ST.LOUIS % CAHOKIA MISSOURI ———— CLARK'S ROUTE Soesastes HAMILTON'S ROUTE ft By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ULY 4, 1778. gone down behind the Mis souri hills across the Mis sissippi river from the lit tle French town of Kas kaskia in what is now the state of llinois, und the soft evening light is spreading over the low rambling houses and the orchards and gardens. From the belfry of the lit tle stone church in the center of the village, a sweet-toned bell rings to ves pers. Dark settles down and in a lit windows, A scepe of peace in stmnge contrast to the warlike sounds which are soon to shatter the stillness when that little army, which now lies in the timber that lines the bluffs above Kas kaskia, shall sweep down upon the village and raise the dreaded war-cry of the “Long Knives of Kentucky.” For stirring events are about to take place in this sleepy little town, events which in the light of the century and a half that have intervened, we now realize were history making. But let the leader of the Invaders tell his own story, as be does in the book “The Capture of Old Vincennes— ‘The Original Narratives of George Rogers Clark and of His Opponent, Gov. Henry Hamilton,” edited by Milo M. Quaife and published recently by the Bobbs-Merrill company, in the fol- lowing words: On the evening of July fouriia we ar- rived within a few miles of the town, where we threw out some scouts in advanca and lay until nearly dark, We then resumed our march and took pos- session of a house on the bank of the Kaskaskia river, about three-quarters of a mile above the town, occupied by a large family Wa learned from the inmates that the peoples had been un- der urms a few days before but had concluded the alarm to be groundless and at prggent all was quiet, and that there was a large number of men in town, although the Indians were for the most part absent We obtained from the man boats enough to convey us across the river, where 1 formed my force in three divisions, [I felt confi- dent the inhabitants could not now oh. tain knowledge of our approach In time to enable them to make any re- sistance. My object was now to get possession of the place with as littld confusion as possible, but to have (t if necessary at the loss of the whole town 1 did not entirely credit the information given us at the house, as the man seemed to contradict himself, informing us among other things that a noise we heard in the town was eaused by the negroes at a dance i set out for the fort with one division, ordering the other two to proceed to different quarters of the town ir 1 met with no resistance, at a certain signal a general shout was to be given and a certain part of the town was to be seized immediately, while men from each detachment who were able to talk French were to run through the streets proclaiming what had hap- pened and informing the townsmen to remain in their houses on pain of be. ing shot down These arrangements produced the de- sired effect, and within a very short time we were in complete possession of the place, with every avenus guarded to prevent any one from escaping and giving the alarm to the other villages. Various orders not worth mentioning had been issued for the guidance of the men in the event of opposition. Greater silence, 1 suppose, never reigned among the inhabitants of a town than In Kaskaskia at this junc. ture; not a perfon was to be seen or a word to be heard from them for some time Meanwhile our troops purposely kept up the greatest possible noise throughout every quarter of the town, while patrols moved around it con- tinually throughout the night, as it was a capital object to intercept any mes. senger that might be sent out, In about two hours all the inhabitants were dis. armed, and informed that any one who should be taken while attempting to Great Marsh Area I! Chaco, a vast area of land be teen Paraguay and Bolivia, is await ing the ambitious adventurer. It cov ers about 200,000 square miles and ie belleved to be constituted mainly of swamps and jungles. A few mer chants, who even today, us they were in the days of the Phoenicians, are the ploneer explorers of distant and little known arenas, are about the ouly people who have ever visited the in. INDIANA —— — All pictures from “The Capture of Oid Vincennes,” courtesy Bobbs-Mer. rill company. - escape from the place would immedi. ately be put to death. Mr. Rocheblave was secured, but some tims elapsed before he could get out of his room I suppose he delayed to tell his wife what disposition to make of his public papers, but a few of which were se- ured by us in this matter-of-fact manner does George Clark tell the story of the events of that Independence day far out on the fringe of the western wil derness. If he recognized the appro priateness of the occasion, there is no indication of it In hie writing. It is doubtful if he did, however, for the significance of that red-letter day In American history was not yet appar ent to the men who had the most to do with putting it In our calendar. American Independence from the mother country had been declared only two years and it was yet a ques tion whether the Revolution would succeed or fail, Neither could he foresee what lay before him—his easy capture of Ca- hokia and Vincennes, the loss of the latter place to “Halr-Buyer” Hamilton, the British governor of Detroit, the terrible march which he was to lead across the Drowned Lands the next year to recapture Vincennes, the dl plomacy, the tact, the boldness, the daring, and the master skill which he must employ to win the French inhab- itants of the [illinois country from thelr sworn allegiance to the British flag and to everawe the Indian tribes so that his slender force could hold the country which they had conquered. Least of all conld he foresee the mighty consequences of his ambitious plang and the sufferings which he and his mea were to be called upon to en- dure before he had accomplished his designs. We can look back now and gee that had it not been for George Rogers Clark, the western boundary of the new republic at the close of the Hevolution would most likely have been the Alleghenies and the great states of Wisconsin, Michigan, llinols, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, to say nothing of the whole vast territory west of the Mississippi, might not now be a part of the United States. For it is not venturing too wild a guess to declare that had Clark's at- tempt to capture Kaskaskia that Io dependence day a bundred and fifty years ago by some chance resulted In failure instead of success, the whole course of American history might have been changed. It is often upon such slender threads as this that the des tiny of nations hangs. In view of the importance of Clark's conquest of the British posts in the West, it would be natural to suppose that a grateful na ‘0 Rp, VIRGINIA as one of her greatest heroes. In lms been a matter of shame great Virginian that our nation m to die In poverty and neg lect, his Inst yenrs embittered by the ratitude of a “republic which ing gets,” Recently, however, i turdy though it is, ade the many years of neglected ho the name and fame of George Hogers Clark. Last year the tribute of the Old Northwest to the man who made it a part of the United States wae offered in a pilgrimage made by a Inrge number of citizens of the six states to his birthplace at Charlottesville, Va., on November 10 the one hundredth seventy-fifth versary of his birth. SOM recoil neve 4 nor to has been m first organized anni "Further honors to the memory of Clark were also projected during the introduction of various bills.’ One to authorize the construction of a Rogers Clark memorinl light house on the Ohlo river near Louis ville, Ky.; another provided for the construction of a memorial on the site of * Fort Gage (Kaskaskia) in Ran dolph county, llinols But most important of all was the receni passage of a bill providing an appropriation of $1000.00 for the construction of a historical museum on the the site of Fort Sackville at Vincennes, Ind, and the participation of the federal government io the Clark sesquicentennial celebration to be held there next year. This celebra tion which will open next February on the one hundredth and fiftieth an niversary of the capture of Fort Sack. ville by Clark will be the most impres sive gesture of honoring the couqueror of the Old Northwest that has yet been made. Initiated by the people of that section, the whole nation will be invited to participate because it Is the whole nation which owes a debt of gratitude to Clark. The celebration. will have a special significance since it will alro mark the one hundredth and fiftiet anniversary of the first time the Stars and Stripes were raised over that section of the country. For when the British flag was hauled down from over Fort Sackville, after Hamilton's surrender of the fort, It.was the new flag of the new nation, one of the several stapds of colore which the French inhabi- tants had presented to Clark's men and the volunteers who accompnnied them on thelr expedition against Vin cennes, which was run up in its place. Some historians have stated thal Clark first unfurled the Stars and Stripes on the soil of Illinois before getting out for Kaskaskia, but Clark's narrative, in the book quoted above, makes no mention of this fact, is probable that Vincennes and nol Kaskaskia first had a sight of Old Glory. It would have been a final touch of patriotic appropriateness If the Stars and Stripes had been displayed on July 4, 1778. But even though it was not, the events of that day were rig nificant enough, and on Independence day this year, when Americans are re membering the men on the Atlantic seaboard who, on July 4, 1776, signed the Declaration of Independence, they should also remember the little group of backwoodsmen who helped make that Declaration good by their daring and the privations they endured un der the leadership of George Rogers Clark. George terior of the Chaco, lured there be enuse it Is the home of the querbracho tree, an important source of tannin, Deprived of Equipment A man who had made a reputation ns a political exhorter was asked to talk to n gathering of the gentler sex. fle demurred. “I'm afraid | can’t do much good at it. 1 have never talked te women, you know." “Nonsense |” his friends replied. “You arouse the men, why not the women?” “1 tell you I'm certain to make a fatlure of it" “Why are you so sure of that? “Because,” he answered, “1 can't use more than half my vocabulary when 1 talk to women.” Hopeless Case The cream of all absent-minded professors Is the one who, about to start on a Journey, filled his wife with gasoline, kissed his rond map good by and tried to shove his motor car loto y his pocket. GRAVE OF “BEN” FRANKLIN ALL BUT FORGOTTEN Last Resting Place of Statesman Said to Be Neglected. lenjomime Franklin lies busied In Christ Church cemetery in Philadel phia. According to a swory appearing in Pripting, a magazine devoted to the Interests of the typographical trades, both the cemetery and the grave of the “First Civilized Amerl- ean” are sadly neglected, The Targe, flat stone which covers the last resting place of the great and versatile Ben is said to be cracked, while neighboring his grave are many crumbling acd tumbling tombstones. This-is not creditable to Philadel- will be remedied. The printing Benjamin Franklin, well andertake of Franklin, if not the which It Is situated, is as would suggest trades might the thint Brave cemelery in such repair that we are not forgetful of his mem. ory nor ungrateful for his services, It is a simple grave, marked by a recumbent which kept in slab ost 140 giter the marble slab—the same lald upon it ain We would not That is sv. holly in keeping “char acter of the man, a great gtood before kings In the unadoracd dignity of his manhood, and by the qualities of his sincere splendid Intellect world's respect, America has erected monuments to memary of Benjamin Frapklin, and a recent blography has refreshed our thought of him and deepened our affection. The attention which has to a neglect of his grave should be sufficient (sc lead to imme d ate steps for doing what is required Was simplic ‘Ith the democrat who and commanded the Franklin's Monument in Lincoln Park, Chicago. by a proper sense of respect. Phila- delphia is cu todian of Franklin's dust for the nation. If that eity will not discharge this duty then others should assume it. Benjamin Franklin's original epl- taph, which had been kept hidden in the collection of a Chicago business man since its disccvery twenty years ago, has been made public, The inscription differs In oniy a few vords and punctuation marks from the widely known epitaph of “Poor Richard.” It follows: Chapel M wks Washington's Darkest Hour “l commend the interests of our dear. est country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who bave the superin. tendency of them to His holy keeping.” It was to comme of Was gton that th ley Forg morate ¢ cha i erected, writ York Time window Vope in zine, In the large with openings godess from th life one in its of Wi the familiar shown Just as he mu Isaac Polis unseen, he heard the earnest volce in- tereeding the Ruler of the Uni verse for safety of his beloved country, T first months Washing ton passed the slopes above the Schuylkill were the darkest In the hi the embryonic union. The odds that bad confronted him prior to December 18, when his ili clad and hungry crossed the ice-filled and made their weary way up the Guelph road to their win- ter quarters, had been terrific. Howe had advanced to the head of Chesa- peske bay with eighteen - thousand wellclothed and well-fed men, the two armies had met at Chad's ford to the misfortune of the Continentals; and at Brandywine, owing to formation, English soon occupying the Americans’ Then followed the Paoli the defeat st Germantown, genius in command of the patriot army was not blind to the fact that “the enemy is not proof against a vig orous attack, and may be put to fight when vigorously opposed.” on river story of troops river misin- the troops were camps. and the debacle Stin Saw Dawn of New Nation His optimism was not vain, for on the silent hills that now listen to the hourly chiming of the chapel bells he gaw his faithful hopes begin to be realized. At Valley Forge the dawn of the new nation rose, While Wash. ing was pleading with congress for food and supplies for his almost desti tute. men, Franklin was conclueding the agreement with France that brought recognition to the thirteen states and made possible their union. To the right of the chapel altar, shar ing equal honors with the flags of the army and savy, sre the ensigns of royal France, witnesses that In the Memorial chapel the ald given by our ally across the seas has not been for gotten. And In the window that, like a troubadour, sings of the supreme mo ments in° Washington's life, are pic tures showing the resuit of that most important happening of the winter of iT In one the General stands with Lafayette and Von Steuben watching the troons as they pass in review, Over the head of Washington floats the new Stars and Stripes, Beautiful Interior, The rough and unpretentious ex. terfor scarcely prepares one for thé exquisite loveliness of the interior of the little building. It stands within the site of the encampment where the brave army weathered the snows and winds of the winier of IT77-78. The arches of the cloister bays look out gpon a tract now wobded where the deep depressions of the cellars, or hut holes, may still be found. Here there was a company street; along either side were erected the rude structures for which minute orders had been given by the commander in chief —who, refusing the protection of his own inter quarters, waited in the cold in his marquee until the last of the log huts had been built for the troops. Set such n the of Valley stretches of wooded hills, symbolizes the scenic with green and its the memorial cha gpiri it of George Wa soldiers. Darable an« ad ‘J of wondrous beauty open densely Forge, its Unknown Soldier Honored. When the caresses the little eh greetings fal ships, the Nina, Santa Maria, sending voyage of discovery fate afternoon sun 1#t warm those hardy Pinta snd the them on their over a sea of Around them crowd the apel, its ls upon the molten gold HALL we regard with indifference the grost inheritance which cost our sires their blood because we find in their gift wdmixture of imperfection and evil? Surely there is good enough, in the con- templation of which every patriotic bear! may say “God bless my own, my native land." ~James A. Garfield bold men and brave who opened the way to the new the last day setting their faces agieam foresaw the wondrous e country to which they light of civilization, light of the ag if they growth of th brought the While great generals and noted pa- triots are immortalized in the Valley Forge memorial, the Unknown Soldier {s not forgotten; he holds a place of equal prominence. Beneath the lofty frame of the sanctuary arch, at the head of the is the litany desk, placed there in “remembrance of the supplications of George Washington for the American people.” By the desk is a Continental soldier, per- petualiy standing at attention and presenting arms to the altar. He ap- pears again in the niches of the finely carved oaken choir stalls, each one of which is a silent tribute to the brigades quartered at Valley Forge. On either end of one of the choir benches kneels u small figure in the uniform of the Life Guards, tha brave body that fought under the motto, “Conquer or Die” The little band of men. originally composed of Virgini- ans, was augmented by one hundred from other states at Valley Forge and becams the model corps for the exe- cation of the maneuvers of Baron von Steuben. The “shrine of the American peo ple,” as President Wilson called the Valley Forge memorial, was the vision of one man and owes its completion to bis untiring efforts. Twenty-three years ago Rev. W. Herbert Burk, a student and admirer of the character of Washington, conceived the idea of perpetuating his memory in a poem of architecture and art. What more fit- ting spot than the gite above the Schuylkill, where he had passed tri umphantly through the valley of uespair? a iala Gi8ie,
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