But the reign of terror maintained by the movements of Pontiac was drawing to its close. The power of the civilized party was too much for a combination like his. General Bradstreet, with a force of three thousand men, proceeded to Niagara early in the summer of 1764, on his way to the north-west. Here a grand council was held, at which nearly two thousand Indians attended. One account says there were representatives present from twenty-two different tribes, including eleven of the western,--a fact strikingly indicating the immense train of operations managed by the influence of Pontiac. Many of his best allies had now deserted the chieftain. The traveler, Henry, who was under Bradstreet's command, mentions that he was himself appointed leader of ninety six _Chippewas_ of the Sault de Sainte-Marie, and other savages, under the name of the Indian Battalion;--"Me," he adds, "whose best hope it had very lately been, to live through their forbearance." It ought to be observed, however, in justice to the men who were thus led against their own countrymen and kinsmen, that by the time the army reached Fort Erie, their number was reduced to fourteen by desertion. On the arrival of the army at Detroit, which they reached without opposition, all the tribes in that region came in and concluded a peace, with the exception of the Delawares and Shawanees. But Pontiac was no more seen. He not only took no part in the pending negotiation, but abandoned the country, and repaired to the Illinois. We find no authority for the assertion of Carver, that henceforward he laid aside his animosity for the English; and still less, that "to reward _this new attachment,_ Government allowed him a handsome pension." Even this writer admits that his conduct "at length grew suspicious." Rogers, on the other hand, who had good opportunities of knowing the facts, says, that while "some of the Indians left him, and by his consent made a separate peace, _he would not be personally concerned in it,_ saying, that when he made a peace, it should be such a one as would be useful and honorable to himself, and to the King of Great Britain. _But he has not as yet proposed his terms._" [FN] * * * * * [FN] Rogers' Account, p. 244. This account bears manifest marks of correctness. It agrees with many other illustrations of a magnanimity which might have made Pontiac a fit comrade for the Knights of the middle ages. But confirmations of it may be found elsewhere. It was the common belief of the times, that he had gone among the Illinois, with a view of there holding himself in readiness for whatever might happen to the benefit of the great cause for which he was resolved to live and die; and probably, also, to use active measures as fast and as far as might be advisable. The following passage occurs in an authentic letter from Detroit, dated May 19, 1765.