Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-06-07
WHOLE NO. 1856.

! books and all his loose papers, bat
| found no minute of the beef contract.
| went to the Second Comptroller Of
the Corn Beef Division. He examin-
ed his books and his loose papers, but
without success. / was encouraged.
During that week | got as far as the
Sixth Comptroller in that division
the next week | got through the
Claims Department the third week l
began and completed the Mislaid Con-
tracts Department, and got fo0thold
iu the Dead Reckoning Department.
/ finished that in three days. There
was only one place left for it now |
laid siege to the Commissioner of Odds
and Ends. To his clerk, rather-he
was not there himself. There were
sixteen beautiful young ladies in the
room writing in books, and their 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 a marriage belle. Two or
three of the clerks that were reading
the newspapers looked at me rather
hard, but went on reading. and nobody
said anything. However, | had been
used to this kind of alaerity from
Fourth Assistant Junior Clerks all
through my eventful career, from the
very day entered the irstofice of the
Corn Beef Bureau clear till passed
out of the last one in the Dead Reck-
oning Division. / had got so accom-
plished by this time that | :ouldstand
on one foot from the moment entered
an Office till clerk spoke to me, with
out changing more than two or may be
three times.
So stood there till I had changed
four different times. Then L said to
one of the clerks who was reading:
"Illustrious Vagrant, where IS the
Grand Turk?"
What do you mean sir? whom do
you mean2 Ifyou mean the Chief of
the Bureau, he is out. ?
"Will he visit the harein to-dayT
The young man glare0 upon me
awhile, and then went to reading his
paper. But knew the ways of those
clerks. knew / was safe, If l got
through before another New York
mail arrived. He had only two more
papers left. After awhile he finished
them, and then he yawned, and asked
me what I wanted.
Renowned and honored imbeeil, on
or about"
"You are the beef contract man.
Give me your papers"
He took them, and for q long time
he ransacked his odds and ends. FL
nally he found the Northwest Passage,
as | regarded it-he found the long-lost
record of that beef contract-he fonnd
the rock upon which so many of my
ancestors had split before they ever
got to il. l was deeply moved. And
yet / rejoiced-for | had survived L
said with emotion, Give it to me.
The Government will settle now.
He waved me back, and said there
was something yet to be done first.
Where is this John Wilson Mack
enzie?', said he.
Dead"
when did he die ?"
He didn't dieat all-he was killed.
"How?"
''Tommahawked."
"Who tommahawked him?"
"Why, an Indian, of course. You
didn't suppose it was a superintendent
of Sunday school did you 2"
No, an Indian, was it
'The same"
name of the Indian 2"
His name Idon't know his name
Must have his name. Who saw tn c
tommahawking doneY'
Il don't know"
You were not present yourself
then?"
Which you can see by my hair, l
was absent"
Because he certainly died at that
time, and / have every reason to be-
lieve that he has been dead.eyer since.
| know he has, in fact.
'We must have proofs. Have you
got the Indian?"
"Of course not"
"Well you must get him. Have you
got the tommahawk p
Il never thought of such a thing"
"You must get the tOmmahawk.
You must produce the Indian and the
tommahawk. IF Maekenzie's death
can be proven by these, you can then
90 before the commission appointed to
audit claims, with some show of get
ting your bill under such headway
that your children may possibly live to
receive the money and enjoy it. But
that mans death must be proven.
However, / may as well tell you that
the Government will never pay that
transportation and those travelling ex-
penses of the lamented Mackenzie. 1t
may possibly pay for the barrel of beef
that Sherman's soldiers captured, if
you can get a relief bill through Con-
gress making an appropriation for the
purpose but it will not pay for the
twenty-nine barrels the Indians ate.'
Then there is only a hundred dol
lars due me, and that isn't eertaini
After all Mackenzie's travels in Eu-
rope, Asia and America with that beef;
after all his trials and tribulatiOns and
transportations; after the slaughter Of
all those innocents that tried to collect
that bill Young man, why didn't the
First Comptroller of the Corn Beef
Division tell me this 2"
"He didn't know anything about the
genuineness ofyour claim"
why didn't the Second? why
didn't the Third? why didn't all those
divisions and departments tell me Z"
None of them knew. We do things
BY routine here. You have followed
the routine and found out what you
wanted to know. 1t is the best way.
1t is the only way. It is very regular,
and very slow, but it is very certain"
"Yes, certain death. 1t has been to
the most Of our tribe. begin to feel
that |, too, am called. Young man,
you love that bright creature yonder,
with the gentle blue eyes and the steel
pens behind her ears-I see it in your
soft glances; you wish to marry her
but YOU are poor. Here hold out your
hand-here is the beef contract; go,
take her, and be happy Heaven bless
you, my children
This is all that / know about the
great beef contract that has created so
much talk in the community. The
clerk to whom | bequeathed it died.
[ know nothing further about the con
tract or any one connected with it. l
only know that If a man lives long
enough he can trace a thing through
the CircumlocutiOn Office of Washing
ton and find out, after much labor and
trouble and delay, that which he could
have found out on the first day if the
business of the Circumlocution Office
were as ingeniously systematized as it
would be if it were great private
mercantile institution.