The Indian Wars, 1784-1787 221 



against the Americans; for the Americans were as 

 eager to seize the possessions of Creek and Chero 

 kee as they were to invade the dominions of the 

 Catholic King. Their friendship was sedulously fos 

 tered by the Spaniards. Great councils were held 

 with them, and their chiefs were bribed and flat 

 tered. Every effort was made to prevent them 

 from dealing with any traders who were not in 

 the Spanish interest ; New Orleans, Natchez, Mobile, 

 and Pensacola were all centres for the Indian trade. 

 They were liberally furnished with arms and mu 

 nitions of war. Finally the Spaniards deliberately 

 and treacherously incited the Indians to war against 

 the Americans, while protesting to the latter that 

 they were striving to keep the savages at peace. 

 In answer to protests of Robertson, setting forth that 

 the Spaniards were inciting the Indians to harry the 

 ..Cumberland settlers, both Miro and Gardoqui made 

 him solemn denials. Miro wrote him, in 1783, that 

 so far from assisting the Indians to war, he had 

 been doing what he could to induce McGillivray and 

 the Creeks to make peace, and that he would con 

 tinue to urge them not to trouble the settlers. 37 

 Gardoqui, in 1788, wrote even more explicitly, say 

 ing that he was much concerned over the reported 

 outrages of the savages, but was greatly surprised 

 to learn that the settlers suspected the Government 

 of Spain of fomenting the warfare, which, he as 

 sured Robertson, was so far from the truth that the 



31 Robertson MSS., Miro to Robertson, New Orleans, April 



20, 1783. 



