On  September  7th  an  Indian  scout  arrived  about  sunset
and  reported  that  he  had  found  the  trail  of  a  body  of  men
moving  from  South  Bay,  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake
Champlain,  toward  Fort  Lyman.  Johnson  called  for  a
volunteer  to  carry  a  letter  of  warning  to  Colonel  Blanchard.
A  wagoner  named  Adams  offered  to  undertake  the  perilous
service  and  rode  off  with  the  letter.  Sentries  were  posted
and  the  camp  fell  asleep.
While  Johnson  had  been  taking  his  leisure  on  Lake
George  the  commander  of  the  French  force,  a  German  baron
named  Dieskau  was  preparing  a  surprise  for  him;  he  had
reached  Crown  Point  at  the  head  of  3,573  men — regulars,
Canadians,  and  Lidians — and  he  at  once  moved  forward
with  the  greater  jDortion  of  his  command  on  Cariolon,  or,  as
it  was  afterward  called,  Ticonderoga,  a  jiromontory  at  the
junction  of  Lake  George  with  Lake  Champlain,  where  he
would  bar  the  advance  of  the  English  whichever  road  they
might  take.  The  Indians  with  the  French  caused  great
trouble  to  their  commander,  doing  nothing  but  feast  and
sleep,  but  on  Sej)tember  4th  a  party  of  them  came  in  bring-
ing a  scalp  and  an  English  prisoner  caught  near  Fort  Lyman.
He  was  questioned  under  the  threat  of  being  given  over
to  the  Indians  to  torture  if  he  did  not  tell  the  truth,  but
the  brave  fellow,  thinking  he  should  lead  the  enemy  into
a  trap,  told  them  that  the  English  army  had  fallen  back  to
Albany,  leaving  500  men  at  Fort  Lyman,  which  he  repre-
sented as  being  entirely  indefensible.
