Our Catholic Heritage ;n Texas
the slaves their liberty. Natchitoches was to be the meeting point for most of the forces. Once gathered, part of the army was to embark for the Rio Grande. The presence of Spanish troops at Los Adaes was to be the pretext for the attack.U 3 Just what were Burr's plans in regard to Mexico? One of his associates said: "Colonel Burr would be king of Mexico, and Mrs. Alston, daughter of Colonel Burr; was to be queen of Mexico whenever Colonel Burr died." He had in the past made fortunes for others but now he was going to make something for himself. The witness added: "He had a great many friends in the Spanish territory; no less than 2 ,000 Roman Catholic priests were engaged, and all their friends too would join, if once he could get to them." 124 But the whole scheme hinged on Wilkinson and on the outbreak of hostilities with the Spaniards on the Texas frontier. The dilatory move- ments of the American commander, viewed in this light, take on an added significance. Burr's plans miscarried in upper Mississippi- the Spaniards refused the challenge of an open appeal to arms made by Wilkinson. Herrera saved the day, and the bosom friend and chief collaborator of Burr, General Wilkinson, seeing the possibilities of success grow dim, turned informer and played the heroic role of "savior of his country" against the foreign aggressor and the domestic conspirator who threatened to disrupt the Union. With an eye to business as well as to glory, the veteran schemer of the frontier, who had once been a pensioner of Spain, now tried to capitalize on the situation and pose as the savior of the dominions of the king of Spain in America. At almost the same time that he denounced Burr to the American Government, he sent a personal emissary to Viceroy Iturrigaray to request more than $100,000 for his invaluable service in frustrating the invasion of Mexico by an American filibustering expe- dition. The duplicity of the commander-in-chief is vividly portrayed by McCaleb: "At the moment Wilkinson wrote to Freeman in New Orleans to rush the works of defence; to Cushing to 'hurry, hurry'; to Claiborne that he was surrounded by dangers of which he did not dream; and to the President that' a 'deep, dark, and wicked conspiracy' was about to 1%JFrancisco Morales to Jose de Iturrigaray, May 12, 1806; Viana to Cordero, June 3, 1806. Bexar Arcliives,· Folch to Iturrigaray, October I, 1806, cited by Mc- Caleb, o;. cit., 98. ll4McCaleb, The Aaron Burr Cons;irac,,, 89-90.
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