298 RUIN OF THE INDIAN CAUSE. [1765. 



left Fort Pitt under command of Captain Sterling, 

 and, descending the Ohio, arrived at Fort Chartres 

 just as the snows of early winter began to whiten 

 the naked forests.^ The flag of France descended 

 from the rampart ; and with the stern courtesies of 

 war, St. Ange yielded up his post, the citadel of the 

 Illinois, to its new masters. In that act was con- 

 summated the double triumph of British power in 

 A merica. England had crushed her hereditary foe ; 

 and France, in her fall, had left to irretrievable 

 ruin the savage tribes to whom her policy and self- 

 interest had lent a transient support. 



1 MS. Gage Papers. M. Nicollet, in speaking of the arrival of the 

 British troops, says, " At this news Pontiae raved." This is a mistake. 

 Pontiac's reconciliation had already taken place, and he had abandoned all 

 thoughts of resistance. 



