Newspaper Page Text
George Rogers Clark—==
Story of a Young Man Who Went
whew o West For Unole 8am.......cc0..... o
The great French and Indian War
ended in 1763. Its result was to
break the French power in America
for all time and to make English ter
ritory of the region between the Alle
ghanies and the Mississippi.
At that time the war between the
Colonies and the British Government
was still a dozen years in the future.
The coloniste—especially the Virgin
fans—at once planned to settle and
occupy the conquered region, which
was then known as the Ohio country.
Companies were organized to go into
the new region and ocecupy it, settling
there with their families, clearing
away the forests, opening farms and
making homes for themselves in the
wilderness.
But these pioneers were compara
tively few, and the difficulties they
encountered were very great. There
were no roads anywhere, no bridges
across creeks and no secure means of
communication except by way of the
rivers. In the main, therefore, they
settled upon the river banks, leaving
the vast interior country to the occu
pation of the powerful Indian tribes,
who viewed all white settlement with
Jealousy and hatred.
Meanwhile south of the Ohio a con
siderable number of adventurous Vir
ginians and Carolinians had crossed
the mountains and made little settle
ments in what we now call Kentucky
and Tennessee, Thesgeincluded a num
ber of wandering hunters, like Daniel
Boone, Simon Kenton and George
Rogers Clark, whom the Indians
called the “Long Knives,” because
they always carried their hunting
knives in their belts.
Sometimes two or three families
settled near each other; sometimes
each family was far removed from
each other, and depended solely upon
its own members for the means of
subsistence and for defense against
the Indian foe.
This sparsely settled Kentucky
country constituted a county of Vir
ginia.
When the Revolutionary Warbroke
out the thirteen colonies lay east of
the Alleghanies. They had no secure
hold upon the great rich region west
of the mountains and north of the
Ohio River., That was held by the
British, with headquarters at Detroit,
to which place a ecapable but very
cruel and unscrupulous man named
Hamilton was sent as British com
mander of all that region, to hold it
securely.
', There were a number of French
towns and settiements in the region
north of the Ohio, and their inhabit
ants had submitted themselves to the
British power in America. The
French settlers in this country were
always loyal to the dominant power,
whatever it might happen to be, their
sole concern being to preserve and
profit by their trade with the Indians.
For the rest, the region was occupied
by fierce tribes and confederacies of
Indians, who looked with jealous fear
upon the American advance across
the mountains,
| During the Revolutionary War
Hamilton availed himself of this In
dian jealousy and hatred as a means
of striking the Americans in the rear.
Disregarding all considerations of
civilization and humanity, he set his
agents to stir the Indians up to a sav
age warfare that should “drive back
the settlements over the mountains.”
Under inspiration of these agents,
who actually paid bounties to the In
dians for such American scalps as
they should bring in to the British
posts, the savages made war alike
upon men, women and children,
It was then that George Rogers
Clark saw clearly what nobody else
had seen at all,
He saw that although the colonists
might hold their own against Indian
attacks during the war, and might
ultimately win in their struggle for
independence, the possession of all
that northwestern country by the
British, who already held Canada on
the north, would shut the young re
public in and forever forbid the pos
sibility of its natural expansion west
ward.
A thought of imperial proportions
was born in the mind of George Rog
ers Clark, the backwoodsman, who
was only twenty-five years old, and
who had lived from boyhood in tho‘
wilderness. His thought was this:
“Why not conquer all that region
now, while its conquest is possible?
Why not make it now and forever a
possession of the young republic to
which of right it ought to belong?”
Full of this idea Clark set out to
travel on foot from Kentucky to Vir
ginla, in order to secure the men and
the means with which to accomplish
his great purpose. This journey was
'made in the autumn of 1777,
But although George Rogers Clark
was always reckless of danger on his
own account, he was never reckless
of the results of his undertakings,
He understood fully that an enter
prise ending in failure was immeas
urably worse than no enterprise at
all. He undertook nothing until he
had carefully studied the conditions
of the problem and satisfied himself
of his ability to solve it. |
Accordingly before setting out for
Virginia Clark sent two or three of
n.* friends among the young men of
Kentucky to find out and report to
him all the facts bearing upon the
situation. Cautious, prudent, secre
tive man that he was, he did not give
to these agents the smallest intima
tion of the plans that were forming
in his mind. :
They reported that although the
Freuch in all the forts were loyal to
the British their loyalty was indlfler-;
ent—passive rather than active. They
wanted peace and good trade condi
tions, and they did not actively care
for anything else.
Clark judged that by a due exer
cise of force and diplomacy he might
be able to keep the French neutral,
or, possibly, in case his attempt
should be successful, might even win
them to his own causs. As for the
British and Indians, he was confident
of his ability to deal with them if
only he could secure official permis
sion and men enough.
Accordingly he set cut for Virginia
and after a painful and very danger
ous journey laid his plans before Pat
rick Henry, who was then Governor
of Virginia. He explained the im
portance of the mission he was about
to undertake, and the lasting effect
its success must have upon the future
fortunes of the republic which was
struggling desperately for independ
ence,
The British were closely pressing
the Americans at that time, and no
troops could be spared to aid in this
enterprise. But Patrick Henry gave
Clark permission to enlist four com
panies of volunteers, of fifty men
each, for the expedition.
This had to be done secretly. Even
the men enlisted must not know upon
what service they were intended to
‘go. For if Hamilton, at Detroit,
should suspect Clark’s purpose, he
might easily and certainly defeat it
by throwing re-enforcements into the
posts likely to be attacked.
~ With some difficulty Clark man
aged to raise his four companies, al
though not one of them had its full
force 8f fifty men. In all, he secured
considerably less than 200 men for
an enterprise for which 1000 would
not have been an excessive number.
There were three French towns in
the region to be conquered, which
constituted the principal British posts
and the possession of which practi
cally determined the control of the
entire territory. One of them was
Kaskaskia, in Illinois, not far from
the Mississippi, about thirty miles or
80 below the Spanish town of St.
Louis. Another was Cahokia, which
lay just across the Mississippi River
from St. Louis. The third, and most
important, was Vincennes, on the
Wabash, in what is now Indiana.
Clark decided to assail Kaskaskia
and Cahokia first, although those
towns lay 200 or 300 miles further
west than Vincennes. Accordingly, he
embarked his little force of fighting
men on flatboats and went down the
Ohio River to an island near the
mouth of the Tennessee.
There he landed and hid his boats,
and there he was joined by a little
company of Tennessee hunters who
had recently visited the towns he
purposed to assail. From them he
learned that at Kaskaskia the fort
was strong, the militia was drilled
and well armed, with Indian allies all
about, and that the force which would
oppose his attack was much larger
than his own.
But George Rogers Clark faltered
not nor failed. Knowing himself to
be outnumbered by the enemy, he
saw clearly that his only hope of suc
cess lay in effecting a surprise. He
therefore decided—instead of going
up the Mississippi in boats and thus
inviting discovery—to march secretly
through the woods and swamps and
fall upon Kaskaskia unexpectedly.
On the night of July 4 Clark,
whose approach had not been sus
pected, quietly slipped into Kaskas
kia. He quickly disposed his men so
as to prevent the assembling of the
militia, He ordered all the French
people to betake themselves to their
homes and to stay there oa pain of
instant death.
These French people had heard
terrible stories of the cruelty and bru
tality of the Kentucky Long Knives,
80 they obeyed the command, glad of
even a chance to escape with their
lives. ’
The commandmant of the place, a
Frenchman named Rocheblave, who
was devoted to the English cause,
was holding a dance in the fort at
the time, with not a hint or a suspi
cion that a force of Long Knives was
lapproachlng the town he was set to
guard. Thus even the fort itself was
without a sentinel on duty, and the
evening was given up to merrymak
ing. -
Having posted his men in such
fashion as to forbid the firing of an
alarm or the mustering of the defen
sive force, Clark slipped into the fort
and stood in the doorway of the dane
ing hall looking on at the dance. Sud
denly an Indian who had seen him
before recognized him and gave the
alarm. Instantly confusion seized
upon the assemblage, but Clark
quietly bade the people go on with
the dance, adding: “But remember,
you now dance under Virginia, not
under Great Britain.”
His mastery of the situation was
already complete, and he promptly
made the most of it., The terrible
reputation the Long Knives had
among the French served Clark well.
These people not only made no resist
'ance to their conqueror, but they of
fered to become slaves if he would
spare their lives. Their terror was
‘all compelling. : !
Then Clark assumed a magnani
mous role. He told them that the
American Republic was engaged, not
in enslaving men, but in setting them
free. He said that such of the people
of Kaskaskia as would swear alle
giance to the United States should
immediately have all the rights of
American citizenship, ’ .
To a Catholic priest who asked if }
he might hold service in his church
Clark replied that he had nothing to |
do with any church except to protect
it, and that under the United States
all religions were equally frée, The
priest at once espoused the American
cause, swore allegiance to it, and
made his parishioners do the like.
His name was Pierre Gibault, and he
became at once an intensely loyal
American.
The commandant, Rocheblave, ob
stinately refused to accept Clark’l»;
terms. When Clark, meaning to be
friendly, asked him to dinner, he sent |
an insulting note in reply, and Clark,
who knew how to be severe as well
as how to be gentle, arrested the man
and sent him to Virginia as a pris
oner, 1
One thing that helped Clark in all
these proceedings was the fact that
an alliance had been formed between
France and the United States. Fickle
as they were, the French in America
still held a sentimental allegiance to
their home government, and, upon
learning that France had espoused
the cause of the Americans against
the British, they were eagerly ready
to become Americans, particularly
when and where the American power
seemed to be dominant.
Some of them joined Clark as mili
tlamen, and he sent a force to take
possession of Cahokia, which was a¢-
complished without difficulty.
‘ Then the Americanized French
priest, Pierre Gibault, volunteered to
‘go to Vincennes and win the people
‘there to the American cause. He
was completely successful.
But by that time Hamilton, the
| British commandant at Detroit,
learned what was going on. He in
}stantly organized a force of British,
French and Indiang to march upon
’Vincennes and re-establish British
supremacy there. It required a con
'siderable time for Hamilton to ac
‘complish that purpose, but after a
few months he achieved it, and Vin
? cennes became again a strong British
post.
~ This left Clark in a very perilous
position. He was in control of a half
hostile population, which had indeed
sworn allegiance to America, but
which, as he very well knew, was
ready to change its alleglance upon
any plausible pretext. He was sur
rounded by hostile Indians, fully
armed and fully fed by the British,
and fully ready to do the British bid
ding. His only military base lay at
Pittsburg—hundreds of miles to the
east—and Vincennes, with its strong
garrison, lay immediately between
him and that base.
It was Hamilton’s purpose, of
course, to assail Clark and congquer
him, thus recovering Kaskaskia and
Cahokia to the British power.
But he decided to rest for the win
ter. Clark saw his opportunity, and
although the term of his men’s en
listments had run out, he persuaded
‘them to begin a march against Vin
cennes. It was a terrible ordeal,
Food was scarce and there were no
tents nor blankets. The army had to
wade through icy streams, gun over
head. At last, however, they arrived
at the fort. Clark’s rifles prevailed
against the defenses after a day and
a night of fighting. Hamilton and‘
‘his men were made prisoners. |
~ Clark paroled the greater part of
i.them. but he sent Hamilton and
‘ twenty-five others as prisoners of war
to Virginia. e
George Rogers Clark was now mas
ter of the Northwest, and by virtue
of his extraordinary conquest of that
region Ohlo, Indiana, Illinois, Michi
gan and Wisconsin are to-day great
States in the American Union instead.
of being—as they otherwise must
have been — provinces of British
America.—Youth’s Companion,
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R B e &
In 1907 72,500 barrels of apples
were imported direct from the United
States and Canada to Manchester,
Mount Cameron, on the west coast
of Africa, long regarded as an extinct
voleano, was found to be still alive
and in danger of eruption by a party
of German explorers recently.
At Yale University there is a skull
of a prehistoric animal which meas
ures nine feet long and six feet
broad.
Many doctors say that lawn tennis
is the most healthful form of recrea
tion. “
From time out of mind certain de
votees of Japan have visited a cele
brated temple at Narita twice a year
to perform the pious act of fasting
within its sacred precincts. -
Municipal pawnshops have been
opened in Pekin for the relief of
the residents who have been hereoto
fore the victims of extortionate pri
vate establishments, The city
charges are fifteen per cent., while
they have been paying fifty.
The Great Lakes rank next to the
Atlantic Coast in the quantity and
valye of coal consumed in steam pro
pulsion. Out of 11,300,000 tons
loaded on vessels for bunker pur
poses in 1907 these waters alone are
credited with twenty-five per cent. of
the total coal tonnage required.
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New York City.—The fancy blouse
that is made with deep girdle, so giv
ing a modified directoire effect, is one
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that will have great vogue through
out the season, and this one is charm-
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Is simple at the same time. In the
illustration it is made of crepe de
chine with trimming of applique and
chemisette and sleeves of lace and
the girdle is of messaline satin. It is
appropriate, however, for almost all
seasonable materials, and can be va
ried in a great many ways. If the
sleeves of lace are not liked they can
be made to match the blouse, or they
can be made of chiffon, marquisette
or other thin material in matching
color, while the chemisette either can
be made of the same or of white lace
as is most becoming. For the trim
ming any finish that may be liked can
be utilized, and the season is singu-‘
larly prolific of bandings, appliques!
and lace of all sorts. The girdle also‘
can be made of silk or soft ribbon,
with its ends finished with fringe
weighted with tassels cr with cro
cheted balls or in any way that may
best suit the special gown.
The waist is made with a fitted lin
ing on which the chemisette is ar
ranged, and there are also -closely
fitted sleeve linings which serve asa
support to the full ones, and the
blouse itself is made with front and
back portions. The lining and the
blouse both are cut off slightly above
‘the waist line, and are joined to a
§ Blouse Situation,
. The blouse en suite has to a great
extent replaced the separate blouse
in the cold weather wardrobe, and
the silk waist in its old-time guise i
hopelessly out of fashion, but many
women sturdily cling to the separate
blouse of white or cream color.
= Embreidery Flounce.
~ Embroidery flouncings are exten
sively employed in the development
of the high class and extremely or
nate lingerie blouses.
foundation girdle, and over this foun
dation the draped girdle and sash are
arranged. If the long sleeves are not |
liked they can be cut off in three
quarter length. 1
New Irish Shades. ‘
/Among the most exquisite novel
tice in the way of lamp shades are
those made of Irish ecrochet. They
are mounted over a silk foundation
of delicate coloring.
| Six Gored Skirt.
~ The gored walking skirt that gives
long and slender lines is the one
greatly in vogue just now, and this
one is graceful in the extreme. It
can be trimmed with the single wide
‘band of contrasting material as Illus
trated, with a band of the same or
with a succession of narrow bands or
rows of braid applied on the same
lines, or it can be finished with a hem
only, all these styles being equally in
vogue. Again, it allows a choice of
the inverted pleats or habit back so
that it can be made to suit all figures
and all seasonable materials. In the
illustration it is made of one of the
new bordered materials, and the bor
der is cut off and applied to form the
trimming band.
_ The skirt is cut in six gores, and
there consequently is a seam at the
centre front as well as one at centre
back. When the habit back is de
sired the fulness is cut off on indi
cated lines. The band which forms
the trimming is arranged over the
skirt and is mitred to conform to the
indicated shaping.
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Belt Adjustment,
A touch to be observed—in wear
ing forenoon linens, etc.—is this: It
the costume is a short waisted affair,
whether in white or in colors, the
smart belt to be worn is an all-white
one, but if it is long-waisted, a color
is to be chosen for the belt.
About Hatpins.
Hatpin heads for a while grew
larger and larger, until they resem
bled the tiny butter plates once uni
versally used.
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HEALTH VERY POOR--- :
RESTORED BY PE-RU-NA.
Catarrh Twenty-five Years---
Had a Bad Cough.
Miss Sophia Kittlesen, Evanston, 111.,
writes: -
“I have been troubled with catarrh for
nearly twenty-five years and have tried
Ewiny cures for it, but obtained very little
elp.
“%‘hen m(r brother advised me to try
Peruna, and I did.
“My health was very poor at the time
1 began takm? Peruna. My throat was
very sore and I had a bad cough.
‘‘Perunahascured me. The chronic
catarrh is goneand myhealilh is very
m_!tch improved.
*“I recommend Peruna to all my friends
who are troubled as | was.”
PERUNA TABLETS +—Some people tlu'e
fer tablets, rather than medicine in a fluid
form, S}lc’l\ people can obtain Peruna tab
lets, which represent the medicinal ingre
dients of Peruna. FEach tablet equals one
average dose of Peruna.
Man-a-lin the Ideal Laxative.
Ask your Druggist for a Free Pe
runa Almanac for 1909,
e e
A man isn’t necessarily a fisher-,
man just because he is a liar,
Mmg:-' l?apndlno Cures Women's
onthly Pains, Backache, Nervousn
and Headache. .'lt’u Liquid. Effects im:;
diately. Prescribed bx g&yucmns with best
results. 10c., 25c., an .. at drug stores,
Not a SBafe Place.
Old Aunt Hepsy Garside never had
Been a moving picture show before.
She gazed in speechless wonder at
the magic contrivance by which mes
senger boys were made to move with
breakneck speed, barbers to shave
their customers in less than a min
ute and heavy policemen to dash
along the street at a rate never at
tained by a living specimen, either
on or off duty.
It was all real to her. She could
not doubt the evidence of her senses.
All those things were taking place
exactly as depicted.
Presently an automobile came in
sight in the far background, moving
directly toward the audience at the
rate of at least a mile a minute. Just
as a catastrophe seemed inevitable
it swerved aside, passed on and dis
appeared.
Aunt Hepsy could not stand it no
ionger. Hestfly grasping > bapd &
her little nlece she rose ana stasies
awilily &= tae dose -
“Come along, Minervy!™ sne sme.
“It ain’t safe to stay here any longer?
That thing didn’t miss me more than
two feet!”—Youth's Companion.
- OBLIGING.
Mrs. Chinnon—“Tel] Marie I want
her to come up and take my hair
down.”
Roge (she new maid)—“Can’t 1
take it down to her, ma’am?”—Har
per’s Bazar.
LIVING ADVERTISEMENT.
Glow of Health Speaks For Postum.
1t requires no scientific training to
discover whether coffee disagrees or
not.
Simply stop it for a time and use
Postum in place of it, then note the
beneficial effects. The truth will ap
pear.
‘‘Six years ago I was in a very bad
condition,” writes a Tenn. lady, “I
suffered from indigestion, nervous
‘neps and insomnia.
“l was then an inveterate coffee
drinker, but it was long before I could
be persuaded that it was coffee that
hurt me. Finally I decided to leave
it off a few days and find out the
truth.
“The first morning I left off coffes
I had a raging headache, so 1 decided
I must have something to take the
place of coffee.” (The headache was
caused by the reaction of the coffee
drug—-caffeine).
“Having heard of Postum through
a friend who used it, I bought a pack
age and tried it. 1 did not like it at
first, but after I learned how to maka
it right, according to directions on
pkg., I would not change back to cof
fee for anything,
“When I began to use Postum I
weighed only 117 Ibs. Now I weigh
170, and as I have not taken any
tonic in that time I can oniy attribute
my recovery of good health to the use
of Postum in place of coffee.
“My husband says 1 am a living ad
vertisement for Postum. lam glad
to be the means of inducing my many
friends to use Postum, too.”
Name given by Postum Co., Battle
Creek, Mich. Read ‘“The Road to
Wellville,” in pkge. ‘“‘There's a Rea
son.”
Ever read the above letter? A
new one appears from time to time.
They are genuine, true and full of hu
man interest,
