Receiving no encouragement from the President, Daveiss and Marshall pursued their campaign alone. In July there appeared in Frankfort a publication under the name of the _Western World_ with which Daveiss and Marshall were closely identified. In its September issue it openly charged that there was a conspiracy afoot to combine Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Louisiana, and the Floridas into an independent government. The newspaper added that while the majority of the conspirators wanted to call a convention and obtain the consent of Congress, a considerable number favored effecting their purpose by force of arms. The statement turned out to be pure speculation; nevertheless it was picked up and widely republished in the East. Burr by this time was in Lexington, Kentucky. Daveiss now took another step. In his capacity as district attorney he appeared in the Federal Court at Frankfort and accused Burr of having violated the laws of the Union by setting on foot an unauthorized expedition against Mexico, a country with which the United States was at peace. A similar charge was preferred against Senator John Adair of Kentucky. Adair, a veteran of the Revolution, had accompanied Wayne and Wilkinson on a campaign against the Indians in the Northwest in 1791. He enjoyed Wilkinson’s confidence, met Burr through him, and seems to have taken the attitude that Burr was an advance agent of the Federal Government to arouse the West for a war with Spain and conquest of the Southwest. Learning of the charge, Burr presented himself at Frankfort and demanded an examination. A grand jury was empaneled but Daveiss could not round up his witnesses and asked for its discharge. Thanks to his failure Daveiss was held up to public ridicule. Two weeks later the same performance was repeated. Another grand jury was empaneled, Daveiss again failed to assemble his witnesses, and again Burr was discharged. So too was Adair. To add to his accuser’s mortification Burr’s second victory was celebrated by a public ball. The silence in Washington in the face of what was going on led to two possible conclusions. One was that the administration was too weak to put up a fight even against its own destruction. The other was that if Burr actually was leading an expedition against Mexico he was doing so with the co-operation and blessing of the Jefferson administration.