/

^ ^ C E ^ T z o i s r s

TO T H E

Account stated, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior,

exhibiting in detail all the moneys which f rom time to time had

been placed in the Treasury to the credit of the Chickasaw

Nation, resulting from the Treaties of 1832 and 1834,

and all the disbursements made therefrom.

1 8 6 9 . j Filed by H O L M E S C O L B E R T , Chickasaw Commissioner.

Thomas McGill rt~ Co., Law Printers, Waehington, D. C.

\

To the Hon. J. D. COX, Secretary of the Interior of the United States:

SIR: By the fourth article of the treaty between the United States and the Chickasaw nation of Indians of June 22d, 1852, it is provided that an account shall be stated under the direction of the secretary of the interior, exhibiting, in detail, all the moneys which from time to time have been placed in the treasury to the credit of the Chickasaw nation, resulting from the treaties of 1832 and 1834, and all the disbursements made therefrom, which account so stated was to be submitted to the Chickasaws, who should have the privilege within a reasonable time of filing exceptions thereto; which exceptions were to be re-ferred to the secretary of the interior, who was required to adjudicate the same according to the principles of law and equity, whose decision was to be final in the matter and conclusive on all concerned.

In pursuance of treaty the said accounts have been stated and submitted to the Chickasaws, who, finding numerous errors and discrepancies therein, now desire to avail them-selves of their right of exception, reserved as aforesaid, and accordingly now request you to regard the following items as excepted to, and further request you to indicate the manner in which, where verbal testimony is offered, it shall be taken in support of the objections which the Chick-asaws expect to be able to uphold in regard to the items aforesaid, and where the evidence relied on is not furnished by documents in the Indian office or elsewhere.

ITEMS EXCEPTED TO.

General account, page 6. An item of §20,000, paid to John Bell, president of the

branch of the Agricultural Bank of Mississippi, and ex-

3

pended by order of Carey A. Harris, commissioner of Indian affairs. This seems to have been the repayment to the bank of money advanced to the United States, but for what purpose expended does not appear with the accuracy required to enable the Chickasaws to judge of its propriety. It is therefore excepted to for vagueness and uncertainty.

General account, page 21. An item of $77,401, paid to Simeon Buckner. This

appears to have been paid on the supposition by the ac-counting officers that 5,338 Indians were actually removed by water from Memphis to Fort Coffee; whereas the Chick-asaws are prepared to prove by the testimony of living wit-nesses, cognizant of the facts from their personal knowledge, that the whole number of Chickasaws removed by water at any and all times did not exceed 1,500 ! This item is there-fore excepted to as false and fraudulent.

General account, page 37. An item of $5,877.50, paid to Simeon Buckner. The

charge consists of several items: two of them relate to the transportation of 175 Indians by water from Memphis and Little Kock to Fort Coffee; when the Chickasaws are prepared to prove that not more than half that number were transported, and that the item of 140,000 lbs. of bag-gage, besides being on its face improbable, is absolutely false; and that all the baggage of the Indians charged for in the item was not more than would till two common wagons, if so much. The gross injustice done the help-less Indians throughout their removal west of the Missis-sippi is well illustrated by the barefaced falsehood of these most swindling payments to Simeon Buckner.

General account,, pages 5, 24, 51, 53, 65, 66, 119. The rations charged as delivered to the Indians exceed,

it appears upon looking at the account, live millions— (between five and six millions.)

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ISTow, the greatest number of Chickasaws that ever em-igrated, including their slaves, as the Chickasaws are now' prepared to prove, did not reach 8,000. Out of these near five hundred commuted their subsistence aud were paid in money by the United States. This would leave 7,500 In-dians and negroes to whom rations were issued, and this number is a most liberal estimate. The allowance of a ration a day for the eighteen months for which rations wrere drawn would give 4,140,000 rations, instead of say 5,500,-000 or thereabouts, making a difference of 1,360,000 rations, which, at 13 cents a ration, would amount to $176,800. In this estimate the most favorable numbers for the United States are assumed, as the Chickasaws are ready to prove; and further, it is made on the supposition that there were no deaths on the way, whereas, as is well known, large numbers were carried off by small-pox. In the neighbor-hood of Fort Coffee 800 at least died of this disease ! and yet rations were charged as though issued to the whole number that left Mississippi.

This exception is susceptible of perfect proof—whenever an opportunity shall be afforded the Chickasaws. The overcharge of rations operated a gross fraud on the Chick-asaws.

General account, page 54.

By referring to the statement prepared by the register of the treasury May 13th, 1861, of receipts and expenditures on account of the Chickasaw Indians, it will be seen in the account for the first six months of the calendar year 1850 that there is credited under date of March 11 the sum of $o8,124.14, and on the debit side there is charged the sum of $56,021.49—-which the receipts show was paid to Cor-coran & Kiggs, assignees of W. M. Gwin—so that the act-ual credit to the Indians is the difference between these two sums only. I t was decided, however, by the account-ing officers that a payment of $112,042,99, which is just

4

double the above sum of $56,021.49, had been improperly made from the general Chickasaw fund; this was after-wards confirmed by the secretary of the interior, Mr. Thomas Ewing, in March, 1850, and again by congress when it appropriated by the act of March 8," 1855, (see statutes at large, vol. 10, page 671, sec. 15,) the interest on the entire sum from 1837 to the date of adjustment. With the former sum, therefore, in place of the $58,124.14 ap-pearing on the credit side of the above account, the Chick-asaws should be credited, when the actual balance to their credit would be $53,918.84 in place of but $2,102.65, the difference between the items actually appearing on the ac-count. For these reasons the Cliiclcasaws except to the item of $58,124.14, and ask that in place of it they be cred-ited with $112,042.99.

They further object to the charge of $56,021.49 paid to Corcoran & Riggs, assignees of Wm. M. Gwin, as afore-said, being prepared to prove that they had no sufficient authority to receive it. These two exceptions amount to $109,940.34.

General account, page recapitulation.

The Chickasaws except to the charge for clerk hire, amounting to $79,969.46, in Washington.

The treaty of 1832 provided for the employment of one clerk at the expense of the Indians; the treaty of 1834 authorized the employment of an additional clerk. Both these clerks were connected with the land office in the nation.

The above items make an aggregate of $469,988.30, without including minor charges, many of which are false and fraudulent, and all of which are erroneous, and which the Chickasaws reserve to themselves the right of further excepting to as they may appear in the progress of the in-vestigation.

In addition to the above a claim arises under the 13th

11

article of the treaty of 1834, which provides that i n he event of the Chickasaws " procuring a home within the limits of the United States, which was in fact found west of the Mississippi, the United States would furnish com-petent persons safely to conduct them to their future des-tination, and also supplies necessary to the same, and for one year after their removal to the west, provided the In-dians should desire supplies to be furnished for so long a period ; the supplies so afforded to be chargeable to the general Chickasaw accounts, provided the fund of said nation shall be found adequate to the expenses, which under this and under other articles of agreement may be required."

The 10th article of the treaty of 1832 had left it to the Chickasaws to conduct and manage their emigration-west-ward themselves. The article of the treaty of 1834, above quoted, placed this matter in the hands of the United States, and the emigration took place mainly under their auspices.

The idea entertained by the Indian office at the time seems to have been that all expenses of every description incurred in the removal of the Chickasaws were to be borne by the general fund of the nation, and the account was made up accordingly, as appears by reference to docu-ment No. 8, house of representatives, 29th congress, 1st session, volume 2.

But it is only necessary to refer to the language of the treaty of 1834 to see that the matters which alone were to be charged to the Chickasaw general account in connec-tion with the emigration were the supplies attending it, and that the persons to conduct the emigration were to be fur-nished at the expense of the United States.

The undersigned has gone carefully over the " state-ment showing all the expenditures which have been made from the Chickasaw fund from the 2d March, 1833, to the 31st December, 1841," to he found in the above document* and especially the sub-head entitled "payments made from

6

«ist ™ ' k T l T d r a c T T o f , h e i r r e m o r a l a n d »<>-T P ' 4 t 0 5 0 ' " l d l , l | " W « supplement at p. 7 2 -

" from th<*e two documents have been extracted «11 hose nems which upon their face were not c h t g e a h t

i n " i h e 6 ? - ' V ° «'e sSurplie at-i a b t l o l ; m g r a t ? ' f ° r W h i 0 h t l l a C h i c k a s a w s w e r e name, Dot referring to the mr>rln,>f «f

Which they were not liable emigration, for

The several charges amount to the sum of $67 988 76 as appears by the paper hereto annexed as A '

On going over the statement there will be seen at pa-e 49 an item m the following words • P °

" F o r amount paid S. Buckner, in consideration of the

be Z Z ^ T l r e f U S a l ° f a P ° r t i 0 U ° f t h e Chickasaws be transported by water from Memphis to Fort Coffee he having provided (as per contract of October 1st 1887 )

s r t ™ T hu m e r ° f b ° a t s t o t r a n s ^ S

W7 749. This item is not included in the statement A. l h e above charges of $67,988.76 and $37,749 re-

Z y ^ t n - r ^ t 0 b y t h e ^ ^ a s a t s / b e J a u s e

L 10 h t 1 Z u " d U t j ° f t h G under the 10th article of the treaty of 1834 to furnish competent = to conduct them, at the cost of the United C and that the suppäes were the only item connected with he emigration chargeable to the fund; and they except to

f V cont i +m t e d i S t a t e s b j t h e t r e a * o f 1 8 3 4 to n iak;

w L l wo H T- t h ei

C h i c k — M h e non-observance of vhicl would subject them to claims for damages such as

have been allowed in the item excepted to

b e i n ^ , h , C k a 8 a W 8 a l 8 ° e X C G p t t 0 t h e i t e m tffi.7B6.49, be g ; < the expenses of certifying claims and locating ^ sei v ations, and which has been charged against the Chick-a aw general fand, although these expenses have accrued foi the benefit of individuals only; and by the 11th article of the treaty of 1832 it is provided that no part of said

7

fund " shall ever be used for any other purpose than the benefit of the whole Chickasaw nation.''''

The Chickasaws further except to item of $3,060, at page 103, MS. account, under date of June 13th, 1851, allowed to Volney Peel for services in locating half sections of land for Chickasaw orphans, and which item should be charged to orphans, &c., account, and not taken from the Chickasaw general fund.

The undersigned sums up the items excepted to as follows :

Payment to John Bell $20,000 00 Simeon Buckner 77,'401 00

" " 5 §77 go Excess of charge for rations '.!.'.'.'.'.'.' 176\soo 00 Error in omitting allowance of $112,041.99 53'918 85 Wrongful payment to W. M. Gwin 56 021 49 Wrongful clerk hire charge 79 969 46 Expense of locating reservations generally 25,'735 49 p l l o , .„„ , V . " for orphans, &c 3.060 00 T w ? conducting the emigration 67.9S8 76 Demurrage paid Buckner 37 749 0 0

$604,521 56

. T h e w h o l e «cope of the treaties leave but one impres-sion, which is that the Indians desired to husband their resources and the United States encouraged them in doing so; while in practice it would seem as though the govern-ment had lent its aid to the merest and most idle squan-dering of their funds.

In the foregoing exceptions the Chickasaws have con-fined themselves to those items whose incorrectness is capable of direct and ample proof. It is impossible, how-ever, to go over the account which has been referred to without seeing at a glance the manner in which they have been made the victims of fraudulent extortion under sup-posed cover of the law; but their hope is that at this late day even the secretary of the interior will so adjudge the matter committed to him by the treaty of 1852 that the wrong that has been done to them may in some measure

8

be repaired, and that not only will he rectify the charges here referred to, but that when he shall have examined the statement of receipts and disbursements as made out by the treasury department, and shall have seen the large amounts of which the government from time to time had the use, belonging to the Chickasaws, the principles of law and equity which are to control him in the premises will induce him to allow such interest as may in some degree compensate the great delay that has taken place in the de-termination of their rights.

All which is respectfully submitted, saving and reserv-ing the right to file further exceptions in case additional items of improper disbursements shall be discovered in the course of the investigation provided for by treaty.

HOLMES COLBERT,

Commissioner for the Chickasaw Nation.

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STATEMENT A.

DOCUMENT N o . 8 , 2 9 T H CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION.

.rage. 1001. 6. May 17 Alexander Flash, stationery $ 6 oO

10. June 3 Cyrus Harris, as in terpreter 30 00 10. do 5 Levi Camp, do 9 00 10. do 9 E . P . McDowell & Co., camp equipage for

officers 80 00 6. do 25 J . M. Caldwell, assistant agent 150 50

10. do 28 J . James, services as interpreter 42 50 5. do 30 J . D. Searight, travelling expenses 286 00 5. do 30 Dr . L C. Rives, medical a t tendance on J .

D. Searight 15 00 6. do 30 W. A. M. Brooke, for services as assistant

agent, &c 392 00 6. do 30 Lieut . G. Morris, travelling expenses 275 00 7. do 30 C. Langtree, for services as assistant agent . . 252 00

10. July 5 J . S. Lathane, pr int ing blanks for officers' re turns 32 62

10. do 5 D. Vanderslice, as agent, &c 471 20 10. do 5 A. M. M. Upshavv, at rate of $2,000 p e r a n n . 445 33 10. do 5 W. R . Guy, services as agent t 328 75 11. do 5 F . G . R o c h e , do 350 87 11. do 5 A. Mizell, interpreter 135 37 11. do 6 J . L . Mizell, agent, travelling expenses 239 13 5. do 12 Lieut . J . Van Horne, expenses 83 50

11. do 24 A. Mizell, in terpreter 113 20 11. do 31 O. C. Thorp, wagon-master 77 50 8. Aug. 1 Lieut. G. Morris, travelling expenses 86 00 8. do 1 A. Henry, services as in terpreter 95 00 9. Sept. 6 L . Folsom, stationery 2 75 9. do 12 D. C. McCurtain, services as in terpreter 162 00

27. do 18 C. Langtree, assistant agent 342 88 9. do 29 Steamer Indian, passage of G. Morris and

horse, &c., &c 75 00 9. do 30 Travelling expenses of G. Morris, &c., &c... 167 50 9. do 30 J . M. Millard's pay as assistant agent, &c.... 956 13

27. do 30 G. P . Kingsbury, acting agent ' 355 89 11. do 30 W. R. Guy, services aS enrolling agent 368 00 12. K ov. 4 B. N". Hampton, services in collecting Indians 36 00 13. do 9 C. Langtree , services as agent 237 50 13. do 11 S. Buckner, demurrage 500 00 13. do 11 W. A. P . Jones, services as assistant 20 00 13. do 12 W. R . Guy, services as agent 124 00 15. do 16 S. Buckner, purchase of flat-boat, &c 1,650 00 15. do 17 J . McLish, services as in terpreter 110 00 15. do 19 D. Vanderslice, assistant agent 244 00 15. do 20 F . G. Roche, as enrolling agent 492 00 16. do 23 George Gray, conductor 230 00 16. do 24 O. C. Thorp, services as wagon-master 72 50 17. do 25 J . Wheatley, writing-desk, &c 28 00

2

10 Page. 1837. 28. Dec. 1 18. do 9 18. do 16 18. do 19 19. do 20 19. do 20 19. do 20 19. do 20 19. do 21 19. do 21 19. do 31

1838. 20. J a n . 1 20. do 2 20. do 6 30. do 12 21. do 13 21. do 15 21. do 17 21. do 21 21. do 29 22. do 29 22. do 29 22. do 29 22. do 31 23. Feb. 5 23. do 5 23. . do- 7 , 23. do 8 < 23. do 8 . 23. do 8 . 23. do 8 ' 24. do S , 24. do 9 ( 25. do 10

c . Langtree, assistant agent ^ J . ß . C h n r y , assistant a^ent o? E . M Yard, assistant agfnt ::.'::: / J W n *'n a t t e i » ! i " g p h y s i c i a n Z Z . ' . ' $ W . B . Kimball, assistant agent JJf J® w' Ti'. ! ? 6 ! ' 8 0 " ' ^ « t a n t conductor q 0°n° W Barnet t , in terpreter - ' ?J C. Cojnmbus interpreter 2° F . G Roche, enrolling a g e n t . . . . : . . . 4 J I o? J . L. Mizell, i n t e rp re t e r " . . . . Z Z g g ' S. Love, assistant jjj

'[• « ' T a n assistant commissary 47 0 0 A. M M. b pshaw, superintendent , &c 1 385 09 J . 1 urn er, wagon-master ' 7 7 S W A M. Brooke, assistant agent . Z Z Z 98 . 0 J . L . Mizell, expenses, &c 49 $ b B. Cherry, assistant agent , &c 513 00 J . Heusley. agent and conductor 259 00 C. Langtree , as conductor I o S W. J . Wilbern, assistant a ^ n t Z Z Z Z Z " m 10

1,646 55 175 00

T TV/T„/-(I- , • aster, &c 177 50 J . McClish, interpreter . &c 22 50 M. Colbert, interpreter , &c J Caesar, (negro) \ l J . M. Shel ton, conductor. . 55 So C. Johnson, assistant agent ooq no A - Alexander, interpreter.... ' ."i 007 S

, l e r - 170 00

s; T T , —... .i^cui, V - K e e n a i 1 ' Physician, &c.... J . Foster, interpreter 'I- Williiunsoii, wagon-master! &c,

Abner, (negro)

John Mdlstead, wagon-master 75 00 ers, assistant agent " 754 2 5

25. do 10 J w i ! a l a S f a n t , a « e n t 1,008 86 25. do W Ä — 1^094 »

3L Mar " l G w ' c k f ^ ^ ^ ^ U n 8 . V ~ 153 SS 25 do 6 gl . T V M n ' n S U l n g C O , n m i s s a r y " 2 00 32 do 7 l i f i i f • a t tending physician 6150 32. do - 8 s i l n S ^ 1 t o ' ; ] ^ u , n g C o m m i s s a i . y 1 4 0 0 0

Collin, C k ' P a s s a g e o f Captain J 26. do 9 S. Bucknei"demurrage..". ' . U 1 g j $

33 do I I r n l c d e r t ^ : : : ' I I I S 3 : do % 33 do 31 r ' w ni 1 v a c c , n a t i n & Indians 16 00 34 April 1 ? ' w a l S r a , ' k , W C 0 , r i S S a ^ a » d conductor 124 00 26 do 17 T)' v ? ? ' a t t e n d l » £ Physician 212 75 26 do 18 P ' y a , l d e r s I l . c e ' expenses . 556 42 26 do 18 W Johnson, issuing commissary 88 00

9 do 24 iT' p" ^ u ^ ' . l s s u ' n g commissary Z 236 00 do 24 Morns, expenses at Little Rock and M 34 do 30 C w r ? • a c ? o u n t s 265 94 do 30 G. W. Clarke, issuing commissary 124 00

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Z Mav 28 D. Davidson, clerk, assisting Captain Phil-* 3 lips in prepar ing his accounts $57 öu

37. June 21 Billy Cooper, interpreter • ou w 37 July 6 G. P . Kingsbury, expenses. . . .. 1&» ™ 38 do 20 Pitcher & Walters, wine and rice, &c 10 50 38. do 24 J . Mizell, interpreter..... ^ 00 38. ' Aug. 2 R . A . Watkins, physician, &c 4U uu 39. do 11 W . B . Kimball, expenses 1 OOO 00 26 do 31 A . M. M. Upshavv, super intendent , . ...... l,OUU UU 26 Sept 1 D. Vanderslice, assistant superintendent ... 248 uu 40 do 1 C. Johnson, issuing commissary b " uu 40. do 1 G. W. Clarke, issuing commissary.. . . , 0 * 7 1 0 40. do 20 J . M. Millard, ass ' t super intendent , &c 1,367 id 40. do 20 D. Vanderslice, ass' t supt. , ex t ra pay uu 26. do 21 Captain J . A. Phil l ips ' expenses w 40. do 30 G. P . Kingsbury, assistant agent M W uu 40. Oct. 8 High & Duke, tents and utensils for agents . 4J /& 42. Nov. 4 E . F . Heal, clerk to Captain Collins t>8 UU 43. do 28 David Colbert, as interpreter lUb Ub 44. do 30 L. Chase, clerk to Captain Collins "2UU uu 45. Jan. 1 G. C. Keenan, directing physician 1,670 00 45. do 1 G. W. Clarke, commissary, &c '3b UU 46. do 2 Cyrus, interpreter UU 46. do 2 A. M. M. Upshavv, super intendent , &c 2,U3o 34 46. do 9 M. Frazier, interpreter • ^ 47. do 18 Abner, interpreter ^ ^ 47. do 26 C. Langtree, horse hire ^ ^0 47. do 28 J . Walker, a t tending physician 1,'919 80 47. do 28 J . Walker, horse hire SS 47. do 28 D. Vanderslice, horse hire 36100 48. do 28 D. Vanderslice, ass' t superintendent , and

horse hire, 8 2 0

48. do 29 A. M. M. Upshaw, horse hire 1 5 f 00 48. do 31 C. Johnson, issuing commissary 612 00 48. do 31 J . H. Heald, for paper 33 40 48. Feb. 2 W. A. M. Brooke, assistant superintendent. . 2,119 93 48. do 18 W. R . Guy, issuing commissary 1,348 00 48. Mar. 6 G. P . Kingsbury, assistant agent 500 00

do 26 D. Williams, exchange on collecting drafts.. 195 oO 48. do 28 J . P . McCord, expense of t ransport ing specie 117 00 49. do 28 D. Vanderslice, assistant agent , services on . special service collecting draf t 200 00 49- do 28 D. Williams, collecting, &c 125 00 4». May 14 J . E . Graham, collecting draf ts 164 13 49. June 26 A. M. M. Upshaw, services on E m i g 87 68 f - do 30 G. S. Lincoln, stationery 26 38

do 30 J . K. Taylor, services as clerk to Capt . Col-lins..........] 724 00

49- do 30 J . Mick, rent of office 90 00 .. 1840.

Sept. 7 J . M. Millard, horse hire 330 00 1841.

49. June 1 G. W. Clarke, commissary, &c 1,100 00 1842 C. Johnson, commissary, &c 976 00

June 1 W. R . Guy services as commissary 856 00

$67,988 76