23 2 The Winning of the West 



ceived the hearty and unswerving loyalty of only 

 the most far-seeing and broadly patriotic men; and 

 that many men of the highest standing and of the 

 most undoubted probity shared the views on which 

 Brown and Innes acted. 



Wilkinson was bitterly hostile to all these schemes 

 in which he himself did not have a share, and pro 

 tested again and again to Miro against their adop 

 tion. He protested no less strongly whenever the 

 Spanish court or the Spanish authorities at New 

 Orleans either relaxed their vigilant severity against 

 the river smugglers, or for the time being lowered 

 the duties; whether this was done to encourage the 

 Westerners in their hostilities to the East, or to 

 placate them when their exasperation reached a pitch 

 that threatened actual invasion. Wilkinson, in his 

 protests, insisted that to show favors to the West 

 erners was merely to make them contented with the 

 Union ; and that the only way to force them to break 

 the Union was to deny them all privileges until 

 they broke it. 49 He did his best to persuade the 

 Spaniards to adopt measures which would damage 

 both the East and West and would increase the fric 

 tion between them. He vociferously insisted that 

 in going to such extremes of foul treachery to his 

 country he was actuated only by his desire to see the 

 Spanish intrigues attain their purpose; but he was 

 probably influenced to a much greater degree by the 



49 "Ga.ya.rr6," III, 30, 232, etc. Wilkinson's treachery dates 

 from his first visit to New Orleans. Exactly when he was 

 first pensioned outright is not certain ; but doubtless he 

 was the corrupt recipient of money from the beginning. 



