Great Indian Chief of the West | Page 5

rushed towards the works and threw
open the gates to their brethren. The Indians advanced slowly but
steadily towards the town, and the inhabitants, though almost deprived
of hope, by the vast superiority in number of the assailants, determined
to defend themselves to the last.
"In expectation of an attack, Silvio Francisco Cartabona, a
governmental officer, had gone to St. Genevieve for a company of

militia to aid in defending the town, in case of necessity, and had at the
beginning of the month returned with sixty men, who were quartered
on the citizens. As soon as the attack commenced, however, neither
Cartabona nor his men could be seen. Either through fear or treachery,
they concealed themselves in a garret, and there remained until the
Indians had retired. The assailed being deprived of a considerable force,
by this shameful defection, were still resolute and determined. About
fifteen men were posted at each gate; the rest were scattered along the
line of defence, in the most advantageous manner.
"When within a proper distance, the Indians began an irregular fire,
which was answered with showers of grape shot from the artillery. The
firing, for a while, was warm; but the Indians perceived that all their
efforts would be ineffectual on account of the intrenchments, and
deterred by the cannon, to which they were unaccustomed, from
making a nearer approach, suffered their zeal to abate, and deliberately
retired. At this stage of affairs, the Lieutenant Governor made his
appearance. The first intimation that he received of what was going on,
was by the discharge of artillery, on the part of the inhabitants. He
immediately ordered several pieces of cannon, which were posted in
front of the government house, to be spiked and filled with sand, and
went, or rather was rolled in a wheelbarrow, to the scene of action. In a
very peremptory tone, he commanded the inhabitants to cease firing
and return to their houses. Those posted at the lower gate, did not
receive the order, and consequently kept their stations. The
commandant perceived this and ordered a cannon to be fired at them.
They had barely time to throw themselves on the ground, when the
volley passed over them, and struck the wall, tearing a great part of it
down. These proceedings, as well as the whole tenor of his conduct,
since the first rumor of an attack, gave rise to suspicions very
unfavorable to the Lieutenant Governor. It was bruited about, that he
was the cause of the attack, that he was connected with the British, and
that he had been bribed into a dereliction of duty, which, had not
providence averted, would have doomed them to destruction. Under
pretext of proving to them that there was no danger of an attack, he had
a few days before it occurred, sold to the traders, all the ammunition
belonging to the government; and they would have been left perfectly

destitute and defenceless, had they not found, in a private house, eight
barrels of powder, belonging to a trader, which they seized in the name
of the King, upon the first alarm. Colonel George Rogers Clark, who
was at this time at Kaskaskia, with a few men under his command,
understanding that an attack was meditated on the town, offered all the
assistance in his power, to aid in the defence. This offer was rejected by
the Lieutenant Governor. All these circumstances gave birth to a strong
aversion to the commandant, which evinces itself, at this day, in
execrations of his character, whenever his name is mentioned to those
who have known him. Representations of his conduct, together with a
detailed account of the attack, were sent to New Orleans by a special
messenger, and the result was that the Governor General appointed Mr.
Francisco Cruzat, to the office of Lieutenant Governor.
"As soon as it was ascertained that the Indians had retired from the
neighborhood, the inhabitants proceeded to gather the dead, that lay
scattered in all parts of the prairie. Seven were at first found and buried
in one grave. Ten or twelve others, in the course of a fortnight, were
discovered in the long grass that bordered the marshes. The acts of the
Indians were accompanied by their characteristic ferocity. Some of
their victims were horribly mangled. With the exception of one
individual, the whites who accompanied the Indians, did not take part
in the butcheries that were committed. A young man by the name of
Calve, was found dead, his skull split open, and a tomahawk, on the
blade of which was written the word Calve, sticking in his brain. He
was supposed to have fallen by the hand of his uncle. Had those who
discovered the Indians in the prairie, fled to the lower gate, they would
have escaped;