The Conquest: The True Story of Lewis and Clark

  VIII

  _THE SPANISH DONNA_

  In the year that Penn camped at Philadelphia the French reared theirfirst bark huts at Kaskaskia, in the American bottom below theMissouri mouth. Here for a hundred years around the patriarchal,mud-walled, grass-roofed cabins had gathered children andgrandchildren, to the fourth and fifth generation. Around the houseswere spacious piazzas, where the genial, social Frenchmen reproducedthe feudal age of Europe. Gardens were cultivated in the commonfields, cattle fed in the common pastures, and lovers walked in thelong and narrow street. The young men went away to hunt furs; theirfrail bark canoes had been to the distant Platte, and up the Missouri,no one knows how far.

  Sixty miles north of Kaskaskia lay Cahokia, and opposite Cahokia laySt. Louis.

  Now and then a rumour of the struggle of the American Revolution cameto St. Louis, brought by traders over the Detroit trail from Canada.But the rebellious colonies seemed very far away.

  In the midst of his busy days at Kaskaskia, Colonel Clark wassurprised by an invitation from the Spanish Governor at St. Louis, todine with him at the Government House.

  Father Gibault was well acquainted in St. Louis. He dedicated, in1770, the first church of God west of the Mississippi, and often wentthere to marry and baptise the villagers. So, with Father Gibault,Colonel Clark went over to visit the Governor.

  "L'Americain Colonel Clark, your Excellency."

  The long-haired, bare-headed priest stood _chapeau_ in hand before theheavy oaken door of the Government House, at St. Louis. Then was shownthe splendid hospitality innate to the Spanish race.

  The Governor of Upper Louisiana, Don Francisco de Leyba, was friendlyeven to excess. He extended his hand to Colonel Clark.

  "I feel myself flattered by this visit of de Senor le Colonel, andhonoured, honoured. De fame of your achievement haf come to my ear andawakened in me emotions of de highest admiration. De best in my houseis at your service; command me to de extent of your wishes, even to dehorses in my stable, de wines in my basement. My servant shall attendyou."

  Colonel Clark, a man of plain, blunt speech, was abashed by thisprofusion of compliment. His cheeks reddened. "You do me too muchhonour," he stammered.

  All his life, the truth, the plain truth, and nothing but the truth,had been Clark's code of conversation. Could it be possible that theGovernor meant all these fine phrases? But every succeeding act andword seemed to indicate his sincerity.

  "My wife, Madam Marie,--zis ees de great Americain General who haftaken de Illinoa, who haf terrified de sauvages, and sent de Britonback to Canada. And my leetle children,--dees ees de great Commandantewho ees de friend of your father.

  "And, my sister,--dees ees de young Americain who haf startled deworld with hees deeds of valour."

  If ever Clark was off his guard, it was when he thus met unexpectedlythe strange and startling beauty of the Donna de Leyba. Each to theother seemed suddenly clothed with light, as if they two of all theworld were standing there alone.

  What the rest said and did, Clark never knew, although he repliedrationally enough to their questions,--in fact, he carried on a longconversation with the garrulous Governor and his amiable dark-hairedwife. But the Donna, the Donna--

  Far beyond the appointed hour Clark lingered at her side. She laughed,she sang. She could not speak a word of English, Clark could not speakSpanish. Nevertheless they fell desperately in love. For the first andonly time in his life, George Rogers Clark looked at a woman. How theymade an appointment to meet again no one could say; but they did meet,and often.

  "The Colonel has a great deal of business in St. Louis," the soldierscomplained.

  "Le great Americain Colonel kiss te Governor's sister," whispered theCreoles of St. Louis. How that was discovered nobody knows, unless itwas that Sancho, the servant, had peeped behind the door.

  Clark even began to think he would like to settle in Louisiana. Andthe Governor favoured his project.

  "De finest land in de world, Senor, and we can make it worth yourwhile. You shall have de whole district of New Madrid. Commandants,bah! we are lacking de material. His Majesty, de King of Spain, willgladly make you noble."

  "And I, for my part," Clark responded, "can testify to all thesubjects of Spain the high regard and sincere friendship of mycountrymen toward them. I hope it will soon be manifest that we can beof mutual advantage to one another."

  Indeed, through De Leyba, Clark even dreamed of a possible Spanishalliance for America, like that with France, and De Leyba encouragedit.

  Boon companion with the Governor over the wine, and with thefascinating Donna smiling upon him, Colonel Clark became notunbalanced as Mark Antony did,--although once in a ball-room he kissedthe Donna before all the people.

  But there was a terrible strain on Clark's nerves at this time. Hisresources were exhausted, they had long been exhausted, in fact; likeNapoleon he had "lived on the country." And yet no word came fromVirginia.

  Continental paper was the only money in Clark's military chest. Ittook twenty dollars of this to buy a dollar's worth of coffee atKaskaskia. Even then the Frenchmen hesitated. They had never known anymoney but piastres and peltries; they could not even read the Englishon the ragged scrip of the Revolution.

  "We do not make money," said the Creoles, "we use hard silver." ButFrancis Vigo, a Spanish trader of St. Louis, said, "Take the money atits full value. It is good. I will take it myself."

  In matters of credit and finance the word of Vigo was potential. "Ah,yes, now you can haf supplies," said the cheerful Creoles, "M'sieurVigo will take the money, you can haf de meat an' moccasin."

  Colonel Vigo, a St. Louis merchant who had large dealings for thesupply of the Spanish troops, had waited on Colonel Clark at Cahokiaand voluntarily tendered to him such aid as he could furnish. "I offeryou my means and influence to advance the cause of liberty."

  The offer was gratefully accepted. When the biting winds of winterswept over Kaskaskia, "Here," he said, "come to my store and supplyyour necessities." His advances were in goods and silver piastres, forwhich Clark gave scrip or a check on the agent of Virginia at NewOrleans.

  Gabriel Cerre in early youth moved to Kaskaskia, where he became aleading merchant and fur trader. "I am bitterly opposed to _lesAmericains_," he said. Then he met Clark; that magician melted himinto friendship, sympathy, and aid.

  "From the hour of my first interview I have been the sworn ally ofGeorge Rogers Clark!" exclaimed Charles Gratiot, a Swiss trader ofCahokia. "My house, my purse, my credit are at his command."

  Clark could not be insensible to this profusion of hospitality, whichextended, not only to himself, but to his whole little army and to thecause of his country.

  The Frenchmen dug their potatoes, gathered the fruits of their gnarledapple-trees, and slew the buffalo and bear around for meat. Wintercame on apace, and yet the new Governor had not arrived.

  Colonel Clark's headquarters at the house of Michel Aubrey, one of thewealthiest fur traders of Kaskaskia, became a sort of capitol. Infront of it his soldiers constantly drilled with the newly enlistedFrenchmen. All men came to Clark about their business; the piazzas andgardens were seldom empty. In short, the American Colonel suddenlyfound himself the father and adviser of everybody in the village.