and garrison the place, for the
purpose of preventing the proposed expedition from passing down the
river, ended the conspiracy, and Genet left the country. A year later,
Spain, who had at intervals sought to detach the Westerners from
the Union, and ally them with her interests beyond the Mississippi,
renewed her attempts at corrupting the Kentuckians, and gained to
her cause no less a man than George Rogers Clark himself. Among other
designs, Fort Massac was to be captured by the adventurers, whom
Spain was to supply with the sinews of war. There was much mysterious
correspondence between the latter's corruption agent, Thomas Power,
and the American General Wilkinson, at Detroit; but finally Power,
in disguise, was sent out of the country under guard, by way of Fort
Massac, and his escape into Spanish territory practically ended this
interesting episode in Western history. The fort was occupied as a
military post by our government until the close of the War of 1812-15;
what we see to-day, are the ruins of the establishment then abandoned.

No doubt the face of this rugged promontory of gravel has, within a
century, suffered much from floods; but the remains of the earthwork
on the crest of the cliff, some fifty feet above the present
river-stage, are still easily traceable throughout. The fort was
about forty yards square, with a bastion at each corner; there are the
remains of an unstoned well near the center; the ditch surrounding
the earthwork is still some two-and-a-half or three feet below the
surrounding level, and the breastwork about two feet above the inner
level; no doubt, palisades once surmounted the work, and were relied
upon as the chief protection from assault. The grounds, a pleasant
grassy grove several acres in extent, are now enclosed by a rail
fence, and neatly maintained as a public park by the little city of
Metropolis, which lies not far below. It was a commanding view of land
and river, which was enjoyed by the garrison of old Fort Massac. Up
stream, there is a straight stretch of eleven miles to the mouth
of the Tennessee; both up and down, the shore lines are under full
survey, until they melt away in the distance. No enemy could well
surprise the holders of this key to the Lower Ohio.

Our camp is on the sandy beach opposite Metropolis, and two hundred
yards below the Kentucky end of the ferry. Behind us lies a deep
forest, with sycamores six and eight feet in diameter; a country road
cur