The letter earnestly commands Clark to treat not only the inhabitants, but also all British prisoners, with the utmost humanity.] though both he, and especially Jefferson, recognized the important bearing that its acquisition would have upon the settlement of the northwestern boundary, when the time came to treat for peace.

Probably Clark himself had not at first appreciated all the possibilities that lay within his conquest, but he was fully alive to them now and saw that, provided he could hold on to it, he had added a vast and fertile territory to the domain of the Union.

To the task of keeping it he now bent all his energies.
Clark Prepares for Defence.
The time of service of his troops had expired, and they were anxious to go home.

By presents and promises he managed to enlist one hundred of them for eight months longer.

Then, to color his staying with so few men, he made a feint of returning to the Falls, alleging as a reason his entire confidence in the loyalty of his French friends and his trust in their capacity to defend themselves.