Having heard a verbal acct. of your return from Mexico and an
opportunity offering, of writing a few lines to you I have embraced
it hoping that the news which we have heard is true that you have
accomplished your end in getting a grant of the land you had
before designed forming a settlement on we have heard (tho it is
verbal only) that you are now surveying and laying of your grant
for settlement but we have not understood the terms of settlement.
A few lines from you on that subject would be very acceptable I had
agreed with Mr John Clarklast winter to freight your trunk to N.
Orleans to be left in care of Coll. Hawkins according to your
wishes but the boat started somewhat sooner than he expected owing
to a suden rise of the water he was prevented from complying with
his promise I conversed with him a few days past on that
subject and he promist. that he would faithfully attend to that business
this faul as he is going down the river early in the season I could
have sent it by some others But I did not think it prudent as there
had been many threats against it as your property some time before
your brother passed this country but I went down to see Mistress
Vaughn and she agred to deliver the trunk to me at any time if
I would pay the storeage which I agred to. She removed the trunk
while I was there and promised that no person should know that it
was there or in her possession saying I suppose that it was carried
off since that time I have heard no threats against [it]. I have
thought good to send on Mr. Jeffersons manual which you had lent
to me Mr. George Duty who has lived with me has promised to
deliver the book and letter to you out of his own hand—I have
had no late act from your friends in Missouri the last I had
perhaps a year past they were well the people in this country have
been somewhat sickly this season and i think many will remove to
Texas if they are not descouraged by some thing now unseen Dr.
Sr. I am as ever Yours Respectfully
D. S. Mr. Ashbrook complains very much of being injured by Mr
Bryan and has made several attempts to trouble me for money which
he says you charged him to collect off me we have had two
arbitrations on that subject but he lost it in boath. One thing surprises me
is that he told me after you and he had settled that he had come out
safe and that you had settled with him like a gentleman and to his
satisfaction and now he says that he was ruined by that settlement
if he cannot collect debts which were paid to Mr Bryan which he
says ought to have been paid to him Dr Sr I write this in confidence
knowing that you never give him orders to collect a debt which you
knew was paid to Mr Bryant it Appears that there has been some
neglect of credits which should have been given but was not but this
must have been his own fault and not Mr Bryans as he had the books
in possession—farewell