County of Klickitat Washington Territory  SS     and and    all of Klickitat County in the Territory aforesaid, being first duly sworn do hereby depose and say; that we were residents of this county during the winter of 1880 and 1881, and know of our own knowledge that the said winter was one of almost unprecedented severity; that the loss of cattle throughout all Washington Territory north of the Columbia River and east of the Cascasde Mountains was very great; that in Yakima County, adjoining to this, a large proportion of the cattle died in consequence of the severity of the winter, said loss haivng been estimated by competent judges at from sixty to eighty per cent of all the cattle in said County; that in a general way we have knowledge of the fact that the loss of cattle on the Yakama Indian reservation was very great, and though not personally cognizant of the exact number, yet from the common report at the time, and our own knowledge of the very great loss of cattle during said winter in said locality, we verily believe that the loss of cattle belonging to the United States on said Yakima Reservation during the above named winter was twelve hundred and sixty one head as  claimed by James H Wilbur, then US Indian  
        Indian Agent for the Yakama Agency 
        Affidavit  re/ loss of cattle  Heavy Winter of 1880-1881