possibility of the surrender of the navigation of the Mississippi by voting for his dismissal. The vote of Georgia was divided. The basis of this opposition on the part of the southern members was the little gain which would come to the States as a whole through the commercial treaty, which in reality gave them few privileges which they did not at present enjoy. The southern members showed a firmer grasp of the situation than Jay did. They opposed this surrender because it would be the surrender of a right which the nation already possessed, and, independent of the question of right, the surrender was not expedient. The confederation held the States so loosely together that the wise policy would be to pursue a course which should not alienate any of the States but bring them closer together; but this surrender would not tend to strengthen the Union. The western lands were looked upon as a fund for the discharge of the public debt, but the surrender of the right of navigating the Mississippi would greatly decrease the value of these lands. It was in spirit a violation of the contract with Virginia by which this western territory was to have all the privileges of the older States, as this concession to Spain would tend to fix the population east of the mountains. As a way of settling the difficulty it was proposed that New Orleans be made an entrepôt for the reception of the bona fide productions of the United States brought down the Mississippi by the citizens of the States, and that they be exported thence on payment of certain duties. This motion was lost by a sectional vote.

The negotiations were long drawn out, but no agreement was reached until changed conditions in Europe made Spain more willing to listen to the demands of the United States.

How little hold the Union had upon the north and south alike became evident in the spirited discussions which followed Jay's proposals. Indignation meetings were held in Kentucky and the people threatened to fit out expeditions against Natchez and New Orleans to avenge the insults and injuries inflicted upon them by Spanish officials, and

more than that there were threats that secession would follow the acceptance of Jay's proposal. The New Englanders could not understand why there should be so much commotion over an affair so unimportant as the navigation of the Mississippi, and there were some who declared that if Jay's suggestion failed of acceptance it would be best for the New England States to separate from the Union.

While negotiations were in progress and the Spanish government was insisting that the Mississippi must remain a Spanish river, the impatient backwoodsmen were using the river for floating their goods down to Natchez or New Orleans regardless of treaties or prohibitions. Heavy transit and port duties had to be paid to the Spanish authorities on articles descending the river from the western settlements. There was no fixed tax, it varied from time to time according to the will of the intendant or the order of the king; it often amounted to a quarter of the value of the goods and at other times to much more. Military posts were stationed at various points along the river. These compelled passing boats to land and submit to examination. Sometimes, navigators were forced to unload their cargoes if the Spanish officials suspected that any part was being concealed. After the duty was paid the boat was required to land at every post and exhibit its papers showing that the cargo was free from further tax. Any boat refusing to do this might be fired upon by the Spanish soldiers, and confiscation was liable to take place at any time. The dangers of the voyage were great, but if the venture was successful, the profits were large. The Spanish officials at New Orleans were not above bribery and favored individuals among the westerners made large gains. There was no uniform policy concerning the navigation of the river by Americans. In 1783 the traders were able to go to New Orleans, but in 1784 they could not. The next year the river was open again for a little time and then closed. Creoles and Americans were frequently imprisoned for violation of navigation ordinances.

The case of Thomas Amis may be given as an example of many. He was a bold and lawless North Carolinian, who believed that there was money enough in the trade with Louisiana to pay for the risk involved. He started down the Ohio with a boat load of merchandise, principally flour. He floated down to Natchez and was there stopped by Spanish soldiers, his goods taken ashore and confiscated. He was liberated and compelled to go back to the Ohio through the wilderness, but he visited the scattered settlements and aroused resentment everywhere against the Spaniards with his story of their brutal treatment of him. The settlers were ready to sympathize with him and their hatred of Spain was increased. In the minds of many of the backwoodsmen there was a feeling that if they could not get satisfaction through the national government, it would be just for them to take matters into their own hands. One man who believed this was George Rogers Clark, now reduced by his excesses to a shadow of the hardy, courageous leader who saved the Northwest Territory to the United States. He had been in charge of an expedition against the Wabash Indians in 1786, which had proven to be very unsuccessful. The men mutinied and returned home, but some were kept as a garrison at Vincennes. These men,

unpaid and with little organization, plundered the French inhabitants. Among the settlers were prosperous Spanish traders. One of these kept a store and by the orders of Clark, he was robbed and the goods used by Clark in paying his soldiers. They informed the Spaniards that if Americans could not trade down the river, the Spaniards could not trade up it.

This lawless act of Clark and his soldiers was approved by many of the frontiersmen. Some of them were ready to join in an expedition to drive the Spaniards out of the towns down the river. The negotiations of Jay and the apparent willingness of the Continental Congress to submit to the closing of the Mississippi for a term of years greatly enraged them. They rightly believed that the eastern and

northern men did not understand the importance of the Mississippi to the growth of the West; they looked upon the proposition as an attempt to sacrifice one part of the country to the commercial welfare of another section. The truth was bad enough, but in their excited frame of mind they were willing to believe all sorts of exaggerated rumors which came to them; they thought that the east would be willing to sacrifice them entirely if it was for its interest to do so. As a result of Spanish interference, the unwillingness of Congress to aid them, and their own exaggerated views, threats were freely made that the West would separate from the Union, to form an independent nation of their own, or, perhaps, to go back to Great Britain, for that nation was ready to receive them.

Meanwhile, Spain was making efforts to solve the Mississippi question in a way which would be for her own satisfaction. It was evident that the six years of the Confederacy had not made a strong nation of the Thirteen States, and with the fear of a strong government which many entertained, with the intense dissatisfaction of the West because of the weakness and irresolution of the national government, with the example of the State of Franklin before the other western communities, and, more important than all else, with the increasing numbers of those who desired to navigate the Mississippi, there seemed a strong possibility that Spain might get by intrigue what she was not able to secure by force or diplomacy, and, by using this dissatisfaction in the West, gain these growing over-mountain States for herself, thus strengthening her own power while weakening her hated rival. It would first be necessary to reconcile some of the western leaders; this could best be done by an appeal to their desire for moneymaking. It is at this point that James Wilkinson appears.

Wilkinson was a man who had great influence in the West, and whose ruling motive seems to have been the desire to make money. He had served in the Revolution, and was skilful in managing other men. Roosevelt compares