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GEORGIA “GAZETTE.
mu urn 1 n ms 1■ ■ . _
Number 28.
AMERICA.
New-York, Augurt 15. •
iuofy of a letter from a gentleman at fort <V £t re: t, (situate about
ohj third of C; way in the river Lai leads from the <weji end
of Lie E it to lake Huron, in the Tiinghfebruntit country )
dated July gib, 1763; being a more particular account
a fans t Lit Live happened at that place before and after tie
‘Uuejlge by fb% Indians, than any yet pubhjhcd, vix.
S 1 R * ‘A
the 2d of May, Sir Robert Davers,
Capt. Robin son set out from hence
L barge, * n order to found the
q rclwinnel from this place to lake Huron,
|p&y| - t 0 ict >{ was possible to get one of the
veifeli into that lake; they requefled of
‘ X^ C t 0 * et g°*l° n g with
t^em fee the lake, that as he was a
young man, he would have a gotf opportunity of making
uJct'ufremarks along with then.! to which I readily con
sented, and looked upm him being very happy m such
good company; but alas he has been so unhappy as to fall
into the hands of the lavages, as you will fee by his letter
to me of 18th May* which you have here inclofed : I wrote
to a Frenchman of my acquaintance in the country, to .
endeavour to purchale him from the Indians, for which
purpose I conveyed to him privately, ami gave him orders
to receive alio from my corrcfpondcnts in the
goods to the amount of eighty pounds; he accordingly
jnade the purchase of him from his mailer, who is a Sotaau,
or Sagan an Indian, who would not part with him but on
condition, that the Frenchman Ihould not fuffer him, to
come into the fort before the liege was over, which I agreed
to, rather than fuffer him to remain in their hands, as they,
are committing the molt cruel and horrid barbarities every*
day, in murdering their prisoners in the molt barbarous
manner they can invent: He was but one day.and night
inthepofl'cflionof the Frenchman, before Pondiac (an
tawa, commander in chief of all the nations engaged, inr
the war) sent a band of fifty Indians, and took him away
by forte; faying, * That no nation Ihould have liberty to
fell their prisoners before the war was over/ He is re
turned fincc to his former malter the Saganan Indnn, who
still uses him very k-ndly, and took him yesterday to Ice
the Frenchman he had fold him to, And promised nun, that
he would not fuller him by any means to be killed, tor he
loved him as his own child.
May the 7th, The Ottawas, and fome of the Chippawas,
to the number of 300 men, came to the fort, and held a
treaty with Major Gladwin, who had information the
evening before, that the Indians were determined to fait
upon and murder the officers in council, while they ve.e to
have parties at the different merchants houses to treat thein
in the fame manner, and then make themfelvcs mailers 01
the garrison, by rulhing into the guard-house, barrack:,
fee. and seizing the arms: The Major would not refu <
them admittance, that they might fee he was not afraid of
them, but took proper precaution neverthelefr, to nave the
whole garrison under arms: The merchants Ihut up all their
houses, and aflembled, with all their servants, at nine, ..
well armed. The Indians entered about ten o clock, and
made their dispositions according to the prooofed plan.
Pondiac (as we are informed since) had in his pouch a
certain belt of wampum, which he was to have produced
as a signal to begin the malTacre; but he, naturally a, co*w
ard, feeing the garrison under arms, dared not to produce
it, feigning furt rizc at our being under arms, and pietendod
ignorance of the caufc: the council ended, they retired seem
ingly much difconccrtcd, and encamped on the fartlicr h v
T H R S D A TANARUS„;, ‘October i 3 1763,
* *
of the river: The young warriors reproached Pondiac for
not producing the lignaT, faying, ‘ That they could have
earned it with the Tpfs of only a few men/ to which he
anfwercd, * He did not imagine they would be contented
* to lose any men, but, if they W willing, they Ihould
* !i? Ve j * opportunity to llnke, whether the garrifoa
1 mould be under arms or not ;* to which they all a ,iecd:
In confequcnce of which, Pondiac, with fome others of
the chiefs, came the next day, being fun day, to fmcak the
pipe of pcaec with Che Major, who despised them so much,
because of their treachery, that he would not go nigh them*
but told Capt. Campbell, if he had a mind he migiit speak
with thein; on which Capt. Campbell went, and fmoaked
with thdin, when Pondiac told him, * He would come the
* next day and hold a conference with the Major; and to
’ wipe away all caufc of suspicion, he would bring all his
* old and young men to take him by the hand in a friendly
4 manner:* After repeating fevcral pieces of such duff, ha
withdrew with his gang to his camp; next morning about
eight o’clock we counted 64. canoes, all full of Indiam*,
eroding the river above the fort. Soon after they landed,
a few of them came to the fort, and demanded permilGou
for the whole to be admitted into council, which the Major
abfdlutely refufed, telling them that it was not bccaufe he
was afraid of them, for he had already given them a fuftU
cient instance of the contrary, but it was not curtoraary to
admit so many into council; however they might faring 40
or 50 of their chief), which he looked upon* as a- futfiuenc
number for that purpose; they immediately rctiicd to the
others, who were lying all round the fort, at the dillanco
of about 200 yards, to whom, when they had communi
cated what the Major had (aid unto them, they all got up
and fled off, yelping like as many devils; they inltarttly
fell upon Mrs. Turnbull (an Engtifli woman, to whom
Major Gladwin had given a final I plantation abiut a mile
from the fort)- and murdered and fcalpjed her and her tw<*
foos; from thence they went to flogs Island, about a.leaguo
un the river from the fort, and there murdered James Filher
and his wife, also four soldiers who were with them, and
carried off his children and servant maid prisoners; the
fame evening, being the 9th, had an account by a french
man, of the defeat of Sir Rcbrrt Davers, and Captain
Robertson.
The 10th in the morning, they attacked the fort very
resolutely; there continued a very hot fire on both fide*
until the evening, when they ceaftd firing, having had fe
vcral killed and wounded; they ported thcmlHve* behind
the garden fences and houses in the suburbs, and fome barns
and out-houses that were on the fide of the fort next the
woods, to which wc immediately set fire by red hot spikes,
ice. from the cannon, which dirti dged them.
Wednesday the 1 ith, fome of the French advised to try
to come to terras of peace with the Indians, which was
thought advisable, as we had then but three weeks provision
for the garrison, at a pound of bread and two ounces of
pork a man per day ; they went accordingly and acquainted
the Indians ofwhut'thcv had advised to; in conlequ ncc,crt
which, five of the Indians came to the fort, and demaadf.,l
that two of our olliccrs Ihould go out and hold a treaty with
them in their camp, and that Captaiiv Campbell ihould
one of them, to which he readily agreed, and the mote ft;,
as the French who had advised to the *ccoininod*ing of
matters, told him thete was no rifle in going out, that they
would go along with him; that they would anlwer life for
life, bvidy for bedv, that he Ihould return fnfc inw tfic.fjri,;
the Major did not'feem to like the feheme, for which rcufop
he would not order him out, but told him if he had a mind
to go, that he might, though he did not imagine it woul.l
be of any great fcrvice, oniy to ttmu;e them wmlrt hr ntU.ht