I gave them each a gun with suitable ammunition. We had not march'd
many miles before it began to rain, and it continued 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.
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