Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-05-28
IAN YAdaUTAa KA0EHkA
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Dead Reckoning Department. 1
finished that in three days. There
was only one place left for it now.
1 laid siege to the Commissioner of
Odds and Ends-to his clerk, rath-
er-he was not there himself. There
were sixteen beautiful young ladies
in the room, writing in books, and
there were seven well-fayored young |
clerks showing them how. The
young women smiled up over their !
shoulders, and the clerks smiled |
back at them, and all went merry |
as q marriage bell. Two or three |
clerks that were reading the news
papers looked at me rather hard,
but went on reading, and nobody
said anything. However, / had
been used to this kind of alacrity
from Fourth-Assistant-Junior-I
Clerks all through my eventful ca
reer, from the very day l entered
the Office of the Corn Beef Bureau
clear until 1 passed out of the last
one in the Dead Reckoning Division.
l had got so accomplished by this
time that I could stand on one foot
from the moment I entered an Office
till clerk spoke to me without
changing more than two, or may be
three times:
So l stood there till / had chan~
ged four times. Then / said to one
of the clerks who was reading:
"Illustrious Vsgrant, where is the
Grand Turk ?"
"What do you mean, sir ! whom
do you mean? If you mean the
Chief Of the Bureau, he is out"
"Will he visit the harem TO day !"
The young man glared upon me
a while, and then went on reading
his paper. But 1 knew the ways Of
these clerks. ! knew l was safe if
he got through before another New
York mail arrived. He only had
two more papels left. After a
while he finished them, and then
yawned, and asked me what / wan-
ted.
Renowned and honored Imbe-
cile, on or about" H
"You are the beef contract man.
Give me your papers"
He took them, and for long
time he ransacked his odds and ends.
Finally he found the Northwest
Passage, as regarded it-he found
the lost record Of the beef contract
he found the rock upon which so
many Of my ancestors had split be-
fore they ever got to it. l was
deeply moved. And yet i rejoiced
for / had survived. l said with
emotion: "Give it me; the Govern
ment will settle now" He waived
me back, and said there was sOme-
thing yet to be done first.
"Where is this John Wilson Mac
kenzie 2" said he.
"Dead."
'When did he die p
ale didn't die at all-he was kill
led"
"HowF
"Tomahawked."
"Who tomahawked him ~
"Why, an Indian, of course: You
didn't suppose it was Superinten-
dent of Sunday School, did your
"No. An Indian, was it p
"The same"
"Name Of the Indian p
"His name | don't know his
name"
"Must have his name. Who saw
the tomahawking done 2"
L don't know"
"You were not present yourself,
then"
(Which you can see by my hair.
l was absent"
Then how do you know that
Mackenzie is dead? ?"
because he certainly died at
that time, and 1 have every reas-
on to believe that he has been
dead ever since. know he has,
ia fact" -
1--WE must have proofs. Have
you got the Indian p
"Of course not"
"Well, you must get him. Have
you got the tomahawkY'
sT never thought of such thing"
"You must get the tomahawk.
You must produce the Indian and
the tomahawk. II Mackenzie's
death can be proved by these, you
can then go before the Commission
er appointed TO audit claims, with
some show of getting your bill
under such Roadway that your
children may possibly live to re-
ceive the money and enjoy it. But
that mans death must be proven.
However, l may as well tell you
that the Government will never pay
that transportation and those trav-
cling expenses OF the lamented
Mackenzie. 1t may possibly pay
for the barrel Of beefthat Shermsn's
soldiers captured, if you can get
relief bill through Congress making
an appropriation for that purpose
but it will not pay for the twenty
nine barrels that the Indians ate"
"Then there is only 800 due
me, and that isn't certain! After
all Mackenzie's travels in Europe,
Asia, and America with that beef;
after all his trials and tribulations
and transportation: after the
slaughter Of all those innocents
that tried to collect that bill ! Young
man, why didn't the First Comp
troller of the Corn Beef Division
tell me this? 7"
"He didn't know anything about
the genuineness Of your claim"
"Why didn't the Second! why
didn't the Third? why didn't all
those Divisions and Departments
tell me p
"None Of them knew. We do
things by routine here. You have
followed the routine and found out
what you wanted to know. It is
the best way. 1t is the only way.
It is very regular, and very slow, but
it is very certain"
eyes, certain death. 1t has been
to the most of our tribe. 1 begin to