But on the 11th Pontiac crossed to the Wyandot village,
and threatened it with destruction if the warriors did
not take up the tomahawk. On this compulsion they consented,
no doubt glad of an excuse to be rid of the discipline
of their priest.
Another attack on the fort was made, this time by about
six hundred Indians; but it was as futile as the one of
the earlier day. Pontiac now tried negotiation. He summoned
Gladwyn to surrender, promising that the British should
be allowed to depart unmolested on their vessels. The
officers, knowing that their communications with the east
were cut, that food was scarce, that a vigorous assault
could not fail to carry the fort, urged Gladwyn to accept
the offer, but he sternly refused. He would not abandon
Detroit while one pound of food and one pound of powder
were left in the fort. Moreover, the treacherous conduct
of Pontiac convinced him that the troops and traders as
they left the fort would be plundered and slaughtered.
He rejected Pontiac's demands, and advised him to disperse
his people and save his ammunition for hunting.
At this critical moment Detroit was undoubtedly saved by
a French Canadian. But for Jacques Baby, the grim spectre
Starvation would have stalked through the little fortress.
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