“What did he say of his means of opposition to the Government?” “He mentioned,” said Henderson, “that with three pieces of artillery and 300 sharpshooters he could defend any pass in the Allegheny Mountains against any force the Government could send.” The witness testified further that Blennerhassett had shown them two numbers of “The Querist” and told them he had written them. “It is remarkable,” observed Mr. Wirt, addressing the Court, “that Colonel Burr was at the island on the 1st of September and the first number of ‘The Querist’ is dated the 4th.” John Graham, Secretary of the Mississippi Territory, who had been directed by the Government in Washington to investigate Burr’s activities in the West, was next called to the stand. He told of his meeting with Blennerhassett who, with his customary gift for blundering, at first mistook him for a friend of Colonel Burr and one who was sympathetic with the expedition. Yet he admitted that Blennerhassett had mentioned the settlement of the Washita lands as being the object. Furthermore, according to Graham, when he tried to discourage him from taking part, Blennerhassett replied that the expedition was legal, that he and Burr were familiar with the law and knew what they were doing. As for the separation of the western country from the Union, he and Burr held that it would be beneficial for the people of the West but realized that they were not yet ready for it. Saturday, September 26, was a red letter day in the trial since it brought two colorful figures to the witness stand in the persons of General Eaton and General Wilkinson. Eaton now was permitted to include in his testimony that part of his affidavit which Judge Marshall had forbidden in the treason trial on the ground that it was irrelevant to the doings on Blennerhassett Island. The evidence was sensational enough but, having been published in the newspapers throughout the country months before, it was an old story that had lost most of its original force. According to Eaton, in the course of their conversations in Washington during the winter of 1806, Burr told him that if he could win over the Marine Corps and secure the interest of Truxtun, Preble, and Decatur, he would turn Congress out neck and heels, assassinate the President (or what amounted to that), and declare himself the protector of an energetic government. Eaton insisted that Burr had used such expressions as “hang him,” “throw him into the Potomac,” and “send him to Carter’s Mountain.” Carter’s Mountain was that eminence overlooking the town of Charlottesville, Virginia, on whose edge lay Monticello. In response to these boasts Eaton claimed he had observed to Burr that one solitary word would destroy him. When Burr inquired what the word was Eaton replied, “Usurper.” Burr, continued Eaton, smiled at the General’s want of confidence, quoted examples of dictators from ancient history and, if Eaton’s memory served, mentioned Caesar, Cromwell, and Bonaparte.