A half-century of conflict. France and England in North America. Part ...

1746.] ATTACKS AT NUMBER FOUR. 221Fort Dummer, itsnearest neighbor, which had beenbuilt by public authority at the charge of theprovince.But a fort must have a garrison, and the ten ortwelve men of Number Four would hardly be a sufficientone. Sooner or later an attack was certain; forthe place was a backwoods Castle Dangerous, lyingin the path of war-parties from Canada, whethercoming down the Connecticut from Lake Memphremagog,or up Otter Creek from Lake Champlain,then over the mountains to Black River, and sodown that stream, which would bring them directlyto Number Four. New Hampshire would do nothingfor them, and their only hope was in Massachusetts,of which most of them were natives, and whichhad good reasons for helping them to hold theirground, as a cover to its own settlements below.The governor and Assembly of Massachusetts did, infact, send small parties of armed men from time totime to defend theendangered outpost, and the succorwas timely ; for though, during the first year ofthe war, Number Four was left in peace, yet fromthe nineteenth of April to the nineteenth of June,1746, it was attacked by Indians five times, withsome loss of scalps, and more of cattle, horses, andhogs. On the last occasion there was a hot fight inthe woods, ending in the retreat of the Indians, saidto have numbered a hundred and Mty, into a swamp,leaving behind them guns, blankets, hatchets, spears,and other things, valued at forty pounds, old tenor.