On this occasion,
however, they, to their surprise, found it adopted by but a few.
It seems they were either deceiv'd in themselves, or deceiv'd
the Parliament; but common sense, aided by present danger,
will sometimes be too strong for whimsical opinions.
It was the beginning of January when we set out upon this business
of building forts. I sent one detachment toward the Minisink,
with instructions to erect one for the security of that upper part of
the country, and another to the lower part, with similar instructions;
and I concluded to go myself with the rest of my force to Gnadenhut,
where a fort was tho't more immediately necessary. The Moravians
procur'd me five waggons for our tools, stores, baggage, etc.
Just before we left Bethlehem, eleven farmers, who had been driven
from their plantations by the Indians, came to me requesting a supply
of firearms, that they might go back and fetch off their cattle.
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.
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