, 1861-12-03

for On my property return for tho quarter ending
tefmaster United States Army.--d do1lars and
- cents, In full Of the above account:
tsigncd in duplicatc] Il. c. WORTH.
9: Have you had any trouble in getting IN
a. No, sir.
9; Q.l pid ! Nj. Haskell aid you in getting an In
4. Hs gave me an order tor inspection. j..
q. What was the nature Of the order, and
upon whom was it drawn?
a. Any Government Inspector was ordered
| to inspect the mules.
| Q. What right Ind be to giye an order9
| \ never inquired as to his right.
Q. n the payments made to you By HaEkeu
"hat k1nd OF money did yon get:
"A. Missouri money-a check upon tho AIer-
chants Bank.
Q. What discount was there upon that in cz-
change for gold or Eastern exchange.
4. From TO II per cent. at different timca.
you furnished to Neil?
A. That is ALL
q. What did You understand Pease to mean
When he told you that he had six or seven thou
sand dollars to come ont Of the voucher?
going to have the difference between the price
! sold the mules at and *119 per head.
Q. You stated that Major McKinstry agreed
TO pay you $l10 Per head for the mules
=; fes, slr, that vas my understanding.
Examination 6y -lI.. Sseele-Q. What kind Of
pay were Won to receive for thosc mules?
4. When sold the mules thought was
| going to get the kinds Of funds the GOVERN
n.ent was paying-iftreasuryn notes, I Respected
TO st them; if gold, I expected to get that
But as compromise afterwards, as had 4
httle credit OF my OWN, and the parties from
whom purchase Cd were anxious for me to pay
them. proposed to take Missouri funds.
Y. What difference would that make?
4 Eight OF ten per cent. at that time.
e.. Can you give lis the date Of tho transac-
| 4: It was about the fifth Of August. know
calculated to make about - 50 On each mule
sud, but Us it is I shall not make a cent,
TIE WAY HORSES ARE BOUGHT AND IN
SPEcTED.
ST. Ior1s, Oct 1G, 1861.
JamGs Hardness, being duly sworn, WAS ex-
amincd us follows:
Examination ~ lG. Has;5n1uc.-Q. State to
the Committee your residence aud business
stable. ~ @>' "
Q. Have you had any contracts with the
Government
a. hive not.
have been made by other parties for furnish
ing horses?
I A only know Of them by parties who
| were interested in them telling me OF them. /
| did not see the contracts, and therefore do not
know anything about them Of my own kno,rl.
| edge. went out to the 1acc-track, where
horses We're being Inspected, to see what kind
| OF horses they were accepting there. 4 man
| by the name Of Blakeslcy, and another man,
| Major III the army, wcrt inspecting them
This nan, Neil, was there also. stopped
| there an hour. and they passed perhaps forty
horses during that time. thought, from the
| quality of the stock they we're passing, that
tic contractors would make Il very good thing
out Of ii. They we're buying horses which had
| bccn used Il great deal around the city, and
were pretty well Horn ont, and some of them
much blcHislacd. AS whole, think they
were very inferior class. The contract was
about S119 for horses, and $1l9.5O for mules.
4 gentleman who purchased an interest in
that contract told rnc SO. He told me also
| that Lc gave s5,0o0 for one-third interest in
the contract.
@. Who is he?
| a. His name is A1nlon Thomson.
| q. Who had tile contract9
4. Asa Jones, tho United States District
Attorney here, and q man by the name Of
| Bowen, and think there was another party,
but do not know who he is. Thomson bought
Bo'ven'5 interest for 5000, and then took
| his place in the contract, and commenced
| buying. Tic price Of the first mules saw
!
seventy and eighty dollars. Under the first
contract, think the horses were bought at
t from SO to SS5. They were frequently taken
t out OF drays, wagons and other vehicles, from
| men who had no employment for them. Tic
matter went on in that way, and went out
several times to see them inspect and pass
| horses. Nl:cn saw Neil out there ono tlay,
l told him thought this thing would pay
pretty we'll. considering the kind Of horses
they were taking i'll there s'Ycs," he said,
sit is damned good thing; am doing
pretty well now, and when I get through Will
4 pretty good thing out Of that Said I,
How can you get them to buy; there is nc
contract out ?'s He said, II will Get that
liked, for tue contract is already mldc."
| thought IT very straugc that Il m:ln Of his
staEdins III the city should get O contract fol
mcnt Inspector, for heretofore tic Govern.
nlent had usually appointed respectable citi.
| zens. Il was published in the city papers that
hc was Il Government Inspector, or was acting
| in that rapacity.
@. Did Ae say what compensation lie re.
ceiyed?
A. &c did not to me-, but Thomson told mc
nc WAS Cutting s. day. The way learned
the fact from Thomson was this Neil made
ont bill against Thomson for 81, 900, for four
teen days services at his stable. Thomson
thought it WAS too much, as he was getting
IS day from the Government; and further
because hc (Thomson} lad paid every ma,
about the stable for him. He said he would
not pay the 81, 600. He told INC that one day
he was N Major McKinstry's office, and that
q Yozt oughtto pay NsiI tie thousand do|lurs; il
Is se7v loio for his services, and lie did great
deal OF good" TINT he replied: "AIaior. ]
link 1t too much: paid Ill his hands hi
made my stable his headquarters; and lie also
roIo @mdfstcaa fns is gettln;; =, lis is sS dolh,rs d,
sand dollars is very low, and you ought to pa1
it at once" Thomson would not pay it, an55
| took the account to Asa Joncs-so lie told me
Jones said he would not pay it, as it was toe
much; that he thought ten dollars day wa;
what he got from the Government Neil ther
thEeatcned to sue them. Thomson told MT
this last week. Other parties told me thai
Neil had been in tlc habit Of purchasing mule:
at 500 and Sl05, and getting vouchers fol
SLY: understood from another party, who
SAID he knew the fact, that Neil Inspected
number Of horses as cavalry horses, and then
q few moments after the parties from whom
the purchase was made had gone, he went an{
rcbrandcd them, thereby making them ARTILLERY
horses. Cavalry horses are worth S119, whilt
artillery horses are worth $3.50. One br1ni
only is put upon cavalry horses, and two upo1
artillery horses.
BOW TO GET HORSES INSPECTED.
Thomson told nc that at one time he had :
hundred mules which he had bought upon til,
| rcqusitlon Of the Quartermaster; that he conli
not yet them inspected; that he went to Nei
and handed him fifty dollar diN, and told lin
he wanted them inspected; that Neil said lii
| would see if they could be inspected, and hi
had tlcm inspected in if3een minutes. This wa:
Ihomson's own transaction, and he told it t.
me voluntarily. I am told that men wouli
come here with their horses, and not being
able to get them inspected, they would tiilalla
go to some OF these men who knew McKins
try, to get them Inspected Or these mcr
would 90 to the holders Of the horses, and tel
them to let them have the horses, and tinall,
they would be obliged to sell their horses fuj
such prices as they could gct-say, for sos
and then these men would get them inspected
and sell them to the Government for S1I9
They lid to Sell the horses to the very me1
Who had intcrposcd every obstacle in the wa,
| Of getting them inspected. One party would
put Ill from $50 to 200 horses Il day. Another
man came here from Illinois who had Will
him very good letters; Que from Gov. Yatcs
one from Gov. Morton, both Of which highly
| recommended him. He asked me if [ c0uIt
| help him get u contract. told him could
not, that should be an injury to him instead
OF benefit; that the gentlemen who rot con
tracts here, are gentlemen whom did moi
not speak to; that no respectable citizcr
could could get contract. I told him to go ant
show where he came from, and to show his let
ters. He did so, and Mai. Nc Kinstry told him te
bring On his horses. McKinstry asked him how
many he lad Hc said he had SO or 60. He frs
brought On 20, think assisted lin across
nc river with them, and brought them to tht
inspectors yard. Then he brought Il NOR
to our stable, aud went up to the Quartcrmas
ter's Office to get them inspected, but be VA
told that the inspectors were all engaged Il,
| went to the office from daY to day for 4 waeL