26 



As I was confident that the weight of this herd of cattle did 

 not exceed 750 pounds average, this positive statement of Agent 

 Saville to Bishop Hare, that the actual weight of the cattle 

 reached an average of 850 pounds each, as weighed hy him, 

 increased my suspicion that the whole transaction was fraudulent. 

 I was not prepared, however, for the evidence which I found in 

 the Second Auditor's office of the Treasury Department, where 

 the receipts are filed as vouchers for the payment to the con- 

 tractor. I there ascertained that Agent Saville had given a 

 receipt for this same herd of 701 head of diminutive cattle, in 

 which he certified that their actual weight as weighed by him 

 was 731,485 pounds, which would make the average exceed 1043 

 pounds per head. More than this, I found that according to 

 Agent Saville's receipts, all the cattle received divring the same 

 quarter of 1874 had reached nearly the same average, or more 

 than 1,040 pounds each. As this is a matter of great importance, 

 I here give the official statement as furnished hy the Treasury 

 Department. 



Schedule of Beef-Cattle, delivered at the Red Cloud Indian 

 Agency, during the Fourth Quarter, 1874, as appears by 

 accounts of W. A. Paxton on file in this Office. 



Date. 





Head. 



Weight. 



Furnished by. 



1874, Oct. 



1, 



663 



691,509 lbs. 



W. A. Paxton. 



11 11 



20, 



758 



783,672 " 



W. A. Paxton. 



" Nov. 



14, 



701 



731,485 " 



W. A. Paxton. 



" Dec. 



3, 



597 



621,447 " 



W. A. Paxton. 





Total, 



2,719 



2,828,113 lbs. 





Second Auditor's Office. 

 June 7th, 1875. 



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



E. B. FRENCH, 



Auditor. 



In other words, this large herd of cattle which no one could 

 fairly estimate at a greater average weight per head than 750 

 pounds, and which both the agent and contractor apologized 

 for as being much inferior to their regular issues, and which Agent 

 Saville only claimed to have weighed 850 pounds, were charged 



