rt Stephenson, and that the result would probably be that
re-enforcements would be sent to Croghan, would beat back Tecumseh,
and fall upon him at Sandusky.

"All night long the five six-pounders which had been landed from the
British gunboats, and the howitzer, played upon the stockade without
doing any serious damage. Occasionally the besieged answered with
their one cannon, which they moved from one blockhouse to another, to
give the impression that the garrison had several heavy guns. But
their supply of ammunition was small, and Croghan was too wise to
waste it. He determined not to use any more in firing at random in the
dark; so ordered Captain Hunter, his second in command, to place it in
the blockhouse at the middle of the north side of the fort, so as to
rake the ditch in the direction of the northwest angle--the point
where the enemy would be most likely to make the assault, because it
was the weakest part.

"That was done before daylight, and the gun, loaded with a half-charge
of powder and a double charge of slugs and grapeshot, was completely
masked.

"During the night the British had dragged three of their six-pounders
to a place in the woods where the ground was higher than the fort and
about 250 yards from it. Early in the morning they began a brisk fire
upon the blockade from those and the howitzer."

"Oh, papa, how dreadful!" exclaimed Elsie. "Did all of our men get
shot?"

"No; the cannonade produced very little effect, and Proctor grew very
impatient. The long hot day was nearly done, and the Indians were
becoming restless. At four o'clock in the afternoon he ordered all his
guns to fire upon that weak northwest angle.

"Then Croghan and his men set to work to strengthen it as much as
possible. They piled bags of sand and sacks of flour against the
pickets there, which materially broke the force of the cannonade. At
five o'clock a dark thunder cloud was seen in the west and the thunder
seemed like the echo of the enemy's cannon. Then the British came on
in two close columns, led by Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Short and
Lieutenant Gordon. At the same time a party of grenadiers, about 200
strong, under Lieutenant-Colonel Warburton, took a wide circuit
through the woods to make a feigned attack upon the southern front of
the fort, where Captain Hunter and his party were stationed.

"There was in the fort at the time a man named Brown, a private of the
Petersburgh volunteers, with a half-dozen of