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How the Northwest Was Won

It was the evening of July 4, 1778, and a merry dance was taking place at Kaskaskia, in that region afterwards known as the state of Illinois. It was a gay party, for the people were light-hearted and, having little else to do, were passing the time in dance. All the village girls were there, and most of the citizens and soldiers as well .

They were dancing away at a happy rate, to the music of a fiddle, played by a man who sat on a chair. An Indian lay on the floor, watching them with sleepy eyes.

Kaskaskia was a British fort, but most of the people who lived there were French. Though the war of the Revolution was going on in the East and South, the inhabitants of this wilderness fort of the West cared little for a conflict that was being waged a thousand miles off. They thought themselves secure from attack, for surely no one would attempt to travel so great a distance for so small a prize. In this, they were much mistaken, however, as we shall see. As the dance went on, a tall young man stepped into the room, and leaned against the door, watching the dancers. He was dressed as a backwoodsman, and had evidently come a long and difficult way. It was plain that he was not French, and that he was a soldier. The Indian was the first to see him, and to raise the alarm. His yell broke up the dance, and every one gazed upon the stranger with fright. The women screamed, the men sprang for their guns. The stranger raised his hand, and said very quietly, "Do not be alarmed. I shall not hurt you. Go on with your dance. But remember, you are dancing under the flag of Virginia, and not under the flag of England."