In the Current of the Revolution m 



selves, to the British regulars and French- Canadians 

 against whom they were pitted. 



Early in the forenoon Clark summoned the fort 

 to surrender, and while waiting for the return of the 

 flag his men took the opportunity of getting break- 

 fast, the first regular meal they had had for six 

 days. Hamilton declined to surrender, but pro- 

 posed a three days' truce instead. This proposition 

 Clark instantly rejected, and the firing again be- 

 gan, the backwoodsmen beseeching Clark to let 

 them storm the fort; he refused. While the nego- 

 tiations were going on a singular incident occurred. 

 A party of Hamilton's Indians returned from a suc- 

 cessful scalping expedition against the frontier, and 

 being ignorant of what had taken place, marched 

 straight into the town. Some of Clark's back- 

 woodsmen instantly fell on them and killed or cap- 

 tured nine, besides two Franch partisans who had 

 been out with them. 39 One of the latter was the 

 son of a creole lieutenant in Clark's troops, and 

 after much pleading his father and friends pro- 

 cured the release of himself and his comrade. 40 



39 Do. In the letter to Mason he says two scalped, six cap- 

 tured and afterward tomahawked. Bowman says two killed, 

 three wounded, six captured; and calls the two partisans 

 "prisoners." Hamilton and Clark say they were French 

 allies of the British, the former saying there were two, the 

 latter mentioning only one. Hamilton says there were fifteen 

 Indians. 



40 The incident is noteworthy as showing how the French 

 were divided ; throughout the Revolutionary war in the west 

 they furnished troops to help in turn whites and Indians. 

 British and Americans. The Illinois French, however, gen- 



