THE UNIVERSITY

OF ILLINOIS

LIBRARY

From the library of

Walter Colyer

Albion, Illinois

Purchased 1926

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ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY

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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS,

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EDITED BY

W. H. CARPENTER,

AND

T. S. ARTHUR.

PHILADELPHIA:

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.

1857.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by

T. S. ARTHUR AWD W. H. CARPENTER,

the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania.

W.3

PUBLISHERS' PREFACE.

There are but few persons in this country who
have not, at some time or other, felt the want of an
accurate, well written, concise, yet clear and reliable
history of their own or some other state.

The want here indicated is now about being sup-
plied ; and, as the task of doing so is no light or
superficial one, the publishers have given into the
hands of the two gentlemen whose names appear in
the title-page, the work of preparing a series of Cabi-
net Histories, embracing a volume for each state in
the Union. Of their ability to perform this well, we
need not speak. They are no strangers in the literary
world. What they undertake the public may rest
assured will be performed thoroughly ; and that no
sectarian, sectional, or party feelings will bias their
judgment, or lead them to violate the integrity of
history.

The importance of a series of state histories like
those now commenced, can scarcely be estimated.
Being condensed as carefully as accuracy and interest
of narrative will permit, the size and price of the
volumes will bring them within the reach of every
family in the country, thus making them home-read-
ing books for old and young. Each individual will,

615089

8 publishers' preface.

in consequence, become familiar, not only with the
history of his own state, but with that of other states :
— thus mutual interest will be re-awakened, and old
bonds cemented in a firmer union.

In this series of Cabinet Histories, the authors,
while presenting a concise but accurate narrative of
the domestic policy of each state, will give greater
prominence to the personal history of the people.
The dangers which continually hovered around the
early colonists ; the stirring romance of a life passed
fearlessly amid peril; the incidents of border war-
fare; the adventures of hardy pioneers; the keen
watchfulness, the subtle surprise, the ruthless attack,
and prompt retaliation — all these having had an im-
portant influence upon the formation of the American
character, are to be freely recorded. While the progres-
sive development of the citizens of each individual state
from the rough forest-life of the earlier day to the
polished condition of the present, will exhibit a pic-
ture of national expansion as instructing as it is inte-
resting.

The size and style of the series will be uniform
with the present volume. The authors, who have
been for some time collecting and arranging materials,
will furnish the succeeding volumes as rapidly as their
careful preparation will warrant.

PREFACE.

The history of Illinois presents many points of
singular interest. The villages of Cahokia, Kaskas-
kia, and Vincennes were founded by French mission-
aries at a very early period ; and the territory formed
a part of the French possessions in America until it
was ceded to Great Britain in 1763. The romantic
expedition of George Rogers Clarke wrested it from
the latter power during the Revolutionary War, though
it received very little increase of population from im-
migration until after the commencement of the present
century. Since then its delicious climate, and the
unexampled fertility of its soil, has been duly appre-
ciated, while the vast works of internal improvement,
either completed or in rapid course of construction,
attest the energy and enterprise of its people. The

9

10 PREFACE.

author of this book has endeavoured to exhibit the
progress of the State in its several stages of growth;
and it is believed that nothing has been omitted
that might be regarded either as interesting in itself
or as characteristic of its inhabitants.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

The French in Canada — Samuel Champlain — The Jesuit
missionaries form the first permanent white settlement —
Father Claude Allouez — The Illinois — Fathers Marquette
and Dablon — Grand Indian council at St Mary's — Mar-
quette and Jolliet explore the Mississippi — Their visit to
the Illinois Indians — Hospitality and kindness of the
latter — Their manners and customs — Marquette visits
the Arkansas — Close of the exploration — Return to Green
Bay — Death of Marquette — His remains removed from
the wilderness — Reverent conduct of the Kiskakon In-
dians Page 19

CHAPTER II.

Robert de la Salle — Aided by Frontenac, obtains a patent of
nobility and the grant of Fort Frontenac — His prosperity
and visit to France — Schemes favoured by Colbert — First
vessel on Lake Erie — Voyage to Green bay and Hlinois —
Builds Fort Crevecoaur — Loss of the Griffin — Descends
the Mississippi and takes possession of its valley in the
name of France — Voyage of La Salle to France for mili-
tary and naval stores — On his return lands in Texas — Dis-
asters in Texas — Unfortunate expedition in search of the

11

12 CONTENTS.

Mississippi — Attempts an overland journey to the French
settlements in Illinois — Mutinous conduct of his men —
Death of La Salle — His character — Fate of his com-
panions Page 34.

CHAPTER III.

Progress of French colonization — Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and
Peoria founded — Expedition of D'Iberville — Discovers the
mouth of the Mississippi — Letter from M. Tonti to M. de La
Salle preserved by the Indians — D'Iberville builds Fort
Biloxi and returns to France for reinforcements — First
meeting of France and England in the Mississippi valley
— Return and death of D'Iberville — Fort Chartres founded
— Expedition of D'Artaguette, governor of Illinois, against
the Chickasas — His defeat and death — Extracts from the
letters of Vivier, a French missionary, showing tho state
of colonization in Illinois during this period — Territorial
difficulties between France and England — Extract from a
letter written by Father Marest 46

CHAPTER IV.

English and French territorial claims examined — Commence-
ment of hostilities and conduct of Colonel Washington —
Brief sketch of the war from 1756 to 1760— Treaty of
peace in 1763 between France and England — Native hos-
tility to the English — Conspiracy of Pontiac — Nine forts
captured — Failure of his attack on Detroit — Conciliatory
policy of England — Death of Pontiac — Condition of Illinois
under the British domination — Government proclamation
—Annals of Illinois from 1765 to 1778 56

CONTENTS. 13

CHAPTER V.

Causes which brought ahout the American Revolution— Em-
ployment of Indians hy the British — The Illinois settle-
ments the grand sources of Indian hostilities — George
Rogers Clarke — Sends spies into Illinois — His interview
with Patrick Henry — Receives instructions to attack the
British posts in Illinois — Expedition to Kaskaskia — John
Saunders — Stratagem hy which Kaskaskia was captured —
Cahokia surrenders Page 71

CHAPTER VI.

The capture of the British post at Vincennes — Complimentary
resolution of the Virginia legislature — Negotiations of
Clarke with the Indians — His mode of treating them — The
Meadow Indians attempt his life — Affecting and romantio
Incident — Fort Vincennes recaptured by Colonel Hamil-
ton, governor of Detroit, and the whole garrison, consist-
ing of one officer and one private, allowed to march out of
the fort with the honours of war — Expedition of Colonel
Clarke against Vincennes — Incidents on the march — Fort
Vincennes retaken by the Americans — Governor Harrison's
letter to Colonel Clarke

CHAPTER VII. )C

The " County of Hlinois" organized by the Virginia legisla-
ture — North-western territory ceded to Congress — Virginia
grants lands to Clarke and his soldiers — Claims of the
United States on Indian lands — Indian objections to these
claims — Agency of the British in provoking Indian hosti-
2

14 CONTENTS.

lilies — General Harmar is appointed commander-in-chief,
and is defeated by Little Turtle — General St Clair's di-
sastrous defeat — Renewal of the attempt to negotiate a peace
— Indian manifesto — General Wayne marches to subdue
the Indians — Erects Fort Recovery — Fort Recovery at-
tacked by Little Turtle — Fort Defiance erected — The In-
dians finally defeated — Treaty of Greenville — Condition of
Illinois during this period — Beneficial results of General
Wayne's expedition against the Indians Page 106

CHAPTER VIII.

American settlements in Illinois — Character and mode of
life of the Illinois backwoodsman — Annals of border
warfare from 1786 to 1796— Anecdote of Little Turtle
— Character and designs of Tecumseh — His interviews with
General Harrison — Tecumseh's visit to the South — Battle
of Tippecanoe — Frustration of Tecumseh's plans — Joins
the British at Fort Maiden 125

CHAPTER IX.

Causes which led to the renewal of war between Great Bri-
tain and the United States in 1812 — Disastrous commence-
ment of the war — Fort Chicago ordered to be evacuated —
The garrison wish to remain in the fort — Captain Heald
attends the Indian council alone, protected by the guns of
the fort — The ammunition and liquor destroyed, and the
goods distributed among the Indians — Arrival of Captain
Wells — The garrison leave the fort — Attacked by the In-
dians on their march — Mrs. Helm's account of the action
— Cruel and faithless conduct of the Indians after the sur-
render of the soldiers — Kindness of Wau-bee-nee-mah to

CONTENTS. 15

Mrs. Helm — Heroic conduct of Mrs. Heald — Fate of the
captives Pagt 148

CHAPTER X.

Expedition of General Hopkins and Governor Edwards
against the Indian villages on tho Illinois — Americans
defeated at Frenchtown — The massacre on the banks of
the Raisin — Fort Meigs erected by General Harrison
— General Procter attacks Fort Meigs and defeats Colonel
Dudley — Noble and humane conduct of Tecumseh — Gal-
lant defence of Fort Stephenson — Retreat of Procter to
Fort Maiden — Defeat of the British fleet on Lake Erie by
Commodore Perry — Invasion of Canada by General Har-
rison — Battle of the Thames — Death of Tecumseh — Hli-
nois defended against the Indians during this period by
its native militia, under the title of "Rangers" — The
character of the rangers — Exploits of Tom Higgins — Peace
restored between Great Britain and the United States, and
termination of the hostile incursions of the Indians 16-4

CHAPTER XI.

Rapid increase of population in Hlinois — Hlinois admitted
into the Union as an independent state — Its constitution —
Indian title to possession gradually extinguished — Land,
the origin of all the difficulties between the Indians and
whites — Early life of Black Hawk — His account of the
treaty of 1804 — The American government attempts to in-
duce the Indian tribes to live in peace — Some account of
the Sioux and Chippewa Indians — Attack on the keel-boats
by the Indians — Black Hawk imprisoned — Treaty of Prai-
rie du Chicn — Keokuk — Indians notified to leave the coun-
try cast of the Mississippi — Refusal of Black Hawk —
Correspondence between General Gaines and the Secretary

16 CONTENTS.

of War — The Sao village abandoned on the approach of
the military — Treaty between Black Hawk and General
Gaines Page 181

CHAPTER XII.

Black Hawk and his men recross the Mississippi — Defeat of
Major Stillman and his party — Conduct of Captain Adams
— The bodies of the Americans killed in the battle shame-
fully mutilated by the savages — The massacre at Indian
Creek — Major Demont's skirmish with Black Hawk — De-
feat of Black Hawk by General Hervey — General Atkinson
defeats him at the Mississippi — Capture and speech of
Black Hawk — Treaty with the Indians — Progress of Black
Hawk through the United States — Restored to his native
country 196

CHAPTER XIII.

The Mormons, or " Latter-Day Saints," settle in Hlinois and
build the city of Nauvoo — Biography of Joseph Smith,
the founder of the Mormon sect — His discovery of the
golden plates — Persecuted by his neighbours — Translates
the golden plates — Description of the "Book of Mormon"
— The Spaulding manuscript — First settlement of Mormons
at Kirtland in Ohio — The Mormons driven from Ohio and
Missouri — The city of Nauvoo built by the Mormons — The
Nauvoo Legion incorporated — Attack on the Nauvoo Ex-
positor^ — Joseph and Hyrum Smith arrested and lodged in
Carthage jail — The citizens of Carthage attack and kill
the prisoners — The Mormons exhorted to peace and sub-
mission by their leaders — Tho Mormons settle in the
valley of the Great Salt Lake — The present prosperous
condition of tho Mormons accounted for 213

CONTENTS. 17

CHAPTER XIV.

The Illinois and Michigan canal — Its great commercial
importance — Governor Bond brings the subject before
the legislature of Illinois — Canal commissioners appointed
and the first estimate made — A company chartered — The
charter repealed — Canal lands given by Congress — A
board of commissioners appointed and authorized to employ
suitable engineers, surveyors, and draughtsmen to deter-
mine the route of the canal — An act passed for the con-
struction of the canal on a more enlarged scale — The
work stopped through the failure of the public credit —
The work completed by means of the " Shallow Cut" —
The Illinois Grand Central Railroad — The public debt of
Illinois Page 2J3

CHAPTER XV.

Education among the early pioneers — The establishment
of common schools — School funds in Illinois — Particulars
respecting some of the principal colleges — The physical
geography of Illinois — Its minerals and manufactures
— Growth of towns and cities in Illinois — Springfield-
Chicago — Alton — Kaskaskia — Climate — The climate of the
interior of Illinois beneficial in cases of consumption —

Population 242

2*

-

HISTORY OP ILLINOIS.

CHAPTER I.

The French in Canada — Samuel Champlain — -The Jesuit mis-
sionaries form the first permanent white settlement — Father
Claude Allouez — The Illinois — Fathers Marquette and Da-
hlon — Grand Indian council at St. Mary's — Marquette and
Jolliet explore the Mississippi — Their visit to the Illinois In-
dians — Hospitality and kindness of the latter — Their man-
ners and customs — Marquette visits the Arkansas — Close
of the exploration — Return to Green Bay — Death of Mar-
quette — His remains removed from the wilderness — Reverent
conduct of the Kiskakon Indians.

The discoveries of Verrazani, a mariner in
the service of France, having given that country
a title to certain parts of the Western Conti-
nent, in 1627 Samuel Champlain obtained from
Louis XIII. a patent of New France, and en-
tered upon its government. The territory so
called included the whole basin of the St. Law-
rence, together with Florida, or the country
south of Virginia. The genius of Champlain,
the founder of Quebec, could have devised no
better method for extending the power of France
on the American continent than by an alliance
with the Hurons, and the establishment of mis-

19

20 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. [1665.

sionaries. Jesuit missionaries were therefore
commissioned to form alliances with the savage
tribes that inhabited the western wilds. Every
tradition bears testimony to the worth and virtues
of these men. They may have had faults, the
natural result of a stringent adherence to an
ascetic religion ; but they endured with invinci-
ble fortitude, hunger, cold, and nakedness, under
the influence of an irrepressible religious en-
thusiasm. They carved the cross and the name
of Jesus on the bark of the trees of the forest ;
and the rise of several towns of importance amid
the forests and prairies of the far West is histo-
rically connected with their labours.

In August, 1665, Father Claude Allouez
founded the first permament white settlement
on Lake Superior, among the kindly and hos-
pitable Indians of the North-west. He soon
lighted the torch of Catholicism at the council
fires of more than twenty nations. He came in
peace, the messenger of religion and virtue, and
he found friends. The Chippewas gathered
around him to receive instruction. Pottawato-
mies, Sacs, Foxes, and even Illinois, an hospita-
ble race, having no weapon but the bow and
arrow, diminished in numbers by wars with the
Sioux and the Iroquois, came to rehearse their
sorrows in the hearing of this devoted mis-
sionary. His curiosity was roused by their ac-
count of the noble river on which they dwelt,

1G68.] MARQUETTE AND DABLON. 21

and which flowed toward the south. " They had
no forests, but, instead of them, vast prairies,
where herds of deer, and buffalo, and other
animals grazed on the tall grasses." They ex-
plained also the wonders of their peace-pipe,
and declared it to be their custom to welcome
the friendly stranger with shouts of joy. " Their
country," said Allouez, "is the best field for
the gospel. Had I leisure, I would have gone
to their dwellings, to see with my own eyes all
the good that was told me of them."

In 1668 additional missionaries arrived from
France, who, following in the footsteps of Father
Allouez, Claude Dablon, and James Marquette,
founded the mission at St. Mary's Falls, on the
shores of Lake Superior. While residing at St.
Mary's, Father Marquette resolved to explore
the Mississippi, of whose magnificence he had
heard so much. Some Pottawatomy Indians
having heard him express this resolution, at-
tempted to turn him from his purpose. " Those
distant nations," said they, "never spare the
stranger — the great river abounds with monsters
which devour both men and canoes." "I shall
gladly," replied Marquette, "lay down my life
for the salvation of souls." Such was the noble
spirit of this brave and worthy missionary, such
his entire devotedness to the sacred principles
of that religion of which he was the humMe
expounder.

22 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1673.

Continued and peaceful commerce with the
French having confirmed the attachment of the
Indian tribes inhabiting Canada and the North-
west, a friendly alliance was now sought with
them which was well calculated to extend the
power of France on the continent. In May,
1671, a grand Indian council was held at the
Falls of St. Mary's. At this council, convoked
by the agents of the French government, it was
announced to the tribes assembled from the
banks of the Mississippi, the head springs of the
St. Lawrence and the Red River, that they were
placed under the protection of the French king,
formal possession being taken of Canada and
the North-west by officers acting under his
authority. The Jesuit missionaries were pre-
sent to consecrate the imposing ceremonial. A
cross of cedar was erected ; and by its side rose
a column of similar wood, on which was engraved
the lilies of the Bourbons. The authority and
faith of France being thus proclaimed, " the
whole company, bowing before the image of man's
redemption, chantea to its glory a hymn of the
seventh century."

On the 10th of June, 1673, Father Marquette,
who had long entertained the idea of exploring
the Mississippi, the great river of the West, ac-
companied by Jolliet, five Frenchmen, and two
Algonquin guides, ascended to the head of the
Fox River, and carrying their two bark canoes

1673.] EXPLORATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 23

across the narrow portage which divides the Fox
River from the Wisconsin, launched them upon
the waters of the latter. The guides now left
them, and for seven days they floated down the
stream, between alternate prairies and hill-sides,
beholding neither man nor beast — through the
solitudes of a wilderness, the stillness of which
overawed their spirits. At length, to their inex-
pressible joy, their frail canoes struck the mighty
waters of the Mississippi, rolling through ver-
dant prairies, dotted with herds of buffalo, and
its banks overhung with primitive forests.

Having sailed down this noble stream for
about sixty leagues, they discovered, toward the
close of June, an Indian trail on its western
bank. It was like the human footsteps which
Robinson Crusoe saw in the sand, and which
had not been effaced by the rising of the tides
or the rolling of the waters. A little footpath
was soon found, and, leaving their companions
in the canoes, Marquette and Jolliet determined
to brave alone a meeting with the savages.
After following the little path for about six
miles they discovered an Indian village. First
imploring the protection of Divine Providence,
they made known their presence to the Indians
by uttering a loud cry. "At this cry," says
Father Marquette, "the Indians rushed out of
their cabins, and having probably recognised us
as French, especially seeing a < black gown,' or

24 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. [1673.

at least having no reason to distrust us, seeing we
were but two, and had made known our coming,
they deputed four old men to come and speak
with us. Two carried tobacco-pipes well adorn-
ed, and trimmed with many kinds of feathers.
They marched slowly, lifting their pipes toward
the sun, as if offering them to him to smoke;
but yet without uttering a single word. They
were a long time coming the little way from the
village to us. Having reached us at last, they
stopped to consider us attentively. I now took
courage, seeing these ceremonies, which are
used by them only with friends, I therefore
spoke to them first, and asked them who they
were. 'We are,' said they, 'Illinois;' and in
token of peace they presented us their pipes to
smoke. They then invited us to their village,
where all the tribe awaited us with impatience.
These pipes are called in the country calumets."

Our travellers having arrived at the village,
an aged chief bid them welcome to his cabin
with uplifted hands, their usual method of re-
ceiving strangers. "How beautiful," said the
chief, " is the sun, Frenchman, when thou comest
to visit us ! Our whole village awaits thee ;
thou shalt enter in peace into all our dwellings."

A grand council of the whole tribe was now
held, which Marquette addressed on the subject
of the Christian religion, informing them at the
same time that the French king had subjugated

1673.] VISIT TO THE ILLINOIS. 25

their enemies, the Iroquois, and questioning
them respecting the Mississippi and the tribes
which inhabited its banks. The missionary hav-
ing finished, the sachem of the Illinois arose,
and spoke thus : — " I thank thee, black gown,
and thee Frenchman," addressing M. Jolliet,
* for taking so much pains to come and visit
us ; never has the earth been so beautiful, nor
the sun so bright as to-day ; never has our river
been so calm, nor so free from rocks, which
your canoes have removed as they passed ; never
has our tobacco had so fine a flavour, nor our
corn appeared so beautiful as we behold it
to-day. Here is my son that I give thee, that
thou mayest know my heart. I pray thee to
take pity on me and all my nation. Thou
knowest the Great Spirit who has made us all ;
thou speakest to him and hearest his word; ask
him to give me life and health, and come and
dwell with us that we may know him." « Say-
ing this," says Marquette, " he placed the little
slave near us, and made us a second present, an
all-mysterious calumet, which they value more
than a slave ; by this present he showed us his
esteem for our governor, after the account we
had given of him ; by the third he begged us, in
behalf of the whole nation, not to proceed fur-
ther, on account of the great dangers to which
we exposed ourselves. I replied that I did not
fear death, and that I esteemed no happiness

26 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1673.

greater than that of losing my life for the glory
of Him who made all."

This council was followed by a festival of
Indian meal, fish, and the choicest products of
the prairies. The town, consisting of about 800
cabins, was then visited. Its inhabitants, who
had never before seen a Frenchman, gazed at
them with astonishment, and made them pre-
sents. "While we marched through the streets,"
says Marquette, " an orator was constantly ha-
ranguing, to oblige all to see us without being
troublesome ; we were everywhere presented
with belts, garters, and other articles, made of
the hair of the bear, and wild cattle, dyed red,
yellow, and gray. These are their rarities ;
but not being of consequence, we did not burden
ourselves with them. AVe slept in the sachem's
cabin, and the next day took leave of him, pro-
mising to pass back through his town in four
moons. He escorted us to our canoes with
nearly six hundred persons, who saw us embark,
evincing in every possible way the pleasure our
visit had given them."

The following is a brief abstract from the
account given by Father Marquette of the man-
ners and customs of the Illinois Indians at the
period of his visit. Happily, the Jesuits were
men of learning and observation, who felt the
importance of their position ; so that while faith-
fully discharging the duties of their religious

1673.] CUSTOMS OF THE INDIANS. 27

profession, they carefully recorded the progress
of events around them : —

"To say 'Illinois' is, in their language, to
say i the men,' as if other Indians compared to
them were beasts. They are divided into se-
veral villages, some of which are quite distant
from each other, and which produces a diversity
in their language, which in general has a great
affinity for the Algonquin. They are mild and
tractable in disposition, have many wives, of
whom they are extremely jealous ; they watch
them carefully, and cut off their noses and ears
when they do not behave well ; I saw several
who bore the marks of their infidelity. They
are well formed, nimble, and very adroit in
using the bow and arrow. They use guns also,
which they buy of our Indian allies, who trade
with the French; they use them especially to
terrify the nations against whom they go to war.
These nations have no knowledge of Europeans,
are unacquainted with the use of either iron or
copper, and have nothing but stone knives."
When the Illinois go to war, a loud cry is made
at the door of each hut in the village the morn-
ing and evening before the warriors set out.
" The chiefs are distinguished from the soldiers
by a scarf, ingeniously made of the hair of bears
and wild oxen. The face is painted with red
lead, or ochre, which is found in great quantities
a few days' journey from the village. They live

28 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1673.

by game, which is abundant in this country, and
on Indian corn. They also sow beans and
melons. Their squashes they dry in the sun,
to eat in the winter and spring. Their cabins
are very large, and lined and floored with rush
mats. They make all their dishes of wood, and
their spoons of the bones of the buffalo. Their
only clothes are skins ; their women are always
dressed very modestly and decently, while the
men do not take any pains to cover themselves.

" It now only remains for me to speak of the
calumet, than which there is nothing among them
more mysterious or more esteemed. Men do
not pay to the crowns and sceptres of kings the
honor that they pay to it. It seems to be the
god of peace and war, the arbiter of life and
death. Carry it about you and show it, and you
can march fearlessly amid enemies who, even in
the heat of battle, lay down their arms when it
is shown. Hence the Illinois gave me one, to
serve as a safeguard amid all the Indian nations
that I had to pass on my voyage."

Such is the account left by Marquette of the
condition of the Illinois Indians at the time of
his visit, in 1673. Taking leave of these hos-
pitable savages, our adventurous travellers once
more launched forth on the broad waters of the
Mississippi. As they floated down this noble
river day after day, they gradually entered on
the richer scenery of a southern climate. The

1673.] VISIT TO THE ARKANSAS. 29

sombre pines of the woods of Canada, the forests
of oak and maple, were by degrees exchanged
for the lofty cottonwood, the fan-like palmetto,
and the noble arborescent ferns of the tropics.
They began to suffer from the increasing heat,
and from legions of musquitoes which haunt the
swampy margin of the stream. At length they
arrived at that part of the stream which, up-
wards of a century before, had been discovered
by De Soto and his ill-fated companions, in the
country of the warlike Chickasaws. Here they
were attacked by a fleet of canoes filled with
Indians, armed with bows and arrows, clubs, and
axes ; but when the old men got a fair view of
the calumet or peace-pipe, which Marquette con-
tinually held up to view, their hearts were
touched, and they restrained the impetuosity of
their young warriors by throwing their bows and
arrows into the two canoes, as a token of peace
and welcome. Having been hospitably enter-
tained by these Indians, they were escorted the
following day by a deputation in a canoe, which
preceded them as far as the village of Akamsea
(Arkansas). Here they were received most
kindly ; the natives continually bringing wooden
dishes of sagamity^ — Indian corn — or pieces of
dog flesh, which were, of course, respectfully de-
clined. These Indians cooked in earthen pots,
and served their food on earthenware dishes ;
were very amiable and unceremonious, each man
3*

30 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1673.

helping himself from the dish, and passing it on
to his neighbor.

It was here that the travellers wisely termi-
nated their explorations. "M. Jolliet and I,"
says Marquette, " held a council to deliberate on
what we should do, — whether we should push on,
or rest satisfied with the discoveries we had made.
After having attentively considered that we were
not far from the Gulf of Mexico, the basin of
which is 31° 40' north, and we at 33° 40', so
that we could not be more than two or three
days' journey off; that the Mississippi undoubt-
edly had its mouth in Florida or the Gulf of
Mexico, and not on the east, in Virginia, whose
seacoast is 34° north. Moreover, we considered
that we risked losing the fruit of our voyage if
we fell into the hands of the Spaniards, who
would undoubtedly make us prisoners ; and that
we were not in condition to resist the Indians
who infested the lower parts of the river. All
these considerations induced us to return. This
we announced to the Indians, and after a day's
rest prepared for it."

On their return, they left the Mississippi at
the thirty-eighth degree of latitude, and entered
the Illinois river, which greatly shortened their
voyage. The country through which this river
flows was found to be full of fertile and beautiful
prairies, abounding in wild ducks, swans, parrots,
and turkeys. The tribe of Illinois living on its

1674.] marquette's second visit. 31

banks entreated Marquette and his companions
to come and live with them ; but as Marquette
intimated his anxiety to continue his voyage, a
chosen party conducted him by way of Chicago
to Lake Michigan ; and before the end of Sep-
tember all were once more safely landed at Green
Bay. Jolliet returned to Quebec to announce
the discoveries they had made, whilst Marquette
remained to preach the gospel to the Miamies,
near Chicago.

Father James Marquette having promised the
Illinois Indians to return among them to teach
them the gospel, had great difficulty in keeping
his word. The hardships of his first voyage had
brought on a disease which deterred him from
undertaking a second. His malady, however,
abating, and having obtained the permission of
his superiors, he set out for this purpose in the
month of November, 1674, with two men, one
of whom had already made his first voyage with
him. During a month's navigation on the Illi-
nois lake — Lake Michigan — his health became
partially restored ; but when winter set in, his
old malady returned with increased violence,
and he was forced to stop in the river which
leads to the Illinois. Here he spent the winter
in such want of every comfort, that his illness
constantly increased. The ice breaking up on
the approach of spring, and feeling somewhat
better, he continued his voyage, and at length

32 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1674.

was enabled to fulfil his promise to the Illinois,
arriving at their town on the 8th of April, where
he was enthusiastically received. Being com-
pelled to leave them by the return of his malady,
he resumed his voyage, and soon after reached
the Illinois lake. His strength gradually failed
as he sailed along the shores of the lake, and
his men despaired of being able to carry him
alive to the end of his journey. Perceiving a
little river, with an eminence on the bank not
far from its mouth, at his request his com-
panions sailed into it, and carried him ashore.
Here they constructed a "wretched bark cabin,
where they laid him a3 little uncomfortably as
they could ; but they were so overcome by sad-
ness that, as they afterward said, they did not
know what they were doing." Perceiving his
end approaching, he called his companions and
embraced them for the last time, they melting
in tears at his feet. He then directed that his
crucifix, which he wore constantly around his
neck, should be held before his eyes ; and after
repeating the profession of his faith, he devoutly
thanked God for his gracious kindness in allow-
ing him to die as a humble missionary of Jesus
Christ, and above all to die as he had always
prayed that he might die, — in a rude cabin
in the forests, destitute of all human aid. He
afterward became silent, his whole appearance
denoting that he was conversing inwardly with

1674.] DEATH OF MAKQUETTE. 83

God. His countenance then suddenly bright-
ened with a smile, and he expired without a
struggle.

His two poor broken-hearted companions,
after shedding many tears over his inanimate
body, carried it devoutly to the grave, and raised
a large cross near it, to serve as a mark to pass-
ers by.

Did the savages respect that cross? They
did. "VVe can pronounce no higher eulogium on
Father James Marquette, than the fact that the
Kiskakon Indians, to whom he had preached
the gospel, returning from hunting on the banks
of Lake Illinois, repaired to the missionary's
grave, and, after mature deliberation, resolved to
act with their father as they usually did with the
best beloved of their own tribe. They reverently
disinterred the remains, and putting them into a
neatly-constructed box of birch bark, removed
them from the wilderness to the nearest Catholic
church, where they were solemnly buried with
appropriate ceremonies.

34 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1674.

CHAPTER II.

Robert de la Salle — Aided by Frontenac, obtains a patent of
nobility and the grant of Fort Frontenac — His prosperity
and visit to France — Schemes favoured by Colbert — First ves-
sel on Lake Erie — Voyage to Green Bay and Illinois — Builds
Fort Crevecceur — Loss of the Griffin — Descends the Missis-
sippi and takes possession of its valley in the name of France
—Voyage of La Salle to France for military and naval stores
— On his return lands in Texas — Disasters in Texas — Un-
fortunate expedition in search of the Mississippi — Attempts
an overland journey to the French settlements in Illinois —
Mutinous conduct of his men — Death of La Salle — His
character — Fate of his companions.

About the time of the death of Father Mar-
quette there dwelt, at the outlet of Lake Ontario,
Robert Cavalier de la Salle, an adventurer of
good family, who was educated by the Jesuits.
He was engaged in the fur trade with the In-
dians, in the prosecution of which he had ex-
plored Lakes Ontario and Erie. His energy and
ability having attracted the attention of Fronte-
nac, the French governor, he repaired to France,
and, aided by Frontenac, obtained a patent of
nobility, a monopoly of the trade with the Iro-
quois, and an extensive tract of country in the
neighbourhood of Fort Frontenac, on the condi-
tion of his keeping the fort in an effective state.
Around this stronghold soon clustered the huts

1678.] SCHEMES OF LA SALLE. 35

of Indians and the dwellings of French traders.
Their flocks and herds increased, pasture-land
and corn-covered clearings opened up the forest ;
groups of Iroquois built their cabins in the envi-
rons ; the missionaries commenced their labours ;
canoes multiplied upon the borders of the lake ;
and La Salle, but yesterday a poor adventurer,
suddenly found himself invested with all the
power and opulence belonging to a feudal sove-
reign in the wilderness.

But his ambitious spirit would not let him rest
contented with what he had acquired. Having
heard of the mighty river of the far West, and
the discoveries of Marquette, his imagination be-
came inflamed, and he was induced to undertake
schemes of colonization and aggrandizement
which ended in disaster and death.

In 1677 La Salle sailed to France and sought
an interview with Colbert, then prime minister.
To him he proposed the union of New France
with the valley of the Mississippi, and suggested
their close connection by a line of military posts.
He proposed also to open the commerce of Eu-
rope to them both. Colbert listened with delight
to the gigantic schemes of the young enthusiast,
and a royal commission was soon procured, em-
powering him to explore the valley of the Mis-
sissippi, and giving him an exclusive monopoly
in the trade of buffalo skins.

On the 14th of July, 1678, La Salle sailed

36 HISTORY OF ILLIXOIS. [1678.

from France with all needful supplies for the
voyage, and merchandise for the Indian trade,
and in the month of September arrived again at
Fort Frontenac. Having built " a wooden canoe' '
of ten tons burden — the first that ever sailed on
the Niagara river — he ascended that river to the
vicinity of the great falls, and, above them, com-
menced building a ship of 60 tons burden, which,
in the summer of 1679, was launched on the
waters of Lake Erie, amid a salvo from his ar-
tillery and the chanting of the Te Deum. In
this vessel, which was called the Griffin, La Salle
sailed across Lake Erie, and up the Detroit or
strait which separates it from that limpid sheet
of water, to which he gave the appropriate name
of Lake St. Clair ; and having escaped from
storms on Lake Huron, and constructed a trad-
ing-house at Mackinaw, on Lake Michigan, he
cast anchor in Green Bay.

In Green Bay La Salle bartered his goods
with the natives for a rich cargo of furs, with
which the Griffin was loaded and sent back to
Niagara, that the peltry might be sold and a re-
mittance made to his creditors. In the mean
time La Salle and his companions, pending the
return of the Griffin with supplies, ascended Lake
Michigan to the mouth of the St. Joseph, where
the missionary Allouez had established a station,
and to which he now added a fort, known as the
Fort of the Miamies. His whole fortune de-

1680.] DIFFICULTIES OF LA SALLE. 37

pended on the return of the Griffin, and of her
no tidings were heard. Wearied with delay, he
resolved to explore the Illinois territory; and
leaving ten men to guard his little fort, La Salle,
with a chosen body of thirty followers, ascended
the St. Joseph's river, and transporting his bark
canoes across a short portage, entered the Kan-
kakee, a branch of the Illinois river. Descend-
ing its narrow stream, the travellers reached by
the end of December an Indian village on the-
Illinois, the natives of which were absent on a*
hunting expedition. Being in great want of
provisions, La Salle took advantage of their ab-
sence to help himself to a sufficiency of maize,
of which his followers found large quantities-
hidden in holes under their wigwams. The corn — f^~
having been shipped they again set sail, and on'
the 4th of January, 1680, entered Lake Peoria.
The Illinois Indians on the banks of this lake-
were friendly, and here La Salle erected another
fort. As no tidings had been received of his
missing vessel, to proceed farther without sup-
plies was impossible ; his followers became dis-
couraged, and in great despondency he named
his new fort " Crevecceur," — broken-hearted —
in memory of his trials and misfortunes.

La Salle now perceived that he must go back
himself to Frontenac for supplies ; and to pre-
vent the entire stagnation of discovery during-
his absence, he requested the Jesuit missionary,.
4

38 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1682.

Father Hennepin, who accompanied the expedi-
tion, to go to the Mississippi and explore that
stream to its source, whilst Tonti, a veteran
Italian, was chosen to command in his absence,
with instructions to endeavour to strengthen and
extend his relations among the Indians. He
then, in the month of March, 1680, with only
three companions, set off on foot to travel a dis-
tance of at least 1200 miles through marshes
and melting snows, through thickets and forests,
with no supplies but what the gun afforded, a
blanket, and a few skins with which to make
moccasins, or Indian shoes. No record exists
of what befel him on that long journey, which
he, however, finally accomplished.

La Salle found, as he fully expected, that the
Griffin had been wrecked ; that his agents had
cheated him; and that his creditors had seized
his goods. His courage overcame every diffi-
culty; and by midsummer, in 1680, he returned
once more to his little garrison in Illinois, with
a body of new adventurers, large supplies of
merchandise, and stores for rigging a brigantine.
But disasters had befallen his agents during his
absence, and the post in Illinois was deserted.
Having succeeded in finding Tonti, and collect-
ing his scattered followers, he constructed a ca-
pacious barge, and in the early part of January,
1682, La Salle and his company descended the
Mississippi to the sea.

1684.] LA SALLE'S RETURN TO FRANCE. 39

They landed on the bank of the most western
channel, about three leagues from its mouth. On
the 7 th, La Salle -went to reconnoitre the shores
of the neighbouring sea, while Tonti examined
the great middle channel. They found there
two outlets, beautiful, large, and deep. On the
8th they reascended the river a little above its
confluence with the sea, to find a dry place be-
yond the reach of inundations. Here they pre-
pared a column and a cross, and to the said
column they affixed the arms of France, with
this inscription:

"Louis le Grand, Roi de France et de Na-
varre, REGNE NEUVIEME AVRIL, 1682."
The Te Deum was then sung, and after a salute
of fire-arms the column was erected by La Salle,
who laid claim to the whole of the Mississippi
valley for the French king, with the usual for-
malities. After erecting another fort, called St.
Louis, and giving the title of Louisiana to the
newly discovered territory, La Salle, in the
autumn of 1683, returned in triumph to France.

The account given by him of the extraordinary
beauty of the Mississippi valley created the ut-
most enthusiasm among the French people. Pre-
parations were immediately commenced by the
agents of the king to provide an extensive
outfit, and on the 24th of July, 1684, four ves-
sels, having on board two hundred and eighty
persons, ecclesiastics, soldiers, mechanics, and

40 niSTORY or Illinois. [1685.

emigrants, left Hochelle full of ardour and ex-
pectation for the far-famed country of Louisana.
The soldiers had for their commander Joutel, a
man of courage and truth, who afterward be-
came the historian of this disastrous expedition.
Misfortunes overtook them from the very
commencement of their voyage. Difficulties
arose between La Salle and the naval com-
mander, which impeded the voyage; and on
the 10th of January, 1685, they unfortunately
passed the mouth of the Mississippi. La Salle
soon perceived their error, and wished to return ;
but this the commander of the fleet refused to
do, and they continued their course until they
arrived at the Bay of Matagorda, in Texas.
Completely tired of disputes with Beaujeau, the
naval commander, and conjecturing that the
numerous streams which had their outlet in the
bay might be branches of the Mississippi, or
might lead to its discovery, La Salle resolved to
disembark. As the vessels entered the harbour,
the store-ship, on which the infant colony mainly
depended, was completely wrecked by the care-
lessness of the pilot. Calming the terrible
energy of his grief, La Salle, by the aid of boats
from the other vessels, succeeded in recovering
a part of the cargo, but night coming on, and
with it a gale of wind, the store-ship was utterly
dashed to pieces. To add to their distress, a
party of Indians came down to the shore to

1685.] SETTLEMENT IN TEXAS. 41

plunder the wreck, and murdered two of the
volunteers.

Several of the men who had now landed be-
came discouraged, and returned to the fleet,
which immediately set sail, leaving La Salle
with a desponding company of two hundred and
thirty souls, huddled together in a miserable
fort, built with fragments of the wreck. Stimu-
lated to extraordinary efforts by the energy and
example of La Salle, a beautiful spot was select-
ed, and a more substantial and comfortable fort
constructed. La Salle was the architect, and
marked the beams, mortices and tenons himself.
This was the first settlement made in Texas.
Desperate and destitute as was the situation of
the settlers, they still exceeded in numbers those
who landed in Virginia, or who embarked on
board the Mayflower, and possessed "from the
bounty of Louis XIV. more than was contributed
by all the English monarchs together, for the
twelve united colonies on the Atlantic."

The summer of 1685 was spent in the con-
struction of this second fort, which was named
Fort St. Louis, and La Salle, having finished its
erection, set out with a selected party in canoes,
in search of the Mississippi. After an absence
of about four months, he returned in rags, hav-
ing lost twelve or thirteen of his men, and com-
pletely failed in his object. His presence, how-
ever, as usual, inspired hope; and in Aprils
4*

42 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1687.

1686, another expedition was attempted, which
was lured into the interior by brilliant fictions
of exhaustless mines on the borders of Mexico.
This expedition returned without effecting any
other discovery than that of the great exuberance
and fertility of the soil in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the fort. La Salle had succeeded
in obtaining a supply of maize and beans and
five horses from the Indians, but had suffered
greatly ; and of the twenty men he had taken
with him only eight returned, the remainder
having either fallen sick, died, or deserted.
Affairs had been equally unprosperous at Fort
St. Louis during his absence. The only remain-
ing ship was a wreck, and the colony had been
rapidly thinned by privation, misery, and expo-
sure, until there remained nothing but a mere
handful of desperate, disappointed men.

Amid the ruin of all his prospects, once so
proud and flourishing, La Salle alone remained
undaunted; and, as a last resource, determined
to visit the French settlements in Illinois, or, if
.necessary, his feudal domain in Frontenac, in
order to bring aid to his perishing colony. On
the 12th of January, 1687, La Salle set out on
his last expedition, accompanied by Joutel, across
the prairies and forests of Louisiana. In his
company were two men, Duhaut and L'Arche-
Veque, who had both embarked capital in this
enterprise. Each regarded the other for imme-

1687.] CONSPIRACY OF DUHAUT. 43

diate purposes as his friend ; and both were ac-
tuated by a spirit of bitterness and animosity
against La Salle, whom they regarded as the
author of all the calamities that had befallen
them. Moranget, a nephew of La Salle, was
also one of the party following the tracks of buf-
faloes, who choose by instinct the best routes, y*-
La Salle marched through groves and plains of
astonishing fertility and beauty; now fording
the rapid torrents, and now building a bridge by
throwing some monarch of the forest across the
stream, until he had passed the Colorado and
came to a branch of the Trinity River.

On the 17th of March, 1687, the whole party
engaged in a buffalo hunt. Duhaut and L'Ar-
cheveque, having been successful, sent their com-
mander word, who immediately despatched his
nephew Moranget to the camp. When Moran-
get came to the spot where Duhaut and the rest
were stopping, he found they had reserved for
themselves the very best parts of the buffaloes ;
and hasty and passionate, not considering where
he was, nor with whom he was dealing, he "took
from them their choice pieces, threatened them,
and spoke harsh words." This enraged the mu-
tinous spirits of Duhaut and his companions,
who secretly took counsel together how to effect
the destruction of Moranget and his associates.
Night came on apace, and Moranget and his
party having supped, wearied with their day's

44 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1687.

travel, laid themselves down to sleep on the
prairie. Liotot, the surgeon, now took an axe,
and with a few strokes killed Moranget and his
comrades. Having good reason to fear the re-
sentment of La Salle, the murderers next resolv-
ed to kill him also. Surprised at his nephew's
delay, La Salle went forth on the 20th to seek
him. Perceiving at a distance hirds of prey,
hovering as if over carrion, and suspecting him-
self to be in the immediate neighbourhood of his
men, La Salle fired a gun, which was heard by
the conspirators, who were thus made aware of
his approach. Duhaut and his associate hasten-
ed secretly. to meet their victim — the former
skulking in the grass, the latter showing himself.
"Where," said La Salle to L'Archeveque, "is
my nephew?" Before an answer could be re-
turned, Duhaut fired, and La Salle fell dead on
the prairie. The murderers then approached,
and, with cruel taunts, stripped the corpse, leav-
ing it naked and unburied, to be devoured by the
wild beasts of the wilderness.

Thus perished La Salle, and with him that
colonial settlement which he had attempted to
form. His fortitude and bravery must ever com-
mand admiration, while his cruel and undeserved
death awakens feelings of pity and indignation.
Although he was not the discoverer, yet he was
certainly the first settler of the Mississippi val-
ley, and the father of colonization in the "far

1687.] CHARACTER OF LA SALLE. 45

West." As such his memory is imperishable, and
will ever be honoured. The Illinois settlements
of Peoria, Kaskaskias, and Cahokia, are the
fruit of La Salle's labours. It is true he did
not found these places, yet he gave them their
inhabitants, for it was by those whom he led into
the West that they were peopled. Perseverance
and courage, combined with a noble ambition to
promote the interests of his country, led him
into a gallant but unsuccessful career of enter-
prise. He did what he could to benefit his
country; and if he had lived he might have
achieved much more splendid results.

Duhaut now assumed the command, seized on
the effects of La Salle and his friends, and took
up his line of march toward the Indians. At-
tempting to grasp at an unequal share of the
spoils, Duhaut and Liotot were themselves mur-
dered, and their reckless and blood-stained asso-
ciates, unfit for civilized life, took refuge, among
the savages. Joutel, the brother of La Salle,
the surviving nephew, and four others, after
daring countless dangers, reached the Arkansas,
where they found two Frenchmen left there by
Tonti on his return from a fruitless research
after La Salle.

The handful of men who were in the fort
erected by La Salle in Texas appear to have
been murdered by the Indians. The fort itself
was afterward dismantled by the Spaniards.

46 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1683.

!

CHAPTER III.

Progress of French Colonization — Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and
Peoria founded — Expedition of D'Iberville — Discovers the
mouth of the Mississippi — Letter from M. Tonti to M. de
La Salle preserved by the Indians — D'Iberville builds Fort
Biloxi and returns to France for reinforcements — First meet-
ing of France and England in the Mississippi valley — Re-
turn and death of D'Iberville — Fort Chartres founded — Ex-
pedition of D'Artaguette, governor of Illinois, against the
Chickasas — His defeat and death — Extracts from the let-
ters of Vivier, a French missionary, showing the state of
colonization in Illinois during this period — Territorial diffi-
culties between France and England — Extract from a letter
written by Father Marest.

The village of Kaskaskia, in Randolph county,
is probably the oldest European settlement in Il-
linois, and in early times was a place of consi-
derable importance, being the very centre of
French colonization. It is not easy to fix the
date of its foundation, but it appears to have
been established by the French as early as 1683.
Father Gravier may be properly regarded as
the founder of the Illinois mission, he having
been the first to form a grammar of their lan-
guage. Soon after the settling of Kaskaskia,
the missionary Pinet gathered a flock at Caho-
kia, while Peoria rose near the ruins of Fort
Crevecceur.

1699.] EXPEDITION of d'iberville. 47

In 1698 the bold and energetic D'iberville,
having obtained authority to establish a colony
in Louisiana, sailed from France with two ships,
having on board a number of emigrants, and
well provided with supplies and munitions of
war. On the 31st of January he anchored in
the Bay of Mobile. In two barges, each carry-
ing twenty-four men, and commanded by himself
and his brother Bienville, he sailed westward
along the coast in search of the Mississippi. Its
deep and turbid flood, bearing on its waters vast
quantities of timber, the spoils of western forests,
guided them to its mouth, and on the 2d of
March, 1699, the Mississippi was entered for
the first time from the sea. D'iberville, who
had expected a more expanded outlet, at first had
his doubts, which were however soon dissipated
as he ascended the majestic ocean stream, and
met with certain memorials of the visit of his
unfortunate predecessors. These were a portion
of a Spanish coat of mail, a relic of De Soto's,
and the following letter written by Tonti to La
Salle, which had been carefully preserved by the
Indians, and on which for thirteen years they
had looked with wonder and awe.

"At the Village of the Quinipissas, 20th of April, 1685.

" Sir : — Having found the column on which you
had placed the arms of France overthrown by
the driftwood floated thither by the tide, I caused
a new one to be erected about seven leagues

48 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1699,

from the sea, where I left a letter suspended
from a tree. All the nations have sung the ca-
lumet. These people fear us extremely since
your attack upon their village. I close by say-
ing that it gives me great uneasiness to be
obliged to return under the misfortune of not
having found you. Two canoes have examined
the coast thirty leagues toward Mexico and
twenty-five toward Florida."

After exploring the country, D'Iberville re-
turned to the Bay of Biloxi, between the Missis-
sippi and the Mobile waters. Here he built a
fort, with four bastions and twelve cannon, and
leaving Bienville, his brother, in command, re-
turned to France for reinforcements.

During his absence, De Bienville, in the
month of September, 1699, while engaged in
taking soundings in the Mississippi, about twen-
ty-five leagues from its mouth, beheld, to his
great chagrin, a British corvette of twelve guns
slowly ascending the stream. He immediately
sent notice to the intruder that he was within
the limits of a country discovered by the French,
who had erected strong defences a few miles
farther up the river. This intimation had its
effect. The ship was put about and stood to sea
again, but not until its captain had protested
against the encroachment, asserting that the
English "had discovered that country fifty years
before, that they had a better right to it than

1706.] DEATH OF d'iberville. 49

the French, and would soon make them know
it." The bend in the river where this interview
took place is still called the "English Turn."
This was the first meeting of England and
France in the Mississippi valley, and from that
period till the termination of the war in 1763,
these rival nations were almost constantly en-
gaged in hostilities.

D'iberville died at Havana on the 9th of July,
1706, his excessive toils in the service of his
country having brought on a fever from which
he never afterward recovered. The French na-
tion, and the colonists, sustained in his death a
loss which was irreparable.

The success of a colony depends altogether on
the energy of the colonists and a prudent em-
ployment of their resources. Two descriptions
of settlers came out with D'iberville. The first,
unaccustomed to manual labour, thought only of
making their fortunes by the discovery of gold
and silver mines, or by the Indian trade. The
second, which were by far the most numerous,
were not only poor, but idle ; and looked for as-
sistance to the bounty of France, instead of to
their own industry. Hence, thirteen years after
D'Iberville's first expedition to the Mississippi,
although two thousand five hundred settlers had
been transported into Louisiana, yet, in 1712,
the whole country contained only four hundred,

5

50 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1712.

the rest having perished, principally through
their own folly and improvidence.

The settlements in Illinois were more pros-
perous. The French in that country had im-
bibed a love for the chase, in common with the
Indians, who had also taught them how to culti-
vate maize or Indian corn. In their turn the
French introduced the cultivation of wheat ; and
the climate being mild, and the soil fertile, the
settlements slowly and gradually advanced in
population, while they appear to have somewhat
retrograded in civilization.

Father Marest, writing from Kaskaskia, to-
ward the close of 1712, describes the Illinois as
"much less barbarous than the other Indians.
Christianity, and their intercourse with the
French, have by' degrees somewhat civilized
them. This is particularly remarked in our vil-
lage, of which the inhabitants are almost all
Christians, and has brought many French to
establish themselves here, three of whom we
have recently married to Illinois women."

The French who had domiciliated themselves
among them were at first regarded by the sa-
vages with suspicion and distrust; but conciliated
by their conduct, and by the labours of the mis-
sionaries, they gradually became so attached to
the new comers, that a Frenchman could travel
anywhere without fear and in perfect safety.
The French villages, although upward of one

1732.] FORT CHARTRES BUILT. 51

hundred leagues from each other, were built with
such narrow streets, that their inhabitants could
carry on an easy conversation with each other
across the way. The pursuits of the young men
consisted in ascending the rivers for furs and
peltries, and in negotiating marriages. On their
return, dances and narrations of their adventures
signalized their holiday of repose.

During the years 1718 and 1719 the French
settlements of Cahokia and Kaskaskia beinor i n -

o

creased by emigration from Canada, and from
France by way of New Orleans, M. de Bois-
briant was commissioned by the French govern-
ment to build Fort Chartres, for the use of the
"Mississippi Company," an association which
after bringing pecuniary ruin on France resigned
its charter to the crown in 1732.

The French had now constructed missionary
stations along the Mississippi from Canada to
New Orleans. So determined were they on the
acquisition of territory that, where they were un-
able to take formal possession of the soil, they
endeavoured to establish their title to its pre-
occupation by sinking plates of metal with suita-
ble inscriptions in the ground, or by carving the
Bourbon lilies on the bark of the forest trees.
The English had long viewed these continental
acquisitions of territory with jealousy and alarm.
The commercial spirit of the French, however,
did not keep pace with their ambition. Failing

52 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1736.

to furnish the Indians with articles suited to
their wants, the English traders took advantage
of this error, and drew the traffic to themselves
by offering better supplies of goods at lower
prices.

Louisiana having come again under the charge
of the French government, after the failure of
the Mississippi Company, it was determined to
punish the Chickasas, who, devoted to the
English, constantly interfered with the trade on
the Mississippi. Accordingly, the forces of
France, from New Orleans to Detroit, were sum-
moned, and on the 10th of May, 1736, D'Arta-
guette, governor of Illinois, led a body of French
and Indians to the appointed place of rendez-
vous. Having waited for ten days without the
other forces arriving, D'Artaguette, fearful of
exhausting the patience of his Indian allies, or-
dered the onset. Two Chickasa stations were
successfully carried, but in attacking the third
unhappily D'Artaguette was dangerously wound-
ed. The Illinois Indians seeing their commander
fall, instantly took to flight, leaving him, Yin-
cennes, a brave Canadian, and the Jesuit Senat
in the hands of the enemy. The latter could
have fled, but refused to do so ; and regardless
of danger, mindful only of duty, remained to
offer the consolations of religion to his dying
commander. After the Indian custom, the
wounds of the captives were staunched and they

1740.] PEACE WITH THE CHICKASAS. 53

were received into the cabins of the Chickasas
and feasted bountifully.

Five days afterward Bienville arrived from
the south, but too late to be of any service. He
found the Chickasas on their guard and well
defended in a log-house, which the English-
traders had aided them to fortify, and in vain
attempted to drive them from their position. On
the 27th of May, having failed in the assault, he
commenced an inglorious retreat. The Chic-
kasas now brought forth their captives, whose
valour, friendship, and piety could not save
them. It was the hour of barbarian triumph,
and the ferocious savages danced around the
flames which slowly consumed their victims.

In 1739 a renewal of the war was attempted.
A French army nearly four thousand strong
took up its quarters at Fort Assumption, on the
site of Memphis. But from the summer of
1739 to the spring of 1740 this force was
wasted by sickness ; and a detachment sent into
the country of the Chickasas meeting with mes-
sengers from the enemy, who supplicated for
peace, the calumet was gladly accepted, and the
troops withdrawn.

During the next ten years the settlers of
Illinois enjoyed almost uninterrupted peace and
prosperity. Religious in their habits and mo-
derate in their desires, they lived in close friend-

54 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1750.

ship with the surrounding Indians, an<i at har-
mony among themselves.

In the summer of 1750, Vivier, a missionary,
writing from Fort Chartres, says : —

" We have here whites, negroes, and Indians,
to say nothing of cross-breeds. There are five
French villages, and three villages of the natives,
within a space of twenty-one leagues, situated
between the Mississippi and another river called
the Karkadiad, (Kaskaskia.) In the five French
villages are perhaps eleven hundred whites, three
hundred blacks, and some sixty red slaves or
savages. The three Illinois towns do not con-
tain more than eight hundred souls, all told.
Most of the French till the soil; they raise
wheat, cattle, pigs, and horses, and live like
princes. Three times as much is produced as
can be consumed ; and great quantities of grain
and flour are sent to New Orleans."

The style of living in all the French settle-
ments at this time was exceedingly simple. An
arrangement something like a community sys-
tem existed among them. Two things appear to
have chiefly entered into consideration in the
construction of their villages, social intercourse
and protection from the incursions of the In-
dians. All their settlements were required to
be in the form of villages or towns, and every
village had two tracts of land situated at a

1750.] CUSTOMS OF THE FRENCH. 55

convenient distance, a " common field" and a
"common"

The first was a piece of land comprising an
area of several hundred acres, enclosed by the
villagers, within which each family possessed its
own particular plat, fenced off from the rest.
The "common" was a still more extensive tract
of land, allowed the village for wood and pas-
turage, in which each family had a general right.
In some cases this tract embraced several thou-
sand acres.

Some pleasant customs existed in these French
villages. If the head of a family was sick, or
absent, or had met with any casualty, the mem-
bers of his household sustained but little incon-
venience. His plat in the common field was
cultivated by his neighbours, and the crops
gathered.

Another was not less beautiful. At the close
of his daily toil the weary husbandman was
usually met by his affectionate wife at the little
wicket gate which led to the door of his humble
dwelling, and his return home welcomed with a
kiss ; the children next ran forward to claim from
their father a similar salutation — none venturing
into the house to invoke a blessing upon the
frugal meal until this tender observance was
fulfilled.

56 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1750.

CHAPTER IV.

English and French territorial claims examined — Commence-
ment of hostilities and conduct of Colonel Washington —
Brief sketch of the war from 1756 to 1760— Treaty of
peace in 1763 between France and England — Native
hostility to the English — Conspiracy of Pontiac — Nine forts
captured — Failure of his attack on Detroit — Conciliatory
policy of England — Death of Pontiac — Condition of Illinois
under the British domination — Government proclamation —
Annals of Illinois from 1765 to 1778.

We have traced the progress made by France
in colonization, and the establishment of her
power and influence in North America. In
1750 France,' besides being possessed of Canada
in the North, claimed the vast countries watered
by the Mississippi and its tributaries by right of
discovery. In defence of these claims against
the counter claims of England, she had erected
a line of forts from Canada to New Orleans, to
prevent the encroachment of the English colo-
nists, who were beginning to cross the Alleghany
mountains and build picketed stations in the
Ohio valley.

Previous to the formation of that body of Vir-
ginia land speculators and London merchants,
known as the "Ohio Company," incorporated

1752.] TERRITORIAL CLAIMS. 57

for the express purpose of settling the valley of
the Ohio, the colonists had not ventured beyond
the mountains. But when the " Ohio Company"
began to execute their projects, and to send first
settlers to survey the lands beyond the Alle-
ghanies, and then settlers to take possession,
the question of ownership no longer admitting
of peaceful discussion, it was determined to de-
cide it by the sword.

England from the very first claimed the coun-
try from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, on
the ground that the discovery and possession of
the seacoast was a discovery and possession of
the country. But her principal claim rested on
actual purchases, alleged to have been made
from the Indians, of portions of land situated
beyond the Alleghanies.

Previous to glancing at the history of the col-
lision which ensued between these two countries,
it is but natural to inquire which party had the
most equitable claim. It is almost needless to
add that neither party had a title to the lands,
since they had never been ceded by the natives,
who, when appealed to as arbitrators, shrewdly
asked, "Where lay the Indian lands? for the
French claim all on one side of the river, and
the English all on the other!"

Owing to its geographical position, and the
peaceful character of its Indian population, the
territory of Illinois continued undisturbed during

58 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1758.

the long and harassing war which followed soon
after.

From the commencement of hostilities in 1752,
when the French burnt down the first English
trading-house established beyond the Allegha-
nies, until 1758, the repeated campaigns under-
taken by the British and colonial troops proved
uniformly unsuccessful. The French continued
to hold command of the lakes, a complete ascen-
dency over the North-western tribes, and pos-
session of the disputed territories.

It was in these wars that the soldiers of the
Revolution were formed. When first commenced,
Washington was chosen to negotiate with the
enemy. He was present at the disastrous defeat
General Braddock in 1755, and by his coolness
and decision, aided by the heroic bravery of
the Virginia troops under his command, he was
enabled to save the army from almost hopeless
destruction by covering the retreat of the fugi-
tives. But the year 1758 opened under far
different auspices. William Pitt, now the Eng-
lish Secretary of State, had determined on a
rigorous prosecution of the war. He saw the
difficulties by which his country was surrounded,
and roused the whole nation by his energy and
genius. He demanded supplies ; they were freely
granted. He rescinded those odious army regu-
lations, which had caused a just discontent among
colonial officers, and allowed all, from the rank

1763.] CESSION TO ENGLAND. 59

of colonel downward, an equal share of authority
with the British. To despair now succeeded
hope ; to hope, energy and victory. Soldiers en-
listed freely ^ and fought with enthusiasm. Louis-
burg yielded to Boscawen, Fort Frontenac was
taken by Bradstreet, Du Quesne was abandoned
on the approach of Forbes, and in 1759 Ticon-
deroga, Crown Point, Niagara, and at length
Quebec itself, yielded to the British arms. The
war was now terminated, and nothing remained
for France but negotiation with her conqueror.

By the treaty of peace signed at Paris in
1763, France ceded to England Canada and its
dependencies, the French posts and settlements
on the Ohio, and all that portion of Louisiana
east of the Mississippi River, with the exception
of the Island of Orleans. Illinois was of course
included in the above cession, and after the 10th
of February, 1763, acknowledged the supremacy
of England. But although the English had suc-
ceeded to the power they soon found that they
did not possess the influence of their predeces-
sors over the native population.

After Canada and its dependencies had sur-
rendered to the British arms in 1760, General
Amherst, of Montreal, despatched Major Rogers
to take possession of Fort Detroit. It was here
he first encountered the celebrated Pontiac.

" As I approached Detroit at the head of a
military force," writes Rogers, «I was met by

60 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1763.

an embassy from one who came to let me know
that Pontiac was at a small distance, coming
peaceably ; and that he desired me to halt until
he could see me with his own eyes. His ambas-
sador had also orders to inform me < that he was
Pontiac, the king and lord of the country I was
in.' When we afterward met, 'he demanded
my business into his country, and how I dared
to enter it without his leave.' I informed him
that it was not with any design against the In-
dians that I came, but to remove the French
out of the country, who had prevented a friendly
intercourse between the English and the Indians.
He thereupon told me < that he stood in the path
I travelled in till morning;' and gave me a
string of wampum, as much as to say, < You need
not march further without my leave.' When he
departed for the night, he inquired if <I wanted
any thing that his country afforded ; and if I did
he would send his warriors to fetch it.' I as-
sured him that any provisions they brought
should be paid for ; and the next day we were
supplied with parched corn and other necessa-
ries. At our second meeting we smoked the
calumet together ; and he assured me that he had
made peace with me and my detachment, and
that I might pass through his country unmolested,
and relieve the French garrison — that he would
protect me and my party ; and as an earnest of
his friendship, he sent one hundred warriors to

1763.] CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 61

protect and assist us in driving a large herd of
fat cattle we had brought from Pittsburg for the
use of the army. He sent also to several Indian
towns to inform them that I had his consent to
enter the country. He attended me constantly
till I arrived at Detroit, and was the means of
preserving the detachment from the fury of the
Indians, who had assembled at the mouth of the
strait to cut us off."

But although Major Rogers, by moderate and
kind words, and a respectful treatment, suc-
ceeded in quieting the suspicion and suppressing
the rising indignation of this savage, yet Pontiac
afterward attempted to carry all the British
posts by treachery, and to massacre their garri-
sons. His attachment to his " Great Father,"
the French king, which does him honour, pre-
disposed him to believe that the English had
done his ancient ally great injustice. "When
the French came hither," said a Chippewa chief,
"they came and kissed us — they called us chil-
dren, and we found them fathers : we lived like
children in the same lodge." Pontiac saw, or
thought he saw, a want of cordiality in the Eng-
lish toward the Indians. He looked into futurity
and foresaw the gradual extinction of his race,
the result of the growing power of the English.
He therefore laid a plan for a sudden and con-
temporaneous attack on all their forts, and sought
to drive them from the soil of his fatherland.

62 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1763.

He despatched runners with a belt of wampum,
which he pretended had been sent him by the
King of France, to all the Indian tribes on the
English frontier, a thousand miles in extent.
His measures were taken with so much precau-
tion, that the storm burst on the English unex-
pectedly ; and in the month of May, 1763, nine
out of twelve forts were captured by the Indians,
and their garrisons either partially or wholly
massacred.

The circumstances connected with the surprise
of Fort Mackinaw by these savages are some-
what remarkable. The Ottawas encamped in
the vicinity, and invited the British officers to a
game at ball, of which almost all the garrison
became spectators. In the heat of the contest,
the ball was hurled as if by accident over the
pickets into the fort, and the Indians were suf-
fered to enter and procure it. This was done
several times, and the British not suspecting any
treachery, at last allowed the Indians to enter
in large numbers. They immediately com-
menced an attack on the fort, the troops were
butchered, and the fort destroyed. Niagara and
Pittsburg, being regular fortifications, were suc-
cessfully defended; and /the garrison in Fort
Detroit were saved by being previously made
acquainted with the treachery and plans of their
assailants.

Pontiac attacked the latter fort in person.

1763.] PONTIAC AT DETROIT. 63

On the 8th of May he sought an interview with
Major Gladwyn, and told him that " the Indians
desired to take their new father, the King of Eng-
land, by the hand. ' ' Gladwyn, unsuspicious of his
designs, consented to hold a council in the fort
the following day. The Indians were now or-
dered to shorten their rifles, so as to be able to
conceal them under their blankets ; and Pontiac
told them that when he presented to the British
commander a belt of wampum, they were to slay
the officers, and next, being reinforced by the
warriors without, they were to fall upon the gar-
rison and demolish the fort. Happily this
treachery was revealed in time to baffle it.
Gladwyn ordered the fort to be strengthened,
the arms examined, ammunition prepared, and
every man, civil or military, to be in readiness.
Night came, and as the officers walked the ram-
parts, the songs and dances of the exulting Ot-
tawas came surging up from their distant camp.
In the morning, when Pontiac and his subordinate
chiefs approached the gates of the fort, they
were admitted. Finding the garrison under
arms, Pontiac inquired the reason of this warlike
display. He was told that it was necessary to
keep young men to their duty, lest they should
become ignorant and idle. Reassured by this
reply, Pontiac proceeded to the council-cham-
ber, where he startled the assembled officers by
the fierceness of his speech and the vehemence

64 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1763.

of his gestures. He was, however, suffered to
proceed until about to present the wampum belt,
when the drums beat an alarm, the guards le-
velled their muskets, and the officers unsheathed
their swords. While Pontiac stood uneasy and
disconcerted at this extraordinary display of
energy, Major Gladwyn drew aside his blanket,
and discovering the shortened gun, reproached
him for his treachery. With a display of generosity
almost culpable under the circumstances, the
baffled savages were ordered to leave the fort.

On the 3d of June, 1763, intelligence was re-
ceived at Detroit of peace between France and
England. General Bradstreet soon after arrived
with an army of three thousand men, and Pontiac,
who had kept Detroit in a state of siege, relaxed
his efforts. The confederated tribes, united
merely by the hope of immediate success, pre-
sently separated from each other ; and old enmi-
ties reviving, Pontiac was deserted by all but a
few trusty followers.

The English now adopted a conciliatory policy
with the natives; and on the 7th of October,
1763, a proclamation was issued by the king,
declaring it to be his royal will and pleasure,
that no governor or commander-in-chief —

" Grant warrants of survey, or pass patents,
for any lands beyond the heads or sources of any
of the rivers which fall into the Atlantic ocean
from the west or north-west, or upon any lands

17G3.] PROCLAMATION BY THE KING. 65

whatever, which, not having been ceded to or
purchased by us, are reserved by the Indians."

The spirit of this proclamation is well seen
in the concluding paragraph, which we copy en-
tire : —

"And whereas great frauds and abuses have
been committed in purchasing lands of the In-
dians, to the great prejudice of our interests,
and to the great dissatisfaction of the said In-
dians ; in order, therefore, to prevent such irre-
gularities for the future, and to the end that the
Indians may be convinced of our justice and de-
termined resolution to remove all reasonable
cause of discontent, we do, with the advice of
our privy council, strictly enjoin and require,
that no private person do presume to make any
purchase from the said Indians, of any lands
reserved to the said Indians within those parts
of our colonies where we have thought proper to
allow settlements. But that if at any time any
of the Indians should be inclined to dispose of
the said lands, the same shall be purchased for
us only in our name, at some public meeting or
assembly of the said Indians, to be held for that
purpose by the governor or commander-in-chief
of our colony respectively, within the limits of
any proprietary, conformably to such directions
and instructions as we or they shall think proper
to give for that purpose."

This proclamation did much towards allaying

66 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [176 L

the distrust and animosity of the Indians ; and
as they were afterward liberally supplied by
English traders with arms, ammunition, and
such other commodities as their mode of life re-
quired, they became for a time the firm allies
of the British government.

Pontiac, deserted by his confederates, and
baffled in his attempts to save his country, with-
drew in disgust even from his own tribe. When,
on the 21st of August, 1764, a treaty of peace
was made by General Bradstreet with twenty
or more tribes at Detroit, Pontiac refused to
negotiate. He abandoned his country, and de-
parting for the west, lived for some years in
Illinois, where he repeatedly attempted, but in
vain, to bring about a new union and a new
war. He was finally assassinated by a Kaskaskia
Indian. This savage, who was much attached to
the English, attended Pontiac as a spy; and
being convinced from a speech which the latter
made in council, that he still retained a secret
animosity against those for whom he professed a
friendship, plunged a knife into his heart and
laid him dead at his feet.

At the period when Illinois passed from under
the jurisdiction of France to that of Great Britain,
the population of all classes, exclusive of the abori-
gines, could not have exceeded three thousand
persons. The cession took place in 1763 ; but
Illinois still remained in possession of the French

1765.] POSSESSION BY THE BRITISH. 67

till 1765, at which time Captain Sterling of the
Royal Highlanders arrived, assumed its govern •
ment in the name of the king, and established
his head-quarters at Fort Chartres. His right
to assert the English authority over the territory
was made known to the inhabitants by the fol-
lowing proclamation : —

"Whereas, by the peace concluded at Paris
the 10th of February, 1763, the country of the
Illinois has been ceded to his Britannic majesty,
and the taking possession of the said country of
the Illinois, by the troops of his majesty, though
delayed, has been determined upon, we have
found it good to make known to the inhabitants —

"That his majesty grants to the inhabitants
of the Illinois the liberty of the Catholic reli-
gion, as it has already been granted to his sub-
jects in Canada. He has consequently given
the most precise and effective orders, to the end
that his new Roman Catholic subjects of the Illi-
9 nois may exercise the worship of their religion,
according to the rites of the Romish church, in
the same manner as in Canada.

" That his majesty, moreover, agrees that the
French inhabitants or others, who have been
subjects of the most Christian king, (the King
of France,) may retire in full safety and freedom
wherever they please, even to New Orleans, or
any other part of Louisiana, although it should
happen that the Spaniards take possession of it

68 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1765.

in the name of his Catholic majesty, (the King
of Spain,) and they may sell their estates, pro-
vided it be to subjects of his majesty, and trans-
port their effects as well as their persons, with-
out restraint upon their emigration, under any
pretence whatever, except in consequence of
debts or of criminal processes.

" That those who choose to retain their lands
and become subjects of his majesty, shall enjoy
the same rights and privileges, the same security
for their persons and effects, and the liberty of
trade, as the old subjects of the king.

" That they are commanded by these presents
to take the oath of fidelity and obedience to his
majesty, in presence of Sieur Sterling, Cap-
tain of the Highland regiment, the bearer here-
of, and furnished with our full powers for this
purpose.

"That we recommend forcibly to the inha-
bitants to conduct themselves like good and
faithful subjects, avoiding, by a wise and pru-
dent demeanour, all cause of complaint against
them.

"That they act in concert with his majesty's
officers so that his troops may take peaceable
possession of all the forts, and order be kept in
the country. By this means alone they will
spare his majesty the necessity of recurring to
force of arms, and will find themselves saved
from the scourge of a bloody war, and of all the

1772.] BRITISH GOVERNORS. 69

evils which the march of an enemy into their
country would draw after it.

"We direct that these presents be read, pub-
lished, and posted up in the usual places.

" Done and given at head-quarters, New York —
signed with our hand — sealed with our seal-at-
arms, and countersigned by our secretary, this
30th of December, 1764.

"Thomas Gage.

" By h% Excellency, G. Maturin."
The Catholic missionaries, with their attend-
ants, returning presently to France, many
French families directed their course to the vi-
cinity of New Orleans, preferring a country
where the Catholic religion was predominant to
one under Protestant rule. English emigrants,
however, arrived, but not in any considerable
number, so that the population of the country
was about stationary, and but little change was
produced in the condition of the colony until the
| expedition of Colonel Clarke in 1778.

Captain Sterling remained only a short time
in Illinois. He was succeeded by Major Farmer,
of whose administration little is known. Colonel
Reed was the next governor. life made himself
odious by a series of military oppressions, against
which the inhabitants made complaints, but with
very little success. Colonel Reed having left
the country, he was succeeded by Lieutenant-
Colonel Wilkins, who arrived at Kaskaskia on

70 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1772.

the 5th of September, 1768 ; and on the 21st of
November following, issued a proclamation, in
which he stated that he had received orders, as
military commandant, to establish a court of
justice in Illinois for the trial of civil and cri-
minal causes. Seven judges were accordingly
appointed, who held their first court at Fort
Chartres, December 6th, 1768. Courts were
subsequently held once in each month.

This system, although greatly preferable to
the military tribunal which had preceded it, and
which had created so much dissatisfaction, was
very far from satisfying the claims of the people.
They wanted trial by jury, which, being denied
them, the court became unpopular. In 1772
Fort Chartres was abandoned by the British
garrison in consequence of being undermined by
the encroachments of the Mississippi, and the
seat of government was removed to Kaskaskia.
It is not known at what period Colonel Wilkins
left the country, or whether any British officer %
succeeded him. When Illinois was captured by
the Americans under Colonel Clarke, in 1778,
M. Rocheblave, a Frenchman, was commandant.

1765.] CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION. 71

CHAPTER V.

Causes which brought about the American Revolution — Em-
ployment of Indians by the British — The Illinois settlementa
the grand sources of Indian hostilities — George Rogers
Clarke — Sends spies into Illinois — His interview with Patrick
Henry — Receives instructions to attack the British posts in
Illinois — Expedition to Kaskaskia — John Saunders — Strata-
gem by which Kaskaskia was captured — Cahokia surrenders.

The authority of England was now, to all
human appearance, permanently established in
Illinois ; but causes soon came into operation
■which effected its overthrow.

The enormous expenses incurred by England
in the war with France had embarrassed her
finances ; and as this expense was brought on
partly by the defence of her colonial possessions
in America, she claimed the right to draw from
them in future a revenue sufficient to defray the
cost of their support and protection. Accord-
ingly, in 1765, a bill was passed by Parliament,
entitled the Stamp Aot, by which all bonds,
deeds, notes, and various other business papers
in America, were required to be drawn on stamped
paper, this stamped paper to be purchased only
of agents appointed by the British government.
Against this the colonists loudly protested. They
denied the right of Parliament to tax them in

72 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1774.

any shape whatever; and declared that they
would submit to no imposts that did not emanate
from their own representatives. These remon-
strances had a temporary effect, and on the 19th
of March, 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed.

But the right of the English government to
tax her colonies was still insisted on, and a se-
cond attempt was made to raise a revenue by the
imposition of duties on paper, glass, lead, paint,
and tea. As the duties were laid on these goods
without the consent of the colonists, popular in-
dignation was once more aroused. To allay its
fury, the British ministry promised a repeal of
all the duties with the exception of a nominal
one on tea. But the principle involved was re-
tained. When the ships arrived with the ob-
noxious article, the tea was allowed to be landed
and stored in some of the ports ; while in others
the vessels were ordered to return without dis-
charging their cargoes. At Boston the ships
were boarded by a party disguised as Indians,
who broke open the tea-chests and poured their
contents into the sea ; and at Annapolis the owner
of a ship partly freighted with tea was compelled
to set fire to his own vessel. Public meetings
were now called, and a congress of colonial dele-
gates met in Philadelphia on the 1st of Septem-
ber, 1774, the members of which, after long and
grave deliberation, adopted a declaration of
colonial rights and a petition to the king.

1774.] REPLY OF COLONEL BARRE. 73

But in addition to the tyranny of taxation
without representation, every position assumed
by British ministers in reference to the justice
of the imposition of these duties was false.
"Will these Americans," said one of them,
"children planted by our care, nourished by our
indulgence till they are grown up to a degree of
strength and opulence, and protected by our
arms, — will they grudge to contribute their mite
to relieve us from the weight of that heavy bur-
den under which we lie ?" The reply of ColoneL
Barrd was prompt and emphatic : — " Theyr
planted by your care ! No ; they were planted
hy your oppressions. They fled from your ty-
ranny to an uncultivated, inhospitable country,,
where they exposed themselves to all the hard-
ships to which human nature is liable, and r
among others, to the cruelty of a savage foe —
the most subtle, and, I will take it upon me to-
say, the most formidable people on the face of the
earth ; and there, at their own cost and by their
own toil and energies, erected their dwellings in
the wilderness. They nourished by your indul-
gence ! They grew up by your neglect. As
soon as you began to extend to them your care,
that care was displayed in sending persons to
rule them : men who were sent to spy out their
liberties, to misrepresent their actions, and to-
prey on their substance : these men you pro-
moted to the highest seats of justice, — some who>

74 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1775.

to my knowledge, were glad, by going to a foreign
country, to escape being brought to the bar of a
court of justice in their own. They protected
by your arms ! They have nobly taken up arms
in your defence ; have exerted a valour amid
their constant and laborious industry, for the
defence of a country whose frontier was drenched
in blood, while its interior parts yielded all its
little savings to your emoluments. And believe
me, the same spirit of freedom which actuated
these people will accompany them still. God
knows that I do not at this time speak from any
motives of party heat. I deliver the genuine
sentiments of my heart. However superior to
me in general knowledge and experience the re-
spectable body of this house may be, yet I claim
to know more of America than most of you, —
having seen that country and been conversant
with its people." Such was the state of the
question between England and her colonies at
the commencement of the war.

From an early period in the revolutionary war,
an alliance with Indians had been contemplated
•by both parties. We have seen that they were
employed by both France and England in the
contest between them. It is a well-known his-
torical fact, that the question about the employ-
ment of Indians was discussed not only in the
British Parliament but in Congress. Washing-
ton himself advised this step in a letter to Con-

1776.] GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 75

gress on the 19th of April, 1776,* in which he
said, that as the Indians would soon be organized
in support of one side or the other, he would
suggest that they be engaged for the colonies ;
and on the 3d of June Congress empowered him
to raise two thousand of them for service in
Canada. On the 17th of June, Washington was
authorized to employ them where he pleased, and
to offer them rewards for prisoners. f That In-
dians were present as the allies of England on
the field of battle cannot be denied.

We have seen that, up to the period when the
British gained possession of the Illinois country,
its forests and prairies had been exempted from
the evils of war. But at the commencement of
the revolutionary struggle, those once peaceful
wilds became the nurseries of hostile bands of
Indians, who, instigated by the British, and sup-
plied by them with arms and ammunition, deluged
the American frontiers with blood. The first
American settlements west of the Alleghanies
were made in Kentucky, the early history of
which abounds in the most thrilling narratives
of border warfare. The character of Boone is
well known ; but we have now to introduce to the
notice of the reader George Rogers Clarke, who,
although a Virginian by birth, is deservedly cele-

* Sparks's Washington, vol. iii. p. 364.
t Secret Journals, vol. i. pp. 43-47.

76 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1777.

brated, not only as one of the ablest defenders
of the Kentucky frontier, but as having most
successfully arrested the ravages of the Indians.

Col. Clarke comprehended, at an early day,
the whole policy of the British. He found that
the sources of Indian devastation were Detroit,
Vincennes, and Kaskaskia. Arms and clothing
were supplied at these military stations as stimu-
lants to the bloodthirsty warriors ; and he rightly
judged that, by the capture of the British posts,
the evil would be remedied. Such being the
conclusions of Clarke, in the summer of 1777
he sent two spies to Kaskaskia, who reported
that great activity prevailed among the French
population of that place ; that the Indians were
encouraged in their predatory excursions by the
inhabitants generally, and more especially by
English agents ; and that the French and Indians
had been told by English traders and others that
the Virginians and Kentuckians were the most
cruel and barbarous people on earth. They also
reported that strong evidence of affection for
the Americans existed among some of the inha-
bitants.

In December, 1777, Col. Clarke hastened to
Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia, and sub-
mitted to Governor Patrick Henry his plan of
attack on the Illinois settlements. His scheme
received the approval of the governor and council.
The preliminary arrangements were soon made.

1778.] ORDERS TO CLARKE. 77

Twelve hundred pounds were advanced to defray
the expenses of the expedition, and orders were
issued to the Virginia commandant at Fort Pitt
to supply Clarke with ammunition, boats, and all
other necessary equipments.

On the 4th of February, 1778, Col. Clarke
commenced his march, furnished with two sets of
instructions — one public, authorizing him to pro-
ceed to the Kentucky frontier for its defence ;
and the other private, ordering an attack on the
British post at Kaskaskia, from which we make
the following extract : —

" You are to proceed with all convenient speed
to raise seven companies of soldiers, to consist
of one hundred and fifty men each, officered in
the usual manner, armed and properly equipped
for the enterprise ; and with this force attack
the British force at Kaskaskia.

"It is conjectured that there are many pieces
of cannon, and military stores to a considerable
amount at that place, the taking and preserva-
tion of which would be a valuable acquisition to
the State. If you are so fortunate, therefore,
as to succeed in your expedition, you will take
every possible measure to secure the artillery
and stores, and whatever may advantage the
State.

"For the transportation of the troops, provi-
sions, &c. down the Ohio, you are to apply to
the commanding officer at Fort Pitt for boats ;
7*

78 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1777.

and, during the whole transaction, you are to
take especial care to keep the whole destination
of your force secret; its success depends upon
this. Orders are therefore give to Captain Smith
to secure the two men from Kaskaskia. Similar
conduct will be proper in similar cases.

" It is earnestly desired that you show humanity
to such British subjects, and other persons, as
fall in your hands. If the white inhabitants at
that post and neighbourhood will give undoubted
evidence of their attachment to this State (for it
is certain they live within its limits) by taking
the test prescribed by law, and by every other
way and means in their power, let them be
treated as fellow-citizens, and their persons and
property duly secured. Assistance and protec-
tion against all enemies whatever shall be afforded
them, and the commonwealth of Virginia is
pledged to accomplish it. But if these people
will not accede to these reasonable demands,
they must feel the miseries of war under the
i direction of that humanity that has hitherto dis-
tinguished Americans, and which it is expected
you will ever consider as the rule of your con-
duct, and from which you are in no instance to
^depart."

These instructions, considering the provoca-
tions that existed, are in the highest degree
honourable to the governor and council. It was
found impossible, however, to raise more than

1777.] EXPEDITION AGAINST KASKASKIA. 79

three companies ; and with these Colonel Clarke
descended the Ohio, where he took possession of
and fortified Corn Island, opposite the present
city of Louisville, Kentucky. Here he was
joined by Captain Bowman, and a company from
Kentucky under Captain Dillard. He now dis-
closed to the troops their real destination, many
of whom received the tidings with unbounded
applause. These gallant sons of Kentucky
thought with their commander that the secret
of Indian hostilities lay somewhere in the West,
and the whole detachment was eager to be con-
ducted thither. There were others, however, to
whom the perils of the expedition were less in-
viting. On the morning appointed for starting,
Captain Dillard discovered, to his great mortifi-
cation, that a number of his men had deserted.
The disappointment was cruel, and its conse-
quences alarming. A party on horseback sent
after the fugitives captured seven or eight of
them, but the rest had dispersed through the
woods. These fugitives, after enduring more
hardships than those who followed Clarke, finally
obtained shelter in a fort, into which they were
for some time indignantly refused admission.

After reviewing his little army, and equipping
it after the Indian fashion for a march across
the country, on the 24th of June, during a total
eclipse of the sun, Colonel Clarke sailed down
the Ohio, and landed on an island at the mouth

80 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1777.

of the Tennessee River. Here he encountered
a party of hunters who had recently come from
Kaskaskia, and from whom he learned that the
garrison was commanded by one M. Rocheblave,
that the militia were well disciplined, and that
spies were stationed along the Mississippi River,
who were directed to keep a sharp look-out for the
Kentuckians. The hunters also informed Clarke
that the fort which commanded the town was
kept in order as a place of retreat, but had nc
regular garrison, and that the military defences
of the place were attended to merely as a matter
of form, and not from any belief in the necessity
of being prepared for any sudden attack, which
was not at all expected in that quarter. The
hunters thought that by a sudden surprise the
place might be easily captured, and having
offered their services as guides, John Saunders
was chosen to conduct the expedition. The
boats were now dropped down to a point on the
Illinois shore, and concealed a little above the
place where Fort Massac was afterward built,
and the little army took up its line of march
through the wilderness.

Having travelled upward of one hundred miles,
on the third day their guide became so bewil-
dered that he could no longer direct their course.
A suspicion immediately arose among the men
that he intended to betray them, and they de-
manded his instant death. He begged, however,

1778.] ARRIVAL OF CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 81

to be allowed to go a short distance and try to
find the way. Permission was granted by the
commander-in-chief, and a guard ordered to ac-
company him, by whom he was told that if he
did not conduct the army into the hunter's road
to Kaskaskia, which he had so frequently tra-
velled, and which led through a country that no
woodsman could well forget, he should be hanged.
After searching for some time, the poor fellow
exclaimed, "I know that clump of timber," and
immediately pointed out the direction of Kas-
kaskia, his innocence being at once clearly esta-
blished.

On the 4th of July, 1778, Clarke's party,
with their garments torn and soiled, and a three
weeks' growth of beard, approached Kaskaskia,
and secreted themselves in the woods in its neigh-
bourhood. Here they halted till dark, detach-
ments having been sent forward to reconnoitre
the village ; these soon returned and reported
that " the militia had been called out the day
before ; but as no cause for alarm apparently
existed, they had been dismissed, and that every
thing was quiet — that there was a number of
men in the town, and but few Indians, the
greater part having recently left."

Clarke now determined to turn to good account
the terror with which the English had inspired
the minds of the Kaskaskians against the Vir-
ginians and Kentuckians. He rightly judged

82 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1778.

that if lie was fortunate enough to gain posses-
sion of the town, and then endeavoured bj his
conduct to confirm the fears of the Kaskaskians,
that when undeceived there would be a natural
revulsion of feeling, and they would become
valuable friends and allies. This policy was com-
pletely successful. The assailants were formed
into three divisions, two of which received orders
to cross the river and invest the town, while the
third, which was commanded by Colonel Clarke
himself, took possession of the fort. This plan
of attack succeeded admirably. The fort was
immediately taken, and its governor, M. Roche-
blave, made prisoner, while the other two divi-
sions, having crossed the river, entered the town
and intimidated the inhabitants by a succes-
sion of Indian yells. In a moment men, women,
and children ran screaming in all directions, "Les
long couteaux! Les long couteaux!" The long
knives ! the long knives ! and the streets were
immediately cleared. In about two hours the
inhabitants were all disarmed and the town com-
pletely at the mercy of its invaders.

During the night the troops, in obedience to
orders, continued to patrol the place in small
parties, in every possible direction, yelling and
whooping in the most approved Indian fashion,
while the people remained quiet in their houses.
Next day the soldiers were removed to the sub-
urbs, and the inhabitants allowed to walk about

1778.] CAPTURE OF KASKASKIA. 83

the streets. As soon, however, as they were
seen congregating together, Clarke had some of
them arrested and put in irons without allowing
them to speak a word. This display of military
despotism entirely subjugated the Kaskaskians,
who, filled with the utmost consternation, ex-
pected neither mercy nor compassion.

At last M. Gibault, the village priest, and five
or six elderly gentlemen, obtained permission to
wait on Clarke. If they were surprised at the
sudden capture of their town, they were much
more astonished at the personal appearance of
the captors. The clothes of Clarke and his
men were ragged and dirty, and their aspect
frightfully savage and disgusting. So com-
pletely had the expedition confounded all ranks
and distinctions, that the deputation were at a
loss whom to address as the commander-in-chief.
Colonel Clarke being pointed out, the priest, in
a subdued and humble voice, which indicated
what he felt, said: — "That the inhabitants ex-
pected to be separated, never to meet again on
earth, and they begged for permission through
him to assemble once more in the church to take a
final leave of each other." Colonel Clarke, aware
that he was suspected of hostility to their reli-
gion, carelessly replied that the Americans never
interfered with the religious opinion or practices
of others, but left every man to worship God as
he pleased, and that they might hold a meeting

84 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1778.

in their church if they pleased, but on no account
must a single person leave the town. An at-
tempt at further conversation was sternly re-
pelled, and the deputation abruptly dismissed.

The priest and people presently assembled in
the church, and the houses were all deserted.
The solemn, mournful chant ascended. The af-
fecting service closed after being protracted to
an unusual length, and the priest with a second
deputation waited on the stern conqueror to ex-
press, in the name of the village, " their thanks
for the indulgence they had received." The de-
putation now sought to plead with Clarke on the
subject of their separation, and endeavoured to
apologize for their conduct. They assured him
that they did not understand the nature of the
contest between the English and the Americans ;
that they were precluded by the remoteness of
their situation from obtaining accurate informa-
tion; that some of their number had expressed
themselves in favour of the Americans, and
others would have done so if they dared; and
that their conduct had been influenced by the
British commandant, whom they supposed they
were bound to obey. " They were sensible,"
they said, " that their present situation was the
fate of war, and they could submit to the loss of
property, but they begged not to be separated
from their wives and children, and requested to

1778.] CLARKE'S ADDRESS. 85

be permitted to retain some clothes and provi-
sions for their future support !"

Colonel Clarke having gained his object, and
seeing them overcome by their fears, now re-
solved to try the effect of that lenity and gene-
rosity of conduct which had been all along se-
cretly intended as the ultimatum of this stern,
painful, though necessary policy. He therefore
suddenly addressed them thus : —

" What do you take us to be ? Do you think
we are savages — that we intend to massacre you
all ? Do you think Americans will strip women
and children, and take the bread out of their
mouths? My countrymen disdain to make war
on helplessness and innocence ! It was to pro-
tect our own wives and children from Indian
barbarity and cruelty that we have penetrated
this wilderness. We have conquered this, and will
subjugate every other British post where savages
are supplied with arms and ammunition to murder
us. We do not war against Frenchmen. The
King of France, your former master, is our ally.
His ships and soldiers are fighting for the Ame-
ricans. Go and enjoy your religion, and wor-
ship where you please. Any insult offered to it
will be immediately punished. Your friends in
confinement shall be released. Your fellow-
citizens may dismiss all apprehensions, and are
quite at liberty to conduct themselves as usual.
No man's property shall be molested. We are
8

86 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1778-

convinced that you have been misinformed, and
have been prejudiced against Americans by Bri-
tish officers. We are your friends, and have
come to deliver you from British authority and
usurpation."

The effect this speech was electric. The air
immediately resounded with the joyous huzzas
of the inhabitants for freedom and the Ameri-
cans. The people once more assembled in the
church, not with tears, but with grateful and
happy countenances. The Te Deum was sung.
The cannon roared. The bells rang a merry peal,
and the utmost hilarity everywhere prevailed.
Thus, by a happily concerted plan, the town of
Kaskaskia was conquered, the authority of the
British overthrown, and the government of the
Americans, and those principles of liberty for
which they contended, established firmly in the
affections of its inhabitants.

Colonel Clarke, having effected this most desi-
rable revolution, next turned his attention to the
small village of Cahokia, situated about sixty
miles higher up the Mississippi. Some gentle-
men of Kaskaskia who were apprized of his in-
tentions, offered to accompany the detachment
which, with Major Bowman at its head, was or-
dered to surprise that post. They assured Colo-
nel Clarke that the people of Cahokia were their
relations and friends, and they had no doubt of
their acting in unison with them when the cir-

1778.] SURRENDER OF CAHOKIA. 87

cumstances in which they were placed should be
explained. Several Kaskaskia gentlemen pre-
ceded the detachment to announce to the Caho-
kians the change of government. This expedi-
tion was also successful, and the post was taken
without bloodshed. Indeed, there was not a
dozen British soldiers in the garrison. The Ca-
hokians were at first very much alarmed when the
cry of " Les longs couteaux" was raised, but their
fears were speedily "allayed. The people took
the oath of allegiance, and in a few days the ut-
most harmony prevailed. Cahokia was at this
time a place of considerable trade, it being a
depot for the distribution of ammunition and
arms to the Indians. A considerable body of
the latter were encamped in the neighbourhood,
but they dispersed on the approach of the Ame-
ricans.

88 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1778.

CHAPTER VI.

The capture of the British post at Vincennes — Complimentary
resolution of the Virginia legislature — Negotiations of Clarke
with the Indians — His mode of treating them — The Meadow
Indians attempt his life — Affecting and romantic incident —
Fort Vincennes recaptured by Colonel Hamilton, Governor
of Detroit, and the whole garrison, consisting of one officer
and one private, allowed to march out of the fort with the
honours of war — Expedition of Colonel Clarke against Vin-
cennes — Incidents on the march — Fort Vincennes re-taken
by the Americans — Governor Harrison's letter to Colonel
Clarke.

Notwithstanding his brilliant and almost
unexpected success at Kaskaskia and Cahokia,
Colonel Clarke felt that there was no certainty
of his retaining these places so long as the Bri-
tish military station at Fort Vincennes remained
unconquered. His force was too small to allow
him to throw a garrison into Kaskaskia and Ca-
hokia, and leave him a sufficiency of military
strength with which to attempt the subjugation
of Fort Vincennes. In this state of perplexity,
Colonel Clarke resolved to advise with M. Gi-
bault, the Roman Catholic priest of Kaskaskia,
who was also the priest of Vincennes, and to
obtain from him a knowledge of the defences of
the fort, and of the best way to effect its re-

1778.] CAPTURE OF VINCENNES. 89

duction. M. Gibault informed him that Governor
Abbot had gone to Detroit on business ; that a
military expedition against the fort was wholly
unnecessary ; that the inhabitants were mostly
French, and pledged himself to bring them over
to the side of the Americans if Colonel Clarke
would permit him to use his influence for that
purpose. The offer of M. Gibault was accepted,
and through his agency and influence the inha-
bitants threw off their allegiance to the British,
the garrison was overpowered and expelled, and
the American flag displayed from the battle-
ments.

Colonel Clarke had now by policy rather than
by force effected the reduction of all the British
posts in Illinois ; and on the 23d of November,
1778, the legislature of Virginia passed the fol-
lowing complimentary resolution : —

" Whereas, authentic information has been
received that Lieutenant-Colonel George Rogers
Clarke, with a body of Virginia militia, has re-
duced the British posts in the western part of
this commonwealth, on the river Mississippi and
its branches, whereby great advantage may ac-
crue to the common cause of America, as well
as to this commonwealth in particular : —

" Resolved, That the thanks of this house are
justly due to the said Colonel Clarke, and the
brave officers and men under his command, for
their extraordinary resolution and perseverance,

8*

90 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1778.

in so hazardous an enterprise, and for the im-
portant services thereby rendered their coun-
try."

The British posts in the West having been
reduced, Clarke next endeavoured to conciliate
and win over to the American cause the numerous
and powerful Indian tribes inhabiting this ex-
tensive region. It was in this wild and danger-
ous diplomacy that his genius especially displayed
itself. He had carefully studied the Indian
character. His policy was not to invite the In-
dians to form treaties, because he was satisfied
that they always interpreted such invitations as
an evidence of fear and weakness on the part of
those who gave them. He therefore maintained
the strictest reserve, let the Indians make the
first overtures ; and when he made presents, did
it with an apparently parsimonious hand, as if
he gave them away unwillingly. His first coun-
cil with the red sons of the forest was held at
Cahokia in September, 1778 ; and as it is some-
what remarkable, a brief account of it deserves
to be given.

The parties having met, both white and red,
Clarke waited for the Indians to make the first
offer of alliance. When this was done, and the
bloody belt of wampum and the flag sent them
by the British stamped upon in token of rejec-
tion, Clarke guardedly replied that he would
think over their proposal, and give them an

1778.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE INDIANS. 91

answer the next day. He advised them not
to shake hands with the Americans, as peace
was not concluded, and it would be time enough
to fraternize when they could give them their
heart also : the council was then adjourned. The
following day the Indians having collected to-
gether to hear the answer of the "Big Knife,"
as they termed the Americans, Clarke addressed
them as follows :

" Men and warriors, pay attention to my words.
I am a man and a warrior, not a councillor ; I carry
war in my right hand, and in my left peace. I am
sent by the great council of the Big Knife and
their friends, to take possession of all the towns
occupied by the English in this country, and to
watch the motions of the red people. I know
there is a mist before your eyes. I will dispel
the clouds, that you may clearly see the causes
of the war between the Big Knife and the Eng-
lish ; then you may judge for yourselves which
party is in the right. And if you are warriors,
as you profess to be, prove it by adhering
faithfully to the party which you shall believe
to be entitled to your friendship, and not show
yourselves to be squaws." Colonel Clarke then
explained, at some length, the cause of the diffi-
culty between the English and Americans, and
concluded his harangue in the following inde-
pendent strain : —

" You can now judge who is in the right. I

92 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. [1778.

have already told you who I am. Here is a bloody
belt and a white one ; behave like men, and don't
let your being surrounded by Big Knives cause
you to. take up one belt with your hands while
your hearts take up the other. If you take the
bloody path, you shall leave the town in safety,
and may go and join your friends, the English.
We will then try, like warriors, who can put the
most stumbling-blocks in each other's way, and
keep our clothes longest stained with blood. As
I am convinced you never heard the truth before,
I do not wish you to answer until you have taken
time to consult. We will therefore part this
evening, and when the Great Spirit shall bring
us together again, let us speak and think like
men with but 'one heart and one tongue.' "

This speech produced the desired effect. The
next day, the Indian council fire having been re-
kindled with more than usual ceremony, the Red
men united with the " Big Knife," and promised
to fight no more for the English against the
Americans. In this and other negotiations there
is no doubt that the success of Clarke with the
Indians depended mainly on the fact that France
was the ally of the United States, the Indians
always retaining a profound regard for their first
" Great Father," the French king.

The negotiation of Colonel Clarke with the
Meadow Indians is so characteristic and romantic
that we must not omit to narrate a few circum-

1778.] INDIAN NEGOTIATIONS. 93

stances connected with it. These Indians at-
tempted the life of Clarke in consequence of
having been proffered a very large reward in
case of success. Their plot was detected, and
the leading Indians, having been secured, were
every morning led to the council-house in chains,
where he whom they had attempted to kill was
daily engaged in forming friendly alliances with
their red brethren. By this means they were
led to see the futility of their project. After
a while the American commander ordered their
irons to be struck off, and in his quiet way, full
of scorn, said : —

" Everybody thinks you ought to die for your
treachery upon my life, amid the sacred deli-
berations of a council. I had determined to in-
flict death on you for your base attempt, and you
yourselves must be sensible that you have justly
forfeited your lives ; but, on considering the
meanness of watching a bear and catching him
asleep, I have found out that you are not war-
riors, only old women, and too mean to be killed
by the Big Knife. But as you ought to be
punished for putting on breech-clothes like men,
when you have acted like women, they shall be
taken off, and plenty of provisions shall be given
you for your journey home, as women don't know
how to hunt ; and during your stay you shall be
treated in every respect as squaws." Having
thus addressed them, Clarke turned away without

94 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1773.

noticing them further, and commenced a con-
versation with his surrounding friends.

The children of the prairie were unaccountably
stirred by this treatment. They had looked for
anger, not contempt — confinement, not liberty.
They took counsel together, and presently a chief
came forward, made a speech, and offered the
belt and calumet. The interpreter was about to
translate the words of friendship, but Clarke
sternly forbid him, and a sword lying on the
table, he took it up, and with one blow severed
the calumet, the sacred symbol of proffered peace,
accompanying the stroke with the cutting remark
that "he did not treat with women." The of-
fending Indians now asked the intercession of
their red brethren who had been admitted to
friendship, and several chiefs belonging to those
tribes arose and pleaded in their behalf. But
the anger of the American commander was not
to be thus assuaged, and aware of the vulnerable
points of Indian character he replied, "that the
Big Knife had never made war upon the Indians ;
and that when Americans came across such peo-
ple in the woods, they commonly shot them as
they did wolves, to prevent their eating the deer."
All this wrought more and more on the offending
tribe. Again they took counsel, and then two
young men came forward, and covering their
heads with their blankets, sat down before the
impenetrable commander. Then two aged chiefs

1778.] INDIAN NEGOTIATIONS. 95

arose, and while one of them explained to Colonel
Clarke that these two young men offered their
lives as an atonement for the offences of their
tribe, the other once more proffered him the
calumet. Colonel Clarke, his officers, soldiers,
and the assembled tribes beheld in silence those
two young Indian patriots. Anxiety and sym-
pathy with the proffered victims who thus nobly
presented themselves as a sacrifice to appease
the wrath of the "Big Knife," was now depicted
on every countenance. With difficulty suppress-
ing his emotions, Colonel Clarke approached the
young men, and bade them be uncovered and
stand up. "I am glad to find," said he, warmly,
"that there are men among all nations. With
you, who alone are fit to be chiefs of your tribe,
I am willing to treat ; through you I am ready
to grant peace to your brothers ; I take you by
the hands as chiefs worthy of being such !" He
then introduced the two young Indian patriots
to the American officers as well as to the French
and Spanish gentlemen who were present, and
afterward to the chiefs of the other tribes. This
clemency on the part of Clarke, together with
his high appreciation of Indian merit, caused the
name of the white negotiator to be everywhere
respected, while the tribe in question became the
firm allies of the Americans.

Colonel Clarke now began to be apprehensive
for the safety of Fort Vincennes. Although he

96 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1779.

had appointed Captain Helm commandant of
that place, on being apprized by M. Gibault of
its capture, he had never been able to afford it a
garrison. On the 29th of January, 1779, Colo-
nel Vigo brought intelligence that Governor
Hamilton of Detroit had reduced the inhabit-
ants, re-established the British power, and was
only awaiting the return of spring to attempt
the recovery of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, preli-
minary to a general assault along the whole line
of the Kentucky frontier.

The intelligence brought by Col. Vigo about
the recapture of Fort Vincennes was in sub-
stance as follows : — Governor Hamilton appeared
before the fort on the 14th of December, 1778,
with an army of thirty regulars, fifty French
volunteers, and four hundred Indians. The peo-
ple living in the neighbourhood of the fort made
no effort to defend it; and the only garrison
within its walls was Captain Helm and a private
soldier called Henry. Seeing the troops at a
distance, they loaded a cannon which they placed
in the open gateway, and the commandant of
the fort, Captain Helm, stood by the cannon with
a lighted match. When Governor Hamilton and
his military approached within hailing distance,
Helm called out with a loud voice, "Halt!"
This show of resistance made Hamilton stop and
demand a surrender of the garrison. "No man,"
exclaimed Helm with an oath, » enters here until

!

1779.] EXPEDITION AGAINST VINCENNES. 97

I know the terms." Hamilton replied, "You
shall have the honours of war." Helm hereupon
surrendered the fort, and the whole garrison, con-
sisting of the American commandant and one
private, marched out, and received the customary
mark of respect for their brave defence.

The situation of Clarke now became perilous.
There was little probability of his maintaining
his position in Cahokia and Kaskaskia, as his
army was too small to stand a siege, and he was
in too remote a part of the country to obtain as-
sistance. Detached parties of hostile Indians
sent out by Captain Hamilton began to appear
in Illinois. As the only means of escape from
the difficulties of his position, Clarke determined
to anticipate his enemy by striking the first blow.
Having learned from Colonel Vigo that a portion
of the army at Fort Vincennes was absent on
marauding expeditions with the Indians, that the
garrison consisted of about eighty regular sol-
diers, three brass field-pieces, and some swivels,
Clarke immediately proceeded to make prepara-
tions for an expedition against the fort.

On the 7th of February, 1779, he commenced
his march with a force of one hundred and
seventy-five men, Captain Rogers having been
previously despatched in a boat, with forty-six
men and two four-pounders, with orders to sail
up the Wabash, station themselves a few miles
below the mouth of the White River, suffer no-

98 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1779.

thing to pass, and wait there for further instruc-
tions. For six days Clarke and his men pur-
sued their toilsome course over the drowned
lands of Illinois ; and on the 13th, after enduring
the greatest privations that could possibly ex-
haust the spirits of men, they arrived at the
Little "Wabash. The forks of the stream at this
point are three miles apart, and the opposite
heights of land five miles even in the ordinary
state of the water. The winter had been unu-
sually wet, and at the time of Clarke's arrival,
the whole of this country was submerged, gene-
rally "three feet deep, never under two, and
frequently four." Through this dreadful country
the expedition was compelled to make its way
until the 18th, when they arrived so near Vin-
cennes that they could hear the morning and
evening guns of the fort.

There was a little Irish drummer in the party
who possessed an uncommon talent for singing
comic Irish songs. Colonel Clarke, ever fertile
in expedients, while his men were wading up to
their arm-pits in mud and water, in order to
divert them, placed the Irishman on his drum,
which readily floated, and the tallest man in the
company was ordered to be his pilot, while he
entertained the exhausted and toiling soldiers
with his comic and musical powers.

On the evening of the 18th they encamped
within nine miles of the town below the mouth

1779.] PROGRESS OF THE EXPEDITION. 99

of the Embarrass river. Here they were detained
till the 20th, having no means of crossing the
river. On that day a boat was captured, and
her crew detained, and in it the men and arms
were safely transported to the opposite shore.
From the crew of this boat they learned that the
French population of Vincennes were favourable
to the Americans, and that not even a suspicion
of the expedition had reached the British gar-
rison.

The last day's march, February 21st, was the
most toilsome. Another sheet of water had to
be crossed, which, from the soundings, was as-
certained to be up to the arm-pits. "Here,"
says Clarke, " I unfortunately spoke in a serious
manner to one of the officers ; the whole were
alarmed without knowing what I said. I viewed
their confusion for one minute — whispered to
those near me to do as I did — immediately put
some water in my hand, poured on powder, black-
ened my face — gave the warwhoop, and marched
into the water without saying another word. The
party gazed, fell in one after another without a
murmur, like a flock of sheep. I ordered those
near me to give me a favourite song of theirs ; it
soon passed through the line, and the whole
went on cheerfully."

Colonel Clarke had intended to have had the
troops transported across the deepest part of
the water, but when about waist-deep, one of the

100 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. [1779.

men said that he thought he felt a path. On
examination it was found to be so ; and concluding
that it passed over the highest ground, it was
carefully followed, and the march was continued
to a place called "the Sugar Camp" without
the least difficulty, where there was about half
an acre of dry ground, at least not under water,
where they took up their lodgings for the
night.

In the morning Clarke addressed his followers
in a spirited manner, and led the way into the
water as before, up to his middle. "As we ge-
nerally marched through the water in a line,
before the third entered, I halted and called to
Major Bowman, ordered him to fall in the rear
with twenty-five men, and t