On either
side of the river the fertile fields and the long row of
whitewashed, low-built houses, with their gardens and
orchards of apple and pear trees, fenced about with
rounded pickets, presented a picture of peace and plenty.
The summers of the inhabitants were enlivened by the
visits of the Indians and the traders; and in winter they
light-heartedly whiled away the tedious hours with gossip
and dance and feast, like the habitants along the Richelieu
and the St Lawrence.
The militia of the settlement, as we have seen, had been
deprived of their arms at the taking over of Detroit by
Robert Rogers; and for the most part the settlers maintained
a stolid attitude towards their conquerors, from whom
they suffered no hardship and whose rule was not galling.
The British had nothing to fear from them. But the Indians
were a force to be reckoned with. There were three Indian
villages in the vicinity--the Wyandot, on the east side
of the river, opposite the fort; the Ottawa, five miles
above, opposite Ile au Cochon (Belle Isle); and the
Potawatomi about two miles below the fort on the west
shore. The Ottawas here could muster 200 warriors, the
Potawatomis about 150, and the Wyandots 250, while near
at hand were the Chippewas, 320 strong.
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