October 21, 1866, Capt. John Mix and his wife arrived today, and Col. John Green with four companies of the Second Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Gregg, Lieutenant Norton and Lieutenant Wandless. Capt. Henry B. Freeman and wife and Captain Arnold of the Eighteenth Infantry also came today.

October 22, 1866.

I gave up my quarters to Captain Mix and wife last night. The Captain assumed command of the company this morning, but I wil not have to turn over the property until the 1st of November. North Platte River, D. T., October 23, 1866.

Just as I retired, about 1 o'clock this morning, news came into the post that Carlisle's large train of mules had been captured by the Indians and some emigrants who were traveling with his train had been murdered, several women and children scalped, and that the Indians had gone northwest with the stock. Colonel Neil, the Post Commander, at once ordered Captain Norwood after the Indians with his full company of cavalry. He was mounted and off with his men in one-half hour from the time he received the orders. Thinking perhaps I might be needed, I told my first sergeant to notify the men to be ready to mount in five minutes if an order should require us to go to the assistance of Captain Norwood.

Within two hours after Captain Norwood left an orderly returned with a request from the Captain for more men; that he had discovered a large trail of Indians going in a northwest course. I was ordered to report to him at once, and within ten minutes was on the move with one hundred as good soldiers as I ever saw mounted. Instead of going down the South Platte to the place where the Indians had crossed I forded the river near the post and then took a northeast course, hoping to strike the trail ahead of Captain Norwood and pursue the Indians independent of him, but just as the sun was pushing out of the clouds my advance guard discovered one of his flankers, and all I could do then was to report, which I did with a salute, and was ordered to march my troop in the rear of his. After slowly marching fifteen or twenty miles I rode to the head of the command and informed Captain Norwood that if we did not go faster it would be impossible to overtake the Indians. He remarked that he did

Reporting to Norwood.

not intend to push his horses up by overmarching them, and continued in his slow pace until we reached the North Platte river, just as the sun was setting, when he looked at the muddy waters and then at the sun, and said, "Well, we might as well return to the post, as it was a very dangerous undertaking to cross the river at that place, and, further, there were too many Indians on the other side for us to handle with two companies of cavalry." I reminded him that it was our duty to try and overtake the Indians and punish them; that every time they committed depredations, murdered people in the way they were doing, for our troops to follow them a short distance and then give up the chase only encouraged the Indians to be more daring and make them feel that no matter what they did they would escape punishment. After being satisfied that nothing I could say would induce Captain Norwood to go forward I asked my first sergeant, Miller, if he thought all the men would follow me and do their duty as soldiers. He said, "Every man will follow on, sir, and fight for and with you as long as breath is in their body, sir." I then reported to Captain Norwood my intention to go forward and try to punish the Indians, and that if he would not go in command that I would take my troop and surprise the Indians and punish them if possible. He objected to my leaving his command, and threatened to prefer charges if I did. There being no time to parley, I or

dered my men forward and jumped my large bay horse off the bank into the river, reaching the other side safely, and watched the rest of the men into the river, some of the horses plunging through the quicksand. A few of the men were off their horses entirely, holding on to the saddles or the horses' tails, but they all got over safely, fixed up the saddles, mounted and started on the trail up Pumpkin creek, a stream that empties into the North Flatte river. Looking back over the river, they could see Captain Norwood and his company slowly marching back to the post. By 9 o'clock in the evening my advanced scout discovered a little fire and reported to me. Ordering all the men to dismount, I took the scout and Sergeant Miller and advanced cautiously, and soon discovered some roast buffalo meat over the fire. After be

ing satisfied the Indians had all gone, the men helped themselves to the roasted meat, which was the first mouthful they had eaten for twenty-six hours. After the men had all they wanted, we marched on, and soon the sergeant of the rear guard reported to me that Private Smith's horse had given out. I ordered him to sce that he was started back towards the post, and to head his horse to the Platte river, and remain there until daybreak in the morning, and if I was not there, to mount and cross the river and make his way into the post the best way he could, and to give each man whose horse gave out the same instructions. By halfpast 11 tonight my scout reported being near a large village; that a narrow path passed between two high peaks, and beyond in the large valley were the Indians and all their animals. I

counted my men, and had only twenty-five left to do the work in store for them, the rest having been sent back to the river on account of their horses giving out. My first impulse was to start back, when the thought occurred that before I could reach the post I would be surrounded and murdered by the Indians, and that it would be better to risk surprising them while asleep than to run the risk of retreating. So I selected eight men of the twenty-five to hold the horses, and divided the other seventeen into detachments, placing a non-commissioned officer in charge of each, instructed that as soon as the charge was made to enter

the tepees and gather up the arms and equipments which he could find, another sergeant to take charge of all the stock, and start them towards the post, and send two of his men on the best horses or ponies he could catch and start them to the Platte river, with instructions for the men there to remain until we arrived.

We quietly advanced to the upper end of the village, and discovered two old squaws on guard, sitting over a little fire in a hole in the ground. Just as they started the alarm, I ordered the charge, firing our carbines and revolvers into the tepees, Green

making the mountains ring with the blast of his bugle, starting the animals through the village.

The Indians were all in a state of confusion, and ran out of their tepees into the underbrush, leaving most of their clothes, arms and equipments, which were gathered up by Sergeant Kane and his men and loaded on the old pack mules. There being several hundred Indians to contend against, I made all possible haste to

get out, and caught up enough fresh horses, ponies and mules to remount my men, and turned my horses in with the captured stock, and drove all to the North Platte, where I found the rest of the company waiting.

They assisted in getting all the stock over the river, and when within forty miles of the post Captain Norwood met me with his