Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-04-23
CHAPTER XIX.
THE FORT.

THE FORT.
Nv reader will understand by
this term, not Oply a place OF
defense, but .he residence of a
small number of families belonging
to the same neighborhood. AS the
Indian mode of warfare was an
indiscriminate slaughter of all ages
and both sexes, it was as requisite
TO provide for the safety of the
women and children as for that of
the men.
The fort consisted of cabins,
block houses and stockades. n
range of cabins commonly formed
one side at least Of the fort. Di-
visions, or partitions Of logs, sepa-
rated the cabins from each other.
The walls on the outside were ten
or twelve feet high, the slope of the
roof being turned wholly inward.
A very few of these cabins had
puncheon floors: the greater part
were earthen.
The bIock-houses were built at
the angles of the fort. They pro
iected about two feet beyond the
outer walls of the cabins and stock
AIDES. Their upper stories were
about eighteen inches every way
larger in dimensions than the un-
der one, leaving an opening at the
commencement of the second story,
to prevent the enemy from making
a lodgment under their walls. In
some forts, instead Of block houses,
the angles of the fort were furnish
ed with bastions. \ large folding
gate made of thick slabs. nearest
the spring, closed the fort. The
stockades, bastions, cabins and
block. house walls, were furnished
with portfolios at proper heights
and distances. The whole of the
outsidp was made COMPLETELY bnl-
let.proof.
1t may be truly said that neces-
sity is the mother of invention, for
the whole of this work was made
without the aid of a single nail or
spike of iron, and for this reason,
such things were not to be had.
In some places less exposed, a
single block house with a cabin or
two constituted the whole fort.
Such places Of refuge may ap-
pear very trihing to those who have
been in the habit of seeing the
formidable military garisOns of
Europe and America; but they
answered the purpose, as the In
dians had no artillery. They sell
dom attacked, and scarcely ever
took one of them.
The families belonging to these
for;s were so attached to their own
cabins on their farms, that they
seldom moved into the fort in the
spring until compelled by some
alarm, as they called it; that is,
when it was announced by some
murder that the Indians were in
the settlement.
The fort to which my father
belonged, was, during the first
years of the war, three quarters of
a mile from his farm but when
this fort went to decay, and be-
came unit for a defense, a new one
was built at his own house. I well
remember that when a little boy
the family were sometimes walked
up in the dead Of night by an ex.
press with a report that the
Indians were at hand. The ex
press came softly to the door or
back window, and by a gentle
tapping walked the family this was
easily done, as an habitnal fear
made us ever watchful and sensible
to the slightest alarm. The whole
family were instantly in motion :
my father seized his gun and other
implements of war; my step moth
er walked up and dressed the chill
dren as well as she could /; and be-
ing myself the oldest of the chill
dren, l had to take my share Of the
burthens to be carried to the fort.
There was no possibility of getting
a horse in the night to aid us in
removing to the fort; besides the
little children, we caught up what
articles of clothing and provision
We could get hold on in the dark,
for we burst not light candle or
even stir the fire All this was
done with the utmost dispatch and
the silence Of deathj the greatest
care was taken not TO awaken the
youngest child to the rest ii was
enough to say Indian, and not a
whinper was heard afterwards.
Thus it often happened that the
whole number of families belonging
to fort, who we're 10 the evening
at their homes, were all in their
little fortress before the dawn OF
the next morning. In the course
of the succeeding day, their house
hold furniture was brought in by
parties of the men under arms.
'l..u OH PTER. wy