The Winning of the West, Volume 4: Louisiana and the Northwest, 1791-1807Roosevelt, Theodore
History
The Winning of the West, Volume 4: Louisiana and the Northwest, 1791-1807
Roosevelt, Theodore
Northwest, Old -- History; United States -- Territorial expansion; West (U.S.) -- History
Meanwhile Burr passed down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where he
found himself in the society of persons who seemed more willing than any
others he had encountered to fall in with his plans. Even here he did
not clearly specify his purposes, but he did say enough to show that
they bordered on the treasonable; and he was much gratified at the
acquiescence of his listeners. His gratification, however, was
over-hasty. The Creoles, and some of the Americans, were delighted to
talk of their wrongs and to threaten any course of action which they
thought might yield vengeance; but they had little intention of
proceeding from words to deeds. Claiborne, a straightforward and honest
man, set his face like a flint against all of Burr's doings.
From New Orleans Burr retraced his steps and visited Wilkinson at St.
Louis. But Wilkinson was no longer in the same frame of mind as at Fort
Massac. He had tested his officers, to see if they could be drawn into
any disloyal movement, and had found that they were honorable men, firm
in their attachment to the Union; and he was beginning to perceive that
the people generally were quite unmoved by Burr's intrigues.
Accordingly, when Burr reached him he threw cold water on his plans, and
though he did not denounce or oppose them, he refrained from taking
further active part in the seditious propaganda.
Burr Returns to Washington.
After visiting Harrison, the Governor of the Indiana territory, Burr
returned to Washington. If he had possessed the type of character which
would have made him really dangerous as a revolutionist, he would have
seen how slight was his hope of stirring up revolt in the West; but he
would not face facts, and he still believed he could bring about an
uprising against the Union in the Mississippi Valley. His immediate need
was money. This he hoped to obtain from some foreign government. He
found that nothing could be done with Great Britain; and then,
incredible though it may seem, he turned to Spain, and sought to obtain
from the Spaniards themselves the funds with which to conquer their own
territories.
His Burlesque Proposals to Spain.
This was the last touch necessary to complete the grotesque fantasy
which his brain had evolved. He approached the Spanish Minister first
through one of his fellow conspirators and then in his own person. At
one time he made his request on the pretence that he wished to desert
the other filibusterers, and save Spain by committing a double
treachery, and betraying the treasonable movement into which he had
entered; and again he asked funds on the ground that all he wished to do
was to establish a separate government in the West, and thus destroy the
power of the United States to molest Spain. However, his efforts came to
naught, and he was obliged to try what he could do unaided in the West.
His Second Trip to the West.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account