The Account of a 
44 ° 
let into the pit, and resting upon the stone, it was brought into 
a position nearly vertical, at which time a quantity of earth 
and stones were thrown into the pit sufficient to steady the 
gun. This being done, the cross wires were stretched over 
the outer pickets, and a pointed plummet suspended from 
above, having its line coinciding with the intersection of the 
wires, was let fall into the cylinder, in which a cross of wood 
that exactly fitted it was placed, whose centre corresponded 
with that of the bore. The gun was then moved till a dot 
marking the centre of the cross came directly under the point 
of the plummet ; when earth and stones were rammed round 
the gun, care being taken to force it by that operation into 
its proper position, as shown by the plummet and cross. In 
this manner were the guns fixed at the extremities of the 
base ; and it remains only to be observed, that to prevent the 
unequal settling of the earth, rammed within the pit, from 
moving them out of their proper positions, four beams of wood 
were placed in an horizontal direction, having their ends 
resting against the sides of the pit and the gun. It may also 
be added, that iron caps were screwed over the muzzles to 
preserve the cylinders from rain. 
