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Til'- Pkopkrty Link, 17G3-1704 4 Illustrations : Guy Joliiison's Map of the Fort Stiinwix Line, 1'} ; Ilutc'hiiis's Map of the Iiulinim Grant, 17 ; Guy Johnsou's Map of the Country of the Six Nations, 18, 19. CHAPTER III. LonsiANA, Florida, and thk Illinois Country, 17G3-17G8 . . 22 Illustration^" : Ilutchinn's Map of the American Hottoni, 'J7 ; Country of the Soutliern Indian' (1702), !U ; Evans and Pow- nall's Map of the Northwest, 39. ^ CHAPTER IV. The Kkntucky Region, 1707-1774 4(1 Illustrations : Portrait of Daniel Boone, 4."» ; View of Pitts- burg, 51 ; Kitehin's Map of Pennsylvania, *j4, o.j. CHAPTER V. The Quehec Bill and the Dunmore War, 1774 03 Illustration : Cr^vecceur's Map of the Scioto Valley, 07. CHAPTER VI. South oe the Ohio, 17(59-1770 77 Illustrations : Booneshorongh Fort, 83 ; Map of Colonel An- drew ^\'illia^lson's Campaign in the Cherokee Country, 94, 95. ▼i CONTEXTS AND ILU'STILITIONS. CIIAlTKIl VII. TllK. KOKTHNKH «>K TIIK Mir.rtlWSIIM'1, 17(M»-1777 101 Ii.l.frtTKATiONS : Portrait (if .loiiatliuii Carver, lO'J ; Carver's Map of his lVo|io.se of Kentucky, 249; Wasliinprton's Sketch of the Potomac Divide, 2r)3 ; Heckeweldcr's MS. Map of the Muskingum and Cuyahoga Valleys, 255 ; Cr^vecneur's Map of the Western Country, with the Divisions under Jeffer- .son's Ordinance, 259 ; View of Fort Mcintosh, 209. CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Vll CIIAITKR XIV. Thf Noutiiwkst Occri'iKK, 17H<»-17{M) 'J80 Ii.l.i STKATioNS : Map of till' Ohio Conipaiiv's PiiirhaHe liy Collot, 'I'M ; View of Kort Iliiniiar, '1%\ ; Cri'vi-i'dMir's Map of tin' Ohio Country, 2'.>4, tiU.") ; ("hart of the Ohio Hiver, 'J<)7 ; C'rev.-- cd'iir's Map of the Mouth of tlie Miiskiii^iiin, .'UN), 'M)\ ; Har- ris's Map of Marietta, 'MY,\ ; Collot 's View of Marietta, ;M)."» ; View of the Cainpiis Martins, .'$07 ; liiarlow's Map of the Ohio Company's I'nrchase, 311i, 'Ai'i ; Sketch of Fitch's Map of the Northwest, 322. CHAPTER XV. Thk SorxnwKST Inskcurk, 178:1-178(5 .'J'JO • Illustuation : Filsou's Map of Kentucky, 3.'Vi, 'XX,\. ClIAI'TKIl XVI. Tfie Spanish Qckstiox, 1787-1789 .'dl Ilmstuatioxs : Plan of New Madrid, .'Ui3 ; .ledediah Morse's Map of the Northwest, 3(54, .'Mi.">, CHAPTER XVir. Uncertainties in the Southwest. 17(K) .'^7."j Illustrations : Morse's Maj> of (Jeorgia, 'Ml ; Samuel T^ewis's Map of the Alabama Region, .'Wl ; Country of tiie Creeks. 38;{ ; Pond's Map of the CJrand Portage, 391 ; Morse's Map of the Northwest Co ..it, 31)3. CHAI'TER XVIII. The Conditions of 1700 Illustrations: Portrait of Hrissot, 40.'5 ; Ohio Klatboat, 41'J. ;508 CHAl'TER XIX. Harmar's and St. Clair's Campaigns, 1790-1791 Illustration : Map of Moravian Settlements, 423. . 41.3 CHAPTER XX. The NoRTHWEfeT Tribes at Last Defeated, 1792-1794 .... 434 Illustrations : Map of Pittsburg and Wayne's Camp, 44.3 ; View of Niagara River, 449 ; Camp at Greenville, 452. vin CONTEXTS AS I) ILLl/STIiATIOXS. niAlTKIl XXI. Jay's Tkkaty and the Tkriut«)kial iNTKimirv ok the Nouth- WKHT Skcurki), 17JM-17*.M» 462 Ilmstkations : (iutlirif's Map of Luke Siipcrim- and tin* (iratid Portftfj*', 409 ; 'Pond's Map of the Source of the Misisis.sippi, 471 ; Lewis's Map of tlie Gciieseo Country, 47i">. CHAPTKK XXII. Wayne's Tkeaty and the New Noktiiwest, 1704-1707 .... 485 Ilm'stkationh : (irants and Heaervatioiis in the Ohio Country, 481) ; Morse's Map of tlie Northwestern Territory, 401', 40:i ; Scott's Northwest Territory, 404, 49.") ; Knfns Putnam's Map of Oiiio, 40(>, 407 ; The (Jem .see Country, 40!l; The Moiiawk and Wood Creek Itonte, ;">()! ; Map of tlie Lak*- Kri»' l{onte, G().'J ; Scott's Northwest Territory, 50") ; lleekt-wehler's Map of tiie AUcfjImny and Hi^j Heaver Hivers, r)U7 ; Map roin])ted the ambition of France to ])enetrate the continent by the jircaL liver of Canada. A century later her i)ioneers, following tliat current to its upper sources, had i)assed on to the Mississippi, which forms the central artery of the continent. Here, a third of the way across the land's broad ex})ansc, and not suspei-ting the greater dis- tance beyond, France had nurtured the hope of ascending tl.a western affluents of that ])arent stream, till she had eom- l)assetl, with her survey and jurisdiction, a greater France, stretching from the Alleghanies to the South Sea. This expec- tation had been dashed. Where she had counted upon seeing her royal standard shadowing soil and native alike, her flag was now seen droo])ing at a few ])osts beyond the Mississipj)i, and awaiting the demands of Si)ain to lower it. During the period which followed the Treaty of Kyswiek (1097), a scheme had often been broached among the English, but had never prospered, which looked to thwarting the ])olicy of France in the Grrat Valley. This was to unite Englaiul and Spain in a movement to drive the Fieneh from the (jontiiu'ut, and divide the northern partn f f the New World between their resi)eetive crowns. This conjunction had now come to pass, but not by any such international pact. AN INTRODUCTORY SURVEY. In the same treaty of 1763, Great Britain had aekno\vlecl<^ed a limit to the western extension of her seaboard eolonies by accepting the Mississippi Kiver as a boundary of lier Ameriean possessions. The Athuitic colonies, with their impracticable sea-to-sea charters, took no exception to such a reasonable cur- tailment of their western limits ; but when the king's ju'oclama- tion followed, and tlie colonics found themselves confined to the seaward slope of the Api)alachians, their western extension made crown territory to be given over to the uses of the Indians, and all attempts to occupy it forbidden, — there were signs of discontent which were easily linked with the resentment that defeated the Stamp Act. So the demand for a western existence was a part of the first pulsation of resistance to the mother country, and harbingered the American Revolution. To keep the opposition, which had thus been raised, within bounds, and once moi-e to apply a territorial check, the Quebec bill, in 1774, afforded one of the weighty charges, colored with current political rancor, which made up the Declaration of In- dependence. Britain had alwa) 5 denied that New France could cut athwart her colonial charters by any natural, geographical definition and extend to the Ohio and Mississippi ; but in the Quebec bill it served her purpose to assume that Canada had of right that convenient extension. In the war which ensued, Virginia took the lead which she had always taken in respect to this western region, and her expedition under George Kogers Clark rendered it easier for the American commissioners, who negotiated the treaty of 1782, to include this am])le domain within the American union. In doing this they loyally defeated the intrigues of all the other parties to the general treaty, — France, whom in the earlier war, with England's help, the colonies had overcome ; England, from whom, with French, assistance, they had gained their inde- pendence ; and Spain, whose insidious and vacillating jjolicy they were yet further and successfully to condiat. Each of these powers had hoped to curtail the ambition of the young Republic. Vergennes had succeeded in cripi)ling England, but he feared the stalwart figure of the young nation born of Eng- land's misfortune. He was ready, if he could, to use England in her new complacency to cripple the youthful America. The treaty of Independence was not so effective but th.at AX INriiODUCTORY SURVEY. 8 there soon followed other efforts to ])reveut for a while the rounding out of tlie Republic to its legitimate bounds. Eng- land, on the side of Canada, and Spain, on the side of Louisiana, sought to regain something they Iiad lost. The retention ])y Great Britain of the lake posts, ineluding as they hojjed the lake front, though with some show of right, was disgraced by iKise intrigues with Kentucky. All her schemes were brouglit to an end by Jay in the treaty of 179-4. The occupation of the eastern bank of the Mississippi from the Yazoo coiuitry, southward, by Spain, and the jjlotting of IVIiro with Wilkinson and his associates to establish a Sjjanish jirotectorate south of the Ohio, were defeated at last by the treaty of San Lorenzo in 1795. Adding the time which was necessary to carry out these treaties, it is now an even hundred years since the title of the United States to this vast region lying between the Appala- chians, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi was unmistakably confirmed. For more than thirty years after the peace of 17G3, the colonies and the Kei)ublic struggled to maintain the Ameri- can s])irit on this eastern-central area of the continent. Inde- jx'iidence achieved, for twelve or fifteen years the United States strove to round out its territorial promise. The history of this western region during all these years was constantly moulded by its geography, and it is the jjurpose of the present volume to show the ever varying aspects of this struggle. To establish what was called the Property Line was the first signal step taken in behalf of the seaboard to assert a right to enter upon this territory, and to that initiatory measure we devote the opening of the sto:y. CHAPTER 11. THE PROPERTY LINE. 1763-1764. Two years before the Treaty of Paris (17G3), James Otis had argued in Boston against issuing Writs of Assistanee to tleteet evasions of the revenue. A service of law, which in England had been constantly accepted, aroused in an unwilling people a rebellious spirit. IIow to restrain this threatening impulse was already a serious question ; and there was regret with some that Canada had not been left at the peace in French hands, to remain a menace to the colonies, and hold them dependent on England's protection. The existence of this recalcitrant temper had been often cited in the arguments of those who preferred Guadaloupe to Canada in the settling the account with France. Lookers-on in the colonies, like Kalm, had perceived the force of this view. Choiseul saw it, and predicted the fatal outcome of England's final choice. Vergennes, chagrined at the drop in political influence which France had experienced, welcomed this hojie of disaster to an ancient rival of France, which her sacrifice of Canada might produce. Colden and others in the colonies were conscious that the loyal subjects of England must face new liazards when the British flag was hoisted ac Quebec. This New Yorker repre- sented to the Board of Trade in London that New England was the nursery of this threatening passion, and that it was neces- sary, if her republican ho])es were to be chilled, to curtail the Yankees' bounds by extending New York to the Connecticut River. In September, 17G4, won', reached Albany that the king in council had stretched the jurisdiction of New York over what is now known as Vermont. Francis Bernard went farther. lie not only urged this extension to the Connecticut, but he wished that the boundaries of the rest of New England should THE FRENCH AND INDIAN. lie )uld be redistributed, in a sort of geiTymanderiug way, so as to insure a government majority in every part, and during 17GG and 1767 he was in close correspondence witli tiie home govern- ment on this point. Murray, who had been apjwinted governor at Quebec in October, 1763, did not reach his post till August of the next year. It was not long before he was making reports to the home government which were startling on two points. One was that the British then in Canada '' were the meanest and most inunoral people he ever saw, while the [French] Canadians were frugal, industrious, and moral, and had become reconciled to the English rule." The report also anticipated the action which, ten years later, the daring of the seaboard colonies forced the English ministry to take in the Quebec bill. Murray's proposition was to annex the region lying beyond the Allegha- nies to Canada, as a means of overawing the older colonies. The gentleness of Murray with the Cauiulians was in rather painful contrast with Gage's plan of using them against the Indians. He advised Bradstreet (May 3, 1704) "to employ them in every service that can render them the most obnoxious to the Indians. Whatever is to be done most disagreeable to the Indians, let the Canadians have a large share in it. This will convince them, if anything will, how vain their hopes are of success from that quarter." If this policy was ins])ired by the home government, as well as another policy which was aimed at the repression of the natural subjects of the crown, one could well have predicted the later alliance of 1778. A recent historian, in his ErpanHion of ErKjhindy s])eaks of the prevalence in the mother country at this time of a ** not unnatural bitterness," which accompanied the fear that Britain had enabled her colonies to do without her. Seeley once again, writing of the century of Englisli history from Louis XIV. to Napoleon, advises the English reader to recognize the fact that his country's real history during this interval was in the Now World, where England successively fought Erance and her own colonies, in the effort to sustain her power. With this in mind, the student of British rule would not find, he adds, "that century of English history so uninteresting." The fall of New France h.id produced sharp effects upon the 6 THE PROPERTY LINE. i-elatioiis of America and En<>lan(l. Tlie war liad increased the British debt by £850,000,000. The riglits of the mother coun- try, which affected the commerce and industry of her coh)nies, were at this time both brutal and mercenary. Viscount iiury says: ''It may fairly be stated that the advantage reaped by a few shipowners from the oi)eration of the navigation laws was ])urchased by an actual money ex])enditure of more than ,£200,000,000, in less than half a century." England was con- tent to let the American pioneers break out the paths for a newer and perhaps greater J?ritain ; but it was her policy first of all to make these plodders of tiic wilderness pay tribute to the stay-at-home merchant. That such injustice was according to law and pr(?cedent did not meet the questions which the Americans raised, — (piestions such as are constantly needing adjustment to newer environments. The pojiulation in the seaboard colonies was doubling, as Franklin computed, in twenty-five years. The bonds of inter- colonial .symi)athies were strengthening, and the designations of New Englandei- and Virginian were beginning to give place to American. With these conditions among the colonists, it was not unnatural that a proposition of the ministry to tax them on a system repellent to colonial views created distrust. A period of doubt is always one of rumors. Bernard's plea for readjust- ing the New England bounds made John Adams and others susjM'ct that the British government intended to revoke the cohmial charters and make the coh)nies royal ju'ovinces. The terms of the royal proclamation of 17G3, which (iage received in New York on November 30, indicated, as already said, that under the new dispensation the westward extension of the colonies' bounds would be curtailed by the mountains, and the si)aees of the Great Valley wouhl be confirmed to savagery. There were further symptoms of this in the movement now going on in Pennsylvania to induce the king to recom})ense i< proprietary and make it a royal domain. The king might indeed be preferable to a stubborn master. If the heady motions of tlu' ministry were without tact, there was some warrant for its belief that the colonies, despite acts of trade and navigation, were ])rosperous enough to share the burdens of the mother country. Maryland and Virginia were dispatching large shipments of wheat to England. Philadel- ad iiicrea.st'd tlie the motlier couii- of her colon it's. Viscount JJmy ita<;e roa])e(l by navigation laws ■e of more tljan ngland was con- tho j)aths for a her i)oIicy first IS pay tribute to e was accoj'ding :ions wliidi tlie stantly needing s doubling, as bonds of inter- designations of o give place to olonists, it was to tax them on ist. A })eriod a for read Just- us and others to revoke the ovinces. The tiage received uly said, that nsion of the lins, and the to savagery. Dvement now 'Comj)ense if king might lit tact, there ute with the Indians about them, though they never purchased a single acre ; and I believe the Indians have m?de difficulty with us because we have gone on a different plan."' Things had now come to such a ])ass on the frontier that Johnson saw the necessity of establishing some definite line of separation between the colonies and their Indian neighbors, and of maintaining it. When a savage said to him that the Eng- lish always stole the Indian lands by the rum bottle, Johnson knew well all that it imiilied. With a purpose on each side, the one to sell and the other to buy, and with liquor as the barter- ing medium, nothing could shield the Indian from wrong. In order to make a beginning in the interests of right and to pro- mote peace, tlohnson dispatched George Crogiian to England to sound the government on the project of such a line ; and while Croghan was there Johnson instructed him to memorial- ize the Board of Trade about the desirability of securing land south of the Ohio to satisfy the demands of the Ohio Company, and the claims of the soldiers enlisted by Dinwiddle in 1754, under a promise of land. Preliminary to this, and for the pur- pose of bringing the Indians to terms of mutual confidence THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY 9 among tlu'inselves, Johnson had exerted himself to make peace between the leading tiiltes of the North and South. The Vir- ginians, as Gage wn)te to Johnson some time before (March 8, ITliO), were intent on such a plan, hoping thereby to prevent the C'herokees taking revenge on the Iroquois, for some murders eonunitted by the young men of the latter. In December, 1707, thi*ee Cherokee chiefs presented themselves at Jolmsim Hall, on this errand. The Inxiuois were sunnnoned, and on March 4, 1768, the friendly pact between them was made. The movement for this boundary settlement had in the start he South a greater impulsi' at th than at the North. It had for some time devolved upon John Stuart, as the Indian agent for the southern colonies, to deal with the Cherokees in matters toudiing both the whites and the savages. He had brought about a conference at Augusta, where the Creeks had ceded some territory to (leorgia "in j)r()of of the sense they have of His Majesty's goodness in forgetting past offenses." As it happened, the irresj)onsible conduct of the Carolina traders was rendering it necesspry to act promptly, j)articularly if peace was to prevail among its tribes, since the whites always suffei'ed in such times. The rivalry of the French had nuich conduced in tiie j)ast to make the English liberal in their gra- tuities. That open rivalry failing, tiie generous habit of the English had slackened, and the Choctaws had not failed to remark upon it. Tl:e French at New Orleans used this neglect to point a moral for the occasion. The inroads of the whites upon the tribal territories had always been a source of alarm to the Indians, and Stuart had, in August, 17G5, urged restraining them by a fixed line. We find, in 1706, that a deputation of Indians was in England, pleading with the government iigainst the injustice of the colonists ; and this may have had something to do with the repeated warn- ings which Stuart received in 17(i(i to avoid an Indian rupture. The instances of encroachment were cunuxlative, but the Indians took new alarm when these trespasses seemed to he made on a system, as was imi)lied in the movement to extend the province bounds to the west. This pur]>ose had been in part determined ui)on to protect the few settlers who were well within the I 10 THE PliOPKRTY LINE. Iiulijiu tt'ri'itoi'y. The bounds of South Carolina had been ah'eady pushed ujjou the country of the Catawlias, and in Ai)ril and May, 170G, thei-e had been preliminary surveys towards the Chorokees ; but in December, the running- of the line had been j)ostponed till the spring, and when conii)leted it was not carried to the Nortii Carolina limit. Governor Tryon had succeeded Dobbs in the executive chair of North Carolina in 1704, anle and apathy, had in the late war sorely tried the patience of Franklin and those jealous of the credit of the ])rovince. There had already begun to appear a palpa- ble decline of the Quaker power l^efore the combined energies of the Philadeli)hia traders and the frontier woodsmen, with not a little assistance from the enlightened activities of the better class of Germans. It was the energy of this restless faction which induced Burnaby to speak of the Pennsylvanians as " by far the most enterprising people of the continent." lie contrasted them with the Virginians, who, though having every advantage of easier communication beyond the mountains, had shown much less spirit. n'vitors, .'h-lrish, un, and an from crossing Monon- ith them !H with a prc'desti- to be a ei)ute of t eastei'n town of two liun- • from a of which : bastion, rn town, lieh kept ement in shiggish in hirge traits of or their jits that Rhine, ernment, sorely le credit a palpa- energies len, with !S of the restless Ivanians nt." He Ing every ains, had ar C HOG HAN AMJ Tllli INDIASS. 13 F'rom Pittsburg the current of the Oliio carried i depth of thrtte feet for seventy-five miles, to a settlement of some sixty native families, known as the Mingo town. This wa(> the only cluster of habitations at this tinu; between the forks and the rapitls at the modern Louisville. IJeyond this Indian town, the water was deep enough. The variegated banks, with the windings of the current, offered, as C'ol()nel (iorilon, a recent vovaoer, had said, "the most heaUhy, ])leasant, commodious, and fertile spot of earth known to Huroj)ean people," and a little later it was represented to Hillsborough that "no part of N(«'th America would recpiire less encouragement for the production of naval stores and raw material for manufactures in Huroj)e."' Such ])raise as this was later to reach a wider pid)lic in Thomas Ilutchins's Ucscri/ifion of Vir(/iuia, etc., when published in London. Tl\is topograjdier had been a cap- tain in lioucpu't's army, which juit an end to the Pontia(! war. He first surveyed the country through which Houquel: marched in 17(33-04. We have a nuip, which is the result of liis obser- vations at that time and on later \ isits. The movement by the Monongahela and by the valley of Virginia had naturally opened the way into what is now Ken- tucky and Tennessee. All this had ahirmed the Indians, and in April and May, 1708, about 1,100 warriors of the Inupiois, Delawares, and Sh.iwnees, beside women and childr'U, assem- bled at the instigation of (Jeorge Croghan at Fort Pitl. '* With this string of wamimm," said that inter])reter to Hiom, " I clean the sweat oft' your bodies, and remov(! all evil thoughts from your minds, ami clean the passage to your hearts. . . . With this string I clean your ears that you nuiy hear." Then followed apoh)gies for the nuirder of certain Indians by wicked whites. Another ])r()pitiation was made. '"'• With this belt I clean the blood oft' the leaves and earth, whereon it was sprinkled, that the sweet herbs may have their usual verdure." Beaver, a Delaware chief, replied : " Take hold of the end of this belt, which we may stretch along the road between us, in order to clean it of the briars and brush, that we may all travel it in peace and safety." There was next a little altercation between a Shawnee and an Iroquois chief. The Shawnee wished the English to pull 14 THE rnol'EUTY LL\/:. down their forts, jiinl thought thiit tho boats which the Kiiglish were huihliii;;' siyiiitietl uu evil purpoHe of going in them (h)wn the river. The lro(|iiois stood tor th<' Knglish, »nd advised tliem to hold the forts they had taken from the French. When it was projmsed to send niesscngei-s to the interlopers on the Monongahela at Ked Stone and warn them off, the Indians refused ti) lend a hand in the ejeetinent. Tin* Sliawnees again made hold to dispute the Irocjuois pretensions to the Ohio eountry. So the syn»ptonis were clear that trouble couhl easily he fostered in the valley, jind during the previous sunnner some Indians had stopped the liateaux of pioneers, and the river route was in gi'Ueral made dangerous hy the mutual hostilities of the Cherokees and the northern tribes. In I)eeend)er, 1707, the Hoard of Trade had deemed the Kanawha River an es njxm ulty ill x'tween he felt ) entice sissii)pi. ne at a found lat such conces- to settle during which the ministry had been instriu'ting him to ke«'j» a poace with the Indians, and with som»' untoward liai)i)eninj;s in the interval, it was not without misj-ivings that Sir William, act ompanicd hy two hundred boats of merchandise for presents, reached Fort Stanwix on September 20, 1708. Prominent NoTB. -- This map is a »ectioii of Oiiy ilolingon's map of the Fort Stanwix line, sent by Sir Willimn JmIiiihoii to Lord HilUburoiigli, ami repro«luced in Dues. rel. tu the Colon. Hist, uf .V. I'., vol. viii. p. l^U. among his advisers in attendance were Governor Franklin, Guy Johnson, and Cieorge Croghan. The Indians assembled so slowly that it was October 24 before it was deemed })ru(lent to open the conference. By this time it was certain that nearly thirty-two hundred cavernous mouths were to be fed, and that other entertainments must be provided with e([iu\l prodigality. Johnson, indeed, soon found that there was difficulty in get- ting a sufficient allowance from the treasury at heathpiartcrs, owing to the great cost of quartei'ing tro()j)s in Boston, now going on to meet the rebellious manifestations of that commu- nity. So the seven weeks of feasts and talks went on. Thomas Walker had come with authority from Virginia to undo the Stuart treaty and the Kanawha line, if he could. There were other di'lcgates from New York, New Jerse}', and Pennsyl- vania, together with a number of agents rei)resenting the traders who had suffered losses in the Pontiac; war. wmm ) I 16 THE PROPERTY LINE. Tills large assembly of savages was, in faict, a considerable ])art of the whole number of tribes interested in the outcome of the conference. Johnson at this time estimated that the Iroc^uois numbered perhaps ten thousand souls, and of these two thousand could be considered warriors. Their allies coukl furnish probably anothei" two thousand, made up among others of three hundred Shawnees from the Ohio country, six hundret. Delawares from the Susquehanna, and two hundred Wyandots from Sandusky. These four thousand Iroquois and depend- ents, so great had l)een their losses, were probably not more than half as many as the Ottawa confederacy. This larger amalgamation of the savage i)ower, including the Twightwees and Miamis, hemmed in the others on the west, and blocked the way to the Mississippi. Johnson now reckoned them at eight thousand warriors, of whom about three thousand were on the Detroit River. lie makes no mention of any tribes in what is now Kentucky, and Croghan seems to confirm the belief that the territory between the Ohio and the Tennessee was destitute of savage dwellers, and this was the region now the particular object of negotiation. It was not till November 5 that a conclusion was reached at Fort Stanwix, when, in consideration of a considerable sum of money, the Indians consented to a line, beyond which the English agreed to i)r()hil>it settling. The Iroquois chief s signed with the colonial delegates ; but the Delawares and Shawn(,'es, thuiigh assenting, were not allowed to sign, since they were dei)endent upon the Iroquois. The territory which was thus alienated was vestoii. under the terms of the treaty, in the crown, and coidd only be occupied by royal grant. It was soon claimed that, so far as these lands were concerned, the royal proclamation was annuHed. Johnson, in directing the negotiations, had exceeded his authority, and, as the Virginians claimed, he had thwarted the purposes which Dr. Walker had been sent to advance. John- son had been directed to confirm Stuart's line by the Kanawha, and to yield to tlie Cherokee jiretensions as respects the terri- tory west of that river. The Irocjuois, however, asserted their rights in this region against the Cherokees, and Johnson thought it imprudent to ai'ouse their resentment by declining their cession of it. Jolnison satisfied his own conscience in the I . ;' rOllT STANWIX TREATY. 17 sidenible outcome that the of these ies could iig- othevs huiHlvet. \'^yaudots . depend- not move lis hirger vi \V ■\i\ \\'<: i; m 18 THE PROPERTY LINE. T tttiiU^U :>^ fV^ o •^, ^^O /J v^ lite firun^U»ry l.%t^ itatin.f ) i S frfi^rr »t*r •••-•/v **£ ' " '^\MV\ '^** tkfU^hrty Errh'r«,i { | \ «- • - . - A ILIA /j l^a^ie.i .ry^A*, -«' I ^,r iara-ljhiyadirha * l,ihi< Kmah I ^ l.n.l .l.nn III nj //7 ^\ -'' ^"-^4-. \ f ' .I-"' a* t/u^fi ^t tff'f^t > Jit ,itu n t in t) tIJ Uirv r/Jn// miiJi-n fk^ /"-t' t.' ■ ' .\ Y'tk itt f-l it JfuJlt^ii iCiuyokar*- p*rt ^ftkf '.'»t 'Jii I '• i. ^r, '* lif.i itUewuAii* lAttt fyrttityv fA/- Jiisrtir.>rii.f wtii' ^crm 1^1 str/A \uA^it^rt t'miU'i^ />i ' w rctiion east of the Kanawha and west of the Mononya- lu'hi had ah'oady two days liefoic; (Novi'nd)er 3) been deeded Ity the Indians to Trent, as the igent of tlie traders, wliose ])ro})- erty in the recent war had been (h'sj)oik'd to an extent, as was eonttnided, of <£80,000. Out of this transaction difHeidties soon arose. The Ohio Company heUl the land thns conveyed to be m m THE "IXDIAXA" GRANT. 19 W>i FM>nt.inr i^' .^ o i JVr I ul,ijj ^ Cayuga -^/.^n M miou Kvaiis's ^J^'rtoti i'Ji •— A' n 'try ,r ,\;„ i.tii ,1,1 t:/flf,, l/,,r,/ 11,1. ,.„ll , ' till (■ uitfi-v ihll /•-/. /.7» /.> Iltf M-AivAi ^y% A ^ «> <^'?*%«-;^««^^J) • t^ /^/p.o„:«, i*:^'-' '^v-^ "^(^v?- y. . VV<:>^^'" }< ^^^^ ^'■"":"' '--.i^ . ■>/ / '■art' ; 'll'l Part ol lassaclius Sits r..iv ;k iil^lj^ /^>jif WILLIAM TrTOX Esgr S ■"^ ~""^~""^ <| C iiptain General & Govei-non in Qiifi tt ;\ This Map ■/-; '/) ,-, , V I ol ti»e Countrv ot the VI. Nations ( > , ,, ,, Vvo\^QVr^\lh.Parloflhc(ldiar.ent(c(cn^\' litlrif ItlllrU X:ll, lllf I ' / - • •* ,, , '. , i J ,• ' •'-' I'unil'L irucriled hy Vw iXCf/lrnrtr'^ ' ■ ' /.,., ^-1 "i.tf , \ - ttt f' .. fcTi> V*^ Ji^firi.X' n ^77y'~Z map, iinin-oved, in tliu Doc'itnnilnrii llixl. af X. )'., vol. i. p, "kST. The line reacliiiiK tlie Oliio at Moiionoa- (loetled by lose prop- Mit. as was ultit's soon t Vfd to lie liR'luileil in their own prior grants, wliicli wore known as '' Indiana," and stood in tlie names of Samuel Wharton, Wil- liam Trent, (ieorge Morgan, and others. Virginia recognized no rights in it lint her own, as eoming within her eharter, and she claimed that some of her own iicople had already settled within the disputed territory. All dispntes were finally sunk in the troubles of the Revolution. 20 THE PROPEHTY LINE. The line, as established av. Fort Stanwix, followed up the Ohio from the Cherokee Kiver, ])assed the forks, and went up the Alleghany to Kittanniug. It then ran west to the most westerly branch of the west fork of the Susquehanna : thence over Burnet's Hills to Awandoe Creek, and so to the Delaware. It then ascended this river towards Owegy and Wood Creek, and stopped at a point half way between Fort Stanwix and Lake Oneida. The line, by reason of Johnson's independent action, was not approved by the king, but the government did not venture to invalidate it. When it thus practically became the law, new conditions arose. It opened a larger area to settlement than the royal proclamation had decreed, and vesting new riglits in the crown, it was held by most, except the Virginians, to place a bar, to the extent of the territory ceded by the Indians, to the westward claims of Virginia. This line of demarcation between the Indians and the settle- ments was now unbroken from where it started at the earlier grant near Lake Ontario to the southern end of the A])pala- chians, exee])t for an interval where the bounds back of South and North Carolina had not been made to join. This debatable ground remained for some time the scene of insecurity : tlie doubtful jurisdiction invited vagabonds and lawless traders, who traversed the country between the Catawbas and the Cherokees. It was of such hazardous conditions that Stuart, the Indian agent, spoke, when he commented upon the " rage for settling far back," which crowded settlers upon the boundary, and left the country scant of inhabitants on the way thither. " The Indians detest such back inhabitants," he adds, "■ which accounts for their reluctancy to give up any of their lands, being anxious to keep such neighbors at a distance." The dispute between the Iro{pu)is and the Cherokees would, it was feared, seriously involve the interests of such as received grants in what are now the States of Kentucky and Tennessee. It was not long before Gage was warning Johnson of " an agi- tation among the Indians." That the Iro(piois should have been paid for territory which the Cherokees claimed was galling to the pride of the latter. The Cherokee [Tennessee] River bends near Cumberland MOVEMENTS FOR OCCUPATION, 21 veil up the ml went iij) ;o the most ma : thence 3 Delaware, ootl Creek, tanwix antl on, was not ; venture to he law, new ienient than ew rights in ins, to place Indians, to 1(1 the settle- ; the earlier the A})pala- ,ck of South lis debatable ecurity ; the ess traders, as and the lat Stuart, le " rage for boundary, way thither. (Is, "■ which their lands, tees would, as received Tennessee. of " an agi- d have been galling to (iap, separated by a divide from the springs of the Kanawha. Tiie area in controversy, including tlie valley of the Cumber- land, lay between these rivers and the Ohio. The purposes of the home government and those of the pioneers regarding tliis territory were e(p.ially at variance, the one sustaining, in opinion at least, the treaty of Stuart, and the other that of Johnson. Ciage was fully aware of the risks of occupying tlie region soutli of the Ohio. To do so, in his judgment, could liardly fail to bi'ing on a war with the southern Indians. The ministry, in view of the oi)2i()sition whicli had been developed to the royal j)roclamation, was not unwise in winking at what it dared not undo. This opening of a fertile country to occupation induced the steady movements westward to and beyond Cumberland Gap which took place in the next few years. Dr. Thomas Walker, whose name is so often associated with these early movements, and who had been more or less familiar with Powell's Valley and the neighboring region for twenty years, soon secured a grant hereabouts. Throwing it open to the jjioneers, a rush of settlers to occu])y it followed. In the si)ring of 17G9, there was a race of rival parties seeking to reach the spot first and secure the land. Victoiy came to .Joseph ]Martin and his com- ])ani()ns, and they were earliest squatted in the rich valley, shadowed with black walnuts and wild cherries, which lies between Cund)erland and Powell mountains. The modern Martin's Station, where they pitched their tents, was on the hunter's trail to Kentucky, and twenty miles from Cumberland CJap. The situation, however, was precarious, for there were I'oving bands of southern Indians, who were incensed that the ])Iedge given in the Stuart treaty had not been (»bserved. While Martin and some of his ])eople were exploring farther west, hostile savages swooped down on those in camp, and the settlement was broken up. There is no lack of suspicion that in this and other marauding, the vicious trader was sui)i>lying the barbarian with his gun and powder. So it was that the proclamation of 1703 was practically de- tied, and the ministry had not dared to interpose its authority. Cumberland h f ii I; CHAPTER III. LOUISIANA, FLOHIOA, AND THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY. 176:3-1708. It is curious to find the French tnivek'r, Piiges, in 1767, speaking' of the Mississi})pi as bounding- on New England! The reservation of the trans-AHeghany country to the Indians' use, by the prochmiation of 1703, hud not eradicated from the conceptions of the Frendi the okl sea-to-sea claims of the English charters. They had too long confronted this English pretension to do more than recognize the curtailment of their claims by making that river the .vestern boundary of those colonies, as rc(piired by tlie recent treaty. In the coh)nies themselves, the claim was certainly dormant. Massachusetts, for her rights, was abiding her time. Connecti- cut was even now, on the strength of such a title, claiming a portion of Pennsylvania, and for the next few years, in the struggle between the two j)rovinces, the New England colony was to be in the main successful in sustaining her Susquehanna Com])any, thougli it was at the cost of life and ])ropei-ty. Both colonies, in the effort to defend what they thought their own, had devastated liomes and wasted crops, and each was alter- nately the aggressor. Virginia was still vigilantly looking aftov lier western inter- ests, and she did it to some i)ur])ose ten years later, when her George Rogers Clark did much to save the Nortliwest to the young Republic. Franklin, in 1754, would have swe])t all such pretensions away by his barrier colonies. During the years that had intervened, he had not forgotten his purpose, as we shall see. The peace of 17^)3 had had its effect upon the Indian trade of the far West. The English seaboard merchants had become conscious how much this traffic had slipped away from their •I I ST. LOUIS AND THE FHEACH. 23 [JNTRY. ;os, in 1767, ;\v England! . the Indians' ted from the lainis of the this English nent of their lavy of those inly dormant. Lc. Conneeti- e, claiming a years, in the gland colony Sus(|nehanna operty. Both it their own, ch was alter- 'I'stern inter- ter. when her tliwest to tlu> iwept all snch ing the years mrpose, as we Indian trade ts had become av from their western agents. Such diminution -had been the subject of repeated representations. Cieorge Croghan was exi)laining it to (ieneral Gage in New York anil to Dr. Eranklin in London. C'arleton complained that French and Spanish traders were •viithering furs within twenty leagues of Detroit. Gage com- mented upon it to Conway, and hinteil at the clandestine ways wliieh were used by the Indians and French. Sir AVilliam Jolmson also found artitice in the French methods, but it would seem to have been notiiing more than that the traders got ten- pence a pound more for skins in New Orleans than in any Biiti.h market. The unwelciome outcome of the business was the ])i'ecminence whicli the new settlement at St. Louis, under French enter- ])iise, was likely to acquire, llutciiins speaks of the site of tlie new town as " the most healthy and ])loasurable situation of any known in this part of the country," and hither (he adds), •^ by conciliating tlie affections of the natives," the French traders have drawn the traffic of tlie Missouri, Mississipj)i, AViscousiu, and Illinois rivers jiway ivoin the English posts. vSt. Louis had becouu' in a few years a town of about one hun- dred and twenty stone-built houses. Tlie occupants of these dwellings, including a hundred and fifty negroes, numbered about eight hundred. Not far oft" was Ste. Genevieve, a jdace of more than four hundred inhabitants. These two settlements constituted the only French villages on the westi'i'ii bank of the Mississip])]. Neighboring, but on the eastern bank, and so within the English jurisdiction, were some three hundred more French, with a serving 1)()dy of nearly as many blacks. These were the communities which wei'e seeking to turn the Indian ])roduets into channels which would carry them down the Mis- sissippi on their way to the sea. The French (\inadians. who were now looking to the English to jn-otect their western trade, com])lained that unless the English were more enter- l)rising and built new posts, the Indian trade toward the Mis- sissip])i would all slip away. Neither did the English, who were now coming into Canada in order to reap a harvest in the fur trade, view the conditions with more com])lacency. Carleton, who had ruled in Quebec since Se])teniber, 1700, opened a <'orres])ondence with Johnson in order to seek a remedy, but Gage saw it was simply a game of sharp practice at which both f} i 24 LOUISIAXA, FLORIDA, AM) THE ILLINOIS COLWTIiV. sides were in'ivilcged to pluy. ^^'lu'n it was reported to him that the Kreiieh ami Siianish wvre endeavoring to hue the savages to their interest, lie replied that "we have no reason to reproaeh them, as we aim at the same thing," and he si)olie the truth. He was (juite as coniplaeent when one warned him of the Inilians" et^'oits to end»roil the Kngiish with the Ficneh. '"They might wi-ll like to do it,"' he saiil, '"for our (|uarrels are the Indian harvests." The trade of that part of this distant eountry lying west of the Lake of the Woods had been drawn in large j)art to the English factors at Iludson's Jiay. Fros 'iake Sui)eiioi' tlie traders were already jjushing to Kainy Lake, and by 1770 they had estahlislu'd posts on Lake Winnipeg and beyond, as well as farther south on the upper branches of the Mississippi, Trading wei;t of l)etroit had beer, prohibited exee])t by license, and under such a i)rivilege Alexaiuler Henry had en- joyed the freedom of Lake Superior. Hut ])ohce control in such conditions was impossible, and it was not unlikely that the trader without a license turned his tracks down the Great Valley, rather than risk detection on the St. Lawrence. The English commander at Fort C'hartres was always comidaining tliat the traders on the ojjjjosite sides of the ]Mississi})pi acted in collusion. There weie ninety carrying places between the Lake <»f the Woods and Montreal. It was not strange that the trading canoes were oftener seen gliding on the almost uninter- rupted current of the Mississi])pi, where they were easily thrown into companionship with the French packmen, as far north as the Falls of St. Anthony and higher up. Such intercourse boded no good to the English. Unfortunately, Major Kogers, their commandant at Mack- inac, was hardly a man to be trusted. He had become badly in debt to the traders, and had schemes of detaching that jjost from Canadian control and using it to secure welcome and advancement from the French. This movenu^nt demoralized the Lulians, and Gage soon found it necessary to instruct Johnson to use his interi)reters to ensnare the traitor, and in I)ecend)er, 17G7, he was arrested for treason. The effect of Kogers's disaffection upon the Indians was to be dreaded, as convincing them of tlu' weakness of the English rule and the ultimate return of the French domination. There i ouyTiiY THE AMERICAN BOTTO.U. 25 etl to him J lure the i reason to ; spoke the led him of le Freiieh. uavrels are ins; west of [)ait to the iipeiior the ! 17T0 they 1, as well as ipi. except hy iiry had en- ! control in nlikely that u the (ireat vence. The comi)lainin<^- ssippi acted between the HOC that the lost uninter- asily thrown far north as intercourse it at ]Maelv- )U»e badly in ii had, as early as 1703, ])ointed out how the forks of thi' Mississippi, as its junction with the Ohio was termed, cover- iii"- a rt'gion strettdiing to the Illinois, was " the most necessary l)lace of any in America, — the key of all the inland parts." (Jage, on April 3, 17(57, wrote to Shelburne that it was desir- able to have an English fort at this point in order to control the dependi'nt country ; and just before (\iptain Harry (lordon, Chief Engineer of North America, had pointed out tlie situation of Fort Massac as adndi'able for that ])ur]H)se. Heck, in his (idzrttaer (1823), points out that the first settlements at Cahokia and Kaskaskia .vere juade in the most fertile land in Illinois. They were ui^on a piece of alluvial land, latei- known as the American Bottom, whose existing aboriginal mounds showed that it had long before supported an affluent ])opulation. This region, lying between a range of bluffs and the river, extended north from Kaskaskia for a hundred nules, and contained an area of about five hiuidred and twenty square miles. It was mostly a treeless ])rairie, but there' was a fringe of heavy tind)er along the river. Its vei-y fertility rendered it nnasmatic, but steady cultivation had improved its salubriousness. As an agricultural region, Ilutchins called it ''of a sujx'rior soil to any other ])art of North America " that he had seen. Carver tells us that this was the general re])utation which the country l)()re. During the years innnediately following the ])eace, and ])ar- ticularly before the cession of the trans-Mississippi country to li li i: ' I .1' I :ft; ii' .pi' il .1 I I t 2G LOUISIANA, FLORIDA, AND rilE ILLINOIS COUNTllY. Sjiain was known, there luul been some confusion anion^ the ])oj)iihiti<)n, owing to a general exochis of the French across the Miwsissipj)i. The vilhige neighboring to Fort Chartres had become ahnost clej)oi)uhite(l in this way, and the flight of its inhabitants was not altogether untimely, in view of the sjjeedy encroachments which the current of the river was making on the soil. The Knglisb a little later (1772) found it necessary to abandon Fort Chartres, " the most conunodions and b(!st built fort in North America," as Pittman called it, because the river had undermined its walls in places. To imderstand how the very qualities which rendered this bottomdand so rich made it also unstable, we find this fort, when it was rel)uilt in 1750, two miles inland ; at the time we are now considering, sixteen years later, it was partly washed away, while to-day the ruined magazine and th.; ragged walls are again more than a mile from the river. In 1772, a new defense, called Fort (iage, was l)uilt on the bluff .tpposite Kaskaskia, and thither the Kng- lish garrison was transferred. There was need of it, if England was to give the region the protection it needed. The Cherokees and Chickasaws, not long before, had invaded the country and connnitted depredaticms in the neighborhood of Kaskaskia. The native defenders, the tribes of the Illinois, had at this ])eri()d lost their vigoi-. Early in 17G8, or at least in time for Gage to have heard of it in New York in the sum- mer of that year, — and this evidence seems better than what induced Parkman to })ut it a year later, — Pontiac had been treacherously killed in Cahokia. " The Fi'ench at Illinois and Post Vincent," says Gage (duly 15, 17G8), " com])laiu of our setting the Cherokees and Chickasaws to m[;i from western Florida to the F'alls of St. Anthony. The active mind of llaldiniand worked over, as we shall see, the problem in his cpiartcrs at IVnsacola, and he sent a plan to frage, now in New York, who forwarded it to the home govern- ment. This ])lan outlined a military colony at the Natchez, and advocated the making of small grants of land to the Louisi- ana French along the river, in order to induce them to settle upon them and so escajje a servitude to the Spanish, which had now become their palpable fate. )i:MUy. A7vir OHLKAXS. 29 tilt! lii'iivrr 1 conlcdiT- i»l(! of tlic iucludin^' thousand, i with the escape the ish inilitiu. ';4r;i(hiti(»n, jt'in, i!:ilk'(l 1 hal)its. , wliite and 111 rlohiisoii (le, and di- s which he eru that an oniotcd l»y 'iidinj;' furs liartres had iiisli traders vers, (icn- 'iit this, and cr to intcr- intaining of the accpiir- n them, and to settle an yi some ot'ii- [ (U'V('loi)in<^ il along- the Anthony. AC shall see, •nt a i)lan to loine govern- lie Natchez, o the Louisi- icni to settle h, which had To understand the attitude of llaldiinand's mind and the con- ditions which prevailed in the lower parts of the Mississippi, it is lu'cessary to revert to the intliieiiccs which the secret treaty of I7(j;{ were exerting in that region. New Orleans at this time contained, within a stockadt! huv'iig a circuit of ahout two and a half miles, ii(»t far from four thuu- sijid douls. This population for the most part was living in some seven or eight hundred dwellings, standing as a rule in i>ardcns of their own. These houses, huilt of timher, with brick filling, were of a single floor, elevated ahout eight feet from the soil so as to furnish storage below. The wet giound, in fact, did not admit of digging ""liars. The occupants of the out- skirts were! mostly (iermans and Acadians, scattered along the river on liotli sides, nearly to the Iberville. Including these, the entire population of the town and its (h'pendencies may have reached near ten thousand souls. In seasons of high water t'ey were all living in some danger of inundation, for the rush- ing river at such times was only kept to its channel by an unsubstantial levee, which extended for about fifty miles nj) and down its banks. Several travelers have left us their observations of New Orleans at a period just subseipient to the Pcsice of I'aris. Captain de Pages, of the French navy, whom w*> have already mentioned, s])eaks of seeing Tonicas and ('hoctaws in the town, bringing fish, fruit, and game to barter for brandy and trinkets. The more activt> merchants, however, were rai'cly in the town excei)t to re])lenish their supplies, and were usually uj) the river in search of peltry. They oftcner than otherwise wintered on the St. Francis River, which entered the Mississi))pi on the western side, ninety miles below the ()liio. From this place they sent their furs and salted meats to Ni'W Orleans for a market. In the season of travel, they moved uj) the river in little flotillas of l)ateaux, which were geiu'ially of about forty tons burden, and were maniu d by eighteen or twenty hands. It took about three months to row. ])ok;. and warp such crafts from New (Orleans to the Illinois country, and the bargemen were often obliged at night to guard their cam})s from the attacks of tlie Chiekasaws and otiier niaraudei's. Arrived at the ui)])er waters of the Mississippi, the pueKinen scattered along the various trails. They were found on the higher reaches I ., 30 LOUISIANA, FLORIDA, AND THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY. of the Missouri, and were known to be in the habit of ascend- ing that river three and four hundred leagues, gathering that trade of whieli the English were now so eovetous. Tliey went among the Sioux in the region west of Lake Superior. They even turnoil east towards Canada, and are thought to have instigated the savages of the Great Lakes to hostile demonstra- tions against the English. A\'e find more or less contemporary testimony on these points in such ol)servers as Lieutenant .[ohn Thomas, of the Royal Artillery, and Philij) Pittman, who had ])assed from the Illinois region down the valley to IVnsacola. But in March, 17G4, a Colonel Kobertson, who had just arrived at New York from New Orleans, assured (iage that the French in Louisiana were certainly not instigating the upper tribes against Detroit. if Pensacola was now become the centre of English interests on the Gulf shore, and had attained a prominence that it never had possessed under the vSpanish rule. It liad been promptly occu- jned by the English in 1763. The post then consisted of a hig^^ stockade, inclosing some miserable houses, and there were a few equally dismal habitations without the defenses. Such was the place where Bouquet, now a brigadier, liad been })ut in com- mand in August, 17Go, as a fit field for his recognized abilities, and where the southern fever was in a few days to cut short a brilliant career. Whoever the connnander, Pensacola was des- tined to be the centre from which the P^nglisl; were to control, as best they could, the conflicting interests of the neighbor- ing tribes, and gain what advantage wi\s possible from their treaty rights of navigation along the jVIississippi. The \)v'n\- cipal savage peo])les within tlie radius of this influence were the Choctaws, the Creeks, and the Chickasaws, :ind they presented Boine perplexing problems. The Choctaws were for a time dis- tracted by the rival solicitations of the French and English, and warring with the Chickasaws : but this conflict the English alter a while checked, only to turn the Choctaws againsl. tl e Creeks, now angry with the Englisli traders, and discontented with the absence of gifts, which tlie French had taught niem to expect of Europeans. In their restless condition they were marauding along the English borders, but they promptly dis- owned their young warriors if they were apprehended, — per- OUNTRY. of asci'iid- it'i'ing that I'lu'y wont ior. They it to have ileiuonstra- iteiupovavy enant .John u, who had Pensacohi. list arrived the French pper tribes interests on it never had mptly oecu- 2d of a hi<>'i I were a few iieh was the imt in coin- ed al)ilities, cut sliort a ola was des- to control, le neighbor- from their The i)ri li- ce were tlie !y presented a time dis- iid Kuji'lish the English against tie liscontcnted aught iiiem they were i'()nn)tly dis- ided, — per- I ' li If !i 11/ i 1^ L 32 LOUISIANA, FLORIDA, AND THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY. haps more promptly than the En<;;lish disowned tlie " crackers," as the hiwless whites of the borders were called. The English would have been glad to })lay off some of the lesser tril)es against bothChoetaws and Creeks, but the Alibamons were flying north to escape the toils. The Knglish even thought of luring the Natchez, because of their hatred of the French, to cross the Mississi])pi and stand as a barrier against their savage neighbors ; but the scheme was hardly practicable. The Cieeks growing troublesome, Governor Johnston, who had succeeded Bourpiet, had determined, in October, 1700, to attack them, while (iage was advising that Johnston should draw in for safety his distant garrisons. AVhen Johnston's purpose was known to the home government, it dreaded a gi'ueral u])rising of tiie tribes, and recalled him for his rashness. Ilahlimand was now ordered to take his place, and enforce a moi' ' )t Mceful policy. So one of the first nuitters to which the n \ t ,. "nor, on his arrival early in 1707, directed his attenti'.:^ .« h.> how to divert from the lower Mississii)pi the trade of tlie Illinois country. The obvious solution of this problem was to establish a post on the Mississippi, just north of the Iberville River, and then deepen the channel of that stream, so as to render its naviga- tion easy and at all times certain. This would carry the stream of traffic through Luke Pont- chartrain to Mississi])])i Sound, and on to ^lobile and Pensa- cola. which might thus be made to flourish at the experse of New Orleans. Alrt-ady in ]\Iareh. 1707, Gage at New Yorl.: had received reports of measures looking to this end, and lia ' a])i)roved them. The engineering feat was not an easy one. and its difficu; iv were jjalpable. W];en the Mississip])i was at a low stag;v, th" bed of the Ilx'rville was twelve feet above it: in the season of freshets it was as much or more below, but the current was then all the more obstructed l)y driftwood. Three years l»efore (1704), the English had made one futile attempt to divert the scanty flow of the great river so as to decjx-n the lessei' clianncl. It now ha])])ened that befoie anv serious clf'nrt could be made to attack the difficulty afresh, a new ])olicy of strengtlu- ;i!g the English garrisons at St. Augustine, ^Mobile, and Pens.. '1) in view of needing the troops to quell disturbances now bi<' x- ]' i OUNTliV. • crackers," he Englisli isser tvil)es jnons were thought of FreiH-li, to clu'ir savage The Creeks 1 succeeded ttack the in, Iraw iu for ,)urpose was ral ui)risiug Hald inland lOi" v.ieefnl V . ,. "nor, ,,,:, .-us how tlie Illinois Yiddish a post ver, and then er its naviga- T.ake Pont- ' and Pensa- ic experse of \t New York end, and ha ' its diifieui iv low stag5\ th'.' the season of e current was years hefore t to divert the sscr channel, oidd be made strengtV.t- hig ind Peri!-... ' 1' CCS now hi«'.v- THE SPAMAliDS IX LOflSIAXA. 33 ing in New England and likely to si)read south, drew away the tioops at the mouth of the Il)erville and at the Natchez. On this policy JIaldiniand and the civil governor were at variance, and the general reported to (iage not only the had effect on the Indians of the evacuation of the ]\Iississi])pi j)osts, hut the detriment it would prove to the trade which they had hoped to create. Auhry, the French governor at New Orleans, had not been unmindful of these events, and tlu-y gave him some relief from his anxieties as res})eets his English neighbors. The hope of the English to possess New Orleans by sonie device had not been out of sight, even when the Iberville pro- ject seemed promising, for the outlet of the ]Mississipj)i was looked to as a means of lessening the financial obligations of the colonies to the mother country, wliicli had accumulated between 1750 and 1705 to near jEll.OOO.OOO. There was a ])ros|>ect. if the mouth of that river was left in the hands of the French, that tlu'y would outi'ival the English in tobacco as they had in sugar, and cotton was just beginning to be an export from. New Orleans. J(dm Thomas, in his record of events, is confident that fifteen hundred English and two hun- (li'cd Indian auxiliaries could conijuer Louisiana. Ilaldimand was (|ui'stioned by (iage as to the feasibility of such an effort. Tiiat officer thought it not a difficult task, and counted u])on the readiness of the French inhabitants to throw tliemselves on the Englisli side in case of a rupture with the Si)aniards, which jiiow seemed probable. It is necessary to go back a little to see how this condition lof a French antagonism to Sjniin had become supposable. At ^the beginning of 17(54, (lage in New York had learned of the i^proposed change of masters in New Orleans, which had been ^assured Ity the secret treaty of 17 to cede all ^Louisiana to the king of Si)ain. by which we shall "ct rid of ;la most troublesome neighbor and tlie contiiuMit be no longer |em'»roiK'd with their intrigues. The Fi-ench minister has de- *{'larcd this to ]Mr. N»>ville. with the com))liment that it was |done purely to avoid future disputes and (piarrels v/ith tlie fEnglisli nation. I don't Uno>v wliether thev are vet acquainted fr.?f" ii)ulation of six thousand, not inchuling blacks, — for Ulloa had ordered a census and obtained some definite^ fig- lu-es. — it was clearly imj)i'ud to the Englisli le. O'REILLY IX A'/iJr ORLEANS. 37 < The anxious days slipi)ed on, and in July, 1709, it was known in New Orleans that O'Keilly, an Irish Catholic in the Spanish service, with a fleet at his hack, had arrived at the lialize. The next (hiv, this S})anish eonimander sent to tht; town instriic- : tions committed to him for Auhry. He infornu'd tlie French o-overnor at the same time of his purpo.se to assume command, wliatever obstacles were interposed. He had three, tliousand troops to add weight to his determination. Tlic town grew excited over the news. White cockades ■ apitean^d on tlie streets, Tliere was in-os])ect of trouble. La Frcnicn', and other leaders of the conspiracy whicli liad sent riloa otf, recognized the gravity of the situation, and success- fidly excited themselves to allay the excitement. To help restore contick'nce, these conspirators, now more prudent, went down the river to welcome the new governor. The way seemed open for a pea'jeful oceuiiation. It was hoped the ])ast would be forgotten. Hut appearances were ensnaring. O'Keilly reached the town on August 17, and on the next (hiy Aubi-y made a formal surrender. Tlie puri)ose of O'Reilly was for a brief period cloaked; but in the end La Freiiiere and the other consj)irators were seized and executed, while still others were imprisoned. By the latter part of November, 17(39, the new government was in possession everywhere. OKeilly's conduct was doubtless shaped by his instructions, and Jay, who later knew him in Spain, thought liim "a man of excellent abilities, and possessed of great know- ledge of men as well as of things." O'Reilly had found the English merchants in complete con- trol of the commerce of New Orleans, and he took immediate measures to dispossess them, and to cut off English communi- eations across tlu; Mississippi. As soon as Ciage had heard of O'Reilly's success, he congratulattMl himself that if he could only spread the tidings among tlu> AVestern Indians, he could ett'ectually dispel their hopes of further French aid. While the Spaniards were thus endeavoring to form a barrier against the English, they were dispatching messages to the Indians of Florida, — a region to wliosc loss, under the treaty |of 1708, they had not become reconciled. These added new difficulties to those which beset the loval officers of the British 38 LOUISIANA, FLORIDA, AND THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY I'. ' ! \ I: ill' crown all along the Gulf and Atlantic coast. Tlicy had little time to think further of the forcible acquisition of New Orleans, for the prowling savages were hanging about their interior ])()sts, so as to compel their abandonuient, one by one. Tht; T()nd)igl)ee fort was evacuated in the spring of 1708, and not an armed station now pi-otected the English trailers in tlio upjH'r country. A waveiing and sinister policy, as Adair coiii- l)lains, had well-nigh alienated all the neighboring tribes from the English, and made it a conunon reproach among them to be an ally of that treacherous race which sold firearms to friend and foe alike. Meanwhile the new i)olitical commotions in the older English colonies were checiking the unfolding of English power on the Ohio and by the Illinois. To such projects we must now turn. Governor Franklin of New Jersey and Sir William flohnson, feeling with their Tory instincts full contidence in the niaintt- nance of the royal power on the seaboard, were together j)laii- ning the establishment of a cidony in the Tllinois region. To advance their schemes, Sir William addressed the ministers and (lovernor Franklin wrote to his father, then in London, wlm. from his im})ortant services in the recent wai*, was recognized even there as a man of influeni^e. The eldt>r Franklin ])roved an earnest advocate of the new nieasuri's, which were not uii- likt! in their ])uri)ose the ])roject of barrier colonies, to whicli he had connnitted himself at the time of the Albany congress in 1754. The expectation at first was to buy needed territory from the French settlers, and Franklin marked out for Loid Shelburne the limits that were proposed on the small-scale mwy which makes a ])art of Evans and PownalTs larger sheet. Thi> plan of com})ensation was soon al)and(med, and the government was petitioned for a grant. Genei-al Gage and a body of l^liila- delphia merchants joined the others in this new memorial. Their aim was to acipiire a tract of 68.000.000 acres stretching from Lake Erie to the Mississip])i, and bounded in one direction by the Fox and Wisconsin rivers and on the other by the Ohio. Wabash, and Miami (Maumee). Against the eastern bound> of the i)roposed colony, and along the Wabash and Miami, lay a French popixlation of some five or six hundred, which were grouped at Vincennes, and at Forts Ouiatanon and Miami. i COUNTRY. hey had littli" New Orleauf*, their iuteiior by OIK!. The 17tJ8, ami not ;r;ulois in tho as Adair coin- no- tribes from uiong them to jiuiiis to friend i oilier Knylish 1 power on the must now turn. illiam .Johnson, in the maintr- i together phin- ois region. Ti» \ii ministers and n London, whu. was recogni/t'd Fvanldin ])rov(Ml eh were not un- donies, to whicli Albany congress needed territory h1 out for Ijonl sm-dl-scale nnip ^er sheet. This the government a body of V\n\-A- i new memorial. ) acres stretchin;.i 1 in one direction ther by the (Mii". e eastern boun(l> 1 and iMianu, lay Ircd, which were non and Miami. A COKNER MA1> IN KVANS AND I'OWNALLS LARGE MAP. 40 LUi;iSIAXA, FLORIDA, AX J) THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY. TliL'sc settlers were in the luiiiii iij^ricultiiral, and j;ave much of tluur hiUov to the vine : wliile they varied life with an oeca- sioiiitl hunting' season. They had pined under the change of Hag much less than the French nearer the Mississippi, and had in fact estahlislied family ties with the neighboring Indians, whieli served to hind them to the soil, and there was indeed much in their country to attract. Wharton had said of it in 1770 : '* The Wabash is a beautiful river, with high and upright baidis, less subject to overflow than any other river (the Ohio excei)ted) in this })art of America. It is navigable to Ouiata- non, 412 miles, in the spring, suiiimer, and autumn, with bat- toes drawing about 3 feet of water. Hoats go 11)7 miles furthei- to the Miami carrying place (nine miles).'' The severest wrench to the feelings of the French, whether here or along- the Mississip[)i, eame with tiie establishment. under orders from (lage, of a court and juiy according to Eng- lish usage, whither all causes were to be taken. The change from the civil hiw of the French, api)li('(l by jiulges in their own villages, was a dismal reminder of their new allegiance to a distant master. ^fll . '' V 1 11^ > r II The project of a new colony, which should seek to harmonize conflicting interests, give a stable government to the uncertain 'French, and i)rotect the trading body, apijcaled variously to those who were lookers-on or had r(!sponsibilities. Some like Lord Clare looked to it, as he ti)ld Fraidilin, solely with a view to securing the country against a possible revolt of its French inhabitants. Such also was, in effect, the opinion held by Ilaldi- mand, studying the problem at Pensacola, and dreaming of tlir reci})roeal interests of his own province and the u])per ^lissi- si})pi. He had urged his view upon CJage, and had expi-esscd the belief that such a ])ost on the Illinois could be made to sus- tain itself by agriculture. Shelburne fell in with the broader views which were pressed by Franklin, and so became in a way the sponsor of the projcH't when he laid the scheme before tlic Board of Trade in Oetobei-, 170(3, who, if constant to the views which they had expressed more than (mce during the last twenty years, might be reasonably exi)ected to favor the project. It was held by the s]ionsor and advocates that such a colony would raise up a population to demand Biitish manufactures; in sn ne 111 '."=*: COUNTRY. [ o;ive mucli A'ith an orrii- hiin>j;i! »>f Hug- , and had in iidiiins, whieli U-ed niui'U in it in mO: . and ni)vii;l»t ,.er (tiie Ohio bio to Ouiata- mn, Nvith hat- i mik'S fnvtliev i-enc'h, wlietluT estaldishnuMit. ording to Imi-- The idianm' udgt's in thoir w allegiance to ■k to havnimiizc () the uncertain Ul vaviously to ios. Some Id^*' llely ^vith a view dt of its French In hehl by Hahli- dreaming of the |u' ixpper ^li^^i-- d had exvves..a \)o made to si\s- ith the l)roadcv >eeame in a Nvay u'me before th.' ant to the views y the last tw'enty le projeet. at suck a colony [k manufactures; KNdUSH COLOXIAL AIMS. 41 that l»v it the fnr-tiiuU- ccudd be wrested from tlie I'lench and Sitanish : that its settlements wonld serve as a harrier against the Indians: that the country could provision the forts; and tliat i it would he the means of giving ;i civil government to the Ficnch pfoi)le now scattered there, and repining tunlcr the martial law. Such vi«'\vs, however, availed nothing. The Loids of Trade "^in March, 17»IT, reported adverstdy on the project. They held that such a colony I'onld but poorly answer the end for which colonies should he created. A pamphleteer of th(! time clearly defines the views, current not only with the Lords of Trade, but with the generally conservative, better-class Knglish subjects. •• .\ colony is jtrotitahle," says this writer, " according as its land is so good, that by a i>art of the labor of the inhabitants bestowed on its cnltivation, it yields the necessaries of lifo sutiKeient for their sustenance ; and by the I'cst of their labor produces staph' eonmiodities in such ([unntity, and of such value, as brings for the nu)ther country, in the way of coin- jiierce and traffic, all manufactures necessary for the j)roi)er accommodation of the colonists, and for the gradual improve- ment of the colony, as the number of people increase." lie- lieving in such conditions, Hillsborough, the first colonial sec- retary, contended that Murray's scheme of extending (Quebec to the AIississi])pi was the only prudent measure. Indeed, in his conservative view the object of eohtiii/.ation being "to im- prove the commerce, navigation, and manufactures of England, ll])on which her strength and security deixMid." the ci'cating of Colonial power distant from tlu^ sea, and causing chday in com- Dninication. was expressly detrimental to public ]) u))on the ])ublie treasury. Fui'ther there seemed, in his judgment, no occasion to annul the proclanui- tioii of 1T()8, in oi'dci' to ])romote settlements wliicli were cer- tain in the end to make their own wares insteii 'I buying them from the mother country. Such sweets of commercial imle- pendence. once tasted, were sure, he eontended. to create a desire ^^r pcditical autonomy. Further, lu; argued, there were no if)e(i])le to s])are for building u]) an efl'eetive i-olony. and Irelainl, Ul ])articul!ir. ought not to be depo])idated in the intei-ests of ijuch a settlement, while the seaboard eonununities of America weeded, as he thought, rather to be strengthened than depleted, his counter arguments Franklin had depended, not so much ■' i| 1 (1 1 l\ i' I" 42 LOUISIANA, FLOIilDA, AND Till': ILLINOIS COUNTRY. upon drawiii}^ Iuh colonists from the honhM- scttlt iiicnts, as 8i'«-uring them in tlu' mon; distant plantations like (",»nn»'('ti(Mit ; and he; and many others felt sure that the eit'orts o, the minis- ti-y to keep settlements on the Atlantic slojje and to inereas*! the growth of Florida and the maritime provinces would cer- tainly be thwarted by the climatic conditions of those rej^ions. To IIillsl)orou<;h's plea for a restriction of manufactures. Sl."ll)urne rei)lied that an active peoj)le cooj)ed up by tlic mountains was much more likely to enjjfage in handicrafts thsiii if allowed to subdue a virgin soil like that beyond the AUc- ghanies. Wynne; argued the point in his Jirlt'ii^h Empirv in A/iicrica (1770). " Cireat Britain," he says, "a country of manufactures v/ithout materials ; a ti-adiny nation without connnodities to trade upon ; and a maritime power without either naval stores or sufficient material for shipbuilding,, could not long subsist as an indej^endent state without her colonies.'' He then ai'gues that to secure intervals for the soil to lie fallow required, for a country aiming tc subsist by agriculture alone, that such laborers should havi an average forty or fifty acres of land. In fact, .some of t ..board colonies had no more than ten or twenty acres to the man. I'rohibit such colonies from sending their suri)lus population beyond tlie moimtain, and you force them, he said, to live in part hy mantifactures, and prepare the way for indept^ndence. That it is not possible to restrain a i)eo])le hungry for land is indi- cated, he further said, in the continual disregard which had been shown to the proclamation of 17G3. No such arguments, however, ])revailed, and the niinistrv were su])])orted in their conservative views generally by most of the royal governors, and by prerogative nu'n in the colonics. The op])onents contended that a ])urcly military control of sucli distant regions was best adajjted to retain the French settJt'is in subjection. Amherst was urging such establishments, not only on the IVIississippi. but on the Ohio and :it Detroit. Early in 1708, the movement lost force, Franklin bowinj: to the will of the ministry ; but Lyman, who had been a strenuous advocate and impatient at the obstaclt^s, had already intiniiited a willingness to ])roceed without the pnnction of the govciii ment. More prudent council, however, followed, and the ])yo- ject before long took another shape. ,• coLryrny. •ttlMuents, :iH ! C.uiiHH'tk'ut ; o; tlu' minis- j(l to iiu'voase ices would cev- Jiose vcpons. iniinufacturt's. H'd up by till' luulicnil'ts thini youd the Allf- f/.sA Knifiire in " a country ft nation without power without phuikling., couM it her colonies.' the soil to lif ,t by agriculture average forty or ard I'olonies liad Prohibit such ion beyond tin' live ill pitit Ity )i^ndenee. Thiit for land is indi- ...ard which liaose to secure pre- emption of large areas, of compac't acreage and as near Pitts- burg as possible. Such a frontie:' service meant not a little risk, for the Indians wer(^ everywhere jealous of the enci'oach- nicnts of the whites. Charles Beatty, who at this time was .traversing the country west of Fort Pitt, encoiuitered the signs of devastations at all ])oiuts, and even tlu; Cliip])eways were known to be plundering tlie bateaux on the Ohio. It was one of the strongest grounds of remonstrance against the royal proc;- iamation, that it prevented settled ways and ])olice contrt)! over A region where the govei'nmeiit was powei'less to bar out ad- venturous and vagrant occupants. The House of Purgesses in Virginia were repiesenting to the king that, if setth'ments were Jiot permitted, this over-hill country woidd become "the resort pi fugitives and vagabonds, defiers of law and order, who in IC 44 THE KENTUCKY REG ION. h t 'I 'i; 11:, :1IP' I time might form a body dangerous to tlie peace and civil gov- ernment of this colony." The royal proclamulion had been a part of the policy of the government to strengthen, by turning the mirrcnt of j)oj)uhitii)n thitlu'i', the newly ac(piired provinces of Nova Scotia and tiie Floridas. Still tlie Board of Trade had not yet taken the ad- verse sttuul vvliich it hitcr assumed towards tlie trans- Alleghany nioveniLuts, and though prepared to check settlements in so remote regions as the Illinois counti'y, were not (juite ready to deny the possibility of a westward extension lo the seaboard colonies, if made by easy advances beyond the n'ountains. The pioneers were, m fact, well on their m uch. We have seen how, in HOT, their movements had alarmed the Indians, and Croghan had tried tt) (piiet the tri)>es in a conference at Fort Pitt in May, 1768. (lage had little coniidence in the re- sults. "■ When the proposed limits shall be fixed," he said, " I despair not of living long enough to heai' that the frontier peoi)le have transgi-essed them : " and there were, he felt, diffi- culties ahead in the determination of the Indians not to allow settlers on the ])rescribe(l lands till they were ])aid for them. Johnson, while he was ari'anging for the gathering of the tribes at Fort Stanwix in the autumn of that year, liad been fearful lest Colonel Cr8r3ap"s ]mrchasing Indian hinds ni'ar the Greeu- b'.ier Hi .'er, during the ])revious season, would disturb ^ho tribes. But the daring hunters had gom^ mucli farther west. James Smith, now a man of thirty, who had ])assed hi^ early n'.anliood i!i ca])tlvity among tlie savap;os, was at this date s])ending eleven mouths in coursing the valleys of the (^herokee and Cumber- land rivers, — tlio earliest. y,crha])s, exce))t one Henry St'vag- gins, a hunter, to traverse this region. William I'eau and liis family hauutaius. ■eh. We hav(» d the ludiuns, , eonfereiuje at euce in the )'e- d,"' he said, *' I it the frontier le, he felt, difti- ps not to allow ]iaid for them, inn- of the trihos ad heen fearfid lear the Greeii- stur"!> +ho trihes. t>v west. »1:imes , early n'.auhood spendii'.t;' eleven e ami C'mnbev- e Ui'nry Sevno- m Uear. ami his lu-i-a. — the first of the modern Michael Stover 1 Xasliville. ne. The prouii- wst.'rn story i-^ eoiitempornriis. y hidden in tlio lie's lan.u'uage i» ,o'ed, but tetulov personality was iiard to slu-ond. We see his tall and shsnder lii;ure, too niuseular r(» he gaunt. His eyes idealized his head ife was old enough at five-and-thirty for a ripem d manhood t.) make him thoughtful. His experieiiee iiad both toughened liis sinews and made his senses alert. Any ■mergeiiey l)r()ught DAMKI, liO(iNr. liiin well-nigh to tli»> normal ])erfeetion if a mar.. His kind- ness diuws us to him. His nudacity MiMkes us as eoiilident a-< himself. Naturally, what we knov of liini are glimpses at his best, but we imagine f(U' a background the drer.rv monotony of ill!' wilderness. Such a eharaeter becomes subdmd to the land- scape about his figure. I lis fringed huntii'g-shirt, belted so that 40 THE KENTUCKY REGION. .V. li , its ample folds carried his food, may be ragged ; his leggings may be tattered by the brush ; his moccasins cut by the ledge ; his knife clotted with tho blood of a wolf ; but the rich copse and the bounding elk share our scrutiny with his person, and we look to the canopy of magnolia, laurel, and ash, to the spread of the buckeye and graceful catalpa, to the foaming stream and the limestone vagaries, — and all that the man stands for in bravery and constancy is mated with the enchantments ot nature. John Finlay, a trader from North Carolina, had before this tliridded tlie Cuniberland Gap, and trudged on to the stiikiiij;- scenes on tiie Kentucky Kiver. Impressed with the country, lie had returned to the banks of the Yadkin, and had there imbued Boone with a desire to go thither too. The two, with some companions, started to nrike a new trial of the region. It was in the later spring of 17(39 that Boone with James Rol)- ertson, a young Scoti-h-Irishman, stood on a mountain path and looked down upon the rapid flow of the Watauga, winding in its rich valley, two thousand feet above the sea. We shall see that this first sight of the vale of the Watauga was not forgotten by Robertson and Boone. Two years' further wander- ing beyond, amid newer delights in the landscape, carried thmi back to the Yadkin valley in the spring of 1771, with instant puri)oses and resolves. While tlu'se tentative efforts were making by wandering- hunter and trader, ]irojects of larger scope were developing. In 1769, Dr. Lee of Virginia, with thirty-two other Americans, — Washington cooperating, — and two Londoners, were organ- ized as the Mississi]ipi C\)m])any, and \vere petitioning the crown for a grant of some back lands to tlie extent of two and a half million acres, (inge. who was watching the movement, advisetl (November 9. 17<)9) that the new province be jnit on a Piilitary basis, as a barrier between the ]n'esent provinces and the Indians. Lee's a])i)Hcation was in effect }>ige')n-holed In the Hoard of Trade, whih', under other intluences, a better nc- ognition was made of a rival movement. This was a project of speculators, mostly Americans from north of the Potomac. — a combination not unlikely to incite the jealousy of the Viruin- ians. The petitioners included among them a Lonilon banker. M THE WALPOLE COMPANY. 47 I ; his leggings ,t by the ledge ; the rich copsu I person, and we 1, to the spread ling stream and u stands for in iichantments of had before this to the striking ith the conntry, I, and had there The two, with 1 of the region. with James Uol)- juntain path and auga, winding in sea. We shall Vatauga was not s' further wandi'r- ipe, carried them 771, with instant (.■ by wanderinii were deveh)ping-. other Americans, >ners, were organ- o petitioning tlu' extent of two and ig the movement, ■ovince be put on ^ent provinces anJ t pigeon-holed 1'} nces, a better I't- is was a project of f the Potomac. - usy of the Viruin- a London banker. Thomas AValpole by name, who was so put in the front of the iie'"otiations that his name became attached to the .scheme. Franklin and Governor Pownall were the two most conspicuous advocates from the colonies. The stock of the compiiny was divided into .seventy two shares. Pownall intended that the government of the new colony should be modeled upon the charter of iMas.sachusetts, whose workings he had known. The company craved permission to buy of the Indians two million four hundred thousand acres of land, situated between latitude 38' and 42 . h\ general terms, the tract they desired lay west of the AUeglianies and south of the Ohio, and above the bound- ary of North Carolina. It was bounded on the we.st by a line drawn from the Ohio (»i)posite the mouth of the Scioto to Cum- berland (lap. These limits covered the tract called " Indiana," which the traders had bargained for at Fort Stanwix in recom- pense for their losses in the Pontiac war. These suft'erers now petitioned the king to be otherwise recom])onsed. The bounds also end)raced the ])atent of the old Ohio Company, and it was a point of grievance with the members of this older company that the new organization should be " indebted to discoveries made .^t the expense of the Ohio Com])any."' Colontd George Mercer, Vho was in London watching the interests of the Ohio Com- paay, failing to receive instruction fov wliich he had ap])lied, finally agreed, on his own respon.^il '.♦^v. to merge that coui- |)any's interest in the new project, ,so that the old Virginia Iclaiinants received a thirty-sixth part of the shares in the "NVal- pole C:)nipany. V>y the end of that year (1770), Col«)ii. 1 :]^Iel(•;•r wrote to Washington that he had prevailed upon the ilew coni])any to allow out of their intended grant two hun government. An Ojtposition to the project, not unexpected, as in the contest for the Illinois cohmy, was headed by tlit; colonial ministei-. Lord Hillsborough — rei)resenting under Lord North a Tory government destined to last for nearly a half century — made an adverse re])ort to the king in council on behalf of the Commissioners of Trade and I'lantations. This rejjort t'uforced ■•isiitm tmmmmtmim 48 THE KENTUCKY REGION. i' ;»i i,l' II \ 'ngland with the Auu'rican colonies alone was nearly what it had been in 1704 with the entire world. Hillsborough said that the timely supplies to which Burkt referred were practically interdicted hy the distance and by the tardy service of transportation over the mountains. It \s;i- asserted, in veidy, that produce coidd be carri; d liuni the Ohii' country by the river, and over the passes to tide-water at Alex- andria, chea])er than it cli- ,) cover the intcr- 772 the trade of as nearly what it ■i to which Burkt stance and by tlu' )untains. It wa^ . d iiuin the Olii" de-water at Ahx- Northani])ton to be floated down ?r than they cohW Philadelphia: aiitl from the Ohio, it would cost but half the expense of land carriage. It was said that to <''o by sea from riiiladelphia to Peiisacola took a montii, and it took no longer by the river from Pittsburg. The Ohio, said Franklin, is navigalde for large boats at all times, and from January to ^Vi)ril it can carry vessels of large tonnage. Since the war. he added, the distance by a new road from Fort Cum- berland to navigable water over the mountains has been reduced from seventy to forty miles. Thus easy is it, he reasoneil, to put this temperate and much-producing region into close com- munication with the sea, — a region that has its silkworm and tilt" mulberry, flax and cotton, for the manufacturer, hem]) and iron for naval stores, and grapes and tobacco for the solaces of life. Xo such statements availed, however, to swerve Hillsborough from his position. Lord Dunmore did much to strengthen the o])])ositi()n when he wrote from Virginia that any such grant Would be sure to bring on an Indian war. These were two years of uncertainty in London. It seemed at times as if the applicants would get their grant, but every period of hope was succeeded by another of disheartenment. Meanwhile on the Ohio and its tributaries events were <>()in<:' on wliieh made the decision less dependent on the government. Already in 1770, settlers were moving steadily on, and there was a proposal in the air to fouiul a colony on the lands ceded at Fort Stanwix and call it Pittsylvania. The ])aekhorse and the shirt of jeans, buckskin leggings scraping together with lithe steps, wei'e seen and heard everywhere along tlu; route, whether by Fort Bedford and Loyalhannon. or by Fort Cum- l) -n .;.d and Redstone ohl fort. Plunging into the shelter of tiie large tindu-r of the Kanawha and its branches, startling the elk, the bear, and the wild turkey, often fidlowiug the beaten ♦Mr.ifes" of the buffalo, the ])ioneers o])(med of themselves the paths which Captain Legge had thought to have done by an »rganiz(>d eomi)any of axemen. P>la/ing a tree near a spring, they marked it with a date and the acreage, and established the tacitly recognized " Tomahawk Claim ; " on clearing and ])lant- 4iig, they established what ])assed under the designation of a J" corn title." Sometimes adventurous parties of hunt(>rs pushed |>n even so far as the Green Kiver and the mouth of the Cum- berland, and wandered alxmt the site of the nuxlern Nashville. nam 60 THK KENTUCKY REGION. M •-• I'., ■ 1 " V! « 1," ! " I The Walpole inoveiiiL'nt found littlo fuvor in Virfj;ini:i. This conibiuiition of noithevn intovests ignored tho chiini of Virginia to a western extension nnder her charter. If this ex})ansion was not maintained, hi'r right to give patents of this over-mountain domain was h)st. Hillsborough, in July, 1770, had notified the Virginia authorities of the movenu'ut, hut in their re])ly in October they made no protest, and ac- knowledged that " when that part of the country shall become sufficiently popuhited, it may be a wise and prudent measure."' Before it became known that provision had been made to pre- serve Dinwiddie's grant to the soldiers of the Lite war, there was a strong feeling of injury in which ^Vashington shared. Moreovi'r, the claims of the Cherokees — who were to be aj)- peased by the recognition, for they had been of late, as Cameron the Indian agent discovered, in a hostile mood — had been es- poused by Virginia against the pretensions of the Iro(piois ;is recognized at Fort Stanwix. While the AValpole petition was ])en(Hng in London, and before Mercer's message about the engulfing of the old Ohio Comi)any in the new ])roject had been received, Washington started west to take for himself a new look at the country. He left Mount Vernon on October 5, 1770, and in a little more than a week was with Crawford on the Youghiogheny. lie had various motives, — one was to see land which Crawfod had already selected for him, another was to understand better the difficulties of the ])ortage connecting the Potomac and Ohio, so as to further the trade of what he called "'a rising empire." Xear Kedstone old fort, at the head of navigation on the ]\ronongahela. where for sonu^ years the authorities had beta ti'ving nnsuccessfully to oust the settlers, he found that ^licdind Oresaj) had built hiuiscdf a house. Here he talked with that frontiersman al)out what he then sup])osed was the injury to his comrades of 17")4. in tlieir rights Ix'ing covered — at lea 4 to the extent of four fifths — by the pro])osed Walpole grant. He hudvcd upon himstdf as in some degree — so he had written in A])ril to Lord Hotetouit — "the representative of the officeis and soldiers wlio (daim the right to two hundred thousand aeres of ^;his very land." Settlemeu:s at this time had fairly Note. — The opposite view of Pittsburg is from the Alius of CoUot's Jniirnfij hi ^'orf/i Aiiicri (U •:a m Virgini:i. the claim of ter. If this 11 ive patents of >h, in Julv, )u: the inovemeiit, test, ami ae- ro \' s hall become dent measure." n made to pre- late war, there mi! w ;ton shared, ere to he aj)- ate, as Cainernii — had been es- the Trocpiois as n Lend on, aiK 1 of the old Ohio ed, Washington at the country, in a little more 'hiosiheny. Hf vhich Crawfo (I derstaiul better omac and Ohio, .■ising eni])ire. ligation on the >ri In ties had been 1 that Michael Iki'd with that IS the iiijnry to v(M'ed — at lea 4 Walpole grant. he liad written ve of the ofHceis ndred thousaml time had fairly infji HI (If til Aiiitr aa i|p! 52 THE KENTUCKY REGION. \l I ] !(, ' 'l i -M ! h I '*( begun along tlie Monongaliela, ami two years later oecnpaiicy was in full progress, and was stretching on t(^ Laurel Kid^v. Most of the settlers were coming by the Braddock route, which Washintiton had followed, but a lesser number i)()ured in liy the Pennsylvania route from Bedford and Ligonier. On October 27, 1770, Washington was at Fort Pitt, now- garrisoned by two comi)anies of Koyai Irish. He found r«j\v.s of traders' houses along the Monongaliela side, but the most active of the packmen were evidently the Pennsylvanians, di- verting the trade over the gaps toward JMiiladclphia, while tin y met the Indians in Virginia territory south of the Ohio. This, with the neglect which the petition of the Lees and himself had received, could but convince AVashington that the interests which supported Forbes and lioU(piet in preferring a new route over the hills, ten years and more ago, were not short-livcil. These rival agencies were fiu'ther kept alive by the controversy over counter claims to this over-hill country about the forks of the Ohio. Everything was favoring the prominence Peiiii- sylvania was now acquiring among the older colonies. From 1771 to 1773, something like twenty-five tliousund Presbyteri;iii Seotch-Irisli arrived at either Phihidel[)hia or Newcastle, anil they :idded greatly to the sturdier stock of the colony. Frank- lin, now in Fngland, was considering how the jn-osperity of tlie colony could be increased by a system of canalizing her rivers. This western contest of Pennsvlvania with Viruinia was an evil destined to be surmounted, but during these years wlieii Westmoreland County was formed, it proved irritating and eviii dangerous. Both colonies had, after the ti'eaty at Fort Staii- wix, been issuing warrants for the same territory, wliil' they bid against each other by alternately lowering the selling pricf. Washington, leaving Pittsburg in October, 1770, went with a party down the Ohio to the Kanawha, and early in Xovemlu'i' he was examining the land about that stream. Keturning tn Pittsburg, he gave an entertainment at an inn in that plati'. and here met for the first time a nephew of George Croghaii. Connolly by name, who, as a creature of Lord Dunmore, ho- came a few years later notorious in furthering his lordships schemes in this region in opposition to the claims of Pennsyl- vania. This land disjMite turned upon the meaning to be given to the rather impracticable definition of Penn's charter for his M WASHIXG TON'S LA XDS. 53 later oecupaniv Laurel Kulj;''. ick route, which ■r poured in liy iiier. Fort Pitt, now lie found rows e, but the most lusylvainans, (H- phia, while tliry he Ohio. Tliis, ees and himself hat the interests i-ins throui;!; out the Ohio valley. AVashington's interest in the soldici' claims was su])eradded to his own, and he wi'ote to Dunmoro ii June, 1771, that " the officers and soldiers confide in nic ti transact this business for them." imilH >if r.Milii-ylv:i'i''' 1} oinplatint;' f<'i' ^i' li ciitf'vpvise wa- successful rivalvi ,1,.(1 so much I'Cf nce's belioof, inii- and acres thnnv^.- st in the solilit'i- ote to Dunmore n confide in ni«' tv I'l FllAXKLiy AND HILLSBOROUGII. 55 At the same time Washiiij^ton i«'j>re- st'iited that a report of the ultimate sue- (!ess of tlie Walpole )>etiti(mers was oain- ing ground iiotwith- standiiii;' tiie opposi- tion of tlie lioai'd of Trade. riif advo- cates had carried the cpu'stioM to the Uiiii;' in council, and on .ruly 1, 1772, Franklin r«'ad before that body his masterly answer ti> 1 lillsl)orou<;li*s ob- jections. Franklin's statement was an em- ])hatic denial of the Viii^inian claim to a western extension, for he held that the Alle- uhanies bounded tiu; pi'ovinee, while th{> riyhts of all the colo- nies were derived from the lro(piois cession of lands, which tliey had obtained hy conipiest from the Shawnees. lie was in due time answered hy George Alason, in hehalf of tlie Virginians. The Ti'()(pu)is arj;umeut had been often ust'd aji'ainst the French, and it indicated how the policy of the min- istry had chano;ed since the war, that it was now necessary^ to Use this reasoning against the government's ])osition. Trt!aties with the southern Indians, held at Hardlabor in l7t!8, and again at Lochaber, in South Carolina, October 18, nad acknowledged that the Cherokees" right to tliis region to- Wiirds the Kanawha was supei-ior to that of the Iroquois, but «uivi>s <()in',s|ioii(liiig to those of tlie Delaware Uiver. r ,-- '^ l:i ' Hi 1/ I: !iri I <\ lif! « ill I': !; i,:l iffl' ■, ;r Hi J! Il( ^r V' ■' r {< ' 'I'' ! I ■M, i,!: ',„, i III I :! i 60 VV//-; KE.\TUCKY UEalOS. tliiit tribe <;(»t in» recount ion from Franklin, and u large ciiii' ••ration had already ht'giiu to How west, looUinj^ to the seciiiitv which the treaty of Fort Stanwix gav(^ tlu'in. Franklin said that he relied, to keep np this western exodus, '• on the voluntary supertlux of the iidiahitants of the middle provinees." 'I'he hrotiicrs Zane had huilt their eahin at the mouth of Wheeling Creek, iW' iirst white mans habitation, peiliaps. in that seetion of the wilderness. Franklin reekoned th; t nit less than five thousand fanulies, averaging six heads eiieli, uii- Jlble to meet the demands of the large landowners east of tlic numntains, had before this sought lands on the Ohio. This computation did not iiudude several thousand families which had passed the ga[)s, but had tarried within the "oposed limits of Pennsylvania. Among these last, in 171)0, had been Zeisberger and his Md- ravians, but in 1772, to escape the troubles of Pennsylvania with the Suscpiehanna Company, they had pushed up the west branch of the Suscpiehanna in search of a nt!W home. We have Bishop Kttwein's journal of their flight. Having worshijud for the last time in theii- old church, on June 1 1, 1772, they hf- gan their wearisome march. On July 18, th'>y were climl)iiii; a preci])itous numntain "to a s])ring, the heaii waters of thr Ohio." " Here," says the bislio]), " I lifted up my heart in prayer as I looked westward." The band was probably now on the north branch of the Mahoning, an afHuent of the Alle- ghany. Th(;y floated down the stream to Beaver Creek, and in August they had laid the foundations of a white settleniciit in Ohio, on the " second bottom " of the Tuscarawas vailev (Muskingum), iunid its walnuts and sycamores, its cedars, locusts, and laurels. Sucii was the varied complexion of the emigration wliidi Burke had ])erceive(l that it was impossible to withdraw, and against which Gage's proclamation was to be so fruitlessly directed. Instead of threats, these people needed })rotecti(iii and the service of a stable government. This pojndation. a- Fraidilin argued, was now become, in i)art at least, " so migov- erneil and lawless " that ilothing but some sort of subjection t* the forms of government could ])i'event an Indian war. Then was a tendency, in all considerations of the government al)ont America, to delay, but Franklin's uigency and arguments at last HM ,„ VAXDALrA. T)? ,1 a l:ir«'v fini. t(. till' security Kriinklin saitl u the vohuitiuy ees. • t\w mouth lit' atiou, ])eihiii». ■Uoncd thi t net hi'iuls each, mi- ners east of tlu- he Ohio. This families which proposed liuiit> .;er anil his ^^|• of l'em'sylvaui:i shed up the west liome. We have lavinj? worsliiiHil [1, ITT 2. they h.- i^V vvtM-e elimhiui; eaii waters of tl"' n|) my heart in vas prohahly now luent of the Allt- ver Creek, and in white settlement 'uscarawas valley uores, its cedars, I'miji-ration whitli to withdraw, ami \,e so fnutlesslv needed proteetiou his ])()imlation. :i« least, " so unp'V- rt of sultjeetion t.> ndian war. Therr o-overnment ahoii; d'aro-uments at last itrevaih-d, ami on August 14, ITTl.ihe kin;;, in i-ouncil, a\\- jii'oved tlit^ Walpole grant. The innn 'diate result was that Ilillsliorou^Ii, who in the heginnin;;- was desirous of pushing' the advoeates to hr^er demands than they thought jtrudent, and ap|)arently with a purp(»se in this way to compass their ultimate discomfiture, now i-csigned in disgust. After this, Fraidiliii'.s reply, having accomjiiished its puriJO^e. ilisappearcd from the hook-stalls. The etft ct in America was only tlie hegiiniing of new tlelays. A message was at one«! sent to Sir William John- son, who instructed Croghan to cause "the different nations antl trihes to he made accpiainted that it was His Majesty's ])leastM(' to form a new colony or settlement in Ohio." This movement had heen sedulously watched in \'irginia, not oidy hy those who sought the cover of a Virginia patent to these same lands, hnt there is some reason to hcliijvi! it had Keen ohserved hy Dunmore in no friendly spirit to the claims of the soldiers. In the spring of 1T7J^, Diunnore and Wash- ington had ])lanned a journey heyond the mountains, hut the governor went linally ah)ne. In an interview which he had with Crawford, the governor jiromised to issue to Wash- iiigton a ])atent for lands at the mouth of tlie Kanawha, '* in case the new goi'ernment did not take i»lace hefore he got home." Wasliingt(»n. meanwhile, had found much discourage- ment in all his Ohio plans. Ci'awford was ohliged to infoi-m liim that he had towt)rk hard t(» keep sipiattcrs off the ])roj)erty which had heen surveyed for him, and that nothing hut hiring men constantly to occupy a claim was sufficient to ])revent intruders Imilding houses u])on it. We find Wasliington accordingly ])rom])tcd to turn to other claims, whicfi the proclamation of ITfj^i had I'cserved for the ))articipants in the war, and he thought for a while of the ])os- siltilities of patenting lands in Florida, amid tiiose "scorching and unwholesonu} heats " of which Franklin had of late been ' writing. Meanwhile, the new Com]iany of the Ohio was nurtuiing larger views, and on May 0. 1TT^5, the king in council extended the hounds of the projected government, now spoken of as A'andalia, to the line of the Kentucky Kiver. Already the brothers ^IcAfee were prei)aring to take squatters' rights along this stream, near where Frankfort now stands, whither the M f i [|i ' ' Wf ' f 58 THE KENTUCKY REGION. ') I '' I • \m I ( I !■;, traces of the biift'alo had led them, through the uninhahitcd limestone region. Not far from the same time, Captain Wil- liam Thompson, an agent for tlie war claimants in Pennsylvania, had sent a party along the Kentucky, and these had I'eportcil that the lands wei'e the finest tliey had ever seen, and likely soon " to sell at twenty-five shillings an acre." The attractive aspect of this country was now well inider- stood, adorned as it was with hroad-leaved trees without undci'- brush, with ripening grass beneath the shade showing blue to the distant eye, with the eaith teeming from a fertility tli;it was constantly nurtuied by the decay of the underlying rock. and with occasional broad strctcht's, where the trees had been burncnl and vast herds of l)uffalo roamed. This extension of the grant had rend >red the mouth of the Kanawha more central than before, and strengthened the o})inion whii'h Washington had held, that it was the natural seat for the new jiovernment. Towards the middle of Mav. it became common talk in Pittsburg that Duniiiore had granted patents for the two hinidred thousand acres «lue to Washington and his comrades in the neighborhood of the Kanawha, and Croghan wrote to Wharton about it and said, " It is creatiiii; great c(mfusion on the frontier, both among the whites and tiie Indians." The tribes had been taught to look upon the jirn- jected colony as an alternative which could be turned to their advantage in the recompense they expected for their lands, The Shawnees, in ])articular, were aroused, and (H)nsidi'red the Virginia claims inimical. Fr(mtiersmeu so ex])erienced as Dr. Walker were advocating an escape from conflict with tlie Cherokees by turning tlieir thouglits to western Florida. Tliis large grant of the soldiers, already recognized, as we have seen. by the Walpole Company, produced new difticulties by its very extent. With an eye to im]>rovements, Wasliington sought tit have it surveyed so as to incdude as much tillable ground as pos- sible, lie soon discovered from the re])orts which he receivrd that he must secure it in at least twenty different localities, unless he was content to in(dude contiguously large uu])rodn('- tive mountain areas. It is not easy from Washington's lettiis always to distinguish which of these western lands he Inid patenced as a private venture from his claims either under tlif Dinwidd'a or the later royal pvoclamation. By July, 177-5. BULLITT AND LOUIS VILLK. V^ e uninhabited Captain Wil- Vennsylvania. had reporti'il L'n, and likely w well undei- without under- liowing blue to a fertility thiit idei'lying rock, :rees had been e n\outh of tlu' ■enu'thened the as the natural Idle of May, it i-e had granted to Washington Kanawha, and "•It is ereatiii;j, whites and the upon the i)ro- turned to their or tlieir lands, eonsidereil the (eri(Mieed as Or. ntliet with tlu> Florida. This s we have seen, ties by its very o-ton sought to ground as po^- u(di he received >rent loealitii'S, irge unprodiii'- lington's lettris lands he had dther under the By July, l7To, hv had certainly got sutdi hold of more than twenty thousand acres of these Oiiio valh y lands as to warrant an advertisement of them in the Jft/i//nt Cliarleston on tlie Kanawha. I'mllitt was invested by tlie College of Williara and ^larv, one of its ]irerogatives. with tlie autliority to ai>])i'ove surveys, and had tl'.iis become eons])icuous iu these western movements, tliougli tliere were comjdaints that wlien wanted, to give su mouth of the Kentucky, and while Taylor went u]) that stream, making survey about the modern Frankfort, Bullitt went on to the rapids of the Ohio, and laid out the ])lot for a settlement where r>ouisville now stands, the hist regular town map])ing in Kentuidcy. The sjiot was not occupied till two years later, though, on a lot above the falls. d(din Cowan had built a log hous»> in 1774. Washington had instructed this same Bui iit in September, || 1778, to survey for him a tract of ten thousand acres, as far bi lew the Scioto as it may be neco.ssarv to ^-o to i^et t<)n in orgotten things. as still fresh in af those "better 1 preservation."' CHAPTER V. THK QUEHEC BILL AND THE DUXMORE WAR. 1774. In 1774. tlicic- came for the first time a shar]) conflict he- t\\('(ii Virginia and the home government as to jurisdiction over the territory north of the Ohio. The interi)retation which Vir- ginia had always given to the very obscui-e definition of her bouiiils in tlie charter of 1009 had been long denied by France, and wlien tliat contested region was wrested from P^ ranee, the peace nf 17t);} had limited its western extension by the ^lissis- sii)))!. Tile royal ])roclamation, which soon followed, had pre- vented the pushing of tlie settlements thither, but had not given it over absolutely to other jurisdiction. Ten years or more later, while Virginia was waging war against the savages there- abniits. to enforce her claim and ])rotect her .settled frontieis. the Ihitish I'airament strove to ])nt a limit to her territorial pretensions in this dii't'ction by giving tlie (Quebec government an absolute juri,sdiction over the region. There were other purposes, botli ostensible and latent, in this legislative move- ment, wliich were entered u])on to curb not only A'irginia, but the other seaboard colonies, in an inevitable wcstwaid maich. I'lver since Carlcton had been in command in Quebec, he had felt the necessity of yielding something more to the French Canadians than had been allowed by the capitnlation at ]Mon- treal in 17t!0. and by the acts of 170-'?. He contended that a fill ther concession coidd alone make them good British sub- jee's, and that a guarded revival of French law. customs, and religion, while ])laeating one hiuidred and fifty thousand Cath- olics of the ])i'ovince. — as Carleton counted them, though his estimate is ])i'obably much too large. — woidd not seriously impair the fortiuies of four hiuidred Protestants, their fellow- aubjects. In 1770, Carleton had gone to England, leaving in his place Cramahe, a Swiss Protestant in the English service. '.ii I I ■•ii if|iii;, THE QUEBEC BILL AND THE DUXMORE WAU. During the four years of his absence, Carleton was iu occasional consultation with tlie ministry about what seemed to him sonic needed transformation of the government of the [u-ovince. This consideration was at times affected, and i)erhaps sliaped, liy petitions of tlie (\inadians, not hirgely signeib and forwarded by Cramahe. Tln'y touched the restoration of the French laws and a rehabilitation of the Catholic religion. While such (jucstions were in abeyance, the rev(dutionii'v commotions in Boston did not fail to render of doubtful cun. tinuauce the loyalty of the seaboard coh)nies, now nundjcriiig l)robal)ly, according to the most careful estimates, C(msideralily under three millions of ])eoplc. If such disaffection could not be stamped out, it became a (piestion of restraining it by terri- torial bounds, and covertly if not o})enly. This danger had already delayed the entire fulfillment of the Vandalia i)r()jet't south of the Oliio. It was known that there was a tide of immigration rolling along the Oliio, and. in spite of the agno- ment at Fort Stanwix, threatening its northei-n banks. It wa> necessary, then, to find some barrier to check the current, lest it should buoy u[) and -arry along the seething conunotions of the seaboard. No such barrier was so obvious as that which \\\v French had attempted to maintain in the recent war, — the lim of the St. Lawrence and the Alleghanics. To make this barrier effective, it was necessary to consolidate, as far as jiossible, tin region behind it in a single government. Murray and his siu- cessor, Carleton, had already urged an extension of their exteii- tive authority from Quebec westward, and the o])poitune tiiiu had come for doing it, under an ostensible ])lea of regulating tlic fur trade of the region. If the traders were gratified by siicli ]>rofessions, the debates and remonstninces show that the ])in- posed reinstatement of the Konuui Church and the su])pressi()ii nt English law drew out fervent op})osition ; and there is, nxin- over, no evidence that the Canadians themselves, as a pojnila- tion, felt any elation over the prosi)ect. This may have been due in some ])art to a latent s3-m])!ithy among them with tin revolutionary classes of the older cidonies. — a sympathy witli which Congress, as it turned out, blundered in an attem])t t" deal. A new petition from Canada, dated February, 1774. ami signed by only sixty-five persons, asked for a restoration of tlif h e tl a C( « w sa E pr ro 8C] ini th( wa; liki ha\ hac of riv( Ha tioi sav eng had ofl thei 1 craf besi Ind agai bet\ Pen at I ti< RE WAH- IS in occiisioiml Bil to him soKK' province. This [ips sluiped, li\ and forwarded of the Freneh 11. le revohitionu'-y if doubtful fiiu- now nundx'riiig ^es, consideralily jction I'ould not ning- it by tcni- Hiis (Umger li:ul Vandulia i)r()jeet e was a tide of [)ite of the agiee- I banks. It wih the current, lest I or connnotions of as that whicli Uw it war, — the Ym make this baniti „r as possibk', l!i' rray and his siu- ju of their exccii- ^> opportune tinu of reguhiting tlif gratified by siicli low that the ])r.>- le sui)i)ressi()iiiii d there is, nioiv. ves, as a popiihi- s may have bwn ig- them with tin a sympathy witl in an attemiit t" .ruary, 1774. ana restoration of tli' tl VIRGIMA AXD PENXSYLVAXIA. Go "okl bounds of Cana(hi," over which the English and French had so long disputed, and the ministry in granting it were ensnared into the soinewliat ridiculous aeknowledginent of what they had fornu-rly denied. To restore such limits, however, would pk'use the Canadians and some fur traders, and became a good cloak for ulterior purposes respecting' the seaboartl colonics. The jealousy of \ew York was aroused, aiul for a while it was uncertain if the western part of that i)rovince would not be sacrificed to tlie ministerial purpose. New York owed it to Edmund Burke tliat this territory was saved to its jurisdiction. Iniuu'diatc ojjposition naturally came fi'oni the Penns, whose proi)rictary rights would be curtailed, and fi'om Virginia, whose royal governor, interested with many of her })eoj)le in land scheuies ill the Illinois country, was already j)reparing- for an invasion of the territory. The movenu-nt for a colony north of the Ohio, over which Franklin and Hillsborough had contended, had come to naught, nuicli to the relief of Virginia ; but here was a project seeking' the active sanction of Parliament, and likely to thwart any ])urpose which her royal governor might have of issuing patents to this very land. Dunuiore, the governor, was a man not easily balked. He had already taken ])ossession of Fort Pitt despite the ])rotests of Pciui. and was determined to hold it as a gate to the over- river country of Virginia. This ])recii)itate conduct had alarmed HaLlimand, the military head of the contincmt. lest the distrac- tions of this intercolonial land-dispute should eml)olden the savages to take an advantage. Both sides arrested settlei's engaged in vindicating their i'es])ective colonies, and the trouble had Ix'conie so alarming in the sjiring of 1774 that surveyors of both sides were rushing to the contested region, and plotting their claims. This dispute, serious enough in itself, was embittered by the craft of Connolly, the creature of Dunmore, and complicated be8ir of jNIaryland. There was also in tin number a young and daring spirit, (ieorge Kogers Clark, w; Note. — TliP map (in tlic oiipositp imcp. liaspd on information affordpil l)y General Kii'liiiflf ler, is taken from Crevefiieur's Lellres d'uii Ciil/iralt'iii; vol. iii., Paris, 1783. n.< MOKE WAH. le claimed, ami i, oinniissioners scir ipvomise a curvti le tovtiious ('(mi'>- he five degrocs n parallel, and tli;r b the western en ield, and Duniudi overted area. , and disa])])()iiitt andalia eolony li;i lands, and feiiiiii. il claimants, ^n r Kelly had liutti ghty miles from . :!h was tlu; ncuiv. nearly all tin; i , and Kelly's liti l?nt such w!is t! s, Morris hy nam family stock, win: was not alto.ii'otli •r of necessity t^ he militia to tie date Pennsylvaii . ireignty of Viiiiii: nturers. had alriai; md a hunting- ikii andering ShawiH' •s at the Kanawl on a sudden on- e disputed ten itii el Cresap, and iii;i moved to the ui'l ere was also in tin 3 Rogers Clarl<. " orded by General Rii'linra ! Paris, 1783. ,v' /-«' "^^^ h\\ £,nl<>u.^«'''-^'''"'^'-";^ P rr 68 77/ A" dCEKICC BILL A XI) THE DUNMORK WAR iil !!f(i i ', > ! I Jil \ :|J . / I *'« I. ^. I m liiul been brouf^^lit tliitlicr to look after a grant wliich lie li ()l)t!iiii«'(l at Fisli Crt't'k. This hody of hordcriTs, with : iiuproinptu or<;iiiii/ati<)ii, was furtlicr ri'oniitcd at tlio site tilt' luodt'i'ii Wlit'cliiig by additional liothcads, with wIkmu mattered little whether the stories of murders, which were i: ert'asing, were of whites hy savages, or of the Indian hy tl frontiersman, — and there was no dearth of either kind of t;il Khenezer Zaiie, the j)rinei])al settler of this sj)ot, had iiiu' here a tomahawk elaini in 1T()*.*, where he was joined the \\y\ year l»y his hi'others, , Jonathan Jind Silas. Then^ was at tl date (1774) a nund)er of log houses clustering about those th(! Zanes. The hotheads were counseled to be ])rudent by the leader this settlement, and Cresa]) seemed inclined to be cautious, h. the trepidation was too widespread for j)erfect restraint. observer tells us that in a single day a thousand bewilder settlers crossed over the Monongahela towards the east, and ti whole country was Knally stripped of inhabitants, except tli' were '' forted." The war, if it came, was sure to have one advantage for t! whites, and that was the single and unliami)ered pur])os(' Virginia to maintain her own, and this she was prepared te without the aid of her neighbors. Sir William flohnson, in New York, was doing his best hold back the Iro(piois. but that ])art of these confederal which had advanced into the modern State of Ohio could i be restrained from nudving connncm cause with the Delawai and Shawnees. Logan was one of these migrated Ii'o<]nois. and it was 1 fate to become the ]>ivot of events. He had Ix'en bred Shamokin, and had long been known as a fi-iend of the Eiigli- A small camp of his family and followers, on the north si of the Ohio, crossing the river to get rum, was set u])()n a: killed by some lawless whites. Indian runners s])read the m of the massacre, and Logan was soon, with su(di a band :is could gather, sjireading devastation along the Monon^alit and llolston, — and Dunmore's war was begun. The country north of the Ohio, where Dunniore expectdl operate, was designated in the Parliamentary bill, now near passage, as " heretofore a part of the territory of Caniuli ..;i!l** utiii-: ir.i/c". !\nt which he Im •V(U'rt'rs, with r rd :it the site Is, with whom rs, which were i; ho Indian l)_v t! ■itlicr kiiul of tal s spot, had iii;i' IS joined tlir ii' There was at tl inir about those it hy the h-adcr to he cautious, l set restraint. O; ousand hewihlti- Is the east, and t! litants, except tli advantaiic f<>i' ' n])ered purixisc was prepared to > doinp; his hcst tliese confedt'ia; (»f Ohio could I with the Delawiii ois. and it was 1 liad heen hied iend of the En^li- on tlie north s; was set u]ioii :r ci'S spread the ni such a hand ;is the MonouL;:ili' iun. unuiore expecteil •y hill, now iic;u' ■ritorv of Caimds 77/ /i FUEXCH ON THE W A /SASH. 69 This j)hrase struck sharply at the pride of Duuniu;;' and othcis, jealous of Knulish hon<»r, and Lord North at one time pro[)oscd to have the words out. It was ui-yed hy the opposition that undfi' >\n-\\ in acknowlcdj4iuent, if the time shouhl ever conic fc l''i:ince i<» regain Canada in a diplouiati<' halauce, she could fail Iv contend for this conceded limit. While this apprehen- sion strcnutheneti the opponents of the hill in Kn^land, the news of its proj^ress through Parliament brought other fears to land sj»eculators in Vii\i;inia. Some travelers and advcnturei's in till' suiiiiiier of 1773 had, under the lead of one \\'illiani Muiiav, foinied a comiiany at Kaskaskia which hecaine known as the Illinois Land ("ompany, and with tlicsi; the j^'overnor aod various gentlemen of tide-v ater Virginia were associated. Tlicy had bargained with the Lidians for hirge tracts of land, bounded by the Wabash, the ^Iississi])])i, and the Illinois, and the dci'd had been ])assed. Was their })ur(diase now inijieriled by this hill ' What was to bi; the effect «)f the measure u])on the French traders and denizens of that country, and ujion their relations to the Indians? The French on the Wabash and beyord, occupying lands which the royal proclamation of 17();} had pledged to the Indians, had been for ten years a source of perplexity to the CGiuinanding general in New York. In September, 177 i. (Jage had rcjiorted that the tribes thereabouts were constantly im- periling the Knglish traders, and ''it is natural to suspect," he says, "that the French instigate the Indians against us to keep the trade to themselves." He then intimates that it may be- come necessary to dislodge the French at Vineeiines. Early in March, (Jage received royal orders to warn the French at that place to remove immediately, and it is for us, he adds, ''to let the iieigliboring Indians know that we shall have traders amoiiir them to take the })hice of the Fren(di." In Ai>ril, 1772, Gage issued a pro(damation of his intent to remove all settlers from that country, English as well as French. They were given time to withdraw voluntaiily. The waining was a cruel one to the French, who had enjoyed unipiestioned homestead titles for seventy years. When their ])rotests wt-n; sent to New York, Gage dallied in his decision. This gave time for the resignation of Ilillsborcmgh, forced by Franklin, to throw the control of the question into the tenderer hands of Lor )! 4^ W i, THE Pf/yMUllE II M/,'. iiioutli, ami tlu! poor Froiicli were rcspitt'd. They wont di ])ursuiii<^' their iivocations, liuntiiig' and tradinj;, and I'atii Kennedy, who was at this time exj»h)iint;' the Illinois, re|M)i: nieetinn' them on its hanks. It seems clear that tlie lontes tidi Detroit, the home of the eon<;eners of these Illinois I-'rciiii were constantly traversed hy these people, either hy the M;i nieo or the Illinois liiver, — a jonrney in either ease of n. nine hnndied miles to the MisHissi))|ii. often the i of the continent. Lord Lyttelton ivcognized the fact that confine the Americans by such Ji barrier was to tlnvart tin: contest for em])ire. AVedderbnrn said distinctly that it v one object of the bill to prevent the Fnglish settling in tl: country, and that the new barrier would allow " little tciui': tion" to send settlers north fi-om the N'andalia grant. It was not only this territorial exi)ansion of Quebec, but ! concessions which the bill made to P>eneh Catholics, giviii than any English Komanist could dare ex])ect, and the gram French law in British territory, which increased the st«^ aversion to it of English merchants, and which aroused the I 1' ii!;i t'!- Tlu'V woiit MI no-, aiul I'atii. Illinois, vt'iitn; [ lilt' routcH I'i'oi. Illinois Kri'iiil luT l>y tin' Mai Mi'v case <»l" 111 R' depot for tin ;ni'tl coinniuiiii s('(l (iaL-i! tliat tU'S. Now llllil' lulisli coniniaiiil ii. A little l;it. [ivet't infonnatiii: utenant llntflii;. ,y the Mississiin e sent Lientciiir. Hi French settL: ', in London, w il Davtniontli. ;i: i(ms. llal(liin;i; vdevs on the < )lr the sava.u;e irnr ng the assna^ii. •e (juestionin;^ '• md nn])atnotic • hddiniaiul inul' Ml he said th:it ti getting posscsM d the fact that as to thwart tb fmetly that it v ish settling in ti: o\v '• little tcmi' ia grant, of Qnel)ec, Imt ' Catholics, .Ci'-'ii' •t, and the grant creased the stea ich aroused the 1 m THE HILL PASSED. 71 Biiiyor and niagistrutes of London, hecause they supposed it ittpfrilcd Ih'itish honor. For the seahoard colonists to enter Hint territory and liml French law instead of Fnglish law, ami to eiicounttsr an estahlished Catholic religion, was not likely to Stl'eniitlien the loyalty whose decadence the ministry was de- ploring in the older colonii'S. " Does not your hlood run cold," said Hamilton, ''to think that an Fnglish J'arlianient could pftKs an act for the estahlishment of arhitrary power and poi>ery in such an extensive eountry V " However politic the modern historian nuiy tliiid« this rehahilitating of French customs to h*ve I'cen for the vastly ])rep()nderating French element north of tiic St. Lawrence, to inclnde the Ohio country in such provi- sions is not ai)provi'd even by such defenders of the n»inisterial policy as Kingsford, the latest historian of Canada. There is indeed little to sn])port the charges that the hill was hut the l^t step in reducing ''' the ancient, free, Protestant colonies to tile same state of slavery,"" by setting uj) '* an example and Ht iustriunent for introducing the same absolute rnle in these colenies."' These were ])hrascs used hy Congress in an atldress to tlie peoi)le of (ireat Ih'itain a few months later (Octoher 21, lt74), and still more solenudy in the Declaration of Indeiiend- eitce. They were simply loose sentences used for ])olitical ends. The Parliamentary o])])()sition, which was dignified hy flu; su])- porl of Chatham and Burke, never ventured to think of any sucli effect on the Atl itic side of the Alleghanies from these untoward ])rovisions, wliatever the hx-avado utterances of Thur- low may have indicated. "T do not choose,"* said Burke at one tittle, " to break the American s])irit, because it is the spirit that has made the country." The liill was introdnccd on !May 2. 1774. into the House of Lords, weary with the long sessions which the discussion of the Massachusetts coercive acts had caused. It went to the Com- mons, and ])assed that body on June 13, while Ijogaii was ren- dering an Indian war in the designated region inevitable, and was sent back with aniendnients to tlu; Lords. Li this body, by a vote of fifty to twenty in a house that seated five hundred and fifty -eight members, and after the season was so far advanced that many ]ieers had gone to their estates, it was passed oil June 18, and four days later was a]iproved by the king. In this w\ay the government stultified itself. U Vk ' ' ;■> * ii' iV •f I ; I •. ) I V: ;! !tS' I' I i|i I , II 1 ■• 72 r///;; quebec bill and the duxmore war. Before the news eoiik' reach Virt;iiii;i, hut while the prospect seemed certain that sucli a bill would become law, Dunmniv, on .Tilly 12, instructed Andrew Lewis to descend the Kanawlm with a force and cross the Ohio into the Shawnee country. Meanwhile, Major Angus McDonald passed the mountains witli a body of militia, and, moving down tl;e Ohio to the niodcin Wheeling, he found himself in conunand of ahout seven huii di'tid sturdy fighters. Here, with the aid of the Zanes and following ])lans suggested by George Rogers Clark, he built Fort Fincastle, later known as Foit Ileiiiy. Towards the ciiil of July, he (lro})})ed down the river to Fish Creek, whence In made a dasii upon the Shawnee villages on the Muskingum,— creating the first success of the Avar, Dpumore himself had left Williamsburg on July 10, and liv the last of September he was at the head of about thirteen hun- dred men at Fort Fi;ieastle. lie kept out some expericnii.! scouts, Clark, Cresap, Simon Kenton, and Simon Ciirty ani(ni<; the number. He sent Crawford forward to build Fort Gowtr at the mouth of the Hockhocking. The Indian agents, .lohnson and his deputy, Croghan, — wlm was now living on the Alleghany just above the forks. — watched this war of Virginia and the Shawnees with .solicitudr. Sir William got his tidings of it through the Irotpiois, and tiny associated all the barbarity of the whites with the name oi Cresap. Logan certainly agreed, as his famous speech sho\v>, Rev. William Gordon had some time before transmitted tn Dartmouth what purported to be a letter addressed by tlu French king to the Six Nations. In this tliev were told to keep u]) their courage, and they would, as they found ojijidi- tunity. enter Canada with eighty ships, while " an ecpial nunilni entered the Mississippi to the aid of his southern children. The English were well aware of the uncertainties of a geneiiil savage uprising, with France ela wares by negotiation, no e countrv. intaiiis witli ;1k' inodciii seven ]>iiii Zanes ;iii(l ■k, he l)uilt I'ds the ('11(1 , whence In skiiigum, — 10, and liy iiirteeu huii- ex})ei'it iii'c! lirty aimnii; Fort Gowir ;han, — wlm le forks. — h solieitii(U'. is. aiul they e name cf eeeh sho\v>, isniittecl t^ |s('(l by tilt ■re told til uud o\)\nn- ual nmiiltiM eliiklri'ii. If a <;'eiit'i';il Ihere is tun lians," saiil |rit, iiistciul the D.'lii- a g'enci'iil I to prevent Is as Loii'iiii Tlic real stroke of tlie war eaine on the very site of the eon- Ten,|)lated caintal of Vandalia. in the anj;le formed hy tht; june- tioii of the Kanawha witli the Oliio, — I'oint Pleasant, as it was called. The conflict here was the most hotly contested tii;])* •AJiich the Indians ever made against the English, and it is all the more remarkable :is it was the first considerable battle • wl:; ]\ they had fought without the aid of the French. Lewis, (III aniviug at the spot, learned from Diinmore's messages, which the governor's scouts had hidden near by, that the gov- ernor witli his forces woukl be on t'«. Ohio at a point higher nil. wlicre Lewis was instructed to join him. The next day new orders came, by which it appeared that Dunmore intended to turn lip the llockhocking River. :ind that Lewis was expt'cted to cross the Ohio and join liim in the Indian country. When Lewis was thus advised., his rear column had not come uj), and jiis trains and cattle were still struggling in the wilderness. Tlie force which he had with him at Point Pleasant was a iiiotlcv one, but for fore.st service a notable body, and not a frontier settlement but had contributed to it. There were in it Slielby. Christian, Robertson, and Morgan, — heroic names ill these wi'stern wilds. Wiiile Lewis was making ready to obey orders, a scpiad of men, out hunting, discovered that a horde of Indians was u'loii lliem. C(U'nstalk, a Shawnee chief, had (Civined Dunniore's liiiiii, and, witli a strategic skill unusual witli Indians, had crossed the Ohio f r the puipo.se of beating his adversary in detail. The op[)osii\^' armies were much alike in lumbers, say eleven luiiKhed each, — })erhaps more. — and in forest wiles the difl'eienec was hardly greater. Cornstalk soon devtdoped his jilaii of crowding the whites towai'd the point of the ]Hnii!sula. Lewis jmshed forward cmmgli men to retard this onset, while ;;]ie threw up a line of defense, behind which he could retire if t iieeessarv. He sent, bv a concealed niovenuMit. another fovce iiiloiigthe banks of the Ohio, which gained the Indiiins' tiank, jiiiil iiy an cnHladiiig fire forced the savage liiu' back. In the J|iiigl>t, Cornstalk, thus worsted, recrossed the Ohio. M eaiiwhile. Dunmore. ascending the Ilockhockina, marched ill towards tlu^ Scioto, making some ravages as he went. Corn- stalk, after his defeat, had hurriedly joined the tribes opposing l^iiiiinore, but he foand them so disheartened bv his own ili.s- WllTT" ^» 1,1 !.) I ' 74 THE QUEBEC BILL AND THE DUNMOHE WAR. coinfiture that he soon led a deputation to Dunnioves caiii]) and proposed a peace. The governor, hearing of Lewis's a)!- proaeh, and not feeling the need of his aid in the neg()tiatii>ti>, and fearing that the elation of the victorious borderers niii;lit disquiet the now eomjdacent tribes, sent messages to Lewi- that he should withdraw, which Lewis reluctantly did. .\ treaty foUowed. All prisoners were to l)e given up ; all stolen horses retiu'ued. No white man was to be molested on tin Ohio, and no Indians were to pass to its southern bank. It was also agreed ^ — in mockery, as tlie tribes n.'asi; have felr — that no white man should cross to the nortii. Four cliieftiiiii- were given to the whites as hostages. Logan kept aloof, and was sullen. lie was a fighter and nn; a councilor, he said ; but he sent in the speech to whic^li rcff i ence has been made, an elocpu-nt burst of ])roud disthiin. if w. can trust the report of it. His string of scalps had satisfied \\v revenge. There were a^'ts on Dunniore's part, such as liis fail i succor Lewis, and his refusal to let him share in the t • which, when his conduct and that of his minion, (.'onnoUy, W'H later known in his eagerness to quell the patriotic uprising in tide-water Virginia, led many to suspect liini of treachery in tin negotiation with the Indians, and of a ])urpose to secure then to the royal side in the iin])ending revolutionary sti'ugL;li' There is no evidence that, at the time, this distrust ])"i'v:ulril As late as March, 1775, the Virginia Assembly thanked him fm his success. Yet it is true that h" had, before he entered iiiioi; his campaign, dissolved the Virginia Assembly in May, ITTI. in disa])]>roval of tht^r votes of sympathy for op])ressed Boston Duumore had, indeed, obtained all he ho])ed for by briii,- iug ])eaee, in vfcstablisliing a new hold for Virginia upon tin territory, whicli, as he later learned, was on tlie first of tli> following May to ])ass, by action of Parliament, under a niw jurisdiction. The grasp which Virginia liad now laken Ikh! cost her £150,000, but it svas to be of great importance in tin coming struggle with the king, for she had administered n ilt- feat to the Indians, which was foi- some time to ))aralyze tliiii power in that region. It was a grasp that Virginia was not ti* relax till she ceded her rights in this territory to tlu' nas m union when the revolt of the colonies was ended, — a li(dd tliiit til !• ii tl •: WAR. more s c:uii]i \ Lewis's :i]i. iu>i;«>tiatii»n\ ■clevers mi^li; 2,'es to L( 'wi- ll tly (lid. A lip ; all stdliii lestcd on tin M'li bank, it I have felt — jur chieftaiii- iohter and im; io vvhicli vet',!- disdain, if w. id satisfied iii< his fail ' in the i ['onnolly, wit tie npvisinu' ii; •eaehery in tin () secure tlicm lary strn,<:j:li' •nst p'-evnilcd anked him fm entered u|)iii: n May, 1"'^ ressed ]^)()sti>ii, for hy hiin.- iiiia upon tin \v lirst of til. under a iii" )\v taken li;\i! ortanee in tin' inisten'd ;i ilf- paralyze their \ia was not t" o the lias rii' -a hold ili;i; THE COMMISSION To CANADA. (.') liffdi'e lonu she was to strengthen thron^Ii the wisdom and liardiliood shown in her capture of N'iiiceiiues. litt'ore tlie battle of Point Pleasant liad decided the fate of till' Indians, the passage of the bill, which in early summer had cnatiil so little attention in Parliamejit, was met in London l)y •a iirodigious cry"" in September, — a clamor that William l.rc. tlieii in Engiaiul, did his best to increase by '• kee])in<;- a continual tire in the jjapers." Tiie bill was not to go into effe 't till the s]>ring of 1775, and Carleton liaving returned to Caiiadi', 1 )artn,outli, in fFanuary, sent him instriuitions about ])utting it in foi'ce. The minister"s letti'rs must have crossi'd others from tl. 'governor, informing him of the opposition to the bill even am >ng the Fri-nch i)eople of the j)rovince, and of the measures uliicli the revolting colonies were taking to gain the Canadians tn their cause. Jn Montreal the bust of the king had been <|. faced. Ali'cady in tlie ])revioiis Se])tomber, Cimgress had reechoed the " |ir(.digious cry "" of London, and liad declared the re- establislimcnt of the Catholic religion in (^Vu'bec to be " danger- ous ill an extreme degree ; "' but this mistake in language was discovered, and ffoliii Dickinson drafted for that body a concil- iatory address to the Canadians, which, in March, 1775, Carle- ton informed Dartmouth the disaffected on the St. Lawrence were printing and distributing in a translation. AVithin a year the lesson of j)riid('nce had been forgotten, and singularly eiinngh wliih' Congress ( Fel)ruary, 177t) ) was a])pointing a coniniission, with one Catholic memher (Charles Carroll) and a ( atholic attendant, to proceed to Montreal, the ardent llugue- iiot blood of John Jay had colored an address of Congress to Kiii'lish symi)athizers by characterizing the Catholic faith '" as ' a icligioii fraught with sanguinary ami im))ious tenets." It was only necessary for the loyal Canadians to transhste and cir- culate Jay's impru(hMit rhetoric to make the efforts of the com- iui>sioners futile. Congress again grew wiser when it framed the i)eclara(ion of IndepeiideiU'c, and Dr. Shea has jiointed out that the allusion to the (Quebec JWll in that document is '• so tilix'urc that few now understand it, and on the ])oint of religion it is sile!eyond the mountains. England stubbornly adhered, to her efforts to maintain rli. act rnn'th of the Ohio, as long' as the war lasted. Ik-fore tl. netiial outbreak, Fi'anklin, in his informal ney'otiations in Ldh don, had told the niifiistry that there eouhl be no relief frnni the dangers of "■ an arbitraiy govermnent on the baek of !li. settlements *' but in a rei)eal of the (2uebee Act. lie claiuKMl it to be the right of the Amciicans to hold the lands wliich tin- eoh»nists had acipiired from the Fi-eneli, while at tlie same x'xnw it was their ~l ;|nii.l 'y(l\vi, for Virgin ill. lat she could live (It'inivtil aiiin. luaiiiTuiu ilh Before tin- tions in Li'ii I) iV'lief fi'in; l);u'k of till lie clainici! [Is which t lu- be same time \- settlcuinit- nind, anliaa. and lt)'\vu the slopes, ulti- iiinlelv gatljcr and flow towards the sea. in two principal streams, ~ the Yadkin and the Catauha. TJiere was a Scotch-Irish iiSitnck ia this niuuiitainous region, wiiieh was pi'oving diftieult j)for (iDvenior Tryou, t!ie royalist executive of that province, to IliiMiiMm'. This I'ecalcitrant s},urit of indei)endence found an anra'tive seclusion in the free wilderness life which I'cturned liuiitci' and adventurer pictured beyond the mountains. One f these i-estless spirits dwelling on the Yadkin has already ecu presented to us in Daniel Boone. In (he vall.;y interposing i>et\veen tlie Blue Hidge and Iron /^Mountain, — the present western boundary of North Caro- lina. — a network of suiall streams unite and flow north to the Kaeawha and Oliio. Other sp'-aying threads of glistening lite, drawing into a single channel, break through the Iron Mnuiititin, wht>n, increased h\ various tributaries, it becoujes Laowu us the Watauga, an aliHtU'nt of the I lolston, otye of the 4'liiil' hraiiclies of the Tennessee, To the valley of this stream, l\iiig ia what is now the northeast eoi-ner of the State of Teu- ii«i-i -iouth of tiie iiginia grants, William IVan had buih himself a ejibin hf^re, and his son was the first white child Imxii in Tennensee. The ;nuniinic!»tions t»f the region wi're ea!*i«)*t tr«)m Vlrriiinia and <1''wu the tributaries of the Kanawha. On Ootoixi !H. 1770, a tresut; of Virginia with the ('hero- Hi; 'liijil ii rr TT i^ i i-i ;i n n i r nj I: 1. I i;f ,( 11 i 1 ,5" it , 78 SOUTH OF THE OHIO. kees, made at Locliabev, in South Carolina, had extended tli. bounds of the Oh. Dominion s(» far westerly as to eorrespoml ii. tlie main with the present eastern line of Kentueky. \'iryiiii;i thus seeured frt)m the Chenjkees, in the veiy year in wliicL their famous Se(juoyah, the suhsecpient inventor of their alpha. Itet, was hoiii. their rights to mueh the same territory wliicii had been eeded l)y the Iroipiois at I'ort Stanwix in 1708. J: the soutlieni i)ounds of N'ir^inia (80° 31' nortli latitude) wciv wliere these W'atauna people sup])ose(l, this Cherokee eession covered their valley, and they were under the protection (it Vii'ginia laws, so far as those ordinances eould prevail in sn distant a region. The new Loehaber line began at a ]toint .m the llolston — into which tlu' \Vatauga flowed — and exteiidcil northward, and there was little knowledge of what it encoun- tered, till it struck the mouth of the Kanawha, whose sprin;:> were adjacent to those of the Watauga. The line really threw the npj)er parts of the valhy of the Big Sandy Kiver and tin southwest angle of West Virginia — excepting the extreme })oint of that angh'- — into the conceded territory. The main object of the treaty was to placate the Indians for the encroadi- ments along tlie alluvial bottoms of the Kanawha, which th surveyors had been making in that region under the Koit Stanwix grant. That concession of the Iroquois had provnl extremely iri-itating to the Cherokees, becr.use it assumed t^ deal with their territory. Before the truth about the latitude of the Watauga settle- nuMit was known, there was a significant inniiigration thitlici, bringing u]>on the stage of western settlement some notahlv personages. In 1770, a supple and robust young man, wIiom' blue eye had the alert habit of a luniter. and whose native air of command attracted notice wherever he went, and perlia]>s tin weightiest man of all these trans-Allegliany pioneers, parsed that way, bound on furtlier explorations. In hint. James lioli- ertson was tirst introduced to the little stockaded hamlet, wln'i' a few hai'dy adventurers were breasting the wildei-ness. Tiic next year (1771 ) he came among them again, this time resolvni to stay, for he had brought with him a train making sixtciii families, v.uom he had induced to enter ujion this ni'W wnill It was after the battle of the Alamance (May 10, 1771), wluiv Tryon's force had dispersed the Regulators, — a body of ;i-mi- ca I tl f if: ^! '"'''^ \VA TA UGA ASSOCIA TIOX. |9 extt'iulc'il th. corre.s])()ii(| in ly. Virj;iiii;i ear in wliicL if tlii'ir iil|ili;i- M'ritoiy wliicli ill 1708. It latitu(lt') Weil ■rokoe eessiim prott'ctioii (It l)rev:iil in m. !it a jxiiiit oil and t'xtt'iidid lat it t'licouii. kvliose s])riiii;v (' really threw KivLT and tlic the I'xtiriiif \. The main the encroacli- ha, Nvliich til der the I'ort s had i)r()V('il t rissuiiit'd I" atauga scttk'- atioii thither, some iiotahl'' ;• man, wlio-i )S(' native air })erliai)s tin leers, ])asseil flames Kuli milet. wheii crness. 1 liv time resolved dcing' sixteiT. i lU'W Wollil ITin. ^vh.elv bodv of :i-M'- <'iates a^ainst horse thieves and tax-gatherers, — and some of tJKit (lisalfeeted body, eager to find other eontrol than a royal «'.,\(inor, were in this emigration. Robertson bnilt himscdf a CI 1 ill on an island in the river, and events soon phieed liiin in the I'orefront of a little eolony. oi'gaiiized on manhood sutt'ragt! and ii'lii;ions liberty. In it ho actjuired leadershiji, tli(JUgh he was nioie deHcieiit iii edneation than was nsiial with pi* iieers, fni' lie was onlv lieginning to aenuire the ])enniairs art. In the same year ( 1771), -laeob Brown had formed a settle - nieiit on the Xollieliiieky, a braiieh of the llolston next i^onth (it liie Watauga, and it was he who. on the diseoveiy being made, liv the surveyors extending the southern line of Virginia, that l)<>th of these settlements wei'e without the government of \'iiginia, eiitertd into an agreement with the Cherokees. by \vlii(.'li the joint cotmimnities, now numbering eighty souls, seemed a lease of these valleys, in eoiisideration of six thousand ddllars' worth of goods, for a term of eight years. Hy this they avoided sueh an infiingemeiit as a purchase would be of the IHoelaination of 17ti^. Tli''so litth' eommnnities, thus thrown out of the eontrol of \'ii-inia,and having no connection with North Carolina, though uitliin her charter limits. W(>re placed in much the same eondi- tiiii! in these western wilds that the Mayflower pilgriniK wei-e in a liiui(b'ed and fifty years before, when, tranded beyond the jKiteiit of Virginia, they were forced into forming a eompact of gi.vernnient. It was thus, in the spring of 1772, that Kobertson undei'took a leading part in making what was called the Watauga Assoeia- 11 111. riiis was a coiiil>iuation of the people of the Watauga, (liter's, and the Xolliehucky valleys, under written articles, for ('\il goveiaimeiit and the ])roteetion of law. It was also a union, based on necessity and tlu' Indian consent. With thest; I iivuonnients they were ready to face the demand for their I'liioNai niaa])er is still existing in Sevier's handwriting. They professed If ' ( Pn s I I I imfn\m I ''11'' mm fi, li'i: ■ I !,i,f ■'■ I I i : I •„ f i? 1 • 1 1 ; 1 '1 ' >' t iS •' l! ' •'1 ! I(; 1 'f 1 }i"' '' f 1 1 ) : ■ ' ■ ti 1 ! ! ■ . '( M % I i'l 1' li' io I ■ I 1 1. iv. ; ;'; '11 r >1 1 80 SOUTH OF THE OHIO. u desire "to share in the glorious cause of liberty" with tlieii brothers ou the seaboard. In 1T7H, the region was oiganizid as Washington County in North Carolina. Tiiis change broui^lit but slight disturbance to the existing forms of goveriunent. That this little republic of the wilderness lasted so succcsv fully was indeed owing to the character of the men who fornicil it. While in the throes of birth, the little community wtl. comed to its shelter two other I'emarkablc ])ersons. Captaiii Evan Slieiby was a frontier cattleman of no uncertain i'Iudiu- ter, whose ^Vclsli blood liad been invigorated by liis moiuMii'ii career. .John Sevier brought to the wilderness a handsoim mien, which befitted his gentle Huguenot blood. His life as uii Indian trader had given him an eager air, but a ceitain self- conscious dignity beamtul from his blue eyes, and waves nt brown liair haloed a well-])oised head, carried (M'ect, and slrnw. ing a eomitenance lightened at times with and culprits escaping justice by flying over the mountaiib. With such intestine disturbances, and with the savages abmit them, the character of its chief rulers could be the only security whicli such an isolated conununity could possess. No copy nt their self-im})osed constitution of restraint has been jn-eseivcd: but we know enough of the woi-kings of their simple govern nient to see how the laws of Virginia, so far as ap])licable, witli an executive committee to enforce them, and a suffi(!ient metliml of record for lands, sufficed to answer all reijuirements. It wib the earliest instance of a government of the people by the i)t'o- ])le, and under a written comjjact, beyond the mountains, ami was establisluid by men of American birtli. In the year 1773, following this organization, Boone headed a ])arty and started west. He had with him the first womcii and children who iiad ])assed the Cumberland Mountains. TIhv ])assed beycnid all civilization after they had tarried for a brirt interval among a few families settled west of the Holston ami « COL UN EL IIENDERSOX. 81 " witli tliuii as organ iztil mge brounlit ^Tiuuent. ll so SUClThv 1 who foriiit'il niuunity wcl- US. Captain rtaiii I'huiai- liis movuitiiiii a haiulsoiiu Mis life as an I ct'itaiii self- lud waves (it ct, and sliow- i)f inei'vinit'iit. Id, witli a lili ov(; liini. Ill' [ civil fignre n, Kol)evts(ii!. i fortnnatc in Df establislitil of vaj;'al)()iiil> nionntaiib. ivages alidut Dnly security No copy lit ■n ]n'esei'vt'(l: inple govern- »li('al)le. with 'ient nietliiiii ■nts. It wa-^ e by the jx'ii- >mitains. ami ioone heail'il first women ntains. Tin'} d for a liriit Holston ami almig the Clinch Kiver, the other principal fork of the Ten- in-.^ee. It was in Se|)teniber, 1773, when Hoone and his ailv(iitun»iis families were joined by a l)and of hnnters, and the oomiiaiiy niuubered eighty when a few weeks hiter (October 10) tliev were attacked in PoweU's valley by tin; Indians, In the ii-lit tliev lost enough to discourage them, and so turned back til the scttlcuuMits on the Clinch. It was now ajjparent that an Iiiiliau war was coming, and in the following spring (1774) the 6iuii> ol it were everywhere, as has been de}ticted in the ])re- (iiliiig cliaj)ter. There were at the tinu; various stray wanderers, liuiitcrs. and surveyors, jmrsuing devious ways, or squatted heie ami there throughout this remoter country. Now that Lewis, as we have seen, had been ordered with the Virginia foires diiwii tiir Kanawha, and since the gage of war had been a(^ C( pti'd. I)()(>ne was si'ut to thrid this country and give warning. Ill' and his comj)anions found Ilarrod, McAfee, and their coni- ]iaiiv just beginning a settlement at the modern Ilan'odsburg. i\iter Boone's caution, they abandoned their ])urpose. Other ])arties ol" whites, which they encountered, were informed of till ir danger, liooue's farthest point was the ra])ids of the Ohio. After an absence of sixty days and move, during which lie iiail covered over eight hundred miles, he returned to his friends on the Clinch. Liwis's victory at Point Pleasant in October. 1774, rendered the navigation of the Ohio com])aratively safe, and opened the way for easy transportation to the regions of the h>wer Cum- bi riaiid and Tennessee. The Idow which the savages had Tici'ivcd pi'ovcd enough to paralyze them foi- a while, and Ken- tiii'ky, at this ])artioular juncture, owed nuich to this respite. '^I he new o])portunity encouraged a movement which for a time :jir()mised to regulate the western emigration on a more extended .scale than had been before attempted. The reports which iJiioiic had made of this western region had aroused many, -juiiong others C'olonel Richard Henderson, a \'irginian, now aliout forty years old. It was under his direction that a i-om- jtaiiy had been formed in North Carolina to buy land of the Indians and estaldish a colony beyond the mountains. In the •early days of 1775. Martin, with a party of eighteen or twenty, Jiad hiiilt some cabins and a stockade at what was later known It ! jt! *** ■(" , » ufm f ^^ 82 SOUTH OF THE OHIO. i ' n» 1 I {: If! 1 1 if [ h !;ll ! I m I '■; ! '' ii ; M n.H Martin's Station, about fifty miles bcvoinl the Clinch Kivd Iiainlct. Tho M(!Afees, about the same time, be<;an a s(ttl( ment on Salt Kiver. Benjauiin L(»i;au had in another le^inii l»eL;un a fort, to whieii the next year he l)roni;lit his family. Oi; March 18, .lauies llarrod and a l)!irty of lifty reoeeupied th. ^rcuuid whieh he had abandoned on Jioon(("s warning in 1774, riiis reoceupation of the rei;ion was in i)roi;n'ss when lltii derson and ei;;ht other North C'aroliuians, on March 17, 177', at Sycamore Shoals ou tho Watauga, concluded a treaty \vi;i the C'herolvccs, by whieli they aeciuired the Indian title to iilMiir one half of the modern State of Kentucky and the adjiiccn; part of Tennessee lying within the southei'ly bend of tli. Ciunberland. The ceded tenitory was bounded by the Ken. tui'ky, liolston, C^unbeiland, and Ohio rivers, and recteivdl tlio name of Transylvania, — the particular grounds for bestow- ing which name, beyond its apparent meaning, are not known. The negotiation was not a sudden dash of business, for tw( Iv. hundred savages looker! on and increased the usual 1m(Ii,ii delil)«'ration. They Imard the speeches on both sides. On. haiangue, at least, from the Indians was a mournful protot against the white man's encroachments. The [)urchaser's blan- dishments at last prevailed, and for £10.000 worth of gddil- the instrument conveying not far from eighteen million acn- of teri'itory received the assent of Oconostota, an aged eliirt Tiie Raven and The ('ari)enter, other head men of the tribi', al>' joined in the; conveyance. Two days later, the Watauga asso- ciates, with less regard for the royal ])roclamation than befoiv, by the payment of Ji2,000 worth of merchandise, converteii their existing lease into a purchase, and threw their intcnusti into the neneral scheme. When a successful termination of the negotiation sec luei' certain, and a week Ix'fore the deed was signed, I>oone staitiii under Henderson's direction to open a tiail to the Kentiukv, blazing and clearing a way which eventually was known as Tli. Wilderness Koad. It formi>d a connection between ("umiImi land (lap and the remoter borders of the new colony. lie wi- attacked on the way (March 2;V), losing some men, but ])iisl: ing on to a level bit of ground, with sidi)hur spiings near bv he halted. Here, on April 18, he began a fort which took tli' name of Boonesborough. It served for the i)r()tectiou of tit n,. ,( iwosEsiiunoi'dii. 83 tlie Clincli Kivii ', bt'<;:in ii scttli ill unother rci^iim it his fiimily. Oi, ty vcHX'cupic'd tin ^iiiiini;' in IT i 1. Ool'CSS wlu'll I It'll 1 March IT, ITT'i. [led a tivuty witii lian title to alimii ami the ailjacin; >rlv hent tli^ ided hy the Kell- ers, and re(!eivt(l •oiinds for bestow- ^•, are not kni>wii, isiness, for twtlw i\w usual liiiliai. l)()th sides. Oii- niournfiil i)ii>tf>! 3 purchaser's lihiii- lO wortli of .ytxul- teen niillion acu- ta, an a<;('d eliiit n of the tribe, al-' le Wataunii assu ition than befoiv. landise, eonverteil ew their interot- lei^otintion seciiiei' led. I'oone startcil to the KentiH'kv. was known as li' between CihiiImi X colony. Ih' ^^''' lie men, but ])ii>l; ir s])!'in liOONKSlitlKorcill I'OKT. ficitrc of coiiipanioiiH which he had with him. llendetsoii later jniiicd tlie litth; post, addin;;' about thirty new men for the r,ii lison.and, to <;ive lift; to the movement, opened a land otHice. Oil May 23, there was a nn'etin<; of (It leL;ates in the fort. This assem- Mv ailopted some laws, includiiii;' ()iH> lor iiiipro\ inj;' the bri-ed of Jkhscs. and stands for the first legis- l;iti\(' body which was ever held be- yoiid tile mountains. Henderson, lis tlic moving spirit in this action, v;i> cri'dited with having *' i^pito- liii/fd and simplitied the laws of Jjiglaiid." Tlu' po])ulation at that time tliidiighout this district was v;iiioii>]y estimated at from one liiiiidicil and llfty to three hundred, iiii'linliiiu' land jobbers, s([natters, ami domiciled settlers, with as yet ,l)iit few women anion- them. These ^^,,.,„„ ,,^,„„, „,,„,^ ,,^„,,,„ „,. „.^_ ecittt'i'cd knots of peojde had such '"''."• ■'''/'' "'"' -V.'/o^ia- in ihe iiv.-/, . , , , , 1 J. ■ I'lilladt-lpliiii. IMlifi. Tlicic wiTc lilmk- <'()llta('t Wltll the old ])lautatlOnS |,„„s.sat tl,« iu.i;lrs{l i«C(,l,m.l Ilm- as could be made throu'-h the more <•'■>■■'""'•''• "i'l' '■i'* '*'"i"'" "* -'')■ -^t ^ tlic rnriiei-H iiml at the jratcs (!l) were C'l-^tiTly hamlets on the ^^'ataug•a, stockades vi j, etc-.), xiic intiwais X' 11" I 1 1 ^'1' 1 ■ were tillcrl «itli caliiiis, iiri'siMitiuL' '^ol]|ellncky, and Clinch rivers. ...ank waiist,.ti,.. .-■,..„,>■.] Tlicy bu'ined a wedge of civiliza- tiiiii. thrust between the Cherokees on the one hand and the v^hawiiccs on the other. Adventurous s])irits among them Wi re pushing reconnoissanc(>s along many a tiibutarv stream of the ])rincipal rivers. It seems pi-etty clear that if there Was ail excess of Scotch and Teutonic blood in this l)odv of 1|)iiini'crs. there was a i)re])onderating influence of Kiiglish Sliirit. This dominaiit mood kejit the varied racial imjiiilses to a single ])urpose, and at a convention held at Pittsburg. !May It). 1TT5, it gave an unmistakable su])port to the revolt vliicli was now gaining head on the sealioai'd. Just before tliis, one Charles Smith found rebellious stMitimeiits ])revalciit ill tliis region, and advised Dartmouth that the coming of eight or ten thousand Irish in one year, ^ uncultivated banditti," was in large part the source of such disloyalty. That English ! ! #, L^^ '"W> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) y ^ ^ ^ /. . '^ 84 SOUTH OF THE OHIO. minister obtained nuich the same advice from the Bishop of Derr} , who toid him that nearly thirty-three thousand " fanati- cal and hungry re})ul)licans " had gone thither within a few years. The over-mountain country was doubtless attracting a fair share of this rampant overplus of Ireland. )'\l I ■ .i In the autumn of 1775, tliere were marks of a deternunatc future hi this i)ionecr life. Boone, much to tlie colc^ny's loss, had gone back to North Carolina during the sunnner, and now in Septend)er returned to his stockade with his wife and cliil- dren. There were in his train the families of various others, who like himself were seeking new homes. The influence <»f all this was most fortunate. There was, meanwliile, a purpose in the older communities to hold the course of the Ohio against any force which tlio troublous times might array. In Septeniber, the Virginia militia had taken ]»ossession of Fort Pitt, and outposts were established at Fort Henry (Wheeling) and at Point Pleasant. Henderson's scheme, with its feudal tendencies, was jjrovinj,' inopportune. He was, as one observer said, "a man of vast and enterprising genius," but an exacting domination made him enemies. Some ho had been his .idherents petitioned the Virginia Assembly to be relieved of the oath of fealty which he had exacted. The proprietors under his grant met in Sep- tember, 1775, and memorialized Congress for admission to the united colonies. They claimed a title to their lands ^ccpured in open treaty " from immemorial possessois." They ai)i)eale(l for countenance to Jefferson and Patrick I lenry, but got no encouragement. Dunmore, who had now become active on the royal side, was as impatient of Henderson's i)rojects as the jiatriots were, and fulminated a in-oelamation against him for his contempt of tlu' royal prohibitions, and for affording " an asylum for debtois and other persons of desperate circumstances." Governor Tryon, of North Carolina, who had himself been ambitious of territorial dignities and a baronetcy, was as jn-ompt as Dunmore in launching his disapprobation. The obstacles on all aides were more than Henderson could overcome, and his project was abandoned, though there was later, as we shall see, an ^'ffort made in Congress to effect some equitable provision for his out- INDIAN DEPARTMENTS. 86 l;iv. •' His scheme," says John Mason Brown, " was the last iiiiiKHrant'e on American soil of the old idea of government by loitls proprietor. It was too late for success." In April, 1775, Dunmore had threatened to incite a servile iiismivction in the east; and in May he informed the home gov- ('iiiiiHut that he was planning to arouse the western Indians. Df. Connolly, then at Pittsburg, had already been instructed liv Dmunore "to endeavor to incline the Indians to the royal cause,"" and Connolly succeeded so far as to induce the tribes to transmit a large belt to the governor. While Connolly was (liiiiig this he was in correspondence with Washington, and Icanu'd from him "■ that matters "' on the seaboard " were draw- iiii; ti> a point."' As the sunnner wore on, Connolly found that tin- same sort of danger as on tlie coast — which in June had (bivi'ii Dunmore on board a British frigate at York — grew apace along the frontiers. On.Iune 30, the Continental Congress had set up three In- dian departments: tlie northern, including the Six Nations and tiilti's at the north: the southern, embracing the Cherokees antl other tribes farther towards the Gulf ; while the middle dcpartuieut had its central point at Pittsburg. Here three coMunissioners, later appointed, were expected to deal with the tribes and counteract the sinister efforts of the royalists. Dun- more, who had expected at this time to meet Indian delegates at Fort Pitt, so as to ratify the treaty which he had made in 1774 at Camp Charlotte, found it i)rudent not to trust himself on such a mission. The Virginia Assembly sent instead James Wood, with Simon (iirty as guide, to seek the Indians and kee;^ them quiet. Their efforts were effective enough to induce the tribes (October) to decide for neutrality. The outbreak near Boston in April had precipitated the inev- itable. A band of hunters, encamping on a branch of the Klk- horn in the Kentucky wilds, hearing of the act of war on Lexing- ton greeii, gave that name to tlie sjiot on which they were, and the name survives in Kentucky, as in Massachusetts, to attest the brotherhood of the hour. It was another manifestation of tliis fraternal sympathy which made Franklin bring forward his plan of confederation. The same synii)athy prompted Thomas I'aine to say that "nothing but a Continental form of gov- '.-. I I'^ I !■ ! S ,, I 1 86 SOUTH OF THE OHIO. eminent can keep the peace of the Continent." It gave the Tories of the frontiers occasion to feel the coercive power of tiie men who were shaping the political views of the West in a con- vention at Pittsburg. It made Michael Cresap enlist his ojil conii)anions of the frontiers, and m? "ch them to liostcn. A narrative of Connolly has been preserved, which shows his movements during the sunnncr and autumn. He had been in Boston, and had there planned with General Gage — who liiul ar- rived in that town in May, 1774 — a movement which Dunniore had ho))ed to assist in carrying out. In Novendjcr, he was in Williamsburg in conference with Dun more, now sheltered on his man-of-war. It was then arranged that Connolly, accompanifd by Cameron and Smyth, — who has left an account in his Trar. els, — should laake a " secret expedition to the back country." going in a Hatbtnit up the Potomac, and thence i)assing by the Ohio, Scioto, and Sandusky to Detroit. They started on No- vember 13. It was expected that a considerable force would gather at Detroit, some coming from the Illinois. In the spring this little army was to advance by Presqu'Isle to Pittsburg and crush the rebellion thereabouts. Leaving a g.arrison here, it was intended to take and fortify Fort C^mibcrland and seize Alexandria, to which point Dunmore was to come with a flcft. A successful result would have cut off the southern colonics from the ntt| fniui| that aii\ turutj liroui tlu'ir Ir(itii|_ \X IWIAXS IX WAIi. 87 gave the wer of the ; ill a coil. st liis old n. .shows his I been in lio luul ar- Dunniore he was ill red on liis onipanicd his Trar. L'ouiitrv." iig l)y the id on Xo- ee wouhl he spring Pittshuiij son Ikmc, and si'ize li a flt'i't. colonics >m'g siic- ssissi])|ii. reachiiij;' e would a letter ition (if cer just hiin nil 'd east. McHae. nd that own the and ill ;urn by Connolly's companion, Smyth, managed to escape, but was rc('a|)tuivd, and found to be bearing other letters from Cou- nt dly, further attesting his intrigues. 'riif arrest of Connolly ])r()bably deferred for two years the active participancy of the Kentucky settlers in the war on the western borders. There were lying along the western frontiers from New York to the Mississippi, at this time, a body of Indians that might junhaps have furnished ten thousand braves to auv h(»stile movement which enlisted their syini)athies. As it turiUMl out, there was little Tory influence for these two years brought to bear upon them, and Zeisberger and Kirk'antl, by theii- missionary efforts, held in restraint at least the western Iroorder, as of old. it was become politic to mass them and hurl them against it. This change of front in the Indian agents created some susj)!. cion in the savage breast. The Creeks j)ar^icularly were wan, and some of them had already lent assistance to the rebellious colonists. Of the thirty thousand to thirty-five thousand warriors which it is estimated there were at this time living east of the Mis- sissipj)i, there were nearly ten thousand among the southern tribes which Stuart was intriguing to combine. Among them the Cherokees, a mountain folk, had lost something of their old prominence through their long wars. They had been forced hy the Creeks to make connnon cause with them in land treaties with the English, having in this way joined them in June, 1773. at Augusta (Georgia) in ceding something like two million acres on the Savannah, stretching towards the Oconee. In this way the two tribes had striven to liipiidate, by what they re- ceived for the lands, the claims against them of the English traders. The Chickasaws were less numerous, but they maintained their old rei)utation as hard fighters. The Catawbas, who in times past had so defiantly stood their gi'ound against the Iro- quois, were now reduced so much as to be of little moment in any enumeration. The Choctaws were nearest the Spaniards, and a ruder peojjle than the other tribes ; but the Creeks were certainly the most powerful of all. Early in 1772, they had resisted all importunities of the northern tribes to make com- mon cause with thejn ; yet for some years they had given the borderers of Georgia and Carolina much ground to dread their treacherous savagery. They had, however, been quiet since Octobei*, 1774, when they had been forced to a peace. Under Stuart's instructions, the personal assiduity of his lieutenant HOSTILE CHEROKEES. ( aiiit'ion was doing much to hand all these southern tribes in tlif British interest, though Cameron himself felt some eoni- inuR'tions in urging them to aetual eontiiet. The Amerieans, hv an intercepted letter, learned t!'at the British agents had heen iiistiueted to nuiintain "an immediate communication with UUP r<(l brothers," through Florida. The British ministry had planned an attack on Charleston (S. C. ) for the early summer of 1770, and (iennain had di- rected Stuart, in conjunction with the loyal borderers of Caro- lina, to time an Indian rising so as to produce a distrairticm umou"" the rebellious Carolinians at the same time. Stuart foruu'd. as the ministry intended, a double base at Mobile and IVnsacola ; he carried thither a supply of ammunition, to be convcvcd thence into the Indian country, and so make up to the tribes the resources from which they had been cut off by the attitiule of the revolting Georgians and Carolinians. It was a game at which both sides could i>lay, and Wilkinson, the Ameri- can (•i>nHnissary, was doing what he could to secure the neu- trality, if not the active aid of the savages, by a rival distribu- tion of rum and trinkets, — a measure that before long Germain was asking Stuart to copy. That «agent, coursing through the up-country, says that he encountered on the Tennessee River several boats, conveying settlers from the Ilolston to river sites as far down the Mississippi as Natchez, whither, it was no un- usual complaint at this time, persons flying from jtistice bo- took themselves, mingled with others who fled from the turmoil which the war was creating on the seaboard. Stuart thought that the present exodus was helped by the ])romised neutrality of the Creeks and Cherokees. Stuart wrote to the colonial secretary that this a]>athy of tlit'se tribes did not disturb him, for he had no doubt that, when the pinch came, the savages could be induced to aid the British. Karly in 1776, Stuai-t had confidently reported that every- wlicre the Cherokees were ]>ainted black and red for war, and that the rebels had succeeded in enticing only a few of their head men to meet commissioners at Fort Charlotte. Notliing was stirring the southern tribes so effectually as northern emissaries, who brought tidings of a widespread ])ur- pose among the Indians beyond the Ohio to make common cause with the ^^ritish against the colonial rebels. These mes- .. /' iil iji'., i ;^t r.i^ J.\ n I r /■; I ,; 90 SOUTH OF THE OHIO. sengers filso .'illeged that the French in Canada, appeased l»v the (Quebec Hill, were assisting them. These northern dcK.. gates, particularly the Delawares, assured their southern kins- folk that their fathers, the French, who had been long dead. were alive again, and were (piite a match for the four or five thousand armed provincials which they had seen or heard of at Pittsburg and in other posts on the way. There was indeed a long-cherished jjurpose, on the part both of the home government and of Carleton at Quebec, that the movement upon the southern frontiers should be supported l)v an ecpially hostile demonstration along the borders of Penn- sylvania and Virginia. The task of arousing these nortln'in tribes, as it happened, was not so ejisy as to tire the southern Indians, for the lesson which Lewis had given them at Point Pleasant was not forgotten. Hamilton, the new conunander at Deti'oit, i)ossessed of verbal instructions fr- sible for Carlet(m in June to send word to the western stations that he no longer needed their help. This gave Hamilton tlif freedom he desired, and he notified Dartmouth that he and liis Indians were ready for the contest. He says that an embassy from the eastern tribes to the great western confederacy liail just been at Detroit with a belt, and that he had torn it before their faces. These messengers were an Englishman, a Delaware i f. 9 peasetl l»v lieni (It'K'. Iierii kills, ong dead, uiir or five leartl of at part Ixitli ;, that the ported liy of Pciiii- nortlit'iii 3 soxitlierii I at Point I of verltal November, truett'd to ()rj;an, the letuoli the suoceeilt'd lie dei)ai't- t at Pitts- villo. Ill Wyandots tlier soiiit' vares, and Dii's intlii- ottawatta- m to jdiii ide it ])<•>- n statioib Hilton the le and his embassy eraey had it before Delaware WA TA VGA A TTA CKED. 91 , lii, t". ami Montour, the half-breed. Tliey had brought a co)>y ,1 tilt' /*iiiii.'*i/li'(initt (rdzeitc, and from this llamilt<»n had i. -uiumI of tin; aetion of C'on<;ress on .Inly 4, and l>o\v the I )(cI:iration of independenec had declared his r n-in- inrceiiunits. In .June, the blow fed. The Powell valley com- iiiiiiiity was raided and broken up, and there was alarm through- out the various Tennessee settlements, now niunbering perhaps -i\ liinidred souls. The main assaults were from two bands iiiDviiig at the same moment, and eounting. perha])s, three or tour liundred each. The ])orderers fortunately had received warning of the point of attack from a friendly half-breed witiiiaii. The threatened neighborhoods had therefore ample time to draw their dependents within their stt.ckades. Suj-h ;i tdiTc. '• forted "' at Eaton's Station, aroused by the devasta- liuiis nt" an ai)))roaehing band, sallied on .Inly 20. one hundred and seventy in number, and marched to confront it. The wliitcs had enc«mntered only a small i)ai'ty of savages, and, while returning, were near the Long Island Flats of the Ilolston, whoii the Indians, supposing them on the retreat, fell imjjetu- "iisly ecting the retaliatory campaign of the whites which we are now to touch ii])on, then' is mu(!h confusion of statement among those who have in large ])art told the story from ln'iu- say, and there are few contem])orarv records to help us to a certainty as to dates, movements, and nund)ers. In the Icad- ir;<^ features of the campaign, however, there is little obscurity. The j)atriots in Georgia ai)pear to have been the earli<»st to move. In March (177(3), Colonel Bull, with a force of militia. had marched toward Savannah to overawe the Tories, and lit' is said to have had some Creeks in his ranks, for that tii'ii' had of late been i>roi)itiated by a show of justice on the j)ait of the Georgia authorities in the punishment of offenses com- mitted against nuMubers of their body. In July, Govcrndi Bullock was pre])aring a force to invade the lower Cherokif lands, and under Colonel Jack about two hinidred savagi's devastated some of their handets on the Tugaloo River. While this was going on. General Charles Lee, now in com- mand at Charleston, begged (July 7) the Virginia authorities to league the southern colonies in a joint expedition, and on the ;5(lth. Carol thtir lieait tiK'lll tiiiiis. "oiiii: ami |> Willi; i rilK (IIEIWKEES ATTACKED. 93 ;50tli. Con'Tf'SH n'j'oimiiciKk'd such a project to Virj;;'mia, the (';iioliiia>, und (ii;(ii'^L;ia. The Virj^iuians were quite nsidy for tlitir task. .Icffcrsou, in Aupist, was urj4[iii<;; a foray iuto the luart tif the Indiaus' country, with a detern)iuation to drive tliciii l)cyond the Mississijuji. President I'age began prepara- tions, and notified the governors of the Carolinas that he was xiiiii"- to send a force against tiie upper towns of the Cherokees, :iiiil pressed them to attai^k the nnihlle and lower towns. C\donel Williiiiii Christian was selected for the eoinnumd of the Vir- "iiiia fi»n'es. lie was joined, as he went on, hy a company from I'einisvlvania under Martin, and hy some recruits from the parts of North Carolina contiguous to the Virginia bounds. His force grew to be some two th«»usand strong. A trader, Isau' Thomas, served him as guide. His jdan was to rendez- vous on the llolston, and on October 1, he started with such other contingents from Watauga and the Tennessee settlements as could be recruited. His expectation was to reach Broad Uiver on Octol)er 15, where he looked for resistance. His orders were to make a junctitm with (lenei'al Rutherford, who cmiinianded a North Candina force, moving at the sanu* time ; l)Mt ills communication with him faih'd. and on ()ct(d)er 0, he wrote to (lovernor Henry that Rutherford might j)ossibly be fortunatt! enough to reach the over-hill town?, before him, and lit'niii the work of devastation. Christian reached the Broad Uiver a little ahead of his expectations, and crossed it by an uii'aiiiiliar ford in the night. He now found that the Indians had tied and lay in force before their towns, at a distance of four or five days' march. Early in November, he reached the towns, without a battle, and began destroying cabin and cro])s. For two weeks he was thus employed, and then, forcing the Indians to a truce and exacting an agreement from them to inert commissioners and arrange f(U' a permanent ])eace in the spring, lie began his return march. He had not lost a man. His force was generally imi)ressed with the attractions of this ovei'-hiil country. During this niargli he had not seen or heard of Rutherford, who, with an army of two thousand men and a train of supplies, my had started from the head-streams of the Catawba on Sep- tiMuber 1. He is thought to have had with him a small body of the vanishing Catawbas. He kept about a thousand of his i< -5 ! I' I, I 1' ll 1 Mi ■ ? B 1 M SOUril OF THE OHIO. ^ .»*^**' ^i*'- /.,{{*» r'4«/#./M "it most effuctive troops and :i small body of horao well ahead, and makinj; a for(!«'d marcU, he found the Clu'vokit; towns abandoned. 11(1 Inul cxpt'Cted to meet here Colonel An- drew Williamson with a force from South Carolina, but that tailini;', he ravaj'ed the valley towns alone, and then pushed over the mountains and niade havoe ainonj;' the middle towns. He eseaped on the way an ambush which had been prej)ared for him, by reason of takin<^ an unaccustomed path. Keturning on Septend)er 18 to the middle towns, he nu't the South Carolinians there. Williamson had, since the early days of Au- gust, been leading; a force of some eleven or twelve hundred rangers among the lower towns, burning and destroying all he could. He now pushed ahead by the route which Kutherford had avoided and fell into the ambush. He was staggered fiu- a wiiiJe, but rallying his men, he drove tlie savages b u-k and crossed the mountains successfully. Kutherford coming on, the two devastated the settlements, and late in Sei)tember turned back. Here, again, a fearful penalty had been imi)()sed upon the enemy, and the lar- gest force of all the Cherokee bands had been brought to obedience, though they had ~ " inflicted UKU'e loss upon Williamson than any other contingent had suffered. His casualties counted u]) on October 7, when lie reached Fort Itutledge on his i-eturn, ninety-four in killed and wounded. The whites coidd reckon as the outcome of the cam])aign the almost complete prostration of the Cherokee nation. It proved an effectual warning to the neighboring tribes, and a res])itc for the frontiers. The government at Philadelphia were as miudi relieved as the frontiers, and the Conunittee of Secret Corre- spondence wrote to their agents in Europe that " they had now little to a])]>rehend on account of the Indians." The whites had established new and enlarged bounds to the territory open yi, // n/-4 '7 U/l //Tl^ f/f/f/t)! f l.iii'f^titr^^'^ WUJ.I.lMSoys (WMl'MdS. 95 _ ' ^ - — ^ for their oconpancy. They had brought the Tennessee settle- ments well within the jiirisdietion of the older governments, and Watauga, as we have seen, was now ready to be annexed ti) North Carolina. During the next year (May 20 and July -0, 1777) definitive treaties were made by which lands on the Savannah were ceded to (leorgia and Soutli Carolina, and on the Ilolston to North Carolina and Virginia. The Chieka- niauga tribe of the Cherokees refused to join in the cessions, and moving down the Tennessee, a hundred miles },elow the ni(»uth of tiie Ilolston, they settled on what is known as the Cliickaniauga Creek. Other sections of the nation withdrew from immediate contact with the English. Though humbled •Hlif iU WW: 90 soi'Tii OF rut: oitio. I r ■ P^^ II :|||f! >A\ ! ]¥'■ ^^: i ^ : they were not quelled, and the intermittent outrages which were reported in the settlen)- nts told how revenge still swavt-d them. Sevier and his rangers had enough to do in lioverin;,' about tliem to repress their audacity. Of the two movements in the regions heyond the mountains likely to bring the claims of Virginia for a western extension to a sharp issue, — of which beginnings have been already sketeheull against the cur- rent of the Ohio, whether bound for Pittsbui'g, or taking the alternative route up the Kanawha and Greenbrier. Fi'om near Crab Orchard, the pioneers seeking settlement turned much ill the same direction in which the railways cross the country tn-day. The borderer descending by the Ohio, and landing at Limestone, followed along the outline of this s(pu\rish tract to I i. If""' III VVs il I I 100 SOUTH OF THE OHIO. Crab Orchard, aiul so could i)ass south to the Tennessee conn try, by what Evans and (iibson's map marked as " the onlv way passable with horses from the Ohio three or four hiuuliviij miles southward."' The overland wanderer less often took tliM same route in reverse. Commoidy he passed by another tniij through liarrodsburg, and so crossed the Kentucky near Frank- fort, and went on to the mouth of tlie Licking", oj)posito tli^ later Cincinnati. A lesser number, ])robably, passed by a soiitli westerly curve, within sight of the moimtainous barrier in tliii; direction, and came upon the Ohio at the site of the modern i Louisville. It was com})lained, as respects this latter spot, that a few gentlemen "had engrossed all the lands at and near tliJ falls of the Ohio," which with the sanguine was likely to be| " the most eonsiilerable mart in this part of the world." ' ■. 1 m CHAPTER VII. THE FORTUNES OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 1706-17 7 7. TiiK war, which in the end had wrested the vaUey of the St. Lawrt'iu'e from the French, and, a.s it turned out, had nuide the Kiiiilish share the valley of the Mississippi with the Spaniards, Iiail ill its beginning put an end to all schemes for penetrating tliecoiiutry lying west of the Mississippi and beyond the sources of till' St. Lawrence. There was still the same uncertainty that tliere had always been regarding the sources of both these gri'ut rivers. It had been a question, even, if they did not unite somewhere, just as the waters of Lake Michigan and till' Illinois commingled in the spring freshets. At all events, tlitir sources might not be far apart. Wynne, in his General Ilistoi'i/ < if the Ih'lthh Empire in America (1770), rather slur- ringly mentions a pretense that the St. Lawrence " was derived from remote northwestern lakes, as yet unknown to Euro])eans." To solve this question and the other antiquated notion that there was, not far from these neighboring springs, yet another fountain, whose waters flowed to the Pacific, was a dream that had puzzled a Connecticut Yankee who had beer brooding over tlie speculations of Hennepin, La Ilontan, and Charlevoix. This man, Jonathan Carver, now four-and-thirty years old, was hailioiing some rather lordlv notions of the futiu-e of the Mis- sissi]»]ti, ''As the seat of empire."' he says, "from time inune- I'.ioi'ial has been gradually progressive towards the West, there is no doubt but that, at some future period, miditv kingdoms •11 • • 1 ' n .' » Will emerge from these wildernesses, and stately ])alaces and snleiiiii temples supplant the Indian huts." In this frame of nuntl, and three years after the Peace of Paris, he had deter- nuiied to ju'obe the great western mysteries, and started from Hoston in Jime, 170G, on a quest for he hardly knew what. Ar- riving at Mackinac, the westernmost of the English posts, he ti « h II if! m rJ (■< 1 1. .1' i % 102 77//i FORTI.'NES OF THE MISSISSIPPI. .secured gome goods for presents to the Indijuis and, on Sep. teniber 3, lie i)roci^cded by tlie Green Bay portage and, enteriu.; tlie Mississippi, turned north and, passing the Falls of St. Anthony, reaehed his northernmost jioint at the St. F'ranois Kiver. When near the site of the modern city of St. Paul. he comprehended what he conceived to be the vantage-ground .lONATHAX CARVER. [B'roin his Trairlx, London, ITSl.] of that pivotal region of the northern valley of the INIississipj)!, with its down-current access to the Gulf of Mexico, and by the Ibei'ville Kivor to Mobile and Pensacola. Looking to the east. he dreamed of a water-way, yet to be made ])racticable, throui:!i the lakes to New Yorlv. Towards the setting sun, an up-current struggle along the Minnesota Kiver might reveal some distant l)ortage or centring watei', whence a descending stream wouM carry the trader to the Pacific on his way to China. At a later day, Carver's heirs claimi'd that, as evidence of his confidence in the future of this spot, he had acquired from the Sioux a title JO.XA THAN CAR VER. 103 t(» the site of St. Paul, but un(iuestit)niil)le evidence of any deed was never })r<)dueed. The British liehl it to be .a transaction in (oiitriivoution of the j)roehuniition of 17G3, and hiter, the riiitrd States, succeeding to ail rights, through the Committee (in i'ublic Lands reported adversely on the claim in 1823 to the Senate of the United States. It was Carver's notion that the eontini'ut was broadest (m the parallel which went athwart this eiinnnaiiding region, abi ut the mouth of the Minnesota, which was ahuost midway in the i)assage from sea to sea. Here was destined to be a seat of British power. One of his maps marks out a north and south belt, bounded by the Mississippi on the west and by the meridian of Detroit on the east, and stretch- iii<'- fiom the Chickasaw country on the south to the Chippewas and Ottawas on the north. AVithin this area he pricks out the lionnd of eleven prospective colonies of English. On the east, the Ohio and other tributaries of the Great Kiver opened the way for these prospective populations to the passes of the Alle- "Iianies and the old colonies of the seaboard. Carver found the conntry north of the Illinois and as far as the Wisconsin little known to the traders, and charged the French with having deceived the English about it in their maps. Farther north, up to tlie Mille Lacs region and the springs of the Mississipj)!, he still found the French nui})s at variance with the Indian rejjorts. It was here at the north, within a radius of thirty miles or less, tliat Carver pbiced the gi..nit continental divide, and in the midst of the best of hunting countries, where tlie white man had not yet penetrated. From this point, he said, one could go east by streams that connect with Lake Su])erior ami the watei-ways leading to the Atlantic. Oiu' went nortli from Ked Lake through Winnipeg and the Bourbon River to Hudson's l)ay. making the passage to Europe through Davis's Strait, as has been advocated in our day. Just south of these northern springs lay the White Bear Lake, with a passage from it ojien to the (Julf of Mexii'o. In either direction there was a route of not far from two thousand miles, as he calculated, to the salt sea. Si)eaking of the conti- guity of these sources, and referring to a belief, long consent, of a common soui'ce for streams flowing to different seas, he says : '' I perceived a visibly distinc^t separation in all of them, notwithstanding in some ])laces they approached so near that I't. 104 THE FOHTL'iWES OF '1111-: MISSISSIPPI. i# I i M f\ H I \ ' i i| J;. I could liave Htt'j)jH>(l from one to the other." In one of lii, maps, close by this source of the Mississippi, Carver pla(( , a smaller lake, out of which flows the "Origan"' Kivcr, — ;, name now Krst used, — which, becoming in its passage the gie;a river of the west, — tiie ultimate Colundiia, — debouches at la>t somewhat vaguely into the Pacific near the Straits of Aiiian, a supposable northwest i)assage, long known in speculatioib. This was to be tiie great western outlet of his manifold colnnii, of the Mississippi basin. This seaside spot was already ])iv- empted for the Knglish, as he avers, by the discoveries of Sir Francis Drake, while to this distant west the trails of French fur-traders for nearly a century running from l*rairie du Chien, near tlu' mouth of the Wisconsin, had o])ened a land carriage in the same direction. Carver himself explored but a single one of the western afHuents of ;he Mississippi, and that was the St. I'eter, as the Minnesota was then called. It was on this water among the Sioux of the plains that he passed the winter of 17(50, and he says he found that the French had ])rejudiced that tril)e against the English. Of the })hysi()graphy of the more distant west, he gives us some hints as he got them from the savages, the marked feature of wliich is unbounded ])lains "which jjrobalily terminate on the coast of the Pacific." The spur of the Kocky Mountains discovered by Verendrye is, to Carver's mind, nothing but an isolated " mountain of bright stones " lying north of the river of the west. It was in a lake near this ui .tU. tin that he makes the Assiniboils Kiver rise, which, flowing to Lake AVinnipeg, is next carried on with a divided curient, the one to Iludyon's Ray am the other to Lake Su]ierior. He hears of natives, living beyond this mountain, small of stature, using vessels of gold, and suggesting an emigration north from Mex- ico. With a mixed burden on his mind of speculation and knowledge, and having failed to receive the goods from Mack- inac which he exjieeted. Carver, in the summer of 17G7. began to retrace his ste])s. After lingering some time at Lake Pejiin he sought the Chi))})ewa Rivei", and ascending it, crossed a ])()it- age which took him by a descending sti'cam to Lake Superior near its western end. Carver's observations ])ut Lake Supe- rior between 40° and 49° north latitude, not far from its trne position, a correction of earlier English maps by something I i juwiua ii.i:i) ' inu-i. *!' * y\l^ tfnif,' N. .....^ \,ll'l'«W/i'' /Ul/ltJli'lf^ -•7" \..\.V:tvy.;;,-«<-iv,* 5 a;./"'?i . (AKVKKS COLONIES. rFroiii a "New Map of North Amerira, 1778," in JDiiatliiin Carver's Tniielx Ihrmirih the IhlfiKir Pniix rif .\iiit/i Americd, Loiidoti, 17X1. It «lio\vs also tlie connection of Lake Superior witli llie Lake of the Woods and Hudson's Bay (James's Bay).] ( 'it i; I m ' f In • i ,' ' it. v! 1 )f IB [■* 1' B ' ,r i'l n t 1 r i ■x '|1 . f 1 1 '^ 1 ' ! 10(3 THE IVHTUNES OF THE M'SSIHSII'I'I. like eij^lit tlegroe.s, while Kitcliin, who a few years later, in 1774 jinil Itcforo Carver's maps were imblished, was out by lu-ailv ten (lejjrees, — both earryinjjf the water by so iiiueh too far to the north. In eontoiir and detail there had been up to tlii> time no nuij) of this lake so aeeurate as its first survey niiu'M by the .Jesuits a century before. All the intervening mai)s had shown many islands spotting- its surface. In Carver's time a similar ignorance of the interior spaces of the lake prevailed, It was due, i)erhaj)s, to the barkentines of the French keeping near the shores, and to the Indians' dread of enehantmeiits with which they stipposed such islands to be invested. Passing tlunrngh the Saidt Ste. Marie in October, 17t!7, Carver moved eastward by the lakes, and after an absence nf two years and five months reached Boston in October, 17t!8, having traversed, as he recktmed, a course of near seven thou- sand miles. He tells us that an English gentlenuin, Kichurd AVhitworth, became so interested in the traveler's views of the way to find a passage from the Mississippi to the Pacific that. in 1774, he nearly ])erfected arrangements for doing it, in company with Carver himself and a j)arty of fifty or sixty men, when the opening scenes of the Revolutionary War ])iit a stop to the enterprise. A proposition made by Bernard Romans. in 1778, met with a like discouragement. Carver's narrative was not publislied till ten years later, in 1778, when his recital found ncitiu'r England nor her colonies in any better position to i)rofit by his experiences. While Carver's book was still in manuscript, and he had l)0('n seeking government employ as an Indian agent in the region west of Lake Huron, the future of the jMis.sissi])])i had bwii consigned to other hantls than his prospective colonists of the eleven provinces. Spain still controlled the French of Louisiana. In New Orleans this alien power had proved vexations. In the ui)i)er parts of the valley the French had no love for the English ; hut it was a question whether the Spanish rule was not annoying enough sometimes to give some ho})e to Gage that a part, at least, of those who had fled across the river might return to the English. A few years after the English commanding general had expressed this anticipation, the progress of the Amerioau KyGLAXl), FliAXCK, A XI) SPA IX. 101 ivvnlt li:nl int«'ijt'ct«'tiuL;L;lt' for the possession of the Mississippi and its eastern atlliniits, hut with eoniplications greater than had attended the idiiHict whieh was ended hy tiie I'l-aee of Paris in 170»}. It was iiuce more a (piestion, who shouhl (;ontrol or share the vast (•(iiiiitrv lying between the Appalachians and tlu' Great Hiv(>r ? Kacli power entered upon the struggle with its own purpose. Ill the north. Knglaiul early (1774) attempted a prei'mption of tin- region above the Ohio through the (Quebec Hill. France at (iiicc >aw that the terms of that legislation recognized her own luiin-ilffcnded claim to include that territory within the bounds (if Canada. It was plainly to be seen that such an acknowledg- iiii'iit might make it easier for France to wrest that country in its entirety from the grasp of Kngland, if the f(U'tunes of war sliniild lay open to her the chances of a di])lomatie triun»j)li over Kngland. In the south there were the rival interests of Kngland and Spain. The ])ossession of West Florida and New Orleans respectively brought these two ])owers into a dangerous contiguity. Events seemed tending to bring on a conflict, either at New Orleans or higher up the river. It was a (luestion for tlie y()ung Ke])ublic, if in these opposing interests, north and soutli, she c(ndd make good her territorial rights beyond the Allcglianies, to an extent equal to wliat, as colonies, she had contended f(«', and which the treaty of 170.'? had recognized. All tiicse complications involv(>d the relations of the American jH'opIt! not only to England, whic^h was trying to subjugate them, Imt also to France, which was ex])ected to assist them. It was a matter of more serious concern that the rulers of France had no intention of resisting England for any other purpose than re- venge and profit to France. The relations of the young Repub- lic to Spain were more embarrassing, for any assistance from that country depended upon the Rourb(m compact between Fiance and Spain ])roving broad enough to force the latter coiuitry into a war with England foi- the behoof of France in Aineriea. In this event, a common hostility to England might league tlie American re])ublic and the vS])anish monarchy. In tliis impending struggle for the line of the Mississippi, as liounding the nascent conunon wealth, America had military 1 i li\ I, ;\l I' i'f '' 1 i''l i , V 11 i| • i 108 TU/C FUHTI'MCS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. res()un;es almost ludicrously iuadtHniatr, ami success was only to 1)0 accjuircd by using this Bourbon rivalry of England in sucl a way as would protect American interests. W M Oliver Pollock, a native of Pennsylvania of Irish stock, had gone as a young man to Havana to engage in business, iiiid renu)vcd, wiicn he was about thirty years old, to New Orleaiin in 1707. Two years later, when O'Ueilly took possession :iiii| the nund)er of his troops produ(!ed a famine, this Amerii-aii nu'rchant received a cargo of Hour from lialtimore. Pric(!s of cereals were ruling high ; biit I'ollock saw liis opportunity, and publicly sold his ])roduce at from half to two thirds of the curirnt rates. The Spanish governnuMit marked its gratitude by giving Pollock a license of free trade with the colony for the rest of his life. The concession gave him u standing in New Orleans, which was of importance for Pollock's countrymen in the ai)i)roaching crisis. The Si)anish authorities at this time were strengthening tlic rani])arts of New Orleans, and were bringing succor ueai'er In opening a now route to Mexico, for it had not escaped then that England oidy needed a pretext to capture New Orleans ii she could. The English n'ciproeated the anxiety, and found the Spanish jwssession of Havana a constant nu'iiace to IVii- sacola. Ilaldimand, when couunanding at this latter post, had been made aware by Gage, writing from his New York liead- (piarters, that it was wise never to h't slip the purjjosi! of seiz- ing New Orleans, if o])|)ortunity offered. The canalization of the Iberville had not indeed proved a prosi)erous schenu! for diverting trade to Florida, and the navigation of the Missls- sip])i was but a vexatious j)rivilege to the English. AVlieii there had been, in 1770, a passing dii)loniatic flurry with Si)aiii. over the Falkland Islands, (Jage had cautioned IlaldiniMiid to be ])re])ared for a hostile movement, if there was any op]>ar- tune turn of the lu'gotiations. It had long been Gage's plan fur sto])])ing the clandestine traffic across the river by holding its mouth, which he contended was i\w. only way in which the trade of the river could properly be developed in the English interest. Note. — TIir oppositp map in n sertion from a " Cnrte de la Floride, etc., pour le sprviii' ilc vaisspaux . to maintain armed posts for their protection. The English i)ossessions in West Florida, as the bounds of that province had been defined, included the country about Natchez. The population in this re<;ion had been increasiii;,' since 1770. Some of the French in Louisiana, disaffected l)v the Spanish rule, had passed over the river to the English side; but the greater part of the increase had been emigrants fiom east of the Appalachians. Some had come from Pennsylvania and Jersey ; others from Virginia and Carolina ; but laiger numbers had come from Connecticut, turning a current of e'lui- gration which, under more favorable circumstances, might have settled the Wyoming valley in Pennsylvania. General Phiiieas Lyman, whom we have seen in London a few years before unsuccessfully lu'ging the formation of a colony in the Illinois country, had returned to New England in the faith that a grant which he had urged for the soldiers of the late war would be made on the lower Mississippi, under royal orders to the gov- ernor of West Florida, lie had in Deee.nber, 1772, asked Dart- mouth to encourage their plan. AVitli this expectation he liad induced a body of " military adventurers *' at Hartford to order a reconnoissance of their proposed home, and in 1773, Lyman and party sailed from New York for Pensacola. Here they found that no royal instructions had l)een received. Pending the ex])ected arrival of such, Rufus Putnam, as topograjtlier, headed a party to explore the Mississippi as far north as the Yazoo. The wished-for orders still not coming, the proposing settlers agreed to purchase a tract of land on easy terms. The result was that several hundred families, in May, 1776, caine out from New England, only to find that even this arran<,^e- ment had been forbidden by orders from England. So the struggling settlers found that they must shift for themselves. There were some among them who scantily sympatbized with the political revolt in New England, and Lyman himself had congratulated the ministry that the "■ spirit of Boston " was not spreading. The new homes, which they too rosily pic- tured, were destined, they thought, to give them a release from the turmoil they bad left. There was, however, enough of the rcA-olutionary fervor of the Atlantic seaboard in others wlio had HA MIL TON'S RA IDS. Ill stttlt tl tliere to make an important factor in sliai)ing the des- tiny ft' tliis southern region. AVe have seen that Hamilton at Detroit had liad some suo- ccss in counteracting the influence of Morgan among the north- ,'111 tril)cs. Tho"<;h the Dehiwarcs had mainly rejected his liatilut, the Shawnees and Wyandots had generally accepted it. A c()iii;)arison of dates seems to show that Hamilton was acting in anticipation of orders which he had askpr])s of chasseurs from the French settlers within his control, and to officer them from their own ])eo])le. An English officer. Abbott by name, was early in the sea.son started towards Vin- ROCHEBLA VE. 113 (tunes, with F"'.ne such purpose. When he crossed the portage of the ]\hminee, he found fiye hundred Indians there reatly for then' savage raids. In the absence of any troops to support him, Ahbott, who had reached his post on May 19, found that he hud to viekl to their exorbitant demands, and in July (1777 ), wliilf he was stockading Vincennes, he found it necessary to bind the French scttk'rs by an oath and forego the chasseurs. The otlier ])urpose of intercepting the American supjdies by the river seemed hardly more promising. The cannon which lie mounted were sent to him by the commander at Fort Gage in tlie Illinois country, to which the armament of Fort Chartres had been removed in 1772. This officer was liocheblave, who had been for some time busy watching the Spanish at St. Louis, and trying to divine a purpose on their pi-'t which in his imagination took many shapes. He tried at times to induce the Kickapoos to unravel it, but it did not comfort him to find that these Indians were receiving messages from the " Boston- nais," as they called the Americans, and were comnumicating them to the Spaniards. Upon the Foxes both he and the Span- ish governor played their wiles in the effort to gain them, and to tlie savages' advantag'e, no doubt. The Ottawas were urged to receive Spanish favors, so that they could fathom, by the o])- jiortunities which dej)endence could offer, the ])lots at St. Louis. Kooheblave seems to have made the best imj)ression upon a vagrant horde of the Delawares, who frequented his post, and lie rejiorted that he felt he could depend upon them. But the belts whicli he found passing between the rebels and Spaniards '111 the one side, and the savages on the other, were a constant riddle to him. He had heard, moreover, that the Spanish com- mander had spoken knowingly of something that was to luip])en when the maize grew to be eighteen inches high. (\'rtain Liiiu'li officers, too, were known to have Sjianish conunissions, and lie found that, despite his endeavors, French aid was ena- bling he Americans to run suj)plies uj) the river. Dining all this Hamilton had submitted to Caideton a ]dan for attaeking New Orleans ; but C'arleton was cautious, and waniL'd him not to be too provoking with his neighbors, but rather to l)e prepared to resist any attack from them. Hamilton vi'plied that tlu; Spanish hostility was confirmed, and they had lit'giui to seize English vessels at New Orleans. I < i TWf 114 THE FORTUNES OF THE MISSISSIFPL H\ i I I ! \ ;, r ,7 AV'hile the season closed at Kaskaskia with Rocliebhive dieam- ! ing- of a Spanish conquest and a governorship at New Oileaiis, some bloody work was going on around the little fort near i Wheeling Creek. This stockade had been known as Fort Fin. ! castle, till lately being improved (1770), it was renamed Fort Henry, after Patrick Henry, now governor of Virginia, (ien. I eral Hand had not succeeded in raising the two thousand men which he had hoped for his campaign, and with no nioie than eight hundred men on his rolls he had not felt stroiii; i enough to take the aggressive during the sunnner, and had accordingly kept himself rather on the defensive. He was, I moreover, not quite sure of certain men who were about him, One of tiiem, Alexander McKee, who had been deputy Inihaii agent under Sir William Johnson, was put under oath to havt " no conununication w:th the British." Simon Girty, who liad also been arrested, had been wily enough to reestablish himself j in Hand's opinion. Girty had for some time absented liimself. but in August some friendly Moravian Indians had come in. | bringing word that Girty was leading- a force thither, and tiiat Fort Henry was to be the point of attack. This defense was an oblong stockade in open ground, inclosing about half an acre of grouiul, bastioned, and supj)lied with water. The occu- pants of the surrounding village were still in their cabins out- j side the walls ; but scouts were out, and they had passed a (juitt summer. As the season closed, confidence had been so far restored that some of tlie militia had gone home, and only two i companies, of not over forty men in all, remained under Colonel David Shepherd. Hand did what he could to cover the inliali- ] itants before the stroke came. During- the night of August 31, 1 from two hundred to four hundred of Hamilton's Indians- accounts differ — ambushed themselves near by, and threw tlie community into confusion the next morning by a sudden ap proach. There was time enough, however, to enable the out- side settlers wO get within the defenses before the attack bi'gan. The garrison nuide souk; hazardous sallies, much to its loss of numbers ; but they served to keep the assailers at bay. The leader of the enemy, finding his followers discouraged, tiinit'il to destroying what he coidd in the surrounding village. Suc- cor for the besieged arriving, he disappeared with his savagtj in the forest. There is a good deal of confusion in the accounts j ^I'.r EVENTS OF 1777. 115 wliitii have come down to us, and though Wither says that Girty was the leader of the assault, it \u by no means certain tliat lie was present at all. Tlic whok' region was soon alarmed, and Hand, uncertain for a wliilt' whether to make counter incursions, at last drew in the iiu'n from his lesser outposts. Kittanning, for one, was ahaiuloncd, and the se .son in tins part of the valley ended witli little hope. The iit'igliboring Delawares had proved steadfast, hut a band of ,'^li!i\viioes adhering to Cornstalk had wavered. That leader and some of his peojjle a little later ventured to Fort Kandoli)h, when' some militia, arou.-ied by recent ati'ocities, ensnared and imudt'red them. It was hopeless to keep any of the Shawnees neutral after this. The eami)aign of 1777, in Washington's loss of Philadelidiia, had not been ])ropitious for those struggling beyond the moun- tains, who were thus cut oft" from their main seaboard connec- tions : hut the defeat of St. Leger and the surrender of Bur- j;oyne at the north had ha])pily intervened to put a new aspect upon the contest of the trans-Alleghany countr}% where so much desultory warfare had of late confused the outcome. ■ vl ti .. . r I illii chaptp:r VIII. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK, ARBITER AND SUPPLIANT. 1776-1779. In the early part of 177G, George Rogers Clark had cast his lot among the Kentiickians. IL; found them living amid dan- gers and stirred hy ])olitical unrest. Virginia, as the parent colony, was too remote to afford them protection. There were ugly rumors of savage contests in store for them thi'ough the concerted action of the British ccnnmanders at Detroit and Pensacola. There were those on the frontiers — and it suited Clark's nature to be in sympathy — who would not slu!. ": from the responsibility of independent action ; but a soberer judgment pre 'ailed, and it was decided not to take any decisive step before the authorities at Williamsburg were informed of the situation. On July 17, 1776, delegates from these forest communities met at Ilarrodsburg and chose Clark and another to undertake such an embassy. The peojde had already, on June 20, drawn up a memorial, in which they affirmed tliat the " l)rime riflemen " of Kentucky were not a body whose aid should be declined in troublous times. They recognized that the colonies were drifting towards that indejiendence of wliose de(daration it was too early then for them to have heard. The delegates found difficulty, without intimating an alteruiitive of their own independence, to make the council listen to tlieir demands for powder ; but Patrick Henry, then governor, as well as Jefferson, George Mason, and George Wythe, threw a strong influence in favor of the frontiers, and the grant was made. On August 2, the Assembly was induced to declare tlie sovereignty of Virginia over the Kentucky region, and her purpose to protect it. Later, the legislature, on December 7. created the county of Kentucky. During the spring of 1777, the tidings from the Indian country north of the Ohio had alarmed Colonel Crawford at CLARK'S PLANS. 117 Fort Pitt. When the summer opened, Clark sent two young liiintfrs to make their way to the Illinois settlements, and to discover the situation there. They reported on their return (Juiic 22) that the Freneh were in the main quiet in their villai;i's. and that only a few of their young- men were partiei- patiiii^ in the British and savage raids, which were directed from Detroit. These centres of the French population were, however, used as starting-i)laces of these marauding parties. Clark was fired by these re))orts with a purpose to attempt the I'diKiuest of this region, and on October 1 he again left Ilar- nidsliiug for the Virginia ca[)ital. lie tells us that he met on his wa\' many adventurers struggling through the wilderness to iiiid new homes. When he reached ^^'illiamsl)urg, he found tlic coinnmnity rejoicing over the surrender of Burgoyne, — a good ouien that gave him increased enthusiasm. On December 10, 17/7, Clark laid his scheme before the goveinor. In case of failure in the jdan, he jjroposed to join the Spaniards beyond the Mississippi. The Viiginia council having a])proved Clark's plan, on January 2, 1778, the governor gave Clark a colonel'b connnission, and conunitted to him two sets of instructions, one ex])ressing a puri)ose to defend Ken- tneky only, and the other, whi(di was to be kept secret, author- izing him to attack Kaskaskia. In both he was given authtn-- ity to raise, west of the Alleghanies, seven companies of forty men each. He was to apply to General Hand, who, as we have seen, had been in command at F(U't Pitt since June 1, 1777, for a portion of the stock of ])()wder which had been brought up the Mississip])i from New Orleans, and such other supplies as couhl be furnished. Twelve hundred dollars in pa])er were given to him, and he was told to draw for further sums on Oliver Pollock at New Orleans, wl-o would be instructed to honor his drafts. The legislatiu-e of Virginia, as Jefferson, Mason, and Wythe in their letters of congratulation assured him, was ex])ccted to appropi'iate as bounty to each man three luin- dred aci'es of the concpicred territory. So the wh(de movement was a Virginia one, intended to secure her dominion over what sill' Ix'licved to be her charter limits. The men were enlisted nndcr the impression conveyed by his public instructions, lluee companies were raised, one hundred and fifty men in all, and these were rendezvoused at Redstone on the Monongahela, J^i; m t ■ 1: 118 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. where the boats were asseinbled. In May, 1778, liaving besidt his troops a train of adventurous settlers, Chirk moved on to Pittsburg and Wheeling. At both these |)laees he pieked up supplies. At the mouth of the Kanawha he found reinforce- mcnts. On his wav down the Ohio, some of the aeeompanviiv emigrants hd't him at points where the}^ eould easily enter tlie wilderness. Others remained on the flotilla till May 27, when he reaehed the falls, near the modern L(misville. Here tliev were landed on Corn Island, where the rushing river broke up the refleetions of eanebrakes, vines, and lofty trees. A stoekade was built to proteet the eighty settlers, and to furnish a store- house for his exeess of sup]dies. Ten of his soldiers were left as a c;uard. lie had lost something bv desertion on the wav. and was glad of a small eomi)any from the Ilolston, which now joined him. They did not prove steadfast, however, for as soon as he made known his real instructions, they left him. His total available foree had now been reduced to about one hundred and seventy-five men. If it had been larger, he might at once have advanced on Vincennes ; but hoi)ing for other accessions, he determined to go to Kaskaskia first. While making his pre])arations to leave, intelligence of the French alliance reaehed him from Fort Pitt. It was go(>() tidings which he hoped to break to the French at Kaskaskia with some effect. On June 24, he ])olcd his boats up the river from the island in order to gain the main channel, and tlit'ii, it being a high stage of the water, the flotilla shot down the rapids "• at the very moment of the sun being in a great ccli])so." It was a nearly total obscuration, and it was nine o'clock in the morning. It took two days to reach a creek just ahove Fort Massac, relays of rowers working day and night. He nut on the way some hunters, wlio the week before had been in Kaskaskia, and engaged one or two of them as guides. The men were landed, and there was not a horse or cannon among them to give a show of efficacy to the courageous litth' army. It was on June 20 that they began their march over a route of one hundred and twenty miles, the first fifty of wlilih lay through a swam]\v country. The o])en jnairie. which cauu' next, encouraged them in their weariness. On the aftcrnnon of July 4, they were within three miles of Kaskaskia, and their food was exhausted. That post was in conunand of Kocheblave, Sfc ^14-: CLA UK 1\ 1 KES KA SKA SKI A . 119 iO { i It: 1^ !■ [From Collot's Alhis.} a Frciu'li officer who liad joined tlie Biitish after they had oc- ('iii)it'(l the region. To save ex])ense, and withont much appre- htiision of the exposure of tlie ])()st, its garrison had been iiTcatly diminished, and Kochehhive liad hccn kept there to wiitdi tlie country and report upon events. Tlie men that were loit To him were in the guard hall of the fort making- merry in a (laiice when Clark, after dark, and aeeompanied by his men, suddenly s])rung into their company. There could be no resist- ^11! h!i ft i. i / 1"'. ' I "■ h liii \ t--.U'... fl 120 UEOliaE ROtiERU CLARK. ance, and "the self-styled Colonel, Mr. C'lerke," as Roehehlavi r' i)orted him to Carleton, was thus easily i)iit in possession of the post and of all within the town. The next morning tlio oath of fidelity was administered. After this the townspeopK', whose spirits were distinetly gladdened by the news of tlic Freneh alliance, were suffered to go about their business. The successful commander now turned for sympathy to tlic Spanish over the AIississii)pi, with whom he opened connuiiiii- cation. He found the comnuuulant at St. Louis more than ready to countenance him. Wherever he turned, the French about him were ready to serve him. They had much disturbed liocheblave of late by keeping up a trade with the Si)aniar(ls. which that officer was powerless to stoj). With Kaskaskia in American hands, there was nothing to prevent such traffic across the Mississippi being carried on oi)enly. Clark went to Cahokia — to which he had sent Bowman and thirty horsemen on the first day of his occupation of Kaskaskia — and met the northern Indians, and though he ran some hazards and encountered some treachery, the French stood Ity him, and in outward seeming, at least, the tribes were gained over. lie sent a commission to the chief of the distant Foxes, but the British intercepted it. Gibault, a priest at Kaskaskia, in company with Dr. Lafoiit and a few others whom Clark could trust, was sent, on July 14, to Vincennes. Lieutenant Leonard Helm was also of tlie party, and was detailed to take the military command of tlie ])lace. He administered the oath to those he found, and sent belts to the neighboring Wabash Indians. Gibault returned to Kaskaskia on August 1, and reported his success. Clark now enlisted enough resident Creoles to sup})ly the gaps in his com])anies, made by the expiration of the term of his three months' men. The men thus released were sent to Virginia luuler an officer, who also took charge of liocheblave as a ])risoner of war. There soon arrived from St. Louis a man in whom Clark found a fast friend. This was Fran(;ols Vigo, a native of Sardinia, now a man somewhat over thirty years of age, accord- ing to the best accounts, though his gravestone nuUics him boin in 1739. He had come to New Orleans in a Spanish regiment, early in the days of the Spanish control. After leaving tlie POLLOCK AND VIGO. 121 aiiiiv lu' tunu'tl trader, and had of late been living at St. Louis, wlicre lie had beeome a person of iuHuenee and pioperty. Ilcariu"'" of Clark's success, he had hastened to Kaskaskia to sec liini. Without the financial aid of Vij;() at St. Louis and (»f Pollock at New Orleans, it is doubtful if Clark could havt; sustained himself in the conunj;- months, (iovernor Henry had alifadv tlirected Pollock to draw on France for money to bo sent to Clark, and at a later day Clark gave an affidavit that he ivi'cived PoUock's remittaiu'es in specie. In Septemlu'r, 1778, I'(»llock wrote to Congress that he had just sent a new remittance of seven thousand three hundred dollars to Clark. During that vt'iir he borrowed a large amount from the Spanish governor for like uses. V^igo let Clark have twelve thousand dollars, and took Clark's drafts on Pollock for that sum. When these (hafts reached New Orleans, Pollock, who had been sending powder and swivels up the river to (Uark, fouiul himself obliged to raise money at 12.] per cent, discount to meet the obligation. Later, Pollock drew on Delap of Bordeaux on account of a car^o shipped to that port, in order to amass funds for Clark's ooiitiuued drafts. Fearing that the vessel might not arrive and Delap would dishonor his draft, he solicited Congress in A})ril, 1770, to direct Franklin, then in Paris, to assume if necessary the burden. Transactions like these before the close of the war reduced Pollock to ])enury. When Vigo died at Terre Haute in 188(5, neglected and childless, something like twenty thou- sand dollars which he had paid to (]lark remained unsettled. Ton years later (184G), Vigo's heirs memorialized Congress for rt'stitntiou, but with little effect. In 1848, a couuuittee of the IIoMse of Representatives recognized the obligation. Here the matter rested till 1872, when Congress referred the tpiestion to the Court of Claims, which "ave a decisi(m in favor of Viiio's heirs. The government carried the case to the Suprenu; Court in lS7t), when long-delayed justice was rendered, but the a])pli- cauts who received, including interest, fifty thou.sand dollars, were niiiiuly claim agents and lobl)yists. The particular draft which was the basis of the suit was one drawn on Pollock, i)eeend)cr 4, 1778, for .18710.40, which Vigo had cashed. : i^t I' 1 i I? ' I hi H il ! \ i ^\ hile Clark was thus engaged securing funds, measures were in progress to organize the conquered territory under a i ' * i ),■ .«! 1/ in GEORGE ItOGERS CLARK. I Ml I I !t !■ civil ffovei'iiiucnt. Tlir j)rovisi()n» wen' (luitc at vaviaticc with the purpose which the Kn<;lish ministry had liad in view in ])nshiiig thnm<;h the (^nehei! Hill, and threw hack the bounds of Canada, where Itoth the eolonlsts and the parent governnnnt had long, throuj;h ni.my wars, insisted that they l)eh)nj;v(|. The Virginia Assembly, in the autumn of 177H, had here created the county of Illinois, and had given to Governor Henry tlie authority to raise five hundred men for its defensi-, ami to keep open connnunication with and through it. Henry sidected, as governor of the new county, an active Virginian, wh(» had gone, in 1775, to Kentucky, where he iiad jdayed a part in the Transylvania nu)venu;nt, and had later been in Clark's conunand, — Ca])tain John Todd. Henry sent him instructions which recpiired him " to cultivate and enudate the affections of the French ami Indians," to command tlie county militia, and to use them to assist Clark. Todd, on receiving these ])apers, returned to Virginia to perfect plans, and when he again reached Kaskaskia in May, 1770, he bore a letter of friendship to the Spanish governor at Ste. Genevieve, which he was exj)ected to deliver in person. He was also on- joined to take under his s])ecial care the family of Kocheblave, now a })risoner in Virginia. In ai)pointing the county ofKct-rs, Todd was (juite ready to give th'^ French a large ]>art of tlicni, and he endeavored to fill the con. '■"v with actual settlers, to the exclusion of sj)eculat()rs in land. It was a relief to Clark to find the J ''A administration of the region in so good hands, for events Wde demanding his anxious attention. All along the valley north of the Ohio, the American cause had not ])ros])ered, and in Kentucky there had been turiuoil enough, though it was not always t'lvorable to the British and their savage allies. During the sv.iiuner there were bands of Tories, horse thieves, and other renegades, traversing the Ten- nessee country. The Watauga community, bestirring itself, had nuistered and sent out two companies of militia. These efifectually scoured the country, and those of the marauders who were not cajitured fled to the Cherokees, or escaped north- ward to the British. There was now only a hunter's hut on the site of the later BOONESBOnOUGH. 123 NaslivilU', iiiid [u'lliiips u dozen fiuiiilies were clustereil about Hloilsoe's Lii'k, stockiuU'd to^^ftlun- and siinoimdcd by Cliiek- iisaws. These were relieved. Farther north, however, at nniMic-'l'oi'oti.uli. Hamilton, thi'on<;h his rancors and sava<;'e.s, trii'il iiiii'd to deliver a sei-ions blow. Uoiiiie, who had been earlier captured at tlie Salt Licks, liad 1m (11 taken to Detroit, where H'.iniilton treated him con- siderately. Later he was carried into tlu; Shawne* country a prisoner, and succeeded in innratiatin<4' himself with his nias- tcis. Here he learned that Hamilton had j;ath<'red a banil of ovt !• four hundred warriors, and was intendin;;' to let them loose upon the Kentucky settlements. In dune, manajiinji;' to escape, rKMtiie reached his home in time to improve its defenses. The ciiciiiy not a])pearin<^\ and anxious for definite knowled ■' II i ■' > 1 1 '(!' ' , I I . imi 12-t GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. and had attracted Washington's attention, was assigned to tlic command at P^ovt Pitt. Wasliington, at Valley Forge, liatl ordered the P^ighth Pennsylvania regiment, under Colonel Brod- "liead, to the frontiers, and the Thirteenth Virginia reginuut, under Colonel Gibson, was directed to he in readiness. \'ir. ginia was at the same time exj)ected to concentrate a large force of militia. This army, wluni ready, was to advance in two divisions of about fifteen hundred men each, — one by the Kanawha and the other by the Ohio, and to unite at Yuvi Kandolph (Point Pleasant). News had already been received of an attack by two hundred savages, in May, at the mouth (if the Kanawha, and later on the Greenbrier ; but the assailants had been foiled at both places. It was well into June, 1778, when Mcintosh began his march, but the ravages which were taking place in the Wyoming valley rendered it necessary to detach for a while Brodhcad's command. It was August when the general, with this dimin- ished force, reached his headquarters at the forks of the Ohio. Before he was ready to move on, Brodhead rejoined him. There were at this time three main posts west of the AUe- ghanies, — Forts Pitt, Kandolph, and Hand; but there were beside nearly two-score movable camps of rangers, who wt'ie patrolling the border. Mcintosh called them in, and hoped with his force thus strengthened to advance on Detroit. It was necessary to his plan to leave friendly tribes behind him, and at Pittsburg, on September 17, with a supjdy of ten tlioii- sand dollars' worth of presents, he began conciliatory methods with the Delawares, who were stretclied along his exjiected j)atli. The Moravians had pretty well established themselves among these Indians, though not so effectually but that a part of this heterogeneous peo})le stood aloof in tlu' British interests. The enemy had a firm foothold among the Shawnees who occnpioil the h)wer valleys of the Great and Little Miami and of the Scioto. The ui)per waters of these same streams were gi\t'ii over to the inimical Mingoes. Beyond these were the Wvan- dots on the Sandusky — not always steadfast in the English interests — and the Ottawas on the Maumee, whom Hamilton could better dei)end upon. Mcintosh tried to gather these hos- tile tribes to a conference, but fewer cante than he had wished. Nevertheless, he thought he had "ained over enousrh for his \i f \i<. McINTOSII'S MARCH. 125 piiiposo. and the Sliawnees had consented to his traversing their foiintiv. liut in doing this he had lost time, and the season was l)ti'0)ne inaas))icious for an active campaign. Accordingly lie Ix'uan the erection of a fort on the right bank of the Ohio, tliirtv miles below Fort Pitt, and near the mouth of Jieaver (nek. Here, at Fort Mcintosh, as he called it, he established liis ]i('ad(|uarters on October 8, 1778. It was a good position to att'ord succor, when necessary, to the settle nents which had already begun to extend to the Muskingum, and thirty miles ui> that river. The new fort was the first built north of the Oliio. and Mcintosh had, in and ai'ound it, a bod}' of twelve liiuulrcd or more soldiers, mainly Virginians, — a larger number of aimed men than had before operated in this country. His (lolav here in building what Brodhead, his successor, called a " romantic " fort was thought to have prevented the main ob- ject of his campaign, — the cai)ture of Detroit. Mcintosh, checked in his advance as he was, had got far ahead of his trains. A herd of cattle, which was driven after liiiii. did not come u]) till November 3, ',vhen there was still a lack in his sujiplies of salt and other things. Two days later, the general started again, but with cattle to drive and other obstacles, he made only fifty miles in a fortnight, and was then sufficiently ahead of his main sui)plies to cause alarm, for there were rumors of an opposing force. He was following jjretty much tlie route which Bouquet had taken fourteen 3'ears before. He had not met the enemy : l)ut fearing concealed dangers, and needing a nearer refuge than Fort Mcintosh, in case of disaster, .iiid lielieving in the ])olicy of holding the coiuitry by a chain of posts, lie built a stockade on the west branch of tiie Tuscara- was, an affluent of the ^luskingum, and named \t Fort Laurens, after the ]n'esident of Congress. Its sit(> was near the modern i5olivia and (dose to a spot where Boncpiet had built a stockade, some distance above the jNIoravian settlements. Tiiis was Mcintosh's farthest point, and Detroit was safe, for, witiiout sup])lies and tlie season far gone, there was no longi.-r lio; 10 to reach his -oal. ^^'\ put a bold fighter, ColoTiel fb)hn (iihsou, in conunand of ^i.e ])ost, with a force of one hundred and fifty men, to be used, if jmssible, in another advance in the «iu'ing. In December, the general returned to Fort Pitt, p'.it his regulars iut.-^ ■'inter (juarters, and sent his militia to their \m i hi\ I ii m 1 I , 1 . i > ' ^ ".i . 1 1 ! • i 1 .■^11' w 126 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. homes. The year had ended with the American hopes ncailv (hished in the u])por regions of the Ohio valley. Farther west the enemy had made a bold stroke agaiiixt Clark. It looked all the more serions, if the British attaclv on Savannah should succeed and they should hold Augusta, — as they later did, — since it gave them two bases, not so very iv- mote from each other. From these, with their available fovocs strengthened " by redeeming the army of the Convention," as Burgoyne's captured troo|)s were called, they hojjcd to make a counter movement south ol the Ohio. The expedition which once more gave them Vincennes, while Mcintosh was inauspicionsly withdrawing to Fort Pitt, was conducted by Hamilton without the ai)})roval of Ilaldimaiul, now connnanding at Quebec. That general held that sucli a movement carried the invading force beyond the reach of aid, while the government's policy had been to depend upon maraud- ing parties. Hamilton himself had suggested this alternative course of flying bands early in the con.flict, and Germain liail ordered him, March 20, 1777, to pursue it. In June sucli orders were received at Detroit, accompanied by iiijunctions to restrain the barbarities of the savages. Such precautions were necessarily inoperative, and it might have been known tliev would be. The res])onsibility for the use of Indians during the war is pretty evenly divided between the combatants. The practice of | it, however, ])y the ministerial party meant attacks on wonu'ii and children and the sjjoliation of homes. The ju-actice of it by the Americans gave no such possible misery to an invadiii;; army, which was without domestic accompaniments. The use of j the Stockbridge Indians during the investment of Boston doubt- less antedated the employment of such allies by tlie royal com- manders. On Gage's rejiorting to Dartmouth this fact, the minister (August 2, 1775) told that general "there was iio| room to hesitate u])on the j)ropriety of pursuing the same nu'as ure." The British government at the same time began tin shipment (August, 1775) of presents to reward the ccnstanoyi of the Indians. It was on Se])tember 2. 1770, that Hamilton, writing i'lonii Detroit to Dartmouth, urged that "every means should Ih'I in HAMILTON AND THE INDIANS. 127 3es nearly e against attack on asta, — as ,o very re- ,l)le forces iition, " as to make a nes, while Pitt, was I aldiniaiul, at sut'li ii I'll of aid. ' lU maraud- ilternative [■main had Turn.! sucli niL'tions to tions wore liown they the war is praetico of on women x'tice of it I 111 invadiiid The nse (if | ton (loulit- royal coni- fact. tluM re was ii" iame nu'av began tin' ccnstaiicyl •iting from shonhl lit icinidiivcd that Providence has put into liis Majesty's hands," ., sciitiuu'iit which, later expressed by Lord Suffolk, brought ui)i>n iiiiii (November, 1777) tht3 scathing rebuke of Chathaui. k'oii'ncss did not formally sanction the use of Indians till Mari'h, 1778, and then it was conditioned on Washington's iiuluiiii;" it to be '" })rudent and proper."' Few if any British officers brought themselves so much under F severe criticism for inciting savage barbarities as Governor Ihuniltoii. lie sang war songs with the braves, he made gifts to parties that returned with scalps : but that he explicitly offered rewards as an incentive to taking scalps would be hard to prove, tlioiiiih the Council of Virginia, after Hamilton became their prisoner, charged him with doing so. His glee at the successful oiiteoiiie of savage raids was not unshared l)y many in the royal (service, AV-' ^.;,ve abundant testimony of this in the observa- tions ol -I ' • li and others while prisoners in the British ])osts. ri!.:> i/ruesouie hilarity was far, however, from being jnniversal. Such a cynical Tory as Judge Jones shuddered at lit. Lieatcuant-Governor Abbott, at Detroit, in June, 1778, pi'o- tt'stt'd against .he use of Indians, and urged only the secui'ing (»f their neutrality. De Peyster at Mackinac once addressed a hand of braves as foUow^s : '• I am pleased wdien I see what you Icall II rr meat., because I can speak to it and get information. Scalps serve to show you have seen the enemy, but they are (>f no use to me: I cannot speak with tlu-m." Even Hanulton himself at times g-ew tender, and on hearing that Ilaldimand Iliad assumed command ;,t (bi(d)ec. he hastened to inform him that the Indians '' nc i' i:iii [at his hands] of a gratuity on jeveiy proof of obc^ic " "i sparing the lives of such as are |iii('ai)al)le of defendi; g li.' .i ;elves." Ill .lane. 1777, Hawi; 'm i-otified Carleton of a coming jlndiaii council, and t(dd him that he eonld assemble a thousand jwarriors in three weeks, " sliouhl your Excellency have occasion jfor their services."' Shortly after this, Carleton was relieved jot all responsibility in the matter, as tiie conduct of the war alioiit the upjier lak( s had. under arders from England, Iteen jpiit entirely in the bands of HaUiilton. When this new gov- jeiiior leached Detvir to take command, he at once began the [enrollment of five hi.p.n' d militia. At Hetroit, Hamilr m was advantageously situated for an d M'C • \ i ¥1 I \ I ii ft 5 i' lii|t| : 128 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. offensive war. A British fleet consisting of the " Gage," car- rying twenty-two guns and swivels, beside various smaller craft. — it was less than ten years since the British had laiuiclieil their first keel at Detroit, — had eonunand of tl\e lakes, ainl could keep the j)ost at Detroit in connnunieation with De Peyster at Mackinac and with the British commander iit Xi. agara, the other strategic points on these inland waters. Uiifor- tunately for Hamilton, there was more or less disaffection at and around his post, and the health of Clark was a conunon toast even in the press-gang, which he kei)t at work on tin; for- tifications. The governor was never quite sure that somebody was not betraying his plans, nor was he certain that for a (piait of rum an Indian woidd not carry tidings to General Ilaiul. who was striving to opeu :'• ^^ad from Pittsburg to Detroit. Hamilton's force was perha}.. hundred in all, consistin<,f of four eompaniesof the King's Kugiment under Lernoult, a single company of the 47th, and two companies of Butler's liangei'.s. While Clark had been preparing to descend the Ohio, Hand witli five Inuidred men had made (February, 1778) an incursion into the Ohio country, but his movement had only that kind of success which gave his expedition the bitter designation of the " squaw campaign." His jnirpr ie was to destroy some stores which Hamilt(m had sent to Cayahoga (Cleveland) as a base for a cam])aign against Fort Pitt, and in this he utterly failed. Late in March, Hand was distressed at new developments. Alexander McKee, Simon Girty, Matthew Elliot, and others, had for some tune been exciting suspi'.'on at Fort Pitt, wlunv they lingered, and at last they disappeared. There was littli' doubt they had gone over to Hanulton. and would try on their way to Detroit to turn the friendly Delawares against the Americans. They did this, though Heckewelder, the Mo- ravian, was sent on their tracks to ])revent it. This emissary found that the renegades had passed to the Scioto, and were doing furtlicr mischief amonu' the Shawnees. It was carlv summer (June) when Girty and his companions reached De- troit, and found Hamilton in the midst of councils held witli the Indians. On July 3, on presenting a battle-axe to a chief, the governor said, " I pray the Master of Life to give you success."' and with such prayers he was sending out ])arties to interccjit the boats ascending the Ohio with supplies for Fort Pitt. II, I HAMILTON ALERT. 129 Do- ith the . the Thus occupied, Hamilton might well have thought he was on Hit' wlinle tlie master of the situation, when, on August 1. 1778, lie received the news of the capture by Clark of Kaskaskia. Uf (lid iii>t at onee comprehend the character of the conquest. [lo su}>i)osed that the captors were a party from the flotilla Icoiniiiauded by Willing, whom he describes as coming "'of one t)i the best families in Philadelphia, but of infamous character uid (Ichaiu'lied morals." He further suspected that the Span- lianls had as much to do with the incursicm as Willing had. Illo looked ajjon the Wabash tribes now as his main tlepend- jencc in resisting further raids, and sent Celoron among them Kvitli a belt. In a letter which he wrote to Gersnain he jjite- louslv coinplaiu-; that there was not now a liritish fort or garri- Jsiiii l)et\veen the lakes and the Gulf. Haldimand, before he Icould Iiave got intelligence from Hamilton, was already coun- Igeliui; him to use the tribes of the Wabash, and fill the Ohio Ivailey with rangers, so as to keep communication with Stuart laii'l the C'herokees. This plan was the gist of the British Ipoliey, and Haldimand, as soon ks he learned how matters had jooiie with Kocheblave, was urging Hamilton to active endeav- 'ois: but he never quite approved permanent posts so far remote iroiii tlie lakes. As soon as more detailed news reached Hamilton about the real actors in the capture of Kaskaskia and Vincennes, he lost no time in jdanning a reca2)ture. He was still somewhat dis- [ trustful of till' French about his post, and felt that all tradei-s were rehcls at heart, and so he watched them warily. It was liu'eessary that Stuart in the south should know his purpose, and he sent a verbal statement to him by a messenger, who was to seek that Indian agent by way of the C^hickasaw country. Hamilton at this time was dreaming of some large measures. He informed Haldimand that the forks of the Ohio should be seized ami fortified, as well as those of the Mississippi at the mouth of the Ohio. The occujiation of Vincennes he looked upon US hut a first step to these jdans. On September 28, \ 1778. he wrote to Haldimand that '* the Spaniards are feeble [and hated by the T'rench ; the French are fickle and have no man of capacity to lead them ; the rebels are enterprising and I'lave. l)ut want resources: and the Indians can obtain their lesourees but from the English, if we act without h)ss of time." ^. 'i ill • i :i I ' I, IJI I '» 1-1 'I t '.' ,\ 'i: I ' ; iM ' ! ! ' ''■', ■ ; '1 ■, i' 1 (1 i \ } i i .1; 1 . pHi 130 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. It was important to llainiltoir.s plans that De Pej'ster. at ]\Taekinac, should colipcrate with him, and that the rebels slioulij not be allowed to obtain a foothold on the lakes in that direc- tion. The eommander at Detroit had sent oft' messa<,'es to Mackinac on Septend)er 16, asking;- De Peyster to send lii« Indians d(.\vn the Illinois Kiver by the Chicago portage. Arent Schuyler de Peyster, of a New York family, a some- what rattle-brained person, given to writing illiterate letters, Imt in some ways an enterprising and prudent commander, had liet-ii in charge at Mackinac since 1774. There had grown up aboii: that i)ost a considerable trade, and a portion of it in the (liiM,. tion of the ^lississippi employed a fleet of sixty canoes. Lati'lv, and in i<>norance of Clark's success at Kaskaskia, De Pcvskr had allowed one Charles Gratiot to go down to the llliii(ii< c On October 24, 1778, they readied tlie nine-mile portage, and llilljljilL.,: vrxcEXXEs HE ta kex. 131 Icarrviii"' over this, they shct rapidly (hjwii the Wjibash on u freshet which Hamilton had created by cutting the beaver aiiis. The force was within three miles of Vincennes when Lieu- [teiiaiit Helm, still in con.mand at that post, first obtained defi- liiite tidings of the approach, though he had been disturbed by |ruiii<»rs some days earlier. Helm's men, who hail been about seventy in nund)er, began [to desert under ai)i)rehension. We have a letter, which at this Itiiiie lie wrote to Clark, and which Hamilton later forwarded. [ill this he says he has only twenty-one men left. He continued [inditing the letter '11 tlie enemy were within three hundred [yards, and closes it with expressing a doubt if he liad four men [upon whom he could depend. !Major Hay. representing Hamil- Itoii, had appeared in the place the day before (December 16), [giving warning of the danger of resistance to the townsjieoide. [Ou le lltli. Helm was summoned to surrender, and did so, — [the usual story of his marching out with one man may i)erhai)s [he questioned. Two days later, the British oath was udmin- [istered to the residents, nund)ering not far from six hundred [souls, of whom a third were capable of bearing arms. The eom- iiuuiity doubtless included at other seasons some hunters and [tiaders, who were absent at this time. Almost the first act of Hamilton was to disjjatch iuessengers [to Stuart to propose a meeting of their respective forces in the [spring on the Cherokee (Tennessee) Kiver, whence, assisted by jthe southern Indians, the united detachments could harry the Ivehol frontiers. Hamilton also notified the S])anish commander jou the Mississippi that while he and Stuart struck the Alle- Ijjhaiiy frontier, a force from ^Mackinac woidd sw^'ej) the rebels [out of the Illinois country, and warned him that if he expected jiinniunity from attack, he must not harbor the Americans. In this defiant spirit Hamilton began to fortify himself, keep- ing' only eighty or ninety nu>n with him. beside some French jvolnnteers. He sent his militia back to Deti'oit and scattered jliis Indians. In the spring, he counted on their rejoining him [with other reinforcements. The next year, 1779, oj)ened with both parties anxious over the situation in the Ohio basin. The British, flanking it at Detroit, had by Hamilton's success pushed in a wedge at Vin- In "^x ^ '?■ i' n y. m \ I mi 132 CiEORGE ROGERS CLARK. t I ■W. . ■ * '«f I t, rl ,<' < : connes. The comiimiiicatioiis of this latter ]u)st were thr()n<>]i a friendly couiitry, l)ut its situation was exi)osed, with sneh a vigihmt foe as Clark observing it. Kaskaskia in American hands had tolerably secure connnunieations with New Orleans, and it was nei<2;hb()ring to Si)anisii sympathizers. But the liritish enjoyed far greater facilities of relief by the lakes than could be given to Clark by the Mississij)pi. Jietween the \Val)ash and the Alleghany thers was a wide extent of country, inhabited in the main by those friendly to the Jiritish, though a portion of the Delawares still stood by the Americans, and there were symi)toms of hesitancy on the part of the A\'yandots. The advancied posts of the revolutionists in this direction were at Fort Laurens and at Point Pleasant, both in almost chronic alarm from the prowling savages. The general susj)ense was to be broken by a fortunate move- ment from Kaskaskia. Clark had for some time been busy in gaining over the neighboring tribes, and in sealing his friend- ship with the Si)aniards and French. His success in these endeavors had not led him to anticipat the daring incursion of Hamilton, which released the American hold on Vincennes. Clark's confidence in his immunity from danger appears in liis letters to Governor Henry and to the Virginia delegates in Con- gress, whom he had addressed in November, 1778. Henry and Jefferson no doubt saw the great importance of sustaining Clark, for his sneer ■; could but tell upon the ultimate negotiations for peace, and iiis continued hold on the Illinois country would woik a practical annulment of the pretensions of the Quebec Bill. The Virginia Assembly proved itself ready to give Clark's men such encouragement as would come from a promise of bounty lands, and later (November 23) its records bore an entry of the formal thanks which they voted to the leader himself. To cause him to be unhami)ered by civic duties, the new county of Illinois had been set up. But a belief in the wisdom of this western campaign was not universal, and there were those who questioned the propriety of Henry's divergence from the single purpose of protecting the Kentucky and Tennessee settlements. Clark, however, was to silence opposition by a brilliant stroke. "While Han)ilton at Vincennes was preparing his jilans for the spring, Clark was devising a sudden move upon the en- emy on the Wabash. A corporal and six men, deserting from CLARK'S ADVANCE. 133 lliiiiiilton in January, 1779, had brought Chirk the confirina- tidii ot" ruuiors, if not inik't'd the first news of Ilehn's surrender. Ahviuiv Hamilton's Indian scouting- parties were hovei-iny ahout Kaskaslvia, and one of them, under an Ottawa ehief, barely missed Clark one day, when he was returning to Kask.iskia fnini Cahokia. J^ut more comprehensive toils were threaten- iiii;- him and the American cause without his knowing it. Hamilton's couriers had already come to a i)lan with the southern Indians for four separate movements. Kaskaskia was ti> he attacked for one. The Shawnees were to be assisted in an onslaught on Fort Lauiens for another. A third was to com- Ijiiie the Wabash Indians in a promiscuous swoop. A f(mrth was to station other savages at the mouth of the Cherokee River to intercept any flotilla of supplies and men passing either w.ay. To these several bands Hamilton was to supply British officers and a horde of Ottawas, Ilurons, and Chippewas. While Clark was brooding on his own projects and Hamilton was developing his plans, each in ignoi'ance of the other's con- dition, Vigo had left Kaskaskia on December 18, 1778, before news of Hamilton's success had reached that place, in order to curry supplies to Helm. One of Hamilton's scouting parties captured him on the 24th, and he was carried into Viacennes as a prisoner. Hamilton suspected that Vigo's professions of trade were a cover for other purposes, and kept him under arrest. Father (iiljault interceded, and Vigo was set free on a promise that he would do nothing at Kaskaskia on his waj^ back detri- mental to the king's interest. Vigo avoided Kaskaskia, and went to St. Louis instead. It was not long before Clark knew from a source not difficult to divine that Hamilton had but ein'hty men with him. It was necessary for Clark to move ([ui(^'kly, and Vigo's readiness to back the American credit iielped Clark to get his supplies for the mari'h. Vigo hims(df came to Kaskaskia on January 29, 1779. A galley, carrying small guns and munitions, was dispatched on February 4, under the (onunand of John Rogers, down the Mississii)pi and u}) the Ohio and Wabash to a point ten leagues below Vincennes, where it was to await the arrival of Clark with a force which was to march overland. The leader, with a band of one hundred and seventy — some accounts say two hundred — advejiturous •I r I < 'l!.i i : !; t- / I i;i ij, I :y. I ■ ; I! 11 '1 134 GEORGE ItUGEllS CLARK. spiritH, American and Frent'li, be^an a day or two later lli^ ])ainful iiiairli of al)()ut one hundred and seventy-five niilis. lie had on(! hundred and twenty miles to i;'o, in an ineleniciit .season, linding his way in i)arts through drowned lands, brokcii with ice. There were swollen rivers to eross, now by wadiiii; and now by ferrying. Su|>[)lies grew seant, and it was alnnot impossible to kcej) powder dry. If there is no exaggeration in Clark's narrative, there were times when he des})aired of litV: but " the finest stallion there is in the country,"' come of a New Mexican stock, bore the conuuander through, and his men f(»l lowed him with dauntless pluck. Ilis course was at first northwest, and he probably stiuck the St. Louis trail near the modern town of Salem, followiiij; a trail which fifty years ago was still visible ; and after this his ti-ack lay nearly east. On February 23, the weary and famished men, kejjt up by the inspiration of their leader, ap- proached the town. The Wabash was flowing by it, through a broad three lergues of submerged country, making a i)icture of desolation. Clark sent in a scout to the French inhabitants, and his message was kept from the garrison. Lying concealed till after dark, and taking as guides five men, whom he had captured, he rapidly entered the town. A scouting partj', whicli Hamilton had sent out three hours before, fortunately missed them. Clark told off a part of his force to occupy the town. while a band of riHemen approached the fort, — Sackville, as it was called, — and, throwing u]) some earthworks, establislied themselves within range. During the night, after the moon went down, the party which Hamilton had sent out got safely in. By daylight the assailants' trenches were near enough to annoy the garrison with the dropping fire of their rifles, for which the townspeople had made good Clark's damaged powder. They had also given the hungry troops the only good meal they had had for a week. There was pretty soon a passing and repassing of fja^s. Helm, now on parole, bringing Hamilton's messages. Clark replied in a note which Haldimand, in sending it later to Clin- ton, called '"curious for its impertinence of style." In !i ])ersonal interview, the two commanders indulged in mutual crimination, and Hamilton was charged with a barbaious spirit. Clark was stubborn for an unconditional surremlei'. later his ve iiiilcs, nck'iiK'iit s, brolvt'ii f vvadiiij; IS almost iratioii in I of life: :)f a New men ful- ily struck followiiii; ifter tliis eary and iader, a))- tliroiiyli ii a picture luibitants, concealed n ho liiid 'ty, wliicli ly missed he town, ille, as it Itahlislicd he moon lot safely lougli to ifles, tor powdev. eal they )f tla-s. Clark Ito ("lin- In a mutual Lrhai'ous Irreuiler. \L\ LEWES GAlUiLSUXED. 135 and Hamilton man(L>nv> 4 for sonic modification, bnt all to no piiriMtse. Hefon^ the ilay was j^one, the fort was suirendered, witli nearly ei<;hty ofKecrs and men. There had l>cen little bloodshed, and Clark had only one man slightly wounded. Three clays later, on the 'iTth, the " Willing," as Rogers's "•alley was called, arrived. She had butt'eted longer than was ex])eeted with the strong currents of the "Wabash. She addeil forty-eight men to Clark's little army, with some small guns and swivels. Very soon Clark sent Helm and a detachment u}) the river, which succeeded in capturing a tiain, under an escort of forty men, which was bi-inging sui)plies and dispatches for Hamilton. The l)arty returned to Vinccnnes on February 27. On March 8, Hamilton and siudi })risoncrs as were not ])aroled, accompanied by a guard, were started on their way to Virginia. It was a long journey, and at lea«t two thirds of the route they made on foot. They I'cached Richmond in May, and brought the first news of Clai-k's success, his earlier dis- ])atches having been intercej)tj(i. Hamiltcm remained in c(m- tinement at Williamsburg t'.il October, 1780, when he was sent on parole to New York. Later, on July (J, 1781, he made a report to Haldimand, which is our main source for the study of these campaigns for the liritish side. Two days after Hamilton had startled, Clark wrote (March 10) to Harrison, the s})eaker of the Virginia Assembly, thank- ing him for the vote of thanks which that body had passed, and exi)ressing his great satisfaction at the prospect of rein- forcements. '* This stroke will nearly put an end to the Indian war." lie said, and he ex])ressed the expectation of finishing it in two months, if amply supi)ortod by a new detachment. '• 1 hope to do something clever if they anive."" lu^ addi'd, referi-ing to his project of a march on Detroit. He did not attemjit to (liNguise his pur])Ose in a note which he addi'cssed a few days later (March IG) to the commander at that ])ost, to which he had sent others of his ])risouers, who had taken an oath of neutrality. '* My comi)liments to the gentlemen of the garri- son." he says ; " if they are building works, it will save us the trouble." Clark, in this buoyant mood, leaving in Vincennes a garrison of some forty men, under Helm, took seventy or eighty others, and on March 20 embarked in the " Willing," accompanied by ' ' ' f ■' I :.t. H ii- lif p-f^ 136 GEOUdE IKXlEliS VIA UK. % w iflllt five other iuiikhI boiits. His purposo was to make ready in Kas. kaskia for furtlitr movcineiits in the s[>ring. Arrived there. In; |)r('pare(l, on Ainil 21>, diiplieate diHpatehes to Henry and .let'- feison, (U'serihin;: his eanipaij^n, and tlieso have eonie tlown to us. His earlier letters had been taken, as has been said, t'roni his messenger near the Ohio falls, where a party of Huroiis had waylaid their bearer. Hut movements were already in progress south of the Ohio destined to cause disappointment to Clark. Cameron, now working- in the British interests among the southern Indians, snpj)osed that Hanultim was .si'cure in Vineennes. lie had already planned an inroad of Cliiekamaugas and other Chero- kees on the Carolina bolder, to distract attention from Ilauiil- ton's eonteinplated raid over the Ohio. When dames Robert- son, the pioneer of the Cnnd)erland region, heard of it, he sent warnings to the Watauga ])eople. That hardy eolony innncdi- ately sprang to the task whieh was imi)lied. A eonsiderablo body of riflemen, under Evan Shelby, were, by April 10, on their way down the Clineh. A part of this force was a rei;i- nient whieh made up the Hve hundred men intended for Clarlv and his Detroit campaign. Their diversion to a new field was never atoned for. Shelby's onset was rapid, lie destroyed a large dei)osit of corn among the Cliiekamaugas, which had been gathered tor Hamilton's intended invasion. He burned the towns of that ferocious tribe, and lost not a life amid all his acts of devasta- tion All immediate danger to the Kentucky settlements was now it an end. During the res])ite a new immigraticm set in by the Ohio and the Wilderness Road, and to the number of eight or ten thousand souls a year, if statements of this kind are not in excess of truth. The Virginia surveyors, to help the influx, laid out a new road over the Cumberland Mountains towards " the open country of Kentucky," so as "■ to give passage to packhorses," While this success of Shelby checked tlie southern Indians and dashed the hopes which the British had based on their ad- vantage in Georgia, there was among the royalists in the noith ft ' m ^\u • IIALDIMAM) AyXJOl 'S. 187 •-Ti'iit anxiety lost Clark's pn'stij^c and the nse of Foit Laurens lis a liaso for a new advanru from Fort Pitt should toyotlior nut in ;^ii'at hazard their siynal position at Detroit. If h)st, liowo'cr. the l)h)\v wouhl not be irreparable, for the Ottawa Wive- route would still afford an easy eoniniunieation with Lake llurcn and the western tril)es. De IVvster at Maekinac did not hear of Hamilton's capture till about the time of Shelby's raid. Lanylude and (Jautier had just reaehed Milwaukee, or as some say St. Josej)h, when the unweleome tidings scattered their Indians. l)e I'eyster's position was an end)arrassing one, for his intentions to succor Vineennes luul been utterly foiled. He felt constrained to j)ro- tert Ills own post J>s well as he could, and to animate the Sioux ai;ainst the French, in retaliation for their encouragement of the Auiericans. Ilaldiniand, at Ins remote heachpiarters, remained for some time in dread lest Clark would send a force against Mackinac. The British commandin;;' general, in New York, was sending word west in February, 1779, before it was known t'iat Vin- eennes was in danger, that one hundred and thirty carpenters and two lunulred wood-cutters had been sent by the rebels over tlie mountains to open a way, and that every saddler in IMiila- (leijdiia was hard at work making pack-saddles. We know that ill May one hundred and fifty boat-buildi'rs were at work near Foit ritt. Lernonlt, at Detroit, received word of Hamilton's capture on ^lareh 'it!, 1770. An inter])ret(!r, having esca})e(l from Vin- iriuies in the confusion, had carried the tidings. Lernoult felt apprehensive, at once, of the safety of the train which Clark had i-aptured, and saw how the route by the Maumee was thrown o\m\ to the Americans. He pronii)tly sent to Ilaldinnmd for aid. While troops were on the way thithej" from Niagara, and heforc! they arrived, Clark, just about bi'iug relieved by Todd <»f the civil government, had made up his mind (April 20) that his available force was insufficient to advance, and so exj)ressed himself to the governor of Virginia. To add to Haldimand's anxiety, he was also uncertain about the fate of the Vineennes convoy, and knew how its supplies Would aid Chirk,, if he had captured it. He was also painfully conscious how difficult it had become to satisfy the Indians ^ r i '.(> 138 GEORGE liOGEUS CLARK. l£'- ,»'■ .*■ m (I , if^i' with the supplies and j^ratuities which llaiiiilton, in his eonfx- dence, had i)rounsed tlieni. Farther than this, he was at liis witis' end to iinow who among the Frencli, and almost under his hand, was corresponding with the rt^.eis, for a Jetter of I^atav- ette and D'Estaing's i)roclamation to his countvymen, which liad been issued at Boston, 0<;tober 28, 1778, were insidiously cir- culating amonp- them, creating not a little responsive excitement, not only among the old Canadians, but among the Indians, if this sympathy should invite raids fron) over the border, Ilaldi- mand had scarce a thonsand meii to guard a nudtitude of points, and of these he had learned to place small confidence upon the German regiments. Sending his aid. Captain Erehm (May 25), to Detroit to insure better information in that direction, tidings after a while reached Ilaldimand from the Scioto and Muskingum valleys, which showed that the v^ar was again starting with the spring. Cohmel John Bowman, in May, had crossed the Ohio near the mouth of the Licking, with nearly three hundred Kentucky volunteers. He made a sudden dash upon a Shawnee town near the modern ChilHcothe. Having burned the houses ;iiul secured some plunder, he returned. Ho had dealt a blow wliidi disinclined the savages of the north to follow English leaders in a projected movement into Kentucky. So another concerted movenuuit of the British was checked, for Cornwidlis, aftir Lin(",;lu's surrender at Charleston (May 12), had counted on sending a band of T» I While the region north of the Ohio was thus abandoned, Shelhy's rai>id movements had quieted, for the most part, that south of the Ohio, and encouraged some adventurous fnmtiers- iiu'u to cross the river and seek lands among the Delawares, rt'lyiug upon their friendship. Brodhead had little confidence in that incongruous people, and did wliat he could to prevent the risks. In August, 1770. General Sullivan was well started on his exasperating inroad among the Iroquois lakes of New York,, j.artly to punish the Indians f(n' their treachery, and partly to render more open ihe connuunication with the West. His 140 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. iHI'l |!|, devastation was ample, but its effect was not lasting. Some portions of the Six Nations were beyond his reach. Such were some of the Senecas and Munseys, whose lands stretched into the northwestern parts of the present State of Ohio. To make a diversion in Sullivan's favor, and similarly to chastise this portion of that peojde, Brodhead, by calling in his outposts and summoning volunteers from the county lieutenants, sia-- ceeded in gathering about six hundred men near Fort Pitt. The response for volunteers had not been as general as he had wished, and he gave as a reason that the people are " intent upon ^oing to Kentuck ; " but he succeeded in getting some, who, in the guise of Indians, were coiitent to scour the country for scalps. Brodhead had been anxious to start on this expedition so as to get some advantage out of two hundred of his men, whose term of service expired on August 10 ; but it was not until the 11th that he set out, and in such spirits that he hoped he would be allowed, after punishing the Senecas, to march on Detroit. He marched up the Alleghany, and set to work burning houses, and destroying cornfields, and gathering plunder, later to be sold for the benefit of liis men. He had lost neither man nor beast when, on September 14, he was back in Fort Pitt, having temporarily, at least, quelled the savage temper in this region. In October, he sent a forr e to drive off trespassers who had left the Monongahela and had crossed the Ohio, while he tried to persuade the Delawares not to molest any who escaped hi.'i vigilance. He was still dreaming of an attack on Detroit, and in Novem- ber he asked Washington's permission to make it before Fcb- ri. V, when the floods would interfere. He was advised liy Washington to wait till spring, and gather supplies and infoi- mation in the interim. It was discouraging when Brodhead heard of the death of David Rogers and the capture of the supplies which he was bringing up the river from New Orleans. If the reports which reached Fort Pitt were true, — and Brod- head had asked Zeisberger to get him information, — the gani- s(m at Detroit counted but about six hundred, regulars and militia. While thus neither Mcintosh nor Brodhead had accompllslud GENERAL SUSPENSE. 141 imu'li, there bad been in Jefferson and others a larger confi- dt'iicL' in the daring backwoods spirit of Chirk. By Jnly 1, 1779. Clark had returned to Vincennes, only to be disappointed ill meeting there but one hundred and fifty of the recruits whom he had expected from Virginia, and but thirty of the tlirt'(> lunidred Kentuckians who had been promised to him. \\"\x\\ an inadequate force, he was not tempted to carry out "the clever thing" which he had set his heart upon, and so, in August, leaving Helm at Vincennes, he returned to the falls of tilt' Oliio. Here he again raised the question of an attack on Detroit : ))ut it was the opinion of his council of war that at least a thousand men were necessary for such a stroke, while with lialf that number he coidd successfully hold his own. To do this, it was thought, required a force of two hundred at tlie month of the Ohio, and a hundred and fifty each at Vin- cennes and Cahokia. Clark's jiosition at the falls, where his men had been prom- ised one lumdred and fifty thousand acres in bounty land, alarmed Dc Peyster during the winter, lest Clark should fortify so good a strategic point. It was Clark's puri)ose to s])end the time till spring in an incursion among the Shawnees on the INliami and Scioto; but the river fell and rendered transportation difiic;ult, and the ])lan was abandoned. On November It*, he wrote a letter to George Mason, which, with his letters of Ftibruary 24 from \'incennes, and April 29 from Kaskaskia, constitutes the main sources for the study of his campaigns. Clark's memoirs, said to have been written at the recjuest of Jefferson and Madi- son, th(mgh more in detail, were written (1791) too long after- wards to be of comparable value. ' I So tlie year (1779) was closing almost everywhere beyond the mountains with suspense on both sides, l)ut with the opposing generals intent on preparations for a new campaign i;: the s])ring. In August, 1779, Ilaldiniand had sent some aid to Detroit, and had taken measure to reassure the Six Nations, whose sjjir- its had been rudely shattered by Sullivan and Brodhead. It seemed doubtful if Clinton could keep his promise of large rein- forcements for Canada, for by Sei)tember the negotiations for exchanging the Convention troops which surrendered at Sara- i'i I ' :;i ^ 142 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. '." i il.'l M;| Q n toga had fallen through, and South Carolina, where the British were strengthening- their foothohl, had made large deniiiiids on the resourees at headquarters in New York. So Detroit, tiiouiih a new fort had been huilt there, wa:5 far from seciiie when, late in the year, De Peyster eame from Maekinac to take charge. That eonnnander liad left the garrison at the straits hardly more eontident. The effect of Hamilton's diseoniHture, wlicii news of it had reached tiiem in May, had been discouragiiii;. It rendered the French uneasy, and, as De Peyster said, '* cowed the Indians in general." Ilahlimand, when he heard of these results, asked De Peyster to send some Puants, Sacs, and Foxes down to Quebec to give them new courage at the sight of a British fleet, and later he sent a speech, for De Peyster to render to the tribes, in which he advised them " to keej) the Bostonians [Americans] out of the country in order to enjoy peace and plenty." De Peyster had by this time asked to be relieved, and Sin- clair was sent to take the post, which in his superior's judg- ment was '' in a critical situation." Not long before, a Freiidi trader, Godefroy Linetot, had deserted to the rebel cause, and in July, 1779, it had been believed at Mackinac that the rene- gade was preparing to attack St. .loseph with four hundred men. After this the Indians were slowly rehabilitated in tlie English interest, and before De Peyster left he had hinistdf begun to be hopeful that '" the Indians would clear th ^ Illinois at one stroke," and welcome the Cherokees coming up from the south. Ilaldimand hardlv shared De Pevster's ecmfidence, and when Sinclair arrived in October. 1779, he found it not so easy to arouse the Indians for a s]tring camj)aign to the Illinois. Sinclair iiad been sent therewith a distinct i)lan of cani})aign on the part of the home government. He was exi)ected to descend the Mississippi, while Campbell fi-om Pensacola took New Or- leans and came up to meet him. Germain in the })revious June had notilied Ilaldimand of this ])lan, and at a later date he had instructed Stuart to keep the southern Lidians in open eonnnn- nication with Detroit. Germain's purpose had already been. temporarily at least, dashed by Galvez's ])rom])t movement in September, 1779, on Natchez, later to be explained, and by ;ii' efforts at the nortli failing. i THE CUMBERLAND REGION. 143 Hifoiv the year (1779) dosed, a new movement in the west- I'lii i('ni<»ns had been conhunnnated, which gave the pioneers a tiriii iiold on the Cumberhmd valley. During a season which was the severest the frontiersmen had experienced, and wliich was marked by suffering and famine throughout the west, James Knl)t'rts(m, now closing a ten years' residence on the Ilolston, liad spent the previous year among the Cherokees, laboring to keep them quiet. About November 1, 1779, witii a train of iiimiigrants from the Watauga hamlets, he started west. By the ('h)se of the year they had built a fort and a few cabins, wliicli were the beginning,^ of the later Nashville. It was a rc'nioii then known as the French Lick, and had been, since 1714, occasionally occupied by the French hunters. Vast herds of l)uiV;do had long found the lick an attraction. Within the next three months Robertson's i)arty built a stockade, and scat- tered tiieir huts about the ground. This occupation of a new region was the most decided gain for the American cause which a year of anxiety had developed. Clark still held the Illinois country, to be sure, but he was surrounded with little of that domesticity which comforted Rob- ertson at the French Lick. With little homogeneousness in tiu' Illinois population, there was scant confidence in its future. Now and for some time yet, Clark's ability to maintain himself (lepeiuU'd on the pecuniary aid which Vigo and Pollock ren- ilered. In >»ovember (1779), the Virginia Assembly had de- cided to strengthen Clark's position, but their actiori was v.holly dependent on the credit which the governor of tliat State could (il)tain at New Orleans. For three and a half years from March, 1778, Clark dispensed fifty thousand dollars in specie, [or nearly two and a cpiarter nii'lions in currency. Up to the close of 1779, he drew in neaviy c(pial parts fifty thousand dol- lars or more in specie from Pollock and from the Virginia [treasury. Pollock's account with Virginia, mainly for the su])- Iport of Clark, shows that he advanced in specie down to Au- jgust. n*^!, Over ninety thousand dollars. V:'i'r i ) mm CHAPTER IX. THE SINISTER PURPOSES OF FRANCE. 1774-1779. I I u « -• ^t !" I Ui^ Louis XV. of France had died in 1774, and in the mid. summer of that year, Maurepas, affable and courtly, but what- ever you please in principle and a known enemy of P^njiland. liad been put at the head of the cabinet of the new king, Louis XVI. Tlie minister of foreign affairs was Vergennes, now a man of fifty-three, a patient and polite diplomat of the intrigu- ing school. He was perfectly unscrupulous when occasion le- quired, and an adept in the arts of deceit. " A little good- natured wisdom," said Jay at a later day, " often does more in politics than nuich slip])ery craft. By the former, the Yivw\\ acquired the esteem and gratitude of America, and by the latter their minister is impairing it." It was his policy to be prepared for war, and to watch for an oi)p<)rtunity to catoli England at a disadvantage. He must have looked on with some satisfaction when he saw his Anglican rival strive, by the Quebec Bill, to hem in lur revolting colonies by the same geographical confines wlmli France in claiming to the AUeghanies had so long struggled to maintain. A few years later, as we shall see, Vergennes liiui- self would gladly have ])ressed the same restraint ui)on the nas- cent American Republic, if Franklin, Adams, and Jay had jiivon him the op})ortunity. Already the alliance which was to follow the downfall of Burgoyne was a })urpose of Vergennes. but he could not at this juncture escape anxiety lest the coiicil- iatory counsels of Chatham would i)revail, and lest Enghiiul. h plimging into a French war, would, as her cabinet darod to hope, succeed in winning back the loyalty of her colonies. lie was, indeed, astounded at the imbecility of the English ministn in neglecting opportunities of appeasing the rebels. Ih' was told that the obstinacy of the king was at fault. The nionanli VERGENNES. 145 nii"lit iiuloed be stubborn, but the real fault was the blindness of i\w loiy party to the change \vhic\ was taking place in what that a"e called the prerogative of the king, and in the principles of the liritish Constitution. There was an unwillingness to loco'-iiize the fact that revolutions are no respecters of vested political interests. The Tories failed to undei'stand that civic i)ro<'i'oss is often made on the wreck of the j)resent. Voi'ot'nnes was possessed by a similar obtuseness. Still, an oceasit)nal light was thrown into his mintl by his consuming desire to humble England. Egregiousl}^ perfidious himself, he was continually prating of English perfidy. Con<'ratulating himself, somewhat prematurely, that Spain was won to his views, Vergennes, on August 7, 1775, in a coininunication addressed to the Spanish minister, distinctly foicsliadowed his purpose of active intervention in the Amer- ican war. In October, M. Bonvouloir sailed in the " Charm- ing Hctsy " for Philadelphia, under secret instructions from Vergennes, to observe what was going on in the American Conorcss. lie was also to seek occasions to let the Americans know of the sympathy of France. Doniol's brJky acknowledgment of French heartlessness, as his great wo"k has proved to be, as well as Stevens's FacHiniiles, sliow us how detestably insincere Vergennes could be. Near tlie end of 1775, he put on record his opinions for the edifica- tion of his king. He told his royal master that French aid alone could make sure the success of the colonies. lie assured him that it was the true policy of France to cripple her natural tiieniy. When the struggle in America had weakened Eng- huul. the time, he said, would come publicly to pssist the revolt. Meanwliile, he ex})lained, France must keep the American coinage up, by pi-omises, till such a propitious turn of the con- tost eonies. Tlie American Congress was at the same time playing into Aergennos's hands. Late in November, they had instituted a Connnittec of Secret Corres])on(l('nce, with Franklin at '"-s head, and on Decend)er 12 this conunittee instructed 7* ■ ./uir Lee. then in London, to make aj)proaches to the Continental ])o\vei's. ^\ lien the new year ( 177G) opened, Vergennes found himself, through the intrigues of his enemies, in a degree of embarrass- 'iii i >\ mr h. ;i5: i' mi^f '. p ii 146 THE SINISTER PURPOSES OF FRANCE. mont \vlu(^li was increased by the indecision of the king. I^. fore January was gone, a h'tter from Hcauniarchais, sayini; that Knghmd was nearly hopeless, was so skillfully used in Vtr- gennes's hands that the king withdrew his opposition, and tlit way seemed clear. Still, the influence of Maurepas and Turgot was against piv- cijjitating a war, which, in the hitter's judgment, might, liv emancipating the British colonies, give the signal for the lovolt of all coh)nies of whatever power. Turgot was indeed in a fair way to prove too much of an obstacle, and in May he was dismissed. Early in ]Marcli, encouraging reports came from Bonvouloir, and Gerard de Kayneval formulated the i-esnlts for Vergennes's eye. It was represented that if the humiliation of Eiiglaiul was carried to an extent of assuring the indei)endence of tlic colonies, France could have no fear of them in their exhaustion, War with England was rej)resented as inevitable, whatever the result of their assisting the colonies. Vergennes had no disposition to retreat, and on May 2, 177G, he definitely requested the king to approve a grant of money to the colonies, and the royal assent was given. Up to this tiiiu' the minister had abstained from positive action in aid of the colonies : but he had winked at the help which was being given in the French ports. It was a turning-point, and a policy was begun of decided significance. The troops which England hau already dispatched toAnicrioa alarmed Vergennes, lest a way be found in the sequel to liinl them against the French West Indies. At the same tinii'. he aroused Spain by pictu»ing a like danger, if these troops should be moved against New Orleans. The ministers at JMadiid were not slow to see how Louisiana could aggrandize Spain, if England, in tlie first instance, and, after that, if her sevcriMl de- pendencies, could be ke])t back from the Mississippi. Notliiuij could conduce so much to this end as the exhaustion of l)oth l)arties in the war, and the greater the exhaustion, the lietttr prospects for France and Spain. It was thus, with S})anish connivance, the hope of Vergennes to lure the xVmericans to a collapse by giving them ho])e that they could obtain a subsidy of money. On Ma/ 3, 1776, Vergennes proposed to Spain that she should advance a million dollars to the xVmericans, FRANCE AND SPAIN. 147 (iiimaMi, in advisinjj liis royal uiastor to accede to the propo- sition Mild .sharing Verg-ennes's sinister aims, congratuhited him on a iiioveiiient which might. not only force England to destruc- tion, hilt would at the same time exhiiust the Americans. The colonists would in this way become in the end an easy prey to tilt" IJoui'hous. Mciiuwhile, the American Congress, ignorant of the con- cealed jjiirposcs of France, had sent Sihis Deane to Paris as its a^i'iit. The Committee of Secret Correspondence had given hiiii. nil March 8, his iu.structions. Deane soon found himself the sport of two parties in the gay cai)ital. On the one side lie was shadowed by a complacent American named Jiancroft, wlio n'lioitcd everything to the English ministry. On the other, Vt ratlines, with whom Deane had his first meeting in July, (lTT(j). ])layed the synj])athizing friend to conceal his inimical wiles. With dijdomatic blandness the French minister prom- ised all that America could need. Not long afterwards came tidings of the Declaration of Tn- (le])eiulcncc. Vergennes was now ai'oused. and active inter- feieiiee seemed innuinent, while licaunuirchais liad attained a |)()sition where he could assure the American Committee of Secret Correspondence that his fictitious house of ilortalcs et Cie was ready to be an intermediary in bringing Congress and the French government into closer relations. Still later. ( August. ITTG), Vergennes, while urging his royal master that the time for action had come, also suggested to Sjiain that she could now throw off the mask. Spain hesitated, as Portuguese affairs perplexed her, but on October 8, she assented. Abnost at the same time, news reached l^iris of AVashiugton's defeat on Long Island, and that untoward event called a halt in the autniiin of 1776. ,^^ M* ^^M Hlth 'tif ^:V ,ii !' Meanwhile, events were moving ra))idly in America, and Spanish officials were v/inking at aid given the colonies at New Orleans. Intelligence of the action on July 4. 177t). at Phihuhdphia, had liaidly reached Fort Pitt when, under orders of Congress, and l)y direction of the State of Vi'-ginia, Captain (ieorge Gihson and Lieutenant Linn started, on July 19, down the I'ivei' in the disguise of traders. When, in August, they arrived ': !i ! ll^ li^ m*^ 148 THE SIXISTER PURPOSES OF FRANCE. f!' I h" \ i'i, I t (i 41 I [If at New Orleans, they found the Sj)iuiish governor, Unzaj^a. in no eoniphicent mood. Hi' had been uneasy under the siis])iri(iii that in diphnnatie ways all was not going well. He was n\)\n\'- hensive that Kngland would sueeeed in })aeifying her eoloiiifs, and could then, with their aid, turn upon Louisiana. To «fet information, he had already sent a s})y to IMiiladelphia. Gibson and his ('omi)anion found, however, prompt sympatliv in Oliver Polloek. This American had begun active exertion- in behalf of his countrymen in April, 1770, when he had uusiu. cessfidly tried to j)ersuade Unzaga to })rotect American vessels against British warshii)s. With Pollock's aid Gibson's a(t> were partly concealed from the Jiritish s})ies, and he boiij^lit twelve hundred poimds of powder. A i)art of it, under Pol- lock's direction, was shipped north by sea, while the greaUr bulk of it, nine thousand j)ounds, in one hundred and tifty kt'^s, was placed on barges to ascend the river. This was done whili English spies were watching for some overt act, and, to uvAv it appear that he was cr)mmitting some offense against Spaiiisli law, Gibson allowed himself to be thrown into i)rison. Linn, in charge of the barges, started homeward on Septem- ber 22, 177G. It was a long pull against the current for ucarlv eight months, and it was May 2, 1777, before the lieutenant delivered his dangerous burden to Colonel William Crawford. at Wheeling, " for the use of the Continent." The expedition, in its slow progress, had run great risks of being interce])te(l. After liinn had started north. Pollock wrote from New Or- leans to Congress, tendering renewed services and recounting; the beneficial effect which the Declaration of Independence liiid made in that town. lie said that the governor was ready to open trade with the Americans, and would protect their criiiseis and prizes, should they come into the river. He also added that this Si)anish official was ready to unite with Congress in maintaining a regular express by the Mississippi and Fort Pitt, between Philadelphia and New Orleans. Pollock's sym- pathies had not escaped the notice of the English spies. Hi* surrender was demanded by the British conunander at I'ciisa- cola, but was refused. An English sloo]>-of-war was lying down the river, and Pollock was fearful that some untoward ai'T ifTf^ I ■ I M: m ■ir! 150 THE SIXISTKIt PUlil'OSES OF IRAME. ail lin])ortant strp when they a|i|)()iiitt'(l, in Juik>, 1777, Pollofk their eonimercitil aj^eiit, and (lire<'tetl hint to ship at once f.iit\ or fifty thoi'sand dollivs' worth ol" cloths and strotuls to riiiln. (U'l])hia by three or four swift vessels, promising to send iiom in return to balance the uecount. It was not long before the British ])lo('kade of the Athmtii eoast had become so close that (,'onj;ress found it inipossihli' ti. send the Hour out of port. In Octolx'i-. Pollock was tolil to run the necessary risks oi forwardinj;' sui)plies along the coast. ;^ transportation by the river was too slow and, because of Jndiiiii forays, too hazardous for their i)resent exigencies. On Scptendu'r 2(5. 1V70, a few days after Linn's barges had cast oft" their inooiings at New Orleans, Congress had a])poiiit»d some eonuiiissioners to Kurope. At their head was Franklin, and he was not without hojje that in the tiiud settlenu-nt iu' could induce the British ministers to sell Florida and Quebec to the new Republic. His companions in the mission were to be Arthur Lee, n()W in London (for Jefterson had declined to be one), and Deane, already in Paris. The latter, active in nund, had conceived a new ])lan for relieving the stagnalimi dt events, and on December 1, Ijefore Franklin arrived, he liinl written liome, outlining a scheme to attract ininiigration. ami to find money for the dejdeted treasury of the colonics, lie thought that the country which the Quebec Act had aimed to alienate from the colonies would be "a resource amply adi'- ing the ambition both of the colonies and of England, and of assuring some territorial aggrandizement to Spain. It was Spain's ])roposition to confine the revolted 0(do- nies to the Allegliany slope, while she guaranteed to England the valley of the St. Law^rence and the region north of the Ohio. takfn;- to herself all south of the Ohio between the mountains antl the Mississi])pi. England was not so much in straits that she could come to such an agreement, and the arbitration was refused. Spain got nothing for her pains, and France was content. both with the failure of Lord Nin-th, and with the disappoint- ment of Florida Blanca. It all looked well in the mind of ^ er- gennes for securing deeper revenge upon England. Vergennes l:l ALLIANCE WITH FRANCE. 155 cari'd notliiiii^ for Ainevica, if only her exhaustion was increased so that France could the better become the arbiter of her future. His siini)le purpose was to degrade England first, and America lU'Xt. Tlic defeat of Florida Blanca's i)lot with England was felt 1)V W'lucnnes to open the way to secure the alliance of S])ain, aiul it was well known what Spain wanted. " The Court of Spain." wrote Lee to Congress, March 19, 1778, " will make sdiiu' (lifHcultics about settling the dividing line between their possessions and those of the United States. They wish to have the eession of Pensutula." Ten days later (March 29), Ver- •'•eniies wrote to Gerard at Philadeli)hia that Spain would pi'ol)al)ly require a 2)roniise of Florida before she would accede to till- alliance, and Gerard was instructed to prepare Congress for yielding that point. To insure the continuance of the alli- ance with France, Gerard was reminded that the United States slionld be made to understand that Canada nuist remain to Kiii;tand, France renouncing any purpose of regaining that ju'ovince. \f i>- \" Wlien Congress, on ISIay 4, 1778, had ratified the treaty, at- tention had already been directed to the Spanish problem on the (iiilf. Patrick Henry, as governor of Virginia, had as early us October, 1777. bi'cn urging upon tlie Spanish authorities at New Orleans the opening of trade with the States by the Missis- sippi, and now again in January, 1778, he was making a dis- tinct ])ro])osition to (Jalvez to accept produce sent down from Kentucky in return for munitions and cash. In the following Jnne. Colonel David Pogers started from F'ort Pitt, in two lioiits built by General Hands orders, to make a beginning of tlic trade. Peaching New Orleans in October, he found that (i;dvez was so ignorant of the geography of tin' valley that lie had sent the goods intended for Virginia to St. Louis. Thither Itou'crs was obliged to return for them. The passage of tlie Mississipiii to and fro was made with little danger, as "ver since A]nil. tlie river above New Orleans had been fri'cd of the Eng- lish Hag; but later, while ascending the Ohio, and near the month of the Licking, the little flotilla was waylaid, as we have soen, by Hamilton's Indians, and its conunander killed. ^leanwhile, a more active career awaited Captain James « » i m 1 I jwfly 1 \ '■ •■7 I-,- -r ., ■" I 15G THE SINISTER PURPOSES OF FRANCE. AVilling of Philadelphia. This officer had departed from Pitts- burg, bearing a coimnission from Congress. He had less tliiiii fifty men ; but as his business was mainly to plunder, he piclad up recruits as he went. One of his aims was to placate or in- timidate the Toi-y settlement about Natchez, wliere a body of loyalists had bought of the Choctaws, in 1777, a stretch aloiin the river from 31° to the mouth of the Yazoo, a distance of something over one hundred miles. During January, AVilliiig had carried a i ather ruthless hand among the upper settlenieiits of the river. In February, he was at Natchez, devastating the estates of such as had fled across the river. lie seized one of the Tory leaders. Colonel Anthony Ilutchins, and t<>'>k liini to New Orleans, where he was put on parole. The })licnder which AVilling also took away was estimated l)y those who suffered at a million and a half dollars in value. The agents of France in New Orleans were not altogether pleased at this kind of domination for the American flag, inasnuich as too much suc- cess might give the Re})ul)lic such territorial claims on the river as it was not French pol'cy to encourage. Rocheblave, who commanded the British post in the Illinois, when lie heard of the fall of Philadelphia, and that it was reported that sonic of the chief rebels were " flying by way of F'ort Pitt," imagiiu'd that Willing's exploits "'ere simply preparing the lower ]\lissis- sippi as a refuge for disheartened i)atriots. In April, 1778, Pollock complained to Congress that a Eritisli sloop-of-war was still capturing vessels at the river's mouth, bet he had at least ground for rejoicing in the new commission from Congress, which Willing had delivered to him, and in that offi- cer's destruction of the Tory nest at Natchez, which had been supplying provisions to Pensacola and Jamaica. Pollock now dispatched one Kcubcn Harrison to Natclicz to preserve the neutrality which Willing Iiad instituted ; Imt Ilutchins, breaking his paiide. reachc'l that post ahead, and. gathering his old associates, Harrioon's boat was lured to tlu' banks and ".•'.ptured. This for a while ended the neutialitv. To keep the river open for the p;issagc of supplies to the Ohio looked now hopeless, fri- the *' Hound," a vessel sent from T'li- sacola, was likely l»efore long to reach a station at IMancliac near Baton Krage, where luu* boats could patrol the ri\t'i'. Pollock's plan was for American boats coming down from above to avoid .aiiture by being ])ut under the Spanish flag. m POLLOCK AT NEW ORLEAXS. 157 Willing was now raising men in New Orleans, antl was in- teiitliiii; to risk passing up the river with a flotilla in time to iL'iicli tile falls of the Ohio in Oetober, whieli, with his lading (if >iii)plies for Fort Pitt, he could best pass at that season. Ill April, 1778, Gal vez issued a proclamation i)ermitting trade with the United States. Pollock, at the same time, was fitting out a ('a})tiir('d letter of marque as an American cruiser, lie WHS somewhat embarrassed for money, as he had not yet re- ceived from Philadelphia the #30,000 due him for the supplies which he had sent up the river. Notwithstanding there had been no r. " esion given as yet in Madrid to the American cause, it was apparent that the rep- ivst'iitatives of Spain and America were acting now in much hariuiiiiy at New Orleans. The price of this informal connec- tion might put Spain, possessed ultimately of Florida, in a position to contest with the liei)ublic the eastern bank of the Mississip])i, as it turned out she did. As the summer (1778) came on, the British plans had worked out to tlieir satisfaction. They controlled Natchez with a force of two hundred men. Another sloop-of-war, the " Syl^di," witli a view of one hundred and fifty men, kei)t a body of sixty IJi'itisli rangers under cover at Manchac. Others were expected, for Clinton, in New York, had been aroused to the exigency. Pollock was accordingly obliged to bestir himself and send warnings uj) to the Arkansas to meet any boats descending the river. In July, two Scotch merchants in New Orleans, Koss and ('anij)bell, were found to be sending tidings to Nat(diez of iutcndo;! attemi)ts to send supplies u[) the river. Tiicy were seized a'ld sent to Pensacola. The reestablished Tories at Nalcliez had indeed rendered the bhxdcade of the river so effec- tual that Willing licsitated to start with liis supplies. In August, however, under the escort of an armed force, led by Lieutenant (ieorge, he hoped to ascend the liver for other e.\l»loits, — the expense of the undertaking being met in part liy ;i loan of ■'^0,000 from Galvez ; but nothing came of the ])lan. i*olIock had been long anxious for some decisive stroke. In May. lie liad urged Congress to start an ex])edition from Fort ritt t(i sweep the British from the river, and then to advance 'Ui I'ensaeola. lie was confident there was not in that post, be- ••^ide Indians, more than eight hundred to a thousand men. He mm !«: ■ ■,V) •If:-: 1 i'ii ''I - i *■ 1 1 1 ' . 1 , •i 1 ; f \*.» ■M.' 153 '''HE SIXISTEIi PURPOSES OF FRANCE. thought a thousand Americans could clear the Mississij)!)!, and that three thousand could capture Pensacola. He had himself, he adds, secured a i)rize ship, the " Kebecca," and put a suitable armament on board with one hundred and fifty men, and in two months he hojjcd to co('»})erate in attacking the English ship at Manchac. But his plans miscarried. In the autunui, the British control of the river was so well maintained that he was obliged to send Willing and his men north by sea. In Decem- ber, he dispatched a vessel to Havana with merchandise to he exchai'.ged for supplies, which were to be sent thence t(» tlie Ui?ited States. He had gone on spending his own money and receiving no remittances from C.'ongress, which was now over •f40,000 in his debt. He was selling his own slaves to enahle him to meet his outstanding obligations. As the summer and autumn (1778) wore on, the jmrpose of France was developed. Franklin, as sole conunissioner, was treating with Vergennes in Paris, and Gerard and (iouveriieuv Morris were conferring in ]*hiladeli)hia. The object of Ver- gennes was unuiistakable. He would, in confining the new Kepublic to the Atlantic slope, propitiate Spain, and in giving the region north of the Ohio, with Canada, to England, lie would establish a constant inenace between the colonies and tlie motlier country, and cripple tlie future of tl'e nascent Kepnl)lii'. So he talked with Franklin with as mucli biand conceahnent of his intention as he could, while he instructed CJerard to })repai'e Congress for submission to Spain's demand. France at tliis time had eighty shii)s of the line and sixty-seven thousand sailors, and for ten years she had been drilling ten thf)usan(l gunners for her navy. Nevertheless, she urged th.at England with lior one hundred and fifty ships of the line (and t\ > hun- dred and twenty (Mght in all) was an overmatch, indess the sixty great ships of S})ain coidd be added. D'Eslaing, with his fleet, had not certainly, during the summer, justified in American wavers the ho]ies which had l)een entertained. Tlu'ie- fore it was necessary for Amex'ica, as Vergennes represented, to abate her territorial ])retensions and secure the alliance of Spain for a common good. By October (1778), it seemed as if Vergennes had Ifrought Florida Blanca to consent to join the alliance on certain conditions. These were that the war should GERARD IN PHILADELPHIA. 159 be continued till (iibraltar was gained for her, either by cai)- tiiif, oi" by agreement at the peaee ; and that America shouhl aiMce to lier having Florida aJid the trans-AUeghany region. Morris, in Philadelphia, was unfortunately showing how the Republic might yet give in to such demands. He was con- fessing to (ierard that yielding the Mississippi to S})ain and Canacla to England might the better restrain the western com-; mnnities in any arrogant hope they felt of future independence. Tlit'io was no such hesitati(m about Canada in Lafayette. He and D'Kstaing had planned for an invasion north of the kSt. Lawrence, and had sent from Boston a ])roclamation to arouse tlie native French of Canada. This done, D'Estaing had in November sailed for the West Indies, while I^afayctte, two months later (.Fanuary, 1779), went to France to work out this aygrcssive movement for the coming season. Washington saw the dangers of it for the Republic, as a Frenchman like Lafay- ette conld not. The fear of the American leader that France, rei'stablished in Canada, would help the schemes of Spain on tlie Mississippi, led very soon to the abandonment of the l)roject. Nor did a scheme of Vergennes and Charles IIL of S})ain, jilaiiiKMl at the same time, result in any action. Gerard was iiistnu'ted to sound Congress cautiously in the matter, but we know little more of it than as a proposition to the United States to aoeei»t a long truce with England instead of a peace, during which France and Spain would have time for arranging ulterior projects. England, however, was in no mood to come to terms of France's })i"oi)osing' after her own a])proachcs to Congress had been repelled, and while France ke]>t a tli'ct in the Ameri- can waters. It was ai)parent that both England and S])ain preferred to gain time, rather than connnit themselves to any definite arrangement. Early in 1779, Congress had decided (January 14) to make no peace without the concurrence of France, and it was ap])ar- ent at wliat ])rice Spain would render her aid in the wai'. and that the United States were mainly to pay the cost. Cicrard, instructed by Vergennes, was assiduously impressing upon Con- gress that the demands of Spain were proper and should be met: that it was meet for America to renounce territorial am- i'itiou and be content with thirteen States along the Atlantic 'S ' ^\-K ' ll; if i 1^ hi t \ I imu 160 THE SINISTER PU It POSES OF FRANCE. <;* if slope, and tliat there was great danger of an Anglo-Si)anisli l(?ague, unless Pensiieola and the free navigation of the Missis- sippi were assured to Spain. Spain, meanwhile, was toying with Grantham at Madrid, ])rofessing a desire for allianee with England, and suggesting the benefits of the projjosed long truee with her colonies as l)est to ealm the internecine j)assions. At the same time she was shufHing with France, and waiting the results of Gerard's iu- trigues at Philadelphia, huoyed up the while by the hojx' of regaining something of that imperial dominion in the New World which the bull of demarcation had assigned to her at the end of the fifteenth century. While Vergennes (February 12) was submitting to Sj)ain a proposition to fight England unceas- ingly till America's indc])endence was secured, leaving Spain's aspirations to be satisfied by wresting something from America in the future, Florida IJlanca set no less a price on the adhe- sion of Spain than the old demand of Gibraltar. When tlieir demands were known. Congress, on March 19, with consideral)le spirit, announced that while Spain might possess Florida, the American States had no intention of releasing claim to all that England gained below the Great Lakes by the treaty of 1763, and to the full navigation of the Mississippi. To make their intentions definite. Congress defined the bounds by a line from the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, along the height of land between the Atlantic and the St. Lawrence to the nortli- west head of the Connecticut, and thence direct to the south end of Lake Nipissing, and on to the sources of the Mississip])i, — of course in ignorance of just where those sources wer'3. It was provided as an alternative that, if it became necessary, the line beyond Lake Nipissing might be run farther south, but not below 45°. On the south they claimed the left bank of tlie Mississii>pi above 31°, — the old southern bounds of the Caro- lina charter of 1663, whiidi had indeed never been acknowledi^ed by Spain. There was also a distinct demand on Spain for a port of entry on the river within Spanish Louisiana. While this action was pending, and the British connnander in New York was strengthening Pensacola with General Camp- bell's force of fifteen hundred men, Spain, fearing Engl.ind h'i-^ now that she had lately augmented her fleets, entered into a secret treaty with France on April 12, 1779, and thus joined m SPAIX AM) A\\V.X.l.vy>. IGl haiiil-^ in the now tri])l»'-roinbintiti(m ayahist (iiviit Britain. Till' iHofessi'd object of this chuuh'stino alliance was to seenrc (iihnihar, and to distract England l)y an invasion of the Jiritish islaiiils, and l)y attacks on Minorca, Pensaeola, and Mobile. It is (iiily <»f late years that the fnll text of this convention has licconie known, and Bancroft, in his earlier editions, had alloweil larger pretensions for S})ain than wei'e given to her. Six days after the treaty had been con(dnded, Spain made (itliur [icrHdious propositions for alliance with England, and tlifso being rejected, on May 3, 1779, she openly declared war. Then' was now no further doubt on England's part of what she was to encounter. In the early part of the sunnner the Euro- ]»('an i)arties to the conflict were ujana'uvring for an advan- tii<;e. while Congress was at the same time facing a serious complication in the evident purpose of France and Spain to insist on recognizing England's territorial i)retensions in the (^iii'ljec act. France saw that this gave Sjjain a better chance of wresting the coiuitry north of the Ohio from England, — as indeed was attemi)ted by Spanish tvoo])s in 1781, — than from the grasp wiiich Virginia was preparnig to make ui)on it, and (lid make in 1779. On June 17, 1779. Germain notified Ilaldimand of the Span- ish war, and instructed him to reduce the Si)anish posts on the Mississippi and assault New Orleans. At the very beginning of the year (1779) Hamilton, at Vincennes, had reported that tlie southern Indians, Chickasaws, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Alihamons, had been banded in the British interests, and that were he sure that Spain had declared war, he could, with tlu; aid of the savages, push the S])aniards from the Mississippi, since, as he affirms, the Spanish autliorities had but slender inflnence with the tribes. The British conunander at Pensaeola had also had his emissaries among the Ciicrokees, and within a month from the time when Ilaldimand was prompted by (Jcr- inain to attack the Spanish, these savage maraudei-s were hai-ry- ingthc confines of Carolina. Arthui' Lee had anticipated this, and while Germain was writing to Ilaldimand, Lee was warning ^pain tliat a British foothold in Carolina meant the use of it as a base to dis])atch the Indians against the Spaniards on the *"df. Already, by a pact with the tribes, the Chickasaws and ^lioctuws were scattered along the Ohio and Mississippi to >i :m I. "i;^.-; •r P s : II ■ 1 ; i ! t : I : V t/j n 162 THE SINISTER PURPOSES OF FRANCE. mten'o\)t sui)|)lies from Now OrleanH, in case they had run tlie jjauntlet at N'atcliez, wlwr*' somo English rangers under Captuin Jih)onier wen; now stationed. This was the condition in tlie Great Valley, and such were []w English intentions, when (ialve/, the young Si)anish governor at New Orhjans, threw himself into the war with admirablu spirit. As early as March, 1770, Patrick Ilenry had uimd upon Washington to dispatch an ex])edition against Natcln/ to ])i'eserve eonununications with New Orleans from the iip. country, since Pollock's shipments of munitions and sui)))li(^ l)y the river had become uncertain. Little heed, however, iiad been given to the advice, and at this time there was a siiKill chance that Campbell at Pensaeola and IIan»ilton at VinceiiiiLs nnght be able to work in conjunction and maintain the blockade of the river, if not drive the Spaniards out. On »Tuly 8, the ^Madrid authorities had sent instructions tn (iraivez for an active campaign. The proclamation of hostili- ties with England had been made at Havana on July 2'2, and Galvez was soon aware of the British jturpose, which he leaiiad from an intercepted disi)atch. By August 18, he had fitted out a flotilla, when a hunicaiif, sweejung the river, sank his vessels. His energy soon replacid them. Accompanied by Pollock — to whom Cialvez had un- successfully offered a Si)anish connuission — and a few otiui Americans, who ])referred to carry their own flag as a separate detachment, and with a following of six hundred and seventy men, (iialvez began the ascent of the river. On SeptemlxT 7, with a force increased at this time to over fourteen luuHlnil men, he ap])roached the southernmost i)oint held by the British. Bayou Manchac, where he carried Fort Bute by assault. IK' was now one hundred and fifteen miles above New Orleans, and from this point to Natchez the British were in possession. A week afterwards (Sejjtember 13), he began regular approadiis before the fort at Baton Kouge, and eight days later it suircn- dered, and carried with it Fort Panmure at Natchez, the suc- cessor on the same site of the old Fort Kosalie of the Natchez wars. Colonel Hutchins, the paramount British authority in tlif region, and a traitorous sneak, by nature, left it to Colonel Dickson to make the surrender. Several hundred prisoners, large supplies, and various trans- JUHN ADAMS. 1G3 ifoits thus fell into Spanish hands, and (ialvez retnrned to New OiKans to extend Louisiana over Florida, a.s far as the Pearl Kiver, and to weleonio in October some reinforcements from llavMiia. Tlu'se siu'cosse.s <>noourag»'d Pollock, who was just now much in need of good cheer. With Contin^ utal money in circulation to about •i'200,000,000, and reduced to an insij^niHcant value, Oni'-ress had failed to keep with him its promises of remittances, and, to make matters worse, not a single vessel of those he had sent north hy sea with supplies had eseapeil the liritish bloek- aders. About the only produce which Congress could depeiul ii|(()ii to keep Pollock in funds was tlour, and it was i)ractically uiidci' an embargo in the Atlantic ])orts, so much of it had heen iitcded to feed the army and D'Estaing's fleet. Nor could relief be innnediate. There had never before been so ime a crop of wheat in the States, but it would take time to grind anil bolt it, and to send it to New Orleans amid the risks of capture. While affairs were thus prosperous at New Orleans for Spain, and American intei-ests were with increasing diiUculty sustained by Pollock, Congress had been struggling with the <|iiesti()n of the ultimate bounds of the new Republic, and now in the instruction given (August 14) to .fohn Adams, who was aliout going abroad prepared to treat with (ireat liritain, it had sid)stantially agreed upon the limits set by that body some months before. Adams was just at this time in a rampant state of mind, — a condition not unusual with him, — and in a letter from lirain- tree (August 4), while Congress was coming to its purpose, he liad not only objected to the surrender to Great Jiritaiu of Xova Scotia and Canada, but he had i)ictured, in ignorance of her secret intentions, the great complacency of Si)ain, which he judged would make her an agreeal)le neighbor in the future. Hut Congress, before its president could have received Adams's letter, declared, on August 5, that if Great liritain persisted "iu the prosecution of the present unjust war," advances •should l)e made to enter into a defensive and offensive alliance with France and Spain jointly, to the end of gaining Canada, I'lorida, and the free navigation of the Mississippi. It only ^. I >• a' •'■■ I rt* m h ji i i it' m KA THE SJ SISTER PURPOSES OF FRANCE. shovvH how littk' tlu- tnu? chariictiT of Spiiuisli and Kn-iicli jiiu- pOHt'H was undeistood In ('on;;ivHS, that it coidd have hoped ti hrinj;' at that time tho.so powers to assure the States any one ct thr»s(' three conditions. I he same propositions were a<^ain hrouj^ht nn, when the terms of a treaty with Spain wtiv eonsi(l«'red, and two chiys hiter it was determined to ayrec [>, join Spain in an invasion of tMoriih'i and the eontpie.st of IViisn. eohi, hut only on condition of her granting; the free navi>;;iti(iii of tlie Mississippi, with a port of entry below 31°. Matttis between them wouhl run smoother, it was interj(!ete Vergennes's object was thereby to ])erpetuate better the intliuMur of France among them. — a condition which that minister nevo lost sight of in view of an ultimate agreement with Grent Brit Till': inESVII I'EOI'LE. 166 ('( iiiii. Ill SfptciiibtT. Ill' plainly iiitimatnl to his coiilidaiits that wliili' it was to lio hopt'd that thr I'liitcil States would hold iiniiait till tlu'lr indcpi-ndtucc was secured, the interest of FiaiHi' I'ecjuired after such an event that the union should bo ludkcii. in order that it should not heeonie a power danj;ei'ous to Fiance and her aspirations. That thei'e was anion;;- the French ncdiili' and in the Frencii military and naval contingent a wide sviiipatliy foi' the cause of Aineriean independence is true ; but it was emasculated by the perfidy of their ministry. Ameriea'H ohliuatittn to what stood at that time politically for F^ranee was iiiut'li like the dependence ()f an unfortunate sj)endtlirift ui)ou a calculating ])awnbrokt'r. It is a misuse of words to call this oliiiiiatiiin by the name of gratitude. ^^'llat Hamilton divined in that day has been abundantly proved by the publication of evidence in our day : " The dis- nu'iuheniient of this country from Great Jbitain was both a (Icteiiiiinary motive and an adecpiate compensation to France f(»r the assistance afforded." Again he says: "If a service is rciulcrcd for . . . the immediate interests of the party who perforins it, and is })roductive of reciprocal advantages, there seems scarcely an adeqnate basis for a sentiment like that of platitude. ... To suppose that F" ranee was actuated by friend- sliip ... is to be ignorant of the springs of action which inva- riiiltly regulate the cabinets of princes." Ill following the course of F^rance in our Kevolutionary War, there is every reason to emancipate ourselves from predilec- tiiuis. prejudice, and tradition, the three great eusnarers of seekers for historical truth. (HI \ \ fi 'Y ' I li ! I' li ^'- ^f III I :' '' iii-: N f ■% 1 ^ (1 1 1 ; i f 1 .'. 1 h' i' ' 1 'i Iw! f ■ ' ;l^ Ml .1 l.>l CHAPTER X. A YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 1780. ViKGiNiA had persistently nurturetl her territorial claims U the iiortliwest ever since the treaty of 1763 had brouglit tliis ♦''Ver-niountaiii region under British control, and the royal \n-w- Lunation had formulated an issue. She had resented the \m- t Misions of that proclamation in constituting ;his territory " cn;wn lands " for Indian occupancy. She had rehearsed her claims till the other colonies were tired of them. She hiiti never once questioned, as others had, that the English king, in 1009, had any right to assume jurisdiction beyond the springs of her rivers. She rriifde no account of the annulment of her charter ni 1024, and claimed that the recognition of her *' ancient bound " by the English Commonwealth in 1(351 dis- posed of tha*" objtHition. She recalled how, in 1749, the rovnl instructions to Governor (xooch had recosjnized both banlis of the Ohio as being " within our colony of Virginia." When England got her real title to the trans-Alleghany regions in 1703, she called it merely a confirmation of her innnutahle cliarter. She pronounced solemnly, by legislative eniU'tiuciit. that the Indiana deed of 1768 was void. She saw no reason why Trent and the traders should be recompensed for losses in the Pontiac war any ?nore than others who suffered daniaue from the same cause, ar.d if the traders were to be favored, she held that Pennsylvania and not \'irginia should recoup tlieni. since they belonged to that colony, (ieorge JVIason, in her behalf, charged Sir William Johnson "with mysterious iunl clandestine ccmdnct ' in furthering that grant, for Virginia h;iil already prei?mi)ted the very land from the Indians at the trt'Mtv of Lancaster. She saw nothing in the Walpole grant of 177- as sustaining the rights of the crown against her claims. She saw no way for the Republic to maintain Its rights at the future "v«t THE (H)NFK1)KRA TION. 107 i)eace against the limits of the Quobec Bill, but in standing squarely ui)on Virginia ";• chartered rights. We have seen ho^v soon the frontiersmen began to make inroads on this roya reservation of 171)3, and how tlie rights of the Iroquois and Cherokees, as affiliated witii tiie nortliern and sw.ithern ccdonies respectively, were jdayed oft" against each other If the New York clai.ii, as derived from the Iro(|uois, was iUusory, Frardtlin could, on the other hand, charge Vir- oinia w ith inventing the claims of the Cherokees to the Ken- tiiekv region in order to bolster nj) her charter right. In a draft of an act of confecUa-ation for the colonies, when war hal become inevitable, Franklin had, in 1775, aimed to bring the daiiiis of Virginia to a tribunal. In this draft he made all disputes as to bounds between coloni^es referable to Congress. In it he also gave to that body the same right which Jie had ieeo"iiized earlier to be in Parliaiaeut, to plant new colonies in this western wilderness. The next year, June 29, 1770, Vir- ginia, in ado})ting her new State Constitution, which the war had forced upon her, stood scpiarely by her old j)retensions of jurisdiction ir. tliis region, with the right of establishing one (ir more States within her cliarter limits, A few weeks later, in Congress, John Dickinson ]iresented (July 12. 177G) the articles f(U' conrederation in a new sliaj)c, destined \\\ the main to be those under whi(d, tlie States finally achieved their independence. The draft ])rovided tliat no lands could be pui'cdiased of the natives, either by any colony or by 111! individual, before i\w. limits of the colonies westward were mljudieated upon, and that, when these linat,^ were determined, till' confederacy was to guarantee su'di bounds to the ccdonies, ami no puicdiases were to be made beyond them exc( pt by the United States for the general bencHt of all the States. It dis- tinctly ])rovided that Ccmgress should have the jjower to settle iiitovcoionial boundary disputes : to "limit those bounds whi(di hy charter, or ])ro(damatiou. or under any pi-etense, are said to extend to the South Sea:"" and to "assign teri'it(>vies for new I'olonies and ascertain their boundaries/" wliitdi maybe adndtted to the confederacy by the assent of nine States. Caiuula. at the same time, couhl join the confederacy at her owa ]deasure. These ni'tules, f adojited and assented to, jn-acticallv made Congress the arena in which Virgiina must contend for her pretensions. ■11^ I ;?v* 1 !' i" ' wm ';'i 1 i if ;ir,''T/ i t 1 ' 1 ! 1 ■1 iiiiilr im • 'I: • ■ 1 -J ! II 1 ; ) i; ) rt ' f '* ^^r!-' 1(58 A YEAR OF SUSPENSE. While this matter was .still in abeyance, Congress made a dis- tiuet assertion of its einitrol over these western regions liv resolving on September 10, 1776, to grant lands over the moun- tains as bonnties to the Continental troops. This meant recom- pensing Virginia for yielding for this purpose such lands as should be selected. Maryland at once (October 9) announced her objection to making such payments a charge upon all tliu States and a benefit to one, and on November 13, 1770, Man- land's protest to this effect was laid before Congress. The position of this dissentient State is best expressed in instructions to her delegates at a later stage of the controversy : " Policy and justice require that a country unsettled at the counneuoe- ment of this war, claimed by the British crown, and ceded to it by the Treaty of Paris, if wrested from the common eiieiiiv by the blood and treasure of the thirteen States, should be con- sidered as a common property, subject to be jjarcelcd out witli free governments." It was now clear that the smaller States, and those wliidi had no such western claims, were prepared to insist u])on niakin;; these trans-Alleghany lands a common source of financial sup- ply in the struggle with the mother country. Congress moved slowly in a matter which produced such variances of opinion, and it was not till October 14, 1777, that it dared even ap- proach the cpiestion. It then directed that the colonies should have a common treasury, and that there should be a system of ])roportionate taxation among tl>e States to supply this treasury, The next day, October 1"), 1777, Maryland tried to force the issue by pro])osing that Congress should have the power to set a western limit to the States claiming to the Mississipjii. so as to create a ])ubli(' domain beyond. Maryland stood ahim in the vote. Within a fortnight, the larger States condmied (October 27 ) to make it a provision o^ the impending act of confederation that no State without its consent slioulil lif stripi)ed of its territory for the benefit of the United States, Within three weeks, the I)iekin,son draft, with all the hnid amendments whi(di Virginia had insisted ujion, was adopteu (November 15, 1777), subject to the ratification of the States, It was .soon a])parent that the confederation would not iiave the su])port of Mai-yland without some acknowledgment of the rights of all the States in these western lands. By early suuiiiier i::k iJ •t« ^■■nr* bwi'i' VIRGINIA LAND OFFICE. 169 ill till' following year (June, 1778). Maryland, with Delaware, New Jersey, and Khode Island acting mainly in accord with her, tried to induce Congress to remove difficulties by voting that conunissioners should determine the limits of the States claiininii' to the Mississi])i>i, and that the fee of the old ''crown huids. " under the proclamation of 1703, should belong to the rnitt'd States, while the original claimant States should retain jurisdiction. Congress declined to accede to the proposition, and ini 'Inly 10, 1778, appealed to the hesitating States to accent *he articles, and leave the settlement of their demands t(t thi' tuture. Jt soon became knic vailed (October 30) despite the opposition of herself :iiiil Xoith Carolina. 1il«!il! It I I I'' V'l 1' ■ t 170 A YEAR OF SUSPENSE. The manifestly increasing antagonism to Virginia's cxtreiuc claim did not prevent her still making grants (October ) of these same hinils to her soldiers, and taking steps to open new routes over the Cumberland Mountains. As confidence in- creased in the ultimate solution of the question against tlic Virginia pretensions, Delaware had ali'cady acce))ted the At (if Confederation in February, 1770, and in Noveiiib<,'r Xew Jtisiv did the same, but both States had done it under protest. Xtin the end of the year (Decend)er 14, 1779), Virginia's rcmoii- strances grew milder. She was willing to listen to " just ami reasonable propositions for removing ostensible causes of dchiv to the complete ratification of the Confederation," and to grunt lands within her charter bounds to tin,' continental line of any or all the States. In obtaining this concession, Mai-yland li;nl scored a triumph. ! 1} i: Such was the condition of the controversy in Congress, wlicn, in the opening of 1780, it had become generally recognized llnit the future trans Alleghany extension, both of the claiiiiant States and of the new Republic, depended on the success of the military and ]>ioneer movements on each side of the Ohio. llaldimand had begun a system of canals round the ra]iids of the St. Lawrence, which did much to facilitate i)ushing of siip- ])Hes to his western ])osts, but liritish attempts to enforce tin ])retension of the Quebec liill on the north of the Ohio, in eft'orts directi'd fiom Detroit nnd Mackinac, had so fai' f.iiled. notwithstanding the sympatliy of the Indian tribes. South of the Ohio the adventurous pioneers had strengthened tiu'ir hold upon the regions of Kentucky and Teunes.see in spite of l)viri>ii and savage raids from north of tlie Ohio, and threats nH tiio Hritii 'i agents, Stuart and Cameron, from tlie side of Fhiiiili. The frontiersmen's success liad also so far put an ob.stach' in tl'.e way of the Spanisli pretensions, which France was aiixiuib to advance. The Americans had little more than a hope of lioldin^' thiir western posirions north of the Ohio. The ex]>ectation of :iii- vancing on Deti-oit was for the present, at Iwist. ke])t in ;ili<'\- anc<>. On the B^•!ti^h side (he ])lans of the ministry, i-oniiiiittt'il in the n(»rth to Uahiiniiwid, were thus in tlu; hands of one wli* had no hesitation in espousing all that the Quebec Bill inti nded ST. LOUIS THREATENED. 171 The ]ilan of Germain to iiuiintain a line of cominunieiitiou be twcci) C'aiiadii and Moiida luul iiidotd been checked l)y the precipitate action of (ialvez at Nt-w Orleans, but it did not, in tlu'ii' ignorance of the Spanisli successes, seem alt»^gether ini])rac- tii-iible to Sinchiir, or to his superior otiiciM at Quebec. The ('(innnandiint at Mackinac was not informed of the fall of Nutclicz till midsuinmer ( Jidy 30), when the tidings came from llriMiiiiand, who had leamed of the misfortune but six weeks hcfiii'c. Thus in the dark, and supposinjij^ tltat Brigadier Cam]>bell, leaving Pensacola, would enter the Mississi})pi some time in M:iy. Sinclair, when in February the clays were j/alpabiy h-ngth- eiiing, sent messages to the Sioux a?id other tribes to unite in tlie early spring of 1780 at the Wisc{msin portage, and to bring with tlieni supplies of eoi'n for a campaign. At tiie same time be urged AVabasha, his Sioux ally, "' a man of uncommon abili- ties.'' tu move with his " ])eople undebauched and addicted to war '" down the Mississi]>pi towards Natchex, there to act as eirennistances might require. To divert the rebel attention from this main part of the oam- ])aign, llaldimand had instructed (Februaiy 12) Do Feyster, at Detroit, to arouse the "Wabash Indians, and "amuse" CUaik, "V (hive him from the Ohio I'apids, '" otlierwise the Indian (Oinitry will be open to the continual incursions of the rebels, luid safe communication will be formed between Fort Pitt and tlie ^Mississippi." The British authorities were soon to learn, it tliey liad not already been inforuied. by an intercei^ted letter, t Clark's ]mr})ose to build a new fort on the Mi&sissij){>i. It was ]\[arch (1780) when the Spaniards at St. Louis learned of Sinclair's plans, and a few weeks later, in April, some l)oats, with supplies which Gratiot had «'avried vq» to Pi-airie du Chien, were ea))tured by the approa'bnig band. St. Louis was now a ♦••iv-. ,»t a hundrKl and twenty iiouses. priueipally of stone, with a population of j»*'rha|>' eight hun- ilred. mainly French, and a hundred .aid fii'ty negroes. On May •ji'i. 1780, a force, thought to have comprised about nine liinuh'cd Indians, fell upon some farmers, who incaxitiously — for the enemy's approach was known — had gone beyond the itrotoetion of the stockade. Si.iclair had hardly feared that the «»v;iges would fail in an assault; but he was nor sc eonti- P! ''>;,H-i. M i 1 : 1 i '^ t jS ' / 1 1 '1: 1 i,l mi; « ' 1 r ii! * h f i. i? ' t^ii ^ M 172 A YEAR OF SUSPENSE. rORTIFlfATION"? The cut, Hhowiiig tlieir relations to tlic town as it was in1S22. is from !.. F. liri'liV ',..'-'''"'".' ;t(> and Foxes, alleged to be under Calve's influence, swerved fn>m the task. It is thouylit that the whole force, which Sinclair had eiLian- izcd, consisted of perhai)s fifteen hundred warriors with ! iirn- pean leaders, while a body of other savai^es with a iiuiulu i' of .'^lACLA IR S EXP EDI Tl ON. 173 STKUF/r OF ST. I.ons, 17S0. ///moi.« .//,./ .1/(.v.vo»r(, Allmiiy. 1S'23. Key: ./. line nf works. /, tnwpr, r. (Ii'ini-liiiinr. /•. eates. t^rwii iiifctiiiK.hoilse. ii. iiiiirkct. o Missouri bunk. />. IVrrv. 7 iM windniill. ) . ox-inill. hviic'li tradLM's, inspired by Sinclair's ]»i'(»iiiisi- to roscivc to them the tiattic of tl)t' Missouri valley, had been led by Laiiiiladi" by \v;iy of the Chieaoo ])orta, "11 : i i III 174 A YEAR OF SUSPENSE. When the (.'ommaiuler at St. Louis hml learned of his dani^fov^ he had sent word to Chirk. Early in the year, Jefferson, tlir better to secure the Virii;inia title to the Kentui'ky region, IkkI directed Colonel Thomas AValker and Coh)nel Sniythe to exteml tlie line which separated Virginia from Carolina to the ^lissj'^. sii)i)i, and at a ])oint where it reached that river (30' 80 ) Clark had been instructed to build a fort. The site of this jud. posed stockade, known as Iron Banks, was about five miltN below the month of the Ohio, in the country of the Chickasaw, and Choctaws, who soon manifested their enmity. The sjiot had attracted Governor Henry's attention as early as .laniiaiv. 1778, and Clark in September, 1779, had issued cmlers to indiuf settlers to occupy it. Todd had at the same time nuule siui(li\ grants, not far distant. Leaving that ])ost to j)rotect the Ken tucky settlements from other raids, when the news reached him from St. Louis Clark immediately responded, and twenty-fom hours before Wabasha and his horde ai)i)roached St. Louis, h was on the opposite side of the river at Cahokia, watchini^ fni his opportunity. He had no occasion either to cross the iMis- sissipj)! or to defend Kaskaskia, and found nothing to do hut to dispatch Lieutenant Montgomery to pursue the retreatini; enemy. By June 4 (1780), the first of tlie fugitive savages rcaihed Mackinac, those inider Calve coming by Green Bay, wliilo others returned by Chicago. They reported that tlicy had killed about seventy persons, had taken thirty-four prisom r>. and they showed forty -three scalps. Sinclair at once sent two vessels to the Chicago Kivcr to bring off the main body of Langlade's men. This was done in time for them to csiapi the attack of a mounted American force, which a few days later ap])eared at that point. So ended ignominiously the attempt to control tlu; Missi>- sippi from the north. Sinclair brooded on his disa])pointiiH'iit for seven or eight weeks before he got some relief by learning, as we have seen, that he had not been alone disap])ointed, for tlu'iv liad been a similar disaster inflicted nine months before hv Galvez in the lower parts of the Mississippi. The Briti.sh force, with which Haldimand had intended to " amuse " Clark while Sinclair's expedition followed the Missis- mi BIRD'S EXPEDiriON. 175 30' sii)|ii. It'ft Detroit near the inidcUe of April, 1780, under the ii)iiiiii:iiul of Captain Henry iJird. It consisted of about six hiuidifd iiieii, led by Elliot and tli«' (Jirtys. It iiad been fitted out at a eliar«;e of about #300,000. J^ogan, with a band of savages, aeeouipanied it, while a foree of Union warriors had at t lie same time startei' in the direction of Fort I'itt, to rivet the rebels' attention in that direction and intereejjt any foray of \'irninians on the u})per Ohio. It was sui)posed by tlu' tribes tliat retaliation for the continual attacks on emigrant boats iiiinlit incite such inroads, and for the fear of such reprisals the Miiii;()cs and Delawares had been nuich alarmed. Uird had passed by the Maumee portage to the (ireat Miami, aiul on the way Alexander McKee had joined him with s<»me live liundred Shawnees. The varying reports of his entire foree would seem to indicate that the fickle savages came and went on the march as they liked. The information which Jiird got at Lorinicr's Station showed that Clark was at the falls with two hmidrcd men, poorly srpplied. Bird's purpose, as Ilaldimand had directed, was to attack that post, and he had with him two suiall cannon, the first guns that had been taken into Indian warfare. His Indians, however, ju'oved unruly. Ilaldimand had warned him that savages cared more to have raids ])r()jected for wliicl. they could get advanced gifts, than to participate in unreciuited forays, and Bird's experience did not belie the; warn- ing. His red brutes killed h'S cattle, grew insubordinate, and tinally refused to advance tov/ards the falls. Not wholly to fail of results, Bird turned towards the mouth of the I^icking and, ascending that stream, captured several Kentucky stations, and took a large number of prisoners. Having accom])lished IK) strategic i)ur})ose, he suddenly turned back, his captives hearing the plunder, and reached Detroit on August 4. He niii;l:t have inflicted serious mischief on the river by stopping to waylay the emigrant boats, fen* something like three hundi'ed of tlu'ui, averaging perhaps fifty feet in length, and carrying U'W persons each, it is supjwsed, reached the falls during the season. His precipitate retreat, how(!ver, saved him from Clark, who was now afield with a force he had raised in Ken- tut ley. Clark carried a rather high hand in gathering his men, for lie shut the land offices to throw the speculators out of em- ;'\ M I! »■■ i ! fl.'illll 1 1 \ff^ \Si %)^ |:iw m\- M i i-i " ^11 ^.^ r^lA 17() A YEAR OF SUSPENSE. })l(>yinL'nt, aiul stationed gujirds on the outward trails to take the arms from fuj-itives. In this way he gathered at the site ot Cineinnati — oitj)osite tlie Licking — about a thousand ritleiiicn. mounted or afoot, and huilt there a bhu-khouse on tiie site ut the future city. It was August 2 — tlie rt'ports of the dute are somewhat luicertaiu — when he went forward, earryini; u single cannon in his train. Having moved sonn; fifty or sixty miles, in dismal weather, he found, on August 0, the Indian vil- lage at Ciiillieothe in Hames. lie hurried on to IMijua on the Little Miami, in the region of tlu; modern Spi-inglield. After a conflict, in which he got no assistance from Henjaniin Loiiaii. who liad gone astray with one division of his force, he scattered the Indians, who under two of tlie (iirtys somewhat stubbonilv confronted him, though Clark brought his tliree-|)oundei' iiitu action. He then burned the town and destroyed the neighltor- ing cornfields, lleliad succeeded in inflicting such a rctaliatitrv stroke as to save Kentucky from savage raids for the rest of the season. Clark returned to the falls, his force scattering, on the way, to their homes. All this, however, was too late to alarm Detroit seriously. If flefferson could hav(! compassed it. he would have ke])t Clarlv to the larger project of seizing the straits. Karly in tiie year ( February 10), while uninformed of Sinclair's intentions, .bf- ferson had written to Washington to intpiire if there was truth in the rumor that Colonel Brodhead was to be sent against Detroit from Fort Pitt. He added that "these officers [Clark and Brodhead] cannot act together,'" and if Brodhead was to lead an attack on the straits, he would see that Clark was sent in some other direetiefore that felt. \\\ April, reinforcements and sni)plies not reaehlnj;- him, liiddlicud informed Washington (24th) that unless Clark could jctiii iiiiii, Detroit eould not be threatened. He complained that tilt" lioimdary dispute between Virginia and l*ennsylvania, and the necessity of protecting the local frontieis, had j)revented his siiiiiinoiiing any militia. Clark, as we have seen, was too nuu'h iii't'ded at this time at S<^. Loiiis to think even (d' making a diversion uj) the Ohio. Brodhead di^ 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. MS80 (716) 872-4503 S." L

:indoned. The light at King's Mountain (October 7) had drawn ott' ;i large part of the Hghting militia of Virginia and North Caro- lina, and the Cherokees had seized the opportunity to rise uiutii the exjjosed settlements. Retribution came to them suddenly. The heroes who had gained the brilliant victory — which is later to be described — rendezvoused, under Sevier, Martin. and Campbell, on the French Uroad, and rushed upon the Cliir- okee towns. These attacks laid twenty-nine of the savaj;vs low ; seventeen were taken iirisoners, and fifty thousand biisluls of corn were destroyeeditions : but it has become better known than the others, owing to the jireservation of the leader's diary. This record shows the hazards of the wintry stream, and how the flotilla. Inset by small-pox, was whirled in the rifts, and ran the fusil- l;',(h's of the cunning Chi(dvamaugas. After all their trials, the lU'w-eoniers jKjled their bateaux uj) to the Cund)erland bluffs '111 April "24, 17J*0. and vere welcomed by Robertscm. They tiiund that a stockaded village had been Lud out. It was named Xashborough, after the governor of North Carolina, * '1 ■! • I i i( \ : • '1 ij i f.- ill ^m. ' I : 1. ' 180 A YEAR OF SUSPENSE. when it had been found to be within the chiuter limits of that State, The })02>uhition now seattered alonjj the banks of tlie Cu'.nberhmd was thoujj^lit to number not far from five luinibfd. Some among them had Iteen renegades from the Athmtie slope. to esea})e the marauding forees of Cornwallis. Kobertson. before the deeision of the settk'nv it's allegiance was sett ltd. had been in eonferenee with Clark about a title to the binds: but the same survey, as eondueted by Henderson for N(»itli Carolina and Walker for Virginia, whieh had fixed for ("laik the site of Fort flefterson, had also determined the new stttle- uient to be beyond the jurisdietiim of Virginia. Three hundred miles of forest se})ar.ated it from all neifjli- borly succor. Its people were adventurers, but they liad known the value of orderly goveryment on the llolston, and accordingly, at a meeting convened at Xashl)orough on Mav 1, 1780, Kobertson presented .some articles of association, and they were readily adopted. They are supj)osed to reflect the form of the con.stitution of Watauga, which has not been saved for us, but of this imitation we fortunately have nearly the whole, with the amendments shortly after ado])ted. I'he two hundred and fifty-six males who signed it declared their ])urpose to " restrain the licentious and supply the blcssinp flowing from a just and equitable government." It is a token of the bloody conditicms of their life, that of these two huudivd and fifty-six subscribers, mainly in vigorous early manhood. scarce a score were alive a dozen years later, and it is said th;it only one man among the dcjjarted had been known to die a natural deatli. Nothing better than this shows what living was in these isolated settlements. If food and powder gave out. it meant a stealthy march, amid lurking savages, to the ncaicst and better sui)plied settlements. Nothing but the dauiithss. ness of a military leader like Robertson could hold such com- nninitics to the task of s»d)duing the wilderness. II(^ was now. under their new articles, thecluiirman of their board of " jiiilupi as l)oundinsissii)pi. Jay replied '* that the Ameiicans, almost to a nuui, liflitved that God Almighty had made that river a highway for till' people of the upper country to go to the sea hy : that this (duiitiy was extensive and feeble : that the geneial, many ofti- cirs. and «)thers of distinction and inHuence in America were (jirply interested in it ; that it would rai)idly settle ; and that the inhabitants wouhl n<»t be n'adily convinced of the justice of lieiiig obliged either to live without foreign connnodities or los»! the surplus of their ])roduetions ; or be obliged to transport both over rugged mountains and through an immense wilder- iitss to and from the sea, when they daily saw a fine river flow- hig before their (U)ors and offering to save them all that trouble ami expense, and that without injury to S])ain." (iardo(pii rej)lie(l that the ])resent generation would not need the river, and that it might be left to future ones to manage their own affairs. AVhen these complexities were reported to Franklin in I*aris, he replied to ,Iay (October 2, 1780) : '• l*o(U' as we are. yet as 1 know we shall be rich, 1 would rather agree with them to buy at a great prii^e the whole of their rights in the Mississipj)i than sell a droj) of the waters. A ncighbm- iiiinht as well ask me to sell my street door." Congress gave Jav all the su])i)ort he needed. " If," they wrote to him, "an express aeknowhrdgnu'Ut of our rights cannot be obtained from Spain, it is not by any stipulation on the part of America to be iiliiKpiisJicd." The French minister at l^hiladelphia was meanwhile eagerly ahettiiig the Bourbon interest in the same spirit. He rejtre- scuted to Congress that the United States had lU) rights to territory westward from the settlements as they existed at the date of the ])roelamation of 17(53, and that the east bank of tile Mississi))])! was British territoi'v, ojjcn to Spanish inroads. Till' understanding between France and Spain was a))i)arently eoniph'te, and, as the season wore on, Carmichael, days seere- tarv. became convinced that Sj)ain was mano'uvring for delays, trusting rather to prompt interposition at the general peace to attain her ends. Meanwhile, John Adams, who. in February, 1780, had i| \ \\ -I I' ) > ?! I H t I If hi;: . t iif (V 184 .1 J7i.l/i' OF SL'SI'ESSIl. i'i , \ ;■ reiu'lied Paris, clothed with authority to tivat for poaci-, was flatterinjj Vergennos in May that "•an ailiam-c witii Krance was an honor and a st'curity which had been near his heart.' It was not many weeks, however, l>efore this importunate Yankee was offending Verf^einies l>y his self-aggression and want of taet. Fortunately, he saw behind the «liplomacy of the wily Frenchman what .lay, released from his Spanish toils, later diseerneil, and what Franklin, in his belief that gratitude to France was both a duty and good poliey. was loath to see. At Madrid, Jay's imj)ulses and his instructions aUowed liiin to go no farther than to ])romise the aid of America in estali- lishing Spanish hold on Florida, and before this, Mirales. the Spanish minister in Philadelphia, had been instructed to engaL,^e with Congress for a body of American troops to enter the Spanish service for that purpose. On October 4, 1780, Congress had further upheld Jay by new instructions, and Madison drew up the case of the I'nited States. It was reported to Congress on October 17, anl was at once sent to Franklin and Jay. It represented that tlie Illinois and Wabash regions were under American jurisdiction. and that the mouth oi the Ohio and the course of the Missis- sippi down to 31° were controlled at Fort Jeft'erscm. It was put to the credit of the United States, and not to that of Virginia. that this condition prevailed ; and Virginia, at the same time, proposed that the Mississippi beh)W JU' should be guaranteed to Spain, if Spain would guarantee " to the United States "' all above that i)arallel. The Americans were making rather than confirming principles in international law. Claims to the free navigation ' '" a river whose mouth was held by an alien wei-e not then to je settled 1)V any well-established conclusions in which all nations agreed. The free(h)m of the Rhine had been determined by the Ti-eaty of Westphalia in 1048: but that of the Scdieldt was yet to be left inisettled by the Peace of F'tmtainebleau in 1785. This action of C Till-: MurriinicsT. 185 \\;i> known that, on the one hand, Finj-land was en(U'avorin;j; to disjoin Spain from the French alliance, and, on the other, it wa.s an uvery-«lay oeeurreneo that Luzerne, in IMiiladelnhia, \v;i^ l)ringini;' to hear all the pressure he eould to efl'eet the |)ur- iioM- of France and the interests of Spain. With this turn (»f aft":iirs, Conj^ress aj)proached the t'lul of 1780 with not a little iiiiifst from sectional discord. Virginia was admonishing New Kiinland that if she weakene«l on the Mississippi cpntstion. siu* might rue it when the question of the lisheries was to be settled. In respect to the other problem, the year (1780) had oi)ened witli an encouraging outlook. X^ .v York had ste|>j)ed forward witli a proposition to cede to the States the claim which she ])rofessed to have acipiired (1701, 11'2{>) from the Iro(|uois to tlif western lands. She argued that the grant to the Duke of York had barred the claims of the New England colonies, while that of Virginia was estopi)ed by the rescinding of her charter and the grant to Penn, which preventions gave precedence to the Indian claim which she advanced. It was in fact the least valid of any of the claims, but was good enough to give away as a i)recedent. On February 19, the New York Assembly authorized her delegates to make either an unreserved or a limited cession. The act was read in Congress on March 7. Six weeks later, that State authorized (\ingress to restrict he.r western limits. These actions had their effect in Virginia. Late in June, Joseph Jones wrote to Jefferson : '• (^(mld Virginia but think lierself, as she certainly is, full large enough for vigorous gov- cnunent, she, too, would moderate her desires, and cede to the I'liited States, on certain conditions, her territory beyond the Ohio." George Mason, in Jidy, formulated tlie Virginia ])roj)o- sitions. These were to give up the (•(uuitry between the west l)oiui(ls of Pennsylvania and the Ohio, north of Mason and IMxon's line (being the region since kn<»wn as the Panhandle ). if Coiigrc guaranteed to Virginia her remaining territory, which lie elaiuu'd to be bounded by the north bank of the Ohio on one side, and by the North Carolina line ( -i'' 'W ) on the other. This cession of the territory north, of the Ohio was contingent upon seven conditions : First, that the territory should eventu- :illv lie niade into not less than two States. Second, that Vir- !. L I! 180 A YEAR 01' SUSPE.XSE. een l)roiigh>4o this, not only by the New York act of February 19, but by consideration of counter representa- tions made by Virginia and ^laryland. A few days later (Sep- tember 12), Madison felt sui*e that the crisis had passed. In October, there were new hopes for a while. Connecticut offered to cede her charter claims beyond the mountains, i)rovid«'d slii' could retain jurisdiction. Congress, with the otherwise encour- aging prospect, was not disposed to hamper the transfer, and declined to meet the conditions. On the same day, Congifss ordered that all ceded lands should be held for the conunon benciit of all the States, — the initial legislation for a puhlic domain, — but at the same time recognized the rights of the States to be reimbursed for the cost of maintaining their claims. It was further agreed that these lands should be divided into republican States and become candidates for admission to tlic confederation. The year closed with Tom Paine in his Public Good attack- ing (Decend)cr 30) the Virginia pretensions to their chartt-r rights. lie dwelt on the vague definition of the charter of 1609, as admitting no such precision of bounds as Virginia claimed, and in the belief which at that time prevailed of tiie narrowness of the continent, no such imperial range of bounds could have been contemplated. Contemporary newsi)a))trs \k RESULTS IN 1780. 187 allege that l*iiine*s souse of justifi' wan busetl on proiiiiso from the IndiaiiJi C'cunpJiny of twelve thoiisaiul acres of this same lanil, though Conway, his hitest biograi)her, ilisputes the state- iiii'iit. I'aiiie outlined u j)lan of settinrofessed to he. No mic f(dt its futility more than Washiiigton, and he had com])laiiif(l to his ])ersonal fi'icnds, " I see one* head gradually changiiit,' into thirteen. I see one army branching into thirteen." Vtt with all this, there came the flash at Yorktown, and the year closed along the seaboard with ho])e. Heyond the mountains there had been, during the year, the old iteration of cross movements, with no real gain to either combatant; but in Congress a first step, as will be later shown. had l)een taken in giving a continental control to the " crdwii lands '' reserved in th(^ ]>ro(damation of 17G3. While tlitsi! cession movements l)adc fair to s(dve the problem of tin* cnn- federation's jisserted extension to the Mississi])])i, and to estali- lish a ground for a boundary at the peace, the Spanish claim to that river was still a source of anxiety. On the same day nii which Vii'ginia had pro])osed an inadmissibh? cession (January 2), Congress, as we shall see, had iustruiited Jay to yield tin' MississipjM to Spain, rather than lose her alliance. Likewise on the same day (January 2\ an ex])edition left St. Louis to jdant the Spanish flag within the dis])uted territory. Under tli<> lead of Captain Pourre (or l^ierro), .i force of sixty militia and fi I ,1 I" (^ALVKX L\ FLO HI DA. IHU sixtN Iiuliaiis iiiarclu'd two Imiidrcd li'aj;u('S across tlic Illinois regi<»ii, and f«'ll upon an Kn^^lish post at St. .los«'pli (m-ar tlio nKMJirn Niles in Michi^'an ), oaptun-d it, secured prisoners, and tlu'ii (|ui('kly retreated, and weio liaek in St. Louis in March. l{(»tli Franklin and .lay, when they heard of it, were |)repan'd to liilicve that Spain had attempted the incursion merely to C'stalilisli a claim to l»e advanced at the peace when, under p()s- sihle diplomatic complications, a mere dash across the country iiiij;lit count a<^ainst the steady hold whieh Clark had iixed \\\m\ the Illinois. Met'ore I'ouriv had returned to St. I^onis, (Jalvez, on Fehruary '28. started with a Heet, convcyin;;' fourteen hundred men. to in- vade Florida. He ajjpeared before Pensacola and, despite some (l(tVhnuhl learn that Detroit had not been reinforced, which "li^lit yet encourage him to attempt its capture. As he went j on. his force alternately diminished and grew by desertions and -, i ! m it, 1 1 V! I B >l Bl il' '\]Mi ■/■' 194 EAST AND WEST. :)}'■ ■ 'W< [ w: :^l ailditions, and it bore a rather hetei-ogeneous aspect wlicn. on September 1, he reached Fort Nelson at the falls. Do IVv ster, at Detroit, better informed at last than Girty, had latlni tardily sent down to the Ohio a force of a hundred raiiir,.is under Captain Andrew Thompson, and three hundred Indiaib under McKee, to watch for a favorable moment to waylay ( lurk. Joseph Brant and George Girty — the latter formerly one ot Willing's marauders — were, fortunately for De Peyster, already astir. On August 24, at a point eleven miles below the (iicat Miami, they fell upon a flotilla of niountcd Pennsylvania vuluii- teers, one hundred and seven in nundjer, under Colonel Aiclii. bald Lochry (Loughrey), following in the wake of Claik. and seeking to overtake him. A letter to Clark, sent forward liv this lieutenant, had been intercepted and revealed the situatidii. Clark had not reached the falls when every num of this foriv was either killed or captured. They had landed to cook their breakfast and f ad their horses, when they were suddenly at- tacked from both sides of the river. A third of them werr killed, and the rest surrendered ; but the colonel and others. imable to march, were later nuirdered. Three days afterward, the victors, moving up the Great Miami. met MoKee coming laggardly down from Detroit. Tlic ((nii- bined bodies were not deemed to be sufficient to assail Clark. now in his stockado at the falls, as they had learned on S('i)teiii- ber 9, when within thirty miles of that point. The enemy soon broke up, and a part, some two hundred in number, bent on mischief, were led by McKee and Hrant to- wards the Kentucky settlements. IVIeanwhile Clark, tVariii;' attack, lay inactive at the falls. About the same time, a Chero- kee chief, aided by some of these raiders, threatened tho Cumberlnnd settlements; but Robertson effectually r('])ulsed the assailants, and gained prestige enough to hold, for a time at least, his neighbors, the Choctaws and Chickasaws, in the interests of his people. As the sunnner advanced, the northern Indians gathered for an attacik on W heeling. Zeisberger, the Moravian, who had learned of the savage })urpose, sent (August 18) warning mcssap's, so that the attack when it came was expected, and the garrison of Fort Henry was prepared. The enemy were baffled, anil with- ¥ (Ii'lhI in 5rant to- tVariii;' ■iH'd till' r('i)iilstHl »r a time s, in tilt' BRODHEAD AND GIBSON. 195 I'd for nil 1 li'iinieil 1 saii'i's, >" 1 vristni of I 11(1 with- 1 (licw. but not till tliey had taken some prisoners, and from one of tlieiii they had learned that the Moravians had forewarned the garrison. The result was hardly to be avoided. The Mo- ravians liad proved spies and tale-bearers, while claiming immu- nity as neutrals, and, if the evitlenee is to be believed, they had been tortuous in their re})Iies when accused of it. Gnadenhiitten, their settlement on the Tuscarawas, was therefore broken up bv a party of Indians, Tories, and trench partisans, under Mat- thew Elliot, who drove the missionaries and their Delaware iieopliytes to Sandusky first, and later to Detroit (October 25), where they eoidd do less mischief. Brodhead, who had been eonq)laining (August 29) to Wash- iiiU'ton of the dissensions in his camp, owing to a divided head- >hil) between himself and Gibson, could have had little regret when, on September 17, he withdrew from Fort Pitt, leaving (iibson in command. Neither this new commander, nor Clark at the falls, had any longer a hope of reaching Detroit. Brod- lieud had been withdrawn by order of Washington, who at the iiKinient of the change was closing about Cornwallis and York- town. The brilliant outcome in October of this movement in the Virginia ])eninsula gave AVashington for a time little oppor- tunity to think of the situfition on the Ohio, and of the barren issues there of the year's eami)aign. Rut neither Clark's abortive aims at Detroit, nor Greene's ikfeats in Carolina, were without results that told in the end. (ireeno could say of Eutaw (September 8) that it was " the most obstinate fight he ever saw," and that " vie ory was his." Notwithstanding the distresses of the cam])aign, Greene had rciiilered Yorktown ])ossible. Clark had still a stronger hold, f'eble as it was, on the northwest than De Peyster had. lie liiul some seven hundre ' nd fifty men at the falls, fed on rot- ten buffalo meat, and the savages surrounded him, and far and iHMV the settlers were forted, but, as Ilaldimand acknowledged, * lark had still kept the British on the defensive between the Ohio and the lakes, a condition which occasional raids of the savages did not relieve. Ilaldimand charges it upon the caj)ri- tious conduct of the Indian allies of the British that Clark's fate had not been decided, and the terror of Clark's name liad done much to create that capriciousness. That Clark had V\ !|> El ' \ J i ; \ *fl i m [ !'■ 1 i :. .: If t 1 ' li i r 190 EAST AND WKST. escaped the ex])ected fate dctenniued, as it turned out. th, future territorial alWianee of the j^reat northwest. U J ' i i/',- mn t ' .i Cold weather settled down in November with lialdimaiid still ignorant of the fate of Cornwallis, and looking forward ti another season of hostilities on the Ohio. Now that Yorktown had determined so nuiel; on the seaboard, Congress, whiili n- eeived an ottieial notice of that victory on Oi-tober 24. u;(« within a month, as Livingston informed Franklin (Novi'ihImi 20), prc^pjiring for an active campaign for the next seasdii. When Franklin heard the great news from the Virginia peiiiii •sulsi, he wrote from Paris to John Adams : " The infant llti(ult« in his cradle has now strangled his second serjjent," refciiin:; to the news from Saratoga which sealed the French alliaiirt; four years before. Washington, scanning the future, saw the necessity of foiv. ing decisive results beyimd the mountains in the next caiu- paign, and for this object (ieneral William Irvine was sent 'o take conunand at Fort Pitt. One of the earliest reports wliidi Irvine made to Washington was that Lochry's neiglibors dt Westmoreland County, in Virginia, were disheartened at tln' havoc which that officer's defeat had made among the flower if their young men. They were accordingly seriously thinkitl^ nf abandoning their county in the spring. On the other hand, the fact that the indecisive campaign of the last season in that regi(m had not deprived the Americans of any territory limi already, as Irvine reported (December 3), instigated " ]tt'(i))li' of different })laces to concoct plans to emigrate into the Indian country, there to establish a government for themselves." T!ii- impulse was in large measure owing to the continued inicii tainty of the limits of the jurisdiction of Pennsylvaniii ami Virginia. An agreement had been reached in the pi-cccdiiii; April by whicdi the five degrees from the Delaware slioiiM I'f determined on the southern boundary line of Pennsylvania. There had, however, been delays in running the bounds, so that the weary settlers were threatening to migrate beyond the di- puted territory, and Irvine was reporting to Washington, in De- cember, that until the lines were drawn the militia were uselts-. There was also, doubtless, an adventurous s])irit and some am- bitious projects interwoven with these restless motives. It \va> (I .\ tifi; PEXySYL VAMA BOUXDS. 197 owiiit;. perhaps, to the stringent acts which Pennsylvania passed ;i"aiiist such an exodus that the Virginians in greater numbers tliaii the Pennsylvanians were joining in tlie removals. The lint; wliich was expected to set at rest these disturbances was not in tact actually run in a provisional way till November of tlu' next year (1782j, and it was not conHrmed till three years later ( 1785). Irvine felt that while the present time demanded, first of all, military success, it v.'is not wise to inaugurate such remote ill lih' — 120-N-Lat- F\ ,^ PENNSYLVANIA ■''■■SS' N.L. PENNSYLVANIA AND VIRGINIA BOUNDARY IIISPUTE. Note. —This rut is from N. B. Craipr'H Ol.h'n Tiiiir. PittKlmrR, lS4r., vol. i. p. 449. I^".i ■' is tlip filially cstftbliHlu'il I'l'iiiisjlviiiiia line (oiirv-il and HtrniRlit) is the hhf 1 Iniiui"! hy Pennsylvania. is the line pro)iosp(I by Pminion'. — o — o — o is the mr |iri)p(i»e(l hy Virginia to be continued north by the curved line. aiitonnniies. He was donbtfid if even the established Kentucky >''ttl('iii('iits, or such posts as Fort ^Nlelnto.sh. could be sustained till more peaceful times came. His pur])ose was to i)re])arG the iiiinu'diate frontiers against savage raids, and then to devote all .ivailal)le resources to following up tht> Indians to their destrnc- thm. and to waste no time in merely burning their towns. He planned in the end to make, if he could, a sudden attack ujion I ' ii i' I f * ' »j Mi AJ ' If: I 198 EAST AND WEST. Detroit. He had no i)ur})os(' to hold the straits, if he got jios- session of them, for tlu' distance to Detroit was too great to transport suj)j)lies, and the British woidd still conunainl tlif Likes. lie expected only to make a dash and do as nnich daiiiuj^c as he could, and then retire, hoping in this way to impress the Indians and accpiire a temjjorary res})ite till the final influence of Yorktown towards a peace was made clear. Washiii<;toii. in his correspondence with Irvine, recognized the necessity ami expediency of the movement, but nothing could well coniu of the project during the winter. The tenacity with which, under all his disappointments, ("lark had maintained his grasp on the northwest during 1781. made that year such a turning-point in the struggle with the nuitlicr country beyond the mountains as Yorktown had proved to lie on the Atlantic slope. Not less important was the firm step forward which the States had made in the same interval in determining their political relations to this western conntrv. Just one year from the time when New York had indicated a scheme of compromise. Virginia had retreated from her first pretensions so far as to offer (danuary 2, 1781) a cession ot jurisdiction o er the country north of the Ohio, if Congress woxdd agree to certain conditions. To one of these, that tlie region should ultimately be partitioned into States, there could be no objection. Nor was it unr* asonable to re(piire Congress to reimburse her for defending this same regior *rom the as- saults from Detroit, for there was then unsettled on lier liands the just claim of Oliver Pollock for a very large sum which lie had advanced t( Clark in his necessities. Congress knew well enough its ov/n indebtedness to the same ardent jjatiiot, wlm had beggared himself in the cause, and had parted with all his pro])erty in New Orleans at a sacrifice, in his efforts to repay the money which he had borrowed from the liu'st ot the Spanish king. Congress, as well as Virginia, had caused Pollock's end)arrassment, and it might well meet the obligations of both. It was furthermore no unexpected stipulation that the French Canadians inhabiting this region, and who had so readily changed their allegiance, should be protected in tlit'n landed rights ; that all bounty lands which had been promised to the soldiers should be respected. It was no hardship for V 77//; COXFKDiniA Tluy rollMEl). 11)0 ConnTt'Hs to aj^ree that all royal grants in that country sliould l»e lii'lil to be void, lint when, hy implication, Virginia asked tliat the claims of New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and tliat all claimants under native grants, both those of indi- vidiiids and of the Indiana Company, should be disregarded, and that the Kentucky country should be guaranteed to her, siie air()"';intlv asked more than Congress could possibly concede. To take these and all other propositions, from whatever source, into consideration, Congress on January 31, 1781, instituted a conmiittee, who i)roceeded to c;dl ui»on all the claimant States and i^rantees to make a showing of their rights. N\'\v York moved promptly, and directed her delegates to c'xei'ute a deed to Congress of the territory west of a self-im- iMiscd boundary following the meridian of the western end of Lake Ontario, but retjuiring a guarantee of her territory east of that line if Virginia secured such a })ledge. This deed was executed on March 1, and Maryland, having authorized her delegates in anticipation, on the same day signed the articles of eonfederation, in the belief that the crisis was ))assed. The next day Congress began to head its bills, '" The United States ill Congress assembled." Matters rested till October, when, just as the toils were tight- ene I about Cornwallis, and a connnittee of Congress stood ready to hear Virginia and her rivals formulate their respective claims, that State stood aloof (October 10) and contended that any presentation of her ])osition was not consistent with her (liiifnity. and ten days later she vainly tried to embarrass the comiMittee and limit its jwwers. On November 3, the committee made its rejiort. They rep- resented that they had not obtained from Virginia the same assistance which had been furnished them by the rival claim- ants. The committee, as was expected, made the most of the opimrtunity to aggrandize the Iroipiois claim of New York, Intth north and south of the Ohio, and to belittle that of Vir- ginia. They attempted to show this depreciation by setting the lights of the Iroquois, the grants which the traders of the Indi- ana Company had received, and the limits fixed by the procla- mation of 1763, against the charter rights of 1G09. It was fartlur claimed that the crown lands as George the Third had tiffined them had fallen naturally to the revolting colonies as % ; ' 230 EAST A\n WEST. !' r. \m \ti >'■ '■\'i a whole. Tlio grant to the Vaiuhiliu Company, though k'{,';illv instituted, was lu'ld to he too hirge t'nu'- tical abandonment of all beyond the mountains, except so far as France might dictate the retention. Congress vas even ready, pending an acknowledgment of independence, to agree to a truce with England, if France and S])ain would deny that gov- ernment the occupation of all it had claimed. The degradation was e(miplete when, on June 11, to Luzerne's delight, nine States, wdiicli were mainly those oceu]ned by the enemy, forced throiiuli Congress a vote, leaving absolutely to France the definitions of the American bounds. Luzerne felt so sure of his victory that he informed his government that Congress would be content with the Ohio, if not with the Alleghanies, as a frontier. The surrender to France once made, all sorts of notions ])revailed as to what could be saved of the western country. It was ho|ieil. by yielding the Fort Stanwix grant of 1709 beyond the Kaua- JAY ly MADRID. 201 •1 wlin, — re(iiiinng at the same tiiiu' tlu' destruction of all ncigh- liKiiutj foi'titied posts, — to satisfy Franct- ; but if more was (leiii:iiiile(l, they hoped to ajjju'ast' the Knmco-Spanish avidity liv yielding, " for the use of the Indians,"" Niagara and western New York, and all the western Ao\w of the Alleghanies, except so far as the charter of Pennsylvania covered the territory ahout till" forks of the Ohio. These alternative schemes are outlined ill a paper by Gouverneur Morris, preserved in the Sparks uiau- usdipts. Virginia at one time (June 8) tried in vain to get ii votr in which the western bounds were defined as leaving the St. Lawrence where the 45111 j)aralh'l struck that river, and then procot'ding by the lake to the Miami (Maumee), and so to the souict's of the Illinois, and down that river to the Mississip})i, l)iit ii(»t another State had the courage to insist upon it and save the coiupiest of Clark. While everything was fluttering to the death in Phih»dclj)hia, the soul of Jay in Madrid was rasped almost beyond endur- ance. He knew the ministry to be "insincere and mysterious," and it is jiretty well proved, as he then feared, that his letters were ojiened in the Sjianish ])()st-office. He was conscious that those to whom he was granting dii)h)nuitic courtesies knew more of what Congress had done than was permitted him to know. He got intimaticms from Gouverneur Morris that led him to conjecture the truth. Finally, however, he obtained his luckless instructions, and im .Inly 13 delivered them formally to Florida Blanca. He iitiiM now. at least, talk with him for the future ujion terms more eijual. By August, Congress had received Jay's response. Joseph •loiies "ives us his version of Jav's chagrin : " The Dons are phiyiiit;' a game wholly for themselves." When Congress awoke to this, with a spurt of valor, it voted Aui;iist 10, unanimously, to yield nothing to S])ain. liefore tliis (letormination could have reached flay, he sought to -force a ili'cision out of the laggard and tortuous Spanish ministers. On Stpteiiilx'r 22, he made a formal projiosition to relincpiish the iiiivinatiou of the Mississipj)i below 31°, intimating the groat- iifss of the concession, inasmuch as it nuist retard the settle- nipiit of the country. He told the minister that the concession iiuist he accepted immediately, for it could not be held to if ■f i lii ) it'- m m V 202 EAST A\n WEST. (K'feiTL'd to the geiienil pcaci!. lie assumed this hohl front with the saiue spirit with vvhieh he liiul trieil to impress on Coiii^ivsH that their vvaverinj;' was a mistake, and that any spirit was l)»;tter tlian ono ''of humility and eomi)liance." Tiie " 'iisttr failed, and .lay was obliged to eonfess to Congress, when he next wrote (Ootober 8), that Spain insisted on the entire con- trol of the Gulf of Mexieo, and the exclusive navigation of the Mississippi. " The cession of the navigation of the Mississi|i|ii will, in my oi)inion," he added, " render a future wiir with {Spain unavoidable.'* Before the president of Congress had received this, Oliver Pollock at New Orleans, with ample knowledge, was writiu",' to the same ofHeial that the United States nmst insist on a port of deposit near the lloumas village, twenty-two leagues above New Orleans, where there was high land, and that they must claim a pilot stand at the Halize. Four days after Pollock wrote this, Cornwallis surrendeixil, and there was clearing weather. CIIAPTKK XII. I'KACK, ITSl'. TiiK surrciuU'i' of ('(trnwallis : the (lisposition of Parliament to |)fa»'t>: Conway's successful motion (^Fchruarv 'I'l) to dis- coiitiiiut' the war, which led North to exclaim, " We are heat (■(iiii|)letely ; " Burke's triumphant hopes, — all were recogniza- lilf si<;ns of the eoniinky, and this unfortunate leader was eaptuifd and burnt at the stake. In -August, a still harder blow was dealt by Captain Caldwell, with a party of British rangers and Indians, dis])atched by De Peyster, when an attack was niade on Bryants Station, resulting, a duy or two later, \n a couiitci' struggle of some mounted Kentuekians at the Blue Licks. This conflict provetl to be one of the severest defeats which the frontiersmen ever sustained. A few weeks later, a force of British and Indians made an assault on Fort Henry (Wheeliiii;), Colonel Zane and a feeble garrison j.a])})ily sustained themselves till succor arrived. Before the season closed. Major Craijf, sent from Fort Pitt, made a useless reconnoissance (Novembei) towards Sandusky, while at the same time Clark, animated In revenge for the season's disasters, starting from the falls, Icil a thousand men against the Miamis, antl devastated their towns. It was the last brilliant dash of a nuin who, amid the whirls of disappointment, was soon to surrender himself to evil habits, and drop ou*^^ of memorable history. He had now made tli.' hnal rude onset against British ])ower in the northwest, as lio had made the first four years before. Though Haldimand, on the British side, had, in the main. throughout the season counseled defensive measures, it had not been eas}" for him to prevent retaliatory strokes. Brant had hoped, while the year was ch)sing, to give a finishing Idnw. Before the progress of the negotiations in Paris were kmnvn to presage peace, this savage chieftain had jdanned an attack on Fort Pitt, but learning of the excellent condition in \\hicli Irvine had put that post, he desisted. i^i ,f NEW YORK AND VERMONT. 205 Tims it happened that negotiations for peace were going on in i'aiis while the fortu" js of a desultory conflict were swaying hitl.Ti" and thither beyond the mountains. There was in the west, as in the east, no marked change in the position of the comliatuuts as the season cksed. it was, consequently, as we shall see, mainly the attitude of France and Spain touching this very western country, rather than the de' ^,nds of lOngland, which caused perplexity in the st'ttlcnicnt of tlic boundaries of the new nation. Indeed, tiie (>()i)(l results of the final treaty we mainly owe to England, for 1)V [(laving into the hands of our more bitter .uemies, France ami Spain, she could have seriously hampered the young Ke- piihlic at its birth. m r.' i' While the surgings of the war had not afft'cted the veld Ave possessions of the belligerents in the west, the relations jI the States to that territory had, pending the negotiations for i)eace, heeii carried to an effective stage. Congress was brought in January (1782) squarely to affirm that the confederated States hail succeeded to all the cliarter rights of the sea-to-sea colonies, as abridged by the Treaty of 1703. Thus the ground was (!on- veniently cleared when, on May 1, 1782, Congress set itself to consider the committee's report of the preceding Xovember 3. The main thing to be dealt with v as the acceptance or refusal of the deed which had been offered by New York. There were reasons why Virginia kept a jealoiis and watchful cyo ujxm her Northern rival. The Southern ^>tate saw danger in the press- ing Vermont question, for i*^ that district was admitted to the Union, it meant, as Xew York claimed, that Congress could (loeide between a State and a ])()rtio'i of the same State seeking autonomy. Such a result might prove a precedent, as Virginia saw, for Congress to partition that State's domain in accei)ting Kentucky. The success of Vermont would bode further ill to \ ii'ginia, in that the admission of that Ntu'thern State to the cont'i'deration would swell the vote of the non-claimant States, in considering the proposition of the committee to despoil Vir- ^nnia of her rights, by accepting the «'ontiicting claims of her I'ival, New York. It was clear to Virginia that if Congress ileeided for New York, it threw the whole force of the confed- eration against her. »!i ) ' 20G PEACE, 1782. ■ n 'PrI ( , M T The country was in something' like a death struggle, and was impressed with a belief ( however futile it proved to be) that a publie domain at the west was going to furnish means to pav the ex2)enses of the war. Under these circumstances, there was little chance that the rival claims of Virginia and New York woidd be dispassionately weighed, since measures in legislative bodies are not always, under the stress of war, pushed to just conclusions. The cpiestion of the relative value of these rival claims has not indeed proved easy of solution in later times, Bancroft holds all claims but Virginias to be invalid. The Suprciiiu Court of the United States, in .Johnson r. Mcintosh, while pro- nouncing against Indian titles as opposed to European pre- emption, may seem so far to have sustained the position of Virginia. But the historical tpiestion is complicated by tlie royal annulment of her charter in 1024, though the Virginia publicists have contended that further action in 102^ showed tliat the consequent })ossession by the crown of the origin;.! territorial limits did not deprive the colony of its rights of juris- diction ; nor was this again affected, as they further claimed, by the prodanuition of 1703. In Congress, at least, at this time and later, the native grant was sustained, and ])ointedly, for tlif Indiana title, being a native one. was u])hcld, and the Vaiidalia title, being a royal ))i'C('mption. was voided. We have seen that Thomas Paine had raised a new issue in giving a construction to the terms of the charter of 1000 wliicli was opposed to that maintained by Virginia.. The chartrr.it will be remembered, makes one of the lines running Xym'V from the coast proceed due west, while the other t n-ns northwest. and both by a vague im])lication were su]>])os ^d to strike tin' western ocean. Virginias due west lino was the Xorth Caio- lina bouiulary, and the northwest oiu' that which cut off tin' western parts of ^laryland and Pennsylvani:. and extended indefinitely towards Alaska, abridging thereby jilso the west- ern extension of Massachusetts and Connecticut-, lvalue's ibie west line struck back from the coast at the Maryland line. while his northwest line struck inland at the south till it joined the west line or entered the western sea. This water was held at that time (1009 ), as I'aine contends, to be so near the Alleghanies and beyond their western slope that the two linrs. NEW YORK CESSIOX. 207 as lie umkM-stoocl them, would probably touch the sea before tliiv (^ollitleil, and so warrant the exju'ession of the charter, that thv / extended to that sea. Paine contended that this coiistiuction gave a more reasonable limit to the colony than thi' extent claimed by Virg'inia, which was large enough to eiiihrace lifty colonies. It will be seen that this view disposed at once of the controversy so long and bitterly v»'aged by Vir- i;iiiia with Maryland and Pennsylvania, and affected the juris- diction of the upper Shenandoah. Congress, however, was clearly determined not to decide be- tween disputed interpretations, if a settlement could be reached l>y the voluntary (piitclaims of the rival States. The mani- festations of the hour were easily colored by ])redilectioiis. Madison fancied the Middle States, which had been oj)})osed to Virginia by reason of the niunbers of t! eir citizens who wore interested in land comi)anies, werj now drawing to the Virginia side. The K«)rthern j)eo})le said that Virginia was, (m tlu' contrary, losing ground, and even Madison, rather than con- tinue the contest, at last felt dis})osed to yield everything that would not benefit the arrogant land com])anies. The pur])ose of these he thought might be thwarted by setting Kentucky up as a new government. Indeed, if Irvine's observations were coireet, there had grown during the sunnner, beyond the moun- tains, a strong disi)osition for more than one such separate ptvernnient. The (piestion of the acceptance of the New York deed came up in Congress a month befi)re the ])eace commissioners in Paris had closed their labors, and Virginia stood alone in casting her vote against it. After a struggle of six years, the jxdicy to whicli the C(mstancy of Maryland had contributed, but which Coiigress had more wisely shaped, was now established. The New York deed, based on the various treaties with the Irocjuois in 1 ii could give no title against the prior discovery of other Cliiis. tian people. If the New York title had validity, it really lift to Virginia Imt a remnant of her supposed jurisdietion to b, surrendered as indisputably hers. Congress luul decided tiiat to accept this New York claim was sufficient for the oceasiuu. as setting an example to be followed by the other claimant Status. and its action ])ractically banded the confederation in that oli- jcct. Unless Virginia was bound to stand for her rights, — ami the event ])r<)vcd she was not, — and unless Connecticut and Massachusetts and the States south of Virginia were to assimif a position equally perverse, — and the event proved they were not, — the question of a great public domain was thus opitor- tunely settled, a month before the i)rovisional treaty of ptjace was signed at Paris, when Congress, on October 29, voted td accejjt in due form the deed offered by New York. While thus in two important ways the relation of the West to the new Ke})ubli ; had been settled on its own soil, W(! need now to turn to a consideration of the dii)lomatic foil and fence at Paris, which were ended on November 30, 1782, in a provi- sional treaty of peace. i !,: This dli)lomati(; struggle had resulted in a distinct American triumph, owing in large measure to the prevision and daunt- less convictions of Jay, and to a natural revulsion in the minds of the other American commissioners against both open and sinister efforts of Vergennes, — a revulsion reluctantly reached. however, by Franklin. John Adams was confident that the western ])opulati(>n could not be appeased if their ex])ectations were al)ri(lged, and he had proved himself a courageous ally of Jay, and had insisted that with firmness and delicacy — the latter not precisely his own trait — the connnissioners could get all for which they contended. Franklin was never any- thing if not politic. Shelburne's opinion of him was that •" he wanted to do everything by cunning, which was the bottom (it his eharactor, ' and most Englishmen have taken that view of him ever since. He was certainly never more astute — which may be a more ])leasing word — tlum in now yielding to Adams and Jay : and he was never more successfully judicious than in disarnnng the resentment of Vergennes, when that minister dis- covered how he had been foiled. So peace and independence h PEACE SECURED. 209 were tiiiunpluintly won, and v hat tlie West most needed for its fiitiirt' development was gained. The new boundaries had been setcled on lines that ultimately startled even those who had coneeded them, and constituted one of the ^rounds for the later assaults by Fox and his adherents. ( )t' tlu' eight hundred thousand s(|uare miles of territory with wliicli the y<-ung' lie})ublic entered upon her career, one half of it. of \vhii;h France and Spain would have deprived her, lay west (if till' Alleghanies. This broad extension was but the begin- iiiim of an ultimate domain, which is measured to-day by three and a hilf millions of square miles. The courts in the United States have always held that the territory secured through this treaty was not a concession of concjuered lands. It was rather tilt' result of a rightful partition of the British eni])ire \\\)Oi\ linos which had bounded the American colonies. Livingston, in letters to Franklin in January, 1782, had enforced this view: "The States," he says, "have considered their authority to grant lands to the westward coextensive with the right of (ireat Ihitain." This extension to the Mississippi, he again says, "■ is founded on justice; and our claims are at least such as the events of the war [referring to Clark's successes] give us a right to insist u])on," while the settlements in tlie West "render a relinquishment of tlie claim highly unpcditic and unjust."' To secure these bounds, the American connnissioners had acted almost defiantly towards France. Lee understood their spirit wluMi he asked in Congress : " Shall America submit the destiny of the west to France, while Sjiain, her ally, stands ready to grasp it? " Hamilton read Congress a lesson, when he said that it was not France who coidd have extorted from us '• Inuniliating or injurious concessions as the price of her assist- ance," but Congress, who placed France in a condition to do it, liy imposing cm the connnissioners the obligation of deferring to Vergcnnes. This degradation had been felt in C^)ngress, and to a demand to recede from it, the friends of those instructions liad a])ol()gized iov the injunctions by de(daring tlieni oidy for- mal : hut no one then knew that France had intrigued to secure their enactment as a means to save the western country to Spain. It was fortunate that under Jay's lead the connnission- ers disregarded those instructions, and Adams certaiidy did not construe them as imposing the necessity of following the advice of Vorgennes. ,.A II \\ vr < 1 1 >; ! f ill M 210 PEACE, 17SJ. lA"-, :i^ U" When Livingston, after the treaty was signed, ealleil the condnet of the commissioners in question for making the ticutv without the privity of Vergennes, Jay fittingly re})lic'il that France eouhl have no comphiint, since the treaty had nothiiii; in contravention of the treaty of 1778; that it eouhl not be ! mul- ing till France had concluded a gencal treaty ; and that the instructions ])r(!Sui)i)osed France woi.ild act in the interest of America, while it was })roved she was ])lanning for Spain's and her own advantage. This explanation of flay gave the tone to the advocates of the conunissioners in Congress. liicliaid Henry Lee said that France deprived herself of the right (if privity when she began to i)h)t against her American allv, Kutledge and Arthur Lee contended that the public good re- quired the action of the conunissioners. " The English," said Vergennes, wlien it was all over. '• had bought rather than made a peace." Wiiile all Euroi)e was wondering at the British concessions, it is not difficult to under- stand the British motive. The party of peace, which Grenvilk' Sharp represented, had got the upi)er hand. The stubboniiicss of King George and his advisers had given way to those iiiihi- bitable pi'inciples which often wreck the ])resent to settle the future. It had become necessary to decide whether Ciuiaihi should be environed with a kindred people, or with the race of Bourbon aliens. As early as January, 1782. Livingston, in the imccrtainty of the future, had intimated to Franklin that a neutral liidian territory beyond the mountains would be ])referabie to a direct British contact in that direction. In this the American foreign secretary was not probably fully aware of the purposes of France and Spain. In June, D'Aranda gave to Jay a coi)y of Mitch- ell's map, on which he had marked what he proposed to nuike. if he could, the western limits of the American States. It showed a line running north on the back of Georgia td the mouth of the Kanawha, and so to Lake Erie. It aff<)r(hMl a recognition of the grants which had been later made in tin' tei- r Hi ::! Note. — Tlu» opposite Rcctiou of a Cfir/f tjhtt'rnle tffs Trfirf Efnt^ I'ni.^ ff Int}i'i)*')i/i<' 1 k 1 i \^ t V}?" k ; ' 1 ■) ^ :! 212 PEACE, 1782. ■'^ k i .•' i l: ,1 In I'itoiy restriettMl Ity the jn'ocluination of 1703. All this was as far as tlie Hourbon cal)iiu'ts wvvv incliiu'd to go. To this was opposed the American arj^iuneiit that the very prohihitiiins under that i)roelaniati()n were an aeknowledgnient of the States' inherent eharter rights, whieh that instrument had only tempo, rarily assailed, as Livingston had rehearsed to Franklin. This line drawn on Mitchell's map was the first clear indica- tion of what Si)ain wsvs striving for. D'Aranda eoujjlcd liis graphic argiunent with claiming that the Spanish capture of the Illinois fort had pushed their rights eastward till they reached the territory belonging to the Indians. Jay ha idly needed the promptings of recent instructions from Livingston to deny the Spanish conquest and to maintain the American rights. Kayneval now put into Jay's hands a i)aper in which he tried to show that after 1703 England had never considered the western country a part of her " established " colonies, and that Spain never actpiired the territory above the Natchez. The country between the Spanish ])ossessions and the Alleghanics was, as he claimed, the inheritance of the natives, and to secure them in their rights he i)ro]>osed a tortuous line, running north from the Gulf to the mouth of the Cumberland, on the cast of which tlie Indians should be under the protection of tlio Americans, and on the west the S])anish should have a sii^ilar su])ervision, with an exclusive right to the navigation of tlie Mississippi. In September. Jay acquainted Vergenncs tliat it was his determination to abate nothing of the ^lississipju claim. It was a sign to the French minister that he had b-^th alertiuss and firnuiess to deal with in the American commissioners. D(! (irasse, after being ca])tured by the British fleet in the West Indies, had been taken to England, and, ]>assing on parole from London to Paris, he is thought to have carried an intimation from the Englisli cabinet which induced Vergenncs to send Kayneval to the English capital. Oswald believed that Eaynevars object was to bring Shelburne to allow that liotli banks of the ^Mississippi shoidd go to S])ain. If he could have accom])lished this, Vergennes, as Kayneval intimated in a ])ai)t'i' which he gave to Jay, was ])re])ared to su])]iort England at the final settlement in a demand for the limits of the Quebec Act. Kayneval had never agreed with Jay's views, and had thought i u VKlKilwWKS A\I) SIIELIiriiXE. 213 aiiv loncossion iniule by tho Ainericiin comiui.ssioner too small. In pressing upon Slu'lhunic the ncci'ssity of heinniiny the Aiiii'iicans in on the west, he rcveaU'd for the first time to the Kiii;lish eahiiiet what was really the purpose of France and Spain, and opened the Knj^lish mind to what North had warmly contended for, — the integrity of the liounds of 1774 in tile Ohio valley, both as a justice to their Indian allies, and as prcst rving the forts which they had erected north of the Ohio. it Idoiin'ht back the old ])roposition of Vergennes, made two or tiine years before, of closing the war by dividing the western country between Kngland and France. Vergennes's present pur])ose was patent. He wished to weaken the United States, and he desired to have Kngland acknowledge that the bounds of Canada ran to the Ohio, so that if evi'r a turn in fortune rendered it possible, France could recover by treaty her ])ossessions in the St. Lawrence valley. rFust what Kayneval's i)n^'j)osc was in this Knglish mission has been a subject of controversy. Diplomatic denials in the mouth of such a nnin count for little. If we take his ostensible instructions as evidence, they contravene the charac- ter of both Vergennes and his creature. It is necessary always to remember that Vergennes never had any purpose but to aiigrandize France. Shelbnrne was clearly suspicious. lie saw that to release tlic Americans from the French toils, and from any evil to l)ritain resulting therefrom, was to give the new nation an extent of territory which would conduce to its dignity and liuttress its indcjKMidence against lioui-bou intrigue. Oswald, the English agent, in talking with In-anklin, signifi- cnntly hinted at the recent liussian discoveries "on the back (if Xortli America" as affording a possible basi; for a friendly power to move against S))ain, if that country drove both Eng- liiiiil and the United States to extremities. " This a])pearcd a little visionary at present." said Franklin, ''but I did not dis- pute it." So the Spanish and French Bourbons were thwarted in I'cality hy the adhesion of England to her old colonial charters, and by lier |)urpose to make them an inheritance for her enianci])ated colonies. The con(piest of the northwest by Clark told in the tinal result rather more against the pretensions of S})ain than f ■' kl. fi i ' • J |i i( I mf^mm 214 PEACE, 178 J. aj^alnst tlioso of England, C'lai-k liinisclf, in March, ITSO. li-d siispecti'd tliat Spain wonld ^^ladly liavi- had the British ('a|ttuiv all posts oast of the Mississippi, so that they nii<;ht he r<'t;ili» liu earlier recog- Aiiieri- Tlie •aiiclios ITCiT." ill ' Slll)|)0.«('tl I ^ i 18 i M .11, Hi ; ! I 1 : '' ft i 1 't 1 • ; T' i ll : * ■ m- L (1 i> k i 1'' P !■' li i k ■' ' ^ i H I \h . ' ■ 1 4 i* 1 i ( ,' ■ 1 s i f ■ i 1 ! • ,' ' i ^' ' 1 ' \ 'r t ;. * 1 ' h ii ''{ : its source to the sea. and the new treaty followin;^' an offer which day had made tln(iiii;li Vaughan, when he sent him to Knyland to counteract the jilots of Kayneval, confirmed to the United States an equal sliaiv with England in that navigation, and Shelhurne, at the time in ignorance of the attendant geography, imagined that Mrit- ish manufactures were by this j)rivilegc likely to find a new market. The denial of this liritish light to the river by Siiaiii led, as we shall see, to complications whieh gave some romantic interest in the near future to the history of the western scttlt'- ments. England's claim to that right rested now, curiously enough, on the supposition that the n})pcr reaches of the (Jieat Kiver were availalde for .shipment or travel from Canailiaii territory, and when the source of the ^Iississip])i was found to lie wholly within the American domain, and when the purcdiusc of Louisiana in 1803 had secured both banks of the Mississi|H)i to the United States, England abandoned the right, and made no reference to it in the treaty of 1814. The concession of territory whi(,'h the treaty mad'- to the United States in the extreme orthwest was everywh'.'rc a sur- prise. Luzerne wrote to Vergenu • "The Americans, in jiusii- ing their i)ossessions as far as the ':« of the Woods, are prc])aring for their remote posterity a coi. Munication with the Pacific." The ])ro})hecy has been fulfilled. A discontent, much like that of France, was at once mani- fested in Canada at the line which the treaty had given thf United States on the north. There was a widespread fcelini; among the Americans that Kuglaixl lyould never consent to dividing the Quel)ec of 1774. (Itt eral Irvine, when in cdhi- niand at Fort Pitt, hud felt ccmfificnt of this. Ilaldimand had long struggled to make the (Quebec Bill effective. Now when he saw that his r fforts had not only failed on the Ohio, but that farther east the Americans had gained Niagara and Oswego. lie felt a sense of shame in the necessity which it involved ot riiE ToniEs. 21' niiiiiNiny; thu Iroquois, the British alli«'8, to tlu' other side of I/iUf Ontaiio. Tliis necessity iiuule Sir John .loluison eall the tii:iiv iiii •• iufajuoiis " one. The snrji'inj^ ot" the wai' had not n)a(h> the fate of tiie Oliio (•(iiinti'V eertain, notwithstjuidinj;- the hrilliant exploits of ("lark. Tiie iie;;otiations at Paris iiad aecordinj^ly lingered, with many cuiiiiter-plots, as we have seen, over the (h'stiny of that rej;ion. j'laiikliii at one time had feared that Enj^land was tryin<;- to (IctMcii France from the American alliance l»y oft'erinj'* to restore Caiiiida to her, and hut for Rodney's defeat of De (Jrasse ( A|tiil, 1782), there niii;ht have been some cjiance of it. The Kiii;lisli, on the otiier hand, had had their Hts of distrust for fear that I'^rance mi;;ht prevent the United States coniin<]f to an independent negotiation, when the Ohio country would have licfii the consideration in other diplomatic bargains. That Kng- land Iiad a lingering hope in some way to secure that country as a refuge for the loyalists is evidtmt. " We did not want such neighbors," said Franklin, who had been too nuu-h ex- asperated against the Tones soberly to estimate what a loss the country was to suffer by their ex])ulsion. Fraidvliu indeed had suggested to Oswald that these political outlaws should even be denied a home in (^anada, and that the American juris- diction ought to extend to the Arctic circle and so accomplish their exclusion. lie added, with a mock gi-aciousness, that pei'- haps some of the Canadian waste lands couhl be sold to indem- nify the royalists for the confiscation of their estates. This was an intimation that he very soon regretted he had given, lie confessed, however, that there might be some Americans \vh() felt that (^anada in Ibitish hands would be the best guar- antee of the Anu'i'ican Union. It has been clainied by Dr. Wharton, in his Tntcfnatlonal l.inr /)i(/(',sf (iii. 913), that if Franklin had not been hampered hy liis fellow negotiators, he would ])r(tl)ably have secured Canada to the United States, but there is little jiround for such ii lioiief. He could have had as little hope of it, when tlie test I'unie. as Vergennes had of restoring the ancii'ut reign of France witliin its borders. (Jrenville. in a letter to Fox, stated th(> 'lUfstion squarely when he said that England would naturally ^>'e little reason to give away a fourteenth province, after she liail lost thirteen. [\ < 1 i i J ' i * ■ : * i jl tJ M M'[nw (H T t if.. \/ I pi ' !i 218 PEACE 1787. Tlie acquisition of the country between the Oiiio and the lakes, the joint control of most of tlie midland seas and the en- tire jurisdiction over others, was of itself a jjrosperous stroke. It carried a sufficient success, even though Kngland did Udt concede the navigation of the lower St. Lawrence, which she in fac', denied down to the conclusion of the reciprocity trtiitv in 1854. There had l)een, during the closing months of the negotia- tions, more than one jjroposition as to these northern bounds submitted to the English niinistrv. Kayneval, as we have shown^ had been content to leave the question to English diplomacy, never once (luestioning that she wouhl stubl)orn]y stand by the Quebec l^ill, and Vergenut's. wlien the final negotiations were aj)proaching, had written to Luzerne that the Americans had no claim whatever to carve away any part of the Quebec of 1774. Oswald, however, liad felt the })ressure of Franklin, and he had jjointedly re})orted to Townshend that to reduce Quebec to the limits which it liad mider the })roclamation of 17(33 was " necessary and indispen- sable '" to a peace. Accordingly. Townsliend. on Septendn r 1. instructed the B-itisli agent to consent " to a confinement of the boundaries of (''anachi. at least, to what they were befoi'e the ai't of Parliament of 1774, if not to a still more contracted state on an ancient footing." This was jn-aetically an acce])t!ni('i' oi the Nipissing line of 17<»8. Jay met the occasion witliin a short time, and on October 5 ])ut info Oswald's hands some articles which Fraidvlin had approved, and wliich embraecd this Xipissing line, which turned from the St. Lawrence at 4") north latitude, and lan straight to Lake Xipissing, and th.^nce to the source of the ?Iississip]n. Thrive days later. Oswald forwarded the draff to London for his Majesty's consideration. Tlie line did not. as Franklin had anfiei])ate line, and two others, now submitted by the Americans, wild wi re iireptived to accept either one of them. One of these liiif. tollowetl the 4oth parallel due west to the Mississippi, tlicnby accei)tin day to London, Strachey wrote: '* (mxI forbid, if I should ever have a hand in another ]>eace I "' John Adams said : " The peace depended absolut(dy ui)on the critical momiait when it was signed, and haste was inevital)le.'" Oil December 10, Strachey. who had in the mean while gone to London, wrote back to Oswald that he had found '* Mr. Towii>liend and Loid Shelburne perfectly satisfit'd." The sat- isfaction did not prove, however, sufBcient to insuie quiet. The American commissioners might w«'ll congratidate Liv- ing-'toii that the bounds which they had secured showed little to eoiiiiilain of and not much to desire. Rut in England uj)on second thougiit, and in Canada at once, there was little of such cninphicency, because of the weighty loss which befell the nier- laiitile inrerests. The trade of Canada was not very great, but it was it?' all. Shelburne C(»ngratulated hi'.nself that wh'le Canada affordcvl ,.idy £50,000 annual revenue, he had. ])ut an i ■ V i \ i -Ah II 1 1 I m ': .'!« J. ! t I' II 220 PEACE, 1782. end to the war which had cost £800,000 a year. The treaty's partition of the valley of the Great Lakes had, moreover, dealt a blow to Canada in throwing more than lialf of ^he west- ern trade in ^kins — reckoned at £180,000 — into the con- trol of the Americans. It was estimated that not far from fonr tliousanct Indians of the watershed of the upper lakes were accustomed to gather for trade at Mackinac, which was also by the treaty brought within the American bounds, llaldi- mand, by dispatching Calve to them, lost no time in trying by seductive speeches to keej) these tribesmen faithful to British interests. The >y the negotiators. In this map, as in all the contempo- rarv maps, Lake Superior is shown to be well filled with islands ; and the mid-water line, athwart the lake, was defined as i)assing tho northern end of Phillipeaux Island on its way to the Grand Portage. This was in accordance with a belief that the north end lay nearly opposite the entrance of the water-way. The fact is, that it is much more nearly on a line with the south end, and by this misconception the international line on modern maps makes an unexpected turn in order to throw that island on J-"" .American side. It as at that time also supposed that a line passing from Lal.c Superior up this water-way and crossing the Lake of the AVoods would at the northwest angle of that lake strike the 4!* of latitude, and if then continued due west on that parallel, that it would strike the Mississippi somewhere in its u[)i)er parts. Mitchell had not exactly figured this condition in his ma]), but it could be inferred from what he did show. In 1785, this same vagrant Bostonian Pond made, as we shall S(>t'. a jdot of this region, in which he was the first to em])hasizc the fact tl:at the !^Tississip])i really rose far south of the 49 of latitude, and se ••nt off Englishmen from the chance of navigat- ing' that river This developuicnt actually left a space of about one hundre' i. i ;■. •;>etween the springs of the Great Kiver and the Lake of t5u V/wods. In this interval there was, of coiu'se, hv tiic treaty no i 9r"u.m of bounds, — a ditficulty solved after Louisiana was accjuired by dro])])ing the line due south from the lake till it reached the 49th parr-llel, along which the houndary was then carried west to the mountains. t ! The proclamation of 17u3 was the cause of other diffieul- tit's on tlie southern border. Florida at the general peace was I iw m '} II ! i ll ^^' i ^li i' U JliU 222 PEACE, 1783. restored to Spain, England having held it since 17G3. It was the sole success of the miserable intrigue in which S})aiu \vm\ been engaged, and if the later admission of Lord Lanstlowne (Shelburne) is to be believed, England yielded it now in the hopes that it would endjroil the United States and Spain in tlic future. Whether yielded for that jmrpose or not, it certainly became a bone of contention, and D'Aranda is said to have warned his sovereign that it would. Its retention by England would, under the secret clause of the new treaty which had Ijcen agreed up(>n, have stopped the bounds of the Re])ublic at the latitude of the mouth of the Yazoo, li'J 28', instead of carrying them farther south to 31", — anotlicr result of the proclamation of 17G3, and equally the source of later troubles with Spain. Notwithstanding such a diminution of the Kcjjublic's area. Jay had hoped the negotiation wmld have left west Flori-'') in the hands of England, and in the usual ignoran(!e of tlit ! iphy of the source of the ^lissis. sippi, he urged it upon ti., ..glish commissioners as affordinj^- near the nsouth of that river a complement of the commercial rights which they accpiired at the source. The fact that England in the proclamation of 1703 had an- nexed this debatable territory — now containing j)ei'ha|is ten thousand inhabitants — to west Florida, as well as (lahcz's successes in cai)turing the English posts within it, was the ground of the (daim whicd. Spain nrged for possessing to the Yazoo. If Congress, in 1771>, had yielded to the importunities of Patriclc Henry, and had succeeded in doing what (ialvcz later did, the secret clause of 1782 might have ])roved effective. As it was, the success of (ialvez had been at the time grateful to Congress, and when, at the dost of the war, Oliver Polloek ])resented to that body a portrait of his friend, the S]>anish gov- ernor, it was accepted " in consideration of his early and jealous friendship, frequently manifested in behalf of these States." If the United States, in the conclusions whi(di had been reached, had any occasion for gratitude, it was because in the perilous issue England for a brief interval showed something of that '' sweet reconciliation '" whi(di Hartley and Franklin had talked so much about, for that temi)orary blandness came, as John Adams said, at the right moment to serve America's tern- VJ::iiGEXXES. :i:23 f f 4 toiial ambition. Certainly, the United States had no gronnd fur ^^atitude to Franee or i?[)ain, neither of which liad any other intt'iitii»n than to a<;gran(lize the other, iuuniliate Enghind, and ciiimlc America. Fortunately, to secure these results the inde- iiL'iulonee of the United States was necessary, and this was the oiilv i)i(>i)osition to wliieh Vergennes was constant. There was iiidocd no reason to expect anything else of the Bour')on polit- ical twins. "' The Americans know too much of politit-s," said Talleyrand, "to believe in the virtue called gratitude between nations. They know that disinterested services are ah)ue enti- tlfd to that pure sentiment, and that there are no such services liitwcfu States." This was the key to the dii)lomacy of that aiic and times have not luuch changed. Sparks in his time, and AVharton of late years, trusting too iiiiplicitly in the ])ublic and even confidential j)i'ofessi<>ns (>f Vcr- ^('ii.ics and Hayneval, — two so expert masters of duplicity that tliiy needed constantly to struggle to prevent duidicity becom- ill^ masters of them, — have believed that the susi)icions of Jay and Adams as to the purposes of France were without founda- tion, and that Franklin had the (di'arest conception of the situa- tion : but the publications of Circourt. Fitzmaurice, Doniol, and Stevens have indicated that the insight and prevision of Jay was true, when, a fortnight before the treaty was signed, 111' wrote to Livingston as follows : "■This court is interested in separating us from (Ireat Britain, and on that ])oint we may, I lielieve, depend upon them : but it is not their interest that we should become a great and formidable people, and therefoi-e they will not help us to become so. It is their interest to keep some point or other in contest between us and Britain to the end of the war, to prevent the possibility of our soonei- agi'ce- inji'. and thereby keep ns employed in the war and dependent on them for suppli(^s. Hence they have favoi'cd and will con- tinue to favor the Briti^•h demands as to matters of boundary and the Tories." f I \m I! The provisicmal treaty was made definitive on Septend)er 3, 1783, after England, France, and Spain had Jigreed among thenis(dves to other terms of ])eace in tlu^ i)receding January. The iiitiM'val since the signing of the preliminary treaty had allowed England time, through new political leaders in the coali- I I )p i ii 224 PEACE, 1782. tion witli North, which Fox iiianaged, to recover from her trac- table mood, and the final treaty was signed by those who did not formulate it. It was useless to hope in tlie revision for the rectification of wliat .lolin Adams called "inaccuracies," and its language was unchanged. r; ui .iil CHAPTER XTII. THE INSFXUKITY OF THE NOHTHAVEST. 1783-17.S7. TiiK war for independence was over. Jefferson i-eekoned that the struggle had eost the people of the United States something like !|140,000,000, while it had caused England the iiu'ftVctual expenditure of at least five times as much. It was iu'knowledgp"! in the House of Connnons that every soldier sent aoioss the nbu had cost ,£100 sterling. Brissot, with only aj)- juoxiinate correctness, put it rather strikingly : " The Ameri- cans pay less than a million sterling a year for having main- taiiu'd their liberty, while the English pay more than four mil- lion stei'ling additional annual expense for having attempted to rolt tiiem of it." But this monetary disparity was no test of the far greater loss which Great Britain had suffered. Her dominion had been curtailed by a million square miles, as it was then computed, and this territory constituted an area best assured of a future aniont;' all her possessions. Her prestige was injured, and her hereditary enemy across the Channel gloated on the sjiectade. Her colonial children had been divided: a \n\vt of them were left suspicious of her, the rest were looking to her for substan- tial recognition of their loyalty. Her savage allies had been turned over to the tender mercies of those whose })ossessions tin V had ravaged. There was a po])ulation of about three and a (|uarter million, mostly her kin in blood, whom she had alien- ated wlioi she most needed their support. All this had hap- pened because her ministry were blind to the advance of human itltas, and were stubborn in support of an obstinate king, who could not see that the world moved on, and that there was an inevitable waning of old assumptions in the royal prerogative and Parliamentary rights. The American commissioners had made a triumph under the m Ml ,i U ! I \l\ 22G THE IXSKCURirY OF THE XORTHWEST. WU' lii t ! guiding iuHiience of fJay and Adams, as Ilainiltou at tlu; time reeogni/od, which cut by a double edge. Not only had Kii". land felt one edge, but France had felt the other. •• 'rin; Count do Vei'gennes and I," said one of these conunissioucrs, " were pursuing different objects, lie was endeavoriuj; to make my countrymen meek and humble, and I was laboiiui;' to make them proud." It proved, indeed, the pride that ^octli before a fall, and that fall was very near being a fatal one when, some years later, John Adams's predictions were verified. " England and Franct'," he said to the president of Congress. Se])tember 5, 1783, •' will be most perfectly united in all artificis and endeavors to keep down our reputation at home and alunail. to mortify our self-conceit, and to lessen us in the opinion of the world." A few days after the signing of the preliminaries, Jolin Adams, addressing Oswald, one of the British commissioners, deprecated any resentnuMit which the motlier country might l)e disposed to harbor. " Favor and promote the interests, i'c|)ut!i- tion, and dignity of the United States,"' he said, " in everytliiiiij that is consistent with your own. If you pursue the plan of cramping, crippling, and weakening America, on the sujiposi- tion that she will be a rival to you, y(.. will make her really so ; you will make her the natural and i)erpetual ally of your natu- ral and perpetual enemies," — and she came near doing so, Some days after Adams had written thus. Jay, in addrcssinij the secretary of foreign affairs ( December 14, 1782 ), said in explanation of the complacency shown by Britain in the yw- liminarie \ and in the king's speech : " In the continuance of this disposition and system, too much confidence ought not to be placed, for disappointed violence and mortified aml)ition are certainly dangerous foundations to build implicit eontidenee upon.'' A few months later. Jay again wrote (April 22. ITS:)): " They mean to court us, and in my o])inion we should avoiil being either too forward or too coy. . . . There are circuin- stances which induce me to believe that Spain is turning her eyes to England for a more intimate connection. They are the only two European powers which have continental posses- sions on our side of the water, and Spain, I think, wishes for a league between them for nmtual security against us." 'Nil CRITICA L COXDITIOXS. 221 Similar ai>i)rc'lu'nsi<)iis wrvv shart'd by .sagacious observers on linth sides. Matlisoii wrote to his father (.lamiary, 1783) : ••The insidiousiiess and instability of the British eabinet forbid us to lie sanguine." Ilaniilton warned (Mareh 17, 1788) Wash- iii^tuii of the ''insincerity and duplicity of Lord Sheli)urne." I'xiijiiuiin Vaughan wrote in February from London that the treiity '' had }»ut many good [u-ople into ill humor, and it has i^ivcn a thousand i)rete.\ts to the bad })eo])le among us." Fiaiiklin found it easy to l)elieve that any change of affairs in Kur()|)e, or udshaps anu)ng the Americans, would find the min- i-.tiy ready to renew the war, for, as he wrote, the British court '• is not in truth re 'onciled either t(» us or the loss of us." He maintained this o} uuon steadily, and wrote ( Sej)tembei' 13) to tile president of Congress that the English court '• would never coasc endeavoring to disunite us." These views wei'e reflected in tlie expressions of Kichard Henry Lee, William Jiingham, and nianv others. Ai ' V I ; I . In entering upon its new career, the young Republic was in- deed surrounded by hazards greater than she had surmounted. Wlien, on January 20, 1783, hostilities were declared at an end. they gave ])lace to internal dissensions and external in- trigues. These things startled the steadfast patriots. " There lias not been a more critical, delicate, and interesting ])eriod diiiiiii; the war," wrote Elias Boudinot to Washington. Wash- iiii;ti)n at one time was forced to say of the sad conditions.: " I think there is more wickedness than ignorance mixed with our councils." Jay, in Sei)tend)er, 1783, was urging u])on Gouverneur ^lor- ris: •' Everything conducing to union and constitutioiuil energy of government shoidd be cultivated, cherished, and protected, and all counsels and measures of a contrary com})lexion should at least be suspecte'i It )' • l^i I ^1 I J ' • '.' lil j it il H '■' .^i i [if 1 1. 1 1 ' ' 1 1 w . ' i; 1 i '- ■ .;! ,1' 'i r. • ! Jf. . Skill i 228 77//i' L\S1-:CLRITY OF THE SOUTHWEST. •■ovcrmnent are unstrung', hoth in t'licr^y and money, anil the ta.sliion of the day is to eaitininiate the l)est services it' un. sui'fessful." Franklin felt that these riuuors of ineapacitv and wionj;' were doing the State nmeh injury, and jH'rsistently luld that matters were better than they seemed. "Our donicstif misunderstandings," he wrote to Hartley, ""are of small extent. though monstiously magnilicd l)y your mieroseopie newspapers." llaitli'V had warned Fi-anklin while the negotiations of peace were jiending that the victorious States might, after all, reject the authority of Congress, as they had that of Britain, so tli;it the i)eaee would be but the ill-fated moment for relaxing all control. llamilt(m wrote to Washington on March 17, llHo: " There is a fatal op])osition to continental views. Necessity alone can work a reform. But how produce this necessity? how ai)i)ly it? how keep it within salutary bounds ? 1 fear we have l)een contending for a shadow." There was no better proof of it than the fact that not a quarter of the reipiisi- tions which Congress had made, and was to make, on tlit; States for the necessary expenses of government were and eould lie met. The niH'd of a central controlling power was more and more engaging the attention of circums])ect observers. Hamil- ton now undertook to devi.se a plan of a military establislmieiit for the i)eace. He urged that a system independent of and controlling the separate States was essential, if the western country was to be jjrotected and the navigation of the Missis- sii)i)i to be secured. It was soon evident, such was the laxity of the bonds between the States, that the stipulations of the recent treaty could not be enforced. The only power to hold the States to their obliga- tions in this respect was that same Congress whose demands weie of no avail in asking jjccuniary support for the government. That there existed a disposition on both sides not honestly to observe the conditions of the treaty was only too a])pareiit. — on the part of the British because they did not wish to o'l- serve them, and on the i)art of the American Congress because they could not. Jefferson spoke of Congress as " inactive s]iec- tators of the infractions because they had no efifectual |io\ver to control them." Adams contended that the British ministry THE LAKE I'USTS. 229 Wfii' in the lirst instance res)>uiisil)li' for ii hreiicli of the «Mtiu- pact, ''ay maintained thai the hhuue hiy with the Americans, aiiil lie said to »Iohu \(hims ' that there had not been a single (lav. since the treat} jok effect, in which it had not been vio- lated Iiy one or other of the States." It is safe, liowevei', to assume with Richard Ileiiry Lee, " that lioth countries were to bhime, ami transgressious were (m each ■,i(lf coe([uaI."' Hamilton said, " The (juestion is one so mixed and doubtful as to render a waiver e.\j)edient on our part." At the (lid of a long controversy over this point of first responsi- liility, it was " Curtius's " o])inion that "the j)arties were as rciiidte from agreenu'nt as when they began. ' The real ai)prc- lu'iisidu was whether either side, actuated by passion, should take advantage of the infractions of the other, and deliberately put eonnnon concessions out of reach. Hamilton remonstrated with (lovernor Clinton on such " intem])erate proceedings" in New York as really put the treaty in jeopardy. That breach of the treaty which seriou.sly affected our western iiistory was in the detention of the military po.sts on the Great Liilvts, which were, by the terms of the treaty, included in the coiu'essions to the Republic. There was, perhaps, some ground for the fear, on the })art of the British, that the concession had seemed like abandoning their Indian allies, and that some time was needed to reconcile them to the change. Such had been the fear of Hartley, and he had ])roposed for the definitive articles a delay of three years in which to pacify the tribes. The siip})ression on the part of the English, however, for a Iniio; time of any reason for the detention was in a high degree init:iting. When it was announced, it proved an allegation that threw the blame ujjon tlie Americans, since it was held that there had been obstruction in the several States to the col- lection of British debts, which were to be i)aid under the terms of the peace, and that the jjosts were retained as security for the uni)aid indebtedness. There can be no doubt that the rightful jiioeesses of law for collecting debts had bi'cn impeded, as Jay in his report acknowledged. Hamilton, in his Ohscrrdt'ioiin on Jiiy N Trcdtij, points out that various acts respecting the British :5() Tin-: ISSECUHITY (tF TIIIC NvnTIlWEST. Rhode Isliiiid. New rlcrsiiy. North Ciirolinji, iind (icoi^ia \\m\ iiuidf thf (h'hts payahlc in (h'prt'cijited juijum- iiioiu-v, when tin' ohligation was in stfi'liiij;". ( '(tngri'ss virtually ai-UiiowlrdmMl this when it eaUed upon the States (April 18, 1787) to repeal those ssunc laws, llamilton further nrj^cd it was "an usinpa. tion iij)on the ])ai't of any State to take upon itself the husiiicss of retaliation." Indeed, I'ennsylvania, in showin-;' that one of \\v\- acts complained of had in leality been passed hefon; the ticatv was made, jtointedly atlirmed that " when treaties are hroktn on the one part, representatives from the other contraotiiig ])arty to i'e])air the hreaeh should always precede retaliation,"' jNIeanwhile, the dei»t(,vs themselves were Hyiny; o\ir tin- mountains, whei'e they eould not be followed, im])overisliiiig in some decree the producing power of the east, and adding to that population w!'/c(/, charged the British j;'o\ernment with pourinj;' into tliu States. jSondinot, then president of Congress, had early fore- seen the difficulty. On Aprd 12, 1783, he wrote to Lafayette: "The term" of peace give universal satisfaction, except that no time is mentioned for the American merchants ])aying their English debts. Having the greatest part of their estates in tlic ])ul)lie funds, and having suffered greatly by the depreciation of the money, inevitable ruin nuist be their portion if they have not three or four years to accomplish the business." Congress diJ indeed, in the following June, send instructions to have a limit of three years for i)aying the debts inserted in the (iefinitivc treaty, but no change was made. Franklin, in a more exasper- ated s])irit, rehuked the British importunity, when he said it was British depredations that had made Americans unable to iiieet the demands of their Bi-itish creditors. As the years went on. and the licpiidation of the debts was still arrested, Tom Paine reminded the British creditors that it was their conunercial restrictions that interfered with the course of justice, in y Patrick Henry. Congress in the eml, and on o re])ort from Jay, did, as we have seen, what it could to induce tue recalcitrant States to purge their statute- books of all laws hindering the collei'tion of such debts : tlie relief, however, was not absolute till the adaption of the Fedeial Constitution gave such matters into other h;ier 4. 17S2): "There is reason to expect that wliatever undue (h'u'.ee of severity may have been infused into our laws l)y a merciless war and a stronj; sen.se of ininries will yield to the iiiHuences of those gentler emotions which the mild and cheerful sea-on of peace and tran(|uillity nnist naturally excite." The roeommendation called for by the treaty was in due time made hy Congress, but the States, having the matter in their own (liseretion, showed no inclination to favor the loyalists. Tlie connnissioners, who were aware that the terms of the treaty in this res])ect were consideri'd in lMiro|)e "very Im 'iili- utiiin' to Britain,"" in.^isted, in a communication to C( j<;Tess (Se|itend)er 10, 178;]). that the provisions of the treaty siiould he <;nricd out "in good faith and in a manner least offensive to tlu' tcelings of the king muI court of (Jreat Britain, v.iu) ui)on that ]ioiut are extremely tender. The unseasonable and unne- eessary resolves of various towns on this subject," the}' added, r ^ tf ^1 234 THE INSECURITY OF THE NORTHWEST. M yM "the actual expulsion of Tories from some places, and the avowed im})lacal)ility of almost all who have puhlished their sentiments about the matter, are circumstances which are am- strued, not only to the prejudice of our national magnanimity and good faith, but also to the j)rejudice of our government." Nevertheless, the States were content to feel, as apparently Franklin in his heart felt, that the recommendatory clause of the treaty was simply embodied to dismiss the matter, and, if any relief was to be afforded the loyalists, there was naturally a general accpiiescence in the belief that their relief should wait the withdrawal of the British forces. The fate that should then Lefall them was perhaps expressed as considerately as was likely to be the case in what Jay Ayrote : "I think the faithless and cruel should be banished forever and their estates confiscatcil ; it is just and reasonable. As to the residue, who have either upon principle openly and fairly opposed us, or who fiom timidity have fled from the storm and remained inoffensive, let us not punish the first for behaving like men, nor Ite ex- tremely severe to the latter because nature had made them like women.'" So the debts and the loyalists were made by the British min- istry to justiiy as l>est they coidd the retention of these lake posts for the next twelve years, with all the repression Avhieh it imjdied upon the development of the northwest, which amounted, in Hamilton's opinicm, to the value of £100,000 a year. Two or three months after the ])relinunaries of })eaee had been received. Congress, with the same j)reei))it':nu'y which cliar- acteri/ed Carleton in urtiiii''' action about the loyalists, in- structed Washington to arrange with Ilahlimand for the same s])eedy transfer of these posts at the west and on the lakes as had been made of the ])ort of New York. The station-; in question were tliose at Macdvinae, Detroit, A\'abash, Miami, Fort Erie, Niagara, Oswego, and a few miiu)r points, iiududini;- two on Lake Chain])lain. The jiost at Detroit carried \vitli it some two or three thousand nei<>hboving inhabitants, and lli-n' were, in addition, some othcn' settlers near I)utchinan"s Toint. Accordingly, on July 12, 1788, Washington wrote to IIaldiiii:inil and dispatched Steuben with the letter. On August M. ili"' American general, having reaidied Chambly, sent his credentials iii. i THE INDIANS AND THE TREATY. 235 fiuward, and Ilaldimand hastened to the Sorel to meet liim. It was then that Ilaldiinand, with great civility, orally declined to discuss the matter without definite orders from his superiors, itiul a f L'W days later took the same position in letters which he Mildrt'ssed to Steuben and to Washington. The English general ;ilsi) declined to allow Steuben to proceed to an inspection of the pDsts. Steuben later told the president of Congress that in his i)|)iiiion the British were " j)lanning their schemes in Canada for lioldiiig the frontier posts for a year or two longer." Hartley, indeed, had anticipated in the course of the nego- tiations at Paris, as has been shown, that the Indians would fiiiil themselves l>y the treaty "betrayed into the hands of that |)''ni>Ie against whom they had been ineired to war," and that it was as necessary to treat them warily as it was that pro- vision should first be made for the traders. Already, in August, 178;^, the British traffickers at the upper posts had com])lained of American interference with their profits in a trade which was known to be worth <£50,000, in the region beyond Lake Sti|)crior. A little later the Montreal merchants represented that the trade of Mackinac comprised three (piarters of the tutire trade in the Mississippi valley between 39° and 60"^ of latitude. The finest fur country was represented to be that south of Lake Superior, but here hardly a quarter of its ])()s- sible yield was secured, owing to the irascil)iHty of the Sioux. Well might Frobisher, one of the leading traders, e(mtend that it would be a "fatal moment" when the posts were Liven up. Hartley's reasons for delay in surrendering this traib^ were precisely those now advanced by Ilaldimand in reporting his action to Lord North, and he was doubtless right in alleging tliat undue haste migiit incite the savages about the posts to wai'. while the traders de^^endent on them needed time to close their accounts. After waiting nearly a year for such molli- fyiuL'- and conclusive effects. Ilaldimand on his part in A])ril, 1TH4, asked instructions from Lord North ; and Ivnox, on the otliiT liand, on May 12, 1784. was oidered to make a new ilt'inaud, and sent Cohmel Hall, who in July was dismissed by Ilaldimand with the same courtesy. l)ccause no orders to sur- render the posts had been received, l^revious to this, on A])ril i', Great Britain had ratified the definitive treaty, as Congi'(>ss l.:)i! done on January 14 preceding, and in August Ilahlimand \ ,• !■■ ? Ih il', 230 THE INSECURITY OF THE NORTHWEST. I '■ JM was in possession of the verified document. It was now a])])ar. ent that the issue had become a serious one. The ([uestiou was not only upon the h\nguage of the treaty, " with all convenient speed," but also upon the propriety of considering the provi- sional or the definitive treaty as the true date for release. Tlie Atlantic ports had indeed been given up after the provisional treaty, but that was an act of mutual convenience. It was Hamilton's opinion that the practice of nations in similar caM.s was not decisive ; while the United States had seemed to agice to the longer period by deferring its legislative rcconunenda- tions till after the final treaty had been ratified. It has sometimes been alleged that the retention of the posts was simply an ex])edient to force the Americans to make sncli terms with the Indians as the British commissioners had failed to make by the treaty, and possibly to gain souie vantage- ground in case there might be a further rectification of the frontier. The relation of the frontiers with the tribes was certainly a critical one, and largely because of the neglect of the Indian interests by the British. Patrick Henry was ui'ging !it this time an amalgamation of races, and he desired to have bounties offered for half-breed children as a means of jiacification ; hut there v/as generally greater faith in nuiskets. General Jedediali Huntington was now reconunending to Washington the sending of some five or six hundred regulars to the frontiers, for the military situation in the west was looking serious. At the ])ea('e. according to Pickering's estimate, it had been thought that ninie than eight luuidred troops would be necessaiy to garrison tlie entire frontier, north, west, and south. That officer had thin assigned one hundrcnl and twenty men to Niagara, " the most important ])ass in America,"" sixty to Detroit, and one hundred to the fartlier lake posts, in rlune, 1784, ^lonroe urged ("mi- gi-ess to be prepared to maintain a western force ; but all ln' could accomplish was to secure s(»me seven hundred twclve- mtmths' militia from Connecticut, New York, New .Tersey. juuI Pennsylvania, to protect the frontier. Indian outrage's were renewed on the frontiers in the spring of 1783, and in Ajn-il. Dickinson of lAMinsylvania was moving Congress to take some effective steps. On ^May 1, Congn'ss ordered that the northwestern tribes should be ofticialh in- THE FUR TRADE. 237 foriiu'd of the terms of the peace, and one E])hruim Douglas was sent to Detroit. De Peyster, the British connnander at that post, was found hy Doughis to have given the Indians tlie impression tliat the jmsts were still to be retained by the lirit- ish. On Juiy 0, in the presence of the American agent, De I'tvster urged the Indians to be (piiet, and told them that he cduld no longer kee]) them, and gav<; Douglas an o})portnnity to rxphiin the treaty. A few days later, Douglas went to Niagara, \\\wAv General McLean was now feeding three thousand Indians, and there had an interview with Brant. This chieftain disclosed tliat tl'.c liulian lands must be secured to the tribes before any treaties could bv^ made. Douglas reported to General Lincoln, now secretary of war, that he was neither permitted to accom- ])any Brant to the Mohawk villages, nor to address the Indians. Simon (iirty, who was De Peyster's inter})reter, served in the same capacity later f(n' Sir John Johnson, when another confer- once was held with the Indians at Sandusky, and Johnson warned them not to permit the Americans to occupy their lands. It was advice which led to many difficulties, though Congress itself was not without resj)onsibilities for the long and harassing conflict which followed ii])on their occu})ation of the territory noi'tli of the Ohio, though it may be claimed that the results wt'iv worth the cost. '• As to originating the Lidian war," said Roudinot, ten years later, while president of that body, " so far fr;(ni its being: orijiinated bv Great Britain, I know that it oiigii ated in the false policy of Congress in 17!:i3 ; I foretold it tlieu, with all its consequences." It is necessary now to broaden our survey somewhat in order to nnilerstand better the real reasons which had induced llaldi- nuind to devise a jdan for retaining the ])osts, — a scheme into wliic'h tlie ministry ca'^ly entcn-d. " AVlio are these miglity and clanvoi'ous (^ue'oec merchants ? '" exclaimed \\'illiam Lee, when the news reached Brussels in February, 1788, that they Wire com])laining of the peace. It was, ax fact, these Can;'.-

■*" c? / /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STRFET WEBSTER, NY. MSSO (716) 872-4503 I ..>■■ €i^ wo ■^■57 O & 3(jG 77/ A' S}>A\Isn QUESTION. ;••' li' ,t w It had been an object of Spain to indiu'c tlie American t'lon- ticrsnicn to settle on lands Iteyond the Mississippi, Miro liad invited Robertson to this end. Gardocpii had sent eniissaiies to the western conntry to disclose a lik(^ plan. His agents fomiil little willingness to accept snch offers, though some advcntiudus spirits lik(^ Steid)cn and George Rogers C'lariv were ready ti> lend their influence. In July, 17H8, Si)anish troops had been sent to fortify New Madrid, a })osition on the river some distance below St. Louis. As a part of the scheme to strengthen the line of the Missjs- si|)j)i against piratical inroads of the Americans, Natchez was further fortified, and a fleet of patrol boats was soon piaceil on the river. Colonel George Morgan of New Jersey, a revolutionary soMicr. had of late been trying to induce Omgress to help him found a colony near Kaskaskia. This pending, (Jardo(pn sought him with an offer of conceding twelve or fifteen million acres of land at New Madrid. On October 3, 1788, the terms were set- tled. It was exjjected that his followers wouhl be Pn»testaiits, and "uarantees ajiainst religious interference were made. Free trade down the river satisfied the commercial recpurcnicuts. The position of New Madrid, nearly opi)osite the mouth of the Ohio, gave earnest of a large town. Mtn-gan issued a circular setting forth the advantages of the plan. It ])romised land at an eiiihth of a dollar an acre, with aid in buildin"' dwellings. It set forth the richness of the country, the abundance of buffalo and other g.ime, which, if furnished by contractors, would cost a penny the pound. Free transportation down the Ohio of all household effects woidd be given. Schoolmasters woidd accom- pany the emigrants. One of these circulars coming to the hand of Madison, lie wrote to Washington (Marcli 2(5, 1780) that it contained *■ the most authentic and ])recisc evidence .)f the Spanish i)roject that has conic to my knowledge." He also wrote to flefferson that " no doubt the project has the sanction of Gard.Kpii." and the Mississipjii is "the bait for a defection of the western ])co|ili'." This movement of Gardo(pu was but one of the rival imas- ures which estranged Miro fnmi the Sjianish agent at the si-at of government, and neither the latter nor AVilkinson was satis- l!',';l with the prospect. It was too evidently a sinister stroke at ir DUltCHESTER AM) KENTr('Ky 3(57 tlic sct'ret plans of the Spanish faction in Kentucky. ^Vilkin- -dii liatl just olttained ( Au<;ust) a renewal of his license from Mint, and a cargo of dry good« had been sent up the river to him. acc<»nij)anied hy the prudent advice from his confederate lint to put too high a i)rice upon his wares, for fear of diminishing among the Kentuckians the advantage.s of Spanish intercourse. Till' other new jdiase of western condition, to which reference has Itcen made, on being developed in the autumn of 17S8, was not on the side of the Mississipj)i, hut on that of Canada. TliiTc was a faction, as has been indicated, among the Kentucky |)(tliticians, who looked rather to France than to Spain for the sithition of their difHcul^ies. It was hoju-d that France would assert her right to Louisiana, and invite the west to a share in it. Some such representation had been made to the French minis- try, when it came to tiie notice of the Knglish. It was thrcugh some one at Detrt'it that Lord Dorchester's attention was Hrst talh'd to the chanc.' of making common cause with the disaffected west. The same informant told the Canadian governor of the iiuivt'iiient then gathering head for tlie occupation of the Mus- kingum country. A hint was also given of that disloyal spirit which the secret service books of Sir Ilenrj' Clinton have fas- tened, justly or unjustly^ upon a soldier of the Kevolntion who was at this time a leader in the Ohio movement. This corre- spondent of Dorchester adds that "aCieneral Parsons anuuig tlit'ui has marofessed to (iardoipii, nam ly, that the jx'ojding (tf the West from the Hast was a national calanuty, it was not (lirticidt to hope for Congress to be eciually indisci-eet. To lii'lp on such a plot, Wilkinson told Mir«') that he looked to Spain to sow other seeds of discord between the East and the West, and Miro sent his friend five thousand dollars to use in tampering with the conscience of the unyielding. Asa blind, Wilkinson further moved to ask (\)ngress to take decided action against Spain, and it was so agreed. I'x'fore the year closed, Wilkinson had begun to think that, after all, his )>lans might irretrievably fail. Such a mischance was |terhaps hinted at by his confederate, Dunn, to whom St. (lair, now on the Ohio with a show of nulitary authority, and knowing Wilkinson's intrigues, was writing in a warning vein, and Itegging him to " detach Wilkinson from the Spanish party." Ill this conjunction Wilkinson and his friends sent a petition to (lardoqui for a grant of land on the Yazoo and the Missis- > ; and writing to jNIiro about it, he informed him that his 1^ r, i f ^r ..<) !( 370 '////•; Sl'AMSIl QL'KSTION. I , /"( » ; J\ ff j)m'l>o.s(' was inci'dy to st'cure a place of ivfiigo f(»r himself aiul his a(|iii how iiii))ortant a faet<)r he mij^ht become in thwartiiiy informinj;- that Spanish ajieiit (.lauuaiv 1. 1TM{>) that the emissaries from Detroit were still active in tin west. .Inst at the same time, Koln'itson. thinkini;- to ])ro|»iliate Mir('> Uy naminj;; a district on the Cnmherland aftti- iiim, widtc (January 11, 17^f!>). as did later (leneral Ivoheit Smith ( March 4), that tlu' time was apprcKichin^' for the Cumberland people to join with Spain. Wilkinson almost simultaneously was iljs- |)atchin<;' a new flotilla of twenty Hatboats to continue his coiu- mcrcial connection with New Oi-lcans. So it seemed to tiic Spanish intriguers nortii and south that there were to be renewed efforts in behalf of Spain, before her American eonfedcratus slunk away to tlw. Vazoo. The inauj;urati(»n of the new •••overnment at New York, set for March, was not far distant, and time would, therefore, bcl"; to be inserted in the Ah'Xdiuh'in (iaxcttv that this Spanish intri<;ue "was pici;- nant with much mischief." Later, in March, 1780, not inii<; before he was to be inaui;urate(l, he wrote to Innes : "1 liavi' little doubt but that a ])erseveranee in temj)erate measures will j)rodnee a national policy nnitually advantan'cous to all parts uf the .Vmerican Hepublic." It was significant of a steady liaiid ready to ), ^Vill\inson dispalrlH'd ;i second letter. In this he regrets that (ianhxiin, instead of Mini, liad l)eeu given the power tt» treat with Kentneky, and jiojicsthat the Yazoo country will enahle him and Miro to defeat till' plans of (iardotjui and Morgan at New Madrid. Miro. as it appears from a remonstrance which he sent on May 20 to Madiid, did not con<*eal his fears that (iardM(|ui had ln'cn <»ver- nailicd l>y Morgan, anowers that war- ranted him t(» invade this provim-e and set up other jurisdictions. Amid all this perplexity came in May the news of the death of the Spanish king and the accession of ("harh's I\'..and he knew not what change of jtolicy. The Mississij)|)i, although coveted, was in fact the weak side of Louisiana, for it o])ened a path to her eneinies, hoth up and down its course. The river once passi'd and in contnd, the iiiiii.> (d' New Mexico were within the invathvs" grasp. New ( )rlraiis. with its five thousand ju'ople, sludtering a disatTe<'teil IViiicli prei)oiiderancc, was a prize for any daring commander. The forty-two thousand inhahitants (»f Louisiana had little hetter oolii'sion to make a defensiver, averaging four hundred acres each. I'm- ductiveness like this made sometlung more of the country than a bulwark of the New Mexican mines. The F^rench nmst w- member, it was set forth, that by gaining the west, they would gain supremacy in the nuirket for flax, hemp, and wool, and could drive all tobaccos out of the trade by their own. Theiv were thirty thousand old subjev^ts of France, they were remiudt'd. who stood ready to welcome theui in place of their Spanish masters, lieside these, they could depend on the sympathy and aid of the F^-ench on the Wabash and in Canada, and open an asylum to the disaffected, who were already Hying from tlie FYench shores before the seething agitations of the lievolutiou. In aid of this French scheme, some interested persons in Km- tucky had transmitted to the F'reiu'h representative? in NCw York a memoir upon the condition of the western country, calcu- lated to affect the (iallic imagination. F^ortunately, it did not bring the direful effects which Barlow's ])romises had produced on the Ohio. Indeed, Kentucky at this time had nnu'h more to otter to inunigrants than the territory north of the Ohio. The migration of settlers was so rapid and so large that it is diffi- cult to reach a conservative estimate of it. The Ohio and the I'oad from Limestone and the Wilderness Koad were crowded with the trains of pioneers. During the twelve months divided between 1788 and 1789, to take no account of the oveiland movenu'nts, twenty thousand persons had passed down the ( )liiii. past Fort Ilarmar, in eight or nine hundred boats. With tlieiii were counted seven thousanula- FRENCH ASl) EXCLISH FACTIOXS. 373 tidu north of tlio Ohio, not Ji great deal siiort of niw huiulrcd tl. Misand souls in tlu' st'ttlenients of Kentucky, C'uinheihuul, ami Watauga. What distuiWed Aliio most, and offered the l^icatest inchieenient to the French and Knglish factions, was tliat more than twenty thousantl riflemen, a hirge part iiiountod, wciv ready to l)elt their fringed shirts for any emergeucy. Kentucky alone, it was thought, coidd send ten thousand mili- tia to a ))oint of danger, and her mounted patrols were always alert in the traveled ways. In urging an alliance with France, its advocates claimed that the * Ueghauies forbade for the west all (^onuuunication with the Atlantic; that the unity of the Kepuhlic "was broken by the mountains ; "' that the success of the seaboard couhl not ('((iitributc to the prosperity of the west. " The west, in short, rt'(|uires a j)rotector. The first who will stretch out its arms to it will have the greatest ac(|uisition that could be desired in the New World." It is not j)rol)able that this project of a French alliance, looming as it did at times in excitable minds, ever made much l)rogress. Its real effect was to thwart and incite by turns the iMicigies of both the English and the Spanish. The British scheme bad more of realitv in it ; but it also failt'd of maturity. That there were in the west supporters of an Knglish connection, beyond the numbers which Connolly t'ni'diuitei'ed, would seem to be evident from the correspondence of Dorchester with the home government. In one of the gov- ernor's disi)atches (April 11, 1780) he transmitted some "des- ultory reflections of a gentleman of Kentucky," which, if not tlie work of Wilkins(m. was in (piite his manner, and would have enipliasized that intriguer's faithlessness to Miro, had he known of it. The writer says that " the ])olitics of the western country must speedily eventuate in an apj)eal to Spain (tr Britain." In transmitting this pai)er, Dorchester wrote that the factions in Kintiicky that })romised best looked to an alliance with (Jreat l)iitaiii, for the jmrpose of detaching that region from the Inion and capturing New Orleans. The i)eoj)lc urge, said Dorchester in effect, that S])ain had helped the Ignited Stat«'s anainst England, and that there was now the chance to pay them off. Still, they wanted no active assistance till New Orleans was captured. Having thus put the case, Dorchester w. ii lili I ) :lr'! i \ n .III 374 77/ /i SJ'AyiSII Ui' EST I us. askt'd the ministry how far he I'ouhl safely {^o in respond i ml; to 8Uch appeals. In this, as in other problems, the newly installed federal piv- ernment was likely to prove an antagonist to deal with, ditV» u nt from the defunct «'onfederation. Grenville seems to have sus. peet«'d this, and cauti(»ned Dorehester against aetive interfereiirc. Wilkinson was well aware of the ciianged eonditions, and m Septendxjr 17, 1780, he wrote to Miru, in a jjitiable and stlf- convicting s])irit : "1 have voluntarily alienated myself from the United States, and am not yet accepted by Spain. 1 have re- jected the proffered honors and rewards of (ireat Jiritain, wliilf declining tlu* prcennnence which courted my accejjtance in tlif United States. 1 have giv«'n my tinu', my property, and every exertion of my faculties to ])romote the intei'ests ui the Spanish monarchy. Hy this conduct I have hazarded the indignation of the American Uinon." While this desjjondency was growing upon him, AVilkiiiM»n had failed of an election to the convention, which met on .Inly 20, 1789. Without his leadership the Sei)aratist faction lianlly daied assert itself. The new ])roposition of Virginia which came before tlu; convention had some objectionable provisions as to th(! ])ublic lands, and it was fcmnd necessary to take t'lir- ther time to settle the differences. So, the convention adjourn- ing, Kentucky was not yet a State: but the S))anisli (picstion had lost a great deal of its ini])oi-tance, and vis for a w hi If about droi)ping out of local j)olities. 1* i ! •'' CHAPTEK XVII. UXCEKTAINTIKS IN TIIK SOlTinVKST. 17«J(». W'liKN the iit'W fccU'nil f^ovoininciit was put in oiMiiiitioii, tlit.'ii' was Olio Nortlii'iii aiul «»iu' Soiitlicni State still without the riiion. In NovciiilxM-, 17Hi>, Nortii Caroliiui hud adojjtctl tlic constitutioM. Many (pu'stioiis toiicliiiij; tlu' w«'stei'n fouiitry xmtli tit" Kriitiu'ky could not be coiisidei'ed till Noith ('ar<»lina liail tluis acted. This ie<;ion rounded out the coiuitiy, in con- (•('|itii)ii at least, to the Mississippi, and altliou<;h Kliode Island still remained recusant, not aeeedinj; (ill May, IT'.X). Oliver Wolcott iiii<4lit well say, because of Kliode Island's insigniti- ciiiict', that the "accession of Nortli Carolina has blasted the li(>l)fs of the anti-federalists." With small delay, on February 2.">, ITilO, throu<;h a deed signed by her senators, North Caro- liiui (■('(led to the I'liited States the region now called Tennessee, u tciritory then reckoned as extending east and west three hun- ;ht that North Caroliuji in her i)r('vions ;;•rant^ liml exceeded tlie area of the counti-y hy half a million acres. On April 2. Conj^i-ess accepted the cession, and in May. tliat body set up the ceded territ(»ry, to which was presiunalily addcid the narrow east and west strip already made nvt r Kv South Carolina, as "the Territory south of the river ( )liiu." This act created a <>overnor, and also three judj^cs. wlut wcir i,, yield to a territorial assembly when the pt>pulafion coidd >hi»\v a body of five thousand voters. The new ^•overnmcnt wiis 1 1 l)e ;;iiided by provisions similar to those of the ordinance of 1787, except that slavery was not prohibited. William liluuiit. a North Carolinian of popular yet dij^nified manners, wh.i in- j(»yed the contidcnce of the people, was made <;overnor, rcnchiii;^ his i)ost in ()ctol>er. The territory was divided into two mili- tary districts, the eastern of which was placed under Sevier, now made brigadier-«;'eneral, and the western under Kobertson, to whom was accorded a like raidc. ;;m ; As to thci country south of the new government, thci-e was a conflict of claims 1 ctween the I'^nited States and (Jeorgia. Tlit' federal government insisted that it was acquired from (in-Mt Britain by the treaty of 1782, the mother conntiy li.ivini,' yiehled thereby the title which she assumed under the pincla- mation of 17()JJ in making it a part of west Florida. \\\w\\ she thus took it from that region and allowed it to the I'liiti'd States, it was her ])uri>ose. if Lord Jjansdowne's confession is t" be believed, to make discord thereby between the young Kipiili- lic and th(^ house of liourbon. Whether intending or n-it. slir succeeded in that ])ur))ose. Georgia contended for piior liiilii- to this debatable region under her ehartei-, and she w:is imw holding it, as the county of Mourbon, bounded on the south li\ the international line of 31 , and cm the north by the Vazo'i Kiver. (ieorgia's pretension of acipiiring the Indian title within this territory was adjudged to be illegal, since the li.nlit of ]»reemption was reserved to the United States undci' tin' Federal Constitution which Georgia had accepted. SIic li:i>l refused to guarantee the title, however, to large tracts of laml-* in the Yazoo country, which she had granted, in the iii-t iii- ;l ■»: aKOlKilA. 8 « < T i: 2/ isr E S S £ E ;nU' OVtT liy riv<'r ( )liin. " who were til H I'Ollltl >lli>\V llllt'llt WilS t 1 onliiiaiii'f "if Hi.'iiii Bliiiiiit, lltTS, will I fU- nor, rfiifliin^ nt<» two iiiili- lUuU'l' Sevier. er HolH-rtMiii. h'or<;i:i. i •»' / M [From .IiMlciliiili Miirwc's Amerirnii ilmrtlfir. BoHtnii, 1797.] I, the lir-t m- staiii'c, to a coinpany fuiincd in Ch.ai'li'ston, and known as the South Cai'olina Company, and later to <»thfr connianifs known a^ tilt- Virginia, Timmu'ssci', an'b l-i i ' m mm :■ h Ui 378 UNCERTAISTIES IN THE SOUTHWEST. Of the territory thus hiuuled over to anotlier military dircc- tion, the Choctaws and Chiekasaws hiid ehiiin to parts of it, and throughout the whole of it, Spain professed that slif had jurisdietion. One Dr. James O'FaUon, a man about forty-five, and an adventurer, was made a0, from Lexington to Miro, statiiij; that he was ])repared to treat for making this delnitable countiv a i)rovinee of S])ain, and hinting that if their negotiations suc- eeeded, other western communities were prepared to take simi. lar stej)s. He said that within eighteen months he should have at his beck some ten thousand men, eai)able of bearing arms, and that in June he would visit New Orleans for a eonferouce. Miro could not fail to see Wilkinson's hand in all this, and O'Fallon had indei'd been in conference with that so far disap- pointed treason-monger, who had l)een watehing the movement. as affording a new fiehl for his intrigues. As early as dami- ary, 1790, he had tiied to ingratiate himself with OFallcin and his associates, })leading his ability to induce the Spanish authorities to quiet the atlverse interests of the Choctaws. In June, 1790, writing from Frankfort, Wilkin.son notified Miro that O'Fallon's ])lans were in the Spanish interests, though tlu' man himself was somewhat vain and flighty, " I am, never- theless," wrote Wilkinson, " inclined to put faith in him." O'Fallon's sclieme was to organize a force in Kentucky, and, floating with it down the Mississippi, to take ])Ossession of the country, with George Rogers Clark, as rumor went, in niilitaiv connnand. It was given out that the federal authorities favoivd the undertaking, and would adopt the military establishment. AVilkinson and Sevier, with a body of disapi)ointed Franklin men, were exi)ected to follow and make the settlement. In this state of aft'airs, Miro wrote to ]Madrid (August 10). describing the land of the South Carolina Company as extend- ing from eighteen miles above Natchez to thirty miles aliovc the Yazoo, .all of which, as he represented, was witinn tlio Si)anish jurisdiction. He doubted the ])olicy of harboring on Spani.sh territory *i sej)arate community with its own militaiv organization. It does not appear that he was aware that tlie company, in order to secure settlers, had given out a piu pose to make in due time an American State of their colonv, and it i;f r LAND COM I' AMES. 379 iiiMv well be (l(ml)te(l if tlie projectors liad any such real inten- tinii. Miru, who was never quite sure of Spain's maintaining li( ist'lf on the Mississippi, had enough suspieion of the coni- pimy's avowed aim to fear that it would beeome an aggressivi^ ( ii.iiiv, unless Spain should in some way obtain eontrol. AVil- kiiison. with that devilish h'cr whieh he knew how to employ ii|)nii oceasions, had intimated that the best way to seeure this coiitiol was to make the C'hoetaws so harass the settlements thut tlie eolonists would turn to Miro for ])roteetion. In the same letter the governor informed the minister at Madrid that he liiid already taken ste])s to aet on Wilkinson's adviee. Tlie lands of the V^irginia Company lay north of those of the South (\u'olina Company, being a streteh of a hundred and Iwciitv miles along the river and running to 34 40' north Inti- tilde, and so comprising what he calls a part of the hunting- ^idiiiid of the Chiekasaws. a tiibe in the main friendly to the whites, but not always controlling their young bucks. Still farther north were the lands (»f the Tennessee Com})any. All the I'ompanies'' territories extended one luindred and twenty miles back from the river. To the lands of the latter com- pany. Miru acknowledged the Spanish (!laim to be less certain. In one way these new developments gave ^liro some hope. He felt that Wilkinson, who had so far talked nmch and done Httle. might now find a bettei' field for his intrigue. The gov- irniir complained of the small gain whieh Morgan had made farther uj) the river, and chaiged him with preferring rather to enjoy his ease in New Jersey than to endure the hardshi])s of the new colony. He thought further that the trade which \\ ilkiuson had been suffered to develo]) between Kentucky and New Orleans had worked to end)arrass the rival scheme at New Ma«lri.l. Miri'i told the minister that if O'Fallon's ])roposition was n'fused, the alternative for Sj)ain was to ]uish in settlers in such niuubc/s as to hold the region, and he adds that if the Americans oppose, he will use the Indians as Wilkinson had Mtu'gvsted. There were other chances which Miro was glad to recognize, fur the Creek half-breed, Mc(iillivray, who we shall see had just been invited to New York, had written to the governor in / i .1 . I >' ; '■•;(' i'l i i if! 880 UNCERTM STIES IN THE SOUTHWEST. May, 1790, that thougli he was indeed goiiij^ thither to eonchulc a jjeaee with the Aiuerieaiis, he had no intention of desert in;,' his Spanish friends, and was even prepared in due time to assist the Spaniards in attacking the Sonth Carolina inti-iulei's. Miro took courage from this as he wrote to Me(iillivr;iy in August, 1790. liut the movement of O'Fallon was not to come to any siicli conclusion, for a finishing blow had been dealt in New \m\{ just at the time when MeGillivray was annxsing Knox and his fellow negotiators. In August, 1790, Washington, who was ke])t informed of the military preparations in Kentucky, issmnl a proclamation, signifying his intention to sui)press by forei' any hostile movement against the Spanish. So it was that, in tlif sjjring of 1791, the project was abandoned. On March 'li. Jefferson had instructed (ieorge Nicholas to arrest O' Fallon. ]\y this time Hamilton's scheme of finance luul so carried uj) the national and state scrip that it could be used to better advan- tage than in buying Yazoo lands, and there were no securi- ties for the adventurers to work with ; and furthermore,' the national government was preparing to protect the Indians against state machinations in the disposal of the Indians" lands. So the com])anies and O'Fallon vanished from sii;lit. In the following August, the agent of the South Carolina Com- pany, who had been jdaced at Walnut Hill, abandoned his post, and hostilities on the Mississippi were averted. It Is now time to look after MeGillivray and his treaty. Tlio Spanish traders in Mobile, since the English surrendered the Indian traffic in 1782, had never been able to keep it u]i to the prosperous condition in which they received it ; but such as it was they found the readiest channel for it in ascending tlif Mobile and Alabama rivers, — sluggish streams that offcied no great obstacles. By an upper afflluent, the Tond)igbet'. tliev reached a village of the Chickasaws near its source, and thtncf. by a three-mile portage through a region ceded for tradini:- posts by the treaty of IIoi)ewell, they could get into the hasin of the Tennessee. Thither passed trader and warrior with equal ease. Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Cherokee, cntn in- Note. — The opposite ni.ip, Rhowiiig tlie ponntry between Mobile nml Pensacola aw\ O"' Ti"- nesiee River, is a Hection of Smuiiel Lewis's Mnp of l/ic I'nited States, 1V95. I '^" jr. r to conclude of desortiii'' line time to m intnidcis. •Gillivray in to any sudi 1 New Yuik [nox and liis on, wlio was tueky, issued l)y fovft' any s that, in tlie I Marcl. -I-l est 0' Fallon, sarried up the better advan- re no secuii- therniorc t!ie the Indians the Indians' 1 from sisilit. Carolina Corn- band oned his d. treaty. Tlie •rendered tlic [ceep it uj) to ; bnt such as aseendiu!4- tlif liat offered no iibigbee. tliev e, and thouci'. for tradin.ii- lito the basin warrior with •okee, eouiinu f ■ S iiH'M '. ■f\ 5 ■ ■^ m Mm 882 UXCERTMyriES IS THE SOUTHWEST. from different direetions, had often combined here for fatal forays along the Tennessee and Cumberhvud settlements, or had scattered in seal})ing parties to appear and disai>i)('ar in a night. The most restless of the savages were the (."hicka- maiigas, a small and independent band of CheroUees, youtlilHl bucks themselves, and likely to be joined at times by the roviii" youngsters of the other tribes. They had caused Colonel Mar- tin, iu his efforts to keep the frontiei's quiet, more anxiety than any of the other tribes, and he had, under varying foitniios, advanced uj)on them and retired time and again. Of late. Knox, the secretary of war, had kept the local forces as iniicli on the defensive as could be done, while he hoped that the pro- vocations to war wouhl cease. It was the hostility of this ruth- less band, after Sevier had lost his hold upon the abortive Franklin comuHmwealth, which had induced the settlers south of the Ilolston and French H»:oad rivers to unite for protection, despite any appeal for forbearance. It is not easy to reach any satisfactory estimate of the num- bers at this time of these southern tribes. There were, ]>or]iai)-<. two thousand five hundred warriors among the Cherokees. and they came in closer contact wit?i the Americans than any others, and had of late becii talking of migrating beyond the Missis- slp])i. They had easih' learned the timely art, when the whites pushed them too hard, of sending comjdaints to the authorities. " AVe are drove as it were into the sea," they said on one o( ea- sion. "■ AVe have hardly land sufficient to stand upon. We are neither fish nor birds. AVe cannot live in the water, nor in the air ! " They were fond of making treaties, and not vciv faithful in the observance of them. The Creeks were more numerous, and spent th»'lr varyini: rage more readily upon the Georgians, who, with the Span- iards in Florida, were their nearest neighbors on the east and south. The Choctaws were sui)posed to be much www nu- merous than the nearer tribes, but their remoteness generally ])revented more than small parties of vagrant warriors joininj; the other tribes. The Chickasaws were as a rule the most tract- able of all. They were a handsome race, and rode a fine breed of horses. NoTK. — The opposite map of tlip Crppk poiiiitry, nii(t the liome of McGillivray, is from a map of Georgia in Citreifs American Alius, Plillatlelpliia, 17it.''>. V i 'IV for fatal tlenients, ur lisaitiH-ai' ill the C'liicka- aes, youtlil'iil )y the ro villi; J()K)iiel Mar- anxiety than Jig fortunes, n. Of late, rces as ituicli that the ]iro- of this riitli- the abortive settlers south )r pvoteetion, ' of tlie iiuiii- wre, ncrliaps. Iierokees. ami m any others. 1 the Missis- en the whites e authorities. on one o( ca- "1 ton. W water, nor an» I not very leir varviii' th tl th le ]»aii- t ami e eas :'h nuii-e lui- .»ss ji'eneially i-riors joiuin,;! ie most traet- ^ fine hreeil Ivray, i» frc" " ""'1' h] ) ' I ! i It' I' I ) \ ■■ M Mil IE I Ml •I ! I 384 UXCKRTM STIES IN THE SOtrTIIWEST. T\w vciir 1700 had oiu'iied witli some warninirs of a new (•(uu- Itination ainoii;^" the southi'va Indians. Ono William Anyiistiis Bowles, a young English vagabond, who had been in the Kny- lish Jinny during the Revolution, had for some years espoused the English, Spanish, or American interests indifferently, mihI had played fast and loose with savage and eivili/ed life liy turns. He now ('onii»aeted portions of the (.'reeks and Chcio- kees, and induced them to send him and some of their trilicv men to England, l)earing an address to the British king. Tlic party managed to reach the Bahamas, wlu're Lord Dumnoif furnished them a i)assage- to Halifax, and in July, 17*.>0, they were at Quebec. Here Dorchester tried to detain them, luit they insisted on going to Loiulon, where they i)resented the ad- dress, and promised to put their tribes undei" liritish protection. and asked for arms and other help. Meanwhile, among the fac- tions of those tribes, where an active rival of liowles was more ])owerful, an effort had been made during 1789 to unite them in a league against the whites. This plot, in August, AlXW had come to the knowledge of Colonel Arthur Camp'oell, and he had connnunicated the news to Washington. This other leader, whom we have already mentioned as tlic son of a Scotch tradtir by a Creek woman, whose father had been French, had already made the name of Alexander McGil- livray notorious along the border, for, during the Revolutionary War, he had, like Bowles, been active in the royal interest. His losses by confiscation in that contest had spurred him with a revenge which of late years had been well known to the bor- derers. He was a man of an active intellect, and not lacking in edncati(mal training. In physical bearing he was a noticeabU' figure: s})are of limb, but lofty in stature, while under a beet- ling brow he moved with great alertness a ])air of large ami lustrous eyes. lie had an Indian's wary artfulness, a Frencli- man's uraee of demeanor, and somethinj'' of the Scotchman s canniness and love of trade. He was imder l):nding obligations to the Spaniards, and as we have seen in his communication with Miro, he did not mean to foi-get them, while he was ready to settle with their rivals, ho])ing in each case to serve his own interests. As a go-between in the Indian trade he had liis price, and the London house of Strahan & Co., acting in Pensa- cola, found liim convenient in negotiating for trading permits McalLLIVIi.W. 385 with tlif Spanish otticials, who were said to recM'ive nioiv than il-.OOO a year from that coiiimercial house. It is hardly to be .Iciiied that M('(Jillivray <;(>t a <;'ood store from l)oth of the l»ar- ^iiiners. He had before this sou<;ht to make the (Jeoru^ians l»iiy :it a i^'ood i)riee an iinmiuiity irom the raids of his people, and oil tlieir refusal he had taught them that his ])riee was much K'ss than the eost of war. Ill this pass, (itjorgia, whose frontiers faced the Creeks all along the Altamaha and Oconee, had ai)pealed to the general novcrnment for aid, at a time when rumors nudti|)lied in New VoiU that Spain was ineiting the Creeks, and the English the Sliawnees, to make a general war. Knox saw in a Creek w^ar a i)retty certain forerunner of out! with Spain, and having some intimations of McGillivray's greed, imi)ortuned Washington to invite that leader to come to the seat of government. At the same time he prejjared for a failure by dis])atching troops to tlu! (ieorgia frontiers. The iiirssenger of ))ea('e was Colonel Willet. The invitation was accejited, and in June MeCiilliv.ay and twenty-eight of the ])rin('ipal men of the Creeks, marching through the New York streets under an escort of Tanunany sachems, were conducted to (iciieval Knox's house, where McGillivray was lodged. As in all Indian negotiations, the interchange of views went (>'i slowly, amid untoward rumors. Miro, with his usual suspi- cion, which was not wholly removed by McGillivray's parting letter, was thought to have sent an agent after the Creeks to spy out their acts in New York and ]>revent action hostile to Spain by a free distribution of gifts. It was at the same time l)t'lieved that an Irocpiois agent had cautioned McCJillivray of the risks he was taking, and had tried to lead him to an alliance with the northern tribes. But no allurements could turn the greedy and)assador from liis ])urpose after the government had disclosed to him their Sit'iit'i'ous intentions. In consideration of the Creeks' recognition of the United States as tlieir guardians, and acknowledging the protection " of no other nation whatsoever," the American lU'fjotiators confirmed to the C^-eek chieftain and his friends the sole ])rivilege of trade with that tribe, and agreed to make jiooil with 1100,000 that leader's losses in the Kevolutionary War. The government ceded back to the Creeks certain territo \^ u\ ■ (. 1 38G USCERTMSTIKS IX THE SOUTH WEST. 1 !' H ti i ries which had inadt' the Ocoju'c tlie line of the whites, and wliidi (ii'or<.^ia had paid for. This act hiter aroused the indiynatidii of Patrick lleury, wlio had invested in some of these siiiiir hinds, and who, as he professed, had hoi)ed to find a refiiLjc there from the despotism which lie sometimes believed was to transplant the republicanism of his country. The authorities further created Me(iillivray a l»rij"adicr-<:(ii- eral in the Amei-ican army, with a yearly stipend of •ii'l.'jOd. So, in good humor, that chieftain dofted his new uniforiu and signed the treaty. It mattered little to him that, at the same njoment, he held both from the Spanish and Knglish gov<'rii- ments other commissions. Washington, as he said, had gre:itly honored him in giving him some books and his own epaulets. which he took with him on his honu' journey by sea, landiiii;- at St. Mary's in Georgia. While in New York, McGillivray wrote to Lord Dorchester: " In the present treaty I have been obliged to give uj) suiiie- thing in order to secure the rest, and guarding at the same time against what might shake my treaty with Spain." Sueli double-faced ])rofessions, however, did not succeed. The treaty with Si)ain had, for a large faction of the Creeks, been im- ])erilcd too greatly : and the United States had bargained with a deceiver. The hostilities at the south saw little abatement. and Spain continued to have an ally in the irate Creeks. But these Indian affairs suffered an eclipse in the sudden apparition of war along the iMississip})i, and the McCiillivray treaty was doubtless hastened by it, for the United Statt's \\:is at once brought face to face with a serious problem, in the solu- tion of which she needed a free hand. It is necessary to uo back a little and see how the Mississippi (piestion seemed lis- tening to a conclusion at the time the Spanish complication with England turned the federal government from an aggressive to a waiting mood. Gardo(pu. on returning to Si)ain in 1789. had given there the impression that the navigation of the Mississip])i had ceased to be a burning (piestion on the American seaboard. He gave as a reason for this apathy that the drain u])on the coast ])(»iinl!i- tion, through the o])ening of the river, would cause a settinu back of the prosperity of the older States. There was a No a CHMiACrElt OF THE WEST. 387 icati(»ii witli iinvalciice of f'jjir that tlu* free river passage to the sea of toliat'co. now lu'coining an iiii})ortant staph' in Krutucky, wonhl Ininn a powvriul coiui)etitor into the iiiarki't for the prochu't ((f Virj^inia anil Maryhuul, \vh()se soil was ah'eady heeouiing cxliaiistccl. With tliese viesvs accepted, there oouhl but be in Si)ain an iii.jx'rfict coin})reh('nsion of the real attitude of the western coiiiitiy, and there was doul)tle.ss iu some i)arts of the American cast hardly better information. Nor was there an adequate i'oiice})tion of revived Si)anish efforts to stop the Kentucky l)ii;iis on the river. Miro at New Orh'ans could hardly have fnilcd to observe the <;rowing" prosperity of the Americans about Naichez. Brissot had said, with French enthusiasm, that "the FreiK'h and Spaniards settled at the Natchez have not for a century cultivated a single acre, while the Americans furnish the n'reater i)art of the j)r()visions for New Orleans." We have seen how the attemj)t:i of the South Carolina Company to ex- tend tliis activity above Natchez had exi-ited the governor's apprehensions. The fact was that the Declaration of Iiulependenee had failed to make (piite the same sort of self-centred Anu'ricans west of tlie mountains as had been created on their eastern slo))e. The western life was breeding a more dauntless and aggressive race, which rejoiced rather in obstacles, and placed u])on a higher ])lane than human law the rights which they felt belonged to thi'iii l)y nature. They were not a little im])atient to have thi.'ir ri^ht to an vipen navigation of the i\Iississi])])i based u])on treaty obligations, as acipiired fi'om F'rance by England in 17G3, and transmitted to the Republic from the mother country in 17S2. They looked by })reference to the inalienable rights of tlii'ii- position on the ujjper waters of the (Jreat River, as carry- iii.H' an incontestable claim to a free passage to the ocean. AVhat Thomas AValcott, journeying on the Ohio in 1790, heard in u (h'bating club in Marietta gave an unmistakable indication of t!ie pi-evailing temj)er. There was, as lu> says, a diversity of sentiment as to the treatment of Spanish arrogance, while all were of one mind in the certainty, within a few years, of the liver being opened " by strength or force, if not by right or treaty." By 1790, the danger which had been felt, of accomplishing '^ ■ 4 1 1 ii \vi M 1 1 388 LWCEHTAISTIES IN TIN-: SOL'TinVKST. this iM'suIt l>y some pact ()t' the westi-rn lenders with Spain, had jn-aetically vaiiished before the risiuj^ power of the const itii- tional J{epul>lic, which had marshaled men in new i-aidy the precarious relations which had arisen between S])ain and England. Jefferson's instructions were to assume the right ot navigating the Mississi]>])i, and to raise a question only al'ont a port of de])osit near its mouth. At the same time, he advi-ed Short, in Paris, to persuade Montmarin. the Spanish anilms- sador in that capital, to further the American suit. In the y//A XOIiTinVEST COAST. 889 lit;iils which .k'rtV'r.sun drew uj* lor C\iiiiiicluu'rs j;ui(him'(' ( August 22), ho says that more than half the American terri- toiv is ill the Mississippi basin, where two hundred thousiind pinple, of whom forty thousand can hear arms, are impatient of S|i;iiiish (h'hiys. If we eannot l»y arjiument fcuve Spain to a (•(iiitiusion, lie a(hls, we must eitlier lose this westi-rn j)eople, wlin will seek other alliances, or we must, as we shall, wrest what we want from her. If Spain will only give ns New Oilcans and Florida, he adds further, slii- should see that we arc ill a jjosition to Iielj) her jirotect what lies heyond the Mis- sissippi. This was a direct hid for a Spanish allianet' in tlic sudden complications which had arisen upon the action of a few Spanish ships on tins I'acilie coast, and, in Septeinber, false luuKtrs prevailed in New York that Spain had made the ('(iiici'ssion. To understand this l*aci(ie entanglement, it is noeessary to take a brief retrospect. The fur trade of the northwest coast was a prize for which Spain and England had h)ng been contending. The elforts to tiud an overland passage had been far more striking with the Kiiiilish. while the Spaniards had for the most part pushed up the coast from California. As early as 1775, Cadotte, who had long been a trader at the Saiilt Ste. Marie, had exj)lored with Alexander Henry north- west of Lake Sni)erior. and, in their wandering, had fallen in with one Peter Tond. This adventurer was, according to some accounts, a native of Boston, l»nt was prol)ab;y born, a.s Ledyard had been, in (Connecticut. He was strong in body, eager for ha/a ids. intelligent in spirit, with a knack for scientific obser- vatinii. and an eye for mercantile profit without many scruides as to the method of it. He had, in A])ril, 1785, in behalf of the North West Company of Montreal, a fur-trading organiza- tion, addressed a nuMiiorial to Governor Hamilton at Quebec. )iriip()sing to undertake, in connection with other members of th;it company, the exploration of ^ the whole extent of that luilviiown country between the latitudes of 54' and 07"" to the I'acillc Ocean." He informed the governor that he had learned fiDiii the Indians that the Russians had already established a trading station on that coast, and that other posts were sure to ■11 ■ s in i ( . \ / 1 i ;■ '1, 1 ;ri !'' , ! ' '' 1 . -I '6\H) iwchiiTAiyriKs IX THE sorrinvEsT. 1m? t'stiiblislu'd theiv l)y Aim'ricans, who lia*l liei'n Hliipnintfs of ('uittaiii Cook. Ill' I'urtluM- saiil that it" the tlflivcry ut tlii> liilio posts, as contoiiiplattMl in the treaty of ITH'J, wiis cvor iiiadf, the way would \w opcut'd for cuterprisiiii;' AiiH'ricaii^ to rcai'li by tin* Lake Superior route that distant re;;ion. and rein- force their eountrynieii, who had sought it by water. For these reasons \\v. ui^ed upon Hamilton the necessity of protecting; the North \\'est Company in the undertakings wljieli they liml outlined. Tlu! explorations of Pond about Lake Athabasca had ron- vinccil him, as his map, which has conu' down to us. shows, that the western end of that lake was not very far distant from tlif Pacific. The accounts of Cook's voyage had just then lieen pnli- lished (17^4-8;")), and a comparison of Cook's charts and tlii> map, by ditVerences of hninitude, secnu'd to sjiow that the fre-.li and salt watei-s were within a hundred miles of each other. On a nui]) preserved in the Marine at Paris, and which is given liy Hrymner in his Canadian .Vrchive- Ivcport for 18it0, ami wliicli is said to be a copy of Pond's awing made by Crevec(cnr for La Kochefoueault, the coast ol •• Priiu'c William Sctnnd. as laid d»»wn by Captain Cook," is separated from the affliu'iits of **Aranbaska Lake'"l)y a coast i-ange, beyond which, as the legend reads, the Indians say they have seen bearded men. As signifying an inviting route to the western sea, IVmd had rc- ))orted the climate of Atindiasca as nioil 'rate, and said it was i)wing to the ocean winds, which wc, in our day, recogni/e as the idiinooks. Pond, as we have intimated, was not averse to ])laying off one master against another, and while he was assuring Hamil- ton that his interests were for Britain, he seems to have si-nt another copy of his map to Congress, which fell into CrJvc- cceur's hand, and upon a copy which he made, that traveler wrote of its author : '' This extraordinary man has resided seven- teen years in those countries, and from his own discoveries, as well as from the rej)orts of the Indians, he assures himself of having at last discovered a ])assage to the [western] sea." This memorandum is dated, " New York, 1 March, 1785." NoTR. — The limp on the opposite page is a spotion of Pond's map (as reproduced in Bryiuner'» Caniuliiin A rehires, ISltO), showiiiR tlie Grand Portage and the source of the Mississipiii. The river " Winipique" connects Lake Winnipeg witli the Lake of tlie Woods. I'tn T. I sliipiiKites ivt'iy of the '1. was ever iiii'ri)':in> to 111, iiiiil ii'iii- VoV tllfof t' proU'ftiiit; I'll tlu'V li:i'l cji had ritii- , sliows. tllllt lit troiii till- '11 ht'cii ))ult- kvts :ni*l tln<< Kit tlu' t'lT-ll I other. ( )ii 1 is yivt'u I'V I), and which y ('rc'Vt'Cd'ur im Sound. :i>< tj afHiunits ot hich, as \\v t'd int'ii. As *(>n(l had ic- l said it was vi'('oj;'ui/.f as ])hiyini;' oft' [riiii;' Ilaiiiil- to hav<' si'iit into C'lvvi'- that traveler 'sided scvt'ii- (st'ovcrifs, as ts hinisolf of sea." This luced ill Bryiiiiiir's Mi88is8iiii)i. The 892 UXCERTAINTIICS IX THE SOUTHWEST. m Vtwt Poiurs ambition to reach the Pacitie had not been accom- plished when, in 171*0, Vancouver was on that coast, estahlisli- hig new chiims for Enylaml. lie passed, without knowiii;^' it. the mouth of the great river tliat heails near the sprin0, announced in Parliament that war with Sjiain was inuuinent. (ireat activity followed \v. the dock- yards and arsenals. Louisiana was at once recognized as the most vubu'i'able part of the Spanish empire. To engage tlic westei'u Indians for a campaign against New Orleans by the river, large stores of gifts were hastily sent to Canada. Por- chestcr was, at the same time, instructed to secure if ])ossil)lc the active aid of the United States, and, in case this failed, he was told to ])lay u]>on the passions of some of the disaffected regions of the Kepublie. While the northern and stmthern factions of the country were being brought to a sharp issue on the question of a site for a cai>ital, and were seeking at the sanu' time to play off Vermont and Kentucky against each other in the balance of power, by fixing periods for their admission to the Union, the British government was seeking to make a breach ive obsorvtr. .f,*^: > NdKlIIWKST I'OAST. lSIhiwjiii,' Niicuka Simiiil as on the inaiii laiiil. when ifully on tlie outi-r coast of \'aiiioiiV('r'8 l-iliiMl; al.Mi Markfiizii's trick ami tlu' Hupposcil waters west of I/ikc Superior and Hinlson'n '■'.V. ri,.. n\ap is a part of a " ("hart of tlic N. W. Coast of America, kIiowuik iliscoveries -lately '"I'l"." in .leilciliali Morse's Aiiirnn.:'. I'liiiTiKiil (liiiqrdpliii, Post'Mi, Ist eil., ITs'.i; ttli eil., ! I llli ■ I m ■ HK ^ i ! , i ' J ( ' , I ; ; 4 Mi -i il y 11 ■i 1 ^ 1 ( >\ ' [ ,'A I li;i 1 1 'i i M' ' 1 fi ■I :, 394 UNCEllTAINTIES IN THE SOUTHWEST. between e;ieh of those States and the Union. It was thoiij;lit that the diseontent in Vennont, not wholly stilled by the dut- eonie of Yorktown, was rendered at this juncture peeuliaiiy susee})tible while she was ajjpealing- to a laggard Congre>;s ti) give her sisterhood in the Union. So Doreliester was instructed to open eoninmnieation with such as he could ap])roaeh. A convention in the Kentucky country was about dctt r- niining to take final measures for securing Statehood, — it was to take place in July, — but it was not certain that the niajnrity for it would be large. To take advantage of any such indiffev- ence, Dorchester was further instructed to picture to the Kcii- tuckians the advantages which would accrue if they a('ce})t(cl the help of England to force the Spaniards from the Missis- sii)pi. There was also, Dorchester was expected to show. ;ui unmistakable gain for them in an English alliance in ojieii- ing the lakes and the St. Lawrence for the export of their ])roduce. Such were the terms of Grenville's dis])atches to the Canadian governor in May, 1790, at the; time that prepara- tions were making in England for a S])anish war. The C(nulitions on all sides were perplexing. Great Ibitaiu was anxious lest war with Spain would give the Americans an o})portunity to wrest from their feeble garrisons the lake posts, and there was danger that such hostilities might lead to the dispatch of a crowd of privateers from tlie American ports. There was a chance that the military power of the He])iil)lie would have more thai" ic could do to protect and hold in alle- giance the western cruntry, and Dorchester's inforujation tVoiii the Ohio region v/as encouraging to British hopes. He learned that the " discontented Continental soldiers " at the ^Muskinmnn colony were " attache! to the United States by no other tie than personal regard for tlie President, considering themselves sacrificed by Congress, and defrauded even in the sales of the lands they occupy;'" and this feeling, said a correspoiuleiit. gave them "an extreme tenderness toward the British goviin- ment." Early in the year, Dorchester had sent to the States an emis- sary on an ostensibly fi-iendly errand, but really to s])y out the feelings of the people, and to ascertain what ])ie])arations were in hand for any armed excursion. This messenger was a eei- tain Major Beckwith, and his instructions were dated on »liiue m-w T. ,vas thouiiht by till' tiiit- e peculiiiily Congvt'^^s to IS instvuctctl lacli. about (Ictrr- »od, — it was the iiKiioiity iit'h imlit't'ii- I to the Ki'U- hey a(H'i'})tiil 111 the Missis- to show, ail nice in oiuii- povt of tlu'ii' patches to tlu' that piepaia- Grreat Britain Americans an le lake posts, t h'ad to the iiericaii ])oi'ts. the Hepnl hold m alli M-ination i'foni lie h'ariu'il e ^luskiiitiuni no other tie themselves riles of the le s lent. horrespont li'itish tiovein- Itates an einis- ho siiy out tlie lavations were ti'V was a ''el- ated on -luiie \VA SHING TON'S CA BISE T. SO-J '1~. lie was specially directed to learn the chances of the I'liited States joining Kingland in the threatened war, and the liktlihood of their resisting the persuasions of Spain to relv ii|iiiii her aid in attacking the lake posts. Dorchester had an American corrcs])ondent, who was assuring him that (iencral Knox would be only too glad to attack the Spanish j)osts on tlif up])er ^Mississippi, while an English Heet forced the river tiiim tile Gulf. This letter-writer had outlined a further j)lan of a joint expedition to the Santa Fe region, the west being eouiited on to recruit an adequate force from its three hundred tlidiisaud inhabitants. This occupation of the Spanish mines was a favorite aim with Dorchester, and he had in contem})la- tioii to found a basi for such an expedition on the Mississip])i, iKUtii of the Missouri, whence it was only eight days' inarch to Santa Fe, through a country fit for military oi)erations. It was certain that Spain feared sucli an attack, and was striving to strengtiien lier Indian alliances beyond the ^lississippi, and was seeking to induce the Indians on the east of that river to migrate to the other bank, and her persuasion had had some iiiHuence among the Cherokees. The policy of the United States, so far as Wa.shingtoirs cab- inet was to form it, rested in councils far from harmonious. Hamilton could not forget the irritating vacillation of Sjiain iluriiig the Kevolntion, and her inimical conduct ever since, lie thought she had no reason to exjiect that the United States WKiild shield her from British enmity. He was, on one point at least, in symj)athy with Jefferson in contending that Spain iimsv either open the Mississippi or take the conseipiences. '" If (ireat r>ritain sides with us," he said, "and France with Spain, there will be a revolution in oui- foreign polities."' AVlieii Beek- witli songlit to sound him. Hamilton was cautious, and rather vauuely ])romised an alliance with England " as far as may be eonsistent with honor." -lefferson's anti-English views were too notorious for England to expect any countenance fi-oni him. Dorchester had lieen warned of this, though his American corres])ondeiit assured Iiim that the Americans, as a body, were "by no means favor- iihle to Spanish interests." It was Jefferson's belief that a Spanish war — with the Americans neutral — would be sure t » throw both Louisiana and Florida into the hands of Britain. ii: I ' 1 ( ' ' 1 li »''i i 1 Jli> 390 UNCEliTAINTIES IX THE SOUTHWEST. ■if V Ift ' 'M % III! I' !i C This woultl iiu'iin, he coiitonded, that Kiighuul, ])osHi's.siiiu,- tlio west hank of tin- Mississippi, would control the trade of tlic east hank, and hold the navigation oi that river as the ])riic and lure of an alliance with the western States. It would, moreover, surround the Kepuhlic on all the land sides with British power and with British Heets at the seaward. It was, j)erhaps, sonu^ consolation to him, in a possihle alliance of tlic States with England, that, in the division of the spoils of war, Florida might fall to the Americans. His expectation was that France could not hel]) heing drawn into the war on tlir side of Spain, and if the States couhl maintain neutrality in' saw a chance of "■ the New World fattening on the follies of the Old." If American neutrality could not be preserved, lie much preferred that the Repuhlic should take sides with Spain. For this end he was ready to guarantee the trans-Mississippi region to Spain, if she woidd cede New Orleans and Florida to the United States. lie thought that to enter ui)on the war in this way woidd induce a popular support, and that Spain should agree to sid)sidize the Americans, if such a stand l)r()u^■ht on a conflict with England. To prepare for such a consuuinia- tion, Jefferson instructed Carmichael to let the Spanish conit understand that, if such a ])lan was not acceded to, there nii«;lit be great difficulty in restraining the w'est. Such a guarantee of the distant west was not, fortunately, in the way when Jef- ferson himself, not many years later, bargained for this same Louisiana, and forgot how he had so recently })rofessed that the United States \vould not for ages have occasion " to cioss the Mississippi." Thei'e was one cor .jiative wini'l hinst a tune li^ m .. Hi! \:\ \i 1 ,.( !^l I ■ I I J iiii ■ M " 1 '■ :• ■ rf ! 'i 1' t; I'l : CHAPTER XVIII. THE CONDITIONS OF 171)0. The federal government in coming- to power found the Nditli and the South not unequally niatehed. Pennsylvania and the States northward sliowed about two million inhabitants, niitl there was an equal ])oj)ulation in Maryland with the fartluT south. It was thouglit that the valuation of the thirteen States was approximately #800,000,000, and this aggregate was nearly e(iually divided between tiie two seeti()ns. In some aspects of business activity, they were also nearly equal, and the •'ifn.OOO.. 000 exports of the North eould be set against a eoiTi'spondiiig siun for the South. In doniestie trade the North doubtless held some ])reponderanee, for the one hundred and fifty thou- sand tons of shipping engaged in fishing and in coastwise tnifHc was mainly owned and employed in the North, and this section claimed a large part of the three hundred and sixty tlioiisiind tons engaged in the foreisiii trade. The territory which was assured to the United States by the treaty of independence, but which was as yet, west of the nioiiii- tains, but precariously held for the most part, was variously reckoned, according to the imperfect estimates of the time, as between eight and nine hundred thousand square miles. Of this impei'ial domain, not far from two thirds was unocciijiietl excei)t by vagrant Indians. The great bidk of the four million people, whom the world was learning to call Americans. (k(>. I'l'; Kt ■'1 I 'li I'mMx m" I: giiiiii soil by tobaceo was serving to increase the spread ot licr pi'ople beyond the inoimtaius. The current was not yet whnllv checked, which in the middle of the century had brou<;ht otlup pioneers from Pennsylvania and Maryland throu<;h the \;ilk'y of the Shenandoah on the way to the Kanawha and beyond. The oj)ening of the river route from the Mononiiaheiii to Limestone on the Ohio, '' the most beautiful river " of the world, as it was customary to call it, hail diverted a large pait oi the stream of adventurous settlers, but they mostly went td Kentucky, for there was still diffieulty in the kind (piestioiis on the Muskingum, which was preventii' its full share ot the intending settlers. Further south, an emigrant stream was con- stantly passing from Carolina. Then; was possibly a j)reponderance of English blood in all these diversified currents; but the Scotch-Irish and the (icr- nians were numerous enough to give a strengthening fibre in this mingling of ethnic strains. There was, in this soutli- western race, little mixture of the New England stock, thonuii a few families from Connecticut and Massachusetts had niadc a mark among them. This northern element, however, was just beginning to assert itself north of the Ohio, in conumuii- ties destined to become more mixed in blood than those south oi that river. The Ohio Coin[)any, as we have seen, had taken shape in the New England si)irit. The region between tlit; two jSIiamis was controlled by the racial ipiality of the middle States. The lands reserved for bounties to the Virginia sol- diers, something over four million acres, and more open to In- dian attacks than other parts of the northwest, invited still other individualities. When Chillicothe was founded, Kentucky and Tennessee sent thither a restless horde. In this there was good blood mixed with less desirable strains coming from the ])oorer elements of Ilolston and Carolina. It was left for New England to restore a good average when the Western Kcscrve along Lake Erie came to be settled, its i-eputation for havin? a damp and cold soil tending to deter immigration for some years. It is generally computed that there were, in 1790, inarly four thousand three Inuidred people, other than Indi"ns, north of the Ohio. Of these there were about a thousiaid in and around Marietta, to be increased during the year by more than ! 1' AVCOll the two irffiiiia sol led, Kentucky 1)11 for liavin;;' THE ILLL\()IS SETTLEMESTS. 401 one Iiiiiiilrcd and thirty new families. The hostility of tlie Indians iirevented their hunters j^oing far beyond the support iif their armed guards, and the buffalo by this time had dis- ai>iMared from Kentucky, exeej)t alxmt the sources of some of tlic livers, and were rarely to be found north of the Ohio, unless in similar feeding-grounds near the fountains of the iKiithcrn tributaries of that river. So a scarcity of food was iKit an unusual condition, and. duiing the early months of 171)0, till IV had been danger of famine but for the kind help of a \'irgiiiia hunter and farmer, who was settled on the ojjposite side of the Ohio. Tiie next year, however, the eroj) jiroved a "(mmI one. On the lands of fludge Symmes, between the Great and Little Miami, there were reckoned to be one thousand three liuii(hfd souls. St. Clair, in rlanuaiy, had visited these settle- lucnts, and set them uj) as the eounty of Hamilton, and made at (iiu'iunati the seat of government for the shire. The settlement on the ^Vabasli was su})})osed to have about ;i thousand souls, among whom St. Clair early in tlie year had been, and had found them thriftless. They were dreading a scarcity of food, and the governor relieved them. He officially (•(intirnied their oceupaney of the lands, which had been origi- nally secured to them under the French rule. Another thou- sand of this trans-Ohio population was to be found in the other (lid Flench settlement at Kaskaskia and in the luljacent region. St. Clair had found these also fearing a famine, and he had issued orders to prevent the Spanish, in St. Louis, crossing the liver to kill buffalo and to carry off" the timber. This scarcity fil' food liad driven off" a good many to join jMorgan's settlement at \ew ^ladrid. and it was the general comjdaint that much of their distress was owing to the f.ailure of Virginia to i)ay for till' supplies which they had furnished to George Rogers Chirk twelve years before. These difficulties were increased by the oltsi luiiig of land titles, which a transfer of allegiance had j)i<)- •hiecd. and St. Clair had had poor success in endeavors to ivincdy the evil. He found that the passage of supplies l)y iisi'eiiding the Mississippi from the Ohio was jeojiardized l)y the velocity of the current, and he at once urged upon the federal Si'oviH'iinient the construction of a road for a distance of fifty or sixty miles, leaving the Ohio at Fort Massac, so that the region i^ ■■I : I. 4 (!oI()ny. To place the federal interests in this distant rc^iini under more ct'Hcient sni)ervisi()n, St. CMair. on leaving for his ]iead(inai'ters in dune, 17J>0, placed them under the inmudiatt' control of Winthroj) Sargent, the secretary of the Noitliwcst Territorv. y>. I:( rii. ;l : '^y :i Bif :i< la I 'I -m a / ii (■ In turnin<;' from this older alien element and asccndiiiL; the Ohio, the newer and luckless French colony, for whose coiniiin- Putnam had bc.ii i)reparing-, did not escajje St. Clair's atten- tion. He says he found about four lumdred souls here. " not usefully emi)l()yed and much discontented." There were a liiiii- dred more at Muskingum, and another hundred at Buffalo ("itck. waitinji' to move on with the oi)ening season. The begimiiniis of this movement have been recounted in an earlier chapter. The Scioto Company, of which Joel Barh)w, as ahvady exjdained, was now the })rincipal agent in Euro])e, had aiiiit'tl to attract the longings and cupidity of the French people hy j)i'esenting what hi' called the allurements of the Auieiieaii wilderness. The French government suspected the snare, ami endeavored to warn the eager victims by caricatures, as we have seen, but to little purjiose. By wanton promises. Barlow succeeded in selling a hundred thousand aci-es of what lie |»id- fessed was the coin]>any"s domain to hundreds of deludeil cli- ents. Among them wei'e ten ])ersons of some notoriety, if not consideration, who had been founders of the National Assem- bly. There was a reckless folly in these people, who weie seek- ing t() escape from France, cpiite equal to that of those who were Iteginning to make that country the abhorrence of Europe. Brissot, who was also a member of the Assembly, and wlio IkuI been in America two years before, was chattering in the eafe^ in the vein in which he was the next year, in a jmblished hook. to help on the movement. He warned the loyal aristocrats, wlie lu' siiiirt.'. :111a atnres, ;i> wr f tlt'liKlftt ili- turit'tv. if not listocnits. will' THE SClUTU cu.\//'.\\y 40li sliout.'dii tciidciicy ti)fly fi'oiii wliiit was ('oiiiiiin, tliat in thus seck- iiiL; •• t<» prcscrvr their titles, tlieii' honors, and their |»rivileL;es. tiny would fall into a new society [in America], wheie the titles .,,.4A,W">«^ '•'''' -.4.. ^Fmiii 77«' Comimrre nf America iiil/i Eiinijie, by Hrissot iIc WarviUe, etc., Loii'loii. IT'.l-i.'] "f piiile and ehanee are des))ised and even uidvnown." lie pointed out how Barlow's enter])rise a|)peale!• I* I ' % 1 1 • '" \ ■1 A ei'H, jiiul went on g('iu.'rali/in<^, afttT liis soiucwliat anmsin;; piac- tice, from cvliK'ncu insutticicnt but useful in his task. Ilinlnw. nieanwhile, was busy oiliuj;' his uiacliint'iy. On Febniaiv 'Ix, ITltO, lie wrote to St. Clair to l)rin^' to his '■ notieo and |iini.r- tion a number of industrious and honest emi;;rants," who wt iv seekiui^ new homes on the Ohio, "under the direetion of Messrs. Jiarth and Thiehaidd." Knox, similarly informed, sonicwliat later, on May lt>, told St. Clair that these Frenchmen wcic td settle on hinds "eontraeted for by Messrs. Cutler & Co.." and asked the <;-ovorn()r to protect them. Uarlow further, wltli a refined cruelty, wrote to Duer, his ])rinei|)al in New Yoi-k, an'- in;j;' him n(tt to omit any measures which coidd create j^dod first impressions in these misyuided wanderers, for twenty thnii>aii(l more, as he said, wouhl soon foHow the pioneers, lie a>k(il him to have houses ready for them on a sjmt o})p()site the iiKnith of the Kanawha, a<;ainst the arrival of these forerunners. On this representation, Kufus Putnam, lendinj;' himself liliiully to a nefarious sehenu', which subsecpu-ntly cost him •'#2.0(MI for nnrecompensecl outlays, in the late winter, while in New York, contracted on behalf of the; Scioto Coniinmy with one Major John liurnham to <;'o with a party and erect cotta<;cs on the spot which Barlow had desigMated, then "iiown by the Indian name f Chicamago, but later called, as Putnam says, (lallioiKilis, a . '>e soon contracted to Galli])olis. In ]May, ITiM). just at the tni.- 'len Knox was eonnuending- these foreign adventurers to the care t,r St. Clair, Burnham arrived at Marietta with lit'ty men and a store of provisions to last till Decendter, wlien it was expected the work would be done. On June 4, I'litnaiii gave him his instructions. He was to learn from Ccdoiul 11. J. Mei ;s on the spot where he was to ])lace the four ranges of huts ^vhieh he was to build. They were to be reared of mund loivs *-ith day in the chinks, and with chimneys of likf <(iii- structicm. Each range or block was to have at the end a larj;u room for meetings and dancing. Some days later, this wtn'king party reached the site i»i tlic future settlement, sui)])osed then, by some at least, to be within the area which Cutler had gained for the Scioto Com])any. b» whomever it belonged, it was wholly unfit for occu])an( y. witli all the germs of disease about it. While this work was progressing on the Ohio, there \va> GALUI'OLIS. 405 aiiii'ii.L; saner oliservors little conHdeiieo in the fnturo (»f the iiiiilfitaUing. Oliver Woleott, \vlt(» was a elassniato of Hailow, ;iii(l (loiil)tless knew liini well enouuli to distrust liini, wn liich liar- low's lying ma}) had prc])ared them. Once at the end of their journey, they discovered tliat their title-deeds covered lands which the grantors did not have to convey, and they ])erhaps rciiicud)ered the truth of the Parisian caricatures. They found I)uriiliam and his laborers looking to Putnam for their j)ay, and the c(imi>any with whicdi they had dealt was nowhere. It is dii^cult to jdace the entire responsibility of this shame- ful (Irceit. Harlow, as an agent, may perl ;~ have exceeded his iiistrnciions, though there is no evidence in his corres])ondence «itli. his principals to show that they did anything to check his I,, f *-] ; 1 il ! ! I 1 , ft! tt I !i! 1 /!;■. t I' M U I, ; ■( HlHii: ■ 1 1 "I ■" ti I , il i 400 THE COXDITIOXS OF 1700. rampant perfoiMiianees. If the Ohio Company is to ^c oxciil- l)ateU, it was certainly Cutler's overdrawn descriptions wliich were dei)ended upon to delude the poor souls. ]>arlow"s difi- nite instructions from Duer and his associates have never Imtii made known. The trutii seems to be that these speculatoi .>;, some of the first peofjle of the land, as Cutler with some satis- faction called them, had (counted upon buying continental st'cuii- ties, while depressed under the weakness of the confederation, and using them at face for meeting their obligations foi- the land. The i'lauguration of the new government checked tlie depression ar.d then enlianced the value of such notes, so tliat they could no longer be bought at the expected discount. This frustrated the schemers' plans. To make some amends to tlie deluded settlers, Duer and the Ohio Company agreed upon a ti-ansfer of some two hundred thousand acres fi-om the company, ui)on which, in fact, by a miscalculation, the huts had l)ot'n placed by Meigs and Burnham, but even this restitution in the end was futile, for Duer soon after became bankrupt, and evciv- thing was awry. For a time, however, it seemed as if the trustful Frenchmen got something for their money, and, occupying the fragile habi- tations which had been pre])ared, Gallipolis was fairly l)i'i;nn. But the fettered handicraftsmen, setting to their task, oniy foTUid that their numbers grew less as the hardier of them became weary and deserted. It was no easy job to ftli the enormous sycamores which stood where they needed to i)lant their fields. When the trees one by one fell, they found no way so easy of getting rid of the ni .ssive trunks as to dig trenches and bury them. Then their supplies grew scant, and famine stared them in the face- They were sometimes warned by the whoops of prowling savages, and they were beginnin<;' to think that these children of a benignant nature, which tlie French philosophers had told them about, were not aftci' all tlie most innocent of neighbors. So they encountered shocks to their sentiments, and blows as to their physical natures. As autumn came on, they got all the ccmfort they cou^d from the gracious messages of the governor, who dared to ex})r»'ss ti. them the hoi)e that, amid their trials, they had still found i'lth- pendence and hai)piness. He assured them that the rascality of the shameless deceivers would be j)unished by la>v. ".iul vhat PUBLIC LANDS. 407 tlio colonists would in the end have justice. He begged them to 1»e patient a little lor.ger, till arrangements for their security could be made, and the comfort of their conmiunity assured. St. Clair ex])ressed his own views unreservedly to Knox on November 26, that " an interested speculation of a few men, pursued with too great avidity, will reflect some disgrace on the American character, while it involves numbers in absolute ruin in :i foreign land." All this meant that there was need of much better discern- ment in the use of these Ohio lands than the recipients of the oi'dniance of 1787 had devised, and that the precluding of chi- canery should go along for honesty with the prevention of servi- tude. Hamilton had seen the evil easily to accompany the large spt'i ulative mania which Cutler and his colleagues stood for, and strove, but for the present unsuccessfully, to better the con- ditions in the disposition of these public lands. On July 22, 1T90, he made a report for unifying and controlling the sales, in wliieh i;^i proposed a general land office at the seat of govern- nu'iit, with one local office in the northwest and another in the southwest, where sales could be made to actual settlers of not over a hundred acres to each. The Indian titles were first to be quieted. Tracts were then to be set aside to satisfy subscribers to the loans. Townships ten miles square were to be offered for competition. There might in some cases be special contracts. But the main restraint was to be a fixed sum of thirty cents per acre, one quarter cash, with seciu'ity for the rest. It was an effort to control as much as })ossible sj)eculative values. In his repoi't on the public credit, Hamilton had declared that cultivated lands in most of the States had fulkn in value since the Kcvoluiion from twenty-fi\e to fifty ])er cent., and in the remoter south still more. AVestern lai ds, he says, had been heretofore sold at a dollar an acre ; I'ut this price was i)aid ill (le])reciated paper, worth scarce a seventJi of its face. liut Coiij;ress was not yet ready for a movement as Hamilton pro- jmsed, and the owners of earlier grai.ts were ready at all times to tliwart any jdans which would mawo the govennnent their rival in the land market. The public lands of the wital on the eastern branch of the Potomac. To prevent a site being selected farther north, and to sustain an earlier vote for placing the seat of government in " due regard to the particnhu" situa- tion of the western country," the Senate, on June 28, considered a ttill for forming a district ten miles scpiare, on the Potomac, as the ])lace for the federal city. It was at this point, and to lecoiicilc the o])posing demands of the two secticms of the coun- try, that the 'political bargain, just mentioned, was made. The future lumie of the gt)vernment was determined to tlie advan- tage of the South, and as a recomi)ense the debts of the States were ctssumed by the central government, to the gain of tlu> North. So it was that Hamilton's fiuiding bill passed both ihiuscs, and on July 9, 1790. became a law : and at tlic same time the residence of Congress was establisluul at Philadelphia till December, 1800, when the new capital was to be occupied. The bill, both as regards the financial scheme in toucliing the iiiipoKiince of western lands, and in respect to the location of m I 410 THE CONDITIONS OF 17 'JO. ' ■ il! i\.\'\'\ the capital, was in st)iiie sense a victory for the west. There were some, however, like Inilay, who regretted the perniantiicv of the choice of the Potoiaac ami thought the federal city slioiild idtimately be transferred to the (ireat \'alley, and find a home, for instance, near the Falls of St. Anthony. As against the l*otomac, the advantages of a site on the Sus- qnehanna were the most promising, because of the claims wliicli were urged of its affording easier communication over the moun- tains with the west. It was shown that the distance fr<»m tide- water at Alexandria on the l*otomac to the Monongahehi and Pittsburg — the usual i)ortal of the west — was three huiuhtd and four miles with thirty-one miles of portage. Inday says t it is asserted on the best authorities that the land carriaiie •diis route may be reduced by further canalization of the rivers to less than twenty miles. This was the natural route from Baltimore and liichmond, and if the Ohio was reached hy land only, it took a varying time, from ten to twenty days, to pass the mountains from the ])rinci])al seaboard towns. From tide-water on the Susquehanna to Fort Pitt was two hundred and seventy -five miles, and if the route was carried up tiie f Juniata, there was the easiest mountain pass of all, niakini; a portage of twenty-three miles. Another but less favorable passage went by the west branch of the Susquehanna, loadiiii; to Toby's Creek and the Alleghany, and thence to the Ohio. There was still a way by which those ])assing west, either from llichmonvl or Philadelphia, entered the valley of the Shenan- doah, and ])roceeded to Fort Chissel on the Kanawha, near the North Carolina line. Thence the road led through Cumberhuiil Ga]). It was the iisual path by which those who sought a hind carriage entered tluj leafy regions of Kentucky and so passed on to the rapids of the Ohio, now the liveliest spot in the west, and to Vineennes and Kaskaskia beyond. It was generally eon- ceded at this time that Alexandria was nearer by one hundred and fifty miles to Kentucky than Pliiladelphia was, and twenty to thirty miles nearer than lialtimore was, and this last elty was west of the real centre of ])opulation of the whole country. Philadelphia was now maintaining a weekly post by the Cum- berland Gap with the Kentucky settlements, and it traversed a road that in one place for a hundred miles was without a house. and the average rate was about twenty miles a day. It tins ill: I WESTERX KOIJTES. 411 loiito sluired the streanis of travel westward with the water passage by the Ohio, the return by laiul was more usual in aviiiihmee of the struggle ag;>iust the current of that river. Tiiose who were bound for tlie Tennessee country, after strik- ing the valley of tlie Ilolston, instead of turning to the right for ('iiinl)erland Gap, followed down that river to Fort Campbell, near where the Ilolston and Clinch unite to form the Tennessee, anil then struck northwesterly over the mountains to the Cum- l)i'rland valli'y and so on to Nashville. The distance from Fort Campbell was a little short of two hundred miles. Winter- liiitliam, a eoutemi)orary writer, speaks of this nmte as "a |ili'asant ])assage for carriages, as there will be oidy the Cum- berland Mountain to pass, and that is easy of ascent, and be- v(tiid it the road is generally level and firm, and abounding with lino springs of water." Other descriptions of the time are not so attractive, and they tell of glowing ravines where patrols WL'iv sometimes met. and as night came on, there was some- thing startling in the click of the hoofs of the ti-aders' ])ack- linises, Imrrving to find a night's rest. The occasional log liuts are spoken of as filthy, with the roughest household furni- tiuc. for it was not till 1790 that frame houses began to ai)pear along the way. At Nashville, the traveler found the incvitabk; whiskey -tap in its one variety store. The ])eoi)li' were just begiiniing to open trade with New Orleans, sending thither, mainly by water, and running the gauntlet of the river pirates, the ])roducts of the region, — dried beef, hides, tallow, fuis, eorn, tobacco, and Hax. Those who were not traders were a])t to follow the hunt- er's trace, ■ hich i-an from Nashville to Natchez, through the tt'iritoiT of the friendly Chickasaws. The portages which con- nected the Tennessee with the Florida rivers sometimes brought from the south the Spanish traders of ^loldle and Pensacola. The routes tluis far I'numerated were generall}' adapted to iuilieate the Potomac as the best site for the ])roposed federal city, to wliich the water cari-iagc on the Ohio was not so favora- hle. This easier ])assage to the two hundrc-e aione, per humlrt'il- Iss. Touliuin, huying a boat at Kedstone, on the Monongahehi, for <£G-9-0, in which he carried 13 horses, 21 negroes, 13 whites, and £100 worth of merchandise, took a fair saMii)le of these trading out- fits. It was different with coarse articles, but fine manufactures could often, at this time, be sent from Philadelj)hia over the inonntr.ins, and be exposed for sale in tlie rough booths of the liver settlements, where rent and taxes were of no account, at prices not much beyond those asked in Chestnut or Market streets on the Delaware ; and Philadelphia fashions, it was said, were in vogue in Frankfort in three months after they apjjcared in the Pennsylvania capital. The days of barter were jjassing, as money was brought in by innnigrants. or was brought up from New Orleans by the traders ; but still, slaves, horses, cat- tle, and pigs were not infrequently exchanged for calicoes, chintzes, and other fabrics. The most favorable season for these river passages was be- tween February and May, when the Ohio and Mississipj)i ran with full channel. The fiatboats then s])ed along from Pitts- burg to the Louisville rapids in eight or nine days. If they passed on to the Mississi])i)i, they were sure to find it a headlong stream, even well into the sunnner, but during July it began to decrease in volume of watei'. It did not, however, at anytime, rise to that height which it would have attained had all of its sixty considerable affluents poured their s])ring tides into its bed at once. A devastating overflow was, in fact, })revente(l by tliese incoming rivei's being affected by their local freshets at varvine: intervals, Kecent calculations have shown that in high-water season the Mississippi might, by the simultaneous swelling of its branches, pour into the (iulf three million cubic feet of water a second, whereas, in fact, the outpour, because; of this sequence of floods, is; only about one million eight lunidred thousand cubic feet. Tiie velocity of the current from the mouth of the Ohio to Baton Kouge is from four and a half to five and a half feet per second, with full banks, and nuu'h swifter thence on to New Orleans. In such a current as this, the river boats made the run from the 'Ohio rai)ids to New Orleans ill about twenty days. The usual practice of the ])ilots, to insure safety, was to cross from one concave shore to the other (reversing in going upstream), and to t''ust to the current when there was doubt about the channel. m I '■ !: 414 THE CONDITIONS OF 1790. •m At Nt'w Oilcans, the ti'iult'v usually sold his jjroduce and the boat which had brou<;ht it. (ioing to Havana with his j;ains, he returned by sea to Philadeli)hia or Baltimore. There in- |)ut his money into fine fabrics, and returned home over the ukmiii- tains and joined his family, from which he had been absent from four to six months. The smaller boats sometimes made the return trip by the river. There were often south winds to hel]) them stem the current, and experienced boatmen knew how to take advant.xvo of the eddying ui)-cnrrents at the river bends. Such boats we ^ S(mietimes back in Louisville in forty days. It was estimated that the coarse lading of ten boats of sixty tons each would purchase for the return a bulk of finer conunodities which might be carried upstream in three boats of five tons eaeli. Ascending the river was, however, too costly as yet to make it the rule, but it was beginning to be believed that from New Orleans to Louisville " by mechanical boats," the cost could be reduced 'o one tenth. Fitch's steamboat on the Delaware was, however, hauled up to rot this very summer, and the i)oor, dis- appointed inventor hardly dreamed of the time when a more pt'rfect vessel, with river obstructions removed, shoidd go in a single trip from Pittsburg to Fort Benton, in Montana, a dis- tance of four thousand three hundred and thirty-three miles. crossing very nearly the entire Mississippi drainage system, with its area of one million two hundred and sixty thousand scpiare miles. But in August of the next year (1791) new iiuprove- ments in steam-engines were patented by Fitch, Kumsey, and Stevens of Iloboken, and decided steps were registered in the solution of the great river problem. m xi ni ■1 \.! - ,^!Vi. ' V Hr' li I'laware was, CIIvVPTEK XIX. HARMAR's and ST. CLAIU'S CAMPAIGNS. 1790-1701. TnK continued retention of tlu; posts and the hostility ()f the huliaiis, c'h)sely connected as hoth the Americans and tlie In- dians felt, and as the British generally denied, was for the federal ijovernnient the perplexing cpiestion in the northwest in the hoginning of 1701. Jay, as Secretary rtf Foreign Affairs under the confederation, had, as we have seen, contended that the American breaches of the treaty of 1782 were at least equal to those of the British, and that there was no good ground for ;iiiii(al)le settlement as long as either contestant failed to purge Ills record. Jay was now Chief Justice of the Hei)ul»lie. It was possible that some test case might come before him, and tlio ])rospect was not a ])leasant one to the ardent reimblicans. -h'ttVrson was satisfied that the English ministry had no inten- tion of surrendering the posts, and was content to let the matter rest till the United States were sti'ong enough to force an evacuation. Gouverneur Morris and the Duke of Leeds had been corresponding in Loiulon without result. That American representative had also intimated to Pitt that the real reason of the delay was the fur trade, and that the ..epriving American ineroliants of that trade had jn-evented the profits which might have liquidated the British debts. It was true that some of the States were unconverted to Jay's views. In Georgia, British debts were still confiscated. In Virginia, there were strong legal and social combinations against the creditors, and Mar- shall and Henry were active in the debtors' behalf. On tlie British side there was the strong support of the Cn- iiadian fur traders, who lost no o])])ortunity of pressing their interests upon the government. One of these, who described himself as an " Indian interpreter and trader," Long by name, had just published (1701) his Vaj/ar/es 'ton had iiistnu'k'd St. Clair to hv 'O' jjicpared by suiiimoniiii'' a thousand militia from Virginia and Hvt' hundred from Pennsylvania. There were at this time a few t'ortiHed posts in the northwest, — Fort Knox at Vineennes, Fuit Washington at Cincinnati, Fort Steuben, twenty-two miles iil)(»ve AVheelini;-, and Fort llarmar. Not one of them luul move than a few score defender; K:uly in the year (1700), while St. Clair was on the lower 01 IK). he had instructed Ilamtramek. eommandin< It V ui- cTimes, to try to j)roi)itiate the Indians neighborinj;" to that ])ost : but the effort failed there, as it did elsewhere alonj^' the Ohio valley. During the sprin<>- of 1790, there were alarms all tlie way from Pittsburg- to the Mississip))!. Boats were eon- stuntly intercepted on the Ohio, and mostly near the mouth of tilt' Scioto. There was here on the Kentucky side a high rock, which served the Indians as a lookout, whence they could scan thi' river np and down. llarmar, in Ai)ril, 17!'0, had sent a force to strike the Scioto some distance np, anil swtx)}) down upon this nest of marauders, but it had little effect. The stoiios of this wild foraging carried dismay far and wide. Zeisberger, at the Moravian station of New Salem, — then on the traveled route between Pittsburg and Detroit, — heard of the ravages in April, and ascribed this nmrderous activity to tboClierokees. The stories reached St, Clair at Cahokia on the 1st of May, 1790, when he wrote to the secretary of war that liostilities seemed inevitable. He charged the British author- ities with instigating the trouble, and thought it not possible to stop the river de])redations by i>atrol boats, inasmuch as the tiade with New Orleans had drained Kentucky of the jjrovi- sioiis which a ])atrolling force would recpiire. When St. Clair started up the river in June, 1790, he was :>atisii('d that the intrigues of Bra it I, ad succeeded among the Wiihash tribes, and that they would cons])ire with the Miamis for a general war. In this frame of mind the govi'rnor reached l*oit Washington on Jul}' 13, 1790. Two days later, he made a ili'minid on Kentucky for troops, with the determination to take tlu' otfensive. Judge Innes at the same time wrote to Knox that uidess something of that kind was done, the Kentuckians woro " determined to avenge tluMuselves,"' and the discontent \^;is for a while farther increased by a rumor that the govern- 418 llAItMAirs AM) ST. CLAIIl'S CAMl'AKJXS. ^\ii, /I •'''H V,/ n ment liiul (IcttTiiiiiied to abiindon the Ohio 'omitry. St. Cliiii's activity soon satisHt'd tin; distnistful that an t'tt'ort woiilil at least be made to protei't the settlt'inentH. Tlio '•'overnor now authorized Richard Butler, conunandiiij;' in Alleghany County, to summon the militia of the nearest counties in Pennsylvania and Virginia to protect that region, and distract the Imliaiis thereabouts, while Ilarmar was advancing uj) the Miami in a campaign whi»'h had b(.'en decided u})on. On August 'J;5, ITIH). St. Clair reported his plans to Knox, and told him that Ham- tramek had at the same time been instructed to advance on the side of the Wabash. Harmar's force was ordered to assenihle at Fort ^Vashingt()n on Sejitember 15. As this day apjjroaclied, it was evident that delays would occur, for Governor ^liftiin of IV-nnwylvania was sluggish in sending forward his cpiota. Kikix. meanwhile, was suggesting to St. Clair to keep in mind tlu' founding of a fort on the upper Miami with a garris(m of sevon hundred and fifty men, and to support it by auxdiary posts on the Scioto and Maumoe. The ditificulty which oinifnnitcij Knox was that eighteen luni'' 1 men woidd be necc^ssaiy to carry the plan fully out an( ntain connnunications, wiiile the government had no more tlian four hundred regulais to spare for the object He anxiously asked St. Clair it' liis militia could be depended upon to sui)ply the rest. Tht^re was, at the same time, a division among "Washington's advisers on the question of assuring the English connnandci' at Detroit that Harmar's movements were not directed against that post. Jefferson feared that if Dorchester's anxiety in th.it respect was quieted, he would be freer to ])repare to attack the Spaniards on the Mississippi, in the impending war with Spain. though it was possible without such a notice he might snsiuMt the sudden armament was intended to contest his passage across American territory to reach the Mississippi. The final result of weighing opinions was that St. Clair was instructed to coni- municate with the British at Detroit, and on September 10 he sent such a letter from Marietta, in which he expressed a liope that the English traders might be restrained from giving aid to the Indians, The English had already beon making up their minds, as Dorchester had written in March to Grenville, that the juists were really the object of the American campaign, no nuitter .';r l;iJ .:. • i ' iiAiLMAirs rA^rrAIfJ^'. 419 lu'iv nuiui^. wli:it their profession. 'Vhv, Cjiniuliiin j^ovcriior thought, as his li'ttt-rs show, that it was the Aiuorican jihin to advance hy tlie Potomac to the Ohio, and then j)roeee(l aj;ainst Erie and Hftroit. ''The possession, also," he aihh'd. '• of the great aj)- ])ii»afhes to C'anatia hy the Moiiawk and Oswego and uj) th(5 Soivl wouhl make them masters of the country." He urged the sending to Canada of four thousand more soUliers, f«»r though he eouhl re|>air and strengthen the ui)per posts against an Indian attack, Niagara was the only one which could repel the Americans. As the sununer canu' on and brought the danger of a Sjjanish war, there was a (lisjM)sition in London t(t tliink Dorchester'.s ])rognosticati()ns seasonal »le, ])articularly wlicM the minister learned from him that Congress had voted to raise five thousand foot and sixteen c(>m])anies of artillery to I'einforce ilw western army, though the Senate had indeed ivdiieed the number to three thousand infantry. This made matters look serious to the British ministry, — the game was luH'oming hazardous, — and in August Dorchester was advised to prevent the Indians ravaging the American settlements, foi- "if the United States send an army against the Indians, end)ar- rassinents will follow." Dorchester, in further advices, repre- sented St. Clair as a man of firmness and experience, but of no great ability, whih^ Ilarmar was frequently intoxicated. So under this drunken leader, as British rumor had it, tlui little army was gathering at Fort Washington. The militia did not i)romise well, with their bad eipiipments, and there were ,ilo') signs of insnbordination. By October 1, Ilarmar sent for- ward an advance guarc to open the road. Three days later, the general followed with his main body. His whole force consisted of three hundred and twenty regulars and one thou- sand one hundred and thirty-three militia. The rumor that liad gone north gave him a much larger army, and jMcKee had ii()tiH(>d Sir John ,[ohnson that the Indians could not stand before it. It was re])orted to Zeisberger that the numbers were eight thousand, and the smallest reckcming they had at Detroit gave him two thousand. The result was that the Indians no- where made a stand, and Ilarmar, in sixteen days, reached the Miami and Delaware villages, near where the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's rivers unite to form the Maumee. Here he foiuul their three hundred huts deserted, and the storehouses of the 4 1 r' ) i •'If 11^ ' '■! 1 1 ::; . 1 1 1^^ 420 HARMAR'S AND ST. CLAIR'S CAMPAIGNS. Nv' ■•'■I I ! I '.', [il i •; ■ i 1 1 i If Detroit traders bared of their goods, which the Indians luul asisted in carrying away. He however found twenty thousand bushels of corn, which, with the huts, he burned. Thus far, Ilarniar had accomplished what in Indian warfare was often thought to count for something, and this mere di;. struetion was the ground of St. Clair's claim that the expedition was successful in delivering a " terrible stroke " to the enemy. Ilamtramck, who had the same soi-t of success in his movement farther west, knew better the significance of such easy warfare. '• The Indians can never be subdued by burning their lioiisps and corn," he said, " for they make themselves perfectly > jui- fortable on meat alone, and they can build houses with as nuuli facility as a bird does his nest." If his devastations did not count for all he wished, Ilarmars later blunders really negatived his doubtful achievements. His troops were, on the whole, l)ut unpromising soldiers, many too old for cam}>aigning and more too young, and h.^ heedlessly committed them to work which only the best disci[)lined men could do. He sent out, beyond support, three several detaeli- ment.s, and gave Little Turtle, with better knowledge of the nundiers he now had to deal with, a chance to overwhelm them' in detail, and a loss of one hundred and eighty was speedily inflicted. The main l)ody saw no foe, but after November 4. when they began their disorderly retreat, it might have suf- fered as much as the flanking parties, had the Ottawas not withdrawn from the savage horde. As it was, Harniar took back a larger ])art of his force than could have been expcet ■>'. to winter them in scattered posts along the river, so as to pre- vent the ravages of fan-ine. McKee, on the British side, professed to look upon the figlit- ing wliich had taken place as a victory, and as a trial of arm- it undoubtedly was ; but such ])artial sitccess did not (piiet hi> apprehensions, and he promptly appealed to Sir John Johnson for aid. if the tribes were to be held together east of the Missiv sippi. This indicates a ccmsiderable extx-emity on the t'licniys side. Had Knox's advice bc»^n followed, and a .stoclcuh' Imilt on the Miami, Ilarmar might have saved the men v.hieli he heedlessly ex])osed, and have gained a vantage-grou)ul for a treaty. The obstacles to the permanence of a recv'>ueilt;nieiii with the Indians were, however, as yet great, and Hamtiumck INDIA N MA RA UDING. 421 (lid not exaggerate the risks when he said to St. Clair, in December, 1790: ''The people of oar fvontiers will certainly be the first to break any treaty. The people of Kentucky will cany on private expeditions and kill Indians wherever they meet them, and I do not believe theru is a jury in all Kentucky who would punish a man for it," — an opinion that Washing- ton liimself certainly shared, when he atlKrmed that the " fron- tier settlers entertain the opini<'a that there is not the same Clime (or indeed no crime at all) in killing an Indian as in killing a white man." Tlu' Indians, when they counted losses and gains in the late campaign, showed no signs of distrust of their ability to press tiieir adversaries still harder. They apparently got encourage- ment from their allied whites, and JVIcKee, whom St. Clair cliarged with furnishing ammunition to the bands which at- tacked Ilarmar's detached parties, was, with Simon (iirty's sup- port, hot for further fighting. So it was Jocided to renew marauding in December, 1790. The first attack came on the evening of January 2, 1791, when a body of Delawares and Wyandt)ts dashed upon a snuill settlement at Big Bottom, dependent upon Marietta, but forty miles up the ]Muskingum. Here they killed twelve persons, ami leaving their mangled bodies on the ground they suddenly witlidrew, carrying off four prisoners. The sad tidings reached Marietta the next morning, and Putnam began to call in the settlers and make ready for warm work. There were twenty legnku's in Fort Harmar, and the settlements witliin reach could muster about three hundred men. Belpre, twelve miles down the Ohio, had not yet been alarmed, l)ut hovering parties of Indians were seen the same day about Waterford, at ^yolf Creek-. The next warning came on th' NOth, at Dunlap Station, on tile ease bank of the Miami, wlun Girty a])peared with three Imndied warriors. The inhabitan.ts had been advised of their approach, and summoned aid from Cincinnati. Just as it arrived, the enemy withdrew. During lebruary, 1791, the settlements along the Alleghany suffered severely, and by -MareJi fleets of Indian canoes were assailing flatboats along tilt' Ohio. It was just at this *■' .iC that Nathaniel Massie, \si I JL I : '' i h I m ; ■■'< 422 HAKMAirS AND ST. CLAIR'S CAMPAIGNS. who, as a surveyor of bounty lands, had picked out a site on the north bank of the river, twelve miles above LiniestoiR'. was laying in sto(.'kade and blockhouse the foundations of tlu' later Manchester, the i)ioueer Virginia settlement on that side of the river. Meanwhile, both at Quebec and Pliiladel})hia, the authorities were intent on military preparations. Dorchester, feariu"- that llarinar's advance was but preliminax-y to an attack on Detroit. ir^oued oi'ders in January, 1791, to the western conimaudei's tn be alert and promptly confront the Americans if they aii- proached. At the same time, AVashington notified Congress, in December, 1790, tiiat he intended another exi)editiou at the west, and laid before Congress a ])lan for raising three tlioiisainl troops, to be ])laced under St. Clair for active work. A\'litii Congress had a])i)roved, Knox asked Pickering to accept the position of quartermaster of a western dej)artment, and pusli the details, but he declined. In doing so, however, he expiossid his convi(!tion that the tribes could be taught to respect tlie reserved ])ower of the liepublie. Washington, buoyed in his hopes by the restoration of the public credit, and tle])eii(liiii; on the increasing resources of the counti-y, felt equally sure that the Indians could be made to understand that the " enmity of the United Stiitos is as much to be dreaded as their frieiidshi)) is to be desired." Jefferson had scant sym])athy with any iiiiH- tary measures, and wrote to Monroe : " I hoi)e we shall driili the Indians widl this summer, and then change our plan fiDiii war to bribery," for the expenses of a summer's campaign will buy " presents for half a century." While the governuient was thus over-confident, Knox, on ^larch 9, 1791, issued orders to General Charles Scott of luii- tucky to move suddenly against the Kickapoos and (ttlur Wabash tribes, to prevent their joining the Miauiis, a<;aiii>t whf.ni the main attack was to be made. It was equally desira- ble that similar or other methods should at the east distrait the Indians of New York, and kee]) them at least neutral. I'l this end, Pickering was asked to put himself in commuiiicatinii with Brant, while Governor Clinton was urged to win o\<'r that NoTi — The map on the opposite page, showinu by the blark dots Moravian settli'iueut!, is from G. H. Loskiel's Mission 0/ the United Brethren, London, 1794. I i ! ut a site oil Linic'stoiu'. tioiis (il; till' on that silk' ^ravian settlement!, i» ■ i ! I ' 1 1 1 1 lU ijlJ 424 HARMAWS AND ST. CLAIR'S CAMPAIGNS. m I •ir! Mohawk chief by a gift, for ho was known to have infoniiod Kirkland, tlie missionary among his people, that he had deter- mined to head a western eonfederaey in forcing the Americans south and east of the Ohio. These measures were at ones seized upon hy the British to prove to the Indians that the l)rofessions of peaee on the part of tiie Americans were insin- cere. Jirant was known, in May, 171)1, to have gone west with a following, but with wiiat intent was not known. On -huie 4, 1791, however, he wrote back to Sir John Johnson that he liuvl decided to join in the coming fight. lie had probably hoard by this time tliat Scott had, on May 19, crossed the Ohio with tiight hundred mounted Kentuckians, and was advancing on the Wabash towns. Scott's coming had been heralded, and when he reached their towns, one hundred and fifty miles away, he found them deserted, and so encountered no serious opposition in burning them, lie killed a score or two of Indians, and caj)- tured a somewhat larger number. When, retreating, he readied the rapids at Louisville, he had been absent about tliirty days. There could be no peace after this. In June, 1791, while Knox, in Philadelphia, was confident that war was begun, the Indians were gathering in large nunybers. Zeisberger, then at the mouth of the Detroit River, was informed that four thou- sand had assendded, and he was made anxious lest his peaceful Moravian converts w >uld be forced to join them It is not easy to determine how to apjiortion the rcsjmnsi- bility of the savage war to which the Americans now secincd to be committed. The tribes had a standing grievance against the Americans in the treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1784, and yet AVashington pointed out to Corn])lanter. who with other Seneoa chiefs jiad come to Philadeljdiia in Decendier, 1790, that tlio very release of lands, of which they com])lained, had bicii confirmed by them in the treaty of Fort Ilarmar in ITHO, " Therefore the lines nuist remain established," said tlie Presi- dent, f'ornidanter had, during this conference, urged that cer- tain lands should be restored ; but Waslnngton, taught by tlic claims which the Indians presented that the treaty of 1784 had been made by irresponsible chiefs, readily sus2)ected that any yielding now to the Senecas would encourage filmilar de- mands from other factions of the tribes. There was imheil just now a new grievance, in that Rol)ert Morris had bought w^ COUNTER RAIDS. 42c informed lacl deter- ^inericiuis •e at (»nc3 s that the vere insiii- i west with 3n June 4, that he hud }ably heard ! Ohio with iciiig on the 1, and when es away, he s opposition ,ns, and cap- ;•, he reached thirty days. 1791, ' while 8 \)egnn, the vger, then at it fonr thou- his peaeciful the res])onsi- now set'inea anee against |T84, and yt (other Seneca '90, that the ^1, had hi'cn ,ar in 1TH9. lid the Presi- lo-ed that ccr- laught hy tlie laty of 1'^-^ Ispeeted tluit |e similar »U'- was indeed had boiii^ht for iJ100,000 the rights of Gorhani and Phelps to the hinds sohl by Massachusetts in western New York, and Washing- ton had already looked forward to trouble about the Indian title, and was not unprepared for Cornplanter's accusation of frand. Indeed, as Washington said to Hamilton, " land-jobbing and the disorderly conduct of the borderers " were a constant source of irritation to the tribes ; and to these were added the complications which came of individual States interfering in matters which belonged to the general government. The Ken- tuckians raided of their own account the AVabash region ; the Tennesseeans encroached upon lands at the jSIuscle Shoals ; iuid New York had just in her Assembly voted to bu}' immu- nity from hostile depredations, thereby damaging the prestige of the federal authorities. So the evils wliicdi incited the sav- ages to hostilities were not unaccompanied by uncontrollable mischief to the Republic itself from similar sources. On the British side the story was not altogether a satisfac- tory one to the tribes, who were slow in forgetting that the treaty of 1782 had been concluded by the P^nglish without any recognition of their rights to ancestral lands, and that the promises of aid, which had been im])licd perhaps rather than actually promised, had rarely been fulfilled. ♦ While Dorchester, in his conniumicaticnis with the Amei'icans, jnofcssed to desire peace, and the fur merchants dej)recated war, neither contemplated with satisfaction any success for the Americans which would hazard the British ])ossessi\'e;'ed fr<»iii the effects of k" ott's raid among tlieiii. and iniulit gather with the other tribes athwart his route, which had litrii niLKINSON'S RAID. 427 fl'dUi .111""' '" too plainly iiulicatt'd for the advance, he dispatched another force, as Knox had counseled, to repeat the blow. A body of iiioinited Kentuckians, Hve hundred and fifty strong', reported foi this service at Fort Washington in fFuly. Wilkinson, who li;i(l found Spanish intrigue getting tiresome, had sold his Frankfort proi)erty and accepted the conunand of these ardent vuliniteers. I [is enemies said it was a plan of the goverinnent to luofit by his restless energy and divert it from mischievous action at home. On July 81, St. Clair gave him his instruc- tions, and the next day he led his clanking horsemen out into the wilderness. The direction which he took seemed towards ihe Miami towns, and on this course he traveled four days and oixty miles, and then turned to the northwest. Passing now a broken conutry full (>f swamj)s, he fell u])on Ouiatanon and other villages of Indians, with French traders among them, and devastated their cabins. His horses were badly used up, and but five days' ))rovisions remained. He accordingly marched towards the Ohio rapids, as Scott had done, and reached them on August 21. Proceeding thence to Frankfort, three days later, he dis])atched his report to St. Clair. When Washing- ton lieard of the residts he said that the " enter])rise, intrejiidity, and good conduct of the Kentuckians were entitled to i)eculiar conunendation.'' The tidings of AVilkinson's sticcess found St. Clair in deep anxiety. F^very messenger from the east had brought urgent appeals for his advancing before the season was ])ast for success- ful eam])aigning. His want of supplies, however, still detained liini. He had now two regiments of regulars and some Ken- turky militia, whom he might reasonably trust : but the boats from Pittsburg still brouolit liini the wretched scourings of the eastern towns, towards c()in]>lctiiig the '" two thousand levies for the term of six months '" which (\mgrcss had ordered. St. Clair's instructions, as often as he read them, gave him •'.istpilet, in the presiM) e of such recruits. He was to establish a "strong and ])ei .anent military post at the Miami village . . . for the purpose of awing and curbing the Indians, and as the only prev(\ntiv3 of future hostilities." and he was to main- tain such a ga '.'rison in it that he could upon occasion detach five or six hundrc(i men on s])ecial service. He was warned in liis instructions that such a post was " an important object of the 428 HAILMAR'S AND ST. CLAIR'S CAMPAIGNS. m < I 'l.i 'U\\ ),l campaign," and to be fouiuled in any event, and to be su})i)lit(l with a six months' stock of provisions. It was left to his dls- cretion whether he shoukl employ Indians. In making a tnatv at last, he was told to insist on keepinj^- the tribes beyond tin,' W^^^'Sh and Maumee, and, if he could, to divert the line to tlie Mississippi from the Au Panse branch of the Wabash. Tliis would give a good stretch of country along the Ohio to the Americans, and disjxjssess few Indians beyond the Kicka]too.s. If this was insisted on, he was warned to manage it " tenderly." Still more cautiously must he treat the English, and it was held to be impro])er at present to " make any naval arniu<;e- ments upon Lake Erie." All this was the expectation of the government and the not over-confident hope of St. Clair. The plan had recpiired three thousand effectives to be ready at Fort Washington by July 10, 1791 ; but the first regiment of two hundred and ninety- nine men did not arrive till the 15th. It was Oc'tt)l)er before the general could count two thousand men, exclusive of the militia antl the garrisons of Forts AVashington and Hamilton, — the latter stockade having been begun on Sei)tember 17, on the Great Miami. From this point, on October 4, General Butler, whose ap])ointment had not been wholly acceptable, started with the advance, hunbering slowly on with his tiains, five or six miles a day, through a bad country. On the l-'Uli, the army stoj)i)ed, and was occupied till the 24th in build- ing a stockade, wliich he called Fort Jefferson, intended to shield his sick and hohl his surplus sui)plies. The eountiy about it was fertile, but it was too late in the yeai- foi' his animals to get much refreshment out of it. When he started again, on the 28th, he soon discovered that the Indians were hanging on his Hanks. There had been some desertions, and to check them he had executed one or two who had been re- taken : but on Oct(d)er 31, a considerable body of militia slindi away, and St. Clair sent ^lajor Ilamtramck back with one of his regiments of regulars to prevent their robbing his su])ply trains. St. Clair had days of almost physical incai)acity tor his task, and General Butler, who was next in connnand. was scarcely better in health. The discipline and steadiness oi the march would have suffered irretrievably, but for the exertions of the adjutant-general, Winthrop Sargent. It was Washing- U r. '! I ih^'.l 52'. CLAIR'S DEFEAT. 429 ton's criticism, when the miserable outcome was known, that there had ll)een insutWeient efforts to get information of the I'lii'iny, and that St. Chiir's scouting- system was inadequate. It is certain that the enemy was not hmg in discovering that St. (lair's scouts were not numerous, to say the least, lie had been i)ointedly cautioned to be on his guard against surprise : juul yet when he went into his last camp on November 3, on a l)r:uu'h of *he Wabash, with a l)enund)ing winil sweeping over lev ground, he was in the innnediate neighborhood of his enemy, and with no chance of suddenly forming his line in case of an unexpected irruption. So it was not to be wondered at that, early on the morning of the 4th, some militia which he had l)iv()uacked in advance beyond the stream, and too remote for instant supi)ort, were broken in upon and thrown into a panic. They fell hastily back upon the rest of the army. While he was endeavoring to form his lines within his camp, which was three hundred and fifty yards in length, the enemy swung aroinid it, and whgn St. Clair found that his position was completely en- veloped, he grew to a conception of the extent of the force which was opposed to him, though Armstrong, an old Indian fighter, was sure that five hundred savages, invisible as their habit was, could have produced all that St. Clair saw. The assail- ants from a thick cover poin-ed a deadly fire ui)on the huddli'd and unprotected troops. St. Clair, with his gray hair stream- ing under his cocked hat, had horse after horse shot under him :is he endeavored to make ais force stand steady amid the fii<;htful carnage. lit had '^ight bidlets pierce his garments, liut not one grazed his skin. Butler was soon mortally wounded. The few guns of the Americans were rendered useless, when not a cannoneer could stand to them. The regulars lost every offieer. The frenzied men, gaining maidiood under the trial, tiicd to charge this way and that. The retreat of the Indians hued them on, when the wily savages would turu and surround them, party after party. Finally, tbcve being no hope, tlic guns were spiked, and St. Clair gathei-ed his men for a last charge to regain the road of retreat. He secui'ed it ; antl for four niih's the Indian fire blazed upon the flanks and in the rear. At h\st, over-eager for the spoils, dusky warriors drew off and heo-Mii plundering what had been left behind. This saved the army from annihilation ; but it did not prevent the Viien I ' t 1 f 1 i 1 430 HARMAWS AND ST. CLAIR'S CAAfPAIGNS. m i-M ( ( throwing away their imiskets, and St. Chiir, near the roar of the line, foinul the ground covered with these rejected weapons as he passed along. He conn)lained that the horse he rode " could not be pricked out of a walk," so it was inipossihic lor him to ride forward and stop the waste. The action began a half hour befon; sunrise, and the re- treat was made at half-i>ast nine. The estimates vary, but it is probable that St. Clair had in the fight not more tluin fouitinn hundred men, and of these scarce half a hundred were uiiliurt. Very few beyond the killed and desperately wounded fell into the enemy's hands. It is generally recognized that Little Turtle led the ludiuiis. There was a small body of Mohawks present, but it is not pi'obable that Brant was among them. Stone, his biogniphcr, found a belief among the chief's descendants that he was in the fight ; but there is no evidence of a more trustworthy kind. The Delavvaiv.s, who had been stigmatized as women for lack of courage in ])ast years, wiped out the disgrace by valijint deeds. It was near thirty miles from the battlefield to Fort .b'ffer- son, and the remnant of the army reached that post befoie night. Here St. Clair found Ilamtramck and his conunand, and left about seventy of his wounded. On November 9, he sent from Fort Washington a messeufjcr with a dis})atch, but nuuors had already reached the govern- ment ten or eleven days earlier, and thirty days after tlie disaster. About the same time the news of the Indian side, traveling by the way of Vincennes, reached Frankfort, wlicn it stirred Wilkinson's i-ampant energy, who was ready to strike the war-])ath on the Maumee or " perish in the attempt." • ,5 ' ' ' i n\ i tfi The Indian question had now become more serious than ever liefore, and there was great danger of the disaffection spreadini; among the Six Nations. Pickering, during the sununer. liad labored hard to propitiate them ; but he had encountered tlie adverse influence of Brant. The activity of this chief was sur- prising. No sooner was he heard of at the Maumee rajiids. conferring with the tribes, than he was reported at Niagara, in council with the British commander. His messengers, in the interim, were plying back and forth. All the while, as the let- ters now published show, warnings were coming from England, a mosscnegoat for the ill hu'lv at the west. The secretary of war was accused of neg- lect. The quartermaster had not done his duty. St. Clair had proved a failure. The news from the New England States showed that that section of the counti-y at least was tired of the war. They believed with Pickering that i)acifying the Indians cost less than killing them. The old prol)lem of the resjion- siliility of the British for aiding the savages came u}) again, ilannnond promptly denied any complicity in his countrymen. It was a question whether a schedule of evidences, refuting Ilannnond's asseverations, should not be given to Thonuis Pinekney, who was just starting for England. Certain acts were acknowledged by Hammond, but defended on the ground of charitable giving of food to famishing beings. Again, it was confessed giuis and jiowder had been given, but it was a neces- sity of the Indian hunting season, while the Aniericans claimed that such gifts in times of peace were quite another thing when pfivon in time of war, and they became a breach of neutrality. It (lid not make a bad matter better if, as the Americans con- tended, McKee scattered the munitions of war with his hands iind talked peace as he did it. Nor was it less to be resented in : I Mi ^ I I 1 ■; i:: :i jjii I.y I'U I 432 J/All.UAlt'S AXD ST. CLAIIi'S CAMPAKiSS. Sir John f oliiisou doing the .same thiny statcHlly jit tlie nioutli of the Niagara. The fact was, it was extremely ditticult for the Hritisli jroy. ernnient to treat tiie Indians as wards and adnunister to their needs, and not transgress the limits of nentrality as the Aniuri. cans understood it. It was further, no doubt, true that frifiidly phrases uttered to the Indians by those wearing the liritisli uiuform were easily conceived to be a pronn, e of help, by those anxious to receive it. As reports spread west, it was easy for the remoter tribes, espeiually if prompted to it, to imagine that to espouse the (piarrel of the nearer people was the way to put off their own sacrifices to the whites. Kufus Putnam inforiiifil Knox that the Chippeways inelir "d to be neutral, but weiv jdayed \\\to\\ in this way till they endjraeed the cause of tliu Miamis. When it came to the lanned a legionary reorganization of tlie wcsttiii army, on tlie basis of five thonsand men, with a sui)i)li'i'iriital force of militia and sconts. While there was a probaijle iifccs- sity for such military provision, it was deemed i)rudent to ascer- tain if the intercession of the Six Nations could not end the northwestern difficulty without a fui'ther resort to arms. Bct'uiv the close of 1791, Cornplanter, the Seneca leader, had Ijitii invited to rhiladelj)hia, and Kirkland, the m:ssionur^ . was sought to use his intluenee with Brant and th ; Mohawks to induce tliem to join the council. So pressure was brought to bear upon the two extremes of tlie New York confederates, in the hope to bring about the acquiescence of the entire leamio, On danuary 3, 1792, Kirkland wrote to l^rant. urging hiui toai- ce})t tlie invitation, and giving ]n'omise of ])rotcction, a guaran- tee not altogether unnecessary, for Brant's name was assi.eiattil with .sonie of the most fiendish acts of the Hcvidution. ■.vliose eft'ects were not yet foi-gotten. A month later. Brant deelineil (PVbruary 8), and later still (February 25), Knox added a mu appeal. Meanwhile. St. Clair had arrived in Xew York, ready to face the charges against him for his failui'e. lie desired tiist a court-martial, hut there were not officers enough available of suitable rank. lie asked to retain his military conuiiissioii initil such incpiiry as Congress should institute was over. Tliiv however, as he was told by Washington, who remained tlirv I:iw and con^'iderations of jmblic policy." Washington was not asnres. Tlif Indian department, in 1791, had s])ent #27.000 in snp- pui'tiiig the St. Clair campaign, which was ten times what had i'vei' heen a}>i)ropriated before, and ther*^ as not a little appre- hiii^ion in entering upon anotlier year's warfare, likely to be inori! costly still, to find that in financial aspects the spring of 17l''2 was a discouraging one. Tin' speculative acts of Diier — and the enemies of Hamilton iliai'gcd that that financial minister's funding jjolicy had ojiencd tilt' way to stotdv-jobbing — had brought him to bnnkrupt<'v. to add still further to the blackni.'ss of thi; (Jallijiolis scandal. Tlie magnate of the S<-ioto Company, and one of those enunently Hist |»eople of the land whom Cutler rejoiced in. was now a prisdiier for debt. For a result, as Pickering wiote. " New Yoik was ill an upro;vr. and all business at a stand." .leff'erson. with a kind of satisfaction at the dilcinnia of the treasury, wrote, i>ii March li'imn(li>'ls." deft'ei'son riirther affected to Ixdieve that the iiiistMies o'.' the South Sea bubble and tic Mississippi scheme Were as nothing, ])i'o])ortionallv. to the drop in srcurities which was now going on. In the midst of t^hls tinancial crash. Hufiis I'litiiam antl Cutler appeai'cd in IMiiladelpbia, seeking from \ I'' I iv,::i 43G THE NORTinVEST TRIBES AT LAST DEFEAT Eli Congress their aid in two resi)ec'ts to prevent the oolhijisf of the Ohio Company. They represented that during 1791 an. and hungry, while Duer relished his prison fare, and Cutler talked botany with those he met. il f 111 While such was the unpi'osj)erous outlook to the world, the President and his little cabinet were, during Mandi. ITl'i discussing the vexed jiioWems that confronted them. \\\\v\\ some one raised the (piestion of em])loving Indians, Wasliiiiuton replied that they nnist be with us, or they would be sure to W against us. lie would use tliem as scouts to end)arrass the enemy's s])ies, and jirevent their getting near enough to our troo|)s to leai'u their nund)ers and ])ui])oses. AVhen flefferson ])roposed to build a fort at Pres(|n'Isle on Lake Erie, — the modern town of Erie, — so as to indicate tlie American right to the navigation of that lake, and iiiteijio-c aJi obstacle thereby to the connnunication of the Senecas with the western tribes, he opened a (juestion that for tvo years stood it 1) rrr PETER POND. 437 ana intrviwso ill tlie way of pacifying Brant. The project was sure at all tiiiiis to arouse a disposition in the British " to repel force by foive,"' who looked ui)on it as fatal to their supremacy in those waters. At this moment. Hamilton and Knox objected to it as likely to hurry the country into a war with England. Washing- tun lemarked that the fulfillment of such a j)lan was best left to a time when the United States could devote a larffe force to maintain such a post. Jefferson, in pursuance of his plan, was suggesting at the same time to Hammond that the two countries foiild agree u})on the naval force which was to be kept on the lakes. The (piestion came up again a little later, when Kufus l^utnam, witl. little regard to available resources, sent in a ])lan of a line of ])()sts, beginning at Big Beaver Creek, on the Ohio, and extending to Cayahoga Creek. He had traversed the country, and said it was the easiest communication to maintain between the Ohio and the lake, fit for a land carriage throughout, except where a causeway would have to be bnilt throuti'h seven oreiu'ht miles of swamjjy land. Such a passage would not, he contended, lie subject to the interruption at dry seasons which a water-way was sure to encounter. At the noitherly end of this route, where is now the modern Cleveland, he liad ])lanned a strong- fort and naval rendezvous, as the best point for sending su])plics !iy the cheapest way to the Maumee country : " The sooner we show ourselves on the shores of Lake Krie, the better,'* he aililed. Washington easily pushed the |)lan aside as involving a division of tlu; proposed legionary force, which was not likely to lie more than enough for the main stroke farther west, since it was as yet by no means sure that recruits would be found in alinndance. Beside, it was certainly AVashington's o])inlon that ilefensive posts ahnig a line had but little military effect upon Mich a scattered foe as the Indian tribes, \\ V have si'cn that one Peter l*ond had within a year or two lieeii trying to gain at the same time the favor of both the ISiitish and ApKMicans. He had still more recently tried to ivaeli the west by Niagara, but liad been turned back by tlu; Hiitisli. He now ai)peared in IMilhuhdphia, and made some startling statements to the government. He assured tjiem that all efforts to establish a ])eace with the Indians would fail ludess tliev would acce})t the mediation of England, He professed to . ! t j I i' f /■I , I '■ m w\\m 'im""\ i#«j(!ir' 438 THE NORTHWEST TRIBES AT LAST DEEEATIlh. believe that this would have to be accoin])lishe(l by a joint ('(uii- mission of three, vepresentiug vespeetively the Iiuliaiis and tliu two governments, and that when the line of separation was deternuned, the liritish would guarantee its preservation to the Indians. Hamilton had little faith in Pond, as he well ini'dit have, and there was still less trust in his story of tlie intention of the British to settle a thousand families in the Illinois eoini- try. The idea of British mediation in any way was an ungiate- ful one to the eabinet, and they promptly dismissed it in their eounseis. A little later, Morris, in England, heard a rumor of the United States asking" England to intereede, and coininuiii- eated it to A^'^ashington. He replied with something like indig- nation that any suggestion of it would be promptly dismissed. As the time ap])roached for the eoming of the Seneeas to confer with the President and his advisers, it was decichnl at a (•al)inet meeting that the Indian eml)assy "should be well treated, but not over-trusted." Red Jacket and his fellows reached Philadelphia on March 13, 1792, under the escort of Kirkland. It was soon ai)parent that wliatever friendly dispo- sition the visitors might manifest, a j)revalenee of it amoiii;' the tribes at home could not be depended upon. Red .laeket. in accounting for this widt'spread distrust among his i)eo|ile. charged it upon the fact that the Six Nations wei'c not asked to have any hand in the treaty of se])aration in ITcSii. He further told Pickering, who conducted most of the confeienees with them, that the western Indians did not understand how the British and the Americans, '" im])oi'tant and proud as tliey lioth were," having made a treaty, did not abide by it. Pickering said that the Miiimi and AVabash Irulians had always Iteen averse to a ti-ciity, while the treaties entered upon with the other tribes were fairly made on both sides, and liad been j'lstly kept. The United Stat(>s having thus ac(piired lands a:id made grants of tliCii, they were under the necessity of jtroteeting tin; grantees. It was said in reply that the agreement at I'oit Mcintosh was not a fair one, as those wlio represented the In- dians were not authorized. Fui'ther. there had been a studied |)nrpose to exclude the Six Nations from these western tnaties. This was, Ked Jacket affirmed, another cause of their grievame. As was usual in such conferences, both sides uttei'ed their beliefs, and that was about all, except, after \\'ashington had. H U' conttMcniM': AMUONY WA YXE. 439 oil April 25, matle thnn a farewell sj)ee('li, they had a last sf»ion oil April 30, 1792, ami departed with the promise to siiul a deputation to the western tribes. Jirant, as we have still, had declined to join in the delil)ei'ations, hut, on ^lay 27, he wrote to Knox that if later he fountl the Miamis ai>proved it. he would eonsider the invitation afresh. While these interviews with the Senecas were i^'oin}^' on, Washington had been runninj^ over the names of otfieers, oxjierieneed in the late war, to find a successor to St. Clair. His tirst choice was Henry Lee of Virginia, and this gentleman >ii'ed the ap})ointment ; but he was the junior in rank to these whom Washington wished to make his brigadiers, and the appointment was i)assi>d by in avoidance of resulting jeal- ousies and refusals. AVashington confessed he had nt!ver been so embarrassed in making any a])))ointments. When the mat- ter was discussed in the (!abinet, dert'erson records that the President looked upon AVayne as " brave and notliing else." Washington's studied and written estimate of Wayne, at tins time, is fortunately ])reserved. He considered him '• more active and t'uterprising than judicious and cautious. No econo- mist it is feared. Open to flattery, vain : easily imposed upon and liable to be drawn into scrapes."* Such a character — and there is no doubt that such was a pi'cvalent opinion of •• Mad Anthony "' — did not indeed promise well for the critical june- tidii at the northwest, with England, if not in o[)en, at least in t'(|ui vocal relations with tlie enemy. Lee, when lie heard of the result, expressed to the President his surju'ise, and told him the a])i)()intment liad. in Vii'ginia. created disgust. The choice was. in fact, not a little infiuenc<'d by tlie resti-ictions of mili- tary eti(piette and the necessity of harmoni/ing interests and scf'Mring good lieutenants. So in re|)ly to Lee, Wiishington net so much vindicated liis selection, as apologized for it. " ^\ ayne."" he wrote, *' has many good points as an otHeer, and it is to be hoped that time. refi<'ction. good advice, and above all a due sense of the importance of tlie trust will correct his foililes, or cast a shade over tliem."' It grew ap])arent in the next few months that Washington was not without anxiety lest results should reflect on his sagacity, and he kept Knox in'(iiii])tly to the task of cautioning the new commander. The ai)pointment naturally caused the English some solici- ' I 1 1 ■ 1 I [ 1 \ ' ^v J I d hiii'JP 440 THE NORTinVEST TRIBES AT LAST UEFEATEh. tude, t'onsidoriiig' liow easily an Indian war could induce in- adverti'uc'tis that niiglit ji'opanlize the rehitions of tlic two iu'0])les. llanunond wrote of the new leader that he was '-tlif most active, vigilant, and enterprising officer in the Aniericaii army, Imt his talents are luirely military,"" and he felt, ;i> In^ wrote to Siuicoe, that Wayne might he tempted to attack tlic British posts, since success in such an act wou^ ^ he sure to make him the successor of Washington. Tile selection of AVilkinson as the first of the four hrigiidicrs was a bolder step, perhai)s. than the choice of Wayne. AVlicn last heard from he had gone with one hundred and liftv mounted Kentucky volunteers to bury the mutilated dcail on St. Claii"s bloody held, and the act was one of the daring sort to which Wilkinson was (juite equal. Washington, In discuss- ing liiiii in the cabinet, had evidently recalled his dubious career in Kentucky, for Jefferson's summary of the talk makes tju; President call him " brave, enterprising to excess : but niiniy unapi)rovable points in his character."' Ilis written estimate avoids this shadow, when he calls Wilkinson " lively, sensible, pompous, and ainl)itious."' There had been an attempt to give the same rank to Colonel Marinus Willet, an officer of large experience in forest wailare, for he had been with Sullivan and had opposed St. Leger. lie. however, shared the doubt of many northern men — being a New Yorker — of the advisability of an Indian war, and rcfnsed the aj)i)ointnient. In doing so, he gave an o})inion that he had never known it to fail of success, when the Indians weie attacked in a charge, with shouts louder than their own yell. Wayne wisely profited, as we sliall see, by this veteran's ex- perience. Meanwhile, to bring the British minister to some distinct ex])ression of opinion as regards the posts. Jefferson on May 20, 1T!>2. intimated to that gentleman that, while in nianajrini; with the state governments so complicated a matter as tin' recovery of the British debts some time must necessarily be consumed, it was a very .short business for England to set things right on her side by surrendering the ]iosts, which, as lie said in one of his letters, was occasioning dai.'y cost (»f ••Mood and treasure " to the United States. The story of tlic initial infraction of the treaty, whether it was to be charged to Knu- is ltf:FUS PUTNAM. 441 in )ii:ui;i;rini. liinil or to tlui States, luul bot'oiue stale, but Jefferson rehearsed it. Ilaiuilton, reverting to the debts, admitted that they were now only a question south of the Potoniae, and that there were £2,000,000 still due in Virginia. The eorrespondenee siious hf)W the two failed to agree in most points, and that they well! at variance on the rights of the British traders to follow tluir business on American soil. Nothing came of this recrimi iKitiou, and llannuond alleging that European eomidications wcie causing delay in the considerations in London, and other (ilijfcts coming in view, the mattei was for a while dro])i)ed. Putnam, another of the new brigadiers, had been character- ized by Washington as i)ossessiug a '" strong mind, and as a (iisoreet man. No (piestion has ever been made — that has (•(line to my knowledge — of his want of firnuiess. In short, tlicrt! is nothing conspicuous in his character, and he is but little known out of his own State and a narrow circle." Soon after his a])ponitment, he was selected to follow up a mission to the Miaiiiis, which had already been sent forward by a decision of tlie cabinet. On reaching Pittsburg in June, 1792, he found Wayne there, busily worlcing at the problems before him. Passing down the river, Putnam met at Fort AVashington ti- (liiins of the murder of Captain Alexander Truman, of the First hit'autry, and ins com})anions, who had gone ahead to reach the Miauiis. After this, it was di'cnied foolhardy to follow in their h'ack, and on July 5 Putnam sent back to Knox an urgent (ipiiiion that an attempt be made to treat with the Wabash In- dians instead. Ilamtramck was still in connnand at Vinccnnes, Imt it was Washington's opinion that a negotiator of '" more (ligiiitied character "' should be sent, and Putnam was author- izL'il to proceed. He engaged Ileckewcldcr, the missionary, to aci'd'iipany him, and on Sei)tend)er lo they reached Vinceinies. IVii (lays later, tiiey entered upon negotiation, and after thre(! (lays (»f l)(«lts and speeches, a conclusion was i-eached. by wliicb t! - Pottawattamies and other tribes ])ut themselves under the proti'ctlon of the United States. The great ])oint gained was tliat It interposed a body of friendly Indians between the hostile Miainis and the southern Indians, who were accustomed to ''liiiL;' their aid. by a detour thi-ough the west. Putnam had !,'oii(.' rather farther than the Senate in the end was ready to iippiove, in that he had guaranteed to these remote tribes the sate possession of their lands. %^ I i V 1 \ 11 r 442 THE MJllTinVEST TRIHES AT LAST DEFEATED. '«! i^y, ■ Ml 'i J ;4 &" ' ii' mi Tlicse ])Ossil)lo abettors of the Mianiis on tlu'ir western Hank being- thus jjlaeated, niueli depended, if tliere was to \w iii-acf, on an interces.'.ou witli the Six Nations to secure their aid dii the eastern flank of tlie Miami eonfederaey. The vital point in this end(!avor was to gain the interest of Brant, who in tlic winter had deelined eo()j)eration, but was hiter persnadnl hv Kirkhmd to resist tiie dissuasive efforts of Sir .John .lolmson. Washington i-eeords IJrants arrival in lMiiladel|)liia on Juiie 20, 1T1>2, not far from t 'i' time that the misfortune to rnunaii was taking plaee. The President exi)ressed the hope that tlir government eould impress the chieftain with its ecjuitable iiitin- tions. If iirants own words can be believed, he was offt ivil a thousand guineas and double the amount he was ie('ti\ iiij; annually from the British government, if lu' would adlu re to the American side. During his stay in l*hiladel})hia, Brant dined with the Kiig- lish minister, but without causing any comment. The cahiiict was pleased with his peaceful disposition, and he promised to l;u himself to the western allies and intercede for the fulHlliiieiit of the Muskingum treaty. This was hopeful, but the expecta- tion was unstable. No sooner, on his return to Niagara, had he come in (Contact with adverse interests, than he wrote to Knox (July 2G, 1792) that he eotdd do nothing at the .Mainiue council, if the United States insisted ujion the Fort llaniiai' treaty. Three days later, he communicated with McKei'. ask- ing if he should carry the Amfuican pro])osltion to the Indian council. McKee, who informed Simcoe that he had liiiiisclf urged the Indians to accejit a similar restriction of thtir dc- mauds, told Brant to go to the couucil, but to have no liopi' of getting it to agree to the F(n't llarmar line. Simcoe wlni was full of the idea that the United States nn^ant to attack tlic posts, had arrived at Niagara in August, and his views weiv not modified by what he heard. Brant, falling ill, was oliliuvd to transmit his message by his son. Some weeks later, in September, 1792, the f(n-mal ciiit>a>sy of the Six Nations, in accordance with the agreement ot the Senecas in Philadelphia, left Niagara under tlie lead of ( 'oid- ])lanter and Ked .laeket. Tlie council of the ]\Iianii confed- erates had l)een going on at the junction of the Augkiizi am! Maumee, with some interruption, since si)ring. McKcc and ii I 77//i L\I>1A\ COUNCIL. 443 Simon (lirtv had btun much of the time in iittemUmce, dealinu- out |)()\v(lt'r and liatehets to the sc'ali)ing- i)arties, which at inter- vals camc! and went on their miseiabh! errands. The Shawnees, prominent in tht' council, had notilied the Six Nations that they wouhl receive no })eace proposition excej)t through them, and so the Senecas had come with sonu' expecta- tinii of better treatment than they got. C'ornidanter and lied .laiket found the smoke of the council fire curling aloft amid the ()ctol)er leaves. Representatives of many tribes, all the way from Lake Ontario to Lake Superior, and even from west (if the Mississippi, sat crouched beneath the blue veil that went twisting ui)ward. AVhen the speaker rose, there were sharp lines soon drawn in their oj)inions. The Shawnees were un- (■([iiivoeally for war, and the eyes of Sinum (Jirty, the only white man admitted to their conference, gleamed with satisfac- tion. Amid all the tedious and reiterative verbiage customary iu such sittings, it was evident that the nussion of the Six Nations was unpropitious. When lied fJaeket in his sj)eech counseled j)eace, there were nuxnnurs of distrust. So, after all was said, the urgent ap[)eals of Cornplanter and his followers produced iu> other result than that the final plunge into general hostility would be delayed till tlie Six ^'ations couhl arrange with the United States for another council at the jSIaumee vajiids in the spring of 1703. if, in the mean while, the federal i;(iveiinnent W(mld withdraw their troo]>s south of the Ohio. On the 12th of October, 1702, the council broke up. By tlu; middle of Xovembcr, Ked flacket was at Buffalo Creek ready to transmit to Philadelphia the decision of the confederated ti'ilit's. It was hardly a question with some Mohicans, who had icturned from the Maunu'e with the Senecas, that war was inevitable. \\ hen Brant was in rhilad(dphia, Washington had forecast the alternative. " If they will not listen to the voice of peace," lit' said, "the sword must decide the dispute: and we are, though very reluctantly, vigorously preparing to meet the event."" Ihose pieparations had been going on all sunnner. Enlist- iiicuts had not been l»risk, and Washington had occasion not iiiily to urge more active measures, but to check the enrolling ••f what he called " boys and miscreants,"" for St. Clair"s expe- I'icnce was not to be forji-otten. The President had watched ^r ,;i V I I 1 ; . J ' 'iriic! 'mill \\r. a traveler of this time, say.s that goods of every description arc "dearer in Pittsburg than in Kentucky, owing to a coinbiiia- tion of scoundrels who infest the ])]ace."' All through the summer, the levies, either on their way to Pittsburg or in cam]) there, had lost by desertions, and it \v;is too difficult to enroll men to suffer this to go on. So. as tlic autunm advanced, it was under consideration to mov" the ariiiv onward to some sj)ot better guai'ded against the cliaiirc- of escape, and whei-e the surrounding country had tlic fcatiiivs suited to i)ractice the men in foi-i'st ])aths. AVashiiigtoii 1i;h1 been inclined to divide the force between Cincinnati. Maritttn. and some s])ot not far from Pittsburg, where ^Vayne liimsilf coidd remain in easy communication with the govcnuiicnt. Finally, however, it was determined to make a winter camii at a point about twenty-st>ven miles below I'ittsburg. and in No- vember, 170:2. we find the President cautioning AN'aviic ai^aiiist !: I NoTR. —The map on the oppoHite imjje. of Pittsburg and vicinity, is from Victor CoUot- ./"'"• Wfi/ in Aorl/i America, I'aris, IfL'U, Alltis, plate S. KA TEh. war. lie illcd Idivc. r"s otVii'crs. mil lit' took ai)|)l'<'fi;itr(l jowe r III' •• not (o \\v ■ksiiicii." ^Vasliingtoii iindusliy. ;is tin- iii;u"iU(l- L'ni'onragiiii;' iiunoiiilatidii en than tlu; K! President eitlier from ■red, so that ; IK) <;i'(H)iii;4' ■1 a sti'icter lat the eiiiii- ated. lien; oliii I'ojie. a lerijttiiiii an' a ettinhina- their way to v and it was So. as the v ' the army ehanees et tJH' t'eatmv^ in^'ton hail Marietla. lie hiiiisilt ovenniieiit. ;'r eami' at and in N"- vne ai^aiiist L'torCoUot ■>./.,»'■• tl ii'l M^ ■( r^ i •' .-, i| i: ! i . Jl il ■ n' \

;{. It was uiiili'istood that sonuf -tAO,!)*)!} worth of ])resents wonhl he put ,it tiieir disposal, with authority to c(»ntril»ute annually ■'i('lO,()00, lii'siije •i)<'J,0()() to the head chiefs, as coni|>ensation for tl.i; uccejtt- Miiii- liy the Indians of the terms of the Foit Ilarniar treaty of 17.*^!*. To art'ord some play in their conciliatory measures, the cahiiiet had alrff.ldy expi-essed an o[)inion that if peace could hittir l»e seeur«'d hy it, the commissioners nM;4ht consent to a liiii' short of the Fort Harmar line, provided it kept secure all lands whi(di the yovernment had already appropriatetl, <;ianted, (ir roervi'd. This was yielding what the disj)uted treaty had, ill .Irtferson's (»pinion, l)rou<;ht within the .Anu'rican jurisdic- tion, and he alone of the President's advisers contendeil that tin; coneession was unconstitutional, ilis alternative was to retain jurisdiction, l)ut to a^ree not to settle the unappropriated t('irit(»rv. It was his opinion, als(», that any line was lial)h' to riTor of description, because of the insufficient kn(»wlc(l<;-e of till' coinitry, and that Ilutchius's ma]), on which the treaty agrce- iiicnt^ had been marked, did not show the lines with any exact- iioss, except where the bounds were brought to tht; Ohio Kiver, On May 17, 1793, Randolph and Pickering reached Niagara, aiiil Lincoln, who had been engaged in foi'warding sup])Hes, ,' .ltd them eight days later. Here they leai'ued of tlie dccla- iiition of war in Kngland atiiiiust Fraiu'c. and were well aware lii»\v it was going to embarrass the goverurneiit's councils in I'liiladflidua, and might affect the situation on the Canadian '"Hinds. To adtl to their anxieties, Prant had gone forward "11 May 5 to attend the ])reliminary council, before they had liad a chance to confer with him. Just about this time we I'iim from Zeisberger that the Moliawk chief, with eight canoes, '*Hs passing through the Thames couutiy, on his way to the Maniiici!. It was understood that the commissioners were to await at •>iMt;aia a sunnnons to the conference. Simcoe was gracious, :iiid iiir a while their days ]iassed ])leasantly. AVhen it became l^iiown that the Mianiis had sent messengers to express their I u ' !hl ^ : ic III' 4 448 niE NORTHWEST TRIBES AT LAST DEFEATED. \\]" , r !tl 'H'!. I f( inflexible inirpose to insist ui)()n the Oliio as the IxiMidarv, and the commissioners had revealed to their host a .Ittt'iiiii- nation as resolute to stand by the Fort llarmar tijjtv, tin British commandi'r saw that there was little ehanee of war beinL;' averted. Brant always held afterwards, with prohahh' some knowledge of what the eonuniisioners might on ncccssitv yichl, that, except for Knglish intevferenee, an accoimiuMhitiou might have been reached. We now know from Simcoes IpH-t that he profoundly distrusted the American purposes, and W- lieved that tiie connnissioners were really aiming to alioiiate the Six Nations both from the English and from the western tribes. Just as the Americans were to end)ark, on flune 'J(!, for San- dusky, some messengers from the Maumee arrived, coiii])lainin};' that Wayne was making hostile demonstrations while ilic (|iies- tion of peace or war was still undecided, and some days lulor the connnissioners eonununicated a wish to the secreta'v of war that AVayne should be fiu'ther cauti(»ned. On ('nd)arkini;'. the Americans found that Butler and McKee liad been de- tailed to accompany them, as they had wished. They had only ])roceedei^ to Fort Erie, when they became wind-bound. On shore there was a stockade inclosing a few rough l)uililiniis. and outside a blockliouse, used for the kings stores. Irving tlu're (m July 5, Bratit and fifty chiefs arrived from the Man- mee, and, desiring a conference, it was decided to retiun to Niagara for better accommodations, and to hold the iiiteiview in Simcoe's house. The meeting was quickly ovei\ and Slni- coe's letters tell us tliat. on fhdy 7, Brant started with liis miinl nearly made up to recommend the yielding by th(^ Indians of tlie settled lands north of the Ohio. A week later, tlie com- missioners followed, and landed, on July 21, on the Canada si(k> of the mouth of tlie Detroit Kiver Here tliev found a de])u tation from the council, bearing a straight incpiiry if tlu' Americans would yield to the Ohio line, and tlie (piestinn was as pointedly answered in the negative. It was so<»n intimated. however, that if the Indians woidd confirm the Fort llarniai' line, and yield u]) the territory granted to (ieorge l\ogeis (lark at the Ohio rajiids, the commissioners would not ask for any Note. — Tin' view on tin- opposito pni^p fioin Lake (intario, lookinn into NiiiRara ll,M'r, iviis taki'n liy tlir wife of Governor Sinu'oe in IT'.H. Fort Niuj;arii i« on tlie left. It isfniii D. b Head's LiJ'e mid fimes 0/ Simcoe, Toronto, ISiK). 7i. 1 TKD. ! boKiuhuv, . a ,l('t(M'ini- ti'Ji'ty, tile I ace of war th pr(il)!il)ly on ni'ct'ssitv ;omiii()(l;itiou llU'Ot'S 1( H'V )ses, iuul lu'- '• to alienate 1 the wcsteni I 20, for San- C(nn])l:iiniiij;' liilt! the ([iK's- lue days later seereta'T of n eniharkinij,'. iiad heen dc- 'hey hail only Mnuind. On oh huildinii's. tores. Lying nn the Miu- to retui'n to the interview r. and Sini- ith his uiinil lie Indians of cr. the eoni- Canada side rund a deini iniry if the (|uestiou was »n iutiinat>'il. Fort llarniar ]^)ovrs Chirk ask for any .ft. ItisfimnP. li > ^'. .'i I ■■! ■ j i ' ^1 ( i ■;i 450 THE NORTHWEST TRIBES AT LAST DEFEATED. right in the soil beyond these limits, but only the right dt piv- eni])tion. A Wyandot acted as spokesman, and stood firm for the Ohio. The next day, the 22d, the commissioners notified the council that they were ready for a meeting. From what wc know of the proceedings of the Indians whtn this message was ri'ctivctl. it is apparent that the discussions were very angry. The Sli;i\v- nees, Twightwees, and Delawares pronounced loudly for war. Brant tells us that all liope of diverting them from it was lost, when messengers arrived from the Creeks announcing re- newed encroachments of the whit;"^ on their lands. Sinicoe later professed to believe that Brant, in his advocacy of i;j.ii!- eration, was in reality striving t/t embroil Englard and tin United States, and ]5rant in return charged the Englisli wit)i the resi)onsi])iHty, because they promised aid to the Indians if they would resist American encioaelnnents to the hist. Instead of inviting the connnissioners to the council, tlio tribes sent, on July 29, adeputatiift an unprecedented sum of money and many gooils. Tiiese statements made no effect, and tlie conference ended. Tilt' next day the Indian delegates intimated that tlie commis- sioners had best go home, or at least such was the form of com- moiit which Girty gave to their iitteranees. After some days tilt' council sent a defiant answer in due form. They denied that the United States had any better rigiit to buy tiieir lands than the English had. They th(mght that the Americans, instead of offering money to them, liad much lietter use it in Inlying out their grantees, so that they could l-irn the Indian laiiil over to its true owners. During these latia- days of the conference, all efforts of Brant to induce Simcoe to interpose in favor of a compromise having failed, the conniiissioners had nothing to do but to declare that tlie entl had come, and on the same day (August IG) they left Detroit for Fort Krie. At this point they dispatched a messenger to Wayne, who was waiting at Fort ^^ asliington, informing him of the failure to iiogDtiate. Tlie outcome was known in I'hiladelphia in Sep- teinher, and it was generally believed, as Wolcott said, that the failure was "' in great measure owing to l^ritish influence." Washington sliared this distrust, and, as early as February, liad laiitioned Knox not to relax his prejiarations for war. Keeruiting was going on slowly, and by Marcli, 1793, \V!>_, ne had not received half his promised force. Wher? the spring had fairly opened, he had moved his two thousand five hundred (lien down the river to Fort Washington, and sent a sununons fir the mounted volunteers of Kentucky, wliicdi a committee, I'onsiNting of Judge Innes, John Jirown, Isaac Shelby, Benjamin Liigan, ar.d Charles Scott, had been organizing. W ayne, as we have seen, had been directed to act on the (k'ft'iisive only, till he heard of the failure of the negotiations :it the Detroit Kiver. With this resti-aint he learned, not without irritation, of the raids which the Indians were making 111 every direction, but lie jtrudently kept quiet. During the ! ;i refusal tu his }»'ojii)sal. The Indians natiuallv knew of the faihin I WW'. 111 advance, and in Scjittiti- ber they fell iii>u![ om. of Wayne's convoys ;iiiil captured some liorsts. On Octoher 0, Wayne wrote to ICtiox that the next day he shoidd ;ul\;iiice bevond Fort defCcisoii to a position where he was to hiy out a caiii}» for winter quarters, and to be ])re}nired to act as oe- easion required. Thi- Kentucky volunteers were coming in slowly. and he could not ro[)oit more than twenty-six hundred regulars, with some four hundred horse militia niul guides, the rest being detailed for garrison duty along his com- munications. He had tak^ n pride m his cavalry, and lie ha'l divid ai'tion w liere dragoon^^ could not manoeuvre to uJv;, itajff. William Priest, a traveler in the country at the time- says that " it is generally imagined that Wayne will meet the fate ot Braddock and St. Clair, but a few military men I have tlis- cussed with are of another opinion, f(»r tlie general is iiniHiiii; a bf)dy of cavalry on pi'ineiples entirely new. from which iiu'.cli is expected." His maivh was accordingly btgun on October 7. ITI'3, aii'l [Tliif. out. tr.kci! from Hone's Jlintoridit Cullecliona of Ofiio, [I. 14.;, .shows tlif iiiii' of till' Htockade at Grctnivillf, in ii'latioii to the inodeni town.] ^BlF': V ) " 1 n'A yyi-rs nun', i am rioys. 453 MX (lays later he was liiyiny out a winter's camp, six miles l)e- vDiul Fort Jefferson, wlu<.-h he named iu honor of liis old eom- m.indcr in tlu- -ionthern department in the revolutionary davs, I'oit (ireeneville or, as it was eonunonly written, (iuenville. it ids marehing force was not ail that he had hoped for, Wayne felt that many months of diseipline had made a \'dv»;e part of them ton,i;h and ready warriors, and that lie had some iiMiiiriis before him for seasoning tluMu in all the hardship and kill of forest warfare. They already showed a marked pro- ti.iiiu'y in loading and iirin<;' on tlie run, and weri' not inapt in ^)»iin'4ing to their w seoirts l>rought in to confirm •11(1) iutelHgeni'e, if thev- was irround for it lie got little >;iti8fact)<»n. 'iiiwever. There vw ,>' who affirined it. and 'itlieis wh#> dem^eti it. The^re ik no doiuw, however, that Simcoe '^iiswishing ardeisGlv for Wayne's '- " ' and detenuined in any 454 THE NORTHWEST TRIBES AT LAST DEFEAT Kh. event to prevent sn])i)Hes reaelun<;' liini by the hike from I'lcsiiu'- Isle, lie could not have been un])repare(l, later, to iiM-.ivc ad- viees from Dundas that, in case Wayne was beaten, the i)|)|K)1'. tiinity should not be lost to secure a barrier territory Ix'twccii Canada and the Americans. Simcoe had not as yet received sucdi iinj)licit instructions, but he could easily divine tliem. \ sp(?ech of Dorchester, which had reached Detroit, ser\e(l im ininu'diate pur[)ose, l)ut to arouse the Indians and to eduiiti'- nauce Simcoe in active agencies in helping' them, Doriliester had lately been in council with the ministry, and his wokIs stood easily for their oi)ini(>ns. This speech was a reply, whit h he had made on February 10, 1794, to an Indian delegation. Kingsford, a recent historian of Canada, thinks thnt its indi,. cretions were but the natural njvulsion which Dorclie.^ter felt wiien, fresh from England, he saw how great a hold the Freiuli Revolution had taken u})on t\\(\ Americans. AVhetlier tiiis was so or not, the speech was intemperate and incendiary, and when a report of it reached Philadelphia, Ilaunnond sought to eiface its effect by declaring that Dorchcstei- had not heeu authorized to make it. It is certain tliat Dundas later rtdmknl the utterer for doing what was more likely " to provoke liostili- ties than to prevent them." The language of tlu' hiuaiigiif was so unguarded tliat there was a tendency even in Phila- delphia to doubt its authenticity, — a beli(>f that later mislrd Marshall and Sparks. AVashington cei-taiidy acce|)ted it. as did Clinton, who forwai'dcd it to the President. It is now known to bi! })reserved in the Knglish archives, and Stone, the Idouru- pher of Brant, found a certified copy among the papers oi that chief. Another copy was sent to Carondelet. In this speech Dorchester charged the United States witli bad faith in the boundaiy dispute ; that all advance of settle- ments since 1788 were encroachments, which nullified the Aiuci- ican right of ])rei'm])tion. lie said lie should not be siu'])ristMl if England and the United States were at war in the ennrse ef the present year, and in that case the wari'iors would have x\w chance to make a new line, and ai)propriate all im]>r()veineiit-^ wliich the Americans had made within it. Copies of the sjieech were circidated early in April. ITW. among the western Indians, Lieutenant-Colonel Butler beinu :ui active agent in the matter. Inspired l>y it, and acting iiidetd iU Hm u wwpww ^wmmm w ^'^imif^gmmm AT THE MAUMEE RAPIDS. 455 uiuliT Dorchester's express orders, Simcoe, shiiviug Dorchester's luck of oonfideiu'e in the American ])i'otestjitionrf, took three c'oiiipiinies of reguhirs to the rapids of the vviainnee, and there hastily constructed a fort, necessary, in his opinion, as an outpost of Detroit, and intended to be a check ia the way of Wayne's lulvance. This is the reason which Simcoe gives, on April 11, ill a letter written on tlie spot to Carondelet, who had asked liim to join vSpain in a cam])aign on the ^[ississipj)i, in resist- aiu'c to the proposed French invasion of Louisiana. When Washington heard of this positive advam-e upon American ter- lito) \ , he called it the " most open and darhig act " which tiie liiitish had attempted, and in sending instructions to Wayne, Knox conveyed the order of Wasiiington that if, in the course of the campaign it should betrome necessary to dislodge the gar- rison of this fort, Wayne must do so. On fhme 7, some Indian prisoners were biought in, and from tlani W ayne learned of ►Mmcoe's advance. They also reported tliiit there were two thousand Indians at the Maumee rapids, and that, including militia, the British of Fort Miami garrison counted about four hundred. One of the captives said that the liiitish had promised to have fifteen hundred men in the niniiiig light. During Juno, 1704, Wayne was occupied with his daily drills. lie txci'cised his men with sabre and bayonet, and kept out a cloiul of scouts to ])revent aity si>y of the enemy getting within observation. Besides using Ins backwoodsmen for this service, lu' li;id a few Chickasaws and Choctaws. His wo()dchop])ers viic opening roads here and there, and serving to deceivt the inilians as to his intended march. He had already sent a detail the field of St. Clair's defeat, and had built there a small flirt, which, in recognition of his reoccui)ation of th(! ground, h* ■alli'd Fort Recovery. On the 2Gth, General Scott readivNi (ii'eeneville with sixteen hundred mounted Kentuckians, and innong them was William Clark, tin' l)rother of O.-orge Rogerrv (lark, and later known for his ])assage of the Rockies. On the 'ii^tli, he sent forward a party, and when n< ar Fort Recovery. mi the 30th, they were assailed by a rush of Indians u))on sonu' iliagdons, who received the attack, charged in return, somewhat li'i'kli'ssly, and thei'e was a consideiable loss of horses, which \'>.vnc could ill spare. It was thought that there were whites ■*} , S ( I I' ',]! ? ' j ". ; If ■m^ ; P ■;) j, I M 'i ^/ ■IV 456 THE NORTHWEST TRIBES AT LAST DEFEAT HI). among the enemy. In order to deceive the Indians, he turned west and went on to the St. Mary's River, where he built a fort, which he eaUcd Fort Adams. In July, he turned east, ami marched seventy miles to the confluence of the Au<;liiizc and the Maumee. Here, on August 8, he built Fort Defiaiuf, in the midst of inunense fields of corn. lie was now within sixty miles of the British fort, and his route to it lay along the banks of the Maumee. He sent forward a converted Shawnee to announce his readiness to treat for peace. Little Turtle, tlic Indian leader, was not disinclined to accept the offer. His scouts had convinced him of the sleepless vigilance of W'avnc, They had found it impossible to i)ierce the line of wateliful spies by whi(di the AmericJin connnander concealed his force. Sinicoe also had lost confidence in the ability of the Indians to withstand the Americans, and he had written to Dundas that, while he hojjcd for "Wayne's defeat, he was by no means sure it would happen. " If Wayne Jittacks Detroit," he wrote, "you must l)e })rej)ared to hear it is taken." Just at the time that Simcoe was building Fort ]\Iianii. tlic legislature of Pennsylvania had directed the occupatic^n of Presqu'Isle, and on March 1, 1704, Governor MifHin had in- structed Major Denny to raise a company of troojis, and to ])roceed to that spot and protect the connnissioners in laying out the town. He was enjoined to avoid every unfriendly act which could possibly irritate the Indians or excite the enmity of the British garrisons not far off. AVhile the spring came on. it was apparent that the movement had excited the fears of IJrant and his countrymen, and that: there was danger of active o]i|io- sition on the part of the British. It was even sui)i)osed tliat the American troops on the way to that point from Le i)H iif wouhl be met and driven back. In the latter part of May. tlie federal government, fearing such comidications, and under- standing the hazard which Wayne was confronting, asked Gov- ernor Mifflin to suspend the movement. The request was looked u]ion as an interference with the rights of the legislature, wliicli had simydy ordered the occupation of their own territory. l)nt Mifflin did not hesitate, and promptly issued orders in coulorni- ity with Washington's wishes, and at a later day the Assenilily confirmed them. The federal government were nevenlit.es- fearful lest the resentful spirit shared by the Indians ami their 1 : ■>ha\vuee to . Tuvtl.'. till' offer. His of Wayne. of watoliful ed liis foi'i'e. e Indians to [)undas that. ( means suit ," he wrote, i-t ^lianii. tlie )eeni)ati(>n of liffiin liad in- roops, and to ii'vs in liiyiiiji unfriendly act the enmity of i<>- eame on. it WAYNE ADVANCING. 457 British friends might yet bring peril, and Knox, in writing to Mifflin on Jnly 17, declared that there e. THE liATTLK WON. 459 otln'i' pos- lil'll I'lJUlt-'ri lie adviiuce niii'lil luivc !. Way lie use tor till' iiiid liiovfd ajtuls. lit! isions, and there were MeKee says r.ntish tia;;' ids, and In- av away, lii the trunks sti'ivted. and 3 enemy liiy n i\ l»iuid of vvv a <;ronnd the enemy tlie sui»|)oi't St, the Indi- ites to l>i'fss Ives — for a f the l>iiti>l> had won the |to sueeor the jeted to open tans had. van- Fort informed Wayne's loss in killed and womuled had heen little ovi-r ;i hundred. There was never any report on the loss of the enemy. It is denied by the British v.riters that there were any whitt's in tlie Hght. Against their general denial, there is Wayne's own testimony that liritish dead were found on the field. It lias been asserted that a body of Detroit militia, seventv iu miniber, commanded l)y a C'ai)tain Cal(lw( 11, partieij)ated in the action, and that four of them were killed. Jirant, at a later day. said that he had procui'«Hl the ])owder wliieh was used from the Ih-itish authorities at Quebee, and that he should have led hi^ Mohawks in the fight had he not been sick and at a dis- tance. So ended the battle of Fallen Tindiers. Major Campbell, in charge of the jiritish fort, sent next day word to Detroit that an action had been fought ''almost within reach of the guns of the fort." The same day, August 21, he sent a Hag to the American commander, asking what he meant by such threatening action in sight of his Majesty's flag. Wayne at once replied that his guns talked for him, but he rather need- lessly argued the point of the British encroachment in building a ))ost on recognized territory of the United States. He ch>sed with demanding its surrender. The next day Campbell rejilied that he could only receive orders to give \i\) the fort from his own suj)eriors, and threatened that if the insult to the Jiiitlsh flan' was continued, and the Americans came within i-ange of his guns, h(! would open fire. Thee was a story started by a traveler, Isaac Weld, a year later, that AVayne rode up to the stockade with defiant bearing, so as to provoke a discharge, and i;ive him a pretext for attacking. There is no other evidence of such an act. Wayne's last notf was to ask the garrison to retire to some post which had existed at the time of the treaty of 1782. He wisely did not try to force su(di retirement, and Cain])l)ell bore himself with like restraint. Wayne contented himself with destroying the traders' huts in the neighborhood, imduding those of MeKee, without a motion on the part of Camjibell. Simcoe is said at a later day to have taken upon himself the credit of jireserving the i)eaee, >inee Dorchester, as he averred, had instructed him to attaidv Wayne. It is known from a letter to Ilannnond in Septemlier that Dorchester was confident of a conflict, to be brought on by Wayne's attacking the fort. ^'^■^ |l!^,3:|:f!j Iu ;l 'i IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) F 1.0 I.I 1.25 •• 132 2_2_ 2.0 U IIIIII.6 (^ % /i ^;. o:^ ^. e-2 ^ v-^'' ^^' /A '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14SB0 (716) 872-4503 I r^ C/j (/^ >,s "^^ 460 THE NORTinVEST TlilBES AT LAST DErEATKh. After s])en(liiig- three days in conijilcting the (lestruction uf all property outside the fort, Wayne hej^an a march hy tasy stages lip the river, lie swei)t away cornliehls for fifty miles on each side of the stream. . On reaching- Fort Defiance, he put it in better condition for defense, and on August 28 sent off a dispatch to Knox. It was less than a month later that the first rumors of Wayne's success readied Philadelphia, dh September 23, in atlvance of the official tidings. ' i ! From Fort Defiance, Wayne coiitinued his niprch u]* tlie Maumee. He reached the ccnifluence of the St. Mary and St. Joseph on September 17, and by the 22d he had c()iii|ilet('d Fort Wayne at that strat»'gic point where the portage to the Wabash began. He put Major llamtramck in connaand. Simcoe, immediately upon the result of the campaign Iteinu known, had written to Brant that he liopcd the Indians would " recover their s])irits."' He expected now by a conference at Fort Miami to help ])roduce such a reaction. Then; lie met McKee and Brant, and ic was thought best to have a larger body in council at the mouth of the Detroit River on October 10. Meanwdiile, Wayne, at his new stockade, was listening to the speeches of other factions of the tribes, who had learned by recent events not to place much confidence in British promises. Not all these speetdies were reassuring, for there was occasion- ally a chief who would warm at AVayne's renewed proposals of confirming the treaty of Fort Ilarmar, and at such occuireiiees Wayne grew anxious and sent messages to Philadelphia for reinforcements to be ready for any emergency. The British conference at Detroit Kiver came off as ar- ranged. Simon (iirty was present as usual, and helped in the distribution of the British gifts. Simcoe now told the \\ van- dots and the others that they must stand for the Ohio bniiiids as resolutely as ever, and he jjromised that if the Ameiicaiis approached Fort Miami again, they should be fired u})on. We have Simcoe's speech and testimony about his advice from those who heard it, and Brant supported his insidious views, lie urged the Indians to convey in trust to the British all the land north of the Ohio which was in dispute between them ami the Americans, so as to give the British the right to interfeii' in protecting it. He also treacherously counseled the i)atiliiiig as occasioii- ()Oc'urn'iiy his victory a vanta<;('- iiiound that he couhl use to effect. The Delawares had already aiiproached him, and Dorchester, kept informed l>y Simcoe of the Ht'iicral disaffection towards Enj'lish interests which Wayne's (li|il(»niacy was inereasiu*^, lost no time in informing the Ameri- can general that (irenville and Jay. now negotiatinj; a treaty of pacification in England, had reached a conclusion by which the military conditions should remain for the present unchanged. Tilt' fact was that the Jiritish government were more desirous of itringing to an end tlu'ir critical relations with the United States than they were willing to disclose to the American envoy. Tliis growing jxtlicy of amity proved a sore grievani-e to Sim- coe and he sjjent his energies during the closing months of I'm in seeking to prevent such a «'onsunnnation. He urged that Fort Miami shouhl not be abandoned. He wrote to Hauj- iiioiid to stir him to a i)rotest to the federal government against the dcmeantu' of Wayne, who, in gaining the Indian favor, was thwarting some of Sinu'oe's cherished purposes. He wrote to till' Lords of Trade »)tt"ering them a i)lan for shutting out trad- ers fduiing from the Anu'rican seaboard, by estaldishing British depots along the portages to the Mississi|>pi valley, ami par- ticularly by that at C hicago. He grew ;iuspicious of Brant, and, to prevent his defection, sought permission to offer the Mohawk chief a ])ension for his family. All this while, Wayne, who had reached Cireeneville early in Xovt'inber, was receiving messages of ])eace from the same Wy- aiulots that Simcoe had flattered at the Detroit River, and it was soon known that the tribes who had crossed the Mississii)i)i, to fi^ht under Little Turtle, had recrossed it to Spanish ter- ritory. Wayne's i)lans for a final settlement in the ft)ll()wing season were progressing with few halts. So, as Simcoe showeerately.'" So people were easily i;i(iiil)ing into three divisions. First, there were those who were tor peace with England at all risks. Then, those who were for wai'. the sooner the better. Last, those who were irritated to a vciy frenzy, but were restrained from forcing an outbreak, if it cot I Id be avoided. There was a danger that a prolonged uncertainty wouhl end ill war, and Washington, eager to secure peace even at some sacrifice, determined to try the effect of a special envoy to die Hritish court. On Ajjril 0, 1794, he sent the name of John •lay to the Senate as such an envoy. Jay had in the i)ast made lie he^=itation in affirming that the Americans had made the tiist brejich of the treaty of 1782. So both the envoy and tilt' mission were little less than repulsive to the ardent haters nf Kngland. With the admirers of France it was questionable if any advance towards England under existing cinnunstances was not a transgression of the treaty of 1778 with that ])ower, — an obligation which the federalists denied. Randolph, as secretary of state, inulertook to exjdain to Fauchet, the French minister, — and there soon transjiired signs of an existing iliiliious intercourse between the two, — that it was necessary to iicudtiate with England t^) avoid a war which the States were not ready to encounter, dohn Adams, with a politician's eye, was at the same time supposing that the oj)))osition to Jay arose fioiii an ap]irehension that, if the mission was successful, .lay Would be lifted into a dangerous com]H'titi(m witli Jeffers )n. Tlie most active objection in Congress to confirming tiie . \lt I \ 't' I fii \ 1 ( L i 1 : : \ ir 404 JAY'S TltEATY. .,' : v \n I : mission came from the South. This was hirgely for the allt ^( d rciison that an adjustment wouhl ])eneflt eastern conum la.. und em^)arrass the South still more in the matter of the IJiitisli debts. There was also a fear tliat immediate northern intirtsts mi<^ht be paramount to regaining the j)osts, and this was the })lea of the Sontlj to the West for support. In the final vote, seven votes from Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Kentucky, with a single vote from New York, eoiistitrtcil the opposition, while eighteen votes, mainly from the Nditli. secured the mission and conunitted Jay to a rather liarassin-r task. The result was to thwart a proposed plan, whicli Madi- son and others had counted on, to extort redress from Englainl. At near the same time, on an appealed ease, the Supreme Court had decided that certain acts of the Virginia legislature, in- tended to relieve debtors to English merchants, were unconsti- tutional. Thus the southern project was doul)ly blocked. Jay's instructions were signed on May G, and at this time the federal government knew that Dorchester had made liis threatening .speech. They had not learned, howevei'. of a result of that speech in the advance of Simcoe upon the Miami. If tiiey had, Jay's instructicms might have been more vigorous. When Jay reached England, on June 8, he suspected that the two countries had only narrowly escaped war, and that I ^oi- cliester and Simcoe, in their recent acts, had been inspired liy ministerial views. Wii;h belter information we may now donht if he had good grounds for his apprehension, and may i-atlicr believe that the ministry were only too ready for some sort of an accommodation. This appearance, to Jay's mind, arose in ])art from the fear, which he thought was entertained, tliat Wayne really intended to attack Detroit; while the more eon- ciliatory spirit which he found in Grenville, when he tirst liad his interviews with him, was to be traced to a change in conti- nental affairs, wliich had suddenly become a cause of alarm tn the ministry. Three days later (June 23), Jay learned troui Dr. William Gordon, the historian of the American Kevohiticm. then living in England, that the United States nmst not cNpeit to secure the sin-render of the posts. Jay, in re])ortiny (im- don's views to Washington, confessed that he did not see the insuperable difficulties which alarmed Gordon. A week hiter (^June 27), Jay and Grenville were fairly at their work. By lul, arose in iiioiv "■•I"- THE TREATY SKiSEb. 4(35 tho luuldle of July, they liutl «o iulvanced in mutual confidmu't's that 'lay assuretl the English miijister that Wayne had n«j in- structions to attack the post^, and Portland eoninuuiicatetl the iissuniuce at once (Jidy 15) to Dorchester. Whereupon tho two negotiators agreed that there shouhl be nothing (h)ne, un- friendly in act, anywhere along the Canadian frontier, .lay so notified Washington on July 21, and tlie English sent to Dorchester a message which, we have seen, was transmitted from (Quebec to Wayne. After this the interchange of views went slowly on, all tend- inis to establish, at last, a common ground, flay was some tiftt'fu weeks or more away from his government, counting the (lilt and return voyages. He grew, in his isolatiim, confident that whatever he did would find inimical critics, and he wrote to the President that he trusted, whatever might hai)})en, to "the wisdom, firmness, and integrity of tiie government.'' There did not grow up in the States nnudi confidence in Jay's accomplishing anything till some time in October, and then the French faction grew certain that he could but sacrifice the honor of the country. These revilers were convinced that W'asiiingtou had failed to do what lie couhl to rescue Tom Paine from the imprisonment into which Kol)espierre had thrown him, ami that this indifference of the President was due to liis fear that England, which hated Paine, might resent any sympathy for him. Under such circiunstances, one readily understands wliy I'aine, learning by rumor something of Jay's relations with Urcnville, called it " a satire upon the Declaration of Indej)en- deiice," and such opinions were easily wafted across the wat«'rs. On November 19, Portland wrote to Don-liester that the treaty had been signed, but that its contents would not Ite tlivulgeil till both governments h:»d latified it. Jay transmitted the same day to Oliver Ellsworth Ids opinion that he liad ex- acted as nuich as could be i)rocured. Co])ies of the treaty were Hilt off by different vessels on November 20 ami 21. The first was thrown overboard at sea to ])revent the French capturing it. The other idtimately reached its destination. The British government, not yet possessed of Fauehet's inter- '■epted dispatch, soon to be in their hands, had already taken their me? -ire of Handolph, the American Secretary of State, »iul, because of his hard denunciations of English action, pro- i ■ n \4 >nj 4»;g ./Ays TIIEA TV I ! ' ' fi'ssed to Id'lit'Vt' his teiiii)oi' would be inimical to peace, mid at ouee notilieil llaiiunoiid to avoid iiiteiroiuse with him. to eoni]>a.sd his downfall if possihle, and to seek llaniiltoii iii>tta(l as the means of eoneerting' action for the suppression «>f Iiidiiui hostilities ah»n<; the frontiers. IJefore any of the oDicial eonuninileations eould rearli i'liila- delphia, a fast vessel, leaving Kanisj;ate, had arrived at ('ai)o Ann, l)rin<:;ino. Nearly six weeks latci', on March 7, the treaty itself was in the hands of ^^^^sllillHtllll. and remained there, a secret ])ossession, shared only l>y iIkoc closest to him, for three months, day reaiihed New York on May 28, to find himself chosen governor of New York two davs before. Sunnnonses had already been sent for the asstinlilin^ of the Senate on June 8, to take the treaty into considciatidii. Kanchet, ignorant of the outburst which his disidosnics alidiit Handoli)h was soon to produce, interceded with the goveriuiiciit to prevent the presentation of the treaty to the Senate till liis successor, Adet, with the views of the French goveruincnt m the crisis, could arrive. The new FnMich minister slid not natli Philadelphia till June 13. At tint time, the treaty was Ik foiv the Senate, in the usmil secret sessions, and that body \v;.s known to have assendded in nearly full nundu'rs. There wtii' runjors of the hard fate which had been planned for it. and tlic reports did not misrepresent the fact. The o])p()sitioii was warm. There was no sure index to the ardent discontents in local syni])athies. Of the western mend>ers, Ilumpluty Mar- shall stood for it : lilount was against it. It was. liowcvfr. owinjr to the strenuous exerti()ns of Hamilton and Kutiis Kiiii; that the instrument was saved, and then only by accept inh', ami little was at stake with them when the whole business of the claims was bi-ought to a ch)se in 1804. In respect to the tnule with Canada, the west had a principal interest, f«)r by the provisions of the treaty the eastern merchants were in some iiu-asure shut out from it. It was, on the whole, a gain to the west, for it <»pened the St. Lawrence route to the sea for w<'stern piddiice, with low duties, and none for furs. It also promised that return nienduindise coiild be bnmght to a large section of tile west at less cost than transportation over the mountains wiiiiid entail. It was llamiltoirs o])inion, about the rights ai'corded to the Indian traders to i)ass th«' boundai-y line in titlicr direction for trattic, that the United States would profit iiiiirt' than Canada. He also believed that thes(> jirovisions Mocked "the dangerous ))rojt'et of (ireat liritain to confine the liiitcd States to the Ohio," and that thi-y t«'nded " ntost power- fully to establish the influence and authority of the general i;overnment over the western country." Tlu' objection which was pr(>ssed was that the Constitution was violated in taking t'lom Congress the right to regidate trade, and vesting it in the tivatv-making ])owei'. AVhcn, later, it was attemi)ted to regu- late this Indian trade another way by Wayne's negotiation, the paiaiiiount authority of »Iay"s treaty was allowed at the instance of (ireat Hritain. It was, iiuleed, true at this time, as (leneral CoUot, who was a little later ins])ecting these conditions, saw, that the tribes and fiii'-licariuu' animals south of the lakes and east of the Missis- ^i|>l>i did not constitute the cd'ief resource for what was properly "lilcd the fur trade. The favoi-able conditions were, in fact, to 1"' toiiiid west of the ]Mississi])pi, in Spanish territory, to whi(di I'tvess must be had through what the treaty of 1~S'I had recog- nized as Ameriean territory. It was from this country that tile Knglish house of Tode tt Co., who had bought the right liiHii the \ew Orleans government for i;20,000, had, by making ( I 4G8 JAY'S Til/: A TV \ ,H ;!•■ i. fortifitMl stations alonjj; the St. IN'tt-r ami Dt-s Moines livi-r^. almost (•oiiii>l('tcly drivcii tlic Spanish ti-a^h-rs, notwithstiiiiliii;' thr transpoi-tin};' of fiirs to New Orleans l»y the Mississi|t|ii was much casici- than to takf them to Montreal. The Spanish had kept the Missouri Hiver in tlu-irowii liamU, and, two miles from its month, they maintaine«l a tradiii;;-|((ist. St. Charles, which, with its hundred and more houses. \\;i-. the remotest station in this direction. The rivei-, as Coljnt >,ii(l, had heen exjdored ui)ward more than six hundred li a-ius without finding any ohstruction. Its current was said td lie irentle till it received the IMatte, which aftei- their iiMRtion forced the stream rapidly along. That l"'rench travelei- reuclicd the conclusion that the Missoin-i nmst I'ise in a projnii^.itiini of the Cordilleras, which Mackenzie had called the Stony Moiin- tains, while they were known to the trihes as the Yellow M((iiii- tains : and these mountains were reported to run parallel to the coast of the South Sea, a hundi'cd or a hundred and fuiiity leagues distant. The notions then ))revailing placed liii;li n|i on the Missoin-i the Big liellies (t'ight hundi-ed warriors) ami just helow them the Mandans (three hundred warriois ). Tiuir trade was mainly l»y the Red River to the Indians aliout liml- son's Hay ; hut over the moinitains, lifteen to twenty day-; distant, were the Crows, on a river which conunuuii-ati d with the South Sea. Of the i^l'.KOOO in duties which were paid on Anierieaii fiiiN in London, a large pai't came from Sj)anisli Louisiana, ainl nearlv all from west and north of the lakes. This was paitlv occasioned l>y the fact that the S])anish traders, so far :is tiny rivaled the English ones, were ohliged to draw their su]i]ilii'< from Montreal, which they paid for in peltries. The KiiL;li->li wert^ l)articularly active , tvatrm^itiist. Misi's. \\;i-. tilt' s Colliit >;iii|. ullt'cl l(;i;^lU's ,';is siiitl to 111' tlicii- jiiiic'tiitii llVL'lcl' llMfllt'll I |)r()l»ni;^!iti"ii e Sttniy M'liiii- Yellow Miniii- piirallt'l tt» tilt' I'd and twenty dacfd liiiili "1> warriors) and vrriors ). Tlii'ir ns •,\\u)\\\ lliiil- o twenty tl;iy> nmnicati'd with American fnvs ionisiana. and "his was partly so far as tln'V their suitidii-i Tlu' Kn-li>l' Moines, wIh'Iv , tho St. IVtti' J(.d'l I- (;,;,ii)iijihil 111 i' lit shows till- ""I'l"' •Mav m ii i 470 ./.I ys riiii.xTY. iiiiul*' tlifir cliief tl(>|M)t of HiipplirH :it Maekiiiar. Init now tli;ii the tri'Mty was to tl'iilisf»'r this post, tlu-y wrrr |tlaimiii;; to iiiiiiniaiii tlit'ii' coiiiicctioii with thr traiis-MissisMinpi (•ounti'\ fioin St. •ioscph's Ishtiid in thf chunml conncrtinL; Lakt's Supciiui aixl Huron. Tht-nct' to Montreal, their usual route had lain li\ tlif old porta;;:^ ^<> the Ottawa from LaU(> Huron. 'I'hoii^li thi- pDita^es in this course were numerous, their eanoei>t^ cnidil count more accurately on the time reipiired in reaching Muii- treal by tluH course than hy that of the lakes, since advciH- winds on these waters sonu'tinies delayed their boats, and inuilf their arrival too late for shipment to Kn<;'land. I'nder these circumstanct's. and kiutwin;;' that the surrender of the posts would stren<;then the Anu'iican juriMJictiun over the extreme limits td' the Kepidili<', (ircn\ ille had stultliuniK contended for a rectilication of the liounds west of Lake ^nyy rior, .so that the Canadian traders could ]>ass to upper Lonisiutia over British territory. This (piestion was mated with aiiutlicr, namely, that of the Hritish rij;ht to navi<;;atc the Missi>si|i|)i. as |)rovidcd by the treaty of 17H*J. and eoni|dicated also l.\ tlic demands of Spain in ll)<- .^^ante direction. The treaty of 17.'<-! had drawn tin- northern boimdarv line nf the Ignited States due west from the Lake of the Woods aldii": the 4!Mh i)arallel, till it struck tlu> headwateis ui the Missis- sippi. The sources of that river, it was U(tw known, wtic •'onsiderably south of that line, and thci'cforc at no point did Ib-itisli territory touch the .Mississippi, upon which tiw Irtafy ^ave her the ri^ht of navination : foi- while America and Spain held the river at the north, the latter c(»untry possessed liotli banks at its month. It was (irenville's (daim that since tlic treaty pive Knp;land a rinht upon the river, she was entitled ti> a rcctifi<'ation (d' the boundary so as to assure that ri^lit. -lay cx]ilained the <>rant of such a ri<;ht on the river to have lucii allowed by the I'nited Stiites because, at the date of the tnaty. it was sujjposcd. as the secret arti(d«' of the treaty inditiiti'd. that Kninland. in the j^cncral treaty, then soon to follow, wciiild secin'c. in the a<'(pMsiti<>n of west Florida, a boundary «>ii tlic river at the south. That accession of territory not t;dii an o|)|M».sit«' vi»'\v. iiml. to p't his «lt'- Mirnl Ixiuiuliiry, proposal niiiniiii; a line from Lake Siipn-ior in oiH' of tw(» ways, so tliat tlic n|i|ii'r waters of tin- river slionUl traverse Hritisli territory, riif^e alternative |iro|to,si- tidic Were, in the one in- •■taiiee. to run a «hie west liiir fi'oiii West May, on l/ike Superior, to the cast- tTii hraneh of the Mississip- pi, a- sdine o f th. Ihit isn iii;i|>-. had aheady di-awn it : and. in the other, to rnn a line from the month (d' the St. Croix Kiver, at the Mis- >issippi, dn(> north till it 'truck the honn^' 'ry lie- twci'ii the LaKe of the Woods a' Lake Snpei'i<»r. I'liNO ^ M M- LTIiIk iiia|> Ih 11 |iri"liii'i'il fr^iii K. U. >> ulV " In- aciMiniti- Kiii>»li'(lk'i' n( tlif SKiirc'cn ii( tilt' AliKHiH- Hl|l|li III till- Clow llf tin- Ii, No. ; 1 1 '■ " ii> tiiki'ii frciiii IVtiT riiiiil'H "Mull llf the iinly consent t<» close the Hii,|miir» Itny CiMinlry. \1K\- in th.- Stilt.' De- "ai) Itetween the source of '""■" • »' Wa-iiimiinii. i„i,i N.iii .uIIh it "tii.. '" ' tilMl iiiiip iifliT 1Tn:1 til kIhiw that Hit' MishiHslplii till' Mississippi and latitude l not ri>iii-h any point went of tin- Lake uf tliu 4!l l>y the most direct line. riie map which (irenville hrouiiht foiward to illustrate his views was Kaden's map of 11\K\. In this niaj) the Mississippi was drawn as known »tidy to about a dej;ree ahove the Falls of St. .\nthony. North of this ]>oint there were three hranches, one lit which nmst jn-ohahly he the true Mississippi. One of these tlowfd from a marshy lake in 4;V. A second fh»wed from ^\ liite Rear Lake near 4(! . Lack (»f these were marked *• Mis- Mssippi hy conjecture." The third hranch issued fi'»»m lied I-alie in 47"^, and was called '* Lahontan's Mississippi." .lay iilijt'cted to the acee])tanee of any tentative j^eonraphy, and j)ro- I'Dscil a survey to <;;ain ])recise knowledm'. lie contended that, :is the American I'ommissioners in 17S»- had offered an alterna- tive of the 45" and 49 , and the latter had Ik n accepted, the iWisitm mu.st stand, and the Mississii)])i must either be shown to cross that parallel, or must be connected with it by the short- est line. •I '' ,1 I 1i fi !!t 472 JAY'S TREATY. If^ ir< ; '% P M ' ' , if ■ Jay persistently clunst('oiiii'''ii>y (U'tovmint' liow conseipu'utly in irvovov stai'tftl f tlu! conil'Muy s In Al-ril.lK' ,1 n])ou a vivfv to Uod l-»k.'. IvaAiu-i-po^t-^- ■'" imml tv p»»i-t:i.;'' [.•li a lovol coun- rice, lu' oiitriril Us siiuaiv. I'lit oseuil'laiu''' to soun-f "f til'' to lit' f:ii'tluT Iv has lurn a.- |,is(.,'uain,L;' tli«'><' kii-uo (tlav.' THE USE OF THE MISSISSIl','1. 473 iniK's) the tiiuc it took to smoke a pipe, while in reality only two miles were passed over in that tinu'. Thonii)S()n found the north end of the lake to be in 47° 38' 20", or one hundred and t\vt'nty-ei<;ht miles south of the point where the map-makers in 17m.' had supposed it. There was another post of his comi)any on lu'd Cedar Lake near by. In May, Thoinpson i)assed down the Mississippi, two hundred miles by the winding of the stream, to Sand Lake Kiver, up whieh he turned towards Lake Supe- rior, and in this neighborhood he found two other stations of the North West Company. Thompson's wanderings had shown how many posts nui.st be aliandoned, as in Ameriean territory, and had also shown to the >;itistaetion of the waiting eonnnissioners that Turtle Lake, as the source of the Mississippi, was something short of two de- jfvees south of the 49^ bouiulary. The acceptance of Thomp- son's observations then, and the accpiisition of Louisiana a few yt'urs later, took from the extreme northwest line all interna- tional importance. Hamilton, in May, 1794, had urged Jay to try to get England to hell) in the matter of forcing Spain to open the h)wer Missis- sippi " by giving her a participation in that navigation ; but,'' he aililed, " with negotiations going on with Spain it must be man- ajjed carefully." Jay did not forget Hamilton's injunctions, and lie conceded to England by the treaty her right to navigate the Mississi])pi, as it had .stood in that of 1782, with tlu; additioiud pntvision that all ports on the eastern side of the I'iver, 'vhether lulonging to one party or the other, shouhl be open to Hritish traders in the same way that the seaboard ports were, ^^'hile «onie held that this concession to England was a shrewd (Uie, to :;iin her adhesion in treating with S])ain for the opening of the liver, it was looked upon by others as affording the liritish an "pporfiniity of monopolizing the trade of the river under the cover of their gunboats. Tliis agreement of Jay and (rrenville as to the joint use of tile Mississippi gave great oft'ense to Si)ain. and iu lu'r protests 4' was supported by the French Direi-tory. Spain claimed tliat the right of navigation whii'h England ac(|uired by the treaty of Paris, in 170;}. was surrendered when siie gave up «est Florida to S])aiu iu 1782, a position which both England 111(1 the United States denied. " The Spaniards are feverish i i , -T i •\' t I I 1 >;, i ' .■ 1 ■ 1 ■J . 'M Ml. M U' 3 I V Y «l-=! 474 JAY'S TREATY. witli respect to the Mississippi article," wrote Woleott to Ham. iltou in July, 1795. The treaty offered another point of attack to its oppont-nts. in that there was no specific agreement on the })art ut ( iituviH,. that Knglisli agents wonld in the future abstain from iiieitiii',' the Indians to hostilities, .lay's instructions had directtd liim to recpiire that, " in case of an Indian war, none but the iimkiI supplies in ])eace shoidd be fiUMiished " by the Knglish to riicir Indians and their allies. A contrary couthiet had Ioiil; l»t'ii the subject of complaint by the American govei'inneut. •• Tlic British government,*' the instructions further said. "Iiiivin^ denied their abetting of the Indians, we nuist of course ac(|iiit them. But we have satisfactory proofs that Britisli agents are guilty of stirring up and assisting with arms and annnunitioii the different tribes of Indians against us." To sutli cuin- l)laints (jrrenville had given as emphatic a denial nf eoninlicitv on the part of the government as ever Hammond had iIdik-. and he authorized Jay to assure the President that ■■ no instnit- tions to stinutlate or promote hostilities by the Indians hi'.vc been sent to the king's officers in Canada." The negotiations for the giving up of the posts seem to ]\iivc gone on without impetliment, except as to the date foi' tlie liiial surrender. The victory of AVayne had, before the negotia tions closed, rendered the (piestion of a barrier territory nw^a- tory. The actions of Simcoe, aimed at the accomplishnient et such a reservation, had of late increased in daring. At tlir end of August, Washington had liad occasion to bring a rash deed of that British agent to the attei'.tion of Jay. During the sunnner. Colonel Williamsoji, who, as trustee ol Sir William Pulteney, managed a large landed projterty in New York, which liad l)een bought of Kobert Morris in April. 1702, on the l)orders of Lake Ontario, had begun a settlenifiit at Sodus Bay, forty miles west of Oswego. On Angnnt 1*!. Lieutenant Sheaffe, sent by Simcoe's orders, had a])peari(l in the harbor and demand«'d the abandonment of the place. Tin party, on retiring, is said to have carried off some tlour, and Ndti. — Tlie opposite map of tlie OenesHee country and the Niagara road i» (rotu Sainufl Ltwi* a " State of New York," in Carey's American Atlas, Philadelpliia, 1795. '4 att to 11 am- |)p()U»'iits. ill ot' (irt'iivillc roll! iiu'itiiu4 ilirccti'tl hiiii ut tliL! ii>u:il ;lish tn rlu'ir 1(1 loll^' lircll neiit. '• Hk' [vid, •• having course a('(|uit sli aj^'t'iits are I aininimititiii r<) sufh loin- ot' coiiiplifity lUtl hail tloiir. t •' no iiistnif- Iiulians luivc seoin to have :c for tlic liniil the nej^otia- ;(MTitory nn!j;a- inplisluiH'iit of Iviiio;. At tli»' l)ring a i"'^'' as trnstoe of |1 pro]>t'i'ty ill j.rris in Aiiril. Ii a sfttk'iiiHii n Au.sjnst 1''. ll a])l»<':ii''(l ill |u' |tla('<'- 1"' lome Hour, iunl I {romSaiiui'l U*" ■ 1) 4 ii \ iii u II 1 ' i i 1 1 1 1 . J^, I U ■ "2 ! >st- carried with them, and in case of further complieation> the whole barrier question might again arise. But these were <'on- TTF ;he negotla- [d iK^t have ml of Sim- 'uial liy the bt'voud the ;ousi(h'r<'(l it ts in Anu'V- negotiatiiiu other point, ;• a ehiim of eiitiou. .lay as llaiiiiltdii ly opeiunl the 1782, auil iu- B surely to ln' ed. .lay had r; Imt (ireii- 1 on or before 10-, if the mer- Lnsiness and we have seen \)nii>any had ainly not too Iwhich the fae- s \vert' ncees- were politieal Interval to uet ho- to an easier |ninia(lver>ion- it the interval luental conipli- mood to ;^ive hot boln^ dis- liov was iheiv >tion the pt>st> Iplications tli<' liese wen' <'""• WASniXr;TOX A\D THE TREATY All tinu'encies like any other easy to .•trise with treaties ne<;otiated in had faith, and hardly to be guarded against. The grants ahout Detroit, which the Hritish had made. .lay had agreel to recognize : but he demanded and gained from Grenville the ahsolute freedom for the Americans to ()ccui)y in the interim any lands not clearly within the survey of the post, and that, in effect, no such interference as that of Simeoe at Sodus Bay should again happen. There was also a provision for allowing residents in and about the posts to transfer their allegiance to the United States, if they desired to become, in this way, American citizens. This did not escape cavil, and it was pointed out that the Constitution provided for an " uniform rule of naturalization." The sections of the treaty, which have now been examined, related closely to western interests and the j)ossible application of tlu'in in the near f utin-e. They w^re but ])art of the consid- erations now brought under the attention of Washington, while he was determining his course of approval or disapjn'oval. lie soon became the centre of observation. From all sides remon- strances and petitions to affect his decision came in upon him. He told his friends that he had never before encountered so trying a crisis, nor one in which there was " more to be appre- litMiih'd.'' While his decision was jiending, Washington retired for an interval of calm to Mount Vernon. Here he was followed by the insatiable corresj)ondent. In a letter which he wrote at Monnt Vernon, he gives an index of his feelings, showing that while there was that in the treaty to quest on, intemperate jndg- iiUMits found too much to criticise. Meanwhile, in Boston, the merchants were finning with pas- sion at the thousht of such a treaty : but it was not long before !t heeanie knov.u that Gore and Cabot were making headway in jiroducing a revulsion of sentiment. It was reported that •'ay had been hung in effigy in Philadelphia. In Virginia there was almost a revolution, and there was talk of taking the treaty-making power from the Senate and giving it to the l"'o]ile. Leading Virginians were accountable for such incon- liarisui. Monroe could speak of the pusillanimity of Jay. Madison could assert that the *' dearest interests of our com- \s ^\^'U ■■ W i ( : "I ' ' 478 J A Y'S THE A TV ■f'i J ' merce and the most sacred dictates of national honor "" liad been sacrificed to an English connection. .lert'erson lulicvt'd that if the treaty Uecame a law, it was a British triiuni)li, ;iiitl it could be endured only by a people ini])rcssed l)y the i)eis(iii!il merits of the President. The lej>isl;iture of Kentucky ino. n«)unced it unconstitutional. In South Carolina, Hutletl"f iv- j)eiited the wild clamor. The fact was. that the way in which the treaty was i-oiiaiilcd had for the moment become the supreme test of party steadi- ness. The re})ublieans <;athered in oi)i)(>siti()n to it everv ele- ment of dislike for Knj;land, and every faction of adniiicrs of the French. The debtor class, looking- to relief in a war with England, naturally swung to their side, and they gave a vin- Icnce, cohesion, and stubbornness to their cause in the Smitli which it did not have in the North. Jefferson, in a letter to Ebeling of (Jiittingen, intended to affect that author's judgment in his intended book on the United States, sought to show that the republicans were not only the great mass of the people, and landholders and laborers to a man. but that their aggregated wealth surpassed tliat nf the federalists. Thomas Cooper, a new sojourner in the ('(luii- ti'y, wrote to a friend in England: "The con-duct of your court has certainly given strength to the anti-federal i)arty, aiiioiii,^ whom may now be ranked the majority of the |>e<)]de and ilic majority of the House of Kepresentatives," and he pntl)alily refiecti'd the belief of ardent republicans. flett'erson, as the leader <»f the op])onents of the treaty. iVaivd more than anything (dse the ability and influence of llaniilton. and urged Madison to enter the lists against him. Haiiiiltdii. as the recognized champion of the treaty, made, ])erhaps. tlie iiin^t effective of his a])peals for the treaty under the name of " Ca- millus.*" Wherever his argiunonts found lodgment, the bclict orew and was strengthened that the rejecting of the ti'eat\ meant drifting into a war with England and a dtday in -^it- tling the national account with Spain, since she was ]ilccl\. in tliat event, to seek an alliance with (ireat Britain. At a later day, Hamilton spoke less temperately, and not so ])ubliel\. wlieii he called the o[)])osition " the mere ebullition of ignorance, ot ])rejudicc, and of faction,"' and he might well have said so ot tlie aspersions of Callender, which, there was indeed nuich reason THl-: THE A TV A r PROVED. 479 to bi^Hevo, were pron.i)to(l, if not l)y the solicitation, at least Ity tlif eountrnaneo of Jefferson aiid Madison, huleeil, the eonntiy was ill a bellicose mood, and there was little prospect of calmer cimiicils. " The exasperation arove the treaty, and on the 18th, Washing- ton signed it. and secured the connter-signature of Kandolph, as secretary of state, before the latter was confronted witli the evidence of his dealings with the French envoy. The signing of the treaty and the ex])osure of Randolph were (diargcd by Jefferson, and have been assigned by hiter vindicators of Kan- (l(d|)h to an impulse of servility in the President's mind, as widl a-; to the strengthening of his ])rejudiccs by the intrigues of Pickering and AVolcott. who were making the most of ))alpa- hle indiscretions of Kandolph. On August 20. instructions \\\'vr sent to John Quincy Adams, then at the Hague, to i)ro- cecd to London and exchange ratifications, if the Ih-itish would aeeipt — as they did — the Senate's amendment, lie was to ■ f I i 4 Ml ll Iti 1 i I i \ ill ! iij !■) . ' i 480 JAY'S TREATY. ! i VI , r insist, also, on the withdrawal of the offensive provision order, hilt was not to push his ol))eetion8 to a degree that would en- danger the treaty. Everything went well, and on Oetolx r liM the ratiHcations were exchanged, and on February 2l>, IT'.til. proclamation was made of the treaty's binding force. Two days later, Washington notified Congress, and it u;is left to the House of Representatives to make the ncci'ssaiv appropriations of money to carry the treaty into effect. Tlio President was congratulating himself that there had hicn a great change in public sentiment in favor of the treaty duiiiii; the last two months, when suchlenly an oj)position on the i)art of a faction in the House, threatening to become a majority, dcvel- oped itself, not altogether unexpectedly, howe :er. It assumed the grouiul that, as coordinate with the President and Senate in making treaties, tlu-ough its constitutional power to witliliold appropriations at its pleasure, the House had a right to block a treaty by inaction when it disapproved its provisions. There was clearly an occasion in this seeming conflict in the constitu- tion for a precedent, and the House seemed for a while likely to establish (me, to have the force of a judicial decision, if that were possible. Jett'erson had before this given his supjjort to this recalcitrant party. To bring the matter to an issue, the House voted to re(]uest the President to transmit to it all the pa))ers relating to the treaty. The President, advising with his cabi- net, resolved to sustain his prerogative and refused the r('(|uest. While Washington had the vote of the House under considera- tion, Pickering, on March 25, as secretary of war, and thr()ui;li the military 'ommittee of the House, submitted a plan for jiio- viding a fore j to occupy the jmsts e(pial to that of the Britisli garrisons then holding them, in order that the Indians nii<;ht not take any advantage of the transftn*. The temjjer of the House seemed likely to '-puder any such provision unnecessary, and before long it was known that Dorchester had ceased his l)reparations for evacuating, jiending the uncertain fate of the treaty. The House accordingly became the centre of interest. ;uul here, at last, the question of peace or war was to be de('i(h'il. The friends of the treaty set seriously to work, and felt the luu- den which was upon them. They had a good deal to hel)) them in tlie obvious and close connection between Jay's treaty and that m on ovdtT, voulil vu- 1\K IT'.m;. 1(1 it \v:is nt't't'ssary ect. riif ,(1 bt-eii :i ity during' ;he part nf lity, cU'vcl- [ Senate in Nvithhtilil to block a ns. Tli'Tc 10 constitu- ile likely to if that were )ovt to this the House the ])aitei's th his eal ti- the retpiest. V eonsidera- lul through Ian for pi'»- the r.ritisli ians niij;i>t per of the nnecessary, ceased his fate of the jiterest. ami I be deeideil. lolt the luir- hell> theiu Ivty and tliat IISIIER AMES. 481 wlileh liiul been made with Spain for the opening of the Mis- sissipi)i, later to be considered. The two treaties nnist stand or fall together. This feeling began to show itstdf beyontl till' nionntains. (iallatin, whose connection with the whiskey ivliellion in western Pennsylvania had been e(|nivoeal, to say the least, now, as representing the regenerated western spirit, showed a moderation which did nuieh to restore contidence anil place him in the forefront of his party. The great trinnij)!!, however, was won by Fisher Ames, a Massachnsetts feileralist, in a speech before the Ilonse on April 28, whcvse effect is kept alive even to-day among the grandchildren and great-grand- children of those who Iieard it, and witnessed its effi'ct throngh- out the land. Kochefoncanlt-Lianconrt, who saw the eontem- jMtrary influence of the speech, said : " It is, by men of his i)arty from one end of the continent to the other, extolled as a piece of eloquence, which Demosthenes or Cicero would have found it (lifKcult to eijual,*' in taking a "dexterous advantage" of the attending circumstances. AVhen Ames took the floor, he felt with others that the oppo- nents of the treaty were sure to carry their measure by a major- ity of two or three certainly, and perhai)s by one of four or five. How he turned defeat into a victory, some extracts from his speech will show, bxit they will of course lack his im])assione(l voice, his finished elocution, and the tenderness which came of his ])alpable feebleness, nerving itself to a duty, at the risk of his life. It will be remembered that as an eastei'n man he had heen thought to share that indifference towards the west which was often charged upon New England. '• Will it be whispered that the treaty has made me a new champion for the protection of the frontiers ? It is known that my voice, as well as my vote, has been uniformly given for the ideas I have expressed. Protection is the right of the f rontiei's ; it is our dutv to give it. The westei'n inhabitants are not a silent and uncom]>laining sacrifice. The voice of humanity issues froni the shades of the wilderness. It exclaims that while one hand is held up to reject the treaty, the otlnn' gras])s a tomahawk. ... I retort especially to the convictions of the western gentlemen, whether, sui)posing no posts and no treaty, the settlers will remain in security. . . . Xo, sir, it will not b(> peace, but a sword ; it will be no better than a lure to draw i I Vm'* i j I ■ ■ W V j ! 1 51 , i ■ ■ 1 ■ '■ 1 ^ ]i' I ', r^'.i! ■ i ] ' ■.'.■•!' il 1 ■ • i 1 ■ i ; i 1 1 Li J2 48-2 JAY'S rilEATY. victims Nvitliiu tlu' reach of the tomahawk. ... If I cuuld liud words for my emotions, I would swell my voice to such a note of remonstrance, it shoulil rea(di every log house lievmid the mountains. . . , \\'ake from your false security. Von ;iic a father, — the Itlood of your sons shall fatten your cointidds. You are a mother, — the warwhooi) shall waken the sliip of the cradli!." "The refusal of the })osts, inevitahle if you reject the ticatv, is a measure too decisive in its nature to he neutral in its cdn. He(|uences. From great causes we are to look foi- great el"t't(t>. Tht^ price of western lands will fall. Settlers will not cliuosc their hahitations on a tield of battle. . . . \'ast ti-acts of wild hinds will almost cease to he ])roj)erty. This loss will fall u]miii a fund expressly devoted to sink the national d(d»t." " The treaty alarm is ])urely one a(hlrcssed to the iniaL;iiia- tion and j)rejudices. Objections thiit ])rocee(l upon eridr in fact or cah'ulation may be traced and exposed. Hut sticli as are drawn from the imagination, or addressed to it. cln(h' dcliiii- tion and return to domineer over the mind. . . . ( )n a (|iit'stii)ii of shame and honor, reason is sometimes useless and worse. I feel the decision in my ])ulse ; if it throws no light upon the brain, it kindles a fire at the heart." Ames spoke in a c(tnnnittee of the whole, and the body at once adjourned to avoid the immeiliate effect of the speech. which seemed to be overwlndming, though the cool ndicaisal (if some of its warmer passages fails of nuudi effect now. Later. after the feelings w^re (piieted, the committee were ;( tie, Imt the vote of the chairman sent it to the House, where, on A [nil 30. the House gave the majority that Ames had despaiivd i>i ac(piiring in a vote of 51 to 41>. The contest was ovei'. and early in May the appropriation bill became a law. mil ]':^\ ill V. On May 10, 1T0(», ^VrcIIenry, the secretary of war. sent Captain Lewis to make arrangements with Dorchester for the transfer of the ])osts, and on May 27 "Wilkinson, now eeni- manding at Fort (Jreeneville, asked of the commander at I'e- troit the day when the American forces could enter that tnun. At the end of May, orders were issued to the British cnni- mandants to evacuate the posts : but Lewis, now in (^nehec. representing that the American troops were not yet ready toi THE POSTS KVACCAl'i:/). 483 tilt' occupation. Porclicstcr ii'j'rced to wait their coiniuy, and on June I and 2 JHsucd orders accord inj;l_v. A tt'W weeks later (.Iidy }>)i that <;ovcrnor, wh(» liad lieeii so Ion;;- an actor in American history, endiarked for Kni;hin(l. and was succt-eded tliicc (hiys later by Lieiitenant-( ieiieral Kuhert I'rescolt. The liritisli had ah-eady rednced their <;arrisons to a j^iiard. On finlyll, I7i«l, Fort Miami was hanth'd over to ('oh)ncl Ilaintraniciv. On the same (hiy, Captain Moses I'ortcr entei-ed Ditroit, and found it ali'cady evacuated. Some one liad (illcd till' well at the fort with stones, and had done (»ther damage. Simon (»irtv is known to hav«( stayed behind, aftci- the British had crossed the river, and just in time to avoid the Ameri«'ans lie rushed his horso into tin; stream, and swam to the other side. Porter was so poorly supplied that, to maintain himself till succored, he was obliged to borrow provisions from the Ilritish beyond the river. Oswego was left on the I'jth. The American troojys under Captain danu's Brutf, bound for Xiaj^ai-a, were delayed on the way, and when that fort was turned over, on Auyust 11, nearly all the British garrison liad left. It was not till October that Major Burbeck with a party, sent from Detroit, reached Macki- nac, where a British ofKcer and twenty men pulh'd down tlie last English tlag on American territory, U'ayne, in .lune, had been ordered to supeivise the several surrenders. In Xo- vciuber, when all was done, and he could congratulate himself on the natural setpiel of the Fallen Timbers, he left Detroit for I'rescprisle. When he reached there, he was ju-ostrate with an a^niiizing attatdv of gout, and on Decond»er If) he died at that post : and James Wilkinson — of all men — succeeded to his coMunanding station. The deteruiination of the I 'ritisli government to surrender the posts had struck deeply into the heart of Simcoe. We learn of his " displeasure," of his vindictive plotting with the Indians, and of his tud)ri(lled passion, "which overleajx'd all bounds of prudence and decency,"" in the talks which Kochefoucault- liiaiicourt re])orts having had with the governor, not long after, when that traveler visited Canada. lie disclosed to that visitor his Jiopes of regaining some of the i)restige which Jay's treaty had taken from Canada by develoi)ing a }irofital)le corn trade, ami by opening a route for the fur traders from Ontario to im ,'■; I; y ' «: ■ ' ill I I'! I . > !1 1 1! j !. fit li: 484 ./AYS TllEATY LiiUc Iliirnii, iivoidiiii;- that l»y LaUf Kri«', ami (livi'rtiii;^ ti;i,l,. tiom tin; I'liitt'd Stut«'H. 1I»' was coiitidciit that the (itiii-.tr (\nmty must |»t»iir i>iit its pioihiec to thi- sea Ity way of tlif >t. Lawrciiff. lie IcoUt'd forwanl to an int'vituldc war witli tin- Aint>ri(;ans, aiul di-eanu'tl of :i naval station at Chathiim mi ilir Thames. Koi'tiinatt'ly. his heated tenner was fotdctl l»y n ^\■^s\l <»f Dorcht'sttM-'s sohnvr sensi". CllAPTKK XXII. WAYXE8 TKEATY AND THK NKW XOKTIIWKST. 175»4-17'.t7. ^l^ I '' \\"k lu'ed now to look back. It set'iiu'd lor a \vlii!t' in the iiiitmnn of 17!>4 as if Wayiu' and his army nii^Iit liavt' to takt- part in the nnwclronu' task of ([nellinj;; civil coninnttion in wt'.st- tiii Pennsylvania. Had he liccn called to it, his work of |>aci- tication hcyond the Ohio ini«;ht have been scrionsly i-etarded. The fiindin<; i)olicv of Hamilton had necessitated leirisl.ition to support it, and, in 17!ti. a tax had been inijmsed on whiskey. (Vrtain concessions (]ni«'ted the opposition to snch a tax. which iiplieared in Virj^inia and Noi-th Carolina, bnt the popnlation lit" Pennsylvania beyonil the monntains, ccnti-inj;' aliont Pitts- liiirn'. which had noM begnn rapidly to <^row, were not t«) be >atistied by anythinj; short of an absolute exemption. Their >iiiltlus jifraiii, as (iallatin set forth for them in a manifesto, in view (»f their remote situation, only became transjxtrtable at a jMotit when it ha I passed the still : and a tax whicdi was l;iid on tlii'Ui, and did n(»t burden equally the seaboard, was an unjust line. These views, as Fisher Ames sailie('iinen of what we are to expect from European emigrants." ) \ ^1 ■ < ,} ; ..j M ' t ' .i |: :i ': !. ' >■ : *f; U£^ Iff ■ |iV ■ : I- 486 WAYNE'S TREATY AND THE NEW NORTHWEST. AVe luive not yet got over such feelings. The leaders, iu^ti- gateil l)y the rancorous language which they heard, and i)L'rli;ii);s somewhat alarmed at the determined support which the i;MV- ernment was receiving on the seaboard, sent agents to Ivun. tucky to secure supi)ort. It was said that their emissaries were dispatched to Canada for like purposes, and spies aniung tliciii reported that there were Englishnnni among their leaders. Tlicv were known to rob the mails in order to secure intorinatiou. They might reasonably expect that dispatches would be soiit to Wayne touching their actions, and warning him of possihilities. In his cabinet Washington first experienced the discpiii'tiidc of liandolph and his lack of trust, when that member of it urged him to inactivity. Hamilton, on the contrary, counseled ])roin])t and uncompromising force, During it all, (iovernor Mifflin was timid. In the sunnner of 1794, while the government was anxiously waiting news from Wayne and Jay, disturbing rcjiorts were continually coming from over the mountains. At inter- vals of seven weeks (August 7 and September 25), AVashington issued two proclamations, warning the rioters of the conse- quences of their folly. Meanwhile he was collecting nulitia from Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In October, the President himself joined the camj) at Carlisle. and arrangements were made for entering the insurgent conn- try through the mountain passes. General Collot, who a little later went over the ground, with his French feelings in sym- pathy with any disturbance that could make America turn to Frar.ce, criticised the indecision of tlie insurgent chiefs, in that they neglected the opportunity of blocking the progress of tlie federal army by preoccupation of the defiles. But time had given a chance for passions to cool, and Washington, at the head of the approaching troops, disturbed the eipianiinity of tlie defiant hordes, and they sent a deputation to mak<' terms. The President was struck with their subdued bearing, and the entl came. Mtn-gan was left for the winter with a body of two thousand five hundred men to be ready for any revival of the rebellious spirit, and Washington returned to his official duties to be prepared for other trials in the spring, when Jay's treaty darkened the atmosphere once more. It is "' curious commentary on the heated politics of the time, when we find Fauchet believing, with how much of Kandolph's ;:r>»v viT A TRUCE. 487 insuvp;eiit cnui- l)U<)t, Nvlio a little Ifeelings in sym- L\iuovica turn to [ut chiefs, in tliat th a body oi two au'u Jay's treaty llitics of the time, countenance we may never know, that the government had instigated the revolt ij divert the attacks which were making ou it, and when Washington himself saw in the rebellion " the first formidable fruit of the democratic societies, brought forth too })vev»aturely for their own views, which may contribute to the overthrow of them." Whatever the ease, the timely sup- pression of the trouble left AVayne at Greuneville at liberty to devote himself to the pacification which li, was his mission to accomplish. The opening of 1795 showed a disposition on the part of an increasing number of the northwest Indians to sue r jr peace ; but in Philadelphia the hope of a permanent se^^^iement was not so sanguine. Pickering felt, with many others, that the disturbance in western Pennsylvania was rather quieted than .juelled, and that there was no certainty as yet in the outcome of Jay's mission. Its failure meant war at no distant day. So he urged the maintenance of strong advanced posts in the In- dian country, to be ready for any disastrous turn of affairs. Later news from Wayne was mor'i assuring. By February 11, he had come to a preliminary agreeiiient with the Shawnees, Dehiwares, and Miamis, and on the 22d he issued a proclama- tion announcing a cessation of hostilities. Wayne, buoyed by his satisfaction, neglected a duty in not communicating the fact of such a proclamation to St. Clair, who was still the civil gov- ernor of the northwest. That otfieial only heard of it near the end of April, in a letter 'from Pickering, and he properly made complaint to the President. Although there was a truce, there was still uncertainty, and further })acification was jeopardized by the incursions which some Kentuckians made across the river, throwing the Indians into a suspicious frame of mind. The less sanguine doubted if more than half the great body of the Indians were weaned from war, especially if they I'ould l)e made to feel by the Eng- lish agents that they would be helped in further resistance. The English, however, were themselves luieasy. and the French ill Detroit were exciting the ai)prehensions of Sinicoe, and were known to be urging the Indians to peace. Already their trad- ers wi^re sending supplies to Wayne, and rumors of the comi)le- tion of a treaty in London, with the surrender of the posts I i 1 ii 1 1 ! i i i 1 J! /' ..4 II n J.' :■• . ■■!- ; 1 jii 488 irjl'.VZi'i' TL'EATY AM) THE XEW XOllTinVKST. assured, were raising in French circles an expectation of luinv accessions to their numbers from France itself. In March Simcoe had written to Portland that Wayne threatened to iilnce a garrison in Sandusky. This again added to Simcoes alarm as hazardhig British su])remacy on the lakes. Braut and McKee were actively at work to counteract French inHiu-nce with the Indians ; and Brant was later to feel that nothing could prevent Wayne concluding a peace. V>\ June. Waviie felt that the only impediment to a treaty was the continued in- cursions of the lawless Kentuckians, and aj)pealed to St. Clair to prevent them. Parties of red men had now begun to assem- ble round his camp, and he gave them his first talk on the IGth. By the middle of July, the concourse was large enough for formal proceedings. On the 20th, he read to them tin- treaty of Fort Ilarnuir, and found that some of the remoter tribes had never heard of it. Little Turtle made a declaration bir the ^liamis about the territory which they claimed. He said that. beginning at Detroit, their boiuidary line stretched to the head of the Scioto, followed down that river and the Ohio to tlie Wabash, and pursuing this last stream, extended to the Chi- cago portage. — an area embracing the westerly half <>f Ohio, nearly all of Indiana, and the lower Michigan ])eiiinsuhi. Wayne, in reply, thought that other tribes than the Mianiis had rights in this territory, and said that the United States were prepared to ])ay for such part of it as should be surren- dered by the treaty. We may now follow the daily ])r()gres.s of the negotiation : — Jiih/ 23. At the end of the day Wayne gave them sonic liquor, but warned them '' to keep their heads clear to attend to vhat I shall say to-morrow." July 24. Wayne told them that the " fifteen fires,"' as tliev called the Union of States, had j)aid twice for land, oww at Fort ^Iclntosh ten years ago, and again at Fort Ilarmar six years since. He also told them that he asked for certain reservations for posts farther west than the main cession. He read Jay s treaty to them, showing how the Americans were soon tlace H)e's alarm Brant ami h iuHiuMu'i' lat nutlunj; lue. Wayne onthuu'd in- to St. Clair un to assi'in- ou the l*>ti>. I'uoun'h ior >ni the tri'Uty ,er tribos lunl atiou tor the He saicl tliat. .(1 to the head ! Ohio to the a tt> the Chi- half of Ohio, •an peninsula, n the Miiuiiis Jniteil States (1 be surreu- laily progress ;e them some av to attend to fires," as they land, unee iit unnar six years in reservations He read .luy"s V soon to taUe iuis;-ht rest to- because \\v would let them THE TREATY MADE. 489 Tulij 27. Wa}ne read his propo.sed treaty and eniunerated the remote reservations which he wanted, merely '' to connect the settlements and the i)eople of the Unitetl States " by roads which the Americans could travel. He described these distant j)(ists as not intended to annoy the Indians, but simply to fur- nish convenient trading places ; and he explained that they is. C V / »<» c OTior-eSS '8 LcnCdi$ ^*»6 tTrvI ¥/*" ?t^f. i''l"m'l Wliittli'sey's plan of tlie divisionary prants in Oliln. from tlip Wiflern Reseni' Jfis- iivl Surifly's Tnicl, Xu. Ill (,1SS4).] »ero all in the main such areas as the Indians had conveyed to the Fi-ench, who in turn, in 1703, had surrendered them to the English, and by the English they were, in 1782, confirmed to the United States. •/;//// 28. There were numerous Indian comments upon ^\ ayne's propositions. •/"/// 2!\ The Sandusky Indians presented a written memo- h\ ;!i i 400 WAYNE'S TREATY AND THE NEW NORTJIWEST. ! i \l , r fi rial, asking that what was conceded to the Indians \n'vz\\X be granted in severalty to the different tribes. This was followed by some uneasy harangues on the part oi tlie Indians in (liscnii- tent at Wayne's demand for the remote reservations. Juhj 30. Wayne declined the proposition of the Saiulnskv tribe, and then addressed himself particularly to the Miiiuiis, who alone had objected to his main line, as interfering with their hunting-grounds. Wayne firmly stood by his expressed demand, and told them they could hunt where they pleased, " as long as they demeaned themselves peaceably." Aftci- some further exidanations, he read the treaty again, and ])ut the question: "Do you approve these articles?" All answered one by one, " Yes," — Ottawas. Pottawattamies, Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Miamis, Chippewas, Kickapoos, Weas, and the Eel River tribe. The conference now broke up " to eat, drink, and rejoice.' antl to reassemble when the necessary copies of the treaty were engrossed. On August 3, the tribes again assembled. Wayne once more read his commission, giving him power to treat with them, and went over the treaty iov the last time. He then handed a jiarcli- ment copy to the Wyandots, to be kept for the wliole, and a paper copy to each tribe. The next day the presents Avere dis- tributed, — #20,000 worth of goods, with a promise of an annu- ity of '19,500. As a last word he told them they were children. and no longer brothers. The line which had been agreed u])on, and whicli Ludlow later marked, gave the whites some 25,000 square miles of ter- ritory east and south of it, and between it and the Ohio, It began at a point on the latter river opposite the month of tlie Kentucky, and ran northerly, so as to include a long core at the southeast corner of Indiana, to Fort Recovery. Ih'ie it turned east and was extended to the upper Muskingum, whence it followed the portage and the Cayahoga to Lake Erie. Tlie reservations west of this line were sixteen in number, and meas- ured each a few miles square. Those which were wrung from tlie Indians with most difficulty were that at Fort Wayne and that at the jjortage of the Maumee and Wabash near by. These parcels of land were the beginning of cessions whieli Iialf a century later drove the Miamis beyond the Mississipju. A iwiisr. luiiiht l)t' IS tuUowt'd s in (lisc'on- i Saiuhisky he Mi;u\iis, rferini;' with is expressed [ley |)lease(l, After some and put till' ^11 answered , Wyiuulots, upoos, W eas, and rejoice." le treaty were yne onco move ith tlieni. and mdt'd a pareh- U. wliolo, and a ents were dis- of an amiu- were children. which Ludlow 8 miles of ter- the Oliio. It mouth of tlu' a lon<; !i«»i''' '^^ .■ery. ' H^'^'e '^ wlu'ni'f 1 iiieas- ingum ke Eric, ^iber. an* y.Q wi'UU!. from t Wavue aii>i hv. Til' liear w Llississiiipi- hich luiH THE IXDIAX WAR AT AX EXD. 491 leservation at the mouth of the Chicago Kiver was six miles s(piare, *' where a fort formerly stood." jirobahly a trading-post of the French, and where now stands the eity of Chieago, which was begun the next year by a St. Domingo negro, Jean ]?ap- tiste Pont an Sable, who built a hut on the spot. The grant which Virginia had made to (Jeorge Kogers Clark, ojijuisite Louisville, was also reserved. Some of these detached cessions were at later dates included in larger grants, made by other treaties. The recognition by the United States of the Indian property in the st)il. even though practically salable to the States under something like compulsion, was ])erhaps some re- loiupense to the tribes for the English transfer to the Americans of the right of preemption, by the treaty of 1783, without the toucurrenee of the original owners ; but the Indians on their part were now re(piired to recognize this right as lodged in the Aun'rieans only. A distribution of commemorative 'licdals was made on Au- ,'iist 8, and on August 10, when the last conference was held, it was found there were 1.130 Indians present. A band of Clierokees settled on the upper waters of the Scioto had kept aloof. When, however, Wayne sent them a sunnnons, they obeyed it, and promised to move back to their own country', «(iutli of the Ohio. Tidings of these events were dis])atched to St. Clair, and at I iiu'innati, (m August "25, 1795, he made proclamation that the Indian war was over. The only drawback to Wayne's content was the fear that the turmoil in the House of Kepresentatives over the treaty of Jay iiiiiilit end in its practical rejection, and on Sejitember 15 he «iote to Pickering that if the posts were not re})ossessed. as the London treaty ])rovided. it '■ would have a ]iowerful effect ujxm ill' Indian mind." (^f4the tn-aty which Wayne had effected, \\asliington said that"" the adjustment of the terms and the sitistactitm of the Indians were deemed an object no less of the liiilicy than of the liberality of the United States," — a i>roposi- Ji'iii. it must be observed, that McKee severely cpiestioned, when III' insisted that Wayne had made ])rovisions in articles that «t'ie not communicated to the Indians. The source of this NiiTF.. — The map on the followinjf pases is •' A Map of the Xortliwestern Territory." in .led- •liah Miiore's The Aiiiericnti ('niiersnt fifnpraphi/, p. ru^. Bostiin, .Iniie. ITilC), "The ilntteil NU»rc« lire the reservations made by the Indians iu 179o, and ceded to the United States." mi y ^ . •' l^i , »;(■ i %-n I I I It J w '»'l n • I'll I »:> . iff KfS'- rA B '>^». J ^ ^^i iJ A^ \r *7 r SI |5: i 'ti if 'J 4 ' 1 1 i t : 1 i WilLfli t^i \ ] ll}' Hi ,.; m tif 494 WAYXE'S TREATY AM) THE NEW NOUTinVKisT. iillt'gation (liiiiinislies its (.'luinees oi trutli. 'riu'i'e was one outcome of tlie ti'ciity, in wliich some reckless Americans joined, not less (lisci'e(litiil)le than the action charged by MeKee, could this charge have heen ])roved. Certain Micliigan trihes, known to be aggrii'ved at the result, were cajoled by some Canadian merchants to make for u sui)posal)le half a million (U)llars the transfer of some twenty million acies in the lower Michigan i)eninsida. It was the ])art of tiie American sharers in the plot, led by one Kobert Kandall of Philadelphia, to obtain Congressional saiu;tion by bribing mend)ers with the ])romise of a due })ro})or- tion in the jd under. Kandall's effrontery and the testimony of William Smith of South Carolina, who had been a]>])roached late in 1705, led to his arrest, and for his attempted bribery the speaker rei)rimanded him, and the i)roject droj>i)ed. In December, 1795, Washington, on meet- ing Congress, advised them of the treaty as securing " a durable trantpiillity." It had indeed put an end to forty years of warfare; in the valley of the Ohio, in which it had been reckoned that 5,000 whites had bee" either killed or ca])tured. For three years past, if Hamilton's figures can be taken, these wars had cost a million a year. What had been cliarged specifically to the Indian de])artment foi- five years had va- ried annually from #13,000 to #27,000. At the conclusion of AVayne's treaty, the United States had bound itself to pay to the Six Nations, Chickasaws, Cherokees, Creeks, and tlie northwestern tribes, an aggregate yearly sum of #23.520, which attending charges would rnisc to #30,000. These ex])enses were irritating to those who had not experienced the evils of the frontier life ; but they bore a small r ■!■ ' Mr nTvTTJr ii\ jv:wM ]vi:sT. NORTH WEST TERHITUl: Y. 40.") ^'^'^-^JA |r^ rPt?» '.t- jV:ifM \ mm TORY l.^V./ri* biild raisi' to l)oir :i siiKill jriii^ map is from Jost-iih Scott's L'liiliil Siiilis dnzcttecr, Philadelphia, IT'.C).] proportion to the #7,000,000, wliii'li \v;ts now tlic animal expense "f luaintaininji; the federal government. It was said that eaeli .>"TK. — The map on tlio following papos Is from Riifus I'utiiam's map of Ohio, and sh(j«s tlip ^^istiru Keserve and the reservations under Wayne's treaty. li V { ■■ \ 'f II . ' , ' I «f H hii in',*. Ui^ ^^ TTiiiiii ~ u « » i' \ \ ' ■ n i ;H »:■ 11' 498 ir.iiA7i'.s ■nH'iATY AND Till.: m:w sunriiw i:st. citizen piiid towiii'ds this j;iv:iti'r sum, y>r;' miiihu lnit our tit'il (tf tilt! liunU'ii iiiiposfd nil cvt'i'y Kuro|)t';iii siil)jt't't. It was not long IjuIoil- it lifcaiiic a[)|»iin'nt that tht- tiamniil- lity which Washington h)okf(l for was having its cft'cct. Tin. luign of civil content may have been irUsomc to a few, who. as one of them told Collot, sought the more distant \Vest in oiilir to escape *' the plague of justice and law:" hut it gave allure- nu'ut to others, and the immigration into the valley so increased tiiat, duiing 17D')-I>t), the |)opulation of the northwest was thought to have risen to ahout linOOO. The first settlement of any extent which the voyager ilnwu the Ohio found on the north l)anlv was still that at Marietta. fJedediah Morse, the preacher at Charlestown, Massachusetts, who at this time was Hnding sales foi* repeated editions of liis (i(r.vttvvi\ speaks of the town's s])acious streets, rimiiiui; at right angles, and itn thousand house-lots, each 100 liy 11(1 feet. Collot speaks of the surrouiuling landscape as "the most aj^rce- able imaginahle," with its stately trees, the tulijj-trce and tlic magnolia and the clind)ing honeysuckle. lie says the popiila tion consists of five or six Inuidred New Kngland families and a few French who had straggled fiom CJallipolis. The same observer, going thence to this last-named '' wretched abode " of his cimntrynu'n, found 140 peoi)le there, the " wreelc of the Scioto Con-pany." Congress, in some atone, 'eiit of others' wrong-doing, '"ul niade them a grant of .seven acres to each fannly : but the ic ' "as so bad and unhealthy that Collnt says it did not support tUi. To make further amends, in 1700 Congress added 250 acres more to each family, and located the grants near the Little Scioto. In the country bordering on the Miami River, Cincinnati liad grown to have 300 famiilts, and, beside its log cabins, there were some fifteen frame })ousos, (Vdlot thought the futurt! of New- port, the handet across tie river, was better assured than tliat of (Miu'innati. Symr.u-s had c(dlectcd some families at the \orth PuMid, and i)arties had gone up the (h'eat Miami tilty miles, and settled Daytcm. In all his disquietudes, St. C'laii' had found nothing so perplexing as the issuing by the hind companies of divers warrants covering the same territoiv. and he charged the doings principally ui)ou the irregularities et Syrames and Putnam, as managers of their speculative asso( ia- nvicsT. t one Hull f triiu"|nil- rtVct. Til.' I'W, \sli". as st in uidtr .-avt' alliui'- SO ilUTt'IlScil .•thwo^l \va> ivati't'i' ilnwn at Marietta, assat'liiist'tts, itious tit lii^ , nmiiiny; at l.y *.»») I'trt. i most a;iVL'e- trce aiitl tlie ( thf iHtpiila- t'luniru''^ and led " wirti'lu'd the " Nvit'ilv itOUO. U'Ut (tt seven aevos to ly that Collot anuMitls, in , and lofati'il iiu'innati luul US. tluTi! wen" itnrc .)f ^'t■w• (.,1 tlian tiiiit inilii's at tlu' t ^lianii tifty ch'S, St. <."!!"'• by tlu' lan 500 If .1 }'iVii'i' TREATY AND THE NEW NORTHWEST. :■. '''■\i lit ;r l' I ;■ r- tion. It WHS a further disturbance of his sense of justi(!e that, liaving" been the occasion of these disputes, '^ these gentlcniLu are allowed to sit in judjj^uient upon them " in their courts. Upon the quieting of the country by the treaty of Gri'ene- ville, the Scotch-Irish from the Pennsylvania counties aloui;- the New York line and from the west ranges had come into tlic valley in large numbers. A colony of Swiss settled at the iiioutli of the Great Scioto. Associates from Kentucky and \'ii^iiiia had gone farther up that river. One Farley, a Presbyterian minister from Bourbon County in Kentucky, had gone in ITOo up the stream with a party, and had a brush with some wuikUt- ing Shawnees and Senecas, whom Wayne had not succeeilcd in drawing to Greeneville. Farley, finding the country to liis liking, returned in 1796, and on April 1 built the first cahin at Chillicothe. Wayne's treaty line had thrown all east of the Cayahoga into the hands of the whites for settlement. This opened the east- erly jiart of that northern section of the State of Ohio claimod by Connecticut, and knowii as the Western Keserve. West of the Cayahoga line, Connecticut, as early as November, 1792, had set aside a large tract, known as the Firelands, to be devoted in due time to recompense the 1,870 claimants who had suf- fered from the British i-aids in Connecticut during the Kevohi- tion. Wayne's treaty, by tli-owing this tract into the Indian reservation, had put off the occupation of it. A year later, Connecticut tried to sell the remaining ])arts of tliis property, but purchasers were not found till after Wayne's treaty had been made, when, in September, 1795, a number of Connecticut people, associating themselves, but without l('i;al incorporation, as the Connecticut Land Company, b(; ight the entire area, paying for it by a return mortgage for 'fl, 200. 000. — a sum the basis of the school fund in that State tt)-ihty. The principal agent in the enterprise was Oliver Phel})s, who eight years before had been engaged with Gorham in a siniihir speculation in Genesee lands, — selling theni to Kobert Morris in 1790, and Morris represented #108,000 of this new invest- ment. Six townships five miles s(]uare were at once sold to jiay the cost of surveying, v/hich was begun the same year. 1 Ids plotting of townships was a departure from the i)lan of six iiiih's scpuire, which had already been established in the contiguous 1^^ RTIIWEST. )f justice that, ese geutltMiK'u 311' courts, aty of Gni'iie- nties alonj; tliu come into tlie il at tlu' mouth y aiul VirL;iniii a Presbyterian 1 jrone in ITU") h some wiuuh'r- iiot sucL'L't'dt'd 2 country to his the first cahiii e Cayahoga into ipened the east- of Ohio chiimetl ^erve. AVest nf [ovember, 1792, (Is, to be clevnttil ts who had suf- inff the Kevohi- into the bulian luaining parts of after Wayne's db, a number of .it without h'^al •any, bcight the for .*1,200.(>00. lat State to-(hi.v. iver Phelps, who am in a simihiv Kobert Morris this new invest- once sold to pay ime year. '1 his phin of six niiU'S 1 the contiguous •a " i. u — c« U 3 1- 5 t- 3D a. H I T. z ''^ 3 ~" 3 - r > — 5 5 s a; = w .i i: J 1 ^J« ^ * L- " ^ ^ 1 C 2 ac - - 4 j:; ^ J i ! 5 » 1 ■ 1 i • i ' 1 ' ! 1 ' 1 5^ "Is I ! H.'il, 111 ' ■ r I"' i I', i if! Cl 502 WAYXE'S TREATY AM> THE XEW NORTIIWEST. Seven Ranges, and wliieh became the rule. The proprietoiN luf stated in some aecounts to have been 35, and in others 4.S in nuud>ev, representing in the aggregate 400 shares at #3,000 cinli. Kach I'leniher of the comjjany drew iiis ])roportion hy lot imd held in severalty. The survey, when eoniplcted, showed less than 3,000,000 aeres, when earlier, depending on an iniju rtVct knowledge of the shore line of the lake, they had suj)posed tlicv were bargaining for a third mon;, so that what they reckonud as costing 30 cents an acre was really purchased at 40 cents. The (piestion of jurisdiction was still n abeyance. It was for a while uncertain if the company could not in due time make their territory a State of the Union. Coiigress took the luatttr under consideration in January, 171)0, but sus])ended action to 171*8, the region in tlie mean while being included by St. Clair in the counties laid out to the south of it. Movements now j)roeeeded whicli were ended in 1800 by the United States giving a title of the territory to Connecticut, reserving the juris- diction, and that State transferred the title to the company. A party of fifty ])ioneers, re})resenting the company, left Connecticut in ^lay, 171K3. Their leader was !Moses Cleave- land, a militia general of good repute, who was black ('noiii;li in visage and sturdy enough in figure to seem of a ditit't'ii'iit stock from his Yankee followers. He led them by way of Fort Stanwix and A\'ood Creek to Lake Ontario, and avoided the fort at Oswego, still held by the British. Keaching I5iitVali). the party bargained with Brant and Kt'd Jacket for the Indian title to the land beyond for ■'12.500 in merchandise. On .Inly 4, they were at Connenut Creek, which, in recognition of the d;'.y, they named Port Independence, and made merry '• with several ])ails of grog." From this })oint they sent out surv< yors to determine the 41" of latitude, their southern line, and to establisli the meridian which was the western b(mnd of Peiui- sylvania, from which their township ranges were to coniit. Next, passing on by the lake, the ])arty ke})t on the lookout tor the mouth of the Cayahoga, on the eastern side of whicli. ami within Wayne's treaty limits, they were intending to found a town. One day they discovered a sharp opening into the land. with a sand-bar and s])reading water beyond. They passed tlie obstruction and, rowing along some marshes. f«,und a sj)ot where the Indians had evidently been accustomed to beach thoir canoes, nt survt vors THE OHIO ROUTE. VM 503 [This is a Kpctioii oi ;i '• Xtw am] Correct Map iif tlit' rioviiiccs of New York, Nrw Kiifflaiid aii.l Caiiaila," in The Atin'ricitii lin^rttii'i-. \ol. ii.. I.oniloii, ITi'.?. It hIiows the route from tliedliio tlir(iii(;li CayalioRa [Canaliovue ] to SainliisUy. tlieiice iiy water to l>etroit [ Kort roiitdiartraiii]. Tlie I'urveJ ilotted line, crossiin; Lake Krie, i« tlip western tioniiclarv of I'ennsylvania. as elainn'il aiiJ nmniug pariiilel to tl:e oonrse of the '.>elawnre, it8 eastern hoinuhiry.] Iteut'atli a siiiidbank t'Ij;lit fcot liiiili. Asccndinu; this declivity, they foiuu! a ].laiu. luorc or less wooded, stretchiiio- away inland forfuc. ,(* three miles, to what had been, in geolonie times, the II >i \ . ' I i i'v/ .if ii .1 i> ft i W"' '^ K I 1 J '' 'la > ■ m i .^'' i'-i;- 504 WAYXE'S TREATY AND THE NEW NUllTIIWEST. slielving edge of the lake. There had been in the n('ii;hli()v. hood at some earlier (hiy a few temporary huts, ereeted liy whitf travelers, for the spot had formed one of the stations in tin- route between Pittsburg and Detroit. It was now, as was rofk- oiiL'd, the twelfth township, counting from the IVnnsylviiiiia line, and in the seventh range above the 41°, — the site ot the future C^leveland. Here, about the 1st of October, ITlUl. the new settlement took shape under the surveyor's stakes, witli homestead lots on the lake, ten-aere lots fartlier back, and farms of a hundred acres still more distant, — the latter on the line in part of what is now the world-famous Kuelid Avenue. The town grew slowly, for the saiul-bh)eked river had proved mala- rious, and we may mark the stages of future development in the abandonment, in 1805, of tlie other bank of tlie river by tlio Indians, anil the opening of the Ohio Canal in 1827. There is ii /" '^ ubt that the delay in determining tlu; ((iics- tion of jurisilii. had much to do with discouraging scttlr- ment. While tiiu matter was still pending, Winthro]* Sar- gent, who su})po.sed that St. Clair was absent, and that iie was acting-governor, had, in August, 1796, set nj) AVayne County, to include that portion of the Keserve west of the Cayalie-ja. togetlier with the ]Michigan peninsula, but the right to fedeial supervision was denied. AgJiin, in July, 1797, St. Clair liiiii- s(df included the eastern section in JefiPerson County, with similar j)r()tests fnmi the occupants to such an assumption of territorial jurisdiction. The title of the United States was assured, as we have seen, in 1800. The report which Ilan.ilton had made on July 20, 1T'Jv wliitc Ions in the IS was I'ock- ennsylvania e site itt the T, IT'.t*!. the stakes, with k, and tanus V on tlie line veiine. 1 lie n'ovod niahi- pnu'nt in tlie vivei" l)y the J. in now surveyed. The i)reparini5 of these western hinds for sale and settle- ment had kej)t alive the in-ojeet of connecting the coast with the Ohio valley, which, under Washington's influence, had taken their earlier shajjc in the years following the close of tJie Ivevo- lutionary AVar. Kufns King wrote to (jrouverncnr ^I >nis. in September, 1792 : " You hear of companies formed and foimin" in all the States for the imijrovement of our inland navioalicm. and thus the most distant lands will become almost as vahuiLh- as those nearest to our markets." Ilamiltcm said, in IT'.t"). that "to maintain connection between the Atlantic and the western country is the knotty i)oint in our affairs, as well as a ])iiniaiv object of our policy." For some years, a project of connecting the Hudson and tlie lakes had been the subject of discussion, and had elicited suiidi v l)amphlets. In March, 1792, a canal company had been ineor- jxn-ated with this in view. The retention of the posts Ikk' iejit the project in abeyance, and when Cleavcland, in 17!t."), liad taken the route by Fort Stanwix to reach Ontario, he had fol- lowed what ])romised, it was then thought, to be the course (if such a connection. The route this way was from New ^Ork hy boat to Albany, by road to Schenectady, by boat to Ttica and Oswego (except the jwrtage at Fort Stanwix) : then tluecdays on Lake Ontario, a portage at Niagara, two days on Lake Lrio to Presqu'Isle, portage to Le Boeuf, and the boat to rittsliur<;'. The distance thus computed was eight hundred and niucty-om' miles, and more than twenty-two days were taken ; while land cai'riage from Philadelphia, three hundred miles, took eighteen or twenty days ; but a hnndredweight of mercdiandisc could l)e carried a little (dieaper from New York. The Hudson nnitt'. however, had the disadvantage of being somewhat obstriictetl from July to October, when the stream j were low. Nearly all the travel so far, however, had been by tlu' over- moimtain route from Philadelphia and Baltimore. It took forty days, sometimes increased to sixty days, for a wagon to go from either of these places to Pittsburg and return. Pitts- burg was now a town of about one hundred and fifty lunisos. brick and wood, and after Wayne's treaty had opened the way '■f it ' ' ''! \l' < i ■ It 1l?^ 'liU.ill lludsou route. HECKE WELDER'S MAP. aOl --^N [Tlie almve map is from a MS. map by Hcckewpldt'r (ITW), reprndurpil in tlip Wf^lern Rexervf. Uisturiidl Sorii'ly's Truvt, Sn. lit (ls^4). It hliDws the region iiortli of I'lttsourg ami tlie paths.] to an increased ])()pnlation down the Ohio valley, it Lpoan to lose the characteristics of a frontier town, as the edi^e of the wilderness was pushed forward. The only tnrn])ike in the country was a macadam road that i't't lMuladel])hiaand extended to Lancaster, a distance of sixty- Mx miles, and once a week a star;;e i)assed over this and on to I Harrisburg on the Susquehanna, as the main route in Penn.syl- % ';i ' {f\% ■'■■ ' ■ m ./ ■'■'J/ i' • *! r)08 ir.iriV/iW rUEATY AND THE NEW NORTHWEST. viiiiia to the mountain passes. While the distaiict; from Phila- delphia to rittsburj^' in an air line was two hundred and scvciitv miles, the road extended it to three hundred and fourteen. For some years the route west by the Potonuie had Ihmii improved by progressive eanalizing of that river. Tiic land earriage from Fort Cuud)erland, whieh had been f(U" some tiii,c about fifty miles, on to Redstone, was likely soon to lie rcchiccd to twenty miles. Further u]) the Potomai', from tiie mouth of Savage River, there was a trail to Cheat River, which pfoplc talked of reducing to seventeen miles. " Produce from tln' Ohio," said Wausey, an English traveler at this time, '" can lie sent elieai)er to Alexandria than Fuglish goods can bedelivcnd in London from Northampton." The fur dealers said that Alexandria was four hundred miles nearer the Indian wilds than any other shipping port on the Atlantic. The route from Baltinujre to the Ohio was increased from two hundred and twenty-four miles as the bird flies to two hundred and seventy- five l)y the course followed. In 179G, Collot made some com- putativas the goal. Putting it another way, Collot says that goods can be conveyed from Philadelphia to Kentucky at a cost of 33 per cent, on the value of the goods, and from New Orleans to Illinois at a charge of only 4 to 4.^, per cent. On the Ohio there was an almost incessant procession of flat- boats passing down w^ith merchandise. In 1700, a thousand such craft })assed Marietta. Every month a passenger lioat left Pittsburg for Cincinnati. Its cabins were bullet ])roof, and six single-pounder guns were trailed over its gunwales. In 1794, while Pickering was acti.ig as Postmaster-Cieneial. Rufus Putnam arranged with him for a regular mail servi( ii the Ohio, The post-bags were carried by hoi semen every Note. — The opposite map of routes west from Alexandria and Lancaster (Philadelphia) is from a map in La Rocliefoucault-Liancourt's Travels, London, 1799. \l !!'vi •HWEST. l'iy a small stocliaded fort. Here tlie mail was transferred to a boat, ami. after stopping at Marietta and (Jallipolis, the craft i)ass((| on to Limestone. This liver port, wliicli liad long been used, was a handet built on a Ingb and uneven bank at tlie foot of a >.iii- siderable hill. Its harljor was the moutl> of a small (reek, where a few Kentucky boats were usually lying, and were oira- sionally liroken uj) to furnish the plank for more houses. Krom Limestone the poucdies were carried inland to the Kentucky settlements. In 1797, an overland route to Limestone was opened from Wheeling by Kbenezer Zane, in j)ayment for six hundred and forty acres of hind which Congress had granted him north of the Ohio. The mail boat, which was a vessel twenty-four feet long, manned by a steersnnin and four oarsmen, next passed on to Cincinnati. These boats, like the passenger ones, were armed against Indian attacks, but there was little or no interruption by savage mai'auders after 1794. It took six days to run from Wheeling to Cincinnati, being an average of sixty miles a day ; twice as much time was consumed in returning. The western country was at this time entered at three dif- ferent points, for the Niagara route had hardly become u connnercial one, and since Pickering i)acitied tlu^ Six Nations at Canandaigua, in Novend)er, 1794, there had been obstatdcs to its occupancy. These three portals were the sources respec- tively of the Ohio (Alleghany and Monongahela), Kanawha, and Tennessee. The routes converging u])on these springs were seven in nund)er. Two of them united at l'ittsl)urL;. One of these, starting fvom l*iiiladelphia, struck l)y difl'ciciit portages the Alleghany Kiver, wliicli was a stream clearer and a little nnu'e rapid than the Monongahela, and its euncnt in- creased from two and a half miles an hour to four or live, according to the state of tlie water. The other route, wliicli ended at Pittsburg, h'ft Baltimore or Alexandria and passed from the Potomac to the Monongahela. It was an attractive route. The river had firm banks, and was topped with a variety of trees, — buttonwood. hickory, oak walnut, sugar-majtlc. and beech, — all growing to large sizes for their kind. "Wluiwer M I Hi f uul <,a'iinteil urct's r»'si)ec- 1)V (liftViviit cuvvt'iit 111- routt'. wliu' liu attractive THE \vi:sTi:ns norrKs. 611 the liills fell ba 'k from thi' stream, it was fiiii<;('(l l»y fertile Itnttoms. From Fort C'umUerland bv wajjron to lirowiisvillo wad eight • miles, ;iiul the earryiiig distance was mueh less by Union I'lTTsr.nu; and wheeling. [Frnm !i "Gciipral Jla]) of the Course of tho Oliio from its Source to its Junctiou with the Mis- sissippi," in Collet's .!//((,«.] portages to the branches of tlie Mononi^ahela. KochefoN. ;i ilt- Lianeoiirt says : " Being situated neai-er the rivers \ oiigliio- gi'iiy and jMoeongahel []\Ionongahela], Baltimore possesses a part of the trade of the back country, if Pennsylvania supplies most of the stores." The other routes from Viruinia were to the head of CJreen- ^hU n ■ (I .ii n .Olli UM>'A7i".S' TREATY ASD TIIK SEW SURrnWEST. n m I :M • '♦' I, l)!'i('i' Kivcr iind so down tli»' Kanawhii to the Oliio; jm,! throii;^li Ciiiuhcrlaiid (iap, l)y tlic Wildenu'ss Kuad. :is nooni' tracked it in 1775, using so iinich skill in avoiding; the sviitor- t'ourst'M that tho niodt'iu engineers hav«' }iiit the railioaij over inueh the same eourse. In 171).), the Virginia Assend)lv passed *' uii aet opeiung a wagon road to C"inid)«'rland (iap," aiuinijiii- ating .£"2,000 to eonstru«'t a way suitable for wagons eairviuM loads of one ton ; and in the sunnner of ITlt"), large trains of emigrants were passing this way. The Virginia road to Knoxville passed the same way, witlioiit turiMug to the right at the llolston settlements as the Kentucky way did, au'l so went on to Nashville. This road was joined by another from North Carolina ; and at the P'rench liioad Kiver, it was united witli still another road from South ('um- lina. The Georgia road left Augusta and fell into this route from South CiU'olina. ,1 It' I !)f !ti. \\\ '¥: \ w 1\\K\ ai)i)lieation cf artificial power to the ])ropulsion of boats was still a constant dream. Morse, in bis Gazetteer^ thought it jH'obable that " steandioats would be found of infinite service in all our extensive river navigation." In 1702, Earl Stanhope. in l^nglaml, had contrived a diu-k's foot paddle, shuttoig ,vith the forward motion and oi)ening with the return, ar \i had driven it by steam. In the autunni of the same year sbee at Providence, in Rhode Island, moved a boat three or four nules an hour S(' [h'r (lipi'iiij;' cw llaiiil)- 1*0, inovod a ilartforil to -wht'i'l l)t>.it olileni, who •('turned to liuciple liad licrnttu ler Hi in to Jei'+'er- 1)V a si'rt'W up \\v\t- lihoWH the ('"111 ip- , and tlif Olii". 'I :f -> .1 III ;i i A ■1 n 'I; in i i 514 WAYNE'S TREATY AND THE NEW NORTHWEST. isli tifty-guii ship in Sew York havbor. This side .)f tl-.c stiaui n ivigation i)rol)leiu had already engaged the iittentiun of ^^';^lt Franklin, Pancton, and others. In 179(3, Fitch tried a screw propeller in a yawl, on a fresh-water pond in New York city near where Ciinal Street now is. Moving to Kentucky, wc find him still experimenting witli a model boat, three feet loiio. on a creek near Bardstown. Here he died in 1790, and lie is buried by the scene of his last efforts, near the banks of the Oliio. In 1708, Stevens was engaged, with the sympathy of Chancellor Livingston, Nicholas T. Koosevelt, and Isanibanl Brunei (the last an exiled French royalist and later famous in engineei'ing work), in experimenting on steam ])ro])ulsion ((ii the Passaic Kivei'. lie used a boat of thirty tons, and drew water from the bottom of the boat aiul expelled it astern. In this, and in the use of elli])tical paddles, his efforts failed of success. So the ?entui\y went out, with the dream of ( 'nth-r and Morse still unfulfilled. I \\ CIIAPTEK XXIII. '-- ■ : iU] '.' i THE UXHEST OK TIIK SOUTHWEST. 17i)l-171)4. :V The year 1791 was one of lu'sitaiicy in the sout Invest. Con- <;ress, in February, had admitted Kentucky to the L nion, b\it her actual entrance was set for June of the next year. Ver- mont was almost innnediately received, to adjust the balance of >'()rth and South. Zachary Cox liad, in 1785. bcLnin a settlement at the Muscle Slioals of the Tennessee Kiver ( in noithern Ahd)ama ). and eailv ill 1791, Sevier and others of the ejected Krauklmites, under the authority of the Tennessee Company, made ready to occupy the coimtry just south of tlie shoals, where (ieoi'<^ia, December 21. 1789, had made that body a p-ant of 3,500.000 acres. Ku- iiiors of their purpose stirri.'d the Cherolv«H'S, and there was (hinger of a general Iniliiin outbreak. Knox early protested against the daring independence of tlie Tcnnesseeans, and the President warned them of the risks they ran. He told tliem that the federal government could not and wouhl not protect them against the angry Indians. Nevertheless, the com])any advertised for settlers. The President now ap])ealed to the Attorney-(ieneral to devise some remedy against such flagrant acts, for every new ii-i-itation of the southwestern tribes was snie to extend to tlieir S])anish neighbors, with whom the gov- ernment was still trying to settle tlie momentous cpiestion of the Mississi])])i. The convention of Xootka had relieved Spain of iuunediate apprehension of a war v ith Kngland, and Miro ^a^ gettisig tired of the un])roductive Kentucky intrigue. The fe.u'ral gov- oinment was loatli to stir the slumbering embers. AVhile it had no ])urpose to prt^ss the vexed question to a nu)ture. it was hut too conscious how any moment migiit awake the Spanish passions. In ]\Iarch, 1791, Jefferson wrote to Carmichael I'l iiip ! 1 ' '4 . lA^^ •I ' ■it T : 'i ' ! I < f I'V J:, i' ll. rf*H' "tI'T-; -ft- ■■' 516 THE UXIiESr OF THE SOrTIIWEST. ^Madrid that at any tiuu; such an " accident," as the sriznrc of American boats on the Mississippi, niij;ht " }nit furthef ])aik'v heyond our jK)\vcr."" lie at the same time thought to cahii the Kentucky discontent by writinj;' to Innes that the government only awaited an op[)ortunity to bring- the >i»anisli negotiations to a point. ^ I can assure you of the most determined zeal of our chief magistrate," he said. '* The nail will be driven as far as it will go jieaceably, and furtlier, the moment that eiicuni- stances become favorable." On May '^0, ITUl, Innes wrote back to Jefferson that such assurances " have in a great meas- ure silenced our com")laints." It was at the same time a (juestion how far France could be de]HMided upon to exert her influence on the Spanisli ministers. Lafayette had assured Washington (June 0) that "France will do everything in her j)ower to bring S])ain to reason, but will have ;; difticult and probably unsucc(>ssful task." Kvents in France, however, were moving too rapidly. On flidy 2, 1791, Governor Blount, who had already been authorized (August 11, 1700) to act, met tiie Cherokee chiefs on the Ilolston at White's Fort. Over five lunidred families had of late years settled on lands guaranteed to the Cherokees by til'.' trericy of Hopewell, and the purpose of the ni'w treatv. which Blount hoped to make, was to bring these families witliin the jurisdiction of the whites. There was the usual dilatorv diidomaey before the Indians finally consented to ]dace them- selves under the protection of the United States. They agreed to allow the whites free use of the road across their territorv to the more distant settlements, and ])roniised that travelers upon it should not be molested, and that no harm should come to any one navigating the Tennessee. By the bounds that were determined along a winding and disjointed line, which was the source of later trouble, and which I^llicott was ordered to trace. the Cherokees abandoned nuudi of the Lmd which tiie whites iiad usurped, The treaty, in fact, confirmed the whites in tlie possession of all the Tennessee country, except a tract lying between the Ilolston and the Ciunbcrland. and other regions lying either in thi' southeast or towards the Mississippi. In XoTE. — Tlio oppoRitP •' Map of tin' Tomiassee ^jovfrnnii'iit by (ieiil. n Smith ami ntlit'rs," U in Cmi-t/s Anirriinn .\lhif, Pliilailelpliia. IT'.Ci. It shows tlie mail I'onnHctiiij; Knoxvilli- u-iiiin: west with Nashville ami soiiiR east with the Holstoii eettleiiieiits. The iveiitiu'ky road is tlie dotted line w liioh oiosses the Clinch River going north. i.ii; :i >l!!'l solziiro of :ier pulley ) calm tin- DVl'VlUlU'llt igotlatious ed zeal of (Irivoii as lat ciivuiii- nu's wroto ;i'eat uu'as- e I'oiild 1)0 1 uiiiiistcis. t " Fraiifi' reason, luit ."' K vents ready been •okee chiefs •ed families e Cherokees new treaty, lilies within nal ililatoi'y place them- liey a;.ireetl territory to [velers npon Hd come to that were •h w:is the I'ed to tra ee tue w hites liites in the tract l\inu llier re^'ioiiH .ippi. h Ih ami ntliers," ia Kiiiixvilli- 1; 111- i:"iin,' cky ro;ul is tl'"^ 1 ^ I 518 >, m Hr i 111 '; 1 -ll: . THE UXREST OF THE SOUTH WEST the antunin Congress ratifieil the treaty. Spanish intri-iu's. aimed to unite the southwestern tribes as a barrier a^-ainst the Aujerieans, prevented a like aceei)tance on the part of all the seetions of the Cherokee tribes, and the more western settle- ments soon, as we shall see, suffered from savage mai-aiidcrs. On the spot where Blount had made the treatv he veix soon laid out a town for his capital, and bearing in remembrance the secretary of war. it was named Knoxville. It was suiveveil in sixty-four lots, priced at #800 each. In the autuiiui. tln' Kno.vvillv GaxMv was started (November 5), which did i^dod service, at a little later day, in cherishing loyalty and keeiiintr the Tennessee settlers jjroof against the Jacobin fever. Of the conditions at this time along the Mississip])i and in Florida, we fortunately have the imi)ressions of an intellj^em traveler, riohu Pope, who, in 1791, recorded his observations. as he descended the river in a beat whose crew — to sjiow the diversity of life on the river — was made up of '* one Irishman, one Ansj)acher, one Kentuckian, one person born at sea, one Virginian, and one Weh'hman." At New Madrid the Spanish commander complained that the governor at New Orleans did not sufficiently support him : and to Pope his "excellent train of artillery"' appeared to lie the chief defense which he had. It was doubtful if, at this time, the entire Sjianish force between the (iulf and St. Louis, and at a post on the Missouri. nund)ered more than two or three thou- sand men. As he drew near Natchez, Pope found the' country " prettv thicklv inhabited bv Virijinians, Candinians, (Jeor- gians. and some few stragglers from the Eastern States." On the Bayou Pierre, an inlet from the river, thirty miles in leni,tli and twenty wide, he found a population ^ eom])osed generally of people who hat'e moved and still cor.tinue to move in elevated stations." He describes Natchez as having about a hundred houses. The fort commands the river a mile up and two miles down, but on its " back part it is pregiuible to a dozen men."' Going on board the barge of Gayoso, the governor of the town. he was regaled " with delicious wines."' He speaks of Uayoso's *' majestic deportment, softvued by manners the most engaging and polite." Below Natchez he saw the "seat " of Mr. Kllis. a Virginian, near which lay three large tobacco-boats unlauiu lied. After this, " slight, airy, whitewashed buildings become more McGILLIVRAY. 519 coininon on the eastern side, and are in c^eneral occnpied by j)t ople from the United States," Then eanie *' country seats," '• l)eauteoiis farms, and elegant buildings." At New Orleans, now a town of less than six thousand in- liiil)itanis, Po})e found that jjrivate adventurers from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore were carrying on a toleral)le trade, iiiid coidd undersell the natives, while making a hundred per cent, profit. Passing on to Pensacola, he says : " The upjier and lower Creek nation trade at this ])lace, where they are uni- fnrudy imposed upon by a Mr. Panton, who has monopolized tlifir tru'le. The poor Indians barter their deer skins at four- teen pence sterling ])er })ound for salt at nine shillings sterling jn'i- bushel. Panton is ])art owner of the salt works on the island of Providence, and has brought the salt to Pensacola in his own bottoms at the average expense of about three pence per bushel. I think his goods at ^lobile, Pensacola, and St. Marks are usually vended at al)out tive hundred per cent, on tlu'ir prime cost." From Pensacola. l^ope, in the early summer of 1791, went inland to visit McCrillivray, at his house on the C'ousee Hiver^ five miles above its junction with the Tallapoosa, where together tlit'v form the Alabama. This half-breed chieftain had an ujiper plantation, six miles higher up the stream. Here the traveler found him superintending the erection of a log house with dor- nuT windows, on the spot where McCJillivray's father, a Scotch trader, had lived amid his apple-trees, whicdi were still stand- ing. Pope describes this tall, spare, erect man, with his large (lark eyes, sunk beneath overhanging brows, as showing signs of •' a dissipation which niarkcd his juvenile days and sapped a constitution originally delicate and feeble. lie possesses an atticism of diction, aided l)v a libeial education, a great finid of wit and huny >r, meliorated by a perfei't good nature aiul polite- ness." Po})e describes his host's table as aft'let exerted on those of the Chercdiees who were discontented with the recent treaty, Ke])orts were conung to Bh)unt of intended inroads upon the Cumberland settlements, and he cautioned Robertson to be on his guard, and to prevent any provocations on the ])art of the whites. The federal government, meanwhile, tried, by ineieas- ing their subsidy from -11,000 to 111,500, to appease the recid- citrant Cherokees by a su])plementary treaty at Philadelpliia in February, whither an Indian delegation had gone. The sav- ages were well received by Ktiox, and the President wrote to the governor of South Carolina, where there had been some dis- content manifested at the enforced ujoderation of the fedeial government, that he looked for good results among the otlier southern Indians from this conciliatory reception of the Chero- kees. It was deemed in Philadelphia a fortunate occurrence that these southern tribesmen were so acceptably engaged in that city when news of St. Clair's defeat was received there, for otherwise the ill tidings might have aroused the Indians ah)ng the southern border. Although the Cherokees had returned in a friendly mood, and Blount had been led to hope for ].eace, there was still small confidence in the Cumberland region that the amicable humor of the Indians would last long, after the discouraging tidings from the Ohio country were given time to ])roduce an effect. Accordingly, Rli"'e three miles only in lengtli to jnin the Tennessee i\nil Xlobili! Rivers.''] trafticking on American soil. These stories reaoliing Philadel- phia, .lefferson, in Sejiteniber, 1702, urged Washington to authorize counter movements on Spanish soil. The Spanish posts at Natchez and at Chickasaw BlulV had no such protection from harrier trihes. for the C'hiekasaws were more ov less friendly with the Cumberland ])"ople. who wimc likely, as the Spaniards felt, to attack those ])osts. I'^Mids were arising- between the Chickasaws and the Creeks, and. in case of a S])anish war, it seemed likely those tribes would hf on different sides, With this in view, the S})anish governor liad. on A'^ay, 14, 1702, brought together representatives of the Till-: KKSTUCKY COSVESTloS. 623 River is a hnw\\ 1 liMigtli to join tJR' livt'Viior had soiitlu'Vii Indians, to bring- abont, if ])()ssiblc', an alliance with tht'Ui, so as to make them breast the American ailvanees. When these inimical steps were bronght to the attention of the Span- ish agent in Phihidelphia, \w told .leflerson that the conditions naturally arose from the disputes of jurisdiction, and from the niiibrage which the Indians generally felt because some had put ;liemselves under American protection. Ahnost sinudtaneous with this Spanish treaty, Hlount had once more met the Cherokees. Little Turtle, their spokesman, exja'cssed dissatisfaction because the line whicli KUicott was running was going to cut off their hunting-grounds. In the conference, no farther inununity was jnade certain than that Blount and Pickens^and their party, descending the river to Nashville to hold a conference witii the Chickasaws and Choc- taws, would not be molested. By September, 1702, it was feared that war had not been prevented, and Blount was re;idy to let Kobertsou forestall an attack from the Cherokee towns by marching against thou, when it was learned the hostile pur- pose was dro])ped. This professed forbearance was ai)parently a ruse to disarm the settlers, for, on Septend)er 30, six hundred Cliickamaugas and Creeks dashed u])(m nuchanan's Station, and brought war to the settlers' doors. For all tl»is, Blount reciuired Robertson to maintain the defensive, and to wait for Congress to declare a war. The brigadier-general of the east- ern posts, Sevier, had little faith in defensive war, and when Blount ordered out the AVatauga militia to ])rotect Kllicott, — who was so far favoring the Indians as to leave sor.Te of their villages on tlie Indian side which the treaty line ]»1 uhmI with the whites, — there was likelihood of a general war, if Sevier's (lash prevailed. While the Tennessee region was suffering this uncertainty, the movement in Kentucky for Statehood liad resulted, in April, l"n'2, in a convention at Danville, to fi-anie a constitution. This was the tenth coining together of the ])eo])le in their long striving after autonomy, in which they had shown a m i;ke(l steadiness in the face of excitement. Though so near the end. tlie soberer memb(>rs found still some ground for alarm, and Iniies ex]U'essed the r doubts when lu* declared some inieasi- ness at the disposition shown to put the work of constructing 1 i»! I' i« 1 n 1 , ;i J I , ■ 1 i s -J" Triarai-^d frr 7mZi\- r .1,^ JhtUs/ie^ Fd' •'; ;;<'i .h\ J D 1 I 1'' 1 •fncJTL Xirp^yrvpt^ , 'rtt, PiiindMv, LcnJon T.Cumler Sriilp 1'^ y} U 'J i' "M ','J 'i; ] i 1 f ' il 1 ' , / 1 1 . f. W^' .r2i» THE llMthST OF Till-: SULTHW EST. r' ii \\ u » 1 1' ,;f fc ! V ;,! .' tliL'ir fiuulaiiiciitiil l:iw too exi'lusivrly into tlic hands of "plain, honest farnit'is." The draft picsented to the eonvention was the work of (ieorj^e Xieliohis, the icpiesentative of tlie newer come'' i, rather than of tlie ohler h aih-rs of the territoi'v. Tlie instrunu'nt foUowed on broad lines the Federal C'onstitiitinn, but made the principle -of government a little more deinoer.iiii'. It gave manhood sutfragi', but gave no recognition of pnMic education. Though allowing the possibility of emancipation, it saved slavery i)y deidaring '• all men, when they f(jrm a sucinl compact, etpial." This constitution was ratified in May, and Isaac Shelby was made the first governor. Kentucky, "more extravagantly described than any other j)art of the United States," as one observer said, was c«tnnnnnlv thougiit at this time to contain ])erhaj)s seventy thousand wiiito, and, when the blacks were included, the over-contident caijied the population nuudi higher. In the boastful talk about fori mg the Mississippi, it was not infrequently held that theic were thirty thousand men in the new State capable of beaiing anus. There is no doubt that tlie S])anish stood in di'cad of some ebullition of passion which would hurl a larue forci; against their settlements on the Mississip])i, and the Kerituckians were s]K)ken of, in connection with the (\nnberland st'ttlers. as "rest- less, ])o<)r, ambitious, and capable of the most daring ent( • prises," and Carondelet was fearful of their ultimate atteiii])!s to cross the Mississii)pi. In Kentucky, more than in Tennessee, the })oi)ulation was being teujpered by the arrival of some gentle Virginian stock among them, and was passing out of tlie in- choate roughness of a jnonecr condition, though, up to a very recent tinu% Coo])er, the traveler, was probably right in saying that no ])art of Kentucky, excejit a few miles round Lexingtun. was ])ers barely existing in some i)arts of Scotland will hei-e in six years cause an an- nual exi)ortation of ten thousand bushels of wheat." Again. scrutinizing the comp(nient ])arts of the ])opulatit)n, he says : '•• Out of twelve families of emigrants of each country, gent r- ally seven vScotch will succeed, nine Gfrman. and four Iti>h. Tlui Scotch are frugal and laborious, but their wives cannot work so hard as (ierman women. "^I'lie Irish love to drink and to ([uarrel, and soon take to the gmi, which is the niiii of everything." The lawless profligacy of the border, which the Irisli liad f •.. ( • »' tau „P" " \ I shiftl.-ss 1 stoinicil vas nut so ere bi'ttei- 111 ot" New ever, soiuc tev\)i'isL' ot iioinu' iH'W pauf\ . was treaty of V, V)iiiii;ing ill vit'h ami (> autiuiui s lenoatli the l)le warmtli, lis land six suffifieutly isr vanUuess. u'i)u;j;'li a sea :() enonnons the fanixT truiil two llu'twi'cn til' It hi' f. lunti'V, (I huslifl> of iDin titty ti tl been UM \ 111 Iv ■xistiiiu ;mse an aii- ■it. 1)1). A'. am. h 111! try. I four Ivive says : OTIU'I'- 'lii>h. unot I'a IVf to ilvniK the luiu <> lri>^h li;itl BORDER LIFE. 529 (lone so much to maintain, and that assimihition of traits which entangles the evils ot tlie savage with the vices of the white, was now beginnin<;- in Keiitucky to disappear. The rogue who stole horses and altered ear-clips <>f the cattle and sheep was less often seen in the town. The bankrupt fron; the s- aboard was sooner sus})ected, and was the less likely to gather the idlers at the trading-stores. The hunter, with his t(n'n moccasins and dingy leggings, his shirt blood-stained, and his coon-skin cap [This 111,!]), from Henry Toiilmin's PfsiTi/tlion nf Kii\liirl:ii. 17'.V2, shrsvs tlie counties of Kpn» tmly at that ti ic naiiiely : Ka = Fayette ; Hd — Unurlinii i Ma — Mailis.m ; Me " :.Mer<'er ; Je zr Jefferson ; Ne=: Nelson; Li :— Lini'uln. Tlie tovvn> are ; 1. I.exiiiulon ; 'J, iMiiiMesiiorimKli ; \\ St. Aseph ; 4, Louisville; 5, Harrodslnui;. Tlie Chenikee I{iver. the nimlern Teiniessee, ia (leMTiheil as " uaviKahle '.N«l miles." ami the upper part uf it (Vf) is ealleil '' Tenasee river, ii braneh of the Cheroltee.''] ragged and greasy, still came to the settlement for his ])owder and salt, and enticed Michael and l*at t<» the frontiers : but his visits were le*; fretjuent. and he did not linger to make i)art of a life which had grown away from him. The storokeejx'i', ham- pered by barter, gave the tone to the c. They were Scoteh-Iri:di. one might assume, and that race had just planted some new seed in the founding of IMouiit College close by Knoxville, now the Uni- m Q '■■ ." '.uMlili ill; ;. )n h,. i i ) H ' 1 1.; y \ 1'J i»J i| lilt: 530 THE LWREST OF THE SOUTHWEST. versity of Tennessee, in the conntiy lying to the south of Ken. tueky and sharing- most of its cJiaracteristies. Both rcions were animated by one controlling impulse in their claims upou the free navigation of the Mississippi. On Deceniher G, 1791, the Spanish minister intimated to Jefferson that the autliorities at Madrid were ready to treat for the settlement of their disputes. iSliort, at the lla'-uc. was directed to join Carmichael in Madrid. On January 2"). \~[)t, Jefferson informed the Spanish minister that the conunissioncis had been appointed, and on March 18 their instructions aciv ready for transmission. The trend of Jefferson's argument in these directions was that Spain, in the treaty of .January 20. 1783, had agreed to restore without compensation all north of 31° of latitude, — the line of earlier charters, proclamations, and treaties, — and that the United States, by the Treaty of Inde- pendence, received the rights of England north of that })arall(d. and that the bounds of the secret clause of the latter trcatv were not api)licable because P^ngland had not obtained Florida, as might have been the case, in the treaty with Si)ain. As to the navigation of the Mississippi, that had been conceded by Si)ain to England in tlie treaty of 1703, and the United States had succeeded to the rights of (ireat J^ritain. Further, the rii;lit to use the mouth of a river belonged by the law of nature and of nations to the country holding the upper waters, and this right was not complete without a port of deposit. A right. Jeff'erson contendi'd, was not to be confounded with a grant made to the most favored nation, and stood independent of any agreement. If Spain asked any compensation for tlie coikcs- sion. the commissioners were instructed to offset such a (h'lnand by a claim of danuiges for nine years of exclusion from tliu river. There was in the councils of the President not a little disa- c'reement as to what concessions it might be well in the cud to make, as was to be expected where Jefferson and liamilton were in the circle of advisers. Hamilton was more urgent than his rival for delaying a war with S])ain, though he saw. as all did, that a conflict was inevitable in the end, unless the jxiint could be caii'ied by negotiation. lie urged an alliance with England as likely to ward off' an outbreak, and thought it I'oiiM i,:j ® m- OPP OSIXG PAR TI?:S. 531 I ol" Kciu iius \\\M\\ inuittd tt» V to treat iaa,'ui'. was •2."). \'\yi inissiiiiu'vs •tioiis wt'i'o [•(;ium.'Ut in [imuiry 20, ill north of liitions, and ity of IniU'- lat |)iirallt'l, utter treaty leil Flovidu, )ain. As to i-ont'eded liy Stat('s nited tl lev le rii vl.t I nature am 3rs, and this It. A I'ig^'f" ith a i;rant luU'ut of any tlu' eonces- •h a deiuiuid Ion from the a 11 tth (lisa- to In on in the eiH 1 llamiU n'ovnt than U ;i\v. :v^ '' th<> 1 illlanee rht it 10 nit Wltll nW •ouu he made for England's advantage by rectifying the northwest houndary line in a way to throw some povtions of the npj)er Missi.ssii)i)i within British territory. This aeeorded with de- mands whielx Knghind luul often hinted at, and made later in the negotiation with Jay, as serving to make the provisions of the treaty of 1782 intelligibh', inasmuch as a right to navigate the Mississippi, as that treaty gav«>, with no access to it, was unintel- ligible. Jefferson firndy ol)jected to the alienation of any part of the territory of the United States on any conditions. Ham- ilton claimed that exigencies might easily sanction it. The (jues- t! >> naturally aroused the antii)athies of the two antagonistic factions into whitdi the American pcojde were raj)idly dividing, and Randolph, as a sympathizer with the French, ftdl readily in with the views of Jefferson, while Knox sided with Hamilton. In New England, at th.is time, it would donhtless have been found on a jioll that a withdrawal from the Union was more in favor tlian an alliance with France against Kngland : and Timothy Dwight, the })residcut of Yale C(dlege, was so confident in this sentiment that he snp])osed that ninety-nine New l^nglanders out of a hundred held it. AVashingtou carried a steady hand, and, though nuich iiudincd to take part with Hamilton against Jefferson, he tohl his cabinet that an English alliance for tliis end, giving the Hritish a foothold on the Mississi}»pi, was a remedy worse than the disease. The year 1793 br demonstration towards Spain, and Wayne was instructed to throw troops into Fort Massac, so as to intercept any armed invaders of Spanish territory. ^N'hilo the President's advisers were considering if the French Ivcvo- lution had annulled the obligations of the United States to PVance under the treaty of l''V8, Genet, the new minister of the French Kepublic, armed with three hundred blank com- missions, as was reported, arrived on Ai)ril 8, 1793. at C'liavles- ton, on board a French frigate, l^efore he left C:uolina. he began issuing his oonnnissions to cruisers against the enemies of France. Philadelphia newspapers of April contained hotli the Pr.'sident's ])roclamation and notices of Genet's arrivinn' in that city. FJaring May, 1793, that arrogant visitor was issninj; other commissions and enjoying the excitement and j.iijilation with which his coming had been hailed. Jefferson grew waini in speaking of *• the old s])irit of 1770, rekindling. The news- pa]jers from Boston to Charleston," he said, " prove this, and even the monocrat ])apers are obliged to publish the most furi- ous philippics against E^ngland." Jefferson, again m a lettei' to Monroe, .fune 4, assorts the people : " The old Tories joined hy our mendiants, who trade on British ca])ital, and the idle rieli, are with the kings, All other descriptions with the Frcnc li." Madison, writing to Jefferson of tlie President's proclamation, "unconstitutional" and "pusillanimous," as the latter l)eli('Vt'd it, said : " It is mortifying that the President should Inive any- thing to ai)i)rehend. trom the success of liberty in anotluT coun- try, since he (^wes his preeminence to the success of it in liis owi:." 1"ie President d;.-iregarded the aspersions aiul found comforo in Hamilton's counsels. Genet was so(m planning to give coherency to t]ie i»assions, already seething beyond the mountains, imder the iuHuence of the iuHammatorv discussions of the Jacobin clubs, which Kieiich MICHiaAN AXI> THE I'ACII'IC. .533 V was issuing; adlierents had been foriniii}^. A Frenehuian, soJDiivuing in lMiilaer three hundred miU's was given over to Hrit- NciTE. - Till' map on tli<- .^imttitMti^-ii-s^SS^i^iki... je i()n overland. The Spaniards, under Galiano and Valdez. had already, in 17i>2, abandoned the search for a passage from the Puciiic through North America ; and it was left for an Englisli advtii- turer, Alexander Mackenzie, to be the first to traverse this great valley from the inland side. In fJune. 1798, Macki'ii/ie was at the ci-own of the Rockies, known as IVace River pass. He here hit u])on the first easily traversable loute over the mountains, north of that at the headwaters of the (Jila, and he had been the first white man to stand where the waters jiarted for the Atlantic and for the Pacific. On July 22, 170;}, he cut his name on a rock overhanging the sea, in latitude r)3 21' in British Columbia. Thus within ten years from the time wlicn England, by the treaty of Paris (1782-83 ), confined herself to the north of the (treat Lakes, her flag had been carried to the Pacific. AVhile this English pioneer was thus apjirotudiing the sea. ]\Ii(diaux, his would-be rival, had abandoned the role of an ex- plorer for that of a ])()litical intriguer. Falling under the inthi- ence of Genet, he had lent himself to the Jacobin schemes, ami to further their western plans, (ienet had asked fleffcrsdii to recognize AUchaux as a consul of France to reside in Kenturl .leflerson that he conld depend on two leaders in Kentiickv tu mareh an army of liI)erators to New Orleans, ;ind one of tlifse was George Rogers Clark, who in the previous Kelnuary liad written to CJenet, offering his serviees. It is said that the agents of Genet, who carried west the eommissions under wliiili Clark was to act, were accredited l)y U'tters from .Inlui rnown. who had been involved in Wilkinson's eai'lier sehenu's. Tlnsi' leaders had asked (ienet for an advanet; (»f £'-],()()0, but that minister did not lind it convenient to furnish such a siun. Tiic grand aim of all was to set up Louisiana as an indejtendenl ally of both the United States and France. There is no need to follow Michaux's itinerary very clnscK. On August 14, he left l*ittsburg, and on the 24th he ninannl over the misery of a snudl remnant of his countiymeu reniaiii- ing at (iallii)olis ; and at Limestone he left the river for the interior settlements. Just at this time, the Spanish agent in Philadeljihia gave the President information of the ])ro])osed ex])edition of Clark, and Jefferson was instructed to warn Shelby to be on his guanl : but the Kentucky govci'nor was either timorous or a sympa- thi/er, and he replied that he knew nothing of any such c.\- ])edition. In Se])tember, Michaux was at Lexington and at Danville, and had various conf(>rences with those to whom lie had taken letters. On the 17th, lie saw Clark at Louisville. who professed to believe that the scdiemt' had been abandoned, it was so long since he had heard anything. The failure to for- ward the money which hao iniaiy liad I that thf idcr whicli hii r>r(i\vn. es. Tliof ), l)Ut that sum. lln' loiitU'iit ally .•t'vy olosrly. lie liioaiitil neii ri'iiiain- iver t'of tlio ihia i;':»vt' tlic f Clark, an.l his in'naiil '. 1' a syuipa- nv such fx- ■ ton and at to wh<»n\ hf Louisvillf. i\)audoiu'd. iiilui'C ti) for- d sou\fthin,i; the dit'ticul- iu OctohiT. ,ns caint' to uvilW. Hi^ ■ovj^f Xi»'h">- st si'i/.t' th*' liH'laiH'd tht' to de!-:ci'iid (LA UK'S I'liOJECT. .•)80 The federal <^oveiiniieiit was now (Oetoher) so fur alarmed that .Jeffei'soii wrote to the Itaekwurd Shelhy, direetiiin' him to use military foree if the courts were powerless to stop the jiro- ct'ediugs, and St. Clair was at the sanu' time ordered to hold some militia in readiness. On November (». .FetVerson repeated ills injunetions to Shelby, and asked him to remember that the j;()vernnu'iit could best settle the Mississippi (juestion by ne- j;otiations then L;<>ino' ,,11. On the next day, St. Clair wrote to Shell a letter, whitdi was probably to reach him in advance of the other, tellin«^ him of tins <;atheriiig of French ot'tieers at tlie falls of the Ohio, and urginj;' him to act pr(»mptly. Meanwhile riunors of the Jacobins* intentions were reachintr Carondelet in an exaggerated form. His alarm increasing, on .Tanuary 2. 1794, the S))anish governor dispatched a letter to Sinicoe, giving that Hritish commander at Detroit the extrava- gant stories which had reached Xe- Orleans. Carondelet in- formed Inm that a million dollars had been raised for the ex]>e- (lition under Clark, who had undertaken to raise live thousand men for the enterprise. He jtointed out how it woidd be for the interest of England that Sjiain should secure a foothold in tlic Illinois country. Simcoe later (A])ril 11) replied that, wliile he agreed with the views of Carondelet, there was no chance for his coiiperation, since. Indeed, with Wayne ])repar- ing for an advance, the Canadian governor had eiujugh to occupy him. Three weeks before; Carondeh-t had written this anxious let- ter. Michaux, returning from the west through the Ilolston country, had reached Philadelphia ( Decendier 12, lTi>o ), and ill a month's time he was conferring with Brown and On-. Ken- tucky members of the House, '" on the dis])osition of the federal government and the execution of (ieneral Clark's jdan." This was on January 12, 1794. On the 24th, Michaux sent *400 to Clark, — so ]iitiful the contrast witli (^aroinlelet"s supposed sinus, — and wrote letters to his Kentucky friends. Jicfoie tliese missives reached Clark and his friends, this American "general of the legion of the French Re])ublic "' had valiantly im])lished in T/ic Ci-iitiinl of fhc y President's eoidldenee, had at the ojiiuiing of the \ear wiih- drawn from his advisers to <;ive |)la(;e to another repulijicun. I{and(d|»h. TIk; novernnient, after all its efforts to check this western movement, had felt sensibly the weakness of Shdliv, whoso elevation had not induced to render him consei-vative. 'I'he letters of the Kentucky <>()vernor to Handolph contiiiiinl to he (!onehed in the lan,t;uaj;e of evasion. Instead of nivino adhesion to the recpiests of the novei-nn;":'.l, he j)referred td discuss the uncpiestionahle rights of the west to tlu^ naviiiatiun of the Mississii)pi. lie went on repeatin<;- the tales of Spanish instigaticm of the Indians, which went without saying;': luit he sliowed no i)atienee with the <>()vernment's efforts to accoinpjish hy peaceful diplomacy the results which he wished for. The animosity in Kentucky i, gainst the n'ovei-nmcnt was inch'cd undisguised, and Shell)y"s course, with the suppoit of po])ular sentiment, was in contrast with the assi(hiity of Uloiiut in Tennessee, who supported Kohertson in eheckinj;' all symp- toms of reaction. In Kentucky, every action of the adminis- tration was scrutinized for a symptom of inimical predis|)()sitioii, and there was eixxl oround, it was thou<;ht, for apprehension. when, in Api-il, 1794, it was announced that Jay, an enemy nf western interests, had been seleeted for the mission lo Kiiu- land. As the sprinj;- |)ro<>'ressed, there was an incroasinii- anxii'ty in government circles. Wolcott believed that an ex])editioii hud alrea. lie wrote of letters to Clark from the eastern Jacobins jiassii,.; through the liands of a certain "Monsieur ^Nlicheau" at Lcxiul;- ton, and that *2.000 liad been sent to Clark. St. Clair, during these days, was often wi'iting to AVasliin^tnii of the precai'ious conditicm of the western country, lie tlioiiL^ht that the British were intriguing with certain Kentuckiaus to ). i, : (iicsET A.\n I'M finer. r>41 \ii'ftl i)f :i I Uiat ,li<' jillUlt v..y- TUtsitlr the vcnr witli- chcfli this i.f Slirll.>, msrvviit'ivc. I coiitiinii'il (I of uiviii;;;- ivct't'i'i't'tl to • iiivviiiatiiiii i of Spanish inu," '. ^">^ '"' jU'conn)lisli For. rmucnt was > anj))>ort nt by of l)lo\int in- all syiiiii- thu adminis- ■fdisjiositioii. pj)r('licn>i(>ii. an t'ui'iny of ion n» Kii.U- Lo' anxii'ty in |)r(lition liad il thr storifs [,1 to the s.c- Krcnrh tlrct iolas"s views. |)l)ins passii.;^ 1" at T.cxiivi- Washi Hilton He tliiHi;iht Intm'Uiaus to forcH' tliiit n'j;ion into a Si)aiiiNli war ; liiit ho was at the saiiu- tiiiio confidfnt that if the riiiti'il StatL's and Spain drifted into a I'on- tiit't, Kn^^land woidtl he found on the side of Spain, as C'aron- (k'h't and Sinicof had pidposed. S|>ain, hu conttMuhMl, had j^ood icason to tiendtlf for the Mexican mint's, and ( 'aroiuhdet was iir;;inj; the l)ettei' fortifying;' of the line of the Mississippi. It was certain, in St. Chiir's view, that ('anduhdet and some h-aders of opinion in Kentucky were in aettord. Moi';;an, in St. (lair's judoineiit, *' possessed a vei-y j;reat (h'yrce lioth of activity and insinuation, and is not nnudi restrained hy principle," and was depended upon hy ('ai'on(hdet to \nvc end^rants over tiie Mis- sissippi. In another of his U-tters, St. Chiir I'cpresents that Mori;an's "exertions are turned to Kentucky, where there are a very <«reat number of peoph' who have bi-en (lisa])p<»inted in (thtaininj:;- kind, and ;ire ready to go to any pkice wlieic it can he easily obtained. Many will make the experiuuMit. If it ('ontinui>s to be one of their maxims to ])i'event the fr<'c navi<;a- tion of the Mississippi, the situation [New Madrid] directly <)|)posite the mouth of the Ohio seems not to be ill (diosen with a view to it. The Spanisli eonunanders on the Mississippi an; also assiduously endeavorinj;' to induce the ancient Fren<'h in- habitants to abandon their country, and they have sueeeeded w itli m'cat numbers." St. Clair recomnu'iids, as a corrective of this, that the government should sell its lands on tlu; Mississippi and the Illinois at low piices. Duvinn' the preceding' sunnner, (Jenet's doinn's had become so liii;hdianded in every way, both in his aims at the west and in similar but abortive efforts to attatdv Florida from the side of (icornia and South Car ^ina, — -where ])robably there was some ]io])ular enthusiasm for the venture, — that even dcfferson. then in the cabinet, had seen the necessity of ncttinti' i-id of his jjcsti- ient intiuence. So, on August 15, 17*.>-), he had written to Morris in I'aris, to demand that tin; French Kejniblic should recall its minister. On the ari'ival of Fauchet, as (ienet's sueces.>-oi'. t'le western exju'ditiou was countermanded, and on March '2\K ITIU, h'andolidi wrote to the Kentucky authorities, saying', "'rhe present minister of the French Hepublic has publicly disavowed and recalled the commissions which have been L^ranted." In tlie fear that the Jacobin threats in the west would involve the country in a war with Sjjain, a bill had before this been intro- :/ 9 ■ 11 ' I * I [■! 1; : i f ' 1-1 ^ . '/ 542 THE L'XRESr atli- ered at I^exington, the Jacobin fever still ran high, and ic was iielped by the tone of the h'cntucki/ Gindtc. \\\ Juiio, Con- gress made it punishable by fine and imprisonment for a citizm to engage in any hostile enterj)rise against a foreign state, a ])rovision soon to be further enforced in Jay's treaty. "When the Jacobins spoke of it now as aimed at the French syni])a- tbizers. they were not pleased to be told that it had been also a i)r()vision of the treaty with France in 1778. A com]>arison of the views of Hamilton and Randolph at this time shows how the two antagonistic parties of the cabinet were brought into })retty eh)S'^ conjunction in their ai)i)i'('lK'ii- sions. Hamilton wrote to Jay, in May, 17it4, that the navi- gation of the Mississippi, if secured, will be "an inliuitelv strong link of union between the western country and the At- lantic States. As its preservation will depend on the naval resources of the Atlantic States, the western country cannot Init feel that this essential interest depends on its remaining tirndy united with tlieni.' Kandolph's letter was addressed to Jefl'er- son. in August : "The people of Kentucky, either contenuiing or ignorant of the conse uno, Ctiu- !• a citi/''n ;n state, a A\ syni])a- been also unlolpli at the cabinet • api)relien- : the navi- i infinitely nil the At- the naval cannot but iin ot (1 to a eou- nection with (Jreat Britain." Thurston, a Kentucky observer, had just before written to Washington that a powerful faction was scheming to place that country under British protection. With these suppressed niuvnuuings threati-ning to become open shouts in the autumn of 171>-i. we need, before })assin<;- on to the fulfillments of 1795, to turn back to the spring of 171>8, and watch other ominous signs, which made these two years in the southwest exceptionally '^rying in their precarious i-ondi- tions, since there was no (juestion, in which the relations of Spain and the United States were involved, that «lid not inti- mately concern the danger of an Indian war. The fetleral gov- ernment could never \)v safely un})repii".d. AVlien it was de- tei'mined in ^lay, l'J'93, to reinforci; tin federal troops in this endangered region, the government possessed abundant evidence of the complicity of Carondelet in the unrest of the Creeks, aiid it is now known that he was strenuously urging his government to let him band all the Indians in the interests of Sj)ain. Jef- ferson sent the })roofs of Carondelet's intrigues with the tribes to Carniichatd at Madrid. The better to learn exactly what was going on in New Orleans, where branches of American commercial houses were become not uncommon, Jefferson was, in May, 1793, h.oking "for ini intelligent and prudent T'.Ktive "' to reside in that eity. while, uu'ler cover of business, he could get o})portunities to sjjy upon the intentions of Carondelet. In .lune, the government had learned that 1.500 men had been sent from Spain to Louisiana, and that Spanish posts on the u])])('r Mississi[)]ti had been strengtlu-ned. A few days later (June 'I'-V), lie wrote to Madison of the "• inevitableness of a war with the Creeks, and the probaln "ty — I might say certainty — of a war with Spain."" St)me Ohio traders, who ha fur peace. In eastern Tennessee there was less restraint. Every issue of the h'lio.i'riUc Giacftc clamored for a war of exterminatidu against the Creeks. Some of that tribe crossing the river in Septend)er, Sevier mustered his militia, and drove them back by a midnight attack, and, following them to their villages. burned them, and laid waste their fields. This was Sevier's last Indian caini>aign, and it brought peace to the iMJidcrs of east Tennessee. The invasion of the Indian teiritory had been in defiance of the orders from l^hiladelphia : but Andrew dael<- son, three years later, then a new representative from Teimacs- see, succeeded in getting the general government to reinil)urse the local authorities for the cost of it. Washington, in addressing Congress at the end of tlie year 171*8. told them that tlie Chiekamaugas were still uneasy, and doubted if anything like a steady ])eace coidd be maintained witli the southwestern trilies till there was some system of organized trade with them arranged, to ])revent tlie provoca- tions to which they were at present sidijected. lie added, in another speech, that if the Creeks weie to lie stistained by the S))anish in their (daims to bound on tlu^ Cumberland, and if the authorities at New Orleans persisted in a right to arbi- trate between the United States and the Indians inhabiting American territory, it was clear that an issue nuist come with Si)ain. lie informed Congress that he had sent a messenger to ^ladrid to learn how far the governinent at ^Madrid sustained Carondelet in these })r'teiisions. I ti- A review of the next year, 1704, shows us pretty nmeh the same troid)lesome condititms on this southwestern borMH. mill vlicir ri'liitioii to N.islivilU' aiul the Cunilwrland Hettleineiits. f'f. tlii' map in KcM'» i"" '• icin Atliis, New York, IT'.Mi. iigent to tlie against the vtis divided. Cliiekasaw.s, ."oninioiit ;it em to dciiv nee wu.-, tor Every issue :teriiiiii;iti(»u tlic i-ivcr ill tlioin icielv eir villages, vas Seviei''s Itordt'i's of n had het'ii iidi'ew dack- ■om T.'liriies- 3 reiiid)uise of tlic year luu'asy, and maintained ! system (tf lie pi'ovoea- e added, in ined liy the and, and if >l«t to ai'l)i- inliabitinn' ; eome with lossenu'er to il sustained y mneli the )l'der. The e fi'ontiei-- tli find ntlii r>." i> 111 tlio Tciiii.>>-i ". 11 ill Kcid's .i'.")- n ' !• i !■ (' 'I I, h i ( '!! II 1 i ¥ i -1 \ '■?- I 1 '■ \l 1 :' 1 ! ('' ' ;■ l> 54G THE IWnEST or THE SOUTHWEST. 'I J .!? men caused niufli of the iiiischief. La Kochc'foiu'aiilt-Li.u!- court, who, a little later, went through this country, found it ''allowed on all sides that the whites are in the wrouf inin' times out of five." Unfairness in traffic had driven the Indian trade largely from the Georgian border to Pensaeola, and the lawlessness of the horderers in inciting th<> enmity of miuic thirty-five thousand Indians, now supposed to be the coml)iiicd numbers of tiie Creeks, Cherokees, and Choctaws, threw a serion-, responsibility upon the Americans, whatever uiay have been {lie complicity of the Spaniards. These thirty-five thousand In- dians were said to be able to show twelve thousand wanioi-;. old and youiigv and the mastery of the Creeks was indicated liv their furnishing' neaily half of this ligliting force. The conditions wliich generally ])revailed were that the (In r- oke *s were the general rovers now plundering on tiie boi(lt't> of Carol!"", and (iteorgia, now on the north against the Cuudierland settleis. under the lead usually of the local Chickauiaugas, (u joining in condiined ojisets on the Chickasaws. The Cr-eks I'v tlxdr numbers strengthened almost every assault. The CIkh- taws, nearer the 8[ianish, at New Orleans, did not so often a))pear, except by theii- strolling bucks, liack of it all was, as the Americans Itelieved, and doubtless with right, the influcnc' of Carondelet and his agents. It was said. perha])s in exaggera- tion, that the Spanish largesses j)aid to these tribes were souh thing like i^oo-OOO a year, a sum nearly the equal of the revenue of Louisiana. The Indian confederatifui was broken by tin- friendliness <»f the Chickasaws for the white.~.. and it was Carou- delet's constant aim to rend this somewhat fitful alliance. While this was the obstacle in t])e way of the Spanisli gov- ernor, the neatest representative of the American goveriunent. Blount, at Knoxvilh', was (piite as much tried to carry out the instructions of the secretary of war to prevent unauthdrizid attacks and ictaliative inr»)ads by the American settlers. In thi« spring of 1714. it a])pearod to the territorial asMuddy at Knoxvilli! that sucdi restraint was no longer judicious, and tin v petitioned tlu* general government foi'open \\ar with theCn i k>. ( )n .hnu' o. Kufus King reported in Congress a bill for an offen- sive cam])aign against the Creeks and Cherokees. Instead "f action ui)on it. Kn^4EMai . M ORR\S EXPEDITION. 541 ( V ult-Li;iii- fouinl it oiil;; iiiui' le Indiitii , and thf of MllUl' coinbiiH'il 11 Ht'iiiiii-^ U:i!lll(l in- I wai-riors. iliciitoil liy ; the riuv- l)or(lt'\> ol luubfrlainl niau;;;is, oi' Civfks Vy The CIkh-- )t st> often ; all was, as K' iufluciuo n oxa,um'i"i- weiv s<»iiii'- tlie iTVrinu' Ikl'U \iY tll<' was rniou- aiun'. lanisli ,u<>v- ov^'vn^U'llt. WW out tlif naiithtiri/.*'! ettk'vs. Ill asM'inlily i>i ,is. and tiny tlu'Cn'k^- or an otTfi'- Instcail "f jintat'u.ii of tioii of til'- I' I- f: Ixmiularies wliieh had been oslablishcd by the treaty of .July -, 1791. Tliey eoiuplaiiied that the line, as marked, was as crooked as Blount's heart, and insisted ui)on a stfai- ^roniptly in giving permissi»ni for an active eami)aign. Hobcrt- sou ordered Major Oir to march with live hundred mounted Keutui'lcy and Tennessee militia against the lov/er Cherokee towns. A small hod} of federal troops, v.ho wore ranging in the momitaius, joined the expey a young man who had been a prisoner among the (,'hiekaniaugas, lie took a circuitous nioun- taiu path, and on the loth, swooped down upon two Indian villages in succession, and killed seventy of their defenders, liaving oidy two of liis own n>en nojinded. l»loiint and the federal governnient complain of the disobedience of orders, but the Nickajack ex])edition — as it was called — was too ne<'essary to be made a subject of serious t'omjihiint. Tlie Indians soon sued for peace, and as iri the case of Sevier's expedition, IJob- ertson's prompt action brought ])eace to the frontiers in that part of the tes-ritory. and in ii similar way, as in Sevier's ease, the insubordination was later vindicati'd by C'ongiessionai a]>- ju'oval. On Dei'cndier 8, ^\ ashington informed ( 'ongress that hoth C'reeks and Cherokees had contirined existing treaties, and had restored jtrisoners and pi'operty. He added that the eon- tiniuuiee of peace was iiaxardcfl by the constant ami wanton mur- ders of tiiix smen comiMstted aloi / the (Tcoroian frontiers. Ed- iiiund Pendleton shortlx' afu-rwards ( Decend»er oO. 1794) drew tlie IVesident's attt ntion t» .lie imjiolicy of the hirgess system, and no doubt s]»ok( the rnith wlien he -Mid : "The old eounsel- i>r< •!■ the IndisMis will profess to be at peace, and ••••ntinue ive their aumii+v, while their young men continue their ilepredations, and the others will say they cannot restrain them." The gift systeiw, tmdoubtedly. .as \\ ashington saw. had this objection : ])nt the I'lesident couid »«»t bring inmself to i'elieve that the tribes «lid not in justice «i»*mund some reconi- ]iense for the injury which had bee^n done them. :iii. -'; V M \^S^ CIIAPTKR XXIV. riNCKXEY's THKATV AND rilK KKMICKY INTRIGUE. I7i)r)-i7<»(j. Ai.'iiiorciii when JeftV'i'son k-ft the circle of tlie President's julviaers jit the <)i)enin<;' of 1704, the movement of the fedcial govi'i'iiment for ;i treaty with Spain on the hai-is of a free navi- gation of the ]\lississii)])i had taken sha]>e htoUinj^' to tlie an- pointment of a special commissioner to Madiiik it was not till the following- antumn tliat the clioice of snch an agent was si ri- ously ('onsi(k,'re(k and then it was Patrii-k Henry who was (he sek'(;tion 4. to allav the continued irritation of Kentucky by writing to Inncs that the initiatory steps for a treaty with Si)ain had been niadc. On February 15, 1795, Randolph instiiu'tcd Mdiiroc, then in Paris, " to seize any favorable monu'iit "' to bring the ^Slissis- sipjti (piestion to an issue. Pefore ^lonroe could have received these injunctions, Tom Paine, in the convention, tried to secnre the help of France by })roposing that the freedom of tliat liver should be made a conditi(»u of peace beti ween France and >]):uu IS. The treaty made by ffay, however, was too offensive to France to make her re])rescntatives anxious to abet any interests allay luiK's that nH-n made. roc, tluMi ill till" Missis- ve ix'i'i'ivcd d to seciu'e f that river and Siiaiii. ic to FraiH'O j.^^sts <>t" tlu' d at iH'iii-;'. JO' favly iii- llilU' tM' ttu loni ln't'nrc. it thfiii thr [he m'i;«>tia- Istiou of iIk' Yazoo j^rants was revived in a way tluvateiiing new coniiilications with Spain by foivstalling the deeisions of the negotiators, .vll ctt'orts of holders under earlier grants to ett'eet some eonn)roinise hy eonsolidation had failed, and the whole matter, in tlu' autnmn of 17*J4, had seemed doomed to oblivion. Jiut as matters now stood, there were four claimants somehow to be reconeiled before these Yazoo projects could be put on a satisfactory basis, Spain still (dainu'd to latitude J52 30', and lier cdaim, it was suiijiosed, would In) ])ressed with I'liudviiey. The federal governnitnit 'on- teiided that the treaty of 17H2 liad given it tlu' right to this contested region, and this right had been in jiart strengthened through the cession by South Carolina, in 1787, of that long, narrow stri]) lying betw'ecn the extension of the northern boiiiul- arv of Georii'ia and the south line of Tennessee, unless indeed that strip had been included already in the " territory south of the Ohio." Against this cdaim of the I'^nitcd States (xeorgia had I'csted her case on tlie royal commission to Governor Wiiglit, and the feileral rejection of her cession of the country in 1788. Counting upon her rights as (Tcorgia understood them, her legislature had, in I)ec'einber, 1794, regranted some thirty million acres for •■f'.')00,000, at a ])rice of alumt l.l ci'uts an acre, to the four companies which had been the earlier recij)- ieiits of the region, ami this bill, amended in some resj)ects to suit the governors views, became by his signature a law on January 7, 1795. Thus jiassed to the ccmtrol of these com- panies a large part of the j)resent States < f Alabama and Mississip{)i. These com[)anies under their iww names were the I pper Mississij)j)i Company, which received a region in the northwest extending twenty-five mih's south of the Tennessee boundary : the Tennessee Company, which obtained mui-h the sauie area as was given to it in 1789; the ( Jeorgia ^Vlississijijji Company, which covered tlie southwestern region extending from 81^ 18' to 32 40' north latitude: and the (ieorgia Couijiauy, the lai'u'est of all, w hicdi received seventeen million aci'cs IviiiLi" between 82 40' and 34 , but east of the Tombigbec River, its southern line running u]>on the -Ust paralhd. Its extension east and west vas from the Alabama liiver to the Mississip])!. It was soon discovered that every vote but out; in the legislature which had made these imperial grants came from members in uiu' or another of the companies, and cries of coiruption were 1 I II I 't i 11 i I 4' 1 I ^liJi'p it: ! ms "'■if 550 PINCKNEY'S THE A TV. vjiiscd in all (luiirters of the State. It tunicd out also that many federal and state ofHeials were eoniplieated in the busi- ness. The terms of the grant made the lands free from taxa- tion, and when settled they were to be entitled to representa- tion in the legislature. That the governor had not vetoed the aet was thought to have been due rather to his eoiuiilacciicv than to any pecuniary connection of his own with tlic nicasint'. There was a hope that a constitutional convention which was .sunnnoned for the following May would Ite al)le to right the wrong: but the same interest which had swerved the legisla- ture from rectitude prevailed there, and the question was rele- gated to the next Icgislatui'c, where there was not the same chance that the grantees could be ])rotectei- oiii taxa- [)vesi'iit:i- (toed till- Hdaci'iii'V lufasiUT. k'liich was ri^ht the lie legisla- was vi'lc- tlu' sauif ml tJ allies station to a vcsciiul- it piivchas- stlU in ilis- this sta;j;e i sui'l)i'isiiis;- n" to iirrcst »(' show, liy diplomatic )tiations. ln' UIK liii LlMl- l()t unmuHl- ivstlossiit'ss t (luitf suiv )l)ins in tiR- he ])ati'ioti(' I found IKU liiv n)ressoi'f appeals tU tilt lies wi lisianians to 1 witlistaiu "vvor, whom Ld later hy LOriSIAXA. 551 iiac Uy v\ iceo .1 to ward off an attack from without, t]ioii1 to eighteen million ])oun(ls in 1800. Collot, who had not found the Whitney invention in operation in 171)o, said that the seeds were still separated by a coarse mill, which breaks the fibre and diminishes its value a (juarter, but he adds. "■ A better machine has been introduced into the Ignited States, which is no doubt susceptible of greater perfection, and the cotton has already re- sumed its old price."" The west, to be pros])erous, shared with Louisiana the neces- sity of putting an end both to the endless nuirauding of the k Ml \ '\ ii' 652 rixcKNin's TiiEA rv. .< I :'■ Jnv >■ U rM ■'I; m Iii(li:iiis and to the iiucertjiinty of tlu* civil <;oveinnu'nt. The Iiuliiin (|iu!.stioii hail prjictically now comt! to a composition i.t the feud existing- ])ct\vct'n the Chickasaws and the ("ivtk>. Both Robertson and the Spanish conimaiuU'r at Natchez ex- erted thi-niselvt'S as niediatois, and in the eaily sunmiev of IT'.K"), these two tribes came to an agreement wiiich, l)anini;- the diit- bursts of some irrepressibh' bncks on eacli si(U', quieti'd the Indian country. News of Wayne's victory in tiie north served to Increase the disinclination to war, and after some niuiulis there was, for the first time in a ionn' pt-riod, substantial peace in the southwest, and in October, IT*.*'), Washington ('(Mij-ratii- lated Hamilton on the prevalence of "■ })L;ice fiom one end uf oui' frontiers to the other." This condition relieved the peo[)le of Tennessee from the necessity of the military escort to which they had been acciis- tonied in attendin*;' tlieir conventions, and a disposition to pre- pare for entering' the Union beconnui;' manifest, lilount ordered a special cession of tlu^ territorial assenddy for .June 'J!', IT'.'"), to consider the ipiestion of Statehood. A census was ordered to see if the sixty thousand persons, counting' free ])eo])le and " three fifths of all others,"' — the United States Constitution had j;iveu them the j)hrase, — necessary, under the precedence of the ordinance of 1787, to ])ass from a territoi'ial condition, could be made out. If not, it was a (piestion whether a lesser nundter would warrant their taking;' iiutiatoiy steps in the same direction. The count showed a jxtpulation of seventy-seven thousand two hundred and sixty-three, while tlu; vote for State- hood had been six thousand five hundred and four with two thousand five hundred and sixty-two in the negative, the lattei' mostly in nnddle Tennessee. So Blount issued a call for a constitutional convention to meet on January 11, 17!><). th()UL;li it was problematical if by that time the Spanish negotiations would have decided the (pu'stion of the Mississip])i. The pros- pect had induced new currents of emigration from the east ; a new road had been cut over the Cumberland ]Mountains, and in the autumn of the ])revious year thirty or forty wagons went over it to establish new homes. A traveler that way in ITiHl reports that between Nashville and Knoxville he met: one hundred aiul seventy-five wagons, and seventeen or eighteen hundrecl bathorses, carrying emigrants and their projierty to the Cumberland settlements. I if 31 1 KENTCCK Y IXTIUdCKS. >53 sititMi lit r\w/. r\- oi IT'.t.".. tlu' oiit- ioU'il till- •th surv.'tl If iiKinllo tiiil \nw(' ,IH' t'U'l "I ; from tlu' ;um to piv- lut ovtlfictl lo -2'.', IT'.'"', wus (>ni*'vt'inl Coustitut\i>u lition. eoec pi- ll COH h('V !l in tlu- siuiit' .vi'uty-scvon [tr for Stivte- witli two the lattfV U for a thouii'li kur la t'a noo-otiiition^ lui Til.' i>v tl os- le i' list luntains. aiu I Wl' lit ri% Iwaiiou^ jwrtV ill llie met one olitoeii ov fi pro\iev tv to C"ai'(»ii(U'lt't"rt hopes for sonir lU'W tlistnictioiis, wliicli minlit tend to the Spanisli intiTt'st, ivstod not on tlwso. .st:il)lef coin- nmnitics of tlu- C'linihcrland, hnt on the more lestless setth'- nu'nts on the Kcntnclcv. In June, 179'), that Spitnisli j;()V('riior iuhlressed a K'tter to .lndj;(' Sclcistian, at I'rankfort, ottV'iinj^' to send (V)lor.('l (iayoso to New Madrid, to niiet ih(»Ne wlioni Si'l)astian might send there to disenss the (jMestion of th*' Mis- sissippi, — an effort necessarily Hnbversivc of the jtoliiy which the two jj;'overnnients had now entered npon at Ma(hid ( f com- ing to a conchision hy agreement on this vexed ([iiestion. Later, and Itcfore h(! had received the letter of .lune, Seltastian was again ajtprised of the intention of (iayoso to he in New Madrid in Oetoher. That the meeting was hehl of course eon. promises Sebastian and Iiis friends, as representatives of the United States, to an ecpial degree with Uaronihdet. Even if, as the Americans professed, they entered npon these private negotia- tions for business interests only, the mattei- was none tlu; h'ss one for the fedci'al government to manag*;. (xayoso went north from Natchez with other ostensible ob- jects than to deal with the renegades whom he sought. lie stopped at the Chickasaw Bluffs and bargained with the Indian owners for a tract of land along the liver. six miles long and from a half mile to a mile broad, and on this he built and gar- risoned a fort. When (ieneral Wayne heard of this occupa- tion of American soil, he demanded an ex])lanation, and (Jayoso answered from " On board the Vigilant before New Madrid, 2nd October, 1705," that he had a right to treat with an inde- pendent tiibcN and cited an agreement of the United States with the Chickasaws as to their bounds. lie accom])anied this with protestations of friendship. A few days before, he had written to St. (lair, then at Kaskaskia, asking for a conference to further the reeij)rocal interests of the two countries. From New ^NFadrid. after thus trying to blind St. Clair, he sent Thomas Power — an Irishman, s])eaking Fnmeh, Spanish, and Kiiglish, naturalized in Spain, who professed to be a wander- ing naturalist — to o])en intercourse with Sebastian and his friends. This done, Power ]iassed on to Cincinnati, and saw Wilkinson, then at Fort Washington, and wearing the Ameri- ciiu unifcn-m. This renegade American general now wrote to Carondelet, recommending that the Spanish governor should V I 4,'' f\ '»> '.!i 'I I 11 > il IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. ^ j:^ [/ -^ y.T m ^^M ^ //, ^i f>* .>-' '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. US80 (716) 872-4503 "'KP.f U. '^ a^ 554 PINCKNE Y 'S TREA TV. $' mi h resume his shipments up the river in order to restore confi. tlence ; that he should fortify the mouth of the Ohio agjiinst any possible English inroad ; that he should establish a l);iiik in Kentucky with American directors ; and that he sliould cin- ploy George Kogers Clark and his foUowers in the Spanish service. It will be recollected that the French Republic li;ul no further use of Clark and his soldiers of fortune. Sebastian went to New Madrid, but was not able to come to any agree- ment on the commercial ventures, which were to be a })ait of their plot, and he invited Judge Innes and William Munay to take pjirt in the discussion. Being unable to agree witlj Gayoso, this official and S bastian, in October, left New Madrid and proceeded to New Orleans, to lay the problems before Carondelet, reaching there in January, 170G. Before their conferences were over, news reached New Orleans of the con- clusion of a treaty with Spain : and the intriguers were forced to resort to other schemes. As these were in contravention of the treaty which had alarmed them, it is necessary now to follow the events which led to that pacification, and the conehi- sions which were reached, perfidious though they were on the part of S})ain. On De- >mber 8, 1795, the President had said to Congress that they might ho])e for a speedy conclusion of a satisfactory treaty with Spain, and before the terms of it were known, they were accurately prefigured to the public. Pinckney had reached Madrid on June 28, 1795, but it was not till August 10 — such were the obstacles and ])revarioa- tions usually inherent in Spanish diplomacy — that the Amer- ican commissioner was allowed to lay his proposititms before the Prince of Peace, who had been ai)pointed to deal with him. Tliis grandee then submitted the im})ossibility of going for- ward, as he had not yet received any answer to the ])roposition which he had sent to the United States, to sell the right to navigate the Mississippi for a considerat'on, if the American Rei)»ddic would guarantee the Sp.anish territorial possessions on its banks. Pinckney reidied that his countrymen would ne\er purchase a right, and that it was out of the (juestion for them tii make such a guarantee. lie then rehearsed the old arguments. Sjiain had never questioned the provisions of the treaty of 1782 at the time she made with England the general treaty of Janu- miSm THE TREATY SIGNED. 555 to Cougvoss satisfactory known, they avy 20, 1783, and nothing but the bounds of 1782 could over satisfy the United States, as the same bounds had satisfied England in 1703, with the provision of a fiee navigation of the Mississippi from source to mouth, as inherent now as then. The summer dragged on with little or no progress, and in October, disgusted and chagrined, Pinckney demanded his pass- ports. The work upon which no })rogress had been nnule in four months was now suddenly done in three days, and the treaty was signed on October 27, 1795. The next day Pinckney wrote to his own government that the threatening relations of Eng- land and the United States had obstructed the negotiations as well as the peaceful attitude of (Ireat Britain towards Spain. The text of the treaty arrived in Philadelphia on February 22, 179G, and the Senate promptly ratified it. The bounds by the Mississippi and on Florida were exactly what the Americans had claimed under the treaty of independ- ence. Spain made no provision for rendering valid the grants she had made north of 31°, and they were left to the decision of the United States. It was provided that a joint commission should meet at Natchez, six months after ratification, to run the lines. The navigation of the Mississippi, from source to mouth, was fully assured for both parties. Pinckney sought to save a conflict with Jay's treaty by inserting that, beside the two con- tracting powers, '' others, by st)ecial convention," coidd enjoy the same right. Spain insisted that the grant to England in the Jay treaty of right to navigate tiie ^Iississip]>i was of no avail, as the United States only derived such a right by the l)resent treaty. The port of Xcw Orleans was established for throe years as a place of deposit, with no duties chargeable, and after that int«'rval the same or other place of de])osit should be allowed. lioth ])arties agreed to restvMin the Indians on either side of the dividing line, and to use force if necessary. It was on the pretense that Spain did not impede an invasion of Georgia by the Seminoles, in 1815, that Monroe ordered Andrew Jackson at that time to i)ursue them over the Spanish line. Spain agreed to evacuate all ))orts held by her (m American territory within six months, and the United States were ^)ut under similar obligations, if conditions reipiired it. )|||| m I' j'i 'I lii5 ' i ■I ill 55G PINCKNE Y '5 TREA T Y. Katifications of this treaty of San Lorenzo el real were exchanged on April 2(3, 1790, and on Angnst 2 it was dulv proclaimed. So decisive an abandonin*^ it of her old policy by Spain, as this treaty evinced, naturally raised the question of the sincerity of the Spanish government. Pinckney and Hamilton th<>uj;lit that the sudden change in the Spanish tenii)er came from an api)rehension that the United States and England, as a result of Jay's treaty, were preparing for a joint declaration of war against France- and Spain. Such a fear may have prevailed in the French council, and Spain and the French Directory were now in close contact. It was said that the Spanish king yielded reluctantly, and had no real intention of carrying the treaty out, if circumstances and delays could help him to retain the Sj)ani.sli posts on the Mississippi. It was known that Gayoso later boasted that the treaty would never be put in force, and Caron- delet acted, both in his subsequent conduct and in the projxtsi- tions he forwarded by Sebastian to Kentucky, — as we shall see, — as if he was of like belief. It was also believed that Spain hoped to pacify the United States while she dallied with the provisions of the treaty long enough to ])rofit from a neu- tral territory being inter])osed between Louisiana and a British attack. Talleyrand saw nothing but misfortune in Si)ain's abandonment of the east bank of the Mississippi, and looked in the end for a countervail to France in the cession of Florida and Louisiana. I , Washington, when the treaty had been carried through the Senate, expressed the hope that it wouhl prove "• soothing to the inhabitants of the western waters, who were beginning to grow restive and clamoi'ous." He little knew that Judge Innes. in wliom he had confided all along to quiet the discontent, was deep in the nefarious i)lot of Sebastian, — the former being a circuit judge of the United States, and the other the chief justice of Kentucky. The infamous Sebastian engaged to give liis ser- vices to Spain, to subserve her interests and subvert those of his own country, for a yearly pension of 82,000, and he received the stipend regularly. After thus debasing himself, Sebastian, accompanied by Power, in the spring of 1790, sailed from New Orleans for ■aaii WILKIXSON AXD SEBASTIAN. woro , duly ain, !»;^ iicevity •oiii ;u\ of war iiUeil in )i'y were • yic'W*'*! [iixty o\it, SpiVuisU 3SO latfV ul Cavou- ; pvo\)«>si- we sliail ^eved that aiied with am a lu'"- a British It Spain's nd looUt'*! of riovitla livoush the loothinj:; t*) joinninfi to uloe Innt's. mtent. Nvas Ipv boin'j; a [hief justice ^ive his s«^^'- those of his L veceiv»'*l Philadelphia, and thence passed westward with the f«)llowing propositions from Carondelet: To prej)are Kentucky for a revolution, and to give them money to organize the project, ♦flOO,000 will be sent to Kentucky. When independence is declared, Fort Massac shall he occupied by Spanish troops, and •tlOO,000 shall be applied in snpjxjrting the garrison. The northern bounds of Spanish territory are to be a line running west from the mouth of the Yazoo Kiver to the Tombigbee, while all north of such a line shall, «'xcei>t the reservation recently fortified at the Chickasaw Bluff, belong to the revolted State, which shall enter into a defensive alliance with Spain. The new treaty of San Lorenzo shall not be observed ; but the new State shall enjoy the navigation of the Mississippi. Ten thimsand dollars were to be sent in sugar barrels np the river to Wilkinson, now the general-in-chief of the American army I Power was obliged to return to New Orleans with the report that the Spanish treaty had indisposed the Kentucky intriguers to further machinations. Wilkinson, however, was not forgot- ten, and if we are to believe a vindicator of that faithless per- sonage, this money in sugar barrels was only his return from a tobacco venture. The specie was sent by two messengers. One got safely through. The other was murdered by his own boat- men, but neither Wilkinson nor Judge Tunes thought ii prudent to bring the felons to justice, and they were hurried off beyond the Mississi])pi. The late John Mason Brown of L()uisville, in an elaborate attempt to vindicate his grandfather, John lirown, the Ken- tucky senator, from comjdicity in these vSpanish consj)iracies, sat- isfied himself that he successfully defended Innes and all except Wilkinson and Sebastian fi'om the charges of baseness. "Lifted," he says, " to its last analysis, the story shows that certainly there were not more than two conspirators, Wilkinsoii and Sebastian. It does not seem that they communicated. They were base money-takers, both of them, but they made no ])roselytes. nor tried to." It is to be hojied that this explana- tion is true, but evidence is against it. I * i ii i [ipan led by rleans f'>i' 111 CHAPTER XXV. THE UNITED STATES COMPLETED. 179G-1798. f !■■ > *f I Si'AiX hiul, indeed, during the course of 1796, entered uihui 51 sy-iteni of delay very cliaraeteristie of her national humor, in earrying out the provisions of the treaty of San Lorenzo: but its ratification (April, 179G) had jjosiponed, if it had not averted, danger from that (puirter. But in the place of one dis(piietude had come another. French arrogance, which had received a temporary check by the suppression of Clark's exjx'- dition and by the futility of Carondelet's ulterior plans, made evident early in the year, was again asserting itself. With the uncertain drift of dij)loniacy and through the wafting of pas- sions, the federal government was never quite sure that the i)ro- visions of Jay's treaty might not at any time become an obstacle to the continuance of the enforced and somewhat dishearten in <; truce with Englaiul which, in April, was finally to be made operative. The public grew calmer because it was not informed : and such events as the new treaty with Algiers, entered into just before the treaty with Spain, seemed to the casual observer indicative of a new success in Eurojiean relations. In Febru- ary, 1790, Congress congratulated Washington on his birthday, with more warmth because it was generally felt that he was entering very shortly upon his last j'car in office. The Presi- dent himself was taking a more roseate view of public affairs than seemed warranted, and in March, 179G, he was writing t(» a friend : " If the people have not abundant cause to rejoice at the ha])piness they enjoy, I know of no country that has. We have settled all our disputes, and are at peace with all nations.'" This was true, but the prospect of a continuance of peace was not flattering. Pickering, at about the same moment, was ])re- maturely planning for the garrisoning of Natchez, and ])re]>ar- ing to meet a new outbreak of the Creeks, between the enmitv n^ Th:^\\KSSEE. 559 •vl liuinov, it luul not ace of oiu- which h;u\ lavk's exiH- phuis, uKule With the ting <>t P'*^' bhat the ino- k an ohstixcl*' isheurteninii ,o he ma»h' ot inf ornieA : entered into iual ohsevvi'v \n Fehru- his \)ivthaay. tiuit he was The Tvesi- nxiblic affairs .^s Nvvitins to to vev'i<''^ ^^ irathas. ^Ve all nations, of peace wn>^ aent, was pve- ;, and \n-e\YM- ■n the enmity of whom ami the retention of the Spanish posts he had not far to reach for reasons. Early in tlie year, the nearest white neiglihors of that tribe had made a notabU: movement in their convention at Knoxville on Jannary 11, 1790. Com})letin<^ its business on February G, it had annoiuieed to the worhl a constitution, based on that of North Carolina, but more reimblican, as .lefferson said, than any before framed, though in some jjarticulars respecting the taxa- tion of lands it has been held to be too favorable to the rich. It had been made without any enabling act of Congress, and in defiance of the right of Congress to order the census which pi'cceded it, and to determine whether the territory shoidd be made an autonomy within the Union or without it. It had cre- ated a new State, ready for union, if Congress wanted it, but a new State in any event. The convention liad had someremai-k- able men in it. Blount, wlio had sat in the federal convention of 1787, presided over it, and he was destined to be its senator in Congress. James Robertson had been called to the cliair when- ever the convention resolved itself into a committee of the whole. Andrew Jackson was there, soon to ride eight hundred miles on horseback to Philadel])hia, and to claim a seat in the State's behalf in the national Iloust; of Re])resentatives. He was better known now than when he looked on and saw the escape of Sevier from his enemies at the backwoods court-house. Tipton, one of those enemies, was now here, his associate in the conven- tion ; but Sevier was not there, though destined in a few weeks to be their chosen governor, and. later still, to be turned to by Washington's successor as a brigadier in the quasi war with France. The constitution gave and legalized the name of Tennessee to the incii)ient commonwealth. By Blount's agency the vexed and perennial ((i.estion of the Mississippi, which was so near its settlement, was fornndated as a fundamental law : "An equal ])articipation of the free navigation of the Missis- sippi is one of the inherent rights of the citizens of this State ; it cannot, therefore, be conceded to any prince, potentate, ])ower, j)erson or persons whatever." By the end of March, 179G, the State had assend)led its first legislature, and by it the new constitution was forwarded to tlie ^resident, who on Ajiril 8 laid it before Congress. A month of hesitancy passed. The federalists, led by Rufus King, V I I: i '.[■ !'■, i. ' if I' 5G0 THE UNITED STATES COMPLETED. \i I ; rallied against its aeci'ijtancc. They saw in it a trick to secuic another electoral vote for Jefferson in the coming count. ( )iii' of this party wrote : " The i)eoi)le of that country have cashificd the temporary government, and self-created tliemsclves into u State. One of their s])nriou8 senators has arrived, and has claimed his seat. No ET AM) THE WEST. 501 months of U'U WHS to u\ a stvon<,' oped itsi'lf. J cases sold { the Uppi'v iiy in Soutli w England, , and Boston With the in others not (1 a reschiil- the corrup- shiughtered M' effect, the Ly a bnvning- len with that now to trace locators, says offee-houses, dders, — hut lis leadership ally killed in for proseent- ithe territory demands was It was in the spiing of 1790 that Adet, now the French minister in Pluladelphia, entered actively upon his scheme of wresting the western country from the Union, lie selected for his agents to traverse that region two Frenchmen : one, ( Jen- eral Victor C'ollot, who is descriltcd, in the instructions for his apju'clunision, as heing six feet tall, forty years of age, and s}ieak- ing Knglish very well. The other — Warin, or Warren, as the same instructions name him — is descrihed as over six feet high, thirty years old, lately a sub-«'nginet'r in the American service, and speal'Mig Englisii tolerably. Tiie ex|)enses of the mission of these spies were to be borne by the French govern- ment. They were to observe the military posts and make gen- eral observations on the cimntry, which Collot's journal has preserved for us. They were to select a sj)ot for a military depot, and to make a list of influential persons whom they encountered. They were to sound the peojde on an alliance with France, and to point out how natural it would be for those beyond the mountains to seek a French connection. They were also told to express a i)reference for the election of Jeffi'rson to the presidency, and this was natural. It was the belief that (lallatin, whose career in the whiskey insurrection had not been forgotten, had taken a map by Ilutchins and mark«'d out a route for these emissaries, even if he had not suggested the movement to Adet. The whole project was a part of the resentment of France at the day treaty, which wa.s held to have annulled the treaty of 1778. It was supposed to be in the interest of annexing Louisiana to France, and to give her this larger domination in the Mississij)j)i valley, — a scheme that ralleyrand, e(pial to any depth of infamy, had, as we have seen, foi'undated. In May, Mclienry, now in the cabinet, informed St. (lair of the departure of these spies, and h(tj)ed he would discover ground for seizing their ])apers. About the same time, the repid)lican faction were credited witli an attempt, ostensibly for economy's sake, to abolish the major-generalship of the army, but really with the purpose of getting rid of Wayne and put- ting Wilkinson as the senior brigadier at the head of the army, as a more manageable person than Wayne. The death of the latter before the end of the year brought Wilkinson to the toj) more naturally, and the French faction doubtless knew him to be ae purchasable by France as by Spain. H I; II M " 502 THE I'MTia) STATES COMPLETE I). \i: \i I The French govenimeiit, in Maicli, 171H), lijul h)(lj;»Ml with Monroe, in I'aris, their coniphiints of th»' .lay treaty ; and wlun the tidings of the House's action, on April 80, in sustaininj;' tlic treaty, reached France, the authorities of the seapmts hci;aii a series of aggressions and ciiiuUiinnations of American vessels. liy Octoher, the exasperated Directory were (h'terniincd on more offensive measures. Monroe advised the; h'aders that a war witli the United Stati's wouhl throw the Americans into the arms of Knghmd, and set hack the cause of liheity. This minister lieard in August that Franci! was phmning a treaty with Spain, hy which L(uiisiana and Fh>ri(hi wouhl he suncii- dered to French iuHuence, and Canada was to he attacked, so as t(» surround the United States with alien iut«'rests. Moiirdc questioned the government, which promi)tly denied it. Meanwhile, Adet's spies were working in the west. Collot. in Kentucky, had faHen in with Judgt' Hreckenridge, and was endeavoring to convince him how a French alliance could with- stand the authority of the United States. Passing on hy tlic route which had heen marked out for him, Uollot made ohscr- vation of the portage hetween the Wahash and Maumee, where wagons were regularly conveying passengers, and saw how it " ought to he f(U"tified, if the northwestern States ever make a schism." Descending the Ohio, he stopped at Fort Massac, and found it occupied hy a hundred men, and eight twelve- pounders mounted in its four hastions. The channel, heing mi the opposite side of the river, showed him how it could lie ])assed in the night. Caught making sketches, the eonniiandcr, (^i])tain Pike, arrested him, and he was only allowed to jjroceed hy having an officer in com])any as long as he ke])t on AmiMicaii soil. Passing nj) to the Illinois settlements, where he liad hoped to discover the French eager for his counsels, he was clia- grined to find that the ])eople had no cpialities of the French hut courage. Collot, Michaux, and Volney give a \mhw account of these dejienerate Frencdi. "They live and look like sav- ages," says one. " Their thrifty American ncighhors had got the upper hand of them," says a second. Collot even says they had forgotten the succession of the calendar; that tiny stnhhcu'nly adhered to old customs : that they did not recog- nize their ])rivations: that they were huried in superstitious ignorance, and lived th'; lives of indolent drunkards. \VA snixr; Toys . i /> i •/( '/i. rm "(l with 1(1 wlun iliij; tlic l)fj;iin a s that a aiis iiitt) y. Tills a tn-aty I' siurt'ii- acU«'tl. •■><» MolU'Of . (\.ll..t. >, and w:>s ouM witli- on l>y tlu' latlo ohscr- nee, wlu'ic aw how it |irev makt' a t Massai', ht twelvo- 1, lu'hiu; on I'oultl ho uninaiuh'V, to ])VOt'tn'(l ij Anu'vii'an e lu' had e was cha- hi' Fri'iich or aci'ount like sav- rs had !;<'t even says that thry not ircoti- Ixpeistitiovis At St. Loni«, C'ollot learned thait hoth Caroiulelet anulcl comuict them with aliens. As the iiiitmiin iulvanced, the rehitions between Spain ami Knghmd, whieh had long been strained, and whieh had so iiiiich induced the treat}' of San Lorenzo, grew more and more inita- l)le. A year or so before, .Jefferson had written to Morris in London to intimate to the British government that a balanrc uf |iower was as neeessary in Amei-iea as in Europe, and anydis- turbanee of it by Knghmd's seizing Louisiana in eas«' of a nip. turo with S[)ain wouhl cause extreme uneasiness in America. It was a common rtnnor at this time that an expedition froni Montreal would be started against Louisiana, if the Spiinish should venture on a war. Collot heard of it on the Mississippi as to consist of two thousand British regulars, fifteen hundred militia, and a body of Indians, and he had given (iay(»so warn- ing of it at Natchex, During the summer, an Knglish spy had been examining the Ohio Kiver, and it was a sist either expedition, northward or southward, if it should seem best. M .11 KL L K '0 77' .1 A7> CA It OSDKl E 7'. 565 cm with mill ami so \\\\w\\ )iv inita- ^lonis i\\ lalaniT of il any 'li">- of a ni\i- Anu'vii-a. ition i'l'tm it> Sl)iini>l> MiHsissivi'i •u hun»li»tl lyoso wiun- In^lisli si.y ijucstittu if { 11 tlctiMUii- 1 Pittsltnv;^, has left till! rvi'V f*f ^"'' ,ea. He was III' coininauil- s of En^Vish avy fovci's. In ()i'tolH'V T. ,ou(lon. l*»>vt- iiat ('(Hil*^ ^* uiveut (lui's- ^vith or ^vitl^ ^.Hcont of tht' iiish, with or issipvU 1"!^^^'' [on, aiul ila^^h ivs of 'Freiu'li pO, issutnl a |u! of the lalif' as the t'aiisf hi a position I if it shoiil'l The inuii('(liat»' cfTt'ct upon the riiitcd States of this Anj^h)- Spaiiish war was the excuse wliicli l'arou(h'let found iu it to (U'lay the surrcnih'i' of Natchez and the other Mississippi posts, and to hh)cli the ))urpose of Andrew Kllicott, who had l)ecn (h'sij^nated liy the I'resiih'Ut as the Auieriean coinutissioner f of original Hritish r.ettk'rs, who lunl berii joiiu'd by Tories from the States during the Kevohitiiui. The American i)arty was mainly i)eople whom the States for one reason or another had ejected from their communitii's. In the district about the town there may have been ten thousiind souls, caj)able with the town of furnishing two thousand miliiiii foot, and two hundred dragoons. It ai)pearing that (Jayoso was strengthening the fort and iv- mounting guns, Kllicott had offers of volunteers, coming fidiii among tlu' nine tenths of the peo})le who were rejoicing in the })rospf;et of relief from Spanish rule. While Ellicott hesitated about assuming any military control, he was determined to send up the river for his troops. It was not best to let tlic Si)anish eonunander get too strong a hold upon the post. Tliere was no neighboring height from which a cannonade c(ml(l dis- possess him of the post, and New Orleans, a hundred leagues away, was within reach for succor. Gayoso objected to haviii"' the American troops at hand, but Ellicott was tirm, only tliat he was willing they should bivouac a few miles up from the town. Lieutenant Poi)e, who was in command of the escort, had been strengthening it by enlistments u)) the river, as he could Hud willinji" Americans in the neiuhborhootl of Fort ^las- sac, where he had stojiped. He had had orders from Wayne not to move forward till he had tidings of the evacuation : but EUicott's demand was j)resning, and he descended the river, reaching the neighborhood of Natchez on Ai)ril 24. ITl'T. It was now ai>i)arent that Sj)anish agents were wv)rking upon the Chickasaws and Choctaws to secure their aid in what looked like a struggle for })ossession ; but Ellicott was \^ wary as his o])ponent, and courted the (^hoctaws till he feit sure of their neutrality. At this point th-nv was a new reason given by the Spaniards — not ott'ered before — for delay, which was that n»'ws had been received of a contemplated British descent of tlu' river, and they nnist be met before they reached New Or- leans. Gayoso in fact had first heard of this intended British attack from (\»llot, when he ])assed down the river the pre- vious year. At that time, Collot had a marvelous tale to re- hearse. One Ohisholm — an P]nglishman, whom one shall soon know somethiui'' about — was raising a force in Tennessee. which, with the aid of the Creeks and Cherokees ami fifteen WILKiysOX AND POWER. ;)0( ■in!;- i" t^>'' ,t hesitiitod ■vmiiu'd to I to let tlu- ost. Thi-'vc i; I'DUIA tVlS- vetl li'iigiu's .a to luivinjj; m, only tl>:vt \ip f ron\ tht' { tlio escort, river, as lie of Fort ^las- fvom Waynt" .('nation ; ^ait [vA the river. . ITVtT. [vovkinji- "V^" li Nvhat looked \^ wary as liis sure of tluMr oiveii ^'y ti'*' luoh was tluU isli ileseent of Ihea New Or- ienilea Uritisli iver the pvc- i)i:s tale to re- inie shall soon liu Teunesse*'. >es ana fifteen hundred Tories :it N;itehez, was to attack the Spanisli, while the Ih'itish from Cantuhi, in company with Ih-ant and his Indi- ans, were to descend the Mississippi. It was now jnst ahont the time when, as CoUot then said, the American nivaders wouhl he gathering' at Knoxville, wliere they had the countenance of the (jovernor of Tennessee. The Spanish surveyor arriving at this juncture, and the sur- veying party having no necessity of witnessing the Anglo- Spanish conflict, F211icott thought there was a chance to begin his work. (Jayoso, wlio was now strengthening his works at Walnut Hills, thought otherwise, antl notified Kllicott, on May 11, that the survey nuist be put off; and this decision was con- tirmed by a proclamation which Carondelet himself issued oi; May 24. Kllicott jjrotested, and enr(dlments»)f the townspeople began as if serious business was intended. A fortnight later, on June 7, 1707, a connnittce of the citizens assumed control of the town, all parties agreeing to be peaceable. (Jayoso accpu- esced, since he couhl not do otherwise, and exhorted the popu- lace to keep (pact till the ditfercnccs could be settled. This revolutionary tribunal was disjdaced in a few days by another appointeil by (iayoso at Kllicott's dictation, and (\irondelet contirmed the choice. This was one of the last acts of (^mm- delet, for he was soon on his way to Quito to assume another charge, and (Jayoso ruled in his place, receiving his commission on .Inly 20, 1707. This departing, short, fat, choleric, but good-lnnnored gov- ernor was not to know the failure of anotlu'r of V\\ wily plans. lie had, in May, 1707, once more sent his old enussary, Thomas Power, to Wilkinson, to ask him to ket'p back any additional American force, because he intended to hold Xatche/ till the liritish danger was passed, and he could hcai- from Madrid. Power was also to let t)u' old Kentucky discontents understand that Spain had no infention of observing the San Lorenzo treaty, and that if they would swing that State away from the Uni(m, Spain was ready to make the most favorable terms with them. It was the old stoi-y. ICentucky constancy to Spanish interest was to he tested very shortly in an attack on Fort Mas- sac. The time, however, had passed for even a show of assent, and when Power reached Detroit, where Wilkinson was, that general made a.' appearance of arresting him, and hurried him ' 668 THE UNITED STATES COMPLETED. If »• •li I out of daiigiT. This was in September, 1797 ; in the follow- ing January, l*ower was back in New Orleans reporting' his failure to Gayoso. While Power and Wilkinson, conscious that the end of Span- ish machinations in the west had come, were talking over at Detroit the failure of their hopes, Ellieott, at Natchez, was receiving (Septend)er, 17W7) from his government the disclos- ure of another jilan, to link the turbulent west with British aid in an attempt to wrest New Orleans and the adjacent re- gions from the hands of Spain. This intelligence was aceoni- panied by tiie announcement that Jilount, now^ a senator from Tennessee, and shown to be a prime mover in this treasonaltle scheme, had been expelled the previous July by his associates in Congress, with but a single dissentient voice, and had hur- ried away from Philadelphia to esca})e further condemnation. Ellieott, on the receipt of this news, threw a new responsibility upon his committee of safety at Natchez, when he left it to its vigilance to detect and thwart any lingering treason in connec- tion with the same plot, which might exist in that neighbor- liood, of which, as we have seen, CoUot had heard a vague rumor the previous year. This dying spasm of western discontent needs to be eluci- dated. Blount had ])robably numerous accomplices. They have been reckoned at about thirty, u])on whom more or less sus))i- eion rested. They included a certain schemei-, one Dr. Ko- niayne. Colonel Orr of Tennessee, Colonel Whitely of Ken- tucky, and a dubious personage, named Chisholm. On A])ril 21, 1797, Bh)unt had written to Carey, the official interpreter of the Cherokees, in a way which showed that the southern In- dians were to be used in an attack on New Orleans, while a British fleet ascended the Mississi])pi, and a force of f(mr thou- sand frontiersmen, directed by Bhmnt and aided by Coh)nfl Anthony Ilutchins. a hot-headed officer of the English service. who was somewhat popidar in the Natchez country, were to descend that river. After the plan was known, there was a diversity of opinion as to the end the ])lot was intended to subserve. Some, as one said, sup})osed the real object was to alarm the Spaniards, and when the intriguers had created serious apprehension in tlic Spanish mind, the movers were to offer their services to arrest FRENCH INTRIGUES. 569 a a vague le iutevpvi-tei toutlwvu In- line, by ColoiH'l •Usli service. vy. of opinitm oiue, as oiu' .miavas. ai>*^ iisiou in tl'.f •es to ancs' or oppose the progress of the phui, aiul place the Spanish authorities under such obligations as to reap inunense advan- tages to themselves. The truth was probably more a))})arent, for the project was most likely intended to forestall a i)lot of Franee to seeure possessicm of Florida and Louisiana, which Talleyrand had urged as an offset to the effects of Jay's treatv. A transfer of the trans-Mississippi region to France was hehl to be inimical to the interests of the land s])ecidators of the west, who thought, by placing that region under the trnstee- shi}) of Fngland, to enhance the rei'iprocal advantages of an independent state, holding both banks of the Mississippi. It had for a long time been suspected that Franee was negotiating with 8i)ain to renew her old hold on the Mississippi. As early as November, 1790, Oliver Wolcott felt convinced that the transfer had been secretly effected '' with the object of having an inttuenee over the western country," Kufus King, in Lon- don, was growing to think that the persistent grasp of Spain on the river ])osts was an indication that this had taken place. Listim, the British minister in Philadelphia, writing to Gov- ernor Prescott of Canada, warned him that France was not to be content with Louisiana, but was longing also for her old dominion over the country north of the Great Lakes. He be- lieved that Adet had sent thither a skidking emissai-y, who was passing luuler the name of Burns, and was seeking to excite the Canadians to revolt. The dread of this in Canada grew so before the year closed that it was feared that Lower and U])per Canada would be assailed, on the one hand from Vermont and on the other from the west, where Collot was nund)ering the western Indians and thought to instigate them to the attack. Kumor laid out a broad ]>lan of attack. A French fleet was to ascend the St. Lawrence in .Inly, 1797, while the dacobins were to muster the invading force along tlu' American frontier. In March, Liston found everything dark. '■ Tli" damned French rogues," he wrote, " are playing the anish minister, and he had directed to it the atten- tion of Pick., .ing. He added evidences, not only of a pun)ose to attack New Orleans, but of a plan to invade Florida from (Jeorgia, while another force from Canada fell upon St. Louis and New Madrid. The situation all around was perjdexing for the administra- tion. S|)ain was pursuing a dubious course on the Mississippi. There were Franco-western designs on Canada. There were Anglo-western aims at New Orleans. Liston, the British minister, when appealed to, acknowledged Mil' BLOUNTS ISTIilGUE. 571 ce, u» ueant, war. ' •y bail ack to •uptiuo AcU't IK) war, ent tUo . uvji,iii:^ let, was 111(1 ffli- icaii U<'- iii latt'f ring was i7, ITl^T, iion that 3 aiK'ieut rtliat now le vu'W of llochcfoii- )f liouisi- ivavu'i' o f pr pvions t unity Nvi lis uiove- ote bi^^ notice of I tlie atteii- \\ piivixist' ri«la fr«'in St. Louis Llniini 4ra- [ississipvi- llONV lediitnl that ho hail been approached l)y irresponsilde persons in rej^ard to a British attack on Xew Orleans ; but he said he had thrown discredit on it, and had referred the i)roi)osition, with his disaj)- proval, to his government. The ministry's resjionse not coming, one John Chisliohn, a Scotch adventurer, who has been already referred to, and who had conferred with Liston, liad been, in March, 1797, sent to London by that minister, who had not only paid the fellow's passage-money, but had also, it was later believed, given him two sets of letters. One set was to accredit liim on account of this nefarious business, and was j)repared to be thrown overboard in case of necessity ; and tlie other set coneerned some ostensible mercantile transactions. King, in London, was warned to keep watch on Chisholm, and he soon rej)orted that he was leading a scamhdous life, and that the British government for a while i)aid his i)etty obligations, but that later he was thrown into jail for debt, (irenville, liow- ever, jn'otested to King that the ministry had promptly rejected the whole ])roposition. Meanwhile, Blount's letter, and his t'xpulsion from the Senate in July, had set everybody in America wondering how wide- s])read the defection was. Between the revelation of the \Aot and the final act of the Senate, Wolcott, on July 4, 1797, had written : " Our western frontiers are threatened with a new In- dian war. French and Sjianish emissaries swarm though the country. There is reason to believe that a western or ultra- montane republic is meditated. ... It is certain that overtures have been made to the British government for sup])ort, and there is every reason to believe, short of positive jiroof, that similar overtures have been made to Spain and France. The British will not now su])])ort the ])roject."" The opj)osite ])ar- ties, now i only balanc«'d, as the election of Adams by a bare majority showed, and bitterer than ever against each otln-r, scanned eagerly the names which were hinted at as associated with Blount. The federalists were rejoiced to find them all Jacobins. Boudinot expressed their opinions : '•' All who have been mentioned as conct'rned in the business are violent Jaco- bins, professed enemies to Oreat Britain, and who have Ik'cu continual advocates for the P^-ench, and always vociferating a Ibitish faction. . . . AVe are not withont fear that this may 1k^ a scheme of the democrats and Frenchified Americans to ruin f I'i l! 11! 572 THE UNITED STATES COMPLETED. F' 1 f < . ji . i ill England in the American oi)inion, and give the Spaniards an excuse to break their treaty with us." It is always unsafe to be determinate on diplomatic myste- ries, nor is there evidence that what llawkeswortii rejueseiitcd to King at a later day as the j)urpose of the liritish ministry was closely connected with this Blount imdertakiiig. I Us lord- ship said that the ministry had indeed considered a project of seizing Louisiana, and might perhai)s have used the British army then in Egy])t for the object. Their i)urpose, he j)ro- fessed, was not so nnich acquisition of tei-ritory as to find in the success of the expedition a ground for securing other advan- tages at the i)eace. Colonel Tnnnbull, who was at this time in England, wrote to urge the United States' seizing Louisiana and Florida, and emancipating ^Mexico, lie at the same time expressed the opinion that the federal govenunent might count on the English luivy to blockade on the Gulf, while the Ameri- cans did the work by land. After the Jilount plot had been discovered, the sununcr passed in Philadelphia with as nuich imcertainty as before. Pickering and Yrujo ke])t up their correspondence, and finally, in August, the Spanish minister wrote what Jay called " a fac- tious and indecent letter," which led Pickering to say that only a change in the Spanish humor could restore confidencfe and lead the United States to forget the past. The old sus})icion still ])revailed, and the procrastinating policy of Gayoso with Elli- cott was held to be only a putting off to allow France to assert a sovereignty in Louisiana, which it was })resumed she had already acquired. In November, 1797, King, in Loudon, re- ported to Pickering that the Prince of Peace had lately declared that the Directory of France had demanded Louisiana, and that the ccmrt of Spain found " itself no longisr in a condition to refuse." This was what Hamilton declared " plundering at discreticm." The news was indeed jn'emature, for the ti'eaty of San Ildc - fonso was three years off, and fortunately there was an interval left in which Spain could redeem her honor with the United States, and lead America, in Pickering's phrase, to forget tlie past. Tn November, Col'^nel Grandprie, who, under orders from Madrid, had arrived in Novendier in Natchez, to take c(iiii maud, was ignored by the committee, and when, in Decend ><':•. W I I THE MISSISSIPPI Ti: It HI TORY. 573 ids II n luysto- isontt'd uuistvy is lovtl- British lu; \n()- (\ in tiie • lulvan- tiine in (Ouisiana me time iht connt e Amt'vi- sunmu'i' [S \)et'<)n'. 1(1 finally, ;(l " a fao- tliat only and lead ion still ith KUi- to assi'vt slu> bad )ndon, vo- y declared iiiua. and condition idering at Sun ll'l''- iH interval lie Unit I'll Iforg-et the llor ord.rs tal^ (> ('(1111- )eee nih 1797, fresh United States troops, under Captain Guyon, joined Ellieott at Natehez, it was a waining- to Gayoso that he couhl not overh)ok. Events now moved vapidly, as they usually do when Si)anish obstinacy gives way to fear. In Januar}', 1798, Gayoso issued orders for the evacuation of Natchez, AValnut Hills, and the other posts north of 31". Ellieott was notified on January 10. After the usual Spanish torpidity, finally, on Mareh 30, under the eover of the night, and leaving everything uninjured, the S])anish troops filed out, and the next morning the Amerieau Hag was run uj). The Spanish troops retired downstream, and there was no [)laee hut Baton liouge left for Gayoso to niake a stand against an up-river apj)roaeh. This plaee was but thirty nules above Iberville Kiver, which bounded New Orleans inland on the north. The American Kepublic was now, after fifteen years' waiting, in possession of the territory in the southwest awarded to it by the Treaty of Indeiiendence. AVe have seen tnat it had waited thirteen years in the north to get contr(d of the lake posts. Congress at once (April, 1798) set up the Mississij)])i Terri- tory, covering the territory so long in dis})ute, and Winthrop Sargent, turning over the secretaryship of the northwest ter- ritory to Wiriam Henry Harrison, was sent to organize the government. He arrived at Natchez on August G. Three weeks later (August 20), Wilk'.ison, as general of the Ameri- can army, and bearing in his b tsom the secrets that made his pronuneuce a blot both on hiniself and his government, arrived at Natchez with a little army of occupation. ^Meanwhile, Elli- eott had left, on April 9, to begin his survey, and for two years was engaged in the work. So ends the story of the rounding out of the territorial in- tegvity of the Kei)ublic, as Franklin. Adams, and Jay had secured it in 1782, against the mischievous indirection of her enemies, French, Spanish, and British. With a country completed in it+^ bounds, the American character needed a cori'csponding rounding of its ti'aits. Jay, in a letter to Trumbull. October 27, 1797, had divined its necessities : " As to politics, we are in a better state than we were : but we are n^^ yet in a sound state. 1 think that nation is not in a sound state whose ])arties are excited by (d)jects 674 THE UXITEI) STATES COMPLETED. <■(! interesting only to a foreign power. T wish to see our j)eo]»l(> more Aniericjinized, if I niiiy use that expression ; until wt- feel and aet as an independent nation, we shall always sufi't r from foreign influenee."' Hamilton wrote to King in a similnr 8})irit : " The eonduet of Franee " — and he might have added of S2)ain and Jiritain — "has been a very ])owerful medicine for the ])olitieal diseases of the country. 1 think the connuunity im- proves in soundness.*" Not long before this, Tench Coxe, of Philadelidiia, made ;i survey of the condition to which the United States had attained : " The jmblie debt is smaller in jn'oiHirtion to the present wealth and population than the public debt of any other civilized nation. The United States, including the operations of the individual States, have sunk a much greater ])roporti(m of the public debt in the last ten years than any nation in the world. The expenses of the government are very nuich less in propor- tion to wealth and numbers than those of any nation in Eu- rope." The United States, with its rightful i)roportions se- cured, w IS now fairly started on an independent career. « Mr ;| *I #' '-ft !' -i >' ir |)('0|»K' until wi' lys suffer a siiiiilar added of lU'for tlic unity iiii- , made ii attained : nt wealth civilized IS of the m of the he world. II propor- in in En- rtions se- r. IJVDEX. I M INDEX. *» Ahhott, at Vinoeniies. 11-'; at Detroit. l-'7. AhiiiL'diiii, lucsiiytcrv, '-^-S. Adimi, KolM'it, in^ abi'oail, liiit; in Paris, 1'H;1; liis intlnt'ncc on tlie treaty (I7.v_'), 'JilS; (III tht' (late of till' treat y (ITS'.'), iM'.t; his iircdictions, •_'•_•(;; in London demands the |iosts, '-Ml ; on tin" loyalists, '2i'.\; sees Mraiit. l!7.'l ; j>raise of the British Constitntion, '-'"S ; Ditrilti, 40S; elected President. .'rflM. Adams. .1. t^., at The llajriie. 471». Adet, arrives, M'*\ ; intriH:ues at the West, .Mil ; retnrns to Kriince, .'>7(i. Alamance, battle. 7M. Alexiindria (\'a.). as a port for the West, ■J4S ; western rontes from, map, '_'4!l ; Washint^ton's estimate. L'.'it) ; commis- sioners iit. '_'.■)(>. Ali'.niiidn'd duzi-tti'. ;>7(). Aliiianions, :\\. Wl. 1(11. .Mletihany Mountain routes. 410. Alleifhany iJiver. ."Ml. Allen, Andrew. tKi. American, as a designation, il. American .\iiti-slavery Society. -Hit. American Hottoni. _.'> ; map. '-'7. .\mirirnn i inziltiir, .'!!.. "ilC!. Ainiriritn Mililiirii I'lickit Alias, '-'14. American Philosophical Society, and western discovery. ."(:>.'!. Aniiricdii l'i(i)it'n\ 'JM.'!. Ames, i'isher, his speech on tlie Jay treaty, 4.H1. Anian, Straits of, 104, •-•:«. Arniida, Connt d', l.'il ; his views of the western '' 't of the I'nited States, -'"■ Armstronir, Knsifjii, 'J7(>. Arnold, lieiiedict, his treason, 1S4 ; on the .lames River. !'.•<». Assiniboils River, 104. Aubry, (irovernor. at New Oilcans. 'X\. Aiinnsta (Ga.). 0; Indian trejities at, :i'-'7. Awandoe Creek. 20. Ilancroft. Dr. Edward, in Paris, 147, 15.'). Jiancroft. (Jeorfre. 1(11, Ranks, Sir .lose|)li. "_';'.!•. IJarker. Klihu. map of Kentucky. .">L'(i. Harlow. .Joel, afifent for the Scioto Com- pany. Ml; his map. .'Ul-:>i;i; and the Scioto C*oinpany, 402. Rathiii-st. Lord. 4H. Raton Rini^'e. lo!t. .■>7:i ; taken by Galvez, 1 (!•_'. Rayap)iilas. 100. Rean, William. 44. 77. Reatty. Chiirh's. 4:!. Reanlieii. in .Xineriea. .'>4. lieanmarchais, 14(1, 147, l.")"_'. Reaver, a Delaware, K!. Reaver Creek, '-M.S. JiC. Reck, L. K.. (idziltfir, _'."(. 17-'. Reckwith, Major, :'.!t4. Relpre, 4'-'l ; position of, -'07. Rernard, Francis, 4. Rernoiilli, Daniel. .'>12. RIand, Colonel, his ordinanee for a WPRt- ern State. ■-'44. Rledsoe's Lick. l'.':!. Rleiiiierha.sset's Island. 'J'.Hi. RIoomer. Captain, |(>'-'. Rloiint, William, made K-overnor. .'?"<>; seeks conference with the Clierokees, ."iKi, ."i2;> ; in the Tennessee Convention, iViO; expelle(l from l'. S. Senate for intrifjne, .">(W ; his trea.sonable jilot, ."iCS. Rlount Colletfe, .VJO. Rlue Licks, battle. '-'(U. Rieiiville, in Paris. ;'>4. Rij; Rellies i tribe). 4(i-S. I'.iu' Rottoin. 4_'l. P.iiiKham, William, •-'•J7. Rird, Cajitain Henry, i:!0; his raid, 17."). Roard of Trjide, and the western move- ment. 44. Ronne, (Jnrtf des Tretze Etals I'nis,2W, •-•11. Ronvouliiir. 14.". 140. Rocnie. Daniel, character. 44; i)ortrait, 4."); hfe by Filson. 44 ; tri'es \Vest. 77, .SO; (rives warninti' of Dimniore war, ■SI; caiitnred. I'-'^i ; escapes. I'J.i; de- fends IJooiiesboroiijjli, lL':>; helps Fil- son, :s:ii, Roonesboron^h. founded. X2; plan, s;!; attacked. Ill ; def< nded. I 'J:;. Ror(^. Ktienne de. ."i."il. Roston. sentiment on the .lay treaty, 477. Rostonnais. 1 1:'>, 14'_'. Rotetonrt. Lord. .">0. R(uiii('i> of F'.n^'liinil upon, •-'ll'i; ilM tixi'tl, •_'««•, L'lH ; l,y till- St. Croix. I'lS; altci'iiiitivi* liin-M for the iiorthfi'ii limits, '-'ID: rt'ctilicatioiis Iio|mmI for by tliii liritiHli, '.'i*i. HoiKni.'t, 7. ;M\'j!t;(. How.-ii. ciiin-iiccW.. r.;i.i. ISriwIt's. Williuiii Aii^iiHtiiH, .'!H4 ;arr»'sti'(l liy r.iroiidi'li't. ,".'.'!. liowiiiaii, Coloiit-I John. Ill, I'.'O ; riiid- iuK. I.W. Miiclitiiiaii'H Station, attiu-kt'.'i7. Uradnti't't't. (it-ncral John, and tht' Ca- nadiuuH, o ; bar(;ainH fur Indian lands, (ill. lirant. Just-pli. raiding, 11*4; woid; on the sitnation, '.M ; withdraws fi'oni the Kort Ilarniar Cimiicil. .!(»!• ; and the St. Clair cani- Iiai^n. 424; his activity. 4:mi ; on tho *res(|u'Isle cpu'stion. 4.17; in Phila- delphia, 442; with the Miainis. 447; confers with the American commis- sioners. 44S. Hrehin, Captain. I'W. iSroilhead. Colonel, sent to the frontier. 124 ; then t(t Wyominj; refjion, 124 ; joins Mcintosh. 124 ; succeeds Mcin- tosh. i:V.i: raids alont; the Alletfhany. 140; hopiu),' to attack Detroit, 140, 177 ; relations with (J. H. Clark, 17<>; at Pittsburg', 177; to cooperate with Clark, I'.M ; trouble with (libson, 1!».'5; retires fnnn Fort Pitt, VXk Brissot, ,1. P., on the Scioto Coiui)any, 402; portrait, 40;{ ; Commerce oJ\lmer- icd, 4o:!. Prown, tiacol), ?!•. IJrown, .John, ."ilW ; his conference with (iardo(|ui, .'{(L' ; in the Kentucky Con- vention, .■>(!'.•. Brown, .John Mason, in defence of John Brown, 5r)7. Brownsville. 2.">4. Bruff. Captain .lames, 4K;?. lirunel. Isand)ard, .")14. Bryant's Station, 204. Burbeck, Major, at Mackinac, -iW. Buifjoyne. ciiptured. ll."(. 117. Burfjoyne's Convention troojts. 12li, 141. Burke. Kdnnind. and the westward movement. 4S ; and Xew York, fio ; Freurli Uu-ohihiin, 400. Burnabv. in Vir^rinia, 11. Burnett's Hill. 20. Burnham. Major. John. 404. Burr. Aaron, advocates the admission of Tennessee, ."itiO. Bury, Viscount, (!. Buslinell, David, 514. Butler. (lenernl Kichard. (Ki. !KI. '.'.'i(i, 2ii'S; and the militia of Pi-nnsvlvania. 4 IS; under St. Clair. 42H. Butler's iiauKfrs, 12H. Cahokia. 2r.. 120; Clark at. 174. Caldwell. Captain, 204. Callender. his malice. 47M. CalvA 172. Camden. (iat*'s's defeat. IHl. Cameron. Indian iiKeut. 7!l; banding; tiie Southern tribes. HO ; amouK the South- ern tribes, IIMI, Campbell, Colonel Arthur, 'M4. Campbell, Colonel William, woidd l)uild a fort on the Tennessee, 17.H. Campbell, (leneral, sent to Pensacolii, U**; captmi'd at Pensacola, IHO. Campbell. .Major, at Fort Miami, 4.VI. Cana''>; proportion of Kn^lish and Freiu'h in, O.'t ; the French IKipnIation asks to have the "old lounds of Canaleasnre, 107; disc(uitented with the treaty (17S2), 21;i; pies to Kn^dand. li.'! ; deprived of tlio char},'e of the upper lakes. 127; with- drawintftroojis from the Atlanticcuast, 240. Carmichael in Madrid. \X\. Carolina traders. 1>. Carondelet succeeds Min'), ."i2o , his in- tri>;ues in Kentucky, 'd' ; their failure, ."i.')7 ; delays Kllicott, .">li."i ; retires, "). Cavahof,'a Hiver, 255 ; its character, 2!l.i. Ceioron, 120. Centiml nf the North West, 5;i0. Charles III. (Si»ainl. 150. Charleston (S. (".). to be iittacked. SO; a rising of the Indians to be simnltaiie- ons. Mil ; it fails. 02 ; surrendered, liW; attacked (17.H()), ISl. Charleston (V.l.), 5rd, and the nse of Indians in war, 127. ryDEX. ru9 iHylvtiiiU. umlint,' til" tlicNmth- 4. I'ciisai'oln. ami. -!.■''•'• ^. iDixirtioii ft Oil- Fiviiili I, the '■'.'''' stori'il, <'>^ ; l.V.t; to 1»' liitioii at b»M' iiteiiti'il NVitli ,.r iiii'iiliaiitH • Fienth i»- ,.liaii waifiire. ;WJ, 474. •"'l''. uelun-. •^:<. ''i^; ....viv.Ml (.» tlu! Atliiiitii'i'""***' i-^{\ , his in- tlu'iv failmj. let ires. .'••>'• Anii'iifHU Ui>t- iioitiiiit. i»>-; iu2; liis i»i'VS. provinrfH. lo^j ; IrWs, 1U.\ ••il-*-. ;ir.. ovtli rarolinians s'oi'.avacter. •^'.«- ,,s(, ,-,:«>. /attacU.Ml S'.>;a ti> 1)1' siiiiultane- iuiemlei'«il' 13H ; e, 'irA. e use of Iii(lif»»>s <'lifat HivtT. '.'.'i**. Clicat KiviT roiitf. '.'"iJ. Clii'i-okcf Kiver ('rciiiifHHHH Uivei'i, l(t, •_'o. Cli)'riikM«>H, .'>4rn<)r Tryim. I"; war witli tlit- norllifi'ii ti'ihi'H, 1 1 ; invade Illinois, '.')!: liia|i of tlifii- coiiiiti'V. '>l ; tlicii' claims favort'd, .V> ; oii|iohi'iI by !"'i'aiikiiii, .'>•>; l4'asi* land to tin- W'ataii^'a sitltlfiui'iit, 7'.i; treaty with llfiidi'iHon, s." ; make laixl i-essHHis, S^ ; leady for war. M'; tiieir Hettlcments. '.)'_'; their miml)ei'H. !*■-', asj ; attaeked hy the wliites, !i_' ; hroii^ht to a peace. !•;( ; cede lands, \>'> ; Uoi)ertson amon^', 14)1; their claim to the Kenlncky region invented, hi? ; risinvf ( ITS'" are defeated. I7H; active (I7sli. !!•■_' ; thi'ir forays n|>on tlieTeii- iiessHc and Cnmherland settlements. ;is|, .'t.S'_' ; relations with the anthori- ties. ;tH-.' ; on the Scioto. I'.tl ; at I'liila- ilelphia, .■)'_'(> ."(47 ; attacked hv Orr, .■.47. ChiciiRo, 'i<>4, 4!>l ; Amerieiiii settlers at, •-•KH. Ciiickamaiik'as. 'X\4, 'W2 : rncalcitrant. 'M; settle lower down the Tennessee, !••( : attacked, I'M; attack Donulson's flotilla. I7!». Chickasaws, SH, ;W2 ; invade Illinois. •_')! ; trihe. ;MI; map of their country, ;>!, ;Vi'J ; favor the. Americans. .">4(i ; luuke peace with the ■ 'reeks. .VrJ. Chi' ,. ("hippewa Kiver, 104. ChiopewiiN. their country, ;!!•; on the Ohio, 4:1 Chisholm. .John, rumoi's about, .'>ti(i, .'Mi? ; sent to London, ."»71. ("hiswell mines. Id. Choctaws, !l, "JH, :'A). ItSii ; map of their country, ."U ; their bucks, .">4t). Choiseul, 4 ; and Kni;land, ;>4 ; rejoiced at the American revolt, ;>t). <''hristian, Colonel William. !•:!. Cincinnati, Clarkat itssite. 17ii ; founded, ;!1."( ; seat of government for thu coun- try, 401 ; jMipulation, 4ilS. Circ(Mirt, on the treaty (17»'J), 'i'i.'J. Clare. Lord. 40. (;iark, Daniel, ISl. Clark, (reor>;e Ko'jfers. his cont|Uest of Illinois. ■_' ; with Cres.ip, (ili; liuilds Fort Fincastle, 7'-', in Kentucky, Ilti; sent to \Villiamsl)urjf, 1H>; sends spies to the Illinois, 117; a^ain at Williams- burt,', 117; his instructions, 117; de- scends the ( )hio, 1 IK ; his face. 1 IS ; his land march. IIH; captures Kaskaskia. nil, r.",t; p)es to Cahokia. 1_'0; aided by Vifjo. l-'l ; and by Pollock. I'.'l ; attacks Vincennes. l.'i."{. l.Ti ; leaves Helm in command, l^ri; at Kaskas- kia, l.'Ui; sends dispatches, l.'Ki; aban- dons plan of attacking Detroit, 1:{7; disappointed, 141 ; his men promised lands, 141 ; at the falls of the Ohio, I tl ; bin letters. 141 ; liis memoirs, 1 41 ; stru^'Klin^' to maintain himself in the Illinois country, It'!; Iiis ex|H-ndiiureH, 14.1; Pollock's aid, 14:i; bounty hinds for his soldiers, 'sti; builds Fort .lef- ferson, 171; ai ( aluikia. watt'liin^; M. Louis. 171; iMUKiuk' with a Kentuckv force. I7."i; relations with t 'olouel Mrod- head. I7)i ; at tlie ( tliio Falls. 177 ; com- mandiui; in Kentucky. \~'<; his aims il7Sli. I'MI; aidiin; Sieuben, UK); his instructions 1 December, 17H0I, nil; moves down tile ( )hio, I'.KS ; inactive at the fall < I'.U , his hold 011 the Illinois ciimiliy. I'.Ci ; his coiiipiest abandoned by CoiiK'iess. '.'01 ; at tlie falls, Jo;! ; in- vades the Miami country. '-'(M ; etfect of his con(|uest on the peace il7.S'Ji, ■JI.'S; cost to \'ir(;inia of (lis <'' stock of a ."Span- ish tr.'ider at X'iiicenues. ;U7 ; to coni- inaiid on tlie Mississippi, :i7'S ; with thu Flench faction, .">;!'_', ."i^W. 'lark. William, 4.Vi. 'leaveiaiid, .Moses, ."lO'J. 'level.iiid, '.'114 ; settled, ."iin.'. 'liiich Hiver, s|. 'liiiton, (lovernor. '_'"_*!'. 'olden, on New Kni;land, 4. 'dies, (lovernor, -S\). Collot, Victor, •liiurui'ii li> Sorlh Atinr- ira, ."lO- man from his Atlas, 'JiM ; Jounial in S'l'ttli Ann rim. 414; ar- rested, .Vil ; iutri^ues at the West, ."il'^O. Colonies. Ku(;lisli views of, 41. Columbia Iviver. I04 ; its existence sus- iiected by the .Spanish. '.MS; discovered by ;i llostoii ship. '.'.'>!•, .'«!i'J. ."i."k>. (^iilitniliiiin MiK/iniiif.'dtWK l'.'.'4. Committee of Secret Correspondence, ^ 14.-.. (\in(!sto)i'a wajjons. '2\M'>. Confederation, weakness of the. ISH, Coiifedei'jition, Articlesof. Ili7 ; delays ill a'ioptin^'. ItiO. 170. C'.njrress. deceived as to F'rench and .Spanish aims. Hi4 ; sends, lay to Spain, liil ; (jraiits western l;iiids as liouulies, liis ; tirm on the Mississippi (|iiestion, is.'.; weakeninir. 1S4. Ins; aud the laiiil cessions, ISti; discn"!its X'iif^inia's claims, '.'IMI; supine before the. Span- isli demand, "JlKi; awakes to the situ.a- tion and votes to yield nothiiiK-. '-Ol ; iittirms the succession of the confeder- ated .States to the territorial rij^hts of the several colonies. '.'0."i ; seeks to have the States tiuitcl.aim their western lands. 207 ; becomes jiowerless after the war, ■-'"-'K ; demands the jiosts. 'SM ; petitiiMied for survey of Ohio lands for soldiei-s. "-'44 ; ])roliibits occupation of Indian lands. '.M'l : accepts land ces- sions without inquiry into title, 24t> ; \k 580 INDEX. m If i "■'i (■ considei-s the Vii't^iiia proposal, -4; otters a ([nalified cession ol' western lands, lS(i ; her western lands, '_'(i4 ; dispute with Pennsylvania, L'(i4 ;^ cedes her western lands, 'JtI4 ; her Western Keserve,2ti4 ; reservation in Ohio, oOO ; Firelands, "IHI. Connecticut Land Company, olH). Connolly, 1 >r. (Colonel) John, o'J ; and Vii-- (,'inia's dispute with Pemisylvania, (i.") ; at Pittsburtr. arousintr the Indians, S."( ; ' his varied movements, S(> ; his i)lan» of seizinfif Pittsburf;', Sii ; captured, NJ; intritjninfj:, .'!()S ; an informer, .'Uw ; soundinjT the Ohict, "KU. ConiKU'. James, ."i.')S. Continental Contrress, .action on the Que- bec Hill, 7.") ; address to Canadians, V5 ; sends commission to Canada. 7."i ; ad- dress to Entrlish synipathizei's, 7") ; creates three Indian dejjartments, S.j. Continental money, depreciation of, Iti.S, iss. Conway, Monciire D., 187. Cook, Captain James, his voyajje, 238 ; his journals, '_'.'W ; accounts of his voy- age, ;i!Mt. Cooper, Thomas, 478, Copper ore, '.V2'.i. Corn title of lands, 4!t. Corni)lanter, the JSeneca chief, and Wa-sh- iiiKton, 4'_'4, 4.'{4 ; at the council of the Miamis, 443. Cornstalk, a Shawnee chief, at Point Plea-sant, 73 ; wavering, 114 ; mur- dered. 11 4. Cornwallis, L(!rd. his plans, 138 ; surren- dei-s, 188, 1202, 2(»3. Coshocton, lil2. Cowai., John, .")!•. Cox, Zachary, .")1."), Coxe. Tench. .■)74. Cral) Orchard. !•<). Crait.'. .Majiu-. 'JOl. (^raiK, N. H., (Hilcii 'rime, 107. Cramalii'. in Canada, (i3, Crawford, .lolin, 271. Ciiwford, William, 148; sent West by Washington, 43 ; on the Yougliio- ghenv. ."ill; sent to the Dinwiddle grant, 53 ; at Fort Pitt, 110; killed, 2(14. Creeks, 30, ,38'J ; map of their coimtry. 31. 3S,". ; in the Hi'volutiim. ,S8 ; unite with Cherokees in land cessions. 8S ; their savagery, 88 : aid the (Georgians, !'2: and the North Carolina govern- ment. 328; in the Oconee war, 3;>(); war with, imminent, ."i44 ; attacked by Sevier. •"'44 ; numbers. ."i4li. Cresnp, Colonel Michael, buys Indian lands, 4'; on the Monongahela, 50; a leader. (10; accused of cruelty, 72; goes to Boston. Ni. Cr^vecoMir. Lettra d'uu CuUivntmr, ilii ; mai)s from. tKi. 07, 2."(8, 'J.V.I, 2!»3-i.'li:. '; Voycujf dans hi haute Peuxylrunic, map from, 2!lrohibitory laws. 241. Delaware, accepts Articles of Confeder- ation, 170. Delawares, send messenger south. !I0 ; friendly. 1 12 ; divided interests, 124 ; disart'ected. 12S ; divided. 132; sus- ix'cted. 130 ; jieace party, 177 ; exciting suspiciini. 102. I >ennian. M.ithias. 315, 1 )"Estaing. Count, his proclamation, 13,s ; in .\merican watei's. 1.58. Detroit. 175 ; described. S7 ; its strategic 1 importance, 112; naval force at. 128; INDEX. 681 elty, 71\ itmr, t'iti ; •^'.K'.-'J'.ir. ; anic, luap uiwix, l"i ; iator with ludiiinsiil' tiyiiit; to nut; on till) jliertson av- (ITSO). !«••; rth Carolina •iatiou, l^^'; SO; Ko\)eit- de a county, >8 ; its isola- eter.2Sl;ap- , 'iS'J ; stai\ils davery, -^''''^ ; favors ^t. li'o associatfs, ;>oiu\uet, 'ill; Dhio coutttry. uboat, :H7. he passage of OH the olili- itioiis at, :i'''l ; B, ;U ; etnljarks li'. VI' ; to aid tiarai'ter, l^^"; U. 1-1-i, -•^" ■- *" "liuNW>, 'io:;. 147 ; comiiii*^- (if a westt-iu Ider the treaty Iterostonthein, i laws. -41 Is of Couteder- icer soMth.!«>; I uiterestK, i--t . Ih'd. i:'-i; .«P- ,' 177 ; excitiuK iclanmtion,!'^^; |S. ,^7 ; Us Htratetrie ll force at. 12S ; anxiety at Vi"; its prarrisoii. 140; re- inforced, 141 ; I)e Peyster in com- mand, 14'-'; t;arrison at, 17(1; still threatened, 177, I'.Ht, lltS; its posses- sion demanded, '_'.">4. Dickinson, John, 7. , presents articles of confederation, H>7. Dickson. Colonel. Ki'J. Diiiwiddie, (xovernor, 8, 47. Donelsoii, Colonel, {joes to Nashville, 17!». )oniol, 14.-.. '."_':!. Doolittle, Amos, ■MV.i. Dorchester. Lord, at Quebec. 27t>; told not to Jissist the Indians openly, 'J7(i ; iiis western intriffues. •'7.> ; and St. Clair's canipaitjn, 4 '_'.■> ; his injudi- cious speecli, 4.")4 ; returns to Enjjland, 4s;t. Douffhty, rai)tain, 272. Doutrhty, Major, 27;". Douglass, Ephraini, 2;)(i. Drake, Sir Francis, 104. Duane, James, 2.jH. Duck Kiver, :u;i. Duer, (Jol. William, relations to Manas- seh Cutler, 2i»2, ;Ul ; liis failure, i:?".. Dunlap Station, 421. Dunmore, Lord, ojjposed to the Walpole (jrant. 4!t ; his creature, Connolly, 52 ; tfoes west, .")7 ; his western ^jrants, ,■)!•; takes Fort Pitt, (m ; issues a procla- mation (April 21), 1774). (HI; Delawares and Shawnees aroused, (iH; on the HockhockinjT. 7;i ; makes treaty, 74 ; Tory syinpathies, 74 ; and Henderson's Transylvania. 84 ; arousing slav 'S and Indiius. S,") ; driven on hoard a f rifjate. Ho ; liis plan to seize the northwest, 87 ; and the western Tories-, Hi ; pro- poses to settle the loyalints on the Mississippi, 24'2. Duim. Mdi) of North America, 214, Diirrand. 17;?. Dutchman's Point, 2'M. Dwifjht, Timothy, .■■U. Eaton's Station, i'l. Ehelinfr, 47.S. Education, and the Ordinance U7H7), 28,"}, 2S ; descer,ds the Mis- sissippi, ."Mm ; inter^ iew with Carond"- let, .">•>."> ; hriufjs down his troojis, .■|t>ii. Elliot, Matthew, tur'is traitor. US ; mid- in^r. 17.-); breaks up the Moravians at (Tuadenhiittcn, 10."). Emitjratiou west. .-)(>. Eutrland. her di'ht from the Amciican war. (i; her misjudiinient in Ijriiiiiiniv on the war. 144; effect of the Ficncli .alliance upon. I."i4 ; acts of conciliation in Parli.'iment. l.-)4 ; her navy. l.'iS ; ;iiid the peace il7S'Ji. 210. 21:! ; cost of the war. 220, •J2.-) ; its losses. 22.") ; her tem- l)er suspected. 22i), 227 ; her traders in the Ivockies. 2.'!0 ; s\ii)plyinir Indians with powder, 275 ; her iiitriKues in Kentucky. :i7.">. .-t)5 ; war witli Spain, English Colonies. |)opulation, (> ; pro- spennis, li; cond)ining, 7. Erie Triangle, 2iH>. Ettwein. IJishop, .")(). Kvans and Pownall's Map, ■V.K Evans and (libsou ,i Map, 100, Evan.-,. .1/ /(/(//(- Colo,:i'>!!. 251. Ex}ti(Ut-nry of stcuriiuj ■..„• American C'vloiiie.i, 25. Fallen Timbei-s. battle, 4.-)!>. Faiichet, .succeeds (tenet, .541. Fiiit ralist. The. 27.S. Ff— ,iO. Gazette of the United States. 4((H. Fergiis.son, defeated at King's Mountain, ISl, Filson, John, on Boone, 44 ; surveyor, I>15: killed, old; in Kentucky, .'(iU ; his maj). ^i^il. Finlay. .John. 4(), Fish ('reek, !)S. Fitch. John, mnr of the northwest, ">21, ;>22 ; relati'iis with Franklin. .'i24 ; ridicided, ;>.5 ; his steamboat, 512. Fitzniaurice, Lord Edniond, Life ofShel- Iniriie. '2'2'.i. Florida, Indians of, ;!7 ; Luzerne urges an attack ujjon, 1(14 ; Spain's desire for, 1.S4 ; restored to Spam, 222. iSee West Floriihi. Florida Blanca, Count, made minister, 151 ; offei-s mediation, l.")4, Floyd, John. (il. Fort Adams. 4.-)(). Fort Armstrong. W.\ Fort Bute at Mancbac, captured, 1(')2. Fort Charlotte. .SO, 181, 521. Fort Chartres, 2(>. Fort Defiance, 4.-)(). ( Fort Fincastle. 72. Fort F'iimev. 272. F.U't (iage."2(i, ll.i. Fort (tower, 72. Fort Harmar, 20.! ; view of. 203 ; site, 200. :!(M), ;io;(, ccnmcil at, 30,S. Fort Henry, 72. 112, l.iO; attacked, 114, 104. 204. Fort Jefferson. 174, 178, 428. Fort Laurens. 125, l.'!2, i;i8 ; abandoned, i:!0. Fort Lawrence. 2(10. Fort Ligonier. 130. Fort Mcintosh, b'lilt, 125 ; repaired, 2(iS : view. 2()0. F'ort Massac. 25. .5(12. Fort Miami. .'IS. 4.55. Fort .Moultrie, attacked. 07. Fort Nelson. 104. Fort Niagara, view. 440. Fort ( )ni.itanon. .">s. Foit P.iiimnre iNatcbez'i. 1(12. ISO. Fort l'lai|Ui'mines. 551, Fort Pitt. Iiidi;ins meet Croghanat. Tl; Crawford in command. 110; critical situation under Hrodhi>ad. 102. Fori liandolpb. 112. 115. 1:12 ; aban- doned, l.iO. 582 INDEX. h\ \ Fort Hi'covery, 4")"). F(.rt Itosiilit;, Kt'. Fort Iiull('(l)j:t,'. '.14. Fort Sackvillc. I;i4. Fort St. ,Iost'i)li. .lit. Fort Sclinvler. L'.'il. Fort Staiiwix, '.'(iS; treaty (ITtJH), 1"), !H;, ■Jiis ; iiiai) of the property line, 15 ; site, lit. Fort St("i)li; not enti- tled to American }j:ratitude, l(i.">; abet- ting,' Spain on the .Mississippi tpiestion. I'So ; intrigues on the ^lississippi. 'M'l ; her su])|)osed desire for the Mississippi valley. ."Mi'.t ; threatening^ war, .")7(>. Frankfort (Ky.), site. ."i7. •■>.")(!. Franklin, IJenjamin. warns the En^flish government, 7; in London, 14; his barrier colonies. '_'"J ; favors an Illinois colony. ;W ; opposes Hillsborough. 41 ; the Walpoie Company. 47 ; on canaliz- ing^ rivers. .VJ ; his answer to Hillsbor- ough. .")."> ; disputes Virtirinia's western claims, .")."> ; on western lawlessness, ."ili ; urfifes repeal of the (Quebec Hill, 7'i ; the head of the Committee of Secret Correspondence. 14."> ; sent to Europe, l")(i; influence in Paris. l"il : hears of Burnfoyne's surrender. l.VJ; sole com- missioner, ir>.S ; discredits the Vir- ginia Charter clain's. 1(17 ; drafts Act of Confederation. 1(>7 ; deceived by Verf^ennes, 1S4 ; his character, '-'OH ; his action on the treaty (17.S"_'), '_'()S; distrusts loyalists, 217 ; could he iiave secured Canada to the United States at the peace (17S"_')'.' '-'17; relations with Hartley. 'I'l'l ; fears a renewal of the war, 1.'"_'7 ; thinks the evils follow- \n\^ the war unduly ma^rnitied, "-''JS ; Sending Fi-lons to . 1 wirlni. "J.'iO ; on the British del)ts, ■_';!(•; and the loyalists. 24'_' ; offers f^ratuity to Fitch. :i"_'4 ; re- turns from Europe. :)4'_'. Franklin, State of, betfiimiiifrs of, :>41. .'U'-' ; Frankland, an alternative name, ■'i4.'> ; unrest in, :'•.">((; the collapse, •■>."p4. Franklin, William, governor of New Jersey, 7, 1.") ; favors an Illinois col- (uiy, ;w, Fraser, Lieutenant, L'S. Freiu'h, the, their intrigue witli the In- dians, H ; contrasted with the English in relations with the Indians, S ; rivals of tile English in trade with the In- dians, 23. French Lick, 14;!. P'reneau, \(ilii>n ; in London, 2.'<7 ; on the lakes, 24i) ; and the lake posts, 41(i; in the West, 4(17, Fur traders on the Mississippi, 2',t. (Jage, (jeneral, and the Canadians, .">, I 2.') ; and the western fur trade, 2S ; the I Illinois colony, .'W ; retires, (>(•; and : the French on tlie Waba.sh, 7(1; in ! Boston, Sd ; wishing to seize New I Orleans, U)S. (ialianoand Vald(5z, '>'M>. i (iallatin, Albert, 451 ; liis western lands, 25(> ; supposed complicity with Adet, 5(;i. Gallipolis, 404, 4;V! : position of, 21K); a " wretched abode,"' 4'.l\ 5.i,S. (ralphinton. ^U.'!. (ialvez, Bernardo de, at Natchez, 142; at New Orleans, 14!l : issues proclama- tion, 157 ; attacks the English posts, 1()2 ; extends Louisiana, KJ.'l; .attacks Mobile, LSI ; takes Peiisacola. IS'.I ; his I)ortrait given to Congress, 222. Gardoqui, Diego de, confronts Jay on the Mississijipi (luestion. is;! ; arrives in America, ;!1S' relations with Fitch, ;V24 ; arrives in I*hihideli)hia, ;i;)7 ; in- triguing at the West, ;r>;i ; and Mir(5, ;)5() ; seeks to implicate Sevier, ;)()0. Gates, (leneral, defeated at Canulen, ISl. (rautier. marauding, b'io. Gayoso. his deportment, 51H ; intriguing in Kentucky, .55;! ; ^nvernorof Louisi- ana, 5(i7; ordei-s evacuation of Natchez, 57;i. Genesee country, 52S ; rights of Massa- ch'iset s in, 2(i4 ; mai), 4'.H.». Gene' , his democratic clubs, 45;? ; jirrives in imerica, 5;!2 : would induce a war wi'h England and .Spain, 038 ; deposed, 54 i. George. Lieutenant. 157. Georgia, Indian cessions in, 9 ; dis])utes with the federal government, ;)7(>; mai '>77. (leorgia co'iip.iny, ;>77. Gi5rard, lu Bhiladel])hia, 155; to pre])are Congress to yield to Spanish wishes, 155; urges on Congress the projiriety of the Spanish demands, 1.5!l. Germain, instructs Hamilton to make raids. Ill ; favors mara\uling i)arties. 12(i; liis plan for a campaign on the Mississippi. 142; his i)lan to maintain line of cmiimunications between Can- ada and F'lori:?; and Mu'O, iW Sevier. :>•)>'• (lat Camden, ISl. ,t, ,")1S ; intriKumH iveruor of Louisi- latiou of Natchez, ri^dits of Massa- ip. 4'.»',t. thihs. 4.-.;? ; arrives juld induce a war tun, .^W ; deposed. Ins in. <.t : disputes government. :mIi; |i. l.V); to prepare 1) Spanlsli wishes. less the propriety lids. 1.-.'.'. limiltou to make laraiidiuK parties. Icainpaitrn on the Iphm to maintain |ms between Can- .729. iid by Spain, 15!'. Gibson. Captain (reorpe, 147. Gibson, Colonel Jolin. 1'_'4; at F'ort Lau- rens. 12.'i. l.'W; noes West with his re^'i- luent, !!•! ; succeeds Urodhead at VovX Pitt, l'.l."i. Girty. (ieorjre. 1!)4. Giity. .Simon, Tli, S.'t. 271 ; suspected. 114 ; turns tr.titor. I'JS ; leading' Indians. l.'iN ; amoii); the Wyandots, I'.l'J; his temper at the dose of the war. '_'.'>7 ; and llarmar's campaitni, 4-1 : at the Miami Council, 44."i. 4."i(i ; aftei' Wayne's victory, 4(iO; leaves Detroit. 4S;!. (iirtys, the, raidin}', 17."). (Jnadeuhiitten, broken up, lil."). Gooch, tfovernor of \'irginia. W\. (ior(U)u, Captain Marry. '_'.'). Gordon. Colonel (Jeorge. on the Ohio country. i;i; at Fort Pitt. 14!l. (iordon. Dr. William. 4i)4. (lorilon, i\ev. WilJiiim, 72. (4r;ifton. Duke of. 11. (irand Portage. 22(1. 2.'.!t. Grantham. J>oid, at Madrid. Kid. Gratiot. Charles. i:i(i, 171. Grayson, 2(il, 2ii2; on the Mississippi (luestiou. MW. (ireeubrier Kiver. 11. Green Kiver, 4!l. Greene, Nathanael, in the South. IHl, DiS. Greenville camp, 4.72. Grenville. Lord, on the retention of Can- ada. 217 ; and .lay. 4(14. 47(i. Grimaldi. reconunends ),''rant of money to the .\mericaus, 147 ; retires, l.")l. Guadaloupe, J. Guthrie, Geoiiruithy, 4(>8. Ilaceta, 2.'i><. llaldiniand. (Tcneral. urpes settlements in the Mississippi. 2S ; in Pensacola. ;>1 ; views. 40 ; succeeds (lapre. (Kl ; dis- turbed by Duimiore's acts. (1."); and the Frencii (-n tlie Wabash. 7('; watcliiufi: New Orle.'ins. IdS ; does not approve Hamilton's advimce on Vincennes. 12(1; relieved in maiandintj. 12S ; his anxie- ties. i:W; reinforces Detroit. 141; in- structed to iittack Xew Orleans. 1(11 ; canalizes the St. Lawrence. 17(i; to aid .'Sinclair's movements. 171 ; urfrint,' raids. I'.Ki; inactive (17.S2). 2(>:! ; en- deavors to make jjood th(! (Quebec Hill, 21(1: refuses to suri'eiuler posts. 2;l."p ; rebuked by his [government. 241 : fears an Indian war. 2-1.") ; and the disaf- fected Iroi|nois. 271. Hall. Col()n(,'l. sent to demand the posts. 2:!."). Hall. .lames. Shetrhis. S:',. Hall. LieMteiiaiit. 7(t. Hamilton, Alexander, on western lands as a source of revenue. 1S7 ; fearful of tht^ (lanji'ers after the peace ( 17.S2i. 22.S ; ()liserr; supposed to favor monarchy, 277 ; on a moneyed aristocracy, 2!H) ; and the western lands, 4'l7, .")(i4; his op|)osi- tion to .letferson, 4(l.S; advocates tiie I .Jay treaty, 47S. Hamilton. Colonel Heiny, at Detroit, .S7 ; intri^^uinj; with the Indians. '.Ml, 111; I oivani/intr raids. 111; his proclama- \ tioii, 112; his plans (1777i. 112; con- trols the Ohio valley. 112; would or- ganize chasseui's at X'incennes, 112; would attack New Orleans, llii; at- tacks Vincennes. 12(1; his em|iloynielit of hidians. 127; in chaise of the war on the upi)er lakes. 127; at Detroit, 127; suspicions. 12.S; si'uds parties to the Ohio, 12.S ; hears of Clark's suc- cess, 12',t; sends me.ssenjjer to Stuart. 12'.t, i:il ; his larne plans. 12it; calls ou De Peyster for aid. i:>«l; takes \'iu- cenues, l-'il ; warns the I^panisli com- mander at St. Louis. 1.'!; ; his plans. l->'''> ; captured and sent to \''!i>,i!ii;i. 11' ) ; his official report, l.'l.") ; on parole. 1 :)."). Hamtranu'k. at Fort Ilarmar. 2!M) • on the Wabash, 41'.>, 441 ; occupies Fort Miami, 4.s;>. Hand. General, at PittshurK-. 112; on the defensive, 114, 11."); at Fort Pitt, 117; his " squaw campaiffu.'' 12.S. Hardlabor (S. C), 1(». Hariuar. General, in comm.and, 27(1 ; .at Vincennes. 2!Ki; his campaign. 418. Harper, Robert E., ")7(l. Harrison, Benjamin, governor of Vir- t^inia, 2.")1. Harrison. Ueiiben, l.")(). Harrison. William Ilenrv, with Wavno, 4.")7 ; .secretary of the ^northwest Ter- ritory, .")7.'!. Hjirrod. James. 44, .'i.'il ; lays (uit a town, (il ; at Harrodsburfr. .Sl.'s2. Harrodsburfj:. .'12.S ; attacked. 111; con- vention. 1 Ki. Hart, Kev. .John. .")2!t. Hartley, relations with Franklin, 222. 22.S, Hay. Major, l.il. Heckewelder. 441 ; would restrain the Indiatis, 12.S ; liis maps, 2."i."), .")((7. Helm. Leonard, sent to Xincennes, 12(1; surrenders. i:!l ; released l)y Clark. i:i4; left in conunand at N'inceimes. 1 :;."). Henderson, colony, .'^l •h;iracter. ills bis Colonel Iiicbai'd, and ; at l)(ionesl)oii)U[;ll, ■'^.'i ; S4 ; opens land oHice. '.'7. Henry. .Vlexander. 24. ."..S'.l. Henry, Patrick, and western lands, (>1 ; fj^overnoi' of Xir^-inia. lit; seeks to open ti'.ide with Xew Orleans, l."i."i ; f.ivois letaliatiiiu for the (le|ii)itatiou of tile blacks, 2:12; ni'^rinj; amaltram.i- tion of races, 2:i(i ; on the loyalists. 2t:i; on X'irj^inia water-w.ays, 24.-> ; and the western routes, 2.")7 ; iuid western land jjrabbers, 27(1; on the Mississippi (fuestion, :>1!( ; and Fitc'b's ste.imboat, :i24 ; his confidence in the conf'edera- 584 INDEX. >i* I ■ 11 ' V tion, 3")! ; disp^isted with Jay's Mis- sissippi project, .■r)4 ; his despondency, .'W(> ; refuses niissiun to Madrid, r)48. Henry, William, '.\'1\. Hillsborough, Lord, first t'olonial secre- tary, 41 ; opposes the Walpole grant, 47 ; resigns, Ttl. Hockhoeking River, valley, '2!t;i, Holland Land Company, 2(14. Holstou settlement, IIJ ; treaty, 375. Hopewell, treaty of, JWIJ, ;}44. Houniiis (La.), l()!i. Houston, Samuel, and the Franklin con- stitution, ;!4I!. Howe, General Robert, 'I'l'l. Hudson River, in a route to the West, 24.S ; canal to the lakes, .")tM). Hudson's Bay, fur trade, 24. Huntington, Countess of, 270. Huntington, (leneral Jedediah, 2.'V), 244. Hutc'hins, Colonel Anthony, seized by Willing, l.^)(i, 1()2, IHit ; in Blount's plot, .">(W. Hntchins, Lieute.--int, 70. Hutehins, Thonuw, Description of Vir- aiiiia, Vi ; his map, Vi ; French trans- lation, 17 ; map of the American Bottom, 27 ; 'rojtoaraphical Descrip- tion, 2.")1 ; Geograplier of the United States, 2()(! ; dies, 21)7; and the Ohio Company. 2.S2, .'i22 ; Fitch's map dedi- cated to him, ;i2.'f. Hutchinson, Tiiomas, 204. Iberville River, 32 ; route from the Mis- sissippi, KI8. Illinois Company, 200, XA. Illinois country, and the fur trade, 2.") ; its tribes, 2(); projected colony, 38; map, ;''••; favored by Shelburne, 4(t ; colony opposed by the Board of Trade, 41 ; Clark's spies in, 117; concpiered by the Americans, 120 ; made a county of Virginia, 122 ; the French inhabitants, Illinois liUnd Company, fiO. Illinois River. 3i). Imlav. (leorge, Toim/raphical Descrip- tion, maj). 24S. '.MH. ' Indiana (colonyi, map of, 17 ; included in the Ohio Company grant. 47. Indiu'ia grant. lO'.l ; revived, '.Hi ; its char- acter. 1(11) ; interest of Tom Paine in, 1S7 ; sustained. 200. Indians, trade with. 7, 23. 2."). .">4(); trou- bles witii whites. 7 ; adverse interests. 8 ; French and F.nglish treatment of, H; jirmed by traders. 21 ; in tlie Revo- lution. emi)loyed by both sides. 87 ; priority of use. 87, 1211; number of warriors ea.st of t))-.' ^lississippi, 88 ; char.'icterized i'; liie Declaration of In- dei)en(lence. !'l; A fighters. 17."); ca- pricious, 1!C); to occupy a neutral ter- ritiiry between the United States and Spain, 212 ; irritated by the treatv 0782>, 22'.t. 23.-) ; ravaging {17S.3), :i;!'-*) ; at Fort Indians, 24:5. 170 ; Roos to ress, o4-l ; in nd the Yazoo c Canal ("om- [its President, West, •J-V.i, Hill, 7."( ; sent S-J ; worried, ions, •3)1 ; re- lUL'-ress, '-!"- ; ; ; apprehen- charges the .,;VtV (17S2IOU Indian art airs, fever. 27^ ; "" IS ; hopeless. „i, ;;:'„S ; aided chief jnstiee, Enj;hind. l'''' '. lakes treaty, 11 Ameriea hv •eaty ratified. drive the In- sippi. o;i ; and V. '.'7 ; woiilii Les to be Roy- lyatca. ii» » "■■ liof the treaty iLedyard. '^^ . 244 ; on the 4(1 ; on the l'»- J4S ; on Stjites Idinance U''^"''- 2."iH ; its n.inips of StatF.4, '2'tH ; plan for a survey of the western territory, 'J(il ; favors small States, lid'J ; rectantjular survey, 'M'> ; on tiie nionarehical idea, '27H ; on bhays's Rebellion, •_'7H ; favors reliffious freedom, '2XH ; on the Mis.sis- 8ii)pi question, •'ilH ; his bounds of new States as set fortli in the Ordinance of 17H4, .'Uli ; his views of the West. 3"1 ; his oiipositiou to Hamilton, 40.S ; on the St. Clair eamiiaigu, 422 ; nefroti- ations with llannuond, 431, 4.>7, 441, 44() ; on the I'resqu'Ish) question, 4.'«) ; and Ebeling-, 47" ; rii-jfues the ri(jht of the United States to the Mississippi, .•"lSO ; at variance with Hamilton, .")3(l; resiffus from the President's cabinet, .''.40. Joluison, Guy, his map of the property line, 1") ; at Fort Stanwix, l.") ; maj) of Iroquois country, IH, lit ; at Niagara, 177 ; would attack Fort Pitt, L'd.i. Johnson, Sir John, on the treaty (17SL'), til7 ; his later conduct, '_'.'>7 ; and the western Indians, 24."> ; in council at Niajfara, '273 ; told by Lord Dorchester to quiet the Indians, 27(1. Johnson, Sir William, and the Indians, K ; sends Croghan to England. H ; and the property line, 14 ; at Fort Stanwix (17()H), 15 ; on the Illinois country, 2.S; Dunmore's war, (W, 72 ; his home, ,501. Johnston, Governor, l*j!> ; at Pensacola, 32. Jones, Jos'ph, IS,"), 2.31 Jones, Judge. Tory. r2i, 242. Jouesborough (Tenn.), 334; convention, 3.3,-). Jnan de la Fuca, Straits of, 2.">M. Juniata Kiver, as a route to the West, 2.-)(). Kalm, 4. Kanawha River, Indian boundary, 1(1, 14 ; its mouth the site of a proposed capital, .^S ; navigalileness. 2.12. Kaskiuskia, 2.1 ; captured. Hit. Kelley, Walter. (1(1. Kennedy. Patrick, 70. Kenton. Simon. (11, 72. Kentucky, destitute of Indians, 1(1 ; given over to occupation by tlie Fort Stanwix treaty. 17; events (17(17 1774i. 4:1; country described. .IS, il'.l. ■>2'.> ; relieved by thevictory at Point Pleasant. S] ; set lip as a county of X'irginia. ".'S. 1 Ul ; Iiopillatiou. HI. i7s, :i2l». 331. 3!tit. .VJd; raided. 111; disturbed cniidition, 11(1; great immigration, 13(1. 17(i. 17S, 270, 304, ■12S. .372. .12(1 ; new roads oi)eiied. liKl; Hird'sraid. 17.1; salt springs, 17S; counties, 17'S, .32S ; conditions of life. 11'.'; seeking Statehood, 24.1 ; Imlay's niai), 24'.l; scrambles for land. 2(11; sends force across tlie Oiiio. 271 ; law- less attacks on the Indians, .'loi. .>(H1: Spanish intrigues. 30(1 ; the movement for autonomy, 3;10; Filson's map, .332 ; mnvemeiits toward separation from Virginia, ;U0 ; delays, 3,1,1. ;i.17: com- inittee on making a State, 3H. Lee, Arthur. 'Jl(|, '-'(W, litllt j in London, 14.") ; eoniniissioncr in Lurope, 150 ; meets GriiHjildi. 151. Lee, (jeneral Charles, at Charleston, '.tH. Lee, Henry, of Virtjinia, lo'.l ; on the Mississippi (luestion, :>l!l. Lee, Richard Henry. '.'lO, 227. 2'.'!t, 'JUL' ; on the western country, 1S2; on the obligations of contract. "-".Ml; expects western lands to sink the national debt. lilHi. Lee, William, 1.5:!, 'j:>7 ; in London, 75. Leech, John, 127. Lefige, Major, , Lexinj^ton {.M;ws.), i'mhi. 02. Lewis, Andrew, 5I>; in the Dunniore war, 72 ; tififht at Point Pleasant, 7.'i. Lewis, .Samuel, map of the United States, ;iSO, ;5,S1 ; Map of New York State, 474, 475. Liekiu}^ River, !•!•, .')15. Liebert, PliiHp, 27.'i. Limestone (now Maysville) (Ky.), !•!>, :U5, :52.S. 510. Lincoln, (ieneral Benjamin, secretary of war, 2:i7 ; and the tendency to mon- archy, 27M ; to treat with the Lidians, 447. Linctot. Godefroy, 142. Linn, Lieutenant, 147; ascends the Mis- sissippi with powder, 14S. Liston, British minister, 570. Little Turtle, 420, 4:iO, }.5(;. 4S,S. Livin^jston, rebukes the i)eace commis- sioners. 210. Lochry (Loufi;hrey), Colonel Archibald. l!)4.'l!H). Lofjan. Colonel Benjamin. .S2 ; raiding: with Ci.ark. 170 ; and his militia, a.'il ; r.'iids ui)on the Wabash, •■!45. Loffan, John, the Indian, and the Dun- more war, (W ; his famous speech, 74 ; r.'iidinp, 175. Lotjan's Fort, attacked. 111. Lon^f. ]'i)!/a15. Loskiel, I'nitid Hrcthren. 422. Louis XV. iFrancei, dies, 144. Louis XVL (Francel. accedes. 144 ; ai,'rees to recofjnize American inde- pendence, 1.5;'>, 5;)1. Louisiana, anxiety of the Eufjlish to coiKjuer it, ;>•'! ; chiinge of masters un- der the secret treaty (17ulation. ■'i71 ; its condition. .551 ; Enpflish jiroject to seize it, M\ ; threatened on all sides, .570. Louisville, 2.5H, ;U7 ; laid out, .59 ; lands bought up, KM). Loyalists. England hopes to settle them iu the Ohio country, 217, 21.S ; Frank- lin's distrust of them, 217 ; in tiie treaty (17S2). 2.!2, 242; confiscations, 2;j;! ; American dislike of them, 2;!;> ; recommendation of ('onjifress, 2:i4 ; their cause coimected with the deten- tion of the posts, 241 ; hastening to Ontario, 241 ; exodus from the .States, 242 : Canadian homes ]>lanned for them. 242 ; at Cataraqui, 242 ; their numbers in Canada, 242 ; United Em- pire Loyalists, 24;i. Ludlow, Israel, in the Miami country, .•il5. Luzerne, reaches Boston, 1(>4 ; seeks W.'ishington, 104; delighted at Ameri- can degradation, 200; on the treaty (17S2), 210. Lyman, (ieneral Phineas, and settle- ments along the Mississippi, 2H, 42 ; in West Flori, \'\ ; c iptured, 102. Manchester (0.), 422. Mandans, 4t)S. Marietta, jiosition of, 291, 29.1, 297, .100, :')()1, ;io:i ; the surrounding country. 2(19 ; founded, 29tl ; its community, :!i>2 ; view. :i(l5 ; origin of name, o05 ; Cam- pus Martins, :107. Marshall. Chief Justice, on western land titles. 00. Marshall, Colonel Thomas, approached b.v Loi'il Dorcliester, :'>0S, Marshall, Humpiirey, opposes Wilkin- son, :)49. Martin, .loseiJi, at Powell's Valley, 21. .Martin's Station. 21, S2. Miii'yland. and tlie sea-to-sea chartei'S, 9S ; olijects to paying Virgi'iia for bounty l;inds, KW ; and \vo,;ifl set western limits to seaboard States, lO.'^; joins the confederation. 199. M.ason. (Tei>rge. on Viiginia's western claims, .55 ; and the Transylvania Com])any, 9H ; symi)athy for Ken- tucky, ilO : and the Indiana grant, 100 ; on the Virginia cession, 1S5 ; on jeoi)ardizing the peace (17.S2I, 2:>2 ; on the Virginia charter, 245 ; on the western .States, 2H5 ; champion of reli- INDEX. 58 ttle thfm \ ; Friiiik- ■ ; in tilt) ifisciitions, lieiii, -jj;'' ; •ess, -•>-l ■) thi' (l«te»- Btfiiint; to the States, liinue ; Sliays's Itehellioii, 27S. Massie, Nathaniel, 421. Mauniee River, :>'.) ; rapid.s of the, 4.")."). Maurepas. 144, 14)i. l.")4. Mayflower, harge. 2ilS, -IW. Maysville (Ky.», W. Set- Limestone. Mc.Vtee hrotliers, 'u ; at llarrodshurff, SI : (HI Salt IJiver. S2. McDonald, Major Angus, in the Dimmore war, 72. Mc(Tillivray, Alexander, his plots, ■">2'.t; his trading: i)rotits, :14() ; and the Span- ish aims, O.V2 ; attacks the Cumlierland settlements, •>.")!• ; relations with Mir('», ;>71, ;)7!i ; his treaty with Knox. .'WO, IWri ; his home, IW^l ; as a lea(h'r, ;>S4 ; in New York, .iS,"(; visited hy John Pope, ."lilt; dies, .">2(i. Mcllenry, Secretary of War. 4S2. Mcintosh, (xeiieral I^achlan, succeeds (jeneral Hand, 12:1 ; hopes to attack Detroit, 124; huilds Fort Mcintosh, 12.-> ; huilds Fort Laurens, \-Tt \ relieved of command, l.'iO. McKee. Alexander, 271 ; suspected, 114 ; turns traitor, 12.S; leading Shawnees, 17.i ; raiding, 1!I4 ; in the Ilarmar cam- paign. 42(1. McLean, (}eneral. 237. McMurr.iy. William, ;!22. Meigs, H. ,1., 'MTl. Mercer. Colonel George, 47. Miami country, .'>l.->. Miamis, 1(!; in council, 442. Miehaux. Andr^, a tool of Genet, .W5, r);i7 ; sent west, .-).■>:> ; his revolutionary plans countenanced hy .lefferson, .■).'i7 ; his journal. TiM. Michigan, plan to turn over its peninsula to England, 4114. Mifflin, (lovernor, and the whiskey ri- ots, 4S(i. Milhet, a New Orleans merchant, 34, .T). Milwaukee, founded. 24n. Mingo town. l-'>. Mingoes, hostile, 124, i:>77 ; formed, 4ii. Mississii)pi Itiver, :<4.S; hounding the English Colonies, 2 ; forks, 2.") ; its fur traders, 2il ; its commerce to he di- verted through the Iherville, IV2 ; English troojjs withdrawn. 'X'> ; Spanish posts, O.J ; French traders on eastern hank, :!<) ; the F'rench from N'incennes trade ()n it. 70 ; its source, 1(H, 214, 221 ; its upper valley, 1(I2 ; supplies for •Vmeiicaus cariied up, ll.'i; the Eng- lish aiming to control it, 1(12; free navig.ition of, 1S2 ; insisted on hy .lay, 1h;!; maj) of. 214: right to navigate. 21.-); iis a ehamiel of tr;ide, 24.S, .'>l(i, .■!17; its opening a hurning i|uestion, 2.">(i. 2(i.'i ; Cri'veco'iir's map, 2.-i!t ; pro- ject for surrendering it to Spain. ;!1S; heginnings of steam navigation. '.'i-\ ; Jay's wish to yield it to .Spain for twenty-five ye;irs, .'!;!',l ; the weak side of Louisiana. ;>71 ; as a hosindary. 471 ; the .Spanish claim still a perplexitv, .")l(i. Mississipi)! Territory, .-|7.">. Missouri Hiver, 4(>.S ; traders, .'tO. Mitchell's map il7.Vii, used in the treaty (17.H2I, 221 ; used in the ordinance (17.S7), 2.S(i. Mohile, attacked (17.S0), ISl ; Indian conferences at, :>">(); population, ;!4(>; trade of, ;!.S(t. Mohawk Ikiver, lit; as a route to the west, 24S. Mohawk valley, 2(>4. Monoiigahela Hiver. .■>(), 2.")0, ,")11; map, 17. Monroe. James, urges the setting up of ji western .State, 247 ; in the west. 2(12 ; with the Indian commissioners. 272 ; on a committee for an ordinance of the northwest, 2.S1 ; Montgomery, Lieu- tenant, 174. Montour, !U. Moravians in Pennsylvania, ."((i ; proving spies. 111.-) ; settlements, map of, 422, 42;i. Morey. Samu-d, ."12. Morgan. Indian agent, !»() ; commanding at Fort Pirf. 111. Morgan, Colonel (Jeorge, seeking set- tlers, 'M\S\ and western colonization, .'>()<; ; connection with New Madrid, :Wt. Morris hrotliers. (id. Mori'is. liohert. patron of Ledyard, 2.'!.S ; the (leiiesei' purchase, 2(14 ; and New York lands, 42."), 474, 4!)'.t ; lands in Ohio. ."i(Ml. Morris, (niuverneiir, l.-)S. l.VI ; on what to yield to Si)ain and France. 2(il ; on the western .States. 2S.-) ; and a com- mercial treaty with England. :>l(i. Morse. .Jedi'diah. Aiiiirictui (inii/rdplif/, .'id;'., ."i!K!. 4'Jl. '>\-\ .iiKiriidii (i(tziitKi\ :'.77 ; on Marietta. 4'.ts. " Monnd-huildei's." .12.'!; on the Muskin- gum. '-".I'.l; reniai'is. :'>":i. Munseys i.an Indian trilie'. J4(». Murray. (Jeneral .I.iiiies, governor at (^uehec. .">. Murray. Williiini. i\\K ''uskingiim Iiiver, map, 17; its valley, 2.V., 2!t:i. N.ashville. ;!:!4. a'.O ; site of. 44. 12.'!; i town founded by IJohertson, 14;5 ; Hi-st 688 INDEX. W' 'hi ffi .» iifimed XashborouRli, 170 ; its cniidi- tiiHi, 411. Natchez (Indians), :!'_'. NatcliL'z (town), sun);lit by fntritives from tllH East, Hit; Uritisli scttltTs, 110; Tory suttlei-s, \'ii\ ; ('ontrnllcd i)y the Knf;iisl), l.")7 ; capturfd i)y (ralvi'/., 171 ; tlie si'ttlci's risi! on tile Spanish ^;aI•^i- son. ISil; population, ;>4(); t'ortiticd, 'Mi; diisirilMHl, ."ilS; al'ter tho treaty of San Lorcn/.o, "iti."). Navarro, ;!.VJ, .Idl . Neville, ("a)»lain Jolin. '.Kt. New Kn^^'land, shiplmildiii^', 7. New Jersey, accepts Articles of Confed- eration. 171). New .Fersi^y Company. .")(i4. New Madrid. :!()<•. .'il's ; map. ".d") ; forti- fied. .'!(■>() ; Mini's apprehensions. '■'>'{. New Orleans, .'Uli ; desci'ihed, ."ill; Auhry and lllloa, ;>."> ; risinn' ajjainst the Span- iards, M ; O'Keilly conies. .">7 ; Pollock in, IDS; coveted by the En},'lish. los ; map of vicinity, liiil; Hamilton's iilan to attack, ll.!; fire in. .'I'il ; open to attack, .'171; tra1!); defenses in- creased, .").">1 ; defenses suited for intes- tine troubles only, .ViO, ,"),")1 ; made port of deposit, .V),"). New York, bounds, 4 ; and the (Jnebec Bill, ().■) ; cedes her western lands, l.s."i, lit'.*; her land cession accepted. '_'()."), '_'()7 ; unhosi)itable to iinniij;-rants, .TJS. Newburtch (.N. Y.), --'44. Niagara, importance of, 112; its surrei\- der to the Americans a trial to Ilal- dimand, '-'Ki; couilitions (17'S:!), '2'-u ; Indian councils at, 271. "ii':!; the falls in Fitch's map, ;>'_':> ; road to. 47"), 4'.l'.l. Nicholas, (leortfe, .'Ki'-'; and the Consti- tution of Kentucky, r)li(i ; and the French faction, ."i.'iS. Nickajack expedition, ")47. Noailles, in London, l.")4. Nollicliucky lliver, 7!>. Nootka Sound, L'ns ; .Spain and England at, •'i!!'-.' : convention of, ;)!I7. North, Lord. l.V-', l."i4. North Bend lO.i. 4'.)S. North Carolina movt^s her boinids west- ward, ;>"_'7 ; her western settlenuMits, ;{'J8, ;i.'!4 : her cessions. ;<:>.") ; the act re- pealed. .'!:>(! ; joins the Union, ;i7."> ; final cession of her western lands, M7'). North West Company. L'L'O, liliit, :!S!I; unites with rivals. 'J:!!l. Northwest coast fur trade, .'iSit; rival claimants, Il'.l'.'. Northwestern territory, created. .')(H! ; its fifovernnient, .'iOlJ; n)ap by Morae, 'M'A ; its iiopulation and character, 4(H), 4!'H ; its forts, 417. See Ordinance of 17.S7, O'Fallon, Dr. James, ;i78; of the French f.action, o.U. O'Keilly. in New Orleans, .''7. Oconee war, '.VM), Ohio, the State of, map by Rufus Put- najn, 495-497. Ohio Company of Viwuia. H ; claims the Indiana lauds. IS, Ohio Company iWaliMile's). 47, (>•> ; en- t,'ulfs the old Ohio Company, ."iii; bounds extended and territory called \'.indalia, ."i7. Ohio Company of Massachusetts, formed, 'JSO; reticent < 11 the slavery iiiiestioi;, •_'S1I; buys laud, 'JiK); extent of pur- chase, -J'.M). 'JllJ; map of it. -JDl ; deter- mines to settle on the Muskin);iiin, L'DS ; ha'.iits of setMemeiit. .it)'.'; its reputation compromised. .'UH; Bar- low's map. ;tll; and the (iallipolis scheme. 4l)(): and Dni'r's failure, 4:>ip. Ohio countiy, .Moravians in, .")<> ; i)(,,)U- lation iuereasint^. Ill) ; as :• part of Canada. Hi) ; wanted for the loy ''>Ih, '-'17; the S( veil li.in^'es, •_'ii7, :il I '. ; uiiaiithoi'i/.ed settlements, •_'7i). Ohio lliver. eilireiit. l:!; mjips. 17. 11'.), ■_'".K1. •Jl)7, :i"i'_' ; cost of traiispoitati1 7 ; Filson's map, .'!;>'_'; navitration (jf, 4i;>; Indian forays, 417; traffic on, ."lOS ; mail service, .">ll). Ohio valley, richness of, I'J. Ordinance of 17S4. "J.'iS ; amended to pre- serve slavery, 'JlID; embodies a com- pact with the old States, L'liU; Kind's motion. '-'III. Ordinance of 17S."i, '_'(il. Ordinance of 17S7, reported, '-'HI ; amt.'iid- ed. '_'S;;; passed, '-'S;> ; ("'edit of it, where due'.' L'S4 ; its iiiHiieiice. L'S4 ; its character, L'S."i ; sources of its jiro- visions, '-'S,"i ; extent of territory co - ered. -Sli ; as a coiiip;ict. '-'SlJ ; its bouud.'iries based on Mitchell's map. 1!.S«;; the compact futile. 'JSii ; crcition of .States imd> r, '-'S7 ; denies manhood snfl'rane, 'JS7 ; its truatment of slavery, '_'s7 ; of reli)j:ion and education, L'S',1 ; in eH'ect, 'J!K). Oref^on River, 104. Oriskany, 11'-'. Orr, Colonel. ."iliS. Orr. M.-ijor. .attacks the Clierokees, .'"i47. Oswald, the Ent;rlisli .'ifjreiit. 2i:<; on the bounds of the treaty (17SL'), 'JIS. Oswef^o, '2 Hi. Otis. James. 4. Ottawa lliver route. Iii7. Ottawas. ll.'i; their confederacy. Hi; to aveiig:e Pontiac's death, l.'li ; hostile, l'J4. Owesy, '-'<». Pacific Ocean, route to. '2'^H. Pajfe, jrovernor of Virginia, IK?. Pag^s, French traveler. •_"_'. I'D. Paine, Thonuis, H.T ; Public Good, 1S(!, '-'4(1; his biographer, Conway, 187; on the British debts, 2'.'A) ; and tlie aboli- tion of slavery, '-'89 ; Rights of Man, 409 ; in Paris, 4ii.'i ; in the French Con- vention, 548. INDEX. 589 ihns tliH IMI ; t'll- y ciill«"i.,iil- lov '--'Xi , :ui, ■•; 0. ,s. IT, 1.1'.', siioitatic'ii lcinfiits_iit )()iits. 1""'; ,tb. lilts (111, iniai). •••'■;;[; orays, 41"; , .-.10. ided to pre- ics a coiu- ;tW; Kind's ;S1 ; ameml- •edit of it, „ce. •J>U ; its jof its pro- lit ovv t'O" ■jsli ; its I'lrs mail, , ; cvcatiou i i>iaiili<»''.»; in .okees. r)4". •>\:\\ on the MS. L.rai'V. 1'5 ■• t" :i(i ; hostiU', '.);5. •IW. Good, !«<', way. IH' ; <;)' nd the aboli- ghts of 3/«''i French Coii- Palatin<>s, (il. I'anliaiiillf icfjion, IS,". I'aiitoii, William. .■.I'.l. Parsons, Sainiicl II., Indian connnis- .sioiicr, 'Jilil, 'dTJ ; his cliaractcr. _'S| ; aiiplics for land on li(>lialf of the ( >hio ( oiiipany, 'JS'J ; aiipi'oaclitMJ hy ISritisli at;t'iils, .101; at Mariclla, .107; opens coniiniinication with tin; IJritisli, ;i(i7. Pt-acf Uivcr. '-'.is. P.-ail liiv.i. ISl. Pendleton. Kdinnnd. '>il. Penii, Jjady Juliana. 'S'C. Pennsylvania, a pioiirietary government, (i; (lerman population, I- ; (^iiakeis, \'2; aetive people, I'J ; dispute uitli ("onneetieul. '_''_', '_'(i4 ; i(Uite thi'oii^;h to the West, '>- ; lieciuiiin^j prominent. .-)"J ; 1i(Uindary disputes with X'ir^iuia, .")L', tid; inipracticahle westei'n hoiiuds in lier eliarter, 'i'-'>\ SeuUs map, .■!.">; map hy T. Kitehin. .■>4 ; the C^uehec JJill, ti."! ; her line revolt, ISS ; eomnier- eial spirit, L'.^o ; eaiiali/.ation in. -'>i ; western liu»! run, 'Jiili ; jiriee of land, L'llS ; her enterprise in opening; her unsettled country, .V_'S. I'lniisi/lriniid diizilti'. iU. Pensaeola, .'>0; JSou(|iiet in ('ominand, '•'A) \ .lohnston there, .'!'-'; Iialdim,'tnlit. Perdido River. ISl. Phelps and Gorliam luireliase, 'J(i4. Phelps. Oliver. .■)00. Philadelphia, commerce. 7; taken, ll.">; routes from to the West, LViO ; post from to the West. 410. Phillil)eanx Island, J'Jl. Pickeriiif;. Timothy, on the force neoe.s- sary to tiarrison- the frontier after the war, '_';iti ; ]ilaiinin}^ a western State, '-'44; on astronomical Ixuindaries. L'lio ; on the western movement, 'Jdl ; and the rectan},nilar surveys, '_'('i7 ; opi)osed to o])eniu},'' the lands to " lawless emi- jrriints,'' 270; and the ,St. Clair cam- IiaiKHi, 4'J'J ; confers with Red Jacket, 4-'iS; to treat witli the Indians, -!47. Pickett, Aliihinmt. IS'.l. Pierro. Sic Pourrt'', ("ai)tain. I'iiickney, Thomas, j,>-oes to Kn}j:land, 4:11 ; sent to Madrid. "^S ; ne},n)tia- tioiis at Madrid, .V(4 ; treaty signed, Picpia, 17(>. Pittman. Philip, on tlio Illinois Indians, '27, :W), Pittshni't;. laid out, \2. :!'JS ; view, 't\ ; condition (1770), .VJ ; Indians infest it, clainoriiifj for support, (il ; loiiK-itiide of, (>.-) ; meetint,' at, to sustain the liev- ohition, S;> ; to be taken by Connolly. 8t); federal in sympathy, '•_'!)(! ; boats passiiifir, '2W ; condition, .■i<)4 ; trade at. 444 ; map, 444, 445 ; it.s condition (17!H)), ,'>n<); rnads to and from. ;"07 .■,! 1 ; ina|> of vicinity, ."i7o. I'lltshiny (iiizi/h, '.'To. ."..■lO. Pittsvlvania, proposed colonv. 4'.i, Pliitt', Richard, i:iii. Point Pleasant, I I'J ; battle,".'!; position of, -Jill. Pollock. Oliver, his career, los ; to aid (J. R. Clark, 117; sends money to Clark. 1_'I. I4">; becomes poor. PJI ; at New Orleans, 14S ; plaimintr .'in attack on Peiisacola, I4',l; appointed comiiM'reial .'li^eiit, {.'lO ; complains of liritisli de|)redalious, l.^ili; tiltiut; out armed vessels, I.-|7 ; warniiij; Anieri- caiis, l."(7 ; nruiu;; active lueasiires, 1"'7; aims to capture Pensjuola. l.-|S; extent of his cl.iim on the I'uited .States, |."iS ; joins (i.ilve/. in :in attack on the Kunlish posts. III'-'; his ill hick, pi:! ; sendiii); supplies to Todd and Clark, 1S| ; lart,^' indebtedness of Con^,'ress and \'irt;inia to. I'.IS ; insists on the Americ.ins securing' a p(U't of dejiosit in .'^p.inish territiu'y, '_'0:' ; >;;ives Con^jress a jiortniit of (Jalve/,, 'J'J'J ; leaves New ( Irleans, il.'iti ; ini|)ris- oned at ll.ivana. •'!•'!(!. Pond. I'rier, and the (iraiid Portajfe, '_"J1 ; claims to have discovered an ovei'- land i)a.ssaK(^ to llie Pacific, .'!.S0, il'.K); his mai), o'.IO, :!iM, 471; at Philadel- lihia, 4.'!7, Pontiac, killed, L'ti. Poi»e. John, ."lis, .-)P.t. Portages, between the Ohio and Lake Erie, ■J4S, ;!l(i ; made highways, -'M, L'sti. Porter, Captain, moves, 4S;!. Postal service, in the West, '-".Ki. I'osts on the (Ire.it J^akes, detention of by Kn^iland, '_''_".•; pecuniary loss to the Americiins by the detention, -M ; demanded by Contrress, '_M1; their names, •J.'!4 ; new demand. '-''i.-i ; iiritish ^■ain by the detention. '_':!(!, '-Ml ; their lilaiis of detention, ■_'.'!7 : Karris•-', --'.-H, Pottawattaniies. '_'(!. Pourri' iPiernii. Captain, ISS. Powell's Valley. 'Jl, SI ; raided, !>I. Power, Thonia.s, spy. .'m:!. .'"iii7. Pownall. Crovernor. and tlie Ohio Com- panv. 47. Prairie du Cliien. 2J0. Prescott, (General Robert, 4S:{. Presipi'Isle, to lie occupied by Peun.syl- vania troops, 4."it>. Priest, William, 47'.i, .VJS. 590 INDEX. n i< 3t . i^ m^ i I Priiitiiiff-pn'SH, in Kentucky, :'«4i>. I'riviitccrs. I.'il. l'riu'laiiiiitii)n of 17l):i, .iiiil tin- tiviity I17H2), •_"_'!, -^'S^. Property linu, 4, 14, 17 ; as run, l!H ; not iiI)provf(l, "JO. I'liltt-ney, Sir Williaiu. 174. Putnam, Itiifns, cxplorinjf tlic lower iMi.ssisHippi, 11(1; pjan.s western homes for (lisl)an(lu(l soldiers, ■_'44 ; ealls a nieetiiitf of veterans, L'Sd ; foi'nis tlie Oliio Company, "JSO ; liis record. L'SO ; on the .Mnskin^'um valley. "JlMi ; leader of the Oliio Company enterprise, '-'US, '■'M ; abets Cntler's schemes, ;>11 ; and the Mississippi (piestion. il'-'l ; and tile (lallipolis project, 404 ; proposes a line ofposts in Ohio, 4:i7 ; to serve under Wayne, 4H ; treats with the western Indians, 441; map of Ohio. 4!Hi, 4'.>7 ; his land warrants, 4'.i.S ; Sur- veyor-General, alHi. Quebec Hill. '_', ~> ; earlier jiurpost; of extendiu),' to the Mississii)pi. 41; ac- count of, (hi ; its |)urpose to hem in the Americans, 70; passed, 71; views of it, 7"i, Ui7; obscurely noticed in the Declaration of Independence, I'l ; Franklin ur^es its repeal, 77.">. Richmond. Duke of, L'l'.l. Ritteuhouse. Dr., (i."). Rivers, navigation of, in international law, 1.S4. Robertson, (^)lonel. .'!(). Robertson, James, with Boone. 4() ; at Watauga, 7.S ; conducts its defense, ill ; moves to the Cumberland valley. 14:>; settles Nashville, 17il; leader of the (^imberland comnmnity, ISO ; re- pulses the Chcrokees, HI4 ; relations •with Min'). .'i.^ ; attacks tlie Creeks. .'t.jS; ready to join the Spanish plot, .■170; made brigadier-general, .■17(1 ; ex- pects Cherokee raids, ."I'JO ; wounded, •VJl ; in the Tennessee Convention. .Vi!i. Rocheblave, l,"i(J, 'Jo:; ; at Fort (Jage, 1 1.'. ; at Kaskaskia, IIS; sent to X'irginia, llio, liodney, defeats De (Jrasse, '1\~. Rogers. David, killed. 140; on the Mis- sissippi, l.Vi. Rogers, .lolm. connoands a galley, \'S,\, lingers. Major, at .Mackinac, J4. Komans, ISernard, KNi. Romayne, I )r., ."i(JS. Ivoosevell. Nicholas T., .'(14. Royal proclamation (17 ; governor of the Northwest, ;!0."i ; seeks to extinguish the Indian title, ;iO(i; prepares for an Indian war. .■io7 ; m.-ikes treaty with the Six .Nations, ;500 ; his fears. .■■)41. St. Francis River, 20. St. Joseph, attacked by Spanish. 1H<». St. Lawrence River, its idtimate source unknown. 101 ; navigation of it denied to the Americans. 21S. St. Leger. 112 ; in Quebec. 241. St. Louis, settled. 2.'i ; pojjulation. 2.i ; Si)anish plots, ll.'l; threatened by Sin- clair, 171; described, 17! ; plan, 172, 17:>; CoUot's opinion r>f, ,")(i;!. St. Paul, citv. Carver's deed, 103. St. Peter River. 104, St. Pierre Island, 1. Ste, Genevieve, 2.>. San Ildefonso, treaty. .">72. San Li(renzo. treaty. .').">."). Sandusky, outpost of Detroit, 112. Santa I'V-. mines accessible to attack. ."i(m. Sargent. Charles S,. ,"i:i7. Sargent, Winthrop. 202 ; adjutant of St. Clair, 42H ; in the Mississippi Territory, Saugrain, 2it!>. Savannah, evacuated, 2U3. INDI'JX. 691 iSciiito ("oiiiimny, 4(»'J ; its at^eiit Joel liiirlow, iUl ; and iJiiur's failiin:, ■»;;.-.. Scioto Kivcr, iiia|i, liT ; IiiiliiiiiH on, !>()'_>, Scoti'ii, ill Kfiitiifky, .■>'_".». Sc'otcii-irisli, I'liaraftcr, l'_'; arriviiii; on till' Dclawai-f, .">'_' ; in Dliiu, .idj ; iu tiiu Northwest. ."((Kl. Si'ott, (iciit'ial CiiarluH, niii|) of liiH mid aiToHH the Oiiio, 'J lit; liis attaciton tliu Waliasli tiilx'S.VJ'.'. Scott. .loscpii, L'nitid Sliilis Uuzttteer, A'Xi, ,'iii.">. Scratj;),'iiis. llciiry, 41. .^cull's map of I'i'iiiisylvania, i>'-K ScaKravc. .lames. .VJl. Sebastian, .JikIkc, traitor. ;i(i;i ; pensioned liy Spain. :t.S.S ; and ("aroiidelet, .">.">'_'; jjoes with (iayoso to New ( )rleaiis, .V)4 ; his infamy rewarded, ."i.")(). Setdey. J^J.riKinsiun of Eiujlautl, '). Seiiecas, !;>!>. Secpioyah, 7H. Seven IJanges, the, 2(17, lUl, '-WW. Sevier, John, in the Wataiif,'a settlement, ^i() ; holding;' tlie Cherokees in cheek, '.Mi; at Kind's ^[ollntain. IHl ; at con- vention of .lonesboro', .'i;i."> ; governor of the Franklin rejfion. ;>41 ; his down- fall. 'M'*) ; arrest and escape, IMiO ; made brif^adier-Keiieral, llTii ; K»'fy to(}eorgia, .">1.") ; attacks the Creeks, ."»44. Sharp, (ireuville, l.">4. Siiawnees, claim the Ohio country against the Iro(iuois, 14; aroused, .JS ; their warpath, (17; hostile, 1'_'4; on Bird's raid, 17."i; in treaty, 272 ; attacked by Kentuckians, 27(1; marauding, ;U0 ; their uncertain friendship, .'>4.">. Sliays's rebellion, 274. 27S, ;)44. Sheaffe, Lieutenant, 474. Sheffield, Lord, 277. Slielby, Evan, in the Watauga settle- ment, SO; attacks the Lidians, i:!(i, i;i!); at Kind's Mountain, LSI ; and the .State of Franklin, ;(."')4. Shelby, Isaac. >,'overnor of Kentucky, .')2(1 ; fails to thwart the French fac- tion, .")4(). Shelburne, Lord, orders the i)roperty line to be run, 14 ; and the peace (17X2), 212, 2i;i, 21(1, 222. 227. Shepherd, Cnlonel David. 114. I'.t2. Sinicoe. John (iraves, 42(1, 44(1. 447 ; his distrust of the Americans. 44S ; his hostile purpose, 4.")1 ; buihls fort at the Manniee rapids, 4."),"> ; aiijirehensive of Wayne's success, 4.')7 ; disturbed at it. 4(10. 4(11, 4SS ; sends expedition to .So- dus Bay, 474 ; his p.assiouate cluifjrin. 4s;i. Sinclair, at Mackinac, 142 ; to descend the Mississippi, 142, 171. Sioux Indians, ."lO, 104 ; sought by Sin- clair, 171. .Sioux country, 21."). Six Nations. Sec Irocpioia. .Slannhter at the falls of the Ohio. lid. Slavery, Jefferson's purjiose for the West, 2.1H ; and the ordinance il7H7i. 2s:t, 2'S7 ; aiitl the phrase "all men aro born free and etpiiil," 2S7 ; amont; the Freiuli in Illinois, 2>iS ; "arly niove- ineiils for abolishing' it. 2SS ; Ciitler'H futile attempt to abolish it. 2S0. .Slaves, trouble arising from their depor- tation from New Vork at the evauuii- tion. 2:11. Smith. ChaileH. s;>. .Smith, (ieiieral Itoburt, 1170. Smith. James, on the Cumberland River, 44. .Smith, I'rovost. (l.'i. Smith, William, 4S4. .Smyth. 7'/(/i't/.s, S(l; movenicnts with (omiolly. H7. .Sniythe. Colonel. 171. .Sodus Bay, 474. SoldieiM' certitic.'ites, depreciated, 2X2. .South Carolina, bounds, lo ; cession of western lauds. :>.'iS. .South Carolina Company. :(77. Southern tribes, the i|uestioii of boiiiuls, 10; distrust the I'jitilish. ;w ; played U]Km by both English uiul Americans, Hit. .Spain, holds Louisiana, 10(1 ; plots at .St, Louis, ll^i, joins France in planning disaster to the AmericiMis. 147; hesi- tating, l."i2; olfei-s to mediate, l."i4 ; her position on the Mississippi, l.")7 ; her navy, l.'iH ; to have Florida, l."iO ; urges Congress to accept a long truce. l."i!l ; threatens alliance with England. KiO; ambitious, 1(10; must have (Jibraltar, KK); treaty (177!l) with France KKI ; de- clares war with England. 1(11. .1(14 ; in- sists with Jay upon the control of the Mississipi>i, 1S2 ; using France to this end, 1H2; sends expedition to i)lace the .Spanish Hag east of the Mississipi)i, ISS, L'12 ; aims to secure tlm eastern bank of the Mississipi)i, 212; denies English right to navigate the Missis- sippi, 21(1; gains Florida (17X2), 222; contends it carried her territory to the Yazoo, 222 ; explores on tht^ Pacific coast, 2:>X ; \wv intrigues in Kentucky, .'>0!t; her claims for the Mississipjti, :ilX; lier covert action, 1127; views on Anieric.an independence, .'127 ; enmity towai'ds the Tliited States. .1:10 ; invites settlers west of the Mississip])!. :!tltl; her dii)lomacy. :1SX ; h^'r perfidious policv. .V>() ; delays execution of the Sail Loren/.o treaty, ."id."). S|)arks. .lared. on \'ei'gennes, 2211. Springfield (O.). 170. Stami) Act. 2. .StandfordiKy.t. 111. .Stanboi)e. Earl, .'112. Starved liock. 20. State debts, assumption of. 40H. .Steamboats. .")12; on the western rivei-s, ;il7. ;iix. ;v2o. :!2;!. 114. Steuben, Baron, confronting Arnold, I'.KJ; sent to demand |)osts. 2.'14. Stevens, B. F., Facsimiles, 14."), 22;'. 592 INDEX. '|!'i Stolio, raptaiii, (i(». JSliH'kluid^'c liidiaiis, ^7, l-tl. Stiiniiiiiit. I, Dill, ill I'liris, l.'il, Ijit, 154. .Stov.T, Miclia.'l. U. .Siiacli.-y, ill I'aiis. JIS, •.M'.t. .'^traits Stiiart, iloliii, au;i'iit aiiioiiK tin' Houtlit'l'll ludiaiiH, !i. SM. kSiiU'oik, Lord, and tlitt iisi- of iiidiaim in war, r_'7. Sii^ar caiii'. in Loiiisiana, 'I'd. .Sullivan, (iciii>ral, '.) ; caiiipai^'ii against till' lnM|iiiiis, liiH. .Sullivan, .lulin, .'ItT. Swiss, (Ml the (ircat St'iotn, ,"IH|. .Sydney, instnicls llaldiiiiaiid tii liiild till! posts, 'Jll; and tin; Indian war, 'J7(i. (Syinnn's, .1. ('., at Miami ciiiiiitrv, '• Marietta. .'!iHi; in the 1 1 ; liis land warrants. eliild born in, 77 ; I ; invaded 1)V Iii- Tallnyrand. '-'•-'.•t. Taylor, Ilancuck, ■'>",). 'JVnncsscc. first wliitf popiilariiin i I77)ii, li dian allies of the liritisli. ill ; its set- tlements, ITi ; <'oiistitiitioiial lie^innin^s of the State, W'Xt, 'X'*\\ maps of, ."ilii, .">17, ."i44, .■p4."i ; the t|nestion of .State- liood, ,V)"J ; population M7!>,")), .'m2 ; con- vention to ni.iku a State, .Vi'.f. Tennessee ( 'ompany, ."{77 ; seeks to settle in (ieoi'ffia, .")iri, Tennessee l\iver, settlement at the ^jreat ln'iid of, W'Xt. See Cherokee Uiver. Thomas, Isjiae, WW. Thomius, Jiieiitenant .Tohn, lin. Tliompson, Captain Andrew, VM. Thompson, Captain Williani. ."iS. Thompson, 1 )avi(l, lii.s snrvey of the M»b sissippi, 47"-'. Thomson, Charles, '_'.")(). Tlmilow, 71. Til^hman. .lames, tiii. Toliy's Creek, '-'.".O. Todd, C'lptain .lohii. ^'overnor of Illinois, I'J'J ; in Iventneky, 177. Todd, David, :!.■!! . ToddiVr Co., hi;. Toledo (().), '_'(;4. Tomahawk claims, 4!>. Tonieas, '_".». Tories from New En(;land. on thb Mis- sissip])i, 110; ;it Nateliez, l.'iti. Toiilmin, Henry, I)isiri])tioii of Ken- turkij. .V_'!t. Transylvaii'.a set np. Sl' ; movement to- wards its settlement. '.17 ; its proprie- tors rei'ompeiised. US. Treaties : Antrnsta (Ga.), (177:{), HH. Antjnsta (Ga.), (17s:!). .'V.^. Fontuinehlean (t7S,"il. 1,S4. Fort Finney (I7H,")), •J7l-'. Fort Ilannar (17HH), Iti, 4:i, 208. Fort Stanwix (1784), 207, :510. Fnince and Spain il77'.*), 1(H). Ilardl.ihor (17tiH;, ,Vi. ilolston, :i7.'i. Hopewell, :i4:i, .•144. :i7.-. .I.iy's (171111. .1, 4(i.'> 4ti7. Ijancaster. HMi. l-oehaher (S. C.) (17(i8), .V., 78. l'aris(17ii;i), 1, •-', •-".', H.l, 1(>7. Talis, seeret (17ti.'ii, •-'U. T.iris (I78'JI. '.'. 20.".; history of, •jo.s ; made dellnitive, 22.1; infrai'tions of, 2'2.s, 240; raiitieatioii of the delini- tive treaty, 2:>."i ; should .ids date from the provisi. iial or the detini- tive Ireatv'.' 2.i. Tuscarawas valley, ."d!. Tnitper, Gmeral li Mijaniin, survei '\\\i in the ( )hiocoiiiitrv. '2(i7, 280; eonfer.s Aitli Knfus Putnam, 280. Twitjhtwees, 1(>. ■'•loa. .\iitonio de, in New Orleans, .">:'>. ._ 'ted . States, jioimlation (17801, 1S2 ; ter- rii. y secured 1 17821, '20!) ; no caii.se of gratitude to France or Spain. '1'1'.\\ cost of the Hevoliitionary ^\ ar. 2'2.''i ; dan- gers after the jieace, '227 ; army neces- sary. 2:Hi ; the office of (ieo^'rapher of. '2(i(l; first reco},'iii/,ed hy the western Tndians, '2(17, 27;> ; ex])eii(litures on the Indian prolileiii, '2()8 ; Indian iiiireaii. 274 : departments, 274 ; stories of di.s- integ-ration, 277 ; Hamilton sup()osed to he the leader of ;i iiioiiarchical Iiarty, 277 ; feder;il convention. 2.82, 2S4 ; the Constitution and the Missis- si])pi (luestion. .'120 ; ])opiilatioii ( 1787i. .'>."(! ; po|)iilati(Ui (17!H)). ;!!I8 ; valuation (17'.Mli. ;;!I8; Kritish views of western bounds. 4;i2. 470 ; her bound C()ni])leted, .">7.'> : character of her people, .")74. Unza},'a. at New Orleans. 148. Upper Canada, created, 42t). Van Braani's cliiim. (JO, Vancouver, in the P.acific. .">.'W. Vandalia, 248 ; colony, 'u ; jn'-iiit, KiO, •200. '2(Hi. Varnum, General J. M., at Marietta, 30.">, 30ti. n. 7 im>j:x. rm of. •JdS r. uliiilis 111 t he (1 'Inn I arts il;il< 1 l>u )V .)iiy, '.'Ki; on the tii-aty ilT.SJi, NVicndiyt', 1(»4. \'t'iV'ini<',s, jii.s policy, '-'. I : his charac- ti'i', III; plans to intrrvi'ni' in iht' American wai', 1 1."> ; his insincerity, I4."i; ui't;es ^'rant of ):ioney to Amer- ica, I Iti ; i-efnsev ^'nns. l."il ; inllnen- cinvr the kin>;, I.VJ ; ready for an Amer- ican alliance, l.'iii; seeks to join Spain in it, I.V), l,").S; his purpose, l.'iH ; Hchenies to disunite the .States, Kil ; otfended liy .lolni Adams, IS4 ; his measures produce a revulsinn. -its : delied liy tint |ieace connuissionerM, -I)'.*: hoped to play into (he liainls of KuKland. -\y< : on the hounds lived liy the treaty (IVS'-'t, Jls ; desireil only the indi'pendence of the I'nited .States, not their prosperity, 'J'J.l. Vermont, claims for .•idmission to the I'uion. '.'il.'i ; ISrilish intrigue with, L'iiS ; as a possilile new .State, liti'J; .ad- niitted to the Union. .'>|.~i. Vit^o. Franc^ois, joins Cl.irk, l-d; impov- erished \>\ .idinj^ Clark. I'JI ; cap- tured hy Hamilton's scouts, i:!.", , in- forms Cl.'ii ^ of Hamilton's condition, lli.'l; his claim on NirKinia, 'JIT ; a fur trader, 11(1. Viiicennes, French in the neiijhhorhood. •JS, ;W; chant,'e to KuKlish law, H"; land.s of the French threatened liy the l^uehec Itill. (i'.(; the French warned to rennive from, (i'.( ; stockaded. Ii;>; occupied liy Helm, l"J(( ; captured hy Hamilton. |:!| ; captured liy Clark, l.'li", i;>."i ; Helm in command. i:i."i ; dis- content at. 'J7."i ; popidation, 'JT.'i ; Har- inar at. •_'".H1. \'irf,'inia. tide-wjiter ])eo]il(! and over-hill people, 11; valley of. I'J ; .Scdtch- Irish. r_' ; claims tint " Indiana " country. !'.•; her teiritory curtailed liy the Fort .Stanwix treaty. :-'(•; her west- ern claims itrnored hy the Walpole t;raiit. ."lO ; espouses the Chei'okee claims ■•ii^'ainst the Irocpiois, .'id ; dis- pute with I'eimsylvania over hounds, ,"iL'. 177. I'.Ki : curved western liounds of I'enn.sylvania shown in map. .")4 ; Friinkliii disputes her western claims, ;Vi ; (leorjre Nlason defends them. .Vi ; lier charter claims, (nI ; the (Jneliec Hil],t>."i; Dumnore. fjovernor, (i."i •, hold- ing; the Ohio. ,S4 ; frontier to lii' at- tiU'ked from the south, ss ; dellnes her territorial rijjhts. ILS ; rejects private purdia.ses of land, !>»< ; sets up Ken- tucky as a county, '.i.S ; sends (J. H. Clark west. 117 ; encouriip's him, !;>'_'; fjives him thanks. I.'!'.' : opposes the .Spanish denwiJids, 1(14: her territoi'i.al claims. Kid ; adoi)ts Constitution. i(',7 ; sets up civil ^-overinnent in Illinois. l(i!>; sets up land office, Ki'.' ; extends her .southern iMUiudary to the Missis- sippi, 174 ; warning New England, I.S.'i ; lier priiposed res.sion of land north j oftheOhio. |s."i; her territorial claims itttacked liN 'I'oiu I'aine. I.st; ; map cif I hounds. pi7 ; otters a cession. l!i.s ; ini- iiedes action, I'.c.i; weakeuinu on tin- Mississippi question. -(Ml; jealous iif the N'erniout claims for .St.itehood, 'Jo.'i; v.ili(lit\ iif her lerridirial claim. '_'(h; ; lannuane cif her ch.irtei' as to litmnds. '-'IHI ; the principal idlendei' in I infr.ictions of the tre,it\ il7.s'-'i. '-':!!, •_':i'.' ; trea(menl of the liritish delits, I '-M'J ; (ii'iirvje .Mason on her charter, I L'4.'i ; incensed at Tom I'aine. 'J |(i ; ces- j sion of her westein laiuls pidposed. ' U'ld; makes :i cession. -'17; cost of j her ciiUipiest of the Noithwest, -47; ! Iiounly-lands, '2il ; her election, '-'47; use of her riviMs .as routes to the west, li4.S ; routes to Kentuck\. map. 'Jl!'; eaijer for an Imli.in wai'. '-'71; and the Mississippi (|nesti(in. .">'_'(! ; and the iiew Constitution, :>('il. N'irninia Company, 'J77. Voight. :i-'4. Wiiliash Com|i.iny, '-'(Hi, :U\'). \V;iliash iiiver. ■'<'.*; descrihed, 40. Waliash trilies, ii4."i. Wahasha. 171. W.ijker. Dr. (Colonell Tliomas. 1.'., Ki, 174 ; his (,'rant in Kentucky. '-'I. W.alpole. Thomas, and western lands, 47. Si I ( )hio Company iWalpole'si. \Vasliin;;ton. interest in western lands, 4:1, ."il; sends Ciawford west, 4.'l, ."id; of the Mississippi Com|)any, 4(i ; the Dinwiddle n;rants, 47. .'id. .'i.'> ; noes west (I77di, .'id; at Fort I'itt. .V_' ; on the Kanawh.i. .'I'J ; hnyinj; soldieis' claims, .'i^i ; his western lands ociMijiied hy others. .'i7 ; Dmnimre's allef,'ed grants. .'iS ; his lanil surveyed and ad- vertised, .'i.S, ,"ill ; his caution, ."id; Land surveyed for him hy linltitt, ."id ; liuys other claims, (id ; plaunintc to |ieo|)le his lauds with enii^rraiits. (il ; at \'.il- ley Forge. |'-'4 ; to sanction use of In- dians, !-'7 ; restr.iiiis Mrodhead. 1 Id ; defeated on l.oiig Isl.'ind, 147 ; at Ilrandywine. |."i'-'; disapproves Laf.ay- ette's plan for invading Canada. I'ld; interview with I.ir/.erne. |(il; distrusts the Confederation, ISS ; appeale1 ; receives dedication of Fil- son's map, •V-i'2 ; views on the Spanish (inestioii, JioH. o'O ; and tlie St. ("hiir campaif^n, 4'_''_' ; criticises Knfns Pnt- nam s i)hui for a line of posts, 4:)7 ; his anxiety to maintain peace with Kn{f- land, 4();5 ; considering the Jay treaty, 477 ; treatment of the whiskey riotere, 4H(i ; sympathizes with Hamilton in the French (jnestion, "j.'ij ; congratulated on his birthd/iy, 55H ; warns western intriguers, '>(>'•'>. Washington, city of, how its site was determined, 4W. Watauga Association, 'SM ; formed, 7!> ; buys its land, S2. Watauga Kiver, 77 ; early settlers, 44, 4(;. Watauga settlement, 78 ; becomes Wash- ington County, SO ; warned by Stuart, !tl ; attacked, !>1 ; to be .annexed to North Carolina, 'X> ; loyalists expelled, !I7 ; sending out raiding parties, 12'2 ; sends out Shelby, loO ; population, :i41. Waterford (O.), 421. Wayne, Anthony, suggested as com- mander at the West, 4.'f!» ; gathering his forces, 451 ; his cavalry, 452 ; his ad- vance, 457; his victory, 45S ; treilting with the tribes, 4(11 ; dies, 4)S;{ ; his final i„ccification of the tribes, 4S7 ; formalities of his treaty, 4SH ; the line est'il)Hshed, 4!K); cost of the war, 4;t4; small reservations, 4',Mi. Wedderljurn, VO. West, rival nnites to. 248, .^Ki, ;il7; movements to set up States, 257 ; im- migration to, 270, 2!H), 2il8. :i02 ; at- tractions advertised. 2S0 ; demands slavery, 288 ; postal service, 2!M) ; character of its people, ;i87 ; routes thither, 508. 511. West Florida, limits, 110 ; population, 110. See Floridn. West Sylvania, 1K!._ Western hunts, diverse views of Vir- ginia and Maryland inspecting them, KiS ; treasury warrants, 178 ; occupants seek to iviiikeaState, 17ii; New York's claim. 185 , cessions of, 180 ; public do- jnain in, 18(i, 208 ; the Eastern States show their rights, lO.t; expected to piiy the expevises of the wnr, 200 ; France v/ould give them toSpain, 20ii ; Congress establishes its sovereignty over them, 24(1; reserved for stthliers" bounties, 247, 2(il ; surveys advocated by Jelferson, 201 ; eageri'ess for new States, 202 ; land offif'e. 2(i2; rectangu- lar survey, 2()(i ; becoming productive. 2!tO. Western ports, arrangements for evacu- ating, 482. Western Reserve, 2(i4, 500; its extent, 205. Western Reserve Historical Society, Tracts, 2.-5. _ Westward emigration and the Indians, ;'.2!t. Weymouth, Lord, 154. Wharton, Francis, International Lair Di'lie.st, 217. Wharton, Samuel, 10; on the Kana- wha, 2.52 ; in the Muskingum country. 2! 10. Wheeling, 5(), 08, 510; attacked, 104. Wheeling Creek, attack, 114. Whipple, Commodore, 280. Whiskey rebellion, 485. White, Dr. James, Indian agent, 345. White, James, ;<.58. White Bear Lake, 214, 215. White Eyes (Indian), 177, 2!«. Whiteley, Colonel, 5nd('nt nnder defeat, 374, .388 ; joins O'Fallon, 378 ; his liendish advice, 370 ; attacks the Wabash tribes, 427 ; aroused at St. Clair's defeat, 41^); brigadier under Wayne, 440; estimated by Wa-shing- tou, 444 ; succeeds Wayne, 483 ; his intercourse with Carondelet, .553 ; re- ceives money from Carondelet, 557 ; and the French faction, 5(il ; saves Power. .507 ; .at Natchez, 573. Willet, Colouel, sent to McGillivray, 385 ; declines to serve under Wayne,, 440. Williamscni, (^olonel Andrew, 474 ; his campaign against the Cherokees, with map, 04. 05. Willi.amson. David, 204. Willing, Captain .lamen, on the Missis- sippi. 120. 1.5(:. 157. Will's Creek, 2.54. Winnebagoes. 20. 30. Wisconsin Kiver, 3i>; i)ort.agc, '^9, \V'itt, Simeon de, 204. Wolcott. Oliver. 208 ; on the Gallipolis scheme, 405; and the whiskey riots, 485. Wood Creek, 251. Wood Creek portage, 15, 10, AVood Creek route, .501. Wood. Colonel. 112. Wood, .lames. 85. Writ of habeas corpus, 290. '.tional Lair INDEX. Writs of assistance, 4. >\.ya.i(lots, unsteady, 124, 132; prowl- nif,', 1;nS ; alaniied, 1!»2, ' W yiine. a,n,rul JJislori/ of >l,^ nriti\/, Jt-mpire in Ajiuncu, 42, lui V\ ythe, (Jeorge. syiupatliy forkentueky, Yadkin River, 77. Yim,o frraiits r,4<(; corruption in the My'.''*:::!, "^'■l'"I"';« '•'^^PecH.g them! J4y ; act rescinded, 5GU. 595 voyage on i Yoder, Jacob, 204. .(".i- his tJie JIissKssippi, ■■i2(i ^^oughiogheuy Hiver. 2.->(), 2.34 Zane family, r»>, (W, 2(14 r.ll '^^ri;;'":' *^ ^^--i-- i" Pennsyl- K7 ii'' ' '""^'-'ir, "■'^■■'f^'" ^"dians, F f Vi' *"'"•'' ^'iljs'm, l.W; warns I-ort Henry. 1!I4 ; a::d the St. Car campaign, 424. the MissLs-