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Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 37
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not contradicted before that time I should march towards Fort
Frederick on the 23d Inst with about 400 Men which I doubted
not but I should be able eer that to assemble. At the same
time that I writ this Letter to Colo Stanwix I sent others to
the several Captains of Militia in Frederick County advising
them of my being at Frederick Town in my way to the Fron-
tiers & requiring them to join me without Delay, I had the
Satisfaction to hear next Day that they were all in Motion in
Obedience to the Orders I had issued & found that I should
be able to march with at least the Number that I had given
Colo Stanwix Room to expect, but in the Evening of the 22d
I had the pleasure to receive a second Letter from Capt Dag-
worthy dated the 17th Inst wherein he told me that another
party of Cherokees had returned to Fort Cumberland the
Night before with two Scalps which they had taken within a
hundred Yds of Fort Du Quesne & had assured him that the
Party of the Enemy which had been represented to him by
the other Cherokees as so formidable a Body was no more
than a Scalping Party & that they took neither Artillery nor
Carriages with them. They declared that they had lain in
Sight of Fort Du Quesne when the Enemy marched thence &
were very positive that their Number did not at most exceed
two or three hundred. Being told what the Cherokees who
first came in & who gave the Alarm had insisted on, they said
that they were Young Men & had been frightened, that some
Cannon had been indeed fired at the French Fort while they
were in Sight of it & when the Enemy's Party marched thence
& they supposed that on the Report of these Guns & seeing
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Letter Bk. I.
p. 284
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the Tracks of the Enemy's Party or perhaps the Party itself
they had been alarmed & that their Fear made them magnify
the objects that had struck them. I presume this was pretty
much the Case, tho perhaps as there was no Body at Fort
Cumberland that was well acquainted with the Language of
the Cherokees the Mistake was owing to Nothing but the
want of an Interpreter. However as Capt Dagworthy writ in
such a manner as convinced me that he did not beleive that
the French were marching any considerable Body towards him
& as I was unwilling to put the Province to any Expence that
could be prudently avoided I did immediately on my Receipt
of his second Letter countermand the Orders that I had before
sent to the Militia Officers & the Men were accordingly dis-
missed the next Morning. As Copies of the Letters that were
brought to me were sent to Colo Stanwix & Colo Washington
& by the latter forwarded to Governor Dinwiddie Colo Stan-
wix was preparing to march with the five Companies of the
Royal Americans & some of the Pensilvaa Forces & Seven
Regiments of the Virga Militia were ordered to advance to-
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p. 285
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