Colonel Audenried was one of the most polished gentlemen in the army, noted for his personal bearing and deportment, and I had some trouble to impress on him the patience necessary for the occasion, but I promised on future occasions to send some other or go myself.

Things went on from bad to worse, till in 1870 I received from Mr.Hugh Campbell, of St.Louis, a personal friend and an honorable gentleman, a telegraphic message complaining that I had removed from his position Mr.Ward, post trader at Fort Laramie, with only a month in which to dispose of his large stock of goods, to make room for his successor.
It so happened that we of the Indian Peace Commission had been much indebted to this same trader, Ward, for advances of flour, sugar, and coffee, to provide for the Crow Indians, who had come down from their reservation on the Yellowstone to meet us in 1868, before our own supplies had been received.

For a time I could not-comprehend the nature of Mr.Campbell's complaint, so I telegraphed to the department commander, General C.C.Augur, at Omaha, to know if any such occurrence had happened, and the reasons therefor.

I received a prompt answer that it was substantially true, and had been ordered by The Secretary of War.

It so happened that during General Grant's command of the army Congress had given to the general of the army the appointment of "post-traders." He had naturally devolved it on the subordinate division and department commanders, but the legal power remained with the general of the army.