ILLINOIS HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS



Brother near Staunton in expectation of my paying him a visit
during the late recess of Congress. But a tour which I made
through Vermont  the Eastern States prevented me of that
pleasure  also of writing to you more frequently. It affords real
satisfaction to me as also to Mr Madison (to whom I have com-
municated the contents of your letters) to find you have made so
great progress in compiling your Narrative of the Western Cam-
paigns. I hope you will persevere to the completion of this in-
teresting work which I am fully persuaded will make an important
addition to the History of the American Revolution. Neither
Mr Madison nor myself can undertake to propose queries to you
not being sufficiently acquainted with the subject, but we fully
unite in the request that in collecting materials you will not use a
sparing hand. Many things may appear very interesting to others
which you might think unimportant  any redundancy which
may be thus created can easily be retrenched upon a revisal.
By next Post I shall write to Colo Mason for the Pamphlet you
mention  should it come to hand I shall be earful to forward it to
you by the first opportunity.    
                  I am with great respect Yours c
                                             J. BROWN
GENERAL GEO. R. CLARK

  From the correspondence between Jefferson and
Judge Innes of Kentucky it appears probable that the
Memoir was completed during the year 1791. "Will
it not be possible," wrote Jefferson, March 7, 1791,
"for you to bring Genl. Clarke forward I know the
greatness of his mind, and am the more mortified at
the cause which obscures it. had not this unhappily
taken place there was nothing he might not have
hoped: could it be surmounted his lost ground might
yet be recovered. no man alive rated him higher than
I did, and would again were he to become what I
knew him. we are made to hope he is engaged in
writing the account of his Expedition North West of



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