34 THE WAR ON THE BORDERS. [1763, June. 



of this sudden rupture and the intentions of these 

 rascals." 



Scarcely had Bouquet sent off the express-rider 

 with this letter, when another came from Ecuyer 

 with worse reports from the west He forwarded it 

 to Amherst, who wrote on receiving it: "I find by 

 the intelligence enclosed in your letter that the 

 affair of the Indians appears to be more general 

 than I had apprehended, although I believe noth- 

 ing of what is mentioned regarding the garrison of 

 the Detroit being cut off. It is extremely incon- 

 venient at this time ; . . . but I cannot defer send- 

 ing you a reinforcement for the communication." 

 Accordingly he ordered two companies of the 42d 

 and 77th regiments to join Bouquet at Philadelphia. 

 " If you think it necessary," he adds, " you will 

 yourself proceed to Fort Pitt, that you may be the 

 better enabled to put in execution the requisite 

 orders for securing the communication and reduc- 

 ing the Indians to reason." 



xlmherst now bestirred himself to put such troops 

 as he had into fighting order. The 80th regiment, 

 Hopkins's company of Rangers, and a portion of 

 the Royal Americans, were disbanded, and the 

 men drafted to complete other broken corps. His 

 plan was to push forward as many troops as pos- 

 sible to Niagara by way of Oswego, and to Presqu' 

 Isle by way of Fort Pitt, and thence to send them 

 up the lakes to take vengeance on the offending 

 tribes. 



Bouquet, recognizing at length the peril of the 

 small outlying posts, like Venango and Le Boeuf, 



