[1372] The claims of Spain to the territory had been a serious cloud on the title. In October, 1795, the treaty with the Spanish Government, which removed this defect, was published. Senator James Gunn had knowledge that the treaty would be negotiated long before it was made known to the world or even concluded. This fact was one of the reasons for the mad haste with which the corrupt sale act was rushed through the Georgia Legislature. (See Chappell, 72-73.)
[1373] Gunn was a perfect example of the corrupt, yet able, bold, and demagogical politician. He was a master of the arts alike of cajolery and intimidation. For a vivid account of this man see Chappell, 99-105.
[1374] Haskins: Yazoo Land Companies, 24.
[1375] Am. State Papers, Public Lands, i, 151-52.
[1376] Chappell, 87.
[1377] "A small smoky cabin with a dirt floor was the home of most of them." (Smith: Story of Georgia and the Georgia People, 181.) For a good description of pioneer houses and manner of living, see Ramsey: Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century, 715-16.
[1378] Smith, 170-71.
[1379] Morse's American Gazetteer, as quoted in Bishop: Georgia Speculation Unveiled, 3-4.
[1380] Adams: U.S. i, 303.
[1381] The South Carolina Yazoo Company, 10,000,000 acres for $66,964; The Virginia Yazoo Company, 11,400,000 acres for $93,741; The Tennessee Company, 4,000,000 acres for $46,875. (Haskins, 8.)