“Fort there,” said the Cherokee, pointing toward a distant strip of woodland. “Other side of trees.”
They did not go into camp, though tired by their night in the saddle; but cheerily rode toward the fort, feeling that a good breakfast awaited them. An hour’s ride brought them in sight of the fort, which stood on Lake Tensaw.
Fort Mims was built and occupied by a half-breed named Samuel Mims, who had lived there in the wilderness many years. His house was a stout one of logs, and was surrounded by a stockade, pierced by loop-holes for rifle fire in case of attack. The place was only a little distance from the lake; all about it was forest, marsh and ravines. A large gate was let into the stockade at the north and there was another at the south.
When the Creeks began their depredations on the border, the settlers of that section had flocked to Fort Mims. At this time there were some seventy-five men, mostly white, but some also of mixed blood, gathered behind the shelter of the stockade; and with these were a great number of women and children.
A month before, General Claiborne, who was in command of the United States forces in Alabama, dispatched Major Beasley and one hundred and seventy infantry to this place. Claiborne recognized the seriousness of the situation and thought it best to be prepared. When Beasley reached Fort Mims he found an officer and about a score of soldiers already there; and in taking charge, proceeded to organize the settlers into a fighting force, of which a young half-breed named Dixon Bailey was made captain.
A week or so after this force was located at the fort, General Claiborne paid a visit to the place; seeing with a practiced military eye the weakness of its defense, he urged the strengthening of the stockade, and the completing of a blockhouse which had been started some years before, but never finished.
Major Beasley was a man of unquestioned courage; but he was a poor officer. Being of a sanguine, optimistic nature, and with little imagination, he belittled the urgency of the occasion. He had a contempt for the warlike qualities of the red men, and did not think it worth while to erect the defenses recommended by the general. There were six hundred people gathered in the enclosure; and with half of these fighting men, he ridiculed the idea of danger.
The boys stood in a fringe of woods. From there they sighted the fort, and saw one of the gates standing wide.
“And there is no guard,” said the observant Jack Davis. “That looks like a foolish thing to do in a time like this.”
The boys were about to ride forward when Running Elk hurriedly, and in a low tone, said: