that night, a warrior crawled up and set the blockhouse on fire. when the sentries opened fire on the arsonist, the 600-strong indian war party attacked the west side of the fort. taylor ordered the fort's surgeon and a handful of defenders to control the fire. the blockhouse, which was attached to the barracks, had a store of whiskey, which soon ignited, and the fire raged out of control. taylor admitted in his report that the situation looked hopeless, and two of his healthy men fled the fort. warning the fort that "taylor never surrenders!", the captain organized a bucket brigade to fight the fire before it destroyed the fort's picket walls. one woman, julia lambert, even lowered herself down into the fort's well to fill buckets more quickly.