The prisoners at L'Arbre Croche, however, were well treated, and finally taken to Montreal by way of the Ottawa river, under an escort of friendly Indians.
On the southern shore of Lake Erie, where the city of Erie now stands, was the fortified post of Presqu'isle, a stockaded fort with several substantial houses.

It was considered a strong position, and its commandant, Ensign John Christie, had confidence that he could hold out against any number of Indians that might beset him.

The news brought by Cuyler when he visited Presqu'isle, after the disaster at Point Pelee, put Christie on his guard.
Presqu'isle had a blockhouse of unusual strength, but it was of wood, and inflammable.

To guard against fire, there was left at the top of the building an opening through which water could be poured in any direction.
The blockhouse stood on a tongue of land--on the one side a creek, on the other the lake.

The most serious weakness of the position was that the banks of the creek and the lake rose in ridges to a considerable height, commanding the blockhouse and affording a convenient shelter for an attacking party within musket range.
Christie had twenty-four men, and believed that he had nothing to fear, when, on June 15, some two hundred Wyandots arrived in the vicinity.