ued raining all day; there
were no habitations on the road to shelter us, till we arriv'd near
night at the house of a German, where, and in his barn, we were all
huddled together, as wet as water could make us. It was well we were
not attack'd in our march, for our arms were of the most ordinary sort,
and our men could not keep their gun locks dry. The Indians are
dextrous in contrivances for that purpose, which we had not. They met
that day the eleven poor farmers above mentioned, and killed ten of
them. The one who escap'd inform'd that his and his companions' guns
would not go off, the priming being wet with the rain.

The next day being fair, we continu'd our march, and arriv'd at the
desolated Gnadenhut. There was a saw-mill near, round which were left
several piles of boards, with which we soon hutted ourselves; an
operation the more necessary at that inclement season, as we had no
tents. Our first work was to bury more effectually the dead we found
there, who had been half interr'd by the country people.

The next morning our fort was plann'd and mark'd out, the circumference
measuring four hundred and fifty-five feet, which would require as many
palisades to be made of trees, one with another, of a foot diameter
each. Our axes, of which we had seventy, were immediately set to work
to cut down trees, and, our men being dextrous in the use of them,
great despatch was made. Seeing the trees fall so fast, I had the
curiosity to look at my watch when two men began to cut at a pine; in
six minutes they had it upon the ground, and I found it of fourteen
inches diameter. Each pine made three palisades of eighteen feet long,
pointed at one end. While these were preparing, our other men dug a
trench all round, of three feet deep, in which the palisades were to be
planted; and, our waggons, the bodys being taken off, and the fore and
hind wheels separated by taking out the pin which united the two parts
of the perch, we had ten carriages, with two horses each, to bring the
palisades from the woods to the spot. When they were set up, our
carpenters built a stage of boards all round within, about six feet
high, for the men to stand on when to fire thro' the loopholes. We had
one swivel gun, which we mounted on one of the angles, and fir'd it as
soon as fix'd, to let the Indians know, if any were within hearing,
that we had such pieces; and thus our fort, if such a magnificent name
may be given to so miserable a