The Indian Wars, 1784-1787 237 



Gardoqui was an over-hopeful man, accustomed 

 to that diplomacy which acts on the supposition that 

 every one has his price. After the manner of his 

 kind, he was prone to ascribe absurdly evil motives 

 to all men, and to be duped himself in consequence. 54 

 He never understood the people with whom he was 

 dealing. He was sure that they could all be reached 

 by underhand and corrupt influences of some kind, 

 if he could only find out where to put on the pres 

 sure. The perfect freedom with which many loyal 

 men talked to and before him puzzled him ; and their 

 characteristically American habit of indulging in 

 gloomy forebodings as to the nation's future 

 when they were not insisting that the said future 

 would be one of unparalleled magnificence gave 

 him wild hopes that it might prove possible to cor 

 rupt them. He was confirmed in his belief by the 

 undoubted corruption and disloyalty to their coun 

 try shown by a few of the men he met, the most im 

 portant of those who were in his pay being an al 

 leged Catholic, James White, once a North Caro 

 lina delegate and afterward Indian agent. More 

 over, others who never indulged in overt disloyalty 

 to the Union undoubtedly consulted and questioned 

 Gardoqui about his proposals, while reserving their 

 own decision, being men who let their loyalty be 

 determined by events. Finally some men of entire 

 purity committed grave indiscretions in dealing with 

 him. Henry Lee, for instance, was so foolish as to 



54 John Mason Brown, "Political Beginnings of Kentucky," 



138. 



