Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1807-10-03


ed to take any l thought proper. . Did
lyou go to Blennerhassct's Island ? a did.
| z Was IL known at Beaver that the Mari
eta boats were to be Of the party? A 1t
was not / knew that Blennerhassct was
to JOIN; but believe the boat was in,
would not have stopped at the island, had
1t not been grounded. Q Did Blenncrhas-
set so with you from the island 4 He did.
| . Was there any difficulty about his going
with you j.? was any vote taken? A Major
Tyler and Smith asked US, if ws were will
ling that he should go with us and we
said, we had no objection. 1t was mention
ed among US, that he was under some APP
lprehensiou OF mob arIestiug him. . Was
there any rumor or alarm among you about
the militia of kenawha or Wood county !?
A We had heard that there was NIB
coming, and we were determined to resist
them. But We should nDt have resisted the
militia with legal authority. q What do
you mean b. legal authority do you mean
that if they had q warrant from the civil
authority, you would not have resisted Il
Such was our mcanirg; but we Won d have
resisted mob. What do you mean by
a mob A II the mob had come, we should
have asked for the authority, under which
they acted; and If they had none, they
lshould have gone away without gaming
their intentions. Q Was there any propa-
ration made for res;stancc' Not that
know Of. @ ANY bullets run a There
were but they were to XIII game and
shoot at marks; which we frequently did
on the river. Q Where were you joined
by other boats A BY TWO Ut Mr. Fioyd'S at
the Falls OF the Ohio. o Did YOU sec any
arms Here were about 80 OF So mus
kets or stands of arms, which ! saw when
we got TO the Mississippi. o Any arms of
any other description such as rifles a
There were three or four rifles. What
particularly happened OH going down the
river At ShawaneSc town there was an
address drawn up to the Ouachita or Wes-
tern Land Speculation Company, tender
ing our services in any legal and hcnora-
Die enterprise. This was signed by all Of
| Tyler'S party. o Who formed that COM
lpany There were 10 names mentiontd
i'll the address; but ! considered col. Burr
as one though his name WAS not mention
ed. Who drew up the address? Ma
jor Tyler and Smith. o Are the phrases
illegal and honorable enterprise" repeat
ed from memory They are. 0 Was it
lpresented by Tyler and Smith Ii was.
Q How many signcrs " ere to it About
so or So. Q Had you any assurance that
the plan would be disclosed to you at the
mouth of Cumberland a None, from those
who had right to DC informed. Such how
ever, was the talk among tine men. as we
went down. o When YOU were at the
mouth OF Cumberland, were you introGuc-
ed to colonel BURR / was, OIL the e7;h
December. We arrived there on the 26lh.
10 What took place on this introduction !?
| A Nothing particular q At this intrUduc.
ton did the party form any thing like the
8 sides of a squars a They did . Was
he introduced along the iine y He was
to the men, one by one. Q After this ceIe-
moHy was there any speech from col Burr
A. was not near enough to hear what he
SAID but understood that he said he would
impart something at another time. Did
you receive any Instructions to run bullets
and make Cartridges A One day, while we
were iii the Mississippi col Burr came into
our boat and asked whether there was any
oLc ;here that could make cartridges
told him that Jnever had made any, but !.
believed / could make them, and made .
or dozen. Q Did col Burr act as the head
of the party A | considered him as such.
Q Did you understand that the real object
was to settle Ouachita lands a 1t was So
stated. o Was there no occurrence orpar-
ticular conversation which induced 10 be-
lieve there was different object Mir Bolts
Was there any conversation in the presence
of col Burr twas not a general conversa-
ton. Mr. Hay. Isit a fact or is it not fact,
| that many of the men did suppose there was
a different object do not recollect, nor
did | attend to them because did not SUP.
pose they knew more about it than myself
Q DO you know amy thing about the seizing
of Baton Rouge Inever heard it before We
got below Bayou Pierre, and then there were
some conversations among the men about ii.
But did not hear it suggested by any per-
son, that there was any design of invading
any part the u. States; nor did lever l. ear
any thing from col Burr or any of the lead
ers about invading Mexico.
Ths counsel for the accused said that il
was unnecessary to make any statement
| on that subject. Mr. Hay. I he present
enquiry relates as well 70 the misdemea-
nor as to the treason. MIR Martin We
have never heard Of such a charge before
Mr. Hay observed that he had also reduced
this charge to writing, aDdhad notified its
existence TO one Of the opposite COUNSEL
though it had never been publicly read in
court. The clerk then read the paper IN
the following terms:
"The Attorney of the u. S. for the Vir-
"ginia district, charges Aaron Burr, Her
"man Blennerhasset and Israel Smith, with
a misdemeanor against the u. 5. in be-
" ginning or setting OF foot, orprcparing w
"providiDg the means of military expe-
"dition or enterprise, against MEXICO, a
Nprovince in North America, of the X ing
''of Spain, with whom the United States