great council fire, that never goes out, at a place called Phila delphia. He then stuck down a post, and put a war tomahawk by it, and went away. The sun immediately broke out: the sky was blue again: and the old men held up their heads, and assembled at the fire. They took up the hatchet-sharpened it-and put it into the hands of our young men — ordering them to strike the English as long as they could find one on this side of the great waters. The young men immediately struck the war post, and blood was shed. In this way the war began; and the English were driven from one place to another, until they got weak; and then they hired you Red People to fight for them. The Great Spirit got angry at this, and caused your old father, the French king, and other great nations, to join the Big Knives, and fight with them against all their enemies. So the English have become like deer in the woods; and you may see that it is the Great Spirit that has caused your waters to be troubled, because you have fought for the people he was mad with. If your women and children should now cry, you must blame yourselves for it, and not the Big Knives. "You can now judge who is in the right. I have already told you who I am. Here is a bloody belt and a white one; take which you please. Behave like men: and do n't let your being surrounded by the Big Knives cause you to take up the 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 stumblingblocks in each other's way, and keep our clothes longest stained with blood. If, on the other hand, you should take the path of peace, and be received as brothers to the Big Knives, with their friends, the French, should you then listen to bad birds that may be flying through the land, you will no longer deserve to be counted as men, but as creatures with two tongues, that ought to be destroyed without listening to any thing you might say. As I am convinced you never heard the truth before, I do not wish you to answer before you have taken time to counsel. 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." "The next day after this speech, a new fire was kindled with more than usual ceremony: an Indian speaker came forward and said, 'they ought to be thankful that the Great Spirit had taken pity on them, and opened their ears and their hearts to receive the truth. He had paid great attention to what the Great Spirit had put into my heart to say to them. They believed the whole to be the truth; as the Big Knives did not speak like any other people they had ever heard. They now saw they had been deceived, and that the English had told them lies, and that I had told them the truth-just as some of their old men had always told them. They now believed that we were in the right: and as the English had forts in their country, they might, if they got strong enough, want to serve the Red People as they had treated the Big Knives. The Red People ought, therefore, to help us; and they had, with a cheerful heart, taken up the belt of peace, and spurned that of war. They were determined to hold the former fast: and would have no doubt of our friendship, from the manner of our speaking-so different from that of the English. They would now call in their warriors, and throw the tomahawk into the river, where it could never be found. They would suffer no more bad birds to fly through the land, disquieting the women and children. They would be careful to smooth the roads for their brothers, the Big Knives, whenever they might wish to come and see them. Their friends should hear of the good talk I had given them; and they hoped I would send chiefs among them, with my eyes, to see myself that they were men, and strictly adhered to all they had said at this great fire, which the Great Spirit had kindled at Cahokia, for the good of all people who would attend it." The sacred pipe was again kindled, and presented, figuratively, to the heavens and the earth, and to all the good spirits as witness of what had been done. The Indians and the white men then closed the council, by smoking the pipe and shaking hands. With no material variation either of the forms that were observed, or of the speeches that were made, at this council, Colonel Clark and his officers concluded treaties of peace with the Piankeshaws, Ouiatenons, Kickapoos, Illinois, Kaskaskias, Peorias, and branches of some other tribes that inhabited the country between lake Michigan and the Mississippi, Governor Henry soon received intelligence of the successful progress of the expedition under the command of Clark. The French inhabitants of the villages of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Post Vincennes, having taken the oath of allegiance to the State of Virginia, the General Assemby of that State, in October, 1778, passed an act which contained the following provisions, viz:-All the citizens of the commonwealth of Virginia, "who are already settled, or shall hereafter settle, on the western side of the Ohio, shall be included in a distinct county, which shall be called Illinois county: and the governor of this commonwealth, with the advice of the council, may appoint a county lieutenant, or commandant-in-chief in that county, during pleasure, who shall appoint and commission so many deputy-commandants, militia officers, and commissaries, as he shall think proper, in the different districts, during pleasure; all of whom, before they enter into office, shall take the oath of fidelity to this commonwealth, and the oath of office, according to the form of their own religion. And all civil officers to which the inhabitants have been accustomed, necessary for the preservation of the peace, and the administration of justice, shall be chosen by a majority of the citizens in their respective districts, to be convened for that purpose, by the county lieutenant or commandant, or his deputy, and shall be commissioned by the said county lieutenant or commandantin-chief." Before the provisions of this law were carried into effect, Henry Hamilton, the British lieutenant-governor of Detroit, collected an army, consisting of about thirty regulars, fifty French volunteers, and four hundred Indians. With this force he passed down the river Wabash, and took possession of Post Vincennes on the 15th of December, 1778. No attempt was made by the population to defend the town. Captain Helm* was taken and detained as a prisoner, and a number of the French inhabitants were disarmed. *The following anecdote is related in Butler's History of Kentucky, p. 80: "When Governor Hamilton entered Vincennes, there were but two Americans there, Captain Helm, the commandant, and one Henry. The latter had a cannon well charged, and placed in the open fort gate, while Helm stood by it with a lighted match in his hand. When Hamilton and his troops got within hailing distance, the American officer, in a loud voice, cried out, CHAPTER XIV. CAPITULATION OF THE BRITISH FORCES AT VINCENNES. SOON after the reduction of Post Vincennes, the situation of Colonel Clark became perilous. Detached parties of hostile Indians began to appear in the neighborhood of his forces in the Illinois. He ordered Major Bowman to evacuate the fort at Cahokia, and join him at Kaskaskia. "I could see," says Clark, "but little probability of keeping possession of the country, as my number of men was too small to stand a siege, and my situation too remote to call for assistance. I made all the preparation I possibly could for the attack, and was necessitated to set fire to some of the houses in town to clear them out of the way. But, on the 29th of January, 1779, in the hight of the hurry, a Spanish merchant [Francis Vigo], who had been at Post Vincennes, arrived and gave the following intelligence: That Mr. Hamilton had weakened himself by sending his Indians against the frontiers, and to block up the Ohio; that he had not more than eighty men in garrison, three pieces of cannon, and some swivels mounted; that the hostile Indians were to meet at Post Vincennes in the spring, drive us out of the Illinois, and attack the Kentucky settlements, in a body, joined by their southern friends; that all the goods were taken from the merchants of Post Vincennes for the king's use; that the troops under Hamilton were repairing the fort, and expected a reinforcement from Detroit in the spring; that they appeared to have plenty of all kinds of stores; that they were strict in their discipline, but that he did not believe they were under much apprehension of a visit; and believed that, if we could get there undiscovered, we might take the place. In short, we got every information from this gentleman that 'Halt!' This stopped the movements of Hamilton, who, in reply, demanded a surrender of the garrison. Helm exclaimed, with an oath, 'No man shall enter until I know the terms.' Hamilton answered, 'You shall have the honors of war;' and then the fort was surrendered, with its garrison of one officer and one private." we could wish for, as he had had good opportunities and had taken great pains to inform himself with a design to give intelligence. We now viewed ourselves in a very critical situation-in a manner cut off from any intercourse between us and the United States. We knew that Governor Hamilton, in the spring, by a junction of his northern and southern Indians, (which he had prepared for,) would be at the head of such a force that nothing in this quarter could withstand his armsthat Kentneky must immediately fall; and well if the desolation would end there. If we could immediately make our way good to Kentucky, we were convinced that before we could raise a force even sufficient to save that country, it would be too late, as all the men in it, joined by the troops we had, would not be sufficient; and to get timely succor from the interior counties was out of the question. We saw but one alternative, which was to attack the enemy in their quarters. If we were fortunate, it would save the whole. If otherwise, it would be nothing more than what would certainly be the consequence if we should not make the attempt. * * * These, and many other similar reasons, induced us to resolve to attempt the enterprise, which met with the approbation of every individual belonging to us. * "Orders were immediately issued for preparations. The whole country took fire at the alarm, and every order was executed with cheerfulness by every description of the inhabitants-preparing provisions, encouraging volunteers, etc., etc., and as we had plenty of stores, every man was completely rigged with what he could desire to withstand the coldest weather. To convey our artillery and stores, it was concluded to send a vessel round by water so strong that she might force her way. A large Mississippi boat was immediately purchased, and completely fitted out as a galley, mounting two four-pounders, and four large swivels. She was manned by forty-six men under the command of Captain John Rogers. He set sail on the 4th of February, with orders to force his way up the Wabash as high as the mouth of White river, and to secrete himself until further orders; but if he found himself *Jefferson's Correspondence, i, 451.-Clark's MS. Memoir. |