noon
Conscious of his great corpulence , and its disadvantages to him as a soldier , he not only made every allowance for the sallies of his lively and more favored brother officers , but often good-naturedly joined in the laugh against himself -- all the badinage uttered against his personal appearance , he had , on this occasion , borne with the most perfect temper ; but when , presuming on his forbearance , they proceeded to reflect on the hurried , and , under all circumstances , justifiable manner of his retreat , after having sustained an unequal conflict against an overpowering enemy for upwards of two hours , his honest heart was wounded to the core ; and , although he uttered not one word , the unkindness sank deeply into his memory . The following dawn broke in , decked with all the sad and sober gray , peculiar to a Canadian sky in the depth of winter , and , with the first rising of the almost rayless sun , commenced numerous warlike preparations that gave promise to the inhabitants of some approaching crisis . The event justified their expectation , the suggestion of Colonel D'Egville had been adopted , and the same express , which carried to General Proctor the information of the advance of the enemy , and , the expulsion of Lieutenant Raymond from his post , was pushed on to Detroit , with an order for every man who could be spared from that fortress , to be marched , without a moment 's delay , to Amherstburg . At noon the detachment had arrived , and , the General making his appearance soon after , the expedition , composed of the strength of the two garrisons , with a few light guns , and a considerable body of Indians , under the Chief Roundhead , were pushed rapidly across the lake , and the same night occupied the only road by which the enemy could advance . It was a picturesque sight , to those who lingered on the banks of the Detroit , to watch the movement of that mass of guns , ammunition cars , sledges , & c. preceding the regular march of the troops , as the whole crossed the firm yet rumbling ice , at the head of the now deserted Island of Bois-Blanc . Nor was this at all lessened in effect by the wild and irregular movements of the Indians , who advancing by twos and threes , but more often singly , and bounding nimbly , yet tortuously , along the vast white field with which the outline of their swarthy forms contrasted , called up , at the outset , the idea of a legion of devils . But there was more than the mere indulgence of curiosity in the contemplation of this scene , so highly characteristic of the country .