Then Clark sent runners throughout the town to order the people to remain within their houses. The simple-hearted Frenchmen were in a panic of fear. The next morning some of their chief men, appearing before Clark, begged for their lives. "We will gladly become slaves," they cried, "if by so doing we may save our families." "We do not wish to enslave you," Clark answered, "and if you will solemnly promise to become loyal American citizens you shall be welcome to all the privileges of Americans." On hearing these words the French people were so carried away with joy that they danced and sang and scattered flowers along the street. By his kind way of dealing with them, Clark made the people of the town his friends instead of his enemies. A little later the people of Vincennes also solemnly promised to be loyal citizens, and, taking down the English flag, they raised the American stars and stripes over their fort. LIFE IN THE OLD FRENCH VILLAGES You will enjoy a glimpse of the life in these old French villages, for it is quite different from that of the settlements we have visited. There are many little hamlets, like Kaskaskia and Vincennes, on the western frontier. They have been in existence for years, but have not increased much in strength or size. The French people living there have never mingled with the American backwoodsmen. They have kept by themselves, remaining for the most part half-homesick emigrants. Many of them are engaged in the fur trade; some are adventure-loving wood rovers and hunters, but the most of them are farmers on a small scale. Their little villages, composed of hovels or small log cottages, are guarded by rough earthworks. A few roomy buildings serve as storehouses and strongholds in times of danger. There are also little wine-shops, as in the old country, which the French love, and in which they are always entertained by the music of violins. There is much gay color on the streets of these hamlets, for the Frenchmen are dressed in bright-colored suits, made of Indian blankets. And lounging about in cheap paint or soiled finery are lazy Indians, begging at times and at times idly watching the boats rowing up and down the river. We see, too, now and then, the familiar red-and-buff uniforms of the British army officers, which are regarded with awe whenever they appear. For you must remember that after 1763 all the French hamlets were in British hands, and the English officers were the great men of this country north of the Ohio. CLARK'S HARD TASK Although the life was gayer and easier in these French villages than in the frontier settlements, and although the taking of Kaskaskia and Vincennes had been easy, Clark still had a hard task before him. His small force was made up of men who were in the habit of doing as they pleased, and over them he had no control except through their personal liking for him.