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 OF CALIFORNIA 
 

41TH CONGRESS, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( REPORT 
 Cession. } \ No. 794, 
 
 , 
 
 SURVKVS IN THE TERRITORY OF WYOMING. s 
 
 cL^jc 
 
 BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY r? n e~^ -x-* /f^- 
 
 AUGUST 2, 1876. Recommitted to the Committee on Expenditures in the Interior Depart- 
 ment and ordered to be printed. 
 
 Mr. MUTCHLER, from the Committee on Expenditures in the Interior 
 Department, by unanimous consent, submitted the following 
 
 REPORT: 
 
 It having been represented to your committee that certain abuses had 
 been practiced in the awarding of contracts by surveyors-general for 
 the survey of the public lands, they determined to inquire into the truth 
 or falsity of the charges by the examination of witnesses who, it was 
 supposed, had knowledge of the fact that such abuses existed. The 
 time of the committee having been occupied almost exclusively in 
 the investigation of other matters, they found it impossible to give 
 attention to any of the charges except those relating to surveys in the 
 Territory of Wyoming. It having been alleged that Dr. Silas Reed, 
 late surveyor- general of that Territory, was in the habit of compelling 
 deputy surveyors who received contracts from him to divide the profits 
 of their contracts with such friends of his as he would designate, who 
 did no work and assumed none of the responsibilities which attached to 
 the contractor, and whose only connection with the surveys was to 
 receive their share of the profits after the work was completed, your 
 committee proceeded to take the testimony of a number of witnesses in 
 support of the allegations, and they here with submit it as a part of their 
 report. 
 
 I )r. KYed became surveyor-general of Wyoming Territory in the year 
 1870, and held the position until the spring of 187.J. when he was 
 removed, and a Dr. II. Latham was a ppoin ted his successor. In speak- 
 of his removal, Dr. Reed, in his testimony, says : 
 
 -.1 the second time in February, 1870. I went out there-. 
 
 at the t Iriit's inauguration, this ring that is now hatching up thji fl 
 
 mystifying and misrepresenting it, came down here and represented me to the 1' 
 a greai nnd as having attended Greeley convention 1 the President, 
 
 forgetting that he had appointed me the second time, appointed a mail m my place. 
 
 I'pon the receipt of his notice of dismissal, Dr. KYed at once pro- 
 (Seeded to Wa^hm-ton, and having convinced President (.rant that 
 th,. ivp.nl to the elfect that he had been wanting in fealt.v to him was 
 a malicious fabrication, invented by the " riii.ir" l'"r selfish pur 
 
 ;ll onoe re appointed, and a-am entered upon his duties as sur v< 
 era! of the Territory. The contracts for surveys tor the season of 
 ; havinir '"-en already h-t b\ Dr. Lai ham, none were given out by 
 Dr. LYed until the following season, being the summer <>t i 
 The act of May 18, L796, provides that < -nil shall 
 
 -e a sufficient number of */,/////// surveyors as his deputies," and by 
 of .March 3, L831, "every deputy sun . required to enter 
 
 i 
 
II SURVEYS IN THE TERRITORY OF WYOMING. 
 
 into bonds with sufficient security for the faithful performance of all 
 surveying-contracts, and to take an oath that the surveys have been 
 faithfully and correctly executed according to law and the instructions 
 of the surveyor-general. In the opinion of the committee, the plain pro- 
 visions of the statutes regulating the surveying of the public lands re- 
 quire all contracts to be let only to persons skilled in the art of survey- 
 ing, and to such as will give the bond and take the oath required by those 
 statutes. The term skillful surveyors cannot be interpreted to mean any 
 class of persons except such as have been educated in the business 
 of surveying. The manual of surveying-instructions, however, author- 
 ized by the act of 1872, and issued by the Commissioner of the General 
 Land-Office, contains a provision declaring that where there are two con- 
 tractors, one only shall be required to be a practical surveyor, the other 
 may be the moneyed man of the firm ; the one to execute the work and 
 swear to the field-notes, the other to furnish the necessary means for 
 the outfit. This regulation, made, as is claimed, in pursuance of law, 
 enables surveyors-general to award heavy contracts to favorites, who 
 have no knowledge whatever of the work to be done, or of the manner 
 of doing it, and who scarcely ever go into the field. As surveying-con- 
 tracts are always awarded at the maximum sum allowed by law, the 
 profits realized are generally very large in proportion to the amouut 
 invested by the moneyed man of the firm. This system of partnership 
 in surveying was somewhat improved by Dr. Eeed, very much to the 
 advantage of the moneyed man of the firm, who, it appears from the 
 testimony, was not only not required to do any work, but did not sign 
 a contract, give a bond, take the oath, nor advance any money. Under 
 the doctor's system, the moneyed man did no work and assumed no 
 responsibility; he was a silent partner, with nothing to do except 
 to receive his share of the profits of the contract. This system was put 
 into practical operation in the spring of 1874, when the first contracts 
 were let by Dr. Keed after his re appointment to the office of surveyor- 
 general of the Territory, and the beneficiaries under it were Mr. John 
 . Delano, Mr. Orvil L. Grant, and a Mr. H. H. Houghton, an editor of a 
 newspaper in Galena, 111. Although each of these gentlemen partici- 
 pated in the distribution of the profits of surveying-contracts, none of 
 them tcok any of the responsibilities of contracting parties, nor did 
 any of the work required to be done, and, so far as the evidence shows, 
 only one of them (Mr. Delano) advanced any money to purchase an 
 outfit for the men in the field. 
 
 In May, 1874, two contracts were given to J. Wesley Hammond, of 
 which the aggregate liability was $4,000. Subsequently and during 
 the same summer a contract was given to Mr. Eogers, the liability of 
 which was $2,100 ; one to Mr. Hays, of the same liability , one to Mr. 
 Eeed, liability $1,800; and one to Mr. Thomas, liability $2,900. These 
 contracts were all for surveying township and section lines, and were 
 awarded at the maximum sum allowed by law for that kind of survey- 
 ing. The only contracting parties, so far as the papers in the Lancl- 
 Officeshow, were the Government and the parties above named. Yet 
 Mr. Delano was the recipient of one-half the profits of each contract, 
 amounting in the aggregate to from $3,000 to $5,000. The settlements 
 with the deputies were made by Dr. Eeed, and the amount due by each 
 one to Mr. Delano deducted by him. For purposes which may readily 
 be imagined, it seems Dr. Eeed was particularly anxious that Mr. Del- 
 ano should have an interest in surveying contracts. According to his 
 own statement, as early as May or June, 1873, when, it will be remem- 
 bered, he was out of office and was in Washington soliciting 
 
;;YI:YS IN THE TERRITORY OF >VYOMI.V in 
 
 a re-appointment, he hail a conversation with Ex-Secretary Del- 
 ano in regard to the health of his son, who, it seems, was afflicted 
 with a disease of the lungs, in which conversation he suggested 
 that John should go to the mountains for the benefit of his 
 health. Subsequently, he relates, he had an interview with Mr. 
 Drummond, the Commissioner of the Land-Office, with regard 
 the propriety of giving Mr. Delano a contract, and that that official 
 advised him that he could properly do so. Dr. Heed, by his tes- 
 timony, endeavors to create the impression that there was no intention to 
 conceal the fact that Mr. Delano had an interest in surveying-contracts, 
 but that the transaction was an open one and in no way inconsistent 
 with his sworn duty as a Government official. He insists that the only 
 reason why Mr. Delano's name was not inserted in the contracts, and 
 he required to file his bond and take the oath, was because, on account 
 of the sickness of his wife, he could not reach the Territory in time to 
 comply with these requirements of the law. In this assertion the 
 doctor is not sustained by the evidence. On the contrary, it is clearly 
 proven that he used all means in his power to keep the matter a profound 
 secret, and that he peremptorily discharged an honest and faithful clerk 
 from his office because he, in the conscientious discharge of his duty. 
 attempted to correct the abuses that were being practiced. 
 
 Mr. L. C. Stevens, who was chief clerk in Dr. Keed's office at Chey- 
 enne, and who was removed because he endeavored to expose the 
 honest transactions of the office, testifies in respect to the Hammond 
 contract that at the instance of Dr. Reed he told Hammond 
 there was a chance for him to get work. He says, " I told him that if 
 he was willing to go into the field and let Mr. Delano in on profits he 
 could get work, and asked him if he would be willing to take a com 
 on such terms. I talked quite a while with him about it and talked 
 freely. He was an intimate friend of mine and I advised him that that 
 was the only show he had to get anything to do, and that he had li- 
 do that than be idle ; that he would do pretty well out of it him 
 how ; that he had better do it, and he said he would. I then reported 
 to Dr. Reed that I had seen Mr. Hammond and that it was all ri-ht: 
 so the contract was let to Mr. Hammond." This witness says Mr. Delano 
 " shared equally with Mr. Hammond in the profits." "As I understood," 
 he says, "from conversations with the doctor afterward. Mi. Hammond 
 had owned the outfit, the mules, the compass, and the equipments gen- 
 erally, and also did the work ; and for the use of his outfit and for his 
 services he was to receive $125 a month, which was deducted before the 
 division." In answer to a question as to whether the witness had any- 
 thing to do with the payment of mone.\ to Mr. Delano, he says, "Some 
 time in November, 1874, the draft was received from t ho Treason 
 .Mr. Hammond in payment for those contracts. Mr. Hammond was not 
 in town at that time. I received his mail when he was not in town and 
 attended to his business, and I placed thrse Treasury d rafts in the bank 
 to his credit. Mr. Hammond Uad told me that he had _ Mr. Heed 
 
 notes: that the doctor had required him to give notes for what was 
 comiim to Mr. Delano, and that they were all n-lit. I wasac|ua 
 with the arrangement from the beginning. On the LMst of November, 
 1874, Dr. Keed showed me these notes -ivm ly Mr. Hammond: 
 were notes made on a form of the 1 n>i National Bank of Cheyenne, and 
 these [producing papers] are exact copies of the notes: 
 
 $400.] < HEYEHIIB, GttifcrttS, 1874. 
 
 On or be r ore February 1, 1874, we jointly and severally promise to pay to John L. Her- 
 
 riam or be ror, out of the draft ut my survi-yin. - of May tW, 1-J74, M 
 
IV SURVEYS IN THE TERRITORY OF WYOMING. 
 
 as received, $400 at the First National Bank of Cheyenne, for value received, waiving bene- 
 fit of stay and exemption laws, with interest at two per cent, per month from maturity till 
 paid. 
 
 J. WESLEY HAMMOND. 
 
 
 
 $1,000.] WASHINGTON, October 26, 1874. 
 
 On or before February 1, 1874, we jointly and severally promise to pay to John L. Mer- 
 riam or bearer, out of my survey-contract No. 62 of May 20, 1874, $1,000 as soon as re- 
 ceived, at the First National Bank of Cheyenne, for value received, waiving benefit of stay 
 and exemption laws, with interest at two per cent, from maturity till paid. 
 
 J. WESLEY HAMMOND. 
 
 The fact that the name of John L. Merriam was inserted in the above 
 notes instead of that of Mr. Delano is another circumstance going to 
 show the intention of Dr. Eeed to cover up the transaction with Mr. 
 Delano ; and the reason for this name being put there will be found in 
 the following letter, which is still stronger evidence that the parties 
 desired that the fact that Mr. Delano had an interest in surveying-con- 
 tracts should be a secret : 
 
 INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, 
 Washington, D. C., May 26, 1874. 
 
 DEAR GENERAL : I have been detained by my wife's illness, but hope at least to get off 
 to Saint Paul by Monday, and to reach Cheyenne in June. I shall have to return here by 
 tte last of June on my wife's account, but shall not go back west for the summer and fall. 
 
 Hope you will be able to put Merriam (I think it had better be in his name) into a good 
 contract for me. I shall sadly need the profits for my summer's outlay out of office, sick, 
 unable to attend to my own affairs, runs me behind a good deal. Thanks for your kind 
 tetter. 
 
 Yours, truly, 
 
 J. S. DELANO. 
 
 This letter flatly contradicts the assertion made by Dr. Eeed to 
 the effect that the only reason why the name of Mr. Delano was omit- 
 ted from the Hammond contract, and he not required to qualify as a 
 deputy, was because he was unable to reach the Territory in time to do 
 so. It will be observed the letter is dated six days after the date of 
 the contract, and that the name of Merriam does not occur in any of 
 the papers, excepting in the notes subsequently given by Hammond to 
 secure the payment of Delano's share. The truth is, the Hammond 
 contract had been awarded to him, with the distinct understanding 
 that he was to divide the profits equally with Delano, some time before 
 the latter had signified to Dr. Reed his intention of coining to the Ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 If any other evidence were necessary to prove beyond the possibility 
 of a doubt that it was the intention of the parties to keep the transac- 
 tion entirely secret, it will be found in the conduct of Dr. Eeed in re- 
 moving Mr. Stevens, his chief clerk, so soon as he had ascertained that 
 that gentleman had attempted to expose the affair to the authorities at 
 Washington. 
 
 Mr. Stevens testifies that Dr. Eeed handed him the two notes given 
 by Hammond to Medary, with a request that he collect them, and, as 
 he had charge of Hammond's money -matters during his absence in the 
 field, he drew his check on the First National Bank of Cheyenne for 
 $1,400, signed u J. Wesley Hammond, by L. C. Stevens," and with this 
 money paid the notes. Five hundred and five dollars of this amount he 
 gave to Dr. Eeed, and with the balance, $895, he purchased a draft on 
 Sew York, payable to the order of J. S. Delano. This draft, he says, 
 Dr. Eeed inclosed, with a letter directed to Mr. Delano. After the draft 
 had been paid and returned to the bank, Mr. Stevens says he obtained 
 
SURVEYS IN THE TERRITORY OF WYOMING. V 
 
 possession of it, and in the latter part of March, is;;;, im-ln < 
 gether with other proofs of the transaction, to Hon. B. 11. Hi i-tow, with 
 a request that he lay the papers before President Grant. At this tiim- 
 Dr. Reed was absent from the Territory, staying at Saint Louis. Mr. 
 Bristow testifies that he received the papers scut, and, in obedience 
 to the request of Stevens, laid them before the President. That 
 among the papers ho thinks there was a letter from Ex-Secretary 
 Delano to Dr. Reed, thanking him for some kindness done his son. 
 That the papers related to surveying-contracts in the Territory 
 of Wyoming, and on their face showed evidence of improper trans- 
 actions between the surveyor-general and John S. Delano. On tin* 
 -Sth of April Dr. Reed, who, as has been stated, was in Saint Louis, 
 came to Washington City. Immediately upon his arrival he was 
 informed by Mr. J. S. Delano and others that the President was in 
 possession of these papers. Mr. Delano, it seems, from his own testi- 
 mony, had seen the papers, they having been shown him by General 
 O. E. Babcock, the President's private secretary. On receiving this in- 
 formation, Dr. Reed at once telegraphed his chief clerk, Mr. Stevens, as 
 follows : 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., April 89, 1-' 
 Mr. L. C. STEVFN-. 
 
 Surveyor-General's Office : 
 How did Campbell obtaiu D.'s letters to me about surveys T 
 
 SILAS REED. 
 
 Dr. Reed further testifies that on this same day he had an interview 
 with the President; that he informed the President that the papers had 
 been stolen ; that one of them was a private or semi-official letter to 
 him, and that he did not think it ought to be floating about, because it 
 would be misunderstood or misinterpreted among strangers; that the 
 President replied that he did not see that they amounted to any thin-- : 
 he had not thought enough of the matter to mention it to Secretary 
 Delano or pay any attention to it, and that he would n't urn the 
 
 Sapers to J. S.Delano. After the interview with the President, Dr. 
 teed went to the telegraph-office and sent a telegram to Cheyenne re- 
 moving Mr. Stevens, his chief clerk. 
 
 The letter which the doctor alluded to as not desiring to have " floating 
 around," for fear that it might be "misunderstood or misinterp 
 strangers" was an autograph-letter from Ex-Secretary Delano to Dr. 
 Reed, written in the month of October, and some time prior to the date 
 of the settlements between the deputy surveyors, in whose contracts J. 
 S. Delano was interested, and the Government. Mr. Stevens says that a 
 month before sending the draft to J. S. Delano, Dr. Reed showed him this 
 letter, and in doing so said, u I was writing tne Secretary not long ago, 
 and I mentioned to him that I was doing something for John out here. I 
 got a letter from him this morning, and I want to show it to you. Just see 
 how careful he is." 
 
 It was an autograph -letter of Secretary Delano's, and addressed to Dr. 
 Reed. The first part of it was in regard to some other work, which 1 
 did not pay any attention to or charge my mind with. The part to 
 which he directed my attention and which he had referred to was 
 tin-: -You mention that yon are doing something for John. I hope 
 \ou will l>e can-fill not to do anything that will have the appearance of 
 being wrmitf." In his testimony. Dr. Reed admits having received this 
 letter, and that it contained a dame in which the writer thanked him 
 tor liis kindness toward his son. 
 
 With rc-ard to the surveys in which Orvil L. Grant hud an interest, 
 
VI SURVEYS IN TILE TERRITORY OF WYOMING. 
 
 the testimony of Mr. Stevens shows that a brother-in-law of Grant's, 
 named Medary, had several heavy contracts, first under Surveyor- 
 General Latham, subsequently under Dr. Eeed. Stevens says, u The 
 doctor told me in 1873 that Medary was to help Orvil out of some of his 
 debts." He also said that as Medary was " spending his money pretty 
 fast, there would be nothing left for Orvil." The witness further says 
 that in the spring of 1874 he asked the doctor whether Medary had 
 helped Orvil out as he promised, and the doctor said that was fixed 
 up all right. That in the summer of 1874 Medary had contracts all 
 the while to large amounts. That one day the doctor asked witness 
 what he thought Medary ought to make out of his work. Witness said, 
 " Not less than $5,000, however he manage." The doctor added, "That's 
 just what I thought, and just what I told Mr. Grant. I told Mr. Grant 
 that that ought to be the basis, and that if Medary did not report that 
 much profit, he had not managed his work right." This witness says 
 that Medary was by no means a favorite of the doctor's. That the 
 doctor told him one time that he did not like to have him about. That 
 he wished Grant would get somebody else. He could get a man who 
 would make more money for him and be pleasanter about the office. In 
 a letter written from Washington by Dr. Eeed to his clerk, he says : 
 " Medary's last draft has gone to Cedar Falls, and O. L. G. seems 
 worried that nothing has come from the source of his prosperity 
 yet," In another portion of the letter he says : "I have this moment 
 parted with O. L. G. I have suggested that he hire a good assist- 
 ant and go out on his own hook next season, for alt his plans seem 
 to have failed this year, and it is not certain he will receive a dollar 
 from M." 
 
 Dr. Eeed does not deny that Grant h ad an interest in all the con- 
 tracts given to Medary, although his name nowhere appears in any of 
 the papers on file in the land-office, nor was he in the Territory at any 
 time while the work was being done. The testimony further goes to 
 show that Medary himself was not a practical surveyor, and that the 
 work allotted to him was done by a compass-man by the name of Corey, 
 whom he employed by the month. Contracts were all awarded, as was 
 the case in those in which Delano was interested, at the maximum price 
 fixed by law. 
 
 Mr. Stevens also testifies that a man by the name of H. H. Houghton, 
 who published a newspaper at Galena, 111., called the Galena Advertiser, 
 had an interest to the extent of $600 in a surveying-contract to two 
 deputies named James and Eodgers. He does not know certainly that 
 Houghton received the money, but the deputies told him they had paid 
 it. He says the doctor told him he intended to help Mr. Houghton, who 
 was his old friend. That he had offered him a contract, but that he 
 could not come out there to work, and so he was going to let some of 
 the deputies make up to him about the amount he could make on a small 
 contract. 
 
 Your committee believe that John S. Delano, Orvil L. Grant, and 
 H. H. Houghton rendered no service whatever to the Government for 
 the money received by them, but that they were mere "dead-heads" 
 and pensioners upon the fund appropriated by Congress for surveys of 
 the public lands in the Territory of Wyoming for the year 1874, and 
 that Dr. Silas Eeed, the surveyor-general of that Territory, violated his 
 official oath by awarding contracts for surveying at the maximum price 
 upon condition that the deputies would divide their profits with men 
 who gave no equivalent for the money they received. The precise 
 amount of the public money thus fraudulently and corruptly used the 
 
RVEY8 IN Till: TERRITORY OF WYOMING. VII 
 
 committee are unable to state, but it is quite certain that it amounts to 
 several thousand dollars, and that the entire sum should ha\ebeen 
 saved to the Government, because the evidence shows that the work 
 could and would have been done by the deputies to whom the contracts 
 were awarded at the price they actually received after deducting the 
 amount each was compelled to pay to his silent partner as a bonus for 
 his contract. 
 
 In justification of his conduct in thus misapplying the public moi 
 Dr. Reed says he was induced to oiler Mr. Delano an interest in >ui- 
 \e\ ing-contracts because he was unwell, and he, as a physician, knew 
 that if he could get him to goto the mountains his health would be 
 red ; that he was his father's only son, and as he, witness, had but 
 one son, he had great sympathy for the father. As to Orvil L. Grant, 
 he had been burned out in Chicago and was poorj besides. Medary 
 was a single man, while Grant had a family and was supporting V 
 ry's mother, and he thought it was no more than ri-ht that the la 
 should divide profits with him. When it is remembered that one of 
 these recipients of the Government bounty is a near blood relative of 
 the then Secretary of the Interior and the other of the President, and 
 that the sympathizing doctor held his official position at the pleasure 
 of these two high officials, it will be seen that the motive which 
 prompted him to relieve their necessities was as humane and unselfish 
 as any that ever moved the philanthropic heart of the illustrious IVcK 
 sniff. Although the fact that this unfaithful official had been guilty of 
 corruptly using the public money was known to the authorities by 
 whose favor he held his office in March, yet he was permitted to retain 
 his position until the month of August, when, as will be seen by the fol- 
 lowing letter of President Grant, his resignation was accepted : 
 
 LONG BRANCH, N. J., August ?. I 
 
 DEAR SIR : Your letter of resignation of the 30th of July was duly received, but has 
 not been acted upon until now. I have this day forwarded it to the Secretary of the In- 
 terior, with instructions to accept it to take effect on the 10th September, or as soon there- 
 after as your successor may qualify. In accepting your resignation allow me to say that I 
 know of no reason to be dissatisfied with your administration of the office of surveyor- 
 general. On the contrary, I believe it has been efficiently, and advantageously to the Gov- 
 ernment, rilling during your entire administration. 
 
 With sincere wishes for your welfare, and assurances of my personal friendship, I am, 
 very truly, your obedient servant, 
 
 U. S. GR 
 Dr. SILAS Rv.\ i>. 
 
 Surviyor-Gencral, W. T. 
 
 Your committee deem it necessary, in order to prevent any misapi 
 priation of the money set apart for defraying the expenses of surveying 
 tlu> public lands in the future, to recommend that the law regulating 
 surveys should be so amended as to impose a penalty upon surveyors- 
 general who may award a contract to any one not a skillful surveyor, 
 and also a penalty upon any person reC I contract \\ ho m. 
 
 or refuse to superintend the work allotted him in person. 
 
 WAI. Ml TC111 . 
 \. i:. BOONB, 
 
 XDER& 
 
TESTIMONY 
 
 TAKEN BY THE 
 
 niHMITTEE (IX EXPEXDITCIK IX THE IXTERIoll liEI'AIITIIEU, 
 
 IN RELATION TO 
 
 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR GOVI;K\VKNT SURVEYS IN 
 
 WYOMING TERRITORY. 
 
 Wx- D.C., J/arcA25, 1876. 
 
 B. 11. Bui- io\v sworn and examined. 
 
 By the CHAIUMAN : 
 
 ~ Question. It has been represented to this committee that, during the time that Ex-Secretarv 
 Delano was the Secretary of the Interior, a letter, purporting to have been written by him a 
 addressed to a certain party or parties who had been engaged in surveying public lands ii 
 some of the Territories, accidentally came into your possession, and that you conceived it 
 proper to lay that letter before the President, and did so. Will you state whether such 
 the fact? Answer. This Question is put to me without a moment's notice of the reason for 
 inviting my attendance before this committee, and relates to a matter which was brought to 
 my attention by a stranger, and which did not belong to my Department, but I will state 
 the facts as well as I can from memory. 
 
 Some time last year, a Mr. Stevens, whose given name I do not remember, and whom I 
 do not personally know and never saw, wrote me from Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory in- 
 closing certain papers with request that I should lay them before the President. Subse- 
 quently, and I should say some months afterward, Mr. Stevens wrote me again asking that 
 the papers be returned to him. I returned them to Mr. Stevens, who, as I understand resides 
 Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, and was formerly, as his letter advised me, employed in 
 the office of the surveyor-general of that Territory. I cannot undertake to state, with any- 
 thing like accuracy, the contents of the papers, which passed out of my hands some months 
 ago. I ought to say that there was nothing in the papers inclosed in Mr. Stevens's letter 
 implicating the then Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Delano, so far as I remember in any in 
 proper transaction. 
 
 Q. Was there among those papers a letter from the Secretary of the Interior addressed to 
 Mr. Stevens, or to any other person, in which he spoke of the liberality of these people in 
 compensating his son John for any services rendered t A. I think not." I think there was 
 a letter and I speak with great hesitancy, because it was not a matter of my own and I 
 did not charge my memory particularly with it. I did with the papers only what teemed to 
 be a matter of duty, and in pursuance of the request of the writer. I think there was a let- 
 ter from the late Secretary of the Interior to the surveyor-general of the Territory, thanking 
 mm tor some kindness toward his sou, who, it appears, had been out there : but, so far ail 
 recollect, tin n was nothing in the letter relating to any compensation or money transaction 
 in terms, or by any implication that occurred to me. On reflection, I think Mr. Stevens'* 
 letter did not cover any letter from the Secretary of the Interior, l.ut that the writer Ste- 
 vens, said be hud seen a letter from Secretary Delano to the surveyor-general, thanking (ho 
 latter for his kindness to his (the Secretary's) son. I hope I may be permitted to add to 
 that answer that I was a good deal embarrassed by having the papers placed in my posses- 
 they raiiM- to me from an entire stranger. Why he should have sent them to me I 
 <lo I,,,; know. 
 
 Q. State what the papers related to. A. The papers related to surveying contracts in 
 ng Territory. I am sorry that I cauuot give the full name of Mr. Stev 
 
 COIMII. 
 
 Q. Was Mr. St. v, us the surveyor ? A. I tlm .. u was a clerk or a deputy, or 
 
 hold some office in the survey or- gen. r ^aid he held some po* 
 
 was not the surveyor-general. V is that the surveyor-general's name was 
 Reed. 
 
 Q. Will you state for what purpose you were requested to laj the papers before the Preal- 
 
2 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 dent? A. I cannot say that the purpose was expressed in the letter of Mr. Stevens to me. 
 I think I returned the whole of the papers, including Mr. Steveos's letter, to him. I will 
 not be positive about the return of his letter, but I know I returned the inclosures to him, 
 at his request. 
 
 Q. What were those papers ? A. It is impossible for me to state definitely. I did not 
 feel that it was a matter connected with my Department, or in connection with which I was 
 charged with any official duty. There were peculiar circumstances surrounding me at the 
 time which embarrassed me very much by having the papers come into my possession, and 
 when Mr. Stevens called for them I returned them to him. I ought to repeat that, so far 
 as I have any recollection at all, there was nothing in the papers inclosed in Mr. Stevens's 
 letter involving the Secretary of the Interior in any improper transaction. 
 
 Q. Was there anything in the papers involving any other person in any improper action ; 
 and, if so, whom ? A. On their face they did. 
 
 Q, Who was that person ? A. The surveyor-general of the Territory and Mr. John Delano, 
 the son of the Secretary of the Interior. I ought to add that I saw but one side of the matter, 
 and do not know but what there is a perfect explanation of that. 
 
 Q. In what way did they involve the surveyor-general and the Secretary's son in any im- 
 proper action ? A. The papers indicated that there had been an interest in a surveying con- 
 tract set apart for Mr. John Delano. I am not at all familiar with the business of a surveyor- 
 general's office, and, perhaps, have less knowledge of it than any gentleman ot this com- 
 mittee. I mean to say that I know nothing of the business of such office, but, according to 
 my recollection, the papers showed that when certain contracts were given to deputy sur- 
 veyors and I do not know that that is the proper designation or to persons who did the 
 work of surveying at particular rates, that a part of the contract-price was reserved for Mr. 
 John Delano. 
 
 Q. Can you state what that amounted to ? A. I cannot. 
 
 Q. Was it not about $60,000? A. O, no ; nothing like it. So far as these papers showed, 
 I should say from my best recollection it was not to exceed four or five thousand dollars 
 perhaps not over two or three thousand. I do not state the amount with positiveness, but I 
 think it was a few thousand dollars. 
 
 Q. I believe you have already stated that you do not know the name of the surveyor- 
 general? A. I think his name was Reed, as I have stated heretofore. My impression is 
 that he has been removed, and, while I don't know the fact, I have an impression on my 
 mind that his removal resulted from this information. I laid the papers before the President 
 because the writer requested me |o do so, and because I deemed it my duty, arid I re- 
 quested the President to return them to me for the same reason ; that is, that the writer re- 
 quested me to get them and to return them to him. 
 
 Q. Do you know certainly that you have returned all those papers to Mr. Stevens ? A. 
 I am very sure I returned all the inclosures of his letter. Whether I returned his original 
 letter or not I cannot state positively without looking over my own files. 
 
 Q. If you still have that letter you can produce it, can you not? A. Undoubtedly I can. 
 It is entirely possible that if I did not return the letter I may have destroyed it, but I will look 
 at my files, ani if it is there, it is at the service of the committee. I ought to add that the 
 letter indicated that there had been some personal difference between the writer and the 
 surveyor-general, and, possibly, Mr. Delano. At any rate, I saw that it was a personal 
 quarrel to which I did not want to become a party. 
 
 Q. How long before Mr. Delano resigned did this transpire ? A. I cannot answer that 
 question with any definiteness. I think the papers came to me some time during the spring 
 or summer, but really I do not remember the time, nor can I say certainly when Mr. Delano 
 resigned, though I think in September or October. 
 
 Q. You do not remember, then, whether his resignation was accepted a short time after 
 the President came into possession of the knowledge of the facts in relation to this matter ? 
 A. I cannot state the time with anything like definiteness. 
 
 Q. To whom was the letter from the Secretary, thanking the person for attention paid to 
 his son, addressed ? A. I repeat that, on reflection, I think Mr. Stevens's letter to me con- 
 tained no letter from Secretary Delano, but that Mr. Stevens, in his letter to me, said he 
 had seen such a letter from Mr. Delano to the surveyor-general, as I have before stated. 
 
 Q. The only evidence, then, as I understand, of the fact that John Delano had received a 
 portion of the money that was rea'ized by the contract was contained in the letter of Mr. 
 Stevens ? A. I do not wish to be so understood. 
 
 Q. Please state what evidence there was of fraud in the other papers accompanying the 
 letter. A. The papers, as I remember them, were checks ; by whom drawn, I cannot say. 
 There were some bank-checks, and the paper to which Mr. Stevens seemed to attach great- 
 est importance was a draft, which bore the indorsement of Mr. John Delano. The amount 
 
 do not remember definitely, but I think it was about $1,000. 
 
 Q. By whom was the draft drawn ? A. It was a draft, according to my recollection, of 
 
 bank at Cheyenne, drawn on New York. I do not recollect to whose order it was paya- 
 ble, but one of the indorsements purported to be made by John Delano. His name was on 
 Mr. Stevens, in his letter, alleged that the draft was part of the proceeds of a surveying 
 xontract. 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. 3 
 
 Q. In addition to that draft, I understand yon to say there were checks ? A. I thinfc one 
 or more bank-checks, and, perhaps, two or three notes. 
 
 Q. Do you remember the amount of the checks or notes T A. I do not. 
 
 Q. Can you remember to whose order they were drawn f A. I cannot. My impression 
 is that Mr. Stevens, in his letter, claimed to have kept the account himself and to have made 
 the deposit, drawing the checks and paying the money, but to whom he claimed to have 
 paid it I do not recollect. 
 
 t,. What was the date of this letter? Was it subsequent to the date of the check or the 
 draft, or prior thereto 'A. I cannot state about that. I do not remember. 
 
 Q. Do you remember whether there were any other documents in the package of papers, 
 excepting the drafts and checks, that would indicate any irregularities on the part of Mr. 
 Delano, excepting the letter of Mr. Stevens himself his own allegations f A. None at all. 
 Among the papers sent me by Mr. Stevens was a letter from John Delano to the surveyor- 
 general, but my recollection of its contents is not sufficiently distinct to enable me to speak 
 with any degree of certainty about it. My best recollection is that it gave the surveyor- 
 general direction as to how a certain contract should be made and in whose name. 
 
 , March2S, 1876. 
 BENJAMIN H. BRISTOW recalled. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN . 
 
 Question. Is there anything further you desire to state, Mr. Secretary, in relation to this 
 matter? If so, we would like you to state it. Answer. I can state/Mr. Chairman, that 
 since I was before the committee the other day I have examined my riles and do not find 
 that I have retained any of Mr. Stevens's letters. Whether I returned them to him or de- 
 stroyed them I cannot say. 
 
 By Mr. BOONE : 
 
 Q. I believe you said you would give us his given name? A. Yes, sir ; I find, from a 
 letter-press copy, that my letter dated July 1st, returning the papers, was addressed to Mr. 
 L. C. Stevens. I find by this letter that his letter to me inclosing the papers was of date 
 24th of March. 
 
 Q. You spoke of some notes. Do you remember by whom they were drawn and by 
 whom they were given, and were they ordinary notes of hand promises to pay T A, The 
 names of the parties were all wholly unfamiliar to me, and I cannot give them, although my 
 impression is that the notes were alleged by Mr. Stevens to be given by the deputy survey- 
 ors, or the parties who had the surveying contracts. I don't know that that is what they are 
 called. To whom they were payable 1 cannot answer, although Mr. Stevens alleged they 
 were executed for the benefit of John Delano. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN : 
 
 Q. You returned the papers on the 1st of July f A. Yes ; and I find by this letter that 
 the date of his letter inclosing them to me was the 24th of March. 
 
 Q. Have yon any idea what the date was when you received his letter? A. I have not ; 
 I suppose I received it in the ordinary course of mail. 
 
 Q. That would bring it here about the 1st of April f A. Somewhere about that I should 
 say, though I Imve no independent recollection of it at all. 
 
 Q. ( a. how long after you received the letter it was before you ]aid$t before the 
 
 President f A. It was a very few days. 
 
 '/ Hw I..!-- dkl the papers remain with the President T A. From that time until about 
 the 1st of July. th.> time that 1 returned them. I think I did not keep them in my hands, 
 perhaps, not a day after I received them. I think I returned them the day I received them. 
 
 ( t >. 1 ><> von know whether the President sent for Mr. John Delano and had an interview 
 with him about the matter .' A. I do nt. 
 
 < t >. 1 1 1 vi.u ever have mi interview with the President yourself, after that time, in relation 
 , ; A. I did n..t ; 1 Imd no interview with the President on the subject, except when 
 I laid the papers before him, and then expressed no opinion whatever. 
 
 By Mr. B<> 
 Q. Can you state when Mr. Delano resigned? A. I think in September or October. 
 
 By the CHAIKM \N . 
 Q, 11 M-i^imtion was ao-.-pted, you mean, in September or October ? A. Well, what I 
 
 . he \\.-nt <ut i>t ..Hire in September or October. 
 
 Q. Do you know about the date of his resignation f A. I do not; I suppose I hare Man 
 it pulili-hed iii the impem, but have no recollection M to date. 
 
 ^ on have knowledge of the time when ex-Secretary Delano tendered his resigna- 
 tion U -A. 1 have not. 
 
4 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q Was cr was not this subject discussed in Cabinet meeting prior to the time that Secre- 
 tary Delano resigned ? A. At no time when I was present, and at no other time so far as I 
 know or am informed. 
 
 <J. Do you know how long Surveyor-General Reed retained his position after these facts 
 came to the knowledge of the President ? A. I do not, sir. 
 
 Q. There never was any investigation of this, so far as you know, by the Interior Depart- 
 ment ? A. I don't know of any, and I should not have known of any, perhaps, if it had 
 occurred. 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., March 31, 1876. 
 SILAS REED sworn and examined. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN : 
 
 Question. What are you engaged in at present ? Answer. I am not engaged in any 
 regular business in particular at present. 
 
 Q. Where do you reside? A. I have been residing in Wyoming for the last six years. I 
 was United States surveyor-general there. 
 
 Q. Tell what time you were surveyor-general ? A. Until the 23d of September last. 
 
 <Q. And you held that position for six years, did you ? A. Very nearly say six survey- 
 ing seasons. Saint Louis has been my standing home for thirty -nine years. I consider that 
 my chief home now. 
 
 Q. Were you removed or did you resign ? A. I resigned, sir. I found that letter in my 
 valise this morning. I did not know 1 had it with me. You can examine it. [Paper pro- 
 duced. ] That is the President's letter accepting my resignation. 
 
 The letter, which is marked " Exhibit A," reads as follows : 
 
 " LONG BRANCH, N. J., August 7, 1875. 
 
 "'DEAR SiR: Your letter of resignation of the 30th of July, was duly received, but has 
 not been acted upon until now. I have this day forwarded it to the Secretary of the In- 
 terior, with instructions to accept it, to take effect on the 10th of Sept., or as soon there- 
 after as your successor may qualify. In accepting your resignation, allow me to say that 
 I know of no reason to be dissatisfied with your administration of the office of surveyor- 
 general. On the contrary, I believe it has been efficiently and advantageously to the Gov- 
 ernment filled during your entire administration. 
 
 "With sincere wishes for your welfare, and assurances of my personal friendship, I am, 
 -very truly, 
 
 "Your obedient servant, 
 
 "U. S. GRANT. 
 -"Dr. SILAS REED, 
 
 " Surveyor- (.ienerdl, Wyoming Territory. 11 
 
 'Q. Had you ever had any communication with the President prior to the date when you 
 tendered your resignation ? A. I saw him personally frequently. 
 
 Q. Did you come on to Washington and see him personally ? A. No ; I was here last 
 winter and spring most of the time, pursuing a claim here (in this Congress) of mine for 
 property taken in Saint Louis for custom-house. 
 
 Q. That was during the winter of 1874-1875? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 <^. Did you tender your resignation while here ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you and the President have any talk at that time about your resignation? A. I 
 do not think we did. The last time I saw him before I went back to Wyoming was on the 
 29th of April. I had a long talk with him about this affair then ; but nothing was said 
 about my resignation, or his removing me, or anything of the kind. 
 
 <J. What gave rise to the talk about this affair? A. Because I found that this chief 
 clerk of mine had been purloining papers from the bank and from my office, and sent them 
 down here to Ex-Governor Campbell, and Campbell had taken them to Bristow, as I 
 .learned, and Bristow had shouldered them and taken them up to the President, and had it 
 telegraphed over the country that grave charges had been filed against Mr. Delano. The 
 looked at the papers, and I heard of it, and went up and saw him the 29th of 
 
 . You knew nothing about the affair until you saw it in the newspapers ? A. I do not 
 tnow whether I understand your question. 
 
 Q. Why, the first intimation that you received that these papers had been sent on by 
 your clerk was derived through the newspapers ? A. O, I derived it here at that time. 
 
 Q. Who told you ? A. Well, I think I got the first information here on my arrival from 
 iSaint Louis. I had been out to Saint Louis on some business the fore part of April, and I 
 returned and stopped on my way to Boston for my wife and took her with me to the mount- 
 ains, and I derived information here, whether from some party in the Land-Office or whether 
 from John Delano, I would not be certain now, but I might have got it from both. 
 
 
pi in 
 
 GOVIRNMKM SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. .' 
 
 Q. That was early in 1875 ? A. I pot that information on the 28th of April, ii 
 ing, and on the 29th I went to see the President to see whether he had got such pap< 
 found that he had, and I tokl him that they were stolen and what they \\. : . He said that 
 he did not see that they amounted to anything, aud he had not seen tit to speak to Mr. Delano 
 about it. I remember that John Delano thought that Stevens was here at the time, and I 
 told him no, he was still acting as chief clerk at my office, and when I found he was treacb- 
 I telegraphed the evening of the 29th to Cheyenne his removal from ray office. 
 
 1 / Where were the papers at that time ? A. I suppose they were in the President's bands. 
 I understood the President so. 
 
 Q. Did you ask him for them T A. Well, I don't know whether I did or not. I think I 
 may have asked him for Mr. John Delano's letters. It strikes me I did, but I ivn . 
 his saying that he would return them to John Delano to whom they belonged ; that he had 
 not thought enough of it to mention it to Secretary Delano or pay any attention to it, and 
 that he would return them to John Delano. That is my impression now, although I would 
 uot like to be positive. 
 
 Did you and the President look over the papers together f A. No, sir. 
 Did you see them f A. No, sir ; never have seen them since they were stolen from my 
 deal 
 
 V. Did you ask him to let you look at them ? A. I cannot be positive. Something was 
 said about the papers. 
 
 Q. If you did, he refused to show them to you, did he ? A. If J did ask him that, I think 
 he declined I remember the remark he made that he would hand them back to John Del- 
 ano. I told him one of them was a private letter, or a semi-official letter to me, and I did 
 not think that ought to be floating about, because it would be misunderstood or misrepre- 
 sented among strangers. 
 
 Q. These papers were sent by your clerk to Ex-Governor Campbell and by him given to 
 Secretary Bristow ? A. That is what I heard ; that was the understanding. 
 
 Q. And by Secretary Bristow given to the President ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 i l<>\\ fs it, then, that they belong to John Delano ? A. Because that was his letter, and 
 the other was his canceled draft. 
 
 Q. To whom was the letter addressed ? A. To me, sir. 
 
 Q. By whom was the draft drawn ? A. It was drawn in Mr. Delano's name, by our bank. 
 
 1 /. Tii.- draft had been paid, had it not ? A. Yes ; and came back to the bank. 
 
 (}. Then, if it was John Delano's letter to you, and it was a draft to John Delano which 
 had been paid, how did the papers belong to John Delano f A. The canceled draft belonged 
 to our bank, really, I suppose. 
 
 Q. The letter belonged to you, did it not ? A. Strictly speaking, the letter belonged to 
 me. 
 
 Q. Still, you say the president said he would hand them to John Delano because th. 
 longed to him ? A. Well, John Delano wrote it to me. I do not know what he thought 
 about it. My thought in saying they belonged to John Delano was that he seemed to me 
 the most rightful owner, after they were out of the hands ot our bank, and my office. 
 
 Q. You knew the papers did not belong to John Delano ? A. Well, strictly speaking, I 
 may say the letter belonged to me, and the canceled draft to our bank. 
 
 When the President then said to you that they belonged to John Delano, ami he \- 
 return them to him, did you correct him 'A. He did not make that remark, that they fo- 
 loniful to Delano did not say that. 
 
 Q. You said the President said the papers belonged to John Delano, and he would : 
 till-in to him. A. Well, I am giving my recollection as near as I can. I know very well be 
 said he would return them to John Delano, hut whether he used the remark that they be- 
 longed to John Delano, I cannot say. At first blush it seemed to me they belonged to John 
 Delano. 
 
 g. There were other papers besides this letter to you and this draft T A. I do not know, 
 sir. 
 
 (.,. Were there not some notes among these papers f A. No ; I do not think there were. 
 there not some checks T A. I do not know of any. There were checks, prob- 
 ably, passed, but I do not know of any checks in the hands of ih Pn s 1 there were 
 checks, they were stolen out of our bank. I have not discovered them missing yet, nor 
 hunted for them. 
 
 I he only papers that you knew of, theu, were John Delano's letter addressed to you, 
 Mis draft ? A. Yes. Well, I remember they spoke of checks. 
 \Vho spoke of checks 'A Well, the parties who were dUcusaing this thing at that 
 
 Who were they A. I heard them talk around the newspaper office* up thr: 
 think Boynton spoke of them as checks in b B. 1 apeak now only my impression. 
 
 TotheCincimm: -A. One, 1 think, to the Cincinnati Gazette, and one to tbe 
 
 Saint Louis Democrat, aud one to the Chicago Tribune. 
 
 WH-, that the only means you had of knowing there were notes and checks amouf 
 these papers t A. Yes. I have never seen them since they have been here. 
 
 nly information you had on that subiect is what you taw in the newspaper* f 
 ! it in that way and in convert 
 
6 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 r Q. With whom was this conversation ? A. I talked with several here. I know that 
 John Delano told me he had inquired into it pretty thoroughly, and that this canceled draft 
 had come here, and some of his letters had come here, and checks. 
 
 Q. Did not say anything about notes ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Did John Delano tell you where he got his information, or from w r hom he got it ! A. 
 I do not remember now that he did. I know he said Stevens was here, and he brought 
 down these papers from Cheyenne, and they had been given to Campbell, and Campbell 
 had given them to Bristow, and Bristow to the President. I asked the President who gave 
 them to him. He would not tell me ; but I found out it was Bristow who took them up, 
 and that tallied with Boynton's flash telegram of J9th or 20th of April. 
 
 Q. Who told you that Bristow had taken them to the President ? A. John Delano, for 
 one. I remember this distinctly. I do not know that I could name any others now. I 
 know it was talked around in the circle of my acquaintance here in the city. 
 
 Q. Did John Delano tell you that he had had an interview with the President in relation 
 to the papers ? A. I do not remember that he did. 
 
 Q. I wish you would try and remember whether or not he told you he had had an inter- 
 view with the President in relation to this matter. A. Well, I do not remember whether he 
 did or not, and still I would not be surprised if he told me he got this information from the 
 President. I will not be positive now. 
 
 Q. You think he told you that ? A. Well, I will not say that T even think so ; but since 
 you recall my mind to it, I am rather under the impression that he said he had seen the 
 President and talked with the President ; but I am not positive at all on that point. 
 
 Q. Do you remember whether he told you that the President had sent for him ? A. No ; 
 I do not believe he did. I do not remember anything of that kind. Some papers stated so, 
 I think. 
 
 Q. But you think he did tell you that he had had an interview with the President about 
 the papers ? A. I say I think he may have told me that. My mind is not clear about 
 that, or what he said about that. I know he had the impression that Stevens was here 
 must be here ; and when I came in on the evening of the 2dth of April, 1875, and met him, 
 I did not know that there was anything going on in this line until I met him at his hotel. 
 
 Q. You say you telegraphed on the 29th of April, removing Mr. Stevens ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you appoint his successor immediately ? A. Yes ; I appointed a man to take 
 charge of the office until I got there. 
 
 Q. Who was that? A. One of my deputies, who had been chief clerk before Stevens. 
 
 Q. What was his name ? A. Charles J. Reed, of Iowa. 
 
 Q. Is he a relative of yours ? A. Yes, sir ; a nephew of mine. He had been chief clerk 
 a couple of years when I first went up there. 
 
 Q. Did you re-instate Stevens ? A. No, sir ; I do not think I did. 
 
 Q. You know whether you did or not? A. I know that I did not. 
 
 Q. Did you get possession of these papers afterward ? A. What papers ? 
 
 Q. The papers that were in the hands of the President ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. You never saw the papers after they left your office in Cheyenne "1 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you know who got them from the President ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. All you know about it is the President told you he would return them to John Dela- 
 no? A. That is what I understood him. 
 
 Q. You knew the papers belonged to you, but you were perfectly willing that they should 
 be in the hands of John Delano ? A. I did not say that. 
 
 Q. You made no objection to the President returning them to John Delano ? A. I did not 
 want to parley with the President about it, for he did not think them of moment enough to 
 inquire of the Delanos about it. I did not think much about it, or care much about it, one 
 way or the other. I did not trouble myself particularly about it. 
 
 Q. You do not know what became of the papers? A. No, sir ; only what I read. 
 
 Q. Was there among these papers a letter from ex-Secretary Delano to you? A. I do 
 not know w r hether there was or not. I read of a letter described by Stevens, and I weot to 
 Mr. Stevens last summer, and charged him with taking it from my desk, and he said he 
 had not the letter. I said, " Have you that letter ? I cannot find it the letter Mr. Delano 
 wrote me in October, alluding to this matter;" and he said no, but he had seen it, and 
 remembered its contents. That is what he told me last summer. I asked him how he got 
 John Delano's letter to me. I said, "You purloined that out of my desk." He said, "No," 
 I had handed it to him and he had kept it. I knew better ; I denied the truth of his state- 
 ment. 
 
 Q. Did you go to him and ask him to return the letter from Ex-Secretary Delano to you ? 
 A. I forget whether I asked him to return it. I went and asked him about that, and some 
 other things. 
 
 Q. You say you went to him and asked him for the letter from Ex -Secretary Delano to 
 you? A. I asked him if he had taken that letter out of my desk, and he said no. I said, 
 <s I think you have ; I saw it referred to in these telegrams in the matter furnished by you/' 
 and he said he had only looked at the letter and remembered it. Well, I have not been 
 able to find the letter since, and I think he purloined it, the same as he did the John Delano 
 letter. 
 
GOVERNMENT STKVKYS IN W\O! 1RRITORY. 
 
 tor. 
 
 having 
 An interest in a comraci wmcn wouiu mwi uia o*pcuooo. * v / *ju*oui- , ua . what I 
 
 * Q You think you mentioned to him the fact that he had an interest in a contract that 
 would meet his expenses? A. Yes, something to that effect. In his reply he thanked me 
 t,,r inv kindness toward John in a general way. 
 
 Q, "What was the word " Uin.lm-ss " or "liberality T "A. I should say "kindness; I 
 do not think there wis any "liberality" stated about it in his letter or mine. 
 
 Q. Was it kindness or favor ? A. Well, it may have been favor or kindness. One of 
 those wor-ls: the latt.-r, I believe. 
 
 O. What was this kindness or favor that the Ex-Secretary alluded to t A. It was in 
 regard to whatever I said to him. He hoped I would be careful not to do anything that 
 ,1 look like compromising him or his Department in any way. 
 
 Q He advised you to be careful ? A. Yes, something to that effect. I could not repeat 
 the language. That was the first he knew anything about this, as far as I know, that I bad 
 connected John Delano in a contract the spring before. 
 
 Q. When did John Delano arrive in Wyoming Territory ? A. He did not get there until 
 
 V.' How long did he remain t A. Well, he remained some time ; went over the Territory 
 with me, and went to Utah with me, and around over the mountains a good deal. He went 
 to the Colorado Mountains also. 
 
 Q. When did he return to Washington ? A. I do not think he returned to Washington 
 until the following January, as far as I know. 
 
 Q. In how many contracts did Mr. Delano have an interest ? -A. Well, I do not think I 
 could repeat them without reflection ; have no memorandum with me. 
 
 Q Repeat some of them. A. Three or four contracts. They were very small contracts, 
 the most of them, except the first one, and that was as small as the usual season contracts. 
 
 Q. What was the first contract for ? A. Surveying public lands. 
 
 Q. Township lines ? A. Some township lines, and some section lines. 
 
 Q What was the amount of that contract ? A. It was about $4,000. 
 
 n. Who was the contractor ? A. One of my deputies by the name of Hammond i 
 
 Q. \Vhat was his first nauie ? A. He signs his name J. Wesley Hammond. 
 
 (}. Where does he live ? A. He lives in Cheyenne. 
 
 Q. Has he a contract at the present time /A. No, sir. 
 
 < What was John Delano's interest in that contract? A. It was a half interest. 
 
 ' Then he realized over two thousand dollars from that contract ? A. No, sir ; 
 not.' When I say " half interest," I mean half of the proceeds after paying bis 1m 
 expenses, and paying the deputy for surveying tis portion of it, at the 
 month, for his individual service. , . 
 
 Q. What was the amount of profits that he realized from it 
 
 B other contract in which he had an interest. A. Do you mean to whom 
 
 ^ to" whom ^as the contract given T A. There were some small contracts given to 
 some of the deputies; three or four small contracts. This contract that I W*** 
 of Mr. Hammond's, was given early in the spring, in May, 1874, so that he "&" 
 field very early. It was given out of the appropriation of the yea ' P">vious, an old 
 of appropriation, with a view to get them to the field early, and that ^jAJjJldi 
 tin-in at that time in that way. There was 
 that I had set aside a certain amount of w 
 and do it, or furnish a good man to go in D 
 reliable, experienced, and honest deputy, v 
 
 a contract, and that he might suggest some ntu -. - 
 
 a partner of his, they remonstrated against introducing more new men w he offi^. 1 b* 
 a good many deputies, and they did not want any new ones to be mtro M* \\ . . . t . 
 proposed that they would prefer to do this work, and work ^ft 00 **^ 1 ^ Mr 
 
 as his partners, on the same principle as though they were all in thefi 
 
 part 11. rs, on the same principle as i uwjr '--, , * ~, 
 
 ft name would have bin in the <"**** SS.^S dv?n!r*aml whSl 
 
 -M-* eanifl ^ 
 
 there, and roftV* 
 
 ,,,uti,-s,,th.-r H.-,Mirat.-o.ii- 
 
 >, it was divided up into small parts 
 around among them. 
 
8 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. John Delano's name did not appear in any of the contracts ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. It has not been your habit to give contracts to persons who were not practical survey- 
 ors? A. Yes, sir, I have, but put a practical surveyor with them, and that is often done. ' 
 
 Q. Did you ever do that to any person except John Delano ? A. Why, yes, to several. 
 
 Q. You did award a contract to a person other than John Delano who was not a practical 
 surveyor ? A. Yes, sir ; I put any man's name in whom I wanted to introduce into the 
 service, but united him with a good, experienced surveyor. 
 
 Q. So far as a contract was concerned, you never did ? A. I awarded a man a certain 
 amount of work to do, sometimes not a practical surveyor, and I selected a good deputy to 
 go in with him, or if he selected one that I thought was perfectly competent I approved 
 him. That is done by all surveyor-generals. 
 
 Q. You say you have awarded contracts to persons who were not practical surveyors. 
 Did you put a practical surveyor with them ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did the papers show that any other person besides John Delano had a contract who 
 was not a practical surveyor 1 A. Well, if I understand you, I say no, sir. The papers 
 did not show the practical from the non-practical deputy. 
 
 Q. So far as the papers showed, then, the contract was always with a deputy ? A. Always 
 with my old deputies, as the only party named in the contract. 
 
 Q. But, in fact, it was with some other person ? A. In fact another person had an inter- 
 est as a partner in the work set apart to him by me. 
 
 Q. The contract was made with some other person and the deputy simply appeared in the 
 papers'? A. No; the contract was written in the name of the deputy who performed the 
 work. The contract of so much surveying was awarded to another party, and these deputies 
 took it as partners in equal profits, and had the contracts made in their names, only in the case 
 of John Delano, and they worked it up and divided the profits, after paying all expenses 
 and paying themselves for their work, as deputies on his half, at the rate of $125 a month. 
 
 Q. What other persons besides John Delano had interests in these contracts ? A. The 
 men whose names would appear in the contract my old deputy, Mr. Hays ; and Mr. Thomas, 
 I think, is another. 
 
 Q. Mr. Thomas had an interest in a contract ? A. Yes ; he was surveying all summer 
 for himself first. 
 
 Q. What other people had interests in these contracts who were not practical surveyors, 
 besides John Delano f A. Nobody. 
 
 Q. Then you take back what you said awhile ago ? A. You are speaking of contracts 
 of 1874. You asked me if I ever put anybody into a contract that was not a practical sur- 
 veyor. I told you I had. 
 
 Q. Well, tell me who. A. The two Downeys, of Laramie City, in 1870, after acting 
 awhile as learners to old deputies. I took deputies with me when I went there. I had 
 been an old surveyor-general, and I took with me from Missouri those whose honesty I could 
 trust in the spring of 1870, and I kept them with me all the time, so that my surveys on the 
 ground are particularly represented by the notes. The corners are there, too. 
 
 Q. What other persons besides the two Downeys and John Delano had interests in these 
 contracts ? A. This I now refer to was away back in the beginning of my administration. 
 The Downeys' names were in their contracts. I had to drill men who were not thorough 
 surveyors at that time work them in with old surveyors. I had to use the solar compass 
 in all cases, and it took a good deal of practice to learn the use of it. The Downeys were 
 contractors. 
 
 Q. Do you mean to say that surveyors were so scarce at that time that you had to teach 
 men the art of surveying ? A. No, sir ; perhaps not. 
 
 Q. What do you mean? A. I wanted to take in some men whose honor and honesty 
 and fidelity I had confidence in, and I educated some of them to the business there ; and I 
 did the same thing when I was surveyor-general of Illinois and Missou*i, and four deputies 
 became surveyor-generals afterward. 
 
 Q. Then it was part of your business as surveyor-general of Wyoming to educate peo- 
 ple in the art of surveying ? A. Not alone. I put them with other men. 
 
 Q. Why did you put such men in when you could have practical surveyors in the first 
 instance ? A. I did not know who I could trust. 
 
 Q. Did you award contracts, then, to men who were not practical surveyors simply be- 
 cause you feared you could not trust those who were practical surveyors ? A. I do not pre- 
 tend to say I awarded a contract to a man who was not a practical surveyor, unless he was 
 in partnership with a man who was a practical surveyor. He would go with him. 
 
 Q. In making out the papers of these contracts, did you ever insert the name of a person 
 who was not a practical surveyor 1 A. Why, yes ; certainly I have ; that is a common 
 thing. 
 
 Q. Now, to whom did you award a contract who was not a practical surveyor ? A. 
 Well, sir, the very first or second contract I gave to an old deputy who came up from Kan- 
 sas, and represented himself to be an old surveyor. 
 Q. He was a surveyor ? A. He had been a surveyor. 
 
 Q. You have stated that you awarded contracts to persons who were not surveyors? 
 A. Well, I put with him Captain Windsor, an assistant railroad engineer. 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVKYs IN WYOMING TERRITORY. 9 
 
 Q. Was the contract made out in the name of Captain Windsor, or in the name of this 
 surveyor .'A. lu the name of both of them. 
 
 (.,>. I'.. A hut other persons did you award contracts who were not practical surveyors? 
 A. Well, I made a great many rontniets, and it is pretty hard for me to keep the run of 
 all in my mind now. I know I put in the two Downeys, living in Laramie Citj, who 
 were surveyors, but not United States contractors before, and they surveyed a good deal 
 since. 
 
 Q. Were those contracts made out in the name of the Downeys ? A. They were made 
 out in the name of the Downeys, but I made them go out one season with some of the 
 deputies, before I gave them a contract, to learn the practical part of United States sur- 
 veying. 
 
 Q. You sent them out one season to learn the art of surveying, and then next season you 
 gave them a contract ? A. Well, that is about it. I took them into the business because 
 they were there, and urged upon me by the Laramie people. 
 
 Q. Were they able to learn the art of surveying in a few months ? A. Yes ; an edu- 
 cated man who gives his attention to it, can learn how to do it in six months, or even two 
 months, if very industrious. 
 
 Q. You have told us that Mr. John Delano's interest in the first contract was one-half. 
 What was his interest iii the next contract, and with whom was it made ? A. Mr. Hay had 
 a small contract. 
 
 t t . What was that contract for? A. That was for surveying. 
 
 Q. How much t A. Well, I cannot be positive about that. My impression is that it was 
 about $ 1,800 three townships ; that is as near to it as I remember. 
 
 Q. How much a mile ? A. Ten dollars a mile for section work. 
 
 Q. That is the maximum sum, is it not f A. Yes, for sectionizing ; that is what the law- 
 allows. 
 
 C v >. What was Mr. Delano's interest in that? A. One-half the profit of it; whatever was 
 made over expenses. 
 
 Q. Do you know what the profits were ? A. No, I do not know. 
 
 Q. In what other contract did he have an interest ? A. He had one of about the same 
 amount with John B. Thomas. 
 
 Q. Was that for surveying township lines ? A. I think so. 
 
 Q. How many ? A. About three townships ; not less than that ; might have been a 
 trifle over ; there would be a fraction of a township sometimes. 
 
 Q. Ten dollars a mile ? A. Yes ; there might be three townships, and a fraction, as 
 sometimes was the case. 
 
 Q. That contract was let at 10 a mile ? A. Ten dollars a mile. 
 
 Q. All let at the maximum sum t A. Yes ; I always let them at that during the six 
 seasons I was there. 
 
 Q. Mr. John Delano was interested in the contract awarded to Mr. Thomas T A. Yes. 
 
 <.,. Do you know what that amounted to ? A. No; I did not pay any attention to Hie 
 outlay of any of them but the first one. Mr. Hammond brought me his account, and he 
 told me what it cost, and the profits arising to both. 
 
 (,>. You think the contract amounted to $1,800 with Thomas ? A. Yes, that was about 
 it : might have varied a little from that. 
 
 c v >. 1 )' s not the surveying of three townships at$10 a mile, amount to more than $1,800? 
 A. No, sir ; That was the uniform price I paid during the six seasons there. It is gener- 
 ally very broken ground in the mountains ; most of the surveying there was on the mount- 
 ains. 
 
 O. What is the length of all the lines surveyed in three townships ? A. Sixty miles to 
 each township, if the township is just six miles square. If it is a little less or more, as it is 
 when you come up against the standard lines, it would overrun or underrun ; but awar 
 from the standard lines it is six miles square, and that gives sixty miles of surveying, and 
 at $10 a mile it makes $600, and three times $600 would be $1,800. 
 
 Q. These were adjoining townships ? A. Yes, generally; the contracts show that for 
 themselves. 
 
 Q. Was it necessary to run over the lines into the adjoining township? A. They sur- 
 veyed each township by itself. They would not go over the line until they had surveyed 
 the township. 
 
 Q. Then they surveyed the lines adjoining townships twice ? A. No, sir. 
 
 By Mr. ANDERSON : 
 
 Q. Were you sectionizing the township in surveying it ' A. Ye* : in-i-l.- the township 
 boundaries. 
 
 .' CM \IKV 
 
 Q. There is sixty miles of lineal measurement in a townshij I ; but that does 
 
 not include the boundary lines. They are surveyed before. This is what is called sec- 
 lionizing. It is not often that the same deputies who sect ionise survey the boundaries. 
 utraets. It is a sort of a check, one upon the other. 
 
10 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. Mention the next contract in which John Delano had an interest. A. Well, there was 
 one of the same amount with Mr. Alfred N. Rogers. 
 
 Q. Was his contract to survey townships, too ? A. Yes, sir ; that is my recollection. 
 
 Q. He is a practical surveyor, is he ? A. He surveyed there for six years. 
 
 Q. And Mr. Delano's interest in his contract was the same as in the other contracts one- 
 half? A. Yes. 
 
 Q. And he realized from it about $900, you think? A. O, no. When townships are fair,. 
 and not too broken or too rocky, they can save in the neighborhood of half. Now, if they 
 save half in surveying out an $1,800 contract, it costs $900 or more to survey it, (and it is 
 very expensive to survey there,) there is $900 left, and that is to be divided between the two 
 parties; but the deputy is to have his pay in addition; they charge $125 a month for the 
 partner's half. 
 
 Q. In what other contract did Mr. Delano have an interest ? A. He had an interest in 
 another small one with Mr. Reed, former chief clerk of mine. 
 
 Q. What was that contract for ? A. I cannot be positive whether that was $1,800 or not. 
 It seems to me he had four townships, but I cannot be positive about that. If I remember 
 rightly, he did not survey one of the townships that was in his contract. I think he left one 
 out. I cannot be very positive on that score. I think there was one he did not survey; 
 got out too late in the season, perhaps. It was $1,800, I think. 
 
 Q. Did he have an interest in any other contract ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Did not these deputy surveyors execute notes payable to Mr. John Delano, or to some 
 other person for him, before they entered upon the work? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. How was John Delano paid ? A. He was paid by the deputies after the contracts were 
 surveyed, and after the work was brought into the office, and the plats made out, and the 
 field-notes copied. It takes three or four months after the deputy comes in from the field, 
 sometimes, to get the accounts to Washington for settlement at the General Land-Office. 
 
 Q. The money was drawn in the name of a deputy ? A. Yes ; always is. 
 
 Q. John Delano's name never appeared in the contract, or in any papers connected with 
 it? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. And you say there were no notes executed by these deputy surveyors ? A. Hammond 
 made some note about it, but the note was not before he went out ; it was after he came in. 
 
 Q. Was it at that time ? A. Yes ; after the accounts and cost of survey were known. 
 
 Q. These notes were payable to John Delano ? A. Well, I do not remember as to that ; 
 I think not, however. They were not given to him, nor sent away from the office. 
 
 <J. They 'were executed for John Delano's use ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Before the draft was drawn for the surveys? A. When they found out what the profit 
 would be between them, then they made some memoranda of it. They could not find out 
 what the profit would be until they had finished the work and got back to the office. Most 
 of them surveyed that year 400 miles distant, and they would come in late in the fall and 
 have their notes examined and their plats made out three plats for each township those 
 notes all copied to come along with the plats to the Land-Office, and the account to come 
 with each, approved by the surveyor-general. Then when they had examined it here, after 
 a month a draft would issue and go to them. But when this amount was made up, then 
 they, by calculating their expenditures and time that they themselves had been surveying, 
 and taking them out of the sum-total, they knew what the balance was, and what they must 
 divide among them. 
 
 Q. What was your share of the profits of the surveys ? A. Well, I decline to answer 
 such a question as that, sir. 
 
 Q. I think you must answer. A. No, sir ; I do not think it is a proper question to ask 
 me, if I may be allowed to say it. 
 
 Q. Well, sir, you are not to be the judge of that. You were an officer of the United States 
 a surveyor-general. You will have to answer unless you say it would criminate you. A. 
 No, sir ; I say it would not criminate me. I say it is an insulting question. And I say 
 that no living man can say I ever received a dollar. 
 
 Q. Do you say the answer will not criminate you ? A. Yes ; I do. 
 
 Q. Then we ask you to answer the question. A. Then I say no dollar came to me. 
 
 Q. You received no portion of the profits of these contracts ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Neither directly nor indirectly ? A. No, sir ; not that I know of. 
 
 <J. Not that you know of ? A. Not that I remember of. 
 
 Q. You certainly would remember whether you did or did not receive any portion of the 
 profits of the surveys, either directly or indirectly. A. Yes; I remember very distinctly that 
 I did not. 
 
 Q. You say, then, upon your oath that you received no portion of the profits of these con- 
 tracts, either directly or indirectly ? A. I am not conscious of receiving anything, sir. 
 
 Q. Among the papers that you say Mr. Stevens stole from your desk, there is a draft, I 
 believe. A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Was it a check ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. What were those papers besides the letter from Secretary Delano to you ? A. Nothing 
 but letters, that I know of. 
 
 Q. Was there more than one letter ? A. I don't know. I have seen one in print that Mr. 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. 11 
 
 John Delano sent to me ; I have seen it copied and represented as being a letter to me, hut 
 whether is a true copy, I dmi't know. 
 
 Q. Who has thut .'-A. I don't know who has it. 
 
 o. Who showed it to you ?-A. I have seen only a copy of it in the paper. 
 
 O What paper? A. Well, I saw it in the New York Tribune, I think, and in a little 
 paper published in Wyoming since I came away from there I believe I have it with me-* 
 statement purporting to have been made by Mr. Stevens to Mr. Boynton, and Mr Boynton 
 telegraphed it all over the country. It is a statement that, while there is some little shadow 
 of truth in it. the greater part of it is a lie, as stated. 
 
 [Witness produces newspaper.] 
 
 The letter, which is marked Exhibit B, reads as follows : 
 
 " INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, WA N D. C., Slay 26, 1874. 
 
 DEAR GENERAL : I have been detained by my wife's illness, but hope at last to get off to 
 .saint 1'aul by Monday, and to reach Cheyenne in June. I shall have to return here by the 
 
 June on my wife's account, but shall go back West for the summer and fall. 
 " Hope you will be able to put Merriam (I think it had better be in his name) into a good 
 contract for me. I shall sadly need the profits for my summer's outlay-out of office, sick, 
 unable to attend to my own affairs, runs me behind a good deal. Thanks for your kind 
 
 "J.8.DKI..W. 
 The WITNESS. I don't know whether that letter is a copy. That is about the substance 
 
 of one of the lethrs. 
 
 e etrs. 
 
 O Is that the letter that was forwarded to Secretary Bnstow ? A. les, sir. 
 Q. Among the papers forwarded to Washington, was there not a letter 
 Delano to you ? A. I don't know. Mr. Stevens said he did not take it ; 
 
 g 0. lt bid you ever have any communication, either oral or in writing, with Ex-Secretary 
 Delano in relation to these contracts ?-A. No, sir ; except the little allusion that might have 
 
 " er ' 
 
 Thf Ex^rXwas ?wa e r r e ofUi'e fact that John Delano was interested in these con. 
 
 tracts, wa4 he not? A. I don't think he was until the fall. n c arrt >A , ft 
 
 Q Yet he alluded to the fact of your kindness toward John ? A. I had referred 
 contract, probably, in some way in October, when I wrote to him casually. 
 
 Q In your letter to the Secretary t-A. Yes, sir; I did not keep any copy. Nothing. 
 That is the first he knew anything about it, so far as I know. 
 
 Q You informed the Secretary in October, 1874, that you had taken John into a number 
 of contracts in surveying land in the Territory T-A. No, sir ; not any ^.^uf^^^v 
 
 O. What do you mean, then, by saying you alluded to it in your letter to the S< 
 in October ?-A. I alluded to it as his having an interest in the contracts, or a contract 
 
 th Q e To John's interest in the contracts there t-A. Yes, sir ; his having an interest there 
 Wh Q te W " fflT2 bf^yo'u tr ^ffSSS^^ or favor to. 
 
 Wa <J d gl&^%Xfc* the Pr-dent,^ you make known tot* fl 
 ident that John had interests in certain contracts T-A. 1 did tell him so, and 1 
 
 VKi; w^Uhri^noldhiniM, John DeUno had been interested in some 
 small contracts there. They were all small-every one of *"^^ ~ ! ^Sji2 
 his work up among those who wanted it; and I said, ''IWSTSJSlS l , 
 President, that John is a private citizen, not in any office, and that there ooj aid be J obje* 
 tion to my using him in a contract of surveying ;" and he said, 
 Delano had as much right to have a contract as any other private citizen. 
 
 Q. Do^yoJ know for what purpose John Delano w o Womin ?-A. Ye, sir; h IUD- 
 
 very probably, and get well, if he would come there an<f spend 
 
 SSSrSte^WfiaS&l 
 
 penses, and he said it would be entirely proper, anB thought well of it, and 
 
12 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 give him a contract. One question was, at that time, as to whether I should use his name 
 in the contract. I didn't know but if the public came to see his name there it would become 
 a matter of scandal and be misrepresented, and ought to be avoided if it could ; and he said, 
 " No ; I would not care for that. He has as much right to have a contract as anybody. He 
 is sick, and if you think it would benefit him, give him a contract ; put his name in, and 
 put a good, experienced, honest deputy with him." 
 
 Q. That conversation took place here in Washington with Mr. Drummond ? A. Yes, sir. 
 I think in February, 1874. 
 
 Q. Did you consult the Secretary about inviting him out there before you left the city ? 
 A. I did not consult him about giving John any contract. 
 
 Q. Did you consult Secretary Delano about inviting his son to go out to Wyoming ? A. 
 No, I had some conversation with the Secretary in regard to the condition of his son, then 
 in Minnesota, and I had the year before, when he was sick and went off to Texas ; and I 
 was here when he went off to Texas and when he came back, and I said he ought to go to 
 the' mountains. I urged upon John, in all my conversations with him, to go to the mount- 
 ains. That was in May and June, 1873. 
 
 Q. Did you talk with the Secretary after that in regard to it ? A. I talked about his going 
 to the mountains. 
 
 Did he agree he might go? A. No, sir; nor object. 
 
 \. Did you tell the Secretary you would give him an interest in these contracts ? A. No. 
 I did riot know that he knew anything about it until it was all over. Some time in the fall 
 of 1874 there was some allusion about it by myself, and then he replied to it in this letter 
 spoken of. He did not know it through me that his son was to have a contract or any in- 
 terest in the contracts whatever. 
 
 Q. You talked with the Commissioner of the Land-Office about giving him a contract. 
 Did you not make known the same intention to the Secretary of the Interior ? A. I did 
 not. 
 
 Q. Was it understood with John before he went out there that he was to have an interest 
 in contracts ? A. Yes, sir ; I used it as an argument to get him there. 
 
 Q. Why were you so anxious to have him out there ? A. I felt friendly to him and the 
 Secretary. He was the only son of Secretary Delano, and I knew he felt very anxious about 
 him. I knew I had lost my only son, and how I felt under the circumstances. I knew that 
 he was in great danger of dying, for I am a physician, and it was a kind of a contest be- 
 tween his New York doctor and myself as to whether he should go farther than Minnesota. 
 I said, " Go to the mountains." He said he would bleed to death as soon as he got there. 
 I said he would do no such thing'; and I rode with him on the mountains 11,000 feet high, 
 and there was no bleeding from his lungs, and it cured him. 
 
 Q. In the conversation you had with Mr. Drummond in reference to his having an inter- 
 est in these contracts, you say the question was canvassed as to whether his name should 
 appear ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And you agreed there was no impropriety in it ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. I understood you that in no contract that was made was his name mentioned ? A. It 
 was not, because we could not get him there in time to have it inserted. He must sign it 
 himself, and he must swear the iron-clad oath, and give bonds and all that sort of thing, to 
 have his name in the contract. 
 
 Q. Were all these contracts that he was interested in made before he got there ? A. I 
 cannot be positive about that. 
 
 Q. If they were not, why was not his name inserted? A. Mr. Hammond's was made in 
 May, and he did not get there until June or July. I don't remember about the others. I 
 am trying to refresh my memory. 
 
 Q. I understand you to state that some of these contracts were made after John Delano 
 got out there. Now I want to know why it was that John's name was not put in those 
 contracts if they were made after he got there ? A. It depends on when they were made. 
 If they were made near the end of August or fore part of September, I think John had gone 
 over into the Colorado Mountains with Professor Hay den. 
 
 Q. Well, your answer is that all these contracts were made in his absence ? A. As a 
 matter of course, or his name would have gone into them. 
 
 Q. Then he had nothing to do with the making of the contracts. You just made such 
 contracts for him as you chose, and considered him interested or not, as you chose, and to 
 such an amount as you pleased ? A. These contracts were made with the old deputies, and 
 they divided up as they pleased. It was work I originally awarded to John Delano, to be 
 surveyed in partnership by good deputies. 
 
 Q. And they were made in his absence and without his knowledge ? A. I was urging 
 him in May to come on and sign a contract. He wrote that letter that you see there. 
 
 Q. I wish you would answer the question. I asked you whether or not these contracts 
 were all made in the absence of John Delano and without his knowledge, and such interests 
 were given in the contracts to him as you chose, without consulting him f A. That is a 
 pretty mixed up long question to answer. 
 
 Q. I will ask it a little at a time. I ask you, first, whether or not all these contracts were 
 made in his absence? A. Yes; they wefe signed and dated when he was not present. 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. 1 . 
 
 Q. Was he consulted, and did he know the interest he was to have in any of them 'A. 
 1 let him know about the amount that I had set apart for him, in May, 1874. 
 
 ',) You set it apart for him 'A. Yes, sir ; I set it apart for him ; it was mv preroga 
 
 Q. 1 1 . : you did not consult him as to whether he would perform the work and take the 
 interest in the contract or not ? A. Well, I don't know how to answer that. 
 
 Q. I understand, as you do, that it takes two to make a contract, and if John Delano 
 made a contract I suppose he would know something about what he was to do and what 
 he was to get. I ask whether, in making these contracts, you consulted him as to what 
 amount of work he was to do, and what amount of interest he was to have, or whether you 
 awarded the contract to him, and to a deputy surveyor, and gave him such interest in it a 
 you thought proper? A. The matter was talked over with him before the contract was 
 I offered it and he expected it. 
 
 Q. Why did he not sign it ! A. He was not there. I have explained that. 
 
 Q. Why did he not sign, then, when you talked it over and agreed ? A. Well, be was not 
 there. It was done mostly by correspondence. I don't remember that he was here in 1874, 
 when I was proposing to do this, to Colonel Drummond. I think he was in Minnesota, and 
 I proposed to correspond with him there. 
 
 Q. He did go out to Wyoming before some of these contracts were made ? A. Yes; some 
 of those small ones. He came out and did not come there until after the first one was 
 
 Q. He was there before the others were made? A. Yes, sir; but not in Wyoming in 
 the Colorado Mountains. 
 
 < /. Then I still press the question, why it was that John Delano did not sign the contracts 
 mil his name did not appear in them ? A. There was no good reason. I might have had 
 him go into the office and sign the contracts there and then send them to the deputies in the 
 field in Western Wyoming, but I did not know then what amount each one wished to sur- 
 vey. 
 
 Q. Were those contracts in writing? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. What is the form ot one of them in substance, if you please ? A. Well, it is pretty 
 hard to explain. 
 
 Q. I ask you whether or not the contract does not specify that certain gentlemen by name 
 have made a certain contract to do a certain amount of surveying, for which they are to get 
 so much ? A. Exactly so. 
 
 Q. In making that recitation in the body of the contract, is it anywhere expressed that 
 John Delano is to get any part of it ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. It did not require his presence to make that recitation in the contract ? A. No : but it 
 would require to sign it, if his name were in it. 
 
 Q. Why was not his name recited in any contract that he was to get a certain portion of 
 the proceeds 1 A. No particular reason that I know of, except that he was not there to sign 
 iu due time, and such recitation could not be made unless he signed. 
 
 Q. Now I will ask you whether it was not purposely avoided, in order to keep John Del- 
 ano's name out of these contracts so that there might be no reflection upon the Secretary T 
 A. No, sir; I have no such recollection at all, because Mr. Drummond said there could 
 be no objection to putting his name in the contract, or of his being a partner in one. 
 
 Q. You say you did not do it ; why did you not f A. In the first place we could not get 
 him there, and then when he did come the latter part of July he did not stay in Wyoming, 
 up to the time I think that those small ones were given ; and the deputies disliked the 
 trouble of using his name he not living there. 
 
 Q. Still you did not recite in any contract that he was to get a part of the proceed*, and 
 thiit would not require his presence. Why was that left out? A. There was no design 
 about it, except that it would require his presence often if his name went into the writ 
 contract. 
 
 By Mr. WOODWORTH : 
 
 Q. Those contracts mention the contracting parties. Y..U were one of them as agent of 
 the General Land-Office, and the other parties would be the men who were to do the K 
 
 Q. The recitations would contain no statement of any benefit to be derived except by the 
 rac ting parties? A. No, sir. 
 
 is the reason why John Delano should not appear if he was not there to sign the 
 
 hat the way we understand it ?-A. Yes, sir; I could not put hi* name i 
 were not there to sign all papers and take all the oaths. 
 
 He was not a contracting party, but simply there was an onUidc ^understanding be 
 tween you and John Delano that he was to share in the profits !-A. \e, sir ; I told him 
 at the outset how many townships I would give him-how urn, h u,.rk-and he mfcbl 
 lect a good, experienced man to go in the work with him, and I * no 
 
 in tl. contract, and then if he did not keep with his J,.,,uty all the time be could put another 
 place to a- - puty, or pay that ,l, r my tor the extra work himself. 
 
 i is name could n.t appear in the contract unlewbe was one of the contracting par 
 ties, and he was not one of the contracting parties so far at the contract* were concerned 
 A 1 'hat is so, so far as his warnf not being in the written iustru:. 
 
14 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. You have known John Delano how long ? A. Five or six years. 
 
 Q. You are a physician, you said? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. When were you appointed surveyor-general of Wyoming ? A. In March, 1869, first. 
 
 Q. Did you know him previously to that time ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. You became acquainted with him after you were appointed ? A. Yes, sn. 
 
 Q. You may state to the committee what other similar positions you had occupied before 
 that time. A. I have been surveyor-general of Illinois and Missouri, appointed by the Pres- 
 ident of the United States. 
 
 Q. By the President ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. State to the committee whether it is or is not usual, in letting contracts for the survey 
 of lands, to include parties who are not practical surveyors ; and, if so, you may state if there 
 is any reason why it should be done, because of responsibility or otherwise. A. It is done 
 sometimes by the surveyor-general for some deserving man, and sometimes for political con- 
 siderations. It is a common practice. 
 
 Q. Is it necessary to have a responsible man ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And if the contract was let to two persons they would both be responsible for any 
 mistake or failure ? A. Yes, sir ; both had to be on hand to sign all papers, and they have 
 got to certify to the field-notes, and to sign the accounts. 
 
 Q. So that wh|le you might get a surveyor with skill, you might not be certain as to his 
 entire responsibility, and might want to unite with him a person who was responsible other- 
 wise ? A. That was the case with this first contract that I mentioned this man from 
 Laramie City, who represented himself to be a competent surveyor, and who turned out to 
 be the greatest cheat living. I appointed him to please the people there, and I put with him 
 Mr. Winsor because I told him I did not trust his honesty, and they both together made the 
 poorest survey I ever had ; I had to have it all gone over. 
 
 Q. How long was John Delano in the mountains or in Wyoming ? A. I don't remember 
 how much he was there in Wyoming ; he went out to the mountains. 
 
 Q. I mean engaged in this business of making surveys engaged in this work ? A. He 
 did not engage in the work. Sometimes he was out in the field, but he hired the deputy to 
 do the work and they charged for their services, on his behalf. 
 
 Q. He was there from the 1st of July to January? A. Yes, sir; if you mean about the 
 mountains and California ; in the winter time he was over in California. 
 
 Q. Tell the committee the entire amount of profit that John Delano made out of all those 
 contracts put together? A. I think it was about $2,500. I see it stated there by Mr. 
 Stevens at $5,000, but he does not know what he is talking about. 
 
 Q. You made the suggestion to him to go out. And you have already said you have 
 had no conversation with Secretary Delano about it. You made no suggestions to him. or 
 he to you ? A. That is true. 
 
 Q. Either by letter or conversation? A. No; not until October, 1874, after the matter 
 was disposed of. 
 
 Q. John Delano had then been discharged, or was not a clerk in the Department ? A. 
 He was not a clerk in the Department. 
 
 By Mr. BOONE : 
 
 Q. You stated in answer to Mr. Wood worth's question that you had an outside under- 
 standing with John Delano as to what he should receive, that was not put in the contract. 
 Now, I want to ask you, did you make any contract with any other person than John 
 Delano that such person was to receive any amount for surveying that you did not put in 
 the contract. A. I cannot recall the name of any one. I do not think anyone received any- 
 thing any valuable contract whose name was not in it. 
 
 Q. Why was this exception made in John Delano's case ? A. I thought I had explained 
 that to you. I only spoke of those small contracts. Now, when this gentleman (Mr. Wood- 
 worth) comes to ask me about the mode of fixing the contract, it occurs to me that the, chief 
 reason was, in not requiring his name in those little contracts, that he was moving about a 
 great deal, and we could not rely upon his being at my office when needed to sign papers 
 it would mix a multitude of difficulties into it. Unless he staid there for months and months 
 he would not be on hand to sign the papers. If I used his name in the contracts he must 
 come and sign to prepare papers for the General Land-Office, and must be there to sign the 
 field-notes and accounts and every thing of that kind. 
 
 Q. You have stated that you had an outside understanding with him as to how much he 
 was to receive, and therefore you did not put his name in the contract. A. No ; I did not 
 say that ; I did not say " therefore," nor how much profit he was to receive. 
 
 Q. You said that was the reason ? A. It was my expectation all along to have his name 
 in the contract. 
 
 Q. You state now you expected to have his name in the contract. A. Yes, I did. I wrote 
 him a letter to hurry up and come over in May. 
 
 Q. You made those written contracts in which you recite, as I understand, how each per- 
 son is interested in it. I want to know whether in any of those contracts it is expressed that 
 John Delano is to receive a part of a certain contract ? A. I say it is not expressed. 
 
 Q. Did you ever make a contract in which any person except John De-lano was to receive 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. 1 .". 
 
 any part of the profits in which (you did nut put his name? A. I do not remember that I 
 
 Q. I ask yon why you made an exception in John Delano's case f A. Because be could 
 not come there at the time specified to make the contract and to get the deputy to the field ; 
 he could not get through as he expected ; be was delayed by sickness in his family. 
 
 By the Cii. \IKM\\ 
 
 Q. Did you mention to the deputies that of this work they were to do John Delano was to 
 bave half of the profits ? A. They understood they were taking work I had allotted to Mr. 
 Delano, and I put their names alone in the contract for convenience. They worked it upon 
 the understanding that it was partnership business, the same as if his name bad been in the 
 contract. 
 
 Q. Did they give notes for their parts of the profits which were to go to Mr. John Delano t 
 A. When they came home and the work was fixed up in the office so they could know 
 what it amounted to, and they could state the time they had been surveying, and what 
 the expense of transportation and commissaries and all that sort of thing amounted to, and 
 they could say to a dollar what the profit was, then they, some of them, gave some memo- 
 randum late in the fall before I came away to Washington they gave some memorandum 
 as to what the share would be, the half of the actual profit. 
 
 Q. There was no memorandum of the agreement that they were to pay Mr. John Delano 
 half of the profits at the time, or immediately before or after the time, of the making of the 
 contract f A. No written understanding that I remember. 
 
 Q. Those understandings were all verbal? A. I think they were ; yes, know they were, 
 and voluntary. 
 
 Q. There were no notes given to Mr. John Delano, or any person for him, for any portion 
 ef the profits of the contract t A. I said they did give some, a part of them, when they fin- 
 ished. 
 
 Q. At the time that they entered into those contracts, or immediately before or subse- 
 quent thereto, were there any notes given for a portion of the profits of the contract, to Mr. 
 John Delano, or to any person for his use? A. I do not remember any such ; I know 
 there were none. 
 
 Q. And no agreement showed in writing that they should divide the profits with Mr. 
 John Delano, or any one else ? A. No ; merely a verbal understanding, and that verbal 
 understanding was carried out and put in the shape of a memorandum when I was coming 
 away to Washington in jSovember, 1874. 
 
 Q. When you called upon the President you explained to him the transaction with Mr. 
 John Delano fully 1 A. As fully as I could at such limited interview. 
 
 Q. And in reply to that the President said he saw nothing in it ; you had a perfect right 
 to award a contract to Mr. John Delano as well as any other citizen .'A. Yes ; that is tho 
 substance of his remark. 
 
 Q. What induced you to resign your office ? A. Because I was very anxious to attend 
 to my own affairs, which w -re suffering for my attention. I staid there two years longer 
 than I ought, and longer than I intended to. I was appointed the second time in 
 ruary, JH70, and I went out there, and in March, Ib73, at the time of the President's 
 inauguration, this ring that is now patching up this difficulty, mystifying and misrepre- 
 senting it, came down here and represented me to the President aa a great Greeley man, 
 sir, and as having attended Greeley conventions and worked for Greeley, and talked 
 (lici-lt-y ; ami the President supposed my four years were out, looking at his book and re- 
 ferring back to Mm vli, J-(ii), and seeing all our names there, (Wyoming appointees, ) and 
 forgetting that he had appointed me a second time, he appointed a man in my place who 
 came out and took possession. I then came down here and told the President I was very 
 inn.-h maligned ; that these fellows had falsified and misrepresented me, and I satisfied him 
 that I had been his friend all the time, and that there was no cause for my removal, and he 
 put me back again. When I went back I bad to fight this ring all the while till I got them 
 pretty well scattered, and then I conclu<l <! I might afford to resign. Ex-Governor Camp- 
 bell was one of them. He came down here and joined his ranks to the Bristow ranks. 
 
 Q. Is Secretary Bristow one of the ring that you allude to ? A. Well, he was last spring, 
 1875 ; that is to say, they own him as their leader. 
 
 Q. And that is the party, with Secretary Hi i.stow at the head of it, that yon succeeded 
 finally in dividing 7 A. Yes; most all that took any active part in sm-h mutters are re- 
 moved now ; but they have held a convention lately in Wyoming and elected delegates to 
 the national < on\ m ..n, and they are all Bristow dejegates. 
 
 '.,'. Nearly all the office-holders who stood by Secretary Bristow have been removed? A. 
 1 for thai reason. They were offensive to the people. 
 
 lint all that have j>iiir.f with him have been removed T A. It wan doubtless believed 
 \ -Governor Campbell that Mr. Delano and myself got him removed, or urged the Prod* 
 dent to n -iiiov.- him. and that stirred up all this strife. They bribed this clerk in ny office 
 by promising that they could get Delauo removed and Dr. Reed, too, and make him sur- 
 veyor-general. 
 
 They did get Delano removed ? A. No, sir; the President told me he would not be 
 removed unless Iraud was proved. 
 
16 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 ^ Q. He went out shortly after that ? A. No ; not until the fall ; nearly six months after. 
 They said they were going to have Mr. Delano "step down and out," and the President 
 said he didn't see any reason why he should "step down and out" unless they proved 
 fraud. 
 
 Q. It was a contest, then, between Mr. Delano's friends and Secretary Bristow's ? A. 
 Secretary Bristow's special friends proclaimed at Cheyenne in March, 1875, that Mr. Secre- 
 tary Delano must step down and out within thirty days or he (Bristow) would ; but Mr. Secre- 
 tary Delano said he was not going to do so " under fire," and the President said he ought 
 not to. They sent a commission there to examine alleged Indian frauds, and everybody 
 alleging fraud had a chance to testify. I think nothing serious was found against Mr. 
 Delano. 
 
 Adjourned. 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., April 8, 1876. 4 
 Dr. SILAS REED'S examination continued. 
 By the CHAIRMAN: 
 
 Question. In the testimony the other day you stated that the contracts in which Mr. John 
 Delano had an' interest were given to certain parties who did the surveying, and after de- 
 ducting the expenses of the survey the profits were divided equally between Mr. Delano 
 and the deputies. Now state whether or not these deputy surveyors were not to do the 
 surveying at a stipulated price per month, and all they got was simply that price, and 
 whether or not John Delano did not get the balance of the money. Answer. To that I 
 answer, no, sir. I stated in my testimony that the surveyor, whose name was in the con- 
 tract and did the work, received for half his time pay at the rate of $125 per month. 
 
 Q. Did he get anything else except the $125 per month ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. What did he get in addition to that ? A. I do not know, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you mean to say that you deducted, from the amount appropriated, $125 for each 
 month that the surveyor was employed, and then divided the balance equally between the 
 deputy surveyor and Mr. John Delano? A. I did not deduct anything. 
 
 Q. Well, was that done ? A. That was their understanding. 
 
 Q. I did not ask you what the understanding was ; I want to know what was done. 
 A. I said I did not know what was done, because I did not get the accounts of them except 
 the first one. 
 
 Q. You have told us that, in one contract let to Mr. Hammond, Mr. John Delano's share 
 of profits were $1,100? A. About $1,100 ; a trifle over, perhaps. 
 
 Q. What was the amount of that contract? A. I stated the other day about $4,200. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether, in that instance, the deputy surveyor first deducted $125 a 
 month for his services and then divided the surplus equally between himself and Mr. John 
 Delano ? A. Yes, sir ; 1 can say that I know that most positively, because he made a 
 memorandum and presented it to me of his whole expense, including hand-hire, supplies, 
 railroad-fares, &c., because he went with all his teams and men on a railroad from Cheyenne 
 to Evanstown, (I think four hundred miles.) That was all included in his memorandum 
 account. 
 
 Q. Were there any notes passed between the parties ? A. Not that I know of, sir. I 
 explained the other day that Mr. Hammond, the fall after he had finished his work, came 
 back to the office, made up his account of all expenses, and divided the matter equally 
 between himself and Mr. Delano, his silent partner. He then took a blank form of note of 
 the First National Bank of Cheyenne and filled it out filled out in that the portion for Mr. 
 Delano. 
 
 Q. Was Mr. Delano's share of the profits put in one note ? A. Well, not entirely. I 
 think they were divided into two one was $1,000 and the other was $400 ; and in those 
 amounts were included Mr. Delano's advances, which were $250 if not $300. 
 
 Q. To whom had he advanced money? A. Advanced it for Mr. Hammond, or, in other 
 words, Mr. Hammond drew upon him for half the necessary expenses to go to the field. He 
 drew drafts through our national bank there, and the bank gave him the money ; that is my 
 recollection of it. 
 
 Q. Did Mr. Hammond and Mr. Delano ever meet, that you are aware of, prior to the time 
 of Mr. Hammond's going to the field ? A. I do not know that they did. 
 
 Q. Was Mr. Delano out in the Territory at any time prior to the time that he obtained an 
 interest in these different contracts ? A. Prior to what time ? 
 
 Q. Prior to the time that you gave him an interest in these different contracts ? A. I can- 
 not answer that. 
 
 Q. Did you ever meet Mr. Delano in your office in Cheyenne ? A. I cannot be positive 
 about that. 
 
 Q. Then you do not know whether he was in your office at all, or whether in the Terri- 
 tory at any time? A. Certainly ; I know he was in the Territory. 
 
 Q. You know he was ? A. That he had been in the Territory? 
 
GOVI:K\MI:\T 8UBVBY8 i\ WYOMING TBRBITO 17 
 
 prior to tliis time. or about tin- time that the contracts were let. A. I exj>: 
 that rally and thoroughly, that In- was nut tin-re at the time the contract KM u 
 did not come afterward, and the reason he did not come was becatiM had got sick 
 
 and came near dying, and he could not come. 
 
 M mean to say that Mr. Pi-Ian.. left the city of Washington ami was on his way 
 to the Territory prior to the time that you let these contracts? A. N about that 
 
 time. 
 
 Al.., ut th- tiino r A. I cannot he positive as to the time he left here. I received fre- 
 M' 11 ' 11 - " !>'" during the month of May. al.ont the time I was getting ready to make 
 
 this contract, ami in reply to notes I sent him hurrying him tin- aoteof his to me 
 
 that has been published, if it is a correct copy that is published, is dated the latter part of 
 
 \n.l it is written from the Interior Department, is it not ?-.\. [ F.xa.niuns the paper.] 
 It seems to be written from the Interior Department. I do not know \\ heth, -r it was written 
 there or not. I suppose so from the fact that it is headed that wny. an 1 is postmarked 
 Washington. I do not know what the date is it is either the 20th or 25th. Tim 
 came to my office at Cheyenne in my absence in Utah. I see on the back of the envelope 
 that I received it .June 10; that was the date of my return from Utnh. I also received; I 
 think that very day, a telegram from him from Saint Paul asking me to meet him at Omaha. 
 I immediately replied to him at Saint Paul by telegraph that I would inert him at Omaha to 
 alt about this contract. You can see from that letter that w r the matter 
 
 of the contract and the importance of his being there to have his name inserted. He asks if 
 I canimt use some other name in-' 
 
 Q. You say that he telegraphed you to meet him at Omaha to consult about this con- 
 tract .'-A. fa, iir; that is my recollection. 
 
 ,'. When was that contract "let .'A. Well, I do not remember the date of it. 
 
 Look at those notes and see whether it was not let a month earlier than that, [handing 
 papers to witness, who examines them. ] A. These do not show anything about tho date 
 that it was let ; yes, "May 20," a month before. 
 
 Q. Then the truth of the matter is that that contract was let before John Delano wrote 
 you this letter, was it not? A. Yes; before he wrote that particular l< 
 
 ( t . And it is not true that he telegraphed you to meet him at Omaha to talk about this 
 
 act ? A. No, sir; I did not say so. 
 Q. Yes; you did say it. A. Let me understand you. 
 
 (,. You have just said that he telegraphed you to meet him at Omaha to talk about this 
 contract, and now you say that the contract was let before he lei; :on as shown by 
 
 :ote and the letter that I have shown you. A. I do riot wish it understood that it was 
 in the telegram that he would meet me to consult about the contract. The telegram was 
 rimply to meet me there. It was the other notes that had passed between us that had fixed 
 the matter between us. 
 ',. What other notes? A. The short letters. 
 
 Y..II have stated that you wrote him hurrying him up to come to the Territory to fix 
 up this contract, and that he replied that his wife was sick on the way and he could ni.t come 
 there in time; now is that true or is it not true ? A. I cannot answer that iiuesrimi \\ith- 
 
 baek. 
 
 ','. Yes; you can answer it. It is a plain question. You had already stated that you 
 mo hurrying him np to come out to the Territor ; wanted to put 
 
 his name in this contract, and that in reply he told you that \r.^ wife was .sick, iw you ex- 
 pressed it, "on the way," ami that he could not get there in time; consequently you were 
 obliged to put the name of some other person in the contract for him. .\ tw proba- 
 
 bly the third or fourth letter written to me during that month. 
 
 you this question, whether or not the contract was let before John Delano 
 
 'A. It states here that it was let on the 20th of M !1 ex- 
 
 hat that contract was kept open for some two or three weeks, according to my recol- 
 
 : that it was left blank, HO far as the use of his name would be concerned, so that it 
 
 miirht be put in if he reached there two or three weeks afteru 
 
 illy take an oath and file a bond. They are required by law to do 
 
 they not' A. 
 
 '/. I >i I.John Delano ever take an oath 7 A. No. sir; because bis name was not in the 
 
 I >td you ever require him to file a bond! A. His name was not in the < :<ebe 
 
 ' v '"i'. 1 ha\. : ,-d to take an oath. I have a form of contract with me wh 
 
 should like to show to the cumin 
 
 1 ,' We do not care about the form. but we wsnt to know whether you did not swear your 
 -s.and make them take an oath and file a bond. A. Yea, 
 
 You were in the habit, then, of giving contracts to one set of people and compelling 
 
 t in 
 
 ike an oath and file a bond 7 A. No, sir ; I do not remember that in any 
 
 V. Hid you not do it in the instance of John Delano? A. No, sir; he had not any 
 
 written contract. 
 
 L' W 
 
18 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. If this was an honest transaction, and the contract was really let to John Delano, why 
 were those notes made payable to John L. Merriani ? A. I could not explain now, unless it 
 was by his direction. 
 
 Q. Who is John L. Merriam ? A. He is a banker in Saint Paul. 
 
 Q. Did he have a contract at that time for surveying? A. He is a banker in Saint Paul, 
 with whom Delano had a good deal of business, and I was led to believe had to borrow 
 money of him. 
 
 Q. You were led to believe that John Delano had to borrow money of Merriam ? A. Of 
 Merriam, occasionally. You must remember that he had been there with Merriam nearly a 
 year previous to this. 
 
 Q. Did you think that John Delano owed John L. Merriam money, and that this was the 
 only way Merriam could get it? A. I do not think I thought anything about it. 
 
 Q. Then what do you mean by saying that you were led to believe that Delano owed 
 Merriam money ? Did you mean to give that as the reason why you made the notes pay- 
 able to Merriam ? A. I know of no other reason than his saying that he had business and 
 a good many money transactions with Merriam. 
 
 Q. Did not Mr. Delano write you a letter and tell you to insert the name of Mr. Merriam 
 to stand for him ? A. Yes; I see in that letter that he asks that Mr. Merriam's name be used. 
 
 Q. And is not that the reason you inserted the name of Merriam, because you were 
 requested to do so by Delano writing you and requesting to put his name to " stand for 
 my name ;" that is, for Delano's name ? A. I wrote that Mr. Delano had requested 
 
 Q. Answer that question, not what you wrote him. A. I cannot answer that question. 
 
 Q. (Question repeated.) A. That might have been part of my reason. 
 
 Q. Was not that your reason ? A. I do not know that it was wholly my reason. 
 
 Q. What other reason had you, then ? A. I think that another part of the reason was 
 that he had told me that he had a good many moneyed transactions, and was in arrear in 
 debt to Mr. Merriam. 
 
 Q. Did he tell you that in the letter that he wrote you requesting you to put Merriam's 
 name in the contract ? A. I cannot remember how I obtained the information, but that is 
 the impression in my mind, that he was behindhand in some way with Mr. Merriam. 
 
 Q, Now, is not the truth of the matter this, that you put Merriam's name in the notes 
 (as you had put Mr. Hammond's name in the contract) for the purpose of covering up the 
 whole transaction and making it appear that John Delano had no interest in it ? A. I do 
 not believe it was. 
 
 Q. You do not believe that was the truth of the matter? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Had you not been notified from the Interior Department by John Delano's father in a 
 letter that you received, that you should do nothing that would in any way appear to 
 compromise him? A. Ihad not until the fall following. 
 
 Q. What fall? A. The fall of 1874. 
 
 Q. Was not this in the fall of 1874 ? A. No, sir. This was in May, 1874. 
 
 Q. At the time these notes were payable, (they are dated October, 1874, was it in pur- 
 suance of this notice which you got from Mr. Delano's father that you should not do any- 
 thing that would have the appearance of compromising him that you made these notes pay- 
 able to John L. Merriam? A. I do not believe it was, sir. I cannot think so, for this 
 reason : that this matter was public in my office from May until the time of giving these 
 notes that I had set apart some work for Mr. Delano to have surveyed. It was not any 
 secret in my office. 
 
 Q. If it was not any secret in your office, where was the necessity, then, of your making 
 these notes payable to Merriam ? A. I do not know of any reason beyond what I have 
 tried to explain. 
 
 Q. Do you say that it was not for the purpose of concealing the real transaction ? A. I 
 have never thought it was done to conceal the transaction. 
 
 Q. Who in Cheyenne besides yourself and Mr. Stevens and Mr. Merriam and Mr. Ham- 
 mond know of this transaction ? A. Mr. Merriam was not in Cheyenne. 
 
 Q. He was in Saint Paul, then. Who in Saint Paul knew of it ? A. Mr. Hammond 
 and Mr. Stevens and the other chief deputies knew about it. 
 
 Q. How many of the chief deputies knew about it 1 A. Three or four half a dozen. 
 Q. Was it known by anybody else ? A. Well, I was not in the habit of noising over 
 town what was going on in my office. 
 
 Q. These other chief deputies who knew of this transaction also shared with Mr. John 
 Delano in the contracts which they had ? A. I have explained that fully. 
 
 Q. You said that the other chief deputies knew it you mean the same deputies that also 
 shared with Delano ? A. Yes. 
 
 Q. But you do not know any person outside of those deputies, yourself, and your clerk 
 who knew it, do you? A. I do not know whether there are or not any other persons know- 
 ing it. I had other deputies living at different places. I did not take particular pains to 
 have them know all I was doing in my office. 
 
 Q. How much did Mr. John Delano realize out of the contract that was let to Rogers ? 
 A. I do not know the amount that he realized at the time. 
 
 Q. Do you know the amount of the contract? A. I think it was about $1,800. 
 
GOVI:K.VMI:M BUB! WVOMIXC ; >ET, ID 
 
 d n.,t Mr. John Delano get $900? A 
 
 ! nut ' A. ' 
 
 '/. ll"\\ much did he get out of the contract let to II. i.. I! y .'A. I cannot state the 
 exact amount. 
 
 Q. That was tin- *-M>(> contract, was it not? A. I could not state tlu> exact union 
 the contract. I think that Hay's contract may have amount, d to a little ever vJ, H'C; per- 
 haps it was $*>, I 
 
 Q, I >;d n..t Mr. .Inlin Delano get $900 out of that contract of Hay's ? A, I do not think 
 
 i,' How much did he get? A. I do not know, because he returned no particular am unit 
 about it. 
 
 Q. Do yon know how much .John Delano reali/ed out of the contract pi von to C. J. K 
 A. I do not know the exact amount lu- contributed out of his contract. 
 
 n. Waa'tbai not $900? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. "Was it not somewhere near that? A. I did not charge my mind with the amounts. 
 
 ,. What were .John Delano's profits out of John I'. Thomas's contract .' A. TheM di-pu- 
 ties returned no particular statement to me of the amount of expenses. 
 
 Q. Do yon not know that Mr. Delano's profits out of John Thomas's contract were $300 ? 
 
 A Mi. Thomas may have set off that much to him. 
 
 Q. Did not you send it yourself? A. To him .' 
 
 Q. To Mr. Delano f A. I do not remember doing it. 
 
 Q. Did von write this letter [handing letter to witness dated Washington, January 13, 
 1875] addressed to L. C. Stevens, signed Silas Keed .'A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Whom do you mean by " John and others," mentioned there? A. John Thomas, I 
 suppose. 
 
 Very well. Now you say " left last night I have a letter from him to-day, so I will 
 
 you his check, on which you will leave $200 in bank there to meet four che< 
 
 $50 each, in favor of .Jn.-tnm A. Park, of Salt Lake City;" and again you say, " the $600 
 
 e of the check you may send to me here by draft, and I will apply it for Jolm." 1 > 
 von not rind these quotations in that letter ! A. Yes, they are there. 
 
 Then John Delano did get $800, did he not, out of John Thomas's contract ? A. Well. 
 I must look into that a little further. [Reads.] That is a check of ^00, I 
 see. 
 
 (,. Well, you directed your clerk to deposit $200 in bank and to send a check for the 
 other H'>txi, and told him that you would apply it to " John," did you not? Is that not so? 
 A. That is the reading of it. 
 
 i,. Well. I ask you whether it is true, or it is not. I do not ask what the "reading" of it 
 In, Yon said it was .John Thomas's draft. Now I ask you to what .John yon were to apply 
 it '-A I suppose that other John there is John Delano. I do not kmnc that it is. 
 
 < t i. other drafts besides John Thomas's drafts that were sent at the same time, 
 
 I mean. A. Sent from here? 
 
 <,>. Yes. A. In the winter of 1875 yes. They were always receiving drafts along 
 thiongh the winter all of them. 
 
 < ' Keed is a relative <t yours? A. A nephew of mine. 
 
 ",'. W.-'.c you not told, at the Interior Department, that it would be improper for y 
 appoint one of your relatives a deputy surveyor f A. I do not think I \\a>. I know 1 felt 
 some :. that point for a year or two, and kept him in the office as chit : 
 
 estive in that condition; and I conferred with the t'ommi-- 
 
 going to the field, and he consented that I put him in the field. As far as I remember. 
 is no regulation in the Department that restricts a relative so remote as a nephew from 
 being a contractor. 
 
 M>S that <|iiestion with some of the authorities in the Land-Office, and 
 was it not intimated to you that it would be improper for you to appoint your nepli>-\, 
 
 deputy suiveyors ' A. I conversed about it with the Con 
 it uas that l" W<ml<l be allowed to u>.- my nephew in a contract. 
 
 </. ' not told, in the winter of 1 -?<>-'? I, that it would not do at all for you to ap- 
 
 nid were you not told at the same time that a con- 
 tract had been thrown out in the Territory of Colora the surveyor-general had 
 appointed a relative as one of his deputi, > ' A. A contract had been thrown out no, I will 
 
 - ay that I will say that I understoo.. : in Colorado fnun the surveyor- 
 
 llt. 
 
 \..n not told at that time that it would not do for you to appoint a relative as 
 ir ileputie> ' A. Not in that large sense. 
 
 Well, \\ele \ oil Hot told it ill s..|||e sellM ve. I WHS told that 
 
 tin-re was a regnlati* i lie appointineir . ar relatives, such as a brother. 
 
 ::ot told that the- jiilatu.n against the a: 1 rela- 
 
 tivt I A. Well, not without qualification, 1 think. 
 
 i,'. Ti :- \\as in the juiitnot? \. 1 . umot say as to that. It might 
 
 When did you appoint yo ' A. I do 
 
20 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. How long 1 after you had this conversation in the Interior Department about the ap- 
 pointment of a blood relative ? A. I cannot say as to that. Very soon after the last conver- 
 sation. I had two conversations about it. 
 
 Q. How long after the last conversation? A. The first conversation was probably in 
 1871. I would not let him go to the field. He had asked, and I would not let him go, and 
 on referring to it again here at the Land-Office, I found that I had been, perhaps, too strict 
 about it. 
 
 Q. Tell us when this second conversation was ? A. 1 cannot remember conversation 
 away back so far as that. I cannot remember the year. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether it was three years afterward or one year ? A. It was just pre- 
 ceding my giving him a contract not very long before. 
 
 Q. When did you give him the contract ? A. I cannot state that, sir. Out of one hun- 
 dred contracts running away back for six years, I cannot be supposed here without a note 
 before me to remember distinctly these matters. The contracts are here in the Land-Office, 
 all of them. If I had thought that I should be questioned so closely I could have gone and 
 got memorandums of the dates of all. There are about a hundred in all. 
 
 Q. You gave Mr. Fowler a contract, did you not ? A. Yes ; he was a partner in a con- 
 tract. 
 
 Q. In whose name was that contract ? A. In his name and another deputy surveyor. 
 
 Q. Did the name of Mr. Fowler appear in that contract ? A. That is my recollection, 
 decidedly. 
 
 Q. Did he take the oath and file a bond ? A. That is my belief. 
 
 Q. Who did the work ? A. He and his partner ; he a part of the time, and his partner 
 was at it all the time. 
 
 Q. Is Mr. Fowler a surveyor? A. I think so, sir. 
 
 Q. He is the brother in-law of Mr. Curtis, who at that time was chief clerk of the Land- 
 Office, is he not ? A. I have been told so. 
 
 Q. Told so since you have given the contract? A. No. 
 
 Q. Before that ? A. Before that time or at that time. My recollection is that he had 
 been in a contract in Colorado the year previous. 
 
 Q. Did Mr. Fowler ever go out in the field upon the land that he was required to sur- 
 vey? A. That is my understanding of it, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you know that he went in the field ? A. I only know from what he or his partner 
 said. They came there to my office and started to the field. His partner said that he went 
 to the field with him and staid some time, and that he let him off when it was necessary to 
 harvest his wheat, and he went down to harvest his w'heat, his partner continuing his survey. 
 
 Q. Where does Mr. Fowler live? A. He lives down near Denver. 
 
 Q. How long did he stay at Cheyenne when he came there ? A. I cannot say ; perhaps 
 a day or two. 
 
 Q. He staid a day or two ? A. He was there two or three times. 
 
 Q. Where was the land that he surveyed where does it lie? A. It lies along the south 
 boundary of Wyoming. It was in fractional townships along the south boundary of Wy- 
 oming, extending westward over the mountain and into the Laramie plains. 
 
 Q. You employed a young man by the name of Dallas, did you not ? A. No ; I did not. 
 
 Q. Did you not have a young man, or did not one of the deputies have a young man, by 
 the name of Dallas working for them ? A. One of the deputies took young Dallas to the 
 field as a flagman, I think. 
 
 Q. Who is young Dallas ?--A. He is a son of Mr. Dallas, the chief of the bureau of sur- 
 veys. The deputies took a good many young men in with them from different points. 
 
 Q. After you had given a contract to Mr. Fahringer for Mr. Fowler, the brother-in-law of 
 Curtis, and Mr. Dallas came out there to work, you had no more difficulty then with the De- 
 partment about getting your nephew a contract, had you ? A. My nephew had a contract 
 before that occurred : that had nothing to do with it. 
 
 Q. There was no fault found about it afterward ? A. There was no fault ever found 
 about it. 
 
 Q. Did Orvil Grant have an interest in any of the contracts ? A. I cannot say as to thaf, 
 sir. 
 
 Q. You have no recollection of the fact that Orvil Grant had an interest in any contract 
 let by you ?^-A. I do not know that he had, now. 
 
 Q. Did you give a contract to Mr. Medary for the benefit of Orvil Grant ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. And you have no knowledge whatever of the fact that Orvil Grant had an interest in 
 any contract? A. He never had his name in any contract. 
 
 Q. I did not ask you that. A. Well, you do not want me to answer anything that I do 
 not know. 
 
 Q. You have no knowledge of the fact that Orvil Grant had an interest in any of these 
 contracts? Do you say that ? A. I think I can say that ; that he had none. 
 
 Q. Did you write these letters ? [handing some letters to witness, who reads them.] A. 
 Yes, sir ; they are written by me. 
 
 Q. Now I ask you again did Orvil Grant have an interest in any contract? A. It is a 
 very difficult question for me to answer without considerable explanation. If I should say 
 
G0\ . I SURVEYS IN \V^.ML\(, TERRITORY. 21 
 
 it might not be strictly iiuo, and it' I should MIV " Yes," I should say what I did not 
 . 1 /r. M.- Ian i deal of work. 
 
 . 
 
 I ii your letter addre^ . Stevens, dated February 7, 1~: 
 
 i, you say: "Medary's last d raft has gone to Cedar Falls and O. L. G." 
 Do you mean Orvil L. Grant? A. 1 "suppose so. 
 
 < t i. (Continues ni ling:] "seems worried that nothing has come to the source of 
 . rt ; such is the gratitude - ng only upon honor mid DO 
 
 bind it." Please explain what you m. -m. L Thai M.-r. 
 
 'ure when it occurred. I ask you what do you mean l.y it. A. 1 
 
 hy that from the fact of your mentioning that his initials an- then I met him in Wash- 
 
 11 at that time, and he was complaining that his brother-in-law liad been very niggardly 
 
 ! him, and had not let him share anything with him in his contracts of surveying. 
 
 :othcr-iu-law ? A. Medary was his brother-in-law. He said lie had 
 
 lerabic surveying and had never allowed him to have any interest or benefit 
 
 it. 
 
 Medary a surveyor? He was one of your deputies. You gave him a contract. 
 d a lioiid, you say, and took the oath. Now I ask you whether he was a surveyor. 
 A. Hi \\as a surveyor and had been surveying from the office, under a contract, before I 
 gave him a coir 
 
 M. Did he do th- work of this contract? A. So far as I know, he did. 
 <,'. Do you not know that he did not do fche work ? A. No, sir, I do not. 
 
 Ik) you not know that he did not go out into the field and do the work? A. No, sir. 
 1 )o you know that he did go out into the field and do the work .'A. I have seen him 
 in the iield at work on his contract. 
 
 I low often have you seen him in the field at work on his contract ? A. I have seen 
 
 s on his contracts at work. 
 Q. How often? A. I cannot say the number of times I saw him. I saw him when he 
 
 II the Larainie plains at work. I saw him when he was out near Fort Rogers, survey- 
 ing on his conn list contract was from my predecessor, Dr. Latham. 
 
 i,. I >i d not Mr. Medary have a compass-man by the name of Corey, who ran all the lines 
 and whose name does not appear in the notes at all f A. I understood he had a compass- 
 man by the name of Corey. 
 
 Did you understand further that he did the work ? A. I do not know whether ho ran 
 all the lines or not. 
 
 <,'. He may have run them all for aught he knew ; may he not ? A. He may. 
 
 \ may have run all the lines so far as you know, what did you see Medary doing 
 \% hen y..ii saw him out in the field at work looking at Corey ? A. I did not say that i 
 him on the Around with his men running the lines. 
 
 Q. You simply saw him, then, on the ground ? A. I saw him on the ground 
 ,. The work was all done hy Corey, was it not .' A. I do not know, sir. 
 <,>. You think it was? A. I do not say 1 think so. 
 
 ^ ..u never saw Medary doing any of it? A. I remember of my objecting to his ex- 
 
 pending so much for a compass-man, but he said he could not keep up with his men, to keep 
 
 in the ti. Id all the time. He was a man of very short stature and legs, and he could not 
 
 greatest headway through the sage-brush in surveying keeping along with his 
 
 . the lines. 
 
 In another portion of this letter you say, "I have this moment parted with < >. : 
 
 suggested that he hire a good assistant and go out on his own hook next season ; for 
 all his plans seem to have failed this year, and it is not certain that he will receive a dollar 
 
 M. A. 1 understood that he was a poor man, and I felt an interest in him a; 
 
 :rm-d out in Chicago, and, as stated in my letter, it was my desire, probably. at the time. 
 that he -Ii-mld unite himself with an experienced man for deputy, and have some surveying 
 
 ,' Yuii knew of the fact tlisit < Mvil (irant had an interest in Medary's contracts, did you 
 
 . 1 did not know ii as a : 
 Q. \Vhen did you tirst learn that? A. I never learned it as a fact that he had an iu- 
 
 <,'. ! . ; never learned it. what do you mean by your letter when yon say, "Medary's 
 last draft has gone to Cedar Falls, and O. L. G. seems worried that nothing has com. 
 source of M.'s prosperity yet? "A. I supp< i M .M darr would be man enough to < 
 some of the pn.tit* "i;h h m. He was a single man, and Mr. Urant \\as not. 
 was a 1 understood, and he was supporting Mr. Medary's mother at his own 
 
 i . I thought that Mr. Medary might share some with 1: 
 
 \Vh.-n did you tir^t think that -at th- dary ? A. 
 
 I do : s'hethcr I did or 
 
 OH ever suggest to Medary that he ought to divide \\ith Orvil (Jrant? A. 1 
 .( unle it \\as latterly aboui 1875. 
 
 . (irant a part ol utrnct 
 
 had been supporting Medary's mother? A. I thought it \\ou'.d be no more than 
 
22 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. You never suggested to Mr. Medary that he should do that, you say ? A. No, sir 
 there was no suggestion made unless it might have been in the last year the're, 1875 ; I may 
 have said something to him. 
 
 Q. You said nothing to him, you are very sure, at the time you gave him the contract ? 
 A. I have no recollection of it, sir. 
 
 Q. Why did you give Medary a contract at all ? A. Because I found him a deputy on my 
 return after the second appointment. 
 
 Q. Who had made him a deputy f A. Dr. Latham, as I stated. 
 
 Q. Your predecessor f A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Had he made him a deputy ? A. Yes ; he had. I would not turn him out of the serv- 
 ice, and especially after he had surveyed one contract. 
 
 Q. What were the profits realized on that contract of Medary ? A. I cannot say, sir. 
 
 Q. It was let at a maximum sum, was it not, making $10 a mile ? A. Yes ; all of them 
 were let at the same price. All of our contracts for this year were let at $10 for section 
 lines. 
 
 Q. Could you not get any person to survey for a less sum than $10 a mile ? A. I think it is 
 very likely I could. 
 
 Q. Why did you not do it ? A. Because trusty, good men, honest men, would not sur- 
 vey for less than the customary price, especially in the mining country. 
 
 Q. Do you consider that Medary was a trusty, good man to survey ? A. Well, I sup- 
 pose him a fair average surveyor. 
 
 Q. But you do not know whether he ever ran a line in his life, do you ? A. I did not see 
 him running lines. 
 
 Q. You do know the fact that he had a compass-man by the name of Corey, who did run 
 the lines ? A. I know that he had Mr. Corey with him in the field for the purpose of assist- 
 ing him. That is all I know about it. 
 
 Q. How many contracts did Norton Grant have ? A. Well, I cannot state the number. 
 
 Q. He is a relative of Orvil Grant, is he not ? A. Let me finish my answer if you 
 please. His name went first into a contract in the fall of 1870, after he had spent that sum- 
 mer with my oldest deputy, Edwin James, who had been a deputy surveyor for me in Mis- 
 souri nearly 30 years previous to that. I placed him with him as a hand to learn the 
 business. He remained in the field from June to September in that capacity, and learned at 
 the same time to survey. The two Downeys were in the field in that same manner as hands, 
 went out with the surveyors to learn, and in September of 1870, my recollection is, that I 
 gave them the contract, together with Grant's name and Downey's name one of the Down- 
 eys, and perhaps both. 
 
 Q. Did Grant have any interest in any contract before his name was put in ? A. No, sir, 
 not a dollar. 
 
 Q. How was he paid the first summer that he went into the field ? A. Paid by the deputy 
 as a hand. 
 
 Q. How much ? A. Forty or fifty dollars a month. 
 
 L. C. STEVENS, being duly sworn and examined, testifies as follows : 
 By the CHAIRMAN : 
 
 Question. What is your age ? Answer. Thirty-one. 
 
 Q. What is your occupation ? A. I am a real-estate dealer or agent. 
 
 Q. At what place ? A. Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. 
 
 Q. How long have you lived in Cheyenne ? A. Between eight and nine years. 
 
 Q. Were you at any time employed in the office of Surveyor-General Reed, in that Ter- 
 ritory ? A. I was. 
 
 Q. When did you enter his office ? A. In the fall of 1870. 
 
 Q. In what capacity ? A. As transcribing clerk. 
 
 Q. How long did you remain there as transcribing clerk ? A. I remained there as tran- 
 scribing clerk until the time that Dr. Reed was removed ; I think it was in the spring of 
 1873. 
 
 Q. What did you do after Dr. Reed was removed ? A. I continued in the office as chief 
 clerk. 
 
 Q. With Dr. Reed's successor ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. How long did Dr. Reed's successor hold the position of surveyor-general of the Ter- 
 ritory ? A. I think between four and five months ; about that time. 
 
 Q. Mr. Reed was then re-appointed, was he ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Who was his successor ? A. Dr. H. Latham. 
 
 Q. Did he resign, do you know, or was he removed ? A. He was. removed ; that is, 
 suspended under the " tenure of office act," as I understand it. 
 
 Q. Have you any knowledge of the manner in which contracts are let, or were let, to 
 deputy surveyors by Dr. Reed ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Contract No. 61 was let to J. W. Hammond, I believe two contracts were they not 
 61 and 62? A. Yes, sir; Nos. 61 and 62. 
 
 Q. Do you know J. W. Hammond "? A. I do, sir. 
 
GOV1 .K\Mi:.\T - IN WYOMING TERRITORY. 
 
 ,'. Do you know whether any other person had an interest in this contract .'A. In those 
 
 t\\o ' 
 
 Q, V,-. A. I do. 
 
 O, Who did have an interest in them ? A. John S. Delano. 
 
 M. Do vou know \\liat tin- extent of his interest WHS .' A. I know the amount that was 
 noiu-y that Mr. 1 lammon.l received in payment of the work, for Mr. John 
 9, D llano, It was >i 
 
 Q. Do yon know \\hether it was Understood, at the time the contract was let toMr. Ham- 
 mon.l, between himself and 1' K'. . I, that .John S. Delano was to have an interest in that 
 ' A. II was, 
 
 the bargain with him for Mr. DelanoT A. I spoke to Mr. Hammond in 
 
 I to the matter my<elf fust. 
 
 Q. Did you speak to him of your own accord or were you requested to do so by any- 
 body ? A. I was requested to do so by J ' 
 
 ,'. What did yon say to him? A. I told Mr. Hammond that then- was a chance for him 
 to come into the field. He was not expecting any work. I told him that it In- was trilling 
 to go into the field, HUM let Mr. Delano in on profits, he could get work, and asked him if 
 .i\X to take a contract on such terms. I talked quite a while with him 
 about it and talked lVe.lv. He was an intimate friend of mine and I advised him that that 
 was the only show he had to get anything to do, and that he had better do that than be 
 idle ; that he would do pretty well out of it himself, anyhow, and he had better do it, and 
 he said he would. I then reported to Dr. Reed that I had seen Mr. Hammond and it was 
 all right. So the contract was let to Mr. Hammond. I had afterward conversations with 
 Mr. Hammond and with Dr. Reed in regard to those contracts, separately, hut never with 
 them together. I know, from both of them, that they both understood the arrangement as 
 it was talked up, and that Hammond went into the field on that understanding. 
 
 M. \Vl.at was Mr. Hammond to receive for his work ? A. That was to be determined by 
 the amount that he made. 
 
 Q, \\ 1 ;: irai Mr. Delano's interest, if you remember ? A. He shared equally with Mr. 
 Hammond in the profits. 
 
 Q. After deducting the expenses of the survey? A. After deducting the expenses of the 
 survey. As I understood from conversations with the doctor afterward, Mr. Hammond had 
 owned the outrit, the mules, the compass, and the equippage generally, and also did the work, 
 and for the use of his outfit and for his services he was to receive $125 a month, which 
 was deducted before the division; so I understood. I had nothing to do in regard to the 
 settlement. 
 
 Q. Did you have anything to do with the payment of money to Mr. Delano ? A. I did. 
 
 (,. I'i.-as.- t.) state what you had to do with that. A. Some time in November, 1874, the 
 draft was received from the Treasury for Mr. Hammond in payment for those contracts. 
 Mr. Hammond was not in town at that time. I received his mail when he was not in town 
 and attended to his business, and I placed these Treasury drafts in the bank to his credit, 
 M . Hammond had told me that he had given to Dr. Reed notes; that the doctor had re- 
 i him to give notes for what was coming to Mr. Delano, and that they were all right. 
 I was acquainted with the arrangement from the beginning. On the '.i 1st of November, 
 1874, Dr. KVed showed me these notes given by Mr. Hammond. They wm notes made on 
 a form of tin- First National Bank of Cheyenne, and these [producing papers] are exact 
 'copies of the notes : 
 
 i.|400,00. "CHEYENNE, <> 1874, 
 
 'On or before February I. 1-7-1. we. jointly and severally, promise to pay to John L. 
 Merriam, or bearer, out of the draft ot my surveying-contract No. 1874, 
 
 as soon as received, four hundred dollars, at the First National Bank of Cheyenne, for 
 value received, * in-fit of stay and exemption laws, with interest at two per cent, 
 
 per month ft.* mat, J. WBffiEY HAMMOHD." 
 
 '1,000.00. "W.\Miis.n>\. u. 
 
 "On or before 1-Yhruary 1, l^-l, we, joimly and pay to John L. 
 
 . .r bearer, our : BT-oontract, 1 1874, one thonsan 
 
 lars.asHoon as i I the First National Hank;.. < raiving 
 
 benefit of stay and exemption Uw.% with interest a! u ma'urity till ; 
 
 ' J. \\ 1 . " I . \ .\ 1 1 A M M * 'N 1 '. 
 
 Dr.Keed showed me those notes, and told u,.- that he did not k., 
 
 Hammond was not in town, and he did imt Kn.-w h..w t.. collect them : that he wanted the 
 inonr\ : , M | i. u ,. I .... -tor that 1 - ct them. He said that lie would 
 
 be very glad if I w,.nld,and he guvi- th.-m to n i v and 
 
 went down to ! .n k lit i.n< " ''. * "' 
 
 : the>.- notes," and passed tin in OW the 
 
24 ALLEGED FKAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 counter. He took them. I then said, "I will pay those notes for Hammond,'' and I drew 
 a check for $1,400, which I signed " J. Wesley Hammond, by L. C. Stevens." I was au- 
 thorized by Mr. Hammond to check against his account at any time. I passed that check 
 over to Mr. Wild. He took it. I said, " Just mark these notes paid." He put the cancel- 
 ing-stamp of the First National Bank on the notes, and handed them back to me. I then 
 look the check for $1,400, made a deposit-ticket, and deposited it to my private account. I 
 had been instructed by Dr. Reed that there was $505 of this amount which was to go to Utah 
 to pay Mr. Merriam's mining assessments, and the balance, which was $895, he wanted to 
 send to Mr. Delano. I then at once drew my check on the First National Bank of Chey- 
 enne for $895, and asked Mr. Wild to give me a check on New York, to the order of J. S. 
 Delano, for $895. He drew a check as requested, and passed it to me. I passed him my check 
 in payment of it. There is my check, (the original,) and here is the original draft which he 
 passed to me, [handing papers to chairman.] I bought the draft that way, paying for it with 
 my check ; and $505 I left standing to my credit. I took this draft back to the office. Dr. 
 Reed had a letter written unsealed it was addressed to J. S. Delano, San Francisco. The 
 letter was in an envelope with the stamp on, and the envelope all ready to seal. He told me 
 to put in the draft and mail the letter. I folded the draft in the letter, sealed the letter, and 
 deposited it in the post-office. It was directed to John S. Delano, San Francisco, and I put 
 this draft in it. 
 
 Q. What did you do with the balance ? A. With that balance of $505, on the 23d of 
 November, 1874, I purchased other New York exchange to the order of Dr. Silas Reed, 
 which I gave to him, and which closed the transaction between the doctor and myself. 
 Some months afterward, I went into the bank and told an officer of the bank, the book- 
 keeper, that on such a day I bought a draft there of $895, on New York, and I wanted to 
 know if it had been paid. He looked through the drafts, and had some trouble to find it, 
 but finally found it, and said it had been paid, and handed it to me. I said, " I would like 
 to take this draft." He says, " We have no further use for it ; take it; keep it if you want 
 it." I did so. 
 
 The check referred to by the witness is as follows , 
 
 " First National Bank Cheyenne, 11,21, 1874. $895. 
 
 " Pay to the order of J. S. Delano, eight hundred and ninety-five dollars 
 
 "J. E. WILD, Cashier. 
 
 " To Fourth National Bank, New York. No. 11870." 
 This check is indorsed, " J. S. Delano," with the further indorsement : 
 " Paid Laidlaw & Co., agents of the Bank of California, or order. 
 
 "THOMAS BROWN. 
 " For deposit in the Bank of New York. N. B. A. 
 
 "LAIDLAW & CO." 
 
 The WITNESS. I believe that is a complete account of that transaction. 
 
 Q. Did you at any time send these papers to any person in Washington City ; if so, to 
 whom, and when ? A. In the latter part of March, 1875, I sent them to B. H. Bristow. 
 
 Q. When did you get them back ? A. In July, 1875. 
 
 Q. Where was Dr. Reed in the latter part of March, 1875 ? A. In Saint Louis. 
 
 Q. Did he communicate with you before his return home ? A. Quite often ; I think he 
 went away in the latter part of November, 1874, from Cheyenne to come East. 
 
 Q. And did not return until March, 1875? A. Did not return until May, the latter part 
 of May, or early in June. 
 
 Q. What was the communication that you received from him? A. It was this telegram. 
 
 Witness produced telegram, reading as follows : 
 
 " WASHINGTON, D. C., April 27, 1875. 
 " To L. C. STEVENS, 
 
 Surveyor- General's Office : 
 
 " How did Campbell obtain D.'s letters to me, about surveys f 
 
 " SILAS REED." 
 
 Q. Whom did you understand him to mean by D.'s? A. Delano's. 
 
 Q. John Delano's letters ? A. John Delano's letters. 
 
 Q. What was the next communication you received from him ? A. I never received any 
 other from him. On the 30th April, I left the office. His nephew received a telegram from 
 him. I cannot be positive as to the exact language of it, but I think it was this : " Relieve 
 Stevens and take charge of office until I return." 
 
 Q. You then left the office ? A. I then left the office. 
 
 Q. Did you know anything about the contract let to Rogers & Lampton ? A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Are they surveyors ? A. Yes ; deputy surveyors. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether Delano had an interest in the contracts let to them 1 A. I was 
 told so by Dr. Reed. 
 
 Q. What did he tell you ? A. The doctor told me about the amount Mr. Delano was to re- 
 
GO-- I-N WTTOIONO TERRITOKV. 25 
 
 .uul toKl . contracts out of which it was to mine. That was one of 
 
 i.ut amount tin- ilo.-t.ir tnl.I you that John l).-l;iiio was to receive out 
 of all ; tl .'- A. II. told in.- that he "anted to make up : UIO, it In- could, 
 
 :uch he was to receive out of each contract ? A. I il.i not i 
 
 that la- .ii.l exacti'v ; he lunl some tulk with me about it. ami my recollection is that he said 
 the boys e.mld do" the townships lor alioiit >:{:(. which would leave s.'.">l' tor Mr. Delano. 
 
 :ie;tch townsliipf A. On each to\\ nship. 
 
 Q, II. \\ n, any town>hips did Mr. K'ogns have .'A. I know the liability of his contract. 
 ntract amounted to >J.ltio. which would make :U townships. That was fractional 
 there, which made odd amounts. That was tlm liability of his contract. 
 </. \ the liability of the contract of Mr. Hays T A. The same. 
 
 < t >. Wa- M:. KY, fl*| the same? A. $I,HUO his was; 'that was for three townships. 
 
 Mr. Thoma-Y A. 1 he liability of that was $J,900. It probably embraced some 
 
 other kind of work township exterior lines. That was the amount that it was calculated 
 
 . When the contract was let, it was calculated what the work would come to. 
 
 _'uvi-a bond for double the amount of liability, and that was the amount of the lia- 
 
 Q. Have you any knowledge of the character of the work that has been done by these 
 contractors .' A. 1 never was on the ground ; no, sir. I have seen all the field-notes, how- 
 ever. 
 ( t . Can you form an opinion from the notes as to the character of the work done ? A. Do 
 
 r to this particular work ? 
 
 Yes ; this particular work in all these contracts. A. Mr. Hammond's work was in the 
 vieinitv of Fort Bridger some smooth work and some timber woik. 
 
 What omld Mr. Hammond's work have been done for 1 Could it not have been let 
 for the amount that he himself received ? A. It could. 
 
 And the amount that was paid to John Delano could have been saved to the Govern- 
 ment? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Is that the case with all the contracts that were let there ? A. Yes, sir; there was a 
 numeration ; it was good, profitable work for the deputy, even after giving Mr. Delano 
 his share. 
 
 1 )id Dr. Reed ever exhibit to you a letter which he received from Ex-Secretary Delano 
 in relation to this matter .' A. He did. 
 Q. Do you know where that letter is now? A. I do not. 
 
 t t >. Wa> it iu the possession of Dr. Reed when you saw it ? A. It was. He handed it to 
 me t. r. ad. I read it and handed it back to him. I have not seen it since. 
 </. About wh.it time was that? A. That was in October, 1-? 1. 
 Q, \v it a while before Mr. Delano retired from the Interior Department * A. 
 while I was in the office. 
 
 ( t >. It \\a< before sending the draft to John Delano? A. Yes ; a mouth before. 
 ,'. Can you state the content! of that letter? A. I can state the sense of the letter cor- 
 rectly. It was a short letter. I read it once. 
 
 .lust tell the substance, if you can. A. I would state that before the doctor sh 
 me this letter he spoke to me in regard to it ; something like this he says : *\I was writing 
 ; ry not long ago and I mentioned to him that I was doing something for John out 
 here. I got a letter from him this morning, and I want to show it to you ; just see how 
 I he is." He thru handed me the letter and I read it. It was an autograph letter of 
 Secretary Delano's, and addressed to Dr. Reed. The first part of it was in regard to some 
 other work, wliich I did not pay any attention to or charge my mind with. The \ 
 which he directed my attention, ana which he had referred to, was like thi> : " You men- 
 tion thru YOU are doing something for John ; I hop.' you will be careful not to do anything 
 that \\iil have the appearance of being wrong." That was about all I paid any ati. 
 to all that 1 noticed particularly. 
 
 V 1 ).. v..ii r. -member whether there was a clause in the letter thanking the doctor t> 
 kindness to J,,hu ? A. To the best of my recollection, there was; it was a complimentary, 
 mt letter. 
 
 Did the doctor tell you that he had written to Kx-Secretary Delano, and informed him 
 of what he was doing tor .John .'A. He did before he showed me the letter. He- 
 that he had written tl.. y not lony 1 had mentioned that he was helping 
 
 n. 1 then introduced the subject of the letter and the letter itself. 
 
 Win-re was .John at that time .' A. I i Vn DO Idtft. 1 think lie was in ( 'alifornia for 
 several \\e, -ks pn e time I sent him the draft, and would have been in Cali: 
 
 hat time. I think he was there. 
 M. I : see John in Cheyenne T A. I did. 
 
 i;. \\ 11 uas he there? A. Ho was there some time during'.tbe summer of 1874. 
 M 1! . l.mir did i.,. -A. Wei!, he rcMiiain- some two or three h<>' 
 
 il-lt he was th.-iv. to the best of your rec,.'. 
 
 i there at one time on his way to Denver and >taid there from evening until 
 
26 ALLEGED FEAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 about midnight, when the train went to Denver. I saw him riding in a carriage with three 
 other gentlemen ; they drove up to the sidewalk, and Mr. McCann, who was one of the party, 
 and whom I knew, asked me if there were any letters for Mr. Delano at the office. 
 
 Q. He did not come to the office himself? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. I mean this particular time ? A. No, sir ; not this time. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether he had ever met or had an interview' with any of these deputy 
 surveyors who divided the profits of their contracts with him f A. Not to my knowledge. 
 To the best of my knowledge and belief and I had a chance to know they never saw him 
 or had any communication with him. 
 
 Q. Arid, so far as your knowledge goes, they were permitted to do the surveying by agree- 
 ing to divide the profits with Mr. John Delano ? A. That was the case with Mr. Hammond. 
 
 Q. And the contract was made by Dr. Reed ? A. It was. 
 
 Q. Do you know anything about the contracts that were let to Mr. Orvil Grant outside 
 of what is contained in Dr. Reed's letter that has been read? A. I know nothing about 
 that except what Dr. Reed has told me. 
 
 Q. Please state what he has told you about that contract? A. Mr. Medary came to the 
 office to work, and was given a contract by Dr. Latham, and was at work in the field when 
 Dr. Reed was re-instated. About the time that Dr. Reed returned Mr. Medary came down 
 to Cheyenne from the field, and when I met him I said, "We have got another surveyor- 
 general ; look out for heads." He says, " I da not think this change will affect me at all." 
 I had no further conversation with him, but I know I learned afterward that while he was 
 there he made -an arrangement with Dr. Reed as to other work that he was to have after he 
 got through the contract on which he was engaged at that time. The doctor told me some 
 time afterward in regard to it, that it was a "mighty sharp trick in Latham" to bring 
 Medary out there; that he had it all arranged to help Mr. Orvil Grant, who was poor, had 
 been burned out in Chicago, and w r as in debt, and he proposed to Orvil to put him in the 
 field, and that Orvil said that he could not go in the field very well, but if he would put in 
 this young man Medary it would be all right. The doctor said that Latham had found this 
 out in some way or other through another Grant, who was working in the office, and had 
 come out and brought Medary along, and the doctor said that that was a very "shrewd 
 trick" in Dr. Latham to capture Medary in order to get the favor of Orvil. Mr. Medary 
 remained in the employ as deputy there from that time as long as Dr. Reed was connected 
 with the office, and did not get through until some time afterward. He worked there last 
 summer. The doctor told me in the fall of 1873 that Medary was to help Orvil out of some 
 of his debts. 
 
 Q. Is Mr. Medary a practical surveyor ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Did he go in the field himself and remain there, do you know ? A. Yes ; he remained 
 out there most of the time, out in that vicinity. 
 
 Q. Did you ever know Orvil Grant to do any surveying in that Territory ? A. No, sir ; 
 I do not think he was ever in the Territory. 
 
 Q. Proceed to state anything else that you know in reference to those matters. A. In 
 the fall of 1873, in talking about Orvil's matters, and as to what Medary would do for him, 
 Dr. Reed mentioned that Medary was spending his money pretty fast, and he was afraid 
 there would be nothing left for Orvil. When the doctor came back and Medary w^as going 
 into the field in the spring to work, I asked the doctor in regard to Orvil's matters, and 
 whether Medary had helped Orvil out as he had promised, and the doctor said that was 
 fixed up all right. That was in spring of 1874. Mr. Medary came back in the spring of 
 1874, and was there during the surveying season, and had contracts all the time to large 
 amounts. When his contracts had been given him, Dr. Reed asked me one day what I 
 thought Medary ought to make out of that work, and I answered him that I did not see how 
 he could make less than $5,000 however he managed. He says, "That is just what I 
 thought, and just what I told Mr. Grant. I told Mr. Grant that that ought to be the basis, 
 and that if Medary did not report that much profit, he had not done it right and had not 
 managed his work right." I do not think I had any more conversation with Dr. Reed that 
 I recollect in regard to Orvil until the winter of 1875. He mentioned the matter to me in 
 several letters, two that I have here, and one or two that I have not got, though I recollect 
 about what he said. 
 
 Q. Are those letters missing or lost? A. I could not find them among my papers. 
 
 Q. Did you look for them ? A. I did. They did not say anything particularly, but they 
 referred to the matter. 
 
 Q. Do you remember what he said in those letters in relation to Mr. Grant's interest ? 
 A. Yes ; Dr. Reed did not like Medary at all, and did not like to have him about, and com- 
 plained a good deal about Medary, and the way he acted. 
 
 Q. Toward Grant ? A. No ; acted in the Territory, and he said that Mr. Grant ought to get 
 somebody else; that he could get a man who would make more money for him, and who 
 would be pleasanter to have about. I know in one of Ins letters he referred to the fact that 
 he had stoppe ! somewhere in New Jersey where Orvil Grant lived, and had some talk with 
 him about puttrtg in a new man in place of Medary, and that he thought (or that probably) 
 Mr. Grant won : consent to it. 
 
 Q. Is that all, -;o far as Mr. Grant's interest was concerned ? A. I think that is all I 
 know. 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. L' 7 
 
 ... Ware there no other pmoni that y,.u know of who had intonate in oonl 
 
 whose iiiiiiH-s il'nl not appear in the papers f A. Yes, sir. 
 
 wlJm.-A. on, II. II. Houghton; 1 think th.it ui the name; I iver 
 
 thoOffhl of it until you aske.l me tin- .piestion-have in.t thought ul it tor yi 
 
 \.llr was some friend of Dr. Reed a. 
 iV Dojonkno L Bte publtahes iMwep*^ toiMwheie fa 
 
 think I d.. not know l.ut it is (Jalena tin- (Jalena AdvertiM-.-, 1 think. 
 
 Mr. Hooghton in the No, sir. 
 
 l). In whoso name was t!, :mide out in which he hul un interest .'-. 
 
 A 1; 
 M Were t In- v surveyors" A. Yes. 
 
 I),, vou know what the amount of the contract WHS .'-A. I do not. 
 
 U , ,.ut 
 1 know that th, transaction was completed and the money paid. k lheboysl 
 
 ^Tj. 'DO you derive your information from tbe deputies ? A. |Some of it, and some from 
 
 *0?Wh did th,- doctor t,ll you about it ?-A. Well, tbe doctor told me that he had intended 
 P Mr. llou.'l.ton, who was his old iriend, and had oftered him some work, but that h, 
 could not conn- out there, t.. work, and so he was going to let some of the deputies, for they 
 would make up to him about that amount which he could make on a small contract. 
 Q. Do you know of any other persons who had an interest in a contract, and 
 names did not appear in the papers ?-A. I was told that Norton Grant had an inter- 
 the Downey contracts UMoie his name appeared. . 
 
 t Who told you that f A. I was told that by C. J. Reed, chief clerk in 
 
 n that Mr. Grant's name did not appear, as I recollect, was that he was not ot age, ai 
 then-fore not competent to enter into a contract. 
 
 6. Do you know of any other person whose name did appear in contracts, and who 
 not do any of the work IA. James M. Fowler was one person of that kind. 
 
 6. Who is James M. Fowler? A. He is a farmer and postmaster at some little town 
 
 Denver, the name of which I cannot think of at present. 
 O. Did you ever see him in the Territory IA. Yes. 
 
 Q. How long did he remain there when he came there long enough to do the work .A. 
 No, sir ; he remained there a day or two at the time the contract was made. 
 O. Who did the work f A. Mr. Fahringer. 
 
 O Do you know the liability of that contract ? A. 1 can give it to you. [Referring to a 
 memorandum.] It was contract No. 68, to Fowler & Fahringer ; liability $4,000. 
 
 Q. Do you know the amount that Mr. Fowler realized from it? A. I was told 1 
 Fahringer what he paid him $1,400. 
 
 Q. Do you know of any other persons who had an interest m a contract and WOO 
 did none of the work IA. I do not think of any other just now. 
 
 O. If there is anything else that you desire to state to the committee, I wish you 
 would state it. You have sworn to tell the whole truth about this matter. The com- 
 mittee does not know what you know, and therefore we cannot ask you specifically every- 
 thing that we ought to know in relation to this matter. A. I would state, with reference 
 to Mr. Medary, that lie did very little of his work himself, if any. He had acoi; 
 man hired, who ran the lines, and was surveyor in fact. The compass-man did all oi the 
 . and wrote up the notes, which Mr. Medary swore to and turned in. Medary paid 
 him $100 a month. 
 
 Do you know whether Mr. Medary understood the business of surveying or not 
 he a practical surveyor ? A. No, sir. 
 
 , He \\as not a practical surveyor? A. No, sir. I do not know that he ever nea 
 surveying until he came t.. tl.e Territory and took a contract. 
 
 By Mr. BOOV1 ! 
 Q. I understand you to say that you haJ seen a letter from Secretary Delano to Dr. 
 
 Q. Do j'ou remember about tho date of it IA. It was in October, 1874. I do not recol- 
 
 Did that letter acknowledge any services that had been performed by I >.. 
 John Delano ? Wa Dg thanks to him tor hi-> kindness to Join: it was 
 
 Vas it in reply to a letter that had been written by Dr. 
 A. Yes, sir. The doctor told me that he had written such a loiter. 
 
 ::- letter indicate that the Secretary ha 1 knm\ l.-dgi- of the fact that John had 
 an inter. :racts ' A. It did i:- any contracts at all. 
 
 < >. Wai there anything in tin- letter forbidding the letting of an ;n which .lol 
 
 was interested, or cautioi -I upon that rabjed -A. The language wa- 
 
 like khfc; I liope you will iH.t do anything that will have the upi 
 
 i it in that way. 
 
28 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. There was no order to him, however, not to allow John to have an interest in any of 
 those contracts? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Were any contracts let after that in which John was interested ? A. No, sir. The 
 contracts had all been let in the spring and summer. The money had been collected on 
 them then. 
 
 Q. Are you pretty certain about your recollection of the contents of that letter ? A. 
 I am. 
 
 Q. State to the committee whether or not it was the custom of Dr. Reed to let contracts 
 to parties who were not practical surveyors, upon the idea that they would get practical 
 surveyors to assist them? A. No, sir; he would let them to persons of that kind, and let 
 them go ahead the best they could. 
 
 Q. Not practical surveyors ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Did he not let contracts to men who were not surveyors ? A. He did ; all they knew 
 about surveying was what they learned there in the field, working for the Government. It 
 was not so in every case, of course. 
 
 Q. I do not mean in every case ; I mean the general rule. In other words, he did not con- 
 fine himself to surveyors when he let contracts. A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. John Delano was not a surveyor, was he ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Did he ever go into the field and do any particular work ? A. No ; not at all, sir. 
 
 Q. Did he ever accompany any person to the field, so far as you know, such as the sur- 
 veyors who did the work ? A. He did not. 
 
 Q. Did he ever execute a bond in the office ? A. He did not. 
 
 Q. Did he ever take an oath as surveyor or deputy surveyor ? A. No, sir. 
 
 By Mr. WOODWORTH : 
 
 Q. Where were you when that letter was exhibited to you from Secretary Delano to Dr. 
 Reed ? A. In Dr. Reed's office. 
 
 Q. Were you then his chief clerk ? A. I was. 
 
 Q. What was the other business that he wrote about, aside from the matter you have de- 
 tailed do you remember? A. I do not recollect exactly ; I could not state with any cer- 
 tainty. 
 
 Q. But you remember this other part of it? A. Yes. 
 
 Q. You do not remember what the business part was? A. I do not ; something I had no 
 interest in. 
 
 Q. Something connected with the business of the land-office ? A. No, sir ; it was a 
 private letter, a personal letter. 
 
 Q. Was there anything said in that letter with regard to the health of John Delano ; any 
 inquiry made in regard to it, or anything said in regard to it ? A. Not that I recollect. 
 
 Q, You had seen John Delano prior to that time, had you not? He had been in the Ter- 
 ritory prior to that time, as you have already said ? A. Yes. 
 
 Q. You knew he was a man out of health consumptive ? A. 1 had been told so. 
 
 Q. Did you not know that John Delano had been brought there on account of his health, 
 and was traveling at that time on account of his health, and that Dr. Reed felt a good deal 
 of solicitude for his health ; and did you not Know, further, that that was the matter referred 
 to in that letter, and not any contracts ? A. No, sir; I did not- 
 
 Q. Was there anything said about contracts in that letter ? A. Nothing at all. 
 
 Q. Do you want to leave the impression upon the minds of this committee that that letter 
 had reference to contracts that John Delano was having from Dr. Reed ? A. I do. 
 
 Q. Why do you wish to leave that impression ? A. Because of the conversation with 
 which the doctor led up to this letter. 
 
 Q. Not from anything in the letter, but from the conversation. What was that conversa- 
 tion ? A. He said that he had written to the Secretary a short time "before. 
 
 Q. What did he say he had written about ? A, A letter in which he had mentioned that 
 he was doing something for John. 
 
 Q. Did he say what he was doing for John ? A. No. sir ; I did not know of anything 
 else he was doing except helping him to share these contracts ; that was what I supposed 
 the doctor was talking about. 
 
 Q. You did not know anything about the matter of John's being sick, and the doctor 
 being his adviser in his going out West for the purposes of his health, did you ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. He did not say anything about that ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. What else was said? A. He then said, " I will show you the letter. See how very 
 careful the Secretary is ; " then, also, the language of the letter : " I hope you- will not do 
 anything that will have the appearance of being wrong." That would not lead me to sup- 
 pose that it was solicitude for his health. 
 
 Q. Instead of saying," How very careful the Secretary is," did he not say, " How very 
 careful the Secretary is of his son's health f ' Was not that the language used ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Or how very solicitous he is of his son ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you pretend to give us the exact language of that letter at that time the words of 
 a letter written in October, 1873? A. Yes ; I do not pretend that I can give you every 
 word, but that was the exact sense. 
 
GOYKUNMKNT SURVr.vs IN \\Y<>MI\<; TERRITORY, 
 
 g ready t.. swear that In- .li-l not use that lan^ua^e tliat I mention.- 1. a-i to 
 
 t'h.- health of his son ?" A. I am : I am M 78 of that. 
 
 V..ii ran remember that, distinctly, over this lapse of time, hut cannot remember 
 the other part of the letter, n.>r what it was about ? A. IWum- mj attention 
 
 ; (,, it ; 1 di.l not pay any attention t.. it : my attention was directed to the other, 
 long have you lived to Cheyenne 'A. I have lived there, with the exception of 
 about live niMiiths, siiicw I>eccmber, I- 
 
 x ..u not engaged there before you went into the surveyor- general s office .'A. 
 
 ,','^ior whom ? A. At the ti.n- 1 went into Dr. Reed's office, I was clerking for 
 
 </ In what business was he engaged ? A. He was engaged in the liquor and cigar 
 
 bush.. 
 
 M. Wholesale or retail t A, Both. 
 
 Q. In ther words you were " tending bar ;" that was the amount ol it !\. I 
 
 ii v business; ves, sir. 
 M. \\ I:.. \\as Dr. Reed's predecessor? A. Dr. Latham, tins last tune. 
 
 1 mean the first predecessor .'A. Dr. Reed was the first incumbent ; he came 
 and organi/ed the office in 1870. 
 
 Q. You continued until what time / When were you finally discharged from Office .'A. 
 Ion the :;nth April, 1-7:.. 1 had already resigned ; my resignation had been 
 pted bv Dr. Reed. He was not at home. 
 
 Q. Why had you resigned ? A. To go into other business. I had made arrangements for 
 opening a real-estate and collection office. 
 
 c t >. You spoke of your going into the bank and petting this draft that you have ezhi 
 t.) th.- committee from the cashier of the bank; was that before or after your resignation? 
 \. i ; t: PTM after. 
 
 M. At whose instance did you do this? A. My own. 
 
 < >. 1'or what purpose f A. I went in to see if the draft had been paid, and I got p 
 of it, so as to be able to say that Mr. Delano received that particular sum of money. 
 \Vhv should yout want to do that? A. Because I had determined to make an < 
 whole matter. 
 
 Q. To whom ? A. To the administration. 
 O. Did you do it 'A. 1 tried to. 
 
 M. \vh,-n 'A. Sometime in the month of March the latter part of March, 167o, 1 
 the papers to Washington. 
 
 ( t >. To whom did you send them ? A, To Secretary B. H. Bristow. 
 
 M. Did \..u communicate to any person in Cheyenne before that time what you have 
 rommunicated to the committee with regard to John Delano's connection with these 
 tracts and drafts 'A. I did. 
 
 I Q whom ? A. I told it to Mr. Corlett, my partner, and I told it to Governor C.unp- 
 hell, who was governor of the Territory at the time; it was about the time when he 1- 
 Territory, 1 believe ; and I told it to Major Wolcott. 
 
 Q. Your feeling is not very kind at this time toward Dr. Reed, is it, Mr. Stevens A 
 ' 
 
 ,. You have spoken of contracts being let to parties who were not surveyors, and nave 
 . 1 think, of this Mr M,-dary as being a person not a surveyor; are you acquainted 
 with him? A. Ves; quite well. 
 
 You know that he is not a surveyor, do you ? A. Well, I know that he is not a prac- 
 tical surveyor, not a competent surveyor; he is a deputy surveyor. 
 M. Does he understand the art of surveying' In other word-,, would h-- be able to run 
 
 Q6fl and do the work, if required to do it .'A. It is a matter of opinion ; I 
 the field with him myself. 
 
 This man, 11. II. llou-hton, who was he? Do you know him 'A. Only as I have 
 
 .fated here. 
 
 M. Doy< : !.'.< v v. hether he was a practical surveyor or not .'A. PO. 
 ,'. ^nil do not knew ativthing about that .'A. No. 
 
 M. What do yon know about I ;.- a practical surveyor f A. Ye 
 
 then in the ofhYc : nned his ; :ht there. 
 
 M. : 
 
 ton (nant .' A. lie is a distant relative of Pro'idi lit (Jiunt. I do not know 
 i.t a second cor. 
 < t '. \Vlio is Orvil Grant .'A. lie is the brother nt (Jrant. . 'and. 
 
 r,y Mr. WpODWOBI n: 
 
 1 understand Mr. Medary's first coutmct was under Mr. Latham ? A. It was. 
 
 r,y the ( II MUM \N : 
 
 Q. Did you ever write H letter to President Grant in connection with tl e<e matteis? A 
 
30 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. Please toll us what that was what you complained of in that letter. A. I will state 
 that shortly after I left the office, (I left on the 30th of April,) there came into my possession 
 a Treasury draft for $90, drawn to the order of Walter Brown. The money was not intended 
 for Walter Brown, but intended for a person who was working in the office and was being 
 paid as a clerk in the office. I took that draft when it came into my possession, (that was 
 after I had sent these papers to Washington,) and made a sworn statement respecting it 
 and forwarded it here. 
 
 Q. To whom ? A. I forwarded it to Governor Campbell, and he wrote me that he had 
 received it, and handed it to the President. That is all that I knew about it. I supposed 
 it was in the President's hands. When Dr. Reed came back to Wyoming in the summer of 
 J875, after he had been there some time, he came to me one day and asked me in regard to 
 this draft, what had become of it. I told him I had returned it to the Treasury Department. 
 He did not have much conversation with me, but he then went and saw the young man, 
 Walter Brown, to whom the draft was made payable, and had some conversation with Mr. 
 Brown in regard to this matter, which conversation Mr. Brown came and repeated to me. 
 I have it here in Mr. Brown's writing. If it would be of any interest to the committee in 
 this connection I will read it. 
 
 Q. Produce it. Do you know it to be Mr. Brown's handwriting ? A. Yes, sir ; he wrote 
 it at my request and gave it to me at the time. 
 
 It reads : 
 
 "CHEYENNE, WYO., September 1, 1875. 
 
 "The following is a statement made to me in Pease & Taylor's office, August 26, 1875, 
 by Dr. Silas Reed : 
 
 "He commenced by telling me about his hiring Mr. Leverett C. Stevens as clerk in his 
 office, at $100 per month, salary, and, finding him to be a good clerk, made him a proposition 
 to sweep and dust out the office, and he would allow Mr. Stevens $30 a month, the amount 
 that would have to be paid if he hired some one else to do it, which he said Mr. Stevens 
 agreed to. After awhile Mr. Blackstone needed a little help, and so Mr. B. was allowed 
 the $30 extra money. Then Mr. Parsball. and, finally, the young man who takes care of 
 the office now. Reed said then that he wished to tell me a few facts, as he knew I was a 
 friend of Mr. Stevens. He told me then that some parties here had got up a plot to have 
 him removed from office, and had succeeded in getting Mr. Stevens to help them. He said 
 that the President showed him some papers while he was in Washington, and he asked him 
 where he got them, but the President didn't want to mention any names, but remembered 
 that Mr. Stevens had sent them on to Governor Campbell. Reed said that one of the papers 
 was a draft drawn on the Fourth National Bank of New York City in favor of Delano, which 
 he had Mr. Stevens mail at Cheyenne, and it went by the way of San Francisco, Cal., to 
 New York, and then it should come back with other papers to the First National Bank of 
 this place, but. he looked over the drafts here and it was gone. Some one had stolen it out 
 of the bank, and he said Stevens was the only one that could have done it. He said he 
 explained it to the President, why he bad used the appropriation money, and he (the Presi- 
 dent) said that if Reed wanted to give the money in that way to Delano he had a perfect 
 right to do so. He also had a draft drawn in favor of myself for work done in the survey- 
 or's office, which he explained to the President, and the President said it was all right. 
 He also said that the Government would not allow this young man (before mentioned) to 
 be beat out of his money, and that the said draft drawn in favor of myself would be 
 returned, and he didn't want me to sign it or to do anything with it but to hand it to him. 
 Reed also said that it was damned ungrateful in Stevens to betray him so. He said much 
 more about the matter that I can't remember now, but I can swear that the above statement 
 is just what he told me. Reed also said that he did not know even that I had been in the 
 habit of signing the vouchers, for he didn't take any notice of them ; said Stevens made 
 them out and he just signed them without reading them at all. 
 
 "W C. BROWN." 
 
 Mr. Brown came to me and repeated this conversation. About that time Burdett, Com- 
 missioner of the General Land-Office, was in Cheyenne. Right after Mr. Burdett went away 
 Mr. Brown came to me and said he had been told by Mr. Hay, who had been a deputy in 
 Dr. Reed's office, that they were going to send out for that draft ; that they would send a 
 letter and would request the return of it, and asked me what he had better do, and I told 
 him not to sign it if such a request did come. I told him that I did not believe any such a 
 request would come, but if it did, I said, " Don't you sign it." He came to me a few days 
 afterward and said they had brought him (Mr. Hay. who was a personal friend of his whom 
 lie did not like to disoblige, had brought him) this request and he did not like to refuse to 
 sign it, but before getting this request signed he had showed him a letter from the Commis- 
 sioner of the Land-Office stating that if Walter Brown requested the return of that draft it 
 should be returned to him. 
 
 Q. You say that money was intended for some other person ? A. Yes. 
 
 Q. And no"t for Walter Brown ? A. Not for him. 
 
 Q. Who was the other person ? A. Mason G. Day. 
 
BUBVEYfi IN WYOMING TUM<m n:v. 31 
 
 M. In what capacity u as he, nirage.1 in the officeT-V. II- *M towing pay as clerk 
 ami al-o lit:ii" tl'.. :.ieh this money \\iis intended. A- noon as Brown 
 
 told me tluit be had si.'iied this. I saw ut one, -that 1 >r. K'e-d WHS determined to ^ion 
 
 ,,f t j, :l . : tlu> ilnit't it was in tin- President's buds. 1 iBUMd] 
 
 >ut down and addressed n personal letter to the President which I signed and sent to him. 
 I never received anv i.-j.lv t.> it : I do not know anything uhout tin- result of it, but m that 
 letter, which was a'lonjr letter, (I have a copy of it here but it would not interest you,) I 
 protest, ,1 Mgain>t that dratt l.ein.u' returned to K'ee-d or to anybody without investigation. 
 
 Q. Was NValn-r I'.iown cmploved iii the office at all? A. No, sir. 
 
 o. Mad he auv eonn.'ctioii with the office ? A. Not the least. 
 
 ii \II;M \\ here inquired of Dr. Reed if he desired to ask the witness any questions 
 
 . niiiiition. 
 
 Dr/Ki M.. 1 have a liumljer of questions to ask, and I ask the privilege of the committee 
 tluit I may have the opportunity now. 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. Wu will grant it, sir. 
 
 Cross-examination : 
 
 By Dr.Rr.i :i: 
 
 Q. You spoke of this draft in tlie name of Walter Brown, and you brought Mr. Brown's 
 stat.-nent here to show that I spoke to him about it, ami in which he says that I suid I had 
 explained about that particular draft to the President. I did not see the President after the 
 JDth of April : upon what day did you receive that draft ? A. I received that draft in the 
 curlv part of May. 
 
 M. Mow did the name of Mr. Brown come to be used in that draft 14. Because the ac- 
 count was audited to him : his name was used and he signed the voucher. 
 
 < ( >. Who prepared the account ? A. I did. 
 
 Q. Was that the first account that you had prepared in Mr. Brown's name tor that partic- 
 ular purpose, of janitor? A. It was not. 
 
 I low long Imd his name been used to cover that small amount of janitor- salary T A. 
 I think for a matter of two years ; perhaps more. 
 
 M. I.. ; me a-k von if you did not use his uame in 1870f A. No, sir. 
 
 ,'. Late iu 1870, was* it not used to cover your services in that very capacity? A. 
 No, sir. 
 
 Q. You will swear to that ? A. I will. 
 
 (,. Will you swear that his name was not put in, then, very early in J871 for such a pur- 
 pose to cover your service as janitor ? A. It never was put in to cover mine at all. I 
 swear positively to that. 
 
 M Whan ITM the lirst time his name was usei to cover the janitor's account ? A. Well, 
 it \\a* iiM-d as soon as it became necessary to have an account. There was a long time in 
 which it went into an incidental account. 
 
 M. It is an incidental account all the time, is it not ? A. Allow me to explain. An im-i- 
 denta! account audited in your own name by which the draft was drawn in your favor, and 
 you drew the money, and then paid this janitor's bill. It was done in that way for a long 
 time ; but after some time the Department objected to so large an account as $UU a quarter 
 going in in that way, and said that this janitor must sign his own vouchers and draw h;> 
 o\\ n drait. and 1 think we used Mr. Brown's name always after that, and probably his name 
 had been used before in your account as the name of the janitor. 
 
 \nd who was the janitor in my office in the fall of 1870 when you first became 
 
 ;. '.\. i 
 
 When you first became clerk 'A. I am not sure in regard to that. I think it waa 
 Charta J, i:--e.i. 
 M W the mitor not a colored man when you first came into the office? A. 1 nave no 
 
 lection of any colored man when I tirst ca there. 
 
 V Whoever was janitor, did you not object to him as not being faithful in putting the 
 office in good order each morning 'A. I think very possibly 1 may have. I do no: 
 lect in n-^iiid to that. 
 
 Q. When I Mked you whom we should select to do that duty better, did you not reply 
 u.-uld do "it yourself.' A. 1 do not recollect in regard to any statements about 
 otter ; hut I recollect that I either asked you or at my suggestion it waa aaked of 
 
 \..ll tint v..ii let me do it. 
 
 '/ D you not perform that duty in addition to your acting as transcribing clerk for 
 
 Some four or five months. 
 Not until your salary was raisedthe next May or . June, say T A. No.str; I 
 
 until the boys came in from the field, and th--n either George Thomas 01 
 Lampion did it during tin- winter : I do not recollect which. 
 
 Your uame was used in that account, was it not the account of the services of the 
 janitor ' 
 
 ade out the account, then? A. I think I did all of that. 
 
32 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. What name was used, then, if yours was not ? A. I do not recollect whether it was a 
 fictitious name ; but I think it was. 
 
 Q. You were in the habit of keeping my accounts at that time in the office, were you 
 not? A. I made the accounts out always after I had been in there a few weeks. 
 Q. What was paid the janitor for services ? 
 
 WITNESS. When I first took it ? 
 
 Dr. REED. Yes, and all the time along. 
 
 A. When I first took it you paid me $12.50 a month, and when the boys came in from 
 the field George Thomas and Fred Reed you paid them $30 a month 
 
 Q. Was it not my universal custom to pay $30 a month for the winter-time and spring- 
 time when they had to make fires ? A. They did the work in the winter. The custom had 
 just commenced. 
 
 Q. Was not that the amount paid during all my time there for years, $30 a month for the 
 winter ? A. Not at the first part of it. 
 
 Q. Not the first winter? A. The first winter ; but I went into the office in September, 
 and did that work at $12.50 a month until Fred Reed and George Thomas got in from the 
 field. 
 
 Q. What time was that ? A. That must have been in November or December. 
 
 Q. And do you say that that- was all the period that you acted as janitor there ? A. No, 
 sir ; the next summer after they had gone out in the field. I did the work again at $20 a 
 month during the summer. 
 
 Q. Was not $20 a month my usual custom of payment for the summer months for the 
 janitor's services ? A. At that time. 
 
 Q. Was it not all the time up to the last? A. No, sir ; the last of the time it was $30 a 
 month. 
 
 Q. In the summer ? A.- Yes, sir. 
 
 . Q. You are sure of that? A. After you came back after you had relieved Dr. Latham, 
 you cut Mr.^ParshalFs salary down from $1,400 to $1,200, and to help him out then you let 
 him do the janitor's work at $30 a month. 
 
 Q. Was that at your suggestion? A. Very likely. 
 
 Q. Do you not know it was ? A. Yes, sir ; it was. 
 
 Q. In whose name did you make the account out for the janitor s work while Mr. Parshall 
 was receiving the benefit of it? A. Walter Brown's. 
 
 Q. Who paid Mr. Parshall the money ? A. I did. 
 
 Q. How did you get it ? A. Out of the proceeds of the draft that came for this amount. 
 
 Q. Whom did the draft come to ? A. Walter Brown. 
 
 Q. Who made the arrangements with Mr. Walter Brown, to let his name stand for the use 
 of the janitor ? A. I am not sure whether it was myself or Mr. Blackstone ; I think Walter 
 Brown's name was first used for Mr. Blackstone's benefit. 
 
 Q, And you made the accounts out at that time ? A. All the time. 
 
 Q. Do you believe that Mr. Blackstone knew him well enough to ask him to do that ? 
 A. Yes, sir ; he boarded with him. 
 
 Q. Do you not know that you selected him for the use of Mr. Blackstone after you quit 
 using that ? A. I am not positive about that; it was either Mr. Blackstone or myself. 
 
 Q. You and Mr. Blackstone and Mr. Parshall had done the services of the janitor and re- 
 ceived pay for them at different periods during three or four years ? A. We had. 
 
 Q. This last man that performed the service, his name was what? A. Day. 
 
 Q. When did his time commence ? A. It must have been in the fall of 1674 ; I cannot 
 say what month. 
 
 Q. Was it not late in November, 1874, that his time as janitor commenced ? A. I think 
 it was ; I think it was as late as November. 
 
 Q. Who was janitor immediately preceding him? A. Mr. Parshall. 
 
 Q. When that account was made out at the end of the quarter on the 31st of December, 
 whose name was it made in ? A. Walter Brow r n. 
 
 Q. Did Mr. Parshall and Mr. Day get pay for that quarter ? A. They did. 
 
 Q. How did they get it ? A. I paid it to them. 
 
 Q. Where did you get it? A. From the proceeds of that draft. 
 
 Q. Did the draft come to you ? A. No, sir ; to Walter Brown. 
 
 Q. And you obtained the draft of Walter Brown ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And you paid the proceeds of that draft to whom ? A. Mr. Parshall and Mason. 
 
 Q. During the next quarter ending March 31, 1875, this draft that you have been speak- 
 ing of was for janitor services? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And it was for services rendered by Mason Day ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. That draft came to Cheyenne in May ? A. It did. 
 
 Q. In-the name of Walter Brown ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you obtain possession of the draft? A. I did. 
 
 Q. Why did you not let it go to the office ? A. Mr. Brown brought it to me, and I, at that 
 time, had no connection with the office. I did not consider the draft a proper draft, I did 
 not consider it audited for the proper account, and I did not consider that it was right for me 
 to pass it over. 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVEYS IX WYOMING TERRITORY. 33 
 
 ,'. 1 >.<! .on not understand that that draft was to pay for the services of Mason Day as 
 
 <>r f A. I did. 
 
 (}. Have you considered i coming to Walter Brown for yourself to pay for the 
 
 janitor services as utt righ; sir ; that is, they were in violation of law, but they 
 
 were 
 
 (^. [Interrupting.] Are you positive of that? A. I do not know that I could quote the 
 ut my understanding of tin- law is that no person shall receive pay for performing 
 two different kind- of service during the same period of time. 
 
 i v >. Have you not been told that that was a mere matter of regulation ? A. No, sir ; I did 
 not suppose so. 
 
 you not been told over ,iu<l over again, by me, that that was a matter of regula- 
 t n \. 1 i :. i.ollect of yonr ever telling me so. 
 
 <}. Then \\hy did you not make your account out in your own nan. . when you 
 
 had done those services ? A. Because I understood from you that that would not do. 
 t,. That that would be contradictory to the regulation ? A. Yes. 
 
 ','. And you knew all the time it was contrary to the regulations ? A. I knew that if an 
 account was made out in favor of a man for clerk's services for a certain period of time, and 
 another account tor the same period of time for janitor's services, one of them would i 
 paid. 
 
 Q, You felt positive of that ? A. I did. 
 
 C^. And yet you received pay for it .' A. I receive-! pay for it. 
 V For all the time you did it? A. S 
 
 Q. Do you know why you and these oth> 1 to do that work and re- 
 
 the janitor's fees at that low rate ? A. I think it was at our request ; it was to earn a 
 more money. 
 
 Q, 1: is all while you had low salaries, was it not salaries thought too low for the 
 services rendered ' A. Mine was. 
 
 Q. Was it not so with Mr Parshall ? A. Yes, sir : with Mr. Parshall, for his salary was 
 think not the case \\ith Mr. Blackstoue. I think Mr. Blackstune got one salary 
 all the time he was in the office, and has one now. 
 
 Q. Mr. Blackstone had just been to Pittsburgh and married at the time he got it, and was 
 put under great extra expense, had he not 1 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Are you positive that you did not ask me to let Mr. Blackstoue have that pay as fan- 
 itor and do the work ? A. I am not positive that I did not ; I should think very likely 
 I did, because I generally interceded with you in all those matters. 
 
 Q. Now, if you had been clerk in the surveyor-general's office on the 3d day of May, the 
 I understand that draft reached there, do not you believe that you would have taken it 
 from Mr. Brown and paid the janitor ? A. I should have done so, most certainly. 
 
 Q. Do you think that you had a perfect right to handle that draft, and send it to the 
 
 -lent, as you say you did, or to Mr. Campbell ? A. I conceive that I had. 
 /. Do you know where the draft is now ? A. I do not ; never heard from it since. 
 
 Do you remember what salary janitors were generally paid in other surveyor's of- 
 A. I think about $600 a year, as a general thing. 
 o. That would be $50 a month ? A. Yes. 
 
 ,. These janitor services were paid out of the incidental appropriation ? A. Yes, sir. 
 O, Hi.w much of the incidental appropriation remained uucunsumed by me generally 
 each 3<th of .June? A. I think about one-half. 
 
 I >id not you understand from me that I would permit these clerks with low salaries to 
 do that work and take the pay for it, in order not only to help them slightly but to save the 
 
 I 1 men t from paying a larger sum to a janitor employed wholly for that purpose 
 I think you expressed yourself that way. perhaps, a number of times. 
 
 u not know that there was the largest economy used in the office in respect to 
 
 >es ? A. There 
 Q, 1 >id you say that you knew where this draft was now, that you have been speaking 
 
 A. I did not. 
 
 ',. Have yo.u no idea where it is ? A. Not the slightest ; except that I have an idea that 
 
 at into the hand* .f the Pie-i-lent. I a4.- '. M , Browi ' lay or the day before I 
 
 bington < which was, I think. In-- - k ago) if he had got that 
 
 i-ick. or if that draft had come i he said not tli . that he had 
 
 inything of it. 
 
 Ii know whether it has been pai A. I do i,.-: ; I know that it has not 
 
 been \ 
 c,. i : that it vrai 
 
 -1 winter, in ma a* paid more than h- 
 
 !lo\\ muck MTU he paid .'A. He MM ; ' ftty dollars a mouth for clerk-hire during 
 that : 
 
 t in the n ,-r or Decu *e that very arrangement 
 
 -A. I diil. 
 
 Q. ^ not, yet ?- 
 
 say it 1 a< not b has btn I nse the payee told me 
 
 3 W 
 
34 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Saturday that he had not seen it, and he promised me he would not indorse it under any 
 circumstances. I wish to state, so that the committee can understand the full situation, in con- 
 nection with my making this arrangement for this young man, that this young man was a 
 nephew of Dr. Reed's ; (he could not remember his name a moment ago, though he is his 
 nephew. ) He is a young man that Dr. Reed wanted to bring out there ta take care of. I sug- 
 gested to Dr. Reed how he could take care of him. We had to board some of them there in the 
 office every winter, and I devised generally the expedients as to how they should be pro- 
 vided for, and as we did not have money enough to pay him as much as the doctor wanted 
 to pay him out of the clerk-hire, and as the doctor was also very saving in his incidentals, 
 and letting a great deal of it revert, I suggested this arrangement by which this young man 
 could get pay as a clerk, and also draw this janitor's pay, which would make it eighty dol- 
 lars a month for him. 
 
 Q. Do you remember how much of that incidental appropriation of $2,500 was consumed 
 at the end of the third quarter, when you went out ? A. I do not. 
 
 Q. You were a clerk in closing it up that quarter ? A. Yes, sir ; but I do not recollect 
 the amount. 
 
 Q. What do you say was about the amount? A. I could not state; it is a matter of 
 record. 
 
 Q. You said you had a letter from me accepting your resignation? A. I did ; I have it 
 here. 
 
 Dr. REED. Let me see it. 
 
 The witness produced a letter, and states : " I will remark that my resignation was dated 
 the 22d of February, 1875. I sent it to Dr. Reed, and with it I sent a letter, in which I told 
 him that I had not said anything to anybody about my resigning. He wrote back on the 
 536th, a letter in which he acknowledged the receipt of the resignation, and requested if I 
 had not said anything about it, not to do so ; so I never made it public at all. It was not 
 known there that 1 had resigned only to a few persons ; a few of my friends and my family 
 and the doctor." 
 
 Dr. REED. That is no acceptance of your resignation by me. 
 
 The WITNESS. Well, the committee can judge of that. 
 
 Q. Do you know of your own knowledge that Fowler, a partner of Fahringer in a con- 
 tract, did not go to the field and survey ? A. Mr. Fowler was in the field for, I think, as much 
 as two weeks while they were surveying the townships east, not to survey, but as a sort of 
 a helper about the camp. He then went back home, and Mr. Fahringer finished up the con- 
 tract. 
 
 Q. Did not Fowler come back a second time to my office ? A. I think he was at the 
 office two or three times. 
 
 Q. Do not you know that after they surveyed that fractional township southeast, they 
 came into town and started out southwest to the boundary, ten or twelve miles, and that 
 Fahringer and Fowler both went out together to begin that work there ? A. They went out 
 into the field together; I know that, because I went down to Mr. Blackstone's to take Mr. 
 Dallas down to Ilett's ranch. There I met both Mr. Fahringer and Mr. Fowler, who took 
 young Mr. Dallas back to their camp. I know that Mr. Fowler was along there with the 
 party. 
 
 Q. I think you have stated that Mr. Fowler did not go into the field to survey at all ? 
 A. I stated that he did not go into the field to survey ; but I had stated in my direct exam- 
 ination what I know of this matter as being what Mr. Fahringer told me. I do not know 
 anything else about it. 
 
 Q. When did Mr. Fahringer tell you that ? A. When he came up to the office and turned 
 in his notes. 
 
 Q. That was what time ? A. That was in the winter of 1874-75. 
 
 Q. You knew nothing about his being in the field, except what Fahringer told you, did 
 you ? A. I do not know of any other means of information I had. I do not think of any. 
 
 Q. That was late in the fall of 1874, was it not, that Fahringer came in and finished his 
 contfact ? A. After he had finished his work he came to the office, some time after, and 
 turned in his notes. 
 
 Q. Late in the fall of 1874 ? A. It must have been in the winter, I think. 
 
 Q- The winter of 1874-75? A. Yes. 
 
 Q. That was the time he told you that Mr. Fowler had not been with him a great deal ? 
 A. He told me that Mr. Fowler had not put in a dollar or done any work, and that he was 
 giving him $1,400. 
 
 Q. But they were both named in the contract? A, They were. 
 
 Q. Are you positive he said he gave him $1,400? A. Yes. 
 
 Q. You feel certain about that ? A. Positive. 
 
 Q. I believe you said Fowler was not a practical surveyor? A. That is what I said. 
 
 C$. Do not you know that he was in the field the year before surveying in Colorado? A. 
 
 do ; that is, I so understood. 
 
 Q. Why do you say, then, he was not a practical surveyor ? A. Well, if going into the 
 field makes a surveyor, he may have been .one; but I understand a practical surveyor is a 
 man that understands surveying. 
 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. 35 
 
 name in the contract for Colorado? A. It vajs. 
 
 i I..\v did you know that he did not survey ? A. I got that i Mr. Fah- 
 
 -o told M much in the summer of H373, by the chief clerk of the surveyor- 
 iee in Colorado. 
 
 What did he tell you? A. He told me Hint they had had some trouble there about 
 
 Lessig's brother, an-1 they would not pass him for a contract, an<l Hi.- rh>f clerk said he 
 
 bad to have it that Curtis ( who WHS the chief clerk in the General Land-Office) had a 
 
 !--in-lnw in Colorado \\ ho was in poor circumstances, and passing through Wauhini:- 
 
 v he said to Curl u have got a lir..th.-r-in law <>ut there in Colorado." "Yes." 
 
 ciri ^instances are not very good! " N Mi irtis said, " he has been nn 
 
 Then this chief clerk sit id to Mr. Curl I don't know but we could do some- 
 
 for him in our office." " Well," he said, " I really wish you could." I sail. i 
 ral Lessig's brother, who is a good surveyor; he is going into the field, and I think 
 v.'tir brotlu-r-in-hiw in with him, tin y would make a good team ; " and he told me 
 tlmt in" that way he got through nil right. The contract went through. 
 
 lli.it wa< told you by the chief clerk of the surveyor-genera : Colorado T A. 
 
 iiis name I cannot recollect, but he has been chief cleik there for a number of years. 
 Q, N .; Ashley? A. M. Ashley. 
 
 (>. In regard to Medary. yon stated that he was not a practical surveyor ? A. If the 
 committee will allow me, 1 will tirst linish what 1 ng to say with regard to this con- 
 
 on with Mr. Curtis. In the winter of 1-70, it was Dr. Reed's intention to put his 
 nephew. Charles Reed, who was then chief el. -rk, into the field ; and he came on to Wash-' 
 .an-1 when he got to Washington he wrote back that they told him in the 1 ' 
 hat that would not do ; that he must not put in a blood-relative, and that a contract 
 under the Colorado office had been rejected because the brother of the chief clerk had ap- 
 
 ! in it. In the spring of 1874 he wanted to put his nephew, Charles Reed, in the ti 
 to provide for him in some way or other ; and he did not know how to doit. I told Dr. 
 -ation that I had had with Mr. Ashley ; how Mr. Ashley had managed the 
 in Colorado; related the whole drrumstance to Dr. Reed, and I must have told him 
 thatln the tall of I -?:'.. I know that iu the spring of 1874, when Dr. Reed came back 
 
 ;, lie told me that he was going to give a contract to Mr. Fowler, from Colorado, 
 
 who was a brother-in-law of Mr. Curtis; and during the time that the contracts were being 
 
 told me that lie had a letter from Mr. Steelr, the Delegate from Wyoming, in which 
 
 had told him that Mr. Curtis was very much dissatisfied ; that he had better fix 
 
 p, or something of that kind; that Curtis was complaining. He immediately 
 
 vler, and Mr. Fowler came up. 
 
 M You ree-ollert this very distinctly, do you, as to what Mr. Steele wrote to me T A. I 
 
 : that yon told me so ; I am not sure whether you showed me the letter or not. 
 1 think you said that Mr. Medary was not a practical surveyor when I gave him a 
 
 . t ' A. 1 did. , 
 
 What did yon judre from .' A. From my acquaintance with him, and knowledge of 
 f his beinj,' hrought there, and my general understanding of ti.. 
 
 ' > lit vou ever been a deputy surveyor ? A. I never have. 
 
 I >,, y,.1i linoir that he did not survey any in the field f A. I do not know that h 
 not survey any. 
 
 1 >o you not know that he had had a contract prior to my giving him one, and that he 
 had had a'omrraet under Latham, and had surveyed it prior to my -i\ in-: him one 1 
 am not sure whether he had it surveyed. He had ouo of Latham, and I think he was at 
 
 t that contract when you came I 
 6, What time did I come back .'A. To the best of my recollection it was iu August, 
 
 Mrdary had surveyed one before I gave him a contract ? A. He was sur- 
 : he had had one. 
 
 pass-man, Gary, ever surveyed any contrite: A. He had not. 
 be a pru-t or ' A. 1 think not. 
 
 Q, Al : yel y>u think he is "the one that did the surveying insten. . who had 
 
 ntra.-'t .'A. 1 know that as well as I can know anything that I did not see on the 
 ind. 
 
 Q. Did not Mr. Medary write all the notes; did they not all come to the office in his 
 'A. In his n he swore to them all. 
 
 In h'.s hand A. No, sir. 
 
 :he most of themT A. No, sir. 
 
 ID- Mr. M. ! i: ft A. II- 
 
 M Imlarly sort of m.m T A. No. Mr : I do : '; is a very 
 
 irly man. 
 
 Q. A man 'A. He is a man of good address. 
 
 M. I ' A. I do not know what yon mean l.y 
 
 Dg you were employed at clerk in the surveyor-general's office at 
 
36 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Wyoming. A. From September, 16701 think the latter part of September until the 30th 
 of April, 1875. 
 
 Q. You were appointed a clerk in the office by me ? A. I was, in 1870. 
 
 Q. Did you know anything- about the duties of the office ? A. No, sir ; I never had seen 
 a surveyor-general's office. 
 
 Q. What was your salary first ? A. Twelve hundred dollars a year. 
 
 Q. When was it raised from $1,200 ? 
 
 (The chairman here suggested that questions as to the witness' salary were in no way rele- 
 vant; that facts had been stated with respect to the participation of various parties in con- 
 tracts under Dr. Reed, which parties had performed no services, and that if Dr. Reed wished 
 to cross-examine the witness as to that branch of the investigation it would be pertinent.) 
 
 Q. You have stated that you were a clerk for a whisky man before I appointed youf 
 A. Yes ; and I will state farther that I had been at work for that whisky-man for about 
 six weeks prior to that time. 
 
 Q. Is the chief clerk considered the confidential and trusted clerk of the survey.or-general's 
 office? A. He is the chief clerk, certainly; he has bis duties the same as the surveyor- 
 general. 
 
 Q. Is he not generally considered the trusted and confidential man in the office of the 
 surveyor-general ? A. I suppose he is. 
 
 Q. Were you not intrusted with the office and keys of the desks in my office during ray 
 entire absence in Washington in the winter of l874-'7o ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. How did you get possession of the letter of John Delano that you have exhibited here, 
 addressed to me? A. That letter was placed in my hands by you, it must have been on the 
 10th of June, according to my memory. 
 
 Q. Do you state that I placed that letter in your hands at that time to keep ? A. You 
 placed it in my hands to send that telegram, to the best of my recollection. 
 
 Q. Do you think it was placed iu your hands to retain ? A. Well, I suppose it was a 
 matter of public record. 
 
 Q. Did you understand that the deputies who took the work that I had allowed to Mr. 
 Delano were dissatisfied in working it upon shares ? A. I never heard but one of them ex- 
 press any dissatisfaction ; that was Mr. Hay. I believe one of his townships he did not 
 survey at all, and for that reason. 
 
 Q. Did he express any dissatisfaction to you about it 1 A. He made the complaint either 
 to me or in my hearing what I have said. 
 
 Q. Do you feel positive about that ? A. Yes, sir. I recollect,that one of the townships 
 that he was to survey he did not survey. 
 
 Q. Was that not because it was getting too late in the season ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. What was the reason because it was too rough ? A. No, sir. He did not want to give 
 Mr. Delano any of it. He did not feel like giving him the amount that he would have to 
 give him, because it was too rough a township. 
 
 Q. You are positive about that ? A. Well, I am not stating exact conversations. I am 
 positive that there was something of that kind passed in my hearing or to me. That was the 
 general understanding. 
 
 Q. I think you said Hammond had but one contract ? A. It was in two contracts of 
 different dates. 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. And different numbers ? 
 
 The WITNESS. Yes. 
 
 By Dr. REED : 
 
 "Q. This contract amounted to what ? A. Four thousand one hundred dollars was the 
 liability. 
 
 Q. After he finished that work, had he not then another contract that sea son of $2,400? 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. What did you understand about that ? A. Nothing particularly. 
 
 Q. Do not you know that he surveyed that entirely in his own interest, and received all 
 the profits from it ? A. Yes, sir; he did. I will state to the committee that Mr. Hammond 
 had been working there for a number of years, dividing his profits with Charles J. Reed, the 
 chief clerk Dr. Reed's nephew and he was a man that had to be propitiated. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN : 
 
 'Q. And that is the reason why he was given the two contracts ? A. Dr. Reed did not 
 like him at all had no use for him but he had to give him something to do. 
 
 By Dr. REED : 
 
 Q. How do you know he divided with Charles Reed ? A. From what he told me and 
 from what Charles told me, and from money that had passed through my hands. 
 
 Q. Had that come to my knowledge, do you know ? A. ^Well, they both told me that you 
 knew it. 
 
 Q. Did I express any such knowledge to you ? A. Not to me. I know you were not 
 generally in the habit of picking up strangers, unless they were of some use to you. 
 
 Q. Are not my standing deputies there good deputies ? A. Yes, sir ; as dep itie go. 
 
G0\ 3 IN WY<>M; 37 
 
 Q. Do not you believe them capab - . as Rogers, and Thoina- .and 
 
 Reed an- they not capable deputies ' A. Yes, sir. S:u-h men as Hay and Thomas, (that 
 
 Thomas,) and, I suppose. you would count Clnirles Roed com). 
 
 I 'id you not tell me in tin- fall ot 1-74, before I left there, when he brought in his last 
 work on the iii."iiiM:n tli- "itract that it was the best .lone up ot' anything you 
 
 ! tliat the : were in the best shape of any that had been 
 
 brought in. 
 <.,'. 1 1.'-, about the din<:rams of tin- survey? A. Possibly the diagrams. 
 
 ta positively that you have not the letter of Secretary Delano to mo in O< - 
 1874, in your possession ? A. I have not; I never saw it after you showed it t 
 V had it in your possession? A. I never have. 
 
 V Y-M stated that you forwarded those papers that are now in question here to Mr 
 tow? A. 1 : ; ii prl il l iteted. 
 
 ','. Did you forward them by mail ? A. I did. 
 
 e you sure you did not* send them down by -A. I am. 
 
 Q. Who suggested to you to forward those papers to Mr. Bristow 'A. I did that only on 
 
 : responsibility. 
 
 V What inducements, if any, were offered to you to take those papers and forward them 
 to Washington 'A. None whatever. 
 
 Q. From no quarter? A. From no quarter. I will state that nobody knew that they 
 were forwarded until after they had been forwarded, except Mr. Corlett, my partner an at- 
 
 v whom I i-onsulted. Mr. Corlett is a lawyer, and I consulted him. 
 
 Q. And no oue pron r.iy thing or offered you any inducement for it ? A. Nothing 
 
 <.:' the sort. 
 
 Did nnt John A. Campbell, ex-<;overnor of Wyoming, offer you any inducement or 
 make any promise to that end ' A. Not in the 1 
 
 M. C.iry. ex-judge of Wyoming .'A. 
 
 (J. Did not \V. \V. Corlett, an ex-postmaster of Cheyenne, offer you any inducement 
 the least. I will state that Mr. Corlett even advised against my sending 
 them. 
 
 ink Wolcott. Ex-United States marshal, offer you any other inducement .' 
 sir: not in the 
 
 i .. P. Johnston, Ex-United States district attorney, offer you any ? A. No person 
 at all. 
 
 cbtt did not conduct any negotiations with you about this ? A 
 sir. 
 
 Did he not promise you in behalf of Governor Campbell and these other gent 
 that they would make it to your advantage to furnish them with those papers f A. No, sir ; 
 ng of the sort. 
 
 1 >id not tln-s- gentlemen whom I have named. Campbell, Gary, Corlett. Johns'on. and 
 tt tell you that they would fulfill any agreement that said Wolcott made with you tor 
 the purpose of obtaining said papers .' A. No, sir ; they said nothing to me about it had 
 nothing to do with it in any way, shape, or fashion. 
 
 Q. Were you not promised, if the removal from office of Dr. Reed and Secretary Dfelano 
 could be effected, said Wolcott, Campbell, Gary, Corlett. and Johnston would reromm.-n 1 
 and support you for appointment as surveyor-general of Wyoming Territory ? A. Nothing 
 of the kind was ever mentioned in any way, shape, or fashion. 
 
 Q. I think you said these papers came back to you from Bristow last summer t A. Last 
 July. 
 
 <.}. Did Mr. I'.rUtow himself send them back to you ? A. V- I, 
 
 met and consulted Govern nee you arrived in Y\ 
 
 about this matter ' A. 1 have not seen him : no, sir. 
 
 nsultation with him ' A. N.I consultation with anybody 
 
 -.iy you have not seen him up to this time - urn* .'A. I have not seen 
 
 him. sir. nor communicated with him in any way. sh : "ii. 
 
 ampbt-11, or any of thos,. oth.-r "ex-otVi.-.-rs \\hom I 1; | s e d you of 
 
 cessity ot so testifying as not to inculpai-- any way f A. No, sir : nobody 
 
 has said anything to me nl< 
 
 ','. What did you state the date >t the te I s-nt <>ut relieving 
 
 A. I think it was dated th- ii!. It was received there on ti.e'i'.uth. 1 
 
 am not sure as to the date, but I kn< i ere. 
 
 (.,. Who approved your salary-arci-unt i. me of your 
 
 leaving on th.- :5<'th ol J751 \ I 
 
 Was I th.-re '-A ' 
 
 After you approved your own a<. uer of 
 
 ransmittiitjryou md make me sUte that your 
 
 - had term nated by ri-si-rna 1 ':"!!. and -.vliiU- I was yet in Washington T A. ! 
 
38 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., April 25, 1876. 
 JOHN S. DELANO sworn and examined. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN : 
 
 Question. You are a son of Columbus Delano, late Secretary of the Interior ? Answer. 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you occupy any position in the Interior Department during the time that your 
 father was Secretary? A. I occupied the position of chief clerk until the winter of 1872-73 ; 
 I think January, 1873. 
 
 Q. Was it 1873 or 1874? A. 1873. In, I think it was January, 1873, I was taken 
 sick, and discontinued my duties until the following summer I should think in August, 
 when, finding that I could not regain my health, I resigned. 
 
 Q. Was that August, 1873? A. 1873. unless I am very much mistaken. I do not think 
 I can be. The record.s of the Department will show if I am mistaken. 
 
 Q. Where did you go after you resigned ? A. I spent about a year in Minnesota, begin- 
 ning with the summer of 1873. I spent the summer and winter there, leaving there in the 
 spring. 
 
 Q. You spent the balance of the summer and the following winter there ? A. Yes, sir ; 
 leaving there in the spring of 1874. 
 
 Q. Did you return to Washington in the spring of 1874 ? A. Yes, sir 
 
 Q. How long did you remain in Washington? A. It is a great while ago to be accurate 
 about dates, but I should think I remained here until June. I was detained here in Wash- 
 ington by the sickness of my wife. 
 
 Q. And where did you go then ? A. Then I started West, after locating my wife for the 
 summer. 
 
 Q. You started, then, in June, 1874, did you, for the West? A. I should think it was 
 June, 1874, my purpose being to go to Wyoming. 
 
 Q. Did you go to New York before you went West ? A. Yes, sir ; I went to the White 
 Mountains with my wife before going West. 
 
 Q. How long did you remain in New York ? A. I think it was a very few days. 
 
 Q. From there you w T eut to the White Mountains ? A. I took her to the White Mount- 
 ains ; from there I went West. 
 
 Q. What point West did you go to? A. I was detained in Chicago unexpectedly, and 
 from there I was obliged to go to Lake Superior to look out afteii some interests there that 
 were giving me some trouble; from there I went to Saint Paul, and from there to Wyo- 
 ming, according to my recollection at this late day. 
 
 Q. How long did you remain in Wyoming? A. I was in and around that Territory for 
 the better part of the summer and early fall ; Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. 
 
 Q. How long did you remain in the Territory of Wyoming? A. I was there several 
 times. 
 
 Q. On that trip, I mean? A. Well, on that trip, backward and forward I could 
 scarcely give you an idea now a very accurate one. 
 
 Q. Did you meet the surveyor-general of Wyoming Territory in Wyoming? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. At what point? A. I was with him a great deal of the time there, 
 
 Q. At what point did you meet Dr. Reed ? A. I think I met him at Cheyenne, or at 
 some point east of Cheyenne, in Wyoming. 
 
 Q. Did you not meet Dr. Reed at Saint Paul? A I think I never met Dr. Reed at Saint 
 Paul. 
 
 Q. Did you not telegraph him to meet you at Saint Paul or some other place ? A. It is 
 possible, but I have no recollection of it now. I know that I had been detained. 
 
 Q. Are you certain that you met him at Cheyenne on that trip ? A. I am not certain 
 that I met him at Cheyenne ; I think it more than likely I met him this side of Cheyenne. 
 
 Q. Did you go with him to Cheyenne ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. How long did you remain there? A. Do you mean on my first going out ? 
 
 Q. I mean on that trip, when you left the White Mountains and went out West in June, 
 1874, 1 think you say it was, or about that time? A. Well, I think I staid a day at Chey- 
 enne on that occasion. 
 
 Q. One day ? A. I think so. It is a good while'ago to recollect dates with any degree of 
 accuracy. 
 
 Q. Did you have any interest in any surveying contracts in that Territory at that time ? 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. In how many contracts ? A. I would not be able to state positively now two or 
 three small ones. 
 
 Q. Two or three small ones ? A. That is the best of my recollection possibly more. 
 
 Q. What was that interest you had? A. I believe it was a half interest. 
 
 Q. Did you obtain those interests before you went into the Territory ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. In what way did you get them? A. By invitation and solicitation of Dr. Reed. 
 
 Q. When did Dr. Reed suggest to you to take an interest in surveying contracts ? 
 A. Some six or eight mouths before I did possibly longer. 
 
 Q. Did he make the suggestion in writing to you by letter, or did you meet him ? A. He 
 
GOVKKNMKM SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRIT > 
 
 made the suggestion to me in writing, I bein^ at that time in Saint raul. and the doctor be- 
 ;n_ r \. TV an.\ioit> to h-i\i- i! insisting that it would restore my health 
 
 more eeriainly and more rapidly, and he suggested this surveying contract as au occupa- 
 
 more than as a matter of profit. 
 ,'. Are you a practical surveyor t \.. No, sir. 
 M. V.i u"ii. -v-r l.-arn.-'l the art of surveying ? A.. No, sir. 
 
 I >id you ever give a bond as surveyor ? -A. I have forgotten whether I gave a bond 
 or nut. 
 
 V Did you ever sign a contract? A. No, sir; I think I neither signed a contract nor 
 gave a bond. 
 
 Q. Did you take the oath required by law ? A. If I did not sign the contract I did not 
 take tin- oath. 
 
 liien you neither took the oath. he contract, or gave a bond ' A. I should 
 
 not no po>itiveiy that I did uot or that I did. I 1 -if matter to Dr. 
 
 to arrange when I found it to be impossible to be there at the time required. 
 With whom were you interested in contracts in this Territory of Wyoming? 
 \. \Vitli parties who did the work, ami with Colonel Merriam, of Saint Paul. 
 
 Q. Can vou name the parties or any of them f A. Mr. Hammond was one of them I be- 
 lieve; M . II iji irai one, and I think that was all. 
 
 Wm there any others besides Mr. Hammond ami Mr. Hays A. As I said before I 
 do not recollect now the number of contracts that I was interested in. 
 
 Q. Dr. Reed made the arrangement with these gentlemen for you ? A. When it was as- 
 
 M.-d that it W;IN impossible tor me to g,-t then- in time he made the arrangement with 
 
 .rties, and my recollection is that he drew upon me, or that he wrote me indicating the 
 
 amount ot monej necessary to put into the outfit, and I sent him a check. It was either 
 
 done by his draft upon me or my check to him, in order that the work might go on before it 
 
 got too lair. 
 
 ','. Did that check or draft contain the amount necessary for the outfit for each one of 
 vors with whom you were interested, or did you send out checks and drafts f 
 A. My recollection is that they were different checks. I know Dr. Reed wrote me that the 
 work of one contract must go on at once. 
 
 ,-. To whom wen these check* and drafts made payable ? A. To Dr. Reed, according 
 to my recollection. 
 
 And upon what bank were they drawn ? A. I could not tell. I kept two or three 
 hank-accounts. 
 
 < ( >. Where did you keep your bank-accounts at that time f A. I think they were drawn 
 upon bank-account at Mount Vernon, Ohio, but that is a matter of memory. 
 
 V- Did you keep au account with Mr. Meniam at Saint Paul at that time? A. N 
 I had m> account with him. 
 
 I lad you au account with any banks in the city of Washington ? A. Not at that time, 
 I think. 
 
 Q. What other banks were there in which you kept accounts at that time? A. If it was 
 not on the Mount Vernon, it must have been on Leuard, Suttan & Co., of New York. I 
 may have sent that to him in a draft. 
 
 Your recollection is that there was a separate check or draft drawn for the outfit of 
 
 each one of the deputy surveyors with whom you were interested in contracts ? A. I can- 
 
 ,y that it was for each one. I know positively that the first surveying party that went 
 
 out I sent a draft or check, or paid a draft of Dr. Reed for an amount sun ay for 
 
 the outfit of the partv. 
 
 I hat party was Dr. Hammond's ? A. That I do not recollect. I have a poor memory 
 tor names. 
 
 <>>. Did you ever meet Mr. Hammond ? A. I think so. 
 
 i t i when ? A. I think I met Mr. Hammond on the cars when I first went West with Dr. 
 Reed. 
 
 < ,' I ' -re or after you had the interest in th* contract t A. Afterward. 
 ','. You never saw him before? A. Never saw him before. 
 
 Q. Then there was no contract butwi-m you an 1 Mr. Hammond ? A. All of those details 
 were arranged by Dr. Reed. 
 
 I he oontrad was made by Dr. Reed with Mr. Hammond T A. Yes, sir ; allowing that 
 
 tiiat is liis name. 
 
 Q. And In- \\.is required to pive tl:e bond, sign the contr;i .o the oath 
 
 woikY A. I should not want to make affidavit now, sir, ai taken the 
 
 oath. 
 Q. You have already stated that you neither took the oath, gave a bond, nor signed a 
 
 -A. I have stati-d that I thought I .lid not. My WOO 
 
 <,' You were not out there when this contract was commenced f A. No, sir. 
 
 uld not have given a bond or taken oath f A. No, unless it was sent to 
 
 I think Uwasnol My; 'it it was n.-:. I WOUM i state 
 
 . Iv. I would like t" say that at the time I had contemplated going out West, I was 
 
 nuch annoved and distressed with the sickness of my family and ray inability to go 
 
40 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 there, and under those circumstances Dr. Reed transacted all that business for me, aud the 
 details of it he can give you exactly, where I might make mistakes. 
 
 Q. Was it your intention, in the event that you could go out West, to have given a bond, 
 signed a contract, or taken an oath as a surveyor? A. My intention was to go into the 
 field ; my agreement was that, as one of the parties. 
 
 Q. In a contract ? A. Ln a contract, yes, sir ; to furnish the money, to do the work, give 
 the bond, take my gun and fishing-tackle, and, at least, get my health back. 
 
 Q. You were aware of the fact that the surveyor-general could not lawfully give a contract 
 to any person who was not a skillful surveyor ? A. Not exactly in the sense you would 
 apply to it here ; one of the parties in the field must be a practical surveyor. 
 
 Q. The deputy must be a practical surveyor by law ? A. Yes ; but suppose there were 
 two deputies. 
 
 Q. If there were two or a dozen deputies, th6y would all have to be practical surveyors, 
 would they not ? A. I do not understand the law in that way. It is not so interpreted by 
 the Department. It is a very common thing that one of the parties in the contract is the 
 party to furnish the money, and the other the practical surveyor. 
 
 Q. Is it a common thing for a person not a practical surveyor to obtain a contract in his 
 own name ? A. I might say that it was a very common thing. I should think so ; I so 
 understood it. 
 
 Q. Then I understood you to say that the only reason you had for not signing the contract, 
 taking the oath, and giving the bond, was because you could not get out there in time to do 
 it? A. Yes, sir ; it was my purpose to spend the whole of that summer in the surveying 
 camp. 
 
 Q. To take contracts in your own name ? A. In my name with a partner who should be 
 a practical surveyor. 
 
 Q. Did you write a letter from the Interior Department to Dr. Reed, in which you stated 
 that he should not put your name in any contract, but should put that of General Merriam 
 in ? A. I did ; that letter has been published in nearly every newspaper in the country. I 
 have seen the original two or three times since it has been floated. 
 Q. (Showing the letter.) Is that the letter ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Then if it was your intention to sign a contract yourself, take the oath, and give a 
 bond, why was it you wrote to Dr. Reed telling him to put in the name of General Merriam 
 to stand for you? A. At that time you will observe, sir, that I found myself unable to go 
 out. My expectation was that Mr. Merriam would be out there long before me, and he was. 
 Q. The only reason you had lor asking Dr. Reed to put Merriam's name in the contract 
 was that you thought he would be on the ground ? A. I did not say that was the only 
 reason. 
 
 Q. What were the other reasons ? A. Well, Mr. Chairman, when it was found impossible 
 for me to get out there, the contract could not have been taken in rny name because I could 
 not go into the field at that time. 
 
 Q. Is that the reason, then, why you wanted Merriam's name in because you could not 
 go in the field ? A. I say that is one reison ; I am a little modest about the use of my own 
 name. 
 
 Q. What is the other reason ? A. You might ascribe it to modesty, perhaps ; I think 
 ih it is allowable. 
 
 Q. What time was that contract let to Mr. Hammond ; was it before or after the date of 
 your letter? A. I would not like to be positive on that point, for I was a regular corre- 
 spondent with Dr. Reed, writing him every few days. 
 
 Q. And was not the contract made out simply in the name of Mr. Hammond and Mr. 
 Merriam's name not put in it at all I A. I think it was, because Mr. Merriam did not go 
 there in time, as I recollect now. Neither Mr. Merriam nor myself were there in time to go 
 into the field. 
 
 Q. Mr. Merriam did not go there at al', did he ? A. O, yes, sir; he was in that country 
 all the summer. 
 
 Q. Did he go to Cheyenne ? A. Yes, sir. 
 Q. Before the contracts were let? A. I think after, sir. 
 Q. Did he have- a contract of his own ? A. Not that I know of. 
 Q. He resided in Saint Paul, did he not ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. He was a banker? A. He has no fixed business. He was out of business, and, like 
 myself, in very poor health at the time. My object in associating Colonel Merriam with me 
 was simply for company ; that we might go out together and rough it out on the plains. 
 Q. He was not a surveyor, was he? A. No, sir. 
 
 <^. In what way did you get your share of the profits of that contract ? 1 mean who paid 
 that share to you ? A. I do not recollect how it was done now> sir. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether Mr. Hammond gave two notes, one of $1,000 and one of $400, 
 payable to Mr. Merriam, or not? A. As I said, Dr. Reed arranged all the details of those 
 contracts both the outfitting and settling of the contracts. On those questions I would 
 not like to give very positive answers. 
 
 Q. Can you tell in what way you obtained your share of the profits of the contract? 
 A. It was by check or draft from Dr. Reed, I think. I know that there was no effort made 
 
GOY UITORY. 11 
 
 , any way. It was not then regarded as a dishouyr- 
 .'iihu'ul transaction. 
 
 II no i-!t' >rt made to conceal the transaction why was it that the two note* 
 for your share of tin- contract were mad.- payable toG 
 
 A. 1 -:;;'- L'i-ows out of that suggestion of miue to in -ike M- ni mi the active pur 
 that coiitia'-t cut .f my mes-.i. 
 
 ! li.-it- was no necessity t'..r y >ur being on the gnun<l to get the notes, was there? 
 "iild take the notes iu your name without your being present? A. "i 
 
 ::e SO. 
 
 not made payable to General Merriam because you were not 
 mi tin- ground 'A. Probably uot. 
 
 Why were they made payable to him ; to conceal the transaction? Is not that the 
 -A. I'.y n. n.rans. 
 
 l t >. Why. then ? A. I say probably on account of my suggestion, in my letter to Dr. 
 Reed, that the contract should be given to him. Probably he made the notes payable to 
 
 n thut uccount. 
 
 l t . Hut you hi i:is name was not put in the contract ? A. Yes, sir; because it 
 
 ': not be. 
 \nl that your name was not put in because you were not on the ground? A. Yea, 
 
 An<l hi.s name was not put in, and no one's name put in but Mr. Hammond's? A. 
 A. Yrs. sir. localise neither Colonel Merriam nor I were there. 
 
 (.,'. N.--A . Mr. Hammond gave two notes, which covered your share of the profits of his con- 
 tract : those notes were made payable to John L. Merriam. Thut was not because John L. 
 am was present aud you win- absent? A. No. sir. 
 
 I In 11 why was it done IA. If my answer to that question before is not sufficient, you 
 will have : Heed. I can give you no better reason than I have. It is really a 
 
 "ii tlmt I have no right to answer. I wrote to him suggesting to him to put the con- 
 tract in Colonel Merri?im's name. Colonel Merriam was not there; he could not do it : 
 I suppose he took the notes in his name on that account. 
 
 l t >. \Y.i> there an understanding between you aud Dr. Reed that your name shon' 
 a In the papers? A. None except what you have there. As I recollect, that was the 
 
 ntioii mude on that subject except when Dr. Reed met me, I think in Wushii:. 
 and repeat.-d his invitation to come out there. He then told me that he had talked with the 
 Commissioner of the General Land-Office about my going, and about taking a contract in 
 my name, and on account of my modesty I objected to having it done in that way. There 
 
 desire or design to do anything improper or wrong. 
 
 Is tin's [showing Exhibit A] the draft that you received for the proceeds of the profits 
 Hammond contract ? A. Yes, sir; that is my signature. 
 V- 'That draft was paid to you? A. Yes, sir; that was paid to m,-. 
 
 Is that all the money you received tfrom that contract what is c.intained iu that 
 
 draft the amount of it is $895? A. My recollection is that that was all. Will you 
 
 look at that draft again ' [After looking again at the draft.] I could not state at this 
 
 vise amount that I received from any of those contracts. 
 
 <. t >. Wus not the precise amount that you received from the Hammond contract - 
 A. 1 >hould think not: but 1 should not, as I said, want to state the exact aimm: 
 them now. 
 
 And did you not direct Dr. Reed to pay the balance, being $50.">, to tho treasurer of 
 some mining company as the assessment made aj L, and did not Dr. Keed pay that 
 
 assessment for you with the S.'HI.'I, the balance of the money 'A. I do not think tl. I 
 
 . nmond contract amounted to so much as that. I should think that it did 
 I may be mistaken about that. 
 
 Do you or do you not remember whether these notes were made payable for your 
 us.- ' A. In tin- ! -Mils of that matter 1 would rather you - ed. AB I Raid, 
 
 i tli-- who!.- business when it was found that I could not go ; these quea- 
 
 "t detail he will have to stat*-. 
 
 You have stated already that, at your request, the name of John I-. M ::' i'u "'.' put 
 rs, or that you i, n. but that it \vas nut put iu the COU- 
 
 and the only place it does appear is iu the t\% notes. A. Yes, - 
 
 A then, that the name of John L. Merriam stands there for your own 
 A. I presume that i; do. >. ' :u may have made contracts that I do not 
 
 iinything about. 1 do not did. 
 
 and for your own num.'. then your share o- t was 
 
 " ? A. It i.s quite possible. As I said before, on the question of aiiim 
 my best ren unount transmitted to me represents the profit of my share 
 
 be money advai 
 
 -.ember was not the balance of the money above the 
 
 : i>y I >r. Reed to the payment of an assessment made against y<> 
 i.iiiin^ stock that YOU h,-M '\. I paid so many mining assessments ' saj. 
 
42 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. It would be, I suppose, about November, 1874 about the date of the draft. A. It 
 may have been done so. 
 
 Q. Now, sir, what service, if any, did you render that might enable you to receive this 
 amount of money in the contract given to Mr. Hammond ? A. You have the whole state- 
 ment before you, sir. You can judge of the amount of service I rendered. 
 
 Q. You rendered none ? A. I do not say that I rendered none. I advanced the money on 
 the outfit necessary, and the work was thoroughly done. 
 
 Q. Was there an understanding between you and Dr. Reed that the contract should be 
 let at the maximum sum ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. You never requested Dr. Reed to let the contracts in that way ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you know what amount of money was recieved by Mr. Hammond out of this con- 
 tract? A. I do not recollect either the amount of money received by Mr. Hammond or my- 
 self. I had memorandums of those amounts. After the contracts were closed, i destroyed 
 uiy memorandums. 
 
 Q. As to the Hays contract, what amount of money did you receive from that ? A. I 
 could not be more explicit in that than in the other transaction. 
 
 Q. You do not know how much you received from that ? A. My recollection is that I re- 
 ceived from all those contracts about $2,500 possibly a little more, possibly a little less. I cer- 
 tainly could not have received over $3,000. As to the amount for each one, it is impossible 
 for me now to be exact. The aggregate I remember quite distinctly: it would have been 
 under $3,000 probably $2,500. 
 
 Q. At what time in the year did you part from Dr. Reed you say you were traveling to- 
 gether in the West ? A. I saw the doctor several times during the summer and fall. Do you 
 mean the last time ? 
 
 Q. Yes, sir; when you parted and when you came to Washington. A. I did not come to 
 Washington from the West for nearly a year after that; but I went from there to California. 
 
 Q. Did Dr. Reed go with you to California? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Did he go with you to Utah ? A. Yes, sir; I went with Dr. Reed to Utah twice, I 
 think, during that summer and fall. 
 
 Q. Were you in the city of Washington on the 20th of April, 1875 ? A. I could not tell 
 that at the present time. 
 
 Q. Do you remember meeting Dr. Reed in- Washington in the spring of 1875 ? A. I don't 
 think I met Dr. Reed last spring at all, either in Washington or elsewhere wait I did meet 
 Dr. Reed here in the winter or early spring. It must have been earlier than that. 
 
 Q. It was in the latter part of April, was it not ? A. I should" say it was earlier than that. 
 I recollect now of seeing Dr. Reed last winter or spring. 
 
 Q. When you met Dr. Reed in Washington, did you know that Mr. Stevens had sent this 
 draft and other papers to Secretary Bris tow, with a request that he lay them before the Pres- 
 ident ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. You did not know that ? A. No, sir ; I did not know that until the present moment, 
 since you tell me. 
 
 Q. You did not know until the present moment that these papers were ever received by 
 Secretary Bristow from Mr. Stevens, a clerk in Dr. Reed's office, and by him given to the 
 President? A. I have heard a great many stories about those papers. I do not know, and 
 I do not care to know, how they were received by the President. 
 
 Q. Do you say you did not know at the time that the President had those papers ? A. 
 No, sir ; I did not know. 
 
 Q. Did you or not tell Dr. Reed, upon his arrival at Washington from Saint Louis, in April, 
 1875, that the President had the papers containing the evidence of your interest in contracts 
 in his Territory ? A. I do not recollect of seeing Dr. Reed that late in the season. Dr. Reed 
 was here in the winter. It is possible I may have notified him as soon as I learned it my- 
 self. The probability is that I would do so. 
 
 Q. You say, then, that the probability is that you did tell Dr. Reed that the President had 
 these papers ? A. When I was advised so ; but whether that was in April or May I do not 
 know now, and I have no recollection now at the present time of seeing Dr. Reed about that 
 time. If Dr. Reed was here at that time, and I knew ef the papers in use in that way, I 
 would have told him. 
 
 Q. But you say you have no recollection of the fact that you ever did tell him? A. I do 
 not recollect it now. Something might recall the interview to my mind, but I do not recol- 
 lect it at the present time. If he was here, and I knew of the papers being with the Presi- 
 dent I should have told him. 
 
 Did you not know that the President had the papers ? A. At that time ? 
 At any time. A. O, yes, sir. 
 
 How did you learn it ? A. I read it in the newspapers. 
 
 And you never knew it until you saw it in the newspapers ? A. I have been told 
 many stories about those papers. I think I was told by half a dozen parties a day, before it 
 came out in the newspapers, of their being there. About that time I was notified by a great 
 many parties that such papers were in the hands of the President. 
 
 Q. Was that before or after Dr. Reed arrived in the city ? A. Well, I do not recollect of 
 Dr. Reed's being in the city about that time. 
 
i.ir VEYS IN 43 
 
 Q. Do you recollect 'n.-ivm- a < . :. , .-rsation with Dr. Reed at any time about these papers, 
 
 ling him that the President had them 'A. < ). yes. sir; I tfiiuk I do. 
 Q. Wheu did you have that conversation with Heed? A. I either notified him verbally 
 or by letter of that fact. 
 
 Q. Do you kn>\v whether Dr. Reed was in the Territory at the time his clerk sent these 
 g tn Mr. Imstow T A. Can you tell me when Dr. Reed was here ? 
 I think he swears he was here on the 2Sth of A\> A. Can you tell UK- when 
 
 these papers were published ; 
 
 No, sir; I cannot tell you that.- ollection i - only a recoil, 
 
 .that wheu these papers \\.-re published. 1 >r. Reed wast in 8;. ' < ther I met 
 
 him here ami tola him of their being with the President, <ir whether I u that they 
 
 were with the President, I do not recollect. I should, however, swear pretty positive) v that I 
 : see him here the last of April ; but if he was h re I must have teen him, ami if I saw 
 him 1 must have told him of the tact, providing the publication, was n time. 
 
 For those dates I could not be positive m>\\ . 
 
 Do you remember who the person is who first told you that the Pre- ! these 
 
 pujii rs ? A. No, sir ; I do not ; but my recollection is it was somebody who pot it from some 
 m-w^paper man a reporter. I was told a number of times about the were made 
 
 public. 
 
 Q. Did you ever have a talk with the President about the matter? A. Never. 
 
 V 1 ' : you at any time have possession of the papers while you were 1.- -uiug- 
 
 No,0ir. 
 
 Did you see them at any time "A. I have seen them several times since they have 
 been going the rounds. 
 
 iv Q. \\here did you see them the first time you saw them ? A. I should want to refresh my 
 memory on that subject before making a positive answer on it. 
 
 1 ><> you say that you do not now recollect where you saw them the first time ? A. I 
 would not like to state positively. 
 
 Q. What is your impression, if you have any, as to the place where you saw them the 
 first time? A. I would rather refresh my memory a little and endeavor to make uiy an- 
 
 iore definite before I make any on that subject. 
 
 Q. If you have any impression we would like to know what it is as to the place where 
 you first saw these papers 'i A. I have not an impression positive enough to state it in tes- 
 timony at the present time. Many of these matters of dates and place- mce I can- 
 not state accurately without recalling some of the attending circumstances. 
 
 Q. Were not these papers in possession of the President when you first learned that they 
 had been sent to Washington ? A. They were either in bis possession or about to be put In 
 ssession. I heard a number of rumors and reports, and people would come to me and 
 tell me that they heard such and such stories about these papers on Newspa. md all 
 
 that sort of thing. The papers might not have been in the President's hands when I first 
 heard of them. 
 
 Were not they in the President's hands wheu you : 
 
 Is, but they had been phiced in his hands in all probability before I saw them. 
 ','. Were they not in his possession when you first saw them ? A. I would not like to 
 state that positively. The probability is that they were. I do not know when they were 
 handed to him. I 'did not take enough interest in it to care one way or the other. 
 Q. Now.sir, who >lmw,d them to you f A. Do you mean th* first, secon 
 (,. I mean the tir>t time you saw 'them, who showed them to you ? A. That question I 
 would not like to answer no\\ . 
 
 Q. We must insist that you answer that question. A. I shouM -me of the 
 
 iing circu:i regard to those letters before I put myself into print or on paper 
 
 thing that I desire or intend to conceal. I* do not care enough about 
 'ome to all that I know about the sui 
 
 Q. TI.e i|iie>tion to, wl... fl 1 you these papers? You can either I was. 
 
 MU don't know. A. At the present time. I vrookl answer that I do not know 
 
 Was it or was it not some person employed at tbe Executive Mansion ? A. I was go- 
 e that question to a later day until I ask one or two questions to 
 refresh my mind, I will th. i .ill tin- information that I can pick up on the subject. 
 
 liiestion now, if you can. A. I cannot now answer 
 
 rily, but I will do so positively, after having asked one or two questions as to 
 date*. not anything about it but what you a 
 
 n iu regard to it. I would rather answer the question when I out 
 do so j , 
 
 By M 
 
 Q. What is there ti r it point that you have not got 
 
 now T A. This fact, that I had been told so many times about those letters and papers, and 
 by so many dirt- >,aud there are two or three occasions on which I have aen them, 
 
 so tl. r -hunt asking at least one of the parties where it was, and when it 
 
44 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 was, that I first saw t^em. If you give me time to do that, I will answer the question posi- 
 tively. My recollection is that I first heard of those things being in the President's hands 
 when in New York. 
 
 By Mr. MUTCHLER : 
 
 Q. The question is not when you first heard that they were in the President's hands ; the 
 question is who first showed them to you ? A. If you will wait a little while, I will answer 
 that question clearly and definitely. 
 
 Q. Do you say that you cannot now remember who showed them to you at any time ? 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. You do not know whether it was any person employed at the Executive Mansion or 
 not? A. Would you rather I answered these questions to the best of my recollection, than 
 to wait a day and let me give you positive information ? 
 
 Q. Yes, sir ; and if you find you have made a mistake you can come back and correct 
 the error. A. I would rather you let the question run to to-morrow. 
 
 Q. We would rather have your impressions or recollections now ; as, I say, we will allow 
 you to correct them to-morrow if you find you have made a mistake. A. My recollection 
 is that they were shown to me first by some one connected with the White House. 
 
 Q. Who is that person ? A. It was probably General Babcock. 
 
 Q. Was that before or after Dr. Reed came to the city ? A. As I told you, I had no re- 
 collection of Dr. Reed's being in the city at that time. I recollect of his being here in the 
 summer. He may have been here, and if his testimony is that he was here, he must have 
 been here, but I do not recollect of his being here at that time. 
 
 Q. Was not that the first intimation that you had of the papers being in Washington ? 
 I mean at the time when General Babcock showed them to you. A. No, no, sir. 
 
 Q. You knew it before that I A. I knew it from a dozen parties before that. 
 
 Q. Had il been in the papers before that ? A. That I could not say. 
 
 Q. Do you know what time of the year it was when you think General Babcock she wed 
 you the papers ? A. I could not even tell you the month it was in. 
 
 Q. Was it in the spring of 1875? A. It was in the spring last spring. 
 
 Q. The month of March or April? A. I could not tell now, sir. It is a mattter that I 
 did not take much interest in anyhow. The President or the public are welcome to these 
 papers. 
 
 Q. Do you remember having a conversation with Dr. Reed in which he told you that he 
 had been to see the President in relation to these papers a conversation here in the city 1 ? 
 A. I recollect very well of seeing Dr. Reed after he had had a conversation with the Presi- 
 dent on this subject, but whether that was in April, or May, or June, I cannot say. 
 
 Q. It was immediately after he had had the conversation with the President "? A. Yes, 
 sir ; and I think it was soon afterward at any rate. 
 
 Q. Did Dr. Reed then tell you that he had telegraphed to his clerk Mr. Stevens asking 
 him how Campbell obtained "Delano's letters to me " about surveys ? A. I was trying to 
 recall my interview with Dr. Reed. There has been so much said on this subject that it 
 is difficult to locate it all. I think I recollect the doctor's telling me that he had suspended 
 Mr. Stevens, or some one in the office who, he thought, had made improper use of his rec- 
 ords. It is possible he may have mentioned the telegram and probable that he did. If he 
 sent it, undoubtedly he told me of it. 
 
 Q. That was after his interview with the President? A. That I could not say. 
 
 Q. Did Dr. Reed tell you that the President said to him that he would give you those 
 papers ? A. He may have said so. I had no desire to have the papers, and had made no 
 request for them. 
 
 Q. Did you make any request for them after the doctor told you the President said he 
 would give them to you ? A. No, sir ; I made no request ; never made a request for them. 
 
 Q. Did you make any effort of any kind to get them ? A. No, sir ; I made an inquiry 
 once about them. 
 
 Q. From whom ? A. I think from the President's secretary. 
 
 Q. General Babcock ? A. Either he or whoever was acting at that time. 
 
 Q. What did you inquire about ? A. I think I inquired if the letter was there. 
 
 Q. Is that all ? A. Yes, sir ; I never asked for it. 
 
 Q. Did you inquire whether he had any instructions from the President to give you the 
 papers ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you have any interest in surveying-contracts given by Surveyor-General 
 King? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. In Minnesota ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Or Charles T. Brown f A v No, sir; this is the only surveying-contract in which I 
 have ever figured. 
 
 Q. You have never figured in any other ? A. No, sir, directly or indirectly ; I think I 
 shall, though. 
 
 Q. Did you have an interest in any contract given to a gentleman by the name of Du 
 Bois, who lived in this city ? A. No, sir. 
 
G0\ 
 
 Q. Did you use your influence to i?h:aiii a contract fur him ' A v 
 
 <,'. i>o you know anything ab, , .ng a contract ? A. I know th:it there has been 
 
 surveys of the 
 lower count m as the gentleman I have in \ 
 
 M Doy< a ' M ,D A. I should not know him if I sa\\ 
 
 quaintance with him. 
 :.--d. 
 
 Wl! I Is 1>KI MM"N1> 
 
 By Mi. i:i 
 
 in Washington. 
 
 Q. You have been Commissioner of the Land-Office in this city, have you not? A. I was 
 Commissioner from about February. 1-71, :<> M-iy. 18! 
 
 V. l>u YOU remember my consulting you about the month of February, 1874, as to the 
 propriety or imp; Mr. .John Delano with a practical SIP 
 
 contract for innreyinff tend in Wyoming? A. Yes, sir ; I remember a 
 had some time in "the latter part of the winter of : 
 
 < t i. r;.-a>-- -i ;fe what your opinion was which you gave to meat that time in regard to the 
 ' A. You s;ii<l that you had considered the matter of letting Mr. John D--iai:u have 
 an interest in a contract to go out with a surveying party with a view to recruiting his 
 health ; lie had been at that time in v.-ry bud health for a year or two, suffering fruu: 
 sumption; you expressed the opinion that if you could get him out there and conne< 
 
 t surveying partj, letting Dim camp out during the summer, that it would cure him, 
 would be any impropriety in your allowing him to have an in- 
 
 terest in a contract with a competent surveyor. I told you that there would nut, as Mr. Del- 
 .ui . \\.is then disconnected with the Department, haying resigned his position, and no longer 
 holding any official connection with the Department, that I did not see that there would be 
 any impropriety in it. The question then came up in some way as to how this should be 
 whether it should be done as an open transaction, using his name, or whether he should 
 be allowed an interest in the contract without his name being used. I told you that if it 
 was done at all, it must be done openly, that his name must be used in the contract, and 
 that vou should treat him the same as anybody else; that I did not know any reason why 
 
 , I 
 
 "iild have the contract because he was Secretary Delano's son. and, on the contrary, 
 did not know any reason why he should not have the contract because he was Secretary 
 Delano's son, but that I would not approve any transaction unless it was an open transac- 
 tion in Mr. Delano's own name, he appearing as deputy, and entering into the contract the 
 same as anybody else. Tl. conversation. 
 
 us that if I gave a contract to him and another com;' 
 
 party you would approve the contract .' A. Yes, sir ; I told you that I never had int 
 with the letting of contracts by surveyors-general in advance, because I had to hold th> 
 sponsible for the discharge of their duties : that I never dictated to them in that matter, but 
 that I saw no reason why, if you thought it best to let John Delano, in conjunction with a 
 competent engineer, have a >ur\ vying-contract out there, I should disapprove it. On the con- 
 
 . I felt inclined to approve it. I said I had no objection to it. 
 Do you remember whether you in your time adopted the regulation of approving sur- 
 
 ;. contracts before tl.. A. No, sir; 1 think that was done prior to my 
 
 That practice existed before that time ? A. Yes, sir; they had to be I 
 approval. I am not sure, but I think that was by act of Coi _ to, I thin 
 
 I -;,'. that it -hould not become binding upon the I til ap- 
 
 proved by the Commissioner of the General Land-Oflice. 
 Q. Were you in the practice of requiring at least the name of one skillful 
 
 I 
 
 then- v loose practice on the part ot certain surveyors-general ; ti: 
 
 appointed men without any knowledge of the business, an 
 
 >-,ied regulations in 1-7:'., I thin. 
 should let their - > men of practical experiem 
 
 that to approve any contracts u: 
 
 the business \\ . 1 with th- . '. 
 
 to survey ors-g' 
 
 or any other deficiency ? A. N> of any 
 
 outracts. 
 
 .,' I es of each contract have to be signe,; ;t.es. A. 
 
 , .1 in quadruplicate. 
 
 i s-re is an 
 faithful Discharge of duty, and I think .'.so the iron-clad oath. 
 
46 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. On each contract up to the quadruplicate ? A. Yes, sir'. 
 
 Q. How many copies of township plats, including the original, of each township have to 
 be made by the surveyor-general before the accounts of the deputy can come to the General 
 Land-Office, and does a copy of all field-notes and one plat of each township have to come 
 with the said accounts ? A. The plats are to be executed in triplicate, one for the General 
 Land-Office, one for the surveyor-general's office, and one to be sent to the local land-office. 
 One copy of the plat has to be sent to the General Land-Office for examination before the 
 deputy's account can be adjusted. 
 
 Q. Do you remember whether you revoked a contract made by my predecessor, Dr. La- 
 tham, in the months of June or July, 1873, because neither of the parties to the contract 
 were practical surveyors, or known to your Department ? A. I did not revoke a contract, I 
 disapproved one ; it was disapproved because it was shown in the report of the surveyor- 
 general that neither of them had ever had any practical experience in surveying. 
 
 Q. If I had sent you a contract with a competent surveyor, who had become a practical, 
 good, trusty surveyor by practice in the field, would you have disapproved it merely because 
 he was my nephew ; and to that extent my blood relative ? A. No, sir ; the law does not 
 prohibit contract because of relationship ; but I ought to state this to the committee : in the 
 history of the office, it appears that upon one- or two occasions surveyors-general let con- 
 tracts to their children to minors. In other words they farmed out the business of the 
 administration to their own immediate families. That was considered objectionable by the 
 Commissioner, and I would not have approved contracts where a man had farmed out to 
 his own children, and to his own immediate family, but I should not have rejected a con- 
 tract because it had been let to a relative, if that relative was not a member of his own 
 family. 
 
 Q. A nephew you would not object to ? A. No, sir ; the object would have been to have 
 got a good surveyor without regard to the question of relationship. I should have objected 
 to the kind of transaction which I speak of where a surveyor-general, as was done in one 
 or two instances, farmed out contracts, as I understand, to his own children, some of them 
 being minors. That is, he farmed out the business of the office, keeping it all in one family. 
 
 Q. I have testified here, under oath, that I offered Mr. John Delano an ordinary -sized con- 
 tract, or a first-class contract for surveying, which means, with my office practice, a contract 
 of from $5,000 to $5,500, he to be united with a practical surveyor ; that I took one Mr. 
 Hammond, with an equal amount, say $2,000 to each, in a contract as a partner with Mr. 
 Delano ; that I waited some days or a week for the arrival of Mr. Delano ; that on the 19th 
 or 20th of May, 1874, Mr. Delano not coming and Mr. Hammond being ready to start to the 
 field with his men and his outfit, I signed the contract with him, he giving a sufficient bond ; 
 that he drew on Mr. Delano for his part of the advance expenses, and started to the field, 
 enjoining upon me not to interrupt or stop him if possible. Mr. John Delano did not reach 
 Wyoming and insert his name before I was obliged to forward the contract to the Commis- 
 sioner of the General Land-Office for approval ; that I retained the contract some weeks 
 waiting for John Delano to reach there, and that he failed to reach there before the time 
 elapsed which made it necessary to forward the contract to the Department for approval. I 
 now wish to ask you whether, under such a state of facts, I ought to have recalled that 
 deputy, Mr. Hammond, from the field, on finding that Mr. Delano did not reach there be- 
 fore 1 was obliged to send the contract away for approval ; and if I did not recall him, whether 
 I should be censured for carrying out his verbal arrangement involuntarily dividing profits 
 with Mr. Delano, the same as if Mr.. Delano's name had been in the contract. I present 
 two points: whether you, as Commissioner of the Land-Office, think I should have recalled 
 the deputy, or whether I should have interfered in the matter ? A. With the permission of 
 the committee I would say that, under those circumstances, I do not think you ought to have 
 recalled the deputy, unless he was immediately by and could be recalled without great loss 
 to him. If he was a competent deputy, he should have beeu permitted to go on and ex- 
 ecute the contract. Of course it was then a contract with a single individual as it stood on 
 the records. If he saw proper to divide the proceeds with John Delano after that, that was 
 a matter of his own, and it was a matter in which I should say you had no right to dictate 
 to him or to control him. You should not after that have dictated to him anything about 
 the division of the spoils. If he saw proper to do so voluntarily, it was a matter with which 
 you had nothing to do. 
 
 Q. This was entirely a voluntary matter, and so considered, and was continued to the 
 very end ? A. It would have done no good to the Government, and would have done in- 
 jury to the deputy to have recalled him at this stage of the proceedings. 
 
 Q, Please give to the committee whatever your opinion may be of the character and 
 fidelity of both the office and field-work of Dr. Reed as surveyor-general, and what you be- 
 lieve to be his fidelity to the interests of the Government as surveyor-general, and whether 
 you ever confided to him important duties in his official capacity in other places than his 
 own district of Wyoming. A. So far as Dr. Reed's record, while I was Commissioner of 
 the Laud-Office, was concerned, it was unobjectionable ; he holds the reputation of being a 
 very competent and faithful surveyor-general. His work came up to my office in good 
 shape, and always, I believe, without exception, proved satisfactory. He had the reputation 
 of being one of "the most efficient and competent surveyors-general in the service at the 
 
Q0\ - IN \vvo\ir :;ri>RY. 47 
 
 i. r of the Land-OfBc.-. i: . i M of that reputation I selected him, at 
 the instancr of Mr. Delano, to make an examination of sump work th it was p, 
 the State of California in relation to a private land-grant. The Si-- it ex- 
 
 amined, and I selected Mr. Reed with reference to his qualifications as a surveyor, as well 
 
 as a faithful surveyor-general, to perform that \ 
 
 Mil perform it to the satisfaction oi A. Yes, sir; I believe so, 
 
 entir- 
 
 M CIMIUV 
 
 Q. I understood you to say that all you required was that one of the parties named in the 
 .ct should he a practical surveyor ? A. Yes, sir; I say that is all the regulation of 
 the Department requires. I have brought with me, for the purpose of showing that 
 the regulations issued by one of my predecessors. An extract therefrom reads as fol 
 "When two deputies enter into joint contract fora certain service and only on.- of them 
 gOM into the field, if that one with a single surveying party executes all the work in pei- 
 son. his affidavit alone as surveyor, attached to the fteld-notee, will he deemed sufficient ; 
 and no impediment to the payment of his accounts will result therefrom." That was issued 
 
 Q. Do you understand the law to require that contracts shall not be let to any persons 
 
 ii as are skillful surveyors 1 A. The language of the law is, I believe, tin 
 surveyor-generals shall select skillful surveyors as their deputies. That is the old act of 
 
 c t >. There is no other law except that, is there 'A. No, sir ; there is no other law except 
 that, that I know of, on that point. I do not remember any. 
 
 c t >. Do you also understand that it is necessary for surveyors to give a bond and take an 
 sir. 
 
 Q. And also to sign a contract ? A. Yes, sir ; the deputy exists by virtue of his contract. 
 It is not an office by commission, but exists merely hy contract. 
 
 Q. Do you consider a surveyor-general as complying w ith the law who would let a con- 
 tract to two men and require only one of the deputies to take the oath, sign the contract, and 
 give the bond, and at the same time have him joined with a party who was not a skillful 
 surveyor, who was not required to give a bond, to take the oath, or to sign the contract, and 
 who did not appear in the Territory at all or upon the land that was to be surveyed T \\ 
 you in v.-rth. i, <s approve that contract ? A. No, sir; I do not say so. I was speaking of 
 where two deputies entered into and executed a contract that it had been the practice of the 
 office, and prohahly in accordance with the spirit of the law, if not in accordance with tin- 
 exact letter of the law. I found it had been the practice of the office, almost from time im- 
 memorial, to let a contract to two men, requiring one to be a competent surveyor to take 
 charge of the compass and execute the work. 
 
 <?. ! -lire the two men to sign the contract ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 And to take the oath f A. There are two or three different elements entering into the 
 
 ration of n. contract. One is the capacity and fitness for the work, and the otl 
 lancial responsibility. Another thing that we find in practical experience in survey- 
 ing, is e\cii:;vt capacity to manage a lot of men in the field. Thos,- three qualifications 
 constitute a good surveyor. We frequently find in practice that where a man pos-es-. 
 technical skill to survey he does not possess the financial responsibility, and I Mipp 
 
 that way the practice grew up of allowing a financial man to be connected with a skillful 
 practice is so old that I do not know exactly how it originated. I suppose, 
 
 T, that that was its origin, and I found it in operation when I entered into die 1 
 
 A ays required the parties interested, so far as we ki \\ anything about it at 
 the Land-< Mli.-e. to i-M-cu'e the contract or appear upon the face of it. 
 
 M parties t A. Yes, sir; and that kind of a contract, I have no hesitation 
 
 Jig. 1 sh-nild have approved where it appeared to me that there was one man capable 
 
 of the work, because there was a number of kinds of work that the other 
 man could have done. He could have carried the Hag, or the chair, or anything of that kind. 
 It wa- !or more than one man to lr- a skillful surveyor in a surveying party. 
 
 ,'. Hi! \oii known that Mr. .lohn Delano had a half interest in the contract let to Mr. 
 Hammond, would you have approved that contract f A. I should not have approved an 
 ? !.y which one man was to have an interest in the contract without appearing as 
 to it. 
 
 i i.l you to say that you would not have approved the contract of Mr. 
 nond f A. '1 his contract was made after 1 left the office, and of conr.-e 1 had no offi- 
 i.ncction with it. It was something that 1 i:ev. rheaid of until it was published in 
 n here some months ago. 
 
 V- How long after you advised Mr. R.-ed that he might oonn I Mr. John Delano with a 
 competent sum -\. ;nut in his t i .itory, did you leave the office of Commissioner ? 
 
 A. 1 left the office the next V 
 
 mt one year afterward t A. No, sir; it was in February that we had the con- 
 versation. 
 
 .,'. 1 hen you did not, of course, approve that contract or agreement T A. No, sir ; I never 
 anything in the world abtut it, and never heard of it until this affair was published. 
 
48 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. But you did advise Dr. Reed that you would approve a contract let to Mr. John Delano, 
 if he would connect with Mr. Delano a practical surveyor ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. You meant by that that Mr. Delano should go into the Territory itself, execute the con- 
 tract, and connect himself with it in every respect according to the regulations of the 
 office ? A. Yes, sir ; according to the regulations of the office as the law had been con- 
 strued from time almost immemorial. 
 
 Q. Do you remember approving a contract let to a man named Medary ? A. No, sir ; I 
 have no recollection of it. 
 
 Q. Do you remember that a man named Medary was one of Dr. Reed's deputies ? A. I 
 have heard so, but I have no recollection of it. 
 
 Q. Was that during the time you were Commissioner of the Land-Office ? A. I think it 
 was. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether Mr. Medary was a practical surveyor or not ? A. I do not. 
 Up to 1873 there was no regulation requiring the surveyors-general to report as to the quali- 
 fications of their deputies. They sent contracts, and unless some objection appeared, I 
 think they were approved ; but in IH73 I, having had the experience of the year or two be- 
 fore with deputies entirely unsatisfactory in regard to the execution of their work, issued re- 
 gulations requiring the surveyors-general, whenever they sent to me a contract, to send up a 
 report as to the qualification of the man employed, showing where he had been employed 
 -as a surveyor, and what duty he had performed in the field. After that time all contracts 
 which were approved by me were approved upon that kind of a report. But up to that time 
 there had been no report made under the regulations of the office, and consequently I might 
 have approved contracts when they were let to men who were inexperienced without know- 
 ing anything about it. The old system did not work to my satisfaction, and I introduced 
 new regulations. 
 
 Q. I understand you to say, then, that if you had known Mr. Medary was not a practical 
 surveyor, you would not have approved that contract ? A. I would not, if it was let to 
 him without association with a competent surveyor. 
 
 Q. Did you know that the Medary contract was really let to Orvil Grant ? A. No, sir ; I 
 never knew Orvil Grant had any interest in a contract while I was in the office ; I never 
 heard of him in connection with any contract while I was Commissioner of the Land-Office. 
 
 Q. Do you remember approving a contract for two surveyors named James and Rodgers ? 
 A. No, sir ; I have no recollection of them. The chief of the surveying division always ex- 
 amines. Of course, in an office where there were 200 clerks, I could not examine into de- 
 tails. The chief of the surveying division was charged with the duty of examining, and 
 he brought the contract to me with an approval indorsed, or brought a report to me, saying 
 that it should not be approved. That was under general regulations which I had prescribed 
 to him in the discharge of his duties. If he brought a surveying contract to me to sign I 
 considered that he had made the necessary examination, unless I had some information or 
 suspicion, and signed it without further examination. 
 
 Q. Suppose that you had been apprised of the fact that the contract let to James and 
 Uodgers was really given to a person named Houghton, who publishes a newspaper at Ga- 
 lena, 111., and who was not in the Territory at that time or any subsequent time, would 
 you have approved that contract? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. You would not have approved it, although James and Rodgers were practical survey- 
 ors, had signed the contract, taken the oath, and given the bond ? A. I never did approve a 
 contract let for the benefit of anybody who did not participate in its execution. 
 
 Q. You would not have approved it simply because they had agreed to divide the profits 
 with a man who was taking none of the responsibility and doing none of the work f A. I 
 should have disapproved it for that reason. 
 
 Q. When you said to Dr. Reed that you saw no objection to Mr. Delano participating in 
 the profits of the contract, you meant by that Mr. Delano should go into the field himself, 
 did you not ? A. Yes, sir ; the conversation was that Mr. Delano's health would be benefit- 
 ed by going into the surveying party and taking a summer's campaign with the party. 
 That was the idea that was advanced to me. I knew the condition of Mr. Delano's health 
 for the year past, and knew that it was considered by the doctors to be dangerous. I also 
 knew the anxiety of his father as to his state of health. I said to Dr. Reed that -I did not 
 interfere with him or with any other surveyor-general in the matter ot letting contracts in ad- 
 vance, but that now that John Delano was no longer connected with the Interior Depart- 
 ment, but was a private citizen, I saw no reason why, if he wished to do so, he should not 
 let a contract to him the same as to anybody else, if he united him with a practical surveyor 
 who could perform the service, and that if he saw proper to let such a contract, using 
 John Delano's name, and having him participate in the execution of the contract, that I 
 would not object to it, but would approve it. But I told him at the same time that I would 
 not approve any secret arrangement for John Delano's benefit, where he was not to partici- 
 pate in the thing. 
 
 Q. If you had known that Mr. John Delano wrote to Dr. Reed a letter in which he re- 
 quested the doctor to omit his name from the contract and to insert the name of another 
 party who was also not a practical surveyor, would you have approved that contract f-r-A. 
 No, sir ; I should have saio. the doctor ought not to have let a contract in that way. 
 
GOVKKNMKM SUfcTKYfl IN WYnMi.M; TERRITORY. 49 
 
 nversation with the Secretary of the Interior about bis son roim? 
 
 into the lenitorv to do surveying 7 A. After this conversation with Dr. Reed I thought the 
 , and came to the conclusion that perhaps, as he was the Secretary's son the Sec- 
 lit object to his having anything to do with the contract, publicly or privatelr 
 v and stated what Dr. Reed had proposed, and wl.at I had tola* him I 
 
 told him that I thought inasmuch as he was his son, and that he (the Secretary ) was the 
 
 head ot the office, it was my duty as chief of the Land-Office to state the facts to him I 
 
 d him I could not see any impropriety in making an open transaction of the kind, but I 
 
 l.t after reflection it was my duty to name it to him. He expressed himself as thank- 
 
 tul tor the interest we had taken in John Delano, but at the time objected to any such ar- 
 
 Mient and I never talked with him afterward. He would not approve it at thai 
 and I neve, .spoke to him again about it, and never had anything further to do with 
 
 i it again. 
 
 Q. You l.-ft the Land-Office before the contract was to be let? A. Yes, sir. 
 Q. Who was your successor? A. Mr. Hnrdette. 
 <.,'. Is he the present Commissioner ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 By M Ki i i> : 
 
 ke not, you were asked the question if both deputies were hound to appear 
 i the held of survey ? A. They are not bound to appear by the regulations of the Land- 
 Bee ; I was only stating what the purport of our conversation was. The purport was that 
 Delano was to go out and accompany the party, and to camp out with it duriu? the 
 i hat was the idea. And according to the regulations of the Land-Office a con- 
 tract might be let to two men, one of whom might execute it in the field, although th.- 
 was not required to go. 
 
 Q. There was some regulation of your Department at one time that one might not go to 
 the held at all, was there not? A. Yes, sir; that was the regulation of !- 1 I 
 
 have called the attention of the committee. It was provided that if both did not participate 
 in the contract, the one who did should take the oath as to the execution of the work It 
 recognized the fact that there might be a contract with two parties, one of whom was not to 
 be personally present at the execution of the work. 
 
 V The practical man to go to thejfield ? A. Yes, sir ; as I said a while ago, I suppose 
 "lit ot the necessity of having one man connected with the contract who was 
 linancially responsible. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN: 
 
 That man, of course, was required to give the bond ? A. Yes, sir ; both parties were 
 
 bond to execute the contract, but one of them, according to the regulations 
 
 xisted, need not go into the field. I never approved any contracts unless the par- 
 
 ..! appeared in it, during the time I was Commissioner of the Land-Office; that is I 
 
 knowingly approved any such. 
 
 By Mr. REED : 
 
 Q, I M! it make any difference as to the validity of the contract or the interest of the Gov- 
 nt whether both those names appeared in that contract .'A. No. sir ; the Government 
 could only look to the man who appeared ; the Government would have nothing to do at all 
 ith the outside party. IV instance, you spoke of a contra, -t with John I Mum. an. 
 
 lid : n. .w. so tar as that contract was concerned, the Land-Office could 01 
 as a contract with Mr. Hammond, and pay Mr. Hammond, and thev would have nothinff to 
 
 :i John Delano. 
 
 Q. Did the Government suffer any wrong by means of John Delano's name not getting 
 tt contract 'A. If the work was executed correctly there was no loss to tin 
 
 Q' ( "'ill to mind the fact which existed in your Department, that Mr. Medarv 
 
 WM F <i<-t in partnership with one of the Downers in June. 1-7:5, by Dr. Latham 
 
 -sor 'A. 1 have no recollection of it. 1 have no doubt but that appears on the' 
 
 ot the Land-Oftice, but when you come to call upon me for my recollection, I have no 
 
 of these different contracts. There were hundreds anil hundreds of them let 
 
 unl of course I, baring supervision of the work with ,!,] not look 
 
 tails and charge my mind with them. I could only lay down general regula- 
 
 .vhich governed the cleiks. and required tin-in towo;kupto those regulations. If 
 
 : aeletk not so d.^in- i him. I have no particular recollection of that con- 
 
 if it was let early in 1-7:5 it must have been le: He was sur- 
 
 ; il in the spring, up to July or August ; I do not rememl,.-r which. 
 
 Q. 1 mo wrote a letter which was receiv, M aVf 
 
 874, stilting that he could not reach there, and requested me to use another name in the 
 his stead, you know. 1 suppo.se, that 1 could not do that under the regulation* 
 " f '' r| - ' A. vim could not do that, because th-- man had to be there t 
 
 i In- oath. 
 '.' I: I iil not do that, and Hammond was permitted to go on with his contract in the 
 
 1 \v 
 
50 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 field, and survey, and return, and hand over to Mr. Delano half of the profit of the contract, 
 half of which was his (Hammond's) and half Mr. Delano's, and he did hand over such 
 half, who was harmed in that transaction ? A. I should say Hammond was the only man 
 who was harmed. 
 
 Q. If he did it voluntarily, how would it be then ? A. It was simply a diminution of the 
 profit from his contract. It was not anything that the Government suffered if he executed 
 the work according to the contract, but if he paid John Delano one-half of the profit, of 
 
 urse his profits were diminished to that extent. 
 
 Q. Do you esteem that a hardship to an old deputy of several years standing, especially 
 if he did it voluntarily? A. My idea about a contract is that all the parties ought to be 
 connected with its execution ; but if I voluntarily enter into an arrangement with a man to 
 advance money toward an outfit, and I am to account to him for a part of the proceeds, or to 
 pay him an enormous rate of interest, that that is a transaction between ourselves. I 
 have been informed that deputies sometimes paid three and four per cent, a month for 
 interest out in the Western States, and that they sometimes gave the party to advance money 
 a certain proportion of the proceeds, but those are things that I knew nothing about. I do 
 not consider that connected at all with the contract with the Government. The only con- 
 tract that the Government knows is with the party who appears on the papers. 
 
 Q. But if old deputies, long in the field, who had made it a business for several years, 
 and profited by it, saw fit to take an outside man in with them, and did so voluntarily, 
 dividing with such man some of their profits on a certain occasion, is the surveyor-general 
 to be censured for not interfering ? A. If the surveyor-general is not a party to it, he is 
 not liable to censure, because that is a matter of private transaction between individuals, 
 that he is not presumed to know anything about. 
 
 Q. Would he be considered a party unless he exacted it and made a compulsory matter 
 of it 'f A. No, sir ; unless he exacted it of his deputy, he could not be considered a party 
 to it. As I have said before, if after this transaction grew up in this way, you held the 
 contract for the purpose of having it executed by John Delano, as long as you could, and 
 then returned it to the Land-Office for approval ; after that all you had to do was to treat Mr. 
 Hammond as the contractor, and if you did not interfere and dictate a division of the spoils, 
 I should not hold you at all censurable. 
 
 Q. If Mr. Hammond, on leaving for the field, drew on Mr. Delano for his quota of money 
 necessary to be advanced to go to the field, that would make the case between them still 
 stronger, would it not ? A. Yes, sir ; of course, as between them, that would create an 
 equity which Mr. Hammond could respect if he saw proper. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN : 
 
 Q. What are the prices for surveying township division-lines ? A. They vary in differ- 
 ent Territories and different States. 
 
 Q. What was the maximum in Wyoming, if you remember ? A. I think it was about 
 $10 a mile. 
 
 Q. And it ran down about how low ? A. I do not remember whether it was $7 or $3 ; it 
 depends altogether on the nature of the country. 
 
 Q. I know that prices vary in different Territories, but was not $10 the maximum for 
 division-lines in Wyoming ? A. I do not remember that. 
 
 Q. Taking it for granted that $10 was the maximum, did you approve all contracts for the . 
 maximum price where there were different prices for division-lines of townships f A. I had 
 to leave that to the discretion of the surveyor-general. I could not tell anything about the 
 ground that was to be surveyed. 
 
 Q. The surveyor-general could let the contract at the best price he could have the work 
 .done for the best interests of the Government, and that was his duty, was it not? A. Yes, 
 sir ; it was for him to determine what the prices should be. 
 
 Q. Suppose that Mr. Hammond had agreed to survey these division-lines for $7 a mile, 
 provided he was to receive all profits or all the money on the contract, and that Dr. Reed 
 
 5ave him the contract at $10 per mile, provided he would divide equally all profits with 
 ohn Delano, was anybody hurt by that transaction? A. Yes, sir; the Government would 
 be hurt by it to the extent of $3 per mile. 
 
 Q. If Mr. John Delano could realize $1,400 profit out of one contract, it is very likely 
 that Mr. Hammond could have surveyed that contract, had he been permitted to retain all 
 of the profits himself, for a lower sum than $10 a mile, is it not ? A. It would be very diffi- 
 cult to determine, in advance, in a country like that, exactly what a man could do. They 
 have to take surveys somewhat on speculation ; a man sometimes goes out, and, taking a 
 series of townships, makes a very fine profit. Then, again, the same man will go out and 
 take a contract at the same amount and either lose money or make very slight profit, owing 
 to the variation of the ground, the gulches, inequalities, &-c. Hence the contract is gen- 
 erally let with a view to close drawbacks. If a man happens to get smooth ground, he 
 makes a very fine profit out of the contract ; if he happens to get rough ground he some- 
 times loses, or perhaps just clears himself. I have known deputies who have made nothing 
 during a whole season's work, and others on a contract of the same size would make a very 
 fine profit, striking a smooth piece of ground. 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVEYS IN \\ Y<>MIN<; 1 KK'RITORY. 51 
 
 Q. "> \\ing at tho time contracts are sent you for approval what 
 
 the condition of tin- land is? A. No, sir ; anl it is hunlly ovr known at tin- surveyor- 
 
 geueral's office. It tlm surveyor-general happens to travel over a piece of land, he knows 
 
 y these surveys are made at remote distances from the office, and in 
 
 fields which have nut t>een fully explored. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether it was customary in all the Territories for surveyors-general to 
 
 he maximum price ? A. Yes. sir; they generally did it. 
 
 I'l i I'. I !..: || no other price : there is only one price stated for each kind of work. 
 In; i \i\i'>M>. I will state that it was the general practice of survey*. rs to let contracts 
 
 '1 by Congress. 
 
 M i : ben \* but one price stated by Congress f r each kind of work. 
 
 Mr. I)KI M MI ix ii. I can see how Mr. Mutchler gets the idea of maximum price. The acts 
 ling |10 per mile, so that there may be a lower price at the discre- 
 urveyor-general. 
 
 ( ii \IKM \\. And also at the discretion of the contractor. If he goes into the office 
 iyi he will make a contract to survey at $5 a mile, it is the <lutyof the surveyor-general 
 :m a contract at that rate. 
 
 I M;I \'\i ,\i | hat couhl be done if you could get honest and responsible men to do 
 
 low rate. Inn sometimes these parties would bid low for the purpose of executing 
 
 work imperfectly in the field, ana the lower rate would not therefore pay. That prac- 
 
 '1. 
 
 Tin* CIIUKM \x. It is only reasonable to suppose that Hammond would have executed 
 
 U than slo u mile, when we know that he agreed to divide the profits equally 
 
 -. a man whom he never saw and with whom of course he never conversed, 
 
 ( h whom the arrangement was made simply at the suggestion of the surveyor-general. 
 
 IM:I \i\MMi. I suppose that if he had got all the profits he could have affotded to 
 
 take it at a little U*s .sum of course. 
 
 By Mr. REED: 
 
 Q. Can you tigure to your mind what state of things would be produced in the depart- 
 ment of the surveyor-general if he attempted to give a portion of his deputy's work at $10 
 a mile, and another portion of work at $7 a mile f A. It could not be done unless there was 
 , well-defined distim-ti >n between the tracts of country that were to be surveyed. 
 \ou were letting a man a plain known to be a plain, and letting at the 
 :ime to another man a tract of country known to be mountainous and full of gulches, 
 then- you could draw a distinction, but, as I have heretofore stated to the chairman, these 
 - are not generally known in advance. It is only after survey that the character of the 
 y is determined, and consequently in letting contracts you have to let them all alike. 
 p.. you >uppns.' that a surveyor-general could get along without a mutiny among 
 his deputies if lie gave contracts at one price to one and at another price to another? A. 
 No, sir; not unless there were well-defined distinctions in the character of the country. For 
 ;i Oregon that is done. Take a heavily-timbered district, and there they get a 
 rate per mile. Take a prairie or plain, there they get a lower rate, but it is equally 
 Mble and creates no difficulty, because one man makes as much money as another, 
 and in tact more, because the man who works on the plain, although he has a lower rate, 
 has a better contract. 
 
 k, in which Mr. Delano was interested, was 400 miles by railroad away 
 
 from my oth'ce. a* I can show that it is, was it the duty of the surveyor-general to go out 
 
 hunt over that ground, and pick out the best of it, and put it at $7 a mile? A. No, 
 
 sir; it was your duty to let the contract according to the law, and let the deputies run their 
 
 '68. 
 
 1 >o you know of a single contract ever coming to the Department from those Ter- 
 than is stated in the law ? A. No, sir; 1 do not know of one, nor 
 member one. As I have stated heretofore, it is the uniform practice of the surveyor- 
 ral to let the contract at the price fixed by Congress. 
 
 ie (II \IKM VN : 
 
 is, you mean by that, at the maximum price fixed by Congress? A. Yes, sir; 
 
 at the maximum price. I have stated heretofore that the Government did not lose any- 
 
 iiy the operation of this special contract in question, for the reason that the contract 
 
 would have bei-n let at the same price in any event to somebody else. 
 
 Mr. REKD. Ye4; I esteemed it nobody's business, and it was not anybody's business. 
 
 i. ( 'ii \IKM\N [to Mr. Drummond :] 
 
 I >o you eonsider that it is an honest transaction for the surveyor-general of a Territory 
 t contract to a person who gives no Lund, signs no contract, takes no oath, who does 
 Dto tho Territorv, and who never saw the ground which he was to survey, 
 r that he may participate in tin- profits, without ever rendering 
 I have stated "that I would not have approved any such : 
 action as that, and would not approve it now. 
 
52 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. Is it not in your judgment a violation of the law ? A. It is a violation of the spirit of 
 the law, undoubtedly, or rather of the letter of the law, if not of the spirit. 
 
 Q. It is not an honest transaction, is it ? A. I should not say that it was a correct trans- 
 action to farm out a contract for the benefit of a party who was not connected with it. 
 
 Q. If Mr. Hammond or any other practical surveyor was willing to accept a contract, with 
 the understanding- that he was to divide one-half of the profits with a man who had ren- 
 dered him no service and could render him no service, and take none of the responsibilities 
 connected with the contract, is it not altogether likely that Mr. Hammond would have sur- 
 veyed that ground at a lower rate than the maximum fixed by law '? A. That may be so. 
 
 Q. And if he would have done so, then the money that the silent partner received was 
 money taken out of the United States Treasury, to which he and no other person had any 
 right. Is not that the fact ? A. If an arrangement was made by which one man was to 
 take a contract in his name and execute it for the benefit of another who did not participate 
 in it, or furnish anything or connect himself with it, then I would say that the Government 
 might suffer, and that it was an improper transaction ; but, coming back to the doctor's 
 question as he presented it to me, according to my understanding, his arrangement was that 
 John Delano should go into this contract and execute it ; and that he entered into the ar- 
 rangement with Mr. Hammond on that basis and on no other. That is the reason I answered 
 the question as I did. But if Mr. Reed had entered into an arrangement by which he was to 
 let a contract to Hammond for John Delano's benefit, with the understanding that John 
 Delano was never to come to the Territory, never to execute the contract, or participate in it 
 in any way, then I would say that that was an improper transaction. 
 
 Q. And that the Government would suffer for it, would it not ? A. Yes, sir ; but that is 
 not the transaction I understood from Dr. Reed's question. As I understood him, he ar- 
 ranged to let this contract to John Delano and Hammond, and they were both to unite in it 
 and participate in its execution. 
 
 Mr. REED. Yes ; but I explained to you that after waiting for some weeks for him to get 
 there, he did not come ; that Hammond could not stay longer at Cheyenne with his hands 
 hired ; that he was obliged to go ; that he drew on John Delano for money, and that Mr. 
 Delano participated to the extent to which he asked him for such money. 
 
 The WITNESS. I answered you by saying, in that transaction you acted correctly in send- 
 ing that contract to the Government for approval, and that after that you had nothing to 
 do except to recognize it as a contract with Hammond, and if you did not dictate a division 
 of the spoils with John Delano, there was no impropriety about it. 
 
 Mr. REED. That has not been shown and cannot be shown ; but let me understand one 
 point more. You have been asked if it was not a dishonest transaction to let any other 
 deputy come in ar/d take a portion 
 
 A. [Interrupting.] No, sir ; I do not understand that I have been asked that. The ques- 
 tion was this : that if you had made an arrangement to let the contract to Hammond, for 
 instance, with the secret understanding that John Delano or any other man who did not re- 
 side in the Territory, but who resided perhaps a thousand miles away, was to participate in 
 the profits without appearing in connection with the contract, or executing it, or doing any- 
 thing about it, if it was not a dishonest transaction ? My reply was that I would consider 
 that an incorrect transaction, and it would not be proper to do it. 
 
 Mr. REED. Is that a parallel case with anything in hand ? 
 
 Mr. DRUMIMOND. That is a case which Mr. Mutchler puts to me as a case made up in his 
 own mind. 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. The evidence makes such a case. 
 
 By Mr. REED : 
 
 Q. Mr. Hammond drawing on Delano for money before he went to the field, and receiv- 
 ing all the money that he requested from Mr. Delano, would that iiot affect or change the 
 case in your opinion ? 
 
 Mr. DRUMMOND. As I have said, that created an equity between John Delano and Mr. 
 Hammond as individuals outside of the Government. That is a matter for adjustment be- 
 tween them, and with which you as surveyor-general had nothing to do. 
 
 By Mr. REED : 
 
 Q. If I made no interference in the matter, it was proper for Mr. Hammond to carry out 
 his voluntary arrangement with Mr Delano, was it not ? A. Yes, sir ; it was proper for 
 him to do so, if he wanted to do so, or proper for him to repudiate it if he desired. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN : 
 
 Q. That is, if Mr. Hammond ever had a voluntary arrangement with Mr. Delano ? 
 Mr. DRUMMOND. Yes ; but that I do not know anything about. 
 Mr. REED. It has not been shown to the contrary. 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. As I understand it, it has been shown that Delano and Hammond never 
 had any communication, and never met. 
 
<.(>VKk.\MK.\T SURVEYS IN \VVo.M l.\(; TKKRITORY. 53 
 
 MIA .1. l\i.i | lM d examined. 
 
 II\ M:. Ki 
 
 what tliat book is, [ handing book to witness. ] A. That is a manual of survey- 
 iR i" prepared under tin- act of Congress to reduce the expenses of the survey 
 
 tl- public lamls of tin- Tinted States, which was passed May 30. ]- 
 aet validated the DMUiUAl of surveying instructions issued by the General Land -Office as 
 
 (Miring that each contract entered into by the surveyor-general should be based 
 upon the r. ti in tln> manual of surveying Instructions, ami make a part of the 
 
 contra. irtics to perform tln duties as required in the manual of surveying instruc- 
 
 tions. 
 
 I*y tin- CM \IHM\X : 
 
 A. I inn now tilling the position of principal clerk 
 M tin- Interior Department 
 ,'. ll>\v l>ng have you held that position .'A. About fourteen year-. 
 
 \Vlmt are your duties as principal clerk of surveys '--A. TI'I instruct surveyers-gen- 
 
 :.dcr the laws passed by Congress for the surveying of public lands. . nns of 
 
 unine the contracts entered into by surveyors-general with their deputies. 
 
 :he w.u-k is returned to the surveyor-general and approved by him, that work is sent 
 
 :al Land-Office, and my duty is to examine whether it is well pi-rformed 
 cordtince with the laws and with the instructions of the Commissioner of the General Land- 
 Office as contained in that manual ; also to attend to the liquidation of the payment of the 
 accounts of the deputy surveyors who perform their work. The Commissioner of the Gen- 
 eral Land-Office certifies to the First Comptroller of the Treasury all those accounts. 
 
 By Mr. K'i 
 
 i >oes this printed manual of surveyors' instructions set forth a complete system of in- 
 "ii< tu the deputy surveyors as well as to the surveyors-genera! ^ir : up to 
 
 -in period. It was prepared and continued in force until May :!<', 1-V-J, when ad- 
 ditional instructions, under date of June 1, 1864, were issued under new additional laws 
 which were not provided for in the original manual of surveying instructions. 
 
 Are those contained in your supplement /A. Not everything. The old instrin 
 did not provide for such requirements ils the subsequent laws passed* by Congress. Then 
 lanual of surveying instructions was issued in 1H5-I. The provisions therein are dif- 
 :latingall duties under the new law; The Commissioner of the General ! 
 required to approve each contract, which bad not been the case heretofore, 
 into contracts, but they had to send them to the Commissioner 
 
 tor him to approve or reject. It provided also that one deputy might get a contract, or 
 two deputies join in a eon tract. One might survey and the other might not ; the om* sur- 
 veying : the field-notes. There is another provision that joint contractors, both 
 going to the field and both surveying, shall swear to the parts of the work which each have 
 med, swearing that they have performed such work in accordance with the instruc- 
 tions contained in their contract. There is also another provision that in the joint con- 
 ne may be a moneyed man and advance the money merely ; the other to execute th,> 
 in the field. Whoever executes the work has to make affidavit to the field- 
 survey, which he returns to the survey or- genera I, that he lias performed the work 
 in accordance with the contract. That ig the addition which did not exist in the origi- 
 nal manual of surveying instructions. 
 
 Q. If two deputies go into the field under u contract, and both survey, it is understood 
 and expected that each of those deputies will have a separate company of men and a 
 rate compass I A. Yes, sir; and each man must make affidavit to his own work. 
 
 1 'you to say that this printed manual of instructions to deputy su; 
 
 ors contains a complete system of instructions to the deputy surveyor as to how he shall 
 do everything in regard to his work? A. Exactly as to "how he' is to measmv. how he 
 IB to run the lines; how he has got to mark the corners. It is all prescribed, not at 
 random, jumping here and there, but the form which he is to follow is distinctly pointed 
 out. 
 
 In his oath to the contract the deputy is require-! to sw.-.-n that he will follow all in- 
 structions contained i:i this manual of surveying, is he not 'A. Yes. sir : befoiv he gete 
 a contract he | IH s to make affidavit that he will perform the duties in accordance with the 
 law and instructions; and then, when he returns his work. h> \e?r, as the 
 
 law r. r he |,a- perform-d tho-se dull.- ; un-e with the law an-1 instruc- 
 
 ue two aHidav its needed the first one !., :icld. 
 
 Hen he returns, swearing that those are the original tiel-i : that they 
 
 ii the manual < uid special in- 
 
 >ns, if any, tr-un the surveyor-general. Hut those instructions of the surveyor-gen- 
 :"ist be in accordance writh the law. The sarTejor-general 0*0 'nona 
 
 which are not legal. 
 
 Q. v is surveyor-general in Wyoming I i-n.- 1 Mtrlj OM bu : JicU. 
 
 All those contract-, came t.. tli-- Genert] Land-Office, did they n.it 'A. Yes, - 
 
54 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 one of them had to come to the General Land-Office, or it was no contract. It is not 
 binding- unless the Commissioner of the General Land-Office approves what the surveyor- 
 general of the Territory does. 
 
 Q. Were those contracts of mine all approved ? A. All were approved ; there were about 
 eighty -six or eighty-seven of them ; some of them were made by your successor in 1873, I 
 believe. Some seven or eight contracts were made by Dr. Latham, who was appointed in 
 your place. The majority of the contracts, however, were entered into by you and submitted 
 to the Commissioner of the General Land-Office ; they were examined by myself and assist- 
 ants to see whether they were within the means appropriated for a particular surveying-dis- 
 trict; whether they were in accordance with the per-mileage that was allowed, and whether 
 they were in all other respects in accordance with law. The Commissioner then approved 
 the contracts. 
 
 Q. You and your clerks are very familiar, of course, with all the contracts I made in Wy- 
 oming. State as to the character of the work returned to you under those contracts, the 
 field-notes, plats, &c. A. Your surveys in Wyoming Territory, which was organized in 
 1870, you being yourself an old surveyor, favorably known, were very satisfactory. We had 
 no difficulty whatever with the contracts under you ; everything was done in nice style, 
 returns made, protracted in excellent taste, and very few irregularities discovered, those be- 
 ing clerical errors easily remedied. That was so, with the exception of one case, which was 
 the case of Poland and another man named Cayton. 
 
 Mr. REED. That was not my contract. 
 
 The WITNESS. No ; that was not yours. It was your successor's, Dr. Latham's ; it was 
 brought to light by you that they were deficient in some respects. 
 
 Q. It was improperly surveyed ? A. Yes, sir ; that is, the mounds and posts were not of 
 the proper size. You went to the field yourself to correct that, and the Government after- 
 wards paid for it. You yourself have always manifested good judgment in the selection 
 of your deputies, ( in my estimation, and we have never found anything objectionable. 
 
 Q. Could you judge from the accuracy and character of the field -notes and plats of the 
 surveys, whether I had a competent set of deputies ? A. Yes, sir ; we never found any trou- 
 ble as we did in other districts. All the records passed under my supervision before the Com- 
 missioner signed any letters or gave instructions. No objection was raised to your work, 
 and nothing was found that was either fraudulent or irregular. 
 
 Q. Or incorrect ? A. Or incorrect ; in all cases where you doubted whether you could 
 approve the surveys, or doubted as to the proper way of carrying on surveying, you have ap- 
 plied to the Commissioner of the General Land-Office, and he has given you the proper in- 
 structions for the performance of the business. 
 
 Q. Do you remember in the case of the first or second contract I gave out in Wyoming to 
 an old, experienced deputy, that I had a year or two of trouble in correcting it ? A. That 
 was the case of Cook. I recollect that you sought instructions from the office. 
 
 Q. I sought instructions frequently, did I not, in this case ? A. Yes, sir ; he was survey- 
 ing in the western part of your district. 
 
 Q. Do you know T. B. Medary, deputy surveyor ? A. Yes, sir ; he was deputy surveyor 
 in Wyoming. He had contracts there in 1873, '4, or '5. 
 
 Q. Have you ever seen him ? A. Yes, sir ; I saw him when he made returns. He was 
 deputy surveyor, also, in Dakota Territory. He had a contract for surveying Jhe Indian 
 reservation. The contract was entered into by the Commissioner of the General Land- 
 Office for Indian surveys, by direction of the Secretary of the Interior. He made returns in 
 person to the office. We had to examine those surveys ourselves, and the Commissioner 
 approved them, and not the surveyor-general, for the reason that they were Indian surveys. 
 
 Q. W T hat is your belief as to his fitness or competency as a deputy surveyor, judging 
 from his work and from your personal observation ? A. I was not sufficiently familiar with 
 him to judge. He was quite an intelligent man. I do not know what his mathematical 
 attainments were, or his education, but he looks a man of intelligence and education, and 
 made a very good survey. 
 
 Q. Did you have any occasion to find fault with his surveys in the matter of the contract 
 that I gave him ? A. No ; I forget now whether you entered into a contract with him or Mr. 
 Latham. 
 
 Q. Do you tknow Fowler and Farringer as surveyors ? A. Yes, sir ; Farringer is an old 
 surveyor, who has been in Colorado Territory, surveying, probably for five or six years. He 
 had several contracts. He had a joint contract one time with Fowler. He also had a con- 
 tract with you. Fowler and Farringer had contracts in Wyoming. 
 
 Q. Look over your record and state if you observe a contract from me to Fowler and Fer- 
 ringerin the summer of 1874. A. I find that he had a contract with you July 24, 1874. 
 
 Q. What was the liability ? A. $4,200. 
 
 Q. Under what appropriation was that? A. Under an appropriation of $40,000, act of 
 Congress June 23, 1874, for surveys in Wyoming. 
 
 Q. Both their names were in the contract, which was a mutual contract, was it not ? A. 
 Yes, sir ; it was a joint contract. 
 
 Q. Have you any recollection of the character of their work as returned to your office ?- 
 A. It passed without any difficulty, but I could not say whether they did any better thai 
 anybody else. 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVKYS IX WYOMING TERRITORY. 55 
 
 By 
 
 Q. Is that the only i-.mtnu-t Karringer lnul in Wyoming? A. Yes, sir. He had two in 
 Colorado, the next surveying-district. 
 
 By Dr. RKI i> 
 
 Q. Do you find a contract among your records made to Medary and Downey in June, 1873 t 
 And if so, state by whom that was made with them. A. I recollect that was by Latham, 
 under mi appropriation of $50,000, act of March :'., I -7:'.. The amount was $4,300. It was 
 under date of. June IT. I-::?. The number of the contract is 49. 
 
 M. To whom was contract No. :.n -riven that season ? A. Contract No. 50, under the same 
 appropriation, was given to M. N. Grant. 
 is the amount .'A. $4,800. 
 
 ( t . Who was that given by ? A. By Dr. Latham. 
 
 You have stated that the Commissioner approves all the contracts? A. Yes, sir; or 
 the Acting Commissioner, under the law. 
 
 ,'. Do you know of any law or departmental regulation that prohibits the surveyor-gen- 
 eral from giving a contract for surveying to his own nephew ? A. No ; there is no law, but 
 there was a circular issued by the Commissioner of the General Land-Office in 1867, 1 think, 
 prohibiting survey or- generals from entering into contracts with their immediate relatives. 
 
 Q. Do you mean sons or brothers ? A. Sons, and persons in the same family. That was 
 on the principle that the surveyor-general might be biased in approving the work of his son, 
 while he would not be likely to be biased if a stranger had a contract. There is, however, 
 no law on the subject. It is merely for the good of the service. 
 
 Q. Is there any regulation prohibiting the employing of a nephew ? A. No, sir ; we have 
 i-oiiir across such a case. There was a case of a brother of a surveyor-general in 
 
 Colorado, but the contract was not approved by the Commissioner. 
 
 M. 1> that, according to your recollection, as far as the regulation went? A. Yes, sir; it 
 referred to immediate relatives. 
 
 Q. Do you remember Charles J. Reed as having been a chief clerk for some years in my 
 office ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 <,. D.I yon remember of his surveying for my office? A. Yes, sir; you gave him a con- 
 tract tor th. survey of public lands ; one or two or three contracts, I think. 
 
 M. That is in late years .'A. Yes, sir. 
 
 ! '" yon recollect as to the character of work that he performed ? A. It was unobjec- 
 tionable. ' No difficulty was found in his returns. In fact, surveys in Wyoming were un- 
 exceptionable, because the distiict was organized at a later period. 
 
 Q. By whom .'A. By Congress. You were the first appointed as surveyor-general. You 
 .ppointed from your familiarity with your business. You had been surveyor-general, 
 many years ago, of Illinois and Missouri, and it contributed doubtless to that end, because 
 you Vere known as a great disciplinarian, and sometimes bore pretty hard against the poor 
 deputies. I noticed that anything that was then not in accordance with regulations you 
 sent back into the field. That I gathered from correspondence with you. 
 
 u understand that I inaugurated and executed those surveys from the start, in 
 Wyoming '. A. You were the first surveyor-general. The duty of the principal clerk of 
 surreys was to indicate and prepare instructions. 
 
 Q. There were no surveys in the Territory before I went there, were there ? A. No, sir. 
 Thinking over that, however, a little prior to the establishment of the boundary between 
 Wyoming and Colorado, surveys in Colorado proceeded northward and passed into what is 
 now Wyoming, some few miles only, and into a few townships. Then when the boundary 
 A as established astronomically, it cut certain townships which had been made in 
 Colorado Territory . but not many surveys had been made before the organization of Wyom- 
 ing Territory. 
 
 Q. Is it admissible with the Department to permit contracts by the surveyor-general to 
 a man not familiar with surveying, providing he associates such a man with a competent 
 yor ? A. No, sir ; the rules and regulations require a man familiar with the system 
 \ eying public lands. 
 
 Q. That is. in regard to the main deputies ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 V Hut where you associate a partner sometimes, how is it ' A. 1'uder the instructions of 
 June 1. l-r,l. a :iian who is not familiar with the surveying system may be a joint contractor, 
 but he is not permitted to dabble in the surveys if he does not understand them. Deputy 
 nerally short of money, and cannot furnish supp A They find some 
 man v ney, secure him by associating him in the same contract, so that be is in- 
 
 d.'innitir.l. If the office knew that ii man did not know anything about surveys, a ci 
 would not be approved. Frequently we have to call on a general as to what evi- 
 
 dence he had as to the ability of a man. If that was not forthcoming, the survey was not 
 Approved by the Commissioner. 
 
 Q. I believe you rejected a survey of that kind in June, l?3,did you not ? A. Yes, sir. 
 In that cam- neither of them had any knowledge of sun-eying f A. That is the case, 
 
56 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. But you never rejected where one was reputed as a good, competent deputy to go to 
 the field ? A. No, sir ; not if he could perform the work. 
 
 Q. How did my field and office work, and deputies, and everything connected with my 
 office as surveyor-general, compare with those of other surveyor-generals of the mountain 
 Territories ? A. Very favorably, sir. Everything that came from your office was in good 
 shape. Field-notes were transcribed in very good style, and correctly. The township plats 
 were protracted in a neat style, although it is not in all districts that the same can be said. 
 There are some where the work is very poor. Artists cannot be obtained to represent the 
 survey as neatly as yours have done. 
 
 Q. Look at contract No. 57 and state to whom it was given. A. Medary and Grant, 
 
 Q. What was the date of it? A. April 22, 1874. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN: 
 
 Q. What Grant was that ? A. M. N. Grant. The amount was $4,800. 
 
 Q. Under what appropriation was that made ? A. Act of March 3, 1873. 
 
 Q. Do you notice that, as a balance of an old appropriation of the summer before, there 
 was no appropriation for that year then passed, was there ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. There had been no appropriation on the 22d of April for that year, had there ? A. No ; 
 but the appropriation was of March 3, 1873, the date of the contract being April 22, 1864. 
 
 Q. Now in regard to contract No. 59 ? A. It was under the same appropriation of 1873, 
 to C. J. Reed. 
 
 Q. Of what date ? A. May 12, 1874. The liability was $1,800. 
 
 Q. Were Nos. 59 and 57 both made by me? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Look at No. 58, and state to whom that was made. A. H. G. Hay and George R. 
 Thomas. 
 
 Q. What is the date ? A. May 2, 1874. 
 
 Q. What is the liability ? A. $4,800. 
 
 Q. What appropriation was that under ? A. That was under an appropriation of $20,000, 
 March 3, 1873, for survey of vacated, abandoned military reservations ; that was Fort 
 Bridger. It was a large reservation, twenty miles by twenty-five, selected by the President 
 for some years, and afterward it was reduced under the act of Congress. 
 
 Q. State now in regard to No. 60. That was a contract of Rogers and Lampton, May 
 18, 1874 ; ability, $3,700. That was for the military reservation under the special appropria 
 tion. 
 
 Q. State in regard to contract No. 62. A. Sixty-two was of the same character, to J. 
 Wesley Hammond. 
 
 Q. What is the date ? A. May, 20, 1874. 
 
 Q. State the liability. A. $2,900. 
 
 Q. Under what appropriation ? A. Out of the $20,000 appropriation for abandoned mili- 
 tary reservation. 
 
 Q. State in regard to contract No. 61. How much is the liability ? A. That is a contract 
 to J. Wesley Hammond. It is dated May 23, 1874. 
 
 Q. What is the liability ? A. $1,200. That, however, was paid out of the deposit of the 
 Union Pacific Railroad, under the act of Congress, of money to have their land surveyed. 
 
 Q. Now state as to the contracts after the 1st of July, under the appropriation of 1874. 
 A. The contract No. 63 is chargeable to the appropriation June 23, 1874; it is dated July 
 1, 1874 ; it is in the name of Charles J. Reed. 
 
 Q. What is the liability ? A. $3,000. 
 
 Q. Now as to No. 64 ; what is the date of that ? A. It is a contract of T. B. Medary, July 
 6, 1874. 
 
 Q. What is the liability ? A. $3,400. 
 
 Q. What is the date of contract No. 65 ? A. That is with M. N. Grant ; it is dated July 
 6, 1874. 
 
 Q. What is the liability ? A. $2,400. 
 
 State now as to No. 66. A. That is with Rogers and Lampton. 
 What is the date ? A. July 9, 1874. The liability is $6,000. 
 State now in relation to No. 68. A. That is with Fowler and Farringer. 
 What is the date ? A. July 14, 1874. 
 
 Q. What is the liability ? A. $4,200. 
 
 Q. State now in relation to No. 69. A. That is with H. G. Hay. 
 
 Q. What is the date ? A. July 15, 1874. 
 
 Q. What is the liability ? A. $3,000. 
 
 Q. State now in relation to No. 71. A. That is with J, Wesley Hammond. 
 
 Q. What is the date? A. August 14, 1874. 
 
 Q. What is the liability? A. $2,000. 
 
 Q. State now in relation to contract No. 72. A. That is with Rogers and Lampton* 
 
 Q. What is the date ? A. August 14 ; the amount $2,000. 
 
 Q. State now in relation to contract No. 73. A. That is with Henry G. Hay. 
 
 Q. What is the date? A. September 1, 1874. 
 
 Q. What is the liability ? A. $2,100. 
 
GOVI:KNMI:NT SURVKYS i\ WYOMING TERRITORY. 57 
 
 Q. State now in relation to No. 74. A. That Is with Charles J. Reed, dated September 
 
 ' 
 
 Q. What is the liability .'A. $1,800. 
 
 State now in relation to No. ?:>. A. That is with John D. Thomas. 
 Q. What is the date ? A. September 1, 1874. 
 Q. What is the liability '-A. $2,900. 
 
 ,'. All these contracts that you have last referred to since we spoke of No. 63 are under 
 the appropriation of June 23, 1874 ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 ..- (II MUMAX : 
 
 Q. I understand you to say that it is your duty, as principal clerk of surveys, to examine 
 all the contracts as they come into the office, to see that they are in conformity with the 
 law? -A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And then, upon your recommendation, they are approved by the Commissioner of the 
 Land-Office -, sir ; I write an answer to the surveyor-general, and the Commissioner 
 
 signs the letter of approval. 
 
 Q. What facts do you want to know in order to convince yourself that the contract which 
 you are examining is in conformity with law ? Do you gather all the facts from the face of 
 the contract itself, or do you ascertain from outside evidence '-- A. The intrinsic evidence 
 of the survey, which we gather from the field-notes, showing where a man starts from, how 
 he finds out the measures, &c., and seeing whether he is within the limits prescribed by the 
 law. 
 
 Q. You misapprehend me. Is there a description of the land to be surveyed contained in 
 the contract? A. Yes, sir; by townships and ranges. 
 
 Q. That is all set forth in the contract ? A. O, yes. 
 
 Q. The person who takes a contract does not understand or know the ground, and never 
 has been upon it? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Then he does not know anything about the country that he is to survey, except what 
 he gathers from the contract itself? A. Yes, sir; and the instruction which he receives 
 from the surveyor-general. The surveyor-general has to furnish him, under instnu 
 from the General Land-Office, the descriptions of corners of the adjoining lands, and he is to 
 identify them, &c., so that he may not start from a wrong corner and mix up the surveys. 
 
 Q. Do you require to know whether the person named in the contract is a sW^NtlKHP 
 veyor or not - A. Yes, sir. iJBRARf 
 
 (^. Huw do you ascertain that ' A. We have the list of the surveyors who haveoeen'm 
 the business since the commencement of the system. We have their names. Whenever we 
 tind that a man is a new man, then we call on the survey or- general to give us the informa- 
 tion as to whether he is a capable man, and what evidence he has as to his ability ; and be- 
 fore a surveyor-general gives him a contract he examines him as to whether he is familiar 
 with and has proper qualifications. 
 
 Q. Suppose there are two contractors ; do you then only require that one of them should 
 be a skillful surveyor f A. We direct them both to go if they are skillful. 
 
 Q. I say, suppose there are two contractors named in the contract ; say they are both 
 strangers to you ; do you require information as to whether they are both surveyors or 
 not? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Suppose you should ascertain that one of them was a shoemaker and the other was a 
 surveyor, would you approve the contract ? A. Yes, sir ; we would approve the contract, 
 but we would not take toe affidavit of the shoemaker. 
 
 Q. Under what law would you approve the contract where one of the deputy surveyors 
 is a shoemaker and not a surveyor f A. Under the law of May 30, 1862. 
 
 <V. Where do you find that ? A. It is contained in the manual of surveying instructions. 
 
 V. \Vhat <lo yon understand by the term deputy surveyor? A. He is sent by the prin- 
 cipal surveyor. 
 
 Q. Then anybody can be a deputy surveyor ? A. If he proves his qualification to the 
 surveyor-general, he can. 
 
 Q. Then it is necessary, in order to be a deputy surveyor, that he must be an actual sur- 
 veyor ? A. O, yes. 
 
 t t >. Von do not comprehend by deputy surveyor a person who never saw or handled a 
 compass, do you ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Not any more than you would say a carpenter was a shoemaker ? A. No, sir; we 
 would not give a contract to such a man. 
 
 I'hen how do you construe thai law and say that two deputies means two persons who 
 know how to survey, when you now say that you mean one deputy who understands survey- 
 -vhen you say two deputies, do you mean two men who can survey f A. That means 
 that both may be surveyors. 
 
 Q. Can a man who is not a surveyor be a deputy surveyor f A. Yes, sir; if he is asso- 
 ciated in a joint cont: 
 
 Q. By what law 'A. By the instruations of the Commissioner of the General Land- 
 
 actions heretofore referred to by you ' A. Yes, sir. 
 
58 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. If I were to send to you to build your house a carpenter and a shoemaker, would it 
 be proper for me to say to you that I sent you two carpenters ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. When I send you two deputies, when one is not a surveyor and the other is, is not 
 that the same thing ? A. Yes, but there is a qualification there. 
 
 Q. It says, " When two deputies enter into joint contract for certain work, and only one of 
 them goes into the field, then that one shall be required to take affidavit." Now, I want to 
 know how you construe that instruction to mean that only one of the two shall be a surveyor 
 and the other may be anything else but a surveyor ? A. He is a joint partner in the 
 survey. 
 
 Q. But he is to be a deputy? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. You have already said that a deputy means a person who knows how to survey. A. 
 He would not be a deputy if he went there alone. But he is a partner. One furnishes the 
 means and the other knowledge. It is admitted by the Commissioner of the General Land- 
 Office, whose instructions under the act of May 30, 1862, are tantamount to law. 
 
 Q. State whether you admit that one deputy surveyor must be a skillful surveyor. A. 
 Yes, sir ; or a contract could not be had at all. 
 
 Q. But if you attach one deputy surveyor and a shoemaker together, does that make two 
 deputies ? A. The instructions make them deputies. 
 
 Q. Those instructions to which you have referred? A. Yes, sir ; those instructions make 
 them deputies. 
 
 Q. Please point out to me where it makes a shoemaker a deputy when he is attached to 
 a deputy. A. Here it is : " If two deputies, joint parties in a contract, both go into the 
 field, each on a separate survey with a party, the field-notes must show clearly the particular 
 surveys done by each deputy." 
 
 Q. What do you mean by each deputy ? A. That is, if both are surveyors and understand 
 the business, they may have two parties or both go. One may take a compass and run the 
 line, and the other will take sketching the topography of the country, for instance. 
 
 Q. Suppose the other is totally incompetent to do anything of the kind ? A. Then he 
 does not do it. 
 
 Q. Is he then a deputy, in accordance with these instructions ? A. With these instruc- 
 tions he is regarded as a partner in the contract. 
 
 Q. That is to say, when one man who is not a surveyor goes in partnership with another 
 who is a surveyor, then he becomes a surveyor under the law under these instructions, 
 according to your interpretation of them ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And according to the interpretation of the Commissioner of the General Land-Office ? 
 A. Yes, sir ; and the instructions of the Commissioner of the General Land-Office are recog- 
 nized as tantamount to law. 
 
 Q. It is a very nice arrangement to let to people who want to make money and not do 
 any work. A. Well, no ; it was intended in this way : Deputies do not get any pay from 
 the Government for some time. They have to wait from six to eight months, and the money 
 has to be advanced. They have not got it. They find somebody who has got money, and 
 say, " If you will loan it to me, I will repay you. I am going to the field. You may go or 
 not. If you want to go, you can go as chainman or axman, or something of the kind, or 
 not." One of the parties thus advances the money to enable the deputy to purchase 
 provisions. 
 
 Q. Does the one who advances money to a deputy become a deputy ? A. Yes, sir ; in 
 the acceptation of the office-ruling. 
 
 Q. Then all that is necessary, in the acceptation of those instructions, is for a man to ad- 
 vance money to a deputy to become a deputy ? A. Yes, sir ; but if both of them were 
 without experience, of course we would not give a contract. 
 
 Q. Suppose that A obtains a contract from Dr Reed ; that he signs the contract, gives a 
 bond and takes the oath, and that B advances him some money. B's name, however, 
 does not appear in the contract, he does not give a bond or take an oath. Is B a deputy 
 surveyor? A. No, sir; the' Commissioner would not approve such a contract. 
 
 Q. Why ? A. Because if he is no surveyor, he would not approve his contract in his 
 name. 
 
 Q. You approved the contract of Mr. Hammond, did you not ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you know that Mr. John Delano was associated with Mr. Hammond as a deputy 
 when you approved it ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Suppose that you had known that there was an understanding between Mr. Hammond 
 and Dr. Reed that Mr. John Delano was to have one-half of the profits of that contract, 
 would you have approved the Hammond contract ? A. No, sir ; unless it was in the name 
 of Hammond and Delano. 
 
 Q. It was not in the name of Hammond and Delano., however, was it ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Would you have approved that contract if you had known in advance that Mr. John 
 Delano was to receive one-half of the profits therefrom ? A. The contract would have been 
 approved if we had known that Hammond was a good surveyor. He would survey, and 
 swear to the field-notes. Delano might be a moneyed man or go in a subordinate capacity. 
 Delano's name does not appear on the records. He has never been a surveyor. 
 
GOVl.K'NMKXT SURVia> IN WYOMING TERRITOl: i . 59 
 
 >.*. What is the maximum price per mile for surveying township-lines in Wyoming ? 
 A. $14 per mile. 
 
 What is tin- price ot division-lines .'A. Subdivisions, $10. 
 
 Cheta contract! ..f Mr. Hammond's were tor subdivision-lines, I believe, were they 
 notf Refer to the contract ofs-.V.MM), ami the contract of $1. 
 
 Mr. K'r.rn. !!.- h a <i n rood many township-lines besides, and also some timber. 
 The rTlTVBW. I i n v re several contract* with Hammond : one was $4,318.73. 
 My the Cii MUM \\ : 
 
 Q. Did he not have two contracts in 1874 ? A. Yes, sir : they were for subdivisional 
 lines. 
 
 Q. Are ihe maximum prices $10 a mile? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 on ever know Dr. Reed to let a contract for less that $10 a mile for subdivis- 
 !:ncs .' A. No, sir; I do not remembei it. 
 
 ! M.I you ever know him to let a contract forany other work for less than the maximum 
 sum i A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. I< there not a great deal of difference in the topography of the country in Wyoming? 
 A. \ < 
 
 V. I - i here not a very material difference in some of the work which has to be done under 
 the contracts / A. Y< 
 
 Q. Could not some of the contract-work be done for a great deal less than others ? A. 
 Certainly. 
 
 Q. And yet all the contracts were let at the maximum sum, wore they not? A. I think 
 so; but some of the rates may be inadequate, especially in the case of those who have to go 
 to a great distance. 
 
 Q. Has it been the practice in all the Territories to let all the contracts at the maximum 
 sum ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Some contracts are let for considerably less than the maximum sum, are they not ? 
 A. Very seldom ; but there are instances of that kind. In former years, when Mr. Wilson 
 was Commissioner of the General Laud-Office, we have said to surveyors-general, "This is 
 the maximum, but you must try to get contracts for less." In some instances they could, 
 bnl in the majority of cases they said they could not. 
 
 Q. You never knew Dr. Reed to give a contract for less than the maximum price, did 
 -A. No, sir; I could not say that I ever did. 
 
 Q. Suppose that you had known, after Dr. Reed's contracts came in, that there were other 
 parties who were to receive profits from those contracts, who were not surveyors, and who 
 were not in the Territory ; would you have approved those contracts at the maximum sum ? 
 I mean, there being only one man named in the contract. If you knew that that one sur- 
 veyor took the contract, and could only get it upon his agreement to divide the profits with 
 a gentleman who was not in the Territory and who took none of the responsibility, would 
 you have approved that contract ? A. No, sir. 
 
 ',. It imt, why not .'A. 1 It-cause we require payment to be made to the man who pcr- 
 ;he wmk. Direct payment is to be made to the person who is contracted with. 
 \Vould you not. however, have come to the conclusion that if the man who does the 
 work could afford to divide the profits of the work equally with a man who took no respon- 
 sibility and did no work, that that work could have been done for a much less sum than 
 was mentioned in the contract ? A. It is their own arrangement, 
 . the question, if you please. A. Certainly. 
 
 >t this contract, let to Mr. Hammond for .$.>, I'"", was such a contract that 
 *M<" paid to a man who took no responsibility and who did none of tin- 
 
 would yi 11 have approved that contract .'A. II we had Known it the ,,ner would 
 
 *>* ll;; i it ; but these things never come to us, they transpire at a great distance 
 
 hen y.ni never inquire what the contour of tin- !s which is to be surveyed 
 
 JOB approve the contract .'A. We do not know in that particular. 
 \ "ii do not know whether it is prairie land or cleared laud, or whether It is wood- 
 A. Y>- 
 
 contracts as you receive them -A. Yes, sir. Our system is this : 
 iu their proper places, but we do not know whether they reach certain 
 mountains or rivers, and we do not know how much the .-urvevs will cost. 
 
 Von have to depend on the surveyor-general tor ; not? A. 
 
 ..i-.gein-r.il does not know that either. He ,!oes not know whether there are lakes 
 .uinin> \\iii.-h cannot be surveyed. Of course we do not require him to spend puMic 
 money on mountains, which are not fit for agricultural purposes. Frequently deficiencies 
 on tract stipulates so many towns! ,nuch m.iM-v." Sometimes 
 
 and sometimes they fall short, which is owing to the want of knowledge >: 
 topography of tint country! 
 
 ' y.ni know \\ h\ "IM. KVe-I eyor-general of Wyomine Ter- 
 
 A. I do not. The political affairs do not come to me. They are attended to by 
 and secretary of the (ietieral Land-Office, and the chief clerk. I only at- 
 business. 
 
60 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 Q. Did you bear that there was any complaint lodged against Dr. Reed for permitting- Mr. 
 John Delano to share in the profits of contracts out there? A. It was merely rumor. I did 
 not hear it from any responsible person who knew it of himself. There was a rumor in re- 
 gard to that. 
 
 Q. At the time he resigned, or before that? A. I do not know. I believe it was after- 
 ward. 
 
 Q. If that rumor was true, then, it was considered contrary to the law and the instructions 
 of the Department, was it not ? That is, if he permitted other persons to share in the profits 
 of contracts who took none of the responsibility and did none of the Avork. Mr. Delano was 
 not in the contract. Mr. Hammond was given the contract. Now, suppose Mr. Hammond 
 was given that contract with the understanding at the time that he received it that he must 
 divide with Mr. John Delano. If that had beenknown.to the Department, what would have 
 been the result ? A. The Department would not have approved it. 
 
 Q. Nor would yeu as chief clerk of the contract- office have approved that contract? A. 
 No, sir. 
 
 Q. For the reason that you would have thought that was in violation of law, would you 
 not ? A. Well, I do not know that. If a man performs work and gets pay, and if he di- 
 vides or gives away his earnings, of course that would not weigh with us. 
 
 Q. And suppose that when he is given a contract he is given to understand by the sur- 
 veyor-general that he must divide with a man whom he never saw. How would it be then ; 
 that occurring, too, with a man who would not sign the contract, take the oath, or give bond ? 
 A. He could not be recognized, of course, as a deputy if he did not do one thing or the 
 other. 
 
 Q. Would the action of the surveyor- general be approved by the Department in doing 
 that ? A. Not if it was known ; and such a thing has never been brought to- our attention. 
 
 Q. Then you never knew at the Land-Office that Dr. Reed was assisting John Delano by 
 allowing him contracts in that way ? A. No, sir; we never knewanything about it. As I 
 say, such matters the Department may have known of, and the Commissioner may have 
 known, and the chief clerk may have known, but they reserve to themselves all sucli ques- 
 tions in regard to political appointments. They did not communicate such things. I never 
 knew up to this time who the man was that did the work with Mr. Delano. 
 
 Q. Do you know Mr. Medary to be a practical surveyor ? A. He was a deputy surveyor. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether he ever went in the field? A. He has gone in the field, be- 
 cause he swore to the field-notes. That is all the evidence we have. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether the field-notes were made out in his handwriting or not ? A. 
 No, sir ; I do not know that. We get merely the transcript of the field-notes, and not the 
 original. The original is filed in the surveyor-general's office, and the transcripts in our 
 office. 
 
 Q. So far as your knowledge goes, you do not know whether Medary ever went into the 
 field or not ? A. No, sir ; I could not tell you that of my personal knowledge. 
 
 Q. You do not know but what the work was done by somebody else '? A. I do not. 
 
 Q. You do not know but what the profits of the survey were divided between Mr. Medary 
 and somebody else, who was never in the Territory ? A. No, sir. 
 
 By Mr. REED : 
 
 Q. Do you know whether any of uay deputies ever went into the field, of your own per- 
 sonal knowledge ? A. I do not know. We took it for granted that they did, because they 
 swore to it, saying " I have performed the duties set down by the instructions, and these 
 are the original field-notes of survey." 
 
 Q. Have you any doubt but what Mr. Medary and the others have surveyed their work ? 
 A. No sir; I have never suspected any of them, but, of course, I could not say person- 
 ally that they did. 
 
 Q. If three or four of my deputy surveyors took, say, $5,000 worth of work to execute for 
 themselves, and that much for Mr. Delano say the two parties have that much work ; it so 
 happens that when these contracts are to be made out, the deputies taking their portion and 
 taking Mr. Delano's portion with it, and he not getting there to sign the contract with them, 
 but they signing the contract, they being my deputies ; suppose that they go to the field, 
 that some of them draw on him for advance-money for the outfit, and that they voluntarily 
 arrange to work up that survey and give him a portion of the profits, I ask you if that is 
 any business of the Department f A. No ; we do not know of any such arrangement. We 
 deal with the man in whose name the contract is entered into, and when the work is returned 
 and passes examination they are paid. If they squander their means and give it to some- 
 body else, we pay them only for so much work performed, and no more. 
 
 Q. In the Hammond case he took a contract for |4,100 ; Mr. Delano was to be with him 
 in half of that ; Delano does not get there, for certain important reasons, to sign the contract 
 before Mr. Hammond is obliged to start to the field ; Mr. Hammond gets restive and says 
 he will. go forward he will sign the contract, get the bond, go on, leave the contract blank 
 for his (Delano's) name, and the bond blank for him to sign and' swear to, if he arrives, and 
 if he does not arrive he will survey that work ; in the mean time, before I start, I will draw 
 a draft on him ("Delano) for his half of the money needed to get to the field with say he 
 
GOVKKVMKXT SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. (51 
 
 does that ami Mr. Delano fails to arrive and sign that contract ; Hammond surveys the land, 
 ami keeps HII arc. unit of all his expenditures, the cost of his hands, his rail road- fares. A 
 
 or liulf of that work, ami for half of that time he charges for his services at $125 
 a month : he takes that all out before any profits are divided; he allows for the money v, 
 has been advanced to him before tin- profits are divided now, I ask you if Mr. Hammond 
 has not a right to do just what he pleases with that half of the profit T A. All the p 
 are his. 
 
 \ml In- may do what he pleases with them .'A. Yes, sir. 
 
 When- \\ould your Department have arty right to interfere with such a transaction as 
 that .' Does the Department, in fact, pretend to interfere in a case like that ? A. No, sir ; 
 
 n if the Department had known that Mr. Delano or somebody else was in that 
 relation, the Department goes n with the contract and pays no attention to the private ar- 
 rangement. 
 
 . CM MUM v\ : 
 
 1 >o yon say that if the Department had known that Mr. Delano had stood in that re- 
 lation it would, nevertheless, have approved the contract? A. No; not if the Department 
 
 "wn those circumstances. 
 
 V- What would the Department have done .' A. It would have required the name of 
 Mr. Delano to lx> inserted into tin 1 contract. 
 
 \Vonid tlii-y have approved the contract without the name of Mr. Delano ? A. Yes, 
 ; the name of Hammoud. 
 
 A >. If the Department had known that Mr. Delano was to realize one-half the profits of 
 ntract, would they have approved that contract .' Here you have the contract of Ham- 
 mond with his mime in, and the name of nobody else. You know at the same time that 
 Mr. .John Delano is to have one-half the profits of that contract. He has not signed the 
 contract. Would you have approved it? A. No. 
 ','. Why not f A. Because John Delano is not a contractor. 
 
 I'.y Mr. K'I:I:I: 
 
 Q. But if his name is not in the contract how are you to know anything about it ? A. 
 Of course we would not know anything about it. 
 
 1 >id you ever hear of such on iustance as the Department stepping in between private 
 
 iuals in that way to interfere about an arrangement which a deputy might make with 
 
 a private individual in relation to his contract? A. No, sir. If the Department knew that 
 
 a member of Congress was sharing in the profits of a contract or subcontract, of course 
 
 that would be against the law, but they never will know it. 
 
 By the CHAIRMAN : 
 
 Then it is all right, in your judgment, if the Department does not know it. The only 
 thing that is wrong about the matter is when the Department knows it. Is that your 
 judgment ? A. How can the Department condemn anybody ? 
 
 An-wer my question, if you please. I want to know whether it is all right, in your 
 judgment, for Mr. John Delano, or anybody else, who does no work and takes no responsi- 
 
 to share in the profits of a contract if the Department does not know it ? A. Cer- 
 tainly, if I wen- the contractor I would not like that at all. 
 
 r.y Mr. K'I.I D: 
 
 You would not like what f A. In my judgment I should consider that it was a bard - 
 n the deputy to share the profits in such a case as that; but if the deputy is willing 
 -pose of his hard earnings in that manner, what can be done ? 
 
 I'll MUM \N : 
 
 ',. If Mr. Hammond was willing to make a survey and take all the responsibility of th-> 
 tain sum of money, and to give $1,400 of that amount to John Delano or 
 to anybody else, is it not very likely thai Mr. Hammond would have surveyed that same 
 tity of land for $1,400 less than he did ? A. He might. 
 Would it not be very likely that he would do sof A. Very likely. 
 \Vould there not have been a saving: to the Government, 'MI tha't particular instance, 
 
 Inly. 
 
 I hen, did not Mr. John Delano get $1,400 out of the Treasury of the United > 
 lid not belong to him ' It Mr. Hammond would have agreed to do that work for $1,400 
 .an he did. l>nt Dr. Reed gives him the extra $1,400, provided he will give it to John 
 that is taking $1,400 out of the Treasury, which belongs to the (iovernment, is it 
 | ing it to a party who has no right to it f A. This contract stipulates for 
 ; t. Of course the Government must pay that. But if he had said he would per- 
 1 for less, that would have been a different matter. If I \\as a 
 
 y mileage, and somebody had assisted me pecuniarily, of (Tootf feel obliged 
 
 him. 
 
 I hat is to say, if he had advanced you the sum of $300 for a few months you would 
 $1,400 T A. O, no; I would not do that, of course. 
 
62 ALLEGED FRAUDS IN CONTRACTS FOR 
 
 By Dr. REED : 
 
 Q. You have answered upon the principle that a certain deputy is furnished by the sur- 
 veyor-general with a certain amount of surveying, which is his surveying, or his work. 
 A. Yes, sir. f 
 
 Q. You have taken it for granted, in your answer, that the survey or- general exacts of 
 that deputy to divide the profits of that work, which is his own work, with an outsider. 
 You say that is not right, and the Department would not like it if they knew it. But that is 
 not exactly the case. The half of the contract that he goes out to survey 1 give to him as 
 his part, and the other part is Mr. Delano's. Mr. Delano could let him have half the sur- 
 vey to work out on shares, or let anybody have it at the same rates. If he (H.) takes it to sur- 
 vey on shares, and he receives the money for part of his outfit of the advance expenses, and 
 there is no coercion or request about it, and it is all a voluntary matter which he does 
 when he finds that .work is on hand to be surveyed on shares, as partners, whose business 
 is it ? Is he not required, after he has gone that far, to divide his profits in good faith, 
 provided there is no coercion about it ? A. That is a private arrangement ; but if the Com- 
 missioner knew that a certain survey could be executed for less than the contract called for, 
 and knew, at the same time, that part of the money was to go to somebody else, and that 
 he could execute it for less of course, if that knowledge was in the Department they would 
 not approve the contract. 
 
 Q. Do you know of any surveys being made in any of those mountainous Territories of 
 Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, or New Mexico for less than the Government price 
 per mile ? A. No, sir ; on the contrary they asked for an increase, and we had to submit 
 estimates to Congress for three years of augmented rates in those mountainous countries. 
 The rates were increased to $16 for subdivisions, althoTigh not everywhere. That was only 
 the case in Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming, where the mountains and the abrupt coun- 
 try existed, and where the parties are far away from their base of supplies. 
 
 Q. What is the price now out in Wyoming and in other Territories for surveying timber- 
 lauds? A. For township-lines $18, and for subdivisions $16 and $14, and the tendency is 
 to pay the maximum rates which Congress prescribed. 
 
 Q. Was it expected that the surveyor-general should go out over the Territory to find a 
 township here and a township there which could be surveyed for a little less than $16 a 
 mile ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. If a man's name is put into a contract, and he swears as a deputy surveyor in the sur- 
 veyor-general's office, is he not considered a deputy surveyor, whether he is a practical sur- 
 veyor or not ? A. Yes, sir ; the office regards him as a deputy surveyor if his name is in 
 the contract. We only look to the man who is the deputy to say that his work is properly 
 returned. 
 
 Q. And in the case of a man not known to the office, and whom you do not know as a 
 practical surveyor, if he is sworn as a deputy surveyor he is considered and called a deputy 
 surveyor? A. Yes, sir. But as I have said, sometimes one of them may not serve in the 
 field ; he may assist. He may be a chainman or an axman. The other, however, is to 
 swear to the field-notes. One of them must be a practical field-surveyor to swear to the 
 field-notes. 
 
 Q. Have you any means of knowing that young men without any knowledge of survey- 
 ing are often thrust into contracts by politicians, members of Congress, and others ? A. I 
 have heard of such cases, where they were merely attached as joint contractors. 
 
 Q. Have you ever known of any one, being attached as a friend of a politician, going 
 into the field and receiving a part of the profits ? A. I cannot recall them now, although I 
 have heard of such instances. The office, however, always looked to see who swore to the 
 field-notes. 
 
 Q, The lines that the deputy is to survey are stated in the contract, are they not? A. 
 Yes, sir. . 
 
 Q. The price per mile is also stated in the contract, is it not ? A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Have you ever seen any prices stated in my contracts above the Government price? 
 A. No, sir ; we would not have approved the contract if such had been the case. 
 
 Q. I think you said you did not know of surveys being let in mountain Territories, such 
 as Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Utah, for less than Government prices, did you not ? 
 A. It may be that in the execution of the surveys in Colorado there may have been cases 
 of that kind, but I do not recall them now to my mind. Generally maximum rates are paid 
 and the surveyor-general frequently urges an increase per mile, saying that the surveys can- 
 not be executed, and that they are not able to get deputy surveyors to undertake the contract 
 for Government prices. The plains have all been surveyed. The mountains are now ap- 
 proaching, together with the timber, and the surveyors want enhanced prices. 
 
 Q. Colorado extends into the plains a hundred and more miles farther east than Wyoming, 
 does it not? A. Yes, sir; Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska are the easiest fields for work- 
 ing. 
 
 Q. There is very little of the plains in Wyoming, is there not ? A. Very little. 
 
 Q. You have been asked some questions about regulations, showing that a second man 
 might go into a contract with an old deputy, the second man not being a practical sur 
 veyor. A. We have no printed regulations referring to them. 
 
GOVERNMENT SURVEYS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. 63 
 
 Q. I ask you if the practice of the Department has not become a rale in that respect, itself 
 
 : : regard to permitting a second person to go into a con- 
 
 even* if he is not an experienced man. provided he goes in with a good deputy? 
 
 the way they educate the surveyors of public lands. Nobody is born with a 
 
 cal knowledge of the business. Some have to learn. When they understand the bus- 
 
 ben with themselves, so that in like time they maybe instn 
 
 Vni1 Ill(> 1' "I'""- an intelligent man, if t lu- surveyor-general recommend 
 
 Urn, even it ho has never surveyed ' lie may go in with an old surveyor T A. Yes sir 
 He. however, does not swear that lie has performed the work. 
 
 <,. If there are two in the field, and one does not understand surveying, and does not sur- 
 Tey, he does not swear to the notes t A. No, sir. 
 
 understand you to say that if a deputy took work from an inexperienced man 
 
 and united it with some work of his own, in a contract, and went out and surveyed that work 
 
 and di\ided the profit, or a portion of it, with this inexperienced man who was not in the 
 
 t. that that would be objected to f A. If it was known to the Commissioner of the 
 
 General Laud-Office, of course he would object to it. 
 
 What right has he to interfere between a deputy and a man outside? A. He does 
 not interfere, and has no means of knowing. 
 
 Q. WI..M.- w.MiM he his right t.. interfere with a competent deputy surveyor who makes 
 a contract, gives a good bond, and is known to the' office, if he contemplated dividing some 
 ot the profits f What right has the Commissioner to interfere ? A. He would not interfere 
 was asked by the committee what would be the result in case the Commissioner of the 
 tl Laud-Office knew that an inexperienced man was a contractor and was not named 
 in the contract. Oi course the Commissioner would not agree to that. 
 Adjourned. 
 
13 E X 
 
 Page. 
 
 P.. II. Hiistou, Secretary of the Treasury f !,;{ 
 
 Silas Reed, ex-surveyor-General of Wyoming Territory in; 
 
 L. C. Stevens, real-estate agent at Cheyenne 22 
 
 John S. Delano, ex-chief clerk of the Interior Department 38 
 
 Willis Drummond, Ex-Commissioner of the General Land-Office 45 
 
 B, .1. Pa!!.-n fill 
 
 \V