Year: 1875




Moreover be has been awarded a contract with the
Indian once the present year The commission say
they find this charge wholly unsupported, and no
where has anything appeared to warrant them IN
\ regarding Mr. Bosler as other than honest
man in all hts business transactions. His
participation the contract Of Seth Mabry for the sup
ply beef the Sioux agencies for this year is shown
10 be a similar arrangement to that previously men
toned and under which purchased 90 900 head
OF beef cattle, which now being delivered to the
agencies by Bosler in Mabry's name and as his agent


The circumstances which led Professor Marsh to the
suppostion that Agent saville cousion with Mr.
Boser TO defraud the and the Indians by
false deliveries Of cattle fully analysed in the report
and illustrated by many facts and figures II appears
that the last day OF September, 1874,
delivery or several hundred head of cattle was made 10
the agency and that during The night the midst Of
a violent Storm they stampeded and 27s lost In
consequence Of this loss regular issue inter-
rupted clerical in the agents books at about
the same time represented subsequent issues to have
been made to the Indians other days which
they actually occurred Mr. Boser claims that Of the
27s head that only 100 back to his herd
the River Platte and an equal number
OF substantially the same size and value
were afterward returned to the agent by him.
These facts fully reported by savle
TO the department in December 1874 time when
no frauds SO far appear had been imputed to him
the contractor. AS those voluntary statements made
then are the these given in the testimony
the commission feel compelled to accept them true,
and they Of opinion that the mputaton of DIS
honesty put upon DR.. savlle in cheating the Indians
out OF the issue represented have been made NO
vember s. 1874, is without foundation,


The next allegation Of Professor Marsh is that in pur
of this design 70 defraud the Indians and the
IN Gavilie tie mall
and lean 70 be unfit for beof which the agent
cepted and recepted for But the investigation reveals
the fact that this charge solely the statement
of Red Cloud and other Indians though sought to
to be strengthened by the certificate OF General Bradley
Captain Mix and Lieutenant Hay The testimony shows
that on the 9th Of November 1874 there remained in
the agency herd seven head OF cattle which
said by all who them ad-
mitted by Dr. Saville himself to have been
poor small and altogether unfit for beef but that they
had been receipted for the issued
to the Indians stated by Red Cloud is by no
established Red Cloud claimed that those head
were fair sample OF the cattle supplied the Indians
on ordinary issue days. But there is overwhelming
evidence that great bulk Of the cattle delivered
full grown and From all the
proofs the commission are satisfied that the
seven head receiptcd for issued
by the agent, and not fair sample OF
the cattle issued at the agency The fact of Agent Sa-
vile having received those inferior cattle into his
herd does not necessarily imply that he recepted for
them The interests OF the government nvoved
until after the cattle receped for Saville admitted
that he received the cattle denied having
cepted for them Owing 10 a confusion of ideas, Pro
fessor represented the agent having recepted
for them. His mistake in confoundng the words
s'receivedn and 'receiptedn The certificate Of the
three army officers is equally Irrelevant for,
in the first place. the head inspected
and estimated by them had been rejected and formed
criterion by which to determine the average weight
tho condition Of the herd Of which they were the
and in the second place the mode of their
deavorng arrive the average weight Of those
tie defeated their Two of the officers guessed
the net weight OF the seven head, while the third
supposed upon the gross weight their opinions
we're TO be given and made his estimate accordingly;
SO that when the Of their private conclusions
added and the average struck they had reached
satisfactory result and formed reliable deduction.


Another charge OF Professor Marsh that Dr. Savie
Intentionally receipted greater OF cattle
than were delivered, and that their weights
largely overestimated in the receipts One instance
adduced proof Of this is that the 14h OF Hovem
Der Dr. Savle rcceipted for several hundred head Of
Texas cattle at an average weight of 043 pounds,
while the true weight did not exceed, in Pro-
fessor Marsh's Judgment $50 pounds which he
! considered a liberal estimate; that all the cat
tic herd uretchedly gaunt and thin; that


majority OF them were SMALL that many wero
\ yearlings and scalawags, and not few weak
and decrepit. The testimony on this subject is
very voumnous and involves the general question OF
/ the weight OF through Texas cattle The department.
the contractors and all persons concerned understand
for the Sioux Indians 70 be delivered the
hoof directly on grass and watern The difference be-
tween the weight OF cattle 'on grass and water" and
when they have been Slotted" twelve hours, is diff
feren:ly estimated at from so to 100 pounds This is
well understood by the who take Indian
tracts, and they thereby enabled 70 put
their prices much under that at which
s'lottedn cattle furnished to the army at the
great cattlo markets OF the country lead not
familiar with the subject to think that such contract
cannot be honestly filed without loss The com


mission entered this investigation with the idea
strongly impressed upon their minds that ordinary
herd OF Texas cattle could average anything like 900
pounds On their way from Cheyenne to Red Cloud
Agency they cattle OF this class the ranges and
estimated their weights at from 750 to $50 pounds
j They we're not prepared for the sctla demonstra-
ton which they subsequently, witnessed at the
agency on the 41th OF August, when s77 cattle
were received and weighed Tho scales were exam ,
ined by the Commissioners and balanced by one OF
their number before the work began All the 377 cattle
were weighed except three wild and powerful steer
OF the herd which jumped from division Of
the corral to the other breaking they passed large
rails which formed part Of the partition One Of the
Commissioners took down the weight Of each draught
from tho scale beam, the other members
being present carefully watching the proceed
ings The average weight Of tho herd
proved 70 be 1,esa poudds Many single steers
weighed than 1 200 and some oteNe, 80 pounds.
They all driven from Texas during tho last sr
and arrived the Platte during June and July. with
this evidence the question Of the contractors ability
furnish cattle Of the weight Of 900 pounds and upward
seemed TO be settled But in order that the Commis-
might be certain that this lot had not been
selected for the OCCASION three days later their way
70 Spotted TAN Agency, they made dctour Of about
thirty Ave miles and visited tho contractors large herd