of his command, on Cariolon, or, as it was
afterwards called, Ticonderoga, a promontory at the junction of Lake
George with Lake Champlain, where he would bar the advance of the
English, whichever road they might take.

The Indians with the French caused great trouble to their commander,
doing nothing but feast and sleep, but, on September 4th, a party of
them came in bringing a scalp and an English prisoner, caught near Fort
Lyman.

He was questioned, under the threat of being given over to the Indians
to torture, if he did not tell the truth, but the brave fellow,
thinking he should lead the enemy into a trap, told them that the
English army had fallen back to Albany, leaving 500 men at Fort Lyman,
which he represented as being entirely indefensible.

Dieskau at once determined to attack that place, and, with 216 regulars
of the battalions of Languedoc and La Reine, 684 Canadians, and about
600 Indians, started in canoes and advanced up Lake Champlain, till
they came to the end of South Bay. Each officer and man carried
provisions for eight days in his knapsack.

Two days' march brought them to within three miles of Fort Lyman, and
they encamped close to the road which led to Lake George. Just after
they had encamped, a man rode by on horseback. It was Adams, Johnson's
messenger. He was shot by the Indians, and the letter found upon him.
Soon afterwards, ten or twelve waggons appeared, in charge of
ammunition drivers who had left the English camp without orders.

Some of the drivers were shot, two taken prisoners, and the rest ran
away. The two prisoners declared that, contrary to the assertion of the
prisoner at Ticonderoga, a large force lay encamped by the lake. The
Indians held a council, and presently informed Dieskau that they would
not attack the fort, which they believed to be provided with cannon,
but would join in an attempt on the camp by the lake. Dieskau judged,
from the report of the prisoners, that the colonists considerably
outnumbered him, although in fact there was no great difference in
numerical strength, the French column numbering 1500 and the colonial
force 2200, besides 300 Mohawk Indians. But Dieskau, emulous of
repeating the defeat of Braddock, and believing the assertions of the
Canadians that the colonial militia was contemptible, determined to
attack, and early in the morning the column moved along the road
towards the lake.

When within four miles of Johnson's camp, they entered a