At this stage of affairs, the Lieutenant Governor made his appearance.
The first intimation that he received of what was going on, was by the
discharge of artillery, on the part of the inhabitants. He immediately
ordered several pieces of cannon, which were posted in front of the
government house, to be spiked and filled with sand, and went, or rather
was rolled in a wheelbarrow, to the scene of action. In a very
peremptory tone, he commanded the inhabitants to cease firing and return
to their houses. Those posted at the lower gate, did not receive the
order, and consequently kept their stations. The commandant perceived
this and ordered a cannon to be fired at them. They had barely time to
throw themselves on the ground, when the volley passed over them, and
struck the wall, tearing a great part of it down. These proceedings, as
well as the whole tenor of his conduct, since the first rumor of an
attack, gave rise to suspicions very unfavorable to the Lieutenant
Governor. It was bruited about, that he was the cause of the attack,
that he was connected with the British, and that he had been bribed into
a dereliction of duty, which, had not providence averted, would have
doomed them to destruction. Under pretext of proving to them that there
was no danger of an attack, he had a few days before it occurred, sold
to the traders, all the ammunition belonging to the government; and they
would have been left perfectly destitute and defenceless, had they not
found, in a private house, eight barrels of powder, belonging to a
trader, which they seized in the name of the King, upon the first alarm.
Colonel George Rogers Clark, who was at this time at Kaskaskia, with a
few men under his command, understanding that an attack was meditated on
the town, offered all the assistance in his power, to aid in the
defence. This offer was rejected by the Lieutenant Governor. All these
circumstances gave birth to a strong aversion to the commandant, which
evinces itself, at this day, in execrations of his character, whenever
his name is mentioned to those who have known him. Representations of