It was not until the end of December that the vessels cast anchor off Swaanendael.

No boat from the shore approached; no signs of life met the eye.

The next morning a boat, thoroughly armed, was sent into the creek on an exploring tour.
Upon reaching the spot where the fort had been erected they found the building and palisades burned, and the ground strewn with the hones of their murdered countrymen, intermingled with the remains of cattle.
The silence and solitude of the tombs brooded over the devastated region.

Not even a savage was to be seen.

As the boat returned with these melancholy tidings, DeVrees caused a heavy cannon to be fired, hoping that its thunders, reverberating over the bay, and echoing through the trails of the wilderness, might reach the ear of some friendly Indian, from whom he could learn the details of the disaster.
The next morning a smoke was seen curling up from the forest near the ruins.