246 PONTIAC AT DETROIT. [1763, Mat. 



women mingle with the exulting yells of the war- 

 riors. Yet, with all his subtlety and caution, the 

 Indian is not a coward, and, in his own way of 

 fighting, often exhibits no ordinary courage. Steal- 

 ing alone into the heart of an enemy's country, he 

 prowls around the hostile village, watching every 

 movement; and when night sets in, he enters a 

 lodge, and calmly stirs the decaying embers, that, 

 by their light, he may select his sleeping victims. 

 With cool deliberation he deals the mortal thrust, 

 kills foe after foe, and tears away scalp after scalp, 

 until at length an alarm is given ; then, with a 

 wild yell, he bounds out into the darkness, and is 

 gone. 



Time passed on, and brought little change and 

 no relief to the harassed and endangered garrison. 

 Day after day the Indians continued their attacks, 

 until their war-cries and the rattle of their guns 

 became familiar sounds. For many weeks, no 

 man lay down to sleep, except in his clothes, 

 and with his weapons by his side.-^ Parties of 

 volunteers sallied, from time to time, to burn the 



1 MS. Letter from an officer at Detroit — no signature — July 31. 



Extract from a letter dated Detroit, July 6. 



" We have been besieged here two Months, by Six Hundred Indians. 

 We have been upon the Watch Night and Day, from the Commanding 

 Officer to the lowest soldier, from the 8th of May, and have not had our 

 Cloaths off, nor slept all Night since it began ; and shall continue so till 

 we have a Reinforcement up. We then hope soon to give a good ac- 

 count of the Savages. Their Camp lies about a Mile and a half from the 

 Fort ; and that's the nearest they choose to come now. For the first 

 two or three Days we were attacked by three or four Hundred of them, 

 but we gave them so warm a Reception that now they don't care for 

 coming to see us, tho' they now and then get behind a House or Garden, 

 and fire at us about three or four Hundred yards' distance. The Day 



