During the year 1863, I chronicled the various events mentioned in the following pages, just as they impressed me by actual observation, or by authorities deemed reliable. Though my manuscript contained all the facts here presented, except a few notes made from official data, I have never considered it in suitable shape for publication. In rewriting it, I have stricken out certain criticisms and passages hastily set down in camp or on the march, and I hope that I have improved the expression in various ways. I have endeavored to make the work a panoramic view of military operations and events on the borders of Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and the Indian Territory during the year 1863. Eighteen years have now elapsed since I collected the material from which my Memoirs are written, and I have not as yet met with a single book pretending to give any kind of an account of the military operations of our army for any one year during the rebellion, in that portion of the Trans-Mississippi region mentioned in the following chapters. Though one might, by rummaging the archives of the War Department, get material enough out of general orders and official reports of battles, skirmishes, etc., in that region, to enable him to write a small volume, he would get very little of the kind of material that I collected. I noted not only the movements of the army with which I was connected, and the battles and minor engagements which it fought, but I also turned aside now and then to note a good many other things; as, for instance, the thoughts and feelings of the soldiers on various subjects, as reflected in their conversations around their camp fires and on the march. I have also given short descriptions of the country we marched over and around our camps; the pro and con opinions of officers and soldiers in regard to the policy of the Government, in emancipating the slaves and of enlisting the freedmen into the army. And on several occasions I give a moment's thought to natural phenomena, which were subjects of conversation in the camp.

The critical reader may, perhaps, think that I have in one instance purposely arranged my composition to show that coming events cast their shadows before. But I have not. The facts, however, show that they sometimes do. Gen. Shelby's raid through Missouri in October, 1863, affords an example. The approaching storm was indicated nearly a week before the invasion by the main force took place, and we are almost made to hear the distant rumbling of artillery carriages and caissons, and the faint tramping of marching squadrons.

Should it be asked why I have allowed eighteen years to elapse before printing my chronicles, I reply because I felt that they should have a more careful and critical revision than I have been able to give them until lately, before going to the public. A literary composition even of this kind, like other art compositions, as in painting and sculpture, for instance, is always susceptible of improvement in the manner of presentation, without affecting its truthfulness in regard to the matter treated of. I have no doubt but that much more trimming and pruning might have been done to good advantage.

I felt such an interest in the anti-slavery cause before the war, that Kansas, to me, always meant a principle, and I left home at an early age to join the Free State party. It was, therefore, a real pleasure to me to chronicle everything that I thought would be of interest in the future pertaining to Kansas soldiers in the war. At the same time I endeavored to do full justice to the soldiers of other States serving with us in that section.

Though, no doubt, I always clearly show where my sympathies lie in the discussion of any given question, yet I do not believe that I have, in any instance, displayed strong partisan bias. Nor have I been tempted to write anything for the purpose of producing a sensation.

Future generations of that portion of the Trans-Mississippi country covered by my Memoirs will doubtless wish to know what part, if any, the people took in the Great War of the Rebellion. But there has been, as yet, very little published in permanent and accessible form, from which they will be able to obtain the desired information, although nearly all the able-bodied men were in the Federal and Confederate armies, and the storms of war raged furiously over that section. A few sketches of one or two campaigns have been written, but mere sketches are evanescent and pass away in a generation. I hope that I have done something towards filling up the hiatus which exists during the period of the most exciting events in our history.

If the reader will endeavor to put himself in my place during the period covered by my memoirs, he will then see the marches, battles, skirmishes, reconnoissances, reviews, etc., as I saw them. As he passes about the camp alone from time to time, he will see refugees, men, women and children, of almost every conceivable color and condition, except that none of them appear to be provided with much of this world's goods and means of happiness. Passing to the hospitals, he will see the sick and wounded, men bleeding and mangled and torn by shot and shell, by small arms, and by the cuts and thrusts of swords and bayonets; he will see them bearing wounds, from the slightest contusions to limbs torn from their bodies; he will hear men groaning and pleading to die, that they may be relieved from their intense suffering; he will hear others, with piteous expressions upon their quivering lips, praying to be taken to their homes to die surrounded by their families and friends; he will see comrades who, but a few days before, were beaming with health and buoyant with life and hope, with the dark shadows of death seizing upon their countenances; and the grief-stricken forms of the dear ones these noble men left behind, when they staked their lives in defense of their country and their homes, will rise up before him.

But passing from these scenes of death and woe, his mind is permitted to dwell upon other subjects less gloomy, and which tend to make the heart glad instead of making it ache. On the march and under clear blue skies, he will cross silver-eddying streams or mountain-brooks leaping and splashing and foaming along. And by the wayside he will drink from crystal springs bubbling out of the earth, as beautiful as sparkling fountains. The scenes are constantly changing, and always interesting to anyone of healthy mind and body; and he will see landscapes of every conceivable variety, from the forest-covered mountains and hills of Arkansas to the grass-covered prairies and plains of Kansas, and from the deep green of spring to the rich and variegated tints of autumn, and the snow-covered ground of winter.

It is proper that I should express my indebtedness to Captain William Gallaher, Colonel Phillips' Assistant Adjutant-General, for many kindnesses and courtesies in connection with the writing of my Memoirs while we were attached to the Indian division. And during the latter part of the year I received from General C. W. Blair, the commanding officer of the post of Fort Scott and the District of Southern Kansas, many acts of kindness and words of encouragement, for which I feel under deep obligations to him. As he was one of the most accomplished orators in the State, and a man of rare culture and refinement, I have always considered myself fortunate that I made his acquaintance, and was permitted to regard him as my friend. I have never met any one who came nearer my ideal of the perfectly accomplished gentleman than General Blair.

It will perhaps be thought by some that I have given undue prominence to the operations of Colonel Phillips' division. But I think that any one who will follow the operations of this division, will agree with me that I have not magnified its achievements or overestimated the merits of its commander. Considering the number and kind of troops with which he had to operate, and the long line of communication he had to keep open from his advanced position, there was not perhaps another officer in our army who accomplished so much with a single division of troops.

I hope that I have made the work worthy of being welcomed by the young men and women who have grown up since the war, and who desire to become acquainted with the great events in which their fathers participated. To thus commemorate the grand achievements of the men with whom I served, has afforded me real pleasure, for I felt that never before have the soldiers engaged in a great struggle deserved such a measure of gratitude of future generations as those whose heroic actions I have recorded.

When I commenced my Memoirs I felt sure that shortly after peace should be established between all sections of the country, the military operations with which I was connected as an humble participant would be regarded by many with deep interest. I therefore thought it worth while to undertake to chronicle the important events that came under my notice during the year 1863, as I had done during the year 1862.

Two volumes of my Ms., for 1862, and 1864, were left in the Adjutant General's Office at Fort Smith, Arkansas, the latter part of 1864, and are supposed to have been destroyed by fire the following year.

Before saluting the new year we must notice some further operations of considerable importance. A few days after the battle of Prairie Grove, General Blunt ordered his supply and baggage trains back from Fayetteville to Rhea's Mills, and our division went into camp again. General Herron's division went into camp on the ground it occupied during the battle. The battle will probably always be known in history as the battle of Prairie Grove, for the two opposing armies met near Prairie Grove meeting house, on a northern slope of the Boston Mountains.

This section is regarded as the wealthiest and most fertile region in northwestern Arkansas, if not indeed of the State. The climate and soil seem peculiarly adapted to raising sweet potatoes, apples, pears, peaches and many other kinds of fruit. Wheat, corn and oats are also raised in considerable abundance. But the farms are not large like the farms in Missouri. We have found almost sufficient forage to supply our animals, and we have also replenished the larder of the commissariat to some extent. The cattle and hogs taken from disloyal people of this section furnish us with fresh beef and pork. The water-power mills on the never-failing mountain streams, have rarely been burned, and turn out a good deal of flour, which is applied to subsisting the army. All commissary and quartermaster supplies for our division, with the exception of those that this section furnishes, are transported by four-mule teams from Fort Scott, Kansas, a distance of one hundred and forty miles. Gen. Herron's division is supplied from Springfield, Missouri. Though our base of supplies is this great distance from us; and though most of the country our trains pass over is infested with guerrilla bands that annoy our escorts by now and then picking off a trooper with their rifles or muskets, yet we have not, up to the present time, lost a train or suffered any inconvenience for want of full rations. A considerable body of our cavalry has, however, been detached from actual field service to perform escort duty, during the autumn and winter. But taking into account the amount of this kind of service, and the fact that scouting parties or reconnaissances are daily sent out in every direction, our cavalry horses are in remarkably good condition. That they have stood the campaign so well, I think is due to the fact that they have been collected mostly from Missouri and Kansas, a climate not differing perceptibly from this. Last spring the Second Ohio cavalry accompanied us on an expedition known as the

Hail, Happy New Year! I welcome you; though I know not what you have in store for us. We have no seer or prophet to unfold to us in doubtful and mysterious language the most important events which you will disclose to us in due time. But we have reason to hope that, with honesty of purpose and persistence in the right, on the part of our leaders and of each of us, we shall have made substantial progress in accomplishing the objects for which we are striving, when you shall have expired.

The New Year was ushered in by a national salute fired from the batteries of General Herron's Division still encamped on the battle-field of Prairie Grove. But to the soldier in the field, in camp and on the march, it has no more significance than any other day. It is impossible for him to observe the forms of polite society. His feelings of happiness find expression in a sterner manner than that of flying around in full dress suit, kid gloves and swallow tail coat, and in indulging in pretty conceits with charming maidens. He takes more pleasure in relating to his comrades around the camp fire some adventure in which he took a part, or some hair-breadth escape; how, for instance, he grasped the guidon or standard from the hand of a fallen comrade, while the enemy's bullets were flying around his head as thick as hail. With all the hardships and dangers which war entails on the soldier in the field, his disposition is generally not only not gloomy, but on the contrary, cheerful and happy. No doubt sad thoughts flit through his mind in regard to loved ones at home, but as fresh excitements are coining up every day, and as old battle scenes and incidents have to be gone over occasionally, his mind is never allowed to dwell long on those ideal pictures which have a natural tendency to produce gloominess.

The rumor that, on the return of our division from Van Buren, the Army of the Frontier would move north-ward, turned out to be true. On the morning of January 2d, 1863, the First Division struck tents, left Rhea's Mills, and took up a line of march for Elm Springs, about twenty-two miles north. The General Hospitals were established at Fayetteville several days ago, and most of the sick and wounded have been removed there. It is the chief town in northwestern Arkansas, and is capable of affording much better facilities for properly caring for sick and wounded soldiers than could easily be provided at Rhea's Mills or Prairie Grove. When it is possible, I think our surgeons prefer substantial buildings for hospitals to the Field Hospital tent. If we were in railroad communication with the rest of the country, a good many of our wounded could be sent to their homes, where they would have loving wives, mothers, daughters and friends to look after them. Those who are conscious that they will never recover from their wounds or sickness, often give vent to the expression, that they would be perfectly content to die if they could only be permitted to die at home, surrounded by their families and friends. If a young man gets severely wounded, the first thing he thinks of is his mother or his sweetheart; if a married man, his wife and children. But a grateful government will not neglect to provide justly for the widow and orphaned children, or mother of the soldier who dies in defense of his country. All this intense longing for the affectionate regard of those at home we know is not unappreciated. The letters we receive from time to time from our relatives and friends, are teeming with love and affection, and are convincing enough that there are lacerated hearts at home as well as in the field. It is the consciousness that there exists these loves and affections that touches so deeply the heart of the soldier; and I believe it is these strong affections that make the effective soldier, for he feels that he is fighting for the protection and happiness of those he loves, and whose lives are as dear to him as his own life. If he thought that by going to war it would ultimately subject his family to greater peril, and bring upon it greater unhappiness, he would not go. We regard a man as having lost his manhood if he shows no concern for the happiness and well-being of his family. And in social organization the family is the social or political unit, and whatever weakens family ties and interests must in time weaken the social fabric.

On the evening of the 2nd we camped on Wild Cat Creek, having marched a distance of about sixteen miles from Rheas Mills. A heavy rain last night put the roads in bad condition for our trains and artillery. But as there is no necessity for rapid movement, and as our backs are turned towards the enemy's heels, we can afford to march leisurely, so as not to injure or break down our animals. Officers and men who have served in a campaign like that we have just closed, soon learn how important it is to take every possible care of their cavalry, artillery and draught animals. We arrived at Elm Springs on the 3rd, and there seems to be a prospect of our remaining here several days, as we hear that there is going to be shortly a reorganization of the Army of the Frontier. Gen. Blunt has been relieved, and bade his troops farewell to-day, and, with his staff and escort, started to Forts Scott and Leavenworth. On account of his personal bravery and the brilliant achievements of his campaign, he has greatly endeared himself to his troops. I speak from personal knowledge of his bravery. He was to the front all day during the battle of Cane Hill, and was only a few yards from Col. Jewell when he fell mortally wounded. At Prairie Grove too, he was on the field all the afternoon in dangerous positions, directing the movements of his troops. And at Dripping Springs he was at the front with us when we charged the enemy's camp, and rode with the advance squadrons when we dashed into Van Buren. How well he would succeed in a campaign which required of the Commanding General that every movement of his troops should be made with a distinct but involved end in view, I, of course, have no means of knowing. He is probably able to meet any movement his opponents are able to make on the military chess board. My own impression, however, is, that if a campaign in this section were conducted according to the military science taught at West Point, and embodied in General Schofield, the enemy could soon put us on the defensive, and we should never accomplish anything except our destruction. If military science is a common sense view of contending with your foe, of warding off his blows and of striking him most effectively, I believe in it. But if it be a mysterious method of directing the movements of troops, which no one can understand unless he be a graduate of West Point, then I have little confidence in it. A special education for a special purpose is always desirable, and a military education no doubt qualifies men for organizing and skillfully handling large bodies of troops in time of war; but there seems to be such a tendency among the graduates of West Point to want to do something incomprehensible to the common mind, as to make many of them utter failures. Perhaps only a small percentage of each graduating class display any special aptitude for military science, or for any particular arm of the military service. It amounts to this, a blockhead sent to West Point is as apt to come out a blockhead as if he had been sent to any other school. If a boy who has a natural military genius goes to the Military Academy and graduates, and afterwards has an opportunity to develop his military genius, I think the chances are that he will make a great military commander. Such special aptitudes may be inherited through a line of ancestors, or they may be due to powerful antenatal influences. Napoleon's military genius is said to have been due to the latter cause.

General John M. Schofield assumed command of the Army of the Frontier on the 4th. I understand that he has virtually been in command of it since our return from Van Buren. Had he arrived here a few days sooner, it is probable that the expedition to Van Buren would never have been made. He is a graduate of the Military Academy, and I suppose that military operations will now be conducted according to the military science taught at West Point. We shall see. In the first place it seems that we are already under orders to continue our march further northward, though there is not an officer or soldier in our division who does not.feel sure in his own mind that there is not an organized force — of the enemy in western Arkansas, north of the river. If this be true, and the Commanding General should know whether it is or not, then why continue to fall back and give up the country we have gained at the cost of so many lives and of so much toil and suffering? Is it because the present Commanding General did not direct the movements of our army in gaining the splendid victories that we have won? The jealousies of military rivals have already in other instances been a curse to our arms.

The reorganization of the Army of the Frontier, which I have already mentioned as probable, is to take place immediately. General F. J. Herron is to command the second and third divisions, Colonel William Weir, Tenth Kansas infantry, the first division, and Colonel William A. Phillips, Third Indian regiment, the Indian division, consisting of all the Indian troops, one battalion of the Sixth Kansas cavalry, and Captain Hopkin's battery formerly attached to Colonel Cloud's brigade. With this force I-understand that Colonel Phillips will take up a position near Maysville, Benton county, Arkansas, a little town right on the line of the Cherokee Nation. I have been assigned to duty as Commissary Sergeant of this battalion of the Sixth Kansas cavalry, and directed to report to Captain John W. Orahood, the senior officer. Lieutenant John S. Lane, the Regimental Commissary, accompanies the other battalion, together with the other field and staff officers of our regiment.

On the 6th, General Schofield arrived at Elm Springs for the purpose of reviewing the First Division before any important movement shall have been made. The different arms of the service are therefore actively engaged in making preparations for the Grand Review to-morrow. This is a kind of military luxury of which we have had very little experience. During the autumn of 1861, however, when we were in General James H. Lane's command, we had several reviews and sham battles. But since then we have had nothing on as extensive a scale as that which is to take place to-morrow. All the men reported present for duty of the following organizations, are ordered to turn out with their arms and equipments complete, to-wit: Cavalry, Second, Sixth and Ninth Kansas, and Third Wisconsin; infantry-Tenth, Eleventh and Thirteenth Kansas, and Ninth Wisconsin; First, Second and Third Indian regiments; artillery-Capt. Rabbs, Second Indiana battery, First and Second Kansas batteries, and Captain Hopkin's four gun battery, which was captured from the enemy, besides two twelve-pound howitzer batteries, attached to the Sixth and Ninth regiments Kansas cavalry, respectively.

Well, the gala day is over; we have had the Grand Review, and I think that we made a very creditable appearance. We formed in line in an open field, and the ground is rather favorable, considering the general broken condition of the country, for reviewing an army no larger than ours. After we had gone through a few evolutions upon the field, we then formed in line, and in a short time General Schofield and staff, and several mounted messengers, galloped along our front and took up a position near our extreme right. Some of the soldiers within my hearing remarked, looking at their gay uniforms as they passed along, Too much fuss and feathers for a fighting general. The whole command then formed in columns of companies, and marched by the place where General Scofield and staff had posted themselves. The brass bands, marching at the head of brigades and playing soul-stirring airs, give additional interest to the fine display made by the troops. Thus ended the Grand Review, after which we marched to our respective camps. This is probably the last time the first Division will ever all be together. It seems to be the intention to break it up into brigades and detachments, and to scatter these along the southern border counties of Missouri and northern Arkansas. If we are not going to make any effort to hold a more advanced position, or even our present position, or if we are no longer to assume the offensive, perhaps to scatter the troops in this manner is the best policy.

This morning (the 8th) General Schofield, staff and escort left for Fayetteville, as I understand to review the second and third divisions under command of General Herron. It does not appear that General Schofield has established any headquarters here with the army. It is therefore thought that his presence here is only temporary, and that after he shall have made such disposition of his troops as in his judgment seems best, that he will return to Springfield or St. Louis.

As we shall march away from here in two or three days, I obtained permission to go to Fayetteville to-day to see my brother who is in the general hospital there. He was in right good spirits when I came to him, though he complained that the wound which he received in the shoulder at the battle of Coon Creek last August, caused him intense suffering at times. He also informed me that the old wound which he received through the thigh a little over a year ago, had broken out again, and gave him much pain when he made certain movements, and his weight came on that leg. He still clings to the ball that passed straight through his thigh, touching the femoral artery and lodging on the opposite side just under the skin. When it was cut from the wound the conical end of the elongated ball was found to be considerably flattened, having struck the femur or thigh bone. But he says that he cannot bear to have the surgeons probe any more for the ball which he still carries in his shoulder, as it has either broken through the encysting and poisoning his blood or touching some very sensitive part. He expressed a strong desire to be at home, but thought that he had not strength enough to be transported in an ambulance so far, even if he could get permission to go. I encouraged him to be cheerful, and said that I hoped he would come out of this all right, and be able to report to his company for duty in a few weeks, or in a few months at the farthest. I then bid him adieu, but not without emotion, for I have serious doubts of his recovery; the lines of his expression were not natural, and his life is ebbing away through the wound in his shoulder. But.1 will not mourn my brother dead who is yet living.

The order for the reduction of our transportation goes into effect to-day. Hereafter each cavalry regiment will be entitled to only sixteen four-mule wagons, and each infantry regiment to twelve four-mule wagons. This seems a wise measure adopted by the War Department, for during an active campaign troops should be encumbered as little as possible with large trains and useless baggage. Five hundred wagons and teams in motion, stretch over a distance of several miles, and in an enemy's country always require a large force of cavalry to protect them. They also offer inducements to the enemy to fit out expeditions for their capture or destruction. Though officers and soldiers will have to dispense with certain conveniences which they have heretofore enjoyed, yet I think that they will soon see that by doing so, there will be entailed upon them no great hardships. Our object is to beat the enemy at every point with as little sacrifice of life and public property as possible. If large trains embarrass our movements, and if we can get along with smaller ones without decreasing our effectiveness, we should do it without a murmur.

It was reported a few days ago· that authority had been obtained from the Secretary of War for raising two regiments of Federal troops in this State, one cavalry and one infantry. This report I find is true, and the recruiting is to commence at once, and the regiments will probably be organized and in the field by spring. For the present, Col. Ferguson is to have charge of the matter, with headquarters at Fayetteville. Once organized and equipped, these regiments will be a valuable acquisition to our army in holding this section. Our troops have shown that they have no hatred or ill will towards the people with whom we are contending; that we only want them to lay down their arms and renew their allegiance to the Government. The consequence is, I think, that we have made friends of many of those who had been misinformed and had a rather bad opinion of us before we came into this State. At the beginning of the war there was a strong Union sentiment in nearly all the counties of northwestern Arkansas; and also in other sections of the State. And now that there is an opportunity for those whose sympathies have all along been with the Government, to assist it by organizing for the defense of their lives and homes, we may reasonably expect that these two regiments will soon have their maximum of men. If they see that there is a probability of our permanently holding this part of the State, many of those who are refugees to Missouri and Kansas, will doubtless return and enter the service.

A post has been established at Neosho, Missouri. Major John A. Foreman with a battalion of Indian troops, has already been ordered there. A large number of refugee Indian families are in that vicinity, and they are all to be collected at that point to remain until spring. There is an abundant supply of fine spring water at Neosho, and as it is in a wooded region plenty of fuel can be easily furnished them at a small cost during the winter. Their subsistence supplies can also perhaps be mostly drawn from that section.

Last night, the 8th, the First division, with the exception of the Indian command, having received orders, struck tents and moved out quite suddenly. Some of the troops that left last night, are ordered to Springfield, Missouri, on a forced march, as General Marmaduke with a division of cavalry, and several batteries of light artillery, is reported on the way there, having passed through this State three days ago, about seventy-five miles east of us. General E. B. Brown, with a considerable force of Missouri State troops and some artillery, will doubtless give the enemy a warm reception if they attack him before the reinforcements get there.

That one is obliged to separate from those with whom he has shared the dangers and hardships of the field for more than a year, is cause for profound feelings of sadness. Serving in a common cause, and sharing alike dangers and hardships, tends to unite men by the strongest ties of friendship.

Though many of our troops have been in the service less than sixth months, yet they have moved forward with brave hearts and unfaltering steps, never swerving from the path of duty. Veterans could not have performed more effective service, and service of which the true soldier may well feel proud. Military achievements of less consequence, as far as bettering men's condition is concerned, than the achievements of the Army of the Frontier, have been recorded and handed down to us through twenty-five centuries. Many infant children now in the arms of their mothers, when grown to manhood or womanhood, will doubtless refer with pride to the services of their fathers in this campaign.

In some respects perhaps it would have been more agreeable to me to have remained with that portion of the Army of the Frontier from which we have been detached. But with a soldier, preferences should count for nothing when duty stands in the way. And looking at the matter in this light, I of course accept the situation and enter upon the discharge of my duties in this new field without the slightest dissatisfaction. How he can be of most service to his country is a thought that should animate the true soldier, and outweigh all other thoughts in his mind. But it may turn out that-our new field of operations will not be destitute of interest or barren of results worth setting down. If it should be, however, it will be easy enough to stop writing, or expunge that which is worthless. But our new Commander, Colonel W. A. Phillips, I know is an able and an accomplished officer, and it is not likely that he will allow us to languish in inglorious inactivity. No officer of the first division has impressed me more favorably. The first time that I ever saw him was at the battle of Locust Grove, near Grand Saline, the 2d of last July, when we captured Colonel Clarkson and his command of one hundred and ten men. Even Colonel Jewell, who was also present on that occasion, did not display more conspicuous bravery than Colonel Phillips. The night's march, the short and decisive engagement, just at the dawn of that lovely summer's morning, will be remembered by those who participated, while they live. Colonel Phillips received much praise for the ability with which he handled his brigade at Indian Creek, Neosho, and Newtonia, last September. On other occasions, too, he has shown himself to be a brave officer, and yet one who never loses his head. It was mainly through his exertions that authority was obtained from the War Department to organize and equip the three Indian regiments. Having been a staff correspondent of the New York Tribune, and a personal friend of Assistant Secretary of War, Dana, perhaps no one in Kansas could command more respectful attention from the authorities at Washington, in such a matter.

I shall not, however, start out with a panegyric, or endeavor to build up hopes of any extraordinary military achievement, for he has taken a command with which I think it will be exceedingly difficult, if not almost impossible, to accomplish anything of great consequence. We must be patient. The future will disclose to us the wisdom or folly of his actions.

We left Elm Springs on the morning of 10th, and arrived at Camp Walker, near Maysville, on the evening of the 11th, having marched a distance of about thirty-five miles. The country that we passed over is generally poor, but has some fine forests, and is supplied with abundance of good spring water. In some of these springs the water is as clear as crystal; it rises out of the earth almost like a fountain, and runs away in a strong swift current. How delightful these springs would be to the thirsty traveller in an arid region. The hills that we passed over are covered with flints of every conceivable shape and size, except that there are few above a hundred pounds weight. They do not, however, seem to have ever been rolled about and worn by the action of water, like pebbles along the sea shore, constantly kept in motion by the tides.

Our camp here is called Camp Curtis, in honor of General Samuel R. Curtis who commanded our forces at the battle of Pea Ridge in this county last March. This locality has been quite noted as a camping ground and rendezvous of the rebel armies of Missouri and Arkansas since the beginning of the war. It is just in the edge of the prairie region, and grounds could scarcely be laid out to better advantage for drilling and maneuvering large bodies of troops. The enemy, however, are not likely to have a camp of instruction here again. We were encamped near here upwards of a week last October, after the battle of Old Fort Wayne, in which we captured General Cooper's artillery.

It looks now as if our chief occupation, for a while at least, is going to be that of fighting and chasing bushwhackers. Captain Anderson, of the 3rd Indian regiment, was sent out on the 12th with a detachment of fifty men, and had a skirmish with a party of guerrillas, in which he lost one man killed and had one wounded. He reports that he killed two of the enemy, the rest having made their escape. The hilly condition of the country to the east of us is favorable for carrying on guerrilla operations. But this is a kind of warfare more suitable to the disposition of our Indian than to our white soldiers. Guerrillas in the vicinity of this command will therefore probably have all they desire of their own kind of warfare.

Col. Phillips sent out on the morning of the 13th, his first train to Fort Scott for supplies, guarded by an escort of two hundred men. At this season, escort duty and teaming are not very desirable kinds of service. We are just beginning to feel the pinch of winter, though we had three or four inches of; snow and several rather cold days about a week before we started on the expedition to Van Buren. Men and animals now on the road, especially if they are facing the northwest winds on those bleak prairies which extend for a distance of seventy-five miles south of Fort Scott, will suffer much more from cold than we do in camp. It takes from five to seven days for a train to come down from Fort Scott, the distance being about one hundred and twenty-five miles.

Yesterday morning (15th) a violent snow storm set in and continued all day. We are therefore beginning to experience considerable difficulty in getting sufficient forage for our animals, for when the First division was encamped in this vicinity last fall, we consumed nearly all the forage that could be found for miles around. A large force of the enemy under General Cooper, had also been foraging off this section before our arrival. And as this is not much of an agricultural region, it will be seen that there is just cause for the complaint of scarcity of forage. But Colonel Phillips is watchful of the wants of his troops and public animals, and will no doubt do all that can be done to prevent them from suffering for want of necessary supplies. He sends out daily foraging parties and trains, and they generally go from ten to fifteen miles from camp. This gives us a circuit of about thirty miles, a considerable area of country to forage from. When we shall have exhausted all the forage within fifteen miles of our camp, we will probably establish another camp outside of this radius. If this plan is carried out, as I have no doubt it will be, I think that we can get our animals through the winter in fair condition. Although we have been constantly scouting and marching and skirmishing since we came into this State last fall, we have lost comparatively few animals from having been broken down in the service. Our main losses have of course been cavalry horses. But the safety and comfort of his command, while conducting military operations in this section, are not the sole object of solicitude to Colonel Phillips. Nor is his function that of a military commander alone. He is placed in a position where he must act as governor of several different nations, all in a state of chaos. Since the war commenced, the Indians of the Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole nations, have been almost equally divided on the questions which have arrayed the two sections of the country against each other. But as the rebel authorities sent troops to occupy the country of these Indians immediately after hostilities commenced, and held undisputed possession of it until our expedition of last summer, the loyalists were obliged to leave their homes or contend with unequal odds, with the chances of being continually beaten and finally driven out. Hence when we withdrew from the Indian Territory last August, and brought out the Chief, John Ross, and some of the national archives and treasury, thousands of loyal Indian families, Cherokees, Creeks, and Seminoles, accompanied us as far as. Baxter Springs, on the southern line of Kansas. While at Baxter Springs, and indeed since they have been exiles from their homes, the Government has issued them rations, and looked after them to mollify their hardships as much as possible. And though the greater proportion of these Indian families have remained in Southwest Missouri, since the opening of the campaign last September ; and though some have returned to their homes in the nation since we drove the enemy out; yet there seems to be a fair prospect that the Refugee camp will continue to increase in size during the rest of the winter. The wants and necessities of these people will constantly demand the attention of Colonel Phillips in various ways. How ably and satisfactorily he shall conduct the affairs which devolve upon him, remains to be seen. It will thus also be seen that his position requires of him to be, if he manages matters successfully, not only a judicious military commander, but-also to possess, in a fair measure, the knowledge of civil affairs. A man who possesses both of these qualifications in a marked degree, is rarely found. We have reason to believe that we have such a man in the person of Colonel Phillips, for every one has some pride that those with whom he acts in any given venture shall act creditably. That is, no man who possesses a sense of patriotic devotion, likes to have his name associated with inglorious defeat, or any public action upon which rests a stigma or even unfavorable comment.

The skirmishes between our scouting parties and small detachments of guerrillas which infest this section are becoming so frequent, that hereafter I shall not attempt to give the details and result of each day separate, but will endeavor to give some account of the most important contests. There would be a good deal of repetition should I detail the movements and skirmishes of every scouting or foraging party sent out. When any casualties occur they are noted on the muster rolls of the company. That is, if a soldier is killed, wounded, or taken prisoner, or has his horse killed or captured, the fact is duly noted. I may add that since we left Elm Springs, our troops have killed, according to my daily memoranda, nine bushwhackers, and sustained a loss of three men killed and two wounded.

A woman from the country came into camp yesterday evening (17th) and reported that she knew of three or four bushwhackers, who were living in a cave, some eight miles distant from the command. A detachment of cavalry was sent to the locality of the cave; but returned without being able to find the enemy or any indications that they had recently occupied the cave as an abiding place. Our men, however, did not venture into the cave, as it would have required too great a sacrifice of life to dislodge them from such a fortress, if they were really there and well armed, unless we should close the mouth of the cave and compel them to feel the pinch of hunger. What a novel place for men to take up their abode! But when we are enjoying freedom and security, and the rewards of honest toil, it is perhaps difficult for us to imagine what modes of life we might be inclined to adopt under the pressure of circumstances. It is well known that caves do not undergo very radical changes of temperature during the seasons. I have visited a cave on my father's estate a good many times, and I remember that it was always almost uncomfortably cool on a warm summer day, and pleasantly warm on a winterday. Considerable attention has recently been given to cavern researches in England and France. And in several instances the bones of men and some domestic implements and rudely-made weapons have been found, which show beyond a reasonable doubt that the human race has existed on this earth for a period much longer than that which we have been taught. While we were encamped at Camp Moonlight, about twenty miles south of here, the early part of last November, I was permitted to accompany a party of officers and soldiers on a visit to a cave much larger than the one near our present camp. We did not go very far into it from the entrance, but we went far enough to see some beautiful stalactites hanging from the roof like icicles which hang from the eaves of a house after the snow has commenced to melt and run down its sloping roof. Were everything favorable, I should like to visit the cave near us, but of course not with the view of making careful investigations, for that would take time and a large expenditure of money. But when peace shall bless our country again, and the spirit of inquiry increases, perhaps interesting researches will be made into the history of these caves, which will throw some light on the various forms of life that once inhabited them. Curious thoughts are apt to come into one's mind after visiting one of these natural wonders. What caused it? How long since it was formed? These are exceedingly interesting questions to those whose minds seek a rational explanation of every natural phenomenon. But when we come to understand something about how a cave has been formed, we are not likely to press the question, How long since? It is a notable fact that all the caves in this country are in limestone formations. Now it is well known to every one who has given any attention to chemistry,that a solution of water and carbonic acid will dissolve pieces of limestone, when put into it. Rainwater is known to contain carbonic acid, the proportion, perhaps, depending upon the season. It is easy to imagine, then, that the rain falling on these hills must have always run down through the soil until the water came to the limestone; and that when it penetrated it, it dissolved a portion of it, the extent of dissolution, however, depending upon the amount of carbonic acid the rain water contained. Everyone who has been in a cave can probably call to mind the sound of dropping water from the roof of the cave, which he heard here and there. Well, every drop of water that falls from the roof to the floor, is supposed to hold in solution a very small quantity of the limestone. But when the water comes to separate from the dissolved limestone it leaves a thin film of solid material, different in character from the original limestone. When the water drops from the roof of the cave, it leaves a thin film attached to the roof, which gradually assumes the form and appearance of an icicle. This is called a stalactite. The film that forms on the floor after the water has left it, is called the stalacmite.

It will thus be seen that the formation of a cave is a perfectly natural, though an extremely slow process. It is like removing the sands from the sea shore by taking a grain at a time. How long it has taken to form a stalactite as long as one's arm, we have no means of knowing as far as the caves in this section are concerned. Nor have I ever heard that the thickness of the stalacmite formations of the caves of this region have ever been measured or any efforts made to find out the nature of the deposits under them, or contemporaneous with their growth.

Reflecting on stalacmitic formations and the evidences of ancient life they may contain, this thought has come into my mind. Suppose that one of our soldiers or one of the enemies, on account of the stress of weather or imminent danger, should take to a cave and die in it with his arms and accoutrements beside him.-After a while, perhaps, the drops of water from the roof of the cave falling on his bones and arms, would leave thereon a formation of stalacmitic matter. And should the men of some future age decide to investigate the history of these caves and find the bones and arms cemented together with stalacmitic matter, they might be able to determine the age to which they belonged, and nearly the exact time it had taken to produce a formation of stalacmitic matter of a given thickness. Our pistols and carbines and sabers have the name of the manufacturer or patentee, and the year they were made, stamped upon them. Though there are many chances that in time these would become obliterated by rust, yet under certain conditions they might not. At any rate the subject is one upon which the mind delights to dwell for a moment. And in this connection there arises the further thought. Is it possible, that in a few years, not a vestige of the storms of war which have recently swept back and forth over this section, will be left to the future inhabitants of these pleasant valleys and prairies? Is it possible that in a few years and on these grounds a comfortable mansion may arise, whose dwellers will be all unconscious that we were ever here for warlike purposes, and our arms stained with the blood of men who were recently our friends and brothers? Probably in a few years from now there will be many peaceful dwellings by the road-side in this section, whose occupants may never dream that the tramping of marching squadrons, the rattling of artillery carriages, and the clanging of sabers, might have recently been heard upon the public highways. How evanescent are the actions of men! Even the pyramids of Egypt must in time crumble to dust. We do not know but that if the light of the past could be thrown upon these grounds and over these regions, we should see hostile armies of even greater magnitude than ours or that of the enemy, operating against each other. It is now considered by those who ought to be competent authority, that this western country was once occupied by a race of people quite different, in some respects, to our present Indians. At various places in the Mississippi valley mounds are found which are known to have been thrown up by human hands; and in some instances there have also been found human skeletons, pieces of pottery and implements indicative of their domestic life. These mounds are believed to be of high antiquity and not to have been made by any of the existing races of North America. If a numerous people inhabited the Mississippi valley at some distant age of the past, they also probably spread over this region, for its ever-living streams, lovely valleys, and occasional prairies, must always have been very inviting to peoples following a nomadic or pastoral life.

Though our camp is on the edge of a prairie, the country a few miles to the east of us is rugged and hilly, and less adapted to agricultural purposes than the country to the west of us, in the Grand River valley. But as the Grand River country belongs to the Cherokees, no one can say when its agricultural resources will be developed, even should the war close immediately.

The number of negro refugees, who have gained their freedom since we came into this State, are getting to be a good deal of a burden. Their almost destitute condition, causes many of them to commit acts that are not sanctioned by our ideas of strict morality. We find employment for some of them as teamsters and servants, but still there are many more who are unemployed. We send a good many to Kansas every time that our supply trains return to Fort Scott. Many of them are quite shiftless, and it will probably be some time before they appreciate to a very great extent the value of their freedom. But we should be charitable towards them, and not magnify their shortcomings, nor oppress them, so that they will feel obliged to commit unlawful acts. I think that there is a tendency on our part to overlook their many disadvantages, when considering their moral actions. With their past life of slavery and degradation, and with the pinch of hunger and cold affecting them at present, we ought not to expect all their actions to be perfectly free of censure. Those who have tasted of only a small proportion of the fruits of their own toil, are not likely to try before their consciences with much deliberation, the offense of chicken stealing, when they are suffering from hunger. As these people have not been property owners, it will probably be some time before they have very definite ideas of proprietary rights. We should not therefore be surprised to hear of a larger proportion of them during the next generation, guilty of unlawfully appropriating the property of others, than among the white population.

It seems to me that we might be relieved of a good deal of our present embarrassment by organizing a corps of colored troops. The amount of money the Government paid the men for their services would be almost sufficient to take care of their families. There is, however, considerable prejudice yet among our officers and soldiers in regard to organizing them into regiments, but as their freedom throughout the country is sure to come at an early day, I can see no good reason why they should not be taken into the military service at once, indeed just as fast as they see fit to enlist. Having always been accustomed to obey orders, and being naturally of docile dispositions, I am inclined to believe that, if properly organized and officered, they will make excellent soldiers. While I think that intelligent soldiers may be more effective in the field than those of lower intelligence, I do not believe that either are likely to accomplish great deeds under incompetent and inefficient officers.

To relieve as far as possible the demands of hunger among the refugee families on the outskirts of our camp, Colonel Phillips has ordered that all the mills in this vicinity be repaired, so that such grain as can be found may be ground into meal and flour for distribution among those whose necessities are most pressing. He also occasionally makes a tour of personal inspection among the refugees, that he may know from his own observation something of the condition of those whom the fortunes of war have driven to seek our protection.

Yesterday evening (17th) a detachment of cavalry guarding a supply train from Cross Hollows, near Pea Ridge, with rations for this command, brought information that General Marmaduke, whom we fought at Cane Hill last November, attacked Springfield, Missouri, on the 8th instant, with a force of three or four thousand rebel cavalry and artillery. General E. B. Brown who commanded our troops, nearly all of whom were Missouri State Militia, made a gallant defense of the place, and repulsed the enemy after a day of fighting and skirmishing. General Marmaduke captured two unimportant positions in the southern quarter of the city, but after some sharp fighting his men were soon driven from them. Our troops had constructed several temporary forts, which were protected by stockades and trenches, so that a small force could hold the place against a superior force of the enemy. Though the enemy made several gallant charges and captured two positions, he could not hope to capture the stronger positions except by storming them, and he had not made sufficient preparations to undertake this with a reasonable prospect of success. General Marmaduke, finding that General Brown was hourly expecting reinforcements and would soon be able to take the offensive, withdrew from the contest and marched in a southeast direction. Many of the houses of the citizens were badly damaged by shot and shell from the enemy's artillery, and a few were also destroyed by fire. General Brown congratulated his troops for their gallant defense of the city, and regretted that he was unable to vigorously press the enemy in his retreat for want of cavalry.

Our troops that left Elm Springs on the night of the 8th were nearly two days too late to participate in the engagement at Springfield. There was undoubtedly a blunder somewhere, or else our commanding General is not shrewd enough to match General Marmaduke. It was almost stupidity to allow the enemy to march around us without our knowledge of his movements.

We hear now that Colonel Phillips' new command is to be known as the Eighth and Ninth Districts Department of the Missouri. It embraces southwest Missouri, northwestern Arkansas, and the Cherokee Nation. Considering the interests involved and the difficulties of his new position, he is justly entitled to the rank of Brigadier General, particularly if his present assignment is not a temporary arrangement.

In the afternoon of the 21st, Captain Hopkin's battery was taken out on the prairies near camp,for the purpose of spending a few hours in artillery practice. This is the battery that I have already referred to as the one we captured from General Cooper's command at Old Fort Wayne, three miles west of our present camp, the 21st of last October. The guns are in excellent condition, and though most of the artillerymen have had only a few months' drill, yet from the target practice this afternoon, they show that they would do effective work should the occasion shortly arise.

While on this ground I may mention that my father was held as a citizen prisoner near here last April by the rebel Colonel Coffey; and was condemned to be shot, but was exchanged the day before execution was to take place. He was captured by the enemy while guiding Colonel Doubleday's Second Ohio Cavalry from Kansas into South-west Missouri, and brought to Camp Walker and held several weeks. The rebel authorities had ordered shot quite a number of Union citizen prisoners, because they charged that our troops had shot a number of disloyal citizens. I doubt whether our troops ever shot any disloyal citizens after they were regularly captured, unless they were among those classed as bushwhackers, and who had committed some outrageous acts.

At eight o'clock on the evening of the 22d, with a detail of fourteen men, I was directed to proceed to Neosho with dispatches for the commanding officer at that post, and for the commanding general at Springfield. As it is the intention of our division to spend the winter in this section ; and as we are not likely to commence any offensive operation until towards spring, I have permission to remain at Neosho two weeks, to see some of my relatives and friends whom I have not seen since the war commenced. I look back upon the past year with a good deal of pride, for I have not been absent from my post of duty a single day. And in the discharge of my duties, 1 believe that I have given satisfaction to those with whom I have had to deal. Though we have had a Lieutenant and Commissary with us a part of the time, being a subordinate, I have generally had all the work to do, and it is no small task to issue rations to a full regiment of cavalry, as I have had to do when the regiment was all together. If I could issue unbroken packages, of course there would be but little labor. As it is, I am obliged to weigh and measure in all conceivable quantities, sugar, salt, coffee, tea, beans, etc., besides I must cut up the fresh beef and bacon into pieces of just so many pounds weight, and if a scouting party is going out during the night, as generally happens, it may become necessary to issue to it extra rations, and to stay up half the night to do it. I must be extremely careful in all my calculations, seeing to it that no company, detachment or the hospital, gets any more or less than its exact regulation allowance. This little retrospect of my own — duties I hope is permissible, as I am going to have a respite of a few days. The sky was heavily overcast, and there was no moon, and the night was intensely dark. But on this account we thought that we would be less likely to come in contact with the enemy's guerillas, and the necessity of being constantly on our guard would chase sweet sleep from our eyes.

We arrived at Neosho on the morning of the 23d, having marched forty-five miles in twelve hours. Our route was through a thickly wooded region all the way. It continued cloudy and was intensely dark, and there was a drizzling rain nearly all night. We had to trust to our horses keeping on the path, as they see better in the darkness than men. It frequently occurred that we could not tell whether we were on the road or not, for we could not distinguish a white handkerchief an arms length in front of us. Immediately on our arrival at Neosho I delivered the dispatches and mail to Major John A Foreman, commanding officer of the post, who at once sent them by another detachment on to Springfield.

I breakfasted at home with father and mother and the family, the first time for nearly two years. Mother was nearly wild with delight to see me, so many exciting events have taken place in this section since the last time she saw me. Though we were within twelve miles of here last September at the battle of Newtonia, I did not have an opportunity of coming home. She heard the booming of artillery all that day, and knowing that my brother and I were with our troops, felt great anxiety until she heard that we were all right.

When we came in sight of the place, I could hardly bring my mind, I regret to say, into a condition to greet it with much warmth of feeling. It is easy to imagine an instance in which, when one person purposely or carelessly offends another, and afterwards without having made any apology or explanation, offers his hand, and of the offended party hesitating whether to take it or not. Such were my feelings. I could hardly make up my mind to give the place the right hand of fellowship, even if the place had welcomed my return. Since the Kansas troubles a large majority of the people of this place have displayed such a spirit of intolerance and want of respect towards those who differed with them in regard to political issues, that the sight of the town fails to arouse the slightest thrill of affection and reverence. There were a few abolitionists who resided here before the war, and they were frequently engaged in warm discussions in regard to the slavery question. They could talk with some pro-slavery men with moderation, but others to whom they talked, became passionate and even violent, declaring that no abolitionist should be permitted to live in this section and inculcate his pernicious doctrine. I have always noticed that those who cling tenaciously to principles which they cannot defend, get out of patience if you press them too hard with their illogicalities or inconsistencies. But though the abolitionists were frequently insulted and threatened, they persisted in expressing their convictions to those who desired to know them. Though less than a dozen in the county, they did not deny or make any efforts to conceal the fact that they were abolitionists. There were quite a number of men who were about half in sympathy with them, that is, whose political convictions were gradually undergoing a change, and they were not very decided in their expressions either way. Some people had such peculiar notions about abolitionists that the word was used in a good many families to frighten children. And there were also people quite grown up who regarded an abolitionist as a kind of monster in human form, so one-sided had their education been respecting the views of abolitionists.

I saw to-day several of the men who, in the early part of the war, had so little patience with Union men that they wanted them all killed and their property confiscated for the benefit of the Confederate Government. They were in favor of hanging those who went to Kansas and joined the Kansas Jayhawkers, as the Kansas soldiers were called. The name Jayhawker was first given to an organization of Free State men in Southern Kansas who, under the Territorial regime made retaliatory incursions into Missouri. The name is growing into a nickname for all Kansas people in the same sense as Hoosier is applied to Indianians. But several of the men I saw, who were recently thirsting for the blood of the Kansas Jayhawkers, when they looked and knew me, cast their eyes towards the ground, and their countenances changed. They were captured a few weeks ago, having been connected with a band of guerrillas whose operations extended over this county. But they have taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, and given bonds for the faithful performance of their promises. Now that they have escaped the edges of our swords and seem to show a disposition to submit to the authority of the Government, I presume no one feels inclined to disturb them, or to cast them into any deeper humiliation. When the rebel army under General McCulloch first came into this section, these men were painstaking in pointing out loyal families that they might be plundered of their property. The war is teaching the intolerant some grand lessons in toleration, and those of one-sided views to study the nature of their opponents' arguments. Men who recently could scarcely tolerate the existence of a neighbor who held opinions on certain subjects different from their own, are now at the mercy of this neighbor. And it is certainly commendable of those who were recently in the minority here, that they do not display a spirit of revenge.

It was at this place in November, 1861, while General Price's army were encamped in the vicinity, that Governor Jackson convened the Rump Legislature, which went through the farce of ratifying the ordinance of Secession. The event was celebrated by the booming of artillery; and great speeches were made to the enthusiastic multitude by the principal leaders.

Their prospects were brighter then than now, and they doubtless thought that Missouri would form one of the stars in the Constellation of the Confederate States.

The town contained about one thousand inhabitants before the war; but the population now is much less, probably not more than half that number independent of the Indian refugees temporarily stopping here. When this section was occupied by the rebel troops, nearly all the loyal families removed to Springfield and Kansas, or to some point within our lines; and since we drove the enemy out, and established posts at nearly all the towns, many of the rebel families have moved south.

A small garrison here could make no sort of defense against an enemy playing upon it with artillery, for there are heights all around the town, except narrow openings to the southeast and north. The brick Court House, however, which stands isolated on the Court

The 12th of February I joined the Indian division at Scott's Mills, McDonald County, Missouri, on the Cowskin river, twenty-two miles south west of Neosho, and about the same distance north of our old camp at Maysville. The bottom lands along the stream are excellent, and there are numerous fine farms, on most of which fine crops were raised last year. The movement of the division to this place is not regarded as retrograde or falling back, bat, simply for the purpose of more easily supplying our animals with forage and provisioning the refugee families with us. The mills here are in very good condition, and daily turn out large quantities of meal and flour, which will do much to relieve the demands of hunger among the refugees. Since we left Elm Springs as a separate command, Colonel Phillips has steadily grown in popularity with his troops, and we now believe him to be an able and judicious commander. At the end of a month he has made no mistake, but on the contrary has managed the affairs of his District in a manner deserving the warmest commendation.

The active operations of this command, and of the troops at Neosho under Major John A. Foreman, against the guerrillas in this section, are beginning to have a wholesome effect. Scarcely a day passes that a squad of rebels do not come in and take the oath of allegiance and ask the protection of the Government. Those who come in generally express the opinion that many more would come if they knew that they would be protected and allowed to live at home instead of being sent north at prisoners. They are mostly regarded with mistrust, for it has sometimes turned out that those whom we received and treated kindly, soon became dissatisfied with the situation, and went south again and joined the guerrillas. Until we came here, bushwhackers were as plenty as wild game up and down this river, but during the last two weeks, quite a number have been killed by our troops. They will hardly be able to find a safe retreat anywhere in the vicinity of this command. An Indian seems to me to almost scent a secret foe. I think this trait or characteristic may be to some extent accounted for by many of them following their natural mode of life — that is of hunting in the woods for game for miles around the camp.

It is well known to every one in the least familiar with this section during antebellum times, that the game in this region, such as deer and wild turkeys, have increased in great numbers the past two years. Many hogs have become wild in the river bottoms and flee from the sight of man like a deer. When the houses have been burned and the fences around the farms destroyed, as we find here and there, animals like hogs, that live without constant attention from man, soon run wild. The game that the Indians have killed this winter would probably, if we could estimate it, form quite an item in the way of maintaining their families.

It occasionally happens that, in a contest with the guerillas in this section, small detachments of our troops get worsted. On the first instant, a detachment from the command at Neosho had a skirmish with a company of guerillas on Burkhart prairie, twelve miles north-west of that post, and had two men badly wounded, without inflicting any loss on the enemy as far as is known. The commanding officer of the post, Major Foreman, immediately sent out a larger force, about a hundred men, to the vicinity where the skirmish took place, but it returned to its station after having captured one wagon loaded with plunder, and having chased the enemy several miles through the woods.

Captain Theo. Conkey, of the Third Wisconsin cavalry, who has recently been operating along the Spring River, in Jasper County, against the guerillas, had a lively contest a few days ago with Livingston's band, and in the affair, had half a dozen of his men captured. The loss sustained by the enemy, if any, I have been unable to ascertain, as Captain Conkey receives his orders from the commanding officer at Fort Scott. Livingston, we understand, is commissioned by and acting under regular orders from the rebel authorities, and is not accused of killing his prisoners like Quantrell, whose operations are confined chiefly to Jackson and Cass counties, and with whom we had a number of skirmishes last May. But Livingston attacks our supply trains, and his numerous predatory actions about unprotected points have given him considerable prominence during the last year. Whenever our troops come upon him with equal, or perhaps; somewhat superior numbers, he never stands, but soon scatters his men in small squads, permitting them sometimes to return to their homes for a few days. But between Neosho and Fort Scott, a distance of eighty miles, there is no point, except a camp on Dry Wood, fourteen miles south of Fort Scott, where we have any troops stationed. This large space of unoccupied country gives a wide field of operations for such an organization as Livingston's. And until we can establish more numerous stations along the western border tier of counties in this State, it will probably be difficult, if not impossible, to entirely break up such guerilla bands and also bushwhacking. To accomplish this object, there are some who favor applying the torch indiscriminately, to the houses of Union people and rebels. I can never conscientiously favor such a scheme; nor do I believe that the evil requires such heroic treatment at our hands. I have seen the standing chimneys and smoking ruins of desolated homes of Union people as well as rebels too often to wish to see such scenes renewed in a wholesale manner. Nor do I believe that such acts on our part would remedy the evil which we wish to extirpate. It seems to me that the enemy could occupy the desolate country all the same, and make his incursions into Kansas and into the counties of Missouri still further to the east. Though my age and position would not, to the minds of many, justify my presuming to criticise the actions of those whose maturer years have given them more varied experiences, and in many things a sounder judgment, yet I venture to think that our officers have too often permitted the indiscriminate destruction of private property, which should not have been destroyed, thus causing a needless amount of suffering among those whom we should endeavor to protect in the possession of their lives and property. I am perfectly willing, however, to do such officers the justice to believe that they seldom or never permit such acts, after thinking over the consequences, with such deliberation as I may be able to do when setting down to write on the subject. An officer marching through the country at the head of his squadron or regiment, without the thought of an enemy being near, is suddenly fired upon at a certain place by a party of guerrillas, and gets one or more of his men killed or wounded. His first thought is likely to be, that the family living on the place have been giving the enemy aid and comfort. This may be true or may not. But the chances are that the house will be burned, without making a thorough investigation to ascertain whether those .occupying it were in sympathy with, or knew anything about the presence of, the enemy.

Then there are people whose sympathies are divided concerning the issues involved in the war; I mean by this that, taking a large number of citizens such as we have to deal with, their loyalty would perhaps range from slight to complete without qualification. Some again, though they sympathize with the Government, and really wish its success, yet having relatives and friends in the rebel army who are very dear to them, have not the courage to utter their convictions in a strong and positive manner. The question arises, should the slightly loyal receive the punishment or be treated the same as the disloyal who are tooth and .nail against us? It will thus be seen that an apparently very simple question, becomes quite involved, when looked at closely. It is therefore useless to suppose that the sturdy soldier will enter into all these hair splitting niceties before giving his orders. He looks at things just as they present themselves to him, and if injustice is done, it may be, that after reflection, no one would regret it more keenly than himself. Taking this view of the matter, relieves in a measure our officers of the charge of permitting unnecessary destruction of private property. In all those extraordinary cases where private property has been destroyed by our troops, that clearly should not have been destroyed, the Government should, and probably will, in time, pay for, provided of course, that the parties to whom it belongs are loyal to the United States. I would not destroy even the property of rebel citizens except in cases of military necessity; and then it is not supposable that any demand will ever be made upon the Government for payment. But let us pass from this question which, in a few years, will doubtless engage the attention of legislators.

Parties coming from Neosho report that there is a great deal of sickness among the Indian soldiers and their families at that place. Taking into account the number of Indians there, and the number sick, the mortality amongst them is considered very high. The prevailing type of disease which is now taking off so many of them, I understand is typhoid fever. The hardships incident to leaving their homes in the Nation, and innutritious food and insufficient quantities of food, together with the poorly clad condition of many, are probably among the causes of this high mortality in some of the families. But of course the remark in regard to food and clothing cannot apply to the Indian soldiers, for they are as well fed and clothed as we are, that is, they have had their regular allowances during the winter. But the families and each member thereof have not perhaps had full rations during the winter. Though great care and interest have been manifested by Colonel Phillips in looking after them, yet it has been impossible to make them as comfortable as at their homes. The want of proper sheltering has also probably in many cases contributed to their discomforts and sickness. Home sickness, from being exiles, also doubtless has a depressing influence amongst some of them.

Such of the sick and wounded at Fayetteville and in the field hospitals of this division as will bear removing, are being taken to Fort Scott. The General Hospital at that place is better provided with everything essential to their proper care and treatment. The great difficulty is to get them there without increasing too much their suffering. But men convalescing from the effects of wounds, and placed in ambulances, and the ambulances driven carefully, should be taken the distance from Fayetteville to Fort Scott, say one hundred and fifty miles, without great inconvenience, except while en route they should be struck with a change of extremely cold weather, or a storm of sleet or snow. Even then, the heavy woolen blankets with which every soldier is provided, would enable them to get through without much suffering. Should the present fine weather continue a few days longer, they will have reached their destination in good condition.

Yesterday (15th), Colonel Phillips sent a squad of ten rebel prisoners that we recently captured, to Neosho, Missouri, to be held until there is an opportunity of sending them to Fort Scott or Leavenworth.

We have four classes of the enemy to deal with in this section. First, the bushwhackers, who are unorganized and generally found singly, but, as sometimes happens, in squads of two to half a dozen. They are generally men who stay around in the vicinity of their homes, and fire upon our troops from bluffs or other inaccessible points, or when they see one of our soldiers alone on dispatch or courier duty shoot him off his horse with their rifles, and despoil him of his arms, clothing, money and equipments. Since we came into this region last autumn, we have had quite a number of men who were either with the advance or rear guard, or on escort duty to trains, killed and wounded by bushwhackers. Though of course bushwhackers are all rebels, yet I think that most of them are men of bad blood, men whose natural inclinations and evil tendencies lead them to follow a robber life. They only take advantage of the existing chaotic state of things to show their true characters. Should the war immediately cease, probably only a small percentage of such desperate characters would return to or adopt an honest mode of life. But putting themselves outside the pale of civilized warfare, they will likely nearly all be killed off in a few years. I may be judging them too harshly, but in the light of such facts as have come under my notice, I don't think so. Second, guerrilla bands, men having some sort of military organization, and whose movements are directed by a leader. Most of the leaders of the guerrillas with whom we have to contend, I have frequently heard, hold commissions from the Confederate government, or the fugitive Governor of Missouri. Livingston whom I have already referred to, may be cited as an instance. The function of guerrillas is similar to that of privateers. While the privateer is commissioned by the rebel authorities to prey upon our marine commerce, the guerrillas are commissioned to prey upon our inland commerce, destroy public property, such as trains, &c., and to impede our movements in every possible manner. Though as I have mentioned, Livingston is not accused of murdering his prisoners in cold blood, yet our soldiers feel, and I think justly so, that their lives would be very insecure in the hands of most guerrilla leaders, like Quantrill for example. We have to be always on the lookout for guerrillas, and our trains are obliged to be always well guarded, for if the enemy capture a courier with dispatches, or a soldier from a scouting party, they may get information that will enable them to concentrate at a given point and attack our escort and trains from an ambush. This mode of warfare often enables a small force to defeat a superior force encumbered with trains. In fact the concealed enemy has a great advantage when he attacks about an equal number of our troops. An enemy of a hundred men concealed in a favorable position, might kill and wound half a company of soldiers the first volley. The rest, if not thrown into confusion by such a sudden burst of destruction, would in such case be unable to cope with the enemy flushed by his success. To guard against such disasters a military commander must be always wide awake and on the alert, and he must know the strength of the enemy in his rear as well as in his front. We now believe that the enemy, in whatever manner he may choose to operate against us, will have to be exceedingly industrious and wide awake to gain a point on Colonel Phillips. His movements on the military chessboard show that he is not likely to be checkmated or broken up by an opponent handling an equal number of men. Third, rebels returning to their homes in that section of the State from which they entered the rebel army; or rebels leaving the vicinity of their homes in detachments to join the rebel army, or to remain south during the progress of the war. Whether leaving the State in detachments, or returning to it in detachments, they rarely show an inclination to assume the offensive, seeming to prefer to pass through the country unobserved. But those leaving the State, when they find that there is a fair prospect of capturing property that can be taken along without impeding their movements, are not so careful to avoid contact with our troops. Even if their attacks be unsuccessful, and they completely fail in any given design, they can continue their march southward without increasing the danger of being intercepted and captured. Only a few weeks ago, at Neosho, our pickets were fired into one night, as was supposed, by quite a force of the enemy going south, but as they found that we were not to be surprised, decided to make no further demonstration.

The enemy returning to the State may have either of two objects in view. He may be intending to follow a guerrilla warfare, or he may be intending to concentrate at some point designated, to make a combined movement against some place occupied by a given number of our troops. A combined movement of this kind he made against Lone Jack in Jackson county, Missouri, on the 15th and 16th of last August, resulting in the defeat of our troops with a heavy loss in killed and wounded, and the capture of a section of the Third Indiana Battery.

The following casualties at the battle of Lone Jack on the Federal side, I have gathered from official data : Second battalion Missouri State Militia, killed, enlisted men, 4; wounded, officers, 1 ; enlisted men, 5; missing, officers, 1 ; enlisted men, 5. Sixth Missouri State Militia, killed, enlisted men, 9 ; wounded, officers, 5; enlisted men, 35 ; missing, enlisted men, 17. Seventh Missouri Volunteer cavalry, killed, officers, 2 ; enlisted men, 19; wounded, officers, 3 ; enlisted men, 62; missing, enlisted men, 11. Two Companies Seventh Missouri State Militia cavalry, killed, enlisted men, 6 ; wounded, officers, 1; enlisted men, 14 ; missing, enlisted men, 6. Eighth Missouri State Militia cavalry, killed, enlisted men, 9 ; wounded, officers, 2 : enlisted men, 28; missing, enlisted men, 4. Third Indiana battery, killed, enlisted men, 5; Total killed, officers, 2; enlisted men, 51 ; wounded, officers, 13; enlisted men, 144, exclusive of the Third Indiana battery ; missing, officers, 1; enlisted men, 43.

Major Emory S. Foster, Seventh Missouri cavalry, who commanded our troops in the engagement, reports that he had about 800 men, and that one-third of this force were killed, wounded and missing. This was one of the most gallant fights of the war, for a small force. The enemy had 2,500 men.

The Indian division struck tents at Scott's Mills and marched leisurely up the Cowskin river about twenty miles, and encamped near Pineville, the county seat of McDonald county, on the 21st of February. We were several days marching this distance, because, as I suppose, Colonel Phillips wishes to move at his leisure to those localities where our animals can be most easily foraged until spring shall have advanced far enough to justify a forward movement. As we are to go from here to Bentonville, Benton county, Arkansas, in a few days, we are now doubtless taking the first steps towards entering upon the spring campaign. Our soldiers seem delighted that we are to turn our faces to the South, and that we are to re-occupy the section from which we were withdrawn the first of the year.

This is not much of an agricultural region, as there is not much soil fit for cultivation, except along the river bottoms. The Cowskin or Elk river, which flows in a westerly course, nearly through the centre of the county, is not perceptibly smaller here than at Scott's Mills. It differs from our Kansas rivers in this respect, that it discharges a large volume of water the year round, while they almost dry up during the summer months of dry seasons. With some attention given to its improvement for navigation, light draft steamers might run on it between this point and Grand River several months of the year. It flows over a gravelly bottom, and is as clear as a crystal, being fed by perpetual springs. Water-power mills have been constructed upon it wherever required. In this vicinity, and for ten or fifteen miles above here, a number of saw mills were in operation before the war, making lumber. This is the only county in southwest Missouri in which there are any pine forests. Hence, therefore, all the pine lumber used for building and other purposes, in the counties north and east of this, for a distance of sixty to seventy-five miles, was furnished by this section. It is quite different from the white pine shipped from the north, and used in the towns along the Missouri river and in Kansas. It is known as yellow pine, and is very heavy, containing large quantities of resin or pitch. A piece of it lighted will burn like a torch, to such an extent is it saturated with the oil of turpentine. Before the war there was also manufactured in this region considerable tar or pitch, obtained from this yellow pine. It was used altogether by the people of south west Missouri and Arkansas in lubricating the wooden axles of their old-fashioned wagons. The people of this section do not use for lubricating purposes, oil, tallow or axle grease, as we do on our wagons, Perhaps tar would not be as suitable for iron axles, such as are used in the army wagon.

From all that I have seen of this county, I think it is too poor to ever attract to it a very large number of immigrants. It is possible, however, but not probable, that these rocky hills contain hidden treasures of immense value, of which we know nothing at present. I can see how it is possible to utilize the hilly and poor upland regions to some extent. They are mostly covered with fine timber, and in the spring, summer and autumn months, with a fine growth of wild grass. When all the land which is fit to cultivate along the streams is taken up, large flocks of sheep and goats and herds of cattle can be pastured during half the year, at little expense, on the bills and uplands. But before people can be induced to come here and adopt such rigid economy, the fertile plains of Kansas and the richer portions of this State, will be densely populated.

In some sections of the country now, the destruction of forests, in getting timber for various economical purposes, is more rapid than their growth. Their destruction must become even more marked, as the population of the country increases and its resources are steadily developed. The time is therefore coming when the forests on these hills will be quite an item of commerce to this section, and a source of profit to the owners.

Out of the great number of fine springs in this section, whose clear cold water is a luxury, particularly during the summer months, it is possible that some of them may possess medicinal properties, which will make.them places of public resort, and temporary abodes for invalids from all parts of the world.

As no large body of our troops have been in this vicinity since last autumn, and as we have no troops stationed in this county at all, a good many rebels have returned from the southern army and from Texas and southern Arkansas, and have been living at their homes nearly all winter. Since we came here, some of them have come into our lines and taken the oath of allegiance to the Government, and others have either gone South, or remain in the country endeavoring to avoid capture by our troops. Only a few weeks ago a party of a dozen or so rebels in this vicinity, sent a message to the commanding officer at Neosho that they were willing to come in and surrender and take the oath, but when a detachment of our troops came down here to receive them, they were not found. It is reported that they had some fears of our Indian soldiers, and went to Mount Vernon to give themselves up to the proper authorities. From all that I can hear, I have no doubt but that Colonel Phillips' firmness, tempered with moderation, has had much to do in inducing those who have recently been in arms against the Government, yet who have realized their mistake and feel somewhat friendly inclined towards us, to come in and renew their allegiance to the old flag. Though he has had a mixed command of Indians and white men, which probably few officers would be able to manage creditably, yet he has kept his soldiers under perfect control, so perfect, indeed, that we nowhere hear of houses burned, or the useless destruction of property. This is almost remarkable considering the great number of refugees and camp-followers of every condition and color and phase of moral character he has to keep his eyes upon. While we were encamped at Maysville some colored male refugees who were caught committing some unauthorized depredations in the country, were punished by each being compelled to carry a log of wood, weighing perhaps thirty to forty pounds, several hours each day for two or three days. The punishment of those men has had a wholesome effect in preventing the reckless and indiscriminate plundering that would surely have followed, had not our commander been thus prompt in setting his seal of condemnation upon it. No one can tell to what length a mass of unorganized and ignorant men would go, were not some restraint put upon their actions. It is safe to say, however, that the lives and property of no class in the vicinity would be safe, and for myself I should not be surprised to hear of them cutting their own throats, were they permitted to follow their own unbridled passions. Colonel Phillips has no doubt carefully considered and foreseen the result which would naturally flow from allowing refugees, camp-followers, or even his own troops, to commit depredations on their own account. When he sends out his forage trains, he sends them under officers who act under specific instructions. Should the officer in charge of a train go outside of his instructions, and take any property or permit it to be taken by the men under him, with the view of applying it to private use, and complaint be made to headquarters, Colonel Phillips would have him immediately Court-martialed, and if found guilty of the charges preferred against him, he would be dismissed the service. But while he is prompt in repressing acts that would tend to reflect upon our arms, he is not accused of acting, in any case, ghastly and without sufficient cause. I am sure that it cannot be said years hence, when the war is over, that Colonel Phillips, with perfect indifference, permitted the Federal troops under him to rob the women of this section of their jewelry and other trinkets. But should the spirit of justice and moderation that have guided his action, since he assumed command of this division, continue to guide his future movements, and should he be spared a full measure of years, and return to this section, the people will doubtless welcome him with grateful hearts, and point to him as a Federal commander whose military and private life reflected luster upon the cause which he represented.

The President's Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on the first of January, and the prospect of immediately arming the freedmen to fight the enemy, their late masters, are just beginning to be warmly discussed by officers and soldiers and citizens. We hear from Neosho and other sections of the State, that returned rebels and many democrats regard these new measures of the Government with a good deal of bitterness, and predict that they will weaken our cause throughout the country. They pretend to think that it would be a great disgrace to the Government to permit negro soldiers to go into the field and fight by the side of white soldiers of the Union armies. But these guardians of propriety and advisers of the Government, see no objection to the negroes of the South raising supplies for the rebel armies, building their fortifications, acting as servants for officers, and in contributing in various ways, directly and indirectly, to strengthening the backbone of the Confederacy. They wish to see the Government compel the negroes to continue forging the chains intended to keep them bound in slavery for ever. Even some of our officers and soldiers seem to think that nothing but evil can come out of these measures, and denounce President Lincoln for inaugurating them. They understand very little about how difficult it is to resist the progressive spirit of our time, and would ignore the fact that the war has forced the Government to adopt certain measures which it was not desirous of adopting at the beginning. They like to repeat with some emphasis that they did not enter the service of the Government for the purpose of abolishing slavery, but for the purpose of saving the Union. And this general statement now being made by many in the army, I think represents their true sentiments. Had they known that the war would have so soon brought about the abolition of slavery, a great many men now in the service would probably never have enlisted. But I think that those who take this view of the matter, occupy a very inconsistent position. We might ask, would they keep a portion of our army busy returning runaway slaves to their rebel masters? Or would they have large pastures or mess houses to keep all the slaves in that run away from their masters and come into our lines? Or would they carefully investigate each case to ascertain to whom the man, woman or child belonged, and then put a tag around the individual's neck so that he could be returned to the proper owner when the war is over. To my mind any other position than that taken by the Government would not only be absurd, but impractible. The rebels brought on the war, and that their leaders were too short sighted to foresee the results is now plain to every one. They must make the best of their own mistake. They gloried in being blind to the probable future destiny of slavery. While the war was not at first ostensibly carried on by the Government for the purpose of abolishing slavery, matters have now taken such a turn that the freedom of the slaves has become a public necessity. Though perhaps most of our people will temporarily deplore the necessity, there are others, a large minority too, who will hail this opportunity which the Government has, of wiping out a national crime, with delight. It is a great victory for the latter class,--a victory that many never dreamed of realizing during their lives. This class shall no longer be considered a contemptible minority of fanatics and disturbers of the peace, because we have advocated that all men should have equal rights, to life, liberty and the pursuit to happiness. In the future history of the Republic those noble men of this generation, who have stood firm against great odds in advocating the abolition of slavery, will be regarded as among the saviors of the country. The taunts, and insults, and sacrifices which they have endured, have not counted for nothing. The judicial murder of John Brown will make him a martyr to freedom to the future generations of this country; and his name is already woven into a war song, which is sung throughout all our armies.

And now the slaves are going to help pay the price of their freedom by supporting the strong arms of their deliverers, instead of being a burden to them. How much better this is than if they do nothing, for their descendants can then say with conscious pride, our fathers, by their manhood and valor, and by their blood and sacrifices, contributed to our freedom. It would be unnatural for the late slaves to remain idle in this great conflict. Now is their time to strike, and they will not fail to do it. We have already heard that a colored regiment is being organized in Kansas from the negro refugees from Missouri and Arkansas. If properly officered I have no doubt that they will march to the front with firm steps and brave hearts, and meet the enemy like men who are conscious that they are fighting for their liberty and their lives.

Lieutenant Maxwell Phillips, of the Third Indian regiment, was wounded in a skirmish with bushwhackers on Pea Ridge a few days ago. Though a brother of the Colonel, he has had to share equally with other officers the dangers and hardships of the field. His wound is quite serious, though it is not thought that with careful attention, it will prove mortal. He has been sent to Neosho in an ambulance; but will probably soon be taken to Kansas to stay until he recovers. He has been an active and efficient officer during the winter, and this division cannot well afford to lose his services.

Colonel Judson's brigade is encamped at Mt. Vernon, about thirty miles west of Springfield. The cavalry is obliged to keep constantly moving in order to find sufficient forage for the animals. The troops in the vicinity of Springfield do not seem to be making any preparations for an active spring campaign into that section of Arkansas occupied by the enemy. I should like to hear of our victorious troops of last winter carrying their arms into the ranks of the enemy, instead of spending the season in inactivity along the border counties of southern Missouri.

From near Pineville, Missouri, we marched to Water's Mills, about three miles north of Bentonville, Arkansas. Nothing occurred on the march worth mentioning, except that the country we passed over was rough and hilly, as in the vicinity of Pineville. We could see the pine forests on the distant hills, but there were none directly on our road. Our advance guard saw several flocks of wild turkeys. There are great numbers of them in a part of the region that we passed over, for it is very thinly settled with a house here and there, miles apart. And from what I saw I think that the acorn-bearing oaks must have produced immense quantities of acorns last year, thus furnishing abundant food for the wild turkeys and pigeons of this section. We encamped at Water's Mills only a few days, and moved to Bentonville on the 27th of February. We shall probably stay here several weeks. Bentonville is a small town, and perhaps never contained a population of more than three or four hundred. For agricultural purposes this county is even poorer than McDonald county, Missouri. Considerable tobacco, however, was raised on the small cultivated tracts before the war. The hills around here are not quite so rugged as along Elk river and Sugar Creek some twenty miles northeast of us.

Yesterday morning, March 1st, Colonel Phillips sent a scout in the direction of White river, almost east of this place, for the purpose of discovering a party of rebels reported to have been seen in that vicinity a few days ago; but it returned about midnight without having found them. Our cavalry will probably be kept busy for awhile in endeavoring to free this section from bushwhackers, for they have had almost full sway since we passed through here last October, just before the battle of Old Fort Wayne. When we came here, only three days ago, the dust raised by their horses' heels had scarcely settled. As a general thing the bushwhackers in this section are mounted upon fine animals, and if they get the start of us beyond the range of our Sharp's carbines, we are rarely able to over take them. In the battalion of the Sixth Kansas cavalry there are some good horses, and in a chase a trooper may now and then be able to dash ahead of his comrades and bring down his enemy by a well directed shot from his carbine or army revolver. But the animals upon which the Indians are mounted are mostly ponies, and of course not conspicuous for fleetness as compared with some of our more carefully bred horses. For many years before the war the horse fanciers of Missouri delighted to trace the genealogies ,of their horses back to the celebrated fine stock of Kentucky. The Indian ponies, however, are very hardy, and stand the service remarkably well. An Indian looks awkward seated upon one of our fine cavalry horses, so thoroughly have Indians and ponies become associated in our minds together.

A portion of the first Arkansas cavalry stationed at Fayetteville, twenty-five miles south of this place, brought in yesterday about thirty rebel prisoners, recently captured in the direction of Van Buren. They are to be sent to Springfield, Missouri, in a few days, as we have no facilities for holding prisoners of war in safety. As all the available men of this division are required for active service in the field, none of them can well be spared for guarding prisoners, even temporarily. The military prisons north are the proper places for such of the enemy as we capture, instead of marching them from station to station with us.

The turning over of these prisoners to Colonel Phillips by the loyal Arkansas troops is noted with much satisfaction, for I remarked several months ago that there were enough Union men in northwestern Arkansas, if organized into regiments and battalions, to contribute largely in holding this section. The First regiment of Arkansas cavalry, commanded by Colonel M. La Rue Harrison, has now nearly completed its organization, and most of the men have received their arms, bright new uniforms and equipments. It is reported that some of the men were conscripts in the rebel army, and no doubt met us on the field at Prairie,

On the morning of March 4th, Colonel Phillips, with an escort of one hundred men, set out for Fayetteville. The Union citizens of Washington county have called a mass meeting to be held at that place, and as that county is in his district, have invited him to be present, and to address them on current issues, and concerning their future prospects. Of course I have no means of knowing what advice he will give them, but it is easy to imagine that he will advise them to enroll every able-bodied loyal man in defence of their homes, to be vigilant and take every precaution against surprise by the enemy, to see to it that the troops shall not display a spirit of lawlessness in any section in which they may be operating, and lastly that the citizens who are in sympathy with the Government shall, as far as practicable, co-operate with the troops. While I do not know anything about the Colonel as a public speaker, I do know that he is able to express his thoughts with ease and elegance upon paper, for he was for a number of years, before the war, a staff correspondent of the New York Tribune in Kansas, and wrote the first History of Kansas under the territorial regime. I do not know that we have a more forcible writer in the State, and if he keeps his official garments clean, and gets through the war alive, and returns to Kansas, I cannot see why he should not be one of our leading men, and why the people should not feel proud of honoring him with the highest position within their gift. Though a man's present conduct and character may be such as to win our admiration, and justify us in speaking of his prospective bright future; yet in these times, when there is so much tripping among great men, it is hardly safe to draw such a future picture of a man as his present career would seem to warrant. He may or he may not follow your imaginary paths, and obstacles may be thrown in his way which no one can foresee. Though it is unquestionably the duty of every officer and soldier in our armies. to work earnestly and faithfully, until we shall compel the last man of the enemy to lay down his arms, and return to his allegiance to the Government, yet we know that already, during the progress of the war, there have been instances in which officers through jealousy, and to break down the reputations of their colleagues, have failed to co-operate with them, thus causing a useless and criminal destruction of the lives of our troops, and a prolonging of the contest. So it may be that obstacles will be interposed to prevent the deserved promotion of Colonel Phillips.

It is getting to be more difficult every day to find sufficient forage for our animals. They are really beginning to feel the pinch of hunger, and I fear will be much reduced in condition before spring opens, so that they can live by grazing. Our forage trains are sent almost two days march from camp, and then frequently return with most of the wagons empty or only partly filled with wheat straw. This, under ordinary circumstances, we use for bedding for our animals, but now we are obliged to use it largely as a substitute for hay and fodder. We cannot understand why we are not able to get all the corn and oats from Kansas that may be required for the command, for we hear that great quantities have been contracted for and are stored at Fort Scott. If our animals are permitted to run down in flesh and to become weak, we shall be obliged to content ourselves with less aggressiveness. It is possible, however, that before we shall have reached our usual radius of fifteen to twenty miles, some neighborhood will be found that can furnish us corn, oats, hay and straw for several weeks.

A scouting party from this division has just returned from Van Buren via Fayetteville, having been absent about a week. While they were in the vicinity of Van Buren, Captain Fred Crafts, the commanding officer of the detachment, sent a spy into Fort Smith, who returned and reported that the enemy had only about three hundred men stationed there. It is therefore evident that we have no organized enemy of much consequence directly in our front for at least one hundred miles south of us. Since our expedition to Van Buren last December, the rebel authorities have not ventured to keep a regular station north of the Arkansas river. After an army becomes so demoralized as were General Hindman's forces last winter, it takes some time to reorganize it for effective operations. Unless the enemy receives reinforcements from east of the Mississippi, which is not at all likely at present, I think it will be impossible for him to organize another such an army as that which he had at Prairie Grove. It looks now as if the enemy would require all his available forces in the west for the defense of Vicksburg, which is being invested by our forces under General Grant. It would probably be difficult for the enemy there to either receive reinforcements from the west or to send out troops to the west, so tight are our lines being drawn around them.

One year ago to day, the 6th, the battle known as Pea Ridge commenced on this very ground. On the 6th the enemy, under General Van Dorn, attacked General Sigel's division at this place, and he retreated, contesting every inch of ground, until he formed a junction with the other divisions of our army under the command of General S. R. Curtis, twelve miles northeast of here, between Pea Ridge and Cross Hollows. I have heard it said that General Van Dorn made the remark, that had his forces attacked General Sigel twenty minutes sooner, he would have captured the entire division of five or six thousand men. Twenty minutes more would probably have enabled General Van Dorn to have thrown a strong force between Generals Curtis and Sigel, and to have fought them separately. A short distance east of this place, on the line of retreat, in looking over the late scene of operations, I noticed a number of trees still bearing marks of shot and shell and small arms. General Curtis' forces not only drove Sterling Price's army out of Missouri into Arkansas, attacking it first at Springfield and then at Sugar Creek, but pursued them to Fayetteville, twenty miles south of here. Some sixteen miles south of Fayetteville General Price met the combined forces of Generals McCulloch, McIntosh and Pike. General Van Dorn, who had recently been appointed by the Confederate authorities to the command of the Trans-Mississippi Department, had just arrived when the rebel forces formed a junction. He at once assumed command of the combined forces, numbering about thirty-five thousand men, and some sixty pieces of light artillery, and marched rapidly to attack General Curtis. Our cavalry and some light artillery that were in advance, and had occupied Fayetteville, fell back on our infantry as the enemy advanced in force. All our troops, except General Sigel's division, were on the main road leading from Springfield to Fayetteville. His division was on the road leading from Bentonville to Fayetteville, which, as already stated, at this point is about twelve miles west of the Springfield and Fayetteville road. His position was therefore a critical one, and had General Van Dorn succeeding in cutting him off from the main army under General Curtis, he might have been easily beaten, and his division destroyed or compelled to surrender. I have been informed by parties who were with General Sigel on his march from this place, that he was sometimes almost surrounded by the enemy; that during four or five hours, and until he received re-inforcements from General Curtis, he was obliged to fight the enemy in his front, on his flanks and in his rear. But he continued his march, and was able to form a junction late in the afternoon with General Jeff. C. Davis' division, about two miles west of the Springfield road at the west end of Pea Ridge. Our forces, however, were still divided into two separate armies, but in supporting distance of each other. During the night of the 6th, General Van Dorn moved his entire army around to the west of ours, and on the morning of the 7th had his line of battle formed north of us in our rear, thus cutting off any hope of retreat. General Curtis was therefore obliged to make a — change of front; that is, his line of battle must now front north instead of south. General Sterling Price's forces occupied the Springfield road directly north of General Curtis' camp, and the divisions of the enemy under Generals McCulloch and McIntosh held positions directly north of General Sigel, some three miles west of Price. On the 7th the battle opened on our right, and raged furiously during the entire day with varying results. When night came our right wing had been driven back nearly a mile, but our left wing, under Generals Sigel and Davis, had defeated the right wing of the enemy, killing Generals McCulloch and McIntosh. During the night of the 7th the enemy's forces formed a junction on the ground held by his left wing, which was a strong position.

By moving around and taking up positions north of our forces, it was evident that the rebel generals felt sure of being able to destroy our army or compel it to surrender. Therefore on the morning of the 8th, at sunrise, the battle was resumed with even greater fierceness. But General Curtis and his division commanders had not been idle during the night in arranging their troops and batteries for the impending struggle. Our left wing, under General Sigel, was first furiously assaulted by the right wing of the enemy, but maintained its position with great firmness. After several hours hard fighting General Sigel ordered into position about thirty pieces of artillery, which, soon getting the range of the enemy's guns, silenced battery after battery. Our infantry then, under cover of our batteries, crept forward, and when within a short distance of the enemy's lines the order was given to charge them. The troops that made this gallant charge were composed of Illinois, Indiana and Missouri regiments. The enemy's right wing was now pressed back in a good deal of confusion. Soon after this fierce contest our right wing forced back with great stubborness the left wing of the enemy. His lines now formed a kind of crescent,with the convex part of it turned toward us, and the horns directed from us, and our right and left wings cross-fired him with terrible effect. General Curtis, quickly seizing the situation, now ordered the charge all along our lines, and in a short time the enemy were completely routed at every point, and fled in great disorder in every direction, leaving their dead upon the field.

The federal losses in killed and wounded during the three days was upwards of twelve hundred men and officers. We did not lose any general officers, while the enemy had two general officers killed,--Brigadier Generals McCulloch and McIntosh. The enemy's losses of enlisted men, killed and wounded, also exceeded ours, besides General Curtis captured nearly a thousand prisoners.

That this sketch might be as accurate as possible, I spent three days last October, when we were encamped on the battle-field of Pea Ridge, in ascertaining the positions of different divisions of the two armies. A gentleman who was with General Curtis during the three day's struggle accompanied us over the field, and was able to point out nearly all the places — of interest, and I made memoranda of them; besides, I have recently gone over a part of the field. It was easy to judge where the battle had been fiercest by the number of newly-made graves. At points where considerable numbers of our soldiers were killed, long trenches were dug and the men placed in them side by side, and a head-board placed over each man, giving his name, regiment, or battery. The places pointed out to us as the graves of the rebel dead, indicated that they had been buried in heaps; and we were told by our guide that such was the fact. I did not see a single head-board placed over any of their graves, although General Curtis gave General Van Dorn permission to bury his dead; and rebel-burying parties were on the field several days under a flag of truce.

About a quarter of a mile north of Elk Horn tavern, on the brow of a hill a few yards west of the Springfield and Fayetteville road, I counted thirty-three graves close together, the head-boards showing that the men who fell on that hallowed ground belonged to the Ninth Iowa infantry. Upwards of two miles southwest of Elk Horn tavern, where the battle also raged with great fury, the head-boards showed that the men who had fallen in this locality belonged to the Second, Twelfth and Twenty-fourth regiments Missouri infantry, and Eighth and Twenty-second regiments Indiana infantry, and Thirty-seventh regiment Illinois infantry. At other places on the field the federal dead had been buried in smaller groups than at the points mentioned above.. When we were encamped on the battle-field in October, the traces of this great battle still mast visible were around Elk Horn tavern. The trees in the orchard and the small undergrowth in the woods near by were much scarred and cut to pieces by small arms and by grape and canister of the two armies. About half a mile south of Elk Horn, on the west side of the high road, and just north of the large field in which the federal trains were parked, the timber, covering a space of perhaps half a mile square, was dreadfully torn to pieces by shot and shell. I saw trees, probably eighteen inches in diameter, torn and split as if they had been struck by lightning. The storm from the federal batteries that burst over this part of the field must have been terrific. It was mostly the work of our batteries on the 7th, after the repulse of General Curtis' right wing around Elk Horn. The federal forces occupying the large field above mentioned, could easily bring their artillery into position to play upon the heavy-timbered woods.

I have now conducted the reader over the battle-field of Pea Ridge, commencing at this place, pointed out to him the position of our forces, and the points where our brave men fell in greatest numbers. I hope that before many years shall have elapsed after the war is ended, the country, for whom these noble men offered up their lives, will erect at least two monuments upon the ground where they fell, to commemorate their heroic deeds; and that this ground shall be hallowed to the generations who shall succeed us. I could not pass this first anniversary upon this field without adding a word to the memory of the two hundred patriot soldiers who rest in their graves only a few miles from our camp.

The Federal army that fought the battle of Pea Ridge was divided by General Curtis into four divisions, as follows:

The First Division, commanded by Colonel P. J. Osterhaus, Twelfth Missouri infantry, was composed of the following organizations: Illinois-Twenty-fifth, Thirty-sixth, Thirty-ninth and Forty-fourth regiments of infantry. Missouri-Third, Twelfth and Seventeenth regiments infantry, two battalions Benton Hussars and two batteries, A and B, six guns each, Second regiment light artillery.

Second Division, commanded by Brigadier General A. Asboth, consisted of the following organizations: Missouri-Second and Fifteenth regiments infantry, and Fourth and Fifth regiments of cavalry, and flying battery, six guns, Ohio Second battery light artillery.

Third Division, commanded by General Jeff. C. Davis, consisted of the following organizations: Indiana-Eighth, Eighteenth and twenty-second regiments infantry; Illinois-Thirty-seventh and fifty-ninth regiments infantry; Missouri-First and Ninth regiments cavalry, and Colonel Phelps' regiment of infantry, and two batteries, one of four guns and another of six guns, Fourth Division, commanded by Colonel Eugene Carr, Third Illinois cavalry, was composed of the following organizations: Iowa-Fourth and Ninth regiments infantry, and Third cavalry, and first and third batteries Light artillery; Illinois-Thirty-fifth regiment infantry and Third cavalry; Missouri-Twenty-fifth regiment infantry and Bowen's battalion cavalry.

General Sigel commanded the First and Second Divisions, which formed our left wing, General Davis our centre, and Colonel Carr our right wing.

The Federal losses were as follows: First division 144, Second division 119, Third division 329, and Fourth division 701, making a total of 1,351 killed, wounded and missing. The total killed in the four divisions was 203, according to official reports.

On the morning of the 17th of March we struck tents, left Bentonville, and marched fifteen miles southwest to Big Springs, at the head of Flint Creek. This is a more desirable section than around Bentonville. The spring here is one of the finest in Northwestern Arkansas, and furnishes an abundance of excellent water for ourselves and animals. It arises out of the earth almost like a fountain, and runs off in a strong, swift current. This would be a delightful spot for a village, for, at a small cost the water from this spring could be conducted through pipes into the houses for the convenience of families. Our camp is called Camp Moonlight, in honor of Colonel Thomas Moonlight, of the Eleventh Kansas infantry, who was General Blunt's Chief of Staff during the campaign in this section last fall. He is a brilliant officer, and, in personal appearance, one of the finest looking officers we had in the division. He is a Scotchman by birth, and is about six feet two inches in height, well proportioned, and his presence, though commanding, is not too stern, and altogether is likely to produce a favorable impression. I remember him during the fall of 1861, as commanding Moonlight's battery, the first light battery raised in Kansas. I think he was also on the staff of General James H. Lane when he marched the Kansas brigade through Missouri to join General Fremont's army at Springfield. No officer has been more active in organizing and fitting out our Kansas troops for the field; nor has any officer been more active in the field than Colonel Moonlight. His sound judgment and counsel no doubt contributed largely to the success of our campaign in this section last winter.

Captain David Mefford, Sixth Kansas cavalry, a few days ago had a skirmish with Livingston's band about sixteen miles north of Neosho, and got three of his men badly wounded, but succeeded in killing and wounding seven of the enemy, and putting the remainder to flight. Captain Mefford is an experienced officer, and a better one could not be selected to deal with Livingston's guerrillas.

Several persons who have just arrived from Fort Gibson report that grass is coming up in sufficient quantities on the Arkansas River and lower Grand River bottoms for grazing purposes. While Indian ponies might live there on the grass now, it will probably be two or three weeks before our cavalry horses can live on wild grass, and perform the service required of them. It is necessary that they should have such strength-giving food as corn and oats, if the cavalry arm of the service is to be very effective. But all the approaching signs of spring increase the anxiety of the Indians to get into the nation. They have, not, however, as yet displayed any impatience, but are content to be guided by the judgment of Colonel Phillips. As soon as transportation can be had to remove the Refugee Indian families from Neosho, they will leave that place to join this command in the nation. It is not likely, however, that the transportation will be in readiness before the first of April. And perhaps it would not be advisable for them to leave there at an earlier date, as in this latitude there frequently occurs some severe weather the latter part of March. As the season is always about a week further advanced at Fort Gibson, there will be no unnecessary delay in their removal.

Information was received here yesterday evening that a rebel force of one hundred men were seen the day before in the vicinity of Cane Hill. Colonel Phillips immediately sent out a detachment of cavalry under Captain Fred Crafts to discover the movements of the enemy, but the force returned here this evening without being able to ascertain anything definite in regard to the enemy. It is not very likely that such a small force would remain many hours at any place within twenty miles of this command. This was probably a scouting party of the enemy sent our from the rebel camp below Van Buren, .to discover something if possible in regard to our movements. A detachment of seventy-five men under Captain H. S. Anderson, Third Indian regiment, were sent out to-day to overtake and reinforce the escort to our supply train which left here yesterday morning en route to Fort Scott. It appears that Colonel Phillips has information leading him to believe that the rebel force which was seen a few days ago in the vicinity of Cane Hill, has gone north, possibly with the view of attacking our train.

A man was found dead to-day just outside the limits of our camp. Upon investigation the fact was disclosed that he was a bushwhacker, and had been killed the day we arrived here by some of our advance guard. A detail of men were sent out to bury him in the spot where he had fallen. As decomposition had commenced when he was found, no efforts were made to ascertain whether he had any effects about him that would give any information concerning his name and where he lived. While I have no inclination to make a funeral oration over him, yet I will venture to remark that there is a sad thought connected with his lonely and obscure grave, for he has fallen in a cause that can never receive the sympathy of men fighting for justice and equal rights, without distinction of race or color. His misguided actions may have resulted, not from a natural evil and perverse disposition, but from associations and connections over which he had no control. He may not have delighted in shooting our soldiers from concealed positions, and he may not have fired at them at all. If, when on the march, our troops see a man on the highway or in the woods, and he starts to run and does not stop when they cry halt! they are sure to fire upon him. We are constantly hearing of men who, after having acted for a while with the enemy, became tired of the rebellion and returned to their homes, but were afraid to come in and surrender to the Federal authorities. We are also told that some of these men, when our troops come into their neighborhood, take to the woods, but without any hostile intentions towards us, and that they are fed by their families clandestinely. Lieutenant Masterton of the Second Indiana battery, was assassinated by just this class of men when we were encamped near here last fall. A number of other officers and soldiers of our division met a similar fate, and we feel that men who flee from us are our enemies, and not to be trusted. No doubt many of the people of this section have exaggerated notions of our troops, particularly Kansas troops and Indians. That the people might not be kept in ignorance of our purposes and actions, I have sometimes thought it should not be regarded as exceeding his duty if our military commander should issue a proclamation to the people of the section we occupy, defining our duties, and setting forth the treatment that will be extended to all who may wish to come in and surrender and renew their allegiance to the Government. If such proclamation were made, and some pains taken to have it put into the hands of all the people of this section, I believe that there are many who would seek our protection and friendship, that are now avoiding us. At any rate every opportunity should be given them to return to their allegiance to the Government.

Colonel Phillips, with a detachment of one hundred cavalry, started out to-day in search of another convenient place for pitching our camp. There is very little forage in this vicinity, our troops having well-nigh exhausted the supply when we were encamped near here last fall, before the battle of Cane Hill. When we leave here we shall march to Illinois river, twelve miles south.

To-day, March 23d, a number of officers who have recently been appointed by the Secretary of War to positions in the Fourth and Fifth Indian regiments, reported to Colonel Phillips for duty. As the Fourth and Fifth Indian regiments are purely imaginary organizations, as far as any one here knows, it is difficult to see what duty Colonel Phillips can assign them to. If these gentlemen were anxious to serve the Government at this critical time, the authorities at Washington might have given them permission to go into the Nation to recruit their own companies and regiments; and then as fast as a sufficient number of men were enlisted into each company to entitle it to a company organization, their commissions could have been sent to them. I do not/know what report will be made to higher authorities in regard to the matter, but I feel very sure, from inquiries and general information, that there cannot be enlisted from amongst the loyal portion of the Cherokees, Creeks, and Seminoles, more than enough men to keep the present three Indian regiments up to their maximum strength. This seems an unusual proceeding, to issue commissions to officers for organizations that do not exist and probably never will exist. These officers I suspect, from what I have heard, are nearly all relatives or favorites of high officials of the Government, and perhaps not in a single instance has an appointment been made on account of merit, that is, on account of bravery displayed on the field, and ability to handle troops in action. If the Washington authorities really desired to organize one or more Indian regiments, it would have been very little trouble to have sent out here for a report showing the number of Indians that could probably be enlisted into the service within a specified time. Colonel Phillips no doubt could make such a report in a few weeks, which would be approximately correct. If there had been vacancies to fill in the Indian regiments, it would, in my opinion, be much more just on the part of the Government to have filled them by appointments from lists of non-commissioned officers of regiments that have seen service on the border. It is not very pleasant to those who have been in active service since early in the war, to have their services unrecognized, and to see green and untried men given important appointments by their sides and over them. Nearly all the orderly sergeants of the three Indian regiments of this division, are white men, appointed from Kansas regiments, and should be promoted to fill any vacancies that may occur in their respective regiments. In the event of raising another Indian regiment or battalion, or in the case of Colored regiments which are now being organized, it would be quite easy for the Department Commander to call on commanding officers of regiments to furnish him lists of non-commissioned officers and privates whose general intelligence, bravery, and knowledge of a particular arm of the service, would make them efficient and useful officers in the event of promotion. Out of these lists should be selected the best qualified and most deserving, who should be recommended to the Secretary of War, or appointing power, for promotion. Such a plan, however, is not likely to be adopted at present. There are too many who, if they must enter the service, must be furnished with honorable positions without regard to fitness to fill them. The class of men, too, who receive important appointments without having first earned them by service in the field or stowing some special qualifications, generally have influence enough to get detailed on special duties where there is very little danger from the enemy's bullets. These officers here without commands will probably draw their salaries for a few months, or until the facts are reported to the War Department that there are no men enlisted for the Fourth and Fifth Indian regiments, all the same as if they were fighting, skirmishing and marching every day.

The Indian division left Big Springs or Camp Moonlight on the morning of the 24th, and marched to Illinois River twelve miles south. This brings us within ten or twelve miles of Rhea's Mills, where the Army of the Frontier, under General Blunt, was encamped during the month of December.

Colonel Phillips has named our camp here Camp Pomeroy, in honor of Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas. Should a Post office be established at this place after the war, it will probably take the name of our present camp.

On this river there are some fine tracts of land, and the farmer is no doubt well rewarded for his labor. The opening of spring, and the fact that our army was all over this section last fall and the early winter, will make it difficult to obtain forage, except in very small quantities, for our animals. But we are gradually moving south with a prospect of holding the country. Two loyal Arkansas regiments belonging to, Colonel Phillips' division are stationed at Fayetteville, fifteen miles east of us, and co-operation of the two forces in case of emergency would not be difficult.

A report comes from St. Louis that General Curtis has been removed from the command of the Department of Missouri for some cause not yet fully known to the public. It is suggested, however, that his removal has been brought about because he cannot give satisfaction to the two political factions in Missouri.

The people of Missouri and Kansas, I think, as a general thing, feel kindly towards General Curtis since he won the great battle of Pea Ridge, and saved those States from invasion by the rebel armies, and are not likely to be hasty in passing judgment upon his alleged short-comings in the administration of his department.

We do not want a Commanding General with no decided policy, and who will be continually hampering the movements of troops in the field.

A party of dispatch bearers and mail carries just arrived from Neosho, state that a report came therefrom Springfield, that General Hunter has captured Charleston, S. C., after very hard fighting. While we should be greatly delighted to hear of the fall of that rebel stronghold, we are not inclined to credit the report as true. It is amusing to notice the effects that good reports and bad reports have upon the countenances of our men. A report like the above circulated through the camp, even though some doubt is felt in regard to its truthfulness, lights up the countenances of every loyal heart. The prospect of the early closing of the war, the thoughts of carrying our victorious arms and banners into all the rebel strongholds, and of the Stars and Stripes floating over all the cities of the South; and the imaginary scenes of returning home, after having passed through many hardships and dangers, are enough to make visible smiles play over their countenances. But let the news of defeat of any of our great armies in the east reach us, as sometimes happens, and the sunny countenances of our soldiers change, and a shadow of disappointment mingled with stern determination, may be noticed. On whichever side our sympathies are on any great question, they are generally clearly displayed on all extraordinary occasions of victory or defeat. In marching across the country just after a great battle has been fought by any of our armies, and the news of the result of the battle has preceded us, it is generally easy to judge on which side the sympathies are, of those whom we meet of the noncombatant class. If they are rebels they may sometimes, as a matter of policy, endeavor to put some restraint upon their feelings, but such restraint does not usually conceal their real feelings. We can generally tell that there is some bitterness of feeling behind a sardonic smile.

From what I have seen, I do not believe that there is so much of that haughty and defiant spirit among the noncombatant classes of this state, as in Missouri. This may be due to the fact that — there was much less wealth and luxury here than in Missouri before the war. We nowhere see in this section farms containing a thousand acres of land in unbroken tracts, and inclosed with stone or hedge fences, and stocked with great numbers of horses, mules and cattle, as might have been seen in most of the western counties of Missouri a few years ago. The people of Missouri, with their slave labor and abundance of everything, acted as if they felt their superiority to the people of any other section. Though no one desires to humble their proud spirits, the war will probably teach them a keener sense of justice than they have hitherto shown towards those who differed with them in regard to slavery.

A party of seven guerrillas was seen yesterday evening less than a mile from our camp, but they soon disappeared in the thick woods. Whether they are prowling around intent on some mischief, or whether they have unintentionally come upon us while passing through the country to some other locality, is not known. But as the soldiers express it, it will hardly be safe for them to roost in this vicinity. It is possible that they have been sent by the rebel commanding officer at Van Buren or Fort Smith, into this section, for the purpose of ascertaining whether our whole force is moving south, or only a reconnoitering party. In a few days the organized forces of the enemy north of the Arkansas River will find it convenient to retire to the south bank. There is now no prospect of Colonel Phillip's progress being checked this side of Fort Gibson.

Yesterday morning (28th) a detachment of thirty men were sent to Neosho with the mail for the North, and instructions to the commanding officer at Neosho, in regard to removing the troops and all the refugee Indian families from there to the nation. By the time they will be able to join us, their ponies can live by grazing on the grass of the river bottoms. They will no doubt be delighted beyond expression that the time has come for their return to their homes from their long exile.

Captain N. B. Lucas and Lieutenant W. M. Smalley, of the battalion of the Sixth Kansas cavalry, with about two hundred men, returned last night from Dutch Mills, a small place a few miles west of Cane Hill, and right on the line of Arkansas and the Cherokee Nation. We wore sent out two days ago with the view of ascertaining as far as possible any contemplated movements of the enemy, as information had been received here via Fayetteville, that a rebel force of a thousand men, under Colonel Carroll, were encamped at Van Buren on the 24th, and were intending to move north on the state line road. From all the information we could get there is no reason to believe that Colonel Carroll's force will make any effort to operate north of the mountains for several weeks. If Colonel M. LaRue Harrison, the commanding officer at Fayetteville, is a good fighter, he should be able to hold that post against three thousand men. He has probably better facilities for keeping himself informed in regard to the movements of the enemy south of him than Colonel Phillips has, for many refugee families are constantly coming into that place from all over the western part of the State. A good many of the families of the men of the two regiments stationed there, have not left their homes. An almost constant communication is therefore kept up between the troops at Fayetteville and such of their families as still remain on their homesteads. The loyal families living at a distance from Fayetteville probably feel such a deep interest in the command to which their male members belong, that doubtless, in many instances, they would spare no effort to convey information to it which may be useful to it in guarding against surprise by the enemy. Many of the women of this section are perfectly at ease in horse-back riding, and in a matter in which they felt great interest, would perhaps not hesitate to perform a journey of several days. But admitting that the wives and daughters of our troops at Fayetteville are disposed to keep them advised of the movements, as far as practicable,. where would they get animals to ride. That indeed would be the great difficulty; but I think that very many families, both loyal and disloyal, keep some kind of animals on their premises; blind horses, knock-kneed mules, or even something better, so that they will not do for army service. Very few first-class horses and mules were left in this section after our army moved north last winter.

Arrangements are being made to remove all the sick: of this division to Hilterbrand's Mills, about thirty miles west of here, in the Cherokee nation, on the first of April. We know now that we shall move across the line into the Nation in a few days. The peach trees have been in bloom for several days, and the swelling buds on the forest trees are ready to burst, and display their young leaflets, and we see a good many wild flowers of early species by the wayside. Some of our detachments which have just come down from Missouri and Kansas, say that the season is nearly two weeks further advanced here than there. But Spring will not bring that renewed life and activity of which it is significant, among the people here, that it will North. Of the hundreds of farms all over this region, very few can be cultivated this season, for the fences around most of them have been destroyed, burned as fuel by the armies, and there is nobody left to cultivate them except women and children, cripples and old men. Here and there these classes may find rails enough left to inclose a few acres, and cultivate them, with the assistance of such animals as have not been taken for use in the army. Mothers and daughters who, before the war, never dreamed of having to work in the fields, and who knew nothing of the hardships entailed upon many families by the war, will have to raise their own sustenance in this section this year. Of course in those families where sons are growing up, and are in their teens, the hardships will not fall so heavily upon the female members. The uncertainty of being able to use or to get a just and fair equivalent for what they raise under all these disadvantages, must fill the minds of many with discouragement. Their own necessities, however, prospective want, prompt them to make the best of the situation. We have seen some plowing and preparations for planting and sowing garden stuff; and Colonel Phillips has exercised great care in not permitting depredations on the premises of the people, on the line of our march, and in the neighborhood of our camps. We have been obliged to forage on the country during the past winter, but I think, as a general rule, families have been permitted to keep undisturbed their supplies of provisions, such as flour, meal and bacon. The rations issued to this command, with the exception of fresh beef and pork, have all been transported from the North. We have had full rations all winter, for which we are indebted to the untiring and cautious judgment of Colonel Phillips. The army ration is good, substantial food, and is all any man, not a glutton, needs to keep himself in excellent condition. And our men are in excellent condition, and I think it probable, that since they have become inured to the service, they had never enjoyed better health at any time before their enlistments. Each company accumulates quite a surplus of rations every month. The company commissary sergeant is generally authorized to exchange some of these surplus rations for articles not issued by the Government, as butter, eggs, chickens, &c. Our excellent coffee is in great demand among the people of this section, as many of them have not used the genuine article since the first year of the war. In some families brown corn or wheat has been used as a substitute. Corn coffee is a quite common expression in this section, but the next generation may never hear of it. We sometimes hear the remark, that a cup of Yankee coffee will make even a rebel lady smile. To many the flavor of pure coffee is more agreeable than the bouquet of a fine wine. Rebel as well as Union families, do not hesitate to offer their commodities for exchange. Our tea, sugar, molasses, and even salt, may also be exchanged to good advantage by our soldiers, as these articles cannot now be obtained in this section by purchase.

I have generally issued to the regiment to which I belong, from one-fourth to half of the bread ration in hard bread, or hard tack, and the remainder in flour; and about the same proportion of the meat ration in bacon, and the balance in fresh beef. Hence when detachments are sent out on scouting expeditions for several days, they are furnished with hard bread and bacon, a food that is strength-giving and much relished after one has been marching all day and night. When in camp we always have fresh bread and fresh meat, beef, pork or mutton. Perhaps no government has ever had a better system of providing for the comforts of its soldiers than ours, during the present war.

Eleven men came into our camp to-day (31st) from southwestern Arkansas and northern Texas. J. R. Pratt, a staunch and prominent Unionist from Texas, is the leader of the party. He lived in Missouri at the breaking out of the war, and moved to Texas to keep out of it, but soon found that it was not a suitable place for a man whose sympathies were with the Government. These men represent a dreadful state of things in the sections which they have recently left. Mr. Pratt states that in northwestern Texas, there are many Union families, and that the Union men have made several attempts to organize, but that such attempts have resulted disastrously to all those whose names were connected with any loyal demonstration. He also represents that a good many Unionists have been hung-sixteen in one town, and that others have been persecuted and hunted down with the assistance of bloodhounds; that Union men could not then conceal themselves in the woods and mountains in the vicinity of their homes, as rebels do in this section, for the bloodhounds would soon be upon their tracks. They could find no resting place until they left the State, Such cruel and relentless treatment as these men appear to have received at the hands of the rebel authorities, we might expect from savages, but not from civilized men. For upwards of two hundred miles they had a toilsome journey, often finding it difficult to work their way through mountain passes, guarded by the enemy. Men of pronounced Union sentiments no doubt have a hard time of it, where they are so unfortunate as to live in localities in which the rebel sentiment largely predominates. Perhaps few of us fully realize what it costs to be a Union man in the South. But let those who love the Old Flag of their fathers, stand firm in its defence, for if the signs of the times are not at fault, the day of their deliverance cannot be very distant.

This is April Fool's day, but no one has come to me all aglow with excitement and asked me to prepare to meet the enemy charging down the road. Nor have I heard that some adventurous spirit, amongst us, in a dream last night, commenced to kill all our animals, thinking he was slaying the enemy like mad Ajax. Probably not one in a hundred of our soldiers here thinks of the first day of April in connection with the custom associated with it in nearly all the large cities of Christendom.

A detachment of this division just arrived from Park Hill, Cherokee Nation, reports that seven of our Indians, known as Pins, were killed at that place a few days ago by a party of rebels wearing the federal uniform. By this deception and dastardly act the enemy were permitted to approach within a few yards of the Indians, and, by a well-directed fire, shot them down before they had time to offer any resistance. This is not the only instance during the past year of small detachments of our troops having been entrapped by the enemy who were dressed in the federal uniform. Orders were issued early in the war in regard to the punishment to be inflicted upon rebels caught wearing the federal uniform. Every one captured wearing it should be tried by a drum-head court-martial, condemned and immediately shot. Should any of our soldiers go within the enemy's lines and practice a similar deception, and get captured, they would hardly expect any leniency from the confederate authorities. Such a method of carrying on war cannot be too strongly condemned, nor those caught engaged in it too quickly punished to the extent of involving the death penalty. On our side we do not wish to let the war degenerate into a form that would put us on a par with the lowest savages. One would think that the confederate leaders, who like to boast of their chivalry, would not tolerate practices so much at variance with the usages of modern warfare among civilized nations. In the end such treachery and cowardice can avail them nothing, besides it will leave a stain upon their arms that history cannot wipe out.

The Indian division left Camp Pomeroy on the Illinois river, on the morning of the 3d, and marched twelve miles southwest to Cincinnati, a small village on the State line. The place may have contained a population of a hundred people before the war, but probably nearly half the families have moved away particularly those of known Union sentiments. In peaceable times the few business establishments here perhaps had quite a traffic with the Indians from the Cherokee Nation. It is the intention to remain here only a few days, when we shall pass into the Indian territory, which will probably for some time be the centre of our operations.

Lieutenant Joseph Hall, of the battalion of the Sixth Kansas cavalry, with a detachment of one hundred men, came in to-day from Dutch Mills, where he was sent several days ago to fetch out a number of Unionists who have been concealed in the mountains to escape capture and destruction by the enemy. Colonel Phillips has shown a disposition to do everything in his power to afford protection to the loyal people of this section. The appeals for protection and assistance in various ways are quite numerous. One day a report comes in that a Union family, some-thirty miles distant in a given direction, has been robbed by bushwhackers of everything they possessed, are in destitute circumstances, and desire to come into our lines until they have an opportunity of going north with our supply trains and escorts. Another day the news comes to us of a loyal family in distress in some other direction. A detachment of cavalry and one or more mule teams are sent out to bring in the men, women and children, and their effects.

Last night, just as a scouting party were going out, an Indian soldier was instantly killed by the discharge of a musket on the shoulder of a comrade in front of him,--going off accidentally. The muzzle of the gun was so near him that the ball tore away nearly the whole anterior portion of the skull. The Indian troops are armed with muzzle-loading muskets, whose calibres range from 69 to 72, requiring balls weighing upwards of an ounce. They do not always sling their muskets to their shoulders so that the muzzles point directly downwards, as we do our Sharp's carbines. Nor are their arms as effective as ours. We can perhaps, on an average, load and discharge our Sharpe's carbines a dozen times while an Indian loads and discharges his musket once. Our small arms have been already greatly improved since the war commenced. The troops that have been longest in the field are generally supplied with the most improved models. But the Indians are generally good marksmen, and when rapid firing is not required (as on the skirmish line) their muskets may be used quite effectively.

The Indians are rather amusing as soldiers, particularly in regard to their war-paint and yelping when starting out on a scouting expedition or on the march. They seem to prefer to march in single file; but our officers have drilled them in the regular manual, so that there is now very little difficulty in having them march by twos, fours, and by platoons, as required. But no matter in what order they are marching, when they start out and the head of the column has got far enough from camp for the rear to get in motion, the war whoop commences at the head of the column and runs back to the rear. This is generally kept up for some time. When the air is more resonant than usual, I have heard the woods fairly ring with their yelping. During the campaign in this section last fall, Colonel Phillips' Indian brigade was often a mile or more from us, but we knew every morning, unless it was stormy weather, just when it started out, by this yelping or war whoop, which generally lasted fifteen to twenty minutes. There is a strong contrast between the Indian and our white soldiers in this respect. Ten thousand of our white troops may start out on the march every morning, and manifest such silence that they could not be heard a hundred yards away, except as to the tramping of their horses and the ratting of their artillery carriages.

Though our Indian troops have been in Missouri and Arkansas since early last autumn, I believe t1.at they have committed fewer unauthorized depredations than the same number of white troops, had they occupied the same localities. The non-combatant classes seem to have an almost instinctive fear of the Indians, yet it has been a very rare thing to hear of complaints being made against our Indian soldiers for having committed unauthorized acts. Much credit is due to Colonel Phillips for the splendid discipline he has maintained without having to resort to severe measures. No military commander could have discharged his duty in a more commendable manner. We pass now into the Indian country, and bid a temporary adieu to Arkansas.

Early on the morning of the 6th we left Cincinnati and marched to Dutch Mills, twelve miles south, on the State line. At this point we took the road leading into the Cherokee Nation towards Park Hill, but marched only a few miles west when we pitched our camp, and called it Camp Jim Lane, in honor of Senator James H. Lane, whose name is familiar to every one acquainted with the history of Kansas. At eight o'clock on the morning of the 8th everything was in readiness to move, and from Camp Jim Lane we marched to Park Hill, twenty-two miles west, and encamped near the residence of the Chief, John Ross. After we left Duchtown every mile of the country we passed over became more inviting. For agricultural and grazing purposes it is certainly much superior to Arkansas. We crossed the Illinois river again, a few miles to the east of us on the march here. It discharges a larger volume of water than when we crossed it in Arkansas, and its bottoms are much wider, and its course changes toward the south. It does not, however, go rushing along in such a rapid and impetuous current, but is now a placid and gently flowing stream. Every day's march to the southwest brings us into a region where the vegetation is more advanced than where we were the day before, the wild flowers are more beautiful, the birds sing sweeter and have brighter and more elegant plumage, and altogether one feels happier. We believe that even our animals show a more hopeful expression. Grass and wild onions in the river bottoms are up an inch or so in height, and animals not required to work can live without any other food. The country here is not so broken and hilly as in northwestern Arkansas; in fact we are right on the border of the prairie region.

A detachment of the battalion, the Sixth Kansas cavalry, who came in from Fayetteville this morning, report that a rebel scouting party of about one hundred and fifty men, were within seven miles of that place on the 6th instant. Our soldiers came near running into the main body of them, so near, indeed, that they captured one of their men who had fallen behind, and brought him a prisoner to our camp, using him most of the time as a guide. This considerable force of the enemy's cavalry, so near our troops, indicates; his intention of displaying greater activity as the season advances. Now that we are getting so far away from Fayetteville, about fifty miles, and as we shall probably have our own hands full very soon, Colonel Harrison will have to depend upon his own resources to hold his station. We are unable to understand why so many of our troops are kept in the vicinity of Springfield, as we have heard of no threatened invasion of Missouri by the enemy directly south or southeast of that place. The State Militia could probably preserve order in that section if our volunteer troops should occupy a more advanced position, and prevent the invasion of the State by the organized forces of the enemy.

The refugee train arrived to-day (9th) from Neosho, having been ten days en route to this place. The train, which was about a mile long, came in sight about ten o'clock. It was a lovely spring morning, the air soft and balmy, and everything looking gay and cheerful. Some of the Indian soldiers went out several miles to meet their families, but many waited until the train had approached near our camp. I watched them with a good deal of interest. Such manifestations of joy on the meeting of husbands and wives and children, I have never before witnessed. There were,perhaps,nearly a thousand families brought down, and in many instances husbands have been separated from their wives and children for nearly a year. Their joy was, no doubt, increased with the thought of being able to meet one another in their own country and near their own capital. The restoring to their homes an entire people who have so long been exiles, will surely be an event in their history that should not be passed over without mention. If they were as emotional in their natures as the French, I know they would cry with one voice, viva la Phillips. But their unbounded confidence in him shows their strong regard for him, and is probably as keenly appreciated by him as noisy demonstrations. That he should have provided for the safety and comfort of their families during the winter, and restored them to their homes so early in the spring, is enough to set them rejoicing,with hearts full of gratitude towards their deliverer Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation, is about seven miles northwest of here, but it has never been a place of much importance in a business point of view. It never contained a population of more than a few hundred inhabitants, and a dozen good buildings. Some of the buildings will probably soon be used for hospital purposes for the sick of this division, particularly the small-pox patients.

A skirmish took place yesterday, the 10th, at Fort Gibson between a battalion of our Indian soldiers and a small force of Standwaitie's Rebel Indians, resulting in the capture of half a dozen prisoners and the killing and wounding of five of tie enemy, the remainder having made their escape by swimming across the Arkansas river. It may now be said that we have undisputed possession of all the Indian country north of the Arkansas river. If there are any forces on this side of the river they will doubtless plunge into, it rather than to cross swords with our troops.

Colonel Standwaitie, who has commanded the Rebel portion of the Cherokees, is himself a Cherokee, and seems to have a wider fame than his valor and military skill entitle him to. We have heard a good deal of him ever since we came into this country last June, but have been unable to meet him. When we have had a skirmish with any of his Indians, it has always turned out that he was not with them. We do not quite regard him as a mythical character, but we do not believe him to be such a brave and dashing Indian as he has often been represented, and as the frequent use of his name in connection with predatory actions would indicate. He has never boldly attacked even a detachment of our troops. Our Indians say that his name is not appropriate at all, that he does not stand and wait for us, but that he is always on the run as soon as our troops seek him. We shall, however, doubtless have occasion to try his valor before the summer is over.

Our entire division is to move to Fort Gibson in a few days; but before setting out, Colonel Phillips has deemed, it expedient to thoroughly reconnoitre the country between here and that place, and for that purpose to-day sent out a party of the Second Indian regiment and one company of the battalion of the Sixth Kansas cavalry, under Colonel David B. Corwin. Every precaution is being taken that our trains, artillery, and thorough organization shall not be endangered by ambuscade or surprise. We are now so far away from any other troops from whom we could expect assistance, that a defeat might prove the complete demoralization of this division. Colonel Phillips has carefully considered the probable consequences which would be sure to follow any reckless action of a military commander occupying his position.

Major Foreman, of the Third Indian regiment, who was sent out from here on the 8th instant with about three hundred men, to make a reconnaissance in the direction of Webber's Falls, on the Arkansas river, some twenty-five miles south of us, returned to-day, having captured nearly three hundred head of cattle, and killed six of the enemy, including one captain and one sergeant. He also brought in a number of prisoners, who thought that their last day had come. The action took place near the mouth of the Illinois river, and the enemy were so completely surprised that they made very little resistance. We had only three or four men wounded.

On the morning of the t3th the troops and trains of our division left Camp John Ross, and marched to Fort Gibson, eighteen miles southwest. We passed over a lovely country, probably the finest in the Cherokee Nation. It appears to have been very well settled before the war, with many good farms under cultivation. The line of march was mainly over rolling prairies, though there was some timber on several small streams which we crossed.

Now that we have pitched our tents at Fort Gibson, and as this place will probably be the centre of our operations during the spring and summer, we may look around a little with the view of finding something worth setting down. This is quite an old post. It was established as a military post by the United States before the Cherokees left their Tennessee and Georgia homes and emigrated to this Territory. There are now two or three persons living here who say that they have a distinct recollection of Jefferson Davis, a Lieutenant of Dragoons, when lie was stationed at this post as far back as 1832. It does not appear that any defensive works were ever erected here, except a couple of block-houses, and they are useless now. There are two good substantial stone buildings which have been used for quartermaster and commissary store houses. Their roofing is made of slate, and they will be very valuable in storing our quartermaster and commissary supplies, as they are transported by trains from Fort Scott. They are large enough to hold supplies for this division for upwards of thirty days. And they stand on a bluff overlooking Grand River to the west. The officers' and soldiers' quarters are wooden structures, and built on a piazza or public square, similar to the Court House squares of country towns. They are about two hundred yards south of the stone buildings above mentioned, on the slope of the hill, and are beginning to look old and dilapidated, although the interiors of the officers' quarters are in good condition, having been more expensively and elegantly finished up than the soldiers' quarters. They are different from the officers' and soldiers' quarters at Fort Scott, Kansas, in this respect: They are all single storied buildings, while at Scott the officers' quarters have two stories with attics, and the soldiers' quarters are two stories. There are several unfinished stone buildings on the bluff near the quartermaster and commissary store houses, which before the war the Government had under contract to be finished up for permanent quarters for officers and soldiers of the Regular Army.

The location here is a lovely one for a military post, and perhaps for some future city of considerable importance. Looking to the east from the bluff where the stone buildings stand, you see in the distance, some ten miles off, the western terminus of the range of mountains which run north-eastward through Arkansas. Turning to the south, you overlook the Arkansas river three miles distant, and your eyes rest upon the opposite heights, and the prairie country beyond. Some places the heights are obscured by the heavy timber along the Arkansas; at other places you see them as through a vista. Turning to the west and south-west, you see at the distance of two miles, the western heights of Grand River. Further to the south-west may be seen a prairie region with a strip of timber running through it in a south-east direction. This strip of timber marks the course of the Verdigris River, which empties into the Arkansas River some five or six miles above the mouth of Grand River. The junctions of these three rivers, the Arkansas, the Grand and the Verdigris, being within a few miles of each other, and the three being nearly of the same size, will be favorable for the building of an important city somewhere in this vicinity when the country homes into the possession of the whites, as it probably will sometime in the future. The Cherokees, however, have made such progress in civilization, and have also been such staunch and reliable friends of the whites for nearly a century, with one or two unimportant exceptions, that they are not likely to be disturbed in the peaceable possession of their country under the existing order of things. As a people, they might have been regarded as wealthy before the war. When we came into this section and the country above — here last July and August, we saw fine herds of cattle and ponies grazing upon the prairies, or standing in the cool waters of shady and peaceful flowing streams, the very pictures of rural life in a beautiful and happy country. The pictures were of course incomplete, for we nowhere saw in the background or foreground happy maidens tripping along and attending to their dairy or household duties. Nor did we hear happy voices or see any of those desirable features of country life, familiar to those whose earlier years were passed on the farm.

But let us return to things as we now see them. This has been a central position from which the Government could easily communicate with a number of Indian tribes. Supplies for the troops stationed here, and annuity goods for distribution to the Indians, have been brought up by river transportation, ever since this post was established. Every season during the spring rise of the Arkansas River, light draft steamers have not only run to this point, but sometimes for nearly a hundred miles above here on the Grand River. I saw an inscription on a tombstone yesterday, that a Lieutenant of the Regular Army was drowned at the mouth of the Neosho river in 1836, from having fallen overboard a steamboat at that point. The point where the military road to Fort Scott crosses the Neosho river is nearly a hundred miles from Gibson. But I have heard from those who have lived here for many years, that there has been very little steamboating above this place. There has been no great inducements, no great commercial interests involved, to make it worth while to keep the river in a navigable condition. It requires a considerable rise in the Arkansas to enable boats to pass Webber's Falls. Below that point light draft steamers can probably run on the river the greater part of the year. How far it is possible to remove the obstacles to navigation at Webber's Falls, can be determined only after a careful examination by an experienced and competent engineer. Navigation on the Arkansas will always be troublesome between this place and Fort Smith, on account of the river constantly shifting its current, caused by the formation of sand bars. It is turbid and treacherous, and contrasts strongly with the Grand River, which is perfectly clear except during the season of heavy rains, and flows over a gravelly or pebbly bottom. Both rivers abound in fish, and those of our soldiers who are fond of the sport of angling will doubtless, when off duty, try their skill at it while we are stationed here.

From the bluff we can see a portion of the territory of the Creeks and Seminoles, Chickasaws and Cherokees. We have not as yet had any loyal Choctaws and Chickasaws join us, though we hear there are a good many among them who would prefer to cast their fortunes with the Union if they could have any reasonable assurance of protection. As we have come here to stay, they will probably have ample opportunity of manifesting their locality and devotion to the Government by coming in and surrendering to Colonel Phillips.

The importance of this position is not likely at first glance to be fully appreciated. It is really the key to this entire Indian country, and great credit is due to Colonel Phillips for having seized it before the enemy received reinforcements. By throwing up breast works and constructing fortifications, we can hold the place against a force of the enemy twice as large as our own, unless he should be better supplied with long-range artillery than we are. I think that we have also gained an advantage in regard to obtaining our supplies from Fort Scott. While we are further removed from our base of supplies, the distance to Fort Scott from this post by the old military road being about one hundred and sixty miles, our supply trains after they leave the southern line of Kansas will move all the way down on the west side of Grand river, and therefore doubtless be freer from attacks by the enemy than if they were obliged to come down the State lines of Missouri and Arkansas. From about this time in the spring until the summer is considerably advanced, it is frequently difficult for cavalry, artillery and infantry to cross Grand River, for a distance of seventy to eighty miles above here, without pontoon trains, which neither the enemy nor our army in the west possess. Such large trains as ours, are unquestionably coveted prizes, which the enemy will probably organize expeditions for the purpose of capturing or destroying. As our trains will require strong escorts, it is easy to see that our troops will have no time to spend in idleness. We can of course depend upon the country here for nothing except fresh beef, and in a few weeks, grass for our animals. Since the enemy can hold no position north of the Arkansas River, we have already seen indications that he is not going to remain inactive in this region during the spring and summer.

Our troops to-day (14th) commenced building bake ovens, which indicates clearly enough Colonel Phillips' intention of permanently holding this place. These will be the first ovens we have put up in the field. They will not only economize the expenditure of fuel, but also enable the companies to save more from their flour ration than they could do by baking their bread by the old process; besides the bread is better and considered healthier. We have men With us who were engaged in the bakery business before enlistment. Hence we shall probably have as good bread as is usually made at city bakeries. But we shall miss the butter and eggs which we were able to get quite often while in Missouri and Arkansas. If, however, we manage to keep on hand full rations we shall have no cause to complain about our fare.

A detachment of ten men of the Battalion Sixth Kansas cavalry, and about fifty Indian soldiers, were sent out to-day (15th) in the direction of Maysville to meet our commissary train now due from Fort Scott. As it was expected to join us at Park Hill, and has not yet been heard from, some uneasiness is felt for its safety. We have been almost constantly on the move recently, and it is possible that the commanding officer of the escort has stopped it at some point this side of Fort Scott for a day or two, for more definite instructions as to where to join us. If instructions had been sent forward for it to join us here on the 13th, it would have come down on the west side of Grand River, instead of via Maysville on the State line road. We do not believe that there is a force of the enemy north of us of sufficient strength to venture to attack the train. A flag of truce came in to-day from the Creek Indians concerning their coming in and joining our army. About fifty have already come in since we arrived here, and they express their willingness to do all in their power to establish law and order and complete obedience to the authority of the United States, in their country. Those just in think that many others will come when assured of protection. Though I have not heard what kind of speeches Colonel Phillips makes to them, yet I suppose that he informs them that he has come here to afford protection to all those who are disposed to be friendly and loyal to the Government, and to make war even to the knife and from the knife to the hilt against its enemies; that we are here not for the purpose of seeking vengeance and paying off old scores, but to establish justice and the harmonious relations of the people to the Government. They are no doubt informed that to offer further resistance to the Government is sure to bring further desolation to their country and additional miseries to their homes. In his speeches to the different Indian delegations that have waited upon him, he has endeavored to give them good advice, which they will find it to their interest to carefully consider.

We have information to-day (16th,) from a source deemed reliable, that the enemy are concentrating a force of four or five hundred men at Webber's Falls, about twenty-five miles below this post. As the point where they are gathering is on the south side of the Arkansas, and as it is not fordable below the mouth of Grand river, we may not be able to disturb them for a few days. With a river as large as the Arkansas between them, two opposing forces may continue as neighbors for some time. But barring this obstacle there would certainly be either a fight or a foot race very soon with an enemy not superior in numbers to our command, encamped so near us as Webber's Falls.

Yesterday, the 17th, was given to festivities in celebrating the event of hoisting the Union Flag at the military post of Fort Gibson, that it may float from the flag staff where it was hauled down in foul dishonor soon after the breaking out of the war. This is the first time that the Stars and Stripes, the emblem of our nationality, have been hoisted on the post flag staff since the enemy took possession of the Government property here, and there were many whose affection for the Old Flag was so strong, that when its folds floated to the breeze they shed tears of joy. Tie Star Spangled Banner and other national airs were sung by half a dozen ladies and gentlemen-several of the ladies being wives of officers on a visit to their husbands. As an improvised choir they did well, and their voices sounded sweetly, the balmy air of spring being peculiarly favorable for music, instrumental or vocal, to produce a good effect. The solos, duets, and choruses were real treats, as we have had no music of any kind recently. Last autumn and winter when General Blunt's division was all together, we had two or three excellent bands and good music every day. The Ninth Wisconsin infantry, a German regiment, had perhaps the best band in the division, and as they frequently encamped near the Sixth Kansas cavalry, I have often listened to it much delighted.

It becomes my painful duty now to mention a serious accident that occurred during our celebration yesterday. While Major Henry Hopkins' battery was firing a national salute of thirty-four guns, one of the pieces just after it had been swabbed and the blank cartridge rammed home, went off accidentally before the rammer was fully withdrawn, and while it was still in the hands of the gunner. One of his arms was blown off above the elbow, and the other hand was almost torn off, and is now in a dreadfully mutilated condition, and will probably have to be amputated in a few days. He was for an instant enveloped in a flame of fire and smoke, and is therefore badly burned about the body. The gun was pointed south, and I picked up, nearly two hundred yards from it, two fingers and several tendons. It is not likely that the poor fellow will recover from these injuries. An Indian was also fatally injured by a piece of the rammer.

From my own observations during the last two years I am under the impression that the number of accidental injuries in an army will foot up a larger percentage than is generally supposed. Few days pass that we do not hear of some soldier of this command receiving a serious accidental injury incident to the service. Human foresight can never completely guard against accidents, even of the simplest kind.

We hope that the National Flag that we reverence and look upon with such devotion, will never again be hauled down from the flagstaff at this post, by the enemy. A general, whose soldiers had mutinied, is said to have expressed the belief that if he could only look the leaders in their eyes, he thought that they would return to their allegiance. So I believe that there are many rebels who, if they could but look upon our beautiful flag of the Union as its folds gently float to the breeze, would gladly return to their allegiance to the Government.

The Creek Indians still continue to come in, and are generally anxious to enlist into our army. While the estimated number that will probably come would not make a regiment, nor even a battalion; they might be enlisted into the service and assigned to the three Indian regiments of this command until they shall have been filled to their maximum strength. There is reason to believe such a course will be adopted by Colonel Phillips. As most of the men in the First and Second regiments are Creeks and Seminoles, it is likely that; all recruits belonging to either of these nations, would prefer to be assigned to one or the other of these regiments. Their preferences will no doubt be respected as far as possible.

A party of about a dozen white men who claim to have recently deserted from General Marmaduke's command, came to our pickets this morning, and were brought into camp to day. They represent that the rebel leaders in Arkansas are displaying a good deal of activity in organizing their demoralized forces for the spring and summer campaigns. They say that General Cooper will have command of the rebel forces in the Indian Territory, and that General Cabell will be assigned to the command of Western Arkansas, but that they will co-operate with each other as far as practicable. This all corresponds with the information which our spies have recently brought in.

Our commissary train of one hundred and twenty-five wagons arrived this morning (20th) from Fort Scott. The slight anxiety felt by some of our troops will now be at an end. It is estimated that the supplies received by this train will ration this command for upwards of a month. On account of some rumors that have been afloat for several days, a detachment of two hundred cavalry was sent out to escort it into camp. It will now be the business of the troops here to keep the country open between this post and the southern line of Kansas. And we feel satisfied that Colonel Phillips will not be unmindful of his duty in this respect. Colonel C. W. Blair, the commanding officer at Fort Scott, will probably furnish escorts strong enough to guard our trains to Baxter Springs or Neosho river. Should the enemy at any time throw a force between this post and either of those points, with the view of attacking a train, Colonel Phillips will reinforce the escort by troops from this division. But the main body of his troops will be required for active service in this vicinity in contending with the enemy in front and around us.

This last train came down via Neosho, Missouri, but will return on the old

Those who came down with the train from Neosho, state that a large portion of the town was recently burned. It was not definitely known whether the fire was started accidentally, or by an incendiary. It was discovered after night, and had make such progress that it could not be checked with the means the people had at hand. Two companies of the Missouri State Militia have been stationed there since Colonel Phillips withdrew his Indian troops; but one cannot easily believe that there could be found among them an individual who would deliberately attempt to burn a town of his own State; a town, too, which he is paid to protect.

The report which reached here two days ago, that Fayetteville had been taken on the 18th instant by a rebel force of fifteen hundred men, under command of General Cabell, turns out to be untrue. Until more definite information reached here, some apprehensions were felt for the safety of that post. Dispatches have now been received, stating that our troops there under Colonel Harrison had a sharp engagement with the enemy under General Cabell, on the 18th instant, which lasted two hours. The enemy were unsuccessful in the attack and compelled to retreat, leaving most of their killed and wounded on the field. From such information as I have been able to obtain, our losses were about thirty men killed and wounded, while the losses of the enemy were probably very nearly fifty. Our troops had some slight advantage, as they fought part of the time from behind fortifications, and were on the defensive. The loyal Arkansas soldiers are represented to have acted with distinguished bravery throughout the contest. Having defeated the enemy in this first important engagement, they will now feel confident of their strength, and in any future contest they may have, defend their position with greater stubbornness than if they had been unsuccessful.

A spy was caught to-day (23d) near camp, dressed in a woman's suit. He is a young fellow with light hair, fair complexion, of a rather prepossessing appearance, and I should think not over sixteen years of age. When I saw him in the Provost-marshal's tent he seemed to Abe badly frightened, in fact almost frightened out of his wits. Two or three officers were putting questions to him in regard to his visiting our camp in disguise, but his excitement had not sufficiently subsided to enable him to give rational answers. He seemed ready to confess anything asked of him. He showed that he --was unaccustomed to being goaded with questions of such a serious nature. From ancient times to the present day, it has been the practice of commanding generals of armies to hang spies immediately after being caught, so as to make it impossible for the enemy to gain any advantage from the information which they may have obtained. What disposition will be made of this young man, has not yet been determined. Colonel Phillips, as commanding officer of troops in the field, has authority to order him tried by a drum-head court martial, and, if found guilty, hung within the next twenty-four hours. It is possible that his youthful age may save him from the death penalty at present, and that he will be turned over to the Department commander, for such punishment as he may deem proper. He claims to have been sent here by General Cooper, who is now encamped near Webber's Falls, for the purpose of getting information in regard to our strength and intentions in the near future.

It was by the merest accident that he was detected. When several of our Indian soldiers first saw him near the limits of our camp, they thought that he was a white woman, although there are now very few white women in this country. They also noticed that his movements were peculiar, and not like those of a woman, and when they came towards him, he started to run, but in the chase they soon convinced him that his only safety lay in his absolute submission. His garments were probably an impediment to his flight, but as our Indians are generally quite fleet of foot, they would have soon overtaken him anyway.

If I were going as a spy into the enemy's camp, to dress in a woman's suit would be about the last method I should think of adopting, even if I had as marked feminine features as some young men, which I have not. And as to the time for making such an adventure, I should prefer the night to broad daylight, particularly if there was any one in the enemy's camp likely to know me.

The engineers have surveyed and laid off the ground for the new fortifications at this post. A line of breastworks is to be thrown up to encompass the stone buildings on the bluff, commencing on the north side and extending around to the south side. The west side is a steep bluff running down to the water's edge of the Grand River. The area to be inclosed on three sides will be about ten acres. Details of men have been made from all the troops here, and ordered to report to the officer in charge of the works in the morning, with picks, shovels, &c. When there does not appear to be any immediate danger from attack, soldiers do not usually like to work on fortifications. As the enemy are making no threatening demonstrations, an expression of dissatisfaction may now and then be heard from the men in regard to slinging the pick and shovel. The weather is beginning to get warm, and such arduous labor is not coveted.

The picks and shovels have now been flying for three days, and the line of breastworks are rapidly assuming their proper form. In examining the position to-day, I came to the conclusion that there is not an elevation so high as the one on which our works are being constructed, within a less distance than two, miles of us. To the east and southeast, we could easily sweep the plain with our artillery. To the north and northeast, the enemy's infantry, should he make: an assault, would have a better opportunity of approaching near our works through the dense woods and broken ravines. But as we shall have an abatis over a portion of this ground, we would be able to thin the ranks of the enemy, should he make an attack from this quarter, before he got through it, by pouring into his advancing columns, a constant stream of grape and canister. The heights on the west side of Grand River are too distant for an enemy to shell us with much effect with ordinary field artillery. In a few weeks therefore our position can be made quite a strong one. But the presence of General Cabell in the vicinity of Cane Hill a few days ago, with upwards of a thousand cavalry; and the force under General Cooper near us on the opposite side of the Arkansas River, in the vicinity of Webber's Falls, looks as if Colonel Phillips will be required to display great firmness and activity, to enable us to maintain our position here. As the enemy have two generals operating to the south and east of us; and as we may suppose that each General commands at least two brigades, we have the prospect of being matched by superior numbers in a few weeks. According to a reasonable estimate we may conclude that they could, in case of emergency, concentrate a force not much short of seven thousand men. This is fully twice the strength of our troops at this point.

On the evening of the 24th, Colonel Phillips took a force of six hundred men, composed of details from the three Indian regiments, and the battalion of the sixth Kansas cavalry, and crossed the Arkansas River several miles below this post, and making a night's march, reached Webber's Falls early Saturday morning, and at once commenced a vigorous attack on the enemy's camp. They were taken by surprise, and fired but few rounds when they fled in disorder towards Fort Smith and North Fork town, where General Cooper's main force is encamped and organizing. We did not pursue them a great distance, as our animals were much fatigued from the night's march. The action was sharp for a few minutes, when the enemy broke, leaving on the field fifteen killed and as many wounded. We had one Indian killed and ten men wounded. But our most serious loss was the killing, or rather assassination of Dr. Gilpatrick, a special agent of the Government, who accompanied us on this reconnoitering expedition. After the skirmish was over, he was called upon by a rebel woman to dress the wound of a rebel soldier, who had fallen a hundred yards or so from where we halted. While performing this duty of mercy for a fallen foe, he was shot by a rebel from a concealed position, and he died immediately afterwards. We all felt indignant that he should have been thus basely entrapped. We brought him back with us, and he is to be buried on Sunday with military honors.

We captured a large quantity of camp and garrison equipage, flour, bacon, &c., and completely destroyed their camp. As it was not quite day-break when we charged into them, a good many fled in their night clothes. They perhaps thought that we would not venture to cross the Arkansas, as it has not been fordable for many days, and even to-day cane well up to the sides of our horses. It was a bold dash, and Colonel Phillips deserves great credit for planning and successfully executing the movement. This expedition will have a demoralizing effect upon the enemy, and perhaps retard his organizing to take the field against us. To that extent it is important.

While we were absent on the reconnaissance to Webber's Falls, two rebel officers came into our camp here, under a flag of truce from General Cooper, in regard to exchanging prisoners. They were detained until our return.. We perhaps hold a few more rebel prisoners than they hold of Federal prisoners. They are authorized to offer for exchange a certain number of our officers and enlisted men, for an equal number of their officers and enlisted men. These officers have been kept in close quarters since their arrival, and will be blindfolded when they are conducted beyond our lines. This precaution is deemed necessary to prevent them from gaining any information in regard to the strength and disposition of our troops at this post.

The same day we left for Webber's Falls, Colonel Phillips sent out Lieutenant-Colonel F. W. Schaurte, second Indian regiment, with about five hundred men, in the direction of Ivansville, a little town on the Arkansas line. Major Foreman, with four companies of the Third Indian regiment, a detachment from the battalion Sixth Kansas Cavalry, and a section of Hopkins' battery, joined Colonel Schaurte beyond Park Hill. Colonel Harrison, commanding at Fayetteville, was also expected to join Colonel Schaurte near the State line. These troops were to attack the enemy near Cane Hill, if he seemed disposed to give battle. But after nearly a week of hard marching, the expedition under Colonel Schaurte returned to this post, having had only a slight skirmish with the enemy. The troops were much fatigued and hungry when they came in. The last three days they were on less than half rations. The enemy under General Cabell, when they heard of the approach of our troops, immediately packed up their baggage and camp equipage, and retreated towards Van Buren. They will, however, doubtless return again shortly, as our troops have now been all withdrawn from that section. They will not only return, but they will probably return and carry their arms still further north and west until they meet with resistance from our forces.

Colonel Harrison, instead of joining Colonel Schaurte at the State line, abandoned Fayetteville, and retreated to Cassville, Missouri, a small town on the main road leading to Springfield. It is much regretted that Colonel Harrison did not display a little more nerve, and that he has felt the necessity of abandoning his post, for it leaves the Union people of northwestern Arkansas without any protection whatever. If his supplies were running too short to enable him to stand a seige of a week or so, and if he could get no assurance of reinforcements in the event of a seige, then there may be some justification for his action. The enemy have been reinforced since the engagement at Fayetteville on the 18th instant, and he may have felt that there was danger of being cut off from our troops in Missouri. We hope that his withdrawal will be only temporary, and that he will shortly return, and wipe out this apparent blot upon his military record. A good many Union people in the vicinity of Fayetteville had commenced to cultivate such tracts of land as their means permit, and without the protection of the Federal troops, they will hardly for the rest.of the season be able to give proper attention to their crops.

On the 30th, information reached this post, that the enemy, considerably reinforced, returned to Webber's Falls, two or three days after we left, and are now driving out all the Indian families in that vicinity suspected of being in any manner friendly to the Union cause. A number of families have just come into our lines for protection, and they state that the rebels have burned their houses to prevent their returning to them. We might in the eyes of many justly retaliate by burning the property of rebels in the territory occupied by our troops, but this is not our purpose, to unnecessarily increase the hardships of women and children, nor to destroy private property, except in cases of absolute necessity. Such cases have been extremely few as far as this command is concerned.

We feel here that the Department Commander should not have permitted our troops to leave Fayetteville, while there were several brigades in southern Missouri not very actively employed.

On May 1st, Colonel Phillips reviewed his troops, on the open grounds near the Fort. He had in line upwards of two thousand men. The Indians, having recently been furnished with new uniforms, made a creditable appearance. But with their long, black hair, there is a marked contrast between them and our white soldiers, who generally have their hair cut rather short, besides it is several shades lighter than the Indian's hair. The Indian soldiers are in good condition, and though their arms are not the best, yet if handled to the best advantage, may be made quite effective, turned against the enemy.

I have already mentioned Colonel Harrison leaving Fayetteville with his troops and marching to Cassville, Missouri. When the information first reached us, I suspected that Colonel Phillips was not entirely satisfied with the movement. It has been generally understood here that the troops at Fayetteville belonged to Colonel Phillips' districts, and would not be expected to leave that station without his orders.

Friday evening, May 1st, Captain William Gallaher, Assistant Adjutant General of the division, sent for me, and stated that he had an important service which he wanted me to undertake. He made out an order for my detail, and also for eight men to accompany me, and sent it to — the commanding officer of the battalion Sixth Kansas cavalry. We were directed to report at headquarters at nine o'clock for more definite instructions. Captain Gallagher then stated that he had important dispatches which he wanted taken to Colonel Harrison, at Cassville, Missouri,--a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles by the route we would be obliged to travel. He also said that we might consider ourselves in the enemy's country from the time we left Fort Gibson until we reached Cassville, as we had no troops stationed anywhere in the region through which we would be obliged to pass. We filled our cartridge-boxes with ammunition for our carbines and revolvers, and our haversacks with hard bread and bacon for five days, and put some shelled corn in the nose-bags for our horses, and reported at headquarters as directed, to the second. Captain Gallagher delivered to me the packages, gave us a few words of caution, and suggested that it would be safest to follow the road along the east side of Grand River until we came to

After returning to my post of duty at Gibson, I found that the enemy had become much bolder than when we left on the night of the first instant. They have moved all the forces from the neighborhoods of Webber's Falls, North Fork and other points in the Indian Territory to the heights on the south side of the Arkansas River, nearly opposite the post, and not more than five or six miles away. During the entire day, at intervals of a few minutes, we heard the firing between their pickets and ours across the river. This skirmishing between .the picket lines of the two armies has been going on several days. Three or four of our soldiers have been killed and wounded, and it is believed fully as many of the enemy, as we have the best arms. The heavy timber oh both sides of the Arkansas affords both parties a convenient shelter from the effects of each other's arms. A man cannot show himself many seconds without being fired upon. His chances of being struck depends upon the distance which separates him and the foe, the marksmanship of the party firing, the gun and its range. Our carbines, by raising the sights to the outside limit, will carry a ball to the mark about a thousand yards. The Arkansas River is not quite that wide at any point within ten miles of here. The enemy, therefore, after they get the approximate range of our carbines, will not likely very often venture inside of this range. If they do they are sure to be brought down. General Cooper seems to have command of all the rebel troops operating against us, and they are reported to be composed mainly of Texans and Indians, estimated at from five to seven thousand men, with one or two batteries of artillery. Our scouts report that some two days ago they sent out two strong reconnoitering forces of cavalry; that one of these forces crossed the river below here for the purpose of going up on the east side of the Grand River, and that the other force crossed the Arkansas and Verdigris Rivers, some seven or eight miles above this post, for the purpose of going up on the west side of Grand River, with the view of forming a junction near Cabin Creek, and attacking our supply train, which is expected down from Fort Scott in a few days. If the force really went up on the east side of Grand River, we must have passed very near it some time yesterday when on the way here with dispatches and mail from Cassville. Everything indicates that we shall have a lively time about here in a few days. Whether very large forces of the enemy have crossed the river yet or not, there are certainly strong reasons for believing that they are making preparations to attack our train at some point above here. The heavy firing along the river the past few days is doubtless intended as a feint, to occupy our attention, and to( prevent us from reinforcing the train's escort. But they will find that Colonel Phillips is not so easily too be thrown off his guard.

The name of this post has been changed from Fort. Gibson to Fort Blunt, in honor of Major General James G. Blunt, our division commander of last winter, but who is at present commanding the District of Kansas. If Fort Blunt is not to be abandoned almost as, soon as named, the General should use his influence in getting reinforcements sent down here at once, and in having Colonel Phillips made a Brigadier General. After the Colonel has, by continual skirmishing with the enemy, marched his forces down here and took possession of this country, and held it against such odds, and so much further in advance of all other Federal troops in the west. it would be manifestly unjust to send an, officer down here who would rank him. Nor do we believe that if the War Department could see the present state of things in their true light, that it would permit him to be robbed of his hard-earned honors; but that it would send him reinforcements, and a. commission appropriate to his command. The command to which he has been assigned is really a recognition of his ability and merit. I have already mentioned that since he captured this isolated station in the enemy's country, he has had two of the enemy's generals to contend with, one of whom may be a Major General.

The active service during the winter and spring, with inadequate forage, has put our cavalry horses in bad condition for the service now required of them. All the animals in camp we are obliged every day to send out on the prairie, in the vicinity of the Fort, under guard, to graze. They are generally sent out in several herds to different localities. The plain is now pretty.much denuded of grass for a mile or so of camp, so that the horses must be taken somewhat beyond this limit. They are taken out every morning at daybreak and driven in at night, Perhaps nearly half of our cavalry horses are kept out in this way, while the other half are used by our troops in watching the movements of the enemy, on reconnoissances, &c. While animals will fatten on grass when they get it in sufficient quantities and are not annoyed by flies, it alone does not afford such nutritive and strength-giving qualities as will enable our horses to do hard service, such as is required of them.

A detachment of about four hundred of our cavalry which were sent on a reconnaissance on the 18th, in the direction of the Creek Agency, on south side of the Arkansas, captured about sixty head o/f horses and mules from General Cooper's command. This bold movement of our troops on the south side of the river,will probably prevent the enemy from sending as large a force as he had intended to attack our supply train. Should they leave their camp guarded by only a small force, Colonel Phillips might take it into his head to take a force of cavalry and cross the Arkansas at the Rapid Ford five miles below this post, and make a dash on it, with the view of capturing or destroying it. Though they probably keep a small force near the ford, we could probably shell them out, and cross without serious loss. But we cannot afford to make a movement that will endanger our train. From the roof of one of the buildings inside our fortification, with a field glass, we can see very near the enemy's camp. The clouds of dust that we saw this afternoon, at several points on the opposite heights, clearly indicates that he is making some important movement. A large cavalry force was in motion, but we could not determine the direction they were marching. The river is now quite low, and there are several points, both above and below us, where they can ford it. It is, I suppose, difficult for Colonel Phillips to determine the nature of their present activity; whether it means to attack us here, or to go up the country west of us, and attack our train due in a few days from Fort Scott.

To-day, the 20th, I have been out nearly all day with our troops. This morning, just before nine o'clock, several of our men came in as fast as their horses could carry them, and reported that the enemy were firing upon our pickets, and had killed several of them, together with a number of herders, and were driving away one or two herds of horses and mules. The bugles were instantly sounded, and in a few moments Colonel Phillips had nearly all his force, consisting of cavalry, dismounted men, and two guns of Captain Hopkins' battery out on the plain, about a mile east of the fort. He immediately formed his line and sent out a detachment of cavalry to the northeast of his position as skirmishers, and soon discovered that the enemy, in considerable force, had formed under cover of a rather dense woods, about a half-mile almost directly east of us. The section of artillery brought out from the fort was directed to open fire upon the enemy. After a half dozen rounds of shells had been thrown into the woods where we first saw them, and our cavalry had opened on the left, I could see from our position, near the section of artillery, that, from the clouds of dust raised in the timber, that the enemy were in rapid movement. We moved forward with the two guns and dismounted men, and our cavalry pressed them on the left. In the meantime all the horses and mules not captured had been driven into camp, and our cavalry was being rapidly reinforced. When our cavalry was sufficiently strengthened by the arrival of troopers from the fort, mounted on horses just brought in, the line on the left was formed, and the bugles sounded the charge. At the same time the artillery, which was supported by the dismounted men, had moved up nearer the timber, and opened with shell. The enemy had no sooner drawn our first volley at a short range than they fled in the direction they came from. We heard that a shell from one of our guns burst in the midst of a body of rebel Indians, killing and wounding quite a number, and throwing the others into a panic. It is often remarked that Indians have a greater dread of artillery than white troops. Our cavalry followed them beyond Greenleaf Prairie, ten miles southeast of the fort, and recaptured a good many of our horses and mules which they had captured in the morning. Their rear was exposed to the fire of our cavalry during the entire afternoon, and they must have suffered considerable loss in killed and wounded. They left on the field only eight men, but we have understood that they took a number along with them who were mortally wounded. We lost fourteen men killed, and had about as many wounded. The engagement lasted about an hour and a half, but some time was consumed on the skirmish line before we ascertained the exact position of the enemy in the woods. They had taken up a position near the road leading to Greenleaf Prairie, and probably intended to draw our troops into an ambuscade. But Colonel Phillips was not to be deceived, by rushing headlong after a pretended flying party of the enemy, to be fired upon by a massed force in the woods. It was entirely due to his coolness and skill in handling his troops that enabled us so quickly to put the enemy to flight. It is a time now that our movements should be conducted with great caution, as the enemy have not only a larger force than ours, but it is composed mainly of white troops.

That he should have succeeded in coming so near us unexpectedly is due to the fact that they killed most ,of our pickets along the road they came in on. They killed, captured, or cut off all our men on the two outside picket stations, but when they came to the third not more than three miles from camp, our picket guard hurried to the fort and reported the approach of the enemy. It is supposed that they crossed the river near Webber's Falls and made a night's march. With General Cabell's division operating along the Arkansas line, and General Cooper's force directly in our front within four or five miles of us, it is impossible for Colonel Phillips, with the force at his disposal, to guard all the approaches to this post, except within a radius of a few miles. This raid of the enemy has cost us heavily in animals. Our loss will not fall much short of three hundred horses and mules, and perhaps even more, including the losses of the Indian soldiers. The four companies of the battalion of the Sixth Kansas cavalry lost probably nearly half of their horses. As the men of these companies owned their horses as private property, and have been paid for their risk and use by the Government, the loss to each individual owner will be quite a hardship. Though they may soon be in funds, as the paymaster is expected to come down with the supply train to pay off the troops of this division, it will be difficult for them to find in this section suitable animals for remounts. Indian ponies could perhaps be had, but in my opinion they are only suitable for Indians, and would answer only as temporary remounts for the white soldiers.

One of our Indians, a herder or picket, who was killed by the enemy, had his clothing set on fire and his body burned to a crisp. He was brought in this afternoon with the other killed and wounded, and he presented a ghastly sight. It was a barbarous act on the part of the enemy, and we had supposed that the rebel troops operating against us were commanded by officers who had too high a sense of honor to permit such an outrage. I am unable to see what object they had in view in perpetrating such fiendish treatment on the dead. If they think that such acts will make our men regard them with greater terror, they are mistaken. It was probably done by the rebel Indians. Our pickets at the Rapid Ford five miles below the fort, reported to-day (22d) that the enemy fired wooden balls at them from the opposite side of the river nearly all day. This would indicate that they want to keep up a noise to occupy our attention, and that they have more powder than lead to waste. We can see very clearly that they desire to draw our attention to points on the river below here as much as possible, while their most important movements, are directed to another quarter, to the west side of Grand river, for the purpose of capturing our commissary train

On the 22d our scouts brought in information. that a large force of the enemy crossed the Arkansas above the mouths of the Grand and the Verdigris rivers, and are believed to be moving northward. Whether it is their intention to continue their march northward until they meet our supply train, or whether they intend to take up a strong position above here and await its arrival, to make the attack, is not definitely known. Colonel Phillips is watching their movements closely and will use his force here to the best possible advantage to prevent the capture of our train. He has to-night sent out nearly all of his available cavalry to meet the train which is due here Sunday night, the 24th. The enemy seem to be almost as well-informed of its movements as we are, from the preparations they are making to effect its capture. The clouds of dust we saw again to-day west of their camp shows that they are displaying great activity. There is not now a reasonable doubt but that we shall have to fight to get our train in. But as our troops have not yet been defeated, we will not give it up without a hard contest.

A number of our sick and convalescent Indian soldiers who have been at Tahlequah for some time, came in to-day, fearing an attack from the enemy at that place, since it is known that rebel scouts were recently seen in that vicinity. It is provoking that we have not a larger cavalry force in this section. The enemy, however, would not likely attack a hospital, but they might go there and take away with them the convalescent patients, unless those in charge of the hospital should spread the report that a number of smallpox patients are still there, which I am under the impression is a fact. I don't know that we have had any troops stationed there since we came here; and there must be some good reason why the enemy has not shown himself in sight of that place, as it is about twenty-five miles from this post. But he would just about as likely wish to capture a herd of horses with glanders as a hospital filled with small-pox patients.

Sunday, May 24th, was a day of considerable excitement and activity with us. We knew that the threatening movements of the enemy during the last four or five days, meant something; and that the time had come when we must act or suffer inglorious defeat. Colonel Phillips is not an officer who can remain inactive while the enemy are displaying activity about him.

On Saturday (23rd) our pickets along the banks of the river, having first ascertain the range of our carbines and carefully estimated the distance across the river, fired upon and killed three of the enemy's patrol guards on the opposite bank. Our soldiers managed to fix up some cartridges which contained a little more than the usual quantity of powder. At any rate the charges were sufficient to send the balls flying over the river and right into objects at which the carbines were aimed. There is not a better cavalry arm in the service than Sharp's carbine. We have some adventurous spirits in the battalion of the Sixth Kansas cavalry, and I believe that if it were possible they would contrive some means to send a ball two miles, if nothing but a river separated us from the enemy.

There was an alarm in camp Saturday night, caused by a detachment of the enemy making an attempt to capture our pickets at one of the outside stations. In view of the situation and to guard against a possible surprise, Colonel Phillips ordered all the troops encamped on the southern and eastern slopes of the hill, inside of the fortifications. We took our tents down and packed everything up, and in less than two hours were inside the fortifications. Some few of the soldiers thought it useless, while most of them were perfectly satisfied to trust to the judgment of our commanding officer, as he was in a position to know very nearly the exact situation. The thought of being somewhat crowded, it is true, was not a pleasant feature; but nearly every one was willing to forego a little freedom of movement for the sake of greater safety. So this morning when the sun had climbed the mountains, which, from our more elevated position, looked lovely fringed with green, the parapets were bristling with the guns of Captain Hopkins' battery. Various rumors were afloat all the morning concerning the movements of the enemy, but nothing was definitely known. As he is known to have received considerable reinforcements recently, some thought that he might feel strong enough to divide his force into two divisions, one to attack our train, and the other our troops here in the fort. Colonel Phillips, who no doubt comprehends the situation, at three o'clock this afternoon took about five hundred men, infantry, cavalry and one section of Hopkins' battery, and marched down to the Rapid Ford, five miles below here, with the view of making a demonstration against the enemy's camp. I desired to witness the action, and also went along. We marched leisurely, and reached the ford about four o'clock. There had been no firing between the pickets during the day, though it is not likely that they had kept quiet on account of religious scruples. We saw the enemy on the opposite bank in considerable force. They did not seem alarmed at our presence, and were quite willing to show themselves some distance back in an open space. As the river bank on the north side, as well as on the south side, was thickly clothed with brush and woods, they did not see the section of the battery when we commenced forming in line. While they were surveying the situation, Captain Hopkins estimated the range, and in a moment more, bang went a shell from one gun, and then from the other, right into a small group of the enemy. The place became too hot for them. We could plainly see the shells burst near the party, and their instant scattering; but we could not see whether any of them were struck or not by pieces of bursting shells. A number of men were seen near a small house, on the road, several hundred yards beyond the opposite ford. Two or three shells were thrown near them, and they immediately disappeared. Presently, for a hundred yards or so above and below the ford, they opened fire from behind fallen trees and the thick woods, but the balls from their small arms fell spent near us or dropped into the river. We returned several volleys, aiming at the places where we saw the smoke rising from their discharged muskets. I fired a dozen rounds from my Sharp's carbine, waiting every time for the smoke to rise, from some point on the opposite bank. Captain Hopkins now commenced shelling the woods along the opposite bank, and the enemy's firing ceased. They sheltered themselves from our shells by getting behind the trunks of fallen trees. Colonel Phillips, now at the head of his cavalry, followed by the infantry, filed along down into the river, with the apparent intention of marching right across. The river bed on the north side was perfectly dry, the channel running near the opposite bank. We continued to move forward until we reached the middle of the stream, when the enemy opened a volley upon us, wounding two or three men. We returned the fire, but with not much advantage, as we had to guide our horses in the strong current which was now flowing up to their flanks. The heavy volleys of musketry made a good many horses unmanageable. The infantry, however, who were still on the sand bar, returned the fire vigorously, and with better effect, so that the enemy kept back a few yards from shore. Colonel Phillips presently turned back, and we occupied for some time the dry river bed on the north side, and kept up a steady firing for half an hour. In the meantime our twelve pounders had been steadily throwing shot and shell into the woods.

After this demonstration, which lasted nearly three hours, the whole force, except a guard left at the ford, returned to the fort. We shall probably know in a few days what effect the demonstration has had with the rebel forces. Colonel Phillips displayed great courage and coolness in his exposed position. The enemy's bullets flew around him as thick as hail.

After returning from the Rapid Ford yesterday evening, and getting our suppers, and resting a few hours, we started out again to meet our train. While marching along during the night on the old military road upon which the train was coming, we saw several fresh trails, the prairie grass having been tramped down flat by horses' feet, showing that the enemy were moving in several divisions, doubtless with the intention of attacking simultaneously from several quarters, the front and flanks, or front and rear of the escort. Several of us got off our horses and carefully inspected one trail, and easily distinguished the directions they had marched. Some ten or twelve miles out our detachment formed a junction with the troops guarding the train. The train probably had about two hundred wagons in all, and moving in the closest order possible, stretched out a distance of more than a mile. From the time we joined it the road ran over a broad prairie, until we should get within three or four miles of the fort. We marched with a detachment of about one hundred cavalrymen, say a quarter of a mile in advance of the escort just in front of the train, with detachments of cavalry at convenient distances from each other on both flanks, and with a strong rear guard. Skirmishers were also kept out a half mile on each side of the road, with instructions to keep up with the advance guard. We were moving along quietly, and approaching the timber on Grand River about five miles northwest of the fort, and, perhaps, nearly an hour before day-break, when we heard the report of a musket, and then three or four more shots. We saw the flash from the musket before we saw the enemy or heard the report. It was then silent for a moment, but the next moment we saw our skirmishers and advance guard falling back. Closely following them we saw, by the dim light of the stars, the long lines of the enemy filing over a ridge in the prairie a few hundred yards off. Orders were immediately given for the teams to change to two abreast, as this would shorten the line of wagons we were required to defend. Instructions were also given to teamsters not to leave their teams under any circumstances. The enemy continued to advance, and when some two hundred yards off, seemed to occupy nearly all the visible horizon upon the prairie, south, east and west of us. One thousand cavalry, when not marching in close order, cover a large field, particularly at night, and are likely to be overestimated in numbers. Our lines were quickly formed, and when the enemy approached within a hundred yards of us, we opened fire upon them. They promptly returned a volley. We continued to pour into their ranks volley after volley, which soon threw them into considerable disorder. They soon rallied, however, and made a few feeble efforts at charging us, but did not come nearer than fifty yards of the troops with whom I was acting, for our firing was conducted with great caution and deliberation. Several other divisions which they sent to make attacks at other points, were equally unsuccessful. It was a grand sight to see the flashes from the long lines of muskets and carbines. Colonel Phillips formed his troops into a kind of oblong square,which inclosed the train. The two short sides of the square were made quite strong, and when the enemy made an effort to break either of the long and weak sides, we cross-fired him, and all his efforts were fruitless. Nearly half of our troops fought dismounted, which enabled them to fire with greater precision. We held the enemy in check in this manner for upwards of an hour, and until towards daylight, repulsing him in every attack, when Colonel Phillips determined to take the offensive, and at the decisive moment ordered the bugle sounded and led his troops to the charge. We moved forward with a shout, and in a few moments completely routed the enemy all along the line. The main body we pursued several miles in the direction of the Verdigris River, firing into their rear every opportunity. Other detachments fled in other directions. They left twenty-six dead on the field. Our loss was seven or eight men killed, and perhaps twenty-five or thirty wounded. As soon as the enemy had been driven from the field, the train was set in motion, and arrived at Grand River opposite to the fort just after sunrise. During the day one or two wagon loads of the enemy's dead were brought in for burial near this post. We heard through our pickets along the river, that the enemy boasted of their intention of getting their Monday morning's breakfast out of our rations. If this really was their boast, and they brought no rations with them, they must have returned to their camp hungry and disappointed. They did, however, capture and plunder one sutler's wagon. The teamster for the sutler seems to have got frightened and left his team, which became separated from the train and wandered about on the prairie.

We received information through our scouts, that the enemy had another strong force above us on Grand River, which failed to co-operate with the force that engaged us in the morning. So far as we can find out, demonstration at the Rapid Ford, Sunday evening, in front of General Cooper's camp, caused him to change his plans in regard to the point where he had intended to attack our train. The force which fought us in the morning, either returned to defend and save their camp after starting out, or remained in camp longer than they had intended on account of our threatening attitude in that direction Sunday evening, thus preventing them from carrying out the pre-arranged plan of forming a junction with the force north of us at a certain point and at a certain hour Monday morning. It does not seem reasonable, and we do not believe, that the enemy deliberately planned to attack our train within sight of our fortifications, where we might quickly reinforce it with nearly all the troops of this post. Colonel Phillips certainly deserves great credit for the able manner in which he has baffled and defeated the enemy, who have made such great preparations for capturing our train — a prize which they would have highly valued.

It would be difficult to point out a finer movement in military manoeuvers, as having actually occurred, than that which Colonel Phillips executed to save his trains; and were he in a section where military correspondents are swarming around headquarters like they are around the headquarters of our eastern armies, he would be lauded as a real hero. Less brilliant achievements and less distinguished bravery than he has shown on several occasions during the last week, have been considered sufficient in the cases of other officers to earn them promotion. He has shown himself to be remarkably fertile in resources in an emergency. At such times most men lose their heads.

The enemy are reported to have had upwards of fifteen hundred men in the engagement, but I am inclined to think that they had at least two thousand white soldiers and Indians, composed of Texans, Choctaws and Cherokees. Though they seem to have been well-informed in regard to the movements of the trains, perhaps through Livingston's guerrillas, operating in the vicinity of Baxter Springs, they were disappointed in the strength of the escort. Had they succeeded in capturing or burning the train, we should have been obliged to abandon this post, as we could have issued full rations only for a day or so longer. Indeed, of some articles we have already been obliged to issue less than the full allowance. This country could afford no subsistence, except fresh beef; and all our other supplies would be exhausted before we reached the Kansas line.

The paymaster, who came down with the train, commenced on the 27th paying off the troops at this post. Many of the officers and soldiers here have not been paid for eight months, and, of course, payment at this time will be quite acceptable to everyone. A good many of our white soldiers, who have families, generally find some means of sending nearly all their salaries home soon after pay day. Many others would,no doubt, send their money north were it not for the danger of losing it. If a soldier puts his money in an envelope and seals it, and sends it by a friend to his family, his friend may get captured, or killed, or lose it, or be subjected to some great delay. And down here, where we are so much isolated from the rest of the world, the mail is not regarded as a fit and proper medium for the transmission of valuable packages, such as money. A soldier can ill afford to lose five or six months of his small earnings. It would be a great convenience to the officers and soldiers of our armies if the Government should adopt some system by which those desiring to do so could send their money to their families by check. When men carry their money around in their pockets, and have the slightest disposition to gamble, they are liable to be drawn into this immoral habit again-particularly when they have little else to occupy their minds. Since quite a proportion of our white troops lost their horses by the recent raid of the enemy, and by being worn out in the service for want of forage, we have an unusually large number of men subject to continuous camp life. And several times, while taking a stroll on the outskirts of the camp, I have noticed more than a half dozen small groups of men, in pleasant, shady spots, engaged in playing Chuck Luck. They were all betting, generally in small sums of money A gum or rubber blanket is usually spread upon the ground, and three or four men sit down upon it, with dice and dice-box, and bet on the dice thrown. This affords excitement and kills time, which is a burden to men, who, for months, have been actively employed in scouting and marching. Loaded dice are now and then heard of, and when discovered generally result in a row. Other parties bet on games of cards. Some of those who are rather sharp gamblers, claim to have fleeced their comrades and some of the Indians out of more money than a soldier receives from the Government for six months salary. The gambling cannot be easily broken up, for parties caught in the act of playing may claim to be playing for amusement.

We have noticed again to-day, from the roof of the large stone building on the bluff, with a spy-glass, unusual activity in the enemy's camp. What it means we do not yet know; and at present we do not feel any great anxiety in regard to it. We are now in a condition our troops would rather like them to attack us; and unless they come with an overwhelming force we should fight them outside our fortifications. But they doubtless know that it would be useless to attack us here, since we were able to rout them the other morning in an — open field, when they had an opportunity of choosing the position and time of attack, and were free to maneuver as they pleased.

On the 28th the Arkansas river commenced rising rapidly, so that the enemy will not likely be very active on the north side for perhaps a week or so. They have no steam ferry boats, nor any other kind of boats fit for crossing the river, that we have heard of,between Fort Smith and their present encampment. And since we destroyed their steamboats at Van Buren last December, it is not probable that they have had much river transportation on the Arkansas above Little Rock. Though this is the season when navigation on the river is best, neither party is able to use it to advantage. A steamboat plying on the river in the service of one party would be a target for the artillery and small arms of the other. Below Fort Smith, for, perhaps, nearly two hundred miles, the enemy might ply steamboats with comparative safety from attack by our forces. But over that section they have very little to transport, as the main army is in the neighborhood of Little Rock.

The present rise is due almost entirely to the flood gates having been opened in the mountains. Such local rains as we have had recently have not, probably, perceptibly affected the volume of water flowing in the Arkansas, above the month of Grand river. The spring rise of the Arkansas is almost as regular as the rise of the Nile.

If we had pontoon bridges now, since our troops are buoyant with life and confident in their strength, and have full rations for nearly a month, we could annoy the enemy and doubtless drive him from his present position. To have full rations and know that the larder is well filled, or that the commissary has abundant supplies on hand, gives strength and courage to the soldier. It takes good food and plenty of it to keep up a strong vigorous current of blood through its natural channels.

The enemy's pickets and ours along the river are getting more tolerant of each others' presence. They agreed on a temporary truce on the 28th, and approached each other at a narrow point on the river, and talked across the water in a quite friendly manner. They had another conference on the 29th instant, and talked over the engagement of Monday morning pleasantly, and inquired of each other about friends in the two armies. But while parties are talking to each other under truce at one point on the river, they are firing upon each other at some other point. As nothing substantial can be gained by this continuous firing across the river, it will probably cease altogether soon. It has now been going on until there is getting to be very little novelty in it.

Our commissary train started back to Fort Scott on the evening of the 30th, and crossed Grand River twelve miles above this post, on account of its being too high to ford in this vicinity. Nearly all the cavalry here have been ordered to escort it as far as Baxter Springs or Neosho River. When this duty shall have been performed, the troops belonging to this division will return to this station. While it is not likely that the enemy would make a very great effort to capture or destroy our empty train returning, they would doubtless make some effort to destroy it, if they found that it had only a feeble escort. And we, from information received through Indians who have been gathering whortleberries in the mountains, are not sure that they have not already a considerable force above here on a kind of expedition of observation.

Information also came from Baxter Springs on the 31st of May, that a portion of the colored regiment stationed there under Colonel Williams, recently had a hard fight with Livingston's guerillas, and lost about twenty men killed. It seems that Livingston made a raid on the place, for the purpose of driving off the horses and mules kept at that station, and was in a measure successful. The animals, it is stated, were being herded on the prairie near the post where grazing was best, by a small number of colored soldiers, who were surprised when the rebels dashed upon them. When we first heard of the colored infantry being stationed at Baxter Springs several weeks ago, I remarked of the great need of a cavalry force at that point. One company of infantry is worth just about as much there as an infantry regiment, in contending with the guerillas of that section under Livingston. And very few animals can be kept there unless they shall be fed within the limits of the camp. And none are required at the station, except mules for the regimental teams.

A scouting party of the enemy was seen on June 1st, near Green Leaf, about eight miles east of this post. They are supposed to be apart of Standwaitie's rebel Indians, and to be moving in the direction of Tahlequah and the northern part of the Cherokee Nation. As all that part of the Nation adjacent to Arkansas is unoccupied by our troops, they may be permitted to remain in it several weeks undisturbed. Our cavalry is now so much occupied with escort duty to our supply trains, and in watching the movements of the enemy in this immediate vicinity, that Colonel Phillips is unable to send out a force to pursue every detachment of rebels moving northeast of us.

A negro man came into our lines on the 2d, from the rebel camp on the opposite side of the river, and he says that they claim to have upwards of six thousand men. He was taken prisoner on the 20th ultimo by the enemy, when they made the raid and drove away so many of our animals. They were much elated over this affair, but much disappointed in not being able to capture or destroy our supply train. They questioned him a good deal about the strength of our force, and wished to know if the colored troops were really coming down as reinforcements. He says that the thought of having to meet on the field, and on equal terms, the colored soldiers, makes them quite indignant. But a man is a man, black or white, and his being black does not prevent him necessarily from being valuable on the field. They affect to think that our government is hard pressed for soldiers when it feels the necessity of accepting the military service of the recent slaves. But we may observe that the enemy will perhaps find out, before this contest is over, that the recent slaves will feel as much interest in fighting for their freedom as our white soldiers have in fighting to maintain the integrity of the government. It may also be remarked that there are many of us who believe that there can be no permanent union without the permanent.freedom of the late slaves. Many who at first scouted this idea, are beginning to take a similar view.

It seems Livingston wrote General Cooped just before our supply train came down, that the colored regiment would accompany it as an escort from Baxter Springs. He urged that preparations be made for capturing the whole outfit. The enemy, therefore, when he attacked the train near here on the 25th ultimo, were somewhat disappointed in not finding it guarded by an escort of colored troops; and now affect to believe that we have no colored soldiers enlisted into the service. Before the summer is over, and we continue to be as near neighbors as at present, they will likely become abundantly satisfied on this point — that is, that we have a regiment of soldiers as black as ebony, and that they can go through the infantry manual as handsomely and with as much ease as perhaps any of their own troops, and that if they have an opportunity of seeing them, they may see them with bright blue uniforms, and if coming into line, with muskets and bayonets glistening beautifully but terribly. Colonel Williams has given much attention to carefully drilling his regiment. We hear that the colored troops are quite anxious to come into an engagement with the enemy, and that they think they would prick his tender white skin with the points of their bayonets. The few contests they have had in the vicinity of Baxter Springs with the enemy, show that they are not lacking in bravery.

While a detachment of rebel Indians who were on their way to Hilter Brand's Mills in the northern part of the Nation, stopped to plunder the house of a family near Tahlaquah yesterday, one of the women of the house mounted one of the enemy's horses, and came on here and reported their movements to Colonel Phillips. Such heroic action on the part of a loyal woman of this territory is surely highly commendable. Her name should be preserved in the gallery of Heroic Women. With a little presence of mind, the loyal families living in the country might often do very much toward keeping us advised of the movements of the enemy. It is also probable that there is a good deal of reliable information brought in to Colonel Phillips concerning the movements of the enemy, by people living in the country, that we never hear of.

Our prospects are beginning to look a little brighter. Colonel Phillips has received a dispatch from General Blunt, who is now at Forth Leavenworth, urging him to hold this post, no matter at what cost, and that he will immediately send him reinforcements. We don't believe that Colonel Phillips has had any intention of abandoning this post, so long as his supplies came through safely. We can fight while we have anything to eat. But if the commanding General of the Department had not decided to do something to assist us in keeping the country in our rear free of the enemy, so that our supplies can reach us, the thought of falling back from this section would no doubt have to be seriously considered by Colonel Phillips in the course of a month or so. But a month's time may change the aspect of things, not only in this section, but throughout the country. It is not, I suppose, so much the question of ability to hold this post, but the question of ability to hold a larger portion of this country that concerns Colonel Phillips most. We do not know the number of troops General Blunt will have in his new command, but I do know that he is an officer who will not be content to remain inactive in the rear and allow his sword to rust, while there is an enemy in front. He is, every inch, a fighting General.

A small party of our Indian soldiers had a skirmish with a detachment of Standwaitie's men near Park Hill, June 5th, and had--two men killed, and two seriously wounded. The enemy are reported to have also had several men wounded. Ambulances were immediately sent over to Park Hill to bring in the killed and wounded. Our scouting parties have been in that section very little recently. It is reported, also, that the rebels shot one of their own men, because he endeavored to save the life of one of our Indians. It has been suggested, however, that this story be taken with a grain of allowance. Our loss in this instance is probably due to the fact that our Indians were not quite as vigilant as they might or should have been. Small detachments of our troops should know by this time that when they are out of sight of our camp they are, as far as their safety is concerned, in the enemy's country, and liable to surprise at any moment.

Several of our Indian soldiers, who have had permission to visit their homes in the northern part of the Nation near Maysville, have just returned, and report that the enemy have a force of upwards of one hundred men in that section, murdering the loyal Indians, and committing all kinds of depredations. This force of the enemy crossed the Arkansas River near Webber's Falls, and marched up through the Nation near the Arkansas line. As complaints have been coming in for several days of their depredations, Colonel Phillips has determined to send a force of two or three hundred cavalry in pursuit of the rebels. That will soon put an end to the little reign of terror. It is desirable to afford all the protection possible to those loyal families who are endeavoring to live upon their homesteads. And since Colonel Phillips has had command of the Indian Territory, it can hardly be said that the enemy has had even a transient possession of any portion of it.

The enemy killed two of our pickets on the night of the 7th, within less than three miles of this post, by sneaking upon them in the dark. They seem to act upon the assumption that anything is fair in war. It is supposed that they intended to prepare the way for making another raid upon our animals, as soon as they should be sent out with the herders the next day. The night and day picket stations should be at different points. But if they had it in view to make another raid for such a purpose, they must have given it up for some reason, for a detachment of our cavalry sent out to-day several miles beyond the picket station where the men were killed, returned without having found any signs of the enemy. As two of our men escaped from the outside picket station, and came in to the next most distant station on the road leading from the post, the rebels perhaps thought that what they had done would be reported to Colonel Phillips' headquarters before our animals should be driven out to graze. When it becomes necessary for the men of an outside picket station to leave it, they should fall back upon the next interior station and await the approach of the enemy; but in the meantime it is the duty of the non-commissioned officer in charge to send a messenger in to headquarters, post-haste, to report what had already taken place, If the enemy should continue to advance and attack this second station, the non-commissioned officer in charge of it should send another messenger as swiftly as possible to his commanding officer, with such information as he has been able to gain of the enemy's movements. The courier should also be instructed as he starts on his flying errand to cry out at each of the stations he passes, Men! up and at your posts, the enemy are advancing! Each station should detain the enemy as long as it can with safety do so. But of course if the officer in charge of it discovers the enemy advancing in strong force, he should not deploy his men in such manner as to make their capture or destruction an easy matter. If it should be a light advance guard of the enemy approaching, a well directed fire of the pickets will, perhaps, in most instances, stop their progress until the main force comes up. In the presence of an enemy picket duty is full of danger to the soldier, and if he relaxes his vigilance while on such duty, it may be not only at his own great risk, hut he may also endanger the safety of the entire command to which he belongs. He should, therefore, be impressed with the responsibility of his position. Colonel Phillips has such an arrangement of picket guards, that it would now be almost impossible for the enemy to approach nearer than three or four miles without alarming our camp.