which the inmates could see the whole length of the wall and shoot any
one attempting to climb it, set fire to it, or do it any harm.

The small log houses within were crowded together with only narrow
passage-ways between. They were roofed with bark or thatched with straw.
To lessen the danger of fire a wide road was left between the wall and
the houses. Besides dwelling houses, there were in the fort the barracks
where the soldiers stayed, the church, shops, and the council house,
where meetings with the Indians were held.

At this time the garrison consisted of about one hundred and twenty
men. But counting the other inmates of the fort and the Canadians who
lived along the river, there were about two thousand five hundred white
people in the Detroit settlement. On the outskirts of the settlement
hung the Indian villages, much as the Indian villages crowd around the
white settlements of Alaska to-day.

In the midst of the wilderness this little band of English lived
protected by their log walls. No friends were near. Their nearest
neighbors were the conquered French, who regarded them with jealousy and
dislike. Not far away were their Indian enemies. Yet they thought little
of danger.

Occasionally some story of Indian treachery, some rumor of Indian
hostility, or some omen of evil filled the garrison with vague alarm. In
October, 1762, dense clouds gathered over the fort, and soon rain black
as ink fell from them. This strange occurrence stirred up the fears of
the settlers. Some said that it was a sign that the end of the world was
at hand; others, that it was a sign of war. But by the spring of the
next year the settlers of Detroit had ceased to think of the black rain
and war.

If a few had suffered unrest because of the Indians, their fears were
put to flight by a visit which Pontiac made to Detroit late in April.
With forty of his chiefs he came to the fort asking to be allowed to
perform the peace dance before the commander. The request was granted,
and a good-natured crowd gathered near Major Gladwin's house to see the
Indian dance.

No one thought anything of the fact that ten of the party took no part
in the dance, but strolled around the fort prying into everything. Those
who noticed them at all, thought their conduct showed nothing more than
childish curiosity.

No one dreamed that these men were spies, and that the sole purpose of
the visit was to discover the strength of the garrison. The India