“I deny your words, sir,” Washington replied, turning red. “If you were bent upon peace, why did you hide here in his British Majesty’s territory and spy upon us?”
“We came to treat with you and give you summons to withdraw your forces before committing an act of war, as you have done. You refused to listen to the Sieur de Jumonville, who called to you; but you shot him down,” accused La Force. “For this you shall pay and pay dearly, sir.”
“I will hear no more of such lies,” Washington exclaimed. “The act of war was committed when the fort being builded at the Forks in His Majesty’s territory was seized by force of arms. You say you would have summoned me. You knew where to find me and could have done so. I would have summoned you, but I had no chance. You opened fire upon me directly you saw me. You will now consider yourselves my prisoners, at the disposal of the Governor of Virginia.”
The French had lost Captain de Jumonville and ten men killed, and one man wounded; the prisoners unhurt were twenty-one, and one man had run off. The Long Knife loss was one soldier killed and Lieutenant Waggener and two men wounded.
It was easy to see that Washington was proud of his victory in the first battle that he had ever fought. But the Half-King said:
“Had Washington left matters to us we would have killed them all, for they are spies. But I will send off these few scalps to show the Delaware and Shawnee that the English are in earnest.”
This day, which was May 28, 1754, they marched in triumph back to the Great Meadows. Washington gave La Force and Ensign Druillon some of his own clothes; then all the prisoners were sent as a present to the Governor of Virginia.
Half-King at once dispatched a hatchet and a belt of black wampum to King Shingis, bidding him come with his Delawares. Scarouady set out with the scalps and four hatchets and more black wampum, to visit the other Delawares, and the Shawnees, the Wyandots and the Miamis of the Ohio country, and call them to help the English.
If Washington had had more soldiers and enough to eat, things would have been better. But his men numbered only about one hundred, now—without tents and without flour, and with scarcely any meat. And when the French soldier who had escaped barefoot during the battle got to the Forks, the commander there would be hot for revenge.