20

The quantity and quality of the other Annuity goods issued
during my visit, I will not now discuss, but I must enter an
earnest protest against the manner in which the whole issue was
made. The entire issue for the year was made in a few hours of a
single November day, in the midst of a snow-storm. The Indians
had been suffering for want of their blankets and other clothing
during the cold weather which preceded the issue, and there is no
good reason why the goods should not have been at the Agency,
and delivered, at least a month earlier.

The issue itself was made in the most careless and irresponsible
manner. The goods were delivered to the chiefs of bands, in
bulk, in a hasty manner, without any system of checks to ascertain
the actual amounts given or required. The only data by which
the issue was regulated, was a pencil memorandum in the hands of
the agent, who called off the quantity to be delivered to each
chief or headman. Hence there was no guarantee that the
Indians received even half of the goods intended for them. The
Indians watched the issue with suspicion, and several of the
chiefs asserted that it was fraudulent.

IV.—Frauds in Beef Cattle.

The frauds perpetrated in supplying the Red Cloud Agency
with beef cattle have been so gigantic, and so long and systemati-
cally continued, that it is well worth while to show how they are
accomplished, and who is responsible for the outrage.

The contract for furnishing cattle to this and other Sioux
Agencies for the last fiscal year was given to J. K. Foreman, of
Omaha, and was signed by Indian Commissioner Smith, July 14th,
1874. The cattle delivered were required to average 850 pounds
for the first six months, and 1,000 pounds for the last six months,
and the price was $2.30½ per 100 pounds, gross weight, on the
hoof. It was expressly stipulated that: "All the beef offered for
acceptance under this contract shall be subject to a thorough in-
spection, and if, on such inspection, any of it fails to conform to

21

the requirements of this contract, the same shall be rejected by
the parties making the inspection." The inspectors were author-
ized, in such a case, to require the contractor to replace the
rejected cattle within five days by proper beef. If not, the right
was reserved to purchase the cattle required, at the expense of
the contractor. A bond of $150,000, with two good and suffi-
cient sureties, was required to be given, to ensure the faithful
fulfillment of the contract.

There is abundant evidence that this contract was not made in good faith. The contract was not filled by the party to whom it was given, but (like too many Indian contracts) was transferred for "a valuable consideration" a few days after it was signed, to W. A. Paxton, of Omaha. As this assignment could not take place, by the terms of the contract, "without the written consent of the Secretary of the Interior," the full responsibility of this transfer rests with him. This contract was nominally in force at the time of my visit to Red Cloud Agency. The real beef contractor, however, whom I found supplying this Agency, was the well known Bosler, notorious for frauds in previous contracts, and for this reason excluded by the published regulations from any participation in future contracts. This second virtual transfer of the contract to him was well known to every one at the Agency, and in that region, and must have been equally well known to the Interior Department.

On my arrival at the Agency, Nov. 9th, 1874, I ascertained that there had been no beef issue for some time, and only seven head of cattle were then remaining over from previous issues. These seven cattle had all been receipted for to the contractor, received by the agent, and were in his charge. All, or nearly all, of them, were subsequently issued to the Indians. These facts, which are important, I learned at the Agency, and they were fully admitted by Agent Saville to Rev. S. D. Hinman, the official interpreter of the Interior Department, and myself, in Washington, May 29th. These were the cattle examined, at Red Cloud's request, by General Bradley and his officers, and about which so much has

22

been said. The result of that examination is given in the following certificate, the original of which is in my possession :

We, the undersigned, officers of the United States Army, were present at an interview held at Red Cloud Agency on the 11th day of November, 1874, between Professor O. C. Marsh, and Red Cloud and Red Dog, and now bear individual testimony as to the wretched quality of the rations, and to the undersize and puny condition of seven head of Beef Cattle (the remainder of a herd), which were shown us by Red Cloud as having been issued to his people by the agent there stationed.

Each of us, unknown to the other, marked at that time his estimate of the gross weight of these cattle, and remember the average thereof to be 358lbs.; Red Cloud, two other Indians, and one of the herders, asserting that these cattle were not smaller than those turned over for slaughter at any ordinary issue day.

L. P. BRADLEY,
Lieut. Col. 9th Infantry,
Commanding District Black Hills.

JOHN MIX,
Captain 2d Cavalry.

LEONARD HAY,
First Lieut., Adjutant 9th Infantry,
A. A. A. G. District Black Hills.

Fort Laramie, W. T., May 19, 1875.

This certificate, which was published while the Sioux delegation was in Washington, fully confirmed my own statement in regard to the same cattle, and is entitled to great weight, as these officers have had large experience in Western affairs, and are perfectly familiar with matters at the Sioux agencies in the Black Hills District. The Indian Bureau immediately endeavored to destroy the effect of this testimony, and the method adopted so well illustrates the manner in which that Office receives information reflecting on the management of its affairs, that it is worthy of record here; especially as the same method had been employed to weaken the force of the facts I had previously laid before it about affairs at the same agency.

Commissioner Smith dictated to the agent of the Associated Press, for publication, the following counter-statement, which was widely published the next day, May 29th.

"Commissioner Smith of the Indian Bureau says, in regard to the letter of Gen. Bradley, published yesterday, that the cattle spoken of belonged to the contractor; that they were sick, some of them with broken limbs, and that they

23

were not issued to the Indians, and that there was no intention of issuing them simply because they were in such a poor and sick condition. He asserts that Red Dog's statement was incorrect, and that Red Cloud informed him this morning that Red Dog lied when he told the story to Gen. Bradley and Prof. Marsh. The Commissioner also states that Gen. Bradley could have satisfied himself of this fact by a slight inquiry of the herdman or contractor if he had desired to do so."

As this reply contained some statements which I knew to be erroneous, I at once endeavored to ascertain the exact truth about these cattle. In company with Rev. S. D. Hinman, the official interpreter of the Interior Department, I called upon Agent Saville, May 29th, at his hotel, and asked him about the cattle examined by Gen. Bradley and the other officers. Agent Saville said that "these cattle did not belong to the contractor, but to the Government; that he had accepted them from the contractor and given receipts for all of them, and they were in his charge; that subsequently all except two of them were issued by him to the Indians; that these cattle were not sick, and none of them had broken legs; and that they were the only cattle at the agency when Gen-Bradley was there." I also called on Red Cloud himself, and he positively denied that he had held any conversation whatever with Commissioner Smith about these cattle that morning, as stated; and I subsequently learned by inquiry of all of the Sioux interpreters then in the city, through whom alone such a conversation could be held, that Red Cloud had no such conversation with Commissioner Smith. Red Cloud also told me that he "must have been misunderstood in the council of Friday (May 28). He did not mean to say that these cattle had been rejected by the agent, but simply that at the time Gen. Bradley saw them they had not been issued to the Indians, but had been left over from a former issue." This testimony fairly disposes of the explanation attempted on this point by Commissioner Smith.

On the morning of November 14th, while I was at the Red Cloud Agency, Mr. Bosler, one of the contractors, brought to the Agency a herd of several hundred head of Texas cattle, the first that had been received for some weeks previous. This lot was

24

accepted by the agent, and receipted for, but he only weighed a portion of the herd. These cattle, I saw and carefully examined. Major A. S. Burt, of the 9th Infantry, who commanded the escort to my expedition, was with me at the time, and also examined them with care. They were the poorest lot of Texas cattle I have ever seen during all my experience in the West, where I have seen many hundreds of herds, at various points between this Agency and Southern Kansas, and have myself purchased many animals for the use of my expeditions. All the cattle in this herd were wretchedly gaunt and thin, and the majority of them were small, many being yearlings. A large number were of the kind known among cattle-men as "scallawags," and not a few were weak and decrepid. I noticed the character of these cattle particularly, because the beef issued at this Agency had been the subject of several conversations between Red Cloud, Gen. Bradley, and myself, and I was desirous of knowing with certainty whether the statements of the chief on this point were true. In the afternoon of the same day that the cattle were received, Nov. 14th, I witnessed, in company with Major A. S. Burt, the issue of beef, when a large portion of these cattle was delivered to the Indians. This delivery was made from the Agency corral, and the cattle were turned out, a small number at a time, to the chiefs or head-men, who were waiting with their mounted young warriors to pursue and kill them. I watched this issue with much interest from first to last, and saw every one of the cattle that were turned over to the Indians, as well as the remainder of the herd, retained for a subsequent issue. I am confident that the average weight of this herd was not more than 750 pounds, and this I regard as a liberal estimate.

Major Burt was by my side during the issue and saw all of these cattle. His testimony is especially important as he has long been stationed in the West, and is perfectly familiar with the subject of which he speaks. His opinion of the cattle we examined can be learned from the following extract from a certificate relating to affairs at Red Cloud Agency.

25

"FORT LARAMIE, WYOMING TERRITORY.

June 12th, 1875."

"I certify that I was present last fall, at Red Cloud Agency, when Professor O. C. Marsh was there; that we together went to the corral to see an issue of cattle to the Indians; that the cattle we saw at that time were Texas cattle in miserable condition, some of them so weak the Indians could not goad them out of a walk. The cattle were as a rule small in size."

A. S. BURT,
Captain 9th Infantry.

In this region, the cattle should be in good condition at this season of the year, if ever, yet the cattle of this herd were so wretchedly poor that even the contractor, Mr. Bosler, deemed it necessary to apologize for them. In explanation of their condition, he informed me that he had been obliged to overdrive them, so as to reach the agency in time for the issue. I subsequently learned that this was a standing excuse, when persons not directly interested in Indian affairs witnessed a cattle delivery.

Essentially the same excuse for the inferior character of these cattle was made by Agent Saville in Washington, June 1, 1875, when questioned by Bishop W. H. Hare, in my presence, in regard to this particular issue. Agent Saville then stated, "that the poor condition of these cattle was owing to hard driving some forty-eight hours with little grass or sleep, to hurry them through, as the Indians had had no beef for some time, he having kept back rations to induce them to be counted. These cattle arrived in the morning, and he weighed most of them the same forenoon. Some few that were wild he did not weigh, but estimated. The issue was made on the same afternoon of the receipt. Among the cattle then issued were forty or more small and "scallawag" cattle. Agent Saville was confident that these cattle, thin as they were, would weigh 850 pounds on an average." On my questioning this, he insisted that "those he weighed came up to that average, and that those estimated were fully as large. He, himself, weighed all of the herd that were weighed on the morning they arrived." Memoranda of these statements of Agent Saville were taken down at the time by both Bishop Hare and myself, and at a subsequent conference were found to agree.

4

26

As I was confident that the weight of this herd of cattle did not exceed 750 pounds average, this positive statement of Agent Saville to Bishop Hare, that the actual weight of the cattle reached an average of 850 pounds each, as weighed by him, increased my suspicion that the whole transaction was fraudulent. I was not prepared, however, for the evidence which I found in the Second Auditor's office of the Treasury Department, where the receipts are filed as vouchers for the payment to the contractor. I there ascertained that Agent Saville had given a receipt for this same herd of 701 head of diminutive cattle, in which he certified that their actual weight as weighed by him was 731,485 pounds, which would make the average exceed 1043 pounds per head. More than this, I found that according to Agent Saville's receipts, all the cattle received during the same quarter of 1874 had reached nearly the same average, or more than 1,040 pounds each. As this is a matter of great importance, I here give the official statement as furnished by the Treasury Department.

*Schedule of Beef-Cattle, delivered at the RED CLOUD INDIAN AGENCY, during the FOURTH QUARTER, 1874, as appears by accounts of W. A. PAXTON on file in this Office.*

<table><thead><tr><th>Date.</th><th>Head.</th><th>Weight.</th><th>Furnished by.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1874, Oct. 1,</td><td>663</td><td>691,509 lbs.</td><td>W. A. Paxton.</td></tr><tr><td>" " 20,</td><td>758</td><td>783,672 "</td><td>W. A. Paxton.</td></tr><tr><td>" Nov. 14,</td><td>701</td><td>731,485 "</td><td>W. A. Paxton.</td></tr><tr><td>" Dec. 3,</td><td>597</td><td>621,447 "</td><td>W. A. Paxton.</td></tr></tbody><tfoot><tr><td>Total, 2,719</td><td></td><td>2,828,113 lbs.</td><td></td></tr></tfoot></table>

SECOND AUDITOR'S OFFICE.

June 7th, 1875.

The foregoing is a correct statement as appears by the records of this office.

E. B. FRENCH,

Auditor.

In other words, this large herd of cattle which no one could fairly estimate at a greater average weight per head than 750 pounds, and which both the agent and contractor apologized for as being much inferior to their regular issues, and which Agent Saville only claimed to have weighed 850 pounds, were charged

27

to the Government by that official as weighing more than 1,043 pounds each, and the contractor actually received pay at that rate!

Of the cattle received during this quarter, other than the above, I have no personal knowledge, but, from all I could learn from those who had seen them, they were no better than the herd I examined, which Red Cloud in Washington pronounced a good one, and superior to most of those received. I think it would be safe to say that the cattle received for that whole quarter did not exceed 800 pounds average, and yet Agent Saville receipted for them to the contractor at over 1,040 pounds.

These frauds in weights, which are consummated by direct collusion between the agent and contractor, and through which both the Indians and the government are so greatly defrauded, form only part of the general system of theft. I have reason to believe that equal rascality is practiced in regard to the number of cattle. For example: there is conclusive evidence that the only cattle at the Agency, Nov. 11, 1874, were the seven head of puny animals examined by General Bradley; yet, according to the Provision Returns of Agent Saville for the 4th quarter of 1874, now on file in the Interior Department, he should have had 184,905 pounds, or, according to his official receipts, 179 head. It has been shown above, however, that the beef-issue which he claimed to have made Nov. 8th, did not take place. Hence, he should have had on Nov. 11th, at least 446,427 pounds of beef, or about 430 head of cattle, when he actually had only seven!

These various beef transactions took place under the contract assigned to W. A. Paxton, well known to be merely the agent of Bosler, who personally filled the contract. Although this contract had been violated in all its important features, and shameful frauds practiced in its fulfillment, Commissioner Smith did not call on the bondsmen of the contractor for satisfaction, as the law required him to do, but, on March 17th, 1875, privately made a new contract with the same W. A. Paxton (or in reality with Bosler), to supply beef for the same Red Cloud Agency at a

28

much higher price ($3.00 per 100 pounds) than this contractor had originally bound himself to do. This contract was illegal, as it was given by the Commissioner without advertising for proposals. The bond required in this contract was $40,000. How the contract was carried out will be seen from the testimony of Lieutenant W. L. Carpenter and others given below.

Lieutenant Carpenter was with me on my expedition in November, and was subsequently stationed at Red Cloud Agency, where he had the best opportunity to observe the whole management of affairs. Mr. Louis Reshaw (Richard) was also at the Agency, and intimately acquainted with what transpired there. Both were present at cattle issues in May last, and the results of their observation are embodied in their certificates here given:

I certify that on or about the 13th day of May, 1875, I witnessed an issue of beef cattle to the Indians at the Red Cloud Agency, Neb. That the cattle then issued were wretchedly poor, and about one half of them ridiculously small. Out of about 200 head which I saw killed at that time, there were but three oxen which would be accepted by an Army Commissary for issue to Troops. There were many yearlings in the herd, which would not net two hundred (200) lbs. of beef; and to the best of my knowledge and belief, the entire herd would not average seven hundred and fifty (750) lbs. gross weight.

W. L. CARPENTER,
1st Lieut. 9th Infantry.

Camp near Trinidad, Col., June 22d, 1875.

WASHINGTON, June 5th, 1875.

I hereby certify that I was at Red Cloud Agency, at the first beef issue in May, 1875, and that of the cattle then issued to the Indians more than one third were yearlings. I have full knowledge of this fact as I bought of the Indians over sixty hides of the cattle issued at that time. The remainder of the cattle left after this issue were all small, and not larger than those issued.

In the above issue no allowance was made to the Indians for the small cattle delivered, all counting alike.

LOUIS RESHAW.

It will be remembered that the contractor received a much higher price for these cattle than for those previously delivered, and that the contract called for "good merchantable beef cattle, averaging 850 pounds," and that, "if any cattle offered for acceptance should fail to conform to the requirements of this contract the same shall be rejected by the Agent." The above

29

certificates show the kind of cattle actually delivered under this contract. The kind of cattle paid for by the Government is indicated by the following extract from the records of the office of the Second Auditor of the Treasury, which is taken from the official receipts given by the agent to the contractor on which the latter receives pay. It will be observed that the general average for the whole lot is over 1,026 pounds.

*Memoranda of Beef Cattle delivered at the RED CLOUD INDIAN AGENCY, commencing January 1st, 1875, as appears by Accounts on file in this Office.*

<table><thead><tr><th>Date.</th><th>By whom furnished.</th><th>No. of Head.</th><th>Gross Weight.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1875, January 1,</td><td>W. A. Paxton.</td><td>641</td><td>668,578</td></tr><tr><td>" February 1,</td><td>W. A. Paxton,</td><td>437</td><td>451,203</td></tr><tr><td>" February 17,</td><td>W. A. Paxton,</td><td>467</td><td>486,114</td></tr><tr><td>" March 1,</td><td>W. A. Paxton,</td><td>96</td><td>99,303</td></tr><tr><td>" March 25,</td><td>W. A. Paxton,</td><td>539</td><td>555,210</td></tr><tr><td>" April 1,</td><td>W. A. Paxton,</td><td>583</td><td>589,061</td></tr><tr><td>" April 21,</td><td>W. A. Paxton,</td><td>584</td><td>585,115</td></tr></tbody><tfoot><tr><td>TOTAL,</td><td></td><td>3,347</td><td>3,434,584</td></tr></tfoot></table>

SECOND AUDITOR'S OFFICE,
July 8, 1875.*

Another fruitful source of fraud in cattle at the Red Cloud Agency is the system of stampeding, which appears to have been practiced there, at least, since the present Agent took charge. A stampede of Texas cattle may result from various causes, and the natural result of a stampede of the Agency herd would be their immediate return to the contractor's herd from which they were driven. While at the Agency in November, 1874, I heard that a stampede of this kind had taken place a few months before. The particulars of this stampede, I afterwards learned from various persons—among them Louis Reshaw, who was familiar with the circumstances, and testifies to the facts in the following certificate:

* A few days after this date, the receipts for the next two lots of cattle received were sent to the Second Auditor's Office. The official account is as follows: "May 14th, 1875, 608 head, weighing 596,021 pounds; May 29th, 1875, 371 head, weighing 361,927 pounds." The average for the whole number exceeds 978 pounds. Part of these cattle were those examined by Lieut. Carpenter.

30

WASHINGTON, D. C., June 5th, 1875.

I hereby certify that in the summer of 1874 the herd of cattle at the Red Cloud Agency, which had been received by the Agent from the contractor, stampeded, and most of them, over a hundred in number, went back to the contractor's herd on the Platte. These same cattle were afterwards driven to the Agency, and were receipted for a second time by the Agent. The contractor's herder offered to sell me those cattle at $10 per head before he drove them back to the Agency.

LOUIS RESHAW.

From such stampedes, and the fraudulent results following, both the Indians and the Government have suffered great losses.

### V. *Pork issued at the Agency.*

Major A. S. Burt and myself were at the issue of provisions, November 15, 1874, and, among other things, saw and examined the pork that was delivered. The method employed in distributing this article to the Indians was characteristic of the management of affairs at this Agency. The barrels of pork were rolled out of the warehouse by one of the Agency employees, the heads of the barrels knocked in with an axe, and the contents turned upon the ground. The pieces of pork were then given to the Indians, who were waiting around, without being weighed or any other means adopted to insure a just distribution. This pork I examined, and found it old and strong. Some of it, at least, was rusty and unfit for human food. On this point Major Burt, in a certificate which he has recently sent me, states as follows: "I observed the pork given to the Indians; it was lean rusty stuff, unfit for anybody's use." The Indians received this pork ration with evident disgust. Most of them merely cut off the outer thin layer of fat, and threw the rest away on the spot. In one of the recent Councils in Washington, Red Cloud earnestly complained of the pork issued to him and his people, and said that he thought some of the children had died from eating it. After this particular issue, the Indians so strongly objected to the quality of this pork that the fact was reported by the Agent to the Department in Washington. The contract under which this wretched pork was furnished to the Indians was given to J. W. L. Slavens,

31

of Kansas City—well known as a favorite contractor of the Interior Department—and was signed by Commissioner Smith, July 11, 1874. It contained the usual phrases “that the article furnished should be subjected to a thorough inspection and careful comparison with the samples thereof”; and the usual bond was required. The price paid was twenty-one dollars per barrel.

## VI. *Flour issued at the Agency.*

My attention was called to the flour rations at this Agency by Red Cloud himself, and this was one of the samples he gave me to take to Washington. A few days afterward, I saw the issue of provisions at the Agency, and my attention was again attracted to the subject by seeing a sack of flour, which an Indian woman had just received and was carrying away, burst open, and part of its contents fall on the ground. This flour was dark in color, and adhesive to the touch, although it had not been wet, and inferior in quality. The flour was in a single sack, without any brand whatever. I afterwards saw in the warehouse, apparently put up in the same way, and entirely without brands, a considerable number of sacks, although the contract especially stipulated that the flour was to be, “fresh ground, of XX quality, to be made wholly from good, sound wheat, and to be delivered in good, strong, double sacks, each sack to be branded “Indian Department Flour.” On none of the flour that I saw in the warehouse, did I observe any inspector’s brands, although some of the sacks may have had such marks without my noticing them.

I afterwards saw flour in three different Indian lodges, and all appeared to be of the same quality as that I saw issued at the Agency, and essentially the same as the sample Red Cloud had given me, although I made no direct comparison between the two. As the fairness of the latter, as a sample of the flour issued at the Agency, was subsequently questioned by Commissioner Smith and others responsible for Indian management, I have taken considerable pains to ascertain the quality of the flour

32

furnished to the Red Cloud Agency under the contract which was
in force during the last half of 1874, when my visit was made,
and during the first half of the present year. This contract was
given to J. H. Martin of Denver, and was signed by Commis-
sioner Smith, July 11, 1874. The flour was to be delivered in
Cheyenne at the rate of $2.50 per hundred pounds, a bond of
$10,000 being given to insure a faithful performance of the con-
tract. I learn from good authority that this contract could not
be honestly filled, according to the accepted sample, at the price
paid.

The contract required "that the flour offered for acceptance
under this contract shall be subjected to a thorough inspection,
and careful comparison with the sample thereof which has been
adopted, and if on such comparison and inspection any of the
flour fails to conform to or equal said sample the same shall be
rejected by the parties making the inspection." I have recently
received a portion of the original sample of the flour on which the
contract was based for the last fiscal year, 1874-75. This is a
totally different article in appearance from the flour I saw issued
to the Indians at the Agency, and in use in the lodges, and no one
could mistake the one for the other. This sample of flour is the
only sample, of all the supplies purchased last year, that the
Department retained, by which to compare the supplies actually
delivered to the Indians, and thus prevent fraud. The reason why
this natural precaution against frauds has not been taken, remains
for the Department of the Interior to explain.

Some of the first flour delivered under this contract, a lot of
2,000 sacks, or 200,000 pounds, reached Cheyenne in August, 1874.
This lot of flour, more than one-third of the whole year's supply
for Red Cloud Agency, was not inspected, as required. I am in-
formed that Dr. Irwin, Agent for the Shoshone Indians, who was
then in Cheyenne, detected the bad quality of that flour, and
telegraphed the Department that the transaction was a fraud.
Agent Saville was at Cheyenne at this time, and he has since in-
formed Bishop Hare and myself, that he was ordered by Commis-

33

sioner Smith to send the flour on to the Agency; a sample of it,
merely, to be retained by a citizen of Cheyenne, a leading mem-
ber there of the Indian Ring, and who, as I am credibly informed,
has since been under two indictments for attempting to bribe
United States officials. This action on the part of Commissioner
Smith would seem to indicate his own affinity with the Indian
Ring.

Early in September, 1874, Major A. K. Long, of the U. S. Com-
missary Department, was appointed inspector at Cheyenne. In a
recent communication, dated June 19, 1875, he states "that when
he began his duties, there remained of the above lot of flour
twenty-seven sacks, which he immediately rejected, but it was
afterward shipped to Red Cloud Agency by the storekeeper—
as the latter said, by mistake." Major Long states, also, "that
he rejected a great deal of flour at first; then the grade became
better, and that he rejected some flour that Barclay White,
Superintendent of Indian Affairs, had inspected and passed at
Omaha."

In Agent Saville's interview with Bishop Hare, in Washington,
June 1st, at which I was present, the agent stated "that subse-
quent to the receipt of the above lot of flour, some 200 sacks of
dark flour, inspected at Omaha by Barclay White, came to the
Red Cloud Agency without being inspected at Cheyenne. This
was very poor flour, and was issued about the time of my visit,
and he thought the flour I saw there was part of this lot."

This testimony, from observers whose official duty it was to
examine the character of the flour for Red Cloud Agency, effect-
ually disposes of the statement which the Indian Commissioner
gave to the Associated Press in contradiction of my first presen-
tation of the case at Washington. The explanation of the Com-
missioner, which was published May 3d, was as follows:

"It is stated at the Indian Bureau, with reference to the complaints concerning supplies furnished to the Indians at the Red Cloud Agency, that all the flour sent there was inspected at Cheyenne by Major Long, Commissary of Subsistence of the United States Army, and passed by him as equal to the accepted sample. It is therefore claimed that the samples of inferior flour brought here by Professor

5

34

Marsh at the request of Red Cloud, were of some old issue, or, like the specimens of sugar and tobacco, had been damaged by exposure to the weather while in the Indians' possession."

Essentially the same statement was previously made to me by Commissioner Smith, and this discouraged me from giving him further information about mismanagement in Indian affairs.

## VII. *Sugar and Coffee.*

The supplies of sugar and coffee at this Agency, I know comparatively little about. Red Cloud gave me a sample of each, which he said were such as he was then using, and Red Dog stated essentially the same thing. I saw both of these articles issued to the Indians, Nov. 15, 1874, but only noticed the sugar particularly. It was dark in color, moist, and of low grade. I did not compare this directly with the sample Red Cloud had given me, but I have no doubt the two were from the same lot, and virtually of the same quality. The coffee I did not see in bulk, but drank some of it as prepared at a feast in one of the lodges. This was certainly very inferior coffee, and not unlike such as I imagine Red Cloud's sample would make.

## VIII. *Tobacco.*

The character of the tobacco furnished the Indians at this Agency has been a matter of considerable discussion, and justly so, as this article is regarded by the Indians as an important part of their rations. Both Red Cloud and Red Dog complained on this point at the first council I held with them, and one of the samples Red Cloud gave me was a specimen of the tobacco he was then using. This specimen attracted much attention among the officers in our camp, and led us to observe the quality in use among the Indians. All the tobacco we saw was vile stuff, dark in color, and much of it was saturated with a dark viscous liquid. I saw the tobacco issued to the Indians November 15th, but only noticed that it was dark in color. I subsequently saw the tobacco

35

used by Red Cloud, Red Dog, and Man-afraid-of-his-horses, and
in one council smoked the tobacco placed by Red Cloud in his
own pipe. All of this agreed apparently with the sample he gave
me, and I have no doubt this sample fairly represented the
tobacco issued to the Indians during my visit. Some of the
officers who were with me at the Agency looked into this subject
with still more care, and their opinion on this point coincides with
my own. None of the tobacco we saw was of much service to
the Indians, who use the article only for smoking.

## IX.—Suffering of the Indians during the past Winter.

The suffering among the Indians at Red Cloud Agency during
the past winter was very great. No small part of it could have
been prevented by good management, while the greater portion
must have been the result of the direct dishonesty which I have
shown to exist.

The Indians had already suffered from cold before the Annuity
goods were issued, Nov. 12, 1874. In consequence of this late
delivery, they had no time to supplement the small number
of blankets issued with buffalo robes before the winter set in. In
less than a week after the issue, just as I started from the Agency
on my expedition, the weather became extremely cold, the ther-
mometer falling to 15° below zero; and as many of the Indians
received no blankets at all, and most of those who did receive
them found them too small to protect them from cold, the suffer-
ing was great. One of the chiefs, whom I had engaged before the
issue to accompany me, informed me, after the delivery, that he
could not go, being compelled, on account of the insufficiency of
blankets, to the hunt for buffalo, as otherwise his family would
suffer greatly during the hard winter he said was coming. Dur-
ing the extremely cold winter that followed, many of these
Indians, as is now well known, narrowly escaped freezing.

The suffering for want of food during the past winter and spring
is known to have been general among the Indians at this Agency.

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I have evidence on this point from several sources, among others from Col. T. H. Stanton, Paymaster of the Army, whose duties called him to the agency. Another army officer who has given me information on this subject is Lieut. W. L. Carpenter, who was stationed there all winter. In a letter written at the Agency, in April last, he says: "The Indians are all quiet now. The poor wretches have been several times this winter on the verge of starvation, through the rascality of the Indian Ring. They have been compelled to eat dogs, wolves, and ponies." The supply of food purchased by the Government, carefully and honestly delivered, would have prevented all this suffering.

X.—*Freight Contract from Cheyenne to Agency.*

The goods and supplies for Red Cloud Agency are all transported by wagon from Cheyenne, on the Union Pacific Railroad, and hence the freight contract for this route is a very important one. Mr. D. J. McCann, a well-known member of the Indian Ring, has had this contract since the present Agency was established, and the official distance from Cheyenne to this point, as allowed by the Interior Department, is 212 miles. The price paid for freight, during the last fiscal year, was $1.10 per hundred pounds for each hundred miles, and the previous year $1.75 per hundred pounds was paid. This allowed distance of 212 miles was well known to be largely in excess of the true distance, and yet no effort seems to have been made by the Interior Department to ascertain the correct distance, although its attention had been called to the subject in 1873. In the meantime, the Land Office of the Interior Department has been surveying this same region, and had the Indian Bureau of the same department desired to know the exact, or even approximate, distance, it could readily have obtained official information on that point. In November last, while I was at the Red Cloud Agency, Mr. J. W. Hammond, assistant to the Surveyor-General of Wyoming, surveyed the route from Cheyenne to Red Cloud Agency, and informed me

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that it was only 145 miles, and his official survey is now on record in Cheyenne.

It thus appears that the Indian Bureau has for years, knowingly, paid to a member of the Indian Ring over fifteen thousand dollars per annum for service that was not performed.

I think it fairly follows from the evidence I have now presented, that the samples of rations Red Cloud gave me to show to you represent the average quality of the supplies issued to his people, at least during the time of my visit; that this chief's complaints of his agent, which I brought to you, were literally true; and that the frauds in Annuity goods and beef cattle, which he declared to exist, were not over-stated.

The great difficulty in ascertaining the extent of these frauds, or even in making any investigation, is largely due to the fact, that the Interior Department has retained none of the original samples on which the purchases for Indians were made during the last fiscal year; the only sample known to the Department to exist being that of flour, at Cheyenne, where gross frauds have been committed. This difficulty is further increased by the failure of the Indian Bureau to transmit the accounts of Agent Saville for the last year to the Treasury Department, as required by law.

The responsibility for all this mismanagement and fraud should rest with Secretary Delano and Commissioner Smith, who have long known of the abuses at Red Cloud Agency. No less than five special Commissioners, or other officials, appointed and paid by the Department of the Interior, had personally investigated this agency before my visit, and given that Department information indicating the bad state of affairs there.

A portion of the responsibility for the inferior goods and supplies purchased last year should, perhaps, attach to Messrs. F. H. Smith, N. J. Turney and J. D. Lang, of the Board of Indian Commis-

38

sioners. These gentlemen assisted in making the purchases, re-
tained no samples by which the character of their purchases could
be subsequently tested, and published no report of their action,
as previous Purchasing Committees of the Board had done.

In conclusion, I have only to say, that having been, while en-
gaged in my professional duties, incidentally made the bearer of
Red Cloud's message to you, and having endeavored, when the
justice of his complaints was questioned by those responsible for
the management of Indian Affairs, to ascertain the truth, I now
leave the whole subject in your hands, in perfect confidence that
the facts I have presented will lead to good results.

Very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

O. C. MARSH.

Yale College, July 10th, 1875.