court room and in the clerks room & it
was possible for either of them to get the
letters. I regret even to have a suspicion
against Johnson on account more of his
wife than him. She is a pleasant true
little woman, and it is a pity to hurt her with
a suspicion - without proof. As to Stevens I
feel satisfied that he knows who stole them,
but so far we have no positive proof against
him. Have told the facts to Strong of the Nugget
and Parkinson of the News, & both will give a
short statement of the facts. It is too bad that
this camp cannot be raised out of the corrupt
slough of despond! The people here are all
right, - they are honest and clearheaded
- it is the official class which is so
dastardly cowardly and corrupt. It
must be cleaned out, and replaced by
honest men. Am much relieved at the
strong indignation expressed by all kinds
of people about the theft, - the papers will
condemn it, and it may be the means
of making the thief more unpopular - if
such a thing is possible. One prominent
citizen warned me to beware of personal
violence from Stevens as he has been uttering
threats, but he is too cowardly to face me
