near Apache Pass, and two of the men were killed by the Indians; the survivor was pursued some forty miles and barely escaped death. Ile was captured by the Texans near Mesilla and the dispatches to General Canby fell into their hands. From these they learned the exact strength of General Carleton's command and the intended movement of the column. On the 22d of June General Carleton sent forward Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre, of the First Cavalry California Volunteers, with 140 men. This was the advance guard of the column. With the exception of frequent skirmishing with Indians and the loss of three. men killed and several wounded at Apache Pass, the party met with no other enemy before reaching the Rio Grande. Apache Pass is about midway between Tucson and the river. The pass is through a spur of the Chiricahua Mountains, about three and a half or four miles long. In this pass is a fine spring of water, and a favorite haunt of the Indians. A company of infantry and a part of a company of cavalry, with two mountain howitzers, fought the Indians at this spring for four hours. A number of the savages were killed in the fight. Our loss was three killed and several wounded. On either side of this pass extends a plain from thirty to forty miles in width. The Indians can see parties approach and lay in wait for them. On the 17th of July, preparations for the movement of the command having been completed, General Carleton issued the following general order: * No report had been received from Colonel Eyre. The strength and locality of the Confederates were unknown; consequently the column was kept well in hand, the companies marching only one day apart. For a description of the country I quote from the notes of Colonel Eyre.f As soon as the arrival of Colonel Eyre on the river was known the Texans made a hasty flight. Their army was completely demoralized, and Colonel Eyre's force magnified fourfold. What they could not carry with them they destroyed. One hundred and fifty sick and wounded were left in hospital at Franklin, Tex., and above. Colonel Eyre crossed the river near Fort Thorn and pushed down toward the retreating rebels. He entered Las Cruces, opposite Mesilla, and raised our national colors. Franklin was also occupied by a detachment of his command. General Carleton, with the head of the column, reached the river on the 8th of August, the time consumed in the march being eighteen days. The sight of this beautiful stream after the many days of toil and suffering gladdened the hearts of all. The last day's march was particularly severe; over forty miles had been made by the infantry without water without a murmur. The desert had been conquered, and the command arrived on the river in good fighting condition. No deaths had occurred between Tucson and the river, and but few remained on the sick list. General Carleton crossed the river at the point where Colonel Eyre crossed. The river was so high that it could not be forded, and the only boats were two small scows, made by Colonel Eyre. First the animals were swum over. This was successfully accomplished; none were lost. A rope was attached to both sides of the boats and extended to either bank of the river. A number of men were stationed on both banks. By this means they were enabled to See inclosure No. 1 to Carleton's report, p. 90. + Surgeon McNulty here quotes Eyre's entire report of July 6, see p. 120. pull the boat from shore to shore, being constantly in the water. The wagons were unloaded; their contents ferried across in the boats, which were hauled across by ropes. In this manner each command as it came up was crossed in safety. Nothing was lost or injured. General Carleton moved the column down the river as far as Las Cruces, La Mesilla, and Franklin. Taking with him two companies of cavalry, he proceeded on down as far as Fort Quitman, Tex.; from there he dispatched a company of the First Cavalry as far as Fort Davis, distant from Fort Quitman miles. The Texans had abandoned this post. One man, much reduced, was found dead, his body being pierced in many places with arrows. This man had evidently been left behind sick. The sick and wounded Texans left behind at Franklin were sent with an escort to San Antonio. General Canby, at this time in command of the department of New Mexico, had been ordered East, and on the 16th of September, 1862, General Carleton arrived at Santa Fé, and on the 18th assumed command of the department. Before leaving the lower country he published the following general order: GENERAL ORders, No. 15. HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT of Arizona, Las Cruces, N. Mex., August 14, 1862. I. Commanders of towns will at once establish sanitary regulations, and require them to be observed by the inhabitants and by the troops, so far as the policing of the streets and the keeping of their dwellings, quarters, stores, corrals, &c., in a state of cleanliness may be necessary to their health and comfort. Frequent inspections will be made by commanding officers or by a medical officer under his direction, to see that in all respects these regulations are followed. II. It is expected that all of the inhabitants living along the Rio Grande southward from the Jornada del Muerto to Fort Bliss, in Texas, will, at the earliest practicable moment, repair their dwellings and clean up their streets. The people may now rest assured that the era of anarchy and misrule-when there was no protection to life or property, when the wealthy were plundered, when the poor were robbed and oppressed, when all were insulted and maltreated, and when there was no respect for age or sex-has passed away; that now, under the sacred banner of our country, all may claim and shall receive their just rights. Therefore let the burden of anxiety be lifted from their hearts, and once more let them pursue their avocations with cheerfulness, and with the full confidence that the protection which now shelters them from injustice will always be stronger in proportion as they shall be powerless to protect themselves. The success of the march of this column was dependent upon two things: First, the endurance of the men; second, the care taken of them. From the first organization of the column the constant care of General Carleton was given it; the health of the men first, discipline next. Constantly watchful, the minutest detail received his personal attention. Every movement was based upon calculation; nothing avoidable left to chance. To conduct this expedition successfully required a clear head, sound judgment, indomitable will, and perseverance. All these General Carleton possesses in an eminent degree. It will not be too much to say that there are probably few men in the United States Army so well fitted to command an expedition of this kind. A mili tary experience of more than twenty years, a great portion of it spent on our frontiers, has made him familiar by experience with the wants and requirements of men in desert marching. In this march everything was reduced to the smallest possible compass. No tents were used by officers or men during the whole march. Two wagons were allowed to a company. In these were carried camp and garrison equipage, ten days' rations, mess furniture-everything belonging to a company. Every article was weighed. Officers, from the general down, carried but eighty pounds of baggage, including bedding, mess kit, &c. The troops suffered very little from sickness. The mortality was very small. Not one single death occurred on the march of the column from the Pacific Ocean to the Rio Grande, from the 13th of April to the 8th of August, and but five deaths from disease in hospital during this timetwo at Fort Barrett and three at Tucson. Every possible care was observed to guard against sickness. This, together with the splendid material of the men, will account for the success of the expedition and the slight mortality from disease attending it. General Carleton, on relinquishing the immediate command of the column, published the following general order, viz: GENERAL ORDERS, No. 85. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF NEW MEXICO, In entering upon the duties that remove him from immediate association with the troops constituting the Column from California the commanding general desires to express his grateful acknowledgment of the conduct and services of the officers and men of that command. Traversing a desert country, that has heretofore been regarded as impracticable for the operations of large bodies of troops, they have reached their destination, and accomplished the object assigned them, not only without loss of any kind, but improved in discipline, in morale, and in every other element of efficiency. That patient and cheerful endurance of hardships, the zeal and alacrity with which they have grappled with and overcome obstacles that would have been insurmountable to any but troops of the highest physical and moral energy, the complete abnegation of self and subordination of every personal consideration to the grand object of our hopes and efforts, give the most absolute assurance of success in any field or against any enemy. California has reason to be proud of the sons she has sent across the continent to assist in the great struggle in which our country is now engaged. The commanding general is requested by the officer who preceded him in the command of this department to express for him the gratification felt by every officer and soldier of his command at the fact that troops from the Atlantic and Pacific slope, from the mountains of California and Colorado, acting in the same cause, impelled by the same duties, and animated by the same hopes, have met and shaken hands in the center of this great continent. JAMES H. CARLETON, Brigadier-General, U. S. Army, Commanding Department. Very respectfully, J. M. MCNULTY, Surgeon, U. S. Volunteers. JUNE 11-OCTOBER 8, 1862.-Expedition from Camp Latham to Owen's River, Cal., with skirmish (June 24) at Owen's Lake. Reports of Lieut. Col. George S. Evans, Second California Cavalry. HDQRS. FOURTH INFANTRY CALIFORNIA VOLUNTEERS, Maj. R. C. DRUM, Assistant Adjutant-General: MAJOR: I have the honor to inclose a copy of a report of LieutenantColonel Evans in relation to the Owen's River Expedition. Major O'Neill has reported to me, and Captain McLaughlin, of the same command, has just arrived from Fort Yuma. The command of Major O'Neill, consisting of the cavalry fit for duty in camp and those brought up by Captain McLaughlin, will number twenty-five men. They will be dispatched to Owen's River so soon as the horses from Fort Yuma are fit to travel, which will be but a few days. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, F. FORMAN, Colonel Fourth Infantry California Volunteers, Commanding Post. 10 R R-VOL L, PT I IN CAMP AT LONE PINE, Owen's River Valley, July 1, 1862. SIR: I have the honor to report to the colonel commanding at Camp Latham that I arrived at Owen's Big Lake on the 24th day of June, 1862, at 2 p. mn., having made a forced march of thirty-five miles on the last day. Owing to my rapid movement, on the 24th I surprised a party of Indians that were gathering worms from the shore of the lake, killed 2 men and took 2 men, 7 squaws, and 2 children prisoners, together with a large quantity of Indian food, grass, nuts, seeds, worms, &c. I laid over on the 25th to rest my animals, and at night, leaving my wagons with a strong guard, took 120 men and made a forced march of forty-five miles to the Stone Fort, so called, situated on Little Pine Creek, on the western side of Owen's River, at which place it was represented to me, both by the Indians and the white citizens, there was a large body of Indians, some estimating at 1,000 strong. I reached the fort between daylight and sunrise on the 26th, and found that the Indians had scattered to the hills or mountains after having destroyed the fort by burning everything that could burn, and then throwing down the stone walls. For the last five days I have [been] scouring the valley in every direction, and am only the more convinced that the opinion formed by myself (and expressed in my official report to the general commanding the Department of the Pacific), from actual observation, when last here, as to the necessity of a post being established in this valley, was entirely correct. The Indians claim the valley as belonging to them, and still insist upon it that no white man shall settle, or, as they term it, sit down in the valley. They say that the whites may pass through to and from Aurora if they want to, or they may locate in the hills and work the mines, but must not sit down on the grass patches. Now, without arguing the point as to their right by prior location to the exclusive use of the valley, I will say that it is very evident to my mind that the mines will be of small value unless the valley can be settled and grain and vegetables grown and beef raised to feed the miners with. It is also evident from actual experiment that these Indians cannot be brought to the sticking point; that no fight can be had with them, and that they cannot be caught and chastised in a week or in a month, or if at all, for the reason that the valley from Owen's Big Lake up is near 150 miles long, varying in width from five to fifteen miles, with almost impassable mountains on either side, and the valley being open country, without a tree, the Indians can place their lookouts upon the peaks of the mountains along the valley and signalize the appearance of troops for twenty or thirty miles ahead, and upon their approach they can and will scatter into the hills, where it is impossible to follow them. These Indians subsist at this season of the year entirely upon the grass seeds and nuts gathered in the valley from the lake up, and the worms gathered at the lake. They gather this food in large quantities during the summer and prepare it for winter use, which, together with the piñon nuts gathered in the mountains in the fall of the year, is their only subsistence. Without this food gathered and laid up they cannot possibly subsist through the winter. From the facts set forth above, the nature of these Indians and the surrounding country, it does seem to me that the only way [in] which they can be chastised and brought to terms is to establish at least a temporary post, say for one winter, at some point near the center of the valley, from which point send and keep scouts continually ranging through the valley, keeping the Indians out of the valley and in the hills, so that they can have no opportunity of gathering and preserving their necessary winter supplies, and they will be compelled to sue for peace before spring and grass come again. The actual settlers here that have come into the valley since my arrival, so far as I have heard them express themselves, are unanimously of the opinion that as soon as the troops leave the valley that soon they will either have to band themselves together to protect their lives and property, or else again abandon the country to the Indians, either course being to their ruin. As you will observe from the date of this report, to-day is the 1st of July, consequently the eighteen days (from the 12th June) for which the command brought rations with them was out yesterday. The remaining forty-two days' provisions of the sixty for which rations were issued being in the wagons of Mr. Banning, hired by your regimental quartermaster, not having arrived (although I have been here with my teams five days), I am entirely out of commissary stores, and shall be compelled to subsist my men upon fresh beef alone until they do come. I am afraid that my opinion expressed to you and Mr. Banning at Camp Latham to the effect that no teams could haul 4,000 pounds up through this country and make any kind of traveling time has proven too true, and that the teams of Mr. Banning have broken down, and possibly have been compelled to lighten up by caching a part of the stores on the road in order to get to me at all. Respectfully, your obedient servant, GEO. S. EVANS, Lieutenant-Colonel Second Cavalry California Volunteers, Commanding Owen's River Expedition. Lieut. WILLIAM FORRY, Adjutant Fourth Infantry California Vols., Camp Latham, Cal. HEADQUARTERS OWEN'S RIVER EXPEDITION, Camp Independence, Oak Creek, Owen's River Valley, July 5, 1862. SIR: I have the honor to report to the colonel commanding at Camp Latham that I arrived at this point, forty-five miles above the foot of Owen's Big Lake, on yesterday, July 4, 1862. Immediately upon my arrival I caused a flag-staff to be erected and the old flag with all the stars upon it hoisted to the breeze, with three times three given most heartily by the men, and a salute fired with small-arms, upon which occasion I named this camp Camp Independence. Owen's River is out of its banks, overflowing the whole valley, and still rising, consequently the country is too boggy for me to travel farther up the river with my teams. I shall, therefore, make this camp my permanent station during my stay in this valley. In fact, I believe it is about as good a point for a station as Big Pine, twenty miles farther up, where I intended to make my headquarters when I left Camp Latham. Mr. Banning's teams are all here; they arrived last night in the night, and have to day been discharged and allowed twelve days in which to return. As I expected they would have to do, they have left 10,000 pounds of freight on the road to be brought up by somebody's ox teams. Mr. Whipple's teams have not yet arrived. It is impossible for these teams, either those of Mr. Banning or Mr. Whipple, to get back to Camp Latham ia time to load up and bring me the next thirty days' rations within the sixty days for which I drew rations on starting; hence I send you this by a special messenger, so that you may have notice of the fact and start the provisions for the next thirty days in good time. Mr. Whipple's teams can be back in time to haul for the second thirty days. It is, as near as I can estimate the distance without measuring it, 250 miles from Camp Latham to this point. By knowing the distance you |