Louisiana and Aaron Burr 213 



body and mind and was unfit for the task he had set 

 himself. At first, however, he met with promises 

 of support from various Kentuckians of prominence, 

 including Benjamin Logan. 6 His agents gathered 

 flat-boats and pirogues for the troops and laid in 

 stores of powder, lead, and beef. The nature of 

 some of the provisions shows what a characteristic 

 backwoods expedition it was; for Clark's agent no- 

 tified him that he had ready "upward of eleven hun- 

 dred weight of Bear Meat and about seventy or 

 seventy-four pair of Veneson Hams." 7 



The Democratic Societies in Kentucky entered in- 

 to Clark's plans with the utmost enthusiasm, and 

 issued manifestoes against the Central Government 

 which were, in style, of hysterical violence, and, in 

 matter, treasonable. The preparations were made 

 openly, and speedily attracted the attention of the 

 Spanish agents, besides giving alarm to the repre- 

 sentatives of the Federal Government and to all 

 sober citizens who had sense enough to see that the 

 proposed expedition was merely another step toward 

 anarchy. St. Clair, the Governor of the Northwest- 

 ern Territory, wrote to Shelby to warn him of what 

 was being done, and Wayne, who was a much more 

 formidable person than Shelby or Clark or any of 

 their backers, took prompt steps to prevent the expe- 

 dition from starting, by building a fort near the 

 mouth of the Ohio, and ordering his lieutenants to 



6 Draper MSS., Benjamin Logan to George Rogers Clark, 

 Dec. 31, 1793. 



7 Draper MSS., John Montgomery to Geo. Rogers Clark, 

 Jan. 12, 1794. 



