Hamilton raises a strong force and regains Vincennes--He prepares to move upon the other posts but Clark forestalls him--A desperate march through the “drowned” lands--The band struggle along day after day through icy water--The food gives out and starvation stares them in the face--“No provisions yet, Lord help us!”--The bold march upon Vincennes and the attack on the fort--The backwoodsmen give the British a lesson in marksmanship--The fort is surrendered and the garrison made prisoners--Governor Hamilton is sent to Virginia. At the close of the year 1778, Clark found himself in possession of three British posts commanding a territory of many hundreds of square miles, in which dwelt an undependable population of creoles, and large bands of Indians who might become active enemies at any moment. His force had become diminished by the return to their homes of a number of men whose terms of enlistment had expired. He had barely one hundred Americans with him, and the French with whom he filled the vacancies in his ranks were sorry substitutes for his sturdy backwoodsmen. Henry Hamilton, the Governor of Canada, had been on the point of making an aggressive movement against the American settlements in the West when knowledge of Clark’s invasion of British territory came to him. Hamilton was brave and energetic. He immediately turned his attention to the task of ousting the Americans from Canada. At Detroit, the headquarters of the dominion, preparations were made for a formidable expedition. Early in October, Hamilton started for Vincennes at the head of a force of about one hundred and eighty whites and sixty Indians. The latter contingent was joined by many bands on the way, until the total strength of the command was brought up to five hundred. Many difficulties were encountered on the journey, which involved the crossing of Lake Erie and the passage of several rivers under highly unfavorable conditions. At length, however, after seventy days of toilsome progress, the mixed force reached its destination. At the first appearance of the British commandant the creole population of the town rushed to tender their allegiance. The garrison of the fort promptly abandoned its arms and followed suit. There were but three Americans in the place, and of course nothing remained for them but to surrender. They were placed under parole and treated with consideration. Thus by the middle of December the British had without any difficulty regained the principal of the captured posts.