The curtains were carefully pierced for musketry, and strengthened outside with a trellis work of bamboo, and finished off with banquettes on the ramparts. An excellent powder magazine was built in the same way, and, being situated in the interior of the fort, was quite safe from any accident. "As I had brought workmen of all kinds with me, the work went on well, especially as the care of our health made us all industrious. I was not without cannon, and I mounted on our ramparts two Swedish guns, which afterwards proved our safety and preservation.[139] Also being provided with the requisites for making gunpowder, I very soon had nearly 3000 lbs. weight of very good quality. "Hardly anything remained to complete my fortress, which I had named 'Bourgogne,' except to provide it with a glaçis. It was already furnished with a market which was sufficiently flourishing, when to my misfortune I received the false information that our forces, which were said to be considerable, were ready to enter the Ganges, and that there was certain news of the arrival of a very strong squadron at Pondicherry.[140] On the 8th September there broke out at Purneah, and in the province of that name, a Evolution headed by a person named Hazir Ali Khan,[141] who, having seized the capital, at once wrote to me to join him, and assist him against the English and Jafar Ali Khan.[142] "These two events made me stop everything else and devote myself entirely to getting my boats out of the little river by which I had entered the marsh, and which was now almost quite dried up. I succeeded in doing so after some time, by means of ditches which I cut from the marsh, but this took me more than a month and considerable labour, as I was about two leagues from the great river. To complete my misfortunes, my troop was attacked by sickness, which raged with a violence such as I had scarcely ever seen. It cost me nine soldiers, of whom three were Europeans. The latter were luckily replaced some days after by the same number who joined me.[143] Poor M. Brayer and M. Gourlade had been during almost the whole campaign in the most pitiable condition, especially the former, who I thought a thousand times must have died. As for me, the powders _d'Aillot_ preserved me from the pestilential air, and cured me from the effects of a fall in my _bajarow_,[144] caused by the clumsiness of my boatmen. I narrowly escaped breaking my ribs and back.