Saint Louis, January 5, 1870.
DEAR SIR: We shall send you by to-morrow’s mail second-bounty warrants to the amount of $5,758, which we had been instructed to send you by Judge Wright for collection.
We also send you a list of the warrants, showing each one separately. You will please collect the amounts as soon as possible, and remit the same to us. Should any of these warrants not be paid you will please the same and return to us, as they belong to three different houses in the city to whom we have to account for same.
We will send the warrants by registered letter to you.
Yours, truly,
HENRY BELL & SON.
Mr. ALEXANDER CLIPPERTON,
Fort Gibson.
Office Of Orr & Lindsley,
306 Main Street, Saint Louis, January 5, 1870.
DEAR SIR: We herewith hand you, enclosed by request of Judge John W. Wright, Washington City, sundry Indian orders to said John W. Wright to pay sundry sums as specified in enclosed list, out of their bounty as soldiers, said orders being in favor of Ross, Gunter & Co., and W. P. Ross & Co., and now owned by us. We enclose a full detailed list and description of said orders, with receipt annexed, which you will please sign and return to us by first mail. Judge Wright has no doubt instructed you as to manner of collecting, and what disposition to make of the funds. We solicit your kind attentions in the matter. Any assistance you can render us in closing up this long deferred claim will be duly appreciated.
Yours, truly,
ORR & LINDSLEY.
ALEXANDER CLAPPERTON, Esq.,
Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory.
SAINT LOUIS, January 7, 1867, [1870.]
DEAR SIR: As we wrote you, yesterday, we today send you by registered letter second-bounty warrants to the amount of $5,758 per enclosed list. We wish them safe to hand. We can buy out some of the parties here who hold these warrants. Would you advise us to do so or not? Each man wants to sell his lot as it is. What do you think of the whole payment of the same Would you advise us to purchase them: and, if so, what would you advise us to give We wish you would find out if they have heard lately from Gulager, and where is he at; if he has sold his cattle or not. Find this out confidentially for us and write us about it. Please let us hear from you as soon as possible, and oblige yours, truly,
HENRY BELL & SON.
MR. ALLEXANDER CLAPPERTON,
Fort Gibson.
Saint Louis, January 27, 1870.
Enclosed find second-bounty warrants, amounting to $1,971, which we enclose to you in compliance with instructions of Judge Wright. Please let us know by return mail how many and which of these have been paid.
Yours, &c.,
ALLEXANDER. CLAPPERTON,
Fort Gibson, Indian Territory.
We enclose these by our friend Mr. Gulliger, who originally obtained them for us. Any information you can give him from time to time will be duly appreciated.
Saint Louis, February 12, 1870.
DEAR Sir: On the 8th of January we sent you by registered letter through our post office here, for which we have taken receipt, all the bounty orders on the list we sent you some days previous, which you have received; and we have your letter stating the list had come to hand, but the warrants had not. The amount of the warrants sent are exactly as the list you have received, and the total amount is _____.
We have seen them at the post-office here several times, and they say they have sent tracers after this package inclosing these warrants, but as yet they have not heard from them. It may be that the warrants are lost or have been stolen out of the mail. We have the post-office receipt for them, and shall hold it. Now, what we wish is that you do not let us suffer in this matter on account of not having received the warrants. You have the list, and you will please hold what is coming on that list to us, and if necessary we will give any bond required to indemnify you in the loss thereof.
We shall also write Judge Wright by this mail and ask him also to write you. Please let us have an answer by return mail.
Yours, truly,
Mr. ALEXANDER CLAPPERTON,
Fort Gibson, Indian Territory.
Washington, D. C., April 3, I870.
DEAR SIR: I have this day seen Judge Wright, and he has written you. I have written our house at Saint Louis to at once make out a new list of the lost claims and swear to the loss of them, and also to send you power of attorney to collect for us from this list any claim that is on it. This they will do at once, and yon will please attend to our interest, and collect this bounty. Judge Wright tells us that the Government here is satisfied of the loss of these orders, and have sent orders to the paying agent at Gibson to pay these claims the same as if you had the orders. The only thing is, don’t let Ross get any money that belongs to us. Ross transferred to us, as collateral security, pension claims of something over $3,000. This was merely in the form of a list from his (Ross’s) books. We have had a list sent from Saint Louis to Mr. F. H. Nash, and have requested him to collect them from you. Henry Meigs had the list of them last fall. We have asked Mr. Nash to call on him for the list. If he does not give it up, don’t pay him any money on these pensions, as he is no longer an agent. If you can wait for the list that we send Nash for the pensions, you will oblige us. Can you collect a note of Dan Ross for us for $75?
Yours, truly,
Mr. ALEXANDER CLAPPERTON,
Fort Gibson.
SAINT LOUTS, April 6, 1870.
DEAR Sir: We hand you this day a certified statement of the names and amount of the bounties which were mailed to you some two months since, which never reached you. They were sent by registered letter about the 1st of February. You will observe this memorandum is certified to, and also our power of attorney to collect and receipt for the money. We hand you this statement and power of attorney with the request that you collect the money and send it to us.
Hoping this will reach you in good time, we are yours, truly,
HENRY BELL & SON.
Mr. ALEXANDER CLAPPERTON,
Fort Gibson.
Henry Bell & Son:
GENTLEMEN: Dan H. Ross either will not or cannot pay the money that you lent him in Saint Louis to come home on. I keep on dunning him every other day. I may be able to tire him out. Dan is bad pay. He will not pay any one if he can help it.
Respectfully,
ALEX. CLAPPERTON.
[The foregoing was returned with the following on the same sheet:]
June 9, 1870.
DEAR SIR: You will please push him as much as possible, and make every effort to collect this debt. Can’t you transfer it to some one in the nation, so you can get judgment on it, and sell a cow or a horse to pay it? We will give you one-third of the note to collect it in some way, as we want to make him pay it.
How do the collections of the bounties and pensions come on?
Yours, truly,
HENRY BELL & SON.
ALEXANDER CLAPPERTON, Esq.,
Fort Gibson.
Saint Louis, June 11, 1870.
Dear Sir: This will be handed you by our attorney, Mr. Charles A. Davis, who is on a visit to your place in our interest, and of whom we have requested to call upon you and see what progress has been made in the collection of the second bounties, and also the pension account of the Ross collateral fund; also the Dan Ross note. You will do us a favor by giving Mr. Davis all the information possible, and also, if possible, try and collect all the money for us you can during his stay, and send the same to us by him.
Yours, truly,
HENRY BELL & SON
Mr. ALEXANDER CLAPPERTON.
Saint Louis, April 20, 1870.
Dear Sir: We sent you today, by mail, a quantity of Indian claims. Enclosed please find a list of the same. If you will give them your immediate attention we shall be very much obliged.
Yours, truly,
JJESSE ARNOT & CO.,
Per TEASDALE
ALFORD CLAPPERTON, Esq.,
Fort Gibson, Indian Territory.
Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation,
April 15, 1870
Received from Alexander Clapperton, one packet of Indian warrants belonging to Orr & Lindsley; and one packet same of Indian warrants belonging to William Young & Co.; and one packet of Indian warrants belonging to E. Milterberger, with lists of the same.
F. H. NASH