86 The Winning of the West 



pedition. Feasts were held with the Ottawas, Chip- 

 pewas, and Pottawatomies, at which oxen were 

 roasted whole, while Hamilton and the chiefs of 

 the French rangers sang the war-song in solemn 

 council, and received pledges of armed assistance 

 and support from the savages. 4 



On October 7th the expedition left Detroit ; before 

 starting the venerable Jesuit missionary gave the 

 Catholic French who went along his solemn bless- 

 ing and approval, conditionally upon their strictly 

 keeping the oath they had taken to be loyal and 

 obedient servants of the crown. 5 It is worthy of 

 note that, while the priest at Kaskaskia proved so 

 potent an ally of the Americans, the priest at De- 

 troit was one of the stanchest supporters of the 

 British. Hamilton started with thirty-six British 

 regulars, under two lieutenants, forty-five Detroit 

 volunteers (chiefly French), who had been carefully 

 drilled for over a year, under Captain Lamothe; 

 seventy-nine Detroit militia, under a major and two 

 captains; and seventeen members of the Indian De- 

 partment (including three captains and four lieu- 

 tenants) who acted with the Indians. There were 

 thus in all one hundred and seventy-seven whites. 6 



4 Do. Hamilton to Haldimand, September 23, October 3, 

 1778. 



6 Haldimand MSS., Series B, Vol. 123, p. 53. Hamilton's 

 letter of July 6, 1781, containing a "brief account" of the 

 whole expedition, taken from what he calls a "diary of trans- 

 actions" that he had preserved. 



' Do., Series B, Vol. 122, p. 253, return of forces on Dec. 

 24th. 



