114 COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES. [1755. 



cease with the loss of a few hundred soldiers on 

 the field of battle ; for it brought upon the prov- 

 inces all the miseries of an Indian war. Those 

 among the tribes who had thus far stood neutral, 

 wavering between the French and English, now 

 hesitated no longer. Many of them had been dis- 

 gusted by the contemptuous behavior of Braddock. 

 All had learned to despise the courage of the 

 English, and to regard their own prowess with 

 unbounded complacency. It is not in Indian 

 nature to stand quiet in the midst of war ; and 

 the defeat of Braddock was a signal for the 

 western savages to snatch their tomahawks and 

 assail the English settlements with one accord, 

 murdering and pillaging with ruthless fury, and 

 turning the frontier of Pennsylvania and Virginia 

 into one wide scene of havoc and desolation. 



The three remaining expeditions which the 

 British ministry had planned for that year's cam- 

 paign were attended with various results. Acadia 

 was quickly reduced by the forces of Colonel 

 Monkton ; but the glories of this easy victory 

 were tarnished by an act of cruelty. Seven thou- 

 sand of the unfortunate people, refusing to take 

 the prescribed oath of allegiance, were seized by 

 the conquerors, torn from their homes, placed on 

 shipboard like cargoes of negro slaves, and trans- 

 ported to the British provinces.^ The expedition 

 against l^iagara was a total failure, for the troops 

 did not even reach their destination. The move- 

 ment against Crown Point met with no better 



1 Haliburton, Hist. Nova Scotia, I. Chap. IV. 



