Siege of Fort Detroit had apparently been informed of Pontiac's plan, and the garrison of about 120 men was armed and ready. Pontiac withdrew and, two days later, laid siege to the fort. A number of British soldiers and civilians in the area outside the fort were captured or killed; one of the soldiers was ritually cannibalized, as was the custom in some Great Lakes Indian cultures. The violence was directed only at the British: French colonists were left alone. Eventually more than 900 Indian warriors from a half-dozen tribes joined the siege. On May 28, a supply convoy commanded by Lieutenant Abraham Cuyler
The Light in the Forest through northeastern Ohio. It meets the Walhonding River to form the Muskingum River near Coshocton. (“The Forks of the Muskingum” are mentioned frequently in the novel.) The Muskingum in turn meets the Ohio River near Marietta, Ohio. Fort Pitt, later developed as Pittsburgh, stood at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. A British post, it replaced the French Fort Duquesne in 1758 during the French and Indian War, which the British won in 1763. Harris’ Ferry was located in the area where True Son and his party crossed the Susquehanna. The city of Harrisburg developed at this site.