reports of massacres committed in other regions; he knew the tide must
be met before it became irresistible and breasted in the North. Four
great expeditions were planned by the English to frustrate the schemes
of the enemy: against Fort Niagara, Crown Point on Lake Champlain, Fort
Duquesne, and against the French in Nova Scotia.

It was to take part in the expedition with Crown Point as its objective
that Israel Putnam abandoned his farm, early in the summer of 1755, just
when it needed him most, and started on his second long journey away
from home. He reached the rendezvous at Albany, after a toilsome march
through the forests that intervened between the Connecticut and the
Hudson, and there found three thousand other "Provincials" gathered for
the defense of the colonies. Most of them were sons of the soil, like
Putnam, and like him were yet to receive their baptism of fire; but they
were sturdy and valiant, though appearing rude and uncouth in the eyes
of the British veterans.

The commander-in-chief of the British Colonial forces in North America
at the beginning of the war was Governor William Shirley of
Massachusetts, and the commander of the Crown Point expedition was
General William Johnson, the famous and eccentric "sachem" of the
Mohawks. Having lived for many years with or near the Indians, this
Englishman had acquired a great influence over them, especially over the
Mohawks, of whose tribe he had been elected an honorary sachem. He had
learned their language, had even adopted their peculiar garb, and at
times adorned his face with war-paint and performed with his savage
friends the furious war-dance. His stanch ally was the ever faithful
chief of the Mohawks, the valiant Hendrick, who rendered invaluable
service to the English and was killed while battling for their cause.