we
reached the fort.

The news that the Indians had pushed hostilities so near the camp created
no little uproar, and a party was sent out at daybreak to scour the woods
and endeavor to teach the marauders a lesson, but they returned toward
evening without discovering a trace of them, and it was believed they had
made off to Fort Duquesne. The Indians whom we had killed were recognized
as two of a party of Delawares who had been in camp a few days before,
and who, it was now certain, had been sent as spies by the French and to
do us what harm they could. Wherefore it was ordered that no more
Delawares should be suffered to enter the camp.

We turned the child over to Doctor Craik, and took the man, whose
name, it seemed, was Nicholas Stith, to our tent with us, where we
gave him meat and drink, and did what we could to take his mind from
his misfortune. He remained with us some days, until his child died,
as it did at last, and then, finding our advance too slow to keep pace
with his passion for revenge, secured a store of ball and powder from
the magazine, slung his rifle across his back, and disappeared into
the forest.

In the mean time our preparations had been hurried on apace. It was no
light task to cut a road through near a hundred and fifty miles of virgin
forest, over two great mountain ranges and across innumerable streams,
nor was it lightly undertaken. Captain Waggoner brought with him to table
one night a copy of the orders for the march and for encampment, which
were adhered to with few changes during the whole advance, and we
discussed them thoroughly when the meal was finished, nor could we
discover in them much to criticise.

It was ordered that, to protect the baggage from Indian surprise and
insult, scouting parties were to be thrown well out upon the flanks and
in front and rear, and every commanding officer of a company was directed
to detach always upon his flanks a third of his men under command of a
sergeant, the sergeant in turn to detach upon his flanks a third of his
men under command of a corporal, these outparties to be relieved every
night at retreat beating, and to form the advanced pickets. The wagons,
artillery, and pack-horses were formed into three divisions, and the
provisions so distributed that each division was to be victualed from the
part of the line it covered, and a commissary was appointed for each. The
companies were to march two deep, that they might cover the line mor