On the Kentucky Frontier: A Story of the Fighting Pioneers of the West

When the last boat had rounded-to and made fast in front of our camp, we were as well prepared for the march, in fact, better, than we should be twenty-four hours later, and the halt was prolonged only until it could be decided by all the members of the party how we might best set out.

After a consultation it was decided that the boats should be dropped about six miles further down the river to such point as would afford concealment for them, after which our party would begin the march across the wilderness, and the last craft had not been made fast half an hour before we were under way again, Simon Kenton, Paul and I paddling ahead to select a spot where we might leave the unwieldy boats with some degree of assurance that they would remain undiscovered.

In order that I should be able to tell the story of all we two lads did while we were with Simon Kenton, it is necessary that much of the detail be omitted, else would this poor story run to such length that he who attempted to read might grow weary in the task.

Therefore it is that nothing shall be set down regarding the march across the wilderness, during which we met with no other adventure than the capture of one of Rocheblave's spies, whom we met the second day after leaving the river.

It chanced to be the good fortune of us three – meaning Simon Kenton, Paul and myself – to come across the fellow while he was cooking a fat turkey, and although it was by no means to his liking, we forced him to go back with us to Major Clarke. He claimed to be an honest settler of Kaskaskia, whose sympathies were with the struggling colonists; but John Lucas had told us that there were few in the settlement thus disposed, and Simon Kenton believed it safer to hold him for a certain time, than run the chances of letting him go whithersoever he would.

The hunters from the outposts soon settled his fate, for they recognized in him one who had been most active in inciting the Indians against the settlers of Kentucky, and but for Major Clarke's bold stand he would have been put out of the world in the quickest possible manner, as indeed he should have been, for I counted him a more deliberate murderer even than the savages, and equally culpable.

However, we held him close prisoner by tying him between two of the strongest men, and I venture to say that during the remainder of our tramp through the wilderness he got a reasonably good idea of how innocent women and children fare when they are forced to accompany savage captors.

Our progress was reasonably rapid, and yet no precautions were spared to prevent surprise.

Twenty of the party, among whom were Simon Kenton, Paul and myself, remained two miles or more in advance of the main body, spreading out in what nowadays would be called a skirmish line, and taking exceeding good care that nothing escaped our attention.

It was on the afternoon of the fourth day of July when we arrived within a mile of the outpost, having every reason to believe that thus far Monsieur Rocheblave was ignorant that we proposed to deprive him of his command.

Had it not been for the opportune meeting with the four hunters, I question if we should have been able to advance secretly thus near; but they, acquainted with all the approaches to the settlement, and knowing where we would be less likely to attract attention, led us safely on until we were in a good position to begin the work on hand.

Although there were more than four hundred in the party, we remained five hours hidden almost beside the garrison, and yet no suspicion of our presence was aroused.

None other, save men familiar with frontier life, could have accomplished what at this time seems to me almost impossible, even though I know full well it was done.

We remained hidden in the thicket, from which point we could see the people of the settlement as they moved to and fro intent on their daily tasks, and yet one might have passed within an hundred yards of us without being suspicious that so many armed men were in the vicinity.

It was believed, at least by Paul and me, that a battle must be fought before we could gain possession of the outpost, and perhaps there is no need why I should set down here the fact that once more was my heart filled with timorousness, for by this time it should well be understood that whenever danger threatened I grew cowardly.

It was one thing to fight against the Indians in the forest where we could find as good shelter as they, and quite another to advance in the open against a garrison of men equally skilful with ourselves in handling a rifle, and protected by a stockade.

I believed, and with good cause, that many of as would be sent into another world before the sun rose again, and, unless I was willing to show my companions how much of a coward I had become, I must take my chances of death with the others.

It was by no means cheerful, lying there in the thicket, not daring to speak or move lest an alarm should be given, and looking forward to that struggle which must speedily ensue.

Had it been possible to hold converse with Paul, then might some subject have been brought up which would have changed the current of my thoughts; but I was forbidden even to whisper, and it seemed to me then as if between us and that stockade so short a distance away, death stalked to and fro, awaiting our approach.

It is the coward, and only the coward, who reaches out into the future in search of danger. The sensible man waits until confronted by the peril before giving way to fear, and this was proven to me before many hours had passed. I suffered ten times more than if we had advanced and been severely beaten, and yet, as we speedily understood, I had no reason whatsoever to thus torture myself.

When the night came it seemed to me as if Major Clarke had forgotten for what purpose we were there.

Peering out from amid the thicket we could see that the inhabitants of the settlement had gone to their rest. Two hours after the sunset, the garrison was quiet, and yet our commander gave no signal.

Looking forward to wounds, and perhaps death, as I did, the moments went by exceedingly slow, and I came to believe that almost any danger would be preferable to this stealthy waiting for the signal which should precipitate the action.

Paul, who lay close by my side, seemingly gave no heed to the passage of time. Like the brave lad I had come to understand him to be, he remained apparently indifferent to what the future might hold in store for us, gaining the repose which would serve him in good stead when violent action was required.

It seemed to me as if the night was more than half spent when I observed Major Clarke rising to his feet, and, as I afterwards learned, it was no more than nine o'clock.

The decisive moment had come. If now we failed to capture Kaskaskia, then was the expedition a dire failure, and those who did not fall beneath the bullets might expect to find themselves prisoners in the hands of captors who would show but little less mercy than the savages.

Before we had arrived at this hiding-place it was decided that the party should be divided into five sections, each of which would make the attack from a different point, and now that the signal had been given the men formed themselves into detachments, moving silently away in the darkness as had been previously agreed upon.

Simon Kenton, Paul and myself, were among those who were to march straight toward the stockade from where we lay, and therefore we made no movement until those who were to approach from the opposite side had been given time to get into position. Major Clarke himself was to lead our division, and although he counted on taking the garrison by surprise, I believe it was in his mind that if a victory was to be secured, we would pay dearly for it in blood.

Well, I am giving over many words to what was in itself but a most trifling affair. It only required that we should march up and take the garrison, as if all the king's soldiers there were waiting with open arms to receive us in friendly fashion.

When the word to advance was given, our portion of the company could see in the gloom far away on either hand the different detachments closing in upon the stockade, and yet not a sound came from those valiant soldiers of the king, who instead of guarding the outpost were spending their time in slumber.

Nearer and nearer we advanced, believing all the while that in the next second would be heard the report of an alarm gun; but the minutes went by, and the silence within the stockade was as profound as if none save the dead held possession.

Straight up to the big gate we advanced, and so secure did the garrison feel in the friendship of the savages, who thirsted for the blood of such white people as were not in the king's favor, that the barrier was not so much as closed.

We entered and had surrounded the commandant's quarters before any one of the enemy was aware of our presence, and then came the alarm.

A gun was fired at the instant Major Clarke stood before the door of Monsieur Rocheblave's house, and the echo of the report had hardly died away before he, followed by a score of men, entered the building.

Standing close by Paul's side, directly behind Simon Kenton, I awaited the beginning of that battle which seemed imminent; yet grown somewhat bolder because of the fact that we were within the stockade.

While I remained on the alert, my rifle half upraised, there came the word, I know not from where, that the commandant had surrendered, and, turning toward us, Simon Kenton said much as if he was dissatisfied with this peaceful ending of what had promised to be a most difficult undertaking.

"Well, lads, the first of the outposts we counted on capturing is ours, and we have not been put to the expense of a single charge of ammunition."

"Do you mean to say that there will be no fighting?" I asked in surprise.

"How can there be since Monsieur Rocheblave has surrendered?"

"But we were told there were eighty men here to hold the garrison in the king's name?"

"Ay, lad; but the commander having decided that we shall enter into peaceful possession, deprives them of a right to make objections. Kaskaskia is ours, and it will be a long day before the king's flag be hoisted again. But how is this? One would say you were disappointed."

"I hardly know whether to laugh or cry."

"Why should you cry, lad?"

"Because during this five hours past have I lain in the thicket trembling lest death would be my share in this engagement, and he who makes of himself such a simple should weep because he is so feeble-minded."

CHAPTER X.

CAHOKIA

While we could not rightfully take much praise to ourselves for having captured a post where no resistance was made, the members of Major Clarke's force, including even Paul and myself, looked with triumph upon the exploit, bloodless though it had proven to be.

Surely the king would not have thus lost possession of his outpost had we, meaning the entire company, remained at home, and, therefore, might we claim that the garrison was now held in the name of the province of Virginia solely through our efforts.

As we learned next day from those to whom Major Clarke had confided the facts, many of Monsieur Rocheblave's papers had been destroyed by his wife after he was made prisoner, for our people did not consider it necessary to make a woman captive. She was allowed to retain possession of the house until morning, and during that time burned many papers which should have come into our keeping.

There was not time, however, for her to destroy all Monsieur's correspondence, and enough was found to prove beyond a doubt that he, acting under instructions from England, had been inciting the Indians to hostilities against such of the settlers as dared believe the rebellious colonists were in the right.

I believe of a verity our men would have wreaked speedy vengeance upon this Frenchman who had caused the death and torture of so many of our countrymen, but for Major Clarke's presence of mind.

Immediately after learning that the members of the force were aware of the Frenchman's guilt, he detailed twenty of the most reliable men – those whom he could trust to carry out his orders to the letter, and sent them in charge of Monsieur Rocheblave and his wife to Williamsburg in Virginia, that the wicked man might be tried for the crimes he had committed against defenseless women and children.

The party set off before noon of the day following our capture of the garrison, at a time when our people were occupied in other directions, and thus no act was committed which might have brought shame upon us, although I hold even now that it would not have been wrong had we wiped out Monsieur Rocheblave's crime with his own life, regardless of the fact that he, being a prisoner, was entitled to our protection.

He had entertained no such notions of honor when he set the savages upon the defenseless settlers, knowing full well how much of horrible suffering would be caused.

He left with a whole skin, however, as I know full well, since Paul and I aided in making ready the boat which was to carry the party to the mouth of the Ohio River, from which point they would strike across the country to Williamsburg.

The Frenchman's wife went with him, as a matter of course, and I have since tried to learn what became of the scoundrel, but without success. He deserved hanging, if ever any man did, although many people claimed that he was not really guilty, since he had but carried out the orders given by his superiors.

Had any of those who pleaded so eloquently for his release known what it was to have a father tortured to death, as I knew, there would have been leas said in favor of such a wretch.

However, that has nothing to do with the story of what Paul Sampson and I did and saw while we scouted in company with Simon Kenton.

When our people learned that Monsieur Rocheblave had been sent away with a whole skin, for, as I have said, all the preparations for his departure were made with the utmost secrecy and he and his wife smuggled on board the boat, there was something very like mutiny in the camp, and Major Clarke had quite as big a job to quiet the men as he could well handle; but the volunteers soon settled down quietly, promising themselves that the time would come when they might have more voice in deciding the fate of the Frenchman.

Having seized the outpost, it was as if Major Clarke counted on loitering in Kaskaskia without making any further effort toward capturing the other possessions of the king's on the Mississippi River.

During three days we remained quietly in the settlement, amusing ourselves as best we might, and many of the company indulged in much grumbling because of the inactivity.

We had come to open the river for our own people, they said, and it was little short of a crime to loiter when there were so many garrisons near at hand which should come into our possession.

Before the three days were passed, however, we came to understand our commander's purpose. He had not disturbed the French settlers whom we found in Kaskaskia; but, on the contrary, showed his intention of protecting them as he would those who were bound to us by ties of blood, and the result was that the people began to realize how much had been gained by this change of governors.

The savages were no longer welcome to hold their hideous pow-wows there, and the soldiers could not rob the settlers as had been done when Monsieur Rocheblave was in command. In every respect the people were the gainers by our coming, and fully appreciated the fact.

The next British outpost up the river above Kaskaskia, was Cahokia, a settlement where considerable trade was carried on, and a depository of British arms for distribution among the savages.

It had been occupied by the Caoquias, a tribe of Illinois Indians, long before the discovery of the Mississippi. The French settled there shortly after La Salle descended the river, and it was said to contain not less than forty families in addition to the garrison of about sixty soldiers.

This was the post Major Clarke had counted on capturing when he left Corn Island, and we soon came to know that he had not changed his intentions, but was busily engaged perfecting his plans at the very time when some of us accused him of spending the days in idleness.

Between these two outposts were three small villages which the king claimed as his own, and these it would be necessary to capture before arriving at the larger settlements.

When all his arrangements were completed, Major Clarke announced that Captain Joseph Bowman, the commander of one of the companies, was to lead the expedition to Cahokia, which would consist of about two hundred men, while he, Major Clarke, with the remainder of the force, was to remain at Kaskaskia, and at the same time be prepared to keep in check such of the Indians nearabout as might take into their ugly heads to make trouble for us.

Now was seen the wisdom of the major's proceedings during such time as we had remained in the captured garrison.

The inhabitants of Kaskaskia had had time to realize that they were much better off under the rule of the colonists than that of the king, and once this was brought fully home to them, they became eager that the other outposts on the river should experience the same change of government.

Therefore, instead of secretly sending scouts ahead to warn these villages through which we must pass, the people of the post begged permission to accompany the volunteers, claiming that by relating what had occurred in their own settlement they could quickly bring the others to terms, thereby preventing bloodshed, and doing a favor to their neighbors at the same time they benefited themselves.

As Simon Kenton put it: "Once they knew that the Americans were prepared to take possession of America – or such portion of it as came in their way – the one desire was that the rule of the king might be wiped out speedily, which was good sense, inasmuch as both parties could not hold portions of the river without coming to blows."

If these people whose settlements we had taken without striking a blow could have had their way, every outpost now garrisoned by men who gave allegiance to the king would be speedily in our possession, and while the temper of the people was at this point, the proper time had come to push the advantage.

When it was announced that among those who would set out under command of Captain Bowman would be the scout Kenton and his two companions, I had no misgivings.

The anguish of mind that had been mine with so little cause just before we surprised the Kaskaskia garrison had taught me a lesson, and, in addition, I believed that we would continue our march in the same bloodless, triumphant fashion as it had been begun.

And in this I was not mistaken.

Lest I draw out this story to too great length, setting down facts which strangers may think are of no importance in the history of our taking possession of the Mississippi River, I shall go straight ahead toward the end without stopping here to relate what at the time seemed to us of considerable importance, or to explain how Paul and I acted or felt under certain trying and disagreeable circumstances.

Simon Kenton was to have charge of the advance portion of the force which Captain Bowman led. That is to say, if we were speaking of such maneuvers at this day, we should say that Simon Kenton was in command of the skirmishers, and, as a matter of course, Paul Sampson and I played the part, however poorly, of his assistants.

We, and I am now speaking not only of us three who called ourselves scouts, but twelve or fifteen more who were ordered to join us, set out from Kaskaskia on the morning of the 8th of July, about two hours in advance of the main force, with the understanding that it was our duty to capture such spies as might be met, or to fall back in case we were confronted by any considerable number of savages.

Well, we began the sixty-mile tramp in good spirits, and when, late on that same day we were come within hailing distance of the first small settlement that lay on the road, our march had been no more than a pleasure excursion.

Neither spy nor Indian had we seen, and I believe that eighteen or twenty men could have taken possession of this village belonging to the king, by force of arms, had it been necessary, without any very serious trouble.

But the orders were for us to halt until the main body should come up, and this we did, whereupon those settlers from the captured post advanced to hold a parley with the occupants of this clearing.

It was not a lengthy conference. After those who had so lately recognized Monsieur Rocheblave as their governor, explained to these other settlers the advantages to be gained, the village was ours.

We had simply to walk in as honored guests, and the American flag was hoisted in token that they no longer held themselves as subjects of the king.

And the story of our successful advance thus far was the same as must be told from this point.

We marched into two other villages, our allies from Kaskaskia going ahead to pave the way, and left the settlers, while we continued on up the river, as brothers rather than enemies.

Three villages hoisted our flag in token of their sympathy with and desire to aid the colonists, and then we were come, at the close of the third day, near to Cahokia, the post, as I have said, of no mean importance, and garrisoned by sixty soldiers.

Here at least did Paul Sampson and I believe our entrance would be opposed; but as before, Captain Bowman sent our allies ahead, and we came into the trading village where the king had deposited large quantities of arms for barter with the Indians, having met with no opposition, and being received right generously.

The people greeted us with huzzas when we marched into the stockade, behind our allies, and were equally as enthusiastic on being told by Captain Bowman that they must take the oath of allegiance to the colony of Virginia.

The purpose for which our force had left Corn Island was accomplished in the capture of Cahokia, for this post was really the last which Major Clarke had claimed it might be possible to reduce.

It is true he had mentioned Vincennes in his plans to the authorities of Virginia; but, as we understood from Simon Kenton while we laid here at Cahokia, the garrison on the Wabash River was not to be attacked unless it might be done with reasonable assurance of success.

Now this outpost of Vincennes was one of the first settlements formed in the valley of the Mississippi. It was occupied by the French emigrants as early as 1735, and called post St. Vincent. In 1745, the name of Vincennes was given to it in honor of F. M. de Vincennes, a gallant and much respected French officer who was killed in the battle with the Chickasaws in 1736.

It was the most important post in the valley, but whether it was to be attacked, we who were at Cahokia could not even so much as guess.

Simon Kenton believed our portion of the work would end here, arguing that Major Clarke must leave a garrison both at Kaskaskia and Cahokia in order to hold the stockades, and by so doing his little army would be greatly weakened; so that he could hardly hope for a victory if it chanced that we were obliged to resort to force in order to gain possession.

"Accordin' to my way of thinkin', lads, our work is done," the scout said, late on that night after we took possession of Cahokia. "There's naught left us to do save retrace our steps, for I should guess that you were not minded to remain in either of these settlements as members of the garrison."

"Indeed we are not," I replied promptly. "My mother awaits me at Corn Island, and unless she decides to go back to the land which my father cleared, I must set about making a home for her."

"I have no wish to remain," Paul added. "It may not be that my father needs me; but I have a mother in Maryland, and service in a garrison is not pleasing. If, as you believe, the work laid out for Major Clarke has been accomplished, Louis Nelson and I will return with you, if it so be you are going back."

"Indeed I am, my boy," Simon Kenton replied with the air of one who anticipates much pleasure in the future. "Now that there is no longer a shadow over me, I am as eager to find my father and my mother as are you lads to meet yours."