4

"Yuba City Oct 13th 1863"

"Hon E Steele"

"Sir"
"I deem it my duty to inform you as
I have the commissioner at Washington met
owing to the new arrival of funds to pay down on
contract for cattle #220 of which were delivered in
Round Valley Aug last, I give my check for the
Sum (they came to (over $4200) in anticipation of
the arrival of the money at an early day. Mr. Hamblin
(the contractor) promising to withhold the check
until I would inform him of the arrival of the
money. Mr. H then in exchange for the check exec-
-uted Vouchers to me for the same which I accounted
in my monthly returns of August. And was then pers-
onally held to him for that much money & not
having it to pay him, he offered to take at cost the
bal of the indian goods which I shipped to this
place for the indians collecting in Butte & then I had
there. So I let him have them on account as far
as they go and am held to the Govmt on my bonds for
the same, the entire amt purchased was $14300
which I had ordered, What are not shown in the Issue at
Smiths River, Round Valley & Mendocino or turned
over to you I will be charged with of course
I was compelled on honor to do at least this much
for Mr. Hamblen or he would have been ruined as
he was indebted for some of the cattle he had purchased

Several other vouchers were taken in same way by
me in exchange for checks to be presented after the
arrival of the money anticipated (which has come to you)
amounting in all to about $9500 which shows plainly
in my last quarterly a/c currant with U. S. sent to
Washington and among there were vouchers from Bryson
& Milendy Supervisors $900 each & some 6 or 7 laborers
amounting to over $1200 more. Mr. Bryson & others
at Smiths River withheld theirs from a former deposit
in order to use the money for buying horses for Smiths
Run River & now God only knows when they will get their
money - I had no other alternative than to do as I
have done. I was bound to have cattle in Round Valley
before the rains set in & the indians in that Valley eat
4 times as much beef as all the others together
(over)