was the principal dish of the feasting. On a stump,
accessible to all who needed it, rested a squat jug containing rum.

I turned my horse loose near the fort and sought out Davis. He was inside
the fort, superintending the work. The walls of this were well up. As the
first need was shelter, and as the Indians might strike at any moment, no
time was lost with a puncheon floor. The earth must do until the men could
have a breathing-spell. Four tight walls and a stout roof was the best
they could hope for.

Davis paused long enough to inform me that if time permitted they would
build the fort two stories high and stockade it with twelve-foot posts.
From his worried expression and obvious anxiety to get back to his work I
did not believe he had any hope of building more than a one-story shell.

When the Indians struck they would strike with a rush. They would plan on
a quick assault taking the settlers by surprise. They dared not remain to
conduct a prolonged siege. The fort when completed would not be any
stronger than the average cabin; it would simply accommodate more
defenders.

The nearest water was a spring some twenty yards from the fort. This
failure to provide for a water-supply was an amazing characteristic of
many frontier defenses. There was no reason why the fort should not have
been built close by the spring, or even over it. I said as much to Davis,
but he defended:

"It would place us too near the woods. Their fire-arrows could fall on us
too easy."

I reminded him that as the fort was now they would have but little water
to extinguish a fire, whereas the spring would have afforded an
inexhaustible supply. However, it was too late to change their plans and I
volunteered to collect kettles and tubs and organize a water-squad so
there might be plenty of water in the fort each night.

"Might be a good plan," agreed Davis. "But I 'low if the Injuns come it'll
be all over, one way or t'other, afore we have time to git thirsty."

I briefly explained to Davis my business as despatch-bearer, so he might
understand my reason for departing in the morning. He was generous enough
to insist that I ran a greater risk in crossing the mountains alone than I
would encounter by remaining at the creek.

I left him and levied on kettles to be delivered after supper and then
returned to the fort. I had barely arrived when the dogs began barking and
several horses came running through the stumps from the north end of t