USA > Louisiana > History of Louisiana, the Spanish domination > Part 32
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" This is what the Spanish Government has never ceased doing from 1787 to the present time. It was as- sisted in this policy by a powerful inhabitant of Ken- tucky, who possesses much influence with his countrymen, and enjoys great consideration for the services he has rendered to the cause of liberty, when occupying high grades in the army of the United States ; who, from that time, has never ceased to serve Spain in all her views ; and who will put the same zeal at the command of France, because he thinks with reason that an intimate union between her and Louisiana is more advantageous to his country (Kentucky), than its present relations with the United States.
" This individual,* whose name I shall not mention in order not to expose him, but which I shall make known when his services shall be wanted, came to New Orleans in 1787. He informed the Spanish Government of the state of things then existing in Kentucky and the ad- joining districts, and of the efforts which the inhabitants of those provinces were making to obtain their indepen- dence and the free navigation of the Mississippi. He also declared that there was a general disposition among those people to place themselves under the protection of Spain, should Congress refuse to do justice to their claims.
" It is on that refusal that this inhabitant of Kentucky had founded all his hopes, and, in that case, he had offered to declare himself the vassal of his Catholic Ma- jesty. He promised, as such, to give information of all that the inhabitants of that region would undertake for
* General Wilkinson.
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or against Louisiana, and he proposed, as another means, to promote emigration from the Western Districts ad- joining Louisiana, in order to increase our strength. It is with these dispositions that he went back,
" He returned to New Orleans, in 1789, to renew to the government his propositions to employ all the means in his power to procure for his district of Kentucky its independence from the United States, by forming with Spain an alliance exclusive of all other nations, and actively to foment, at the same time, emigration to Louisiana .*
"He notified the Spanish Government, in 1791, that his hopes of success for his schemes had vanished. He attributed the cause of it to the granting by Spain to the inhabitants of Kentucky of permission to take down their produce to New Orleans, and to sell it there on paying a duty of 15 per cent. He pretended that the fertility of their soil amply indemnified them for the payment of that duty, and, the next year, he wrote that all ideas of emigration from his district had been entirely given up, ever since the inhabitants of Kentucky knew that his Catholic Majesty had declared that, for the fu- ture, instead of purchasing annually two millions of pounds of tobacco from the emigrants, he would take only forty thousand pounds.
"It results from all this, that Spain could not succeed in gaining over to her side the people of Kentucky. The same motives have stopped the emigration which might with reason have been expected, considering that Louisiana, which contained twenty thousand souls in
* This note is to be found at the bottom of the page in the original manuscript; " Four times, from 1786 to 1792, preparations were made in Kentucky and Cum- berland to attack Louisiana, and, every time, this same individual caused them to fail through his influence over his countrymen. I make these facts known to ELJw that France must not neglect to enlist this individual in her service."
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1782, and forty-five thousand in 1792, numbers now more than seventy thousand, including, however, the district of Natchez, which was surrendered to the Americans in 1797.
"The individual above mentioned gave the unwise advice to place the people of those districts under the absolute dependence of Spain, by preventing them from having any trade whatever with Louisiana, and by de- priving them of the navigation of the Mississippi. He hoped that the majority of the Thirteen States would accede to it. He thought that, by this means, it would be possible to check the excessive and alarming emigra- tion from the Atlantic States towards their western ter- ritory, and presumed that the inhabitants of that terri- tory not being supported by the Federal Government in their pretensions, it would then become easy to induce them to seek their welfare by throwing themselves into the arms of Spain.
" All these designs have miscarried (and indeed it could hardly have been otherwise) because, instead of opposing the pretensions of said districts, the United States, on the contrary, energetically favored them, and addressed, in 1792, to the Court of Madrid a memorial in which they represented that, unless they chose to expose themselves to losing one half of their territory, they could not turn a deaf ear to the continual clamors of the inhabitants of the West, who solicited, orer and above the free navigation of the Mississippi, the posses- sion of a spot on the lower part of the river, where their boats might discharge their produce and take in the goods which they wanted-adding that should this place of depot be fixed at New Orleans, it might give rise to difficulties and discussions.
"The Congress, by such means, secured the affection of those people to such an extent, that it became no
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longer possible to think of forming the union above mentioned, although, for a certainty, that western popu- lation would have been the happier in consequence of it. Spain also lost all hope of peopling Louisiana, before coming to arrangements with the United States.
"In order to prolong that negotiation (and this in- finitely suited the Court of Spain) several propositions were made to Congress. First, it was represented that, on account of the delicate situation of the Western coun- try, his Majesty, through humanity, had granted to the inhabitants thereof the privilege of selling their produce at New Orleans, and that, although it was on their pay- ing in kind a duty of 15 per cent., yet this was more advantageous than if they resorted to direct exportation by sea, since they sold for eight dollars at New Orleans a barrel of flour which cost no more than three dollars at Monongahela, and since the ships that might come through the Atlantic to the Mississippi, in order to take that produce, would pay for it a much less price ; but that, in order to do away with all pretexts for any con- traband trade and with the discussions to which it might give rise, his Majesty permitted the free navigation of the Mississippi to the inhabitants of the Western country, who might easily cause to be constructed on their rivers schooners or any other craft, in which they might trans- port their produce to the ports of the United States or to such harbors of the foreign colonies as may admit it. This proposition was rejected, and the United States persisted in demanding the opening of the Mississippi to the American ships, and the possession of a post at a convenient spot on the bank of that river.
" This negotiation was again prolonged by new propo- sitions-such as the one opening the river up to the Plaquemine Turn, which is thirty miles from the Balize. provided the ships should not load from the banks of
27
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the river, but from those flatboats in which the Western people carry their produce, and which might conve- niently come up to the sides of the ships.
" As Congress refused to abate one jot of their pre- tensions, Spain, in order not to lose more, found herself compelled to grant them the free navigation of the river; and, instead of conceding to them the post which they demanded, consented to their being put in possession of the above mentioned territory, which they claimed under their treaty with Great Britain. This was done in 1797, after the prolonged negotiation I have described.
"Now that the Americans, in consequence of these transactions, possess more than eighteen hundred miles of the eastern bank of the Mississippi, from the 31st degree, in front of the mouth of Red River, to the 42d degree, it becomes more important than ever to people the Western side, which is better susceptible of numerous and flourishing establishments such as New Madrid, the banks of the St. Francis, the Arkansas, the Ouachita, and Red River, together with the posts of Natchitoches, Attakapas, Opeloussas, &c.
" All these districts, on becoming populous, might defend the province, by easily concentrating their forces at the point where it might be required according to circumstances. The lands watered by these rivers are the most fertile in America, and afford us room for the finest establishment, which would be of an immense extent, and which would be contiguous to the kingdom of Mexico.
" These were the points which the court of Spain was afraid of stocking with population on account of the neighborhood I have mentioned, and there are extant in the archives of Louisiana the most precise orders not to permit the establishment of any family on the Oua-
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chita river, through which there is the most direct com- munication with Mexico.
"The Spanish possessions in Louisiana, being thus re- duced by these new limits, do not extend on the east bank of the Mississippi, beyond the 31st degree, at a point which is thirty-six miles below Natchez, as I have already said above. But, notwithstanding this, the United States cannot look upon the Chickasaw, Choc- taw, Alibamon, and Creek nations as belonging to them, because these nations, who are entirely devoted to us, besides that they have always received presents from Great Britain, as the proprietor of Florida, have renewed the sort of dependence to which they have subjected themselves in exchange for the protection of Spain. At a Congress which the government of Louisiana held in May, 1784, at Pensacola, with the Creeks, and in June, at Mobile, with the other nations, there was a treaty made to that effect in thirteen articles-which treaty was afterwards approved by the court.
" The United States will answer to this-that they also have made treaties with the Chickasaws and Choctaws at Hopewell and Seneca, in 1786. But those pretended treaties are imaginary and null.
" On the side of the Chickasaws, a chief, with a small number of warriors, came to Hopewell; and only some Choctaw chiefs-the only ones who had not delivered up their English medals to the Spanish government, came to Seneca-all of them without any powers from their respective nations. This is what these same chiefs declared when they since came to give up the aforesaid medals to the government, and to take those of the king of Spain. The king of the Chickasaws and his principal chiefs disapproved also the act of the above mentioned chief.
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"It is very important that the aforesaid nations re- main under the protection of France, in the same way they were under that of Spain, because they serve as a barrier against the United States, on a space of nine hundred miles which it would be necessary to go over through those nations, in order to come in that direc- tion from the provinces of Georgia and South Carolina.
"I do not doubt but that the Americans would oppose with all their power the extending of the protection of France over those nations, as they have always opposed Spain, by sending commissioners, every year, to endeavor to detach those Indians from her. They never could succeed in these attempts. They could only gain over to their side the Indian chief of whom I have spoken, with the men of his village. None others allowed them- selves to be persuaded by the letters which were written to them by the minister of war, Knox, by Dr. Franklin, and even by General Washington. They delivered those letters to the Governor of Louisiana in proof of their fidelity; but, as it may be possible that the United States shall think proper to use force against them, and as it is against the law of nations to prevent these people from choosing their protector, justice and the interest of France require that she should offer them her assistance according to the exigencies of the case.
"Should even the United States undertake to form establishments on the territory of the aforesaid nations, as they have already attempted it, it is not doubtful but that those nations would oppose it with all their might, and that they would call in the aid of the government of Louisiana, which ought then to assist them with all its forces, in order not to risk the loss of so essential a barrier.
"Those nations have always been disposed to repel by force all attempts to invade their territory. This is
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what has occurred between the Cherokees, the Creeks, the Talapouches and the United States: the Indians claimed for their limit the Cumberland river, the Ame- ricans, the Okony. It is for this cause that they have been constantly at war until 1791, at which time the half-breed Alexander McGillivray was called to New York by President Washington, with divers Creek chiefs. They then framed a treaty of peace, which the nation refused to ratify, because McGillivray had ceded more territory than his instructions authorized him to do. It was even contrary to the thirteen articles of the treaty we* had concluded at the congress held at Pen- sacola in 1784, with the Creek nation.
"The cession made by McGillivray gave up to the Americans a considerable portion of the best lands of the Creeks, who opposed it, and have, ever since, con- stantly opposed the taking possession of those lands by the Americans. France ought to assist them in their resistance, and, to do so successfully, it would be proper that, on taking possession of Louisiana, the French go- vernment should call together a congress of that nation at Pensacola. Although such an operation would be expensive, on account of the presents which it is the custom to give the Indians on such occasions, and be- cause they are to be supplied with provisions whilst they stay at the place where they have been convened, and on their way back, still such a measure is indispensable. In this congress, the French Governor will know what influence has been retained by McGillivrayt over those people since the treaty which they disapproved. He will make them feel how much more advantageous to them is the protection of France, which they have not
* Pontalba had been in the employ of Spain.
+ It seems that McGillivray's death, which occurred in 1793, had not reached Pontalba, who had retired to France before the happening of that event.
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forgotten, than that of the United States, who aim at nothing else than invading their lands.
"The Choctaws and Alibamons, seeing the Creeks convened in congress, will ask for one in their turn. It will be indispensable to grant it, in order to check the constant efforts made by the United States to detach them from the government of Louisiana, towards which they feel considerable affection, and under the protection of which they have always been placed.
"During the French domination, the Governor of Louisiana used to convene a Congress of those nations, every year at Mobile. The consequence is, that their old men speak of that time with grateful remembrance, and those people will see the return of their former pro- tectors with a satisfaction equal to the umbrage which the United States will take at it.
"Notwithstanding the advantages which the Ameri- cans have obtained by the establishment of the limits above designated, there is a circumstance which will always keep the inhabitants of the West in the depend- ence of Louisiana, and which will render their emigration to it advantageous to them, although the lands they now possess are of extreme fertility-and that is, the diffi- culty which they experience, on account of the distance at which they are, in exchanging their produce for the commodities they want, although they have the free use of the navigation of the river, because the most valuable produce they have for sale is their tobacco and flour, which do not fetch a high price on the Atlantic coast, so that the inhabitants of the West would be obliged to give them away almost for nothing to those ships which would come to the Mississippi and buy them ; otherwise, the profits would fall short of the expenses of fitting up those ships. Besides, the sellers would not be able to take any merchandise in exchange for their produce, on
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account of the considerable cost to which they would be put in order to take them up the Mississippi and the Ohio ; for there are eighteen hundred and ninety-nine miles from the post of Plaquemine, which is situated thirty miles from the mouth of the Mississippi, to Louis- ville, which is the first establishment in Kentucky. Communication by land is still less practicable, although shorter by half. So that the only course to be pursued by the inhabitant of Kentucky, is to sell his produce to the American ships, payable in specie ; next, to go him- self to Philadelphia, there to buy the commodities he may want ; then transport them three hundred miles by land to fort Pitt ; and thence convey them home by a navigation of seven hundred and five miles on the Ohio.
" Evidently it is not to be presumed that any farmer could undertake such an operation, and that any mer- chant of the Atlantic coast could speculate on the pro- duce of the West, when the trade is subject to such difficulties. Therefore, how much more advantageous is it to the inhabitants of the West, to settle lower down on the Mississippi, or at least, to form a union with Loui- siana, in order to have the privilege of selling their pro- duce to the best advantage in New Orleans ?
"These circumstances are very powerful motives to induce the inhabitants of Kentucky, whose example would shortly be followed by those of the other Western districts, to separate themselves from the United States in order to form an alliance with France, under the ob- ligation of their defending Louisiana in case of an attack from the United States.
" As Spain has granted them all that they have asked for, and as it is to be presumed that they will engage in no hostility, France will have time to mature this scheme, and the inhabitants of Kentucky will also have time to convince themselves that they cannot be happy and pros-
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perous either without this alliance, or without the con quest of Louisiana. Either one or the other of these events is commanded by the nature of the country. It is for France to provide for the one, in order to avoid the other. To succeed in this, it is necessary to employ a man who should appreciate the importance of success, as well as the situation of those Western provinces in relation to Louisiana and the United States, and who should renew the intelligences which the Government of Louisiana had with the individual of whom I have spoken.
" Whilst attending to the execution of this project, it would be of the greatest importance to employ, at the same time, extraordinary means to people Louisiana, so that she might ultimately defend herself with her own resources. Should this be accomplished, the desired alliance would become less necessary, perhaps even use- less for France, and, on the contrary, would be solicited by the above mentioned districts.
" At first sight, it seems dangerous to people Louisia- na with aliens, but its singular position in relation to the inhabitants of the banks of the Ohio is such, that it may be considered as their home; for it may be set down as an axiom, that it would be easier for these inhabitants to invade Louisiana from those districts, than to rebel, if they were settled within its limits-with this difference in the first case, that invasion would be to them a source of glory, and that, when embarking on the Ohio, being favored by the rapidity of the current, they would ope- rate a junction of their forces in Louisiana before it be known there that they had formed any such design ; whilst having once emigrated and being received among us, with a promise of fidelity on their part to the repub- lic, those who should meditate a rising could not carry their scheme into execution without its being known be
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forehand, and, instead of acquiring the laurels which may be won in legitimate warfare, would expose themselves to the ignominious death of traitors. Besides, it is not to be presumed that those people, who have lived under a precarious government which did not protect them, who have been incessantly apprehensive of dangers from Indian hostilities and deprived of every sort of com- merce, may become unfaithful, when they shall be, by the operation of their own free will, established under another government that will protect them, secure an outlet for their produce, abstain from exacting any tax from them, and settle their differences without intermed- dling with their domestic affairs, or with their religion.
" As soon as by such means the affection of the first generation shall have been secured, the succeeding ones will of course know no other country than the one in which they shall have been born, and it will then be left to the wisdom of government to imprint on the tender and impressive hearts of youth the true sentiments of patriotism and justice.
"Such motives determined the king of Spain, in 1790, to cause to be sent to the Governor of Louisiana a suffi- cient quantity of provisions to enable him to receive all the emigrants that should come from the aforesaid dis- tricts. He authorized that officer to make concessions of land to them, and divide those settlements into eight- een mile districts, in the centre of which there should be a church, a house for the commandant and an Irish curate, but with instructions not to disturb them in the exercise of their religion.
" My chief aim is to indicate the means of peopling Louisiana, the principal of which are the purchase of all the tobacco to be raised by the emigrants and the most urlimited extension of commerce. If my propositions sem to be exaggerated, let that exaggeration be attri-
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buted to the conviction in which I am-that Louisiana is the key of America, and therefore of the highest im- portance. In this respect, she has, for a long time past, been the object of the ambition of the United States; so that they would be deeply disgusted if they saw her pass into the hands of so preponderating a power as France ; and they would have invaded her long ago if they had foreseen such an event.
" The purchase of the tobacco raised by the emigrants could not be burdensome to France. Spain used, before the war, to buy annually two millions of pounds of to- bacco at New Orleans, although she consumed but little of it.
" I know in the most positive manner, from informa- tion given to me by the officer who is personally intrusted with this administration in Spain, that, after reserving the sixty thousand pounds which are sufficient for the consumption of Spain, because she uses none but the rappee, she exported the rest, every year, to Holland and France, and that, according to the returns of the bills of sales, the royal treasury was greatly benefited by that operation. This circumstance induces me to propose this means as the one which promises to be the most successful, without being onerous to the republic.
" The crops of tobacco made by said inhabitants were bought, in 1790 and 1791, at the rate of Sc. per pound, by the Spanish government, which derived considerable profit from it; and those inhabitants were themselves so well satisfied with that price, that I know they would deem themselves exceedingly happy if the government would now buy the same quantity of tobacco at six cents instead of eight. Should it be extended to four millions of pounds a year, it would be sufficient to attract a good many emigrants to Louisiana ; for, from Red River to New Madrid, the raising of tobacco is the only culture
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which can reward the labor of the farmer-which cir- cumstance convinces me that the purchase of this article by the government would powerfully contribute to increase the population of that part of Louisiana.
"France will easily find an outlet for those four mil- lions of pounds of tobacco, considering* that, if Spain made money by the operation when she paid eight cents per pound, France, paying only six cents for the same article, would sell it cheaper, and would therefore easily find, not only a home market, but also one in Holland and in Spain.
"It would not be necessary for France to make any advances to accomplish this object, because she might enter into an arrangement with Spain, by which that power would, annually, send $240,000 from Vera Cruz to Louisiana, to be reimbursed to her in Europe after the sale of the tobacco by France. This arrangement would be equally advantageous to Spain, because she would receive that sum without risk, with a little delay, to be sure-but that delay would be compensated by the saving of the costs of transportation.
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