304 BLOCKADE OF DETROIT. [1763, July. 



making their escape in the best way they could ; 

 but, happily, at that moment the commandant 

 observed an Ottawa among them, and, resolving 

 to seize him, called upon the guard without to 

 assist in doing so. A file of soldiers entered, and 

 the chiefs, seeing it impossible to execute their 

 design, withdrew from the fort, with black and 

 sullen brows. A day or two afterwards, however, 

 they returned with the rest of the prisoners, on 

 which peace was granted them, and their people 

 set at liberty.^ 



1 Whatever may have been the case with the Pottawattaraies, there 

 were indications from the first that the Wyandots were lukewarm or even 

 reluctant in taking part with Pontiac. As early as May 22, some of 

 them complained that he had forced them into the war. Diary of the 

 Siege. Johnson MSS. 



