. Many documents that will be cited in
other connections prove this point and Collamore's letter is of itself
conclusive. George W. Collamore, known best by his courtesy title of
"General," went to Kansas in the critical years before the war under
circumstances, well and interestingly narrated in Stearns' _Life and
Public Services of George Luther Stearns_, 106-108. He had been
agent for the New England Relief Society in the year of the great
drouth, 1860-1861 [_Daily Conservative_, October 26, 1861] and
had had much to do with Lane, in whose interests he labored, and who
had planned to make him a brigadier under himself as major-general
[Stearns, 246, 251]. He became quartermaster-general of Kansas
[_Daily Conservative_, March 27, 1862] and in that capacity made,
in the company of the Reverend Evan Jones, a visit of inspection to
the refugee encampment. His discoveries were depressing [Ibid.,
April 10, 1862]. His report to the government [Indian Office General
Files, _Southern Superintendency_, C 1602 of 1862] is
printed almost _verbatim_ in Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
_Report_, 1862, 155-158.]

[Footnote 186: Coffin's letter to Dole of April 21, 1862 [Indian
Office General Files, _Wichita_, 1862-1871, C 1601 of 1862] seems
to cast doubt upon the genuineness of some of the signatures attached
to this appeal and charges Agent Carruth with having been concerned in
making the Indians discontented.]

[Footnote 187: Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la and other prominent refugees
addressed their complaints to Dole, March 29, 1862 [Indian Office Land
Files, _Southern Superintendency_, 1855-1870, O 43 of 1862] and
two days later to President Lincoln, some strong partisan, supposed by
Coffin to be Carruth, acting as scribe.]

[Footnote 188: On the way to the Catholic Mission, whither he was
going in order (cont.)]

who had been so closely associated with Lane in the concoction of the
first plan for the recovery of Indian Territory, was now figuring as
the promoter of a rising sentiment against Coffin and his minions, who
were getting to be pretty numerous. The removal to the Sac and Fox
reservation would mean the getting into closer and closer touch with
Perry Fuller,[189] the contractor, whose dealings in connection with
the Indian refugees were to become matter, later on, of a notoriety
truly disgraceful. Mistrust of Coffin was yet, however, very vague in
expression and the chief difficulty in effecting the removal from the
Neosho