Be it known, that, on this day, I, Alonzo Snyder, judge of the tenth judicial district of the State of Louisiana, which district includes the parish of Carrol, did cause to come before me, at the residence of Henry B. Blackburn, in said parish, a certain negro man, to me, said judge, for many years well known by the name of Africa; and, after having first duly sworn [him] to speak the truth, I proceeded to take his deposition, which is as follows, to wit: Deponent says that he had been the body servant of the late Major Felix Bosworth, who was a paymaster in the army of the United States, for about twelve years previous to his death; that, in the early part of May, 1849, he sailed with his master from New Orleans to Vera Cruz, in Mexico; that, soon after their arrival, his master rented a house and commenced housekeeping; that, about three weeks after their arrival in Vera Cruz, the said Bosworth contracted the yellow fever, and died upon the third day after his attack; that there were living in the house of Major Bosworth at that time Dr. Addison Dashiell, a surgeon in the army, Benjamin F. Bosworth, a brother of the major, this affiant, and his brother Reuben, who acted in the capacity of cook, who was also a servant of Major Bosworth; that, during the last illness of Major Bosworth, the only persons who attended upon him were Dr. Dashiell, Captain Page, for merly of Natchez, in the State of Mississippi, a Mexican by the name of St. Jago, and this affiant and his brother; that Major Bosworth had previously a young man in his household by the name of Campbell, who was his clerk, but who had died five days previous to the death of Major Bos worth with the yellow fever; that, at the time of the death of Major Bosworth, his brother Benjamin was just recovering from an attack of the yellow fever or vomito, and was barely able to walk about the house; that, a short time before the death of Major Bosworth, he called Captain Page to him, and requested him to take charge of the public moneys which he had, and deliver the same over to his successor in office, or such person as might be authorized to receive it in behalf of the government; he also requested Captain Page to take enough money to pay his necessary expenses in preparing his corpse to be sent home to his family, and that his body, wearing apparel, and papers and vouchers, which he had in his room, should be delivered to affiant and his brother, to take home to their mistress; that there were in the house of Major Bosworth ten boxes of specie, which he had brought from his office after the death of Mr. Campbell, his clerk, from one of which Captain Page took upwards of a hundred dollars, to pay the expenses attending the preparation of Major Bosworth's corpse, &c; that, after the death of affiant's master, he packed up all of his wearing apparel, and, under the supervision of Captain Page, he also packed up his papers, which, when put together, made a very large bundle, which he tied together, and then folded them up in a newspaper and placed them in the trunk, with the wearing apparel aforesaid; that, at the time affiant packed up said trunk of his master's, there was in said trunk about his two hands full of gold in eagles and half eagles; that, as soon as he (affiant) finished packing up said trunk, in which were placed the wearing apparel, papers, and money aforesaid, he locked said trunk, leaving it in the room in which Major Bosworth died, and retained the key thereof in his own possession, in accordance with the instructions of his master previous to his death; that, after the body of Major Bosworth was placed in the coffin, it was removed from the room in which he died and placed in the court or open enclosure down stairs, and was there watched by affiant and his brother Reuben; that the trunk of Major Bosworth remained in his room until just before affiant left Vera Cruz, having the corpse of his master in charge; that, three days after the death. of Major Bosworth, this affiant and his brother and Benjamin Bosworth sailed from Vera Cruz to New Orleans, having in charge his master's corpse and trunk; that, on their passage to New Orleans, the trunk was in the baggage-room of the ship; that, when they arrived at New Orleans, said trunk, with the corpse of Major Bosworth, was delivered to affiant; that, when affiant and his brother and Benjamin F. Bosworth took passage at New Orleans for Providence-the residence of his late master-he placed the trunk aforesaid in the state-room of Benjamin Bosworth, the brother of Major Bosworth, who was still very much enfeebled from the attack of vomito or yellow fever which he had in Vera Cruz; that affiant delivered the key of said trunk to Benjamin Bosworth at Natchez, on their way up the river to Providence, and that said Benjamin Bosworth handed the key of said trunk back again at Millikin's Bend, about one hundred and twenty five miles above Natchez, and, with this exception, the key of said trunk was never out of the possession of affiant from the time he locked up said trunk in Vera Cruz until he handed the same to his mistress upon his (affiant's) arrival at home, nor was said trunk ever opened, to the knowledge of affiant, from the time he first closed it in Vera Cruz until after it was delivered to his mistress at Providence, Louisiana. This affiant is also informed and believes that Dr. Dashiell, Captain Page, and Benjamin Bosworth are all dead; that the keys of Major Bosworth's office were delivered to Governor Wilson, of Vera Cruz; that said office was about three squares from the residence of Major Bosworth; and that there was in it a large amount of public money, as well as some books, which belonged to the office. Affiant further states that, when he finished. packing up the wearing apparel and papers of Major Bosworth, the trunk was entirely full, and very closely packed: said trunk was a large sized travelling trunk. AFRICA, his mark. Sworn to and subscribed before me, this the 23d day of December, 1849. ALONZO SNYDER, And now I, the said judge, do hereby certify that, after having reduced to writing the foregoing deposition of the negro man Africa aforesaid, I did read the same over to him carefully, to the intent that he might approve or correct the same; and, finding that he approved of the same, I caused him to affix a mark thereto, he not being able to write his name. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this the 23d day of December, A. D. 1849. ALONZO SNYDER, [L. S.] 1st Session. No. 114. IN SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. APRIL 29, 1850. Submitted, and ordered to be printed. Mr. BORLAND made the following REPORT: [To accompany bill S. No. 208.] The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the petition of Mark and Richard H. Bean, report: That, encouraged by the inducements held out by the laws of the United States for the settlement of the public lands, Mark and Richard H. Bean located themselves, in the year 1817, upon the Illinois river, near its junction with the Arkansas, where they discovered a salt-lick. That, in 1819, they were urged by the solicitations of Major Brad ford, of the United States army, then in command at Fort Smith, to engage in the manufacture of salt for the supply of the troops at that post, and were induced by the promises of that officer (that in case they would do so their rights should be fully secured and protected by the government) to procure the necessary apparatus and fixtures, and erect the proper buildings for making salt. That this establishment was erected at considerable trouble and difficulty, and the expenditure of much money, by the petitioners, upon the faith of the promises held out to them by the officers of the government, and the prospects of an increased demand for salt when the country should be thrown open to settlement by the white people. That this was not done until the year 1826; and just as they were beginning to realize a remuneration for their labors, difficulties, and expenses, of eight years' duration, they were deprived of their property, and all prospect of advantage from that source, by the treaty made by the government with the Cherokee Indians on the 6th May, 1828, by which the country, including their salt-works and all the land which had been settled, inproved, and cultivated by them, was ceded to the Cherokee Indians. This statement of facts is corroborated by the written statements of General Arbuckle and Colonels Bonneville and Miles, of the army, and by the duly-authenticated affidavits of thirteen entirely credible and highly respectable individuals. Five of these witnesses have valued the losses sustained by the petitioners, by the act of the government, at $15,000, and one of them at $20,000; the first of which valuations is fully corroborated by the statements of Colonels Bonneville and Miles; the latter of whom states: "I deem this estimate just, and much more moderate than what I should have awarded, had I been called on to give a verdict in the case;" and the former declares that the petitioners "could not have lost. by the abandonment of their buildings, outhouses, furnaces, wells, warehouses, and a five-mile road to the falls, and a warehouse there, less than $15,000; nor do I believe they would have sold out at any time their full claim to that place for double that amount.' The committee have referred to the treaty with the Cherokee Indians before mentioned, and find, by the third article thereof, that "the United States agree to have the lines of the above cession run without delay," "and to remove, immediately after the running of the eastern line from the Arkansas river to the southwest corner of Missouri, all white persons from the west to the east of said line, and also all others, should there be any there, who may be unacceptable to the Cherokees, so that no obstacles arising out of the presence of a white population, or a population of any other sort, shall exist to annoy the Cherokees; and also to keep all such from the west of said line in future." It will be seen that, by this provi sion of the treaty, the United States destroyed all the real property of every description of the white people within that Territory-which Terri tory had been previously thrown open to settlement, improvement, and cultivation, and to which white settlers had been invited by the acts and policy of the government, and which of course sanctioned and legalized the rights of property which should thereafter accrue to such settlers within that Territory. the The committee find that the government has acknowledged the obliga tion to indemnify these petitioners for their losses by the act of the 24th May, 1828, (vide Little and Brown's edition of the Laws, vol. 4, pages 306-'7,) entitled "An act to aid the State of Ohio in extending the Miami canal from Dayton to Lake Erie, and to grant a quantity of land to said State to aid in the construction of the canals authorized by law, and for making donations of land to certain persons in Arkansas Territory;" by which a donation of two quarter sections of land was made "to each head of a family, widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years, actually settled on that part of the Territory of Arkansas which, by first article of the treaty between the United States and the Cherokee Indians west of the Mississippi, ratified the 23d day of May, 1828, has ceased to be a part of said Territory, who shall remove from such settlement according to the provisions of that treaty;" and which donation was declared to be made from the United States as an indemnity for the improvements and losses of such settlers under the aforesaid treaty." This donation of land, however, although fully acknowledging the obli gation to indemnify all persons so situated, was intended only for settlers on small tracts of land, whose improvements were of small account, but fully acknowledges and sustains the justice of making to these petitioners an adequate compensation and indemnity for the losses which they have sustained by the acts of the government. One fact, here, should have much weight in support of the claim of the memorialists for remuneration for their losses: it is, that the improvements, fixtures, and implements, constituting alike their agricultural and their manufacturing interests, both of which had cost them a very large expen diture of labor and money, and which they were compelled to leave behind when they were removed under the treaty, were seized upon by the Cherokees, and have, from that time to this, been used by that tribe of Indians in the manufacture of salt, which has been and is still necessary to supply |
