and secrecy, captured the unsuspecting British garrison at Fort Niagara. Pressing on, they built a saw-mill on a creek near the shore of Lake Ontario. A fort was quickly erected, a shipyard constructed near the mouth of Niagara River, and the building of vessels begun as soon as possible.
By great vigilance, supplies sent by the British to Fort Niagara were captured, and information of the shipbuilding on Lake Ontario was prevented from coming to the knowledge of the enemy.
All through the summer of 1775 the shipbuilders, brought from Boston and Baltimore, worked on, with all the assistance which the skilled mechanics and a swarm of laborers from Aristopia could give them. The fleet was to be a strong one, for the commonwealth determined that no second blow should be needed. The foundries of Aristopia were now turning out as heavy and as good guns as any in the world. These great guns were brought to arm the Ontario fleet.
It was a debated point with the commanderin-chief of the army and navy of Aristopia whether the blow should be struck in the fall of 1775 or the spring of 1776, but events de-
