War Office, 24^th April 1788. "Your visit to Monsieur Louzat the Spa- "nish commandant at St. Louis was a judicious "cultivation of the harmony which ought to prevail "between the two nations. You will take every op- "portunity of convincing the Spanish Officers that "it is the sincere desire of the Government of the United "States to be on the most friendly footing with their Nation/ "nation and to promote the most perfect harmony "[and good understanding] To this purpose you "will impress strongly on [strikethrough: the] your Officers and "parties [undecipherable] they must manifest the "[undecipherable] [undecipherable] "[undecipherable] to the Spanish Officers and Subjects. "I am persuaded from the information "derived from you and other sources that the intelli- "gence respecting the designs of Wilkinson and "his party on the western waters was highly blown "and could not have been seriously entertained by "any but an insignificant number of desperate "men. — "Whilst you pursue every proper mode of "obtaining information respecting any designs "which may interrupt the peace and welfare of "the United States, you will be sure to conduct the "inquiry with the utmost caution and prudence. "Respecting John Sullivan you will con- "duct yourself agreeably to the desires of Congress "relatively to him — I do not conceive that you "would be justified in apprehending him without "the territory of the United States — an attempt of "that nature would involve complaints to Congress "and dispositions of more trouble than the value "of the object. — [undecipherable] the foregoing pages [are?] best Extracts from [the?] records of the War Office. [Signature: Knox] [undecipherable: probable reading: June 28, 1788] [Docket, written vertically: Extracts from Letter of [undecipherable] [Secretary of] War To [undecipherable: probable reading — Hamtramck] [24?] [April?] — 1788]