The next morning we started early, in the hope of finding fire, but were disappointed; so at noon we stopped and unloaded the wagon until we reached the chest and got the flints, when we soon had a fire made. My eldest sister quickly prepared nourishing food for our dear mother, who was almost overcome by her fast of thirty hours and her care of her nursing babe, ten months old. After we were all refreshed by a good dinner, we started on. When the sun was getting low, we came to a little stream that was difficult to cross. While looking and planning what to do, an Indian on foot came up the bank. Father made understand, by motions of the hands, that he wanted to cross.
The Indian was soon in the brushes, blazing trees as he went; after awhile he came back, saying, "Howshka!" (Come on). Our team followed, as he directed, and made the crossing safely and back to the trail, where we encamped for the night. The Indian lighted our fire. He was invited to eat supper, and after he ate he pointed upward, saying "Heap bish" (rain); then pointing to the calf, "Heap anemoose" (wolves). He then took up a brand of fire, and, making a circuit, set fire to several dry logs to protect us from the wolves, and left for the village.
It rained a little, but the next morning was bright and beautiful.
The stream that we had just crossed was Three Mile Run, so we were only three miles from the end of our journey, and this was the last night of our camping out.
We reached Fort Defiance that forenoon, to our joy and the great delight of brother Robert, who had been there several days. My parents were pleased to find Mr. William Preston, a gentleman of intelligence and of pleasing manners, in possession of the fort. He had been there most of the time since the war.
There were two good log houses in the fort, built for the officers, one Mr. Preston's family occupied; in the other, my father's family found narrow but quite comfortable quarters.
The fort was all standing in good preservation, excepting the barracks on the banks of the Auglaize. The banks here was very steep, and commanded a fine view of the low land on the opposite side of the river. The block-houses, the four large gates with sentinel boxes over them, were good, and the pickets were in good order, and strong enough to be a protection even then. The block-house on the northwest corner of the fort, had a good cellar, that had been used for a magazine during the war. From the cellar an under ground way led to the river, by which the soldiers could get water without being seen by the enemy. In the block-house at the end of the barracks, facing southeast, were two or three iron bound chests, full of written documents of the war, left by the army officers.
We reached Fort Defiance that forenoon, to our joy and the great delight of brother Robert, who had been there several days. My parents were pleased to find Mr. William Preston, a gentleman of intelligence and of pleasing manners, in possession of the fort. He had been there most of the time since the war.
There were two good log houses in the fort, built for the officers, one Mr. Preston's family occupied; in the other, my father's family found narrow but quite comfortable quarters.
The fort was all standing in good preservation, excepting the barracks on the banks of the Auglaize. The banks here was very steep, and commanded a fine view of the low land on the opposite side of the river. The block-houses, the four large gates with sentinel boxes over them, were good, and the pickets were in good order, and strong enough to be a protection even then. The block-house on the northwest corner of the fort, had a good cellar, that had been used for a magazine during the war. From the cellar an under ground way led to the river, by which the soldiers could get water without being seen by the enemy. In the block-house at the end of the barracks, facing southeast, were two or three iron bound chests, full of written documents of the war, left by the army officers.
In the block house was a hand mill, with a buhr mill stones, that ground quite good meal when the corn was ripe and hard. There was also a large grater, which we could grate corn just out of the milk this did not make bread, but mush and griddle cakes. This fort was built for the war of 1812, by Gen. Winchester, but came to be spoken of as Fort Defiance. This fort (Winchester's) stood on the bank of the Auglaize River, about two hundred yards above the point where Wayne's old Fort Defiance stood. Some of the stumps of the pickets, and some of the embankments of Wayne's old fort (Defiance) were still plainly to be seen
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