only side therefore necessary to fortify is the south,
which I assure you is pretty strongly so." Here was the chief British
supply depot and Nairne had just been sent thither to aid in repelling a
menace from the American fleet. He had brought his force from Ten Mile
Creek, in boats, on the open lake, and the journey, lasting all day, was
ticklish enough. All the time the American fleet was in pursuit and it
reached the narrow gateway to Burlington Bay only an hour and a half
after Captain Nairne entered. The enemy intended to storm the heights,
and landed 800 men for that purpose; but finding the position too
strong, they re-embarked their force at daylight on August 1st, and bore
away for York (Toronto) where they wrought new havoc in that undefended
and "much to be pitied town."

On August 20th Nairne writes, still from Burlington Heights. This, his
last letter, gives a dramatic account of a running fight between the
rival fleets, in the dark, illuminated, however, by the flashes from
their cannon:

It was a moment of great anxiety with us when the two fleets lay in
sight of each other, the one wishing to avoid coming to hard knocks
and the other straining every nerve to be at it. I rode 20 miles to
see the hostile squadrons, and, for nearly two days, had the
pleasure of observing their movements from the mountain at Forty
Mile Creek, and I must confess I never saw a more gratifying or
more interesting sight. At 11 o'clock on the night of the last day
that I was there (the 10th inst.) Sir James Yeo contrived to bring
them [the Americans] to a partial engagement and for an hour and a
half the Lake opposite the _Leo_ appeared to be in a continual
blaze. I remained in a state of uncertainty as to the result till
daylight when I observed the Yanky fleet steering for Fort George
with two Schooners less than they had the evening before, and our
fleet steering towards York with two additional sail. [They were
the _Julia_ and the _Growler_.] The Americans have besides lost two
of their largest Schooners, which upset from carrying a press of
sail, when our fleet was in chase of them.

While this dramatic fighting is going on before his eyes Nairne's one
regret is that his present quarters are "completely out of the way of
broken heads."

Meanwhile at Murray Bay events were happening. Colonel Fraser was kept
busy. Some of the French Canad