[138] "M. de Courcelers originated the design of building the fort at Catarocouy, but, being recalled before it could be carried into execution, M. de Frontenac carried out his plans in 1672, and gave his name to the fort. Lake Ontario also, for a long time afterward bore the name of Frontenac."—Charlevoix, tom. ii., p. 245.
"This fort was rebuilt by Frontenac in 1695, against the orders of M. de Pontchartrain. The after importance of this celebrated position fully justified Frontenac's opposition to the wishes of the French minister. The connection between Canada and Louisiana mainly depended upon the possession of Fort Frontenac, as was manifest upon its loss by the French. Kingston stands on the site of old Fort Frontenac; next to Quebec and Halifax, it is considered the strongest military position in British America."—Picturesque Tourist, p. 222.
[139] Extract of a letter from an officer in Albany to a member of Parliament here (London), dated Sept. 13, 1758: "Frontenac (called here Cadaraque) was of great consequence to the French, both as to their influence on the Indians, by keeping up a communication between Fort du Quesne and Canada, and annoying us on the Mohawk River.... Colonel Bradstreet is a captain in our regiment.... He is a man of great spirit and activity; has been most of his life in this country, and understands things very well.... Col. Bradstreet has been near three years pressing the commanding general in North America to let him go against this fort, but they thought the undertaking too desperate, which he has now accomplished without the loss of a man, and at a very critical juncture.... Thus the French expedition against the German Flats, and probably this very town, is happily prevented; their shipping on the Lake Ontario, which made them so formidable, is destroyed; they have no vessels to send provisions into the other forts, and their fort, which kept the Indians so much in their interest, is destroyed; and the Six Nations (who, all but the Mohawks, would have left us) will now be more in our interest than ever. The taking of Frontenac gave more joy to the inhabitants of this place than even Louisburg itself, for it more nearly concerned them, and they say there will be now no more scalping."—The Public Advertiser, Jan. 20, 1759.
[140] Extract of a letter from New York, dated Nov. 20, 1758: "Our army is gone into winter quarters, and I hope, when we make an attack again, to succeed; but we must first have more regulars from England. Our militia are not fit for a campaign. Our English soldiers will kill ten Provincials in point of fatigue. The affair of Colonel Bradstreet was a brave thing for us, but not one in five could go through that tiresome affair; for, after the place was taken, they buried thirty and forty in a day at Schenectady."—The Public Advertiser, Feb. 3, 1759.
[141] "The village of Rome, fourteen miles west of Utica, is situated near the head waters of the Mohawk: it stands on the site of old Fort Stanwix, which was an important post during the Revolutionary and French wars."—Picturesque Tourist, p. 139.
[142] "Several soldiers of this and other regiments fell into an ambush, and were captured by the Indians. Allan Macpherson, seeing his comrades horribly tortured to death, and knowing that the same fate awaited him, told the savages, through an interpreter, that he knew a wonderful secret of a certain medicine, which, if applied to the skin, would render it proof against any weapon. His tale was believed by the superstitious Indians, and, anxious to see the proof, they allowed him to gather herbs, and, having mixed and boiled them, to apply the concoction to his neck; he then laid his head upon a block, and challenged the strongest man to strike. A warrior came forward, and, to prove the virtue of the medicine, struck a blow with his tomahawk at full strength; the head flew off several yards. The Indians stood at first amazed at their own credulity, but were afterward so pleased at the Highlander's ingenuity in escaping the torture, that they refrained from inflicting further cruelties on their surviving victims."—Stewart's Sketches of the Highlanders, vol. ii., p. 61.
Some of the Highland regiments sent to America were newly raised, and still, in a great degree, retained the wildness of their Celtic countrymen, as the following anecdote illustrates: "A soldier of another regiment, who was a sentinel detached from an advanced guard, seeing a man coming out of the wood with his hair hanging loose, and wrapped up in a dark-colored plaid, he challenged him repeatedly, and, receiving no answer (the weather being hazy), fired at him and killed him. The guard being alarmed, the sergeant ran out to know the cause, and the unhappy sentinel, strongly prepossessed that it was an Indian, with a blanket about him, who came skulking to take a prisoner, or a scalp, cried out, 'I have killed an Indian! I have killed an Indian!' but upon being undeceived by the sergeant, who went to take a view of the dead man, and being told that he was one of our own men and a Highlander, he was so oppressed with grief and fright that he fell ill, and was despaired of for some days. In consequence of this accident, most of these young soldiers being raw and inexperienced, and very few of them conversant in or able to talk English (which was particularly his case who was killed), these regiments were ordered to do no more duty for some time."—Knox's Historical Campaign, vol. i., p. 48.
[143] Raystown is near Bedford.
[144] Loyal Hanning, when fortified by General Forbes, on his return to Philadelphia, was called Fort Ligonier.
[145] "With the unanimous concurrence of his officers, he altered the name of Fort du Quesne to Pittsburg, a well-earned compliment to the minister who had planned its conquest."—Lord Mahon's History of England, vol. iv., p. 203.