1763, June.] FORT TRESQU' ISLE. 281 



After his visit from Cuyler, Christie, whose gar- 

 rison now consisted of twenty-seven men, pre- 

 pared for a stubborn defence. The doors of the 

 block-house, and the sentry-box at the top, were 

 lined to make them bullet-proof; the angles of 

 the roof were covered with green turf as a pro- 

 tection against fire-arrows, and gutters of bark 

 were laid in such a manner that streams of water 

 could be sent to every part. His expectation of a 

 " visit from the hell-hounds " proved to be perfectly 

 well founded. About two hundred of them had 

 left Detroit expressly for this object. At early 

 dawn on the fifteenth of June, they were first dis- 

 covered stealthily crossing the mouth of the little 

 stream, where the bateaux were drawn up, and 

 crawling under cover of the banks of the lake and 

 of the adjacent saw-pits. When the sun rose, they 

 showed themselves, and began their customary yell- 

 ing. Christie, with a very unnecessary reluctance 

 to begin the fray, ordered his men not to fire till 

 the Indians had set the example. The consequence 

 was, that they were close to the blockhouse before 

 they received the fire of the garrison ; and many of 

 them sprang into the ditch, whence, being well shel- 

 tered, they fired at the loop-holes, and amused them- 

 selves by throwing stones and handfuls of gravel, or, 

 what was more to the purpose, fire-balls of pitch. 

 Some got into the fort and sheltered themselves 

 behind the bakery and other buildings, whence they 

 kept up a brisk fire ; while others pulled down a 

 small out-house of plank, of which they made a 

 movable breastwork, and approached under cover 



