About o'clock in the afternoon, Some Indians made their appearance on a high hill near the fort and called out to us, that they would come and fight us on the morrow whereupon we brought the captive Squaw out of the fort to speak. to them, and they called out to her that they should now come and fight the Dutch, for the Dutch had now come and taken their _ fort, cut their corn and burnt all their old maize and that they should die of hunger. I said to them, the Dutch had gone in search of you to the mountain but ye always ran away and dare not make a stand. But the Indians soba not give.any answer, and so went away

' 'SECOND ESOPUS WAR 57

30% ditto. We, in two large parties, each of 80 men, cut down all the corn and burnt the old maize which remained in the pits. Returned to the fort, all together, in the evening, and made preparations to set out in the morning. Meanwhile the Indians who the day before had called out that they would come & fight us, didnot make their appearance. We cut down nearly one hundred morgens' of Maize and burnt above a hundred pits full of corn and beans.

31st ditto. In the morning at the dawn of day set fire to the fort and all the houses, and while they were in full blaze marched out in good order, Capt Lieutenant Couwenhoven forming the van cuard, Lieutenant Stilwil's Company the centre, and I with my company the rear guard. . So arrived in safety at our fort about 9 o'clock in the evening with our cannon and wagons. Remarked scarcely anything on the way. The road or course from Wildwyck to the fort of the Esopus Indians lies mostly south west, about 10 [Dutch] miles from our fort.