s fields with his
musket at his side. Nevertheless tragic events occasionally happened.
In February, 1698, Captain Chubb, of Pemaquid notoriety, and six
others were killed by the Indians at Andover, several of the
inhabitants were captured and many houses burned; Major Frost was
slain at Kittery and a number of people at Wells; Major Marsh had a
sharp fight near Pemaquid, in which he lost twenty-five of his men,
but succeeded in putting the savages to rout. This was the last blood
shed during King William's war. The Indians were becoming weary of
fighting and the peace of Ryswick deprived them of the open assistance
of their French allies. For a brief season peace reigned in Acadia.

The expedition under Church had interrupted the rebuilding of the fort
at St. John and shown the correctness of Villebon's prediction in a
letter written to the French minister in 1696 that it was impossible
with the few men at his disposal to attempt a work which, though easy
to repair could not be completed as quickly as the enemy could get
ready to destroy it. In the same letter he speaks of making plank near
Fort Nachouac for the madriens, or gun platforms, of the fort at
Menagoueche. As there were mills at this time at Port Royal, it would
be possible from this incident to frame a theory that Villebon had a
saw mill a short distance up the Nashwaak, say at Marysville, but it
is more probable the planks were cut in saw pits by the soldiers of
the garrison. The plan of the fort at St. John was agreed on in 1698,
and 3,000 livres granted for its construction. Villebon paid his
workmen 30 sous (about 30 cts.) a day, his laborers 20 sous, and the
soldiers 4 sous a day over their pay and a weekly allowance of 1 qr.
lb. tobacco. The walls of the fort were laid in clay and mortar, 24
pounders were placed on the bastions and 36-pounders could be placed
there three on each bastion. By the end of the year Villebon was able
to report the fort in a condition to do honor to whoever should defend
it. He had left Nachouac just as it was, leaving only two men to see
that nothing was spoiled by the savages.

A plan in the Marine Archives at Paris, made by Villieu in 1700,
shows that "Fort de la Riviere de St. Jean," or Fort Menagoueche, was
built at "Old Fort Site," behind Navy Island in Carleton. The
general plan was the same as that of Fort Nachouac, but it was
considerably larger, nearly 200 feet square. Within the enclosure
were barracks for the s