This was an auspicious beginning for the conquest of the northwest, but it was only a beginning. Further up the Mississippi were three other French settlements - Prairie du Roche, St. Phillips and Cahokia - that had to be reckoned with, and Clark, with characteristic vigor, at once dispatched one of his officers, Major Joseph Bowman, with thirty men mounted on horses that belonged to the French, to surprise those points. Their capture was facilitated by a number of the Kaskaskians who had friends and relatives at the places named, and who accompanied Bowman, much elated with their newly-acquired importance as American Citizens. The success of this expedition was complete. There was no resistance. Possession was taken of the fort, which had been established at Cahokia, the principal town, and before Bowman's return nearly three hundred additional Frenchmen had taken the oat of fidelity to the United States (Bowman's letter to George Brinker).