Next came the turn of the forts which connected Lake Erie with the Ohio. On the 15th of June Presque Isle was attacked; on the 17th it surrendered. It was a strong fort, and in the opinion of Bouquet--a competent judge--its commander, Ensign Christie, showed little stubbornness in defence. Fort le Bœuf fell on the 18th, Venango about the same date, and communication between the lakes and Fort Pitt was thus cut off. Fort Pitt itself was threatened by the Indians, and towards the end of July openly attacked, while on Forbes’ and Bouquet’s old route from that fort to Bedford in Pennsylvania, Fort Ligonier was also at an earlier date assailed, though fortunately without success. [Sidenote: Dalyell sent to the relief of Detroit.] [Sidenote: The fight at Parents Creek.] [Sidenote: Death of Dalyell.] Amherst now realized the gravity of the crisis, and his first care was the relief of Detroit. A force of 280 men, commanded by Captain Dalyell, one of his aides de camp, and including Robert Rogers with 20 Rangers, was sent up from Niagara, ascended on the 29th of July the Detroit river by night, and reached the fort in safety. Long experience in North American warfare had taught the lesson which Wolfe always preached, that the English should, whenever and wherever it was possible, take the offensive. Accordingly Dalyell urged Gladwin, against the latter’s better judgement, to allow him to attack Pontiac at once; and before daybreak, on the morning of the 31st, he led out about 250 men for the purpose. Less than two miles north-east of the fort, a little stream, then known as Parents Creek and after the fight as Bloody Run, ran into the main river; and beyond it was Pontiac’s encampment, which Dalyell proposed to surprise. Unfortunately the Indians were fully informed of the intended movement, and there ensued one more of the many disasters which marked the onward path of the white men in North America. The night was dark: the English advance took them among enclosures and farm buildings, which gave the Indians cover. As the leading soldiers were crossing the creek they were attacked by invisible foes; and, when compelled to retreat, the force was beset on all sides and ran the risk of being cut off from the fort. Dalyell[9] was shot dead; and, before the fort was reached, the English had lost one-fourth of their whole number in killed and wounded. The survivors owed their safety to the steadiness of the officers, to the fact that Rogers and his men seized and held a farmhouse to cover the retreat, and to the co-operation of two armed boats, which moved up and down the river parallel to the advance and retreat, bringing off the dead and wounded, and pouring a fire from the flank among the Indians. Pontiac had achieved a notable success, but Detroit remained safe, and meanwhile in another quarter the tide set against the Indian cause. [Sidenote: Fort Pitt.]