USA > Louisiana > History of Louisiana, the Spanish domination > Part 16
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his views by the Governor's particular request ; that such as they are, they are from a man whose head may err, but whose heart cannot deceive."
So much for Wilkinson's ostensible doings. But it leaked out at the time and passed current among those who pretended to be well informed, that Wilkinson had delivered to the Spanish Governor a memorial contain- ing other representations which were kept from the public eye.
In the mean time, Gardoqui, the Spanish minister at Philadelphia, was acting in conformity with his cherished plan of fomenting emigration from the American settle- ments into Louisiana, and one of his chief agents was an individual named Pierre Wower d'Arges. For this pur- pose, he, with the authorization of his court, invited the people of Kentucky and those who dwelt on the Cum- berland river to establish themselves in West Florida and the Florida district of Lower Louisiana, under the protection of Spain, and he made them liberal grants of land, conceding them also considerable privileges and favors. The Americans who should settle in Louisiana were to be permitted to introduce slaves, stock, pro- visions for two years, farming utensils and implements, without paying any duty whatever, and, as to any other kind of property, it might be imported and offered for sale, on paying a duty of 25 per cent. They were also promised the free use of their religion. These conditions proved sufficient allurements for many Americans, who, with their families, removed to Louisiana and became Spanish subjects. Colonel George Morgan, who had proposed to lead a large number of emigrants, had obtained from Gardoqui the concession of a vast tract of land about seventy miles below the mouth of the Ohio, on which he subsequently laid the foundation of a
198
MIRÒ AND WOWER D'ARGÈS.
city, which he called New Madrid, in compliment to the Spaniards.
Pierre Wower d'Arges had arrived at New Orleans, and applied to Mirò for the support of Gardoqui's views and plans. Mirò, who found them not agreeing with his own, was greatly mortified, and, in a despatch which he addressed, on the 8th of January, 1788, to Valdès, the minister and secretary of state for the department of the Indies, said: "I fear that they may clash with Wilkinson's principal object, as I shall attempt to demonstrate by the following observations. In the first place, D'Arges having presented himself here with very little prudence and concealment, it may turn out that Wilkinson, in Kentucky, being made aware of the mis- sion of this agent, may think that we are not sincere, and that, endeavoring to realize his project without him, we use him merely as a tool to facilitate the operations of D'Arges. Under this impression, and under the belief that D'Arges may reap the whole credit of the undertak- ing in case of success, it may happen that he will counter- act them; for this reason, I have been reflecting for many days, whether it would not be proper to communicate to D'Argès Wilkinson's plans, and to Wilkinson the mis- sion of D'Argès, in order to unite them and to dispose them to work in concert. But I dare not do so,* be- cause D'Argès may consider that the great projects of Wilkinson may destroy the merit of his own, and he may communicate them to some one, who might cause Wilkinson to be arrested as a criminal, and also because
* Pero no me atrevo á abrasar el primer partido, por que puede D'Argès con- siderar que los grandes projectos de Wilkinson destruirian el merito del suyo, y precipitarse (lo que cabe en lo posible), á confiarlos á alguno capaz de influir á que se arestase Wilkinson como criminal, y tambien por que este se disgustariá mucho de que otro tuviese parte en una confianza de que depende su vida y honor, como el mismo expresa en su memoria.
.
199
MIRÒ'S VIEWS ON AMERICAN EMIGRATION.
Wilkinson may take offence at another being admitted to participate in confidential proceedings, upon which depend his life and honor, as he expresses himself in his memorial." Being precluded by these reasons from opening myself on the subject with D'Arges, I thought that I was bound to be equally discreet with Wilkinson, until I knew what are the intentions of his Majesty with regard to the latter. *
"The delivering up of Kentucky unto his Majesty's hands, which is the main object to which Wilkinson has promised to devote himself entirely, would for ever con- stitute this province a rampart for the protection of New Spain. Hence I consider as a misfortune the project of D'Argès, because I look upon the commercial franchises which he has obtained for the western colonists, and the permission given to the people to introduce any kind of articles into Louisiana, on their paying a duty of twenty- five per cent., as destructive of the great design which has been conceived.
"The western people would no longer have any in- ducement to emigrate, if they were put in possession of a free trade with us. This is the reason why this privi- lege should be granted only to a few individuals having influence among them, as is suggested in Wilkinson's memorial, because on their seeing the advantages be- stowed on these few, they might be easily persuaded to acquire the like by becoming Spanish subjects."
Mirò also objected to the imposition of the duty of twenty-five per cent. on certain articles to be introduced by the American settlers in Louisiana, because he said that, if Wilkinson was to be believed, Great Britain
* This cannot be the memorial openly given to Mirò by Wilkinson, and to which Butler refers in his History of Kentucky, but must be the other secret document of which the existence was rumored at the time.
200
MIRÒ ADVOCATES COMMERCIAL FRANCHISES.
made them much more liberal propositions, with which those of Spain would not compare advantageously. With regard to the religious toleration granted by Gardoqui, Mirò observed that it was too extensive. "It will be sufficient," said he, "to promise the emigrants that they shall not be forced to become Catholics, because, if they are told that their religion is to be tolerated, they will infer that they are permitted to practise it freely, which would authorize them to take along with them their ministers, whose absence would, on the contrary, favor the frequent conversions which the Irish priests would make, and which, otherwise, would be much more diffi- cult. I can conceive of but one case which would justify granting to those people the free exercise of their reli- gion-that is, if Kentucky could not be prevailed upon to give herself up to His Majesty without this condition.
" Your Excellency informs me that the agent D'Arges will give it to be understood in Kentucky, with dex- terity and prudence, without committing himself at all, that, until the question of boundaries be definitively settled, the Spanish government will permit those inha- bitants and colonists to send down their produce to New Orleans, &c., and Your Excellency goes on saying, that there are good grounds for expecting that many mer- chants in Spain and even in Havana will come to this port to enjoy this lucrative commerce, particularly if the franchises hitherto granted to foreigners were cur- tailed. This part of Your Excellency's communication obliges me to represent, on the strength of the know- ledge which I have of this province, that its prosperity would be immediately checked, if the slightest restrictive alteration were added to the royal schedule of the 22d of January, 1782, which allows the colonists to supply their wants from France and its colonies, and that the greater the number of emigrants we shall obtain from
201
MIRÒ'S INSTRUCTIONS TO GRANDPRÉ.
Kentucky and the rest of the United States, the greater necessity there will be for those franchises, in order that there should be no lack of the goods necessary to supply the wants of the new comers; for, to these franchises we are indebted for the aggrandizement into which this province has been expanding itself since they were granted. It would be inopportune to repeat at length the reasons which determined His Majesty to bestow those favors, and I shall confine myself to the principal one, which is, that deer skins and indigo, which are the two most important returns of trade from this country to France, have not, to this day, been adapted to the commerce of Spain, because the importation of those skins into the Peninsula gives no profit, and that the indigo of Louisiana is inferior to that of Guatimala, which is. chiefly used in the kingdom. The only articles the Americans could furnish for the commerce of Spain and Havana, would be flour, hemp, materials for cordage, and wrought iron. With regard to flour, it would be necessary for Your Excellency to consider, whether its exportation to Havana would not be prejudicial to the provinces of New Spain, which now supply that mar- ket," &c. &c.
On the 20th of February, Mirò sent to his government a copy of the instructions which he had given to Lieu- tenant-colonel Charles de Grandpré, Governor of Natchez, in relation to the 1582 Kentuckian families, which Pierre Wower d'Arges was expected to lead to that district. In that document Governor Mirò said to Grandpré : " You will make concessions of land to every family on its arrival ; to each family not owning negroes at all- six arpens fronting a Bayou or water-course, with forty in depth, making a total of two hundred and forty arpens ; to such as may have two, three, or four slaves, or be com- posed of four or six adult and unmarried sons, capable
202
OATH IMPOSED ON EMIGRANTS.
of working-ten arpens in front by forty in depth ; to such as have from ten to twenty negroes-fifteen arpens by forty, and to those owning more than twenty negroes, twenty arpens by forty.
" As to religion, you are already aware that the will of his Majesty is, that they be not disturbed on that account, but I think it proper that they be made to un- derstand, that this toleration means only that they shall not be compelled to become Catholics ; and it is expe- dient that this information be conveyed to them in such a manner, as to convince them that they are not to have the free exercise of their religion-that is-that they are not to build churches, or have salaried ministers of their creed-which is the footing on which have been placed the settlers who have preceded them.
" I herewith forward to you a copy of the oath which you will require of them. You will take notice of its last clause, by which they bind themselves to take up arms against those who may come as enemies from the settlements above ; you will then, after having assured them that they shall not be troubled in matters of reli- gion, inform them that the object of peopling Louisiana is to protect it against any invasion whatever which may be directed against it from the aforesaid settlements ; that this is to their own interest, since, under the Spanish domination, they cannot fail to be happy, on account of its mild and impartial administration of justice, and because they will have no taxes to pay; and besides, that the royal treasury will purchase all the tobacco which they may raise. Whilst presenting to them these considerations, you will carefully observe the manner in which they shall receive them, and the expression of their faces. Of this you will give me precise information, every time that you send me the original oaths taken."
The form of the oath was as follows : "We, the under-
203
GREAT FIRE IN NEW ORLEANS.
signed, do swear on the Holy Evangelists, entire fealty, vassalage and lealty to his Catholic Majesty, wishing voluntarily to live under his laws, promising not to act, either directly or indirectly, against his real interest, and to give immediate information to our commandants of all that may come to our knowledge, of whatever nature it may be, if prejudicial to the welfare of Spain in general, and to that of this province in particular, in the defence of which we hold ourselves ready to take up arms on the first summons of our chiefs, and particularly in the de- fence of this district, against whatever forces may come from the upper part of the river Mississippi, or from the. interior of the continent." Grandpré, however, had not to attend to these particulars, having been shortly after superseded by Lieutenant-colonel Gayoso de Lemos.
Such had been the efforts made to increase the popu- lation of Louisiana, when its prosperity was suddenly checked by a terrible visitation. On the 21st of March, 1788, being Good Friday," at half past one in the after- noon, a fire broke out in New Orleans, in the house of the military treasurer, Vicente Jose Nuñez, and reduced to ashes eight hundred and fifty-six edifices, among which were the stores of all the merchants, and the dwellings of the principal inhabitants, the Cathedral, the Convent of the Capuchins, with the greater portion of their books, the Townhall, the watch-house, and the arsenal with all its contents. Only seven hundred and fifty muskets were saved. The public prison was also burnt down, and time was hardly left to save the lives of the unfortunate inmates. Most of the buildings that escaped the confla- gration were those which fronted the river. The wind was at the time blowing from the south with extreme violence, and rendered nugatory all attempts to stop the
* Mirò's despatch of the 1st of April, 1788.
204
PUBLIC EDUCATION IN 1788.
progress of the devouring element.' The imagination can easily conceive the scene of desolation ; almost the whole of the population of the smouldering town was ruined, and deprived even of shelter during the whole of the following night. But, the next morning, Governor Mirò furnished those who desired it with tents, and dis- tributed rations of rice, at the expense of his Majesty, to all those who applied for it. They were found to amount to about seven hundred persons. Many took refuge with those whose dwellings had not been consumed, every sort of assistance was tendered to the sufferers, and on this melancholy occasion, were displayed to advantage those feelings of compassion and generosity which lie latent in the human heart.
One of Mirò's first cares was to send to Philadelphia three vessels consigned to Gardoqui, to procure, in as short a time as possible, provisions, nails, medicaments, and other objects of indispensable necessity, which were to be resold at equitable prices. The Spanish minister was invited to grant permission to such other vessels as would come to New Orleans with these articles, and $24,000 were remitted to him for the purchase of three thousand barrels of flour. Mirò sent to the Court of Spain a detailed account of the losses occasioned by this conflagration, and put them down at $2,595,561.
On the 1st of April, 1788, Governor Mirò wrote to his government a despatch containing a curious account of the state of public education in Louisiana. "It seems," said he, " that in 1772, there came from Spain Don An- dreas Lopez de Armesto as director of the school which was ordered to be established at New Orleans, Don Pedro Aragon as teacher of grammar (maestro de syn- taxis), Don Manuel Diaz de Lara as professor of the rudiments of the Latin language, and Don Francisco de la Celena as teacher of reading and writing (maestro de
205
PUBLIC EDUCATION IN 1788.
primeras lettras). But the Governor, Don Luis de Un- zaga, found himself greatly embarrassed as to the esta- blishment of those schools, because he knew that the parents would not send their children to them, unless they were driven to it by the fear of some penalty Considering, however, that it was not proper to resort to violence, he confined himself to making the public acquainted with the benefits they would derive from the education which the magnanimous heart of his Majesty thus put within their reach. Nevertheless, no pupil ever presented himself for the Latin class ; a few came to be taught reading and writing only ; these never ex- ceeded thirty, and frequently dwindled down to six. For this reason, the three teachers taught nothing be- yond the rudiments."
Mirò goes on saying, that the late conflagration having destroyed the school-house, Don Andres Almonaster had offered, as a substitute, free of charge, and as long as it should be wanted, a small edifice containing a room thirteen feet in length by twelve in width, which would suffice for the present, because, since the occurrence of the fire, many families had retired into the country, so that the number of pupils had, by that event, been reduced from twenty-three to twelve. He also proposes the construction of a more respectable school-house, the cost of which he estimates at $6,000.
" The introduction of the Spanish language in this colony," he observes, "is an object of difficult attainment, which it will require much time to accomplish, as the like, with regard to any language, has always happened in every country passing under the domination of another nation. All that has been obtained so far is, that all the proceedings of the courts of justice in the town be con- ducted in Spanish. But we have not succeeded so well
206
SPANISH INTRIGUES WITH WILKINSON.
in the other posts and dependencies, where French only continues to be spoken. Even in this town, the books of the merchants, except of those Spanish born, are kept in that language. For this reason, as those who have no fortune to leave to their sons aspire to give them no other career than a mercantile one, for which they think that reading and writing is sufficient, they prefer that this be taught them in French, and thus there were, before the fire, eight schools of that description, which were frequented by four hundred children of both sexes."
On the 11th of April, Mirò and Navarro informed the cabinet of Madrid, in a joint despatch, that they had received a communication in cypher from Wilkinson, in which he conveyed to them the agreeable intelligence that, after a painful and long journey, he had safely re- turned from the North to the West, across the moun- tains ; that all his predictions were on the eve of being accomplished ; that, as he had foretold, Kentucky had separated itself from Virginia, and that the rest would follow of course as Spain desired. Wilkinson's letter had been brought by one of his boats, which was soon to be followed by the remainder of them. The follow- ing is a part of Wilkinson's letter, alluded to in Mirò and Navarro's despatch :
" I have collected much European and American news, and have made various interesting observations for our political designs. It would take a volume to contain all that I have to communicate to you. But I despatch this letter with such haste, and its fate is so uncertain, that I hope you will excuse me for not saying more until the arrival of my boats; and, in the mean time, I pray you to content yourselves with this assurance : all my predictions are verifying themselves, and not a measure is
207
WILKINSON'S LETTER TO MIRÒ.
taken on both sides of the mountains which does not con- spire to favor ours. I encountered great difficulties in crossing the mountains," &c., &c.
. "I must, however, let you know that I met in Rich- mond an old companion in arms, a friend of mine, and at. present a member of Congress, who had just arrived from New York, and who communicated to me that, a few days before his departure, he had been informed by Gardoqui of my gracious reception at New Orleans by the Governor, &c. &c.
"In consequence of this, and considering that Gardoqui has spies all over the United States, I thought that, in order to prevent his suspicions, and divert his investiga- tions from the quarter to which they might be directed, it was prudent on my part to write him a complimentary letter, in which I broached some ideas which may give rise to a correspondence between us, and the result of which I shall communicate to you.
"I beg you to be easy, and to be satisfied that nothing shall deter me from attending exclusively to the object we have on hand, and I am convinced that the success of our plan will depend on the disposition of the court.
"I take leave of you with the most ardent prayers to the Almighty for your spiritual and temporal welfare, and I beg to subscribe myself your unalterably devo- ted friend, and your most faithful, humble and obliged servant."
On the 15th of May, Mirò wrote to urge upon the government the necessity of buying for the account of the king a larger quantity of tobacco. "If it be not possible," said he, "that Spain should consume tobacco to the amount of a few more millions of pounds, I fear that the new colonists with whom this province is peo- pling itself will consider as without foundation the hopes which rested on the cultivation of this plant, and which
208
MAJOR ISAAC DUNN.
made them believe that they would find among us a prosperity, the expected enjoyment of which had induced them to prefer the domination of His Majesty to any other. This alone, I conceive, can make happy all the population which extends from Natchez inclusively to the regions above. I am so convinced of it, that I feel compelled to say, that there is no means more powerful to accomplish the principal object we have in view in the memorial which has been laid before His Majesty, than the promise that the government will take as much as six millions of pounds of their tobacco, instead of the two millions which are now bought from them."
On the 15th of May, Wilkinson wrote from Kentucky the following letter to Mirò and Navarro: "My dear and venerated Sirs, I have for the second time the plea- sure of addressing you, and I flatter myself that some time ago you received my first communication, which I sent by express in a pirogue with two oarsmen, and the answer to which I am continually expecting.
"Major Isaac Dunn, the bearer of this despatch, and an old military companion of mine, came to settle in these parts during my absence. The reliance which I put in his honor, his discretion and his talents, has induced me, after having sounded his dispositions with proper caution, to choose him as a fit auxiliary in the execution of our political designs, which he has embraced with cordiality. He will therefore present himself in order to confer with you on those points which require more examination, and to concert with you those mea- sures which you may deem necessary to expedite our plan; and, through him, I shall be able to receive the new instructions which you may deem expedient to send me. I have also chosen him to bring me back the pro- duct of the present cargo of my boats. For these rea- sons, permit me to recommend him as one worthy of
-
209
ALEX. LEATT BULLIT AND HARRY INNIS.
your entire confidence, and as a safe and sagacious man, who is profoundly acquainted with the political state of the American Union, and with the circumstances of this section of the country. I. desire that he be detained in Louisiana as little as possible. .
" On the first day of January of the next year, 1789, by mutual consent, this district will cease to be subjected. to the jurisdiction of Virginia. It has been stipulated, it is true, as a necessary condition of our independence, that this territory be acknowledged an independent State by Congress, and be admitted as such into the Federal Union. But a Convention has already been called to form the constitution of this section of the country, and I am persuaded that no action on the part of Congress will ever induce this people to abandon the plan which they have adopted, although I have recent intelligence that Congress will, beyond a doubt, recog- nize us as a Sovereign State.
" The Convention of which I have spoken will meet in July. I will, in the mean time, inquire into the pre- vailing opinions, and shall be able to ascertain the extent of the influence of the members elected. When this is done, after having previously come to an under- standing with two or three individuals capable of assist- ing me, I shall disclose so much of our great scheme as may appear opportune, according to circumstances, and I have no doubt but that it will meet with a favorable reception ; because, although I have been communicative with no more than two individuals, I have sounded many, and wherever it has seemed expedient to me to make known your answer to my memorial, it has caused the keenest satisfaction. Colonel Alexander Leatt Bullit and Harry Innis, our attorney-general, are the only indi- viduals to whom I have intrusted our views, and, in case
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210
DANIEL CLARK, WILKINSON'S AGENT.
of any mishap befalling me before their accomplishment, you may, in perfect security, address yourselves to these gentlemen, whose political designs agree entirely with yours. Thus, as soon as the new government shall be organized and adopted by the people, they will proceed to elect a governor, the members of the legislative body and other officers, and I doubt not but that they will name a political agent with power to treat of the affair in which we are engaged, and I think that all this will be done by the month of March next. In the mean- time, I hope to receive your orders, which I will do my utmost to execute.
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