always pushing the envelope of the western frontier, croghan states in a letter written to sir william johnson dated september 10, 1755: "i live 30 miles back of all inhabitance on ye fronteers…" (volwiler 1926, 48). by 1755, croghan was essentially "hiding out" in the back country of the province, since he lost many assets provisioning braddock's expedition, in addition to his losses in the ohio country during the previous year.