which reads as follows: “And his Catholic Majesty has likewise agreed that the navigation of the said river Mississippi, in its whole breadth from the source to the ocean, shall be free to only his subjects and the citizens of the United States, unless he shall extend this privilege to the subjects of other powers by special convention.” At the time this treaty was entered into, Governor Miro was in Spain, in attendance, it has been said, on the court at Madrid. He was then a lieutenant-general in the Spanish army, and held in great esteem in Spain, and nothing is more probable than that his counsel and advice on the subject of the proposed treaty were sought. It was entirely natural that, when asked for his views, he should remember James Robertson, Daniel Smith and Robert Hays, the courtesy shown him and the friendly and respectful treatment which he had received from the inhabitants of the district named in his honor, and that he should therefore favor the concession of this right. In the very nature of things, the district of “Mero,” misspelled though it was, and the circumstances connected with and surrounding its baptism and the man who was its sponsor, ought to and must have a place, not only in Tennessee history, but in the true history of the United States. The Spaniards, constantly haunted by fear of their restless neighbors in Kentucky and the Cumberland country, spared no means by which they might conciliate the Indians. The chief military officer of the Spanish, writing to the home government, in 1786, concerning Alexander McGillivray, said: “So long as we shall hold this chief on our side, we will have a barrier between the Floridas and Georgia. The Indians are convinced of the ambition of the Americans; past injuries still dwell in their minds, with the fear that these greedy neighbors may one day seize upon their lands. It ought to be one of the chief policies of this government to keep this sentiment alive in the breasts of the Indians.” Alexander McGillivray was a noted tory during the Revolution, and had taken refuge after its close among the Creek nation. He was a man of great courage and intelligence, entertained inveterate hostility to the whites, and had an insatiable ambition for personal promotion. He was in the Spanish pay, as agent of that government among the Indians, had usurped regal authority, and was also chief of the Talapouches. It is said that he cherished the hope of having his nation admitted into the federal compact, although he was in the service of Spain, with the rank of colonel, and was afterward promoted to be commissary general. This dangerous man was under the absolute control of Governor Miro in 1788, when the name of the latter was bestowed by Robertson on the new district. The fact that Miro had control of the Mississippi river, and at the same time almost absolute command over the Indians in the south, furnishes, it is believed, the