IN my letter to you, relating to the Ohio-Defeat, I took a brief Notice of our Crown-point expedition; discovering some uneasiness at its having been so long delayed. I am now well pleased with that delay; as it has given occasion to the greatest Action, in its kind, that ever happened in North-America. Never was such a battle fought here before!—Never had we op­portunity before of gaining so glorious a conquest over so great an army!—I gave it also as my opinion, ‘that the New-England troops, by reason of this delay, would have the whole power of Canada to contend with;’ in which I happened to make a right judgment. For, the day you published my letter, an express arrived from General Johnson, advising, ‘that the spies he had sent out were returned, and bro't him intelligence, that all Canada was in motion, the roads filled with waggons, transporting all manner of stores to Crown-Point, and numbers of men continually going there to reinforce Fort-Frederick’ Upon which the General went on to say, ‘that a large reinforcement was, in this situation of affairs, absolutely necessary on our side;’ recommending it to the several New-England colonies "to be as speedy in making it as might be;" and assuring them, ‘that, in the mean time, instead of being idle, he would employ his men in building a Fort at the entrance upon the carrying-place towards Lake George, or, as the French call it, Lake Sacrament, and after that, clear a road thro' the carrying-place to the head of the Lake, and build another fort at that important pass, by which time he hoped the reinforcements would be raised and sent, enabling him to proceed on his design.’ It was while our General was at this pass, and before he had built the second fort, or received any reinforcements, that he was attacked by the French and Indians.

[Page 3] You have probably seen his Letter to the Governours of the seve­ral Colonies concerned in the Crown-point expedition; giving an account of his engagement with, and success against, the enemy: For it was printed the very day it came to hand, that every one might be ac­quainted with its contents. And if you have seen this letter, you must be pleased with it, and conceive an high opinion of the General's merit. Perhaps, the best bred regular could not have disposed matters, under like circumstances, with greater wisdom.—And the vein of modesty that runs thro' his whole narrative cannot but recommend him to all who are capable of discernment.—But as his letter was wrote so soon after the action, it was impossible the account of things should be particular enough to satisfy the curiously inquisitive.

I shall therefore give you a summary Abstract of what we have more lately received, that may be depended on for fact; from whence you will easily be let into a clear and just Idea of this whole Matter. And, as you will probably expect it from me, I shall hereupon add a few tho'ts tending to set the importance of this conquest in a proper light before you; not forgetting, before I finish, to acquaint you with the reinforcements the New-England colonies have raised and sent to guard against a disappointment as to the present expedition: Upon which you will be at no loss to determine, that the burden laid upon the New-England colonies is, in point of charge, far beyond what they are able to bear, if Great-Britain does not interpose for our help.

I have been at the pains to consider and compare a number of let­ters, which have been sent from the army, especially from the officers in it, and those among them, whose Character I am acquainted with; I have likewise had personal conversation with a Gentleman of distinc­tion, who, a full week after the action was over, was sent an express by the General to this town; and with another also who came away about the same time: And the sum of what I have collected, I shall relate to you under three divisions, answerable to the three engagements our men had with the enemy.

On the 7th of this instant, a number of Mohawks, who had been out as scouts, returned, and informed the General, that they had found three large roads from the south-bay, which they were satisfied could not be made but by the marching of so many considerable bodies of men, who were probably gone to attack our fort at the carrying-place. [Page 4] The General, upon this, dispatched two expresses^* that evening to Col. Blanchard, the commanding officer there, the latter of which returned about 12 o'clock with this account, "that they had both heard and seen the enemy, and that they were about four miles from the fort." A council of war having been call'd the next morning, the result was, that a 1000 men should be detached from the army under the command of Col. Williams, with 200 Indians under the command of Hendrick the Mohawk sachem, and sent to annoy the enemy, whether at the sort, or in their retreat from it, ei­ther as victorious, or defeated. This was accordingly done, without any loss of time; and it made way for, what I call, the first engage­ment. For this detachment had not marched above 2 miles and an ½ before they unexpectedly found themselves within reach of the enemy. They were first discovered by an advanced Party of Indians, with Hendrick at their head; who immediately fired upon them. This gave the alarm to Col. Williams, who endeavoured with a number of men to secure a rocky eminence hard by, from whence, as from a kind of castle, he might annoy the enemy. But, as they had intelli­gence of his march, by a scout they had sent out, they had secured it before, lay there in ambuscade, and upon his approach within sure reach of their guns, they rose up, fir'd, and kill'd him, and many more, dead on the spot. By this time the fight became very fierce on both sides. The advanced party of Indians behaved with the utmost intrepidity; but perceiving they should be surrounded, and destroyed, they gave way; and as they passed by our men, they told them of their danger, and advised to a retreat. They went on not­withstanding, fighting with undaunted courage and resolution; but finding themselves over-powered with numbers, and almost encircled, they quitted the ground, firing as they gave back with constancy and fury. Five or six Hundred of them retreated with such dexterity, and vigorous exertment, that the return of this detachment to the camp was hereby rendered, in a manner, safe and easy. The French Ge­neral owned, that we kill'd more of his men in this fight, than we lost of our own. And my informer assures me, this acknowledgment of his was agreeable to the truth of fact. For he saw himself, the [Page 5] next day, and counted, upwards of 140 dead bodies in the place where the fight first began; tho' he could not tell the precise number that were French, because they had been stripped by the Indians, and lay naked. And besides this heap, as it were, of dead bodies, he tells me, they were scattered more or less the whole way between the place where the engagement began, and the Camp. He further gave me to understand, that he took out his watch, when the fire was first heard at the camp; that he penciled the time; that it was precisely 11 o'clock wanting 5 minutes; and that the retreat was not finished till ½ after 12: So that this retreat, and the fight previous to it, con­tinued one hour and 35 minutes; from whence it appears, that our men were not over hasty in getting out of the way of danger: For they were distant from the camp no more than 2 miles and an ½.^† To me it seems very wonderful, considering the superiority of the enemy in number, and their coming upon our men unawares, that they were not intirely routed.

Some have found fault with this detachment; supposing that they should rather have been cut to pieces, than have turned their backs upon the enemy. But they herein talk wildly. A good retreat is the next glory to a victory. When troops are over-powered with numbers, and unawares too, the truest courage is discovered in de­vising and executing the best methods to come off with as little loss as may be. Had our men been upon equal terms with the enemy, I should have tho't they had acted unworthy of the Name of New-England men, if they had given way upon any consideration what­ever. But they had now to contend, not only with a large body of regular veterans, but with irregular troops more numerous than themselves. And, under these circumstances, what would bravery, conducted by wisdom, direct to, but to make as good a retreat as they could. They might have stood, 'tis true, till they had all been killed; but, in that case, they would have justly merited the cha­racter of mad-men. Tis probable, I own, this retreat (at least in regard of a number) might be attended with surprize, disorder and confusion: And it must otherwise have been miraculous; as many of [Page 6] our young Men were here, who never before heard a gun fired in anger. Besides, there was not so much as one regular in our whole army, either among the officers, or private men.—And further, they were now engaged, not with regulars only, but with Canadians and Indians, the manner of whose fighting is irregular and confused.—The wonder to me is, not that they retreated, or that numbers of them might be disordered in their retreat; but that they should be able, upon the whole, to make so good a retreat; annoying the enemy all the while they were retreating, and yet managing their retreat so as to come off with comparatively so small a loss. Col. Williams, Major Ashley, Capt. Ingersol, Capt. Porter, Capt. Ferral, Capt. Stod­dert, Capt. McGin, Capt. Stevens, Lieuts. Burt and Pumroy, fell in this engagement, with a considerable number of our private men. Hendrick, the noted Mohawk Sachem, fell likewise, with a number of Indians.

It may properly eno' be observed here;—when the Mohawks found their great Sachem dead and scalped, they were exceedingly enraged; surrounding the tent were the French General lay, and insisting that he should be delivered into their hands, that they might scalp him also. It was with great difficulty he was saved from fall­ing a sacrifice to their fury. Our officers were obliged to remove him from tent to tent to keep him concealed from them, and finally found it necessary, notwithstanding the badness of his wounds, to transport him privately to Albany; where he now is in a dangerous condition, if on this side the grave. The French han't behaved thus humanly and kindly towards English Prisoners. When they hear of this and other civilities towards their General, and the other captives with him, it will, I hope, make them ashamed of their past conduct, and teach them to treat our people in a more human way, should any fall into their and the Indian's hands, while united in any action.

It was not long after the return of this detachment to the Camp, before the enemy appeared in sight, and found our men in readiness to give them a warm reception. This was owing to the notice they had of their approaching towards them, and the gradual manner of it, occasioned by the above fight and retreat. It might have been of dangerous consequence, had they suddenly made an attack upon our camp; but as we had this warning, opportunity was happily [Page 7] given us to throw up a breast-work of trees (as General Johnson calls it); to plant a number of cannon in suitable places about it; to take possession of some eminences on our left flank, under the guard of a field-piece advantageously situated; to line our breast­work throughout with men; and, in short, to put things in the best disposition, time and circumstances would permit, to defend ourselves, and destroy the enemy. And now came on the second Battle, perhaps, the most furious and resolute, on both sides, that ever was fought in North-America. It opened between 11 and 12 o'clock (keeping to the General's account) with the fire of the French regulars; but in a few minutes, the fire became general, and nothing was heard but the noise of guns. This part of the attack was mostly made upon our left wing, bearing towards the center; and it was principally sustained by the Connecticut troops, who behaved with great activity and valour. When the French found, upon a long and obstinate tryal, that they must be destroyed if they continued here, they moved to the right of our camp, where the Massachusetts regiments were posted; and upon this attack also they maintained a brisk and resolute fire for a long time, but were so weaken'd by the warm and dextrous opposition they met with, that their fire gradually grew feeble, and with ob­servable intermissions: Upon which our brave men, together with the Indians, jumpt over the breast-work, resolutely fell upon them hatchet in hand, drove them off the ground, pursued after them, slew a great many, and took about 30 prisoners, among whom was Baron de Dieskau, the General of all the troops lately come to Canada from France.

This Engagement, with the pursuit, lasted about 7 hours. Our loss was less now, than in the former fight; but the loss on the side of the French was greater: According to the best accounts we killed, in this battle, 3 or 4 hundred of their men, officers and pri­vate soldiers.

When General Johnson's letter first came to town, we were ready to think, the French must have lost at least a thousand men; as the battle was of such long continuance, and we had the advantage of Cannon, and a Breast-work of trees to defend ourselves. Our Idea also of the bravery of the French was, by reason of this advan­tage, very much enlarged; and it seemed nothing extraordinary that our army, under the above circumstances, should get the better of [Page 8] them. But, from Major Hore, who came to this Government last week upon an Errand from the army, is one of its officers, and was excellently active in the late fight; as also from another Gentleman who came since, we were led to conceive more justly of the matter. Our wonder now was, not that a 1000 were not killed, but that so many as 3 or 400 should be slain in this battle. For their account is, "that the battle was fought upon a plain, covered with pitch-pine trees, of various sizes, some smaller, some greater, as is common in such plains, in their natural state of wildness, and a thick under-growth of shrubs, intermixed with brakes, as high as a man's waste; that no part of this plain was cleared, except only the road we had made from the fort at the Carrying-place to the Camp; that the French regulars marched in this road, and began the fight drawn up in order; that they kept their order but a small space of time, not long enough to receive a second discharge from our Cannon; and that the battle was now carried on in the Indian way by the whole French army, regulars as well irregulars, some fighting behind trees, and stumps, and others squatting so as to be defended by the under-growth of shrubs and brakes." Tis easy, upon this Representation of the Matter, to see, that the enemy were upon equal terms with us, tho' we had a kind of breast-work; nay, as it was nothing more [so I am inform'd by one that was present when it was made] than bodies of trees laid singly upon the ground, round the Camp, and in many places so as not to touch one another, I am ready to think, they had the advan­tage of us; especially as the under-growth near the Camp had be­fore been cut down for the conveniency of the army. And from hence also it will not appear strange, if our Cannon [three or four of which were the only ones that could be used, and these not more than 3 or 4 rounds, it being to little purpose to fire them] did not do them the damage, we, upon the first hearing of the story, might be apt to imagine. The plain truth is, after the regulars became irregulars in the manner of their fighting, there was no great slaugh­ter made, either by our Cannon, or random Musquetry. The chief execution was now done, partly by our men's watching for op­portunities to fire, when they could catch any of the French or Indi­ans within full view; for they are most of them so dextrous in the use of the Gun, as to be pritty sure of taking a man down within an hundred yards distance: And partly, by their rushing upon them, to­wards [Page 9] the close of the battle, and pursuing them, not only with their Guns, but hatchets also.^*

Our men, after they had entered on action, were least fearful of any ill consequence from the regulars; and they suffered least from them: Tho' none among the enemy suffered so much from us as these regulars, thro' their unacquaintedness with the American method of fighting. Few of them, comparatively, whether officers, or private men, are tho't to have escaped with their lives. How else can it be accounted for, that the General should be taken alone? So I was particularly informed he was by Major Hore, whose ac­count of this fact is confirmed by several letters from the army, particularly by one from General Lyman. Tis scarce credible, that the chief commanding officer, and one of such importance to the French interest, should be left by all his regulars, both officers and common soldiers, and in a wounded condition too, if they were generally alive. One would think, they must, for shame, have kept with him at all hazards. Thus much, I think must be allowed to be certain; either that they were generally slain, or struck with such a panic, upon being pursued by our men, as to be out of the possession of themselves.

General Johnson and Major Nichols were wounded in this engage­ment; and they only among the field-officers. The General re­ceived a Ball in his thigh; but he can now walk about, and we hope will be able to proceed in person in further prosecution of our design, when the reinforcements are arrived. Col. Titcomb was the only officer, at least above a Captain, that fell in this second battle. He was shot dead on the spot. And his fall is the more to be regretted, as he was well experienced in the method of battering forts. He had a principal hand in the erection of all the batteries at Louisbourg, and commanded one at that siege, which was known by his name, and was eminently galling to the enemy. He went then, and now also, chiefly for the publick benefit; and his name ought to be transmitted to posterity with honour.

One thing more may be worthy of notice with reference to this battle; and that is, that among the 2 or 300 arms that have already [Page 10] been bro't into the Camp, a number appear to have been those that were taken from us at the Ohio-defeat: From whence it is obvious to collect, that some of the Indians, or Canadians, or both, that came off conquerors at the Monongahela, were slain at Lake-George.—This was the fate particularly of Monsieur St. Piere, whose death is perhaps the greatest loss the French could have met with, at this day; as he was the chief commander of the Indians, and had most influence to engage them in any design against the English.

The third Engagement, as I may properly call it, was occasion'd thus.—Col. Blanchard, the chief officer at the Carrying-place, not knowing but they might need help at the Camp, detached to their assistance between 2 and 300 men, mostly New-Hampshire, some Yorkers, under the command of Capt. McGinnis. Between 4 and 5 o'clock they reached the place were Col. Williams had been attacked in the morning, and there they found about 500 of the enemy (chiefly Indians), who had fled from the former battle, and were come hither to refresh themselves, scalp our dead, take their packs, and get off. Our men fell upon them with the greatest fury, made prisoners of some, killed a great many, and intirely routed them; driving them off the ground, and recovering more of their packs than they could carry with them to the Camp.^† It can scarce be accounted for, that they should be able to accomplish all this, upon any other supposition than that of the enemy's being dis­pirited with the dressing they had received a little before, and mul­tiplying, in their fright, the numbers with which they were now beset. We lost but a few men in this fight. General Johnson says, two were killed, eleven wounded, and five missing. Among the wounded is Captain McGinnis, who behaved with prudence and valor. He is since dead of his wounds. The slaughter of the enemy was very considerable. The account we have received is, that we slew near an hundred of them: Thus ended the memo­rable 8th day of this instant September.

Our loss, upon the whole, amounts to 187 English; 126 killed, and 61 missing: Tho', of the missing, 20 are returned, and probably [Page 11] more by this time. I can't learn, that the Indians lost more than from 15 to 20. The wounded are 94 English, and about 10 or 12 Indians. The Massachusetts-regiments are the greatest sufferers, as they were most in action. Two of their 3 colonels were killed, and one of their majors [another was wounded], besides several of their Captains and Lieutenants; and among them, are the greater part of the private men that were slain. The loss on the enemy's side was much greater than on our's. We know not the number of their wounded; but between five and six hundred were probably slain in all the en­gagements, and it may be yet more; for our people are daily finding dead bodies. The account from New-York, and Albany is 700: But the precise number of the slain will never be known. The Indians, we are all sensible, are strangely sollicitous to hide their dead, and will run all hazards to this end. And they have doubtless concealed numbers of their killed men. We are satisfied of this, not only from their known temper and practice, but from our having found at least 40 biers, [poles with cross-sticks of wood, hastily put together] be­smeared with blood, upon which, it is supposed, they carried off numbers of their slain. Our people have also found some of their concealed dead, particularly 4 or 5 Indians in a sunk piece of land.

I may properly take notice here of, what I esteem, an excess of civility in our people towards the French.—They sent out parties, as soon as they could with conveniency, not only to bury their dead, but to bury as many of them as might be without the knowledge of the Indians, to prevent their being scalped. This I call an excess of civility, not indeed considered in itself simply, but comparing it with the conduct of the French towards us. They took no care to save any of our men, who fell at the southward, this summer, from being scalped; but suffered them all, officers as well as common soldiers, to have this indignity offered to them by the Indians: And moreover, they left their dead bodies upon the field of battle, as we have been well assured, to putrify and rot there, unless they were devoured by the wolves and crows, and other beasts and birds of prey. Considering this inhuman conduct of the French, I can't but think, we exceeded in our civilities to the dead at Lake-George. For we have learnt by long experience, that unless we treat them as they treat us, we may expect ill usage at their hands.

As to the Number of the French and Indians engaged in this bat­tle, it remains still uncertain. In the New-York News-paper, that [Page 12] came to Town last post, they are said to have been 3376. The account stands thus. Regulars, 1126. Militia, 1200 form'd in 12 companies, with 20 regulars in each company. Indian Traders, 300. Militia officers volunteers, 30. Cadets, about 20. Indians 700. Total, 3376. 'Tis evident, I believe, from General Dieskau's papers, that he bro't this number with him from Canada, thus par­ticularly ascertain'd: But whether he left any at Crown-point, or Ti­conderogo, and if any, how many, cannot perhaps be reduced to a cer­tainty. Thus much we may venture to say, as he knew our force, tis highly probable, he came with one that was superior. I cannot therefore suppose, he had less than 2000 Canadians and In­dians, besides 5 or 600 regulars at least. We had about 2100 New-England men, and between 2 and 300 Indians. The rest of our men were partly confin'd by sickness, but mostly left at the Carry­ing-place to take care of the fort there.

Having thus given you as particular an account, as you can rea­sonably expect, at present, of this victory over the French and Indians, I can't, in consistency with the regard I have for my Country, restrain my self from going on to represent, in a few words, the IMPORTANCE of it to the British Interest.

You will, at once, be sensible of its great Importance, if you only turn the tables in your mind, and suppose the French had been victors, instead of our army.

Some, by giving a loose to their imaginations, have strangely heightened our melancholy condition, in this view of the matter. They have, in their fancies, block'd up all communication with our Troops at Lake-Ontario, and delivered our Governor, who is now there, a prey into French hands;—they have look'd upon Albany as besieged, and taken;—yea, they have transported the enemy to New-York, and entertain'd fearful apprehensions respecting the fate even of that city.—But these are vain imaginations, the imagery of mere fancy; and must appear so to all, who will only call to mind, what was done at Albany, Connecticut, and the western parts of this Government, when it was known, that our army was attacked, but unknown what would be the issue. We have been well assured, they were beating to arms, and would have been upon the enemy, with trible their number, in a fortnight's time, had not tidings of our being conquerors rendered their immediate progress needless.

But though these fancied consequences would not have taken [Page 13] place, had the French come off victorious: yet others, and very mischievous ones too, must have followed. Our fort at the Carrying-place would certainly have fallen into their hands, and together therewith all the artillery, ammunition, and stores, which had not been taken by them at the Camp;—awful numbers of our men must have been slain, and captivated; and, in a word, our whole army routed, and an entire end put to our design against Crown-point, at least for this year:—All which has been happily prevented, by its being or­dered in providence, that the victory should fall on our side.

The positive advantages of this conquest are also very signal, and may be [...] worthy of particular notice.

Hereby the disgrace that was reflected on the British arms, on the banks of the Monongahela, is wholly wiped away. Were 300 of the English slain there? A much greater number of French and Indians (5 or 600) were slain here.—Were the English regu­lars struck with a panic, when attacked there by French and Indian irregulars? The French Regulars, and veterans also, were seized with an equal fright here, when pursued by New-England Irregu­lars: Otherwise they would not have fled so universally, and in such hurry, as to leave their first officer alone, not having a single man to help him.—Was the British General mortally wounded in that en­gagement? So was the French General in this: (he is supposed to be dead of his wounds, before this time) Only the advantage lies on our side; for our General was carried off by his own men, whereas the French General was left to fall a prisoner into his enemies hands.

Hereby an happy turn has been given to the spirits of our men on the one hand; and an unhappy one to the enemy's on the other. Our people, to an observing eye, were plainly under a depressure, oc­casioned by the horrid slaughter at the southward, the like whereto had never before been seen, or heard of, in the Country; while, on the other hand, the French and Indians were flusht with the victory they had obtained, and disposed therefrom to undertake any thing, imagining there would be no standing before them: But, by what was done at Lake George, this state of mind has luckily been inverted. We are now raised in our spirits, they sunk in their's:—We go on, in our design, animated with new life and vigor; they oppose us dis­couraged and intimidated:—We act against them as conquerors; they against us as having been fairly beat from the field of battle, and quite routed.

[Page 14] In fine, hereby the strength of the enemy has been greatly weak­ened. They have lost their General, an experienced warrior, who was purposely sent from France to be at the head of their military affairs; and they have lost also, together with him, most of their offi­cers of distinction and worth, and a great number of their common soldiers. 'Tis true, 2 or 3 of our chief officers, and 10 or 12 inferior ones, all men of bravery, were slain in the same field of battle, as well as a considerable number of our private men: But the loss on their side, with respect to officers as well as common soldiers, is far greater than on our's. Their prisoners say, their army is ruined. And, per­haps, after a deduction of their dead, their wounded, their captivated, their deserters, their lost and perished in the woods, their number (fitted for action) will not be more than half what it was, when they came forth against us. This is certainly a great advantage to us, and an equal disadvantage to them. They will doubtless, be rein­forced from Canada; but so will our army from New-England: And Canada, we know, can't supply such numbers of men, as it is in the power of New-England to do. And, by reason of this effort of the French, in which they were intirely disappointed, we are better able to judge, what reinforcements may be necessary, and are more warmly spirited to raise and send them, with the quickest dispatch.

And this minds me of my promise, not to forget to give you such an account of these reinforcements, as may be sufficient to open to you the absolute necessity of a large remittance from Great-Britain. And to this end, I need not be particular. It might be imprudent, under present circumstances, to be so: Tho' I may tell you, the General-Assembly of this province, who are now sitting, have, this week, acted the part of wise and kind fathers to this people, in send­ing home a representation of what has been done, with reference to this affair; and I cannot but hope, and believe, it will procure a re­moval of that heavy weight of charge that is now lying on us, and must sink us into ruin, if we don't receive support from out mother-country.

I shall therefore only say in general, that the reinforcements already gone, and now going, to our army, will make it a very formidable one, I mean, for this part of the world; and the charge, arising from the pay, and subsistence, [almost doubled in its cost, by the difficulty of transportation] of such a body of men, must appear, to all who will allow themselves to think, to be far beyond the utmost ability of a few poor, infant, colonies; as the New-England ones certainly are. They [Page 15] are all engaged in the present expedition; they will all therefore need assistance. Tho' this is emphatically true of the Massachusetts-Province: Nor can it be denied, that they have the first and best claim [I would not say an exclusive one] to the pity and help of Great-Britain. They are the Principals in the enterprize on foot, and bear the greatest part in it. But this is not all: The better half of each of the Regiments raised, this spring, upon the establishment, under Major General Shirley, and Major General Pepperrell, were inhabitants of the Massachusetts-Bay; and the other two regiments, which are gone to Nova-Scotia, were almost wholly made up of men of the same Province. 'Tis true, these regiments are in the pay of the crown: But still, the benefit of the labour of so many men, in their proper business, is lost to the Pro­vince; and further, the proportion of the tax that would have fallen to their share, must now be taken from them, and fastened upon the other members of the Govern­ment; which, you are sensible, will greatly increase their burden. Besides, no longer ago than last year we were at the expence of erecting a fort on the banks of Kenne­beck-River, under the cover of 8 or 900 men raised for the purpose, principally with a view to secure our Sovereign's rights in those parts; the expence of which fort, in its erection, and maintenance to this day, has amounted to Two Hundred Thousand Pounds, our money, at the lowest computation. Nor is this all yet: As we are at war, not only with the Indians near Canada, but with all the tribes of eastern Indians, (the Penobscots excepted, against whom also we are upon the point of proclaiming war,) we are obliged to keep a considerable number of our men constantly scouring the woods, from east to west, in a line of 2 or 300 miles, to defend our out-settle­ments against their depredations.—In short, one sixth part of the effective men in the Province are, at this day, in military service; and more than double the number in our own pay, than when we went against Cape-Breton: And if the burden of that expedition was justly tho't too heavy for us, much more is this the truth of the case at present.—We stand indeed a sad chance of being an undone people, if we are not pitied, and relieved from the other side of the water.—'Twill otherwise be certainly impossible for us to engage in any enterprize the next year.—We shall have neither a heart-disposing us, nor money enabling us, thereto: Whereas, if we are reimbursed this charge, and properly assured, that any other attempts shall be carried on at the expence of the Crown, it will give a spring to our vigor, and we shall join heart and hand in exerting our whole power to promote the service of our King in scourging his and our enemies.

And if we are thus supplied with money, let the southern colonies sleep on; let New-York government in particular, ingloriously sit still, and do nothing^†, while the [Page 16] New-England Governments are raising and sending large reinforcements in defence, even of those territories that are frontiers to them, and in the defence of which they especially should lay themselves out to the utmost: I say, if we of the Massachusetts-Province, together with the other New-England colonies, are properly encouraged and strengthened with money from home, we shall nothing regard the strange conduct of the southern Governments, but chearfully and resolutely undertake any enterprise for the common good; and doubt not, but we shall soon be able, without any assistance from them, under the smiles of providence, to bring down the pride of the American French, and make them glad to be at peace with us upon any terms.

Wishing soon to hear good tidings from our brethren, who, by this time, we would hope, are gone from Lake-George, properly reinforced, in further prosecution of their design, I am, with great Respect,

P. S. The Indians have all left our Camp; tho' not thro' disgust, but in compliance with a custom they have of going home after a battle, to rejoice and mourn, as there is occasion for both, or either. They passed thro' Albany with many scores of scalps, mostly French, fastened on poles, and carried along in solemn triumph. They seemed highly pleased also with the laced [...] and clothes, the guns, the watches, the pocket-money, and other plunder, our people were willing to let them have for their encouragement; and it very much added to their pleasure to bear, that Governor Hardy had bro't a noble present for them from his Britannick Majesty. Their return is expected in about a fortnight, with a much greater number from their several tribes, when Gover­nor Hardy will, WITHOUT FRAUD, in person, in the name of his royal Master, deli­ver the present to them: Upon which they will rejoin our army. It is said, and I believe with truth, that they design to send to all the tribes of Indians in subjection to, and al­liance with them, to sharpen their arrows, and come forth to revenge the death of their Sachem.—The fall of this Indian Chief is a great loss to us, as well as them. For he was a fast friend to the English, as an inveterate hater of the French; having too much understanding not to see thro' their designs, which he was convinced would finally end, if accomplished, in the reduction of the Indians, to a state of slavery. It was very much owing to his influence, that the Six-Nations, notwithstanding the abuses they have suf­fered from some Yorkers, have been so firmly attached to our interest—Perhaps, there is not left, among all the Indians on the continent, a man equal to him in policy; and he had the strength and courage of a Lyon.