' It would not be easy, and it is now altogether immate rial, to ascertain the justice of their respective claims, and alleged reasons of invasion. It may be mentioned, however, in general, that the English had fairly bar gained and faithfully purchased from the lndiaus the greater part of their territories ; and that, therefore, they had a just title both to claim a property in the lands themselves, and to regard as subjects of Great Britain, those savage tribes who remained upon the soil, under the protection of their government. They enforced this claim, however, so gently, that the Indians, while they tmjoyed the greatest advantages, experienced no sense of subjugation, but w:re always treated as a free and inde pen& et nation, even while receiving pay as auxiliaries in the hem. The French, on the other hand, claimed a dies Ct dominion over all the native tribes in North Ame rica, tun' et en over such as, by long residence, had be come naturalized subjects of Britain ; because, as they alleged, they were the descendants of nations who had formerly submitted to the government of France. They, of consequence, represented all the English settlements in North America, as absolute usurpations and encroach ments upon their territories ; and they are accused of hat ing supported these unjust pretensions by equally unwarrantable means, by inventing boundaries, by chang ing the names of places, and even by delineating charts with such fictitious longitudes and latitudes, as best suited their t ICINS S. it Munk] be idle to pretend, that the Eng lish and their allies were NI-holly guiltless of excesses in the course of hostilities between those rival colonies ; but the French and their Indian associates are unques tionably chargeable with such barbarities, as no civilized mid Christian people could have been conceived capable of countenancing; and these were frequently committed, also, in defiance of express stipulations, treaties, and promises of prole thin. As a striking instance, or satis fying proof of this assertion, it is sufficient to adduce the inhuman conduct of the French General Montcalm, in quietly permitting, if not authorizing, the massacre of the garrison of Fort William Henry, in the year 1757. As tois horrid butchery is altogether unparalleled in mo dern warfare, except perhaps among the savages of Russia,' and as an authentic account of its particulars has been given by an eye-witness, it may &St' I'Ve :1 place in this sl.cteh of North American annals. " In consi dcratien of the gallant defence the garrison had made, they were to be permitted to march out with all the ho num s of war, to be allowed covered waggons to trans port their baggage to Fort Edward, and a guard to pro them from the fury of the savages. The morning alt.r 11,e capitulation was signed, as soon as clay broke, the whole garrison, now consisting of about '2000 nun.
besides women and children, were drawn up within the lines, and on the point of marching out, when great numbers of the Indians gathered about and gall to plunder. We were at first in hopes that this was their only view, and suffered them to proceed v, ithout oppo sition. Indeed it was not in our power to make; any, had we been so inclined ; for, thought we we re permitted to carry off our arms, yet we were not allowed a single round of ammunition. In these hopes, however, we were disappointed ; liar presently some of them began to attack the sick and wounded, when such as were not able to crawl into the ranks, notwithstanding they endea voured to avert the fury of their enemies by their shrieks and groans, were soon dispatched. Here we were fully in expectation, that the disturbance would have conclud ed, and our little army began to move; but in a short time, we saw the front division driven !jack, and discover ed, that we were entirely encircled by the savages. \Ve expected every moment, that the guard, which the French, by the articles of capitulation, had agreed to allow us, would have arrived and put an end to our ap prehensions; but none appeared. The Indians now be gan to strip every one, without exception, of their arms and clothes ; and those, made the least resistance, felt the weight of their tomahawks. I happened to be in the rear diN ision ; but it was not long before I shared the fate of my companions. Three or four of the sa vages laid hold of me, and whilst sonic held their wea pons over my head, the others soon disrobed me of my coat, waistcoat, hat, and buckles, omitting not take from me what money 1 had in my pocket. As this was ti arts acted close by the passage, that led from the lines on to the plain, near which a French eentinel was posted, I ran to him, and claimed his protection ; but be only call ed me an English dog, and thrust me with violence back again into the midst of the Indians."—" By this time the war-hoop was given, and the Indians began to murder those that were nearest to them without distinction. It
is not in the power of w ut ds to give ally tolerable idea of the horrid scene that now ensued ; men, Nvoinen, and children were dispatched in the most wanton and cruel manner, and immediately scalped. Many of the sa vages drank the blood of their victims, as it flowed warm from the fatal wound. \Ve now perceived, though too late to avail us, that we were to expect no relief from the French ; and that, contrary to the agreement they had so lately signed to allow us a sufficient force to pro tect us from their insults, they tacitly permitted them; for I could plainly perceive the French officers walking about, at sonic distance, discoursing together with ap parent As the circle, in which I stood inclosed, by this time was much thinned, and death seem ed to be approaching with hasty strides, it was proposed by some of the most resolute, to make one vigorous ef fort, and endeavour to force our way through the savages, the only probable method of presen ing our lives, that now remained. This. however desperate, was resolved on; and about twenty of us sprung at once into the midst of them. In a moment we were all separated ; and V. hat was the fate of my companions I could not learn, till sonic months after. when I found that only six or seven of them t treeted their design. Intent only On my own hazardous situation, I endeavoured to make in way thrr ugh my savage enemies in tl e hest m on.t r p, ssible.•'---" Some I overturned, being at that time pun.; and athletic, and others I passed by. dexterous.y avoiding their weapons; till, at last, two VLry stout chiefs of the most savage tribes, as I could distinguish by their dress, whose strength I could not resist, laid hold of me by each arm, and began to force me through the crowd." " But, before we had got many yards, an English gen tleman of some distinction, as I could discover by his breeches, the only covering he had on, which were of fine scarlet velvet, rushed close by us. One of the In dians instantly relinquished his hold, and, springing on this new object, endeavoured to seize him as his prey; but the gentleman being strong, threw him on the ground, and would probably have got away, had not he, who held my other arm, quitted me to assist his brother. I seiz ed the opportunity, and hastened away to join another party of English troops, that were yet unbroken and stood in a body, at some distance ; but before I had taken many steps, I hastily cast my eyes towards the gentle man, and saw the Indian's tomahawk gash into his back, and heard him utter his last groan. I had left this shock ing scene but a few yards, when a fine boy, about twelve years of age, that had hitherto escaped, came up to me, and begged that I would let him lay hold of me, so that he might stand some chance of getting out of the hands of the savages. I told him, that I would give him every assistance in my power, and to this purpose bid him lay hold; but in a few moments he was torn from my side, and by his shrieks I judged was soon demolished."—" It was computed, that 1500 persons were killed or made prisoners by these savages during this fatal clay. Many of the latter were carried off by them, and never return ed. A few, through favourable accidents, found their way back to their native country, after having experi enced a long and severe captivity."—" That the unpro voked cruelty of this commander was not approved by the generality of his countrymen, I have since been con vinced by many proofs. One only, however, which I received from a person, who was witness to it, I shall at present give. A Canadian merchant, of some consi deration, having heard of the surrender of the English fort, celebrated the fortunate event with great rejoicings and hospitality, according to the custom of that country ; but no sooner did the news of the massacre, which en sued, reach his ears, than he put an immediate stop to the festivity, and exclaimed, in the severest terms, against the inhuman permission ; declaring, at the same time, that those who had connived at it, had thereby drawn down on that part of their king's dominions the vengeance of heaven." (See Carver's Travels in JVbrth .4inerica, p. 316, &c.) It has been alleged, in extenua tion of this bloody transaction, that it was impossible to restrain the fury of the Indians ; but it will not be easy to convince the world, that a body of 10,000 Christian troops could not have prevented the massacre from be coming so general ; and there is a practical proof of the contrary, in the conduct of Sir William Johnson in the invasion of Canada, who made such unwearied exertions to keep the Indians, in the English army, within the bounds of humanity, that not a peasant, woman, or child was hurt by them, or even a house burnt, while they were in the enemy's country.