officers to his room and told them what he had heard. The garrison was immediately ordered under arms, and all the officers prepared to spend the night upon the ramparts. During the whole night an anxious watch was maintained, but nothing disturbed the quiet of the little fort save the wild Indian yells, as they were borne on the night wind from the distant Ottawa camp-fires.

At an earlier hour than usual on the following morning, the open space west of the fort was thronged with savages. They had, to all appearances, assembled for a general game of ball. Warriors, men, women and children, adorned with all the gaudy finery of paint, beads and feathers, moved restlessly to and fro, while the principal chiefs and warriors passed through the open gates into the fort. Presently the garrison observed a number of canoes crossing the river from the eastern shore. These contained the great Ottawa leader and his sixty braves, although to the eyes of the soldiers only three persons were visible in each. They had' concealed themselves by lying flat in the bottom of the canoes, so as not to attract attention.

The garrison now prepared itself for the emergency. At ten o'clock, Pontiac and his chiefs reached the fort, and thronged the gateway with their painted forms. They were admitted, for Gladwyn had resolved to teach them that he despised their hostility. As they entered, ranks of armed soldiers greeted them on either side, and everywhere they could read the total ruin of their plot. As the warriors passed along the narrow street towards the council house, the measured tap of of the drum indicated that all was ready within the fort to receive them. Reaching the council house they found Major Gladwyn and his officers awaiting their arrival. Here, too, Pontiac found every one armed. After much reluctance, the warriors seated themselves, and their leader demanded to know why so many persons were standing in the street with their guns. The commandant replied that he had ordered the soldiers under arms for the purpose of exercise and discipline.

After the usual delay, Pontiac rose, and, holding in his hand