W. G. Greene to Richard Yates

Collector's Office,

Ninth Collection District, State of Illinois.

Petersburg, June 28th 1863.

Dear Yates

Yours without Location or date safely reached me yesterday the perusal of which afforded me much pleasure as it showed that confidence in me which I hope ever to merit from those who try and trust my fidelity longest. also your well timed & brief note of four lines for Phelps and his friends I enclosed it to Phelps requesting him with great care to mail to Col. Dilworth as it might be of much value to him in his future Aspirations it was a "Demascus Blade" and shows that you know when & how to do a thing handsomly I have no doubt that the Col. will prize it highly and have serious thoughts of having it Fraimed. Well now Dick to business I have seen Nult since my last to you and have succeeded in getting a Note that he had hid a way he says for your benefit for $400 and have cashed it at par I receted Nult for four hundred dollars Money paid on J. B. Doughlas claim Mult contended that the $400. was all that he ought to pay you as full satisfaction of the Doughlas debt I suppose he had to [trafick?] out the Debt but I told Nult that with him or Gains I would not make complete and final

settlements but I would simply receipt either for any amount they would pay you and that he Nult must make a full statement in writing to you & that you & he must close the settlement I have not collected any more from Engle but will get about $200. for each of us inside of 30 days Nult has settled up with him we are entitled to considerable more if we can get justice which I will contend for hard Gains has not paid me yet but he will soon John upham of Delevan sent me $30. the other day by a Redler who said upham wished me to send him a receipt &C I regreted that he sent it unless he has sent you the same or more as I have invariably treated your Interest in our Towns &c just as my own; however we will get along with Upham pretty well he will not try to cheat us out of more than every other years rent which is not sobad

Now Yates I can begin to see our way for us to collect money sufficient to more than pay Hall if we can get a fair settlement out of him but there is the rub he is Mean an the Dollar so every person say that have had anything to do with him except you & I. I hope we will be able to disagree with them; do you not recollect the $2 for horse to go to Washington

How shall we manage; we must both be present he will contend for his Interest which is Legal but hard on us but we expect to pay over

that he will contend also for the Rent of the last purchass which we must see him in hell before we agree to it we did agree that he might have the privilege of pasturing the 1st purchass free of rent but the Fevers land we never did he get $6.50 per Acre Just per anum & I now understand expets or claims that he was to have the use of it untill it went in to Town Lots he sold & has collected out of the 1st purchass about enough to ofset its cost especially if we compell him to account for some Lots that he took back from Good men now that property has gone down contend that he took them back for Yates Greene & Hall we must never submit to that I am mearly hinting at what I fear we will have to contend with that you may give it some thought for I have no data not the scratch of a pen to show that we ever had a deal with Hall I have Copies of all our other speculations I awel had a Copy of our 1st purchass but when we made the second I returned it with aview of getting a copy of each piece but it has been neglected. Had I not better get him to set a time that he will meet me in Springfield to settle & get the balance of his money & if I fail in that you & I must see him together if we have to run the Cow=catcher around him we could have a fine social time in a buggy you could come by Rail to Tallula & bring Mrs Yates & Caty & let them remain with Mrs Greene Sleep on the Interogatories & then give program W G Greene

[on side of page] 1863