222 The Winning of the West 



"that their commandants never made money." 4 

 Finally they were persuaded to take it on Vigo's 

 personal guaranty, and his receiving it in his store. 

 Even he, however, could not buoy it up long. 



Gibault likewise 5 advanced a large sum of money, 

 parted with his titles and beasts, so as to set a good 

 example to his parishioners, and, with the same 

 purpose, furnished goods to the troops at ordinary 

 prices, taking the paper in exchange as if it had been 

 silver. In consequence he lost over fifteen hundred 

 dollars, was forced to sell his only two slaves, and 

 became almost destitute; though in the end he re- 

 ceived from the government a tract of land which 

 partially reimbursed him. Being driven to desper- 

 ate straits, the priest tried a rather doubtful shift. 

 He sold, or pretended to sell, a great natural mead- 

 ow, known as la prairie du pont, which the people 

 of Cahokia claimed as a common pasture for their 

 cattle. His conduct drew forth a sharp remon- 

 strance from the Cahokians, in the course of which 

 they frankly announced that they believed the priest 

 should confine himself to ecclesiastical matters, and 

 should not meddle with land grants, especially when 

 the land he granted did not belong to him. 6 



It grew steadily more difficult to get the Creoles 

 to furnish supplies ; Todd had to forbid the exporta- 



4 Law's "Vincennes," pp. 49, 126. For some inscrutable 

 reason, by the way, the Americans for a long time persisted 

 in speaking of the place as St. Vincennes. 



6 See his letter to Governor St. Clair, May i, 1790. 



State Department MSS., No. 48, p. 41. Petition of J. B. 

 La Croix and A. Girardin. 



