Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-07-25

Il
prise the Gsrrisen.
In st. Nicholas Hon. Theodore Roose-
Welt writes Of George Rogers Clark
and the Conquest of the Northwest"
He gives the following account Of the
capture Of vincennes:
Accordingly he gathered together the
pick Of his men, together with few
Creoles, one hundred and seventy all
told, and set out for Vincennes. At
first the journey was easy enough, for
they passed across the snowy Illinois
prairies, broken by great reaches of
lofty woods. They killed elk, buffalo,
and deer for food, there being no diff
Guilty In getting all they wanted to
eat; and ut night they built huge fircs
by which to sleep, and Toasted like In
dian war-dancers, as Clark said In his
report.
But when, In the middle Of Febru-
airy, they reached the drowned lands of
the Wabash, they found the Ice had just
broken up and everything was flooded.
The difficulties seemed almost insuper-
able, and SO their march became pain
full and laborious to a degree. All day
long the troops waded In the icy water,
and Mt night they could with difficulty
find some little hillock OH which to
sleep. Only Clark's indomitable cour-
age and eheerfulness kept the party In
heart and enabled them to persevere.
However, persevere they did, and at
last, ON Feb. %, they came In sight or
the town of Vincennes. They captured
| a Creole who was out shooting ducks,
and from him learned that their APP
proach was utterly unsupported, aud
that there were many Indians In town.
Clark was now In some doubt as to
how to make his fight. The British
| regulars dwelt In small fort at one
end of the town, where they had two
light guns; but Clark feared that, IL he
made q sudden night attack, the towns
people and the Indians would from
sheer. fright turn against him. He ac-
cordingly arranged, just before he
marched In, to send In the captured duck
hunter, conveying q warning to the
Indians and Creoles that he was about
| to attack the town, but that his only
quarrel was with the British, and that
II the other inhabitants would stay In
their own homes they would not be
molested.
Sending the duck hunter ahead, Clark
took up his march and entered the
town just after nightfall. The news
conveyed by the released hunter as
founded the townspeople, and they
talked 1t over eagerly, and were In
doubt what to do. The Indians, not
knowing how great might be the force
that would assail the town, at once
took refuge In the neighboring woods,
while the Creoles retired to their own
houses. The British knew nothing of
what had happened until the Ameri-
cans had actually entered the streets
of the little village. Rushing forward
Clark's men soon penned the regulars
within their fort, where they kept them
surrounded all night. The next day a
party Of Indian warriors, who in the
British interest had been ravaging the
settlements Of Kentucky, arrived and
entered the town, ignorant that the
Americans had captured 1t. Marching
boldly forward to the fort, they sud-
denly found it beleaguered, and before
they could flee were seized by the back
woodsmen. At their belts they carried
the scalps of the slain settlers. The
savages were taken red-handed, and
the American frontiersmen were in no
mood to show mercy. All the Indians
were quickly tomahawked in sight of
the fort.
For some time the British defended
themselves well; but at length their
guns were disabled, all of the gunners
being picked of by the backwoodsmen,
and finally the garrison dared not so
muchsas appear at portfolio, so dead
ly was the fire from the long rifles
Under such circumstances Hamilton
was forced to surrender.