184 TRAVELS THROUGH LOWER CANADA: 
force: the fortifications, indeed, were con¬ 
structed chiefly as a defence against the In¬ 
dians. 
Detroit is at present the head-quarters of the 
western army of the States ; the garrison con¬ 
sists of three hundred men, who are quartered 
in barracks. Very little attention is paid by 
the officers to the minutiae of discipline, so 
that however well the men may have acquitted 
themselves in the field, they make but a 
poor appearance on parade. The belles of 
the town are quite an desespoir at the late 
departure of the British troops; though the 
American officers tell them they have no 
reason to be so, as they will find them much 
more sensible agreeable men than the British 
officers, when they know them; a style of 
conversation, which, strange as it may appear 
to us, is yet not at all uncommon amongst • 
them. Three months, however, have not 
altered the first opinion of the ladies. I cannot 
better give you an idea of the unpolished, 
coarse, discordant manners of the generality of 
the officers of the western army of the States, 
than by telling you, that they cannot agree 
sufficiently amongst themselves to form a regi¬ 
mental mess; repeated attempts have been 
made since their arrival at the Detroit to esta¬ 
blish one, but their frequent quarrels would 
never suffer it to remain permanent. A duel- 
i ' •' 
list and an officer of the western army were 
