Jim and Willie became the best of friends, spending many long evenings together either at Willie’s house or at Colonel Clark’s headquarters. Jim taught him to play his drum; Willie was such an apt pupil and so filled with rhythm that he soon played as well as Jim. In return Willie taught Jim all the gay lilting French songs he knew. Jim enjoyed living in Kaskaskia; if his parents had been with him, he would have willingly spent the rest of his life among the French. They were a gay light-hearted people, always ready to stop work and have fun. The men played cards endlessly on the outdoor galleries until winter winds drove them indoors. There were many church festivals to attend, dances for the boys to watch and always excellent food. At Christmas time there were many gay parties given for the French citizens and Clark’s soldiers. On New Year’s Day of 1779 came the best day of all. The whole village turned out in its finest clothes to call at the homes of well-to-do folk. And what a colorful procession they made; the men wore silken hose and bright silver shoe buckles, their richly trimmed coats open to show their fancy, embroidered waistcoats; the women dressed in feathered finery imported from France by way of New Orleans and the Mississippi River. Ordinary French settlers wore buckskin trousers and long colored cotton shirts belted in by colored bead sashes tied behind, and topped by the familiar blue _capots_. Now and then there appeared in the crowd a soldier in an ancient French uniform, or a _voyageur_ in his leather ruffled shirt and brightly colored cap with bobbing tassel. Jim found life good in Kaskaskia until one afternoon in late January. On the twenty-ninth day of the month Jim came home from work and met a well-dressed gentleman just leaving Colonel Clark’s headquarters. Jim wondered who this man was. As Jim walked into the house, George Rogers Clark was pacing the floor and running his hand nervously through his shock of red hair. He didn’t even see Jim come in, but continued to pace back and forth. Jim took off his coat and hung it in the closet. Then he came back into the large living room. “Is something wrong, Colonel?” Clark stopped and turned toward Jim. “Hello, Jim. I didn’t hear you come in. Yes, I’ve just received some bad news.” “From the gentleman who was leaving as I came into the house?” “Oh, did you see him? That was Francis Vigo, a Spanish merchant from St. Louis. I had asked him to see about Captain Helm’s supplies, since he was going on a merchandising trip to Vincennes.” “Yes, sir.” Jim waited, seeing Colonel Clark was quite upset.