1763, Oct.] GLADWYN COLLECTS PROVISIONS. 107 



thought that by this means they might retire 

 unmolested to their wintering grounds, and renew 

 the war with good hope of success in the spring. 



Accordingly, on the twelfth of October, Wapo- 

 comoguth, great chief of the Mississaugas, a branch 

 of the Ojibwas, living within the present limits of 

 Upper Canada, came to the fort with a pipe of 

 peace. He began his speech to Major Gladwyn, 

 with the glaring falsehood that he and his people 

 had always been friends of the English. They 

 were now, he added, anxious to conclude a formal 

 treaty of lasting peace and amity. He next de- 

 clared that he had been sent as deputy by the 

 Pottawattamies, Ojibwas, and Wyandots, who had 

 instructed him to say that they sincerely repented 

 of their bad conduct, asked forgiveness, and 

 humbly begged for peace. Gladwyn perfectly 

 understood the hollowness of these professions, but 

 the circumstances in which he was placed made it 

 expedient to listen to their overtures. His garrison 

 was threatened with famine, and it was impossible 

 to procure provisions while completely surrounded 

 by hostile Indians. He therefore replied, that, 

 though he was not empowered to grant peace, he 

 would still consent to a truce. The Mississauga 

 deputy left the fort with this reply, and Gladwyn 

 immediately took advantage of this lull in the 

 storm to collect provisions among the Canadians ; 

 an attempt in which he succeeded so well that the 

 fort was soon furnished with a tolerable supply for 

 the winter. 



