The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-05-30
~ From the Galaxy for May.
The Facts i'm tho Case OF the 6reas
49, Reef Contract.
BY RE Tw All

small, I have had in this matter,tnis i
ter which has so exercised the puo,,'s g u s,eS
enpendered SO much ill.feeling, ana 80 Liz Az
the newspapers of both continents WIN -" a
torted statements and eStraVas""' VIM
ments. ,..s;,r thing wan
ne VI W. escort here that every fact IN The
caIIs,,.;," ..esu,nr can be amply proved bS
tho nfsrssI records Of the General Govern
ment: or pot,ordam. l
<,homunp county, New Jersey, dcccaseu,
Contracted with the General Government
on or about the 10th day Of October, Ieoi'
10 Furnish to General Sherman tne sum 10
tai Of thirty barrels of beei. very well
He started after Sherman WIN s tS ney' had
zone to Manassas; so he took the beef ana
Followed him there, but arrived too late ne
tojlowed him to Nashville. and from Nash
vile to Chattanooga, and from chattanooga
to Atianta-but he never could oFertaKe
him. At Atlanta he took fresh start and
followed him clear through his mafch 10 'ne
sea.
He arrived too late again by few days,
but hearing that Sherman was goihg OUT IN
The Quaker City excursion to the Holy
Land, he took shipping for Beirut, calcula-
ting to head off the other vessel When he
arrived in Jerusalem with his beet, nc
learned that Sherman had not sailed IN the
Quaker City. but had gone to the fialns 10
fight the Indians. he returned 10 A]neilca
and started for the Rocky Mountains.
After eighteen days Of arduous travei on
the Plains, and when he had got wlthln iour
miles of Sherman's headquarters, ne was
tomahawked and scalped, and the Indians
got the beef. They got all OF II put one
barrel. Sherman's army captured that,
and so, even in death, the bold navigator
partly fulfilled his contract. In his Will,
which he had kept like journal, he be-
uueathed the contract to his son, bartnoio-
NEW w. Bartholomew w. made out the
following bill and then died:
The United States in acct. ,cith John va
To thirty barrels Of beef for General shcr- a.. nm
man, S1Gc nsnscs and TRANSPORTATION, 1000
Tote, SIT 900
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Reed Iay't.
He died then but he left the contract to
William j. Martin, who tried to collect it :,
hut died before he got it through. He LETT
il to Barker J. Allen, and he trledto collect
it also. He did not survive. Barker ). Al
len left it to Arson G. Rogers, who attempt
ed to collect it, and got along as far as the
Ninth Auditors office, when Death, the
great Leveller, came all lnsummoned, and
foreclosed on him also. He left the bill to Il
relative of his in Connecticut, Vengeance
Hopkins by name, who lasted four weeks
and two days, and made the best time on
record, coming within one of reaching the
Twelfth Auditor. In his will he gave the
contract bill to his uncle, by the name OF
O-be-joyful johnson. 1t was too under
mining for joyful. His last words were !:
Tween not for mel am willing to co.
And SO he was, poor soul. Seven people
inherited the contract after that. But they
all died. So that it came into my hands at
last. It fell to me through relative by the
name of Observation-Disclosures Hubbard, of
Indiana. He had had 4 grudge against me
for o long time but in his last moments NJ
sent for me, and forgave me everything, ana
weeping, gave me the beef contract: .;
This ends the history of it up to the time
that succeeded to the property. i
will now endeavor to set myself straight
before the nation in everything that con-
Germs nv share in the matter. took TINS
beet contract and the bill for mileage and
Transportation to the President OF the
United States. He said:
"Wcll, sir, what can l do for YOU: l
said:
Der, 1861, John Wilson Mackenzie, OF kot-
terdam, Chemung county, n. D., deceased,
contracted with the General Government to
furnish the sum total of thirty barrels OF
beef"
He stopped me there and dismissed me
from his presence-kindly but firmly. The
next day l called Oh the Secretary of State.
He said:
"Well, sir!"
said Your Royal Highncss: On or
about the 10th day Of October, 1861, John
Wilson Mackenzie, of Rotterdam, Che
mung county, N. j., deceased, contracted
with the General Government to furnish to
General Sherman the sum total OF thirty
barrels of beef"
"That will do, sir-that will do; this
office has nothing to do with contracts
for beef"
all over. and finally, the following day,
visited the Secretary of the Navy, who said,
"Speak quickly, sir; do not keep Inc
awaiting"
l said: "Your Royal lIiGhneSS: On or
about the 10th day Of October. 1861. John
Wilson Mackenzie, of Rotterdam, ChemunG
county, New Jersey, deceased, contracted
with the General Government to furnish to
General Sherman the sum total OF thirty bar
rels of beef"
Well, it was as far Us could get He had
nothing to do with beefcontracts for General
Sherman either. ] began to think it was Il
curious kind of Government. 1t looked
somewhat as if they wanted TO get out Of
paying for that beet. The following day l
went to the Secretary Of the Interior. |
said:
"Your Imperial Highness-On or about
the 10th day of October"
"That is sufficient, sir; / have heard OF
you before-go, take your Infamous beef
contrat out Of this establishment. The In
terror Department has nothing whatever
to do with subsistence for the army"
went away. But was eXasperated now.
said would haunt them; would iniest
every department of this Ubiquitous Gov
eminent till that contract business was set
tied. would collect that bill OF fall, as fell
my predecessors, trying. | assailed the
Postmaster-General; | besieged the Agri-
cultural Department !; l Waylaid the Speaker
OF the House of Representatives.. 1hey had
nothing to do with army contracts
for beet. moved upon the Commissioner
of the Patent Office. i said :ts-s
Your august eXeellency On or
''Perdition Have you got here with
your incendiary beef contract at last? We
have nothing to do with beef contracts for
the army, my dear sir"
"Oh, that is all very well but somebody
has got to pay for that beef. 1t has got to
be paid noe, too, or I'll contiscate this old
Patent Office and everything in it,
But, my dear sir"
at don't make any difference, sir. The
Patent Office is liable for that beef, reckon !:
and liable or not liable, the Patent Office
has got to pay for It,"
Never mind the details. 1t ended in q
fight. The Patent Office won. But found
out something to my advantage. was told
that the Treasury Department was the pro-
per place for me to 60 to. went there.
waited two hours and a half. and then I