The Winning of the West, Volume Two by Theodore Roosevelt

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Getting boats the American leader ferried his men across the stream
under cover of the darkness and in profound silence; the work occupying
about two hours. He then approached Kaskaskia under cover of the night,
dividing his force into two divisions, one being spread out to surround
the town so that none might escape, while he himself led the other up to
the walls of the fort.

Inside the fort the lights were lit, and through the windows came the
sounds of violins. The officers of the post had given a ball, and the
mirth-loving creoles, young men and girls, were dancing and revelling
within, while the sentinels had left their posts. One of his captives
showed Clark a postern-gate by the river-side, and through this he
entered the fort, having placed his men round about at the entrance.
Advancing to the great hall where the revel was held, he leaned silently
with folded arms against the door-post, looking at the dancers. An
Indian, lying on the floor of the entry, gazed intently on the
stranger's face as the light from the torches within flickered across
it, and suddenly sprang to his feet uttering the unearthly war-whoop.
Instantly the dancing ceased; the women screamed, while the men ran
towards the door. But Clark, standing unmoved and with unchanged face,
grimly bade them continue their dancing, but to remember that they now
danced under Virginia and not Great Britain. [Footnote: Memoir of Major
E. Denny, by Wm. H. Denny, p. 217. In "Record of the Court of Upland and
Military Journal of Major E. Denny," Philadelphia, 1860 (Historical
Society of Penn.). The story was told to Major Denny by Clark himself,
some time in '87 or '88; in process of repetition it evidently became
twisted, and, as related by Denny, there are some very manifest
inaccuracies, but there seems no reason to reject it entirely.] At the
same time his men burst into the fort, and seized the French officers,
including the commandant, Rocheblave. [Footnote: It is worth noting that
these Illinois French, and most of the Indians with whom the French fur
traders came in contact, called the Americans "Bostonnais." (In fact the
fur traders have taught this name to the northern tribes right across to
the Pacific. While hunting in the Selkirk Mountains last fall, the
Kootenai Indian who was with me always described me as a "Boston man.")
Similarly the Indians round the upper Ohio and thence southward often
called the backwoodsmen "Virginians." In each case the French and
Indians adopted the name of their leading and most inveterate enemies as
the title by which to call all of them.]

Immediately Clark had every street secured, and sent runners through the
town ordering the people to keep close to their houses on pain of death;
and by daylight he had them all disarmed. The backwoodsmen patrolled the
town in little squads; while the French in silent terror cowered within
their low-roofed houses. Clark was quite willing that they should fear
the worst; and their panic was very great. The unlooked-for and
mysterious approach and sudden onslaught of the backwoodsmen, their wild
and uncouth appearance, and the ominous silence of their commander, all
combined to fill the French with fearful forebodings for their future
fate. [Footnote: In his "Memoir" Clark dwells at length on the artifices
by which he heightened the terror of the French; and Butler enlarges
still further upon them. I follow the letter to Mason, which is much
safer authority, the writer having then no thought of trying to increase
the dramatic effect of the situation--which in Butler, and indeed in the
"Memoir" also, is strained till it comes dangerously near bathos.]

Clark's Diplomacy.

Next morning a deputation of the chief men waited upon Clark; and
thinking themselves in the hands of mere brutal barbarians, all they
dared to do was to beg for their lives, which they did, says Clark,
"with the greatest servancy [saying] they were willing to be slaves to
save their families," though the bolder spirits could not refrain from
cursing their fortune that they had not been warned in time to defend
themselves. Now came Clark's chance for his winning stroke. He knew it
was hopeless to expect his little band permanently to hold down a much
more numerous hostile population, that was closely allied to many
surrounding tribes of warlike Indians; he wished above all things to
convert the inhabitants into ardent adherents of the American
Government.

So he explained at length that, though the Americans came as conquerors,
who by the laws of war could treat the defeated as they wished, yet it
was ever their principle to free, not to enslave, the people with whom
they came in contact. If the French chose to become loyal citizens, and
to take the oath of fidelity to the Republic, they should be welcomed to
all the privileges of Americans; those who did not so choose should be
allowed to depart from the land in peace with their families.

The Creoles Espouse the American Cause.

The mercurial creoles who listened to his speech passed rapidly from the
depth of despair to the height of joy. Instead of bewailing their fate
they now could not congratulate themselves enough on their good-fortune.
The crowning touch to their happiness was given by Clark when he told
the priest, Pierre Gibault, in answer to a question as to whether the
Catholic Church could be opened, that an American commander had nothing
to do with any church save to defend it from insult, and that by the
laws of the Republic his religion had as great privileges as any other.
With that they all returned in noisy joy to their families, while the
priest, a man of ability and influence, became thenceforth a devoted and
effective champion of the American cause. The only person whom Clark
treated harshly was M. Rocheblave, the commandant, who, when asked to
dinner, responded in very insulting terms. Thereupon Clark promptly sent
him as a prisoner to Virginia (where he broke his parole and escaped),
and sold his slaves for five hundred pounds, which was distributed among
the troops as prize-money.

A small detachment of the Americans, accompanied by a volunteer company
of French militia, at once marched rapidly on Cahokia. The account of
what had happened in Kaskaskia, the news of the alliance between France
and America, and the enthusiastic advocacy of Clark's new friends, soon
converted Cahokia; and all of its inhabitants, like those of Kaskaskia,
took the oath of allegiance to America. Almost at the same time the
priest Gibault volunteered to go, with a few of his compatriots, to
Vincennes, and there endeavor to get the people to join the Americans,
as being their natural friends and allies. He started on his mission at
once, and on the first of August returned to Clark with the news that he
had been completely successful, that the entire population, after having
gathered in the church to hear him, had taken the oath of allegiance,
and that the American flag floated over their fort. [Footnote: Judge
John Law's "Address on the Colonial History of Vincennes," P 25.] No
garrison could be spared to go to Vincennes; so one of the captains
[Footnote: Leonard Helm. Vol. II.] was sent thither alone to take
command.

The priest Gibault had given convincing proof of his loyalty. He
remarked to Clark rather dryly that he had, properly speaking, nothing
to do with the temporal affairs of his flock, but that now and then he
was able to give them such hints in a spiritual way as would tend to
increase their devotion to their new friends.

Clark's Difficulties.

Clark now found himself in a position of the utmost difficulty. With a
handful of unruly backwoodsmen, imperfectly disciplined and kept under
control only by his own personal influence, he had to protect and govern
a region as large as any European kingdom. Moreover, he had to keep
content and loyal a population of alien race, creed, and language, while
he held his own against the British and against numerous tribes of
Indians, deeply imbittered against all Americans and as blood-thirsty
and treacherous as they were warlike. It may be doubted if there was
another man in the west who possessed the daring and resolution, the
tact, energy, and executive ability necessary for the solution of so
knotty a series of problems.

He was hundreds of miles from the nearest post containing any American
troops; he was still farther from the seat of government. He had no hope
whatever of getting reinforcements or even advice and instruction for
many months, probably not for a year; and he was thrown entirely on his
own resources and obliged to act in every respect purely on his own
responsibility.

Governor Patrick Henry, although leaving every thing in the last resort
to Clark's discretion, had evidently been very doubtful whether a
permanent occupation of the territory was feasible, [Footnote: In his
secret letter of instructions he orders Clark to be especially careful
to secure the artillery and military stores at Kaskia, laying such
stress upon this as to show that he regarded the place itself as of
comparatively little value. In fact, all Henry's order contemplated was
an attack on "the British post at Kaskasky." However, he adds, that if
the French are willing to become American citizens, they shall be fully
protected against their foes. The letter earnestly commands Clark to
treat not only the inhabitants, but also all British prisoners, with the
utmost humanity.] though both he, and especially Jefferson, recognized
the important bearing that its acquisition would have upon the
settlement of the northwestern boundary, when the time came to treat for
peace. Probably Clark himself had not at first appreciated all the
possibilities that lay within his conquest, but he was fully alive to
them now and saw that, provided he could hold on to it, he had added a
vast and fertile territory to the domain of the Union. To the task of
keeping it he now bent all his energies.

Clark Prepares for Defence.

The time of service of his troops had expired, and they were anxious to
go home. By presents and promises he managed to enlist one hundred of
them for eight months longer. Then, to color his staying with so few
men, he made a feint of returning to the Falls, alleging as a reason his
entire confidence in the loyalty of his French friends and his trust in
their capacity to defend themselves. He hoped that this would bring out
a remonstrance from the inhabitants, who, by becoming American citizens,
had definitely committed themselves against the British. The result was
such as he expected. On the rumor of his departure, the inhabitants in
great alarm urged him to stay, saying that otherwise the British would
surely retake the post. He made a show of reluctantly yielding to their
request, and consented to stay with two companies; and then finding that
many of the more adventurous young creoles were anxious to take service,
he enlisted enough of them to fill up all four companies to their
original strength. His whole leisure was spent in drilling the men,
Americans and French alike, and in a short time he turned them into as
orderly and well disciplined a body as could be found in any garrison of
regulars.

He also established very friendly relations with the Spanish captains of
the scattered creole villages across the Mississippi, for the Spaniards
were very hostile to the British, and had not yet begun to realize that
they had even more to dread from the Americans. Clark has recorded his
frank surprise at finding the Spanish commandant, who lived at St.
Louis, a very pleasant and easy companion, instead of haughty and
reserved, as he had supposed all Spaniards were.

Dealings with the Indians.

The most difficult, and among the most important, of his tasks, was
dealing with the swarm of fickle and treacherous savage tribes that
surrounded him. They had hitherto been hostile to the Americans; but
being great friends of the Spaniards and French they were much confused
by the change in the sentiments of the latter, and by the sudden turn
affairs had taken.

Some volunteers--Americans, French, and friendly Indians--were sent to
the aid of the American captain at Vincennes, and the latter, by threats
and promises, and a mixture of diplomatic speech-making with a show of
force, contrived, for the time being, to pacify the immediately
neighboring tribes.

Clark took upon himself the greater task of dealing with a huge horde of
savages, representing every tribe between the Great Lakes and the
Mississippi, who had come to the Illinois, some from a distance of five
hundred miles, to learn accurately all that had happened, and to hear
for themselves what the Long Knives had to say. They gathered to meet
him at Cahokia, chiefs and warriors of every grade; among them were
Ottawas and Chippewas, Pottawatomies, Sacs, and Foxes, and others
belonging to tribes whose very names have perished. The straggling
streets of the dismayed little town were thronged with many hundreds of
dark-browed, sullen-looking savages, grotesque in look and terrible in
possibility. They strutted to and fro in their dirty finery, or lounged
round the houses, inquisitive, importunate, and insolent, hardly
concealing a lust for bloodshed and plunder that the slightest mishap
was certain to render ungovernable.

Fortunately Clark knew exactly how to treat them. He thoroughly
understood their natures, and was always on his guard, while seemingly
perfectly confident; and he combined conciliation with firmness and
decision, and above all with prompt rapidity of action.

For the first two or three days no conclusion was reached, though there
was plenty of speech-making. But on the night of the third a party of
turbulent warriors [Footnote: "A party of Puans and others."--Clark's
letter to Mason.] endeavored to force their way into the house where he
was lodging, and to carry him off. Clark, who, as he records, had been
"under some apprehensions among such a number of Devils," was
anticipating treachery. His guards were at hand, and promptly seized the
savages; while the townspeople took the alarm and were under arms in a
couple of minutes, thus convincing the Indians that their friendship for
the Americans was not feigned.

Clark and the Savages.

Clark instantly ordered the French militia to put the captives, both
chiefs and warriors, in irons. He had treated the Indians well, and had
not angered them by the harshness and brutality that so often made them
side against the English or Americans and in favor of the French; but he
knew that any signs of timidity would be fatal. His boldness and
decision were crowned with complete success. The crestfallen prisoners
humbly protested that they were only trying to find out if the French
were really friendly to Clark, and begged that they might be released.
He answered with haughty indifference, and refused to release them, even
when the chiefs of the other tribes came up to intercede. Indians and
whites alike were in the utmost confusion, every man distrusting what
the moment might bring forth. Clark continued seemingly wholly unmoved,
and did not even shift his lodgings to the fort, remaining in a house in
the town, but he took good care to secretly fill a large room adjoining
his own with armed men, while the guards were kept ready for instant
action. To make his show of indifference complete, he "assembled a
Number of Gentlemen and Ladies and danced nearly the whole Night." The
perplexed savages, on the other hand, spent the hours of darkness in a
series of councils among themselves.

Next morning he summoned all the tribes to a grand council, releasing
the captive chiefs, that he might speak to them in the presence of their
friends and allies. The preliminary ceremonies were carefully executed
in accordance with the rigid Indian etiquette. Then Clark stood up in
the midst of the rings of squatted warriors, while his riflemen
clustered behind him in their tasselled hunting-shirts, travel-torn and
weather-beaten. He produced the bloody war-belt of wampum, and handed it
to the chiefs whom he had taken captive, telling the assembled tribes
that he scorned alike their treachery and their hostility; that he would
be thoroughly justified in putting them to death, but that instead he
would have them escorted safely from the town, and after three days
would begin war upon them. He warned them that if they did not wish
their own women and children massacred, they must stop killing those of
the Americans. Pointing to the war-belt, he challenged them, on behalf
of his people, to see which would make it the most bloody; and he
finished by telling them that while they stayed in his camp they should
be given food and strong drink, [Footnote: "Provisions and Rum." Letter
to Mason. This is much the best authority for these proceedings. The
"Memoir," written by an old man who had squandered his energies and sunk
into deserved obscurity, is tedious and magniloquent, and sometimes
inaccurate. Moreover, Dillon has not always chosen the extracts
judiciously. Clark's decidedly prolix speeches to the Indians are given
with intolerable repetition. They were well suited to the savages,
drawing the causes of the quarrel between the British and Americans in
phrases that could be understood by the Indian mind; but their inflated
hyperbole is not now interesting. They describe the Americans as
lighting a great council-fire, sharpening tomahawks, striking the
war-post, declining to give "two bucks for a blanket," as the British
wanted them to, etc.; with incessant allusions to the Great Spirit being
angry, the roads being made smooth, refusing to listen to the bad birds
who flew through the woods, and the like. Occasional passages are fine;
but it all belongs to the study of Indians and Indian oratory, rather
than to the history of the Americans.] and that now he had ended his
talk to them, and he wished them to speedily depart.

Not only the prisoners, but all the other chiefs in turn forthwith rose,
and in language of dignified submission protested their regret at having
been led astray by the British, and their determination thenceforth to
be friendly with the Americans.

In response Clark again told them that he came not as a counsellor but
as a warrior, not begging for a truce but carrying in his right hand
peace and in his left hand war; save only that to a few of their worst
men he intended to grant no terms whatever. To those who were friendly
he, too, would be a friend, but if they chose war, he would call from
the Thirteen Council Fires [Footnote: In his speeches, as in those of
his successors in treaty-making, the United States were sometimes spoken
of as the Thirteen Fires, and sometimes as the Great Fire.] warriors so
numerous that they would darken the land, and from that time on the red
people would hear no sound but that of the birds that lived on blood. He
went on to tell them, that there had been a mist before their eyes, but
that he would clear away the cloud and would show them the right of the
quarrel between the Long Knives and the King who dwelt across the great
sea; and then he told them about the revolt in terms which would almost
have applied to a rising of Hurons or Wyandots against the Iroquois. At
the end of his speech he offered them the two belts of peace and war.

The Indians Make Peace.

They eagerly took the peace belt, but he declined to smoke the calumet,
and told them he would not enter into the solemn ceremonies of the peace
treaty with them until the following day. He likewise declined to
release all his prisoners, and insisted that two of them should be put
to death. They even yielded to this, and surrendered to him two young
men, who advanced and sat down before him on the floor, covering their
heads with their blankets, to receive the tomahawk. [Footnote: I have
followed the contemporary letter to Mason rather than the more elaborate
and slightly different account of the "Memoir." The account written by
Clark in his old age, like Shelby's similar autobiography, is, in many
respects, not very trustworthy. It cannot be accepted for a moment where
it conflicts with any contemporary accounts.] Then he granted them full
peace and forgave the young men their doom, and the next day, after the
peace council, there was a feast, and the friendship of the Indians was
won. Clark ever after had great influence over them; they admired his
personal prowess, his oratory, his address as a treaty-maker, and the
skill with which he led his troops. Long afterwards, when the United
States authorities were endeavoring to make treaties with the red men,
it was noticed that the latter would never speak to any other white
general or commissioner while Clark was present.

After this treaty there was peace in the Illinois country; the Indians
remained for some time friendly, and the French were kept well
satisfied.

CHAPTER III.

CLARK'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST VINCENNES, 1779.

Hamilton, at Detroit, had been so encouraged by the successes of his war
parties that, in 1778, he began to plan an attack on Fort Pitt
[Footnote: Haldimand MSS. Hamilton to Carleton, January, 1778.]; but his
plans were forestalled by Clark's movements, and he, of course,
abandoned them when the astounding news reached him that the rebels had
themselves invaded the Illinois country, captured the British
commandant, Rocheblave, and administered to the inhabitants the oath of
allegiance to Congress. [Footnote: _Do_. Hamilton's letter of August
8th.] Shortly afterwards he learned that Vincennes likewise was in the
hands of the Americans.

Hamilton Prepares to Reconquer the Country.

He was a man of great energy, and he immediately began to prepare an
expedition for the reconquest of the country. French emissaries who were
loyal to the British crown were sent to the Wabash to stir up the
Indians against the Americans; and though the Piankeshaws remained
friendly to the latter, the Kickapoos and Weas, who were more powerful,
announced their readiness to espouse the British cause if they received
support, while the neighboring Miamis were already on the war-path. The
commandants at the small posts of Mackinaw and St. Josephs were also
notified to incite the Lake Indians to harass the Illinois country.
[Footnote: Hamilton to Haldimand, September 17, 1778.]

He led the main body in person, and throughout September every soul in
Detroit was busy from morning till night in mending boats, baking
biscuit, packing provisions in kegs and bags, preparing artillery
stores, and in every way making ready for the expedition. Fifteen large
bateaux and pirogues were procured, each capable of carrying from 1,800
to 3,000 pounds; these were to carry the ammunition, food, clothing,
tents, and especially the presents for the Indians. Cattle and wheels
were sent ahead to the most important portages on the route that would
be traversed; a six-pounder gun was also forwarded. Hamilton had been
deeply exasperated by what he regarded as the treachery of most of the
Illinois and Wabash creoles in joining the Americans; but he was in high
spirits and very confident of success. He wrote to his superior officer
that the British were sure to succeed if they acted promptly, for the
Indians were favorable to them, knowing they alone could give them
supplies; and he added "the Spaniards are feeble and hated by the
French, the French are fickle and have no man of capacity to advise or
lead them, and the Rebels are enterprising and brave, but want
resources." The bulk of the Detroit French, including all their leaders,
remained staunch supporters of the crown, and the militia eagerly
volunteered to go on the expedition. Feasts were held with the Ottawas,
Chippewas, and Pottawatomies, at which oxen were roasted whole, while
Hamilton and the chiefs of the French rangers sang the war-song in
solemn council, and received pledges of armed assistance and support
from the savages. [Footnote: _Do_. Hamilton to Haldimand, September 23,
October 3, 1778.]

He Starts against Vincennes.

On October 7th the expedition left Detroit; before starting the
venerable Jesuit missionary gave the Catholic French who went along his
solemn blessing and approval, conditionally upon their strictly keeping
the oath they had taken to be loyal and obedient servants of the crown.
[Footnote: Haldimand MSS., Series B., Vol. 123, p. 53. Hamilton's letter
of July 6, 1781, containing a "brief account" of the whole expedition,
taken from what he calls a "diary of transactions" that he had
preserved.] It is worthy of note that, while the priest at Kaskaskia
proved so potent an ally of the Americans, the priest at Detroit was one
of the staunchest supporters of the British. Hamilton started with
thirty-six British regulars, under two lieutenants, forty-five Detroit
volunteers (chiefly French), who had been carefully drilled for over a
year, under Captain Lamothe; seventy-nine Detroit militia, under a major
and two captains; and seventeen members of the Indian Department
(including three captains and four lieutenants) who acted with the
Indians. There were thus in all one hundred and seventy-seven whites.
[Footnote: _Do_., Series B., Vol. 122, p. 253, return of forces on Dec.
24th.] Sixty Indians started with the troops from Detroit, but so many
bands joined him on the route that when he reached Vincennes his entire
force amounted to five hundred men. [Footnote: _Do_. Hamilton's letter
of July 6, 1781, the "brief account." Clark's estimate was very close to
the truth; he gave Hamilton six hundred men, four hundred of them
Indians. See State Department MSS., No. 71, Vol. I., p. 247. Papers
Continental Congress. Letter of G. R. Clark to Gov. Henry, April 29,
1779. This letter was written seven months before that to Mason, and
many years before the "Memoir," so I have, where possible, followed it
as being better authority than either.]

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