WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 227 



that moment, an Indian came forward in his most hostile array, 

 pretending to wish to tomahawk Ship, when Dixon shaking with 

 pretended terrors, urged the ensign "to get into his garrison 

 as soon as possible, unless he would consent to a surrender, 

 and thereby save the lives of the troops in the garrison." 



The enemy now opened his fire upon the f )rt, from his guns in 

 the boats and his mortar on the shore. He continued to fire all 

 night, with little intermission and with still less effect. His 

 guns Avere sixpounders. Croghan had one sixpounder and 

 that was all the artillery he had in the fort. He contrived 

 to move his gun from one part of his works to another, so as 

 to induce a belief that he had many guns. So the night pass- 

 ed off". Tecumseh with two thousand warriors lay beside the 

 road leading to Seneca, and Upper Sandusky, expecting a rein- 

 forcement from that quarter to save the garrison. To inter- 

 cept such a force, and destroy it, was his grand object. In 

 this, he was sorely disappointed, as no such force was sent. Du- 

 ring this first night, the enemy had landed from his boats, ihree 

 sixpounders and a mortar, and had placed them within two 

 hundred and forty yards of the fort, in a grove of woods. Du- 

 ring this same night, Croghan discovered that the enemy seem- 

 ed to aim most of his shots at the northwest corner of the stock- 

 ade, and he supposed that when the British attempted to storm 

 his fort, the place of attack would be at that angle. So he order- 

 ed captain Hunter to place their only gun in a position so that it 

 would rake the ditch, in case the enemy attempted to scale the 

 works at that angle. In secresy, and with uncommon indus- 

 try and personal exertions, captain Hunter obeyed the order. 

 The morning of the 2d of A-jgust dawned on our heroic band 

 of young patriots. The enemy fired all day, but at four in 

 the afternoon, he concentrated all the fire of all his guns at 

 the northwestern angle of the fort. Seeing this, Croghan or- 

 dered Serjeant Weaver and six privates of the Pittsburgh vol- 

 unteers, to place there, with all possible expedition, bags of 

 sand and flour. This was done in a manner so effectually that, 

 that angle received no material injury, from the enemy's guns. 

 The sixpounder was entrusted to the management of the 



