mong La Balme's papers, which fell into the
hands of the British and are now in the Canadian archives, were addresses,
in French, by M. Mottin de la Balme, French colonel, etc., to the French
settled on the Mississippi, dated St. Louis, September 17, 1780; a
declaration, in French, in the name of the inhabitants of the village of
Cahokia, addressed to La Balme: "We unanimously request you to listen with
a favorable ear to the declaration which we venture to present to you,
touching all the bad treatment we have suffered patiently since the
Virginian troops unfortunately arrived amongst us till now," dated
Cahokia, September 21, 1780; a note from F. Trottier, a member of the
court of Cahokia, elected under the Virginia government, to La Balme,
saying that no meeting can be held until Sunday next, when he hopes the
young men will show themselves worthy the high idea La Balme has of them,
but that at present there are only twelve entirely determined to follow
him wherever he goes, although others may follow their example, and asking
La Balme to receive depositions against the Virginians, dated Cahokia,
September 27, 1780; a petition, in French, addressed to the Chevalier de
la Luzerne, minister plenipotentiary from France to the United States, by
inhabitants of Post Vincennes, dated Vincennes, August 22, 1780; and a
commission to Augustin Mottin de la Balme as quartermaster of gendarmerie,
dated Versailles, February 23, 1766.(67) The British promptly set about
promoting the Indian trader whom La Balme and the French had sought to
kill, believing that he would be serviceable as a spy.(68)

In the autumn of 1780, a party of seventeen men from Cahokia went on an
expedition against St. Josephs. The party was commanded by "a half
Indian," and seems to have included but one American. The attack was so
timed as to come when the Indians in the vicinity of St. Josephs were out
hunting. The place was taken without difficulty, the traders of the place
were captured and plundered, and the party, laden with booty, set out on
the route to Chicago. A pursuing party was quickly organized and at the
_Riviere du Chemin_, a small stream in Indiana, emptying into the
southeastern part of Lake Michigan, the returning victors were summoned to
surrender, on December 5, 1780. Upon their refusal, four were killed, two
wounded, seven made prisoners, while three escaped.(69) The one American,
Brady, was among the prisoners. He told the British that th