his crime deserved; and he added that he and his
companion-settlers had come into the country desiring to live in peace
with all men, but more especially with their near neighbors the brave
Cherokees, with whom they should always endeavor to cultivate relations
of friendliness and good-fellowship.

The Indians heard him at first with silent gravity, but, as he went on,
their feelings warmed to him, and found vent in a few expressive
"Ughs!" and when he closed, the old Archimagus rose, and, turning to the
chiefs, said, "What our white brother says is like the truth. What say
my brothers? are not his words good?"

The response was, "They are good."

A general hand-shaking followed; and then they all pressed Robertson to
remain with them and partake of their hospitality. Though extremely
anxious to return at once with the peaceful tidings, he did so, and thus
converted possible enemies into positive friends; and the friendship
thus formed was not broken till the outbreak of the Revolution.

While Robertson had been away, Sevier had not been idle. He had put
Watauga into the best possible state of defence. With the surprising
energy that was characteristic of him, he had built a fort and gathered
every white settler into it or safe within range of its muskets. His
force was not a hundred strong; but if Robertson had been safely out of
the savage hold, he might have enjoyed a visit from Oconostota and his
twelve hundred Ottari warriors.

The fort was planned by Sevier, who had no military training except such
as he had received under his patron and friend Lord Dunmore. Though rude
and hastily built, it was a model of military architecture, and in the
construction of it Sevier displayed such a genius for war as readily
accounts for his subsequent achievements.

It was located on Gap Creek, about half a mile northeast of the Watauga,
upon a gentle knoll, from about which the trees, and even stumps, were
carefully cleared, to prevent their sheltering a lurking enemy. The
buildings have now altogether crumbled away; but the spot is still
identified by a few graves and a large locust-tree,--then a slender
sapling, now a burly patriarch, which has remained to our day to point
out the spot where occurred the first conflict between civilization and
savagery in the new empire beyond the Alleghanies. For the conflict was
between those two forces; and the forts along the frontier--of which
this at Watauga was the original and mod