Writing President Lincoln regarding the
actions of Superintendent, Capt. Horace James:
"..Soon as he [Superintendent] sees we
are trying to support our selves without the aid of the government he
comes and make a call for the men, that is not working for the government
to goe away and if we are not willing to goe he orders the guards to take
us by the point of the bayonet, and we have no power to help it we known
it is wright and are willing to doe anything that the President or our
head commanders want us to doe but we are not willing to be pull and haul
a bout so much by those head men as we have been for the last two years
and we may say get nothing for it, last fall a large number of we men was
conscript and sent up to the front and all of them has never return Some
got kill some died and when they taken them they
treated us mean and our owner ever did they taken us just like we had
been dum beast."