PONTIAC 



1752 



PONTOON 



time to destroy fourteen other forts scattered 

 southward almost to New Orleans. An Indian 

 girl betrayed the secret to the commander at 

 Detroit, and that settlement was saved after 

 a long siege; but eight of the other fortifica- 

 tions were captured and several hundred sol- 

 diers and immigrants were massacred. Pontiac 

 stubbornly held his ground at Detroit until 

 October 12, 1764, when the starving defenders 

 received aid. As peace had been declared be- 

 tween England and France, the chief could no 

 longer receive French assistance, so he with- 

 drew into Ohio. In August, 1765, he made a 

 treaty of peace at Detroit. He was murdered 

 at Cahokia, 111., by a Kaskaskia Indian in 1769, 

 and in revenge the Ottawas and their allies 

 made war on the Illinois tribes, practically 

 exterminating them. As an organizing genius 

 Pontiac probably had no equal among Ameri- 

 can redmen. 



Consult Parkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac. 



PONTIAC, MICH., the county seat of Oak- 

 land County, is situated in the southeastern 

 part of the state, twenty-six miles northwest 

 of Detroit. It is on the Clinton River and on 

 the Pontiac, Oxford & Northern and the Grand 

 Trunk railroads, and has electric interurban 

 service to Detroit and other towns. In 1910 

 the population was 14,532; in 1916 it was 17,524 

 (Federal estimate). 



Pontiac is a summer resort in a lake region 

 noted for its hunting and fishing. Within a 

 radius of five miles of the city limits are 

 twelve lakes. The city has the State Hospital 

 for the Insane, a Federal building, courthouse, 

 public library and city hospital. The principal 

 manufactures are automobiles and automobile 

 accessories, farm implements and foundry 

 products. The place was settled in 1818 and 

 was named in honor of the Ottawa Indian 

 chief, Pontiac. It was incorporated as a vil- 

 lage in 1837, became a city in 1861, and in 1911 

 adopted the commission form of government. 



PONTIFEX, pon'tifeks, in ancient Rome 

 any one of the members of the sacred society 

 know-as the College of Pontiffs. It was proba- 

 bly so named because its members were re- 

 quired to see that a certain bridge (pons) over 

 the Tiber was kept repaired. To this college 

 was intrusted the guardianship of all the rites 

 and ceremonies connected with the worship of 

 the gods. It also had charge of the calendar. 

 Originally there were three pontifices, but the 

 number gradually increased to sixteen. At the 

 head of the college was the pontijex maximus, 



an official who held office for life and could not 

 leave Italy. At the present time the latter title 

 is borne by the Pope. 



PONTOON, pontoon'. In the engineering 

 corps of every army there is a division whose 

 special work is the construction of temporary 

 bridges. Such a bridge consists of a roadway 

 of timber laid across a line of floating supports 



ONE STYLE OF PONTOON BRIDGE 



called pontoons. The pontoons may be flat- 

 bottomed boats, metal cylinders or canvas-cov- 

 ered frames of bamboo. All the necessary ma- 

 terials for a bridge are carried by each pontoon 

 division, and the equipment is so constructed 

 that it can be packed into comparatively small 

 space. The work of bridging a stream is done with 

 mechanical precision, for in time of peace the 

 pontoon division of a standing army practices 

 all sorts of maneuvers in bridge laying. The 

 chief danger arises when the work is done 

 under fire from the enemy. In such cases 

 relays of soldiers are sent across the river in 

 boats to clear the way for the pontooneers. 

 The latter lay the flooring, section by section, 

 fastening it securely to the pontoons, which are 

 placed side by side at equal intervals apart. 

 Each pontoon is anchored with an upstream 

 anchor, and at least every other one is secured 

 with a downstream anchor as well. As a 

 precautionary measure, extra pontoons are an- 

 chored above the bridge, to be used in case 

 of accident. 



Pontoon bridges are of limited strength, and 

 in crossing them infantry must break step to 

 prevent the swaying that would result from 

 marching in time. Horses are led across, un- 

 mounted, and troops and wagons are kept cer- 

 tain distances apart. Under favorable condi- 

 tions the engineers can put each pontoon into 

 position in one minute and a half, and a river 

 600 feet wide can be bridged in less than an 

 hour and a quarter. 



