him; and that, while the Senecas and Delawares were still
holding out, he was wandering through the Indian country
in a vain endeavour to rally his scattered warriors.

CHAPTER III

THE GATHERING STORM

When Montreal capitulated, and the whole of Canada passed
into British hands, it was the duty of Sir Jeffery Amherst,
the commander-in-chief, to arrange for the defence of
the country that had been wrested from France. General
Gage was left in command at Montreal, Colonel Burton at
Three Rivers, and General Murray at Quebec. Amherst
himself departed for New York in October, and never again
visited Canada. Meanwhile provision had been made, though
quite inadequate, to garrison the long chain of forts
[Footnote: See the accompanying map. Except for these
forts or trading-posts, the entire region west of Montreal
was at this time practically an unbroken wilderness.
There were on the north shore of the St Lawrence a few
scattered settlements, on Ile Perrot and at Vaudreuil,
and on the south shore at the Cedars and Chateauguay;
but anything like continuity of settlement westward ceased
with the island of Montreal.] that had been established
by the French in the vaguely defined Indian territory to
the west. The fortunes of war had already given the
British command of the eastern end of this chain. Fort
Levis, on what is now Chimney Island, a few miles east
of Ogdensburg, had been captured. Fort Frontenac had been
destroyed by Bradstreet, and was left without a garrison.
British troops were in charge of Fort Oswego, which had
been built in 1759. Niagara, the strongest fort on the
Great Lakes, had been taken by Sir William Johnson. Near
it were two lesser forts, one at the foot of the rapids,
where Lewiston now stands, and the other, Fort Schlosser,
on the same side of the river, above the falls. Forts
Presqu'isle, Le Boeuf, and Venango, on the trade-route
between Lake Erie and Fort Pitt, and Fort Pitt itself,
were also occupied. But all west of Fort Pitt was to the
British unknown country. Sandusky, at the south-west end
of Lake Erie; Detroit, guarding the passage between Lakes
Erie and St Clair; Miami and Ouiatanon, on the trade-route
between Lake Erie and the Wabash; Michilimackinac, at
the entrance to Lake Michigan; Green Bay (La Baye), at
the southern end of Green Bay; St Joseph, on Lake Michigan;
Sault Ste Marie, at the entrance to Lake Superior--all
were still commanded by French officers, as they had be