History and government of Indiana .. . But no such thought wasin harmony with the spirit of George Rogers Clark. If he savedhimself he could not save the Northwest. He resolved uponanother great adventure. He fitted out a Mississippi River boat, called the Willing,a wonder to the inhabitants, the like of which, Clark said, had never been seen in the country before. On this he mountedeight guns and loaded forty-four men with ammunition andprovisions. The boat was to take the men by the river routeto Vincennes and connect there with another force which wasto march overland. HISTORY AND GOVERNMEN
History and government of Indiana .. . But no such thought wasin harmony with the spirit of George Rogers Clark. If he savedhimself he could not save the Northwest. He resolved uponanother great adventure. He fitted out a Mississippi River boat, called the Willing,a wonder to the inhabitants, the like of which, Clark said, had never been seen in the country before. On this he mountedeight guns and loaded forty-four men with ammunition andprovisions. The boat was to take the men by the river routeto Vincennes and connect there with another force which wasto march overland. HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 481 The day after the Willing started down the river Clarksland forces started for Vincennes on their ever-memorable was in the dead of winter, the 5th of February, 1779. Therewere 170 men in the company and they had to cover a distancefrom Kaskaskia to \inccnnes of 240 miles, over the route to betraveled. As the little band of warriors started on their perilousmarch they received the blessing of Father George Rogers Clark on the March to Vixcexxes The Perils of the March. It is impossible to describe thehardships of that winter march. It was not extremely cold, butthere had been hea\7 rains, the rivers were out of their banks, theprairie bottoms were overflowed, and in many places the men hadto march through icy water waist deep. Clark tells an interestingstory of some of the hardships they suffered. There was a fourteen-year old drummer boy in one of the companies and a big ser-geant six feet two. Clark mounted the little drummer on theshoulders of the stalwart sergeant and gave orders to advance 482 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT into the half-frozen water. The drummer beat the charge fromhis lofty perch and General Clark, with sword in hand, shouted,Forward march! Amused at the sight, the men obeyed thecommand, and plunged into the icy flood. Some fell exhausted,but their stronger comrades lifted them, holding their headsabove the water, a
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