The Fort was garrissoned
by His Majesty's soldiers, and I did not conceive that they were much
fitted for bush-ranging, which I afterwards found to be the case, but
they would always fight well enough, though often to no good purpose,
which was not their fault so much as the headstrong leadership which
persisted in making them come to close quarters while at a disadvantage.
There were great numbers of pack horses coming and going with stores,
and many officers in gold lace and red coats were riding about directing
here and there. I can remember that I had a great interest in this
concourse of men, for up to that time I had not seen much of the world
outside of the wilderness. There was terror of the Canada indians who
had come down to our borders hunting for scalps--for these were
continually lurking near the cantane-ments to waylay the unwary. I had
got acquainted with a Hampshire borderer who had passed his life on the
Canada frontier, where he had fought indians and been captured by them.
I had seen much of indians and knew their silent forest habits when
hunting, so that I felt that when they were after human beings they
would be no mean adversaries, but I had never hunted them or they me.
I talked at great length with this Shankland, or Shanks as he was called
on account of his name and his long legs, in course of which he
explained many useful points to me concerning Ranger ways.
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