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Before the line wa^ extended to the Bayou Sara,
Mr. Hutchins, and several others made application for lands south of the line, and requested permission to remove to them, but Governor Gayoso denied the request to Mr. Hutchins, and some other turbulent characters ; but permitted one of Mr. Hutchins’s sons to remove within his government, where I am informed he continues to reside: those turbulent characters finding noW no alternative left, they then, and hot till then, becarite violent republicans* and miy now be said to direct’generally the public affair^ of thattetritory.* ^ ..*•'v;' •	'	i
On the 6th of August Go'vemof Sargent arrived’ at Natchez, but in so bad k state of health, that he did not begin to organize the government till in September following. On the 26th of the same month General Wilkinson arrived.
Thus it will appear, that all the difficulties we had to encounter were surmounted, and the demarcation of the boundary commenced several months before the arrival of either the Govemor-or General Wilkinson.
In the beginning of September Mr. Dunbar left us, and returned to his seat, a few miles from the town of Natchez. This circumstance I considered a real loss to the public. To myself it was irreparable. The day after the departure of Mr. Dunbar, we moved to Thompson’s Creek, where we continued tili the 27th of October, when we broke up that camp, and proceeded to the Pearl, or Half-Way Rivgil on the way I halted a few days at Darling’s Creek, for the purpose of refreshing our pack horses, and making up a communication to the department of state. While at that place, by a very extraordinary accident, a letter from the Go-
verrtor
*	Since this paragraph was written, I have been told a change haj taken
place in the legislature of that territory.
vemor General, on its way to a confidential officer in the Spanish service, fell into mybands for.a few hours.
This letter contained.the mostunequi vocal proof, of the late existence of a plan* calculated to injure the United States; but which appeared then to be abandoned, and in which a number of our citizens had been actually engaged. From this letter it was rendered evident, that the suspicions of the late General Wayne, re-
-	Specting an improper correspondence being carried on between the officers of his Catholic'Majesty, and some gentlemen residing in the western part of the United States, were well founded* but it was equally certain, that he was mistaken in several cases, as to the individual objects of his suspicion* . It is-likewise a fact, lhat the despatches* and^nearly twenty thousand dollars in silver, to be paid to certain characters were on board of the boat from NewQrfeansywhioh.was taken by his order, and examined by Lieut/Steel; but the articles were overlooked,!?** '--*•	,	. ■*-,	-
The interesting parts of the above mentioned letter, were reduced to cypher, and accompanied my despatches of November 8th 1798, to the department of state.
On Saturday the 17 th of November, we arrived at the Cane Brake on the west side of Pearl river, and the 18th were employed in opening a road to the river, making rafts, and ferrying our baggage over, and on the 19th encamped and set up the clock.
In our journey from Thompson’s Creek, we had many difficulties, to encounter. The swamps were numerous, and many of them so deep, that we had to go considerably out of our way either to cross, or go round them, and others we had to causeway : add to those difficulties, a total want of information respecting the face of the country, which in our direction, did not
appear