unsparing hand of utilitarianism had passed over them,
destroying almost every vestige of the past. Where had
risen the only fortress in America at all worthy to give
antiquity to the scene, streets had been laid out and
made, and houses had been built, leaving not a trace of
its existence save the well that formerly supplied the
closely beseiged garrison with water; and this, half
imbedded in the herbage of an enclosure of a dwelling
house of mean appearance, was rather to be guessed at
than seen; while at the opposite extremity of the city,
where had been conspicuous for years the Bloody Run,
cultivation and improvement had nearly obliterated every
trace of the past.

Two objections have been urged against "Wacousta" as a
consistent tale--the one as involving an improbability,
the other a geographical error. It has been assumed that
the startling feat accomplished by that man of deep
revenge, who is not alone in his bitter hatred and contempt
for the base among those who, like spaniels, crawl and
kiss the dust at the instigation of their superiors, and
yet arrogate to themselves a claim to be considered
gentlemen and men of honor and independence--it has, I
repeat, been assumed that the feat attributed to him in
connection with the flag-staff of the fort was impossible.
No one who has ever seen these erections on the small
forts of that day would pronounce the same criticism.
Never very lofty, they were ascended at least one-third
of their height by means of small projections nailed to
them for footholds for the artillerymen, frequently