Judging from an earlier letter of McCorkle to Tipton, the former believed that the agent had misled him at the time the Fort Wayne lands were sold by the government. McCorkle sincerely believed that the agency would remain at Fort Wayne when he purchased the original plat.[6] After the agency was removed from Fort Wayne, McCorkle and Tipton became bitter enemies. Meanwhile some traders at Fort Wayne raised the old cry of mismanagement and misuse of government funds and sought the dismissal of Tipton. Tipton’s perennial enemies—Robert Hood, Benjamin Cushman, and Elisha Harris—brought five charges of misconduct against Tipton before the Secretary of War, James Barbour.[7] In answering these charges Tipton wrote: Although it is improper for a man to speak of his neighbours faults and follies, yet both self defence and truth Justifies the assertion that a majority of the Citizens of this village are of the lowest order of society, such as discharged soldiers and dishonourable men. In this latter class is Robert Hood, Ben Cushman and Elisha B. Harris, who have fled from the offended laws of their Country elsewhere and have stopped here on account of the quantity of money annualy disbursed at this place. Their constant practice is to get money from the Indians by every artifice in their power ... we should not be surprised at the unexampled exertion made to oust me, when we reflect on fate of all my predecessors that Wells and Turner were dismissed, Stickney put out by address, and M. Hays almost compelled by the society here to resign. The superintendant knows me and is not wholy unacquainted with the character of a part of the inhabitants of this village.... He can satisfy you what kind of people I have to deal with.[8] Elisha Harris, one of the men who filed charges against Tipton, had a very questionable record. He was indicted several times for stealing horses from the Indians. The other men, Cushman and Hood, who filed the charges against Tipton, were both elected judges of Allen county and apparently had some standing in the community. Cushman was indicted once for carrying concealed weapons, but he was never convicted on any charge. Indeed there were few leading men in the county who escaped being brought before the court. Subpoenas were served on the Ewings, Suttenfield, and others. Nor was Tipton innocent of all charges. His enemies could truthfully say that he had used his position as Indian agent to gain control of some of the most valuable land in northern Indiana, but this they would not do, as they would expose themselves also.