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Rh flooded prairie. One, by way of the Grand Marais or swamp in the middle of the prairie, was impassable; the other route, known as the "two buttes route," was the difficult alternative. The first butte was "Warrior's Island," a ten-acre hill heavily wooded, a mile and a half from Sugar Camp and two miles from Vincennes. It could be and was reached by the strong men wading breast high, drawing or paddling their feebler comrades in the canoes. The second butte, "Bunker Hill," was not on the direct line to Vincennes, but was a high point to the east on the same plateau on which Vincennes stood. At one o'clock of the twenty-third, the floundering army, half numb with cold and weak from exposure, reached Warrior's Island. From here Clark sent his first message, diplomatically directed to the inhabitants of Vincennes:

"—Being now within two miles of your village with my army, determined to take your fort this night, and not being willing to surprise you, I take this method to request such of you as are true citizens, and willing to enjoy the liberty I