“We walked about the town, which is palisaded with stakes stuck in the ground, and laid close the one to the other, and of substance to bear out a mussket-shot. There are but nine families, and they have nine houses, built all in a line; and before every house, about twenty feet distant from it, they have small sheds built for their hogs and hens, so that the hog-sties and houses make a street. The place that is poled in is a pentagon, very regularly laid out; and in the very center there is a block-house, made with five sides, which answer to the five sides of the great enclosure; there are loop holes through it, from which you may see all the inside of the enclosure. This was intended for a retreat for the people, in case they were not able to defend the palisadoes, if attacked by the Indians.”[11] Col. Byrd, in 1732, called this a fort.
CHAPTER II
THE KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN HORSE SHOE.
Governor Spotswood and Others Start on an Expedition over the Blue Ridge Mountains—They Pass Through what is now Fredericksburg—They Join Others at Germanna, where they make Extensive Preparations—The Country Rough and the Woods Dense—Bears, Deer, Turkeys, Squirrels and Snakes Plentiful—The Summit of the Mountain Reached—The Sublime Scene—The Health of the King Drank and the Country Taken Possession of in His Name—The Shenandoah River, &c.
Two years after the settlement of Germanna Governor Spotswood visited the place, in company with gentlemen and others who were to accompany him in his famous expedition over the Blue Ridge mountains, which has been the theme of the writers of song and story, and upon which has recently been founded a secret benevolent order. So much has been written about this expedition, in this country and in Europe, into which so much romance has been woven, and yet so little is known about it by the general public, at the expense of length and tediousness to the reader of the narrative, we propose to give John Fontaine’s[12] diary, written daily as they progressed on the journey, from the time he left Williamsburg with the Governor, until he returned to that city, that we may be thoroughly informed of all the particulars. The expedition was made in August and September, 1716, and the following is John Fontaine’s diary:
Williamsburg, 20th August, 1716.—In the morning got my horses ready, and what baggage was necessary, and I waited on the Governor who was in readiness for an expedition over the Appalachian mountains. We breakfasted and about ten got on horseback, and, at four came to the Brickhouse, upon York River, where we crossed the ferry and at six came to Mr. Austin Moore’s house[13] on Mattapony River, in King William County; here we lay all night and were well entertained.
21st.—Fair weather. At ten we set out from Mr. Moore’s, and crossed the river of Mattapony, and continued on the road, and were on horseback till nine of the clock at night, before we came to Mr. Robert Beverley’s house where we were well entertained, and remained this night.
22nd.—At nine in the morning we set out from Mr. Beverley’s. The Governor left his chaise here, and mounted his horse. The weather fair, we continued on our journey until we came to Mr. Woodford’s where we lay, and were well entertained. This house lies on Rappahannock River ten miles below the falls.