Washington Territory County of Yakima  Yakama Agency April 6th 1881  Thomas McKay being first duly sworn deposes and says, that he is in the employment of the US Indian Service at Yakama Agency Wash Ter, that since July 1880 he has had charge of the I D heard at the Cattle Ranch at Said Agency, that he was in charge of said herd in December 1880 and January  1881, that on or about the 29th day of December 1880 he received a letter from Inspector Wm J Pollock, who was then at said Yakama Agency, directing him to put the fields and corrals in good order and to make provision for feeding and branding cattle, as a       round up    of the       I D cattle would be commenced by the       Indians    next day (Dec 29th); that on  the 30th or 31st day of December he received another letter from said Inspector Pollock,  directing the abandonment of the drive and ordering to notify the Indians, who were on the range that the    round up    had been abandoned; that affiant imme- diately started out to do so, and met one party of about 25 Indians coming from  
        the Sattas; that he met said party some 6 miles from the cattle ranch, driving about 700 head of cattle belonging to Indians, the Dept, B J Snipes and others, of which probably 400 head were I D cattle; that affiant read to said Indians the order from Inspector Pollock countermanding the drive, and requsted them to assist him in driving the I D cattle across a slough near at hand, which said affiant was not  able to do without assistance; and that affiant would try and drive the Dept cattle to the ranch where they could be fed; that the Indians on receiving the counter order from Ins Pollock refused to drive the cattle further, or assist in getting them to  the ranch, and that affiant being  unable to drive them alone was compelled to leave the cattle in the open prairie away from food or shelter and exposed to the  storm: that another party engaged in     rounding up    the cattle had reached a  point about 4 miles from the cattle ranch on the opposite side of the Topnish river, with a large band of Dept cattle, and night coming on, left their cattle and came to  the house of affiant in the evening, that affiant read to them the order from  
        Inspector Pollock abandoning the drive, and requested them to assist him in crossing said Dept cattle to the hay ranch in the morning; that said  Indians refused to assist saying that now the drive was abandoned they had no further interest in the matter and wanted to return home, that said band of Dept cattle were left without  shelter in the open prairie, till affiant secured assistance to drive them across to the ranch, and that a number of head died in consequence of said  drive and its abandonment as affiant verily believes; that one party of five Indians, who were started out on the    round up    alluded to, reached the  ranch with 15 head of Dept cattle, and that of all the hundreds of cattle started from their shelter by the Indians on said    round up    the 15 head above  noted were all that reached the  hay ranch where they could be cared  for; that affiant verily believes that the order of said Inspector Pollock to    round up    the cattle caused great loss of stock in consequence of starting the cattle from their shelter in the bushes along the creeks, and leaving them in the open prairie, on  
        receiving the order to abandon the drive; that such    rounding up    the cattle in dead of winter, was in the opinion of affiant highly  injudicious, and affiant verily believes caused a loss to the Dept of not less than 10 per cent of the cattle started out And affiant further declares that several of the Indians came to him and told him that they had spent some days, with their horses gathering up the cattle on Inspector Pollock   s promise that they should be paid for their labor, and desired affiant to ask said Inspector if he intended to pay them; that affiant did afterwards see said Inspector and told him what the Indians had said; that said Pollock replied    d   n them I was making       the drive for their own benefit, and am       not going to pay them anything    and further deponent saith not  Thomas McKay Farmer   in charge of herd  Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of April AD 1881  James H Wilbur  US Indian Agent