THE INDIANS RAISE THE SIEGE OF DETROIT.
I return to the long-forgotten garrison1 of Detroit, which was left still beleaguered2 by an increasing multitude of savages3, and disheartened by the defeat of Captain Dalzell’s detachment. The schooner4, so boldly defended by her crew against a force of more than twenty times their number, brought to the fort a much-needed supply of provisions. It was not, however, adequate to the wants of the garrison; and the whole were put upon the shortest possible allowance.
It was now the end of September. The Indians, with unexampled pertinacity5, had pressed the siege since the beginning of May; but at length their constancy began to fail. The tidings had reached them that Major Wilkins, with a strong force, was on his way to Detroit. They feared the consequences of an attack, especially as their ammunition6 was almost exhausted7; and, by this time, most of them were inclined to sue for peace, as the easiest mode of gaining safety for themselves, and at the same time lulling8 the English into security.[346] They thought that by this means they might retire unmolested to their wintering grounds, and renew the war with good hope of success in the spring.
Accordingly, on the twelfth of October, Wapocomoguth, great chief of the Mississaugas, a branch of the Ojibwas, living within the present limits of Upper Canada, came to the fort with a pipe of peace. He began his speech to Major Gladwyn, with the glaring falsehood that he and his people had always been friends of the English. They were now, he added, anxious to conclude a formal treaty of lasting10 peace and amity11. He next declared that he had been sent as deputy by the Pottawattamies, Ojibwas, and Wyandots, who had instructed him to say that they sincerely repented12 of their bad conduct, asked forgiveness, and humbly13 begged for peace. Gladwyn perfectly14 understood the hollowness of these professions, but352 the circumstances in which he was placed made it expedient15 to listen to their overtures16. His garrison was threatened with famine, and it was impossible to procure17 provisions while completely surrounded by hostile Indians. He therefore replied, that, though he was not empowered to grant peace, he would still consent to a truce18. The Mississauga deputy left the fort with this reply, and Gladwyn immediately took advantage of this lull9 in the storm to collect provisions among the Canadians; an attempt in which he succeeded so well that the fort was soon furnished with a tolerable supply for the winter.
The Ottawas alone, animated19 by Pontiac, had refused to ask for peace, and still persisted in a course of petty hostilities20. They fired at intervals21 on the English foraging22 parties, until, on the thirty-first of October, an unexpected blow was given to the hopes of their great chief. French messengers came to Detroit with a letter from M. Neyon, commandant of Fort Chartres, the principal post in the Illinois country. This letter was one of those which, on demand of General Amherst, Neyon, with a very bad grace, had sent to the different Indian tribes. It assured Pontiac that he could expect no assistance from the French; that they and the English were now at peace, and regarded each other as brothers; and that the Indians had better abandon hostilities which could lead to no good result.[347] The emotions of Pontiac at receiving this message may be conceived. His long-cherished hopes of assistance from the French were swept away at once, and he saw himself and his people thrown back upon their own slender resources. His cause was lost. At least, there was no present hope for him but in dissimulation23. True to his Indian nature, he would put on a mask of peace, and bide24 his time. On the day after the arrival of the message from Neyon, Gladwyn wrote as follows to Amherst: “This moment I received a message from Pondiac, telling me that he should send to all the nations concerned in the war to bury the hatchet26; and he hopes your Excellency will forget what has passed.”[348]
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Having soothed27 the English commander with these hollow overtures, Pontiac withdrew with some of his chiefs to the Maumee, to stir up the Indians in that quarter, and renew the war in the spring.
About the middle of November, not many days after Pontiac’s departure, two friendly Wyandot Indians from the ancient settlement at Lorette, near Quebec, crossed the river, and asked admittance into the fort. One of them then unslung his powder-horn, and, taking out a false bottom, disclosed a closely folded letter, which he gave to Major Gladwyn. The letter was from Major Wilkins, and contained the disastrous28 news that the detachment under his command had been overtaken by a storm, that many of the boats had been wrecked29, that seventy men had perished, that all the stores and ammunition had been destroyed, and the detachment forced to return to Niagara. This intelligence had an effect upon the garrison which rendered the prospect30 of the cold and cheerless winter yet more dreary31 and forlorn.
The summer had long since drawn32 to a close, and the verdant33 landscape around Detroit had undergone an ominous34 transformation35. Touched by the first October frosts, the forest354 glowed like a bed of tulips; and, all along the river bank, the painted foliage36, brightened by the autumnal sun, reflected its mingled37 colors upon the dark water below. The western wind was fraught38 with life and exhilaration; and in the clear, sharp air, the form of the fish-hawk, sailing over the distant headland, seemed almost within range of the sportsman’s gun.
A week or two elapsed, and then succeeded that gentler season which bears among us the name of the Indian summer; when a light haze39 rests upon the morning landscape, and the many-colored woods seem wrapped in the thin drapery of a veil; when the air is mild and calm as that of early June, and at evening the sun goes down amid a warm, voluptuous40 beauty, that may well outrival the softest tints41 of Italy. But through all the still and breathless afternoon the leaves have fallen fast in the woods, like flakes42 of snow; and every thing betokens43 that the last melancholy44 change is at hand. And, in truth, on the morrow the sky is overspread with cold and stormy clouds; and a raw, piercing wind blows angrily from the north-east. The shivering sentinel quickens his step along the rampart, and the half-naked Indian folds his tattered45 blanket close around him. The shrivelled leaves are blown from the trees, and soon the gusts46 are whistling and howling amid gray, naked twigs47 and mossy branches. Here and there, indeed, the beech-tree, as the wind sweeps among its rigid48 boughs49, shakes its pale assemblage of crisp and rustling50 leaves. The pines and firs, with their rough tops of dark evergreen51, bend and moan in the wind; and the crow caws sullenly53, as, struggling against the gusts, he flaps his black wings above the denuded54 woods.
The vicinity of Detroit was now almost abandoned by its besiegers, who had scattered55 among the forests to seek sustenance56 through the winter for themselves and their families. Unlike the buffalo-hunting tribes of the western plains, they could not at this season remain together in large bodies. The comparative scarcity57 of game forced them to separate into small bands, or even into single families. Some steered58 their canoes far northward59, across Lake Huron; while others turned westward60, and struck into the great wilderness61 of Michigan. Wandering among forests, bleak62, cheerless, and choked with snow, now famishing with want, now cloyed355 with repletion63, they passed the dull, cold winter. The chase yielded their only subsistence; and the slender lodges64, borne on the backs of the squaws, were their only shelter. Encamped at intervals by the margin65 of some frozen lake, surrounded by all that is most stern and dreary in the aspects of nature, they were subjected to every hardship, and endured all with stubborn stoicism. Sometimes, during the frosty night, they were gathered in groups about the flickering66 lodge-fire, listening to traditions of their forefathers67, and wild tales of magic and incantation. Perhaps, before the season was past, some bloody68 feud69 broke out among them; perhaps they were assailed70 by their ancient enemies the Dahcotah; or perhaps some sinister71 omen25 or evil dream spread more terror through the camp than the presence of an actual danger would have awakened72. With the return of spring, the scattered parties once more united, and moved towards Detroit, to indulge their unforgotten hatred73 against the English.
Detroit had been the central point of the Indian operations; its capture had been their favorite project; around it they had concentrated their greatest force, and the failure of the attempt proved disastrous to their cause. Upon the Six Nations, more especially, it produced a marked effect. The friendly tribes of this confederacy were confirmed in their friendship, while the hostile Senecas began to lose heart. Availing himself of this state of things, Sir William Johnson, about the middle of the winter, persuaded a number of Six Nation warriors74, by dint75 of gifts and promises, to go out against the enemy. He stimulated76 their zeal77 by offering rewards of fifty dollars for the heads of the two principal Delaware chiefs.[349] Two hundred of them, accompanied by a few356 provincials78, left the Oneida country during the month of February, and directed their course southward. They had been out but a few days, when they found an encampment of forty Delawares, commanded by a formidable chief, known as Captain Bull, who, with his warriors, was on his way to attack the settlements. They surrounded the camp undiscovered, during the night, and at dawn of day raised the war-whoop and rushed in. The astonished Delawares had no time to snatch their arms. They were all made prisoners, taken to Albany, and thence sent down to New York, where they were conducted, under a strong guard, to the common jail; the mob crowding round them as they passed, and admiring the sullen52 ferocity of their countenances79. Not long after this success, Captain Montour, with a party of provincials and Six Nation warriors, destroyed the town of Kanestio, and other hostile villages, on the upper branches of the Susquehanna. This blow, inflicted80 by supposed friends, produced more effect upon the enemy than greater reverses would have done, if encountered at the hands of the English alone.[350]
The calamities81 which overwhelmed the borders of the middle provinces were not unfelt at the south. It was happy for the people of the Carolinas that the Cherokees, who had broken out against them three years before, had at that time received a chastisement82 which they could never forget, and from which they had not yet begun to recover. They were thus compelled to remain comparatively quiet; while the ancient feud between them and the northern tribes would, under any circumstances, have prevented their uniting with the latter. The contagion83 of the war reached them, however, and they perpetrated numerous murders; while the neighboring nation of the Creeks84 rose in open hostility85, and committed formidable ravages86. Towards the north, the Indian tribes were compelled, by their position, to remain tranquil87, yet they showed many signs of uneasiness; and those of Nova Scotia caused great alarm, by mustering88 in large bodies in the neighborhood of Halifax. The excitement among them was temporary, and they dispersed89 without attempting mischief90.
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1
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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beleaguered
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| adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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4
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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pertinacity
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| n.执拗，顽固 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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7
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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8
lulling
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的现在分词形式） | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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10
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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11
amity
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| n.友好关系 | |
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12
repented
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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14
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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15
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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16
overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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17
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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20
hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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22
foraging
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| v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西） | |
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23
dissimulation
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| n.掩饰，虚伪，装糊涂 | |
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24
bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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25
omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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26
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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27
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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28
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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29
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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30
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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31
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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32
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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verdant
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| adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的 | |
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34
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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35
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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36
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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37
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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38
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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39
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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40
voluptuous
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| adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的 | |
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41
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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42
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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43
betokens
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| v.预示，表示( betoken的第三人称单数 ) | |
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44
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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45
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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46
gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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47
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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48
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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49
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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50
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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51
evergreen
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| n.常青树；adj.四季常青的 | |
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52
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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53
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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54
denuded
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| adj.[医]变光的，裸露的v.使赤裸( denude的过去式和过去分词 )；剥光覆盖物 | |
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55
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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56
sustenance
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| n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计 | |
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57
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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58
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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59
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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60
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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61
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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62
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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63
repletion
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| n.充满，吃饱 | |
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64
lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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65
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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66
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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67
forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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68
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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69
feud
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| n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇 | |
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70
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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71
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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72
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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73
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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74
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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75
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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76
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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77
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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78
provincials
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| n.首都以外的人，地区居民( provincial的名词复数 ) | |
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79
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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80
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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82
chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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83
contagion
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| n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延 | |
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84
creeks
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| n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪 | |
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85
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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86
ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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87
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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88
mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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89
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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90
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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