But Gladwyn was angry. He replied that the friendship of which the chief talked depended wholly upon him. So long as he and his people acted with honesty, they would be well treated, but if they proved unworthy, they should suffer. He left it to the chief himself to decide upon his course. Pontiac still hoped to deceive the English commandant. He repeated his words of good will, saying that as evil birds had sung in the ears of his great ally, he would prove to him by his deeds that he should not listen to them. This sort of talk was kept up until Gladwyn lost patience, and gave orders that neither Pontiac nor his warriors should be allowed again to enter the gate. Unsuspicious of anything of the kind, the chief appeared with a number of his men at the gate soon afterward, and was instantly ordered by the guard to keep away, unless he chose to come alone. The rebuff threw Pontiac into a rage. He saw it was useless to keep up the farce any longer, and threw all disguise aside. He dashed off at the head of his indignant warriors with whoops of defiance. They fired their guns at the garrison, who replied without effect, and ran to the house of an old English woman and her two sons, whom they tomahawked, and whose scalps they swung aloft in sight of the garrison. Then they sped to Hog Island, where an old sergeant lived, and slew him. The war had begun. Pontiac had planned that attacks should be made on the same day upon all the British posts on the Lakes,--St. Joseph, Ouiantenon, Green Bay, Michilimackinac, Detroit, the Maumee, and the Sandusky, as well as the forts of Niagara, Presque Isle, Le Bœuf, Venango and Pittsburg. It was a far-reaching conspiracy, and, if successful, would have been the severest blow that could be dealt the frontier. Before giving the history of the siege of Detroit, let us glance at the fate of one other of the forest garrisons. Michilimackinac (Mackinaw) stood, as we know, on the south side of the strait of the same name, between Lakes Huron and Michigan. It was there the traders gathered on their journey to and from Montreal, and it was one of the most important posts in the West. It had about thirty families in as many different houses, and the garrison numbered nearly a hundred men. Its capture was left to the Chippewas, who were aided by the Sacs. They formed a cunning plan, which was kept secret from the garrison. It was to engage in a game of Indian ball, like lacrosse. Two posts were set up a long distance apart, and the ball was laid on the ground midway between them. The parties placed at the ends strove to bat the ball towards the opposite post, whose defenders tried equally hard to send the sphere into the other's territory. Like all games of this character a great deal of excitement is developed, and it was this fact upon which the Indians counted to surprise the garrison.