the trigger in the great war which won the West from France!
But with the boasts came no little information concerning the French operations on the Great Lakes, the number of their forts and men. But Washington did not get off for Fort La Bœuf the next day, as the weather was exceedingly rough. This gave the wily Joncaire a chance to tamper with his Indians, and the opportunity was not neglected. Upon learning that Half King was in the envoy's retinue, he professed great regret that Washington had not "made free to bring him in before." The Virginian was quick with a stinging retort: since he had heard Joncaire "say a good deal in dispraise of the Indians in general" he did not "think their company agreeable." But Joncaire had his way and "applied the Liquor so fast" that, lo! the poor Indians "were soon rendered incapable of the Business they came about."
In the morning Half King came to Washington's tent hopefully sober but urging that another day be spent at Venango, since "the Management of the Indian Affairs was left solely to Monsieur Joncaire." To
