I have made arrangements with Mr. C. Francis, No. 39 Bowery, New York, to make and deliver 300 sets of harness by the 17th day of this month, for $39 per set, in every respect according to the specification, except the chain. That will have to be varied. I have requested him verbally to write to you in relation to the harness; and if it has not been forwarded to him, please do so as soon as practicable, on receipt of this, for he has no time to lose. A full set, and then there can be no mistake. I received your telegraphic despatches last evening in time just to save my distance on the Boston boat, by jumping through the window into the coal house. Any instructions you wish to communicate to me, please address to New York. In relation to timber, &c., I will give you information at the first leisure moment. H. L. THISTLE, Agent for the Quartermaster's department. To Major General JESUP, P. S.-I have written to my agent in Washington in relation to the saddles, in order to have them done in accordance of time, let the cost to me be what it would. He informs me that they will all be done by the 20th of this month, which is ten days in advance of time. You may rest assured that any contract that I undertake on my own responsibility will always be done in advance of time. H. L. T. BOSTON, August 6, 1846. SIR: I am still in Boston, looking after the workmen. I find that they require a great deal of watching; and unless they are closely looked after, they will put in poor stock and do bad work. I shall leave to-morrow evening for New York. Would it not be advisable for your department to make some arrangements about shipping these wagons? There should be from 175 to 200 delivered by the 17th day of this month in this city; but, as I have already condemned about one-half of the materials that they had partly worked, I may not get more than 125 at that date. There was one person who had the wheels nearly finished for 25 wagons. The work and materials being so bad, I had to condemn nearly all of it. It appears that the greater portion of our community think it no harm to cheat the government; but I am determined to have strong work and good materials. I will report to you in relation to the progress of the work in New York as soon as I arrive there. My plan of obtaining estimates was fully equal to advertising, if not better. I sent specifications to every man that understood making wagons, and then I took the lowest bid. The estimate of Messrs. Eaton & Co., Troy, was $180; that of Mr. Walker, of Worcester, $225; and those of Messrs. P. A. & G. Sanford, and likewise of Mr. R. B. Sears, of Providence, both $225. The lowest estimate I could get in Boston was $200; but I brought them down to $170. In New York I get them made for $130, by taking one, two, and three from different persons, without any responsibility on their part, except in giving good materials and good work; but there is no doubt of my getting 80 from that quarter. The number that I shall obtain from South Troy and Albany is uncertain at present. H. L. THISTLE, Agent for the Quartermaster's Department. To Major General JESUP, Quartermaster General U. S. A. BOSTON, August 13, 1846. SIR: I shall have not less than 300 wagons made and delivered in this city by the 25th day of this month; and, so far as I have seen, they are a first rate article. I could have shipped 200 to-day if there had been any arrangements for that purpose. I find several masters of vessels very anxious to get freight direct to Point Isabel. They say they have light draught vessels. I made some inquiry as to what would be the freight per wagon, with the privilege of filling up the vacant space with other freight if your department chooses. As near as I can ascertain, it will cost from thirty to forty dollars for each wagon, with the privilege stated. They are very anxious to get their light draught vessels freighted for Point Isabel, in expectation of being employed to run backwards and forwards between there and New Orleans. I shall have my three hundred sets of harness of the first quality all ready in time. I told them that I could do nothing about the shipping until I had further orders. I shall be in New York to-morrow, where I will wait your orders respecting the wagons in Boston. I shall be under the necessity of receiving them on the 25th of this month, as they will be impatient from waiting so long. There will be one hundred wagons ready in New York by the 25th of this month, without fail. H. L. THISTLE, Agent for the Quartermaster's Department. Major General JESUP, Quartermaster General U. S. Army. NEW YORK, August 19, 1846. I informed you yesterday that three hundred wagons are ready at Boston, and ninety in New York, waiting your orders to know how they will be shipped before I receive them. I have not heard from the department since I saw you. H. L. THISTLE, Agent. General JESUP. NEW YORK, August 24, 1846. SIR: There is a prospect of Mr. McBurney's failing to fulfil bis contract for the three hundred sets of harness he agreed to make in Boston. I do not know any grounds for his doing so, unless it is because he could not make a hundred per cent. profit. I find by inquiry that it will be important to have the harness made. I think it would not be anything more than right to have the harness made at his expense, should it cost more than I expect to give him, viz: forty-two dollars per set. The contract he signed was strongly worded. It says that if the contractor fails to fulfil his agreement, the same (harness) is to be purchased in open market, and at the expense of said contractor, if the quartermaster deem it advisable. He is a man of wealth, and signed the contract after its being properly considered by him. Please let me hear from you on this subject. I have been very busy to-day shipping wagons under the direction of Captain Clark. I shall probably start on Wednesday evening for Boston. Please direct your letter to that city. I remain yours, respectfully, H. L. THISTLE, Agent for the Quartermaster's Department. Major General JESUP, Quartermaster General U. S. Army. BOSTON, September 9, 1846. SIR: I have received your letter of the 7th instant, and will remark, in relation to the harness, that Mr. McBurney had two hundred sets finished before Captain Clark left Boston; but, as the saddles were not ready, he was to ship it to New York, at his own expense, to Captain Clark. The harness is one-third better in quality than any I have seen. Captain Clark has seen it, and compared it with the Philadelphia harness. I should recommend to the department to receive it on account of its quality, although Mr. McBurney did not comply with his contract as regards time. There are one hundred sets ready in New York, made by Mr. C. Francis, who has fully complied with his contract, and which, with Mr. McBurney's, make up the three hundred sets. There has not been a wagon received that has been made after the 25th day of August. Please communicate to Captain Clark in relation to the harness. H. L. THISTLE, Agent for the Quartermaster's Deparment. Major General JESUP, Quartermaster General, U. S. Army. I will remain in Boston until 5 o'clock on Monday evening. [Extract.] LOUISVILLE, Ky., August 3, 1846. SIR: On Saturday, I shipped off the last of 399 mules to Colonel Hunt, at New Orleans. Two strayed, and were not recovered until after the boat left. I will send them with the horses. S. P. HEINTZELMAN, Acting Assistant Quartermaster. General Tн. S. JESUP, Washington city. [Extract.] LOUISVILLE, KY., September 1, 1846. SIR: I have the honor to inform you that I shipped the horses and mules, and will, in the course of a week or ten days, get off the remainder of the wagons, harness and oats, which complete the duties assigned to me at this place. S. P. HEINTZELMAN, Acting Assistant Quartermaster. General TH. S. JESUP, Washington city. [Extract.] LOUISVILLE, KY., October 2, 1846. SIR: I have the honor to report that I have received the snagboats "Dragon" and "Gopher," with the necessary tackle. I will get the boats off in a few days. General TH. S. JESUP, S. P. HEINTZELMAN, Acting Assistant Quartermaster. Washington city. OFFICE OF CLOTHING AND EQUIPAGE, GENERAL: I have the honor to inform you that, some days since, ten ponton boats, with tools and articles for repairs, were delivered to the military storekeeper, United States arsenal, by Mr. S. T. Armstrong of New York. I shall be glad to receive your orders in regard to their disposition, as also of the India rubber covers received from Mr. Gay, agreeably to the annexed memorandum. HENRY STANTON, Assistant Quartermaster General. PITTSBURG, June 21, 1846. SIR: I arrived here on the morning of the 19th, and was disappointed in finding letters from Washington. Yesterday Colonel Taylor passed through, en route for Texas; he assured me that the department desired to furnish General Taylor with every necessary transportation. Just as he was about starting, he learned that a letter to him from you had been sent out to the Allegheny arsenal, and requested me to open it, read it, and forward it to him at Louisville. I did so. It is your letter dated the 17th instant. I at once felt authorized to act, without waiting for direct and official information to that purport. I conceived that it would be inexpedient and injudicious to purchase any but a new boat to send such a distance; and that it would be unsafe to charter one older than two years, which is about onehalf of the useful life of a boat. Yesterday I purchased a boat which is to be ready to start next Saturday, and is to be delivered in New Orleans, to Lieutenant Colonel Hunt, in ten days after; $12,000 to be paid on the safe delivery of the boat. The boat is perfectly new and untried, but built by successful and experienced workmen. Being expressly intended for the Galena trade, it is much stronger than light draught boats usually are. It will draw less than two feet water. It has side wheels and two engines. The turns of the river are so short that a single engine boat will be hard to handle. A light draught is indispensable above Matamoras. There are three boats of about thirty inches draught of water, and not much over two years old, now here, any one of which, I presume, I can charter for a reasonable rate for sixty or ninety days from the time it would enter the Rio Grande. Either of these boats would answer very well. I have just learned that the New Orleans papers state that Colonel Hunt has sent two good boats, the Troy and Big Hatchee, to the Rio Grande. General Taylor desired that arrangements should be so made that the boats would remain in private hands. In Cincinnati I met an exemplary man who is accustomed to deal largely in boats, and wishes to turn his attention to boating on the Rio Grande-Captain William Stewart, formerly of this place, but now of Mobile. He agreed to have one boat, the Noxubee, on the Rio |