[Footnote: Even experienced woodsmen or plainsmen sometimes thus become lost or "turned round," if in a country of few landmarks, where they have rarely been before.] The whole party was at once cast into the utmost confusion; but Clark soon made the guide understand that he was himself in greater jeopardy than any one else, and would forfeit his life if he did not guide them straight.

Not knowing the man, Clark thought he might be treacherous; and, as he wrote an old friend, he was never in his life in such a rage as when he found his troops wandering at random in a country where, at any moment, they might blunder on several times their number of hostile Indians; while, if they were discovered by any one at all, the whole expedition was sure to miscarry.
However, the guide proved to be faithful; after a couple of hours he found his bearings once more, and guided the party straight to their destination.
The Surprise of Kaskaskia.
On the evening of the fourth of July [Footnote: So says Clark; and the Haldimand MSS.

contains a letter of Rocheblave of July 4th.

For these campaigns of 1778 I follow where possible Clark's letter to Mason as being nearly contemporary; his "Memoir," as given by Dillon, comes next in authority; while Butler, who was very accurate and painstaking, also got hold of original information from men who had taken part in the expedition, or from their descendants, besides making full use of the "Memoir."] they reached the river Kaskaskia, within three miles of the town, which lay on the farther bank.

They kept in the woods until after it grew dusk, and then marched silently to a little farm on the hither side of the river, a mile from the town.