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Show (j .\ PPEl\DJX TO PAHT 11 I. that you shonld lose your papers, but shall rely much on yout' mtmory, ~nd althou~h it was unfortunate that you should have headed Hcd !'ivcr, and missed the object of your enterprise, yll I promise mys If that the route 0\'er which you have passed will af1ord some interesting scenes, as well to the statesman as the philosopher. You will bear of the scenes in which I have been engaged, and may be informed that the traitors whose infamous desig·ns against the con::~ titutio n and p;on'J·nment of our country I hu,·e detected, exposed, and <lcstroycd, arc vainly attempting to explain their own conduct or inculpatin~ me; and, a1nong oth r clcv.ices, they haYe asserted th:tt rour's and licutcnan(\Vilkinson's enterprise was a prcmetlitated co-operation '"ith Burr. Being- on the wing- for Richmond, in \ 'il'ginia, to co'lfront the at'ch ll aitot· and his host of advocates, I ha'rc not leisure to cornmunc '"ith you as ::nnply as I could dc~ire; let it then !,Uilice to you itll' me to s~1 y, that of the informMion you hare acquired, and the observations you have made, you must be cauti ou~, extremely cautious how you breathe a word, becnu~c the puhlirity may excite a spirit of adventure acJ ,·crsc to the interests of 0111' g-o· ' 'crnmcnt, or injurious to the Jn 'lturation of those plans, which may be hereafter f<"mHlnclCSs: ry and ju~tifi ab lc by the government. I lc,we colonel Cushing· in commancl of the di~trict, '' ith plenary powers, and ha,·e informed him that you haYC len'e to rcpait· to St. Louis, by the mo~. t direct route, the moment you hare communicated to me in dujllicatt• the re~ult of your trarcls, voluntary l\nd im·olnlltary, in relation to clime, country, population, arts, agriculture, routes, distances, and n1ilitary ddcn r-. The prc~iclcnt ''ill be impatient to have what ever yon hare acquired, and to the detailed account a sketch must be acldccl, and the original and duplicate addressed to me at the city of \Vashington, wit!'! the le ast pos ible <lclay. You may mahe tlp your report at Natchitoches, unci proceed from thence to the \Vascheta, and f1 om thence to the I\ rkan<;aw, or you may descend to Fort Ad::uns, and proceed thence to St. Loni.s, by the most convenient route. Colonel Cushing, whom I Jcwe m command of the district, has my orders in your fnvor, and will g·ire yon every indulgence; but as an expedition i'l now in n' otion up .tl~e Arkansaw, to explore it to its source and further north-west, Jt 18 highly important you should, either in pcn,on, ot· by two or t!1~·ee ('Onfidcntial men, send forward to the Arkansaw every informauon which you may deem essential to the s\tcccss of the cntct·p,risc. A ~1r. Freemen, unclct· the chief direction of M1·. Dunbar of Natchez,. has the control of this opet ation. The escort, which consists ot ~~:> ~elect non-commissioned officers and priv;~tc._, is commanded bv APPENDIX TO PART III. 57 lieutenant Wilkinson, seconded by lieutenant T. A. Smith. This detachment, with two boats suitably equipped, will reach Natchez in eight or ten days from the present, and will proceed with all possible dispatch. You will address your communications to lieutenant 'Wilkinson, who, after· many hardships and difliculties, reached this place about the first of March. He has finished a pretty good traverse of the river, and his journal is inte resting. I think the present party will winter ncar the Arkansaw Osages, about 600 miles by the river from the Mississippi. Tl1e president mentioned you and your explorations to the source of the Gt·rat river, in his acldrcs to congress, in handsome terms, ancl I am convinced he has a proper sense of yom· merits, and will do you ample justice. I offer you leave to go immediately to your family, because I apprehend it will be most desirable; yet, if you possess in your info;·mation aught which you may desi1·e to communicate in person, you arc :lt liberty to proceed, by the shortest route, to the scat of government, nem· which you will find me, if alive, three oz· four months hence. I pray you to attend particulal'!y to the injunctions of this hasty letter, and to believe me, whilst I am your general, Your ft·iend, (Signed) JAMES \VILKINS0:-1 Cajl(ain P ike·, U. S. army. [ No. 5. ~J D~~:An GENERAL, \''ac!titoc!Jes, 5th July, 1807. Once more I address you from the land of freedom and under the bannct·s of our countt·y. YoUI' esteemed favor of the 20th May now lies before me, in which I recognise the sentiments of my general and friend, and will endeavor, as far as my limited abilities permit, to do justice to the spirit of your instructions. I must premise to your excellency that my letter of the 20th April, dated at Chihuahua, went through a perusal by general Salcedo, previous to his forwarding it. That letter statrd the mode of my being brought into Snnt,l Fe, and I will now ~tate to your excellency the proceeding· on the s~bjcct of my papct·s. I will omit the hautcm· of the reception Ctven me by governot· Allcuc;tstcr, foN\ more particular communication, which changed nftcrwnrds ·to extr<.' tr.e politeness. .Bcjns- :'2 : |