A plantation was one of those extended tracts of land, which was partly cultivated but upon which no settler dwelt.

There was no protection anywhere for the trembling population, save in and directly around fort Amsterdam.

Mr.Brodhead, alluding to these scenes of terror, writes, "The women and children lay concealed in straw huts, while their husbands and fathers mounted guard on the crumbling ramparts above.

For the fort itself was almost defenceless.
It resembled rather a mole-hill than a fortress against an enemy.

The cattle, which had escaped destruction, were huddled within the walls, and were already beginning to starve for want of forage.