1858. [The Secretary replies, that there are no other papers on file in his department touching that sale beyond those communicated as above.] The chairman also presented a letter from Senator Harlan, covering copies of several communications on the subject of the sale of Fort Crawford, and an original petition of the pre-emptors of that land, which were not read.

Mr. Rice made a statement of the charges brought against him, and acknowledged them all as stated in the letters filed by Mr. Harlan, to the extent of having charged $1 50 per acre for the lands sold to settlers on the reserve, and demanded the strictest scrutiny into his conduct.

The committee ordered summons to be sent to Hon. George W. Jones and James Harlan, Senators from Iowa, and Hon. T. Davis, of the House of Representatives, from the same State, also for the chief clerk of the War Department, to appear before the committee on Tuesday, 26th instant, at 9 o'clock.

Adjourned.

TUESDAY, May 26.

Committee met at 9 a. m.; all present.

Hons. George W. Jones, James Harlan, and Timothy Davis appeared; also, Mr. H. M. Rice and Mr. Drinkard, chief clerk of the War Department.

Mr. Harlan, on leave, filed the following extract from the Congressional Globe of the 13th instant, being an extract from the proceedings of the Senate of the 12th instant:

Mr. HARLAN. Mr. President, the settlers on Fort Crawford reservation, in the State of Iowa, allege that they have been defrauded by Mr. Henry M. Rice, as agent of Hon. John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, in the sale of their claims as settlers on said reservation, namely: 1. That said Secretary of War instructed Henry M. Rice to sell to the settlers on said reservation their claims at $1 25 per acre; that said Rice required said settlers to pay for their claims at the rate of $1 50 per acre, and receipted to them, on the payment of said $150 per acre, for but $1 25 per acre, and refused to receipt to them for the remaining twenty-five cents per acre received of them by him, as aforesaid.

2. That sundry cases in which settlers applied to said Rice for leave to enter their said claims, he referred them to his clerk, who charged them fees varying from ten to eighty dollars each, in addition to the said $1 50 per acre, for leave to purchase their said claims; that these fees were charged and received by the said Rice, corruptly, as said settlers believe, through the interposition of his clerk.

3. That said Rice negligently failed to give said settlers reasonable notice of the time of said sale, and thereby subjected them to the necessity of borrowing money, at enormous rates of interest, with which to purchase their said claims.

4. That said Rice defrauded one of said settlers of his right to purchase his claim, under the instruction of the Secretary of War, by surreptitiously securing from him a quit-claim to a part of the land embraced in said claim."

Mr. Drinkard, being duly sworn, stated

That soon after the opening of the present session, Hon. George W. Jones and Hon. James Harlan filed certain papers in the War Department, of which he thinks those here presented by Hon. Mr. Harlan are copies. He believes these originals are now on file in the War Department. When the letter of the chairman of the committee was received at the department, the Secretary supposed that it did not refer to any papers received there subsequent to the sale, and this will explain the apparent inconsistency in the letter of the Secretary, which, however, is chargeable, not to the Secretary, but to this witness. Soon after Mr. Rice's arrival in this city he informed this witness that

he had sold the lands at $1 50 per acre. He thinks he informed Mr. Rice that certain papers had been filed there by the Iowa delegation, and he showed Mr. R. a letter complaining that he had not made his report of the sale. It is the practice of the office to show to persons complained of what the ground of complaint is.

Cross-examined by Hon. Mr. Jones. Did you inform the Iowa delegation, when they called at your office, that the original papers filed by them, making certain charges against Mr. Rice, had been handed to him?

Answer. I have no recollection of having made that statement. The only paper to which I understood them to refer in their inquiry was one complaining that the report had not been made by Mr. Rice.

By Mr. Harlan. Has any final report of the sale of Fort Crawford reserve been made yet?

Answer. The printed paper communicated to the Senate by the Secretary, dated April 13, is a final report, as far as I know.

By G. W. Jones. Did I not, when informed by you that the original charges against Mr. Rice had been sent to him, say that it was an outrage to send these original papers to the accused?

Answer. You did not manifest any feeling that I now recollect, at being informed that I had shown Mr. Rice the letter above alluded to; I did not inform him of the existence of any other papers.

By Mr. King. Have all the papers connected with this matter been communicated to the committee?

Answer. There are no papers on file in the department which are not now before the committee, either as an original or as copy.

By Mr. Davis. When the Iowa delegation called, did they not ask to see all the papers on the subject, record and correspondence, and did you show us all?

Answer. I cannot definitely answer, but it is my impression I showed every paper inquired for; for such is my habit.

Mr. Harlan here stated that he had no legal testimony to offer. Some of his constituents charged that Mr. Rice had not acted fairly in the sale of the lands referred to; that no notice had been given them except two days; that no surveys had been made as stated by Mr. Rice; no monument had been erected, and that, outside of the extra charge of 25 cents per acre over and above the price of the land, for which receipts had been given, one of his constituents charged that he had been induced to sign a paper without a knowledge of its purport, and was afterwards surprised to learn that it was a quit-claim deed, though he was induced, when he signed it, to believe it was an application of some sort, and not a conveyance. Complicity was also charged against Mr. Rice with his clerk, in extorting unreasonable fees; that their certificates were withheld until these fees were paid; that Mr. Rice had no authority to exact fees.

The copies of letters and the originals, filed by Mr. Harlan, and others filed by Mr. Jones, were read as follows:

We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being first duly sworn, each for himself, do say: That they were settlers and pre-emptors on

what was called and known as the Fort Crawford reservation; and that we were required, by the Hon. H. M. Rice, the agent of the War Department in the sale of said lands, to pay to him the sum of one dollar and fifty cents per acre for our claims; and that in each instance he would execute, in return, a receipt for only one dollar and twentyfive cents per acre. We ask that the excess so paid be returned to us. Dated this 4th day of January, A. D. 1858.

John Sanford, jr.
Daniel H. Wilson.
John B. Sypher.
Marion Ellsworth.
Wm. S. Withrow.
Samuel S. Phillips.
Almer Dickinson.
Herman Francis.

John Shipworth.
Patrick Kelley.
William Denny.
Henry Cain.

Thos. P. Hardwick.
Benjamin Contal.
David P. Hennings.
Micajah Foster.
Simeon Young.
John Knapp.
James Cummins.
Thomas Hamilton,

STATE OF IOWA,

Clayton county.

Martin Bery.

Peter Sandganger.
Patrick Geraghty.
Anthony Nolan.
Thomas Ormsley.
John Carroll.
William Carroll.
Nelson Knapp.
Guy Kinsley.
John Samuel.
Daniel C. Withrow.
John D. Samson.
Simeon Lawson.
John Hamilton.
Isaac Knapp.
Orsamus Canfield,
Wm. Cummins.
S. C. Ralph

D. C. Vansickle.
Edward Dickens.

I, C. F. Remick, a notary public for the State of Iowa, duly commissioned by the governor of said State, residing in said county of Clayton, and having authority to administer oaths, do certify that the parties whose names are subscribed to the foregoing instrument did subscribe and make oath to the same, before me, on the 4th and 5th days of January, A. D. 1858.

Witness my hand and seal official, this 5th of January, [L. S.] 1858.

C. F. REMICK,
Notary Public.

MCGREGOR, January 18, 1857.

SIR: Hon. H. M. Rice appeared in Prairie du Chien a few days since, as the agent of the government, to sell the Fort Crawford reservation in this county. Among the settlers, Solomon Wadsworth, an old settler of this county, was refused his land. The application in his behalf, I understand, has been sent to the Hon. Geo. W. Jones, from whom you can gather the facts. I believe the old man's claim is good, and that he is entitled to his land from his statement to me. I hope you will interest yourself in his behalf. I wish to call your attention to another matter. The settlers were required to pay $1 50

per acre for their lands, whilst their receipts acknowledged the receipt of $125 per acre. There has been a nice speculation made upon your constituents by some pure patriot, that calls for immediate investigation and redress. One of the settlers has told me that the agent of Rice told him, frankly, that the 25 cents per acre was a private speculation.

The case of the settlers has been a hard one. Rice told them last summer that they should have their lands at $1 25 per acre, and reasonable notice of the time of sale, from four to six weeks. But they had only a few days' notice at this time of the sale, and such was the scarcity of money that they had to pay enormously for money; and where 25 cents is added, it makes their case a hard one.

Evidence establishing these facts will be sent to the War Department, care of you or Jones, in a very short time.

I hope you will give immediate attention to these matters. Jones, we suppose, will interest himself with you. All well.

Your friend,

Hon. T. DAVIS.

R. NOBLE.

MCGREGOR, January 1, 1858.

DEAR SIR: Herewith, as the attorney of Solomon Wadsworth, a settler and claimant on the Fort Crawford reservation, opposite Prairie du Chien, who has been refused by the Hon. H. M. Rice, the agent of the War Department in the sale of those lands to the settlers thereon, the privilege of entering his land, and transmit to you his proof. Mr. Wadsworth is a poor man, and the course which Mr. Rice has seen fit to pursue surprises al. Mr. Wadsworth's claim is the most valuable of any on the tract. He has lived there, in quiet possession, for almost five years. Now, while his neighbors have obtained their lands by the payment of $1 50 per acre, taking a receipt from Rice of only $1 25 per acre, all he would give them, Wadsworth was denied the privilege of entering his at any price. His friends all advise him to put the matter in your hands; and we all believe that you will see justice done him.

The settlers are now engaged in giving in their testimony to the fact that Rice received a bonus of 25 cents per acre on every acre sold, and as soon as the proof is perfected, which will be in a few days, it will be forwarded to you. They had only three days' notice of the sale, and many of them were compelled to pay 60 and 80 per cent. for money to enter with.

With very great respect, I am yours,

Hon. GEORGE W. JONES,

JEDEDIAH BROWN.

United States Senate.

MCGREGOR, January 1, 1858.

DEAR SIR: On the 30th of December Hon. H. M. Rice appeared at Prairie du Chien as the agent of the government to sell the Fort Craw

ford reservation, lying near this town, in this county. He announced to the settlers that they should have their lands at government prices. Among those settlers is a man by the name of Solomon Wadsworth, an old resident of the county, who settled upon and improved three fractions, the numbers and descriptions of which you will see by the papers sent you by him. Mr. Rice refused to let him have his land upon the terms allowed other settlers. Mr. Wadsworth has the sympathy of the settlers here; and you will be conferring a favor upon a very respectable constituent of yours, and, in my opinion, will be subserving the cause of justice and right, in espousing his cause. There is another matter I wish to call your attention to. The settlers were compelled to pay $1 50 per acre for their lands, whilst their certificates were for $1 25 per acre.

These facts I gather from the settlers themselves, and am informed that abundance of evidence to establish the fact will be sent you in a few days. I submit, sir, that in this matter scull duggery has been practiced upon the settlers that calls for redress. If the settlers were entitled to enter their lands by pre-emption, they were entitled to them at $125 per acre. Some one has made a nice speculation. The condition of the settlers has been a hard one. They were required to borrow money at extraordinary rates of interest to pay for their lands, and when twenty-five cents per acre is demanded for the privilege of entering their lands, it becomes a hard case indeed. I am perfectly satisfied that rascality has existed somewhere that demands investigation. I hope you will interest yourself in behalf of the objects stated in this letter.

I, Solomon Wadsworth, of the county of Clayton and State of Iowa, the head of a family, and a citizen of the United States, do solemnly swear that I am a claimant to fractions numbered one, two, and three, of section numbered fifteen, in township numbered ninety-five (95) north, of range numbered three (3) west, included in the reservation for Fort Crawford; and that on or about the 1st day of November, A. D. 1854, I settled upon said tract, erected on the same a dwellinghouse, 15 feet by 18, one story high, containing one window, one door, good floors, roof, and complete in every respect, for the accommodation of my family, in which I have resided with them from the date of my settlement to the present time; that I have twenty acres under fence, and from twelve to fifteen acres under cultivation on the said tract; that I made the settlement in good faith, and for the purpose of a farm for myself, and not for speculation; that I am not the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in any State or Territory in the United States; and that since the date of my settlement on said