PeterPierre Chouteau ChouteauPierre Chouteau by WilliamWilliam AllenAllen
his attorney complains of Edward HempsteadEdward Hempstead Administrator
of all and singular the goods and chattels, rights & credits, lands
and tenements which were of MeriwetherMeriwether Lewis LewisMeriwether Lewis late of the
district aforesaid deceased, at the time of his death, who died
intestate (as it is said, for this to wit, that whereas the said
MeriwetherMeriwether Lewis LewisMeriwether Lewis in his life time, that is to say on the
sixteenth day of june in the year eighteen hundred and nine at the district aforesaid, according to the custom of
merchants in that respect used and approved of, made â drew a certain Bill of Exchange in writing ,brailing date
the day and year aforesaid, upon our Dr.WilliamWilliam
PustisPustis secretary at war, and by the said bill required
the said Dr.WilliamWilliam PustisPustis secretary at war three days after sight to pay
to the said Peter ChouteauPierre Chouteau
the sum of eighty one dollars,
value received and then and there delivered the said bill
to the said Peter ChouteauPierre Chouteau which said bill the said Peter ChouteauPierre Chouteau afterwards to wit on the seventeenth day of July in the year eighteen hundred and nine at the District ofDistrict of Columbia
ColumbiaDistrict of Columbia. County of WashingtonCounty of Washington, shared and presented to the
said Dr.WilliamWilliam PustisPustis secretary of war for his acceptance
thereof, and then and there required him to accept the same,
but the said Dr.WilliamWilliam PustisPustis secretary of War, did not
then and there, or at anytime whatever, accept the said
Bill, and then and there wholly refused to accept
the same (by answering "that he would not pay the same" because the drawer had no authority to draw".â and afterwards
to wit on the same day & year last aforesaid the said Dr.
WilliamWilliam PustisPustis secretary of War wholly refused to pay
the same, whereof the MeriwetherMeriwether Lewis LewisMeriwether Lewis to wit on the
tenth day of August in the year eighteen hundred and nine had notice
and whereof the said EdwardEdward Hempstead HempsteadEdward Hempstead administrator
after the death of the said Meriwether LewisMeriwether Lewis had also
on the tenth day of June in the year eighteen hundred and ten Notice; By reason of which premises and according
to the custom and by the law of merchants, the said intestate
in his life time because liable to pay to the Peter ChouteauPierre Chouteau
the sum of eighty one dollars in the said bill specified

when he the said MeriwetherMeriwether Lewis LewisMeriwether Lewis should be thereunto afterwards
requested together with the cost of protest and six per cent on the
amount of the said sum of eighty one dollars, and being so liable he the said MeriwetherMeriwether Lewis LewisMeriwether Lewis in consideration thereof, afterwards, to wit
the same day and year last aforesaid, at the said District of
of St LouisSt Louis and within the jurisdiction of this Court, undertook, and
then and there faithfully promised the said Peter ChouteauPierre Chouteau to pay
him the said sum of money in the said Bill contained together
with the cost of protest the six percent as above expressed
when the said Meriwether LewisMeriwether Lewis should be thereunto afterwards
requested and the said PeterPierre Chouteau ChouteauPierre Chouteau that he did on
a day thereafter to wit on the twelth day of august in year eighteen hundred and nine at the district last aforesaid , who then
and there requested of the said intestate in his life time
payment of the said sum of eighty one dollars, cost of
protest and the six per cent as aforesaid who refused to
pay the same or any part thereof and the said PeterPierre Chouteau ChouteauPierre Chouteau
also that he did after the death of the said MeriwetherMeriwether Lewis
LewisMeriwether Lewis apply to and demand payment of the said EdwardEdward Hempstead
HempsteadEdward Hempstead his administrator as aforesaid of the said sum
of eighty one dollars and cost of protest together with the said
six per cent thereon as aforesaid who also refused to pay the
same or any part thereof to him the said PeterPierre Chouteau ChouteauPierre Chouteau or
to any other person or persons for his benefit; By reason whereof
and by force of the custom, Law of merchants and the salute
of this territory in such cases made and provided a right
hath accrued to the plaintiff to have and recover of the
said administrator defendant the said sum of eighty one
dollars, cost of protest teogether with the six per cent before mentioned and therefore he sues to his damage
two hundred & fifty dollars