traders, who had undoubtedly been instrumental in goading
the Indians to hostilities, had now the trade of the
Wabash and lower Ohio, and of the tributaries of both,
in their own hands. No British trader could venture into
the region with impunity; the few who attempted it were
plundered and murdered.

The scene of hostilities now shifts to the north. Next
to Detroit the most important fort on the Great Lakes
west of Niagara was Michilimackinac, situated on the
southern shore of the strait connecting Lakes Huron and
Michigan. The officer there had supervision of the lesser
forts at Sault Ste Marie, Green Bay, and St Joseph. At
this time Sault Ste Marie was not occupied by troops. In
the preceding winter Lieutenant Jamette had arrived to
take command; but fire had broken out in his quarters
and destroyed the post, and he and his men had gone back
to Michilimackinac, where they still were when the Pontiac
War broke out. There were two important Indian tribes in
the vicinity of Michilimackinac, the Chippewas and the
Ottawas. The Chippewas had populous villages on the island
of Mackinaw and at Thunder Bay on Lake Huron. They had
as their hunting-grounds the eastern half of the peninsula
which is now the state of Michigan. The Ottawas claimed
as their territory the western half of the peninsula,
and their chief village was L'Arbre Croche, where the
venerable Jesuit priest, Father du Jaunay, had long
conducted his mission.

The Indians about Michilimackinac had never taken kindly