On the Trail to Fort Pitt by Robert Griffing

The year is 1762. It will be another year before a formal peace treaty will end the worldwide struggle between France and England, but in North America the fighting ended two years ago with the fall of Montreal. New France, which once stretched from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River and from the Gulf of Mexico well up into Canada, is now under British control. The Eastern Woodland Indian tribes, whether previously allied with England or France, are now required to deal with the British traders to procure the manufactured goods that they have grown so dependent on.

In this scene, a band of Mingo warriors pauses on the heights overlooking where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers merge into the mighty Ohio. The Mingoes are Indians of Iroquois descent who have settled in Western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Country. This group is on its way to trade their furs at Fort Pitt, which stands on the point of land below. The fort is not only an important military post; it has become a thriving trade center as well.