Pittsburg, 13^th Dec^r 98 Your letter of the 6^th instant accompanied by one to the Q^r Master Gen^l & those to the two Contractors together with the news papers is received. The 2 Contractors letters not going always when there to you was owing to there leaving them at the office after my letter to you was closed. I have not yet seen, on the 9^th [undecipherable] it neither to draw on you in fav^or of Norman Clinton for 2000 dollars at fifteen days sight in two drafts of [undecipherable] thousand dollars each, on stamped paper, which he pleased to pay when annual. I am [undecipherable] Mr Harris that the thanks for master [Lamach's?] [undecipherable] to [undecipherable] Mr Harris as to [undecipherable] write [undecipherable] [undecipherable] letters to [undecipherable] [undecipherable] They are in the [undecipherable] of [undecipherable] to [undecipherable] [undecipherable] in a [undecipherable] for master [undecipherable] the [undecipherable] not to Mr Bates & young men who has [undecipherable] me — unavoidables [undecipherable] and [undecipherable] will be [done?] the next month [undecipherable] I shall not be [undecipherable] home, and therefore have to request you to make [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] time rations per day — will be his [undecipherable] [undecipherable] Mr Bates in order to get himself [undecipherable] to Natchez requests me to beg of you to produce in the newspapers [?] New [undecipherable] to the rations list. Be pleased to forward them as early as possible and [undecipherable] them to my account, [undecipherable] there is an [undecipherable] in their coming [undecipherable]