THE GREAT BEEF CONTRACT. I9
He died then ; but he left the contract to Wm.
J. Martin, who tried to collect it, but died before he
got through. He left it to Barker J. Allen, and
he tried to collect it also. He did not survive.
Barker J. Allen left it to Anson G. Rogers, who
attempted to collect it, and got along as far as the
Ninth Auditor's Office, when Death, the great
Leveller, came all unsumrhoned, and foreclosed
on him also. He left the bill to a relative of his in
Connecticut, Vengeance Hopkins by name, who
lasted four weeks and two days, and made the best
time on record, coming within one of reaching the
Twelfth Auditor. In his will he gave the contract
bill to his uncle, by the name of 0-be-joyful
Johnson. It was too undermining for Joyful. His
last words were: " Weep not for me—/ am willing
to go." And so he was poor soul. Seven people
inherited the contract after that; but they all died.
So it came into my hands at last. It fell to
me through a relative by the name of Hubbard—
Bethlehem Hubbard, of Indiana. He had had a
grudge against me for a long time; but in his last
moments he sent for me, and forgave me every¬
thing, and weeping gave me the beef contract.
This ends the history of it up to the time that I
succeeded to the property. I will now endeavour to
set myself straight before the nation in everything
that concerns my share in the matter. I took this
B 2
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