habitants, burn the buildings to the ground, and
in an hour be far away beyond reach of pursuit. All that I can do is to
occupy the chief roads, by which they can advance into the heart of the
colony, and the people of the settlements lying west of that must,
perforce, abandon their homesteads, and fly east until we are strong
enough to again take up the offensive.

"Were I in your place, I would at once take horse and ride north. You
will then be in plenty of time, if inclined, to join in the expedition
against the French on Fort George, or in that which is going to march
on Niagara. I fancy the former will be ready first. You will find
things better managed there than here. The colonists in that part have,
for many years, been accustomed to Indian fighting, and they will not
be hampered by having regular troops with them, whose officers' only
idea of warfare is to keep their men standing in line as targets for
the enemy.

"There are many bodies of experienced scouts, to which you can attach
yourself, and you will see that white men can beat the Indians at their
own game."

Although sorry to leave the young Virginian officer, James Walsham
thought that he could not do better than follow his advice, and
accordingly, the next day, having procured another horse, he set off to
join the column destined to operate on the lakes.

The prevision of Washington was shortly realized, and a cloud of red
warriors descended on the border settlements, carrying murder, rapine,
and ruin before them. Scores of quiet settlements were destroyed,
hundreds of men, women, and children massacred, and in a short time the
whole of the outlying farms were deserted, and crowds of weeping
fugitives flocked eastward behind the line held by Washington's
regiment.

But bad as affairs were in Virginia, those in Pennsylvania were
infinitely worse. They had, for many years, been on such friendly terms
with the Indians, that many of the settlers had no arms, nor had they
the protection in the way of troops which the government of Virginia
put upon the frontier. The government of the colony was at
Philadelphia, far to the east, and sheltered from danger, and the
Quaker assembly there refused to vote money for a single soldier to
protect the unhappy colonists on the frontier. They held it a sin to
fight, and above all to fight with Indians, and as long as they
themselves were free from the danger, they turned a deaf ear to the
tales of massacre, and