men from the intrenchment opened a hot fire into
the port-holes of the battery, and speedily silenced both guns.
[Footnote: Clark's letter to Henry.] The artillery and musketry of the
defenders did very little damage to the assailants, who lost but one man
wounded, though some of the houses in the town were destroyed by the
cannon-balls. In return, the backwoodsmen, by firing into the ports,
soon rendered it impossible for the guns to be run out and served, and
killed or severely wounded six or eight of the garrison; for the
Americans showed themselves much superior, both in marksmanship and in
the art of sheltering themselves, 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 breakfast, the first regular meal they had had for six days.
Hamilton declined to surrender, but proposed a three days' truce
instead. This proposition Clark instantly rejected, and the firing again
began, the backwoodsmen beseeching Clark to let them storm the fort; he
refused. While the negotiations were going on a singular incident
occurred. A party of Hamilton's Indians returned from a successful
scalping expedition against the frontier, and being ignorant of what had
taken place, marched straight into the town. Some of Clark's
backwoodsmen instantly fell on them and killed or captured nine, besides
two French partisans who had been out with them. [Footnote: _Do_. In the
letter to Mason he says two scalped, six captured and after-wards
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.]
One of the latter was the son of a creole lieutenant in Clark's troops,
and after much pleading his father and friends procured the release of
himself and his comrade. [Footnote: 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, generally remained
faithful to the Republic, and the Detroit French to the crown.] Clark
determined to make a signal example of the six captured Indians, both to
strike terror