S P EEC H 
 
 OF 
 
 HON. ISAAC I. STEVENS, 
 
 OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY, 
 
 OX THE 
 
 INDIAN WAR EXPENSES 
 
 OF 
 
 WASHINGTON AND OREGON. 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
 
 FEBRUARY 21, 1859. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 BY LEMUEL TOWBBS 
 1859. 
 
SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 HON. ISAAC I. STEVENS, 
 
 OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY, 
 
 OX THE 
 
 I^^ W^JR EXPENSES 
 
 OF 
 
 WASHINGTON AND OREGON, 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FEBRUARY 21, 1S59. 
 
 The House being in Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union Mr. I. 
 I. STEVENS said: 
 
 At th last session of Congress, Mr. Chairman, I presented some observations in 
 reference to the war debt of Oregon and Washington. In those observations, I en 
 deavored to show that the calling out of the volunteers, by the Governors of these 
 Territories, was a matter of public and imperative necessity. I also endeavored to 
 show that their operations were, as a general thing, managed with judgment and 
 economy. I did not, until a comparatively recent period, expect that I should 
 trouble either the House or the Committee with any further observations on this 
 question. But Congress, at its last session, failed to take any action in the matter 
 of these war debts, and the Committee on Military Affaire did not even make a 
 report. During the present session there has been action to n certain extent; for 
 during the recess of Congress an examination was made of these claims by one of 
 the auditing bureaus of the Government ; and a report upon these claims has been 
 made by the Auditor, submitted to this House, and referred to the Military Commit 
 tee. The Military Committee, founding their action on this report, have adopted 
 resolutions which have received the sanction of this House, referring the whole 
 matter back again to the same Auditor, with instructions to reaudit the accounts, to 
 reduce the prices for supplies, transportation, <fcc., to the cash prices of the country, 
 the pay of the volunteers to that of the regular service, and in no case to allow more 
 than $200 for the value of a horse lost or killed in service, no matter how much its ap 
 praised value on the muster rolls, or its cash value in that country, may exceed that 
 sum. The Third Auditor is to ascertain the amount due under these reductions, and 
 is directed to report to Congress at the commencement of its next session. 
 
 Before entering further upon this question, I wish to say that I congratulate that 
 distant country, that I congratulate my own constituents, that we have made one 
 step forward in this business for it is now generally admitted that there was a war 
 raging in Oregon and Washington, and that that war spread from the forty-second 
 to^the forty-ninth parallel, and from the shores of the Pacific to a great distance in 
 the interior. This fact has been admitted generally by members of the Committee 
 on Military Affairs, by members of both branches of Congress, by the officers of the 
 Army, and by the civil officers serving in those Territories ; that the war threatened 
 the very existence of the settlements, spread rapine and massacre over many dis 
 tricts, and could only be checked and ended, by the promptest organization, and 
 the most decisive handling of the citizen soldiery of the country. 
 
 There is, indeed, one notable exception. The gentleman from New York, (Mr, 
 OLIN,) the other day, was bold enough to take ground very different from that ; and, 
 in the remarks wTiich he submitted to the House, he stated that, if certain facts were 
 known, Congress would not pay one cent of the debt incurred. These are his words: 
 
" I wish to say that I have had an opportunity to examine this report, and I can state, from Hi 
 own observation, that it contains such an exposition of the origin and nature of these Oregon an 
 Washington claims, that if it were placed before the House, they would, in my judgment, prouounc 
 a judgment of condemnation upon the whole transaction." 
 
 The gentleman, in making that remark, has outheroded Herod. He has outwoole< 
 Wool for Gen. Wool himself has recommended, in his official reports, the payment c 
 a portion of these claims. Gen. Wool has not denied that there was a war in souther: 
 Oregon,, which made the service of volunteers indispensable; nor has he denied tha 
 there was a war on Puget's Sound, which made it the duty of the authorities to cal 
 out volunteers. On the contrary, he has admitted, as I understand, that both i: 
 southern Oregon and on Puget's Sound, the services of the volunteers were indu 
 pensable. The gentleman from New York ha's a certain memoir in his mind, o 
 which he relies to establish his conclusion not simply a memoir, but a topographic^ 
 memoir the memoir of Capt. Thomas Jefferson Cram, of the army. He has state 
 that, if that memoir were published, it would convince all men that this claim is 
 fraud on the Government, and ought not to be sanctioned by Congress. He als 
 says he has read that topographical memoir. So have I. It is a public documer 
 on the files of the Department, open to inspection. A topographical memoir is 
 memoir descriptive of the country, of its routes, its navigable streams, and its gre 
 avenues of communication, and should particularize all the facts which will enabl 
 you to decide how troops and supplies shall be moved. That which purports to b 
 a topographical memoir is, in large part, made up of an account of the voluntee 
 operations and of the treaty operations in that country. I find that in it there h 
 been brought together all the flying, scandalous rumors, that were propagate 
 throughout that country in the winter of 1855-'56. When I said to that gentl< 
 man that I desired the publication of that report, I said it with deliberation an 
 judgment, because I think that the publication of that report will put a potei 
 weapon in our hands to convince Congress that this debt is just, and ought to I 
 pai i. I, of course, do not accuse Capt. Crarn of any intention to misrepresent, bi; 
 its errors of statement are so glaring, and are so opposed to all the received fad 
 at thapresent time, that it will have no weight whatever. 
 
 Why, sir, in this topographical memoir he has inveighed against the treaties mad 
 with the Indians in that counry. He has made statements to establish which h 
 cannot bring forward a tittle of evidence; but, on the contrary, the evidence ; 
 overwhelming and conclusive to establish the very contrary, ar*d thereby he hi 
 arrayed himself against all the officers in service in that country, for as tiie matt( 
 has been examined the officers of the army, who once were opposed to those treatie 
 now insist that they shall be confirmed as the first condition of peace and trauqxiilit 
 there. In the report of the Secretary of War at this session, you will find the urgei 
 and strong recommendation of Brigadier General Clark, who was in command < 
 the department of the Pacific during the recent hostilities, urging upon the Goven 
 ment the confirmation of those very treaties denounced in this topographical memo 
 of Captain Cram. Hear what General Clark &ays: 
 
 ""Some time since I was persnaded that the treaties made by Governor Stevens, Superintende 
 of Indian Affairs for those Territories, with the Indian tribes east of the Cascade range, should n 
 foe confirmed. Since then circumstances have changed, and with them my views. 
 
 " The Indians made war and were subdued ; by the former act they lost some of their claims 
 consideration, and by the latter the Government is enabled and justified in taking such steps as ms 
 give the best security for the future. 
 
 " The gold discovered in the north in the past year will carry a large emigration along the fo 
 hills of the eastern slope of the Cascades, and not improbably gold will be mined from every strea 
 issuing from these mountains. 
 
 "This emigration must graze and cultivate the valleys of these rivers, or draw supplies from loi 
 distances at great expense, and at times with great suffering. 
 
 " That the country will soon be filled with emigrants, led on by the irresistable temptation of- minir 
 admits of no doubt, and as little that the Indians will then be dispossesed by force if not by treal 
 
 " The pacification now made, lo be lasting, must now be complete ; the limits of the Indians shou 
 mow be drawn, not to be again disturbed. 
 
 u Influenced by these views, I decided to urge on the department the immediate confirmation 
 these treaties, or of modifications of them, the payment of the stipulated price, and the opening 
 the lands to settlers." 
 
 There is on the files of the War Department the urgent recommendation of Colon 
 Mansfield, the inspector general of the army r also urging the confirmation of the 
 treaties. In recent letters to me Colonel Mansfield says , 
 
 " I have this mail reported to the Secretary of War dfrect, that the treaties made by you in tl 
 department be confirmed without further delay, and I have urged it strongly. They must not 1 
 over another year ! 
 
 "Now, lastly, urge the confirmationn of the treaties with the Indians, I have reported to tl 
 effect without exception and have urged it strongly." 
 
Only . few d&ys since there was sent to the Senate, the report of Judge Mott, who 
 went out to that country as a commissioner, and who exemined into these treaties, 
 and has given it as his opinion that not only justice to the Indians, but the very 
 peace of the country, and a great saving to the national treasury, are dependent 
 upon their confirmation. After most earnestly recommending the ratification of all 
 the treaties made with the Indian tribes in Oregon and Washington, now before the 
 Senate, Judge Mott says : 
 
 " Whilst it is true, that a ratification of these treaties may increase the expenditures of the Indian 
 service for a time, it is perfectly apparent to my mind, that it will obviate a further necessity for the 
 large appropriations required for the army service and war debts the subduing a people made 
 hostile by a ' penny wise and pound foolish policy' and that it will in the end prove to be the most 
 economical course we could adopt. 
 
 " The ourse hitherto pursued by Congress, of voting appropriations utterly inadequate to discharge 
 our nalional obligations to the aboriginees, followed by the heavy expenditures thereby necessarily 
 entailed on the War Department, besides being amenable to many other objections, has, with the 
 usual fate of a parsimonious policy, proved to be the most expensive in the end. 
 
 " We have taken from this people a country, some of which is as fine as^ever the sun shone upon ; 
 we have made millions of money by the bargains we compel them to accept ; and yet refuse to com 
 ply with our portion of the contract. Justice, humanity, and every principle of fair dealing, impe 
 riously demand the ratification of these treaties'" 
 
 I allude, sir, to these facts, inasmuch as an attempt has been made to cram Captain 
 Cram's report down our throats on various occasions. I refer to it to show how re 
 liable his statements are in reference to the Indian treaties. His statements will be 
 found equally reliable, when treating of the volunteer operations in these Territories. 
 If gentlemen had any doubt about the disturbances of lS55-'56, it would seem that 
 the recent Indian war in Washington Territory would i-Smove these doubts. This 
 war was not brought on by the outrages of the white inhabitants, as was alleged in 
 the case of the war of 1855-'56, for there were no white inhabitants amongst the 
 Indians who brought on this war. This war was not brought on by the movement 
 of the volunteers, for there were no volunteers in the field; but it was an affair ex 
 clusively between the regular troops and the Indians. It would seem that the war 
 of 1858 -commencing by the defeat of Steptoe, and which ended in the brilliant and 
 successful operations of Wright and Garnett, under the lead of the able, energetic, 
 and gallant veteran General Clarke, would show the true condition of our Indian 
 relations. Sir, the combination of hostile tribes of 1858, in extent and magnitude, 
 did not compare with the magnitude of the combination of 1855-'56, for last season 
 it was simply the tribes east of the Cascades, but in 185o-'56 the flames of war 
 spread over the country both west and east of the Cascades. In 1855-'56, the com 
 bination was infinitely more formidable even east of the Cascades, than was the 
 combination of 1858; yet, last year it required the very utmost exertions it re 
 quired that the commanding officer of the Pacific should send to the Gila and to 
 every part of California to collect troops. Three months were occupied in concen 
 trating these troops in the Walla Walla and preparing for the field. Two columns, 
 numbering nearly one thousand men, were organized and sent against the enemy, 
 and such were the preparations and such was the campaign required to suppress the 
 lat disturbances. But, I will assume, as I have a right to assume, that the question 
 of the necessity of calling out the volunteers of 1855-'56 is practically admitted; 
 that we have not to come before this Congress to argue this question, but that we 
 stand here to demand of this Congress the payment of our just dues; and to this 
 point 1 shall direct my observations. 
 
 I have said that the Third Auditor of the Treasury has made an examination into 
 these accounts, that he has reported to the House the result of that examination, 
 that the Committee on Military Affairs have submitted to this House resolutions re 
 ferring the whole matter back to the Auditor, and that the House has actually re 
 ferred the matter back for report. 
 
 Xow, sir, the last Congress passed a law in regard to this matter, and it sent out 
 a Commission to that Territory, which Commission, after a laborious examination of 
 one year, reported upon the amount due to the territorial governments of Oregon 
 and Washington, in consequence of that war. I give the law in full : 
 
 " SEC. 11. And ~be itfurther enacted, That the Secretary of War be directed to examine into the 
 amount of expenses necessarily incurred in the suppression of Indian hostilities in the late Indian 
 war in Oregon and Washington by the territorial governments of said Territories, for the maintain- 
 ance of the volunteer forces engaged in said war, including pay of volunteers, and that he ma}\ '.f 
 in his judgment it be necessary, direct a Commission of three to proceed to ascertain and report tj 
 him all expenses incurred for purposes above specified." 
 
 I may now ask why was this course pursued ? Why were Commissioners directed 
 to proceed to that country to make that examination! Why did not this Congress 
 
do as the present House has done refer it at once to the Third Auditor? Why d 
 it not direct the Secretary of War to call upon the territorial governments to fo 
 ward their reports of the war claims to the Third Auditor in order that they mig' 
 be examined in his office? Mr. Chairman, the reason is obvious. It was an ir 
 practicable tiling for an examination to be had in any office in this city. If Congre 
 had taken this course of referring, in the first instance, the whole question to tl 
 Third Auditor, it would have devolved upon him duties which he could not ha 1 
 performed, and* for that reason it wisely and properly directed a Commission to pr 
 ceed to that country to inquire into all the circumstances of the case. Now, si 
 two of the three members of that Commission were officers of the army who^hs 
 served for long years in that country; they were familiar with its population ar 
 resources; they were familiar with prices; they were familiar with the Indians 
 that country; they combined in their two persons the whole experience of the cou 
 try which was the theatre of the war, for the President of the Commission, Capta 
 A. J. Smith, had served in southern Oregon, and was familiar with the Rogue Riv 
 war. 
 
 Captain Ingalls was the principal quartermaster for the district of the Columb 
 river, and was familiar with all the operations with the movements of the troof 
 and with the cost of supplies and transportation, both of the volunteers and re 
 ulars. 
 
 Well, sir, these two officers of the army, with my friend from Oregon who no 
 sits on my right, (Mr. GROVER,) who had served on previous Commissions to the a 
 ceptance of the Government and of the people of Oregon, who participated in tl 
 operations of the troops in this campaign, both in Oregon and Washington Territ 
 ries, constituted that Commission. They took sworn testimony as to the pric< 
 in order to determine what was justly due, and they made their awards acco 
 dingly. 
 
 Now, sir, is the report of such a Commission, made from facts within their OM 
 knowledge, and from sworn testimony taken before them, worthy of the consider 
 tion of this House? Is it worthy of as much consideration as the report of tl 
 Third Auditor of the Treasury, upon which this House has referred these claims ba< 
 for readjustment? Sir, I have no question of the honesty of that officer, and th 
 he will make up his report from the best information within his possession. But 
 submit to this Committee that, from the very nature of the case, that report w: 
 bear upon its face the marks of absurdity. Sir, the report of the Third Auditc 
 upon which this House* has founded its action, is unjust to the volunteer service, 
 is unjust to the people of Washington and Oregon, it is full of errors, misunde 
 standings, and false conclusions; and it has led this House to take action which 
 predict will lead to nothing, because you have devolved a duty upon that offic 
 which he has not the means of executing. 
 
 To show how inconclusive and absurb is this devolving upon officers examinatio 
 and reports which can onl} 7 be made on the ground, I will touch only upon a ve: 
 few of the points in the report which the Third Auditor has made to this House, 
 erdar to show the errors andMnconsistences in it, and the errors and inconsistenci 
 which are to be expected in any future report. I will speak first in regard to tl 
 price of horses used in the volunteer service. The Commission fixed the maxirnu 
 price of horses at 400 each, and the price ranged from $400 down to $100. T 
 Third Auditor finds that horses were purchased for the regular service in the sar 
 locality at prices varying from $80 to $200, and he very naturally came to the co 
 elusion that euch was the cash price of horses. Now, sir, I may very properly p 
 the question to this Committee, what is the price current of horses? If I buy 
 horse and pay $80 for him to-day, does it follow that a horse which you may In 
 for 400 to-morrow is worth simply $80, or if I buy a horse at $400 to-day does 
 follow that the animal which you may buy to-morrow at $80 is a cheaper hors' 
 Are horses to be measured by a regular price current like wheat or oats ? 
 
 Now, sir, these are the facts established by sworn testimoney before that Coi 
 mission in regard to the horses purchased for the regular service. They were most 
 Indian ponies, or horses of Spanish blood, with a few worn out American hors< 
 They were purchased for the purpose of remounting the dragoons, under an ord 
 from General Wool prohibiting the payment of more than $200 for one horse. Thj 
 were taken to Vancouver, and every one of them, before a board of regular office 
 was condemned as unfit for the purpose for which they were purchased. Not ; 
 animal came up to the regulation standard. Not one was fit for cavalry uses. T 
 agents who purchased these horses for the regular service gave their sworn tes 
 mony that the horses purchased for the volunteer service were every one up to, t 
 
\ 
 
 dragoon standard, and that their value was more than double the value in cash of 
 the horses purchased for the regular service. That was the reason why the Com 
 mission fixed the maximum price at $400. Has the Third Auditor any means of 
 getting at the proper cash prices of the horses purchased for the volunteer service ? 
 Sir, the report of that officer upon this subject does great injustice to the purchasing 
 agents of these horses, and any report which he may make will, of necessity, do in 
 justice, for the simple reason that he has not the information before him. 
 
 Now, I undertake to say that an investigation into the other matters contained in 
 this report would show nearly the same result. It would show that there was 
 judgment and care exercised in the purchase of supplies, and that great judgment 
 and care was taken by the Commission in protecting the rights of the Government. 
 Why, sir, the value of American horses in the valley of the Willamette, in Southern 
 Oregon and at Puget's Sound, at that period ranged from $250 to $500 cash value. 
 In making up the value of personal property to be taxed, every one knows that the 
 assessed value of property is some per cent, below the cash value, and yet the as 
 sessed value of horses in that country show these prices. 
 
 I have here a paper from Captain Keller, the largest lumber manufacturer on 
 Puget's Sound a gentleman who manufactures some 12,000,000 feet of lumber a 
 year; who employs one hundred and fifty hands; who keeps two large steam saw- 
 mills going constantly; and who is one of the best informed men on the Pacific. I 
 have here a statement from him in regard to prices, which I will make a part of 
 my speech. 
 
 It will appear from this paper that for his mills at Port Gamble, he paid for oxen 
 $320 per yoke, and for mules as high as $325 each ; and that hay cost in San Fran 
 cisco sixty dollars per ton. He also gives many interesting facts in regard to the 
 fluctuation of prices. 
 
 Now, sir, what means has the Third Auditor for ascertaining these facts? I sub 
 mit that it is an absurdity to refer the matter to him. Unless you send him to 
 Oregon and Washington to take testimony, he cannot make up the report, required 
 by the House, without involving great injustice in the proceeding. 
 
 There are some animadversions in the report of the Third Auditor in regard to 
 our claims, at which I have been very much surprised, because the report itself, as 
 a general thing, furnishes the material for its own refutation ; and the only apology 
 which I can find is, that the work was necessarily done in a short time, and that 
 the Third Auditor was not able to give it a proper examination. In justice to him, 
 it ought to be said that he speaks of his report as the result of a somewhat cursory 
 examination. He complains very much of the fluctuation of prices in the volunteer 
 service. He speaks of it as extraordinary and remarkable, while his own report 
 shows, that in the regular service the prices fluctuated as much. In the fourth 
 quarter of 1855, during the pendency of the volunteer operatipns, the quarter-mas 
 ter of the regular service in southern Oregon, paid at Fort Lane for oats, prices 
 varying from two to five dollars per bushel, and for hay, prices varying from thirty 
 to one hundred dollars per ton. Which will be the cash price of the article under 
 the recent resolutions? The maximum price allowed by the commission for hay 
 was one hundred and twenty dollars per ton. But nearly all the hay was pur 
 chased at prices much under one hundred dollars. The paper of Captain Keller 
 gives many interesting facts in regard to the fluctuation of prices on our coast ; and 
 what has excited the surprise of the Third Auditor, is personally known to all 
 men of intelligence and experience in western coast matters, as an e very-day occur 
 rence. 
 
 Now, these remarks in regard to prices are sufficient for my purpose, showing 
 how, in two matters of fact, the Third Auditor has been led to a most unfortunate 
 and untrue conclusion. He is equally \mfortunate when he refers to the subject of 
 sales, on which rest, particularly, the vindication of our service; because it is a fact, 
 that the property, after being deteriorated by long use through a rainy and long 
 winter, sold in the aggregate for about what it cost. He enumerates particular 
 articles, such as pack-saddles, riding-saddles, and gear of all kinds, which sold for a 
 small amount, forgetting that they had been worn out in the service, and that if it 
 had been a case of property in the regular service, it would have been condemned 
 by a board of officers, and would have brought nothing. He also forgets the fact 
 that, in the sale of property such as provisions, there was a considerable surplus, 
 and it was not to be expected that it would bring even the cash price of the coun 
 try; for every one knows what the effect is of throwing upon the market a large 
 quantity of provisions. 
 
 Again, he complains that we sold more horses than we had purchased. He 
 
8 
 
 brings that as evidence of great irregularity and great unreliability in our account 
 Well, sir, we lost some horses, some died in the service, and some were captured b 
 the Indians, but we captured many from the Indians. And all those horses wei 
 turned in as public property and sold at public auction. They were an inferic 
 kind of Indian horses, run down by service, which brought the low price of whic 
 the Auditor complains. 
 
 Now, sir, the fact that we sold more horses than we purchased is undeniabl 
 Animals was captured from the hostile Indians. There were stringent orders issue 
 to both Territories prohibiting the appropriation of captured property to prival 
 uses ; and such property was accounted for and sold, and the proceeds made u&e of 1 
 diminish our debt. 
 
 In justice to the quartermaster and commiasiary general of the Washington force 
 General Miller, who has come under the animadversions of the Third Auditor, an 
 than whom there is not on that coast a man of larger business capacity, or more i) 
 flexible integrity, I desire to quote from his official report passages, showing th 
 discouraging circumstances under which our operations were carried on, and tt 
 facts in regard to the sales of our animals and other means of transportation. 
 
 " The operations of the department under my charge have been carried on ander very discou 
 aging circumstances. There was no ready money with which to meet daily expenses. There we 
 no large cities, or wealthy communities, where supplies could be purchased for the immediate ne< 
 of the troops. Every thing had to be obtained, if possible, for scrip, from either this or Oreg< 
 Territory, both sparsely populated, already impoverished by Indian hostilities, and of which 
 large number of the inhabitants were in arms against the common enemy. In this Territory, e 
 pecially, many of the farmers had been driven from their claims others, with every disposition 
 help the common cause, could not do so without depriving their families of bread. Notwithstan< 
 ing this, the conduct of the citizens has been worthy of all praise. Without their zealous co-oper 
 tion, the volunteers would have starved. 
 
 " In obedience to orders, the public property has been disposed of as soon as possible ; and i 
 haste is being made to bring the affairs of the department to a close. I am gratified to be able 
 state, that much of it sold at a high advance on the original prices, which were regarded as extrav 
 gant at the commencement of the war. Yet, horses, which cost $250 to $400, brought from $200 
 $600 ; wagons, costing $200, were readily sold for $300 ; and oxen were disposed of at thirty p 
 cent, above cost. This, too, after the property has been, of course, deteriorated by six months' a 
 tive service. 
 
 " As an evidence of the fidelity with which the public interest has been protected, it is sufflcie: 
 to state that, whilst five hundred and seventy-one horses were purchased for the" service, six hu 
 dred have been turned in and sold. When it is remembered that many of the animals have died 
 service, and that many have been captured by the enemy, it will be seen how faithfully the anims 
 purchased, and those captured at Grand Eonde, have been accounted for." 
 
 How is it with sales in the regular service? How was it with the sale of the va 
 quantities of supplies, transportations, <fcc., at Vera Cruz, at the close of the Mes 
 can War? How was it at a similar sale at the Brazos? It is a matter of notoriet 
 that everything was sold for a song. How is it with the sale of condemned pro 
 erty at military poste ; with the sale of horses reported upon by a board of officei 
 and pronounced unfit for service ? How is it with the sale of provisions, condemn* 
 for alike reason? How is it with the sale of clothing, condemned for a like reasoi 
 I know something about these sales, and if the Third Auditor had gone to tl 
 records of the War Department, and had ascertained the prices at which condemn* 
 horses and other property had been sold at the military posts in Oregon an 
 Washington, he would have had reason to congratulate the National Treasui 
 upon the sale of horses, made in the volunteer service of these territories. The r 
 port of the Auditor shows that many animals sold at prices exceeding the cost, aft 
 having rendered six and nine months service, and become very much reduced : 
 flesh and fitness for service in the operation. 
 
 We have, Mr. Chairman, been between two fires in that Territory, and we no 
 find ourselves between the veteran General, who declared that we could only su 
 sist ourselves by plundering the Indians, and the Third Auditor, who Complains 
 us because we had such ample transportation, and such ample supplies; transport 
 tions and supplies which made it entirely unnecessary for us to plunder the Indiar 
 Who is to be relied upon? the Commanding General, or the Third Auditor? 
 
 I will call your attention to some remarks of General Wool, contained in t 
 letter from Bernecia, August 4, 1856, addressed to the head quarters of the arm 
 General Wool, referring to the operations of Colonel Shaw against the hostile Cayas 
 and Walla Wallas, uses this language : 
 
 "In doing this, his object" that is, the object of Governor Stevens "was to provoke a contin 
 ance of the war with the Walla-Wallas, and to plunder the Indians of their horses cmd cattle." 
 
 And again, he wrote to Colonel Wright, through his chief of staff, Major Macka 
 under date of August 2d, as follows : 
 
 " It appears that Colonel Shaw, from Puget's Sound, with his volunteers, has gone to the Wall 
 Walla country. Sis men can only be subsisted by plundering the Indians inthat country. 119 
 
Such are General "Wool's reports in 1856; and now the Third Auditor speaks with 
 surprise of the amount of our transportations and our accumulation of supplies, and 
 finds fault with the forecast and success which prepared the sinews of war iu de 
 fence of our people. 
 
 Let me indulge a moment in reminiscence. I had peculiar feelings as the Execu 
 tive of the Territory, in that matter. I was the Indian Superintendent, and I had 
 sworn a solemn oath to protect their rights. I had told them in counsel that I waa 
 their father, and it was to me a matter of conscience, as well as a matter of deter 
 mination, that these friendly Indians should be protected. And this was the reason 
 why I, a* the Executive, desired to accumulate supplies and to get transportation , 
 so that the volunteers should not be tempted to plunder, to procure subsistence. 
 And yet this very forecast, this very care, both of the troops and of the Indians who 
 were then friendly, is made a matter of reproach. How could we judge when the 
 war would terminate? On Puget Sound, as I observed last session, we had three 
 Indians to every able-bodied white man, and it was a country peculiarly fitted for 
 Indian warfare. The immense forests on the shores of Puget Sound, afforded the 
 Indians inaccessible retreats, and the waters of that Sound gave them the means of 
 collecting all their forces, in order to strike down any settlement on its shores. 
 
 I felt it to be my duty, and that was the feeling in both of the Territories, to 
 take time by the forelock, to accumulate supplies and means of transportation, so 
 that we could protect the settlements against Indian rapine and massacre. And, 
 sir, if I were to be put in a similar position, I cannot tell how in these respects I 
 could act more wisely, or deserve better the approbation qf my country. 
 
 There is also complaint made in this report that we furnished families with food. 
 I wish I could speak to this House on this point ; that I could portray the condition 
 of that most unfortunate and most distressed people. Why, sir, our people lived in 
 block-houses for six months. Farmers were driven from their claims. Three counties 
 were wiped out. In several settlements every soul was massacred. We had many 
 many families on the verge of starvation. They could not get away, and they could 
 not get wherewithall to keep body and soul together. What did humanity re 
 quire? What did public duty require? What did the precedents furnished by the 
 regular service require? To see them starve, or to furnish them with rations ? What 
 is done in the regular service in such cases ? What is done to the distressed emi 
 grant families upon the plains ? Why, sir, rations are issued out to them. Trains 
 are got up and supplies are sent to them. It has been done in Washington. It has 
 been done in Oregon ; and instead of being made a matter of complaint, it has 
 always received the approval and commendation of superior authority. That was 
 the case in both of these Territories. I little dreamed when reading in my youth, 
 the history of New England, of my native State, Massachusetts, and of my native 
 town arid I was born in a house the scene of Indian burnings I little dreamed 
 that my fortunes would carry me to the extreme Northwest of my country, and that 
 it should be my fate, in connection with its people, to do what I could to save them 
 from the horrors of an Indian war. I now see in my mind's eye the early history of 
 New England; and, sir, I say that there has not been a parallel in danger and in 
 difficulty and in suffering to the history of Oregon and Washington, during the years 
 1855 and 1856. I say it without fear of contradiction. fctJCTOit 
 
 The Auditor also brings forward, to the disparagement of the service, the fact that 
 clothing was issued to the volunteers when they were going out of service. Did that 
 show judgment and a proper regard for the public interest or not? The volunteers had 
 not received one cent of money for their services. There was a considerable sum 
 due to them. Their clothes were worn out. Was it the duty of the territorial 
 authorities to send them home naked to their families, or to issue to them clothing 
 which was on hand, at the scrip prices, and charge the same upon the muster rolls? 
 Which best protected the rights of the Government, the disposition of this property 
 at the prices for which they were purchased, thus involving no expenditure to the 
 Treasury, or the forcing the clothing upon the market at public sale at a great de 
 preciation in value ? The Auditor finds fault with the sales, and he finds fault 
 with issues to discharged volunteers. These were the simple alternatives. I protest 
 against such trifling and carping, as unworthy of a public functionary, and as calcu 
 lated to cast discredit upon this Government. 
 
 He seems also to be surprised at the large quantities of clothing issued to volun 
 teers in the field. The Commission was acquainted with the field of operations, 
 which explained the whole matter. The scouts were made mostly in heavily tim 
 bered regions without trails, in the rainy weather, and the wear and tear of clothing 
 was many times greater than in ordinary service. 
 
10 
 
 The Auditor complains that men were retained in service and obtained pay of the 
 Commission after the volunteers were disbanded, forgetting or not appreciating the 
 fact, that these services were indispensable to settling the accounts and preparing 
 the final papers for the action of the Commission. It has taken the Auditor the whole 
 recess of Congress to make a somewhat " cursory examination" of these accounts and 
 papers. Does he suppose, or does this Committee suppose, that we could settle up 
 the business without keeping in service for some considerable time the hoads of De 
 partments with suitable subordinates and assistants? And were such services to be 
 recognized by the Commission or this Government? It was a service honestly, fairly, 
 and necessarily rendered, and is entitled to consideration equally with service ren 
 dered previous to the disbanding of the volunteers. His allusions to General Miller 
 are entirely gratuitous and unfounded. If he will take the trouble to inquire, and 
 not proceed rashly to decide, he will unquestionably find ample justification for the 
 action of the Commission in the allowances to him of compensation, and so of the 
 other gentlemen to whom he alludes. 
 
 Again the Auditor seems to be surprised that animals were purchased or brought 
 into service by appraisement, from the enlisted men of the service, and that there 
 were men in the service who received pay for more than one horse. He says: 
 
 " Captain Yantes' company, of only twenty-three strong, including four commissioned officers, 
 werd also called out to protect, the United States commissioners making treaties with the Indians, 
 in which one private is reported for pay for three horses in service, which was two more than he 
 was entitled to keep." 
 
 " Many of the owners of this property, if not the greater part of them, were members of Captain 
 Maxous' company, and an examination would probably show that all of them were members of this 
 or some other company." 
 
 Now the facts would satisfy even the Auditor himself. It is extraordinary that 
 
 it should be made a reproach against the service that the men of means in the coun 
 try, not only freely furnished of their substance to free the country from the horrors 
 of an Indian war, but gave their own personal services into the bargain. For it is 
 I a fact, that the most extensive and wealthy of the farmers and stock-raisers enlisted 
 > as privates, left their herds and fields to waste and decay, and marched into the in 
 terior, or operated in the forests of Puget Sound and southern Oregon, to bring back 
 peace to their distracted country. Men enlisted into the service, furnishing not only 
 a horse for their own use, but for their neighbors who had no horses. These horses 
 were in the service of the Territory. No man had more than one horse for his own 
 use, and it was by getting horses from those who owned horses that every inau was 
 mounted. It seems to me that these facts show the admirable and patriotic spirit 
 of our people, and peculiarly recommend the service to the confidence and apprecia 
 tion of the country. 
 
 The Auditor, moreover, brings up the case of company A, Washington Territory 
 volunteers. He states : 
 
 "This company was fifty-three strong, all told, and the roll shows a service altogether of 8,783 
 days, and if it had so served, entitled to that number of rations. A large number ot the members 
 are marked on the roll as having signed 'unmilitary resolutions,' and only seven of the fifty-three, 
 all of whom are marked, are certified by Colonel E. C. Fitzhugh, the inspecting and mustering offi 
 cer, as entitled to an honorable discharge. Of course the rest of the company 'were not so entitled, 
 and therefore had no claim either for pay, maintenance or any of the allowances consequent upon 
 a military service. The captain resigned on the 24th of May ; the 1st lieutenant was suspended on 
 the 20th of June, and the remaining lieutenant signed unmilitary resolutions. Yet, notwithstanding 
 all this, the whole company, except two, one of whom deserted, and the other was absent without 
 leave, are reported for, and payment for the United States recommended by the board of commis 
 sioners, to the amount of $13,907 75, beside the clothing, &c., received by them to the value of 
 $3,996 38." 
 
 Now it must be admitted that no attempt was made to secure payment for this 
 company, either by the Territorial authorities or by the commission under false pre 
 tenses. The facts are given precisely as they occurred. There is no dispute that 
 the service was rendered. It was a very trying and difficult service. The company 
 was raised in King county, and did duty in the forests of King county, and was 
 stationed not at Seattle, the only refuge of that county for its citizens, every other 
 house having been burned down, and a flourishing settlement of one hundred fami 
 lies having been despoiled of all their property, but in the midst of the scenes of 
 Indian rapine and devastation, from which it drove the Indians intoxicated with 
 success and flushed with victory. Their scouts and the roads they made are given 
 in the official reports. Considering all these circumstances, the Territorial govern 
 ment urgently recommended payment for their services, and the commission decided 
 that payment ought to be made. I think the Territorial government and the com 
 mission acted in the spirit of simple justice. It must be borne in mind that were it 
 a case in the regular service, the payment for service would have been essentially 
 
11 
 
 made. For payments there are made every month or two months. But in the vol" 
 uuteer service, no payment whatever had been made. It would have been most un 
 just, considering the services of that company, considering the misfortunes and suf 
 fering, and massacres, and burnings with which their county was afflicted, considering 
 the recommendations of the Territorial government, to refuse to make payment for 
 services actually rendered, and which were of signal value and of imperative neces 
 sity. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I propose in these remarks rather to fasten upon points, than to go 
 into the whole subject. But the Auditor has gone into implied censures of the 
 organization we adopted in Washington Territory in order to wage that war; and 
 he has covertly indulged in slurs against the service. He complains because there 
 was so large a staff, because there was so many Quartermasters and Commissaries 
 and Surgeons, and so many higher officers. Well the Commission examined that 
 matter. What does the Third Auditor presume to -know about those matters? 
 How can he apply the reasons to the facts? The military gentlemen of that Com 
 mission, men who served in that country, examined that territorial staff and organi 
 zation, and they were satisfied that the organization was good and effective; and 
 that the staff was simply adequate to the duties they had to discharge. It is proper 
 to state, that it is an axiom with military men that the staff is not so much pro 
 portioned to the force, as to the extent and character of the country over which that 
 force operates. And, sir, in the extent of our operations, in the character of our 
 country, you find the conclusive and overwhelming reason for the organization 
 adopted. 
 
 The Auditor complains that our companies were small. But you must recollect 
 that our population was sparse. If we organized at all, we had to organize in small 
 companies. That is a conclusive refutation of that objection. v 
 
 But, Mr. Chairman, in a certain part of the Report, the Auditor disparages the 
 service, by speaking of it, ''such as it was." I have, sir, served in one campaign and 
 five pitched battles. I have heard the whistling of bullets; and I carry on my per 
 son the marks of honorable wounds received in the service of my country ; but I 
 have never been in a service of such danger and difficulty as the service characterized 
 by the Auditor "such as it was." I make no special complaint of the Auditor. It 
 was unfortunate that he went out of his province to criticise what was not within 
 his knowledge. When I returned from the Blackfoot country to Puget's Sound in 
 the months of November and December, 18f>5, through thousands of hostile Indians 
 with a party of twenty-five men we moved through forests and over mountains for 
 four hundred miles not a man of my party believing that we would get through, 
 but every man expecting that his bones would be left to whiten upon the great 
 plain of the Columbia. That was a service characterized by the Auditor "such as 
 it was." 1 feel proud of that service, not for myself alone, but for the noble devotion 
 and heroism of my party; men who had crossed the continent with me in 1853, and 
 whose nerves and hearts were hardened to steel. I will give some facts showing 
 the imminence of the danger in my own mind. 
 
 We had crossed the Bitter Root mountains in snow three feet deep, and had 
 reached a camp twenty-five miles from the first Indian village. I was satisfied the 
 Indians had no notice of our coming. They were reported and believed to be hos 
 tile. My animals were tired out and my men broken down with the long march. 
 It was impossible for me to move my train in a single day to the village, and if I 
 did make the attempt, I was of opinion that our movement would be slow and strag 
 gling, and that we could not reach the Indians before they would hear of our com 
 ing, and that they would have time for preparation. So I determined with two 
 men to go in advance of my party, and see whether in this way, taking them by 
 surprise, I could not direct their minds from hostility and thus insure the safety of 
 my party. So, mounted on our best horses, the two men and myself with four friendly 
 Indians started, leaving directions for the train to reach the village the following day. 
 We moved on rapidly. Soon after noon we came in sight of the Indian village. 
 We rode into the midst of the Indians, dismounted from our horses, and with our 
 rifles in one hand, we offered the other to the Indians. They were taken entirely 
 by suvprise. They had not the slightest intimation of our approach. Their prepa 
 ration to give us a hostile reception had only been abandoned a few days, as they 
 had given up all expectation of our coming. They grasped our outstretched hands, 
 and through the aid of the friendly Nez Perces their minds were softened, and my 
 party, the next day, were received with kindness by them. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, that was done by me as a matter of judgment. I was satisfied that 
 I was safer with that tribe with two men, the tribe not knowing of my coming, than 
 
12 
 
 I would be, they having notice, with twenty-five men at my back. My judgment 
 was satisfied as to the course of safety, and, thank God, I did happen to have nerve 
 enough to act as my judgment dictated. We moved on to the Spokane with the 
 same party. It was these same Cceur (TAlenes and Spokanes who drove Steptoe 
 and his one hundred and fifty men out of that country last season, and compelled 
 him to move ninety miles in one night, abandoning baggage and howitzers. The 
 result of our interview with these two tribes was that their friendship was gained 
 after a stormy and doubtful conference which lasted for some nine days. Before 
 we parted from them, the Indians came to us with their little complaint?, asking 
 for redress. I saw that we had gained their confidence, and then I knew that their 
 hearts were mine. Not only did we have them as friends, but they offered their 
 assistance, which was declined. 
 
 That is the sort of service that is represented by this Auditor, "such as it was." 
 It was a service, the like of which I never saw before, and the like of which I never 
 expect to see again. 
 
 When I moved from the Spokane, I did not know what -were the feelings of the 
 Nez Perces. They were reported to be hostile. I knew that the chief, Kamiakan, 
 with five hundred warriors, was at Priest's Rapids on our flank, and that Pu-pu- 
 mux-mux, with seven hundred warriors, was on the Touchet and on Mill Creek in the 
 Walla- Walla country blocking up the road. I started for the Spokane with our pack 
 animals, carrying only eighty pounds and twelve days provisions. On the Spokane 
 we had exchanged all our horses but five, and got the best horses in the country. 
 I knew-the country well, and I was satisfied that if we found all the Indians hostile, 
 we could some way or other work our way to the settlements. This was the ser 
 vice " such as it was." Fortunately for our safety, the Oregon volunteers advanced 
 upon the Walla-walla, met and defeated the Indians, and opened the way for my 
 party, increased to about fifty men by the accession of the miners from Colville. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I desire now to touch upon some other matters, in justice to indi 
 vidual companies and to gentlemen in the territory. The Auditor has discovered 
 some double and treble payments. I am glad that these are made known. With one 
 exception, they were unknown to me before. It is not to be expected that in a 
 new service and particularly in the Quartermaster's and Commissary's service mis 
 takes were to be avoided, for even in the regular service, and where there are train 
 ed officers, there are very often great difficulties in adjusting and making out the 
 accounts. If the Third Auditor had gone through all the accounts, and had found 
 no mistakes in them, it would have excited the suspicion of every man versed in 
 such matters. 
 
 Some years ago, Mr. Chairman, while I was in the army, I called on a friend of 
 mine in one of the Bureaus of the War Department, and we commenced to converse 
 about old acquaintances. The conversation finally turned upon a person who had 
 prided himself in never having had a mistake formed in his accounts during a ser 
 vice of twenty years. Said he, "I believe that man is dishonest. It never hap 
 pened to mortal man, in a course of twenty years, to get his accounts all perfect. 
 He has done a good deal of cooking and working up." That, is the invariable impres 
 sion produced by these infallible accounts. 
 
 If in our volunteer accounts everything had been found right, and according to 
 rule it would have been damning evidence against them, because the thing is im 
 possible. I state this as a fact, which the experience of the Third Auditor might 
 have suggested. It is sufficient, however, for the vindication of the awards of the 
 Commission, and for the vindication of the people of the territory, that they have 
 not asked for the double or treble payment. We, acting for them, have stated, from 
 the very outset, at the last session of Congress and at this, that we asked nothing of 
 that kind. It was simply a mistake that occurred, and that would have been as 
 certained in any adjustment of the accounts. 
 
 There were cases however, of men in the civil and Indian service of the Territory, 
 who were also engaged in its military service, and there were strong reasons in the 
 opinion of the territorial government of Washington, wh}^ they should be allowed 
 their pay for military service, in addition to their other pay. But the fact of the 
 employment in other service, with the amount of compensation, was expressly re 
 ported to the Commissioners, and by them carefully set forth on the proper muster- 
 rolls. There was no attempt, either on the part of the territorial authorities, or of 
 the Commission, to conceal or evade the facts; which is their emphatic and suffi 
 cient vindication from the implied charge of the Third Auditor, of wrong and con 
 cealment. 
 
 There is a certain transaction in regard to exchange of property between the vol- 
 
18 
 
 unteer service and the Indian service, in respect of which the Third Auditor arrives 
 at a very wrong conclusion. The Indian service hired from the volunteer service, 
 horses and mules and oxen, at fifty cents per day, per animal, and wagons at fifty cents 
 per day each. The Third Auditor concluded and very naturally, perhaps thatsjuch 
 were the cash prices of the hire of animals and wagons at that time, whereas the 
 truth is that they were the scrip prices. That was what each day's use of a horse, 
 or mule, or yoke of oxen, or wagon, cost the volunteer service in scrip. For taking 
 the cost of the animals and wagons we purchased, and deducting from it the amount 
 for which we sold the same, and distributing the balance through the days work of 
 animals and wagons, we find the cost to the volunteer service was about fifty cents 
 per day, and such was the charge made for their use against the Indian service. 
 Observe, that this whole matter was a thing which grew up in consequence of a 
 particular turn in affairs, which waa not anticipated and provided for in the begin 
 ning. The battle of Grande Ronde was fought, and a great victory gained over the 
 Indians. They all seat in messengers asking for peace. The Nez Ferces, particu 
 larly, who had been friendly up to -that time, asked me to go to the Walla- Walla 
 and meet them in council. This victory and the changed deportment of the Indians, 
 in connection with the movement of regular roops to the Walla-Walla, which 
 before that time had been refused, as the officail reports show, changed the whole 
 aspect of affairs. Although I had issued a proclamation calling out two hundred 
 additional volunteers, I immediately revoked it, and disbanded the volunteers already 
 in service in that quarter of the Territory; that left on hand a large quantity of 
 provisions, which could be applied with great advantage to supplying the wants of 
 friendly Indians, and subsisting them at the council. Thus, supplies purchased for 
 the volunteer operations, were applied to the Indian service, and at prices which 
 provisions bring at sales where a large quantity is thrown upon the market. It was 
 believed simply but just to the volunteer service, to charge the Indian service pre 
 cisely what it cost the volunteer service to transport them. 
 
 I do not make any 'complaint of the deductions of the Third Auditor, for it was. 
 natural; but it is seen how indispensable it is for the facts to be known before a 
 deduction is made. These facts were known to the commissioners who examined into 
 them all, carefully; and there was great care taken to protect the interests of the 
 Government. 
 
 The resolutions to which reference have been paid by which the whole matter is 
 referred back to the Third Auditor, are as follows : 
 
 Resolved, That, preliminary to the final settlement and adjustment of claims of citizens of the 
 Territories of Oregon and Washington for expenses incurred in the year l&55-'56, in repelling Indian 
 hostilities, it shall be the duty of the Third Auditor of the Treasury to examine the vouchers and 
 papers now on file in his office, and make a report to the House of Representatives by the first Mon 
 day in December next, of the amounts respectively due to each company and individual engaged 
 in such service; taking the following rules as his guide in ascertaining the amounts so due: 
 
 1. He shall recognize no company or individual as entitled to pay, except such as were called 
 into service by the territorial authorities of Oregon and Washington, or such whose services have 
 been recognized and accepted by the said authorities. 
 
 2. He shall allow to the volunteers engaged in said service no higher pay and allowances than 
 were given to officers and soldiers of equal grade at that period in the Army of the United States, 
 including the extra pay of two dollars per month given to troops serving on the Pacific by the act 
 of , 1352. 
 
 8. No person, either in the military or civjl service of the United States, in said Territories, shall 
 be paid for his service in more than one employment or capacity for the same period of time ; and 
 all such double or triple allowances for pay as appears in said accounts shall be rejected. 
 
 4. That in auditing the claims for supplies, transportation, and other services incurred for the 
 maintenance of said volunteers, he is directed to have a due regard to the number of said troops, 
 to their period of service, and to the prices current in the country at the time, and not to report said 
 service beyond the time actually engaged therein, nor to recognize supplies beyond a reasonable 
 approximation to the proportions and descriptions authorized by existing laws and regulations for 
 such troops, taking into consideration the nature and peculiarity of the service. 
 
 6. That all claims of said volunteers for horses, arms, and other property, lost or destroyed in said 
 service, shall be audited according to the provisions of the act approved March 3, 1849. 
 
 These resolutions not only direct the Auditor to scale-the prices to the cash prices 
 in our country, which he has not and cannot have the information to do, but also 
 directs him to decide as to the quantity of supplies and transportation received for 
 the service, a duty which the Third Auditor will be equally impotent to perform. 
 
 But, in face of the known facts as to prices in that country, these resolutions for 
 bid the Auditor to allow more than 200 for the appraised value of a horse, and it 
 is obvious that every purchase of horses will be reduced to that price by the Third 
 Auditor. It matters not that horses at private sale bring from $800 to $500. It 
 matters not that the people are taxed for their horses at the same rates. It matters 
 not that all these purchases were made by contract, and that governmental faith is 
 involved. They must all be brought to the bed of Procrustes. Because General 
 
Wool bought a few worthless Indian ponies and worn out American horses, for from 
 $80 to $200, every one of which was condemned as unfit for service; therefore the 
 large, strong-limbed, serviceable, and hardy American horses of the volunteers, which 
 were fit for service, which did come up to the regulation standard, which went through 
 long and severe campaigns, living simply on grass, and which enabled the volunteers 
 to strike the hardest blows, and achieve the greatest victories over the Indians, which 
 were struck and achieved either by volunteers or regulars, are to be paid for at rates 
 from $80 to $200. This course is not only unjust to our people, but disgraceful to 
 our Government. , 
 
 The resolutions nominally propose to give the volunteer the same pay as the reg 
 ular service. But, practically, they do not. For, in the regular service, every man 
 enlisted in Oregon and Washington is paid onehundred and forty-two dollars bounty 
 money, that being the estimated cost of transporting recruits to that district from 
 the Atlantic depots. It cost $150,000 to transport the ninth regiment of infantry to 
 Fort Vancouver, and $50,000 more before they reached their appropriate field of labor 
 in the interior. Yet, an amendment offered to these resolutions, proposing to pay 
 the bounty to the volunteers to make their pay equal in every respect to that of the 
 regular service, was voted down. 
 
 There is another consideration which gives peculiar weight to these claims, and 
 which entitles the territorial authorities and the Commission to the confidence of this 
 Congress. The facts and circumstances of the service were promptly and minutely 
 reported to this Government through the War Department, just as they occurred. 
 For myself, as the Executive of Washington, I took especial care to report carefully 
 by every mail, not only what had been done, but what was proposed to be done. 
 These reports have all been published by order of Congress, and are therefore within 
 the official knowledge of the members of this committee. Did the Government dis 
 approve of the operations of the territorial authorities? They gave not a single in 
 timation of disapproval. Did they direct the disbanding of the volunteers? Nothing 
 of the kind. 
 
 I reported in May the probable expenses of the service in Washington Territory, 
 and the probable length of time it would be necessary to keep the volunteers in the 
 field. Whilst I expressed my determination to keep down expenses to the lowest 
 possible point, and to bring the service to a close at the earliest possible period, I 
 expressed the opinion in May that it would not be safe to estimate that the expenses 
 would be less than between one million nine hundred thousand and two millions of 
 dollars. The commission, after a laborious and faithful examination, report the debt 
 about three quarters of that amount. The indebtedness was kept down so much 
 below the estimates, partly \>y our care and success in reducing the expenses and 
 length of the service, and partly by good judgment and good fortune in disposing 
 by sale of the public property left on our hands at the close of the war. 
 
 In like manner, as the Indian superintendent, I reported in great detail to the In 
 dian Department all my operations in the Indian service, which reports have also 
 been published by order of Congress, and I defy the most censorious and the most 
 prejudiced to read consecutively my reports in the Indian and military service, with 
 out coming to the conclusion that there was the most perfect and immovable deter 
 mination so to manage affairs as to bring to a conclusion a most disastrous Indian 
 war, to protect the Indian tribes in all their rights, and to conduct the service in a 
 manner which should deserve the commendation of all good men who truly love 
 their country, and desire the advancement of its honor and renown. 
 
 In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I protest against the action of this House; I protest 
 against the report of the Third Auditor; I stand fairly and squarely on the act of 
 the last Congress that established this Commission, and I demand, in the name of the 
 people of Washington, that payment be made according to the awards of that Com 
 mission, 
 
Statement of J. P. KELLER, of Teelcalet, Washington Territory, on the subject of 
 claims growing out of Indian hostilities in said Territory. 
 
 The Puget Mill Company, of which lam a member, has been established atTeeka* 
 let, in Washington Territory, and engaged in the manufacture of lumber, and in 
 mercantile business, since the summer of 1853. During all that time, I have been 
 the acting agent of said company, and have had ample means of knowing the pri 
 ces of labor, provisions, supplies, and in fact of all descriptions of exchangeable 
 property on Puget's Sound. The company has constantly kept in its employ a large 
 number of laborers, and has now in its employ about one hundred and fifty men. 
 Our stock of goods, for the last three or four years, has averaged from fifteen to 
 twenty-five thousand dollars, chiefly provisions, clothing, <fec. 
 
 At the commencement of Indian hostilities in 1855, and during their continuance, 
 prices of labor, provisions, and supplies, at Puget's Sound, ruled very high, and, 
 with some fluctuations, have so continued ever since. 
 
 I think I am perfectly safe in saying that labor at Puget's Sound has commanded 
 higher prices, from 1853 to 1858, than in any other State or Territory in the United 
 States. 
 
 The price of day labor has generally ruled from $2 to $4, with boarding found by 
 the employer, during said five years, and sometimes higher. Officers of the army 
 have been compelled to pay day laborers $4, and sometimes more. The price per 
 month, with boarding found, has ranged from $35 to $150, according to the kind of 
 service performed. 
 
 The Puget Mill Company has had in its employ from twenty to one hundred and 
 fifty men, during the time aforesaid, at the above rates. All other companies and 
 individuals employing laborers have been paying about the same rates. 
 
 Prices of provisions and supplies of all kinds, during said time, differed much, in 
 consequence of difference in times when, and places where, delivered or furnished, 
 and according to supply and demand as in the course of a few months, the prices 
 of many articles sometimes varied much in the markets from which they had to be 
 obtained. 
 
 Flour was refused at offers of $16 in the course of the war, and reached $15 in 
 San Francisco, in April, 1856. 
 
 Pork and beef (good articles) have generally ruled at from $30 to $50 for the last 
 five years beef having sometimes exceeded the price of pork. Pork was selling at 
 $45 per bbl. on Poget's Sound, in the spring of 1858, and I think reached that price 
 in San Francisco about the same time. Prices ruled high for nearly a year previous. 
 Up to and during the time of the war, all salted beef and pork was obtained from 
 San Francisco, and were very scarce at times on Puget's Sound, during the war. 
 
 In April or May, 1856, barley was 4 cents per lb., and hay $60 per ton, in San 
 Francisco. Sugar and many other articles have frequently reached high rates at 
 San Francisco during the last five years ; say cargo sales of sugar at 18f, coffee 22|, 
 <fcc., as all know who have noted the market prices. Soap, candles, <fcc., have often 
 been very high during the same time. All these articles, which had to be obtained 
 from San Francisco, of course commanded higher rates on Puget's Sound. 
 
 The contract to supply the military post at Fort Townsend, for 1857, with fresh 
 beef, was at 22-J cents per lb., and the contractor failed, to supply at that price, 
 for the full year. 
 
 The price of working oxen per pair has ruled from $250 to $320, for the five 
 years last past, on Puget's Sound. The latter price was agreed upon at Fort Town- 
 send, for a pair, in May, 1858, for the Puget Mill Company, when it was known that 
 it would cost $20 to deliver them where they could be put to work. 
 
 But very few pairs of oxen have cost less than $275, delivered at the mills of the 
 Puget Mill Company, since the summer of 1853. The company has bought hun 
 dreds of oxen since that time, and has from thirty to forty pairs now. 
 
 We do not use horses, but two mules cost, delivered at our mills, one $286 in the 
 spring of 1857, and the other $325 in the spring of 1858. 
 
16 
 
 I cannot testify as to the justice or fairness of all the accounts approved by the 
 commissioners who examined and reported upon the claims growing out of Indian 
 hostilities in Oregon and Washington. 1 can say, however, that in many instances 
 prices that have been objected to as extravagantly high, and which would so appear 
 to any one not acquainted with the circumstances under which the contracts were 
 made or the supplies furnished, are in fact but reasonable and just. 
 
 The Puget Mill Company furnished large amounts of provisions and supplies for 
 the troops during the war. These were all purchased of the company by Quarter 
 master Robinson, except about $2,700 worth furnished Captain I. N. Ebey, at the 
 commencement of hostilities, and which were furnished at lower rates than could be 
 afforded afterwards. * 
 
 The supplies furnished Quartermaster Robinson by the company were principally 
 furnished upon contracts made at his earnest solicitation, and not sought by the 
 company. The company was earnestly solicited to contract for furnishing further 
 supplies, but refused. They consisted principally of provisions purchased by the 
 company at San Francisco, to be delivered on Puget's Sound, eight hundred miles 
 distant, at stated times. In order to fulfill these contracts, the company was obliged 
 to divert a large amount of its capital from channels in which it could have been 
 profitably employed, as well as to incur heavy lia'uiJitie. which have been very em 
 barrassing to the prosecution of their regular business. Something of course had to 
 be added to prices, on account of the difficulty of obtaining these large amounts from, 
 a distant market at short time, and the uncertainty of getting their pay in a reason 
 able time, or, rather, the certainty that a good deal of time would elapse before pay 
 ment. Experience has proved that the additions made to prices on these accounts 
 were not sufficient to indemnify the company for the risks incurred. 
 
 I would here remark, that a comparison of the prices paid, or contracted to be 
 paid, for provisions and supplies, during the war, with the prices at which the same 
 or similar articles were sold at auction, after the cessation of hostilities, affords no 
 just criterion by which to judge of the reasonableness of said contract prices. These 
 auction sales took place at a time when, in consequence of the cessation of hostilities, 
 cash pi'ices had been much reduced, generally, on Puget's Sound, and threw upon 
 the market many articles which were not wanted by the community in which the 
 sales took place. 
 
 "Where prices received at these sales are referred to, for the purpose of showing 
 the market prices at Puget's Sound during the war, they are only calculated to mis 
 lead and deceive. 
 
 The prevailing rate of interest on Puget's Sound, since the cessation of hostilities 
 has been from one to three per cent, per month, ruling at two per cent, and upwards. 
 The legal rate of interest in the Territory is ten per cent, per anmim, but money 
 cannot be obtained at that price. The money invested by the Puget Mill Company, 
 in furnishing said supplies, could have been safely invested at an interest of two per 
 cent, per month. 
 
 When hostilities commenced, the company were without arms, and immediately 
 dispatched a boat and six men to Victoria, Vancouver's Island, seventy miles dis 
 tant, where they purchased to the amount of about $400, and returned after an ab 
 sence of a week. The company built a block-house, and furnished arms, ammunition, 
 and provisions, and defended themselves throughout the war. Families from Whid- 
 by's Island came to our station, twenty-five miles, for safety, and occupied our 
 block-house a portion of the time. For all these expenditures by the company, no 
 charge has yet been rendered. 
 
 J. P. KELLER.