"Very well then, Mr. Morris. Of course, you understand, in case of an attack——"
"I shall do my duty, just as you expect your soldiers to do theirs," finished the trader. "And I know my nephew, Henry, will be glad to serve as a soldier once more."
CHAPTER XVIII
SOMETHING CONCERNING THE TWINS
After many months of preparation, and after numerous councils of war, the great conspiracy instituted by Pontiac was now complete, and the Indians were ready to strike the English such a blow as had seldom, if ever, been struck before.
The principal meeting of the Indians was held on the river Ecores, only a few miles from where the city of Detroit now stands, but other meetings were held in the villages of the Pottawattamies, the Sacs, the Ojibwas, the Wyandottes, the Miamis, and many other tribes. Wampum belts were passed, and the arguments in favor of driving the English out waxed hot and bloodthirsty. It was reasoned (and truthfully, as later events have proved), that if the hated whites were allowed to remain, sooner or later they would overrun the whole of the red men's hunting grounds, and the Indians would not know where to go to gain their living.
It would have pleased Pontiac immensely had he been able to strike every settlement and every fort on the same day and at the same hour. This seems to have been his pet scheme, according to tradition and certain reports from those times. But he could not master such a stroke as this, for reasons already given, and as a consequence the attack started in different localities at different times.
At Fort Cumberland all was now excitement. The settlers for miles around came pouring into the small settlement, and the resources of the place were taxed to their utmost. It is calculated by one authority that as many as five hundred families of that locality were rendered homeless. Many came in badly wounded, and temporary hospitals were located everywhere. The majority of the families had to live under the trees, or in such rude shelters as they managed to erect for themselves. Every man was called on to do soldier duty, in case another attack should come upon the fort direct.
But strange as it may seem, the Indians, for the time being, gave Fort Cumberland a wide berth. Occasionally a few stray warriors showed themselves, and drove off some cattle belonging to the settlers, but that was all. The majority of the red men departed for other points, and the subsequent fate of Venango, Presque Isle, and other forts, showed how they continued their work of red-handed destruction.
As day after day passed at Fort Cumberland, and no Indians appeared, the people became a trifle calmer, and a few stole away, to see whether their homesteads had been burned or not. Among these were Dave and Barringford.