The major one, indeed the certain one, was that tlie 

 cargo would be seized at Natchez or New Orleans by 

 the Spanish authorities. They were under strict orders 

 to exclude foreign goods from Spanish ports on the 

 Mississippi. Yet the flatboat went. It was up to Wilkinson 

 to get its freight through. 



The tobacco in the shipment had been grown by 

 planters who, not long before, had come to Kentucky 

 from North Carolina and Virginia. They knew tobacco, 

 and they knew that the leaf grown in Kentucky's rich 

 earth was of fine quality. All that was needed was a 

 market. 



That lay beyond the export barrier Spain had erected 

 at New Orleans. Once the barrier was lifted, Kentucky 

 farmers would have access to markets in the States and 

 in Europe long supplied by planters of the older tobacco 

 areas in the southeastern states. 



Wilkinson had planned his venture with skill and cun- 

 ning. As expected, the cargo was seized. Yet Wilkinson 

 not only effected its release but established a trade outlet 

 at New Orleans for commodities produced in Kentucky. 

 The success of his venture was described as "a miracle 

 of miracles." The dramatic news Wilkinson reported on 

 his return resulted in a prompt and considerable expan- 

 sion of tobacco acreage in parts of Kentucky. 



