nor relief for the fick. A vaft unhofpitable defart, unsafe and treacherous, furrounds them, where victories are not decifive, but defeats are ruinous; and fimple death is the leaft misfortune, which can happen to them. This forms a fervice truly critical, in which all the firmness of the body and the mind is put to the fevereft trial; and all the exertions of courage and addrefs are called out. If the actions of these rude campaigns are of lefs dignity, the ad

ventures in them are more interesting to the heart, and more amufing to the imagination, than the events of a regular war.

But to return to the party of English, whom we left in the woods. At the firft dawn of light the favages began to declare themfelves, all about the camp, at the distance of about 500 yards; and by fhouting and yelling in the moft horrid manner, quite round that extenfive circumference, endeavoured to ftrike terror by an oftentation of their numbers, and their ferocity.

ones.

After this alarming preparative, they attacked our forces, and, under the favour of an inceffant fire, made feveral bold efforts to penetrate into the camp. They were repulfed in every attempt, but by no means difcouraged from new Our troops, continually victorious, were continually in danThey were befides extremely fatigued with a long march, and with the equally long action, of the preceding day; and they were diftreffed to the laft degree by total want of water, much more intolerable than the enemy's fire.

ger.

Tied to their convoy, they could not lofe fight of it for a moment,

without expofing, not only that interefting object, but their wounded men, to fall a prey to the favages, who preffed them on every fide. To move was impracticable. Many of the horfes were loft, and many of the drivers, ftupefied by their fears, hid themselves in the bushes, and were incapable of hearing or obeying orders.

Their fituation became extreme'ly critical and perplexing, having experienced that the most lively efforts made no impreffion upon an enemy, who always gave way when preffed; but who, the mo ment the purfuit was over, returned with as much alacrity as ever to the attack. Befieged rather than engaged; attacked without interruption, and without decifion; able neither to advance nor to retreat, they faw before them the moft melancholy profpect of crumbling away by degrees, and entirely perifhing without revenge or honour, in the midst of those dreadful defarts. The fate of Braddock was every moment before their eyes; but they were more ably conducted.

The commander was fenfible that every thing depended upon bringing the favages to a clofe engagement, and to land their ground when attacked. Their audacioufnefs, which had increaled with their fuccess, seemed favourable to this defign. He endeavoured, therefore, to increase their confidence as much as poffible.

For that purpose he contrived the following ftratagem. Our troops were posted on an eminence, and formed a circle round their convoy from the preceding night, which order they still retained. Colonel

Bouquet

Bouquet gave directions, that two companies of his troops who had been posted in the moft advanced fituations, fhould fall within the circle; the troops on the right and left immediately opened their files, and filled up the vacant space, that they might feem to cover their retreat. Another company of light infantry, with one of grenadiers, were ordered to fupport the two firft companies, who moved on the feigned retreat, and were intended to begin the real attack. The difpofitions were well made, and the plan executed without the leaft confufion.

The favages gave entirely into the fnare. The thin line of troops, which took poffeffion of the ground which the two companies of light foot had left, being brought in nearer to the center of the circle, the barbarians miftook thofe motions for a retreat, abandoned the woods which covered them, hur ried headlong on, and advancing with the moft daring intrepidity, galled the English troops with their heavy fire. But at the very moment, when certain of fuccefs, they thought themselves mafters of the camp, the two firft companies made a fudden turn, and fallying out from a part of the hill, which could not be observed, fell furioufly upon their right flank.

The favages, though they found themfelves difappointed and expofed, preferved their recollection, and refolutely returned the fire which they had received. Then it was the fuperiority of combined frength and difcipline appeared, On the fecond charge they could no longer fuftain the irrefiftible fhock of the regular troops, who rufhing upon them, killed many and put the rest to flight.

At the inftant when the favages betook themselves to flight, the other two companies, which had been ordered to fupport the first, had placed themselves juft in their front, and gave them their full fire. This accomplished their defeat. The four companies, now united, did not give them time to look behind them, but purfued the enemy, till they were totally dif perfed.

The other bodies of the favages attempted nothing. They were kept in awe during the engagement by the reft of the British troops, who were fo pofted as to be ready to fall on them upon the leaft motion. Having been witneffes to the defeat of their companions, without any effort to fupport or affift them, they at length followed their example, and fled.

But

This judicious and fuccefsful manoeuvre refcued the party from the moft imminent danger. The victory fecured the field, and cleared all the adjacent woods. fill the march was fo difficult, and the army had fuffered fo much, and fo many horfes were loft, that before they were able to proceed they were reluctantly obliged to deftroy almoft their whole convoy of provifions, and confequently to give up one of the principal objects of their expedition. Being lightened by this facrifice, they proceeded about two miles further, and encamped in a place called Bushy Run. After fuch fatigues on their part, and after the fevere correction they had given the favages in the preceding action, it was natural that they fhould expect to enjoy fome reft. But they had hardly fixed their

their camp, when the favages were in ambuscade about them, and gave them another fire. Nothing could be more mortifying. However, the enemy did not perfevere in this new attack; and, except from a few scattered shot, our troops fuffered no moleftation on the road, but arrived safe at Fort Pitt, in four days from the action.

By this reinforcement that important poft was fecured, probably during the campaign. The enemy was weakened and difheartened by the loss of above fixty men which they had loft in the late engagements, befides a number that were wounded in the purfuit. This was reputed by the favages a confiderable lofs. Befides fome of their braveft captains, and thofe who had moft diftinguished themfelves by their animofity to the Englith, fell upon this occafion; and in them no mean part of the fuel of the war was confumed. The colonel who commanded, and all the officers, gained great honour by their firmnefs and prefence of mind, and the dexterity of their movemen's during the two encounters, and on the whole march. In these engagements we had fifty men killed. The wounded amounted to about fixty.

The Indians, thus checked by the timely reinforcements which were thrown into Detroit and Fort Pitt, were not difcouraged from further attempts. Niagara was a place equally worthy of their regard, and they endeavoured to diftrefs it by every method, which the meanness of their skill in attacking fortified places would permit. They chiefly directed their attention to the convoys. They hoped

tember.

On the

to starve what they could not otherwife reduce. The vaft distance of these forts from each other, and of all of them from the fettled countries, favoured their defign. For which reason they carefully watched the convoys both by land and water. Near the carrying place of Niagara, they furrounded an escort, with very fuperior numbers, flew upwards of feventy of our fol- 14th of Sepdiers, and destroyed the whole detachment. Lake Erie, with a croud of canoes, they attacked a schooner, which conveyed provifions to the fort of Detroit; but here they were not fo fuccessful. Though in this favage navy they had employed near 400 men, and had but a fingle veffel to engage, they were repulfed, after an hot engagement, with confiderable lofs. This veffel was to them as a fortification on the water; and they could not ́ make their attacks with fo much advantage as upon the convoys by land.

Upon the whole of this war, fo far as it has hitherto proceeded, we cannot help obferving, that the Indians feem to be animated with a more dark and daring fpirit than at any former time. They feem to have concerted their meafures with ability, and to have chofen the times and places of their feveral attacks with kill; to have behaved themfelves in those attacks with firmness, and refolution; to have fucceeded on fome occafions, and to have had no decifive lofs in any.

Although this confideration is fufficient to thew that it is not reafonable to despise, and by no means

prudent

prudent to provoke the Indians; yet we have, I conceive, no very great ground to be apprehenfive, concerning the final event of this war. As the enemy has not been able to prevent our throwing fuccours into the places we poffefs in their country, they can never take them by any other means; and without taking them, it is impoffible that any fuccefs they may obtain in the field can be decifive, the fituation of thefe places is fo well adapted to diftrefs their frontiers, and interrupt their communications. Befides, Sir William Johnson has been indefatigable in his negotiations with the Indians of the Six Nations, and will probably be fuccefsful. If he can fucceed, even fo far as to prevail on them to continue in their neutrality, we muft derive great advantage from his endeavours. The whole weight of the war will then lie on the Ohio Indians and their confederates; and undoubtedly they will not be able to bear it. The want of arms and ammunition, the fupply of which can never be fo certain in time of war; the interruption from hunting, (their hunters and warriors being generally the fame, and not only a great part of their food, but their cloathing and their aims, entirely depending on this refource) and our power

an

of deftroying their little harvest, if we exert ourselves properly; all these circumftances will never suffer this war to be of any continuance. The great point will be to prevent its breaking out again. For this purpose plans of rigour never can have a good effect, nor can they ever be adopted by either humane or a politic people. Habits of ill treatment to the Indians, muft incite them to a frequent renewal of hoftilities. This will keep alive at once their military and their favage fpirit. They will always be enemies, and barbarous enemies. Their extirpation will never be so certain a confequence of these wars, as, the retardment of the growth and profperity of our colonies, which must be the inevitable result of them. Whereas by kind and gentle treatment, the Indians will forget the ufe of arms, which they will no longer be forced to have recourse to; their ferocity will be foftened; their favage way of life will be altered; their wants will be increafed; and our people mixing with them, firft by commerce, and (when the prudence of government fhall think it advifeable) by fettlement, they will gradually affimilate to the English, and, at length, add ufefully to the number of thofe, whom it 'is now their fole study to destroy.

IN

N clofing our last year's account of the internal ftate of Great

Britain, we obferved that the political diffentions, which first arose

on

on the refignation of Mr. Pitt, and which became more violent on that of the duke of N. fhewed, at that time, no kind of healing fymptom. During the continuance of the feffion, the party in oppofition endeavoured, by eyery poffible means, to harrafs, fince it was evident, that for the prefent at least, they could not eafily fubvert the adminiftration. The oppofition, which was made in both houfes to any approbation of the peace, had been much more warm than effective, though it was a topic upon which, of all others, it was expected that they would chufe to difplay their utmoft ftrength. They, however, appeared extremely weak upon it, and many perfons did then imagine, that no ferious defign was entertained by any body of people, of branding with difgrace a fyftem, upon which it was abfolutely neceffary that the nation fhould repofe itself for a long time, to which, therefore, it was proper the people fhould reconcile their minds, and which had a general merit fufficient to difpofe them to acquiefce in the conditions of it. The fpirit of the party was not, whatever their intentions might have been, exhausted in this attempt. They lay in wait to fall upon the administration in the most critical time, and to wound them in the most effential part, the fupplies. Several circumftances favoured their defign. The bufinefs of impofitions is, in itself, unpopular; minds difcontented and fertile can very readily and very plaufibly forebode almoft any ill confequence from an untried tax; and there is scarce a public burthen, which will not, with fome appearance, be traced, in fpeculation, to the ruin of fome branch of manuVOL. VI.

facture, or commerce. Befides, though taxes were full as neceffary. at the conclufion, as during the continuance of the war, that neceffity was not, to every perfon, fo glaringly evident; nor were they, by any means, fo palatable, as when victory and plunder feemed to pay, in glory and profit, for every article of national expence. The advantages of the peace, though far more certain and folid, were lefs fudden and lefs brilliant.

In thefe difpofitions 'the people were ready to fall into very ill humours, upon any plan of fupply which could be fuggefted. The adminiftration was very fenfible of this; and, therefore, determined to lay as few new taxes as the public fervice could poffibly admit. They were, perhaps, the more inclined to this referve in opening new refources, in order to fhew that the nation was not very abundant in them; and thereby to give an additional proof of the neceffity of the peace, and of the merit of thofe, who had made fo good an one in fuch exhaufted circumftances. Perhaps, too, in pursuing this method there was a defign of throwing a tacit reflection upon the expenfive manner in which the war had been carried on. After such a war, and oppreffed by fo heavy a debt, a miniftry could not with to ground its reputation upon a more folid bafis than that of a real national œconomy.

In pursuance of this plan the fupplies were to be raised: first, by taking 2,000,0col. out of the finking fund; fecondly, by ftriking 1,800,000l. in exchequer bills thirdly, by borrowing 2,800,000l. on annuities; and laftly, by two lotteries, for 350,000l. each, [D]

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