Carondelet always had an exaggerated idea of the warlike capacity of the Indian nations, and never understood the power of the Americans, nor appreciated the desire of their Government to act in good faith.  Gayoso was in this respect a much more intelligent man, and he positively refused to carry out the orders of his superior, remonstrating directly to the Court of Spain, by which he was sustained.  He pointed out that the destruction of the fort would merely encourage the worst enemies of the Spaniards, even if accomplished; and he further pointed out that it was quite impossible to destroy it; for he understood fully the difference between a fort garrisoned by Wayne’s regulars and one held by a mob of buccaneering militia. [Footnote:  Draper MSS., Spanish Documents, Manuel Gayoso de Lemos to the Duke de Alcudia, Natchez, Sept. 19, 1794.]

    Gayoso and Carondelet.

It was not the first time that Gayoso’s superior knowledge of the Indians and of their American foes had prevented his carrying out the orders of his superior officer.  On one occasion Carondelet had directed Gayoso to convene the Southern Indians, and to persuade them to send deputies to the United States authorities with proposals to settle the boundaries in accordance with the wishes of Spain, and to threaten open war as an alternative.  Gayoso refused to adopt this policy, and persuaded Carondelet to alter it, showing that it was necessary above all things to temporize, that such a course as the one proposed would provoke immediate hostilities, and that the worst possible line for the Spaniards to follow would be one of open war with the entire power of the United States. [Footnote:  Do., De Leraos to Carondelet, Dec. 6, 1793.]

    Pressure of the Westerners on the Spanish Domain.

Of course the action of the American Government in procuring the recall of Genet and putting a stop to Clark’s operations lightened for a moment the pressure of the backwoodsmen upon the Spanish dominions; but it was only for a moment.  The Westerners were bent on seizing the Spanish territory; and they were certain to persist in their efforts until they were either successful or were definitely beaten in actual war.  The acts of aggression were sure to recur; it was only the form that varied.  When the chance of armed conquest under the banner of the French Republic vanished, there was an immediate revival of plans for getting possession of some part of the Spanish domain through the instrumentality of the great land companies.

    The Land Companies.

These land companies possessed on paper a weight which they did not have in actual history.  They occasionally enriched, and more often impoverished, the individual speculators; but in the actual peopling of the waste lands they counted for little in comparison with the steady stream of pioneer farmers who poured in, each to hold and till the ground he in fact occupied.  However, the contemporary documents of the day were