On the Lakes 285 



whole, it could fairly be said that Yeo was ad- 

 vancing to attack a superior fleet. 



All through the day of the 7th the wind blew 

 light and variable, and the two squadrons went 

 through a series of manoeuvres, nominally to bring 

 on an action. As each side flatly contradicts the 

 other it is hard to tell precisely what the manoeu- 

 vres were; each captain says the other avoided him 

 and that he made all sail in chase. At any rate it 

 was just the weather for Chauncy to engage in. 



That night the wind came out squally ; and about 

 I A.M. on the morning of the 8th a heavy gust struck 

 the Hamilton and Scourge, forcing them to careen 

 over till the heavy guns broke loose, and they foun- 

 dered, but 1 6 men escaping, which accident did not 

 open a particularly cheerful prospect to the remain- 

 der of the schooners. Chauncy's force was, by this 

 accident, reduced to a numerical equality with Yeo's, 

 having perhaps a hundred more men, 17 and throw- 

 ing 144 Ibs. less shot at a broadside. All through 

 the two succeeding days the same manoeuvring went 

 on ; the question as to which avoided the fight is 

 simply one of veracity between the two commanders, 



17 This estimate as to men is a mere balancing of proba- 

 bilities. If James underestimates the British force on On- 

 tario as much as he has on Erie and Champlain, Yeo had as 

 many men as his opponent. Chauncy, in one of his letters 

 (preserved with the other manuscript letters in the Naval 

 Archives), says: "I enclose the muster-rolls of all my ships," 

 but I have not been able to find them, and in any event the 

 complements were continually changing completely. The 

 point is not important, as each side certainly had plenty of 

 men on this occasion. 



