Memoirs Of Aaron Burr, Volume 1, Matthew L. Davis [book club suggestions .txt] 📗

To The Judge That The Balls Were Cast

Intentionally Too Small;

Chapter XVIII Pg 408

That Chamois Leather Was Cut To The Proper

Size To Put Round Them, But That The Leather Must Be Greased (For

Which Purpose Grease Was Placed In The Case), Or That There Would Be A

Difficulty In Getting The Ball Home. After The Parties Had Taken Their

Stand, Colonel Burr Noticed The Judge Hammering The Ramrod With A

Stone, And Immediately Suspected The Cause. When The Pistol Was Handed

Him By His Friend, He Drew The Ramrod, And Ascertained That The Ball

Was Not Home, And So Informed The Judge; To Which Mr. Burke Replied,

"I Forgot To Grease The Leather; But You See He Is Ready, Don'T Keep

Him Waiting; _Just Take A Crack As It Is, And I'Ll Grease The Next_!"

Colonel Burr Bowed Courteously, But Made No Reply, And Discharged His

Pistol In The State It Had Been Given To Him. The Anecdote For Some

Time After Was The Subject Of Merriment Among Those Who Had Heard It.

 

 

No Explanation Was Ever Given, It Is Believed, Of The Transactions

Between Colonel Burr And The Holland Land Company. It Was His Practice

To Let His Actions Speak For Themselves, And To Let The World Construe

Them As They Pleased. This Was A Great Error, And Was The Source In

After Life Of Much Trouble And Suffering To Him, Yet He Would Not

Depart From It. A Few Weeks Subsequent To This Duel, However, Be

Received From A Friend A Kind Letter, Asking Confidentially An

Explanation Of These Transactions, To Which He Replied,

Chapter XVIII Pg 409

Colonel Burr To -----.

 

 

New-York, 6Th October, 1799.

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

 

I Cannot Refuse To The Manner Of Your Request, Nor To The Friendly

Motives Which Have Produced It, To Satisfy Your Inquiries With Regard

To Witbeck'S Bond And The Holland Company.

 

 

In December, 1795 Or 1796, I Forget Which, I Entered Into A Covenant

With The Holland Company For The Purchase Of One Hundred Thousand

Acres Of Land, At Twelve Shillings Per Acre, Payable By Instalments.

The Covenant Contained A Penalty Of Twenty Thousand Dollars; As

Security On My Part For This Penalty, In Case It Should Become Due, I

Mortgaged To Cazenove, Or The Holland Company, Twenty Thousand Acres

Of Land In Presque Isle, Being One Hundred Shares Of Two Hundred Acres

Each In The Population Company, And I Assigned To Him Thomas L.

Witbeck'S Bond, Payable To Me, For Twenty Thousand Dollars, As Further

Collateral Security.

 

 

In The Fall Of 1797 Cazenove Joined With Me In A Power Of Attorney To

James Wadsworth, Then In Europe, For The Sale Of One Hundred Thousand

Acres, And, Until The Summer Or Fall Of The Year Following, We Had

Reason To Believe That They Were Or Would Be Sold, Which Of Course

Would Have Terminated All Questions About The Penalty. Some Time In

The Year 1797 Or 1798, It Was Noised In Albany That Thomas L. Witbeck

Had Given A Bond For Twenty Thousand Dollars, And His Credit At The

Bank And Elsewhere Became Affected By It. He Wrote Me Often On The

Subject. In Reply, I Begged Him To Explain That The Bond Was Not For

The Payment Of Money, And That, Even If It Should Become Forfeited,

The Twenty Thousand Acres Of Presque Isle Lands Were Alone A

Sufficient Security. Witbeck, However, Continued To Be Uneasy For His

Credit, And Teased Me To Take Up His Bond By Giving Other Security. I

Thought This Rather Unkind, And Did Not Trouble Myself About It.

Indeed, I Was In Hopes That The Sale Of The Land In Europe Would Have

Closed The Transaction. Not Long After This, I Think In November Last,

Cazenove Informed Me That Be Had Been Applied To By Witbeck To Change

That Security, And Added That He Was Willing To Change It For One Of

Equal Solidity, Provided It Would Not Impair His Rights.

 

 

Witbeck'S Importunities Continued, And He Became So Very Urgent And

Repeated That I Was Finally (November Last), Long After The Passing Of

The Alien Bill, Induced To Offer A. I. Frederick Prevost'S Bond In The

Place Of Witbeck'S. Cazenove Took Time To Consider And Inquire; And

Finding, In Fact, That Prevost'S Bond Was A Much Better One Than

Witbeck'S, Agreed To Take It. Prevost Accordingly Executed _To Me_ A

Bond For Twenty Thousand Dollars, Of Which Harrison Drew A Special

Assignment To The Holland Company. We Made A Memorandum That This

Exchange Should Not Vary The Rights Of The Parties (Viz., The Holland

Company And Aaron Burr), And Thomas L. Witbeck'S Bond Was Given Up. In

This Transaction I Never Suspected That Cazenove Imagined That _He_

Was Doing A Favour Either To Me Or Thomas L. Witbeck, And I Am

Confident That He Never Entertained So Absurd A Belief. It Was With

Great Reluctance That I Gave Prevost'S Bond. I Had Claims On Witbeck

Which Justified Me In Exposing Him To Some Hazard. Prevost Had A

Family, A Clear, Independent Estate, And Did Not Owe A Cent In The

World; But He Had Better Nerves Than Witbeck, And Would Not Tease Me.

 

 

About This Time We Learned That All Prospect Of Selling The Land In

Europe Had Failed, And As I Never Had An Expectation Of Paying Except

From The Land Itself, It Became Necessary To Close The Transaction. It

Should Be Observed, That Soon After My Contract With Cazenove He

Received Orders, As He Informed Me, To Sell No More Under Sixteen

Shillings (Two Dollars), And Afterward I Understood That He Had Raised

The Price To Twenty Shillings. In December Last We Had Several

Conferences For The Purpose Of Settling This Business. I Offered To

Give Back The Land And Cancel The Covenants. He Talked Of The Penalty.

I Replied That Be Would Only Recover The Damages Sustained, Which, By

His Own Account, Were Nothing; For, As The Price Of The Land Was

Raised To Twenty Shillings, The Holland Company Would, By Their Own

Estimation, Gain One Hundred Thousand Dollars By Taking Back The Land.

He Appeared To Feel The Unreasonableness Of His Demand, And Finally

Evaded My Proposal By Questioning His Own Authority. This I Considered

As A Pretence; Some Irritation Ensued, And We Parted Without

Concluding Any Thing.

 

 

Thus The Matter Remained Until May Last (1799), When Our Negotiations

Were Renewed. After Various Overtures And Propositions On Either Side,

It Was At Length Agreed That I Should Convey To The Holland Company,

Absolutely, The Twenty Thousand Acres Presque Isle Lands. That This

Should Be Received In Discharge Of The Advances That Cazenove Had Made

Thereon, And In Full Satisfaction Of All Damages Claimed On The

Covenants; And That Thereupon The Covenants Should Be Cancelled, The

Bond Of I. A. Frederick Prevost Be Given Up, And The Holland Company

Take Back Their Lands. This Was Accordingly Done A Few Days Before

Cazenove Sailed For Europe, Which Was, I Think, In June Last.

 

 

I Should Have Noted, That About The Year 1792 Or 1793, I Became

Jointly Concerned With The Holland Company And Sundry Individuals In

The Purchase From The State Of Pennsylvania Of The Whole Presque Isle

Angle, And Of Other Lands Adjoining To The Amount Of A Million Of

Acres. The Association Was Called The Population Company, And Was

Under The Management Of Directors, Who Had A Right To Assess On The

Proprietors Or Associates Any Sums They Might Think Proper To Promote

The Settlements Required By The Patents. My Interest Was One Hundred

Shares, Or Twenty Thousand Acres, For Which I Had Paid, At The Time I

Mortgaged To Cazenove, Upwards Of Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars.

The Thing Was Considered As Extremely Valuable, And I Have No Doubt

But My Interest Would, If I Could Have Retained It Five Years, Have

Been Worth To Me More Than One Hundred Thousand Dollars. Lands Within

The Angle Were Last Year Sold At Twenty Dollars Per Acre.

 

 

Though It Be Obvious That No Damages Were Due Or Could Have Been

Recovered By The Holland Company On The Penalty Contained In The

Covenants, Yet I Had Several Motives To Urge Me To Some Sacrifice In

Order To Get Rid Of The Business. _First._ I Could Not Repay The

Advances Made By Cazenove, Which Amounted To Several Thousand Dollars.

_Second._ I Could Not Bear To Give Any Uneasiness To Frederick

Prevost, Which Might Have Been The Consequence Of A Legal Proceeding.

_Third._ I Was A Little Apprehensive Of Being Sued On The Covenants

For Payment Of The Purchase Money. Cazenove, On His Part, Had But A

Single Motive, To Wit--He Found That These Lands Were All I Had To

Give, And That A Suit Would Have Produced Only Expense.

 

 

The Aforegoing Facts Are Substantially Known To Le Roy, Bayard, And

Mcevers, And To Harrison And Ogden. The Two Last Were Consulted On The

Closing Of The Business In May And June Last (1799). The Former Of

Them, Harrison, Several Times On The Exchange Of The Bonds. I Have Not

Spoken To Either Of Those Gentlemen On The Subject Since The

Transactions Took Place; But Any Person Is At Liberty To Do It Who May

Choose To Take The Trouble.

 

 

I Have Given You A Summary Of My Whole Concern With Cazenove And The

Holland Company, Not Knowing What Part Of It Might Tend To Elucidate

Your Inquiries.

 

 

By Those Who Know Me, It Will Never Be Credited That Any Man On Earth

Would Have The Hardiness Even To Propose To Me Dishonourable

Compensations; But This Apart, The Absurdity Of The Calumny You Allude

To Is Obvious From The Following Data, Resulting From The Deeds And

Known Facts:

 

 

That At The Time The Alien Bill Was Under Consideration, And Long

After, The Bond, The Covenant, And The Penalty Were Objects Of No

Concern, As We Had Reason To Believe That The Lands Were Or Would Be

Sold In Europe, So As To Leave Me A Profit:

 

 

That Witbeck'S Bond Was _Never Given Up_, But Exchanged For One More

Safe And Valuable:

 

 

That I Had Not, Nor By Possibility Could Have, Any Interest In This

Exchange, As It Was Relieving One Friend To Involve Another Still More

Dear To Me:

 

 

That, So Far From Any Understanding Between Cazenove And Me, We Had

Controversies About The Very Bond And Penalty For More Than A Year

After The Passing Of The Alien Bill: That No Part Of The Penalty Was

Ever Due From Me To The Holland Company; And That Of Course, They

Could Never Have Demanded The Bond, Which Was Expressly A Security For

The Penalty, And Not For The Payments:

 

 

That Nevertheless I Did Finally Give Cazenove A Valuable And

Exorbitant Compensation To Induce Him To Cancel The Covenants And

Discharge The Penalty.

 

 

This, Sir, Is The First Time In My Life That I Have Condescended

(Pardon The Expression) To Refute A Calumny. I Leave To My Actions To

Speak For Themselves, And To My Character To Confound The Fictions Of

Slander. And On This Very Subject I Have Not Up To This Hour Given One

Word Of Explanation To Any Human Being. All The Explanation That Can

Be Given Amounts To No More Than This--_That The Thing Is An Absolute

And Abominable Lie_. I Feel That The Present Detail Is Useless And

Trifling; But You Have Asked With Good-Nature, And I Could Not, With

The Appearance Of Good-Nature, Refuse. I Pardon You The Labour I Have

Had In Writing, And For That