two
of his men to pick up these worn-out ones and run them up and down till
they were warm again. In this way they were soon made all right.

It was now the evening of the 18th of February, 1779. They were near
enough to the fort to hear the boom of the evening gun. This satisfied
the colonel that they were at the end of their journey, and he bade his
men to lie down and sleep and get ready for the work before them. There
was no more wading to do, but there was likely to be some fighting.

Bright and early the next morning they were up and had got their arms
and equipments in order. They were on the wrong side of the river, but a
large boat was found, in which they crossed. Vincennes was now near at
hand, and one of its people soon appeared, a Frenchman, who looked at
them with as much astonishment as if they had dropped down from the sky.
Colonel Clark questioned him about matters in the fort, and then gave
him a letter to Colonel Hamilton, telling the colonel that they had come
across the water to take back the fort, and that he had better surrender
and save trouble.

We may be sure that the English colonel was astounded on receiving such
a letter at such a time. That any men on earth could have crossed those
wintry waters he could hardly believe, and it seemed to him that they
must have come on wings. But there they were, asking him to give up the
fort, a thing he had no notion of doing without a fight. If Colonel
Clark wanted the fort he must come and take it.

Colonel Clark did want it. He wanted it badly. And it was not long
before the two cannon which he had brought with him were loaded and
pouring their shot into the fort, while the riflemen kept them company
with their guns. Colonel Hamilton fired back with grape-shot and
cannon-balls, and for hour after hour the siege went on, the roar of
cannon echoing back from woodland and water. For fourteen hours the
cannonade was kept up, all day long and far into the night, the red
flashes from cannon and rifle lighting up all around. At length both
sides were worn out, and they lay down to sleep, expecting to begin
again with the morning light.

But that day's work, and the sure shooting of the Kentucky riflemen, had
made such havoc in the fort as to teach Colonel Hamilton that the bold
Kentuckians were too much for him. So when, at day dawn, another
messenger came with a summons to surrender, he accepted as gracefully as
he could. He asked to be given the honors