Pontiac, although
head chief of the Ottawas, did not live in the village,
but had his wigwam on Ile a la Peche, at the outlet of
Lake St Clair, a spot where whitefish abounded. Here he
dwelt with his squaws and papooses, not in 'grandeur,'
but in squalid savagery. Between the Indians and the
French there existed a most friendly relationship; many
of the habitants, indeed, having Indian wives.
Near the centre of the settlement, on the west bank of
the river, about twenty miles from Lake Erie, stood Fort
Detroit, a miniature town. It was in the form of a
parallelogram and was surrounded by a palisade twenty-five
feet high. According to a letter of an officer, the walls
had an extent of over one thousand paces. At each corner
was a bastion and over each gate a blockhouse. Within
the walls were about one hundred houses, the little
Catholic church of Ste Anne's, a council-house, officers'
quarters, and a range of barracks. Save for one or two
exceptions the buildings were of wood, thatched with bark
or straw, and stood close together. The streets were
exceedingly narrow; but immediately within the palisade
a wide road extended round the entire village. The
spiritual welfare of the French and Indian Catholics in
the garrison was looked after by Father Potier, a Jesuit,
whose mission was in the Wyandot village, and by Father
Bocquet, a Recollet, who lived within the fort; Major
Henry Gladwyn was in command.
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