The New York Herald Newspaper, October 2, 1875, Page 4

4 INDIAN FRAUDS Graphic Picture of Life at the Fort Berthold Agency. STRONG ACCUSATIONS BY THE CHIEFS. Curious Method of Issuing Rations and Distribyting Goods. HOW AN AGENT MAKES MONEY. ACall Upon the Great Father for Relief from Swindling and Oppression. Fort Brrtsoup, Dakota, Sept, 18, 1875. In the throe letters published about the mismanage- ‘ment of this agency it is shown that the ageut co- ‘Operates with the trader to swindle the Indians and defraud the government; that pasteboard checks issued Dy the trader are redeemed by the agent with the Indians’ hat blank and false vouchers are signed 's at the agent’s request; that the trader ‘was awarded the hay contract this season for nearly double the price he offered to take it at in his sealed proposals; that the agent supplies nis mess house from the government warehouse and makes no entry of the receipts on the agency cash book, and that he has starved the Indians and betrayed the confidence placed in him by the churches and the government State- ments will now be given from the Indians, ym whom wll the Weight of these ontrages has fullen, I have ‘visited the chiefs of the three tribes—the Arickarees, Gros Ventres and Mandans—and taken pains to get a truthful record of their wrongs. Asa rule I find that the real facts are always more serious than they ap- )pearon first hearing the Indians’ testimony. At Fort Peck they charged the agent and trader with stealing wagon loads of their flour. When I saw the employés who helped to carry the flour away by command of the agent I was forced to believe the terrible charge, Such has been my experience here, All that the In- dians say, and much more besides, is fully proven by the sworn statements of white citizens, A VISIT TO THE ARICKARKE CIURP. Rushing Bear, or Son of the Star, was not at home when I called, but a messenger soon brought him, and the usual salutations were exchanged, He is fifty-six years old and has eight children. His house, or tepee, isa very large one. I counted fifteen beds and several trunks, There were umbrellas, door mats, coilee mills, ‘tin candlesticks and other evidences of civilization in different parts of the room. The lodge is about eighty feet wide and twenty feet high in the centre. The appear- ance and construction of all or these habitations are wimilar, They are built of poles and timber in the shape of a circus tent, but the caves do not come to -within six or eight feet of the ground. The roofs are of #mall poles, supported on timbers and covered with earth. The tepees are called damp and unhealthy. I consider them far superior to the ordinary log “shack” of the frontier, such as our Occidental stajesmen have been eared in. Each Indian's lodge is supposedto contain his family, and perhaps his mother-in-law and near relatives, ‘The beds in White Star’s lodge are better than the couches of the average Indian, There were dishes on ‘the shelves and many other conveniences which give ‘tone to the domestic hearthstone. RUSHING BEAR'S STATEMENT. ‘The pipe was started on its journey of peace and the Chief began:—“Of warriors Ihave 480. Last year I | ‘went to Washington and the chief of the white soldiers asked me how I liked the little father that he had sent sme. IsaidI did not know him yet. I shook hands with the Great Father. He promised everything we meeded, and said that we should have ail that was sent tous. He has not kept his word. The agent has given ‘us only ten or twelve beef cattle a month. For seventy- eight tickets (ration checks) we get only a sack of flour, ‘but no bacon, sugar nor coflee. We have been getting only flour and meat. Last winter sixteen persons got a sack of flour for amonth. Six persons received only one ticket, while seven got two, (This was before the re- organization of the issuing system.) Last fall we asked ‘the agent to fatten our cattle in the herd then, for the winter would make them poor. We went into winter quarters, He sent us entrails, horns, hoofs and'tripe, and gave the teamsters $3 and $4aJoad for hauling, and paid them out of our own good provisions. Teams be- longing to outsiders were paid $3 for going to the \Arickaree camp, a distance of six miles; $4 to the Man- dan camp, cleven miles, and $8 to the Gros Ventre camp, fifteen miles above, Our beef was kifled in the ‘winter and the entrails were issued when we were hun- gry. Afterward we got what beef there was left, To each family the little father gave four fect, two horns, one diver, one tripe, one tail, the tallow and entrails, He had a big herd of cattle belonging to the Indians and he promised to give us cows and calves, but we don’t see them. He killed our calves for his boarding house. ‘The white men who are kind to us aro driven away, ‘We never saw the provisions that wero sent last fall Dut once, We got one ration; the rest were burned, ‘When I was in Washington they told me to work like a ‘white man and the agent would help me. We have done it; we are doing it now, but we get nothing but what is already our own. I have worked for my own food ever sigee Sperry, the father, came here. I would like to have my wages in money, so that I can buy where I picase. The Great Father has sent me food and we are paid off with it, There are six chiefs in the reservation—two Gros Ventres, two Mandans and two Rees, ‘We chiefs get twenty-five pounds of eugar and ten ‘pounds of coffee a month. All the rest have to work for ‘their sugar and coffee. The chiefs went to Sperry to hat council, He would not hear us. He suid he ‘was chief himself and would do as he pleased. When we complain of smail food he threatens to stop our a ‘Muities and rations, and to cali for the soldiers. We Degged him to stay with us, but he has built new yegency buildings away from our village, so that when ‘the weather is stormy our wives and children wil! suffer in going for provisions, or to attend his school, or “to see the doctor. HOSTILITY OF THR s10Ux. The Sioux will come now and fight us, and when wo fare away hunting they will scalp our wives and kill our children. We are glad that the white chief of the newspaper makers has sent to hear our complainte. ‘We want the little agent to go away if he is to do no better. General Grant, the boss of the big guns and white soldiers, promised that if Sperry did not please us we should have another agent. We don’t like him, He has bad interpreters, They are all liars, We seut one of our own men to Washington to talk for us, 4 and the Great Father gave him a gun and sald ‘we might have what interpreter we pleased. The man ‘we want, Sperry wont have,” RATIONS FOR A MONTH. At this point of the conversation a squaw arrived from the ageucy with the week's rations for the family of twenty I honght it a good time to make a Mmemoraudum. had six pounds of pork and thirty “pounds of Lis was to Jast twenty persons seven Gays. “Now you can seo," continued the speaker, “why we ‘want a new father. We want an interpreter who can ‘talk our language and who can make our wishes known to the agent.” INEVFICH ‘Y OF THY INTERPRETERS, Your correspondent will bear witness to the ineM- jelency of the agency interpreter, Tho military inter. preter at Fort Stevenson is worth a dozen such men as Mr. Sperry employs, The same is true of the interpre. iters at other agencies. The difference between the in- jtorpreter at Standing Rock and the one employed by Colonel Polgnd is the difference between Reddy the ‘Diacksmith and Oakey Hall, THR AGENT'S CLERK. “Mr, Courtenay, the agent’s clerk, tries to do well Yor us,” said Rushing Bear, “He has helped us when ‘wo were suffering and given us wood when we wore cold. Sperry was away, He found it out when he camo home and be was angry about it. He was Mad because our old and blind, our wives and oung children bad some of the wood which we had poor for our own provisions. We could haul none the groves on the river. They are far away; NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1875.—fRIPLE snow was to our waists, The clerk served us well, We dug the snow from our doors and made a Toad to the agency pile and got our own wood, I thought we would have more to eat when I signed the new treaty at Washington; but, instead of getting “more, we get less, and are treated worse than before. We do not know what Sperry does with the money which he gets for our wood and grain, He had a big cellar full of potatoes and sold them to the steamboat, That overstocked the market so that we could not sell. He hangs our calves, If he shot them we would bear the guns. ‘THE AGENT'S MESS, “He uses the veal for his mess and he pockets the money paid by the employés for the privilege of board- ingat his mess. At other agencies the men are not charged for board. DISTRIBUTION OF ANNUITY Goops. “When the annuity goods came Sperry divided the goods for us. He cut the calico so small that we had none for sleeves. It would do for handkerchiefs. He gives only one hoe and one axe to each family, We do not get half what wo used to receive. One of my Indians, Washta John (good John), who worked for the agency, saw two boxes of calico in Sperry’s room. It goes to the squaws who work around the office. Our guns are empty, and we have no ammunition. Sperry does tot do one good thing for us. The only way we can get coffee and sugar is to let the whites keep our women, HOW THE FORT WAS BURNED, “One of our squaws, Corn Silk, worked in the cook’s room, She was waiting for him to come in at night before the doors were locked. The cook came in and said the house was on fire. She saw it in Sperry’s room. ‘The agent lies when he says it caught in the wash- room. A lamp was burning in the agent’s room. It was exploded, It caught in the partition between Sperry’s room and the room adjoining. No white man tried to put out the fire, Severa; Indians were burned in trying to stop the blazing. As God hears me, the fire was started, in Sperry’s room. The agent said that he would give a great deal to know who set the buildings on fire, We told him that he did it, so as to put up new ones away from us, where he could steal our goods. We can’t watch him if he is away. He wanted to make anow fort before the old one was burned. Only a few of the agency goods were saved. Provisions had come but a fow days before. After the fort burned Sperry went away to the east,”” RUSHING BEAR'S SIGNATURE, is Se VISIT TO THE GROS VENTRES. Crow’s Breast, chief of the Gros Ventres, pronounced Gro Vawns, lives :n a log house twenty-five feet square, It isaregular old curiosity shop. There are a good fire-place, such as is seen in the white man’s teepee; two beds, a window in the roof, a gentleman's trunk ‘with a brass lock. a nicely varnished railroad map of the Sedalia route, showing the full figure of a woman, a pic- ture of Kalakaua, King of the Sandwich Islands, and a portrait of the author of “Ginx’s Baby.’ The wall is adorned with buffalo robes. There is an iron latch on the door and curtains and sheets on the beds. As I was about to fake a seat among the warriors a nimble young buck of seventeen summers brought me a nice, white pillow. I told him that none of the HsraLp correspondents are allowed to sit on pillows. At this ‘six or seven warriors arose and bowed, saying, “White editor isa wise man. He knows what is good for his little boss farmers.” Whereupon the young buck seized the pillow and flung it contemptuously into a corner. The interview then began. Mr. ‘Cherry-in-his-mouth” said that there were fifty head soldiers among the Gros Ventres and a hundred other soldiers under them. CROW’S BREASTS STATEMENT. “The Rees and Mandans have been to Washington. We have not. We wouid like to see the Great Father. Our hearts are glad to meet one from the white nation. We want our voice to be heard by our friends. We are poor. The little agent told us to chop wood and work and he would pay in money. We do it and got nothing but our own provisions and checks on the trader’s store. The Indian does not want to go so far away to see the agent and get his food as he wili have to do when the office is moved.' We want to live near the agency. We will tear the new houses down, but we don’t care how many new houses he builds if they are near us. The old and blind cannot go so far in cold weather. We know that he steals our goods and our calicoes. Three poxes of guns were sent to our head soldiers, but they got only a few of them. STORY OF THE FIRE. “On the night of the fire alight was seen in Sperry’s room first, The lamp set iton fire. He caused the lamp to burst. God knows that he is a thief and a liar, He gives us few rations and we are poor. We get neither sugar nor coffee. Courtenay, the clerk, is a good man. He gives all he can. He gives us full weight, and when Sperry is away we get moro than when he is here. We would like to see the Great Father and tell him how we are treated. Courtenay is the man we like. He don’t lie tous. We want Sperry to go away and not come back again. He pays usin our own food when he promised to give money. When he kills our beef he gives us the feet, head, horns and en- trails, When they are gone he gives a piece of beef the size of my two hands for sixteen persons. When the cattle are issued to us on foot they are poor, with no flesh on their ribs. We don’t get more than half of what the Great Father sends. This fall we will have all the cattle, and fatten and kill them ourselves. We want them turned over to us; wecan herd them and kill them as we need them. The Great Father talks, but his words don’t come tous as they are sent. All know that we are friendly to the whites, They have killed four of our people, but we say nothing. I teil the young men to be friendly with the palefaces and live with them in peace. The agent takes our goods and puts them away. He hires us to work cheap and sells us our provisions in return at high prices, He steals half our blankets and then gives us a few. Last winter, after the horns, feet, tails and entrails were gone, we got one beef for four lodges every month. The government interpreters are like Sperry. They make us say things that are false, and they tell usthings that the white men do notsay. Some of our people received no blankets nor calicoes." The chief closed the interview by showing a blanket where it had been burned in branding. There is uni- versal complaint about it. In putting on the brand they are burned and the fibre becomes so rotten that holes soon wear in the centre of the blankets, It is easy for the trader to cut out the brands and make the blankets into coats, CROW'S BREAST'S AUTOGRAPH. AMONG TINE MANDANA, Bad Gun, or Rushing War Eagle, lives ina large house, containing eight beds, but it is scantily fur- nished, and his family seemed very poor. But Mr. Bad Gun makes up for lack of trunks, pictures, and coffee mills. He jean original Red Jacket of the Wendel! Phillips order, for he ta natural orator. He has power and sarcasm. Like Rochefort he is most bitter when hesmiles, He began his speech with a solemn face until he recallod the outrages of last winter, then he smiled, And when he saw the snows descending and wagon loads of putrid entrails dumped at his door the smile broke into a blaze, and his fingers twitched as though they were on the hair trigger of his Win- chester rifle, RUSHING WAR FAGLE'S SPRECH, “1 was at Washington a year ago with Son of the Star, Since then we have not had one good meal. What we storm was, fierce for many days, and tho | get is the sizeofabird. Lam growing thin and poor, | ane (Here he displayed himself as though he were a gladia- | the same orders. The final ord tor in Libby prison). My Great Father sends me food, but I have to pay for it, At Washington we were told to keep the white men who suited us, and if the others would not leave to drive them from the reservation or kill them. ‘They told us to go to work like a white man, chop wood, cut hay, sell it and buy what we needed, We have done itand the agent sells us what is already ours. The Washington fathers send us the biggest liars they can find. I thought we had good liars here, but these beat them all the time. They kill our beef, and when we are out in the snows and storm they send us the feet and horns and entrails, The Great Father said wo should have some guns. We received half of them; Sperry kept the others. They give calico to our sq@aws, but not enough for sleeves, so it has to be used for the pappooses. THE AGENT'S’ ASSUMPTION. “Sperry tells me that all I have belongs to him; that he can do as he pleases. Ho kills our calves and we get hone, but for fifty cents he will sell a mouthful of food at his boarding house, Some of the white men have been with us long. We like them well. Sperry sends them away s0 that he can make money. We shall watch hin. He wants to move the fort, that he may steal All the potatoes are sold by him. He gets plenty of money and we don’t see it, He gives us none of the wheat and oats; we get nothing but the poorest flour that the white men can make. All the rest is sold. We sent a good man to Washington as our interpreter. They did not want him, Sperry wanted aman to help him lie, so he got another interpreter. ‘The little pork and little flour which I get makes me poor, MR. SPERRY’S ECONOMY, “When Sperry gets his pocket full of money he goes away to the East, where his people live, and leaves it there, He comes back with none, I saw his brother Dave piling up money with my own eyes, and he took it with him when he went down the river to Bismarck. There are three nations of Indians here and the great white Father sends them the biggest thief and the greatest liar. That is why we are go poor, Look around my house, What do yousee? My children are poor. There is no white man’s food here, There are 190 barrels of sugar in the warehouse. Sperry said we should have some of it when it came, We have got none of it yet. He don’t want any one around here who tells the truth and is kind to us. The Great Spirit knows that he isa bad man. I wish he would go away and meyer come back,’” MORE TRADERS WANTED, Rushing War Eagle showed his good sense when he said:—‘‘In Washington I asked the Great Father tor more suttlers. He said we should have them. But there is only one and we pay high. We used to live on game and buffalo, There are few now and we have to live on the white man’s promise, If you seo thet Great Father tell him to take Sperry and keep him. Ican’t see him. He won’t look me inthe face. He is looking away for something to steal, We ; asked him for some wagons. He tdok our money and bought old wagons from tho contractors. They are good for nothing. They have been used and broken. Our ponies cau’t pull big heavy ox wagons, * Provisions were sent, then burned in the fire. The fire caught in Sperry’s house, Ho says it started in another place. Hoisaliar, Itcaught in his room, Isaw it there first, I tell this because he is a big liar, “Courtenay gives us alittle more when tho agent is gone, and when he comes back he says, ‘What makes you give the Indians so much? I am boss here.’ Courte- nay gives to the poor people and to the children. Ifyou get back to the East before Sperry leayes, keep him, and don’t let him come to us any more.’? RUSHING WAR EAGLE'S MARK, THE FIRST DAY AT GETTYSBURG. conttarhcibiamessihlrtae GENERAL 0. 0, HOWARD CORRECTS AN ERRO- NEOUS ACCOUNT OF THE FIGHTING. The recently published “History of the Battle of Gettysburg,” from the pen of 8. P. Bates, LL. D., like the book of General Sherman, has evoked sharp criti- cism from the criticised. General 0. 0. Howard, deem- ing himself too seriously misrepresented in the account of his share of the first day’s fighting to allow of his passing it over in silence, has written the following letter to Dr, Bates LETTER OF GENERAL MOWARD. Heapqvarrers DEPARTMENT OF Tux CoLUMmIA, PortLaxp, Oregon, Sept. 14, 1875, Dear Sta—I write to apprise you of certain errors in your “History of the Battle of Gettysburg” into which you bave fallen, doubtless through incorrect informa- tion from men who are unfriendly to me or over- friendly to themselves, Firsi—You state on page 68:—“I am very clear and distinct,” says Captain Rosengarten, of Reynolds’ staff, ‘in my. recollection of the fact that one of Gener Howard’s aids (Captain Hall) reportea to General Rey- nolds, as we were near Gettysburg, the early arrival of the Eleventh corps on the Taneytown road.” - If Captain Hall so reported he was mistaken. Ono column (Schurz and Steinwehr’s divisions) arrived near Gettysburg, on the Taneytown road, a few minutes be- fore one o'clock. Barlow's division arrived a little in advance, on the Emmitsburg road, Second—On the same page you say:—Howard had ridden up, when he found the First corps was engaged in advance of his column, arriving at about one o’clock.’* Iwas in Gettysburg reconnoitering by haif-past ten A.M. No orders reached me directing ine to move to Cemetery Hill. An aid of General Reynolds met me to modify the first phase of Reynolds’ order from tnis form—‘‘to keep within supporting distance,” to this: “You will come up to Gettysburg.” I said to him, “Where shall lencamp?”’ He replied, “Choose your ground anywhere near here.”’ We were then on the Emmitsburg road, a halt mile from Gettysburg. I went in person to several points with members of my stafl— to Cemetery Hill, to high ground west of the Emmits- burg road, and finally to Fahnstock’s observatory, and was there just before eleven A. M., when an officer from General Reynolds reported to me that General Reynolds was wounded, 1 said I was sorry and hoped he would be able to keep the field, Not ten minutes later his death was reported, and [ assumed command of the field and sent out orders accordingly. My letters, written on the field, messages, field ne combine to prove this. So write half-past ten A. M., instead of “one o'clock,” for myself and about one o'clock for the arrival of the command. You say “Hie ordered his batteries forward, but his men came slowly.” The men did not move wo slowly for a hot July day. The batteries preceded them when Just near the town, because needed at the front, Third—On page 70 you say, “Though Howard had arrived on the field and was now in chief command he was wholly occupied in directing his own corps, leaving the first entirety to the manageinent of Doubleday." The first sentence is empirely untrue, 1 established my headquarters at © 'y Hill, put Steinwohr’s division and all the reserve artillery of the corps there fs a genoral reserve. I sent forward two divisions of the Eleventh corps, Schurz commanding at the front, for the relief of General Doubleday, and doubtless so informed him. I then went in person to Doubleday’s position and examined it with care. He said that his jeft was not then likely to be turned. It was the point concerning which I was anxious. So far as reinforce- ments were concerned I had at once sent to Gen- eral Sickles, to General Slocum, and through General Sickles to General Meade, giving the exact truth, and calling for the help which eventualiy came, I saw no occasion then, at one o'clock, to modify or change General Doubleday’s position. You must recollect the object I had in view: it was to hold Gettysburg with one wing, which only amounted with our small corps to “an advanced guard,’ ull the army should come up. ral Doubleday's memory i# not accurate, did not, of course, give him unnecessary orders. I did ask him to look out for his left and I would protect his right. When he gent to 4 orders all and orders all | 19 her husband, supposing Walpole drank ‘the enure dose, and remarking to his | ’ to hold this strategie position | me for help I had none there to give. Slocum was not | yet up, and to send Stemwebr’s little division to the front would have been the height of folly. I kept pressing for General Slocum, who waa said to be near at hand, to push forward his troops, Aides came to me from’ General Doubleday, and I never failed to gend him a prompt and courteous reply. At least twice Idirected itn to dispute the ground obstinately if be should be forced to full back, General Schurz received sent him by me was that he should fall back aud take post to the left of the Baltimore pike on Cemetery ridge. This ho literally did. It is a little remarkable that he should have so quickly and fully complied with my order with- out having received it, It may be that he did not, for orders often miscarry when tho fighting is as fierce as it was there. If he did not, he was guided,” as you say, and some officer of mine must have guided him to ‘the exact position I | pointed out. General Hancock found them there, to the south of the Baltimore pike; took from him Wads- worth’s division and led tt himself over to. Culp’s Hill, | while I was organizing the retreating brigades and regi- meuts of the Eleventh corps and putting them in posi- tion, As to General Buford, he was on my right flank with his cavalry, He gave ine information constantly, and I kept an officer with an orderly habitually with him, He finally moved, at my iastance, from the right and prolonged the New Cemetery line of battle to the loft, thus giving General Lee his impression that we had, at four P. M., asuperior force to meet the assault that was contemplated; but the movement was checked by himself for the reason, as he states, of his uncertainty of our strength and his perception of the excellency of our position. Now notice page 74—‘‘He committed the fatal error of attempting to string out bis own divisions in one thin, continuous line,” &c. I did not gover a third of General Lee’s line. The artillery, excopt two batteries, of the Kleventh corps, was located on Cemetery Hill, supported by Steinwehr’s division of infantry. The space between the two corps was not unusual, and two batteries were there to com- mand the ground. ‘The lines of the Eleventh corps were not thinner than those.of the First corps, “The simple works”? suggested by you could not be thrown up under a brisk fire, Had’ the lines been shorter General Lee would have supposed my forces less, and would much sooner have enveloped them, “Or, hud be made the north bank of the north branch of Stevens’ Run his main line, making the Almshouse a fortilied point.” Cemetery Hill, as a po- sition, was better than the Stevens’ Run and Alms- house position, and was partially fortified under my eye. On page 75—‘*When he came upon the fleld he found the First corps on ground of its own selection, skillfully posted for meeting a tront attack, but incapable of holding its own when pressed upon ifs flanks, and, in- deed, at that moment most seriously threatened with capture. ‘The position left for him to take, and which he was forced to occupy to save the First corps, was one not easily defensible, and by the time his corps ar- rived upon the field’ the enemy was already upon front and flanks of thut position, or in easy supporting distance, in numbers treble those he could bring to op- pose them.” The truth is here very well stated. Bear !n mind this primary object—viz, to keep the enemy back by boldness and persistency till the main army can join. This was done with the loss of one mile of ground, but not to my chosen position—Cemotery Hull, “Reynolds had noticed the great advantage it pre- sented, and had designated it as the position on which to hold his reserves, and asa rallying point in case he was forced back from the more advanced position in front of the town where he had made his stand and had himself early tallen.’? General Reynolds did not designate Cemetery Hill at all, Had he lived he might have done so—would, doubt- Jess, have done so—but he was cut off before his lead- ig ‘division was in position and before he had felt the strength of the enemy’s forces. I selected Cemetery ‘Hill afver careful reconnoissance. Page 76.—Von'Steinwebr was an accomplished sol- dier,”? &c. at_is said of General Von Steinwenr to his praise Ilike. Inever mean to detract from another's fair fame. Stilly General Steinwehr will testify himself that work here imputed to hum was certainly done with my sanction, and much of it by my direction. Page 78.—'‘Schemmelfinnig, too, while attempting to stay his troops and hold thet up to the fight, was taken prisoner, but subsequently managed to escape and re- Joined his command.” Schemmeifinnig was not taken prisoner, Having been accidentally separated from his troops in the town he hid himself among some piles of boards and finally joined us after the fight was over. Page 8L -“As the two broken corps of the Union army ascended Cemetery Hill they were met by siaif oflicers, who turned the-Eleventh corps to the right aud the First corps to the left, where they went into posi- tion along the summit of the ridge stretching out on either hand from the Baltimore pike.’” The two corps were inet by my staff officers, Page 8,—“The chief command upon the field then devolved upon General Doubleday, which for upward of two hours he continued to exercise.” Tassumed command upon the announcement of the death of General Reynolds, just before eleven A. M., so that your statement regarding General Doubleday being in chief command for two hours is a mistake. If he had been in chiet command he would have sent to Sickles, Meade, Slocum, &c., and he, being a trained suldier, would have made general field dispositions. He did not do so. Idomot think he regarded himseif in chiet command fora half hour, He certainly was not. Page 87.—‘In my opinion there seems to be no di- Tecting person,” &¢. I cannot contradict the statement of Gegeral Buford’s opinion. Ido not wonder that he was full of appre- heasion, and he judged me when our troops were giv- ing way. I must leave my dispositions and work of that day to the criticism of military men. I believe the dispositions were what the emergency called tor, and they were made with firmness and coviness, Gen: eral Meade himself asked my forgiveness for misappre- hending me with regard to them, and thanked me for securing to his army what! did with the timely and efticient help of General Hancock in the afternoon. Page 87.—"“If, when Howard found that he was no longer able to’ hold his advanced position, he had or- dered some demonstrations on different parts of the field, and planting some pteces to have commanded the main thoroughfares over which his troops should re- tire,” &. I did order demonstrations till the Eleventh corps and the First were too hotly engaged to control their | movements, I did send an entire brigade—Costar’s, of Steinwehr's divisioun—to the front of the town to cover the retreat, This brigade did efficient service in just the way you suggest, ull it was finally captured, owing to the clogging of troops that had passed them in the streets, due to the small neck for egress at the Balti- more pike. You say further on, “Howard is without excuse for holding out so long.” . If I had not held out so long you would have no vie- tory at Gettysburg to record. I’ never-refused to order retreat, never. The one referre@ to was'an order toa corps commander, General Doubleday, ‘Hold out as Jong as you can.””’ I did not believe it wise to deplete Steimwebr further than I had already done; it was not a time when a general could throw in his reserves with saloty. fags 88,—'Tt seems that Howard, at a council of corps commanders held at Chancellorsville just before the army retired across the river, voted to remain and fight, giving as a rgason the misconduct of his corps forced him always ‘to vote for assaulting, wuether it was the best thing to be done or not.” ‘The remark imputed to me at Chancellorsville is un- except General Sickles, He opposed for political reasons, as he stated. I wished to lead the men of my corps to the attack, because they were mortified at the panic of the day before, and were ready for the work; but 1 would not, as a couscientious man, have voted for the urmy to fight if 1 had not believed it the best thing for the army to do. So that the words ‘senseless policy” do not apply. You have given an interesting account of the battle; but could you have had my field notes, read my letters and reports, or conversed with me respecting the field, as you have apparently done with others, 1 feel sure you would not have rated me so poorly, With General Meado I was thanked by Congress, but I did not seek 11; and i am quite sure this is the frst jetter I have ever written in my own defence concerning my work at Gettysburg. Iwas in many large battles and tried to do my country service with all the energy and ability at my command, but I have taken especial pride in Gettysburg, and ai, therefore, perhaps unduly sensitive at adverse criticism. I would not take from another's fair record, and it surely springs from envy when your informers ‘attempt to rob me of mine, With respect I remain yours, 0, 0, HOWARD, Brigadier General U. 8. Army. A WIFE'S FATAL ERROR. ADMINISTERING OXALIC ACID TO HER HUSBAND IN PLACE OF EPSOM SALTS—HE LIVES BUT FIFTEEN MINUTES. Gnoros, N. Y., Sept. 30, 1875. Matthew Walpole, a prominent citizen of this place, and well known throughout the southern tier as a suc- cessful hotel proprietor, came to his death yesterday under the most painful circumstances.. It seems that he has not been feeling well for several days, and yes- terday laid down on a sofa at his residence and requested his wife to prepare him a dose of salts, She took a pack- | age from a sheif in « closet, where she kept salts and other household remedies, and poured out a large dose of the contents, and dissolving it in cider gave it it was epsom salts. Mr. wife that it had a peculiar taste, was almost justantly seized with a terribie 7 BURNING IN HIS STOMACH. This was followed by severe convulsio ing of blood and pieces of flesh. In his agony Mr. Wal- pole ran shrieking about the room and rolled in convulsions over the floor, and — con- stantly crying for water. His wile offered him water, bit he could not drink, Mrs, Walpole at once despatched a message for Dr. Weaver, but be- fore he arrivea Mr. Walpole died in the most intense agony. No medical aid could have given him the slightest relief, however, as un examination by the physician revealed the fact that the unfortunate man bad drank oxalte acid in sufficient quantity to killa hundred men. His intestines and stomach were literally eaten up entire, Tne acid had been brought into the house to be used in some cleansing operations, and a servant had placed the deadly stufl, unknown to Mrs, Walpole, on the shell with her collection of medicines, JUDGMENT DAY IN JERSEY. The following culprits were sentenced yesterday in the Court of Quarter Sessions at Jersey City:— Frederick Williams, burglary, three years in the State Prison; George Lee, burglary, five years in the Stato Prison; Edward Phillips, @ notorious pickpocket, five years; * William Monroe, larceny, three months; Jobn Kilroy, lateeny, three months; George F. Buck- land, indecent exposure, one year; Terence Brady, aasault and battery, one month; Michael Simmons, beating his wife, four months, John Martin, eae A three months; Frederick Blumenthal, larceny, eight months; John’ Jenkins, larceny, three months; Jaines Black, grand larceny, three years; John Martin, a boy, sent to the Reform School; Thomas Mc- John Clute, lar- larceny, Donough, larceny, eighteen mouths; cony, tree years, true. I'voted to fight, and so did every General there | SHEET. and vomit- | THE CROAT AND THE TURK. CROATIAN SYMPATHY WITH THE REVOLTED PROVINCES—MASSING OF AUSTRIAN TROOPS ON TRE ¥FRONTIER—PREVALENCE OF THE PANSCLAVONIAN IDEA—PRINCE MILAN'S DIFFI- CULTIES, Aram, in Crotia, Sept. 8, 1875, One would hardly tmagino this tranquil and charming little town to be one of the chief centres of the agita- tion at present prevailing in Sclavic land; yet such is the fact. Here, indeed, 1s more of warlike spirit than I found among the Bosnian rayahs, The correspond- ent of an Agram journal, who made a journey among the refugees at the same time as myself, has indulged in several sympathetic flights which very clearly show the tem- per of the Croatian mind. If it were possible to do it without drawing down upon her the vengeance of Aus- trian officials, this pretty Croatia would send thousands of volunteers to oust the Turk from his ill-gotten pos- sessions, notably in Bosnia, and would succeed in doing it, The Croatians are good suldiers. One has an ex- cellent chance to judge of their merits for the rea- son that Agram here, the traditional capital of the tri-unitary kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Sclayonia, is filled with troops of every Grade and class. The officers seem almost numerous enough for an army. The clank of thin swords, the Jingling of thin spurs and the resonance of their polite salutation, “I bave the honor,’ said as they gravely and fastidiously touch two fingers to their blue-black caps, are heard in every café and each courtyard. Just outside Agram City, a little beyond what is called the “lower town,”’ there is an encampment where stalwart soldiers, similar to those which I saw in Sissek and along tho Turkish frontier, are daily drilled with a sternness and earnestness which argues an intention to fight. Austria has a formidable assembly of troops on her fréntier, and the men are in better condition, physically and in respect. of discipline, than ever before, The Croats like a little taste of blood in everything that they drink; one might call them good naturedly ferocious. On the evening of my arrival in Agram the “Hanolung” bad usurped all the main apartments of the principal hotel, and was giving areally fine concert, which reflected the highest credit upon the musical taste and culture of the elegant although isolated little capital. All the nobili- ties, the members of the Diet, the honorable “Presi- dent des Landgerichtes,” the military and civil digni- taries, were gathered at supper in the huge courtyard of the hotel, alternately listening to the music and furi- ously discussing the claims of tho Sclavic race. THE GENERAL OPINION AMONG THR CROATIANS 1s that, whether or not the present insurrection is tem- porarily crushed out, the day is near at hand when Ser- via, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, co-operating together, with aid from the exterior, will secure their independence, During my brief stay in Agram I heard miuch excited talk in favor of the “poor, downtrodden rayah,” and the need of going at once to his aid. There are several hundred, possibly (including the neighbor. hood) several thousand, young men who, if they were not positively certain of being arrested hy the Austrian authorities, would traverse the frontier and plunge in against the Bashi-Bazouks and the Ridifs with a heartiness born only of extremest hate. The Croats do not believe in the Turks as soldiers. They say that the latter never achieve any victories saye by aceident, and that, when caught in an emergency, they lose their presence ot mind at once. They have latterly taken to reciting, apropos of the Turks, the little story about Omer Pacha and Prince Schwarzenberg. It appears that the dis- tinguished Turk above mentioned was really born in Croatia, and made a Mussulman of himself without any reason except his military ambition, which he Hoped to gratify by excelling among the Turkish commanders. Schwarzenberg, on hearing, in 1850, the recital by a French diplomat of some of Omer Pacha’s exploits, said, nervously :— “You are making too much out of him. He is a Croat—it is all summed up in that, We have a couple of thousand captains of his force and talent in the Aus- trian army.” The Croats here not only have a firm belief in their own military prowess and. hatred of the Turks, but they have that intense prid@ of race which urges them to aid in the struggles of any of their kindred for liberty. Agram is jealous of its’ nationality; and although German is everywhere heard in the rich and cultured little capital, the Sclavic tongue is everywhere written and spoken quite as much as the Teutonic language, Over the doors of the coffee houses, hotels, museums and railway stations, as well as the shops, the —_ inscriptions are in Sclayic. Every one, man, woman and child, un- less the lowest class of peasants remotest from the town be excepted, speak both German and Sclayic, but the former is considered as an accomplishment og disagreeable necessity by all of Sclavic blood. The papers in Sclavic, the dramas in the little theatres In Slavic, the railway plans and schedules in Sclavic, all spdicate that Agram or Lagreb, as it is called in the lan- guage of the locality, keeps a strong hold upon its orig- inality and does not wish to be swallowed up into the great Austrian Empire so that its previous autonomy shall be lost sight of, In Croatia and in Servia the spirits which labor for a rattling of the dry bones in the oppressed provinces are hindered from more violent efforts by only one thing—a knowledge of the terrible consequences which | would inevitably be entailed by a general war in Eu- rope at the present time, Still, they would not allow that consideration to restrain them permanently, and it is with a full knowledge of this fact that thoughtful people in Hungary and Austria turn a frightened gazo toward the quiet city on the hillside in tho Croatian plains and the picturesque Servian capital at the junc- tion of the Danube and the Save. All the peasantry in the country round about Agram and Sissek and along the river from Cortimitza to Berd-on-the-Save is, PROVFOUNDLY INTERESTED IN THE STRUGGLE, in which the rayahs thus far appear to have come off second best, although the insurgents are now, by their sallies from mountain passes and in deep vallies, filling | the Save ports with Turkish wounded. I have seen to-day something likea hundred stout fellows at the railway stations within fifteen miles of Agram. I don’t know where these people were going, but they seemed suddenly to have made up heir minds to go some- where, and had their ragged red knapsacks stuffed with provisions, Judging from the amount of beer they drank, and the rollicking way in which they called for it, it appeared also evident that these brawny fellows had had other hands than their own | in their pockets; and that the aforesaid hands, being hastily retired, had leftin the pockets numerous myste- rious sums of kreutzers. It would make a ragged, lament- ably shod Falstaffian army, this collection of poorly-clad and ill-advised peasants bound toward the Turkish frontier, but I believe it would fight. However, the | Austrian government #ill not permit the departure of any such expeditidn, A strange, wild race, the peasantry in the country in the vicinage of Agram, yet withal industrious and kindly; a race which has far more intelligence with ro- gard to its rights and the unification of all its branches than is generally believed; a race which lives quietly under one government, always anxiously looking for- | ward to the time when it can form an independent part | of another, The Hungarians do not like the manner in which the Croats manifest-their Sclavic tendenc ‘They feel, as one of the most prominent of Hungarians gaid to me not long since, as if there wero infuitely | more to be feared from the movements now in progress at Agram and at Belgrade than in Herzegovina and Bos- nia, But they protest that this time there is really nothing to fear; that the movement, although it may not be entirely quelled, can amount to nothing definite, Of course they see TUR HAND OF RUSSIA IN THE WHOLE APPAIR and watch with great interest everything tending to confirm their impressions, Every one here, and wherever else 1 have been able to converse with, influential persons in Sclavic towns, seems to pity Prince Milan of Servia, because he is in such an unfortunate predicament, His people be not merely ripe for war now: they have been so for a vary long time; and the Prince, young, energetic and con- scientions, has, of course, felt like a king advised. He ig shortly to be married to a very wealthy Russian lady, and between his love and the rage of his subjects for war must find his mind fully occupied, The story of the manner in which he came just to think about his marriage, is perhaps somewhat apocryphal, but 1s to this effect:— The Prince went up toa neighboring and important capital, aud asked an audience of one of tho leading European politicians, who holds a very responsible po- sitton as Minister there, Ot course, ne was very quickly received, and the Prince gradually drew tha conversation to the subject of THE WAR VERLING IN SERVIA. He naturally and innocently asked, “What shall I do under the circumstances? The wily Minister in- stantly responded, “My dear Prince, Iam delighted to see you; havo been teeming with. anxiety to put a little hint into your ears.’ Ofcourse, Prince Milan pricked up the aforesaid ears, “You see, you are manageable, and so is a very charming young lady whom I happen to know, rich, ac- complished and lovely. Now it is in every sense of the word a match,’” The Prince ventured mildly to remonstrate, and to say that he had come on a more important matter. But the Premier was at onco awfully and mysteriously busy, and said, “Good day, Prince, always charmed to see you’? Presently the Prince demanded another audience, and got it, hi “Now,” said he, ‘about this embarrassing and painful question of the Turkish relations.” “Ah, Prince,” said the Premier, “you had better at- tend to this matter at once, It will not do to allow it to go on in this manner, The eyes of Europe are upon you. We must——” Of course the Princo fancied that the longed for ad- vice was at last coming. But no, The Premier said:— “We must manage to interest you in this marriage. You remember the marriage I spoke of the other day Is it possible you have not yet done anything about it? But you must not be allowed to be so blind to your own interests and those of your subjects. The eyes of Eu- rope—" Here naturally the Prince saw the game, and made his excuses and went away. Only to come again, however, and once more to say, “Now,-in reference to this question of the relations of Servia to her sister provinces.” “Of course, Princo,’ said the Premier, bustling about more than ever and maniMSting the most intense interest in his young friend, “of course the eyes of Europe, you know, would not let you neglect your duty, This* beautiful and accomplished young lady must grace the Servian throne. She really must, you know, for ‘the eyes of all Europe ——’’’ The Prince did not lose his temper, and he is to be married, Never a word of advice did he receive con- cerning the relations of Servia P» her sister provinces from the astute Premier. COOPER UNION FREE SCHOOLS. The annual term of the Cooper Union School of Sci+ ence began last evening at the Cooper Institute. Ap- plications for admission were many, but room was’ limited, and only'a comparative few were fortunate enough to secure enrolment, The scientific classes of the evening meoting were entirely male. In the morn- ing the term of the “Woman's Art School’. was held, but as there are no vacancies there were no enrolments, Over 170 applicants are now awaiting admission to this popular department of the Cooper Union, Tne number on the roll is about 150, Another of the schools which had its annual term meet ing was the free school for women in telegraphy. Tt can only accoumodate forty students, but the number applying yesterday for admission footed up over 125. This is a very pdépular school, and it is a great pity, its accommodations are so limited. Applicants fr admission must be at least sixteen years old, and not over twenty-four, Pupils are now required to pay an entrance fee ang the instruction is gratuitous. Owing to the contracted means of the school preference is given to those applicants who by eduvation aud physical ability appear best qualifed for the business of telegraphy. Only pupils who are pre- pared to accept situations out of the city of New York as soon as they are quatified are admitted to the school. The regular term of the free school of drawing and en- graving on wood commenced yesterday, and will closa une 1; but the school is open throughout the year. Mr. Peter Cooper, as usual, addressed a few words of hope and encouragement to the pupils, and the work of arranging the classes for the ensuirg year was ac- complished with expeditious ease. The principal of the, art school is Mrs. Susan N, Carter, teacher of wood engraving, Miss Charlotte B, Cogswell; clerk, ¥ Miss Anna Curtis; teacher of painting and photography, — Carl Hecker; teacher of cast drawing, William Fritz The success these schools have met with in securing a, superior classe of employment for young women gives them a high claim on public attention. ‘The fre reading room will be open on Sundays on and after next Sunday. YEH-SHU-TUNG. A CHINESE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSIONER INVES- TIGATING US. China is determined not to be behind Japan in pick- ing up the methods of American civilization. The latter country has sent bere over 200 young men within the last eight years to study in the various colleges of the coun- try. Many have returned to their native land and diffused the knowledge obtained here among their native countrymen to that extent that a curiosity to learn more is now the prevailing feature of this quondam sealed up territory of the remote Orient, Yeh-Shu-Tung, of Pekin, the Chinese Educational Commissioner, a young man of superior knowledgo and accomplished manners, was yesterday at the Astor House, having just arrived with the object of investi- eats the school system of America from its primary ‘up t its most advanced collegiate forms. His m‘ssion is of a most extensive and pregnant character, China has always prided herself on the excellent methods she has in use for training her sfperabundant youth in the elements of knowledge ; | but China, like Japan, has awakened to the fact that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in her philosophy. Yeb-Sha-Tung is ac- companied by a secretary or companion. Both gontle- men dress in the costume of their rank, which is about equivalent to that of a third class mandgrin, They wear dark blue cloth frocks, buttoned Rway over the breast to near the ‘lef shoulder, loose pants of the same material and the conventional Chinese shoes, with richly embroidered cloth uppers. They are smail men with the regular Mongolian features, lighted up and rendered prepossessing by the intellec: tual lustre in the eyes, Commissioner Yeh-Shu-Tung goes to Washington first, where he hopes to fiud in the Bureau of Edu- cation valuable statistics relating to the ex- tent and progress of primary and collegiate teaching in the United ,States. He is aware that the task of studying and contrasting the modes of education here and in China involve much labor and thought. The complexity of our system of education, compared with the simplicity of his own, strikes hitn as something worth investigating. Educa: tion, he maintains, when its scope is unlimited and un- fettered by prejudice, has more to do with a nation’s greatness and prosperity than anything else. To let the people of China know through their schools and colleges the wonders of other lands will be to sur up a Jaudable thirst for knowledge that cannot fail to be useful among a people so industrious, and break down the absurd barriers that have separated the Celes- tial Empire from sympathy with the civilization of the Western World. Yeh-Shu-Tung is a gentleman of liberal instincts, and one who bas a strong faith in the theory of bor- rowing ali that is good and useful from every quarter,*; whether it be infidel or orthodox. THE DOCK LABORERS’ THE DIPFICULTY OF PROCURING MONEY DUE FROM THE CITY. Some two weeks since a number of laborers—about WAGES. © a | ra he ‘ » 130 in all—were discharged by the Dock Commissioners, This reduction of force aroge principally from the troubles experienced in the building of the sea wall at the foot of Canal street, In the communications re- cently transmitted to Mayor Wickham by the Dock’ Commissioners all the facts in relation to the trouble fully set forth in the Hrranp, The Com- missioners asked for the appointment of a committee of three to examine the work. This committee has not yet been appointed by the Mayor in consequence of the absence of General Gilmore, who, it is understood, will be ro-elected as one ofthe number, All important work upon the docks therefore ceased for the present, and a material reduction in the working force became necessary. It js stated the pay-rolls for those who have mn dis~ charged were transmitted to the Comptroller's oftice several days since, but the usual delay and red tape system peculiar to this establishment delayed their transmission to M@or Wickham for his signature until yesterday. ‘A committee of laborers called upon Paymaster Falls yesterday morning. This gentleman informed the men that the pay-rolls had been sent over to the Mayor's office, but it was necessary that a moeting of the Sink. ‘und Commissioners should be held before the Comptroller was authorized lopey the men their wages, The committee next visited Mayor Wickham and had interview with that gentleman, Pending the con- versation Mr. Wales, President of the Dock Commis- sioners, entered and informed the committee that arequisition had been some time since transmitted to the Comptroller for payment of the salaries and that no meeting of the Sinking Fund Commissioners was necessary. The Mayor also stated that he had as yet received no pay-rolis of the Dock Commission (rom the Comptroller's offi Shortly afterward a clerk from the Comptroller’: office made his appearance with the papers, which wero promptly signed and sent back by the Mayor, The dif fleulty Was thus arranged and the poor men who have been so long waiting for their hard earned money will now doubtless receave Jt without furyher trouble, %.