REVEILLE was not so early as usual next morning, September 29, some slight consideration being had for the arduous duties of the past two days and nights; and when the duties of the morning had been gotten through with and breakfast eaten, details were made from the infantry companies to shoot the captured ponies. The number was so great that it was an utter impossibility to take them along with the command and properly guard them, and it would have involved the return of the whole force to attempt to bring them into a military post, the nearest being two or three hundred miles from us. In either case (were it attempted) we would have had the Indians upon us every night, to try and stampede the animals, in which case they might succeed in running off some of the cavalry horses as well as recapturing their ponies; so, it is presumed, it was thought to be the wisest thing to shoot them, and orders to that effect were consequently issued. All the forenoon the slaughter was continued, and until over one thousand ponies' dead bodies were scattered o'er the plain. Numbers of them were young and many very handsome, and it seemed the greatest pity to be compelled to kill them; but, taking everything into cónsideration, it was most undoubtedly the wisest course to pursue; for, in addition to the reasons before given, it was the very worst blow that could be administered to the Indians, their ponies being their most valuable property, and esteemed by them higher than anything else, even their squaws, who are bought and sold and paid for in ponies.

Having completed the killing of all the Indian ponies that were to be slaughtered, a number of the best of them being retained alive for future use by our own men in case of emergency, we moved camp, about 4 o'clock P.M., some three or four miles away from the vicinity of the dead animals, and went into camp in a good grass bottom, through which ran a clear creek of water called "Tulle Creek." There was not a particle of fuel of any description, but the wagons had brought sufficient for cooking purposes from our last camping-place. We had

a peaceable night, which passed without alarm of any kind; and next day we moved our camp again a few miles farther west.

At dusk some of the Ton-ka-way Indian scouts left camp with dispatches en route to our permanent supply-camp, on the Freshwater Fork of the Brazos River. Picket-ropes were stretched from wagon to wagon, and the horses made fast to the line for the night, the men being deployed on a skirmish-line entirely around the camp, outside of everything, where they were to sleep, with the necessary sentinels posted at regular intervals. A few Indians, who were evidently a party of "observation," were seen to the north of us just before sunset, in view of which, every precaution was taken to guard against Mr. Lo's grand stratagem, "surprise."

The First Battalion was camped some distance from headquarters, which was with the Second Battalion; and, after dusk, the commanding officer had it moved to the ground where the Second Battalion was in camp, so as to have the whole command close together, knowing full well that the Indians were watching us closely, so as to take advantage of the slightest chance to get back some of the captured ponies, and, perchance, a few of the cavalry horses at the same time. The night, however, passed quietly; the morning duties were gotten through with, and we then broke camp: moving out on our own old trail back towards Canyon Cita Blanco, where we had captured the ponies. It was 5 o'clock P.M. when we had marched about half-way from our camp to the canyon, and coming upon some water, it was decided to go into camp. Shortly after camping, one of the cavalry lieutenants, with a citizen guide and some Ton-ka-way Indians, left camp to push forward and reconnoitre Canyon Cita Blanco. Upon his return to the command, which waited for him, he reported that he had seen no signs of Indians, and that all was perfectly still and quiet.

At 9 A.M., October 3, the whole command-cavalry, infantry, and wagons,-left camp and marched to the wagon-crossing of Canyon Blanco, where it halted to allow the men to have dinner, after which the march was resumed till late in the evening, when camp was made in a large basin-like depression in the ground, where there was no wood, no grass, and very little water: here each animal received one quart of corn. About an hour or so after camping, two shots were fired which alarmed the camp, so that every officer and man sprang to arms, fully expecting that the Indians were upon us. It being very late when we camped, it was quite dark when the shots were fired; but all fears of an attack were allayed very soon, by the information that the shots were caused by killing two beef cattle for the use of the men.

On Sunday morning, October 4, at break of day, we “ packed up,” "saddled up," and took up the march at once, without waiting for the men to get breakfast. We marched till 9.30 A.M., and then reached the Palo-Douro Canyon, where we halted, took the bridles off the

horses, picketed them out on good grass, placed a strong guard over them, and the command had its breakfast, for which all hands were ready, so far as appetite was concerned, after the morning ride,-albeit, the breakfast was composed of fried bacon, soldier coffee without milk, and doby biscuits, which were discussed and enjoyed with a relish that many a millionaire might envy.

At 3 o'clock P.M. we packed up and moved east by north, parallel with the canyon, for about six or seven miles, and at 6 P.M. we went into camp for the night, dense masses of black clouds surrounding us, promising anything but a pleasant night. On came the clouds, piling up in the west until they looked like an immense funeral pall, so thick and black were they, and portentous of one of those down-pouring rains for which the Staked Plains are famous. It was rather a blue look-out for my captain and myself, who were not the happy possessors of a tent; but we did have a wall-tent fly, which we used to cover our personal effects on our particular pack-mule. We had no tent-poles, but improvised a set by cutting two crotched sticks, putting a couple of extra lariats through the crotches, and stretching the wall-tent fly across the rope. The tent-fly was old, and had one good side and one bad side. We drew straws for the good side, and I lost, the result being that about midnight the leakage on my side became so bad that I was forced to roll up my blankets and sit on the bundle, chewing the cud of sweet and bitter reflection till about 3 o'clock A.M., when I heard the voice of a brother officer, who had rank enough to carry a tent which was a good one, and which was pitched close by. I immediately crawled out from under our "fly" and begged a half-night's lodging from my more fortunate neighbor, which was cheerfully granted. Stretching myself on the comfortable dry ground, with a saddle for a pillow, I slept the sleep of the just until the shrill notes of the trumpet, sounding "first call" for reveille, awoke the drenched camp once more to life.

The rain ceased shortly after reveille, and about ten o'clock we were on the march. We struck a trail made by the Eighth Cavalry, under Colonel Gregg, in 1872, and followed it a few miles, when some excitement was noticed among the scouts in the front. The order to

trot was given, and the long column of fours took up a swinging trot, which carried us over the ground at a lively gait. Still it was evident, very shortly, that it was not fast enough, as the Ton-ka-way Indians in the advance began going ahead rapidly. Pretty soon the order "gallop" was passed from front to rear,-the supposed vicinity of Indians precluding the use of the trumpet,-when the column took the gallop, and away we went at a steady pace for fully three miles, when the orders "trot" and "walk" followed rapidly in succession. We had come to a place where there had been a large Indian village, signs of which were abundant all round us; but not an Indian could be

discovered, a source of disappointment to the whole command, as after our sharp ride we fully expected a fight. Making a thorough search in the ravines and gullies running into the north side of the PaloDouro Canyon, without discovering anything that looked like Indians, we bore off to the north two or three miles, struck an immense basin of fresh water collected from the heavy rain, and went into camp at sundown.

This camp having all the necessary requisites of a good one,-viz., water and grass in abundance, and scrub-wood not very far off,-orders were issued that all the sick men and weak horses were to be left here with the supply-train, which always kept on our trail where it was possible; and when not possible, detours were made by our never-tobe-forgotten quartermaster, which generally brought the train up to us at intervals of a very few days. The column of cavalry, having a full train of pack-mules with it, always had from ten to fifteen days' rations, so that at any moment we could cut loose from the train altogether when necessary.

At 3 o'clock P.M., October 6, the cavalry broke camp and marched steadily, with scarcely a halt, until eight o'clock that night. The march was over a country that was the next thing to being miry, on account of the tremendous rains of the previous few days, making the five hours' march under such conditions worse on the horses than three times the distance on dry ground. The command was virtually compelled to halt and bivouac for the night. The ground was wet and soft, and rather bare of grass, so that there was not much prospect of comfort for either man or beast that night. At daybreak, in the midst of a wet "norther," which did not add to the happiness of our lives, we got out of camp and marched over a dead-level country, saturated with water to such a degree as to make it a perfect swamp, in which our horses' feet sank a foot deep at every step. More than half the time the men were on foot working their way through the heavy mud.

During the forenoon we came up with six Mexican wagons drawn by oxen. The men with the wagons said that they were hunting buffalo. Shortly after leaving the Mexican outfit we struck a trail and ran it till 1.30 P.M., when we halted for a short time to allow the command time to eat breakfast, having fasted for twenty-four hours. When through eating, we resumed the march over the same kind of country until about one hour before sundown, when we struck a large Indian trail running southeast. We followed it about a mile and struck one of the ponds formed by the rains, where we were ordered to halt and unpack. At dark, orders were quietly given to "pack up" and "saddle up," and after everything was ready to move further orders directed us to unpack and unsaddle, and remain where we were for the night. This engendered serious thoughts upon the mutability of

human affairs. When we spread our blankets on the wet ground and lay down to rest, we were still in ignorance of the cause of the sudden change of orders, and criticisms were not loud but deep.

The next morning we broke camp at daylight, and started out on foot, leading the horses. After proceeding a couple of miles we mounted, thus alternating for about ten miles, when we struck a broken country and ran across two Mexicans with a wagon and eight oxen. We made the Mexicans prisoners. They confessed that they had been trading with the hostiles, so the whole outfit was taken along, and we continued our march down a slope to a small creek, where at 10 o'clock A.M. we halted, unsaddled, unpacked, picketed out the animals, and proceeded to get breakfast. The past two days' march over the soft and slushy plains had nearly played out both horses and mules. After breakfast the Mexican wagon was broken up for fuel and the oxen turned in to the beef herd, the Mexicans having previously been put under guard.

At 2.30 we packed and saddled and resumed the march; some of the men whose horses were in the worst condition were mounted on mules. It was a ridiculous sight to see a burly cavalryman mounted on a small donkey, which we found with the Mexicans; but it was ride the donkey or walk. The route was down a small valley, following the little creek on which we halted for breakfast, until sundown, when we camped for the night. All the usual precautions of outposts, sleeping on a skirmish-line all round the outside of where the animals were picketed, and strong guards, were taken at dusk.

During the night some of the scouts, who went a long way in advance of the column, returned; and whatever the nature of their report was, the command at large did not hear; but in the morning, upon resuming the march, we took the back trail, evidently going to show that there were no hostile trails ahead. The general impression throughout the command was that we were looking for the villages of the hostiles, where their squaws and papooses and surplus ponies would be found, and which, if we could only capture, would be the most decisive and serious blow that could be given to the bucks who were on the warpath.

When we reached the place where we had breakfast the day before, we found a lieutenant with three wagons of corn, sent ahead from our supply-train, which he reported as being some twenty-five miles to the rear, to which the next day's march brought us. Here we heard that the Mexican train which was after buffalo, and which we had met a few days previous, had been joined by some one hundred Indians with about three hundred head of ponies. We struck in the direction in which it was reported the Indians had gone, and reached the edge or "breaks" of the Staked Plains, and descended through an extremely rough pass into a valley, where a small creek meandered. Here we met one of the lieutenants, who had been off with three Lipan Indian