He says that he has sent him all the
succors he could, and ordered troops to go to his aid from Niagara,
Detroit, and Illinois, as well as the militia of Detroit, with the
Indians there and elsewhere in the West,--Hurons, Ottawas,
Pottawattamies, Miamis, and other tribes. What he fears is that the
English will not attack the fort till all these Indians have grown tired
of waiting, and have gone home again.[653] This was precisely the
intention of Forbes, and the chief object of his long delays.
[Footnote 653: _Vaudreuil au Ministre, Juillet, Aout, Octobre 1758._]
He had another good reason for making no haste. There was hope that the
Delawares and Shawanoes, who lived within easy reach of Fort Duquesne,
and who for the past three years had spread havoc throughout the English
border, might now be won over from the French alliance. Forbes wrote to
Bouquet from Shippensburg: "After many intrigues with Quakers, the
Provincial Commissioners, the Governor, etc., and by the downright
bullying of Sir William Johnson, I hope I have now brought about a
general convention of the Indians."[654] The convention was to include
the Five Nations, the Delawares, the Shawanoes, and other tribes, who
had accepted wampum belts of invitation, and promised to meet the
Governor and Commissioners of the various provinces at the town of
Easton, before the middle of September. This seeming miracle was wrought
by several causes.
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