I will attend to your fish man and give him an extra if delayed at Salisbury.

My sluicing has made the Catawba muddy as far as Bridgewater. I fear fish will not do well in it as it will be so for months, will it not be well to put them in Linville & Johns River? I am satisfied only cats & eels will live for miles below the Fort. I enclose a statement of Maj. Atkinson for March. I don’t think Mr. Clayton’s report was exactly fair though it included gravel train hands, he did not include those bringing dinner to work or carrying water. I find too many idle on the work for which Mr. Clayton is responsible or his over seers, but the stir has done good and more are now at work. I enclose a statement of Atkinson for March, it seems too many are yet detailed about quarters, women could do all at Round Knob you will see out of 136 our average will be about 105 at Long Branch out of 119 our average will be 95, Lick-log 114 average 88, Swannanoa Gap 117 average 95 or on the work by their own statement it requires 20 per wk to work on the others– McFawn informs me on the Spartanburg it is less than 10 per week. We are getting along better than ever, have 20 mules & horses on the work and our water is doing all we expected. Excuse pencil I had no ink.