WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1830
149
pp. 36-45. Also see the Biogrn,iJhical Directory of the American Congress, 1478-1479. 3 Luther Blake was the lowest bidder against Houston for the Indian con- tracts. Blake was agent to the Creeks, and became one of Houston's chief accusers. He testified that Houston had solicited him to withdraw his bid, join him (Houston) and his friends in a higher bid, so that all of them might make money off the contracts. See Reports of Committees, House of Representatives, 1st Sess., 22d Cong., Doc. 502, pp. 36-37. · 1 William Prentiss was the son-in-law of a popular inn-keeper (Jesse Brown) of Washington City. Prentiss's bid was the next lowest. He was associated with Luther Blake in his effort to prevent Houston's getting the contracts. LJohn Van Fossen was a financier of New York, associated with Houston and Benjamin Hawkins in the bid for Indian contracts. Van Fossen made a bid of thirteen cents per ration. Twelve other bids were made, ranging from eight to seventeen cents per ration. A ration consisted of one pound and a quarter of fresh beef, or one pound of fresh pork, with two quarts of salt to every hundred 1·ations. If salted meat was used, one pound of beef and three-quarters of a pound of pork, with a quart of corn, or corn meal, to each ration of meat, whether fresh or salt, or eighteen ounces of flour. After the notice had been duly advertised, and the bids had all been received, the matter lay under consideration for several weeks; finally, the Secretary of War (John Eaton) refused to let the contracts go to the lowest bidder, because, it was charged, he was trying to favor Houston whose bid which was put in by Van Fossen, was not the lowest. It was averred that thirty days had not been enough time to permit responsible bidders from Illinois, to submit bids. Besides charges of misconduct, many charges of corruption in bidding were made. Finally the Secretary of War refused to let the contract to anyone, because, he claimed, treaties providing for the removal of the· Indians had failed to be ratified by the Senate, and there was, therefore, no need to Jet contracts. All these facts and others relative to these contracts for rations were discussed fully in the Congressional investigation of the charges of fraud and corruption, made against Houston and Eaton. See Reports of Committees, House of Representatives, 1st Sess., 22d Cong., Vol. V, Doc. 502, 75 pages.
To ANDREW J ACKSONt Steam Boat Nashville 18th May 1830
Dear Sir, You will by the time this reaches you have seen a useless publication .against me by sundry respectable citizens of Sumner County. The object must have been to injure me, be- cause it could not benefit othus to review this subject at this time. They were anxious to publish my letter, 2 and they hnve done it. They state untruly when they say that it was after the separation, it was before it. The letter was written under a state of vast excitement and with a view to quiet matters, until the election for Governor was over and a friend of the country
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