[Capt Fred.^k Frye] [New York] Accountants Office May 31^st 1797 Sir Nicholas Fish Esq^r Supervisor at New York, will pay you the sum of Two hundred Dollars for the Recruiting Service, on giving him as usual duplicate Receipts holding yourself accountable for the due application thereof. Sam^o. W^m Simmons Acct [Nicholas Fish Esq^r] [Supervisor] [New York] Accountants Office June 1^st 1797 Sir I received your letter of 31^st Ultimo enclosing one for Doctor Elliott, which shall be forwarded to the Army with my dispatches by tomorrow post Sam^o. W^m Simmons Acct [Caleb Swan Esq^r] [Headquarters] Accountants Office June 2^d 1797 Sir The enclosed is duplicate of my letter of the 26^th Ultimo enclosing an extract taken from the Warrant Book from the 31^st March to the 26^th May 1797 inclusive, to which I request your attention. The Officers accounts which you forwarded by your letters acknowledged in my letter above mentioned are in part examined, and some small errors have been discovered, when they are complicated a list of them will be forwarded to you. In settling recruiting accounts you allow a premium to Officers in many cases where the men have deserted before they have been mustered. this you will find on a reference to the Law is not authorized — the law expressly mentions that the Soldier must be duly inlisted and mustered. It would facilitate the examination of Recruiting accounts much at this office if it were mentioned in what company the men have been mustered, and, where an old Soldier, a certificate of the Officer inlisting should accompany the account to that effect as I have no proof here of their having served before, consequently must depend on your examination. I return you the deposition of Ma^tthew M'Paul and have in answer to your observations on his case to reply, that when Soldiers have been taken prisoners by the Indians, I have on settlement here, allowed them their pay only, conceiving any other claim inadmissible, from the time they were paid to previous to their captivity to the day of their return to this place or their place of residence— This rule however cannot altogether govern in the case of M^r Paul, as he remained so great a length of time at Detroit after