io8 The Winning of the West 



the confident and menacing language with which 

 its coming was heralded, that none of them dared 

 show themselves partisans of the British by giving 

 warning to the garrison. The Indians likewise 

 heard vague rumors of what had occurred and left 

 the town; a number of the inhabitants who were 

 favorable to the British followed the same course. 34 

 Hamilton, attracted by the commotion, sent down 

 his soldiers to find out what had happened ; but be- 

 fore they succeeded, the Americans were upon them. 



About seven o'clock 35 Clark entered the town, 

 and at once pushed his men on to attack the fort. 

 Had he charged he could probably have taken it 

 at once; for so unprepared were the garrison that 

 the first rifle shots were deemed by them to come 

 from drunken Indians. But of course he had not 

 counted on such a state of things. He had so few 

 men that he dared not run the risk of suffering a 

 heavy loss. Moreover, the backwoodsmen had 

 neither swords nor bayonets. 



Most of the Creole townspeople received Clark 

 joyfully, and rendered him much assistance, espe- 

 cially by supplying him with powder and ball, his 

 own stock of ammunition being scanty. One of the 

 Indian chiefs 36 offered to bring his tribe to the sup- 



34 Haldimand MSS. Series B, Vol. 122, p, 337. Account 

 brought to the people of Detroit of the loss of Vincennes, by 

 a Captain Chene, who was then living in the village. As the 

 Virginians entered it he fled to the woods with some Huron 

 and Ottawa warriors ; next day he was joined by some French 

 families and some Miamis and Pottawatomies. 



88 Clark's letter to Henry. 



36 A son of the Piankeshaw head-chief Tabac. 



