2 FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [1763. 



of Bedford might be regarded as the extreme verge 

 of the frontier, while the settlements of Virginia 

 extended to a corresponding distance. Through 

 the adjacent wilderness ran various lines of mili- 

 tary posts, to make good the communication from 

 point to point. One of the most important among 

 these passed through the country of the Six Nations, 

 and guarded the route between the northern col- 

 onies and Lake Ontario. This communication was 

 formed by the Hudson, the Mohawk, Wood Creek, 

 the Oneida Lake, and the Eiver Oswego. It was 

 defended by Forts Stanwix, Brewerton, Oswego, 

 and two or three smaller posts. Near the western 

 extremity of Lake Ontario stood Fort Niagara, at 

 the mouth of the river whence it derived its name. 

 It was a strong and extensive work, guarding the 

 access to the whole interior country, both by way 

 of the Oswego communication just mentioned, and 

 by that of Canada and the St. Lawrence. From 

 Fort Niagara the route lay by a portage beside 

 the great falls to Presqu Isle, on Lake Erie, where 

 the town of Erie now stands. Thence the traveller 

 could pass, by a short overland passage, to Fort Le 

 Boeuf, on a branch of the Alleghany ; thence, by 

 water, to Venango ; and thence, down the Alle- 

 ghany, to Fort Pitt. This last-mentioned post stood 

 on the present site of Pittsburg — the point of land 

 formed by the confluence of the Alleghany and 

 the Monongahela. Its position was as captivating 

 to the eye of an artist as it was commanding in a 

 military point of view. On the left, the Monon- 

 gahela descended through a woody valley of sin- 



