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The Conquest 
 of The Illinois 
 
JLafeesi&e Classics 
 
 The Conquest 
 of The Illinois 
 
 BY GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 
 
 EDITED BY 
 MILO MILTON QUAIFE 
 
 Editor of 
 The State Historical Society of Wisconsin 
 
 With tivo Illustrationt 
 
 The Lakeside 
 Press Chicago 
 
 R R-DONNELLEY 
 
 (&be "Eahesibe press, 
 R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY 
 CHRISTMAS, MCMXX 
 
' preface 
 
 THE publishers of The Lakeside Classics 
 have held themselves free to take any 
 material that comes to hand, which 
 promises to be interesting and worth while, 
 regardless of its chronological relation to pre- 
 vious volumes, and this year they turn back 
 from the early years of the Nineteenth Cen- 
 tury to the stirring period of the Revolution. 
 Most of us think of the Revolution as being 
 fought only in the Colonies stretched along the 
 Atlantic Seaboard. Yet out in what is now 
 Illinois and Indiana, a frontiersman by the name 
 of George Rogers Clark carried on a campaign 
 for American supremacy that for enterprise, 
 daring and determination, is equal to any in our 
 history. To his foresight and success is due 
 the fact that the great country lying west of 
 Pittsburgh, north of the Ohio and stretching to 
 the Mississippi, was saved for the Colonies, and 
 did not fall to the lot of Canada under the 
 Treaty of Paris. 
 
 Clark's Memoir was written in illiterate style 
 and with the spelling and punctuation of the 
 froniiersman, and, in its original form, makes 
 difficult reading for any but the historical 
 scholar. We are, therefore, indebted to Mr. 
 
> preface 
 
 Milo M. Quaife not only for his continuing to 
 act as editor, but also for his appreciation of 
 the necessity of transcribing the Memoir and 
 for accomplishing it so successfully. 
 
 The publishers feel that they are especially 
 fortunate in being able to put this heroic, in 
 readable form, into the hands of their friends 
 and patrons, and do so with their annual mes- 
 sage of Christmas Good- Will. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 CHRISTMAS IQ2O. 
 
Historical Introduction 
 
3lttttonuctton 
 
 By far the most brilliant figure in the Rev- 
 olution in the West was George Rogers Clark, 
 whose conquest of the Illinois country was the 
 factor chiefly responsible for giving the Old 
 Northwest to the new-born American nation 
 in the treaty of 1783. To orient Clark's con- 
 quest in its historical setting, and to give some 
 account of his narrative of it, which forms the 
 subject-matter of the present volume, is the 
 purpose of this introduction. 
 
 The region between the Ohio River and the 
 Great Lakes, the Alleghenies and the Missis- 
 sippi, which later became known as the Old 
 Northwest, is the territory involved in our 
 story. The beginning of the Revolution found 
 the British, of course, in possession of all of it. 
 The vantage points from which they directed 
 its affairs were, in general, the old French 
 posts, now occupied for the most part by Brit- 
 ish garrisons. Among these may be named 
 Detroit, Mackinac, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, and 
 Cahokia. By far the most important center 
 of British influence in the Northwest was De- 
 troit, the headquarters of the posts and the 
 key to the control of the fur trade and the In- 
 dian tribes of this region. Here was a French 
 and mixed-blood settlement numbering up wards 
 of 2000 souls and mustering over 300 men 
 
l^i^torical 3 f ntrotmction 
 
 capable of bearing arms. The fort was de- 
 fended by a palisade of pickets and contained 
 at the beginning of 17/6 a garrison of I2O 
 men. To complete the tale of Detroit's mili- 
 tary resources, there floated in the river oppo- 
 site the fort a tiny navy manned by some thirty 
 "seamen and servants." 
 
 Detroit aside, the only other considerable 
 centers of white population in the Northwest 
 were Ouiatanon and Vincennes on the Wabash 
 and the strip of settlements stretched along 
 the east bank of the Mississippi from the mouth 
 of the Missouri to the mouth of the Ohio, on 
 what later came to be known as the "American 
 Bottom." Ouiatanon had, at the outbreak of 
 the Revolution, about a dozen French families. 
 Vincennes had a population of perhaps 500 
 souls. The Illinois settlements of the American 
 Bottom in 1778 contained about IOOO whites 
 and as many negroes and Indians. The chief 
 town was Kaskaskia with 500 white inhabitants 
 and about the same number of negroes. Next 
 in importance was Cahokia with a white popu- 
 lation of about three hundred. At Mackinac 
 and Green Bay, possibly also at St. Joseph, 
 Peoria, and Prairie du Chien, were settled a 
 few French families. For the rest, the country 
 which now teems with a population as enlight- 
 ened and prosperous as any on the face of the 
 earth was but a splendid wilderness. 
 
 Scarcely second to the whites in importance, 
 at least from the military point of view, was 
 
i^igtorical ^ntrotmctiem 
 
 the Indian population of this region. The sev- 
 eral tribes could muster, according to the usual 
 estimates, about 8000 warriors. These were 
 the jury, so to speak, to which the contending 
 white leaders made their appeals, and on whose 
 active aid or passive sympathy they relied as 
 the makeweight to turn the scale in their favor. 
 Most numerous of the tribes was the Chippewa; 
 but our present concern lies rather with cer- 
 tain of the smaller tribes. Around the south 
 end of Lake Michigan, with their principal 
 seat on the St. Joseph River, were the Pota- 
 watomi, numbering some 400 warriors. To the 
 south and southeastward of this tribe, in mod- 
 ern Indiana and Ohio, were the Miami, Shaw- 
 nee, and others, who were to continue the war 
 in the West during long and bloody years after 
 the withdrawal of Great Britain from the con- 
 test. At Milwaukee had congregated a non- 
 descript band composed of the off-scourings of 
 several tribes, who, to the scandal of the British 
 officers, usually maintained friendly relations 
 with the Americans. In Illinois and Wiscon- 
 sin were the Sauk and Foxes, the Winnebago, 
 and other tribes. 
 
 The advancing wave of English settlement 
 pouring into the upper Ohio Valley had pre- 
 cipitated, two decades earlier, the French and 
 Indian War. As yet this tidal wave of civi- 
 lization had not crossed the Ohio, although it 
 had spread out along its eastern valley as far 
 south as Tennessee. The most important post 
 
introduction 
 
 along this extensive frontier was Fort Pitt at 
 the forks of the Ohio. It was the center, 
 therefore, from which radiated the American 
 efforts to control the Northwestern tribes, just 
 as at a later date, it afforded the principal 
 gateway through which the tide of settlement 
 poured into this region. 
 
 The Americans at first strove to secure the 
 neutrality of the Indians in the impending con- 
 flict. But the red man could not stand idly by 
 while a war was waging for the possession of 
 his country, and the British more wisely di- 
 rected their efforts to securing his active sup- 
 port. This policy was shortly copied by the 
 Americans, and soon the perplexed natives 
 were being plied with rival solicitations for 
 alliance. The British urged them to assail the 
 outlying settlements of the American frontier, 
 counselling humanity to the vanquished but 
 largely nullifying this counsel by offering re- 
 wards for all scalps brought in. Lieutenant- 
 Governor Hamilton at Detroit was especially 
 zealous in urging the Indians on to this work 
 of devastation. The Americans offered re- 
 wards for prisoners, but none for scalps. 
 
 Two courses of action were open to the Amer- 
 icans in view of this situation. They might 
 endeavor to punish the hostile Indians by 
 launching retaliatory measures against them; 
 or they might by capturing Detroit, from 
 whence issued alike the supplies for the ma- 
 rauders and the zeal which instigated them to 
 
^igtorical introduction 
 
 their bloody task, destroy the opposition at its 
 fountain-head. The latter course was urged 
 by Colonel Morgan, the Indian agent for the 
 Middle Department and a man of much ex- 
 perience among the Indians of the Northwest. 
 The reasons advanced by him in support of the 
 policy he advocated were unheeded. Seeing 
 this, and believing a general Indian war was 
 about to be precipitated, he resigned his office. 
 The control of the Western Department passed 
 into less competent hands and the western 
 frontier seemed about to be overrun by the 
 British and Indians when a diversion of much 
 importance occurred. The advent of George 
 Rogers Clark in the Illinois country compelled 
 the British at Detroit to turn their attention to 
 the defense of the Northwest, and shortly of 
 Detroit itself, against the bold invader. 
 
 Clark was a native of Virginia who, like 
 Washington, fitted himself for a surveyor and 
 began his active career in the upper Ohio 
 country. In 1776 he had cast in his lot with 
 the young settlements of Kentucky, and al- 
 though not yet twenty-five years of age, in the 
 crisis of their fortune he put himself forward 
 as their leader. The Kentucky settlements 
 were nominally a part of Virginia but in fact 
 they were too remote from the mother country 
 to receive much protection from that source. 
 It was congenial, too, to the spirit of the fron- 
 tiersman to depend upon himself, and Clark, 
 who had come to the conclusion that the only 
 
Stootmctton 
 
 means of obtaining safety for Kentucky was 
 to carry the war into the enemy's country, was 
 one of those who favored action independently 
 of authorization from Virginia. 
 
 Other counsels prevailed, however. The 
 protection of the parent colony was sought and 
 as a result the Virginia Assembly declared the 
 extension of its authority over the region and 
 in December, 1776, created the county of Ken- 
 tucky. The next summer Clark learned from 
 spies whom he had sent into the Illinois coun- 
 try that the French settlers were lukewarm in 
 their allegiance to Great Britain and that only 
 a few of them were participating in the raids 
 against the Americans, which, fomented from 
 Detroit, made these settlements their starting- 
 point and base of operations. Fired by these 
 reports with the purpose to conquer the Illi- 
 nois settlements, he proceeded the same sum- 
 mer to Virginia. There he laid his project 
 before Governor Henry and received that of- 
 ficial's authorization to raise and equip a force 
 of troops for the work. Armed with this and 
 a scanty supply of money and ammunition he 
 returned to Kentucky and launched the enter- 
 prise. 
 
 There is no need here to tell the story of 
 Clark's invasion of the Illinois in the months 
 of 1778 and 1779, for Clark's own narrative of 
 his momentous campaign is spread before the 
 reader in the pages that follow. Suffice it to 
 say, therefore, that the morning of February 
 
J^i^torical introduction 
 
 25, 1779, witnessed the climax of the campaign 
 in the surrender to Clark at Vincennes of 
 Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton and his entire 
 garrison. Therewith the American hold on 
 the Illinois country was assured, for the time 
 being at least. Permanent control of the 
 Northwest, and peace for the troubled frontier, 
 could be won only by the capture of Detroit, 
 and this was at all times the ultimate goal of 
 Clark's endeavors. But he was too weak to 
 move upon Detroit at once after the capture of 
 Vincennes; while waiting for reinforcements 
 he applied himself vigorously to the work of 
 governing the newly- won territory, establishing 
 satisfactory relations with the Indians and 
 preparing the way for the greater exploit which 
 he was destined never to perform. Obstacle 
 after obstacle arose to postpone or prevent the 
 fulfillment of his design. The British again 
 resumed the offensive and the season of 1780 
 witnessed a comprehensive attack upon the 
 American and Spanish positions in the West. 
 A large force of traders and Indians which 
 descended the Mississippi and fell upon St. 
 Louis was repulsed and forced to beat a hasty 
 retreat. Another British-Indian army under 
 Captain Bird made a descent upon the Ken- 
 tucky settlements, destroying Ruddle's and 
 Martin's stations and carrying off to Detroit 
 upwards of one hundred captives. The magic 
 of Clark's name seems to have been a potent 
 influence in causing the withdrawal from St. 
 
Louis. He retaliated upon the invaders with 
 vigor, sending a force of 350 men under Colo- 
 nel Montgomery to ravage the villages of the 
 Sauk and Foxes on Rock River, who had been 
 active allies of the British. Himself hastening 
 back to Kentucky upon the news of the British 
 attack in that quarter, Clark organized a force 
 of 1000 men for the punishment of the Shaw- 
 nee, who had participated in the recent invasion 
 of Kentucky. From the mouth of Licking 
 River, opposite the present city of Cincinnati, 
 the army proceeded to the Indian towns of 
 Old Chillicothe and Piqua and burned the one, 
 which had been abandoned, and stormed and 
 burned the other. Although the issue of the 
 campaign was not decisive, the punishment ac- 
 corded the Indians sufficed to free the Ken- 
 tucky settlements from further molestation by 
 them for the remainder of the year 1780. 
 
 For the year 1781 plans were conceived on 
 a large scale by Clark, Governor Jefferson of 
 Virginia, and General Washington for the re- 
 duction of Detroit, but the settlers of western 
 Pennsylvania and Virginia largely refused to 
 respond to the call for troops; discord devel- 
 oped, too, between Clarkand Colonel Brodhead, 
 the American commander at Pittsburgh, and 
 the settlers of Kentucky were either unequal 
 or unwilling to undertake the task to which 
 Clark eagerly invited them. So the matter 
 dragged on and the Revolution finally came to 
 its close with the British still in control at De- 
 
troit, whence they still continued to exert an 
 effective control over most of the tribes of the 
 Northwest. Not until a dozen years more of 
 bloodshed along the Ohio frontier, concluding 
 with the most serious Indian war in which the 
 American nation has ever engaged, was the 
 grip of Great Britain relaxed, and peace re- 
 stored to the long-troubled frontier. The 
 army of Mad Anthony Wayne triumphantly 
 concluded the contest for the control of the 
 Northwest which Clark almost twenty years 
 earlier had so brilliantly begun. 
 
 With this hasty resume of the military situa- 
 tion in the West we may turn to a consideration 
 of Clark's story of his invasion of the Illinois. 
 In the autumn of 1779 Clark prepared, in the 
 form of a letter to his friend, George Mason of 
 Virginia, a somewhat lengthy sketch of his 
 Illinois campaign. With the passage of years 
 the whereabouts of this letter became lost to 
 knowledge and when, in the summer of 1789, 
 at the instance of James Madison, Clark was 
 urged to write out the story of his western 
 campaigns for the benefit of posterity, he 
 sought in vain to find the document. Never- 
 theless in response to much urging Clark set 
 about composing a new narrative of the period, 
 the resultant product being the famous memoir 
 reproduced in the following pages. The 
 original document is a manuscript of 128 pages, 
 at least IOO of which were written during the 
 years 1789 and 1790. For half a century, 
 
^ntrotwction 
 
 beginning with Mann Butler's History of Ken- 
 tucky, published in 1834, historians generally 
 regarded and utilized the Memoir as a trust- 
 worthy narrative of events, while such novelists 
 as Winston Churchill in The Crossing and 
 Maurice Thompson in Alice of Old Vincennes 
 drew heavily upon it for the substance of their 
 volumes. Theodore Roosevelt, however, in 
 his Winning of the West vigorously questioned 
 the value hitherto accorded to Clark's narra- 
 tive. He supposed it to have been written 
 "thirty or forty years" after the events des- 
 cribed, and "by an old man who had squand- 
 ered his energies and sunk into deserved 
 obscurity." On the painful period of Clark's 
 later years, here alluded to, there is no present 
 necessity for entering. It is sufficient for our 
 present purpose to note that the strictures of 
 Roosevelt induced Professor James, the schol- 
 arly editor of Clark's Papers in the Illinois 
 Historical Collections, to undertake a careful 
 examination of the entire subject. His study 
 established the fact, already noted, that the 
 Memoir was chiefly written in 1789 and 1790, 
 when Clark was still in full possession of his 
 mental and physical powers; and led to the 
 conclusion that the Memoir, far from being 
 "the reminiscences of an old man who strove 
 for the dramatic in his presentation of facts," 
 is to be regarded as a generally trustworthy 
 and highly valuable historical narrative of the 
 events with which it deals. 
 
J?ZK'~'*v /"/-^ 2 v 
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 ,/^.^y/. ^X- i -"'V ^ * ' f " ^ 
 
introduction 
 
 With our faith in the narrative thus reestab- 
 lished, it remains for those who have a fond- 
 ness for our western history to enjoy it. 
 Unfortunately, from the viewpoint of the 
 average man, as contrasted with the profes- 
 sional scholar, Clark's mastery of the pen by 
 no means equalled his facility in the use of the 
 sword. His education, viewed in the light of 
 present-day standards, was necessarily defec- 
 tive. Even the trained scholar at times finds 
 his efforts to determine Clark's meaning 
 baffled, and it is probably safe to say that, 
 professional scholars aside, very few persons 
 have ever had the interest or perserverance to 
 read the Memoir through. For such a docu- 
 ment to remain comparatively unknown to the 
 great mass of people in whose behalf Clark 
 labored, is a great pity. Accordingly the 
 effort has been made to give it an increased 
 measure of publicity by reprinting in The 
 Lakeside Classics. This determined upon, 
 it seemed clear that instead of reprinting the 
 Memoir literally the editor should under- 
 take to turn it into clear and grammatical 
 English. Such a reprint will not interest the 
 professional scholar, of course, but for him 
 there is already ample accommodation in the 
 George Rogers Clark Papers published by the 
 Illinois Historical Society, and W. H. Eng- 
 lish's Conquest of the Country Northwest of 
 the River Ohio. If the present rendering 
 awakens in the constituency of The Lakeside 
 
JjHgtorical 
 
 Classics a renewed appreciation of the toils by 
 which our country was won, and therewith an 
 increased sense of its value to us, the present 
 possessors, the hopes alike of publisher and 
 editor will have been realized. 
 
 MlLO M. QUAIFE. 
 
 Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
The Conquest 
 of The Illinois 
 
SIR: 
 
 IN fulfilling my engagement to you with re- 
 spect to the war in Kentucky I must com- 
 mence with the first settlement of that 
 district, which had been but partially explored 
 prior to the year 17/3, when a considerable 
 number of surveyors and private adventurers 
 passed through it. The first settlement was that 
 of Harrodsburg, undertaken by Colonel J. 
 Harrod 1 in the spring of 1774. Before much 
 progress had been made, however, the settlers 
 
 Barnes Harrod was a native and resident of Penn- 
 sylvania who in March, 1774, advertised that he would 
 lead a party to take up lands in Kentucky, which he 
 had visited the preceding year. About thirty men 
 assembled at his call and this party he piloted down 
 the Ohio to the mouth of the Kentucky and up that 
 stream and the Licking to the site of Harrodsburg. 
 The war between the American settlers commonly 
 known as Lord Dunmore's War of 1774 was about to 
 break out, and before launching it two hardy woods- 
 men, Daniel Boone and Michael Stoner, were sent 
 out as runners to Kentucky to warn the surveyors 
 and other white men in that region of the impending 
 conflict. At their warning the infant settlement of 
 Harrodsburg was abandoned, and the settlers return- 
 ed to the older Holston settlement. The year fol- 
 lowing Harrod returned to Kentucky, re-established 
 Harrodsburg, and made the place his home until his 
 death in 1793. 
 
Conquest of 
 
 were compelled to abandon the country on 
 account of the war with the Shawnee. They 
 marched through the wilderness and joined 
 Colonel Lewis' army, 2 but at the close of the 
 war they returned and resumed possession of 
 their town in the spring of 1775. In the mean- 
 while Colonel Henderson 3 and company had 
 purchased the Kentucky country from the Cher- 
 okee and made an establishment and opened a 
 land office at Boonesborough, but with these 
 circumstances you are well acquainted. 
 
 It was at this period that I first entertained 
 the thought of concerning myself about the 
 interest of this country. The proprietors at 
 first took great pains to win the favor of the 
 settlers, but too soon for their own self-interest 
 they began to raise the prices on their lands, 
 which gave rise to much complaint. A few 
 gentlemen made some effort to persuade the 
 people to pay no attention to them. I saw 
 clearly that the proprietors were working their 
 own ruin, that their greatest security lay in 
 
 2 General Andrew Lewis, commander in the notable 
 battle of Point Pleasant, where the Great Kanawha 
 River empties into the Ohio, October 10, 1774. Lewis 
 long played a prominent role on the Pennsylvania 
 and Virginia frontiers. In 1775 his appointment was 
 urged by Washington as commander-m-chief of the 
 Continental army. 
 
 3 Colonel Richard Henderson was a prominent citi- 
 zen of North Carolina who, like Harrod, conceived 
 a project of settlement in Kentucky. He organized 
 the Transylvania Company, purchased a vast quantity 
 
 4 
 
making it to the interest of the settlers to sup- 
 port their claim, and that their conduct would 
 shortly exasperate the people and afford the 
 opportunity to overthrow them. 
 
 I left the country in the fall of 1775 and 
 returned the following spring. While in Vir- 
 ginia diverse opinions were held respecting 
 Henderson's claim. Many thought it good, 
 while others doubted whether Virginia could 
 with propriety advance any pretensions to the 
 country. This was what I wanted to know. 
 I immediately formed the plan of assembling 
 the settlers and persuading them to elect dele- 
 gates to proceed to Virginia and treat with 
 that state concerning the Kentucky country ; 
 if suitable conditions were secured we would 
 declare ourselves citizens of that state ; if not, 
 we would establish an independent government 
 and by giving away a large part of the lands, 
 and making other disposition of the remainder, 
 
 of goods, and invited the Cherokee, who claimed the 
 tract which Henderson proposed to settle, to hold 
 a treaty with him on the Watauga River in March, 
 I775- Some twelve hundred natives assembled, and 
 on March 17 the treaty was consummated. The 
 Transylvania Company thereupon settled Boones- 
 borough, opened a land office, and held one legislative 
 session in Kentucky. Their claim was disputed, how- 
 ever, and in 1778 the Virginia legislature granted the 
 company 200,000 acres of land on Green River by 
 way of payment for the expense incurred in settling 
 Kentucky. Henderson went out with the first group 
 of settlers, and his journal is now preserved in the 
 Draper collection at Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
fje Conquest of 
 
 we could not only gain a large number of in- 
 habitants but in large measure protect them. 
 
 To carry this project into effect I appointed 
 a general meeting of the settlers at Harrods- 
 burg June 6, 1776, giving out that something 
 would be proposed to them which much con- 
 cerned their interest. My reason for with- 
 holding information as to what I wished to be 
 done was in part to prevent the settlers from 
 dividing into parties on the subject, in part to 
 insure a more general attendance, as every one 
 would wish to know what was to be done. 
 Unfortunately, it was late in the evening of the 
 day appointed before I could get to the place. 
 The people had been in some confusion, but 
 had at length concluded that the design was 
 simply to send delegates to Virginia with a 
 petition praying the Assembly to accept them 
 as such and to establish a county government, 
 etc. The polls were opened before my arrival, 
 and the settlers had entered into the election 
 with such spirit and carried matters so far that 
 I could not get them to alter the plan of dele- 
 gates with petitions to that of deputies under 
 the authority of the people. In short, I did 
 not make much effort to bring this about. 
 John Gabriel Jones and myself were elected as 
 delegates, the papers were prepared, and in a 
 few days we set out for Williamsburg. We 
 hoped to arrive before the Assembly should 
 adjourn, for there was great apprehension that 
 the Indians, stirred up by the British, would 
 6 
 
shortly make an attack upon Kentucky, and no 
 time ought to be lost in putting it in a state 
 of defence. 
 
 Apprehending no immediate danger on the 
 Wilderness Road, 4 Mr. Jones and I set out with- 
 out waiting for other company. We soon had 
 cause to repent our rashness, however, for on 
 the second day we discovered alarming signs 
 of Indians. On the third day Mr. Jones' horse 
 gave out. With our few belongings on my 
 horse, and in so hilly a country, it was impos- 
 sible for two to ride at a time. The weather 
 was very rainy. Our feet were wet con- 
 tinuously for three or four days and nights, 
 and, not daring to make a fire to dry them, we 
 both got what the hunters call "scald feet," 
 a most shocking complaint. In this situation 
 we traveled on, in greater torment than I have 
 ever before or since experienced, hoping to get 
 relief at the station in Powell's Valley, ten or 
 twelve miles from Cumberland Gap. 
 
 Greatly to our disappointment, we found the 
 place totally abandoned and partly burned down. 
 My companion, being but little used to such 
 
 4 Before the conclusion of his treaty with the Chero- 
 kee at Watauga in the spring of 1775, Henderson 
 sent Daniel Boone with a company of woodsmen to 
 open a road to the Kentucky River, a distance of 
 some two hundred miles. This was the origin of the 
 famous Wilderness Road, over which thousands of 
 emigrants later poured into the West. Its interesting 
 history is told by Archer B. Hulbert in Boone' s Wil- 
 derness Road (Cleveland, 1903). 
 
 7 
 
j)e Conquest of 
 
 hardship, became greatly discouraged at this 
 blow to our hopes. I encouraged him by rep- 
 resenting the certainty of the settlers being 
 at Martin's fort, about eight miles ahead, as I 
 supposed the whole had embodied there. Al- 
 though the danger was much greater than we 
 had apprehended, we were now fully apprised 
 of it, and if we could make out to walk through 
 the woods, both of us riding where there was 
 level ground, we could reach the place without 
 any great risk. This we attempted, but in vain ; 
 we were obliged to keep to the road, for the 
 one on foot could not endure the torture of 
 walking through the thick woods. Hearing 
 Indian guns frequently, we had hopes they 
 were hunters from the station to which we were 
 bound, but to our surprise we found on arrival 
 that the fort had been abandoned for some time. 
 There were a few human tracks which we knew 
 to be Indian, as also the guns we had heard. 
 
 Our situation now appeared deplorable. The 
 nearest inhabitants we knew were sixty miles 
 away, we were unable to travel, and the Indians 
 appeared to be in full possession of the sur- 
 rounding country. We sat still for a few 
 moments looking at each other, and I found 
 myself reduced to a state of perfect despair. 
 Mr. Jones asked me what we should do. I 
 told him it was impossible to make the settle- 
 ment in our present condition, while if we hid 
 in the mountains and the weather continued 
 wet our situation would become worse rather 
 8 
 
than better and we would perhaps perish; 
 that we knew a party was to follow us from 
 Kentucky in eight or ten days ; that oil and 
 ouse made of oak bark would cure our feet in 
 a few days, and I thought our only possible 
 plan was to take possession of the best cabin 
 in the place, fortify ourselves in it, and burn 
 down the rest of the fort ; that there were 
 plenty of hogs around the corn cribs, and with 
 a few of them and a barrel of water and some 
 corn we probably could stand a siege until re- 
 lieved by the party we expected to follow us 
 from Kentucky; that ten or twelve Indians 
 could not drive us from the place, as I was 
 well acquainted with them and knew they 
 would not storm us at great disadvantage to 
 themselves ; that we were well armed , having 
 a rifle, two case of good pistols, and a hangar; 
 and that I was confident we could defend our- 
 selves against a larger number of Indians than 
 he had any idea of. 
 
 He was overjoyed at the proposition and we 
 fell to work. I sent him to kill a hog which 
 was eating corn, by running a sword through 
 it to prevent noise. I selected a small strong 
 cabin of Captain Martin's which stood a little 
 detached from the rest. The door being locked 
 with some tables and chairs inside, I climbed to 
 the top of the chimney and flung it down until 
 it was so low that I could drop into the house 
 without hurting myself (not being able to sup- 
 port myself with my feet against the logs) and 
 9 
 
Conquest of 
 
 cut off the lock of the door. By this time my 
 friend had got his hog. Being better able to 
 walk, he filled a keg with water, and we col- 
 lected some wood and brought in some corn. 
 We then barred the door, knocked out some 
 portholes, set the table in the middle of the 
 floor and spread our arms and ammunition in 
 order upon it, and waited impatiently for the 
 wind to shift so that we might set fire to the 
 fort without burning our own castle. Our 
 agreement was that in case of an attack Mr. 
 Jones should continue to load the pieces as I 
 discharged them, without paying any attention 
 to the enemy unless they stormed the house. 
 We cooked some provisions, dressed our feet 
 with oil, and continued diligently preparing for 
 defense until late in the evening. Then, the 
 wind having died away, we proposed to set fire 
 to the houses as we had planned. We had no 
 sooner unbarred the door, however, than we 
 heard a horse bell open on the road and in a 
 few minutes stop again. We were fully con- 
 vinced that the enemy was at hand, and im- 
 mediately secured ourselves as well as possible, 
 determined to execute our first plan, and if they 
 should attempt to burn us out to knock off the 
 roof of the cabin. We waited in suspense for 
 some time, but at last to our great joy we found 
 they were white men who had come from the 
 settlement on Clinch River to collect some 
 things they had hid at the time they had left 
 this place. When they came in sight of the 
 10 
 
fort the bell on one of their horses became 
 untied. When they discovered the smoke 
 of our fire, supposing us to be Indians, they 
 approached under cover in order to discover 
 the full situation and gain an advantage over 
 us. While they were thus engaged we had a 
 full view of them, and accordingly we dis- 
 closed ourselves to them. They appeared to 
 be happy over having it in their power to re- 
 lieve us, and we crossed the mountains with 
 them to the settlements. 
 
 Having recruited our strength, we resumed 
 our journey as far as Boutetourt County, and 
 there learned we were too late for the Assem- 
 bly, which had already adjourned. For some 
 time we were at a loss to determine what our 
 future course should be. We finally conclud- 
 ed to remain in Virginia until the fall session, 
 and that in the meantime I should go to 
 Williamsburg and endeavor to procure some, 
 powder for the settlers in Kentucky, and in 
 general look after their interests. 
 
 We parted. Mr. Jones returned to Holston, 
 there to join the force that was being raised 
 to repel the Cherokee, who had recently com- 
 menced hostilities, while I proceeded on my way. 
 Governor Henry of Virginia lay sick at his 
 home in Hanover, where I waited on him and 
 presented my credentials. He appeared much 
 disposed to favor the Kentuckians and gave 
 me a letter to the Council on the subject. I 
 waited upon that body. My application was 
 ii 
 
Conquest of 
 
 for 500 pounds of powder to be conveyed to 
 Kentucky for immediate use. After various 
 questions had been asked, and consultations 
 held, the Councillors agreed to furnish the 
 powder; but as we were a detached people 
 not yet united to the state of Virginia, and 
 until the session of the Assembly it was un- 
 certain whether we would become united, they 
 could only lend us the ammunition as to friends 
 in distress, and I must become responsible in 
 case the Assembly should not receive us as 
 citizens of the state. I informed them it was 
 beyond my power to pay the expense of trans- 
 porting and guarding these supplies. The 
 British officers on our frontier were employing 
 every energy to engage the Indians in the war. 
 The settlers might be destroyed for want of 
 this small supply, and I hoped they would re- 
 consider the matter and do us the favor of 
 sending us the ammunition at public expense. 
 They replied that they were disposed to do for 
 us everything in their power, consistent with 
 their official duty, and this I believed to be true. 
 After advancing many arguments to con- 
 vince me that even what they had proposed 
 was a stretch of power, they informed me they 
 could venture no further, and an order was 
 issued to the keeper of the magazine to deliver 
 the ammunition to me. For twelve months 
 past I had reflected so much upon the several 
 continental factors which affected us that my 
 resolution was formed before I left the council 
 12 
 
chamber. I resolved to return the order I had 
 received and repair immediately to Kentucky, 
 knowing the settlers would readily adopt my 
 first plan, as what had occurred had rendered 
 its success practically certain. I wrote to the 
 Council and enclosed the order for the pow- 
 der. I told them I had weighed the matter 
 and found it was out of my power to convey 
 those stores at my own expense such a distance 
 through a hostile country; that I was sorry to 
 find that we would have to seek protection else- 
 where, which I did not doubt of getting; and 
 that if a country was not worth protecting it 
 was not worth claiming. What transpired on 
 the reception of this letter I do not know. I 
 was now sent for by a set of gentlemen who 
 were zealous in the welfare of their country, 
 and I fully apprised them of the probable 
 course of events in Kentucky. Being some- 
 what prejudiced in favor of my mother country, 
 I was willing to meet them half way. Orders 
 were immediately issued, dated August 23, 
 1776, for conveying the ammunition to Pitts- 
 burgh, there to await further orders from me. 
 Matters being thus amicably arranged, I 
 wrote a letter informing the Kentuckians what 
 had been done and recommending that they 
 send to Pittsburgh for the powder and convey 
 it by water to Kentucky, but they never re- 
 ceived the letter. I myself remained in Vir- 
 ginia until the fall session, when I was joined 
 by my colleague, Mr. Jones, and we laid our 
 
 13 
 
Conquest of 
 
 papers before the Assembly. That body de- 
 cided that we could not take our seats as mem- 
 bers, but that our business should be attended 
 to. Colonel Henderson, one of the purchasers 
 from the Cherokees, was present and greatly 
 retarded our business. Colonel Arthur Camp- 
 bell, 5 a member of the Assembly, also strongly 
 opposed the project for a new county, wishing 
 us to remain annexed to the county on whose 
 frontier we lay and which he himself repre- 
 sented. This caused it to be late in the session 
 before we secured the establishment of a new 
 county by the name of Kentucky. 
 
 Mr. Jones and I parted at Williamsburg, but 
 learning there that the ammunition was still at 
 Pittsburgh, we resolved to return that way and 
 take it down the river. We agreed to meet 
 there, but the weather proving severe it was 
 late in the fall before we could set out. How- 
 ever trifling a small quantity of ammunition 
 
 6 Colonel Arthur Campbell was one of the prominent 
 men of the Virginia border. At the age of fifteen he 
 was captured by a band of Northwestern Indians and 
 spent three years as a captive in the vicinity of Lake 
 Erie. In 1765 his father settled on the Middle Fork 
 of Holston in modern Smyth County. Here young 
 Campbell built the first mill in 1770, served as justice 
 of the peace, and took part in all the stirring events 
 of the Virginia border in the folio wing years. In 1780 
 he conducted a brilliant campaign against the Chero- 
 kee. The leadership at the famous battle of King's 
 Mountain the following year he resigned to his cousin, 
 William Campbell. He died near Middlesborough, 
 Kentucky, in 1811. 
 
 14 
 
or the loss or acquisition of a few men may 
 appear to the country as a whole, I knew that 
 by the Kentuckians the loss of either would be 
 severely felt, and accordingly I exercised all 
 possible care. I found the Indians to be fully 
 prepared for war in the spring, and those who 
 came in to Fort Pitt under color of friendship 
 were in fact acting as spies: also that they 
 suspected our intention of going down the 
 river and would attempt to intercept us. 
 
 Realizing that our safety depended solely 
 upon expedition, without waiting to recruit our 
 party we set out with but seven hands in a 
 small vessel, and by the most indefatigable 
 labor accomplished our journey. We passed 
 the Indians in the night, or by some other 
 means got ahead of them, for the day before 
 we landed at Limestone 6 we plainly discovered 
 they were pursuing us. We hid our stores in 
 four or five places, scattered at considerable 
 distances, and, running a few miles farther 
 down the river, turned our vessel adrift and set 
 out by land for Harrodsburg to get an adequate 
 force of men to return for the ammunition. 
 We passed the Blue Licks 7 and on the third day 
 
 Modern Maysville, long the chief river post for 
 Kentucky. 
 
 7 On Licking River. Here were noted salt deposits. 
 While making salt here in 1778 Daniel Boone was 
 captured by the Indians. In August, 1782, occurred 
 here the disastrous battle of Blue Licks, wherein a 
 large number of Kentucky frontiersmen were slain. 
 
 IS 
 
Conquest of 
 
 after leaving the river arrived at Hinkston's 
 cabin 8 on the west fork of Licking Creek. 
 While we were resting here four men who had 
 been out looking up land in that section came 
 up and informed us concerning the situation of 
 affairs in Kentucky. They told us the late 
 Colonel John Todd 9 was out with a party some- 
 where in the vicinity, and if we could find him 
 we would be strong enough to return to the 
 river. But whether we could find him was 
 uncertain. 
 
 As several of our party were much fatigued, 
 we agreed that I and two others should proceed 
 to Harrodsburg for the proposed party, while 
 Mr. Jones and the others should remain in that 
 
 8 Major John Hinkston, a native of Pennsylvania, 
 was a noted scout and woodsman who in 1775 led a 
 company of settlers into Kentucky and erected a 
 station near modern Paris. This was abandoned in 
 July, 1776, through fear of Indian ravages. Four 
 years later, Hinkston brought his family to Kentucky, 
 but had just arrived at his old station when he was cap- 
 tured by a British-Indian force under Col. Henry Bird. 
 
 9 John Todd was a native of Pennsylvania who was 
 educated in Virginia. He practiced law for a time 
 and in 1774 took part in the campaign against the 
 Shawnee which ended in the battle of Point Pleasant. 
 In 1775 he removed to Kentucky, served in the Tran- 
 sylvania legislature, and was one of the first delegates 
 from Kentucky County to the Virginia legislature. 
 After Clark's conquest of the Illinois country Todd 
 was sent out to serve as county lieutenant of the newly- 
 organized county of Illinois. He held this office one 
 year, when he returned to Kentucky. He was killed 
 in the battle of the Blue Licks in 1782. 
 16 
 
neighborhood until our return. Shortly after 
 I had set out, however, Colonel Todd arrived 
 at the place, and after some consultation con- 
 cluded they were strong enough to go to the 
 river and bring in the ammunition and other 
 stores. Accordingly he set out with ten men, 
 but on December 25, between the Licking 
 and the Ohio, he met the Indians who were 
 following our trail, and was totally routed. 
 Mr. Jones was killed and three others were 
 either killed or taken prisoners. 10 Fortunately 
 for us, the prisoners did not reveal to the In- 
 dians our hidden stores. 
 
 On December 2Qth a large party of Indians 
 attacked McClelland's Fort 11 on Elkhorn. 
 They killed McClelland and White and wound- 
 ed two others, after which the survivors moved 
 to Harrodsburg. The inhabitants of Kentucky 
 at this period consisted of about men in 
 
 10 One of those thus captured was Joseph Rogers, 
 a cousin of Clark. He was held in captivity several 
 years. At length when Clark led his expedition 
 against the Shawnee towns of Ohio in the summer 
 of 1780, Rogers found his opportunity to escape. In 
 the fighting which attended Clark's capture of Piqua, 
 he ran towards the Americans, shouting to them not 
 to shoot him for he was a white man. He fell mor- 
 tally wounded, however, and expired a short time 
 after Clark reached his side. 
 
 11 McClelland's station had been established late 
 in 1775 or early in 1776 near the site of modern 
 Georgetown. The attack here noted was made by 
 Captain Pluggy's band of Indians. Pluggy was him- 
 self slain in this attack. 
 
 17 
 
Conquest of 
 
 the stations of Harrodsburg, Boonesborough. 
 and Colonel Logan's (station), 12 which had been 
 established about this time. The information 
 I gave sufficiently alarmed them. The settlers 
 had scarcely time enough to prepare themselves 
 when a large body of Indians advanced, on 
 March 7, 1777, (on the 5th the militia of the 
 city had been embodied), to the attack on 
 Harrodsburg. They fired on some boys in the 
 evening five miles from town, killing one of 
 them. The others made their escape and gave 
 the alarm. A party from the fort advanced 
 to the place, but fortunately, it being late in 
 the evening, they did not fall in with the 
 Indians, as in all probability our party would 
 have been cut to pieces and of course the 
 country lost. The loss of a single man at this 
 time was sensibly felt, and general actions with 
 the enemy must be avoided except when we 
 had an evident superiority, as the enemy could 
 easily retrieve their losses by recruits from 
 numerous tribes, an advantage we could not 
 expect to enjoy for some time. 
 
 On the following morning the Indians en- 
 tered the upper part of the town (which had 
 been evacuated the evening before), and a little 
 
 "Logan's station, about ten miles from Boones- 
 borough, was established in 1775. Its founder, Ben- 
 jamin Logan, was a native of Virginia who bore a 
 prominent part in the development of Kentucky. He 
 was a noted Indian fighter, and served in numerous 
 campaigns of this period. He died in Shelby County 
 in 1802. 
 
 18 
 
after daylight set fire to one of the houses. A 
 small party of men immediately went to see 
 what was the cause of this and were fired upon 
 by the Indians. However, they were covered 
 by a party from the fort and made good their 
 retreat. In this affair one man was killed on 
 each side, and a few were wounded. 
 
 Being the superior officer, I had the coun- 
 try put into as good a state of defense as our 
 situation would admit, determined if possible 
 to stand our ground in hopes of relief, as the 
 governor of Virginia had uniformly appeared 
 to be our friend. From this period we may 
 date the commencement of that bloody war in 
 Kentucky which has continued with savage fury 
 ever since. Upward of two thousand souls 
 have perished on our side, in a moderate cal- 
 culation, and the war has been severely felt by 
 the most active Indian nations. It is impos- 
 sible to enumerate all the little actions that 
 took place. They were continual, and fre- 
 quently severe when compared to our small 
 forces. The forts were frequently attacked. 
 Good policy would seem to have required that 
 the whole force be embodied in one place, but 
 our dependence upon hunting for the greatest 
 portion of our provisions forbade this. No 
 people could be in a more alarming position. 
 Detached at least two hundred miles from the 
 nearest settlement of the states, we were sur- 
 rounded by numerous Indian nations, each 
 one far superior to ourselves in numbers and 
 
lK Conquest of 
 
 spurred on by the British government to de- 
 stroy us, as appeared from many instruments 
 of writing left us on the breasts of persons 
 killed by them. 
 
 I frequently feared the settlers would con- 
 sider making peace with Detroit and suffer 
 themselves and families to be carried off. 
 Their distress may be easily conceived from our 
 situation; yet they remained firm in the hope 
 of relief, which they received by the arrival of 
 a company of men under Colonel John Bow- 
 man 13 on the second of September. This 
 reinforcement, though small, gave an appear- 
 ance of new life to the situation. Encouraged 
 by this and by the stand they had already made, 
 every one seemed determined to exert himself 
 in strengthening the country by encouraging as 
 many of his friends to move out, and in the 
 end this measure was successful. After the 
 arrival of Colonel Bowman I left Kentucky, in 
 October, 1777, and returned to Virginia with 
 a party of young men who had been detained 
 on the promise of being liberated upon his 
 arrival. During the severe spring preceding, 
 
 13 Colonel John Bowman, a native of Virginia, 
 visited Kentucky in 1775. The following summer he 
 was at Harrodsburg, where he served on the commit- 
 tee of safety. In the autumn of 1776 he was chosen 
 colonel of Kentucky militia, and led thither a company 
 for the defense of the settlers, arriving in August, 
 1777. In 1779 he led an expedition into the Miami 
 country, but nothing decisive was accomplished. He 
 died in Lincoln County, Kentucky, in 1784. 
 20 
 
our conduct had been very uniform. The de- 
 fense of our forts, the procuring of provisions, 
 and when possible surprising the Indians (which 
 was frequently done), burying the dead and 
 dressing the wounded, seemed to comprise our 
 entire business. 
 
 The whole of my time when not thus em- 
 ployed was devoted to reflecting upon things 
 in general; particularly whether or no it ac- 
 corded with the interest of the United States 
 to support Kentucky. This led me to a long 
 train of thinking, the result of which was to lay 
 aside every private view and engage seriously 
 in the war, having the interest and the welfare 
 of the public my only concern until the fate of 
 the continent should be known; divesting my- 
 self of prejudice and partiality in favor of any 
 particular parts of the country, I determined 
 to pursue what I considered to be the interest 
 of the whole. This has influenced my conduct 
 throughout the course of the war, and enabled 
 me better to judge of the importance of Ken- 
 tucky to the Union, situated as it was almost 
 in the midst of the Indians, who had commonly 
 engaged in the Kentucky war as an impediment 
 in their way to the more interior frontiers. I 
 saw that as soon as they should accomplish the 
 destruction of Kentucky they would descend 
 upon our frontiers; and instead of the states 
 receiving supplies from thence, they would be 
 obliged to keep large bodies of troops for their 
 defense. It would be almost impossible to 
 21 
 
Conquest of 
 
 move an army at so great a distance to attack 
 their towns, even if they could be found. 
 By supporting Kentucky and encouraging its 
 growth these obstacles would in great measure 
 be removed; for should the British officers 
 perceive their mistaken policy in carrying on 
 the war against Kentucky by the Indians and, 
 withdrawing from them, bend their whole force 
 against the interior frontiers as a certain mode 
 of distressing the states, we might, with a little 
 assistance, march with ease at any time from 
 this country to any part of their country we 
 might choose. (This is the only circumstance 
 that can excuse their conduct.) 
 
 These ideas caused me to view Kentucky in 
 the most favorable point of view, as a place of 
 the greatest consequence, which ought to meet 
 with every encouragement, and to perceive that 
 nothing I could engage in would be of more 
 general utility than its defense. As I knew 
 the commandant of the different towns of the 
 Illinois country and the Wabash was busily 
 engaged in exciting the Indians against us, their 
 reduction became my first object. I sent two 
 young hunters, S. Moore and B. Linn, 14 to 
 those places as spies, with proper instructions 
 
 14 These were Lieutenant Samuel Moore and Lieu- 
 tenant Benjamin Linn. The latter was a younger 
 brother of Colonel William Linn. He spent his early 
 life in western Maryland, moving in 1769 to the 
 Monongahela River. He went to Kentucky early in 
 1776 and the following spring was chosen a lieutenant 
 of the Kentucky County militia. On the mission to 
 
 22 
 
for their conduct. To prevent suspicion, neither 
 they nor anyone in Kentucky knew anything 
 of my design until it was ripe for execution. 
 They returned to Harrodsburg with all the 
 information I could reasonably have expected. 
 I found by them that the Illinois people had 
 but little expectation of a visit from us. Things 
 were kept in good order, however, the militia 
 trained, etc., that they might be prepared in 
 case of a visit. I learned that the greatest 
 pains were taken to inflame the minds of the 
 French inhabitants against the Americans, not- 
 withstanding which the spies had discovered 
 traces of affection for us on the part of some 
 of the inhabitants ; and that the Indians from 
 that region were generally engaged in the war 
 upon us. 
 
 When I left Kentucky, October I, 17/7, I 
 plainly saw that every eye was turned towards 
 me as if expecting some stroke in their favor. 
 Some of the settlers doubted my return, sup- 
 posing I would join the army in Virginia : I left 
 them with reluctance, promising (what I had 
 predetermined) that I would certainly return 
 to their assistance. 
 
 Kaskaskia, here noted, he narrowly escaped detec- 
 tion, and retired in haste at the suggestion of a friend 
 to the Americans. He did not go on Clark's expedi- 
 tion against Kaskaskia, but in 1779 he joined him at 
 Vincennes. He later became a somewhat noted Bap- 
 tist preacher, and founded the second church of that 
 denomination in Kentucky. He died at Huntsville, 
 Alabama, in December, 1814. 
 
 23 
 
jje Conquest of 
 
 On my arrival at Williamsburg I remained a 
 considerable time settling the accounts of the 
 Kentucky militia and taking note of everything 
 I saw or heard that shed light on the disposi- 
 tion of those in power. Burgoyne's army hav- 
 ing been captured and things seeming to wear 
 a pleasing aspect, on December 10 I commu- 
 nicated my design to Governor Henry. At first 
 he seemed to favor it, but to send a party off 
 to so great a distance appeared daring and 
 hazardous even though the service to be per- 
 formed ''might be of great utility. To lay the 
 matter before the Assembly, then in session, 
 would be dangerous, as it would soon be known 
 throughout the frontiers, and the first prisoner 
 taken by the Indians would probably give the 
 alarm, which would end in the certain destruc- 
 tion of the party. Governor Henry therefore 
 held several private councils with select men. 
 After making every inquiry into my proposed 
 plans of operations (and particularly into that 
 of a retreat in case of misfortune, in which 
 event I intended to cross the Mississippi into 
 Spanish territory) the expedition was resolved 
 upon; and as an encouragement to those who 
 would engage in it a document was drawn up 
 whereby those gentlemen promised, in the 
 event of success, to use their influence to pro- 
 cure from the Assembly 300 acres of land for 
 each man. 
 
 The Governor and Council entered so warm- 
 ly into the enterprise that I had very little trouble 
 24 
 
in getting matters adjusted, and on January 2, 
 1778, I received my instructions. I received 
 also 1200 for the use of the expedition and 
 an order on the authorities at Pittsburgh for 
 boats, ammunition, etc. Finding from the 
 Governor's conversation with me upon the sub- 
 ject that he did not wish an implicit attention 
 to his instructions should prevent my doing 
 anything that would manifestly tend to the pub- 
 lic advantage, I set out on January 4, clothed 
 with all the authority I could wish. I advanced 
 150 to Major William B. Smith 15 to recruit a 
 force of men on Holston and meet me in Ken- 
 tucky. Captain Leonard Helm 16 of Fauquier 
 
 15 William Bailey Smith, a native of Virginia, who 
 early migrated to North Carolina, where he associated 
 with the Hendersons and other prominent men of the 
 time. In 1775 he attended the treaty at Watauga 
 whereby Henderson secured his Kentucky claim from 
 the Cherokee, and he went out to Boonesborough 
 that summer. In 1777 he went back to the settlements 
 and brought out a force of men for the relief of Ken- 
 tucky. He largely failed in his recruiting efforts for 
 which Clark commissioned him. Of the one small 
 company he eventually forwarded to Clark, a portion 
 deserted on learning the destination of the expedition. 
 Smith later returned to North Carolina where he was 
 commissioned to extend the boundary line between 
 modern Tennessee and Kentucky. For this service 
 he received a tract on Green River, where he settled 
 in 1794 and died in 1818. 
 
 16 Leonard Helm had served with Clark in Lord 
 Dunmore's War of 1774. He was one of Clark's 
 captains in the Illinois expedition, and the command- 
 er relied more upon him, perhaps, than any other 
 member of his force. 
 
 25 
 
Conquest of 
 
 and Captain Bowman of Frederick were each 
 to raise a company and arrive on February I 
 at Redstone old fort. 17 
 
 Being now in the country where all my arrange- 
 ments were to be made, I appointed Captain 
 William Harrod 18 and many other officers to the 
 recruiting service and contracted for flour and 
 other necessary stores. General Hand, 19 who 
 
 17 This was at the mouth of Redstone Creek, where 
 the Ohio Company had built a storehouse as early as 
 1752. In 1754 the English defenses here were burned 
 by the French, but after the capture of Fort Duquesne 
 by the English in 1758, an officer was sent to rees- 
 tablish a fort at this point. It was abandoned during 
 Pontiac's War, but appears to have been garrisoned 
 at the time of Lord Dunmore's War in 1774, and was 
 now made the rendezvous for Clark's forces. In 1785 
 the town of Brownsville was incorporated here, and 
 this remained for many years an important starting 
 point for western emigration. 
 
 18 This was the elder brother of James Harrod, the 
 founder of Harrodsburg. William was with his 
 brother at this place in 1775, but western Pennsylva- 
 nia continued to be his permanent home. He raised 
 a company under the appointment from Clark here 
 noted and, joining his commander at the Falls of 
 Ohio, served efficiently throughout the Illinois cam- 
 paign. The next year he brought a company from the 
 Falls of Ohio to take part in Colonel Bowman's cam- 
 paign into the Miami country in 1779. He died in 1801 . 
 
 19 Edward Hand was born in Ireland on the last day 
 of the year 1744. He studied medicine and in 1767 
 became surgeon's mate in the British army, his regi- 
 ment being sent to America that same summer. It 
 was at once ordered to Fort Pitt, where Hand served 
 until 1774; then, the regiment being ordered east, he 
 26 
 
then commanded at Pittsburgh, promised a sup- 
 ply of the articles for which I had orders. I 
 received word from Captain Helm that several 
 gentlemen in his section were endeavoring to 
 counteract his efforts at recruiting, saying no 
 such service was known to the Assembly. In 
 consequence he had to send to the Governor 
 to have his conduct ratified. I also encoun- 
 tered opposition to our enterprise in the coun- 
 try around Pittsburgh, where the people were 
 violently divided into parties over the territorial 
 claims of Virginia and Pennsylvania., As my 
 real instructions were kept secret and only an 
 instrument prepared by the Governor design- 
 edly for deception and directing me to raise men 
 for the defense of Kentucky was made public, 
 many men of both parties considered it injuri- 
 ous to the public interest to draw off men at so 
 critical a moment for the defense of a few de- 
 tached inhabitants that had better be removed. 
 These circumstances caused some confusion 
 in the business of recruiting. On March 29 I 
 
 resigned and settled at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At 
 the outbreak of the Revolution he enlisted in the 
 colonial army and soon joined Washington before 
 Boston, serving later in the Long Island and New 
 Jersey campaigns. In the spring of 1777 he was made 
 brigadier-general and sent to the West as command- 
 er-in-chief. Hampered here in his work, he asked to 
 be recalled early the following year, and served in the 
 East until the close of the war. He then retired to 
 his home near Lancaster and resumed the practice of 
 medicine. He died September 3, 1802. 
 
 27 
 
Conquest of 
 
 received a letter from Major Smith by express 
 informing me that he had raised four compa- 
 nies on Holston ready to march immediately to 
 Kentucky in accordance with his orders; while 
 an express from Kentucky brought information 
 that they had been much strengthened since I 
 left there. This information concerning Smith's 
 four companies, besides those of Bowman and 
 Helm which I knew were on their way to join 
 me at Redstone, made me feel easier on the 
 subject of recruits than I otherwise would have 
 been. The recruiting officers secured only such 
 men as had friends in Kentucky or were induced 
 by a desire to see the country. 
 
 Meeting with several disappointments, it was 
 late in May before I could leave Redstone with 
 three companies of men and a considerable num- 
 ber of families and private adventurers. Taking 
 in my stores at Pittsburgh and Wheeling, I pro- 
 ceeded cautiously down the Ohio. At the mouth 
 of the Great Kanawha Captain Arbuckle, 20 
 the commandant, informed us that 250 In- 
 dians had warmly attacked his post the day be- 
 fore and wounded a few of his men. The 
 Indians had then directed their course to the 
 
 20 Captain Matthew Arbuckle was one of the best 
 known woodsmen and Indian fighters of this period. 
 In 1765 he had explored the Kanawha Valley to the 
 Ohio, the first white man to pass this way except as 
 a captive in the hands of the Indians. In 1776 he 
 was sent to command Fort Randolph at the mouth of 
 the Kanawha, where he remained for the three ensuing 
 years. He was killed in 1781 by a falling tree. 
 28 
 
settlements of Greenbrier and Captain Arbuckle 
 had sent off an express to warn the settlers. 
 He thought the forces I had, with the addition 
 of a part of a garrison, could in all probability 
 overtake the Indians and inflict a total rout 
 upon them. The prospect was a flattering one ; 
 but the uncertainty of obtaining the advantage 
 over the enemy, the loss of time and perhaps 
 a number of the men, which would cause the 
 destruction of the enterprise upon which I had 
 embarked these considerations, together with 
 the practical certainty that the settlers would 
 receive the alarm in time and might repel the 
 invaders (which they in fact did), induced me 
 to decline it. 
 
 I proceeded on my way, therefore, being 
 joined by Captain James O'Hara, 21 who was on 
 his way to the Arkansas on public business. 
 I landed at the mouth of the Kentucky River. 
 
 2 'James O'Hara entered the Indian trade at Pitts- 
 burgh prior to 1773. He enlisted in the Ninth Vir- 
 ginia Regiment during the Revolution, being employ- 
 ed as quartermaster. In the Whiskey Rebellion of 
 Washington's administration he served as quarter- 
 master-general of the army, and in a similar capacity 
 under General Wayne in 1794. In 1797 he establish- 
 ed at Pittsburgh the first glass manufactory west of 
 the Alleghanies, and by his business ability did much 
 to develop the town. He died in 1819 leaving a large 
 estate. At the time of Clark's journey O'Hara had 
 been sent by General Hand to succor Captain Will- 
 ing, who had gone to the lower Mississippi country 
 to secure the neutrality of the inhabitants there and 
 bring back provisions to the states . Willing, although 
 
 29 
 
Conquest of 
 
 Here I had intended to erect a fort, since the 
 growth of Kentucky largely depended upon the 
 establishment of a post on the Ohio River as 
 a place of security for emigrants who wished 
 to descend the river; but having in view my 
 designs to the westward I perceived the mouth 
 of the Kentucky was not a proper place to for- 
 tify unless we could afford to maintain two 
 posts. In case of success attending my enter- 
 prise it would be absolutely necessary to have a 
 post of communication on the river between the 
 Illinois country and Kentucky; and of course 
 the Falls of Ohio 22 was the more eligible spot as 
 it would answer all these desirable purposes 
 and would also protect in great measure the 
 navigation of the river, since as every vessel 
 would be obliged to stop some time at this place 
 they would always be exposed to the Indians. 
 
 not mentioned by Clark, is of interest to our story in 
 at least two respects. After a long and stormy career 
 in the far Southwest, he sent his troops up the Mis- 
 sissippi, undei charge of Lieutenant Robert George, 
 who, arriving in the Illinois country, placed them 
 subject to the orders of Clark. Willing himself went 
 to Mobile where he was captured by the British and 
 narrowly escaped being hung. After a long imprison- 
 ment, at one time being loaded with irons in New 
 York City for three months, Willing was released on 
 parole and finally exchanged for Governor Henry 
 Hamilton, who since his capture by the Americans 
 had undergone ill treatment at their hands fairly 
 comparable to that which the British meted out to 
 Willing. 
 
 22 At the site of modern Louisville. 
 30 
 
I had learned that but one company of Major 
 Smith's troops, that of Captain Dillard, had as 
 yet arrived in Kentucky. This alarmed me, 
 as I feared the disappointment would prove 
 fatal to our enterprise. I wrote a letter to 
 Colonel Bowman telling him of my intention to 
 place a garrison at the Falls, and that I had an 
 object in view of greatest importance to the 
 country. I urged him to meet me there with 
 the available troops recruited by Major Smith 
 and what militia could safely be spared from 
 the different posts. 
 
 I moved on the Falls and inspected the sev- 
 eral sites available for fortifying; but reflecting 
 that my secret instructions were as yet unknown 
 even to my own party, and not knowing what 
 would be the consequence when they should 
 be divulged, I wished to have everything as 
 secure as possible when we should be joined by 
 the entire force. I observed that the little is- 
 land of about seven acres opposite the present 
 site of Louisville was seldom or never entirely 
 covered by water. I resolved to take posses- 
 sion and fortify it which I did on the of 
 June, dividing the island among the families 
 that had followed me, for gardens. These fam- 
 ilies I now found to be a real asset, as they 
 occasioned but little expense and with the in- 
 valids would hold this little post until we should 
 be able to occupy the mainland. This last 
 occurred in the fall agreeably to instructions 
 I sent from the Illinois. The people on the 
 
fte Conquest of 
 
 Monongahela, learning of this post by messen- 
 gers I sent to them, moved down the river in 
 great numbers. This was one of the chief 
 causes of the rapid settlement of Kentucky. 
 
 Upon the arrival of Colonel Bowman with 
 part of the militia and several gentlemen of 
 this section of country we found on examina- 
 tion that we were much weaker than I had ex- 
 pected to be; meanwhile the Indians continued 
 their warfare without intermission and their 
 numbers increased the longer they continued, 
 as the British steadily added to their strength 
 by stirring up others to join them. Under these 
 circumstances we could not think of leaving 
 the posts of Kentucky defenseless. We per- 
 ceived that it was better to run a great risk 
 with one party than to divide our forces in 
 such a manner as to hazard the loss of both. 
 We therefore agreed to take but one complete 
 company and part of another from Kentucky, 
 supposing that these would be replaced by 
 troops we yet expected from Major Smith. 
 
 Such were our deliberations after I had made 
 known my instructions. Almost every gentle- 
 man present warmly espoused the enterprise 
 and plainly saw the utility of it, and supposed 
 they saw the salvation of Kentucky almost with- 
 in their reach, but they sorely repined that we 
 were not strong enough to put it beyond all 
 doubt. The soldiery in general debated on the 
 subject but determined to follow their officers. 
 Some were alarmed at the thought of being 
 32 
 
taken so great a distance into the enemy's 
 country, fearing that even though they should 
 be successful in the first instance they might 
 be attacked in their posts without the possi- 
 bility of obtaining succor or of making their 
 retreat. I had spies continually among them, 
 and some dissatisfaction was discovered in Cap- 
 tain Dillard's company. The boats were well 
 secured, therefore, and sentinels were placed 
 where it was thought there was a possibility of 
 the men wading from the island. My design 
 was to take those who would not attempt to 
 desert down the river on our way, 23 but I was 
 outgeneraled by Lieutenant , of whom 
 
 I had previously conceived a very tolerable 
 opinion. While swimming during the day, they 
 discovered that the channel opposite their camp 
 might be waded, and a little before daybreak 
 he and the greater part of the company slipped 
 down the bank and reached the opposite shore 
 before they were discovered by the sentinels. 
 
 Vexed at the idea of their escape in this man- 
 ner, since one of my principal motives for tak- 
 ing my station on the island was to prevent 
 desertion, and intending to set out the next 
 day, I was undetermined for a few moments 
 what to do. It might require several days for 
 a party to overtake the deserters and having 
 no distrust of those that remained the example 
 was not immediately dangerous. 
 
 23 The precise meaning which Clark intended to 
 convey by this statement is not clear. 
 
 33 
 
Conquest of 
 
 However it might prove so hereafter, and 
 recalling that we had with us a number of horses 
 belonging to the gentlemen from Harrodsburg, 
 I ordered a strong party to pursue them; the 
 foot and horse were to relieve each other regu- 
 larly, and they were to put to death every man 
 they could who would not surrender. They 
 overhauled the deserters in about twenty 
 miles. The latter, discovering their pursuers 
 at a distance, scattered in the woods and only 
 seven or eight were taken. The remainder 
 made their way to different posts; many who 
 were not woodsmen almost perished. The poor 
 lieutenant and the few that remained with him, 
 after suffering almost all that could be felt 
 from hunger and fatigue, arrived at Harrods- 
 burg, where the settlers, having heard of his 
 conduct, would not for some time suffer him 
 to come into their houses nor give him any- 
 thing to eat. On the return of the party the 
 soldiery hung and burned his effigy. 
 
 Every preparation was now made for our 
 departure. After spending a day of amuse- 
 ment we parted with our friends from Kentucky, 
 they to return to the defense of their country 
 and we in search of new adventures. On the 
 twenty- fourth of June, 1778, we left our little 
 island and running about a mile up the river in 
 order to gain the main channel, we shot the 
 Falls at the very moment the sun was under 
 a great eclipse, which caused various conjec- 
 tures on the part of the superstitious among us. 
 34 
 
Knowing that spies were watching the river 
 below the Illinois towns, I had planned to march 
 part of the way by land. I therefore left be- 
 hind all of our baggage except enough to equip 
 the men after the Indian fashion. Our entire 
 force, after leaving behind those who were 
 judged unequal to the expected fatigues of the 
 march, consisted of but four companies, under 
 Captains Montgomery, Bowman, Helm, and 
 Harrod. My force being so much smaller than 
 I had expected, I found it necessary to alter 
 my plan of operations. As Vincennes was a 
 town of considerable strength, having four hun- 
 dred militia, besides which there was an Indian 
 town adjoining and large numbers of Indians 
 always in the neighborhood, and since it was 
 more important than any other from the view- 
 point of Indian affairs, I had thought of attack- 
 ing it first ; but I now found myself too weak 
 to undertake this, and accordingly resolved to 
 begin operations against the Illinois towns. 
 Although they had more inhabitants than Vin- 
 cennes they were scattered in different villages. 
 There was less danger of our being immediately 
 overpowered by the Indians; in case of neces- 
 sity, too, we could probably make good our 
 retreat to the Spanish side of the river, while 
 if we were successful here the way might be 
 paved for us to take possession of Vincennes. 
 
 I was well aware of the fact that the French 
 inhabitants of these western settlements had 
 great influence over the Indians, by whom they 
 35 
 
j)e Conquest of 
 
 were more beloved than were any other Euro- 
 peans. I knew also that their commercial inter- 
 course extended throughout the entire western 
 and northwestern country, while the governing 
 interest on the Great Lakes was chiefly in the 
 hands of the English, who were not popular 
 with the natives. These reflections,' along with 
 others of similar import, determined me to 
 strengthen myself, if possible, by adopting such 
 a course of conduct as would tend to attach 
 the whole French and Indian population to our 
 interest, and give us influence beyond the limits 
 of the country which constituted the objective 
 of our campaign. Such were the principles 
 which guided my further conduct; fortunately 
 I received at this time a letter from Colonel 
 Campbell 24 at Pittsburgh informing me of the 
 contents of the treaty between France and 
 America. 
 
 "Colonel John Campbell was a native of Ireland 
 who early came to America and entered upon the 
 Indian trade. In 1764 he laid out a town on the site 
 of modern Pittsburgh, and ten years later purchased 
 a large tract of land at the Falls of Ohio. He acted 
 as commissary at Fort Pitt during the early years of 
 the Revolution. In the summer of 1779 he was 
 captured at the defeat of Colonel Rogers' party 
 on the Ohio a short distance above Cincinnati. 
 Campbell was carried to Quebec and there held 
 prisoner until almost the close of the Revolution. 
 In 1784 he located in the vicinity of Louisville. 
 He served in the Virginia legislature from Kentucky, 
 in the Kentucky constitutional convention of 1792, 
 and in 1798 was speaker of the state senate. He 
 died in 1799. 
 
 36 
 
Intending to leave the Ohio at Fort Mas- 
 sac, 25 three leagues below the mouth of the 
 Tennessee, I landed on Barataria, a small island 
 in the mouth of that river, to make preparations 
 for our march. A few hours after our arrival 
 here, one John Duff, coming down the river 
 with a party of hunters, was brought to by our 
 boats. They were originally from the states, 
 and they expressed pleasure in the adventure, 
 their surprise having been owing to lack of 
 knowledge who we were. They had recently 
 been at Kaskaskia and were able to give us all 
 the information we desired. They told us that 
 Governor Abbott 26 had recently left Vincennes 
 to go to Detroit on business of importance. 
 
 25 Fort Massac was a French post erected in 1757 
 on the north side of the Ohio, eight miles below Padu- 
 cah, Kentucky. When the French surrendered Illi- 
 nois to the British the latter neglected to fortify this 
 point, and so Clark was enabled to make it his point 
 of entry into Illinois. In 1794 General Wayne estab- 
 lished a fort on the site of the old French post, and 
 the new Fort Massac continued for many years a post 
 of the regular army in the Northwest. 
 
 26 Edward Abbott was a British artillery officer who 
 came into the Northwest about the close of the French 
 regime in this region. In the spring of 1777 he was 
 sent to Vincennes, being the first and only British 
 governor there. He built Fort Sackville, which Clark 
 captured from Hamilton in the winter of 1779. As 
 here noted, Abbott was withdrawn from Vincennes in 
 February, 1778. In July of this year he was sent to 
 the West Indies, and therewith ceased to figure in the 
 history of the Northwest. 
 
 37 
 
Conquest of 
 
 Mr. Rochblave 27 was commanding at Kaskas- 
 kia. The militia were in good order, spies were 
 watching the Mississippi, and all hunters were 
 instructed to keep close watch for the rebels. 
 The fort was kept as orderly as an asylum, 
 but our informants thought this watchfulness 
 was due more to a fondness for parade than 
 to any expectation of a visit from us. Should 
 they receive timely notice of our approach, 
 the hunters thought, they would give us a warm 
 reception, since they had been taught to enter- 
 tain horrible ideas of the barbarity of the rebels, 
 especially so of the Virginians. If, however, 
 we could surprise the place, they had no doubt 
 of our ability to master it at pleasure. 
 
 These men asked to be permitted to join our 
 expedition, and offered to assist the guides in 
 conducting our party across the country. This 
 offer was accepted by me and they proved a 
 
 27 Philippe Francois Rastel, sieur de Rochblave, was 
 a native of France who served for a time in the army. 
 Coming to New France about the year 1750, he 
 entered the colonial army and was employed about 
 Fort Duquesne and in the Illinois country. At the 
 close of the French and Indian War he located at 
 Kaskaskiaand here married in 1763. Later he crossed 
 the Mississippi into Spanish territory and was at Ste. 
 Genevieve, Missouri, for a time. In 1776, when the 
 last British officer withdrew from Kaskaskia, Roch- 
 blave was left in command, but with no garrison or 
 other support. Clark sent him a prisoner to Vir- 
 ginia. Here he evaded his parole and made his way 
 to the British army in New York. He died in Lower 
 Canada in 1802. 
 
 38 
 
valuable acquisition, all the more so in view 
 of the fact that I had had no intelligence con- 
 cerning the French posts since that gained from 
 the spies I had sent a year before. No part 
 of the information I received pleased me more 
 than that concerning the inhabitants believing 
 us to be more savage than their neighbors, the 
 Indians. I resolved to make capital of this 
 should I be fortunate enough to gain control 
 over them, since I considered that the greater 
 the shock I could give them in the beginning 
 the more appreciative would they be later of 
 my lenity, and the more valuable as friends. 
 This I conceived to accord with human nature 
 as I had observed it in many instances. 
 
 All things being ready, we descended the river 
 to a little gut a short distance above Fort Mas- 
 sac, where we concealed our boats and began 
 our march in a" northwesterly direction. Noth- 
 ing worthy of remark occurred in this portion 
 of our route. The weather was favorable, al- 
 though in some places both water and game 
 were scarce, which entailed some suffering both 
 from thirst and hunger. On the third day John 
 Saunders, our principal guide, appeared to be 
 confused, and barring some other explanation 
 of his conduct, we perceived that he was totally 
 lost. I asked him a number of questions and 
 was at a loss to determine from his answers 
 whether his confusion was due to the know- 
 ledge that he was lost, or whether he was pur- 
 posely deceiving us. The men all cried out that 
 39 
 
Conquest of 
 
 he was a traitor. On this he asked to be per- 
 mitted to go some distance into a plain which 
 was in full view, to try to make some discovery 
 concerning the route. I told him he might go, 
 but that I was suspicious of his conduct. From 
 his first engagement he had claimed to know the 
 way perfectly but now things looked different. 
 I saw from the nature of the country that one 
 who had once become acquainted with it could 
 not forget it in a short time. I told him a few 
 men would go with him to prevent his escape, 
 and if he did not conduct us to the hunter's 
 road he had frequently described as leading 
 into Kaskaskia from the east I would have him 
 immediately put to death. This I should have 
 done, but after searching an hour or two he 
 came to a place that he knew perfectly, and we 
 now perceived that the poor fellow had been 
 genuinely bewildered. 
 
 On the evening of July fourth we arrived 
 within a few miles of the town, where we threw 
 out scouts in advance and lay until nearly dark. 
 We then resumed our march and took posses- 
 sion of a house on the bank of the Kaskaskia 
 River, about three-quarters of a mile above the 
 town, occupied by a large family. We learned 
 from the inmates that the people had been un- 
 der arms a few days before but had concluded 
 the alarm to be groundless and at present all 
 was quiet, and that there was a large number 
 of men in town, although the Indians were for 
 the most part absent. We obtained from the 
 40 
 
man boats enough to convey us across the river, 
 where I formed my force in three divisions. 
 I felt confident the inhabitants could not now 
 obtain knowledge of our approach in time to 
 enable them to make any resistance. My ob- 
 ject was now to get possession of the place with 
 as little confusion as possible, but to have it if 
 necessary at the loss of the whole town. I 
 did not entirely credit the information given 
 us at the house, as the man seemed to contra- 
 dict himself, informing us among other things 
 that a noise we heard in the town was caused 
 by the negroes at a dance. I set out for the 
 fort with one division, ordering the other two 
 to proceed to different quarters of the town. 
 If I met with no resistance, at a certain signal 
 a general shout was to be given and a certain 
 part of the town was to be seized immediately, 
 while men from each detachment who were 
 able to talk French were to run through the 
 streets proclaiming what had happened and 
 informing the townsmen to remain in their 
 houses on pain of being shot down. 
 
 These arrangements produced the desired 
 effect, and within a very short time we were 
 in complete possession of the place, with every 
 avenue guarded to prevent any one from es- 
 caping and giving the alarm to the other 
 villages. Various orders not worth mention- 
 ing had been issued for the guidance of the 
 men in the event of opposition. Greater 
 silence, I suppose, never reigned among the 
 
f)e Conquest of 
 
 inhabitants of a town than in Kaskaskia at this 
 juncture; not a person was to be seen or a 
 word to be heard from them for sometime. 
 Meanwhile our troops purposely kept up the 
 greatest possible noise throughout every quarter 
 of the town, while patrols moved around it con- 
 tinually throughout the night, as it was a capital 
 object to intercept any message that might be 
 sent out. In about two hours all the inhab- 
 itants were disarmed, and informed that any- 
 one who should be taken while attempting to 
 escape from the place would immediately be 
 put to death. Mr. Rochblave was secured, 
 but some time elapsed before he could be got- 
 ten out of his room. I suppose he delayed to 
 tell his wife what disposition to make of his 
 public papers, but few of which were secured 
 by us. Since his chamber was not entered 
 during the night, she had ample opportunity to 
 dispose of them, but how she did it we could 
 never learn. I do not suppose she put them 
 in her trunks, although we never examined 
 them. From the idea she entertained of us 
 she must have expected the loss even of her 
 clothes. 
 
 During the night I sent for several individ- 
 uals, from whom I sought to procure infor- 
 mation, but obtained very little that was not 
 already known to us. We learned, however,, 
 that the conduct of several of the inhabitants 
 indicated them to be inclined to the American 
 cause; that a large number of Indians were in 
 42 
 
the neighborhood of Cahokia; sixty miles 
 distant; that Mr. Cerre, 28 a leading merchant 
 and one of our most inveterate enemies, had 
 left Kaskaskia with a large quantity of furs a 
 few days before, enroutetoMichilimackinacand 
 thence to Quebec, from which place he had 
 lately arrived at Kaskaskia; and that he was 
 then in St. Louis, the Spanish capital, but his 
 wife and family were still in town, together 
 with a considerable quantity of goods which 
 would be useful to our men. 
 
 In addition to Cerre, information was given 
 me about numerous other individuals. I at 
 once suspected that the object of the informers 
 was to make their peace with me at the expense 
 of their neighbors, and my situation demanded 
 of me too much caution to permit giving them 
 much satisfaction. I found Cerre to be one 
 of the most eminent men of the country, with 
 great influence over the people. I had some 
 suspicion that his accusers were probably in 
 debt to him, and hence desired to ruin him. 
 What I had heard led me to feel that he was 
 an object of importance to me, since he might 
 
 ^Jean Gabriel Cerr6 was the most prominent mer- 
 chant of British Illinois. A native of Canada, he 
 came to Kaskaskia in 1755, and marrying there, made 
 the Illinois country his future home. Clark describes 
 for us how he was won over to the American cause. 
 In 1779 Cerre removed to St. Louis, dying there in 
 1800. He was the father-in-law of Auguste Chouteau, 
 one of the founders of that city, and famous in its 
 early annals. 
 
 43 
 
Conquest of 
 
 be wavering in his opinion respecting the merits 
 of the war; and if he should take a decisive 
 stand in our favor, he might prove a valuable 
 acquisition. In short, his enemies led me to 
 desire much to see him, and as he was then 
 out of my power I had no doubt I could bring 
 this about by means of his family who were 
 in my hands. I immediately caused a guard 
 to be stationed at his house and his stores to 
 be sealed along with all the others. I did not 
 doubt that when he should hear of this he 
 would be extremely anxious for an interview. 
 By the morning of the fifth Messrs. Richard 
 Winston 29 and Daniel Murray, 30 who proved to 
 have been attached to the American cause, had 
 plenty of provisions prepared. After the 
 troops had regaled themselves they were with- 
 
 29 Richard Winston was a Virginian who was trad- 
 ing in the western country at the close of the French 
 and Indian War. He soon located at Kaskaskia, 
 where upon the advent of Clark he promptly sided 
 with the Americans and was appointed a captain by 
 Clark. The following year he was made sneriff by 
 John Todd, and when the latter left the Illinois Win- 
 ston became deputy lieutenant-governor. He had 
 much trouble in this position, and his devotion to 
 the American cause brought about his financial ruin. 
 He died in poverty in 1784, after having spent eight- 
 een months at Richmond vainly prosecuting his 
 claims before the Virginia government. 
 
 30 Daniel Murray, like Winston, was a merchant at 
 Kaskaskia, and like him gave the Americans import- 
 ant help. He remained in Kaskaskia during the 
 following years and was finally shot in a quarrel over 
 money matters. 
 
 44 
 
drawn from the town and posted in extended 
 position on its border. Every man had been 
 expressly forbidden to hold any conversation 
 with the inhabitants. All was distrust; their 
 town was in complete possession of an enemy 
 of whom they entertained the most horrid 
 conception, and they were unable as yet to 
 have any conversation with one of our people. 
 Even those I talked with were ordered not to 
 speak to any of my men. After some time 
 they were told they could walk freely about the 
 town. Finding they were busily engaged in 
 conversation, I had a few of the principal mil- 
 itia officers put in irons, without hinting any 
 reason or hearing anything they had to say in 
 their own defense. The worst was now an- 
 ticipated by all. I perceived the state of con- 
 sternation the inhabitants were in, and in 
 imagination, I suppose, felt all that they were 
 experiencing in reality; and I felt perfectly 
 disposed to act as arbiter between them and 
 my duty. 
 
 After some time the priest 31 obtained per- 
 mission to call on me, and came accompanied 
 
 31 This was Father Pierre Gibault, a native of Can- 
 ada, who came out to Illinois in the capacity of vicar- 
 general in 1768. Locating at Kaskaskia, his parish 
 included all the French settlements of the Illinois 
 country and the Wabash. He threw his influence on 
 the side of the Americans and rendered service of 
 great importance to Clark in his conquest of the 
 country. He was at Cahokia as late as 1791, but 
 later withdrew to the Spanish side of the river and 
 settled at New Madrid. 
 
 45 
 
Conquest of 
 
 by five or six elderly gentlemen. However 
 great the shock they had already sustained by 
 reason of their situation, the addition when they 
 entered the room where I was sitting with my 
 officers was obvious and great. Having left 
 our extra clothing at the Ohio River, we were 
 almost naked; torn by the bushes and briers, 
 we presented a dirty and savage aspect. So 
 shocked were they that some time elapsed be- 
 fore they ventured to seat themselves, and still 
 more before they would speak. At length we 
 asked them what they wanted. The priest 
 stated (after inquiring which of us was the 
 commander) that as the townsmen expected to 
 be separated, never, perhaps, to meet again, 
 they had commissioned him to petition for 
 permission to spend some time in the church 
 taking their leave of each other. I knew that 
 they supposed their very religion to be obnox- 
 ious to us. I carelessly told him, therefore, 
 that I had nothing to say about his church and 
 he might go there if he pleased; if he did, he 
 was to tell the people not to leave the town. 
 They attempted to introduce some other con- 
 versation, but were told that we were not at 
 leisure; and, after answering a few questions, 
 which I asked with a view to discouraging them 
 from again coming to me with petitions, as they 
 had not yet come to the state of mind I want- 
 ed, they went away. The whole populace now 
 seemed to assemble in the church. The infants 
 were carried along, and the houses were left 
 46 
 
for the most part without a person in them, 
 with the exception of a few who cared little 
 how things went and a few more who were not 
 so much alarmed as the majority. I issued an 
 order prohibiting the soldiers from entering the 
 houses. 
 
 The people remained some time in the church, 
 and, on breaking up, the priest and many of the 
 principal citizens came to thank me for the in^ 
 dulgence shown them, and to beg permission 
 to address me further on a subject dearer to 
 them than all things else. They stated that 
 their present situation was the fate of war and 
 they were reconciled to the loss of their prop- 
 erty; but they hoped I would not part them 
 from their families, and that the women and 
 children might keep some of their clothes and 
 a small quantity of provisions, that they might 
 support themselves by their industry. Their 
 entire conduct had been influenced by their 
 commandants, whom they had felt obliged to 
 obey, and they were not much acquainted with 
 the American war, as they had had but little 
 opportunity to inform themselves. Many of 
 them, however, had expressed themselves as 
 strongly in favor of the Americans as they had 
 dared. In short, they said everything that 
 sensible men in their situation could be expected 
 to advance, and their sole hope seemed to be 
 to secure some lenity for their women and 
 families, supposing their property would ap- 
 pease us. I felt convinced there was no finesse 
 47 
 
Conquest of 
 
 in all this, but that they really expressed their 
 sentiments and the height of their expectations. 
 This was the point to which I had wished to 
 bring them. I now asked them very abruptly 
 whether they thought they were addressing 
 savages. I told them that from the tenor of 
 their conversation I was sure they did. Did 
 they suppose we meant to strip the women and 
 children or take the bread out of their mouths ? 
 Or that we would condescend to make war on 
 women and children or the church ? I informed 
 them it was to prevent the effusion of innocent 
 blood by the Indians, instigated thereto by their 
 commandants and enemies, and not the pros- 
 pect of plunder, that had caused us to visit 
 them. As soon as this object was attained 
 we would be perfectly satisfied; and as the 
 king of France had joined the Americans (this 
 information affected them very visibly) it was 
 probable the war would shortly come to an end. 
 They were at liberty to take whichever side 
 they pleased without danger of losing their 
 property or having their families distressed. 
 As for their church, all religions would be tol- 
 erated in America, and so far were we from 
 meddling with it, that any one who offered 
 insult to it would be punished by me. To 
 convince them we were not savages and plun- 
 derers, as they had conceived us to be, they 
 might return to their families and tell them to 
 conduct themselves as usual, with entire free- 
 dom and without any apprehension of danger. 
 48 
 
I told them the information I had received 
 since my arrival so fully convinced me that they 
 had been influenced by false information given 
 them by their leaders I was willing to forget 
 all that had passed. Their friends who were 
 in confinement would be released immediately 
 and the guards withdrawn from every part of 
 the town except the house of Cerre, and I only 
 required compliance with a proclamation which 
 I should immediately issue. 
 
 Such was the substance of my reply to them. 
 They attempted to soften my idea that they 
 had supposed us to be a set of savages and 
 plunderers, or that they had supposed the 
 property in a town belonged to those who cap- 
 tured it. I told them I knew they had been 
 taught to believe that we were but little better 
 than barbarians, but that we would say no more 
 on the subject, and that I wished them to go 
 and relieve the anxiety of the townsmen. Their 
 feelings may more easily be imagined than ex- 
 pressed. They retired and in a few minutes 
 the scene changed from an extreme state of 
 dejection to one of great joy. Bells were rung, 
 the church was crowded with people returning 
 thanks, in short, every appearance of extrav- 
 agant joy was manifested. 
 
 I immediately set about preparing a proc- 
 lamation to be presented to them before they 
 should leave the church, but wishing to test 
 the people further, I postponed it for a few 
 days. Feeling confident that any report that 
 
 49 
 
Conquest of 
 
 might now be sent out to the surrounding 
 country would be favorable to us, I became 
 more careless about who should go from of 
 come into the town; but not knowing what 
 might yet take place, I was uneasy over 
 Cahokia and was determined as soon as possible 
 to make a lodgement there and gain the place 
 by some such stratagem as I had already em- 
 ployed at Kaskaskia. 
 
 I ordered Major Bowman to mount his com- 
 pany and part of another on horses to be pro- 
 cured from the town, and taking with him a 
 few townsmen to inform their friends of what 
 had happened, to proceed without delay to 
 Cahokia and if possible gain possession of the 
 place before the following morning. I gave 
 him no further instructions on the subject, 
 leaving him free to exercise his own judgment. 
 He gave orders for collecting the horses, where- 
 upon a number of gentlemen came to inform 
 me that they were aware of the design. They 
 pointed out that the soldiers were much fa- 
 tigued, and said they hoped I would not reject 
 their offer to execute whatever I might wish 
 to have done at Cahokia. The people there 
 were their friends and relatives and would, they 
 thought, follow their example. At least, they 
 hoped, they might be permitted to accompany 
 the detachment. 
 
 Conceiving that it might be good policy to 
 show them that we put confidence in them 
 (which, in fact, I desired for obvious reasons 
 50 
 
to do), I told them I had no doubt Major Bow- 
 man would welcome their company and that 
 as many as chose might go. Although we 
 were too weak to be other than suspicious and 
 much on our guard, I knew we had sufficient 
 security for their good behavior. I told them 
 that if they went at all they ought to go 
 equipped for war. I was in hopes that every- 
 thing would be settled amicably, but as it was 
 the first time they had ever borne arms as free- 
 men it might be well to equip themselves and 
 see how they felt, especially as they were about 
 to put their friends in the same situation as 
 themselves. 
 
 They appeared to be highly pleased at this 
 idea, and in the evening the Major set out with 
 a force but little inferior to the one with which 
 we had entered the country, the Frenchmen . 
 being commanded by their former militia offi- 
 cers. These new friends of ours were so elated 
 over the thought of the parade they were to 
 make at Cahokia that they were too much con- 
 cerned about equipping themselves to appear 
 to the best advantage. It was night before 
 the party moved and the distance being twenty 
 leagues, it was late in the morning of the sixth 
 before they reached Cahokia. Detaining every 
 person they met, they entered the outskirts of 
 the town before they were discovered. The 
 townsmen were at first much alarmed by this 
 sudden appearance of strangers in hostile array 
 and being ordered even by their friends and rel- 
 
Conquest of 
 
 atives to surrender the town. As the confusion 
 among the women and children over the cry 
 of the Big Knives being in town proved 
 greater than had been anticipated, the French- 
 men immediately informed the people what had 
 happened at Kaskaskia. Major Bowman told 
 them not to be alarmed ; that although resist- 
 ance was out of the question he would convince 
 them that he would prefer their friendship to 
 their hostility. He was authorized to inform 
 them that they were at liberty to become free 
 Americans as their friends at Kaskaskia had 
 done. Any who did not care to adopt this 
 course were free to leave the country except 
 such as had been engaged in inciting the In- 
 dians to war. 
 
 Cries of liberty and freedom, and huzzahs 
 for the Americans rang through the whole town . 
 The gentlemen from Kaskaskia dispersed among 
 their friends and in a few hours all was ami- 
 cably arranged, and Major Bowman snugly 
 quartered in the old British fort. Some in- 
 dividuals said the town had been given up too 
 tamely, but little attention was paid to them. 
 A considerable number of Indians who were 
 encamped in the neighborhood (Cahokia was 
 an important center of Indian trade) immedi- 
 ately fled. One of the townsmen who was 
 at St. Louis, some time later wrote a letter to 
 me excusing himself for not paying me a visit. 
 By July 8, Major Bowman had everything 
 settled agreeably to our wishes. All of the 
 52 
 
inhabitants cheerfully took the oath of alle- 
 giance, and he set about repairing the fort and 
 regulating the internal police of the place. 
 
 The neighboring villages followed the ex- 
 ample set by Kaskaskia and Cahokia, and since 
 we made no strict inquiry concerning those 
 who had been engaged in encouraging the In- 
 dians to war, within a few days the country 
 appeared to be in a state of perfect harmony. 
 Friendly correspondence which was at once 
 commenced between the Spanish officers and 
 ourselves added much to the general tranquil- 
 lity and happiness. It was not my fortune to 
 enjoy pleasures of this kind. I found myself 
 embarked on an enterprise that would require 
 close attention and all the skill of which I was 
 master to execute that service for my country 
 which now appeared in prospect, with honor to 
 it and with credit to myself. 
 
 Being now in position to procure all the in- 
 formation I desired, I was astonished at per- 
 ceiving the pains and expense the British had 
 incurred in inciting the Indians. They had 
 sent emissaries to every tribe throughout that 
 vast country, even bringing the denizens of 
 Lake Superior by water to Detroit and there 
 outfitting them for war. The sound of war 
 was universal, there being scarcely a nation 
 among them but what had declared and re- 
 ceived the bloody belt and hatchet. 
 
 Vincennes I found to be a place of infinite 
 importance for us to gain. This was now my 
 53 
 
Cfje Conquest of 
 
 object, but realizing that all the force we had, 
 joined by every man in Kentucky, would not 
 be able to take the place, I resolved on other 
 measures than those of arms. I determined 
 to send no message to the Indians for the 
 present, but wishing an interview between us 
 to be arranged through the agency of French 
 gentlemen, to assume the appearance of care- 
 lessness about the matter. In all the papers 
 I wrote I referred to myself as at the Falls of 
 the Ohio, in order that it might appear that 
 the troops we had with us were only a detach- 
 ment from that place. I sought to spread the 
 impression that the main body of our troops 
 were fortifying that point, and that large rein- 
 forcements were daily expected, on the arrival 
 of which we intended to continue the war. 
 Every man we had was instructed to talk in 
 this strain. Indeed, from many hints and pre- 
 tended information of mine, before I left that 
 place the greater part of them believed the 
 most of this to be true. In short, as I had 
 early perceived, an excuse for our marching 
 into the Illinois country with so small a force 
 was really necessary. 
 
 I inquired particularly into the manner the 
 people had been governed heretofore and found, 
 much to my satisfaction, that the government 
 had generally been as severe as though under 
 martial law. I resolved to make capital of 
 this, and took every step in my power to cause 
 the people to appreciate the blessings enjoyed 
 54 
 
by an American citizen. This enabled me, as 
 I soon discovered, to support by their own 
 choice almost supreme authority over them. 
 I caused a court of civil judicature, elected 
 by the people, to be established at Cahokia. 
 Major Bowman, to the surprise of the people, 
 held an election for a magistracy, and was 
 himself elected judge of the court. His policy 
 in holding an election can easily be perceived. 
 After this similar courts were established at 
 Kaskaskia and Vincennes. There was an ap- 
 peal to myself in certain classes of cases, and 
 I believe no people ever had their business done 
 more to their satisfaction than these had for a 
 considerable time by means of this regulation. 
 At the time of Major Bowman's arrival at 
 Cahokia, Mr. Cerre, whom I have already 
 mentioned, was still in St. Louis preparing to 
 prosecute his journey to Canada. He was 
 deterred from this in consequence of the news 
 of our arrival. Agreeably to my expectation, 
 upon learning the situation of affairs he re- 
 solved to return, but hearing that there was a 
 guard kept at his house alone, and that several 
 persons had attempted to ruin him with their 
 information to me, he was advised not to cross 
 the river without a safe-conduct. He applied 
 to the Spanish governor for a letter requesting 
 this, and coming to Ste. Genevieve, across 
 the river from Kaskaskia, procured another of 
 the same tenor from the commandant of that 
 post and sent them both to me. However, all 
 55 
 
Conquest of 
 
 of the intercession he could arouse through 
 the channel of Spanish officers and the solici- 
 tation of his particular friends, whom I found 
 to constitute a great majority of the people, 
 could not procure him a safe-conduct. I ab- 
 solutely refused it, and intimated that I wished 
 to hear no more on the subject; nor would I 
 hear any person who had anything to say in 
 vindication of him. I told them I understood 
 Mr. Cerre to be a sensible man. If he were 
 innocent of the allegations against him he 
 would not be afraid to surrender himself. I 
 added that his backwardness seemed to prove 
 his guilt, and I felt very little concern about 
 him. 
 
 I suppose rumor immediately carried this 
 information to him, for in a few hours he 
 crossed over the river and, without stopping 
 to visit his family, presented himself before 
 me. I told him that I supposed he was aware 
 of the charges preferred against him, particu- 
 larly that of inciting the Indians to murder, a 
 crime that ought to be punished by all people 
 who should be fortunate enough to get such 
 culprits into their power; and that his recent 
 backwardness about surrendering himself con- 
 vinced me of his guilt. He replied that he 
 was merely a merchant, that he never concerned 
 himself about affairs of state further than the 
 interest of his trade required, and that he had 
 not as yet enjoyed opportunity to inform him- 
 self of the principles involved in the present 
 56 
 
contest sufficiently to enable him to form an 
 opinion about it. He said he was so remote 
 from the seat of war that he was doubtful of 
 having heard more than one side of the question. 
 He had learned more within the last few days 
 than he had ever known before, and this infor- 
 mation had only confirmed his former impres- 
 sion. I read to him part of a letter from Gover- 
 nor Hamilton 32 of Detroit to Mr. Rochblave, 
 wherein he was alluded to in affectionate terms. 
 He said that when he was at Detroit he behaved 
 himself as became a subject, but he defied any 
 man to prove that he had ever incited the In- 
 dians to war. Many people, on the contrary, 
 had often heard him express his disapproval 
 of the cruelty of such proceedings. He said 
 there were several people in town who were 
 
 32 Lieutenant-Governor Henry Hamilton of Detroit, 
 Clark's antagonist in the Northwest, was of Irish 
 birth and had served in the British army since 1754. 
 He was appointed lieutenant-governor of Detroit in 
 1775, and assumed his new duties in November of 
 that year. In the autumn of 1778 he advanced upon 
 and captured Vincennes, only to be taken in turn, 
 with his whole garrison, by Clark. Hamilton was 
 much disliked by the Americans owing to their belief 
 that he was active in stirring up Indian scalping 
 parties against them. He was known to them as the 
 "hair buying general." Clark sent him a prisoner 
 to Virginia where he was closely confined and en- 
 dured great hardship. On being exchanged in 1780 
 he visited England, returning to Canada as lieuten- 
 ant-governor in 1782. He later served as governor 
 of the Bermudas and of Dominica, dying at the 
 latter place in 1796. 
 
 57 
 
Conquest of 
 
 deeply indebted to him, and it might be the 
 object of some of them to extricate themselves 
 from their debts by ruining him. In his pres- 
 ent situation it would be inconsistent for him 
 to offer to declare his sentiments; but with 
 respect to his part in the war he welcomed 
 every investigation, as he had ever detested 
 inciting the Indians. He sought to excuse his 
 fears about coming across the Mississippi as 
 soon as he could have wished. 
 
 Without making any further reply, I told 
 him to withdraw into another room. The 
 whole town was anxious to know his fate. I 
 sent for his accusers, who were followed by 
 a large number of townsmen, and had Mr. 
 Cerre called in. I perceived plainly the con- 
 fusion into which they were thrown by his 
 appearance. I stated the case to the whole 
 assembly, telling them that I never condemned 
 a man unheard. I said that Cerre was now 
 present and I was ready to do justice to the 
 world in general by punishing him if he were 
 found guilty of inciting to murder, or by ac- 
 quitting him if he proved innocent of the charge. 
 I closed by desiring them to submit their in- 
 formation. 
 
 Cerre" undertook to speak to them but was 
 ordered to desist. His accusers began to whis- 
 per among themselves and to retire for private 
 conversation. At length only one out of six 
 or seven was left in the room, and I asked him 
 what he had to say to the point in question. 
 58 
 
In short, I found that none of them had any- 
 thing to say. I gave them a suitable reprimand 
 and after some general conversation informed 
 Mr. Cerre that I was happy to find he had so 
 honorably acquitted himself of so black a charge. 
 I told him he was now at liberty to dispose of 
 himself and property as he pleased. If he chose 
 to become a citizen of the United States it 
 would give us pleasure. If he did not, he was 
 at full liberty to do as he wished. He made 
 many acknowledgments and concluded by say- 
 ing that many doubts he had entertained were 
 now cleared up to his satisfaction, and that he 
 wished to take the oath of allegiance immedi- 
 ately. In short, he became a most valuable 
 man to us. Simple as this transaction may 
 appear, it had great weight with the people, 
 and was of infinite service to us. 
 
 Everything in this section now wore a prom- 
 ising appearance, but Vincennes was never 
 absent from my mind. I had reason to 
 suspect from some things I had learned, that 
 Mr. Gibault, the priest, had been inclined to 
 the American interest previous to our arrival in 
 the country. I had no doubt of his fidelity to 
 us. Knowing he had great influence over the 
 people, and that Vincennes was also under his 
 jurisdiction, I sent for him and had a long con- 
 ference on that subject. In response to my 
 questions he stated that he did not think it 
 worth my while to cause any military prepara- 
 tion to be made at the Falls for an attack on 
 59 
 
l)c Conquest of 
 
 Vincennes although the place was strong and 
 there was a great number of Indians in the 
 neighborhood. He said that Governor Abbott 
 had left the place a few weeks since on some 
 errand to Detroit. He thought that when the 
 inhabitants should be fully informed of what 
 had happened at the Illinois and the present 
 happiness of their friends there, and should be 
 fully acquainted with the nature of the war, 
 their sentiments concerning it would undergo 
 a great change. He was certain that his ap- 
 pearance there would have great weight even 
 among the savages. If it were agreeable to 
 me, he would take this matter upon himself, 
 and he had no doubt of being able to bring the 
 place over to the American interest without my 
 being put to the trouble of marching troops 
 against it. His business being altogether of 
 a spiritual character, he desired that another 
 person might be charged with the temporal 
 part of the embassy, and named Dr. Laffont 33 
 
 83 We have only meager knowledge concerning 
 Jean Baptiste Laffont, who proved so powerful an 
 aid to the American cause at this juncture in Clark's 
 affairs. He was a native of the West Indies, whence 
 he removed to Florida and later to Kaskaskia, where 
 we find him in the summer of 1770. He was still 
 there in 1782, but by 1787 had removed to Vincennes. 
 He died at Ste. Genevieve, probably about the year 
 1799. Prof. Alvord concludes (Illinois Historical Col- 
 lections V, p. XXV-XXXII) that Laffont bore the 
 main burden of the mission to Vincennes, in which 
 Father Gibault aided with his influence, but for which 
 he did not care to assume the responsibility. 
 60 
 
as his associate, but he agreed that he would 
 privately direct the whole undertaking. 
 
 This was quite in line with what I had been 
 secretly aiming at for some days. The plan 
 was immediately settled upon, and the two 
 doctors with their intended retinue, among 
 whom I placed a spy, set about preparing for 
 their journey. On July 14 they set out with 
 the following address, 34 taking with them, also, 
 a large number of letters from their friends to 
 the inhabitants at Vincennes. Dr. Laffont's 
 instructions are now lost. I gave Mr. Gibault 
 verbal instructions how to act in certain con- 
 tingencies. It is mentioned here that Governor 
 Abbott's letters to Mr. Rochblave had con- 
 vinced us that the inhabitants were warmly 
 attached to the American cause. This was 
 wholly a piece of policy on my part. No such 
 thing had been said; but as they would naturally 
 suppose that Governor Abbott 's letters to Roch- 
 blave had fallen into our hands, we knew that 
 if they were led to suppose he had written in 
 that style concerning them they would the more 
 cordially verify it. Mr. Gibault had been led 
 to believe this, and my authorizing them to 
 garrison their own town would convince them 
 of the great confidence we reposed in them. 
 All this had its desired effect. Mr. Gibault 
 and party arrived safely, and after spending 
 a day or two in explaining matters to the people 
 they universally acceded to the proposal (ex- 
 
 84 Not included in the original manuscript. 
 61 
 
Cfte Conquest of 
 
 cept for a few Europeans who had been left 
 there by Mr. Abbott and who immediately left 
 the country) and went in a body to the church, 
 where the oath of allegiance was administered 
 to them in the most solemn manner. A com- 
 mander was elected and the fort was immedi- 
 ately taken possession of and the American 
 flag displayed, to the great astonishment of the 
 Indians. 
 
 Thus everything was settled beyond our most 
 sanguine hopes. The people here at once as- 
 sumed a new attitude; they began to talk in a 
 different style and to act like perfect freemen. 
 With a United States garrison at hand their 
 language to the Indians was immediately al- 
 tered; they informed the latter that their old 
 Father, the King of France, had come to life 
 again, and that he had joined the Big Knives 
 and was angry at them for fighting for the 
 English. They advised the Indians to make 
 peace with the Americans as soon as possible; 
 otherwise they might expect the land to be 
 deluged with blood. Such was now the lan- 
 guage the natives throughout that whole region 
 received through correspondence from their 
 ancient friends of the Wabash and the Illinois, 
 and throughout all those tribes they began to 
 reflect seriously upon it. 
 
 About the first of August, Mr. Gibault and 
 party returned accompanied by several gentle- 
 men of Vincennes, bringing the joyful news of 
 our success at that place. His mission had 
 62 
 
caused me great anxiety, for without the pos- 
 session of Vincennes all of our plans would 
 have been blasted. During his absence I was 
 exceedingly busy regulating matters in the 
 Illinois towns. Our troops had been enlisted 
 only for the period of time necessary to reduce 
 these posts. I was now at a loss to decide 
 upon my future course, and how far I might 
 venture to stretch my authority, since, as it 
 had been impossible to foresee the course of 
 events, my instructions were silent on many 
 important matters. To abandon the country 
 and all the prospects open to us in the Indian 
 department at this time for want of specific 
 instructions in certain respects would, I thought, 
 amount to a reflection on the government as 
 having no confidence in me. I resolved, there- 
 fore, to assume all the authority necessary to 
 carry out my designs. 
 
 I caused the greater part of my force to be 
 reenlisted in a new military organization, and 
 appointed French officers, residents of the 
 country, to enroll a company of young French- 
 men. I established a garrison at Cahokia com- 
 manded by Captain Bowman, and another at 
 Kaskaskia under Captain (formerly Lieutenant) 
 Williams. Affairs at Vincennes remained in 
 the situation I have already described. Colonel 
 William Linn 35 who had accompanied us in' the 
 
 35 Prior to this Linn had performed one of the most 
 brilliant exploits of the Revolution. In its early stage 
 the colonists were in desperate need of powder. In 
 
 63 
 
Conquest of 
 
 capacity of a volunteer, took charge of a party 
 of men who were to be discharged on their 
 arrival at the Falls and I sent orders for the 
 removal of that post to the mainland. I dis- 
 patched Captain John Montgomery with letters 
 to the seat of government in Virginia and to 
 conduct thither, also, Mr. Rochblave. 
 
 The principles of this gentleman were so 
 fixed and so violent against the United States 
 that it was quite unsuitable to permit him to 
 remain in the Illinois. His wife had taken 
 
 July, 1776, Linn and Captain George Gibson set out 
 from Fort Pitt for distant New Orleans to obtain, if 
 possible, a supply of powder from the Spanish com- 
 mander there. They reached New Orleans in August 
 and succeeded in procuring 10,000 pounds of powder. 
 Gibson was thrown into prison by the Spanish, as a 
 blind to lull the suspicions of the British consul, 
 while Linn departed up river with the powder. 
 He spent the winter at the Spanish post on the 
 Arkansas, renewing his slow advance in the spring. 
 Meanwhile Gibson, released from prison, made his 
 way to Virginia carrying news of the issue of the 
 enterprise, and the authorities there hastened to send 
 a detachment to the relief of Linn. The latter, how- 
 ever, was beforehand with his plans, and by the first 
 of May landed his precious cargo at Wheeling. 
 
 Linn was a native of New Jersey but grew up in 
 western Maryland. He served in Forbes' army 
 which captured Fort Duquesne in 1758. After Clark's 
 Kaskaskia campaign Linn settled a station near 
 Louisville. He served as colonel of militia in the 
 Indian campaign of 1780. The following spring he 
 was shot and killed by Indians near his home. He 
 was an elder brother of Benjamin Linn, whom Clark 
 sent out as a spy to Kaskaskia in 1777. 
 64 
 
away all her furniture and other property; all 
 but a few of her slaves were detained by us to 
 be sold as plunder for the benefit of the sol- 
 diers. The sale did not take place for some 
 time, as the officers generally wished the slaves 
 to be returned to Mrs. Rochblave, and were 
 in hopes that the men might be induced to 
 agree to this. Many of them were men of sen- 
 timent, and the credit from such a course would 
 be considerable, while the amount of money 
 each would receive would be small. The de- 
 sired result was in a fair way to take place, 
 when some of the officers were requested to 
 invite Mr. Rochblave (I had confined him to 
 his room in order to protect him from the sol- 
 diers, as he seemed to take delight in insulting 
 them at every opportunity and I was afraid 
 that some of them might harm him) to spend 
 the evening at a certain house with a number 
 of his acquaintances. He accepted the invita- 
 tion, but at the gathering he abused them in a 
 most intolerable manner, calling them rebels 
 and other similar names. They immediately 
 sent him off to the guard house, and dismissed 
 all further thought of saving his slaves. These 
 were sold and the proceeds, amounting to about 
 1500 pounds, were divided among the men. 
 
 I informed the Governor, through Colonel 
 Montgomery, 36 of all our proceedings and pres- 
 
 s6 Colonel Montgomery was a native and a prom- 
 inent citizen of western Virginia who came to Ken- 
 tucky in 1778 as one of Clark's four captains in his 
 
 65 
 
j)e Conquest of 
 
 ent prospects. I pointed out to him the ne- 
 cessity of immediately reinforcing us, and of 
 sending some person to serve as head of the 
 civil government, referring him to Captain 
 Montgomery for full particulars. This party 
 being dispatched, I turned my attention once 
 more to Vincennes, and saw plainly that it was 
 necessary to have an American officer at that 
 post. Captain Leonard Helm appeared quali- 
 fied to answer my purpose. He was past middle 
 life, and was well acquainted with Indian affairs. 
 I sent him to take command of that post, and 
 also appointed him agent of Indian affairs for 
 the department of the Wabash. I expected 
 to receive reinforcements from the Governor 
 by autumn, when a strong garrison should be 
 sent to him. He was fully acquainted with 
 my ideas and the plans I proposed to pursue, 
 and about the middle of August set out to as- 
 sume the duties of his new station. 
 
 An Indian chief, the son of Tobacco, a Pian- 
 keshaw at this place, lived in a village adjoining 
 Vincennes. This man was called by the Indians 
 the Grand Door to the Wabash, as the great Pon- 
 tiac had been to the St. Joseph, since nothing of 
 
 Illinois campaign. When Clark retired to the Falls 
 of Ohio after capturing Kaskaskia he left Montgom- 
 ery in command of the Illinois country. At the 
 close of the war he settled in Kentucky, removing 
 later to Tennessee, where he founded Clarksville and 
 named it in honor of his old commander. He was 
 killed by Indians in 1794 near the mouth of the 
 Cumberland River. 
 
 66 
 
importance could be undertaken by the league 
 on the Wabash without his consent. Perceiving 
 that it was an object of great importance to 
 win his support, I had sent him by Mr. Gi- 
 bault a very complimentary message, and he 
 had returned the compliment. I now sent him 
 a message by Captain Helm calculated to influ- 
 ence him in the same fashion I had already 
 done the townsmen. I also sent the following 
 speech with a belt of wampum, and gave Cap- 
 tain Helm directions how to act, both if he 
 should be pacifically inclined and in the con- 
 trary event. The Captain arrived safely at 
 Vincennes, and was received with acclamation 
 by the people. After the usual ceremonies 
 were over, he sent for the Grand Door and 
 delivered my letter to him. After reading it, 
 the chief informed the Captain that he was 
 happy to see him, one of the Big Knife chiefs, 
 in this town. He admitted that he had joined 
 with the English against the Americans, but con- 
 fessed that he had always thought the sky looked 
 gloomy. As the contents of the letter were a 
 matter of great moment, he could not return an 
 answer to it immediately, but must first hold a 
 council on the subject, and he hoped the Captain 
 would be patient. In short, he displayed all the 
 courtly dignity he was master of, and Captain 
 Helm followed his example. Several days 
 elapsed before this business was concluded. 
 
 At length the Captain was invited to the 
 Indian council, where he was informed by 
 67 
 
l)c oTonqucst of 
 
 Tobacco's son that they had carefully consid- 
 ered the case in hand, and the nature of the 
 war between the English and ourselves had 
 been explained to their satisfaction. He had 
 always thought that he was in the dark as to 
 the truth of the matter, but now the sky was 
 clear. He perceived that the Big Knife was 
 in the right, and observed that if the English 
 should conquer us they would perhaps treat 
 them in the same manner they intended to 
 serve us. In short, his ideas were quite changed, 
 and he would tell all the Indians of the Wabash 
 to bloody the land no more for the English. 
 At this he sprang up, struck his breast, called 
 himself a man and a warrior, and saying that 
 he was now a Big Knife, took Captain Helm 
 by the hand. His example was followed by 
 all present, and the evening was spent in merri- 
 ment. Thus ended this important negotiation, 
 which resulted in the saving of much blood. 
 To the day of his death (which happened two 
 years later) this man proved a zealous friend. 
 In all his conduct he appeared to have the 
 American interest much at heart. He desired 
 to be buried near the Americans; his body was 
 therefore conveyed to Cahokia and buried with 
 the honors of war. 
 
 Within a short time almost all the tribes on 
 the Wabash as far up as Ouiatanon came to 
 Vincennes and followed the example of their 
 head chief, and since expresses were continu- 
 ally passing back and forth between Captain 
 68 
 
jje 
 
 Helm and myself while these treaties were be- 
 ing arranged, everything was settled to my 
 entire satisfaction and greatly to the public 
 advantage. The British cause lost ground 
 daily in this section, and in a short time our 
 influence over the Indians extended to the 
 River St. Joseph and the lower end of Lake 
 Michigan. The French gentlemen at the differ- 
 ent posts in our possession engaged themselves 
 warmly in our cause. They appeared to vie 
 with one another, by means of their correspon- 
 dence and their trade among the Indians, in 
 promoting our interest. In a short time large 
 numbers of Indians belonging to tribes inhab- 
 iting the Illinois country, came to Cahokia to 
 make peace with us. The information they 
 obtained from the Frenchmen (whom they im- 
 plicitly believed) concerning us greatly alarmed 
 them, and we were visited by the greater part 
 of them without any invitation on our part. 
 This circumstance gave us a great advantage 
 in that we could use with the greater propriety 
 such language as suited our interest. 
 
 The treaties we made during the three or 
 four weeks beginning about the last of August 
 were negotiated in a different fashion, probably, 
 than any others in America prior to that time. 
 I had always been convinced that our general 
 conduct of Indian affairs was wrong. Inviting 
 them to treaties was considered by them in a 
 different manner than we realized; they imputed 
 it to fear on our part, and the giving of valu- 
 
 69 
 
Conquest of 
 
 able presents confirmed them in this opinion. 
 I resolved, therefore, to guard against this. I 
 took great pains to acquaint myself with the 
 French and Spanish methods of treating with 
 the Indians, and with their disposition and 
 manners in general. Since the Indians in this 
 section had not been spoiled by us as yet, I 
 made up my mind they should not be. I was 
 fully prepared for the business, having copies 
 at hand of the British treaties. After the cere- 
 monies commonly employed at the commence- 
 ment of Indian treaties, they, as the petitioning 
 party, made the opening speech. They laid 
 the entire blame for their taking up the bloody 
 hatchet to the deception of the English, ac- 
 knowledging their error and making many pro- 
 testations that they would guard in future 
 against those bad birds (alluding to the British 
 emissaries sent among them) flying through 
 the land. They concluded by expressing the 
 hope that as the Great Spirit had brought us 
 together for good, as He is good, they might 
 be received as our friends, and that peace 
 might take the place of the bloody belt, at the 
 same time throwing down and stamping on the 
 implements of war such as flags and red belts 
 of wampum, which they had received from the 
 British. I told them I had given attention 
 to what they said, and that I would give them 
 an answer the next day, when I hoped that the 
 hearts and ears of all would be open to receive 
 the truth, which should be pure without decep- 
 70 
 
tion. I recommended that they keep them- 
 selves in readiness for the result of this day, 
 on which their very existence as nations perhaps 
 depended. I then dismissed them, not suffering 
 any of our people to shake hands with them, 
 as peace was not yet concluded. I told them 
 it was time enough to give the hand when the 
 heart could be given also. They replied that 
 such sentiments were those of men who had 
 but one heart, and who did not speak with a 
 double tongue. 
 
 On the following day I delivered this speech: 
 Men and warriors, pay attention. You in- 
 formed me yesterday that the Great Spirit 
 had brought us together, which you hoped was 
 good, as He is good. I also have the same 
 hope, and whatever may be agreed upon by 
 us at the present time, whether for peace or 
 war, I expect each party will strictly adhere 
 to and henceforward prove ourselves worthy 
 of the attention of the Great Spirit. I am a 
 man and a warrior, not a councillor. I carry 
 War in my right hand and in my left Peace. 
 I was sent by the great council fire of the Big 
 Knives and their friends to take control of all 
 the towns the English possess in this country, 
 and to remain here watching the conduct of the 
 red men. I was sent to bloody the paths of 
 those who continue the effort to stop the course 
 of the rivers, but to clear the roads that lead from 
 us to those who wish to be in friendship with us, 
 in order that the women and children may walk 
 
of 
 
 in them without anything being in the way 
 to strike their feet against; and to continue to 
 call on the Great Fire for warriors enough to 
 darken the land of those who are hostile to us, 
 so that the inhabitants shall hear no sound in 
 it but that of birds that live on blood. I know 
 that a mist is yet before your eyes; I will dis- 
 pel the clouds in order that you may see clearly 
 the cause of the war between the Big Knives 
 and the English, that you may judge for your- 
 selves which is in the right. Then if you are 
 men and warriors, as you profess to be, prove 
 it by adhering strictly to what you may now 
 declare, without deceiving either party, and 
 thus proving yourselves to be only old women. 
 The Big Knives are very much like the red 
 men; they do not know well how to make 
 blankets, powder, and cloth; they buy these 
 things from the English (from whom they for- 
 merly descended) and live chiefly by raising 
 corn, hunting, and trading, as you and your 
 neighbors, the French do. But the Big Knives 
 were daily becoming more numerous, like the 
 trees in the woods, so that the land became 
 poor and the hunting scarce; and having but 
 little to trade with, the women began to cry to 
 see their children naked, and tried to make 
 clothes for themselves, and soon gave their 
 husbands blankets of their own making; and 
 the men learned to make guns and powder, 
 so that they did not want so much from the 
 English. Then the English became angry and 
 72 
 
stationed strong garrisons through all our coun- 
 try (as you see they have done among you on 
 the lakes and among the French) and would 
 not let our women spin nor the men make 
 powder, nor let us trade with anybody else. 
 They said we must buy everything from them, 
 and since we had become saucy they would 
 make us give them two bucks for a blanket 
 that we used to get for one. They said we 
 must do as they pleased, and they killed some 
 of us to make the rest afraid. This is the 
 truth and the cause of the war between us, 
 which did not begin until some time after they 
 had treated us in this fashion. Our women 
 and children were cold and hungry, and con- 
 tinued to cry. Our young men were lost, and 
 there were no counsellors to set them in the 
 right path. The whole land was dark, and 
 the old men hung down their heads for shame, 
 for they could not see the sun. 
 
 Thus there was mourning for many years. 
 At last the Great Spirit took pity on us and 
 kindled a great council fire that never goes 
 out, at a place called Philadelphia. He stuck 
 down a post there and left a war tomahawk 
 by it, and went away. The sun at once broke 
 out, and the sky became blue. The old men 
 held up their heads, and assembled at the fire. 
 They sharpened the hatchet and put it into 
 the hands of the young men, and told them to 
 strike the English as long as they could find 
 one on this side of the Great Water. The 
 73 
 
Conquest of 
 
 young men immediately struck the war post 
 and blood ensued. Thus the war began, and 
 the English were driven from one place to 
 another, until they became weak and hired you 
 red men to fight for them, and help them. The 
 Great Spirit became angry at this, and caused 
 your Old Father, the French king, and other 
 great nations to join the Big Knives and fight 
 with them against all their enemies, so that 
 the English have become like a deer in the 
 woods. From this you may see that it is the 
 Great Spirit that caused your waters to be 
 troubled, because you fought for the people he 
 was angry with, and if your women and chil- 
 dren should cry you must blame yourselves for 
 it, and not the Big Knives. 
 
 You can now judge who is in the right. I 
 have already told you who I am. Here is a 
 bloody belt and a white one. Take whichever 
 you please. Behave like men, and don't let 
 your present situation, being surrounded by 
 the Big Knives, cause you to take up the one 
 belt with your hands when your hearts drink 
 up the other. If you take the bloody path you 
 shall go from this town in safety and join your 
 friends, the English, and we will try like war- 
 riors who can put the most stumbling blocks in 
 the road and keep our clothes perfumed with 
 blood the longest. If you should take the path 
 of peace and now be received as brothers to the 
 Big Knives and the French, and should here- 
 after listen to bad birds that will be flying 
 
 74 
 
through your land, you will no longer be count- 
 ed as men but as persons with two tongues, 
 who ought to be destroyed without listening to 
 what you say, as nobody could understand you. 
 Since I am convinced that you have never 
 heard the truth before, I do not wish you to 
 give me an answer before you have had time 
 to council if you wish to do this. We will part 
 this evening and when you are ready, if the 
 Great Spirit will bring us together again, let 
 us prove ourselves worthy by speaking and 
 thinking with but one heart and one tongue. 
 
 What their private consultations upon this 
 speech were, we never could learn, but on their 
 return the next day, the business commenced 
 with more than usual ceremony. A new fire 
 was kindled, all the gentlemen of the town were 
 collected, and after all their preparatory cer- 
 emonies were through, the chief who was to 
 speak advanced to the table where I sat, with 
 the belt of peace in his hand; another with the 
 sacred pipe, and a third with the fire to kindle 
 it. The pipe was first presented to the heavens 
 then to the earth, and completing the circle it 
 was then presented to all the spirits, invoking 
 them to witness what was about to be con- 
 cluded, then to myself and, descending in 
 order, to every person present. 
 
 The speaker then addressed himself to the 
 
 Indians. The substance of his talk was that 
 
 they ought to be thankful that the Great Spirit 
 
 had taken pity on them, and had cleared the 
 
 75 
 
Conquest of 
 
 sky and opened their ears and hearts so that 
 they could hear and receive the truth. Ad- 
 dressing himself to me, he said they had paid 
 great attention to what the Great Spirit had put 
 into my heart to say to them. They believed 
 that it was all true, since the Big Knives did 
 not speak like any other people they had ever 
 heard. They now saw plainly that they had 
 been deceived by the English, who had told 
 them lies and never the truth. This, some of 
 their old men had always said, and now they 
 believed it. They said that we were in the 
 right, and as the English had forts in their 
 country, they might, if they became strong, 
 want to serve the red people as they did the 
 Big Knives; and that they, the red men, ought 
 to help us. They had taken up the belt of 
 peace with a sincere heart, and spurned the 
 other away. They were determined to hold it 
 fast, and would have no doubt of our friend- 
 ship, as they saw from our manner of speaking 
 that there was no room for suspicion. They 
 would call in all their warriors, and cast the 
 tomahawk into the river where it could never 
 be found again. They would suffer no more 
 emissaries or bad birds to pass through their 
 land to disquiet their women and children, that 
 they might always be cheerful to smooth the 
 roads for their brothers the Big Knives when- 
 ever they should come to see them. They said 
 they would send word to all their friends, let- 
 ting them know what had been done and the 
 76 
 
Cfje 
 
 good talk they had heard, and would advise 
 them to listen to it. They hoped I would send 
 men among them to see for myself that they 
 were men and that they adhered strictly to all 
 that had been said at this great fire which the 
 Great Spirit had kindled here at Cahokia for 
 the good of all who would listen to it. 
 
 This is the substance of their answer to me. 
 The pipe was again kindled and presented to 
 all the spirits to be witnesses, and with smok- 
 ing and shaking of hands this grand piece of 
 business was concluded, with as much dignity 
 and importance in their eyes, I suppose, as was 
 the treaty between France and America in ours. 
 The Indians now assumed a different attitude. 
 Close harmony reigned without any appearance 
 of distrust on their side, but we were not quite 
 so complaisant. I had resolved never to do 
 anything that should have the appearance, of 
 courting them, and I generally made some ex- 
 cuse for the little I presented, such as, having 
 come a long way to see me, they had expended 
 their ammunition, worn out their leggings, or 
 met with some misfortune or other. But they 
 were genuinely alarmed; the conclusion of 
 peace satisfied them, and they parted from us 
 with every appearance of perfect satisfaction. 
 I consistently made it a point to keep spies out 
 among them, and was pleased to find that the 
 great majority of those who treated with us ad- 
 hered strictly to their agreement, so that before 
 long we could send a single soldier through 
 77 
 
Conquest of 
 
 any part of the Wabash and Illinois country, 
 for in the course of this fall all the Indians of 
 these regions came to treat with us, either at 
 Cahokia or Vincennes. 
 
 It is not worth while dwelling on the par- 
 ticulars of every treaty. The one already 
 mentioned conveys an idea of the plan we 
 adopted. All negotiations were carried out in 
 accordance with the same principles, always 
 sticking to the text, but varying with the dif- 
 ferent tribes in the manner of delivery. Some- 
 times we were more severe, but never more 
 lenient, although a very different kind of lan- 
 guage was employed, of course, toward those 
 with whom we were on terms of friendship. 
 Their replies were nearly the same throughout 
 all the tribes, and a boundary between the 
 British emissaries and our own appeared now 
 to be fixed at the heads of the waters of the 
 Great Lakes and those of the Mississippi. 
 Since neither party cared to venture too far, 
 some of the tribes became divided among them- 
 selves, part siding with us, and part with the 
 English. So sudden a change in our favor 
 'among the Indians in this region required great 
 attention to keep the flame from cooling too 
 soon, as the appearance of a reinforcement 
 which we had reason to expect in the autumn 
 would renew our influence. Every method 
 was employed to convince the French inhabi- 
 tants that their interests were being studied by 
 us. Every disagreeable restriction that they 
 78 
 
Cfje 
 
 had formerly been subject to was done away 
 with, and business with the commanding offi- 
 cers was conducted without ceremony, nor was 
 there any ceremony about the courts, which held 
 weekly sessions. These things and many other 
 minor ones produced a good effect; through 
 them our cause was considerably promoted 
 among their friends on the lakes and many 
 traders, watching their opportunity, came over 
 with their goods and settled in the Illinois 
 country and at Vincennes. This had a good 
 effect upon the Indians. The friendly corre- 
 spondence between the Spaniards and ourselves 
 was also much to our advantage, since every- 
 thing the Indians heard from them was favor- 
 able to us. 
 
 The behavior of two young men at the time 
 of these treaties at Cahokia affected me deeply, 
 and the relation of their conduct may perhaps 
 not be disagreeable to you. A party known 
 as the Meadow Indians, that roved about among 
 the different nations, being composed of strag- 
 glers from all of them, were informed that if 
 they would contrive to make me prisoner, they 
 would receive a great reward. With this de- 
 sign they came down to Cahokia as others had 
 done, pretending to treat for peace. Pretend- 
 ing some acquaintance with Mr. Brady, they 
 were lodged in his yard, about one hundred yards 
 from my quarters and nearly the same distance 
 from the fort. The little river Cahokia, which 
 was there about knee-deep, fronted the house 
 
 79 
 
Conquest of 
 
 on the opposite side of the street. Having 
 business at times with the other Indians, they 
 loitered about, listened to what was passing, 
 and became pretty well acquainted with our 
 people. I had received but a bad report of 
 them, and took but little apparent notice of 
 them. Observing that the house I lodged in 
 was very quiet by night, and supposing it had 
 but few guards, they formed their plan in the 
 following manner: Some of them were to 
 cross the river and fire off their guns opposite 
 their camping quarters, upon which they were 
 to attempt to gain the protection of the guard 
 on the pretence of flying from hostile Indians 
 who had fired on them from across the river. 
 If they succeeded, they were to butcher the 
 guard and carry me off. 
 
 A few nights after their arrival they made 
 the attempt, about one o'clock. Having too 
 many things to think about to sleep much, I 
 happened to be awake at the time the alarm 
 was given. They were immediately at the 
 gate when the sentinel presented his piece. 
 The night being light, they saw the guard pa- 
 rading before the door more numerous than 
 they had expected, and taking a by-way they 
 returned to their quarters. The whole town 
 was now under arms. The guard was positive 
 it was these Indians, and they were immedi- 
 ately examined. They said that their enemies 
 had fired on them across the creek ; that they 
 wanted to get under the protection of the guard 
 80 
 
but were not permitted to do so, and so made 
 the best of their way back to defend themselves. 
 Some of the French gentlemen, however, being 
 better acquainted with them than the rest of 
 us, insisted it was they that had given the alarm ; 
 and sending for a candle discovered that the 
 leggings and moccasins of those who had cross- 
 ed the river were quite wet and muddy. They 
 were quite confounded at this. They sought 
 to make various excuses, but their design was 
 easily seen through, and they were not suffered 
 to speak. I said but little to them, and as 
 there were many Indians of other nations in 
 town, to convince the whole of the strict union 
 between the French and ourselves, I told them 
 that as they had disturbed the town the people 
 might do what they pleased with them, and 
 went away, whispering, however, that the chiefs 
 should be sent to the guardhouse and put in 
 irons, which was immediately done by the in- 
 habitants. In this situation they were brought 
 every day into the council, but not sufferred to 
 speak. When I had finished with the others 
 I had their irons taken off and told them their 
 design was obvious to me, as a bird from their 
 country had whispered in my ear; that every- 
 one said they ought to die, which was what I 
 had intended and which they must themselves 
 see they deserved; but that on considering the 
 matter and the meanness of the attempt to 
 watch and catch a bear asleep, I found that 
 you were only old women and too mean to be 
 81 
 
Conquest of 
 
 killed by a Big Knife. But as you ought to 
 be punished for putting on breech-cloths like 
 men, these shall be taken away from you, and 
 plenty of provisions given you to go home, as 
 women don't know how to hunt; and as long 
 at you stay here you shall be treated as all 
 squaws ought to be. 
 
 Without taking any further notice of them, 
 I proceeded to converse indifferently with 
 others present on various trifling subjects. 
 They appeared to be much agitated. After 
 some time they rose and advanced with a belt 
 and pipes of peace, which they presented to 
 me and made a speech which I would not suffer 
 to be interpreted to me at that time. Laying 
 my sword on the table, I broke their pipe and 
 told them that the Big Knives never treated 
 with women, and for them to sit down and en- 
 joy themselves as others did and not be afraid. 
 The substance of their speech was an acknow- 
 ledgment of their design, which they excused 
 by saying some bad men from Mackinac had 
 put it into their heads. They hoped we would 
 take pity on their women and children, and as 
 their lives had been spared when they deserved 
 to lose them, they were in hopes that peace 
 would be granted them as it was to other 
 tribes. 
 
 Several chiefs of other tribes present spoke 
 
 in their favor, condemning their attempt. They 
 
 said that they saw the Big Knife was above 
 
 little things, and they were confident I would 
 
 82 
 
take pity on the families of these men and 
 grant them peace. I told them that I had 
 never made war upon them. If the Big Knives 
 came across such people in the woods, they 
 commonly shot them down as they did wolves, 
 to prevent their eating the deer, but they never 
 talked about it. The conversation on the sub- 
 ject ceased, and for some time these fellows 
 continued busily engaged in private conversa- 
 tion. At length two young men advanced to 
 the middle of the floor, sat down, and flung 
 their blankets over their heads. At first I did 
 not know what to make of this action; however, 
 two of the chiefs with a (peace) pipe stationed 
 themselves by them, and delivered speeches in 
 much the same manner as they had previously 
 done, concluding by saying they offered these 
 two young men as an atonement for their guilt 
 and hoped that the Big Knives would be rec- 
 onciled by this sacrifice of their people. They 
 again offered me the pipe, which I refused, tell- 
 ing them, but in a milder tone than I had previ- 
 ously employed, to sit down and that I would 
 have nothing to say to them. It appeared that 
 these people had become so thoroughly alarmed 
 that they supposed a tomahawk was hanging 
 over the head of every one of their nation. 
 They thought nothing would save them but to 
 secure peace before they left the place; and 
 they supposed that by putting to death these 
 two young men, or keeping them as slaves, we 
 would become reconciled with them. 
 
 83 
 
Conquest of 
 
 The young men retained their first position, 
 frequently pushing the blanket aside as if im- 
 patient to know their fate. I had no expecta- 
 tion of this business ending in this manner. I 
 had intended all along to let myself be finally 
 persuaded to grant peace to these people, but 
 this action on their part astonished me. I 
 hardly knew whether or not it was sincere, 
 although everything indicated that it was. 
 Every person of the large gathering present ap- 
 peared anxious to know what would be done, 
 and a general silence fell upon them and for 
 some time all were in a state of suspense. 
 
 You may easily guess my feelings on this 
 occasion and the pleasure with which I regarded 
 these young men. I had read of some such 
 action as this, but had never known whether or 
 not to credit it. Never before nor since have 
 I felt so capable of speaking. I ordered the 
 young men to rise and uncover themselves. 
 Upon this there was a very visible alteration in 
 their countenances, which, however, they ap- 
 peared to try to conceal. I harangued the 
 whole assembly in suitable fashion on the sub- 
 ject, concluding by telling them I was happy 
 to find there were men among all nations, as we 
 were now witnesses to the fact that there were 
 at least two among these people. I then ad- 
 dressed the young men, praising them much 
 and concluding by saying it was only with men 
 such as they as chiefs of a nation that I cared 
 to treat; and that through them the Big 
 84 
 
Knife granted peace and friendship to their 
 people. I took them by the hand as my broth- 
 ers and chiefs of their nation and said I expect- 
 ed all present to acknowledge them as such. 
 I presented them first to my own officers, then 
 to the French and Spanish gentlemen present, 
 and lastly to the Indians, all of whom greeted 
 them as chiefs. I concluded the business by 
 having them saluted by the garrison. I wish 
 I had a copy or could remember all that was 
 said on this occasion, but you may easily con- 
 ceive what was said from the character of the 
 affair. It appeared to give general satisfaction, 
 but I thought the old chiefs appeared to be 
 much cowed. Our new nabobs were now 
 treated with great respect on all occasions. A 
 council was called in order to do some business 
 witlrthem, and great ceremony was employed in 
 order to rivet more firmly what had been done. 
 On their departure I gave them some presents 
 to distribute among their friends at home, by 
 whom I understood they were acknowledged 
 as chiefs and held in great esteem, and that the 
 Americans were much spoken of among them. 
 It would be difficult to overestimate the 
 consequences which would have ensued had 
 they succeeded in their plan. However badly 
 it may appear, to have been devised, it was the 
 most probable one open to them. They could 
 not have attempted to carry out their project 
 in town in the daytime, and I never went out 
 of it without too strong a guard for them to 
 85 
 
Conquest of 
 
 overcome. As it turned out, the affair proved 
 a fortunate one for us. It gained us much 
 credit and had a good effect upon the Indians 
 in the quarter, as it soon became a subject of 
 general conversation among them. 
 
 I now turned my attention to Saguina, Mr. 
 Blackbird, and Nakewoin, two chiefs of the 
 bands of Sauteur and Ottawa tribes bordering 
 on Lake Michigan and the river St. Joseph. 
 Mr. Blackbird and party were at St. Louis at 
 the time Major Bowman took possession of 
 Cahokia. Knowing that their tribe was warm- 
 ly engaged in the war, and not believing the 
 Spanish protection sufficient to secure them 
 against the revenge of the Big Knives who 
 were so near at hand, although the governor 
 assured them of the certainty of their being 
 kindly received, they became alarmed and push- 
 ed off. On their passage up the Illinois river 
 these chiefs met with a number of traders who 
 had heard what had taken place among their 
 friends in the Illinois and had already begun to 
 alter their tone toward the Indians, persuading 
 Blackbird to turn back and call upon the Big 
 Knives, saying that as he had been so near 
 them and did not go to see them they would 
 think that he had run away through fear. He 
 excused himself by saying his family was sick, 
 but that he would go in the spring and mean- 
 time would write us a letter. I suppose he 
 thought this would lead us to believe they were 
 our friends, and I have no doubt but that 
 86 
 
their sentiments daily changed in our favor. 
 I made strict inquiry about Blackbird and 
 Nakewoin. I found that they were chiefs of 
 considerable St. Joseph's river bands who were 
 then at war with us, and that Blackbird had 
 great influence in that quarter. Some traders 
 recently arrived at the Illinois thought he really 
 wanted a conference with us but held back 
 awaiting an invitation. I gave a man who sat- 
 isfied my purpose $200 to visit Blackbird at 
 the St. Joseph river and sent him a full answer 
 to his letter, inviting him to come to Kaskaskia 
 in the fall. This he did with only eight at- 
 tendants, aside from my messenger, Denoe. 
 After they had rested and refreshed themselves, 
 observing some of the usual preparations being 
 made for an Indian council, Blackbird sent word 
 to me that he had come to see me on business 
 of consequence to both our nations, and wished 
 that we should not spend our time in ceremony. 
 He said it was customary among all Indians 
 but it was not necessary between us and that 
 we could do our business much better sitting 
 at a table. He desired to have a long talk with 
 me, and hoped there would be no ceremony 
 employed. I perceived that Mr. Blackbird 
 conducted matters differently than other chiefs, 
 and that he assumed the airs of a polite gentle- 
 man. Accordingly a room was prepared and 
 the nabob was formally introduced to me by a 
 French gentleman. After the exchange of a 
 few compliments he took a seat at the end of 
 
 87 
 
Cfje Conquest of 
 
 the table opposite me, with the interpreters at 
 our right and left, and the gentlemen seated 
 round the room. Blackbird opened the dis- 
 cussion and attempted to speak as much in the 
 European fashion as possible. He said that- 
 he had long desired to have some conversation 
 with the chief of our nation, but had never be- 
 fore enjoyed the opportunity to do so. He 
 had conversed with prisoners, but he placed 
 little confidence in what they said as they were 
 generally afraid to talk. He said he had been 
 engaged in the war for some time, but had al- 
 ways doubted the propriety of it, as the English 
 and the Americans appeared to be the same 
 people. He was sensible that there was some 
 mystery with which he was unacquainted. He 
 had heard only one side of the story, and now 
 wished me to explain it fully to him in order 
 that, having heard both sides, he might be in 
 a position to judge for himself. 
 
 To satisfy this inquisitive Indian I was oblig- 
 ed to begin almost at the first settlement of 
 America and go through its entire history to the 
 present time, dwelling particularly on the cause 
 of the Revolution; and since I could not speak 
 to him in similes as I did to other Indians, it 
 took me nearly half a day to satisfy him. He 
 asked a large number of very pertinent ques- 
 tions and required to be satisfied upon every 
 point. I was the better able to satisfy him as 
 I was now pretty well acquainted with all that 
 the British officers had told the Indians. 
 88 
 
Blackbird appeared to be quite satisfied and 
 said he was convinced from many circumstances 
 that I had given a true account of the matter. 
 He had long suspected from the conduct of the 
 English that they wished to keep the Indians 
 in the dark and it was now very obvious to 
 him. He thought the Americans were quite 
 right and that they ought to be assisted rather 
 than opposed. He was happy to find that 
 their old friends, the French, had joined us, 
 and said the Indians ought to do likewise, but 
 as I had said we did not wish this they ought 
 at least to remain neutral. He said he would 
 not blame us if we drove all that would not do 
 so off the face of the earth. It was plain to 
 him that the English were afraid; otherwise 
 they would not give so many goods to the 
 Indians to fight for them. He himself was 
 perfectly satisfied about the matter, and I might 
 rest assured that his sentiments were fixed in 
 our favor and that he would no longer pay any 
 attention to the English. He said that he 
 would immediately bring the war to an end as 
 far as his part was concerned. As many of their 
 young men were then out on the warpath, how- 
 ever, I must excuse this, but as soon as they 
 returned he would make them lay down their 
 arms and no one whom he could influence 
 should take them up again. Upon his return 
 home he would take pains to tell the Indians 
 of every denomination what had passed between 
 us, and would inform them of the true cause 
 89 
 
Conquest of 
 
 of the war. He felt sure that most of them 
 would follow his example, but it would have a 
 good effect if I would send a young man among 
 them under his protection (which I did), as his 
 appearance would give great weight to what 
 he himself might say to them. He hoped that 
 for the future we would look upon each other 
 as friends and that a correspondence should be 
 kept up between us. 
 
 I told him I was happy to find that our busi- 
 ness was likely to end so much to our mutual 
 satisfaction, and to the advantage and tran- 
 quility of our respective nations. I promised 
 immediately to inform the Governor of Vir- 
 ginia of what had passed between us, and said 
 I knew it would give all the American people 
 great pleasure, and that he (Blackbird) would 
 be regarded among their friends. After spend- 
 ing a few days with us he returned home, ac- 
 companied by a young man who went as my 
 agent. I had two pack horses loaded with 
 necessary supplies for Blackbird's return jour- 
 ney and sent some presents to his family, to 
 the amount, perhaps, of $20 or $30. Thus 
 ended the negotiation between this chief and 
 myself, and as I had frequent opportunity of 
 hearing from him in the course of the fall I 
 found that he adhered strictly to what he had 
 promised me. He not only withdrew his own 
 tribe from the war, but caused great numbers 
 of Indians in that quarter to become very cold 
 towardjhe British interest. 
 90 
 
I thought it policy in the course of all my 
 conversations with the Indians to tell them I 
 did not blame them for accepting the presents 
 that the British chose to give them, but that it 
 was degrading to them to make war as hire- 
 lings. I said that this was beneath the dignity 
 of a warrior, and that the Big Knives regarded 
 those that were at war against them on their 
 own account with more respect than they did 
 the hireling. I said the scalps of the one were 
 kept by us as great trophies, while those of the 
 other were given to the children to play with 
 or thrown to the dogs. The employment of 
 such language to a people with whom we ar- 
 dently wished to be at peace may appear 
 strange, but it produced a good effect among 
 people of their education and was perfectly 
 consonant with our policy. 
 
 About this time I received a letter from a 
 chief named Lajes or the Big Gate. It seems 
 that at the time Pontiac besieged Detroit this 
 fellow, then a lad, had shot a man standing at 
 a gate and immediately the name of Big Gate 
 was given to him as a mark of honor. He 
 had early engaged in the British interest, and 
 had led several war parties against our frontiers 
 with good success. On hearing what was going 
 on in the Illinois country, he fell in with some 
 Potawatomi who were on their way to visit us 
 and came with them to hear what we had to 
 say for ourselves. He had the assurance to 
 make his appearance before me in a complete 
 
 91 
 
Conquest of 
 
 war dress, and with the bloody belt he had re- 
 ceived from the English hanging round his 
 neck. He attended the councils for several 
 days, always placing himself at the front of the 
 room and sitting in great state, without saying 
 a word to us or we to him. I had found out 
 what I wanted to know about him and had fixed 
 upon my course of action, and during my busi- 
 ness with the other Indians I had employed 
 several speeches designed to prepare my asso- 
 ciates for what was coming. On the coaclu- 
 sion of our business I addressed myself to him, 
 telling him that I had been informed who he 
 was but as he knew public business must be 
 attended to before private ceremonies, I hoped 
 he would excuse my not having spoken to him 
 sooner. I said it was customary among white 
 people that when officers met in this manner, 
 even though they were enemies, they treated 
 each other with greater respect than they did 
 common people, and esteemed each other the 
 more in proportion to the exploits each had 
 performed against the other's nation. As he 
 had come designedly to see us and our busi- 
 ness was now over, I hoped he would spend a 
 few days more with us and that he would do 
 us the pleasure of dining with the Big Knife 
 that evening. 
 
 He appeared to be on nettles and, rising, 
 
 began to excuse himself. I would not listen, 
 
 but ran on upon the same theme. I would 
 
 stop, he would commence, and I would begin 
 
 92 
 
again, until I found I had worked him up to 
 as high a pitch as I desired and then permitted 
 him to go on. He stepped to the middle of 
 the room and removed his war belt and a small 
 British flag from his bosom, flung them on the 
 floor, followed by all of his clothing except his 
 breech-cloth, then, striking his breast, he ad- 
 dressed the entire audience, telling them they 
 knew he had been a warrior from his youth. 
 He said he delighted in war, but that the Eng- 
 lish had told him lies. He thought from what 
 they said that the Big Knives were in the wrong. 
 He had been to war against them three times, 
 and was ready to go again, but concluded he 
 would rest himself for a while and come and 
 see what sort of people they were, and hear 
 how they talked. He had listened to every- 
 thing that had been said and was now 
 convinced that the English were wrong and 
 the Big Knives right. He said that as a man 
 and warrior he would not fight in a wrong 
 cause; that he had flung away the bloody 
 clothes the English had given him, and giving 
 them a kick across the room he struck his 
 breast and, saying that he was now a Big 
 Knife, came and shook hands with me and the 
 whole company, as his brothers. A great deal 
 of merriment ensued. 
 
 The whole company appeared diverted, and 
 the Big Gate being a merry fellow himself, 
 kept up their good humor by speaking to them 
 as a new man and a Big Knife. But as our 
 
 93 
 
hc Conquest of 
 
 new brother was now naked, it was necessary 
 that he should be clothed. The things he had 
 pulled off were pushed into the street as de- 
 spised, by one of the servants, and Captain 
 McCarty 37 having presented him with a suit 
 covered with lace, at dinner Captain Big Gate 
 was much the finest man at the table. In 
 order to appear in as much state as the rest 
 of us, he had ordered one of his men to wait 
 on him. This was rather awkward, as we had 
 suffered none of the Indians to dine with us 
 except chiefs of the greatest dignity. Pains 
 were taken to prevent any jealousy on the part 
 of those in town who were of as high rank as 
 Mr. Lajes. 
 
 After dinner was over he told me he wished 
 to have some private conversation with me, 
 and pointed to a room that had a large window 
 opening into a back street. Being always 
 suspicious, I did not know whether my new 
 brother intended to stab me and make his es- 
 cape through the window. I took precautions 
 against this without his knowing it, and we 
 were shut up with the interpreter nearly half 
 
 87 Captain Richard McCarty was a trader from 
 Canada who had located at Cahokia. He joined the 
 American cause and was made commandant here in 
 1779, in which position he became involved in conflict 
 with the civil authorities. In the summer of 1781 he 
 was killed by Indians while enroute to Virginia to 
 lay before the authorities a complaint of the inhabit- 
 ants of Kaskaskia against certain of the American 
 officials. 
 
 94 
 
an hour. He gave me a history of himself and 
 a full account of the situation of affairs at 
 Detroit. He said he could do almost anything 
 he pleased at that place. If I desired it he 
 would go and bring me a scalp or a prisoner 
 within forty days, since they did not know 
 what had happened here and he would have 
 the opportunity to do what he pleased. I told 
 him we never wanted the Indians to fight for 
 us. All we wished of them was to sit still and 
 look on. Those who did not do this might 
 expect to be swallowed up as they would see 
 the lakes covered with boats belonging to the 
 Big Knives. I desired him on no account to 
 kill any person on our behalf. I told him I 
 would be glad to have him bring me news or 
 a prisoner if he could readily obtain one, but 
 by no means to injure him, as it was beneath 
 our principles to treat prisoners ill. 
 
 I presented him with a medal and a cap- 
 tain's commission. On the day he took his 
 departure, with many Indians accompanying 
 him he came to take his leave of me at my 
 quarters. There were many gentlemen present 
 and they saluted him by firing their pistols 
 through the window, and on passing in front 
 of them he was again saluted. This elated 
 him greatly. He had not gone far before he 
 stopped, and saying he supposed those poor 
 soldiers were hungry for a dram, he ordered 
 one of his men to go to a trader with whom 
 he was acquainted and who was then in town, 
 
 95 
 
Conquest of 
 
 and get a little keg of rum and give it to them 
 to drink his health. When this was done he 
 went away by water up the Illinois river. Here 
 he fell in with some traders of his acquaintance 
 who had obtained a permit at Mackinac to 
 trade in this section, and were then on their 
 way to us. Lajes asked them which way they 
 were going. They said they were only trading. 
 He then asked them if they were not afraid of 
 the Big Knives at Cahokia. They said they 
 were not. He then inquired whom they were 
 for, and they asked him what he meant by 
 this. He answered, "Are you for the King 
 of England or the Big Knives?" Knowing 
 the fellow's character, they said certainly they 
 were for the King of England, and asked if he 
 was not also for him. He said no, he was a 
 captain of the Big Knives, and producing his 
 commission told them they were enemies to 
 his country and his prisoners, and that he would 
 return them to his superior officer at Cahokia. 
 The men became alarmed, not knowing what 
 to make of the fellow, but they found he was 
 in earnest and he had a commission under my 
 hand and seal. They then told him they were 
 running away and were going to the Big Knives. 
 He said they were liars and he would not be- 
 lieve them. He pestered them for two or 
 three days until a party came along whom he 
 knew to be in the American interest and became 
 surety that they would deliver themselves up 
 to me, and had a letter, which he dictated, 
 96 
 
written to me. He warned the men to take 
 care of themselves, for if they proved deceitful 
 and fell into his hands again he would treat 
 them ill. This was a curious Indian letter. I 
 can't remember the particulars of it further 
 than that it pertained to the foregoing matter. 
 It is lost with all the papers of this year except 
 a few that I have by chance recovered. 
 
 Captain Big Gate proceeded on his journey, 
 and as long as I knew of him continued to be- 
 have well, speaking much of his new dignities 
 and abusing the other Indians for fighting as 
 hirelings, and so forth. Whether or not he 
 ever afterward joined the British I never learned . 
 
 By this time we had done business with al- 
 most all the Indians of the Wabash and the 
 Illinois as far up as the Iowa and the Sauk 
 and Reynards, and those living at the lower 
 end of Lake Michigan, and the country appeared 
 at this time to be in a state of perfect tran- 
 quility. I was pleased to learn that our new 
 post at the falls of the Ohio continued to gather 
 strength, as also Kentucky in general; and that 
 a powerful expedition was to move from Pitts- 
 burgh upon Detroit. This information, with 
 the thought of what we had already done, 
 caused us to enjoy ourselves for the first time 
 since our arrival. Our joy, however, did not 
 last long. 
 
 Some Indians from the Missouri came from 
 several hundred miles up that river to see us. 
 Their curiosity was so great they could not re- 
 
 97 
 
Conquest of 
 
 sist the temptation. They told us their business 
 was merely to pay us a visit. They said they 
 had often heard of the Big Knives and wished 
 to see them and hoped that their curiosity 
 might be excused. We granted their request 
 and treated them kindly while they were with 
 us. They were somewhat different in their 
 manner and complexion, being much fairer 
 than any other Indians I had ever seen. I 
 suppose it was this that gave rise to the idea 
 of there being Welsh Indians in that quarter. 38 
 Captain Helm sent an express to inform me 
 that the British had sent an agent to Ouiatanon 
 with a considerable supply of goods to attempt 
 to regain the affections of the Indians in that 
 quarter. He said he thought the man might 
 be taken if I would authorize the attempt, and 
 that several gentlemen at Vincennes shared 
 
 38 There is a tradition that one Madoc, a Welsh 
 prince of the twelfth century, disgusted at the dissen- 
 sions which prevailed in his native land, resolved to 
 explore the western ocean in search of more tranquil 
 scenes. He came to America with a numerous 
 company, and their descendants, mingling with the 
 natives, were the so-called "Welsh Indians." The 
 belief in their existence has been very persistent, and 
 many of the older writers on American history discuss 
 the subject. George Catlin, the noted student and 
 artist of Indian life, identified the Mandan Indians of 
 the upper Missouri as the Welsh Indians. A full 
 discussion of the' subject with citations from many 
 authorities may be found in Reuben T. Durrett's 
 Traditions of the Earliest Visits of Foreigners to North 
 America (Louisville, 1908. Filson Club Publications, 
 No. 23). 
 
 98 
 
this opinion. I gave my approval of the en- 
 terprise and authorized the Captain to act in 
 accordance with the decisions of the councils 
 they might hold; but I told him that if they 
 at any time should find the enterprise danger- 
 ous or the chances against them, to relinquish 
 it and return, giving out word that they had 
 merely made a small excursion to see their 
 friends. He set out up the Wabash by water 
 with men, chiefly inhabitants of Vincennes. 
 The French merchants with the expedition 
 traded with the Indians along the way, and 
 Captain Helm addressed them on public affairs; 
 this was to give the impression that he was 
 merely paying a visit to them, and that the 
 Frenchmen with him had come along to look 
 after their trade. The party did not display 
 any hostile intention until it reached the vicinity 
 of the Wea town. They then made all possible 
 speed, and entering the fort took prisoner The 
 Kite and twenty or thirty Chippewa warriors 
 who were in council there. The British agent 
 (I forget his name) heard frequently of the 
 advance of this party up the river, but he was told 
 by the Indians they intended no harm. They 
 said that the Big Knife who was with the 
 party merely came along with the traders to 
 deliver good talks to his friends, and so forth. 
 But after a few days the agent began to sus- 
 pect the sincerity of the Indians and retired 
 up the river a short time before Captain Helm 
 arrived. 
 
 99 
 
Conquest of 
 
 Those Chippewas were a party which he 
 had invited to meet at Ouiatanon to get sup- 
 plies and conduct an expedition against Vin- 
 cennes. They arrived but a few minutes before 
 our party. Hearing the news and finding their 
 friends gone they slipped into the fort to take 
 some refreshments and hold a council. This 
 they had scarcely begun when our party entered 
 and closed the gate on them. As the inhab- 
 itants did not give them notice of its approach 
 the Indians were much alarmed at finding them- 
 selves so suddenly captured and at first had 
 little to say for themselves. After some con- 
 sultation bet ween Captain Helm and the French 
 gentlemen who were with him it was thought 
 that capital might be made of this adventure 
 and accordingly a plan was fixed upon. A 
 great deal was said to the prisoners, but it all 
 amounted to this: that the Big Knives disdained 
 to catch a prisoner asleep, and since that was 
 the case in the present instance the Indians 
 were at liberty and might fight for the English 
 as long as they pleased; but if they should 
 again fall into the hands of the Big Knives 
 they need expect no mercy. The Indians gave 
 suitable answer to this act of seeming gener- 
 osity, declaring that they would never fight 
 against the Big Knives again; and I understood 
 that the Indians frequently mentioned this 
 adventure and spoke much in our favor. Our 
 party returned in safety to Vincennes, having 
 spoken with the greater part of the Indians to 
 
the apparent satisfaction of both parties. So 
 great was our influence among the Indians at 
 this period that Governor Hamilton on his ex- 
 pedition against Vincennes with all his influence 
 could raise but four or five hundred Indians to 
 accompany him. 
 
 The Chickasaws being at war I wished to 
 have some correspondence with them in order 
 to learn their sentiments. I did not care to 
 send to them, however, since this would appear 
 too much like begging a peace as they call it. 
 It occurred to me that the Kaskaskia Indians 
 had long been at war with the Chickasaws; 
 for some time this war had seemingly subsided, 
 and Batisst, the chief of the Kaskaskias, I knew 
 was strongly disposed in our favor. I there- 
 fore suggested that he should go and propose 
 a firm peace with the Chickasaws, and if he 
 succeeded should mention something about 
 the Big Knives. I was in hopes in this way 
 to bring about a correspondence with them. 
 Batisst went without being apprised of my real 
 design. The Chickasaws received him cordially, 
 but he could not conclude his business on ac- 
 count of the absence of some of the chiefs. 
 He mentioned the Americans, but their con- 
 versation on the subject was cool and little 
 was accomplished. 
 
 Winter was now approaching, and affairs 
 began to wear a more gloomy aspect. I had 
 not as yet received word from the authorities 
 in Virginia. On the other hand I learned from 
 
Conquest of 
 
 various sources that preparations were under 
 way at Detroit for a great expedition; an ad- 
 vance had already been made as far as the 
 Miami town and talks had been sent to all the 
 Indian tribes. We supposed that these prepara- 
 tions were designed to the end of giving the 
 army from Fort Pitt as warm a reception as 
 possible. This information gave us much 
 pleasure until we learned that instead of march- 
 ing into Detroit the army from Pittsburgh had 
 spent its time parading and building a few 
 posts to facilitate its future designs. This 
 information, which came from the Falls of the 
 Ohio, disappointed us greatly. 
 
 One Denny, an inhabitant of Cahokia, was 
 seized by Major Bowman for sending by the 
 Indians to his friend in Detroit a letter con- 
 taining dangerous information. His message 
 was intercepted, and he was tied to the tail of 
 a cart and driven through the town, receiving 
 a lash at every door. He was also branded in 
 the hand for other misdemeanors. This was 
 the first and the severest punishment inflicted 
 by us on any of the inhabitants. It was nec- 
 essary at this time to convince the people that 
 we were capable of extremes either way, and 
 that the good treatment we had heretofore 
 shown them was due to the principles of the 
 government. 
 
 For some time past we had received no in- 
 formation from Vincennes. Since the post 
 went fortnightly we began to feel that some- 
 
thing was wrong. We sent out some scouts, 
 but they did not return, and we continued in 
 a state of suspense. I had prepared to set 
 out from Kaskaskia to Cahokia, but for several 
 days the weather was bad. At length I set 
 out in a snow storm which gave promise of 
 clearing up, and which did so in about half an 
 hour. We noticed that six or seven men had 
 passed some distance along the road since the 
 snow had ceased. We supposed it to be some 
 of the townsmen, but we wondered what they 
 could be about. I had several gentlemen ac- 
 companying me in chairs. Approaching the 
 hill near the river, one of these sank in a 
 swamp, and the gentleman who rode in it was 
 some time ingettingout, as the others would not 
 permit any assistance to be given until after 
 their laughter had subsided. We went cheer- 
 fully on to Prairie du Rocher, twelve miles 
 from Kaskaskia, where I intended to spend the 
 evening at Captain Barbour's. After supper 
 a dance was proposed. While it was at its 
 height an express came to me that late that 
 evening a party of white men and Indians had 
 come to some negroes, who were up the Kas- 
 kaskia River cutting wood, and after asking a 
 number of questions told the negroes that they 
 had a party of eight hundred men a few miles 
 away, and intended to attack the fort that night. 
 They threatened the negroes with death if they 
 should reveal this information and went away. 
 The negroes told it and the express was dis- 
 103 
 
Conquest of 
 
 patched for me. This report sounded to us 
 like the truth. For some time past our sus- 
 picions had been aroused; we recalled the 
 various reports of the Indians, the failure of 
 our scouts to return, and the tracks we had 
 seen in the road. The inhabitants of Prairie 
 du Rocher were greatly alarmed. They urged 
 me to cross the Mississippi to the Spanish side 
 for protection, saying the fort must already be 
 invested. 
 
 I laughed at the idea, and much to their 
 amusement resolved to attempt to enter the 
 fort. I ordered our horses, and borrowing 
 clothes to dress my men in the garb of hunters 
 set out, making a pretense of being greatly 
 amused over the situation. The ground was 
 covered with snow and the moon shone bright- 
 ly. I took the express along with me in order 
 to have some time for thought, and in about 
 a quarter of an hour wrote a card to Major 
 Bowman at Cahokia, directing him to come 
 with his company and all the volunteers he 
 could raise. I told him to be cautious, and 
 if he should find he could not render any serv- 
 ice to us he should retreat to Ste. Genevieve 
 and act as circumstances might dictate . The 
 express was an expert woodsman, and was 
 mounted on the best horse we had. He was 
 ordered to run the horse as long as it could go 
 faster than he could walk; then to abandon 
 the animal and make the best of his way on 
 foot. 
 
 104 
 
We continued on our way, making a detour 
 from the road whenever we came to any woods 
 which might serve as a covert for an enemy. 
 Our design in dressing as woodsmen in leg- 
 gings and capotes, with handkerchiefs tied on 
 our heads, was to leave our horses in case we 
 should find the enemy had actually invested 
 the fort, enter their lines and fight with the 
 Indians (who we thought would not be likely 
 to distinguish us from the English) until we 
 could make good our way to a certain ravine 
 near one of the angles of the fort where there 
 was a small sally port. Here we could easily 
 make ourselves known, and probably draw 
 some of them into it. Such was our plan in 
 this seemingly desperate situation. As we 
 drew near the town all was silent. We ap- 
 proached cautiously, and making a circuit, 
 perceived from the condition of the snow that 
 no body of men had entered the town. Accord- 
 ingly we went in, to the great joy of every 
 one. I found that every preparation had been 
 made and every circumstance, particularly the 
 character of the conversation with the negroes, 
 caused us to believe that the enemy was in the 
 neighborhood. The night passed, however, 
 without any further alarm, and it was gener- 
 ally supposed that the snow had prevented 
 the attack. 
 
 I spent the night in various reflections. I 
 knew that it was impossible for us to defend 
 the town, or to hold out in the fort, but I was 
 
Conquest of 
 
 in hopes of baffling their enterprise and fright- 
 ening them away by circulating a plausible 
 report (since they must have taken Vincennes 
 before they could get to us) that we had re- 
 ceived full information of their proceedings, 
 and had sent an express to Kentucky for an 
 army to advance and cut off their retreat. 
 Since according to the report of the negroes 
 most of the inhabitants of the town were se- 
 verely threatened, I was afraid they would 
 propose defending it; but that nothing should 
 appear wanting on our part, I sent for the prin- 
 cipal men and put the question to them, desir- 
 ing them to speak their sentiments freely. 
 After some deliberation they told me that they 
 thought it prudent to remain neutral. This was 
 certainly a judicious resolution, and was what 
 I desired, but I proceeded to make capital of 
 it. I pretended to be in a passion, and ordered 
 them to their homes, saying I had no further 
 business with them, and that I expected they 
 would soon see their town in flames. They 
 went away and some of the young men volun- 
 tarily joined us. Some of them privately ad- 
 vised that all the wood in town should be 
 ordered into the garrison, but I gave them a 
 short answer, and told them we had plenty of 
 provisions. Several houses being close to 
 the walls of the fort, the inhabitants were 
 told to vacate them as they would be burned 
 at once. A large barn full of grain that stood 
 a short distance away was immediately set on 
 1 06 
 
fire without anything being taken out of it, 
 and soon other small buildings were torn down 
 and carried into the fort for fuel, while prep- 
 arations were made to fire still other buildings. 
 
 All was now confusion, the town on fire, the 
 women and children screaming, and the inhab- 
 itants moving out. I keenly felt their distress. 
 Some of them begged to know how much of 
 the town I intended to burn, so that they might 
 move their goods out of danger. They were 
 told that it was far from our wish to destroy 
 more than was absolutely necessary. They 
 must realize that at a time like this it was our 
 duty to do whatever might be necessary to 
 promote our safety. I said that although I 
 knew the enemy would soon be intercepted by 
 an army from Kentucky, they might, mean- 
 while, do us much damage if we did not take 
 necessary precautions. We meant to destroy 
 the provisions only to prevent them from fall- 
 ing into the hands of the enemy. This they 
 must confess was justifiable, but as the wind 
 was unfavorable no more buildings would be 
 set on fire till it shifted. They went away, 
 and we waited to see what the result of our 
 procedure would be. In a very short time we 
 observed the carts begin to move, and within 
 two or three hours we had upwards of two 
 months' provisions in store. 
 
 Our policy was, aside from getting the 
 provisions, to make ourselves appear as daring 
 as possible. We therefore desired the people 
 107 
 
Conquest of 
 
 to stop, telling them that perhaps the report 
 was false, and that the scouts would soon re- 
 turn, when we would know better how to pro- 
 ceed. They did so in a short time, and informed 
 me that they discovered the trail of seventy or 
 eighty men who were apparently directing their 
 course towards Vincennes, but that there was 
 no sign of a formidable force in the neighbor- 
 hood. Things now began to quiet down. The 
 next day Major Bowman arrived with a con- 
 siderable force of men and we began to pluck 
 up our courage. 
 
 It was now conjectured that Vincennes was 
 in the hands of the enemy and that the party 
 which had been seen in our neighborhood had 
 been sent from that place on some errand or 
 other; the snowfall had rendered it impossible 
 for them to remain undiscovered, since they 
 were compelled to hunt to obtain food, and 
 they had given the alarm in order that they 
 might gain time to escape. We afterward learned 
 that this was substantially the case. It was a 
 party composed chiefly of Indians which Gov- 
 ernor Hamilton, who was now in possession 
 of Vincennes, had sent out with careful instruc- 
 tions to lie in the neighborhood of the Illinois 
 towns until they could find an opportunity to 
 make me prisoner. Under no circumstances 
 were they to kill me, but in case of success 
 were to treat me with every courtesy. They 
 were to furnish me with a horse for the return 
 journey and were to permit me to take such 
 108 
 
amusement as I should desire en route, but I 
 was always to be attended by persons mounted 
 on better horses than my own. Thus I 
 was to be a prisoner of state in the hands of 
 the savages. 
 
 By some means or other (I never could be 
 entirely satisfied from whom) this party learned 
 of my intention to pay a visit to the garrison 
 at Cahokia. Accordingly they concealed them- 
 selves behind a hill near the road about three 
 miles above Kaskaskia, keeping a small look- 
 out in advance. The day I set out these fellows 
 had advanced closer to the town than usual. 
 The snow coming on, they had returned to 
 their camp, walking some distance in the road, 
 which occasioned the tracks we saw. The 
 country being very open in this vicinity and 
 we riding very fast, made it impossible for 
 them to return so as to alarm the camp with- 
 out being discovered, and they therefore se- 
 creted themselves behind some logs and bushes 
 within seventy or eighty yards of the ravine 
 where we were delayed by the swamping of 
 the chair. They reported that they could have 
 surprised and taken most of us, but not being 
 able to distinguish me from the rest, as we 
 were all muffled up, they were afraid to fire 
 for fear of killing me. I suppose the truth 
 was that they were afraid to reveal themselves 
 as we were nearly twice their number, and 
 even our servants were fully armed. The bad 
 weather proved to be our salvation as they did 
 109 
 
{je Conquest of 
 
 not expect us to come out and the greater part 
 of them had returned to camp, leaving only 
 seven men on outpost duty. 
 
 Perceiving that their hopes were now blasted, 
 and that they could not remain longer without 
 being discovered, they fell in with the negroes 
 with the design of creating such an alarm as 
 should give them time to get away, and in this 
 they were entirely successful. The instructions 
 given by Governor Hamilton to this party was 
 one of the principal causes of the respect shown 
 him by our officers when he fell into our hands ; 
 but his treatment in Virginia was quite differ- 
 ent and highly unsatisfactory to them, as they 
 thought it in some measure involved their honor. 
 
 To return to our subject, it was concluded 
 to send additional scouts to Vincennes, and in 
 the meantime to prepare ourselves for action. 
 Being fully confident that a change either in 
 our favor or against us would shortly take 
 place, we desired to strengthen ourselves as 
 much as possible. The volunteers who had 
 accompanied Major Bowman from Cahokia 
 were presented with an elegant stand of colors 
 and sent home. Those of them who were but 
 poorly armed were outfitted from our stores, 
 while presents were made to the others 
 by way of acknowledgment of the good will 
 they had shown on the present occasion. They 
 paraded about town with their new flag and 
 equipment and looked upon themselves as su- 
 perior to the young fellows of Kaskaskia; it 
 no 
 
caused so much animosity between the two 
 parties that it did not subside until I intervened, 
 somewhat later, when it suited my purpose to 
 do so, and by a little strategy reunited them. 
 
 After making every arrangement that we 
 thought most conducive to our safety Major 
 Bowman returned to Cahokia and we awaited 
 in suspense the return of our scouts. I thought 
 that if we should find there was no probability 
 of retaining our posts I would abandon them 
 upon the approach of the enemy and return to 
 Kentucky where I would raise a force (the 
 population having considerably increased) suf- 
 ficient to cut off the retreat of the English to 
 Detroit, since I knew the Indians, who were 
 not fond of long campaigns, would abandon 
 them. However, on the 2Qth of January, 1779, 
 Mr. Vigo, 39 a Spanish merchant, arrived from 
 Vincennes, bringing the information that Gov- 
 ernor Hamilton with thirty regulars and fifty 
 French volunteers, besides Indian agents, in- 
 terpreters, and boatmen to a considerable num- 
 
 39 FrancoisVigo was a Sardinian who, after resign- 
 ing from the Spanish army entered the fur trade, with 
 headquarters at St. Louis. He was a business part- 
 ner of the Spanish governor of Upper Louisiana. 
 He threw his influence upon the American side, and 
 both on his own behalf and through his influence 
 with Governor DeLeyba gave powerful aid to Clark. 
 In so doing he incurred heavy expenditures which he 
 never recovered, although he lived until 1836. Not 
 until 1875 did the United States government reim- 
 burse his heirs for the money advanced in its behalf 
 almost a century before. 
 
f)e Conquest of 
 
 her, and about four hundred Indians had taken 
 that post in December. The season being so 
 far advanced, he had thought it impossible to 
 reach the Illinois and had sent some of his 
 Indians to Kentucky to keep watch of the Ohio 
 River and disbanded the rest. All were to 
 meet again in the spring, drive us out of the 
 Illinois country, and in conjunction with their 
 southern friends attack Kentucky in a body. 
 All the goods belonging to the merchants at 
 Vincennes were taken for the king's use. They 
 were repairing the fort and expecting a rein- 
 forcement to arrive from Detroit in the spring. 
 Mr. Vigo stated that they appeared to have 
 plenty of stores of all kinds, and that they were 
 strict in their discipline, but he did not believe 
 they were under much apprehension of a visit 
 from us and he thought that if we could get 
 there undiscovered we might capture the place. 
 In short, we received all the information from 
 this gentleman that we could desire as he had 
 enjoyed a good opportunity to inform himself 
 and had taken pains to do so with a view to 
 bringing the report to us. 
 
 We now saw that we were in a very critical 
 situation, cut off as we were from all inter- 
 course with the home government. We per- 
 ceived that Governor Hamilton, by the junction 
 of his northern and southern Indians, would 
 be at the head of such a force in the spring 
 that nothing in this quarter could withstand 
 him. Kentucky must fall immediately and it 
 
would be fortunate if the disaster ended here. 
 Even if we should immediately make good our 
 retreat to Kentucky we were convinced that it 
 would be too late even to raise a force suffi- 
 cient to save that colony, as all the men in it, 
 united to the troops we had, would not suffice, 
 and to get succor in time from the Virginia 
 and Pennsylvania frontiers was out of the ques- 
 tion. We saw but one alternative which was 
 to attack the enemy in his stronghold. If we 
 were successful we would thereby save the 
 whole American cause. If unsuccessful, the 
 consequence would be nothing worse than if 
 we should not make the attempt. We were 
 encouraged by the thought of the magnitude 
 of the consequences that would attend our 
 success. The season of the year was also 
 favorable to our design, since the enemy could 
 not suppose that we would be so mad as to 
 attempt a march of eighty leagues through a 
 drowned country in the depth of winter. They 
 would, therefore, be off their guard and would 
 not think it worth while, probably, to keep 
 scouts out. If we could make good our 
 advance to Vincennes we might probably 
 surprise and overcome them, while if we should 
 fail, the country would be in no worse situa- 
 tion than if we had not made the attempt. 
 This and many other similar reasons induced 
 us to resolve to attempt the enterprise, which 
 met with the approbation of every man 
 among us. 
 
 "3 
 
Conquest of 
 
 Orders were immediately issued for making 
 the necessary preparations. The whole country 
 took fire and every order, such as preparing 
 provisions, encouraging volunteers, etc., was 
 executed with cheerfulness by the inhabitants. 
 Since we had an abundance of supplies, every 
 man was equipped with whatever he could de- 
 sire to withstand the coldest weather. Knowing 
 that the Wabash would probably overflow its 
 banks to a width of five or six miles and that 
 it would be dangerous to build vessels in the 
 neighborhood of the enemy, I concluded, both 
 to obviate this and to convey our artillery and 
 stores, to send around by water a vessel strong 
 enough to force her way, as she could be at- 
 tacked only by water (unless she should choose 
 otherwise) since the whole of the lowlands was 
 under water and she might keep away from 
 any heights along the river. A large Missis- 
 sippi boat was immediately purchased and com- 
 pletely fitted out as a galley, mounting two four- 
 pounders and four large swivels, and manned 
 by forty-six men under the command of 
 John Rogers. 40 He set sail on February 4th, 
 with orders to force his way up the Wabash as 
 high as the mouth of White River, and there 
 
 40 John Rogers was a cousin of Clark. He saw 
 service in the earlier years of the Revolution, and in 
 1778 became second-lieutenant in Captain Helm's 
 company on Clark's Kaskaskia expedition. As noted 
 here, Clark placed him in command of the war galley 
 sent against Vincennes. After its capture Rogers 
 was sent to convey the British prisoners to Williams- 
 114 
 
secrete himself until further orders; if he 
 should find himself discovered he was to 
 do the enemy all the damage he could with- 
 out running too great risk of losing his vessel. 
 He was not to leave the river until he had 
 abandoned hope of our arrival by land, but 
 he was strictly enjoined to so conduct himself 
 as to give rise to no suspicion of our expected 
 approach. 
 
 We placed great dependence in this vessel. 
 She was far superior to anything the enemy 
 could fit out unless they should build a new 
 one, and at the worst if we were discovered 
 we could build a number of large perogues, 
 such as they possessed, to attend her. With 
 such a fleet we could annoy the enemy very 
 much and if we saw it to be to our interest 
 could force a landing. At any rate it would 
 be some time before they could match us on 
 the water. Having been in a state of suspense 
 for some time past we had made preparations 
 in part for some such event as this and these 
 were now soon completed. The inhabitants of 
 Kaskaskia had been somewhat cowed since 
 the affair of the supposedly impending siege 
 and nothing was said to them on the subject 
 
 burg. In Virginia he was accorded public honors for 
 his services and was made captain of a mounted troop 
 for the western service. Returning to the west he 
 served in Montgomery's Rock River expedition, and 
 in the autumn was appointed commandant of Kas- 
 kaskia. He returned to Virginia the following sum- 
 mer, and died at Richmond in 1794. 
 
 "5 
 
Conquest of 
 
 of volunteering until the arrival of the volun- 
 teers from Cahokia. We gave these an expen- 
 sive entertainment to which they invited all 
 their Kaskaskia acquaintances. During its prog- 
 ress all minor differences were composed and 
 by twelve o'clock the next day application had 
 been made for permission to raise a company 
 at Kaskaskia. This was granted and before 
 nightfall the company was enrolled, all of 
 the townsmen having exerted themselves in 
 order to wipe out the memory of their former 
 coolness. 
 
 Everything being ready on the 5th of Feb- 
 ruary, after receiving a lecture and absolution 
 from a priest, we crossed the Kaskaskia River 
 with 170 men and at a distance of about three 
 miles encamped until February 8. When we 
 again resumed the advance the weather was 
 wet and a part of the country was covered 
 with several inches of water. Progress under 
 these conditions was difficult and fatiguing al- 
 though, fortunately, it was not very cold con- 
 sidering the time of year. My object now was 
 to keep the men in good spirits. I permitted 
 them to shoot game on all occasions and to 
 feast on it like Indians at a war dance, each 
 company taking turns in inviting the other to 
 its feast. A feast was held every night, the 
 company that was to give it being always sup- 
 plied with horses for laying in a sufficient store 
 of meat in the course of the day. I myself 
 and my principal officers conducted ourselves 
 116 
 
like woodsmen, shouting now and then and 
 running through the mud and water the same 
 as the men themselves. 
 
 Thus, insensible of their hardships and with- 
 out complaining, our men were conducted 
 through difficulties far surpassing anything we 
 had ever experienced before this to the banks 
 of the Little Wabash, which we reached on 
 February 13. There are here two streams 
 three miles apart, and the distance from the 
 bank of one to the opposite bank of the other 
 is five miles. This whole distance we found 
 covered with some three feet of water, being 
 never less than two, and frequently four feet 
 in depth. I went into camp on an elevation 
 at the bank of the river and gave the troops 
 permission to amuse themselves. For some 
 time I viewed with consternation this expanse 
 of water; then accusing myself of irresolution, 
 without holding any consultation over the sit- 
 uation or permitting anyone else to do so in 
 my presence, I immediately set to work. I 
 ordered a perogue to be constructed at once 
 and acted as though crossing the water would 
 be only a bit of diversion. Since but few of 
 the men could find employment at a time, pains 
 were taken to devise amusement for the rest 
 in order to keep up their spirits. However, 
 the men were well prepared for the undertak- 
 ing before us as they had frequently waded 
 farther than we must now, although seldom 
 in water more than half-leg deep. 
 117 
 
Conquest of 
 
 My eagerness to cross steadily increased, 
 since I perceived that to do so would precipi- 
 tate us into a forlorn hope; if after this was 
 accomplished the men should begin to think 
 seriously of what they had undergone they 
 would abandon all thought of retreat, prefer- 
 ring to undergo any difficulty which offered a 
 prospect of success, rather than to attempt a 
 retreat involving the certainty of encountering 
 all they had already endured, while in the event 
 of freezing weather retreat would be altogether 
 impracticable until the ice should become firm 
 enough to support them. On the evening of the 
 1 4th our boat was completed and I sent a crew 
 of men to explore the drowned lands and find if 
 possible some spot of dry land on the bank of 
 the second little river. They found a place 
 about half an acre in extent and marked the 
 trees from it back to the camp. They returned 
 with a very favorable report, having received 
 private instructions from me in advance as to 
 what they should say. 
 
 Fortunately for us the I5th chanced to be 
 a warm, moist day considering the season. 
 The channel of the river where we were en- 
 camped was about thirty yards wide and the 
 opposite bank was under three feet of water. 
 Here we built a scaffold and the baggage was 
 put upon it and ferried across, while our horses 
 swam the channel and at the scaffold were 
 again loaded with the baggage. By this time 
 the soldiers had also been brought across and 
 118 
 
we took up our march, our boat being loaded 
 with men who were sick. We moved on cheer- 
 fully, expecting every moment to see dry land, 
 but none was discovered until we came to the 
 small spots already mentioned. The river 
 channel here being smaller than the first one, 
 the troops immediately crossed it and marched 
 on in the water as before in order to gain the 
 nearest height they could discover. Our horses 
 and baggage crossed the second river in the 
 same manner as the first and followed in the 
 trail of the troops (since their tracks could not 
 be seen in the water they marked the trees as 
 they proceeded). Evening found us encamped 
 on a handsome elevation, the men in high 
 spirits, each one laughing at some one else 
 over some mishap that had occurred in the 
 course of this ferrying business, as they called 
 it, and all together over the great exploit 
 they had performed. A comical little drum- 
 mer had afforded them great diversion by 
 floating on his drum and other tricks. Such 
 incidents greatly encouraged them and they 
 really began to regard themselves as superior 
 to other men and as persons whom neither 
 floods nor seasons could stop. All their con- 
 versation was now about what they would 
 do when they could charge the enemy and 
 they began to talk about the main Wabash 
 as a creek, not doubting but such men as 
 they were would find a way to cross it. 
 Their spirits rose to such a pitch that they 
 119 
 
Conquest of 
 
 soon took Vincennes and divided the spoil, 
 and before bed time were far advanced on 
 the road to Detroit. 
 
 This optimism was of course gratifying to 
 those of us who were indulging in more serious 
 reflections. We were now in the enemy's 
 country, as it were, with no possibility of re- 
 treating in case the enemy should discover 
 and overpower us (except by means of our 
 galley if we should fall in with her) . We were 
 now convinced that all of the low country along 
 the Wabash was flooded, and that the enemy 
 could easily come to us if they should discover 
 us and care to risk an action. Should they 
 not do this we entertained no doubt of cross- 
 ing the river by some means or other. In case 
 Captain Rogers had not reached his station 
 according to his appointment we would en- 
 deavor to steal some boats from the houses 
 opposite the town, and we flattered ourselves 
 that all would be well and we would march on 
 in high spirits. 
 
 On the seventeenth I despatched Mr. Ken- 
 nedy with three men to cross the River Embar- 
 rass, which is six miles from Vincennes, charg- 
 ing him to procure, if possible, some boats in 
 the neighborhood of the town, but chiefly to 
 obtain some information if he could do so in 
 safety. He went and on reaching the river 
 found that the country between it and the 
 Wabash was flooded. We proceeded down 
 below the mouth of the Embarrass, vainly 
 
attempting to reach the banks of the Wabash. 
 Finding a dry spot we encamped late at night 
 and in the morning were gratified at hearing 
 for the first time the morning gun of the Brit- 
 ish garrison. We resumed our march and about 
 two o'clock in the afternoon of the eighteenth 
 gained the banks of the Wabash three leagues 
 below the town and went into camp. 
 
 I now sent four men across the river on a raft 
 to find land if possible, proceed to the town, 
 and purloin some canoes. Captain McCarty set 
 out with a few men the next morning with a 
 little canoe he had made for the same purpose. 
 Both parties returned unsuccessful; the first 
 was unable to make land, and the Captain was 
 driven back by the appearance of a camp. I 
 immediately despatched the canoe down the 
 river to meet the galley, carrying orders for it 
 to proceed day and night. Meanwhile, deter- 
 mined to have as many strings to my bow as 
 possible I directed the men to build canoes in 
 a sheltered place. I had not yet given up hope 
 of our boat arriving; in case she should, these 
 canoes would augment our fleet; should she 
 not come before they were ready, they would 
 answer our purpose without her. 
 
 Many of our volunteers began for the first 
 time to despair and some to talk of returning 
 but our situation was now such that I was past 
 all uneasiness. I merely laughed at them; 
 without persuading or ordering them to desist 
 from such an attempt I told them I would be 
 
Conquest of 
 
 glad if they would go out and kill some deer. 
 They departed puzzled over my conduct. My 
 own men knew that I had no idea of abandoning 
 an enterprise for want of provisions so long as 
 there were plenty of good horses in our posses- 
 sion and I knew that our volunteers could be 
 detained without the use of force for a few 
 days, by which time our fate would be deter- 
 mined. I conducted myself in such a manner 
 as to lead everyone to believe I had no doubt of 
 success. This kept up their spirits, and the hun- 
 ters being out, they had hope of momentarily 
 obtaining a supply of food, besides the expec- 
 tation of the arrival of the galley. I perceived 
 that if we should not be discovered for two 
 days we would effect the passage of the river. 
 
 On the twentieth the water guard decoyed a 
 boat ashore having five Frenchmen and some 
 provisions on board. These men were on their 
 way down river to join a party of hunters. 
 They informed us that we had been discovered 
 and that the inhabitants were well disposed 
 towards us. They said the fort had been com- 
 pleted and greatly strengthened, and that the 
 number of men in it was about the same as when 
 Mr. Vigo left Vincennes. In short, they gave 
 us all the information we desired, even telling 
 us of two boats that were adrift up the river, 
 one of which Captain Worthington recovered. 
 
 Having now two small boats, early on the 
 morning of the twenty-first, abandoning our 
 baggage, we began crossing over the troops 
 
and landing them on a small elevation called 
 the Mamel. While engaged in searching foi a 
 passage Captain J. Williams gave chase to a 
 canoe but could not take it. The men we had 
 captured said it was impossible for us to make 
 the town that night or at all with our boats. 
 Recalling what we had done, however, we 
 thought otherwise, and pushing into the water 
 marched a league, frequently in water to our 
 arm pits, to what is called the upper Mamel. 
 Here we encamped our men, still in good spirits 
 from the hope of soon putting an end to their 
 fatigue and realizing their desire to come into 
 contact with the enemy. 
 
 This last march through the water was so 
 far superior to anything our prisoners had con- 
 ceived of that they were backward about saying 
 anything further. They told us the nearest land 
 was the Sugar Camp, a small league away on 
 the bank of the river. A canoe was sent off 
 to it and returned with the report that we 
 could not pass. I now went myself and sound- 
 ing the water found it as deep as my neck. I 
 returned with the thought of having the men 
 transported to the Sugar Camp in the canoes, 
 which I knew would consume the entire day 
 and the ensuing night since the boats would 
 pass but slowly through the bushes. To men 
 half starved the loss of so much time was a 
 serious matter and I would now have given a 
 good deal for a day's provisions or for one of 
 our horses. 
 
 123 
 
Conquest of 
 
 I returned but slowly to the troops in order 
 to gain time for reflection. On our arrival all 
 ran to hear our report and every eye was fixed 
 on me. Unfortunately I spoke in a serious 
 manner to one of the officers and without 
 knowing what I had said all were thrown into 
 a state of alarm, running from one to another 
 and bewailing their situation. For about a 
 minute I stood looking upon their confusion 
 and then, whispering to those close by to do 
 as I did I quickly scooped up some water with 
 my hand, poured some powder into it, and 
 blacking my face, raised the war whoop. I 
 marched into the water. The party gazed at 
 me for an instant and then like a flock of sheep 
 fell in, one behind the other, without saying a 
 word. I ordered the men who were near me 
 to strike up one of their favorite songs. It 
 soon passed down the line and all went on 
 cheerfully. I now intended to have them fer- 
 ried across the deepest part of the water but 
 when we continued out about waist deep one 
 of the men told me he thought he felt a path. 
 We found it to be so and concluded that it 
 kept to the highest ground. This proved to be 
 the case, and by taking pains to follow it we 
 reached the Sugar Camp without the least diffi- 
 culty. Here we found about half an acre of 
 dry ground, or at any rate ground not under 
 water, and on it we took up our lodging. 
 
 The Frenchmen whom we had captured on 
 the river appeared to be uneasy about our sit- 
 124 
 
uation. They begged that they might be per- 
 mitted to go to town by night in two canoes, 
 saying they would bring us provisions from 
 their own homes without the possibility of any 
 one finding it out. They asked that some of 
 our men should go with them as a pledge of 
 their good conduct. It was impossible, they 
 said, for us to march from this place until the 
 water should fall. This would require several 
 days, since the plain in front of us for a dis- 
 tance of three miles was covered too deep to 
 march over. Some of our men urged that this 
 be done, but I refused to permit it. I have 
 never been able to account satisfactorily either 
 to myself or anyone else for thus refusing a 
 proposition which was apparently so easy to 
 execute and of such great advantage to us, 
 but something seemed to tell me it should not 
 be done and it was not. 
 
 During most of this march the weather was 
 warm and moist for the season. This was the 
 coldest night we had and in the morning the 
 ice was one-half or three-fourths of an inch deep 
 in still water and close to shore. The morning 
 was the finest we had had on our entire march. 
 Shortly after sunrise I addressed the men. 
 What I said to them I do not now remember, 
 but it may be easily imagined by anyone who 
 can understand my affection for them at that 
 time. I concluded by informing them that 
 by surmounting the plain, now in full view, and 
 reaching the woods opposite they would put 
 
 125 
 
Conquest of 
 
 an end to their' suffering and in a few hours 
 would have sight of their long-wished-for goal. 
 Without waiting for any reply I stepped into 
 the water and a hurrah was raised. We com- 
 monly marched through the water in single file 
 as it was much easier to advance in this way. 
 When about a third of the men had entered I 
 halted them and further to prove the men, and 
 because I had some suspicion of three or four 
 of them, I called to Major Bowman to fall into 
 the rear with twenty-five men and to put to 
 death any of the men who refused to march, 
 saying that we wished to have no such person 
 among us. The whole force raised a cry of 
 approbation and on we went. This was the 
 most trying difficulty of all we had experienced. 
 I had fifteen or twenty of the strongest men 
 follow after me and, judging from my own sensa- 
 tions what must be those of the men, on reach- 
 ing the middle of the plain where the water 
 was about knee deep I realized that I was 
 failing. There being no trees or bushes here 
 for the men to support themselves by, I did 
 not doubt but that many of the weaker ones 
 would be drowned. I therefore ordered the 
 canoes to make the land, discharge their 
 loads, and then ply backwards and forwards 
 with all possible diligence, picking up the men. 
 To encourage" the party I sent some of the 
 strongest men ahead with orders to pass the 
 word back when they reached a certain distance 
 that the water was getting shallower, and on 
 126 
 
approaching the woods to cry out "Land." 
 This stratagem produced the desired effect. 
 Encouraged by it the men exerted themselves 
 to the limit of their ability, the weaker holding 
 on to the stronger ones and frequently one 
 man being upheld by two. This was a great 
 advantage to the weak, but the water, instead 
 of gettingshallower, became continually deeper. 
 On reaching the woods, where they expected 
 land, the water was up to my shoulders. Never- 
 theless, gaining these woods was a matter of 
 great importance. All the weak and short men 
 clung to the trees and floated on logs until 
 they were taken off by the canoes. The strong 
 and tall men got ashore and started fires. Many 
 would reach the bank and fall with their bodies 
 half in the water, not being able to support 
 themselves outside it. This was a delightful 
 spot of dry ground about ten acres in extent. 
 We soon found, however, that the fires did us 
 no good and that the only way to restore the 
 men was for two strong ones to take a weak 
 one by the arms and exercise him. The day 
 was delightful and by this means they soon 
 recovered. 
 
 A piece of fortune now befell us which 
 seemed to be designed by Providence. Some 
 Indian Squaws and children, coming up to 
 the town in a canoe, took a short cut through 
 this part of the plain and were discovered by 
 our canoes while they were out after the men. 
 Our boats gave chase to the canoe and cap- 
 lay 
 
Conquest of 
 
 tured it, finding on board nearly half a quarter 
 of buffalo besides some corn, tallow, and ket- 
 tles. This was an invaluable prize to us. We 
 immediately made some broth and served it to 
 the weaker men. By the exercise of great care 
 most of the men obtained a little, but many of 
 them would not taste it, giving it instead to 
 the weaker ones and saying something en- 
 couraging to their comrades. By afternoon 
 this little refreshment, with the addition of fine 
 weather, gave new life to the troops. Crossing 
 a deep narrow lake in the canoes and march- 
 ing some distance we came to a copse of tim- 
 ber called Warriors Island. We were now in 
 full view of the fort and town which were dis- 
 tant about two miles and with not a shrub be- 
 tween us and the place. Every one feasted 
 his eyes and forgot that he had suffered any- 
 thing. All that had passed was attributed to 
 good policy and was nothing that a man could not 
 bear and a soldier had no right to think, etc. 
 Thus they passed from one extreme to another, 
 as commonly under such circumstances. 
 
 Now came the real test of our ability. The 
 plain between us and the town was not a per- 
 fect level, and the sunken ground was covered 
 with water full of ducks. We observed several 
 men out on horseback shooting ducks about 
 half a mile away and sent off several of our 
 active young men to decoy and capture one of 
 them in such a manner as not to alarm the 
 rest. The information we obtained from this 
 128 
 
person was similar to that received from those 
 we had taken on the river, with the exception 
 of the news that the British had that evening 
 completed the wall of the fort and that there 
 were a large number of Indians in the town. 
 Our situation was now sufficiently critical. 
 We were within full view of a town which 
 contained upwards of six hundred men, count- 
 ing soldiers, inhabitants, and Indians, with 
 no possibility of retreat open to us in case of 
 defeat. The crew of the galley, although num- 
 bering less than fifty men, would have consti- 
 tuted a reinforcement of great importance to 
 our little army. But we would not permit 
 ourselves to dwell on this. We were now in 
 the situation I had been laboring to attain. 
 The idea of being taken prisoner was foreign 
 to almost all of our men. In the event of cap- 
 ture they looked forward to being tortured by 
 the savages. Our fate was now to be deter- 
 mined, probably within the next few hours, 
 and we knew that nothing but the boldest con- 
 duct would insure success. I knew that some 
 of the inhabitants wished us well, while many 
 more were lukewarm to the interest of the 
 British and Americans alike. I also learned 
 that the Grand Chief, the son of Tobacco, had 
 within a few days openly declared in council 
 with the British that he was a brother and 
 friend of the Big Knives. These circumstances 
 were in our favor. Many hunters were going 
 back and forth and there was little probability 
 1 29 
 
Conquest of 
 
 of our remaining undiscovered until dark. Ac- 
 cordingly I determined to bring matters to an 
 issue at once, and writing the following address 
 to the inhabitants sent it off by the prisoner 
 we had just taken: 
 
 TO THE INHABITANTS OF VINCENNES 
 
 Gentlemen: Being now within two miles 
 of your village with my army determined to 
 take your fort this night, and not being willing 
 to surprise you, I am taking the measure of 
 requesting such of you as are true citizens and 
 desirous of enjoying the liberty I bring you to 
 remain quietly in your houses. If there are 
 any that are friends of the King of England 
 I desire them instantly to repair to the fort and 
 there join his troops and fight like men ; and 
 if any that do not repair to the garrison shall 
 hereafter be discovered they may depend upon 
 being severely punished. Those, on the other 
 hand, who are true friends to Liberty may 
 expect to be well treated. I once more re- 
 quest that they keep out of the streets, for 
 every person found under arms upon my arrival 
 will be treated as an enemy. 
 
 I entertained conflicting ideas as to what 
 would be the result of this letter. I knew, 
 however, that it could do us no damage, but 
 that it would encourage our friends, cause 
 those who were lukewarm to take a decided 
 stand, and astonish our enemies. I felt sure 
 that they would suppose our information to be 
 
 13 
 
valid and our forces so numerous that we were 
 certain of success ; that they would suppose 
 our army to be from Kentucky, and not from 
 the Illinois, as it would be deemed impossible 
 for troops to march from the latter place; and 
 would think that my name had been employed 
 by way of subterfuge (this they firmly believed 
 until the next morning, when I was pointed out 
 to them by a person in the fort who knew me 
 well) or that we were a reconnoitering party 
 who only employed this stratagem in order to 
 gain time to effect our retreat. This latter idea 
 I knew would soon be done away. Several 
 gentlemen sent their compliments to their 
 friends under borrowed names which were well 
 known at Vincennes and who were supposed 
 to have been in Kentucky. The soldiers were 
 all given instructions that when speaking of 
 our numbers their common conversation should 
 be of such character as to induce a stranger 
 overhearing it to suppose we had nearly a 
 thousand men. We anxiously watched the 
 messenger until he reached the town and in a 
 few minutes we could perceive with the aid of 
 our glasses a stirring about in every street and 
 large numbers running or riding out into the 
 commons, intent as we supposed upon viewing 
 us. This proved to be the case, but to our 
 great surprise nothing occurred to indicate 
 that the garrison had been alarmed. Neither 
 drum nor guns were heard. This led us to 
 suppose that the information obtained from our 
 
Conquest of 
 
 prisoner was false and that the enemy was already 
 aware of our presence and prepared to meet us. 
 Every man among us had been impatient for 
 the moment which was now at hand. Shortly 
 before sunset we advanced, displaying our- 
 selves in full view of the crowds in the town. 
 We were plunging headlong either to certain 
 destruction or to success. No middle ground 
 was even thought of. I said but little to the 
 men, aside from emphasizing the necessity for 
 obedience. I knew they did not need encourag- 
 ing and that anything might be attempted with 
 them that it was possible for such a number of 
 men, perfectly cool, properly disciplined, pleas- 
 ed with the prospect before them, and greatly 
 attached to their officers, to perform. All declar- 
 ed themselves convinced that implicit obedience 
 to orders would alone insure success, and that 
 they hoped anyone who should violate them 
 would immediately be put to death. To a 
 person in my situation such language as this 
 from the soldiers was exceedingly agreeable. 
 
 We advanced slowly in full view of the town, 
 but as it was a matter of some consequence to 
 make ourselves appear as formidable as pos- 
 sible, on leaving our place of concealment we 
 marched and countermarched in a fashion cal- 
 culated to magnify our numbers. Every person 
 who had undertaken to enroll volunteers in the 
 Illinois had been presented with a stand of 
 colors and these, ten or twelve in number, they 
 had brought along with them. We now dis- 
 132 
 
played these to the best possible advantage, 
 and since the plain through which we were 
 marching was not perfectly level but was dotted 
 with elevations rising seven or eight feet above 
 the common level and running in an oblique 
 direction to our line of march towards the town, 
 we took advantage of one of these to march 
 our men along the low ground so that only the 
 colors (which had been fixed to long poles pro- 
 cured for the purpose) could be seen above the 
 height. While we lay on Warriors' Island our 
 young Frenchmen had decoyed and captured 
 several hunters with their horses; I therefore 
 caused our officers, mounted on these, to ride 
 in and out in order more completely to deceive 
 the enemy. In this manner we advanced, 
 directing our march in such fashion that dark- 
 ness fell before we had proceeded more than 
 half way to the town. We then suddenly al- 
 tered our direction and crossed some ponds 
 where they could not suspect our presence. 
 About eight o'clock we gained the heights in 
 the rear of the town. There being still no 
 enemy in sight, I became impatient to solve 
 the mystery. I ordered Lieutenant Bailey with 
 fourteen men to advance and open fire on the 
 fort while the main body moved in a different 
 direction and took possession of the strongest 
 part of the town. The firing now commenced 
 against the fort, but since drunken Indians often 
 saluted it after nightfall, the garrison did not 
 suppose it to be from an enemy until one of 
 
Conquest of 
 
 the men, lighting his match, was shot down 
 through a porthole. The drums now sounded 
 and the conflict was fairly joined on both sides. 
 I sent reinforcements to assist in the attack on 
 the garrison, while other dispositions were 
 being made in the town. 
 
 We now found that the garrison had known 
 nothing of our approach. Having finished the 
 fort that evening, they had indulged in games 
 for a time and then retired just before the ar- 
 rival of my letter. As it was almost time for 
 roll call when its terms were made known many 
 of the inhabitants were afraid to show them- 
 selves outside their houses and not one had 
 dared to inform the garrison. Our friends, 
 meanwhile, had rushed to the commons and 
 other convenient places from which to view 
 the pleasing sight afforded by our approach. 
 The garrison had noticed this action and in- 
 quired the reason for it, but a satisfactory ex- 
 cuse had been offered and since a portion of 
 the town lay between our line of march and 
 the fort we had not been seen by the sentinels on 
 the walls. Some time before this Captain W. 
 Shannon 41 and another man had been captured 
 by one of their scouting parties and brought to 
 the fort that same evening. This party had 
 discovered some signs of us at the Sugar Camp 
 and, supposing it to be a party of observation 
 
 41 Captain William Shannon was commissary and 
 quartermaster of the Illinois battalion. 
 
 134 
 
which intended to land on the height some dis- 
 tance below the town, Captain La Mothe 42 had 
 been sent to intercept them. When the people 
 were asked the reason of their unusual excite- 
 ment they had said they were looking at him. 
 Several persons whose loyalty was under 
 suspicion had been imprisoned in the fort, 
 among them Mr. Moses Henry. 43 Under the 
 pretense of carrying some provisions to him 
 Mrs. Henry went and whispered to him the 
 news of our arrival and what she had seen. 
 This Mr. Henry conveyed to his fellow pris- 
 oners. It gave them much pleasure, particu- 
 larly Captain Helm, who amused himself 
 greatly during the siege and I believe did much 
 damage. We had a scanty supply of ammu- 
 
 42 Guillaume La Mothe was a native of Canada who 
 subsequent to the French and Indian War became a 
 trader in the neighborhood of Detroit. In 1777 he 
 became captain of a scouting party, and the following 
 year accompanied Hamilton to Vincennes. With 
 his chief he was sent prisoner by Clark to Virginia, 
 where he was kept in close confinement until ex- 
 changed in 1781. He returned to the Northwest and 
 from 1792 to 1796 served as interpreter at Mackinac. 
 When the Americans took over the place in 1796, 
 La Mothe retired with the British to St. Joseph, where 
 he died in 1799. 
 
 43 Henry was a resident of Vincennes. Clark made 
 him Indian agent and Henry shortly accompanied an 
 expedition up the Wabash to capture a British convoy. 
 In 1781 Henry was still living in Vincennes, where 
 he died at some time prior to 1790, leaving a widow 
 and children. 
 
 135 
 
Conquest of 
 
 nition since most of our stores had been put 
 on board the galley. Though her crew were 
 small such a reinforcement would have been 
 invaluable to us at this juncture. Fortunately, 
 however, at the time it had been announced 
 that all of the goods in the town were to be 
 seized for the King's use (the owners were to 
 receive bills of credit in return), Colonel Le 
 Gras, Major Bosseron, and others had buried 
 the greater part of their powder and ball . This 
 ammunition was immediately produced and we 
 found ourselves well supplied by these gentle- 
 men. The Tobacco's son, being in town with 
 a number of his warriors, immediately mustered 
 them and indicated a desire to join us, saying 
 that by morning he would have a hundred men. 
 I thanked him for his friendly disposition but 
 told him we were already strong enough and 
 desired him to refrain. I said we would discuss 
 the matter in the morning, but since we knew 
 there were a number of Indians hostile to us 
 in and about the town some confusion might 
 result if our men should mix in the dark. I 
 expressed the hope that we might be favored 
 with his counsel and company during the night 
 and this proved agreeable to him. 
 
 The garrison was now completely surrounded 
 and the firing continued without intermission 
 (except for about fifteen minutes shortly before 
 dawn) until nine o'clock the following morn- 
 ing. Our entire force, with the exception of 
 fifty men kept as a reserve in case of some 
 136 
 
emergency, participated in the attack, being 
 joined by a few young men. I had acquainted 
 myself fully with the situation of the fort and 
 town and had detailed information concerning 
 each of them. The cannon were on the upper 
 floors of strong blockhouses located at each 
 angle of the fort eleven feet above the ground, 
 and the portholes were so badly cut that our 
 troops lay under their fire within twenty or thirty 
 yards of the walls. The enemy did no damage 
 except to the buildings of the town, some of 
 which were badly shattered, while their musket 
 fire in the dark was employed in vain against 
 woodsmen who were sheltered behind the pal- 
 ings of the houses (the gardens of Vincennes 
 were close to the fort and for about two-thirds 
 of the way around them were fenced with good 
 pickets firmly set in the ground and about six 
 feet high. Where these were lacking breast- 
 works for the troops were soon made by tear- 
 ing down old houses and garden fences, so that 
 the troops within the fort enjoyed but little 
 advantage over those outside; and not knowing 
 the number of the enemy, they thought them- 
 selves in a worse situation than they actually 
 were), river banks, and ditches, and did us no 
 damage except for the wounding of a man or 
 two. 
 
 Since we could not afford to lose any of our 
 men, great pains were taken to keep them 
 sufficiently sheltered and to maintain a hot fire 
 against the fort in order to intimidate the enemy 
 
fje Conquest of 
 
 as well as to destroy them. The embrasures 
 for their cannon were frequently closed, for our 
 riflemen finding the true direction would pour 
 in such volleys when they were open that the 
 artillerymen could not stand to the guns. 
 Seven or eight of them were shot down in a 
 short time. Our men frequently taunted the 
 enemy in order to provoke them into opening 
 the portholes and firing the cannon so that they 
 might have the pleasure of cutting them down 
 with their rifles. Fifty rifles would be leveled 
 the instant the port flew open, and had the 
 garrison stood to their artillery most of them, 
 I believe, would have been destroyed during 
 the night as the greater part of our men, lying 
 within thirty yards of the walls, and behind 
 some houses, were as well sheltered as those 
 within the fort and were much more expert in 
 this mode of fighting. The enemy fired at the 
 flash of our guns, but our men would change 
 their positions the moment they had fired. 
 On the instant of the least appearance at one 
 of their loopholes a dozen guns would be fired 
 at it. At times an irregular fire as hot as 
 could be maintained was poured in from dif- 
 ferent directions for several minutes. This 
 would be continually succeeded by a scattering 
 fire at the portholes and a great uproar and 
 laughter would be raised by the reserve parties 
 in different parts of the town to give the im- 
 pression that they had only fired on the fort 
 for a few minutes for amusement, while those 
 138 
 
who were keeping up a continuous fire were 
 being regularly relieved. 
 
 Conduct such as this kept the garrison in a 
 constant state of alarm. They did not know 
 what moment they might be stormed or sapped 
 as they could plainly see that we had thrown 
 up entrenchments across the streets and we 
 frequently appeared to be busily engaged on 
 the bank of the river, which was within thirty 
 feet of the wall. We knew the location of the 
 magazine and Captain Bowman began some 
 work designed to blow it up when our artillery 
 should arrive. Knowing that we were daily 
 liable to be overpowered by the numerous bands 
 of Indians on the river in case they should 
 again heartily join the enemy (as to the likeli- 
 hood of which we were yet uninformed) we 
 resolved to lose no time, but to gain possession 
 of the fort as soon possible. Unless the vessel 
 should arrive sooner, we determined to under- 
 mine the fort the following night and fixed 
 upon the spot and the plan of executing this 
 work, which we intended to begin the next 
 day. 
 
 The Indians belonging to the different hostile 
 tribes had left the town and neighborhood but 
 Captain La Mothe still hovered about, waiting 
 an opportunity to make good his way into the 
 fort. Parties of our men attempted in vain 
 to surprise him, although a few of his men 
 were captured, among them one Maisonville, 
 a famous Indian partisan. Two lads who had 
 
 139 
 
captured him led him to a position in the 
 street and fought from behind him as a breast- 
 work, supposing the enemy would not fire at 
 them for fear of killing him. An officer who 
 discovered them at this amusement ordered 
 them to untie him and take him away under 
 guard. This they did, but were so inhuman 
 as to remove part of his scalp on the way, but 
 did him no other harm. 44 Since almost all of 
 those who were most active in the department 
 of Detroit were either inside the fort or with 
 Captain La Mothe I became uneasy for fear 
 he would not fall into our hands since I knew 
 he would retire if he could not effect his pur- 
 pose in the course of the night. Perceiving 
 that unless some unforeseen accident should 
 occur the fort must inevitably be ours, and 
 that a reinforcement of twenty men, although 
 considerable to them, could not be of any great 
 moment to us in the present posture of our 
 affairs, and knowing that we had weakened 
 them by killing or wounding many of their 
 gunners, I concluded after some deliberation 
 
 ^Governor Hamilton, in his official report, states 
 that Maisonville was betrayed into Clark's hands by 
 his cousin; and that the scalping was committed by 
 a soldier acting under Clark's orders to scalp him 
 and that these were relaxed upon the appeal of a 
 brother of Maisonville who had attached himself 
 to the Americans. Maisonville was sent with Hamil- 
 ton to prison in Virginia. The hardships and ill 
 treatment he endured there so wrought upon his 
 mind that he finally sought escape from them by 
 committing suicide. 
 
 140 
 
to risk the reinforcement in preference to his 
 going again among the Indians. I knew the 
 garrison had at least a month's supply of pro- 
 visons and if it could hold out he might in the 
 course of this time do us great damage. 
 
 Shortly before dawn the troops were with- 
 drawn from the fort, except for a few obser- 
 vation parties, and the firing totally ceased. 
 Orders were given that in case La Mothe 
 should approach not to alarm or fire on him 
 without the certainty of killing or capturing 
 the whole party. Within less than a quarter 
 of an hour he passed within ten feet of an 
 officer and small party of men who were lying 
 concealed. Ladders were thrown over the 
 walls of the fort and as they mounted them 
 our party raised a shout. Many of them fell 
 from the top of the wall, some inside and some 
 outside the fort, but as we did not fire on them 
 they all got over to the great joy of their 
 friends. This was readily perceived by us but 
 I had no doubt that on consideration they 
 must be convinced that it was a stratagem of 
 ours to let them into the fort and that we 
 were so strong as to feel little concern for 
 them. 
 
 While getting into the fort our men hallooed 
 and made sport of them, at the same time with- 
 holding their fire, and our most blatant soldiers 
 frequently told them of our stratagem and our 
 reason for suffering them to enter the fort. 
 This, on reflection, they must have believed ; 
 141 
 
Conquest of 
 
 but we knew that their knowledge of it could 
 now do us no damage while it would serve to 
 intimidate them. Notwithstanding, the garri- 
 son appeared much elated over the recovery 
 of a valuable officer and party. 
 
 The firing immediately recommenced with 
 redoubled vigor on both sides and I do not be- 
 lieve that more noise could possibly have been 
 made by an equal number of men. Their 
 shouting could not be heard amid the discharge 
 of the muskets, and a continual line of fire 
 around the garrison was maintained until 
 shortly before daylight, when our troops were 
 withdrawn to positions that had been prepared 
 for them sixty to one hundred yards from the 
 fort. Scarcely could a loophole be darkened 
 by the garrison when a rifle ball would pass 
 through it, and for them to have stood to their 
 cannon would have entailed the useless destruc- 
 tion of their men. In this respect the situation 
 of the two parties was much the same. It 
 would have been imprudent in either to have 
 wasted men unless some decisive stroke should 
 require it. 
 
 Thus the attack continued until nine o'clock 
 on the morning of the twenty-fourth. Learn- 
 ing that the two prisoners they had brought 
 in the day before had a considerable number 
 of letters with them I supposed it to be an 
 express whose arrival we were expecting about 
 this time and which I knew to be of the great- 
 est importance to us as we had not received 
 142 
 
any message since our arrival in this country. 
 Not being fully acquainted with the character 
 of our enemy I was afraid these papers might 
 be destroyed. To prevent this I sent a flag 
 of truce to the garrison to demand of Governor 
 Hamilton that he should not destroy the papers, 
 throwing out some threats in case he should 
 do so in the event his garrison should fall into 
 my hands. He answered that they were not 
 disposed to be awed into anything unbecoming 
 British subjects. The firing was warmly re- 
 newed for a considerable space of time and we 
 were obliged to take pains to prevent our men 
 from exposing themselves unduly. Having 
 refreshed themselves during the flag of truce, 
 they were greatly animated and frequently ex- 
 pressed the desire to storm the fort and put 
 an end to the post at once. This, however, 
 would have been at this time a piece of rash- 
 ness. Our troops warmed to their work and 
 poured a heavy fire into the fort through every 
 crack that could be discovered. Several of 
 the garrison were wounded and it was quite 
 impossible to stand near the embrasures. 
 
 Towards evening a flag of truce appeared 
 with the following proposals. 45 I was greatly 
 
 45 Hamilton's proposal, as recorded in Major Bow- 
 man's journal, was as follows: "Lt. Gov. Hamilton 
 proposes to Col. Clark a truce for three days during 
 which time he promises there shall be no defensive 
 works carried on in the Garrison on condition Col. 
 Clark shall observe on his part a like cessation of any 
 offensive work, that he wishes to confer with Col. 
 
 143 
 
of 
 
 at a loss to conceive what reason Governor 
 Hamilton could have for wishing a truce of 
 three days on such terms as he proposed. 
 Many said it was a stratagem to obtain posses- 
 sion of me. I thought differently and had no 
 idea that he entertained such a sentiment, as 
 an act of that nature would infallibly ruin him. 
 I was convinced he had some prospect of 
 succor or of extricating himself from his pre- 
 dicament in some way. Although we had 
 every reason to expect a reinforcement in less 
 than three days that would at once put an end 
 to the siege, I did not think it prudent to agree 
 to the proposal and returned the following 
 answer. 46 
 
 We met at the church about eighty yards 
 from the fort, Governor Hamilton, Major 
 
 Clark as soon as can be and further proposes that 
 whatever may pass between them two and any other 
 Person mutually agreed upon to be present, shall 
 remain a secret till matters be finally concluded 
 as he wishes that whatever the result of their may be 
 (it may redound) to the honor and credit of each 
 party If Col. Clark makes a difficulty of coming 
 into the fort Lt. Gov. Hamilton will speak to him 
 before the Gate." 
 
 46 The answer is recorded in Major Bowman's jour- 
 nal as follows: "Col. Clark's compliments to Mr. 
 Hamilton and begs leave to inform him that Col. 
 Clark will not agree to any other terms than that of 
 Mr. Hamilton's surrendering himself and Garrison 
 Prisoners at discretion if Mr. Hamilton is desirous 
 of a conference with Col. Clark he will meet him at 
 the Church with Capt. Helm." 
 
 144 
 
Hay 47 , superintendent of Indian Affairs, Cap- 
 tain Helm, who was his prisoner, Major Bow- 
 man, and myself, and the conference began. 
 Governor Hamilton produced articles of capit- 
 ulation containing various provisions, one of 
 which was that the garrison should be sur- 
 rendered on being permitted to go to Pensacola 
 on parole. After deliberating on every article 
 I rejected the whole proposal. Hamilton then 
 desired me to make some proposition. I told 
 him I had no offer to make other than I had 
 already done, that they surrender themselves 
 as prisoners unconditionally. I observed that 
 his troops had behaved with spirit, and without 
 viewing us as savages they could not suppose 
 they would be treated the worse in consequence. 
 If he chose to comply with my demand, the 
 sooner he should do so the better, as it was in 
 
 47 John Hay, the detestation of whom by the Ameri- 
 cans is well shown in the following pages, was a 
 native of Pennsylvania who enlisted in the sixtieth 
 American Regiment during the French and Indian 
 War and in 1762 was sent to the Detroit frontier. 
 He served in Pontiac's War and thereafter entered 
 the British Indian department. In 1776, he became 
 deputy Indian agent and major of the Detroit militia. 
 He was Governor Hamilton's chief assistant during 
 the latter's contest with Clark which ended with the 
 capture of Vincennes by the Americans. Hay went 
 with Hamilton to a Virginia dungeon and toward the 
 close of the war he was released, and making his way 
 to Quebec was appointed lieutenant-governor at 
 Detroit. He had performed the duties of this office 
 only about a year, however, when his career was cut 
 short by death in 1785. 
 
 145 
 
Conquest of 
 
 vain for him to make any counter proposition. 
 He must know by this time that the fort would 
 fall and that both of us must regard all blood 
 that might still be spilled as murder on the 
 part of the garrison. My troops were already 
 impatient and begging for permission to storm 
 the fort. If such a step were taken many of 
 course would be cut down, and the conse- 
 quences of an enraged body of woodsmen 
 breaking into the fort must be obvious to him. 
 It would be beyond the power of an Ameri- 
 can officer to save a single man. 
 
 Various arguments were exchanged for a 
 considerable period of time. Captain Helm 
 attempted to moderate my fixed determination, 
 but I told him he was a British prisoner and 
 it was doubtful whether he could with propriety 
 speak on the subject. Governor Hamilton 
 then said that Captain Helm was liberated from 
 that moment and might act according to his 
 pleasure. I told the Captain I would not re- 
 ceive him on such terms; that he must return 
 to the fort and await his fate. I told the 
 Governor we would not begin hostilities until 
 a minute after the drums should give the alarm. 
 We took leave of each other and parted, but 
 I had gone only a few steps when the Gov- 
 ernor stopped me and politely asked if I would 
 be kind enough to give him my reasons for 
 refusing any other terms than those I had of- 
 fered to the garrison. I told him I had no ob- 
 jection to giving him my real reason, which 
 146 
 
simply was that I knew the greater part of the 
 principal Indian partisans of Detroit were with 
 him and I desired to be free to put them to 
 death or treat them in any other way I might 
 think proper. I said that the cries of the 
 widows and the fatherless they had occasioned 
 upon the frontiers now required their blood at 
 my hands and I did not choose to be so timor- 
 ous as to disobey the absolute command of 
 their authority, which I regarded as next to 
 divine. I said I would rather lose fifty men 
 than to surrender the power properly to exe- 
 cute this piece of business. If he chose to 
 risk the massacre of his garrison for their sakes 
 it was his own affair and I might perhaps take 
 it into my head to send for some of those 
 widows to see it executed. 
 
 I had observed growing distrust in the 
 countenance of Major Hay, who was paying 
 close attention, and this in great measure in- 
 fluenced my conversation. Upon my conclud- 
 ing, "Pray, sir," said he, "who is it that you 
 call Indian partisans?" "Sir," I replied, "I 
 take Major Hay to be one of the principal 
 ones." I never saw a man in the moment of 
 execution so stricken as he appeared to be, 
 pale and trembling, and scarcely able to stand. 
 Governor Hamilton blushed and was, I observ- 
 ed, much affected at this behavior in my 
 presence. Captain Bowman's countenance 
 sufficiently disclosed his disdain for the one 
 and his sorrow for the other. I viewed the 
 
 147 
 
Conquest of 
 
 whole procedure with such sentiments as I sup- 
 pose are natural to some men under such cir- 
 cumstances. Some moments passed without 
 a word being exchanged on either side. From 
 that moment my resolution respecting Gov- 
 ernor Hamilton's situation changed. I told 
 him we would return to our respective posts 
 when I would reconsider the matter and let 
 him know the result. If we should decide to 
 make any other proposal than that of surrender 
 at discretion he should be informed of it by a 
 flag of truce. In the contrary event, he should 
 be on his guard at the beat of the drum. In 
 the meantime no offensive measures should be 
 taken. This was agreed to and we parted. 
 On reporting to our officers what had passed 
 at the conference it was agreed that we should 
 modify our demands and the following articles 
 were sent to the garrison and an answer was 
 immediately returned. The affair being now 
 nearly concluded troops were posted in several 
 strong houses around the garrison and a patrol 
 was kept up during the night to prevent any 
 deception. The remainder of the troops not 
 on duty lay on their arms and for the first time 
 in many days obtained some rest. 
 
 While the conference was being held a party 
 of about twenty warriors, who had been sent 
 to the Falls of the Ohio for scalps and prison- 
 ers, were discovered returning. As no firing 
 was going on at the time they entered the 
 plain near the town, they had no suspicion of 
 148 
 
the presence of an enemy. Captain John 
 Williams was ordered to go out to meet them. 
 The Indians, supposing it to be a party of their 
 friends who had come to welcome them, gave 
 the scalp and war whoop and came on with all 
 the parade of successful warriors. Williams' 
 party conducted itself in like fashion. Com- 
 ing closer, the Indians fired a volley in the air, 
 to which Captain Williams replied in kind. 
 When they were within a few steps of each 
 other the chief stopped as if suspicious of 
 something wrong. Captain Williams imme- 
 diatley seized him, whereupon the others, per- 
 ceiving their mistake, turned in flight. Fifteen 
 of them were killed or captured, however. 
 Two British partisans attached to their party 
 were killed and two men who proved to be 
 American prisoners in their hands were releas- 
 ed. The Indians who had been taken by the 
 soldiers were tomahawked and their bodies 
 thrown into the river. We afterward learned 
 that but one man of the entire party ever re- 
 turned to his tribe, so that in all seventeen 
 must have been destroyed by us. We knew 
 that nearly all of them were badly wounded, 
 but as we had an enemy of more importance 
 than they were to contend with we could spare 
 no time for pursuit, and Captain Williams 
 allowed his men but a few minutes for execut- 
 ing the business before recalling them . Under 
 these circumstances those Indians who were 
 not killed or taken immediately got off. 
 149 
 
Conquest of 
 
 One reason that I had for not wishing to 
 receive the garrison until the following morning 
 was that it was late in the evening before the 
 capitulation was signed, and in view of the 
 number of prisoners we should have in com- 
 parison with our own small force I felt the 
 need of daylight to arrange matters to our 
 advantage. Knowing that we could now pre- 
 vent any misfortune happening, as we could 
 now dispose our troops so as to render the 
 fort almost useless for defense, I thought it 
 prudent to let the British troops remain in it 
 until morning. We should not have been so 
 suspicious as to take so much precaution, but 
 I must confess I could not help but doubt the 
 honor of men who could condescend to en- 
 courage the barbarity of the Indians. Al- 
 though almost every man had conceived a very 
 favorable opinion of Governor Hamilton (and 
 I believed that what affected myself made some 
 impression on the whole) I was happy to find 
 that while he stayed with us he never deviated 
 from that conduct that became an officer in 
 his situation. 
 
 On the morning of the twenty-fifth arrange- 
 ments were made for receiving the garrison, 
 and about ten o'clock it was surrendered with 
 due formality and everything was immediately 
 arranged by me to the best possible advantage. 
 On first viewing the interior of the fort and its 
 stores I was astonished at its being surrendered 
 in the manner it had been. However, it was 
 150 
 
a prudent and lucky circumstance which prob- 
 ably saved the lives of many men on both sides 
 since on the preceding night we had inclined 
 to attempt to undermine it and I found it 
 would have required great diligence on the part 
 of the garrison to have prevented us from 
 succeeding. I found, too, on further examina- 
 tion, that our information concerning the inter- 
 ior arrangements was so good that in all 
 probability the first hot shot after the arrival 
 of our artillery would have blown up the mag- 
 azine. This would at once have put an end 
 to the siege since the situation of the magazine 
 and the quantity of powder it contained were 
 such that its explosion must have destroyed 
 the greater part of the garrison. 
 
 Notwithstanding our success thus far our posi- 
 tion was still one of great difficulty. The num- 
 ber of prisoners we had taken, added to those 
 of the surrendered garrison, was so consider- 
 able in comparison with our own numbers that 
 I was at a loss so to dispose of them as not to 
 interfere with our future operations. Detroit 
 lay open to our attack with not more than 
 eighty men in the fort, and a great part of 
 these invalids. Moreover, we learned that a 
 considerable number of the principal inhabi- 
 tants were disaffected to the British cause, 
 while the distance of the fort from any succor 
 except at the hands of the Indians was very 
 great. Those Indians on our route we knew 
 would now be cooler than ever towards the 
 
Conquest of 
 
 English. This matter was never rightly under- 
 stood by the Government at home, or if it was, 
 the execution of it was attempted but faintly. 
 With Detroit in our possession and a post of 
 communication at Cuyahoga supplies might 
 always have been easily sent from Pittsburgh 
 by this route and we could easily have taken 
 possession of Lake Erie. This would have 
 put an end to all our troubles in this quarter, 
 and perhaps have opened the door to further 
 advantageous operations. 
 
 Such were the ideas that influenced me at this 
 time. We could now increase our forces in this 
 quarter to about four hundred men since al- 
 most half of the inhabitants of Vincennes were 
 ready to join us. Kentucky, we knew, could 
 immediately furnish some two hundred men 
 since it was certain that section would receive 
 a large number of settlers in the spring. Our 
 own stores, which we had learned were being 
 forwarded in safety, taken in conjunction with 
 those of the British, would leave not a single 
 article wanting for such an attempt and sup- 
 plies of provisions might be had for some time 
 at Detroit. I privately resolved to embrace 
 without delay the object that seemed to court 
 my acceptance, giving the enemy no time to 
 recover from the blows he had already received. 
 But before saying anything about this I wished 
 it to become an object of desire to the soldiers 
 and townsmen. It became at once the com- 
 mon topic of conversation among them, and 
 
 152 
 
within a few days matters were so arranged 
 that in imagination they were almost ready to 
 march. The employment of such conversation 
 was discountenanced by me and steps were 
 taken to make it appear that such an attempt 
 was foreign to my plans, while at the same time 
 every step was taken to bring about the result 
 I desired. The quantity of public goods brought 
 from Detroit by Governor Hamilton, added to 
 what had belonged to the traders of Vincennes 
 whom we had captured, was very great. The 
 entire amount was immediately divided among 
 the soldiers with the exception of some Indian 
 medals, which were retained to be of some 
 public use. The officers received nothing ex- 
 cept a few articles of clothing of which they 
 stood in need. The soldiers were laden with 
 wealth and the townsmen envied their good 
 fortune and wished some enterprise might be 
 undertaken which would enable them to do 
 something. 
 
 Detroit was their goal and the clamor now 
 rose to a great height. To silence it, and at 
 the same time to answer other purposes, I told 
 them that an army was to march the coming 
 summer from Pittsburgh against Detroit, al- 
 though from last autumn's proceedings I knew 
 nothing of the sort was to be apprehended. 
 An entire company of Captain La Mothe's 
 volunteers from Detroit, mostly composed of 
 young men, was drawn up. While they were 
 anticipating being sent into a strange country 
 
Conquest of 
 
 with the probability of never returning to their 
 homes, I told them we were happy to learn 
 that many of them had been torn from their 
 fathers and mothers and forced to go on this 
 expedition; while others, ignorant of the true 
 issue at stake, had engaged in the conflict in 
 obedience to a principle which actuates many 
 men, that of being fond of adventure. They 
 had now enjoyed a good opportunity, however, 
 of acquainting themselves fully with the char- 
 acter of the war, which they were now in a 
 position to explain to their friends. Since we 
 knew that to send them to the States, where 
 they would be confined in jail, probably for 
 the duration of the war, would make a large 
 number of our friends at Detroit unhappy we 
 had thought proper for their sakes to permit 
 them to return home. 
 
 Much was said to them along this line; after 
 which they were discharged in a body upon 
 taking an oath not to bear arms against America 
 until exchanged, and I issued an order for their 
 arms and boats to be returned to them, together 
 with provisions for the return journey. Upon 
 their arrival at home the boats were to be sold 
 and the proceeds divided among them. Within 
 a few days they set out and from our spies 
 who went among them as traders we learned 
 that they played havoc with the British interests 
 on their return, stating publicly that while they 
 had taken an oath not to fight against America 
 they had taken none to refrain from fighting 
 
 154 
 
for us. Things were carried with such a high 
 hand by them that the commanding officer 
 thought it prudent to take no notice of anything 
 that was said or done. Mrs. McComb, who 
 kept a noted boarding house, had the assurance, 
 I was told, to show the commander the stores 
 she had provided for the Americans. Thus 
 was realized the design I had had in view in per- 
 mitting this company to return. Many others 
 whom we could trust were permitted to enlist 
 in the corps, so that our burden of prisoners 
 was much reduced. 
 
 Learning that ten boat loads of goods and 
 provisions were daily expected to descend the 
 Wabash and fearing they would gain intelli- 
 gence of the situation at Vincennes and turn 
 back, on the twenty-sixth of the month I sent 
 Captain Helm, Major Bosseron 48 and Major 
 Le Gras 49 with fifty volunteers in three armed 
 
 ^Francois Bosseron was one of the most promi- 
 nent citizens of Vincennes. He was enrolled in the 
 British militia forces, but on the advent of the Ameri- 
 cans gave them his hearty support. He served with 
 Captain Helms in the Wabash expedition of 1779, 
 and furnished ammunition for the invading army. 
 He was later district commandant and territorial 
 judge, dying at Vincennes in 1791. A street in 
 Vincennes still bears his name. 
 
 49 J. M. P. Le Gras was a prominent merchant of 
 Vincennes who had served as captain of militia under 
 the British regime. He sided with the Americans 
 upon the advent of Clark in Illinois and by Clark was 
 made major and later colonel of militia. In June, 
 1779, he was appointed president of the local court 
 at Vincennes. 
 
 155 
 
Conquest of 
 
 boats in pursuit of them. On the twenty- 
 seventh our galley arrived safely with the crew 
 much mortified over their failure to be in time, 
 although they were deserving of great credit 
 for their diligence. On their passage they had 
 overtaken William Myers with an express from 
 the Government at home. The dispatches he 
 brought gave us great encouragement, repre- 
 senting that our own battalion was to be com- 
 pleted and an additional one was to come out 
 in the spring. On first reading this gave us 
 both pleasure and pain but in the end resulted 
 to our disadvantage. I had but a day or two 
 in which to consider the situation and fix on a 
 plan of operations. Should we make the at- 
 tempt on Detroit without delay we were almost 
 certain of success, since we knew our own 
 strength and supplies and lacked no information 
 concerning that post. On the other hand, we 
 were now flattered with the prospect of an 
 immediate reinforcement. 
 
 A council was convened on the subject. I 
 laid before the officers my plans for the im- 
 mediate reduction of Detroit and explained 
 the practical certainty of success and the prob- 
 ability of our retaining possession of the place 
 until they could secure succor from the States. 
 This we might reasonably expect they would 
 bend every effort to send us on receiving the 
 news of the capture, which we could easily 
 convey to them in a few weeks. On the other 
 hand, if we awaited the arrival of the troops 
 156 
 
mentioned in the dispatch the enemy might 
 meanwhile be reinforced, and we might not be 
 as well prepared to carry the place with the 
 addition of the expected reinforcement as we 
 should be with our present force in case we 
 were to make the attempt now; while in the 
 event of being disappointed in receiving the 
 promised reinforcements we might not be able 
 to effect it at all. 
 
 Various arguments were employed over this 
 delicate question. Every one appeared anxious 
 to embrace the present opportunity while pru- 
 dence seemed to forbid our proceeding without 
 awaiting the reinforcement. The argument 
 which appeared to have the greatest weight 
 was that with such a force we might march 
 boldly through the Indian country, and that 
 this would produce a greater effect on the na- 
 tives as well as on the inhabitants of Detroit 
 than if we should slip off with our present 
 small force and take the place which was cer- 
 tainly in our power. It was urged that the 
 British would not care to weaken Niagara by 
 sending any considerable reinforcement to De- 
 troit; that it was more difficult for them to 
 receive aid from Canada than it was for us to 
 obtain it from the States; and that they would 
 be unable to obtain reinforcements in time to 
 prevent the execution of our design, since we 
 might reasonably expect our help to arrive 
 within a few weeks. In short, the enterprise 
 was postponed until the of June when we 
 
Conquest of 
 
 were to rendezvous at this post. In the mean- 
 time provisions were to be procured and all 
 possible preparations made for the enterprise; 
 while to conceal our design our whole force at 
 Vincennes, with the exception of a small gar- 
 rison, should immediately return to the Illinois 
 while orders were sent to the Kentuckians to 
 hold themselves in readiness to meet with us 
 at the appointed time. This was now our plan, 
 in accordance with which our operations the 
 ensuing spring should be conducted. 
 
 On the fifth of March Captain Helm and 
 Majors Bosseron and Le Gras returned from 
 their tour up river, having met with great suc- 
 cess. They had come upon the enemy in the 
 night and, observing their fires at a distance, had 
 waited until all was quiet, when the camp was 
 surrounded and the entire force captured with- 
 out firing a gun. These men had felt so secure 
 and entertained so little apprehension of an 
 enemy being in that part of the world they 
 could hardly persuade themselves that what 
 they heard and saw was real . It proved a valuable 
 capture, comprising seven boats loaded with a 
 considerable quantity of provisions and goods. 
 The provisions were taken for public use, while 
 the goods were divided among our men, with 
 the exception of about eight hundred pounds 
 worth which I reserved to clothe the troops 
 we expected shortly to receive. This was quite 
 agreeable to the soldiers since I told them the 
 state would pay them their share in money and 
 158 
 
they had an ample supply of goods. The 
 reservation I made proved useful, for the few 
 troops that came to us were on their arrival 
 almost naked. 
 
 On March 7 Captains Williams and Rogers 
 with a party of twenty-five men set out by 
 water to conduct the British officers to Ken- 
 tucky; while eighteen privates were sent along 
 to reduce further the number of prisoners in 
 our hands. Captain Rogers was instructed 
 upon their arrival at the Falls to superintend 
 their journey to Williamsburg, take care that 
 ample supplies should be furnished them en- 
 route, and on arrival to await the orders of the 
 Governor. Poor Myers was killed on the re- 
 turn journey and his dispatches fell into the 
 hands of the enemy; but I had been so much 
 on my guard that there was no sentence in 
 them which could harm us for the enemy to 
 know, while the private letters from the sol- 
 diers to their friends at home were designed 
 rather with a view to deception in the event of 
 such an accident. This was customary with 
 us as our expresses were frequently surprised. 
 I sent a second dispatch to the Governor, 
 giving him a short but full account of what 
 had transpired and my views concerning the 
 situation. My copy of this message has long 
 been lost, along with many other papers, 
 but I suppose the original can be found among 
 the public papers of this period. I sent letters, 
 also, to the commandant of Kentucky, directing 
 
of 
 
 him to give me a correct but secret account of 
 the number of men he could furnish in June. 
 
 The weather being now very disagreeable, 
 and having some leisure, our time was spent in 
 consultation and in arranging matters to the 
 best advantage. A number of our men now 
 became sick. Their intrepidity and our suc- 
 cess had kept up their spirits hitherto; but our 
 activities now falling off to little more than 
 garrison duty, they became more sensible of 
 the pains and other complaints which had been 
 contracted during the severity of our uncom- 
 mon march. To these many of those valuable 
 men succumbed while but few of the remainder 
 ever entirely recovered. 
 
 As yet I had sent no message to the Indian 
 tribes, preferring to wait to see what effect all 
 that had happened would have on them. The 
 Piankashaw, being of the tribe of the To- 
 bacco's son, had all along been friendly with 
 us. Some of the behavior of this grandee, as 
 he regarded himself, was diverting enough. 
 He had conceived such a violent attachment 
 to Colonel Helm that on finding the latter a 
 prisoner and we not being able as yet to release 
 him, he declared himself a prisoner also and 
 joined his brother as he called him, remaining 
 continually with him and condoling over their 
 condition as prisoners in great distress, al- 
 though at the same time nothing was wanting 
 to them which it was within the power of the 
 garrison to supply. Governor Hamilton, know- 
 160 
 
ing his influence, was extremely jealous of his 
 behavior and employed every pains, by the 
 giving of presents, etc., to win him over. When 
 anything was presented him, however, he would 
 reply that it would serve him and his brother 
 to live on and would refuse to enter into coun- 
 cil, saying that he was a prisoner and had 
 nothing to say, but that he was in hopes that 
 when the grass grew again his brothers, the 
 Big Knives, would release him and then he 
 would be free to talk. Being presented with 
 an elegant sword, he drew it, and bending the 
 point on the floor, said very seriously that it 
 would serve himself and his brother to amuse 
 themselves sticking frogs while they were in 
 captivity. In short, they could do nothing 
 with him and the moment he heard of our ar- 
 rival he paraded all the warriors he had in his vil- 
 lage (which adjoined Vincennes) and was eager 
 to join us in the attack on the fort, but for the 
 reasons already noted I desired him to refrain. 
 On the fifteenth a party of Chippewa, of 
 upper Piankashaw, Potawatomi, and Miami, 
 made their appearance, making great protes- 
 tations of their attachment to the Americans. 
 They begged to be taken under the cover of 
 our wings, and that the roads through their 
 land might be made straight and all the stum- 
 bling blocks removed; and they asked that their 
 friends, the neighboring nations, might also 
 be regarded in the same light. I well knew 
 from what principle all this sprang, and as my 
 161 
 
i)f Conquest of 
 
 eye was now fixed on Detroit it was my con- 
 cern to make a clear road for myself to walk 
 in without giving much thought to their inter- 
 est or anything else but the opening of this 
 road, whether by flattery, deception, or any 
 other means. I told them I was glad to see 
 them and was happy to learn that most of the 
 tribes on the Wabash and Miami Rivers had 
 proved themselves to be men last fall by adher- 
 ing strictly to the treaties they had with the 
 Big Knives, with the exception of a few weak 
 minds who had been deluded by the English 
 into waging war against us. I said I did not 
 know exactly who they were nor did I much 
 care, but that I understood they were a band 
 composed of the off-scouring of almost all the 
 tribes; that such people, mean enough to sell 
 their country for a shirt, were to be found 
 among all nations but since they were not 
 worthy the attention of warriors we would say 
 no more about them, but turn to subjects- more 
 becoming to us. I told them I would let the 
 great Council of the Americans know of their 
 behavior and that I knew they would be counted 
 as friends of the Big Knives, who would always 
 keep them under their protection and safe- 
 guard their country for them since the Big 
 Knives had land enough and did not want any 
 more; but if they should ever break their faith 
 the Big Knives would never trust them again 
 since they never retain friendship with a people 
 whom they find to have two hearts. I said 
 162 
 
they were witnesses to the calamities the Brit- 
 ish had brought upon them by their false as- 
 sertions and their presents, which were a 
 sufficient proof of their weakness. They had 
 seen all the boasted valor of the British fall to 
 the ground and that they did not come out of 
 their fort the other day to save the Indians 
 they had flattered to war and now suffered to 
 be killed in their sight. As the nature of the 
 war had been fully explained to them last fall 
 they might clearly see that the Great Spirit 
 did not suffer it otherwise. Not only was 
 this the case on the Wabash but everywhere 
 else as well. They might rest assured that the 
 tribes which continued obstinately to listen to 
 the English would be driven out of the country 
 and their land given to those who where stead- 
 fast friends of the Americans. I said I ex- 
 pected for the future that if any of my people 
 should be going to war through their country 
 they would be protected, which would always 
 be the case with their people when among us, 
 and that mutual confidence should continue to 
 exist between us. 
 
 They replied that they were convinced from 
 what they had seen and heard that the Master 
 of Life had a hand in all things. They said 
 their people would rejoice on their return, and 
 that they would take pains to diffuse what they 
 had heard throughout all the tribes and they 
 had no doubt of the good it would produce. 
 After a long speech in the Indian fashion, call- 
 163 
 
Conquest of 
 
 ing all the spirits as witnesses, they concluded 
 by renewing the chain of friendship, smoking 
 the sacred pipe, and exchanging belts with us; 
 and I believe they went off really well pleased, 
 although unable to fathom all they had heard, 
 the greater part of which was merely political 
 lies. During the ensuing summer Captain J. 
 Shelby with his single company lay for a con- 
 siderable time in the Wea town in the heart 
 of their country. He was treated in the most 
 friendly manner by all the natives he saw, be- 
 ing frequently invited by them to join them 
 in plundering what they called the King's pas- 
 ture at Detroit. By this they meant to go and 
 steal horses from that settlement. About 
 this time an express arrived from the Illinois 
 with letters from Captain Robert George. 80 
 Matters being now pretty well arranged, I 
 
 60 At this point in the original manuscript a blank 
 half page occurs, together with the marginal note, 
 "Inquire of Captain George, J. R. C." 
 
 Robert George is believed to have been a cousin 
 of Clark. He was in the West as a trader as early 
 as 1777, and in 1778 accompanied Captain James 
 Willings' expedition to the lower Mississippi. Early 
 in 1779 Willing sent him up the Mississippi with 
 forty men to join Clark, and the party arrived at Kas- 
 kaskia while Clark was still at Vincennes. George 
 remained in the West until the close of the Revolu- 
 tion. He later settled on Clark's grant in Indiana, 
 and died there some time prior to 1800. 
 
 51 Richard Brashers was originally one of Captain 
 William Howard's company, who probably came 
 from Pennsylvania. 
 
 164 
 
appointed Lieutenant Richard Brashers 51 to the 
 command of the garrison, consisting of Lieu- 
 tenants Bailey 52 and Chapline 53 and forty picked 
 
 52 John Bailey came to Kentucky from Virginia in 
 1776, and in 1778 joined Clark's expedition against 
 the Illinois towns. In August Clark sent him to the aid 
 of Captain Helm at Vincennes. Returning to Kas- 
 kaskia, Bailey accompanied Clark on his winter 
 march against Vincennes, and was sent in advance 
 with a detachment of fourteen men to begin the at- 
 tack on the British post. Upon Clark's leaving 
 Vincennes Bailey was left behind as here noted in 
 command of a post of the garrison. In 1780 he 
 served in Montgomery's Rock River expedition, and 
 during most of 1781 he was serving as command- 
 ant, under great difficulties, at Vincennes. At the 
 close of the Revolution he became a Baptist preach- 
 er, and helped lay the foundations of that church in 
 Kentucky. In 1792 and again in 1799 he served in 
 Kentucky constitutional conventions, and voted in 
 favor of an emancipation clause. He died in Lincoln 
 country in 1816. 
 
 53 Abraham Chapline was a native of Virginia, who 
 in 1774 at an early age came to Kentucky in Captain 
 James Harrod's party. In the autumn of this year 
 he took part in the battle of Point Pleasant, and the 
 next year returned to Kentucky. He joined Clark's 
 Illinois expedition and by the leader was made an 
 ensign and later a lieutenant. Detailed to escort 
 Colonel Rogers' party to Fort Pitt, Chapline was cap- 
 tured at its defeat and taken by the Indians to the 
 head waters of the Big Miami River. Here he was 
 forced to run the gauntlet and then adopted into an 
 Indian family. He later escaped, seived until the 
 end of the war, and then settled in Mercer Country, 
 Kentucky. He practiced medicine and served in the 
 Kentucky legislature. He died on his farm near 
 Harrodsburg in January, 1824. 
 
 165 
 
Conquest of 
 
 men. I made Captain Helm commandant of 
 the town and Superintendent of Indian Affairs 
 and having given the necessary instructions to 
 all those whom I left in office, on the 20th of 
 March, with seventy men, I set sail on board 
 our galley, which had now been made perfectly 
 complete, attended by five armed boats. The 
 water being very high, we soon reached the 
 Missouri, and with favoring winds we arrived 
 in a few days at Kaskaskia to the great joy of 
 our new friends, Captain George and company, 
 who were waiting to receive us. 
 
 On our passage up the Mississippi we ob- 
 served several Indian camps which appeared 
 to us to be recent and to have been abandoned 
 in great confusion. We had been unable to 
 account for this but we were now informed 
 that a few days since a party of Delaware 
 warriors had gone to town and acted very im- 
 pudently. In the evening, having indulged in 
 drink, they swore they had come for scalps 
 and meant to have them, and flashed a gun at 
 the breast of an American woman who was 
 present. A sergeant and party passing the 
 house at the moment saw the confusion and 
 entered. The Indians immediately fled. The 
 sergeant pursued and killed of them. A 
 party was instantly sent to rout them from 
 their camps on the river. This had been done 
 the day before we came up, which was the 
 occasion of the sign we had seen. A portion 
 of the Delaware nation had settled a town at 
 166 
 
the forks of White River and they hunted over 
 the region adjacent to the Ohio and the Missis- 
 sippi rivers. On our first arrival in the country 
 they had hatched up a sort of peace with us. 
 I knew all along, however, that they desired 
 open war, but never before this could I gain a 
 proper excuse for exterminating them from 
 the country. This I knew they would be loath 
 to leave, and also that the other Indians wished 
 them driven off as they were great hunters and 
 killed off their game. 
 
 A few days after this Captain Helm informed 
 me by express that a party of traders going by 
 land to the Falls of the Ohio had been plundered 
 and killed by the Delawares of White River; 
 and that their designs appeared altogether hos- 
 tile as they had received a belt from the great 
 council of their tribe. I was sorry for the loss 
 of our men but for the rest pleased over what 
 had happened, since it would afford me an 
 opportunity of showing the other Indians the 
 horrible fate of those who dared to make war 
 on the Big Knives; and I knew that to excel 
 them in barbarity was and is the only way to 
 make war upon Indians and gain a name among 
 them. I immediately sent orders to Vincennes 
 to make war on the Delawares and to use every 
 means in our power to destroy them, showing 
 no mercy to the men, but sparing the women 
 and children. This order was executed with- 
 out delay. Their camps were attacked where- 
 ever they could be found, Many were slain, 
 167 
 
Cfje Conquest of 
 
 while others were brought to Vincennes and 
 there put to death and the women and children 
 taken captive. They immediately begged for 
 peace but were told that I had ordered the war 
 for reasons which were explained to them and 
 that our men dare not lay down the tomahawk 
 without my permission; but if the Indians 
 should agree upon it, no more blood would be 
 spilled until an express could be sent to me at 
 Kaskaskia. I refused to make peace with the 
 Delawares, telling them that we never trusted 
 those who had once violated their faith; but if 
 they were disposed to be quiet and if they could 
 induce any of the neighboring Indians to be re- 
 sponsible for their good behavior I would let 
 them alone, although I cared little what they 
 might do. 
 
 A council was called by Captain Helm (whom 
 I had privately instructed how to manage the 
 matter) of all the Indians in the neighborhood, 
 at which my answer was made public. The 
 Piankashaw undertook to answer for the future 
 good conduct of the Delawares, and the son of 
 Tobacco in a long speech told them how base 
 their conduct had been, and how richly they 
 had deserved the severe blow which had fallen 
 upon them. He reminded them that he had 
 given them permission to settle in this country 
 but not to kill his friends. They now saw that 
 the Big Knives had refused to make peace with 
 them and that he had become surety for their 
 good conduct . They might go now and attend to 
 168 
 
their hunting but if they should ever do any 
 more mischief he concluded with a significant 
 gesture to the sacred bow 54 he held in his left 
 hand; this was as much as to say that for the 
 future he himself would chastise them. Thus 
 the war with the Delawares in this country 
 ended greatly to our advantage, with the neigh- 
 boring tribes saying we were as brave as In- 
 dians and not afraid to put our enemy to death. 
 A rendezvous at this post having been set 
 for the month of June, we exerted ourselves 
 diligently procuring provisions of all kinds and 
 making other preparations. Meanwhile I re- 
 ceived an express from Colonel Bowman in 
 Kentucky, informing me that he could furnish 
 three hundred good men. We were now go- 
 ing on in high spirits and daily expecting the 
 troops down the Ohio when on the we were 
 surprised at the arrival of Colonel Montgomery 
 with only one hundred and fifty men. He 
 brought the information that we could expect 
 no men from that quarter in the near future, 
 if indeed at all, as the recruiting business pro- 
 ceeded but slowly, and I now learned for the 
 
 54 In the original manuscript Clark has placed 
 this marginal note; "This bow is decorated with 
 beautiful feathers (from) an Eagle's tail and all the 
 gaudy trinkets that can be put about it and at one end 
 is a spear about six inches dipt in blood which he 
 touched when he shewed (it) to the Delawares except 
 the Pipe of Peace this is the most sacred Instrument 
 known to the Inds. and only handled .by those of the 
 greatest dignity." G. R. C. 
 169 
 
Conquest of 
 
 first time of the depreciation of our paper money. 
 Our affairs at once assumed a different aspect. 
 We now regretted that we had not marched 
 from Vincennes upon Detroit at once, but as 
 we still had the prospect of receiving consider- 
 able reinforcements from Kentucky we flattered 
 ourselves that something might yet be accom- 
 plished; that at the least we might maneuver 
 in such fashion as to keep the enemy in hot 
 water and to prevent his doing our frontier 
 much damage. 
 
 We continued the work of procuring supplies 
 and did not as yet lose sight of our object. To 
 feel the pulse of the enemy I sent a company 
 of volunteers under Linctot, 55 who had recently 
 joined us, up the Illinois River under the pre- 
 tense of visiting our friends, to cross the country 
 and fall upon the Wea towns, returning thence 
 
 55 Major Godefroy de Linctot was one of two 
 French officers of the same name who at the close of 
 the French and Indian War established themselves 
 as traders in the Northwest with headquarters at 
 Cahokia. Whether they were brothers or father and 
 son is not entirely clear. One of them died during 
 the winter of 1778. The other, here mentioned, at- 
 tached himself to the American cause when Clark 
 came into Illinois, and as Clark's agent had much 
 success in winning the various Indian tribes away 
 from their British alliance. The appointment to the 
 Illinois River expedition, here described, followed. 
 That Detroit was not taken was no fault of Linctot, 
 who had performed successfully the preliminary 
 movement assigned him. He continued in the Ameri- 
 can interest until after his death, which seems to 
 have occured in 1781. 
 
 170 
 
to Vincennes to report upon the observations 
 he had made. This maneuver, I anticipated, 
 would suffice to cover our own designs and if 
 we should think it prudent upon his return, we 
 might proceed against Detroit early in June. 
 
 Colonel Montgomery was sent on by water 
 with the whole of our stores. Major Bowman 
 marched the remainder of our troops by land, 
 while I, with a party of horsemen, reached 
 Vincennes in four days' time, and the whole 
 force arrived safely a short time afterwards. 
 But instead of three hundred men from Ken- 
 tucky there now appeared about thirty volun- 
 teers commanded by Captain McGary. 56 The 
 loss of the expedition was too obvious to hesi- 
 tate over. Colonel Bowman 57 had turned his 
 attention against the* Shawnee town and had 
 
 66 Hugh McGary was one of the first settlers of 
 Harrodsburg. Aside from the service here noted he 
 served in Clark's expedition into Ohio in the summer 
 of 1780, when Old Chillicothe and Piqua were de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 "Colonel John Bowman, whose career has been 
 previously noted, in the spring of 1779, led 296 men 
 in an attack upon the Shawnee town of Chillicothe. 
 The Indians fortified themselves in some log cabins 
 and fought so vigorously that Bowman's force was 
 repulsed. They burned most of the town and retired 
 with much plunder, but for want of their cooperation 
 Clark was forced to forego attacking Detroit, accord- 
 ing to Captain Patten, who was with Bowman. The 
 Americans captured a negro woman who informed 
 them that the Indians had sent a runner to Simon 
 Girty, the notorious Tory, who was at the Pickaway 
 
 171 
 
Conquest of 
 
 been repulsed and his men had become dis- 
 couraged. 
 
 From the first the affair I had in hand had 
 been so conducted as to produce no disadvan- 
 tageous impression upon the enemy in case of 
 a disappointment, since they could never know 
 whether we ever really entertained a design upon 
 Detroit or were only making a feint to amuse 
 them. To arrange matters to the best possible 
 advantage was now my principal study. Part 
 of the troops were sent to the Falls of the Ohio 
 and the remainder divided among the posts of 
 Vincennes, Cahokia, and Kaskaskia. I ap- 
 pointed Colonel Montgomery to the command 
 of the Illinois. I authorized Major Bowman 
 to superintend the recruiting business and 
 appointed a number of officers to this service. 
 Major Linctot and Captain Helm were given 
 the superintendence of Indian Affairs, while I 
 myself took station at the Falls as the most 
 convenient spot from which to supervise the 
 whole field. Having departed for their several 
 posts in August I set off by land, proceeding 
 in a few days as far as White River. 58 
 
 town with one hundred Mingos. On hearing this 
 Colonel Bowman ordered his force to begin the re- 
 treat. Captain Patten records that he was "a good 
 citizen but not aquainted with Indian warfare." The 
 summer following Bowman's repulse Clark burned 
 both Chillicothe and Piqua. 
 
 M The manuscript is imperfect at this point. In 
 Clark's letter to George Mason, November 19, 1779, 
 172 
 
Our movement during the summer had con- 
 fused the enemy. The officer in command at 
 Michilimackinac had therefore sent an expe- 
 dition into the Illinois country by way of St. 
 Joseph to drive out the American traders. 
 Arriving at St. Joseph while Major Linctot was 
 on his way up the Illinois River, it was reported 
 that an American army was approaching and 
 the Indians immediately deserted the English. 
 On being asked the reason for this action they 
 replied that they had been invited to see the 
 English and the Big Knives fight and since the 
 fight was now in prospect they had withdrawn 
 to a height in order to enjoy a full view of it. 
 The English, realizing that no dependence could 
 be placed on the Indians, withdrew to the 
 mouth of the St. Joseph River and there es- 
 tablished a strong camp. On first receiving 
 the intelligence of Linctot's advance they had 
 sent off an express to Mackinac. A sloop dis- 
 patched from that place with provisions for 
 the troops came within full view of their camp 
 at the mouth of the river; but supposing it to 
 be the Americans who had captured their friends 
 at St. Joseph and taken post there, the vessel 
 ignored all the signs they made and returned 
 to Mackinac with the disagreeable news, leav- 
 ing the poor fellows to starve until they could 
 get an answer to a second express. In the 
 
 he states, concerning this period: "After giving 
 proper Instructions for the discretion of the Conds. 
 of the different posts I set out for the falls where I 
 arrived safe on the 20 day of August." 
 
 173 
 
Conquest of 
 
 meantime Mr. Linctot, knowing nothing of 
 all this, had changed his route to the Wea town, 
 which caused the English to conjecture that 
 our whole force was being directed against 
 Detroit, producing great confusion among them . 
 The summer was spent profitably, as we were 
 careful to spread abroad such reports as suited 
 our interests. I remained at Louisville until 
 the following spring, discharging the multiplicity 
 of business that was continually brought to me 
 from every quarter. I represented to the Gov- 
 ernor of Virginia that as the new settlers now 
 peopling Kentucky were quite numerous, I 
 hoped they were fully able to withstand any 
 force the enemy could send against her and 
 perhaps to act on the offensive. We now be- 
 gan to feel the effects of the depreciated state 
 of the paper currency. Everything was two 
 or three times the normal price, and scarcely 
 to be had upon any terms. We engaged this 
 fall upon the plan of -laying up great quantities 
 of jerked meat for the following season; but 
 as the English at Detroit had pretty well re- 
 covered themselves the Shawnee, Delaware, 
 and other Indian tribes were so troublesome 
 that our hunters met with no success. Many 
 of them were cut off and small skirmishes be- 
 came so common throughout the region as to ex- 
 cite but slight attention. Captain Rogers, who 
 had been sent to the Mississippi for a consid- 
 erable quantity of goods and had obtained a 
 reinforcement at the Falls, was totally defeated 
 i74 
 
a little above Licking Creek on his return to 
 Pittsburgh, and almost all of his party of sev- 
 enty men were killed or made prisoners. Among 
 the latter the more important were Colonel 
 John Campbell and Captain Abraham Chapline. 
 Of all the expedition, but one small boat made 
 its escape. 
 
Index 
 
ABBOTT, Edward, British officer, 37, 60, 62; letters, 61. 
 
 Alvord, C. W., cited, 60. 
 
 Arbuckle, Capt. Matthew, commandant at Fort 
 
 Randolph, 28-29; sketch, 28. 
 American Bottom, settlements in, xii. 
 Arkansas Post, expedition to, 29, 64. 
 BAILEY, Lieut. John, on Vincennes expedition, 133; 
 
 detailed for duty, 165; sketch, 165. 
 Baptiste (Batisst), Kaskaskia chief, 101. 
 Baptists, in Kentucky, 23, 165. 
 Barataria Island, Clark lands on, 37. 
 
 Barbour, Capt. , at Prairie du Rocher, 103. 
 
 Big Gate, Indian chief, 91-97. 
 
 Big Knives, Indian name for Virginians, 52, 62, 67-68, 
 
 71-72, 74, 76, 82, 86, 91-93, 95-96, 98-101, 129, 
 
 161-62, 167-68, 173. 
 
 Bird, Col. Henry, British raider, xvii, 16. 
 Blackbird, Chippewa chief, 86-90. 
 Blue Licks (Ky.), salt works at, 15; battle at, 15-16. 
 Boone, Daniel, warns Kentucky settlers, 3; advance 
 
 agent for Henderson, 7; captured by Indians, 15. 
 Boonesborough (Ky.), founded, 4-5, 18; early visitors, 
 
 25- 
 
 Bosseron, Major Francois, aids Clark, 136; expedition 
 up Wabash, 155, 158-59; sketch, 155. 
 
 Botetourt County (Va.), Clark visits, H. 
 
 Bowman, Col. John, defends Kentucky, 19-20, 31; 
 joins Clark, 32; promises aid, 169; disappoints 
 Clark, 171; sketch, 19. 
 
 Bowman, Maj. Joseph, recruits for Clark, 26, 28, 172; 
 accompanies Clark, 35; captures Cahokia, 50-53, 
 86; holds election, 55; commandant, 63, 102, 104, 
 in; comes to aid of Clark, 108, no; on Vincennes 
 expedition, 126, 139, 145, 147, 171; journal, 143-44- 
 179 
 
Brady, Thomas, Indian trader, 79. 
 
 Brashers, Lieut. Richard, commandant at Vincennes, 
 
 164. 
 British, northwest posts, xi; incite Indians against 
 
 frontiers, xix, 12, 16, 19, 22, 32, 74, 88-89, 9*> 93> 
 
 162; unpopular with Indians, 36, 68-69, 76, 101, 
 
 163-64; emissaries among Indians, 53, 70, 98-99; 
 
 America's quarrel with, explained, 72-74, 88-89; 
 
 recapture Vincennes, 108, 111-13, I2I > surrender 
 
 Vincennes, 150-51; prisoners, no, 114, 135, 140, 
 
 145, 159- 
 Brodhead, Col. Daniel, commandant at Pittsburgh, 
 
 xviii. 
 
 Brownsville (Pa.), built, 26. 
 Buffalo, carcass of, 128. 
 Burgoyne, Gen. John, captured, 24. 
 Butler, Mann, History of Kentucky, xx. 
 CAHOKIA, British post, xi; population, xii; Indians at, 
 
 43, 68; priest, 43; traders, 170; captured, 50-53, 86; 
 
 court established at, 55, 79; garrison, 63, 104, in, 
 
 172; treaties made at, 69-86; tradeat, 96;inhabitant 
 
 punished, 102; Clark visits, 103, 109; volunteers 
 
 from, no, 116. 
 
 Cahokia River, forded, 79-81. 
 Campbell, Col. Arthur, in Virginia legislature, 14. 
 Campbell, Col. John, sends word of treaty with France, 
 
 36; captured, 175. 
 
 Campbell, Gen. William, at King's Mountain, 14. 
 Canada, reinforcements from, 157. 
 Capitulation, articles of, 145-48. 
 Catlin, George, on Indian origins, 98. 
 Cerre, Jean Gabriel, Illinois merchant, 43, 49; Clark 
 
 wins over, 55-59; sketch, 43. 
 
 Chapline, Abraham, Clark's officer, 165; captured, 175. 
 Cherokee Indians, sell land, 4-5, 7, 13, 25; become 
 
 hostile, n, 14. 
 
 Chickasaw Indians, Clark's negotiations with, 101. 
 Chillicothe, Shawnee village, 171; burned, xviii, 172. 
 Chippewa (Sauteur ) Indians, Clark's negotiations with, 
 
 86-90, 100, 161-64; in British interest, xiii, 99-101. 
 1 80 
 
Chouteau, Auguste, founder of St. Louis, 43. 
 
 Churchill, Winston, The Crossing, xx. 
 
 Cincinnati (Ohio), Indian attack near, 36; expedition 
 from, xviii. 
 
 Clark, George Rogers, visits Kentucky, xv, 4; ap- 
 pointed delegate, 6-7, 14; journey on Wilderness 
 road, 7-11; secures powder, 11-13; defends Harrods- 
 burg, 18, 20; plans for offensive, xvi, 20-25, 32; voy- 
 age down Ohio, 28-30, 34-37; marches on Kaskaskia, 
 37-39; captures Kaskaskia, 40-45; wins French- 
 Canadians, 45-53, 55-59; treaties with Indians, 
 66-78, 80-101, 161-64; attempts to capture, 79-81, 
 85, 103-104, 108-109; marches for Vincennes, 113- 
 27; attacks Vincennes, 129-43; address to inhabi- 
 tants, 130; arranges terms with Hamilton, 143-48; 
 promised reinforcements, 156, 169; officers' council, 
 156-58; returns to Illinois, 166; plans Detroit 
 expedition, 170-74; returns to Louisville, 172, 174; 
 expedition of 1780, xviii, 172; writes Memoir, 
 xix-xxi; sketch, xv-xvi, xx. 
 
 Clarksville (Tenn.), founded, 66. 
 
 Clinch River (Va.), settlement on, 10. 
 
 Corn Island, near Louisville, 31-33; post removed from, 
 64. 
 
 Cumberland Gap, road through, 7. 
 
 Cumberland River, mouth, 66. 
 
 Cuyahoga, post at, 152. 
 
 DELAWARE Indians, hostile, 166-68, 174; peace with, 
 168-69. 
 
 Denny, , Cahokia deserter, 102. 
 
 Denoe, , Clark's messenger, 87. 
 
 Detroit, a British post, xi-xii, 37, 53, 60, 95, in, 135, 
 145, 174; commandant, xiv, 57; besieged by Pon- 
 tiac, 91; open to attack, xvii, 151-52, 156-58, 162, 
 174; expeditions against, xiv-xv, xviii, 97, 102, 120, 
 152-55, 164, 170-72; expedition from, 102, 112, 140, 
 147. 
 
 Dillard, Capt. Thomas, joins Clark, 31; deserters in 
 company, 33-34. 
 
 Draper Collection of Manuscripts, 5. 
 181 
 
Drummer, at Little Wabash crossing, 119. 
 
 Duff, John, acts as guide, 37-39. 
 
 Dunmore's War, preliminaries, 3, 26; participants, 
 
 16, 25, 165. 
 Durrett, Reuben T., Traditions of the Earliest Visits 
 
 of Foreigners to North America, cited, 98. 
 ECLIPSE of sun, 34. 
 
 Elkhorn River (Ky.), settlement on, 17. 
 Embarrass River, crossed, 120. 
 English, W. H., Conquest of the Country Northwest of 
 
 the River Ohio, xxi. 
 Erie Lake, Indians near, 14, 152. 
 FALLS of Ohio. See Ohio Falls. 
 Fauquier County (Va.), recruiting in, 25. 
 Forbes, Gen. John, captures Fort Duquesne, 64. 
 Fort Duquesne, captured, 26, 64; officer at, 38. See 
 
 also Fort Pitt. 
 
 Fort Massac, Clark at, 37, 39. 
 Fort Pitt, a border post, xiv, 15, 165; commandant, 26; 
 
 expedition from, 64, 102. See also Pittsburgh. 
 Fort Randolph, attacked, 28. 
 Fort Sackville, described, 37, 137; repaired, 122, 129, 
 
 134; garrison, 131, 133-34; besieged, 136-39, 
 
 141-43; surrendered, 143-48, 150-51. See also Vin- 
 
 cennes. 
 France, aids United States, 36, 48, 62, 74, 89; Indian 
 
 methods, 70. 
 
 Frederick County (Va.), recruiting in, 26. 
 French and Indian War, in Ohio Valley, xiii. 
 French-Canadians, in Illinois, xii, xvi, 23; British 
 
 subjects, 73, 135; influence with Indians, 35-36, 
 
 62, 69, 81; trade with Indians, 99; Clark wins over, 
 
 43'53> 78-79, 85; enrolled in militia, 63, no, 116-17, 
 
 133; near Vincennes, xii, 122, 124. 
 Fur trade, at Pittsburgh, 29; British in Northwest, xi, 
 
 43, 52; influenced by Clark, 79, 99; at St. Louis, in. 
 GALLEY. See Mississippi boat. 
 George, Lieut. Robert, joins Clark, 30, 164, 166; 
 
 sketch, 164. 
 
 George Rogers Clark Papers, published, xx-xxi. 
 182 
 
Georgetown (Ky.), site, 17. 
 
 Gibault, Pierre, Kaskaskia priest, 45-47; aids Clark, 
 59-62, 67; sketch, 45. 
 
 Gibson, Capt. George, New Orleans expedition, 64. 
 
 Girty, Simon, aids Indians, 171. 
 
 Grand Door, Indian chief. See Tobacco. 
 
 Great Kanawha River, battle at mouth, 4; fort, 28. 
 
 Great Lakes, British posts on, 36, 73; as a boundary, 
 xi, 78. 
 
 Green Bay, settlement at, xii. 
 
 Green River (Ky.), grant of land on, 5; settlement, 25. 
 
 Greenbrier (Va.), settlements attacked, 29. 
 
 HAMILTON, Lieut.-Gov. Henry, commandant at Detroit, 
 xiv* 57> J 53i at Vincennes, 37, 101, 108, 111-12, 
 135, 160-61; flag of truce, 143-44; council with 
 Clark, 144-48; surrenders, xvi, 150; prisoner, no, 
 135, 140, 145; exchanged, 30; official report, 140; 
 sketch, 57. 
 
 Hand, Gen. Edward, commandant at Fort Pitt, 26-27, 
 29; sketch, 26. 
 
 Harrod, Col. James, Kentucky pioneer, 3, 26, 165; 
 sketch, 3. 
 
 Harrod, Capt. William, officer with Clark, 26, 35; 
 sketch, 26. 
 
 Harrodsburg (Ky.), settled, 3, 18, 26; convention at, 6; 
 Clark visits,i5, 22-23; fugitives remove 10,17; Indians 
 attack, 18-20; officers from, 34; pioneer near, 165. 
 
 Hay, Jehu, British officer, 145, 147. 
 
 Helm, Capt. Leonard, lieutenant, 114; recruits for 
 Clark, 25-26, 28; hampered, 27; accompanies 
 Clark, 35; commandant at Vincennes, 66-69; 
 sends news, 98, 167; Wabash expedition, 99-100; 
 captured by Hamilton, 135, 144-46, 160; expedition 
 up the Wabash, 155, 158-59; superintendent of 
 Indian affairs, 165-66, 168, 172; sketch, 25. 
 
 Henderson, Col. Richard, land purchase in Kentucky, 
 4, 7, 13, 25; sketch, 4-5. 
 
 Henry, Moses, at Vincennes 135. 
 
 Henry, Patrick, governor of Virginia, n; aids Clark, 
 xvi, 24-25; message for, 65-66, 90, 159, 174. 
 
 183 
 
Hinkston, Maj. John, Kentucky pioneer, 16. 
 
 Holston River (Va.) on the frontier, n, 14; recruits 
 from, 25, 28. 
 
 Howard, Capt. William, Clark's officer, 164. 
 
 Hulbert, Archer, Boom's Wilderness Road, 7. 
 
 ILLINOIS, Indians in, xiii; British, xii, 22-23, 35! Clark 
 plans to capture, xi, xv-xvi, 30, 35; crossed, 37-40; 
 captured, 40-53; American government established 
 in,54,62-63 ; commandant,66, 172 ;attempts to retake, 
 112, 173; volunteers from, 132; express from, 164. 
 
 Illinois County, lieutenant of, 16. 
 
 Illinois Historical Collections, cited, 60; edited, xx 
 
 Illinois River, Indians on, 86, 96-97; Linctot's expedi- 
 tion on, 170, 173. 
 
 Indian agents, British, 145; American, xv, 165-66, 
 168, 170, 172. 
 
 Indian medals, among British booty, 153. 
 
 Indiana, Indians of, xiii. 
 
 Indians, possible origin, 98; number in Northwest, 
 xiii; incited by British, xiv, 12, 19, 22, 32, 48, 53, 
 56-57, 88, 91, 93, 139-41, 147, 174; attack frontiers, 
 6-8, n, 15, 17-18, 148; captives among, 14, 165; 
 raid boats, 36, 165; desert British, 173; influenced 
 by French, 35-36, 62, 69; Clark's negotiations with, 
 xvii, 66-78, 80-101, 129, 151-52, 160-64; ceremonies, 
 83-86, 169; captured, 127; put to death, 148-49. 
 
 Iowa Indians, make peace with Clark, 97. 
 
 JAMES, James A., editor, xx. 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas, governor of Virginia, xviii. 
 
 Jones, John Gabriel, delegate from Kentucky, 6-7, 14; 
 hardships on journey, 7-11; takes out powder, 14- 
 16; killed, 17. 
 
 KANAWHA Valley, explored, 28. 
 
 Kaskaskia (111.), British post, xi; spies visit, 23, 64; 
 conditions at, 37-38; captured by Clark, 40-45, 114; 
 occupied by Americans, 45-53, 164; court establish- 
 ed at, 55, 79; garrison, 63; commandant, 115, 172; 
 Indians visit, 87-90; Clarkat, 103, 166, 168; rumored 
 attack on, 103-105, 109; fired, 106-107; volunteers 
 from, in, 115-16. 
 
 184 
 
Kaskaskia Indians, aid Clark, 101. 
 
 Kaskaskia River, crossed, 40-41, 116; wood cutting 
 on, 103. 
 
 Kennedy, Patrick, scouting, 120. 
 
 Kentucky, boundary, 25; early settlement, xv, 3, 32, 
 174; Transylvania Company in, 4-5; Indian wars 
 in, xvii, 18-21, 112-13; powder for defense of, 11-16, 
 20-25; troops for defense of, xvi, 27-28, 32, 34; forts 
 in, 30-31, 97; aid from, xviii, 106-107, in, 131, 152, 
 159-60, 169-71, 174; British prisoners in, 159; con- 
 stitutional conventions, 165. 
 
 Kentucky County, erected, xvi. 
 
 Kentucky River, voyage on, 3; landing at mouth, 29. 
 
 King's Mountain, battle, 14. 
 
 Kite, a Chippewa chief, 99. 
 
 LAFFONT, Jean Baptiste, aids in capture of Vincennes, 
 60-62; sketch, 60. 
 
 Lajes. See Big Gate. 
 
 La Mothe, Capt. Guillaume, British officer, 135, 153; 
 leads Indians, 139; enters fort, 140-41; sketch, 135. 
 
 Le Gras, Col. J. M. P., aids Clark, 136; expedition up 
 the Wabash, 155, 158-59; sketch, 155. 
 
 Lewis, Col. Andrew, in Dunmore's War, 4. 
 
 Leyba, Fernando de, governor at St. Louis, in. 
 
 Licking River (Ky.), settlement on, 16; defeat near, 
 174; mouth as rendezvous, xviii. 
 
 Limestone (Ky.), powder landed at, 15. 
 
 Linctot, Maj. Daniel Maurice Godefroy de, Indian 
 agent, 170, 172; expedition, 173. 
 
 Linn, Lieut. Benjamin, Clark's spy, 22-23, 64. 
 
 Linn, Col. William, Kentucky pioneer, 22; returns 
 from Illinois, 63-64; sketch, 63-64. 
 
 Little Wabash River, crossed, 117-19. 
 
 Logan, Col. Benjamin, station, 18. 
 
 Louisiana. See Spanish and Upper Louisiana. 
 
 Louisville (Ky.), founded, 30-32; settlers near, 64. 
 See also Ohio Falls. 
 
 McCARTY, Capt. Richard, trader, 94; in Vincennes 
 expedition, 121; sketch, 94. 
 
 McClelland 's Station, attacked, 17. 
 
 185 
 
McClelland, John, killed, 17. 
 
 McComb, Mrs. , Detroit resident, 155. 
 
 McGary, Capt. Hugh, joins Clark, 171. 
 
 Mackinac, British post, xi; settlement at, xii; fur trade 
 rendezvous, 43, 96; plot against Clark formed at, 
 82; interpreter at, 135; British commandant, 173. 
 
 Madison, James, requests Clark's story, xix. 
 
 Madoc, Welsh prince, 98. 
 
 Maisonville, Franfois, Indian partisan, captured, 139-40. 
 
 Mamel, elevation near Vincennes, 123. 
 
 Mandan Indians, origin, 98. 
 
 Martin, Joseph, Powell's Valley fort, 8-n. 
 
 Martin's Station (Ky.), captured, xvii. 
 
 Maryland, immigrants from, 22. 
 
 Mascouten Indians, make peace with Clark, 79-86. 
 
 Mason, George, letter for, xix. 
 
 Maysville (Ky.). See Limestone. 
 
 Meadow Indians. See Mascouten. 
 
 Mercer County (Ky.), resident, 165. 
 
 Miami Indians, negotiations with, 161-64; villages, xiii. 
 
 Miami River, expedition to, 19; Indians on, 162, 165. 
 
 Miami town, British post, 102. 
 
 Michigan Lake, Indians on, xiii; Clark's influence 
 reaches, 69, 86, 97. 
 
 Michilimackinac. See Mackinac. 
 
 Milwaukee, Indians at, xiii. 
 
 Mingo Indians, hostile, 172. 
 
 Mississippi boat, as a war galley, 114-15, 120-22, 129, 
 136; fails to reach Vincennes, 139; arrives at Vin- 
 cennes, 156; returns to Illinois, 166. 
 
 Mississippi River, Spanish border, 24, 38, 58, 104; 
 expeditions on, xvii, 29-30, 164, 166, 174; Indians 
 on, 78, 166-67. 
 
 Missouri River, Indians from, 97-98; Mandan on, 98. 
 
 Mobile, a British post, 30. 
 
 Monongahela River, emigration from, 32. 
 
 Montgomery, Capt. John, accompanies Clark, 35; 
 sent to Virginia, 64-66; returns, 169, 171; Rock 
 River expedition, xviii, 115, 165; commandant in 
 Illinois, 172; sketch, 65-66. 
 186 
 
Moore, Lieut. Samuel, Clark's spy, 22-23. 
 
 Morgan, Col. George, Indian agent, xv. 
 
 Murray, Daniel, aids Clark, 44. 
 
 Myers, William, government express, 156; killed, 
 
 159- 
 
 NAKEWOIN, Chippewa chief, 86-90. 
 New Madrid (Mo.), settler, 45. 
 New Orleans, supplies obtained at, 64. 
 Niagara, British post, 157. 
 Ninth Virginia Regiment, officer, 29. 
 North Carolina, emigrants from, 4. 
 Northwest Territory, assigned to United States, xi. 
 O 'HARA, James, accompanies Clark, 29. 
 Ohio, Indian towns in, xiii, 17. 
 Ohio Company, fortification, 26. 
 Ohio Falls, as a rendezvous, 26; Clark occupies, 30-31, 
 
 54, 59, 64; land owners at, 36; post removed, 64; 
 
 headquarters, 66, 97, 102, 159, 167, 172, 174; 
 
 Indian attack on, 148. See also Louisville. 
 Ohio River, as a boundary, xi; affluents, 4; Indian 
 
 parties on, 112, 167; voyages on, 3, 15, 28-30, 34- 
 
 37, 169. 
 
 Old Northwest. See Northwest Territory. 
 Ottawa Indians, Clark's negotiations with, 86-90. 
 Ouiatanon (Wea) post on the Wabash, xii, 68; British 
 
 emissaries at, 98, 100; expedition to, 99, 164, 170, 
 
 173- 
 
 PADUCAH (Ky.), site, 37. 
 
 Paris (Ky.), station near, 16. 
 
 Patten, Capt. James, on Bowman's expedition, 171- 
 
 72. 
 
 Peoria, settlement at, xii. 
 Pennsylvania, emigrants from, 3, 16, 26; frontiers, 113; 
 
 boundary controversy, 27; recruiting in, xviii, 164. 
 Pensacola, British post, 145. 
 Philadelphia, Congress at, 73. 
 Piankeshaw Indians, treaty with, 66-69, 160-64; 
 
 village, 161; pledge for Dela wares, 168. 
 Pickaway, Indian village, 171-72. 
 Piqua, Indian town, 17; burned, xviii, 172. 
 
 187 
 
Pittsburgh, founder, 36; fur trade at, 29; supplies, 
 13-14, 25, 27-28, 152; expeditions from, xviii, 97, 
 153; return to, 174. See also Fort Pitt. 
 
 Pluggy, Captain, Shawnee Indian killed, 17. 
 
 Point Pleasant (Va.), battle at, 4, 165. 
 
 Pontiac 's War, garrison in, 26; at Detroit, 91, 145. 
 
 Potawatomi Indians, numbers, xiii; visit Clark, 91, 
 161-64. 
 
 Powder, Clark brings to Kentucky, 11-13; Linn brings 
 from New Orleans, 64. 
 
 Powell's Valley, station in abandoned, 7; Clark camps 
 in, 8-1 i. 
 
 Prairie du Chien, settlement at, xii. 
 
 Prairie du Rocher, Illinois town, 103-104. 
 
 QUEBEC, fur trade at, 43; during the Revolution, 145. 
 
 REDSTONE, Old Fort, location, 26; rendezvous at, 28. 
 
 Renard Indians. See Sauk and Fox. 
 
 Richmond (Va.), capital of state, 44; Rogers at, 115. 
 
 Rocheblave, Philippe Francois Rastel sieur de, com- 
 mandant at Kaskaskia, 38; captured, 42; letters to, 
 57, 61; sent to Virginia, 64-65; sketch, 38. 
 
 Rocheblave, Madame de, sale of slaves, 64-65. 
 
 Rock River, expedition to, xviii, 115, 165. 
 
 Rogers, Col. David, captured, 36, 165, 174-75- 
 
 Rogers, Capt. John, commands war galley, 114-15, 
 120; conducts prisoners, 159; sketch, 114-15. 
 
 Rogers, Joseph, captured, 17. 
 
 Roosevelt, Theodore, Winning of the West, xx. 
 
 Ruddle's Station (Ky.), captured, xvii. 
 
 SAGUTNA. See Blackbird. 
 
 Ste. Genevieve (Mo.), officer at, 38, 55; residents, 
 60; place of retreat, 104. 
 
 St. Joseph, British post, 135, 173; settlement at, 
 xii. 
 
 St. Joseph River, Indians on, xiii, 69, 86-87; British 
 camp, 173. 
 
 St. Louis, founder, 43; French-Canadians at, 52, 55; 
 Indians, 86; fur traders, in; attacked, xvii-xviii. 
 
 Sardinia, merchant from, 111. 
 
 Saunders, John, Clark's guide, 39-40. 
 1 88 
 
Sauk and Fox Indians, make peace with Clark, 97; 
 habitat, xiii. 
 
 Sauteur Indians. See Chippewa. 
 
 Shannon, Capt. William, on Vincennes expedition, 134. 
 
 Shawnee Indians, war with, 4, 16-17, i74> expedition 
 against, xviii, 171; villages, xiii. 
 
 Shelby, Capt. James, at Ouiatanon, 164. 
 
 Sixtieth American Regiment, officer, 145. 
 
 Slavery, in Illinois, xii, 65. 
 
 Smith, Maj. William B., recruits for Clark, 25, 28, 
 31-32; sketch, 25. 
 
 Spanish, in Louisiana, xvii, 24, 35, 38, 43, 45, 56; 
 governor, 55; at New Orleans, 64; Indian methods, 
 70, 86; relations with Americans, 79, 85, 104; 
 merchants, in. 
 
 Squaws, Clark treats chiefs as, 81-83. 
 
 Stoner, Michael, warns Kentucky settlers, 3. 
 
 Sugar Camp, near Vincennes, 123-24, 134. 
 
 Superior Lake, Indians on, 53. 
 
 TENNESSEE, boundary, 25; settled, xiii. 
 
 Tennessee River, mouth, 37. 
 
 Thompson, Maurice, Alice of Old Vincennes, xx. 
 
 Todd, Col. John, Kentucky pioneer, 16; defeat of, 17; 
 county lieutenant in Illinois, 44; sketch, 16. 
 
 Tobacco, Piankeshaw chief, 66-68; son, 68, 129, 136, 
 160-61, 168. 
 
 Transylvania Company, operations in Kentucky, 4-5, 
 16. 
 
 Treaties with Indians. See Indians. 
 
 Treaty, France with United States, 36, 48, 77. 
 
 Treaty of Paris (1783), xi. 
 
 UPPER Louisiana, Spanish in, in. 
 
 VIGO, Franfois, aids Clark, 111-12, 122. 
 
 Vincennes, a British post, xi-xii, 23, 35, 37, 53, 57; 
 Americans secure, 59-63; court established at, 55, 
 155; American commandant, 66-67, IO2 > I 5S> 164; 
 garrison, 165-66, 172; Indian treaties at, 67-69, 78, 
 161-64; British recapture, 108-110; expeditions 
 from, 98-100, 106, 108, 158, 167-68; Clark marches 
 against, 113-28; address to inhabitants of, 130; 
 189 
 
surrender to Clark, xvii, 130-48; favorable to Clark, 
 
 152-53. See also Fort Sackville. 
 Virginia, frontiers, xviii, 113; legislature, 5, n, 13; 
 
 plans for Kentucky, xv-xvi, 5-7, 11-12, 19, 174; for 
 
 Illinois, 101; boundary controversy, 27; British 
 
 prisoners in, 38, 57, 64, no, 114, 135, 140, 145, 159. 
 WABASH River, British on, xii, 22, 155, 158-59; Indians, 
 
 66-69, 78, 97, 162-63; Helm's expedition, 99, 155, 
 
 158-59; flooded, 114, 119-20; Clark crosses, 121-23; 
 
 expedition of 1786 on, 135. 
 Warriors Island, near Vincennes, 128, 133. ^ 
 Washington, Gen. George, commander-in-chief, 4, 
 
 27; plans for West, xviii. 
 Watauga River, Indian treaty at, 5, 25. 
 Wayne, Gen. Anthony, officer with, 29; rebuilds Fort 
 
 Massac, 37; defeats Indians, xix. 
 Wea. See Ouiatanon. 
 Welsh origin of Indian tribes, 98. 
 Wheeling, stores at, 28; powder landed at, 64. 
 White, Charles, killed, 17. 
 White River, affluent of Wabash, 114, 172; Indians on, 
 
 166-67. 
 
 Wilderness Road, history, 7; Clark's journey on, 7-11. 
 Williams, Capt. John, commands at Kaskaskia, 63; 
 
 on Vincennes expedition, 123, 149; conducts 
 
 prisoners, 159. 
 Williamsburg (Va.), Virginia assembly at, 6, 13-14; 
 
 Clark visits, n, 24; British prisoners at, ii4-i5> I S9- 
 Willing, Capt. James, expedition, 29-30, 164. 
 Winnebago Indians, habitat, xiii. 
 Winston, Richard, aids Clark, 44. 
 Wisconsin, Indians in, xiii. 
 Worthington, Capt. Edward, on Vincennes expedition, 
 
 122. 
 
 190 
 
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