Page:United States v. Samperyac.pdf/22

Rh  Rh   This witness further states, that he has no recollection of John B. Hebrard, Harea Devere, and Lemuel Masters, and is positive that these men were not familiar in the office of the Spanish government, and never known or seen in that office; that he does not know the handwriting of the order of survey in this case; that it is not in the handwriting of any of the clerks that ever were employed in the office of the Spanish government then existing.

Jean Mercier, a clerk in the office of the late Spanish government in Louisiana, from 1792 to 1801, deposes to the same facts, in all respects, testified to by Charles Tessier, and which it is unnecessary to repeat.

Antoine Cruzat, sen., deposeth, that he was employed as an officer of the regiment of Louisiana, in the office of governor Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, all the time he was governor of Louisiana under the Spanish government. That he had frequent opportunities to see and examine the signature of governor Miro, and to see him also sign his name.

He further says that he is well acquainted with the hand-writing and signature of all the clerks of the office of the said governors; and that he has no hesitation in saying, that the signatures of Miro and Gayoso, appended to the orders of survey in which Charles Tessier and Jean Mercier have given their depositions before Judge Preval, pursuant to several commissions from the superior court of the Territory of Arkansas, are not genuine, as well as the handwriting of the orders of survey. That the spelling of said orders of survey is incorrect, and that no clerk would have been permitted to use it; that the form of the orders of survey, as given by Mr. Mercier and Mr. Tessier, is the only true and correct one; that he has never known any men by the name of John B. Hebrard, David Devere, and Lemuel Masters; and that he is confident they have never been seen in the office of governors Miro and Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, at New Orleans.

The deposition of Martin Durald, late register of mortgages in New Orleans, taken in a similar case to the one now before the court, in which the United States is plaintiff, and Martin Durald defendant, has been read as evidence in this case, by