Hostile Indians and French soldiers were not the only enemies Gen. John Forbes had to contend with as he moved his army through the wilderness of southwestern Pennsylvania 250 years ago.

"Provincial interest, jealousy and suspicions" divided the governments of Virginia and Pennsylvania, according to historian Daniel P. Barr. As British forces sought to drive the French from Fort Duquesne, both colonies schemed to take control of the Forks of the Ohio, where Pittsburgh now stands.

Dr. Barr, an assistant professor of history at Robert Morris University, will talk about that intercolonial rivalry as the lead-off speaker at this weekend's Ohio Country Conference.

The 12th annual event is expected to draw more than 150 historians, students, school teachers and history buffs to St. Vincent College in Latrobe. They will hear talks by eight scholars from the United States, Canada and Europe centering on the major events of 1758, which included the founding of Pittsburgh.

The number of people attending the history conference has risen each year, according to event coordinator David Miller, whose day job is museum educator at Bushy Run Battlefield in Westmoreland County.

"We get good word of mouth about the high quality of the speakers at our event," he said.

George Washington, who had first seen and described what is now Pittsburgh's Point in 1753, skirmished with Forbes over his decision to carve a new road west from Carlisle. What became known as the Forbes Road was favored by Pennsylvania, because it would link the Forks of the Ohio to Philadelphia.

Washington led Virginia's unsuccessful effort to persuade Forbes to follow the road Gen. Edward Braddock had built in 1755, starting from what is now Cumberland, Md. Had Forbes agreed to follow that route, southwestern Pennsylvania might well have become part of Virginia, according to Dr. Barr.

Frontier boundary lines were very fluid. "No one was sure what colony would finally claim the Forks of the Ohio," he said. "There are maps from the 1750s that show the region as part of Virginia."

Dr. Barr said Forbes warned his field commander, Henry Bouquet, not to trust the opinion of Washington on the topic. Washington, Forbes wrote in a letter to Bouquet, was acting "in no ways like a soldier."

Other speakers will concentrate on frontier diplomacy, the organization of Indian tribes and female camp followers. Those with local connections, in addition to Dr. Barr, include Dr. Richard Grimes, a senior lecturer at West Virginia University, and Dr. Holly Mayer, an associate professor and chair of the department of history at Duquesne University.

Canadian historian Rene Chartrand will discuss one of the few French victories in 1758: Gen. Montcalm's successful defense of the area around Fort Carillon, in what is now New York state. Captured by the British in 1759, it was renamed Fort Ticonderoga.

The event is sponsored by the Bushy Run Battlefield Historical Society, St. Vincent College and the Westmoreland County Historical Society.

Registration for all the Saturday and Sunday talks is $65. Events will take place in the college's Robert S. Carey Student Center.

Those interested in attending or seeking more information should call Mr. Miller at Bushy Run State Park at 724-527-5584.