[76] Howison's Upper Canada. London, 1821.
[77] The British garrison was surprised, not being aware of the war, and the Indians butchered nearly all the whites, in number about 100. An English trader, concealed in the house of one of the French inhabitants, beheld the massacre from an aperture which afforded him a view of the area of the fort. He describes it as follows: "I beheld, in shapes the foulest and most terrible, the ferocious triumphs of barbarian conquerors. The dead were scalped and mangled; the dying were writhing and shrieking under the insatiated knife and tomahawk, and from the bodies of some, ripped open, their butchers were drinking the blood scooped up in the hollows of joined hands, and quaffed amid shouts of rage and victory."
[78] Grahame's History of the United States.
CHAPTER XII.
The following letters[79] relate chiefly to the enterprize against Detroit, and, although not in the chronological order we have hitherto observed, will form the subject of this chapter.
Major-General Brock to Sir George Prevost.
Head Quarters, Detroit, Aug. 16, 1812.
I hasten to apprize your excellency of the capture of this very important post: 2,500 troops have this day surrendered prisoners of war, and about 25 pieces of ordnance have been taken without the sacrifice of a drop of British blood. I had not more than 700 troops, including militia, and about 600 Indians, to accomplish this service. When I detail my good fortune, your excellency will be astonished. I have been admirably supported by Colonel Proctor, the whole of my staff, and I may justly say, every individual under my command.
Major-General Brock to Sir George Prevost.