March 12, 1883 Rev Jas H Wilbur  My Dear Brother   I send herewith one Copy of answers to exceptions from 2d Qr 1878 to 3d 1882   Please look them over and see  if any changes are required   I have got Certificates from Abe, and am now waiting for Bro Powell to come up to get him to certify   I have sent a batch to Dr Kuykendall at Walla Walla and as soon as they return, I hope we shall be ready  to get these off   I have taken the copy to retain, and I thought perhaps you could make a copy of these to send to Washington, as they must be in duplicate    and I will go to work to fix up the answers to those exceptions from 1870 to 1878.  I think these answers ought to remove all the suspensions to which they refer    The only difficulty will be in the articles   
        purchased from Fitzgerald, and not taken up on returns in consequence of his scandalous way of making out invoices    I think however two or three strong affidavits will remove these objections     I will try and get the General   s receipt for that 10 head of cattle to accompany these answeres, and then I hope we shall be through the woods   You will see that  2.82 is admitted for some rasps, omitted from Returns in 1881   I thought it better to pay this small amount than try to get out of it   as under circular 75 we cannot expend them, and the only way would be to get Gen Milroy to receipt for them, which would bring a bushel of inquiries    why they were not taken up on Abst C?    for the 4th  Qr 1882   These answers must be sworn  to   I will write the affidavits and send with the next lot of answers to suspensions  prior to 1878 You will see they object to the Affidavits as  
        to loss of cattle in 1881   saying you being a party in interest could not take these affidavits   I enclose an affidavit which please look over   there must be in Goldendale three or four reputable citizens who know of the hard winter, and in a general way of the great loss of cattle by the Department    I think if you can get them to make this affidavit, that, taken in connection with the evidence already submitted, together with my affidavit, (which I will make) and your own, ought to be sufficient without subjecting you to the trouble of hunting up the others   Dont Bro Roe know something of it   Miller and Dr Helm know of the extremely hard winter   and if the clerk of the Court will certify to the character and standing of the parties, it ought to carry us triumphantly through    My wife joins me in love to Mrs Wilbur and yourself  Very Truly Yours   JH Fairchild    over  
        Probably you can put this affidavit in better shape   Possibly some might not wish to swear they    verily believe    the loss to be 1261   if so they might swear they    have no doubt      You will know how to fix it up   I shall have several affidavits for you to sign when the rest of the papers come over  You can make a copy of these answers and retain them till I send over the certificates that go with them