this is all a mistake, and that the first and second sentences apply to Burr's political game in Tennessee, and that the merits so well known to him, meant only Adair's electioneering ability. Unfortunately for this interpretation, neither Tennessee, nor the election, nor Congress, nor political standing, is once mentioned, throughout the whole letter. Again: in that to Clark, where he hints at unutterable things, or rather, at things which he cannot utter, he means another snug, sub rosa, electioneering plan; by which the Col. was to become the representative of the New-Orleans Territory, without the privity of a single elector in it, excepting Daniel Clark! How extraordinary is this, and how very different from the General's own method of backing his friend, when that friend had become an object of his political suspicion.a

At the time the letters to Adair and Clark were written, nothing had occurred to shake the General's belief in the integrity of Col. Burr; yet we have seen that the means hitherto employed to serve him, were dark, doubtful and inefficient;-but now, that the General suspects him, his zeal is redoubled, and he most fervently and distinctly entreats Harrison, to assemble his Solomons and send the Colonel to Congress! And why? Because his talents and knowledge are, at this moment, all-important in the councils of his country. And is this the man, upon whom he has just attempted to fix the eye of national suspicion? Can this be the Aaron Burr, whom he has but this moment denounced to the Secretary of the Navy, as having some iniquitous project, external or internal? Reader, spare your indignation; the denunciation never was received, perhaps never was sent. Writing the letter, was sufficient to quiet the General's conscience, and getting his aid-de-camp to copy it, was a sure and easy method of obtaining another testimonial to his own loyalty.b

We now return to our narrative. Burr left the western country in September, 1805, and from this point of time until the spring of 1806, the ciphers and hieroglyphics were in constant requisition. The character of Burr's letters, during this period, is given by the General in the following words, they were of an ambiguous as'pect,' and were calculated to inculpate me if exposed.' That of his own, in reply, has been furnished by accident. Swartwout saw one of them and deposed to the following passage, in which the

a Vol. II. p. 303. General Wilkinson's letter to General Harrison. By the way-this last-mentioned gentleman declared, at a public dinner in this city in the fall of 1813, that, if he chose to do so, he could (by discovering a secret of Wilkinson's) destroy him. Gen. S. Smith was among the number of those to whom General Harrison made this declaration. Did he allude to Newman's desertion? to the Spanish pension? or to Burr's conspiracy?

b The General has all his life been a great collector of credentials, which honest men do not require, and proud men will not employ.

General, in a prophetic and reproachful strain, says to Burr-Miranda has taken the bread out of your mouth, and I shall be ready 'for the grand expedition before you." What effect this stimulus bad upon his friend, we know not, but this we do know, that on the 12th December following, Burr says "On the subject of a certain "speculation, it is not deemed material to write, till the whole can "be communicated. The circumstance referred to in a letter from "Ohio, remains in suspense; the auspices however are favourable, "and it is believed, that Wilkinson will give audience to a delega"tion, composed of Adair and Dayton, in February. Can 25.... b "be had in your vicinity to move at some few hours' notification ?" His next letter is dated on the 16th of April, 1806, and deciphered, is as follows:

"The execution of our project is postponed until December. "Want of water in the Ohio rendered movement impracticable. "Other reasons rendered delay expedient. The association is en"larged, and comprises all that Wilkinson could wish. Confi, "dence limited to few. Though this delay is irksome, it will ena"ble us to move with more certainty and dignity. Burr will be throughout the United States this summer. Administration is "damned, &c. Is Cusion et Portes right? Address Burr at Wash"ington." This letter placed the General, as he tells us, in a situation of most painful perplexity and suspense; it was not sufficiently explicit for his taste; he could not yet penetrate the veil, with which the main objects were concealed, and of course, 'was at ' a loss how to act.' His former caution to a member of the cabinet, 'had been so entirely neglected, that he felt a repugnance to repeat the information he had given.' He therefore determined to keep the secret, but at the same time to ensnare the writer into greater confidence, both in relation to his object and his means. d I accordingly,' he says, 'wrote him such a letter,' (probably that post-marked 13th May,) 'as struck me to be best calculated to 'produce the desired effect.'

If Burr had hitherto suspected the strength of our author's mind, or its fitness for mischievous purposes, on the receipt of this trap letter, (as the General now represents it,) he could doubt no longer; and we accordingly find him immediately despatching one in reply, that in every line presupposes, on the part of his correspondent, a thorough knowledge and entire approbation of the plan.

a Burr's trial. See depositions of Tazewell, Cadell and Brokenborough. b Why not decipher this question? Why leave us to guess at two figures and four dots? See Vol. II. Appendix, No. 84.

e Nothing is said about funds, of course not at all satisfactory.

d Here is a proof of nice and honourable feelings and principles; yet is the outery of this monster, against perfidy, and dissimulation, and hypocrisy, without end.

This specimen of frankness and friendship, is in the following words:

"Your letter, post-marked 13th May, is received. I have at "length obtained funds, and have actually commenced; the east"ern detachments, from different points and under different pre"tences, will rendezvous on Ohio, on the 1st of November. Every "thing internal and external favours our view-Naval protection "of England is secured. Truxton is going to Jamaica to arrange "with the admiral there, and will meet us at Mississippi ;-England "and navy of the United States ready to join, and final orders are "given to my friends and followers. It will be a host of choice "spirits. Wilkinson shall be second to Burr only, and Wilkinson "shall dictate the rank and promotion of his officers. Burr will "proceed westward 1st August, never to return; with him go his "daughter and grandson. The husband will follow in October, "with a corps of worthies. Send forthwith an intelligent and con"fidential friend, with whom Burr may confer; he shall return im"mediately with further interesting details; this is essential to con"cert and harmony of movement. Send a list of all persons known "to Wilkinson, westward of the mountains, who could be useful, "with a note delineating their characters. By your messenger send "me four or five of the commissions of your officers, which you "can borrow under any pretence you please; they shall be return"ed faithfully. Already an order to the contractor to forward six "months' provisions to points you may name; this shall not be used "until the last moment, and then under proper injunctions. Our "project, my dear friend, is brought to the point so much desired. "I guaranty the result with my life and honour; with the lives, the "honour and the fortunes of hundreds, the best blood of our coun"try. Burr's plan of operation is, to move down rapidly from the "falls on the 15th of November, with the first 500 or 1000 men, in "light boats, now constructing for that purpose; to be at Natchez "between the 5th and 15th December; there to meet you, there to "determine, whether it will be expedient, in the first instance, to "seize or pass Baton Rouge. On receipt of this, send me an an"swer; draw on me for all expenses. The people of the country "we are going to, are prepared to receive us; their agents, now "with me, say, that if we will protect their religion and will not sub"ject them to a foreign power, that in three weeks all will be set"tled. The gods invite us to glory and fortune; it remains to be seen whether we deserve the boon. The bearer of this goes ex"press to you, he will hand a formal letter of introduction from me. "He is a man of inviolable honour and perfect discretion, formed to execute rather than to project-capable of relating facts with fi"delity, and incapable of relating them otherwise. He is thorough"ly informed of the plans and intentions of

and will dis

"close to you as far as you inquire and no farther. He has im"bibed a reverence for your character, and may be embarrassed in "your presence; put him at ease; and he will satisfy you. 29th "July."

Here then, are the precious confessions of the arch-conspirator himself, in relation to every point, the knowledge of which was necessary to guide the opinions or the conduct of General Wilkinson. "The Eastern detachments," says Burr, "will rendezvous on the Ohio, on the 1st of November: and my plan of operations is to move down rapidly from the falls, on the 15th of that month, with the first 500 or 1,000 men, in light boats, now constructing for that purpose, to be at Natchez between the 5th and 15th of Decemberthere to meet you; there to determine, whether it will be expedient to seize or pass by Baton Rouge." Surely, with this light, the road to be taken by honest and intelligent men was not difficult to find; the evil was but germinating, and might be crushed in the bud.

a Of this famous letter there have been three versions; one by Wilkinson, acknowledged to be imperfect; another by his counsel, admitted to be false; and a third by the Grand Jury at Richmond, believed to be authentic; we have copied the last.

It rarely happens that a single letter is fated to make two men immortal; yet such is the destiny of this. As a kind of episode, we offer the following notice of its history and metamorphoses while in the hands of the General.

1st. His Natchitoches version, (from cipher and hieroglyphics to plain English,) went on, as he tells us, very slowly, and was never brought to perfection. He was satisfied with knowing its contents himself, and did not think a confidant, in so near a degree, either useful or safe; yet he swears, on the honour of a soldier and the purity of the gospel, that the moment he had deciphered it, he put it in the hands of Col. Cushing! Unfortunately, Cushing's deposition to "the whole truth" omits this circumstance altogether.

24. Invited by Swartwout to reply to this letter, the General recollects well the invitation, and swears (that like a good citizen and soldier) he declined the correspondence; yet, on Burr's trial, the secret is told by Swartwout, and the General is compelled to contradict this oath by another! "Did you write [to "Burr]? I did. What did you do with the letter? Destroyed it. Did it go out "of your hands? It did. It was sent to Natchez, whither I followed, recovered "and destroyed it." (Burr's trial, page 209.)

Sd. When he deported Swartwout, Alexander, &c. from New-Orleans, an affidavit on the part of the General was sent with them, which included a copy of Burr's letter;—but an authentic, or true copy of that letter, not being adapted to the times, Mr. Duncan, the General's counsel, accommodated it to this state of things;-which, after some show of repugnance and through hurry and affliction, our immaculate hero twice signed with his hand and sanctioned with his oath!

4th. The same, or similar reasons, induced the General, when called before the legislature of the territory, (to make an exposition of the rise and progress of the conspiracy,) to employ his pen-knife in erasing from Burr's letter, the first sentence altogether, viz.: Yours post-marked 13th May has been received ;’— but having got through that examination, without submitting the letter at all, he afterwards restored the words which had been thus erased.

These facts put beyond all doubt the religious turn of the General, and his habitual sense of moral obligation.

The stragglers picked up, the boats destroyed, and Burr seizedthe plan expired of itself; and to do either or all these, required not the force of a single light company of militia. Our honest and vigilant centinel, who had stooped even to indirect meansto means he abhorred,' to get at the secrets of the traitor, could not now hesitate to pursue the course best calculated to defeat him, and above all, to apprize the constituted authorities of the neighbouring states of the growing mischief, and to invite them to a co-operation in putting it down promptly and fully? Such, no doubt, was the course prescribed by a decent respect for these authorities, and by General Wilkinson's own opinions of the devotion of the west to Jefferson and democracy. Not so, Reader:→ our politico-military doctor thought it safest to let the fever go on to its maximum, before he administered either lancet or cathartic;-and why? Because he doubted the reality, against the conviction of his senses;'a and was besides busily employed in pumping Swartwout; an operation which, of itself, required his whole time. By admiring the plan, and by promising not to interrupt it ;' by writing privately to Burr;d by hinting at the resources to be found in the vaults of the Bank of New-Orleans;e by suggesting the facility of affronting the Spaniard, and thus making business for himself on the Sabine; by actually marching westward, and turning his back on the scene of Col. Burr's enterprises altogether;f by omitting to give any alarm to the constituted authorities of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and the Mississippi and Indiana Territories; thus virtually concealing the preparations and objects of Burr;-he was enabled, in nine days, to draw from this unpractised young man, all he knew; though,' says the General' it was a work which I abhorred, from the indirection [the hypocrisy] it imposed upon me.'b

6

It was now the 22d of October; a fortnight had elapsed since the receipt of Burr's letter, and no advice of this new and menacing state of things had yet been sent to the President of the United

a See Appendix to Vol. II. No. 95.

b Vol. II. p. 322.

book. This is one of those The secret was extracted

c See Wilkinson's affidavit, page 160 of Clark's pamphlet. d The General says not one syllable of this in his things he did not choose to hand down to posterity. from him on Burr's trial. (See that trial, page 209.) e See page 175. Burr's trial.

f The council divided, on the policy of marching to the Sabine, and Wilkinson admits that the Spanish troops had returned within their own limits, before he began this march of gasconade, or connivance.

g On this subject, the General is silent as the grave, nor are we honoured with a single reason for keeping his friend's secret so snugly, excepting that concealment was necessary, to impose upon Swartwout. See Vol. II. p. 322. h Idem.